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More Solutions Offered for Homeowners; AIG Defends Sales Retreat; How Should Obama Handle Rogue Nations?; Disabled Vet Helps Others
Aired November 11, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST (voice-over): The war on foreclosures. Another big bank decides bad mortgages are bad business. If you're in danger of default, this could mean you keep your house.
TED TURNER, MEDIA MOGUL: It was a struggle financing CNN, but I did it without ever asking the government for a nickel.
PHILLIPS: The bailout, according to Ted. Turner, that is. The man who built CNN weighs in on politics, the economy, and the ex who's still in his life.
JANE FONDA, ACTRESS: Are you CNN?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were never (UNINTELLIGIBLE). April the 23rd, 1943.
PHILLIPS: Memories of war, liberation, and unspeakable cruelty in a concentration camp. The details were secret for decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. We want to get right to it this hour.
Two big stories from issue No. 1. A major move by Citigroup to help tons of thousands of mortgage holders in danger of default or already there rework their loans and keep their homes.
And while many homeowners are holding out hope for a bailout, a corporate bailout beneficiary is suspending its spending. AIG says a conference in Phoenix for sales staff and clients was SOP, standard operating procedure, not a perk on taxpayers' dimes.
Let's start where all the trouble started not so long ago, with mortgages. The move by Citigroup is the latest by major lenders to get their own houses in order by helping borrowers keep theirs.
CNN's Gerri Willis joins me here in the NEWSROOM to run the numbers and explain what they could mean for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: OK, Gerri. Let's begin with help as a homeowner. Why don't we start with Citibank?
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right. Citibank has a new program out there for homeowners. They're proactively going out into communities right now, contacting 500,000, half a million homeowners, and offering them new loans, more affordable loans.
Now, actually, Citi's not the only bank in the country doing this. Bank of America is doing it. All of them are trying to do it now, because they're getting money from the federal government. And I think they feel a little guilty. They've got to put something back into the community.
But if you are a Citibank mortgage holder, you might want to proactively call them and talk to them about this program. It's very interesting, and it really could help a lot of people out there.
PHILLIPS: And do I dare ask about Fannie and Freddie?
WILLIS: There's a new program.
PHILLIPS: OK.
WILLIS: Yet another program. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, they're coming out with a new program. This one could be very interesting. It would take your mortgage payment, your mortgage loan, and reduce it to 38 percent of your monthly income.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
WILLIS: Think about that. That is the affordability level for people out there. That could make a very big difference for folks out there. We're just getting details of this now, but it could be a very interesting program.
And of course, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, they stand right at the center of the mortgage industry, and they have the ability to touch lots of lives.
And that's been the problem with a lot of these programs so far, is that they just haven't gotten up to speed. The numbers are not that impressive yet when you consider millions of Americans are worried about foreclosures.
PHILLIPS: Right. Look at that. Lowering principles, reducing interest rates, extending loans. All right. What if I'm a homeowner facing foreclosure? You know, do all of those plans necessarily apply to me?
WILLIS: Well, not everything is starting tomorrow. OK? So you may be having trouble today and be worried about losing your home today. Call your bank yet again, even if you've been turned down. Even if you're been turned down for help so far, a new program may be out there that can help you. Definitely you want to talk to them.
Also, get some counseling help. NFCC.org, a great Web site to go to, get a credit counselor. Because let's face it, if you're having trouble paying your mortgage, you may have trouble paying other bills. Your financial problems may be bigger than your mortgage. So get help there.
Also, HUD.gov. That's the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These are the folks that are administering many of these programs that we've been talking about. They have counselors in local areas, maybe in your neighborhood, who can consult with you and tell you the best program to go to for your problem.
So you've got to get local help. You've got to reach out, call somebody if you're in trouble today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's way too soon to figure out the lessons from the economic meltdown and the various attempts to fix it, but here's one. If you take tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in a bailout, then ask for more on more generous terms, you may want to cancel anything that looks like you're having fun.
The insurance giant AIG is insisting that a sales conference last week in Phoenix was legitimate business, not a fat cat retreat. CNN's Allan Chernoff on the story in New York.
Allan, is this a question of appearances, or is it something more?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, this is really an example of how it's so difficult to continue your basic operations when you are the recipient of billions and billions of dollars from the federal government and when, indeed, the federal government now owns 80 percent of your company.
What happened was, as you said, last week AIG held a conference for financial planners. This was a conference to basically explain investment products, to educate, held at the Pointe Hilton, a very nice hotel. It is located in Squaw Peak. It's called the Squaw Peak Resort. And you see the beautiful picture there.
Well, that has attracted the attention of Representative Elijah Cummings. He appeared this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING," quite critical of AIG.
Let's have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: These guys, they don't get it, and they came to us basically saying, "We are on the critical list. We need a respirator." And we bail them out, and the next thing we know, we turn around and they're going out partying and spending taxpayers' dollars. And it's kind of -- it's very upsetting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Representative Cummings has added to the criticism, sending a letter to the chief executive, the brand new chief executive, Edward Liddy, of the company, basically saying, AIG can take a step by "accepting your resignation from the positions of chairman and chief executive officer."
Keep in mind, the new chairman and CEO, well, he's only been in place for a few weeks. He was put in place after this bailout was put into effect.
Now, AIG is saying that this is entirely unjustified, unfair criticism of a very legitimate conference. They say this was absolutely not some fancy retreat. There were not major parties going on here. This is basically, the company says, essential for educating financial planners. They say it was education for financial planners. Keep in mind, to be a certified financial planner, you have to receive plenty of continuing education.
They say, indeed, the product sponsors, which include companies like Morningstar, paid 93 percent of the cost of this event, and AIG paid less than $25,000. In fact, Terry Bradshaw was scheduled to give, the former quarterback, football quarterback, was scheduled to give a motivational speech there. It was canceled. And AIG says, they weren't even going to pay his fee for that. So they canceled that. They didn't want to have the appearance of anything seeming to be extravagant.
And also, AIG has put out a statement saying, "We take very seriously our commitment to aggressively manage meeting costs." That's from the president and CEO of the AIG adviser group.
Kyra, I guess AIG could have scheduled this at a Motel 6. Not to put down Motel 6, but they probably would not have attracted many financial planners to that meeting -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: From what I know about that swanky area, I don't think there is a Motel 6. Allan Chernoff...
CHERNOFF: Probably not.
PHILLIPS: Exactly.
All right. We're going to talk with Elijah Cummings at the half hour and follow up on what he had to say. Thanks so much, Allan.
Well, thank you for serving. A sentiment echoing across the nation and on this Veterans Day. Arlington National Cemetery, Vice President Cheney lays the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, honoring countless Americans who have died in war without their remains being identified.
The USS Midway in San Diego proves that America's troops may be uniform on the outside but diverse on the inside. More than 130 sworn in today as U.S. citizens on the historic aircraft carrier.
And the future commander in chief also marked Veterans Day. President-elect Obama laid a wreath at a Chicago memorial. With him was Illinois director of family affairs, Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq vet who lost both her legs. She will join me live next hour.
Well, this is President Bush's last Veterans Day as commander in chief, and he marked it by giving an old battleship a new mission. On the Hudson River in New York City, the president rededicated the Intrepid, a battled-hardened, World-War-II-era aircraft carrier that's now a floating museum. And he answered a much-asked question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, oftentimes they ask me, "What are you going to miss about the presidency?" And first reaction is, I say, "No traffic jams in New York."
The truth of the matter is, I will miss being the commander in chief of such a fabulous group of men and women, those who wear the uniform of the United States military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, stories of war, survival, hope. So many stories to tell you on this Veterans Day. Coming up, the Survivor Corps, headed by a soldier who lost his limbs, but not his hope.
Plus, a soldier's diary. A harrowing tale that no one was supposed to tell and you were not supposed to hear until now.
And a lifeline for refugees. A combat vet helps the victims of war.
Those stories and more, straight ahead.
Under President Bush, they're a "Who's Who" list of bad guys. So how will Barack Obama deal with the leaders of Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and other nations? And will things really change? We'll explore that big challenge for the new president with our Zain Verjee.
In East Tennessee, time to run for cover, as an SUV comes crashing through the front of a convenience store. We'll tell you what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Rogue nations, hostile leaders among the toughest and most complex challenges the new president faces, especially since he can't just lump them all together. He needs a different game, or plan, rather, for each.
Our State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, has a memo for President-elect Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. President, on the diplomatic radar, two nations the U.S. considers rogues: Iran and North Korea, the most menacing.
The choices: confrontation backed by military threats. Or pressure and persuade as the U.S. did with Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, getting him to turn away from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
Robert Litwak has studied so-called rogue nations and says a new president must avoid mixed messages.
ROBERT LITWAK, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: Make clear that the U.S. objective is to change the behavior of the regime and not the regime itself.
VERJEE: The challenge with Iran: make its leaders, like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, comfortable to step back from the nuclear brink and negotiate. There could be an opening to talk. Iran's feeling the pinch of lower oil prices. Elections are around the corner. And if an offer to talk is rebuffed...
LITWAK: Develop better carrots and better sticks in dealing with these hard cases. And to go to allies for meaningful sanctions against these two states if they should continue to not comply with international norms.
VERJEE: On North Korea the question is how hard do you push Pyongyang to finally comply with the current deal to dismantle its nuclear program and reveal all its nuclear secrets?
NICHOLAS BURNS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: He won't have to start at ground zero. He can then take the negotiations where they left off and, hopefully, have a complete agreement before too long.
VERJEE: Close to home, two states also considered rogues. There's a chance for a breakthrough moment in the Cuba. Will the trade and travel embargo be lifted after decades of isolation?
And Venezuela. Hugo Chavez has been a thorn in the U.S. side. Should the U.S. accept the offer for talks with an authoritarian leader?
(on camera) Danger may be lurking in the friends column, too, like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, both allies in the war on terror, but also breed extremism.
Zain Verjee, for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And checking our political ticker now, it's not a town-hall meeting or a campaign rally, but John McCain is still drawing an audience. The Republican senator and former presidential candidate appears on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno tonight. And you can bet his former running mate will be a big topic of conversation.
And here's why. Former vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, hasn't been holding back lately, especially when it comes to her future political career. Palin says she's not ruling out a presidential run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: If there is an open door in 12 or four years later, and if it's something that is going to be good for me family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Governor Palin will be on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern, and she'll also be on "LARRY KING LIVE" tomorrow night at 9 Eastern.
Check out our political ticker for all the latest political news, as well as news on the presidential transition. Just log onto CNNpolitics.com, your source for all things political.
Heavy rain, thunderstorms, ice and snow, even some possible tornados. It's a mess much across the nation's midsection today. The system that's moving through the region dumped heavy rain on the Dallas-Ft. Worth area overnight, causing flash floods.
And in Arlington, authorities briefly shut down a section of Interstate 30.
In Iowa, preparations ahead of the storm, with ice, sleet and snow expected today across the state. This was the scene yesterday in Des Moines. Public works crews sprayed saltwater on city streets to make for less slipping and sliding for commuters this morning.
Let's check in with Chad Myers. He's following it all for us. Chad, what do you think?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And for more rust on your car. You know.
PHILLIPS: I remember that.
MYERS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I do. Those days in Wisconsin, my friend.
MYERS: Those big holes back in the quarter panel, that you'd have to put Bondo in every summer.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Although airports are actually doing fairly well. And even Minneapolis, even if you get to the point where you have to de- ice, Minneapolis de-icing is almost like a -- it's a ballet. They drive -- it's almost like a drive-through. These planes literally drive through the wash, and they do get de-iced and back on the runway in a short time -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Pretty -- pretty fascinating to watch, too.
MYERS: They are -- they are very -- they are very good at it up there.
PHILLIPS: They're pros at that, yes. All right. Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well, in east Tennessee frightening moments at a convenience store, and it was all caught on tape.
Police have charged this woman with DUI -- sure hope so -- after her SUV crashed into that store. They say that she bought some smokes, and when she went back to her vehicle, well, she backed up and then drove forward, and well, you see what happened there.
She then drove away but was arrested about 45 minutes later, after she turned herself in. A store manager and customer were injured but luckily, not seriously.
A teenage -- a Tennessee college student, rather, probably owes her life to her oversized purse. Listen to this. Elizabeth Pittenger was walking to her car at Middle Tennessee State University when she was confronted by a man who demanded her purse, cell phone and her laptop. Pittenger fought the man and was shot before he fled the scene.
The bullet was stopped by a calculator and umbrella in her purse. The suspect was caught and now faces a number of charges, including attempted murder.
He's responsible for some great TV, professionally and personally. CNN founder Ted Turner always gives good quotes. Hear what he said on-air this morning.
And an IED blew off an arm and a leg. But his message: well, don't feel sorry for me. A vet speaks about helping other combat vets cope with their demons of war.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So what do you do when a bomb blows off your arm and a leg? Give up? Feel sorry for yourself? Use addictions to ease the pain? Sadly, that happens to a lot of combat vets, but not Scott Quilty. This retired U.S. Army captain survived an IED blast in Iraq but lost an arm and leg. Now this extraordinary vet with a can-do spirit is involved in the Survivor Corps, global network that helps people overcome wars and other conflicts. Scott Quilty joins us live from Washington.
Great to see you, Scott.
SCOTT QUILTY, SURVIVOR CORPS: Hey, great to see you, Kyra. Thank you for having me. PHILLIPS: You bet. If you don't mind, if you could just take me back to 2006. That day you were on patrol, and you were faced with an IED. What do you remember from that moment?
QUILTY: Absolutely. So I deployed to Iraq in 2006 as a platoon leader with the 10th Mountain Division. I was moving into a position, embedded with an Iraqi army unit, and walking up, and, boom. Life explodes. I wake up five days later, in a hospital, to find out that my right arm and my right arm didn't survive the explosion.
PHILLIPS: Hmm. You know, I've talked to a lot of guys. Women, too, when that has happened. And they come to, and they just -- they know what has happened. And they don't want to look down. They don't want to look over. They don't. But they always say, to whomever it is that's over them, you know, "What happened? What did I lose? Am I OK?"
Do you remember the first thing that came out of your mouth when you realized what had happened to you?
QUILTY: I've been told that I was concerned about the men that I was with. And it was a few weeks in the hospital. And a phone call from, in country, from some of my -- the men that I was leading to reassure me that they all made it out OK. And that was important in moving on into rehabilitation.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Moving beyond yourself and thinking about everybody else. But you know, it makes sense, because I was reading that you actually wrote that your injuries, that you, you gained more from your injuries than you lost. Tell me what you mean by that. Why do you feel that way?
QUILTY: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think I learned through my injuries early on that we're not the sum of our parts. Right? That I lost an arm and a leg, but -- and a job -- but that I gained a sense of self.
The toughest part, Kyra, for me, in going through rehabilitation was answering from of those existential questions: Who am I? How am I going on from here? And how am I going to continue to provide for my family?
PHILLIPS: And I know your wife, Annmarie, has been amazing. And that has helped you get through this a lot. And as you think about, well, as you pondered those questions but then you noticed how much you have with your family and your friends and, hey, you're alive, you decided to get involved with Survivors Corps. Tell me what you're doing through Survivors Corps and how this is not only keeping you thinking positively but making a difference in the lives of others.
QUILTY: Absolutely. Survivor Corps is a global network of people that have survived conflict, that are helping each other overcome the traumatic effects, to move beyond those effects and then to give back to the communities in which they live.
We're doing that right here. So I joined Survivor Corps, for -- to launch the U.S. program, which is helping veterans and connecting veterans to other veterans. Right? I know from personal experience that some of the best help comes from those that have been there, too. And so we're working to do that right now.
PHILLIPS: And I know you met with Barack Obama. I'm curious. What did you tell him? What did you tell him about the war in Iraq? You had to have spoken from the heart, Scott, knowing you?
QUILTY: Absolutely. I got to meet the president-elect while he was on the campaign trail. And it was a pretty powerful moment. Powerful moment for me, and...
PHILLIPS: What did you tell him, Scott?
QUILTY: Oh, what did I tell him? I -- well, I talked a little about rehab. I was pretty early on at that time, and told him a little bit about my story, and how I'm trying to rise above my individual circumstance, and to continue to serve as a veteran.
PHILLIPS: Did you give him any advice about the war in Iraq or the way vets have been treated or the way it's affecting the men and women coming back?
QUILTY: No, no. I didn't. No. Didn't do anything like that.
PHILLIPS: That should be follow-up -- follow-up conversation, too. He could probably use your insight.
Scott Quilty, once again, it's Survivor Corps. Logon to the site. Find out what Scott's doing. It's pretty powerful. Appreciate your time.
QUILTY: Thank you so much, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Words of wars and pages of pain. A veteran opens his diary and reveals a story that's been kept secret for decades. Thelma Gutierrez brings us the amazing story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Right now, 1:28 Eastern Time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
More relief appears to be in the pipe line for homeowners with delinquent mortgages once held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The agency that took over Fannie and Freddie and the mortgage industry are expected to unveil a new approach today. Word is that the plan would streamline the assistance process on hundreds of thousands of loans.
And new details on that meeting yesterday between President-elect Obama and President Bush. Among other things, they said that Obama pushed Mr. Bush to take urgent action to help struggling automakers. The White House apparently is open to that idea. And on this Veterans Day, Vice President Cheney placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Afterwards a bugler played "Taps."
On Wall Street, it's that time of year when corporations show their quarterly report cards. The results aren't good, and the forecasts for the future are even worse.
Stephanie Elam, having to bring the bad news today, live from the New York Stock Exchange. I'll tell you what: the latest on General Motors' fight for survival, it's a big one, Steph.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a big one. And you're right: I am a bad news bear pretty much all the time right about now.
But we do expect these weak earnings every day right now. And it's really a lot of times what the company says that is sometimes more important than the numbers. And they can paint a picture of what to expect in the economy in the near term, as we look forward to their forward-looking states.
Now, for example, Starbucks; they're planning to close more than 200 stores next year. And home builders Toll Brothers says, demand has fallen to record lows. It's those kind of outlooks that are pulling down the Dow today. Let's take a look.
Right now, the Dow off 252 points, 8,618. NASDAQ off at 45 at 1,570. And the S&P 500 is off more than three percent right now. GM is trading below $3 a share. It hasn't closed that low since the days of World War II. And a growing number of analysts say that without a government bailout, the automaker would go bankrupt, which could deal the economy a devastating blow.
This is the world's largest automaker we're talking about with 250,000 workers worldwide. So, if GM goes under, auto suppliers, well, they would suffer. And more job cuts are a virtual guarantee if GM files for bankruptcy. Yesterday the automaker said its cutting another 1,900 hourly jobs.
So, very dire news coming out of Michigan. But obviously, we're keeping our eyes on it. But it's a rough time for GM, no doubt, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep talking.
Thanks, Stephanie.
Well, his comrades were imprisoned, tortured, killed. But thanks to him they will never be forgotten. A former World War II P.O.W. opens his diary, the pages filled with a tale you are not supposed to hear until now.
Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY ACEVEDO, WWII POW: That morning, our last death -- THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this tattered book, on pages that are yellowed with time, are painful memories that Anthony Acevedo kept to himself for decades. Details that he was sworn by the U.S. government to keep secret.
ACEVEDO: We weren't supposed to say what we suffered through. But we were dying out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: German concentration camp at (INAUDIBLE).
GUTIERREZ: The concentration camp was a Buchenwald. Acevedo and 350 other American soldiers, many who were Jewish and labeled undesirable ended up a Berga, a satellite camp of Buchenwald. They were sent to dig tunnels for the German army after being captured at the Battle of the Bulge.
ACEVEDO: I go back to the book and I says, I can't believe this. Nobody knows about us.
GUTIERREZ: At 84, Acevedo shares the diary no one was supposed to see.
ACEVEDO: Two more of our men died today. And one lost last night, makes three.
GUTIERREZ: Acevedo was 19 years old. He was one of six Army medics, who took temperatures and sewed up wounds and comforted the dying. He sketched atrocities and horrors he says he witnessed. And catalogs of deaths of his comrades.
ACEVEDO: Rogers; cardiac. Wells; pneumonia. Wilkins; pneumonia. Goldberg; malnutrition.
GUTIERREZ: While many starved to death, the rest ate what they were given.
ACEVEDO: We had rats, cockroaches.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): In the soup?
ACEVEDO: In the soup.
GUTIERREZ: Do you remember looking at that and thinking that you were not going to eat it?
ACEVEDO: At the time, you would eat anything to try to survive.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): In two months, Acevedo went from 140 pounds to 87 pounds.
ACEVEDO: Life just ate us up. They crawled all over us. We -- we ripped the windows -- glass from windows, trying to shave.
GUTIERREZ: By April of 1945, the allied forces were closing in. The Nazis forced the prisoners to flee with them.
ACEVEDO: We were put on a death march. 217 miles from Berga to Camm (ph), Germany.
GUTIERREZ: On the march, Acevedo witnessed men, women and children too weak to walk; shot and killed. Then he heard American forces in the distance.
ACEVEDO: We were liberated today, April the 23rd, 194 -
DONALD GEORGE, WWII POW: It means a lot to me, personally, to be with Tony, because we were in the same prison camp.
GUTIERREZ: 64 years later, the memories of still fresh for Acevedo and these P.O.W.'s who find comfort in each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Antonia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Same here, Tony.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, Thelma Gutierrez joins me now from a veterans memorial in Santa Monica, California.
And Thelma, we'll talk about that memorial in a minute. But if you don't mind. You know, I've known you so many years and know you take great pride in not only your Hispanic heritage, but also your Asian heritage. So, I'm curious. When you met Anthony, how did that feel as a Latina and just listening to his story and what he had to go through?
GUTIERREZ: Kyra you know, it was really touching to meet Anthony, and to hear his story. This is something you don't read about in the history books. And it's something that Anthony Acevedo and the other P.O.W.'s have been fighting for.
They say they received an acknowledgement and an apology from the German government. They also received restitution as being Holocaust survivor. But have not received any acknowledgements from the U.S. government that they were actually there were actually at Buchenwald and they say that that's something that they've been waiting for. They say that they hope it happens. It will mean that their experiences were actually validated.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, you definitely focused on his character and what he did and that's an honor in itself. Now I want to ask you about the other side of your heritage, Thelma. The Asian side.
And Private First Class Tsing Tong Don (ph). Tell me about him and how you kind of thought about him today as you were also putting this piece together.
GUTIERREZ: You know, Kyra, every year I would go with my dad to the cemetery and we would lay a wreath at the tombstone of my dad's older brother, Private First Class Tsing Dong. And I really never understood the scope of what these people sacrificed until I went to the memorial at Normandy. And it was there that I learned that he was with the 36th Armored Infantry regiment. They fought at the battle of Saint Lo, which was some of the fiercest fighting. He was machine gun runner and he was made a machine gun runner because he was tall, lanky and fast. Unfortunately, though, he died at St, Lo, the age of 24.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, we honor both Anthony and your relatives today, Thelma. And there you are live, at the Veterans Memorial in Santa Monica, California.
Real quickly, what can folks come see today as they visit the memorial?
GUTIERREZ: Kyra, if you look right behind me you can see all of the crosses there. They represent each soldier who has been killed in Afghanistan and also Iraq. And I should mention, they're all members of the different services who are represented out here. And so it's a very quiet time.
People come. They can write down the names of the fallen and then go and place them out on one of the crosses that you see out there. Now, I also want to recognize, Kyra, my uncle Jean Yi. We tried to get you a picture, unfortunately we couldn't. He was also serving in Normandy during Battle of the Bulge and he was with the 51st Evacuation Hospital and my uncle was a medic there. So he's watching from Salinas, California. And I just want to recognize him on this Veterans' Day as well.
PHILLIPS: Oh, we all recognize him and we thank you for the personal stories, Thelma. It's what makes you such a tremendous reporter and woman.
Thanks, Themla.
Well, not everyone wants to join the military. Right now, hundreds of thousands of children are being forced to fight in wars around the world. These wars go largely unreported. But it is those soldiers that touched the heart of CNN photo journalist Helen Sidky (ph). Helen brings us a story now of one young woman who became a vet at 15. An unwilling child soldier fighting in an adult war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE AKALLO, FORMER CHILD SOLDIER: I lived in a small village in Uganda. I went to high school. It was a very nice school, too. It was very peaceful, it was very loving, until 1996, when the rebels broke into our school and abducted 139 girls and marched with them into the bush.
My group, after one month, we were marched into southern Sudan and that's where we were trained to be soldiers. We trained to dismantle and clean and assemble the guns. They told us they hunger will teach us how to shoot the gun. And sure enough, it did. Because it was between life and death.
The rebels themselves are not rebels. They're kids who have been abducted and brainwashed. When you abduct a kid and you train a kid, it's just training a dog, you know? They will believe anything you say. And they will do anything. And that's the reason even the rebels have abducted the kids. I never believed I was fighting was for any cause that was just. I knew that it was a bad thing. But, it was kill, or be killed.
After seven months that I was there, Ugandan soldiers and Sudan People's Liberation army attacked the barracks that we were in. And at that point, people started running away. But, I was tired. I just sat there and I remember thinking, I just want to die. And as the time (INAUDIBLE), I'm just going. If somebody wants to kills me, let them do it.
When I came back home, most of the people I couldn't recognize much because of what - I don't know, maybe because of what I went through. If you've been forced to kill, it's something that you have to deal with gradually. Because it's going to haunt you all the time. I do believe that I survived for a reason. And now I have my baby. I will do anything to protect him. He's like my life.
I was a victim. First of all, I was abducted. But now, I am a fighter because I believe that there should be fighters for others. Because they're crying out, but there's nobody to hear them. They should do something. Try to do things diplomatically, not using guns. We're tired of blood, we're tired of guns.
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PHILLIPS: Well, now back to the ruckus over AIG sales retreat in Phoenix. As you heard at the top of the show, a Democratic congressman is livid that a corporation receiving the single biggest government bailout on record is even appearing to be living large. Representative Elijah Cummings, of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, joins me now live, from Washington.
Congressman, good to see you. Tell me what irks you the most about what you found out?
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), OVERSIGHT & GOV'T. REFORM CMTE: What bothers me the most is that AIG has come to the Congress and said, look, we are drowning. We're on our last breath. And Congress bails them out at one point to the tune of $86 billion, and now they come back and get more money yesterday, and have their deal restructured to the tune of almost, over $150 billion in total. And at the same time, they do what they've been doing all along, and that's going to these lavish resorts and partying.
PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you this. Because the CEO is now coming out and saying that they only spent $23,000 on this recent conference.
CUMMINGS: But the --
PHILLIPS: Is that amount acceptable to you?
CUMMINGS: Let me tell you something. I've got people in my district, as a matter of fact, people who live on my block on Baltimore, who don't earn $23,000 a year. And what I'm saying is, is that Mr. Liddy assured me in a letter dated October the 30th, that not one penny of taxpayer money would be spent on these kinds of events.
They don't get it. They just don't get it. That the people at DHL, at Starbucks, all of these other corporations, people are losing their jobs. By the end of this year, 1.1 million Americans will have run out of unemployment benefits.
PHILLIPS: Well, let me just throw out - let me devil's advocate again, Congressman. Because I have family members in various parts of you know, banking, business insurance, business and they do. They go to these conferences, they have lots of meetings and seminars. But you know, they also have very nice dinners. They have bands that come in, They have speakers that come in --
CUMMINS: And go to the spa.
PHILLIPS: Yes, they do. They have spa treatment. They do.
CUMMINGS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: So, you know, is that necessarily a bad thing, if they're making money and doing a good job at what they do to have these types of celebrations? Or are you saying, well then don't ask the government for bailout money. You do whatever you want to do, but don't ask the government for bailout money?
CUMMINGS: That's exactly what I'm saying. This is like the Titanic going down. And these folks asking us to rescue them - the Titanic's going down, but they're still playing their music and they're still partying and they're still dancing.
What I'm saying to you is that people all over America are losing their homes. They don't have jobs. These folks are getting mega bonuses at Christmastime. I've got people who won't even get a dime at Christmas, won't even have a Christmas.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let me just throw one thing out here. Because our affiliate, KNX, or KNXV rather, out of Phoenix had reported that it cost like $343,000 to do this conference and that AIG was going through a great efforts to hide the AIG signs and logos at this resort in Phoenix. However, a communications - and now we're just hearing that they spent $23,000. So, I think there's a lot of questions about how much did they spend? Because it's kind of you know, he said, she said right now. But here's what the communications director had said earlier about keeping this conference low key.
I want to get you to respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK ASHOOH, SENIOR V.P. COMMUNICATIONS, AIG: We have been trying to lower our profile because everything has been subject to so much criticism. But, it wasn't an effort to disguise it. It was an effort to minimize costs and to keep the profile down because we don't even want to do anything that would even be perceived as expensive. Even though most of the costs for this event were paid for by sponsors or by the attendees. (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Congressman, final thoughts?
CUMMINGS: Again, if you you don't have anything to hide, you don't have anything to hide.
The fact is, is that taxpayers are upset. My constituents are upset and AIG has got to do better. They have lost trust and continuously lose trust every single moment by doing things like this.
PHILLIPS: Congressman Elijah Cummings. It's always good to talk to you, sir.
Thank you.
CUMMINGS: It's my pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Well, this story has a lot of you asking a lot questions. And tonight, well, you'll get answers from the man in charge. AIG Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy, in an exclusive interview on "LARRY KING LIVE." That's tonight, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
After seeing brothers in arms and civilians killed in war, a former marine extends a helping hand to survivors of that nightmare.
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PHILLIPS: Tyler Boudreau knows the horror of combat first hand. He was a commanding officer of a rifle company in Iraq four years ago. And like most combat vets, the war changed him forever. He resigned his commission because of his growing reservations about the Iraq war and that in turn led him to start the nonprofit group Collaborative Revolution, that helps Iraqi refugees resettle right here in the U.S. CNN "Headline News" senior writer Asieh Namdar recently spoke with Boudreau. She joins us now.
And let's talk about what inspired him to do this in the first place? He is a U.S. Marine and now he is helping Iraqi kids and families here in the U.S.
ASIEH NAMDAR, SR. WRITER, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: A U.S. Marine who served for 12 years in the military, Kyra.
He said the turning point for him was what happened in Fallujah in 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER BOUDREAU, FOUNDER, COLLABORATIVE REVOLUTION: As we were moving into the city, we were watching the Iraqi people pack up their bags and walk over the horizon. And I sort of noticed them out of the corner of my eye, but didn't pay much attention. It wasn't until after I got out of the Marine Corps and started noticing the articles in the newspaper that talked about Iraqi refugees that made me kind of wonder what had happened to those people. It was over 2 million Iraqi refugees living in Jordan and Syria and other countries in the region.
It is something that concerned me, particularly, because when I was a Marine and sent to Iraq, one of the major tasks that I recall was to liberate the people and help them out of a bad situation. It seemed to me that a great deal of those Iraqis were not in a better situation, but in a worse one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So what else is he doing to try to bring attention to the plight of the Iraqi refugees?
NAMDAR: So you mentioned a few seconds -- Collaborative Revolution. That is his organization. They do a number of fundraisers, a number of events to bring Iraqi and American families together. One event was held in Albany, New York, recently, but there were a number of challenges, like language barriers. But one thing changed everything.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOUDREAU: So Iraqis still tended to huddle among Iraqis and Americans still tended to huddle among Americans. And I was a little bit dismayed and I'm in this moment and I'm thinking, how am I going to get the Iraqi kids and the American kids together? And at this very moment my two boys break out their travel chess board and begin playing chess. And right away, these other Iraqi children came over and started playing with them. And so they had figured out, all on their own, sort of intuitively, what I was struggling to figure out and they began to play the game. And they didn't know each other's language, but they played through the language of chess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wow.
NAMDAR: The language of chess.
PHILLIPS: And you are a mom of two. I can just imagine what that would -- how that would make you feel if your kids --
NAMDAR: And I wish there were organizations like this when I moved to this country, people that help you assimilate into a new culture. You pack up your bags, you come into a new country, believe me, 25, 30 years ago, there was nothing like that as an Iranian- American to help us out.
PHILLIPS: Wow. Well he had some strong words on his blog about the Republican administration. Tell me what it was he said about Obama when Obama won?
NAMDAR: Well, I asked him about that, Kyra. The exact quote is, "When I knew that Barack Obama would be the new president of the United States I cannot forget how I shivered." And he says, "Oh, thank God."
Listen to how he reacted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOUDREAU: Diplomacy takes a lot of hard work. Empathy takes a lot of hard work. It is perhaps even more difficult than say disengaging from humanity and fighting. And I do think that this country could use a strong dose of diplomacy in its foreign policy, and I think that Barack Obama is the best man to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. I know viewers right now are saying, how can I meet him? How can I help?
NAMDAR: His blog, Kyra, is very extensive. And it is www.deeperthanwars.blogspot.com. You can go on his Web site. It actually has a bunch of links you can go to. You can donate money, credit cards, checks, a number of options for you.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
NAMDAR: Also, he's got a new book out and the book is called "Packing Inferno: The Unmaking of a Marine." It is a great story.
PHILLIPS: It is interesting, too, where your commander-in-chief is Republican and you go to war under that administration and then you come back --
NAMDAR: And to speak publicly about that.
PHILLIPS: Yes, appreciate it.
NAMDAR: Thanks -- thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, they'll be the new kids on the block in Washington. A look at Sasha and Malia Obama's new life in the White House and how other presidential kids have fared. We'll have that next hour.
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