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Greening Christmas; Extreme Weather Dampens Spritis; Auto Industry Bailout
Aired December 20, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everybody, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news is unfolding live on this Saturday morning, the 20th day of December, just days away from Christmas. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes. Here is what we have going on this morning, extreme weather and it is putting a hurting on travel all around the country. Thousands trying to get somewhere this Christmas weekend. The going is getting a whole lot tougher.
NGUYEN: Also, Merry Christmas Detroit! President Bush throws a $17 billion lifeline to America's beleaguered automakers. But is it too little too late to help your local car lot? We will delve into that.
HOLMES: Also, California's same-sex marriage debate, this is a complicated legal issue and you know what, it just got a whole lot more complicated.
NGUYEN: We do begin with severe weather outside with so much of the country caught in the icy grip of freezing rain, snow and all kinds of other wintry mix. The accompanying problems, bad weather is bringing that as well, like getting around. Massachusetts, 8 to 12 inches of snow fell yesterday knocking out electrical power for thousands. One weather-related death has been reported and more snow is in the forecast for New England tomorrow. It's a snow-blower symphony if you will in and around the Great Lakes today where they're readying for another round of all this white stuff. Another round of 4 to 8 inches in fact could be possible. That's the top of the foot or more in some places like Wisconsin saw on Friday. But that is nothing compared to what parts of the Pacific Northwest are digging out today. Look for the spin from brave motorists out there spinning all around. Spokane, Washington is the winter wonderland du jour, 1.5 to 2 feet of snow in the city. Outlying areas reporting as much as 3 feet of snow. So wind chills into the negative teens is on tap. As you guessed it, it's in the forecast.
HOLMES: There is some really tough going in the Midwest where another blast of snow is in the forecast. From CNN affiliate WZZM, reporter Sarah Sell, shows us the pitfalls of trying to navigate the frozen tundra around Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH SELL, WZZM REPORTER (voice-over): Everywhere you looked, someone was stuck in the snow. The driver of this van was pushed out by a Good Samaritan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seemed like she needed help so I just decided that I might as well help somebody out.
SELL: On this side street, several cars were stuck trying to make it to the main road. We also saw Helen Mickem as she was trying to get out of her daughter's driveway.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sucks. Michigan is unpredictable. Florida looks good right now.
SELL: Our news photographer, Mike Powers, tried to help Helen out but her car wasn't budging.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's bad out there. I should have known when I left my house and my street wasn't plowed.
SELL: If you didn't have a four-wheel drive, you were in trouble. This little fuel efficient car wasn't so efficient today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't get the gas mileage I wanted when I have to keep the gas pedal down, so oh well. I guess the advantages are gone in the snow.
SELL: For those who did have a truck, it wasn't that bad. Julie Sadler thought it was a great day to go shopping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have four-wheel drive. Anybody out here without it has got to be crazy.
SELL: This snowplow spent the morning trying to keep up but it was a losing battle. With several inches of snow in only a few hours, it could be a while before the roads are clear.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, it's not just the snow but the freezing temperatures that can prove dangerous outside. I want you to take a look at where these two charter buses ended up on Seattle's interstate 5 yesterday. Oh, my goodness, talk about skidding to a stop. Icy roads are to blame. Both buses were towed from their teetering perch there. 11 passengers were treated for minor injuries.
And back east in Fairfield, Connecticut, this was one of 185 plus, yep, 185 plus traffic accidents reported statewide on Friday. These tractor trailers, they jack knifed on interstate I-95 and they temporarily shut down that roadway. Areas saw as much as 14 inches of the white stuff.
HOLMES: Those are the roads. How are the skies? Susan Candiotti keeping an eye on things for us at LaGuardia. You have moved outside now. And again, we were kind of surprised to hear things were kind of going fairly well when we talked to you earlier. Still going all right?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And you know T.J., I decided to put the coat back on and come out here and let you see my breath in the cold air. How do you like that? We do have some good news to report. Things have not been as bad as they were yesterday. For example, some airlines are canceling some flights here at LaGuardia. Only about a half dozen or so involving American airlines, for example to Chicago, to Dallas, and a few other cities. However, we did learn that at Newark International Airport, not far from here, they did delay landings for just under two hours this morning and did not allow takeoffs until this hour, actually. But the story that these two ladies have to tell is fairly typical. We have Joan and Beth here and you just flew in from where?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We flew in from Des Moines, Iowa. We were on a business trip. Our flight was canceled yesterday morning so we came in today but no troubles today. Just delayed about maybe 45 minutes.
CANDIOTTI: Was that a hardship for both of you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not really. We were so excited that we canceled the flight. We made provisions ahead of time looking at the weather that we would stay another night rather than stay in the airport we'd stay in a hotel and be a lot more comfortable.
CANDIOTTI: I guess you are kind of prepared for this kind of thing. This being the first day of winter and all. How do you think this winter is going to go?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it could be a cold one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sure was a cold one in Des Moines, Iowa, we'll tell you that. They had an ice storm on Thursday night that was fairly interesting. Something different than we usually see here on Long Island. But we're back now and ready for the holidays.
CANDIOTTI: There you go, thank you very much. And of course yesterday, we know that there were at least 800 flights that were canceled all the way from the Midwest to the northeast. More bad weather is predicted this weekend. Back to you guys.
HOLMES: All right. That is awfully good of you to step outside. We look forward to seeing where you are the next time we come visit you. Susan Candiotti out there for us at LaGuardia. Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: Let's get a check of the weather outside. It is awfully frightful for many folks in the northeast. Reynolds, what are you seeing, besides delays?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have to talk about the delays. I mean it's inevitable. It's something we have to deal with. Right now, we have got them. In Minneapolis, a few at LaGuardia at Teterboro, a slight delay. Newark is where it's really beginning to pile up. About an hour and four minutes this time in Atlanta about a 30 minute wait. Same story in Philadelphia. In Needham, Massachusetts, we have some video for you to share with you on the roads. We're going to show you some video at this point. You can see parts of I-95, white snow everywhere, a little bit of that crusty stuff on the side of the roadway. That black ice is what you really have to be careful about. A lot of these cars will be sliding up and down the roads later on today. Temperatures staying very cool, right near the freezing point. There is the potential of getting another dose of heavy snowfall as we move into the weekend. Places like Boston could see additional snowfall. Some places, up to a foot.
Again, back into the Berkshires. Let's zoom in for a moment, let's go back for a moment if we can and let's zoom right into parts of, let's see, Maine, back into Portland, southward into Boston along 95. Moderate snow showers at this time. We're par for about 3 to 8 inches of snowfall around Boston. Some isolated spots could see up to a foot. Back in upstate New York, any where from 6 to 10. We make our way back over towards Michigan to the western half of the Great Lakes, any where from 4 to 8 in Michigan. Check out the arrowhead in Minnesota, anywhere from 9 to 16 inches of snowfall. Blizzard warnings in effect for parts of the Midwest also. In Sioux Falls, you could not only see some snowfall but winds that will be gusting up to 40, 50, maybe even 60 miles an hour, giving you zero visibility. This is certainly bad news for drivers out on the roadway.
Let's take a look and show you what's happening farther out to the west. We have been talking about the issues you have in Spokane. Could happen again. You already have some watches that are in effect. Winter storm watches mind you. But when you get into the higher elevations of the cascades, you see a little bit of the purple boxes popping up. Ladies and gentlemen those happen to be your blizzard warnings. Some locations in your mountain passes along parts of I-5. 75-mile-an-hour gusts are going to be a possibility. Again, white out conditions. Farther to the south in Long View, even near Portland, along I-5, anywhere from 3 to 6. There's certainly not as much snowfall in the lower elevations, lower spots. Higher evaluations is where it's really going to mount up. So a lot of headaches for a lot of people. But that is a look at your forecast, cool conditions returning to parts of the southeast but it's all through the northeast and the northwest, we have your heaviest snow. Back to you.
HOLMES: All right Reyni, we appreciate you keeping an eye on things of course this morning. Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: A day after President Bush gave his Christmas present to the auto industry in the form of a rescue loan, President-elect Obama is pushing forward with his plan to stimulate the economy. CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Chicago with the latest on the transition team's progress. All eyes looking to the stimulus package, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes that's right. Well Betty actually President-elect Obama is heading for Hawaii for some R and R over the holidays. It's actually Vice-president-elect Joe Biden who is making some news today on the economy. He said in a pre-taped interview that will air on "ABC News This Week" tomorrow that the economy is in worse shape than we thought. He said, this is going to require some serious investments, some government spending, in an amount that basically we couldn't have fathomed a year ago. He actually put out the possibility of $600 - $700 billion. We heard President-elect Obama spell out what the plan is yesterday at a news conference, to eventually tighten the belt and cut spending but initially, in the short term, to have some serious spending on infrastructure and other things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT: If we do this right and it is not easy, then what we can do is grow the economy. Get it back on track over the first couple of years. Then, we will be in a position to make some tough choices but we will have also laid the ground work for long-term economic growth by transforming our energy economy, starting to make a down payment in terms of making the health care system more efficient, investing in our young people, through the schools. That's going to be the approach that we take.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: We have tried to nail down exactly what the price tag on this package would be. Some economists have suggested it could be, it's possible and maybe necessary that it goes as high as $1 trillion. Talking with Obama transition aides the number that they are talking about is more in the ballpark of $850 billion. Betty?
NGUYEN: All right Brianna Keilar joining us live, thank you Brianna.
HOLMES: New this morning, the Canadian government stepping in. They are promising to throw quite a bit of cash at the struggling American car companies. Within the hour, the prime minister there announced a proposed loan package of $4.2 billion. Why would Canada be trying to help out U.S. automakers? Because several Canadian cities rely heavily on the U.S. auto industry and they are worried about a domino effect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, the premier and I are announcing the fulfillment of Canada's commitment to provide 20 percent of the U.S. support package, representing the Canadian portion of the industry in the form of renewable loans payable to the Canadian subsidiaries of the Detroit based auto manufacturers.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: President Bush's $17 billion to the automakers does come with several strings. The plan sets targets for the automakers and the United Auto Workers union to reach before they can get the government aid. First off, the plan calls for competitive wages by the year 2010. The automakers will have to pay hourly wages on par with their foreign competitors operating in the U.S. Second, their work rules have to be competitive. One complaint has been that the UAW has defined employee's jobs too rigidly. And, third, eliminate what's called job banks. The way it is now, laid off union workers are actually furloughed while receiving almost their entire pay.
NGUYEN: Slumping sales have forced the car makers to announce extended holiday shutdowns. Chrysler is closing all of its North American manufacturing plants for four weeks. As Chris Lawrence reports, some dealers are happy about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some people hear shutdown and think the sky is falling, that Chrysler is closing up shop. Some dealers welcome the news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a good economic move.
LAWRENCE: Howard Sell says he and other dealers are having trouble moving the inventory they already have. He pays a fee every day this cars sit on his lot. Since Chrysler extended the normal two- week holiday break to a full month that means fewer cars being delivered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything that's in shorter supply is more in demand.
LAWRENCE: That's not to say he is doing well. Chrysler says its dealers are losing 25 percent of potential sales because customers who want a new car can't get financing. Since the summer's credit crunch, big valley says their sales are down 60 percent. How do you cope with losing that kind of revenue?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to cut expenses. We had 109 employees at the beginning of the year. We are down to 78. I probably have to make a few more cuts. I have been here 43 years and I have never seen anything like this.
LAWRENCE: Sell says the uncertainty over whether Chrysler gets a federal loan is killing what little business is left. Even though he thinks it's a good economic move, he is worried the shutdown will make customers think the worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have people who are coming in talking to us, says well I am going to wait and see if you guys go into bankruptcy.
LAWRENCE (on camera): The dealers tell me there is pent up demand for new cars. And if consumers can get credit, they may be able to weather this storm next year. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Van Nuys, California.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: This weekend, get a guide on how to recover from this current financial crisis. Ali Velshi has some answers. In fact he's going to show you ways to take control of your finances and actually grow your money. Don't miss it, it's called "Gimme my Money Back." I love that title. Tonight and Sunday, 8 p.m. eastern.
The governor of Illinois tells the world, he is not quitting after his corruption arrest. Illinois lawmakers say it might not be up to him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is showing his political medal. He is speaking publicly for the first time since this whole thing broke. He is talking about those corruption charges and he is vowing to stay in office and vowing to clear his name. Our Brian Todd has more on the democrat's comments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH, (D) ILLINOIS: I am here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing that I intend to stay on the job. I will fight this thing every step of the way.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A spirited rebuttal from the besieged governor of Illinois to allegations of misconduct. Rod Blagojevich says he is dying to answer the charges but will only do so in a court of law. After taking broadsides for 10 days, he fired back.
BLAGOJEVICH: I am dying to answer these charges. I am dying to show you how innocent I am. I want to assure everyone who is here and everyone who is listening, that I intend to answer every allegation that comes my way. However, I intend to answer them in the appropriate forum, in a court of law. When I do, I am absolutely certain that I will be vindicated.
TODD: Prosecutors contend Blagojevich was trying to sell Barack Obama's vacate Senate seat to the highest bidder. When they tapped his conversations this is what they heard him say.
PATRICK FITZGERALD, U.S. ATTORNEY: Quote, it's a flipping valuable thing you just don't give it away for nothing.
TODD: But an attorney on Blagojevich's defense team says regardless of what prosecutors can prove the governor said, it is actions that count.
SAMUEL ADAM, JR., BLAGOJVIECH'S LAWYER: From what I have seen so far, a lot of these conversations that claim to have been made are sitting in a complaint somewhere but I haven't seen one single action. Point out to me one single action that's in the criminal complaint here that says the governor did anything. Maybe there was talk.
TODD: But not everyone thinks this defense can work in court.
ROBERT BENNETT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: When a jury hears you on tape saying things like this governor said, there is not much hope. His best hope is to try to work out some sort of a bargain with the prosecutor so he is not in jail for 25 or 30 years.
TODD: Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Democrat Al Franken has edged out republican Norm Coleman at least for now. In the vote recount in Minnesota, that's what we are talking about. After days of checking the ballots, Franken is ahead by a slight margin in the U.S. Senate race. Minnesota election officials warn that could change, again, before the recount ends. Coleman and Franken have withdrawn thousands of challenges. There are also some 1,600 absentee ballots that need to be re-examined that's supposed to impact the recount. Exactly how, that's not going to be known until next week.
For all the latest news and notes from the world of politics, be sure to check out cnn.com. All you have to do is logon to our website for news and analysis from the best political team on television.
The pursuit of pirates. Is the UN now giving the go-ahead to chase pirates on land?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: One day after a truce ends in Israel, an uptick in the violence there. A Palestinian militant was killed today in Gaza by an Israeli air strike. Another was injured. Israel launched the air strike said to be pre-emptive against a group of Palestinians who was reportedly targeting rockets across the border. Now a tenuous six- month truce between Israel and Hamas, that expired yesterday.
HOLMES: The navies of more nations are getting involved in that piracy on the high seas we have been seeing off Somalia. They're getting involved, sending their warships to that region trying to keep cargo ships from pirates. But even with all that fire power, pirates continue to hijack and get ransom for those ships. Here now, our Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: In just days, a multimillion dollar ransom could be paid to pirates holding this cargo ship Full of Russian tanks and weapons off the coast of Somalia according to a senior U.S. military office. The Fahena(ph) has been held since September 25th. Ransom talks have been going on for weeks. The latest demand is believed to be for $20 million. The U.S. navy has this ship under continuous surveillance to make sure the weapons are not unloaded. There are nearly 20 other ships being held like this oil super tanker shown in satellite photos, Serious Star, being held just a couple of miles off the Somalia coastline. Questions continue about how to implement the recent U.N. resolution calling for possible air and ground action against pirates. Canadian Navy Rear Admiral Bob Davidson just completed a tour of duty overseeing maritime operations in the region.
REAR ADM. BOB DAVIDSON, CANADIAN NAVY: I think it is fair to say there is going to be differing views and different levels of enthusiasm for going into Somalia.
STARR: The latest country to join the fight is China. It plans to send war ships to the area. This is the first time in centuries China's navy has sailed far from shore. One reason China is getting involved, one in every five of its ships in the area has been hit. This week, the crew of this Chinese ship fought off pirates for hours proving that protective measures are still the best defense.
DAVIDSON: You could probably flood the area with all of the world's navies and they could still find a patch of ocean to nab a ship.
STARR (on camera): Nearly 20,000 ships a year now pass through these treacherous waters off Somalia. All of this is now becoming an economic crisis as well as a security crisis. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Let's talk about the economic crisis here in the U.S. because the return of layaway. Is it a good thing? Retailers are hoping it's going to boost Christmas sales. Not everyone is biting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's 11:30 here on the east coast. Happening now across the country, across the world. It's not just U.S. taxpayers who are bank rolling the bailout for the American automakers. The Canadian government stepping in, pledging to help out. It could end up costing our neighbors up north more than $4 billion to keep the motor city rolling. Canada has an interest. Many of their cities depend on the U.S. auto industry as well.
Also, a pretty tough going on this last weekend before Christmas. From New England, the great lakes, the plains, the Pacific Northwest all getting hit and hit hard. Much of the nation dealing with bad weather, also dealing with travel delays. Wherever you may be going, plan on your trip taking a little longer if you want to get there and get there safely.
And speaking of folks still trying to get there, let's check out the weather today. Reynolds Wolf has been watching that for us. Also, watching the delays. They are not pretty in a few areas.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Do we want to get to the ugly stuff immediately?
NGUYEN: Might as well, just bring it to us.
WOLF: It's like ripping off a band aid.
NGUYEN: So do it fast then.
WOLF: Ok, let's go really fast. Teterboro, you have a ground stoppage. Let's see, Atlanta, about a 30 minute wait. Newark is a real bad problem, and we're looking at about an hour and 40 minutes or so. About 15 minutes in Minneapolis and Philadelphia. About a 45- minute wait. This is why you have coffee in the airport. This is why you also have CNN on those monitors so you can sit back watch us and enjoy the very latest. I'm telling you, the latest we have for your weather is that this storm in the northeast is going to intensify. Right now just some scattered snow showers in places like New York and northward into Boston. What we are going to see is a little bit of a break in the action for the early afternoon for Boston. But then, as we make our way through the afternoon and evening and overnight, potential 3 to 8 inches of snow fall in downtown Boston, the outlying areas along the turnpike back towards the Berkshires, you could see up to a foot of snow. It is possible.
In upstate New York, 6 to 10 inches of snowfall. Back into parts of Michigan, south of Traverse City, I'd say about 4 to 8 inches of snowfall. But look at this, this is the kicker. Minnesota, could see anywhere from 9 to 16 inches of snowfall. Snow not as great father to the south, but look, you have those strong winds, blizzard conditions. It's going to be really bad for you. White out conditions in that area. Right now we're seeing the heaviest snowfall just through parts of the twin cities and back into Sioux Falls. You have one band of snow right along parts of 25 that's moving through. In Kiron(ph) and Aberny(ph), you have clear skies. The thing is your temperatures are going to drop to about 28 degrees below zero by tomorrow. Enjoy that one. Back out to the Pacific Northwest, we're seeing some purple popping up on the map. That purple is not for again just a little bit of snow, that's for a lot of snow combined with winds that could top 75 miles an hour. Blizzard warnings, absolutely. Again, 16 inches of snow fall in the highest elevations. Parts of back towards Seattle.
I would say southward from Long View to Portland, along I-5, there is going to be some icing on the roadways. Be careful. About 3 to 6 inches of snowfall can be expected. Snowfall in the cascades. Get ready for it. Let's send it back to you guys.
NGUYEN: All right, thank you Reynolds, we appreciate it.
Ok, so this is it, the last weekend to shop before Christmas. Some retailers are trying to boost business during this recession. What they are doing is turning to a tried and true payment plan, that being lay away of course. CNN's Susan Roesgen has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you are too young to remember, layaways allow shoppers to put a hold on things they want to buy making payments until they are paid off. Sears ended its layaway program in 1989 when credit card use was on the rise. Now, with tightening credit and higher fees, credit card use is going down. So Sears resurrected layaways just last month.
KIM SCHAEFFER, SEARS ASST. MANAGER: It doesn't make any difference what economic background they come from, everybody is using it. Just as a thing. You don't have to max out your credit cards to get the gift that you want.
ROESGEN: A customer who is thinking about buying on layaway is Bruce Dix. We found him in the toy department.
BRUCE DIX, CUSTOMER: Right now, the budget. I have three kids. You just have to plan things out more for them nowadays.
ROESGEN: Sears won't say how many customers are buying on layaway, except that the response has been overwhelming and business experts who track trends on Google say the number of searches for the term layaway has recently gone way up. The nation's two biggest retailers, Wal-Mart and Target, don't have layaway plans and say they don't plan to start. And of course there are still old-fashioned shoppers who appreciate the idea of layaways but won't do it themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as it stimulates the economy, I'm all for it so.
ROESGEN: Are you going to do it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not layaway, I pay everything cash.
ROESGEN: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got that from my dad.
ROESGEN (on camera): Bringing layaway back is an experiment for Sears, they only plan to do it through Christmas but they say if it brings enough customers back, they may decide to do it permanently or at least until the economy recovers. Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The investor of the rich and powerful, alleged caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He took out some pretty expensive cookies. It is the charities who are taking it on the chin now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Her cause of death is still unknown but DNA tests confirmed that skeletal remains found in central Florida are those of missing 3-year-old, Caylee Anthony. Her remains were located near where she lived. The medical examiner ruled that the manner of death is homicide by undetermined means. Caylee's mother is in jail awaiting trial on a murder charge stemming from the child's disappearance this summer. We're going to hear more about the latest clues in this case with the legal guys. That takes place next hour.
HOLMES: One of the nation's largest educational funds forced to close. A victim of an alleged $50 billion ponzi scheme linked to Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff who is now charged with securities fraud. As Kitty Pilgrim now reports for us, others may be charged in the Madoff Fund collapse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The $50 billion question. How did Bernard Madoff defraud investors of that much money without anyone notices? Jeff Devine is a former at California firm Mitchell Silverberg Knuff, but was a former special assistant U.S. attorney for the IRS and specializes in charitable organizations. He thinks the boards of some of those institutions were negligent and there may be lawsuits against directors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just can't delegate away your responsibility. You can certainly get people to help you, to advise you, to assist you. Ultimately, as they say, the buck stops here. The buck stops with the board of directors.
PILGRIM: Financial experts say people overlooked the details of Madoff's investments because he relied on an aura of exclusivity. Madoff was also a well-known donor on the charity circuit, which to some made him above reproach or scrutiny. Ezra Mirken and his Ascot partners put all their funds, $1.8 million with Madoff without apparently asking hard questions about how they were being invested. Now, a former prosecutor says more people may be charged in this investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The feds are going to be casting a very wide net. They know it was impossible for Madoff to have carried out a $50 billion fraud scheme by himself. They are going to be looking at the people who brought charity money to him and they're going to be looking at the funds who invested with him.
PILGRIM: Simon says failure to disclose relationships in some of these financial transactions may result in charges of conspiracy. Kitty Pilgrim, CNN. (END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: A dramatic reversal in the fight over California's ban on same-sex marriage. The state's attorney general who previously said he would defend proposition 8 now says that he feels differently after probing the state's constitution more deeply. Jerry Brown filed a legal brief saying the state ban on same-sex marriage deprives a minority group of a fundamental right which violates the state's constitution.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EDMUND "JERRY" BROWN, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's our belief after we looked at this thing very carefully that the court should strike down proposition 8. My job is to defend the law of the people. That law also includes the constitution itself and when we harmonize the two we come down on the side of the fundamental liberty interest. And that's the issue that really turns this case to strike down proposition 8.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Everybody is looking these days for a paycheck. That includes Santa Claus. Everybody needs money, right? But how much should Santa make?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: We keep hearing about how the economy is affecting everyone. We're also feeling it as well. But how are Santa's earnings this season?
HOLMES: Josh Levs checking out Santa's salary. Hello again Josh. JOSH LEVS: Yes, I was a little surprised by this one. We paid a visit to a mall. That's where we found that Santa and his cookie jar are actually doing pretty much as well as ever.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): Every year, he makes his appearances at malls across the U.S. And at a time when many people are cutting back, mall properties like this one in Atlanta feel Santa is a crucial part of their marketing strategy.
DEWAYNE HERBERT, MARKETING DIR., LENOX SQUARE MALL: Santa brings this experience that I think shoppers look for during the holiday season. Most of our malls have a Santa. This particular Santa that we have at Lenox is very special. He has been around 12 or 13 years. Customers and shoppers get accustomed to the Santa, have their choice. Every year, it's that holiday tradition.
LEVS: Little Payton had her first photo with Santa joining the Careleck family tradition.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We grew up here in Atlanta and have been coming to Santa at Lenox for all of my life. I think actually my grandfather helped build this mall so it's in the family.
LEVS: Cousin Henry gave Santa his list.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you didn't like the children, you couldn't come in here and sit for 10, 11 hours a day and talk to the kids. They make it all fun.
LEVS: Of course, there is a practical benefit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Santa works for cookies and milk and carrots for the reindeer.
LEVS: It's a bit more than that. According to one expert, Santa can make quite a few cookies, anywhere from minimum wage to 175 cookies an hour.
AL LEE, "DR. SALARY," PAYSCALE.COM: This is mostly driven by national photography companies who often provide the Santas to many different malls.
LEVS: Specialty programs like the Noerr Programs Corporation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are a year round operation. We have around 18 people during the year, full-time people at our corporate headquarters. Then, we gear up practically overnight to around 2,000 people for Christmas.
LEVS: She says her company hired a few more Santas than last year. How much each make depends on a few factors.
JUDY NOERR, PRES., NOERR PROGRAMS CORP.: Some Santas' are a lot of cookies and some Santas, a few cookies. It really -- a lot of it depends on that persona that the Santa has and how he builds his rapport with the people.
LEVS: From the smiles on the faces around him, it looks like Santa may be one person who won't have to tighten his belt this year.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: There has to be some competition for those Santas who like to let's say eat lots of those cookies. What does an aspiring Santa need to know?
LEVS: You know what, actually eating a lot of cookies can help an aspiring Santa. I'll put it this way, this guy Dr. Salary we saw in that piece there, he told me a few things. He said, first of all, Santa has a real beard. Santa has a real full face. He does not have a pillow in his shirt. He has that real Santa build going for him like you see there. And he is Santa 24/7 throughout the holiday season. Santa does not get spotted being un-Santa like at a restaurant or anywhere else, keep that in mind. One more thing, a good Santa has a great insurance plan. Because you have to keep in mind, kids are going to crawl all over you, cough and sneeze and do other things, whatever it is they might do. Santa knows how to not get sick so he can stay jolly.
NGUYEN: If he could teach the rest of us how not to be sick, that would be a good Christmas present. Ok, thank you Josh.
The NEWSROOM, it does continue at the top of the hour with the one and only Fredricka Whitfield.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I had to laugh at that Santa with the insurance because I think last year my son, he punched out the lights of Santa.
NGUYEN: Are you serious?
HOLMES: Are you serious?
WHITFIELD: Yes, just gave him a big old hook.
NGUYEN: A big old right hook?
WHITFIELD: Yes, we got that picture --
HOLMES: Why was your child behaving in such a way?
NGUYEN: What are you teaching your child at home?
WHITFIELD: I think initially they don't really like the whole Santa thing. It is kind of scary, this guy in a red suit, the beard --
HOLMES: But you made him do it?
WHITFIELD: Yeah.
NGUYEN: You got the picture to show for it. WHITFIELD: We got the picture. This year, he is excited about it. This year he's asking about Santa.
HOLMES: Bring us that picture. We want to see the punch.
WHITFIELD: I'll bring it, I'll bring it.
NGUYEN: Another punching back, that's why.
WHITFIELD: Ok, I digress. What do we have coming up in the noon hour. Illinois Governor Blagojevich, not going away quietly, at least not voluntarily. We're going to talk about the legal obstacles for the state, for him, what's next?
It's the question that everybody asks perhaps leading up to a wedding day, what's she wearing, or maybe even leading up to the Oscars? Well this time, that same question being asked leading up to the inauguration. What is she going to be wearing and who will be the designer?
NGUYEN: Who is she wearing?
WHITFIELD: Who? That's right, who is she wearing. She does have a fave in Chicago, a designer. We will find out whether that favorite designer or others might be clamoring to design something especially for Michelle Obama.
HOLMES: Is anybody asking what he's wearing?
WHITFIELD: No, who cares.
NGUYEN: They have the same designer to in Chicago. So he will do a tux that I'm sure won't cost nearly as much as the glamorous gown.
WHITFIELD: Maybe he will be wearing his threads, his or her threads. For Michelle Obama, it's all about her, what's she wearing? Who is she wearing?
NGUYEN: We're on dress watch here.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
HOLMES: When she says we, she means these two.
WHITFIELD: You know you're in on it too. You're in on it. You know you want to know.
HOLMES: How so much? All right, Fredricka. Thank you. Thank you.
This video, Fredricka, you'll remember this. You might be talking about this later as well. This New York City Police officer that was caught on video knocking this bicyclist off his bike. He's been charged with assault. NGUYEN: But he is not the only police officer to be caught on camera doing something that looks illegal. As we hear from Deborah Feyerick, there are dozens of other videos just like it on the web.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're supposed to enforce the law, not break the law!
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a world where cameras seem to be everywhere --
And video can be watched again and again and again. Police officers are becoming instant YouTube celebrities of sorts. Instead of pop stars, they're cop stars, for better or worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no parking any time, but you went into the bank to use the ATM machine.
FEYERICK: This video was seen almost 70,000 times. The officer who parked at a hydrant during a fire viewed nearly 372,000 times. The bike video is poised to hit the 2 million mark. The officer in that incident recently pleading not guilty to assault. Enter search words police breaking the law, dozens of videos pop up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is basically a reaction to the unfair system here in New York City.
FEYERICK: Self (INAUDIBLE) police vigilante Jimmy Justice has shot several gotcha cop videos. New York City's police commissioner says officers know by now it's a way of life.
CHIEF RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPT.: Everybody seems to have a cell phone. At least half of those cell phones can take pictures and police officers are aware of that, they're cognizant of that. Does it alter behavior? Does it change behavior? Probably. Overall, it's a good thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to pull somebody into that? I'm going to have to break your camera over your face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They already did that last week. They already busted my camera last week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What were you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taking pictures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you didn't learn from your lesson, then.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I mean it's not against the law or nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not against the law, but I'd prefer you didn't.
KATHY O'REILLY, LYCOS.COM: Any type of video content that's controversial, that's humorous, that's horrific, anything that you're not going to necessarily see on mainstream TV, but might surface on the internet, that becomes hugely popular, it becomes very, very viral.
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, there's no longer an RCA Dome in Indianapolis. It came crashing down. This was a planned implosion, this is the former home of the Indianapolis Colts imploded earlier this morning. We see the picture there. Take a listen to it now.
The looks and the sounds of an implosion, RCA Dome. It was finished in 1984 and it was actually approved before they even had a pro football team there, but it was finished in time for the colts to arrive there from Baltimore in '84. The 200-foot top of the dome was actually torn down a couple of months ago. It was kind of a slow, gradual process. It looked like a balloon being deflated up to top there.
NGUYEN: It is gone.
HOLMES: But, the RCA dome is gone.
NGUYEN: All right. Giving back. An orphan who found a new life opening his home to others in the same tough spot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, so this holiday season CNN photojournalists bring us stories that focus on giving. For about 75 years starting in the mid 1800s more than 200,000 homeless and abandoned children in the east were put on a train headed west hoping someone would give them new homes.
HOLMES: CNN photojournalist John Tagoe shows us one man's story of loss and redemption aboard the orphan train.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STANLEY CORNELL, ORPHAN TRAIN RIDER: They call it the orphan train riders. That rode the trains looking for mom and dad like I did, my brother. And now she's passed away and she's passed away. These are the ones that are in Colorado, and they're orphan train riders. Now we can only account for about 15. My first feelings, I remember standing by my mother's bedside when she was dying. She died from tuberculosis. She knew she was dying and she said be good to your daddy and all that, and that was the last I saw of her. The state sent out someone to check on us to see if he was making enough money to take care of us, well he wasn't so they told him he had to give up the boys. This is a picture of Vic and I. This is a time we was in an orphan's home. It's kind of rough in an orphan's home.
The Children's Aid Society was a wonderful thing for taking (INAUDIBLE). This is the type of engine train that took us out of New York City out to Wellington, Texas. That's where dad happened to be in town that day, he had just bought him a new model t Ford. Farmer friend that was with him said you've been wanting two boys you have two girls. Mr. Deger(ph) you ought to go down and look those boys over. We were the last ones holding hands together in the circle in the lobby of that motel because there was a blizzard outside that was December 10, 1926.
This is a picture of my mom and dad now that gave us a home, Dale Deger and Ethel Deger. They treated us just like we was new gold. It was just like there was no one quite like us. We were really accepted in full faith. We lived on a farm and we had our own ponies to ride to school.
DANA CORNELL, STANLEY'S ADOPTED SON: The orphan train was actually amazing how many children were actually on all the orphan trains. The areas that they went to which was all over the United States.
STANLEY CORNELL: Did that pick that up? Sounds like old times.
DANA CORNELL: I don't think Vic and Stan could have had better parents.
STANLEY CORNELL: This new home really hits the spot.
DANA CORNELL: I kind of can relate to that because Dale adopted Dennis and me.
STANLEY CORNELL: I knew what it was like to grow up without a parent, but we had a good, good home. We're very grateful. Always have been. Always will be.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to continue with this theme of giving and introduce you to a woman sending care packages to military dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NGUYEN: And for more of our focus on giving series, visit our website cnn.com/giving.
HOLMES: The NEWSROOM continues with none other than Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: I heard that snicker, T.J.
Pets are people, too, doggone it.
HOLMES: No, no, no. Betty has had me --
NGUYEN: Well you're blaming it on me?
HOLMES: No.
NGUYEN: Don't believe when you hear that.
WHITFIELD: I think he's trying to throw you under the bus as they say, Betty.
NGUYEN: Totally, I had nothing to do with that.
WHITFIELD: Ok, stage left, huh T.J.?
NGUYEN: Yeah, he's out of here, bye-bye.
WHITFIELD: All right. I'll see you all later, have a great weekend.
A lot of folks spending this weekend trying to dash through the snow or at least trying to. It's a winter wonderland across a huge chunk of America today, but since most of us try to get around in cars or planes instead of sleighs, well it's making holiday travel a real headache. From the northeast to the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest, snow, ice and freezing rain, all of that all causing huge problems. Some worried travelers are already asking will I get home for Christmas actually?
