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Illinois Supreme Court Says Burris Does Not Need Jesse White's Certification Of His Nomination To Senate; Illinois State Reps Vote To Impeach Blagojevich

Aired January 09, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): Will he soon be out of a job? Illinois governor a lightning rod for lawmakers' fury, today boiling over with an impeachment vote.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, a lot to get to this hour. We want to help you find a job, or change your career, but we also want you to check this out. Puppies and people flooded out of their homes. The Pacific Northwest looking more like the Pacific Ocean.

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's devastating, because you know, I've always been a provider to my family. And I've always been, you know, their foundation. And it's -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The victims of an alleged Ponzi scheme, victimized again. They lost millions of dollars, but they might have to pay up. You won't believe this one. Much more in just a few minutes.

But first, let's get to our top story. Illinois now, some breaking news. There's a pair of blockbuster developments involving both the governor and man that he appointed to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. Susie Roesgen is standing by in Chicago for us with updates on both of these stories.

What do we know, Susan?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start with Roland Burris, the Senate appointee. The Illinois supreme court has just ruled that Jesse White, the secretary of state here does not have to sign the certification, which would be the last holdup to his becoming a U.S. senator. However, Kyra, it's a little unclear yet, we've got a lot of calls out whether that means that Jesse White cannot be forced to sign it, and so he won't ever sign it. And Roland Burris is still held back, or whether the state supreme court is saying Roland Burris doesn't need that extra signature so he can go on, and get into the U.S. Senate. That's development number one. Development number two, is I'm in front of Governor Rod Blagojevich's house, where he went jogging today. He went jogging. He was gone for about an hour. Even as today the state house here impeached him. There was a vote of 114-1; 114 yes votes to impeach the governor, one representative voted no. It turns out that's a representative from right here in Chicago who said that it wasn't that he had something against the governor, or felt any way about the governor, he just did not believe in the impeachment process. And that's why he would not vote yes.

So the governor was impeached. It doesn't mean he's out of office now. The whole matter now goes to the state senate, where there will be an actual trial to remove him from office, if that's what the state senate decides to do.

But already there is so much anger in this state, a lot of shame in the state. Many people say this is a bad day for the state, a sorry day. Others say, no, it's a good day. We needed to send this message that we won't tolerate what they believe to be corruption in the chief executive office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM CROSS, ILLINOIS STATE HOUSE: You ought to be angry. You ought to be disgusted. You ought to be mad as hell, because this is our state. This is our system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Once again, Kyra, the governor, as you know, has not been charged with any crime. He would have to actually be indicted and then it would go to an actual trial. But with this shadow hanging over him, this cloud of a possible criminal indictment, that he may allegedly have sold Barack Obama's open Senate seat, that's why the state representatives here have decided to actually go ahead and impeach him, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: As we know, every time Rod Blagojevich steps up to the mic lately, it's quite entertaining, Susan Roesgen. We want to just make a quick reminder that the governor is going to hold a news conference at 3:00 Eastern in Chicago, reacting to today's impeachment vote. Should be interesting. CNN plans to bring that to you live as soon as it happens.

So, can we still be shocked by something if it's really not much of a surprise? Think about that while we talk about another month of devastating job losses in a deepening recession. We just found out that more than half a million jobs went away in December alone. And now comes word that the commercial division of Boeing plans to cut 4,500 jobs in the year ahead.

Boeing says that many of those jobs are not directly tied to building airplanes, though. It also says its overall work force will still be roughly what it was at the beginning of last year. CNN's Allan Chernoff is sizing up the situation in New York.

Allan, where is the bottom? I think we've been asking that for months now.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: We certainly have. We've been anticipating that it's going to be getting worse. Odds are we are going to continue to get more and more announcements like that from Boeing today. Blue chip companies executives basically becoming cautious, seeing their revenues declining, and as a result, they are chopping heads. It is very, very nasty out there.

We've found out the details today from the Labor Department. Let's look at some of those numbers. They are certainly very ugly. First of all, the unemployment rate, up to 7.2 percent. A big rise, 0.4 of 1 percent in December, the highest since Bill Clinton took office in 1993 as president. So these are serious increases.

Let's look at those jobs lost: In December, down by 524,000. More than half a million jobs lost. Very, very bad. And the Labor Department said, on top of that, the numbers were even worse than they thought for October and for November. As a result, from September through December, a loss of near 2 million jobs. For the year as a whole, 2.6 million.

We could keep going on with these statistics, we would rather not. The fact is, it is broad based throughout the economy, this job loss. Construction, manufacturing, services, retail, you name it. Except for a couple areas in the economy. First of all, health care. Even during rough times, of course, people still need their health services. Employment rose there. Also, in education during recessions, people often go back for more education to improve their job prospects. So those were the two bright spots within the private sector. But overall, we're talking about some very bad numbers here.

And Kyra, just one other slight bright note, that average hourly earnings did increase a little bit, by 5 cents an hour. But that's little solace.

PHILLIPS: A little bit of a silver lining. Yes, gosh. All right. Thanks, Allan.

So, are you looking for a job? Are you looking to stand out in a jobless crowd, are you looking to change your life? Well, look no more. CNN is your personal job fair this hour. Maggie Mistal is your personal job coach. She's standing by to answer your questions. You can actually send them to CNNnewsroom@cnn.com. We'll give you some expert advice, free of charge.

Plus, you've probably seen the signs, work from home, make thousands of dollars a day. Too good to be true? Most likely. We're going to tell you how to avoid those job scams. Lots of them out there.

It's a fitting day to interview a would-be Labor secretary. And that is just what the Senate Health, Education, and Pensions Committee did. That panel questioned Hilda Solis, the California congresswoman chosen by the president-elect to stand up for the workers' rights in the federal government. The daughter of two immigrant workers and union members says that her vision for the Labor Department is rooted in who she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HILDA SOLIS, LABOR SECRETARY NOMINEE: If confirmed, I will work with President-Elect Obama, my colleagues in the Cabinet, and you, to re invest in and restructure workforce development, and ensure a strong unemployment insurance system. This includes promoting what we now know as the blue collar jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, now meet the men of intelligence. Pending Senate confirmation, of course, the president-elect today introduced his picks for CIA chief and director of National Intelligence. The latter is on the left; he's retired admiral and former head of the U.S. Pacific Command, Dennis Blair. And then the CIA pick is on the right, Leon Panetta is a former congressman, White House chief of staff and budget director. But he's never worked in the spy industry. The president-elect says both men have unquestioned integrity and broad experience. And both are expected to be confirmed.

Just a short time ago, the United Nations announced it will restart humanitarian operations in Gaza as soon as it's practical. Those operations were stopped yesterday after the Israeli military fired on a relief truck killing the driver. U.N. officials say Israel has assured them that they will protect aid workers. Both Hamas and Israel have shot down the U.N.'s call for an immediate ceasefire. Israel's prime minister says that Hamas won't stick to it, and Hamas says the proposal doesn't do enough for the Palestinian people. The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that any ceasefire worth its salt needs to address the root of the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We must establish an international consensus that Gaza must never again be used as a launching pad for rockets against Israeli citizens. Because it is important to remember how this crisis began. Violence in Gaza was instigated by Hamas, a terrorist group that called for the destruction of Israel; 18 months ago Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup and since then thousands of guns and rockets and mortars have been smuggled into Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Palestinian health officials now say that 792 people have been killed in Gaza since this conflict began.

Vice President-Elect Joe Biden is in Pakistan right now. He's accused (sic) government leaders there that the Obama administration will support Pakistan's efforts to build democracy and fight terrorism. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham also made the trip. That meeting comes as one of Pakistan's largest cities, Lahore, deals with several explosions at a Muslim shrine.

Well, you've lost your job, but don't lose hope. CNN is your personal job fair this hour. We're taking your questions. E-mail us now at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. Career coach Maggie Mistal has stayed with us throughout the last two hours. She's going to answer your questions straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Listen to this, even the WWE is getting slammed by the economy. World Wrestling Entertainment plans to cut about 10 percent of its workforce. We're told that is more than 60 jobs. Apparently those layoffs are part of a broader cost-cutting plan for the company, which produces shows like "Friday Night Smack Down."

If you're wrestling with a job loss, we can help. Career Coach Maggie Mistal is the hose of Sirius XM Radio's "Making a Living With Maggie." She's here to answer your questions. She's staying with us for a couple of hours here. We've got a number of e-mails. Maggie. Let's get right to it, OK?

MAGGIE MISTAL, HOST, "MAKING A LIVING WITH MAGGIE": OK.

PHILLIPS: This one is coming from Tom. He says, "As a professional in my late 50s, out of work for just a week, when do I take a job at 70 percent of past pay versus looking for that better position?"

MISTAL: Well, Kyra, for people like Tom, this is all situational, so what you want to do is look at your finances and understand what kind of cushion do you have. Did you get severance from your last job? Because sometimes when you take a new job you lose that package or that money. So, you want to work with your financial planner and understand the financial impact of taking a job and at how much.

The other thing to consider, though, is that even if you're finding jobs that are at 70 percent of pay, don't be afraid and try and negotiate those. Maybe you can get more vacation time, or maybe get a higher bonus percentage for when you do get results. Because if you're confident about your ability to not only deliver, you can also ask them for more of a percentage of those profits once you're able to deliver them.

PHILLIPS: OK. And Jenna writes: "I'm 47 years old, with more than 20 years experience. I left the job market to complete a bachelor's degree. Since I graduated two years ago, I haven't had a single job offer, and have only three interviews -- or I've only had three interviews. I don't mind starting at a lower level position to get my foot in the door. I've applied to a wide range of companies and exhausted my contacts. What do I do now?

MISTAL: I think in this case, we have to look at what the real challenge is. Is it her interviewing skills? Perhaps she's not getting across the message of what she can do for this company and what kind of results she can get. Is her resume also targeted in terms of the results. One of my best strategies that I've heard from hiring managers and recruiters to use for your resume is use the PAR, Position, Action and Results. So you can demonstrate to an employer not only a list of tasks and responsibilities that you can complete, but that these are things that are going to impact the bottom line. Perhaps that's not something she's considered when job hunting.

PHILLIPS: All right. Maggie staying with us. Next tip, we'll talk about those job scams that are out there. Maggie, thank you so much. She'll answer more of your e-mails. We'll show you how to avoid those job scams and find out what's legit and what's not. Just think of us, once again, as your personal job fair today. We'll try to get all your questions answered as you've been e-mailing us for the past two hours. We appreciate it.

Also it has been a week that folks in the Pacific Northwest won't forget anytime soon. The danger isn't over yet either. We'll have a live report on the flooding in Washington State.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Take a look at this video. Floodwaters are receding in parts of Washington State. The problems are far from over. That's for sure. Right now, flood warnings still in place in 10 counties in the western part of the state, some roads are still hazardous, they're even shut down. Thousands of families still out of their homes.

Chad Myers, it's not only there, out of Seattle area, but other places across the country, right?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you have Tacoma, you have Centralia. You talk about flooding in Centralia, I mean, four months ago, it was just devastating there, devastating, again. And record flooding. This place has been flooding for hundreds of thousands of years.

PHILLIPS: The people there are used to this.

MYERS: But record flooding, people saying this has never been here before. I wasn't planning on this. My house has never been wet before. Here I am, I'm four feet into my house. So that's how bad it's been. And Ted Rowlands is out there. He's right in the middle of it. He's in Thurston County. He filed this report a little bit ago. It's a mess out there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (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 of pounding rain, and melting snow. In some areas, firefighters went door-to-door to get people to leave.

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

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounded like thunder, in a sense. Just rumbling and snapping of trees, 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 frustrated people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This isn't what it was like a couple years ago, at all. We had roads wash away, but they were from -- 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've lived here my whole life, and haven't seen weather like this, with the snow, and now the rain. 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 homes and start the massive job of cleaning up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You know what, are these folks insured for this kind of damage?

MYERS: Some. I mean, avalanche maybe. But if water comes into your house from the outside, a normal home owner's insurance policy does not cover that. That's the National Flood Insurance Program. That's a separate policy you have to buy from the government. If a water line breaks in your house and your basement gets wet because your sink broke, that's covered. If the water comes from the outside, you're not usually covered.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I've experienced that. That's a nightmare. Are you going to tell us what's going on around the country? And I'm going to go back to the set.

MYERS: You know what, it's sunny.

PHILLIPS: Sunny?

MYERS: It's sunny in the Northwest.

PHILLIPS: OK, that's good. That's some good news in parts of the country.

MYERS: Yes, except there's still flood warnings. Here you go. You've got to watch what you ask for. Here we go.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Chad.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

PHILLIPS: A new day for American workers, even as job losses multiply, a Cabinet nominee vows to stand up for workers' rights, opportunities, safety. Employers wonder what that means for them. We'll explore it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As if we don't have enough public corruption within our politics to report. We've got another piece of news just developing right now. This is out of Baltimore. The Baltimore mayor indicted on public corruption. It happened today; 12 counts, I'm told, perjury, theft, misconduct in office.

What had happened, back in 2008, we had reported a two-year state investigation that had been going on into her spending practices there in Baltimore. And then a raid had happened in her home. We're talking about Mayor Sheila Dixon.

And apparently it was one of the most aggressive moves when that investigation was taking place. That's when we knew something was about to happen. And it was going to get much bigger than folks had expected. They had taken just boxes and boxes of papers out of her home.

It's a shame. Mrs. Dixon was the first woman to serve as the city's mayor. Also the first African-American female to serve as that city's mayor. And now today she was indicted on perjury, theft, and misconduct in office.

Many of you have been e-mailing us about spotting scams in the job market. David Marshall asks this: "When my unemployment ran out, I started an eBay store. The income is not enough to cover my monthly bills, and I need another work-at-home job. Those ads online appeared to be nothing but scams because they require buying an information package, or some big investment. So where can I find legitimate opportunities?"

That's the $1 million question. Let's ask our career coach, Maggie Mistal, host of Sirius XM Radio's "Making a Living with Maggie".

You know, there are a lot of scams out there. And it was brought to my attention this morning in our meeting, Maggie, I never realized that a lot of people thinking they can create their own businesses and make money quickly by these advertisements on the web. How do you know what's a scam and what's not?

MISTAL: Well, Kyra, you know, the American dream is built on hard work. Yes, I know. But we do love the get-rich-quick scheme. So you have to be careful because part of you would love to believe it. It's almost like winning the lottery if can give you a stay-at-home business that is going to make you thousands of dollars a month.

But you definitely want to be leery of and just like that gentleman's e-mail said, if they're asking for a large investment up front, so you don't want to financially go there.

What you do want to do is do your research. And if you're looking for a job, per se, "The Wall Street Journal" did review a lot of the top job sites to see where people were actually landing jobs. Craigslist.org came up as one of the best places where people applying actually converted those opportunities into jobs. It's really important that you look at some of these other areas.

Also, what you want to do is do some research in terms of other business opportunities for working at home. Look to your own skills and abilities. If you're saying, I want to be an Internet entrepreneur you can take a class or you can go to a conference and learn from other people who are actually making a living doing this, first hand, without having to spend so much up front. And you'll get educated in the process and maybe land a new job out of that.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, then, how do you know -- there's various websites that you can go to, right?

MISTAL: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: OK. But is there -- you know you never want to give money up front. What about resume services, headhunter services? There's a lot of scams in that area as well, right?

MISTAL: Yes, sadly, but true. Kyra, I hear from people saying, Maggie, I want to make sure you can get me results. How can you demonstrate that? Anytime you're going to hire a career coach, or if you're looking to get some type of executive coaching, or even resume writing services, check references. Make sure it's a reputable source.

I actually got an e-mail last week from a gentleman who heard me talk about a resume writing service. And he said, do you get a financial cut for mentioning them? I don't, but many people do. They may refer you to a source, not that they couldn't be helpful. But you want to make sure you really understand what you're getting yourself into.

Make sure, again, that you don't give a lot of money up front and that you also get some kind of free coaching session if you are going to work with a coach. I offer a half an hour complimentary session to new potential clients. And also test out some of their services. I mean, I, like many coaches offer teleclasses. There are simple, easier ways with less investment, where you can get a sense where if this person can really help you or not.

PHILLIPS: All right. Maggie, appreciate it. Always good to get your advice.

MISTAL: Any time, Kyra. Thanks so much.

PHILLIPS; Well, we've been talking to Maggie, and we've been talking about the economy and your money and your career. And that's what happens. And when we're in our editorial meetings in the morning, we try to figure out, OK, what's the focus of our newscast this afternoon?

We all wanted to go beyond the unemployment numbers and talk about real lives, real issues and just give you real advice. So, let's take a look now at how we just came up with today's ideas, give you an inside look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our (INAUDIBLE) trying to make sure that we make sure that we make it human stories and character-driven stories.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do we want to solicit any kind of e-mail or iReport, like have you gotten creative? What kind of creative work are you doing? How are you making money?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a whole section of people on there talking about jobs and different things --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we can do an iReport segment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a few good ones on there about people having to reinvent themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because when we had the jobs (INAUDIBLE) last time, we got a lot of e-mails when we solicited, hey, what are your job questions? A lot of people writing in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few weekends ago, we had a woman who has a great Web site targeting job scams, listing all the -- you know, you get all these solicitations on the Internet. We could almost do something like a scam of the day or something which you should watch out for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: There you go. Let's talk about those job scams. Foster (ph) had a great idea. And how do you know what's legit and what's not? Josh Levs has been doing a little research for us. We heard a little bit from Maggie there.

You know, she kind of touched on some of the scams that are out there. But I know you went more in-depth in how we can put it to use on the Web.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, and I'm big on the bullet points. You know, you guys are having a great conversation about that there, as you did in your morning editorial meeting, as you always do, of course.

And what we want to do is make sure you have some key points to take away from all this so it doesn't happen to you. One of the best sites out there is this thing right here, privacyrights.org. No matter what your relationship is to the Internet, no matter how you're using it, one of the best sites you can check out to make sure you're not taken by a scam.

Here's what I have. Some graphics. Let's go right there. Because this is what they say about job scams. First of all, the big red flags. If anyone who's talking to you about a job requests your bank account number, saying they want to do direct deposit, don't give it. Also, don't give your Social Security number. And Kyra, this is interesting. They might say, look, we need to know that you are who you say you are. Just send us a picture of your driver's license. Don't do it. This Web site says because they can use your driver's license number and other information to hack into who you are. Identity theft, all sorts of problems.

Also, check out that e-mail address that you're communicating with someone you're with. If their e-mail addres is actually at yahoo.com, but their company has a different domain name, they say be very wary. Only a legitimate place would have the -- a legitimate place would have the same name, the domain name of the Web site and e- mail.

One more thing, some tips to protect yourself. I want to show you these two points that they point out here, again from privacyrights.org. They say this: Don't allow these direct deposits. Do you have (INAUDIBLE)? There you go.

Don't allow the direct deposits into your own bank account even if you start to feel comfortable with them. Just don't do it. For a while, insist that they mail you checks. And finally, don't transfer money to an employer account. Some people end up doing that. And then along the way, they end up getting your personal information, your bank account information. You don't want that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: But this stuff doesn't just happen online. I mean, it happens via the phone as well. A lot of elderly people get hit up constantly.

LEVS: Constantly. All the time. Also, let me just show you really quickly. We have a page here that talks about this happening to someone by mail. You would think mail would be safer. I mean, they're not reaching directly into your computer.

But what happened to her -- "How I got taken by a work-at-home scam," this is (INAUDIBLE). She says she received a letter in the mail about a potential job. They were asking for some information. Zoom down. I want to show you one more thing, if we can scroll way in here.

Look at this, this is an expert who analyzed this. They say they look at 55 letters that come like this. Only 1 out of 55, Kyra, passes their legitimacy test. So, it's rough stuff.

PHILLIPS: All right.

LEVS: All right.

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: You got it. Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, folks, where we going? OK. Very good. We're trying to work on our communication process here.

All right. He was an American farm worker, a labor leader and a civil rights activist. We're talking about Cesar Chavez. He was also a Latino who made history. His strikes, boycotts and protests got higher wages for farm workers.

And now another Hispanic is set to make history on the labor front. California Congresswoman Hilda Solis is President-elect Barack Obama's pick to head the labor department. And today, she went before a Senate committee to talk jobs. If she's confirmed, she'll be the nation's first Hispanic labor secretary.

So, what does that mean for our money and politics? Let's bring in two of our own trailblazers, money guru Susan Lisovicz and political princess Candy Crowley. Hello, ladies.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Whoa!

SUSAN LISCOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Susan, what do you think? You know, we always talk about doing a sidebar, and we decided to do a candy bar. Do you think that works?

LISOVICZ: Delicious.

PHILLIPS: That's what I'm talking about.

CROWLEY: There are some internal conversations that ought to be kept private. That's all I have to say.

PHILLIPS: Sorry, C.C. All right, Candy, let's talk to you. I mean, in many ways, you know, Hilda Solis is chaneling Cesar Chavez when it comes to jobs and the labor movement, and the Hispanic community and breaking a lot of barriers here.

CROWLEY: Absolutely she is. There is no doubt. But I think actually the policies that she will pursue are much more interesting to the labor unions, who are delighted over this pick. She has a union background. Both her mother and her father, who were immigrants, came to this country, joined unions.

She credits those unions with giving them a lifestyle, which included health care and a lot of the amenities that unions can get. A lot of the necessities, I could say. So, they really believe that they have a very pro-union labor secretary right now. She certainly is one of the more liberal members of the Obama cabinet-in-waiting.

So, they're excited because, as you know, labor unions have a long list of things that they would really like to see go through. One of them is that so-called card check, where they could have a open ballot to see if people in a workplace want to unionize. Right now it's a secret ballot. So the unions want to change that.

So, it will be a very interesting to see, given everything else that's going on, how much attention some of these things on the labor wish list will get, given the crises in the economy.

PHILLIPS: Which perfectly leads us into Susan Lisovicz. You know, we're talking labor, jobs, money, our economy. It all folds in. What does it mean for us there on Wall Street and our money and our jobs?

LISOVICZ: You know, Hilda Solis is a fourth-term Congresswoman from California. She has a relatively low profile, though, among some of the high flyers in Washington.

That will change in a hurry, because the Secretary of Labor, she will probably be one of the front and center and most visible people on days like today, when the monthly jobs report comes out.

And what does the most recent monthly jobs report show? More than half a million people lost in December alone 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008. That is the highest number of jobs lost since 1945. So, she's got her work cut out for her.

But to follow up on what Candy's saying, very pro-union. Well, this is a very critical time for unions. The union numbers, their clout have been losing -- losing their clout, actually, for years. And with this economy, even more so.

Just today, there was one Teamsters group that said they would take a 10 percent pay cut at a trucking company because it was about job security. And then let's talk about the UAW, which has been giving up perks and pay for years, just to stay alive. So, the union movement must be thrilled about her. But it's a very critical time with her appointment, because some of these jobs may be lost forever.

PHILLIPS: We'll have a critical eye on all of it from the politics all the way to Wall Street. Candy, Susan, thanks, ladies.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: And here's an idea if you're looking for a job and you're a guy. Put your sperm count on your resume. I'm not kidding. Those little guys downstairs might speak volumes about what you've got going on upstairs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're tracking a developing story right now. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been impeached. And the question of whether to remove Blagojevich from office now moves to the state Senate.

The governor himself is going to hold a news conference at the top of the hour in Chicago. We're told it's 3 p.m. Eastern time, and he's going to be reacting to the impeachment vote. So, stay with us. CNN does plan to bring that to you live as soon as it happens.

Well, here are some stories that had us asking, "What the...?" and you can fill in the third word. There is a special place in hell for the person who did this. Someone near San Diego stole a purse from a pregnant woman who had been fatally injured in a freeway crash. Yep. The woman was dying right there on the scene. Her purse was strewn onto the pavement, and someone just drove by and took it and took off. Well, that suspect is free on bail, but there's some doubt that he's the right person now. So, authorities say they're looking at all leads.

Hopefully you can help. Take a look at that car, and if you saw that accident, call police.

And if you own a home, you might be taking some financial knocks. If you've always wanted to, well, it's opportunity that's knocking. Unbelievable. But there are houses on sale right now that cost less than a used car.

Five hundred bucks will get you in the door of a three-bedroom Detroit bungalow. There's the listing right there. And that's not the down payment. You can actually own that. That's just a sign of how desperate banks are to unload some of their foreclosures right now.

And talk about cheap digs. One penny-pinching Congressman has turned the House into his house. Freshman lawmaker Jason Chaffetz from Utah is living out of his office. He actually turned it into a man cave. He sleeps on the cot, he showers in the House gym and he has a special nook for Fig Newtons. He says he's saving a mint doing this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: 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: Chaffetz says that the worst thing about living in the House? The cleaning crew that makes all the noise at night.

And we couldn't resist this. A new study out of several universities found that smarter men have more sperm. Researchers found the smarter the guy, the better his swimmers. The study was done on 425 Vietnam vets.

Well, standing in for Michelle Obama, Lola Ogunnaike. Hey, she's just as sexy. Our resident fashionista tries on inauguration-worthy gowns, plays fashion police with the experts. Work it, lola, work it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Remember those guys? Those are our kids from the Ron Clark Academy getting some studio time last night. That's right. They recorded a song that they wrote called "Dear Obama." It expresses their hopes and dreams to our next president. Those kids hope it will get some air time, too.

At least one radio station here in Atlanta plans to play it. Of course, we'll play it. We'll play it like crazy. All the proceeds are going to go to the school's scholarship fund to help educate more incredible students like that. The students kind of hope that they'll get to go to D.C. for inauguration week as well, by the way.

And speaking of January 20th, Michelle Obama has surely got to have her outfits ready, right? Well, just in case she's still looking for ideas, Lola Ogunnaike has a little advice for her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIDGET FOLEY, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY": You have to look chic. You have to be representative of not only your husband's administration, but of the country. She's already established an interest in and a love for color. She has the luxury to be a little more flamboyant in her color choice.

TODD OKERSTROM, PERSONAL SHOPPING DIR., BERGDORF GOODMAN: I've got this vibe on red for this inauguration. I know it's sort of Republican.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Even though it's blue we may see a lot of red.

OKERSTROM: I think you're going to see a lot of red.

FOLEY: This is a very interesting day because there are two brides. And during the afternoon, Barack Obama is the bride. And it's really all about him. People, of course, will pay attention to what Michelle Obama and her daughters are wearing. But then come evening, she's the bride.

OGUNNAIKE: If you had to give a woman advice, given what's going on in the economy, you would say, bring it down a thousand?

OKERSTROM: Yes, maybe $500. Now, let me indulge you.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes, indulge me. Indulge me.

OKERSTROM: Do you ever want to take it off?

OGUNNAIKE: No. Put it on me, honey.

OKERSTROM: I will. Let me get this button --

OGUNNAIKE: Hurry up. Hurry up. Hurry up.

OKERSTROM: And it's just like this little bit of --

OGUNNAIKE: OK. See you later. Nice meeting you.

FOLEY: You don't want to look like va-va-va-voom, this is the inauguration.

OGUNNAIKE: Beyonce's worn these? What is underneath here? I'm lost. You could wear this to Al Gore's green ball. So you just sit down, cross your legs and you're like, bam. It looks like candy. Like I want to eat it. Like a Skittle. Wow, I want to try this baby on. That looks like a good time.

OKERSTROM: I think that should be a joyous celebration, and the dressing should reflect that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: OK, is Lola Ogunnaike actually beautiful or what? I hope she's going to the ball.

Well, for people who invested with Bernie Madoff, the news just keeps getting worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BERGER, FORMER INVESTOR WITH BERNIE MADOFF: It's devastating, because, you know, I've always been a provider to my family, and I've always been, you know, their foundation. And it's devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We'll tell you why some former Madoff investors who lost most of their savings could lose even more money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're tracking a developing story. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been impeached. The question of whether to remove him from office now moves to the state senate. Live pictures now, the governor himself actually is going to hold a news conference right here at the top of the hour in Chicago, 3:00 Eastern reacting to that impeachment vote. So, stay with us. We do plan to carry it live. We'll take it as soon as it happens.

Now, on the radar. A story that just came in to us. These pictures coming to us from the U.S. Navy. Take a look at this out of Kenya, Nairobi.

You remember those pirates that seized that Saudi-owned super tanker? Well, apparently they struck a deal, and ransom money was actually brought in through this helicopter and parachuted into the hijacked ship. And then the pirates, what they've been doing is they've been counting the money and actually checking the bills to see if it's real money.

Apparently they've got this equipment on the ship that can actually check for counterfeit bills. You may remember that tanker is carrying two million barrels of crude oil. That's worth about $100 million. And the pirates hijacked it back on November 15th. That's how long this has been going on. Now, hopefully they'll be satisfied with that money. They will free the ship and its crew of 25 people by tomorrow night.

Now, also on our radar, something I want to tell you about. You see us inside our morning meeting every morning all discussing story ideas. Well, some of our smartest young employees are APs. Alicia Eakin is one of them. Every morning she's going through all the Web sites on the computer for us, and she always gets in there and says, OK, I found some great stories. I was looking across the country at all the different internet sites. And she found a couple good ones today.

ALICIA EAKIN, CNN ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: These really had the team talking. The first is actually from the "Boston Globe." And believe it or not, more than two dozen state lawmakers don't want their pay raises.

PHILLIPS: Why don't they want their pay raises?

EAKIN: Well, they say they just don't feel comfortable taking it while so many constituents are struggling. But I can imagine it's creating the stir for those who do want it.

PHILLIPS: And that's off what Web site?

EAKIN: This Boston.com, which is a "Boston Globe" affiliate.

PHILLIPS: OK, all right. We want to know who the lawmakers are that want that pay raise still. We should name them!

EAKIN: It will be interesting to see how that turns out.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well else?

EAKIN: Unfortunately there's a sad story from one of our affiliates in New York, WNYT, is reporting that more than 30 churches are going to have to close.

PHILLIPS: Why are they closing?

EAKIN: They say it's a priest shortage, dwindling membership and skyrocketing upkeep. So, we actually spoke to a priest and he just said he's devastated from what's going on.

PHILLIPS: Yes. It's got to be tough. I mean, that's all they know, right? Devote their whole life to the church.

All right. You did find something that this caught all our attention. Good news in the bad economy?

EAKIN: Exactly. Well, one small company is reporting some big increases. Have any guesses?

PHILLIPS: No, tell me.

EAKIN: The Minicooper. They've seen an increase in sales. Believe it or not, the Royals Royce, too.

PHILLIPS: Increase in rolls-royce sales?

EAKIN: I guess the bad economy is not affecting some. PHILLIPS: But that's not you, though. Maybe it's Eddie Williams, my producer. Eddie, was that you buying the Rolls-Royce? He says no, no. But we need to get to the next story.

Alicia, thank you so much. Looking for more ideas on Monday.

EAKIN: All right.

PHILLIPS: Fabulous.

All right. Disgraced money manager, Bernard Madoff, he's definitely not driving a Rolls-Royce right now. As you he masterminded what's alleged to be the biggest financial fraud in history. And if that's bad enough, well, it's possible that the victims could lose even more of their money in the future.

CNN senior correspondent Allan chernoff reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): David Berger, father of six children, entrusted Bernie Madoff with his money for 27 years. For the last decade he and his family have been living off their Madoff returns.

DAVID BERGER, FORMER MADOOF INVESTOR: It's devastating, because, you know, I've always been a provider to my family, and I've always been their foundation. And it's devastating. I'm going to be 60 years old. And I live in Sarasota, Florida. And I'm not really marketable jobwise down here. I've been retired for a couple years. And it hasn't totally sunk in yet.

CHERNOFF: The nightmare could get even darker for Berger and other victims who may be asked to pay money to a court-appointed trustee responsible for recovering assets which would ultimately be distributed to all victims.

ROSS INTELISANO, SECURITIES LAWYER, RICH & INTELISANO: It could be multiple nightmares for investors who took out partial redemptions. As they lost $10 million, that they had in there, but they took out $3 million over the life those years, they could be asked to throw that $3 million back. Which is horrendous.

CHERNOFF: Intelisano represents victims of another investment fraud, Bayou Management. In that case the trustee required only investors who pulled out all their money within the six-year statute of limitations to give it back.

INTELISANO: If I got all my money out of Bernie Madoff's firm within the last six years, I would be speaking to a lawyer right now.

CHERNOFF: Because the trustee is going to come after your money?

INTELISANO: It's very likely. And very likely it's going to happen soon. CHERNOFF: Trustee Irving Pickard refused comment. Berger has hoped he can get money back from the government, millions in taxes he paid on capital gains Madoff was reporting to him. But some accountants say there may be no refund.

MARJORIE HORWIN, MBAF ACCOUNTING FIRM: There have been many cases that have gone against the taxpayer, have been very pro- government, and refunds have not been easily obtained.

CHERNOFF (on-camera): If victims can't get refunds, accountants say they should at least be able to get tax deductions for their prior payments, as well as deductions for the apparent theft they've suffered. The Internal Revenue Service, though, has yet to provide any guidance. Saying only, the IRS is aware of the situation, but beyond that, we have no comment.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And this weekend, don't miss "Madoff, Secrets of a Scandal," a CNN and "Fortune" magazine special investigation. Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

And the big story today, Rod Blagojevich, governor of Illinois, impeached. He'll be reacting live any second now. You won't want to miss it. Rick Sanchez up next.