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Inauguration Security; Is Caroline Kennedy Qualified for Senate Seat; Update on Search for Caylee Anthony
Aired December 16, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Reading, writing and reforming. Barack Obama and a decision that will reach into your child's classroom. Today, he makes a major announcement.
Babe in toyland. Parents in trouble. It's 3:00 in the morning. Do you know where your toddler is?
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Today, Tuesday, December 16th, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We begin this morning with another choice for the incoming Cabinet. President-elect Barack Obama is announcing his pick for education secretary in just a couple of hours from now. The expected choice, coming from his own backyard.
CNN's Brianna Keilar is joining us now live from Chicago with more on this.
So who's it going to be, Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, it's expected to be Arne Duncan, who is the head of Chicago public schools and it's expected or it is going to be taking place at a Chicago school that's made quite the turnaround here in the last few years.
Duncan is someone who, as I said, is head of Chicago Public Schools. This is the third largest school district in the nation. He's a choice who would be palatable to teacher's unions as well as reformers alike, and there's also a bit of a personal connection. He's a bit of basketball buddy with the president-elect.
Now CNN has also learned about another announcement that is expected later this week. The president-elect's pick for interior secretary, that is expected to be Colorado senator, Ken Salazar. This is someone who would fulfill a role that Obama talked about yesterday that would really be -- integral to that energy environment, natural resources team that he says is going to be focusing on energy independence.
So we're expecting, again, that announcement later this week. They just keep coming, Heidi.
COLLINS: Ye, they sure do. But, you know, being in Illinois and the scandal surrounding, of course, Governor Blagojevich, did the president-elect have anything to say as of yet about that? KEILAR: Yes. Yesterday, he fielded questions -- a question about this. And we heard from the Obama camp that they have delayed their internal investigation into communications between Obama's staff and between the governor's staff about Obama's successor in the Senate.
And what that means is that this Governor Blagojevich scandal is really going to continue to be a distraction as we saw that it was yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT: There is nothing in the review that was presented to me that in any way contradicted my earlier statements that this appalling set of circumstances that we've seen arise had nothing to do with my office, and that, you know, those facts will be forthcoming to all of you in due course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney, who is going after Governor Blagojevich, said that this was at his request, that this internal investigation information was delayed. He put out a statement saying so yesterday.
But that doesn't stop the question. It doesn't quell the curiosity about what exactly were these contacts between the two camps so these questions still persist, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, they do. All right. CNN's Brianna Keilar for us this morning from Chicago.
Thanks, Brianna.
Just a reminder, you can see that Obama Cabinet announcement right here on CNN. We're going to bring -- be bringing it to you live 11:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
Impeachment on the table, a special committee set up now by the Illinois legislature begins its investigation of the Rod Blagojevich scandal today.
CNN's Gary Tuchman has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even though it's the season, Rod Blagojevich's state capitol office in gift wrap seemed a bit too cute considering what was going on down the hall.
MIKE MADIGAN (D), ILLINOIS HOUSE SPEAKER: We asks our guests in the gallery to stand and join us for the invocation and the...
TUCHMAN: Legislators beginning the process of trying to kick the governor out of office, mostly, though, behind closed doors.
MADIGAN: I'm forming a committee of inquiry for the impeachment of Governor Blagojevich.
TUCHMAN: Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is one of the most powerful people in the state legislature and a Democrat like Blagojevich, but wants him gone fast.
First, the House has to impeach him, then the Senate has to hold the trial and convict him, and it doesn't need to prove criminal intent to do so.
(On camera): Do you think the House will impeach him to go (INAUDIBLE)?
MADIGAN: I do.
TUCHMAN: And do you think the Senate will convict him and remove him from office?
MADIGAN: I expected the Senate will convict.
TUCHMAN: So do you think in a matter of several weeks, he won't be the governor of the state?
MADIGAN: We should have a new governor of Illinois and -- do over.
TUCHMAN (voice over): Blagojevich is still playing coy.
(On camera): The longer you say nothing, the longer people wonder you have something to hide, Governor.
GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH, ILLINOIS: There'll be an appropriate time to talk about this. But let me just wish everybody happy holidays and things will be -- work out just fine.
TUCHMAN: The rumor is you intend to resign. Is that, is that true or false?
BLAGOJEVICH: I just think that you should -- all have a great holiday season. I'll see you, my friend. We'll be (INAUDIBLE).
TUCHMAN (voice over): Lawmakers were also planning to discuss possible legislation to ban Blagojevich from being able to pick a Senate replacement for Barack Obama. But there's not much appetite among the Democratic majority to have a special election instead because it could result in a Republican senator.
The attorney representing Blagojevich says he's ready to fight.
ED GENSON, BLAGOJEVICH'S ATTORNEY: The case that I've seen so far is significantly exaggerated. It's just not -- it's not what people think it is. And I -- we'll have time to talk about it.
TUCHMAN: But time is greatly limited when it comes to what's going on at the state capitol. The House leader says the governor could be impeached by the end of this week. Conviction and removal from office could occur as early as next month. All moot points, though, if he quits first.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Springfield, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A bomb scare in the middle of the day, in the middle of Paris. Hundreds of shoppers evacuated Printemps after dynamite was found in the department store.
On the phone with us now from Paris, CNN's Jim Bittermann.
So, Jim, I know that you were at a police briefing actually inside that store. What did they have to say?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, Heidi, that was the height of the shopping season here as well as the height of the shopping day, and there were probably thousands, I would say, people who evacuated because the store was absolutely packed this morning around 11:00 when police ordered to evacuate.
They had received via Agence France-Presse, which is the big French news agency, the threat that a group called Afghanistan Revolutionary Front had passed along. They said that there would be a bomb found on the third floor of the store and indeed when police searched the store, they found five sticks of dynamite on the third floor, although they were not linked up with a detonator.
So the interior minister said that, in fact, it would not have exploded and there was not exactly a threat to anyone inside. However, in the letter that was sent to AFP, there was a definite threat, based on the fact that the French have troops in Afghanistan.
It said in the letter that unless the French withdraw their 3,000 or so troops by the end of February, that the people who planted the sticks of dynamite this morning would be back. And this time, there would be no warning call or warning letter to the authorities -- Heidi?
COLLINS: So, Jim, then, does that mean that they have actually linked this to a certain group with apparently a certain motivation?
BITTERMANN: Exactly. They linked it to this group that no one's ever heard of. The interior minister said that she was unaware of the existence of this group, it was called the Afghanistan Revolutionary Front. However, there have been threats against France because of the number of troops that it has in Afghanistan.
In the past, back on November 17th, the Taliban threatened France with reprisals because they continue to have troops in Afghanistan. So it's not the first time this has happened. There was also a -- rather devastating attack, an ambush on French troops back in August in which 10 French troops were killed.
So all of it is adding up to a great deal of nervousness here, I would say, on the streets of Paris -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, it looks like it from the video that we're looking at right now, too.
All right. CNN's Jim Bittermann coming to us live via telephone there in Paris. Thanks so much for that, Jim.
COLLINS: Icy rains and snow from coast to coast. In fact, two deaths are being blamed on treacherous roads in California. Fear of mudslides forced hundreds of people from their homes overnight and about 20,000 customers statewide have now lost power.
Winter storm warnings are up from Nevada to New Jersey. Ten deaths are linked to the record-breaking cold. In Denver, school buses have actually frozen solid. Can you believe that? And in the northeast, utility crews are working 24/7 now to get the power back on to tens of thousands of homes. Two deaths there are blamed on last week's ice storm.
Want to get the very latest now on all of this from CNN's Rob Marciano, standing by in the Severe Weather Center.
So, Rob, what's the deal? Are we going to see more of this today?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Actually, we're going to see more of it in that spot you talked about where the folks are still without power. So that's not exactly a great scenario for them.
The temperatures there, right now, close to freezing and a pretty decent swath of moisture heading that -- this way.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: Heidi, yesterday it snowed in Las Vegas.
COLLINS: Yes, I heard about that.
MARCIANO: We'll show you a picture of that in the next half hour. Hard to believe, but I guess anything is possible along the strip.
COLLINS: Yes, I -- wonder if that improves your chances of winning at the tables or not when the snow is coming down outside.
MARCIANO: Yes, you certainly will spend more time there.
COLLINS: Yes. Probably. All right. Rob, we'll check back later, thank you.
MARCIANO: All right. See you.
COLLINS: Billions of dollars, countless questions now. A trusted titan of Wall Street accused of a history making scam.
ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Your money and new measures of the economy. Just a few minutes ago we got the latest snapshot of the nation's money crisis and here to break them down, CNN's Christine Romans coming to us from New York this morning.
All right. Christine, how does it look on a Tuesday morning?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On a Tuesday morning, it looks like we have more evidence of just how severe the recession is.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: Inflation and housing. Let me start with inflation. The Consumer Price Index is what you pay at the grocery store, at the pumps, to buy airline tickets, to buy a new sweater, overall, down 1.7 percent.
You know the Department of Labor started keeping statistics on the prices we pay, the retail prices we pay, our inflation back in 1947. This is the biggest one-month drop ever. Last month was also the biggest one-month drop ever.
It is fueled by falling commodity prices namely falling energy prices, gas prices, and we've all felt that at the pump. It's really driving things lower. It's a sign of just weak the economy is.
Also, housing, Heidi, down very sharply. Home construction plummeting here, down almost 19 percent in the month of November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $6625,000 homes.
That means that a lot of people who are working in this industry are not working in this industry anymore. And it means -- it's just a sign of really what's happening in the housing market. Actually a very remarkable number there as well, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, no question. Yikes.
The Fed, though, is expected to announce a rate cut a little bit later on today. Will these numbers play to their decisions at all?
ROMANS: Absolutely. I mean these are the sorts of numbers that are troubling the Fed right now and what are they talking about behind those closed doors? Well, this has been a two-day meeting. There's so much for them to ponder.
They're talking, I'm sure, about the most recent numbers on consumer bankruptcy, personal bankruptcy, up 30 percent in the most recent year. A million people filing for bankruptcy, almost 2 million jobs have been lost this year, and home foreclosures are accelerating here.
The Fed has already taken extraordinary measures to try to heal the financial infrastructure and calm all these worries in the economy. They cut interest rates, 4.25 percentage points of rate cuts since September 2007. They have injected money into the system, they've bought up short-term debt, they've bailed out the financial terms.
What everybody wants to know is just how these interest rates can go. They (INAUDIBLE) at 1 percent right now. The Fed --- it's remarkable how low that is. They could cut it in half and you're talking about historically low interest rates.
But what they say outside of that? What kind of other measures could they come up with to try to boost the economy and maybe lower mortgage rates even more heading into next year to try to spur the economy? That's what we're really looking for here.
COLLINS: Yes. We're looking for a lot actually, I think.
All right. CNN's Christine Romans from New York. Thank you. Christine.
That Federal Reserve announcement, what does it really mean to you?
CNN's Gerri Willis has some of those answers coming up about 15 minutes from now.
His name alone opened doors on Wall Street and his sterling reputation may have sealed the fate of those who trusted him. Former NASDAQ chairman, Bernard Madoff, accused of a $15 billion scam. And today, he is due in court. He is seeking bail. His alleged victims, seeking answers.
Joining us now with a closer look, Andy Serwer. He's the managing editor of "Fortune" magazine.
Andy, always nice to see you. Boy, what a story here. The latest in this case now, a federal judge has issued an order to help investigators hurt by this scheme, we've heard a little bit about that. A lot of people wondering if there's any chance at all they could see any of this money back in their wallet?
ANDY SERWER, MANAGING EDITOR, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Yes, I mean, it really is an amazing story, Heidi. And there's more questions outstanding still. We really don't know the answers to some of them. It's very frustrating.
You know, first of all, how much money has disappeared and will investors get any of that money back? As you suggest, there is going to be some oversight here from the Feds.
But the way a Ponzi scheme works is you take money from a new investor to pay an existing investor and maybe that investor took money and spent it, so untangling this is going to take years.
And the only people who are going to be happy here in the end are lawyers. It's impossible to put a dollar figure on, say, how many cents on the dollar will the average investor here get back. It's impossible to do that right now.
COLLINS: Yes. And then, you know, you have to wonder about the SEC, I guess, a little bit, because I know there was this letter that was actually sent from people curious from what was going on with Madoff way back in 1999, at least according to some of the reports that I'm reading this morning.
And apparently, there was not even a -- routine sort of examination or questions that were asked. Does that sound unusual to you or is this just an idea that -- you know, you can't really regulate everybody? I don't know what it says, but it seems odd.
SERWER: Well, there always will be frauds. You know, there'll always be people who can trick the regulators. But, you know, to me, it really appears that the SEC was asleep at the switch. There are flags back in the '90s, as you were saying, Heidi, and then also, more recently, a couple of years ago.
It's somewhat complicated because the funds that Madoff was running were not directly overseen by the SEC. But the other part of his business was. And just by virtue of the fact the SEC saw it fit to look into this business suggests that they did have some oversight.
So for the SEC to then say that, well, we didn't really have any business looking into this fund doesn't really wash.
COLLINS: Yes -- and the names, too, are huge, I can't get over some of them. Steven Spielberg, Frank Lautenberg, Mort Zuckerman who was talking about "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning.
Who exactly is to blame here? I mean -- you know they are keeping track of a whole lot of money that I know some of them were investing for their foundations and charities and all this. But it seems odd to me also when we're talking about such large sums of money that people like this wouldn't be watching very closely where that money goes.
SERWER: Yes, I mean, these are, you know, really brilliant businessmen you just listed or politicians at the top of their game and you'd think they'd be smarter than just to entrust their money with this guy who is basically selling them a story that was too good to be true.
I think a lot of times, they turn over their financial affairs to financial advisers and these people just basically are saying trust me, the numbers look pretty good, and these guys just go along with it.
But, you know, anything that looks too good to be true, Heidi, you know what I'm going to say next, it probably is, it almost certainly is. And they should have known better here.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right. Well, we'll be watching this one. I think there's going to be a lot more to come regarding the investigation...
SERWER: Yes.
COLLINS: ... that goes down, certainly. Andy Serwer, managing editor, "Fortune" magazine. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Threat assessments, watching the new president's back on Inauguration Day. It's a 24/7 challenge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Students in a Colorado elementary school teaching lessons in charity. They took their love for their cancer stricken teacher to a whole new level. The 35-year-old teacher is fighting stage 4 colon cancer and couldn't get her insurance company to cover an advanced type of treatment.
That's when two of her fourth grade students -- yes, fourth grade -- started the True Gift Fund. They convinced other students to give up a Christmas -- give up a gift this Christmas and then donate the money to the fund. Well, the teacher, completely overwhelmed by what her kids were doing for her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEWELY DEL DUCA, FOURTH GRADE TEACHER: You think about what it was like for me to be a kid and Christmas, and to give up something that I wanted, maybe all year round, all yearlong, I've wanted it, and to give it up for another human being is such a mark of empathy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So far, the fund is up to $6,000 and the goal is $25,000.
But it's been hailed as one of the most effective cancer detection tools available. But there are questions this morning about just how effective colonoscopies are as a screening tool.
So, what to do and to be really sure that you don't have this dreaded disease, CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now with some answers on this.
Such a great story that we just saw there.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's unbelievable.
COLLINS: From Colorado.
GUPTA: $19,000 more. I hope they get it.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes, me, too.
GUPTA: Yes.
COLLINS: But how effective is a colonoscopy when we're trying to detect something like colon cancer?
GUPTA: Well, it's still the gold standard. But in the spirit of all things might be better, colonoscopies could be better as well. They sort of broke it down, trying to figure out what the most effective parts of a colonoscopy were.
Now if you take a look at -- you know, at this animation of the colon, I think this sort of describes to you what is happening here. I'm going to telestrate as we go along.
You look at the colon here. This is called the ascending or the right part of the colon. This is called the descending or the left part of the colon. You go ahead and zoom that in, you'll find that the types of polyps are different here.
Look at the sort of mushroom shape, easier to find, versus the right side of the colon which is sort of flat, sometimes can be missed. And also just doing the colonoscopy alone, it is easier to exam the left side of colon versus the right side. So in a nutshell, what they find -- I mean that's just because that's where the colonoscopy, the endoscope goes in.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: It was on the left side of the colon. So that's the first part that the -- the radiographer or the gastroenterologist will see when they're doing this, this type of procedure. It is a pretty good test, but on the left side, much more likely to find these colon cancers versus the right side.
COLLINS: Wow. I -- you know, I don't think most people know that. So then what do you take away from something like this? I'm sure you're not going to say, hey, don't worry about those colonoscopies. They don't really work right well anyway?
GUPTA: No, not at all. They're still -- they're still the gold standard overall.
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: And they still reduce colon cancer deaths significantly, maybe not much as we thought, specifically when it comes to the right side of colon cancers.
I think what we take away from this, like we do with most things in medicine, is that this is a good test but it is not perfect. And these tests need to get better if you're going to find all these colon cancers at the earliest possible stage which is key, because you can to prevent these polyps from turning into something...
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: ... much, much worse, like that, like that teacher that you were just talking about.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. There's also some information, I think, in this. Some -- not very good news about colon cancer and racial minority?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, this is interesting. We spent -- we spent sometime crunching these numbers when it comes to colon cancer deaths. The good news is that overall the numbers have come down pretty significantly but not nearly as much so for certain minority groups.
So, for example, overall, you're still 45 percent higher chance of dying from colorectal cancer as compared to white counter parts if you're an African-American. And if you break it down even further, which we did, you compared, for example, 2005 to 2008, this is per 100,000, 65 white men died in -- or 65 per 100,000 died in 2005 versus 73.
And in 2008, the disparity even got a little bit larger, 59-71. So we're making progress. Heidi, but access continues to be a problem. Getting certain groups of people into the hospital fast enough is a problem and getting them treatment continues to be a problem. So these numbers need to come down equally across the board.
COLLINS: And according to our last story there, insurance continues to be a problem as well, obviously.
GUPTA: Absolutely. That's part of this access issue which we're hearing so much about.
COLLINS: Yes. OK. All right, Sanjay, we'll stay on top of this. Some great information. Thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Your money, their decision. It looks like the Feds are ready to make another rate cut. What does that really mean for you and me?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right, there you have the opening bell for a Tuesday. Just a couple of moments ago. We're going to be watching the markets closely again today. Interested in the fed cut -- the interest rate cut is likely to happen a little bit later on today. So we'll see if that sort of shakes things up on the market at all.
Right now, we see the Dow Jones Industrial Averages to the positive. Double digits there. Again, we will follow that for you. As well as this, more grim numbers on the state of the economy. And Goldman Sachs losses of billions of dollars, but the Federal Reserve may be coming to the rescue on that as well. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with more details on this story.
Hi, there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
Well, stocks are higher in the first two minutes of trading, but where they end up of course will depend on the Federal Reserve. Analysts expect policy makers to cut the federal funds rate by 50 percent later this afternoon, bringing it down to 50 percent.
If that happens, interest rates would drop to the lowest level on record. Wall Street will also be paying close attention to the accompanying policy statement. Looking for clues about what else the central bank can do to help the ailing economy since it could be out of interest rate options. I mean, with these rates so low, basically, what investors are looking is what other tricks the fed may have up its sleeve. And how well it communicates that to the public could very much influence what happens in the markets.
In the meantime, we have new reports showing new home construction, building permits both falling to record lows last month. Housing starts plunge nearly 19 percent. Permits considered a good gauge of future activity fell nearly 16 percent. The recession is also pushing down prices at the consumer level. The Consumer Price Index fell 1.7 percent last month, marking the biggest monthly drop on record.
And of course, we know the reason why. Energy prices have been tumbling with oil, now trading around $45 a barrel. It was $147 at its peak in July. Checking the early numbers, Dow is up by 50 -- let's make it 60 points, about 0.75 percent. The Nasdaq is up 1.5 percent. Shares of Goldman Sachs right now are higher, even though the bank posted a quarterly loss of more than $2 billion, Goldman's first loss since going public nine years ago. What that's about, Heidi, is that it wasn't worse and it didn't come in.
Finally, you know, I just want to mention. I don't know if you had recognized the guy ringing the opening bell this morning, Heidi. That was Sam Bradford, the 74th winner of the Heisman Trophy.
COLLINS: Yes. My little boy very excited about Sam.
LISOVICZ: He is a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma. And of course, a quarterback. And we need an outstanding performance by the fed today, too. Not only in football, in college football, we need an outstanding performance by the Fed. The pressure is on.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Policy makers, 2:15 Eastern, be there.
COLLINS: Touchdown with the extra point would be excellent. All right, thanks so much.
Susan Lisovicz, sure do appreciate that. Thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome, Heidi.
COLLINS: As Susan was just mentioning, of interest to us all, the feds are expected to slash a key interest rate a little bit later today. And it may even reach an all time low. So what does that really mean to you and me?
Here with some answers, CNN personal finance editor, Gerri Willis. She's joining us from New York. All right. So, how are we going to feel this, do you think, if in fact it does happen? We're expecting it will.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, hi, there, Heidi.
Yes, I mean, this will be the tenth time the fed has cut rates since September of last year. And what it means to you, well, it's not as much as you would think. Look, credit cards, for example, are implementing interest rate floors so the interest rate can't fall below a certain level. Check the details in your statements to find out where that floor is and if your credit card has one.
Remember, credit card operators can raise rates at any time for any reason. And that's what they've been doing lately despite the fact rates generally have been going down. In fact, since the fed started cutting rates, the average credit card rate has fallen only 1.4 percentage points.
Let's talk a little bit about adjustable rate mortgages. Since the fed started cutting rates, they've been decreasing obviously. However, adjustable rate mortgages are typically based on the one year Treasury. That's already down to 0.5 percent. That's half a percentage point. And other interest rate indicators they are based on have declined as well, like Libor. The one in a bank rate, but those have currently stabilized. So you're not going to see a big difference there.
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: If you're looking for a 30-year fixed rate, a new mortgage loan, rates are up 5.47 percent. That's according to Freddie Mac. Lowest levels since March 25th, 2004, really good news out there. And yet, we're not seeing new home buyers swamp the marketplace. Why? Well, because the terms are so tough to meet. You have to have a very high credit score, as much 750 in some cases. You have to be willing to put 20 percent down. It's just tough for people in these situations.
Finally, Savers, savings account, money market CDs, those interest rates have come down, but not as much as you might think. This is a little bit of glimmer of hope in this, is that savings rates still are OK. Pretty decent, particularly, if you're willing to shop around. And that's because banks really want to hang onto your money right now and they are willing to pay for the privilege -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, because they need it. So I guess then the rate cut is probably not going to help the consumers very much when we're talking about that credit crunch?
WILLIS: Not right away. Maybe in the long run. You know, maybe eventually when the fundamental conditions improve, it will be a help. But right at this very moment, it's not that meaningful.
COLLINS: All right. CNN personal finance editor, Gerri Willis.
Gerri, thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Toy maker Mattel has agreed to pay $12 million to 39 states. The settlement comes as a result of an investigation. The company shipped lead tainted toys into the United States last year. Since last August, the company has recalled more than 21 million Chinese made toys as part of the settlement. Mattel also agreed to lower acceptable levels of lead in toys shipped to the United States.
Gas prices tick up yet again, raising the concern that we may have seen them bottom out already. According to AAA, the national average rose one tenth of a cent to just over $1.66 a gallon. That's in fact the third increase in four days. Before the weekend, (INAUDIBLE), prices had fallen for 86 straight days.
Protecting the new president, just one of the challenges ahead on inauguration day. Security officials already in high gear, getting ready for January 20th. CNN's Jim Acosta takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Barack Obama should have an easy time getting to the inauguration with plans to travel by railroad as he did during the campaign through Pennsylvania. But the incoming president will arrive in a nation's capital that's become a fortress in recent years, a fortress that will scratched by an avalanche of people.
MAJ. GEN. RICHARD J. HOWE JR., MILITARY TASK FORCE: I think we will have the best attended inauguration in the history of our great country.
ACOSTA: The man in charge of the military task force responsible for protecting the nation's capital says the Secret Service along with a slew of federal and local agencies are preparing for the unexpected.
How is the communication between the different agencies?
HOWE: Great question. We've had 91 exercises as of last Friday.
ACOSTA: Going through different scenarios?
HOWE: Different scenarios, different possibilities, getting people safely to the events and helping get them safely back home.
ACOSTA: Just how to evacuate what's expected to be a jam-packed national mall in an emergency is one such scenario. The city is planning widespread road closures. The district's metro system will be overwhelmed.
STEVEN TAUBENKIBEL, D.C. METRO SPOKESPERSON: We've never seen anything like this at all in this region for us.
ACOSTA: Transit police are weighing whether to conduct random checks of backpacks and subway escalators could be shut down if too many people are crowing in the stations.
(on camera): So if there are too many people, you have to turn these off?
TAUBENKIBEL: Yes. We said that. We will do that.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Then there's the matter of protecting the new president. Former Secret Service agent, Reginald Bald, says Mr. Obama may want to avoid any long walks down the parade route.
REGINALD BALL, SECURITY EXPERT, SECURITY: And I'm sure the Secret Service has done a really good job on briefing him about threats and what precautions that they need to take to protect him. He wants to be out in the open, but he also understands what's at stake.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN's Jim Acosta, joining us now live from Washington with more on this.
I guess the overall question, Jim, after your reporting and what you've seen is Washington D.C. ready for this inauguration?
ACOSTA: That's a good question. We hope they are. If you talk to the general who is in charge with that task force, responsible for protecting the capitol, that task force set up after 9/11, he says, yes, the general in that piece says, yes, they will be ready. And if there's a catastrophe during the inauguration, the responsible agency that should respond to that will step in.
As for metro, they will not be ready if we see crowds in excess of 1.5 million people, which is basically where it's at right now. The Secret Service is dismissing those earlier estimates of 4 million people. So metro, the subway will not be an option for a lot of people. And if you plan on driving into the city, D.C. official say you should have your head examined, that is not going to be possible on inauguration day.
And a lot of this explains why Barack Obama and Joe Biden are coming into this city by railroad. They are hoping that some these events preceding the inaugural, in some of this other cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore will hopefully draw some people to those cities, instead of drawing them to Washington -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. They can watch from there. All right. CNN's Jim Acosta for us.
Thank you, Jim.
ACOSTA: You bet.
COLLINS: It's German shepherd and it's boy. Vice president- elect Joe Biden has picked out his pooch. Ah. Come on, everyone. His wife promised him he could get a dog if he and Barack Obama got elected. How could you not love that adorable face. The 3-month-old still, though, doesn't have a name. I'm sure you can write in.
The Bidens made their choice, and now, yes, it's the president- elect's turn. And there's no shortage of suggestions for what kind of dog should be living in the White House. Two-thirds of you say, yes, because we did a poll on this. Two-thirds of you say it should be a shelter dog.
Our CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll also asked about the breed, labs, my personal favorite, came out on top with 13 percent. Mutts and poodles tied at 9. But I don't see labradoodles on the list anywhere. I think they would fill all of the appropriate squares there.
Rob Marciano standing by now in the weather center. Perfect segue over to you, Rob. Yes?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: OK, well, you know what we have for you, don't you? I think, I hope. A picture of a labradoodle. Oh, we don't have a picture of a labradoodle. We'll get that for you a little bit later on. Because we certainly don't want to diminish all of this nasty weather that is really wreaking havoc for a lot of people across the country, certainly.
MARCIANO: Well, you know, the poodles or the puppies make you feel warmer (INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Right, and it's uplifting. But we will bring that to you a little bit later on.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: All right. Thank you, Rob. We'll check back later on.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, a toddler looking for toys. This is security footage of a 4-year-old walking into a Beaumont, Texas Department store at 3:00 in the morning. His entry through the unlocked door set off the silent alarm. And when police got there, they found the boy playing with the toys. They say he unlocked the door at home and crossed a multi-lane road to get there. The boy won't be given back to his parents until an investigation is complete.
Caroline Kennedy, JFK's daughter may be finally taking up the business of politics, but is she really ready for a Senate seat?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of JFK and the last surviving member of his immediate family. But turning to the future, she may also be the next U.S. senator from New York. Many find that intriguing, but is she qualified?
CNN's Randi Kaye takes a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yes, she's the daughter of John F. Kennedy, and a member of the Kennedy dynasty. But does that make Caroline Kennedy qualified to be senator?
HANK SHEINKOPF, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Does she have name recognition? So does Jennifer Lopez.
KAYE: Hank Sheinkopf, who works for Bill Clinton's re-election campaign says the New York Senate seat is not about name recognition.
SHEINKOPF: A Senate seat is not a legacy place. We haven't had a Kennedy elected to office from New York State since 1964, and a lot of people would like to keep it that way.
KAYE: Caroline Kennedy's uncle Robert Kennedy served in the New York Senate until he was assassinated.
SHEINKOPF: The issue here isn't about white-collar people, it's about blue-collar people, in places like western New York and Long Island who are looking for economic relief and someone who will fight for them. Thus far, Caroline Kennedy doesn't have a record of fighting for anyone.
KAYE: The 51-year-old lawyer has co-authored books on the Bill of Rights, and has been a champion of education reform and public schools. Her leadership roles are limited mainly to the arts. She hosts the Kennedy Center Honor in Washington and serves as honorary chairwoman of the American Ballet. Her supporters have not been as outspoken as her detractors but there are many.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: She certainly has a lot of experience. Her whole family has been dedicated to public service.
LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: She is clearly a very intelligent, capable, interesting woman. The minuses that she doesn't have any political experience in the traditional sense. I mean, she's not served in the House of Representatives or the State Legislature, but she has been involved at least on the periphery.
KAYE: Is the periphery enough when other high-profile candidates are under consideration? Like Kennedy's ex-cousin-in-law, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Kerry Kennedy is Caroline's cousin and Cuomo's ex-wife.
KERRY KENNEDY, CAROLINE KENNEDY'S COUSIN: She doesn't care about fame. She doesn't care about money. She doesn't care about power. What she really cares about is public service.
KAYE: Kennedy has yet to say publicly she wants the job. She's never enjoyed the spotlight. But threw herself into it when she endorsed Barack Obama.
CAROLINE KENNEDY, JFK'S DAUGHTER: Senator Obama offers the change we need.
KAYE (on camera): One thing that may play in Caroline Kennedy's favor, her ability to raise cash and lots of it. All that charity fund-raising may pay off. She would have to run in 2010 for the last two years of the term. Then again in 2012 for a new term. She'd need about $40 million for that.
(voice-over): If Kennedy does become New York's next senator, it will be a major political event.
SABATO: Look, it's the return of Camelot. You can see it already. We've already been talking about Obamalot, and now we've had Camelot joined with Obamalot.
KAYE: And that's a lot. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A missing toddler, scattered remains found near her home. Are they connected? An update on the search for Caylee Anthony.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The Coast Guard searching right now for a missing "Atlantis" airlines plane. 11 people are on board. The plane took off yesterday from the Dominican Republic and was headed to New York. Authorities say the plane seventy an emergency signal before disappearing from the radar, 35 minutes after take-off.
Investigators are still combing an area of central Florida where the remains of a small child have been found. The grandparents of Caylee Anthony asking for privacy until it's known whether the remains are those of their missing toddler.
More now from reporter Karen Castillo with our affiliate, WFTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN CASTILLO, WFTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When investigators found more bones in the woods, they decided it was time to slow down even more. They're methodical, carefully sifting through soil, leaves and branches in the large wooded area behind Caylee Anthony's home. And now they've invited more experts into the mix including specialists in the area of insects and plants to help determine what happened and how long the bones were here.
CAPT. ANGELO NIEVES, ORANGE CO. FLORIDA SHERIFF DEPT.: This is a process that is going to go very slowly, very deliberately, in order to make sure that nothing is left untouched which is significant to the area of the find.
CASTILLO: Investigators say the skull found here is already in an FBI lab undergoing DNA analysis. An attorney for the Anthonys says the family is waiting for that absolute confirmation and praying, even though all signs point that it's Caylee Anthony. BRAD CONWAY, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE & CINDY ANTHONY: The last six months have been the hardest six months of our lives. And we understand that the on going investigation and prosecution of our daughter Casey will consume our lives with conflict.
CASTILLO: Casey Anthony's attorney showed up this weekend with his dream team of experts. Star forensic criminologist Henry Lee and others examine the home and now are anxiously awaiting their turn to look inside these woods.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: You may remember, Caylee Anthony's mother waited a month before reporting her daughter missing. The 22-year-old woman now being held without bond at the Orange County jail.
As President-elect Barack Obama chooses his cabinet, some Senate seats are being left vacant. Who should be the next senator from New York?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The navy's new class of 21st century warship has arrived. The USS Freedom pulled into the Norfolk Naval Station yesterday. The ship not man by hundreds of crew members like others, though. It was 40 core crew members and is fully computerized. It's smaller, faster and more maneuverable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF CMDR. KRISTY DOYLE, USS FREEDOM EXECUTIVE OFFICER: What we're coming up against is the anti-axis threats. You have countries that are trying to deny access to coastal areas and to straits by using small diesel submarines, by using swarms of small, fast attack boats, by using mine warfare. And that's exactly what this ship is built to go up against.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: While the USS Freedom is in Norfolk, crews will conduct post-delivery tests and sea trials.
Lessons learned and critical tests still ahead. Barack Obama making a major announcement next hour. Why you and your kids should care.
Your money and the nation's economy. New numbers, new measures and new action that could put some cash back in your pocket.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Today, Tuesday, December 16th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
