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Economic Challenge; Obama's Train Ride Security; Storms Impact Midwest, Northeast; White House Decor
Aired January 10, 2009 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Changing of the guard. Live pictures now of the house that is at the center of the world's attention. What is going on inside that house right now as the Bushes pack up and the Obamas -- well, they prepare to move in? You know what? We're going to tell you.
I'm Don Lemon in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Is the man preparing to move into the White House already reneging on promises made on the campaign trail?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace that we had hoped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The rest of that interview that has America talking coming up.
Plus this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN HEUSS, CARJACKING VICTIM: We're going to take your car? Would you get out? Uh, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Rescue, a quick-thinking carjacking victim outsmarts a stupid criminal with his cell phone. Is it a new lesson for police?
And the future, it is here, the latest and greatest gadgets fresh off the drawing table, soon to be a necessity for you and your family.
The news starts right now.
You know what? We usually reserve our "Sign of the Times" moniker for the economy, but tonight there is no better sign of the times than a president, an airplane and a helicopter. Today was President George W. Bush's last official flight on Air Force One. After landing at Andrews Air Force Base -- he did that this afternoon -- Mr. Bush, along with the first lady, stayed put on the plane while Air Force One taxied into the hangar, where they met privately with workers that handle operations for the planes.
White House spokesperson Dana Perino said Mr. Bush wasn't even aware that this was his last flight on Air Force One until he was told by an interviewer. Mr. and Mrs. Bush were flying back from Norfolk, where the USS George H.W. Bush had been commissioned. We'll get all of the events that will take place in the next 10 days. We'll do that for you in just a moment, more on the big inaugural build-up.
But first, when the inauguration and the celebrations are over, the new president will have no time to waste when it comes to boosting the economy. A terrible, terrible jobs report released Friday sent the markets lower, wrapping up a week-long sell-off.
The Dow was down 1.5 percent on the day. The S&P 500 dropped 2 percent and the NASDAQ fell almost 3 percent. News of another big monthly drop in payroll sparked Friday's declines. The U.S. has now suffered the biggest annual job loss since the end of World War II.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," the president-elect said his economic plans will require sacrifices from everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace that we had hoped.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST: (INAUDIBLE) press down on (INAUDIBLE) At the end of the day, are you really talking about, over the course of your presidency, some kind of a grand bargain, that you have tax reform, health care reform, entitlement reform, including Social Security and Medicare, where everybody in the country is going to have to sacrifice something, except change, for the greater good?
OBAMA: Yes.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And when will that get done?
OBAMA: Well, the -- right now, I'm focused on a pretty heavy lift, which is making sure that we get that reinvestment and recovery package in place. But what you described is exactly what we're going to have to do. What we have to do is to take a look at our structural deficit, how are we paying for government, what are we getting for it, and how do we make the system more efficient.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And eventually, sacrifice from everyone.
OBAMA: Everybody's going to have to give -- everybody's going to have to have some skin in the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And that interview has some wondering if President-elect Barack Obama, even before he takes office, is already reneging on campaign promises. We'll talk about that shortly.
Also, shortly after that dismal jobs report came out, I spoke with CNN's chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: OK, Ali, so when these numbers came in, they were higher than most people thought.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that's kind of been the trend for most of 2008. We saw numbers that were worse than expected. But let me put it into perspective for you. The unemployment rate went from 6.7 percent to 7.2 percent. That's big, but what you really want to look at is how many jobs we've lost. We lost 524,000, but if you look at the whole year of 2008 -- these are numbers for December, so if you take the whole year, that's a loss of 2.6 million jobs.
The only time we had more jobs lost in a single year in the United States was in 1945, and that was the end of the war. That's when all the manufacturing plants shut down. The soldiers came home. So that was an anomaly. This is really quite serious, and I think that's why you had Barack Obama speaking before that jobs number came out to say, We're on the case, we understand it.
LEMON: Yes, and even speaking after the jobs number came out, saying -- you know, we lost jobs in every single month of 2008.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEMON: So Ali, for the people sitting at home who may be concerned about losing their jobs or who have already lost their job, is there any hope for them at all of a turnaround? When might this turn around, if at all?
VELSHI: Well, let me tell you, the turnaround is not likely to come for a few months. When you lose more than 500,000 jobs in a month, you know, these things don't switch off like a tap. If you do the right things, you might be able to scale down the job losses, but it would still take several months in order to do that. And that takes confidence. That takes people spending money, businesses thinking that they will make money, and hence they shouldn't continue to lay people off.
I think that's what Barack Obama's trying to do, instill some confidence that they're on the case and they're going to try and fix the problems, so don't keep a rash decision to lay more people off if you can keep them employed.
Now, what you can do -- you can't control decisions in Washington or necessarily by your employer, but you can have a sense of where jobs are. The only gains have been in the area of health care and education. Largely, there aren't other gains. So people can look at geographically where jobs are, what sort of training they can get. And if you are laid off from your job, it really may be an opportunity to try and get into another field of work that may be more promising over the long term than the one you were, Don.
LEMON: You kept talking about -- you know, you just said, finding other places, but you're looking at all of these companies that are -- I mean, Macy's closing 11 stores and all these people who are laying off. I mean, how many other places can someone look, Ali?
VELSHI: Yea, these -- listen, when you've had 500-and almost five-and-a quarter -- 525,000 people laid off in a month, everybody knows somebody who lost a job at this point. Once you cross sort of a million jobs lost, you know somebody who's affected, and that starts to affect your spending.
But again, you need to look at where you are. If you're a manufacturing worker in the United States Midwest and you lost a job, don't think that if the economy comes back in six or eight months, your job is coming back.
LEMON: Right.
VELSHI: Those jobs are gone.
LEMON: Right.
VELSHI: Construction won't come back until we start building new houses. So you need to think about whether you can retrain into education or health care or accounting or driving a truck or working in an oil field. These are all growing industries. And you need to look geographically. The mountain states all the way down to Texas are still experiencing a lower unemployment rate than the national average. California, the coast, the Southeast are being hit hard -- Michigan. So if you have the ability to move and to retrain, this is the real time. Don't think this isn't going to be serious for months to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: CNN's senior business correspondent Ali Velshi.
Meantime, the world is abuzz about what will happen in Washington, D.C., just 10 days from now, the inauguration of the first African-American president. If you wanted to go but you were put off by the record projected crowds that they're expecting, it is not too late to change your mind.
Get this, about two million people -- two million people -- are expected to descend on the nation's capital. That's half of the original estimates, and it's more than double historic events. Remember this, the march on Washington, video of that in 1969, all of those crowds marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., back in 1969. Of course, the question is, how are all those people going to fit? The Million Man March in 1995 also drew records crowds, but this one's expected to draw more.
The schedule has President-elect Barack Obama at an event in Philadelphia on Saturday, January 17th. Then he takes a train headed to Washington, and along the way, he'll stop in Wilmington, Delaware, and pick up Vice President-elect Joe Biden. It's being called a whistlestop tour. There will be another stop in Baltimore, and then the train arrives in Washington on Saturday afternoon.
On Sunday, Mr. Obama holds a welcome event at the Lincoln Memorial. It is open to the public. And on Monday, the 19th, they will participate in community service projects in D.C. to mark Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. Official inaugural events begin Tuesday, January 20th, at 10:00 AM Eastern, and Mr. Obama takes the oath of office at noon, then attends a luncheon in Statuary Hall. Now, from there, the new president travels down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House in the traditional inaugural parade.
No fewer than 10 inaugural balls are planned for that evening. Not sure how many he will make, might make all of them. The president and the vice president attend a prayer service the next day as their first official function as president and vice president.
That is a whole lot going on leading up to the swearing in, and a whole lot of people are going to show up to see it. D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty talked about what kind of police presence -- pilgrims -- we're talking pilgrims, people coming from all over the country, really all over the world -- what they can expect to see when they flock to the nation's capital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ADRIAN FENTY, WASHINGTON, D.C.: It's not a headache. It's really an honor and it's just going to be an exciting time for us. It's a lot of work, though. For one example, we have normally 4,000 officers in D.C. We've got to hire another 4,000 from around the country just to support this particular event. And then there's street closings and everything that comes along with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We're going to mention all of these events a lot more here on CNN, and you can check CNN.com for a list of those events. And we'll make sure that we have it here on the show so that you can get it.
As we mentioned, Mr. Obama plans to take a train from Philadelphia to Washington several days before his inauguration. And for the Secret Service, it represents a huge challenge. You can only imagine. CNN's homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, has the very latest for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president- elect will journey from the cradle of our democracy to the seat of our government, a trip full of symbolism, history and risk. Mr. Obama will travel 137 miles on a fixed route with vulnerabilities -- hundreds of bridges that could be sabotaged, tall buildings that could hide snipers, plants that manufacture and use dangerous chemicals that in a terrorist attack could be released.
RICK HIND, GREENPEACE: When you look at a map of the chemical plants in that route, there's over 10 plants along that route that we can count that put 100,000 people or more at risk. Half of them put a million or more people at risk. MESERVE: On Saturday, January 17th, one of those people will be President-elect Obama. The Secret Service won't be specific but says it is addressing the chemical issue. Sensors detecting not just chemicals, but biological, nuclear, and radiological threats will be used, along with other technology which officials say they began positioning a few weeks ago.
WILLIAM PICKLE, FORMER U.S. SECRET SERVICE AGENT: It would tell you if there's a problem with those tracks, if there's been a sabotage of the tracks, if there's explosives nearby.
MESERVE: The Secret Service won't comment on security enhancements to Obama's train. Amtrak, state and local police will help create a safety envelope around it as it moves south.
CHIEF JOHN O'CONNOR, AMTRAK POLICE: Security will be provided in the air, on the ground and in the water.
MESERVE: There is a long history of presidents taking train trips so people can see them and hear them.
BILL CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you!
MESERVE: The Secret Service is confident it can keep this president-elect safe.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Remember, Secret Service has taken the president into Iraq, into Afghanistan, into some very hostile places around the world. I'm comfortable that they have the skills -- working, of course, with state and local authorities -- to protect the president-elect in Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
MESERVE (on camera): Mr. Obama is going to stop and give speeches as he travels to Washington. Those sites will be secured, as presidential events usually are, but they're also expecting throngs of people along these tracks, at the stations. The Secret Service won't say how they're going to handle that. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: A whole lot going on in Washington this week leading up to the inauguration. You can see the White House there. I wonder what is going on inside the White House. As we said at the top of this broadcast, the Bushes are preparing to leave, packing up, and the Obamas are moving in. We're going to talk to a presidential historian, someone who might know exactly what's going on inside the White House, and he's going to tell us what an Obama White House will look like. You don't want to miss that. That's coming up in just minutes.
Meantime, texting to trap the bad guys.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALAN HEUSS, CARJACKING VICTIM: He said, I'm going to tell him I've got a bunch of hot chicks, you know, as if I'm texting you, and we've got some drugs, too. We've got cocaine!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. Well the question here is, did it work? We'll answer that for you moments away.
Also winter weather from the Midwest to the West Coast, really rough weather. Jacqui Jeras keeping an eye on the severe forecast for us. We'll talk to her moments away, as well.
We want to know what's on your mind tonight. Make sure you log on, be a part of the conversation, Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace or iReport.com. Tell us what you're thinking. We will get what you have to say on the air.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back to CNN. You see the live picture of the White House on the left, and President Bush on the right, leaving Marine One today. It was his last official -- last official -- flight on Air Force One. When he flies back home to Texas, it will no longer be Air Force One.
It is a sign of the changing times in Washington, and the person who's going to be in charge of the house on the left is going to have to deal what's happening overseas now. And that's where we take you, to Gaza. It has been a bloody Saturday in the Middle East, where Israel is poised to expand its military offensive in Gaza. The air and ground attacks continued across Gaza today. More than 800 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the assaults began. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have been killed. The Israeli air force dropped leaflets today, warning residents to leave the area and threatening to escalate its attacks, which began with air strikes back on December 27th.
Meantime, thousands of people across Europe protested the Israeli offensive. Up to 20,000 people gathered in London, and other big marches were held in Paris, Berlin, Barcelona and Milan.
Winter is taking a toll back here in the country on wide sections of the U.S. this weekend. This is how things looked in Chicago, where conditions have forced some flight cancellations today, and you can see, making the situation on the streets very severe.
It is really, really a tough time, tough going in the Pacific Northwest. That's where heavy snowfall followed by days of warmer temps and drenching rains have led to some serious flooding. At higher elevations, there's still plenty of snow. This house got hit by one of several avalanches reported there this week. No one was seriously hurt.
Our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, keeping a close watch on all of this for us, Jacqui. And what do we call it that makes those warm winds or warm temperatures in the Pacific Northwest? It's a "pineapple express," right, from Hawaii?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right, it's a "pineapple express." And that's what brought, you know, more than a foot of rainfall, and that the snow levels were so very high, so we had all the rain coming in the higher elevations and just topography, that extra lift of that air pushing up the mountains, just enhances everything, as well. And that's why we had such a big problem this time.
Now, what's happening today, not the "pineapple express," exactly. And our rainfall totals are going to be much lesser here. So we don't think this is enough to really aggravate the situation. This isn't going to renew any flooding, it's just going to keep the levels that have been dropping a little steadier. So we're not going to continue to see that steady progress today.
But I think tomorrow, when this starts to cut off, things will start getting significantly better, and you know, many of the interstates back open, like I-5 is back open for business today. The biggest problem, I think, that we'll see here today is that it keeps things really unstable. So we have saturated ground, additional rainfall and movement on top of it, means more avalanches, like what we saw into the higher elevations, and maybe some landslides and mudslides. So still a very significant threat.
Good news on the way. How about this? What does Alaska have to do with what's going on in the Pacific Northwest? Well, it all has to do with the jet stream, my friends, that fast ribbon of moving air in the upper levels of the atmosphere. Our jet stream has been poised and has been bringing storm after storm into the PAC Northwest. Well, as we head into next week, we're going to see that jet stream lift northward, high pressure in control, so that dries you out.
So great news for you, bad news for folks in the Midwest and the Northeast because it's going to open up the door to the arctic and bring really extreme temperatures to the Midwest and the Northeast. Today, arctic air not there, but plenty cold enough. We're dealing with wintry weather. It's been very heavy across parts of the Midwest and into the Northeast. Some icy conditions and a lot of airport delays as a result of it. We've had many cancellations out of O'Hare today, three-hour delays.
And we're just starting to get in on some of that action in the Southeast and Northeast because we've got rain with this system, on the south side, and also a couple of tornado warnings in Mississippi and Alabama. It's spotty. There are no watches, Don, but just want to let you know that they're real and there's a very slight chance of them occurring -- Don.
LEMON: You need to be careful. Thank you.
JERAS: Yes, you do.
LEMON: And on the lookout. Jacqui, always appreciate it. Hey, listen, do we have -- do we know what's going to happen during the inauguration, if we're going to get cold, or are we too far out to figure that out?
JERAS: Oh, it's, like, what, 10 days away or something?
LEMON: Yes.
JERAS: Yes. Too early.
LEMON: Can you break out your crystal ball?
JERAS: You know, I could look and give you an idea.
LEMON: OK. Let's talk about that.
JERAS: OK.
LEMON: Find out for me and I'll share it with our viewers. OK. Thank you, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure.
LEMON: Also, we want to know what's on your mind tonight, if you're thinking about the inauguration, you're thinking about Gaza, or you're talking about this carjacking, this strange carjacking that we're going to tell you about. Log on and tell us what's on your mind. If you want to know what's happening at the White House, as well. It's getting close to moving day, getting ready for moving day, we're going to talk about. Live pictures of the White House. How will the Obamas put their stamp on this place that you're looking at? We're going to tell you.
But first, if you are planning to go to Washington for the inauguration, you can rest easy. Portable toilets will be available. But don't count on your cell phone working. Officials believe the wireless networks will be overwhelmed by all the people who are going to show up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There are young recording artists in the studio, students from Atlanta's Ron Clark Academy cutting their "Dear Obama" song. Now, the single is being released to radio stations. Proceeds from this will benefit the scholarship program at their school.
Oprah Winfrey recently sent the academy a check for 365,000 bucks. The students hope to perform the song on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on inauguration week. They call it "The Oprah Show" now. I should get that right.
Well, the Obama family will soon call 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home. They've been compared to the Kennedys -- you've heard that -- but the hope is that they won't be tempted to decorate like them. I don't know if I've ever heard that. There's $100,000 on the table to help make the place their own.
And oh, the curiosity that's surrounding all of this. What will an Obama White House look like? How might it be decorated? What's going to go on there? How are they going to entertain?
Carl Anthony -- you're looking at him -- he is a presidential historian and author. What's the name of your book again?
CARL ANTHONY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR: Well, there are a couple. "America's First Families" is probably the one that relates the most to what we're talking about.
LEMON: OK, author of "America's First Families." Thank you very much. As we were looking at the White House tonight, you know, the people here in the CNN NEWSROOM wondered what might be going on just, you know, 10 days out to inauguration day and 10 days out, really, until the Bushes have to move out and the Obamas have to move in. Might we see moving boxes or people scurrying around, packing things? What's happening there?
ANTHONY: Well, all the activity that's going to be happening, the moving in and the moving out, is in the private quarters, upstairs, and then on the floor above that, where there are guest rooms and some other family rooms. So the public rooms won't have any change, and certainly, tourists or people passing by necessarily won't notice anything.
But you know, it still is the house of whoever's living there for the last 10 days, and as has been seen in, you know, the LBJ years and the Clinton years, there's a lot of parties and a lot of farewells and a lot of last minutes and sleepovers and things like that for people at the very end. So the last, you know, couple of days can be very packed for the outgoing family. And because of that, you know, they still need a lot of the basics still there -- you know, the beds and the clothing racks, and so forth. Meanwhile, there will be a lot of stuff that they don't need that's already been packed and sent out, and moving trucks will be waiting.
But it's at that stroke of noon, when the new president becomes president, that the White House staff really expertly, very quickly in just a matter of a few hours, moves in to place all of the furniture and items and things that Michelle Obama and the president-elect will have said, OK, we want this in the kids' room, we want this in our room, maybe this dining room table instead of that one. And they have that -- it's like a -- you know, a war strategy, ready to go right at the stroke of noon.
LEMON: So there's no, you know, moving trucks bumping into each other, going, Hey, I got to get my stuff out, I've got to get my stuff in. It is very well coordinated, right?
ANTHONY: It's very well coordinated.
LEMON: OK.
ANTHONY: It wasn't always that way.
LEMON: OK.
ANTHONY: I mean, there was -- when Woodrow Wilson did it, they couldn't find his pajamas his first night in there.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right, Carl, so let's talk about what a Obama White House might look like and really how much -- my question is how much the White House social secretary will have to do with this. I know Desiree Rogers from Chicago is going to be the new White House social secretary and will probably help Michelle Obama make her stamp on things that are going on there, not as much redecorating and redoing as when the Kennedys took over.
ANTHONY: Well, you know, there's a couple of -- everything gets so summarized and gets a bit abstract that we lose the facts (INAUDIBLE). The decorating that every family does is in the private quarters, where they will live -- the dining room, the living room, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the sunroom, which is up on the top floor, above the living room. You know, there's kind of a formal living room, which is oval, above the oval Blue Room. It's called the Yellow Room. Then there's kind of more of a -- kind of a hangout, den room.
LEMON: What might -- we've got to run, so I wonder, what might we see? Are we going to see a big change? Is there going to be anything different? Is there something special about Michelle and Barack Obama that they may want to put their stamp on the living quarters?
ANTHONY: We will -- not that we know yet. But those kids, of course, are young kids, and they will have a right to put their stamp on those rooms.
LEMON: OK.
ANTHONY: It's a matter of how much privacy. Will those pictures be released or not to the public?
LEMON: OK. Carl Anthony, historian, we appreciate it. The name of your book again is? Tell me one more time?
ANTHONY: "America's First Families."
LEMON: "America's First Families." Thank you, sir. Appreciate you joining us here.
ANTHONY: Thank you.
LEMON: All right, tell us what you want to know about tonight, if you want to know about this story, how might the Obamas decorate the living quarters of the White House, whatever you want to know. Make sure you log on to Twitter, FaceBook, iReport.com, tell us what you're thinking, and we'll make sure -- we'll try to get some of your responses on the air.
You know what? The chips come tumbling down in two more alleged Ponzi schemes. How many more are there? We'll tell you about them.
Also, why wasn't Bernie Madoff stopped? CNN's Special Investigations Unit is taking a closer look at the secrets of this scandal.
But first, if you are planning to go to the inauguration, you might want to think twice before you bring your children. Strollers are not allowed. Did you hear that? No strollers. And you might be left holding your youngster for hours on end.
Also, be sure to bring some snacks and drinks before you go because you might not be able to buy them once you're there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You see our Abbie Boudreau in the wide shot there, talking. We're going to get to her in a minute because she has a very interesting special, part of a very interesting special coming up after this broadcast a little bit later on tonight on CNN.
But for weeks now, the $50 billion Bernard Madoff scandal has been making headlines. A big-time Wall Street broker, he's accused of running a Ponzi scheme in which he paid out long-time investors with money brought in by new investors.
Well, now, more alleged financial scams are coming to light and the latest reported by authorities in Buffalo, New York, and in Philadelphia. I want you to take a look at this from CNN's Ines Ferre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the wake of Bernard Madoff's record-breaking financial scam, authorities are bringing to light similar frauds. This week in Buffalo, New York, Richard Piccoli was charged with mail fraud, accused of defrauding Catholic parishioners in what the U.S. attorney calls a $17 million Ponzi operation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has been very diligent about paying the money that he promised people. In fact, this may be a surprise to the victims that this is an investment fraud.
FERRE: Federal prosecutors allege Piccoli lured investors by advertising in Catholic newspapers, promising more than 7 percent returns. Instead, he used newer investment money to pay out earlier investors.
JOHN REID, NEPHEW OF VICTIM: I flipped out because to know that this guy was still out there after having dealt with my uncle...
FERRE: John Reed says his late uncle was one of Piccoli's victims, investing his life's savings.
REID: There's not enough punishment for him. Yes. There just isn't.
FERRE: The 82-year-old Piccoli has not entered a plea. He did not respond to CNN's calls. In Philadelphia, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil complaint for a Ponzi-like scheme allegedly operated by Joseph Forte. This one was about $50 million. The complaint alleges, among other things, solicitation fraud. No criminal charges have been filed. The victims say they found out what was going on on New Year's Eve via a letter from the funds accountant. Calls to Forte and his accountant were not returned.
MICHAEL GOLDBERG, BANKRUPTCY LAWYER: All Ponzi schemes are variations of the same theme. You know, the theme is the air of profitability and trust. They always have slightly different stories, how they make their money. Some can be secret formulas, other can be like Madoff, beating the market.
FERRE: Bankruptcy lawyer Michael Goldberg has been dealing with Ponzi schemes for more than 20 years.
GOLDBERG: I'm a little surprised how many there are right now becoming visible, but there are still dozens of them out there. They're just incubating right now, waiting to come out.
FERRE: Especially at a time of economic uncertainty.
(on camera): Some experts say Ponzi schemes are very attractive to potential investors, when the stock market is soaring. It all starts to fall apart when they collapse. Ines Ferre, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, CNN and "Fortune" magazine are taking an inside look at the Bernard Madoff scandal in a one-hour special that will happen this evening, as I mentioned, "Madoff: Secrets of a Scandal." Joining us now, Special Investigations Unit correspondent Abbie Boudreau. Abbie, what exactly are you going to be looking to in this special tonight?
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm looking into how the SEC handled this case. And the person whose job it is to figure that out is David Kotz. He's the inspector general 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 jobs in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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 once we...
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 feel like the SEC dropped the ball in this case?
KOTZ: I need to find that out after I finish my investigation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOUDREAU: Obviously, no one is willing to answer any questions right now, including the inspector general, who you just saw there, who did a pretty good job of not really answering any of my questions.
But who we really want to talk to is the SEC chairman, Christopher Cox. I think most people want to hear more about what he has to say about his own agency and how the investigation is coming along. We did ask him several times to sit down with us for an interview, but his press secretary told us no, due to what they said were scheduling issues. But we really want to talk to him. We want to find out, you know, how the investigation is coming along. We think people have every right to know what's going on.
LEMON: Why am I not surprised by that, a lot of people not wanting to talk in this scandal. And really, we don't know what's at the bottom of all this. Some people have said $50 billion, but we really don't know. And so lots more to uncover, Abbie.
BOUDREAU: Lots more, and we'll take a look at all that in our special tonight.
LEMON: Abbie is right on. It's called "Madoff: Secrets of a Scandal," a CNN/"Fortune" magazine special investigation. That is tonight, 8:00 PM Eastern -- 8:00 PM Eastern -- only here on CNN.
One hundred and fourteen to one, almost -- almost -- unanimous vote to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich by the Illinois house. Well, he said it before and he'll say it again, he does not plan to go without a fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH (D), ILLINOIS: I understand the house's actions. I'm not at all surprised by it. But I took actions, with the advice of lawyers and experts, to find ways, creative ways, to use the executive authority of a governor to get real things done for people who rely on us. And in many cases, the things we did for people have literally saved lives. I don't believe those are impeachable offenses. So we're going to move forward and I'm going to continue to fight every step of the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Mary Mitchell is a columnist for "The Chicago Sun-Times." Hi, Mary. Good to see you.
MARY MITCHELL, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Hi, Don.
LEMON: I've got to ask you this first...
MITCHELL: Always good to see you. LEMON: It's always good to see you. Mary, what was that press conference yesterday?
MITCHELL: It was classic Rod Blagojevich. He is a fast talker. I mean, he's the kind of guy who thinks he can talk his way out of anything. And it's so interesting. He brought up just about -- he brought up Rahm Emanuel's name yesterday. He trotted out a group of working class, and some of them ill. There was a guy in a wheelchair. He turned the conversation away from wrongdoing to his good works. So it was all about Rod Blagojevich looking in the camera, looking at the public, probably trying to reach some jurors to say, Hey, I'm not the bad guy here.
LEMON: OK. You're on -- you're in Chicago, on the ground, talking to people, I know, and talking so to sources. To the average person on the street, what has been the response throughout this scandal about Rod Blagojevich? I know that his poll numbers are way down, his approval rating is way down. But what about yesterday? What are people saying in Chicago about that press conference, Mary?
MITCHELL: Well, let me just say, I -- before coming to the studio, I was at a community -- a birthday party in my community. And I sat down at one table. The women there were probably about in their 50s or late 60s. They felt very sorry for Blagojevich. And they kept saying, He's innocent until proven guilty. I moved over to another table, and that table happened to have gentlemen, two professionals, white professionals, and they were tearing up Rod Blagojevich, saying -- claiming he should go to jail.
And I think that's because Rod Blagojevich has developed such close relationships in the grass roots community in the African- American community, and there's a lot of sympathy for him in that community.
LEMON: OK. Now, let's talk real quick about Roland Burris. Roland Burris says he is the senator. You can see, you know, some of the Democrats on Capitol Hill changing their tune, Harry Reid. Dick Durbin is saying he needs to wait, though, before he's seated. What is Dick Durbin saying? Have you spoken to anyone -- with Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois?
MITCHELL: Well, Dick Durbin has to save face. I mean, Rod Blagojevich, the governor, embattled as he is under all this pressure, was able to beat Dick Durbin and the Democratic leaders at their own game. They cannot keep Roland Burris out of the Senate, but they can't let him in too easily, either. So they'll go through a process to save face, but eventually, they're going to have to give Roland Burris the seat because they don't have a leg to stand on.
LEMON: Mary, thank you. And you know, I worked in Chicago and worked with Mary. We were competitors, so to speak. She was at "The Sun-Times" and I was at a different station. But did you ever think that Illinois would end up -- and Chicago -- with this much in the spotlight, with such controversy? It's amazing to me.
MITCHELL: Hey, we had a governor that went to jail before, so this is not new. We've seen aldermen go to jail. I think here the problem is, is that we have Barack Obama, who's going to the White House, and at the same time, we have Rod Blagojevich, who may be going to the big house. And that's what is so scary.
LEMON: All right. Mary Mitchell, thank you very much. Happy new year to you.
MITCHELL: Happy new year.
LEMON: A carjacking victim gets creative to try to get his car back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN HEUSS, CARJACKING VICTIM: He says, I'm going to tell him I've got a bunch of hot chicks, you know, as if I'm texting you, and we've got some drugs too. We've got cocaine!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Did it work? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, a frightening -- firefighters, I should say, in Philadelphia spent most of the day battling a frightening seven-alarm blaze at an apartment building. Black smoke could be seen for miles. No injuries, though, have been reported, but the Red Cross is setting up a shelter for anyone, anyone left homeless by this fire. There's no word yet on what the cause is.
Terrifying moments today on a highway near Albany, New York. Police say a passenger in a taxicab opened fire on passing cars, including a state trooper. Here you see the trooper pointing his gun at the suspect. Other troopers moved in, surrounded the taxi and arrested the suspect, who was shot and wounded. It is unclear if police shot him or if he shot himself.
For anyone who has ever been the victim of a carjacking, you'll cheer the outcome of this next story. Kurt Ludlow of affiliate WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, reports it took a little ingenuity and some fancy texting, but it did work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KURT LUDLOW, WBNS (voice-over): His car was at the curb, engine running, while Alan Heuss took a cell phone call from a friend.
ALAN HEUSS, CARJACKING VICTIM: And some young men came up and opened the passenger side door and stuck a gun in my face, said, We're going to take your car. Would you get out? Uh, yes.
LUDLOW: And in an instant, his BMW was gone. He filed a police report, then met his friends to drown his sorrows. And one of them had a very interesting idea. HEUSS: He said, You know, I'm going to text these guys, OK, going to blow some smoke their way. He said, I'm going to tell them I've got a bunch of hot chicks, you know, as if I'm texting you, and we've got some drugs, too. We got cocaine!
LUDLOW: The text began, "Hey old man! We smokin up tonight?" "yes, ya wanna? I get off at midnight so swing by." "Alright sugar cake."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me and the girls will be over, and we'll have some fun times tonight, you thievin'...
LUDLOW: The carjackers took the bait. The ruse continued all night.
HEUSS: Very, very early in the morning, they gave him the address where they were, expecting this hot chick to arrive with drugs. And in fact, the Columbus police officers arrive instead.
LUDLOW: The three thieves were caught red-handed in Alan's car. He expects to get it out of the impound lot tomorrow. What a story, how he and his friends outsmarted some knucklehead carjackers.
HEUSS: It's a little seven-hour saga that -- you know, where the good guys win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You can file that one in the "stupid criminals" category.
Well, it is a land of Oz for technology wizards, and our Nicole Lapin is there at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I'm jealous, Nicole.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM: Jealous? Don, I wish you were here. This is the one time that what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. It is day three of the Consumer Electronics Show, and Don, I'm going to show you the coolest stuff coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Roger, you're supposed to be directing the show, not using your iPhone. But you know, not along ago, the iPhone was a brand-new gadget that was probably trotted out at one of these events that we're going to talk about just in a couple seconds.
Under the cloud of tough economic times, the largest consumer electronics show is under way right now in Las Vegas. But who's buying this stuff? I want to know what it is, really. CNN.com anchor Nicole Lapin joins us from the show. Nicole, have you seen really cool stuff? I know you're going to bring some home.
LAPIN: Absolutely, Don. What do you want? Think about it while we show you around here...
LEMON: OK. LAPIN: ... because like you said, we're under a cloud of the recession. But recession, what recession? Look around. Look at these huge displays on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show. It is day three at CES in Las Vegas. And I heard a statistic that I want to share with you -- 1.7 million square feet of floor space. It is $35 a square foot, Don.
And you know, the recession is actually good for you and I, the consumer, because it means that gadgets are going to be cheaper, greener. And I'm not saying anything because I know you have really great gadget skills, but they're going to be easier to use, as well.
LEMON: Oh. OK. Really easy to use. So what's the coolest thing you've seen there, young lady?
LAPIN: Well...
LEMON: The 3D thing that you talked about?
LAPIN: (INAUDIBLE) look around. 3D was cool. We're seeing a lot of nesting (ph)...
LEMON: All right.
LAPIN: ... bringing the content to the consumer because you know during these tough economic times, you want to see your movies, you want to get your Internet all while sitting on your couch.
LEMON: Rock Band! Rock Band!
LAPIN: You want to play, buddy? All right. You like this? All right, let's see...
LEMON: Nicole, you set me up. Oh, my gosh!
LAPIN: Are you ready?
LEMON: I'm ready.
LAPIN: All right. This is a new thing out by Ion, actually. And it works with Rock Band, but what's cool about it is that it's a real drum set. All right, let's see. Come on. We're going to do some "Eye of the Tiger." Ready?
LEMON: Yes, let's go.
LAPIN: Do you think I can do this? All right. All right. How'm I doing?
LEMON: Sounds like you're hitting a leather pad. All right, Nicole...
LAPIN: All right, buddy...
LEMON: ... don't quit your day job.
LAPIN: I know!
LEMON: Or your Internet job. Or your TV job.
LAPIN: I know. I know. But this is some of the cool stuff that we've been seeing at CES. We're also seeing a lot of all-in-one gadgets. I'm going to walk away from this. I'll try and bring it in my suitcase home for you back in Atlanta.
The participation is down just a little bit. I should tell you that. It's down about 8 percent from last year.
LEMON: And that's no surprise, considering the economy, though, Nicole.
LAPIN: No surprise, right. But it's still 130,000 people, Don. I wish it was 130,001. I wish you were here with me.
LEMON: All right. But we've got to run. Thank you. Enjoy it. I'll get myself in trouble because I know the words to that song, but I'm not going to do it. Thank you very much.
LAPIN: You're welcome.
LEMON: Well, you probably noticed a lot of sectors in the economy are struggling, and you know, electronics, that's one of them, as well. Many want the government to bail them out. Among the people with this handout, porn magnet Larry Flynt. Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis and "Hustler's" Larry Flynt sent out a press release saying because sales are down and jobs are at stake, the porn industry needs a government bail-out.
(on camera): The porn industry needs a bail-out? You've got to be kidding me.
LARRY FLYNT, "HUSTLER" MAGAZINE PUBLISHER: You know, why not, you know? They did it for the automobiles. They did it for the banks. You've got a lot of unhappy people out there, that sex is the furthest thing from their mind.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Larry Flynt claims his business is off about 25 percent, saying economic woes have apparently affected people's libidos. Vivid Entertainment, the leader in adult video sales, also tells CNN business is down. But talk to Vincent Morezes at Odyssey Video in Los Angeles and you get a much different story. He says business is up, just like it was after 9/11.
VINCENT MOREZES, STORE MANAGER, ODYSSEY VIDEO: I guess during hard times or tragedy, the adult sales and rentals just jump dramatically. It was, like, a huge onslaught of just people just buying and renting.
ROWLANDS (on camera): And you're seeing some of that right now?
MOREZES: I think so, especially with the economy being so bad. It's just cheaper to just -- cheaper than a girlfriend.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Back to the bail-out. Keep in mind, Larry Flynt is the same guy who outed congressmen for having alleged affairs during and after the Clinton impeachment hearing. He has a long history bashing politicians and admits he's not expecting a bail- out.
FLYNT: I'm dead serious about making Congress look stupid, you know? I think the American people should have more to say about those bail-outs and how they're spending their money. The politicians have never handled our money wisely since I've been in this world, and I don't think they're going to start now.
ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Cheaper than a girlfriend. That is the quote of the day. We're going to have more on this story tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern because that's when "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis has a conversation with us that we will share with you. You don't want to miss that. "Cheaper than a Girlfriend."
Hail to the chief. President Bush commissions what he calls an awesome ship that honors an awesome man. A look at the USS George H.W. Bush.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, that is the ultimate honor for a decorated Navy pilot. Former president George H.W. Bush now has an aircraft carrier named after him. He and his family, including President Bush, joined a crowd of about 20,000 for the commissioning ceremony today in Norfolk, Virginia. The $6.2 billion warship is nuclear powered and nearly 1,100 feet long. It is one of the largest in the world.
I want to share some of your responses tonight on Twitter, on FaceBook, and on MySpace. There was one I just saw earlier. Oh, this is from scb4bp. It said, "Y'all did this to me. I'm such a guitar hero and rock band junkie. I just got over my addiction. I feel it coming again."
One person here says, "Don, is there still a war in Iraq? We hear next to nothing about it and reports every day because Jett Travolta died. Sorry, but why?" Well, that is an important story and we have to cover it, as well.
"No matter how much they prepare for the inauguration, it will not be enough for an historical event that everyone wants to be a part of." So everyone can't be a part of that. And someone recently on Twitter -- it's not up there -- said, "Hey, Don, stop giving Larry Flynt press. That's all he's looking for. It is disgusting." One person says, they shouldn't be redecorating the girls' room. They should take that money to help the dire situation that's happening in the country.
So make sure you log on to Twitter, to FaceBook, to MySpace, iReport.com, tell us what you're thinking, and we'll get your responses on the air tonight.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you right back here tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern.
LOU DOBBS THIS WEEKEND begins right now.
