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Obama Meets with Economic Advisers; More Losses, Layoffs from Ford, GM; School Collapses in Haiti; Who Will Obama Choose at Secretary of State?
Aired November 07, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): He's all about the jobs: 1.2 million lost this year alone, 240,000 just last month. This month, one man got a new job, and today he'll tell us how he plans to get a battered U.S. economy back to work.
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PHILLIPS: And hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're going to get right to it right now.
Barack Obama promised Americans change, and today it's more clear than ever that starts with jobs. A tenth straight month of shrinking payrolls and ghastly news from GM and Ford, that's sure to dominate today's agenda for the president-elect, VP-elect Joe Biden and the transition economic advisory board.
They're huddling behind closed doors in Chicago, after which Obama and Biden will hold their first post-election news conference. I don't need to tell you, you'll see it live, next hour right here on CNN in its entirety.
In the meantime, we're going get all the economic twists and turns and the political repercussions from CNN's Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange, Brooke Baldwin at the Michigan headquarters of General Motors and Jessica Yellin on the transition beat in Chicago.
Now, that economic advisory board that I mentioned is an all-star cast from the ranks of business, government, and academia.
Jessica, what does Obama hope to accomplish at this meeting?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, there's a lot they can discuss there. What exactly does Barack Obama want Congress to put in an immediate economic stimulus plan? How intimate should Barack Obama get with President Bush's Treasury Department on this bailout plan? Does he really want to put his signature and his fingerprints all over it or does he want to start something entirely different and new when he takes office in January?
And then what should be his first agenda item? How will he kick- start the economy when he takes office? These are all the issues that they could be hashing out as they meet. And more than anything, Kyra, it's also just to show that Barack Obama is focused on America's economic troubles and is trying to do something about it quickly, as the perception is as much as anything else, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: It sounds like he took off his president-elect hat at the start of the day.
YELLIN: Yes, he did. Barack Obama, one of the fascinations with this duo of Obama and Michelle is that they have is a young family. It will be the first time you see kids in at White House for a very long time. And today Barack Obama got out of bed and was dad first thing. He went to his kids' school for a parent/teacher meeting. You can only imagine how stressed out that teacher must have been to talk to the president-elect.
PHILLIPS: How about the students, too? You know, students saying, "Oh, my God, that's the new, next president, right there in our classroom." Talk about pressure on those kids doing well in school.
YELLIN: That's a day to remember.
PHILLIPS: Yes, no doubt. All right, Jessica, thanks.
Well, 17 marquee names are advising the president-elect on issue No. 1. They include Warren Buffett, probably the world's most famous and successful investor. He's chairman and CEO of Berkshire-Hathaway.
Jennifer Granholm is the Democratic governor of Michigan. That state was on the economic skids when the rest of the country was relatively OK. And a fun fact: Granholm played the part of Sarah Palin in Joe Biden's debate rehearsals.
And Robert Reich, the secretary of labor for four years under President Clinton. He's now a professor of public policy at U.C. Berkeley. And as Fed chairman from 1979 to 1987, Paul Volcker knows something about tough times and bridging political differences. He served under presidents Carter and Reagan.
Well, don't forget: the president-elect holds his first post- election news conference live from Chicago, 2:30 Eastern Time, 11:30 a.m. Pacific. See it right here, start to finish, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Not since March of 1994 has the U.S. jobless rate been as high as it is today: 6.5 percent. That dismal figure reflects another 240,000 people lost jobs in America last in alone, and that brings the toll on the U.S. work force for the year so far to 1.2 million positions.
GM and Ford both announcing staggering third quarter losses, more layoffs and in GM case, a blunted mission that is almost out of cash.
But get this: a pretty decent rally on Wall Street. Investors seem focused on buying up bargains after watching the Dow plunge more than 900 points in the past two days. Let's go ahead and check in with our Stephanie Elam. She's at the New York Stock Exchange.
Hey, Steph.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.
Yes, stocks are holding their own, surprising many because of that dismal jobs report that we got. And on top of it, General Motors news and its earnings dragging down the Dow Industrials.
Let's go ahead and take a look at the numbers right now so we can all see the picture together. The Dow up 190 points: 8,889 there. The NASDAQ, better by almost 2 percent at 1,640 and the S&P 500 up more than 2 percent, as well, right now.
Now, you're talking about the economy. It lost 240,000 jobs in October. And that was worse than expected. The unemployment rate, it rose to 6.5 percent. That was also worse than expected. And it brings unemployment to a 14-year high.
So far in 2008, nearly 1.2 million jobs have disappeared, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better. Just yesterday Mattel and La-Z-Boy, they joined the long list of companies announcing job cuts in recent months.
And then Ford announced additional job cuts today. More than 2,500 more salaried workers will be let go in an effort to cut expenses. Their stocks are rallying. Perhaps there's some profit taking going on out there.
Like you said, the Dow down 929 points over the last two days. So people may have taken advantage of that on this last day of the week. And investors are also encouraged by hints toward government intervention that could include a second stimulus package and/or an additional move by the Federal Reserve.
Still, a lot of trading left to go before we get to the weekend. But for right now, Kyra, in this moment, it looks good.
PHILLIPS: That sounds good. Thanks, Stephanie.
We're going to talk about your job and how to keep it with our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis. She's going to joins us at the bottom of the hour.
Meanwhile, the U.S. auto industry offers some of the most dramatic examples of the nation's economic slowdown. Ford and GM both announced huge third-quarter losses today.
Our Brooke Baldwin is standing by outside the General Motors plant in Warren, Michigan.
Tough day, Brooke.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tough day, Kyra. I'm sorry to be the bearer of even more bad news. Some very dismal numbers to tell you about. In fact, some auto industry experts saying some of these numbers from General Motors specifically are worse than expected. In fact, the headline right now for GM, they are now saying they are almost out of cash.
Take a look at the numbers, first, here for the third quarter for GM, $4.2 billion pre-tax operating loss. Apparently, they burned through $7 billion in cash, and they have announced plans to cut 30 percent of the salaried work force. That is even more than the 20 percent they'd announced back this summer.
Let's go to Ford here. Ford announcing a $3 billion operating loss. Saying that car sales, they plunged 25 percent. They will be cutting salaried employee costs by 10 percent. And they have plans to cut 2,600 hourly jobs.
Now, because of all of this, there is an urgent need on behalf of the big three here in Michigan to get some sort of cash infusion from the federal government. Some sort of automotive industry bailout, if you will.
We caught up with a couple workers during the shift change in the wee hours of the morning here at this transmission plant in Warren, Michigan. Here's what one worker who'd been here for 35 years has to say about the possibility of a bailout.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the big three do go under, Michigan will be in really bad shape. So all and all, you know, they need help. Hope the government's there to help them.
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BALDWIN: Also want to pass along the third of the big three, Chrysler. We just got word that Chrysler is saying that the talks about a possible merger between Chrysler and GM. Then say that is off the table.
Kyra, you mentioned at the top of the hour, President-elect Barack Obama. You can imagine all eyes will be on Mr. Obama as he addresses the country, talks about the economy, and people will be wondering if he will throw his support behind the idea of a bailout for the American automotive industry -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: No doubt, everybody wants answers. And we are waiting for that. We're going to take it live, Brooke, 2:30 Eastern Time. Thanks so much.
Well, secretary of state, it will be a key position in the Barack Obama administration. So who will get the nod? Lots of rumors are making the rounds. We're going to check in with our Zain Verjee at the State Department.
Snowed in the in the Great Plains. Parts of the Dakotas are digging out from a big blizzard. We'll show you some of the amazing scenes.
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PHILLIPS: Change is more than just a platform plank for this candidate. It's part of his life. We're going to introduce you to a new mayor with a new look.
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PHILLIPS: We continue to follow the story of that classroom, or that school building, rather, in Haiti that has collapsed. Dozens of students apparently trapped inside. Right now we can tell you there's hundreds of bystanders and rescue workers digging through that rubble, trying to find any survivors. On the scene with the Red Cross, Alex Claudon joining us now by phone.
Alex, can you hear me OK? And can you describe to me what you're seeing and what you know to this point?
ALEX CLAUDON, RED CROSS: OK. I can hear you. This is a mass casualty scene, OK. A hard structure, or a ceiling collapsed on the school. We don't have a number of the victims at the moment, but it could be very high.
But international Red Cross, the Haitian Red Cross, the authorities, the United Nations force is here, working together to establish a triage area and then to refer all the victims that we can possibly save to hospital. What we need right now is heavy duty search and rescue equipment to come here and save what can be saved. But again, we are facing a mass casualty scene here.
PHILLIPS: So do you know, Alex, how many students were in that school when it collapsed?
CLAUDON: There is conflicting information regarding that, and I'd rather not comment for the moment. But there are, as you can imagine, a full day at school, full of people, in a typical day at school. It was crowded.
PHILLIPS: Now, were there any survivors?
CLAUDON: Yes, yes. The Red Cross have evacuated some victims. They are coming one by one. And, again, it's very difficult to extract the victims from the rubble, for the moment, at the moment. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We don't have heavy search and rescue equipment.
PHILLIPS: So you're in desperate need of search and rescue equipment right now. Not sure how many children are trapped in the rubble there. There are some survivors. How old are these students, Alex?
CLAUDON: I saw victims in the range of, say, between 10 and 20. So I wouldn't say more than that.
PHILLIPS: OK.
CLAUDON: And there are some younger ones as well. Still trapped. So -- yes.
PHILLIPS: So you have -- there are bystanders there, locals there. There is the Haitian Red Cross. You are involved with that organization. Who else is on the scene right now, Alex, helping find these children?
CLAUDON: Well, the Red Cross definitely is playing a prominent role here, because they are in charge of -- referred off to the hospital, the victims, through their ambulance services. Pretty much all the governments, as well, mobilized, as you can imagine. The military (ph) as well, the U.S. stabilization force in Haiti, together with other humanitarian U.N. agencies, are present together with us, working together. (INAUDIBLE) still the challenges here.
PHILLIPS: Well, we'll continue to follow. Our hearts are with you, Alex Claudon, with the Haitian Red Cross right now.
The Haitian Red Cross, along with locals there just outside of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, desperately trying to find signs of life as a school building has collapsed there in the area. Possibly dozens of students inside. You heard from Alex, possibly 10 to 20 years old, typical school day.
Not quite sure what caused that school to collapse, but we are following the story. We'll bring you as much information as possible.
And Barack Obama wasting no time getting to know world leaders. Yesterday he returned calls to nine of them, including those from England, Japan, France and Israel. He's still considering his pick for secretary of state, but there are plenty of names already being mentioned for the post.
Let's bring in State Department correspondent Zain Verjee.
Zain, what have you been able to find out?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
There's a lot of jockeying, as you can well imagine, for the position of secretary of state. There are four prominent names out there.
The first is Republican Senator Chuck Hagel. He's on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He's a Vietnam veteran. He traveled recently with President-elect Obama to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hagel, Kyra, has been one of the Bush administration's toughest critics of things like the war in Iraq, the war on terror.
Senator John Kerry, too, is a potential. He was on the 2004 Democratic presidential tickets, as you know. He's on the foreign relations committee, as well. He's a Vietnam veteran. And he's the one that really played a strong role in helping normalize U.S. relations with Vietnam.
Then there's Republican Senator Richard Lugar. He's a former chairman of the foreign relations and agriculture committees and took a lead in the Lugar-Nunn program, which really destroyed more than 7,000 Soviet nuclear warheads. So that was pretty significant.
Bill Richardson, too, Kyra the former secretary of energy, as well as the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. You'll remember he's been sort of the global troubleshooter, going off to places like Sudan, North Korea, Iraq.
So it's -- those are the prominent ones. It's -- really is a guessing game right now. No one really knows. Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who is a foreign policy heavyweight, will also might likely want a key role in shaping policy and making those decisions, too.
PHILLIPS: So any dark horse in the race for this position?
VERJEE: One name is emerging: General Jim Jones could be a possibility. He was the supreme allied commander fro Europe. He's advised Secretary of State Rice on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. He's got, you know, a reputation of being pretty outspoken and independent and is pretty highly regarded all around by the military, by Congress, and by other diplomats.
PHILLIPS: We're going to follow all the names with you. That's for sure. Zain Verjee, appreciate it.
VERJEE: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Want to take you now to a river rescue in progress. The exact location is Auburn, Washington. These live pictures coming to us from our affiliate, KOMO, out of Seattle.
Apparently, these dive teams right now are searching the Green River for a car that has two children inside. The information that we're getting is that a woman called 911 about 8:40 a.m., Washington Time, that her white Volkswagen had gone into the river with herself and her two children. She was able to get out of the vehicle but her two children remained trapped inside that car.
The woman is at the scene with rescuers. We are told the dive teams are searching the river. It's north of the Auburn Golf Course, if you're familiar with that area. The waters apparently are extremely muddy. Visibility is low. Not look going right now.
Once again, a 911 call coming from a mom who said she was able to get out of her Volkswagen, her two kids trapped inside. We will follow the dive teams. And this search and rescue still called a search and rescue at this point until they're able to locate those children.
"Well, hey, this isn't my stop." A little girl gets kicked off her school bus and left on the side of the highway. We'll try and explain what happened.
And pastor to the people. Pastor to the presidents. The Reverend Billy Graham celebrates another milestone today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Just getting video in of Barack Obama and his first economic round table since becoming president-elect. A number of people at the table here. Also calling in a few names that we have mentioned throughout the morning and early afternoon.
Warren Buffett, of course, calling in. Jennifer Granholm there, governor of Michigan; Richard Parsons, chairman ever the board of TIME-Warner; Larry Summers, as you know, from Harvard University, former secretary of the U.S. -- or former treasury secretary, rather.
Also Paul Volcker, former chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve; Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles. But a number of individuals that have either held rank within various administrations having to do with the economy, well-known businesswomen and men.
A number of those people, too, that economic summit, a lot of names being tossed around to take on key positions within Barack Obama's administration.
We are following that. He is set to hold a news conference. We'll find out more about what happened at that economic summit, or meeting, rather, 2:30 Eastern Time. We will take it live.
Meanwhile in California, ongoing protests over the state's new ban on same-sex marriages. This scene last night in Los Angeles. Another big protest is planned in L.A. tomorrow, as well.
Voters approved the ban known as Proposition 8 in Tuesday's election, and it's not clear whether attempts to overturn it in the court can succeed. It's also not clear what the fate of same-sex unions that have already been performed will be.
A spokesperson for the campaign to ban gay marriage says that campaign officials will not try to nullify the marriages already performed.
And a new mayor turning heads in Silverton, Oregon. He's bringing a little something extra to the job.
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MAYOR-ELECT STU RASMUSSEN, SILVERTON, OREGON: Motorcycles or climbing mountains or trophy wives or whatever. I always wanted cleavage. So I went out and acquired some.
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PHILLIPS: Yes. Stu Rasmussen is the town's transgender mayor- elect. But his appearance didn't seem to matter to voters. He won by 13 points and is confident that he can handle the job.
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RASMUSSEN: The first 30 seconds, you think, "Am I in a freak show? Is there a camera behind me? What's going on here?" And then we get down to discussing whatever the issue is, whether it's city business, or business or whatever, and they figure out, "Oh, well, this guy's different, but he knows what he's talking about."
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PHILLIPS: Well, he was born and raised in Silverton and has been an elected official there for 20 years.
Storms so bad that even snow plows were getting stuck. Parts of the Dakotas are digging out from a blizzard that left snow drifts as high as 12 feet in places. On Interstate 90 in South Dakota up to 200 cars and trucks were abandoned. Stranded drivers had to wait for hours for rescue crews.
Our Chad Myers, keeping track of what's happening right now and how the weekend is shaping up.
Chad, you remember those days in Buffalo, when even the snow plows would get stuck?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I remember the snow plows not even coming to my street.
PHILLIPS: Too much snow that even the plows couldn't get through.
MYERS: No. But you make your own way. And then, once you do get your driveway all shoveled out, then the plows do come by and then plow you back in. So you've got to go out and shovel again.
Look at Deadwood, South Dakota, though; 45 inches of snow from this storm. And here's a reason to make sure your garage door is nice and tight when you go to bed. Somewhere under that pile of snow, Terry Patterson says to us, there's a Harley Davidson in there somewhere. About eight inches of snow in the garage itself.
Here are some of the other iReports that we've been getting. And if you have pictures, (INAUDIBLE) certainly, send them in. Here's -- this is from Brandy Gilford. This is just snow piling up here.
This is -- we're taking about Rapid City. We're talking about where the monuments are out there. Mount Rushmore, Deadwood and Lead and all those historic towns out toward the badlands, as well. That's where most of the snow fell here.
So thanks to our iReporters, and send more our way, if you can.
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PHILLIPS: We will watch with you. Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: OK.
PHILLIPS: A scary trip home from school for a Massachusetts fourth grader. She ticked off the bus driver by changing seats, so he hit the brakes and told her ho to hit the road. The 9-year-old was left standing on the side of a busy highway a mile from home.
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MELISSA DOYLE, MOTHER: Total shock, panic. All the thoughts that were running through my head were, what could have happened?
CYRENA MEDBURY, KICKED OFF BUS: I felt really sad that, that happened. Because I have really good family that loves me a lot.
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PHILLIPS: Well, another kid on the bus told his dad what had happened, and they went and picked Cyrena up. The bus driver? Fired.
Are there rumors of layoffs where you work? Well, we have some tips that could help you hold onto your job. You can't afford to miss this.
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PHILLIPS: 1:30 Eastern time. Here's some of the stories we're working on right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A school building outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has collapsed with as many as 700 students inside. It's unclear how many were hurt or worse. A Red Cross official does say there could be many casualties.
Barack Obama holds his first news conference as President-elect, about an hour from now. You'll see it start to finish right here on CNN. It comes after a closed-door meeting with his transition economic advisory board.
And you can expect that news conference to focus on the economy. Awful news on that front. Today, Ford an GM both announced huge third quarter losses.
Well, the economy's in trouble, the stock market is down and the unemployment rate is up. So, what are you going to do next? How about a trip to Disney World? Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange to explain why that possibility is about to become a lot more affordable.
Hey, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Yes, even the self-proclaimed happiest place on Earth, can't escape the recent economic downturn.
The Walt Disney company says its quarterly earnings fell 13 percent. It also expects a sharp slowdown in bookings at its resorts and theme parks in the coming year. Theme parks actually make up 30 percent of Disney's overall revenue. So, it's taking some drastic measures to try to turn things around, starting with some aggressive discounts. Listen to this, Disney will allow visitors to book seven days stays for the price of four. Yes, that's right. Three days free. That's on top of the free admission for your first day offer. You put that all together, you get a nice little getaway. In the past, theme park discounts have been Disney's last resort to drive up attendance -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's try to tie this all together. Job losses mounting. Obviously, the Christmas season on the way. Hanukkah.
Can we expect to see lots of bargains?
ELAM: Uh-huh. You definitely can. There's no way around it. Most indications are that this will be the worst holiday shopping season in decades.
Yesterday retailers released their October sales numbers. They were terrible. A 28 percent decline in sales in Neiman Marcus, for example. Then you've got a 16 percent drop for the Gap. So, it's across the board here for retailers. They need to move merchandise and they're going to do do anything to lure shoppers their way.
So, that means we can expect some big bargains. Here's an example. The "New York Times" says K-Mart is offering early Black Friday deals on Sundays this month, that include more than $100 price tags on LCD TVs. So, maybe if you wait a little longer, you can get even something better.
But, as for Wall Street, investors are bargain hunting today. Let's take a look at numbers. Surprisingly, we're still in the green after that dismal jobs report. The Dow on the upside by 183 points, at 8,887. NASDAQ up 30, at 1,639 at this point. Of course, there's a lot of time left in the trading day. So, we'll be keeping our eyes on it. We know how volatile things can get in the last hour of trading -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And we know they can improve. So, let's keep our fingers crossed.
ELAM: They can both ways, you're right.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Steph.
ELAM: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Well, it seems like we hear about new job cuts every day and you might be hearing about layoffs where you work. Are there ways to save your job? Personal finance editor Gerri Willis says yes. She joins is from New York.
So, Gerri, let's get right to it. You say the first thing people should do is suck up to your boss?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Am I not right? You know, right now bosses across America, they're deciding who will stay and who will go. You want to make sure that boss knows your value to the organization. And look, if you've contributed to the bottom line, or landed valuable client this year, make sure the info got straight through to the boss and some middle manager out there didn't take the credit.
Establish a niche that you can own. Make yourself indispensable. And of course, raise your profile. Find ways to help your company save money. All managers are focused on cost cutting right now. And be creative. If the higher ups knows that you were responsible for the business's latest, greatest idea, they won't want to get rid of you.
Take on some additional projects, especially high-profile projects, or cross-departmental projects that will get your name out throughout the company. And make sure you're going above and beyond, put in those extra hours, do that extra little bit and get in that face time with the boss.
PHILLIPS: All right. But, maybe we should be clear. Everyone knows a suck up, OK? We all know the suck-ups. And when it comes down it, they end up being a complete farce. And it's always the humble ones that usually are the hardest workers, Gerri. So --
WILLIS: I have seen sucking up pay off big time. Just me, OK? I see that.
PHILLIPS: You're right.
WILLIS: In my own life, you know?
PHILLIPS: And usually it's the wrong time, too. All right.
Well, you say people should look into taking classes. That's true. To checking various degrees, skills. Tell me what you mean.
WILLIS: Well, OK. So, if you're company offers training classes, take them. Learn a new software system. Get up to date on innovations in your industry and think about taking a class at a local college.
Or better yet, if you're behind on skill sets, get into one of those online college programs because they're a great involvement. The more up to date you are, the more skills you have, the harder it will be to let you go.
And join a trade organizations to network, work with other folks. You don't want to just networks in-house. You want to make sure people in the industry, not just in your company, know who you are. Get a mentor. If you don't have one already, seek out somebody in the company you respect. Not only can that person help guide your career and keep you on the right track, he or she can also make sure you're aware of great opportunities and influence the higher ups when they're making job cutting decisions. The more watching your back the better off you'll be when the bosses start handing out the pink slips -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Amen. Gerri Willis. Thanks a lot. WILLIS: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: The health care industry finding it's not at recession-proof as they thought. Can Barack Obama resuscitate things from the White House?
And there have been several high-profile pastors caught up in scandals over the years. Ever notice who consistently is not among them? America's pastor is celebrating another milestone in a life paved with them.
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PHILLIPS: In less than an hour, you'll see it live. The President-elect Barack Obama, holding his first news conference. Issue number one, the economy. We're all wondering what he's going to do about it. He met with his economic team today. A massive round table discussion for a number of hour. Video from that meeting.
You can see Vice Presidential-elect Joe Biden, by his side. A number of dignitaries within the business world and also secretaries of Treasury and former chairman of the Fed Reserve. All types of financial gurus there's at the table advising the new president on what he should do about our biggest concern right now in this country and that's our economy. We'll take it live in less than an hour.
Now, for women cursed with migraines there may be a silver lining. Researchers say the debilitating headaches seem to lower your breast cancer. They suspect a link to estrogen. Well, high levels are associated with a higher risk of brain cancer. But, migraine suffers in the study appeared to have lower estrogen levels.
The ailing economy, looks like it's infecting the health care system. Some hospital report a drop in the number of paying patients, now. They say that more people are putting off elective procedures. Yes, that includes cosmetic stuff. But also knee replacement, hernia repair, et cetera. Those big money surgeries help subsidize care for the uninsured and others who can't pay. And those numbers are only going up.
Well, a hospital executives are scrambling to stem the financial bleeding. They're also looking ahead to when Barack Obama takes office and wondering what sort of reforms he'll be able to get through.
Here's our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well Kyra, I think if you had to describe the attitude of most of these top medical leaders, it would be as enthusiastic. Their enthusiastic that health care reform in a meaningful way could get done.
But, there's also this idea that most of the things being put forward have been talked about for decades. So, how do you translate those words into action? This is what we found.
(voice-over): President-elect Barack Obama promised to make health care reform a priority in his first hundred days. His goal, make insurance available for everyone who wants it.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: No one will be turned away, because of a pre-existing condition or illness. If you have children, they will be covered, too. If you change jobs, this insurance will go with you. And if you can't afford this insurance you'll receive a tax credit to help pay for it.
GUPTA: He wants to make the same health insurance that's available to government employees also available to every citizen. The estimated cost, up to $65 billion a year. President-elect Obama says the money will come from rolling back President Bush's tax cuts. The average family will save about $2,500 a year. The idea, more people in the pool will drive premiums down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The concept that now President-elect Obama has advanced is a very important one. Having all Americans in the system does play an important role in making coverage available as efficiently as possible.
GUPTA: Other medical experts are cautiously optimistic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has put forward big ideas or health care. And I think that obviously, the devil will be in the details.
GUPTA: Some of those other details include: Requiring doctors and health care facilities to switch to electronic medical records. And the safe reimportation of drugs from developed countries.
OBAMA: We'll tell the pharmaceutical companies, thanks, but no thanks for overpriced drugs. Drugs that cost twice at much here as they do in Europe and Canada and Mexico.
GUPTA: So, how soon before you'll be able to order your next batch of meds from Canada? The FDA cautions, that may nod happen soon. They tell CNN, "Most imported drugs are not FDA approved and have not been shown to be safe, regardless of what country they come from."
Obama will also push for insurance coverage of preventive care with the focus on wellness, as opposed to just managing sickness. Also increases in funding for cancer and stem cell research.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a very tall order from where we are today. Now the question is, is turning the proposals that were made during the campaign into legislative proposals and specifics.
GUPTA (on camera): And Kyra, I guess that's the million dollar question. When will any of this get done? The medical experts we've talked to say the new president only has a couple of months into his first term to make things happen for 2009.
Most likely some of these changes we're talking about won't happen until 2010. Another question that often comes up is this government-sponsored health care plan. How do you qualify? Well, often people are unhappy with their current insurance, they're uninsured or they simply can't afford private insurance.
As far as how they do it, they might just simply check a box on a their tax return, they may do it at the Department of Motor Vehicles, or they may do it online. But there's going to be some specific criteria as to who's going to qualify.
Kyra, we're going to keep you posted on this. Back to you for now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Sanjay, thanks so much.
Well, America's pastor to millions of people, Daddy Bill, to a handful. Billy Graham's grandchildren talk about their famous grandfather and how he's touched their lives, today on his 90th birthday.
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PHILLIPS: More of that story that we've following out of Haiti, that school that collapsed, possibly up to 700 students trapped beneath the rubble. Right now the Associated Press reporting that seven bodies have been recovered. Seven people found dead underneath the rubble there of that school building that has collapsed just outside of Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince.
We're told that hundreds of bystanders are helping in that rescue effort. We even had a chance to talk with someone from the Haitian Red Cross. He said their biggest need right now, search and rescue equipment. We'll follow this story and bring you as much information as we get it.
Now, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, Ted Haggard. All big name pastors caught up in big time scandals. But, the biggest named pastor of them all who's remained above all the bad stuff, Billy Graham. And he's going to be the first one to tell you that he's not perfect, but he stayed out of the tabloids and on message for 70 years. America's pastor turns 90 today and we celebrate his life.
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PHILLIPS (voice-over): On November 7, 1918, World War I was days away from ending. And on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina, Morrow and Frank Graham welcomed their first child. A son. They called him Billy Frank. That little boy would grow up to become the world's most famous Evangelist.
REV. BILLY GRAHAM, EVANGELIST PREACHER: There is no other way. Man cannot be saved by bread alone.
PHILLIPS: In his nearly seven decades of ministry, Billy Graham preached in 185 countries and territories. 215 million people heard him preach in person.
GRAHAM: He said, I'm the way, the truth and the light. Then he said an interesting thing. No man comes to the father except through me.
PHILLIPS: Graham retired after his 2005 crusade in New York City. These days he spends most of his time at his home in the mountains of North Carolina. It's a bittersweet time for America's pastor. His beloved wife Ruth, of 63 years, died in 2007.
GRAHAM: She was just one great woman. She has a lot of steel in her, a lot of determination.
FRANKLIN GRAHAM, SON OF BILLY GRAHAM: I miss my mama. I miss her every day.
PHILLIPS: I recently sat down with Graham's oldest son Franklin, in the home where his father grew up.
(on camera): How are you going to spend his 90th birthday?
F. GRAHAM: Well, we will be with my father at home. Just the family. The next week, we'll have a little bit bigger celebration, where some of his friends are going to come together.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): But the realities of age are setting in.
At 90, his eyesight is poor. He has a hard time hearing and uses a walker to get around. Still though, his son says that his heart is strong and his mind is sharp. Years of prayer, maybe. Years of exercise, for sure.
F. GRAHAM: Before running was cool, my father would run everyday. My father wore those little suede -- they're called Hush Puppy shoes and he would jog in his Hush Puppies in long pants. He didn't even have shorts. But, he would go out for at least a mile run.
PHILLIPS: Franklin and his father have lunch together every Sunday. They talk about ministry, watch the news and pray.
F. GRAHAM: He just realizes, it's just God that has taken his life and used -- and he's humbled by that.
PHILLIPS: And even though he has preached the Gospel across the globe and calls some of the world's most powerful people friend, the boy from the dairy farm in North Carolina, looks back at his life in awe.
F. GRAHAM: If you ever are going down a country road and you see a turtle on a fence post, you know that turtle didn't get there on its own. Somebody put that turtle on that fence post. And my father has always felt a little bit like he's a turtle on a fence post.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Well, Billy Graham has touched millions of people. But none more profoundly than his own grandchildren. They've written a book about their grand-dad. They say it's less about him and more about how God has used him to change lives.
I talked with them about their relationship with the man they call Daddy Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My grandfather and I love politics, ever since I was a little kid. And so he was gracious enough to often invite me to different political events. And I'll never forget in 1988, he invited me to go with him to the Republican National Convention in New Orleans.
I remember going there and I was staying at a different hotel with a friend of mine. So, as we're going over to the hotel and as we're going up the elevator, I remember, it was about 9:00. I remember thinking, you know, he's not going to be his room. This is the Republican Convention. He could be at any party, with any V.I.P that he can be with. And I doubt he's going to be in his room. But, we're here, let's at least knock on his door. So, we did that.
And I'll never forget. He opens the door, he's in his pajamas. He invites us in. And I looked out of the corner of my eye and I could tell he had been sitting on his bed and his bible was open. And that hit me really hard because I was thinking, you know, here's a man that can be with any famous person he wants tonight. And he chooses to be with his heavenly father.
And so as a college sophomore, that was very impacting in my life. Because I said, this is authentic Christianity. Nobody's watching, the press isn't looking at him, people aren't -- crowds aren't here, he's by himself. And he just loves to be with God.
PHILLIPS: Well, for decades he's met with all these various presidents and they've loved him and he has loved them. And he's been a adviser to them. Do we know what he thinks of Barack Obama, the first African-American president? I don't know if you have had a chance to talk to him, yet. But, I can just imagine --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I talked to him before the election. And I think he was excited. I think he was excited.
My grandfather, the neat thing about him, is you could have conversations with him about various political leaders. And the two things that always stood out to me was, A, this guys knows all these people, which was sort of amazing. And then secondly, he always respected all of them.
He may not have agreed with all of their politics, but he always respected them as people. Because he looked to them the way God often looks at us, the way he does look at us. And that is as people first, as individuals who need a savior. And that's how he does that, whether the person is a Democrat or a Republican. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I will say this, I know he will be praying for Barack Obama everyday.
PHILLIPS: When you look back on his life, what do you want him to be remembered for the most?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Wow. Humility is probably the main thing that comes to mind when I think about his whole life. And we've touched on a that a little bit. And just how he loved everybody.
You talk about the woman in Morrison, or people -- you know, I've been at a poolside by him, when a lady would walk up, just wanting to shake his hand and instead, he talks with her for 30 minutes. I've been there when he's you know, not only done that, but gone back to his hotel room, gotten a book for him, signed it and given it to them. He just loves people so genuinely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, you want to be part of Reverend Graham's birthday celebration, you can actually send him a message. Tell him how his ministry has touched your life or the lives of people that you care about. All you have to do is to go to CNN.com/living. Check out the article and you'll see a place where you can send him a message.
Since Tuesday night, we've only gotten glimpses of the President- elect. But that's about to change. Barack Obama's debut post election news conference next hour, in its entirely, right here on CNN.
But first, in today's Election Express Yourself, CNN's Josh Rubin is asking what you think of the new President-elect.
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JOSH RUBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The election is over. Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. Chicago, time to express yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's dynamic. I think he's very articulate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's got a good head on his shoulders, thinks on his feet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really do think he's going to be able to make a difference. I mean, I think that he brings something different to the presidency that all the other presidents haven't brought.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, I'm going to give him my support, even though that's not who I voted for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to be very good for the whole world economy, the election of Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not going to happen overnight. It's going to take a long time. If he is going to surround himself with the right people, he could take the country in a good direction.
RUBIN: So, he's the President-elect. Do you think he's going to be able will do --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so. We're real hopeful. We are with him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'll tell you what. If he doesn't get things together a little bit, I think he is only here for four years.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ooh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he get you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He totally got me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He totally bit my finger.
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PHILLIPS: Well, it's cool. He's has had his shots and so has the dog. Apparently Barney, the First Terrier, woke up on the wrong side of the floor Thursday. Or someone messed in his kibble. He gave a Reuters reporter a piece of his mouth.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wanted to pet Barney. My mom has a Scottish Terrier. I wanted to pet Barney and unfortunately, he was not in the mood to be pet.
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PHILLIPS: Well, Barney won't have to eat the press much longer. Come January, he'll be chasing moles in Texas.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
