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President Bush at the APEC Summit in Peru; Barack Obama May Announce Cabinet Choices on Monday; Fighting Terror on the High Seas; Protecting the President-Elect
Aired November 22, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: And although everyone expects a crowd, we couldn't find anyone to match the mayor's estimate of three to five million people. One official said about a million would probably show up.
Good morning. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. The news is unfolding live on this Saturday morning, the 22nd of November. I'm Melissa Long today in for Betty.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
President-elect Barack Obama is talking about the economy. Just about everybody is right now. And he's talking about creating jobs and a whole lot of them.
LONG: You have cops. You have federal agents and barricades. What life is really like for businesses near Obama's offices.
HOLMES: Also, a pretty big auto show going on these days out in L.A., but guess what the Japanese are showing at their auto show?
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, and we want to start by talking about President Bush this hour. He's taking the world stage this weekend for the last scheduled summit of his presidency; the focus, the global economic crisis.
The president in Lima, Peru, for talks with leaders from Pacific- rim nations; the president hopes to convince them to sign on to the strategies announced at the G-20 summit that happened just last weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, President Bush held sideline talks with leaders such as China's Hu Jintao. He told Hu, he's feeling a bit nostalgic as his presidency comes to an end or as he put it, his forced retirement.
LONG: The FDIC is taking steps to boost confidence in American banks. It will guarantee perhaps as much as $1.4 trillion in bank debt. The move is part of the government's $750 billion bailout program. It's intended to break this log jam in bank-to-bank lending.
And Citigroup, the nation's second largest institution, is certainly in crisis mode. This weekend both "The New York Times" and the "Wall Street Journal" reporting Citi is talking now with the Fed on ways to stabilize the bank. The papers say options include selling off all or part of Citi, a government infusion of cash, or even an outright government takeover.
Citigroup's stock took a beating this week losing half its value on Wednesday and Thursday, it slumped another 20 percent on Friday as investor confidence has all but evaporated.
HOLMES: Federal regulators shut down two California banks, take control of another one in Georgia. The failure of Downey Savings and Loan in Newport Beach blamed on California's severe housing crash. The same is true for PFF Bank of Pomona. U.S. Bank of Minneapolis will take over deposits of both of those banks. Customers of Community Bank in Loganville, Georgia, will see the deposits moved to Virginia Bank. The number of bank failures this year now at 22.
Meanwhile, General Motors said it will meet the deadline to prove to Congress it can be a viable company again as well as pay back any government aid. GM's chief executive told reporters this week he's already shared a confidential plan with the Bush administration and key staffers in D.C.
Congress has said it wants a detailed accounting of the big three auto companies' financial condition by December 2nd before it votes on an aid package. Two of the big three say they are perilously close to having only the minimum amount of cash needed to operate.
President-elect Barack Obama says he's got a plan to create 2.5 million jobs in the next two years. Take a listen to what he had to say in today's Democratic address. He had it broadcast on his Website.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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 items that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Sources telling CNN that President-elect Barack Obama may be announcing his first cabinet choices perhaps on Monday. CNN's Ed Henry is with the Obama transition team joining us live from Chicago this morning.
Ed, several more names are popping up. First of all, when we think of the post of treasury secretary, the name Timothy Geithner has been mentioned. What do we know about Mr. Geithner?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning Melissa.
Bottom line is that sources close to the transition say that Tim Geithner is on track to be treasury secretary; expected to be announced here in Chicago on Monday. The reason why the president- elect is moving forward with his economic team first is that he realizes there has been a worsening of the financial crisis in recent days during this transition period.
There's a little bit of a leadership vacuum. As you just noted, President Bush a lame duck. Secretary Paulson, the current secretary, really under fire, facing a lot of controversies dealing with all these various bailouts. So the point is the Obama team wants to put some confidence back in the markets by suggesting that a new team will be able to hit the ground running next January 20th.
And after they turn the page on the economic team, sources close to the transition also say that after Thanksgiving they'll start moving forward officially on the national security team and at the top of that list, Senator Hillary Clinton expected to be secretary of state. That nomination will come first for the national security team.
We're hearing about a lot of other names as well. General Jim Jones, a retired four-star general now in line to be the national security adviser inside the White House; a real power player. Somebody who is looking to have vast power in that job, someone who has worked well with Senator Clinton previously, but, again, a very high-profile name in a very senior post.
And finally Bill Richardson who had been mentioned as a possible secretary of state. Obviously, he's now not in line for that post, but sources close to the transition say he's being seriously considered to be the commerce secretary. So that would be more in line with the economic team, an important liaison to the corporate business community, but also key economic adviser to the president.
So we see this cabinet starting to take shape. It has at least two rivals of Barack Obama, at least in the sense that both Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton ran against Barack Obama, of course, in those heated Democratic primaries. We heard so much about how the president-elect wants to put together a so-called team of rivals like Abraham Lincoln. It certainly could have a healthy debate inside the cabinet room. Not everyone always on the same page -- Melissa.
LONG: We've discussed presidential business. What about family business this morning? Of course Malia and Sasha, the 10 and 7-year- old daughters of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama moving to Washington in January, and we have learned where they'll be going to school. HENRY: That's right. And the family has decided, the parents have decided that they will be sending their two daughters to Sidwell Friends, an elite private school in Washington, D.C. A lot of people familiar with it because, of course, Chelsea Clinton attended school there while her parents were in the White House and she was living there as well.
This is obviously a very interesting transition for the two daughters. A historic time for the nation politically, of course, but for them as a family, they have to adjust to some new surroundings, a new school and obviously Sidwell Friends is used to the security needs that these two children will need since Chelsea Clinton was already several years back -- Melissa.
LONG: Ed Henry joining us, live from Chicago. He's been covering Barack Obama's transition team. Ed thanks so much.
HENRY: Thank you.
LONG: The next story kind of seems like it could be out of a movie, but can the U.S. do anything to stop pirates who are threatening ships vital to the world economy?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Our next story is about trying to fight terror on the high seas. There's an increasing number of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa this year making maritime shipping riskier by the day. With the bandits becoming more and more brazen and enriched by each ship seized and ransomed.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports on the efforts to try to stop them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: $100 million in oil destined for the U.S. hijacked by pirates in a stunning raid on this Saudi super tanker more than 400 miles off the coast of Africa. Pirates seem to be operating at will with the world's navies struggling to stop them.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint chiefs of staff expressed frustration.
ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Tactically they're very good, and so once they get to a point where they can board, it becomes very difficult to get them off because clearly now they hold hostages.
STARR: $16,000 ships a year pass through these waters; already more than $20 million in ransom paid by ship owners to free their vessels, cargos, and crews. Though dozens of attacks have been thwarted, nearly 20 ships are still being held with more than 300 crew members aboard.
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Trust me, this subject is being dealt with at the highest levels of this government. It is a real concern, and we are constantly evaluating what the best approach is.
STARR: pirates are now able to grab a ship within minutes. There are about a dozen war ships patrolling the area, but with more than one million square miles of water, they cannot watch everywhere. With no ready military solution, the U.S. is telling shippers to carry armed guards and be ready to try and outrun pirates if they come under attack.
Shippers are now talking about avoiding the area entirely, sending their cargo ships around the full coast of Africa, a move that is likely to raise prices for shipped goods to Europe and the United States.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Astronauts aboard the international space station face their toughest spacewalk of the mission this afternoon. They'll resume work to fix a jammed solar panel. Engineers on earth will try to figure out why a water recycling system is not working. The size of the station crew can't double from three to six people next year until that system is working, functioning properly. The first spacewalk was marred with a lost tool bag that literally floated away on Tuesday.
LONG: Chilly in space and chilly here as well. In Atlanta in the southeast, in the northeast, a lot of places seeing a lot of the white stuff already, even in the south. Sleighing in Madison County, North Carolina, in mid-November? That looks like a lot of fun. Look at the dog. It even looks like the dog was enjoying the sledding.
Then the Steel City of Pittsburgh seeing its fair share of snowflakes yesterday with more on tap today in the forecast for much of the northeast. You do need to bundle up and bundle up really if you're heading out in Atlanta, too. No snow here, but it is chilly.
When Reynolds went out this morning, just outside of Turner Field, it was in the 20s. I think it's warmed up into the 30s. He joins us live there from the parking lot of Turner Field. He's not watching baseball; he's getting in on the act of e-recycling. Good morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. Electronic recycling. You're absolutely right. We've got a nice balm, roasty, I think about may be about 30, guys? Yes, about 30 degrees out here. It couldn't be better. Skies are mostly sunny.
If you have any plans heading out to the airport to fly around the country, from Atlanta it's fine. If you go to the northeast though, you might have some issues with some snowfall.
Let's go right to the weather maps and show you what we're talking about. In Buffalo, back to Syracuse, even into Erie, Pennsylvania, lake-effect snow activity is going to be a big deal. Through Sunday we could see up to a foot of snowfall in some locations.
Back on to the north and central Rockies, you see the temperatures there, Salt Lake City temperatures today warming up to 52 degrees in the higher elevations you could see a touch of snowfall.
San Francisco, 65 degrees the expected high, Phoenix with 82. Dallas warming up to 59 degrees, and Houston with 64.
Now, from Miami northward right along I-95, if you're heading out towards Melbourne or maybe even to Daytona Beach, you could see some scattered showers, maybe a rumble of thunderstorms. As we advance the maps, you will notice that we have those scattered showers limited right to that east coast of Florida, and, of course, that snowfall is going to be limited to the eastern half of the Great Lakes.
This is going to be an issue through today and into tomorrow. Okay. That is a quick check on your forecast.
Again, back here at Turner Field you see right behind me, cars are moving right on through. You have a lot of semi trailer trucks that are opening up and people are loading up all kinds of recycled electronic equipment, shipping it off. It's going to be recycled and used once again. It's a great cause.
Here are some people pulling up in just a flat bed pickup truck. We have seen people just coming one at a time, families have been coming here, and even people showing up just on public transportation just lugging their gear, bringing it here, and off it goes to the recycle centers.
That's the story. Let's send it back to you in the "NEWSROOM."
LONG: Nice to hear that people are going to the effort of lugging all that on public transportation and bringing it down there. Shows some dedication.
HOLMES: Doing what they need to do for the environment. Reynolds doing his part out there as well. We saw you lugging around some of the computers.
LONG: Some of that old equipment is very, very heavy.
HOLMES: They need a big guy like Reynolds around. Thank you buddy.
Protecting the president-elect. While much of the city of Chicago still abuzz over Barack Obama's historic win, businesses around his transition office paying a bit of a price.
CNN's Sean Callebs with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Whenever he comes and goes, the frenetic activity on the street outside President-elect Obama's transitional office comes to a halt. Cops at every corner; federal agents and barricades line the streets.
CAREID SURPRENANT, FRAMING STORE MANAGER: It is a little like a police state.
CALLEBS: For the last four years Careid Surprenant has managed the custom framing shop that now sits directly across the street from Obama's office. Since all this sprouted up the day after the election, she says it's been a bit overwhelming and taken a bite out of business.
SURPRENANT: There definitely are a lot of tourists that are taken aback. We get a lot of international tourists and a lot of them are like, "What is going on?"
CALLEBS: We see the pictures of Barack Obama smiling, ordering at a Chicago deli. What you don't see are officers stopping traffic and stopping pedestrians as his motorcade races through the street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not allowed to cross the street.
CALLEBS: Manager Javier Martinez says business suffered the first few days authorities began blocking off the street, but things are now rebounding. Among the shops on the street, some have a different take on the operation.
You have got a front row seat to history here, don't you?
CARL ORR, PRINTING STORE MANAGER: We do. And we enjoy it as well as try to work with what they're doing out there. You got to realize that this is our next president.
CALLEBS: True, but what happens when your business depends on the next delivery, and it can't be made because authorities have sealed off the surrounding streets?
SURPRENANT: It's made it ten times more difficult to get our deliveries in. We get about three deliveries a week, and we can't any longer pull into this alleyway that's here because they're using that for government vehicles.
CALLEBS: And really many shop managers say right now it is a double-edged sword. They say a lot of tourists are now flocking to that area, and for example the framing shop, many people are bringing in Barack Obama items to have them framed during this holiday season.
Sean Callebs, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Story on the security in Chicago. Imagine the security for inauguration. A lot of people are thinking about visiting the capital on January 20th for the Obama inauguration. A new multi- million dollar facility will make that whole new experience compared to years past. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: After 27 hours of negotiations that ended at 1:00 a.m. Hollywood's largest actor's union says it's done talking with the TV and movie producers and is going to recommend a strike.
The Screen Actors Guild and the producers have been unable to agree on how actors should be paid when movies and TV shows are distributed through the so-called new media. That includes mobile phones and the Internet. Approval of a strike will require the support of 75 percent of SAG members. Hollywood is still recovering from last year's costly writer's strike.
LONG: Where will you be on January 20th? Washington is bracing for perhaps 4 million visitors, 4 million visitors on inauguration day. If that happens, the crowd will be the biggest ever to jam the mall. Many will be using Washington's mass transit to get around.
The Metro plans to sell commemorative smart trip cards featuring Barack Obama. They're going to run you 10 bucks; that is double the usual price. The Capitol Visitors' Center opens December 2nd, just in time for inauguration day.
And CNN's Jill Dougherty takes us on a tour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The United States Capitol, it's been called the People's House. Now people from all over the world will have a warmer welcome thanks to the new U.S. Capitol Visitors Center.
Six years under construction, the mammoth 580,000 square foot center, almost 54,000 square meters, extends three levels below ground. Six sky lights offer striking views of the 215-year-old icon; the legislative center of government with its center piece, the plaster model for the statue of freedom that sits atop the Capitol dome.
The visitors' center helps guests learn about the House of Representatives and the Senate and how they make laws. It contains an exhibition hall with historic artifacts from across the country, an 11-foot model of the dome which visitors can touch and two theaters with live feeds from the house and senate when they're in session.
Admission to the center is free, but its construction certainly wasn't. The original budget was $265 million; the final price tag -- $621 million. That means it's $356 million or 135 percent over budget.
The Capitol architect says even so, it's money well spent.
UNIDENTIFIED CAPITOL ARCHITECT: Monumental architecture and monumental public space, and a place that's built for generations.
DOUGHERTY: The price tag soared as Congress kept redesigning the project, even while it was under construction, and revised security plans for the center after the 9/11 attacks, but the architect denies one rumor.
UNIDENTIFIED CAPITOL ARCHITECT: There is no bunker. I think that's urban legend. We're here to show you that.
DOUGHERTY: People can still visit the Capitol and watch lawmakers in action, but the visitor's center has a restaurant, two gift shops, and ample restrooms, something the Capitol doesn't have.
It also features guided tours and listening devices in multiple languages plus, wheelchairs for the disabled. For online advance reservations, there is a Web site, www.visittheCapitol.gov; that's Capitol with an O not an A.
Even before the center was built, the Capitol was visited by at least the million people each year. Now they will have even more reason to see this symbol of America's representative democracy.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And as we know, we have been seeing some pretty tough times for the auto industry, but you got to see what Japan's carmakers have come up with now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Another big story as we come up on the bottom of the hour, 11:30 Eastern time.
News this morning of an earthquake near Indonesia. Preliminary 6.8 magnitude, striking off the coast of Indonesia this morning. This from the U.S. Geological Agency. Of course, always a concern of tsunami in that region. We'll be waiting to hear from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, about any fear of a tsunami related to the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in the southeast Pacific Rim. Again, outside of Indonesia. We'll keep you posted.
Also making news at this hour, President-elect Barack Obama hoping to create 2.5 million new jobs in two years; He announced those plans during the Democratic address this morning. Video from the traditional address also put online on his Web site.
President Bush touting free trade on what could be his final overseas trip as president. The president is pushing to get the leaders at this APEC summit in Peru to endorse a global plan in which nations would pledge to not set up new trade barriers over the next year.
HOLMES: With President Bush on his way out and President-elect Obama in transition, there's a leadership vacuum right now in Washington, and it's causing a lot of uncertainty in the markets.
CNN's Mary Snow taking a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a sign of just how desperately the markets are looking for direction, stocks lurched higher gaining nearly 500 points on news that New York Fed Bank president Timothy Geithner would be tapped as Barack Obama's new treasury secretary.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: They needed some reassurance from Barack Obama not only of what direction that he's going to be going in, but who is going with him, who is going to be captain of the team, who is going to be the co-captains and the other players on the team.
SNOW: The rally follows a steep sell off this week triggered by a renewed sense of fear and continued uncertainty.
DIANE SWONK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MESIROW FINANCIAL: We've got a lame duck Congress and a lame duck administration that have decided they no longer have a job to do.
SNOW: A major source of angst is whether the big three automakers will survive. After coming hat in hand to Capitol Hill and leaving with no resolution, Congress is taking a recess. Another question mark, what's next for the federal bailout program that outgoing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson engineered?
ARTHUR HOGAN, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY: The unknown, Wall Street abhors that. You always see a sell off. You always sell on the rumor and buy on the news on Wall Street. That's exactly what's happening right now.
SNOW: Obama has said there's only one president at a time. But former presidential adviser David Gergen says it will be up to Obama right now to lead from behind the scenes.
GERGEN: I think that he can push along a couple of things, a bridge for the automobile industry to ensure that it doesn't fall apart or go into bankruptcy before he becomes president allowing himself time to think through what should the future of that industry be.
SNOW (on camera): David Gergen says other potential action could be some form of help to homeowners. Bottom line, Obama doesn't want to take office with an economy that's in total collapse.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: President-elect Barack Obama keeping a low profile when it comes to a potential bailout of the auto industry. But The Associated Press is reporting Obama and his aides have been involved behind the scenes. Senator Debbie Stabenow (ph) is quoted as saying that the Obama team has been encouraging senators to get something done, but Senator Chris Dodd who chairs the Senate Banking Committee says the Obama team quote "has to step up before he's in office." HOLMES: Well, a lot of oohs and ahs out in Los Angeles this weekend for the auto show that's getting underway. Sleek lines, fuel stingy cars, all the talk at the L.A. Convention Center and that is where our friend, CNN's Ted Rowlands join us this morning.
Ted, what have you picked out for yourself?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J. A lot of oohs and ahs and a lot of ees (ph) too going on here because you know here we are at an auto show, it's supposed to be a celebration. New cars and new concepts and a lot of enthusiasm, but there's this black cloud.
Here we have the 2010 Ford Mustang, beautiful car, no doubt about it. A lot of unveiling excitement, but there's this black cloud, sort of an undercurrent of doom that you can feel here because the market and the auto industry is so bad. It's reality basically.
This morning in Minnesota, 400 people woke up today without a job because a major dealer up there, Denny Hecker (ph), on Friday announced that he's closing six dealerships up there. The trickle down of what's happening. You've got the big three begging for money in Washington, basically just to stay alive.
Yet the show goes on here. The glitz, the glamour, one would say why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to put on this thing given the current market, current crisis? Well, the auto execs basically say this show has to go on if the industry wants to prevail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK OLSEN, CARS.COM: I think the way the automakers look at it is wouldn't call it a waste of money, but they would say we want to get people to know that we've got new and interesting cars ready for them when they're ready to buy. When are they going to be ready to buy? Nobody knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Things getting the most excitement, as you might imagine, are the hybrid. Ford has unveiled a new version of their Fusion, a hybrid gets 30-plus miles per gallon, seats six. Chevy is getting a lot of attention with their Volt. They have really downsized their display here, but the Volt getting a lot of attention.
Of course, that is an all electric car, which is not available yet for purchase, but they've staked a lot of the company's future on the Volt. Mini Cooper has a brand new electric car as well getting a lot of attention. One thing we should point out, too, T.J., is that this downturn, a lot of people are lopping in Detroit and the big three oh they -- you know they've run such a horrible business and they're having problems.
Make no mistake, every single manufacturer is having a horrible year and will have a horrible year they predict at least through the beginning of 2009, and you can feel it, and you can see the evidence of it in Long Beach right now here in California, there are rows and rows of brand new Mercedes and other foreign imports that the dealers said don't deliver them.
So, they're sitting out there and these companies are now renting space at the ports to hold these brand new beautiful million dollar cars. This thing is as bad as it's ever been in the industry. A little bit of celebration here, but a bizarre car show nonetheless...
HOLMES: On that last point if you can here quickly for us, you talked about the black cloud and everybody just got (INAUDIBLE). What are they hopeful about? You pointed to the hybrids, but what gives any of them out there a little hope that, OK, this is going to be the thing or this maybe could be it that brings us back. What do they smile about out there?
ROWLANDS: Well, the hope is that people are holding onto their vehicles right now. That's the bottom line. They're not buying brand new cars because they're holding them. Eventually they're going to buy new cars. So the hope is who is going to hit?
Who is going to be providing the cars and bringing them from the showrooms to the garages and a lot of it is the fuel economy stuff, but also you know people want pizzazz, so it's the interiors, the DVDs and the Navs (ph), all the cool little trinkets.
They're hoping when people come back, they're going to be attracted. And everybody has a pretty impressive product. It's just going to be you know a waiting game and who can hang on the longest.
HOLMES: All right, Ted Rowlands out there for us. Ted, like you said, just a weird show this year. Ted, we appreciate you this morning, buddy.
LONG: And as Ted just said, all the automakers are struggling right now. And Detroit automakers, as we know, are asking for that taxpayer lifeline. While Japan is struggling, its car companies are also hoping that innovation will help them to zip through these troubled times.
Here's CNN's Kyung Lah in Tokyo with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Step in Toyota's car theme park and you can see the future now.
PAUL NOLASCO, TOYOTA SPOKESMAN: It kind of represents part of our company's thinking towards what would be the ideal car of the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toyota IQ.
LAH: This is Toyota's IQ, new to the Japanese market this week with an eye to smaller, thinner, more compact, without compromising the space or feel of a real car. A true backseat and second only to the Prius and fuel efficiency without being a hybrid. NOLASCO: It really starts with the way of thinking and looking at limited resources in the future.
LAH: Everywhere you look, creations of Toyota's imagination, the hydrogen car, the clean diesel car that remembers what kind of music you like to listen to, even the single person uver-mobile (ph) car. If you think this is far flung, the Prius, if you remember, was once futuristic. Now there's so many hybrids Toyota could pack this corner and call it a wonderland.
U.S. makers have driven a different route, building high profit margin SUVs and pickup trucks, burdened by legacy costs. The big three haven't invested as much in research and development on small fuel efficient cars. Analysts say that puts them decades behind Japanese automakers.
KOJI ENDO, AUTO INDUSTRY ANALYST: They never changed basically. That's why they are now facing this tough time. They just kept on keeping their business model, in other words, relying primarily on the SUVs and pickup trucks, never looking at the small cars.
LAH: It's why even as Toyota experiences historic earnings losses and looks at cost cutting across the board, research and development won't see cutbacks.
(on camera): Even though the stock price is hurting, even though capital is diminishing in the United States, you're still investing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are investing in the future. Toyota has a very long-term vision. We're thinking decades, times down the road, and we want to be at a certain place at a certain time whether it's 20 or even 30 years from now. We know we have to start now.
LAH: But here's a concept that Toyota is playing with. This is the all electric car. It drives by itself. It steers. You don't have to accelerate or brake. So is this something that you will go out and buy tomorrow? No. But does Toyota believe that the research and development into something like this will pay off some day? Maybe.
(voice-over): It's a belief system shared by all Japanese automakers. Nissan continues to build its car that tells you if you're too drunk to drive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sensor has detected alcohol.
LAH: And Honda is pushing forward on mass production of its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. A business model that's paid off for the Japanese companies and one they're betting will pull them through this global economic slowdown and put them on the road to recovery.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, our Reynolds Wolf wants your old TV or computer or electronic gadget. We'll explain. Let him make his pitch for bringing you his old stuff. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, we're talking high-tech trash now. Talking old batteries, old TVs, old computers. They're actually all full of toxins.
LONG: So how do you get rid of that stuff that's outdated since they're full of toxins? Reynolds Wolf has the answers for us this morning. Good morning Reynolds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
WOLF: Good morning, guys. We're going to have some answers for you. Again, it's been kind of a neat morning here. We've had the weather has been kind of cold, kind of breezy at times, one thing that's been causing the breeze the pull of people that have been coming in dropping off all kinds of electronic recycling.
You know they've been coming right through here. You see these trailers back here. That's where they have been filling in a lot of the old computers, a lot of TV sets. And when you have all that kind of stuff, it doesn't remain in that state. It has to be broken down.
And how it gets broken down and what you're going to find inside of it, well we turn to my friend Robert over here. Robert is originally from Puerto Rico, made his way all the way across the country to San Diego, and now here you are back in Atlanta to help us with this stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
WOLF: So what are we seeing here?
ROBERT BENAVENT, SONY: The one step in the process in de- manufacturing, we're going to break it down to its base components.
WOLF: OK.
BENAVENT: So here are parts of the computer carcass, the plastic.
WOLF: Yeah.
BENAVENT: Here is the (INAUDIBLE) monitor.
WOLF: Let's take this guy and put that...
BENAVENT: Here's the hard drive.
WOLF: Yes.
BENAVENT: So when the hard drive gets -- after it gets de-gassed and wiped clean of all the data it's going to go through a shredding process and the shredding process separates the plastic from the steel and aluminum.
WOLF: Right and all that can be used again.
BENAVENT: Of course, of course. And here is an old yoke off a cathode ray (ph) tube and see and inside there's a lot of (INAUDIBLE). All can be used for new products.
WOLF: Now, come on, one moment here. I mean I know you're an engineer, you're a brilliant guy, but is there ever stuff that you see that you're just a little bit confused with? I mean let's play stump the engineer. What is this?
BENAVENT: Well this is a power supply. And so the wires are going to be cut off. There's a lot of copper in these wires. And this will get shredded into its basic components just like everything else.
WOLF: OK, smarty pants. What about this? What is this thing right -- let's find a good one here. What exactly would this thing be?
BENAVENT: Well here's your circuit board off from a computer.
WOLF: OK.
BENAVENT: Here's your (INAUDIBLE). These are aluminum. It's very valuable and can be used in new products, so today Sony has recycled 13 million pounds.
WOLF: Wow. You're a smart man.
BENAVENT: Just like events like this.
WOLF: And earlier today we were talking and you said the amount of stuff that's going to come in today would actually fill the inside of Turner Field.
BENAVENT: That's correct.
WOLF: Wow.
BENAVENT: That's close to 200,000 pounds today.
WOLF: Is there anything that people really need to stay away from that they shouldn't bring here?
BENAVENT: Well, we ask them to stay away from white goods that are found in your laundry room and kitchen like the microwave...
WOLF: Yes.
BENAVENT: ... refrigerators, but anything else you can plug in, we'd be happy to accept.
WOLF: OK and that includes the cell phones, the PDAs, the BlackBerries.
BENAVENT: Your old tape players, your old reel-to-reel, VCRs. WOLF: And nothing is too old. I mean, even those old bag phones, cell phones. You can even, if you have one of those.
BENAVENT: Right. The brick phones.
WOLF: Yeah.
BENAVENT: Bring them right in...
WOLF: Probably don't need to bring the case it's in but just bring the phone itself and we're kosher.
BENAVENT: That's right.
WOLF: All right. Listen, he's brilliant. Come on by, drop off some stuff. Thanks again for your time. I appreciate it.
BENAVENT: Thank you.
WOLF: Let's send it back to you in the studio.
LONG: It is amazing how they can take all that old equipment and use it.
HOLMES: Who knew?
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: He's actually saying some of that stuff is valuable. And I guess that's why Reynolds is looking through it now.
LONG: Yeah, one person's trash, another person's treasure, right?
HOLMES: Another man's treasure. All right, Reynolds, we appreciate you out there this morning.
And tonight at 6:00 Eastern our Miles O'Brien hosting "Green Warriors: The Fight for Solutions". If you want to learn how to protect animals, save money, protect the environment, you need to watch this one, our Miles O'Brien again 6:00 Eastern.
LONG: Dad, of course, has a new job in a new town. That means a new school for Malia and Sasha Obama.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The Obamas have decided on a prestigious private school for their little girls.
LONG: Sidwell Friends, may sound familiar, right? Has a long history with presidential children. With this story, here is CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They may not have chosen a dog yet or their White House bedrooms, but Malia and Sasha do though where they'll go to school. And here it is, Sidwell Friends, founded in 1883 by a Quaker teacher is among the elite private schools in Washington.
SALLY QUINN, THE WASHINGTON POST: Sidwell Friends is a Quaker school, first of all, and it's really infused with Quaker values. It's very much about peace and community. It's very progressive. It's about 40 percent minority.
JOHNS: Michelle Obama's spokesperson says "a number of great schools were considered. In the end the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need right now." So what's so special about Sidwell? There is the philosophy. Sidwell says its students and faculty are on a search for truth and the school follows a Quaker belief that of God in each of us inspires everything we do, inspires us to show kindness and respect toward one another and apply our talents and service to others.
BO LAUDER, FORMER SIDWELL FRIENDS ADMINISTRATOR: I think it's a great fit for the Obama family because the school is a very rigorous academic place that places a lot of value on intellectual inquiry. With Obama's position on war and his own commitment to hope and to the future, I think that he feels probably that the school will equip his children well for bringing about a better world.
JOHNS: And Obama often seems in tune with Quaker principles, seeking consensus with others, talking rather than fighting with opponents and at least in the case of Iraq, if not Afghanistan, opposing war even when the majority supports it. The Obama girls aren't the only first family children who have opted for Sidwell.
QUINN: Chelsea Clinton went there. Al Gore, young Al Gore went there. The Nixon girls went there. Teddy Roosevelt's children went there, the Biden grandchildren go there. They're very, very good about security. They understand about that and they also understand about children who are in the public eye a lot.
JOHNS: Sidwell isn't cheap. For the lower school where Sasha will attend second grade, tuition is nearly $29,000 and more for the middle school where Malia will be in fifth grade, but Sidwell can't afford to ask top dollar.
QUINN: Sidwell is a happy school. I think the children who go there are children who really feel good about themselves at the end of day, they're happy children. It can be a really magical place.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Staggering costs of that education.
HOLMES: Yes, what do you get for that?
LONG: Nice lunches.
HOLMES: You can't get a college degree...
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Terrific education.
HOLMES: ... in a lot of places for that, Fredricka. That's woo...
WHITFIELD: I know. That is a big bank.
HOLMES: That is a big bank...
WHITFIELD: You get exclusivity.
HOLMES: That's what you get.
WHITFIELD: That's what you get...
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: ... in part and a whole lot of other things. Anyway, good to see you guys.
HOLMES: What do we get at noon?
WHITFIELD: Well, you get a lot.
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: And let's start with our legal guys are going to be joining us.
HOLMES: What you got?
WHITFIELD: And talking about eHarmony, you know that as an online dating service, well, for a long time known for as a place for a lot of heterosexual couples or match making. Well not anymore, now that there's been a lawsuit, it now involves homosexual dating services also being promised for eHarmony.
We're going to delve into that and why that lawsuit bode -- did bode well for those who are pursuing I guess a greater open door, and then, of course, Black Friday is something that a lot of retailers look forward to. Are they looking forward to it this year?
We're going to explore the extent that a lot of retailers are going to try and get your cash. We're also going to be asking a lot of our viewers, how are you going to be changing -- or are you changing some of your spending habits this holiday season and then, of course, you know there are lots of incentives being offered, too, if you want to shop on the Web. Black Friday, is it going to be promising for a lot of retailers?
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) the eHarmony story. I want to hear those legal questions. Does that open up a whole Pandora's box for everybody to be sued.
WHITFIELD: It does. Well exactly. That's one angle and then of course there are a lot of dating Web sites for homosexuals.
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: Does that mean now that they're going to have to open it up for heterosexual match making.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: I will be tuning in.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Well, why are you so interested?
HOLMES: No, because we've been talking about it all week.
WHITFIELD: You got a babe.
HOLMES: But it...
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Oh, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And she might be watching.
HOLMES: No, she's not. (INAUDIBLE) but there's no -- no, I won't be using...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: I don't need any service.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Gosh, this is the first time...
LONG: I think he's blushing.
HOLMES: I'm a light-skinned guy, I blush.
WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh, later.
HOLMES: See, you started it, Fredricka.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: All right, we're talking about "Twilight" shining at the box office this weekend.
(CROSSTALK)
LONG: A lot of the young ladies are actually blushing over this film.
HOLMES: Really? LONG: They are falling in love with the star of this new vampire tale.
HOLMES: So it's a vampire movie though.
LONG: Oh, but young girls...
HOLMES: OK.
LONG: ... are squealing over this young, handsome man.
HOLMES: All right, I got to see this then.
LONG: We're talking about the movie vampire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. You got teens and tweens, you know about what we're about to talk about. This new movie "Twilight" it's done huge business at the box office this weekend.
LONG: We're not in the target audience. We're too senior.
HOLMES: I'm kind of...
LONG: We're too old for this. CNN's Brooke Anderson reports this vampire movie isn't so much about the blood as it is sex appeal.
HOLMES: What?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say it out loud. Say it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vampire.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not your grandpa's Count Dracula.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aren't you afraid that you're alone with a hungry vampire?
ANDERSON: Meet the new modernized vampires currently taking a bite out of entertainment. From the films "Let the Right One In" (ph) and "Twilight"...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if I'm the bad guy?
ANDERSON: ... to television's "True Blood" on HBO.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're (INAUDIBLE) first vampire.
ANDERSON (on camera): Since Bram Stoker created "Dracula" in his 1897 novel the popularity of the undead has been on the rise. Even theme parks like Universal Studios Hollywood have attractions like this House of Horrors, featuring, you guessed it, vampires. ERIC NUZUM, AUTHOR, "THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST": They're popular now. They were popular 50 years ago, 100 years ago, 1,000 years ago. I think one of the reasons they're popular now is because it makes it possible for us to talk about things that may not be socially permissible like race and sexuality and things we might not want to admit about ourselves and the way we feel on these subjects, so we can put a pair of fangs on it and all of a sudden it becomes OK to talk about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know how many people are having fits (ph) for vampires these days?
NUZUM: Back in the 1920's and '30s, what they thought this ultimate dark person would be was an Eastern European aristocrat wearing a nice tux and a medallion, walking down stairs and then if you look at our vampires today the look like rock stars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You brought a snack.
ANDERSON: Both "True Blood" and "Twilight" are based on best selling novels. A sequel to "Twilight" is already in development. Meanwhile, "True Blood's" weekly viewer-ship is up to about 6.5 million per episode.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as there's evil in the world, as long as there are dark feelings in the world, as long as there are things we secretly lust after or are kind of ashamed to say we're afraid of there will always be vampires.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go on in. Good luck getting out.
ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I've yet to see that TV show...
HOLMES: A lot of people swear by it. "True Blood," everybody loves it. Fredricka, are you a "True Blood" fan on HBO...
WHITFIELD: I've watched it. I can't say I'm a "True Blood" fan. I mean that stuff kind of creeps me out. Sorry, I got to be blunt.
HOLMES: Well no blood, no vampires on your show I don't think at noon.
WHITFIELD: No.
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: We're going to keep it clean. Keep it safe.
HOLMES: Well good.
WHITFIELD: This is a family hour.
HOLMES: All right. Have a good show, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right.
HOLMES: We'll see you.
WHITFIELD: You all have a great day. All right, well let's begin with President Bush. On what could be his last international stage defending free trade and he warns against protectionism as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The president receiving a warm welcome from leaders attending the economic summit in Lima, Peru. Leaders came from 21 nations in Asia as well as The Americas. President Bush using the forum to push free trade and criticized the U.S. Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today we have agreements enforced with 14 (ph) including China, Singapore and Australia. We have agreements that will soon take effect with three more countries including Peru. We concluded agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
