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More Layoffs Announced; Ceasefire Talks, Airstrikes Continue; Highway Shootout

Aired January 10, 2009 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our nation's economy: more layoff announcements after an already gloomy unemployment forecast. As the president-elect warns of a double-digit unemployment rate, he's out with a detailed analysis on how his plan to save or create up to four million jobs.
New air strikes in Gaza as talks continue on a possible ceasefire.

And shootout on an interstate highway. A man allegedly opened fire on police from a taxi during a traffic stop.

And snowstorms walloping the midwest and causing a major mess.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. We'll call it a promise or just a goal. President-elect Barack Obama says his $775 billion economic stimulus plan could save or create up to four million jobs. He went into new details today during his weekly radio and youtube address. CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us now from Washington with more on this. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka. Well, all eyes as you can probably expect remain on the economy. The president- elect as you mentioned in his weekly address today using the latest devastating jobless numbers to underscore his urgent call for an economic stimulus package. The general outline of his proposal has been out for a while now. However, the details and the total price tag still aren't finalized. But the transition has already released an internal report detailing how much help they say this plan could offer. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: The report confirms that our plan would likely save or create three to four million jobs. 90 percent of these jobs will be created in the private sector. The remaining 10 percent are mainly public sector jobs we save. Like the teachers, police officers, firefighters and others who provide vital services in our communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: We should point out the report acknowledges the findings are subject to significant margins of error since we don't know what the final plan will look like once it emerges from Congress. But to continue making his pitch, Obama sent his top economic advisers to Capitol Hill this week to discuss the recovery plan with House and Senate democrats. But it wasn't an entirely easy sell.

Congressional democrats voiced some concern that not enough money will be directed towards infrastructure spending. And they say too much as how it's outlined now would be going towards business cuts under this plan, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kate Bolduan in Washington, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

All right. Some pretty bleak predictions and grim realities are hitting U.S. retailers as well. Bankrupt Circuit City admitting this week it needs a buyer by next Friday or it will be forced to liquidate all of its stores. The court gave it a go-ahead and an auction is set for Tuesday. And retail giant Macy's this week announcing it's closing 11 stores across the country. 960 people will lose their job.

And discounter Goody's is closing shop. Goody's have 287 stores in the southeast and employs 9,800 people. All right. So far stores desperately seeking buyers. And they're not finding them even with deep discounts and two-for-one sales even.

C. Britt Beemer studies buying habits. He joins us now from Orlando, Florida. You call the next six months a retail wasteland, why?

C. BRITT BEEMER, AMERICA'S RESEARCH GROUP LTD.: Well I think you'll see more retail bankruptcies in the next six months than we've seen in the last five years. When you look at the fact, for example, we did a winners and losers list for Christmas. There was only two retailers. Wal-mart and Books-A-Million who kept 80 percent or more of their customers at home. And everyone else was doing poorly. Last year, 18 retailers kept 80 percent or more of their customers at home which tells you how much better it was last year than this year.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well we know why in part people don't have the money to spend like they have in the past, but when you have store closures, especially this spring as you say there are going to be many more retailers that close shops. That means a lot more jobs that are lost, too. Which means people again can't buy. Without a job you have no money.

BEEMER: Well there's no question that when we did our research early in November 15 percent of consumers are concerned about their jobs. It jumped to 30 percent by Christmas day. And you know, when people are in a survival mode like that, they slice their spending by 30 percent or 40 percent. So you're right, when people are concerned about even before they even lose their job, just the fear of losing their job, cuts their family spending dramatically.

WHITFIELD: So what is one to do? How do we all approach the economy? Whether it's the nation's economy or our personal economy? We want to save money. We want to be ready for that rainy day. But at the same time, we do want to help the overall economy, which means you got to buy a little something. BEEMER: Well, I'm not sure. I've told my friends who have asked me this question over the last few months. I said the best thing you can do is get your own financial health in order. For one reason because when it's all said an done, if you're not able to pay your bills, it's all over anyway. And I think one thing about this is that for a long time consumers have allowed their debt levels to get way too high. They spent, spent, spent when they shouldn't have been spending that much money.

And you know retailers will do fine if they do one thing, and that's go back to the basics. For too long retailers are concerned about Wall Street and not Main Street. And in my book "The Customer Rules" when we did a national survey only nine percent of consumers are loyal. Because the fact is that retailers have done very little in the last 15 years to do anything for their customers except make it harder to shop in their stores.

WHITFIELD: So what do you mean retailers they need to go back to the basics? What does that mean?

BEEMER: Well, they're going to have to restaff their stores to give reasonable levels of customer service. They're going to have to make returns easier. They're going to have to sit down and analyze, you know, what they have to do. For example, I mean, for example, think about the fact that 44 percent of consumers have been so mad at a store's voice mail they quit shopping there. I mean, just all the things that retailers have done to de-personalize their retail stores -

WHITFIELD: And the retailers thought they were saving money perhaps by depersonalizing, having those voicemails, et cetera. But in the end, that's a huge turnoff, you're saying. And I can attest to that. I hate those voicemails.

BEEMER: I'll give you one illustration. A number of years ago when Target started to enforce their gift card receipt program. Seven percent of their customers got mad because they couldn't return things. And all of a sudden - well that was when times were great. And Target didn't miss that seven percent of customers. Now they miss them a lot when you're down four percent in sales in December.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. From Orlando, Florida today, C. Britt Beemer, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

BEEMER: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Boy, let's hope that very grim forecast you got this spring, so many retailers closing shop, let's hope that you may not be right on that one. But something tells me you're right on the money. All right. Thanks so much.

All right. Worried about layoffs or even salary freezes? Next hour we're bringing in an expert who advises some of the top executives the country. And two of the ten strategies we'll actually discuss.

Things you can do right now to help you with your mind game. From staying fit to helping you feel successful to some short-term goals that you can start working on today. That's next hour in the NEWSROOM. You want to stick around for that.

All right. The Middle East crisis continues to grow. New explosions now in Gaza City today. Amid signs that Israeli troops are getting ready for another push deeper into Palestinian authority. Israeli forces creating, operating outside Gaza City say they've killed a Hamas commander who is in charge of launching rockets into Israel.

Israeli planes dropped leaflets over Gaza City and Rafah warning of an escalation and urging civilians to stay away from Hamas militants. Gaza City is Gaza's biggest populated center with about 400,000 residents. It's located in the northern part of Gaza. Israeli troops have effectively cut it off from southern Gaza where Rafah is located.

So we're now entering the third week of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is at the Israeli-Gaza border with more. Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I spent part of the afternoon outside an Israeli military base not far from here. We saw many reservist troops who had been called up who are expecting potentially to be sent into Gaza, wishing their families good-bye, hugging their loved ones, kissing their girlfriends and wives and heading into the base there.

Many of them do realistically expect at this stage that they could be sent into Gaza. We've seen leaflets dropped by the Israeli Air Force over Rafah, that southern end of the Gaza strip where the Israeli government say several hundred tunnels are used by Hamas to get rockets and money into the Gaza strip.

And we've seen leaflets dropping down that are telling the population to move out of your houses, move to the centers of the town and warning that the Israeli government really hasn't unleashed their full force on Hamas yet. And they're saying that the next stage would be very, very painful, an indication that Israeli government is perhaps on the verge of putting more troops, those reservists into the fight.

But a Hamas spokesman, one of the Hamas leaders, one of the top political leaders Khaled Mashaal just a few hours ago said Israel is not having an impact on Hamas at this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALED MASHAAL, HAMAS LEADER(through translator): Did they manage to stop the rockets? Now they're only talking about how they can stop the rockets. They said they don't want the resistance in Gaza. But I assure you the resistance is doing good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Well, another Hamas spokesman today said that the peace talks that are going on in Egypt at the moment are really not for real. That there really isn't a realistic effort going on here. An Israeli government minister today said that the government is looking at both options, is willing to take the peaceful option if it's there but will consider escalating the military option, too.

WHITFIELD: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI SECURITY CABINET:: On the one hand if we enlarge and increase operation in going to the third phase as we are preparing to do, it will take much longer. If there will be of course a diplomatic arrangement that will be satisfactory, robust enough with enough securities and guarantees. Of course, we are looking into that and reviewing it seriously. But our enemies should not understand and should not misread us. We are prepared to go as far as possible to protect our citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Well even if that third phase hasn't begun yet, the second phase is still in full throttle. We're still hearing explosions behind us. I just heard two missiles hellfire missiles from helicopters into the Gaza strip just in the past few minutes. So the battle is still well and truly under way, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're looking at some of the latest images right now. Nic Robertson, thanks so much for your reporting there from Israel-Gaza border.

Meantime, we've talked about the sentiment worldwide that's being expressed. Anti-Israel protests taking to the streets in several cities around the world in fact.

All right. This one in Athens, Greece, where protesters burned an American flag in front of the U.S. embassy. Across Europe, tens and thousands demonstrated calling for Israel to end its attacks on Gaza. And Vice President-elect Joe Biden is on a whirlwind visit to Afghanistan. He met with Afghan president Hamid Kharzai today, also top U.S. military commanders in Afghanistan.

At the top of his agenda, the expected increase in U.S. troops to fight a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.

President and Mrs. Bush traveled to north of Virginia today to help commission the newest addition to the U.S. Navy. It is the nuclear- powered aircraft carrier, the "USS George H.W. Bush." It is named after the president's father, the 41st president of the United States. The aircraft carrier is more than three football fields long. With a huge price tag of $6.2 billion.

And a pretty nasty day across the midwest. Snow and more snow. And now it's heading east as well.

And a sensor failure may have caused a collision between a train and a truck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's take a look at his image right here. Officials in Tempe, Arizona, blame a broken sensor for a collision between a train and pickup truck at the crossing. The police cited the truck's driver for suspended license and for pulling into the crossing before the arms were all the way up. Reports say no one was actually hurt in Monday's accident. But a lawyer for the driver and a passenger says both were injured and just might file a lawsuit.

A man who allegedly shot at a state trooper on a highway outside of Albany, New York, has been hospitalized with gunshot wounds. The man was riding in a taxi cab allegedly shooting at traffic. The suspect was arrested and taken to a local hospital. It's not clear if he was shot by police or shot possibly by himself.

Firefighters in Philadelphia are battling a blaze at an apartment building. Black smoke over the city could be seen for miles. No injuries have been reported. But the Red Cross is setting up a shelter for any one left homeless by the blaze. No word of exactly what caused this fire in the first place.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

WHITFIELD: All right, look out. Folks in Washington state, they simply can't get a break from the weather. First it was heavy snow. Now several days of torrential rain have triggered severe flooding and mud slides. Hundreds of families have been evacuated.

And it's snow in Illinois that is causing the problem there. While residents dig out from the latest storm, the weather service warns another one is on the way. Weather is already forcing flight cancellations and delays out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras. You're used to that kind of severe weather, but yikes. We're talking about snow accompanied by very low digits in temperatures, too. Miserable.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, if we could pick a time for this to happen though, I will say, you know -

WHITFIELD: January?

JERAS: Yes. Well, it's appropriate. But you know, Saturday afternoon, continuing into Sunday.

WHITFIELD: Oh, sure.

JERAS: It could be a whole lot worse.

WHITFIELD: That's true.

JERAS: That's your good news is that most folks have the option to stay at home, unlike us. Hey and speaking of O'Hare, we still have some delays here over two hours. And that's, you know, of course if your flight hasn't been canceled as of this time. So make sure that you do call ahead.

Now the good news for you in Chicago is that the snow squall should be coming to an end eventually here as we approach the evening hours. The whole system itself is spreading east ward. And we've been seeing some heavy snow and also a wintry mix in places like lower Michigan across parts like Ohio. We've had some icy accumulations in the central parts of the state. And there you can see across parts of Pennsylvania, the heavy snow right along i-80.

And we've had quite a bit of a wintry mix along the Pennsylvania turnpike. That's starting to change a little bit more. Now, that snow is just starting to make its way into New York city, and there you can see the brighter white coming in, pushing in from the west. And check out this live picture that we have for you. I believe this one is out of Central Park. I swear ten minutes ago not even, can we pull up that. RX196, I believe is the source, guys.

It will show you - look at that, nothing. You can't even see it. I swear, not even ten minutes ago it looked beautiful. So the snow squalls are just starting to move into the area and into Manhattan. Winter storm warnings are in effect across the red areas including you in Detroit, down towards Cleveland. North of Philadelphia though, which includes you in Hartford and up towards Boston. Boston could see some good heavy snow, a good four to eight inches plus expected here.

Now, as for what's going on in the Pacific northwest, yes, we do have another round here of snow showers and rain showers. The snow levels are a little bit lower this go around. About 50, 400 feet maybe or so. Now what we're seeing here today we don't think it's going to be enough to aggravate the situation, but it will be enough to kind of hold it. So those river levels which have been receding a little bit in the last couple of days are kind of going to hold a little bit steady and will be slower to recede.

But we don't think it's going to be enough to make conditions worse. That said, what could become worse because of this is just that the ground conditions are going to continue to be a little bit more unstable. You have all that moisture and everything so saturated already. So we're concern that had this will increase those threats of the mud slides and the landslides here in the Pacific northwest.

The rainfall amounts this go-around, nothing compared to last time. We could see you know into the foothills areas maybe two to four inches of rainfall at the most.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

JERAS: Everybody else is going to be a little lower.

WHITFIELD: It's been a pretty tough winter for the folks out west and the northwest. It really had -

JERAS: Really.

WHITFIELD: With the confluence of events One after the other.

JERAS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Bad.

All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. An inaugural evolution. How Barack Obama's big day is changing the face of a nation and a city for that matter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. You know we've been telling you about protests worldwide about the Middle East conflict, that's taking place between Israel and Gaza. Well now this is the scene in San Francisco. We understand hundreds if not thousands of people have descended in San Francisco.

And this is what is being described as a pro-Palestinian rally. We don't know there to be any unrest taking place, just simply it seems like a peaceful organizing of people who are letting their voices be heard against what Israel is doing in the incursion of Gaza. The conflict now entering its third week. Much more on the protests taking place around the world momentarily.

Particularly on the East Coast in the nation's capital, excitement is growing for the inauguration of the nation's first African-American president. If predictions pan out, Barack Obama's inauguration will be the largest in U.S. history, and it's also shaping up to be the most diverse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): On the steps of the capitol, expect even more of what was seen in Chicago's Grant Park.

DANEILLA LEGER, CENTER FOR AMERICA PROGRESS: I think you're definitely going to see a much broader diversity of people participating. If you look at the Obama campaign, he brought in young people, he brought in African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans.

WHITFIELD: But the diversity is not just measured by color. There are different political persuasions. Obama's pick of conservative minister Rick Warren to deliver the opening prayer ruffled some feathers because of Warren's opposition to gay marriage, but Obama unruffled maintained differing views can be unifying.

Other variations are being played out through different artists, including multiple Grammy winner Aretha Franklin. Cellist Yo-yo Ma and violinist Itzak Perlman performing a new piece of music commissioned by Obama. And relatively unknown to most until now, Pulitzer finalist Yale Professor Elizabeth Alexander. The poet of Obama's choice whose father advised President Johnson and was instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

And Obama's personal guest, any of the 300 or so surviving Tuskegee airmen. Despite segregation, the elite group of airmen heroically fought in World War II. This is their first personal invitation into a swearing in. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These men have overcome a lot.

WHITFIELD: And then there are the inaugural balls. Ten official ones, which the Obamas plan to attend and countless others. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons who along with many performers spearheaded huge youth vote drives is hosting a ball to celebrate what Obama symbolizes to people of all ages and backgrounds.

RUSSELL SIMMONS, HIP-HOP ACTION NETWORK: He represents a shift in consciousness in this country and for that everyone is proud, you know, republicans, democrats alike, whites and blacks and Latinos and others see ourselves as evolving in a very positive direction. That, for me, is a very big statement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots of history being made on January 20th. Obama will take the oath of office on the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration in 1861. This is the first time that Bible has been permitted to leave the archives.

All right. Barack Obama may have a lot of young people to actually thank for getting him elected and getting people excited about this election season. Two who actually helped get high schoolers organized are with us right now. Molly Kawahta and Adam Scholl both worked for Obama America. She is coming to us. Molly is in San Francisco. And Adam joining us from Washington. Good to see both of you all.

ADAM SCHOLL, OBAMA FOR AMERICA: Good to see you, too.

MOLLY KAWAHTA, OBAMA FOR AMERICA: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: It seems a little confusing. Folks here, high school kids very much involved in this campaign, but not a whole lot of high school kids could actually vote. So Adam, let me begin with you. How did you get roped into this? Or why did you get so excited about being part of this? And were you eligible to vote, too?

SCHOLL: I was eligible to vote. Most high school students who got involved were not. I think they were more useful as a volunteer basically than a voting bloc. But I definitely got first excited by his 2004 convention speech. Then just kept catching him speak and reading about him in the news and reading his positions and really got on board.

WHITFIELD: And so Molly, you and a whole lot of other folks who were involved in the this push to get the young people involved in this campaign, to get young people involved in this presidential election are actually making their way to Washington just in a matter of days to take part if not just eyewitness this inauguration. What does it mean for you?

KAWAHTA: Well it's just going to be an incredible experience. I mean, we're all meeting, once again. And it's just going to be the closing chapter of this almost two-year journey. And every victory we've celebrated so far has been a drum roll. It's usually you know celebrate for an hour and then get ready and prepare for the next election. So this was the first election we experienced that didn't lead onto more elections. And so we're all just elated to be there and really honored.

WHITFIELD: And so what does it say to you, Molly, about the excitement that is building in a lot of young people. Not just on inauguration day or not just even on election night even prior to that that so many young people who felt relatively apathetic about the presidential election until they got involved in this campaign in particular, the Obama campaign.

KAWAHTA: Well it was incredible. Because we didn't even have to do that much convincing for people. I mean, there were so many students that just wanted to get involved and that just needed to find a way to do that. And that's where we came in. So all we did was just kind of try to provide that avenue for them to join. And what's so incredible about this campaign is that it has brought so many young people into the political process that never really would have been involved otherwise. And so those people will stay active. They will continue voting. They will tell their friends to vote. It's just really been beneficial overall for civic participation over all.

WHITFIELD: Well, Adam, how do you see it playing out? Do you see that you know, a level of commitment coming from a lot of young people who are saying, wait a minute, maybe politics is for me, or maybe public service is for me just because of what I felt during this campaign season?

SCHOLL: Absolutely. Our job was a lot more about providing a means for the young people to get involved than convincing them to. All around the nation they were thrilled about getting involved. They just needed a way. And I think this election sort of blew away that image of youth apathy. Because you look all around the nation and they were apathetic, they were rising up to get behind Obama.

WHITFIELD: So Adam, you're already there in Washington, D.C., how are you going to get the best vantage point for the inauguration? What are you plans?

SCHOLL: Well, going to the swearing in in the morning, not sure exactly where my ticket leaves me -

WHITFIELD: But at least you're in the city.

SCHOLL: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Adam Scholl, Molly Kawahta, thanks so much to both of you. And best of luck on your journeys. Well, Adam, you're already there in Washington but you still got to get your way down to the National Mall, right?

All right. Best of luck on your journeys down to the National Mall for the inauguration just ten days from now. All right. Thanks so much.

KAWATHA: Thank you. WHITFIELD: Of course, we're going to talk more about the inauguration.

We're going to talk with a man who has a very unique perspective. D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty, who actually grew up in Washington and has plenty of inaugurations in which to compare this one to but he says you know what, this one is going to be different, a live interview with the mayor coming up at 5:30 Eastern.

We're also focusing on the Middle East. Israel warns of a new phase against Hamas. Missiles streak across the sky as Israel gives ominous hints of a broader war in Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Issue #1, the economy, your job. The number of Americans without one surged in December.

Companies cut more than a half-million workers last month. That pushed the unemployment rate to 7.2 percent. Add up the cuts for all of 2008, and it comes to 2.6 million jobs lost.

Well, take a look at this map right now. The states in red are running a jobless rate higher than the national average. Hopefully you're going to see that. The Southeast, parts of the Midwest and the West Coast are also hardest-hit areas.

All right. Barack Obama is pushing a stimulus package he says could save or create up to four million jobs, but the president-elect's package is a tough sell with a price tag of nearly $800 billion.

CNN's Paul Steinhauser now on why Obama isn't just getting opposition from Republicans, but also from Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They say they're not going to rubberstamp whatever Barack Obama gives them and that, you know, they've got as much of a say in this as he does. What are they opposed to? Well, our Candy Crowley is telling us that some of them don't like the tax credits that are going to businesses that would create new jobs. And our Dana Bash is reporting that some Democrats would like to see more money in this plan, this plan to jump-start the economy, to go towards infrastructure -- roads, bridges, tunnels, hospitals -- rather than tax cuts.

So they are pushing back.

Is this anything new? No. Democrats don't always get along with each other. It was 16 years ago a similar situation, Bill Clinton in the White House, Democrats controlling Congress. They definitely didn't sing "Kumbaya." And remember, during Jimmy Carter's four years as president, he clashed quite often with the Democrats.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: All right. From trying to figure out the economy, to now trying to figure out exactly what happened in New Orleans, the FBI is investigating the police killing of a man shot in the back a dozen times.

As CNN's Sean Callebs reports, the incident happened just after Adolph Grimes had come home to New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As fireworks exploded near the French Quarter on New Year's Eve, 22-year-old Adolph Grimes, or Chris, as he is known to his family, just pulled up to his grandmother's New Orleans home after a five-hour drive from Houston.

ADOLPH GRIMES JR., VICTIM'S FATHER: He made it at 12:00, exactly, with seconds to spare.

CALLEBS: A scant three hours later, he lay dying on the sidewalk, a half a block from his grandmother's front door. Fireworks giving way to the hue of flashing police lights. The Orleans Parish coroner says Grimes was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back.

PATRICIA GRIMES, VICTIM'S MOTHER: The violence has to stop. My child's death will not be meaningless.

CALLEBS: And Grimes didn't die at the hand of common street thugs. He was shot and killed by New Orleans police officers. The family wants to know why, why cops descended on a young man with no police record who works for a phone company and teaches bible study in Houston.

(on camera): Have the police told you anything?

P. GRIMES: No. I know just as much as you know.

CALLEBS (voice-over): The police department won't release the names of the officers involved or the shooting report, saying the investigation is ongoing. But police Superintendent Warren Riley says Grimes shot at police first, when plain-clothed officers surrounded Grimes' car. Riley says officers are trained to fire when fired upon, and fire more than one shot.

The FBI is now investigating, following a request for the Grimes family.

WARREN RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: We think that families should do everything they can to make sure that this investigation is as thorough and complete as possible so that they know the truth.

CALLEBS: Grimes had a gun and a legal permit to carry the weapon. Authorities also say they found a shotgun in the car's trunk. The family says that's not true, and so far, police have not produced the weapon. The 22-year-old, according to family members, had just walked out the front door and was in a car waiting for his cousin when the shooting started. Grimes' relatives don't believe for a minute that he opened fire first.

ROBERT JENKINS, GRIMES' FAMILY ATTORNEY: Left right here.

CALLEBS: And the family attorney shows the investigation will show rogue cops and sloppy police work.

JENKINS: We know the FBI is going to do a full and complete investigation, and we're hoping that criminal charge will be brought against all of these officers for the execution in this case.

CALLEBS: It doesn't make sense, the family says over and over. A young man who has never been arrested or in trouble with the law, a loving father with a good job. The grieving mother and father say they won't be silenced and say they are not worried about a code of silence among officers, the so-called blue wall.

A. GRIMES: The walls are going to come down just like the walls of Jericho came down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: God, so sad. All right.

Sean Callebs reporting there.

Nine police officers involved in the incident have been assigned to desk duty while that case is under investigation.

All right. That rainy day feeling, water, water everywhere in the Pacific Northwest. And guess what? More rain on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Disgraced money man Bernard Madoff could be behind bars within days. On Monday, a judge is scheduled to decide whether to revoke his bail. Prosecutors say Madoff violated his bail agreement after allegedly trying to transfer as much as $300 million of assets so that they wouldn't be seized.

Well, tonight and tomorrow, CNN and "Fortune" magazine team up for an hour-long investigation: "Madoff: Secrets of a Scandal."

Special Investigations Unit correspondent Abbie Boudreau joins us with more on this preview.

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Hi.

WHITFIELD: Hi.

BOUDREAU: So I'm looking into the SEC angle of this whole thing and how they handle the case. The person who is actually in charge of how to look into this is the inspector general, David Kotz. He's the one who's assigned to this particular case, and I met up with him after a congressional hearing to ask how he plans to figure out whether regulators failed to do their job in this particular case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOUDREAU: Some members of Congress today said that the SEC failed miserably. Do you think that that's a fair statement?

DAVID KOTZ, INSPECTOR GENERAL: Well, we haven't conducted our investigation yet, so...

BOUDREAU: But do you think that statement is fair?

KOTZ: Once we complete our investigation, I'll be able to tell you, but I really do have to go.

BOUDREAU: But do you fell like the SEC dropped the ball in this case?

KOTZ: I need to find that out after I finish my investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOUDREAU: Now, obviously no one is wanting to answer any questions right now, including the inspector general, who you saw there, who did a pretty good job of not really answering any of my questions.

WHITFIELD: A fine job.

BOUDREAU: But who really want to talk to is the SEC chairman, Christopher Cox. And I think most people want to hear more of what he had to say about his own agency and how the investigation is coming along. We asked him several times to sit down with us for an interview, but his press secretary told us no due to what they say are scheduling issues.

But you see why it's so important to get those types of interviews...

WHITFIELD: Sure.

BOUDREAU: ... to try to advance this story. There's so much that people are still trying to figure out.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely, especially people who lost millions or thousands. Lots of money by way of him. They want some answers, too, so they're hoping to get something from the federal investigators, if they can.

BOUDREAU: Soon. And there really is no timeline right now. No one really knows how long the investigation is going to take.

Some members of Congress said, is it going to take two years? It can't possibly take that long? And the inspector general said no, no, no. We're hoping to -- he wouldn't really commit to a timeline.

WHITFIELD: Right.

BOUDREAU: But people want answers as soon as possible. And he was trying to promise, saying, we'll get it to you as fast as possible.

WHITFIELD: I have a feeling it's going to be a lengthy investigation, too.

BOUDREAU: It seems like it's going to be a tough one, but...

WHITFIELD: I mean, this is not something that's going to be resolved overnight, but a lot of folks are pretty impatient because they want some details. And if they can recover some of their money, they love that, too.

BOUDREAU: Well, absolutely. And they want to just know what happened.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes, everyone does.

BOUDREAU: Who dropped the ball?

WHITFIELD: Yes, absolutely. Well, we're going to look into this story in the special tonight and hopefully hear a little bit more about the direction of this investigation.

"Madoff: Secrets of a Scandal," it's a CNN-Fortune special investigation hosted by Christine Romans and "Fortune" magazine managing editor Andy Serwer as well. It airs tonight and tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. And, of course, Abbie playing a role in the investigative reporting of that as well.

Thanks so much, Abbie.

BOUDREAU: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. An estate sale like no other. Michael Vick's mansion on the auction block, but bidders better have big bucks.

All right. But first, in the Internet age, many of us might take surfing the Web and checking e-mail for granted, but some corners of the world are still living without the Web. Until now.

Kyra Phillips has the story in today's "Edge of Discovery."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Africa, a continent of nearly one billion people, but only about five percent have Internet access. So for those people in Africa and others in remote areas, O3b Networks has a plan.

GREG WYLER, FOUNDER, O3b NETWORKS LTD.: O3b stands for the Other 3 Billion who are not on the Internet today.

PHILLIPS: Fiberoptic cables that connection most of the world to the Internet are pretty much nonexistent in remote parts of Africa. So O3b is taking its technology to the sky.

The company plans to launch 16 strategically placed satellites into orbit. As the satellites circle the Earth, they will pass Internet signals wirelessly. O3b says by 2010, it hopes to provide inexpensive Internet access to billions of people in remote parts of the world.

WYLER: What O3b is designed to do is to bridge the gap between the rural, the remote, the regional, the metropolitan and urban areas to level the playing field so they all have equal access.

PHILLIPS: Wyler says the technology opens up a new world of information -- business opportunities and education.

WYLER: Children in these markets can develop applications and tools just as if they were in the U.S. or in Europe.

PHILLIPS: Kyra Phillips, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. News Across America now.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon throwing plenty of punches. Today she put on boxing gloves to promote a new physical fitness campaign. It was her first public appearance since being indicted on theft and perjury charges, but the event didn't go so smoothly.

The ring collapsed. No kidding. But no one was hurt.

All right. In Boston, a fire truck crashed through the brick wall of an apartment building. A 30-year veteran of the fire department was killed, several other firefighters were hurt, and seven people inside the building were hospitalized, including four children. An investigation is currently under way.

And Michael Vick's home outside Atlanta is up for auction, part of the disgraced quarterback's bankruptcy filing. The asking price, $4.1 million. And when it goes on the auction block in mid-February, the minimum bid will be $3.2 billion.

If you're interested, you need to bring a checkbook and you need to be able to put 10 percent down.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Here's another warning. Consumer alert, in fact.

Nissan is recalling more than 240,000 trucks to fix a problem that could prevent the front airbag from deploying in a crash. The problem affects only cold-weather states where road salt and snow can get into the crash zone sensor area, rust, and then interrupt the signal.

The effected models, here it goes, 2005 to 2009 Frontiers, Pathfinders and Xterras.

All right. Frost -- we're not talking about weather, but the interviewer, the man -- versus Nixon. A verbal boxing match, and now a major contender for a Golden Globe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, after a writers strike made it a lackluster ceremony last year, glitz, glamour and great storytelling are making a comeback at the Golden Globes tomorrow. Among the many films nominated is an episode from American history.

CNN's Brooke Anderson has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a confrontation powerful enough to be dramatized on stage and now on screen.

FRANK LANGELLA, ACTOR, "FROST/NIXON": I'm saying that when the president does it, that means it's not illegal.

ANDERSON: "Frost/Nixon," the film version of David Frost's 1977 interviews with President Richard Nixon, nabbed five Golden Globe nominations. And the Hollywood spotlight has many remembering the history behind the movie. It was the first time Nixon publicly answered questions about Watergate and his resignation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no, no.

DAVID FROST, JOURNALIST: There were two reasons I was so desperate to get this interview, which was -- one was, obviously, constitutionally, he was the first ever American president who has ousted. But the second thing was that he was the most fascinating man.

ANDERSON: David Frost was a British talk show host who was willing to pay the disgraced president $600,000 for access. And the drama behind the scenes, where an interviewer is trying to make his mark, and a disgraced president is trying to find some redemption, made this story ripe for a big-screen take, says the man who wrote the play and the film.

PETER MORGAN, GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE: It's very much like a boxing match. When I first went to see Sir David, I did tell him that, you know, that the structure of the play that I had in mind would be like a gladiatorial fistfight, like a rocket.

ANDERSON: David Frost spent nearly 30 hours conducting the interview. There were risks for Frost, who not only financed the production himself, but cobbled together independent TV stations for the nationwide broadcast the networks wanted no part of. Forty-five million people watched in the U.S. alone.

FROST: If one had completely failed to get anything out of Nixon, or any admissions out of Nixon, and so on, it would have been pretty disastrous.

Would you go further than mistakes, the word that seems not enough for people to understand? RICHARD NIXON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What word would you express?

FROST: And that was sort of a heart-stopping moment because I knew he was at his most vulnerable.

NIXON: I let the American people down.

ANDERSON: Frost, who continued to interview world leaders and still hosts a talk show on Al-Jazeera, feels his interview with Nixon was one of a kind.

Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And stay with us. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.