Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Battered Woman Syndrome Facts; Job Fairs for Booming Businesses; G20 Finance Ministers Agree; Domestic Violence Relationship; Airless Tire; Radio Job Advertising

Aired March 14, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CENTER: They've struck out at work. Now they're packing LA's Dodger Stadium. We will go live to a huge job fair there and find out which businesses are booming in these troubled times and which ones are not.

And why do so many battered women stand by their men? We'll hear from the psychotherapist who wrote the book "But I Love Him."

Hello again everyone, I'm Fredericka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The deepening economic crises on everyone's minds. And numbers out this week explain why. Foreclosures up 30 percent last month compared with the same time last year. Consumer confidence also troubling a survey out of the University of Michigan shows it remains near a 28- year low. And the number of Americans filing for unemployment rose last week by 654,000 to a record 5.3 million.

Right now, thousands of people are filling Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles with one mission in mind, not to watch a game but to find employment. They're attending one of the largest job fairs on the west coast. CNN's Kara Finnstrom is there. So how many actual job openings in comparison with the throngs of people who are there?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well we can tell you there are about 90 employers here today, Fredericka. Some of them offering handfuls of jobs, others offering hundreds. No official job tally. But California is one of the states that's been hit hardest by this recession. Officially the unemployment rate here about 10 percent. Unofficially, unemployment experts tell us they think that's closer to 20 percent. So a lot of people looking for work.

One of the job-seekers that we met out here today is Ivory Booker. Thanks for joining us. Ivory actually decided to retire early last year after working 15 years for the same company, but then his 401(k) tanked and now you find yourself reentering the workforce. What has it been like being here today?

IVORY BOOKER, JOB SEEKER: It has been rather interesting. I originally brought my brother here to find a job and while I was here, I decided to look for myself. So in the process of doing so, I've gotten a lot of e-mail addresses for the businesses here and pretty much that's about it. Hopefully it's going to get better.

FINNSTROM: Well we hope it will get better for you as well. Thanks for joining us. The good news is they are hiring out here today. And one of the companies that say it's looking for some employees is AFLAC, a supplemental insurance company. Steve Serivi joins us here now. He's been recruiting. One of the questions I had for you was do I have to have an insurance license to work for you and you said no.

STEVE SERVI, AFLAC RECRUITER: You do eventually have to have insurance license but coming here to the fair you don't need to. We're going to give you all the help to get that. But really we're looking for people that are looking for a career more than a job. Then we're going to give you the opportunity that will get that for you. But so you actually will eventually need a license, but you don't need to be here at the fair with a license. We'll help you do whatever you have to do to get that license.

FINNSTROM: All right. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate it. Fredricka, that's what we've been hearing from a lot of the employers here today. They don't want people to have misconceptions about what they need in order to get employed by them. Come talk with them. Many cases they offer on the job training and offer creative solutions to getting new jobs using that old expertise that you had from previous jobs and kind of retooling it and finding some new opportunities.

WHITFIELD: That's exactly what people want to hear, they want to hear that their skills are transferable because certainly they don't want to feel like opportunities can't possibly come their way because they have a narrower scope of expertise. So that's good to hear.

Thanks so much, Kara Finnstrom there in Los Angeles.

President Obama is meeting with his top economic advisers in the oval office tomorrow. Earlier today he held talks with Brazil's president. CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House. So Elaine what exactly did they talk about?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well first and foremost these two leaders talked about the global economy. President Lula of Brazil at one point joked that he wouldn't want to be President Obama, basically referring to the fact that President Obama has a monumental task ahead of him. Not just helping to steer the U.S. economy forward, but then by extension helping to steer the global economy as well.

And on that point, President Obama responded to a question about concerns by China, which holds a vast amount of U.S. debt. We're talking $1 trillion in U.S. bonds. Concerns by China on whether or not those investments are safe. Here's what President Obama had to say on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: Not just the Chinese government but every investor can have absolute confidence in the soundness of investments in the United States. And that is not just in U.S.-issued treasury notes but also in the private sector and the commerce and the industry that has made this the most dynamic economy in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: So President Obama trying to reassure nervous investors. We should also mention that this meeting with President Lula also encompassed a number of other issues energy, bio fuels and trade among them.

Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Elaine Quijano at the White House. Appreciate it.

Republicans meantime are attacking President Obama's budget plan. In their weekly address, Senator Chuck Grassley says the blueprint threatens to destroy opportunities for the next generation by spending and taxing too much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, (R) IOWA: All of these tax increases would be the biggest tax increase in history. And that's not all. Even if every one of these tax increases goes on the books, this budget still nearly triples the national debt by 2019.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Grassley also criticizes the president's proposal for mandatory limits on carbon dioxide emissions. He says they'll lead to higher energy costs and hidden tax increase.

All right. In tough times you find ways to stretch your dollars, right? That makes it pretty tough for high end restaurants. But grocery stores are apparently getting a boost. Candy Crowley looks at other recession winners and losers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There are new faces at this shopper's food warehouse in Virginia. And the regulars buy differently.

ELIZABETH "BETTY" RILEY, SHOPPING FOR BARGINS: Before I browsed, shopped and bought way too much of stuff that I didn't really need. So now I'm more specific. I make a list and I follow the list.

CROWLEY: It's the return of penny saved, penny earned. Shoppers armed with lists and coupons and budgets.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): One of our lockdowns for the month of March is iceberg lettuce.

CROWLEY: People are buying a lot more chicken, flocking to store brand merchandise and picking up loads of frozen dinners.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I suppose that's because of the restaurants losing that business. Customers can come here at a cheaper price and buy those things. CROWLEY: It's not just five star restaurants hurting. Domino's Pizza took a hit in the fourth quarter domestic sales off 3 percent. As Americans cocoon against a harsh economy, Netflix, delivering DVDs to your door, TV set or computer blowing off the roof. Ten million subscribers, including a net pickup of 600,000 since January.

TED SARANDOS, NETFLIX CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER: Kind of defy gravity. In this down economy, I think people are cherishing the value a little bit more than they had in the past. Net result is very fast growth.

CROWLEY: The sale of DVDs, by the way, was down 32 percent in the fourth quarter of '08.

DIANE PRESS (ph): It's free. Everything is free.

CROWLEY: For DVDs, books, children and adult programs, Internet, computer training and job search resources, it's hard to beat free. These are boom times for public libraries.

PRESS (ph): We're really about helping people manage their lives.

CROWLEY: In the past couple of months, Diane Press (ph) of the Arlington County Virginia Library has seen a 7 percent increase in foot traffic and traffic jams at the computers.

PRESS (ph): When we open in the morning, people make a bee line and these terminals are generally full.

CROWLEY: Borders Books posted an 11.7 percent sales decline over the holiday period. Postings on Craig's List also tell the tail of changing lifestyle. Nationwide garage sale ads are up 100 percent. Adds for roommates up 65 percent, for sale postings up 75 percent. And a doubling of barter offers like this musician wanting to swap a four- hour gig for dental care. In this economy, you do what you've got to do.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The economy, it is issue number one for you and for us. Next weekend we focus CNN's vast resources on "The Road to Rescue: A CNN Survival Guide."

What do all the numbers really mean and where are the jobs that is all beginning next week beginning Monday.

Arabic language news network al Jazeera has aired and audio taped said to be from Osama Bin Laden but its authenticity has been not verified.

In the recording, the speaker calls Israelis recent offensive in Gaza a holocaust and he accuses some Arab leaders of collaborating with Israel in the offensive that killed 1300 Palestinians. The speaker also calls on Muslims to help insurgents defeat the United States in Iraq. In Northern Ireland now three men are under arrest in the killings of two British soldiers. The two were shot to death last week at a military base where they were getting ready to ship out to Afghanistan. Police say two masked gunmen with automatic rifles carried out the attacks as the soldiers were picking up a pizza delivery. A militant group, the real I.R.A., reportedly claimed it carried out the shootings. It was the first deadly attack on British troops in the province in more than 12 years.

He's the new head of the Republican National Committee, but his mouth keeps getting him into trouble with conservatives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama says the nation's food safety system is outdated and a hazard to public health. So he's setting up an advisory group to work on coordinating food safety laws nationwide. The president outlined the plan during his weekly radio and Internet address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: Our system of inspection and enforcement has spread out so widely among so many people that it's difficult for different parts of our government to share information, work together and solve problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president also announced the nomination of former New York City health commissioner Margaret Hamberg as FDA commissioner.

The new chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, keeps talking and talking and he keeps getting in trouble with conservatives.

And is Al Franken a step closer to becoming a U.S. Senator? Let's talk about this with our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. So Bill lets talk about Michael Steele first. He's barely been in that office and already ruffling a few feathers. His comrades.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: He was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee about six weeks ago but he's made some statements, a couple which he has had to take back and apologize for. You'll remember that he criticized Rush Limbaugh right here on CNN and said that his rhetoric was incendiary and ugly. Limbaugh then came back at him and criticized him. The Republican chairman said he should stick to his business, his job. Chairman Steele apologized to Rush Limbaugh.

Now he's given an interview to a magazine in which he said abortion should be an individual choice. That's at variance with the political party platform of the Republican Party which says the unborn child has a fundamental right to life that cannot be infringed. He had to reconfirm the fact that he is an opponent of abortion rights and does support the overturn of the Roe V. Wade decision. On those and other smaller matters he had to backtrack.

WHITFIELD: Yes and that was at "GQ" Magazine at their Website edition. It got a lot of attention and I guess he got a lot of heat for that, too. Let's talk now about another contentious issue. Contentious for months now. Norm Coleman, Al Franken. Who gets that job?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it's about as close as we've ever seen to a perfect tie. Right now Al Franken in the unofficial count, uncertified, is a little over 200 votes ahead. He's the Democrat on the left there, ahead of Norm Coleman, the incumbent, the Republican. It's a very close race and it's now in the hands of a three-judge panel in Minnesota who are considering which absentee ballots that were originally not counted should be counted. Of course both campaigns have challenged those absentee ballots that were uncounted.

They've had voters come in over the last seven weeks and reconfirm their signatures. They had election officials come in and talk about why they rejected certain absentee ballots. Then the judges have to decide. Even if they decide and somebody -- let's say they decide one way, the other candidate can take it all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court. It can go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meanwhile the Minnesota Supreme Court says they cannot certify a winner of the election until the legal process is exhausted. That could take months.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh! So it's been four months and the constituency has been kind of underrepresented or not represented, depending on which way you look at it, while this has been going on. Now it could take months more?

SCHNEIDER: It could.

WHITFIELD: What happens to, I guess, the voice of their constituency on Capitol Hill in the meantime?

SCHNEIDER: It's the only state right now that has one senator, not two. They have one Democratic senator, Amy Klobuchar. The other senate seat is vacant, and a lot of Minnisota voters are angry about that. Why can't there be a temporary seating of whoever is ahead? Some say it should be a new election but is that fair. One of the reasons it's so close is there was a third-party candidate on the ballot who got 15 percent of the vote. That might have actually made the difference to the election outcome.

WHITFIELD: Wow, wow, wow! I can't believe we'll be talking about this Senate seat possibly even in the summer.

SCHNEIDER: Could.

WHITFIELD: Bill Schneider thanks so much. Or maybe on that anniversary date of Election Day. I don't know. Thanks a lot. Have a great one.

Let's check in with our Jacqui Jeras. Let's talk about weather. And what happened about this time last year here in Atlanta? It was an unbelievable scene. Looking out the window, nothing like it today but it is a little ominous because it's cool and it's nasty out.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. A year ago, Fredericka, remember, you and I worked that weekend. Not only was it a scary thing that day. But a day later we had more tornado warnings in downtown Atlanta and you and I had to evacuate down a couple of floors because we were worried about what might happen. It was an ef-2 tornado that ripped through the downtown area, causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage. Two people were killed in this tornado.

Not that common of a thing to have a tornado move through the downtown area. And many of you non-Atlantians might remember this event because it happened during the S.E.C. Tournament as it moved right over the Georgia dome. Thankfully, nobody was hurt in the Georgia dome at this time. Last year was a really active start to the tornado season. So far this year, we've actually been really quiet. Look at some of these numbers. We've had 86 tornado reports so far. That's since January. This is not the official number. It's preliminary. Usually we'll shave it down, about 10 in January, 44 in February and 32 so far in March. Check out the numbers compared to this time last year. We had 360, so that is like four times as many. 2008 ended up being the second record for the highest number of tornado in a calendar year. Last March 129. Hopefully we'll keep those numbers down. But it's March, right, Fredericka?

WHITFIELD: I know.

JERAS: It is March so look what happens. Come April, come May, come June, the number of tornadoes increases. So we're just getting started in that season. No severe weather expected today. That's some good news. Just benign showers across the southeast. And it's actually some welcome news. Sunny skies up to the north where we've been having flooding. Check out this video from Chicago. You know what they're doing there today, right? There it is. The greening of the river.

WHITFIELD: Isn't that amazing how that happens? They just have it down to a science. I know they've been doing it for years but it's still amazing that to me that they're able to turn that river green.

JERAS: Yes, it doesn't do any harm, apparently. That's good for those of you environmentalists.

WHITFIELD: Look at those jolly old elves or leprechauns I should say. They get pumped up about it.

JERAS: It's a lot of fun.

WHITFIELD: I know it is. Thanks so much, appreciate it Jacqui.

It is not just south of the border. Drug violence from the Mexico cartels spilling over into the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Two thousand more Mexican troops have arrived in Juarez. Another 3,000 are expected by tomorrow, bringing total troop strength to 8,500. They're fighting drug gangs in the Mexican city just across the border from El Paso, Texas. Drug violence has killed more than 1,000 people in Mexico just this past year. The U.S. State Department warned travelers the conflict amounts to small unit combat.

So next hour, we'll be taking your questions for our guest experts on this very issue. Our Josh Levs is looking at some of them right now. And we're being inundated with huge concerns about what's taking place on the U.S./Mexican border for good reason.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Because it affects so many of us in so many ways. A lot of you recognize that and reading about it at CNN.com. Here's one of our latest stories, the Pentagon taking a look at the issue. I want to let everyone here know how to get your questions and concerns. First of all, I'll tell you that I posted this question on my face book page we'll use throughout the show. Joshlevscnn.

We're talking about various topics. Zoom in for a second. You can weigh in on your concerns about Mexico, how the violence might reach your area. Drug and weapon smuggling, the issue of asylum. The role of the Obama administration. How this affects your travel plans, all these things, also we are getting a lot emails Fred. Let's go to this graphic. So anyone who hasn't e-mailed us can see it and weigh in, it is WEEKENDS@CNN.com.

Anything that you feel is an important issue that affects you when it comes to the violence that we're seeing out of Mexico and the way that it can spill and is spilling in many ways to the United States, what do you want to know. We have a great team of guests coming up.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we sure do. We'll be joined by a councilwoman out of El Paso, Texas and we have a number of reporters including our own Michael Warr. A reporter from "The L.A. Times" who has been covering a lot of stories along the U.S./Mexican border. And of course you.

LEVS: I'll be here the whole hour.

WHITFIELD: We have a great dialogue expected. Thanks so much Josh. Appreciate it.

News across America right now. Remember this seven-alarm fire from earlier this year in Coatesville, Pennsylvania? Now there's been another arson fire there. It is the 20th so far this year, and it comes despite the arrest of a man charged in nine of them. The latest fire broke out early this morning. It caused major damage to two houses.

A Phoenix jury has convicted a former janitor of six murders and 19 other attacks. Dale Shawn Housener was the main suspect in the cities serial shooter attack which goes back to 2005. Later this month jurors will begin deciding whether Housener should get the death penalty.

You heard the stories, maybe you even know someone like this, an abused woman who won't leave her abuser. Why does this happen? What's the solution? We'll try to find out coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Right now, 29 minutes after the hour. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM. President Obama initiated a discussion on the custody case of David Goldman, the New Jersey man who is trying to bring his 8-year-old son back from Brazil. The president also praised Brazil's leadership for the development of bio fuels as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: My policies coming into this administration have been to redouble efforts here in the United States to pursue a similar path of clean energy development. And I think we have a lot to learn from Brazil. As I mentioned to President Lula, I think we have the potential to exchange ideas, technology, to build on the bio diesel cooperation structure that we've already established. I know that the issue of Brazilian ethanol coming into the United States has been a source of tension between the two countries. It's not going to change overnight, but I do think that as we continue to build exchanges of ideas, commercial, trade around the issue of biodiesel, that...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Obama and the Brazilian president wrapped up their face-to-face meeting at the White House just moments ago.

Meantime, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says finance ministers from the G20 are on the same page when it comes to tackling the global financial crisis. At a meeting today in Great Britain, Geithner said there was strong consensus for taking an aggressive approach both in recovery efforts and reform.

The finance ministers laid the groundwork for next month's summit of the world's 20 richest and emerging economies. Some background on the G20, it was formed ten years ago to promote financial stability in the wake of the Asian and Russian financial crises.

It includes the eight richest countries, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and, of course, the United States. The G20 accounts for 80 percent of the world's trade and represents two- third of its population.

More now on today's meeting from CNN international correspondent, Richard Quest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Reporter: a day of talking and this is the result, a three-page communique that commits the G20 to do whatever it takes for however long is necessary. For instance, they talk of cutting aggressively interest rates as low as necessary. Fiscal expansion, that means spending more by governments. And a key priority to get the bank's lending again, recapitalizing many of the global banks.

They set out the rules of the road to make sure this happens. Overall, the words from this meeting -- decisive, coordinated and comprehensive, that, they believe, is what's need at this time of global recession.

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: You are seeing the world move together at a speed and on a scale without precedent in modern times. All the major economies are putting in place substantial fiscal packages. The stronger the response, the quicker recovery will come.

QUEST: Despite rumors of disagreements within the G20, they've been papered over in this document. Instead, the ministers agreed each country would do whatever was right for that country to help get out of the mess.

ALISTAIR DARLING, BRITISH FINANCE MINISTER: What is equally important, though, is that we, all of us, are ready to do whatever it takes, whatever is necessary and for as long as that is necessary. Now, that will vary from country to country and that is a judgment that will have to be taken by finance ministers, by governments at the appropriate time.

QUEST: On the question of whether the IMF, the International Monetary Fund, the G20 have agreed that it needs more money. Very substantial new sums have been promised.

DARLING: We wreck nigh the urgent need to use international financial institutions both to provide liquidity for counter-cyclical spending, bank recapitalization, infrastructure, trade finance, rollover risk, as well as, social support. And we agreed on the urgent need to increase IMF resources very substantially.

QUEST: There was a lot of rhetoric about how important this meeting was. In truth, there's not a whole amount that's new in the communique or that we haven't heard in some shape or form before. No, what was really important about today is that it set the tone for the leader summit in just over two weeks time. They put together an agenda and set out the principles that their political bosses will now follow through.

Richard Quest, CNN, with the G20 finance ministers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The economy now, it is issue No. 1 for you and for us. Next week, we focus CNN's vast resources on the "Road to Rescue" a CNN survival guide. What do all the numbers really mean? And where are the jobs? That's all beginning next week on Monday.

First the fire, now the music. Just ahead, we'll tell you about the stars who came out to help victims of the Australian wildfires.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Some big stars are donating their talent to help Australia recover from those devastating wildfires.

(MUSIC) British rockers Coldplay and Midnight Oil and Australian pop star Kylie Minogue performed benefit concerts in Sydney and Melbourne and Olivia Newton John returned home to close out the concert in Sydney. Princes William and Harry also sent message of support. Last month's wildfire outbreak in Victoria State killed at least 210 people and burned thousands of homes to the ground.

Eight percent of a firefighter's job is not fighting fires, but responding to medical emergencies. So this week's CNN hero took years of experience here in the United States, left his job and then moved to Guatemala to train firefighters in emergency care. His sacrifices helped make the difference between life and death for so many people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.

PAUL EMBLETON, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: In Guatemala, the firefighters are usually the first ones on the site of an emergency. They didn't have ambulances, they only had pickup trucks.

It was difficult for me to watch these patients being transported with no medical care. I witnessed several people die. It inspired me to do something.

I'm Paul Embleton, founder of the BRAVE Foundation. We provide equipment and training to the volunteer firefighter of Guatemala to help make their jobs easier.

I first came to Guatemala in 1996. And I was working as a paramedic in the United States and I rode with a firefighter. They'd asked me if I could provide training and assist in developing this free hospital care program and I said, of course.

We took the U.S. EMT curriculum and we had it translated into Spanish. Now we have 14 training programs throughout the country of Guatemala.

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

Paul's foundation, with support from Rotary International, has donated more than $1 million worth of medical rescue equipment and trained more than 1,000 firefighters in EMT -- free of charge.

Source: BRAVE Foundation

(END GRAPHIC)

DAVID ALVAREZ, FIRE CHIEF, 10 COMPANY: Paul is the one to make everything happen. This make a big difference for our people in Guatemala.

EMBLETON: I'm really proud what the firemen have accomplished here. These firefighters are the true heroes.

ANNOUNCER: Tell us about your hero at CNN.com/heroes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More legal worries for actress Lindsay Lohan. Beverly Hills' police have an arrest warrant with her name on it. Details have not been released, but the police say they think it's connected to the 2007 DUI and cocaine conviction.

Lohan is on three years' probation. If she fails a drug test or doesn't meet with her parole officer, Lohan can go to jail. Police say they hope she turns herself in.

Gospel singer, BeBe, Winans is arrested. He's accused of assaulting his ex-wife last month. Winans bounded out of a Nashville jail on Thursday. He's accused of pushing Debra Winans to the ground during an argument about their kids. The couple has been divorced since 2003. They were married for 16 years and so far no public statement from BeBe Winans' camp.

Meantime, Rihanna and Chris Brown are not the first celebrity couple to make headlines over allegations of domestic violence. Actress Robin Givens knows about it all too well from her marriage to former heavyweight champ, Mike Tyson. She also knows why women sometimes stay as she explained to fill-in host Joy Behar (ph) on CNN's LARRY KING LIVE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Why did you stay with him?

ROBIN GIVENS, FMR WIFE OF MIKE TYSON: Well, he had said that he was going to get help and we were -- I loved him. I wanted to make it work. I wanted to make it work. I wanted to do anything and everything I could for him. I mean, I was -- I was very bonded and it's hard to be bonded and save yourself at the same time. You just want to fix it. You know? You just want to fix it. I wanted to not let him down. I was going to be there for him and it's hard to do that and save yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So we want to talk more about this. Here to help determine why so many women who are at risk in their relationship still hang in there. Jill Murray, a psychotherapist and author of "But He Never Hit Me."

Jill, good to see you.

JILL MURRAY, AUTHOR, "BUT HE NEVER HIT ME": Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We heard from Robin Givens kind of set the stage like she can understand, she wanted to stay in the relationship to fix it. Now we hear singer Rihanna and Chris Brown maybe working together on a duet, maybe even a book to kind of talk about this alleged domestic violence occurrence that we all have known or come to learn about in the last couple of weeks. Explain this for us. MURRAY: Well, you know, Rihanna is still jut a young girl and she just turned 21. We tend to think that because these two young people are talented and bright and good looking and wealthy that they're smarter than anybody else their age, but, really, they have very little life experience. And Rihanna is in the denial stage, the honeymoon stage, if you will, of a domestic violence relationship. When you really look at this, Fredricka, it's a textbook domestic violence case.

WHITFIELD: Really, tell me about those stages that you spell out in a very concrete manner.

MURRAY: Well, when we start out in any relationship, we're in an infatuation stage. You know, our partner can do no wrong and everything is wonderful. But, in a domestic violence or dating violence situation, then there's this tension-building phase where the woman starts walking on eggshells because he's tense, he's agitated, she thinks he's going to blow up, she'll do anything to keep their relationship on course.

But then there's this explosive phase, which is what we saw with Chris Brown and rihanna. So, it can be verbal abuse or it can be emotional abuse or in this case physical violence. But then they revert to the third stage, which is the honeymoon stage. Lots of "I love yous," "I promise I'll never do it again," "I love you so much..."

WHITFIELD: So, it sounds like you're kind of describing, if indeed they're doing this duet or writing a book together, and all of these allegations are true, then we're back to the honeymoon stage, as you mentioned.

MURRAY: Exactly. That's exactly where she is right now. And a big stage of denial really, which puts her in extreme danger.

WHITFIELD: OK, so say you've got a friend who may be in an explosive relationship or a relationship that's a little tenuous and who knows what the potential is. How do you step in as a friend to help convey to your friend that, you know what, danger lurks. What's the right way to reach your friend? Because as we heard from Robin Givens, you kind of are in that little la-la phase where you think it can be fixed, everything's going to be all right and he loves me?

MURRAY: Well, the "he loves me" is really the important part that they're listening to, because the violence is so shocking they'd like to just listen to the "he loves me." So, my mantra really is that love is a behavior, not a feeling.

So, you'd have to say that the actions that Chris Brown took were not loving behavior, no matter what he says. So, in helping a friend describe that love is a behavior and she gets to define for herself what love is. If he thinks that this is loving behavior, he doesn't get to define that for her.

WHITFIELD: Jill Murray, a very fascinating you stuff. Thanks so much, and hopefully a lot of folks who were listening and got information to help their friend if they identify that they've got a friend that's in a dangerous situation.

MURRAY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, appreciate your time.

All right, why some women stay in abusive relationships. You can see Robin Givens' complete interview on CNN LARRY KING LIVE, that's tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

Well, something new where the rubber meets the road. It's the airless tire. And we have everything you need to know about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Wish you never had to change a flat tire again? We have something for you in today's "Techno Files." Reynolds Wolf checks out a new tire design that could revolutionize travel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tire plus wheel. Twheel.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michelin is reinventing the wheel to give us the Twheel airless tire. It's a conventional tire tread connected to a central wheel, connected to flexible spokes. There's no air pressure need, and even so the wheel can absorb shock like traditional tire. It will make flats, blowouts, even checking your tire pressure a thing of the past.

BART THOMPSON, MICHELIN ENGINEER: It's not an evolutionary advancement of pneumatic tire, it's a revolution. It's something completely different. The Tweel does the same things that a pneumatic tire does, only it does it with no air and using different physics.

WOLF: Engineers say one problem now is the faster you go, the noisier they get, but they're working on it.

THOMPSON: Yes, we have problems, developing this technology, right now, for applications with high load and high speed. And we have the technology mature enough to go into markets that are not high speed and that's what we intend to do.

WOLF: Such is commercial construction vehicles, the iBot Mobility System for the disabled, even the Segway. The company is also exploring military applications. Check this out, the Tweel withstands a blast from simulated the roadside explosive. There's also the final frontier.

THOMPSON: We are introducing the wheel to work with manned vehicles and with unmanned robotic vehicles. And when NASA goes to the moon or to Mars are robotic vehicles, sometime in the next three to five years, we will be part of those missions.

WOLF: One big challenge, the lunar extremes.

THOMPSON: Temperatures can fluctuate between 100 degrees to minus 200 degrees.

WOLF: This is typical tire rubber cooled to minus 277 degrees.

THOMSON: You can't use a traditional tire at very low temperatures like on the moon surface.

WOLF: And this is the Tweel.

THOMPSON: And it maintains flexibility.

WOLF: It's flexibility in extreme temperatures makes the Tweel's design well suited to navigate the moon's rock soil and cratered surface. Tweel's four-passenger vehicles won't be in stores for a decade. But the public got the first glimpse in the inaugural parade in January. Tweel, where the rubber meets the road, and the moon.

Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK, so from electric power to beer power. The California brewery that makes Sierra Nevada beer is planning to put leftover yeast to good use.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERI CHASTAIN, BREWERY ENVIRONMENTAL COORD: The yeast produces the alcohol and the alcohol is ethanol, essentially. What this machine will essentially do is distill the alcohol out of it in a form of pure ethanol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The fuel will actually power the local delivery trucks. The brewery expects it will cost 10 cents a gallon.

Forget the newspaper, people looking for work in one Kentucky town are tuning into the radio.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, hard times call for creative solutions. In Louisville, Kentucky, a radio show is connecting job seekers with companies looking for workers with remarkable success. Susan Candiotti reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Barger, father of three, lost his printing job right before Christmas.

JOHN BARGER, UNEMPLOYED: My dad used to do it and I do it now. So, you know, it's just one of those things. What do you do? Where do you turn?

FRANCENE CUCINELLO, RADIO HOST, WHAS-AM: You're on the Francene show, talk to me.

CANDIOTTI: Enter Francene Cucinello. Weekdays, the Louisville radio talk show host entertains more than 100,000 listeners.

CUCINELLO: Oh, yeah, I love my audience.

CANDIOTTI: But on Fridays...

CUCINELLO: If you've got a job advertise it right now with me. Believe me, we'll hook you up with some of the best people in the talent pool that are available.

CANDIOTTI: Francene opens up her show to employers, a giant help wanted ad on the radio.

(on camera): What is it about radio that really makes this work?

CUCINELLO: Oh, radio is immediate. I'm in people's homes. I'm in people's cars. They're inviting me into their lives and they're trusting me.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Trusting her because she says she screens employers, making sure they offer a decent wage, preferably with benefits.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we have a ton of general administrative and clerical positions that range anywhere between $9 and $15 an hour. And we have 25 open positions this morning.

CUCINELLO: Twenty-five openings, administrative and clerical. This is awesome, Wendy, awesome.

Good morning, welcome to the "Francene Show."

CANDIOTTI: Small business owner, Chris Shaw, is a Francene listener who runs his family print business. Shaw lost an experienced machine operator. He needed help fast. Newspaper ads, expensive. He contacted Francene.

CHRIS SHAW, OWNER, FREEDOM GRAPHICS: We sent her an e-mail. She read it on the air and the minute she finished, our phones started ringing.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Really?

SHAW: In the course of a week we got 15 phone calls.

BARGER: I was going to be in a long line of people.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Remember John Barger who lost his job?

BARGER: Thank God.

CANDIOTTI: His mother and uncle heard Shaw plugging his opening on the "Francene Show." Barger beat out the other candidates. This was his first day at his new job.

BARGER: I feel like I'm just walking on clouds, right now. I mean, I couldn't have asked for anything else.

CANDIOTTI: Nor could his boss who credits Francene's show.

SHAW: This is someone who lives in this community and really wanted to do something for that community.

CUCINELLO: This is our responsibility as broadcasters.

CANDIOTTI: using a tried and true medium do help one community fight the recessions.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Louisville.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Startling numbers of people who don't have jobs, but that doesn't mean they don't have hope. Next weekend we bring you a series featuring some of the optimism during these really tough economic times. In the series we talk with Georgia labor commissioner, Michael Thurman, while he was conducting the largest job fair in this state's history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's major, when you look at the numbers -- 598,000 jobs lost in January, nationwide. February, 697,000 jobs lost. People are feeling really, I guess, depressed, and they're at a loss. They're not sure how to grapple with these numbers. And when you're one of the 697,000, you're wondering how am I going to get back on my feet?

MICHAEL THURMOND, GEORGIA LABOR COMMISSION: First of all, I'm not just the commission of labor, I'm the commission of encouragement, the commission of hope, and the commission of inspiration. My primary job is to help people see that even in the most difficult times, do not give up hope, don't give in, don't give out, don't give up.

WHITFIELD: Why are you such an optimist?

THURMOND: Well, because I look at my own life. I grew up poor. We raised share crop cotton and rural northeast Georgia. My daddy worked in the fields all of his life. The one thing he kept was a true faith and a belief that tomorrow will be better than today. This is America. This is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. We faced greater challenges than this recession.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, next Saturday afternoon join us for "Jobless not Hopeless," an emotional series that will follow some of the unemployed from the day they step inside that job center to the day they hopefully get a job. "Jobless not Hopeless," beginning at Noon Eastern, next Saturday.

The global financial crisis is a major point of discussion at a meeting today between President Obama and Brazilian president Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva. The two leaders talked about the environment and trade.

Right across the street from the White House meeting, this rally. Demonstrators want the Brazilian government to return an 8-year-old American boy to his father in the U.S. The boy was taken to Brazil in 2004 by his mother, who has since died. He's now living with his Brazilian stepfather's family.

Thousands of people are crowding into Dodger's Stadium in Los Angeles, today. The focus there, jobs. It's one the largest job fairs on the West Coast.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Next hour we're focusing in depth at the Mexico drug wars right at our own doorsteps. We'll talk with journalists, politicians, scholars and get your opinions as well. Straight ahead, an hour-long look at "The War Next Door," what's causing it, what's next, and what it all means for the United States.