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American Morning
Democrats Divided Over Tax Cut Deal; Obama Selling Tax Plan: Students Protest in London Pending Tuition Hikes; India's Ambassador Subjected to TSA Pat-Down; Tax Cut Debate; Parental Revolution; Stimulant or Burden; Babies Combat Bullying
Aired December 10, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thanks so much for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING on this Friday, the 10th of December. Good to have you with us today. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. We have a lot to talk about, so let's get started.
We start with the weather. And bands of snow burying small towns and big cities alike. And we're not talking about inches here. There is three, four, even five feet of snow in some spots along the Great Lakes. And now, what might be a monster storm is closing in. So who's going to get hit and how much can we expect? Straight ahead.
ROBERTS: Family feud. House Democrats defy their president, refusing to bring a vote to the -- bring to a vote the tax cut compromise. The White House negotiator with Republicans. This morning, the president is speaking out about the deal. We're live in Washington today with new developments on where the deal stands right now and what it means for you.
CHETRY: Another setback for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Democrats trying to repeal the military's ban on openly gay soldiers, but they couldn't even get enough votes to begin debate in the Senate. So what now? We get a live report from Washington.
ROBERTS: All right. It's the 10th of December, but it may look more like late January a little bit later on today. The worst storm of the winter season may be on the way this weekend from tomorrow on into Monday, starting in Iowa and moving toward Michigan and western New York. It's buffeted by bitter cold air blowing down from the north and it's reaching all the way down into Florida.
CHETRY: Yes, and when that chilly air rushes over warmer water like in the Great Lakes, that's what you get. Lake-effect snow. The lakes are not frozen yet. And so it just provides moisture to add to the snow. And downtown Cleveland already has a foot of snow on the ground from Wednesday's surprise storm.
ROBERTS: Oh, but that's nothing compared to what it's like in Syracuse, New York, where streets and sidewalks still buried after a four-day pounding earlier this week. Almost five feet of snow fell during a 98-hour stretch. CHETRY: Yikes. Well, we get a check on all of the weather now with Reynolds Wolf. He is in the extreme weather center for us. Man, it came early, and boy did they get a lot of it.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It really did. I mean, you have to remember in terms of the northern hemisphere, winter officially begins on the 21st of December, but they've already had the full brunt of it already. And some of the heavy snowfall has been in places that we normally expect it, but it has been a little bit unusually high.
Now, we're going to see that snowfall spread to places that really haven't had a dose of winter weather just yet. And here is where it begins. Already in parts of the Ohio Valley, you see some light snow and a little bit of sleet just picking up, especially southward into Charleston, West Virginia, back over towards Louisville.
Cold air already locked in place. Temperatures in the teens, rather, for Boston. Over in New York in the low 20s. Pittsburgh, certainly below freezing. Same story in Washington, D.C. And farther out to the western half of the Great Lakes, we already have winter storm warnings and watches in effect.
So what is going to be the big catalyst? What's going to cause all this to happen? We look out towards the west, you see a storm system that is erupting from the rocky mountains. As that cruises a bit more to the east, what that's going to do is it's going to interact with that moisture and that cold air, and we're going to have some snow really begin to pick up.
Here's how it's going to go as we make way into the weekend. The low moves into the Ohio Valley, then moves up to the northeast, and as it comes on through, that clipper system is going to bring a lot of cold air. Just a shot of it all the way down in parts of the eastern seaboard, we could see not just some snow, but also some ice moving into parts of Kentucky, perhaps parts of the Ohio Valley, even into the Allegheny's back into parts of, say, West Virginia.
Folks, if you had to make a choice between heavy snowfall or ice, you've got to go for the snow every time. What you have with the ice could be crippling. Issues in terms of power outages, roadways, millions of people possibly without power as we get into late Sunday, Monday. And then again, a lot of the rural areas with widespread tree damage, you could have power outages possibly for about a week or so. So again, just the beginning of it, but we certainly see some key components coming together for what could be a major winter system. More on that coming up, guys.
CHETRY: Wow. So when you're saying just the beginning, you're not talking for Syracuse already got five feet of snow, right?
WOLF: They're going to get some additional snowfall. There's no question some of the lake effect areas are really going to have another dose that's going to come in. But we're talking about places that really haven't had a taste of winter weather just yet, and it could be a knockout punch for many.
ROBERTS: It's a long winter ahead even for folks in places like Syracuse.
WOLF: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks so much. We'll see you back again soon.
Dozens of cruise ship passengers are safely back on land this morning after a very rough stretch at sea. The Antarctic cruise out of Argentina was cut short on Tuesday when a monster wave slammed into the ship. Windows on the bridge were shattered, electric system short-circuited, the engines damaged. The crew declared an emergency, radioed for help, but was able to reach port in Argentina under their own power.
None of the 88 American passengers onboard was hurt. One crew member did sustain a minor injury though. But look at those waves. Unbelievable. That's what they came home with.
CHETRY: Oh, I know. And that wasn't even the monster one that shattered the windows.
ROBERTS: That was just the rolling seas.
CHETRY: Yikes.
ROBERTS: Well, President Obama holding his ground this morning after House Democrats rejected the tax plan that the president cut with Republicans.
CHETRY: Yes. And some of the more liberal members of the president's own party complained in some salty language, actually, that the White House cut them out of negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D), TEXAS: We were told yesterday by the vice president this was a take-it-or-leave-it deal. We're saying leave it.
REP. JAY INSLEE (D), WASHINGTON: Our caucus will not submit to hostage-taking and we will not submit to this deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, we're breaking it down this morning with our Brianna Keilar live in Washington and Suzanne Malveaux who's live at the White House.
And, Brianna, let's start with you. I mean, this is getting ugly. Democrats on the Hill not happy with the White House, using terms like hostage-taking to, you know, to sort of show how upset they are about this tax deal. BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, talking about House Democrats, they are really not happy. They had a meeting yesterday, all of them, to talk about what to do, and they voted against considering this compromise deal on tax cuts between President Obama and Republicans. And if you can imagine this, two lawmakers who were in that meeting told us some of these Democrats were actually chanting just say no. So they took this vote, it's non-binding, but still very significant. And afterwards, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came out into the hallway. She talked to cameras and she explained why Democrats are saying no.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: Does it create jobs to grow the economy? Does it reduce the deficit? Tax cuts for the wealthy have been in effect since 2001 and they have not. So that was really our main debate there. And then to add insult to injury, they added the estate tax, which is a bridge too far for many of our members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The estate tax, which exempts the first $5 million on inheritance has a lot of liberal Democrats feel like this is just a giveaway to the rich. But while it was seeming like Democrats in the Senate, at least, were starting to soften on how they felt about this compromise, you're seeing obviously their House Democrats are not. By and large, Republicans in the Senate and the House seem to be onboard. But with this lack of House Democratic support, it's really throwing into question whether there's going to be enough votes to get this through the House, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: If this doesn't go through, Brianna, everybody's taxes go up as of January 1st. What are the odds of that happening?
KEILAR: And it's hard to even imagine that that would happen. Right? That taxes would go up. Not only that, but you would have millions of Americans whose unemployment benefits start to expire and this compromise package would alleviate that. So I think at this point the deadline is still the end of the year. But you can just see, this is a staring contest. We're waiting to see who is going to blink. And it's looking like they're taking this down to the wire.
ROBERTS: Brianna Keilar for us this morning in Washington. Brianna, thanks.
CHETRY: President Obama is also hitting the airwaves to pitch his tax plan publicly. He has a big interview this morning with NPR.
ROBERTS: Yes. Suzanne Malveaux is live for us at the White House this morning. And some excerpts of the interview have been released. And we're learning a little bit about what he's going to say. Later on today, he's going to welcome a high-profile visitor, as well?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He absolutely is. It's no surprise, it is the former President Bill Clinton who's going to be here at 3:00 at the White House. Now, a lot of people drawing some parallels here.
And obviously it's apt to do so. This is a president -- President Clinton who got a shellacking of his own back in '94 when his own party lost control. This is someone who tried to move to the center. Ultimately did move to the middle of the political spectrum, got a lot of heat for it. He had to do a lot of twisting of arms of his own Democratic Party to get things done like the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, as well as welfare reform. But he was able to work with Republicans to strike these deals and at the same time beat them, and go on and become a second-term president. Of course, President Obama is looking for some guidance here. He is looking for a way forward. This is seen as widely a good move for this president to make if he wants to be successful.
The other thing that is happening this morning, as you mentioned that NPR interview. That was taped yesterday afternoon after this Democratic revolt. It is not surprising that this president is remaining calm, confident and resolved in trying to get this tax deal done. I want you to take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Can you accept some changes to this plan or is it the kind of deal you cannot change?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My sense is that there are going to be discussions between both House and Senate leadership about all the final elements of the package. Keep in mind, we didn't actually write a bill. We put forward a framework. I'm confident that the framework is going to look like the one that we put forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So really the responsibility on this is on the Democrats and the Republicans. I pressed Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, yesterday about this. Is it a take it or leave it deal here? Is the president compromised at all? And he said, look, the president has already compromised. If they want a different kind of deal, the Democrats, then they're going to have to come up with something that they can work out with the Republicans even if it's on the edges. They're talking about the estate tax. So we're going to see what happens on Monday when they take that up again. But the president and the White House are still basically saying, look, you know, this is something that you have to deal with.
I also want to bring up a really interesting point here is this whole meeting with President Clinton. This is the kind of thing that they decided to do publicly. President Obama could have picked up the phone quietly, called President Clinton, asked for his advice on all of this. It is clear that they want all of us to know about this meeting. They want to show it to the Democrats. They want to show it to everybody saying, look, the message is that this president gets it, that he is trying to figure out a way to move this agenda forward, to work with the Republicans, but also not to lose the support of his party -- John, Kiran. CHETRY: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning, thank you.
ROBERTS: Looks like the Senate will not even debate a bill that calls for medical benefits and compensation for 9/11 first responders. Republicans are blocking the proposal because of its $7.4 billion price tag. Supporters say they'll try to bring up the measure again, but it's not likely to happen again this year. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg calling it a, quote, "tragic example of partisan politics trumping patriotism."
CHETRY: Well, if the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy ever gets repealed, it's not likely to happen now in 2010. Yesterday, the Senate rejected a bid by Democrats to open debate. President Obama says he's extremely disappointed by the setback. A repeal of the military's ban on openly gay soldiers is supported by the secretary of the defense, by the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the majority of Americans.
ROBERTS: And what do you do with a House so packed of explosives that it's essentially a bomb? Authorities in southern California burned it down to the ground. You can see the single-story home engulfed in flames. Small explosions could be heard for miles. The controlled burn did not threaten nearby houses. The man behind it all is in jail. His motive still unclear.
And London recovering this morning from the worst unrest that that city has seen in a decade.
CHETRY: Tens of thousands of demonstrators furious over plans to hike how much universities charge for tuition took to the streets. There was violence, vandalism, and even spilling over into the royal family. Joining us on the phone right now is James Blitz. He's the diplomatic editor from "The Financial Times."
Good to have you with us this morning. We know that things got very ugly yesterday. Protesters were enraged by this parliament vote that would essentially triple the university tuition rate caps. And as it turns out, they actually broke a window in the car that Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla were in. What happened?
JAMES BLITZ, DIPLOMATIC EDITOR, "THE FINANCIAL TIMES" (via telephone): Yes, what happened was as you were saying, there were these very serious demonstrations in central London, very violent demonstrations. In many ways, the worst we've seen in the country for about 20 years. And what happened was that Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, were traveling in this large limousine in which they can be seen very clearly because it's a kind of presentational limousine. They were traveling through a state event and as they were traveling through central London in Regent Street, they suddenly got caught up in this very demonstration (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: So here you have one member of the royal family here, heir to the throne, attacked by protesters. It would seem to suggest, James, pretty massive breach of security here and failure of security? BLITZ: Yes, no question about it. This is probably the most serious breach of -- not only royal security, but security for a major British public figure that I think we've seen in Britain for a long, long time. But what happened was that the car was approaching the theater and there had been a kind of reconnaissance of the routes by British police. There were only a few minutes before the car actually took that route.
But then -- because I think the vehicle is so public and so prominent, the protesters were able to divert very quickly, these young people away from where they were and they surrounded the car. And there then seems to have been a really very ugly incident. I don't know if you have the picture of the royal couple in the car. But you can see I think on the face of Camilla Parker Bowles that she's very shocked indeed. The car was attacked with paint. One of the windows was very severely broken. And you have to remember this is a bulletproof limousine. They have protection officers who have live weapons, pistols carrying real bullets. It's unclear at this stage whether those live weapons were actually drawn. But there's no question that if the incident had gotten a little bit worse, then I think they may well have opened fire on some of those demonstrators.
The car then seems after a short period have moved on. There seems to be some suggestion that the prince was trying to drag Camilla Parker Bowles to the floor of the car, which is the way they respond in this kind of situation. And they then went on to the theater and they continued with their event. It was the event they were going to.
But if you can imagine, this picture is not only on the front page of every British newspaper, but in the front pages of many papers around the world. And there's going to be a very serious inquiry, I think, by the metropolitan police in London and by the British home office, our interior ministry, into how this could have happened.
CHETRY: Understandable. And so far, at least 43 demonstrators hurt, at least 12 police officers hurt. Prime Minister David Cameron calling the level of violence unacceptable. But again, it still continues. Outrage over this tuition hike.
We want to thank you for joining us this morning. James Blitz, diplomatic editor for "The Financial Times."
ROBERTS: Well, parents revolting on school administrators in one California school district. They say they're fed up with low test scores and they want to take over.
CHETRY: And fighting bullies with babies. How infants in the classroom teach kindness. An emotional learning to our youngest kids.
ROBERTS: And trapped in toy land. How this little girl wound up on the other side of the glass.
Fifteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Eighteen minutes past the hour right now.
India's government is furious. They do not like the way that one of their top diplomats was treated by security screeners at a U.S. airport recently.
ROBERTS: Yes. Our foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty has got details for us from Washington this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last week at the Jackson, Mississippi, airport, India's ambassador Meera Shankar, traveling with the trade delegation, was about to board a plane back to Washington, D.C.
She was selected for a thorough secondary pat-down, visible to other passengers. The ambassador was wearing a sari, a traditional Indian dress. TSA officers called it bulky clothing. Some passengers agreed it was the right thing to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anybody has got to go through it. Everybody has got to do the same.
DOUGHERTY: The Indian government is outraged.
S.M. KRISHNA, INDIAN EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER: Let me be very frank. That this is unacceptable to India, you know. And we are going to take it up with the government of United States.
DOUGHERTY: Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano defends the pat-down.
JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It was a pat- down that followed our procedures, and I think it was appropriate under the circumstances.
DOUGHERTY: With a diplomatic storm brewing, Hillary Clinton says she's concerned.
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Certainly we will be looking into it. And not only responding to the Indian foreign minister, but also reviewing the policies.
DOUGHERTY: Mississippi authorities, meanwhile, say there's got to be a better way.
PHIL BRYANT, MISSISSIPPI LT. GOVERNOR: This is the ambassador to the United States of America. Certainly at some point common sense should prevail.
DOUGHERTY (on camera): Homeland Security says if the diplomat is traveling within the United States, they can work with them to smooth the way if the diplomat notifies them in advance. However, Secretary Napolitano indicates that was not done in this case.
Regardless of the procedures, however, this is another diplomatic headache for Secretary Clinton.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: As if she needed another one.
CHETRY: I know. She just can't win lately.
ROBERTS: Oh my goodness.
CHETRY: Well, coming up next, going to extremes, a daredevil climbs a nearly 2-mile high mountain in Antarctica. And if that wasn't enough of a feat, he jumps off.
ROBERTS: In one of those flying suits, too.
And she really wanted those toys. Oh my goodness. How this little girl wound up on the wrong side of the glass. We'll tell you coming right up.
It's 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-two minutes past the hour right now. "Morning Talker" time.
A Russian daredevil taking base jumping to the new extremes. Check this out. The 45-year-old braved temperatures of 22 degrees below when he jumped off a nearly 2-mile high peak in Antarctica.
He glided for about 45 seconds before opening his parachute and then landing safely.
ROBERTS: Air that cold, you get a lot of lift under that wing so you can go a long way.
Twelve-year-old opera singer wowing audiences around the globe this morning. The young singer who sounds like she has been training for decades won the Czech Republic's -- the Czech Republic's Slovakia talent show called "Talent Mania" on Sunday night.
Here's a sample for you.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERTS: Pretty incredible.
CHETRY: Amazing. She doesn't -- she seems much more mature than 12 years old. She's beautiful and what a voice.
ROBERTS: That's quite a voice coming out of that 12-year-old body, isn't it? Wow.
CHETRY: Amazing. Well, iPhone app and there's an iPad app, the Smurf Village, may cost you a lot more than you bargained for. We discovered this at our household as well.
Here's what it looks like. Unlike any other games, it's free to download, but once you get inside the game, you buy things with real money. Yes. I feel like it's a ruse. We deleted it off our phone because the kids and I were playing with it and --
ROBERTS: So it's like if you want paint or something you --
CHETRY: Yes, do you want to put up another Smurf house here? And then you think you're playing pretend --
ROBERTS: And then just racks it up on your iPhone bill?
CHETRY: Yes. In fact, one 4-year-old racked up $67 in charges on his mom's credit card until she saw it and realized it. The game now comes with a warning and its publisher says that most of the revenue is coming from addicted adults, not kids.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Oh my goodness. Come on.
An arcade game full of toys was just too much for a 2-year-old to resist. The little girl crawled into the stuffed animal claw machine. You know these machines where you can't pick up the thing with a claw.
Well, she couldn't get it with the claw, so she crawled inside, she got stuck in there. Took firefighters in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania, about 15 minutes to get her out because they kept picking her up with the claw and she kept falling out.
CHETRY: And missing -- right, and then they had to, you know, put in some more money, get change for a dollar, took forever.
Now this is the second time I feel like that in the past few months we've shown video -- I mean any --
ROBERTS: I think -- it just seems like a few months, but I think it was a couple of years ago. The -- yes.
CHETRY: No, a few months ago we did one with a little boy who was in there holding those -- I feel like they did make that hole smaller.
ROBERTS: It felt like it was -- it felt like it was longer ago, but --
CHETRY: It was last week, but it felt like two years ago.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Inside the tax deal on Capitol Hill, the president's top economic adviser says if it doesn't get passed, we're risking a double-dip recession. Is that fact or fallacy? We'll find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: OK. We looked it up. There was a kid stuck in a toy machine two months ago and also two years ago. It's an epidemic.
CHETRY: See? They've got to make those holes a little smaller, you know?
ROBERTS: Or the claws a little better so the kids don't get frustrated all the time.
President Obama's top economic adviser Larry Summers stirring things up before heading out the door. He's leaving the White House in the next few years but not borrow sounding an alarm -- a very loud one -- about the risk of a double-dip recession if the president's tax cut bill doesn't pass.
CHETRY: A lot of people call it a dire warning, but was it pure economics or politics?
Carol Costello separating facts from fiction this morning because it is politically charged to say double-dip recession which a lot of people have feared in this climate.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It makes the voters very confused, doesn't it? Because you don't know what's up. But if they don't pass this tax deal, what? We're going to slip into a double-dip recession?
So is Larry Summers a scare monger or is he Mr. Right? The president's soon to be ex-director of the White House National Economic Council says if the Bush tax cuts expire, it just might increase the risk that the economy would stall out and we would have a double-dip. As in a double-dip recession.
It's a scary possibility. But could it happen, or is Summers just playing politics?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE SUMMERS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: It's not a political move, it's an economic analysis. It's an economic analysis that tracks the judgments of many other economists.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Even if he says the tax deal would add $900 billion to the deficit, which is interesting because just last year the president said adding to the national debt could lead to a double-dip recession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is important, though, to recognize that if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, you're asking yourself, what is true? If the president's deal falls through with the tax cut expiring, might it lead to a double-dip recession? We asked some leading economists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, ECONOMIC CYCLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: There's not going to be a double-dip practically if anything happens. Whether -- regardless if there's a tax cut, not a tax cut; more spending, less spending; more unemployment insurance, less unemployment insurance; you're still going to have a revival.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Because he says all of the economic indicators are pointed in the right direction. People with jobs are now more confident they'll keep them, people are spending more money, and companies are reporting record profits.
So, Lakshman says no chance at all for a double-dip recession, even if something dire happens within our economy -- all the indicators are pointing up and will probably be OK.
ROBERTS: But, Carol, as Harry Truman famously complained, economists will say on the one hand, but then on the other hand. Larry Summers says he got his information from Moody's.
COSTELLO: That's right, he did quote Moody's and Moody's is talking to the Obama administration.
So I asked Gus Faucher from Moody's Analytics about the possibility of slipping into a double-dip recession. And he says it's more likely, but also says it's the wrong way to think about it. What passing the deal would do is make the economy recover quicker. So, is Mr. Summers a scare monger or is he Mr. Right?
You know, we should ask Christine Romans this question, because we're getting different answers from different economists. And it's very difficult for voters to decide what they actually want their lawmakers to do.
CHETRY: It's mind-boggling when you read the different op-eds from, you know, conservative side and from the liberal side. You think you were talking about two completely utterly different plans. So, you're right. We are going to be talking to Chrystia Freeland, by the way, who is the global editor-at-large for "Reuters" coming up in the next block.
ROBERTS: We would ask Christine Romans, but unfortunately, Carol, she's off sick today.
COSTELLO: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I just talked to her yesterday. She was fine.
ROBERTS: know, it came on so suddenly.
CHETRY: Oh, you guys were calling her out. She said she lost her voice. It's horrible to lose your voice on a Friday right before the weekend, you know?
ROBERTS: Yes, terrible.
COSSTELLO: That is terrible.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Sunday, just before the start of the week.
Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
CHETRY: Thirty-two minutes past the hour right now, time for our top stories this morning.
A heaping cup of snow with a cold wind chaser, it's on the menu for a big part of the country today. People in Des Moines, Milwaukee, Chicago, Buffalo, Syracuse, you may be seeing the worst conditions this winter starting tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Well, the Antarctic cruise ship that was slammed by a giant wave at sea is now back at port in Argentina this morning. Water smashed the starboard bridge window, shorting out some electrical gear.
One passenger praised the captain, telling "The Philadelphia Daily News" how he turned the ship into the wind to stop it from rocking. And you can see there in the trip back to Argentina the seas that this thing was going through. None of the 88 American passengers onboard was hurt.
CHETRY: And in the next hour, the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. China is boycotting the ceremony, calling Liu a common criminal. Protesters are gathering in Beijing as a ceremony in Oslo is set to get underway. Liu is serving an 11-year sentence in a Chinese prison for inciting subversion.
ROBERTS: Well, call it a parental revolution. A group of moms and dads in southern California try to take over their children's school.
CHETRY: Yes, they're testing a new state law, giving them power to seize control of the district just failing their kids.
Casey Wian is up early for us. He's live in Los Angeles this morning.
Hi there.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John, Kiran. That controversial new law here in California is getting its first test this week. It's called the parent-trigger law. And a group of parents pulled that trigger with their sights set on administrators at one failing elementary school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN (voice-over): Marlene Romero and Shemika Murphy seem unlikely revolutionaries. They're parents of students at McKinley Elementary in Compton. One of the worst performers in California.
SHEMIKA MURPHY, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: I'm here today because I care about my children and their education and their future.
MARLENE ROMERO, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: I think the district is -- their priority is not the kids. It's something else.
WIAN: Parents representing 62 percent of McKinley's students signed a petition to force the Compton school district to give up control of McKinley.
CROWD: Yes, we can!
WIAN: Parents packed school buses headed for the district office to deliver their petition. It's the first attempted takeover under a new California law allowing parents to change leadership at failing public schools.
ISMENIA GUZMAN, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: And this is our petition, us as parents that we're going to care for our kids' education.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We all care for our kids' education.
WIAN: Organizers say they expect the district to fight the takeover perhaps in court. The teachers union and some parents also are opposed.
LEE FINNIE, MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY PARENT: They're doing great with my kids. I really don't have any complaints. I'm understanding that the school was having problems previously, but they're actually making steps and strides for the benefit of the children.
WIAN: Test scores have improved, yet McKinley ranks in the bottom 10 percent of even low-income area California schools.
(on camera): The takeover effort has created a rift among families here at McKinley Elementary. Opponents say they've been harassed by people gathering signatures for the petition. And supporters say they've been threatened by opponents.
Latino families have even received flyers like this one warning they will be deported if they sign the petition.
(voice-over): Much of the anger is directed at Parent Revolution, a group that organized this takeover and lobbied for the law.
BEN AUSTIN, PARENT REVOLUTION: We're going to take a failing district school and turn it into a high-performing charter school. By far, the biggest risk is the status quo.
WIAN: Charter school operator Celerity is slated to run McKinley.
VIELKA MCFARLANE, CEO, CELERITY EDUCATIONAL GROUP: We're here to follow the parents' will. And so, we know that we need to listen. We need to listen very carefully and we need to also listen to the teachers and see which ones of them want to follow the will of the parent.
MURPHY: This could happen -- this Compton, other cities, other states, this could be something really big.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: But it's only a start. The school district has not said how it will respond to the petition. And at the same time, the charter school operator is making plans to take over that elementary school. And six other states are preparing similar laws to California's parent-trigger law -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Casey Wian for us. You know, it's a huge responsibility for these parents, as well. Unbelievable. Thanks so much.
Well, there's a lot riding on President Obama's tax cut compromise -- your paycheck for one thing. Coming up: how the battle in Congress could directly impact you.
We'll be right back.
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ROBERTS: It's 40 minutes now after the hour.
With don't know if the tax cut package is going to pass, but we do know what the compromise plan between the White House and Republicans could cost us. And that is up to $900 billion.
CHETRY: The deal would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone, cut the Social Security payroll tax, and also prolong unemployment benefits for many Americans who are still out of work.
Here to help us understand what it means for you and your wallet is Chrystia Freeland, "Reuters" global editor-at-large.
Good to see you this morning.
CHRYSTIA FREELAND, GLOBAL EDITOR-AT-LARGE FOR REUTERS: Good to see you.
CHETRY: So, you know, both sides are saying economists say this and economists say this. What do you say about what looks good and may be stimulative to the economy? And what is going to cost us down the road about this plan?
FREELAND: Well, I just like to go back to the grueling that you guys did of Larry Summers a few minutes ago. So, I did -- I talked this week to two big hedge fund managers, both of them managing billions of dollars. And I have to say that both of them were worried about the possibility of a double-dip. So, that's not just political --
ROBERTS: And neither one of them said, "On the other hand"?
FREELAND: Neither one of them said, "On the other hand."
ROBERTS: Oh, that's good.
FREELAND: But both of them were really, really concerned and concerned not just because of what's happening in the U.S. What I think we sometimes forget is America is part of a global economy and sort of lives in a really bad neighborhood right now. Europe is incredibly volatile with the sovereign debt crises there. And both of these guys are saying we have to watch out because the rest of the world is pretty -- Europe is pretty weak right now, that could hurt us.
In terms of this particular package, what I can say is lots of Wall Street guys were pretty happy with it. You know, what they liked not just was the fact that their own taxes won't be going up -- of course, they like that. But they did like the stimulative effect of what's going to happen. Of course, in the medium term, it adds to the debt problem.
ROBERTS: Yes.
FREELAND: But, people -- I think, the economists' view is there's still a little bit of room before that chicken comes --
ROBERTS: The deficit and debt problem is a big concern for a lot of people, including Michele Bachmann, Republican, who's going to be joining us in our next hour here this morning.
So, $900 billion is the cost of this, president saying it's going to stimulate the economy. There are some estimates that it may bump economic growth by a point to about 3.5 percent, lower the unemployment rate. But will the government get back the revenues from increased economic activity to offset the cost of this thing?
FREELAND: That is the $90 billion question. And, you know, we just don't know. And you know, I don't think the president knows, I don't think Mitch McConnell knows, I don't think Larry Summers knows. But that's the gamble they're taking.
And you know, their bet is it's much easier to pay down the debt if your economy is growing. So, that's what they're hoping. That's what they're gambling.
CHETRY: What aspects of this do you think will be most helpful? Aside from the long-term injection of that money that the unemployment checks being extended, which they say really is almost an immediate stimulus. Long-term, what aspects could help us down the road?
FREELAND: Well, it's not really that long-term measure. And I think that is something that is dissatisfying both to the supporters and opponents of this regime. So, if you are a person who is a believer that cutting taxes is the best way to stimulate the economy, one of the things which is disturbing about this policy is it's only temporary.
ROBERTS: Right.
FREELAND: And so a lot of people say if you have a temporary tax cut -- I mean, all tax cuts in some ways are temporary because there's such a thing as democracy, governments can change. But this one is officially temporary. The concern is that means that you just save the money, you don't build that extra spending into your budget.
On the other hand, I think that, you know, the thing from the Democratic point of view, which is most troubling about this is it's kind of -- it's goodies for everyone, right? I mean, the way they got the deal through was you give the low-income stimulus which Democrats were pushing for, but you also have the estate tax and the upper income.
CHETRY: Right. So, sweeteners and no pain.
FREELAND: It's Santa Claus coming early.
ROBERTS: It's quite a Christmas tree, in fact.
Let me get you to do the on the one hand and on the other hand thing for us this morning, Chrystia. On the one hand, what's the impact for the middle class if it passes? And on the other hand, what's the impact for the middle class if it doesn't pass?
FREELAND: Well, on the one hand for the middle class, if it passes, it's right now tax cuts and probably more spending in the economy. And also, down the road, more money you have to pay back. If it doesn't pass -- I mean, then we're in this huge game of chicken between the Democrats and the Republicans.
ROBERTS: And everybody's taxes go up.
FREELAND: Everybody's taxes go up. But do we really believe that would stick? Do we believe --
CHETRY: You don't believe that even if this version doesn't get through right now, or if there's wrangling, they would ultimately be hands off? Because that's some of the threats from some of the House Democrats that they're going to say, all right.
ROBERTS: December 31st, it's all over.
FREELAND: Of course. And do you -- I mean, you know, that's political chicken and the big question is, you know, would the Republicans be willing to stick with that? Do they want in 2012 --
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: And do the Democrats want to be -- how about the Democrats, because they're in the same boat, too. Well, we'll see, if this thing continues.
Chrystia, it's great to see you this morning.
ROBERTS: Still to come this morning, Reynolds Wolf in for Rob this morning. He's got this morning's travel forecast coming up right after the break.
CHETRY: Also, deprogramming bullies using babies. We're going to see how one organization is using a child and mom's connection in the classrooms to help kids understand empathy.
Forty-five minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes now to the top of the hour. Let's get a quick check of the morning weather headlines. Reynolds Wolf in the Weather Center for us. Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, John. We're going to -- of course, the big focus that we have is the weather that is coming for parts of the Great Lakes and portions of the Ohio Valley over the next couple of days. Already, we're seeing some light snowfall in a few spots, mainly south of the Great Lakes through Pittsburgh back into Charleston, West Virginia. Buffalo, you've had some heavy snowfall, light dusting for you today, but even heavier stuff is on the way.
In terms of your cold air, we've got plenty of it. Many spots right below the freezing point in Boston, New York, Washington, even over towards Pittsburgh and now into the Western Great Lakes. We already have your watches and warnings that are in effect at this time. And the reason why is pretty simple. We've got an area of low pressure that is developing just off to our west. A double-barrel low actually, but it's the upper level low we're going to be watching over the next couple of days.
It's going to do a couple of things. One, it's going to make its way through the Ohio Valley, and it's going to bring a reinforcing shot, a very cold air, across those Great Lakes and bring some heavy snowfalls to places like Detroit, possibly, into Cleveland, Erie, Pennsylvania, perhaps even Pittsburgh. And with that cold air coming through in (ph) the moisture, we may also have a different situation in parts of Kentucky and into portions of West Virginia.
We're talking about the possibility of some heavy icing in a few places. And if that encourage (ph), you can see widespread power outages, certainly, a lot of issues and a lot of back roads and major interstates could have some issues also. And that's going to be spilling over into much of next week in terms of trying to restore power to a lot of places. But that cold air is something that just takes your breath away. In fact, take a look at the temperatures be expected by early on Monday.
John and Kiran, take a look at these temperatures. Fourteen below in the twin cities, 12 for parts of Kansas City. The temperatures you happen to see in white, those are your air temperature, but below that, that's your wind chill factor. Twenty- two degrees below zero is what it's going to feel like in parts of the twin cities. Same story over towards Fargo and Morehead, North Dakota, into places like, say, Chicago, 20 degrees below zero by Monday.
Even into say Cincinnati, it's going to feel like it's about 12 below. So, certainly, cold times ahead. The big concern for us, really, not as much the snow, but rather the ice possibly crippling through parts of the Midwest. Back to you.
CHETRY: Sounds good. Reynolds, we'll have to just wait and see.
WOLF: You bet.
ROBERTS: I'm not sure it sounds good, does it?
CHETRY: Sounds good the way he's breaking it down for us.
ROBERTS: He makes it sound good.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: No question about it.
CHETRY: Did I want this much snow first week of December? No.
ROBERTS: It's the cold temperatures. There are eights (ph) Tennessee.
CHETRY: It's not melting for a while.
ROBERTS: No.
CHETRY: All right. Coming up, teaching empathy. We're seeing how a baby has become a teacher in the classroom helping kids understand how to get along better and how this program has turned into an unexpected way to fight bullying. Fifty minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-three minutes past the hour right now. You know, parents and educators are always on the lookout for new ways to address the problem of bullying. What if there was a way to keep kids from becoming bullies in the first place? For more than ten years, a program in Canada has been doing just that, and the way they're doing it may surprise you. For our series, "Empowering Our Kids," we went to Toronto to find the roots of empathy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): It's an exciting day in Ms. Stewart's third grade class. OK. So, having a CNN crew here is cool, but that's not the main event in this Toronto, Ontario classroom.
CHETRY (on-camera): They're getting ready to sit around the green circle and for Baby Indigo to arrive.
CHETRY (voice-over): But first, some hand sanitizer, then the star of today's lesson makes her entrance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So, here is Indigo.
(SINGING) Hello, Baby Indigo, how are you? How are you?
CHETRY: She's just four months old, but for the next 30 minutes, Baby Indigo is the teacher, helping these students learn about emotion, reading others' feelings. In this case, Indigo's.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is she telling us right now?
UNIDENTIFIED KID: She doesn't like to be on her back.
CHETRY: The baby's visit is the heart of a program called "Roots of Empathy," a course that's proving to be an effective tool to combat bullying. Indigo and her parents will visit the class nine times during the year. A facilitator will make 27 visits to reinforce the lesson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you feeling when she got sitting, when she finally sat up?
UNIDENTIFIED KID: Happy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy for her?
UNIDENTIFIED KID: To get something new.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To do something new.
MARY GORDON, FOUNDER, ROOTS OF EMPATHY: The real importance of understanding how you feel and others feel really helps children navigate every social relationship in their lives.
CHETRY: Mary Gordon is the founder of Roots of Empathy.
How did you know that bringing a baby and the baby's mother into a classroom would somehow strike a chord with the kids?
GORDON: There's something so engaging about watching the love between a parent and a baby. And since that relationship of attachment and attunement is how we all develop our empathy, I thought why not bring the teachers in? Our little tiny teachers. And I just knew in my gut, it was a by golly approach. But now we have a scientific evidence of impact. CHETRY: Independent studies have found decreased aggression and an increased emotional understanding among kids who've been through the program. Translation, fewer bullies, more kids helping each other out. Teacher Denyse Stewart says she's seen a difference in the way her students relate to one another.
DENYSE STEWART, TEACHER: It's a place for them to practice being open. So, when they move outside of the classroom, they know what it feels like to be open. They know what it feels like to empathize.
(SINGING) row, row, row your boat.
CHETRY: The irony is that Gordon did not start out to create an anti-bullying program.
GORDON: I was just looking at how do we build more caring, peaceful, and civil societies through our children.
CHETRY: Hard to imagine a more beautiful way to teach a lesson.
(SINGING) Goodbye Baby Indigo, see you soon. See you very soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (on-camera): So now, there are these Roots of Empathy programs all across Canada. They actually spread out to New Zealand, as well in Ireland, and they're trying a program here in the U.S. in Seattle, Washington. And Mary Gordon says that the program has now reached some 323,000 kids.
ROBERTS: Those Canadians got great ideas.
CHETRY: They sure do.
ROBERTS: What is it about a baby, in relating with the baby, that causes kids to be nice to each other?
CHETRY: Yes, because I asked her about that. I said, well, could you bring a puppy in the classroom or a kitty or something else that, you know, a lot of children love and think it's cute, and she said it's actually viewing the world through the baby's eyes. She says that these children truly care about the baby and they see the love between the mother and the child.
Sometimes, they don't grow up with that, sometimes they did. And she says that what it causes them to do is to look at how they would feel through Baby Indigo if somebody did something to them. So, when she says, you know, is it nice for somebody to be excluded? Would you ever want Baby Indigo to be excluded from something? And they always say no.
ROBERTS: And is the trick here to catch the kids young and teach them this all the way up? I mean, if you took kids who were older and maybe who are involved in bullying, would they react the same way?
CHETRY: This classroom happened to be a third-grade classroom. They do it at the high school level, as well. And there's another called Seeds of Empathy, which is even younger kids doing this. So, they say that it works actually in all ages. But the thing that she finds most heart warming is you write what is your wish for Baby Indigo.
And you know, they put up a tree (ph), they put it up. And they said that these children who you wouldn't think understand, you know, deeply they just want her to always be happy. They want her to always be loved, always be protected the way that she is now with her mother.
ROBERTS: Isn't it amazing (ph)?
CHETRY: They're picking that up at seven and eight years old.
ROBERTS: That's pretty crazy. All right. What a program.
Top stories coming your way right after the break. Don't go away.
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