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Obama Announces Economic Team; Citigroup to Get More Federal Funds; Should Obama be Sworn in Earlier?; Musician Shot to Death Under Broken Security Cam; Remembering the Legacy of Brenden Foster
Aired November 24, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The faces of Obamanomics. The president-elect names his economic crisis team and fleshes out a turnaround plan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we should seriously consider moving up the inauguration day.
PHILLIPS: Failures and bailouts, meltdowns and write-offs. Can the U.S. afford another two months of a lame-duck president and a president in waiting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I couldn't get anything, my parents were yelling at me every day, waking up. They were like, "What are you doing with your life? Go get a job at a coffee shop."
I'm like, "The coffee shops are not even hiring."
PHILLIPS: Can't get a job? Get fifty. But don't get comfortable. Get it and quit it and tell it in the CNN NEWSROOM this hour.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We'll get right to it this hour.
New faces, more money and, as you just saw live here on CNN, Barack Obama introduced his economic all-star team. In the shadows of yet another bailout. And actually, this is part two of the government's plan to save Citigroup $20 billion, on top of $25 billion just last month. And new guarantees for more than $300 billion in mortgage-backed securities.
Ali Velshi is one of our economic all-stars. He's crunched all the numbers for us on the Citi situation in New York. Ed Henry's on the transition beat in Chicago, where all the next president's men and women are being chosen, vetted, hired and introduced.
Well, the president-elect's picking economic aides and advisers in a time of historic crisis was simple but not easy. An insider actually says that they went after, quote, "The best people we can find, the best minds in our country."
Is that all there is to it, Ed Henry?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's interesting. They rolled out the economic team here at the Chicago Hilton, largely because they wanted to try to give the markets a shot in the arm. They realize that this crisis is deepening, that there's also a crisis of confidence because of this power vacuum, this transition time, where President Bush is a lame duck, President-elect Obama has not officially been sworn in.
So he delivered, really, some sober talk at the top of his remarks, as he rolled out the team, saying that this is a crisis of historic proportions and that, without bold action and quick action, he said that we'd lose millions more jobs in 2009.
And so what he's laying out in broad terms is a massive economic stimulus plan some Democrats saying could reach a price tag of $500 to $700 billion. The president-elect would not go there in terms of being more specific or fleshing out the details, but he did give us, finally, the official word on his team. You saw Tim Geithner, the incoming treasury secretary; Larry Summers, who will be head of the National Economic Council. Christina Romer will be in charge of the Council of Economic Advisers at the White House. And you also saw Melody Barnes, who will be chief of the Domestic Policy Council.
And the president-elect was direct in saying there's not a moment to waste, that they have to start the job today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Right now, our economy is trapped in a vicious cycle. Turmoil on Wall Street means a new round of belt tightening for families and business on Main Street. As folks produce less and consume less, that just deepens the problems in our financial markets. These extraordinary stresses on our financial system require extraordinary policy responses, and my administration will honor the public commitments made by the current administration to address this crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Also interesting, the president-elect had some tough talk for the auto industry when he was asked about their testimony on the Hill last week, asking for a $25 billion bailout.
He said directly that he was surprised they didn't have a better thought-out plan to actually show they were changing, moving forward, to deserve this bailout. He said they should not get a blank check. I thought that was very interesting, that he essentially laid out a challenge to the auto industry, that they need to come up with a better thought-out plan if they expect to get this $25 billion, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to be following all the developments with you throughout the day. Ed Henry, thank you so much. Now, let's get back to Citigroup, a global banking empire considered too big to fail.
Ali Velshi, I guess Citi's problems were too big to solve with just one bite of that bailout.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. And I think a lot of people's questions out there are, why are they too big to fail and what happened to that first $25 billion that Citigroup got out of the $700 billion rescue package?
Well, let's just explain a couple things. They both are major concerns to the economy, the auto industries and the banks, but the banks are intricately related to how you borrow money, whether it's you as an individual or businesses. So the "too big to fail" when it comes to Citigroup has to do with the -- with your ability to get credit, your banking.
And if a company like Citi were to fail, for instance, all of those deposits, well, the government would already be on the hook for those through the FDIC. So there's some sense, when it comes to a bank, that the government might be on the hook anyway, so we might as well be on the hook at the front end so that we can try and steer the decision making.
Now, Citibank took the first $25 billion from the $700 billion bailout program and -- guess what? -- didn't use it to make it easier for people to get loans or for businesses to get loans. They started buying other companies, which was not the stated intent of the bailout deal.
This $20 billion is going to be a little more specific. There will be a few more strings attached to this. In exchange for the $20 billion that it's getting and the guarantee of the government picking up any major losses for the company, they're going to get a stake in Citigroup. We, the shareholders, will get a stake in Citigroup, with a dividend.
Now, what Citigroup has to do in exchange for this is they've got to limit executive compensation. They've got to reduce their stock dividend payouts. In other words, they've got to use the money that they've got for better purposes than paying out shareholders. And they've got to make some adjustments to loans to homeowners who are in trouble. So they've actually got some real stuff that they have to do in order to qualify for this money.
It was a deal that was worked out with the government and, like Ed says, unlike the auto industry, which sort of showed up in Washington without a very distinct plan, this one was worked out with government officials involved the whole way around.
But there are still a lot of people saying the first 25 didn't work. Is this 20 going to work?
PHILLIPS: A lot of money.
VELSHI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Big risks. All right. Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: OK.
PHILLIPS: And before we heard from the president-elect, the president talked shop at the treasury and said if more bailouts are necessary to prop up the U.S. financial system, so be it. Our Kathleen Koch is at the White House.
Hey, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Well, as you pointed out, President Bush did come out this morning from -- fresh from a meeting with his treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, who was standing by his side this morning when he spoke. The president, I should point out, is just back in the United States last night after a meeting in Peru with Pacific Rim nations.
The president basically came out today to defend the government's actions in this second bailout for Citigroup. The president said that U.S. is in a, quote, "tough situation," but that it would recover and that actions like this are basically the first step down that road.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last night on Air Force One, coming back from Peru, I talked to the secretary about his recommendation on the decisions made to safeguard Citi. We have made these decisions in the past. Made one last night. And if need be, we're going to make these kinds of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future.
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KOCH: President Bush called President-elect Barack Obama this morning to talk to him about the Citigroup decision. The president said that's part of his commitment to keep the Obama team informed during this time of transition when they're making major decisions.
Also interesting point. Tony Fratto mentioned this in the meeting, Deputy Press Secretary Fratto, that the incoming Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, was involved in the discussions last night. He wouldn't say how.
As to what the president was hinting at when he said they may have to make decisions like that in the future, any particular company he's referring to? Fratto would not elaborate.
When I asked, "Well, will Citi would get more money?" They've gotten 25 billion, now another 20. Tony wouldn't go there either. He said, "I would," quote, "never try to speculate as what would be needed in the future."
So Kyra, that federal checkbook remains open right now. PHILLIPS: All right. So do a lot of questions remain open. Thanks, Kathleen.
Frenzy on Wall Street, stocks plummeting nearly every day. To stem the hemorrhaging, well, should Barack Obama be sworn in before January 20?
KOCH: All right. All right, I'll stand in.
PHILLIPS: That's a little cameo there by Kathleen Koch.
And in this economy, are you having a tough time getting one job? Try doing what this guy did. Get 50 of them. The man working 50 jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks. Live at the CNN NEWSROOM. But he is taking today off.
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PHILLIPS: Just a little boy, but he had wisdom and grace way beyond his years. Brenden's dying wish and his living legacy.
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PHILLIPS: By now, we all realize this country is facing its greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. And this comes with President Bush on his way out and Barack Obama not taking office for another two months.
Our Jim Acosta looks at whether we can afford to even wait that long.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an American transition tradition. The president-elect bides his time and puts together his cabinet while the current commander in chief winds down, bidding the world farewell. But there are growing fears this tradition has left the nation in a power vacuum, exposed to an economic crisis without clear leadership.
BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST, CBS'S "FACE THE NATION": This interim period, how would you describe this period? Some economists say we're in a pretty dangerous time.
AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, OBAMA ECONOMIC ADVISER: I think it is a dangerous time. It's hard to deny.
ACOSTA: One Obama economic adviser says the incoming president has urged the current one to do more to fix the economy.
GOOLSBEE: We have repeatedly called on the administration to do things like a stimulus, but the president did not appear to be interested in doing that.
ACOSTA: Mr. Obama has kept a low profile in transition, maintaining there's only one president at a time, but some Democrats say this is no time for the future president to stay on the sidelines.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I would like him to become -- at least offer to become more involved. And I think that offer would be welcomed, not just by the Democrats in the House and the Senate, but also by the White House itself.
ACOSTA: One idea is to change the Constitution and swear in Mr. Obama as soon as possible.
THOMAS FRIEDMAN, COLUMNIST, "NEW YORK TIMES": I think we should seriously consider it, moving up the inauguration day. Because I don't know that we have two months to have a political vacuum at this moment in this economic crisis.
ACOSTA: Former Secretary of State, James Baker, is proposing an historic face to face meeting between both men to generate ideas to stabilize the markets.
JAMES BAKER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I think just the mere fact they're sitting down together and seeing if there's not one thing that they could come together on would do a lot to restore confidence and remove the anxiety and fear that's out there.
ACOSTA (on camera): But there may not be much hope for any dual presidential initiatives. As one adviser to the Obama transition put it, the next two months are an opportunity to put together a team and a plan.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Returning to the scene of the crime. A carjacking with a twist. The perp taken down not by hot lead but cold bird. Yes, we'll explain.
And monkey business swinging into action. It's a wild idea that keeps one restaurant from going out of business.
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PHILLIPS: It's a bit of an odd description for someone charged with murder: loves skateboarding, dirt biking and the movie "Kung Fu Panda." Then again, he's only 8 years old.
The St. Johns, Arizona, boy was arrested and initially charged with the November 5 shooting deaths of his father and another man, but Friday, the Apache County prosecutor filed a motion to dismiss the charge in the father's death.
His mom spoke today on ABC's "Good Morning America."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I tell him every day that I love him, and I don't know how much more I can express that, but I definitely plan on doing that, just to let him know that I'm here for him and how much I do love him.
A scared little boy. That's what I hear. Someone who's very afraid of what's going on.
DIANE SAWYER, ABC'S "GOOD MORNING AMERICA": Do you feel he was admitting something? Do you think he was trying to please them? Make you want to run in and be with him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It does.
SAWYER: Can you tell us about his relationship with his dad?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a very good relationship with his father. He -- he did a lot with him. He -- you know, they did everything together. He loved -- he loved his dad.
SAWYER: So as far as you know, there was no anger there, there was no stress there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not at all.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Police questioned the boy. This is the videotape of that. And that questioning was done without an attorney or family member present. A judge has issued a gag order in the case.
A controversial survey is called New Orleans the most dangerous city in the country. The "CQ Press" city crime ratings -- or rankings, rather, base its ranking on 19,000 incidents of major crimes reported in New Orleans last year, including 209 murders.
Camden, New Jersey, came in second. The survey rates Rams -- or Ramapo, New York, rather, as having the least crime.
And mayors and criminologists constantly criticize these surveys, by the way. The FBI, which also complies -- or compiles its own crime report statistics, warns against ranking cities' crime numbers against each other.
Well, senseless crimes, sadly, it appears to be epidemic -- or endemic, rather -- in New Orleans. One of the latest victims, an aspiring musician gunned down while walking his dog. It happened within view of a broken security camera. Friends of the victim and others took to the streets over the weekend, demanding protection.
Bigad Shaban of our affiliate, WWL, reports.
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BIGAD SHABAN, WWL REPORTER (voice-over): Tears of remembrance coated in frustration.
ADELE HUNT, FRIEND OF VICTIM: I'm angry. I've -- they don't have any suspects. They don't have any motives. SHABAN: Last Saturday, 37-year-old Brian Vixton (ph) was fatally shot on the corner of Chippewa and Sixth streets. Moments after, police cars lit up the neighborhood. But now a week later, it's candles that are lighting the community that neighbors say was once made brighter by Brian.
NICOLAS CASE, FRIEND OF VICTIM: He was a real character. He was the kind of person you only meet once in your life.
SHABAN: Friends say the rock musician was shot while walking his dog, his body found just a few feet away from a city-operated crime camera, electronic eyes the city now acknowledges weren't working.
CASE: I'm still kind of in shock about the whole thing. And it makes me more angry and shows the ineptitude of the city that these kind of cameras, at such a great cost to the city, aren't even working.
SHABAN: Over the past four years, about 7 million tax dollars have been pumped into the crime camera program. The set of eyes on Chippewa street aren't the only ones that are apparently shut. Of the city's 243 crime cameras, a spokesperson for Mayor Nagin says only 105 are currently working, which means 138 cameras aren't.
Hurricane Gustav has blamed for the broken cameras. According to the Nagin administration, the storm damaged 173 of the electronic eyes. But a contractor for the city has reportedly fixed 35 of them.
Mayor Nagin's director of communication says, quote, "Weekly, the mayor, city council and NOPD receive status reports on the repair of the damaged cameras. The repairs have been underway for an 18- working-day period," end quote.
But the fixes didn't come soon enough for Brian, and while friends say they understand the camera wouldn't have saved his life, they argue it could help to save others.
HUNT: They're not going to protect you from bullets, but they'll -- the important part is that -- catching the people that are doing these crimes. It's the same kids that -- that do -- that commit these crimes over and over again.
SHABAN: For now, friends and family continue to remember the man who was a rocker in life and in heart. A musician who will never play again, gunned down under what was supposed to be a watchful eye.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Mayor Nagin, the city council and the New Orleans Police Department say that they now receive weekly status reports on the city's security cameras.
If you're starting your Thanksgiving holiday travel early, watch out for snow and rain in a number of parts of the country, right, Jacqui Jeras? JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. A lot of people are starting early. In fact, I just got a picture now from my husband, with my son and a turkey leg. Too cute. I'll forward it to you.
PHILLIPS: OK. I'm having all these visions of, like, King Arthur now and his big turkey leg.
JERAS: Viking jersey, Hawkeye hat.
PHILLIPS: Bring the picture up, Jacqui.
JERAS: I know.
PHILLIPS: Let's get that. Get that, maybe, to a graphic. I want to see it.
JERAS: He's adorable. What can I say?
(WEATHER REPORT)
JERAS: And speaking of snow, to get you in the mood a little bit, we've got a great iReport to show you. This is from Moncton, New Brunswick. Big coastal low system there this weekend, brought about a foot and a half of snow for some.
Richard Ray sent us this picture. He said he couldn't believe it. The first significant snowfall. He said he was up to his knees today. Yes. Up to his knees, Kyra. That's some serious snow.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it is. Time to do some skiing. A little skiing, a little snowboarding.
JERAS: Love it.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
JERAS: Where are we going?
PHILLIPS: OK. We'll plan a trip. I'll talk to you in about 20 minutes.
JERAS: All right.
PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui.
Well, cops in North Carolina have nabbed a carjacker, apparently, thanks to a quick-thinking, quick-swinging witness. The guy allegedly robbed a gas station, then attacked a woman outside a grocery store for her keys. Well, bystanders rushed over to help, and one of them grabbed an unorthodox but effective weapon, whopping the guy on the head with the victim's -- yes -- frozen turkey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wish he'd have hit him harder, knocked him out and brought the whole thing to a close.
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PHILLIPS: Well, the attacker did get away briefly. Police found him in the victim's car bleeding profusely. He's still in the hospital today, by the way, in fair condition.
Well, he's been a map maker, a Mormon church employee, and a general store owner, and he's only been working steady for 12 weeks. We're going to meet the man working 50 jobs in 50 weeks, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: 1:29 Eastern time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM right now.
Barack Obama unveils the top members of his economic team and urges Congress to act quickly on his stimulus plan for getting the stalled economy back on track. Heading his team, his pick for treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, the current president of the New York Federal Reserve.
The Bush administration says it will prop up struggling Citigroup with a massive rescue package. It includes taking on hundreds of millions of dollars of possible losses at the banking (ph), and filing (ph) a fresh 20 billion into the company.
And President Bush says the Citigroup rescue is necessary to safeguard the national financial system. He spoke after a morning meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. And Mr. Bush says that he's ready to help other companies facing similar problems.
Citigroup has become the latest financial institution to need its own government rescue plan. Let's get straight to Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for the latest on how the markets are responding to the plan that, well, was hammered out last night.
Susan, we're talking about a lot of money. More -- billions and billions more being tossed in.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is mind boggling the amount of money here, Kyra.
But Citigroup shares are rallying, financial stocks are rallying. The overall market is rallying with some resolution on what's going to happen with Citigroup.
Uncle Sam going to backstop more than $300 billion of bad loans and toxic assets, as well as injecting an additional $20 billion into the company. The government, for its part, will be able to buy 250 million shares, preferred shares, from Citi, with an 8 percent dividend. It will have the right to buy additional stock.
Taxpayers are on the line for any losses. But the alternative -- the thinking once again was Citi was just too big to fail, to do nothing. And so the government did step in with a dramatic and big rescue late last night, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So what happened? Wasn't the government's initial bailout plan designed to keep this from happening to companies like Citi?
LISOVICZ: Yes.
PHILLIPS: OK. So explain.
LISOVICZ: What happened was, the Treasury secretary announced, to the surprise of many, many, many people, that it was going to change direction, that the amount of money would just be simply too great to do that, and that instead to inject money directly into banks.
Now, Citigroup did get $25 billion from the government as part of the TARP program, but obviously, that wasn't enough. You heard Citi announced last week it was going to cut 50,000 jobs. Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia was going to up his stake, and still, the stock was crumbling. Citi has a lot of toxic assets, it would benefit from TARP that's why the government crafted its own, yet another, rescue package for Citigroup.
Citi shares, by the way, are up about 50 percent today. But still trading under $6. This was a stock that traded $35 over the past year. That, and also President-elect Barack Obama's economic team unveiled before the press this afternoon, helping to prop up stocks nicely. The Dow right now is up 267 points. The Nasdaq is up -- well, I can't really tell -- it looks like 14. I'm not quite sure. I'm going to have to check that.
And we've got a nice rally that's been going on since the opening bell, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Dow Industrials up 267 points, that's good news. Susan, thanks.
Well they're not exactly popping champagne at Citigroup, but they're a lot better off today than they were on Friday. CNN's Allan Chernoff has the word on the street.
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ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A very positive step is how the chief financial officer of Citigroup describes the injection of new capital from the government. He says it's a huge amount of capital that should allow Citigroup to endure some very challenging times.
Now one employee who entered the bank early this morning said to us, we're going to make lots of money once the economy stabilizes here and overseas. He said that's what the chief executive officer has been telling employees inside of the bank. And indeed, bankers believe here at Citigroup that they are well-positioned in spite of huge losses that they have suffered in the mortgage market, in the real estate market and the fact that the government had to come in and offer this new bailout.
Customers -- well customers are saying they feel the government simply had to act.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, you have to be worried. I wouldn't like to be a shareholder at this point. I would prefer to be a client, which is where I am. But I think the government is doing the right thing. Citi is too big to fail. It would be disastrous to the financial markets, and the economy in general.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this stage, you've got to step back and say, it's probably the right thing to do because the stock market just has been up and down too much. You can't have the drops we've been having over the last couple of weeks.
CHERNOFF: So we need to stabilize and stabilize Citigroup?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I say that, but I hope it works. Nothing has shown me that it's going to work yet.
CHERNOFF: But there is certainly not a celebratory mood here at Citigroup. The bank, after all, announced last week it would be laying off 52,000 employees, and the chief executive officer says he is committed to streamlining the company's operations.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, you win a million bucks, promise to give it away, and the next thing you know, you're bankrupt. Do you renig? Well, not Kathy Cox. She is the Georgia State School Superintendent who won $1 million on a TV game show in September. She pledged to donate it to three schools for special needs children, and then disaster struck. And last week, Cox and her husband filed for bankruptcy because of losses incurred in his home building business. But Cox says that she'll honor her pledge and has already set up a gift foundation to handle that money.
Well, bankruptcy -- it's the bottom line of financial hopelessness, the point when debt becomes overwhelming. And this probably won't surprise you, personal bankruptcy is now soaring.
CNN's Kate Bolduan has one woman's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEN PALUMBO, FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY: You're a good little baby, aren't you? Yes.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jen Palumbo is smiling now, but the last few years for her have been anything but joyful. PALUMBO: There's a lot of soul-searching during that process of, you know, how much in debt am I? And how much do I have in my account? And have I depleted my savings?
And it's ugly. It's ugly when you get to that point.
BOLDUAN: That point was the snowball effect of losing her health insurance, getting hit with more than $10,000 in medical bills, and being temporarily out of work in this foundering economy. She downsized her car, moved in with a friend, and found a job. But it all eventually led to bankruptcy.
PALUMBO: And I was in a situation where it was either, you know, keep paying minimum and continue to drive my credit down because I wasn't paying the full bills on anything, or consider doing the bankruptcy.
BOLDUAN (on camera): More and more people are facing the same harsh reality. The American Bankruptcy Institute says last month, personal bankruptcy filings nationwide jumped 40 percent from the same time a year ago.
SAMUEL GERDANO, AMERICAN BANKRUPTCY INST.: It reflects hand in glove the kind of economic crisis that households are facing. And we expect that number to continue to rise.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): So much so, analysts project the number of new filings this year will exceed one million. Experts, including Jen Palumbo's bankruptcy attorney, say the initial uptick in cases resulted from the foreclosure crisis.
But now...
NANCY O. RYAN, BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY: Now I'm seeing more people who are more probably higher income who have gone through their savings, who have gone through -- you know, they're starting to cash in retirement. They're doing everything they can, and they just can't hold on.
BOLDUAN: Palumbo says filing bankruptcy is still difficult to talk about. But now with a clean slate, she'll tell you things are looking up as she can finally start looking long term.
PALUMBO: I think ultimately that's how I would like the story to end, would be to have my own farm. That's always been my dream.
Hi, Lovie (ph). You're a sweetheart.
BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Lovettsville, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A promising possible new treatment for patients with DVT. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, will be along with the details.
And a child shall teach us. A little boy's breathtaking compassion in the very last days of his life.
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PHILLIPS: Promising news for people with Deep Vein Thrombosis, also known as DVT. CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joining us to tell us about this new study.
Well, tell us about it.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is so interesting because DVT, or Deep Vein Thrombosis, can really be hard to treat. And let's take a look at why they're so dangerous.
Let's say you have a blood clot right here in your leg, which is often where DVT starts. What happens is, if it travels up to your lungs, it can kill you. So what these researchers found is that when they gave people ultrasounds to the legs, that it helped dissolve the clots and then clot busting drugs could move in and work more quickly. Those sound waves just seem to break up the clots more easily.
PHILLIPS: So, we're coming into a heavy travel season. Any kind of advice? Why are we talking about this more now?
COHEN: Right, we're talking about this more now because when you travel, you have a higher risk of having a DVT. Some people call it the economy class syndrome. What happens is, you're sitting there with your legs all scrunched up and you have to stay relatively still for a long period of time.
So, if you're on a plane or on a train or in a car or whatever, move around as much as you humanly can. That is really crucial. The second thing is, if you start having redness in your leg, or if it's warm to the touch or painful, don't just sort of blow it off. You need to pay attention to it. That could be a DVT in the making. And the third thing is, if your doctor suggests it, where those compression stockings.
Kyra, they look a little bit like grandma stockings, they're not the prettiest things in the world. But they could save your life.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's true. And we have witnessed it even during the war, remember, the number of correspondents that had issues with that --
COHEN: Sure.
PHILLIPS: -- and the loss of life (ph). Even when you're flying on the airplane, sometimes they have videos now showing you these exercises that you can do.
COHEN: That's right. Just even -- right, if you're not allowed to get up, because it seems these days, a lot of times, you're stuck in your chair for a long time. They tell you not to get up. Even just moving your legs around, or wiggling them as much as you can -- see I'm doing it now, that's why I'm wiggling. Even that can help you. Just as much movement as you can possibly get. PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth, thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well a couple of weeks ago, we brought you the story of a truly inspiring kid, Brenden Foster, an 11-year-old boy dying of leukemia. There were no treatments that could help him anymore, no hope, and Brenden, well he wasn't wallowing in self-pity or anger, he was an example of what love looks like, right up until he passed away on Friday.
Elisa Jaffe from our affiliate, KOMO, looks at Brenden's life and legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENDEN FOSTER, DIAGNOSED WITH LEUKEMIA: I should be gone in a week or so.
ELISA JAFFE, KOMO REPORTER: The day I met Brenden Foster, I met an old soul in an 11-year-old's body.
(on camera): What are the best things about life?
B. FOSTER: Just having one.
JAFFE (voice-over): I didn't understand how this child, a year younger than my own son, could be so courageous facing death.
B. FOSTER: It happens. It's natural.
JAFFE: Three years earlier, doctors diagnosed Brenden with leukemia.
B. FOSTER: I was scared.
JAFFE: The boy who once rushed through homework so he could play outside was now confined to a bed.
B. FOSTER: I had a great time. And until my time has come, I'm going to keep having a good time.
JAFFE: Brenden's selfless dying wish, helping the homeless. But he was too ill to feed them on his own. So volunteers from Emerald City Lights passed out sandwiches in Seattle, people in Los Angeles held a food drive, school kids in Ohio collected cans, they gathered goods to feed the hungry in Pensacola, Florida and here in Brenden's hometown.
WENDY FOSTER, BRENDEN'S MOTHER: He's left a legacy, and he's 11. He's done more than most people ever even dream of doing, just by making a wish.
JAFFE: Brenden's wish came true and he lived to see it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has had the joy of seeing all of the beautiful response to his last wish. He -- it gives him great peace and he knows that his life has meaning.
JAFFE: Days before dying, Brenden surprised us all with a sudden burst of energy. He wanted off oxygen and out of bed to buy a video game. Wise beyond his years, but still a kid.
W. FOSTER: I have been so blessed to have this child. A mother couldn't ask for a better son.
JAFFE: B-man, as his family calls him, had another wish, to save the bees by sprinkling wildflower seeds. Packets of seeds will be passed out as his funeral.
Before dying in his mother's arms, Brenden said he's amazed that a young boy could make such a big difference.
(on camera): What gets you sad, sweetie?
B. FOSTER: When someone gives up.
JAFFE (voice-over): Brenden Foster never gave up --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Brenden.
JAFFE: -- even at the end, Brenden kept giving.
B. FOSTER: Don't let anything stop you.
JAFFE: Elisa Jaffe, KOMO 4 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well I know this story had a really big effect on us here in the newsroom, and maybe it's made some of you think about ways to live your life and help others as well. If you'd like to keep Brenden's spirit alive, you can visit our Impact Your World page. It links to food banks and charities accepting donations in his honor -- cnn.com/impact.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, in the search for one job, he's flunked 40 different interviews. So what's a guy with an economics degree from the University of Southern California to do if he can't find one steady job? Well, he's found 50. Daniel Seddiqui got creative and lined up 50 jobs in 50 states. He is spending one week at each job in each state. And so far, he's held a dozen gigs, from a logger in Oregon, to a radio announcer in South Dakota to a general store owner in Montana to an agronomist in Iowa to Mormon church worker in Utah. Daniel joins me now live from Palo Alto, California where he's taking the week off to actually spend Thanksgiving with his family.
Good to see you, Daniel.
DANIEL SEDDIQUI, WORKING 50 JOBS, 50 STATES: Yes, thanks for having me.
PHILLIPS: So what's up with the cowboy hat?
SEDDIQUI: This is one of my favorite memorabilias that -- there were South Dakotans that dressed me up to fit the part as a rodeo announcer. And I just was wearing city clothes when I walked in and everyone noticed I was an outsider, so they helped me out.
PHILLIPS: Did you get some Wranglers and roper boats, as well?
SEDDIQUI: Yes, they got me boots, a belt, everything.
PHILLIPS: So did you become a good rodeo announcer?
SEDDIQUI: I don't think I was, because you need a lot of practice.
PHILLIPS: Well give me a little something.
SEDDIQUI: Oh, don't make me do this.
PHILLIPS: OK.
SEDDIQUI: All I can say is like, wow, look at that horse go, and the guy is crazy for doing this.
PHILLIPS: OK. Now, you have a degree from USC. Hello, I went there, too. It's the university of social contacts is what we used to call it. There you go. Fight on. So I would think that you wouldn't have a problem finding a job. That's why we go to USC and go into debt for more than a decade, it's for having contacts.
SEDDIQUI: Yes, I didn't think I was going to have a problem either. I mean, I got the interviews, but I couldn't pass them. And I was frustrated.
And I just came up with this idea, because people said, oh, you have to have experience to get these entry-level jobs. I'm like, well, these are entry-level jobs, that means enter into our company, so -- with no experience. So they're saying, no, you need experience, at least three years. So now I'm getting 50 jobs of experience.
PHILLIPS: OK. So you've come up with this idea. How did you decide what kind of job you wanted to go for and how did you know you were going to get it?
SEDDIQUI: Oh, I had no idea. I've been rejected 2,000 times from setting up this project. And I'm not scared of failure because I'm used to it.
PHILLIPS: That's going to make dating easy for you if you've been rejected 2,000 times, my friend.
SEDDIQUI: I guess so.
PHILLIPS: Anyway, I digress. Go ahead.
SEDDIQUI: A lot of these jobs just came up -- like when you think of Oregon, you think of logging. When you think of Florida, you think of amusement parks.
But a lot of these, I had to research. Like North Dakota, I worked as a cartographer, which is the most popular career in Fargo. So a lot of them -- they're all stereotypical jobs for each state. So I thought it'd be a good theme.
PHILLIPS: So why was Minnesota your favorite? What did you do there?
SEDDIQUI: Well, the people there were so nice. I don't know if you've heard the term Minnesota nice. That's true. They are the nicest people.
I worked as a manufacturer. And these manufacturers gave me $500 from their pocket, of their own money, to help support me for the rest of my journey.
PHILLIPS: What did you do there?
SEDDIQUI: I was making medical equipment.
PHILLIPS: OK.
SEDDIQUI: And even after -- after work, we went fishing and I caught 12 fish for the first time. It was just a good cultural experience. And that's what my project is all about, too. It's just the cultural aspect of this country.
PHILLIPS: I love it.
What was the worst job?
SEDDIQUI: The worst? I'm not supposed to be biased on my project here, but I can tell you my worst experience --
PHILLIPS: OK. What was the worst experience?
SEDDIQUI: I was in Wyoming in the middle of nowhere at Devils Tower. And the park ranger, the chief ranger, she made me sweep the whole path around Devils Tower, which was two miles and left by myself for 11 hours with no food and water. And I'm like, is this what rangers do or are they using me?
PHILLIPS: I think you got punked on that one, Daniel.
SEDDIQUI: Yes, I think so.
PHILLIPS: So how has this changed your life? Has it broken any stereotypes? Has it made you more open to other ways of life or jobs?
SEDDIQUI: I made something really negative like just failing, and I could have just been more frustrated, or I could make this a positive, which I've done. And I'm helping people around the country. You know, you've got to find alternatives, like I have. I studied econ, but I'm not really looking for a finance or anything relevant right now. And so right now I'm showing people that you can find an alternative.
In real life, I was actually a collegiate coach when I couldn't find an econ job. So I went into athletics. Then I tried marketing. So you just have to find different things to make things work.
PHILLIPS: So I understand you're now headed to Vegas to work in a wedding chapel.
SEDDIQUI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Are you going to dress like Elvis?
SEDDIQUI: I think they'll probably make me do a lot of things over there. I'm not quite sure. But I know I'm driving a limousine and all that. So it's going to be crazy.
PHILLIPS: Are you ever going to take a full-time job?
SEDDIQUI: After this you mean?
PHILLIPS: Uh-huh.
SEDDIQUI: We'll see. I have 50 careers to choose from. And if I don't find a career after that, then there's something wrong with me.
PHILLIPS: Well I heard you're trying to work a job at CNN. Is that true?
SEDDIQUI: When I come to Atlanta, I can change my cowboy hat to a CNN hat and we'll make it work.
PHILLIPS: I don't know. You look pretty good in a cowboy hat. We were kind of thinking what that might look like on set.
SEDDIQUI: I've also got my logger hat from Oregon.
PHILLIPS: OK.
SEDDIQUI: And also I got my farming hat from Nebraska.
PHILLIPS: All right, I like those.
Do you have a monitor there? Can you actually see yourself?
SEDDIQUI: No, I can't.
PHILLIPS: Oh, all right. Well basically we have a picture of the two of us anchoring together in your cowboy hat. I'm kind of liking the cowboy look.
SEDDIQUI: Oh you like the cowboy hat? Well it's on the floor now and I can't get up.
PHILLIPS: OK. All right, Daniel, promise us that you will keep us posted on your travels. We look forward to meeting you in Atlanta. And we'll give you a shot, OK?
SEDDIQUI: OK.
PHILLIPS: We'll see how you can do up here.
SEDDIQUI: Awesome. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You went to USC, I've got to help a brother out.
SEDDIQUI: All right.
PHILLIPS: Daniel, look forward to the book. It will pay off your education.
SEDDIQUI: Yes. Check out livingthemap.com and you can see what my daily journal is all about.
PHILLIPS: That's right, you've got a great blog. All right, everybody tune in. Think of a job for Daniel as he comes through your state.
We'll see you soon.
SEDDIQUI: All right, thank you.
PHILLIPS: OK.
Well, your waiter will take your order now, just now cracks about the monkey suit, please. Good service for a soybean or two. I don't think David (sic) will get a job there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, with many businesses in Japan feeling the economic pinch, one tavern is changing the face of customer service to turn a profit. It's employing a couple of unique waiters.
CNN's Kyung Lah has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you order a beer at Kayabuki Tavern, the waiter scampering to your table is in a monkey suit, a real one. From the hot hand towels to the ashtrays to taking your money and delivering your change, 5-year-old Pukachan (ph) and 12- year-old Ya Chan (ph) are the working the tables, unlike thousands of food service employees who are expected to lose their jobs this year.
(on camera): It's a tough time for Tokyo's 160,000 restaurants. 2008 will be a record-breaker for the number of restaurant bankruptcies in Tokyo. Kayabuki says, sure, it's relying on a gimmick, but that gimmick is keeping it open.
(voice-over): "Because of my monkeys, we get all kinds of customers" says the tavern's owner. "We're not affected by the economic downturn." They're even bringing in tourists from around the globe.
KAYE FENNER, AMERICAN TOURIST: It's crazy.
LAH: The Fenners, from St. Joseph, Michigan, saw the waiter monkeys on YouTube and just had to see it for themselves as part of the Tokyo vacation, not exactly something they'd see back home.
GREG FENNER, AMERICAN TOURIST: I don't think they'd allow it. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it, but the animal rights people probably wouldn't allow it.
LAH: The owner gets around that by working his pet monkeys only two hours a day. Health department inspectors gave this the green light, as long as the monkeys wear clothes, says (INAUDIBLE).
Now, they are a nightly fixture, even helping to answer the phone. All they ask is a soybean or two from customers who are eating up the monkey show and the tavern's daily dishes. And for one restaurant surviving a global economic slowdown, that is something to cheer about.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Utsunomiya, Japan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
