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American Morning
Site of 9/11 Terror Trial; The Strong and Fast Get Fed; Toyota Pedals Scandal; U.S. Economy Better Says Tim; Ozzy With New CD
Aired January 29, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Friday morning to you and thanks for joining us in the Most News in the Morning. It is the 29th of January.
I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
Glad you're with us. Here are the big stories we're telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
First, developing right now, the Justice Department is reportedly considering moving the 9/11 terror trials out of Manhattan. The move comes after New York's mayor said he no longer wants the trial to be held just blocks from ground zero.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is working her sources and we'll have the latest in just a moment.
ROBERTS: Just a taste of the desperation on the ground in Haiti. Absolute chaos when survivors find out that there is food to be had. Police severely outnumbered.
Our Karl Penhaul was in the middle of it all.
CHETRY: Also, Toyota desperately trying to prepare more than 5 million recalled cars and its reputation at the same time. Congress now wants the car company to appear at a hearing on Capitol Hill to explain its handling of a growing gas pedal safety issue. And with Ford and G.M. looking to lure Toyota customers to the other side, the world's largest car manufacturer finds itself challenged to restore consumer confidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the real problems with crisis communication is that if you don't act fast in clearing up the mess, the mess just gets bigger and bigger and bigger. And with this, they knew something was going on and did not handle it as rapidly as they could have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: In 10 minutes, the latest developments with the recall, and also, the toll it's taking on Toyota.
But first, a developing story this morning, the potential blow to the Obama administration. The White House is considering backing away from plans to hold the 9/11 terror trial in New York City. The news comes as the chorus of opposition has been getting louder. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg now announcing that he's changed his mind and he no longer supports the idea.
The state's governor, David Paterson, is also telling ABC that he's concerned about the price tag but also the burden that a trial would put on New Yorkers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
GOV. DAVID PATERSON (D), NEW YORK: Every time there is aloud noise during the two years of those trials, it's going to frighten people. And I think New York has been through enough.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), NEW YORK: It would be great if the federal government could find a site that didn't cost $1 billion. It is up to the federal government what kind of trial they're going to have, whether it's military or civilian trial. It's up to the government to decide where. Attorney General Holder called me and said, "Can you provide security?" I said to him, "Yes, we can. It's going to cost a lot of money."
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
CHETRY: Well, our Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House.
And, Suzanne, what are your sources telling you this morning about perhaps a change of heart as to where this will be held?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, clearly, the White House and the Justice Department is under incredible pressure here to move the site of the trial from Manhattan to some other location.
I've been speaking with senior administration officials this morning on this and they say the White House has not ordered the Justice Department to change the venue, but they are certainly thinking about whether or not it's more prudent to consider other alternatives here in light of all the concerns that we've been hearing from the politicians and those members of Congress who've sent letters to the attorney general, Eric Holder, that this would be good idea to look elsewhere perhaps.
This from a senior administration official this morning -- he told me that -- he said, "Conversations have occurred within the administration to discuss contingency options should the possibility of a trial in Lower Manhattan be foreclosed upon by Congress or locally."
Now, at the same time, Kiran, White House officials are emphasizing here that the president still agrees with the attorney general, Eric Holder, that this should be a civilian criminal court, that kind of trial, not a military tribunal, that the president has not changed his position on that.
We heard from the White House spokesman, Bill Burton, yesterday when he was asked about whether or not the president still believes that you can have this kind of trial safely and securely in a place like Manhattan.
I want you to take a listen -- well, actually not take a listen -- here is what he said in the off-camera gaggle. He said that, "The president agrees with the attorney general's opinion that -- in November -- that he and others can be litigated successfully and securely in the United States of America, just like the others have, like Richard Reid. Currently our federal jails hold hundreds of convicted terrorists, and the president's opinion has not changed on that."
But the question here is whether it should happen in Manhattan. Clearly, the administration taking a second look at that, that perhaps there are other options, other alternatives that make more sense, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. And when you talk about that, any word on what other sites might be considered?
MALVEAUX: Well, not specifically. They're not talking about particular locations, although I know that certainly, in Manhattan, local officials are looking at places like West Point or other military officials, but what administration officials are saying is that perhaps a military base would be another alternative, another option, because it would be more secure in setting up the operation and trial, there'd be less people, it'd be less congested and it would cost less money, potentially places like downtown Manhattan, New York City, not the best place if there's going to be a lot of people crowding around and the potential for greater threats. That's what New York officials are saying.
Certainly, the administration and the Justice Department are now listening. And I should you let you know, it is up to the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder, to make that decision, but certainly, the administration looking at that, and the case that everybody else is making to move it from Manhattan to somewhere else.
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us outside the White House this morning -- thanks.
ROBERTS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton making headlines for her plans or rather lack thereof in 2012. She told PBS' Tavis Smiley she is not interested in serving a full eight years as secretary of state should President Obama get re-elected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAVIS SMILEY, PBS CORRESPONDENT: Can you imagine yourself doing all four years, and, if asked, doing it for another four years?
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: No. I really can't. I mean, it is just...
SMILEY: Not to what? All four or eight?
CLINTON: The whole -- the whole eight. I mean, that would be very challenging. But, you know, I don't want to make any predictions sitting here. I'm honored to serve. I serve at the pleasure of the president, but it's a -- it's a 24/7 job. And, I think, at some point, I will be very happy to pass it on to someone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And again, Secretary Clinton ruled out another run for the presidency as well, saying that she eventually wants to spend time reading and writing and maybe teaching.
ROBERTS: Right now in Haiti, the U.S. military is scrambling to help an overflow of wounded earthquake victims. The U.S. Navy ship Comfort, a 1,000-bed floating hospital is now near capacity. Doctors have performed more than 200 surgeries on board the ship since docking up Port-au-Prince.
The U.S. is also working to protect the youngest earthquake victims. The Haitian prime minister says child trafficking is becoming one of the biggest problems in the aftermath of the earthquake.
And it is survival of the fittest on the streets these days. Desperate, starving Haitians risking being trampled to death for food. The government attempted its first large scale food handout -- and Karl Penhaul was in the middle of it all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The floodgate bursts open, running and climbing -- food for only the fastest, and the fittest.
Haitian government workers tossed down bags of rice, beans and oil -- the hungry swarm up the sides of the truck.
"People were hungry before this, and on top of that all, this has happened, all their belongings run to the rubble. It's normal," she says.
But it's far from normal. At this aid point in downtown Port- au-Prince, a government agency is distributing supplies to people with no more regard than if they were animals.
"The way they distributing the aid is no good. They are making people suffer. Haitian people are always suffering," she says.
Nine trucks, 2,000 rations, no control.
Strong men carry off full bags. Hungry women rip at each other for the scraps.
Not every food handout ends like this. But it's clear Haiti's hungry are on the brink.
"It's painful for me to see the country where I was born and the people suffering like this," he says.
Haitian police who did little to control the mob tell them the food is gone. Hungry mouths asked when the next load may arrive, the cop's response, clear out or they'll get batons and tear gas.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Port-au-Prince.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Such as the situation on the streets, and tonight, Larry King is devoting his show to the smallest victims of Haiti. Find out what's being done to protect them from child trafficking. Plus, what you need to know if you want to adopt a child from Haiti.
"LARRY KING" tonight, 9:00 Eastern.
And on the special edition of "AC 360," see the strength of the survivors, the hope of the people, and how individual acts of heroism are helping to rescue an entire nation. Anderson Cooper hosts "CNN Heroes: Saving Haiti" tonight, 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
CHETRY: Meantime, at nine minutes past the hour, we check with our Jacqui Jeras. She's tracking extreme weather for us this morning.
Hey, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. Yes, we're still watching that storm in the southern plains and now it's moving into the Tennessee Valley. About 150,000 people are waking up this morning without power in Oklahoma. We had anywhere between a quarter of an inch to an inch and a quarter of icy accumulations. So, many problems and that's going to continue as temperatures stay below freezing there.
Storm is on the move and we're getting that freezing rain now, as you see it on the radar, across parts of Arkansas into Tennessee. Memphis starting to report just some light rain, but that's going to change over to some freezing rain. And really that I-40 corridor is going to continue to be the big focus of the icy and snowy weather for today.
Take a look also at what's going on the southern tier of the storm, down here across parts of Texas and Louisiana, a ground stop at both Houston Hobby and Intercontinental because of those storms -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Jacqui, thanks so much. We look forward to seeing you later this hour with a further update on all of that.
Well, the Ozman cometh to CNN. I sat down with rock icon Ozzy Osbourne who's out with a new autobiography that is vintage Ozzy, brutally open and honest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Are you surprised that Sharon stayed with you for as long as she did?
OZZY OSBOURNE, ROCK ICON: Absolutely. I mean, she's -- she is my baby. She's so -- she's...
ROBERTS: Because at one point, you tried to kill your baby, and you were strangling her and you ended up in jail...
(CROSSTALK)
OSBOURNE: She tried to kill me more than once, too. She did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Don't miss part two of the interview at 8:25 Eastern here on the Most News in the Morning.
CHETRY: Plus, we're also following the latest on the massive Toyota recall. Our Deb Feyerick is digging for answers. What should you do if you own one of these cars and is there a fix in the works?
It's 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
If you drive a Toyota or invest in the company, chances are that you're having an awfully tough week. The world's number one automaker still has no fix for more than 5 million cars with defective gas pedals.
CHETRY: Shareholders are getting sapped and Toyota stock took a 10 percent hit over six days. But then, what about whether or not you own one of these -- what are you supposed to do?
Our Deb Feyerick is tracking the latest development in Toyota's -- it's ironic, their branding message: moving forward. Right now, they're clearly trying to backpedal a little bit and figure out what's going on with this -- with this defect.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. There's so much uncertainty out there. And that's what I think a lot of people are dealing with right now. But the dilemma is, you know, they warn millions of people that the cars they're driving maybe unsafe. But the catch is: there's nothing can do about it right now because Toyota is still trying to figure out how to fix that problem and the cars that are on the road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): As soon as you got word of the recall from Toyota headquarters, Maryland Toyota dealer Ben Messier and his sales team went into high-gear, figuring out which cars might have the faulty gas pedal.
BEN MESSIER, TOYOTA DEALER: The CTS pedals, which are the affected pedals, will have a one inch by one inch silver tab on the top left hand side of the accelerator arm.
You look down on top of this accelerator arm, here's a little silver plaque. That little silver plaque right there says CTS on it.
FEYERICK: CTS disputes any problem with its accelerators, saying they were built to Toyota's design specifications.
Messier meantime says the message from above was clear: protect Toyota's reputation.
MESSIER: Toyota mentioned to me, right now, our first concern is safeguarding the brand, making sure Toyota gets in front of this, takes care of their customers, we'll worry about selling cars tomorrow.
FEYERICK: But now, with millions of cars affected, dealers in New York and New Jersey appear to have closed rank.
(on camera): We called more than a dozen Toyota dealerships, even went to visit several in person -- all of them told us they were not authorized to speak about Toyota's problems and instead referred to a central information number out of California.
(voice-over): When we called, a Toyota spokesman who handles quality design described the latest recalls as a customer satisfaction problem, telling CNN, Toyota's strategy has been to be "transparent and truthful" about an accelerator problem they don't yet know how to fix but which, they say, is caused by an "environmental condition."
But Toyota has not been as open as they claim, says marketing specialists, Richard Laermer.
RICHARD LAEMER, BRANDING EXPERT: Well one of the real problems with crisis communication is that if you don't act fast in clearing up the mess, the mess gets bigger and bigger. And with this, they knew something was going on and they did not handle it as rapidly as they could have.
FEYERICK: Now we did try to call Toyota, we spoke to a spokesman there, they said they are close to having a new pedal design. The Wall Street Journal reporting today that they may have a small part that they can use to retrofit it.
But they're not sure how long it would take to manufacture it. Or in fact how long it would take to install these into millions of vehicles. So, and we also spoke, I should mention, we tried to call the customer service number, and when we did we got a lot of information that basically just sort of tossed us back to the Web site, but take a quick look.
TELEPHONE OPERATOR: For more information, press 3.
FEYERICK: Okay let's see if we can get a real person.
TELEPHONE OPERATOR: We are experiencing unusually high call volumes.
FEYERICK: Okay, I'm going to try again to speak to a representative.
TELEPHONE OPERATOR: Please contact your local Toyota dealership. And ask to speak the relationship manager.
FEYERICK: They are telling me to call a local dealership.
TELEPHONE OPERATOR: Otherwise we look forward to your call during normal business hours.
FEYERICK: Okay, well, they are supposed to be open, but now they are telling me that I should call back during normal business hours. But technically they should have been open a couple of hours ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Wow and you said when you talked to the dealership, they are saying talk to the company...
FEYERICK: That's exactly right, because again, they can't say - if they were able to say, look, we got the part, take it to the car manufacturer, take it to a dealer, take it to a mechanic, that one be one thing. But they cannot do that and so therefore, the dealers are trying to be as helpful as they can be. Referring if to Toyota central, Toyota headquarters, Toyota headquarters saying, no, go to your dealer.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Crisis management experts say they got to get a lot more information out there or it's going to hurt the company big time.
FEYERICK: You know what the one information they need, what do we do? How do we do it? How quickly can we fix this?
CHETRY: And Wall Street Journalist reporting that there may be a breakthrough in that right?
FEYERICK: Exactly, a small part that they may be able to either retrofit the pedal, or they may be able to replace the pedal, but again, then you have to train people to insert the part.
ROBERTS: And it has not gotten government approval, either, this fix according to Wall Street.
FEYERICK: And that's another part - that's exactly right.
CHETRY: Yeah, to get government approval, you got to make it and then you got to get it out to the dealers.
FEYERICK: Other than that it's going pretty well. CHETRY: All right, thanks Deb.
ROBERTS: Thanks for covering that for us, Deb.
The CNN exclusive coming up. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner defends his handling of the bailouts, bonuses, and what happen to AIG. Why did they get paid 100 - why did their clients get paid 100 cents on the dollar, when everybody else was taking it back. Eighteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News In The Morning. President Obama reportedly scrubbing NASA's next mission to the moon. Reports say that when the President releases his budget next week, there will be no money to fund the program. And that returning astronauts to the moon by 2020. But NASA is going to be getting roughly an additional $6 billion over the next five years.
Some of that will go to develop commercial rockets but could take astronauts into orbit after the retirement of America's aging shuttle fleet.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans is with us Minding Your Business, she joins us now with more of her exclusive sit down with treasury secretary Tim Geithner. Good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, I know it was just the day after he got that grilling on The Hill. Where so many people were questioning him and second guessing some of the decisions that the government made for the AIG bailout. He said he will carry the burden for those decisions forever. But that he and his team are proud and confident in the choices that they made. So really strongly defending himself.
And he tried to turn the page to what the President wants to talk about, and that is jobs. He talked about what is the first priority for 2010 of this administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY OF UNITED STATES: Well, this is the core challenge we face as a country. And the first priority, the overwhelming priority we have. And that's why it's so important that the Senate move to pass the target instead of the measures to help get small business to expand, investing in clean energy technologies. Help improve our infrastructure, those types of things. Because we need to make sure this economy is growing again, growing fast enough that people get back to work. That is the overwhelming imperative.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And so how well is the economy growing? How stable is the system? Where do we go from here? How is the crisis behind us? This is what he said about what he is expecting for the economy and the foundation here right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEITHNER: The economy today is in dramatically stronger shape. You know, we kind of been growing now for six months after shrinking for a year and a half. We are just to the point where we see businesses starting to invest and grow again. With that will come greater confidence, it'll come, you know, faster growth in incomes and that will help restore some of the damage, the trust and confidence the people are left with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Trust and confidence, I mean this is the treasury secretary that spoke - that has a problem with trust and confidence this week. I mean you read the paper, the embattled treasury secretary. A weakened Timothy Geithner.
ROBERTS: How's he handing the pressure?
ROMANS: He says the pressure - he can take the pressure. He can take the political heat. It's the midterm election year. He's been on The Hill many, many times. But he's just trying to stay focused. And be an effective leader for what the President wants to get done. So really trying to deflect a lot of this criticism that's still thrown around him about AIG, and he says, you know, people are rightfully angry, rightfully angry, but he said his -- the political heat that he is taking right now is nothing compared to what the American people are going through with joblessness and the like. And he wanted to make sure to put that in perspective.
ROBERTS: Good deal, thanks Christine.
ROMANS: Yes.
ROBERTS: A long trip for you yesterday?
ROMANS: Yeah, long trip.
ROBERTS: Good that you got that though, congratulations.
ROMANS: Is it Friday? Yes, it's Friday, good.
ROBERTS: It is, it's Friday. Take the next two days off?
CHETRY: Easy -
ROMANS: All right thanks.
ROBERTS: 23 minutes after the hour.
Ozzy Osbourne cheats death in a drug fueled, booze soaked, rock and roll bio. We will hear more from the Prince of Darkness coming up after the break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: 25 minutes past the hour right now. It's time for an "am" original, something you'll see only on American Morning. He had a hit reality show, a variety show, and now a new book, but Ozzy Osbourne was, is, and forever will be a rock god.
ROBERTS: He lived the lifestyle to its max, and actually beyond that. In fact he help invent the lifestyle. And somehow he is still here. Luckily, so is his wife Sharon. I had the chance to sit down with an older and wiser Ozzy, 25 years after our first encounter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Are you surprised that Sharon stayed with you for...
OZZY OSBOURNE, ROCK STAR: Absolutely, I mean, she - she's my baby. She's so sweet. She's -
ROBERTS: Well because at one point you tried to kill your baby.
OSBOURNE: Yes.
ROBERTS: You were strangling her.
OSBOURNE: She tried to kill me more than once, too.
ROBERTS: Imagine...
OSBOURNE: You know, I mean, it's a zany time of our lives, but the reality, that's where it took me, I ain't a blackout, I tried to strangle her, I was told. I can't remember, ask still don't remember. It's not like I tried to kill her or something. I woke newspaper jail. That ain't very cool. That ain't very nice. I have regrets, but if I could change anything I would change that.
ROBERTS: I was interested to read and there is a photograph of you with Paul McCartney - where you say basically...
OSBOURNE: I met my good -- when I met sir Paul McCartney, it was one of the highlights of my life.
ROBERTS: Yes, you would be hard pressed to look back at the history of your music and find the Beatles influence.
OSBOURNE: Melody, I said to him, you know what, I love you guys. And then you solo. He's so -- he has done some amazing songs in his life. Earth-shattering songs in my opinion. And I said, he said I don't see the connection between your music and the Beatles. You always had the greatest melodies. He's probably in his 60's - 60 - I don't know.
ROBERTS: Well you're not far behind.
OSBOURNE: I know but he's like a 4 hour set. I mean, 40 songs and I'm going - he doesn't even stop for a drink of water, you know. How does he do it? He sings perfect. I mean I wish that I could get up and sing like that every night. I couldn't - even in my prime I could not do a four-hour show like that, you know.
ROBERTS: But here you are, 61 years old, you have a new c.d. coming out this summer, you've obviously still though - got a lot of gas left in the tank.
OSBOURNE: Oh yeah, I mean, it's the greatest love affair of my life. You know and to see -- to be able to -- coming from humble beginnings and giving people a reason for getting up that day, I mean, I want to go in stores and I sign the books and things, and it's -- some kids, you know, like my mother passed away and your album got me through this. That's really so gratifying thing to, you know -- I am so grateful for these kids.
ROBERTS: Yeah, to be able to --
(CROSSTALK)
OSBOURNE: I get up to the stage. I mean I'm know and a father and son come to see -- it's just amazing.
ROBERTS: Did you think that your musical career would last as long as this?
OSBOURNE: No.
ROBERTS: I think it surprise -- I don't think the Rolling Stones knew they would still be doing it.
OSBOURNE: I am just -- I am just -- I am just in shock. I did not think it would last more than a couple years, you know.
ROBERTS: Remember, remember, Pete Townsand wrote the lyric "I hope I die before I get old."
OSBOURNE: Yeah, and then you get old and then you don't want to die.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And it is kind of amazing when you think of what - everything that he put into his body that he managed to live to the ripe old age of 61. And then while he obviously mumbles a bit. And there's obviously some image over the years, he's in remarkably good shape.
CHETRY: Yes, he looked great. He was walking through the Newsroom, he still - as he said he came from humble beginnings. But he just really a humble guy. He was just wondering through the news room with some of our staffers, no entourage.
ROBERTS: And we've kind of got a before and after picture here too.
CHETRY: You do?
ROBERTS: I first met him in 1985, in Rio de Jionero. Got to love the mullet there. He was playing at the Rock and Rio Festival, January 1985 and then we got together again and sort of recaptured the spirit, 25 years later. Both looking a little different there.
CHETRY: Not that much different though. You got your spirit is still the same. Look at you guys.
ROBERTS: Yes - 1985...
CHETRY: That's great.
ROBERTS: ... was actually a very fun year.
CHETRY: Congratulations.
Now it's half past the hour. We will check our top stories.
Happening right now in London, former Prime Minister Tony Blair appearing before Great Britain's Iraq inquiry explaining why he followed the U.S. into war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: September 11th happened. I never regarded September 11th as an attack on America. I regarded it as an attack on us. And I said we would stand shoulder to shoulder with them, we did in Afghanistan, and I was determined to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And a former British ambassador to Washington told an earlier hearing that an agreement had been signed in blood by President Bush and Blair during a meeting in Crawford, Texas, a year before the invasion.
ROBERTS: The White House may be pulling a complete 180 when it comes to holding the 9/11 terror trials in New York City, CNN learning that the White House is considering alternative venues after losing it's biggest supporter, the city's mayor Michael Bloomberg. Officials say a decision about possible alternate sites will be made by the Justice Department.
CHETRY: And she's not stopping any potential terrorists right now. A man from Brooklyn caught this TSA agent napping at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Sunday. He said he snapped the cell phone pic and then posted it online because he was just outraged by it.
The TSA caught wind of it and the unidentified agent has been reassigned to desk duty during an investigation.
ROBERTS: All this week we have been shining a spotlight on the $862 billion economic stimulus plan and asking has the money been well spent?
CHETRY: And if the stimulus has a face, our Gerri Willis has met him and she's here with the story this morning. Good morning, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, guys. That's right, whether you think the stimulus spending has been wasteful or good for the economy, for some people it's been a real help to their bottom line. We met a man in Ohio who says his stimulus job came at the right time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: These days, Aaron Ogden is counting his blessings. This time last year he was facing unemployment and mounting debt.
AARON OGDEN: There were times when I couldn't even mow the grass because I could not afford it.
WILLIS: You could not afford the gas?
OGDEN: Yes. I had more important things, to make sure this bill was taken care of.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were many nights we would just sit down and cry.
WILLIS: After being laid off from his job at American Standard where he made bathtubs, Aaron spent 15 months looking for work.
WILLIS (on camera): Why did it take 15 months?
OGDEN: Because all of the jobs, businesses in the area, they are not doing well.
WILLIS (voice-over): But today in a county where the unemployment rate is 13 percent, this Ohio resident is the face of the federal stimulus job.
OGDEN: What I am doing right now is packing.
WILLIS: What does that mean?
OGDEN: I am blowing insulation up into this cabin.
WILLIS: Aaron was hired after a local weatherization program received a $2.3 million stimulus grant.
OGDEN: I like what I am doing because I like to help people out.
WILLIS: The program helps out poor and elderly residents by insulating their homes. Aaron says he's earning a good wage and learning new skills he hopes will help him stay employed in a changing economy.
CAROL BRETZ, DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY OF COLUMBIANA CITY: Northeast Ohio was heavily dependent on manufacturing sector jobs.
WILLIS: Carol Bretz says the problems in northeast Ohio started well before the recession when local steel mills began to close, leaving behind a barren landscape.
BRETZ: It created a ripple effect. You did not just lose basic manufacturing jobs, you lost jobs in industries producing other products for the mills.
WILLIS: Ten new jobs and two new trucks will be paid for by the weatherization grant, and the extra help will allow these crews to insulate hundreds more homes and help tight budgets in tight times stretch just a little further.
DAVID KASTOR, DIRECTOR, WEATHERIZATION PROJECT: People are able to do more with the money instead of choosing between heating their home or buying food.
WILLIS (on camera): What happens when the stimulus money goes away?
KASTOR: Well, if it goes away and there's not enough income to keep everybody employed, of course we will have to have layoffs.
WILLIS: A reality Aaron is well aware of. But for now, he is content, describing in a word what the stimulus meant for him.
OGDEN: A blessing, because I am able to take care of my family now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: So the stimulus dollars spent on that Ohio weatherization, $2.3 million, and the results, ten new jobs created, 12 jobs retained, and 400 homes that will be weatherized, and the improvements to those homes will last long after the stimulus money runs out and will continue to help those folks save money on their energy bills.
As for jobs, they won't be permanent, probably, and of course even with the jobs created, it's no match for the thousands of lost manufacturing jobs in that region. But Aaron is just happy he is learning new skills and he's optimistic he will be able to use those skills to find more work in the future. A really great family.
ROBERTS: What a sweet soul he is.
WILLIS: He is lovely.
ROBERTS: Great story.
WILLIS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: This just in, new GDP numbers came out just moments ago. And our Christine Romans is here with the eye-popping details.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's 5.7 percent economic growth for the fourth quarter. That's more than a lot of people were expecting. The GDP is the number that measures the output of the American economy. When this number is positive, it means your economy is growing. When it's negative, it means people are being laid off and the economy is shrinking.
For two quarters in a row the American economy has grown, and that suggests that it is coming out of that horrible, horrible great recession and starting to show great growth.
In the third quarter, growth was 2.2 percent, and in the fourth quarter, 5.7 percent, much better than many economists were expecting, and the fastest growth in the American economy since 2003.
There's another number I am trying to dig into, and that is wages and benefits for 2009. That was a very small increase in wages and benefits. So if you are sitting here listening to me saying the economy is growing, why am I not making any more money? That's exactly what the numbers are telling you.
When we look at where there was growth in the fourth quarter, inventory investment, exports, what we are all spending, spending a little bit more money, housing, also in autos. You are seeing a little more economic activity, and that's coming across at 5.7 percent growth in the economy for the fourth quarter.
ROBERTS: Big number.
ROMANS: And I am so glad to not to come out and tell you how much the economy shrank in the last number.
ROBERTS: We can't tell you how happy we are too.
CHETRY: And hopefully we will see those unemployment numbers start shrinking as well.
ROMANS: And a warning, because John had said, in the third quarter we did see that number was revised down. It was a big number and then growth was more modest. So this number will be revised a couple of times, just as a warning there.
WILLIS: It's great news for consumers out there. I think that's a real shocker on the positive side. It means that at some point jobs will have to expand.
CHETRY: We were talking jobs, actually. Thanks to both of you, by the way.
Coming up next, what is the best way to create new jobs? Our money panel will join us live in just a moment.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 40 minutes past the hour right now.
And President Obama back in campaign mode. He will be in Baltimore in just a few hours, and he's pitching his plan to create jobs. He will announce new tax incentives for businesses to hire workers and also to increase wages. Our money panel is weighing in this morning. We have with us Lakshman Achuthan with the economic research cycle institute, former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, and our own Christine Romans. Thanks to all of you being with us.
So let's start with this new GDP numbers that came out. What does it show you, Christine, when we talk about 5.7 percent growth?
ROMANS: It shows me the economy is not on the ropes any more, that there is growth happening in different parts of the economy, and it shows me that we're finally talking about an economy moving forward like it's supposed to. This is above trend growth. What is trend growth?
LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, ECONOMIC ANALYST: Last expansion it was the weakest on record, over two percent. So it's great to be above trend growth because we have ground to make up. What this number shows you is that back in the string, it was not long ago, six months ago, people were talking depression.
We've had since the first quarter of 2009 well over a double digit swing in growth for the economy, from minus 6.4, to what is it plus 5.7?
ROMANS: It may look better than it actually is for the average worker.
ELIOT SPITZER, FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR: Yes, this has been a bungee jump as we knew it would be. The problem is wage growth is the slowest in history, and job creation structurally over the long haul is a disaster, and that's what we need to think about.
This is a lot of asset appreciation. Those that own assets will at the top of the income spectrum will do fine because things come back in terms of value. Very little job creation, and wage growth is still basically trending in the wrong direction. Housing median income has been down for decades...
ROMANS: But 5.7 percent of the growth in the economy is important. It means that we're not in a great recession anymore.
SPITZER: Yes, we are not in a free fall.
ROMANS: It doesn't mean if you don't have a job you feel any better.
ACHUTHAN: And to be clear, I don't think everybody thought this. You had -- in April we had G-20 meetings, Davos meetings, all this depression talk, right, and here we are we are at 5.7 percent GDP.
Wages are not come back yet because there are 7 million people looking for jobs.
SPITZER: And there is competition for overseas so that long term wage growth in the U.S. has been stagnant for years now, and getting out of that cycle is the imperative. ACHUTHAN: Absolutely, but let's dice this thing. 2010 is a good year because the business cycle is now your friend, because it's not 2008.
(CROSSTALK)
SPITZER: Good news for those that own assets who will see them appreciate, not if you're looking for a job.
ACHUTHAN: No, you are going to see jobs growth here and now. It's not a recovery without that.
CHETRY: And the president is trying to help that situation when it comes to jobs growth. He talked about it a lot at the state of the union and he came up with some proposals, one of them a $33 billion package of tax breaks aimed at encouraging getting those small banks to lend again to small businesses that hire two-thirds of our workers.
So, how is that going to help in your opinion?
ACHUTHAN: He is greasing the wheel. The wheel you are greasing is in virtuous cycle of the business cycle revving to the upside. Companies are not going to hire somebody unless demand is beating down the door, and now they are. So the stimulus efforts on the margin facilitate the decision to hire.
SPITZER: It's like pushing a piece of string. It helps, but minimally, and not as much as you want. What we need to do longer term in infrastructure, idea, innovation. We need to clone Steve Jobs, ten more Microsofts. Those are the sorts of technology sector companies that will create jobs and generate demand here at home and production here, not overseas. Otherwise it's all-for-naught.
CHETRY: This year it's the iPad, and next year it's cloning Steve Jobs.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: But one of the things he did talk about was infrastructure and the new superfast railroads, trying to invest in that more. Are we going to see the stimulus and this jobs bill tackle that?
ROMANS: It's so massive, the stimulus. There are parts of it, high-speed rail-laying, broadband connectivity weight out in the rural areas, places that have never been able to have it. I mean, some of the things that we're doing that barely get any headlines are really going to be life-changing in some parts of the country. We don't know what those investors...
SPITZER: And the other thing, on an energy front I would say build 50 nukes a year so we can break our dependants on foreign oil bring that energy cycle to a very different conclusion we can do it in a way that is better for CO2...
CHETRY: You mean nuclear plants, right? SPITZER: Nuclear plant, this is something the environmental community I think is torn on this one. But nukes are good from CO2 we have to deal with disposal but that would change so many of the capital flows that destroyed our economy.
ROMANS: So we have to have trained nuclear engineers do you think?
ACHUTHAN: Oh absolutely, absolutely but there is two time frames here, there's the here and now. And the business cycle is your friend here and now, and the old school jobs are coming back right now and it's much stronger and much more reliable than any short-term stimulus job. The stimulus and these other long term efforts these set the playing field for our economy against the world later.
SPITZER: Can I cross-examine you for a little bit.
ACHUTHAN: Yes.
SPITZER: Before we're on camera you were saying and it's very eloquent and very powerful the business cycle...
ROMANS: An attorney. Once an attorney, always an attorney.
ACHUTHAN: More volatile.
SPITZER: Getting more volatile...
ACHUTHAN: Yes.
SPITZER: Job growth is slow through each one.
ACHUTHAN: Yes.
SPITZER: The convergence of those two trends is very hazardous long term program.
ACHUTHAN: Very hazardous long term and the punch line on this where I am very sympathetic to your tone, is that we lost seven million jobs and we have 10 percent unemployment and we're not going to repair that. It's very unlikely that we will repair that before the next recession. That's the problem.
ROMANS: Oh, Lakshman.
CHETRY: One quick thought -- one quick thought before we go because we got a lot more people here and I want to hear what you -- do you believe that this administration and the people that are in charge of helping all of this come together have learned the lessons of why this happened in the first place and will prevent a future 2008?
ACHUTHAN: No. I'm sorry. This has been going on for over a century, ok. Where -- I mean, it's an illusion that Washington or policy makers can control the business cycle. When you have a free market economy, the Achilles' heel of a free market economy is that it brings with it fluctuations which sometimes are recession, especially when there is big shenanigans.
SPITZER: Ditto that, ditto that.
CHETRY: All right, good we've got to leave it there.
ROMAN: The same people fixing are the people who been in charge for 20 years.
SPITZER: Yes.
CHETRY: Thanks to all of you, Christine Romans, Governor Eliot Spitzer as well as Lakshman Achuthan.
ACHUTHAN: Thank you.
CHETRY: I appreciate your thoughts this morning.
Coming up at 8:00 tonight, by the way, Campbell Brown is going to be looking into how funding student's tuitions with stimulus dollars is working. Also at 10:00 AC360 returns to the site of the very first stimulus project, the $500 million bridge in Missouri. So did the project make a difference to the local economy?
Also you can get more in depth information on everything we've uncover by going to CNN.com/stimulus -- John.
ROBERTS: Rain, ice and snow spreads a lot of winter misery across the midsection of the country, the southern plains, travel delays expected in the northeast as well.
Our Jacqui Jeras has got her eye on all of this and she's coming right up. Its 47 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Fifty minutes after the hour. You want to know what it's like to be driving in Oklahoma this morning? Well, here is a real time look, thanks to our friends at KWTV for this picture live dash-cam shot where it's like freezing rain now and 25 degrees.
Later on today, some more snow. The high is only going to be 26 degrees. You've got to be careful out there on those roads.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: They are awfully slippery.
Our Jacqui Jeras is monitoring the extreme weather across the country and we know what it's like in Oklahoma, but there are other problems around the country, too -- Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh yes, yes that storm is heading eastward now and we are real concerned about what's taking place at this hour across parts of central Arkansas, around the Little Rock area and this little solid area of pink along I-40 that is some accumulating freezing rain. And we're starting to get reports around a tenth of an inch or so already.
We've seen some incredible freezing rain numbers with this storm. So this is how much ice has been accumulating. Oklahoma has the worst of it, at about an inch and a half. Oklahoma City we just show those pictures there, you had about three quarters of an inch of freezing rain. And all it takes about a quarter of an inch to start bringing down power lines and trees.
So that kind of help put you -- put that into perspective and we know that there are about 150,000 people waking up without power this morning.
As that storm moves to the east, we're going to see some of that snow begin to accumulate too especially in northern Arkansas, southern Missouri, heading into Kentucky and Tennessee today and then on into the Carolinas as well as Virginia; 6-12 inches in the heaviest swath. And the ice accumulations today on the southern end of that are going to be a little closer to maybe a quarter of an inch to a half of an inch in places like Memphis and over into Nashville area.
Heavy rain on the south side of the system, east of the Houston area right now. We've got ground stops which are in effect for the intercontinental as well as Hobby (ph). So it's going to be rough going for all those travelers across the southern tier of the U.S. -- John and Kiran back to you.
CHETRY: Jacqui thanks so much.
All right, well still ahead, we're going to be talking more about the million plus left homeless in Haiti and what one man is doing to try to make a difference.
It's 52 past the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning.
Fifty-five minutes past the hour right. This week's CNN Hero has actually been here before.
ROBERTS: We honored Tom Henderson and his organization back in 2008 for helping thousands of people who have displaced by disasters and war. Now he is back and he's answering the call in Haiti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: More than 1 million people have been left homeless. That's 1 in 9 Haitians. Hundreds of thousands now live in makeshift camps, in tents built with whatever they can find. Many don't even have that.
That's what motivates 2008 CNN Hero Tom Henderson and his Shelter Box team. Since 2001, they've helped thousands of disaster victims around the globe by thinking inside the box. TOM HENDERSON, CNN HERO 2008: It really describes itself. It's shelter in a box; prepackaged aid delivered in a box. Blankets, cooking pots and pans, a ten-person tent.
Twelve minutes after the Haiti earthquake, the Shelter Box crew sprang into action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plan is to move as many boxes into Haiti as we can.
The logistical challenge is getting the boxes from here into Haiti. It has been an absolutely nightmare. Infrastructures virtually non-existent.
CHETRY: When boxes finally arrived last week, the impact was immediate. For Henderson, that's the whole idea.
HENDERSON: The people lost everything they have in Haiti. It's all about shelter, warmth, comfort and dignity. That's what Shelter Box is.
CHETRY: By the end of January, more than 7,000 boxes will be in Haiti, housing up to 70,000 people. But those at Shelter Box know there is much more to be done.
HENDERSON: There are thousands of people dying every day, and that's what drives us forward. This is not a job for us, it's a passion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: If you would like some more information on how to help the survivors of the Haiti earthquake, you can go to cnn.com/heroes.
Fifty-seven minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: Continue the conversation on today's top stories. Go to our blog at cnn.com/amFix. Let us know what you think about everything that you have seen here this morning.
That's going to wrap it up for us. We'll see you back here again bright and early on Monday morning. Have yourself a great weekend.
CHETRY: That's right. Meanwhile, the news continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts now -- hi Kyra.
