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Rescuing the Economy; Arson Flares Again; Big Family, Big Questions; Faces of Recession

Aired January 31, 2009 - 23:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: New developments tonight on the economy. A delay in efforts to jumpstart it and it could affect you.

A mother obsessed. A family member speaks out about the woman implanted with eight babies. I'll read your passionate email, live. I'm Don Lemon.

Also tonight, what drove a man to kill his entire family and then himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are five angels in heaven, and it's just a real tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We look for help for people out of work and feeling desperate.

Plus, this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to slap you. They abuse you, they sexually abused you, they mentally abused us and they beat you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Dozens of men finally speaking out after decades of silent suffering. You'll see it first, tonight, right here.

Plus, dance drama.

These moves being mimic everywhere. But some high school girls turn it into a lap dance, now seen around the world. The controversial video tonight.

Plus, sex sales. The question is what are these nearly naked women selling? It ain't so. The news starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Don Lemon.

LEMON: Good evening, everyone. It hasn't been this bad in quite sometime. So just about everyone is on pins and needles about how soon the president can get people back to work and money flowing to businesses.

But tonight, word came from the White House, that the president's rescue plan design to help the nation's financial institutions won't be ready as quickly as first promised. Let's check in with our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry. He joins us by phone.

Ed, why the delay?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, good evening, Don. If you think about it, it's essentially two tracks that are going on right now for the president. The first one is that $819 billion economic stimulus plan. That's still on track. That's the first one. But the second one, a rescue plan to try to deal with the financial system. That was expected to come out this coming week. Now senior officials are telling us it's probably to come out the week after.

And why it is so significant is this would deal with foreclosures, this would deal with potentially creating a so-called bad bank that the federal government would set up to buy up troubled assets to try to bail out more of these banks. And finally, there would also provisions in this separate piece of legislation that would crack down on some of those big Wall Street bonuses that the president lashed out at this week more than $18 billion in bonuses last year.

So we would try to crack down on some of the executive compensation that specifically in companies that are getting bailout money. So there are sort of two tracks going on right now. They are slowing down the second track to make sure they get it right. You'll remember last fall when they did that first $700 billion bailout, there were a lot of mistakes. The accountability hasn't been there. So they are trying to get that right. But they are still moving forward trying to make sure the Senate moves forward on that stimulus bill. So two tracks right now, and they obviously realize that with this recession being longer and deeper that many thought, they've got a lot of work to do.

Don?

LEMON: Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry. We appreciate it.

His financial rescue plan might be delayed, but the president is still pushing for passage of his economic stimulus package. It passed the House this week with no Republican support. Now it's headed for the Senate. Our Elaine Quijano reports from the White house.

Elaine?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as President Obama again pushed his massive economic stimulus plan...

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Americans know that our economic recovery will take years, not months, but they will have little patience if we allow politics to get in the way of action.

QUIJANO: His administration was dealing with another distraction -- more tax troubles. This time for the president's pick for Health and Human Services secretary, former Senator Tom Daschle.

AMY HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: So he's well acquainted with a lot of these disclosure rules and Senate ethic rules. Tom Daschle knows better.

QUIJANO: The Senate Finance Committee says Daschle did not report income from the use of a car and driver and more than $80,000 for consulting work. The committee also found he deducted charitable donations to groups that didn't qualify as charities.

Daschle has since paid $150,000 in back taxes and interest.

MARK HALPERIN, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, TIME: While it's an embarrassment, until we hear and unless we hear Democrats expressing concern about this, he will be confirmed.

QUIJANO: Both the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid expressed confidence Daschle will be confirmed, but he's the second Obama cabinet pick to be bogged down by tax problems, as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was before his confirmation.

The distraction comes as the president is trying to focus on pulling skeptical Republicans on board with his economic policies. So far, no luck in the House, where the stimulus bill passed without a single Republican supporting it.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: The bill is passed.

QUIJANO: And Republicans in the Senate, which takes up the bill Monday, remain weary, accusing Democrats of wasting taxpayer dollars.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: The bill they presented and which House Democrats approved this week along a party line vote, looks more like a trillion-dollar Christmas list.

QUIJANO: But Democrats could get a victory in the Senate. An Obama administration official says Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire is the leading candidate to become commerce secretary. If Gregg is picked and the Democratic governor picks a Democrat to replace him, that could potentially give Democrats the magic number, a 60-seat majority in the Senate, big enough to overcome a Republican filibuster.

(on camera): An administration official says the decision on the Commerce secretary post could come as early as Monday.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And President Obama is congratulating the Iraqi people on their historic election. Today millions of Iraqis cast their ballots for crucial provincial council seats. It is the first selection in Iraq in four years. And unlike the vote back in 2005, the mood was optimistic. There was little violence and Sunnis who boycotted the last election were out in force. Another notable difference almost 1/3 of the candidates were women. Early results are expected next week.

Back here at home tonight, a developing story from Texas. About 24,000 refinery workers have agreed to bypass a midnight strike deadline. They're going to continue talks with the oil companies as they work toward a new labor agreement. With demand down and supplies high, experts say a refinery strike would have to last several months to have a major impact on your gas prices.

Arsonists have apparently struck again in eastern Pennsylvania. This time just outside the city of Coatesville. At least four suspicious fires were set early this morning. Residents are worried and traumatized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While I was on the phone with 911 he discovered that an area rug right inside the back door was on fire, and while he put that out he discovered that it was on the deck outside. We got out of the house and the backdoor of our house was on fire. Someone had pulled the trash can up from the curb because it's trash day and put it on our back steps and set it on fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: City leaders are appealing for state and federal help in coping with the arson wave. This fire last weekend destroyed 15 row houses in the city displacing almost a dozen families. The community has been terrorized by about 30 fires over the past year. One person has been killed. We'll keep tabs on that region throughout the night for you.

U.S troops have been deployed to help thousands of Americans trapped tonight in freezing cold and darkness. It is literally a life-and-death situation after one of the worst ice storms in recent memory. This killer storm has already taken at least 42 lives. The severe winter weather stretched from Texas to Maine.

But as this highlighted map shows, the worst was from Oklahoma to West Virginia. Kentucky was especially hit hard. Thick, heavy ice coats everything in site. More than 500,000 people are without power and about 200,000 are without water. The governor has called up all of the state's Army National Guard units to go door-to-door and FEMA is rushing in generators and emergency supplies. The governor says even some of the shelters for storm victims are without power tonight.

Our Jacqui Jeras is tracking the cold front. Her forecast for you just moments away.

Meantime, octuplets born this week to a mother who already had six children. What were she and her doctors thinking?

Also, people are thinking and saying things about Jessica Simpson thinking she is fat just because she has curves. Is that a bad thing?

And veggies like you have never seen them. An ad that might make you run to the produce isle.

Also, we want to know what's on your mind tonight. Make sure you become part of our community by logging on to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com, tell us what you're thinking. We'll get it on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, this story was already shocking. In fact, it is almost unheard of. One woman gives birth to eight healthy babies. But that seems to be just where this story started, not really where it ends. It turns out the mother of the eight newborns already had children and lots of them. We hear the story tonight from CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight babies, one mother. The news was startling enough. And then we learned the mother already has six children at home, and that's produced a frenzy of questions.

ED SULEMAN, OCTUPLETS' GRANDFATHER: She's fine. The babies are fine. Everybody's fine, except us because of you. That's all.

MATTINGLY: The grandmother told the "Los Angeles Times" that the mother had undergone some kind of fertility treatment, why we don't know. Hospital doctors say the mother came to them in her first trimester, and they advised her she could selectively remove some of the fetuses. She declined.

(on camera): What kind of a risk was this woman taking when she chose to have these babies?

DR. MICHAEL TUCKER, REPRODUCTIVE PHYSIOLOGIST: In my mind at that point, with seven and ultimately eight babies on board, an extreme risk.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Reproductive physiologist Michael Tucker says the case goes against modern fertility treatment practices of limiting multiple births. He says the case will be scrutinized for how fertility drugs might have been used or how many embryos might have been implanted.

TUCKER: Somebody who's already known fertile, to transfer more than one or two embryos is -- is quite, quite unreasonable, to say the least.

MATTINGLY: Guidelines of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine says doctors normally would not implant more than two embryos at a time for any woman under 35.

(on camera): Her age has not been confirmed, but with eight new babies, she now has a total of 14 children. So far, she's trying to hold onto her privacy, but through the California hospital where she's recovering, she called the octuplets a miraculous experience.

(voice-over): But the questions about these births address more human concerns. The baby's grandfather says multiple births were not part of the plan.

SULEMAN: She did not seek to have more children. She thought she was going to have one more child, and it happened.

MATTINGLY: And the surprises continued up until delivery on Monday. Mom thought she was having only seven babies. She was carrying so many that the eighth escaped detection until the landmark C-section.

David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Lots of you are sending us e-mails and comments on these stories. Orbitaldiamond writes, "If she can afford to have 14 kids, then who are we to say anything. It was her choice."

Ivydora (ph) says, "I hope economic stimulus plan works, but I don't know enough about economics to tell you if it will or if it won't. I do support Obama, though.

Missyou (ph) says, "I think the media needs to lay off of Jessica Simpson. It is hypocritical to call her on her weight, then tell women to be happy."

Unmiked says, "It is highly disturbing that eight embryos were implanted into a woman at once. What was her doctor thinking?"

Join our community here. I want you to logon to Twitter, to Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. We care about your comments. We will put them on for you.

We want to get back now to our developing story. Hundreds of thousands of people in Kentucky are trying to recover from a crippling ice storm. Our Jacqui Jeras is following it all for you.

Jacqui, we hear it's going to be weeks before some people get their power back.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: I'm not saying. I'm not saying. But thanks, mom, that was good advice -- what you said about smoking. I'm not -- I can't do it. I hope both teams do well. How about that?

All right, thank you, Jacqui.

Facing the horror he endured more than 50 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have realized what these guys did. You know, they didn't slap you, they abused you, they sexually abused you, they mentally abused us and they beat you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN investigates the secrets of Florida's White House, straight ahead. For the first time on this broadcast, you will see dozens of stories you won't soon forget.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. We have to warn you here that this next story is really disturbing. Dozens of men are now coming forward alleging decades-old abuse at a reform school for boys in Florida. Their allegations are chilling. Here's CNN Ed Lavandera. And again, the stories you're about to hear are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON STRATTON, ALLEGED VICTIM: It was terrible. They all are.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don Stratton is an old-fashion country boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why I'm...

LAVANDERA: But the tough exterior crumbles when he talks about the Florida school for boys, a now defunct reform school that many former student say was to them a torture chamber.

STRATTON: You got to realize what these guys did. You know, maybe they slap you. They abuse you. They sexually abused you. They mentally abused us and they beat you.

LAVANDERA: As a young teenager, Stratton spent two years at the boys' reform school in Mariana, Florida. It was around 1960.

STRATTON: And we're boys. You know, we're young man growing up.

LAVANDERA: Stratton is now suing the state of Florida and two former school employees. In recent months dozens of now older men have detailed gruesome stories of abuse suffered at the hands of administrators. The former student say it's taken 50 years to muster the courage to speak out.

STRATTON: 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, you would hear a boy over here crying or a boy over here crying, and then the door would open, you see these guys come in and come up to somebody that they like, and they would just tell you, you are mine for tonight. Come on with me. What are you going to do?

LAVANDERA: Stratton's attorney says they've interviewed 80 former students who say they were abused. Florida's governor has ordered an investigation to uncover records, interview students and find former administrators. Well, there are challenges because of the length of time that has passed. But, again, we are confident that we can conduct a thorough and methodical investigation, and establish as much as we can about what happened here.

LAVANDERA: The truth of what happened here may be lost to time. The school administrators are hard to find. But we did find a man named Troy Tidwell who is being sued by Don Stratton and other alleged victims.

Tidwell wouldn't talk to us about the allegations, but he told the "Miami Herald" that boys were spanked, quote, "When we felt it was necessary, but denied abuse." His attorney wants the lawsuit thrown out. Tidwell is now in his late 80s.

LAVANDERA: Dick Colon remembers Tidwell and the leather strap the administrators use to whip the boys. The description is chilling.

DICK COLON, ALLEGED VICTIM: After that lick hit you, man, you just started to go all over again. And you got that tick on the ceiling and it was -- and then waah. You know, and then down you went and up you came and you just got ready for the next round until it stopped.

LAVANDERA (on camera): The former students say they were punished in this building that still stands today. It was known as the White House. And they could be sent down for the most trivial violations. Many of the boys who were marched down to the White House were told to stand along these walls, come through this door and just stand at attention. And behind this window here, they could hear the instructors and the administrators of the school they say unleashing lashes on the other students, and they had to stand there and listen to it all.

(voice-over): Don Stratton says he watched the beatings from a cafeteria window. There's one boy he vividly remembers who walked into the White House, 45 minutes later carried out and put in a car.

STRATTON: Open the back door and they carried him out and throw him in the back of the car. Was he dead? Yes. And we never see him again.

LAVANDERA: CNN has spoken with three former students who say they saw students killed. We can't verify that. But there is the mystery of this site hidden in a wooded area on the school grounds. 31 unmarked crosses. The state is now investigating who if anyone rests beneath them.

BRYANT MIDDLETON, ALLEGED VICTIM: For these people to be here, these young children to be buried in unmarked graves, not knowing who they are, this is a travesty against man kind.

LAVANDERA: For the men known as the White House Boys digging up the past brings back the nightmares of their youth.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Tampa, Florida. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Out of a job and out of hope. A Los Angeles area dad kills his family and then himself.

Also, facing the recession the only way they know how, a Georgia family takes their financial woes to the Web. We are taking a closer look at the faces of recession and asking the experts about the best ways to cope.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's turn now to the economy. And it tops the agenda for President Barack Obama. And every day, you can see why. Some of the biggest names in American businesses announced job cuts this week, names like -- All State, Kodak, Caterpillar and Starbucks. And all this week, 145,000 jobs disappeared.

The realities of the struggling economy are apparently too much for some people to handle. They're responding to bad news about their jobs and their finances in ways that are impossible to understand. And one of the worst examples happened in California. Our Ted Rowlands has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Police say Ervin Antonio Lupoe was so desponded over the lost of his job he decided to end his frustration in the worst imaginable way.

CAPT. WILLIAM HAYES, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We found the bodies of a male and a female adult, as well as five children.

ROWLANDS: This normally quite working -lass neighborhood was a crime scene, Tuesday, before taking his own life, authorities say Lupoe shot and killed his wife, Anna, their 8-year-old daughter, 5- year-old twin daughters, and 2-year-old twin boys.

JANICE HAHN, L.A. CITY COUNCILWOMAN: There are five angels in heaven. And it's just a real strategy.

ROWLANDS: Los Angeles TV station KABC says that prior to the killings Lupoe sent a fax to the station claiming he and his wife were fired from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center and left with five young children and no job.

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: The man who committed this crime recently lost his job and allowed the desperation to put him over the edge.

ROWLANDS: Lupoe also called 911 telling police his family had been shot. Within minutes of that call, police discovered seven bodies in two separate bedrooms. Police say officers smelled gunshot residue from a handgun believed to be the murder weapon.

JASMINE GOMEZ, NEIGHBOR: The reaction of their faces was not a pretty sight. There's actually a cop that came out throwing up.

ROWLANDS: On his Facebook Web page, Lupoe appears as a tight- knit family man and describes himself as a University of Southern California graduate. In the midst of this economic crisis, officials urge people to contact community assistance instead of resorting to violence.

HAHN: No one should feel alone going through, whether it's this economy or whether going through frustrations at work, no one should feel alone.

ROWLANDS: Kaiser Permanente would not discuss what led to the couples departure from the company but issued a statement expressing its deep sadness over the deaths of the family and extending its sympathies to relatives and friends.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, let's talk more about the strains of recession and ways to cope during tough economic times. Joining me from Pittsburgh tonight is Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, the director of Mind Body Wellness and the CEO of Control Stress for Good. And Martha Fields is in Boston. She is the CEO of the Management Consulting Firm Fields Associate.

Have you seen it this bad, Mrs. Fields?

MARTHA FIELDS, CEO, FIELDS ASSOCIATE: You know, this is really bad, Don. As you probably know, last year we lost 2.6 million jobs. And that's the worst that it's been since 1945 and the end of World War II. It's bad --

LEMON: And Dr. Lombardo -- Dr. Lombardo, is there hope?

DR. ELIZABETH LOMBARDO, CEO, CONTROL STRESS FOR GOOD: There is hope. And there are strategies that people can take to decrease their stress that we are going to talk about tonight.

Dr. Lombardo and Mrs. Fields, still around. We are going to talk more about this subject, coming up just a little bit later on. But first, facing the economic slowdown, the only way they know how. We'll talk about that. One family offers to sell everything they own on eBay. Brittany and Greg Peters are live right here in our studio tonight. We'll find out if they have had any takers. You don't want to miss this. Moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER KIESELBACK, IREPORTER: This August, I was laid off along with many of my colleagues from a drug discovery company in New Jersey. This is unfortunate. This is my first layoff in over 30 over years in research and development engineering. I have worked for just two companies in my career. And I'm finding that there are not many jobs and there's a lot of competition for the few there are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: iReport by Peter Kieselback. Thank you for that and we wish you the best.

We got a young couple in Georgia struggling to pay a mountain of medical bills for their two children -- two of their three children. They join us live in our studio tonight. Their names are Gregg and Brittiny Peters. They put everything they own on eBay except for their house.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRITTINY PETERS, SELLING BELONGINGS ON EBAY: Life threw us a curveball. So, you know, we're willing to sacrifice these things and put our children first.

GREGG PETERS, SELLING BELONGINGS ON EBAY: Nothing is more precious than the kids. I mean, not a sofa, not a TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the Peters has got a very generous offer for all of their things. But now there's a hitch. And the deal? Well, it might just fall apart. Greg and Brittany Peters are here to explain where they stand tonight.

So you got what you wanted. First of all, thank you. How are you guys doing?

G. PETERS: Very good. How are you doing?

LEMON: Yes, and I'll talk to you about this in a little bit, but I understand one of your -- your middle one is sick?

B. PETERS: Noah. He has strep throat.

LEMON: OK. So, we wish Noah the very best.

B. PETERS: Thank you.

LEMON: So, you got what you wanted. You put all your things on eBay. It's tough for you to do. I've been reading, because there were personal things like in your king-size bed, you guys, the kids would play and that sort of thing.

B. PETERS: Yes.

LEMON: You're the faces of the recession. What do you want people to know before I go into this eBay thing, about what average Americans are dealing with right now?

B. PETERS: Well, it's a lot. I mean, in 2007 and up until 2007 -- you know, we were able to live a comfortable lifestyle and have the things that, you know, we wanted and, you know, pay the bills and have a little left over. And my husband's income hasn't really changed, but, you know, with the medical bills that started coming in 2008, with both of the children being diagnosed in that same year within a few months from each other, we really had to re-evaluate because we realized it wasn't going to be able to continue that way.

LEMON: And, Greg, most people don't realize, I mean, maybe it's somewhere in the back of their head, but most people are maybe one, two paychecks away from being in a similar situation that you're in?

G. PETERS: Absolutely. Yes, I mean, I think there's a lot of people out there going through a tough time. I mean, that's obvious. We hear it every day on the news. And, you know, I think there's a lot of people living week to week, month to month. And when something goes awry and life can throw you that curve ball, and I think it can put a lot of families in really hard place right now.

LEMON: And you know what? You guys are in a position now because, you know, there are lots of people watching us and you never know who's going to be able to receive. So, you might be able to help someone here.

G. PETERS: Absolutely.

LEMON: Gregg, you know, and just be honest with me, men, and we know that, put more stock in their jobs and what they do for a living.

G. PETERS: Right.

LEMON: And so you hear the stories about the guy taking his life and his family's lives. As a provider, how do you feel when you have to put all your stuff up on eBay and watch your kids lose their things?

G. PETERS: You know, I don't look at it -- I didn't look at it in a bad way. I saw it as an opportunity for us as a family to come together and come closer and get through a hard time and do it together. Hand-in-hand, make the sacrifice together and do what's most important for our family. Put our family and our kids first. And I thought that we could do it together hand-in-hand. That was the most important.

LEMON: Mom, was this a case of -- were you swallowing your pride? Did you feel that at all in all of this?

B. PETERS: No. We have no regrets. You know, we were doing what needed to be done. We wouldn't live without all our things forever. We'd purchase these things again in the future, one by one, less expensive things as we can afford them.

LEMON: And they are just things, right? They're just things.

B. PETERS: They're just things. Ultimately, they're just things.

LEMON: But you have memories that go with those things. So, I understand that, but... B. PETERS: We do. But ultimately, our memories come from our family and our children and our time together, and especially our son Noah with autism. His time is now. You know, he needs early intervention that starts before he's 3 and he'll be 3 in April. So, this is his time of need. Not ours.

LEMON: Yes. And we wish you guys the very best here. You've got a great attitude about it. But I want to -- you know, someone offered to buy your things on eBay. You have regrets about it. You're second-guessing, are you?

B. PETERS: Well, I wouldn't say we have regrets about it. We were definitely shocked. We were -- OK, Thursday night, when we went to bed we stayed up to see the auction end, and we went to bed Thursday night seeing that, you know, the things had sold for the $20,000 bid. And, you know, we went to bed happy, ready to get up and start packing our things. And -- you know, when we got a call from Ms. Blair Friday morning and...

LEMON: Are you going to take the offer?

B. PETERS: We are.

G. PETERS: We are. Yes.

B. PETERS: She hasn't given us a choice.

LEMON: But she says she's going to let you keep the things. I mean, really, you know...

B. PETERS: She -- FedEx delivered the $20,000 check to our home this morning along with a note from them, you know, asking us to please not take this blessing away from them.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: And so, what do you say to her? What do both of you say before I let you go? This is my last question. What do you say to her, both of you?

B. PETERS: We have a tremendous amount of gratitude -- you know. Thought I would say to her that she's changed our lives and our children's lives. And we are going to be coming up with a plan over the next few days on how we can pay that forward...

LEMON: Great.

B. PETERS: ...and help other people.

G. PETERS: Yes. And just what a tremendous amount of -- just gratitude, really. Just, I mean, unbelievable feeling, and I feel, you know, I just want to take their blessing that they are wanting to give us and bless others. And I can't say thank you enough to them. They just seem incredible.

B. PETERS: We just say thank you and we can't wait to meet you guys.

G. PETERS: Yes, absolutely. Can't wait to meet them.

B. PETERS: We -- both of us, our family and their family definitely want to meet soon.

LEMON: And again, thank you very much. You guys have a great attitude. And, you know, this is a big deal for you kids. Say hello to them on television. They're watching.

B. PETERS: I would.

G. PETERS: Noah...

B. PETERS: Noah and Eli are better be in bed. And Ayla, we'll see you soon.

G. PETERS: Love you.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, guys. Best of luck to you.

B. PETERS: Thank you.

G. PETERS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: We'll check in with you, OK? Appreciate it.

So, what can you do to protect yourself and your family in this economy? We'll ask our experts, straight ahead, as our closer look at the faces of a recession continues.

Also, send us your questions for them. If you have some questions for our experts, log on to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. We will ask our experts your questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER CABRERA, IREPORTER: My father is -- he's retired early after working so hard his whole life, and he's watching his 401(k) disappear. That -- that terrifies me, because, you know, he may very well end up now having to work until the day he dies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: IReport of Peter Cabrera. Best of luck to you as well.

And we're talking tonight about the personal strains caused by the recession and the variety of ways people are trying to deal with it. Joining me now from Pittsburgh is Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, the CEO of Control Stress for Good, plus Martha Fields, she's in Boston and she is the CEO of the management consulting firm Fields Associates.

OK. Ms. Fields, thank you very much. What is -- what can people do if they are trying to look for a job in this economy? We ask this question all the time. But do you have some real advice on where folks can go to find a job when everyday you hear about thousands and thousands of people getting laid off? Is this a matter of reinventing yourself?

MARTHA FIELDS, CEO, FIELDS ASSOCIATES: It is a matter of reinventing yourself and also doing your research. Find out where the jobs are. We know that there are two strong sectors right now, health care and education. It's also, Don, about planning. Henry Ford once said if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. And you've got to spend more time planning your life, your career, what you would do if you were laid off than you do in planning a vacation.

LEMON: And you know, Ms. Fields, I've got to ask you this, because we do this all the time, and, you know, I don't want to just sit up here and be disingenuous to people about how to find jobs. I mean, because it is bad. Do we really know where to find jobs? I mean, we say these sectors are hiring, but do we know that for sure? Do we tell people to send a resume here or there?

FIELDS: Yes.

LEMON: But, I mean, how do you know? What can they do? Practical advice for them.

FIELDS: Let me direct people to a Web site that I think will be very helpful to them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics www.bls.gov has something called the "Occupational Outlook Handbook," and that's going to tell you where the jobs are and what you can do in terms of the skill sets that you need and also how much would you make and what jobs are going to around in the future. As I said, it's very, very important that people do their research.

Also, look at what Obama -- what President Obama has set forth in terms of the stimulus plan. He has said that there are certain sectors that he is going to give money to. Manufacturing, retail - they're not doing so great now, but he is going to put something there for people.

LEMON: OK. I want to let Dr. Lombardo get in on this. Dr. Lombardo, you know, we saw the Peters family here. They have a great attitude -- they have a great attitude, but not everyone does. We hear these horror stories about the man who killed his family and killed himself. And we've heard others happening throughout the country.

I received an e-mail from someone that says, you know, it is bad. Yes, no reason to kill yourself. This is an example of why we need this stimulus.

What can you tell people, you know, really because when you're depressed or when you're out of your job, you think you're alone and that there's no way out. What do you say to folks who's watching? Someone may be watching right now and they may be on the verge of doing something desperate.

ELIZABETH LOMBARDO, CEO, CONTROL STRESS FOR GOOD: I think -- the first thing to remember is that you're not alone. So many people are going through difficult times right now. And not to be embarrassed and not to be overwhelmed by the stress, because I think a lot of times it's almost paralyzing and it prevents you from doing things like going out and looking for a job.

LEMON: So, what do you do? I mean, do you -- do you pick up the phone and call someone? Do you call 911? I mean, what? Do you call your preacher? I mean, what do you do if you're desperate?

LOMBARDO: If you're at the stage you are desperate absolutely, call 911. Call someone who's going to be able to help you right then. But also, you want to take steps to prevent yourself from getting that stressed out. You want to take care of yourself in terms of proper nutrition and proper rest. Exercising is a great way to decrease stress and to combat depression.

LEMON: That's absolutely true. You're absolutely true. And to be around people. Don't be alone. And men...

FIELDS: Right.

LOMBARDO: Absolutely. Be around positive people who are going to support you.

LEMON: And men don't want to share. I know it myself. I'm not a big talker. I don't like to share my feelings. And most men don't like that as well. We got to get over that.

Hey, I could talk to you guys all night. We appreciate it. Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo and then also psychologist Martha Fields. Have a great evening.

FIELDS: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you.

LOMBARDO: Thank you.

LEMON: OK. We turn now to a story that is very interesting because it's also about personal perception. Is she fat or is she just curvy? Should we just leave her alone? Why this obsession? Jessica Simpson's shape is generating lots and lots -- not just tabloid headlines, it's been in credible newspapers, it's been on credible newscasts. We want you to weigh in.

Plus, after seeing this ad, you will probably want to eat -- your vegetables.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. So, when you look at this, you're going to say, you know what, what is going on here, because, let me tell you something. Jessica Simpson is not fat. No way, no how. She's not even close to being fat. Yet, there is no shortage of people who seem to think she is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice over): These pictures, that outfit, this woman, Jessica Simpson. People can't stop talking about it, saying she looks fat.

ELIZABETH HASSELBACK, HOST, THE VIEW: It's horrific, you know, especially now. I think women put so much pressure on themselves when they attack someone who's very nice and gorgeous just the way she is, and call her fat. It just makes me mad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why her, though?

LEMON: A whole bunch of other celebs were disgusted, too, like Heidi Klum, Kim Kardashian. Even her ex-husband, Nick Lachey, defended Simpson, telling the entertainment show "Extra," "I can't believe it's this big of a story and people are making such a huge deal about it."

Jessica's brother-in-law, musician Pete Wentz...

PETE WENTZ, I think it's crap the way girls are torn apart and I think it's crap the way people feel that they have to look like the cover of a magazine.

LEMON: Finally, Jessica has broken her silence. At a Virginia concert, the singer and actress thanked fans for their support saying, "I feel like in our world today. We focus on so many things that are completely pointless. No matter what you go through in life, somebody else might have it harder. So just appreciate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. So why this obsession about Jessica Simpson's weight? And really a lot of people's weight, a lot of starlets' weight, especially. Who cares? Who cares?

All right. Harley Pasternak, the creator of the Five Factor Diet and Simpson's former trainer. He's also an expert on how cruel Hollywood can be when it comes to physical appearance. He joins us tonight via Web cam.

Thank you, Harley, so much for doing this. We've seen so many of these stories about Jessica Simpson everywhere this week. Do you find this -- and maybe I'm stating my opinion here, do you find this ridiculous? She is not fat.

HARLEY PASTERNAK, JESSICA SIMPSON'S FORMER TRAINER: No, she is definitely not fat. I find it funny that the fattest country in the world is focusing on a woman who has a very healthy body mass index and is healthier than 90 percent of the country. So, she's far from fat.

LEMON: Yes. And that's very interesting because, you know, we see the magazines and we've become obsessed with women where we call them lollipop heads, being really skinny, underweight, looking malnourished with big heads and big hair and no bodies. What we're doing to young women especially and even older women is really not healthy for the entire country, really, for the entire world.

PASTERNAK: It's not. And these poor girls are under scrutiny all the time. They're being photographed every day, left, right and center. And, look, face it, all of us go up and down a few pounds either way. We have good days. We have bad days. But Jessica is far from overweight. She's healthy. She's beautiful. She's sexy. A woman needs to have curves in certain places. And she does that. If you look back, you know, in the '60s and the pinup girls and even "Playboy" magazine, what the ideal of a "Playboy" magazine girl was, not too long ago, Jessica would be the absolute ideal perfect woman.

LEMON: And that's probably the best advice that you can give is to lighten up, be yourself and guess what, Harley. I'm sure you'll agree, I'm running out of time, you can give me a head nod. Some people don't look good skinny. Some people, when they lose weight and get skinny, they look awful.

PASTERNAK: They do.

LEMON: So they should be a little bit bigger.

PASTERNAK: They do. And women lose their hips and their breasts and all the things that make them look different from men, and women need to have those curves.

LEMON: And that's part of being a woman. Thank you, Harley Pasternak. He trains some big stars, everyone from Eva Mendez, Alicia Keys, Halle Berry, wow, and the list goes on. We appreciate you joining us tonight.

PASTERNAK: Thank you.

LEMON: All right. Too racy for a high school dance team routine? Check this out. A Georgia school board says yes, it is. And now the coach and the girls are in a whole heck of a lot of trouble. We'll show you the video that's got everybody talking tonight.

Plus, remember when your mom told you to eat your vegetables? Well, this ain't your mom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. How about this. Too racy for the Super Bowl? How the heck can that happen? A commercial touting the benefits of a vegetarian diet gets squashed by NBC. Why did they do that? But the viewers certainly are eating it up. Check out what our Jeannie Moos found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Normally, you tell kids to eat their vegetables. But now kids are being warned to hide from them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please let me forewarn you, you might want to send the kids out of the room.

MOOS: Women molesting vegetables, it's the pro-vegetarian commercial banned from the Super Bowl.

CRAIG FERGUSON, HOST, "THE LATE, LATE SHOW": How can a vegetable be suggestive? Do we have a picture of any normal vegetable? There you are.

MOOS: The people from PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, submitted the commercial to NBC and got a shot by shot rejection memo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking about things as ridiculous as licking a pumpkin.

MOOS (on camera): But PETA doesn't really mind that its commercial got squashed. It's commercial always gets squashed. They have what I call their squash strategy.

Do you know how many times you've been rejected by the Super Bowl?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this makes the third time.

MOOS (voice over): There was the anti-meat commercial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With extra sausage.

MOOS: There was the milk gone wild commercial. Don't freak out. You're only going to glimpse pretend cow utters. Take that Janet Jackson. But every time, PETA gets its Super Bowl commercial rejected, they get a ton of free publicity. On "The View," Whoopi made out with a head of lettuce. Talk shows debated the issue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you eat a lot of vegetables, Jim?

JIM BECK, CHRISTIAN COALITION OF AMERICA: Not after this. I mean, it's very discouraging. Who knows where they've been.

MOOS (on camera): This seems to be an intentional strategy to get ads rejected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, you will never see an ad from PETA that isn't provocative.

MOOS: Or funny. Take the recent campaign to rename fish sea kittens. But people realize fish have feelings, too. PETA says the Super Bowl controversy has led to over 1 million hits on its website, where the banned commercial leads viewers to a serious video on the evils of meat. Move over Paris Hilton with your hamburger commercial. Time for the "R" rated vegetable.

BILL O'REILLY, HOST, "THE O'REILLY FACTOR": I hope those vegetables were of legal age.

FERGUSON: If I want to see a beautiful woman get it on with a vegetable, I'll look through the window of Hugh Hefner's house.

MOOS: Hope all this doesn't upset People for the Ethical Treatment of Vegetables. Bottom line, PETA likes to get shot down.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. You know, someone wrote in during that spot. It said -- Adrian, this is Adrian43, he says, "All I can say to that veggie commercial is that it is very enticing and should convince many teen boys to eat their veggies." Finally, not your mom, right? Mom always says eat your vegetables. Maybe someone will listen now.

OK. Listen, we want to talk about too racy for high school dance team routine. Check that out. A Georgia school board says yes, it is. And now the coach and the girls are in a whole world of trouble. We'll show you the video that has gotten everybody talking. It is viral now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, this video is viral all over the internet and everybody is trying to copy it. There's Beyonce. Thanks for her move. That video really doesn't raise eyebrows. Why not? But a similar stuff at a Jonesborough high school basketball game in Georgia has led to a major controversy.

All right. Well, check it out. They added a lap dance to their version. But Minnesota says these moves were completely inappropriate. The dance team has been disbanded. The coach has been removed. Parents are outraged and angry and school officials are trying to figure out how the dance ever got approved. We will be following the story for you.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern. "LARRY KING LIVE" begins right now.