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President Obama Reverses Some Bush Administration Policies; Gitmo Detainees Rearrested; Anger in Afghanistan over the Latest U.S. Military Operation; Refugees Dumped at Sea
Aired January 26, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Thousands more workers heading to the unemployment line. This hour, details of job cuts at two big companies you're going to want to know about.
And focusing his energies on energy. This morning, the new president scuttles the old president's policy. It is Monday, January 26th. Hi everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Hold on to your wallet if you've got money in the market. It could be another white-knuckled ride on Wall Street. Later this hour, stocks are expected to open mixed. And there is danger ahead. A big batch of earnings report could cement last quarter as one of the worst in a decade.
At the end of the week, the gross domestic product is one of the best measures of the economy's health. It is expected to hit its lowest point in 26 years. Wow.
But, first, a new body blow to the nation's battered economy. Just within of the last hour, two major announcements. Tens of thousands of jobs are being eliminated as companies struggle to survive.
CNN's Christine Romans has been watching this part of the numbers all morning long.
And, boy, Christine, just another indication of where we are in this economy.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Heidi. And in just the past few moments, we heard from Home Depot it would be laying off 7,000 workers. It will be closing 34 Expo Design Center stores over the next couple of months, five yard bird stores, two designer center stores, a bathroom modeling business called HD Baths, so all together some 7,000 jobs will be eliminated there in the near term here.
The company says that it's reducing these jobs but that there will be jobs -- the Big Orange Home Depot box stores, those customer facing jobs, the people that you deal with on that end of the business, those will not be affected here. So they're cutting a lot of other jobs in the 34 Expo Design Centers and elsewhere but there are -- those folks who wear the apron in the Home Depot stores will not be. Also we hear from Caterpillar, 20,000 job cuts there, 5,000 new ones here in Management and Global Support, some 15,000 job cuts have begun in the fourth quarter. Caterpillar, frankly, saying 2008 was a blockbuster at the beginning of the year. Things were going great for that company. And then very quickly, the business turned around and because of the uncertainty and the weak outlook for 2009, they say that they are looking at trough expectations for -- that means that they're kind of preparing for the worst here.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: Also, we heard from Sprint Nextel, Heidi. 8,000 job losses there. The company trying to save $1.2 billion. And Deere announcing -- John Deere, the Moline, Illinois based company, announcing 700 job cuts in Iowa and Brazil. So a steady drum beat of job cuts just an hour, about 35 of them.
COLLINS: Yes, and I don't want to simplify things too much, but when we're talking about Caterpillar and Deere and Home Depot and all that, you know, I'm thinking of new home construction and people having a difficult time getting mortgages if they are, in fact, going ahead with building a home. And these are all industries that are clearly affected by that.
ROMANS: Yes. That's absolutely right. In fact, the Home Depot situation those Expo Design Centers, I mean, they have always had trouble. The company admits those have always been a business model that had trouble. And now, in this current environment where you have record low shovels to the ground for new home instruction, you can see why that would be a -- business that would not be a core business for Home Depot anymore.
COLLINS: Yes. All right, well, Christine, appreciate that.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: And we have more earnings reports coming out so we'll keep our fingers crossed for that and we'll get back to you. Thanks so much, Christine.
Meanwhile, the business week gets under way with news of a big merger between two drug companies to let you know about. Pfizer has reached an agreement now to buy its rival Wyeth. The estimated value of the deal, roughly $68 billion. Pfizer is the world's leading drug maker in terms of sales.
President Obama going green and the automotive industry may be forced to follow. Next hour, the president will unveil tougher standards for what you and I drive.
CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now with a preview on that.
So how will this affect you and me, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, if this actually goes through, you could see some cars that are much more fuel-efficient, if -- but it's going to take some time if, in fact, some of this does actually pass.
I want to tell you what he's taking a look at here. First and foremost, reversing some key Bush initiatives when it comes to California, 13 other states. You may recall that it California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who had approached former President Bush and said he wanted a tougher auto emissions standards, stricter standards beyond what is required by federal law.
President Bush said no, there would not be a waiver requested to the Environmental Protection Agency that would allow for those tougher standards. He said it would be too confusing, it wouldn't be enforceable to have all of these different kinds of rules for different states.
Well, President Obama disagrees. He wants the EPA to re-examine that waiver, take a look at this issue, and see if, in fact, it is possible for some states to actually require tougher auto emission standards within their own states.
That is one thing that is happening. He is also going to take a look at fuel efficiency standards as well, the CAFE standards. And that is something that could affect all of us. Right now, the average or so, you get about 27.5 miles per gallon. Well, he could be looking at a mandate here to the Transportation Department of 35 miles per gallon. More fuel-efficient cars on the highways.
So we'll see whether or not that actually materializes. But these are the kinds of things that he can call for. These are the things that he can work with, the Transportation Department, the EPA, and he is simply telling government workers and federal agencies, find ways of making your own lives, your own offices more fuel-efficient -- Heidi?
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux on a flurry-filled White House lawn there. Thanks so much, Suzanne.
Here's a look at the rest of the day seven, in fact, for the Obama administration. This morning, the president taking part in the daily economic briefing. And as we've been saying, he will make remarks next hour on jobs, energy independence and climate change.
Then at 1:30 Eastern, the daily White House briefing, as we've said, by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
President Obama's Cabinet is expected to get a new member today. The Senate appears ready now to confirm Timothy Geithner as the nation's new Treasury secretary. That, despite embarrassing disclosures that he initially failed to pay $34,000 in back taxes until learning of his nomination. Supporters say Geithner is the perfect person to spearhead the nation's economic recovery.
Take a moment now to check out the weather all across the country. Specifically, Rob, and I don't know if you saw Suzanne Malveaux's live shot there, but you have flurries on the White House lawn.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Yes. I saw your little comment, a flurry of activity. A little play on words. I like that.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes.
MARCIANO: Let's send them out...
COLLINS: We're so sharp here, aren't we?
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: It's Monday and nothing like a good weekend's rest to get you going.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: All right. Heidi, we'll toss it back over to you. See you in about half an hour.
COLLINS: Wow. Snow everywhere. Don't we get to hear about your ski trip at some point?
MARCIANO: You want to -- OK, sure.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes. We get the pictures.
MARCIANO: Steamboat, Colorado. It was over a work conference, Heidi.
COLLINS: I know. For sure it was.
MARCIANO: And there's worse places you can be than...
COLLINS: OK. I can't wait to see the report. I missed that report.
MARCIANO: Yes. All right.
COLLINS: All right. We'll check back later.
MARCIANO: Sounds good.
COLLINS: Thanks, Rob.
A small city faces a very big mystery. A string of suspicious fires. More than a dozen just this month. Who's behind the arsons?
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ran outside. And it was like flames like shooting off the, off the roof. Must have been like 15-foot flames or higher. And it was just unbelievable. All of the smoke in the air. Like you could hardly breathe. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A frightening scenario becoming too commonplace in Coatesville. The small Pennsylvania City has been hit by a wave of arsons. More than a dozen suspicious fires this month alone.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick is joining us now with more.
Boy, it's just a weird story, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Totally. And this is a city just west of Philadelphia but it's getting so bad that some people are saying they're afraid to go to sleep worried that their home will be set on fire.
Now the fear is apparently justified. Fourteen suspected arsons in the last three weeks. Federal authorities have stepped in to help police investigate. The Coatesville city manager has declared a state of emergency and people are being warned not even to leave anything outside that might be flammable. No trash, no porch furniture, nothing.
Now the latest fire was, a seven-alarm blaze over the weekend, damaged more than a dozen homes sending terrified residents into the cold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET JACKSON, COATESVILLE RESIDENT: It's really scary. You know? I mean, it's just been going on like every other week or every two weeks. I mean, we're all afraid to even be in our houses right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: The big question for police is who is setting these row houses on fire and why? In December, investigators did arrest two adults and one teen in connection with 15 other alleged arsons back in 2008. Police think that the fires may be part of a gang initiation. The fires claimed the life of an elderly woman and officials say it has caused millions in damages, not to mention all those people who are left homeless.
And if you look at those flames, once they strike one row house, if they're not contained, they just really quickly. Right now, the police will have to call in other fire departments just to help contain these blazes. So it's really getting out of hand and it's really a serious concern -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Absolutely. You look at those flames and, obviously, you can see now the concern on everybody's face that lives there. Now are investigators, Deb, going to continue along that route of just possible gang activity? Because I kind of thought they were backing off of that. Are they not sure where to go next?
FEYERICK: Well, you know, right now, they are investigating any possible leads. That when you speak to people who are there they really believe that this is so crazy, that it's happening so quickly and so often, that the people who live in that neighborhood think that it is gang-related. Police initially said that. They are still sort of pursuing that angle.
Again, why would somebody or some people want to do this thing? That's really the heart of this.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, I'm sure they'll be really going through those buildings to get any evidence that they might be able to collect.
Deborah Feyerick, we know you'll stay on top of it. Thank you.
FEYERICK: Of course.
COLLINS: Two Texas firefighters killed in a routine training exercise. It happened in Kilgore, that's near Dallas. Officials say the men fell from the roof of an eight-story dorm at Kilgore College. They had been learning how to get on and off the roof with a new retractable platform when they fell out of the attached bucket. Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries.
A violent weekend across the country. First to Florida, near Orlando, eight inmates taken to the hospital with stab wounds and one gunshot wound after a brawl at the Coleman's Federal Prison Complex. A prison spokesman says the fight broke out in the recreation yard. No word on what started it.
In Portland, Oregon, two girls were killed and seven other wounded when a gunman opened fire outside an Under 21 nightclub. Police say the alleged shooter then shot himself in the head. He remains in critical condition. Investigators believe it might have been a random act of violence.
To Kansas. A wake at a home in Wichita disrupted by gunfire. Two people were killed, seven others wounded Saturday night. Police are still searching for suspects in that incident.
And in Miami, two teens killed, seven other people wounded in a corner shooting. Police say 18-year-old Derrick Gloster and 16-year- old Brandon Mills were killed Friday night when someone opened fire with an AK-47. Now their mothers are sending a message to the person behind the shooting.
Reporter Vanessa Ruiz from our affiliate WSVN has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA RUIZ, WSVN REPORTER (voice-over): Two mothers brought together in their grief. Both of them enduring the pain no parent should -- losing a young son.
LASONYA MILLS, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Brandon, Brandon was my last baby. My last one. And -- it's just tough.
RUIZ: For Lasonya Mills, the death of her 16-year-old son Brandon is like a nightmare she simply can't wake up from.
MILLS: This one is real hard. This one, I don't (INAUDIBLE) too hurt, but this one is like a steel wall for me.
RUIZ: Beside her, Tangela Graham is living her own nightmare. Her son, 18-year-old Derrick Gloster, was the other fatal victim of Friday's Liberty City shooting.
TANGELA GRAHAM, VICTIM'S MOTHER: He was my only son and my oldest.
RUIZ: Both mothers coming together on Sunday, as police continue their hunt for the triggerman, calling it one of the largest mass shootings in Miami history with nine people wounded and so far two teens dead.
MILLS: I will accept his death but I can't take the cause of how he died. That's the hard - that what hurts me the most.
GRAHAM: Call me, mom. How you doing? You need anything? As he hang up, mom, I love you.
RUIZ: Now as these two mothers attempt the impossible and try to make sense of their unimaginable loss, they hold on to the memory of their young sons.
GRAHAM: He was not a bad. He did what a teenager would do. He's a boy.
MILLS: I'm just praying that they have a heart and turn himself in, you know, because Brandon didn't deserve it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Miami police still do not who was behind the shooting. They asking the community for help.
A promoter at a monster truck rally in Wisconsin crushed to death by one of the huge trucks. It's the second deadly accident involved in the trucks in a little over the week. Witnesses say the man stepped into the truck's path and was pinned by its 600-pound wheel. The driver said he never saw him. Police say the driver will not be charged.
Are they militants or civilians? A dispute after the latest U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
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COLLINS: Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman isn't giving up his U.S. Senate seat without a fight. He's challenging an election recount that put Democrat Al Franken ahead 225 votes. A three-judge panel begins hearing the case today. Coleman's attorney argues more than a third of 12,000 absentee ballots were tossed in error.
The impeachment trial for Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich starts today but noticeably missing, Blagojevich himself. The governor is accused of, among other things, trying to sell President Obama's former Senate seat. Blagojevich says he won't attend the trial. He says it's fixed. Blagojevich is in New York today making talk show appearances.
And you can hear the governor's side of the story right here on CNN as well. He'll be on "LARRY KING LIVE" at 9:00 Eastern tonight.
President Obama shutting down the terror prison at Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. Some of those detainees could wind up in the U.S. prison system, in the U.S. courts or maybe even in your community.
CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti has the details.
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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like it or not, some Gitmo detainees are heading to the U.S. Any volunteers to play host?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like saying, you know, there's a toxic landfill and I want it in my backyard.
CANDIOTTI: Possible homes including Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where the military has a maximum security prison? How about military bases? North Carolina's Ft. Bragg or California's Camp Pendleton.
Not in my district, says Congressman Duncan Hunter.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: I don't think that they ought to be placed in military bases whose primary role is to train marines and soldiers for military action.
CANDIOTTI: Some have even suggested reopening San Francisco's Alcatraz. Florence, Colorado's Supermax Federal Prison is an obvious possibility, already home to convicted terrorists including Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and the Unabomber. The town's mayor says bring them in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's probably not a more secure place in the nation.
CANDIOTTI: Suspected terrorists have been tried and convicted in at least six states since 2001, 145 times.
SARAH MENDELSON, CTR. FOR STRATEGIC & INTL. STUDIES: They've already been handling very dangerous people and the cases have gone forward and the public has been safe.
CANDIOTTI: Yet relatives of 9/11 victims who went to Guantanamo last week and saw the accused in court are dead set against the transfer.
LORRAINE BELIVEAU, VICTIM'S SISTER: There is homeland security to protect us from people like this coming into our country. Why would we bring it into our country? CANDIOTTI: Back home, relatives have now written a letter to the president saying no more delays, no more confusion over what to do with the suspects.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Find out how we feel and how these people are standing in there saying how proud that they killed my son.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): No matter where detainees wind up, there is no guarantee they'll see the inside of a courtroom. In some cases, there may not be adequate evidence to try them. Others may be acquitted and set free in someone's backyard.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Hundreds of refugees wash ashore. Countless questions remain about their treatment and their fate. Dan Rivers with the story you may not want to believe.
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COLLINS: On Wall Street, thousands of new job cuts and a major merger in the drug industry to begin the trading week.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange for the opening bell now.
Hi there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, we've got a real rarity today. And that is a merger Monday. Mergers and acquisitions certainly have been one of the many casualties of the recession. We just haven't seen them because, among other things, you know, companies need money to do these big deals.
Well, Pfizer, the nation's biggest drug maker, says it has agreed to buy rival Wyeth for $68 billion. It's believed to be the largest deal in the pharma sector in nearly a decade. Pfizer says it will borrow about a third of the cost from a consortium of banks to finance the deal.
The deal will bring a lot of names a lot of folks know like Lipitor, Viagra, ChapSticks, and Robitussin under one roof. But the marriage will also mean the elimination of about 8,000 jobs and we have more downsizings to tell you about.
Sprint Nextel is also cutting 8,000 positions. Sprint is also suspending its tuition reimbursement program, its 401(k) match and it's extending a freeze on salary increases.
Home Depot headquarters right near you, Heidi, in Atlanta, is eliminating 7,000 jobs as it closes more than 40 of its design center stores. Needless to say, the housing recession has hurt retail in general and home improvement stores like Home Depot. Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar is slashing 5,000 positions and cutting executive pay. That's on top of the 15,000 layoffs announced at the end of last year. Cat posted record sales for last year but the company says it was whipsawed in the last quarter by the global recession and plunging commodity prices.
Cat was doing really well because other companies overseas kept calling for its products, but the global economy is slowing and so it doesn't really have that cushion anymore. Meanwhile farm equipment maker Deere & Company says it will lay off nearly 700 workers.
Ringing the opening bell today, Heidi, is the New York Stock Exchange Diversity Council on its tenth anniversary to celebrate that if you see them on the podium. But, also, I just want to mention quickly, across the pond, you know, just to talk about this global recession, Iceland's prime minister says that country's coalition government has collapsed. After talks broke down, the prime minister says he will speak to Iceland's president to formally dissolve the government. Iceland in dire straits since the country's banks collapse -- inflation, unemployment soared, and its currency has plummeted. Can I give you a bright spot, today?
COLLINS: Please. For the love.
LISOVICZ: OK. The closing bell today will be rung by New York's bravest. The FDNY first responders credited with the swift rescue of the passengers and crew on board US Airways Flight 1549 now commonly known as the Miracle on the Hudson. And you better believe they will get huge applause.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And we're also applauding some gains of the first few seconds of trading, but they are marginal, Heidi. We will get back to you bigger numbers hopefully on the upside a little bit later on in the program.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. And everybody will be watching the closing bell, I'm sure. All right. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: President Obama hoping to make his mark on energy policy while erasing the mark of former President Bush. About an hour from now, Mr. Obama will announce new directives on renewable energy. The policy changes include allowing 14 states to set their own auto emission standards. Also setting fuel efficiency standards beyond what is called for under the current federal law.
It was a busy first week for President Obama after dancing late into inauguration night with the First Lady. He began crossing off items on his to do list. He met with top military officers in Iraq to discuss a responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops. He also phoned several leaders in the Middle East. The President signed the executive order to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And another executive order now forces the military to stick to regulations in the army's field manual when interrogating prisoners.
President Obama is reversing some Bush administration policies on abortion as well. He struck down an order that prohibited federal funding for international groups that provide abortion or related services.
This is day seven for the Obama administration. Let's take a look now at what is on the agenda. This morning, the president is taking part in the daily economic briefing. And next hour, 10:30 Eastern, he's due to make remarks on jobs, energy independence and climate change. Then at 1:30 Eastern, the daily White House briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Four American soldiers are dead after two U.S. helicopters crash in northern Iraq. It happened near Kirkuk. The exact cause unknown right now. But officials say it does not appear any of the action was involved.
Anger in Afghanistan. Hundreds of people denouncing a U.S. military operation. The U.S. says the early Saturday raid killed armed militants. Afghan officials say it killed civilians. It's not the first such disputed incident in Afghanistan.
CNN's Barbara Starr has been following this part of the story, and joins us now live from the Pentagon.
So do we know what really happened, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, the U.S. military continues to say it believes that during this mission, it killed insurgents, people that were shooting at U.S. and Afghan troops. But it really just underscores the difficulties President Obama will face this week in making some decisions on how to move forward in Afghanistan.
He's expected to come over to the Pentagon possibly. Possibly, as soon as Wednesday, to sit down with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and try and figure out how to get more troops into Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be on the Hill tomorrow talking about this, hoping to sign some deployment orders maybe by the end of the week.
But it's going to really be tough going in Afghanistan. Security is deteriorating and unless they can establish security, the billions of dollars in needed aid and reconstruction may not materialize and may not be very useful if the security situation continues to decline. So all of this on the plate for the week ahead. And just a little of sort of unfinished business from last week.
Saudi Arabia announced it has now rearrested nine detainees that came back to Saudi Arabia after being released from Guantanamo Bay. So that's a story that is not going away any time soon -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Barbara Starr following all the angles from the Pentagon for us. Sure do appreciate that, Barbara. Meanwhile, bombs explode at a boys high school near Pakistan's capital. Official say the suspects are Taliban militants. No one was hurt in today's bombing, but that area has been plagued by violence. In fact, in the last six months, 183 schools have been destroyed by fighting.
President Obama giving Middle East diplomacy a prominent place in his administration. The president's Middle East envoy George Mitchell set to leave today on a tour of the region. CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Doherty joins us now with a look at his trip.
Where will he begin, Jill?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, number one, the timing is really significant, because after all, he is going out very quickly after being named special envoy to the Middle East. Administration officials saying that he will be leaving today. He will be going to a number of countries in the region. Of course, visiting Israel and, of course, visiting the Palestinian authorities.
But, also, going to countries that are very important in the diplomatic efforts to bring some of this to some type of peaceful resolution. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and several countries in Europe. Immediately, his task is to try to help to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza. That was the inflamed area that still is now located with -- that now in a tentative peace. And what he is trying to do is work on getting the arms that are going into Gaza stopped, and then finding out immediately what he can do in terms of longer term, bringing about some type of peace in the region -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Jill, we sure do appreciate that. We know you'll stay on top of that trip that he will be taking. We'll find out more about what happens when he returns, of course. CNN's Jill Doherty for us, thank you.
Susan Rice getting down to business today. The new U.S. ambassador to the U.N. seen here during her confirmation hearing earlier this month is scheduled to start work. Rice is a specialist on the African issues. She will likely be a key player in deciding whether to send peacekeeping troops to Somalia.
Jewish leaders angry that the Catholic Church is welcoming back a controversial bishop, Richard Williamson. And three other bishops belong to a group that fought church reforms back in the '60s. The church kicked them out in 1988. But Pope Benedict is smoothing things over and inviting them back. Critics call Williamson a Holocaust denier. He claims the Nazis did not use gas chambers.
Hundreds people desperate to escape persecution. They cram into boats, brave the seas and safely land onshore, but did their ordeal then turn into something even more horrifying. A CNN investigation straight ahead.
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COLLINS: A lot of weather to talk about this morning. It kind of seems like it's snowing absolutely everywhere. Is that a bit of an exaggeration, Rob Marciano?
MARCIANO: Well, everywhere our cameras are, you know.
COLLINS: OK, there we go.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Sure. All right. We'll keep our eye on that. Thank you, Rob. Appreciate it. We'll check back later.
Meanwhile, gas prices down for the third straight day. AAA reports the average price for a gallon of regular gas $1.84. That's down 0.3 of a cent from the previous day. Nationally the current average price of gas is about $55 percent less than the record high price of $4.11 that AAA reported last summer.
The National Automobile Dealers Association Convention this year looking like a ghost town. Some of the dealers are pointing fingers at the big three CEOs. CNN's Sean Callebs explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's a lot of standing and talking, but not much else.
BRADY SCHMIDT, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BUSINESS BROKERS: It's definitely been slower. The foot traffic is down from last year. Maybe by about 40 percent, 40 to 50 percent, I would say.
CALLEBS: But this company shelled out about 500,000 for the Annual National Automobile Dealers Association Convention, and say they'll do about 30 percent of the business they did last year. It's no huge surprise. The big three went hat in hand to Congress to stay afloat at least through March. And about 900 of the nation's 20,000 dealerships closed this past year. A gloomy backdrop to what is supposed to be a high-energy event.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tough on them, I think. I don't know if we've seen the bottom yet.
CALLEBS: Auto industry CEOs faced furious public criticism when they flew corporation jets to D.C. to ask for bailout funding. Here the auto dealers are paying for big name speakers including former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton. The organization won't tell us how much but the two can command $150,000 a speech. No apologies. The head of the dealers association says it's money well spent.
ANNETTE SYKORA, NATIONAL AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION: For our dealers, for our vendors, for our manufacturers, it's a way to come together. It's a way to help inspire them. I think having the presidents come, the messages that they can give to the auto industry, I think, are very important at this time.
CALLEBS: Any inspiration is important right now according to some here. They argue the CEOs of the big three may have actually dragged the market down even more for dealers. SCHMIDT: Because if you're a consumer, you want to go out and buy a car from a company that says it may not be in business in four or five months? So I think that was a little bit of a collateral damage from the hearings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The chief economists for the NADA believes sales during this first half of the year will remain slow, but slight economic improvements later on should push sales up. But he doesn't believe total sales for 2009 will match last year's.
Well, you may have to skip your favorite snacks because of the latest FDA recall. But for some people the problem is a lot more serious.
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COLLINS: Forty people, including several women and children, died after a ferryboat sank in central Vietnam on Sunday. Witnesses say most of the passengers wanted to do some last-minute shopping on the eve of Asia's Lunar New Year. About 35 passengers were rescued or managed to swim ashore. The new lunar year, the year of the Ox, begins today.
They fled one of the most repressive governments on earth, but hundreds of Myanmar refugees found no sanctuary in Thailand. CNN investigation has uncovered evidence that they faced only abuse and abandonment at the hands of the Thai government. CNN's Dan Rivers has our story.
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DAN RIVERS, CNN BANGKOK CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They look like logs, but these are people. Dozens of Burmese refugees detained on a Thai beach. These photos were provided to CNN last week as three different tourists voiced concern about the way the Thai authorities were treating these migrants.
ANDREW CATTON, TOURIST: Whenever someone raised their head or sat up, they'd strike them with a whip.
RIVERS: So we traveled to a remote stretch of the Thai coast four hours drive north of the holiday island of Phuket, came to investigate local reports that Thai military had been secretly detaining Burmese Rohingya refugees here before towing them back, far out to sea and leaving them to drift.
Koh Sae Daeng is uninhabited, part of a national park, but there was plenty of evidence that large numbers of people had been detained here. This man helped the army guard the refugees for one night on the island. "We treated them well," he says. "We gave them food and whatever they asked for."
(on camera): There seems a lot of evidence that a large number of Rohingya refugees were, indeed, camped out here at Koh Sae Daeng. All around there were discarded shoes and clothes as several camp fires that looked fairly fresh here as well as food wrapping, as well. But the big question is, how did the Rohingya leave? Did they leave voluntarily or were they towed out to sea by the military?
(voice-over): On a nearby island, we find one of the distinctive Rohingya boats abandoned on the shore. The Rohingya are a persecuted Muslim minority, who had been fleeing Myanmar in rickety boats like this for years looking for a better life. This proves how they arrived, but not how they left.
We traveled to another island where villagers told us about some Rohingya refugees who'd escaped and were living in the jungle. We were keying to talk to the refugees to hear their story. We didn't have to wait long. At night, a local army, trained village defense force took us on patrol. We hurried to a hamlet, after reports they caught one of the migrants. This is what we found. Villagers had captured a Rohingya man who they think had been living in the jungle for days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, brother.
RIVERS: He was clearly distressed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please.
RIVERS: But the next three hours we tried to piece together his story.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All men?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dead?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dead.
RIVERS: He was taken back to the ports, where he continued to try and communicate with us. Through a combination of broken English, sign language and drawings he told us his name was Ikbal Hussein (ph), and he was on one of six refugee boats which arrived in December. He said they were towed back out to sea in January, but five of the six boats sank. His, he said, made it back to shore. But this is the final piece of evidence. Photos were given to CNN by someone involved in what he said was an ongoing Thai operation to tow refugees out to sea.
They show refugees being processed Koh Sae Daeng, the same camp that we visited. And incredibly this shows the Thai army towing a boat load of someone 190 refugees far out to sea. The source who gave us these photos says they provided them with food and water. Another source in the military confirmed they have been towing refugees out to sea, again, stressing they gave them supplies. Neither would appear on camera for fear of repercussions.
We asked the Thai government about our findings and it says it is investigating. A sign of how embarrassing these photos may be considered, it says the prime minister will receive a full report this week. These are the last images of the refugee boat as it disappears over the horizon. Neither this boat nor the refugees aboard it have been seen since.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Dan Rivers joining us now live from Bangkok with more on this.
Dan, I just wonder, you know, when we look at that piece and the reaction, apparently, from the government was that, well, they gave them water and supplies. How much? And for how long? And where did they expect that the people in the boats would be going?
RIVERS: Well, all those details are not clear, Heidi. The latest from the Thai government is that the prime minister is aware of our report and our findings. He said to be concerned. We understand he's going to call an emergency meeting in the next few days involving him, the foreign minister, the head of the army and various other ministers, as well. So they are taking this very seriously. But as yet, they still haven't confirmed or denied whether it is official government policy that they tow the refugees out to sea.
But I wanted to read you very quickly one quote from the head of the army in the last few hours. He said, "Taking care of fellow Thais is already burdensome. For Rohingyas, we probably have to do what most other countries do, that is to push them out with humane treatment."
They're stressing that they give them supplies and water, but they are not denying, in fact, they're admitting now that they do tow them out to sea.
COLLINS: This emergency meeting, Dan, did you say when that's going to take place? And then if they'll be holding some type of news conference? News availability so we can find out what happens in that meeting?
RIVERS: Absolutely. We have already put in a bid to interview the prime minister. I understand it's going to be in the next few days, possibly even tomorrow here in Bangkok. That meeting will take place. And then we will of course ask for an interview with him. These very serious allegations and evidence to him to find out what is going to be done?
In his defense, it must be said -- he's only been in power for a short time. It may well be that this is his predecessor's policy, but he's looking into it.
COLLINS: Yes, yes, I would imagine. All right, great reporting. Dan Rivers is going to be following this story for us and let us know what happens in that meeting. Thank you, Dan.
The economy, taking another hit this morning. Major companies announcing thousands of layoffs. We've got the very latest.
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COLLINS: Just before the top of the hour now, let's get a real quick check of the Dow Jones Industrial Averages. Big board there to the positive by double digits, about 30 points or so, back above that 8,000 mark. Nasdaq, I believe, tell me one more time, magically in my ear is, I think it was up 15. All right, we'll continue to watch the numbers throughout the day of course.
And here's something to chew on for you. Good reason to clean your plate. You may have to pay more for vegetables because of the crippling drought threatening farms in California. A lot of the nation's fruits and vegetables of course are grown in California. The state is facing its worst drought now in nearly two decades.
And the FDA warning some peanutty foods could be tainted with Salmonella. Now the huge recall is hurting the bottom line for farms. Melissa McKinney has more now from affiliate WSFA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA MCKINNEY, WSFA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carl Sanders knows peanuts.
CARL SANDERS, PEANUT FARMER: Well, I started farming in 1976, so that would be 32 years.
MCKINNEY: But this year may be a little different. The recent recall of many peanut products means demand is going down.
SANDERS: People are really afraid to eat peanut products.
MCKINNEY: Making it harder for Sanders to sell his crop.
SANDERS: Contracts are not being offered right now as far as 2009 production of peanuts. So we can't make plans on what we're going to plant on these different fields. We've got to decide soon. And we still don't have any contracts offered.
MCKINNEY (on camera): Sanders says he has to know by May 1st who he's contracting with or it could greatly reduce this year's peanut production.
SANDERS: If we're not going to plant peanuts on that field in May, we need to be doing something else before then.
MCKINNEY (voice-over): Sanders says something else might mean an increase in corn or cotton, taking the place of possibly 300 acres of peanut production. The leaders say they don't think the incident will hurt the industry in the long run.
RANDY GRIGGS, ALABAMA PEANUT PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION: Well, if peanuts are produce in the United States, say they are produce in the southeast, three southeastern states. So as long as there is a peanut market where the U.S. is a part of it, I think (INAUDIBLE).
MCKINNEY: But for now, Sanders waits.
SANDERS: Well, we're just in limbo. Uncertainty always makes you a little nervous. MCKINNEY: Hoping things pick up in time for peanut picking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Just a reminder now, the FDA recall includes 43 states and Canada. Health official say almost 500 people are sick in the salmonella outbreak, and seven people have died.
