Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Governor Blagojevich Impeached by Illinois House of Representatives; Unemployment Numbers; Intelligence Matters; Northwest Floods; 14th Deadly Day; The Giving Doctor; Flying on Biofuel; Police Shooting Outrage

Aired January 09, 2009 - 12:01   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: History being made in Illinois. Within the past half-hour, the State House of Representatives voted to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich. The second-term Democrat staunchly denies accusations he tried to sell or trade Barack Obama's Senate seat.
CNN's Susan Roesgen joins us now from Chicago.

And Susan, where do the proceedings go from here?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They now go to the state Senate, Tony, where the state Senate will have what they call a trial. They'll have a series of hearings, take testimony from people, though it's nothing criminal. And then they will decide whether or not the governor should actually be removed from office.

Now, Tony, if you'll bear with us, the governor went jogging about an hour or so ago. And so we're looking down the street now because we think he's going to come back any second. When he does, we'll certainly run up to him and see if he'll give us a comment.

He said earlier, Tony, that he would have something to say at 2:00 local time, in some sort of news conference. So we'll be there for that.

Tony, once again, the House did vote to impeach him. It doesn't mean that he loses any of his powers, but it makes it much more serious, and he's one step closer to being removed from office.

HARRIS: OK, Susan. Appreciate it. Thank you.

New evidence today the economy is sinking deeper and deeper into recession. The December unemployment report is out today, and it is grim.

The woman nominated to run the Labor Department begins the confirmation process today. And I will talk live with the woman who is following the money from the $700 billion financial industry bailout.

Let's begin with the new jobless numbers and the CNN money team.

Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff is at the business desk in New York covering that story. And later in the hour, Personal Finance Editor -- there she is -- Gerri Willis will join us. But first, the Labor Department says the jobless rate rocketed to 7.2 percent in December. President-elect Obama says the dismal report shows Congress needs to act quickly on his stimulus package.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Five hundred and twenty-four thousand jobs were lost in December across nearly all major American industries. That means that our economy lost jobs in all 12 months of 2008 and that nearly 2.6 million jobs lost last year amount to the single worst year of job loss since World War II.

The unemployment rate is now well over 7 percent. In addition, we have 3.4 million people who want full-time work but are only able to get part-time work.

Clearly, the situation is dire. It is deteriorating and it demands urgent and immediate action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right.

Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff in New York for us.

And Allan, if you would, run through the numbers and explain what they mean.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Well, President-elect Obama had those numbers right on. And there's no doubt that, indeed, the situation is dismal right now -- 7.2 percent is the new unemployment rate for December. That is up .4 of one percent from the prior month.

And you'd have to go all the way back to January of 1993 to have a higher rate. That's when Bill Clinton stepped into the White House.

He said jobs lost, 524,000 during December, but that's not the full story, because the Bureau of Labor Statistics looked back, revised the numbers for October and November. Add it all up, you're talking from September through December, a loss of 1.9 million jobs. That is a staggering, staggering rate. The number for the whole year, 2.6 million.

The job situation is deteriorating across the economy. Construction, manufacturing, retail, ,services, you name it, almost every single industry is losing jobs except for health care. A small increase there and education. The government also adding just a few thousand jobs last month. But it is a very grim situation.

Good news? Well, we can at least say that the average hourly earnings were up, up by five cents an hour -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Allan, what is the White House saying about this report?

CHERNOFF: The White House is saying that you have to have faith. Americans have to have faith that things are going to turn around this year, that they are going to improve. The White House is also saying, hey, it takes time to see some improvement.

HARRIS: All right.

CHERNOFF: They're confident that later this year we will see that, and hopefully we will.

HARRIS: Yes, fingers crossed, that's for sure.

Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.

So let's button this up with a map. The states in red you're about to see here are running a jobless rate well above the national average.

You can see the Midwest, South and West Coast are getting clobbered the hardest here. The information here is from November, the most recent available state-by-state data.

The grim unemployment picture posing a challenge for the next labor secretary. Live pictures now. A confirmation hearing is under way right now for Hilda Solis, Barack Obama's choice for the position. And these pictures from just moments.

Solis is a four-term congresswoman from California. She is expected to win easy confirmation and promises to improve opportunities for working families. Solis earns high marks from organized labor. She supports legislation opposed by conservatives designed to make it easier for unions to organize.

Are you looking for a job? Are you wondering what you need to do to get employment in this dismal economy?

E-mail us your job questions. Here's the address: cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

Now, starting in the 1:00 p.m. Eastern hour with Kyra Phillips, a career coach will answer your questions.

Let's take a look now at the Big Board, New York Stock Exchange right now. As you can see, the Dow, which has been in negative territory throughout the day, is still negative, down 77 points.

We will check the numbers throughout the day for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

President-elect Barack Obama officially announcing key members of his intelligence team. The one that's raising the most questions, former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta for CIA director.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Let me be clear, in Leon Panetta, the agency will have a director who has my complete trust and substantial clout. He will be a strong manager and a strong advocate for the CIA. He knows how to focus resources where they are needed, and he has a proven track record of building consensus and working on a bipartisan basis with Congress. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And CNN's Jessica Yellin live from Washington.

Jessica, good to see you.

A strong endorsement there from the president-elect. And still, there are questions about Leon Panetta's qualifications. Those questions aside, is he expected to be confirmed?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in a word. He is.

Leon Panetta, the pick raised a tiny bit of controversy because -- well, two reasons. One, is Panetta is not a trained intelligence professional, he hasn't spent his career studying how to do espionage, doing it himself, vetting information. So he -- but he has been a consumer of this information as the former chief of staff to former President Clinton.

And secondly, the other reason it stirred some interest is because the Obama transition team failed to notify the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee about the pick of Panetta before it leaked to the press. So there was a protocol breach there. That raised some eyebrows, but she has already now come around and said she supports Panetta. Even the current director of national intelligence has said he's met with Panetta on this and is impressed with him, and thinks he will be committed to the people of the CIA and to learning about their processes of espionage and information-gathering.

HARRIS: OK. And Jessica, what about the other picks announced today? Admiral Blair and Mr. Brennan?

YELLIN: Well, there's always something you can dig up to create a little bit of a stir in a confirmation hearing, and they both have elements in their background that will lead to some questions. But both of them are expected to be confirmed.

On Blair, he was commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. And in that time, he had engaged with the Indonesian army in a way that upset some people. That will come up.

Also, he has not been involved in intelligence since 9/11. So he was a pre-9/11 military man, and there will be some catching up to do. But again, expected confirmation there.

And on Brennan, there are questions about past statements he's made about enhanced interrogation. He'll no doubt be questioned. Those come up, but he's not going through Senate confirmation, so he doesn't have to take those questions.

HARRIS: I see. OK.

Jessica Yellin for us.

Jessica, good to see you. Thank you. Does the $700 billion bailout package need tweaking? The way the money has been handled is being criticized in a new report by a newly- formed congressional oversight committee. Here's how the White House defended it today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Treasury has been using the TARP funds in the best way possible to stabilize the financial situation. The program is working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The person to talk to about this is Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, and she is talking with us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Time to check your wallet. Congress came to the banking industry's rescue to the tune of $700 billion. Last night, CNN's Campbell Brown asked the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee about the handling of the so-called TARP program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: But to the larger point here, I mean, you can also understand how Americans might be a little bit cynical about the government's ability to solve this problem, especially the way the financial bailout, the TARP program, has been handled.

I mean, how do you reassure people that you guys are up to the task?

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, of course, I understand that it is very much in your interest to help persuade them that we're not, because that's a better story. In fact, on the rescue plan, one of the things that people have not focused on is that we did what the administration wanted in part.

We were told we had to give them $700 billion, virtually unrestricted, right away. Instead, we said, OK, look, we will give you some of that, but we are then going to provide that you have to give us a chance to stop and see whether you should get the second half.

And at this point, while they were able to commit $350 billion, we have frozen the second half. And the assurance is that we're going to give people ease (ph). We hope to bring a bill to the floor next week in the House -- and I've been talking to the Obama administration people about it -- that will put some restrictions on how they spend the second half.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, $350 billion in the hands of bankers, but what are they doing with it? You want to know, I want to know. Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the $700 billion bailout funds, she wants to know.

Professor Warren joins us from Washington.

Professor, good to see you. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

PROF. ELIZABETH WARREN, CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT PANEL: Thank you for having me.

HARRIS: Hey, I wanted you to know that I've invited our personal finance editor, someone who I know you know, Gerri Willis, to join our conversation.

And Gerri, you OK? Stuff's falling behind you there.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes.

HARRIS: You all right?

WARREN: Hi, Gerri.

WILLIS: Well, you know, it's New York. Stuff happens.

HARRIS: All right.

And Gerri, if you would, why don't you get us started?

WILLIS: Right, absolutely.

You know, Elizabeth, first, it's great to see you.

WARREN: Good to see you.

WILLIS: But I want to talk about accountability here. You know there's been lots of criticism, not just from your panel, but from the General Accounting Office, about the lack of accountability on how that TARP money is being spent. And taxpayers like me, we're all asking, hey, can you give us a little protection here? It feels like we just wrote a huge, blank check to the Treasury.

What do you have to say to that?

WARREN: Well, this is one of the big issues we've raised in our current report, saying we understand there's an emergency, we understand that Treasury has a lot of money and that it needs to get that money out there in some way to try to help the economy. But that accountability is essential.

You know, this isn't rocket science. This isn't some strange thing we're asking for.

If you're going to take that much money from American taxpayers, you've got to have the banks tell what they're going to do with it. We have to have some way of telling us it's working. And if you don't have accountability, if you don't have metrics in place, you really are just kind of handing it out there and hoping for the best.

HARRIS: Do we have any idea at this point, do we have the metrics in place? Do we have any idea, for example, if the money from the TARP program that's going to the banks is actually being used to make new loans to individuals, to consumers, to small businesses?

WARREN: No.

HARRIS: No?

WARREN: No. What we know is the money has gone into the banks. That much we can track. And what the banks have done with it, whether they have lent it to individuals in small businesses, whether they've used it to buy other banks, whether they've used it to buy assets overseas, or whether they've stuffed it in their vaults and locked the doors, no one knows.

But let's be clear, no one asked them. Treasury did not say, tell us what you're going to use with the money, what you're going to do with the money, tell us how you used it. That just hasn't happened. There's no basic accountability in this system.

HARRIS: Well, OK.

Gerri, let me get one more in. And then back to you.

The Obama financial team is considering a number of ways to alter the TARP program, along with Chairman Frank. You heard a bit of that just a moment ago with Campbell Brown. One of the tweaks being considered would allow bailout money to help some homeowners facing foreclosure.

My question is, isn't the language in the law already to do that? And is it clear that the second half of the TARP will, in fact, go to, in some way, mitigating foreclosures?

WARREN: Yes, this is one of the stunning parts of the first $350 billion. The statute is pretty explicit that money from the TARP is supposed to be used, at least in part, for dealing with the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

Now, Congress, I think quite reasonably, didn't put big restrictions on it, they left it to Treasury to kind of work it out in good faith, not knowing exactly what the right way to do that would be. And Treasury's response on that particular part that they've been asked to do has been to do nothing.

So, as I understand it, Chairman Frank is saying, look, if I have to, I'll fence off part of the money. I'll say that the only way you get access to this is if you're doing something to try to deal with the foreclosure crisis.

In other words, we're talking about on the next $350 billion, more restrictions, more constraint. You know, we may have learned a $350 billion lesson on the first half that we can use on the second half.

WILLIS: Wow. HARRIS: I am stunned.

Are you as stunned as I am, Gerri? Do you hear this?

WILLIS: Yes, a $350 billion mistake.

HARRIS: Yes.

WARREN: Well, not mistake. Not mistake. It's a lesson about how we have to have accountability, transparency and a real theory, a real strategy for how to use this money.

It's not a claim the money has been used wrong. It's a claim that the money is not being accounted for properly.

And look, if you're going to use American taxpayer money, American taxpayers have a right to know how you're using it and why you're using it that way. That's all you're asking for. You can't evaluate if you can't see what's happening.

WILLIS: You can't evaluate if you can't see what is happening, but also, what could be done for folks who are facing foreclosure right now with the TARP money? What would be the best use of that, the best way out at the problem? Because realize, we're going to have three million American homeowners in foreclosure this year, maybe another three next year. These are big, big numbers

WARREN: These are huge numbers. And we have to remember, it's not only the families that go into foreclosures, it's their neighbors, it's their communities, it's everybody in the construction industry. The echo effects of having that kind of foreclosure rate is just staggering for the whole economy.

I think part of the answer is that we've got to move away from the notion that we will rewrite mortgages, we'll do mortgage modifications that, in fact, are doomed to fail from the moment they occur, that actually raise payments, that have people paying more money than they were going to pay before either over the long term or even on a monthly basis. Some of this TARP money could be used to keep people in affordable mortgages. Better for everyone if we can avoid avoidable foreclosures, if we can reach an economically rational deal for both the homeowner and for the investors.

HARRIS: All right. Elizabeth, Gerri, let's do this, let's take a quick break.

More with Elizabeth Warren in just a moment. She is the head of the oversight panel for the bank bailout fund. She is literally following the money from the TARP program.

A break. More of our conversation in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Let's resume our conversation with Elizabeth Warren, the head of that oversight panel for the bank bailout fund. Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is with us as well.

Professor Warren, the Obama team, in possibly tweaking the TARP program, is considering ways to free up the credit markets for loans to people, to individuals, to local governments, small businesses. How do you do that? And the other part of the question is, is there a way to redirect money that may be committed, may be in the pipeline, but not quite out the door?

WARREN: Right. So the answer on how you make sure that you're getting money -- making money available for good consumer loans and good small business loans partly has to do with examining the banks who are actually taking these loans. Making sure, for example, that community banks, smaller banks, regional banks who do a lot of consumer and small business lending have adequate funds to be able to do that.

In other words, instead of just pushing money out, it's really making more strategic decisions about where that money is more likely to make it directly into the areas and be available in the ways that you want to make it available. Again, you put some metrics on it, you put some measures, you ask for some feedback about how it's working, and that's a very different program than the program we have right now.

As for the money that's already gone to the banks, we need to keep one thing in mind. You remember that thing in your credit card -- I know Gerri knows about this -- that says we can change the terms on 15 days' notice? So remember how you carefully selected the credit card that didn't have universal default, or whatever, and the bank came back and said, actually, we're going to change that? Well, it turns out that the TARP deals with the banks have a similar kind of provision that says we're giving you this money, but it's actually possible to renegotiate the terms, to ask, in effect, for more accountability or more transparency or whatever.

So we don't have to treat this money as if we think it's lost. This money is not lost to us. The money is out there. It's with the banks. There's no reason to believe anybody has burned it or packed it into suitcases and taken it to foreign countries.

The real question is, do we have a program that has some meaningful strategic overview, some idea of trying to keep the pieces together so we can see where that money is going and that we see that it's being used in a way that's helpful to families, that's helpful to small businesses? If that's the case, it's a good program. If that's not the case, then we need to back up a little and rework it until it starts to move in that direction.

HARRIS: Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, you talk about being helpful to families and helpful to consumers. Elizabeth, you had a fantastic, really compelling idea. It's not been that long ago.

You wanted a Consumer Product Safety Commission for financial products. So if some bank had some big innovation in mortgages, they would have to take it to the commission and get it approved. It could have saved us some real headaches here that we've seen with the mortgage market.

Is this being taken seriously now? Is it on the administration's radar? Is it possible that it might become a conversation in the new Obama administration?

WARREN: Well, you know, I'm hopeful. But taken seriously, yes.

Dick Durbin, who is the senior senator from Illinois, and Brad Miller in the House and Bill Delahunt in the House have introduced bills to put in place a financial product safety commission. You know, following the notion that you can't buy a toaster that has a one in six chance of bursting into flames, why should you be able to buy a mortgage just in the ordinary course of business that has the same kind of one in six chance of putting you into foreclosure? The seller could know it and sell it to you without even telling you that.

So this is not about price controls. This is not about trying to, you know, coddle the consumer. It's really trying to say, we regulate every physical product for safety -- toasters and mascara and baby car seats and all sorts of things, everything you touch or taste or feel. But on financial products, hey, you're on your own. Go figure it out.

You know, we wouldn't have this crisis today if we had had basic safety regulations in place five years ago on mortgages. If we hadn't had prepayment penalties and the crazy mortgages that promised the kinds of profits to investors that caused them to pump billions of dollars into the mortgage market, into the housing market, and created all the middlemen who were out there selling it and profiting from it, we never would have inflated this bubble if it hadn't been possible to sell products that were full of tricks and traps, deception, misleading from start to finish. If they hadn't been there, we would have had a very steady rise in real estate values and we'd all be looking, you know, it would be boring. We wouldn't have a lot to talk about right now in the news programs, but we'd all have a lot better retirement accounts. We'd all be a lot safer in our homes.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Professor Warren, will you promise us you will track the money?

WARREN: You bet.

HARRIS: Thank you. Elizabeth Warren. Professor Warren is the chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the $700 billion bailout fund.

Professor, thank you.

Gerri, thank you. Thanks for your help.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: My pleasure.

WARREN: Thank you.

HARRIS: Thank you both.

All right. To weather now. The rains have moved out. Now Washington state is waiting for the flood waters to clear. CNN's Ted Rowlands is live from Thurston County, Washington. That is just southwest of Seattle.

Ted, if you would, give us the latest from your location.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the latest is, is that it's good news. The rain has stopped. Water levels are receding. We're at the I-5. Still closed. A 20 mile stretch of it is closed. There are roadways throughout this region that are still closed. People who have been evacuated will be going back to see the devastation. The bottom line for the Northwest, this has been a nightmare of a week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS, (voice over): From dramatic rescues, like this one where a man had to be pulled from a ravine near Olympia, Washington, to mud slides, the Northwest has been hit hard by days after pounding rain and melting snow. In some areas, firefighters went door to door to get people to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want to let you know that we're recommending your immediate evacuation.

ROWLANDS: In Whatcom County, Washington, this man says he was in bed when a mud slide hit his home.

ERIK KNUTZEN, RESIDENT: It's almost like thunder in a sense. I mean this rumbling and snapping of trees and big trees.

ROWLANDS: More than 20 rivers have reached flood stage, some hitting record levels, sending water into homes and businesses in counties across the states of Washington and Oregon. Dozens of roadways are flooded, restricting travel for thousands of frustrating people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This wasn't even what it was like a couple years ago at all. We had roads wash away, but never from, you know -- not a road like this. Not a highway like this. This is kind of scary.

ROWLANDS: By late Thursday afternoon, the rain in most of the region had stopped, but rivers continued to rise.

ADAM RAYMOND, RESIDENT: I've lived here my whole life and haven't seen weather like this with the snow and now the rain. So it's pretty crazy.

ROWLANDS: Although the rain has stopped for now, it may be days until some residents will be able to get back into their home and start the massive job of cleaning up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: And as far as the I-5, 10,000 trucks a day, Tony, use this corridor going up and down from Oregon to Washington. It's been locked up for almost two days now. You can imagine how many people want to get through here. We're seeing trucks line up already now, anticipating that this roadway will open at some point this morning. We're going to get a briefing in about 30 minutes. Hopefully they'll get this thing moving soon. They estimate it's about $4 million a day the states are losing because of this lost commerce.

HARRIS: Boy. All right. Ted Rowlands for us from Thurston County, Washington.

Ted, appreciate it. Thank you.

The United Nations calls for a cease-fire in the Mideast. But from the looks of the skyline today, no one is following it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. We want to get the latest. Well, you tell me. Do we want to go to Barney Frank? OK. We want to get the latest on the situation in Gaza. Day 14 now. Our Paula Hancocks is along the Israeli/Gaza border.

And, Paula, if you would, give us the very latest. What are you seeing today?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, this afternoon we've been seeing a marked increase in Israeli military activity. In fact, right now, we are seeing explosions above northern Gaza City, what appears to be smoke bombs and trace of fire as well. And certainly, in the past, we've been hearing heavy machine gun fire. We've seen many Israeli air strikes. So even despite what the U.N. has decided, there has been a marked uptick in the amount of Israeli military action.

And we're also hearing from a U.N. official there has been an update in the number of dead. And 792 have been killed in Gaza. And the number we had earlier had about 220 of those as children. So this death toll is rising horribly and the amount of injured at least 3,300. And just imagine the state of the hospitals in Gaza. They are close to collapse.

And also, during this three-hour lull that Israel called today, we saw a great deal of activity by the Israeli military. And certainly it would have been very dangerous for the humanitarian aid agencies on the ground to try and get food and water and medical supplies to those who desperately need it. In fact, on Thursday, the U.N. aid agency in Gaza said it is simply too dangerous for it to operate after two of its U.N. aid workers were killed, saying that even when the Israeli military gives the green light, they are still firing upon their staff.

Tony.

HARRIS: OK. And, Paula, very quickly, what comes now after the U.N. security cabinet meeting? Certainly not a cease-fire?

HANCOCKS: No. In fact, I think we probably just had about six or seven explosions behind me. At least these -- what appears to be these smoke bombs. You can probably see them in the background lighting up the sky, lighting up the Gaza horizon, where there's still plumes of smoke.

There's absolutely no sign of a cease-fire. Any talk of a cease-fire has not arrived here. Both sides saying that they're not going to listen to the U.N. resolution, basically. So at this point, neither side is showing any sign of letting up.

HARRIS: Yes. Paula Hancocks for us along the Israeli/Gaza border.

Paula, thank you.

You know, he has got the spirit of giving long after Christmas. Dr. Stan Brock flying around the world to a care for people in need. Hear from our "Inspiring Minds" guests next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, get ready to be inspired today as the country struggles with the soaring health care costs. We all are aware of those figures. The doctor you're about to meet provides services for free and he has been doing so for more than 20 years. He is our "Inspiring Mind" this week. Since 1985, Dr. Stan Brock has flown around the world with his team of medical volunteers. They provide health care to those who don't have the money or transportation to get it. Now his biggest challenge is right here in the United States, if you can believe it, providing health care to Americans without insurance. Dr. Stan Brock joins me from Knoxville, Tennessee.

Dr. Brock, good to see you. Thank you for your time.

STAN BROCK, FOUNDER, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: Well, thank you for inviting me. Let me straighten one thing out.

HARRIS: Sure.

BROCK: Not a doctor, just plain Stan. I carry the luggage. The doctors do the work.

HARRIS: Well, thank you for that correction. But you are still very much an "Inspiring Mind" for us. What are you and the doctors up against as you work to provide health care? Not around the world, but to Americans?

BROCK: Well, the greatest impediment to what we do here in the United States, and we treat people by the tens of thousands, in fact, hundreds of thousands, is that in the United States, for some inexplicable reason, that the rest of the world cannot understand, a doctor in one state in this country is not allowed to cross into another state to provide free care except here in the state of Tennessee where they changed the law in 1995 and any doctor from any part of the United States can come here, just produce a copy of their license, roll up their sleeves, get to work and provide free care. It needs to be like that all across the board throughout the nation. That is the biggest impediment that we face. That with the liability issue as well, of course.

HARRIS: Yes. We mentioned that since 1985 you've really organized doctors to fly around the world. These medical volunteers to do this work for people. Why did you start the group in the first place?

BROCK: Well, I group up in a remote part of the upper amazon, lived with a tribe of Indians called Wapishanas. We were 26 days on foot from the nearest doctor. When you got injured there or sick, well, you just had to hope for the best.

So I always wanted to bring those doctors a little bit closer, which I'm happy to say now we do. We have a big program there on the upper amazon on the Ghana border with Brazil. But right here in the United States, we found that we had to divert a lot of our assets to helping people here who simply cannot afford the care they need in the world's richest country.

HARRIS: Well, that's so interesting. I was about to ask you what part of the world, and I was thinking it would be someplace other than the United States, is most in need of your services. But as I listen to you, I'm getting the distinct impress that it might be here in the United States.

BROCK: Well, absolutely. In fact, on a regular basis, when we hold one of these free clinics here in the United States, people will line up overnight on a first-come first-serve basis. And when we open the gates at 5:30 in the morning, there will be over 1,000 people standing there desperate for care and desperate for the kind of care that we deliver, which is fixing their teeth, pulling them all out if they're all bad, if necessary, making new eye glasses for them, looking into things like diabetes and heart disease.

HARRIS: Well, Mr. Brock, thank you so much for your time and thanks for your effort and thanks for being an "Inspiring Mind" for us. Thank you.

BROCK: Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIDS, (singing): Dear, Obama, hear us sing. We're ready for the change that you will bring. Going shine a light for the world to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, talk about inspiring young minds. Students from Atlanta's Ron Clark Academy in the studio recording their song "Dear Obama." Now proceeds will go to a scholarship fund. They're hoping that if enough radio stations pick up the song, maybe they'll get to perform it for Barack Obama on Inauguration Day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Images just coming in to CNN. At least four back to back explosions in Pakistan's second largest city, Lahore. The bombs went off at a theater in a busy section of the city. Police say no one was killed, but six people were hurt.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden is in Islamabad, Pakistan, today. That's more than 100 miles from Lahore. Biden and Senator Lindsey Graham are holding talks with military and political leaders. Biden flew to Pakistan in his role as a senator. He is keeping his Senate seat until he is sworn in as vice president. A press statement says the Pakistani president assured the senators of his commitment to battle terrorism.

And two names crossed off the FBI's most wanted terrorist list. U.S. officials say these two top al Qaeda operatives were killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan. It happened on New Year's Day. The men were Kenyans. They're believed to have been behind the September suicide bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad and they were under indictment for the 1998 bombings in U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Flying on vegetable power. The days of biofuel jets could be getting closer. Stephanie Elam has our "Energy Fix" from New York.

Stephanie, good to see you.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you too, Tony. Yes, you don't want to eat your veggies, you want to use them to fly. That's what's going on here. At least if you are Continental Airlines because they've become the first U.S. commercial airline to conduct a test flight using alternative fuels. The no passenger flight took off from Houston on Wednesday. It lasted just under two hours. One of the Boeing 732 engines used a blend of regular jet fuel, algae, and jatropha, which is a weed that bears oil producing seeds. The first time algae has been tested as a fuel source of flight. It's also the first time a twin engine plane has flown on biofuel. Last week, Air New Zealand conducted a test flight using jatropha and its plane had four engines and only used the biofuel mix in one of them.

Tony.

HARRIS: Jatropha. I'm not eating that, whatever that is.

ELAM: Yes, from what I'm gathering, you really shouldn't.

HARRIS: No.

ELAM: Yes, not for you.

HARRIS: I'm not feeling it at all.

So, Stephanie, how soon will, I don't know, commercial flights really start using these alternative fuels?

ELAM: Not tomorrow. But the tests have been promising. But it could be probably a decade or more before biofuels become common place in the airline industry. The main problem here is, there's just not enough plants or enough refineries to produce these fuels in large enough quantities, but airlines are eager to find alternatives in case -- or probably because it will -- the price of oil will sky rocket again. And using biofuels won't require a huge investment on their part. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LARRY KELLNER, CEO, CONTINENTAL AIRLINES: You don't need to change the aircraft. You don't need to change the engines. We don't need to move to a new technology to use these biofuels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Now later on this month, Japan Airlines plans a test flight using fuel made from kamalina (ph). It's another kind of a plant. And, Tony, another plus is that these plants aren't produced with big food crops, unlike corn, which is used to make ethanol, and the use of corn for fuel boosted crop prices. We all heard so much about that. So that's the added benefit here.

Of course, Tony, I always tell you, if you need another fix, cnnmoney.com, that's where you go to get it.

HARRIS: You are so awesome. Have a great weekend, Stephanie.

ELAM: You too, Tony.

HARRIS: Thanks.

President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration is, of course, the hottest ticket in town. Now more tickets are set to go on sale. The inaugural committee announcing the release of 5,000 bleacher tickets for the parade. The tickets are $25 each. But you can only buy four. They go on sale, when? Well, next hour. Or you can line up along the parade route for free.

A controversial police shooting caught on tape. Anger spreads across the city. Dozens of people are arrested in Oakland, California.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Take a look at this i-Report from Ken Romero, Oakland, California, Wednesday night. That car set on fire by rioters. Police arrested more than 100 people. They were angry over the shooting of an unarmed man by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer. That shooting was caught on more than one video phone. The Oakland Police Department is joining the transportation police department's probe of the deadly incident. Here's CNN's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It was senseless and all caught on camera. Rioters busted windows, set fires and pounced on police cars. One woman tried to defend the violence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We live a life of fear and we want them to be afraid. We want them to understand, we will mobilize, we are a community and we are a voice.

SIMON: The tension had been building for days. The aftermath of a New Year's Day police shooting in an Oakland subway station that left an unarmed man dead. The shooting may not have received national attention except it was captured on video by several bystanders with cell phones. The disturbing images appear to show a man lying face down with two police officers over him, while a third officer stands up, pulls his gun and fires a shot. Twenty-two-year-old Oscar Grant died several hours later. Transit police say he had been involved in a fight aboard a train and that's why they wanted to arrest him. The victim's family has already hired a lawyer and filed a $25 million death claim against the city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is without a doubt the most unconscionable shooting I have seen ever.

SIMON: Some law enforcement experts have speculated the officer intended to reach for his Taser and but accidentally grabbed his gun. But the officer, 27-year-old Johannes Mehserle (ph), on the job for two years, won't agree to be interviewed by investigators or make any public statements under the advice of his lawyer. He has since resigned and also has been the target of multiple death threats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want justice now.

SIMON: Many in the Oakland community are pressing the district attorney to file criminal charges and march to his office.

DESLEY BROOKS, OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: We are a community that will not tolerate, will not tolerate those who are charged with protecting us, executing our children in broad view for the world.

SIMON: But what started as a peaceful protest turned ugly. Police responded to the violence in riot gear, fired tear gas and arrested more than 100 people.

No word when the D.A. may decide whether or not to file charges against the officer. Meanwhile, people have been dropping off flowers, cards and candles at the subway station where the victim was shot.

Dan Simons, CNN, Oakland, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we will closely follow this investigation.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Need a job? Short on cash? As unemployment surges past 7 percent, how about a little quid pro quo? Trading work for work?

This guy may be joining the jobless ranks in Illinois. If Illinois lawmakers have anything to say about it. And guess what? They do. And they are. And, today, they cast a pivotal vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And to know that a great deal of those rumors were actually true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor who saw . . .

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And, hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live

>