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Macy's Cutting 7,000 Jobs; The Daschle Dilemma; Kilpatrick a Free Man This Morning; More Wrangling over Stimulus Package; Judd Gregg Joins Cabinet; Kentucky's Weather Woes Continue
Aired February 03, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Formula for a stimulus. Senate Republicans add a line, Democrats subtract. This hour what tax breaks you could get in the final sum.
Plus completing the president's Cabinet. What sealed the deal for Judd Gregg?
It's Tuesday, February 3rd. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Day 15 now of the Obama presidency and it is a busy one yet again. Next hour, your money, front and center. The Senate debates President Obama's stimulus plan and some Democrats are now echoing the Republican concerns.
At the top of the hour, Eric Holder will be sworn in as the attorney general. He will become the first African-American to hold that post.
And will this man be the next member of the Obama Cabinet? Later this morning, the president announces Republican senator Judd Gregg as his nominee for commerce secretary.
President Obama getting ready for his close-up. Today he sits down with CNN and other networks to sell his stimulus plan. He launches a big push as Republicans ramp up their opposition in the Senate.
Let's get the very latest now from CNN White House correspondent, Dan Lothian.
Dan, good morning to you.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Indeed, the president does continue that big push and you know, there are some differences between Republicans and Democrats on where they see this stimulus bill, but there are also -- there's also some opposition among some Democrats as well. They don't like the bill in its current form.
The president is saying that the differences here are simply modest, but if you listen to what congressional Republicans are saying up on the hill, they believe that there's wide chasm between what the bill is currently proposing, where they would like to see it go. The president saying that this bill will create between three million to four million jobs. And he thinks that this money can get to work quite quickly.
The president trying to get some support from Republican governors yesterday here at the White House in the oval office. He met with the Republican governor of the state of Vermont, Governor Jim Douglas. A chance for the president to really hear how the stimulus plan will really help governors in their states, as they are struggling in their states, but also a chance for the president to get some allies among Republicans.
These governors who, perhaps, could lean on senators up on Capitol Hill. We saw that from the Vermont governor yesterday. But not all Republican governors are coming on board. We heard on "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning, Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota saying that he does agree that this stimulus bill is needed, but he does not like it in its current form.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: I support a stimulus package but I'm very concerned about the one that the House passed. It spends too much money that they don't have, it doesn't emphasize homeowners and taxpayers enough in the form of tax relief and direct aid to the housing and mortgage crisis.
And, also, it deemphasized the infrastructure piece. A lot of people support money for roads and other infrastructure but that became shrunk in the overall spending spree that became the House bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: So, Heidi, some of the sticking points that Republicans believing that this bill really is simply too big. They also don't believe that this money can really work as quickly as -- the bill suggests or as the president is suggesting. As well, they'd like to see more spending for infrastructure and also more help for...
COLLINS: Yes.
LOTHIAN: ... homeowners who are struggling right now.
COLLINS: Yes, obviously, a lot of questions still and such a large sum of money everybody is talking about.
LOTHIAN: That's right.
COLLINS: Hey, Dan, what about Senator Judd Gregg? Obviously up for commerce secretary now.
LOTHIAN: That's right. Officials at the White House confirming that he has accepted the position of commerce secretary. He's a third-term senator from New Hampshire.
What's interesting about this, though, is that this Republican, there was some concern that if he accepted this position, it would shift the balance of power in the Senate.
COLLINS: Right.
LOTHIAN: But apparently the Democratic governor of the state of New Hampshire has agreed that he will appoint a Republican to that vacancy so it should not shift that balance of power at all. That announcement expected around 11:00 this morning.
COLLINS: That's right. And nice of him, too, huh, to keep that balance of power thing in line?
LOTHIAN: That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: All right, Dan, sure do appreciate that. Live from the White House this morning.
So if you're asking about Senator Judd Gregg you're probably then asking about this woman, Bonnie Newman, Gregg's expected replacement in the Senate. First and foremost, she's Republican. Gregg said he wouldn't take the job, in fact, if his replacement gave Democrats a filibuster proof majority in the Senate as Dan mentioned that.
Also she is a former chief of staff to Gregg. Newman would serve the remaining two years of Gregg's term and not run for another.
Well, minutes from now a new footnote in history at the top of the hour. Eric Holder will become the nation's first African-American attorney general. Holder won Senate confirmation last night and today Vice President Joe Biden will perform his swearing in.
And one of Holder's first jobs, reviewing the terror fighting policies of the Bush administration and deciding which ones he may reverse.
We're going to have live coverage of Holder's swearing in. It will happen at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. We'll bring it to you live here in the NEWSROOM.
Tom Daschle, issuing an apology to his former Senate colleagues and to you. Tax questions have held up Daschle's nomination to head the Health and Human Services Department last month. He paid more than $140,000 for unpaid taxes and the interest owed on them. He says it was an innocent oversight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DASCHLE, HHS SECRETARY NOMINEE: I would hope that my mistake could be viewed in the context of 30 years of public service.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What did Daschle do when he realized his mistake? We're going to hear more from that apology and more on this topic at the bottom of the hour. The stimulus package now. Did you know that there are tax cuts that you'd see in each and every paycheck? But how much? And how soon?
CNN's Christine Romans is joining us now with some answers to that.
So is this going to be a big whopping gob of money for all of us?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be a big whopping gob of money for all of us as taxpayers but in your paycheck you're only going to see a little bit at a time, and that would be by design. They're still talking about the mechanics. Let me really give that big caveat here. And there are different versions in the House and the Senate.
But, but, look, what it looks like is that one-third of this overall stimulus, the tax cut, and that will come with the withholding that you see in your paycheck will be a little bit less. So maybe by this summer different -- again, different estimates of when it could happen but maybe by this summer you'll see about $20 more per paycheck and the next year about $10 more per check. This is for...
COLLINS: 20 bucks?
ROMANS: $75,000 or less, or -- but listen.
COLLINS: I know.
ROMANS: Economists say that's how it really gets into the economy very quickly.
COLLINS: Sure.
ROMANS: So the case for this is it helps low and middle class workers. There are some other tax cuts in there, too, and some low income tax credit and some child tax credits as well. And it is likely to be spent, according to many economists. It's likely to be spent. But the case against it is people say maybe it doesn't go far enough. They'd like to see more tax cuts, especially some of the Republicans.
Some people might save this extra money instead of spend it and then we keep hearing this complaint from some on the right that is gives -- it gives money to people who don't pay income tax. That's something that the president has said is not negotiable. That those are people who pay all other kinds of taxes. They may not pay income taxes but those are people who would spend the money.
So that's the tax part of this whole stimulus is about a third of the overall stimulus plan is taxes. In the Senate version, Heidi, there's also this AMT patch...
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: ... that Senator Chuck Grassley want to know. That would help middle -- middle class taxpayers who pay that dreaded alternative minimum tax which is meant for millionaires, frankly.
COLLINS: Yes. And you almost mentioned homeowners.
ROMANS: I know.
COLLINS: That's something that is, you know, not included in this. We're actually going to talk about that a little bit later on.
ROMANS: That's right.
COLLINS: It is an interesting part of all of this.
Christine, I want to get to this because we're just getting some of these new numbers out about home values, in fact, this past year.
ROMANS: Yes.
COLLINS: And by the look on your face, I already know it's not good clearly.
ROMANS: The look on my face fall?
COLLINS: Yes. Just a (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: Yes. Home values fell 11.6 percent in 2008. Just, according to Zillo.com, it's a real estate tracker, just in the fourth quarter, OK, think of this, just in the fourth quarter, Americans lost $1.4 trillion off their home values. Think of that. Just in the quarter, the lost value in their homes is 1.4 trillion.
Compare that with the stimulus we're talking about. And it kind of gives you the sense of the kind of numbers that -- that are out there. That's an awful lot of money. 20 percent of all home sales last year, Heidi, were foreclosed homes. Another 11 percent were short sales. That means that, you know, you went to the bank and said look, help me, help me sell this here at a loss for both of us and some -- we'll both eat some of it.
Those short sales can end up destroying your credit. So some of these places in California, some other places, wow, they have -- there's one part of California where 54 percent of all of the home sales were foreclosures. Can you imagine?
COLLINS: I saw that. Unbelievable. All right, well, we're going to keep our finger on top of this...
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: ... as we move forward, obviously. Thanks so much.
CNN's Christine Romans, part of our money team there.
Want to get to Kentucky now because people are freezing in their homes. Kentucky's governor says despite the best efforts of rescuers, at least 24 people have died from the ice storm that hit his state last week. Utility crews are still having to clear the power lines away and about 225,000 homes and businesses are still in the dark. The governor says it's going to take time to get everyone back online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. STEVE BESHEAR (D), KENTUCKY: We are being able to do that faster in areas of central Kentucky, and in our large cities like Louisville and Lexington whereas, we still have some pretty dire circumstances in western Kentucky.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The governor has also activated all units of the Kentucky National Guard. They are using everything at their disposal, including Humvees from Ohio to reach some of those hard-hit communities.
Parts of the Midwest aren't thawing out any time soon either. Meteorologist Rob Marciano joining us now live from the Severe Weather Center.
And yes, you have said it was going to stay pretty cold here and that's going to make it really tough for people.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they're now getting a leading edge of the coldest air that we've seen so far and that will last a good couple of days. It is being preceded by some snow so we're seeing that as well across parts of Kentucky. So a little bit of the old cliche, insult to injury for sure.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: Speaking of cold air. Real quick, a shot of what's going on across the pond. This is an unusual event, we talked about it yesterday. Hamish Cross has lived in the U.K. for about five years, never seen anything like this. Official reports in southern London, 30 centimeters of snow.
COLLINS: Look at that.
MARCIANO: That's 12 inches. So about a foot of snow in through London. And that certainly -- and they just shut it down. I mean they don't run the buses. They don't do anything.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: Problems at Heathrow yesterday. Flights being canceled from the U.S., those maybe getting a little bit more frequent today.
COLLINS: Yes, in fact, we're going to have a live report coming from one of our correspondents, Jim Baldwin is there so we're going to get to him in just a little while because we can do that.
MARCIANO: Excellence.
COLLINS: Got them all over the place.
MARCIANO: Our worldwide resources here at CNN.
COLLINS: That's right.
MARCIANO: Like no other cable news network.
COLLINS: Little extra in your paycheck this week, too, for that.
MARCIANO: I'm hoping.
COLLINS: Thank you. Rob Marciano, we'll check back a little later on.
MARCIANO: Stimulating debate. Senators battling over the president's plan. We'll hear the arguments from both sides of the aisle coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Peeking in on private time. What do well-known actors, analysts and politicians do before their face time? A new exhibit looks behind the curtain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The Senate debating President Obama's economic stimulus package. Democrats are feeling pressured now to cut down the bill which is close to $900 billion. Republicans say they do want to get a bill passed, but they also want some changes made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THAD COCHRAN (R), APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: The Senate is being asked by the administration to take a big leap of faith that the massive spending proposed in this bill will, in fact, stimulate growth of the economy, even though much of the funding will not be spent in the next year or two.
SEN. DANIEL INOUYE (D), APPROPRIATIONS CMTE. CHAIRMAN: Such times as these, only overcome with courageous leadership and a willingness to embrace change, listen to new ideas, and take chances.
Mr. President, this bill is not perfect. But we must not let our fear of imperfection stop us from taking the bold steps necessary to address this crisis and move America forward.
Mr. President, the time for action is now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: As you know, last week, the House passed a version of the bill without any GOP support.
President Obama is hoping to do a little better in the Senate. But there are still plenty of reservations from Republicans.
We want to bring you both sides of this debate, though, this morning. So Florida Democrat senator Bill Nelson is going to be joining us in just a few moments. Want to begin, though, this morning with Maine senator Olympia Snowe. She is one of the leading Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee.
Senator Snowe, thanks for being with us this morning. Just want to ask you right off the top, if a vote were today, how would you vote?
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: Well, obviously, I haven't made that decision. I would have some serious concerns about the stimulus package, if we were to vote on it today, without question, because of the enormity of the spending that is inserted in the stimulus package that bypasses the normal budget process in Congress, spending that doesn't really devote to stimulus and to job creations and the focus of this package. So I would have some serious concerns about it.
COLLINS: What would be, if you could, because we have heard that from many Republicans and, quite frankly, a couple of Democrats now, too. We know that 11 in the House voted against this bill as well.
What specifically is it that you just can't sleep at night thinking about when you're talking about this amount of money?
SNOWE: Well, you know, when you're talking $9 hundred billion you have to scrutinize every dollar inserted and for the purpose for which it's intended which is to jump-start this economy that is in an economic crisis. So, you know, we can't have funding for the Census Bureau, or national parks or the National Science Foundation.
These are -- you know, these are programs that should go through the normal routine of the budget process, both on the authorization appropriations and not use it to short-circuit the budget process that then ultimately what happens is it's going to become part of the permanent expenditures in the overall commitment to the federal government and, hence, federal indebtedness.
And that's not the intended purpose of this bill. Obviously, it's an emergency bill so we should use every dollar for the purpose that we want to achieve and that is, of course, to create jobs and that's not what's intended by many of these programs and certainly won't accomplish that.
COLLINS: Well, do you think that this $900 billion is going to be enough?
SNOWE: It could be. You know, we've had various assessments by economists. Obviously, they have different views, but certainly it could go a long way if we do it right. And that's the key here. What works. It's not a question whether it's tax relief or spending relief, it's a question what measures are going to work to help put money in the hands of those who will spend it, to make investments in small business to create incentives for job creation, and that's what this should be all about.
And that's why we have an obligation to make sure that every measure that's inserted in this package will create jobs and do what we had intended it to accomplish.
COLLINS: Quickly here. I know some of the Republican governors came out yesterday in support of this plan. Is that something that could sway you and other Republicans and is this really going to be a bipartisan sort of effort?
SNOWE: Well, I hope so. And you know in the Senate, we have the opportunity to offer amendments and it's an unfiltered process in that respect. And I applaud the leadership for allowing it. So we have a long ways to go. You know, we will, you know, drive the amendment train and at the end of the day, we'll see what we achieve.
We want a bipartisan bill. We need to have a stimulus package. So that, there is no dispute. The questions is how go about it because we can't afford to further away $900 billion without doing what it's supposed to accomplish.
COLLINS: Well, we will all be watching very, very closely and we do appreciate your time. Senator Olympia Snowe, thank you.
SNOWE: Thank you. Thank you.
COLLINS: And Florida senator Bill Nelson has the Democrat's responses. As they pushed for passage of the president's stimulus bill as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Debating President Obama's stimulus plan. Just a minute ago, we've talked with Senator Olympia Snowe about Republicans reservations with the plan. So joining me now with the Democrats' side of things, Senator Bill Nelson.
Senator, thanks for being with us. Same question I had for Senator Snowe. If you had to vote today what would your position be?
SEN. BILL NELSON (D). FLORIDA: I want to see it amended to take out some of the pork. I want to see it increased on roads and bridges and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer projects that will get money into the economy and jobs stimulated. And if we can do that, then I intend to vote for it.
COLLINS: And if you can't?
NELSON: Well, then I've got to measure what is the emergency nature of getting money into the economy, and every economist that I talk to is saying that they've never seen a crisis like this, because this is not just domestic, it's global with all of the ramifications of other countries' currencies and economies affecting us. And so we're the leader. We've got to do something.
COLLINS: In fact, you know, when you talk about that, you also get into the area of the deficit. I want to read this to you. I'm sure you've seen it, actually. According to some of the analysis released just yesterday by the CBO, Congressional Budget Office, the stimulus plan before the Senate would increase the deficit over 10 years by $885 billion.
Does that concern you?
NELSON: Well, of course, it does. Just like the $500 billion that we were spending on the wars. But the question is the national government has got to do something to get us out of this economic tailspin. And then, once you revive the economy, it starts making up for those lost revenues and you get the economy back into balance.
COLLINS: I wonder if you think there's enough in this particular bill for homeowners. I mean, obviously, there would be an argument that this is kind of what began the whole thing and we have this as well from Zillo.com, the real estate Web site.
They have said this, nearly 20 percent of the nation's home sales in 2008 were of bank repossessed properties. Another 11 percent were short sales that we've been talking about.
I mean, those numbers are foreclosures are immense.
NELSON: And especially in my state of Florida. We're second only in foreclosures to California.
Heidi, you put your finger on it. That's what the TARP money, the initial bailout money should have been used for and that is what we've been pressing the Obama administration for the second $350 billion, mainly, to get it in so that people can restructure those mortgages and stay in their homes.
Now, there is incentive in the tax portion of this stimulus bill of a tax credit for someone who buys a new home. That's a part I'd like to see changed. I'd like to see that tax credit increased.
COLLINS: Yes, yes. Because I don't know -- there's a small number of people who are able to be first-time home buyers right now, obviously. We sure do appreciate your time. We could talk for a long time with both sides of the aisle on this because we are talking about so very much money.
Senator Bill Nelson, sure do appreciate it. We'll continue to watch how this goes down.
NELSON: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Police and fire boats end up on the wrong end of a cruise ship. Trouble at the dock and it's all caught on tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The good, the bad, the ugly. No, not the name of an old Clint Eastwood movie. It's actually description of the corporate earnings bombarding Wall Street this morning.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with all of that and a preview of the trading day.
Hey there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi. I'm going to make your day. Well, we've got it-- as Clint would say. We've got a mixed bag of earnings. On one hand, home builder D.R. Horton and drug maker Shearing Plough posted quarterly results that were better than expected. But on the other hand, Dow Chemical said it lost $1.5 billion in three months. Motorola lost more than $3.5 billion in three months. Also suspending its dividend. And UPS says this year will be one of its most difficult years ever. We have heard this song before.
And these earnings increasingly come of course with job cuts. PNC Financial cutting 5,800 jobs after posted a quarterly loss that was tied to its purchase of National City Bank. Meanwhile, Liz Claiborne eliminating more than 700 positions. And Citigroup is spending more than $36 billion to boost lending. The bank is planning to issue home mortgages, credit card loans, student loans and personal and business loans. Citi like other financial company has been under pressure to increase lending after it received $45 billion in government TARP funds.
Meanwhile, "The Wall Street Journal" says Citi may back out of a $400 million marketing deal with the New York Mets, which include naming rights for the Mets new baseball stadium. Well, Citi tells CNN, quote, "Citi signed a legal binding agreement with the New York Mets in '06. We are using no TARP capital for Citi field or for marketing purposes." Of huge interest here in New York. And of course, very -- Citi remains under a lot of scrutiny given its assistance from Uncle Sam.
Checking the early numbers, blue chips higher after a poor start to February, and a terrible, terrible end to the month of January, the worst ever. Still under 8,000, though. The Nasdaq meanwhile is up six points. So some modest gains at the open for the second trading day of February.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Is it only the second trading day? Yes, indeed, it is. All right. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: It is. Seems so long already, doesn't it?
COLLINS: I know. It kind of does. All right, Susan, appreciate it.
And more job cuts to tell you about. Macy's announcing some big ones. The iconic retailer is getting rid of 7,000 positions. Most of them from their stores. The biggest cuts are coming in San Francisco, Atlanta, and Miami. But the company says there will be no new store closings. Macy's and partner Bloomingdales employ about 180,000 people.
Chrysler workers are being offered a new car if they quit their job. The automaker announced to buyout from virtually all 27,000 hourly workers as part of a cost-cutting plan. The workers will get payouts of at least $50,000 plus $25,000 towards the new car. Workers have this month to decide if they will take the deal.
Day 15 now of the Obama administration. Let's take a look at the president's day for a moment. At the top of the hour, he will attend his daily economic briefing, and then at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, President Obama expected to announce his nominee for Commerce secretary. We've been telling you about that here. In the afternoon, the president will conduct Oval Office interviews with CNN and those other guys, some other networks. The objective to rally public support for his stimulus plan.
Some Democrats are looking to add more money for infrastructure projects to the economic stimulus plan. They will face stiff opposition from most Republicans and a few Democrats who consider the plan bloated and are trying to trim the fat. Right now, the price tag for the bill approaching $900 billion. The Treasury Department also wants to add regulations to the federal bailout program limiting executive compensation. The regulations could be announced next week.
New guidelines for spending the rest of the $350 billion so- called TARP money could also be announced.
Senate lawmakers vowing more questions in the troubled nomination of their former colleague Tom Daschle. Tax problems have held up his nomination as chief of Health and Human Services. Last month Daschle shelled out about $140,000 to cover unpaid taxes and interests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DASCHLE, HHS SECRETARY NOMINEE: All of my life, I have assiduously tried to pay my taxes in full and on time. My failure to recognize that the use of a car was income and not a gift from a good friend was a mistake. When I realize the mistake, I notified officials and I paid the tax in full. It was completely inadvertent. But that's no excuse. And I deeply apologize to President Obama, to my colleagues, and to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Republicans are also voicing concerns that Daschle accepted speaking fees from health care interests, the very industry he would be overseeing. President Obama says he, quote, "Absolutely stands by Daschle."
And it's not just President Obama. Democratic senators vowing to stand behind Tom Daschle. You saw some of them behind him standing there at the podium. After a closed door meeting yesterday, they believe errors he made, filing his income tax were just that, errors and not intentional.
CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joining us now live from Capitol Hill with more on this.
So, Dana, tell us a little bit more about the situation and where it stands right now.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Where it stands right now is that the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee had that meeting yesterday. Republicans were there, too. And it was very interesting, Heidi. It was about an hour-long meeting and it was behind closed doors. And what was happening was senators on the Finance Committee were getting a briefing, pretty much for most of them for the first time from their staff, who has been conducting an investigation into Senator Daschle's tax problems and perhaps other issues as well.
This is the first time that they got a chance to listen to it. And then Senator Daschle was there, but he was in a room next door. And he only came in, we're told by sources there, for about 15 minutes, and he answered questions from senators, we're told, some of those questions were friendlier than others.
But then what happened, as you saw, was this kind of remarkable scene in that the Democrats on the committee came out, Tom Daschle came out behind them, and almost was a reminder -- actually, was a reminder that he was, and in many ways, still is one of them, because he was standing there, almost as a member of the pack, as they talked and pretty effusive praise about him and saying that they understood he made mistakes, but that they still think that he should be HHS secretary. In fact, listen to Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAX BAUCUS, CHAIRMAN, SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE: His tax mistakes are regrettable. His tax mistakes do not change his qualifications to lead on health care reform. They do not change my support for this nomination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And that's coming from somebody who didn't really have the greatest relationship, frankly, with Tom Daschle when they were serving together here. But what was also remarkable about that scene, Heidi, is that it was all Democrats. Republicans pretty much fled from the scene as fast as they could. They had a vote that they had to get to, but for the most part Republican senators didn't even want to comment to us about that. They were noticeably absent from that picture with Tom Daschle. And now they're waking up this morning to a "New York Times" editorial -- lead editorial basically saying point blank that they believe that Tom Daschle should step aside because of his tax problems.
So this definitely isn't over, but having said that, there will be a formal hearing, a public hearing next week where all of these questions will be raised in public, and it will be interesting to see what his former Republican colleagues, not just Democrats, but Republican colleagues do about his nomination.
COLLINS: Yes. I have that "New York Times" editorial right in front of me. It's pretty interesting. Yes, and the timing of it as well. You know, he found out when that he hadn't paid these taxes and then he paid them, this is right after the nomination, correct? BASH: That's correct. The story that we are hearing from Daschle associates is that it was in June of 2008. Ironically, the very month that Barack Obama clenched the nomination that he realized that perhaps the car that he was using should be -- something he should be paying taxes on. And it was then that he called his accountants, but his accountant and he apparently did not actually pay those taxes and the interest until the end of December, beginning of January, not until after he was already nominated by Barack Obama to be his secretary of Health and Human Services.
COLLINS: Right. Dana Bash, our congressional correspondent, still working on this story as it develops, certainly. We sure do appreciate it, Dana.
BASH: Sure.
COLLINS: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is a free man this morning. He walked out of a Michigan prison just after midnight. Kilpatrick served 99 days for obstruction of justice and assault, but it was salacious e-mails between Kilpatrick and his then chief-of- staff that gained the most attention. Kilpatrick's attorney says the former mayor already has a job interview scheduled Wednesday in Texas.
Chicago, New York, Montreal, you expect to see snow in those cities this time of the year. But in the heart of London? The surprise snowstorm and the mess it's leaving behind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Here's a rare sight surrounding the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Yes, that's snow. A storm hit northern France yesterday and while it may not look like much snow, it did cause problems backed to traffic and disrupted air travel out of Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport for a few hours anyway. And meanwhile, here's the scene in London. Buses and trains running again today, but not exactly on schedule. And it's still a real mess at the airports. Blame it on the snow.
At Heathrow, in fact, there were no flights coming or going yesterday so you can just imagine the backlog today. CNN's Jim Boulden in fact is right in the middle of it all.
So, hi, there, Jim. And how are things looking today?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, we had over 800 cancellations yesterday. Today we've had about 74, so you could see a huge difference. A couple of the airlines have canceled flights to and from the United States. Virgin canceled one of its flights this morning out of Newark. Also United has canceled one flight. British Airways canceling two flights back to the U.S., one going to Boston and to Houston.
So you see there is a smattering of these cancellations. This hotel behind me last night was full of Americans who couldn't get out of London, but they've all gone this morning. So people are able to get some of their flights. So I have to say the chaos of yesterday has been replaced with, you know, just sort of a much slower, much more methodical movement of the airlines and the airplanes. But, you know, normally this place would be absolutely buzzing with airplanes. So slower day, but things are getting back to normal.
COLLINS: OK. Very good. Well, we appreciate you standing out there in the cold. Thank you so much, Jim. Jim Boulden, appreciate it.
Well, parts of the Midwest here in the U.S. aren't thawing out any time soon. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is coming into the shot now and joining us now live.
You're creeping in.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I notice you when you're over here, you know, you're just like somebody whose...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: This is kind of your turf, I know.
MARCIANO: ...whose out the door, (INAUDIBLE), do I peek through the peephole.
COLLINS: You should answer.
MARCIANO: You're always welcome here, of course. And there's a lot of that falling across parts of the country.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: And the deep freeze still on across parts of Kentucky. Actually, interesting iReport. You don't think about this kind of stuff when you've got an ice storm. You think, OK, well, the power is going to go out and that's it.
Well, these power crews are out there trying to get live wires up into an icy situation. Not sure -- we're told this was the cause of some bad power lines basically. And this is certainly what can happen. So this iReport sent in by Mike Farmer from Fulton, Kentucky. You can see the action just unfolding here. The fire trucks rolling up there. The carport is on fire and it looks like the rest of the house is -- my goodness.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Absolutely. All right, that is good news. And we will check back with you a little bit later on. I'm not coming back to the weather center, though.
MARCIANO: No, you won't.
COLLINS: I just fell down and almost killed myself over there.
MARCIANO: I didn't see that. Glad you're OK.
COLLINS: All right. We'll check back later. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: On stand-by. Talking heads mounted on the walls. Giving a behind the scenes look at what they do before the red light comes on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. So we were looking at this video and remembering our days of going back at driver's end and learning how to parallel park. This is like sort of the bigger picture, because look at this.
A cruise ship trying to dock in Washington, turns into, yes, a big mess. Harbor patrol security cameras caught the Spirit of Washington. Ouch!
MARCIANO: That cruise ship is moving!
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: I mean, quickly.
COLLINS: It hit one dock, smashing into an FBI boat and hit a D.C. police boat.
MARCIANO: Talk about getting in trouble with the fuzz!
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: Both federal and local.
COLLINS: Who knew? Boy, oh, boy. Anyway, it gets worse, too. Because police say the cruise ship then crashed into the dock a second time. I guess they went around and tried it again, causing major damage now to city's main fire boat. The cruise ship company says the ship was being repositioned when a gust of wind helped push it into the police and fire boats. Nobody was hurt.
I don't know. I mean, you're the meteorologist here.
MARCIANO: That's a big gust. Did you see the size of that boat? I don't see any sails in that boat. It was moving about 30 knots, it looked like.
COLLINS: Maybe going too fast.
MARCIANO: Is that the reason you had me up here? Is that to talk about my experiences running with FBI vehicles?
COLLINS: We'll get to that later. In fact, watch what you say, especially you. News anchors, analysts and politicians are used to being on cameras but sometimes, you know, when you have guests come on your shows, you forget that the camera is on, and it is always on.
CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look at a new behind-the-scenes exhibit. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They sit down and get miked up. They get ready for their close-up. But something seems off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's quiet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've just never seen him in such repose. He looks almost meditative.
MOOS: Carville, quiet? An oxymoron.
(on camera): You know all those talking heads on TV going blah, blah, blah? Not here in what's called the Silence Echo Chamber.
(voice-over): There's John McCain, military bearing, eyes boring into you. And Chris Matthews who seems to forget to blink.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Complete statue.
MOOS: The statue would be Henry Kissinger. Like portraits they hang on the walls of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Connecticut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somehow you feel that you're seeing into their soul.
MOOS: From Larry King grimacing to Wolf Blitzer sinking his teeth into a script, to Joe Biden sinking his teeth into a pastry, washing it down, then coming back for more.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It could have been like an eclair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looked like an eclair, isn't it?
MOOS: Who collects this stuff?
HARRY SHEARER, COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: Well, I call it a hobby or a sickness.
MOOS: Comedian and actor Harry Shearer is mum on the how part.
(on camera): I just assume he's stealing satellite signals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he won't admit to any technique.
SHEARER: I'm like Dick Cheney, sources and methods.
MOOS: Shearer got hooked more than three decades ago when he saw footage of Richard Nixon right before his resignation speech, where Nixon even sat down.
RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hey, you're better looking than I am. Why don't you stay here? All secret service -- are there any secret service in the room? Out. Just kidding.
MOOS: It was Shearer who collected this famous John Edward's clip, someone else put it to music. Other Harry Shearer found objects include annoyed hosts --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing?
MOOS: Ann Coulter joking around about chewing Nicorette.
ANN COULTER, ACTRESS: If you can chop it up so I can snort it.
MOOS: Dan Rather debating how to wear the collar of his trench coat.
DAN RATHER, JOURNALIST: My concern about is the coat. It would be distracting to see. If you put it down --
MOOS: And Katie Couric mimicking Dan Rather.
KATIE COURIC, JOURNALIST: What do you think? Open?
MOOS: The Aldrich Museum exhibit doesn't show embarrassing moments but rather who the person is.
SHEARER: In those moments before they put their TV personality on.
MOOS: For instance, Dr. Phil not giving advice. Sean Hannity sanitizing or moisturizing. Before our interview with Shearer, we nabbed him making noises and tucking his shirt into his pants. But at least when a talking head is silent, he doesn't have to eat his words.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: You know, to be honest, I have to tell you that we sometimes sit around in the control room and just watch all of those shots. To find stuff like that.
MARCIANO: Well, it's fascinating. You know, I'm glad to see that Jeannie got the guy who was actually accumulating that stuff. You know, tucking in his pants and doing whatever else he was doing.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Yes, because how do you get that? I don't really know. But I'm afraid now.
MARCIANO: I had something else to say about this.
COLLINS: Yes. We'll get back to you later. We're going to take a break right now.
MARCIANO: Is this live?
COLLINS: Yes, we're actually live. Yes. OK, so Rob, thank you, and we'll bring back your thoughts in just a moment.
MARCIANO: OK.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, we're going to get back to this. Live pictures we want to show you of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who you see there, and George Mitchell, who is standing right near her. They are at the State Department, as you may know.
We have been reporting that Mitchell would be taking a trip to the Middle East. He has already done that and is now back -- yes, special envoy to the Middle East. And so they are making some comments. And I assume he is talking a little bit about what he saw and what he learned while in the Middle East. We'll keep our eye on this for you, and bring you anymore coming up in just a little bit.
Meanwhile, with six kids at home and eight more in the hospital, a mom may have enough on her plate. But she is now weighing some of her offers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A guilty verdict for a mother, accused of killing her daughter and dumping the body in Galveston Bay. The 2-year-old's body was found in a container on an island in what became known as the Baby Grace case. Child's paternal grandmother ultimately led authorities to the mother. The child's mother has been sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.
The octuplets born to a California woman last week are now the longest surviving set in U.S. history. While the mother and her babies remain in the hospital, there is a lot of speculation about what's next for mom. CNN's Randi Kaye with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She may turn out to be the ultimate working mother. With 14 children all under the age of 8, the California octuplets' mom now wants a job. Not just any job, but a career as a child-care expert on television. This public relations CEO says, not so fast.
RON TOROSSIAN, CEO, SW PUBLIC RELATIONS: I think that this woman is delusional in thinking that she's going to become a star or become rich simply because she's having a lot of children.
KAYE (on camera): Thirty-three-year-old Nadya Suleman hasn't been employed for years. "The L.A. Times" reports she was once a psychiatric technician but stopped working after she was injured on the job. She became a student, the paper says, and started having babies. Lots of them. (voice-over): The octuplets are all from the same sperm donor. But why would a single mother who already has six children want to deliver eight more?
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It's quite possible that she hasn't found real success or significance in her life. This is something that she feels that she can do right. I think this is a woman who's looking at being good at being a mother and being good at having a lot of children. And this puts her in a very significant and important place in our present history.
KAYE: But what about the babies' future? With 14 mouths to feed and eight new bottoms to wipe, not to mention all that medical attention preemies require, the unemployed single mom may not be able to provide for them.
Her parents bailed her out once already when they bought her a small home in 2007 but soon filed for bankruptcy and had to move in with her.
The mother of 14 hasn't even left the hospital yet. But she's already hired a publicist who told us her client is the most sought- after mom in the world right now. The publicist says she's been bombarded with offers for everything from book deals to TV shows, including some paid interviews and various business proposals.
Media outlets report the mega mom is looking to land millions in commercial endorsements and media interviews.
GARDERE: It seems to me that this is a woman who has a very unique way of thinking, which may not be rooted in reality.
KAYE: The octuplets' grandmother, Angela Suleman, told "The L.A. Times" her daughter "is not evil, but she is obsessed with children. She loves children. She's very good with children. But obviously, she overdid herself." Then added, "I wish she would have become a kindergarten teacher."
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
