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President Bush Speaks at APEC Forum; Obama Administration Taking Shape; Big 3 Bailout; CNN Heroes Thanksgiving Night; Turkey Feast on the Cheap
Aired November 22, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to break in to our programming of "OPEN HOUSE" to take you live now to Lima, Peru. President Bush on essentially a farewell diplomatic trip right now, meeting with the APEC forum, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, at the podium right now.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ...needed to be sitting at the same table to have an honest, fruitful dialogue.
(APPLAUSE)
After all, nations in Asia and Latin America now contribute more to the world economy than ever before. Nations are feeling the painful effects of the financial crisis, I understand that. And so, all of us need to be involved in the solution, and we'll discuss this during our APEC meetings here starting today.
At the summit, leaders from around the world sent a powerful message of unity and determination. We agreed on principles and actions to modernize the financial structures of the 21st century. There's a recognition that while our economies have changed, the financial structures that we were dealing with were primarily written in the 20th century.
We believe in transparency and integrity of the markets. Going to make sure that firms and financial products are subject to proper regulation and oversight. We agree that the world's financial authorities must improve cooperation, that governments must keep their promises to the developing world.
One point I'll make this morning at the APEC Summit is to say that the United States is committed to improving social justice, and we will not let this economic turmoil prevent us from helping nations educate their people, provide good health care, feed the hungry, and deal with diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria.
We agreed that we must reform the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to better reflect the important role of developing nations, and we agreed to keep our markets open and firmly reject protectionism.
(APPLAUSE) All these steps are essential to rebuilding confidence in our financial systems. If the only way to regain strength in the long term is sustained economic growth. And among the most powerful engines of that growth are the businesses and workers and entrepreneurs of the Asia Pacific region.
A few decades ago, a statement like this would have seemed unimaginable. Many Asian Pacific economies were mired in poverty, their governments pursued backward economic policies. Then, leaders started to make bold decisions by opening up their markets, by welcoming investment and trade, and by tapping the potential of the private sector. The results have astonished the world.
In the midst of all this turmoil, it's important to remember what has taken place as we chart our future. The APEC region this year in the global economy has grown nearly 55 percent. Isn't that interesting, when we meet today in Lima, Peru, about 55 percent of the total world's economy will be at that table?
Single generation the percentage of East Asians living in poverty has plummeted from nearly 80 percent to 18 percent. We're witnessing a dramatic shift of history as the center of the world economic stage moves from West to East, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Some view the rise of Asia Pacific with suspicion and fear. America doesn't. The United States welcomes the success of emerging economies throughout the region. We welcome the new hope that comes when people escape poverty and join a competent middle class. We welcome new buyers for our products and new investors for American enterprise. We welcome new competition that leads our own workers and businesses to be more efficient.
An interconnected global economy, the gains of any advance the interests of all. So, over the past eight years, America has gauged this vital region more closely than ever before. Continuing that engagement is especially important during the times of economic strain. The policies of free enterprise that lifted up so many in this region can help chart a path to recovery for the whole world.
That's what's important for people to know, that which enabled us to be successful in the past must be used to help us chart a more hopeful future for tomorrow. With confidence in our ideals, we can turn the challenge we face today to an opportunity and lead the way toward a new era of prosperity for the Asia Pacific and beyond.
So, I want to talk today about how to do that. I want to focus -- and I think we ought to focus our efforts on three great forces for economic growth: free markets, free trade, and free people.
(APPLAUSE)
First, our nations must maintain confidence in the power of free markets. I know, look, in the wake of the financial crisis, free markets have been under very harsh criticism from the left and from the right. It's true that free market system is not perfect, can be subject to excesses and abuse. As we've seen in recent months, there are times when government intervention is essential to restart frozen markets and to protect overall economic health. Yet, it is also essential that nations resist the temptation to over-correct by imposing regulations that would stifle innovation and choke off growth.
The verdict of history is unmistakable. The greater threat to prosperity is not too little government involvement in the market, it is too much. Over the decades, the free market system has proved the most efficient way and the just way of structuring an economy. Free markets offer people the freedom to choose where they work and what they want. Offers people the opportunity to buy or sell products as they see fit. Gives people the dignity that comes with profiting from their talent and their hard work.
Free markets provide the incentives to lead to prosperity, the incentive to work, to innovate, to save and invest wisely and to create jobs for others. And as millions of people pursue these incentives together, whole societies benefit.
No reason in the world demonstrates the power of free markets more vividly than the Asia Pacific. Free markets helped Japan grow into the world's second largest economy. Free markets helped South Korea make itself one of the most technologically advanced nations on earth. Free markets helped Chile triple its economy and cut its poverty rate by more than two-thirds over the past two decades. And last year, free market policies helped make Peru's economy the second fastest growing in APEC.
Secondly, our nations must keep our commitment to free trade. When nations open their markets to trade and investment, businesses and farmers and workers find new buyers for their products. Consumers benefit because they have more choices and better prices. Entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground with funding from anywhere in the world.
Trade is seen as controversial in some places, but here in the Asia Pacific region, its benefits are beyond doubt. Trade transformed the economies of the Asian tiger, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan into global powerhouses.
Trade fueled the rise of a new generation of tigers, nations like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. And in the most dramatic case of all, trade help lift China out of isolation and poverty, and into three decades of rapid economic growth and closer engagement with the world.
Expanding trade and investment has been one of the highest priorities of my administration. When I took office, America had free trade agreements in force with only three nations. Today we have agreements in force with 14, including China, Singapore, and Australia.
We have agreements that will soon take effect with three more countries, including Peru. We've concluded agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. And it is extremely disappointing that the United States Congress adjourned without passing these three agreements, and I urge all those who support free trade to continue pressing the case for the Congress to pass free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama and South Korea.
(APPLAUSE)
I just had a chance to have a cup of coffee with President Aribe. He is a strong leader. He's a good friend. And our Congress and our government must never turn our back on such a friend as Aribe.
(APPLAUSE)
In addition to negotiating these free trade agreements, my administration supported the accession of China, Taiwan and Vietnam into the World Trade Organization. We're negotiating bilateral investment treaties with China and Vietnam. We're discussing similar agreements with Taiwan, Indonesia, and Russia.
These steps have brought benefits to America, and they brought benefits to our trading partners. Since I took office, America's trade with the world has grown from $2.5 trillion to $4 trillion, an increase of nearly 60 percent. Trade with Chile and the United States has more than doubled. Trade between Peru and the United States has more than doubled. And trade when China and the United States has more than tripled.
Overall, America's trade with APEC nations now counts for nearly two-thirds of our trade in the world. Greater economic integration in the Asia-Pacific advances the interest of all.
So earlier this year, America began discussions on a new reasonable free trade agreement with Brunei and Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. This agreement has the potential to open up new opportunities across the region, and we welcome other APEC members to join. And we appreciate Australia and Peru's recent announcements that they will join. Eventually, this agreement could be the foundation of something even more promising, a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific where goods and services and capital flow across borders without barriers.
The nations of this region must also continue working to break down trade barriers at the global level. We have an immediate opportunity to do so through the Doha Round at the WTO.
One of the enduring lessons of the Great Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin. In our summit in Washington last weekend, leaders from around the world expressed strong support for completing Doha.
Isn't that interesting? Over 20 nations at the table from all different kinds of backgrounds expressed solidarity with the idea of completing Doha, and now we've got to put those words into action.
I recognize I'm leaving office in two months, but nevertheless, this administration will push hard to put the modalities in place so that Doha can be completed, and so we can send the message we refuse to accept protectionism in the 21st century.
(APPLAUSE)
The third great force for economic growth in this region is the limitless potential of free people. As the business leaders in this room understand, the greatest resource any country has is the creativity of its citizens. That's what economists call human capital. And the best way to unleash that resource is to build healthy, educated, and democratic societies.
One requirement of any free and prosperous society is accountable and effective government. The United States launched the Millennium Challenge account to invest in nations that fight corruption, pursue wise economic policies, and invest in the health and education of their citizens.
Today, Millennium Challenge program supports some of the world's most promising developing nations from Indonesia to the Philippines to Peru. This initiative demonstrates a larger truth. Whether it leans left or right, any government that is honest with its people, that exists to serve the people, that advances social justice and desires peace will have a partner in the United States of America.
America is helping governments lift the daily burdens that hold their people back such as hunger and ignorance and disease, cooperating with APEC nations to adopt better farming practices and build up local farmer markets. We're partnering with leaders to defeat the AIDS epidemic in places like Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. We're supporting countries like Indonesia that invest in basic education.
We're committed to these efforts. And as I said earlier, we'll be committed to these efforts regardless of the ebb and flow of the markets. And our partners can be confident that the compassion agenda of the United States of America will continue.
Ultimately, the only way for a nation to realize its full potential is for its people to live in freedom. That includes both economic and political freedom.
When people are free to profit from their abilities, they prosper. When people prosper, they demand more liberty in other areas of their lives, and we have seen this story unfold throughout this region.
The United States and other free nations are taking practical steps to support young democracies through the Asia-Pacific democracy partnership. We recognize that democracies develop at their own speeds consistent with their own cultures, but when people experience the dignity and the opportunity that freedom brings, they never turn back.
I've told people a lot since my presidency this truth -- I believe there is an almighty. And I believe a gift of that almighty to every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth is freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
As we look to the future, the tasks facing our nations are no doubt demanding. Recovering from the financial crisis is going to take time, but we'll recover, and in so doing begin a new era of prosperity.
The nations of APEC have faced tests before. We have risen to meet them together, and we will do so again.
Over the past eight years we have taken measures to protect our people from terror and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We've responded to natural disasters. We've worked to prevent the spread of potential pandemic diseases like Avian Flu and SARS.
We've worked to confront climate change and usher in a new era of clean energy. We're standing for a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, and with a Burma free of repression. Above all, we can be confident in the future of this region because we know the spirit of its people, and I have seen it first hand.
When I attended my first APEC summit in Shanghai just a few weeks after September the 11th, 2001, I said that America would always remember the signs of support from our friends in the region. I remember the American flag flying from every fire truck in Montreal, Canada. I remember children kneeling in silent prayer outside our embassy in Seoul.
I remember baseball players in Japan observing moments of silence. I remember a sign handwritten in English at a candlelight vigil in Beijing that read, "Freedom and justice will not be stopped."
The bonds of unity we felt then remain today, and they will always remain. Long after this crisis has passed, the United States of America will stay engaged in this region. We will continue working with our partners to build an Asia-Pacific where people can work and worship and trade in freedom, where children grow up with hope and pursue their dreams, and where thriving, prosperous nations continue to inspire the world.
Thanks for letting me come by.
(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
God bless.
(APPLAUSE)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: All right. President Bush there in Peru. That's the APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic forum. Touting his record a bit down there at the summit. Kind of a swan song maybe to some of these leaders. This may be his last trip as the president of the United States, last foreign trip, anyway, as president of the United States.
Talking about still getting on Congress a little bit for not passing a couple of free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, South Korea as well. But this APEC summit happens every year. Leaders of 21 countries gather to talk about economic issues. We're listening in to the president there.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: This also comes on the heels of a meeting in Washington earlier this month of the G-20.
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: Emerging nations, powerful nations talking about the economy once again.
HOLMES: That one was kind of hastily thrown together in just a few days. An emergency meeting almost, yes.
LONG: I want to mention we continue to stream that live event. The APEC summit continues throughout the day. The president is meeting with many influential leaders around the world.
We're going to continue to cover that on our Web site, CNN.com. Just go to CNN.com/live.
HOLMES: And here as well. But we will start with our next hour of CNN NEWSROOM right now.
Well, we've been listening to President Bush. Now let's talk about the president-elect. He's revealing a plan that includes more than two million jobs to be created.
The ball now in the court of the big three automakers as well. They're hoping for a big bailout.
LONG: We're learning more this morning about what you should do with your old electronics, old BlackBerrys.
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: Old cell phones, old computers.
HOLMES: You can't just put them in the trash.
LONG: Yes. Being dedicated to the Earth, doing it the right way. You can drop these items off free if you happen to be in the Atlanta area today. That story coming up this morning.
This is CNN NEWSROOM. From the CNN Center here in Atlanta, it's Saturday, November 22nd. I'm in today for Betty Nguyen, and I'm Melissa Long.
HOLMES: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It is about quarter after 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. About 7:15 on the West Coast. Let's get you caught up on what's happening all over the place, including the transition to power happening right here in the U.S.
We do expect some key cabinet announcements as soon as Monday from President-elect Obama. Sources say he's on track to name his pick for treasury secretary.
We want to go now live to Chicago, CNN's Ed Henry. Ed, I assume you got an apartment in Chicago by now you've been there so long, buddy. Tell us, who is this guy Timothy Geithner? And tell us why the markets and investors seem to like him.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, T.J.
You're absolutely right, you saw a little bit of a bounce in the markets, almost a 500-point increase in the Dow yesterday afternoon. A late rally because of the news about Tim Geithner being on track to be treasury secretary.
He's a known quantity on Wall Street as the head of the New York Fed, and the reason why the Obama transition team wants to roll it out so early next week is they want to try to boost some more confidence in the markets as well, because they see the financial crisis getting worse, frankly, during this transition period. President Bush is a lame duck.
Barack Obama keeps saying there's only one president at a time, he doesn't have the authority to move forward on his own economic recovery plan. So what they're trying to do is at least roll out their new team next week to show the markets that they're going to be ready to hit the ground running on January 20th when Barack Obama is sworn in.
Meanwhile, they're going to move on from economic security to national security after Thanksgiving. Sources close to the transition also telling CNN that Hillary Clinton is on track to be secretary of state. And when you talk to various experts in the foreign policy world, they say when you see this kind of team that's coming together, they think Barack Obama is trying to build a team of a lot of talented, experienced people for the cabinet to attack a whole host of problems he has to confront.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN BENJAMIN, CENTER ON THE UNITED STATES & EUROPE: Not only are these skilled people, but these are energetic and dynamic people. And I think it speaks of a president who wants to take on what is just an enormous inbox of problems and wants to make real headway. This is not about playing small ball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Not playing small ball. Obviously, it's going to be a major challenge for the president-elect next year as he takes office to deal not just with this financial crisis, but obviously two wars that are going on, threats from nations like Iran as well. And that's why he's trying to put together this so-called team of rivals to deal with it -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, team of rivals, and he's got a pretty big rival among them being talked about right now. Ed Henry for us in Chicago, where he has been and will be. Kind sir, good to see you as always.
LONG: I think he's there through Thanksgiving, right?
HOLMES: Yes. He's just there through inauguration. We're just going to keep him there. He doesn't know it yet.
LONG: Oh, OK. Well, thanks for informing him of that.
You know, so many people have been talking at length, and they have opinions about the big three. Should we bail out Detroit?
HOLMES: Or should we not? Here's another few billion that needs to go to the automakers. "Too big to fail" are the words being thrown around. Well, for it or against it, we're going to have one side of the particular issue. See if this person can convince you that maybe you've got it wrong.
Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, to let them fail or give them $25 billion, that is the question for lawmakers right now trying to think about whether or not there needs to be a bailout for the big three automakers. Well, we have two people on different sides of this issue.
Lauren Fix, "The Car Coach," as she's called, a big backer of the auto industry, she's weighing in for us from Chicago. Good morning to you. Good morning. And also, Jeffrey Miron teaches economics at Harvard. And he says let them fail. All right.
Jeffrey, I'll start with you. I'm told now that these companies are just too big. We've got up to two-plus million jobs tied to these industries. You just can't let that happen.
JEFFREY MIRON, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I disagree. If we let them go bankrupt, they're going to be in existence but they're going to be owned by somebody else. They're going to be owned by their creditors. So most of what they're currently doing they will keep doing, but they will be pushed to do it in a more efficient way.
HOLMES: Well, Jeffrey, in your mind, you know, people don't want to go -- I don't want to go to GM or Chrysler or Ford and say, oh, this is a bankrupt company. I don't want to go invest in a $20,000, $30,000, $40,000-plus, ,$50,000 car in a bankrupt company. People are just -- their psyche, they're not going to want to do that.
MIRON: People bet their lives on bankrupt airlines all the time. They fly on the planes of bankrupt airlines every single day. There have been -- lots and lots of the U.S. fleet is in Chapter 11, and yet people get on those planes all the time.
HOLMES: Well, Lauren, he makes a point there, I guess. LAUREN FIX, "THE CAR COACH": That's true, but you've got to look at all of the people being affected like this. And the thing is, Ford is quite liquid right now. They're not the ones -- and if you give money to Chrysler, Cerberus is just going to sell them off to some holding company like a lot of these companies have been sold off.
But GM is a pinnacle here. They don't have any place to go. And in 2010, they're going to be in great position because they've already set up deals with the unions and everything.
But the thing is, if they don't have any money coming in -- and I'm not saying a bailout is the answer. There has to be some restrictions. You can't just gift them the money because they're General Motors. That would be a huge mistake from the taxpayers and from anyone.
HOLMES: So what's the option then? They need money. How are they going to get it?
FIX: Well, I'll tell you my option. I came up with a great idea. I think the oil companies should fund it, because they're the ones with all the money. They made all the profits on us.
HOLMES: Oh, goodness gracious. Now, that's not an option right now.
FIX: It would be a good one.
HOLMES: That may be a good idea. Maybe we need to float that around a little bit.
But Jeffrey, what about that? You talk about the companies would continue, but still, you know there's going to be some kind of adverse effect. And it's going to affect many people's jobs, maybe not the two million that some estimate could be lost, but a lot of people, even these industries, already hurting. More jobs are going to be lost, don't you agree?
MIRON: There will be jobs lost, absolutely, and there will be lower wages for the people in the auto industry unions. And if it's done well, for executives, as well as the line workers. But the point is somebody has got to bear the pain. GM is just not a viable company right now, and the question is, who pays for it?
My view is the shareholders and the creditors and the workers in General Motors have to pay for it, not the general taxpayer. It's not a question of whether, it's just a question of whom and of giving them incentive to be more efficient going forward.
HOLMES: And Lauren, what faith do we have? What have the companies shown us over the years that proves that they can -- I mean, that gives us any confidence that they can put together a good plan, put it before Congress, that plan be put into place, and they become viable, profitable companies again? Because they don't have a pretty good track record here. FIX: Well, in reality, we've got 1,300 companies that are supplying this automotive industry, and they are trying to be innovative. You cannot be innovative when you're not making money. If you don't have cash to be innovative -- and by the time that $25 billion from September finally actually gets in their hands, what company is going to say let's create new high-efficiency vehicles and when we don't have cash to spend?
HOLMES: But they haven't been innovative. They should have seen this. Other companies anticipated this.
FIX: The Volt is definitely there.
HOLMES: The Volt is late, isn't it?
FIX: They've got a two-stage hybrid that I've driven that actually works. And it's very innovative, and no one's got it.
HOLMES: That's true.
FIX: A two-stage hybrid is really one of the answers that gives you towing capacity, gives you drivability and good fuel efficiency, and they're not even bringing that out to market now. And that was put together by a conglomeration of corporations. So they do have technology waiting to go out, but at the L.A. Auto Show they didn't launch anything, and neither did Chrysler.
HOLMES: You're right, Lauren, about that point, about the Volt.
Jeffrey Miron, again, says let them fail. Lauren Fix actually has a fix. You know, I wonder if we can get any traction for that idea of getting the oil companies to help out here.
FIX: It would be nice.
HOLMES: We'll float that around and we'll make sure we give you credit for it.
Lauren Fix, Jeffrey Miron, good to see you guys this morning. Thank you so much.
MIRON: Thank you.
LONG: If you depend on gadgets, BlackBerrys, cell phones, laptops, large computers at home, what do you do with them when they're obsolete? Do you toss them or do you recycle them? Coming up, more on electronic waste and electronic recycling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning. 10:30 in the morning East Coast Time.
I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty Nguyen, who is on assignment.
HOLMES: On assignment out in L.A. We're actually going to talk to her in just a second and see what she's up to out there.
Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
A quick look at our top stories now. President Bush in Peru. Heard from him here at the top of the hour. He's pushing free trade as one solution to the global economic crisis. He's urging the 21- nation Asia-Pacific group not to enact any trade barriers in the next 12 months.
LONG: Also expecting announcements as soon as Monday about President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet choices. Sources are indicating Obama will nominate the New York Federal Reserve president as treasury secretary.
HOLMES: Well, the economy, issue #1 for just about everybody right now, including President-elect Obama. In his weekly radio address, which can also be seen on his Web site, Obama outlined an ambitious plan to boost the economy and create jobs. A lot of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I have already directed my economic team to come up with an economic recovery plan that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011. A plan big enough to meet the challenges we face, that I intend to sign soon after taking office.
We'll be working out the details in the weeks ahead, but it will be a two-year nationwide effort to jump-start job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy.
We'll put people back to work rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels, fuel-efficient cars, and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Senator Chris Dodd, a Democrat, says Barack Obama needs to do more, and do it now, to help save the auto industry.
Excuse me. My goodness. I have to get this asthma under control.
Dodd says the president-elect can't wait until January 20th, Inauguration Day, to get involved. Obama has been involved, to some extent right now. He's talking to congressional leaders and calling into meetings, but Senator Dodd says -- of course, Dodd is the Senate Banking Committee chairperson -- he's urging Obama to take a bigger stake in the situation right now.
LONG: Diagnosis -- take a little break, OK?
HOLMES: Yes, all right. LONG: The president-elect and Democratic congressional leaders support some kind of financial aid system for the big three automakers, but many Republican leaders suggest bankruptcy simply may be best. This week, Congress heard from the troubled three who are asking for a total of $25 billion in taxpayer funds. That's to keep them afloat until 2010, a key date, because that's when Ford, Chrysler and General Motors are slated to start saving money on health care coverage for retirees. Also a year when car sales are expected to pick up.
Now, if the auto industry doesn't find some way out of this mess, here is the cost: 1.6 million jobs could be lost; 266,000 employees work directly for the auto companies; another 740,000 come from the dealerships that would be out of business; another 610,000 auto supplier positions would also be impacted.
And labor pains felt in Hollywood? The Screen Actors Guild, SAG, says it will ask its members to authorize a strike. That word after marathon contract talks with producers broke off this morning. The two sides have been simply unable to reach an agreement on payment for Internet productions. The last Hollywood work stoppage -- I'm sure you remember it -- 100-day writers strike ending in February shut down production of many popular television shows.
Now, what do Hugh Jackman, Magic Johnson, Queen Al Abdullah all have in common?
HOLMES: They are coming together to celebrate. You know one person you can throw in there? Betty Nguyen is in that group.
They're all coming together to celebrate ordinary people making extraordinary things happen. We call them our CNN Heroes, and they will be honored in L.A. And my colleague, my co-normally...
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HOLMES: ... joins us now from L.A. with a preview. And Betty...
LONG: Congratulations, too.
HOLMES: Congratulations to you. Let's talk about you here in a second. It's usually all about you, but...
NGUYEN: Enough about me. Let's go to heroes.
HOLMES: What's going on out there, girl?
NGUYEN: Well, let me tell you, this is such an exciting event. You know, T.J., so often we talk about the problems in the world. Well, tonight we are celebrating people who are creating positive change, helping others all around the globe.
Want you to take a look at some of the preparations that have been taking place here in Los Angeles at the Kodak Theatre. It is amazing, the work that's being done, in fact, to prepare the theater for tonight's event. And it is going to be an all-star event. We have people from just around the nation, celebrities, stars, but more importantly, these heroes. And let me tell you about them. These are people who have done extraordinary things. I mean, they're ordinary people just like you and me who have decided, you know what? There is a problem here in this community, or over there in that country, and I'm going to do something about it.
In fact, there have been over 4,000 nominations of people around the world saying, I know a hero. This is someone who should be honored. We've taken those 4,000 nominations, and our blue ribbon panel of all kinds of celebrities and dignitaries have narrowed them down to 10 finalists.
Now, since October, those 10 finalists, people have been voting on it. Our viewers have been voting on it, they've been going to CNN.com. And our winner tonight will be announced at the Kodak Theatre. And it's more than just being named the CNN Hero of the Year. They are going to receive $100,000.
We're looking at some video from last year's awards, and it really was an all-star tribute. And this year, it is no exception, T.J. There are so many people lined up for this. Cameron Diaz, we have Lucy Liu, one of your favorites. She's going to be here tonight. We have Alicia Keys, John Legend.
It's really an extraordinary event, but most importantly, it's about really honoring and celebrating people who are doing great things in the world.
HOLMES: Alicia Keys, too?
NGUYEN: Yes. Oh, yes. And there's a surprise guest. I can't tell you who it is right now.
HOLMES: But you know who it is.
NGUYEN: But, you know, our very own Anderson Cooper is going to be here tonight.
HOLMES: Of course. Yes.
NGUYEN: He is hosting the event. And for the folks who aren't here in L.A. attending, you're not going to miss it by any means. It will air right here on CNN, Thanksgiving night. And what a day, when we're all giving thanks for all the wonderful things that we've received and done throughout the world. We're honoring our heroes as well.
HOLMES: And Betty, you said the winner gets $100,000.
NGUYEN: Yes. That's a nice prize.
HOLMES: I want to know how much you get, because you, too, are a winner. Our own Betty Nguyen a winner. We went all around the world for the CNN Heroes.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: But still, we had one here among our employees, the workers here at CNN. Betty was one of the heroes.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: She's my personal hero, anyway, day in, day out.
NGUYEN: Oh. I didn't pay him to say that, folks.
HOLMES: But year in, year out, you take this trip -- and we're showing the video now. You explain what we're seeing. But we see this, you come back and show us every year.
NGUYEN: Yes. This is along the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. And my family and I started a charity called Help the Hungry back in 2000, and for the past eight years we've brought humanitarian aid down to the delta region, because this specific area gets inundated with the monsoons. And it just floods the area. And folks who are washing their clothes in these rivers, they literally live in grass huts and dirt floors.
And so when the monsoons come in, it just floods. It inundates the area with all this water. And they barely have enough to survive as it is. So, what we bring is essentially a lifeline -- food, clothing, medicine, hygienic supplies, items that they absolutely need to make it through those many months of flooding. And more importantly, you know, we've also helped communities, we've helped orphanages, we've helped schools.
So it's really since we started in 2000 grown to an organization that's been able to help thousands, and I'm really proud of it. But most importantly, I'm very proud of the fact that I was honored with this and nominated by my colleagues.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And to me, that's what matters.
HOLMES: Yes. It was awesome, and you are one of those hero winners. And if they do give you a cash prize...
NGUYEN: Share it with you?
HOLMES: ... we've got to spend it. Oh, we've got to go spend it.
NGUYEN: If I get that, do you know where it's going? It's going to help the hungry. That's where it's going.
HOLMES: Oh, Betty. Always trying to help others. No, I'm kidding. Yes, it's great work that you do. Have a good time out there. Enjoy your big night.
NGUYEN: All right. Get control of that asthma, will you?
HOLMES: Yes, I'm a mess.
Thank you, Betty. I'll talk to you soon.
NGUYEN: All right.
LONG: Congratulations to Betty. So humble, too.
HOLMES: She is.
LONG: All the people being honored are so humble.
HOLMES: It's a great thing that she does.
LONG: We should point out as well, once again, Thanksgiving night, 9:00 p.m., when you can watch the all-star tribute of our CNN Heroes across the globe. Anderson Cooper hosting. Again, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Thanksgiving night.
We are learning about recycling electronics today and learning about nasty weather. November 22nd, yet it looks like winter in North Carolina, Upstate New York.
Reynolds Wolf joins us live from Turner Field, the parking lot there. He's there for an e-waste recycling event. Good morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Melissa.
Yes, we're seeing all kinds of great things here. People coming by and dropping off BlackBerrys, cell phones, and even gems like this. Check out this PC. It's a kitty cat, or is it a PC? Is it a PC kitty cat? What could it possibly be?
I'll tell you what, it's going to be recycled. And we have found a lot of people that have been coming by here today. To just to give you an idea of how much they anticipate, is they expect so much electronic stuff that's going to be coming here that it can actually fill in the infield of Turner Field.
Turner Field actually our location. We're in the parking lot right now. And you've been seeing -- here comes a minivan that's just been guided on through, filled up with all kinds of electronic goods that will be recycled. And off they go.
They're going to be taken right down here in the crowd back there. And they've got a bunch of volunteers that are going to be unloading all the goods, and then they go off to be recycled.
Now, we have some questions, obviously. We've got Chad Miller with us. He's with Waste Management.
Chad, you have been doing this for a while. A big question I've got for you is, there is a little controversy with recycled electronic goods. There's, of course, been stories about a lot of these goods, about 80 percent, being shipped overseas to places like China, to Central Africa, where people aren't really familiar with it, and of course it can cause some issue was the environment. How can people be sure that when they come here today and they drop stuff off, that it's going to be taken care of properly?
CHAD MILLER, WASTE MANAGEMENT: Well, that's obviously a great question on everybody's mind. We actually have a partner here in town which is up in Marietta, Georgia, MOLAM International. Those folks are going to be de-manufacturing the process and the parts that we get.
And that that is, is the opposite of putting it together. They're going to take those parts down to plastics, metals, copper, aluminum, de-manufacture it, send those off to folks that can actually use them in that type of environment. The good thing is, is we're also signers on the Basel Action treaty, which means we will audit those folks, make sure we audit their downstream, make sure that that produce is being de-manufactured in the U.S. and not sent to a landfill in this country or in any country.
WOLF: I see. Now, the process is something you guys seem to have down to clockwork. I mean, you've got people that come right on through, you guide them on, they open up the backs. They don't even have to get out of the car to unload this stuff.
MILLER: Yes.
WOLF: Now, are there some things that people don't need to bring? Are there some certain items that you are looking for and other things they just need to keep at home?
MILLER: Yes. My rule of thumb really is stay out of the kitchen and the laundry room. All those items called white goods, we don't really take those. We'll take everything else, your computers, DVDs, your CD players, any household electronics except your white goods, kitchen appliances, stuff like that.
But yes, it's very nice. We have got a great group of folks down here. You don't even have to get out of your car. Drive on through.
WOLF: A little bit chilly out here. Rain's not an issue, wind isn't either. Other than that, it's a perfect day.
MILLER: We'll take it.
WOLF: All right. Thanks so much for your help.
MILLER: Thank you.
WOLF: All right, Melissa. Some great, great words of advice for you and T.J. back in the studio.
LONG: Great words of advice. And I love that kitty cat tower. I can't believe someone could part ways with it. It may be obsolete.
WOLF: It's mine. It's mine. That's enough, it's mine.
LONG: Oh, OK. You're keeping it. All right. WOLF: I had to part ways with it.
LONG: Rather than recycling, reusing. Got it. Thanks, Reynolds.
I talked about the weather a moment ago. We're going to talk to Reynolds in a couple minutes about the nasty weather in Upstate New York and in North Carolina. But I want to remind you as well, tonight at 6:00, thinking green, certainly nice. Acting green, even better.
CNN's Miles O'Brien is going to show us ideas that might just save the planet. That's "Green Warriors: The Fight for Solutions," airing tonight on CNN at 6:00 Eastern.
Now, stuffing the turkey without draining the bank. Even possible?
HOLMES: Is it? Well, look at that, folks. We're told it is. An affordable Thanksgiving. Is there a half-priced turkey out there somewhere? The Coupon Mom is here with tips on curbing that Thanksgiving splurge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Turkey with all of the trimmings? On Thursday, you might want to pour gravy over a $100 bill and serve it up, but certainly a tall order in this economy. And that's why we have asked Stephanie Nelson, The Coupon Mom, Coupon Mom, depending on where you live in the country, to join us this morning.
She's cooked up a way to serve on a Thanksgiving feast. And how did you figure out how to have a feast for under 30 bucks?
STEPHANIE NELSON, "THE COUPON MOM": Well, the great thing is, this is the easiest meal to save money on, because the grocery stores and the manufacturers know what we all have for Thanksgiving. So the traditional Thanksgiving ingredients are the featured sale items on the front of the store ad. The coupons are out there from the newspaper and printable coupon Web sites. So you put it all together. We went from -- you know, this would all cost $75. It ended up costing $28.
LONG: This all. What do we have here, in addition the turkey, obviously?
NELSON: You know, the standard -- the green bean casserole, salad. We also have, you know, stuffing or dressing, depending what part of the country you live in. And mashed potatoes with gravy and sweet potato casserole, and apple pie and pumpkin pie. So a little bit of everything, and dinner rolls too.
LONG: So pick up the flyers, obviously.
NELSON: Yes.
LONG: And this is a big weekend for shopping. NELSON: That's right. This is really the weekend that people do their Thanksgiving shopping. So, with about half an hour of planning, you can do what I did. And you start out with a couple of store ads, the stores that are closest to you. And look at the front page and figure out which store has the lowest prices for the items you need.
And then the next piece is putting coupons on top of that. So if you've been saving the newspapers for the past couple of weeks, you can save with coupons. You can also get some more coupons tomorrow. But you can also print coupons, and now they have new coupons that are electronic. You just load them right on your store loyalty card from a Web site and then when you buy the item, the value comes off.
LONG: Really?
NELSON: And there are even Thanksgiving...
LONG: You know, going back to the coupons you get from the circulars, the Sunday circulars, on your Web site you encourage people to get a subscription to even save money, versus going to the drugstore every Sunday to pick up the newspaper.
NELSON: Exactly. If do you that, a couple of things. One, is you save money on the paper. But two, you make sure you get it every week, because the key to saving with coupons is having a consistent supply of coupons. You don't want to miss a week.
LONG: Now, you're talking about planning ahead for Thanksgiving, how easy it is, because you can plan out that dinner. On your Web site, you also encourage people to plan every trip to the grocery store.
NELSON: That's right. You can do this every week and save. I mean, I save like this every week. So if you just do the planning -- now, the Web site does make it easier by matching up what's on sale with coupons for your city. So we try to make it easier, and we also try to think about people are busy. So if you only have 15 minutes to plan, you can still save.
LONG: You started this Web site nearly a decade ago trying to help people, trying to help organizations that were in dire need.
NELSON: That's right, because many of these items we got free with the coupon. So we started it to teach people how to save money and get items free for charity. We called it Cut Out Hunger. Now it's called couponmom.com. But the idea is still the same -- save money for your own family, pick up a couple of extra items and donate them.
LONG: Stephanie Nelson is The Coupon Mom. I wish I could take you shopping with me. But great advice to have right now. Thanks so much.
NELSON: Thanks so much for having me.
LONG: Happy Thanksgiving. NELSON: You too. Thanks.
LONG: T.J., I've learned a lot. I would like to take her shopping though.
HOLMES: How much was the turkey?
NELSON: Ten dollars frozen.
LONG: Isn't that remarkable?
NELSON: You want to get a frozen turkey.
HOLMES: Really?
NELSON: Yes.
HOLMES: Everyone says I'm supposed to get the other one that's already thawed.
LONG: But we're trying to save money here.
NELSON: No. It's the same.
HOLMES: It's the same.
NELSON: And you just let it thaw in the refrigerator for four or five days.
HOLMES: OK, four or five days. All right. Thank you so much. Just curious there. That will help me out.
Well, the tattered economy has many people thinking twice about vacationing abroad, but as Richelle Carey points out, there are some ways to stay on the go for less.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Americans deal with the economic downturn, an international vacation may seem like a luxury many just can't afford, but there are ways to see the world and save if you're ready to set sail.
BETSY SELL, AAA: Taking a cruise is a great way to go. You pay in dollars, so you know ahead of time what it's going to cost you. So your accommodations are all included, the three meals a day are included.
CAREY: Avoiding changes in currency exchange rates can be a real benefit, but you may want to finalize your plans as soon as possible.
SELL: While at the last minute you might be able to get a bargain -- for example, on the cruise -- there's always going to be a risk that you might not get the departure you want, or you might not get the cabin you want.
CAREY: And don't forget a passport or other documentation. Get some help from a travel agent to know what you need to have and when.
SELL: If you go to Africa you need extra shots. If you go to some Eastern European countries, you need a visa. You go to Russia, you need a visa. All that takes time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, Barack Obama, of course, has been known to draw a crowd. And his historic election is leading to what could be an unprecedented inauguration. Three million people coming to D.C.? Find a room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: I do know that song. They were playing some Tom Petty earlier I didn't recognize.
LONG: It's a classic Tom Petty song.
HOLMES: Yes. Well, we'll talk about a battle of the royals in London. A prince and a king going at it. That's the king we're talking about though. The king of pop going at it with the prince of Bahrain.
He's actually suing Michael Jackson for $7 million. The prince says he wrote several records that his father paid Michael Jackson to record, but they say nothing ever came of it. Both parties going to court on Tuesday.
Michael Jackson claims the money was a gift -- $7 million? I don't like anybody that much. He's expected to be in London tomorrow to give testimony in that civil case.
Also, another battle. Some people consider them royals in London as well. One step closer to a split between these two. A London judge yesterday granting Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie a preliminary decree of divorce.
The divorce goes final in six weeks unless they decide to kiss and make up. The pop star and the film director married about eight years ago. The British newspapers report Ritchie has agreed -- you love this part?
LONG: I love this angle.
HOLMES: I don't like this angle. Ritchie has agreed actually not to take any of Madonna's $447 million fortune.
LONG: Why don't you like it?
HOLMES: If it was in reverse and it was a man who had the $447 million, you'd be yelling, "Get that money, girl!"
LONG: I would not. HOLMES: Yes, you would.
LONG: No, I wouldn't.
All right. We've got to move on here this morning to Reynolds Wolf.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And stay right here. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM coming up in just a second.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: As we know, Inauguration Day always draws pretty big crowds.
LONG: Yes, but the one on the 20th of January may be like no other.
Here is CNN's Jeanne Meserve with our next story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The National Mall is made for public gatherings, both celebrations and protests. But as the city gets ready for January 20th, the mayor expects something unprecedented.
ADRIAN FENTY (D), MAYOR OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: We should be prepared, as a city, for, you know, in the range of three to five million. You know, we don't want to be caught by surprise.
MESERVE: As a candidate, Barack Obama could draw crowds of 100,000 -- 240,000 gathered in Chicago's Grant Park to hear his acceptance speech. And there is consensus that the historic swearing- in of the nation's first African-American president will be huge.
Washington does inaugurations every four years. And the Secret Service says it can adapt existing plans and do a little innovation to make the swearing-in and the inaugural parade safe and secure, no matter how big the crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have got subcommittees specific to airspace security, to prevention and to crisis management, to civil disturbance. And on each of those subcommittees, we have got members of the federal government, from the military, from the city.
MESERVE: Will Obama take a page from Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton, and walk through the throngs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would prefer, of course, that he stay in the car, but that's not our call.
MESERVE (on camera): Whose call is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's his call.
MESERVE (voice-over): How will everyone else get around in a city so jam-packed with people? Metro, the city's mass transit system, says it is still planning, but promises it won't shut subway doors, no matter how many people show up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
