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Jailed American Missionaries Back in the U.S.; Feds to Probe Toyota; President Obama Announces Creation of New Fiscal Commission

Aired February 18, 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: Well, he's a thorn on the side of China and he's busy in the White House this morning. President Obama is meeting with the Dalai Lama. That's leading our top stories. The Chinese government opposing that meeting. It sees the Dalai Lama as the symbol of Tibet's independence movement.

A new CNN opinion research survey finds that nearly three- quarters of Americans think Tibet should be independent but the poll also shows most think it's important to keep good relations with China.

The federal government wants to check under Toyota's hood. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration plans to open an investigation into possible steering problems on about 500,000 2009 and 2010 Corollas. The agency says that many of the complaints involve the car drifting at high speeds.

And just about everybody wants to hear from Tiger Woods. The golfer's agent says he will apologize to fans on camera tomorrow. It will be his first time talking publicly since the sex scandal. Don't expect any back and forth with reporters, though. Woods' agent says no questions, please.

And too much snow to save a man's life? That's the story in Hazelwood, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. EMS workers faced discipline even firing now for their actions. But a man is dead. Is there really an excuse? Shannon Perrine of affiliate WTAE picks it up from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHANNON PERRINE, WTAE REPORTER (voice-over): Sharon Edge says her fiance, Curtis Mitchell, got severe abdominal pain Friday afternoon of that big storm. She says he called 911 but this is as far as the ambulance could make it because of all the snow.

SHARON EDGE, FIANCE DIED WAITING FOR HELP: I called the ambulance again and told them he's in real bad pain, he can't walk, he can't move, he has to lie down. So they said they were going to send the ambulance (INAUDIBLE) neighborhood. So I hung up. Then I kept calling back every half an hour, I kept calling back.

PERRINE: The ambulance came three times in two days. Each time the call was cancelled. A physician with City EMS says there were communication issues between dispatch and the paramedics. The public safety director is angry.

MIKE HUSS, PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR: It's unacceptable. You've got to get out of your truck and you've got to go there. As Dr. Roth tried to explain, that was working for us on some calls where we didn't get the ambulance back into the neighborhoods because we didn't want to get it stuck. I understand that. But you get out of the damn truck and you walk to the residence. That's what needed to happen here. We could have carried him out across the West Elizabeth Bridge.

PERRINE: Curtis Mitchell died early Sunday morning. Sharon says if he would have gotten to the hospital, he might be alive today.

EDGE: It hurts. I'm all alone now. Somebody that I love and now he's gone and I can't do nothing about it. He shouldn't have had to die the way he died because he was suffering. He shouldn't have had to die like that.

PERRINE (on camera): This is a list of the recommendations to the EMS system from the city public safety director. There are dozens of them after this man's death. Also the state health department will be reviewing this incident. At the city county building, I'm Shannon Perrine, Channel 4 Action News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Just amazing, 11 calls to 911. They waited 30 hours and no help came. So how could this even happen. Joining me on the phone is Pittsburgh public safety director, Michael Huss. You actually saw him right there in that piece. He was outraged. And Michael, so many other people are outraged as well by how EMS failed Curtis Mitchell. What's the excuse?

HUSS: There is no excuse. You know, this city invests a lot of money ever year in our public safety personnel. We have over 2,000 employees. And to expect someone in his condition to walk two blocks to an ambulance is just totally unacceptable.

PHILLIPS: So, Michael, have they been talked to? Did you have a chance to talk to them? Why didn't they just get out of the truck, out of the ambulance, go to him and carry him over that bridge?

HUSS: I haven't been able to talk to them at this point. They have been talked to by others, EMS chief. We're reviewing all the 911 calls, all the radio transmissions and all the phone calls associated with this incident. It's taken us time because as you said this incident was over 30 hours and there's many things that we have to look at. So once a thorough investigation is done, action will be taken.

PHILLIPS: So are there two separate investigations here? First of all, why so many calls to 911. Why couldn't he have just made one call and there be, you know, paramedics dispatched to him immediately. Is that one investigation and then is the other one why when finally they did get there they didn't get out of the truck to help him? HUSS: There's two investigations. One obviously we're looking at this incident and we came out with some recommendations the other day because of the seriousness of this, we needed to make some changes. And we made, put some things in place that we think will prevent this in the future. The other part of the investigation is the administrative investigation and what action we're going to take on the employees involved.

PHILLIPS: Do you think that these two individuals should be fired? The paramedics that didn't get out of that ambulance to help this man?

HUSS: This is an incident we're taking very, very seriously. It's disturbing, it's unacceptable. We need to do a thorough investigation before we speculate about what actions are going to be taken.

PHILLIPS: Have you had a chance to talk to Mr. Mitchell's fiancee, the one that we heard from in that piece?

HUSS: The chief of EMS has. He's spoken with her. I intend to speak with her. And I was giving her a little bit of time to deal with her loss, but I do want to speak directly with her.

PHILLIPS: And with regard to the chief of EMS, will he be held accountable for this?

HUSS: We're taking a look at everything here. Not at this time.

PHILLIPS: Well, we will follow-up. Michael Huss, Pittsburgh's public safety director. Horrible story to tell, but it's good to see that you're outraged as well and you're going to do something about it.

Michael, thanks for your time.

HUSS: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Eight Americans now home safe but two are still being held in Haiti. Members of that missionary group arrived in Miami late last night. They had been in jail for nearly three weeks on child kidnapping charges. Some of them already boarding flights to their hometowns this morning. They'll be traveling to Amarillo, Texas, Topeka, Kansas and Boise, Idaho where the group's charity is based. CNN's John Zarrella is standing by outside the Miami airport with more. John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you can bet that they are excited and anxious to get home. About an hour and a half ago we caught up with four of them as they were going through the security checkpoint at Miami International Airport boarding a Delta flight to Atlanta and then from there at least two of them going on to Kansas City we are told. And they did spend quite a bit of time with TSA representatives because, of course, we've heard that a lot of their paperwork and their identification did not make it with them from Haiti.

So when they got into Miami last night, there was a lot of work that had to be done to clear them through customs. I managed to at least through the glass ask one of the four how he was feeling. He smiled, he said pretty good. Then I asked him if he got any sleep last night and he smiled again and nodded and said in fact he had.

Well, that plane that they came in on last night, a military C- 130 aircraft, landed at Miami at about 11:30 p.m.. It took them another hour, an hour and a half to clear customs. And once they did, the usual way that everybody exits customs here, the eight Americans did not. They were taken out through a separate exit, which allowed them to go directly into the hotel here at Miami International Airport.

As they walked from one set of elevators to another, they seemed very, very tired, anxious to get to their hotel rooms. They did not say anything to any of the reporters gathered there. But we did talk to the attorney from one of those and he said that in fact there would be a celebration for that man, Jim Allen, when he got back to Amarillo, Texas.

So again, we believe all eight of them are on the move heading home to Idaho and Kansas City and Amarillo, Texas, as we speak. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. John Zarrella, appreciate it.

And apparently we're getting word now, we are going to hear from the president of the United States right here, live at the mikes, probably in about two to three minutes. He's actually going to sign an executive order setting up a bipartisan fiscal commission to weigh proposals aimed at hopefully reining in on the soaring federal debt.

It's going to be called the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. And now I'm being told possibly about 15 minutes he'll step up to the mikes and talk about that. We'll tell you who's been appointed to head that commission and we'll talk more about what it's going to do when he steps up.

It's not like any breaking news that we've ever seen. A reporter breaks the news about his own role in his partner's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I picked up the pillow and smothered him until he was dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now that's a revelation. So what happened after it hit the air?

And would you be willing to pay for your 911 calls like the people in one town who have to pay up to 400 bucks for a response? Tell me on the blog, CNN.com/Kyra.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano, what's shaking in the weather center?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're looking at another batch of cold air that's kind of building up again. So a lot of times these cold air masses they kind of recharge the battery up around the Arctic and then are released down across the Continental U.S. and parts of Europe and take a break. Well, we haven't seen much of a break this year and with the exception of other parts of the world.

With the exception of Europe and the lower 48, it's been actually fairly warm because of El Nino and the warming of the Pacific, kind of warming the air above that. So globally, I think we mentioned this yesterday, January, one of the warmest months ever at least in the lower atmosphere.

Of course if you live anywhere east of the Mississippi River, you're saying you're crazy, but that's the truth of it. All right. We're looking at snow across parts of Colorado in through Wyoming. This is the next system that's going to be coming on board. 60 degrees in Dallas. Meanwhile 49 in Atlanta. So we are still below average across the southeast. Starting to get back to average as we get through tomorrow.

Sun this time of year is pretty strong so it tends to heat up pretty rapidly, but we just keep getting hit by these recharged air masses from Canada. West coast meanwhile is looking really nice with temperatures that should be above average from San Francisco up through Seattle, but things are going to change. The pattern will shift. It will become a little bit more active, at least, the mid latitude jet stream. So a little bit more active, at least the mid latitude jet stream. So that will bring more California storms in. That will also bring a little bit more in the way for storms in the Colorado Rockies. So keep that in mind if you're looking to do a ski trip.

D.C. metro, New York metros might see some wind delays today. We've seen some in JFK and also some delays at last check in San Francisco. I mentioned it was warm there. Look at that. Vancouver 37 right now. Going up to a high of 53 degrees. Colder where we had the summer Olympics back in 1996 here in Atlanta than it is where we're having the winter Olympics right now. A little bit ironic.

Kyra, back over to you.

PHILLIPS: The cold weather sure isn't affecting our athletes from bringing home the gold.

MARCIANO: No. Beaming with pride, good to see the American flag waving quite nicely up there in Canada.

PHILLIPS: Sure is. Beautiful place. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. See you.

PHILLIPS: In Tracy, California, people are going to have to start checking their wallets before they dial 911. The city is charging $300 per call for residents, $400 per call for non-residents. All of it caused by a $9 million budget deficit. We want to know what you think. Is it OK to make people pay for 911 calls? Just go to my blog CNN.com/Kyra. Go ahead and post your thoughts there. I'll read some of your responses later this hour.

Back on the field, remember this? Mark McGuire telling Congress he doesn't want to talk about the past, but the questions aren't going away as McGuire puts the uni back on.

And taking another look at Toyota, the federal government has some questions like what now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: More breaking news out of Afghanistan as we follow that offensive going on with our troops in Marjah. Atia Abawi embedded with the Marines there on the ground. Atia, what's the latest?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I can tell you after a fairly calm day with sporadic gunfire in the city, late afternoon is when the battle raged between U.S. troops and Afghan forces against the Taliban. The Taliban attacking U.S. positions where we're actually situated with the Marines. They were trying to - they fired into areas where the Marines have shown their presence.

They have a strong presence at the moment in these parts of the city in Marjah and obviously the Taliban trying to inflict any kind of casualty that they can. The gun battle raged for over an hour, well over an hour, Kyra. In fact so much that one of the positions that we run to, an area that was getting the most fire, it had to be resupplied with ammunition, not an easy task in an urban area of Afghanistan, especially with large U.S. vehicles.

The emotions were high, the battle continued for some time. The Taliban very, very relentless. The U.S. was very, very heavy, very strong. And the Taliban basically using AK-47s. The crackle of gunfire actually so close that we could hear some bullets whizzing by our own ears. The Taliban not very far off. But the problem is they know how to hide. They know the city, they know the country. They're hiding wherever they can, whether it be in the stores, in the bazaars and compounds and civilian compounds or even in the canals and urban - in the fields and the farms surrounding the city of Marjah. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Atia Abawi, keep us updated. Thanks, Atia.

Also live pictures as we wait for the president of the United States to step up to the mikes. What's a country to do when you have a federal deficit of $430.69 billion. That's through January. It's also running at a record-breaking pace. Well, the president says he's going to sign an executive order that you're going to see right here live on CNN, setting up a bipartisan commission. It's called the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

As soon as he steps up to the mike, we'll take it live. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: How about we go to the president right now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... one was a financial crisis brought on by reckless speculation that threatened to choke off all lending. This helped to spark the deepest recession since the Great Depression from which we're still recovering. That recession in turn helped to aggravate an already severe fiscal crisis brought on by years of bad habits in Washington.

Now, the economic crisis required the government to make immediate emergency investments that added to our accumulated debt. Critical investments that have helped to break the back of the recession and lay the groundwork for growth and job creation. But now with so many Americans still out of work, the task of recovery is far from complete.

So in the short term, we're going to be taking steps to encourage business to create jobs that will continue to be my top priority. Still, there's no doubt that we're going to have to also address the long term quandary of a government that routinely and extravagantly spends more than it takes in. When I walked into the door of the White House, our government was spending about 25 percent of GDP but taking in only about 16 percent of GDP.

Without action, the accumulated weight of that structural deficit of ever-increasing debt will hobble our economy, it will cloud our future and it will saddle every child in America with an intolerable burden. This isn't news. Since the budget surpluses at the end of the 1990s, federal debt has exploded. The trajectory is clear and it is disturbing.

But the politics of dealing with chronic deficits is fraught with hard choices, and, therefore, it's treacherous to office holders here in Washington. As a consequence, nobody has been too eager to deal with it. That's where these two gentlemen come in. Allen Simpson and Erskine Bowles are taking on the impossible. They're going to try to restore reason to the fiscal debate and come up with answers as co-chairs of the new National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. I'm asking them to produce clear recommendations on how to cover the costs of all federal programs by 2015. And to meaningfully improve our long-term fiscal picture.

I have every confidence that they'll do that, because nobody is better qualified than these two. Allen Simpson is appointed Wyoming truth teller. If you look in the dictionary it says flinty and then it's got Simpson's picture. Through nearly two decades in the United States Senate he earned the reputation for putting common sense and the people's welfare ahead of petty politics.

As the number two Republican in the Senate, he made the tough choices necessary to close deficits and he played an important role in bipartisan deficit reduction agreements. Erskine Bowles understands the importance of managing money responsibly in the public sector where he ran the Small Business Administration and served as President Clinton's chief of staff. In that capacity, he brokered the 1997 budget agreement with Republicans that helped produce the first balanced budget in nearly 30 years.

One is a good Republican, the other a good Democrat. But above all, both are patriotic Americans who are answering their country's call to free our future from the stranglehold of debt. The commission they'll lead was structured in such a way as to rise above partisanship. There's going to be 18 members in addition to the two co-chairs. Four others will be appointed by me. Six will be appointed by Republican leaders, six by democratic leaders.

Their recommendations will require the approval of 14 of the commission's 18 members and that ensures that any recommendation coming out of this effort and sent forward to Congress has to be bipartisan in nature. This commission is patterned on a bill that I supported for a binding commission that was proposed by Democratic Senator Ken Conrad and Republican Senator Judd Gregg. Their proposal failed recently in the Senate but I hope congressional leaders in both parties can step away from the partisan bickering and join this effort to serve the national interest.

As important as this commission is, our fiscal challenge is too great to be solved with any one step alone and we can't wait to act. That's why last week I signed into law the Pago bill. It says very simply that the United States of America should pay as we go and live within our means again just like responsible families and businesses do. This law is what helped get deficits under control in the 1990s and produce surpluses by the end of the decade. It was suspended in the last decade and during that period we saw deficits explode again.

By reinstituting it, we're taking an important step towards addressing the deficit problem in this decade and in decades to come. That's also why after taking steps to cut taxes and increase access to credit for small businesses to jump start job creation this year, I've called for a three-year freeze on discretionary spending starting next year. This freeze won't affect Medicare, Medicaid or social security spending. And it won't affect national security spending, including veterans benefits, but all other discretionary spending will be subject to this freeze.

These are tough times and we can't keep spending like they're not. That's why we're seeking to reform our health insurance system, because if we don't, soaring health care costs will eventually become the single largest driver of our federal deficits. Reform legislation in the House and the Senate would bring town deficits and I'm looking forward to meeting with members of both parties and both chambers next week to try to get this done.

That's also why this year we're proposing a responsible budget that cuts what we don't need to pay for what we do. We proposed budget reductions and terminations that would yield about $20 billion in savings. We're ending loopholes in tax giveaways for oil and gas companies and for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. Taken together, these and other steps would provide more than $1 trillion in deficit reduction over the coming decade. That's more savings than any administration's budget in the past 10 years.

I know the issue of deficits has stirred debate and there's some on the left who believe that this issue can be deferred, there's some on the right who want to enter into serious discussions about deficits without preconditions, but those who preach fiscal discipline have to be willing to take the hard steps necessary to achieve it. And those who believe government has a responsibility to meet these urgent challenges have a great stake in bringing our deficits under control, because if we don't, we won't be able to meet our most basic obligations to one another.

So America's fiscal problems won't be solved overnight. They have been growing for years. They're going to take time to wind down. But with the commission that I'm establishing today and the other steps we're pursuing, I believe we are finally putting America on the path towards fiscal reform and fiscal responsibility. I want to again thank Allen and Erskine for taking on what is a difficult and perhaps thankless task.

I'm grateful to them for their willingness to sacrifice their time and their energy in this cause. I know they're going to take up their work with a sense of integrity and a sense of commitment that America's people deserve and America's future demands, and I think part of the reason they're going to be effective is although one is a strong Democrat and one is a strong Republican, these are examples of people who put country first and they know how to disagree without being disagreeable.

And there's a sense of civility and a sense that there are moments where you set politics aside to do what's right. That's the kind of spirit that we need. And I am confident that the product that they put forward is going to be honest, it's going to be clear, it's going to give a path to both parties in terms of how we have to address these challenges. All right. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: OK. You heard it right there, fiscal discipline and investigating the way the government is spending our money. You know we've got a federal deficit of $430.69 billion. It's also running at a record-breaking pace, according to the president.

So right now he is signing an executive order that will actually set up a bipartisan fiscal commission that will weigh proposals aimed at hopefully reining in that soaring federal debt. It's called the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. You're seeing it right there the Democrat and the Republican that will co- chair that commission.

Former White House chief of staff for Bill Clinton and then the Republican senator from Wyoming. Let's hope it works.

Take a quick break, more from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: And the complaints just keep piling up, kind of like the safety concerns. Brakes, gas pedals, power steering. I'm also kind of afraid to ask the question what's next, Josh Levs.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, who isn't right now, right? I mean, at this point, we're hearing more and more things every day. This is yet another stage in the troubles now plaguing this Japanese automaker. This one today involves the Corolla.

This is Toyota's second-most popular model right after the Camry. CNN is being told the U.S. will open an investigation today looking into some Corollas from the past two years. An official with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tells CNN 363,000 Corollas from model year 2009, another 136,000 from 2010 could be affected.

Now, as of last week, the administration had collected 80 complaints about problems with these vehicles. A lot of them are about the car drifting at high speeds. Other owners complain of steering wheel vibrations or what they called exaggerated motions from steering. In other words, you move the steering wheel a little bit and the car swerves a lot more than you expect.

Yesterday at a news conference in Japan, Toyota's vice president commented on whether the company would announce any further recalls because of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHINICHI SASAKI, VICE PRESIDENT, TOYOTA (through translator): We will make a recall of Corolla if this is a problem that threatens the safety. If it is not, we will provide the usual repair service based on customer complaints.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: So, Kyra, we will be seeing what the company does next. Our CNN Money Team is reporting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will officially announce that investigation today, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So how many vehicles are we talking about with regard to what Toyota has already recalled?

LEVS: It's such a huge number. More than 8.1 million worldwide for various issues. In a lot of cases, sticking accelerator pedals. The company is promising much stricter safety controls, and the company will have representatives at Congressional hearings next week, although the Toyota president, Akio Toyoda, does not plan to attend that on Capitol Hill.

You can get more information at CNN.com/toyota. It's packed with all sorts of information, including a complete list of vehicles affected by the recall. You can flip through and see if your vehicle or one you are considering maybe buying as a used car, is one of these that might potentially be affected. All of that right there for you at CNN.com/toyota.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Josh.

LEVS: You bet.

PHILLIPS: A 20-year-old dead from AIDS in England.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off camera): I killed someone once.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A BBC correspondent explains himself to a shocked nationwide audience. He's now the focus of a murder investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, this story gives new meaning to reality TV, and it was pretty shocking stuff on the British airwaves. Police have arrested BBC correspondent Ray Gosling after he admitted killing a former lover who was dying of AIDS years ago. Gosling confessed on national TV. He later explained himself in an interview with Sky News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY GOSLING, BBC CORRESPONDENT: He was in pain. He got AIDS, there was no cure, it was in the early days, and there was no relief of the pain. And I went through those things with the doctors and when he first got AIDS we had a pact. He was my lover, he wasn't my partner, he was my bit on the side. But we had a wonderful, wonderful love affair and we said if it comes to that, "I don't want to live. You, I rely on you, Ray, to finish it."

And he was in terrible, terrible, terrible pain. And I finished it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you aware of what you were doing was against the law?

GOSLING: There are different kinds of laws, you know. There's a law that's written in law books and there's a law in your heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gosling admits to something his former lover -- or rather to smothering his former lover -- with a pillow while he was in a hospital bed about 20 years ago.

You can get the best medical care available, but if you don't get enough sleep, you can get in trouble. Just ask former president Bill Clinton. He said his recent medical problems were the result of not enough sleep and too much stress. The former president spent the night in a New York hospital last week after a procedure to unclog a blocked artery. So, Tiger Woods. Do you think he can help fix what's broken at Tiger, Inc.? Tomorrow could be the first day of the rest of his endorsement life.

And Arthur Hill, star of the movie "Up in the Air" with George Clooney in a supporting role. Arthur's next role, our "30-Second Pitch." He could be coming to a workplace near you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Americans fed up and, quite frankly, feeling kind of hopeless when it comes to jobs and the economy. They certainly don't have much faith in Congress either. A new CNN/Opinion Research poll shows only 14 percent think Congress has done enough to create jobs, but a whopping 84 percent don't think so.

What about the economy? Only 17 percent of those surveyed said the economy is in good shape. Nearly 40 percent say economic conditions are somewhat poor, while 44 percent say they're very poor.

When Tiger Woods steps up to the mic tomorrow he'll be trying to take the first step to restore his multimillion-dollar endorsement empire. Alison Kosik on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange will see how that might make an impact.

ALISON KOSTIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: As you know, Kyra, a lot of damage has already happened to Tiger Woods and his sponsors. A lot of sponsors have already cut ties with Tiger. Some of those include Accenture and AT&T. AT&T actually had its logo right on Tiger Woods' bag, his golf bag since last year. Gillette, though, did not sever ties with Tiger Woods altogether, though it did pull its commercials featuring Tiger Woods.

Some sponsors have actually stood by Tiger. I'm talking about Gatorade owned by Pepsi and Nike, arguably Tiger Woods' most important sponsor. You know, everyone is wondering why all this attention to Tiger Woods. He was expected to make this announcement on Friday. Well, Tiger Woods is the world's first billion-dollar athlete, and it's estimated that he pulled in at least a million dollars on endorsements alone year after year. Friday's announcement, of course, is going to be aimed in part to restore his credibility with the public and improve his marketability after the incidents that have happened recently.

Here's just some information on how far Tiger Woods has fallen. Listen to this. Celebrity research company Davie Brown (ph) Entertainment found that Woods has gone from a perennial top ten on its index of 2,400 celebrities to 121. It's only that high, the company says, because he remains one of the most recognizable people on the planet and in terms of appeal, Tiger has gone from being on par with Michael Jordan and Frank Sinatra to kind of becoming the Gary Coleman and Billy Idol status, in that neighborhood.

You know, tiger fell from the ranks of Sean Coney and Hank Aaron to the least-trusted ranks of Kid Rock and Jon Gosselin of "Jon and Kate Plus 8," so he's fallen very far very fast, Kyra. PHILLIPS: OK. It seems like a bit of an odd question but the traders at the stock exchange known for being into their sports. Have you heard anything from them about Tiger, and do you think they'll be watching from the floor?

KOSTIK: Oh, you can bet they'll be watching. In many ways, it's still very much an old boys' club here, and the chatter has been, of course, that these traders are eager what he has to say. I'll bet they'll be watching the TV screen at 11:00 tomorrow more than they'll be watching the numbers, especially since Tiger has come here before to ring the opening bell. You know, he was greeted with cheers and everyone crowded around for autographs, so there's really a lot of interest in what he's going to say.

A lot of traders that I talked to are wondering what his motivations are. Is he doing this more to save his endorsement or to save his marriage? That's the question.

But, all right. Let's veer to another subject here, the matter at hand. We did get some news today here on Wall Street about jobless claims. We learned that jobless claims rose 31,000 last week, and it just shows you how the jobs market is kind of lagging behind what the greater economy is doing.

Right now, those numbers not hurting the Dow. The Dow up about 23 points. Investors shrugging off the rise in jobless claims number. Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Alison, appreciate it.

KOSTIK: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Did you see the movie "Up in the Air"? George Clooney plays a professional pink slipper going across the country to fire people. The people he cans, well, not actors but real people who have really been laid off. They weren't acting at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what I get in return for 30 years of service for my company? And they send some yo-yo like you in here to try to tell me that I'm out of a job? They should be telling you you're out of a job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess you leave me dumbfounded. I don't know where this is coming from. How am I supposed to go back as a man and explain this to my wife that I lost my job?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; I'm disappointed that I've given so much of my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not fair.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are people that are going to be way more qualified than me now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to do when I wake up in the morning tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the first guy in that clip, the one who called George Clooney a yo-yo, that's Arthur Hill of Detroit and he's still looking for work, and he's our leading man in today's "30-Second Pitch." Now, was the yo-yo line, was that yours?

ARTHUR HILL, JOB SEEKER: Yes, it was.

PHILLIPS: Now, I'm wondering, have you ever called a boss or a co-worker a yo-yo?

HILL: Oh, yes, many times.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Plenty of times. I love it. Arthur, I'm curious, we'll get to your pitch in a second, but how did you get the role in the movie?

HILL: Well, you know, I just answered a simple ad in a newspaper. And then I wrote him a letter explaining about my situation, and they told me to come down and they were interested in me.

PHILLIPS: So, here's what's crazy. It's easier to get on the movie screen with George Clooney, who's up for an Oscar, than just land a job where you live there in Michigan.

HILL: Right.

PHILLIPS: It makes no sense.

HILL: Right. It's a strange world we live in.

PHILLIPS: Did it help you at all?

HILL: Oh, absolutely. You know, just the opportunity. I got a chance to get my story out there, and I had such a wonderful time, just a wonderful experience working with the people from Paramount. They were just wonderful, great people.

PHILLIPS: Now, you were great. So why not get a gig in acting? Have you called up central casting and said, hey, make me a regular or somebody get me into TV and movies?

HILL: Yes, that's what I plan on doing. That's the game plan right now, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Really? OK. Are you close to anything?

HILL: Yes. Well, you know, I'm hopeful and I'm thinking positive every day. You never know.

PHILLIPS: Okay, I love it. Well, I tell you what, we're going to definitely put your e-mail and this interview on our blog, so every single agent in the country can check out your work or go see the movie. But meanwhile, are you ready to get to the "30-Second Pitch"?

HILL: Yes. I just want to point out right quick, working with some great people, that's what makes the world go round. I worked with some great people like Jason Reitman and Nancy Bannister, Gail Silverman from Paramount. And they were just -- not only extremely professional people, but they are -- you know, they have hearts of gold. And that makes a tremendous difference.

PHILLIPS: Well, big switch from working at Chrysler for more than 30 years, huh?

HILL: Yes, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well tell you what, let's fire it up. We're going to start the clock. Arthur Hill, give us your "30-Second Pitch."

HILL: Hello. My name is Art Hill, and I'm in the best movie of the year, "Up in the Air" with George Clooney. I have had the fortune of working with award winning film director Jason Reitman, who is a complete genius. I want to expand my acting abilities and hopefully to find new opportunities in TV and movies. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Even three seconds to go. OK, Jason Reitman, I hope you're listening. We've got to get Art another gig there in the movies. Meanwhile, you know, are you going to go to the Oscars?

HILL: It's a possibility. I'm crossing my fingers and waiting for that phone call.

PHILLIPS: Well, you can definitely be schmoozing there, that's for sure. Art Hill, you let us know what happens, OK?

HILL: Yes, I will.

PHILLIPS: We'll do everything we can to help you out. Once again, arthurhill@hotmail.com. Living in Detroit right now, but he's ready to move on and ready for the big screen.

Remember, you can be part of the Pitch. We'd love to help you as well. Send an e-mail 30-secondpitch@CNN.com.

Well, the Flying Tomato. Not only a stud, but quite a flirt. How could we ever forget Shaun White's special visit after win number one back in 2006?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (on-camera): New intern?

SHAUN WHITE, 2006 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Hey. How are you?

PHILLIPS: I don't get a "baby"? (LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh, yeah. How can we forget that moment?

It seems so long ago that that fresh-faced kid came to visit me. Even let me touch his gold medal. Now there's another one to add to the collection.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're number one again. The U.S. had a banner day, or should I say a golden day, at this Winter Olympics, the best ever. Three golds, six medals in all. Speed skater Shani Davis defended his 1,000-meter title, and Lindsey Vonn took the crown as queen of the hill. Shaun White also joined the gold parade. (INAUDIBLE) lot of pressure trying to repeat his gold-medal performance from 2006. Well, it sure didn't show.

CNN's Mark McKay is live in Vancouver this morning. Hey, Mark.

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Could I get a double McTwist 1260, please? Shaun White delivered that last night at Cypress Mountain en route to defending his gold medal in the Olympic half-pipe snowboarding event.

Shaun was nothing short of spectacular. He already had the gold medal in the bag ahead of this final run, but this is a guy who loves to perform in front of the crowds. He gave the crowd up there their money's worth and performed under pressure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAUN WHITE, TWO-TIME GOLD MEDALIST: To have all the eyes on me and all this pressure and just so much going on, I mean, I can't even, I can't even talk about how much I've been thinking about this. I can't even sleep at night. I'm so happy it's over with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKAY: Hey, it's not over yet. Two gold medals in the bag. Why not a third? Shaun and his U.S. snowboarding teammates are already thinking about 2014.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT LAGO, WON BRONZE IN HALFPIPE: Shaun was actually trying to think of new ideas for the clothing. He's like "I want to -- when we go to Russia, I need to get this leather jacket, you know. Our uniform should be leather jackets with like a big American eagle on the back."

WHITE: A screaming eagle. Something fierce, you know.

LAGO: So he's definitely thinking about Russia. WHITE: I'm thinking about it.

LAGO: He's already thinking about what he's going to wear there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKAY: These guys are always thinking ahead. Yes, Kyra, they say that snowboarders are young men and women that move to their own beat. I certainly don't have to tell you that when you meet Shaun White and you're around him, that his enthusiasm is certainly infectious, isn't it. He's a great young man.

PHILLIPS: He's quite the charmer. I had the chance to interview him when he won his medal in 2006, and we had a little fun on the air. The next thing I knew, he came and surprised us in the NEWSROOM.

He's quite a charmer for a young teenager, and he seems to be growing up to turn -- Tony is laughing -- into still a very charming adult, but here was our moment. We actually got to -- I got to wear the gold medal for a while.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That is good.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we had a lot of fun with this, Mark. So, do you think you can hook us up where we can get another interview?

HARRIS: There you go!

MCKAY: I'll see what I can do. Tony, wasn't Kyra about blushing red?

PHILLIPS: Yes, she was. Yes, she was! As red as the soup can.

MCKAY: I'll see what I can do.

PHILLIPS: I got rid of that blonde hair because I wanted to look more like Shaun White. I thought it would give me a little better stature!

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right, Mark, work on that exclusive for us. We love you.

All right, 300 bucks to dial 911. Definitely not laughing about that. That's actually what folks in Tracy, California, are paying each time they have an emergency. A $9 million deficit lies behind this desperate measure, so we're talking about this on the blog this morning and asking if it's okay to make people pay for the 911 calls. Here's what you said.

This comes from Shawn. "This is completely unacceptable. Imagine a person with chest pains wondering if they should attempt to drive themselves to the hospital so they don't have to pay for the phone call."

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: This coming from HDF. "I'm curious about what happens if people refuse or just are unable to pay or even pay late. Are they then refused 911 service the next time they call for help?"

This comes from Dave. "This is pure evil. What if you see an accident where people may be injured? Do you have to stop and think about how you're going to pay for that call before you dial?"

And finally this coming from Kathryn. "As awful as this might seem, it seems like it's a better alternative than having them cancel the service completely."

HARRIS: Wow.

PHILLIPS: Remember, we want to hear from you. Log on to cnn.com/kyra to share your comments. That got everybody talking today, Tony.

HARRIS: It just seems like that needs to be repealed. At least take another look at it, right?

PHILLIPS: Yes. Then the story of the guy who called 911 in Pittsburgh more than ten times. Finally an ambulance gets out there and he dies.

HARRIS: They couldn't get through the snow.

PHILLIPS: They wouldn't get out of the ambulance to truck through the snow.

HARRIS: That's even worse.

PHILLIPS: Now they might be fired. But we're staying on top of that. Staying on top of the outrage.

HARRIS: All right. Any more pictures of you and the Flying Tomato Soup Can? No? Tomorrow, maybe?

PHILLIPS: Maybe tomorrow. We had a lot of fun. I want to learn how to snowboard, too.

HARRIS: And you've got him in your phone, right?

PHILLIPS: So, just give him a little text?

HARRIS: Give him a text. Take care, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: See you, Tony.