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Australian Wildfires Leave 100 Dead; Lake Erie Ice Rescue; Israeli Elections Previewed
Aired February 08, 2009 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Tragedy unfolds this hour down under. Massive wildfires. Some deliberately set, burn out of control in southeastern Australia. More than 100 people have been killed. The fires are already being called the deadliest in the nation's history. And they are not even close to being extinguished.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell and all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours. And many good people now lie dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're here, and --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tries consoling the growing number of victims. As of now, 108 people have been killed. At least 640 homes and structures charred. Two small towns have been burned to the ground in all, more than 500,000 acres have burned. Officials are checking reports that two of the fires were deliberately set.
One man has been arrested and charged with lighting some of the fires. Australia's government has created nearly $7 million relief fund for fire victims, many of whom are still in a state of shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 25 years, it's gone. I've worked so hard to get that house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's devastating. It's heart wrenching. And some people that we know, I think they've lost two of the young kids. That's even worse.
CHRISTINE NIXON, CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF POLICE: Please just stay out of those areas until we can actually get in, make sure it's safe and deal with some of the consequences and certainly some of these very sad deaths that we are seeing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Phil Shepherd is an inspector with the Victoria State Police. He joins us by phone from Melbourne with more on the situation. All right. So Mr. Shepherd, how in the world can you try to contain this fire and at the same time try to rescue people or save more lives?
VOICE OF PHIL SHEPHERD, INSPECTOR, VICTORIA POLICE: Yes, good afternoon. It's obviously just been a tragic time for us here in Victoria. The conditions are like none that we have ever seen before, and it's just been a particularly challenging time for firefighters and for police members in terms of trying to deal with this situation.
Some of our police members, many of whom have been in policing for most of their lives, many, many years, are describing this as something of a holocaust. Seeing the effects of the fire. We have - we had an impact all over the state. In particular, we have two towns that are completely wiped out, every single house.
WHITFIELD: And firefighters can't battle these blazes alone. While, you know, you are an inspector with the police department, give me an idea how all jurisdictions, all various types of first responders are getting involved in all of this.
SHEPHERD: Well, obviously, the firefighters at the scene and they are supported by a range of emergency service workers who are cutting fire breaks. We have police who are preparing roadblocks and evacuating people from homes. These are a range of people who are helping together in that way.
WHITFIELD: And at what point do you feel like you'll be able to contain these blazes?
SHEPHERD: Look, that's really a call for the fire service people, but the expectation is that some of these fires certainly will burn for a number of days. Some of them are expected to burn perhaps for a series of weeks.
WHITFIELD: All right. Phil Shepherd. Inspector with the Victoria State Police. Thanks so much for your time. And of course, we wish you all the best in your continued efforts to try to get all of this under control.
All right. Let's talk now to James Tom. He's a CNN i-reporter. He's actually a resident of the town of Upwey, Australia, which is about the outer east area of the greatest portion of this fire.
So give me an idea, James, you apparently are still at your home, right? You refuse to evacuate or was it a case that you weren't asked to evacuate?
VOICE OF JAMES TOM, I-REPORTER: Good morning. Now, we weren't asked to evacuate. A lot of the residents took it upon themselves to evacuate. I guess in memory of Ash Wednesday, some 26 years ago. The views were quite similar. The residents didn't want to be faced with the same decision in the last moment, so they all decided to leave. A lot of residents like myself decided to stay and just take a gamble.
WHITFIELD: Well, are you worried? You are at home with your wife and, what, four children? Are you concerned?
TOM: That's correct. The threat has now passed. But on Saturday, that was a big concern for my wife and children left to their mother- in-law's place. I decided to stay and just take a gamble and by the - I guess by the death toll on the TV, I don't think I would have made it either. So thank god that it didn't come near our area and moved northward.
WHITFIELD: So how far away are you from the area of the fires? I understand that it's somewhere between a mile and a mile and a half. Is that right?
TOM: Well, we had - we had a small outbreak in Upper Centry Galley and that was brought under control. The big major fires are burning 15, maybe 30 kilometers away now. But earlier on, probably within 15, 20 kilometers, I guess, north. So it's not too far away.
WHITFIELD: OK.
TOM: The way the fire - the way the fires spread here and the speed, it's less than an hour away. So it can turn - it can turn nasty quickly.
WHITFIELD: All right. James Tom, we're glad that you're out of harm's way. All the best to you and your family and of course, all your neighbors in the area who are still suffering through these devastating fires. Appreciate your time from Upwey, Australia.
All right. To the U.S. now and that ice flow rescue off Lake Erie yesterday. You remember seeing the images and hearing the information as it was breaking. One fisherman died and 134 had to be rescued when an eight-mile long ice shelf broke away from land. The U.S. Coast Guard, state and local authorities and even volunteers scrambling to rescue those who were stranded.
Sheriff Bob Bratton of Ottawa County, Ohio, blasted the fishermen as irresponsible.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF BOB BRATTON, SHERIFF, OTTAWA COUNTY: In our financial status going across the country, this was wrong. These people endangered lives of volunteer firemen. The United States Coast Guard. I have estimated already we're well over $25,000 for this, and I'm sure that's going to climb. I'm sorry a man lost his life out there today. These people should have known better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The sheriff says the fishermen ignored a large crack in the ice.
All right. Let's check in with our Jacqui Jeras. Very familiar with that region of the country. And accidents do happen. But at the same time you hear from the sheriff and other authorities who say that there were signs. People should know when it's safe to get on these blocks of ice, to get on ice, whether it's Lake Erie or any of the other great lakes.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, yes, you know, there was a crack. They had to use one of those big pallets to cover up the crack so they could get from one part of the ice to the other part of the ice. So if you're doing that, you know, you've got to think, that maybe it's not the safest thing. And there's some kind of a risk involved.
You know, Lake Erie, the shallowest of all of the Great Lakes, but it's between, you know, like 60 and 200 feet deep and you know, water is a fluid dynamic. It's always moving. And think of it like plate tectonics. You know, those big - that big chunk of ice was like eight miles wide. So think of those big chunks that kind of moved back and forth. The crack might be really small at one time and it might get really big at one time.
There's also warmer water currents that flow underneath these ice flows and could actually start melting from underneath, believe it or not. So there's all kinds of risk. The water temperature there was about 31.5 degrees or so and over in the Cleveland area, it's 40 degrees. So Lake Erie is not completely frozen at this time. I want to show you also here on Google earth a little thing I put together about the fires that have been ongoing in Australia as well.
This is motive(ph) satellite. Basically, it's heat detection. So all of those little fire signatures that you see there is being detected by space as heat because of this and unfortunately, we're going to continue to see these fires burn in this area as more hot, dry, windy conditions can be expected in the upcoming days.
Now we don't have heat like 80s and 90s, but hey, we're talking some 60s and 70s across the southeast, Fredricka, way above average here. We have a lot of record highs yesterday even in some of the plain states. We'll see more of that throughout the day, today and into tomorrow. But where the warm air and the cold air comes together, we tend to get severe weather, even in February, yes. And we'll be watching this area this afternoon for that, but more significant severe weather can be expected in the nation's midsection on Tuesday.
WHITFIELD: Oh, fair warning. All right. Thank you, Jacqui. Appreciate it.
All right. Senate Democrats plan a vote on economic stimulus this week. Three moderate Republicans have signed on to a slimmed down version of the stimulus package. Even though most Republicans still oppose it, Democrats believe they can avoid a filibuster and get the bill through on Tuesday. That won't mean the end of the battle, however. The Senate will have to work out their differences with the House. President Obama still hopes to have a final bill on his desk by presidents' day, which is February 16th.
Senate Democrats had proposed about a $900 billion stimulus package at the start. Well negotiations brought the price tag down by tens of billions of dollars. So what's in and what's out? The package still includes $14 billion in Pell grants, $3.5 billion for energy efficient federal buildings and $7.5 billion for education grants. Here's some of what's been taken out. $25 billion for education, $16 billion for school construction and $122 million for Coast Guard cutters and icebreakers.
The Republican senators who have come out in support of the stimulus package are facing criticism now from conservatives. A liberal group is coming to their aid with a series of ads. CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House with an explanation on this. Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. That's right. These ads have basically been taken out by those liberal interest groups called Americans United for Change. And what they are really trying to do here, they'll be running in a couple of states. And they are basically designed to push back again, some of the criticism leveled against these GOP senators. Arlen Specter, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe who have all essentially backed or are backing the stimulus plan.
Now the ads basically begin by laying out those staggering jobs loss numbers from last month. Nearly 600,000 jobs lost last month alone. And then the ads go on to urge people to call these senators and thank them for their efforts. Let's take a listen to the radio ad.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ANNOUNDER: Senators Snowe and Collins have worked with President Obama to reach agreement on a plan that has support from a broad range of groups, including the U.S. chamber of commerce and organized labor. Call Senators Snowe and Collins today at 202-224-3121. Thank them for their leadership and tell them to keep fighting for a plan to get our economy moving again. Paid for by Americans United for Change.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
QUIJANO: So while those senators, Republican senators, do, in fact, back the stimulus bill, other Republican senators insist it is still too much. Too much in the way of wasteful spending. They want to see more tax cuts as well. Here's Republican Senator Richard Shelby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), ALABAMA: We're going down a road where it's unchartered, we're going down a road to disaster. We've never seen this kind of spending ever, and there's a lot more to come. There's got to be some other way better than what we're doing. Not the socialist way, but to try to get our free markets working again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now President Obama is going to try and push back against some republican criticisms by taking his case on the road. He's going to be visiting Elkhart, Indiana, and Ft. Myers, Florida, Monday and Tuesday. Two communities that have really been hard hit by soaring unemployment. A result of course of the economic downturn and also, Fredricka, we should mentioned President Obama is scheduled to hold his first primetime news conference tomorrow night. Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano, thanks so much. Of course, that news conference will be carried here on CNN as well tomorrow night.
All right. President Obama is getting ready to hit the road. A little bit more on this stimulus package that he'll be talking up that Elaine was explaining. They are getting ready for the president's visit to Elkhart, Indiana. Mr. Obama holds a public meeting there at noon tomorrow.
About 2,000 tickets were available - were. They were all handed out within an hour. Tuesday, the president is off to Ft. Myers, Florida, where unemployment has reached 10 percent.
All right. To that first primetime press conference involving the president. Tomorrow night, Monday night, starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, CNN will carry that live for you.
Tough economic times are bringing families much closer these days. Mom, dad, grandparents and grown children all living under the same roof.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Take a look at this line. People here looking for work at a job fair in Seattle, Washington. The photos were taken by i-reporter Leah Lanesberry Austin. She says she quit her high- paying job back in October thinking that she wouldn't have a problem finding work. Well then the economy took a nosedive. Now she says she can't even land an interview. Austin says most employers she talked to are looking for people with graduate degrees or advanced technical skills. Leah, we wish you the best in your continued job search.
So the bad economy is bringing families together, literally. Multiple generations living together under one roof. Alina Cho takes a look at one family in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a year ago, German and Lillian Tixe had a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their new home. They planned to live on the first floor and rent the second and third but they never dreamed their tenants would be their own adult children until German suddenly lost his job.
KANESSA TIXE, MOVED BACK WITH PARENTS: He was pretty quiet. He didn't want us to talk about it. We're all going to help you and I can get you a job.
CHO: German's daughter Kanessa Tixe moved in. So did her stepbrother Eric, stepsister Lily and her family. They are all helping out by paying rent and their landlords are strict.
KANESSA TIXE: You better pay the rent on time! Actually, they charged us a deposit. CHO: It's a living situation that's becoming common. According to grandparents.com, 65 percent of those surveyed say the bad economy will bring more multigenerational families together under the same roof.
AMY GOYER, GRANDPARENTS.COM: This is a dollars and cents issue. When it comes to the bottom line, can you afford to live on your own? And if you can't, then families come together and do what they have to do.
CHO: It's not without its downfall.
KANESSA TIXE: Every time I go out, they are like looking out the window or asking me where I'm going. It's like I feel 16 again.
GERMAN TIXE, KIDS MOVED BACK HOME: The music is too high and we call it, put it down, because, you know, sometime we have to live.
CHO: Experts say problems are bound to arise.
GOYER: The little things can get to you. I hear the most problems from the kitchen. I know one mom was telling me that she just burst into tears because her mother was criticizing the way she made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
CHO: But if living together is a dollars and cents issue, time together is priceless, even more so for the Tixes.
This multigenerational family is about to expand. Lilly is due in April.
KANESSA TIXE: We're very close. We're united and I think now that we live together, it shows even more. Many of our friends and families come here and they wish they were this close.
CHO: The new living situation ends up helping the kids, too. By living with their parents, they all pay less rent. Kanessa even joked that they also save money by stopping down at mom and dad's for meals every now and then and of course, there's the laundry. No more laundromat around the corner. And by the way, with all the concerns about layoffs these days, the family feels that living together provides a safety net for everyone.
Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
WHITFIELD: All right. On to music later. Will be it a rapper's delight at the Grammys?
Li'l Wayne could walk off with some major honors. We're live in L.A. with a preview of tonight's big event.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Our news across America begins with a deadly slip and fall accident in suburban Atlanta. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a 22-year-old worker. Police say he fell down a 55-foot well at a landfill. It took ten hours to recover his body.
OSHA is also looking into a work-related fatality in Boston. This construction crane came crashing down next to a Suffolk University dormitory. No students were hurt but one worker died. Another was seriously injured. Boston police say the men were inspecting the dorm when the lift gave way.
And firefighters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, saved almost a dozen homes from a wind-fueled brush fire. Neighbors say they saw fireworks shortly before the flames. Dry conditions have much of the state prime for wildfires.
All right. Music's big night gets under way in just a few hours. Artists from many genres will be on stage for tonight's Grammy Awards. And our Brooke Anderson in Los Angeles ready for the red carpet. Any thoughts on who the big winners will be? You have your crystal ball?
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, right. I don't have a crystal ball, but I suspect Fredricka that maybe Li'l Wayne, Coldplay, Robert Planet, Allison Kraus could walk away with big honors tonight. And you talk about how artists from different genres will be hitting the stage. Grammy producers are really trying to combat declining ratings over the years by combining different genres, combining veteran artists with new artists to attract a wider audience.
You've got the Jonas Brothers hitting the stage with Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney with the Foo Fighters and to further diversify the telecast, the top nominees tonight are from the world of hip-hop. Check them out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Li'l Wayne. Jay-z. Kanye West. One thing is clear. This could be hip-hop's year at the Grammy Awards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Album of the year! Whoo! Man.
ANDERSON: Neo, who is up for six awards and Li'l Wayne who leads the field with eight are competing in the most coveted category of all. Album of the year.
JOE LEVY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "BLENDER MAGAZINE": I'm really rooting for Li'l Wayne simply because he made the best album of 2008. That's a fact. It's almost a law decreed by Congress. That record is that good.
ANDERSON: But a freeze could come to this hip-hop heat wave by Coldplay. The alt rock band is up for seven Grammys, including best album along with Radiohead and the duo of Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. Disney darlings, the Jonas Brothers will duke it out for best new artist with Lady Antebellum, Jasmine Sullivan, Duffy and Adel.
ADEL, GRAMMY NOMINEE: Like the Oscars or something. Wasn't expecting it. It's very nice. Thanks. LEVY: If the competition is between two British soul singers, Adel and Duffy. I'd have to give it to Duffy. She's young, she's new. She sounds like a '60s soul singer and in fact, she's the safe Amy Winehouse. She's in.
ANDERSON: Last year's telecast according to Nielsen was the third least watched Grammys ever, posing a challenge for producers to fight declining ratings. But with hip-hop being some of the industry's best-selling music, interest in this year's nominees could help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole purpose of this year's Grammys I think is to be more exciting than last year. Last year, of course, album of the year went to a Herbie Hancock album. A jazz album. Covers of Joni Mitchell's songs. So the Grammys are trying to figure out how to be classy and grownup, but still cool.
ANDERSON: With expected performances by U2, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood. This year may be a hit with viewers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And Fredricka, the biggest drama of the night could come when female rapper M.I.A. hits the stage. She's actually nine months pregnant. Her due date is today. So she could be delivering more than just a performance.
WHITFIELD: Wow. That's got to be some show then. All right. Thank you very much. We will be watching. We'll all be like at the edge of our seats for her, too.
ANDERSON: Thanks so much. Appreciate it, Brooke.
WHITFIELD: Toxic toys taken off store shelves. But what happens when they turn up in resale shops? A look at new rules and the price of safety.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Happening right now. The deadliest wildfire disaster in Australian history. At least 108 people have been killed, hundreds of homes destroyed and a half million acres in southeastern Australia have gone up in smoke. Police suspect arson in some of the fires.
A senior economic adviser to President Obama says the fight for an economic stimulus package is not over yet. Democrats expect the Senate to approve a bill Tuesday. But it differs from one already passed by the house.
Republican Senator John McCain is accusing Democrats of tuning out the opposition. He's criticizing the way Democratic leaders are putting the stimulus plan together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: This is not bipartisan. This is partisanship. This is what we did when Republicans were in charge, but what the president and I said we wouldn't do anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: McCain favors a stimulus plan that would cost about half as much as the package now making its way through Congress.
President Obama and his family are wrapping up their first weekend at Camp David. First thing tomorrow the president heads to Elkhart, Indiana. People there have been ling up for a chance to see him. The president will make his case for the economic recovery plan there. He continues his stimulus sales pitch on Tuesday with a trip to Ft. Myers, Florida.
Unemployment in Ft. Myers has climbed to 10 percent. Mr. Obama holds his first primetime news conference Monday night and CNN will bring that to you live, 8:00 Eastern.
Saying it could signal a new era in diplomatic relations, Russia is sounding a positive note about President Obama's determination to work with Moscow. That reaction after a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden as security conference in Germany this weekend. Mr. Biden is now heading home, but not before he laid out the Obama administration's new foreign policy vision and reaffirms the White House's desire to resume an open dialogue with the Kremlin. That relationship was strained under the Bush administration.
The U.N. is calling for Madagascar's leaders to settle their differences peacefully in the wake of deadly demonstrations. At least 26 people were killed yesterday when security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters. More than 80 others were injured. The protests stemmed from an ongoing dispute about who is in charge of the government. U.N. secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon blamed the high casualty count on a lack of restraint from all sides.
The Israeli military says two rockets fired by Palestinian militants slammed into the southern part of the country today. Israel says this is a picture of one of the rockets fired from Gaza. It is the latest violation of the informal truce that ended Israel's three-week offensive in Gaza aimed at stopping years of militant rocket attacks on southern Israel. No injuries have been reported.
Israel gets ready to elect a new leader. CNN's Paula Hancock's reports the Israeli election has a theme Americans might find familiar, change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): These are the images Israeli voters will take with them to the election week. Israel's three-week operation in Gaza fresh in their minds as are the victory signs from the troops. This election could be about who takes credit for the perceived Israeli victory in Gaza. Foreign minister is trying to promote a tough war imagine in the election effort.
Saying we won't let Hamas decide our fate. That's what people have consistently heard from me. Complemented by images of her meeting the world's leaders. The biggest political winner from the operation in Gaza, Defense Minister Ehud Barak. It suggested his Labor Party would win just eight seats in Parliament. That estimate has since doubled. He describes himself as a steady hand on the wheel, and the only one Israel can trust.
An election slogan of in the moment of truth, choose Barak. But still, the clear favorite, head of the far right Likud Party and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu was the only one of the three not in power during the Gaza operation. So he focuses on the economy and Iraq.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI OPPOSITION LEADER: We have Iranian-backed -- and the own race to acquire nuclear weapons. These are moves to the minds of Israeli voters.
HANCOCKS: And the moment of "I told you so" reminding the public he was against pulling Israeli troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005, warning of rocket attacks.
YOSSI KLEIN HALEVI, ISRAELI ANALYST: At the time, that seemed to be preposterous. Those cities were out of range of anything Hamas is capable of and Netanyahu was denounced as an alarmist. He was mocked by labor.
HANCOCKS: They both declared the Gaza operation a success. But each militant rocket that hits Israel since the tenuous cease-fires chips away at the sense of victory. The latest polls show Netanyahu winning the most seats, but the Kadima Party running a very close second. The gap has significantly narrowed over the past week, proving that nothing is set in stone and pollsters estimate that up to a fifth of the voting population is still undecided.
Paula Hancock's, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Iraqi journalist who threw the shoe seen around the world. Now has a trial date. But exactly what criminal charge he faces is still uncertain. Iraq's higher judicial council tells CNN that he will be tried February 19th. His defense attorney wants the original charge of assaulting a foreign head of state reduced to one count of insulting a foreign dignitary, which carries a more lenient sentence if convicted. Much of the Arab and Muslim world want him released outright.
Thieves at work. You might be surprised how they do it. Brazen employee theft.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. The bad economy is being blamed for an increase in a number of workers who actually steal from their employers. Here are two examples; they tracked down an exemployee who used a company credit card to pay for a family cruise to the Mediterranean and a worker who racks up $3,000 in calls to a psychic hotline. Patrick Taylor's company tracks employee theft. How bad a problem is this? We already said there's an increase. In a big way?
PATRICK TAYLOR, OVERSIGHT SYSTEMS: It's absolutely increasing. We believe it's due to the economy. People feeling a lot of financial pressure. They are tempted to try to make -- steal something from the company.
WHITFIELD: We're talking about current employees as well as people who leave the company and perhaps they forgot to turn in the corporate credit card.
TAYLOR: That's the one you mentioned. The Mediterranean junket. What happened? The employee gets laid off. No one turns off their corporate credit card. They wrack up the charges. The next thing you know they are taking the whole family out on a big cruise.
WHITFIELD: This is a real boondoggle for the employee/ex-employer. If you are a small business owner for example or an owner of any of size business, this is really devastating, especially in these tough times. What kind of measures are companies taking or what can they take to watch their employees or to make sure that people are not misusing the company?
TAYLOR: It's a tough situation because you are letting go of people. You don't have as many people to double check. What you see some companies doing is deploying continuous auditing software. It checks every expense report and every credit card receipt and looks for problems, looks for fraud. Along the way it finds errors, too. When you pay somebody twice, the same kind of software can catch that. You almost get the fraud detection for free.
WHITFIELD: Might we expect our companies, not only are they watching but they might be more confrontational, about I want you to explain this kind of activity on your credit card just to make sure that it's business related and it is not something funny.
TAYLOR: I think it is fair to say everybody is feeling pressure. Companies are feeling pressure to make their earnings. They'll check every dollar that's being spent and want to know that it was done for a sound business reason.
WHITFIELD: What's the deterrent for an employee? He says you know what I've got this corporate credit card. I'll just come up with some interesting excuse or the employee that leaves and hasn't turned it in and says, here's one last dig. Is there a deterrent out there for them? Are the penalties much stiffer or laws changing about how you may misuse corporate sources and resources?
TAYLOR: Absolutely, it's against the law. If a person wants to prosecute you, you could be talking about prison time. On top of that, you aren't doing anything for your reputation. Someone may call one day that company about a referral and you say this person stole from us.
WHITFIELD: It's bad now. You think it's going to get worse?
TAYLOR: Absolutely. I think the current economic conditions just putting people under pressure.
WHITFIELD: Sad situation. All right. Patrick Taylor thanks so much.
TAYLOR: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: If folks need any guidance on how they need to navigate the rules of, I guess, their corporation versus your employee, is there a website they can tap into?
TAYLOR: Absolutely, there are two websites, the fraudies.com, where we detail some of the more interesting things like people going to Victoria's Secrets or using the psychic hotline. The psychic never warned them they were going to get caught?
And it's certainly also oversight systems.com where we can talk about the things companies can do to prevent that.
WHITFIELD: People know when they are doing something wrong.
TAYLOR: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.
TAYLOR: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, appreciate it.
All right. Toxic toys taken off the store shelves. What happens when they turn up in resale shops? A look at new rules and the price of safety.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: After a slew of lead-laced toy recalls last year, new regulations are set to take effect this week. They are supposed to protect your kids but there could be unintended consequences. Our Kate Bolduan has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At a time when people are relying more on second-hand stores because of the economy, Maryland thrift store manager Marilyn Seitz isn't celebrating.
MARILYN SEITZ, MANAGER, PENNYWORTH THRIFT SHOP: I don't want to sell something that's going to put me in jail. There's just no way I could go through all of this.
BOLDUAN: After a wave of highly publicized tainted toy recalls last year, Congress stepped in passing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, aimed at protecting children. As part of the law, new federal lead limits take effect Tuesday. Banning lead content beyond minute levels, 600 parts per million in any products for kids 12 and younger. Now it's not only illegal to manufacture lead-laced products but also illegal to sell them. No matter when they were made. Stores could be fined up to $100,000 per violation. Is this law have a potential of just putting you and many thrift stores out of business?
SEITZ: Yes. That's the bottom line.
BOLDUAN: The National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops claims some of the tens of thousands of second-hand stores across the country are preparing to shut their doors out of fear.
ADELE MEYER, NATL. ASSOC. OF RETAIL & THRIFT SHOPS: This has gotten so serious and it is so frightening because we serve consumers that sometimes have no other way to clothe their children.
BOLDUAN: The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency implementing the sweeping law, acknowledges, while well intended, the new rules are confusing.
JOE MARTYAK, CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMM: With the economy the way it is right now, we all are concerned about safety. But we don't want to unnecessarily be impacting jobs and businesses.
BOLDUAN: The commission is allowing manufacturers an extra year to comply with testing requirements but can't offer a reprieve for selling restricted products. So what does that mean for Marilyn Seitz?
SEITZ: We're in a classic place between a rock and a hard place.
BOLDUAN: That's a shame.
SEITZ: And I see my customers that really want these things and need these things. You could wipe out a whole industry.
BOLDUAN: The law is to protect kids but Seitz fears her business may become an unintended casualty.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A brutal attack on a civil rights leader. Now decades later, a formal Klansman says he's sorry.
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WHITFIELD: It was almost 50 years ago when Elwin Wilson and his friends attacked a black man at a bus station in South Carolina. That young black man went on to become Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. At the time, Lewis was traveling the country championing Civil Rights. The man who attacked him, Elwin Wilson, says he had been carrying around an apology in his heart for years and has been waiting for an opportunity to get it off his chest. And so he did.
And here they are. Representative Lewis and Elwin Wilson, a former KKK member, nearly half a century has passed since that attack. And John Lewis says all is forgiven. CNN's Don Lemon spoke with Elwin Wilson last night and Representative John Lewis in this brutally honest conversation.
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DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Wilson, I know you've spoken to the Congressman recently. But is there anything else you'd like to say to him?
ELWIN WILSON, APOLOGIZED TO REP. LEWIS: I thought about him a lot since I left Washington. And I found out what kind of man he was. And I enjoyed the trip up there and I didn't think I'd ever see the day when I would find out who I beat up at the bus station in Rock Hill. And it started off with -- they had a picture of -- they called him the city sisters in Rock Hill. They went to Friendship College. Then they had the friendship nine. It went to college there. And when I saw the sisters, I had already tried and did change my life. And I'm talking about spiritually and everything.
LEMON: I'm going to continue on and let you talk a little bit. But I just -- before we go forward, I want to get Congressman Lewis' response. What do you say to him after you were beaten up, hurt pretty bad? Some even lost their lives because of the actions of men like Elwin and Mr. Wilson. What do you say to him?
REP. JOHN LEWIS, (D) GEORGIA: Well, I said to Mr. Wilson up in -- I met with him early during the week when he came to Washington to visit with me and he said he wanted to apologize and that he was sorry and I said I forgive you. And I don't have any bitterness or hatred. Because it was in keeping with what we believed in that we should have the capacity and the ability to forgive.
That love is much stronger than hate. And it was very moving and very touching for me for him to come to Washington and say I'm sorry for what I did. And Mr. Wilson and almost 50 years, has been the only -- and the first person -- the first and only person who attacked me that said I'm sorry.
LEMON: Congressman, I don't even know if you know this. I spoke with Mr. Wilson earlier today by telephone and he was a little retention on the phone to even answer. When I told him who I was, he talked to me. Mr. Wilson tell me about some disturbing phone calls that you have been getting.
WILSON: Well, I got one phone call from a boy from Rutgers College, and the telephone rang and I answered it. He said, is this Elwin Wilson? I said you're right. He said you are slummy black n dog. He just kept talking. He said here you are with the KKK. Took an oath and here you are going back on your word and against the white people.
LEMON: You were outraged by that phone call and you said you had to call the police. Can you believe Mr. Wilson, you know, 2009, some 50 years after that confrontation that you had with Mr. -- with the Congressman, that there is still that sort of hate in the world?
WILSON: Not as much as it used to be, I don't think.
LEMON: Yeah. LEWIS: But I'm sorry that someone would do something like that to you, Mr. Wilson. If someone would call and use those words and it is -- it is sad, but what you are doing is very much in keeping with what we all believe in.
WILSON: Uh-huh.
LEMON: Mr. Wilson, do you have people watching? What do you want them to know about why you did it and about what we should be doing or how we should be treating the topic of race right now in this country?
WILSON: Well, I'd like to put another -- add something to what we were talking about what the guy called me. I don't know why he would be like that because, like I told him. I said one day I hope that you get the hatred out of yourself, and I am -- he said, well why did you change? I said, well, I said my daddy always told me that a fool never changes his mind, and a smart man changes his mind. And that's what I've done. And I'm not -- I'm not ashamed of it. And I'm not trying to be a Martin Luther King or something like that. It all started off with the local newspaper and snowballed on up, and I never would have thought I could apologize to this many people.
LEMON: Well, you got the chance.
WILSON: I feel like I'm apologizing to the world right now.
LEMON: Well, thank you, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Lewis, I'll give you the last word on this if you'd like to comment.
LEWIS: Well, I think this shows the power of grace and love. It is very much in keep with the philosophy and the discipline of nonviolence to have the ability, the capacity to say I'm sorry. Forgive me. And the person that received the attack says you're forgiven. Because hate is too heavy a burden to bear. Maybe Mr. Wilson will inspire others to come forward.
LEMON: It just crossed my mind. Did you ever think you'd be in this position with someone like Mr. Wilson apologizing to you?
LEWIS: I never thought in all this many years that someone like Mr. Wilson would be apologizing to me, no.
LEMON: Well, you both are again, very brave for doing this, and we appreciate your candor and, Mr. Wilson, thank you very much. We hope you don't get any more of those phone calls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Elwin Wilson, 72, 68-year-old John Lewis there. Recounting a meeting that many would describe as being very beautiful. Last week, 50 years after their first very ugly encounter.
All right. Lessons from a legend, President Lincoln and President Obama. We have just the man to explain their connection in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, which begins right now.
