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Rod Blagojevich Impeached; Jobless Numbers Highest in 16 Years; Stand Out, Get Hired; Obama Introduces Intelligence Team; Enterprising Workers Trading Services

Aired January 09, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST (voice-over): Need a job? Short on cash? As unemployment surges past seven 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.

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor who...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. We want to get right to it in just a second.

But first, can you believe that last year's job losses are the worst since World War II? I'm going to hit you with the numbers in just a minute, so brace yourself.

But first, two other stories that threw us for a loop today. A house for 1,000 bucks. That's right, 1,000 bucks, maybe even less. We're going to actually show you the listing.

Plus, it seems everybody is looking for a cheap home these days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will save about $1,500 a month for our family by doing this. And, you know, I've got a wife; I've got three kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I want to know what the wife and three kids have to say. We actually tracked down this congressman who's sleeping on the job, and I mean, he's really sleeping on the job. You're going to meet this frugal freshman.

But first, his political support evaporated, his administration paralyzed and soon he could be thrown out of office. The Illinois state house has voted to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Blagojevich is hereby impeached.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The governor now faces a trial in the state senate where, if he's convicted, he will be removed from office.

Blagojevich was arrested last month on federal corruption charges, including claims that he tried to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Blagojevich denies doing anything wrong. Well, something that's pretty hard for Democrat Jack Franks to swallow. He's a member of the Illinois house committee that's investigating Governor Blagojevich. He is also one of the three case managers overseeing the governor's -- or the governor's impeachment trial, rather. He joins me on the phone.

Jack, we talked yesterday. You had a feeling that this was what was going to happen. So once the decision was made, how did you feel?

JACK FRANKS, ILLINOIS STATE LEGISLATURE: I felt really good about it. Even though it's a sad day for the state of Illinois, I think it's a new beginning. And it shows that the system works and that nobody is above the law.

Most of our politicians in our state are hard-working, honest people. So we have to root out the bad ones, and we have to set our government straight. But I think it's a very bright day. It's a new beginning for our state and one that we desperately needed.

PHILLIPS: And the house voted almost unanimously to impeach the governor. Were you surprised that the vote was so overwhelming?

FRANKS: No. I thought it would be. Actually, I was surprised that anybody voted against it. There was one individual who voted no and another one who voted present. But both of those are not coming back. They lost their election. So I was a little surprised it wasn't unanimous.

PHILLIPS: Now, the governor's fate lies in the hands of the Illinois Senate now. How does this process work, Jack?

FRANKS: Well, there be a trial starting, I believe, on January 26. That's the schedule. Then the evidence will be presented to the senators, and if two-thirds of the Senate agrees that the governor ought to be impeached, and they vote that way, then the governor is immediately removed from office. And he will not be eligible to hold office in the state of Illinois.

PHILLIPS: And you're going to play a key role in this Senate trial, right? What are you going to offer?

FRANKS: Well, right now, there are three of us who are named as case manager: two other representatives, along with myself. There is a question on whether the Senate may hire their own outside attorneys to go forward on this. I think that would probably be a mistake, since the three of us in the house have been part of the special investigative committee, and we know this case better than anyone.

But we'll see what happens. We'll be talking to the senate president this weekend to determine how this will go forward.

PHILLIPS: Now, Jack, when I talked to you yesterday, you told me you were going to get a chance to listen to those audiotapes. Did that happen?

FRANKS: It did not. What happened yesterday was the judge gave the attorneys more time to respond. So the ultimate decision will be heard on January 29. If the trial starts on January 26, we could have ability to hear those tapes during that trial.

PHILLIPS: I was going to say, at some point, don't -- doesn't everyone, especially during the trial, have to hear what's on those audiotapes? I mean, audiotapes that allegedly show Blagojevich trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat?

FRANKS: Absolutely not. See, that's the fallacy which we've been hearing. This is not a legal proceeding. This is a political process. We don't have to prove a crime. We just have to determine whether the governor can continue to lead the state and to carry out his constitutional duties.

We -- I think that the tapes would certainly help, but they're not critical. Because we have so much other evidence that is so overwhelming that has nothing to do with the criminal allegations.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. All right. We'll continue to follow all of it with you. Jack, I always appreciate you making yourself available for us. I really appreciate it. Jack Franks, member of the special investigative committee overseeing Rod Blagojevich. Thanks, Jack.

FRANKS: Thanks so much.

PHILLIPS: And a quick programming note. Governor Blagojevich will hold a news conference at 3 Eastern in Chicago, offering his reaction to today's vote. CNN does plan to bring that to you live when it happens. You'll see it right here.

Now let's get back to that ugly jobs picture. Not since 1945, when the troops were coming home from World War II and factories were scaling back, have so many Americans lost their jobs in a single year. The net loss for 2008? Look at this: a staggering 2.6 million, 524,000 in December alone. Jobless rate now stands at 7.2 percent, the highest in almost 16 years.

Now, let's all take a deep breath for a second. We've been hitting you with nasty numbers month after month. But we're not going to leave you hanging, especially if you're out there looking for a job.

So here's what we want to know. Actually, here's what you want to know. How do you stand out in a crowd of job hunters that's growing by the day? Plus, how do you reinvent your career and yourself? We're going to actually give you some ideas. Think of us as sort of your personal jobs fair for the next two hours.

Now, to break down these numbers, let's go to Susan Lisovicz. She's at the New York Stock Exchange.

Susan, let's talk about a 7.2 percent unemployment rate and what does that mean? And how many people are we actually talking about?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as of December, Kyra, it was about 11 million people unemployed. But that doesn't include those who stopped looking for work. I mean, they're simply discouraged.

The government also reports an underemployment rate, which includes some part-time workers and those who have given -- given up, and that rate is now 13.5 percent.

Many experts say the unemployment figures are certainly understated. And among those employed, there's a growing number who have taken huge pay cuts. Case in point today: Teamsters at one trucking company have agreed to take a 10 percent pay cut they touted as job security. Growing number of workers can't find full-time work or their hours are being cut back. They're turning to part-time work. Eight million people working part-time. That was in December. And that's the highest number on record.

Of course, you know, we were talking about -- earlier in 2008, we were talking about how wages weren't keeping up with prices. Right? Inflation. Such as things with energy.

Well, now we, as you know, prices have eased in many areas, certainly with energy. But what we're seeing, however, is bonuses are being cut or wages outright are being cut. 401(k) programs, you're seeing a growing number of companies that aren't matching, at least for the time being.

And so, yes, you're continuing to see that problem, where wages are not keeping up with the cost of living. But now it's not because of inflation; it's because an economy that is in the trenches of recession -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Susan, we'll be talking more in the next couple of hours.

Well, if it seems as tough -- well, if it seems as though everybody is laying off, there is a reason for that. Here's just a few of the layoffs that we've heard about in the past few days.

Thirteen thousand, five hundred jobs cut at Alcoa. Twenty-five hundred at Lenovo Group, and a similar number at EMC, and 1,100 at Cigna. Now, Walgreen's is trimming 1,000 jobs, and Logitech 500, I'm told. And Ethan Allen Furniture, 350.

Well, it's raining pink slips out there, but you can weather the economic storm, stand out there, get hired. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis shows us how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is where they tell you what the impression is all about.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR (voice-over): At this New Jersey jobs fair, an opportunity to meet, greet...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Carrie (ph).

WILLIS: ... and pass the resume.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have a resume? Do you have a resume? To look at your background?

WILLIS: For the college students and grads at this Rutgers University career day, it was time to stand out from thousands of other job seekers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I assumed that everybody would be wearing black, so at least if somebody is wearing a pinstriped, gray suit, well, that would be a little big different.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a Girl Scout Gold Award, actually. That's really exciting.

WILLIS (on camera): What would make you stand out to these employers today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I'll be honest. At this point there's so many people looking, I don't know if there is anything.

WILLIS (voice-over): Expert advice for these job hunters? Keep an open mind.

RICHARD WHITE, DIRECTOR, CAREER SERVICES: It's important in these times to be more flexible, more creative, not to be really narrow in terms of where you're looking for work.

WILLIS: Lydia Wey (ph) came ready to sell herself to potential employers with writing samples and a sharp resume.

(on camera) You have copies of each of these?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do.

WILLIS: And you're going to hand them out, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. WILLIS: Good luck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

WILLIS (voice-over): After hours, reality seems daunting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a lot of people here. And it's like we're all competing for this one same time and goal. We all want a job.

WILLIS: The head of the university's career services office says jobs are out there.

WHITE: Health care, education, pharmacy. Lot of these are still out there hiring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What you should do is check our Web site.

Actually, we're looking to hire analyst-type people, data analysts. But we also look for customer service reps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything that gets me a real job with a real salary.

WILLIS: Justin Subchek's (ph) economics degree landed him a job. Now he's thinking of greener pastures.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of my full-time jobs was working at a golf course, and actually, turf management might be one of my new things I might do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS: Well, if pounding the pavement doesn't get you a job, you might as well hit the turf. Gerri Willis, what advice do you have for college grads?

WILLIS: Yes, I've got to tell you, Kyra, before I get to the advice, these kids at this job fair, they were just fantastic, so full of energy. But if you're really trying to stand out this year and you're new to the job market, you really want to think about what kind of experience do I bring to the table, because that's what nobody else has.

So in this job market, if you can't get a full-time job, take the internship. I know a lot of people think they're past it, but that's just not true. Even if it's unpaid, it's going to give you the kind of experience that you need, that you've got to have in this job market.

Even, look, work for a charitable organization, if it's in your field. Makes sense here.

And of course, don't depend on the Web. People in this age category tend to think that everything happens on the Web and that "I can get my job by just going online." That's not true any more. The critical moment for you is when they're putting together that list of 50 or so resumes to fill the job, you want to be in that packet. And to do that, you're going to have to network with somebody inside that building, inside that office, inside that HR manager's office. So walk the resume to them directly.

And finally, you know, you want to stand out the right way. Because we hear about kids all the time who do things that, well, you know, maybe HR isn't too happy about.

Like, you want to make sure you're not online on Facebook, or one of the other social networking sites, at a party drinking, something like that. I know it sounds silly, but at the end of the day, human resources folks are looking at all this stuff. Recruiters, you know, they're on the Web, too, so they see these things, as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Wow. That's good advice, especially for young students just getting into the work force and not thinking about what's on tape, what's on camera.

Gerri, thanks so much.

Well, you've been, you know, say you're in the job -- same job for , and it's all you know. You don't have any other skills. And suddenly you are out of work? That's happening to a lot of people right now. So how do you possibly reinvent yourself, especially if you have to?

We're going to talk again with career coach Maggie Mistal. She's the host of Sirius XM radio's "Making a Living with Maggie."

I guess nowadays you really have to look beyond the paycheck. Right, Maggie? I mean, a lot of times we were going through school, we thought, "OK, what do we want to do? It will make a good salary. We'll be secure."

Now, you've got to look past the money.

MAGGIE MISTAL, RADIO HOST: Well, and the way -- the reason I say that, Kyra, is that changing careers and reinventing yourself at any age takes a lot of energy. And to -- to get that energy, you need to focus on your passions and your talents and your interests.

And again, as a career coach, this is -- this is really the clarity that I'm helping people get, because they often think, "Well, let me see what jobs are paying right now." And that may change tomorrow. But your passions, your interests, your talents will last throughout your career.

And again, I'm on Martha Stewart Living Radio for a reason, because Martha is someone whose passion has always led her further. And I really encourage people to look beyond the paycheck into those interests and passions, as well.

PHILLIPS: Sure, I mean, it does come down to, what do you want to wake up and feel really good about and get excited about? And sometimes that means less money than -- than you may desire. And as we know, money is definitely not the ticket to absolute happiness.

Another question for you. So let's say you want to do something completely different. It doesn't always take a degree, right? You don't necessarily have to go back to school. Sometimes wisdom, age, and those types of things can get you a job that you probably didn't think you could get.

MISTAL: Absolutely, Kyra. And what you want to do is do the research first on that career and find out if school is really necessary. I mean, universities are offering great programs. I'm not saying they're not.

However, our default answer when we lose our job and we can't find another one, is, "Oh, I'll go back to school." And that costs money and takes time, which may not be a best bet for your career.

So what you want to do is go to Web sites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and look on the Occupational Outlook Handbook to understand what the real requirements are, educationally, for a job before you even sign up for a program.

And also, if school is something that's required, look for an accelerated program. A lot of these universities and colleges, and even community colleges, are recognizing people don't have the time to wait for a paycheck. They do need to get the money coming in, so they are offering accelerated programs, as well.

PHILLIPS: Maggie, my director, Scott, said he's still buying a lottery ticket.

MISTAL: One approach to that.

PHILLIPS: I think you ought to -- I think you ought to stay working on directing this newscast. He said, "A dollar and a dream."

OK, Maggie.

MISTAL: Give him my e-mail, Kyra. Just give him my e-mail.

PHILLIPS: OK. I will. I'll hook you up. And I know we're going to be talking to you a couple times through the next hour and 45 minutes or so. So stay with us, Maggie.

MISTAL: OK.

PHILLIPS: Thank you so much.

Here's another idea: job bartering. It's actually a growing trend, and you now, it's because the money is so tight. So do you have some great skills that you can just trade with somebody? We're going to actually tell you where you can find out.

And the money squeeze is also having an impact, even on members of Congress. You're going to meet this freshman representative from Utah who's literally sleeping on the job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A young African-American man dies in a shootout with undercover cops in New Orleans. The case is stirring outrage with a group of ministers calling the police trigger-happy. And now the FBI is involved. We'll have a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the names have been out there for days. And today, we actually saw the people right there alongside the president- elect, who's hired them to oversee, maybe even overhaul the U.S. intelligence system.

As you may have seen live here on CNN, Barack Obama did introduce his picks for CIA chief and director of national intelligence. And Jessica Yellin has been on that story.

Jessica, at least one of those names was a bit of a surprise when it leaked. What do you think about confirmation?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think there could be some fireworks, but all three men -- all two men are expected to get confirmed. The third does not actually need Senate confirmation.

The name you're talking about is Leon Panetta. He's familiar to folks because he was chief of staff to Bill Clinton when he was president. And Panetta, the pick surprised a lot of people because of two reasons.

One, he has not been a practitioner in the intelligence world. He was a consumer of intelligence when he was in the White House. But he was never out in the field and never had a job inside the CIA.

And also because his name was leaked to the press before the Obama team told senators, key senators, that they had selected him, which is a breach of protocol, and it led to some upset folks on Capitol Hill. But they're now on board.

And today, Barack Obama said he's the right man for the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: 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)

YELLIN: Now, the other two folks are retired Admiral Dennis Blair, who will be the director of national intelligence. And John Brennan, to be the White House counterterrorism adviser.

These two guys, their main focus or one of the big controversies that they'll have to take on, is this question of enhanced interrogation and what the rules will be under an Obama administration.

As you'll recall, Kyra, Obama campaigned, promising to make sure that the U.S. doesn't torture and to look at the rules. And it will be something that his more progressive base will have to hold him to. He will be questioned intensely if he doesn't change these rules. And these three men are going to be in charge of helping to set the guidelines going forward -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jessica, thanks.

Well, the top priority for the Obama administration: jumpstarting the economy. Just -- just hours ago, rather, we actually found out that last year's job losses are the worst since World War II. So we want to find out what you can do to try to beat those odds.

It's obviously getting harder to find a job these days. And so more people are trying to barter their services, and they're turning to the Web to do it. Josh Levs has his eyes on that.

We were talking about it on our morning meeting, actually, just this back and forth going on: "Hey, I've got this talent. Will you do this for me? I'll do this for you." It's a pretty smart idea.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, you've got to love the resourcefulness. Right? I mean, people are consistently looking for that. Some things I'm going to show you right now, there are some surprising professions that are trying this barter thing right now. And there are a lot of major Web sites. We're picking some of the biggest ones, because I want you to see it.

We're going to start off here. You might not be familiar with this one: PeopleTradingServices.com. They have their own little "Schoolhouse Rock"-type system set up here, where they show you two little people meeting, creating a little "love match," but they're talking about work. Trade love match. "Lots of money saved. Call me again soon. Let's trade services again."

So that's one of the big ones we're seeing. Let me just show you some of the professions that are listed on there. We have this here, some of the latest ones, at any given moment. Come back to the screen, if you can, just a second. I want everyone to see this list right here.

Check this out. People who are signing up actors, electricians. Electrologists are offering to do these kinds of barter, Kyra. You've got finance. Electrologists. I mean, who -- well, I think that's usually what you would need if you were working in a medical situation.

PHILLIPS: OK.

LEVS: Auto glass repair, furniture repair, promotional items. I mean, it's amazing the kinds of things that are listed on here. I'll just show you one more right here, which is called BarterQuest.com. So many people constantly adding their pictures, adding their professions, saying, "Hey, I will trade" for any of the following dozens or even hundreds of things that they might be in need of at any given time.

Life coaching, all sorts of things. People saying, "I'll fly as a second pilot in command." Obviously, people, just like you said, doing whatever they can.

Now I want to go to the screen, because this is good stuff. Check this out. This comes from eHOW.com. And this gives you really good advice on what to do if you're going to barter services online.

They say be really active in the social network sites and mention it all the time. Add notes to your own profiles and blogs. Be really specific, because the more specific, the more likely it is to pull through. Also, respond to ads that you see, even if it's not exactly what you want. That person might know someone who is exactly what you want.

Always, if you're going to go for this thing, if you think you've found someone that you want to do this with, request references and samples of work they've actually done. And then, in writing, set up the terms for what they call delivery of services. Do it in e-mail form, do it in writing, so you can prove, if you're delivering what you promise, they then have to deliver what they promise, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. My gut was kind right. Electrologist is the one that deals with electrolysis. So do have any moles, warts or unwanted hair?

LEVS: You're not asking me that on camera, are you?

PHILLIPS: What can we trade? What can we trade to get rid of a few warts?

LEVS: I'm telling you, anybody will do it these days. And hey, if you've got something, go for it.

PHILLIPS: What about overseas?

LEVS: Overseas, you know what? This is really interesting. Check this out. I saw this. We had a package a few months ago, a story from northern England in which people are bringing their own homegrown fruits and vegetables to pubs, and in exchange, they're able to sit down and have a meal. There, it's barter. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weeny (ph) pears, called robin pears.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. You brought baby potatoes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Do you like them? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can come here, tell us what they've got. And if we can use it in the kitchen, we'll do a little barter with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: So, you know, you can exchange for some food for a restaurant. I don't know if you could take that example to America, maybe exchange some food for help from an electrologist. But apparently, anybody in any profession will join in on this system, Kyra. We'll keep our eyes on all sorts of funky combinations.

PHILLIPS: I've got a few hairs on my chin right here that are always growing back.

LEVS: Well, see? I've seen you every day, and I've never noticed.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: We're going to be on...

PHILLIPS: Probably just said too much information. That was a little too much information. Sorry.

All right. Banks, they're pretty desperate to sell foreclosed homes right now, and they're practically giving them away. You are not going to believe the real-estate steals that we found. Less than a grand. Wait until you see the listings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a young man was shot 14 times by New Orleans police early on New Year's Day. And officers claim that the victim fired first. But his death has raised enough questions now to actually get the FBI involved. And at issue is a possible civil- rights violation; of course, a number of them.

And CNN's Sean Callebs is joining us from New Orleans. He's been following the case for us.

Sean, what have you found out?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, just a few hours into the new year and Adolf Grimes -- Chris, as he's known to his family -- became the first person to be killed in New Orleans. This after he had been celebrating with his mother, his father, his sister, and some cousins. And as you can imagine, this is certainly a tragedy for the family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA GRIMES, MOTHER: The violence has to stop. My child dead, will not be needless.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CALLEBS: That's the mother saying the violence has to stop.

And it's exactly who pulled the trigger. It wasn't street thugs; it was a number of officers, nine, exactly. They were undercover narcotics officers. And there are real questions out there. Did Grimes, even though these were police officers who are approaching the car around 3 a.m. in the morning?

Well, Kyra, everybody get those e-mails ready, Twitter messages, Facebook. We're going to examine this in-depth at 3 p.m. with Rick Sanchez. And right now, there are a lot more questions than answers out there.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. We'll track it, too. Thanks so much, Sean.

We've also been battered by massive job losses over the last year. We've been talking about it all hour. Now we're going to try and recover. CNN is your personal job fair this hour. We're going to bring back our career coach, Maggie Mistal. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

PHILLIPS: We did hit you with some nasty numbers at the top of the hour. We apologize for that. But total job losses in the U.S. last year, it's been the worst since World War II.

And we can't just leave it at that especially if you're one of the faces behind those stats. So, we're exploring two big questions today. How do you stand out in a crowd of job hunters that's growing by the day? Plus, how do you reinvent your career and yourself? Just sort of think of CNN and CNN NEWSROOM as your personal job fair. OK?

And think of Maggie Mistal as your personal career coach; she's the host of Sirius/XM Radio's "Making a Living with Maggie, so you can tune into her when you're in the car and watch her live with us, as she joins us once again.

Maggie, I've got to tell you something. This is an e-mail I get every single time we do this segment. This one is coming from Jason. He says I have a relative that's an ex-offender, any tips, ideas, or even companies that hire ex-offenders? I mean, I'm serious. We get asked this every single time we tease this segment.

MAGGIE MISTAL, CAREER COACH: Yes. Because it's a real challenge, Kyra. I mean, I've done research and I've talked to employers. I've even talked to a lot of jobs programs to see if their sponsorship will help somebody get a job at a company, and it's still very challenging.

So, rather than even go the corporate or company route, I'm encouraging people to become entrepreneurial, and may be even start their own businesses because you will hire yourself if you have a criminal record. And if you're say, I don't know where to start with something like that. It's amazing that small business is the engine of the economy. So, the Small Business Administration, if you go to sba.gov can give you planning resources and tools for free. They also have a link to a site called score.org where you can get free business consulting. So, if you're not sure how to start out, but you're saying, wow, becoming my boss is really my best opportunity right now, don't be afraid to try it.

PHILLIPS: You know, Maggie, just as we're talking, I was just alerted to my e-mail. This coming across the wires right now out of Seattle.

Apparently, Boeing just announced that employment at its commercial airplanes business unit is expected to decline by approximately 4,500 positions now this year, they're saying. It's part of the effort to ensure competitiveness, it's saying and control cost in the face of a weakening global economy.

So, here you go. Boeing, a huge company, going to be down 4,500 jobs. You know, and a lot of people are asking, I mean, I'm looking at simple e-mails here. Paul, sending us an email saying, yes, I've got a question for Maggie about a job, how do I get one?

MISTAL: Great question, Kyra. Well, and this is happening all over. Boeing is one example, and actually since the holidays, I've heard so many people who come back to pink slips because companies aren't sure what the new year's bringing. And they're trying to be as lean and mean as possible.

So, what I'm telling my clients is target your search. Don't flood the market with your resume. Don't apply for every remotely related job.

Rather, focus in on employers where you can add value. And if you're saying, well, there's a couple different companies I would like to work for, try to talk to somebody who works there or at least, go to their Web site and see what some of their biggest challenges are. Because if you can target you're search and say how you can help them, as opposed to trying to sell them on you. You can be someone who solves their problem. They'd be much more apt to give you a chance and perhaps even a job.

PHILLIPS: Our personal career coach, Maggie Mistal. Maggie, thank you so much.

We've been talking an the layoffs and job cuts and unemployment. But it's not an all or anothing proposition, as you know. There's a lot of workers that take pay cuts or their trim hours to save their jobs. It's happened every year.

And a lot of others are just giving up staff positions for freelance or contract work.

Ali Velshi is watching all of that on the labor landscape. He's actually joining me once again from his radio studio there in New York.

What's going on right now, Ali? What are you guys talking about?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT Sherry, I think I just lost you. All right. Here we go. We're on --

PHILLIPS: Did we lose somebody? Who's sherry?

VELSHI: Can you hear me?

PHILLIPS: Yes, I hear you. Do you hear me?

VELSHI: All right, I hear you.

PHILLIPS: I hear you, you hear me?

VELSHI: Perfect. This is so neat.

PHILLIPS: Who is Sherry? You setting up a date?

VELSHI: No, Sherry is one of my callers to the radio station. We lost her. I was calling out the name sherry. It's not that I forgot your name.

PHILLIPS: OK. I thought you were singing, Sherry baby.

VELSHI: This is -- Doug Flynn is sitting next to me. He was -- we were taking calls. He's a financial planner. People have been calling him. After this week of doing these shows, Kyra, they've been saying, what do I invest? What kinds of things? Are these good bets or not?

And we're talking about after teaching you everything we've taught you in the last week about investing now, you got to take the plunge, here's how you do it. That's the focus of what we've been this week.

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, may I ask you a question? Because (CROSSTALK) I actually got together with --

VELSHI: Anything you want.

PHILLIPS: OK, well, I want want to ask you and Doug this because this was a question that I threw at my banker last night when we were meeting going over my portfolio and mortgage and all of that.

One suggestion that was made to me, since it's a rough time in the market, I've been saving every month. Instead of putting it into my portfolio, they made the recommendation to put it toward bringing my house payments down.

So, may be, refinancing, take a chunk of money, bring that loan down as a way to invest my money instead of putting it into the market right now. What do you think? DOUG FLYNN, FINANCIAL PLANNER: Typically people who are in a higher tax bracket can use that right off unless you go through the whole refinancing thing. It gets down to the numbers.

Refinancing typically costs thousands of dollars. so, you have to do the math and see if in the end you're going to save money by doing that. But with the extra cash flow that is an investment decision.

Do you take that money and pay down the mortgage or take that and take advantage of some really low pricing on a lot of investments, whether their tax rebonds or stocks right now for the long term.

VELSHI: But what you basically gave away, she's a big moneymaker.

PHILLIPS: (LAUGHTER) That's not true. He said if I'm in a higher tax bracket.

VELSHI: That's what he said.

PHILLIPS: Hey, you know, we're not Larry King, OK?

VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE)...reveal too much personal information about you?

PHILLIPS: Yes, really. I already talked about my facial hairs about an hour ago or 45 minutes ago. Yes, that's a whole other story.

OK. Let's talk about -- I have a couple of notes here because I know you've been talking about, the two of you, a number of things on your -- why don't talk about the investment angle, since Doug went there. I mean, if folks do have some extra cash now and this is a good time to buy according to a number of people, what's the advice?

VELSHI: Well, listen, you got to think about your debt first. We're in a credit crisis, and that is part of it. Our government, our employers, part of it is us. So, if you have debt, in the book I talk about debt that costs more than 10 percent. Doug agrees. Anything in double digit, you want to focus on paying that debt down before you are investing.

Obviously, if you've got a match on your 401(k) from the company, that's free money, so that's always a battle. But in this environment, we just had the jobs numbers out today, Kyra. We lost 524,000 jobs in December. That caps out at 2.6 million jobs for the year of 2008.

If you think you might be one of those people, have some money aside. Six to eight months worth of savings aside. So, credit, dealing with your debt, dealing with some savings and then investing in a strategic disciplined way. None of that takes a lot of time. It just takes a little bit of concentration. You hit it three or four times a year, and you're well on your way to financial success.

That's the whole point of this exercise, Kyra, it's not that complicated.

PHILLIPS: All right, meanwhile, we need -- a lot of people are needing to gear up their resume in this down market. How should you do that?

VELSHI: Well, listen, the thing you need to think about in your resume, first of all, a lot of people are worried about how you deal with gaps in employment when you've been unemployed. The beauty of this environment is that so many people are unemployed. There's no stigma to it anymore, you don't actually have to come up with some creative excuse of why you've been out of work.

Numer two, don't use your resume as a list of everything you've ever done. Use it as a list of particular accomplishments and ways that the employer could benefit from you very specifically.

So, an example that an expert I just spoke used is that if you're a TV anchor, don't list you interview all sorts of business and political leaders. And you know and you conduct these interviews and work with a production team and a direction team. Because that describes every anchor in America.

What is it that you've done? What are your particular accomplishments? What are the traits that bring something special to the position you can bring? What are your transferable skills? Don't list the ability to use Microsoft Word or the internet because that's like listing you can tie your shoes and brush your teeth.

What is that -- (LAUGHER) what skills have you got that are specific to the jobs that you have. A good resume can really stand out from the pack. And that's going to become very important right now.

A surprising don't have resumes, Kyra, because they have never had to deal with that.

PHILLIPS: Well, I always put at the top I bring out the best in Ali Velshi. You think that'll get me...

VELSHI: That's a highly specific talent. Any place I'm working that will make you stand out.

PHILLIPS: Poor Doug he's having to listen to this. Poor guy, yes, he's like, all right, can we roll on?

FLYNN: You also consider the volunteering during that time. The networking that goes in volunteering in may be one day week, giving back a little bit is a great thing to do for your resume and for your -- in general.

VELSHI: And networking and it builds up some skills.

PHILLIPS: And mental health. Everybody should give it back. All right. Guys, thank you so much. Thanks, Doug. Thanks, Ali. Great to see you, too! And of course, if you missed the title of Ali's book, one more time because it's Friday, "Gimme my Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis." It's advice that we could all use right now. Buy the books, go online, go to the book stores, help support Ali's beer money.

Salmonella outbreak goes nationwide. 42 states, almost 400 people affected, and investigators still aren't sure what's causing it. We're looking into it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The Tennessee Valley authorities scrambling to deal with its second waste spill in three weeks. This time it's (INAUDIBLE) sludge at a power plant in Alabama. The leak was found this morning and has been contained. TVA actually says that some of the stuff flowed into a creek. But no homes are at risk.

Now, that wasn't the case in Kingston, Tennessee, late last month. Remember this stuff? Fifteen houses damaged or destroyed when a river of coal sludge seeped from a power plant holding pond. Several lawsuits have been filed and residents still have questions about environmental effects and the safety of that drinking water.

Also, a salmonella outbreak has spread across the country in recent weeks. Investigators are still trying to figure out what's causeing it. Three hundred and eighty-eight cases are now confirmed across 42 states, and most of the cases happened between early September and the end of the year. More than 50 cases are reported in both California and Ohio.

Also, CDC officials say that the best way to stay safe is to cook all the meat, poultry, and eggs thoroughly. Avoid raw or unpasteurized milk or dairy products and of course, avoid cross- contamination.

Well, it's sad fact in a struggling economy. The unemployment lines are growing, the scam artists are coming out. And you know, a lot people are saying just work from home, make thousands et cetera, et cetera. We're going to show you who's legit and who's coming up next hour.

And a cot, check. Sink, check. Fig Newtons, check. Congressman's says he's saving a mint by crashing at his office. Hey, what about the wife and three kids? Hello?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. It's time to open our "What the..." file stories that made us rub our eyes, scratch our heads. This first one might have some of you reaching for your checkbooks.

Would you believe that there are homes for sale that cost less than a used car? As little as 500 bucks will get you in the door of a three bedroom Detroit bungalow. There it is. And that's not the down payment. You own it. Just a sign of how desperate banks are to unload some foreclosures right now. Pretty cute.

And talk about cheap digs. One penny pinching congressman has turned the House into his home. Think of it as the people's man cave.

Here's CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the staffer house Republican says the Congressman is in, they really mean it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congressman Jason Chaffetz's office.

JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: And then I -- pardon me.

ACOSTA: I better get out of the way.

CHAFFETZ: It's a little tight.

ACOSTA: The Lincoln bedroom it's not. It's the closet inside Chaffetz's House office on Capitol Hill.

I'll help you out with the other corner over here.

CHAFFETZ: Yes, that would be great.

ACOSTA: The gentleman from Utah showed us he's bunking down every night.

CHAFFETZ: You work late into the night. You know, I was up until 12:45...

ACOSTA: Doing the people's business.

CHAFFETZ: Working hard. Talking to constituents, e-mailing them. Writing them letters.

ACOSTA: The office comes with a half bathroom and what Chaffetz calls his breakfast nook.

CHAFFETZ: Fig Newtons for breakfast. These are usually for lunch, and this is kind of the dinner snack right there.

ACOSTA: By not renting an apartment in D.C., Chaffetz says there's more money to send home.

CHAFFETZ: I will save about $1,500 a month for our family by doing this. You know, I've got a wife. I've got three kids.

ACOSTA: There's just one problem: Things that go bump in the night.

CHAFFETZ: The biggest challenge is what goes on in the hallway at night, because there's this cleaning machine that comes down, and it's got that obnoxious, you know, beep, beep, beep.

I will definitely, I will call you back.

ACOSTA: Although he's an unknown freshman in the House, word of his sleeping arrangements is spreading.

REP. JUDY BIGGERT (R), ILINOIS: I'm glad that we have a neighbor here that's going to make sure somebody's here to make sure the neighborhood is safe at night when we're not here. So, that will be nice.

ACOSTA: Sort of a neighborhood watch, is that it?

BIGGERT: That's right.

ACOSTA: Chaffetz's next-door neighbor doesn't mind.

(on camera): It's kind of not a bad image to project, I suppose.

BIGGERT: Fiscal conservative, you're right.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Congressman Chaffetz says it's about putting the nation's fiscal house in order.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The House will be in order.

CHAFFETZ: We are now $10 trillion in debt, $10 trillion. Those are expenses that have to be paid at some point.

ACOSTA: If he can tighten his belt in these tough economic times, he says, so can Congress.

(on camera): It's only a two-year gig.

CHAFFETZ: There's no job security here.

ACOSTA: A job he says he's willing to put in the long hours to keep.

(on camera): In case you were wondering, the Congressman showers at the House gym. With amenities like those, it's no surprise Chaffetz says he'll be staying for awhile.

Jim Accosta, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Here's a guy with issues. Lots and lots and lots of issues. A Nevada man's monthly AARP magazine stopped coming to his mailbox. So what did he do? He called and he complained, and they said, whoops, sorry, computer glitch. And they promised to straighten it out. Cool.

About eighteen months went by, no magazines. Not cool. And then this month, 1,000 copies of the January/February issue arrived at his door because they sure as shootin' wouldn't fit into his mailbox. So, I guess that glitch was fixed. AARP Nevada staff, well, they came by and picked up the 999 extra issues.

And love totally bites in Auburn, California. Don't adjust your set. This woman really is nibbling her cocker spaniel. This is just one of those stories that really kind of is pointless, but we couldn't stop watching. Kathy Fartig (ph) says that Reilly (ph) loves it.

And obviously, the proof is in the tail there. He turns into one sad puppy, though, when he doesn't get some lovin'. You think maybe her husband sees this and gets a little jealous? Well, actually, we're told when Kathy's away, hubby has to man up and do the deed.

Well, will the bleak economy tarnish this weekend's Golden Globes? A live update from Kareen Wynter, plus a check of the film and TV favorites.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: This Sunday is one of Hollywood's biggest award nights, when the Golden Globes go out. AndWe sat down with Andrew Wallenstein from "The Hollywood Reporter" to break down the frontrunners. Here they are.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALLENSTEIN: The best picture category in drama is really so wide open. An underdog like "Slumdog Millionaire" can walk away with this thing. The movie is a true original, the sort of merger of Bollywood and Hollywood.

SEAN PENN, ACTOR, IN "MILK": ... and I'm here to recruit you!

WALLENSTEIN: In a year where Prop 8 in particular was such a politically charged headline, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Sean Penn and "Milk" take advantage of that.

HEATH LEDGER, ACTOR, IN "THE DARK KNIGHT": Kill the Batman.

WALLENSTEIN: I think Heath Ledger is pretty much a lock to win in best supporting for drama. Not only was it a truly great performance, but his passing this past year, it does give him an advantage.

KATE WINSLET, ACTOR, IN "REVOLUTIONARY ROAD": Who made these rules?

WALLENSTEIN; There's a certain air of inevidentability this year about Kate Winslet, who's nominated not only in best actress but in best supporting actress. I would not be surprised for her to pull off a double win for "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader."

Best picture comedy just is not a strong category. When you have movies like (INAUDIBLE) and "Burn after Reading," I mean, these were not memorable pictures. Therefore, I think something like "Mama Mia!" which is both a musical and a big crowd-pleaser will stand out.

MERYL STREEP, ACTOR, IN "MAMA MIA!": Sounds like you're having fun already.

WALLENSTEIN: It's very interesting to note that Meryl Streep is nominated both for comedy and drama, "Mama Mia" and "Doubt." However, look for someone named Sally Hawkins in a movie that most people haven't seen, called "Happy Go Lucky," that was supposedly such a breakthrough performance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Gentleman, before you leave --

WALLENSTEIN: TV, like film, is also pretty wide open at this Golden Globes. "Mad Men," I think, is still coasting on such a wave of critical acclaim and buzz. On the comedy side, I think it's a little more competive. "30 Rock" has to be a favorite coming in.

TINA FEY, ACTRESS, IN "30 ROCK": What do you mean?

JACK MCBRAYER, ACTOR, IN "30 ROCK": I saw you do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And joing us live from the award venue, the Beverly Hills Hilton, our entertainment correspondent, Careen Wynter. Careen, how does this bad economy affect something like the Golden Globes?

CAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, you'll definitely see some changes, Kyra. You know, we spoke with some styleists who say, expect to see less bling on the red carpet, less over-the-top gowns.

And also, you know those pricey gift bags that the stars usually walk away with, with thousands of dollars worth of items? that's also been scaled back. And it's not because these stars, you know, can't afford it, or they're affected in any way by this economy, they just don't want to seem insensitive when so many others are going through such a tough time -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll be tracking the awards. And you're going to be there, right?

WYNTER: I'll be all over it, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Good. And just as we go into the next hour, in case our viewers didn't notice, our beautiful Careen is expecting baby No. 2. And it's a girl. And she needs your help.

WYNTER: Number two.

PHILLIPS: Yes, she needs your help. She wants to find a girl's name with a C.

WYNTER: Any C names out there.

PHILLIPS: Yes. So, e-mail Careen Wynter all your baby girl name ideas that start with a C, right, Kareen?

WYNTER: I love you. PHILLIPS: There you go. I just solved your problem. You look beautiful. Both of you look gorgeous.

WYNTER: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, see you later.

Next hour of CNN newsroom starts right now.