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High Noon for Detroit; Cyber Monday; The Next Michael Phelps; Georgia Runoff; Palin Power; States in Need, Kid Casanova

Aired December 02, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Here are the headlines for CNN this Tuesday, the 2nd day of December. High noon for Detroit. This is the hour the Big Three automakers hand over restructuring plans to Congress. Will the financial blueprints get them a taxpayer loan and a sea of mourners in Israel? Jewish victims of the Mumbai terror attacks are laid to rest.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, they're hoping to make a better impression this time. The Big Three automakers hand over their restructuring plans to Congress this hour. They'll answer lawmakers' questions later in the week.

Ford's chairman will arrive in Washington in a Ford Escape hybrid. The auto executives were trashed for taking private jets their last Washington appearance and then asking for a taxpayer loan. As part of its overhaul, Ford announced it will sell its private jets to raise cash.

One of Chrysler's top executives rallied port workers in Baltimore today. The company hoping to make the point the industry reaches far beyond Detroit. Chrysler says it is the Port of Baltimore's largest export.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM PRESS, PRESIDENT, CHRYSLER LLC: Here we are in a port in Baltimore. What are we doing here? The fact of the matter is, this is a great place for us to show the effect of this industry at the level of each of us on the street. Working people.

Chrysler is the largest, the largest exporter of vehicles through this port. The largest exporter of goods through this port. The automobile industry in the United States is the largest exporting industry in dollars in the United States. We're the industry that's actually creating wealth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: How do the carmakers plan to transform themselves? For one thing, Ford said today it will build cars people want to buy. Hmm.

Our Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill where the plans are due this hour. Kate, we know Ford's plan in. We'll talk about that in a moment, I'm sure. What about Chrysler and GM plans? Are they in yet?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From what we hear on this side of Washington, they're not in quite yet. The latest we've heard from a source close to the GM dealings with Congress in terms of this bailout issue is that GM is expected to submit their proposal about 3:00 or 4:00 Eastern, and no word yet on Chrysler. You know, the deadline was a vague December 2nd. So it could happen anytime today. It really depends when they get done and when they get here, Tony, to be quite honest.

As you mentioned, Ford, here it is. They are the first one to get their plan in. It's about 30 pitches, detailing their business plan. Their proposal trying once again to make the case of why they should get an emergency loan. Why Washington should offer a bailout to the auto industry.

Some of the highlights from the Ford proposal, they're asking for access of $9 billion dollars in federal financing. According to the proposal they'll be selling corporate jets in order to raise money, or save money, as well as accelerate plans for electric cars and noteworthy, they say the CEO will be taking a major pay cut. Only having about, not about, a $1 annual salary. If they do get this loan.

And that's something we've heard from, that's been confirmed from GM as well as Chrysler. That their CEOs will accept that drastic pay cut if they get the loan. All part of them trying to prove they are coming here and need these funds. They're also, as you mentioned, coming here in a very different mode of transportation this time around, Tony, which is, kind of an acknowledgement or at least they are aware of the public relations gaffe that happened last time around and we can see that they're being very careful, we can see, to make a better public appearance as they're about to head back to Washington this time.

HARRIS: OK. Kate, give us a heads-up when you get an opportunity to review the GM and Chrysler plans. Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill for us.

The Big Three's makeover plans apparently include concessions from the United Auto Workers. The UAW has called local leaders from around the country were called to an emergency meeting tomorrow. The UAW president would not say whether he'll reopen contract negotiations with GM, Ford and Chrysler, but analysts expect concessions on job security and retiree health care.

Attackers in India were on a suicide mission. That conclusion today from Mumbai's police chief discussing last week's terrorist attacks. Indian forces killed nine of the 10 assailants.

The police chief says the captured militant is cooperating well, he is said to have been trained by a Pakistani terrorist group blamed for a previous attacked in India. Officials now renewing pleas to hand over suspected terrorist leaders. India confirms U.S. intelligence had warned them twice of the possible attacks. Those warnings coming just weeks before the massacre that left almost 180 dead.

Our Larry King gets reaction from the Pakistan president as his country faces India's accusations. You can watch that exclusive view tonight at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

While officials focus on investigating the terror attack, thousands of Israelis are mourning those killed at Jewish center in Mumbai. Our Paula Hancocks live in Jerusalem. Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Tony.

Well, there have been funerals across Israel this Tuesday. Six in all. We went to the remembrance service and the funeral of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka. They were the ones in charge of the Chabad Center, the ones who were killed in the Chabad Center and of course their tragedy has been taken onboard by many Israelis and many around the world because they had left a two-year-old son Moshe.

Now you'll remember the pictures last Thursday when his nanny, Sandra Samuel, managed to grab him and escape in the middle of that attack. So that certainly, Tony, hit the heart strings of many here.

Now it was an emotional funeral. There were thousands of people that had come from all across the country, all across the world. There were rabbis from New York, from Moscow, from China, from South Africa. All of them wanting to come and pay their respects. Many of them emissaries who are doing the same job now that the rabbi and his wife were doing in Mumbai when they were killed.

Now, afterwards they were taken to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem to be buried. And certainly a somber day for Israel. Tony?

HARRIS: Paula Hancocks for us in Jerusalem. Paula, thank you.

The deaths are being mourned in Jewish communities around the world. Our Josh Levs joins us with reaction from two U.S. rabbis.

Well, the clock may be ticking down for a terror attack in the United States. What form might it take?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Welcome back everyone to the CNN Center. I'm Tony Harris. Could your favorite domestic car brand be going away? Find out which ones may be on life support.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Terrorists will probably attack the United States in the next five years, most likely with a biological weapon. That finding from a bipartisan commission assembled by Congress. It is urging President-Elect Barack Obama to be prepared for germ warfare. For more on the possible threat, here's CNN's Jeanne Meserve, our homeland security correspondent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. President, anthrax, smallpox, ebola, a report being issued this week says the risk of an attack way weapon like this is great and growing.

SEN. BOB GRAHAM, CHAIRMAN, WMD COMMISSION: We assessed that it was more likely that the United States and the world would be attacked with a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon.

MESERVE: Almost 15,000 scientists in the U.S. work with dangerous pathogens to develop vaccines and other countermeasures. There is security.

BILL BENTLEY, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BIOENGINEERING: We need to continually push the knowledge front, but also recognize that we have a duty to society to make sure that we deal with the regulatory agencies.

MESERVE: But many experts are sounding an alarm. In 1918, a virulent strain of influenza killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million worldwide. That virus has been re-created from scratch in a laboratory. So has the polio virus. The capability and technology to do this science is spreading across the globe to places like Indonesia, Pakistan and Iran, increasing the odds that a deadly virus or bacteria could fall into the wrong hands and be used as weapon. It's already happened here with anthrax.

BRIAN FINDLAY, STIMPSON CENTER: We cannot in this world preclude a biological attack. It's simply impossible.

MESERVE: But the congressionally mandated Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction in a report this week says there are steps that could make a biological attack less likely. Tighter security at U.S. labs handling dangerous pathogens. A strengthening of international treatise. Enhanced disease surveillance to detect an attack and better forensics to track where it came from.

GRAHAM: Leadership of this country and the world will have to decide how much of a priority do they place on avoiding the worst weapons in the world getting in the hands of the worst people in the world.

MESERVE (on camera): In preparing its report the commission had intended to visit Pakistan, but as members waited to board a plane they got word the Marriott Hotel where they planned to stay had been bombed. Reinforcing for them the urgency of stemming off terrorist threats. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin nicknamed Chemical Ali has been sentenced to death for a second time. Iraqi state television reporting that today. The former Iraqi general faces the gallows this time for his role in the killing of tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims during an uprising in the early '90s after the First Gulf War. Chemical Ali's first death sentence is related to the Anfal campaign against Iraq's Kurdish population.

Rabbis react to the attack on fellow Jews in India.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And a news conference wrapping up a short time ago with the good news that former First Lady Barbara Bush is being discharged from the Methodist Hospital in Houston, as you can see. President George Herbert Walker Bush was there attending the press conference. Spoke briefly just to say he was sorry that the Silver Fox couldn't be there herself, but doctors are saying that Barbara Bush is in good condition and is recovering from a perforated ulcer. As expected that news conference wrapping up just minutes ago.

We took you live to Israel just minutes ago as thousands gathered for the funerals of six people killed at a Jewish center during last week's terror attacks in Mumbai, a young rabbi and his wife among the dead. So many mourners coming out today. The funerals had to be held outside the headquarters of the Orthodox Jewish movement. The sadness that the victims were targeted because of their religion.

Our Josh Levs has been in contact two U.S. rabbis trying to help their congregations process. Josh, what has happened?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot to process, obviously. The rabbi who is being mourned in that funeral we're looking at is part of Chabad, part of the Orthodox part of Judaism. I spoke with a Chabad rabbi about what can be learned through all this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI YOSSI LEW, CHABAD OF GEORGIA: A few dozen people can sit and plan for so many years something as evil and murderous and terrible and as terrifying as what they did, then if we could all band together, a few dozen, a few hundred, a thousand, a million of us and plan to do something good, to take over the world with goodness, I think that would be the perfect answer.

Of course, the immediate response would have to be beefed up security and protection, but we really need to figure out a way to respond and to answer this question by flooding the world with goodness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Flooding the world with goodness, he says. I also interviewed a Reform rabbi. Author of the book, "What God Can Do for You Now." And I ask him what he tells congregants about the role of God in this horror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI ROBERT LEVINE, CONGREGATION RODEPH SHALOM: In my book, josh, I make the point that God has entered into a relationship with us. God is not with the terrorists. God is with the commandos fighting terrorism. God is with Sandra Samuel who ran in to rescue little Moshe. That God expects us to have a partnership. God will do God's part, we have to do ours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Now both men say that they're really focused on encouraging people to make the world better by supporting reconciliation efforts and reaching out to people of all religions. You can see the full interview at cnn.com.

And Tony, as I mentioned last hour, the Chabad rabbi that we just saw presided over a baby naming, a baby named after Rivka Holtzberg. The wife of the Chabad rabbi being buried today.

HARRIS: So sad. All right. Josh Levs for us. Thank you.

LEVS: Thanks.

HARRIS: Staying on international concerns for just a moment longer here. Thailand's prime minister ousted today by a court decision. This comes after weeks of protest, closed airports in the capital of Bangkok. Some 300,000 travelers stranded. The economy is starting to feel the pinch. Protesters are promising to lift their siege and international flights expected to resume Friday.

Have America's automakers come up way sufficient plan to convince Congress to provide a bailout? That's the question.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's check out the Big Board now. Boy, just about three hours into the trading day. Look what we have here after the terrible losses of yesterday. In which the Dow gave up just about all of its gains of last week. A nice rally for stocks now as you can see. In positive territory big time. The Dow up 254 points. Perhaps we'll get a minute to get a check of the markets with Susan Lisovicz maybe a bit later in this hour in the NEWSROOM.

More homeowners are getting behind on mortgage. The credit report agency Transunion says the delinquency rate shot up one in every quarter. One in every 25 homeowners is 60 days late. The FDIC is working to slow the foreclosure epidemic. I spoke with Chairman Sheila Bair about her plan to modify mortgages.

She's do it through interest rate reductions and longer repayment terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEILA BAIR, FDIC CHAIRMAN: About 70 percent of the time we can get to an affordable payment with an interest rate reduction. And it's available to anyone. We are not re-underwriting and individually negotiating each loan. So your FICO, whatever, that really doesn't matter. We're going to look, we're going to verify your income, look at your income and what you can afford, get your payment down to an affordable debt to income ratio and then if can you verify your income you'll get the modification. HARRIS: That's what we're calling the Indymac model. That's helpful as we look at perhaps extending this across the country. Susan, jump on it here.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Then let's talk about that, Chairman Bair. The mortgage business changed dramatically since our parents bought their home. The old days, you go to a mortgage company, they give you the loan. They hold the loan. Now that loan is sold off to investors.

BAIR: That's right.

LISOVICZ: And investors don't like the fact these loans will be modified because they take losses and have already been hit with losses. And there have been already reports that some prominent investors are going to sue. How do you make that work?

BAIR: Right. Well, we actually -- we looked at the authorities in our pooling and servicing agreements. Those the contracts that govern what a servicer can do working for the investors to service these loans. Most of these pooling and servicing agreements give wide flexibility to servicers to modify loans. The main restriction in our pooling and service agreement, with Indymac, is that we can't do it before it becomes 60 days delinquent. But other than that, a wide range of tools including reductions to modify the loan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And very quickly, now, we want to get you to some sounds from just moments ago from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the governor's meeting in Philadelphia talking about the fiscal emergency for his state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) CA: Ready to go, we wanted to share our opinion, of course, California has been in the forefront when it comes to infrastructure, that the people of California and also the legislators made a commitment in 2006 for $42 billion of infrastructure to rebuild the roads, on-ramp, off-ramps, tunnels, bridges, schools, levees and all kinds of things. And so we hope that is an inspiration to the federal government and to the Obama administration to do the same thing nationwide.

The people of California just have approved an additional $10 billion in high-speed rail, which I think is another important thing, because I think there's no reason that we in America should be traveling the same speed as we did 100 years ago. I think other countries all over the world are building the high-speed rail. I think that's what we should do also here in America.

So there's a lot of things, I mean, America has not done anything when it comes to real serious infrastructure building in the last four decades. I think it's time we get our act together and do it. This is a good opportunity not only because it will build infrastructure but creates great jobs and gets the economy stimulated. So that's exactly what we need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California's governor in Philadelphia for the governor's meeting. Governor Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency for his state and called lawmakers into a special session to address California's, listen to this, $11.2 billion budget deficit. The governor adding unless budget corrections are made quickly the state is likely to run out of cash in February, and Governor Schwarzenegger asking for help from President- Elect Obama.

Another airline merger could be in the works. British Airways confirms it is in merger talks with Australian airline Qantas. CNN's Richard Quest live from London with details. Richard, good to see you.

Maybe a stronger together than apart is the working theme here. How far along are these talks? Do we know?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT ... about getting together, the two have a long, long-standing code sharing arrangement between London and Sydney, they are both part of One World Alliance is along with American Airlines, and Qantas and BA have been crying for ages that consolidation is the way of the future in the aviation industry. You've seen it in the U.S. with Delta-Northwest, you've seen United and Continental code sharing and seeking approval.

British Airways, how about this, Tony? British Airways is not only trying to get immunity with America, it's not only trying to merge with Qantas, it's also trying to merge with Iberia of Spain at the moment. Now that gives you an idea, Tony, of how big this is.

HARRIS: Wow. Richard, maybe just too early to know the size of it, but whatever we see these mergers and particularly recently, there are layoffs that are associated with them. And would that -- would you expect that to be the case with this merger as well?

QUEST: Yes. We've seen these things before with Air France, KLF, it's not at new way of doing things at Delta, Northwest. Remember, from the U.S. perspective, Qantas is about to face new competition. If you're going from Los Angeles or San Francisco down to Australia, there is only two airlines that will take you there. That is Qantas and United. Now, V Australia (ph) is about to start next year. The intensity on these routes at the worst possible time, Tony. That's what this is all about. Making sure you're still in business this time next year.

HARRIS: Richard Quest for us in London. Richard, good to see you.

When we come back we will talk to Ali Velshi, some analysis of the plans to keep the big three automakers viable.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: The big three automakers hand in their restructuring proposals to Congress this hour. A blueprint to turn a clunker into a sleek sports car. Senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is in New York.

And maybe I go too far there, Ali.

You know, you've gotten a peak at the plan. Why don't you walk us through it today.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've got Ford's plan so far. All three plans will be in today. It's the deadline that Congress imposed on them. Ford's plan came in this morning. GM's and Chrysler's are expected shortly.

Ford was early because Ford has got the best story. You sort of talked about turning a clunker into a sports car. Ford makes good sports cars. They've got that Mustang. They need to make more things like that. So here's their plan.

Number one, they say that out of that $25 billion that the automakers are asking Detroit, they might want to access $9 billion of it. Although Ford's CEO does say, and he said this to me a couple of weeks ago, their plan indicates that they won't need to use it. So they might need to uses it if things go worse an expected in 2009, but they're hoping not to use it.

Number two, they are going to focus on small and medium-sized cars. This is something we've known. Ford has been ahead of the other two automakers in actually making the shift over the last few years. Ford made some tough decisions almost five years ago to become a smaller, nimbler company. Nimbler company. You know what I'm talking about.

HARRIS: Yes, I'm with you. I'm with you.

VELSHI: They sold a number of the brands that weren't working for them. So they're going to focus on smaller cars. They are talking about investing $14 billion, Tony, into making cars more fuel efficient. And that is the technology that Congress and the Obama administration, incoming administration, had asked the auto companies to look at.

They are going to sell their five corporate jets. And the CEO, Alan Mulally, along with the other two CEOs of the Detroit three, are going to be agreeing to take a $1 salary in the event that they get this bailout. Also they're going to suspend all bonuses for management and staff in the United States.

HARRIS: They've got to continue to make that a, what is it, the F-150 that is so popular?

VELSHI: That's right. The F series truck have been the most popular trucks in the history of -- most popular vehicles, really, in U.S. sales history for three decades or so. But the higher gas prices really put a dent into all their truck and SUV sales. HARRIS: How about sales numbers? Are there some sales numbers there?

VELSHI: Yes, sales numbers have just came in. They're substantially lower. I'm waiting for the other ones to come in. But Ford's sales are down 31 percent compared to a year ago. Now we've been seeing numbers of that sort ever since gas hit about $3 on the upside. Going that way. And funny enough, as we come down, we're not seeing -- and it's not funny at all. We're not seeing any improvement in those numbers because while gas prices are lower, fundamentally people have harder access to credit and they just don't have the money. They're worried about their jobs. So we have gone -- we're going to be looking at about 10 million or 11 million cars sold in the United States this year. We peaked out at about 60 million.

HARRIS: Right. Right. I did hear that.

Hey, so today is the show portion of the show and tell program. Get the plans in.

VELSHI: Yes.

HARRIS: Let all the representatives take a look at it. And then is it Thursday?

VELSHI: Thursday, yes. We're going to have the discussion in Congress that we should have had the last time the hearings were on. They should have come with a plan and then they can discuss the meat in that plan. I mean $25 billion. How are they going to parse it out? Is Congress going to believe them? And are they going get their money?

HARRIS: Ali, good to see you.

VELSHI: You too, my friend.

HARRIS: Thank you, sir.

CNNMoney.com has a gallery of the brands Detroit may ditch in an effort to become financially self-sufficient in the future. The list reportedly includes venerable name plates that date to the, wow, the early years of the industry. We're talking about Buick, Pontiac, Mercury. Log on to CNNMoney.com for the full list.

Cyber Monday. Online retailers opened their virtual doors to shoppers looking for holiday deals yesterday. How did they fare? Veronica De La Cruz joins us now from New York with details.

How did they do, Veronica?

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.

Well, early estimates show that Cyber Monday fell flat.

HARRIS: Oh, boy. DE LA CRUZ: Fell flat. The Associated Press has been reporting that online sales were actually better on Black Friday, Tony, than they were yesterday. But we're still hanging out, waiting for the official word.

So check this out, Tony. In the meantime, retailers like Wal- Mart, Targets, Barnes & Noble, are continuing their sales through Friday, or even the weekend, so that that kind of shows you, you know, that Cyber Monday didn't really go all that well. And the National Retail Federation is reporting that more than 80 percent of web retailers did offer a deal this year, which is up from 72 percent last year.

Tony, check this out. Other web sites like idealbite.com are extending holiday online shopping by offering what they're calling Green Tuesday deals. Green Tuesday. If you shop at any of these retailers, you'll receive a 20 percent discount, while at the same time remaining environmentally cautious. So that's pretty cool. Green Tuesday.

HARRIS: Like that.

DE LA CRUZ: But, you know, a word of warning here. PC Tools says that this can also be looked at as the most dangerous time of the year for online shoppers. Cyber thieves, scammers all looking for ways to make a buck. So a couple of things you probably want to know before you get out your credit card. You want to figure out whether or not the site is secure. It should start with https or there should be that little yellow lockpad next to the URL.

Also, don't click on links to get you to places. Type in the URL for the retailer yourself. And don't use your debit card for purchases. Use a credit card that has purchase protection. And you probably want to stick with familiar retailers.

You know, Tony, we've been asking people on Twitter and Facebook if they're going to be shopping online for the holidays. Kasel Surakamal said this. He says, "I do 90 percent of my Christmas shopping online. One advantage for me is having gifts shipped directly to my sister's house where we will be. I can fly there and not have to check luggage. Then I wrap gifts when I arrive."

HARRIS: That's smart. Yes.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes, very smart.

So you can weigh in with your thoughts. Log on to Facebook. Search Veronica De La Cruz in the CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris. Also follow me on Twitter at veronicadlcruz.

HARRIS: Awesome, lady. See you tomorrow.

DE LA CRUZ: All right, Tony, have a good day.

HARRIS: Thank you.

Let's get a check of weather now. Where's the man? There he is. Chad Myers in the weather center.

And, Chad, good to see you. Doctor, what are you watching today?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Could your child be the next Michael Phelps? How about Michael Jordan? A company says it can help you find out well in advance with a $149 genetic test. Oh, really?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, really. That's what a lot of scientists said to me, oh, really?

HARRIS: $149, huh?

COHEN: Yes.

HARRIS: And I can tell you if your child is going to make $25 million a year. Hello! Elizabeth Cohen is here.

Is this for real, Elizabeth?

COHEN: We're done. That was basically it.

HARRIS: That's it. We're done.

COHEN: That's right. That's basically it.

Yes, this -- well, it's on the Internet. You can get this test if you want to dish out that $149. And what the company says is, look, we're not going to 100 percent predict whether your kid's going to be a great athlete, but we can tell you if there is an increased chance that he or she will be better at one sport than other. So let's take a look at some of the basics.

What this company, Atlas, says that they will do is for your child, ages one through eight, they will swab the inside of your cheek, so there's no pain or anything, and you send them a check for $149 and they will tell you if your kid has, again, an increased chance of being more or less successful at particular sports.

HARRIS: Did you run this by the scientists?

COHEN: Of course I did.

HARRIS: Of course you did. And what are they saying about this?

COHEN: The same kind of the same thing that you said, and you're not even a scientist, which is pretty interesting.

HARRIS: Come on. I play one on television is all.

COHEN: They used words like, balderdash. They used words like, snake oil. They used words that I can't say here on television. They said there are so many things that go into being a good athlete that just one gene that predicts protein that your muscles make, that, you know, that's an interesting little tid bit but it's not going to predict whether or not your kid is going to be good. It doesn't test for eye/hand coordination. It doesn't test for mental toughness. It doesn't test for the size of your muscles. It doesn't test for how strong your kid is in all ways.

HARRIS: Come on. And what's in your head and in your heart. Come on.

COHEN: Hugely important. Hugely important.

HARRIS: If you had given me a few more resources growing up, I'd be Roger Federer right now. It's not the case.

All right. I would imagine -- balderdash. That's a good one.

COHEN: Yes, balderdash.

HARRIS: I need to work that into more sentences.

COHEN: He was British. So when you're British, it sounds really good with an accent, right.

HARRIS: So I know you talked to the company and they would beg to differ with terms like balderdash?

COHEN: Yes. This is what they say on their web site. They say that their test that, they are on the leading edge.

HARRIS: Sure.

COHEN: The test "is a leading edge athletic talent identification test," and that "this gene may determine the type of athlete you were born to be." That is what they say. And, you know, genes obviously play a role. If mom and dad are five feet tall, the chance they're going to give birth to a center forward on an NBA team are slim to none, but you don't need a DNA test to tell you that. You can just look at mom and dad.

HARRIS: Mom, Kaitlyn (ph), Michael (ph), it's in your mom's genes. It's not mine.

Elizabeth, thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

HARRIS: I'm sure I made a hash of that.

Voters in Georgia could hold a very important key to the balance of power in Washington. What will they decide?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Three years behind schedule and way over budget, but just in time for the inauguration. The Capitol Visitor's Center in Washington finally opened today. It includes an exhibition hall with historic documents, artifacts and interactive computers. Construction costs, listen to this, $621 million. Almost $361 million over budget. In Georgia today, a Senate runoff race between incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss and challenger Democrat Jim Martin. It is one of two unresolved races that could -- could -- help Democrats achieve a Senate super majority. When voters went to the polls in November, long lines. What's it like now? Live now to Rusty Dornin in Loganville.

Rusty. Looks pretty empty behind you there, Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty empty right now, Tony.

HARRIS: I hear an echo, actually.

DORNIN: They've been doing a brisk business at this precinct. There was actually a line around the building when they opened the doors at 7:00 a.m. But, yes, they are predicting a much lower turnout during this runoff. Very important race. National spotlight is here. Incumbent Saxby Chambliss, of course, running against his fraternity brother from college, Democrat Jim Martin.

Now Martin and also Saxby have called in the headliners. For Martin we had former President Bill Clinton, along with Al Gore, of course, campaigning for him across Georgia. And sort of an odd pairing last night. Ludacris appeared, the rapper, with Jim Martin. But Martin says, he really represents something that's not the old guard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MARTIN, (D) GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: The issue really is, who can effectively represent Georgia in the United States Senate? Saxby had his chance. He didn't do that very well. I'll go to Washington to work with our new president across party line, Republicans and Democrats, to get this economy moving again and to solve the problems that this nation faces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: And for the Republicans, as well, has been campaigning with the stars. Of course, John McCain, fresh off his presidential bid, was campaigning for Saxby Chambliss. Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee. But, of course, the big crowd attractor was Sarah Palin. She was in Georgia yesterday. Hit four different towns in Georgia. Drew a lot of crowds. Thousands of people came to hear her speak. And Chambliss really is trying -- putting the focus on the fact that this is a very important seat nationally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, (R) GEORGIA: Georgians are going to speak with a loud and clear voice that we want to make sure that we have at least 41 Republicans in the United States Senate!

(END VIDEO CLIP) DORNIN: OK. And the reason that the spotlight is focused here is that if the Democrats gain another seat, that makes 59. That means they're only one away from gaining a filibuster-proof majority, Tony, and the Republicans definitely don't want to see that.

HARRIS: That's right.

DORNIN: So a lot of money being poured in by both sides here fighting for this seat.

Tony.

HARRIS: Rusty Dornin for us in Loganville, Georgia.

Rusty, appreciate it. Thank you.

And to get voters back to polls, Georgia Democrat Jim Martin, as you just heard from Rusty, enlisted the help of hip-hop stars like T.I., Young Jeezy and Ludacris. But Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss has had another kind of star power by his side, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She's back and still drawing crowds. CNN's Gary Tuchman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): When Saxby Chambliss took the stage at a Senate re-election rally in Savannah, Georgia, his supporters were happy to see him. But when a certain campaign surrogate took the stage . . .

SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS, (R) GEORGIA: Would you please help me welcome Governor Sarah Palin!

TUCHMAN: You might have forgotten whose rally this was supposed to be.

GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) ALASKA: Georgia, we're counting on you. The rest of the United States of America is counting on you to send Saxby back to the United States Senate. We're counting on you.

TUCHMAN: Alaska's governor and former vice president candidate, Sarah Palin, made stops across the state of Georgia on behalf of Senator Saxby Chambliss. Her star power bringing out much bigger crowds than the low-key Chambliss could have ever gotten on his own.

PALIN: The majority party seeks to limit our rights under the second amendment. We need Saxby to remind them, no, those rights will not be infringed upon.

TUCHMAN: Most Americans either never heard of or knew very little about Sarah Palin just a few months ago. Now, many people are attending Georgia's Senate rallies because of her.

How come you decided to come here today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To see Sarah Palin. That's the only reason. TUCHMAN: What do you think about Sarah Palin?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she's great. And I hope she will run in 2012.

TUCHMAN: What is it about Sarah Palin that attracts you so much?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sarah Palin? Well, I mean, she's hot.

TUCHMAN: Governor, are you missing the campaign trail? Are you missing the campaign trail, governor?

PALIN: No. I'm enjoying doing my work.

TUCHMAN: Palin spoke on stage for about 10 minutes at the Savannah rally. But Chambliss only spoke for two minutes. An implicit acknowledgment who the star was here.

PALIN: Thank you! Thank you so much. I am so happy to get to be here with you guys.

TUCHMAN: We were curious if Chambliss will be paying a political I.O.U.

Governor, will support Palin for president in 2012?

CHAMBLISS: Hey, wherever she wants to go.

TUCHMAN: For now, she goes back to Alaska, her fame still definitely intact.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The recession forcing the nation's governors to cut services and lay off workers. They're looking to President-elect Barack Obama's economic recovery plan for help. Suzanne Malveaux live from Philadelphia where Obama spoke to the National Governor's Association a short time ago.

And let me do a little housekeeping here first, Suzanne.

Governor Schwarzenegger spoke a few moments ago talking about what all the governors are asking for from the president-elect. I may have left some -- it certainly left the impression with some with Governor Schwarzenegger, that the governor was actually asking for help with a budget crisis in California. He's not asking for that. He is asking for what all the governors are asking for, that's a stimulus package. Something that -- an infrastructure package that gets shovels in the ground.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And, Tony, it was interesting because I talked to Governor Schwarzenegger about that, asking him about what these ready programs are, ready to go programs. And essentially what they believe is that a certain amount of dollar, say $1 billion, will create through roads and bridges, infrastructure programs, will come out on top creating jobs -- some 40,000 new jobs. That is essentially what the governors are saying. That's what they're arguing.

Now they're not of all of the same mind here . Some believe that part of that economic stimulus package, that they should have those dollars. They should have those federal dollars. There are other governors who have spoken out and said, look, we need to get our own fiscal house in order. That was something that Governor Schwarzenegger was talking about.

So, overall, they are saying that, look, we need more aid when it comes to unemployment benefits, food stamps, things like that. We want a piece of this pie. But some believe that perhaps that's not a good idea to push too hard and get those federal dollars.

Now, Barack Obama took it of this in. It was about 70 minutes or so when he sat down and basically was listening to what they had to say. The various problems and things that they have to deal with. And Barack Obama also made a very -- an attempt, a very obvious attempt, to reach out to those who he had disagreed with, including the Republicans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT-ELECT: I want to deliver to my Republican colleagues who are here. I offer you the same hand of friendship, the same commitment to partnership as I do my Democratic colleagues. There is a time for campaigning and there is a time for governing. And one of the messages that Joe and I want to continually send is that we are not going to be hampered by ideology in trying to get this country back on track. We want to figure out what works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And, Tony, one of the things that was very interesting to watch was the body language and the language between Barack Obama and, of course, Sarah Palin, who was also here. She was asked about this after the meeting, because he said he wanted to reach out. Joe Biden even made a joke saying that, hey, you know, Sarah Palin and I, let's go out and we'll have a cup of coffee after this is all over. We'll sit down and chat. And Sarah Palin came back and essentially said, look, that she appreciated the invitation, she appreciated the fact that Barack Obama was reaching out to her and many of the other Republicans. So it looks like they are at least trying to get on the same page with that and, you know, no more of the, you know, kind of the back and forth that you saw before.

HARRIS: And the vice president-elect was appearing a little lonely. Said he -- the only time he was getting any attention was when Sarah Palin was around him. Would she walk out of the building with him so someone would pay attention. So some light moments there.

MALVEAUX: You know, it was really quite funny because, you know, you think about this. Someone who said that Barack Obama was paling around with terrorists. Now they're paling around together. You know, Sarah Palin here and Obama. So, obviously, they're trying to put that aside.

HARRIS: Good point.

MALVEAUX: But Biden was saying, yes, he was getting a little lonely. He didn't get to much attention any more.

HARRIS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us on Philadelphia. Suzanne, thank you.

Pearls of wisdom coming up from an eight-year-old author.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So everyone can use some advice when it comes to love. But can you get pearls of wisdom from an eight-year-old? Josh Levs . . .

LEVS: That's not Josh Levs' hand. That was Kyra's hand. Oh, man. He says Josh Levs as we see the finger polish.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Sorry. He said something about love and I'm with Tony on the set. So.

HARRIS: Here we go.

LEVS: We get to have fun at the end of the hour. That's what this is all about.

HARRIS: What the heck does an eight-year-old know?

LEVS: What do you guys think, can you get (INAUDIBLE) from an eight-year-old about love?

PHILLIPS: Hey, I'll take it from anywhere.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes.

LEVS: This kid.

HARRIS: I'm with you.

LEVS: This is a kid we know. We've interviewed him before on CNN. Alec Greven, when he was eight. I think he's now nine. When he was eight he wrote about how to talk to girls. Now it's being published by HarperCollins.

HARRIS: Oh, come on.

LEVS: How does that make you feel about you struggling in this economy? Here's a clip from our affiliate KUSA in Denver.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC GREVEN, YOUNG AUTHOR: Most girls don't really like bugs and gross things, but -- and most boys don't like things like Hannah Montana and stuff like that. Sometimes you get a girl to like you. Then she ditches you. Tip. About 73 percent of regular girls ditch boys, 98 percent of pretty girls ditch boys. Life is hard. Move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, I like that.

LEVS: Pretty strong advice, isn't it?

HARRIS: That's true. Yes. Yes.

LEVS: Let me tell you some other pearls of his wisdom. I don't know where he's going with this, but pretty girls are like cars that need a lot of oil? I don't know where he's -- where he -- how about this?

HARRIS: OK.

LEVS: YOU want the girl to notice you but you don't want to draw too much attention to yourself or she'll think you're a crazy madman who doesn't even know where his brain is.

HARRIS: That sounds like maybe dis them a little bit, right? Don't give them to much attention. That sort of thing.

LEVS: Yes, hold off a little bit.

Well, Kyra, you're a girl. Does any of this make sense to you?

PHILLIPS: No. I want all your attention on me. Thank you.

LEVS: All right. Now, you know what we're seeing -- we're seeing, quickly, I'll show you, the other story that people should check on, on CNN.com.

HARRIS: What is this? Yes.

LEVS: This is these two guys who send each other the same Christmas card every year for 60 years. They just sign it, send it back. That was coming to us from Detroit, WDIV. Check them both out at CNN.com. But basically they take the same card and they just keep sending it back and forth to each other every year. They don't write a note. They just sign it.

HARRIS: But they don't -- yes, but here's the crazy piece. They don't talk to one another during the year.

LEVS: No, they're not in touch.

HARRIS: They're just -- this is their only way to communicate. This is it.

LEVS: This is their way of saying, "I still love you, man."

PHILLIPS: Better than fruit cake, fruit roll, fruit log, whatever the hell it is grandma sends every year.

LEVS: You know, when Kyra's done with this show, I'm going to read her the rest of the these pearls of wisdom and see if any of this is true. Maybe I can apply it to my life.

PHILLIPS: Trust me, I'll take love advice any time you have to give it.

LEVS: Even from an eight-year-old, oh, man.

HARRIS: For this show to end, we've got to get it on.

Yes, the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips starts right now.