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Unemployment Rates Keep Career Counseling Centers Busy; Big Three Push for Bridge Loan; Father Gives College-Bound Daughter Economic Advise

Aired December 05, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice over): Ford, G.M. and Chrysler, still trying to convince Congress survival is job one. Same is true for the 533,000 Americans laid off last month. We haven't seen numbers like that in a generation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't go for abortions would it?

PHILLIPS: Well, yes. Which is why some people are less than holly jolly about a Planned Parenthood holiday campaign.

And --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope that the balcony here, the terrace is filled with those who are disadvantaged, those who are distressed.

PHILLIPS: The man behind the People's Inaugural Project, ponying up $1 million bucks to give a few a priceless view on January 20th.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, from really bad to even worse with the prospect of more of the same, dismal new figures from the labor front, ramping up the drama, if that is even possible of the Big Three fundraising drive on Capitol Hill. Here's what we know at this point. Another 533,000 Americans lost jobs last month, the most since 1974. Job losses for the year total 1.9 million. The unemployment rate moves up to 6.7 percent. And for the third quarter of 2008 a record 1.35 million U.S. homes were in foreclosure. That is an astonishing 76 percent increase from a year ago.

And the CEOs of Ford, G.M. and Chrysler are back on Capitol Hill. It is day two of their second attempt, in two weeks, to win billions of dollars in low-cost government loans. Now, as you may have seen live here on CNN, President Bush used the R-word in brief remarks from the South Lawn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today's job data reflects the fact that our economy is in a recession. This is in large part because of severe problems in our housing, credit and financial markets, which have resulted in significant job losses. I'm concerned about the workers who have lost jobs during this downturn. We will work to -- as we work to address the problems of this economy, we have extended unemployment insurance benefits to those who have lost their jobs during this downturn. We are focusing on the root causes of the economic downturn in order to return our economy to health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile the president-elect is keeping a close eye on the job market and he says that the latest numbers are more proof that bold action is needed.

In a statement, Barack Obama says, "Our economy has already lost nearly 2 million jobs during this recession, which is why we need an Economic Recovery Plan that will save or create at least 2.5 million more jobs over two years, while we act decisively to maintain the flows of credit on which so many American families and American businesses depend."

Well, if you are in your early 30s the job losses posted in November are unprecedented in your lifetime. CNN's Ali Velshi has more insights for us.

Ali, are you seeing panic firing here you think?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No, I wouldn't call it panic, but if you look at how the jobs have been lost this year - look, you look at November, we were expecting to lose 320,000 jobs and we lost 533,000. September and October and November one-third of all of the jobs lost this year were in those three months.

If you look at the auto industry, you see exactly the same pattern. If you look at the housing industry, those mortgage foreclosure today, up 76 percent. You see the same pattern. So, in other words, we took a steep dive, starting with the credit crisis in September. Everybody lost confidence in the system.

So as you just mentioned, we lost 1.9 million jobs so far this year. Well on track to be over 2 million by the end of the year, but it really accelerates. We started to losing jobs in January and it has accelerated all year. Now, what is happening is companies are looking at the writing on the wall, and saying, we are just not getting the sales. People are not buying things from us, so we have to lay off staff.

And the question is here the effect that that has. When people are laid off, they can't pay the bills, in many cases those are mortgages. So while this recession was triggered by low home pries and the inability to pay mortgages, particularly sub-prime borrowers. Now what's happening it is a whole new group of people, people who were prime, who can't make their payments. And that is now having a return effect on the housing market.

The question, of course, Kyra is then, how do you get out of this? If people are losing their homes, they are losing their jobs. What is it that gets you out of this your job and home, what gets you out of the economy? What stimulates demand?

That is low interest rates; that is low taxes and that is whatever stimulus plan we are hoping to get from federal government, but this is a devastating report. To have this many people out of work -- and we don't know where we are in the recession, it leads people to not have confidence in how long this recession will be before it ends.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ali Velshi. Appreciate it.

We want to turn the black clouds around for a few rays of hope. You do that a lot and so does our Gerri Willis, who wants to talk more about some employers who are actually hiring. She will talk to us later in the hour. And Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with more on that jobs report.

Susan, the Labor Department says this is one of the worst job reports it has ever put out and Wall Street, definitely reacting?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Wall Street reacted, but given the state of the -- I mean, Ali nailed it on the head, it is a terrible report, much worse than expected. Wall Street doesn't like surprises, especially these kind, and really, there is really nothing happening. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are positive right now and the Dow has shaved off about 230 points. You know, from its selloff. So not very bad at all given the state of affairs.

There you see the Dow down just slightly right now. The Nasdaq is up 1.25 percent. One thing we should mention, though, as well is oil, which continues to tick down. Right now oil is trading just over $42 a barrel. It has come down more than $100 a barrel since July. We just haven't seen anything like this before.

Kyra, one analyst says oil could go down to $25 and gas could drop to $1 a gallon range. Not only because of what is happening in the U.S., Europe, Asia, parts of Asia and England are in recession as well. So, there is just less demand, and lower demand means that we are seeing lower prices. So, Kyra, you know, that is one good thing, and we sort of have a little bit of help when we go to the pump.

PHILLIPS: Well, we can easily factor in the jobs report as well, too, talking about the Big Three automakers, this week, and what they are going through. And, you know, a lot of people losing jobs and a lot of people afraid of losing more jobs.

LISOVICZ: That is right. And, you know, I guess that in some ways, some of the people I have been talking to today say that timing actually was good for this, because manufacturing was one of the hardest hit sectors with losses of 85,000 jobs; 85,000 jobs lost in one month, in that sector. Today G.M. announced another 2,000 cuts that will be made in early 2009. Analysts say that could be the tip of the iceberg predicting that if one of the Big Three fails, the ripple effects could result in millions of job cuts.

In a statement today, Senator Chris Dodd says that an auto industry collapse would be catastrophic for the economy. One thing is for sure the jobs report will probably help the CEOs make their case, that this bailout loan is not just about the auto industry, but saving -- and helping the broader economy, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Susan Lisovicz. Thanks.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Now to Capitol Hill where the Big Three U.S. automakers are still having a tough time closing the deal. It is an even bigger deal than the one they couldn't close two weeks ago; $34 billion in government loans to help keep Chrysler, G.M. and Ford out of bankruptcy. Today, the CEOs are before the House Financial Services Committee, whose chairman wants to help, but says that Detroit brought some of this on itself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BARNEY FRANK, (D) CHAIRMAN, HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES CMTE.: It would be nice if we could line up all of the people who made the mistakes and punish them in a way that would have no impact on the innocent. I think that all of us remember, in school, the teachers that we hated most were the teachers who said that if one person misbehaves the whole class would get extra homework. I don't want to give the whole country extra homework, because the automobile executives in the past misbehaved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Again, today, labor sat elbow to elbow, with management asking with the benefits of bankruptcy without the stigma.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON GETTELFINGER, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: What Congress can and should do is put in place a process that will require all of the stakeholders to participate in a restructuring of the companies outside of bankruptcy. This process should ensure that there is fairness in the sacrifices, and that the companies will be able to continue as viable business operations. This process can begin immediately, under the supervision of the next administration. By doing this, Congress can make sure that the emergency assistance is indeed a bridge to a brighter future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Jobs on the line, jobs on the block, these days and there are with the kinds of workers in the U.S. auto industry, those who have been laid off and those who are afraid that they are next. CNN's Brooke Baldwin is at a G.M. plant in Lansing, Michigan.

Brooke, that plant escaped the cuts that G.M. announced this morning, but I'm sure nobody is celebrating. You are still always worried when you are seeing that it is your business.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would say that the tone, Kyra, is definitely not celebratory. A lot of people just sitting around some of the TVs here. They have been watching some of the hearings in the House.

I have three words for you from the front page editorial of "The Detroit Free Press" "Invest In America". What you can't see, there is a massive American flag, just a couple of rows behind me. It was put up the day after 9/11 here. People very patriotic and very proud that they are part of the American auto industry. You are not seeing anyone behind me, because they are on a 16-minute break. Everything is precise here; 16-minute break, and 111 seconds for these cars to pass by, and they put out 450 cars a day.

Someone who helps in that process, this is Tina Lewis. Tina has been with General Motors for 11 years. She works on the door line.

So that essentially mean, you put the doors together, correct?

TINA LEWIS, LANSING GRAND RIVER EMPLOYEE, GENERAL MOTORS: That is correct.

BALDWIN: You message here today, we were talking about the betrayal of the American autoworkers, but also I want to ask you about how Ron Gettelfinger and the CEOs, are you pleased at how they are representing you?

LEWIS: I think no. I think that in the beginning, I don't think they were well prepared and ready for the hard questions, but --

BALDWIN: You weren't happy about the jets?

LEWIS: No, I don't think many of us were. I drive my G.M. vehicle to work everyday, so. No, I think that now it has put them in perspective that this is a serious situation and hard questions are going to be asked.

BALDWIN: What do you do? You come to work everyday and you just hope you have a job and hope everything comes through?

LEWIS: Yes. My husband, we have a business here. And the only thing that is really keeping us in Michigan is my job here. If something were to happen tomorrow, we probably wouldn't stay in Michigan.

BALDWIN: Tina, thank you.

We have just actually also, Kyra, got word that the Reverend Jesse Jackson, just so happened to be in Lansing talking to the mayor. He might, we're hearing some plans, possibly of him taking a tour here at the Grand River Plant. So, who knows we could see Jesse Jackson and the mayor of Lansing talking to some of these autoworkers and talking about the ramifications that this would play out in this town, and across the country.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let us know what they say if they show up, Brooke. Thanks.

Economic disaster, a Detroit newspaper warns of the worse if automakers don't get their bailout loan. And it is sending a letter to Congress. We talk to the man who wrote it.

It is the gift that keeps on giving us material. The yeas and nays on holiday campaign by Planned Parenthood of Indiana.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Full front page and in your face. Take a look at it. This is page one of today's "Detroit Free Press". A blunt editorial letter addressed to each and every member of Congress urging them to give the Big Three automakers the billions of dollars in emergency loans that they are asking for.

The letter says that, "There will be economic hell to pay and not just in Detroit, but all across America, including in your state and your district. The loss of jobs, the devastated retirements, the massive loss of health care coverage, the sharp drop in local tax revenues, the closing of supplier and ancillary businesses, all would be calamitous in the best of times."

Joining me now is the man behind the words, Paul Anger, vice president, editor of "The "Detroit Free Press."

I'll tell you what, we read that letter, Paul, and we thought, wow, that is pretty dramatic. It is pretty intense. Why did you -- well, I can see why you wrote it, but why in this manner?

PAUL ANGER, V.P., EDITOR, "THE DETROIT FREE PRESS": Well, because we though we needed the biggest bully pulpit that we could find to clear up some of the misinformation, misperceptions across the country and including in Congress. So, we cover this industry, the U.S. automakers better than anybody. And we are closer to it than anybody so we thought it was time for our voice to be heard to try to cut through the noise.

PHILLIPS: All right. You also write, quote, "Know that the people of Michigan, and especially those who oil or the automakers are as angry as anyone over the string of misjudgments, failures, and bad decisions that contributed to the industry's woes. No one here is enthused about the idea of extending government money to a private industry with so many self-inflicted wounds."

Now, Americans still think of the '80s and the '90s, Paul, when there were a lot of bad products, you combine that with all the big paychecks, and the bonuses that these CEOs were getting, so they think that this is crazy that they should get anymore money.

ANGER: Well, there is some residual, bad feelings out there with some American consumers and in Congress about some of the mistakes that have been made. There is no apology. There is no explanation for some of the things U.S. automakers did. The difficulty now, for the U.S. automakers, is that they have a much better story to tell. The products are better. The fuel efficiency is up, the efficiency on the plant floor is there, and they are working together much better with the UAW. And they are making progress. The problem is for them now is to get that word out and avoid the legacy questions about the mistakes of the past.

PHILLIPS: Interesting that you say that people are forgetting what the companies did do right. You mentioned a couple of things there, you write in the letter, "Remember, too, that Detroit helped to rescue America as the arsenal of democracy in World War II, and through G.M.'s no-interest loans helped jump start the battered economy after 9/11. Now when our automakers need and autoworkers need a hand up, will America really turn its back. You can help them, and if you don't, make no mistake, there will be bleeding throughout the land."

I feel like I am reading "Revelations", in the Bible, Paul?

ANGER: Well, you can tell, I think, the passion that we feel about this. It is not passion because we are in Detroit and the home team, but it is a passion, because we understand this industry. We know about the ripple effect through the economy, all of the jobs that not only support the U.S. auto industry, but all of the spinoff jobs. The advertising agencies, the engineers and all of that sort of thing.

And then you get to Main Street America, and you say, well, who is getting their haircut here? Whose kids are going to dance class there? And you have a ripple effect through the economy that would be a tsunami. It would be an economic disaster for one of these companies to fail, or frankly, even go into bankruptcy.

PHILLIPS: And then you use harsh words like "blood", and "guts" and "cuts" and "death and destruction", "end of the world" even guilt trips. I kind of read this, and I though, boy, if I lived there and didn't do something - what do you expect from this approach? Are you expecting anything in return, or did you just want to put out a strong letter?

ANGER: Well, we wanted to put out a strong letter, but there is a lot of meat in that letter also, Kyra, if you take a look at some of the history of the auto companies, the facts that we brought into it. We also outlined the seven myths about the U.S. automakers. They don't make hybrids. They don't sell enough cars. The autoworkers are lazy.

All of that is not reality. It is not reality. The automakers have made a lot of progress. Now, should they have moved faster? Of course. Do they have mistakes to make amends for in the past? Of course. But they are on the right track.

This economic financial meltdown could not have come at a worse time for them, but now they are asking for a loan, for an investment truly in America. And the U.S. automakers are America, unless you think that we can have an economy where we buy ice cream cones from each other. The U.S. automakers are central to the U.S. economy, and its strategic future. PHILLIPS: Go to the Web site, "The Detroit Free Press", if you don't have the paper. V.P. and editor Paul Anger, it was an interesting letter. It made us stop, look, and listen, and obviously, want to do this segment.

Thanks so much, Paul.

ANGER: Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: It will be one of the biggest and best inaugural parties in the nation's capitol and one man is making it possible for hundreds of people to attend. You are going to meet the man behind the People's Inaugural Project.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE JACKIE GLASS, LAS VEGAS DISTRICT COURT: I have to tell you now, it was much more than stupidity, and it is very rare that has 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Tough words from the Las Vegas Judge Jackie Glass last hour just before she sentenced O.J. Simpson to 15 years in prison on armed robbery and other charges. Defense attorneys say that he could be eligible now for parole in nine years. Jeffrey Toobin, on the line with us to talk about the case and the charges that have been filed.

A lot of people wishing it would have been longer than up to 15 years, Jeffrey?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Kyra, the people who really cared about him getting a long sentence are not the people who care about what went on in this Las Vegas hotel room. They are the people who think he killed Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. I count myself among them.

What is peculiar about this case is that the crime itself did not seem as nearly as horrible as the crime for which he was acquitted, so there was an imbalance about this case from the very beginning.

PHILLIPS: You know, when you started to hear all of the time put up against the counts up to 12 months, up to 12 months, up to 15 years, up to 180 months, up to 72 months, a lot of people were thinking that he would get possibly life in prison.

TOOBIN: They were, but that would have been, I think, an extreme sentence, even though he was technically eligible for it. Remember, though, this is a 61-year-old man, so that the fact that he is looking at a minimum of nine years in prison is a very significant sentence, since he will be 70 years old when he gets out.

PHILLIPS: But he could, Jeffrey, he could go back to appeal, right? Try to get out earlier, but during that process, they can bring in the murder case regarding his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, right?

TOOBIN: Well, he is -- there is no way he will get out on bail pending appeal. That is just out of the question. He can ask for it. And certainly, he has every right to appeal this conviction. I don't think that he has many grounds for appeal. And it is worth remembering that we talk about appeals a lot. The vast, vast majority of appeals are not successful. So, he will certainly appeal. That is his right, but I think the overwhelming likelihood is that this is the end of the legal process for O.J. Simpson.

PHILLIPS: I meant getting out earlier than 15 years.

TOOBIN: Oh, yes.

PHILLIPS: That is what I mean --

TOOBIN: Oh, yes, he can get out on parole.

PHILLIPS: That is what I am talking about. I'm sorry.

TOOBIN: Right, but as I understand the Nevada law, and it is a little confusing, he is not even eligible for nine years, so that is a substantial chunk of time.

PHILLIPS: So, no matter what he is going to be in the pokey for nine years?

TOOBIN: That is my understanding, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right. And we even heard, Jeffrey, from Fred Goldman and Kim Goldman, in no way is this justice for them. They get a little satisfaction, but in no way does it heal them for a crime that they still think he is guilty of, and that was that crime from 13 years ago, the controversial acquittal in the killings of Fred Goldman's son, Ronald, and also Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J.'s ex-wife.

TOOBIN: I sat with the Goldman family throughout the criminal trial and through much of the civil trial. I could never understand the depth of their pain and that is only something that another murder victim's family could understand. I saw the evidence and like many people, I thought he was guilty of the crime. I am certain that he is guilty of that crime. And the fact that he gets convicted and has a jail sentence in this very much less serious crime is, I'm sure, small consolation, but the emphasis is on the small for the Goldman and Brown families.

PHILLIPS: Still says he thought he did nothing wrong and still was absolutely arrogant before the judge. Nothing really changes, does it? TOOBIN: Well, that was really, I thought, the interesting part of the sentencing, that you really saw O.J. in his customary arrogance in the, in the sentencing proceeding, because it had both his tremendous self-pity and his refusal to acknowledge that he did anything wrong. Both characteristics have been typical of him for a very long time.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey Toobin thanks for calling in.

TOOBIN: OK, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, it is a chance of a life time for people might never have the chance again. A Virginia businessman is making it possible for hundreds of people to attend Barack Obama's inauguration. They are going in style and it won't cost them a thing.

CNN's Samantha Hayes has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is a million- dollar view at the top of the J.W. Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue and on inauguration day, William Stafford decided it should go to those who don't have a penny to spare.

EARL STAFFORD, BENEFACTOR: We hope that the balcony here, the terrace is filled with those who are disadvantage, those who are distressed.

HAYES: Those who didn't think they would ever be able to see Barack Obama sworn in as president on these steps. Not only will they see it, but Stafford is making sure that the guests experience history in style.

STAFFORD: Why not give them an experience they can tell their children and their grandchildren about?

HAYES: The entire package includes 300 rooms and four suites under renovation just for the event.

ERICK SPEIGHT, SALES EXEC., J.W. MARRIOTT: Stunned, literally stunned. I mean we hear about great benevolence all over the place, it is another story when this gentleman is in your face, saying, hey, I am going to do this. Here is the money.

HAYES: And an even better story if you are one of those selected. Stafford will be working with organizations like the Urban League.

LAVERN CHATMAN, NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE, VIRGINIA: I cannot imagine it. You know, you are sitting there and you have been seeing the election and you see what the ball is going to look like, and everything says they are sold out, nobody is going to be able to get into town. And then you get a call saying you have been selected, and we will fly you to Washington. HAYES (on camera): While it may sound like a Cinderella story, Stafford hopes it is more than that. He says for those he is giving this historic opportunity, he hopes they go into their own communities and do something good.

Samantha Hayes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, he's ready to play again and she says she will stay by his side as long as he needs her. The nanny talks about saving a toddler from terrorists in Mumbai.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a new security alert in India is putting the travelers on edge. The U.S. State Department says that the Indian government has been warned that terrorists may be planning to attack Indian airports and flights there, today or tomorrow. As a result security has been tightened at airports across that country.

Indian security sources tell our sister network, CNN/IBN, that the 10 attackers who killed nearly 180 people during last week's siege, got help from a Bangladeshi national. The sources say that the Bangladeshi bought cell phone SIM cards for the attackers inside India. Intelligence experts say that terrorists use those cards to switch phones and throw the police off of their trail.

Now we have told her story of bravery and love before, but now, here it is in her own words.

The nanny who saved a toddler from terrorists in Mumbai spoke with CNN's Paula Hancocks in Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL HANCOCKS, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Pure concentration on his latest work of art. Moshe Holtzberg draws and plays with the nanny who saved his life. It is a million miles from last week's Mumbai attacks, which killed both his parents.

SANDRA, NANNY THAT SAVED TODDLER: I was in the kitchen. I came running to stop them and I see that one man is shooting at me -- he shot at me.

HANCOCKS: Sandra locked herself in the storeroom with another Chabad houseworker, Jackie (ph). But when she heard baby Moshe calling her name, 12 hours later, she didn't hesitate to unlock the door and risk her life to save his.

SANDRA: When I hear the gunshots, it's like not, one or two, it's like hundreds of gun shots, 10, 20 grenades, bombs in the Chabad. So -- even I am a mother of two children, so I just pick up the baby and I run. I don't think of fear. Does anybody think of dying at that moment when a small precious baby's -- no.

HANCOCKS: Moshe is now learning to play again, but likes to know that Sandra is close by.

SANDRA: For two, three days he asked for his Ima continuously and because she used to always give some special time to him.

HANCOCKS: Moshe plays in the garden of Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman, a man who has spent 40 years looking after orphans in Israel, his own great nephew also now an orphan. But Moshe has dozens of loving relatives willing to give him a new home, and the Chabad movement has created a fund to secure his future.

RABBI YITZHAK DAVID GROSSMAN, PRESIDENT, MIGDAL OHR: Everybody thanks Sandra, because she gives the life to save Moshe. She knows she can be killed, and she goes in and takes him out.

HANCOCKS: A non-Jewish Indian nanny welcomed as an Israeli hero. She has carte blanche to stay in Israel, and says she will not leave as long as Moshe needs her. Even now, Sandra barely takes the time to think of herself.

(on camera): And how are you coping now?

SANDRA: Me? Baby is there, Sandra is there. That's it.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Paula Hancocks, CNN, Northern Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Giving the gift of controversy and headlines. There is a bit of a backlash over Planned Parenthood of Indiana's new holiday campaign. It is offering gift certificates redeemable at any of its 35 clinics.

More now from Leslie Olsen of our affiliate WISH.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LESLIE OLSEN, WISH REPORTER: Anymore, you can find a gift card or certificate for just about any occasion or use, from restaurants to hotels. But here is a new twist, Planned Parenthood gift certificates.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Midtown (ph) Planned Parenthood. This is Sara (ph), may I help you?

OLSEN: Planned Parenthood of Indiana says a big increase in calls and visits from newly unemployed and uninsured Hoosiers prompted what it calls the unusual, yet practical gift option.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that would not suit my fancy, but I would probably come up with something else.

CHRYSTAL STRUBEN-HALL, V.P. PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF INDIANA: The people are making really tough decisions about putting gas in their car and food on the table, so we know that many women especially put health care at the bottom of their list of things to do. OLSEN: The certificates come in $25 increments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I'd be all for that.

OLSEN: They can be used for everything from birth control to $58 examinations that include breast exams and pap tests. Men who receive health care at Planned Parenthood can use them, too.

STRUBEN-HALL: They can be seen for sexually transmitted disease screenings, HIV test and general prostate exams and those kinds of things.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doesn't go for abortions, would it?

STRUBEN-HALL: Actually, it does. But Planned Parenthood says that's not the purpose of the gift certificates.

STRUBEN-HALL: They are really intended for preventive health care. We decided not to put restrictions on the gift certificates so it is for whatever people feel they need the services for most.

OLSEN: Indiana Family Institute president, Curt Smith, says he is appalled by the certificates.

CURT SMITH, PRES., INDIANA FAMILY INSTITUTE: I think the way to help family planning is to give the money where there is no agenda. So if somebody wants to help a woman in a time of crisis, they can support the life centers throughout Indiana.

OLSEN: Planned Parenthood hopes philanthropists looks at it differently. The organization hopes people might purchase the certificates then turn them back in for patients who need reproductive health care, but can't pay for it.

Leslie Olsen, 24 Hour, News 8.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Simple advice for some crazy times. One man's letter to his college-bound daughter could help transform your finances. His common sense approach to cash when he and his daughter join us in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you know we are in a recession. You know we have suffered the worst monthly jobs loss in 34 years. But here is something you might not know; people are still hiring out there. Time for some career counseling. Personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, at a job center there in Yonkers, New York.

Gerri, let's talk about who is hiring and where are they hiring.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, those are great questions. But it is industries like health care, it's industries like finance, not the Wall Street version, but the bookkeeper version. There are places that are expanding even though we see a lot that are not.

I'm here in the Yonkers Job Center. As you can see, this is where people sit down and they look for jobs on these computers, writing resumes, figuring out how to talk to employers. And if you come over to this side of the room, and Frank if you can turn around here, you'll this is where the counselors are working with individuals. And I want to introduce you to a couple.

This is Valerie. She is a client, she is a customer. And her counselor, is Lynnette -- Lynn, pardon me.

So, Val, let's start with you. You are over 50, you're in the job market. It is not easy.

Tell me how you are making a difference here.

VALERIE MELROSE, JOB SEEKER: Well, the way it's making a difference here for me, this is my first time of being unemployed in many years. As you said, I am over 50, I'm a college graduate from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and I also have a master's degree and I never thought that I would be in this position where I would be unemployed.

But in this job -- economic market, it's tough for -- it's a challenge for anyone, but especially when you're over 50. And here at the Yonkers Employment Center, Ms. Carr, who has been my counselor for a number of years, has been working with me with my interview techniques, writing a resume, getting adapted to computers, which is a real challenge for people over 50.

WILLIS: So Valerie is learning a lot of new skills here. Lynn is teaching her.

Lynn, talk to me just a little bit -- when you're working with folks, some of these folks haven't been on a job interview in 20 years. What do you tell them?

LYNN CARR, EMPLOYMENT COUNSELOR: Well, the first thing we tell them is that computers can be your friend. And we start with that.

Many people come in and they have a fear of computers. And that is the first thing that we have to address. So we start with the basics, teaching them how to create an e-mail address, how to create a resume and put that on the e-mail address. We explain to them that many employers want you to e-mail your resume today.

So we help them to overcome that fear. And once they do that, actually they start to enjoy it.

WILLIS: All right.

Lynn, thank you for that.

Val, great to meet you.

I just want to mention that since we have been here today, and we have been here all morning, employers have called in and said, hey, put us on your job posting, we definitely want to be on it. So people are really getting some results here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Good stuff. Live from Yonkers, Gerri Willis -- thanks so much.

So how do you talk to your kids about this economy? How about writing a letter like this, Dear, Lexie, On your first day of college, let me congratulate you on your well-earned freedom. No more curfews. No more being dragged places you'd rather not be. No more of Dad's teachable moments about responsibility, opportunity ... life."

Dan Kadlec wrote that letter to his daughter and published it in "Money" magazine. I caught up with him and his daughter, Lexie, to see if she was following dad's advice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN KADLEC, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: As she was getting ready to go to college, I -- I mean, I'm in this business, I write for "Money" magazine, I hear all the horrors about kids who haven't learned about money in school. And by the way, schools don't teach a lot about it, and so you can't blame the kids.

You know, we learn the three R's, reading, writing, 'rithmetic, well we need a fourth R, called reality, which is about money, mortgages, credit cards.

PHILLIPS: Well Lexie, when you first got the letter, what was your reaction? Like, oh, brother, not another letter from dad? Or, were you thinking, this is a new technique?

LEXIE KADLEC, COLLEGE FRESHMAN: Well, honestly, not that many people get letters written to them in a huge magazine, so I was psyched about that. But after reading it, it was nothing really that new. I've grown up with those lessons, but I think the letter was a great way to just like reinforce it, and it was a great way for my dad to share with everyone else what he has been sharing with me.

PHILLIPS: And here is a little bit of that advice. Dan you write, "Live within your means, Lexie." And then it goes on to say, "... looking at the whole semester, not just a sample week, makes plain how reoccurring expenses add up, like say $4 a day at Starbucks setting you back nearly $500."

Did that make sense to you, Lexie?

L. KADLEC: Oh, yes. Absolutely.

Once I started making my own money -- I had two jobs. I had one at a restaurant and then during the summer I had one as a counselor. And once I was spending my money on those things like coffee everyday, that type of stuff, it -- you can see how much it adds up.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dad, and you also said get the right credit card. You said, "I have a confession, Lexie, in the past few months I have, without telling you, thrown away at least a dozen credit card offers to you. This bombardment will continue when you move to campus."

D. KADLEC: By the way, they are still coming to our house at home, and I'm still --

PHILLIPS: You're still shredding them?

D. KADLEC: -- and I'm still throwing them away. And I can only assume they are still reaching her in her new address as well.

PHILLIPS: So did you let her have a credit card or not, Dan?

D. KADLEC: You know, we're going to -- I want her to get one. Right now, to my knowledge, Lexie -- to my knowledge, you don't have one. She left for college with an ATM card, which I think is kind of a nice way to start out.

I do think a credit card makes sense, the right credit card, as you get a little more mature in your spending, because you want to begin to build some credit for when you graduate. And everyone from a prospective employer, to a landlord, to someone you might buy a car from, is going to be -- they are going to want to see some credit history. So I do think it makes sense. But you have to be really careful with it.

PHILLIPS: So have you been careful, Lexie? Did you get a credit card?

L. KADLEC: I did not get a credit card.

PHILLIPS: OK, very good.

L. KADLEC: I still have my ATM card.

PHILLIPS: Now, you had a favorite part of this letter, though, from what I understand. It was when dad said, see the big picture. And he wrote to you, "You can make a great living doing almost anything as long as you love it, so take risks, explore, switch majors, get your head out of the books and do something surprising. There's time. But find your bliss and pursue it."

Tell me why that's your favorite part.

L. KADLEC: I think it is so important. I feel like there are a bunch of people who find themselves in jobs where they are not happy and money is such a big thing. People get pretty caught up in it. And I don't want to be like that. I want to live comfortably and I feel like the money will come with whatever I love to do, so.

PHILLIPS: Well, I love how your dad ended the letter. "So that's it, Lexie. Of course I'll be available for more advice any time for the price of a phone call. Judging by how eagerly you packed your things, though, I recognize that my time would be ill spent sitting in front of the telephone waiting. That's OK, I won't. We're both ready. Love always, dad." Do you miss your daughter, Dad?

D. KADLEC: I miss her immensely. She was just home for Thanksgiving, and I enjoyed seeing her for the few minutes she was actually at the house. But the house really just is not the same without her, and we can't wait for Christmas break.

PHILLIPS: Lexie, do you miss dad?

L. KADLEC: Yes. Yes.

PHILLIPS: As she says hesitantly. I love it.

All right. Well, would you pass this letter on to friends, Lexie? Have you done that?

L. KADLEC: Oh yes, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: You have?

L. KADLEC: Absolutely. Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we're going to be following your career that is for sure. Great stuff.

Dan, what a wonderful idea. You're giving all of us ideas about how to deal with our kids.

Lexie, congratulations on school.

L. KADLEC: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We'll be tracking your progress.

L. KADLEC: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks guys.

D. KADLEC: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Lexie tells me that she hopes to get a degree in international studies so she can get a job that pays her to travel on the company's dime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Cold, cold and more cold.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

PHILLIPS: That's what's in store for much of the weekend. Chad Myers, though, who has a very warm heart -- far from cold.

Hi, Chad. (WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: We want to take you live to Las Vegas now, where we're actually listening to O.J. Simpson's defense team. We will hear more from them. Also, the prosecutors. In addition, a victim is going to speak on Rick Sanchez's program at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

As you know O.J. Simpson sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. Definitely nine years he'll be eligible for parole. Then a lot of people doubt that anyone's going to give him any mercy and a gift of getting out in less than 15. But, we'll follow it and Rick Sanchez will have more at 3:00.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: Well, Rick Sanchez is up here dancing. He's probably had a few shots of J.D. He's joining us in about two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. Paris police mounting a dragnet for some dudes who looked like ladies. Four armed men, two of them in drag, burst into jeweler Harry Winston late yesterday. Well, when it was all over, they'd pulled off one of the biggest jewelry heists ever. More than $100 million worth of sparkle. No word if there's a reward for the four bosom buddies.

Maybe Rick Sanchez can investigate now.