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Russian Submairne Accident; Haitian School Collapse; Possible Bailout for the Auto Industry

Aired November 09, 2008 - 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: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we're watching two big stories. Another huge government bailout may be on the way this, one for the auto industry.
Also new developments in Haiti where the police are now questioning the owner of the school that collapsed on Friday. Some say the school was poorly constructed. At least 84 deaths are confirmed and at least 150 people are hurt. Crews are still searching the wreckage hoping to find survivors but fearing that they will find more victims. The slow pace of the search has families growing frustrated and very angry.

CNN's David Mattingly is live now at the disaster site just outside of Port-au-Prince. David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the search and rescue operation from the international groups over here, French and U.S. teams. They backed off for the moment, retreated from the area. They're going to be conferring to figure out how best to approach this. This has been a very dangerous situation for them as they go in there. These building materials were very unstable. That's why everyone suspects this building collapsed in the first place, but these materials are very unstable. Huge slaps of cement are lying all over the place. They could very easily slip and kill anybody who tries to go in there. Something we cannot report to you is that there has been any sign of life. Nothing yesterday and nothing today either.

Earlier today we did go visit the hospital where we saw some of the survivors of this terrible tragedy. These young children were laying in hospital beds; they had broken bones, ribs, legs, head injuries. They were all very upset, as you might imagine, having been surviving through this after seeing their friends and in some cases a sibling lost underneath the rubble.

WHITFIELD: All right. So terribly sad. David Mattingly, thank you so much from Petionville there outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Appreciate it.

All right. The other top story we're following for you in this country, we're going - of course we're going to continue to follow the tragedy there in Haiti, including at the 5:00 hour here in the NEWSROOM, so you'll want to stick around for that. Meantime, our other big story that we're following right here in this country, President-elect Barack Obama has just over two months to transition to power. Tomorrow Obama and his wife, Michelle, will check out their new digs at the White House, but that's not all. Our Kathleen Koch is in Washington with a preview. Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, needless to say, this is a very important meeting. This is the first time these two men will get together one-on-one to discuss the orderly transfer of power from one man to the other, one party to the other, and it promises to be much more than just a social call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I hope you will join Laura and me in congratulating President-elect Obama -

KOCH (voice-over): A magnanimous President Bush is ready to welcome his successor. President-elect Barack Obama is optimistic that spirit will carry over to their first meeting in the oval office.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I'm not going to anticipate problems. I'm going to go in there with a spirit of bipartisanship and a sense that both the President and various leaders in Congress all recognize the severity of the situation right now and want to get stuff done.

KOCH: The head of the Obama transition team says it's a long list.

JOHN PODESTA, CO-CHAIR, OBAMA TRANSITIION TEAM: They need to cover a broad range of issues from national security affairs, where we are on Homeland Security, but I think they'll also want to spend a good deal of time on where things stand on the economy.

KOCH: Discussing items like a second stimulus package, says Podesta, as well as help for the auto industry. While Obama has sought advice from other presidents, the White House press secretary predicts Mr. Bush will exercise restraint.

DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think President Bush will be presumptuous in trying to talk to Barack Obama about how he make decisions or how Barack Obama should make decisions. I think the president will share how he's made decisions and some of the things he feels are important.

KOCH: And President Bush's chief of staff says he will also look beyond the criticism democrats leveled at him on the campaign trail.

JOSH BOLTEN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: He understands what the politics are about. He understands it's a rough and tumble game, and he doesn't let it interfere with his personal relationships or his judgment about what's best for the country, so I know that the President Bush that I know will be gracious and dignified in dealing with President-elect Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: Now, as to what actually happens when the Oval office door closes Monday afternoon we will only know if Mr. Bush or Obama decide to share afterwards. That's because they're going to be meeting alone. While the current and future first ladies tour the residents. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so any idea whether this is like a couple hours that these two families spend together or is this an all-day affair?

KOCH: Fredricka, we really don't know.

WHTIFIELD: Big mystery.

KOCH: It's going to be up to the parties involved. It's just going to be the two men in the Oval Office. So they'll be done when they're done.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much. Appreciate it from Washington.

All right. But, of course, before moving to Washington one last family night together in Chicago before the new workweek. Our Jessica Yellin is keeping tabs on the first family to be. She's joining us live now from Chicago. So, Jessica, how is the President-elect keeping busy in this family oriented weekend?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a bit of a more mellow weekend than the Obamas have had in over a year. Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama had - well, I guess could you call it a date night. The two of them went out last night to a fancy Italian restaurant here in Chicago. A place Mrs. Obama has liked for her birthday before and their anniversary. I think they ate for about three hours together, and we got some pictures of them as they were leaving the restaurant, and not much else. Just the two of them out alone. Barack Obama, we understand today, has taken some of his time we think to watch the Bears versus Titans game, a very big deal here in Chicago. It's all the news everywhere you turn. I'm told by my producer that the Bears just lost, so that can't be a good thing, and, you know, this weekend also a lot of the staff that's been working here for Barack Obama for some of them almost two years had the weekend to pack up and move back home to D.C. if that's where they're from, wherever else. So it's a bit of a transition weekend for the team, and Obama still taking meetings focusing on his transition, but again more of a down time for the overall Obama team than we've seen in quite some time. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jessica Yellin, thanks so much. We know it's going to be a very busy week for the Obamas and probably for you, too. All right, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Well, should the auto industry be bailed out? We know that this is one of the things that President-elect and the President will be talking about as they meet tomorrow in Washington. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An economy in crisis. The top priority of President-elect Obama. On top of the $700 billion financial bailout, there is the U.S. auto industry struggling to keep afloat. Will it be the next sector to get a big rescue check from the federal government? General Motors, the nation's largest automaker, sent shock waves through the industry on Friday. GM reported it lost more than $4 billion in the third quarter of this year, a much bigger loss than expected. The company warns it could run out of cash in coming months.

Another report showed auto sales plummeting. Auto execs met with democratic leaders and now House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are saying the administration should consider including automakers in the bailout plan. And we already understand that we're getting a response now from the Treasury Department spokesperson, Brooklyn McLaughlin about that Reid-Pelosi letter asking about the automakers and the financial bailout, and it says, "we continue to work on a strategy that most effectively deploy the remaining TARP funds to strengthen the financial system and get lending going again."

All right, well some people are very outraged at this whole idea of the bailout of the big three automakers. So is corporate America getting an undeserved boost from taxpayers? Joining us to talk about all of this, auto industry expert Lauren Fix, on the line with us now. Lauren, for starters help us interpret what the Treasury Department is saying? It sounds in part that it really just means that this is, I guess - they're not willing to commit to a bailout to the auto industry, but that it's a work in progress? Is that safe to say?

LAUREN FIX, AUTO EXPERT: That's pretty safe to say. I mean, obviously with Pelosi involved and Majority Leader Reid involved, they're putting the issue at the top of their legislative agenda which is helpful, but I think that the problem is we all want our automakers to survive because it affects jobs, but at this point, I mean bailing it out is always something that people don't like to do. No one wants to help someone out because when we're having trouble in our personal lives no one is going to write you a check or me a check. So I think it's very possible that something is going to happen, but I think it takes time for this money to go through, and that's what we're looking at right now.

WHITFIELD: So perhaps you can help us look into the two hypotheticals. If there is a bailout of the auto industry, then what's the potential fallout or gain from that?

FIX: Well, I think first thing if the automakers fail - if let's see, this will probably, I can't imagine this happening, but let's say all three automakers were to close their doors, it would be an economic disaster for the United States, and the reason it would be an economic disaster would be because if you really look at the big picture, one job affects nine jobs, and we tend to think, well, it's just the dealerships or the people that work on the line, but all the companies that support that, the little cities that survive like Flint, Michigan. I mean, there's so many tiny cities that survive off the auto industry. So if you were to affect accounting companies, marketing firms, advertising, events services, planning companies. It would be horrendous, and it would not be wise for our economy, and so that's why it's very important that we come up with some sort of bridge loan or some economic package that makes sense that would really help the consumer as well as helping these companies survive.

WHITFIELD: OK. So you really did kind of spell out what would happen if there is no way to resuscitate the auto industry, one job really affects nine. So if there isn't a bailout, then what would be the answer? How would you help resuscitate the industry, which all of them, the big three, are saying we're in trouble, big trouble?

FIX: Well, the same thing you would do if you or anybody else or any corporation, the problem is big corporations move slow. The automotive after market, which I'm also part of, they move quicker because we're smaller. When you're a big corporation, and you've got think about how many employees you have, like 22,000 employees, you're not going to be able to move that quickly. So what's going to happen? They're going to have to bring in experts to start cutting the fat. Cutting out all those the extra advertising, all the things that they might have wanted to do to support the arts or maybe to support the Emmy Awards or maybe to support different trade shows. All that disappears. It's going to be lots of cutting out of middle management and there will be a lot of people without jobs and a lot of people will need to retrain because there might not be a place for them to be in that industry. And it's going to affect all of us, not just in the car choices that you have, the prices you pay for these cars, but it's going to affect the economy.

WHITFIELD: And you know, American auto symbolizes so much for this country. Free enterprise for one. If this country were to see the auto industry, American-made autos, fail, tell me about the ripple effect and psychologically what this does to this nation's economy.

FIX: Well, psychologically it affects the economy and all the consumers in it. You may not think that on the surface but it really does make a huge difference. I mean, if you think about where we've been the last 100 years of the growth of the auto industry when the car is over 100 years, it would not just affect the U.S., it will effect the world. Because if we don't have money to spend on cars, it's going to affect the economies of other countries. Plus the fact that if you look at just the U.S. as a whole and you're thinking about people without jobs, it could turn us into a real economic downturn, much worse than we're already seeing right now. And I think it's going to be real hard to recover from that because even with the internet being such a great friend to everybody out there, I think it's going to be really a bad situation if the auto industry doesn't survive.

WHITFIELD: And Lauren, we heard President-elect while on the campaign trail say that he wants to set aside millions of dollars in order to help inject into the auto industry, especially in the direction of coming up with a fuel efficient vehicle. What is your hope that President-elect Obama would do in terms of first order of business to help the auto industry? If not a bail out, then what?

FIX: Well, it's going to have to be a bridge loan. I mean, obviously the manufacturers at some point will turn things around like they have in the past, and they're going to have to pay that money back to the government, and obviously they will be low-interest loans. That's probably the best choice. There's going to be a lot of renegotiations with unions. I mean I know that the UAW president (Ron Gotwanber) was really you know trying to get in there to make things work, and he's got a lot of people that are relying on jobs plus all the middle management that may not be part of the union that have to do that as well. So I think that one of the things that President- elect Obama can do is try to get these bridge loans through. Also, fuel-efficient cars are a small part of it with the cost of gas dropping. Many of us aren't thinking about fuel-efficient cars.

WHITFIELD: Ant these are things you heard directly from some of the representatives of the big three while they're in Las Vegas, right?

FIX: Right. We have heard from all of them. We talked to them. We have the L.A. auto show coming up a week from Monday. There will be a lot of input from the manufacturers to the journalists, and I hope to be able to report live for you as it happens.

WHITFIELD: All right. We look forward to that as well. Lauren Fix, thanks so much. We appreciate your time and insight.

OK. Now we want to know what you think about all of this. Should the auto industry be bailed out? E-mail us your answers at weekends@cnn.com. We'll read your responses in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. Also looking ahead, Hurricane Paloma, well, it's nearly no more as a hurricane. That is some good news there, but here is the bad news. The latest on the devastation that it left.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey Fredricka, Paloma just downgraded now to a tropical depression. So that is fizzling fast but we have other weather dilemma to deal with now, including winds and lake-effect snow. We'll have your complete forecast coming up in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Some sort of good news here. Paloma is losing much of its punch. It's now a tropical storm, but it was a category 4 hurricane when it actually hit central Cuba last night. It caused a lot of flooding around (Camaguay). Well hundreds of homes in fact were destroyed. Our Morgan Neil is on the phone from Central Cuba. Morgan, what can you tell us? All right. Looks like we lost that phone connection there, as does happen, especially after severe weather like a hurricane hitting a region. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras who is in the weather center. Tropical storm now or at least its lost a lot of its punch, but what potentially could it do next?

JERAS: Hey, Fredricka. I think we got Morgan back. That's what I'm being told. Morgan are you there?

WHITFIELD: OK. Maybe not.

JERAS: Let's go with the report then, shall we? Just been downgraded to a tropical depression, Fredricka, that's some great news. That happened just at the top of the hour. Maximum winds are 35 miles per hour, and, you know, it's almost nonexistent here on out satellite imagery. The center is still over Cuba, believe it or not, but look at how this thing has just been broken apart. And you can see the cloudiness here from our cold front that's moving on through pushing closer and bringing in much drier air. So Paloma continues to fizzle out and should be a problem no longer even though it's kind of still lingering across the area. Very little additional rainfall, and the winds really no longer a factor. So things are looking much better now tropically.

Back here at home, we got a little action to talk about here across the lower 48. We've got really the southwest and the northeast where we're going to be dealing with weather systems the next couple days. Nations midsection, however, looking fantastic. Cold air is blowing over those warmer lakes. We've been getting rain and snow across Michigan. Also coming in off Lakes Erie and Ontario. There you can see winter storm warnings and lake effects, snow warnings have been put into effect beginning now, continuing through tomorrow. We could see as much as you know three to seven inches of snow. So getting started with the lake-effect though. This is that time of year, November and December, we get more snow created that way than any other time of the year.

Here we go across the southwest. You can see that little circulation here of our area of low pressure bringing in some scattered rain showers. Doesn't look like a big deal here on the radar pictures, but boy can you feel this outside today? Those winds are just howling. We have wind advisories in effect across much of southern California through southern Arizona. Winds could be gusting as much as 50 miles per hour here. So that's going to be kicking up a little bit of dust, too, into some of those dry and desert areas. That system pushes into the nation's midsection for tomorrow, and we'll be bringing some severe thunderstorms, including isolated tornadoes, across parts of Texas and on into Oklahoma. So tomorrow getting into being some busy action we think in the nation's midsouth area. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jacqui. You know, we're going to try this one more time. We know that Paloma is no longer a hurricane, but when it was a hurricane you made its way through central Cuba, and our Morgan Neill is there reporting from an area that was hard hit.

MORGAN NEILL, HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: That's right. Where we've been today is a place in central Cuba down on the southern coast. That's where Paloma made landfall. Now while Paloma lost some steam fairly quickly when it started making its way across central Cuba, when it first hit as a category 3 storm in this one town Santa Cruz del Sur, it just devastated the town. On the neighborhood closest to the water there, every single home was either damaged or completely destroyed. Some of the homes all you could see was the concrete slab that was left. Now, this is a community where we talk to everyone as they were first allowed to go back into their homes. Saw the expressions on their faces, saw the tears come into their eyes when they saw what was now left of their homes. The community itself, no assurance it will even survive. Telling these people it's not wise to rebuild on that same land that a lot of them will simply have to be relocated.

WHITFIELD: Gosh, and I wonder, Morgan, where a lot of them are going to go temporarily at least.

NEILL: Well, while we were there we did hear a government official who came down and said while specifics are not yet in place, they were making plans to try to get these people from this coastal town up about 70 kilometers or so to the central Cuban town of (Kamaway) to give them some sort of temporary lodging there while they can figure out a longer term plan. What are they going to do with this community that's been so heavily damaged?

WHITFIELD: Wow, terrible situation. Cuba being hit so many times too this year alone from severe weather like this. Morgan Neill, thanks so much from central Cuba.

Meantime, overseas a deadly accident on a Russian submarine. Matthew Chance will be joining us from Moscow to talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It has happened again. A deadly Russian submarine accident. This time it happened in the sea of Japan not far from the Russian port city of Vladivostok. More than 20 are dead. CNN's Matthew Chance joining us now from Moscow. How did this happen?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not clear yet. There's been an investigation, but Russian officials so far are merely confirming those casualty figures. 20 dead at least. Another 21 people injured in what is really the latest tragedy to befall Russia's submarine fleet. This latest incident took place off Russia's far eastern seaboard. They say in the sea of Japan and it's once again raised questions about the safety and security of these nuclear-powered vessels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): The latest Russian submarine to be cursed with fatalities on board. Now heading back to its icy port in Russia's far east. The vessel is an Akula-class nuclear-powered submarine like this one. It's brand new and was being tested in the Sea of Japan when Russian officials say the incident took place.

IGOR DYGALO, RUSSIAN NAVY SPOKESMAN (through translator): As a result of unsanctioned activation of the firefighting system in the first and second sections, over 20 people died and 21 were injured. Among those who perished were workers of the shipyard and seamen.

CHANCE: It seems the deaths were caused by the release of Freon gas. The victims would have suffocated. Russian officials say the submarine's nuclear reactor was unaffected. The Kremlin has ordered an inquiry into possible negligence.

SERGEI MARKIN, RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE AGENCY" A criminal case was opened on (INAUDIBLE).

CHANCE: This is the worst day for the Russian navy since the loss of a submarine in 2000, all 118 people on board were killed back then when it sank in the Bering Sea. Russia's military has been plagued by crumbling infrastructure and corruption since the collapse of the Soviet Union. This latest submarine tragedy is another stark reminder. Despite the deaths on board, it seems the submarine was not damaged at all by the incident. That nuclear reactor which powers this very big submarine is very much intact and radiation levels are said to be thankfully normal. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matthew Chance from Moscow, appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Expect more than just a show-and-tell session when Barack Obama sits down with President Bush tomorrow at the White House. With all the tough problems facing this country, they're expected to deal with some pretty weighty issues. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in Washington with some thoughts on the agenda. So while on the surface it sounds pretty nebulous, get a chance to see all the great attributes of the White House, they're going to be talking some pretty serious stuff.

BILL SCHNEIDER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. They have to talk about the economic crises. That's number one priority. President Bush said in his radio speech yesterday ensuring that this transition is seamless is a top priority for the rest of my time in office. And he's been behaving in accordance with that, namely, he is trying to ensure that his administration is cooperative as possible with the next administration and that it is a smooth transition. But the economy has got to be topic number one, and that crises cannot wait until January 20th.

WHITFIELD: Well, a smooth transition, this seems to be the real ambition of the Obama administration, trying to hit the ground running by naming a chief of staff. It's likely other cabinet members will be announced this week. Is this typical of other administrations or is he moving particularly quick comparatively?

SCHNEIDER: I think he's moving a little faster than most administrations. George Bush when he came in he had to move even faster because the election wasn't over in late December when Al Gore conceded after the Supreme Court made his decision and he only had about five weeks. This is a little faster. Certainly faster than Bill Clinton was in 1993. We'll see how quickly he names his cabinet, but he seems to be ready to move. Remember, he was scoffed at by John McCain for measuring for drapes in the White House because he already had some transition people making plans before the election even took place.

WHITFIELD: All right. Speaking of the Republicans, this week something interesting taking place in Miami. Republican governors meeting. You know, the Republican Party as a whole trying to come together to figure out how do we move this party forward. What were the mistakes made, et cetera? Is it likely that the governors will be kind of charged with helping to reignite this party?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I believe they will try to assume that mandate because the Republican Party has no real leadership in Washington anymore. Not the president or the vice president. The Senate, well the minority leader Mitch McConnell was barely re-elected and he's not expected to be the spokesman for the Republican Party. There could be a leadership challenge in the house, but they're not a majority in either chamber of Congress, so therefore it falls on the governors. Well, of course, the star governor is Sarah Palin. It's not clear at this point whether she'll attend. The last time we checked the Republican governor's Website she was not scheduled to attend but --

WHITFIELD: I can't imagine her not showing up.

SCHNEIDER: Well, it's November.

WHITFIELD: She is the star of the party, so to speak even though the party lost.

SCHNEIDER: That's right, and where would you rather be in November, Alaska or Miami?

WHITFIELD: Exactly. South Beach anytime.

SCHNEIDER: You know, so it's possible she will be there, but right now there's no clear leadership, and the Republicans are split. Populist Republicans and conservatives are rallying behind Sarah Palin. Some behind Mike Huckabee. The establishment is expressing some interest in Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. The leadership of the party is really all over the place.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Bill Schneider, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Thanks for helping us to look into the crystal ball of the week in politics.

Still so much to talk about. That's why later John King hosts "Transition to Power." That is tonight 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

So many have already weighed in on what Obama's election symbolizes, and today add one more voice. Louis Farrakhan. Earlier in the race for the White House, the nation of Islam minister publicly backed Barack Obama's bid, but Obama rejected and actually denounced support from the controversial leader. Well, today in a speech in Chicago via the web, Farrakhan said what happened last week energized the entire world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, NATION OF ISLAM: I believe president-elect Obama is going to have to get everyone involved because the job of helping him is not just with his cabinet or Congress. The job of helping this nation out of its condition is a responsibility that everyone has something to do about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Checking our political ticker now, house speaker Nancy Pelosi and senate majority leader Harry Reid called for a rescue of the auto industry. They're asking treasury secretary Henry Paulson so include automakers in the administration's bailout plans, and, again, a response coming from the Treasury Department saying we continue to work on a strategy that most effectively deploys the remaining T.A.R.P., Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to strengthen the financial system and get lending going. Still unclear whether there would be a bailout or if that's being considered as it pertains to the auto industry. Meantime, it's not yet clear if Missouri went red or blue. Right now John McCain has an edge, but about 7,000 provisional ballots have yet to be counted. Each one has to be reviewed to make sure the voter was properly registered.

International leaders are meeting this weekend in Egypt trying to save Middle East peace talks. Israeli and Palestinian officials set a goal of signing an agreement by the end of the year. Now, they say, that's unlikely. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that's due in part to Israel being, quote, in the midst of elections.

Check out our political ticker for all the latest news. Just logon to CNNPOLITIICS.com, your source for all things political.

Hoping for medical help in Afghanistan. U.S. troops lend a hand.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As the country prepares to mark Veterans Day Tuesday, we focus on the tireless work U.S. troops are carrying out every day. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr traveled to Afghanistan and she witnessed an intense battle for hearts and minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): About two-thirds of the people that come to us are women and children.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): We are riding with task force Phoenix, not into combat, but on a mission of help to offer medical aid in a remote village. Security is paramount. Insurgents have been here on a campaign of intimidation. U.S. and Afghan troops hope the medicine and aid will help convince the village to reject insurgents and support the Afghan government. The U.S. soldiers have put the Afghan troops in charge.

All of this is part of the strategy now, make Afghans trust in their government, but the U.S. soldiers tell us the reality in these villages is much grimmer than Washington realizes. This man and his grandson wait patiently as the soldiers begin to set up a field health clinic. Today task force Phoenix will do what it can.

LT. COLONEL DUNKLE, U.S. ARMY: This village does have a medical clinic, which is behind me. Unfortunately, they have no medicines.

STARR: After the village elder gives the OK, the women begin to appear. They keep to themselves. This lady tells us she's in pain. She wants to say thank you for the medicine. As always in war, it is the children who tug at the soldier's hearts. Some of them just need more food.

DUNKLE: This town looks healthy but is very underweight and it sounds like he's had some feeding problems.

STARR: Outside we find a lieutenant with an 11-year-old Esmatula (ph) who wants to see the doc. His father is dead. He does not tell us where his mother is.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Well, it seems he has a fracture of the forearm and also the elbow.

STARR: Esmatula (ph) tells the soldiers he fell down. The lieutenant believes the boy was likely beaten. When you see a little boy like this who is in pain and has come to soldiers for help --

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Oh, it breaks your heart.

STARR: The troops here say providing medical care to these Afghans is some of the most important work that they do, but as one young soldier told me, they also worry they're just treading water and they're looking to the new president-elect to provide a clear strategy, clear goals, and a way ahead.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our look at war veterans takes us back to a time when your role in the military depended a lot on the color of your skin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): At the time, did you realize you were making history?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): No. I was surviving. I was surviving. The war is going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The legend of the Tuskegee airmen right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tuesday will be Veterans Day, the day we honor all of the American men and women who have served in the military. Our Josh Levs is here to take a look at World War II veterans who have a very distinctive place in history.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is an interesting weekend to do it given what's just happening in the United States. Everyone is talking right now about Barack Obama's historic election. We're going it take a look back at an earlier break in the color barrier in the U.S. involving the armed forces. It was more than 60 years ago the army air corps got its first African-American fighter pilots. They were called the Tuskegee airmen. Last month it became a national historic site. Some of the original airmen went there for the dedication and so did our Sean Callebs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The honors came late in life for the Tuskegee airman. Trail blazers who once hoisted themselves into the cock pit. Made their way to a dedication ceremony.

DAN KEEL, TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: We have overcome a lot.

CALLEBS: Mowton (ph) Field where the first African-American fighter pilots trained is being recognized as a national historic site.

LT. COL. ALEX JEFFERSON, TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: I'm so thankful, I'm so thankful, I'm so thankful.

CALLEBS: Lt. Col. Alex Jefferson e came to Tuskegee at age 22. At the time did you know you were making history?

JEFFERSON: No, I was surviving. The war is going on.

CALLEBS: Until then no one had given blacks a chance to fly in combat.

JEFFERSON: You're too dumb, you're too ignorant, and you're too stupid. When you tell me I'm stupid and crazy and I'm black, but I'm a college graduate, something is wrong.

CALLEBS: Doesn't add up, does it? Like other blacks in the military at that time, Jefferson was a victim of discrimination. Of the 110 students in Jefferson's class, only 25 graduated. Jefferson flew 18 combat missions over Germany, but on the 19th --

JEFFERSON: We were strafing trying to knock out radar stations, and as I went right across the top of the target, the shell came up through the floor.

CALLEBS: Jefferson spent the next nine months as a prisoner of war. Jefferson is one of 994 men who became pilots here at Tuskegee, but this ceremony is really to honor all 16,000 people who trained or worked here, from 1942 to 1946. Originally this ribbon cutting ceremony was scheduled for March of next year, but the survivors are in their mid-80s, and every week --

JEFFERSON: Chairman Rose just died.

CALLEBS: The photos, the displays, the planes, they aren't going anywhere, but the legacy of living history is precious.

JEFFERSON: I tell everybody the air force is the best thing that ever happened to me.

CALLEBS: The Tuskegee airmen overcame racism to help defeat Germany and say they didn't just open doors for others; they knocked the doors off their hinges.

Sean Callebs, CNN, Tuskegee, Alabama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And one more note on that before we leave this story. Fred's dad, he loves one of the Tuskegee airmen. We were talking about the Olympics because he was this gold medalist. Then he comes back and he has that.

WHITFIELD: Isn't it incredible. What an incredible anniversary year because it was 60 years since his first Olympic medal and then, yes, 60 years since he was also serving and training with these guys.

LEVS: There he is at the event.

WHITFIELD: You know, really remarkable thing about this year, how this ceremony fell on his 84 birthday weekend. So he got to be there for the ribbon cutting ceremony and then, yeah, see, he got a chance to finally receive his congressional gold medal. All the Tuskegee airmen. That's my family.

LEVS: Mal Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: Mal Whitfield and my husband. We were there to celebrate for the opening of the memorial site and this gala and my dad received his congressional gold medal which all the Tuskegee men received last year, but somehow my dad, he wasn't able to receive his at that time because honestly he didn't realize he was a recognized Tuskegee airman because he was a ground crew, he was a gunner, and he always thought this was for the fighter pilots.

LEVS: Let's just say quickly, your dad, he's known for his accomplishments, but he's also a symbol in a lot of ways, and his athletic and his work in the military were all as one. He used to train right on the runways where they would send out the jets during the day to carry out bombing missions and he would train at night. He was also an airman at the same time.

WHITFIELD: He was the first active duty armed services member to also medal as an Olympian. So he's a pretty cool dude.

LEVS: We are so impressed with Mal Whitfield.

WHITFIELD: That's so sweet. I honor my dad, a military vet, my brother a military vet, and all of our military armed service members.

LEVS: Thinking of them right now.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate that.

Well, you also want to join this week Heidi Collins this week. She will be taking the CNN "Newsroom" Tuesday morning live from the deck of the "USS Intrepid" the famous air craft carrier is being rededicated as a museum in New York after a two-year restoration. Coverage begins at 9 am Eastern on Tuesday, don't miss that.

Veterans and their families are sharing their stories with us in so many different ways. You can read all about them at CNN.com/specials. Just click on the veterans in focus tab. You don't want to miss that.

The Obama victory was not only celebrated by his supporters here in America --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Obama, Obama, Obama!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The whole world was watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Paloma, such a glamorous name for a hurricane, but thankfully now it's been downgraded to a tropical storm, but it did do some pretty extensive damage, particularly in central Cuba. Our Jacqui Jeras is in the Severe Weather Center with what potentially it could do next. Hopefully nothing.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not a whole lot. I'm so glad you said that about the name. I love it. I think it's my favorite hurricane name.

WHITFIELD: It's a gorgeous name.

JERAS: It really is. Anyway, not so much left of Paloma. It's a tropical depression, just downgraded at the top of the hour, so winds are down to 35 miles per hour. You look at the satellite picture and you say, this thing just disappeared, though we have a little bit of flare up here into parts of the Bahamas, but that is not the center of the storm. That's just some convection away from the center. It's still, believe it or not, over here across the island of Cuba. Because it's over land, because a cold front and much drier air is moving into the area, it's pretty much caput.

It could hold its identity a little longer, but we don't think we need to worry about Paloma any longer. That's some great news for a lot of people and should become extra tropical we think very soon. As we take a look forward, it's Sunday, end of the weekend, tomorrow back to reality, back to work. We just wanted to give you a heads up on a couple big weather stories we're going to be following. Lake-effect snows are beginning to kick in across the Great Lakes, particularly off lakes Erie and Ontario. We're expecting anywhere between 3 and 8 inches of snow in the next 24 hours, and we do have a risk of some severe thunderstorms across parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

WHITFIELD: OK. Thanks so much. Pretty rough way of starting the week, huh?

JERAS: A little ugly in a few parts.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot Jacqui. Appreciate it.

Men of god and fists of fury at a holy site in Jerusalem today. Seeing is believing. Israeli police arrested two monks at the church of the Holy Seplakerr (ph) after an argument got out of hand. The Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks were brawling over who should be in a church procession.

Barack Obama's historic victory last week was celebrated around the world. Some marking the milestone in pretty unusual ways. Here is a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I'm making this kabob for American presidential elect Barack Obama. We believe in him. We want peace and tranquility for all and for our children's future. I am going to send it airmail.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): When Obama assumes the presidency; I hope that he will bring hope to common values and human rights.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Obama, Obama, Obama, Obama!

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I was so proud. I am proud of the American people.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): Do you think --

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I was so worried.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): I think it's great, and I wish I was there today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What fun celebrations there. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Trouble in motor city. Leaders from Detroit to Washington scramble as autoworkers face massive layoffs.

Frustration in Haiti, crews search the rubble of a collapsed school and families grow angry at the slow pace of the recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFED MALE): I had a great time and when my time is done, I'll still remember this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And looking at a bright side. A dying boy's wish to help the homeless. I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

What's bad for General Motors is bad for the USA. That's what the top Democrats in Congress are saying right now.