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American Morning
Uconn's Women's Basketball Team's 90 Games Winning Streak Ends; New York City's Sanitation Department Under Fire For Slow Snow Cleanup; Facebook Tops Google; Minimum Wage Hike in Seven States; Sanitation Snow Job?; Oprah Launches New Network; How to Stick to Your New Year's Resolutions; Cashing in During 2011
Aired December 31, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Friday, December 31st, I'm Christine Romans. Kiran Chetry has the morning off.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Joe Johns.
A lot to talk about this morning, it will be a party and a fortress as 1 million people begin to gather in Time Square to ring in 2011. An army of police will be working to make sure the event is safe. We're live in Time Square -- ahead of the biggest celebration in the world.
ROMANS: The weather is going out with a bang and a crash. Blizzard-like conditions cause a massive 100-car pile-up near Fargo, North Dakota. And extreme weather is wreaking havoc from L.A. to the Mississippi. How that could affect your New Year's plans. That's ahead.
JOHNS: And the longest winning streak in NCAA history is over. UConn's women basketball team fell to Stanford last night. It was their first loss in 90 games. More on the end of a historic run -- ahead.
ROMANS: And just this second, it's happy new year in Marshall Island all the way out in the south pacific.
JOHNS: In the last hour, Auckland, New Zealand is already done with 2010. It was one of the first places to ring in the new year.
ROMANS: And just a few blocks away in Time Square they're expecting a million people. The city is dealing with a few new challenges this year on top of all of the security, piles and piles of snow and allegations that clean-up workers let it sit on purpose. Allan Chernoff is live in Times Square for us. Good morning, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Well, over here, no problem with the snow. That's for sure. So many people come through here, it clears out quickly. But in less than 17 hours we are going to have a major party. And I'm assuming a few folks are going to show up by then.
We're going to have lots of music, people will be dancing in the streets, confetti, fireworks, and, of course, the big ball drop. This year, as a matter of fact, a couple that met in Iraq, they're going to get married under the ball. Can you think of anything more romantic? The way Times Square is on New Year's Eve now, my goodness, it is so different than the way it was not that long ago. I mean, I'm talking maybe a little more than a dozen years ago, 15 years ago.
It used to be here in Times Square, New Year's Eve, rowdy, lots of drinking, fighting. The fact is, for most people who came, it really wasn't a great experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM TOMPKINS, PRESIDENT, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE: People's perception of time square years ago was the perception of New York, that it was dangerous, terrifying, you wouldn't want to come here. And a big part of the turnaround in tourism in New York City is that Times Square is a welcoming place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: It certainly has helped tourism. And the fact is, it's incredibly family friendly not only during the day, but also at night and especially the night of New Year's Eve. The police are going to keep everything real tight starting at 3:00. No traffic allowed in. Anybody who is going to be coming in to time square for the big event, they're going to be checked, they're going to be put into a pen. The biggest problem will be getting out of that pen for the bathroom. But otherwise, police have got this place locked tight. Christine, Joe?
ROMANS: Allan, as a fellow long-time New Yorker, I will also say it's the nostalgic days of the wild west that made it so famous. People came from all over the world to go to Times Square, it was the original flash mob, Times Square, right?
JOHNS: It was fantastic. I did it one time and decided immediately that I would never do it again because I was so cold.
ROMANS: Yes.
CHERNOFF: You know, Joe, I'll tell you. When I was a kid, I went to a Broadway show one New Year's Eve with my date. We came out into Time Square, took a look, and then we got -- we hoofed it out of here fast.
JOHNS: Exactly. It's a lot. It's an experience, but it's a lot.
ROMANS: And that was a commitment. You've got to commit yourself. People will be showing up later this afternoon, people will be pushing at the gates to get their position, right, Allan?
CHERNOFF: Right. Well, at 11:00 New York time, they're actually clearing this place out. We're going to have to get out of here. The police will be doing a sweep. And then anybody who comes back in, they have to get checked very, very closely. ROMANS: After 11:00. So Joe can go get some lunch, change your clothes, get your new gloves and hat --
JOHNS: I'm going to Atlanta.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Thanks, Allan.
JOHNS: Extreme weather now, and it has been a messy and treacherous end to 2010 out there. A burst of heavy snow socking some higher parts of Arizona and Mexico, the storm marching east this morning.
ROMANS: And these next pictures are terrifying, further north, a tangled mess, a blizzard causing a 100-car pile-up. On I-94 near Fargo, North Dakota. Everyone survived.
JOHNS: Well, I see some trucks in there too. Sorry.
(WEATHER BREAK)
ROMANS: If it's true, it's a complete and utter outrage. New York City now investigating allegations that snow removal workers were told to take it slow to get back at the mayor. Thousands of people in the city that never sleeps were socked in for days after last weekend's blizzard, including some women that went into labor, ambulances, fire trucks, and police. Some people may have died because what is being called a "pathetic plowing attempt." David Ariosto joins us now.
DAVID ARIOSTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for a city that prides itself on its ability to respond, this week's holiday blizzard has left many New Yorkers wondering why it took days for them to dig out of the snow basically days after the blizzard hit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARIOSTO: Allegations and accusations swept through the Big Apple just days after a monster blizzard blanketed roadways and runways, clogging neighborhoods and stranding thousands of travelers. At issue, whether New York City's sanitation workers were ordered to intentionally delay clean-up efforts ahead of budget cuts to the department.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (I) NEW YORK: I don't think it took place, but we're going to do an investigation to make sure that it didn't. It would be an outrage if it took place, but I just don't know.
ARIOSTO: The rumors reached a fever pitch after a city councilman said three sanitation workers and two other state supervisors contacted him alleging sabotage.
ARIOSTO (on camera): Do you personally think that sanitation workers and the supervisors would put New York City residents at jeopardy by not cleaning up some of these streets?
DANIEL HALLORAN, NEW YORK COUNCILMAN: Well, I don't think there was -- I don't think these supervisors who made this call were looking at the big picture. I think they were looking at the short-term issue, which is 100 of them were about to be demoted.
ARIOSTO (voice-over): The presidents of the sanitation officers association could not be immediately reached for comment. He did respond, however, to the allegations on WNYW, a local TV station here in New York.
JOSEPH MANNION, SANITATION OFFICER'S ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: Absolutely not. No, no. There were absolutely no sanctions from the union or from the membership at all. They know their job. Snow is a serious aspect of our job. We know that.
ARIOSTO: Mayor Bloomberg, who is occasionally mentioned as a presidential candidate, has faced mounting criticism over the speed of this week's snow removal. But what actually went wrong is now the subject of investigation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARIOSTO: Now, labor reps we spoke to after the fact say they're blaming basically high winds, mechanical failures for the City's slow clean-up effort. But what's not clear is if or how this may affect Mayor Bloomberg's political future. What it does do, however, is highlight some of the state budget and city budget issues that are thrust to the forefront of national news.
JOHNS: So we will be talking to Daniel Halloran who appeared in this piece a little later to get a little bit more perspective on who said what. It's a very interesting story with a lot of ramifications.
ROMANS: Absolutely. David, thank you so much.
New this morning, he didn't walk softly, but this robbery suspect certainly carried a big stick, a wooden staff. A Virginia store owner grabs a hammer in self-defense. This bizarre standoff ensues -- big stick versus little hammer.
JOHNS: It doesn't work.
ROMANS: The big stick won. And we know the store owner was not hurt. The robber jumped over the counter, making off with an undisclosed amount of cash. This reminded our producers of a 2008 Florida hold-up equally bizarre.
JOHNS: That's ridiculous.
ROMANS: Yes. The weapon of choice a palm frand, and needless to say, this genius suspect got away empty handed, as well.
JOHNS: Next time, though, use a pineapple as a deadly weapon.
All right, big recalls to tell you about from both Ford and Chrysler. The Chrysler recalls involve nearly 150,000 trucks and SUVs. There are issues with the steering and air bags as well as some stalling problems involving certain dodge ram trucks and the 2009 Dodge Journey. At Ford, close to 20,000 trucks and crossover SUVs are being recalled in the U.S. and Canada to fix an electrical problem that could start a fire. Those models include the F series pickup trucks and the edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers.
ROMANS: And the streak is over. University of Connecticut women's basketball team lost to Stanford last night 71 to 59. That ends their record-breaking run of 90 consecutive college basketball wins. The last time the Huskies lost, April of 2008, beaten by, you guessed it, Stanford.
JOHNS: What an incredible run.
And speaking of incredible runs, she's conquered daytime TV, and now Oprah sets her sights on network domination.
ROMANS: The world is next.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: The new shows, the new hosts, and where you can find Oprah's new network starting tomorrow.
ROMANS: And new allegations that sanitation workers slowed down the snowplows in New York on purpose. Could that be? Details coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back to "AMERICAN MORNING." Here's what's new this morning, a new app from Skype that allows iPhone users to make and receive free video calls using Wi-Fi. The app was released by Skype yesterday. Owners of the iPhone-4 and 3gs can video chat with other iPhone users. They can receive a call but can't initiate one.
JOHNS: That is good news.
ROMANS: Facebook has topped Google to become America's most popular Web site in 2010. The web tracking firm hit wise says nine percent of nearly all online visits were to Facebook. The world's largest social network now has roughly half-a-billion members. Google held the top spot for the last two years.
ROMANS: There's a reason that guy is people's most interesting guy -- or "Time's."
An estimated 650,000 minimum wage workers will start the New Year with a little more in their paycheck. We've been telling you about. The minimum wage is going up between 9 and 12 cents in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. In each of those states the minimum wage rises automatically with the cost of living.
JOHNS: First, a monster blizzard walloped New York City. Now another storm is brewing and this one is political.
ROMANS: Mayor Michael Bloomberg underfire for how he handled the cleanup promising a full-scale investigation into whether sanitation workers were told by supervisors to slow down to protect -- to protest budget cuts.
JOHNS: With us right now is City Councilman Daniel Halloran. He's had personal conversation with some of those workers. So, you know, we've heard this story three or four different ways. It's great to get it right from your mouth because you're there and you've been talking about this thing. Sort of walk us through this. You had people come to your office before the storm or during the storm? What did they say? What did they do if you know?
DANIEL HALLORAN, (R) NYC COUNCILMAN: Well, what happened initially was, about two weeks ago, the community councils have what's called a borough board meeting. And at that borough board meeting, there were whispers if we had a bad snow this year. It was going to be a problem because the sanitation supervisors were slated to be demoted.
A hundred of them for no other reason other than budget reasons were going to be happening at the end of this year. The mayor has been talking a lot about budget cuts across the boards. We saved some sanitation funding last year in the budget cycle to try to prevent layoffs and to try to prevent one-day-a-week garbage collection, which is what was on the table at that point.
As you know we've revisited the budget problems. We have a $62 billion budget, third largest in North America, right after the U.S. government, the states of California and New York. So what happened is I got a phone call in the middle of the storm Monday morning as it was tapering out from several workers.
And they said they needed to speak to me and later on in the afternoon, Tuesday, I got to sit down with two DOT supervisors and three sanitation workers completely independent of each other. They called me and said we need to talk.
What basically happened was this, the sanitation workers said this, as they reported in for work, the supervisors told them we're not going to be on top of you like usual, don't worry if you miss a couple of streets. Don't go out there and push too hard. We're not going to be watching. The city doesn't care about us, so don't worry about it.
The DOT crews, which are assigned to sanitation for secondary street plowing was sent over to sanitation supervisors, supervisors told them, all right, go park at your destination locations to start going out, we'll get back to you. Six to eight hours later, they didn't.
JOHNS: Do you have a sense as to whether this might be a widespread sentiment or was this just two or three people?
HALLORAN: Well, here's the thing. The three sanitation workers I spoke to work out of two different garages so at least supervisors in Queens in those two garages were part of the slowdown. The DOT crews were inside of queens. I'm speaking about Queens.
But then you take a look at the rest of the city of New York and you ask yourself what's happened. This is the sixth worst snowstorm in the last 20 years, but it's not the first and it's certainly not in the top five.
So looking at the responses even we had last year, 24 hours after the snow hit the ground, we were cleaned up. Here we are going past 72 hours --
ROMANS: Is the question of the people in the trucks, the people who are doing it or the question of other people saying no, it's the city response. The city did not have a coordinated response.
HALLORAN: It's a little bit of everything.
ROMANS: That's a rumor. That's an urban myth that somehow a few people in 58,000 sanitation workers or something could take down the city of New York with street cleaning.
HALLORAN: Well, first, let's be clear. There were 500 sanitation workers who called out sick on Monday. That's 10 percent of the operable workforce.
JOHNS: And already down 400.
HALLORAN: Absolutely, but to say that was the cause isn't the answer. We know that they only need 2,500 on the streets to handle the equipment. There's only so much equipment we have, 2,500 covers, we had that in place. So that's the same. What's the change?
JOHNS: The one thing we have to jump in here say the sanitation workers have said not on your life, hasn't happened.
ROMANS: They're actually offended by the suggestion that they would like slow down the city that they love.
JOHNS: And the mayor, we have a sound bite with him. He questions it, as well. Can we listen real fast?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY: I don't think it took place, but we're going to do an investigation to make sure that it didn't. It would be an outrage if it took place, but I just don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Still, if something like this happened, we've been talking about the fact that there are people who died and those deaths could be attributed to the storm. So I suppose the next question is, is it possible we could see some type of an investigation that leads to perhaps criminal charges? HALLORAN: Well, look, I know the Department of Investigation is on this right now. I've had contacts with the district attorney offices and the U.S. attorneys' offices. They're interested in looking at things, but I don't think the criminal aspect is really the issue. I don't think the Taylor Law for example was violated because I don't think it was a union wide --
ROMANS: What's the Taylor Law?
HALLORAN: In New York, the Taylor Law prohibits the striking of public service employees to prevent any sort of public safety consequences, but we know several fire units weren't able to get to fires they needed to, four alarms because six alarms.
We know that the police were not able to respond to certain calls and we know unfortunately that some ambulances weren't able to get to people in time. I don't believe for a minute that the union itself organized this.
I think you had 100 workers who were supervisors who were about to be demoted and there are two different unions operating here, the sanitation workers and officers union.
And I don't believe the officers union or sanitation workers union said go out and do this. I think some supervisors in some houses, some of these garages wanted to send a message to the mayor.
JOHNS: Very quickly. This is New Year's Eve. Do you think this is sort of a glimpse of the future for municipal workers in bad situations across the country?
HALLORAN: Look, we have a lot of pension reform issues we're trying to tackle and you know that mayor has been right out in front on that. Talking about a need for a new tier system up in Albany.
We're not able to handle load, $62 billion last year, we had to shave $5 billion. The pension systems are increasing. If they'll go in the direction they are, they will double the cost to the city within the next four years. We can't sustain that sort of spending.
JOHNS: City Councilman Daniel Halloran, thanks so much for coming in early and talking with us.
HALLORAN: Pleasure to be here. Good morning.
ROMANS: All right, still to come, we're setting you up for success in 2011. Making good on all of those New Year's resolutions. It's going to be a snap. We'll have the doctor's orders coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Oprah's making good on her New Year's resolution. The queen of talk launches OWN, the new Oprah Winfrey Network tomorrow. JOHNS: It'll be chalked full of series and shows handpicked and created by Oprah herself. A preview from CNN entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Joe and Christine, good morning. The final countdown, it's officially underway. No, not just to New Year's, but to the day millions Oprah Winfrey fans have been waiting for, the launch of her very own cable TV network.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It all begins here.
WYNTER (voice-over): It's arguably the most ambitious endeavor of her career. A 24-hour television channel dedicated entirely to the vision of Oprah Winfrey.
OPRAH WINFREY: I could take every hero who inspired me --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The launch of OWN is a huge deal in the television business.
WYNTER: TV expert Matthew Belany says he knows what OWN's greatest strength and challenge will be.
MATTHEW BELANY: Oprah, she has a huge advantage in launching a network because she is a brand. The danger is that the programming may not live up to the brand. I mean, that's the big question mark.
WYNTER: Here's how Oprah plans to answer that question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a time for new beginnings.
WYNTER: In ask Oprah's all-stars. A live audience goes one on one with Dr. Phil, Suze Orman, and Dr. Oz.
WINFREY: Everybody has a story.
WYNTER: Master class profiles eight world icons. Season 25 takes fans behind the scenes of Oprah's hit talk show while "Big Bowl Of Love" invites viewers into the kitchen of Christina Ferrare.
CHRISTINA FERRARE, "BIG BOWL OF LOVE": This is my dream come true chapter and this is what I love to do.
WYNTER: And for those who love clutter, Peter Walsh has "Enough Already."
PETER WALSH, "ENOUGH ALREADY": This is a show that looks at people's stuff, but gives them a road map out of this overwhelming amount of clutter in their house.
WYNTER (on camera): So many new networks fail. Why do you think this one is different? WALSH: People want -- want to be the best they can be. People want heroes. People want inspiration. Here at last is a level of programming that brings people that.
WYNTER: There are a lot of critics out there. I personally don't understand why wouldn't you want to have this kind of programming when today all you see now are those shows about, you know, housewives pulling each other's hair.
WALSH: I know it's easy to be cynical or skeptical, but I for one am so excited about what's going to happen when that -- that switch is flipped.
WYNTER (voice-over): The switch gets flipped New Year's Day when viewers decide whether they will shine a light on OWN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: And the first official program on OWN. It airs at noon on New Year's Day. It's going to be a two-hour special hosted by Oprah herself. It's going to be called "Oprah's Guide to Own." As for those discovery health shows, only two will remain on the network, "Deliver Me" and "Mystery Diagnosis." Joe, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Still to come, will there be a pardon for one of this country's most notorious outlaws? Find out by the governor of New Mexico has been considering a pardon for Billy the Kid. That story just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHNS: Time for this morning's top stories.
Manhole covers sealed, tan trucks blocking side streets, sharp shooters perched higher than the crystal ball. New York City hoping for a happy and secure New Year's celebration. More than a million people expected to ring in 2011 in Times Square tonight.
ROMANS: More worries about the food we all eat. A California firm recalling over 34,000 pounds of ground beef that may contain the potentially deadly E. coli bacteria. The packages were sold in at least six states. Check your freezers for 16-ounce packages of Nature's Harvest or Organic Harvest ground beef bricks and patties.
JOHNS: Historic flooding affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Northeast Australia right now. Choppers helped evacuate entire towns that are cut off by high waters. Some areas have already gotten two feet of rain and officials say the water has reached 53 feet in some places.
ROMANS: Nearly 130 years after the death of America's most notorious outlaw, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has decided not to pardon Billy the Kid.
Back in the day, Billy, aka William Bonney -- he had a couple other pseudonyms as well -- he was promised a pardon if he testified before a grand jury in a murder case. Bonney testified but never got his pardon. Exactly why remains unclear.
Richardson said Bonney's slaying of two deputies while escaping from jail played a big part in his decision. Here's the governor just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: It was a very close call. I've been working on this for eight years. You know, the romanticism appealed to me to issue a pardon, but the facts and the evidence did not support it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: And the big problem there -- I mean, this guy is tied to numerous killings, some say 20 killings, perhaps four. He was not a good guy, and, at the end of the day, I talked to Bill Richardson just last night about this whole story. He decided it wasn't such a good idea, because --
ROMANS: It's politically tricky to pardon someone who has a -- who is a convicted killer of law enforcement as well. I mean, that's a real --
JOHNS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: -- that's a real --
JOHNS: -- thing. And even -- and even this governor, you know, what he was looking at is whether a governor a long time ago had promised a -- a pardon to Billy the Kid, and how much does that really matter in the scheme of things.
ROMANS: Right. Five-foot-three. He was 5'3".
JOHNS: Little, tiny guy.
ROMANS: Yes.
JOHNS: Billy the Kid.
ROMANS: And deadly.
All right. Were you looking for bright spots in 2010, but you kept coming up short? Well, 2011 may offer you some hope. I looked for 10 -- my top 10 list of -- of things to be -- to be happy about with your money in 2011. I -- I came up with five.
JOHNS: Oh, if you already have your New Year's resolutions lined up, from getting in shape to being on time, we're going to help you tap into the willpower to keep the promises you make for 2011.
It's 32 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Tonight we're going to ring in the New Year with a little bit of -- of cheer. According to a CNN/Opinion Research poll, more Americans are optimistic about the state of the world than they were a year ago, 63 percent.
JOHNS: That's fantastic.
ROMANS: Hey, that's up 12 points from 2009.
About the same number are hopeful about their personal lives in the new year, 64 percent, but that number is down five points from last year.
JOHNS: All right. All right.
A new year, a new attitude, maybe a better body.
ROMANS: Oh, you don't need it. You don't need it!
JOHNS: I sure do. I'm getting in the gym.
ROMANS: If you're like most of us, making New Year's resolutions is easy, but keeping them, that's another story.
Here with some tips to help you stick to it is Dr. Jeff Gardere.
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning.
ROMANS: Love to talk to you all the time, but this time of the year especially because --
JOHNS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- the -- the stores are full of diet books, financial books, self-help books --
JOHNS: Right.
ROMANS: -- this time of the year, because we all have good intentions, but sticking to it is so hard. How do you make the resolutions last in the year?
GARDERE: Well, you have to be specific in your goals. Everyone's all over the place with their goals. They're too broad, they're not achievable, they're not planning them, they're not -- they're not well thought out. They're just throwing everything against the wall.
ROMANS: It's an idea. It's not a goal.
GARDERE: Exactly.
JOHNS: Right. Yes.
ROMANS: It's like what I want to be, but you have to work to attain those.
GARDERE: Well, yes, and they're going with the spirit, and the spirit is good when you're setting resolutions because studies show that people who do set resolutions this time of the year are 10 times more likely to achieve their goals, but these are people who work at it, and that's what's most important.
JOHNS: So you're saying you have to be more specific about them? I mean, why is it that it's so tough? Is it because they're not specific enough?
GARDERE: Because they --
JOHNS: You just -- right. (INAUDIBLE).
GARDERE: They're -- they're overly generous in what it is that they want to do.
So, first and foremost, you've got to be specific. Pick a goal that you know that is achievable. And that's why it's important to be realistic. Don't pick something that's pie in the sky and you're setting up yourself for failure. So first, be specific, secondly, be realistic, but, most importantly, make a plan, write it down.
ROMANS: Put it on paper.
GARDERE: Commit yourself.
ROMANS: Put it on paper.
GARDERE: Put it on paper and take that paper and put it onto a refrigerator door, put it on the bathroom mirror. Remind yourself that you're working at a goal, and you're doing it on paper.
ROMANS: Because this was what I was saying about making a budget.
JOHNS: Right. Yes.
ROMANS: You know, you've got to put it down in a goal --
GARDERE: That's right.
ROMANS: -- (INAUDIBLE) your resolution can't be something that you just thought up, you know, the morning after.
JOHNS: Exactly.
ROMANS: On January 1st.
GARDERE: That's right.
ROMANS: You've got to -- you've go to revisit that goal, see where you are, and -- and move forward throughout the year. Goals -- resolutions shouldn't be just for January 1st. GARDERE: That's -- that's right, and it's got to be incremental. Small steps at a time leading to small successes, and then the final big success and, most importantly, set reinforcements because if you do reward yourself for good behaviors, positive behaviors, you'll do that.
ROMANS: Quitting smoking is a good example of that.
JOHNS: Exactly.
ROMANS: You know, quitting smoking is something you know that you want to do. I mean, even the president has gone through this. You know you want to do it. You have to have incremental goals, certain number of days put together, and you have to get support from your friends.
GARDERE: That's right. Support from family and friends is great. They reinforce you themselves, and it's almost like a buddy system with the family and friends because they can join you in the same goal. Two or three people trying to quit smoking is easier than that one lone wolf trying to do it by themselves.
JOHNS: And you also talk about charting the progress. Now, how often should you chart it? Do you have to do this every day? Should it be a diary? Is it better to be like a diary or once a week?
GARDERE: Well, it -- it depends on whatever the goal is and what works for you. I like the daily charting because you could look at what you accomplished from the day before. You could see exactly what worked, what didn't work, and then you can change that particular plan to make it work better for you.
ROMANS: This is the psychology of why the beginning of the year we want to change our lives and start all over at the dead of winter.
JOHNS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: And we do this every year.
GARDERE: Well, because it's -- it's a new year, it's new beginnings, and you have everyone around you on the whole planet. They're about the new beginnings, throwing out the old, coming in with the new, not giving yourself a hard time, starting with a clean slate. But the important thing is learning from the mistakes that you made before so that you can be much more --
JOHNS: Right.
GARDERE: -- successful this time around.
JOHNS: And -- and there's two other things that come to my mind. One is the idea -- if you have these moments of temptation, right?
GARDERE: Yes.
JOHNS: Those certain moments of weakness. How do you talk yourself out of that? How -- how do you get yourself across the bridge? Because maybe just that one moment will be the difference between going two months and going eight months.
GARDERE: Well, first and foremost, you're not perfect. You're a human being, and therefore you will slip up, you will have those temptations coming your way. It's important as much as possible to look at the end goal. Knowing that there will be certain consequences for cheating by having that cake or -- even cheating on that marriage.
What are the consequences? You have to look forward into the future. But the most important thing is learning from those mistakes. You're not going to be perfect. We know the greatest successes certainly have slip-ups, they had mistakes, but you learn from them and it gives you the impetus to get right on up after you've fallen down to do even better.
JOHNS: Right.
ROMANS: I think it's important to make goals that are attainable, first of all.
GARDERE: Yes.
ROMANS: There's something that I'm not going to be a brain surgeon. I cannot make my goals if you're a brain surgeon. But I also think you can't make them so easy that -- that they don't really --
JOHNS: Yes. Right. Exactly.
GARDERE: That they really don't matter to you.
ROMANS: Right.
GARDERE: It's got to be something that's important in your life, by the way. For example, I know my goals for this year is to finally muster up the courage to go and have a colonoscopy. I'm over 50 years old, I haven't done this yet.
ROMANS: Good for you.
GARDERE: I've been a scaredy-cat. But I put a plan together, seeing my physician.
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE) you got a plan.
GARDERE: You know, just getting through the door and in getting that done.
JOHNS: Yes. But mine is just to spend a lot more time in the dentist's office. And I basically have -- is there like a dental phobia?
GARDERE: Yes. There is -- there is a dental phobia.
ROMANS: We're going to look that one up for you. GARDERE: Absolutely.
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE).
GARDERE: You know what the first step is? Just doing your research, going on Google, doing your research, going to healthguru.com and looking up who are the best dentists available, and just getting through the door.
ROMANS: We're -- we're going to keep our resident psychiatrist in the break --
JOHNS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: -- even so that we can give him all stuff we don't want you to know about.
Thanks, Jeff Gardere.
GARDERE: Thank you so much.
ROMANS: Reynolds Wolf will have this morning's travel forecast right after the break.
It's 42 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: OK. Were you looking for bright spots in 2010 but you continually came up short?
JOHNS: Yes, and pretty much every year is the same thing.
ROMANS: But 2010 was pretty -- I mean, it was about (INAUDIBLE).
JOHNS: It was bad.
ROMANS: And the number of times I talked about what a horrible job market it was, small businesses couldn't get loans. There was a flash crash in May when stocks fell 700 points. I mean, nobody knew what was going on.
But I wanted to put together my top 10 reasons why you can be happy about your money in 2011, except I couldn't find 10 reasons. I found five reasons!
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: Better than zero, right?
ROMANS: I wanted to walk you through them. First, looks like bank lending is going to improve. I think that's going to be something we can watch. And that's mostly because time heals all wounds, and enough time has passed since the crisis. But also because banks are scrambling to take customers from their rivals. So, if you're a small business, I think you're going to have a better time. I think the mass layoffs were over. I think that was a story of 2008 and early 2009, but the mass layoffs are behind us, and I think yesterday's numbers for jobless claims proved that. At least for now. You might see them tick up again. But on the front end, people who are newly unemployed are going to have a better time finding a job next year as opposed to people out of work for six months or longer. And Joe, we've talked about --
JOHNS: Brutal.
ROMANS: I think the third thing on the list is you're going to see -- if you have a job, you can be moving on to bigger and better things at work. With know that 81 percent of people surveyed by manpower say they are itching to jump ship and get that new job. Bosses know that. It might be your year to ask for a raise or a better job or a new promotion.
Number four on the list, I think you're going to see -- mortgage rates, they could start to go up. They have been going up in the past few weeks. But they are still pretty low.
JOHNS: Right.
ROMANS: If you're in a good position to buy a home, if you can stand the fact the housing market is --
JOHNS: That's the question about the housing market, right?
ROMANS: Interest rates remain low, and there's this debt purge. Guys, I think the debt purge is a good thing. I mean, we are getting rid of all of this consumer debt one way or the other, and that's going to leave us a lot more flexible with our kitchen-table economics, with our budget.
So, those are five things I think will be good for, you know, the average family's pocketbook next year.
JOHNS: The first one's really interesting. Bank lending improving. You're saying it's market forces that are actually going to cause banks to loosen up credit?
ROMANS: I think so. And there's a Federal Reserve report this week. Also, Moody's says, I think, that industrial and commercial lending should be up three percent. That's the best we've seen in a few years. That means if you've got a good business plan, if you've survived the crisis, then there might be money available. We'll have to see if it pans out, of course.
But these are just reasons to be a little bit more optimistic. Five -- oh, I couldn't come up with 10. If you come up with five more, anybody out there, please, give me five more reasons to be optimistic. I'd appreciate it.
JOHNS: The one thing, the housing market, that is -- that's one of the biggest questions of all. ROMANS: Maybe that wipes out three of those things on that list. The housing market -- we're talking about a double-dip in the housing market. If you are a seller, it's a real tough time. And we had Mike Aubry (ph) on this program yesterday who said you have to be priced right to sell your house, and it has to look good. Those are the two most important things if you're a seller. So --
JOHNS: Great.
All right. It is 47 minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's headlines. Reynolds Wolf in the Extreme Weather Center. Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys, I think extreme is a pretty fitting description of what's going on out there. If you're traveling, things have been extreme the last couple of days.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: We'll showing you all around the universe today, aren't we? Let's get it back to you.
JOHNS: Nice. It was just a week ago that all, you know -- you know what broke loose. Oh, well. All right.
ROMANS: All what? Pray tell, Joe.
(LAUGHER)
ROMANS: It's a family program, Joe.
JOHNS: I'm not supposed to say that!
ROMANS: Geez! All right, Reynolds Wolf, thanks.
JOHNS: Thanks, Ren.
After the break, football's concussion crisis. A chilling look at what can happen to players after years of repeated hits to the head.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: This morning, the final edition of "Hard Hits: Dangerous Game." Our look at one of football's most debilitating occupational hazards, concussions.
JOHNS: After years of taking hits to the head, many nfl players suffer loss of memory, rage, depression and brain damage. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice play there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh! He got drilled in the thigh. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are thrilling --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delivered the blow. Came in with a stinger.
GUPTA: -- and terrifying. Watch a football game and you can't miss them -- the hits.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, dropped.
GUPTA: But what is the real impact? What is happening to the players' brains?
(on camera): How many times did you take a hard hit playing football?
FRED MCNEILL, FORMER NFL LINEBACKER: There was one time when I had a real serious concussion. And it was so serious, that I was dizzy for, like, you know -- for, like, two or three weeks.
GUPTA (voice-over): Thirty years ago, Fred McNeill was a linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings. He played for 12 seasons and in two Super Bowls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Takes a big shot!
GUPTA: Relentlessly hitting opponents was his job.
MCNEILL: You got to be able the move, right?
GUPTA (on camera): Right.
(voice-over): No question McNeill is robust physically.
MCNEILL: Then you can control it.
GUPTA: But you can tell his brain has paid a price.
(on camera): What has it done to you?
MCNEILL: Well, impact is on memory. I meet people, and they talk about the conversation that we had, you know, two weeks ago or three weeks ago, or a month ago, or whatever. And I don't remember.
GUPTA: If we saw each other again, would you remember me?
MCNEILL: Sanjay, I don't know. When I started out --
GUPTA (voice-over): The not knowing, it happens often.
There was also rage --
TIA MCNEILL, FRED MCNEILL'S WIFE: It got to where I would say things that really shouldn't upset him, and he would get angry really quick. His temper was very short.
GUPTA: -- followed by remorse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that was the biggest thing for my dad. He felt like it was all his fault.
GUPTA: It wasn't, but there was no doubt he was different.
T. MCNEILL: There was a moment where I realized I wasn't living with the person that I knew and married.
GUPTA: No one seemed to know what was happening to Fred McNeill until reports about other former NFL players who had been through similar issues. Like McNeill, they had memory problems, rage issues, and depression. Most disturbing, all died young.
Could concussions, the common denominator, be to blame?
(on camera): Is that a little bit different on this side?
(voice-over): Researchers at Boston University Medical School are looking deep into the brain and spinal cord of former athletes to find out. What they are seeing is startling.
This is a normal brain. This one, a 45-year-old former NFL player.
See the brown tangles? That's brain damage. It looks a lot like this 70-year-old brain with dementia.
DR. ANN MCKEE, NEUROLOGIST, BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: To see the kind of changes we are seeing in 45-year-olds is basically unheard of.
GUPTA: It's called chronic traumatic encephalopathy. And here's the kicker -- those changes are directly associated with rage, memory problems and depression.
MCNEILL: I was actually considering not living. I was actually considering that.
GUPTA (on camera): You wanted to end your life?
MCNEILL: Yes. I was just thinking it would be so much easier.
GUPTA: The NFL provided with us this statement. Quote, "What we're trying to prevent is multiple concussions without recovery. We know there are long-term effects of concussion, but they have not yet been fully characterized. The whole goal of the NFL is when in doubt, sit them out and let them recover so that there are no long-term effects.
(voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Top stories are coming your way after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
