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Obama Speaks Out about Blagojevich, Names Health Care Team; Who Was Being Considered to Replace Obama?; Burial Plots Repossessed for Lack of Payment; Religious License Plate Draws Fire

Aired December 11, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with this man, Don Lemon, in for Kyra Phillips. Appreciate it.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, my Mom called me at 6 this morning from Baton Rouge. She goes, "It's snowing!"

HARRIS: It's snowing, right.

LEMON: I said, "Great. I'm sleeping."

HARRIS: Yes, yes. Better there than here, because we don't know how to act at all.

LEMON: All right.

HARRIS: In snow or rain. Have a good show. Good to see you, man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA MADIGAN, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: I am prepared to take action, but obviously the easiest way for us to move on in the state of Illinois is for governor Blagojevich to do the right thing for the people and to resign.

LEMON (voice-over): Could a vacant U.S. Senate seat cost a scandalized governor his seat? It may just be a question of how Rod Blagojevich leaves and how fast.

How fast can GM and Chrysler get bailout loans from the treasury? We'll find out soon whether it's sooner, later or never.

Eventually, all of us end up here, or someplace like it, assuming we pay up front in full. A plot switch (ph) in issue No. 1, this hour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Hello everyone. It's the top of the hour. I'm Don Lemon, live here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get right to it for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Let me be absolutely clear, I do not think that the governor at this point can effectively serve the people of Illinois.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The president-elect on the governor who allegedly tried to sell a U.S. Senate seat in a news conference you may have seen live here on CNN just a short time ago. Barack Obama said he hopes Rod Blagojevich will spare the Illinois legislature the trouble of impeaching him.

Obama also said he is absolutely certain neither he nor his staff had any part in any deals to fill his Senate vacancy.

Two days after Blagojevich was busted by the FBI and prosecutors outlined some jaw-dropping claims, Obama's not the only one to say he should quit or be fired. On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," the state attorney general said she'll ask the state supreme court to declare Blagojevich unfit if he doesn't step down, or lawmakers don't step in.

At his news conference Obama also pledged to make public any and all contacts between his transition staff and Blagojevich.

CNN's Elaine Quijano is leading our coverage from Chicago.

Elaine this scandal overshadowed the president-elect's announcement?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, the announcement was overshadowed, I think it's very fair to say, just judging by the questions, Don.

The president-elect really was trying to put to rest questions about this situation, saying that his staff was going to be looking into the situation surrounding the Governor Blagojevich situation. He said that he was absolutely certain, as you noted, that none of his aides were involved in any kind of deal making with the governor over the vacated Senate seat, that seat vacated by Obama.

And at one point during the news conference the president-elect even mentioned how, in the federal complaint that was filed, the members of Obama's team were not portrayed as being particularly amenable to alleged overtures by the governor.

Let's take a listen to a little bit of what the president-elect had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I was as appalled and disappointed as anybody by the revelations earlier this week. I have never spoken to the governor on this subject. I'm confident that no representatives are mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat. I think the materials released by the U.S. attorney reflect that fact.

I've asked my team to gather the facts of any contacts with the governor's office about this vacancy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the stated purpose, Don, of this news conference, was really to talk about health-care reform. And during the news conference, as expected, the president-elect announced Tom Daschle as his pick for not only health and human services secretary but also someone who will head up -- who will head up a new office within the White House. It will be the White House Office of Health Reform.

In talking about this, the president-elect noted how Tom Daschle is someone who really can reach across the aisle, bridge the partisan divide. Of course, Tom Daschle is a former Senate majority leader, certainly knows his way around the halls of Congress.

But the president-elect noting how health care is a pressing issue for millions of Americans.

We should also tell you that the president-elect named the deputy director of that office, Dr. Jeanne Lambrew.

And finally, Don, as talks are continuing on Capitol Hill over what to do over the ailing U.S. auto industry, the president-elect weighed in on that, as well, saying that he does pass -- he does back Congress' work to try and get some short-term loans, some assistance in the short term, for the Detroit Big Three U.S. automakers -- Don.

LEMON: Yes. Let's not forget about the auto crisis in all of this. Elaine Quijano, reporting from Chicago. Elaine, we appreciate it.

Now let's get back to the governor of Illinois. So who is, or was he running for? Was running for Obama's old seat? An FBI affidavit dropped some hints but doesn't really name names. Still, one way or another, the blanks are being filled in, some by sources, some by the candidates themselves.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): Mystery solved for candidate No. 5, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. But Jackson is just one in an interesting cast of characters that make up the Obama Senate seat saga.

Let's count them down.

Candidate No. 4, deputy governor A, suspected to be 33-year-old Bob Greenlee, who resigned Wednesday as the scandal broke. He was appointed to his present post by the governor. Although he'd be a long shot for the Senate seat, a source tells CNN Governor Blagojevich is known for surprises, but Greenlee is considered unlikely to be able to hold on to the critical seat for re-election.

Which brings us to candidate No. 3, possibly Representative Jan Schakowsky, a longtime Blagojevich friend who is now calling for his resignation. A source tells CNN it is unlikely Schakowsky would be involved in a pay-for-play scandal, given she has run her entire career on a high ethics platform.

Candidate No. 2 could be Lisa Madigan, popular in Illinois politics, is a current states attorney general. Her father is the speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. But Blagojevich likely sees her as a threat, since she's expressed interest in running for governor.

Candidate No. 1, most likely the president-elect's acknowledged favorite and in many ways the most attractive candidate. Valerie Jarrett, Chicago insider, former Mayor Daley deputy chief of staff. As an African-American woman, she would bring diversity to the Senate. Her fundraising ability would almost ensure she would hold onto the seat in two years.

However, on November 12, she took herself out of the running, and Mr. Obama has already named her senior White House adviser.

And candidate No. 6. The new mystery could be any one of a number of wealthy Democrats in Illinois, where there are plenty of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You know what? You can't tell the players, really, without a program here, or without an experienced guide, and that brings me to Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun- Times." And Lynn is also a fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and that's where we find her today.

Lynn, welcome.

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Hi, Don.

LEMON: Hey, we had a very interesting conversation earlier, because everyone who was potentially up for this job not listed in this complaint. These are only possibilities here.

SWEET: Absolutely. As you know, coming from Chicago and having spent time in the city, Don, the cast of characters, if this is an open seat, will only get bigger and bigger. Congressman Danny Davis is somebody who also is -- would probably run, if there's a special election.

You know, we have two options now going on. There may well be a special election, and that's what I was saying yesterday, with a great deal of certainty. Now there's maybe a little nervousness that, with all this scandal, even with all the Democrats in Illinois, maybe there would be a lieutenant governor making a Democratic appointment, just to avoid the $30 million cost and to ensure you have a Democrat.

But -- but some of the names here I would say the ones that would be most viable, if there really were an election. Jan Schakowsky has already teed up to run, from what I can tell. I bet Congressman Jackson would run, because he says he's done nothing wrong. And this has been a dream of his, and you know, you don't have to give up your House seat. A rare opportunity.

So for Davis, Jan and Jackson, you know, this is -- and maybe even Melissa Bean, another congresswoman. I would bet they're all thinking about it.

LEMON: And Tammy Duckworth, do you think?

SWEET: And Tammy.

LEMON: OK. Let me ask you this, because we -- you know, when you sort of connect the dots here, and all politics is local. We say that. But there's something very interesting and special about Chicago politics.

When you look at all the people who are associated with the governor and have ties, and you look at, and also Mayor Daley, as well. You've got Valerie Jarrett. You've got Jan Schakowsky. You've got all of them. And do you think Chicago politics, are they -- we're going bring -- there you go. There's a graphic right there. Chicago politics, more of an insider sport I think, probably, than anywhere in the country.

Now I feel, coming from Chicago, obviously, very embarrassed by this, but I also feel that this is a watershed moment of transparency for Chicago politics, possibly. Do you agree, Lynn?

SWEET: I hope so. I hope that finally the leaders in Chicago, including President-elect Obama, say enough is enough. And that we don't make anymore jokes about voting early and often, and we don't make jokes about people voting from the grave. And you say this is serious stuff. Pay to play has got to end. It's got to end in city hall. It's got to end in the state. It's got to end at the federal level, and maybe this is the time.

You know, one of the things that was really interesting in the Obama press conference is that he said he will have an internal report, and he will make it public. At first, two days ago when he was asked about this, he said, "Well, the matter's under investigation. I better not say anything."

That's real hopeful. That's really good. I hope that if -- I hope if he does report, it does come public. I take him at his word. Because that would be a sign to people that to say what you know, and let the people know what's going on.

LEMON: Yes. And very interesting that people -- Patrick Fitzgerald has asked people to come forward. So we'll see what happens. And you know he has been trying to clean up corruption in Chicago and Illinois forever. That is his -- that's his mission.

And, Lynn, I wish I could talk to you a little bit more, but we've got to run. We've got so much news today. Appreciate you coming in and hanging out with us. OK?

SWEET: Hey, thank you so much.

` LEMON: Thank you, Lynn Sweet.

Also, we want to know what's on your mind today. What you're -- what you think about the Blagojevich scandal, about any of the bailouts, anything. Make sure you logon to Twitter, to Facebook, to iReport or MySpace and tell us what you're thinking.

Also we have some of our iReporters that are watching us right now. As a matter of fact, Katie from Chicago, watching us from her kitchen via web cam.

Hello, Katie, from the Chicago area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

LEMON: It's good to see you. We'll talk to you in just a little bit. Thank you very much.

Meantime, on to some other news now we have for you.

Utility worker makes a gruesome discovery in central Florida this morning: a bag with the skeletal remains of a child found less than a quarter of a mile from Caylee Anthony's home. The little girl hasn't been seen since June, and her Mom, Casey, is charged with her murder. Police and FBI teams are on the scene working to I.D. the remains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. ANGELO NIEVES, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA'S OFFICE: At this point it's very early in this discovery to provide any additional information that can compromise our case. WE want to proceed carefully, methodically and allow our investigators and our forensic teams to provide the information to our investigators that is necessary to proceed with this investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The Anthony family has been told about the discovery. Caylee's grandparents, Cindy and George, will be guests on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," Friday, 9 Eastern, an exclusive interview about today's developments.

OK, let's talk more about the economy and America's money crisis. It passed the house, but it was an uphill drive in the Senate. A $14 billion bailout loan for the Big Three U.S. automakers is facing stiff Republican opposition.

GOP senators are looking for more concessions from autoworkers and creditors, and they opposed the tougher environmental rules House Democrats included in the bill. They also question a proposal for a so-called car czar to oversee the industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: I've looked at this legislation that's come over, and it's like so many things we do around here. It's like a three-humped camel. I mean, you couldn't make it, almost, more ineffective and more complicated.

Mr. President, if we put in place a czar. It seems like that everything we do around here, we try to find a person who can save us, if you will, from the crisis that's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Top Senate Democrats support the loan package. They say they are quickly losing patience and want some kind of vote, ASAP.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: We have danced to this tune long enough. What we will do, which is we have under the rule, we can have a motion to proceed to this thing tomorrow. And if Republicans want to come and say, "Well, you know, you haven't allowed us to say, offer amendments," that's what's taken place for the last two years and look what it got the Republicans. They lost seven or eight Senate seats, lost the presidency.

We want to legislate, and we're doing the very best we can to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the loan package is aimed at keeping GM and Chrysler from plunging into bankruptcy. Ford has more cash on hand than its rivals and isn't expected to tap into any bailout loan money in the coming months.

A rare sight in the Deep South on this December day. Snow, heavy at times, falls across parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Yes, Mom, I got your phone call this morning. I'll call you about back the snow in Illinois.

Even New Orleans got in on the act.

And in North Carolina, some final resting places won't be so final after all. A small town takes a drastic step to deal with dead beats who haven't paid for their cemetery plots.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Check this out. This isn't Michigan. Can you believe it is -- guess where? Houston, Texas. It never snows there. It's a rare sight in parts of the South today, with snow falling in places that almost never get it in December. Almost never really get it at all.

Houston got its first snow since Christmas Eve four years ago.

The white stuff also on the ground in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Check this out. New Orleans this morning. Baton Rouge and Jackson, Mississippi, are seeing the same thing happening. It hasn't snowed in Mississippi on December 11 since the 1800s.

Reynolds Wolf is tracking all the big storms for us.

Reynolds, I was telling Tony when he talked to me, my Mom calmed me this morning at 6 a.m.: "It's snowing, it's snowing."

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Where's Mom?

LEMON: Baton Rouge.

WOLF: Baton Rouge.

LEMON: The whole city shut down. She couldn't even get to work this morning. They closed the bridge, so...

WOLF: It's crazy like that.

LEMON: Yes.

WOLF: It does occasionally snow in Louisiana, but this is, it took, I guess, a few people who weren't paying attention, by surprise. And if you've been watching CNN for the last couple of days, we've been talking about this. If you've been watching some another network, you're clueless. So you've got to keep it here.

Let's show you what's happening right now. We do have the rain. We have the sleet. We've got the snow, much of it falling in places like Texas, even into Baton Rouge. Now it's moving a bit more to the east.

Let's show you some iReports. We've got some great iReports for you. This first one is sent in from James, or rather Jared Dunn from Texas. Take a look at that. A little bit of creativity. Got up on the roof. Obviously, he was hopefully careful. He's at least good enough health to send us the shot. "Texas Christmas." You better believe it.

We're going to go a little more to the east and back into Louisiana. Baton Rouge. This is from Wilma Roy. This is what your Mom was able to see. Am I correct? This is the kind of activity she had? I believe so. Definitely. This is what we had in terms of rain and sleet and snow there.

Now, as you go back to the weather computer, we're going to show you, this is not going to remain in place. Much of this is going to drive off to the east. And what it's going to do is bring rain and sleet and some snowfall mainly to parts of Mississippi and into Louisiana.

When you go a little bit more to the east, back into Alabama and into Georgia, it's a warmer air mass. So in terms of snowfall, that's not going to happen.

However, on the other side of the frontal boundary, there is the potential that we could see some tornadoes. A tornado watch already in effect for parts of coastal Carolina, back into the interior of the Tarheel State, even into South Carolina. That in effect until 7 p.m. If you want to know if it's causing some issues in travel, take a look at this. We've got delays all over the place. In fact, we're going to pop them up for you. You can notice that many of the airports, including Boston, Philadelphia, New York, La Guardia, JFK, Newark, we've got delays, some places up to an hour or so.

The top half of the storm system moving through New England. It's going to cause some problems there. We're going to talk about that coming up through the rest of the afternoon.

We'll send it back to you.

LEMON: Send it back to you.

WOLF: So your mom -- still leery about the snow?

LEMON: I mean, come on. Texas, and Louisiana, and Mississippi. People don't get snow there. Even here, Reynolds. Come on. We get snow, the whole city shuts down.

WOLF: It does happen. We run out of milk and bread.

LEMON: What are there?

WOLF: Milk sandwiches become very popular.

LEMON: Two salt trucks here>

WOLF: I think so. You bet.

LEMON: And it's probably a good thing.

WOLF: Absolutely.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Reynolds Wolf.

You know, I want to take you back to another cold place but probably not so cold, at least when it comes to some workers' hearts there. This time the little guys won.

About 200 workers have ended their six-day sit-in at a shutdown factory in Chicago, this after two big banks agreed to lend the failed company nearly $2 million to pay outstanding wages and benefits. The workers took over Republic Windows and Doors after getting laid off with only three days' notice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARMANDO ROBLES, PRESIDENT, UE WORKERS LOCAL 1110: We have a chance at victory. We say we will not go out until we get justice. And we have it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did! Yes, we did!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we did! Yes, we did!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we did! Yes, we did!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The workers and union organizers cheered that settlement deal. The banks came through with the cash after first saying they didn't want to loan Republic any more money. The workers get about $6,000 each. Good for them.

You've heard of repossessing a car, haven't you? Or even a home? But you haven't heard anything yet. People in Mooresville, North Carolina, are being told they won't rest in peace unless they pay up.

Here's Tony Burbeck from our Charlotte affiliate WCNC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY BURBECK, WCNC REPORTER: Chances are you probably know someone who's struggling. Maybe they lost their job. Maybe their house is in foreclosure. Maybe their car's been repossessed.

Well, here in the town of Mooresville, people's burial plots have been repossessed for lack of payment.

(voice-over) It's the first time that's happened here in years. Look around Mooresville's Glenwood Memorial Cemetery. You'll find plenty of family plots. Barger, Miller, Overcash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Side by side. So it's most important.

RON MCLEAN, MOORESVILLE NATIVE: My mother and my father is buried there.

BURBECK: Ron McLean will be, too.

MCLEAN: It's just part of being family.

BURBECK: That, he says, is how it's supposed to be.

MCLEAN: An emotional issue, I guess.

BURBECK: The simple truth is, it's a financial issue. The town repossessed 11 future grave sites, most in groups or pairs. People paid the deposit but not the entire bill. The town gave them at least a year to make good. The town took them back so it could resell them to people who can pay the $500 to $1,000 cost.

MCLEAN: If you live with somebody for a matter of a lifetime, it would be very important to continue that bond, sort of a last link to remembrance.

BURBECK: That's something 11 people here don't have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was Tony Burbeck from our Charlotte affiliate, WCNC. The station tried to contact the people who lost their cemetery plots but couldn't get in touch with them.

Well, Florida put the brakes on them. Will a judge in South Carolina do the same? The latest on those controversial "I believe" license plates.

Also, he had everything to lose and everything to gain. An American with an extreme weight problem and the extreme lengths he went to, to do deal with it.

Also, we want to know what's on your mind this afternoon. Tell us when you think about Governor Rod Blagojevich, that scandal. Tell us what you think about that story you just saw, the bailout, the economy. We want to know. Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, iReport.com. Logon. Tell us what you're thinking. As a matter of fact, your comments are scrolling at the bottom of the screen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, lots of people try to be a living example of their faith, and in South Carolina, some people could soon be a driving example, too, unless -- unless a federal judge grants an injunction this very afternoon.

CNN's Gary Tuchman has more on a controversial Christian license plate and its VIP backer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andre Bauer is lieutenant governor of South Carolina.

ANDRE BAUER, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: I believe...

TUCHMAN: ... but being a lieutenant for Jesus takes priority.

BAUER: If I were to never get elected or never serve in another capacity because I pronounce my faith as a Christian, I don't have a problem with that.

TUCHMAN: And he's pronouncing his faith explicitly, leading an effort in his Bible Belt state to have the first-of-its-kind license plate in the U.S.: with a Christian cross on it.

BAUER: I think it allows people of faith to profess that they do believe in a higher calling, they believe in God. It gives them the opportunity, through a special license plate, to say that.

TUCHMAN: The plate would look like this Florida prototype, with just the cross and a stained-glass window with the words, "I believe." Florida ended up not approving it, because of concerns over separation of church and state.

BAUER: Too bad I'm not lieutenant governor in Florida.

TUCHMAN: Bauer says he's open to any religion putting symbols on its own license plates, but his state's legislature only approved a Christian version.

In addition, the lieutenant governor says he'll donate $4,000 to the effort, money the state requires to print specialty license plates.

(on camera) So would you put up $4,000 for a Muslim group to do this?

BAUER: I would not.

TUCHMAN: Why not?

BAUER: Because that is not the group that I support. I'm a private citizen, just as I am the lieutenant governor.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): That's a big problem for Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

REV. BARRY LYNN, AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: You have the lieutenant governor saying he'll put up $4,000 to get the first set of these plates made. The government itself and a government official is involved in the promotion of this campaign.

TUCHMAN: So a federal lawsuit has now been filed to stop the production of the plate. Tom Summers lives in South Carolina.

TOM SUMMERS, RETIRED MINISTER: I'm a Christian minister. Several of the plaintiffs that are involved with this particular case, this lawsuit, are Christian ministers. It's beyond me how any Christian minister would not take offense at this elevation of Christianity as over against our brothers and sisters in other faith groups.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Being that no state has ever had a license plate with a cross, you might think the legislators here in South Carolina would have had lively debate or spirited disagreement, but that was anything but the case. The state representatives and senators approved the plate unanimously.

(voice-over) The lieutenant governor says this is freedom of speech, and sees the opposition as prejudice against Christians.

BAUER: We're not going to back down. We're going to continue to fight for a change. I'm tired of seeing Christians back down by fear of a lawsuit.

TUCHMAN: There is another Christian who also has no plans to back down.

LYNN: I honestly believed that these so-called "I believe" license plates will never be put on any cars. The legal issues are so clear that the court will make the right choice and say this violates the constitution.

TUCHMAN: But Andre Bauer thinks he'll be driving with his new license plate soon, confident in his belief it's appropriate to combine church and plate.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Columbia, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Very interesting, Gary.

Chicago, it has its own pizza. It has its own drama (ph), of course. How might Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich try to fight those accusations? We're talking to people who know the Windy City, warts and all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. It's the bottom of the hour. I want to tell you about some of the stories we're working on for you today, here in the CNN NEWSROOM. There's more pressure on the embattled governor of Illinois to resign. President-elect Barack Obama today repeated his call for Rod Blagojevich to step down. The governor is accused of trying to sell Obama's empty Senate seat to the highest bidder. The President-elect says he's sure his staffers were not involved in any way.

A grim discovery near the Orlando, Florida, home of missing toddler Caylee Anthony. Police say a utility worker found some remains they appear to be those of a small child. No. I repeat, no identification has been made. 3-year-old Caylee has been missing since June. Her mom Casey Anthony faces murder and other charges in her daughter's disappearance.

How about this? Life or death for a convicted courthouse shooter Brian Nichols. His jury, well, they can't decide. Jurors told a judge they can't agree on a sentence for Nichols, who gunned down a judge and three other people in a 2005 rampage that started in an Atlanta courthouse, right here in Atlanta. The judge could poll the jury later this afternoon. For now, he's telling them to keep debating on all this.

OK. So, the shock, it may be starting to wear off just a bit. And we're talking about Rod Blagojevich, that case. But the questions are growing, growing by the hour. Will the Illinois governor quit, be impeached, or neither? Will he still try name a Senate replacement for the President-elect? Will he try bring other politicians down with him? That's a question. I'll say that again. Will he try to bring other Illinois politicians down with him? Pay to play. The investigation is unfolding.

My next guest, while he has answers, he's listening every day to what people are saying. Also a native Chicagoan. Also does a national radio show and a local radio show every afternoon in Chicago, so he is tuned in.

And maybe some educated guesses here, Warren. But, some of your things, I'm going to take. As you know, what you're talking about just from being around. OK. He's an attorney as well. Kind of a jack of all trades. I got to ask you this -- when I heard this, I was like, OK. You know, this is Chicago. This is Illinois. This is how it works.

WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, Don, you know, you used to be in the Chicago market covering stories all the time. You know this is politics as usual in Illinois.

And what's funny is, on a national level, there were so many people disgusted by this and upset by it. But on my Chicago show, they kind of was like, this is politics as usual. And that's what we need to change. We freed to change that across the country, not just in Illinois. It can't be politics as usual. But in Illinois, I tell you this right now, I'm covering an event right here in D.C., with a lot of state legislators. I think a lot of politicians in Illinois are very worried.

LEMON: Yes, yes. I think -- here's the thing. Patrick Fitzgerald, his mission is to root out corruption in Illinois, and especially Chicago. And City Hall. I mean, let's just be honest here.

And so far he hasn't been able, really, to get to the root of it. He has gotten, he has brought some players down. But hasn't been able to get to the root of it.

If you were rod Blagojevich's attorney, wouldn't you be, wouldn't you say, Warren, I'm just asking, hey, maybe you have me on tape. It's just accusations now, we don't know. Maybe you have me on tape. But, right now, what do you want? He may flip on a lot of folks.

BALLENTINE: I think that's the position he has to take. It's a lot of things, it's a lot of layers here. We're just at tip of the iceberg here. Because it's a lot of layers.

I mean, his attorney has to be looking to negotiate some kind of deal. Whether it's bringing up new information or old information that he may have done in the past. Also, his wife is going to play a pivotal role. Because honestly, I think what Fitzgerald is going to do is maybe try to charge her as conspirator to put more pressure on the governor.

LEMON: Really? Patty Blagojevich? You really think so?

BALLENTINE: It's a power move on behalf of Fitzgerald. I mean, I call him Elliott Ness because I think he is there to do one thing and that's stop corruption. It's not about politics or anything else. It's about stopping corruption.

LEMON: He does not mess around. He does not mess around. And you know, in full transparency, I know Rod Blagojevich from working there. I don't know him that well, but I've seen him around. I know his wife and his daughter-in-law is a friend of mine, an acquaintance. We used to go running together.

They come from -- Patty Blagojevich -- or Patty Mell, comes from a strong political family in Chicago. Dick Mell is who helped Rod Blagojevich become the person he is now, the politician he today. At least where he is as far as without the scandal. BALLENTINE: Well, in Chicago, it's three very powerful people. You have Mayor Daley, you have Dick Burk and, Ed Burk, excuse me, and Dick Mell. And Dick Mell helped Governor Blagojevich get into this position. But, had a falling out with his son-in-law and it became a public turmoil and mess.

Look, Governor Blagojevich has been literally looked at and watched since he first came into the office of governorship. He should have known better.

LEMON: Yes. And for years people have been saying, you know, Rod Blagojevich, he's been looked at. When it comes to the toll way scandal, and a bunch of other scandals before that.

Real quickly, let's talk about Jesse Jackson Jr. I interviewed him just days after the election, and he talked to me about wanting the seat.

Let's take a listen. I want you to talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JESSE JACKSON, JR. (D) CHICAGO: In 2004, when Barack was wrestling with the idea of running for the United States Senate he approached me first and said, Congressman, if you're running for the United States Senate I'm not going to run.

I said, listen. My father today is in Decatur, Illinois, involved in a big protest over students. It's very difficult for me to go to Decatur and ask Decatur to vote for me for the United States Senate. I'll defer, Barack. You run for the United States Senate. Barack did, he was successful. I was a participant in that campaign. In fact, his Senate office in the south suburbs was Jackson/Obama for the United States Senate. I've been with him at every step of his career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So Jackson/Obama. Obviously he helped Barack Obama when he first came to Chicago.

Do you think the Obama people, the insiders, Barack Obama. Honestly, Warren, do you think that they want Jesse Jr. to replace Barack Obama?

BALLENTINE: Well, you know, I'm going to be honest with you, Don. I don't think it's possible at this point. I think because of what's happened, I think that Jesse Jr. -- I think that Lisa Madigan, I think that Janet Schakowsky, all of them be taken out of the mix.

In fact, what I think is going to happen, is that they're going to end up having a special election in Illinois. I think they're going to impeach the governor, because the governor's not going to give up the governorship, because he's trying to use that as leverage.

And I think -- if it was me, if I was running all this, I would look at somebody like Congressman Danny Davis. He has an impeccable record. His name has not been mentioned in anything. I think he could bring stability back to that Senate seat. But, at the same time the rules are rules. If the governor does not step down they're going to impeach him, they're going call a special session and anybody can run for that seat at that point.

LEMON: And they'll get the entire six years, instead of just the two that they would get if they were appointed.

OK, thank you, Warren. Appreciate it.

BALLENTINE: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: All right. I'll be talking to you a little bit later on.

Thank you very much, sir.

All right. Let's turn now to our viewer feedback. We have -- Katie's on the line watching from the Chicago area.

Katie, just shake your head. Are you embarrassed by this for Illinois? Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

LEMON: OK. I figured you are. Hang on. I'm going to get to some of our responses here, Katie.

Let's take a look here at what people are saying. This is from Twitter. Trhnli -- I don't know, I can't see what it says.

"Don, I could care less about all this. It is Illinois politics as usual to me and, Don, all politicians seem to be the same."

Let's see if I can scroll down from here.

Another one says, I can't read these name. Whatever their name is. W Why would not Obama or other Democrats want a special election? They are worried about losing their seat, that's a question." And then mlesser64 says, "I do care, however. I am concerned that this may become a distraction no one needs. We, as a nation have greater problems."

All right. We appreciate your feedback. Katie, we appreciate you watching us, as our iReporter of the day. Always logs on and watches me. One of my biggest fans. Just happens to be in the Chicago area and a clinical psychologist.

I'm going to talk to you, Katie, in a little what this might mean for Rod Blagojevich if any of this is indeed true, at least psychologically. OK? Thank you, Katie. We'll talk to you. And thank you, guys, for your feedback, as well. Keep it coming. Twitter, Facebook, iReport, or MySpace. com. We'll get your responses on.

Looking to save money in these tough times? Well, start with your health benefits. But, you've got it move fast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. So, just weeks to go before the end of the year. And now is the time to make sure that you're getting the most of your health benefits. Well, you can you start by not leaving one penny in that flexible spending account. Right, is that right?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

LEMON: Oh, I thought were you going to talk about healthy eating or something.

COHEN: Oh, who cares about that. I'm here to talk about money. Money.

LEMON: It hasn't even started yet and I'm done.

COHEN: Right. Right. Right. Right. Right.

LEMON: Money is good.

COHEN: Right. Because you know, especially in these economic times. Wouldn't it be awful to lose money because you made a mistake?

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: Like, that would be terrible. That's the last thing you want to do, is to mess yourself up. So, we, in our column, in our Empowered Patient column this week, we talk about five things you need to do before the end of the year to save money on health care costs.

First of all, as Don mentioned, spend down that FSA. You put aside that money for health care expenses. You got to spend it by the end of the year or else the government takes it away. Now, some people have until the beginning of next year. But, for a lot of people, December 31st is the drop dead date.

Also, get elective surgery you've been putting off. If you've paid already paid your 2008 deductible, you've already paid the deductible, you might as well take advantage of what the insurance company is offering you. Or you might have to -- you would have to pay that deductible again next year if you left it until next year. Same with prescription drugs. If you have some drugs that you know you're going to need, and you've already paid your 2008 deductible, go ahead and buy those now.

Now, you can see more tips at a new web site. This is very, very exciting. I have to look down because I keep forgetting the URL. It's CNNhealth.com. This is a totally revamped web site. It's very exciting. Done by a team of several dozen people here at CNN, led by Mary Carter, our health editor. It looks terrific. You've got to go check it out.

LEMON: Oh. That's cool. OK. So, you mentioned before, anything that we should not be doing right now? COHEN: Yes. You know how your insurance will often pay for, like a an usual physical? Or, for a woman, it'll pay for an an annual mammogram. Well, let's say you had that mammogram in January. So, you think, oh, I had it in January. It's been almost 12 months. I'll just get it done now, I've got some free time. That might be a really bad idea. And the reason why is, your insurance might not pay for two annual visits in one calendar year. So, call your insurance. Maybe they will. But, if they won't, just wait until January to get.

So, there are some things that you don't want to do where that could cost you money.

LEMON: I am getting a very quick less in all of this stuff because I'm trying to handle my own stuff now because you know, times are tough, right?

COHEN: That's right. You want to be careful.

LEMON: Looking and making sure everything --

COHEN: Don't waste a penny.

LEMON: And for me, it's like gibberish. But I'm learning.

COHEN: Oh, then I'll help you.

LEMON: Will you?

COHEN: Absolutely. I'd love to.

LEMON: OK. Come over and we'll hang out. I'll even cook the kids a meal.

COHEN: Oh, great. I'm definitely going to be there. Yes.

LEMON: PB & J's.

COHEN: There you go.

LEMON: Thank you, Elizabeth. Always good to see you.

COHEN: Thank you.

LEMON: How far would you go lose weight? How about the next hemisphere? One Wisconsin man is in China, far from the fast food, far from the temptation, far from his western comfort zone. And he's gone a very long way, and come a long way, too.

CNN's John Vause shows his progress.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN BEIJING CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Alonzo Bland has come a long way to lose a lot of weight. He's the biggest patient ever admitted to the Aimin Fat Reduction Hospital in the northern Chinese city Tianjin. He arrived seven months ago from Wisconsin, weighing 640 pounds. He was so obese he once needed an emergency tracheotomy because the fat around his neck was crushing his windpipe.

ALONZO BLAND, PATIENT: And I needed to take it seriously, because we were talking about my life.

VAUSE: So he entered a competition in the U.S. and won an open- ended, don't come home until you lose the weights home trip, to one of China's most infamous boot camps for the obese.

BLAND: It's not easy being in a place where you don't know where anything is -- and which, it works better for me. Because it doesn't allow me to go out to the restaurants.

VAUSE: At first he worked out at at a pool and each day weighed a little less. His fitness improved. He's now working out in a gym three time as week and tips the scales at 405 pounds.

BLAND: These are the pants that I wore on the plane on the way here.

VAUSE (on camera): Right.

This is when you were 640 pounds.

BLAND: Uh-huh.

VAUSE: Almost 300 kilos?

BLAND: Yes. These are a size 72.

VAUSE: Whoa.

(voice-over): Six days a week there's acupuncture, which doctors say increases metabolism and reduces appetite.

(on camera): The patients are all given calorie controlled meals and there's counseling, too, to try and break some bad eating habit. But the hospital says there's no secret to losing weight. Simply eat less, move more.

(voice-over): Alonzo's doctors have been impressed with his determination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's living and eating habits, only a lifestyle, or it totally changed. I know he will care about his eating.

VAUSE: It's all a big change from his life back in the states. Alonzo always struggled with his weight. But, after losing his job 12 years ago, he says, he began piling on the pounds.

BLAND: You know, no one wanted to hire a guy who couldn't move. You know? And so I spent the next, what -- 12 years on the couch.

VAUSE: He wants to lose another 180 pounds before heading home, a shadow of his former self.

John Vause, CNN, Tianjin, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, John.

Well, it is a preview of tonight's Planet in Peril Special.

Our Josh Levs joins us with some interactive components.

What the heck are you doing over there, Josh? Touching Anderson's face? What's going on, man?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. So when our new Planet in Peril special debuts tonight, you can do more than just watch, you can participate. Let's get some details now on the interactive components, plus a look behind the scenes from CNN's Josh Levs. He joins us.

Josh, were you pretending to be your best John King over there? What's going on?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're liking this aren't you?

LEMON: I do. And it looks good. And I like messing with you. But this Planet in Peril, man. It looks very interesting. The cinematography or photography, or whatever you want to call it, looks amazing.

LEVS: Yes. I mean, like a lot of this stuff -- the video I'm going to show you now is a real first person perspective, what it's like to be places that you're mostly likely never going to go.

Let's zoom in on the board. What I've done here is pull some of the video that we have on CNN.com. We're going to show you. One thing that they did, is that they visited this gorilla population that is endangered. They actually went to a place that people almost never go. And they were able to see some of these gorillas in these areas that are often closed off.

I've also got this really fascinating one. I'm going to show you here. This is Lisa Ling, who took a trip into the Niger Delta and this is in southern Nigeria. in this area devastated by the oil trade.

Let's take a look at a little clip from what she has.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We arrive at the rendezvous point and are told to follow this man. We walk through back alleys and then come to the water.

(on camera)`: So we've just been brought to this dock, and we're being asked get into these boats. We can't tell you where we are and we're not sure where we're going. But, let's go.

(voice-over): We drive for hours by boat, passing small villages, winding through creeks and then suddenly, they appear. A checkpoint and a boatful of men fighters armed to the teeth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: It's incredible. Obviously, you know that she turns out to be OK. But the adventure that they went on to get the stories is kind of amazing.

One more I want to show you here. This is a first person view of getting in the water with sharks to see an endangered shark population. You're most likely never going to get this close to sharks, but I'll tell you, you can see some amazing video right now.

Let's show you what the web site looks like, actually. We have a graphic for you here, at CNN.com/planet. Now, while you're there, there's a lot to look at. We have all sorts of stories for you. We also have blogs, video blogs, which as you know are now called vlogs. And there's these sections where you can join in. If you check out at iReport.com, as well, you can let us know what you're doing to save the planet.

I encourage you to check it out, even if the video doesn't look quite as exciting on your computer as it is does here, just double click it. It'll fill up your screen. CNN.com/planet.

There you go, Don. That's what I'm doing with the fun board all day.

LEMON: I think what we should do is get everybody a computer screen as big as the one you have right there. And that way, you know, it'll be a whole lot funner.

LEVS: Can I be first? Because they only let me in for a little bit of time and then I got to go home.

LEMON: Well, you should be happy they let you in at all.

LEVS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Josh Levs, we appreciate it. Thank you very much for that, sir.

Oil, land, food and water. We need them to survive, but is there enough to go around? Watch Planet in Peril. It's tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern and make sure to check out CNN.com for a web exclusive on tonight's documentary, including interactive maps, photo galleries, exclusive video, blogs and so much more. That address -- CNN.com/planetinperil.

The job market went south and all I got is this lousy T-shirt. Actually, this job seeker has come up with a creative idea. Proof that recession is the mother of invention. And next hour. The feel-good story of the day. A 102-year-old woman thought she'd never see her stolen ring again. A ring her late husband gave her, more than 30 years ago. Lucky for her, one jeweler has a real heart of gold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Well, you know, some people wear their hearts on their sleeves. Others wear their skills on their T's. The puns just keep coming, don't they? Check out how one enterprising and jobless L.A. woman is getting her name out there in this tough economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY KINNEY, WEARS RESUME TEE: My name is Kelly Kinney. I'm 29 years old. It's never been this hard for me to find a job before, ever. I know people read shirts. I read everybody's. I did see someone that had "I'm Unemployed" on it. So, I decided to take it a step further and put everything on a shirt. Both sides.

People skills is something that I've been good at. And, basically, the name of the game is how can you get noticed. How can you distinguish yourself from everybody else? So this is what I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a resume on you?

KINNEY: I do have a resume on me.

You get mixed reactions. Some people (AUDIO GAP) you doing that? You know, aren't you ashamed to be doing that? And then you get people that are like, that's really clever. I think there is a lot of competition. I think there's lot of people in the same situation that I am right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just laid off 900 people.

KINNEY: That's not good.

I can't get into the door. Applying and applying and applying. And I just sort of feel like my resume is going in a giant stack with everybody else's.

Seriously, I'm applying for like 40 jobs a day on average. Most of the time it's more than that. I would get an e-mail response that says, hey, we got like 500 resumes for this and we're closing the position and then we're going to go through them and then you never hear anything else. But you know, 500 resumes. Wow. Where am I in that stack?

I got somebody to offer me marketing assistant for minimum wage, which is not a possibility for me and still stay afloat.

Who do you work for?

It is dire at this point. We had savings set aside for a down payment on a house. And we've had to go through that. So it's to the point where we have nothing left. But will we be able to pay pretty much our basic bills. And then we're going to get behind on some stuff.

I do have another gimmick in mind if this one doesn't work out. It'll be something no one's done before. Not going to tell, though. Somebody will do it before I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)