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Haiti School Collapses; Obama News Conference; American Automakers; Caylee Anthony; Kabul Children; Magic Wall
Aired November 08, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: We're going to begin with some very sobering and sad news, what will hopefully be a great effort to help. A school collapses in Haiti with people trapped inside and now a huge effort underway to try to get to what could be survivors. Hopefully, we understand, the U.S. military Southern Command is also now donating $10,000 in medical supplies to help the people there in Haiti.
At least 82 people are dead, many others injured. The scene there absolutely heart wrenching as you see right there. Family members and rescue workers are drugging through the rubble through their bare hands desperate to get any children out alive.
We have on the line with us, Rob Droen. He's on the phone and heading up the International Red Cross Delegation there and he just returned from that site of the collapse. He's back in Port-au-Prince right there.
So, give me an idea of exactly what you were able to see, what kind of efforts are underway to try to reach any potential survivors.
ROB DROUEN, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: The good piece here is this morning at 2:00 the fire brigade, the specialist fire brigade, from Martinique arrived in Haiti with team with dogs to find victims from the rubble. Unfortunately (INAUDIBLE) could only find three dead children.
But the good news, about 10 minutes ago they find two children alive and the children are out of the rubble unharmed and they are reunited with the families.
WHITFIELD: OK, That's amazing that two children were found unharmed. Was it the case that they were trapped in a cavity of the rubble and that's how they were spared? Any injuries?
DROUEN: No injuries for these two children and for the team of so the team of Martinique (INAUDIBLE). Around 20 people (INAUDIBLE) dogs and for the (INAUDIBLE) to look for signs of life in the rubble, which is very complicated.
WHITFIELD: So, when we talk about, as of yet, 82 people who are dead, many more injured and there are survivors including two that you just mentioned who have been pulled from the rubble alive. Any idea of how many, in general, were in that school, how many people in all are you looking are? DROUEN: It is very difficult to say. Yesterday there was especially event at the school, and so there were not only pupils, but also family members and friends were invited. So, very difficult to say how many people were in the school.
WHITFIELD: When we hear that the U.S. military Southern Command is sending in about $10,000 in medical supply, how helpful is that going to be for the efforts there to nurse those injured, how far would that amount go?
DROUEN: In Haiti, any help is always very thankfully received. But yesterday, (INAUDIBLE) of the Red Cross and also the WHO, the World Health Organization, donated to the hospitals and the hospitals were able to cope with the influx of the wounded. Furthermore, some of the wounded children and wounded adults have been transferred to hospitals run by Doctors Without Boards who have regular programs in the country and of course, we have medical material in place.
WHITFIELD: And Rob, we know that mudslides in general have been a big problem in Haiti for a long time now because of the vegetation being chopped away, et cetera, for wood, to burn to keep people warm at night in a lot of ways. Do we have any idea what caused the collapse of this school? Was it mudslide? Was it something else, just simply the land being compromised over a period of time for other reasons?
DROUEN: It is difficult to say that. That would be speculation. But, there we have to wait for the official reports. There are speculations on that construction, that speculation that there were too many people in the building because of this festivity, but they (INAUDIBLE) the very near feature will tell.
WHITFIELD: All right, Rob Drouen of the International Red Cross, our hearts are with you there in your continued search for any other potential survivors and hopefully there will be a much greater effort to try and help aid those who have been injured and impacted directly from this. Thanks for your time. I appreciate it.
Well meantime, also not far from that region, Hurricane Paloma now an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm. It is lashing the Cayman Islands with heavy rain and 140 mile-an-hour winds. Homes are damaged, some trees and power lines have also been down and some low- lying areas are indeed flooded.
But so far, it appears no one has been killed or seriously injured there. Paloma is expected to weaken just a bit before slamming into Cuba later today or perhaps even tomorrow. Let's check in with Reynolds Wolf.
Just a real harsh reminder that hurricane season is still very much on. We've got, what? Just another couple of weeks before it ends, officially.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, but I mean you got remember, too, that nature sometimes really doesn't pay attention to those forecasts and a lot of times we happen to have the seasons that will extend beyond November. And it happened, of course in 2004 and 2005. So, you never know. We could see some develops in January and February. It has happened.
But, let's deal with this storm while we can, this Paloma is a major, major hurricane, winds of 140 miles-an-hour, gusting to 165. To give you a point of reference, this is Cuba. You've got Cayman Islands, you got Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac. About 85 miles separates the Grand Cayman from Little Cayman, Cayman Brac. The storm just passing that area now, moving towards Cuba. Cuba, as we speak, and dealing with intense rainfall, some strong winds, some beyond, of course, hurricane-force wind which is would be 74 miles-an- hour and higher and it's just going to be battered by this storm system.
The latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center, very interesting. The storm expected to weaken a little bit as it approaches shore, possibly a Category 2 as it makes landfall into Sunday. But then, as we go from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, even Thursday, you see all of this jumble up. That's because the storm is not expected to move much at all, it may just pull up stationary and the reason for that is because we have a bit of a blocking mechanism in the atmosphere, that blocking mechanism being a frontal boundary that's going to approach and moving across the U.S. as we speak
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: That's right. All of the time. That's why they wear those what they call, what, Seattle sombreros?
WOLF: Yes. Yeah, go out by the Space Needle and enjoy some coffee and enjoy the rain.
WHITFIELD: Showers.
WOLF: Not exactly an unusual site.
WHITFIELD: The sprinkles. All right, thanks so much, Reynolds. Appreciate it.
All right, you think this election season was exhausting for you, well, how about for the candidates and how about those news correspondents? All right, this long presidential campaign is finally over and the Obama's, well, they're spending this weekend as a family at home in Chicago.
Monday it's back to work preparing for the power shift and actually visiting the White House at the Bush's invitation. Well, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, well, she should be pretty pooped, too, because she's been going at it for quite a while, she's there in Chicago.
Your new home away from home, again.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. That's right, I guess about 12 months and it's all wrapped up, about 70- something days or so for Barack Obama to get prepared for his new job. He is home with his family, Michelle and his daughters, Sasha and alia, obviously getting some well-needed and well-deserved rest.
He did the Democratic radio address this morning, he delivered that, but for the most part he's behind closed doors, he's at home relaxing after a very long and really quite ambitious week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Capping off a historic week, Barack Obama held his first news conference as the president-elect, but after 21 months of bashing President Bush, along with his opponent John McCain, Obama was uncharacteristically deferential.
BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT-ELECT: The United States has only one government and one president at a time, and until January 20th of next year, that government is the current administration.
MALVEAUX: While Obama said Americans faced the greatest economic challenge of their lifetimes, he made it clear until he becomes president, the responsibility is still on Mr. Bush.
OBAMA: I've spoken to President Bush. I appreciate his commitment to ensuring that his economic policy team keeps us fully informed as developments unfold.
Immediately after I become president, I'm going to confront this economic crisis head-on.
MALVEAUX: Surrounded by his top-level team of economic advisers including former Treasury secretaries, governors and Federal Reserve chairs, Obama urged Congress to support his $175 billion economic stimulus package before he takes office.
OBAMA: If it does not get done in the lame duck session, it will be the first thing I get done as president of the United States.
MALVEAUX: But not president yet, Obama is cautious. While the campaign as the candidate who would talk to America's enemy, he demurred as to how to respond to a letter of Congratulations from Iran's president.
OBAMA: Obviously, how we approach and deal with a country like Iran is not something that we should, you know, simply do in a knee- jerk fashion. I want to be very careful that we are sending the right signals to the world as a whole, that I am not the president, and I won't be until January 20.
MALVEAUX: January 20 will usher in a new first family, and the prospect of Obama's two young daughters getting a new puppy provided a moment of levity.
OBAMA: Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic. On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MALVEAUX: Fred, he said "mutts like me," so obviously just one of the many decisions that he has to make, I guess both big and small before he gets to the White House. But one thing that's going to happen on Monday is that he is going to be at the White House along with his wife, Michelle. They'll be visiting with President Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush. They're going to get a tour of the residence and then we are told that Barack Obama and President Bush will sit down and they will talk about those serious issues, the war in Iraq as well as the financial crisis and this transition period to try to make it as smoothly as possible -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, let's hope for smooth, and we know, large and in charge and they will be a lot of things to do, but at the top of the list it is all about the puppy, most importantly.
MALVEAUX: The puppy, we all want to know about the puppy.
WHITFIELD: That's right, we want to know about the dog. All right, thanks so much. And keeping the family happy. All right, Suzanne, thanks so much from Chicago.
All right, as if the president-elect needed more evidence of the economy's hurting, two more banks have failed, the 18th and 19th this year alone. The FDIC has seized Franklin Bank, based in Texas and California's Security Pacific Bank. Their deposits are being acquired by local competitors, but if you've got a Franklin or Security Pacific account, you don't need to panic. Regulators say you are still able to access your money as usual.
All right, from banks to U.S. automakers. The Obama administration will face prime sectors of the American economy that are failing and failing pretty fast. CNN's Bill Tucker looks at how bad things have gotten for Detroit's big three.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): American automakers are reeling, plant closings, production cutbacks, capital spending slashed, GM and Ford cutting another 10 percent of salaried employment costs on top of previously announced cuts.
Merit pay increases, gone. Bonuses, gone. Ford will no longer match employee's contributions to the company's retirement plan. Chrysler is on its own. GM announced merger talks are over, saying it may just barely have the money it needs for day-to-day operations by the end of this year. It certainly seems a helping hand from Washington is necessary.
PROF PETER MORICI, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: The trick in assisting the Detroit three is to engage them in building the kinds of cars that make America energy independent, not energy dependent.
If we focus the assistance of the automobile industry in that direction, not only will we save them from collapse but we might create a good export industry in the process. TUCKER: The plight of the automakers underscores a brutal fact of October's unemployment report. More than one-third of the jobs lost were manufacturing jobs. Advocates for domestic manufacturers are urging President-elect Obama to focus on manufacturing as a way to lead an economic turnaround.
LLOYD WOOD, AMER MFG TRADE ACTION GOAL: And one of the biggest reasons why is because for every manufacturing job created, you have a tremendous multiplier effect in jobs created everywhere else.
TUCKER: But not every industrial economist is holding his or her breath.
ALAN TONELSON, US BUSINESS & INDUSTRY COUNCIL: I don't see much evidence, unfortunately, that President Obama recognizes the overriding need to boost domestic production in order to put our economy back on the right track, again, back on the track of sustainable and healthy growth.
TUCKER: In the 10 years from 1997 to 2007, Tonelson says the economic sector was an economic lager, growing at only one-third of the overall economic growth rate.
Bill Tucker, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, and more on politics and the economy. This remind e CNN has a special edition of Campbell Brown, NO BIAS, NO BULL: The Transition to Power. Campbell looks at the defining moments of this historic election. That's tonight 8:00 Eastern on CNN.
A child's life you need to see to appreciate. It could change the way you see your own.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A renewed push this weekend to find little Caylee Anthony. Thousands of volunteers are expected to join to search in central Florida. Caylee, of course, has been missing since June. Her mom, Casey Anthony, is charged with murder and child abuse. Let's bring in reporter Sean Lavin from our affiliate WFTV - Sean.
SEAN LAVIN, WFTV REPORTER: Fredricka, I just talked with a spokesman from EquiSearch, out here, who's running this search. They say they actually need about 2,000 more volunteers to properly search this area. They didn't get as much volunteers as they were expecting earlier today. Now, if those volunteers actually find something suspicious out in the woods, they're supposed to take one of the flags, stick it in the ground then a CSI team can follow those volunteers and determine if that suspicious item was actually something that can help find little Caylee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): The smaller than expected army of more than 1,100 volunteers gathered for a briefing around 9 a.m. before breaking into teams and starting their search for Caylee's remains.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think it is time for closure for the family, and I really think it's time for us to find her.
LAVIN: The search started later than expected, but organizers eventually spread out and started searching wooded areas near Blanchard Park and also open fields near the command post.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And let's spread out so we can do the whole line from the water to the water.
LAVIN: Some searchers found clothing, but so far, no skeleton that could solve the mystery of what Casey did with her daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want to delve into the mind of Casey, you'd have to dig real deep in the ugly book because she is an ugly- minded little person.
LAVIN: Bouncy hunter, Leonard Padilla, returned to Florida for the search. Now he's attacking the mother he once defended for causing pain for so many people across the country like Kathy Peters who came all of the way from Georgia with members of the WebSleuths blog hoping to find the beautiful brown-eyed little girl.
KATHY PETERS, VOLUNTEER: She's in heaven and she just needs to be brought home to be buried, you know? Let her have her funeral. Let all of these people that love Caylee, you know, just -- let the tears stop.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVIN: Now, as you can see, it's actually a very emotional scene for a lot of the volunteers out here. If they don't find a skeletal remain today, they're going to go ahead and search again tomorrow morning - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. And, you know, this EquiSearch, don't they often use their horses, as well?
LAVIN: That's right. There are a couple of horses out here. They also have some ATVs and they're also using a certain ground- penetrating sonar to check and see if they can find anything underground, as well. So, some pretty sophisticated equipment out here this afternoon .
WHITFIELD: All right, Sean Lavin, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Well, overseas in Afghanistan, a hard life on the streets. Young children forced to beg for food or for money. Their numbers are simply staggering. CNN's Atia Abawi spent sine time with the children of Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIA ABAWI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A small boy with a pack of gum, desperate to make a sale, a glimpse into the life of a street beggar in Kabul. Survival here is measured in pennies.
The streets of Afghanistan's capital often seen overrun with children, trying to provide for their destitute families. Some estimates put the number at 60,000. There are few places that provide sanctuary for these children, but Aschiana which means "nest" in Dari is one. It's dedicating to helping kids whose parents can't afford to send them to school, to give them a basic education, a moment of recreation and perhaps most importantly, a glimmer of hope.
This is where we meet Banafsha who has been begging in the streets since she was seven. She's now 11, but her eyes tell of experiences that have taken her far beyond childhood. Banafsha dreams of being a teacher.
(on camera): Aschiana was forced to shut down four out of eight other centers in June when funding never arrived from a European organization that promised to help, forcing 4,000 children back on the streets without their three-hour reprieve.
(voice-over): At noon, Banafsha leaves the center and her childhood behind and walks the crowded street her spot, a wealthy area of Kabul where diplomats and NGOs cluster. She is nervous, but has no choice. Kabul is not a safe place.
BANAFSHA (speaking foreign language): A few days ago, some girls were kidnapped around here and lately many people have gone missing. The girls' mother still comes around here looking for them but they still haven't been found.
ABAWI: She walks from building to building, clutching her bag, hoping for leftover morsels of bread. Sometimes lucky, sometimes not. But she is persistent, she has to be. At the age of 11, Banafsha is the breadwinner for a family of eight. Her father's a drug addict and her mother stays home to take care of her baby brothers, forcing Banafsha and her younger sisters out into the city to hope for the good will of others. She knows her childhood is slipping away.
BANAFSHA (speaking foreign language): I say, God, take us out of this poverty and have my father go work so I can go to school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE(speaking foreign language): Do you pray everyday?
BANAFSHA: Everyday...
ABAWI: Late in the afternoon Banafsha heads home. On a good day, there's some bread in her bag and 50 cents to give to her mother, but still, no time for rest, the house chores remain. As the eldest sister, she tends to her siblings. Her mother relies on her help, her father is only focused on his next high. And tomorrow, she'll walk out into the city again, still dreaming of a different life.
Atia Abawi CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And if you'd like to help these children, you can by going CNN.com/impact for more information on those who can make it happen.
Off the wall-technology at your fingertips. Here's the story behind the innovation of campaign 2008 that shaped our coverage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We knew you tuned in to CNN's election coverage because everybody did, and when you did you saw what we call the "Magic Wall." Deborah Feyerick has the story behind this touchable technology on the edge of discovery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was first made famous by CNN's very own John King.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The biggest changes in American politics.
FEYERICK: Or maybe you caught the parody on "Saturday Night Live."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Check out Michigan, I can make it bounce.
FEYERICK: We here at CNN call it the Magic Wall. To the man behind the technology, Jeff Han, it's called a Multi-Touch Collaboration Wall.
JEFF HAN, MULTI-TOUCH COLLABORATION WALL: Multi-Touch is a whole new way of working with (INAUDIBLE). You can actually use more than one thing at a time, that means both hands, that means all 10 fingers, it might mean multiple users in front of the screen, also.
FEYERICK: The computing power has been around for years.
HAN: It's that interface that last final few inches between the person and the computer that we even had.
FEYERICK: But, it's not only good for explaining elections or providing fodder for comedy shows, Han says there are some very practical uses, like military intelligence and medical research.
HAN: This is a close up of a blood vessel cross-section.
FEYERICK: And collaborative learning from students to architects, artists, engineers and scientists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never had you been able to (INAUDIBLE) this many objects with this (INAUDIBLE) freedom at the same time .
HAN: This made real freedom at the same time.
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Wow, wow and wow! That is amazing. Well, fresh off the campaign trail straight to memory lane. Analysis of what makes campaign 2008, besides that, stand out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, bottom of the hour. Here's what's happening right now. Officials say at least 82 people are dead following yesterday's school collapse in Haiti. More than 100 people hurt and hundreds of students may still be missing in that rubble. The U.S. military is sending in military and medical supplies.
Hurricane Paloma meantime is heading toward Cuba. Earlier in the Cayman Islands, the category 4 storm caused floods and power outages. Well so far, there are no reports of deaths or injuries.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is off the campaign trail, but not out of the spotlight. The former Republican vice presidential nominee talked with CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman to help set her record straight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sarah Palin was greeted by reporters when she entered her governor's office and then her staff as she came back for the first time since the end of the presidential campaign. She is now back to the routine that was totally disrupted when John McCain picked her as his vice presidential nominee.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: I tell you, this is the -- this is the best job in the world is being the governor.
TUCHMAN: When she arrived back in Alaska Wednesday night, Sarah Palin had started hearing about charges from unnamed McCain staffers that she didn't know what countries were part of NAFTA, that she didn't know Africa was a continent.
(on camera): Governor, there's no question that people did not put their names forward and most -- I think a lot of Americans consider that cowardly. There's no question about it.
PALIN: Yes, I do. I consider it cowardly.
TUCHMAN: So, regarding these allegations which -- I don't think my colleagues didn't make it up. They heard it from people who said you can't use our name regarding these geography things about Africa and about NAFTA. Are they not true or are they misinterpreted?
PALIN: Yes, that is not -- no, it's not true, and I do remember having a discussion about NAFTA as we talked about Alaska's relationship with Canada and how we -- heaven forbid, we go in and just unilaterally think that we're going to renegotiate NAFTA as it had appeared that Barack Obama, his position was yes, he wanted to go renegotiate.
I remember having a discussion with a couple of debate preppers. So, if it came from one of those debate preppers, you know, that's curious. But having a discussion about NAFTA, not oh, my goodness, I don't know who's a part of NAFTA.
So, no, I think that if there are allegations based on questions or comments that I made in debate prep about NAFTA and about the continent versus the country when we talk about Africa there, then those were taken out of context and that is -- that's cruel, it's mean spirited, it's immature, it's unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it, taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news, it's not fair and not right.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The governor also addressed the controversy over the purchase of $150,000 worth of clothes.
PALIN: The RNC purchased clothes. Those are the RNC's clothes. They're not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy any -- I never asked for anything more than maybe a diet Dr. Pepper once in a while.
TUCHMAN: Palin says she experienced a type of sexism on the campaign trail she hadn't felt before.
PALIN: You see a quality in Alaska and so, that's a good question because I think that was a bit of a surprise on a national level is what, you mean the other 49 states aren't quite there like Alaskans are? Well, come on, follow Alaska's lead and start allowing the equal opportunities and the equal treatment.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Sarah Palin was also critical of the news media during our conversation, but I said to her, sure, some mistakes are made, but overall, don't you think most of the coverage was fair and she acknowledged it was, but did say, quote, "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch."
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Anchorage, Alaska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: History in the making. We have some backstage snapshots to show you. Take in the Obama family on election night. These shots are from the Obama campaign photographer David Katz. They show the Obama family of course watching the returns right there in Chicago. One of the most striking things about the photographs how calm it seems everybody was, watching the results and even backstage before he came out with his victory speech and there, of course, with the now vice president-elect Joe Biden.
All right, President-elect Obama -- whoops -- is apologizing for something he said during his news conference yesterday. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTI-ELECT: In terms of speaking to former presidents, I have spoken to all of them that are living, obviously President Clinton -- I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That was the whoops part. Obama was apparently referring to reports that Mrs. Reagan consulted an astrologer while her husband was president. The Obama transition team concedes the remark was quote, "careless and off-handed" and aides says Obama did call Mrs. Reagan to apologize and reports that the two of them actually had a very warm conversation.
All right, well, now to more memories. Yes, the campaign, it seemed to go on forever, is now behind us. Paul Steinhouser is CNN's deputy political director. He joins us now from Washington. Wow! I'm sure this is a big whirlwind for you and everybody else who was part of it. It seemed to have been never-ending, but now that part is over. So, what do you reflect on?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, right off the bat, it -- never-ending. You know, it was two years ago, Fredricka, two years ago this week in the days after the midterm elections of 2006 that some of these guys started running for president. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani two years ago this week decide -- announced exploratory committees for the presidency, the first step and John Edwards right around Christmas time '06 actually formally jumped in.
So, first of all, the length of this campaign, it was longer than any other campaign any of us have really have covered in modern history. Not only did the primaries start earlier, they went later. Remember, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama battled all the way to June of this year. So, we didn't really have any letdown or kind of down time because usually when the primaries are over, you got a couple of months, it's a little slower and then you build up for the conventions. We didn't have that this time, Fredricka ...
WHITFIELD: Wow.
STEINHAUSER: ...it just kept coming and coming and never ending.
WHITFIELD: And you and everybody else on the political team, on the Election Express, et cetera, did you kind of lose count of how many cities in how many days you seemed to cover?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. A lot of miles on the CNN Election Express. We had a bus in '04, but -- the last presidential election, but this one, what you're seeing it right here, this really was a state-of-the- art bus. It was amazing. It was -- it had a satellite dish on top. It had HD capabilities, digital.
WHITFIELD: Wow. STEINHAUSER: And it was -- you saw it on TV all the time as a backdrop, it was a working newsroom. I spent almost every weekend over the last year-and-a-half on this bus. Others spent seven days a week, if you can imagine.
WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.
STEINHAUSER: Jordan Clacey (ph), Josh Rubin and Dale Fountain basically spent the last year-and-a-half of their lives on that bus.
WHITFIELD: Living on it.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, living on it.
WHITFIELD: OK, so any mishaps along the way, whether it be for you, for anybody? Lost luggage, maybe not because you had your own bus, but you know, food poisoning, any of that weird stuff, colds, flus that happens that can kind of make you put the brakes on, but you know you got to keep going?
STEINHAUSER: Sure. All of that and more to a lot of us. And remember, I had it easy because I only traveled maybe once or twice a week. I'd go out on weekends, except for the big events that I go off. But a lot of our people were traveling basically seven days a week, living out of suitcases for months on end and you know, you get tired, you get worn down and you're working basically from "AMERICAN MORNING" at 6:00 in the morning through "A.C. 360" at 10:00 at night and on weekends.
But this was such an incredible campaign and historic in nature that I think all of us who did it would trade all those times getting sick and losing luggage, we wouldn't trade it for anything.
WHITFIELD: Yes, historic on so many levels. I mean, at one point, you had about nine candidates on each side, then it was all whittled down, you know, three, two, and then the one in the end. So, as you look back, did you feel like there was ever a moment where you said, you know what? I see the tide turning or did you kind of look into the crystal ball or did you see something, witness something or say wow! I think this is about to happen for this candidate?
STEINHAUSER: You know, for me, I didn't really see much of Barack Obama in Iowa and New Hampshire. I was spending more time with some of the other candidates in both parties.
In South Carolina when he beat Hillary Clinton pretty handily in the South Carolina primary at the end of January, I was there when he made his -- when he did his victory speech in the convention center in Columbia, and it was my first time to really hear him with a victory speech and it was very powerful. Not only hearing him, but also being in there with the crowd, which he was -- I mean, he had them in the palm of his hand.
And then, I knew that this guy was definitely for real and had a future, no doubt about it. And you know, I didn't know which way it was going to go in the Democratic primaries because Hillary Clinton fought extremely hard. But I knew then that this guy had a real good shot at becoming president and well, he's president-elect.
WHITFIELD: And look what happened.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, what great memories. Thanks for sharing them with us and it's not over yet because we are talking about the transition and we've got inauguration. So much still to talk about. So, I know we're going to be picking your brain over the next few months still.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Paul, appreciate it.
OK, well, something else that happened Election Day which is now meaning from the ballot box now to a lawsuit. Heading to the courtroom, the battle over same-sex marriage in California. Well, that's not over. Our legal team will be taking up the case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban, well, now it's heading to court. Even as the final votes are counted, the measure is fueling lawsuits and angry protests already.
CNN's Chris Lawrence has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Voters approved California's gay marriage ban on Tuesday, but it's already back in state Supreme Court, and if it stands, Proposition 8 could undo the "I dos" of thousands of couples.
ROBIN TYLER, MARRIED IN JUNE: It would not alter our personal relationship, but we would be very angry that they would deny equality to us as a couple.
LAWRENCE: Robin Tyler and Diane Olsen (ph) have just filed a lawsuit to overturn Prop 8. They've been together 15 years and when the court ruled in May that same-sex couples had the right to marry, they did.
TYLER: We need to establish the precedent that a majority cannot take away rights from a minority.
LAWRENCE: They argue that Prop 8 is so far reaching, it is not just an amendment to California's constitution, but a more serious revision that removes basic rights.
TYLER: This is marriage segregation.
LAWRENCE: But exit polls show most African-Americans did not connect this issue to civil rights. Seventy percent voted to ban same-sex marriage, which disappointed some. HELECIA ROBINSON, OPPOSES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BAN: They were brought up in the church to believe that homosexuality is wrong and it's a sin and I believe that's the only reason.
LAWRENCE: Supporters say these legal claims ignore the will of California voters.
MARVIN PERKINS, SUPPORTS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BAN: We're saying just let's not redefine marriage. You have the same rights. Let's just leave marriage alone.
LAWRENCE: Marvin Perkins is Mormon, and his church also became an issue in the election. The Latter-Day Saints urged members to campaign for the ban.
LAWRENCE (on camera): A lot of people weren't happy with that, so they took to the streets, blocking off part of Santa Monica Boulevard and chanting "shame on you" outside the headquarters of the Mormon church here in Los Angeles.
(voice-over): Some estimate Mormons gave more than half the money raised in support of Prop 8. It passed on Election Day, but the fight's not over.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.
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WHITFIELD: All right, so let's find out from our legal guys where this is heading next. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good to see you.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you as well.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hey, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK, guys, so a 52 percent of Californians say they do not want same-sex marriage recognized, then how is it now something like this could end up in court, Avery?
FRIEDMAN: Well, it's a fascinating constitutional issue because whether the legislature passes a law or whether the people amend the constitution, the question is under the California Equal Protection Clause, can you discriminate on this basis? That's what the California Supreme Court originally said you can't do, so they're going to re-visit it on the question of whether or not you can amend the constitution. You know what? It's anybody's guess.
WHITFIELD: So, I'm confused, Richard. If this argument or this issue needed to have been settled before it made it to the ballot box, why wasn't it? Why would this argument be made now after voters had a moment to decide whether this should stand or not? HERMAN: Well, it's losers' remorse, you know, Fred. Trying to find a creative way to try to get this legalized in California. Those six -- those four Supreme Court judges who ruled six months ago in direct contravention to the will of the people of California made a huge mistake.
FRIEDMAN: What?
HERMAN: Now, having said that, 18,000 people have married in California and what are they going do about those marriages? Are they going to be ...
WHITFIELD: And that is the next question, then, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: What do you do? I mean, there are a lot of folks who say, wait a minute. We got married. We felt it was real and right, celebrated that and now this?
FRIEDMAN: Yes. They're arguing, well, look, now it's the law of California that you can't marry. Therefore, 18,000 marriages have to be invalid.
WHITFIELD: 18,000?
FRIEDMAN: Invalidated. Bottom line is it's not going to happen. The law is that it cannot be invalid. In fact, interestingly enough, shortly after the election, Jerry Brown, the California attorney general agreed, saying those 18 marriages will not be invalidated as a result of Prop 8.
HERMAN: Fred, but ...
WHITFIELD: Oh wow.
HERMAN: ...the law is not that it can't be invalid, the law is that when they change and they amended the constitution, they did not specifically say ...
FRIEDMAN: Exactly right.
HERMAN: ...that this was retroactive and since they didn't say that, I agree with Avery. I don't think that these are going to be invalidated. I think these ...
WHITFIELD: So, the 18,000 who married, they're safe. Their marriages are OK.
HERMAN: Yes.
FRIEDMAN: But we think they're safe. We think they're ...
WHITFIELD: It's everyone thereafter.
FRIEDMAN: We think they're safe, Fredricka. HERMAN: Yes.
FRIEDMAN: We think they are.
WHITFIELD: How long is this going to take before this is settled?
HERMAN: Oh, they're going to try to go ...
WHITFIELD: This is like Florida, Florida, Florida all over again, but in a very different way, in terms of the 2000 presidential election.
FRIEDMAN: Exactly right.
HERMAN: They're going to try get to the legislature, get a two- thirds vote, then go to the governor and then if he approves it, it'll go back to the people, but in 2000 and people voted, 61 percent against it, now 52.5 ...
FRIEDMAN: Now 52 percent, right.
HERMAN: Change is coming to California, a little longer, maybe.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, change is coming. We just don't know what it is.
HERMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: We all just have to wait. Wow! All right, Avery, Richard, thanks so much. Very confusing position in California.
FRIEDMAN: It sure is. Absolutely right.
HERMAN: Very confusing.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. I have a feeling ...
HERMAN: Hey, we want to do this -- we want to do this by holograms today. What happened? We wanted to do that.
WHITFIELD: You know, we should have made that happen, dog-gone it.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
HERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: We weren't completely thinking, were we?
HERMAN: Next time.
WHITFIELD: Next weekend. Yes, let's bring it back.
All right, you all have a great weekend. Thanks so much.
HERMAN: Take care, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right, ALS, you may know it as Lou Gehrig's Disease, well, you may not know about the toll that it's taking on U.S. military veterans.
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WHITFIELD: All right, Wi-Fi is getting onboard, airlines, that is. Richelle Carey has the latest on how you can stay connected after takeoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You may soon be able to logon in-flight.
CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: Airlines are starting to roll out new Wi-Fi service, which means that passengers with laptops or PDAs will be able to access the Internet in flight and also have access to their e-mail. Signals from the onboard system are transmitted to a network powers on the ground. So, the connection is almost seamless.
CAREY: And with a click and a fee of about $10 to $13, you'll be suffering the Web in no time, but not without restriction.
MCGINNIS: Airlines are going to be able to deny access to certain sites like Skype or Vonage (ph). They're also mulling the idea of restricting access to adult entertainment sites.
CAREY: If using the service, McGinnis says to buckle up your privacy.
MCGINNIS: I would suggest getting something called a 3m privacy filter. Now, this prevents people from viewing it from the side.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. CHRISTOPHER KLINE, U.S. ARMY: Hi, I'm Captain Christopher Kline, keeping it real here at Joint Base Pulat (ph), Iraq. I'm from Montgomery, Minnesota. And I just want to say thanks to everyone out in the communities sending us the food, cookies, cards, keep them coming. Happy Veterans Day.
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WHITFIELD: Well, it is that time of year when America honors its military veterans. Veterans Day is Tuesday, but all weekend we're bringing you poignant stories of service and at times suffering.
As part of our "Veterans in Focus" series, photojournalist Bethany Swain introduces us to a 26-year-old veteran living with ALS, a disease linked to military service.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THOMAS CUDDY, VETERAN WITH ALS: My name is Thomas Cuddy.
This job takes two hands.
I'm a sufferer of ALS.
This is a disease where one day you wake up and you can walk and the next day, you can't and once you lose it, you never get it back. It's known as Lou Gehrig's disease, which means we've known about it since at least the '30s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
CUDDY: And nobody's done anything about it. When I heard I had Lou Gehrig's Disease, I thought it was like polio. Didn't we cure that in World War II?
I was diagnosed with it in February on Valentine's Day. I was hoping for chocolates, but I'll take what I get. There have been recent studies that have proven that if you are a veteran, your chances of developing ALS are double that of anybody else.
Recently, the VA agreed to count ALS as service-connected for all veterans regardless of when you served. I applied for the paperwork in March. This is one of several. I've been told it can take up to a year for them to make a determination on what they're going do.
Meanwhile, I've been progressing. Several times I've fallen and landed on my face. People lose the ability to talk. You can't tell your children you love them. I'm slowly being trapped in my own body. It is scary. What I do all day long is I tell myself in six months, I will probably be in much worse condition and in six months, I would give anything to be where I am today. So today, I'm happy with what I have.
Most days I can't open jars. We have such a short lifespan that a soldier who is diagnosed today could be gone in less than two years. With the number of people that we've brought on since we started the war on terrorism, I mean, the numbers for people living and dying with ALS could just triple.
The way we are in the military, if you show us an enemy, we'll defeat it and every American that wears the uniform feels that way. It's really hard to identify what you're fighting. I'm just fighting to stay alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, we pay our honor to all veterans and their service. We'll be right back with more more of the NEWSROOM.
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WHITFIELD: Going to jar your memory just a bit. About six years ago, an enormous explosion took place in the island of Bali, an explosion to that led to the deaths of 200 people. Well now, six years fast forward, three men who were convicted of being responsible for that bombing which killed 200 people, many of whom were Australian tourists, have been executed.
We understand that in Indonesia, three people have been executed for their roles in this devastating bombing that took place at a series of nightclubs, popular nightclubs in Bali. 2002 is when it all took place.
We understand that hundreds of members of a hard-line Muslim group which apparently were associated with those three have arrived in some of the villages near the prison where the executions have taken place. Some have even threatened revenge on the deaths now the executions of the three men who were executed for their involvement in this bombing taking place in Bali back in 2002.
We'll have much more news on this event and others throughout the day here on CNN. The NEWSROOM picks up again at 3:00 Eastern time. Meantime, it's time now for "YOUR MONEY."
