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Blagojevich Makes Closing Argument; Senate to Vote on Economic Recovery Bill; Suicide Rates Rise in the Military; Frozen to Death; Sepsis: Fast and Fatal

Aired January 29, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST: All right. Thanks so much, Tony. Appreciate it.

Let's continue on with the theme of Blagojevich and what happened today. The Illinois governor gets a day in court, sort of. After boycotting his impeachment trial in the state senate for the last three days, Blagojevich changed course and made a closing argument just minutes ago.

Let's go straight to Springfield now and CNN's Susan Roesgen.

All right, Susie, this was not a different governor. We've seen this defiant demeanor for a month now, and for the past three days he boycotted. But he took advantage of today's closing statement really, in part, because he wouldn't have to be challenged. Right?

ROESGEN: Exactly, Fredricka. And you know, we've talked about the criminal investigation. And this is different. Even though we use words like "trial," "impeachment trial," you know, the criminal case actually is not what will probably get him thrown out of office. It is what brought this all to a head.

But Fredricka, he spent a lot of time there talking about all the good things he says he's done for the people of Illinois, for senior citizens, for children, and the two major examples that the state senate has been looking at were both patently illegal.

He decided to make an end run around the Food and Drug Administration and import his own flu vaccine for this state. Then when the FDA found out about it, of course he wasn't able to use it. He couldn't even sell it. The state is still $2 million in the hole when he decided he was going to get flu vaccine to protect the citizens of this state. That's illegal. Sorry, governor.

He also decided to help seniors with a cheap prescription drug program. And he decided, "Well, yes, I know it's illegal to get drugs now from Canada, but let's do it. Let's lead the charge." So he did, and he got slapped down for that, as well.

So the state senate here, the state house, as well, the lawmakers here have not been happy with this guy. They say he has abused his power for a long time. And then the criminal case involving the possible selling of Barack Obama's Senate seat, well, that was just sort of the icing on the cake. WHITFIELD: Yes, except that none of that has been revealed to be on any of those tapes as of yet. Still awaiting, I guess, some proof of that.

Susan Roesgen, thanks so much. We're going to check back with you.

"Chicago Sun-Times" columnist Carol Marin was in the gallery, that Senate gallery, while Governor Blagojevich spoke, and she'll be joining us live in just a few minutes on her take, as well.

So we've heard a lot from Governor Blagojevich this week, at least taking to the airways in lots of interviews. Now we want to hear from you. You just heard him deliver his closing argument in his impeachment trial before the Illinois senate. So did Governor Blagojevich convince you? E-mail us at CNN NEWSROOM.com. CNNNewsroom@CNN.com.

All right. President Obama says he still wants a bipartisan economic rescue. His $819 billion Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed easily, but not a single house Republican voted for it, and 11 Democrats actually opposed it. Now all eyes are on the Senate.

CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us now for a look at how the battle just might be shaping up there -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All eyes on the Senate now, Fred. And more obstacles here. Republicans making it clear here in the last hour on the Senate side that they are not going to go along with this economic stimulus package as it stands, hearing them reiterate some of the same concerns that House Republicans had.

They don't think there are enough tax cuts, this according to Jon Kyl, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. They don't like the structure of the tax cuts. They think there are a whole lot of spending projects that are wasteful that they say aren't going to create jobs.

Democrats on the flip side say that's not the case. They say this will create jobs. You hear Republicans saying this has not been a bipartisan effort. Democrats here, in the last hour in an off- camera briefing that I just came from with top Democrats, saying, "This has been bipartisan. We've listened to what they're saying."

And we actually heard one example off camera from Harry Reid, House majority leader -- or pardon me, Senator majority leader Harry Reid. He said this is a crisis and something needs to be done, and he gave an example. He said, when the Super Bowl is played this weekend, that stadium will hold 75,000 people. And just imagine, this week, one day this week, 80,000 people lost their jobs.

So really trying to drive home the urgency of this, saying that the real failure would be to not come to any -- they're not to put any stimulus package of any sort out.

But on the flip side, Fred, you have Republicans saying, you know, "This is a bad situation. Something needs to be done. But let's go about this the right way."

What is the right way, Fred? That is, of course, where the disagreement lies.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much on Capitol Hill.

All right. Well, most of us can barely imagine $800 billion- plus, but here are some of the numbers that we can all perhaps relate to.

The tax cuts included in the plan that cleared the House would add roughly $12 to $13 a week to the paychecks of workers earning less than $75,000 a year. And if you don't have a job, it would add about $25 a week to your unemployment benefits.

And if you're buying your first home, it could mean a whopping $7,500 credit on your income-tax bill. And keep in mind, all these numbers are highly subject to change as the measure makes its way through the Senate, and then of course, back to the House.

Well, every day it seems more job cuts. Eastman-Kodak says it plans to slash 2,000 to 3,000 more jobs on top of previously announced cuts. In all, up to 18 percent of Kodak's staff could get the boot this year.

Also Wisconsin-based truck maker Oshkosh is announcing 1,050 new job cuts, bringing its total layoffs since last year to 2,400.

And the number of people getting jobless benefits is now the highest on record: 4.78 million Americans.

Well, today's numbers add to an ever-growing pile. On Monday alone, seven companies from a variety of industries announced more than 71,400 layoffs. And on Tuesday, there were more than 11,500 job cuts. And just yesterday, 15,300.

So is there any chance of reversing these numbers any time soon? Well, seems pretty hard to believe, but you can still find a job in this tanking economy. The opportunities are there. You just have to know how to look and where to look for them. One option is Uncle Sam. Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, joins us in about ten minutes to explain.

OK. So you know the tall guy on the right there, or really in the center. The woman beside him, well, that's Lilly Ledbetter, and this is her day. For his very first bill signing, President Obama chose the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act.

Its namesake worked for a Goodyear plant in Alabama for years, only to learn that her male co-workers were making a lot more money. Ledbetter sued and won but lost on the Goodyear's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The new law is pretty technical. It gives alleged victims of wage discrimination more time to file suits, 180 days from the most recent discriminatory paycheck.

Ledbetter won't see a dime in back pay or damages, however, but she feels victorious just the same. I spoke with her last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LILLY LEDBETTER, FORMER GOODYEAR EMPLOYEE: I never in my wildest dream knew that, when I made that decision to go to EEOC, that I would take this path. I never had any idea that I would be down this long a path, or anything of this nature.

Now I did realize early on that cases of this nature take several years to ever settle or get an agreement on. But I had no idea that I would do and accomplish what I have done today. And I can tell you, too, that I didn't do this by myself. I've had a lot of support.

WHITFIELD: Ms. Ledbetter, your experience is rather common, sadly, in this country. A lot of people who may learn they are not getting the same pay as a colleague doing the same job for any number of reasons: race, sex, religion, et cetera. But some people are reluctant to try and fight it, because they don't want to lose their jobs. Why were you so fearless?

LEDBETTER: Well, because it was not right. It was definitely not right, and I had to stand up for my rights. And that's the only -- that's just who I am. And I had to do that. And I think a lot of the people don't stand up because of retaliation or losing their jobs or being demoted or having their pay cut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, every year the federal government investigates 4,000 to 6,000 complaints about unequal pay for equal work. And it's estimated that, for every $1 a white male earns in America, a woman earns 75 to 80 cents, a black male around 60 cents, and for black women, 56 cents.

We'll hear more from Mrs. Ledbetter next hour in the NEWSROOM.

And we're also standing by for the White House briefing scheduled for 2:15 Eastern Time this afternoon. We're bringing you the briefing live all this week as the new administration gets down to business.

All right. Back now to our developing story. No more boycott for Blagojevich. The Illinois governor has made a closing argument in the state senate at his impeachment trial, which he has skipped, actually, for the last three days.

Let's go back to Springfield. "Chicago Sun-Times" columnist and political editor for NBC 5, Carol Marin, was in the gallery as the governor spoke.

Carol, good to see you. He was very defiant, but we've been seeing that in him for at least the past month anyway. What was the reaction in the senate gallery when he took up a good half of the 90 minutes allotted for this closing statement? CAROL MARIN, COLUMNIST, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": That's exactly right, Fredricka. It was a very impassioned plea that arguably fell on rather deaf ears.

You can't see it where I'm standing, but over there at the south end of the capitol a whole gaggle of reporters and crews are waiting, hoping that the governor will stop and talk to them as he leaves.

He told the gallery, he told the senate, and he basically told the American public again, through this pulpit, that he has done nothing wrong and that, if he had, why would people have elected him to a second term when many of the articles of impeachment deal with what he did in his first term?

WHITFIELD: Right. In fact he underscored that there has been no proof of any criminal wrongdoing. And the tapes don't necessarily show him doing anything, he says, differently from most politicians who are trying to campaign or win a race.

MARIN: Well, and he said that very clearly to his colleagues on the floor of the senate. Basically saying, "Haven't you had these kinds of fund-raising conversations, parenthesis, in a state like Illinois where there's no limit to what a donor can give?" And where almost all politicians argue there was never a quid pro quo, when a company that gets a contract ends up also having given a contribution.

So he was sticking it to his colleagues a bit, too. They listened; they listened politely. It was somber; you could hear a pin drop in that place. But when it was over, he said, "Charge it to my heart if I was too impatient, but I've done nothing wrong."

And so he leaves here. The special prosecutor will have 30 minutes of rebuttal, and then the Senate will vote. And there is really no indication, Fredricka, that they will vote differently than when they walked in the door believing how they would vote.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's taken a listen to the governor and hear for ourselves, once again, his tone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ROD BLAGOJEVICH (D), ILLINOIS: So I believe, in all of the evidence that we've been presented to you -- in fact I know, there hasn't been a single piece of information that proves any wrongdoing. You haven't proved a crime and you can't, because it hasn't happened. You haven't given me a chance to disprove a crime. But so far a crime has not been proven here in this impeachment proceeding.

How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And he even said, Carol, "Let me bring in my witnesses. I want you to hear from them." But he's saying that knowing that there's no time left for that. Right? MARIN: Right. But it is a bit of a subterfuge here, because this is a criminal -- this is an impeachment, rather, and not a criminal trial. They don't have to prove criminal charges.

And in point of fact, they don't have to allow him to give up all of the witnesses that he wants, because they don't get to call them either, people like Rahm Emanuel. People the U.S. attorney has asked the senate not to call.

So in point of fact, they argue he could have introduced all sorts of thing that Rahm Emanuel has said in written form or videotape form, and it would have done just as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Carol Marin, thanks so much. We know you've got to head back into the gallery there again.

MARIN: Yes, I do.

WHITFIELD: About 30 minutes of prosecutorial rebuttal, and then, of course, going to the senate there, the state senate. Thanks so much. Appreciate your insight and your time.

MARIN: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. Much more on Governor Blagojevich and his day there in the Senate gallery.

All right. America's men and women in uniform dying at their own hands. A new report says suicides in the Army are at an all-time high. We'll find out what appears to be pushing troops over the edge.

And iced over or snowed in. A big part of the eastern U.S. is without power. And for some people, it could be the middle of next month before things are back to normal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRAPHIC: Companies That Hire Part-Time Workers: 24 Hour Fitness, Aegis Therapies, AMF Bowling Centers, Inc., Bayada Nurses, Central Payment Corp.

WHITFIELD: Just a few of the companies hiring part-time workers, proving there are still jobs out there to fight the deepening recession. If you're looking for a new job or maybe a whole new career, our Gerri Willis will tell you later where to send your resume.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The auto industry has been hit particularly hard by the recession, and the size of the losses are just astounding. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on Ford's quarterly report -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, you know, we know that consumer spending has pulled back sharply, so imagine how hard it is when you're trying to sell one of the ultimate big-ticket items, like a car.

Ford posted a nearly $6 billion quarterly loss. So $6 billion in three months. Well, that pales in comparison to the loss for all of last year, which is more than $14.5 billion.

Ford says that it burned through $5.5 billion in cash in just three months...

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LISOVICZ: ... citing the global decline in vehicle demand.

But the company still says, Ford says it doesn't need the federal bailout money that its rivals, Chrysler and GM, have already received unless conditions worsen dramatically.

Now Ford is among those shedding jobs. It's cutting 1,200 jobs in its credit unit.

Ford shares down right now are down 2.5 percent. And that's pretty much where we are with the three major averages right now. The Dow Industrials nearly wiping out yesterday's gains, off 187 points, or 2.25 percent. The NASDAQ is down nearly 3 percent, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so, so much of the economic crisis really linked to the whole housing market. Might things get any better any time soon?

LISOVICZ: Well, they could get better if we, you know, start freeing up, you know, mortgages, reduce the glut of unsold homes on the market, you know, people get access to credit. That's obviously a huge factor. And if we don't see the jobs situation, what it is, I mean that certainly doesn't help consumer confidence.

Having said that, what we have seen now, the latest read on sales of newly built homes, not good. They fell in December to their lowest level since the government began tracking them...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LISOVICZ: ... in 1963, tumbling nearly 15 percent from November, nearly 45 percent from a year earlier.

Builders are facing intense competition from low-priced foreclosed homes, which are selling at rock-bottom prices.

The problem continues to be most acute out in the west. There was so much speculation there, home prices there have plummeted. Foreclosures have gone the other way.

But you know, I have to say, Fred, earlier this week we talked about existing homes, which are the biggest part of the housing market, and they rose, 6.5 percent, as I recall. And one of the reasons why is because of those plummeting prices. If you can get access to a mortgage, consumers are starting to nibble. So we saw a little bit of light in the existing home sales. That was encouraging. WHITFIELD: OK. We like that encouragement, Susan. Keep it coming.

LISOVICZ: Glass half-full.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Or quarter-full or there's a few drops in the bottom...

WHITFIELD: Half-full, I like that. All right. Thanks so much, Susan. Appreciate it.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, yes, the job numbers are bleak, and yes, we are in a recession. But yes, you can still find a job out there. How about applying to the biggest employer in the U.S., one that actually increases hiring every single year? Talking about Uncle Sam.

Gerri Willis, is the government really the biggest employer?

GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Yes, it is. Absolutely. Uncle Sam employs almost 2 million people, 1.93 million people. And that figure counts full, part-time, seasonal employees, and I'm not even counting postal workers. So it's a lot of folks out there.

So let's take a look at government hiring over the last several years. You said the amount's growing every year. Check this out. Amazing the number of federal workers, how it's growing.

One thing to pay attention here, the '08, last year, number -- 91,000. Those are just new hires. The same level as the full year for 2006, because that '08 number, last year number is only for six months.

WHITFIELD: Whoa.

WILLIS: So you can see the numbers are growing like top speed. It's just amazing. This is the safe place to go for a job, it would appear, from looking at just those numbers alone.

Bottom line here, any job you can find in the private sector you can find in the federal service. The government hires chemists, biologists, doctors, nurses. The IRS even used to keep art appraisers, Fred, on salary. Believe it or not. They don't do it any more.

Of course, there are the usual office managers, personal assistants and engineers.

WHITFIELD: I guess to calculate those numbers.

WILLIS: Normal, usual kind of stuff.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Yes, yes. Well, what about the kind of offbeat jobs, some examples of those?

WILLIS: Well, believe it or not, bowling equipment repair person.

WHITFIELD: That's offbeat.

WILLIS: Yes. How about aircraft attendant? And what we mean by that are the folks who stand outside and help the airplanes park. You know, they put their arms up and tell them where to go.

Lamplighters. Charwomen. Sextons.

WHITFIELD: What? Yes, OK. Charwomen? What's...

WILLIS: That's somebody who actually cleans a building. A sexton is somebody who watches over it and takes care of it. So those are actually property management positions, believe it or not.

Look, if you're interested in checking out these jobs, if you're out there and you're thinking, "I can't get a job anywhere, think about Uncle Sam." They have a great Web site, helps you search the entire country: USAjobs.gov. On the site, you can search for job openings by title, job title, even by location.

Remember, only 12 percent of federal jobs are actually in Washington, so no matter where you live, you may have a shot at these jobs.

And don't forget to tune into "Your Bottom Line" this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern on CNN. We'll be talking about the stimulus bill. We'll be talking about employment, too: how to get a job in this tough, tough market.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And we remember prior to the swearing in, it was said that the Obama administration would have something like 6,000 jobs which to fill. And there were tens of thousands of applicants. So, you know, federal workers...

WILLIS: There's something out there, right?

WHITFIELD: ... that means there's the future. There you go, right there. All right. Thanks so much, Gerri. Appreciate it.

WILLIS: Thank you, Fredricka.

All right. Well, perhaps you don't like the idea of prison inmates even watching television. Well, there's definitely going to be poor reception to pricey purchases at Massachusetts prisons. New flat screens: fair deal or flat-out wrong?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Here are a few stories that sort of reached out and grabbed us, stories like the mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, accused of lying to get federal money to fix his Katrina- damaged beach house. The government claims Mayor Brent Warr and his wife sought a homeowners assistance grant for a house that they owned but didn't live in. They're also accused of making false claims to their insurance company. The couple has pleaded not guilty.

And if you've ever watched cop shows, then you know crooks often get caught by returning to the scene of the crime. Well, you might call these two the comeback kids.

The California couple right here is charged with stealing two tires and rims. Police say they lifted them off a Toyota, drove away in their Geo. They came back around to see if the owner actually had called the cops. Well, the owner had done so, and the deputy recognized their car. The deputy tracked the couple to a mobile home park and then found the hot wheels.

And if you thought these two weren't that smart, well some Keystone crooks bungled their jail break yesterday. Oh, boy. Take a look at this. The two stooges tried to run opposite ways around a lamp post and then got hamstrung by their handcuffs. This is no joke.

New Zealand police had no trouble rounding them up. Taking it even further into sitcom territory, the inmates reportedly bickered with each other all the way back to the big house.

All right. Well, those guys probably wish they were in Massachusetts about now. State lockups there are installing dozens of high-def flat screen televisions in common areas just in time for the Super Bowl. But it's actually in preparation for the big digital changeover.

Still, for lots of people, it's a tough sell. At least until they find out prisoner canteen money actually paid for everything.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess that changed my opinion. As long as it's not taxpayers' dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they're going to be using the canteen money, you know, they shouldn't be using it for TVs. I mean, get the converter boxes like everybody else has to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, the total price tag for 117 new television sets: $77,000.

A staggering number after the big winter storm, more than 1 million people from the Southern Plains to the East Coast are without power. And they could be without for weeks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, I'm Fredricka Whitfield live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich defiant and emphatic that he is guilty of no criminal activity. That's what he told the State Senate during impeachment hearings. Momentarily, we're going to be hearing and monitoring the rebuttal from David Ellis, the impeachment prosecutor. We'll continue to monitor what's taking place there out of Springfield and bring you that information as it becomes available.

We're also standing by for the daily White House briefing scheduled to start just about 15 minutes from now. CNN will bring it to you live as we have been doing all week.

And this is how President Obama is spending day ten of his new administration. Just hours ago, he signed a Lilly Ledbetter bill aimed at making it easier for workers to fight for equal pay. He also received his daily economic briefing and, in a couple of hours, he meets with Vice President Biden and Treasury Secretary Geithner.

The U.S. Government is investigating rape allegations against a former CIA station chief in Algeria. According to a Justice Department affidavit, two women, both Algerian nationals, have accused Andrew Warren of drugging and raping them. This morning CNN asked President Obama's spokesman about the accusation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I've seen the reports. I don't have a lot of information beyond that. I would refer you to the Department of Justice. But I think it's important to understand that they're very serious allegations and that they will be looked into and investigated properly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And CNN has been unable to reach Andrew Warren for comment. He has not been charged in the case and according to the court document, Warren has told investigators he engaged in consensual sex with both of his accusers.

Well, the causes are unclear. They range from personal stress to the obvious strains of combat. But whatever the reasons, the Army reports the suicide rate among U.S. soldiers has reached a new high. Our Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence is standing by with more on this.

Very alarming information.

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, for four years now the numbers have been going up and up and up, to the point now where the Army suicide rate is actually higher than the civilian suicide rate at large. It's just alarming. Right now in another part of the Pentagon, the Army is holding a major briefing to outline some of its plans to figure out why its suicide prevention programs are not working and how they can be improved and fixed. They know that there's a combination of finances and relationships, all that kind of stress involved. But what they're going to do in just a couple of weeks is take 30 days down and intensely focus on trying to train their people to recognize behaviors and how to intervene, not at the command level, but all the way down at the buddy level where behaviors are first noted.

Take a look at some of these numbers. Last year the Army recorded 128 confirmed cases of suicide. But that number could go even higher, because there are 15 suspected cases still under investigation. That is the highest rate since the Army started tracking these numbers, nearly 30 years ago. So what do they mean? Out of every 100,000 soldiers right now, more than 20 kill themselves. The Army hit an all-time high in 2007, then had even more suicides last year.

Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so, Chris, you've been mostly talking about the Army. What about the other armed services?

LAWRENCE: Well, take a look at the Marines who have also seen a lot of combat duty, you know, since the - over the last five or six years. From 2003 to 2007, a big majority of the Marines who committed suicide had never been deployed. All of a sudden last year, that number completely flipped so that those in the war zone almost doubled the number of suicide for those who didn't - who had not deployed. So,, obviously, this is not a problem confined to the Army, and it is very hard to dig into those numbers and find out exactly the causes. So that's why a lot of these services are going to start taking a much more intense look at trying to get into the reason why.

WHITFIELD: Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

The security firm Blackwater is being kicked out of Iraq. The Iraqi government has denied Blackwater's request to renew its operating license, which means the companies that provides security for U.S. diplomats will have to leave the country. The decision reflects lingering anger over 2007 incident in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed by Blackwater guards. Five of those guards are facing manslaughter charges right here in the U.S.; a sixth has pleaded guilty. No word on when Blackwater employees will have to leave Iraq.

Big winter storm hitting just about everybody. Well, it is moving on but it's left behind some dangerous problems. More than a million people are still in the dark from the icy blast that stretched from the southern plains to the East Coast, and it could be days, perhaps even weeks, before some people get the power back on. President Obama has signed disaster requests for two of the hardest hit states - Arkansas and Kentucky - and at least 17 deaths are being blamed on the storm. And authorities are worried about the dangers of hypothermia and carbon monoxide in areas that remain without power for extended periods.

Chad Myers is in the CNN Severe Weather Center to tell us what just might be happening now. People need to thaw out. CHAD MYERS, CNN METEROLIGIST: Well, you have to be careful. Yes, really. We're trying to get some sunshine on this, but it's not helping all that much. You really have to be careful if you're without power and you're trying to use the range, because it's gas. And you can you cook things and warm up your house, but it's dangerous because there's no exhaust there for that carbon monoxide to come out of the range. And that is not the way to stay warm. The way to stay warm is to go find a shelter.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, it is a story that's stirred outrage and caused a whole lot of soul searching in Bay City, Michigan. A 93-year-old man froze to death in his own home after his power company restricted his use of electricity. The World War II veteran hadn't paid his bill. So in this tough economy, could this happen to you or someone you mow?

Here now is CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In life, some knew him only as a loner who sat by his front window and watched TV. In death, 93-year-old Marvin Shore now will be known as a World War II medic who froze to death inside his home.

JEROME ANDERSON, NEIGHBOR: It's unforgivable. This - this can't be allowed to happen in our country.

CANDIOTTI: Michigan's attorney general says Shore's death should have been avoidable. The state is now reviewing Bay City's policies that allow the city-regulated utility to install switches called limiters. They can reduce or cut off power if bills aren't paid. They also have a reset button which the customer can use to temporarily restore power. But did widower Marvin Shore know how to use it? A limiter knocked out his power, lows dipped below zero and four days later neighbors found him dead in his bedroom. The medical examiner said the temperature inside was 32 degrees.

(on camera): Did this man have to die?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We've been soul searching with this. We've been questioning what we've done.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): In Michigan and some other states, utilities have rules that forbid cutting power in winter to senior citizens who apply for help. In Bay City, officials are reeling from threats an ridicule following Shore's death.

ROBERT BELLEMAN, BAY CITY MANAGER: We need to make sure that we understand who our customers are. And right now we don't have enough information in our system about the age, the health, or the condition of our customers.

CANDIOTTI: Out of state relatives say finances were not an issue. Lack of oversight apparently was.

MAYOR CHARLES BRUNNER, BAY CITY, MICHIGAN: We have to do everything that we can to make sure this doesn't happen again. Whether it's Bay City or it is anywhere in the cold weather states.

CANDIOTTI: Some neighbors vow to be more involved and want the city to do the same.

ANDERSON: This isn't the answer. This isn't the answer. Freezing people to death is not the answer.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): For the rest of the winter, the utility company says it will no longer use limiters or cut off power to anyone who doesn't pay their bills. A decision that might have saved the life of Marvin Shore.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Bay City, Michigan.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: So it started out as a minor infection, then it raged out of control. Days later this young, healthy woman was dead. Sepsis. Never heard of it? It's fast, it's fatal and it can hit anyone. We'll explain more on that.

We're also standing by for the daily White House briefing scheduled to start next hour. CNN will bring it to you live as we've been doing all week long.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Very hard to believe that an infection could kill someone so young and so healthy so quickly. Twenty-year-old Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa died from sepsis. It started out as a urinary tract infection. And it just shows how a minor problem can actually quickly snowball into something fatal.

Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to talk about warning signs and how to protect your family and yourself.

Because, you know what, a lot of folks are hearing sepsis for the first time. But it's not that it's new, it's just we're not used to hearing about it.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONNDENT: It is not that it is new, right? It's just a term you don't hear a lot. Sepsis basically means an infection that started out in a small place becomes an infection that affects your whole system, vital organs then shut down.

And when you look at these pictures of Mariana da Costa, you go, how in the world does this happen? Well, in her case it started out as a urinary tract infection. Doctors I talked to said often it starts out as a skin infection. You just get a cut on your finger, it's red and swollen. Most of the time, the vast majority of the time the body fights off the infection. But even in a young, healthy person it can develop into sepsis.

For example, Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, had pneumonia at 53, which is usually something highly controllable. You get treated for it and it's usually not such a big deal. But he passed away from sepsis because of that pneumonia and he was 53 and previously healthy.

Also, a woman named Erin Flatly (ph), you haven't heard of, she was 23 when she went in for minor - this young lady, 23, went in for minor surgery and she died five days later of sepsis that she contracted in the hospital. In other words, a germ in the hospital got into her system.

WHITFIELD: Does it seem as though some people are more susceptible to it getting out of control when it starts out as just a small infection?

COHEN: That's what doctors are trying to figure that out. They're trying to figure out why can some people fight off these, but in the rare case they can't. Does it have to do with that person's immune system or maybe it has to do with the bug itself, that they just caught this bug that's very, very aggressive and didn't react to antibiotics. Or, you know, maybe a culmination of those two things.

WHITFIELD: So what do you do? You get an infection, you know, or a paper cut - I got a paper cut on my finger now. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Am I treating it properly? What do you do with this information to make sure that it doesn't, you know, blossom into something else?

COHEN: Exactly. So, doctors don't want people to freak out. OK, so I see that little - I can see that cut. You can actually see it. I see the little cut. So people troubled like Fred shouldn't be flipping out. You don't want to say, oh, my goodness, this is going to become sepsis. But if you have a cut on your finger and it is red and swollen and you put a Band-Aid on it and kind of forget about it, but then if you start to develop a fever, you start to feel bad overall, all of those things watch out for.

WHITIFIELD: Are we talking days?

COHEN: It could be days. Yes, it could be days. So let's say you have a cut on your finger or a urinary tract infection, you develop a fever, you feel bad. You take your blood pressure and you see it's either really high or really low for whatever is usual for you. If you notice that your breathing becomes rapid or if - this is a loved one - you notice that person becomes confused, you should run, not walk, to get medical care. It may not necessarily be anything big, but you just want it checked out.

WHITFIELD: Days, not necessarily a weeks issue here.

COHEN: Not necessarily. This can happen - this can happen very quickly. And for more on this, go to cnnhealth.com, look for a picture of the Mariana Bridi da Costa, the Brazilian model, and you'll see more details on what to look for. WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Liz. Always appreciate it.

COHEN: Thanks. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: I always feel smarter after talking to you.

COHEN: Oh, good. Well, I'm glad to here that. It's working!

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

All right, smarter, but no more rich. Got zilch in your bank account? Maybe your zip code is to blame. Next hour in the NEWSROOM, the top five cities for building wealth. You're looking at one of them right now. Recognize that city?

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

TED HAGGARD, FORMER EVANGELICAL LEADER: 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. I thought my wife would divorce me. I thought my children would leave me. I thought the church would, too. And a portion of that came true.

But the part about my family did not. My family responded in a way that saved me. I think I would have killed myself after -- or during and after this scandal, I would have died if my wife and my children wouldn't have made the decision they made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Very revealing now. Well, he disappeared for awhile after being forced from his church. And now, in the middle of a media blitz, former evangelical leader Ted Haggard has been blitzed by new accusations now. A one-time church volunteer went public this week claiming Haggard offered him drugs and performed a sex act in front of him.

Grant Haas met the preacher a year earlier as a 22-year-old struggling with his sexuality. So hear what Ted Haggard has to say tonight on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE." He'll be taking your questions starting at 9:00 Eastern time.

And in the old days when people lied on their resumes, they tried to make themselves, well, look a little smarter. So, why is that trend reversing?

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WHITFIELD: It's never a good idea to lie on a resume. But with competition for jobs so fierce these days, some people are actually finding they have to play down their skills just to get an interview. Here now is Kirsten Bronson (ph) of CNN affiliate KBCI in Boise, Idaho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIRSTEN BRONSON (ph), KBCI REPORTER (voice-over): Online, in the newspaper or down at the Department of Labor, whatever source used to find a job, applying is usually always the same, starting with your resume.

LYNN COMPTON (ph), JOB SEEKER: It's frightening. It's frightening.

BRONSON (ph): Lynn Compton owned her own business for years in Boise, but she recently had to close up shop. Now, she's looking for a job at a time when 50,000 other Idahoans are doing the same thing.

COMPTON (ph): I have sent out my resume to a lot of people. And it's never even been looked at.

BRONSON (ph): The Idaho Department of Labor admits more job seekers are having to dumb down their resumes in order to even be considered for a job they most likely are overqualified for.

JOHN RUSS, IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR: Sometimes we have to do that just to get our foot in the door.

BRONSON (ph): Russ tells me lying on your resume is never good. But learning to taIlor your qualifications to fit a job can be helpful, even if it means you have to change your previous job title or leave out skills that job may not require.

RUSS: A lot of times if we do dumb it down, you know, the employer's willing to give us that shot to prove our worth.

BRONSON (ph): The Idaho Department of Labor says once you get an interview, those skills you may not have included in your resume can come out. But to get there, you have to start here. And that's something this job seeker says she's learning fast.

COMPTON (ph): Work it around to where you're fitting more of what they -- their expectations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So discouraging. So, in addition to toning down those skills to fit different jobs, it's important to have more than one standard resume ready to go.

All right, well, here's another story from the tough economy category. An entire restaurant taking one for the team. Employees at Mrs. B's pancake house in Muskegon, Michigan worked an entire day shift for tips only. Seventeen servers, cooks, busboys, dishwashers, cashiers and hostesses gave the boss a break because business has been rather soft lately. It's the kind of payback he really appreciated.

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MARY VAN DAM, HEAD SERVER, MRS. B'S PANCAKE HOUSE: It's about giving back to a boss who has -- he's very private about it, but he has dipped into his own pocket to make sure that we have a job.

DAVE BARHAM, OWNER, MRS. B'S PANCAKE HOUSE: I knew what we were doing, and allowing the -- not only the customers, but the employees to give, I knew good things would come out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And customers actually knew what was going on, so they added a little bit more than usual to those tips.

The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.