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Protestors are gathering around the world to voice against the Mid East violence; The Obamas move to Washington; Obama to meet with Capitol Hill leaders; Israeli-Gaza conflict continues

Aired January 05, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

LONZO COOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... a second week, demonstrators hope that the recent flurry of diplomatic activity will finally bring the Israeli military action in Gaza to an end. Lonzo Cook, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Barack Obama wakes up in Washington and faces the nightmare of a terrible economy. Today, new action, new details, and maybe even a new price tag.

Explosions light up the sky in Gaza, rockets rain down in Israel, civilians caught in the middle, and nations rushing to intervene. Good morning everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. Today is Monday, January 5th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The President-elect, 15 days away from taking office, but already, he's taking on his biggest challenge. The bruised and battered economy. Our Kate Bolduan and Brianna Keilar are in Washington this morning to help fill us in on his plans. We begin with Kate.

And so the president-elect arrived last night in Washington as we know. Today he's going to be meeting with key lawmakers about the economy. How is the transition coming so far?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, Heidi, it's a busy week looking ahead for the president-elect, a transition aide confirms Obama's planning, a speech Thursday in Washington to lay out his economic principles to the public. This comes of course as part of big economic push by the transition. Meetings on Capitol Hill as well as his economic team today.

At the same time, he's faced with a new vacancy to fill within his economic team. Governor Bill Richardson, Obama's choice for commerce secretary has withdrawn his nomination citing the distraction of a federal investigation into his ties to a company that has done business with his state, New Mexico.

Richardson maintains he's done nothing wrong. In a statement, Obama said he deeply regrets accepting Richardson's decision, going on to say, "although we must move quickly to fill the void left by Governor Richardson's decision, I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration." Now democratic strategist outside the transition do tell CNN Obama aides pushed for this resolution because they feared the investigation would overshadow the confirmation hearing, of course, coming on the tails off the scandal of Governor Blagojevich and Obama's vacated senate seat that, but of course, is still going on, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. Also a pretty big day for the Obama girls. Their first day of school.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. The family moved up here this weekend and they're just staying steps away from the White House in the Hay Adams Hotel. Today the Obama girls is their first day of school. And Michelle went along with them to drop the girls off this morning, but there are some photos of the whole family getting ready for the day. The Obamas will then move into the White House after the inauguration.

COLLINS: Welcome to public life for those little girls, huh?

BOLDUAN: I would hope no one has pictures of me getting ready for school.

COLLINS: I had freckles, braids and a little -

BOLDUAN: I had braces twice, Heidi

COLLINS: The things you learn. All right. Thanks so much, Kate Bolduan, appreciate it.

Now to the president-elect's plan to help the economy. His massive stimulus package probably won't be ready the day he takes office. CNN's congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is live on Capitol Hill now more with that side of the story. Hi there, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi, President-elect Obama will be heading to Capitol Hill today. He'll be meeting with top democrats in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, and as well as Vice President-elect Biden.

And then they will pow wow later today with top republicans in Congress, John Boehner in the House, Mitch McConnell in the Senate. And the plan as we know it at this point, the Obama economic plan, the price tag could hit 3/4 of a trillion dollars.

We just learned today from a transition aide that there will be $300 billion in tax cuts proposed. Also planning to double renewable energy production and spending on infrastructure, which is something Senate majority leader Harry Reid said will bring about a tremendous number of jobs.

However, the fine print in this Obama plan still unclear at this point, even to democrats here on the hill as they await a detailed proposal.

But there are quite a few concerns being raised by republicans. Mainly that includes just the size of this enormous package, which obviously goes against their ideology when it comes to government spending. But there's also some concerns about the speed with which democrats have spoken of moving this through Congress.

There have been concerns that that will mean Congress can't go over it with a fine-toothed comb. That there won't be a chance, really to put oversight in place.

But it appears at this time though, Heidi, democrats are lengthening their time line for this. We've heard before that they were going to try to put this before President-elect Obama shortly after he went into office, we're now hearing, we just heard from Steny Hoyer, a democratic leader in the House that they're looking more at about six weeks from now for this to be all said and done hoping to get this to President Obama at the time, obviously, by mid-February, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, thanks so much for the update. Sure do appreciate it. CNN's Brianna Keilar for us this morning.

And speaking of your money, let's go ahead and check out the Dow Jones industrial averages right now. Whew. I didn't realize that had happened already. We are about 35 minutes into the first full week of trading for 2009 and down triple digits right now by 108 or so. So we'll continue to follow those numbers for you along our money team.

In fact, CNN's money team always ready to break down the complicated stories that impact your wallet. Here to crunch some of the numbers now, CNN's Christine Romans. She joins us now from New York. I didn't notice that the Dow was down triple digits. But we had expected a kind of a lower open today, right?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, remember we had a nice first few days of the year, as well.

COLLINS: Well so much for that.

ROMANS: Pretty good, right. You know, well, it's volatile, it's going to be another crazy year. A lot of people say in terms of watching the economy so up 100, down 100, you know, we shouldn't get whiplash over it.

COLLINS: That's true. We have so much to talk about. Regarding, you know, we've been talking about President-elect Obama's week because he's going to be speaking about the economy. We still call it issue number one here, of course, because 2009's going to be filled with concerns about it. But pretty much everybody. So the stimulus plan and all of this money we're talking now may be because we don't really have a definitive price tag, about $775 billion.

ROMANS: That's right, and we think about 40 percent of the spending is going to be tax cut for businesses and workers. So this is where it really affects you. A lot of people have been talking about a lot of government spending to boost the economy, but here's the other part of it too. Tax cuts for you. Tax credits and tax benefits for people. $500 individual credit, $1,000 family credit, this is for people who make under $200,000 a year for families, about 40 percent of the stimulus plan will be tax credits delivered to individuals and businesses.

Among the plan for businesses to write off 2008 and 2009 losses and increased the maximum right off to $250 million. Reduced tax bills going back about five years and then a tax credit for new hires and to reverse layoffs. Some of these elements we've seen on the stump speeches, of course.

Some are a little bit different or a little bit new. We're still waiting for more details. Keep in mind, they're still kind of crafting this whole thing. But this looks like taxes are going to be a really important part of this.

Another thing that I'm very curious to see how this administration handles it, Heidi, are really addressing government waste. We're hearing from transition aides, we're hearing from people around the process who are advising the process, and we've also heard from the President-elect himself that they're going you know over what this government spends line by line.

If we're going to spend three quarters of a trillion or up to $1 trillion in government spending and tax cuts and new tax breaks to get this economy going, they really have to find out where there's the waste and the fraud and the mismanagement in the government because we're going to have to try to get back to our fiscal house in order once all of this spending is done.

So that will be a very interesting thing to watch too. And all of the indications that I'm getting from my sources that this administration is pretty serious about that. You know, a lot of people know this Heidi, but if we look at our own books, my books, your checkbook, you know, your household budget, you can do a pretty accurate accounting of it. You can't really do that for the United States government.

There are many agencies that you know the accountants try to go in and give it a clean bill of health, but they can't. They can't even read the books, they're such a mess. That's going to be really important if we're going to do all of this spending that they try to get some of that fixed.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about that. So it is a whole lot of money. I feel silly saying that. Because, duh - but e keep on talking about billions and billions and billions. And then like Ali said earlier, it just started to roll off our tongues.

ROMANS: It really is. And they're going to spend a lot of money, but they're going to have to really turn around quickly and start accounting for how that money is going. You know, how it's being spent and whether it's working. Because we can't go on like this.

COLLINS: Yes, no question. All right, CNN's Christine Romans, sure do appreciate it. Thanks so much. Christine, I want to go ahead and get to this. Because we are watching Senator Ted Kennedy right now speaking at Claiborne Pell. We reported this to you last week that he passed. So we are watching Senator Ted Kennedy now eulogize him.

And you may remember of course, Senator Claiborne Pell, the Pell Grant named after him. And a lot of people receiving the Pell grant for college as each of you are well aware. So we'll keep our eye on that for you as well. We also expect that Vice President-elect Joe Biden is there and former president Bill Clinton, as well.

Meanwhile, by land, air, and sea, Israel keeps pounding away at Hamas targets in Gaza. We're going to look at the human toll. With live reports coming in from the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: To the Middle East where Israeli ground forces are said to have reached the Mediterranean Sea. Effectively cutting the territory of Gaza in half. Its bombardment of Hamas targets continues with tanks on the edge of Gaza City. Israeli leaders saying they're trying to stop the rockets attacks on southern Israel. There have been at least 16 more of those attacks today.

At least four Israelis have been killed in rocket attacks in the past 10 days of fighting. In Gaza, the death toll has climbed to at least 530, and many of them militants. Palestinian medical sources say 2,600 other people have been wounded, most of them civilians.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has been reporting from along the Israel-Gaza border when the fighting first began. He's joining us again now this hour.

Tell us if you would as we always ask Ben just what you're seeing around you.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, we spent most of the day here on a hill overlooking the northern end of the Gaza strip. And it does appear that the intensity of bombardment from air, land, and sea has diminished somewhat. There are occasional puffs of smoke, I saw one white puff of smoke behind me. But by and large, it seems to be somewhat quieter.

My understanding, however, is that as you mentioned Israeli tanks have reached the sea, the Mediterranean, just south of Gaza City at a place called Natsarim(ph) until September 2005 there was an Israeli settlement.

This seems to be part of a strategy to cut the Gaza strip into pieces. The objective of that is to make it very difficult for Hamas fighters to move around and to move equipment, as well. But another consequence of that is that it's become more difficult to get aid distributed around the Gaza strip.

Israel did allow 80 trucks over the border with food and medicine. But it's very hard to get from the crossings to actual places, the hospitals, and other areas that need that aid most.

Now, Heidi, I'm hearing more blasts in the background. It's getting a bit dark to tell exactly where it's happening. But as I said, somewhat quieter in this area. But by no means has the military action come to an end. There's another blast, as well.

COLLINS: Yes, we actually do hear that through your microphone. Ben, before we let you go. Obviously, let us know if you need to take cover, certainly. But you bring up an interesting point about the splitting of Gaza. Hamas is not throughout the entire country? Is it a realistic goal to try and separate them so they don't have quite as much strength?

WEDEMAN: Well, it's one way an attempt to sort of cut the supply lines so to speak. But Hamas was probably well aware that Israel would pursue this kind of tactic. Because the Israelis did it before while they were occupying Gaza up to 2005. They did it in the past. So by and large, their command structure is very diverse.

Basically small cells operating in certain areas with specific tasks. Some are tasked with fighting Israeli forces as they come in, some deal specifically with rocket fire. So it's a very amorphous, ambiguous organization. Its military cells, that is. So this might not necessarily have the kind of impact the Israeli army would like it to. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Ben, well, let us know. Again, you're hearing more from what I can see. More explosions behind you there along the Israel-Gaza border. Our Ben Wedeman. Thanks so much, Ben. And make sure you stay safe, obviously.

We are hearing from Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni on the incursion in Gaza. She says Hamas did not meet the international community's requirements to accept Israel's right to exist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TZIPI LIVNI, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: I would like to express clearly how Israel sees the situation. And I believe that we are all part of the same coalition against terror. And what we face in Gaza strip is terror, Hamas, which is a designated terrorist organization. Hamas that didn't meet the requirements of the international community, including Europe to accept the right of Israel to exist and to renounce the violence and terrorism.

This is the same Hamas that targets Israel for eight years now. This is the same Hamas which controls Gaza strip, a place Israel left in order to give hopeful peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Humanitarian aid is flowing toward Gaza, but much of it gets stranded at the border at one such roadblock. Egypt's crossing into Gaza. Trucks carrying vital aid have been delayed despite desperate needs that are growing more urgent. CNN's Karl Penhaul is at the Rafah border crossing in Egypt. Karl, an update now if you have one.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, at best that border is open for a few hours a day, if at all. And certainly, yesterday that border was closed all day. And today again it's closed and we're told by spokesmen for the prime minister's office that it could be closed for three more days.

That because once again this morning and through part of the afternoon Israeli airplanes resumed bombing about 500 yards beyond where you see me now, that's crossing Gaza proper. And the Israelis were bombing an area there.

Unclear what the targets were. But certainly, from what we saw, at that border crossing Sunday, there's very little prospect for this aid getting through and getting to those who need it most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): Aid workers and truck drivers chant solidarity for the Palestinians. The gates are firmly shut at Egypt's border with Gaza. All are calling to get through. Some are vowing to join the fight against Israelis. At least 30 trucks of vital medical aid were blocked at the Rafah crossing Sunday. Meanwhile, just yards away in Gaza, the casualties were mounting as Israel pressed ahead with its ground assault.

DR. KONSTANZ CONTATINIDIS, DOCTORS FOR PEACE: We have angriness. We feel very disappointed. Because we came here from Greece.

PENHAUL: The Egyptian government has condemned the Israeli assault, but it is no friend of Hamas, and insists the border cannot be fully opened without the presence of European Union monitors. The crossing has been opened for a few hours on some days to allow aid in. And move the Palestinians out.

But Egyptian authorities kept it shut Sunday because Palestinian border guards have fled in the face of the Israeli advance. Jalil Al- Nish works for U.K. charity, he says the Gazans cannot wait.

JALIL AL-NISH, AID WORKER: The situation on the ground is a disaster. They hit everywhere, they target everywhere. From anywhere, they don't care of those children or families. They hit back.

PENHAUL: Keeping out of the chaos, Palestinian Antar Mahmood waits and worries. He's loaded with all of the food and cooking oil he can carry for relatives trapped across in Gaza. He says his brother's house was flattened on the first night of the Israeli ground assault.

ANTAR MAHMOOD, PALESTINIAN RETUNEE (through translator): I just called home and asked what happened and they said your son Muhammad has been wounded. He's alive, but he's been wounded, he says. He's so close, but so far. PENHAUL: The border crossing is some 300 yards wide, but you have to go through three check points two Egyptian, and one Palestinian.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, it's not only the Israeli government that won't let foreign media into Gaza, the Egyptian government here on the Rafah crossing won't let foreign media across either. Not only that, but earlier on today, they even threw up a highway check point about ten miles from the point where we are now.

They were trying to stop us from getting to positions overlooking the border at all. That said, we managed to circumnavigate that check point and got through by unofficial means, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Karl Penhaul working the situation for us there at the Rafah border crossing. Karl, thanks so much for that.

Barack Obama, silent about the violence in the Middle East. Could his cautiousness prove costly? We'll take a closer look at that.

And CNN of course has mobilized its crews in the Middle East. Among them our Anderson Cooper. Tonight he'll broadcast live from the Israel-Gaza border.

The Travolta family tragedy. What the investigation into the death of 16-year-old Jett could tell us today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly, we want to get you back to some of these live pictures that we have coming in from the funeral for Senator Claiborne Pell. You see former President Clinton there participating in the eulogy of him. You may remember that Pell died on Thursday of last week. He was 90 years old, he was battling Parkinson's disease. He served in the senate for 36 years.

And of course, created the Pell grant program. A lot of people very familiar with that for college scholarships. So again, this is all taking place in Newport, Rhode Island. And we will keep our eye on it for you.

An autopsy today on John Travolta's 16-year-old son. He died after apparently suffering a seizure while the family was on vacation in the Bahamas. CNN's medical correspondent Judy Fortin is here now to talk a little bit more about this. To start off, what exactly do we know about the cause of death here?

JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi from a medical standpoint, we don't know a whole lot at this point. And until the autopsy is performed today, we won't know for certain what actually caused the death of 16-year-old Jett Travolta, and even then, there's a chance that the autopsy won't give us all the answers. But here's what we do know, according to a family attorney, the boy suffered a seizure on Friday while in the bathroom of the family's vacation home in the Bahamas. He apparently fell and hit his head and he was found unconscious.

Now some media outlets are reporting that John Travolta actually attempted CPR. The boy was transported in an ambulance to a hospital in Freeport where he was pronounced dead. And we're told an autopsy is being performed sometime today.

COLLINS: And as you're talking, Judy, I'm just looking at those pictures and they are so sad, so sweet, the pictures. You can't imagine what they're going through. But there have been an awful lot of varying media reports. At this point, what may have caused the seizure?

FORTIN: Well, we're going on what we have from the family attorney, and that's not a whole lot right now. But there are dozens of different disorders that could cause a seizure in a 16-year-old. For instance, could be something to do with genetics, a brain tumor, lack of oxygen, stroke, low blood pressure, and possibly certain prescription medications. You can see there are all kinds of things that can cause this condition.

But there's a well-known, but unexplained sort of epilepsy called sudden death in epilepsy. It's rare, but there are two theories about what happened. One of them, electrical short circuitry of the brain causes the heart to actually short circuit. And two, respiratory arrest occurs. The person stops breathing during a prolonged seizure.

And there's some risk factors that could occur here. It could be very poorly controlled seizures, severe epilepsy could occur. It could happen in a very young person or the person could have a lot of grand MALE: seizures. Now you've probably heard about those because those are the most common type of seizures that you probably hear about in society today.

COLLINS: Yes, definitely. And we have heard John Travolta and Kelly Preston say before that their son suffered from this Kawasaki syndrome which I'm not familiar with. What exactly is it?

FORTIN: Well, both parents have spoken about that in the past. When he was a toddler, apparently, his parents said that Jett Travolta was diagnosed with Kawasaki syndrome. It is a rare condition that causes inflammation in blood vessels. You may have heard the Travoltas blame pesticides or household cleaners for triggering the conditions, but the actual cause we found out is unknown.

And experts say that Kawasaki syndrome is caused by an infection due to a virus or bacteria combined with genetic factors. It's mostly seen in children ages one through five and rarely in kids older than eight. That's what makes it interesting.

The typical symptoms for Kawasaki, high fever that can last up to five days, some conjunctivitis. You know, when eyes turn red, lymph swelling, swollen hands and feet.

The biggest risk though is that the inflammation causes permanent damage to heart arteries, which can cause aneurysms. Now, it's these aneurysms that might lead to a heart attack in life, but I've got to tell you, Heidi, less than one percent of the roughly 4,000 cases diagnosed each year actually die.

And that's kind of important when you talk about seizures, they are very rare in Kawasaki cases.

COLLINS: OK. All right. We sure do appreciate that. We'll wait to hear more from that autopsy. CNN's Judy Fortin. Thank you, Judy.

FORTIN: You're welcome.

COLLINS: I want to get back to some of these pictures once again now at the funeral for former Senator Claiborne Pell. He died last Thursday, and you are looking at Vice President-elect Senator Joe Biden participating in the eulogy. Pell died from his battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 90 years old.

He served in the senate for 36 years and established the famous Pell Grant program for college. So once again, Vice President-elect, Senator Joe Biden in Newport, Rhode Island.

JOE BIDEN, VICE-PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... who were born into poverty was opportunity. The only thing that separated them. And, you know, they also referred to your father and grandfather as an idealist.

And some found it quaint that he'd walk around with that tattered copy as Ted knows of the United Nations charter. And they found it quaint he would take it out and show how dog eared it was and talk about being there at the creation. And why it was such an important institution.

But his deep understanding of how important the United Nations could be in confronting the global challenges was way ahead of his time. Way ahead of his time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Israeli tanks move to the edge of Gaza city and the Hamas military wing vows to strike deeper into Israel.

It is day 10 of Israel's military operation with the people who live in Gaza City confined to their homes without electricity and running out of food and water.

Israelis say their mission is to stop Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel. Today, there have been at least 16. Israeli leaders have said they're open to a ceasefire, but only one that will last.

To that end, diplomats from around the world are meeting with Arab and Israeli leaders in the Middle East. And at the United Nations.

Let's bring in our senior U.N. Correspondent, Richard Roth now.

So, Richard, what's it going to take for a breakthrough here?

RICHARD ROTH, SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the diplomats are certainly scurrying around in the Middle East and here in New York. Despite what their best hopes are, the military conflict still continues.

Here in New York, the Palestinian foreign minister is in the vanguard of arrivals from the Middle East here for talks with security council ambassadors and the secretary general. The Palestinian foreign minister explains that he hopes that the Middle East visitors can convince the United States to agree to a resolution that would call for an immediate ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIYAD MALKI, PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We hope that during the same session the council will adopt and pass a resolution that will permit, first of all, ending the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza. And calling for immediate and permanent ceasefire. Lifting the siege, opening the crossings between Gaza and Israel, and also between Gaza and Egypt according to the agreement that was (INAUDIBLE) reached in November 2005. And also allowing humanitarian aid and medication to enter into Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The minister says he has some optimism that he can overcome United States objections, but last Saturday night, Heidi, here at the U.N., the U.S. blocked even a simple statement regarding the ground offensive by Israel.

The minister's boss, the Palestinian president, Mr. Abbas will be here tomorrow for high level talks and maybe speeches of the security council.

Heidi --

COLLINS: Now, Richard, it seems we haven't heard much from him as of late?

ROTH: Well, he's not in power really in the focal point in Gaza. His foreign minister was saying he hopes that Hamas could be just a political party, a member of reconciliation, which he says should be included in the new resolution, some type of call for internal reconciliation among the Arabs there.

COLLINS: All right, our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth.

Richard, thank you.

There are other efforts to end this latest Mideast crisis, too. (INAUDIBLE) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is meeting today, as you just heard, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad met yesterday with international envoy and with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Well, President-elect Barack Obama, he's been noticeably silent on the Middle East violence. And that's been drawing some criticism.

Is he hoping the situation will cool off before he takes office?

CNN's Jim Acosta takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the same day Israel launched its ground assault on Gaza, Barack Obama released a weekly web and radio address that focussed solely on the economy. No mention of the violence in the Middle East.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if we don't act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double digit unemployment.

ACOSTA: Pressed for a comment on the crisis, the Obama transition team returned to its line there is one president at a time. As for that president, his deputy United Nations ambassador made current U.S. policy all too clear.

ALEJANDRO WOLFF, U.S. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We're not going to equate the actions of Israel member state of the United Nations with the actions of the terrorist group Hamas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Mr. Obama, your beginning is not good.

ACOSTA: Hamas leaders have taunted Mr. Obama accusing him of ducking the issue. Noting the president-elect's willingness to condemn last months terrorist attacks in India and his decision to stay silent on Gaza.

Until the incoming president's swearing in, other Democrats are doing the talking, like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid who sanctioned the Israeli ground offenses.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: I think what the Israelis are doing is very important. I think this terrorist organization Hamas has got to be put away.

ACOSTA: Also quiet is incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton whose husband, the former president has been mentioned as a possible Middle East envoy. Mrs. Clinton is still yielding to Condoleezza Rice.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We need a ceasefire that is durable and sustainable.

ED ROLLINS, GOP STRATEGIST: I think what the -- what Hamas will discover very quickly is that American foreign policy towards Israel has been very consistent whether it's a Democrat or a Republican administration.

ACOSTA (on-camera): And Hamas will likely discover that potential for consistency soon. If the fighting is still raging in Gaza on the same day Barack Obama takes the oath of office.

Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Of course, CNN has mobilized its crews to the Middle East and among them our own Anderson Cooper. Tonight he'll be broadcasting live from the Israel-Gaza border.

Well, when it comes to the stock market, there's no shortage of proverbs, traders, and investors turn to predict patterns. One of the most well-known is the January effect.

Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange now with more on some of these enduring theories.

Hey there, Susan.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

COLLINS: Your money and fuelling debate. Energy prices have fallen, but why aren't your home heating bills?

A closer look, just minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Take you over to the severe weather center now. Reynolds Wolf standing by.

Talking a little bit more about what's happening in Texas.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Heidi Collins, it is a rough time in the Long Horn state. It's going to be pretty interesting. But they're going to have some rain, some sleet, maybe a little bit of freezing precipitation, especially along parts of I-35 north of Dallas.

Right now in the Metroplex, we're seeing a little bit of that action. We've got that cold air coming in from the north, that overrunning moisture falling through those lower levels in the atmosphere. Could really cause a mess, especially later on today.

What's funny in parts of Texas is just the big transformation they've had. The transformation going from temperatures in the 80s to now much cooler conditions. And with that that possibility of that icing, you have some delays. Now ground delays at DFW in excess of an hour and a half. Also, some delays in San Francisco, about an hour and 15 minutes at this time. Charlotte also stacking up with about 30 minutes. That's not too bad, just enjoy your coffee, get on the plane, and boom. There you go.

Take a look at some of the temperatures that we have for you across the nation, 34 degrees, the expected high in Dallas. Although, outside of the city, you're going to have many places below the freezing point.

And Seattle and Portland, you've got temperatures that into the 40s right now. But high into the mountains, you may have some issues in terms of snowfall. Right now, in the Cascades, you're seeing that snow beginning to come down.

And I'll tell you, Heidi, we might have some pretty impressive snowfall totals in a few locations especially to the east of Seattle in the High Sierra, rather into the Cascades. Anywhere from one to two feet.

A little bit farther to the south, just to the east of Portland, about 8 to 18 inches of snowfall. But still, got to factor in that rain. They may be dealing with rain near Seattle and also in Portland. In Portland a problem because they have had some issues with mudslides. The last thing you need is another raindrop. They're going to get plenty of that today.

Another place where you might be getting some rain, maybe even a snow flake or two, would be New York. We have a shot right now of the Statue of Liberty. Looks pretty good. Not too bad, gray skies. There she is, looks great, not a bad day to head over there. The water might be a little bit choppy and expect the scattered snow showers to last through the early afternoon. Just sporadic stuff. It's not going to be an all day event. You're probably not going to have to shovel off the front walk but expect an occasional flake or two.

Let's send it back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Very good.

Reynolds, thank you.

WOLF: You bet.

COLLINS: Energy prices have fallen sharply over the past few months, but you probably can't tell from your heating bill. Why is home heating still so expensive?

CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our Energy Fix now from New York.

Hi, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey, Heidi.

A lot of frustrated homeowners out there just can't get a break this year. We know oil and gas prices are way off the summer highs and a lot of Americans expected the same to be true with their heating bill this winter.

But for roughly half of the Americans who use natural gas to heat their home, that's just not the case this year. Take a look at the chart there. The wholesale price of natural gas has fallen 25 percent since the end of 2007, but the energy department says the average customer will pay fractionally more this winter than last.

That's because a lot of those utility companies locked in the price of their natural gas last spring before the prices started dropping. They're passing those costs right on to the consumer.

And if you heat your home with electricity, you're seeing an even bigger increase right now than those natural gas customers, a jump of roughly eight percent so far this winter. That's because coal prices remain high and coal, Heidi, as we all know, used to generate a lot of the electricity in this country.

So, frustrated consumers out there right now.

COLLINS: Yes. You can understand why, too. Are we ever going to see lower heating bills, then?

HARLOW: Some people already are. Those are the people that use home heating oil to heat their homes. And we talked about it this summer, all those concerns about the prices spiking, well, now prices are down nearly 20 percent, but that is only about seven percent of the country. Mainly people out here in the Northeast.

Now, as for the rest of us, experts say in the long run, we're going to benefit from today's lower wholesale prices on natural gas. Probably not, though, until next winter. Until then, here are some tips on things you can do to help out with your heating bill.

Of course, make sure you keep up the maintenance on your system. You want to change your filter every month or so. I didn't know that. I'm going to go home and do that tonight.

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Set your thermostat as low as you can during the day when you're at work. And even at night, when you're under the covers, turn it down, it'll save you money. Seal your doors and your windows. Plugging those leaks can save up to 10 percent on your energy bills. So, some tips for you, more on our site, cnnmoney.com.

Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: All right, very good.

Poppy Harlow, thank you.

COLLINS: Cabinet controversy. The president-elect's pick for commerce secretary drops out under investigation.

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COLLINS: Well, it was a long time coming, but it's looking like Minnesota may finally have its second senator. A state election board announcing today Al Franken is the winner in the bitterly contested U.S. Senate race. A recount determined Franken beat incumbent Norm Coleman by 225 votes.

But it could be a short-lived victory. Coleman's campaign may still challenge the certification. They have seven days to do just that.

From presidential candidates to commerce secretary nominee. Now New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is withdrawing his bid amid an investigation into state contracts. CNN's Don Lemon takes a closer look now at the roller-coaster year he's had.

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DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some political observers felt that for New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, commerce secretary in the Obama administration was a consolation prize. What he really wanted was to be secretary of state.

Of course, his ultimate goal was to become the first Hispanic president of the United States. But after barely making a dent in early primaries and caucus contests, he dropped out of the race a year ago.

BILL RICHARDSON (D), GOVERNOR OF NEW MEXICO: I'm the luckiest man I know. I married my high-school sweetheart. I live in a place called the Land of Enchantment. I have the best job in the world, and I just got to run for president of the United States.

LEMON: The months since have not always been easy for Richardson. In a stunning move, months after dropping out of the race himself, he broke ranks with his former boss Bill Clinton, and endorsed Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton.

RICHARDSON: Barack Obama will be a great and historic president. Who can bring us the change we so desperately need.

LEMON: Clinton loyalist James Carville compared him to Judas.

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: My view is that this was a particularly disloyal thing to do, and that's my view.

LEMON: In the face of such criticism, Richardson says he felt compelled to defend himself before facing fellow Democrats at their upcoming convention.

RICHARDON: It's unfortunate that we Democrats are fighting, Obama and Clinton and then surrogates. I want to keep it clean. My reason for endorsing Obama was that I felt that we Democrats can't continue this bloodletting till the Democratic convention, that we have to come together. LEMON: Ironically, Richardson was passed over, not only for the vice presidency, but for the job he was believed to have so coveted. When Obama picked Hillary Clinton for secretary of state. Richardson has denied that he did anything improper when his state awarded contracts to the California company which has also contributed money to various Richardson causes.

But now he says he is withdrawing out of concern the investigation would be a distraction and would delay the confirmation process at a time of national economic crisis.

Don Lemon CNN, Atlanta.

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COLLINS: We particularly want to let you know about something we've learned here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Apparently, Griffin Bell, he's the former attorney general for the President Jimmy Carter administration, has died in an Atlanta hospital. He was 90 years old. Once again, Griffin Bell, former attorney general for the Carter administration, died at the age of 90 right here in an Atlanta hospital.

Deep in a German forest, archaeologists uncover ancient weapons of war and paint a picture straight out of "Gladiator."

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COLLINS: Modern warriors hit from the air and ground with missiles and bombs, but centuries ago, it was mostly hand-to-hand combat. Today, a new look at their weapons at an ancient battlefield. Here now, CNN's Frederick Pleitgen.

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FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roman legions against dramatic barbarians, the opening scene of Ridley Scott's movie, "Gladiator." A merciless onslaught.

(on camera) This is what the battlefield might have looked like. German archaeologists say that right here in this forest, they've made what could be one of the most exciting finds in recent decades. For weeks, archaeologist Petra Loenne and her team have been searching this area with metal detectors, pulling hundreds of ancient Roman weapons out of the ground.

PETRA LEONNE, ARCHEOLOGIST (through translator): We believe the Germans ambushed the Romans here, but the legions quickly fired back with catapults and arches, and then it came to a massive man-on-man onslaught.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The objects are so well maintained, the scientists can already retrace some of the battle lines. And they paint the picture of a highly organized, technologically superior Roman army. This is an arrowhead for a scorpio, an awesome long- distance catapult, something like ancient artillery, says Henning Hassmann of Hanover's Archeological Institute.

HENNING HASSMANN, LOWER SAXONY ARCHEOLOGICAL AGENCY: That shows us a Roman weapon high-tech, with very high speed on a very long distance, about 300 meter. You can hit a very precise target.

PLEITGEN: And there's much more, like this combat horseshoe (ph), spearheads, and coins like this one depicting Commodus, the evil Roman emperor played by Joachim Phoenix in "Gladiator." Scientists date the ancient battlefield to about the third century A.D., showing the Romans maintained a massive military presence in northern Germania much longer than experts had believed.

LUTZ STRATMANN, MINISTER FOR SCIENCE, LOWER SAXONY: We have to write our history books new because what we thought about the activities of the Romans ended at 9 or 10 after (INAUDIBLE). Now we know that it must be 200 or 250 after that.

PLEITGEN: And the archaeologists in the forest say they have just begun to scratch the surface.

LEONNE (through translator): We hope we might find fortifications, and if we are lucky, maybe even battlefield graveyards.

PLEITGEN: By the way, the scientists tell us the movie "Gladiator" seems to be pretty historically accurate. The wars in ancient times may have indeed looked a lot like this.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Hanover, Germany.

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COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Join me again tomorrow morning beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern. For now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.