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The Stress of Job Loss; Blagojevich to Make Speech in Effort to Save Job

Aired January 29, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN HOST: The House approves, next stop, the Senate. $819 billion of your money at stake. The latest on the stimulus package.

And somber statistics. More soldier suicides reported than ever before. How the army is responding. It's Thursday, January 29th, I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Live this hour, a stroke of the pen and a blow to unequal pay. President Obama, about to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law. It will allow workers to sue for pay discrimination even if the abuse first happened decades ago. The law is named for an Alabama factory work who became of a pay discrepancy as she got closer to retirement. She sued, but the Supreme Court said too much time had passed.

President Obama fresh off a victory in the House now reaching out to Republicans in the Senate. And that's the next step for his $819 billion stimulus plan. It easily passed the House last night, but not a single Republican voted in favor of it. In fact, 11 Democrats also voted against the bill.

CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar live on Capitol Hill for us this morning. So Brianna, want to know where things stand right now and if it's really right to call it an outright victory, in that all of the energy that President Obama put towards gaining support from Republicans.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are two sides to this. Obviously, a victory because it passed in the House. But not a single Republican voting yes for it, Heidi, amid calls for more tax cuts and for less spending. And because of that, that is very much the down side for President Obama. This isn't over, though. Next it goes up to the Senate. A vote there expected next week. Things are more bipartisan there. There could be changes. And the House Republicans, some of them, Heidi, have left the door open to being more receptive - more receptive to some changes made on the Senate side.

And then perhaps voting yes, if they get those changes, when this final bill comes up for a vote, which it will in the house and the Senate, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, so what are the chances, Brianna, do we think, at least at this point, that the Senate is going to alter it very much?

KEILAR: In fact, they already have, Heidi. We saw the Senate Finance Committee, $70 billion to fix the alternative minimum tax, to put a patch so that a lot of middle class folks are not stuck with a tax they were never meant to pay. The other side of that, of course, is that the price tag for this entire package goes up. That's obviously not going to be palatable to some republicans in the House.

I've spoken with some Republican senators and some aides who say housing relief is going to be a big issue for them. But if you listen to Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, some of their complaints, some of the Republican senators' complaints are similar to what we saw in the House, wanting more tax cuts and less spending. This is what he said just moments ago on the floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: We look forward to offering amendments to improve this critical legislation. And move it back to the package President Obama originally proposed. 40 percent tax relief, no wasteful spending, and a bipartisan approach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So it is a bit of a moving target, though, as this is hashed out on the Senate side, Heidi. What is interesting to remember, though, is President Obama made it clear to House Republicans, at least, he doesn't want to budge on the big ticket items.

For instance, how these tax cuts are structured. He said he probably wasn't going to compromise on that.

COLLINS: Yes, we have a little bit of discussion yesterday here on whether or not republican votes really matter. I mean they are the minority.

KEILAR: They don't matter, if you look in terms of whether it's passed, especially in the House where all you need is a simple majority. In the Senate, of course, you have to win over some Republicans. But they matter because President Obama set the bar so high, and said that he wanted bipartisan support.

And without giving changes to Republicans, he's just not going to get that, Democrats are not going to get that. And what's more, Heidi, is some Democrats, 11 Democrats, voted no yesterday, and that's symbolic. Now, that's a very small number of Democrats in the scheme of things. But it matters. Some of them having the same complaints as fiscally conservative Republicans, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Brianna Keilar, we sure do appreciate that. We'll be watching this obviously very, very closely as it continues to move forward.

$819 billion. What does it buy? And what does it mean to you? CNN's Christine Romans has been crunching those numbers. She's joining us now from New York with some answers. Yes, big questions there, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. How soon would you feel it and where would you feel it first? I mean, all of this, Heidi, depends on as Brianna is pointing out the Senate, what it looks like in the Senate with the final version is like, and, of course, the mechanics, how quickly they can get it done. But this is a general overview of what it would look like for you first. If you have your job, those tax cuts come into play in your paycheck.

Maybe 12, maybe $13 more in your paycheck, because of the way the withholdings would change. This is that make America work tax credit that the president's tax cut that the president wants to give people who make $75,000 or less, or $150,000 or less for people filing jointly.

If you lost your job, it's $25 a week more in your unemployment benefits. And in fact, an extension of those benefits, again. So it means that if you lost your job, and we know there are an awful lot of people out there, (inaudible), an economist (inaudible) looked at the jobless numbers this morning, and say he expect nearly three million people to lose their jobs in the first half of this year. A lot of folks will need those benefits, and that will be $25 more a week and an extension of those benefits.

Also, food stamps. A family of four on food stamps would see about $79 more a month in their debit card. That's according to a staffer on the House propositions committee. $20 billion for direct aid for the needy in here. And also, if you're a single person with no disabilities, and you need food stamps, right now you can only get them for about three months. That limit is going to be temporarily lifted until October of the year 2010, because they think so many people are going to be needing food stamps. So many of those people that are out of - out of work.

And then also, there's this tax credit. If you're buying a home and you meet certain restrictions, of course there are a lot of restrictions, you couldn't have owned a home in the last three years, there are income restrictions, as well. It's a $7500 tax credit for some first-time buyers. There is another bit of legislation from last year that had a $7500 credit, but you had to pay it back over ten years, I think. This is a true credit if you qualify. That would be for first-time home buyers. People who didn't own a home for the past three years. Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Exactly. All right, Christine. It's an awful lot to take in. Really got to know our stuff with all of this.

ROMANS: Well, that's only a little slice of it, too.

COLLINS: I know.

ROMANS: There's so much more.

COLLINS: How many days again? 647.

ROMANS: 647.

And we'll wait to see when the Senate comes up.

COLLINS: Yes, exactly. We're glad you're there. CNN's Christine Romans, part of our money team. Thank you.

And now our question to you. What do you think counts as pork? Go ahead and send your e-mails to cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. And then our Josh Levs will be joining us in a few minutes with some more of your comments.

More dismal economic news. The number of people getting unemployment benefits reaches an all-time high. The government reports 4.78 million laid off workers continued to claim unemployment benefits just last week. And the number of Americans filing new jobless benefit claims rose slightly to 588,000 people last week. That's up only about 3,000 from the previous week.

I'm sure "only" shouldn't be in that line, because it sounds like a lot, doesn't? Down, the Dow Jones industrial average is by triple digits right now, about 40 minutes into the trading day, down about 122 points. 8,252. Still above the 8,000 mark, anyway. So we continue to watch those numbers, as always.

Here is a look now at the president's calendar, as well. Something we have been keeping our eye on. Just minutes ago, he signed into law. Actually, we are still waiting for this. Just as a reminder, the Ledbetter bill, we've been talking about it all morning which expands workers' rights for equal pay. This hour, President Obama received his economic daily briefing, and then early in the afternoon, he'll sit down with the Vice President and his new Treasury Secretary.

A winter storm has moved out of the U.S., but for many, it could be weeks before life gets back to normal. More than one million homes and businesses are without power in nine different states. Utility officials say it could be the middle of February before some customers get their electricity back. The storm is also being blamed for at least 17 deaths.

A number of those deaths were linked to traffic accidents, more than 1,100 storm-related accidents were reported in Oklahoma alone. Crews like this one in Tennessee have been working around the clock to remove downed trees and get power lines back up. Power failures weren't the problem in New England though. It was snow, not ice that fell there. 16 inches in one New Hampshire town.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano has been watching it all and joins us now from the Severe Weather Center. Hey there, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: A lot of snow, a lot of ice, and a slow to melt.

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: So that's going to be a problem, not like we're going to get any huge warm-up here in the next day or two, it's actually going to get colder. So that problem is going to affect the millions or over a million people that are without power right now. Because not only are they without power, but it's cold. And that's uncomfortable, obviously, but the cold is going to not lead to a rapid warming. So here is your frigid temperatures across the northern tier. That will be dropping south. Sunny and warm across southern California. If you're waking up to us, you know, give a nod to the folks who are suffering with the ice storm. You will see warming temperatures and Santa Ana winds that will be blowing out that way.

All right. We're starting to see some airport delays. Dallas, you have extended your ground stop with (inaudible) and DFW, and we've got delays at Newark right now. The reason for the delays in Dallas and the Fort Worth Airport was shut down for a good time yesterday because of the ice that was still hanging around.

Today, some of that ice has melted, but some of that moisture is still lingering and we have temperatures that are below freezing. So freezing fog advisory from the Red River all the way down to Waco, and obviously that includes the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. And that ground stop in effect until 9:45 local time.

That may very well be extended until we get temperatures to warm up. It is warm enough for rain and only rain across parts of northern and central Florida. Super Bowl in Tampa, but it looks like we should see clearing skies by then. But it may very well be chilly. Cold enough for snow, and only snow across parts of New Hampshire yesterday. 16 inches there.

Randolph, Vermont, 15 and a half inches. Sutton, New Hampshire, Jay, Maine, 13 inches. So a decent amount of snow across that part of the world. All right. Here we go. High pressure and control across parts of Canada. This will have the next round of Arctic air that are driving down to the south. The area in red, the area that has been struggling with power outages, and will continue to struggle for the next several days, if not several weeks in this cold, Arctic surge. Obviously not what those folks are looking to hear about.

Overnight lows tonight, 26 in Dallas. So once again below freezing, 13 degrees in Kansas City. It will be 10 in Chicago, 33 degrees as far south as Nashville. So there is your problem there for tonight and tomorrow, we do warm up above freezing in Dallas. And in Kansas City. And eventually in Nashville. So hopefully, we'll get enough warming during the day, Heidi, to melt just about everything so that crews can get back and can get to start to work. The task at hand certainly is hefty.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.

Here is another weather story, too, by the way.

MARCIANO: Yes.

COLLINS: A volcano warning in Alaska. You know about this, I'm sure, geologists there believe there could be an explosive eruption at Mr. Redoubt.

MARCIANO: Either or.

COLLINS: OK. MARCIANO: But the problem here Heidi is that it's kind of upstream from Anchorage. So typically with your westerly flow, because this is southwest of Anchorage, anything that does happen could potentially, you know, dump ash and debris and what have you on the city of Anchorage. So that's one of the main concerns here with this.

COLLINS: Yes, got you. They're saying that it could be within a couple of days, and it's been reveling for a long time and I guess last erupted 20 years ago, right?

MARCIANO: Yes, well, it's an active range, and you know, it's a lot like the Cascades, pretty active in the volcanoes and mountains that - well, just look like mountains to you, but you can see that crater there.

COLLINS: OK.

MARCIANO: This one is not inactive. So we'll see -

COLLINS: Let us know if it blows.

MARCIANO: These guys are smart, and they monitor this thing, and if it's going to happen, it may well happen soon.

COLLINS: All right. We will keep our eye on it. Thank you, Rob. Appreciate that. Also want to let you know, we are still waiting for President Obama to come to a desk that I see, over here on my monitor to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law. We will bring it to you when it happens. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: Businesses that are shedding jobs to stay afloat, they can't afford inaction or delay. The workers who are returning home to tell their husbands, and wives and children that they no longer have a job. And all those who live in fear that their job will be next on the cutting blocks, they need help now. They are looking to Washington for action. Bold and swift. And that is why I hope to sign an American recovery and reinvestment plan into law in the next few weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Families to feed. Out of work and bills to pay. These are some of the worst and the worries causing stress for so many Americans who have lost their jobs. So how do you cope? Here with some advice on that is Kathleen Hall. She is the founder of the Stress Institute, and also the author of "A Life in Balance," which is a very, very fascinating concept for many of us.

And we're talking about jobs and kids and now the economy. Because I hear it everywhere. Whether it's here at work or at home or with my friends, you know, everyone is obviously talking about the economy. Give me some perspective here. How has your business or your clientele increased with people who are worried about losing their jobs, have already lost their jobs, or just are having stress about the economic situation?

KATHLEEN HALL, FOUNDER STRESS INSTITUTE: We have actually seen an increase of almost 90 percent, about 89.5 percent since October. Absolutely. People are lost. It's very interesting. We go to doctors, and we know the physical symptoms are ulcers, headaches, insomnia, and we give them medicine. And yet people aren't talking about we really have great scientifically researched ways to reduce stress. And people need to learn those now.

COLLINS: Yes. Quickly, I want you to tell me the first and most important one.

HALL: It's to be aware of what your triggers are. Because what Heidi's triggers are and Kathleen's are completely different.

COLLINS: Yes.

HALL: So yours may be seeing that house payment due, or somebody else's may be seeing food and knowing that I'm an emotional eater, and I'm already overweight, because I'm eating and I'm stressed all the time. So know what your triggers are, because that's exactly what's going to send you into depression and it's really going to exacerbate your stress.

COLLINS: And then you go and you talk with someone about it, to how to handle those triggers?

HALL: Absolutely. And again, if you need counseling, go to - you can check out synagogues, you can check out churches. You can check out temples, they have pastoral care centers. You can also check out hospitals, they have chaplains and different people. There are all kinds of ways that if you can't afford help, that you can get some help.

COLLINS: OK. And there are a lot of things to talk about with regard to strategies, as well. And I know you sort of have a four-pronged strategy. And the acronym is SELF. And I want to get to that. But it's going to take us a little while. So stick around -

HALL: Sure.

COLLINS: Bear with me because we are waiting on the president. There we have the graphic. But I'm a little afraid to go to it, because I see the people assembling in Washington here, and we have been watching for the president to come out and sign the Lilly Ledbetter Law, which we have been talking about all morning long here, and just as a reminder to you, this is going to allow for workers to sue for pay discrimination, even if it the abuse happened years and years ago, even decades ago.

And the case is named for an Alabama factory worker who became aware of this pay discrepancy that was happening to her when she was getting close to retirement. So the Supreme Court actually said that too much time had passed in order for her to benefit from any of this. But that, again, is what we are waiting for the president to come out to the podium there and sign into law.

Much we thought it was going to be any second. So in the meantime, we're going to get back to you, Kathleen. Thank you for playing along with me. Let's get back to this four-pronged strategy now. SELF is the word that we saw on the screen. The S stands for serenity.

HALL: Serenity, right.

COLLINS: What do we mean here?

HALL: What happens is out bodies are really a bowl of chemical soups, so we producing all these stress hormones and you immediately need to know how to lower your stress hormones. So one of the ways is to learn serenity practices, that can be yoga. That can be deep breaths.

COLLINS: Look how good she is at that.

HALL: That can be positive. Make sure positive affirmation. We have great research just saying that, I'm strong, I'm resilient, if you're religious or spiritual, say something very meaningful to you, and it brings you back home to yourself.

COLLINS: OK. And exercise is the e, and speaking of the exercise going into Washington is now happening. I want to get back to that. We've got Hillary Clinton walking in right now. Of course, secretary of state. And I believe that we have seen the president as well coming into the room. And I'm looking at Vice President Joe Biden, as well, going along and shaking hands with everyone who has assembled in order this law, the Lilly Ledbetter Law, for pay equality for women, to be signed. And the other president about to walk up and go ahead and get that done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States accompanied by Mrs. Lilly Ledbetter.

(APPLAUSE)

PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: All right. Everybody, please have a seat. Well, this is a wonderful day.

First of all, it is fitting that the very first bill that I sign, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act - that it is upholding one of this nation's founding principles, that we are all created equal, and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness. It's also fitting that we're joined today by the woman after whom this bill is named. Someone who Michelle and I have had the privilege to get to know ourselves.

And it is fitting that we are joined this morning by the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. It's appropriate that this is the first bill we do together. We could not have done it without her. Madam Speaker, thank you for your extraordinary work. And to all the sponsors, and members of Congress, and leadership who helped to make this day possible.

Lilly Ledbetter did not set out to be a trail blazer or a household name. She was just a good, hard worker who did her job. And she did it well. For nearly two decades before discovering that for years she was paid less than her male colleagues for doing the very same work. Over the course of her career, she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and social security benefits. Losses that she still feels today.

Now, Lilly could have accepted her lot and moved on. She could have decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and the harassment that would inevitably come with speaking up for what she deserved. But instead, she decided that there was a principle at stake, something worth fighting for. So she set out on a journey that would take more than 10 years, take her all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, and lead to this day and this bill which will help others get yet the justice that she was denied.

Because while this bill bears her name, Lilly knows that this story isn't just about her. The story of women across this country still earning just 78 cents for every dollar men earn. Women of color, even less. Which means that today in the year 2009, countless women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime.

Equal pay is by no means just a women's issue. It's a family issue. It's about parents who find themselves with less money for tuition and child care. Couples who wind up with less to retire on. Households where one bread winner is paid less than she deserves. That's the difference between affording the mortgage or not. Between keeping the heat on or paying the doctor bills, or not.

And in this economy, when so many folks are already working harder for less, and struggling to get by, the last thing they can afford is losing part of each month's paycheck to simple and plain discrimination.

So signing this bill today is to send a clear message that making our economy work means making sure it works for everybody. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal, it's bad for business to pay somebody less because of their gender or their age or their race or their ethnicity, religion or disability.

And the justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It's about how our laws affect the daily lives and the daily realities of people. Their ability to make a living and care for their families and achieve their goals. Ultimately, equal pay isn't just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families. It's a question of who we are.

And whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals. Whether we'll do our part as generations before us to ensure those words put on paper, some 200 years ago, really mean something. To breathe new life into them. With a more enlightened understanding that is appropriate for our time. That is what Lilly Ledbetter challenged us to do, and today I sign this bill not just in her honor, but in honor of those who came before, women like my grandmother who worked in a bank all her life, and even after she hit that glass ceiling, kept getting up and giving her best every day without complaint, because she wanted something better for me and my sister.

And I sign this bill for my daughters. And all those who will come after us, because I want them to grow up in a nation that values their contributions, where there are no limits to their dreams, and they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers never could have imagined. In the end, that's why Lilly stayed the course. She knew it was too late for her, that this bill wouldn't undo the years of injustice that she faced or restore the earnings she was denied.

But this grandmother from Alabama kept on fighting, because she was thinking about the next generation. It's what we have always done in America. Set our sights high for ourselves, but even higher for our children and our grandchildren. And now it's up to us to continue this work. This bill is an important step. A simple fix to ensure fundamental fairness for American workers, and I want to thank this remarkable and bipartisan group of legislators who worked so hard to get it passed.

And I want to thank all the advocates who are in the audience who worked so hard to get it passed. This is only the beginning. I know that we stay focused, as Lilly did, and keep standing for what's right, as Lilly did, we will close that pay gap, and we will make sure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedoms to pursue their dreams as our sons. So thank you, Lilly Ledbetter.

All right. I've got - I've been practicing. To learn how to sign my name very slowly.

COLLINS: All right. So it is law. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. You saw it live here on CNN. We've been talking about it a little bit this morning. Pretty cool, too, because there in the blonde hair standing behind the president is Lilly Ledbetter herself. She is the Alabama factory worker who years ago became aware of a pay discrepancy, as she got close to retirement.

She found out some other people were making more money than she was. Unfortunately, her case is not going to allow her to receive any money back because so much time had passed. But, again, this is a Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, effectively ending a 2007 Supreme Court decision that said workers only had 180 days to file pay discrimination lawsuits like this. Now, signed into law by President Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Out of work. Bills to pay. Families to feed. These are just some of the worries causing stress for so many Americans who have lost their jobs. The real question, how do you cope with it all? Want to get back to our very, very patient guest today, she's the founder of the stress institute and author of "A Life In Balance," Kathryn Hall back with more advice.

Want to quickly get back to this diagram, because it is important for people to see what they can do. KATHRYN HALL, FOUNDER, THE STRESS INSTITUTE: And Heidi, the reason it is so important is people are flooded and they're overwhelmed, so if they can remember simple things like self care. And that's why, remember this S-E-L-F, it's an acronym. S is for serenity; find several things in your day that calm you down whether it's taking a shower, breathing, saying a positive affirmation, yoga stretches. E, exercise. If you're depressed and you lost your job, you're not going to want to exercise. Get a buddy, a neighbor, a friend, get your rear end out there and walk around the block. We know it reduces stress. L is love. Have a family meeting once a week. You've got to be honest with your children. And also...

COLLINS: Tell them about the situation.

HALL: Tell them about the situation, because children think it's them. They don't understand us - our adult world. They'll think, what am I doing wrong? What's wrong? It's all my fault.

COLLINS: Because there might be some arguing? There might be some, you know...

HALL: Lots of stress. And also have a family play night once a week, whether you go online and good to an online thing and play monopoly, scrabble, whatever you do - go to a zoo. Your children, you're creating memories. Please make sure you're playing with your kids during these stressful times. It'll make you happier and destress you. F is food. Please be careful of the emotional eating. Take omega 3s, you can buy them in capsules. Keep a banana rich in B6s. Eat tuna and turkey sandwiches. You can Google B6s. It'll help calm you down.

COLLINS: I was reading somewhere that you should fill a tin of mints with almonds; 23 of them.

HALL: Absolutely. Absolutely. Wonderful for your health. But also remember, people that have lost their jobs, they have gone from organized structure into just nothing, like a sea of openness. Create a plan, right this SELF down every day and schedule it and make sure that, you know - is day by day, but also go into yourself and find out what you love. There may be a little career in there that you've never had time to explore before.

COLLINS: Sure. Because you've been too busy with the other one.

HALL: Absolutely. Absolutely.

COLLINS: Have to become your own employer in all of that. All right.

Kathleen Hall, thank you again.

HALL: Thanks a lot, Heidi.

COLLINS: Really appreciate it. Your book is great too. Appreciate that.

Well, will he stay or will he go? The Illinois Senate deciding the fate of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Will the governor get his say in court?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Minnesota's second Senate seat is still in limbo, as you probably recall. In fact, you're looking at live pictures of the courtroom in St. Paul, Minnesota. Judges are hearing arguments now about absentee ballots. Republican Norm Coleman asking for rejected ballots to be counted. Coleman is 225 votes behind challenger Al Franken. The judges could rule on the ballots by the end of the week.

Then to Illinois. Governor Rod Blagojevich now wants his day in court after skipping the first three days of his impeachment trial. CNN's Susan Roesgen joining us live from Springfield, Illinois.

Susan, I guess my first question is, why did he change his mind?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry, Heidi, I couldn't quite hear you there.

COLLINS: Why did he change his mind? The first three days he said, no way I'm going to be there, and now I'm going to come.

ROESGEN: Yes, that's true. Never a dull moment in this saga, Heidi.

Yes, after saying for weeks that the Senate impeachment trial was a sham, that it was unfair to him and he would have nothing to do with it, and after at least a few days going around talking to every news outlet on the planet, the governor decided last night and let the State Senate know that he wanted to come and give what's called a closing argument.

Now, he has the opportunity, Heidi, to speak for an hour and a half, if he wants to. But the State Senators may not let him do it, only because they can't cross examine him. He forfeited his right to give a defense, and so he will not be answering any questions. And some of the State Senators are saying, hey, he shouldn't have an hour and a half platform to make his speech. But I think that the curiosity level here is higher than the anger level, and I do believe he is probably going to speak. And Heidi, it's going to have to be the speech of his life, because basically I don't know if it's unanimous, but just about everybody I believe will probably vote to kick him out of office. They need 40 votes out of 59. And unless he does something miraculous here to persuade them that he's a good guy and he ought to stay, I think he is out today.

COLLINS: All right. Well, you're watching very closely. Susan Roesgen, thanks so much for the update.

Want to give you a quick look now at the President's calendar for today. Just a few moments ago, you saw it live here, the President signing into law the Ledbetter Bill which expands workers' rights for equal pay. Next on his agenda, President Obama attends his economic daily briefing. In the afternoon, he sits down with the Vice President and his new Treasury Secretary.

And, of course, we have our eyes on the weather situation all across the country. Seventeen people are dead after a massive ice storm. We're going to get to Rob Marciano, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: More snapshots of the ice storm we have been telling you about. CNN i-Reporter Barbara Rademacher says her Arkansas town is covered in thick ice. Trees are still coming down, hitting her roof, her shed, and barely missing her car. Plus, her power keeps going off.

In Missouri, Starlene Martinez is still picking up pieces after a neighbor lost control on their icy street. The family dog was hurt when she crashed into the house. I think we saw some of this yesterday.

To share your storm stories, just go to ireport.com.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: We're hoping for big numbers, but the Dow Jones Industrial is down by triple digits, 102 points, down to 8274. We continue to watch those numbers right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Quickly want to let you know what we are waiting for here. You're looking at the Illinois hearing room there, because we are in the fourth day of hearings for Governor Rod Blagojevich, his impeachment trial. We do expect him to be there today. He has decided to come after boycotting the first three days of the impeachment trial and called it biased and unconstitutional.

But apparently, he will be there today. And they're going to be deciding whether or not to allow him to speak, ass our correspondent Susan Roesgen was reporting just moments ago. We have our eye on that for you.

Also have our eye on the number of U.S. workers filing for continuing unemployment benefits, as it is at its highest level in more than 40 years. Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange now with more on that and with who is actually cutting more jobs today. Hey there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, weekly jobless claims inched up by 3,000 last week, but, yes, as you mentioned, continuing claims rose to 4.8 million, and that is the highest number of jobs since basically the Department of Labor started tracking it back in 1967. And it's a theme that we have been on for a few weeks now, especially now that we're in earning season.

And Eastman Kodak going to add to it. It's increasing the number of jobs it plans to cut, up to 4,500 this year. Will include executive positions. It's also reporting quarterly losses $140 million for the last quarter. Eastman Kodak shares are down 25 percent.

Starbucks is slashing 6,700 jobs. It's going to close 300 underperforming stores. Starbucks shares are actually on the up side. In the last hour, drugmaker AstraZeneca said it would cut 6,000 jobs, and truckmaker Oshkosh says it's going to cut 1,000. Oshkosh shares are down about 30 percent, really getting hit.

The Dow is giving back half of what it gained yesterday. Right now, off 96 points. The Nasdaq is down 26 points -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, a lot of these companies are obviously combining layoff announcements with these weak quarterly profit reports we keep on seeing. Saw some more today.

LISOVICZ: That's right, Heidi, because we all knew that the last quarter, the fourth quarter, was going to be terrible. But unfortunately, the outlook is still not good, to say the least. They have to answer to shareholders, what steps are they taking. Increasingly, that means eliminating positions.

Ford is reporting a nearly $6 billion loss in its last quarter. It says that it still doesn't need any federal bailout money, unlike its competitors, Chrysler and GM. And, of course, it's citing the sharp global decline in vehicle demand. That, of course, is not unique to Ford. Even Japanese automakers have seen a sharp drop in auto sales. Consumer spending really pulled back sharply -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. No doubt about that. All right, Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: 2008 a record-breaking year for wind energy, with wind turbines popping up all over the country, and that should help president Obama reach his goal of doubling the use of renewable sources in the next three years. But wind power's rapid growth could soon come to a halt. Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" this morning. Hi there, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Heidi. Yes, it is all about funding for those projects. The good news, though, first, folks. We're on our way to reaching President Obama's near-term goal. U.S. wind power generating capacity, well, it surged by a record-breaking 50 percent last year. As we saw, record-high oil prices.

A trade group says the industry can now produce enough electricity to power 7 million homes, and in addition, 35,000 new jobs were created just last year in the wind industry. That's even as many industries we know slashed jobs. But the industry is warning that its future really is threatened, because funding new projects -- or funding for new projects, I should say, Heidi, has really all but dried up at this point.

COLLINS: Isn't this industry in line, though, to get a nice chunk of the government's stimulus package? We've been talking about that.

HARLOW: The bill that passed in the House last night, it includes roughly a 30 percent subsidy for wind projects and a three-year tax credit for the industry. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENISE BODE, CEO, AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOC.: This is a way that you could add new jobs, that you can have clean energy, and that you can grow the renewable sector. And it's targeted, so that it's not a long-term big expenditure, and it's very time-sensitive. Because we don't have the cash now, we could lose 50 percent of all new starts in this upcoming year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Here's some important information, though, to keep in mind. Right now, wind power provides less than 2 percent of our electricity. One problem with it, you cannot build these turbines everywhere. They are big. They are cumbersome. Not everyone wants them in their back yard.

Of course, Heidi, you can't make the wind blow, either. And think back to November. Billionaire former oil man T. Boone Pickens captured headlines with his renewable energy plan, but he delayed that in November, because simply of the economy. Heidi, big question, falling energy prices, what does that mean for these renewables like wind power?

COLLINS: Yes, no question about it. All right. We're watching that story, too. Poppy Harlow, thank you.

HARLOW: You're welcome.

COLLINS: He left the pulpit in disgrace, battling allegations of a homosexual relationship. Now, Ted Haggard is speaking out, and he says he's not gay. We'll hear from him coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Disgraced evangelist Ted Haggard is speaking out about his struggle with his sexual identity. The founder of the New Life Church was forced to step down from the pulpit in November 2006 amid allegations he used drugs and patronized a male prostitute. Haggard appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW: And do you think you're gay?

HAGGARD: No, I don't think I'm gay. I did wonder about that. After this crisis, when I went to therapy, I said, I need to know, am I gay, am I straight, am I bi? What am I? And my first therapist said, you are a heterosexual with homosexual attachments. So we processed through that. I wasn't sure what that meant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: In a new revelation, a former church volunteer tells CNN Haggard tried to get drugs from him and engaged in a sexual act in the volunteer's presence. Haggard now says he has sought forgiveness for what he called, quote, "our inappropriate relationship."

You can hear more from Ted Haggard tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."

For now, I'm Heidi Collins. You can join me again tomorrow morning beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.