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Caroline Kennedy's Senate Seat Interest Confirmed; Why Blagojevich Should Wisely Weigh Resignation Calls; New Yorkers Protest After Alleged Hate Crime; An Arab-American Comedian Explains Shoe Throwing Tradition

Aired December 15, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): No power to the people; more than 400,000 homes and businesses still in the dark in the Northeast. Six states iced by Friday's storm.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So what if a guy threw his shoe at me?

HOLMES: Well, if the shoe hits. After showing off some quick reflexes, President shrugs off a bizarre Iraq attack.

And back home at the White House, the first pup cobbles together his last holiday video. A fond farewell to the Barney cam.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, you might not believe it by this picture, but it's actually still not officially winter yet. But you sure can't tell by some of these videos and some of the weather maps we've been seeing. There's brutal weather across much of the U.S. today. Snow in the Pacific Northwest. These scenes we're bringing you are from Portland, Oregon.

Meanwhile in Utah, a skier is dead in an avalanche. In the Upper Plains feels like the North Pole. In the Northeast, in New England, nearly half a million homes and businesses are still without power. This is just three days now after a big ice storm. Utility crews from as far away as Michigan are working to get the power back on.

That skier, I just mentioned, dead after being buried by an avalanche. This was in Utah. She was trapped under several feet of snow; died yesterday in a Salt Lake City hospital. This happened in an area considered out of bounds for skiers at the Snowbird Resort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID FIELDS, SPOKESMAN, SNOWBIRD RESORT: This is open terrain on the east side of our mountain. It's expert terrain that you have to hike to. It's about a 10-minute hike. It is the -- some of the more advanced terrain we have on the mountain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Snowbird is about 15 miles east of Salt Lake City, had just received a foot of fresh snow from a weekend storm. Officials say the avalanche was unusual because ski patrollers routinely fire or drop explosives to loosen snow before it poses that kind of threat. Chad Myers keeping track of what's going on right now across the country.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

HOLMES: The president, we'll turn to him now. He's making a farewell trip, saying farewell to the troops, taking a tour of the Middle East. It's been marred now by an irate Iraqi journalist. The president finished his tour in Afghanistan this morning, but it was yesterday's stop in Iraq that may well provide the most lasting images.

Our Michael Ware has more on this incident from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This will be something few in Iraq will ever forget. U.S. President George W. Bush beside Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki, a press conference during a surprise visit, and then, shoes hurled at the president by an Iraqi TV correspondent, who is quickly tackled. The journalist from Al-Baghdadia television called the president a dog in Arabic and cried, "This is your farewell."

When calm was restored, President Bush sought to brush the incident aside.

BUSH: So what if the guy threw a shoe at me?

WARE: And then tried to turn it into a positive.

BUSH: I don't know what the guy's cause is, but one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about it. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it. These journalists here were very apologetic. They were -- you know, they were -- said this doesn't represent the Iraqi people. But that's what happens in free societies where people try to draw attention to themselves. And so I guess he was effective that he caused you to say something about it.

WARE: For Iraqis, throwing shoes is the rudest of insults, reserved for the likes of a statue of Saddam Hussein or somewhat prophetically an effigy of President Bush, himself, just weeks ago.

But this trip, the president's fourth and last, was meant to be a farewell, and a celebration. One, to thank his troops.

BUSH: I am honored to be at Camp Victory. WARE: And to applaud a new deal with Baghdad called SOAFA, the Status of Forces Agreement. Governing a complete non-negotiable U.S. troop withdrawal within three years, it's the beginning of the end for the U.S. phase of this war, though the president declared the war not yet over. And while President Bush hails the agreement a success, some American officials on the ground see it as far less. To them, it's merely the best that could be gained from a weak negotiating position.

Yet for the president, the agreement is one worth having.

BUSH: I consider it an important step on the road toward on Iraq that can sustain itself, govern itself, and defend itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WARE: And the fiery young Iraqi journalist at the center of all this, a 28-year-old from the Sadr City slum here in the capital, Baghdad, is still sitting somewhere in security forces custody, most likely somewhere in a prison cell.

The prime minister's office here says that the young man is being investigated for possible charges -- not connected to assaulting President Bush, but for doing it in front of the Iraqi prime minister, and hurling the shoes in the prime minister's general direction rather than at President Bush's head, T.J.

HOLMES: OK, I think I heard that right. But the guy was taunting the president --

WARE: Oh, yes.

HOLMES: of the United States. But just because the Iraqi prime minister was in the vicinity, that might really be what gets him in trouble.

WARE: Yes, brother. This is Iraq.

HOLMES: All right. I think we've got you there. All right.

Michael Ware, let me ask you one more here. This is the thing that is overshadowing the visit itself, and that security agreement that's put in place.

How do Iraqis feel about that security agreement that's going to lead eventually to U.S. troops leaving Iraq?

WARE: Well, to be honest, much like the American public, the Iraqis really don't know much about this agreement. And a few journalists have probably read the document. (AUDIO GAP) the headline, this is the beginning of the end of the American phase of this war. And the irony is, despite President-elect Obama coming into power vowing to end the war, the administration that started it has pretty much finished it as well.

So this agreement says U.S. troops, whether you want to be here or not, non-negotiable, no questions, not petrol (ph), you're out of here in three years no matter what's happening on the ground. That's not what America wanted. That, for the Iraqis, is a blessing and a curse. In one way, the Iraqis are happy to have the occupation because it's keeping warring factions a apart so they can breathe for a bit. Although their hope is dwindling and starting to question, because, you know, these guys, they're just tired of it. They want the tanks out of their streets. From the moment Saddam was removed, they said thank you very much for that.

What time are you leaving, T.J.?

HOLMES: You know, we can't blame them for that. This has been coming up on year six now. Michael Ware for us in Baghdad. Thank you so much.

Of course, the president we've been seeing there, the farewell trip being marred by that incident there. We'll examine in detail, really, what this means. Shoe-throwing means in Iraqi culture; we'll have an Arab-American comedian, Dean Obeidallah. We are going to direct you to what he wrote about this. It's a good read you need to take a look at. We'll also talk to him, here in the CNN NEWSROOM. You do not want to miss him.

Meanwhile, we'll turn now to the auto bailout that we see that is possibly coming full speed ahead. Maybe it's stuck in neutral. Here's what we know about those bailout loans for GM and Chrysler.

The president says it shouldn't take long for the Treasury to work out a last-ditch alternative to the loan plan that the Senate killed last week, but we may not see anything official yet today. Michigan Senator Carl Levin says he expects the new plan to look a lot like the old one that cleared the House, which is roughly about $15 billion. And it's tied to maybe overhauls overseen by a car czar.

Also today, mortgage giant Fannie Mae throws a lifeline to renters. Fannies says it will sign new leases with people living in properties it foreclosed on because the owners didn't make the payments.

Also, the Federal Reserve opens its final two-day meeting of 2008. Almost everybody expects another big cut in the benchmark interest rate, perhaps to an historic low.

CNN's Kathleen Koch watching the progress of the car loans from the White House.

Kathleen, can we call it progress? This is really slow progress.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is slow progress. There are a lot of unanswered questions, T.J., that remain unanswered. If, indeed there is some kind of decision here at the White House to go ahead and help automakers, will it be $14 billion? Today we heard a figure of $15 billion from Senator Carl Levin, of Michigan, who you just mentioned.

He said it would be $8 billion for General Motors, $7 billion for Chrysler. He's the only one giving details like that right now. According to Levin, in his opinion, he says the president has quote, "indicated that loans will be provided". So Levin says he believes that Mr. Bush basically has an understanding with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to go ahead and help the automakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN, (D) MICHIGAN: The president made a deal with the House of Representatives, and that deal was entered into between the president, personally, and the Speaker Pelosi. It passed the House of Representatives, and once the president makes a deal, he is not likely to walk away from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at this very moment is holding a live press conference, on Capitol Hill, where she just a few minutes ago reiterated her support for taking the money out of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, that Congress passed back in October, of which there is some roughly $15 billion left.

Now, the White House -- and what we're hearing from the White House, what we're hearing from around Washington, is that there is not going to be any kind of announcement today on an agreement on this. A spokesperson for the Treasury Department, Brookly McLaughlin says, "We are assessing and reviewing the information the companies have provided us. We are briefing the White House on our thinking."

And President Bush, himself, en route now right back from Afghanistan and Iraq, told reporters that, again, he does understand certainly the urgency of the situation and while they are working with stakeholders on a way forward, they're not quite ready to make any announcement just yet, T.J.

HOLMES: Not just yet, but when they do, I'm sure you'll be there. Kathleen Koch for us.

KOCH: Do my best.

HOLMES: All right. Thank you so much.

Well international challenges and opportunities, a big part of President-elect Barack Obama's focus today as he meets with his national security team. We'll have a live report from Chicago.

Also, right about now, who would want to give up a high-paying job? He certainly doesn't right now, the Illinois governor. He may not have many options, however. We're live in Springfield where lawmakers are looking at their options about Rod Blagojevich's future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: On election day Americans chose Barack Obama as president, but not really. You weren't really voting for him. The real official voting is taking place today. Electors, that's who you were voting for, and those electors from every state in the country gathering in their state capitols to cast their ballots today. The electoral college system, of course, that's mandated by the Constitution. So, on November 4 you were voting for those electors and Obama got 365 electoral votes, John McCain, 173. Those are the ones that are being cast today.

So far, 14 states are reporting. It's a close one. Obama has 71 electoral votes, McCain, 41. No surprises expected. This is just a formality, folks. There are 538 votes total. It takes 270 to win the White House. In 48 states the popular vote winner gets all of the electoral votes. Main and Nebraska, a portion there is by congressional districts.

Well, energy and global warming, two key concerns, among many others, for incoming President Barack Obama. In a short time from now he's expected to announce his choices for Energy secretary and climate czar. CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us now from Chicago.

And, that, as we talked about earlier, an one, an interesting title. We don't know if that's exactly in the Constitution, climate czar, somewhere.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, I don't think so, T.J.

These are key members of President-elect Obama's energy and environment team. We're expecting that he'll make official two picks, that CNN first reported last week. Steven Chu, for Energy secretary, and Carol Browner for climate czar; that position, that you mentioned.

Chu is a Nobel-prize-winning physicist. He's well respected in energy circles. Browner actually was in the Clinton administration. She served as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for former President Bill Clinton.

But energy and green jobs, in particular, have really been a push for Obama when he was on the campaign trail. He has actually said that he wants 2.5 million new jobs by 2011. And a couple of the ways he's talked about doing that is by making buildings more energy efficient and by creating more sources of alternative energy. And having jobs sort of come out of those sectors.

This is really a tough campaign promise for him to fulfill, especially with the economy being what it is. He's talked about spending $150 billion on clean energy over 10 years. So we'll talk about -- or we'll be hearing him talk about this priority of energy and the environment today.

But no doubt we're going to be hearing some if he does take questions from reporters about this Governor Blagojevich scandal. It's unavoidable. Just to give you a sense at his last press conference, three of the four questions asked by reporters were about Governor Blagojevich and there's still some unanswered questions about communications between Obama's staff and the governor's staff. So we'll hear more of that, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, unanswered questions, but I'm sure reporters will continue to ask them. We'll hear about, like you said, the climate czar, a couple of posts there. What we might not be hearing about is what he was talking about with his national security team.

He's been meeting with them as well. What do we know?

KEILAR: That's right. What we do know according to an Obama aide is in this first meeting of his entire national security team, they've been talking about Iraq and Afghanistan. That's not really a surprise. That's pretty obvious. But other than saying they're discussing a range of topics, the Obama staff keeping it pretty close to the vest on exactly what those different items are today, T.J.

HOLMES: A range of topics. We appreciate the details, there, from the Obama folks. Brianna Keilar for us there, in Chicago.

Brianna, we appreciate you.

You can see President-elect Obama's news conference announcing that energy team, live here on CNN. It's scheduled to start at 5:00 Eastern Time. We'll bring it to you when it does happen.

We're also joined by a criminal defense attorney. He knows the governor and the prosecutor trying to take him down. We'll get his take on what's happening in Illinois.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We are about 90 minutes away from a special session of the Illinois legislature. But if you've been watching CNN, you already know the headline coming out of there: A 21-member panel being formed to consider impeaching the governor, Rod Blagojevich. Lawmakers also trying to figure out how to fill Barack Obama's old Senate seat. You know that seat that Blagojevich allegedly called, bleeping "golden" in an FBI wiretap.

A spokesman says the governor may now consider going along with a special election. But the governor himself, he's wishing everybody a Merry Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rumor is you intend to resign. Is that true or false?

GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH, ILLINOIS: I just think that you should all have a great holiday season. Sam, I'll see you, my friend. Sir, how are you? Thank you. I'll see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, take care. Be careful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, governor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Happy holidays.

Ed Lavandera, that's what the governor is saying. That's pretty much all he's saying right about now. Our man Ed is in Springfield.

You were in that press conference a short time ago with the state lawmakers. They're moving ahead, but not exactly quickly.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. You know, that's the thing. Even though there's a push not only from the public for a quick resolution to all of this -- and many lawmakers would also like to see. In fact, in the words of the House minority leader, who is a Republican, just a short while ago we spoke with who said, you know, look, it would be easier if the governor just resigned.

But right now since that has not happened, the state lawmakers here are beginning to push forward with plans to begin impeachment proceedings, announcing the formation of a committee that will begin work immediately into looking into that beginning that process and that investigation to turn over those impeachment proceedings to the state Senate.

However, there are still other options that are on the table. The state attorney general is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to find the governor unfit to lead. Essentially removing him from office. Obviously stripping him from any power to appoint the next U.S. senator from Illinois.

And there's also calls for, being led by Republicans at this point, a special election and a bill that state lawmakers will begin working on here, either this afternoon, or perhaps into the tomorrow as well, that would essentially remove that power to appoint the next U.S. senator from the governor. Of course, ironically, as it stands now it would be the governor himself who would have to sign that bill. So there is some inclination -- they're have been some reports this morning saying that the governor would be inclined to sign that.

On many different fronts, a lot of movement here in Springfield, where the state capital is and state lawmakers here, convening here this afternoon to begin that process. And as you can imagine, as all these state lawmakers come back, T.J., it will be a chaotic scene over the next couple of days.

HOLMES: A chaotic scene, and out of this scene it's possible they might not recommend impeaching him. Part of the details here that we've got is there's no real standard for impeachment. So they are kind of making this up as they go along.

LAVANDERA: Right. That was one of the things that -- you know, reporters were asking a lot this morning. Like what kind of time frame are we looking at here? Given the fact that there is such a -- a feeling of -- that there needs to be a quick resolution to this because of whoever is governor would be able to appoint this -- the next senator from Illinois. That's creating this sense of being able to resolve this as quickly as possible.

But impeachment proceedings will take a long time, especially if -- as the speaker of the House mentioned just a little while ago that he wants to make sure this entire process is fair to the governor, give him the right to defend himself. Obviously, that is something that would take a great deal of time. So many people here, perhaps, thinking weeks if not months for impeachment proceedings to resolve itself.

HOLMES: Well, I guess then get comfortable there in Springfield, Ed. We will see you, we will see you.

Appreciate you, buddy.

We're about to now get an insider's view of the personalities involved in this case. We have a criminal attorney, Steve Greenberg, going to be joining us live from Chicago. His take on the accused governor and what will happen to him. Some of this might actually surprise you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Before the break, we heard from CNN's Ed Lavandera on the Illinois legislature's first step toward potentially impeaching the scandal-ridden governor there, Blagojevich. Before that, in a news conference you may have seen right here live on CNN, the Democratic speaker of the Illinois House said that the governor could have saved Springfield a lot of time and a lot of effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MADIGAN (D), ILLINOIS HOUSE SPEAKERS: I'm not going to be one who is going to rush to judgment about the possible impeachment of a sitting governor of the state of Illinois. Consequently, we have given the governor six days to resign. President-elect Obama, Senator Durbin, all of the state constitutional officers have called for his resignation. He has declined to take the opportunity to resign. I think it's time that we move forward with the appointment of a committee of inquiry that could lead to impeachment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, some insight now -- we're going to get from the gentleman. We're going to hear about the lawmaker's actions, the governor's reactions. Going to hear this from Steve Greenberg, there he is. He's a Chicago lawyer who knows Blagojevich and the U.S. attorney who had him arrested last Tuesday.

Sir, knowing what you know and knowing how you know the governor and the prosecutor here, what kind of battle of wills -- not just legal battle -- but battle of personalities even -- are we set for?

STEVE GREENBERG, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think we're already seeing it. The governor appears to be digging in, as I think he should at this point. He is presumed innocent and these are just charges.

The prosecutor has been investigating this case for many years. He's brought charges against a lot of insiders in Illinois politics. He indicted and convicted our prior governor. He's indicted and convicted many of this governor's friends. He's a determined individual, and I think he's dug in. The governor has now gone out and he's hired an attorney, at least it appears he's hired an attorney, who has been at the center of big cases in Illinois as long as I can remember. And he's digging in --

HOLMES: Everybody is digging in?

GREENBERG: -- so I think we're going to see quite the battle royale. Yes.

HOLMES: And you said the governor should dig in. Now, everybody else out there is saying, has called for him to resign. And you know, there's a presumption of innocence. We all do know that.

But isn't there such a stain, or would you say there is such a stain and such a cloud surrounding him, that he can't move forward effectively?

GREENBERG: I don't know what they mean when they say he can't move forward effectively.

HOLMES: Nobody -- nobody would trust him maybe. Nobody wants to see him appoint the person to replace Barack Obama now.

GREENBERG: And the reports are that, in fact, he's not going to try and do that. That is the only pressing matter. Otherwise, the business of a state goes on. It's a bureaucracy. Every once in a while, something comes up that's unique. This governor, unfortunately, as a result of the investigations that have been swirling around his head all of these years, really since 2003 -- he hasn't been able to accomplish much if not all of what he's tried to do anyway.

This government here in Illinois, we have a Democratic House, we have a Democratic Senate, we have a Democratic governor, and you would think that they were from three different parties all turning their back on each other.

HOLMES: Now, we talked to Chuck Colson a short time ago. Of course he was a former aide to Nixon and actually went to prison on some charges related to that Watergate scandal. And he talked about pride and self-conceit played such a role.

With these gentlemen, the way you know them there in Chicago, will there be a lot of that that plays into this? Not just necessarily unfortunately doing what's right for -- for the community, doing what's right for the state, but some of that pride and self-conceit will play into some of the -- maybe -- judgments and decisions these gentlemen make?

GREENBERG: It's hard to say what motivates individuals. Anyone who gets to a position such as the U.S. attorney or the governor has to have a certain amount of self-confidence. Some would say ego. Our U.S. attorney I think is a fairly down-to-earth guy. I don't think the charges are motivator (ph) or how he's going to proceed is going to be governed by pride at all. Now, when you're the governor of the state of Illinois, you haven't gotten to that position by being modest and having a lack of confidence. And he may not have done anything wrong. But, at some point, if they do want him to resign, if I was advising him, I would want to get something for that. Now I'm not trying to do anything criminal here.

HOLMES: Of course.

GREENBERG: But I'm saying this is a bargaining chip that you have. And it's something that you shouldn't just give away.

HOLMES: We have heard that several times. That's the last card he has to play. He is, in fact, still the governor of the state of Illinois.

Steven Greenberg -- Steven Greenberg, we appreciate you taking some time with us and giving us your insights and personal knowledge about what's going on there. A battle royale, as you say, about to take place.

Thank you so much.

GREENBERG: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right. Up next here, we're just getting word that possibly another Kennedy is heading to Washington. There she is. Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy, possibly now word that she will seek the seat that's going to be vacated by New York senator, Hillary Clinton who, of course, has been tapped to become secretary of state by President-elect Barack Obama.

Kate Bolduan that works for us up on Capitol Hill is on the phone with us now.

Kate, we're just getting word. We're getting this one confirmed. What do we know? Why did she decide to go ahead and go for it?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, T.J.

Well, it's been a rumor that's been circulating for weeks now. And now CNN has confirmed, I confirmed with a source close to Caroline Kennedy, my colleague, John King, confirmed with a source too, her uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy, that she has definite interest and is interested in seeking Senator Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.

This, of course, will be up to New York's governor, David Paterson, but we now have confirmed that she is definitely interested in taking over the seat, which we should be learning more about in the coming days.

HOLMES: We should be learning more about.

What do we know -- I mean -- I guess she was certainly a big supporter of Barack Obama. She was a part of the -- the committee that helped pick a VP. There was talk about her possibly being that VP.

But what do we know? She is not necessarily, in the past, been one to step out there. She has plenty of things she's interested in, but not quite running for office. What do we know about what she's thought about this in the past and why she's decided to go ahead and throw her hat in the ring this time?

BOLDUAN: Well you know, in the past she has shied away from being very public. She comes from a very public family as we know. Her father, her uncle, all sit in public offices. But I've been told by a source that she has been consulting with -- one interesting person that I've been told she's been consulting with in the past few days is Joel Klein, the chancellor of New York City's schools because of her great interest in education issues. So you can definitely expect that we may be hearing more about that as that might be one of the issues that she will be definitely wanting to take on if given the opportunity to take over the Senate seat.

HOLMES: Also, do we have any idea as well -- because, again, that seat will be up for grabs if all goes the way people expect it to go and have Hillary Clinton approved by the Senate to become secretary of state -- but any others just yet that we know of that are showing interest as well in that particular seat?

BOLDUAN: Well we know there has been some interest swirling. And other candidates off the top of my head, I'm not remembering them at the moment --

HOLMES: That's all right.

BOLDUAN: But we do know that she has been a name that's been swirling ever since Senator Clinton was chosen by the president-elect for the position of secretary of state. And we know that she's been one top candidate out in front since that -- since that name was -- since Hillary Clinton was nominated.

HOLMES: All right. Kate Bolduan for us there on Capitol Hill.

Sorry to put you on the spot there all of a sudden --

BOLDUAN: No --

HOLMES: Always hard to come up with those names sometimes. Everybody seems like they have their hat in the ring and has shown some interest if you will.

Kate Bolduan, thank you so much, again breaking that story for us.

Again, the daughter of John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, now interesting in becoming the next senator from the state of New York.

Well stay here with us. Coming up next, we'll talk to a guy who is going to put us all through shoe-tossing 101. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: It was exactly three months ago that financial giant Lehman Brothers collapsed, triggering a global panic. Fast forward to today now -- the auto industry hanging in the balance, Wall Street waiting to see what the Federal Reserve will do tomorrow to help consumers. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.

Susan, what is expected to happen?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're expecting the Fed to cut again because of the situation that we're feeling here and actually in the global economy as well.

President Bush, meanwhile, T.J., said today that he might use money from the $700 billion bailout to help the American automakers. That's something that he said last week as well. We don't have details. We don't know much else other than that if nothing is done, General Motors could run out of money in a matter of weeks. Chrysler is not far behind.

And now the Big Three's biggest rivals are saying that Detroit's problem is their's, too. Toyota says it is also a member of the American auto industry, and without a bailout chaos is sure to come. That's because overseas automakers use the same suppliers that GM, Ford and Chrysler do -- Toyota and Honda. So most of their cars here are in the U.S., and remember, they employee American workers at these plants, obviously, T.J.

HOLMES: Now Toyota is screaming about a bailout. Where do they stop, Susan?

Well we talked about the Fed possibly going to cut interest rates. Could that help these auto companies if those rates keep going down? Maybe people -- incentivize to go get these loans and get these cars?

LISOVICZ: Well, the Fed can't go much lower.

HOLMES: Yes.

LISOVICZ: I mean, this is really pretty much dredging the bottom here. The rates right now, federal funds rate, 1 percent. The consensus on the street is that it's going to go half a percent lower. So the Fed is running out of ammunition, if you will.

In the meantime, really the big problem is who is buying big- ticket items like cars when you're worried about jobs, when your investments and the value of your home is going down? Also, loans in general are harder to get. That's something, obviously, that the Treasury has been working on. And so these are things that are hampering purchases of cars.

And it's, of course, then you have the situation -- well, the cars themselves, they haven't been a big hit, especially in the summer when gas prices were at an all-time high.

Right now, in terms of your investments, we're seeing the Dow Industrials down 68 points, or about three-quarters of a percent. The Nasdaq is down 2 percent. Ford and GM shares are higher on hope. Higher on hope. And we have seen that in the last week or so.

Still waiting on something tangible, but they have been inching up, T.J. Back to you.

HOLMES: Something tangible. For now, we'll hold on to hope.

All right. Susan Lisovicz, thank you so much.

And of course, for many Americans right now the proof of the stumbling economy has shown up literally at their doorstep. The nation's housing crisis has caused trillions of dollars in home values to evaporate. Millions of people now owe more than their homes are worth. Gerri Willis is here for us now to crunch the numbers.

And Gerri, these are some big numbers.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: They are big numbers, T.J. Hi there.

Let's take a look at those numbers. It's from the real estate Web site called zillow.com. Here are their estimates. They say home values are down 2.2 trillion. They say 11.7 million of us are under water in their mortgages. That means that we owe more than the house is worth. Home prices through the first three quarters of the year, down 8.6 percent year to year.

People are struggling. And they're looking at the biggest investment in their lives, their biggest asset, and saying, what next?

That could be a plan for President-elect Obama. He's talking about lowering rates for -- mortgage rates, that is, for homeowners to 5 percent. If you'll recall, the administration has talked about lowering interest rates on mortgages to 4.5 percent. They're trying to do anything they can.

As you've seen, T.J., they've thrown a lot of projects, programs, ideas at the wall to see what would stick. But analysts still say that the housing market in particular is going to continue south for some time, possibly all of next year, maybe part of the next year as well -- T.J.

HOLMES: That's not good to hear. A lot of people wondering about their homes. And a lot of people just don't know how exactly do you found out how much your own home is worth. How do you do that?

WILLIS: Well you can do it on the web and you can do it with Web sites like zillow.com. But the reality is you may have more up to date information at your fingertips in your neighborhood.

Talk to realtors, talk to people in the neighborhood who have sold recently. Typically, those numbers, sales numbers, aren't recorded at city hall or in county courthouses for three months. So if you can get those numbers, and believe me those are some of the worst kept secrets in a neighborhood -- you can get an idea of what houses are going for. Take that total dollar figure, divide it by the square footage, and then you can start to get an apples to apples comparison, figure out what that price per square foot would mean for your house if you had to put it on the market.

This is a critical number to understand -- what home prices really mean for you and what it means for your house, especially if you want to get in the market. But again, I'm telling you, we continue to see this market languish. The big winners here, buyers. If you want to buy now, lots of opportunity out there, T.J.

HOLMES: There is a lot, unfortunately. That's too bad it's there. But a lot of people are taking advantage of those deals as well.

Gerri Willis, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, his boss on the way out. But Barney, still running things at the White House. This is a holiday tradition. We'll have one last look at the lovable first canine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, in New York, marchers demand justice in the beating death of an immigrant from Ecuador. They say he was the victim of a hate crime, savagely beaten by three men who were yelling anti-Hispanic slurs.

CNN's Susan Candiotti with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A protest against hate following the second of two fatal attacks against Latino immigrants.

DIEGO SUCUZHANAY, VICTIM'S BROTHER: My heart is broken.

CANDIOTTI: The family of Ecuadorian immigrant, Jose Sucuzhanay, is trying to understand why he was fatally beaten.

(on camera): It was on this corner that the two brothers were attacked. Witnesses said a car pulled over and they started yelling racial slurs at the two brothers. One of them was hit with a bottle and then with a baseball bat, savagely beaten.

(voice-over): His family tells CNN Sucuzhanay was not robbed. The 31-year-old was on life support, brain dead, until his heart gave out hours before his mother arrived from Ecuador. Jose's brother escaped serious injury.

Police are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime.

D. SUCUZHANAY: Race is -- has been always an issue in the United States. CANDIOTTI: Police say race was an issue a few weeks ago on Long Island when another Ecuadorian immigrant was fatally beaten by seven teens. Investigators say they specifically looked for a Latino to target. All have pleaded not guilty.

FBI crime statistics show a 40 percent uptick in hate crimes against Latinos from 2003 through 2007. Last year, Latinos made up 60 percent of those attacked.

In Jose Sucuzhanay's case, several suspects remain on the loose.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: We have zero tolerance for hate crimes. In this city, there is no such thing as a second- class citizen.

CANDIOTTI: For the Sucuzhanay family, it's too soon to talk about healing. The pain is too fresh. But not too early to realize they cannot be silent.

(on camera): What do you think your brother will most be remembered for?

D. SUCUZHANAY: As a victim of a hate crime.

CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, Brooklyn.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Have you seen this video by now? Let's just go ahead and roll it. From the president over the weekend in Baghdad. OK. That's some good bopping and weaving, no matter what you think. He's ducked that shoe pretty good.

This is the president at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. And a reporter got up and started tossing his shoes at the president. The president not hit, not hurt. The reporter in custody while officials decide whether to charge him with anything.

Why exactly did he do it? The reporter says the shoe-throwing is a traditional insult in Arab culture. Here to explain that tradition, if you will, is Dean Obeidallah. He's an an Arab-American comedian.

And I saw your take on the Huffington Post and I read it and I thought it was great. It was serious and explained some things. But, also took kind of a comedic take. But, explain to people who don't necessarily get it. I mean, sure, a shoe can hit you and hurt you and all that stuff. But there's more to it than that in Iraqi culture and Arab culture.

So, just explain that for folks.

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, ARAB-AMERICAN COMEDIAN: Well, I mean, historically, it's what it is, is the bottom of the shoe is the lowest part of you. And it's an insult -- you're showing someone you're beneath them by showing the bottom of the shoe.

But, let's be honest. I mean, what culture is it complimentary to throw a shoe at someone?

HOLMES: Yes.

OBEIDALLAH: There's no one who makes a speech and goes, no one threw shoes at me. My speech really sucked today. It's an insult anywhere, I think. And he just -- he went with what he had. He had shoes. He would have thrown a watch or something.

HOLMES: That's a very good point. That's a very good point you make. And you say in this article as well, that you have been inundated with these questions. Everybody is so curious. Why did he throw shoes? Why is this such a big deal?

Tell me how people have been coming to you -- you've been inundated with questions about this.

OBEIDALLAH: Well, I mean, it's been through Facebook and friends. What happens is, if you're Arab-American, whenever there's an incident in the Arab world, you become an expert. So, people instantly ask you questions.

And you know, I'm a comic -- I'm a comedian. So, I have a little comedic take. But you try to make some points that same time. But, to me, the one point I take, one of the main one was you look at Bush. It looks like he's had some experience dodging shoes in his past. I mean, he went right down.

And the thing he had a sense of humor about it and came back defiantly, almost playful, allows us as comedians, to joke about it. God forbid he would have been hurt. We wouldn't want that. So, you know, it was fun -- and I love that the prime minister of Iraq just sort of stood there -- for a shoe.

HOLMES: Tell me about that. And you call this guy and shoe insurgent, in your article, by the way. But, you say the Iraqi Prime Minister didn't seem to flinch at all.

OBEIDALLAH: He --if you watch him. He's sort of like, almost like, oh, it's that guy again. It must be Tuesday. Every Tuesday -- here comes the follow-up question. It's either that or the look on his face is this is why we can't have nice things. You know, that's the other side of it. This is -- you're not helping me elevate from third world to first world when you have people throwing shoes.

HOLMES: OK. Well, is there any chance that anyone -- I mean, any Iraqis, anybody in the Arab world will take the president's response, at all, as an insult? He didn't take this, of course, like you said, it's insulting anywhere, to throw somebody's shoes.

But, still, knowing that the kind of insult that this is, and the president kind of, you know, laughed it off. Should he have taken it a little more seriously? OBEIDALLAH: I think in a way, it's probably good in the Arab world. It plays to the bravado. They're kind of like tough guy, I can -- throw your best shoe at me. I can take it. He gets back up. He's like, throw another one. I can take it.

So, he really had -- I think it's really a really strong thing for him to do it. And he moved very quickly. I surmise though, I predict that if it was Obama, he would have moved more like Neo, from the "Matrix." More slowly and gracefully, while still speaking at the same time, answering the question.

HOLMES: They do say he can do all things. A lot of people think he can do it all. Something else. And this is kind of a funny question here.

But, did you really get the question, people wondered if a lot of Arabs, and maybe Iraqis. Do they just pull the shoes off their own feet? Or, do they carry an extra set of shoes around to toss at people if they get upset? Now, did you seriously get that question from somebody?

OBEIDALLAH: No, no. I actually wrote that as a joke. I'm sorry --

HOLMES: OK, Good. I'm just making sure.

OBEIDALLAH: No, but -- people have -- people joke about it. Does the shoe matter? Is a sandal more of a statement? Is a wing- tip? Does a loafer say something?

So, you have that kind of hierarchy of shoes. The heavier the shoe, the bigger statement you're making. But no, the Arab man clearly took his shoes off. He didn't have an auxiliary pair of shoes which he throws in case of anger. He has a briefcase, in case of anger, open this and throw it.

No, he just had his shoes and he whipped them off. And where was Secret Service? I mean, what -- Secret Service at this point, they won't take a bullet for the president, they won't take a size 10 loafer for the president. Where were they diving in front of the president of the United States? I'm not a fan of President Bush, but they should be protecting him.

HOLMES: Hey, they're trained to jump in front of him for other reasons. I tell you, they're not used to jumping in front of shoes. I'd give them a break there,

Dean Obeidallah. Again, Dean Obeidallah. Sir, I'm glad we could get -- again Huffington Post, where you can find that article if people want to read it. I'm glad we got you on.

Appreciate you. Good talking to you today, buddy.

OBEIDALLAH: Thank you very much. Thanks, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Barney has been the star for years and years at Christmas-time. But now we're going to get a new first dog. But not before a final farewell from Barney. A last Barney-cam at the decked out White House. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, a good-bye to a beloved resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Barney. One last Barney-cam for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

G. BUSH: It's really great to have the whole family together like this.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: It really is special.

BARBARA BUSH, FIRST DAUGHTER: In fact, Willard, I think these are the memories we're going to cherish most about our time in the White House.

JENNA BUSH, FIRST DAUGHTER: Well, that Willard. And when Barney decorates the whole house for the holidays.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC MEDALIST: Hey, Barney. I'm glad the decorations are finally coming together and you're using my favorite colors, gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Good-bye, Barney. But, hello Rick Sanchez.

The 3:00 p.m. NEWSROOM continues right now.