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Brown As The New Game Changer; Post Quake Haiti
Aired January 22, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Some other headlines happening right now. President Obama hitting the road again, he's traveling to Ohio this hour, the second stop in his so-called Main Street tour. The president's actually going to hold a town hall meeting in Lorraine County putting a spotlight on the economy and creating jobs.
Fat cats and their fat paychecks, the House committee takes up executive compensation this morning, not just in the financial industry, but for other firms as well.
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(TORNADO WARNING SIREN)
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PHILLIPS: Boy, the siren wasn't lying. Check out that tornado that paid a visit to north Alabama. That's just one twisted piece of a big weather puzzle in the U.S. right now if the pounding, nasty storms in the south and the east don't get you, well maybe the pounding nasty storms in the west will. Snow is up high, floods, muds down low. Some people left high and dry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see where that old camper trailer, the tractor is sitting? The tractor was in the barn and it's about a 12 by 16 barn. It's gone. Totally gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The barn is gone. Some people out of their homes in case a wall of mud moves in. Airline flights delayed; seems like the whole country's under the weather. Seems like the whole country is under the weather. Reynolds, help us out.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Bad stuff to say the very least. What's amazing about the weather is some of the storms that actually rolled through parts of the southeast giving you the rough weather, the damage in parts of Georgia, Alabama and into Florida, those storms earlier in the week were right along the California coast. So it's almost like an atmospheric assembly line of one storm system after another making its way on shore and then going right across the nation.
What we're seeing in California though is another round of these storms. Let's show you what I'm talking about. Some rainfall right along parts of the Embarcadero in Santa Barbara southward to Oxnard even into the downtown L.A. area. But when you get up in the higher elevations of the mountains, especially in the San Gabriels, we're not seeing rain but rather we're seeing some snowfall. And in some spots along the grapevine, we actually have (INAUDIBLE) winter storm warnings there currently in effect.
What's more is when you get back into the higher elevations, say, of the Sierra Nevada, we've been seeing some heavy snowfall there. Now, back out towards the west or rather back towards the east rather, we go from the west to the east, we're seeing a mix here too, Kyra. What we're seeing many spots just some rainfall in a few locations, especially back towards, say, the D.C. area. But when you get in the high elevations of the Appalachians, again higher loft is going to change that altogether, not rain, but some snow and even some ice which is going to coat some power lines, coat some trees.
We could see some widespread power outages and anyone taking a drive across the Blue Ridge Parkway may have some serious issues. And speaking of issues, as we wrap things up, the delays we have for you, we've got a lot of them. Sun Valley in Idaho, take a look at this. Closed. Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, you've got a 30-minute delay in both spots. Denver, about an hour delay for you. In San Francisco, 45 minutes and Atlanta 30-minute delay. Last but not least in Baltimore, BWI, about a 30-minute stoppage for you.
So it's going to be a rough day and if you're out in those mountains I mentioned, you've going to be spinning those tires. Just take it easy especially along parts of i-80 back in California. Rough stuff going from Reno back over to Sacramento, slow going, no question.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
PHILLIPS: All right. We turn now to Capitol Hill and a remarkable image that we showed you live this time yesterday. Remember this, it was pretty much a rock star greeting for Scott Brown, and that's because the very minute he was elected to the Senate, he completely changed the outlook on health care reform.
Our Brianna Keilar was there in the hallway and our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, was also in that gaggle asking her questions and getting the facts behind the frenzy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. Brown came to Washington.
SCOTT BROWN, SENATOR-ELECT, MASSACHUSETTS: Hey, everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, how are you?
BASH: And arrived to a frenzy, a crush of cameras at meeting after meeting.
BROWN: Guys, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere. Get everyone settled.
BASH: Settled? Scott Brown knows the capitol hasn't been settled since his election shook Democrats to their core, but they went out of their way to be warm and welcoming from Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick, to the senior Massachusetts senator.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Ted Kennedy wrote me, he said as Humphrey Bogart would have said, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I look forward to working with Scott.
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: You're going to enter the Senate at a time when the country is in deep trouble, as you know. That's a lot what your campaign was about.
BASH: Questions like this didn't get answers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Reid, how much has Senator Brown blown your agenda?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
BASH: Brown was happy to take questions, making his rounds in and outside the capitol but offered mostly vague answers, like on health care.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they are thinking about a smaller scaled back health care bill, would you be willing to look at that?
BROWN: I look at every bill. I plan to look at every bill and make a rational decision.
BASH: He stuck to the script that brought him here.
BROWN: People want good government. They want transparency. They want us here. I'll be here soon. They want us to solve problems.
BASH: And tried to hold on to his man of the people image, making a point of stopping to talk to Senate staff and security. Taking a photo with students he bumped into. The president's former rival could hardly contain his glee.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Senator Brown represents, I think, the dreams and the hopes and the frustrations that Americans feel today.
BASH: But the understatement of the day goes to the rarely excitable Republican leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are really, really happy to have him here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. Dana, but what about the health care tug- of-war, where does it stand now? The tug of war rather.
BASH: It is in serious, serious trouble, Kyra. I was standing outside of a Senate Democratic leadership meeting last night and I cannot tell you or describe to you how grim and glum the faces were coming out. They just really don't know exactly how to proceed. It seems as though based on what the House speaker said yesterday that all hope for the House just passing the Senate bill and sending it to the president, even if there were some changes done along with it, it seems as though that is extremely unlikely because the votes aren't there for that.
So what they are talking about and it's the reason I asked the senator-elect from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, if he would support it is a smaller, scaled-back version of health care, just trying to do some of the most politically popular things, like banning discrimination on pre-existing conditions, trying to expand coverage a little bit and helping people pay for it.
But it is still really unclear whether they can get the votes for that because if they do it through regular order, Kyra, they're going to need at least one Republican because you can't underestimate the importance of the fact that there are just 59 Democrats in the Senate. It makes it very hard - really impossible to do anything without at least one Republican.
PHILLIPS: Dana Bash on the Hill. Dana, thanks. Another big challenge for the White House, shoring up the economy. This hour President Obama on his way to Ohio to talk about creating more jobs. The hard-hit state is the second stop of his so-called White House to Main Street tour. In December, he visited the area of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
And today the president will tour a wind turbine plant and hold a town hall meeting at Lorain County Community College.
Some of the headlines out of Haiti now, the basic Gitmo is turning into relief central. The U.S. is planning to shuttle pallets of supplies from the base by helicopter to Haiti. And then Canada's military is opening a new airport in southern Haiti. This should help with the congestion at the airport there in Port-au-Prince.
And the U.S. military has opened a lane in the port there in Haiti's capital city. A couple of relief ships have already come in. Haiti's government wants to get everyone out of the makeshift tents. The plan is to put them in newer tents outside of Port-au-Prince sometime next week.
That's hard to imagine, but in the midst of all the destruction and heart break in Haiti, there are signs of things returning to normal. CNN's Jason Carroll has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tense moments at a Unibank just outside the city of Carfur. People who lined up and waited for hours to receive wire transfers for the first time since the earthquake, pushed back by armed guards.
(on camera): We don't want her (INAUDIBLE) to lose her spot in line so we're just going to do our interview with her because she's been waiting here since 7:00 a.m. for this bank to open. So (INAUDIBLE) tell me what it's been like for you. This has been the first time you've been able to get access and get in and get money, yes?
(voice-over): She says she's hopeless because she has nothing at home, no money and nothing to eat. Later (INAUDIBLE) gets out of line and gives up. Here at Unibank just one sign of how some are trying to get Port-au-Prince back on its feet, trouble there showing just how difficult it's going to be to do that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard for me to get in and it's crazy out here. The line is very - there's a lot of people here and there's no law and order.
CARROLL (voice-over): Larger established stores hiring private security guards to watch properties damaged in the quake, but most business taking place here is happening on a smaller level, out on the streets.
(on camera): As you can see here, this building has been destroyed, like so many here in Port-au-Prince, but right next to it they set up a makeshift market and we're seeing markets like this pop up all over the city where people are coming out, starting to sell basic goods like vegetables, bread and sugar cane.
(voice-over): The problem, some goods being sold are being done at inflated post-earthquake prices. That goes for gas too. It has tripled in price, $26 a gallon. But a haircut at this barbershop we found still only $2 U.S. dollars. Now if the owner could only find customers with money to pay and gas to run his generator.
(on camera): Does it make you feel better opening up your doors?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes, because this is the only way we can get to regular life. Without it we cannot do anything more.
CARROLL (voice-over): The streets, a contrast of commerce. Someone gets a shoe shine. These men earning more money than ever trying to keep up demand for coffins.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Once again we want to let you know about a special evening tonight. It's the "Hope for Haiti" telethon here on CNN, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be live from Port-au-Prince. Also we got some pretty famous names in the mix, Bruce Springsteen and George Clooney. So tune in and take part with us.
He walked away from an offer to run the TSA. Too many political games? Well, he's ready to tell his side of the story. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Remember when your biggest aggravation in air travel as stale peanuts? Well, that's not even in the top ten anymore. Now it's the long security lines, taking off your shoes, belts and whatever else and it's not really the TSA's fault but most of them grumble about them under our breath anyway.
The TSA has been without a permanent director for around a year. President Obama picked Erroll Southers in August, but republicans held up his confirmation over fears that TSA workers would be unionized. Then came the Christmas Day attack and renewed calls to get Southers confirmed. That was followed by more republican questions, until finally Southers called it quits.
Erroll Southers joins us live from Los Angeles. And I just have to ask you, Erroll, right now, why did you give up?
ERROLL SOUTHERS, FORMER NOMINEE FOR TSA CHIEF: Well, Kyra, I had become a political lightning rod for the unionization issue. And quite frankly, I'm an apolitical person, I served a republican governor, I was fortunate enough and honored to be nominated by a democratic president. I felt that, despite the fact that this confirmation process had lingered on far too long, that I was going to have to continue to take these attacks even once confirmed and then it would be about me and not the mission of keeping this country's transportation system safe.
So I did what I thought was best for the United States and best for the TSA and stepped down so they could get leadership in place so we could move forward to protect our country.
PHILLIPS: We'll address that point in just a second. Why did you want to unionize the TSA? Senator DeMint hammering you about that.
SOUTHERS: Well, I'm actually very glad you're giving me a chance to respond, and this is the first time I've had this opportunity.
I did not want to unionize the TSA. My response to Senator DeMint, both in person and in writing, was that I wanted to take a comprehensive overview of the organization, look at how it was operating, how it might operate under collective bargaining, a cost benefit analysis, operational capabilities, and more importantly talk to the 50,000 transportation security officers who would be affected by this decision. It was then and only then with the information that I had after the assessment that I would forward my recommendation to Secretary Napolitano.
I never said I intended to unionize. I never said I intended not to unionize. I said I wanted to look at the matter holistically and come up with an intelligent response.
PHILLIPS: So you still and you stay then with the points that you had made with regard to the TSA and the union, you're not wavering from what you said there from what you said then there in testimony? SOUTHERS: I am not wavering. I was under no pressure or coercion from the administration to go one way or the other. I made that clear. And most importantly, in testimony and in writing, I emphasized it was about the mission.
I have worked in a number of law enforcement agencies at every level of government. I have worked with agencies that have had unions. We have always emphasized meeting the mission, safety and security first. And any items that say would have been on the table that would have actually affected our ability and capability to do that were going to be non-starters with me.
PHILLIPS: So, but you're pro union.
SOUTHERS: I am not pro union. I'm pro mission. I have worked in agencies, as I do now, with unions. We address those issues, such as employee rights, whistleblower protection, items that might enhance their ability to do their jobs. I am pro people, I am pro workers, and I most importantly am pro mission.
PHILLIPS: What's the difference between pro union, pro mission?
SOUTHERS: There is no difference, and as Secretary Napolitano stated in her testimony, they're not incompatible. But I was not predisposed to move an agency that had not had collective bargaining since its inception to collective bargaining.
It was a no-win situation, Kyra. I offered to Senator DeMint a neutral position of asking may I have an opportunity once confirmed to look at the entire situation. Had I said I wanted to unionize, that would have automatically resulted in a hold and I did not say that nor am I saying that now. And if I had said I was not going to unionize, I would have run counter to a letter that when he was running for president, Senator Obama wrote to the American Federation of Government Employees in October of 2008 stating that collective bargaining would be a priority for his administration.
So, yes, maybe or no with Senator DeMint results in a hold and you cannot win.
PHILLIPS: Let's get to the other controversial issue with regard to your testimony and the discrepancies surrounding what you said in the past, what you came back and said again with regard to when you were with the FBI and going into databases and searching background information on your ex-wife's boyfriend.
Why did you do that?
SOUTHERS: Well, 1987 I moved out -- and I want to make something clear. I never said this was correct. It was the wrong thing to do. It was a need-to-know database, I did not need to know. I went into that database because I had a 1-year-old son living there and my concern was for my son.
Again, it was not the right thing to do. I was disciplined and, quite frankly, have not had to recall or disclose that incident or the letter of reprimand since 1988. I testified and wrote in questionnaires to two committees from memory, because even to this day I do not have a copy of that letter what I believed happened.
After the November 10th testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee, I was read a copy of that letter for the first time in 22 years and immediately understood that what I wrote in 1987 was inconsistent to what I had testified to the week before. We called Senator Collins, Senator Lieberman. She gave me an opportunity to write a clarification to the inconsistencies. I did that. She signed off on it. And she knows more about this incident than anybody and up to the day that I withdrew she did not waiver on her support for my confirmation.
PHILLIPS: Erroll, did you lie under oath?
SOUTHERS: I did not lie under oath. I testified to what I believed I remembered. I thought that that's what happened in 1987.
And again, once I was read a copy of my own statement from 1987 and '88 and knew it was inconsistent, I didn't spin it, I didn't try to justify it. I said, you know what I just testified to was inconsistent, that's wrong. And obviously what I testified to was not right.
Senator Collins gave me an opportunity. I want to thank her for that. Obviously she was satisfied with my response and she never wavered in her support.
PHILLIPS: Do you feel the White House threw you under the bus?
SOUTHERS: I don't feel the White House threw me under the bus. I would have preferred to have been able to lean forward. I was rocked back on my heels.
The unfortunate situation of nominees is that you don't have an opportunity to respond. The attacks came. As you mentioned earlier, the attacks started with collective bargaining. And then after the Christmas attack, they went back over to the letter of censor from the FBI and they became relentless. They became personal, they got viral and I was never given an opportunity to respond and I felt that I was going to be a distraction both during and post confirmation. That's not good for America, it's not good for TSA and it's not good for the overall global strategy against terrorism.
PHILLIPS: Christmas Day attack, could you have prevented that?
SOUTHERS: I could not have prevented that. And I want to be clear, I don't feel that that was a TSA failure. That was a situation where an individual boarded a plane in Nigeria, went on to Amsterdam. There were certain things that could have taken place that didn't take place, but that was not a TSA security checkpoint or screening failure by any sense of the word, and no one individual could have stopped that. And had I been -- had the opportunity to be confirmed, I would have been their leader, but I would not have led alone. It's a fine organization, I would have inherited a mature organization and I was looking forward to taking it to the next level. PHILLIPS: If the White House came to you today, tomorrow, next week and said would you reconsider, we would like you to be the head of the TSA, would you say yes?
SOUTHERS: I would say yes, but there are some conditions that have to go with that. I'm an apolitical person and obviously I'm not a politician and didn't run for office, that's not what I do. I'm a counterterrorism expert. I would have thought that the system was set up so that the component agencies worked with the Congress on challenging and complex issues to come up with intelligent decisions to respond to those matters.
I did not believe I was going to be the head of an agency that every day had to take attacks regarding non-issues in trying to move an agency forward. It's not going to work. It's going to be counter detective productive and quite frankly, Kyra, it puts the American people at risk.
PHILLIPS: Erroll Southers, appreciate your interview today.
SOUTHERS: Thank you very much. An honor to be here and an honor to be nominated.
PHILLIPS: Take a quick break. More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: CNN this weekend, a special "SANJAY GUPTA MD" from Haiti with a look at the medical crisis in Haiti. "SANJAY GUPTA MD" special report Saturday and Sunday 7:30 a.m. Eastern time.
In Haiti, so many patients and so much need for medical supplies, so how do you deliver when the normal routes are down? Dr. Sanjay Gupta headed to a makeshift drugstore and you don't have to pay, but not everybody can get in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's like everywhere we go, just walking through the airport even, outside the airport, people are saying we need supplies. How do we get them? We know they're in there, how do we get them out here? People just keep asking me that same question over and over again.
All right. So now we're going to go into the airport here and see if the next step of this works or not. Just take a look out here at all the people that are waiting. I can tell you that a lot of these people are waiting because they're simply hoping that some of these supplies make it outside the airport and to them.
OK. We're now in the airport. It took about five minutes to get in here. We're in the airport. Give you an idea, I mean, obviously the airport itself is still very, very desolate inside but we're going to get to the air strip. That's where we're hearing so many of these supplies are. I don't know if you can hear me or not, but when we talk about all these supplies sitting here, just take a look. I mean, boxes and boxes of supplies, all kinds of different formula in there. There's antibiotics, pain medications, all sorts of different things.
I just want to get some antibiotics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll walk you over there.
GUPTA: Should we check in here first?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we'll walk around to the other end.
GUPTA: They seem very much like they want to help. He's going in to see if we can get some antibiotics, at least to try and take care of these kids. And we'll find out. There is a lot of supplies here, though. We're able to basically walk into a couple of these tents, tell people what we need and get lots of supplies. Lots of antibiotics, lots of pain medications, all sorts of things to try and treat so many of the injuries that we have seen.
These are medications that people haven't had up until now. It took us about 15 minutes. We've got a bunch of it and we're going to try to distribute this to the hospital.
Basically just went into the airport and just tried to take as many of the things that we thought you guys would need based on what the twins were telling us. So some of this probably broad-spectrum antibiotics, lots of different pain medications. All that screaming this morning, hopefully you can -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We can take care of that. Thanks.
GUPTA: All right. You're welcome.
So we came here today, were able to pick up some of those supplies ourselves. I'm going to take them to that hospital and give it to them because kids, adults as well need this stuff today. Does that surprise you? What I just described to you?
COL. BEN MCMULLEN, U.S. AIR FORCE DEPUTY COMMANDER JSOACI: There is stuff here waiting to be taken out. That's a true statement. Is it a lot? I can't speak to it. I will tell you the reason you probably got it is because everybody on this field, specifically U.S. government side, is dedicated to getting as much stuff outside as they can.
Does it totally surprise me that some are doing without? No, it doesn't. Not totally. Do I hope it gets better? Without a doubt. We're doing our part to get things out there and certainly get things to the airport. And it is - it's a shame, because you would hope that everything could get out there within seconds. But that kind of infrastructure just isn't in place.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: And in case you don't know, we're telling you about it as much as possible. We've got a special event tonight on CNN, it's called "The Hope For Haiti" telethon. It's at 8:00 Eastern. Our Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be reporting live from Haiti. Also on the guest list, Clooney, Springsteen, Beyonce, Bono. That's just a few, so tune in and take part.
If you've seen the pictures and want to adopt a Haitian child or your adoption is already in the pipeline, what you need to know. We're going to the State Department to get some answers from our Jill Dougherty.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Kyra Phillips.
PHILLIPS: India's dramatically beefing up its airline security after uncovering an apparent terror plot by al Qaeda-linked militants. Our CNN international security correspondent, Paula Newton, has been following this for us all morning. What more can you tell us, Paula?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the second day of alert now in India, specifically militants tied to groups like al Qaeda but also specifically about hijacking an airliner. Most people think that would be pretty tough to do in the kinds of airports we go through, but domestically throughout India and in some other countries in south Asia, just the chaoticness of the tarmacs and the airport can sometimes still make a hijacking possible.
For that reason, increased security measures, including more pat- downs. And Kyra, this is overall part of a different strategy that we've seen since the attempted bombing plot at Christmas time. Chatter, any kind of little bit of intelligence information that can be interpreted into more of a threat, they take the precautions, they take the measures immediately.
We had an incident like this in Canada a couple of weeks ago, even here in Britain earlier this week they announced enhanced security measures at all airports. So, things will be different going forward, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, now, Turkey's state-run news agency reports that police have rounded up about 122 people believed to have ties to al Qaeda. Have you been able to confirm that?
NEWTON: What goes on in these kinds of round-ups -- it was impressive in terms the type of intelligence tip-off they got. You're talking simultaneous raids in 16 provinces throughout Turkey. The people they brought in, not all of the people have been -- they have been detained but not all will be charged.
But what they're trying to do is keep them detained while they look over computers, documents, anything that might be pertinent to actionable intelligence and then they'll continue from there. What's concerning Turkish officials, though, is the allegations that perhaps even an professor was trying to encourage recruits to go to Afghanistan and attack the troops. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Okay. Paula, appreciate it.
Eyes in the sky, on the ground and probably everywhere else. You can bet you'll be watched at the Winter Games next month in Canada. High-powered cameras already being installed in Vancouver and Olympic sites all across Canada. They can pick up the tiniest details, too. Some people say they're too invasives -- invasive, rather. Others say they don't seem to mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly the software is capable of giving us that high definition picture of faces, of vehicles, of other things that might be happening in and around the city.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's creepy. That's kind of going into the whole don't look up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not concerned about privacy when I'm out on the street. To me, privacy is in your own home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And we're told the cameras are supposed to be removed after the Games.
A teenager's prayer is the reason for an emergency landing in Philadelphia. We took you live to the airport when this first happened yesterday, and now we know why the crew got a little jumpy when they saw a 17-year-old take out a couple of small black boxes. It turns out they are just part of a Jewish prayer ritual called Tefalin.
Here's some of Haiti's headlines this morning as we stay on the story. Putting the port back in Port-au-Prince. One lane finally open now. A couple of ships have already come in also with aid. The problem is, there's only room for one ship and one truck at a time, so still a lot of work to do on that port that's been closed for weeks.
Haiti's government wants to get everyone out of makeshift tents in Port-au-Prince. The plan is to put them in newer tents outside the city. Buses could start moving the estimated 400,000 homeless Haitians sometimes next week.
You've seen their faces, and we're talking about the Haitian orphans. Now, many Americans are wondering about adoption and families already in the process are wondering what they have to do to complete it.
Jill Dougherty is at the State Department with some answers. Tell you what, Jill, we have been getting a lot of e-mails from in Haiti. Dr. Sanjay Gupta saying he's been swamped with them. We've been getting tons here in Atlanta. What about the people with adoptions already in the pipeline, because that's very different from the kids that don't have parents right now in Haiti. JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, yes. Maybe we can run through this because we talked with the State Department. Here's how they outline it.
The people before the earthquake -- there were 900 Americans who had filed the papers to adopt. That was filing them with the Department of Homeland Security. And what happened to those children, those children who have been in the process, already ready to be adopted, they have been given visas. There are about 50 of them we're told, and they have been flown out.
Then there's a second group who are kind of in the pipeline. The early stages of adoption. The parents had been identified, and the U.S. is waiving the paperwork. They don't have to do the paperwork. These children have been given what's called humanitarian parole. They have been, many of them, flown out to the United States, and they have got two years to complete that process of getting the paperwork done.
Then there's a third group, and they are not yet matched with adoptive parents. They haven't been moved and they won't be moved from Haiti, at least at this point, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now what about Americans that want to start the adoption process?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, that's the thing. Well, the State Department is saying don't do anything now because it is very chaotic. Some agencies won't even accept the papers.
But you can do one thing, which is go onto their Web site. We checked it out, it's good -- www.adoption.state.gov. And you can check. There's a page actually there for Haiti, has all the rules and regulations and that's very good.
Just one really quick thing, Kyra. Some people have said the children, maybe we can just take children back. They're saying do not go to Haiti on private planes. And also some of the children who are on the streets right now may not be orphans. They may actually just be separated from their families, and it could cause a lot of trouble if you tried to take them out.
PHILLIPS: It's just incredible how many people want to take one of those babies home. We'll follow the story and all the rules, of course. Jill, thanks.
We want to tell you once again about a special event tonight called the "Hope for Haiti" telethon, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be live from Port-au-Prince. We'll have big names like Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney, Bono, Beyonce, so tune in and take part if you can.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Here's a look at this hour's top stories. President Obama wants to talk about creating new jobs, and he's picked the hard- hit state of Ohio as his backdrop. Unemployment there continues to rise. This afternoon's visit is the second stop on the president's White House to Main Street tour. In December he visited the area of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Raising the stakes in the Google dispute. China today saying the U.S. is damaging ties by harping on alleged cyber attacks. Google claims it's been hit by Chinese hackers and is now threatening to pull out of the country. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking China to investigate, and the State Department is planning to file a formal protest with the Chinese over Google's complaints.
Thirty-seven years of legalized abortion. Supporters and opponents rallying in Washington today. They're marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
Americans all across the country responded to the devastation in Haiti almost immediately, and Congress is acting just as quickly. Lawmakers actually passed a bill that will allow you to write off your donation right now. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. Usually we'd have to wait until next year to deduct our Haiti donations.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Normally, deductions for charitable deductions can be taken for the tax year in which they're made. So, this law allows you to deduct Haiti donations from your 2009 taxes. And let's face it, most of us hasn't done those taxes yet.
The bill was proposed Tuesday, the House unanimously passed it Wednesday. The Senate did the same last night. The White House says President Obama will sign it.
Things to keep in mind, Kyra. It applies to donations made between January 12 and February 28. And those text messages which have been so popular count, too. For example, the Red Cross texting campaign in which you would text 90999, the word Haiti, they count, so be sure to keep your receipts and those include in some cases your cell phone bills. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, has Congress ever done something like this?
LISOVICZ: Well, it is extraordinary in both the speed and the idea, but there has been similar legislation in other extraordinary circumstances, Kyra. For example, in 2005 following that devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Lawmakers are hoping that it will simply encourage more donations and at the same time it could reduce your tax bill. So, it could be win-win. Make yourself feel a little better in the process, too, for the people of Haiti who so desperately need it.
And while I'm here, I might as well mention that we have a third day of losses, Kyra. Even following the worst two-day sell-off since last June, we're still seeing concern in the marketplace. The Dow has given up more than 400 points since Wednesday. Right now, we're seeing modest losses Dow, NASDAQ, S&P 500 down half a percent or so, Kyra. PHILLIPS: All right, Susan, thanks.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Charitable donations to Haiti now top $355 million. So, how are charities handling the influx of funds and making sure it gets to the people in need? CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow visited the International Rescue Committee in New York to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (on camera): Last year, more than $280 million went out from the IRC, or the International Rescue Committee, to aid people in need around the world. But now in the wake of the Haiti crisis, more and more people obviously are sending in donations.
So, we're at the headquarters of the IRC herein New York City, and I'm literally standing here with the folks that do all of this. So, let's start here with David. This is a pile of really personal checks, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HARLOW : Can you talk to us about how much people are donating and how quickly once it gets to you, then it goes into being utilized?
We're receiving on average about $150 for a small donation, but we have received up to $250,000.
HARLOW: It's been more than a week now since the earthquake in Haiti. Have the donations kept flowing at a steady pace? Were there more at the onset? Are you getting more now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's definitely slowed down a little bit in the past couple of days. Definitely not as high of volume as the first couple of days.
HARLOW: What are the numbers like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been around $300,000 a day. But it's definitely slowed down. It's about 100,000.
HARLOW: What do you do here at the IRC to ensure the least is spent on administrative costs?
NICHOLAS THOMAS, IRC RESCUE COMMITTEE: We don't spent much on our development and our relations that I think a lot of other organizations do, so we're able to keep our overhead quite low, that so 90 cents of every dollar is going to our programming in the field.
HARLOW: And where in the field specifically is the money going now? Do you know that at this point? Is it going to medical aid, food, shelter, water?
THOMAS: At this point I don't think we've heard from our people in the field in Haiti right now... HARLOW: Sure.
THOMAS: ... what our programming is going to be. I think they're still taking stock of the situation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And for more on what's happening behind the scenes at the IRC, check out CNNmoney.com. Remember, when deciding where to donate, watch out for charities that spend too much on administrative costs like advertising or fund-raising. Some watchdogs say be wary if it goes above 15 percent as well.
Is it safe to go back home? People in southern California wait to hear when their homes will be out of danger from the mudslides. We'll bring you the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Southern California not the place to be right now. It's a wet, miserable mess. Hundreds of residents waiting to hear when they can get back home. They were ordered out after the steady downpour threatened to send tons of mud sliding into their homes.
And then Ii Iowa, thousands are people are still shivering because an ice storm Wednesday snapped trees and power lines. Didn't help them there. The governor has declared a state of emergency in three western Iowa counties now.
Reynolds Wolf, busy, busy man.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Tell you what, we may be seeing some ice, though, in parts of West Virginia and maybe even into far western Virginia before all is said and done today.
The other big story we have, obviously out West. You know what's funny about California? For a good part of the year, about nine months of the year, you have a big area of high pressure that sits up over the West Coast. We refer to it as a blocking high or a ridge, so it's usually dry out there.
Well, this time of year, that high moves off and we allow some more of that (INAUDIBLE) flow in those parts of the state, which is giving us some of that heavy rainfall that we've been seeing in many spots. From San Francisco southward to the central coast of California, and of course the L.A. basin, we've been seeing plenty of rain.
In the higher elevations, it's been something entirely different. What we have been seeing in some of those spots, it has been, of course, snowfall. But rain has been the big kicker. We've had flooding, we've had some mudslides and parts of southern California, especially in the San Diego area, I've got some great iReports that really tell the story.
This was sent in by a viewer who was actually on his way to go pick up a movie. As he was doing so, the road that he normally takes covered completely with water. Got a shot of not only people walking right through, but take a look at this, actually kayakers making their way, possibly the best mode of transportation in parts of southern California. Folks, when you have to get around, that is what you have to do.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All our die-hard skiers ready to go. Scottie is in the booth saying, hey, let's strap on the boards, head out.
WOLF: I hear you! Bring it on.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano has been out in that nasty weather as well. He's been checking conditions out in the La Canada Flintridge area. It's pretty much under mandatory evacuation orders right now. Here you go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It was another long and anxious night across southern California. A number of minor mudslides like the one I'm standing on top of but happy to report at this point no major slides.
This one, the side yard of a resident that evacuated. He managed to put up this makeshift chute because he knew this was going to give way and certainly did last night with this heavy rainfall. But for the most part, his home protected -- not with the help of that chute.
And also these concrete K-rails typically used for construction zones along roadways. There's thousands of these that were put up actually right after the fires this past August because they knew an event like this would trigger a lot of sliding. That's what we've seen, but no major slides at this point.
A number of roads cut off, that's for sure. We tried to get up to Big Tujunga Canyon and didn't have much luck. That was an area scorched by the wildfires back in late August and a number of roadblockages there because of slides.
On the coastline, they were beating back the waves for sure. But they had a couple of unwanted visitors. Two rare tornadoes in Ventura and Santa Barbara doing some minor damage there. Here in Los Angeles, a record-setting low pressure, meaning the storm itself, they had never seen one that strong since they have been keeping records. And when you consider that and look at the hillsides, you think we sure are lucky that we haven't seen a major slide. Certainly residents here are keeping their fingers crossed that that continues through the weekend.
Rob Marciano, CNN, La Canada Flintridge, California. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Haitian nationals in the U.S. get a temporary immigration reprieve, but it's an offer not open to Haitians outside of the U.S. who are desperate to get in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Haitians in the U.S. are jumping at the chance to apply for a program that will allow them to stay in the country for a year and a half, but U.S. officials are making it clear they're not rolling out the welcome mat for new Haitian immigrants. Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the frenzy inside a Catholic Church in the heart of Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood. Thousands of Haitian immigrants, many in the United States illegally, are applying for what's called temporary protective status, or TPS. It allows Haitian nationals to live in the U.S. legally for the next 18 months.
For years, Haitian Americans lobbied for TPS, but many advocates now see an opportunity to make bigger changes, to ease years of immigration restrictions towards Haitians coming to the United States.
IRVIN DAPHNES (ph), HATIAN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION: This now is an opportunity for Haiti to change. This is the time right now. And many feel this is the last time. A lot of people feel like this is our time.
LAVANDERA: Horrifying images like these have been common in the ocean waters between the United States and Haiti. It's a dangerous and deadly journey for many who try to make it to American shores.
Every year, U.S. Coast Guard officials say about 1,600 Haitians are stopped on the high seas and sent back home. Irvin Daphnes (ph), with the Haitian Lawyers Association in Miami, says if more Haitians could work legally in the U.S., it would help their country recover from decades of poverty and corruption back home.
DAPHNES: So, that's how it helps. Haitians are going to be able to be in a position financially to help Haiti themselves.
LAVANDERA (on camera): When the Obama administration approved temporary protective status for Haitian immigrants already in the U.S. before the earthquakes, it was expected that some 30,000 people would apply. But immigration officials now say that number could top 200,000.
(voice-over): U.S. officials have been quick to temper any hopes of vast changes in immigration laws toward Haitians who may now try to come to the United States.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are not going to be accepting into the United States Haitians who are attempting to make it to our shores. They will be interdicted, they will be repatriated.
LAVANDERA: U.S. officials say emergency plans are in place to handle a mass exodus of Haitians fleeing the earthquake-ravaged nation, but so far there have been no signs of Haitians jumping on boats.
LT. CHRIS O'NEILL, U.S. COAST GUARD: It's very, very dangerous, it's very dynamic, and I can't stress enough how important it is for people in Haiti to stay home, stay safe, help rebuild your country, and we'll help you rebuild it.
LAVANDERA: But many Haitian-Americans say help rebuilding should include opening more doors to their beleaguered countrymen.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Once again, we want to let you know about a special event tonight on CNN. The "Hope for Haiti" telethon at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Here are some of the names on the guest list, Cooper and Gupta. You know those guys. Clooney, Springsteen, Beyonci - Beyonce, rather, Bono. The list goes on and on and on. The stars are helping out to help Haiti, so tune in and take part.
I'm Kyra Phillips. Have a great weekend. I'll see you back here on Monday. Tony Harris, take it from here.
