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No Job, Money Running Out; Punishing Congressman Rangel; A Tweet From Tiger Woods; Taiwanese TV Station Pokes Fun at U.S. Outrage Over Pat-Downs
Aired November 18, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: So what you have is the president now -- good morning, everyone. What you were just watching is the president clearly pushing for action now on the new START agreement, the nuclear arms agreement with Russia.
Right now we're at a place where, up until maybe yesterday, maybe the day before yesterday, it appeared that things were on track for moving forward with a debate and a vote on ratifying that treaty, but, yesterday, we learned from Jon Kyl, Senator Jon Kyl, that he would like a bit of a delay on negotiations, on conversations, on debate about that treaty until the new Congress comes into place in January. Clearly, that would make things a lot more difficult moving forward on that treaty.
We will continue to follow developments on that story -- it's an important one -- right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris in New York.
And we begin with news happening right now.
GM execs ring the opening bell on Wall Street, then watch GM's brand new stock zoom.
A House ethics panel is weighing punishment for Congressman Charlie Rangel at this hour. We expect the longtime representative from Harlem to speak. His remarks coming up live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All 33 of Chile's famous miners are in the United States today. The rescued men are headed to Hollywood. They will be special guests on "CNN Heroes," airing Thanksgiving night.
President Obama is meeting next with the Democratic leaders of Congress. The Republican leadership was invited for what was dubbed the "Slurpee Summit," but canceled. That meeting will happen later this month. We expect tape of today's meeting this hour.
Out of work in America. The number of people filing for first- time unemployment benefits ticked up last week. That's according to new figures out this morning.
The Labor Department says initial claims for jobless benefits rose by 2,000 to 439,000. Overall, the number has been hovering in that range for about a year now. Economists say it needs to drop below 400,000 to have a significant effect on the jobless rate.
Millions of you who are out of work are closely watching what's happening right now on Capitol Hill. A bill introduced by two House Democrats would extend unemployment benefits by three months. That would keeping four million people from falling off the rolls and running out of benefits. But the bill has a price tag of $12.5 billion, and that could make it a difficult sell.
Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash is following this story on the Hill for us.
And Dana, why the delay? Bottom-line this for us. What is the holdup in extending these benefits?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you that the legislation and the information about it you just put up, Democrats say, is a compromise. They say that they wanted to do this for an entire year, and that they're trying to at least get these benefits extended through the holidays, through February.
The holdup is, Tony, what you and I have talked about for months and months and months, and that is a difference in philosophy, frankly. The Republicans say, for the most part, they're not opposed to extending these benefits. They just want to pay for them. They don't want this money to add to the deficit.
Democrats say no, this is emergency spending, these should not be paid for. And therein lies the difference.
Now, Republicans feel that they have the election results on their side, where they feel that many voters said stop spending money that we don't have, and so they feel even more emboldened right now. But, basically, this vote, which we do expect to happen later in the House today, it's going to need two-thirds majority to pass, and Democrats and Republicans simply don't think that's going to happen.
HARRIS: So you're saying it may not pass in the Senate. And the bottom line, is this debate over how to pay for it?
BASH: The debate is absolutely how to pay for it. There's no question about it.
We do not think it is likely to pass in the House, because this kind of vote happened earlier in the summer and it didn't pass, the one that needed two-thirds majority. It is a little bit curious, though, Tony, I have to tell you, that the House Democrats still have a big majority, that they decided to do it this way.
Effectively, what they're trying to do is prevent Republicans from offering an alternative. They didn't have to do like this.
They could have done it sort of through regular order, so to speak, and cast it with the votes that they still have on the Democratic side in the House. The Senate is a whole different issue. It is still very, very difficult to see this getting through the Senate. So, ultimately, the answer to the questions that people out there have who are on unemployment and whether or not they're going to get it extended, it seems very, very unlikely at this point. Possible, but unlikely.
HARRIS: Boy. OK, unlikely.
Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, for us.
Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.
BASH: Thanks.
HARRIS: Here's what some of you are saying about the benefits extension on Facebook. A lot of you are commenting on the 99ers, those about to run out of the 99 combined weeks of state and federal unemployment benefits currently available.
One Facebook user says, "This will be another game of chess in Congress using us as the pawns. What about the six million 99ers who have fallen off the rolls? We don't count and we will be ignored yet again."
"I need to keep a roof over my head and food on the table. Happy holidays indeed."
Joseph says, "Enough is enough. Stop this craziness. Get off your butts and take a job. At least you will be contributing to society and the economy. Ninety-nine weeks is more than enough."
Ouch.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Time to go "Cross Country" right now, pictures and news from around the nation. We start in San Francisco.
Hundreds of students clash with police. The trouble started when the protesters surged toward the police line. Police ended up using pepper spray. Students were protesting a proposal to raise fees and change retirement benefits for employees.
In Prince George's County, Virginia, police have a clever way to warn people about theft during the holiday season. They're issuing "gotcha" cards to people who leave their cars unlocked or leave valuables in plain view. The idea is to show people how quickly thieves can strike.
And in Deland, Florida, a veteran skydiver goes off course and lands in a tree. Firefighters had to use a ladder truck to reach the skydiver, Al Griffiths. He wasn't hurt except for his pride, maybe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALL GRIFFITHS, SKYDIVER: There's just a combination of really bad luck, where I land and how I land in the trees and stuff like that. It's embarrassing as heck, and you'll be ribbed for it. But that's the worst part.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes, OK.
New York Congressman Charlie Rangel speaks out ahead of a hearing next hour to recommend his punishment. The Ethics Committee found Rangel guilty of multiple violations of House rules.
Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar joining us now.
And Brianna, what is the congressman saying this morning?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, he's sort of giving us a preview of what he's going to say at this sanctions hearing, is what they call it. It's basically sentencing.
As you know, he boycotted -- Charles Rangel boycotted his trial, but he's not going to be boycotting this hearing that starts at 12:00 Eastern. And he's actually going to have 30 minutes to speak.
And his publicist tells me that he's going to use that time. So we know that it's going to be dramatic.
And here's a little bit of that preview. We caught up with him in the hall a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: I want to make it abundantly clear that no matter how many mistakes I've made and how apologetic I am, the question was asked of counsel, was there evidence of corruption? And when he responded, "No, there's no evidence of corruption or self-enrichment," and that I was overzealous and sloppy --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So he's talking there about what the prosecution, the Ethics Committee lawyer, said in his trial, which is that he didn't believe there was evidence of corruption. But what Rangel didn't say there, Tony, was that that very same lawyer also said sloppiness isn't a defense, and he still believes that there are violations of House rules. And of course the Ethics Committee agreed with him on that -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
Brianna, if you would, take us through the possible punishments.
KEILAR: There's a number of possibilities. The most severe would be expulsion from the House of Representatives. This is something that would require a two-thirds vote by the entire House. It's seen as very unlikely.
And then there's this concept of a censure. This is a pretty serious rebuke.
It would require Rangel to go into the well of the House of Representatives, right there at the front of the House of Representatives, and be verbally rebuked. I mean, you can imagine. That's pretty publicly humiliating.
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
KEILAR: And then, also, a reprimand, which is a lesser level of disapproval.
And then, finally, he could be fined. And this is what we're waiting, for this proceeding to happen, then this committee to go behind closed doors, Tony, and deliberate, and then find out exactly what the punishment is.
HARRIS: So, Brianna, we get the opening of the hearing. We are likely to hear from Congressman Rangel, and then the committee will make a decision. Correct?
KEILAR: We're going to be hearing from the top Republican and Democrat on the committee. We're going to be hearing from the chief counsel to the Ethics Committee, really, the prosecution that presented the case earlier this week. And we'll be hearing from Mr. Rangel himself, and then they go behind closed doors.
HARRIS: OK.
Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill.
It should be pretty dramatic next hour. We'll have a lot of it for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Three little letters with a big meaning: IPO. For those uninitiated in Wall Street's lingo, it is "initial public offering." GM's IPO driving stocks like a vintage Corvette this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You hear the revving of that engine there? Yes, that is the sound of a 2001 Camaro, in case you didn't know. General Motors executives ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning. The company selling stock for the first time since declaring bankruptcy.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: Tiger Woods is reaching out and getting socially connected again. Stay with us to find out what he's tweeting about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Sandra Endo is in Washington, D.C., where she is monitoring our top stories today -- Sandy.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, checking top stories, getting this guy, Italy has arrested one of its most wanted mobsters.
Antonio Inovine was arrested by Naples police after being on the run for more than 14 years. He had been convicted of murder in absentia and sentenced to life in prison.
And Ahmed Ghailani was acquitted on all but one count of conspiracy for his role in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Ghailani was the first Guantanamo Bay detainee to be tried in a civilian court, and it was a test and seen as a test for the Obama administration, really, which said it would try terror suspects outside of military tribunals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's important to remember, Ghailani himself is not going anywhere. He is looking at least 20 years, probably life in prison. So it's not like this guy is walking out the door.
However, this is an extremely disappointing verdict for the Obama administration, and it's a reminder that when you go to civilian courts, to federal district courts, you don't get a guaranteed result. Juries are unpredictable, and this judge excluded important evidence, which happens, and there was almost an acquittal here.
The rules of our system are, military commission, wherever, that if there has been torture, you cannot use it in our legal system. And that's not going to change. Now, fortunately, there's lots of other evidence against these people, but the fact is torture is wrong, our legal system believes it's wrong, and we are never going to allow the products of torture in any part of our legal system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENDO: And Ghailani is facing a minimum of 20 years in prison for the crime -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, Sandy. Good to see you. See you in just a couple of minutes.
Tiger Woods working on a new image after his fall from grace. He is on Twitter now. We will show you what we believe he is tweeting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Tiger Woods is --
(MUSIC)
HARRIS: We went back to The Jackson 5.
(LAUGHTER) MAX KELLERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Nothing wrong with that.
HARRIS: Max Kellerman, nothing wrong with that.
So -- that's so funny. OK. So, Tiger Woods is trying to get socially connected again. He's on Twitter now, and here's what he's saying.
"Yep, it's me. I think I like this Twitter thing. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the love."
The Twitter -- I'm going to get back to this in just a second here. The Twitter account apparently part of Tiger's new campaign to rebuild his shattered image, sure. And he is taking to the airwaves, talking about the impact of his affairs and his divorce.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I think that was very difficult for -- certainly difficult for me, but it's also more difficult for my kids. They were feeling the effects of it, unfortunately. It was difficult on everyone.
And, hey, I caused it. I take full responsibility for my actions. And here I am.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Max Kellerman is with us now.
Max, what do you think of this? I, generally speaking, am not a fan of big media blitzes. I understand that in the movie business because you need that opening weekend. But for someone like Tiger, I don't know. It feels managed again, manufactured again. It feels a little less than authentic.
I understand what the idea is here. What are your thoughts?
KELLERMAN: Especially if you're trying to rehabilitate your image, your corporate image, which was the most successful in the world, in a sport like golf.
HARRIS: Yes.
KELLERMAN: Because the idea is to be as milquetoast as possible. And so far, everything is really -- his original press conference -- it wasn't really a press conference because it was staged.
HARRIS: Right.
KELLERMAN: But I felt -- I had very low expectations along the lines of what you're discussing. And I was impressed.
I felt there was a level of authenticity, at least emotional authenticity, to the proceedings that I was not expecting. Once you got past all the charity work that he mentioned and everything -- and he talked about Buddhism, because in this country you are supposed to talk about Jesus, not Buddha.
HARRIS: Yes.
KELLERMAN: So, the fact that he did that, maybe it reflected the fact that he's a global brand as much as he's an American brand. But I also got the feeling that it just -- he was more authentic than I thought he was going to be back then.
HARRIS: OK. That's the path that I'm really curious to watch to see if he pursues, because I will tell you -- and you know this to be true in your own work -- if you go to these clinics where Tiger participates, he can be really engaging. I mean, he does not come off in those setting as the kind of standoffish guys he is when he is a trained assassin between the ropes.
KELLERMAN: Right.
HARRIS: So, if he can bring more of that Tiger, right?
KELLERMAN: And that's the thing they have to manage, because you see from his behavior -- not so much the affairs, because that can be planned -- but the text messages and voice messages, that he has an impulsive component to his personality. And when you're tweeting and that sort of thing, you better have your manager and your whole PR team say, wait, before you send this tweet, let's review it six times. It's not as though he's going to be impulsively be going from the heart --
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Don't you think he will have a team working this Twitter thing?
KELLERMAN: Absolutely.
HARRIS: Because I think we've seen it. We've seen it where the whole Twitter thing can really blow up in your face. Right?
KELLERMAN: Sure.
HARRIS: So he will have folks managing this.
KELLERMAN: And therefore, you're not going to see the kind of genuine, spontaneous side that you're looking for.
HARRIS: OK. But Max, here's the other thing. The other reason I'm "ehhh" about the whole media blitz. All right, it's "Newsweek," it's "Mike and Mike in the Morning" on ESPN Radio, and it's Twitter re-engaging there.
All of this comes back for Tiger. Everything comes back if he does what, Max?
KELLERMAN: Wins.
HARRIS: If he wins.
You don't have to go out and wear the banner, I'm a nice guy. All you have to do is get your game back. What are your prospects for him in 2011? Do you -- because he's going not only through this personal crisis, but he's also going through some swing changes and we've seen that before in his history where he's gone through swing changes.
KELLERMAN: Equipment changes, really.
HARRIS: Yes.
KELLERMAN: Equipment change is the thing -- this is going back to what was it, '02 or something like that?
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
KELLERMAN: And he went through, by his standards, a dry spell. I also think that we are now starting to see or going to start to see in the very near future, the Tiger Woods effect, which is to say golf was not a sport taken up by particularly athletic types, was not the sort of thing where a father, a son could do anything, play football. Put a golf club in his hand. Then tiger came along and it changed it.
So you figure from the time Tiger won the Masters by a billion strokes and set the record, until now, it's already been about 10 years, right? And so the kid 10-years old at the time, soon, in the next couple of years, we're going to be seeing real athletes participating in the sport and he will not able to out-distance the pack, to the extent that he has in the recent past, anyway.
HARRIS: Yes. Authentic Tiger, winning Tiger, and all of it comes back for him. And the real key is for him to get his personal life together and live a life for his kids.
Max, it's great to see you in New York City.
KELLERMAN: Always a pleasure.
HARRIS: With Max Kellerman.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Six months ago, our Jim Acosta hopped aboard a commuter train to ask them what they taught about the midterm election. Some of their answers surprised us. Now the election is over, Jim's back on the train. We'll talk to Jim in just a minute.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Six months ago, CNN's Jim Acosta got on a commuter train between Long Island and Manhattan to ask a regular bunch of guys -- this is a terrific piece -- about the election. And he got a lot of straight talk, that's for sure. Now that it is behind us, Jim went back on the train to hear what they had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been six months since we caught up with them. Evening commute home hasn't changed.
ACOSTA (on camera): And, you know, they do make beer in 12 ounce cans, right?
JOHN LAURIE (PH), NEW YORK TRAIN COMMUTER: Not on Penn Station apparently.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Times have.
ACOSTA (on camera): A lot has happened in the last - what is it, six months?
TOM MCGINLEY (PH), NEW YORK TRAIN COMMUTER: Six months or so, yes. A lot has happened.
ACOSTA (voice-over): So we reunited with Tom McGinley (ph), John Laurie (ph), Jim Marin (ph), Steve Kelly (ph), Kevin Sullivan (ph) and Andy Gardner (ph) for their lively mix of political views on how to get the country back on track.
ACOSTA (on camera): Does anybody have a good one-liner on what happened?
ACOSTA (voice-over): First up, the 2010 election.
ACOSTA (on camera): Obama called it a shellacking, did he deserve it?
LAURIE (ph): Partially, yes. I think, you know, there was a lot of focus on - on the health care bill, which I'm not sure America, you know, understands.
ACOSTA: You were one of the - the lone Obama voters?
LAURIE (ph): There are a few. (INAUDIBLE).
ACOSTA: There are some stealth ones I think.
LAURIE (ph): Stealth voters, yes.
ACOSTA (voice-over): For them, the election was about who's driving the train in Washington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gridlock can be a good thing depending on where things are going and, you know -
ACOSTA (on camera): We kind of like the idea of tying things up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tying things up for a couple years. ACOSTA (voice-over): Until 2012 when the president is up for re- election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't vote for him, but I don't underestimate his chances for re-election at all.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But what about the alternatives?
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Oh, Nevada.
ACOSTA (on camera): Have any of you guys watched the new Sarah Palin reality show?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Sarah Palin and reality together or like -- I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She could easily win those primaries.
ACOSTA: But you don't think so?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I disagree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor of Minnesota, what's his name?
ACOSTA: Pawlenty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's got the best shot.
ACOSTA: You like him?
Ever talked about Michael Bloomberg?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Bloomberg is a viable candidate, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would support a wealthy third party person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wanted to fund his own campaign, that's fine.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Or they could go with Kevin's choice in the New York governor's race.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rent, it's too damn high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went with the guy from the Rent is Too High.
ACOSTA: You voted for the Rent is Too High?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cast a protest vote. I did. I'll admit it. ACOSTA: Maybe the Rent is Too Damn High guy will run for president and then all our problems will be solved.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: He did not vote for the Rent is Too Damn High party representative.
ACOSTA: He did. And he's thinking about him for 2012.
HARRIS: So here's the thing, Jim, first of all, we love these guys, all right. Just box them up and take them with you around the country.
ACOSTA: Sure.
HARRIS: So, here's the thing. They're already thinking about 2012.
ACOSTA: They are.
HARRIS: We really, literally just come out of the midterm elections --
ACOSTA: That's right.
HARRIS: -- and you would think folks would need a moment to decompress, right? But this group, smart guys, well-read, are already thinking about 2012?
ACOSTA: Yes, they are because they think that this past election that we just went through was about Obama. Like him or don't like him. And so they're already thinking about, OK, who can take him down, if anybody can take him down in 2012? And, surprisingly, they didn't come up with a lot of great answers. They, like a lot of people, want to see who's going to throw their hat in the ring.
HARRIS: OK. So Republicans take control of the House next year.
ACOSTA: Right.
HARRIS: Are these guys talking about how life (ph) changes moving forward what needs to be done, what the priorities should be in balancing the budget and how we do that?
ACOSTA: Yes. And this was really striking to me because a lot of people are worried about the economy and jobs right now. These guys are very much worried about the deficit, which you do hear a lot from people. But it's --
HARRIS: But they have jobs. Is that why they're not concerned about the jobs?
ACOSTA: That is -- I mean, a lot work in financial industry. So they were sweating bullets six months ago. They feel a little bit better now and so they would like to see the country get its fiscal house in order. They talked about what should happen with the Bush tax cuts, talked about whether we should start cutting some of these entitlement programs, what some of the sacred cows that are on the table right now.
And we're going to have a little bit more about that --
HARRIS: Is that in tomorrow's piece?
ACOSTA: That is in tomorrow's piece.
HARRIS: I can't wait.
ACOSTA: Including their idea for the next beer summit, if there is going to be a next beer summit. I'll give you two words: man cave.
HARRIS: Man cave. I love that concept.
Jim, appreciate it. Thank you.
ACOSTA: You bet.
HARRIS: A Taiwanese news report on the airport pat-down controversy goes viral on YouTube. It takes a lighter look at how we're reacting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Checking live pictures from our tower cams for you right now. Los Angeles. Boy, this is a beautiful shot. Getting ready to welcome those rescued miners from Chile. The men who are national heroes, as you know, in their homeland will be arriving in L.A. in the next hour. They will attend a CNN Heroes and All-Star Tribute this weekend. The show airs Thanksgiving night at 8:00 Eastern here on CNN.
A beautiful mid-November day on south beach in Miami. Yum, yum. Eat it up.
(VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: But when it comes time to head inside to watch the Miami Heat play basketball, a lot of fans aren't showing up on time. So the team is putting some heat on fans to arrive earlier, telling them, it is time to -- there it is -- to fan up, Miami. Hello.
This week before Thanksgiving, a nasty one in the Pacific Northwest. A Pacific Coast storm dumped heavy snow in Washington State and other parts of the region and knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Here's the thing. When we get together in these moments, Rob, we can almost guarantee some kind of a face plant. Yesterday's was a gym. Today it's this dirt biker out with his buds camping somewhere. Then he -- MARCIANO: Oh. Now, what we can't guarantee is that nobody gets hurt. We wish we could. Ouch.
HARRIS: We don't know if it was a big rock. We don't know -- can we do it in slow motion or something? OK. Have some.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: No more. It's painful to watch. We hope he's OK.
HARRIS: From Next TV (ph) Taiwan, Rob, a computer animated version of the airport pat-down controversial here in the United States. This is a real news report, folks.
MARCIANO: They've done this kind of stuff before and they do a great --
HARRIS: They really do a good job with it. But, yes, you're absolutely right. They do this often. It is poking a lot of fun, as you can see here, at how upset some of us are over the new body scanners. But the truth is, Rob, there is a serious new trend behind this video. We're going to have that back story for you in just a couple of minutes.
A break now. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A moment ago, we were showing you the best video out of Taiwan, it is making fun of Americans in the TSA line. But seriously, a little background here. Next Media is a Chinese media conglomerate. Their animation arm opened September of last year. They can produce animated news clips in real time, and it is very popular in Taiwan. Think of it as a souped up version of an artist's rendering.
Some say animation has no place in journalism, and when you think about it, that's been said about bloggers, too, right?
Back to Washington, now, and Sandra Endo -- Sandy.
ENDO: Well, Tony, here are our top stories today.
Check it out, GM is on track to make history once again offering its stock for sale on Wall Street. The initial offering is set to raise more than $20 billion, almost 12 billion of that will go back to U.S. taxpayers who bailed out GM last July.
Thirty-three rescued Chilean miners and five of the men who saved them are bound for Hollywood. They'll be attending Saturday night's taping of "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE." They arrived in Atlanta this morning.
And as the Hajj pilgrimage draws to a close, Muslims around the world celebrate the festival of sacrifice. These believers have gathered in Moscow and Grasni (ph) for sacrificial ceremonies.
And we are back in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment with all of your CNN political updates. See you there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A meeting at the White House between the president and party leaders. Dana Bash part of "The Best Political Team on Television" live from Capitol Hill.
And, Dana, what's crossing right now?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What's crossing is the meeting going on as we speak congressional Democrats and the president. I emphasize the Democrats because we all know the meeting that would have taken place today was a bipartisan meeting with Republicans.
It's the first time the Democrats have met, but I can tell that you very interesting moment. Before the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, left for the White House, he told reporters in no uncertain terms he blamed Republicans for the breakdown of the meeting today.
He said I can never remember an instance when President Bush asked the Democratic leadership to come down and meet with him and we didn't accommodate our schedules for that request. A little bit of a biting comment there.
Next on the Ticker, Tony, the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid, is saying now that he will in fact try to bring up a defense authorization bill that includes the repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. He's going to try to do that the week after Thanksgiving.
Now even getting that piece of legislation on the Senate floor is going to be a hurdle, it's likely going to need 60 votes to do that, so Democrats are trying to work on some Republicans who agree that the appeal is necessary, but they really want an open debate. That will an challenge, Tony, because this is a lame duck session without a lot of time.
And last item on the ticker is about President George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. He is going to receive the highest civilian honor in the land. He is going to be getting the Medal of Freedom award. And he's one of many actually the White House announced will get that award early next year. Yo Yo Ma is on the list, Jean Kennedy Smith, and Tony, one of my favorites, NBA legend Bill Russell is also getting it.
HARRIS: Bill Russel, yes, the great center for the BOSTON CELTICS. Held down all those championship teams in those days with Boston.
Dana, good to see you, thank you.
Your next political update in an hour. And for the latest political new, you know where to go, that's CNNPolitics.com.
A homeless man returns a college student's backpack containing $3,300 in cash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not something I wish anybody would have to go through because that's rough places and there are a lot of things I could have taken care of, but fact of the matter was it's not my money, I didn't earn it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: I know you're asking yourself the question, what would you have done? We will tell you how Dave Tally tracked down the backpack's owner.
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HARRIS: If you were clicking on it and posting about it, digital expert Derek Dodge is tracking for us. Here is what's trending online right now, KFC, Derek, is teaming up with Twitter on a scholarship contest?
DEREK DODGE, CNN DIGITAL EXPERT: That's right. So, you know, a lot of companies are going to social media to get their message out and find new and interesting ways to reach consumers, right? Well this is actually a really cool thing, I think.
So, KFC, formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken, is using Twitter to give out $20,000 to high school seniors, well one high school senior who is lucky enough to whip the contest. They're asking people to tweet why they deserve to win the scholarship.
So here's one from Chelsea -- I went through and picked out a few of them. She says, "My father died when I was eight. I want to attend college and make him proud. A scholarship from KFC Scholar will help make that dream possible."
See, she used the hashtag KFC scholar. That's what you have to tweet within your message to be able to be considered and they're going to go through them all and pick one. I think they're announcing their winner on December 1st. So you have until November 26th to send out and hopefully win $20,000. That's going to be $5,000 --
HARRIS: But you have to have terrific grades, right? It's not just here's my life, here's my story. You have to be a scholar, correct?
DODGE: Well, you have to be a high school senior and just have to be able to -- they want to know how you exemplify Colonel Sanders' commitment to education and enrichment of communities. So I don't think -- you know, not about SAT scores, not about grades, it's all about your 140-character tweet.
HARRIS: What is it that I'm looking at now? What do you have up now?
DODGE: This is one from Cody. He says, "I deserve the $20,000 for it shows that anyone no matter how they dress or what they listen to can be rewarded for being smart."
So there's lots of different approaches out there. Some are tweeting a little flattering towards KFC, but you know --
HARRIS: Hey, Derek, can we ask you to do this? We have a big story that that's -- we're going to be following, obviously, in the next hour. It is Congressman Charlie Rangel, the Ethics Committee, at least the subcommittee of the Ethics Committee is meeting. We will hear from the congressman and, if you would, will you sort of fill us in on what people are tweeting about as that story unfolds in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM?
DODGE: Yes, I'm taking a look through Twitter to search for Charlie Rangel tweets. He was a big trending topic earlier this week. I think you'll see people will start tweeting about him once the news comes.
HARRIS: Terrific. OK, Derek, see you next hour. Thank you.
Coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, before Charlie Rangel's colleagues decide how he should be punished for violating House rules, the embattled Congressman speaks out. That should be high drama at high noon.
Plus, why is CNN's Anderson Cooper getting all dressed up like the Easter Bunny? Wait for it. Wait for it. Wait for it. A bit longer.
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