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Fighting California's Wildfires; Endeavour Docks with ISS; Auto Indistry Bailout?; Obama Working to Staff Administration

Aired November 16, 2008 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I can tell you that I have some good news to report from Chino Hills. I talked to an Orange County fire spokesperson a short time ago who told me that it looks like this area of about 1,000 homes dodged the big bullet from this fire.
And here's one of the reasons. You can take a look right behind me, some people may not know it, but firefighters oftentimes fight fire with fire. And so, what they did around these hills is they back-burned all the brush, all the fuel, that could have fuelled a fire leading up to the homes up here on these hills. Many of the residents have said that this is a big reason why their homes are actually standing right now.

They have also launched a very aggressive air attack on this fire. All day long, we've seen choppers fly over this area. They pick up water at a nearby dam and then they go and they put out some of the hotspots in the hills that you see right behind us -- a very impressive sight. A DC-10, that's a big supertanker that has flown over the area into the Diamond Bar region, which is where the fire is burning right now. In one shot, it can dump 20,000 gallons of fire retardant on those flames, and so, they've been able to hold the line there and protect those homes.

Also, in Montecito, that fire is now 75 percent contained. That is where this firestorm began four days ago. Two hundred and ten homes were burned there and fire investigators say that they can now say that this was manmade. They have ruled out all accidental causes to what was called the Tea fire.

And then here, in this area, there were four fires that actually emerged, making this a very dangerous fire, and it's called the "Triangle Fire." It involves four counties and 168 homes have burned. So, the good news, Fredricka, is that the winds have died down. It is relatively calm right now. Bad news, though, it's terribly hot for a November day, we're looking at temperatures that are up around 95 degrees.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. Making it especially tough on those firefighters, too. All right. Thelma Gutierrez, thanks so much. I appreciate it -- there in Chino Hills.

Jackie Jeras is in the weather center here.

And, Jackie, let's talk about some of those elements. That heat -- making it very tough for the firefighters, as I mentioned. That low humidity you spoke of even though the winds have died down a little bit.

JACKIE JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They have -- they've died down a little, but, you know, not altogether.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: We're still talking about some gusts 30 to 40 miles per hour. We had record highs in the area yesterday. Today, we're going to get close to that, like Thelma said, well into the 90s and those winds remain offshore. So, more of that drying impact.

You know, anytime you have a wind, that wind blows over that vegetation, but it's good enough that we've seen significant progress. You know, firefighters are backlighting fires and trying to do some of those burnouts, they weren't able to do that yesterday because the winds were just too strong. So, that's a really good indication that they have a better handle on the situation today and that those wind are continuing to die.

The red flag warnings remain in effect until 4:00 o'clock. So ,we got two hours to go and they think the winds then will be below the critical levels that we'll continue to see some significant progress then in this area. Yesterday, we were talking about winds between 75 and 80 miles per hour. That were the strongest peak gusts that we saw.

Today, over the last three hours, we're still seeing some 30s and 40s, we have one 50 up there at Wiley Ridge, and then we're looking at some 20-mile-per-hour gusts. So, we kind of half it today and we hope that we're going to half it again as we head into the day for tomorrow. The winds will particularly diminish, we think, once the sun begins to set.

The two fires, they continue to burn. This one has the least amount of containment right now. This is that "Triangle Complex" that Thelma was talking about. This is the Sylmar fire up there, and the one in Santa Barbara County has over 40 percent containment now. So, when you start to see numbers like that, you know, that's a big difference between 0 and 10 percent that we were dealing wind yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Yes, a little big of encouragement.

All right. Thanks so much, Jackie. Appreciate it.

I bet you thought home improvement projects only took place on land. Well, how about at the International Space Station. We'll have the latest on shuttle Endeavour's mission.

Plus -- what are you concerns or worries about an auto industry bailout? Send us your e-mails at Weekends@CNN.com. We'll read them later on on the show. Be sure to include your name and your city as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A pretty impressive show is going on right now in space. The space shuttle Endeavour is hooking up with the International Space Station. Let's get right to our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, who is following Endeavour's mission from New York, even though we got a great view all the way up there.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. New York is about as close as I can get, unfortunately.

WHITFIELD: For now.

O'BRIEN: I'd like to be up there.

WHITFIELD: You never know.

O'BRIEN: But, well, you know...

WHITFIELD: It could happen.

O'BRIEN: Yes, well, it could. It could. And you got 30 million to spare? That's another story entirely.

Let's talk about what happen with the shuttle. I just love these pictures. When you this stuff, it's -- you almost can hear the waltz in the background from 2001. This Endeavour, there you see her approaching the International Space Station, it happened just a little about an hour ago, and performed the rotational pitch maneuver, the back flip, we like to call it, which allows the crew onboard the space station to take a close up look at the belly of the space shuttle, to make sure that those heat shield, all those tiles -- and they are approaching 20,000 fragile heat resistant tiles on every shuttle orbiters. It's just an amazing thing. They're all glued on. It's about as fragile as your grandmother's china. It's just amazing.

In any case, they want to make sure that there's no breaches in it, which would jeopardize the crew upon its return. And so, they took a series of pictures, 800 millimeter, 400 millimeter lens, big telephoto lenses, and those pictures have been downloaded to Houston, where right now, there's a team poring over them, making sure that everything looks right.

But this is part of an ongoing process all throughout the mission, to ensure that heat shield is intact for reentry. This goes back, of course, to February 2003 when we lost Columbia and her screw of seven. And there was a breach in the heat shield at that time.

Now, what we're waiting for, the docking just occurred a few moments ago. Oh, there you see. By the way, take a look at that picture, in the middle of that circle there, Fredricka. If you look really carefully, and I invite folks at home to get your magnifying glasses out.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: If you have them nearby, right? And you'll see, there's a little bit of debris they spotted 28 seconds after liftoff, inside that circle. It is -- apparently may have caused a little bit of damage in an area that just doesn't get very hot. Although, when you look at that, it looks like this part (ph) is pretty hot there right now, with all those engines.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: But on reentry, it only gets no higher than 700 degrees, which for a shuttle, you know, some parts of it approach 3,000 degrees.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That is not considered a high concern area. Nonetheless, they'll check that out and they'll make sure it is good to return before they make any decisions for returning.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, I never understand the degree of being concerned when we talk about these tiles coming off or tearing it, et cetera.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I don't know, if I'm the astronaut on there, I want everything to stay intact.

O'BRIEN: Well, you like your tiles in place, don't you?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: But it sounds like there's some margin of error. Their expectation is, you're going to lose some of those tiles.

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's the thing. I mean, no matter what they do and they've done tremendous things to improve the foam problem.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: The foam that came off those external fuel tanks, which caused, of course, the Columbia problem. And -- but there's still going to be stuff that's going to fall off. And, you know, fundamentally, what you have is, you have a very fragile spacecraft downstream of a lot of things that are going to fall off, like that stuff that insulation on that tank. And so, there's always going to be stuff that falls off and there's always going to be some damage to the heat shield.

The question is, can you try to keep those pieces small and keep the damage slight, and most important, understand what's going on the whole time. Have the right imagery, have the capability, have the computer capability to simulate what it means if there's a chink in the armor so to speak.

WHITFIELD: Yes. O'BRIEN: And that's where they are right now. And, you know, this is -- the interesting thing to remember here, Fred, is that in two years, there will be no more shuttle. They're going to fly another vehicle. That vehicle, the sensitive part where the people, are will be on top. And they'll be. This whole issue will go away because everything that will be falling off will fall harmlessly because the spacecraft that returns will be on top.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's incredible stuff.

OK. So, we won't worry then. I'll be hopeful.

O'BRIEN: Yes. I always worry, but that's my job. I worry so you don't have to. How's that?

WHITFIELD: OK, good.

O'BRIEN: All right.

WHITFIELD: You bear the burden.

O'BRIEN: Looks fine.

WHITFIELD: All right, Miles, appreciate it. Thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, the Obama team with a lot on its mind, the president-elect picking some pretty key players. Our Susan Malveaux has names from Chicago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Thank You" notes, yes, they still live. And today, there was one from President-elect Obama, to the people of Illinois.

Here's what he had to say, quote, "Today, I am ending one journey to begin another. After serving the people of Illinois in the United States Senate, one of the highest honors and privileges of my life, I am stepping down as senator to prepare for the responsibilities I will assume as our nation's next president. But I will never forget and will forever be grateful to the men and women of this great state who made my life in public service this possible," end quote. This is from President-elect Obama in the newspapers all over the state of Illinois.

So, meantime, he has been pretty busy, trying to fill some key positions from his Chicago post. And that's where we also find our Susan Malveaux.

Susan, which do you want to begin with?

SUSAN MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to be interesting to actually watch what happens Monday. I'm not going to say it's actually a position that's going to be filled. But one thing that Barack Obama seems to be doing here is reaching out to the model, the approach of the late Abraham Lincoln, also, a son of Illinois, by talking about he's going to reach out to the most capable folks, but also to keep his rivals close. And what is happening tomorrow is that Barack Obama is going to sit down with none other than his rival, his former rival John McCain.

Now, aides tell us there's no position that they are necessarily putting out there, no particular role for John McCain, but this, really, is kind of a courtesy to him. It is symbolic, it is the sense to reach out and figure out what are the things that these two guys have in common. They point to climate change, they point to ethics reform, as being two possible areas in which these two can see eye to eye. But, obviously, they're going to need to work together -- the Democrats as well as Barack Obama, reaching out to the Republicans. They don't have that filibuster-proof number that they need in the Senate just to simply pass legislation, no matter what.

So, they're going to need the Republicans. That is something that he's going to do tomorrow, sit down and actually talk with John McCain. One of many of these different kinds of meetings that they've had where he reaches out to his rivals. As you know, Fred, it was a couple of days ago, he sat down with Senator Hillary Clinton, the possibility -- a possibility of looking at that secretary of state position -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And he's also been talking with Bill Richardson. So, that's why we are really underscoring the possibility of who might get that position, right?

MALVEAUX: Right. He's a -- and they actually spoke with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who's another very strong candidate in that position. They're obviously looking at many of the people that he ran against, having some sort of very significant role. When you look at Joe Biden as the vice president, Senator Hillary Clinton, and also, Bill Richardson.

WHITFIELD: OK. Tough foes, lots of riding on it.

All right. Thanks so much, Susan Malveaux from Chicago. Appreciate it.

We'll talk some more about what is at stake for President-elect Obama. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is joining us now from Washington. So, you know, what's interesting too, Bill, is there are still more polls coming out, even though Election Day has passed.

Now, polls about probabilities, expectations -- and a poll that is showing that Obama, right now, is incredibly popular with a 75 percent, I guess, popularity percentage against Reagan, Clinton, Bush, all of them very high, especially after a days of -- just after a few days of being elected. But what's different here is that the expectations are so much greater for President-elect Obama.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. This is a favorability rating. We can't ask people to approve of the job his doing because he hasn't started yet. But we ask people, "Do you have a favorable impression of President-elect Obama?" The same question was asked of previous presidents just after they won election before they took office.

And if you look that list closely, you'll see Obama's right at the top. That is the expectations. The impression of him is more favorable than for any recently, newly elected president.

The only one who comes close is Ronald Reagan back in 1980, just after he was elected, under similar circumstances. The economy was terrible. The incumbent president had a very low approval rating. People expected the new president to turn things around. But expectations for President-elect Obama are even higher than they were for Reagan in 1980.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's incredible. The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll is saying that even looking to four years from now, what the expectations might be for President-elect Obama and these people who are polled say that they expect conditions in this country four years from now to be better. And we're talking 76 percent of people believe it will be better. So, you know, it's going to be a tough job for him knowing that there are so much on his shoulders and knowing the expectations are very high. He doesn't want to disappoint a lot of people.

SCHNEIDER: He certainly doesn't. And you recall this, perhaps, what he called one of his books, "The Audacity of Hope."

WHITFIELD: Right.

SCHNEIDER: He's encouraging Americans to be optimistic and hopeful. Three quarters of Americans believe that the economy will be better in four years. Americans in return (ph) are optimistic. They've seen the economies do badly, and they've seen them turn around. They expect this economy to turn around, not instantly, but they expect within four years, at the end of Obama's, at least, his first term, that things will be better.

You remember, when Reagan was elected, things got worse for year two.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: And Reagan said famously, "Stay the course," and people did. And then by 1984, things had gotten better and he got reelected.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And let's talk about, you know, staying close to your nemesis. I mean, Susan was underscoring how, you know, President-elect Obama is kind of taking the page of Abe Lincoln, saying he wants to surround himself by folks who were considered enemies. He's going to be meting with John McCain, and then, this post of potentially naming a Hillary Clinton as secretary of state -- pretty interesting.

SCHNEIDER: Pretty surprising and pretty interesting. He's talked to several people. I know he's going to be considering John Kerry, the former Democratic nominee, Bill Richardson, who has a lot of international experience, and Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton raises also sort s of interesting problems and issues. With Hillary, you get Bill. Does he really want both of them advising him? Bill is a famous globetrotter who has his own very big international...

WHITFIELD: And still very popular worldwide though.

SCHNEIDER: He certainly is. And, you know -- so, he would become then instantly a player. And, what about that first meeting with Iran? Remember the disagreement he had with Hillary Clinton in the primary debates where he said he would meet with the president of Iran without preconditions, which he said did not mean without preparation but without preconditions. And she quarreled with him about that. If she becomes secretary of state, it will be interesting to see what kind of preparations go into that first meeting.

WHITFIELD: Oh, interesting. How important do you think it is for him to try to nail down a secretary of state this week? I mean, given he is acting much really quick -- I mean, or acting much quicker than, I guess, past president-elects, but is it important for him to make a statement on that so it kind of put the rumors to rest this week?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that's why it is important. He could wait on the secretary of state position, but this is a national security post. It's very difficult to wait on those things. The 9/11 Commission criticized the Bush administration which did move very quickly, after that late election result, to put its team in place but it was slow in putting international security team in place.

National security is absolutely critical in this dangerous day and age, and he wants that team in place very quickly, and the longer he waits to name his secretary of state, the more the rumors, the gossips, the speculation, the sort of thing we're doing right now.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that whole foreign policy thing will pop up again.

SCHNEIDER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bill Schneider, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

All right. West coast now, still searching for victims. We'll take you back to Southern California. Those wildfires there are still burning. Well, the search is on now for residents of a burned down mobile home park, many who were unaccounted for.

And, he's a one-man book fair, bringing literacy to Ethiopia's children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reward is seeing eager children who have never had books in their hands, coming and sitting and reading with little children. There is no limit as to how much we can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: We'll introduce you to this CNN hero in a moment, but first...

Perhaps you're looking for a road trip. Richelle Carey is "On the Go."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With increasing air fares and those canceled flights, flying these days can be a hassle.

CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: A lot of Americans are opting to drive instead of flying to their destination. So, we're seeing increases to drive to destinations.

CAREY: McGinnis suggests hitting the road to places like New Orleans.

MCGINNIS: Most of the tourist areas in New Orleans are now fully recovered. That means almost every hotel has had renovations and hotel prices in New Orleans are still very reasonable. Additionally, this is the best time of year to be there because it's cooler.

CAREY: And if you live in the west, you may want to ease on down the road to check out the Alamo.

MCGINNIS: San Antonio is a great family destination because it's inexpensive. It's the home of the historic Alamo, and there are a lot of amusement parks.

CAREY: But McGinnis says if the drive is more than five hours long, you may want a chance booking a flight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Calmer winds are helping California firefighters battle several major wildfires. The fires have burned more than 34 square miles since breaking on Thursday. And more than 800 houses, mobiles homes, and apartments have been destroyed. No deaths are being reported, but authorities are searching through the wreckage of 500 mobile homes that burned in Northern Los Angeles.

Kara Finnstrom is standing by with more on the situation there. She's in Sylmar.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, it just looks like a wasteland inside this mobile home park and the fear is that not everyone may have been able to get out. A short while ago, emergency officials held a press conference and they say, at this point, no bodies, no human remains have been found inside, but they also say that they're just about 30 percent of the way through their lot by lot search using cadaver dog. Now, there were about 600 mobile homes inside this park, nearly 500 of those were completely destroyed. We spoke with one of the couples who lost their home, but tells us that they escaped with the only thing that really matters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMA WNEQUEZ, FIRE SURVIVOR: The most amazing thing, God sent in a way, and it's hard for other people to believe that. It's hard to believe that you can lose everything and still have everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: Now, firefighters are still working to keep others safe. Right now, this fire is considered about 30 percent contained. Fredricka, the good news is, the wind have died down considerably. We don't see that thick smoke in the air. But fire officials are saying they don't want to underestimate this fire. At this point, 10,000 people do remain evacuated.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and, Kara, you know, help us understand the reason they're using the cadaver dogs. And you know, a couple of reasons for one -- we're looking at the destruction behind you there -- but there's still a number of people unaccounted for, right?

FINNSTROM: That's right. And, you know, part of that could just be that people haven't touched base or a lot of elderly people who lived in this complex, some of them didn't have cell phones. So, actually, connecting with those folks may be difficult. They may not even realize that their loved ones are looking for them.

So, we did see a sign on one of the gates out here of someone who's looking for their loved ones and has put up a phone number. We don't know, you know, how many of those instances are out there. Police say, a number of people have checked in with them and they're hoping everyone who lived in this park will do so, so that they kind of systematically go through that list. But as you can see, you know, there's just nothing left of some of these homes.

WHITFIELD: Right.

FINNSTROM: So, those cadaver dogs are necessary to go through and make sure there aren't any human remains.

WHITFIELD: Well, it is a terrible scene behind. But, we're all hoping, of course, that everyone did make it out safely. Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much, there in Sylmar.

Jackie Jeras is in the weather center.

And, Jackie, when you really look at the debris behind Kara there, it just gives you an idea how fierce, how fast-moving that fire was. It just simply engulfed everything.

JERAS: It did. You know, it never ceases to amaze me how fast these move. The whole fire line will advance and then embers will fly out. One house gets burned, the one next to it doesn't. We're down to 30, 40 mile an hour wind for guts. Red flag warnings are expected to expire at 4:00 pacific time. So that's really good.

One other impact here, if you look at those pictures, have you noticed all the ash in the air? We have some big time air quality issues. This is from NASA and all that haze off the ocean, all of that is smoke just billowing and moving and getting carried by the wind for miles and miles. There are two of the fires that have been carrying that smoke over the ocean, over many, many populated areas. The air quality is code red, so it's unhealthy for everybody. Unhealthy for sensitive groups as well.

Stay inside today. If you can see it or smell it, you don't want to be outside. It gets in your hair. It gets in your clothes. It makes you stink anyway. People with respiratory problems, even healthy people, you get that in your lungs.

Fredricka, I don't know if you've been on a fire scene before...

WHITFIELD: Oh, I have. It's horrible.

CNN METEOROLOGIST: It really it. It your eyes will burn and they'll tear up and your throat feels raw. It feels heavy on your chest. You can feel your heartbeat increasing.

WHITFIELD: Firefighters, they have the masks for a reason. And you see other first responders covered up because it's so difficult to breath. It cuts your chances of breathing clearly in half.

CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. So people stay inside today if you can.

WHITFIELD: Good advice. Thanks.

The gift of a good book. Today's "CNN hero" is championing literacy for Ethiopia's children and opening their minds and their worlds. Meet Yohannes Gebregeorgis -- I can not pronounce this man's name. Sorry about that. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Every kind of little boy and girl could want.

YOHANNES GEBREGEORGIS, TOP 10 CNN HERO FINALIST: I was born in Ethiopia. When I was 19, I found a book. It was the first book that I read outside of school. It changed my whole life.

My name is Yohannes Gebregeorgis. I'm bringing literacy to the children of Ethiopia.

Most Ethiopian children have only access to textbooks in the classroom. Books that children read out of school, that is of education.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: There was toy trucks, airplane airplanes. GEBREGEORGIS: I just wanted to help children have a future. Have hope. Children could imagine everything from books, connections to other cultures to other people, to other children and to the universe.

The reward is seen children who have never had books in their hands, coming and sitting and reading with literate children. There is no limit as to how much we can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

One of our top ten hero finalists, a young man finding ways to get books to Ethiopia's children.

Joining us now from Denver, Yohannes Gebregeorgis.

I hope I got that right this time. Sorry about that. How inspiring your efforts have been to help out so many? Did you know that you were going to make this kind of impact when you started?

Yohannes, can you hear me?

GEBREGEORGIS: Yes, I'm here, but didn't really hear you very well.

WHITFIELD: Let me try it again. I apologize for messing up the pronunciation of your name. I've got it now. Secondly, I wondering if you realized you were going to make this kind of impact on so many?

GEBREGEORGIS: Yes, I did really realize that I'm making such a big impact when I started this work, but now I can see what change that reading books would make to the children of Ethiopia because thousands of children are coming to read every day and to get inspired and to get hope. I can see that every day and that's what's very enjoyable.

WHITFIELD: Did you realize your project would get this kind of attention from people far outside Ethiopia?

GEBREGEORGIS: No, I never realized this would bring this much attention and it's good because it will help work we are doing in Ethiopia.

WHITFIELD: How do you see that reading, the access to these books, to literature will change the lives of these young people?

GABREGEORGIS: Well, basically, children who read books are much more better equipped for life. They're much more equipped even to do good in school. And generally, readers are the ones that are going to be leaders in the future and change our society and our country in the future. That's really what my hope is.

WHITFIELD: What are you hoping is next?

GEBREGEORGIS: Next, my hope is to really expand what we've started in take k books and literacy to all children in Ethiopia. WHITFIELD: How about in neighboring countries? Kenya would argue it has some of the same problems, as in Somalia, just in the horn of Africa, that what's taking place in Ethiopia might bleed into the neighboring African nations.

GEBREGEORGIS: Countries like Kenya have better infrastructure for reading and libraries even though there's a great need in those countries. But as you know, right now, Somalia doesn't really have a government. But Ethiopia really lags behind from most African countries, particularly from eastern African countries, like Kenya and Tanzania, in terms of books and libraries. Ethiopia really has a long way to go and the need is so fast that we can open thousands of libraries and it's not going to be enough.

WHITFIELD: What does it mean for you personally to be recognized as one of the top ten "CNN Heroes?" You'll be part of the ceremony that will air on Thanksgiving even here on CNN.

GEBREGEORGIS: It means a lot. I thank you, CNN for this initiative. It gives us an opportunity to be visible around the world. People are recognizing the work we do as something important and we're getting a lot of support and attention worldwide. It's the best thing that could happen to us with this organization.

WHITFIELD: Johannes Gebregeorgis, thanks so much, and congratulations to you and the efforts and continued success.

GEBREGEORGIS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Of course, you can go online right now and choose the hero that inspires you the most. The finalist with the most votes will be the winner. The heroes will be honored right here on "CNN Heroes" an all-star tribute, hosted by Anderson Cooper right here on CNN Thanksgiving evening.

He's an NBA all-star who has overcome tremendous obstacles. Alonzo Mourning, you know him, talks to us about his faith, focus and triumph and his attempt to score a slam dunk for kids as well.

Plus, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH MASSIE, UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT: If I didn't get approved, I wouldn't be able to come back to school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: How the sluggish economy is affecting colleges and their students, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: From Main Street to college, students are feeling the brunt of the money crisis.

As Kate Bolduan reports, loans for tuition are disappearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In August, Frostburg State University in Maryland was hit by the economic crisis.

ANGIE HOVATTER, FINANCIAL AID DIRECTOR, FROSTBURG STATE UNIVESITY: We received notification that one lender wouldn't have money available for students. They were not going to be dispersing.

BOLDUAN: Not dispersing the financial aid 200 students were expecting the next day.

HOVATTER: We decided to do book batches. We wrote letters to landlords letting them know this was in no way the students' fault.

BOLDUAN: Students like junior, Sarah Massie were left scrambling to make up the difference.

MASSE: If I didn't get approved for this outside loan, I wouldn't be able to come back to school.

BOLDUAN: Unfortunately, Massie and Frostburg State are not alone. Colleges both public and private across the country are finding their balance sheets in limbo amid the credit freeze and the economic downturn.

JEREMY LAYMAN, GRADUATE STUDENT: It's sort of a rip off that eventually trickled down to students like me.

BOLDUAN: States from coast to coast are facing serious budget shortfalls. At least 17 have slashed funding according for public colleges and universities to the American Council on Education.

TERRY HARTLE, AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EDUCATION: Cutbacks are the order of the day so many public colleges and universities will have less money for operating than the state government than a year ago.

BOLDUAN: New York Governor David Paterson recently proposed a $600 annual tuition increase for the state's public universities to help repair a $1.5 billion deficit.

And while private schools don't rely on government dollars, they're feeling the pinch through a drop in alum donations and philanthropic support.

(on camera): The hard times facing students and schools have meant an understandable jump in the number of people lining for federal financial aid. The Department of Education reports, as of the end of July, 800,000 more students had applied for the well-known Pell Grant than at the same time last year.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And we turn to the story of an NBA star, Alonzo Mourning, who's had some tough times. He's battled a tough childhood, kidney disease and injuries. He's telling his story in a new book, "Resilience, Faith Focus, Triumph." I talked with him about the power of giving back, especially now when times are so tough.

ALONZO MOURNING, NBA STAR: Without the contributions of other people, I wouldn't be here today. You wouldn't be here today. So I created this foundation 12 years ago to try to provide educational opportunities to young kids to help them succeed, which is one of the biggest challenges they face from the educational perspective.

WHITFIELD: Are you concerned because tough times are hitting in so many ways? Losing jobs, the unemployment rate is so high now, people don't have deep pockets to give. What will you do in these tough times to make up for donations that might be down this year?

MOURNING: I'm very concerned, but at the same time, I'll continue to solicit our efforts. I know people want to see young children do well. I know that so many corporations continue to make an invested interest in providing opportunities for young people, so you're going to get turned away, but I can't give up continually trying to get the help we need to help young people. Again, I would no be here without the contributions of others. My staff is amazing. I have a lot of people that sit on the board that help with the fight to try to battle illiteracy and a lot of the other obstacles that young people deal with.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk about some of those obstacles. You, as a foster kid, by choice. You chose to be a foster kid. You've got to explain that. That's, in part, the connection you have with young kids that they get support along the way.

MOURNING: Growing up, I went through some difficult times. My family, like many families in the world today, you have different issues you're dealing with. But I had to make a decision based on the separation of my mother and father, whether or not I wanted to live with my mom or my dad. I loved them dearly and hated to be in the position to choose which side. I elected not to live with either one of my parents at the age of 12 years old. The courts placed me in the foster care system.

I came into the hands of Miss Fannie Threet (ph), who is an angelic woman. She planted so many positive seeds in my life. Understanding the importance of faith and giving, putting extreme emphasis on education, being a retired schoolteacher. At the same time, I kept in close contact with my parents. I loved them dearly and still speak to them on a regular basis. I realized the importance of giving.

WHITFIELD: You talk about the peaks and valleys in your book. You mention proceeds going to kidney transplants. And at the peak of your career, you're dealing with kidney transplants of your own. Healthwise, where are you?

MOURNING: I feel great. My body chemistries are where they need to be. Fortunately enough, I had somebody in my family to give me the gift of life. That's through organ donation. By transplantation, I was able to get back on the court and play the game that I know and love. I've been able to -- it's amazing how I've been able to touch more lives off the court than I have on the court. This is why I wrote my memoir because I want to embody my life's experiences on paper and share with the world and inspire them to never give up and to give them a blueprint to overcoming different adversities and obstacles they may deal with in life.

WHITFIELD: Well, you really epitomize triumph.

Alonzo Mourning, "Resilience, Faith Focus and Triumph" is the book. We appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

MOURNING: Thank you, I appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: We're going to shift gears a little bit. We've been asking you what your worries are about a possible auto bailout. What do you think about it? Josh Levs has the comments straight ahead. We'll read them on the air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A showdown is looming in Congress over a bailout plan for the auto industry. Tomorrow, Senate Democrats are planning to introduce legislation giving General Motors, Ford and Chrysler a piece of that $700 billion bailout. Industry execs, however, want $25 billion. So it might be an auto bailout. What would it translate into for all those involved in the industry?

CNN's Brook Baldwin is joining us with what's at stake.

BROOK BALDWIN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I've been to Detroit two trips I think in the last four weeks. I'm losing track a little bit. We're talking about a lot of money. It sounds very complicated but we've talked a lot to workers and really their future is at stake. Their families, their retirements, we talked to them about the 401Ks, pension plans, all could be affected by two B words here, bailout or bankruptcy. Some auto workers are now considering leaving those auto plants, some of which they've worked out of for decades, in case the big three do go under.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Michael Kendella is a third generation Ford employee.

MICHAEL KENDELLA, FORD EMPLOYEE: There is life outside the big three.

BALDWIN: But after ten years of service at one of the car company's plants in Michigan, he called it quits.

KENDELLA: I just knew that things were changing in the industry and it wasn't necessarily the company that my grandfather moved from Italy to work for and my dad worked for. BALDWIN: He settled for a buyout, opting to pack up his previous profession to run his own business instead. And as Detroit's big three teeter on collapse, other auto workers are considering shuffling careers as well.

RICHARD DUPREE, FORD EMPLOYEE: I work on the assembly line.

BALDWIN: With layoffs looming, Richard, with dozens of others, is pulling double duty, dealing cards at night at this casino.

DUPREE: If full-time is offered to me at the casino, it's something I would have to consider.

BALDWIN: Three million Americans would be forced to consider a career change if one of the big three were to fail, according to a recent study conducted by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

Dr. David Coles served as the study's lead author.

DR. DAVID COLES, CENTER FOR AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH: I don't like the idea of government involvement. But when you consider the size of this industry, the importance in the economy, and the fact that the cost of prevention here is much lower than the cost of a calamity, it is the right thing to do in terms of what's best for this country.

BALDWIN: Not everyone agrees it's the right thing. Critics say the big three burned through billions backing gas guzzling vehicles. And as politicians point fingers at auto executives and the industry blames the economy, this former Ford employee has advice for American auto workers.

UNIDENTIFIED AUTO WORKER: If you're going to leave, you have to have a plan. Don't just take the money and think you're going to live forever off of it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Think about this here, one in 10 American jobs is tied up directly or indirectly in the auto industry. General Motors says it had about $16 billion in cash by the end of this past September and many are worried. if Congress does not give them this cash injection, G.M. will not have enough cash to sustain itself by year's end.

WHITFIELD: One in 10, that's a sobering number.

BALDWIN: One in 10, hundreds of thousands directly, millions indirectly.

WHITFIELD: Brook, thanks so much for bringing that to our attention.

We've been asking you all about your concerns, and what kinds of issues that you have about this potential auto industry bailout. Josh Levs has been fielding the e-mails.

What are folks saying?

JOSH LEVS, CNN BUSINESS ANALYST: People who care about this issue were watching you. As soon as you said it, we had 100 within a few minutes. It's unbelievable. It won't look fancy. We just grabbed them and threw them on the board. Let's zoom right in.

First one from Brian Matsen (ph) in Bowling Green, Kentucky: "The U.S. government needs to be consistent. The government, that means us, chose to bailout financials, insurance and banks, whose mismanagement got them into trouble just like auto. Further, it auto dies, it will take down financials and banks and probably set housing back several years."

Let's scroll down a little bit and see another one I have here. "I don't like the idea, but there are so many people who would lose their jobs and so many other companies, supplies, et cetera, that would go out of business if the big three went under. It is almost a necessary evil." That's Neil Green.

Now we got the other side. "Think of it like this. Would you invest in any of the big three at this moment? The answer would probably be no. Why would anyone invest money in a failing, broken company. The government must think in these terms as well." That's from Sameek Cil (ph).

We got time for one more here, I think. "If the government decides to give them money, there should be several conditions. Among them, remove all current leadership, no golden parachute, require benchmarks of achievement." That's from Peter in Cincinnati, Ohio.

No one is telling me I got to stop, so I have time for one more. I have time for one more. "The big three automakers need to suffer the consequences of their bad decisions and their anti-environmental vehicles. As a middle income citizen, I say no to the big three bailout." That's from Al Matthews.

You can keep them coming. Join the conversation, weekends@nn.com. Also, send us your I-reports. We'll keep an eye on all this and keep that conversation going.

I'll tell you, Fred, people have a lot to say about this. If it happens, you can expect this times ten.

WHITFIELD: I'm already seeing a theme here. It sounds as though we're getting the same kind of response on this automotive industry bailout when we asked similar questions about the banking industry, financial industry bailout.

LEVS: What I am finding when I look through this is that there's a good variety. We are finding a lot on each side. No one is saying I think it's a great idea and no one is saying it will solve anything. But they're basically between the idea of necessary evil and making things even worse. And in the end, it's a guessing game because who knows how it will play out?

WHITFIELD: And people who say, when does it end? You bail out the financial institutions and automotive industry, then what?

LEVS: Who's next? You got it.

WHITFIELD: Josh Levs, thanks for fielding those e-mails and thank you for sending in the e-mails about a potential bailout for the auto industry.

We'll have much more in the "NEWSROOM" after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Thanks for being with me in the "NEWSROOM." I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Don Lemon is the "NEWSROOM" now.