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Case Closed After 20 Years for Adam Walsh; Fed Reserve Drops Interest Rate; Tips for Becoming A Desirable New Hire
Aired December 16, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Qualified, but is it in name only? Politics, definitely in Caroline Kennedy's blood; on her resume? Not so much. A lot of interest and a lot of questions on her quest for a Senate seat.
At this rate, will another cut help? This hour, the Fed expected to slash a key rate to an unprecedented low. No surprise, lots of American workers are feeling low. We have some tips as layoffs loom.
And a boy heads out to play with some toys, only problem, it was 3:00 a.m. And he is only four. Authorities now deciding what is in store for mom.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. And you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Sometimes it is not what you know, it is not whom you know, it is what you have done with a failing school system, and whom you shoot hoops with. As you may have seen live here on CNN, the president-elect picked the superintendent of Chicago schools and his long-time friend and basketball partner as secretary of Education. Arne Duncan oversaw a spike in the student performance in the seven years in charge of the third largest school system in America.
The Cabinet slots are filling up fast, too. We are hearing that Colorado Senator Kent Salazar will get the nomination for the Interior secretary later this week.
And for President Bush, the transition to life outside of the White House includes an exit interview with CNN's Candy Crowley; she'll will join me in a moment with some highlights and you can see the whole thing on "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 4:00 Eastern Time.
Well, her father was president and her uncle a senator, will Caroline Kennedy go into the family business? New York Governor David Paterson is getting ready to replace Senator Hillary Clinton, and he's talked with Kennedy, and he says she's clearly interested in the job. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that she'll get it.
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, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Does she have name recognition? So does Jennifer Lopez.
KAYE: Hank Sheinkopf, who worked 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 have not 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 for 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 Honors 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 (I), NEW YORK CITY: 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 intelligent and capable and interesting woman. The minus is that she doesn't have any political experience in the traditional sense. I mean, she has not served in the House of Representative or the state legislature, but she has been involved at least on the periphery.
KAYE: Is the periphery enough when others 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, COUSIN OF CAROLINE KENNEDY: 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 has never enjoyed the spotlight, but threw herself into it when she endorsed Barack Obama.
CAROLINE KENNEDY, DAUGHTER OF JOHN F. KENNEDY: Senator Obama offers the change we need. KAYE (on camera): One thing that may play in Caroline Kennedy's favor is her ability to raise cash, and lots of it. All of that charity fundraising may payoff. 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 is the return of Camelot. You can see it already. We have already been talking about Obamalot and now we would have Camelot joined with Obamalot.
KAYE: And that is a lot.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So if Caroline Kennedy succeeds Hillary Clinton, she is a daughter of the late president replacing the wife of a former president. A former president, by the way, who served between the administrations of George Bush and George W. Bush, and is America getting carried away with the political dynasties. CNN's special correspondent Frank Sesno joins me now from Washington.
Frank, we are getting dangerously close to that dynastic politics, Kennedy, Bush, Clinton, names that start to carry political entitlements?
FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I thought this didn't happen in the United States of America. But apparently it does, if you are a Clinton, if you are a Bush. Once a upon a time if you were an Adams, it worked pretty well, too.
But the Kennedy thing, this one in particular, is very interesting, because it actually is a direct contradiction to the qualifications that Obama's appointments for the Cabinets have carried with them, which is competence -- and proven competence -- in related feels of experience. Caroline Kennedy has not sat for an interview. She hasn't been held accountable to people. She hasn't held a legislative position. She hasn't held an executive position. So this is really out of nowhere and it does show that this is all about name recognition, name I.D.
PHILLIPS: OK, so she does have that. She doesn't have any traditional political experience, so what has she done?
SESNO: Well, she has sat on these boards. She certainly on the vice presidential search committee and sat on the commission for presidential debates, and she has been on the Kennedy School board, where she helped to steer the new director of Institute of Politics.
It has been civic-minded stuff. It has been board stuff, it has been community stuff, but it hasn't been grassroots stuff, which is where Barack Obama comes from. There is a lot that comes her way because of her name and because of what the family has experienced. They live this. It is in their veins.
But we have no idea what kind of legislator she would be, what kind of advocate she would be, or how effective she might be as a senator. Is she smart? Sure. Connected? Absolutely. Could she raise the money? For sure. But there are a lot of questions about just how qualified and how democratic this really is.
PHILLIPS: Well, it seems like we have talked a lot about that in this election year, whether it was Sarah Palin or Barack Obama, talking about lack of experience.
OK, so here we go. Another person in there who has the name, but not a lot of experience, so what qualifies her besides her name? Anything strong enough?
SESNO: The family connections clearly. Because the circles that she runs in, the company that she has kept over the years has been political company. And so there is not any shortage of tutelage there for her. And she has, you know, certainly been in the informed circles in New York and Washington and Boston and the Kennedy School and that kind of thing.
But, look, I have heard it said a lot in these discussions, that you can find other senators and other people who have been elected to office with a lot fewer qualifications than she's got. Tom DeLay, for example, was an exterminator before he came and was ultimately, you know, top of the heap at the House of Representatives. So American politics rewards unconventional politicians. So this is hardly unprecedented.
I think that the question that we have to ask is how far do we want to go? How comfortable are we going with the dynastic families?
PHILLIPS: Did you say that Tom DeLay was an exterminator?
SESNO: Yes, yes, that is the business he had. There are lots of people who served in the Congress and elsewhere, they came out of the business tradition. J.D. Hayworth was a TV guy, so there is hope for you and me.
PHILLIPS: I love it. I know, we will have to start thinking about plan B. You know how this business is, Frank?
SESNO: Oh, there's a lot of job security on Capitol Hill.
PHILLIPS: Help me out. Exactly. Well, maybe I can come teach with you. I'll be your assistant.
SESNO: Anytime. Have I got finals for you.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Frank. Great to see you.
SESNO: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Great stuff.
Well, with life as a private citizen, OK, a semi-private citizen, now only weeks away, President Bush is admitting to some doubts about the war that will be his legacy. Our Candy Crowley just did an exit interview with the soon-to-be former president. She joins me with some of the headlines.
I would be really curious to know what happened off camera, as well, Candy. I know how you are with the questions.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is interesting, because obviously, if you are going to do an exit interview with this president, you are going to have to talk about Iraq, and when we walked into the Oval Office one of the things I said to him was, what's the biggest decision you made sitting at this desk? And what he said was the decision to go to war in Iraq. And I followed up after that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY (on camera): If you made that decision with clarity, which you say you did, and did you ever come back here on a dark night, or after seeing relatives, or after watching something happen in Iraq, did you ever come back and think, wow, and revisit that decision?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have thought about it, of course, but I usually came back and, you know, with a concern about whether or not we would succeed.
CROWLEY: You worried about that sometimes?
BUSH: I have worried about it in the past, in 2006, in particular, in Iraq. I was deeply concerned about whether or not we would succeed. I felt that the, you know, the political people beginning falling away where people were saying, you must withdraw. It wasn't just the political people, a lot of people in Washington were saying, let's get out now. I obviously chose not to do that, but that was a very difficult period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: There were two times that the president said that he was advised, and sometimes within his own administration, to get out. One of them was in 2006 when he said that some of his advisers did say you need to leave. He said, obviously, I made a different decision. He also said that there were those after Saddam Hussein was captured, who said, OK, let's install some -- you know, one of our guys there and get out. Obviously, another piece of advice that he didn't listen to, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, I thought it was interesting and who knows, maybe he doesn't feel regret, but he said, well, I made a different decision. But did you at ever at any point hear the president say to you, Candy, I regret this. Or I regret that, or I regret not pulling out of Iraq when maybe all of my advisers were saying you could do that now? CROWLEY: He didn't. And we have heard him talk about his rhetoric and he regretted some of the rhetoric, wanting Saddam Hussein dead or alive, that sort of thing. But in terms of the general decision to go to war, he has not backed off of that. He has not ever thought, according to him, that it was the wrong decision. And he talks a lot about the politics of it, and how he didn't follow the politics of it. This was a decision he made with the clarity of goals.
So this is not -- I mean, this is his legacy. I don't think that you will see this president -- I mean, you did hear him there say, yes, there was a time when I worried whether it was winnable. So, there were those moments. But in the main, he always came back to what he said was the basic decision that it was good to go there.
I asked him, well, listen, didn't you -- after you found out, first of all, that there were no weapons of mass destruction and that Al Qaeda was not there, and Saddam Hussein had no connection with 9/11, weren't you angry at the intelligence? And he said he wasn't, but he did want to go back and fix it. So there are things that he is sorry happened, but I don't think his decision to war and I have never heard him say, that his decision to go to war was something that he regretted.
PHILLIPS: So did he end your conversation by saying, Candy, it was really nice being grilled by you over the past eight years.
CROWLEY: No, we did a little walk down memory lane. And then he talked about the campaign plane in 2000, where my seat mate was a woman named Patsy Harris from Reuters. And he used to come down and sort of demand we clear the middle seat out between us, and he'd sit down. And he loved to gossip, you know. So when he was not talking baseball to the crews he would talk plane gossip to us. It was one of the things that he really enjoyed, at some point. So, he did reminisce about that.
PHILLIPS: I know he is fond of you and he respects you tremendously. Candy Crowley, thanks a lot.
CROWLEY: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Well, you can see Candy's entire interview this afternoon, in "THE SITUATION ROOM", 4:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
And keep your friends close and your scandal-ridden home-state governors as far away as possible. That would seem to be the lesson as the president-elect picks an Education secretary, and takes a reporter to school when he strays off topic. CNN's Brianna Keilar joining us now from Chicago.
Hey, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Kyra.
Yes, this is a Blagojevich scandal continuing to threaten bumping the Obama team off message again today during Obama's latest press conference. He fielded a question from a "Chicago Tribune" reporter who said that -- or asked, if Obama's talking in the past about having a hand's off approach to whom might replace in the Senate, and if that squares with "The Chicago Tribune" report that says that the president-elect's incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is on one of these wiretapped conversations with the governor's office, indeed talking about Obama's replacement. Here is what Obama said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: We have done a review of this. The facts are going to be released next week. It would be inappropriate for me to comment, because, for example, the story that you just talked about in your own paper, I haven't confirmed that it was accurate, and I don't want to get into the details at this point. So, do you have another question?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So as we have said before, there are no allegations of wrongdoing in the Obama camp, but it is with this delay of the internal review, within his camp, of any conversations between his staffers, and the governor's staffers, that continuing obviously to be a headache for the transition government, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. What about the real purpose of the news conference to announce the secretary of Education.
KEILAR: Yes, Arne Duncan.
Arne Duncan is a choice that is palatable to the various and sometimes competing constituencies when it comes to education. For instance, teachers unions, or perhaps reformers who are pushing for more charter schools. So you can see that this is a guy who has some broad appeal as Obama's top envoy , his educational envoy, as he is trying to make good on his campaign promises, not only to better standardized tests, but really just to pump some more money into the U.S. education system.
Arne Duncan is, at this point, head of the Chicago Public Schools system. This is the third largest school district in the country. And, also, if he were -- or as he becomes Education secretary, he will join a very small club of Ed secretaries who come from urban school districts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: So when Arne speaks to educators across America, it won't be from up in some ivory tower, but from the lessons he has learned during his years changing our schools from bottom up. I remember a conversation we had about one of those lessons a while back. We were talking about how he had managed to increase the number of kids taking and passing AP course in Chicago over the last few years. And he told me that in the end the kids weren't any smarter than they were three years ago, our expectations for them were just higher.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: Obama really highlighting Duncan's Washington outsider status. And an interesting aside here, there is a personal connection between the president-elect and Duncan. That is that they play basketball together. In fact, Duncan actually played professional basketball in Australia.
Strange, huh, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Well, I don't know. I'd kind of like to see them together on the court. That could be interesting.
KEILAR: That sure would be.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Brianna.
Well, it already cost next to nothing to borrow money, assuming that you could find someone to lend it. Moments from now it may cost even less, we're watching the Fed.
And if you are trying to find a job right now and you have some questions, why don't you send us an e-mail. I'm going to be joined by a career coach later in the show. We'll read your questions on the air and get some answers. Send your e-mail to cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, any second now the cost of credit may hit an all-time rock-bottom low. We're awash in recession, rather, with inflation nowhere in sight the Federal Reserve is about to announce another interest rate cut. And this one could make history. We are watching and waiting with CNN's Ali Velshi, in New York, Susan Lisovicz, she is on Wall Street.
Susan, let's go ahead and start with you. What is the smart money expecting here?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the smart money expects that the Federal Reserve will continue to be extremely aggressive in cutting its key short-term interest rate, that is the federal funds rate, at least half a point. Bringing it down to half a point, which would be the lowest on record.
The fact is, though, that it has not worked. The Fed started cutting rates aggressively in September of '07, the economy went into a recession in December.
And things have just deteriorated since then, and nearly 2 million jobs lost, right, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And we are waiting to get this announcement very shortly, I believe. But one of the things that Susan points out is while it hasn't worked yet, the combination of stimulus that has been put into the system, the rate cuts, the international coordinated rate cuts, the fact that the Fed now loans money directly to companies that were having trouble raising money, you put that all together, that is a lot of medicine for this patient. And it may start to work all at once.
Remember, Susan, back in the day when used to know that a Fed rate cut didn't take effect for several months, maybe nine or 10 months, so sometimes we are sort of waiting for that reaction. It is not usually an instant cure to the problem. But this may help us as we are coming out of this recession hopefully sometime in 2009.
You can see the stock market up 160 points. Everybody is expecting it. It would be very surprising if there weren't a rate cut today. But we are running out of room, Susan. You can only cut to zero.
Well, we are just standing by and waiting for the Fed to make a decision on the rates. I will tell you how it normally works. About every six weeks they get together, and they normally make that announcement around 2:15 Eastern Time. It is a two-day meeting that they have been in. They don't typically have a two-day meeting to ends on Tuesday, but times are not typical right now. So, we are still expecting this to happen.
When the Fed lowers interest rates, what you can expect to see is an equivalent lowering of the prime rate, that will happen almost immediately. And that is connected to any loan that you have, that is connected to the prime rate. So if you have a loan, which is prime, plus 5 or prime plus 10 or a credit card, or something like that, you will see that go down immediately.
LISOVICZ: Hey, Ali?
VELSHI: Susan.
LISOVICZ: Hey, Ali, what we are hearing now is that the Fed has made its decision and I just want to make sure I get this straight, because I have not actually seen it. I'm looking at the statement right now, that policymakers are setting their target rate at .25 percent.
Is that right, Amanda? I just want to double-check it.
VELSHI: Well, it is unusual, and we have never seen it before, Susan.
LISOVICZ: That's 0 to .25 percent.
VELSHI: Normally they target a specific number and it is 0 to .25 percent, which is very unusual. In your time, have you ever seen this sort of thing?
LISOVICZ: No.
VELSHI: Normally they set a target rate which is --
PHILLIPS: Hey, you guys explain to the viewers why this is unprecedented. What that means.
VELSHI: Well, what it is, it is called a target rate. We always tell you that the rates -- before today, the rate -- before right now, the rate was 1 percent, that was the fed rate, which meant prime rate was 4 percent. It is not actually a rate they set, it is a target that they set. They have various tools that allow them to get to it. So over the course of time you will find it is not actually 1 percent, but it will be 1.08 or .98 percent. It is a target rate.
What happens when you start to get very low, close to zero, you cannot target as well. I know it is a hard description to understand, but you can't be as precise. So typically you would say that the Fed is lowering rates to a .25 percent or to zero. Now they are saying 0 to .25 percent, which is very unusual. It means it is hard to actually target. It is probably a sign of the times, Kyra. We are waiting to get the details, but it is a record.
LISOVICZ: Actually, I do have some details on this.
VELSHI: OK.
LISOVICZ: On this, Ali, because I do have the statement in front of me and I'm pouring over it. Basically, this is a short-term interest rate, as Ali has been saying. And the prime rate will come down accordingly as well. And so this will affect auto loans, consumer loans, and so on. But really what the market is -- and it reflects, I mean, the aggressive nature of this is something that reflects the severity of the recession we are all living through. I am told that the Fed used to set a target rate about 20 years ago.
VELSHI: Yes, back in Volcker's day, Susan.
LISOVICZ: Paul Volcker, in the 1980s.
VELSHI: Back in Paul Volcker's day, they used to do that.
That's right. And it is very unusual, but they used to have a target rate which maybe more accurate than setting a specific rate, because as I say they hardly ever get to exactly where they want. But it is, you know, they use these sort of quarter of a percentage-point increments.
Bottom line and this will be interesting, Susan, because what I mentioned is you usually see a reduction in the prime rate, which is exactly the same amount. So it will be interesting to see. We are going to start calling the banks right now to find out exactly where they are setting their prime rate, because typically prime rate is a number, not a target.
LISOVICZ: OK, but the other thing, of course, Ali, as you know, and this is the epicenter of the problem, is the housing market. These are long-term rates and that is where the Fed really has wanted to juice the economy. You know, housing prices continuing to tumble, but people are not buying. Why? They cannot get credit. And mortgage rates have not come down until very recently when the Fed last month announced that it was going to start to buying debt, mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Fed, in its statement said, that it will employee all available tools to prevail the presumption of sustainable economic growth and preserve price stability.
PHILLIPS: So, guys, explain that.
LISOVICZ: Basically that's just a market --
PHILLIPS: Well, explain those tools. Like, for me -- let's say I have a high mortgage right now.
VELSHI: Right.
PHILLIPS: And I -- should I refinance now? I mean, what does this mean for me as a homeowner, what does this mean for somebody who might be facing foreclosure?
VELSHI: All right. Mortgage rates are not set by the fed rate, but rates generally move in lock-step with each other. So you have seen, generally speaking, low mortgage rates to start with, so if you have a high mortgage rate, it's been the same story for several months. Refinancing -- if you can -- into a fixed 30-year mortgage or even a 15-year mortgage is probably a better example.
Now, I should tell you the Federal Reserve usually moves it's two rates together. There is another one that is called the discount rate, and that is not a target. They actually set that. They have reduced that by .75 of a percentage point. So the effective reduction in interest rates to the consumer out there, who has a loan, or a credit card that is tied to prime will be about .75 of a percentage point, what you will probably see as a reduction in prime. So we went into this with prime at 4 percent. I'm thinking that we are going to see prime at 3.25 percent. That is how it is going to affect you. In your consumer loans that are tied to prime, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So we can start saving some money here. We can start getting some better deals. I mean, this all will play out, everything from our loans to our, like you said, our credit card payments --
VELSHI: But as Susan was saying, it hasn't really worked. Typically, that is the thinking. That is exactly right, money becomes cheaper to borrow when the Fed cuts rates. But it hasn't actually had that effect. We are not borrowing more partially because it may be cheaper, but it is not easier to borrow. You still -- we still have credit problems. If you don't have 700, or 750 or above in your credit score, you are not getting the best rates from banks or a loan -- if you get a car loan or anything like that.
That is where the problem comes in. Will people lend money at these rates. You can set the rates all you want, will people actually borrow, and will they lend?
LISOVICZ: Right, and this is what the Fed has been doing in addition to cutting these short-term interest rates, Kyra, as Ali knows, the Fed has also been lending money to financial institutions. I mean, it has literally been printing money to try to ease this credit crunch. And also by announcing that it was going to buy mortgage-backed securities from Fannie and Freddie, something to try to ease the 10-year Treasury, which is something that historically 30- year fixed mortgages move in lock step with that.
So, basically, the Fed has had to try to do other things to try to get consumers to spend, to try to get borrowers to lend, and to try to get this economy back on its feet. And that is why just lowering the short-term interest rate, even at a historic low is not enough.
And the Fed has basically indicated, in one of its sentences here, it says that since the committee's last meeting, which was the end of October, labor market conditions have deteriorated. The available data indicate that consumer spending, business investment and industrial production have declined. In other words, it is not working, and we need to do more.
VELSHI: Now, Kyra, one thing I should tell you, when you lower these interest rates and if it becomes easier for somebody else to get a mortgage, some people say what does that do to all those people in trouble? What it does is it becomes easier and or cheaper to borrow money or to get a loan, a mortgage. What that means is that people are having trouble selling their houses might have an easier time of it, and that could help the housing market start to move up.
But I do warn you, again, when you get down to 0 percent on interest rates, you can't go lower than that. The Fed is running out of tools. That's the only tool they have right now.
PHILLIPS: Oh, you can't go into the minus?
VELSHI: You can't go into minus.
PHILLIPS: You can't go on sale.
VELSHI: You can't pay somebody to borrow money from you.
PHILLIPS: OK. Susan Lisovicz, Ali Velshi, thanks guys. I know it gets really technical. I just try to bring it down home.
VELSHI: This one is even technical for us.
PHILLIPS: For us common folks.
Yes, there you go.
LISOVICZ: This is extraordinary. I mean, we haven't seen this. Ali and I haven't seen this, and so it -- it may sound technical, I mean, we're kind of adapting to it.
PHILLIPS: Trying to figure it all out, too.
LISOVICZ: Yes, in the last few minutes.
PHILLIPS: Wow. OK, we will keep talking about it, of course, for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, what it means for all of us as consumers on a number of levels. Ali, Susan, thanks, guys.
Also, a big legal victory for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Listen to this, Siemens, the giant German-based industrial conglomerate, well it has agreed to pay $1.6 billion to the U.S. and European authorities. The SEC says that Siemens spent staggering amounts of money to bribe officials around the world. Prosecutors say that company used suitcases stuffed with money to win contracts.
Right now, 2:29 Eastern Time. Here are some other stories that we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Illinois lawmakers dealing with a pretty touchy subject today. The possibility of impeaching beleaguered Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested last week on federal corruption charges. A special panel is also trying to determine if Blagojevich also committed other abuses.
The Bush administration apparently still working on a plan to help out troubled automakers. But it is hedging on when it may come. The devil may be in the details. Any tax-payer bailout is expected to require more concessions from workers and the auto companies.
And it was a good run while it lasted. Wall street icon, Goldman Sachs, is reporting its first quarterly loss since going public nearly a decade ago. The bank lost $2.29 billion in its fourth quarter.
It is a hard job finding or keeping a job these days. We're going to have some expert tips from a career coach to help you on your way.
And cops responding to an overnight alarm get quite a surprise. Their breaking and entering suspect -- well -- barely out of diapers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, bundle up. Extreme winter weather is moving east it looks like, leaving a trail of toppled trees and wrecked cars. Snow and freezing rain blamed for 10 deaths since the weekend. That storm is carrying bone-chilling cold with the temperature plunging to 30 below in Montana yesterday. It was even in the single-digits in the Texas panhandle. Winter storm warnings are posted from New Jersey to Nevada and as far south as Arkansas now.
Let's take a closer look -- CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers, in the CNN weather center.
Hey, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right, Chad, thanks.
Well if you're trying to find a job right now and you have some questions, send us an e-mail. A career coach joins us next. We're going to read your questions on the air, hopefully get some answers for you. You can continue to send me your e-mails at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, we know a lot of you are struggling in this recession. You have either lost a job or you're looking for one or you're just trying to make sure that you keep the one that you have. We are going to try to help. Maggie Mistal, a career coach in New York, she's talked with us a number of times. And her advice can also be heard on the weekly radio show "Making a Living with Maggie."
Maggie, good to see you again.
MAGGIE MISTAL, CAREER COACH: You too, Kyra. Thanks for having me back.
PHILLIPS: Well we have noticed it is been really helpful. A lot of people have been e-mailing in, and so we've been trying to find a variety of questions for you, unique ones. So let's just get right to it.
This is what Kyle want to know from you. He said, "I was laid off in early November. I have sent dozens of resumes out and placed countless calls. All my e-mail messages so far have gone unanswered and no one has called back. How do you get potential employers' attention?"
Especially now, when so many people are doing the same thing, Maggie.
MISTAL: Yes, it is feeling very competitive out there, Kyra. So I think what is important for people to recognize is that human eyes are not usually looking at your resume when you're submitting it. Most resume submissions for jobs are online. And so what you need to do is make sure you're optimizing the wording on your resume, and really focusing on why you are the right fit for that job.
For example, if you are in the technology field, there may be certain software skills that you need to have, and it is important that those words show up on your resume.
So if you haven't invested in your resume, it might not be such a bad idea to go to something like Resume Deli, or any of the resume writing services on Monster or Hot Jobs, to really get the wording optimized on your resume as well.
PHILLIPS: You know, let me just throw this out there. It might be just kind of a random thought, but I even remember doing this for a couple friends just be a little creative within the past decade or so, but you know, in our business we send out resume tapes. Usually no one even looks at the paper. Is that maybe a way to get a little more creative, is send a possible employer, I don't know, maybe something on a CD or a DVD or on YouTube or something where they can see you and kind of get a feel for you versus reading something on paper?
MISTAL: You can, Kyra. And especially in the media business, you need to have that reel.
I can tell you, though, it has been a problem for some people if they put out video resumes that get made fun of instead as opposed to being respected. So you just want to be careful.
A better approach might be -- or a different approach -- might be to get your resume walked in by an employee who is already working in the company. One of my favorite sites is linkedin.com. You can actually search the company that you are interested in on that site and see who on your network already works there. They can walk your resume in, they can talk about how great you are, and then you become more than just a piece of paper.
PHILLIPS: That's a good idea.
All right. Rebecca says, "I have a Ph.D in molecular biology but jobs at this level are scarce. I have applied for jobs that don't require as high a level of expertise, only to be told that I am overqualified. Would leaving my Ph.D off my resume be a good idea?"
MISTAL: Well, it's one option. But I can tell you, as a career coach, I never think it's a good idea to leave such a tremendous qualification like a Ph.D off your resume. It tells so much about you in terms of your work ethic and what you are able to accomplish.
So I think for Rebecca, one of the things I would say is don't focus on the fact that jobs are scarce, that already cuts you out of the game because you're thinking there is nothing out there for me. Rather, change your attitude and say, you know what, I do have confidence that there is something out there that will be a great fit. Let me do some informational interviews, let me talk to people in the field, let me really work my network, maybe even go to some industry association meetings I haven't been to in a while, and really understand where I can be a great fit; as opposed to saying jobs are scarce, let me just take the Ph.D. off my resume.
PHILLIPS: All right. Got a real quick one from Mark. He says, "I live in the state of Arizona where there is no law to get rid of old felonies. Every decent employer in this state does background checks and denies me right away. What kind of options do I have? It seems hopeless."
MISTAL: Yes, and for any employer out there, I can tell you -- please give people a chance. Because I have coached people in this situation, Kyra, I actually volunteer for an organization called StreetWise Partners here in New York and this is a problem with many job seekers unfortunately. They made a one-time mistake and they are looking to recover.
So what I tell folks is, one, there are organizations out there like StreetWise, if you are based in New York and D.C., who can help. They actually train you and sponsor you so employers know what they are getting. So that helps.
Another thing to consider, though, are nonprofits, because they need great people and they may be more willing to take you on as an employee. And then you can generate references and a good track record, something that will help you in the future.
PHILLIPS: Maggie Mistal, always great advice. Thanks so much. MISTAL: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, you're not going to believe this one. A little boy was found wandering inside this Texas Family Dollar store at 3:00 in the morning. He had somehow gotten out of his house, crossed the street and he walked right in. You can see it right here on the surveillance tape.
The 4-year-old tried the store's first door. It was locked. Then he was smart enough to try the other one which just opened right up. Well that triggered a silent alarm and that is what brought the police to the scene. And when they got there, the little guy just kind of showed off the toys that he found, asked them to come on in. The cops found his parents a few hours later looking for him.
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PHILLIPS: A true heart breaker for one Utah couple. They have been forced to give up their adopted baby boy.
Susan Wood of affiliate KTVX has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN WOOD, KTVX REPORTER: A crowd of supporters gathered to show their love.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We needed to give them support, because this would be too hard to do alone.
WOOD: But really, nothing can soften the pain when the life of a child is placed in jeopardy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just not fair that they took him.
WOOD: Tonight, their baby, named Talon (ph), is taken away and their hearts are broken.
After a legal adoption was finalized, the birth mother changed her mind. She is less than one quarter Native American, but that gives the tribe the right to intercede. Now, the Larsons (ph) are forced to give the child back.
Yet in this case, Talon's mother has been declared unfit to raise her other children, and Talon will likely go into foster care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like it's worse than death, because at least when they die you know that they are going to be OK and they are in a safe place. But this way, you don't know where they are going.
WOOD: A friend and supporter says her adopted child was also taken away based on the Indian Child Welfare Act. It is designed to keep Native American children with Native American families.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a baby that you have loved and taken care of and raised since they were born.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, the child is being put in foster care with two siblings. This case falls under the Indian Child Welfare Act. It was passed by Congress in 1978. Its goal was to -- quote -- "protect the stability and security of Indian tribes and families." It also gives recognized tribes broad rights to decide who qualifies as a member of their tribe.
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PHILLIPS: Well, it was a crime that horrified the nation and sent a grieving father on his life's mission. The 1981 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Adam Walsh was never officially solved. Well today, guess what? The police are saying case closed, and they are actually naming Ottis Toole as Adam's suspected killer.
Toole twice confessed to the crime and twice recanted. He was eventually convicted of three other murders and he died in prison in 1996. Hollywood, Florida, police are still holding the news conference right now alongside John Walsh, Adam's dad, now an anti- crime crusader.
He has really turned the abduction of his son into a way to help other children. In 1984, just three years after Adam disappeared, John co-founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. And through its Web site and tip lines, the center has helped law enforcement recover more than 132,000 children.
Now, when Adam Walsh was abducted from a mall, there was no way to quickly mobilize people to look for missing kids, so in early '90s, Code Adam became the first system set up to help find kids missing in public places. And in 2006, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed into law. It expanded the sex offender registry, created stronger penalties for crimes against children and set up an Internet crimes task force.
Let's go ahead and listen in to this live news conference right now as they announce that the case has finally been closed.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
REVE WALSH, MOTHER OF ADAM WALSH: ...That's why it has been 27 years, but he is a remarkable man and for all of you that live in Hollywood, you are very, very fortunate to have this police department.
I think in our 27 years around the country doing what we do, that we have educated law enforcement, and I think they are more sensitive to the needs of missing children and their families. So, it may have taken us 27 years to build this up, but it is here today and I am grateful for it. And I don't look back.
It is a great day for children, it is a great day for my family, it's a great day for me. Thank you so many for being here. JOHN WALSH, FATHER OF ADAM WALSH: For 27 years we have been asking, who could take a 6-year-old boy and murder him and decapitate him? Who? We needed to know. We needed to know. And today, we know.
The not knowing has been a torture, but that journey's over. And a lot of horrible memories in this police department looking for that little boy. And now I think that it's only fitting that it end here in this police department.
And there are a lot of good people here today. I always for years I tried to convince myself that justice was -- justice delayed was not justice denied. And I don't know how he -- you've done it for all of these years, but we're blessed with these three beautiful children. That little girl right there -- that big girl probably saved our lives because she was born a year after Adam, when we were spiraling into Hell. And those two boys are a blessing, too. We're lucky to have them.
And Reve have had some very, very rough and rocky times. But you always never lost focus of who the real victim was. You never lost focus, you never didn't drive this train, Reve. That that little boy was the real victim.
There's a lot of people to thank. And Chad Wagoner, this chief right here. I've been through several chiefs. Both of us have. We've been through several detectives. And this isn't to look back and this isn't to point fingers. This is to let that rest. The Hollywood police -- it's a different group. Mark Smith worked this case very hard for years. Chief Wagoner made the decision to end our pain.
We believe for years that Ottis Toole killed Adam. And a couple of guys who were with us all of the way, and they are here today, too. Kelly Hancock, sitting right over there. He was assistant district attorney for Broward County. And he has helped me and advised me all of these years pro bono and said I believe in my heart that Ottis Toole killed Adam. He said, I put guys on death row in Florida, with less evidence. Some day we will convince the Broward County State Attorney's office that Ottis Toole did it. And Kelly's here today. And Reve and I think you, Kelly. You are a an honor to your profession. He is a private attorney now and a really wonderful one. But this man never gave up helping us.
And Joe Matthews, sitting next to him. Joe Matthews was an active detective, homicide investigator and polygrapher 27 years ago, hired by the Hollywood Police Department to polygraph Reve and I for hours and hours. And he was the first one that told the then chief, I know the Walsh's didn't have anything to do with this. I know that this direction of this investigation is the wrong direction. And he was fired from that job by that chief back then.
And he has never stopped looking for Adam's murderer. He put this case together. He's traveled the whole country pro bono. He's invested and interviewed hundreds of people and he's worked closely with the Hollywood police to come to this conclusion. That is a real man right there. There's a cop -- a retired cop who never gave up.
Our heartfelt thanks to all of the people that have helped us over the years. We've had so many good people help us look for Adam, change laws. Reve created the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children out of our grief.
And we didn't do it alone, did we, Reve?
R. WALSH: Absolutely not.
J. WALSH: We had lots and lots of people that helped us. Lots of people here in south Florida. This is where it all started, our home base. We still have great love for south Florida. Some of the best laws in the country, some of the biggest changes were started right here in south Florida. These are the people who looked for Adam the hardest.
So, the not knowing is almost as bad as the murder. But today's a good day. Today's a wonderful day. We can end this chapter of our lives. It's not about closure. You see that picture of that little boy? We'll always be the parent of that murdered little boy. It's about justice.
And for all the other victims who haven't gotten justice, I say one thing. Don't give up hope. Don't give up hope. Thank you, chief. Thank you for having the guts to do this. Thank you. God bless you.
QUESTION: John, what advice to you give to parents of victims of unsolved crimes?
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, you've heard from John Walsh for years. I mean, he created the show "America's Most Wanted" after his 6-year-old was snatched from that Sears Store at that Hollywood mall in Florida, back in 1981.
But very rarely do you ever hear from his wife. I mean, she was the one who was with their little boy in that Sears store when she turned her head just for a second and little Adam was playing video games with a bunch of boys. The next thing she knew, he was gone and no one ever knew what happened to him, until as you heard John Walsh mention, that they found his head and never his body.
So today, John Walsh and his wife saying, it's time to get some rest. And it's time for this case to rest as police have come forward and said, Ottis Toole is the killer of little Adam Walsh. That case now, finally closed after more than two decades.
We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: You saw the emotional news conference. It's probably something John Walsh and his wife never thought they would never hear more than 20 years later. Case closed.
You were on the story years ago, investigating it.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. I was one of the many reporters who covered this story. I remember one of my colleagues, Ralph Page (ph), who was an excellent investigative reporter at the time, first came back to the news room I think we've got a lead on Ottis Toole. And he then went on to tell the rest of us the information about the fact that the little boy may have been decapitated. And I remember the sense that most of us got that day in the news room.
But, I'll tell you. Even going back to when this little boy was taken from that mall, which isn't even a mall anymore there in Hollywood, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, it was the story that crystallized the fear in parents to this day, that at any given moment if your child, some bad guy can come and take him. And there's always a lot of doubt, but this was a true case where it happened. And something as horrible as anybody's nightmares, actually took place.
PHILLIPS: And they turned that nightmare into an incredible cause, passing laws, making a difference to protect our children. But still, as you heard from Walsh's, it's never going to be easy. You just learn how to deal with it.
SANCHEZ: And every time John and I have had conversation, and we've had many in the past when I was a reporter back in Miami and then later on doing what you and I do for a living, you could sense in the back of everything that he's dealing with, there's still Adam and the pain that was caused by Adam. And you saw it right there, as well, when he was talking moments ago.
PHILLIPS: You take it from here. Have a great hour.
SANCHEZ: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right.
