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Bridging Differences on Health Care; Reid's Tries to Move Past Racial Controversy; Vatican Jeers Blockbuster Hit 'Avatar'; Congress Back from Recess; Miep Gies Dies

Aired January 12, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the other stories we're watching right now, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid trying to move past that controversy over the racial comments he made about President Obama during his campaign. Reid is talking about security today while visiting Las Vegas International Airport and he is expected to answer questions.

In a few hours prosecutors will fight a key ruling in the trial of the man accused of killing abortion provider in Kansas. The judge has decided to allow Scott Roeder to argue that he believed the killing of Wichita doctor George Tiller was a justified act aimed at saving unborn children. While prosecutors challenge the decision, jury selection in the case will be delayed.

The Vatican not impressed with James Cameron's blockbuster movie "Avatar". The Vatican newspaper and its radio station say the movie is simplistic and its plot is superficial in its eco-message despite ground-breaking visual effects. The movie will be released Friday in Italy.

Members of Congress are back from recess a little bit later today. The New Year starts with the focus of the same thing that consumed so much of last year and that is health care reform.

Our Congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I don't -

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After months of hearings, raucous town halls -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to be let out of here? You're welcome to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You work for us. You work for us.

KEILAR: Rowdy protests, a vote during a snowstorm and another on Christmas eve, one year and several versions of health care reform later, here we are. One House bill and one Senate bill with big differences.

NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: All the senate thinks theirs is fairer, we think ours is. We'll see which mirror cracks.

KEILAR: One major sticking point, whether or not there should be a government-run insurance plan. The so-called public option that would compete with private plans. The House has one, but moderate Democrats succeeded in cutting it from the Senate bill.

Because of that, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is no longer insisting on a public option, though she is demanding healthcare be affordable for low and middle income Americans.

PELOSI: There are other ways to do that and we look forward to having those discussions as we reconcile the bill.

KEILAR: Pelosi is pushing for more government subsidies to help people buy insurance. Abortion will once again cause a big fight between anti-abortion Democrats and abortion rights Democrats. The House version is more restrictive, though both bills ban taxpayer dollars from funding abortions. And how will the government pay for health care reform?

The House bill has a tax on the wealthy. The Senate bill taxes high-end health insurance policies, those so-called Cadillac plans. House liberals are concerned it will hit labor union members.

REP. DONNA EDWARDS (D), MARYLAND: The last thing we want to do is penalize people who have managed to negotiate, however they have negotiated for themselves good health care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Unions are concerned about the proposed tax on those Cadillac plans. President Obama met with labor leaders at the White House yesterday. They told him they don't expect the tax to be eliminated but they want the threshold raised so it impacts fewer families.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

COLLINS: All right. The country is still in the ice box as you will know. Judge it for yourself. CNN I-reporter Britney Christi took this picture outside and art studio in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. She said the owner sprayed down his jeep overnight turning it into a frozen piece of art.

Speaking of frozen, look at the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. Ice everywhere. Wes Allmond captured these chilly pictures for us. Rob Marciano standing by now. We're hearing it's going to warm up a bit but still have to wait on that, right? ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We do. It's been a slow go. Yesterday we told you, you know, why we've had this extended period of cold weather, not only here but in Europe and also in East Asia, but mostly across the U.S. The fact that we have so much snow cover, it is keeping the air refrigerated. And then, of course, we've been locked in this pattern. What we're starting to see signs that the pattern is beginning to break down. One sign is this, we're getting some action on the West Coast, so just south of San Francisco up to Seattle, you're getting some showers today and another batch of moisture and energy coming in here. And there's even a stronger one back through here. So we're starting to see the storms line up on the West Coast. That's good news for the snow pack in the Sierras, the Cascades and the intermountain west as well.

And that's also going to break down the big trough that's been stuck in parts of the East Coast. Two to three feet of snow actually potentially across the Sierras, above the 6,000 foot mark. So impressive stuff there. And here's the radar showing the rain from San Francisco up towards Eureka, Crescent City and higher elevation snows.

All right. Let's talk more about what's going on as far as the cold temperatures. Melbourne had another record this morning, 25 degrees. Everywhere else was a little bit warmer today than they were yesterday. That's the good news. But we do have a reinforcing shot of cool air.

Here it is, two or three degrees maybe cooler today than it was yesterday. And then we're going to start to see things shift and the ridge that's been out west begin to build into the east and it will start in the central plains, build into the northern plains. We'll see temperatures that will be at and in some cases a little bit above average. And then eventually this will push off to the east but it's going to be a slow go doing that.

Meantime we've been talking about citrus farmers. We've been talking about the tropical fish. Well, you get a lot of other things from Florida. You get strawberries, which they may be able to save some of those, but you get tomatoes, squash, zucchini, all that good winter vegetable stuff. Southern California and in this case parts of Florida. A lot of that has been not doing so well because of this

So a lot of what you put on the table or try to eat healthy during the winter months is going to be a little bit more expensive it looks like, unfortunately. I want to end on this fun picture, Heidi, because we showed it to you last hour of this gentleman playing pool on his pool, I think. You have that shot?

COLLINS: A pool on his pool.

MARCIANO: Frozen pool.

COLLINS: Citrus.

MARCIANO: Yes.

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: Anyway, it's good stuff. It's been awesome. We've been talking a lot about Florida, but central and southern Texas also has been suffering with this cold snap. COLLINS: Yes. It's really been unbelievable. Looking forward to not having to wear the big warm woollies every day.

MARCIANO: Yes. And you know, you can see you've been part of history. Because in a lot of cases around the southeast it's been the second or third coldest start to any year they have had on record.

COLLINS: I don't know what it means for the rest of the year, but we shall see.

MARCIANO: I'm a big fan of history.

COLLINS: Rob Marciano, thank you.

MARCIANO: All right. See you.

COLLINS: Well, we have new information about the investigation of a Florida teen set on fire last year. In some newly released court documents, Broward County investigators say 15-year-old Michael Brewer knew he was in danger back in October. Although he had expected some kind of attack, Brewer told investigators he was surprised when the rubbing alcohol was splashed against his back moments before he was set on fire.

There's some of the audio from his conversation with investigators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF MICHAEL BREWER, BURNING VICTIM: Cold stuff all over my clothes and all of a sudden I felt burning. Somebody poured something on me and lit me on fire. I started running. This guy comes running out and tries to pull me out of the water. I said no, leave me, leave me because my skin was like hanging.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Brewer has burns on 65 percent of his body and has a long recovery ahead of him. Two teenagers have been charged in connection to that attack.

Time to move on, that's what President Obama is saying about the controversial remarks made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that came out as part of a new book. Here's what the president had to say to CNN contributor Roland Martin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Harry Reid is a friend of mine. He has been a stalwart champion of voting rights, civil rights. He is spending a lot of his political capital in the middle of an election to provide health care to every American and that's going to have a great impact on African-Americans and Latinos around the country.

This is a good man who has always been on the right side of history. For him to used some in inartful language in trying to praise me and for people to try to make hay out of that makes absolutely no sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: President Obama playing down the remarks from Harry Reid but is that the right move for the nation's first African- American president? CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some want the president to step into the controversy.

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: We can't have an open, honest, real discussion about race in this country. And I think this is quite frankly one of the failures of our new president. He's a remarkable man, he's an insightful man, but I think he's loathe to speak about race.

MALVEAUX: He avoided the issue throughout the campaign until he was forced to address it after his pastor made racial remarks. In July as president, Mr. Obama tried to cool off a hot confrontation between a black professor and white police officer.

DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: President Obama clearly cannot have a beer summit every time there is problems or the issue of race come up, as he did last year when the situation involving Professor Gates and Officer Crowley.

MALVEAUX: But could this be another teachable moment?

DYSON: We don't expect Mr. Obama to speak to this issue of race because he's a black man. We expect him to speak to the issue of race because he's the president. We have a teachable moment here, but the professor will not come to the classroom.

MALVEAUX (on camera): Many believe that President Obama is uniquely suited to take on the issue of race, being biracial, a strong communicator and having the bully pulpit of the presidency. But many Americans still struggle to have an open and honest dialogue about race.

(voice-over): Black leaders say sure, Senator Reid's comments were offensive, to call Mr. Obama appealing for being light skinned with no Negro dialect but they also say he's speaking the hard truth.

DYSON: 99 percent of people in this country who heard that probably readily understood what he meant. And the question is how can we get beyond some of this vicious epithet and name calling and get to some of the deeper issues.

MALVEAUX: Deeper issues like the reality that light-skinned blacks are sometimes favored. BRAZILE: I come from a very large family. I'm darker. My skin is - my tone, my complexion is much darker than some of my siblings. And yet as a child growing up in the segregated deep south, we often talked about whether or not we could succeed, given the complexion of our skin.

MALVEAUX: And how one speaks.

DYSON: We know what Harry Reid meant. He doesn't have the typical intonations of African-American culture but a lot of black people don't do that. They get accused of sounding white.

MALVEAUX: The problem some believe is Americans still either cannot or do not want to talk about race.

BRAZILE: We don't have the common language to discuss issues, especially issues like racism and the sensitivity around discussing race. And because of that, people often, you know, trip over themselves.

DYSON: This is Mr. Obama's Achilles heel as well. And I think we need to call him on this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Suzanne Malveaux is joining us from the White House now. Suzanne, how is President Obama actually dealing with this controversy?

MALVEAUX: Well, you know, just a little inside information. You know, the last go-round when you had that incident between the black professor and the police officer, white police officer, the first lady Michelle Obama and some close friends who nudged the president a little bit to get more involved in that incident that led to that beer summit back in July.

That's not the case this go-round, Heidi. They don't have that sense that this rises to the occasion where the president needs to come out and make formal statements. They really feel like this is a game of gotcha. The president feels that if there are times and moments where he needs to address the issue of race when he did in Philadelphia, that big race speech, that he would like to take on the issue in a very serious and meaningful way and this is just not one of those times, Heidi.

COLLINS: And he says there will be no change in the relationship between him and Harry Reid, right?

MALVEAUX: Well, he says they're good friends and they also politically, of course, need each other. I mean this is a president who's turning to Senator Reid over the next couple of weeks or so. Reid who needs to usher through this health care reform bill. It is the top legislative item on his agenda. He needs him to do that.

And conversely, you've got Senator Reid who's up for a very tough re-election, President Obama will be in Nevada to help campaign and to help support him sometime in February. So these are two people who are turning to each other in this time of need and they both say that they will continue to support each other.

COLLINS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, in front of the White House. Thank you.

According to one group, 1,000 students drop out of school every day. Why some say these numbers are connected to our economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Issue number one now, and one group's idea for explosive economic growth, keep kids in school. The Alliance for Excellent Education studied the high school dropout rates in the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas.

Here's what they say they found. If the dropout rate is cut in half, those high school graduates would have earned more than $4.1 billion a year in extra income. The study says that would also mean $2.8 billion in additional spending. The alliance says that cutting the dropout rate in half would lead to 30,000 new jobs and $5.3 billion in economic growth.

Joining us now to talk about the dropout problem is Manny Rivera. He is - excuse me, Manny Acosta, a long-time educator who is with global partnership schools. And I'm hearing again, pardon me, Manny, I'm hearing it is Manny Rivera, my apologies to you.

Let's talk about this for a minute. I'd love to hear your reaction to this report. I know that you are just seeing it. What is your take-away here?

MANNY RIVERA, LONG TIME EDUCATOR: Well, I think there have been a number of economic studies over the years that do link educational attainment to income so I'm not surprised. Now, I haven't looked exactly at what's behind all these numbers that say they come up with.

I think but there's another factor that we need to look at, and that is the fact that the cost to society, every time we incarcerate a young person who most likely has dropped out of school, that's going to cost us anywhere from four to five to six times more annually than it would on a per pupil basis on an annual basis to educate young people.

COLLINS: Well, sure. I'm not sure that there would be - it would be hard to argue that, I guess, what we've been talking about this morning is, is where the jobs are.

RIVERA: So it's -

COLLINS: For the kids who would be coming out of high school if in fact they were to stay in. Of course everybody wants kids to stay in and get their high school diplomas.

RIVERA: Well, I think we have to look beyond high school diploma today. If we want to be competitive as a society, we have to prepare young people to compete internationally, we have to prepare people to be able to go on to secondary education, beyond high school into colleges and universities or to be certified in some particular industrial opportunity. So I think there's a lot of work that we need to do going forward.

COLLINS: What's the main reason that kids drop out of school?

RIVERA: Well, you know, I've been at different forums and I've heard testimony from young people. And quite often they talk about the fact that they didn't have support coming up through school, that there are certain issues that affected them, whether it's an emotional issue, there are young people today in school who need all kinds of support. Things are tougher for young people. Getting to school safely is an issue in many urban communities.

In addition to that, we have to look at reducing the dropout rate more holistically and really prepare young people. We've got to start at an early age with early childhood education and we have to pay attention to everyone individually and make sure that they're being successful as well as to look at their strengths and the assets that they bring to the school setting.

COLLINS: Yes, I mean, that all sounds good and very important. How do you do it? How do schools do that?

RIVERA: Well, there are different ways that you can look at. Number one, creating more of a student-centered environment so that when you assess a young student from the time they come into school, you're not only looking at their reading scores or their math scores, but you're looking at what they bring. You're looking at what their interests are.

And then you create a student learning plan, a profile for the young person and you make adjustments in the program, you make adjustments in the curriculum, you make use of technology, you make sure they have the mentors, the tutors, whatever they need to get through school successfully. That's what we're going to have to do going forward.

COLLINS: Manny Rivera, we sure do appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

Well, she didn't write it but she saved it. One of the most celebrated books ever. She has now died leaving behind a legacy and the story of a 14-year-old girl hiding in an attic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Time now to check some of the top stories we're watching this morning. Today will be the second day of testimony in the federal court challenge to California's proposition 8 which banned same-sex marriage. Two gay couples are suing to overturn that ban. It's the first time a federal court has been asked to decide whether banning same-sex marriages is constitutional. The case could ultimately end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. In New Orleans, opening statements begin today in what's believed to be the first lawsuit against a hospital for a death in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The wrongful death suit was brought by the family of a woman who was on a ventilator when Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital lost power during Katrina. The hospital still has not reopened.

Miep Geis has died. You might not know the name but you certainly know her place in history. She was the woman who found Ann Frank's diary after Nazi police found the Frank family hiding in a home in the Netherlands. Geis held on to the papers until Anne Frank's father returned after the war. The diary depicting the Jewish family's life in hiding was first published in 1947. Miep Geis was 100 years old.

Starting today Delta Airlines is raising its checked baggage fees. Passengers will now pay 25 bucks for their first checked bag and $35 for their second. If they check in online before they get to the airport, they'll pay $23 for the first bag, $32 for the second.

As you would imagine, this got a whole lot of talk in the morning meeting today. So we want to hear what you have to say about it now. Here's our question, if you fill in the rest of the sentence here. Delta's new baggage fees are ... just go to cnn.com/heidi, post your comments there on our blog and read a little more about exactly those fees and how they're going to work. And then we'll go ahead and read some of your comments, coming up in just a little while.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Bypassing the salt. New York City's Health Department kicking off a new initiative to remove salt from your food. They want food companies and restaurants across the country to lower the salt content in prepared meals. High salt levels can of course increase blood pressure and the threat of heart disease. Right now their anti- salt campaign is voluntary.

Students today even more stressed than kids their age were during the Great Depression. CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining us now with the not-so-good news. All right. So there's a study out there, Elizabeth, that looked at sort of the mental health of young people over several generations. What did it say?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. What it found is that kids today are more depressed than during the Great Depression, which really says a lot. So these researchers looked at high school and college students and sort of their mental status 1938 now and various points in between.

And Heidi, what they found is that kids today are five to six times more likely to report some kind of mental illness compared to 1938. So let's take a look at a couple of different things that they reported. The wrote kids today are more anxious, more depressed and have more antisocial attitudes than ever before, ever since they have been doing these studies since 1938. COLLINS: Well, I'm going to go on a limb and say, you know, I feel like, and you correct me if I'm wrong, this is a very good thing in that they are more aware of this term, mental illness, and maybe are talking about it more. It was a very different time in 1938.

COHEN: Absolutely. That was the first thing that I was going to say when we talk about this is that in 1938 if you asked, you know, high school student, are you depressed? You know, they probably wouldn't know what you were talking about.

COLLINS: Right.

COHEN: So part of it is that kids today are so aware of all of these mental illness issues. But I think the researchers we talked to said there's also something that kids today, they watch reality shows. They see celebrities and they expect their lives to be like that sometimes. They expect instant gratification.

And when they're not a rock star, sometimes they get depressed or they get anxious about why isn't their life like what they see for celebrities. So I think that's also part of it too.

COLLINS: Yes. A lot of people trying to make that link to the economy. Kids picking up on that?

COHEN: You know, it's interesting, they're not. According to these studies, when times are bad, kids aren't necessarily more depressed or anxious. For example, in 1938, kids weren't necessarily more depressed or anxious. That's not really what does it. It's more sort of in the kid's head. It's what their expectations are. So maybe when the economy is bad, they don't have expectations. It's sort of interesting.

COLLINS: Sure.

COHEN: But what the economy does and how the kids feel, there doesn't seem to be a big link.

COLLINS: All right. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

COLLINS: Wiped out by the cold wave. A tropical fish farmer's business and his dream, both gone in four frigid nights.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Let's take you over to the severe weather center where Rob Marciano is standing by and has been telling us for days on end how cold it is all across the country.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right, Rob, thank you.

You know, we have talked about the potential losses for Florida's citrus and strawberry crops, but the brutal cold spell has also dashed the dreams of one Florida man raising tropical fish. Martin Savidge has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL BREEN, FISH FARMER: This is a devastating loss. This is a total loss.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty-three- year-old Michael Breen surveys his farm, 76 ponds of 26 varieties of Central and South American fish, with names most kids would know from the pet store -- Cichlids, Silver Dollars, Tetras and Barbs -- 125,000 of them.

BREEN: We bought the farm because I love fish and in this day and age how many people can honestly say they have raised their children on a farm.

SAVIDGE: Fourteen years ago, Breen left a six-figure salary in alcohol sales to pursue a dream. That dream died in just four frigid nights, wiping out almost his entire stock valued as over half a million dollars.

BREEN: To walk by these ponds now and not see anything or hear anything, it's just kind of an eerie silence.

SAVIDGE: Breen said there was nothing he could do. He had no way to move so many fish and no place to put them out of the cold even if he could.

(on camera): Insurance?

BREEN: Not this year, I couldn't afford it.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Breen has seen cold before, one snap last year forced him to use all of his savings. But he and the industry have never seen anything like this.

BREEN: It's just been a slow death out here.

SAVIDGE: Now he has nothing left, in the ponds or the bank.

BREEN: I've given everything. My 401(k) from the liquor industry, my retirements over there. Yes, I've put everything into this farm.

SAVIDGE (on camera): Including your heart.

BREEN: Oh, yes. A lot of blood, sweat and tears.

SAVIDGE: Breen has not yet explained to his children what the cold has done to their lives, but that conversation is coming.

BREEN: They realize that things are going to be very hard, very hard. They're fantastic, I'm blessed.

SAVIDGE: And that is the realization he has found in the midst of everything he has lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Marty Savidge joining us now with more on this.

Boy, it's just really, really a sad story. Is he going to be able to recover? I mean is he going to be able to raise more fish?

SAVIDGE: Well, he says he will, Heidi. I think he's got a very tough year, year and a half ahead of him.

What he plans to do now is try to go back to the job he used to have, which was of course working in the sales of alcohol, and then use the money that he gets from that to, one, hang on to his farm, which he desperately wants to do for the sake of his family; and, two, perhaps get some breeder stock an then start raising fish again.

But that takes time and it will take he thinks anywhere from a year to two years before he can get back to where he is. And, of course, in the meantime there are bills to pay, things that cost money and somehow he has to bring in revenue. Today, he's selling the only fish he has left, bait fish, to local fishermen who are coming by and going out. So he's got a tough time ahead of him.

And it's just one story here. What's going to happen as things wear on. People are going to realize in Florida that this cold spell, not the snap, had a major impact and only now are they beginning to understand the economic ripple effect. And it's going to be significant, not just the citrus and agriculture, well beyond that.

COLLINS: Yes, the story after the story we always say.

All right, Marty Savidge from Florida this morning. Thanks, Marty.

Shelling out more for checking in bags. One carrier's jacking up the fees, we'll tell you how much more you're going to be paying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Now a look at some of the top stories we're following.

A Chicago terror suspect appearing in federal court this hour. David Headley is charged with conspiracy to bomb public places in India, conspiracy to murder people in India and Denmark, and to provide material support to foreign terrorist plots. Headley was arrested last October on suspicion of plotting to attack a Danish newspaper. Headley has pleaded not guilty.

The funeral for Vice President Joe Biden's mother is scheduled to begin at the top of the hour. Looking at some live pictures for you there as people begin to gather. President Obama and the first lady are attending the service in Wilmington, Delaware. Jean Biden died Friday at the age of 92.

Delta Airlines raising its fees for checked bags. Passengers paying online will be charged $23 for the first bag, $32 for the second. That's an increase of $8 and $7 respectively from the current rates. Passengers who check bags at the airport will have to pay even more. No word yet on whether other carriers will follow Delta's move.

So that brings us to today's blog question because we've been talking about this a lot here. I wanted you to fill in the rest of this sentence which says, "Delta's new baggage fees are..." Getting a lot of responses, too.

From Anne, she says, "Delta's baggage fees are...ridiculous. They are creating an even more frustrating scenario as people cram as much as they can into carry-ons and try to put them into overflowing overhead bins."

And from Katherine, "Delta's baggage fees are...ridiculous! They encourage passengers to carry on and further stress the TSA."

From Mo, "Delta's baggage fees are...the difference between whether I go somewhere or not. I'll drive my Prius and take the scenic route instead."

From Dean, "Delta's baggage fees are...bad PR. They should have buried half the price in the ticket and applied the other half to the bags."

From Vince, "Delta's baggage fees are...skyway robbery."

From John, "Delta's baggage fees are...necessary to keep the airline financially sound given increasing airport and fuel charges."

And from Nap, "Delta's baggage fees are...not enough for them to make a profit in today's economic environment."

Remember, we always love to hear from you so thanks for writing in. Just go to CNN.com/Heidi. Again, we appreciate you taking part in this one.

2009 was an incredibly violent year in Mexico, and 2010 isn't off to a good start either. Our Rafael Romo has more on the drug war just south of our border.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice- over): It's the kind of statistic no government would be proud of -- 69 people were killed in drug-related violence in Mexico in a single 24-hour period; about a third of those victims died in Ciudad Juarez, a border city across from El Paso, Texas.

Ciudad Juarez is by far the most violent city in Mexico. According to officials, more than 2,,600 people died in the city alone and barely two weeks into the year 2010 the death toll is fast approaching 100. President Felipe Calderon declared war on drug cartels three years ago when he took office. So far during his presidency, more than 15,000 people have died in this war. Calderon says his commitment to fight the cartels hasn't changed.

FELIPE CALDERON, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO (through translator): I know that in many parts of Mexico criminals continue to harass, threaten and practice extortion against many Mexican families. For that reason, we will continue to combat all criminal groups in the country without distinction.

ROMO: Last year Calderon ordered the deployment of nearly 50,000 troops, especially to areas like Ciudad Juarez, but the violence hasn't stopped. The bodies of two women were found in a vacant lot in Ciudad Juarez last Friday, the same day the body of a man was discovered on a dirt road in the outskirts of the border city.

Last month, 33-year-old Bobby Salcedo, a high school vice principal from California visiting the country with his Mexican wife, also fell victim to the violence. He was kidnapped from a restaurant along with five other men. They were all found dead the following day.

BETSY SALCEDO, WIDOW: The next day they told us that they were found together.

ROMO: His widow, who since returned to California, is stoic in the face of tragedy.

(on camera): Most victims are people involved with drug cartels fighting among themselves. Recently, however, journalists covering the police beat have become targets. The body of a reporter was found last week alongside a note that said, "This is going to happen to those that don't understand that the message is for everyone."

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany plan to meet Saturday over Iran's nuclear ambitions. More sanctions could result. The last U.N. broker offer called for Iran to ship most of its low enriched uranium abroad for reprocessing using that fuel for a medical reactor in Tehran. Iran wants the U.N. to renegotiate that or it will enrich nuclear fuel on its own.

Normally, you wouldn't be too happy to hear about yet another bank fee, but this one, the banks say, may have to pay you, the American taxpayer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Some banks have been quicker than others in repaying that bailout money, but the White House may try to force their hands with a brand new tax. Our Stephanie Elam is joining us now from New York with more on this.

Hi there, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.

Yes, this is a development that is in the works, it's in the process right now as the White House is busy hammering out their budget for 2011. But they are looking at perhaps taxing some of the larger financial institutions to make sure that they get back all of the taxpayer money.

Now let's take a look at what they're really concerned about here. For one thing, you do have all those people who, all the taxpayers who helped bail out those big companies. They want to make sure they recoup those losses. They also want to reduce the budget deficit, make sure that this money doesn't affect the deficit, and they want to discourage that excessive risk taking that had been around for decades and decades but finally led to the massive debacle that we saw on Wall Street in 2008.

And here's the other big thing, everyone knows that people are really upset about the bonuses that are about to hit Wall Street in the next few weeks or so, and so this may be part of the White House's way of addressing some of those issues.

Now, what we take a look at the larger financial institutions, we know they're not talking about the auto companies, they're not talking about AIG, simply because they're still going through a lot of pain. But as you know, a lot of the banks are expected to report record profits and they just want to make sure that they are getting back some of that money.

Now, Heidi, it will probably not surprise you to hear that the banks don't really like this idea.

COLLINS: Yes.

ELAM: That's a surprise.

But they think that this is going to hurt their ability to give out loans to small businesses and also they're saying they're just getting their footing back and to do this now would just affect the very delicate balance of recovery that we are seeing in the global marketplace.

A lot of naysayers saying that's not the case. Some worry that they may actually pass this on to the consumer. So you'll see a lot of debate about this in coming days.

But one thing I can tell is that when that $700 billion TARP bill was passed back in October of 2008, one of the major points was that it would include some legislation that said after five years of TARP being enacted, if the money wasn't there, the government could go after these companies to make sure they recoup their losses. So this is something that's already in the law so it's not outside of the purview of what the White House wants to do here. COLLINS: Got it. All right. As you say, I'm sure we'll hear a lot more about this as the days go on.

ELAM: No doubt.

COLLINS: All right, Stephanie, thanks.

ELAM: Sure.

COLLINS: Hybrids and electric cars are in the spotlight at the Detroit Auto Show this week, but are automakers betting on vehicles that Americans will actually buy? Felicia Taylor has our "Energy Fix" now from New York.

Hey there, Felicia. It's all that green technology at the auto show, but anybody buying?

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly the question. I mean, car companies are betting heavily on alternatives to the gasoline engine. There's even an "Electric Avenue" at the auto show this week and that's dedicated to battery-powered cars and all the technology they have got on display.

Ford's Fusion Hybrid won "Car of the Year" and Toyota announced that it's now actually going to roll out a family of Prius hybrids. But widespread acceptance of these vehicles is the big question and it could be years before we see Americans buying into it. Hybrids account for only 3 percent of the U.S. market right now. Electrics are even less likely to catch on quickly.

A study from the Boston Group finds the high cost of batteries will make electric vehicles just too expensive for most consumers, even 10 years from now. It predicts that electric cars will capture just 6 percent of the global market by 2020. And then there's the practical question, of course, of exactly where are you going to charge them? You can't just plug them in anywhere.

COLLINS: Yes, true. And for some people out there, I guess buying a car sort of becomes an emotional purchase and so I imagine there are some people out there who are doing this because they just plain believe in this way of finding energy independence.

TAYLOR: Well, I mean -- and everybody out there right now is very conscious of being more green and some of these cars may not actually even affect that much when it comes to oil consumption, so that's a serious question. Raymond James finds that even if hybrids made up a third of car sales by 2020, that would actually only save about 200,000 barrels of oil a day. I realize that sounds a lot but it's only 1 percent of current demand.

And obviously fully electric cars will do a lot more to cut down on oil consumption since, obviously, they don't use gas. But was we mentioned before, they're going to have a tough time catching on because of the cost of infrastructure issues like recharging them. But despite the challenges, automakers are betting on the green technology. And, Heidi, for a peek into actually some kind of fuel futuristic cars, take a look at our gallery on CNNMoney.com. Those are some of the concept cars that are at the auto show right now. Frankly, they're pretty interesting.

COLLINS: Yes, love to know when the concept actually becomes the car, you know. Because they do have very cool ones.

ELAM: Years down the road, if ever.

COLLINS: Yes, exactly.

All right, Felicia, thank you.

Layoffs and job cuts are words that have become synonymous with the American auto industry, but how's this for a change, the American automakers are gearing up to hire. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange now with more on this.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi.

Well, all of a sudden, automakers can't make cars fast enough. GM says it may reopen some shuttered plants. Strong demand for crossovers like the Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain and Cadillac SRX as well as the Buick Lacrosse, which is a sedan, could mean more overtime and extra shifts. Hiring, in other words.

As for Chrysler, it says it will hire engineers soon. It will probably start with temp workers as so many companies often do.

And Ford is hiring 1,000 people in Michigan. Why? It's expanding production of those electric cars Felicia was just telling us about, Heidi.

COLLINS: But you've told us before, the economy's recovery really is not going to be smooth. That certainly is not a surprise, I don't think for anybody. But the automakers sort of jumping the gun on that?

LISOVICZ: Well, they're trying to change their business model. I mean, they have learned some very painful lessons. You know, they have been criticized before for acting too slowly. In fact, one well- known GM executive says this is why we haven't gained market share. You've got to roll the dice, you've got to go with the winner.

The fact is no matter what industry is, you can't be too bloated. You have to be nimble and respond to trends. The competition in the auto industry as we have seen unfold is tough. Competitors adapt quickly. If you don't act, you can count on it that your rivals, many of them from Japan, will.

But on the other hand, you know, Heidi, these aren't widgets, these are very expensive products. The danger is you make too many cars, then you have to really offload them at a loss. And losses are what we're seeing for the three major averages on Wall Street, but we've pared the losses. Right now, Alcoa shares are down about 8.5 percent. It makes aluminum, auto industry uses a lot of it.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: Sure does.

All right, Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Mark McGwire says he's sorry. The slugger now admitting what many already thought, he used steroids. But he says the juice did not help him hit homeruns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: An admission by Mark McGwire. He now says he used steroids during part of his playing career, but he said it wasn't to help him hit the ball farther. CNN's Jason Carroll has more now on McGwire coming clean.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, he racked up huge numbers, 70 homeruns in one record-breaking season, a superhuman performance that left a lot of people wondering if he was getting a boost from banned substances. Now the former all star says it's time to set the record straight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK MCGWIRE, FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ALL STAR: I've let a lot of people down. It doesn't feel good.

CARROLL (voice-over): During an emotional interview, the former slugger finally admitting what many had suspected -- he used steroids.

MCGWIRE: It was the era that we played in. I wish I never played in that era. I wish we had drug testing.

CARROLL: That era included an epic battle with Sammy Sosa, homerun race during the 1998 season that captivated the country and ended with McGwire breaking the single season record set by Roger Maris.

MCGWIRE: It's absolutely amazing. It's just -- it blows me away.

CARROLL: He made his way to the stands for an emotional moment with Maris' children, a bond that came full circle when he picked up the phone and broke the news to Maris' widow.

MCGWIRE: She was disappointed, and she has every right to be. And I couldn't tell her how much -- how so sorry I was. CARROLL: But it's what m McGwire isn't saying that's causing another controversy. While he admitted to taking the illegal drugs, he says he did it to overcome injuries from the game but would not say the drugs improved his game.

BOB COSTAS, SPORTS REPORTER: Could you have done those things? Could you have hit 70 homeruns without using steroids?

MCGWIRE: Absolutely.

COSTAS: You think so?

MCGWIRE: I truly believe so. I was given this gift by the man upstairs.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, "USA TODAY" CORRESPONDENT: There is a word for taking performance-enhancing drugs to get better from injury, and that word is it's cheating.

CARROLL: Questions have swirled around McGwire for a decade. At least one broadcaster admits he and his colleagues were suspicious at the time but had no proof.

CHARLEY STEINER, SPORTS BROADCASTER: We covered the story as best as we could. Here were these guys breaking the homerun record and they were very large.

CARROLL: In his 2005 tell-all book "Juiced" Jose Canseco says he injected McGwire with steroids. McGwire now says not true. But that same year McGwire was famously silent on the topic when testifying to Congress.

MCGWIRE: I'm not here to discuss the past, I'm here to be positive about this.

CARROLL: In terms of what's next, McGwire says he's hoping for a chance to focus on the future and his new job with the St. Louis Cardinals.

MCGWIRE: I just want to be a really good hitting coach. I have a lot to offer. I'm asking for a second chance. I hope they give it to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: McGwire says he's speaking out now so he can move forward with that job as the Cardinals' batting coach, and so far the Cardinals are standing by him -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Jason, thank you.

I'm Heidi Collins.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.