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Chrysler Shedding Quarter of its Dealerships; 'Ask the Pilot'; Should 911 Tapes be Released?; Bullying: Two Stories With One Outcome, Pain and Suffering
Aired May 15, 2009 - 13:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, putting terror suspects on trial. It's a process that's been wrestled over in Congress, rejected by the Supreme Court and now revamped by President Obama. Just last hour, the president confirmed that he's restarting the military commission system for trying terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, but with a few tweaks, including expanded rights for defendants.
Mr. Obama suspended the controversial Bush-era trials on his third day of office, pledging to review the whole process before making a firm decision. He also acknowledges that he supported an early version of the tribunal's plan when he was a senator, but he says in a statement, "I objected strongly to the Military Commissions Act that was drafted by the Bush administration and passed by Congress because it failed to establish a legitimate legal framework and undermined our capability to ensure swift and certain justice against those detainees that we were holding at the time."
We're expecting a White House briefing with Robert Gibbs any moment. We're going to take you there when the questions inevitably begin on this subject matter.
All this might bring the F word to mind. I mean flip-flop. After all, Mr. Obama called the terror process sloppy when he was a senator, so where does it go from here? CNN's Anderson Cooper talked to Democratic strategist Paul Begala and to President Bush's onetime press secretary, Ari Fleischer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Barack Obama, then-Senator Obama, said the method had been an enormous failure, these military tribunals. He declared as president he would, quote, "reject the Military Commissions Act." If he brings back the commissions, how is that going to reflect on him now?
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, it will be a flip- flop, but what he'll do is dress it up. And there are some valid distinctions. I think what you'll hear from the White House is an expression that we're going to have more process, more due process. We're going to be more careful that the act itself was too limited and restricted in terms of providing for due process in these cases. But I don't think there's anything wrong with the president, particularly on national security, seeing that the world as it is in the White House is kind of different than it seemed on the campaign trail. Every good president goes through that. ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": Ari, is this a vindication of some more of President Bush's policies?
ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, of course, it is. I think it's a recognition of how President Bush made a lot of unpopular decisions and he was vilified for it.
And I think the three words Barack Obama ought to use in explaining this flip-flop is, "I was wrong." He ought to say that, just as he was wrong when he wanted to release all those additional photos to comply with the ACLU lawsuit. He should have fought that lawsuit. He flip-flopped on that this week, too.
COOPER: So, Ari, you don't buy this whole the situation has changed, it's a different world we face now...
(CROSSTALK)
FLEISCHER: No, it was the same world. He had same access to those same Senate intelligence briefings when he was a senator. He knew these things at the time.
And what I think would be cynical is if, as Paul says, he's going to dress this up. This is not meant to be dressed up or dressed down. These are serious terrorists who need to be kept.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, officials say that President Obama will order these trials for no more than 20 detainees. They include five men charged in the 9/11 attacks.
President Obama seems to be igniting all kinds of controversy this week, especially on the Notre Dame campus, where students and others are protesting his upcoming visit. The Catholic bishop of nearby South Bend, Indiana, is boycotting Mr. Obama's commencement address on Sunday. He says it's not right to give an honorary degree to a president who supports abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. Some students are also skipping out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY TOATES, VICE PRESIDENT, NOTRE DAME RIGHT TO LIFE: I feel that if he was invited in another context, we would not have this problem. If he was invited to a town hall meeting, a panel discussion, something where we were actually discussing these issues and positively engaging, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. I would go and I would want to hear what he has to say and dialogue with him.
The problem is that a commencement isn't the context for a dialogue. He's going to be standing up on the stage, speaking to us in our seats. There isn't that opportunity for dialogue. And as we hand him that honorary degree, it becomes an endorsement for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Not all Catholics feel that way. So we're pushing forward, crossing the Catholic divide on President Obama, abortion and beyond. It's a CNN NEWSROOM special Saturday, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
You can see President Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame, live, right here on CNN, also. That will be at 2:00 p.m. Eastern this Sunday.
It's an agonizing day for people who sell GM's cars and trucks. Their lives, livelihoods and futures hanging in the balance.
The company has send "Dear John" letters to 1,100 dealerships, telling them that the automaker and the dealer will be divorced late next year. Many of those lots probably will close much sooner, and this is just the first step. GM plans to whittle its retail network down from about 6,000 to 3,600 by next year as it struggles to avoid bankruptcy. The deadline for a restructuring plan just over two weeks away.
Now, about 800 Chrysler dealers have been there and gotten that letter from Michigan. Their D-Day came yesterday. The reality is now setting in, and not all of them saw it coming.
Here's CNN's Mary Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For brothers Rob and Rick Engel, a business that took 22 years to build unraveled within minutes when they got a phone call and letter telling them it was over for their two Chrysler car dealerships.
ROB ENGEL, CHRYSLER DEALER: I'm very upset. Shock, no doubt anger may set in. It's a decision that is, for us, very illogical.
SNOW: The Engels expected one but not both of their dealerships to be on the cutting block. They say they have been profitable through the economic downturn. And while they plan to appeal, they don't know what comes next.
RICK ENGEL, CHRYSLER DEALER: People ask us what we do for a living. And we don't say that we own a car dealership. We say that we are car dealers. So it's a little bit of a difference.
This is our life. It's all I know.
ROB ENGEL: It's our identity.
SNOW: Their father escaped the Nazis, joined the British Army, and was trained to fix tanks and jeeps. He got into the car business, and his sons followed suit, owning two dealerships, employing 60 people. Some have been here from the start.
Throughout the day, they delivered the grim news to workers. As they did, other dealers were in Washington pleading with lawmakers for help. JOHN MCELENEY, NADA CHAIRMAN: We understand there's going to be a consolidation of dealers. We just think the process needs to be slowed down.
SNOW: Chrysler, which detailed its plan in bankruptcy court, blamed the unprecedented decline in the industry, saying it plans to make the action final on June 9th.. And along with jobs lost, communities like Wyckoff, New Jersey, will feel the effects of dealerships no longer sponsoring local teams, charities and businesses.
RICK ENGEL: We're consistently asked by local groups, whether it's a local Boy Scout who's putting together a project and needs $50 to...
ROB ENGEL: To something larger.
RICK ENGEL: ... something larger.
ROB ENGEL: ... Cystic Fibrosis or...
RICK ENGEL: Leukemia.
ROB ENGEL: ... Leukemia, or any of these things that we support.
SNOW (on camera): And this dealership has made its mark on this community. It's been here since 1988. And for many of these small towns, losing these dealerships could also mean losing their biggest employers.
Mary Snow, CNN, Wyckoff, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And we're going to push forward to find out what's next for Chrysler and GM dealers a little later this hour. For one thing, we want to know what's going to happen to all those vehicles that will have no dealerships. Peter Valdes-Dapena from CNNMoney.com, he'll join us.
911 tapes, we hear them often in big stories, but do we have the right to? Another state moves to restrict access. We're going to tell you where and why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's one of the most shocking details to come out of the investigation into the fatal commuter plane crash near Buffalo. First Officer Rebecca Shaw was making less than $24,000 a year working for Colgan Air. She commuted across country from her parents' home in Seattle to her job in New Jersey. One big question investigators are asking, did the money and the commute conspire to keep her from getting enough rest to do her job safely?
The low pay of regional carrier pilots was called aviation's dirty little secret by one expert. I want to talk to somebody now who says that media attention on airline tragedies and the unwillingness of the airlines to talk about them publicly actually makes these scenarios much worse.
Patrick Smith wrote the book and the column "Ask the Pilot."
Patrick, you've worked for five different airlines. You're a pilot. I read your recent column here in Salon.com, and you say, "The Colgan crash and the problems with regional airlines, there's plenty." One thing you point out is that airlines are lazy and ineffective communicators.
Do you think that led to how this story has been handled?
PATRICK SMITH, AUTHOR, "ASK THE PILOT": Well, I think before addressing that, we have to circle the wagons a little bit here. And it's very important for people to realize that there's no reason to be fearful or apprehensive about getting on a regional plane. And the fact that tragedies like the one near Buffalo are so few and far between underscores how safe regional flying and generally all flying is, and is a testament to the fact that there are thousands of highly skilled, extremely competent regional pilots out there working under very different conditions.
Now, having said that, it's there very difficult conditions that do need addressing. You know, average pay at a regional carrier is around $20,000 a year. Their schedules tend to be very fatiguing, and there's often a hostile relationship between management and the pilot groups at these carriers.
And to a large degree, that's a cultural thing that needs to change. It can't be fixed just by dumping more regulations into the industry or concentrating on just training aspects, things like that. It needs to come from within and be cultural. Airlines...
PHILLIPS: Well, let me ask you quickly -- let's get to that in a second, but just let me ask you a question.
I understand about finding this balance between fear and the reality of the airline industry, and, you're right, with all the planes taking off, all the flights going on, it's very rare that something like this happens. But I think in this economy, when so many people are going under, when businesses are going under, where airlines are going under, losing a lot of money, charging more for baggage fees because they're afraid to go under, that I think when we see something like this and we see how low paid a pilot is, how training -- there wasn't enough training for various pilots like we are seeing here, it was pilot error -- I think that that fear builds with a combination of those facts and the facts that we're in a bad economy, wondering, oh, my gosh, how many more corners are going to be cut and could it get worse like no other time?
SMITH: Well, I also think that when the media uses words like "cutting corners" and "not enough training," and doesn't get into the nuances of what those things actually mean from a pilot's perspective, it's the media that actually fans this fear and apprehension, it's not the... PHILLIPS: But this pilot failed five check rides, Patrick. You know?
SMITH: That's an issue. That's an issue.
PHILLIPS: That's a major issue.
SMITH: And I admitted so in my article. It really jumped out at me.
You know, that's fairly unprecedented. Whether or not it had to do with the accident is open to discussion, but can't necessarily be proven.
PHILLIPS: But he also -- we've also learned that he wasn't properly trained on the pusher, too. That if he would have had...
SMITH: No, I would disagree with that.
PHILLIPS: Why would you disagree on that?
SMITH: Well, this gets into the complexities of airplane stalls and how you train for them and how you react. But, you know, training for the stick-pusher mechanism specifically, you know, I made a crude analogy in my column about, if you're in a car speeding towards the wall, do you hit the accelerator or the brakes? Certain things are presumably very intuitive and basic enough that they're not supposed to require formalized training. And to some degree, this was one of those things.
Maybe we need to rethink that with respect to stalls. But that was the basis for the FAA's policy of not mandating that particular maneuver, and it's not something that I have a problem with.
PHILLIPS: Patrick Smith, we enjoy reading your columns. We learn a lot. Great discussion. Really appreciate your time today.
SMITH: Any time. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: 911 tapes are a window into other people's emergencies. They reveal callers' fears and dispatchers' reactions as it all happens, but do we the public have a right to hear them?
An Ohio lawmaker wants to make his state the latest to restrict these tapes' release.
CNN's Carol Costello reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is no doubt...
911 CALLER: They were physically fighting with each other.
COSTELLO: ... that broadcasting 911 calls is quite effective in exposing operators who make mistakes while handling emergencies.
CNN aired this call from a frightened Texas parent in 2005.
911 CALLER: ... and they're 12 and almost 14. And the 12-year- old is completely out of control. And I can't physically, she's as big as I am, I can't control her.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Did you want us to come over and shoot her?
COSTELLO: The operator later apologized for what he called a joke and was reprimanded. But was it really necessary for the public to hear his faux pas on TV?
Ohio state lawmaker Senator Thomas Patton said, no, it wasn't. He's now introduced a bill that prohibits radio, television, and the Internet from playing a recording of 911 calls, but does allowing broadcasters to read a transcript of the calls. Violate the law and get slapped with a $10,000 fine.
Patton also believes airing audio of 911 calls makes people afraid to call 911 to report crime because the bad guy might recognize their voice.
SEN. TOM PATTON, OHIO STATE SENATE: We have to develop the mindset where people can trust that they can contact their law enforcement and not run the risk of having themselves set upon in a revenge mode.
COSTELLO: According to the reporter's committee for the freedom of the press, about two dozen states already restrict or ban public access to 911 tapes. Among the most restrictive, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Minnesota.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There is a clear tradeoff here between the individual who calls right to privacy and the public's right to know whether the 911 system is working properly.
COSTELLO: Others say 911 recordings should be public. It's the only way reporters can investigate wrongdoing. And they say written transcripts often don't tell the whole story. It's one thing for a reporter to read the words, "the bed is on fire," it's another hear a victim say those words.
911 CALLER: The bed is on fire.
COSTELLO: That caller, a disabled woman, was put on hold by 911 operators. She later died in the fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, as always, we want to know what you think. 911 tapes, make them public or keep them private?
Our Twitter name is KyraCNN, or you can leave a comment on our blog, CNN.com/newsroom. We'll read some later this hour.
It was a heartbreaking and shocking story, a young boy apparently bullied to death. Now his mom is taking his school to court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: This just in on the auto industry, the bad news on the auto industry. National Automobile Dealers Association now releasing a statement that General Motors plans to cut its dealer network far -- in a far more reaching way, saying now it looks like it's going to impact more than 63,000 dealership employees and thousands of their sales and service customers.
We're going to be talking more about this coming up in just a second with one of our auto experts.
Meanwhile, we want to take you to the White House press briefing. Robert Gibbs just beginning.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: On Sunday, as you know, the president will deliver the commencement address at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Following the speech, he will travel to Indianapolis to attend a fund-raiser for Democratic members of Congress from Indiana. He will return to Washington, D.C., and the White House that night.
On Monday, the president will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu here at the White House.
On Tuesday, the president will attend an event honoring the SBA's National Small Business Winners of the Year at the White House.
On Wednesday morning, the president will attend the first quarterly meeting of the Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board. In the afternoon, the president will participate in a credentialing ceremony for foreign ambassadors at the White House.
On Thursday, the president will deliver a speech discussing issues associated with Guantanamo Bay and anti-terror tactics, including detention. He will also welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers to the White House.
On Friday, the president will deliver the commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation in Annapolis. The first family will spend Memorial Day Weekend at Camp David. They will travel there next Saturday and return during the day on Monday. QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
GIBBS: Not yet.
And Miss Levin (ph), with that, we'll take it away.
QUESTION: Thank you.
Just a couple details about the military tribunal announcement, and then a little broader question.
On details, he talked about going to Congress to further -- to revise the law in addition to the executive authority changes that he's making right away.
What are the changes that he wants from Congress? And how long of a stay is he asking for in the tribunals?
GIBBS: I believe that the continuances are additional 120-day continuances. There are executive changes that can be made in the military commission's law with which Congress has 60 days to review. We have been in discussions with folks like Senator Levin, Senators McCain and Graham about what additional changes might be sought through a legislative vehicle, but those conversations are ongoing and continue.
QUESTION: So, he doesn't know yet what more he wants to do?
GIBBS: Well, I think they're working through some of the details about what the distinction and difference between executive and what has to be done legislatively.
QUESTION: OK.
And just more broadly, liberal groups are angry again. They say they were spurned on Wednesday, and they're upset by this decision.
How worried are you that you're alienating some of the president's most loyal supporters with these decisions?
GIBBS: Well, look, first and foremost, the president of the United States is going to do what he believes is in the best security interests of the people of the United States. I think military commissions have a long tradition in the United States.
The president spoke in 2006 in his belief that military courts and commissions had a role to play in the detainees that were at Guantanamo Bay. And -- but also spoke forcefully about the notion that the system that had been first set up and ruled unconstitutional, and then passed legislatively and largely ruled unconstitutional again by the Supreme Court, wasn't working. And I think the best way to understand why it wasn't working -- and when I say wasn't working, I mean wasn't working in seeking swift and certain justice for families of victims, as well as the American people, because in about eight years, a little less than eight years' time, exactly three cases had gone through military commissions.
The president, as I said, during the debate, said that properly structured military commissions had a role to play. The changes that he is seeking he believes will ensure the protections that are necessary for these to be conducted in order to reach that certain justice, as well as live up to our values.
QUESTION: Can you describe more completely the changes the president wants and which ones he feels will require legislative...
GIBBS: Well, on the second part, they're still working through some of that exactly. I don't have a lot to add from what the president said, but statements that have been obtained from detainees using cruel, inhumane and degrading interrogation methods will no longer be admitted as evidence at trial.
Second, the use of hearsay will be limited so that the burden will no longer be on the party who objects to hearsay to disprove its reliability.
Third, the accused will have greater latitude in selecting their counsel.
Fourth, basic protections will be provided for those who refuse to testify.
And fifth, military commission judges may establish the jurisdiction of their own courts.
Again, if you look back through the arc of this process beginning back in 2001 and 2002, through the Supreme Court making decisions in 2005, moving this to the venue of Congress in 2006, and the legislation that the president supported that came out of the Senate Armed Services Committee with strong bipartisan support, four Republican senators joining all the Democrats involved in passing legislation that the president believes met the goals of instituting swift and certain justice, and the protections adequate enough to be reviewed by courts and beliefs (ph).
Yes, sir?
QUESTION: Two questions for you. First on GM and then on climate change.
On GM, there seems to be growing consensus, both from company executives and from observers outside the company, that it will have to go into a bankruptcy proceeding as well, just as Chrysler did.
Is that the feeling at the White House as well, or is there a chance that more public money could be put up to prevent that from happening?
GIBBS: Well, look, I think without -- we've got a couple more weeks to go to make -- for the company to make some decisions. Whether or not a bankruptcy like that of -- like that that we've seen in the situation with Chrysler and Fiat is necessary, I don't want to get ahead of based on the fact that we've got several weeks to go, or at least a couple weeks to go here.
Look, and I think the larger thing is obviously there are a number of difficult decisions that GM has to make, just as Chrysler had to make. You know, I think we can -- we all can look at the announcements that were made by the auto companies in the past 24 hours about dealerships. And everybody understands the role that a lot of these dealerships play in local communities.
You know, you can -- I bet a lot of you can remember either you or your kids playing on a little league team that was sponsored by a local dealership. The role that they play in the community is a big one. I think it's important to note the president understands the role they play and also understands the economic and job -- the jobs that are -- that are in those dealerships. I think the decision that was made several weeks ago, largely, in many ways, saved all of those dealerships.
The president becoming involved in a way that without it, you might not have seen letters go to some dealerships at Chrysler and GM, but letters go to all the dealerships at Chrysler and GM. And the job loss associated with the closing of each and every dealership across the country would have been exponentially greater.
QUESTION: All right. Is there reason for bondholders or other investors to hold out for the chance that more government money would be put up to keep GM...
(CROSSTALK)
GIBBS: Well, I think we saw this in the Chrysler negotiations. I don't want to -- I'm not going to become an active participant in those negotiations from here in order to provide anybody -- I think the best place for those negotiations to happen are with the individual stakeholders and the auto company. I think they understand the issues that they're dealing with, and I don't want to provide something one way or the other that gives somebody the ability to change their tactics.
QUESTION: Let me ask a quick question on climate.
There's a bill, a compromise bill, coming out of the House right now on emissions. It looks like they are now saying 15 percent of CO2 permits would be auctioned, which means the other 85 percent would be given away to industry. That's a huge change from the 100 percent that the president supported.
Can he support this bill?
GIBBS: I know that the legislation is being reviewed at the White House. I think we believe that the legislation, as the president said a few days ago, represents a big step forward in dealing with dangerous greenhouse gases, in producing a sustained market for the creation of clean energy jobs, with targets that demonstrate the need for a reduction in those gases, as well as a standard for the amount of power that has to be produced through renewable sources, which is important, and that the president believes that we have to take -- undertake protections to ensure that price fluctuations don't affect middle-class families here in this country.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) 15 percent auctioning...
GIBBS: Well, I think they're looking through that. I know that this is the first step in this process, and -- but I think the president overall believes that the legislation going through this process is a -- is a -- is a very positive step on the road to addressing these important issues.
QUESTION: Of the five steps that you're looking for, changes in the military commissions, can you explain that fifth one?
GIBBS: I can get somebody who has a law degree to do that.
QUESTION: OK, thank you. One of the reasons...
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
GIBBS: A law degree or some explanation to...
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... get somebody to translate it. One of the reasons that human rights groups are upset about the announcement today is, many of them believed, based on a couple statements the president had made, that the president was looking -- then senator, now president -- was looking forward to a system where detainees would be tried either through the Uniform Code of Military Justice or through U.S. courts.
And there are a couple statements the president made, and I'm wondering if you could just reconcile what he said. In August '07, "I have faith in America's courts. I have faith in our JAGs. As president, I'll close Guantanamo, reject the Military Commissions Act, adhere to the Geneva Conventions. Our Constitution and our Uniform Code of Military Justice provide a framework for dealing with the terrorists."
And then, in August, your campaign issued a statement responding to the Hamdan conviction, the key line being, "It's time to better protect the American people and our values by bringing swift and sure justice to terrorists through our courts and through our Uniform Code of Military Justice," no mention of the military commissions.
Now, I understand he supported McCain-Graham-Warner back in '06, but how do you reconcile these statements with the military commissions? They make no mention of them.
GIBBS: Well, look, the underlying -- the underlying issues in each of those statements affording -- first, affording for swift and certain justice, as well as sufficient detainee protection that the Supreme Court has now rendered, have to be a part of any military commission is embedded in the exact suggestions that the president is filing today with the court, ensuring that -- I mean, you know, the -- the court ruled -- the court ruled last year that significant protection had to be afforded for the first time to detainees in order for something like this to be constitutional, and those are the changes that the president sought.
You know, again, I think if you go back and look at his statements and understand the role that military commissions have played in the history of the United States, the president believes that in dealing with certain detainees at Guantanamo Bay that this is an appropriate avenue. Obviously, we will also use in some instances Article 3 courts in order to ensure the certainty of justice that the president spoke about.
QUESTION: But, I'm sorry, just a follow-up. I mean, are these just two statements where, if you could go back, you would just add the term "military commission" and it was just -- they were just -- they were just vague, because...
GIBBS: No, I -- I -- I think that -- I think, if you look back at all these statements, the president has been -- has been consistent in his views on this issue and been consistent on what was lacking in order to ensure justice, in order to ensure protection, and most of all to ensure that this process goes forward with and -- and doesn't see repeated legal stalls in going through the court system.
I mean, again, the -- the notion of -- of military commissions in a larger sense is something that's been with us now for almost eight years. I think some 242 detainees resided at Guantanamo when the president took office.
PHILLIPS: Other news out of Washington now, breaking news, a strongly worded statement from CIA Director Leon Panetta. He's apparently responding to claims by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the CIA misled her and others about harsh interrogation techniques used on terror suspects.
Here's what she said in the news conference yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Just to be clear, you're accusing the CIA of lying to you in September of 2002.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: yes, misleading the Congress of the United States, misleading the Congress of the United States.
QUESTION: And doing it again, now, as they've released this list of briefings that says you were briefed on the interrogation tactics that were used.
PELOSI: I'm quoting what the head of the CIA has said. This is -- we don't know if this information is accurate that he's talking about.
What they briefed us on -- and perhaps they should release the briefings. That - I would be very happy to say we release the briefing and then you will see what they briefed at one time and one time and another, House and Senate and the rest. And perhaps with the intense interest that this has generated, because of the distraction that the republicans want to cause with this, then you can make a judgment yourself that what you think these briefings were.
But I'm telling you, that they talked about interrogations that they had done and said, we want to use enhanced techniques and we have legal opinions that say that they are OK. We are not using waterboarding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Just minutes ago, CIA Director Panetta issued this statement to his employees. "Let me be clear, it is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. That is against our laws and our values."
He's also telling them, ignore the noise and stay focused on your mission.
It's bad enough when they're mean to your face, but when classmates' cruelty is right there preserved for posterity in the yearbook, unbelievable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, this is like Black Friday for 1,100 GM dealers. The company is telling them that the relationship will end late next year. The National Automobile Dealers Association just said the closings will impact 63,000 dealership employees and thousands of their sales and service customers.
Peter Valdes-Dapena has been following these developments for CNNMoney.com. He joins us from New York.
Well, Peter, what is going to happen to all these vehicles?
PETER VALDES-DAPENA, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: The vehicles themselves, at GM dealerships or Chrysler?
PHILLIPS: Yes, fire sales. Do they sell them to fleet dealers?
VALDES-DAPENA: Well, the situations are very different at these two companies, at Chrysler and at GM.
In Chrysler's case, their dealers have basically a month. And Chrysler, since they're bankrupt, can't do what a manufacturer would ordinarily do and buy back the inventory. They can't buy it back. They're bankrupt. So they're going to have to try to either sell it off this inventory or transfer it to other dealerships. And some folks I've talked to said we probably are going to be seeing heavy discounting, particularly at these affected dealers as the deadline starts to grow closer. And they realize, look, it's either sell it now or put it into an auction or try to get some other dealer to buy it.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
VALDES-DAPENA: In GM's case it's going to be a more gradual process and GM would probably would eventually buy back leftover vehicles, because they have until the fall of 2010, so they've got time on their hands.
PHILLIPS: What about other businesses at dealers, like parts, service departments, you mentioned used cars. What happens to the side businesses? Does it just wipe them out?
VALDES-DAPENA: Well, it depends on how big a part of their business it was. Some of these GM dealers actually selling GM cars was a fairly small part of their business. They may have only sold a couple cars a month. They were already mostly relying on service and on used cars for their business.
Now, if they lose the GM franchise, that means they can't do warranty work on GM cars and actually, that was a lot of business for car dealers. They make a lot of money that way. But they will still be able to have a garage, still be able to service cars. They were still able to, if used cars were a big part of their business, they're obviously still going to have the ability to continue as a used car dealer. And who knows, they might replace the GM franchise with another new car franchise in the future from some other manufacturer.
PHILLIPS: So, where do the people go now, then, to get their cars fixed, like warranties, if there isn't another dealer close by?
VALDES-DAPENA: In most cases, the way that GM is structuring this, they want to make sure they've got dealer coverage in lot of areas. GMC, as a competitive brand over Asian dealers like Toyota, that they have dealerships in far-flung places rural places, often the GM one is the nearest one to you. And they're going to try to keep a lot of that dealer network in place. From what they're telling me, they're going to try to make sure that nobody has to go too, too far to find a GM dealer. And in most cases, they will be able to refer you somewhere to get your warranty work and another service done that's certified to repair your car.
PHILLIPS: Peter, it's a tough time. Appreciate your insight.
Well, the economy stumbles and more and more families struggle to get by. Some are left with nothing at the end of the month. So this week's CNN Hero is helping working families and redefining what it means to be a good neighbor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The things that we could do like go to the movie, we haven't done in quite a while. We just go to church and come home. I work for the city. We're not poor, we're not broke, but it's a real struggle to survive right now.
PAM KONER, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: Families who were able to make it and just get through the month are not able to make it quite the same way anymore, so food becomes the item that gets dropped at the end of the month.
My name is Pam Koner. I began an organization that makes families with more to families with less. After learning about this community in Illinois that women and children were not eating the last week of the month, something moved me to come up with something to change this.
I sent a letter out to all of the families in my child care businesses and I said, well, how about if we match families? Our original mission was to help poor rural communities. We began to expand to help families who were not in need of help before but now were in trouble. Families purchase and send groceries or donate via Paypal. Most families are also exchanging letters, opening up to each other and sharing.
TEXT: Since 2002, Pam's organization has linked more than 600 families nationwide and has supplied nearly 800,000 meals to families in need.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very happy to hear from you. I did get your e-mail. Also your wonderful package that you sent for us. This will be a great help for the entire family.
KONER: No one really knows what's going to happen tomorrow. We're all part of a big family. We need to be there for each other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you want to help Pam help struggling families or if you know someone doing something so extraordinary that they deserve to be a CNN hero, go to our website and tell us about them.
Remember, all of our CNN heroes are chosen from people that you nominate at CNN.com/heroes.
It made them a billion bucks last year, but the airlines still want more. We're going to tell you who is hiking their baggage fees now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, TSA wants to name names, all of them, if you're going to fly. Starting today they want you to use your full name from your government-issued I.D. when you book plane tickets. Part of the secure flight program that was recommended by the 9/11 commission.
We just found out the airlines made more than a billion dollars in baggage fees last year, but guess what? Another carrier's raising fees yet again.
Susan Lisovicz has the lowdown for us.
Susan, all right, who is doing this and how much is it going to cost us, again?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: United Airlines is matching US Airways. So, $15.00 will go to $20.00. But Kyra, if you do check your bag online, it will save $15.00. So, do it from home.
And, yes, I mean, the fact is $1.2 billion is what we all paid last year. There really hasn't been much of a consumer backlash. We've adapted, probably begrudgingly, to this new reality of flying. But the idea here is not only these extra revenue for the airlines, Kyra, but also a way to reduce costs at the airport itself, to reduce the workload for airport employees, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And as the airline experimenting with charging for your boarding pass, right?
LISOVICZ: That's Ryanair. That's in Europe, Kyra. This is an airline, an extreme discounter. You can pay, you know, well under $100 to fly all around Europe, but, yes, it's trying to get people to print boarding passes at home. If you don't, you could pay up to $60.00. So, even more than your flight.
This is a -- this is an airline, by the way, that once considered charging people based on their weight and was sued successfully for charging a disabled passenger for the use of a wheelchair. Different times we fly under these days.
PHILLIPS: Unbelievable. It just -- it doesn't stop. All right, Susan, thanks so much.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: We'll keep updating all the changes.
Meanwhile, I've gone through it, a lot of you have, too, maybe your child's going through it right now. I'm talking about bullying. The kind of bullying that drove this boy to an unspeakable end. Now, his mom isn't blaming the bullies, she's blaming his school.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: You know, kids can be really cruel. And today, 15- year-old Marie Gray, from Phoenix, Arizona, really pulled at my heartstrings. A little twerp at her high school called her a nasty and degrading word that was printed under her name in every single copy of this year's yearbook. And as you can imagine, Marie isn't looking forward to going back to school.
Reporter MaryEllen Resendez Our affiliate KNXV has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIE GRAY, STUDENT: I don't want to go to school tomorrow. But I really have to.
MARYELLEN RESENDEZ, KNXV REPORTER (voice-over): It's a tear no teenager should ever have to let drop. A tear that proves how cruel kids can be.
GARY: They're not going to let this go.
RESENDEZ: Marie Gray, a freshman honor school student at Tonopah Valley High School says she's teased often about her weight, but never did she think it would make her school's yearbook.
GRAY: I didn't think that somebody could actually be that mean and write it in the yearbook where everybody is going to see it.
RESENDEZ: Between the pages, under Marie's signature, a student wrote a derogatory term referring to Marie's weight, and it was printed in every book. GRAY: I like myself the way I am. I'm just not so happy with my weight, but I don't like the way that people talk about it.
RESENDEZ: Below it, another student is cruelly labeled. Marie says she first went to the yearbook teacher about it, but was told, "It's too late, nothing could be done."
That's when she called her mom crying.
RAE KNOWLTON, MARIE'S MOTHER: She's really trying to have a good attitude about it, but it's really hard about her.
RESENDEZ: School superintendent Mark Joraanstad admits they failed in the editing process to catch the mean words.
MARK JORAANSTAD, SUPERINTENDENT, SADDLE MOUNTAIN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: We, again, are deeply regretful of the embarrassment that they've suffered.
RESENDEZ: School administrators first tried to cover up the derogatory names with a marker, but the black print shows through. The superintendent says they're now recalling all the yearbooks to place a non-removable sticker on it.
The yearbook staff sent Marie a letter of apology, but this wound may be too deep.
GRAY: They can't rearrange time and take it back. It's always going to be there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, Marie, I realize what's done is done, but I want to give you a little support here.
When I was your age exactly, I had to wear a back brace for scoliosis. It was literally a body cast from my chest all the way down my backside. And guess what the boys called me? Flat ass. Well, it made me cry, too, and I never forgot it. But I did all right and so you will you.
You're an honor student, you had the guts to speak up about this and you have a mom who loves you. And guess what, you're not alone.
ThePerrys3 shared this, "I was bullied for being overweight, wearing glasses, being quiet, you name it. I was once jumped from behind and beaten unconscious."
Then AdvanceDegree wrote, "does the "N" word count?"
Veritaz shared this, "As a skinny girl from a poor home, it was 'pirate's dream,' 'sunken chest' and 'bucktooth.' Dentists and time changed it. The pain stays."
And tweety1971 shared this, "I was called all kinds of names I can't repeat. Overweight. A nerd, with braces. Attending 20th reunion in June. They'll be sorry."
I really appreciate all of you for writing in and sharing your thoughts.
Well, it was a heartbreaking and shocking story, a young boy apparently bullied to death. Now his mom is taking his school to court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, pushing forward now on a story that we could not leave behind. That's because it's playing out across the country, perhaps in your child's school, perhaps to your child directly. It's about bullying and a young Atlanta boy who was apparently bullied to death. Now his mom is taking her fight out of the classroom and into court.
CNN's Gary Tuchman has the follow-up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was only 11 years old and had just moved to Atlanta this school year. Like any child, Jaheem Herrera was anxious about being the new kid. And now his mother no longer has her son.
MASIKA BERMUDEZ, JAHEEM'S MOTHER: He was a nice little boy. He loved to dance. He loved to have fun. He loved to make friends. And all he made were enemies.
TUCHMAN: After Jaheem came home from school one afternoon, his mother found him hanging by a belt in his closet. An 11-year-old child had committed suicide.
GERALD GRIGGS, FAMILY'S ATTORNEY: We want justice for this young man.
TUCHMAN: And now this attorney for the mother has announced he will file a lawsuit against Jaheem's school and school system for allegedly tolerating bullying.
GRIGGS: It was the amount of bullying. We believe that that school had an environment of terror where students were being routinely beaten up, routinely harassed, routinely threatened, by other students, and the administration did nothing.
TUCHMAN: Jaheem's mother says on at least eight occasions she reported her son was bullied, and nothing was ever done.
BERMUDEZ: The last day I saw him alive, he doesn't want to go to school.
TUCHMAN: The school district has 30 days to respond to the claim. But this is the response officials gave to us, "We never speak on any pending legal issues, but we will have a press conference next week regarding the findings on an independent review in to this matter."
The school has said it participates in an anti-bullying program.
The lawyer says the lawsuit will ask for the resignation of the principal and the assistant principal. And that financial damages will go to a fund named after Jaheem to end bullying.
Barbara is an expert on bullying and the author of "The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander."
BARBARA COLOROSCO, AUTHOR: And I don't like frivolous lawsuits. This is not frivolous at all. A child is dead. Other kids participated in putting this kid at the brink where he couldn't take it anymore.
TUCHMAN: The author says every schoolchild should know there is a responsible and sympathetic adult in the school who he or she can confidentially talk to about bullying, before it's too late.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That does it for us. Have a great weekend.
T.J. Holmes is in for Rick Sanchez.
