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Monitoring Mukasey's Medical Tests; Fannie and Freddie Suspend Foreclosures; Hope for Wall Street
Aired November 21, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A glimmer of light breaks through an economic cloud of uncertainty. Wall Street traders may put on their rally caps today.
Plus shocking scene, attorney general collapses at a speech. We have an update now on how he's doing.
It is Friday, November 21st. Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Attorney General Michael Mukasey will undergo medical tests today at George Washington University Hospital. He collapsed last night while delivering a speech. We just got an update on his condition. We want to go straight to Jeanne Meserve who is outside the hospital now.
So Jeanne, what is the very latest?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, if you saw that video last night you know it looked fairly serious -- but from Gina Talamona, who is a public affairs person from the Department of Justice and the word was pretty positive. Here's a bit of what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GINA TALAMONA, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT : The doctors are describing him as very fit. All of the tests have been reassuring. There's no indication that he suffered a stroke or any heart-related incident. It really appears to be a fainting spell. You know, he works long days. He's very active. It was a late night speech under hot lights, so all indications at this point are basically a fainting spell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: She says that the attorney general wants to get back to work and in fact, the deputy attorney general is due over here about now -- come -- department business -- no word though on when he's going to go home and want to finish the routine tests.
The spokesperson emphasized that the attorney general has a record of good health, that he's a very fit man. He gets up every morning and works out on his elliptical machine. She describes him as being very eager to get out of the hospital and back to work.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Heidi, I understand that. All right, CNN's Jeanne Meserve.
Thanks so much for that, Jeanne.
And we of course are also going to be talking with CNN's Sanjay Gupta. As you know, he is a neurosurgeon and now that we have some of these new information about the attorney general we'll be joining Sanjay here in just a little while to talk about that.
I also want to take a moment now to look at the big board because hopefully when we see it here now, yes, we still have a positive sign there. We like that a whole lot especially after the last couple of days. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 22, well, 17 points. We're hanging on, aren't we?
Well, they won't be homeless for the holidays. Some 16,000 American families are getting a holiday reprieve. Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending foreclosures but only until January. CNN's Christine Romans is in New York to talk a little bit more about this decision.
Hi there, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi.
This is foreclosure sales and evictions and you're right some 16,000 families get a reprieve, but I mean put the 16,000 in the context of the frankly millions of people who are, will be entering the foreclosure proceedings in the next year, 16,000 is relief for those folks. There are a lot of other folks who will find themselves in a little bit of trouble. We know that a lot of people are expecting a tsunami frankly of defaults and foreclosure filings over the next year so the Fannie and Freddie getting out ahead of that and trying to identify some that they can suspend at this point. Suspending foreclosures until January '09 for these folks. Freddie Mac also suspending sales of foreclosed homes. You know it will come out to about 16,000 people, 6,000 at Freddie and 10,000 at Fannie.
So that has helped but remember, people have been asking for help for more than a year now, quite frankly, and on a wide scale and something coordinated, not voluntary. The voluntary efforts by many of these lenders in some cases are just now starting to show some results. You can really count, just a fraction of overall delinquent and defaulted and foreclosed on properties. So there is a lot of work to be done there. It's one of the reasons why you've had so much trouble in the stock market frankly.
And Heidi, think back to 1997, what were you doing back in 1997? That was the last time the S&P 500 was at these sorts of levels. You know the Dow is trading around $7,500. I mean it's just a reflection of the lack of confidence in the economy, in the financial system, in the banking system right now. There's a lot of things to slog through and the housing piece is one piece of it, but there's also unemployment situation, those two feed on each other. So there's a lot of work still to be done. But I'm telling you for those people who do, this will help the 16,000. It will help certainly is better than nothing.
COLLINS: Yes, that's for sure. All right. We'll continue to follow that story as well.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: Christine Romans, thank you.
ROMANS: The $700 billion bailout cash has been flooding the corporate landscape but what about the homeowners? Where is their lifeline? We're going to be talking about that a little bit later on with CNN personal financial expert Gerri Willis in just a few minutes.
Meanwhile this morning a nod to the nation's rising unemployment. President Bush approves the extension of benefits to jobless Americans. They'll be able to get as much as an extra 13 weeks of coverage now. It comes as unemployment hits a 16-year high. The number of people now looking for work has surged past 10 million.
The big three bailout, Congress tells automakers, show us your rescue plan. We'll show you the money and the clock is ticking. CNN's Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill.
So, what's the deal here, Kate? How long do they have to actually see how what their plans are?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's in relative short order but I guess that depends on who you talk to Heidi and we're talking about an emergency need for money. They have until December 2nd to get these detailed plans back to Congress. So right now, the bailout, the whole idea of the bailout is back in Detroit's hands. Democratic leaders came out yesterday to say we're not going to supply any emergency loans, any emergency funds until you show us detailed plans of how you're going to spend the money. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a press conference yesterday said part of the plan needs to be a pact to financial stability.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: Until we can see a plan, where the auto industry is held accountable and a plan for viability on how they go into the future, until we see the plan, until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money, and that is really where we are with this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: This is not a done deal, even if these plans get back to Congress. The Congress will then take a look at what the plans, they say it needs to pass muster to see if there's a viability, accountability in the plan, and then they'll hold hearings and then they will likely bring back Congress if the plans are acceptable in order to consider it, but one thing while they have postponed this vote, Heidi -- postponed the decision. One thing that is not resolved and is important here is the idea of where is this money coming from?
Democratic leaders yesterday didn't address where the funds would come from and as you and I have been talking about, that was the core of the divide between Democrats and Republicans all this week. Some want to use the money from the financial industry bailouts. Republicans in the Bush administration wanted to use money from an existing loan program, that still needs to be resolved.
COLLINS: Yes, certainly because it seems like that would be the first step, it will make quite a difference where that money is coming from certainly and in the minds of the people at home as well. Kate Bolduan, we know you're on top of it. Thank you. We'll check back later on.
BOLDUAN: OK. Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: So will she or won't she? The question everybody seems to be asking about Hillary Clinton possibly becoming the next secretary of state. We have new information about that big job offer on Barack Obama's cabinet. Let's go now to CNN's Jessica Yellin in Chicago.
The new information is, tada!
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tada!
Heidi, multiple aides tell CNN that Senator Clinton is on track to be nominated to become secretary of state sometime after Thanksgiving. Now, this is the first time we've heard from aides inside the transition that this is the direction that they are affirmatively moving in, and that they feel that the vetting process has been successful so far. You recall earlier this week, former President Bill Clinton made clear that he will make extraordinary concessions to clear the way for his wife to be secretary of state, if she chooses to, essentially eliminating any conflicts of interest by agreeing to step down, possibly from day-to-day running of his foundation and disclosing the donors are, letting future speeches go before strict ethics review, those sorts of things.
Apparently this has really cleared the way for her but the outstanding question is, will she ultimately say yes? Is this what she wants to do and at the same time, as we're hearing all these, we're also hearing from aides on Capitol Hill that Senate Democratic leadership is prepared to offer her a new role in the Senate if she should choose to stay. So she has a number of options and the ball seems to be in her court. Senator Clinton has a choice to make.
COLLINS: I think one of those options they have talking about is her working much more closely with the health policies in this country. So I guess she'd be working with ultimately Tom Daschle if she chose to do that, correct?
YELLIN: Yes, but one of the concerns from the Clinton camp is that Senator Clinton has championed health care reform all along and we've been told by aides that she was hoping to have a very senior role driving that in the Senate. Instead Senator Kennedy is going to be driving that in the Senate so it a bit blocks her pass there. He's given her a key role if she wants to stay but she's not going to be the primary point person and that might be a factor driving her to favor secretary of state, who knows.
COLLINS: It sounds like it. I just want to ask you quickly, should we make anything of this wording, using words like "on track" or is that just semantics?
YELLIN: That is carefully worded for a good reason, because you know, on the way to the altar, a lot could happen. So it looks like they're engaged, maybe it seems like they're getting married but who knows if this will fall apart before they get to the church. A lot of things can get in the way.
COLLINS: Another case of the runaway bride here? Certainly not. All right. Jessica Yellin, appreciate that. Thank you.
President-elect Barack Obama's cell phone records breached. Verizon Wireless says a number of employees accessed by Obama's personal account without authorization. An Obama transition spokesman says no e-mails or voice mails were monitored and he says Obama no longer uses the phone. Verizon is launching an investigation to find out if the information was shared with other employees or with people outside the company. The employees involved in the incident are on leave without pay and could be fired.
Economic assistance, President Bush heading to another summit this morning, looking for help with financial reforms.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A blow to the Bush administration's detainee policy. A federal judge ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The judge said government evidence linking the five to Al Qaeda was not credible because it came from a single unidentified source. No word yet from the Justice Department on whether it will appeal the ruling.
Another economic summit, a week after G-20 leaders gathered in Washington, President Bush heads to the APEC summit in Peru with the same financial message. CNN's Elaine Quijano joining us live from the White House with more on this meeting.
Hi there, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi.
Well President Bush attends this APEC meeting every year and this year of course added significance, taking place against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. We should not that the 21 nations of APEC together make up nearly half of the world's trade, certainly a significant amount and this year's meeting as you noted is coming on the heels of that international financial summit here in Washington over the weekend, a meeting where we saw so-called G-20 leaders, the leaders of the world 20 developed and developing nations come together.
Now in the end, those leaders agreed on a statement of broad principles, principles to shape their country's response not only to the current financial crisis but also how to prevent any crises from happening in the future. Now the president in an interview yesterday that this APEC summit will really be an opportunity for the APEC countries now to either get behind that statement of principles going forward or if they have some disagreements about it, to express their views at that time. So the President, Heidi, now on his way to Lima, Peru and he returns to Washington on Sunday -- Heidi?
COLLINS: OK. An interesting thing here, sort of on the sidelines of the summit, Elaine, there may be some talks, I understand, on North Korea, could you tell us anything about that?
QUIJANO: Yes, that's exactly right. In fact, later today President Bush is slated to sit down with China's president, Hu Jintao to talk about this very issue. You know China is a country with arguably the most influence over North Korea. So President Bush is really trying to enlist China's help even further in trying to persuade North Korea to move ahead with its nuclear disarmament deal.
The President also we should note, Heidi, is going to meet tomorrow with the leaders of Japan and South Korea on this very same issue. So a lot on the agenda. But as you noted these talks on North Korea of course happening on the sidelines of the actual APEC summit -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Understand. We'll look for news to come out of that. Elaine Quijano at the White House for us this morning. Thank you.
A judge could toss out indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez today. A Houston area grand jury brought charges over the pair's alleged involvement in private federal prisons in Texas. Critics say the district attorney is grandstanding before leaving office. In Vice President Cheney's case, he is being held responsible for alleged abuse at one prison because he invested in the company running the facility. Either Cheney or Gonzalez are expected in court today.
Upstate New York, boy, slammed by lake-effect snow, as many as two feet of snow falling in areas along Lake Erie. These pictures are from Sinclairville, New York, that's part-way between Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania. We have just the guy to talk more about that, CNN's Reynolds Wolf is standing by in the snow center.
I like calling it the snow center.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I bet you do. You know it is that time of the year, we're talking about the early winter season, not officially into winter yet but already getting the lake-effect snow. And Heidi we think about water. Water is always in a constant state of evaporation. When you have that wind that comes in from the northwest, it interacts with that moisture, a shallow layer of cold air and that is what is bringing in the snow. You know the video we showed you moments ago from Sinclairville -- let's zoom in a little bit and show you that location, we got buffalo here, you have Erie, Pennsylvania, and right along 90, the snow's beginning to develop. We should see a little bit of a break in the hour as we get to the midday hours but then it's going to crank back up again and we could see snowfall there. Also back toward Syracuse just a light touch of snow, just the north and northwest of that region but later on today, tomorrow, looks like we could see a foot of snow in Syracuse.
Other spots could be anywhere, say three to seven south of Buffalo and even into Michigan, three to five inches anywhere in the upper peninsula but in southern half southwestern Michigan, anywhere from four to eight. It looks like Chicago is going to escape this one, nothing expected for them but just cool and breezy.
Cool and breezy for a good part of the southeast, too. High pressure forming over parts of the central plains. At the same time an area of low pressure forming off of the eastern seaboard. The combination of this we refer to as a tight pressure gradient, wind tunnel effect and that will pull the cold air into the southeast and Atlanta. We're expecting high temperatures today to be a bit on the chilly side, only going to 45 degrees by Piedmont Park. Nashville, music city with 38 degrees. 43 in Billings. 52 in Portland.
We got a combination of rain, sleet and snow in Seattle. Seattle mainly just a rainfall but in the higher elevations of the cascades we're talking about that white precipitation, the snow is going to continue. Snow level dropping to 5,000 feet and then back over to Las Vegas along the strip, 74 degrees. 79 at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. San Francisco, pier 39 with 64 degrees by Alcatraz and Houston and Dallas mainly into the low to mid, even some upper 50s. Looks like a great day for much of Texas.
Let's send it back to you, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Reynolds, thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
COLLINS: And we will continue to watch this story for you. The condition of Attorney General Michael Mukasey, following his collapse last night. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta lends his expertise in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A developing story this morning involving Attorney General Michael Mukasey. He collapsed last night while delivering a speech in Washington and moments ago the Justice Department described what happened as a fainting spell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TALAMONA: The doctors are describing him as very fit. All of the tests have been reassuring. There's no indication that he suffered a stroke or any heart-related incident. It really appears to be a fainting spell. You know, he works long days. He's very active. It was a late night speech under hot lights, so all indications at this point are basically a fainting spell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us now.
And Sanjay, I know you've had a chance as many of us have to look closely at this video. It's pretty upsetting video actually to see him fall like that. But you are a neurosurgeon and that's why we have you here today obviously. What do you see when you look at this, and now that we have this information from the Justice Department, because I'm not sure if that came directly from doctors, that it was seemingly a fainting spell.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, that may have been sort of her interpretation, the spokeswoman there. There are clues when you look at this video and you listen to it as well. I think doctors, neurosurgeons -- go ahead and take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MUKASEY, ATTORNEY GENERA: ... and that the country is -- as a result, as a result, as a result.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: You hear some repeating of words, finding difficulty, seems to falter to his right and then collapses entirely. There are some clues in there, the difficulty with speech, you worry about lack of blood flow to the speech areas of the brain. That's typically located on the left side of the brain that, also controls the right side of the body which may have been why he sort of drooped on the right side of his face, and fell to the right and then passed out or fainted because of the lack of blood flow to the brain.
You know, you see the brain there, you can have little interruptions of blood flow to the brain that can cause this. That can cause fainting, which is sort of a wastebasket term. That can be not so dangerous cause of fainting like someone having the flu and getting dehydrated or more dangerous causes of fainting where you have a blood clot for example in one of the blood vessels near the brain.
COLLINS: Yes. And so obviously we have heard also from the Justice Department and our Jeanne Meserve following the story that there are tests going on to make sure that he very much is ready to get out of the hospital. So that's got to be a good sign but what are the other tests they'd be doing, do you think?
GUPTA: Well, it is a very good sign certainly that he is awake, conversant. His vital signs are stable. But it's also an important clue to say that whatever happened was temporary, you still got figure out what happened though which means tests like a C.A.T. scan of the brain, for example, to see if anything is happening in the brain, checking his blood pressure, checking his blood to see if his blood sugar for example was too low -
COLLINS: Sure.
GUPTA: But also looking at the blood vessels in the neck, that supply blood to the brain, make sure they're not blocked or have narrowings of any sort. Those are the sort of tests they do. That's pretty standard in someone who has had an episode like this.
COLLINS: OK. Well, we will be watching very closely obviously, and everybody wishing him the best.
GUPTA: Yes, speedy recovery.
COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE) that video, that's for sure.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.
GUPTA: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Asking for directions on Wall Street, where is the market headed today? One hour after the opening bell, we'll have a live update from the New York Stock Exchange.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A political cliffhanger in Minnesota. Votes are being recounted in the Senate race between incumbent Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken and in the last two days, Coleman's slight edge over Franken has narrowed from 206 votes to 129. But nearly 60 percent of the ballots have yet to be tallied. Both candidates have lost some votes because of challenged ballots. State election officials won't rule on those disputed votes until mid-December.
Mitt Romney heading to Georgia today in hopes of showing support for Senator Saxby Chambliss, the Republican incumbent who is in a heated runoff race with Democrat Jim Martin. Romney is the latest big name to campaign in Georgia. John McCain and Mike Huckabee stumped for Chambliss last week and Bill Clinton headlined a rally for Martin on Wednesday.
A top adviser to the first President Bush now informally advising President-elect Obama and he has got some advice about a current Bush cabinet member.
CNN's Ed Henry has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Guess who's been privately talking to President-elect Barack Obama about foreign policy? Republican Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to former President George Herbert Walker Bush. Scowcroft who opposed the war in Iraq is a fierce critic of the current Bush administration's approach.
BRENT SCOWCROFT, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think we developed in the Republican Party a, well, you know, the buzzword for it is neoconism, but I think what it is, it's an ideology. It's really an idealistic approach to things but it's a combination of idealism and, if you will, brute force.
HENRY: Two sources familiar with the conversations confirm to CNN that Obama has been reaching out to Scowcroft for phone chats, even before he ran for president, and it has continued in recent days. A senior Obama aide told CNN the president-elect "respects and admires General Scowcroft's bipartisan pragmatic approach to foreign policy and looks forward to continuing the dialogue with General Scowcroft, as well as other key Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, to get the very best advice."
What makes the conversations intriguing, Scowcroft is very close to Defense Secretary Bob Gates, at a time when the President-elect is thinking about keeping Gates on the job, and Scowcroft recently said it would be a wise move for Obama.
SCOWCROFT: I actually think it would send the kind of signal that I think the president-elect intends or spoke about in his campaign, and that is that we need to work together. We need to work as Americans and I think I think giving Bob Gates some more time to do the kinds of things he's doing would be very wise course of action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A senior Obama aide told Ed Henry not to read too much into the president-elect conversations with Scowcroft but several foreign policy insiders who tipped us off to this are reading the tea leaves and they are wondering if Scowcroft is privately emerging as a go-between for Gates and Obama.
The financial turmoil on Wall Street has reached new lows. The S&P 500 began the day at its lowest level in more than 11 years, but we are seeing, dare I call it a rally? It's now only to the positive, Susan Lisovicz, by about 25 points, 32 points now but we did see to the positive three digits there for awhile.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, you know, you would want -- we did see a rally. We saw triple-digit gains at the open. It evaporated. We're still on the positive side but considering the damage that's been done just in the last two days, really speaks to the fear that is pervasive on Wall Street.
We talk a lot -- we have been talking a lot about the S&P closing at the lowest level since 1997. This resonates with a lot of our viewers, Heidi, because so many mutual funds track what the S&P 500 does.
It is down more than 50 percent from its record high of just October of last year and that is worse than the last bear market that ran from 2000 to 2002. There are only 13 of its 500 stocks that are up to the upside.
Ultimately, what's happening now may be recorded as a crash. Some said it's a slow motion crash. Those of us who work here, it doesn't seem like slow motion to us.
Where is the money going? Well, a lot of it is going into treasury. The treasury yields have just been historically low. The yields on some three-month T bills has been.3 percent, basically safety above all, just so that you can guarantee you get that money back.
What's happening right now? Blue chips are still on the plus side, but, well, given the high of the session, up 170 points, 42, we'll take it. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, is up 4 points and oil holding is steady under $50 a barrel, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Well, a lot of people are wondering and I know it's a huge question, but what's it going to take to turn the market around?
LISOVICZ: Well, you know, it's not like the situation has changed, Heidi.
COLLINS: No.
LISOVICZ: A lot of the things that we've been talking about are still out there. First of all, credit conditions are deteriorating. Why is that a crushing loss of confidence. You need to see the job market stabilized. We have a transition of power, President-elect Obama has not named his treasury secretary, for instance.
Will there be a stimulus plan? What's happening with TARP? He's going to get half of it. There's been some -- obviously some big changes, just in the direction of that very program. So what's the fate of the big three?
So, you know, there are a lot of questions out there.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Huge issues that remain unresolved, and in fact, you know, one thing that really helps lift the market just today with Citigroup, Citigroup shares which went under $5 yesterday, under pressure again, down 17 percent.
Vikram Pandit, the CEO, reportedly saying he doesn't plan to break up the company...
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: ... and Citigroup shares are under pressure, and that's -- that's been pushing the Dow lower and the S&P 500 lower, as well.
Still on the plus side, but again, this is not exactly what you'd call a convincing rally, Heidi.
COLLINS: Certainly so much unstability, that's for sure.
All right. We sure do appreciate it, Susan Lisovicz, thanks. LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: That $700 billion bailout, it is your money and it's been streaming in to the board rooms and bottom lines of corporate America, but what about the homeowners? Your neighbors and fellow taxpayers who are losing their home, is there help for them?
CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is in New York for us this morning.
So, Gerri, how much will homeowners actually see of all of this?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, hi there, Heidi.
Yes, the TARP money that we've talked so much about, this is your taxpayer dollars at work, some $700 billion. Let's look what this is going to pay for, OK?
$250 billion of this total $700 billion is going to banks. No homeowner money there. $40 billion to AIG, the big insurer. No homeowner money there. $60 billion leftover to spend, the big discussion in Congress, how are we going to get it to auto makers. No homeowner money there.
And then, finally, $350 billion left over for the next Congress to spend. So you can see, the TARP money, this big block of cash that is really right out of your pocket, no money here, no money here for homeowners and remember, Heidi, this is where the problem all started, with homeowners not being able to meet their mortgage.
This is what got the ball rolling, what now is influencing the stock market as you were just discussing with Susan and as we can see we're still not getting at the nexus of this.
COLLINS: Yes, yes, obviously not. And you know we've had other bailout programs in the past. Is it fair to compare them when we're talking about whether or not they were successful?
WILLIS: Well, let's talk about some of those plans. We had HOPE now, which was a voluntary program put together by the private sector. They say they've helped 2.3 million people out there.
But I have to tell you this is highly controversial. As a matter of fact, the head of the FDIC said in testimony just this week that some 4 percent of seriously, seriously delinquent mortgages are helped, given new mortgages, new mortgages are written, people -- those people are helped out with new mortgages, each and every month.
Only 4 percent, each and every month. So it would seem that we're not really getting at the problems here.
I want to remind you about some of the foreclosure numbers and where they're going. Last year we had 2.2 million in foreclosure filings. This year to date through October we have even more, 2.5 almost 2.6 million. Expectations are that number will actually go to 3 million by the end of the year and now what I'm hearing from my sources in the foreclosure business, we could have another 3 million next year. Why? Well, because jobless rates are so high and that's one of the primary reasons you have foreclosures in the first place.
People lose income, they can't pay their mortgage, they lose their house. So lots of questions out there today, where is the help for homeowners? We're still looking for more traction on that very issue -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, definitely. Some of the homeowners, though, with mortgages at least from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get some relief now with the news that we've been hearing this morning.
WILLIS: That's right. Well, you know, some 10,000 folks may get helped out. There's a reprieve, a moratorium for folks with the Freddie Mac loan between Thanksgiving and January 9th, about six and a half weeks, seven weeks in which foreclosures will not go forward.
So some people are going to get some help then. Freddie Mac telling servicers they've got to rewrite those loans but boy, I tell you, 10,000 does not compare to 3 million, not, not, in any way.
COLLINS: No.
WILLIS: So we're still looking for serious traction on this issue. Sheila Bair at the FDIC keeps talking about how we need to do more. She's come across with plans to do that. Still waiting.
COLLINS: Yes. Still waiting. All right. CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis -- Gerri, thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: So are you one of the homeowners on thin ice? Well, if so, the St. Louis Blues Hockey Team may be skating to your rescue. They're offering a little housing relief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER MCLOUGHLIN, ST. LOUIS BLUES CEO: There's a lot of headlines about bailout plan and we want to provide our own fan bailout plan. People are struggling economically. We're aware of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So here are the details that every Saturday home game, one lucky fan wins up to 1,000 bucks to pay mortgage or rent for the next four months.
Snow covering Mt. Hood, Oregon and the girl underneath this hood couldn't be happier. Several inches of snow fell on the cascade yesterday. Ski reports -- resorts, that is, are reporting this early winter blast and happy about gearing up for the busy holiday week. Oregon, not the only state, though, under snow. Parts of the northeast and Midwest also digging out.
Reynolds Wolf standing by now to talk a little bit more about this. So kind of hitting a lot of different parts of the country, huh?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Yes. If the snow is in that ski resort, then everybody really, really got to be careful driving out there, that's for sure.
WOLF: I'm singing the same tune. There you go.
COLLINS: All right. I love what he's saying.
WOLF: You bet.
COLLINS: Reynolds, thank you.
Just moments ago, information here to the CNN NEWSROOM now. Nebraska lawmakers closed a loophole in their Safe Haven law, setting the age limit to 30-day-old infants.
We've been talking about this story for awhile now. The law was actually originally meant to protect newborns from being abandoned. Parents could drop them off at local hospitals no questions asked.
Well, that original law, though, did not have an age limit so people from all over the country have been dumping older children at hospitals. Many of them troubled teenagers.
The governor is expected to sign a bill this afternoon. It will go into effect at 12:01 on Saturday.
Relief at the pump, a little hopscotch around the world to see how your gas prices compare to the rest of the globe.
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COLLINS: Drive with a smile. Gas prices have dropped for the 65th day in a row now. The national average just under $1.99 a gallon. Can you believe that? According to AAA, this is the cheapest gas has been since March of '05, more than three and a half years ago.
You know those prices are dropping at your corner gas station but how much are drivers around the rest of the world paying?
CNN correspondents offer their perspectives from the pump.
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EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Emily Chang in Beijing, where the Chinese government sets the price of gas to control inflation. Even though the price of oil has plunged, prices at the pump here in China haven't changed at all. It's about $3.50 a gallon. That's about 50 percent more than it is in the U.S.
Some Chinese say they're driving less. Taxi drivers would pull over in bad traffic to get better mileage. Meantime, petroleum companies in China are cashing in making tens of millions of dollars more per day.
There's talk officials might lower the cost of fuel for the first time in two years, but also add an additional tax so everyone is waiting to see how that will affect what they pay at the pump.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF (on camera): I'm Alessio Vinci outside of a gas station in Rome. When motorists come here to fill up their cars and even their mopeds, the first thing they check is that number there, the cost of each liter of gas.
Today 1.22 for one liter of gas. Five months ago it peaked at more than $1.50 and consumer groups are saying that a trend is positive in these times of economic troubles but they also say they will be totally satisfied when that number there goes below 1.20, because that's where it should be, now that the price of a barrel of oil is around $50.
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm Alphonso Van Marsh in London, where across the United Kingdom, major petrol or gas suppliers are announcing cuts in what they charge consumers at the pump.
Perhaps giving in to consumer demand that prices at boards like this one should better reflect the reduction in the cost of oil per barrel, for a lot of these oil and gas suppliers, this is the fifth, sixth, maybe even the tenth price reduction since July, on average now it costs about $18 less to fill the tank than it did this summer.
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COLLINS: By the way, if you look at those numbers in London and Rome and thought the prices looked low, they aren't. In countries across Europe, gas is sold, as you've heard from our correspondent, in liters not gallons.
Liters or gallons, even with gas below $2 a gallon, momentum is building for the electric car. A town that made the cable car famous now has its sights set on plug-in cars.
Stephanie Elam has our energy fix from New York now.
Good morning to you, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Yes, we've been talking a lot about Detroit's problems and tumbling gasoline prices, all of which may kill much-anticipated plans for an electric car.
Now assuming that GM sticks around -- let's just assume that it will be there, right? GM still plans to bring the plug-in Chevy Volt to showrooms in 2010. It can go 40 miles without a drop of gas and one city is ready to welcome it, that would be the San Francisco Bay area.
It's working with a startup company called Better Place to get the needed infrastructure in place. The city wants to become the electric car capital of the United States. Better Place plans to invest $1 billion to install 250,000 charging stations by 2012.
And check this out, the electric outlets, they're going to be near homes, businesses, parking lots and government buildings, and the company also wants to build hundreds of battery switching stations where drivers will switch out dead batteries for charged ones. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, it's interesting, though, when gas is so cheap it kind of seems like it makes it a pretty tough sell, the electric car. So clearly it's going to take a whole lot of cities to make this type of effort happen.
ELAM: Yes, you know, and San Francisco, the whole Bay Area, is known for its innovation, and its beauty. Of course I'm from there so that's why I feel so strongly about it.
COLLINS: Of course you do.
ELAM: But it is true. It's going to take more than just San Francisco and the Silicon Valley to make this happen. Power companies are charged up about the possibility of electric cars. After all, they'll be plugged into their grid.
Top executives from several utilities across the country say they are considering buying thousands of plug-in vehicles to help actually jump-start their adoption. While all that battery charging will add to their bottom line, power companies insist electric cars won't exactly be a cash cow.
In fact, one utility we spoke to says recharging a plug-in hybrid overnight uses the same amount of energy as leaving your hair dryer on all night. So obviously it's not going to be a big drain on the grid.
Still, to become a reality GM has to, obviously, survive until the 2010 launch of the Chevy Volt and obviously we're keeping our eyes on that. So for more information there you can check out CNNMoney.com, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Stephanie Elam with our Energy Fix this morning, thank you, Stephanie.
ELAM: Sure.
COLLINS: Don't have any dollars to slip in to the Salvation Army kettle this holiday season? Don't worry about it. At some locations you can now use your credit card. Just swipe your card at the red stand, punch in how much you'd like to donate, get a receipt and go about your business.
Paying off the pirates. Ship owners coming up with the cash, but that's just the start of a dangerous dance with the hijackers.
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COLLINS: A six-year term for Russia's next president. The Lower House of Parliament approved a constitutional change this morning. The Upper House still has to approve the change. There's speculation in Russia the change could mean an earlier return for Vladimir Putin.
The former president and current prime minister could force early elections. Putin's hand-picked successor Dmitry Medvedev pushed for the term limit change even though he does not benefit from it.
A pirate's ransom. Kenya's foreign minister puts a price tag of 150 million over the past year all for hijacked ships off of the coast of Somalia. He's calling on ship owners to stand down but that is easier said than done.
More now from international security correspondent, Paula Newton.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The moment the Syria Star was hijacked it went from being a supertanker to a cash cow.
Maritime security experts say it is likely the only way to rescue the 25 hostages is to pay the pirates a multimillion-dollar ransom. Negotiations on that payoff are already under way.
PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: We do not like to negotiate with either terrorists or hijackers, but the owners of the tanker are -- the owner of the tanker, they are with (INAUDIBLE) an arbiter so what happens there.
NEWTON: A maritime security source now involved in ransom negotiations with hijacked ships tells CNN after a lead negotiator gets agreement on a ransom, one of most complicated and dangerous sticking points is how to physically transfer millions of dollars to pirates.
The security expert says months ago a complicated web of bank transfers using offshore jurisdictions was preferred, but now, pirates are demanding cold, hard cash up front, and it can involve many daring middlemen who in the past have been killed delivering ransom.
And more and more, that money is being funneled through prime syndicates around the world who take their cut, transport the rest to the pirates, and use their profit to bankroll even bolder tacks with bigger payoffs.
PETER HINCHCLIFFE, INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF SHIPPING: What alternative does the ship owner have? It is an appalling situation, paying money knowing that that will further enhance the capabilities of the criminals ashore.
NEWTON: The key is how piracy is paying off onshore. Somali pirates are increasingly influential, well armed and even celebrated in Somalia. CHRIS AUSTEN, MARINE SECURITY EXPERT: It's become a very lucrative revenue stream for them and I think they'll be very reluctant to see, to see it disappear.
NEWTON: Even with the world's most powerful navies now on the hunt for modern-day Captain Hooks, most pirates can still bank on a big payoff, which only emboldens them to take to the sea once more.
Paula Newton, CNN, London.
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COLLINS: Corruption crackdown in Mexico, officials there say the country's former drug czar has been arrested.
(INAUDIBLE) Ramirez (INAUDIBLE) is accused of taking $450,000 in bribes from drug traffickers. He was in office from 2006 until this August. Officials say he met with drug cartel members during that time and agreed to give them information on investigations in exchange for the cash.
More than 30 officials have been arrested since July as part of the government's massive anti-corruption operation.
The global financial crisis, President Bush headed to Peru for talks with other world leaders hoping to get more nations on board for a fix.
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COLLINS: A light day in space for the shuttle Astronauts today getting a break after two days of complicated spacewalks but they don't get the whole day off. They're still trying to get a new water recycling and purification system running. Plus they'll re-fire the shuttle's thrusters, taking the shuttle and the space station into a new orbit about a mile higher.
A successful test for the new generation of American space travel. Scientists firing off a motor used in emergencies to separate the astronaut's crew capsule from a live rocket. The Aries rocket is expected to help replace the space shuttle.
Bullet heading for his heart and he lives to tell the tale.
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R.J. RICHARD, HIT BY BULLET: I'm very glad to tell the story. Not be the story.
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COLLINS: A Louisiana homeowner was out cutting his grass when his mower hit a bullet. The bullet flew toward him and hit the cell phone in his shirt pocket, giving him a lot more extra minutes in his life. Just a few miles west of Slidell major efforts are under way to bring law and order to the Big Easy. New Orleans may have survived Hurricane Katrina but now crime, corruption and bureaucracy threatens to bring it down.
This Saturday and Sunday, "CNN PRESENTS: ONE CRIME AT A TIME." It takes a critical look at the factors that plague New Orleans and endanger its future.
I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great weekend and a week for that matter, everybody. I'll see you back here 9:00 a.m. after Thanksgiving.
CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Fredricka Whitfield.
