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Another Poor Jobs Report Released; O.J. Sentenced to 15 Years; Michigan Auto Workers Fear Layoffs; Job Center Training, Finding Employment for Workers

Aired December 05, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, ANCHOR: And the NEWSROOM continues with this wonderful woman here, Kyra Phillips. Have a great weekend.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Have a great weekend.

HARRIS: Yes, thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): With bankruptcy by any other name still stink? Even if the Big Three get huge bucks from Congress, lawmakers warn it won't be business as usual.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We never had a lot, but she always made sure we had something.

PHILLIPS: All they had was one another, and somehow that was enough. Decades later, a daughter of depression faces uncertain times with uncommon faith.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 73 percent of regular girls ditch boys, 98 percent of pretty girls ditch boys. Life is hard. Move on.

PHILLIPS: Out of the mouths of babes comes some pretty good advice on how to win babes, and survive the attempt. You'll meet the author, 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. Let's get right to it at the top of the hour.

Supporters of big-ticket bailout loans for the Big Three U.S. car makers say the latest shocker from the labor front makes their case. Employers cut another 533,000 workers last month, the biggest one- month job loss in 34 years. Job losses for the year now total 1.9 million, and the U.S. unemployment rate jumps to 6.7 percent.

All this comes on the second day of the second attempt by GM, Ford and Chrysler to win billions of dollars in federal aid to head off bankruptcy. And today the Big Three CEOs are before the House Financial Services Committee. And as you know, if you've been watching CNN, it's still an uphill battle. We're following the action this hour with CNN's Ali Velshi in New York. Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill and Brooke Baldwin at a GM factory in Lansing, Michigan.

Let's go ahead and start with the jobs report. You don't have to be an economist or a member of Congress to know it's a mess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH HALL, BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS: This is a dismal jobs report. There's very little in this report that's positive. This is -- this is maybe one of the worst job reports that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has ever produced.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD), JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE: Ever?

HALL: Yes.

CUMMINGS: And how long has the bureau been around?

HALL: A hundred and twenty-four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, that was the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics talking to the joint economic committee on Capitol Hill. So Ali Velshi, when do we hit bottom?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question.

PHILLIPS: A $700 billion question.

VELSHI: Yes. We were thinking we would lose 320,000 jobs in November. It ended up being 533. Plus, they revised the numbers for the previous couple of months. So the total for the first 11 months of this year is 1.9 million jobs lost. That is -- that's very serious.

And look at that. Let me just explain this chart to you. The top -- the top of that chart is zero. Usually zero's in the middle of a chart. The top is zero, because every month this year we've lost jobs. That shows you in January, it was less than 100,000. February, look how it goes to the end of the year. That's why we to adjust that chart. That's the cumulative job losses for this year. We haven't even gotten to December yet.

So that's the problem. The unemployment is now 6.7 percent. It jumped from 6.5 to 6.7. Some will tell you that's not actually that bad, but Kyra, in addition to losing 533,000 jobs in November, some -- almost 500,000 people left the work force. So they're not even counted in the number. They left because they're done with their benefits. They can't get them anymore. They're not looking for a job. Maybe they've gone back to school.

These were the only gains in the -- not the only ones but the only significant ones, were in education and health services. That's an area we've been harping on, Kyra. If you're out of a job, that's the only place where they're really growing, and some government jobs.

PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to get back to you. We have to go to the other favorite story of the day, and I'm not smiling about that, Ali Velshi, right now, O.J. Simpson.

Pretty much of a rambling statement delivered to the judge, who's about to send him to prison. He's facing a possible life sentence. He actually apologized for his role in the 2007 confrontation in a Las Vegas hotel. Let's go ahead and listen to the judge as she wraps it up.

JUDGE JACKIE GLASS, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, DISTRICT COURT: ... because this is not behavior that we can just say, "Oops, it's OK. No problem. Don't worry. No harm, no foul."

Then, after the event, all of a sudden the realization hits, and there are phone calls made. There was no gun. There was no gun. There was no gun. Mr. Simpson made those phone calls. There was no gun. Well, why in the heck would he be calling anybody to say there was no gun? Except for the fact that he realized there was a gun, and, "Oops, I might be in some trouble."

And then at the party, at the party, the laughter, the joking. "Did you see the look on his face? Ha, ha, ha. Isn't this funny?" You knew what was going on there. You knew.

And Mr. Stewart, you got caught up in something. I'm not sure how much you knew, but clearly Mr. Simpson knew.

I actually am surprised that I heard from you, Mr. Simpson. I had believed that there wasn't going to be a statement from you, and I was going to be concerned about your lack of responsibility for this action. And it's kind of a fine line in what you said to me. I hear -- I hear what you said and what Mr. Galanter said, which is, "I didn't intend to do anything wrong. So I must not have done something wrong, so there was no criminal intent. It was just all stupidity."

I have to tell you now, it was much more than stupidity. And it's very rare that I have somebody talking to me at a sentencing about mens rea and criminal intent. It really doesn't matter. You went to the room. You took guns, meaning you and the group. You used force. You took property, whether it was yours or somebody else's, and in this state that amounts to robbery with use of a deadly weapon, whether it's you having the gun or Mr. McClinton having the gun or Mr. Alexander having the gun.

When I first started this trial and I talked to the jury when we had the whole panel in, I stated to the group that if this was -- if they were here because they wanted to punish Mr. Simpson for what has happened previously, then this wasn't the case for them. And I meant that.

As the judge in this case, I'm not here to sentence Mr. Simpson for what's happened in his life previously in the criminal justice system. As a judge who presides in courtrooms -- in this courtroom every day and over trials, hundreds of trials during the six years I've been here, I have great respect for the criminal justice system. I'm part of it.

And as a judge who has taken jury verdicts for years, I respect the verdicts of my jurors. I have to respect what happened in the case 13 years ago with Mr. Simpson. The jury decided. There are many people who disagree with that verdict, but that doesn't matter to me.

What matters to me is that the state brought charges. A trial was conducted. Evidence was heard, testimony received. The jury deliberated. They reached a verdict. And I have to respect that verdict, as well.

There is -- there's nothing more that's going to happen here other than a sentence for you, Mr. Stewart, and a sentence for you, Mr. Simpson, based on the evidence that occurred in this case. I'm not here to try and cause any retribution or any payback for anything else. I want that to be perfectly clear to everyone. Because if I did, then I wouldn't be doing my job as a judge who presides over a courtroom in this jurisdiction.

OK. The problem is, is that I can't ignore that the behavior at the time on September 13 was reckless; it disregarded the law. The law was broken. Force was used; guns were used, or at least a gun was used. There was another gun there. The potential for harm was great. You're fortunate nothing more happened. Property was stolen. The jury convicted you. And now I'll sentence you.

OK. Mr. Stewart, go ahead and stand up for me. And you go ahead and you can stand up, Mr. Simpson, as well.

All right. Mr. Stewart, in addition to the $25 administrative assessment and the $150 DNA fee, as to count one, the conspiracy to commit a crime, 12 months in the Clark County Detention Center.

As to count two, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, a minimum term of 12 months max, term of 48 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Counts -- count two to run concurrent to count one.

Count three, conspiracy to commit robbery, a minimum term of 12 months, max term of 48 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Count three to run concurrent to count two.

Count four, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon. A minimum term of 26 months, a maximum term of 96 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Count four to run concurrent to count three.

Count five, first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon. A fixed term of 15 years with parole eligibility beginning after five years and, due to the additional danger that the weapon posed in enhancing the danger in that -- during that event, a consecutive minimum term of 12 months, maximum term of 72 months in a Nevada Department of Corrections.

On count six, the same thing as the kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon. Oh, and count five will run concurrent with count four. Count six, the fixed 15 parole eligibility after five with a consecutive 12 to 72.

Count seven, the robbery with use of a deadly weapon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

GLASS: It's concurrent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

GLASS: Count seven, the robbery with use, a minimum term of 60 months, a maximum term of 180 months, with the consecutive 12 to 72. That will run concurrent to count six.

Count eight, a minimum term of 60 months, a maximum term of 72 -- a maximum term of 180 months with a consecutive 12 to 72. Count eight will run concurrent to count seven.

On count nine, which is the assault with a deadly weapon, a minimum term of 18 months, a maximum term of 72 in the Nevada Department of Corrections. That will run consecutive to eight.

And count ten, a minimum term of 18 months, a maximum term of 72 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections, and that will run concurrent to nine, and I believe that completes Mr. Stewart. His credit for time served, what, 64 days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whatever it is, it would be credited. Correct?

GLASS: Let me see. I thought that -- it was 64. Well, they have it up to today. So it's 64.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

GLASS: Thank you. Mr. Stewart, have a seat.

All right. For Mr. Simpson -- all right, Mr. Simpson, in addition to the $25 administrative assessment and the $150 DNA fee, I'm going to sentence you as follows. Count one, conspiracy to commit a crime, one year in the county jail. Count two, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, a minimum term of 12 months, maximum of 48 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Count two to run concurrent to count one.

Count three, conspiracy to commit robbery, a minimum term of 12 months, max term of 48 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Count three to run concurrent to count two.

Count four, burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon, a minimum term of 26 months, a maximum term of 120 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Count four to run concurrent to count three.

Count five, the first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon. A fixed term of 15 years, parole eligibility beginning after five years, with a consecutive 12 to 72. That will run concurrent to count four.

Count six, first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon. A fixed term of 15 years with parole eligibility beginning after five years with a consecutive 12 to 72. That will run concurrent to count five.

Robbery with use of a deadly weapon. A minimum term of 60 months, a maximum term of 180 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections, with a consecutive 12 to 72. And again, the enhancement because of the increased harm that the gun posed. Count seven will run concurrent to count six.

Count eight, robbery with use of a deadly weapon, a minimum term of 60 months, maximum term of 180 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections, with a consecutive 12 to 72. That will be concurrent to count seven.

The assault with a deadly weapon. A minimum term of 18 months, max term of 72 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. That will run consecutive to count eight.

Count ten, a minimum term of 18 months, a max term of 72 months in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Count ten will run consecutive to count nine.

Credit for time served is 64 days.

That concludes today's sentencing. We are adjourned.

PHILLIPS: Well, there you have it, the sentencing in the O.J. Simpson case. Quite frankly, I can't even keep up to it -- keep up with it, with all those counts and the all those months. Up to 12 months, about six times, up to 120 months. Up to 15 years a couple of times. Up to 180 months a couple of times.

Bottom line, folks, O.J. Simpson, decided by a jury was reckless; he disregarded the law; he used a gun; he broke the law. He was fortunate that he didn't kill anybody, and he's headed to the slammer.

O.J. Simpson learning what is happening to him now as he gets ready to head to the Nevada Department of Corrections.

You know, you see the family, the Goldmans there, in -- listening to the judge read that sentence. Nicole Brown Simpson, Ronald Goldman, you can't forget that this is all happening on the 13th anniversary of that controversial acquittal, in the killings of those two.

Just been told that the -- what did you say was -- the bail was denied. Bail was denied. So there you have it. O.J. Simpson leaving the courtroom. The sentencing has been laid down by Judge Jackie Glass, who did not mess around, made it plain and clear that she was satisfied with what the jury came to.

O.J. Simpson, a bit of a rambling statement he delivered to the judge. What he said, "In no way did I mean to hurt anything, to steal anything." He went on to say, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody, and I don't know -- I didn't know that I was doing anything illegal."

Probably something that Nicole Brown Simpson's family, Ronald Goldman's family would have liked to have heard 13 years ago.

We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, just today, GM announced another 2,000 job cuts at three plants. The Lansing Grand River plant isn't one of them, but it's sharing in the pain and apprehension.

Isn't that right, Brooke Baldwin?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is very right, indeed. They are apprehensive about what's happening on the Hill. Either frustrated because they feel like they're facing -- they being the American auto industry -- they're facing a double standard, when you compare it to the Wall Street bailout some months ago.

But I have to tell you, Kyra, they are -- let me hop off the line. They are very grateful that we're here. They talk a lot about some of these misconceptions and spin when it comes to the auto workers. And we're here to maybe deconstruct some of that. And we're talking directly to some of these auto workers and trying to get my friend here to roll on over.

This is Marty Kling, coming on up in what is called a tugger. Marty, may I join you? All right. So this is Marty. Marty drives a tugger. So what normally is behind Marty is a dolly, carrying supplies so that he brings the supplies directly to the line.

We were talking before about some of the misconceptions. You said you were shocked at how -- what were you shocked about?

MARTY KLING, LANSING GRAND RIVER EMPLOYEE: I was actually devastated watching the news, you know, watching the Congress and the Senate talk about General Motors, the auto industry, autoworkers. I did not know -- I hate to sound naive -- that the American public had that kind of opinion about the auto workers and the auto industry. You know? Especially all that they have done for this country.

BALDWIN: Are you worried about your job, and how worried?

KLING: Oh, absolutely. I'm extremely worried. I've been here for 32 years, and I'm looked forward to the day I can retire. Yes, I'm very worried.

BALDWIN: So Plan B is retirement?

KLING: Plan B, retirement could be in the picture, if the company is still in existence.

BALDWIN: Right. Marty, thank you. KLING: Thank you.

BALDWIN: I'll let you mosey on along there. And we'll just -- thank you.

We'll just have to watch and wait, Kyra, to see what happens, you know, come next week. And if Congress reconvenes, what they decide. And we've all been watching the hearings. And some of these people have been trying to duck into the cafeteria where they have CNN on, just to try to see.

They say, for the most part, they feel like they're being well represented by UAW president Ron Gettelfinger and the other CEOs. This is a family; they're sticking together. And they just have to have faith in their leadership that they're doing the right thing.

PHILLIPS: All right. Brooke Baldwin, thanks so much. Inside talking right there to the people who will be affected.

Well, gentlemen, stop your engines. U.S. carmakers aren't the only ones hurt by plummeting sales. Honda announced today it's pulling out of Formula One racing, a move that could save hundreds of millions of dollars.

Honda sales dropped 32 percent last month in the U.S., and it's already cut jobs in the UK and Japan.

The head of Formula One's governing body is urging remaining carmakers to cut costs. And the elite European-based racing series features Ferrari, Mercedes, Toyota and BMW. Honda says it will try to sell its racing team and the company that supplies those engines.

Well, we're in a recession. We've suffered the worst monthly jobs loss in 34 years. But enough of the negative numbers, enough of the doom and gloom. It's time for some career counseling.

Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, is at the job center in Yonkers, New York.

Gerri, where are the jobs?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, you know, let me show you. In this job center, there's a bulletin board that shows you where the hot jobs are right here in Westchester County. For example, accounting clerk. Believe it or not, Wall Street may be falling apart, but the reality is, there are lots of finance jobs out there in individual companies.

I just want to show you this office. I think you'll find it interesting. You know, there are a lot of people in here. They're working on computers. They're trying to find jobs. They're being counseled on how to put together resumes.

I want to introduce you to someone, Carmel.

Hi, Carmel. Tell us a little about -- about your situation. You're in security and you're looking for a job right now?

CARMEL MILLS, JOB SEEKER: Yes, ma'am. Right now I'm pretty optimistic. Security is a pretty demanding field. There's like a billion of them. So I'll be able to find something soon.

WILLIS: You think that you'll be employed by Christmas, you told me?

MILLS: I'm optimistic, like I said.

WILLIS: And you said that you do some other work, as well? You don't have just one talent. You have two?

MILLS: Yes. I do carpentry, paint, plaster. A little of everything, a jack of all trades.

WILLIS: And tell me, the people here in this office, are they a big help to you?

MILLS: Oh, yes. Very helpful. Very helpful. They're quick to assist and point out any bit of information that they know.

WILLIS: That's excellent. Thank you, Carmel. Nice meeting you.

And as you can see, there are lots of computers around here where the folks put together their resumes.

I want to introduce you, too, to one woman who works with these folks all the time.

Lynn, how are you?

LYNN CARR, EMPLOYMENT COUNSELOR: I'm fine. How are you?

WILLIS: Good. What type of questions are you getting these days? What are people asking you?

CARR: Well, mostly people want to know what types of jobs are available. People want to know what types of skills it takes to get the jobs that are available now.

Jobs are in demand. And that's where we come in with the training. Many individuals are coming in and now want to -- they need to be retrained. Or sometimes we have to help them identify their transferable skills.

WILLIS: So sometimes you find that the jobs that are out there, the folks are somewhat mismatched. What are the jobs that are actually in demand right now?

CARR: Health care. You see a lot of people that need a upgrade in computer skills. Individuals now wanting to think about driving. We have this wall of success, which is full of people...

WILLIS: Let's talk about, these are folks that this office has trained and gotten a new job. CARR: Exactly. Many of these people have gotten training from us, and now they are working full-time, and as a result of the help that we've given them here.

WILLIS: That's great news. Lynn, thank you for that.

So Kyra, as you can see, this is a busy office. Lots of folks out here today, looking for jobs, hoping that, you know, the next phone call may be the answer to their prayers.

And of course, I just tell you, we found a lot of personal optimism here, people who are working very hard. I have to tell you, they're really putting their pedal to the metal, getting their resume out there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what. I would like to talk to Carmel or Lynn or any of those individuals. They're very compassionate and just the type that you need to talk to when you're going through a tough time like this.

WILLIS: Yes, it's a good group of people here, very engaging and really keeping people focused on what matters when you're making that job search -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Gerri, thanks.

A famous photograph has captured untold millions of eyes, in one moment in a family's life. We can go behind the face of the Great Depression.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: Well, as the world slips into a recession it's hard to put one person's face on such a giant calamity. But in Modesto, California, our Thelma Gutierrez found a woman who was just 4 years old, when her family's image came to represent Americans suffering during the Great Depression.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Kyra, it was a fascinating conversation based on a photograph we've long admired. But we had always wondered about the story behind the shot. Like, what happened to the mother and what became of her children? Well, after searching for answers we found one of the little girls in the picture and her story is even more compelling than we had imagined.

(voice-over): Katherine McIntosh lived through the worst the economic times.

KATHERINE MCINTOSH, CHILD IN FAMOUS DEPRESSION PHOTO: Many a times people went hungry.

GUTIERREZ: The was the 1930's. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression. Katherine picked cotton at the age of 4. She spent her childhood in migrant camps with her mother, stepfather and six brothers and sisters.

She'd lay them on the back of her cot and say, I could pull them along. And we would walk in fronted of her, I remember. We never had a lot but she always made sure we had something. She didn't eat sometimes but she made sure us children ate.

GUTIERREZ: Life was tough and people were cruel.

MCINTOSH: They'd tell you, go home and take a bath.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): What did that feel like?

MCINTOSH: Terrible. Terrible. We'd go home and cry.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MCINTOSH: This song that this Dolly Parton sang, this "Coat of Many Colors." OK. Mother made me a coat one time. And the coat was too big for me. So mother cut it down for me. And fixed it for me and I wore it to school. Of course, the kids at school made fun of me. But I had a coat to wear.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): One day when the pea crop had frozen and there was no work and people starving, a woman showed up at the migrant camp in Nimpomo, California.

MCINTOSH: She asked my mother if she could take her picture. That it would never be published, her name would never be mentioned. But it was to help the people in the plight.

GUTIERREZ: That woman turned out to be famed photographer Dorothea Lange. The picture she took that day of Florence Thompson and her three daughters titled "Migrant Mother," would become the iconic symbol of the Great Depression.

MCINTOSH: I'm right here. And this is Ruby and this is Norma. She was 32 years old there. Someone thought she posed us. She didn't.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): She didn't?

MCINTOSH: No, no. She just sat us down and -- us kids, we were holding on to mama.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): The photograph was published the next day in the local paper.

(on camera): What was your mother's reaction when she saw her photograph?

MCINTOSH: She was -- she didn't like it. We were ashamed of it. We didn't want no one to no who we were.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): The picture was forgotten until Dorothea Lange died some 30 years later.

MCINTOSH: My sister in-law was looking in a camera magazine and that picture come up and she showed it to my brother and she said -- told my brother, who's that look like? It was my mom.

GUTIERREZ: By that time, their lives had changed. All three girls had married. Florence Thompson's sons had bought her mobile home.

(on camera): Did that photograph change your life, do you think?

MCINTOSH: Oh, yes. It sure did. I wanted to make sure I never lived that life again.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Florence died in 1893. And even though she'd always been embarrassed by the photograph, her children made sure she was honored with a U.S. postage stamp.

MCINTOSH: We all were very grateful to her. Because she didn't give us away. Looking at her, there was a lot of women it just -- that was just like she was. They was trying to keep their family together. But we just happened to be the ones that she photographed.

GUTIERREZ: Katherine has had a lifetime of labor. She'll be 77 years old on Saturday, and still cleans homes for a living. She says all 10 children learned life lessons from their mother. To work hard, save and not live beyond their means.

(on camera): So even if things start to get much worse you think that you'll make out OK?

MCINTOSH: Yes.

GUTIERREZ: You'll be all right.

MCINTOSH: I believe I will. Yes. I've got confidence in myself and I'll make it.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): When Dorothea Lange took those pictures, she was working for the farm bureau. So, the photos became property of the government. Now, Katherine says her mother's never made any money from that photograph, except for $150 that a magazine paid her. As for Katherine, the only framed photo had, she lost in a fire when her home burnt down few years ago -- Kyra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wow. Thelma Gutierrez. Thank you so much.

We've got some developing news coming in about an appeal from the only enemy combatant held in the U.S. Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena working this for us.

Kelli, what's the deal?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you know, enemy combatant U.S. You don't hear that too often, right? Because most of those enemy combatants are held out in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Well, the Supreme Court has just decided to hear a case involving the only enemy combatant that's being held here in the U.S. His name is Ali al-Marri. He's from Quatar, but is a permanent U.S. legal resident. He's been held in a Military brig in South Carolina for nearly six years. He was initially charged back in 2001, with credit card fraud.

But, then in 2002, the Bush administration declared him an enemy combatant, transferred him to military custody. The government says that he is an al Qaeda sleeper agent. But he's never been charged with terrorism. The lawyers say that he's held in virtual isolation. They say his detention is unconstitutional. And the court has decided to hear the case. It will probably hear arguments in February or March -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Kelli Arena, appreciate it.

Straight ahead, the big waiting game. What do you do if you need to see your doctor and receptionist says, sorry, but we're all booked up. We're going to give you tips from doctors themselves, on how to get your foot in the door.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Fred Goldman, the father of Ronald Goldman, the one that was -- when O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder of him and his wife Nicole Brown Simpson, stepped up to the mikes just a few minutes ago, responding to the fact that O.J. Simpson has now been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for his confrontation in a Las Vegas hotel.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

FRED GOLDMAN, RON GOLDMAN'S FATHER: He committed a crime. He did it with guns and he's going to be where he belongs with others of his kind then he can complain there.

QUESTION: OFF-MIKE

KIM GOLDMAN, RON GOLDMAN'S SISTER: The back of his head looks the same as it did everyday that we watched him in the criminal case. And we feel very proud of our efforts. We feel very strongly that because of our pursuit of him for all of these years, that it did drive him to the brink of this.

He was acting in an arrogant fashion, the same way that he did the night that he killed Ron and Nicole. He said it in court. He wanted what was his. He back to get it, the same night that he killed Ron and Nicole.

I feel very proud of my father and I and our family for sticking with our commitment to Ron, to honor his memory and to keep pursuing him. The if I did it book, I think pushed him over the edge. I'm very proud of our efforts for taking that book back and for turning his words around on him. And today was a good day for our family.

F. GOLDMAN: And I was interesting. I hadn't heard it before that apparently at some point he made a comment that he himself, made a comment on some tape that he wanted to make sure that we didn't get things from him. And as Kim said a second ago, if our efforts for all these years of pushing him drove him to commit burglary, armed burglary, armed robbery in Vegas. If that pushed him over the edge, great. Put him where he belongs.

QUESTION: A lot of people are talking about, this is payback. That was always an issue from this trial from the very beginning.

Do you see this as payback?

K. GOLDMAN: I see this as the system working. The judge asked us to respect the verdict in the criminal case. We've had to do that. We disagree with it, but we had to respect it the same way that we have to respect the verdict here in Las Vegas.

The jury sat and listened. The evidence was overwhelming. They deliberated. And this was their decision. And the judge said it. It was clear and concise. He committed that crime. He knew what he was doing and he committed that crime and it's time he paid for it.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

F. GOLDMAN: What's that?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

F. GOLDMAN: You know what? He got what the judge obviously thought was fair. And I'm going to trust that what she did was right, and I think she did.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

F. GOLDMAN: There's never closure. Ron is always gone. And what we have is satisfaction that this monster is where he belongs, behind bars.

PHILLIPS: No closure, but at least a little satisfaction there for the father of Ron Goldman, Fred Goldman. Also Ron's sister Kim, there responding to what's going to happen to the man in blue.

Former football great O.J. Simpson headed to at least 15 years in prison after being convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping and assault. Steve Greenberg, legal analyst. He's been following the O.J. Simpson case. Joining us now on the phone.

Steve, a lot of people saying right now, on the 13th anniversary of his controversial acquittal in the killings of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

What took so long?

VOICE STEVE GREENBERG, LEGAL ANALYST: Well, a lot of people think that this is payback for that. I think that the judge's sentence is really quite normal for what would have been imposed. And I actually don't think that the judge took those prior cases into account.

O.J. Simpson can get out of jail in six years on parole. I don't know that he will, but he could get out of jail in six years on parole. I think he did himself some harm at the sentencing hearing. I think he was arrogant at the sentencing hearing. I think he fails to recognize as many people believe he has over the years, that he's committed wrongs. And that's never a good thing.

When you tell a judge after a jury finds you guilty of a crime that I didn't do it or the jury made a mistake or I don't understand why they did it, that can never help you. And I think that actually hurt him more than the prior crimes hurt him.

PHILLIPS: Now, explain to me why at least 15 years, when you heard all the possible punishment for him. A number of times the judge saying up to 12 months for numerous accounts, up to 15 years for a couple other counts, up to 180 months for other counts.

Why is at least 15 years when it seems that it could go way beyond that?

GREENBERG: Well, it's not even at least 15 years. He can get out on parole sooner than 15 years. It's 15 years if he doesn't get out on parole. And there's a couple of reasons for that.

Each count that he was sentenced on carries its own penalty. But each count does not carry what's called a consecutive penalty. In other words, you don't have to do your whole sentence for count one and then do your whole sentence for count two. And the reason for that is because it was really one crime. So you're getting sentenced in total for one crime.

PHILLIPS: I see. So, when we add up all the variables. And we see a maximum of 12 months, maximum 15 years, maximum of 180 months. This is the least amount of time for each count, totals up to 15 years?

GREENBERG: Well, it's the total of time that the judge gave him. And it's basically the least amount of time for each count calculated some consecutive, some concurrent.

You know, we hear cases where people get arrested and usually in federal cases and the prosecutors will stand up there and they'll say, he can get up to 300 years for that. Well, you never hear of anyone getting 300 years.

You could get a lot of time. The fact of the matter is that this is a 61-year-old man's first criminal conviction. And that's what the judge has to sentence him on. What he did in this case. And a conviction for the crime he committed in this case.

When he goes to the parole board, however, in however many years they decide to hear it. Maybe five years is the soonest they can hear it. When he goes to the parole board, they can consider the other crimes he committed and people believe he got away with. And they can consider his character. Parole is a gift and they can consider anything they want at that time. So, I'm not so certain he's going to get out in five or six years. But he could get out.

PHILLIPS: I'm not sure there's a lot of sympathy to give O.J. Simpson any type of gift, that's for sure.

Legal analyst, Steve Greenberg. That's a lot, Steve.

GREENBERG: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, you wake up one morning feeling so sick that you think you're about to die. You desperately need to see your doctor who doesn't have an opening. And in this week's Empowered Patient, well, CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now with some insider tips from doctors themselves, actually, on how to get in when the receptionist says nothing's available.

I always fight. I say, there's got to be something. I'm desperate. I've got to be at work. You keep working it until you break them down.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Exactly. You work at it. Persistent but polite. That's what doctors kept telling me. They said, we will respond to people who are persistent but polite.

Let's take a look at a couple of specific things you can do while you're being persistent and polite. Be specific. Don't just say, Ugh, I feel awful. Say, I have a 104 temperature, or something that will really sort of make them understand how sick you really are.

If the receptionist is not helpful, figure out your doctor's e- mail. You can google around and find it and appeal directly to the doctor. Remember, the receptionist will say no to you without asking the doctor. So, go directly to the doctor.

Also, just like in a restaurant when things aren't going well, ask to see the manager. The person who answers the phone is at the low end of the totem pole. She may not be able to get you in. But, the nurse supervisor, or the office manager might.

Now so, for more of these tips --

COHEN: ... directly to the doctor.

Also, just like in a restaurant when things aren't going well, ask to see the manager. The person who answers the phone is at the low end of the totem pole, she may not be able to get you in, but the nurse supervisor or the office manager might. So for more of these tips you can go to cnn.com/health, look under top stories and you will see my article here with the rest of my hints.

PHILLIPS: My guess is you have probably heard a number of outrageous stories of what people have done to try to get in.

COHEN: Yes, oh absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Tell me.

COHEN: This one is my favorite. There was a woman who was going to see her ear, nose and throat surgeon in Boston, and he -- the receptionist said there's no time. So she hung up the phone, and she called her local television station and said, can you believe this guy? I think I have cancer, and I want to get in to see him right now.

Well, the station called the hospital and the hospital called the doctor. He saw her. She didn't have cancer, she was worrying unnecessarily. But she called the media.

PHILLIPS: Well, when all else fails -- I mean, don't call the media unless it is really that big a deal and you do have cancer and they are not seeing you. What should you do?

COHEN: What you really want to do as a last ditch effort, Kyra, is you want to show up in the doctor's waiting room, plunk yourself down and say, I feel awful, please, please, can someone take pity on me. It might work, it might not work, but you know what? You at least have a chance.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks.

Well a no holds barred letter to Congress from a Detroit newspaper urging help for the Big Three. Here is a taste: "You can help them. And if you don't, mistake no mistake, there will be bleeding throughout the land."

We'll talk to the man behind the words.

And hey, guys, down in the dumps about dating? Well, buck up, buddy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC GREVEN, AUTHOR, "HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS": Girls are everywhere. It's not hard to find a girl, the trick is how do you find the right girl for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: From the mouths of babes, a fourth grader, now a published author thanks to his insight on how to talk to girls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well if you know a guy who's not so smooth with the ladies, we do have a gift idea for you. It is called "How to Talk to Girls." And it just came out last week. It is already No. 37 on Amazon's best seller list. Clearly a receptive audience out there for some plain spoken dating advice. Here is a snippet: "Sometimes you get a girl to like you and she then she ditches you. Life is hard, move on!"

Sage tips likes that have made the author one of the newest big shots in the publishing world, but he is not letting success get to his head. His mommy won't let him. Meet Alec joining me now live from New York.

Hi, Alec.

GREVEN: Hi.

PHILLIPS: So just to kind of get an update on your love life right now, how is it going?

GREVEN: It is going awesome.

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine.

Do you have a number of girlfriends? Or are you focusing on one?

GREVEN: Well, actually -- I'm kind of a little young for girlfriends yet.

PHILLIPS: Oh, so you are giving love advice, but you are still too young to have a girlfriend?

GREVEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK. I'm a little confused, but let's move forward.

Let's get right to your advice. What do you say? I was looking through your book, after I read your book -- it is absolutely fantastic.

GREVEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: You are very welcome.

And I have a question about this advice. You say -- it is actually advice No. 2 -- you say, "... if you try for too many girls, you will have jealousy issues and might end up with nobody. It is really best just to go for one."

Now, isn't it good to be kind of working a few so you can kind of cross compare so you don't miss out on anything?

GREVEN: Yes, it is pretty good to get a lot of girls, but it can also be bad, because you are trying to arrange dates for all of them and so find out all of them, and then they are all just going to ditch you because you have to reschedule dates and then she'll find out that you are doing other dates, and then they all get jealous at you and then they all ditch you. And you could end up with no one.

PHILLIPS: Oh my gosh. That would not be good. You are right. You're right, I think you probably should focus on one.

All right. Another piece of advice that you had, you said, "If you are in elementary school, try to get a girl to like you and not to love you, otherwise, you'll have to hold on to her for a very long time."

But, deep down, don't you really want love and not like and kind of want one special one?

GREVEN: Well, in elementary school, you kind of want like because it is hard in elementary school because that is kind of when you have to hang on while she climbs up the cliff. So it is just really, really hard, and you can't really get anything. So, the hard thing is like in middle school, then you can start going for it, because that is kind of when you are already through most of -- she's already through most of the cliff.

PHILLIPS: Gotcha.

OK. Now, how do you court a girl when you have a crush on her? Do you buy her things? Do you write her love letters? How do you woo her?

GREVEN: Well, some people survive on the love letters, and in my opinion, that doesn't -- well -- I don't think really, you don't really need love letters in school, because you could get in trouble.

PHILLIPS: And you don't want anyone to intercept them either, that would be pretty embarrassing.

GREVEN: Yes. And I'd say like if you just had like a little meeting or a play date or something --

PHILLIPS: OK.

GREVEN: -- made sure none of your friends found out so you don't like get teased or anything, then I think that you are pretty much set.

PHILLIPS: Well, I am struggling in the love world. Do you think maybe you could maybe give me a little advice?

GREVEN: Well -- well, maybe you should just try to wait until like a boy comes to you.

PHILLIPS: OK. Should I do anything specific or special or conduct myself in a certain way?

GREVEN: Maybe, if you like any boys, you can kind of play a game near them and try to urge the boy to come up and talk to you.

PHILLIPS: Excellent. All right. I will work on that. And I'm just curious, what if a girl, sometimes people are clingy, they are kind of a little too needy. What do you do when a girl gets a little too clingy?

GREVEN: What do you mean clingy?

PHILLIPS: Well you know, kind of like co-dependent, like always wanting to be around you, smothering you.

GREVEN: Then probably it's best for you to ditch her, because that could bring you unwanted attention like people would easily tease you and everything, so --

PHILLIPS: OK. Alec, finally, just real quickly, do you have your eye on a girl? Do you have a girlfriend right now?

GREVEN: No.

PHILLIPS: You don't. Are you ready for it?

GREVEN: Well, I'm kind of getting ready, because I'm being friends with all of the girls.

PHILLIPS: OK.

GREVEN: Yes, so, I'm going to be ready when I'm like in middle school or something, maybe a little later on.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding. Will you talk to us then? Will you come back?

GREVEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, fabulous. And I'd love to cover your wedding as well.

Alec Greven, the book is "How to Talk to Girls."

You're pretty amazing my friend. You're the new love guru. I'm going to be keeping up with you.

GREVEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: OK. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.