Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Republicans Filibuster Vote To Extend Tax Cuts To Those Making $250,000 A Year Or Less; Airports In Spain Closed Due To Strike; Regulations Similar To "Do Not Call" May Be Extended To The Internet; Those Unemployed For 99 Weeks May Lose Unemployment Benefits; Auburn To Play South Carolina In College Football

Aired December 04, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. We've got two big issues on the plate a lot of people are talking about, and it concerns just about all of us. We're talking about jobs and taxes. The president has sealed a deal that could mean work for thousands, tens of thousands of Americans down the road. We are watching out and standing by for a live announcement from the president this morning.

Also, over at Capitol Hill, a rare Saturday vote on tax relief. That's a live picture on the left and right. That is going on right now. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, they are debating the Bush era tax cuts and who they should be extended for. We are expecting a vote here in the next half hour, but already it's a foregone conclusion, if you will. We will explain that to you.

From the CNN center, this is your CNN Saturday morning, 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. Glad you could be here. I'm T.J. Holmes.

Also coming up over the next hour, air travelers in Spain hear what nobody wants to hear at the airport. "Take a seat. Get comfy. Your flight has been canceled." A strike by air traffic controllers is stranding literally hundreds of thousands of people. We'll be talking you live to Spain's busiest airport to see exactly what's happening.

Also, some interesting video to show you this morning, a close call for a woman trapped in a burning vehicle, a life-or-death situation. A police officer comes to save the day. We'll explain this a little later.

Also, might be hard to believe, but the FBI is keeping an eye on Barbie. Yes, there's a new Barbie that's out. It's called "Video Girl Barbie." But the FBI wants parents to be aware. We'll explain.

Let me get back to what's happening on Capitol Hill. U.S. Senate, that's happening now live, they are working on a Saturday session, a special session. They're going to be voting on whether or not to extend the Bush era tax cuts.

But who gets the tax cuts in the new year? Republicans, of course, want the tax break to apply across the board to everybody. Democrats, on the other hand, want the cuts to be for middle-class families and also other families making less than $250,000 a year.

CNN senior Congressional correspondent Dana Bash live for us in Washington. In a town, Dana, that's oftentimes unpredictable, we can predict what's supposed to happen here in the next hour.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we believe all sides are telling us that they do not believe that any of these votes are going to pass. And I think we should remind our viewers, I know you've been doing this all morning, T.J., because what we're talking about here is whether or not every American is going to get a tax increase effectively because these tax cuts expire at the end of the year. 27 days, if my math is correct. So that is why what Congress needs to do is so important.

Whether or not they are going to actually do that this morning, it doesn't look that way. What we are seeing is Democrats who run the Senate, they demanded coming in on this Saturday morning, and the reason I tell you is because a deal with Republicans, a deal yesterday, fell through. But they're doing this to put forward their ideas. You see one there on the screen, you mentioned this earlier, to just extend the tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less.

There's going to be a second vote, though, and that is to extend tax cuts for those making up to $1 million or less. Politically, Democrats, many of them, including Senator Chuck Schumer whose idea this is, he says that that is exactly proof if this fails, what the Republicans are trying to do, that they only want to give tax breaks to millionaires in this country.

Listen to some of the debate including a Democrat who talked about that and Republicans talking about why they believe that all tax cuts should be extended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN, (D) ILLINOIS: They understand that to give a tax break to the wealthiest people in America at this moment in history is foolish and reckless. And yet that is the position of the Republican Party and the definition of their values.

SEN. JOHN THUNE, (R) SOUTH DAKOTA: All we are simply doing here is trying to implement a failed policy that hasn't worked in the past and isn't going to work in the future.

And it doesn't have to be, you've got all the science and all the history and all the facts to support this, but it's also counterintuitive to the American people. How many people honestly think that the way to create jobs is to increase the cost of doing business in this country?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, with this debate going on, while these votes are going on, the thing that we are trying to keep our ear to the ground on is where the real action is, and that is behind the scenes negotiations, T.J., on -- behind the scenes of negotiations on what they're actually going to do to make sure that Americans' tax cuts don't go up, and we are told and have been told for several days that the likely scenario is a compromise that would probably extend them for two years or so.

And the question at this point seems to be what the Democrats are going to get in return for that extension of unemployment benefits, extension of other tax breaks that Democrats support. So that is going to be the open question that we're going to look for in the early part of next week, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Dana, we appreciate you. I know you're standing by. The vote's expected, or tentatively scheduled for the next 25 minutes, supposed to happen, we will certainly be talking to you when that takes place and see if it plays out like we expect it to. Dana, we appreciate it. Thanks so much.

I want to turn now to that new trade deal with South Korea. The White House says it could create jobs for Americans and could give a boost to U.S. carmakers. We'll be hearing more from the president a little later, maybe over the next couple of hours when he does make his comments. we will bring those to you live.

The president, you're seeing here, he returned from that unannounced trip from Afghanistan this morning. This was just a few hours ago, arriving back at the White House aboard marine one.

Here's what we know about this new deal with South Korea. It would do away with tariffs on more than 95 percent of industrial and consumer goods within five years. The U.S. international trade commission estimates the tariff cuts would increase exports of U.S. goods by some $10 billion to $11 billion.

It also calls for South Korea to reduce tariffs on American car imports by half from eight percent to four percent and then eliminate that tariff in the fifth year of the agreement. Meanwhile, a 2.5 percent tariff on cars imported from South Korea will remain in place until the fifth year of the agreement. The trade deal still, though, must be approved by Congress.

Let's take a look at some other stories we are keeping a close eye on. More problems at Arlington national cemetery. A criminal investigation now under way after officials recently found eight sets of cremated remains interred in a single gravesite.

Also, child advocacy groups are criticizing Mexico's handling of a 14-year-old boy who was arrested Thursday for being an alleged hit man for a drug cartel. The teenager claims he's a U.S. citizen and that he killed four people who worked with the Pacific coast cartel. State authorities are asking Mexico's federal prosecutors to intervene and take over the case.

Also, Russia's emergency ministry says at least one person has died and eight others hurt after a plane skidded off the runway when it made an emergency landing at a Moscow airport. A government official tells us that three of the plane's four engines failed. And 155 people were aboard. We are standing by for more details. We'll pass those along when we do get them.

Meanwhile in Spain, Spain closed -- closed most of its airspace today after air traffic controllers started a strike. Thousands of people have been stranded by this strike now. Now we'll turn live to our Al Goodman at the airport in Madrid, one of the busiest there in Spain. Al, hello to you. Any movement between the government and these striking air traffic controllers to get them back to work and possibly get people back on those planes?

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J. there is some movement, but let's not forget that this is the second straight day of chaos and dashed hopes for tens of thousands of passengers like these people, hundreds of them, behind me at the Madrid airport trying -- they're lined up trying to get some ticket change, some hotel, any sort of relief.

Many airlines have canceled their flights for the whole day. But the good news in the recent hours, many of the air traffic controllers are returning to the job, the government tells us, and that Madrid right now could run 30 flights an hour, about one-third of its capacity. The problem is that the airlines have said they've canceled their flights. We'll see if they can get some flights, maybe a few dozen.

One or two have already left from different parts of Spain. They're expecting dozens more. Getting back to normal is not expected today. T.J.?

HOLMES: Al, remind us as well, what was the beef necessarily between the air traffic controllers and the government and those who employ them?

GOODMAN: Well, it's a long-running beef between the controllers union. These are seen as well-paid people with a lot of working privileges. The government, in an economic crisis, trying to reduce some of that, cut that, came to a head with this wildcat strike on Friday.

But the government played a new card. It gave itself new powers. It put the airport control towers under the control of the military, under threat of arrest for the civilian controllers if they don't show up back to work. And boom, they don't show up back to work, and boom, they've already started to show up back to work, T.J.

HOLMES: Al Goodman, we certainly hope they get that worked out. Thank you for the report.

(WEATHER BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: "Godfather," one of the most famous homes of all time is in that movie. And if you don't remember it, we'll jog your memory right now. Take a look. You recognize this? Eight-bedroom, four-bathroom property on Staten Island. Well, it still doesn't look familiar, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. That will jog some memories, at least. The wedding, the famous wedding. He was granting wishes there. The house that the Corleone families had in the mob epic, the 1972 epic, is now up for sale, $2.9 million. Some might think that's a deal. But it has a pool. Has a basement pub, four-car garage. The family that owned it is betting the house's history as a selling point. And I guess you would. People love that movie, one of the greatest of all time, but it's up for sale right now.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There are worse places to be, no question about it. It's certainly a beautiful place. I'm sure they would rather be there than sleeping with the fishes. Even if you didn't have any history with it, it's a beautiful location, and not a bad spot.

HOLMES: I need to explain this, on a serious note, and it's unfortunate we have to explain this.

WOLF: Playing with dolls?

HOLMES: There's a reason we have this Barbie here. Barbie has been around forever, as we know now. This is the latest and greatest Barbie doll. We have to explain, the FBI has put out a bit of a warning in relation to this Barbie doll. If you look here real close, Barbie here has a necklace, what's supposed to be a necklace, but that's actually a video camera. And on the back, it has a little LED screen.

What you can actually do, having a good time playing with her doll, she can actually download the video she takes of herself and put it online. You can kind of see where we're going here. There's some concerns that those videos of little girls are being online, possibly predators, pedophiles of some kind could get a hold of that video. Also, god forbid, even a pedophile could use this doll in some fashion to record an unsuspecting little girl.

But this by all accounts right now, this is still going to be a popular item for this Christmas season. But a sign of the times are unfortunate and sad that this warning has to be put out. And we need to be clear here, no incidents have been reported at all. But they felt strongly enough about it, the FBI, that they put out a memo giving parents a heads up.

WOLF: Just the possibility itself.

HOLMES: The possibility itself is enough to cause alarm. But we need to be clear, no incidents have been reported. We want to make sure. Mattel did put out a bit of a statement, had released a statement, released it to our affiliate, KING in Seattle. They said "The FBI has not reported anything has happened." There have been no incidents of this doll being used as anything other than its intent. Mattel design products for children with their best interests in mind. Many of Mattel's employees are parents themselves and we understand the importance of child safety. It is our number one priority."

Again, looks like the doll is still popular. And Barbie has been forever, it seems. Still, something parents need to know about.

It's 19 minutes past the hour now. The national do-not-call registry keeps you from getting those late-night telemarketing phone calls. How about a do-not-track registry to protect your online privacy? Stay here.

Also, who should receive the Bush era tax cuts and for how long? The debate is going on right now on Capitol Hill, yes, right now. That's a live picture here on this Saturday. Senators are working and expected to take a couple of votes about who should get those tax cuts in the future. We'll explain what's going on and why what's going to happen when this vote takes place is already a foregone conclusion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: As you know, when you surf the internet, companies oftentimes keep track of you. Well, the government is proposing a plan now that could stop them. Josh Levs has that for us this morning. And on the surface, Josh, it might sound like a good idea, but the devil's in the details.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The truth is, it can also have negative effects. It can change the whole way that you surf the web and change what you expect and what's free.

Let's look at this basic idea called the FCC's "Do not track plan." It's this government idea here. And the basic idea behind it is this. It would be a bit of software that would be an add-on to your computer that would notify websites that they can't track you.

This is kind of like the do not call registry. This is like when you're surfing the web, businesses are told you're not supposed to track this person. It can't just happen. It would require congressional approval before it could be enacted. Here's what people like about it. Consumers would be controlling who's tracking them. Right now it can be impossible sometimes to even know who's tracking you. You just visit a Web site, and the next day retailers are chasing after you. It would shift the burden to companies. A lot of people like that.

Many people in the industry are pointing to problems that would come from that. First of all, billions of commerce dollars could be at risk because this tracking leads to a lot of business. It leads to those ads, and people buy stuff. That's how the internet works. That's the business of the Internet. That would be business commerce lost in a tough economic time.

Also there's this. It would remove an incentive for WebPages to be free. Right now they can be free because there's going to be those ads. We want to know what you think about all this. Here's where you can weigh in. I've got Facebook and twitter discussions. I'm at joshlevsCNN.

We also have the story for you. You can read more from it at CNNmoney.com and see it. It tells you the details you're looking for. Let me show you what a couple people have been saying today. We heard from Anna. "Business plans do not trump personal privacy. I'm all for the do-not-track plan." Jackie Jacobs, "Regulation and enforcement of what companies can do with the info would be much more productive. Leave the ad ability alone. It's profitable."

Finally, Laura. "I'm all for personal privacy. But the economy is so fragile right now. Maybe the timing is wrong."

A few examples of what we're getting here -- on your screen, there you go. We got something interesting next week. We'll be focusing on the end of privacy. And we're going to be talking about the ways in which technology are taking privacy away from you and things that you can do to get some of that privacy back. T.J., that is going to kick off right here next weekend.

HOLMES: All right, Josh, we appreciate you this morning. Thanks so much.

I want to turn directly now to some video. You take a look at what we're seeing here. It's a dash-cam video. A woman's car is on fire. A police officer is seeing this, and his camera is rolling as he arrives on the scene. He says he thought he'd be pulling a body out of that car. We'll tell you how it actually worked out.

It's 25 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Taking a look at our news pulse now. A couple things that are trending for us online that are popular online, including "Sarah Palin's Alaska." Have you seen the show yet? Well, the ratings which were through the roof when the show debuted, they have tapered off a bit for the new reality show.

But the show's producer is hoping an appearance by Kate Gosselin are going to bring some viewers back. She and her eight children will appear on the December 12th episode. And you know what? They're all going camping. I might even check that one out.

A Chinese high-speed train has shattered the world record for the fastest unmodified commercial train. It reached speeds just under 300 miles an hour according to the Chinese news agency. The train moved as fast as a low-flying jet during a trial run.

Also, a helping hand for Israel courtesy of the U.S. Five U.S. defense department aircraft will leave for Israel this weekend to help fight a wildfire going there. This wildfire has killed at least 41 people. A chartered commercial airplane will also deliver 45 tons of fire retardant and 12,000 liters of foam. Israeli police say they suspect arson.

Well, who should keep getting those Bush era tax cuts and for how long? That is the question. And it's a question that's being debated right now on Capitol Hill. This is a live look inside the Senate chamber this morning. They are working on a Saturday. We'll tell you why, and we'll tell you what's expected from this vote which is possibly just minutes away. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're at the bottom of the hour here on this CNN Saturday morning. We are and they are talking about your money this morning right now live on Capitol Hill.

The U.S. Senate, they are working. Senators right now, this is a live look inside the chamber where we have been watching several senators make their comments, make their pleas, make their arguments for who should get the Bush era tax cuts next year. They are all set to expire for all of us at the beginning of next year, but of course, Democrats want them extended only for people making less than $250,000. Republicans say they want them extended for everybody across the board.

Again, they are expected, or excuse me, they will expire at the end of the year, if action is not taken. We are expecting a vote on a couple different tax measures this morning any minute now. When it does take place we will certainly bring that to you.

Also, we want to look at how Americans are leaning on those tax breaks. Recent CBS news poll suggests 26 percent want them extended for everybody, 53 percent of Americans say the tax breaks should continue only for families making less than $250,000 a year, and 14 percent of Americans say the tax cuts should expire for everybody.

As you know, the unemployment rate went up. We got new numbers yesterday. Unemployment rate went up in November. It is now a 9.8 percent, up from 9.6 percent. Also, the numbers we got from that jobs report is that 39,000 jobs were created. That is far below the expectations which were about 150,000 to be created.

Now, if they aren't extended, these tax cuts we've been talking about, hundreds of thousands of people, or rather these unemployment benefits, I should say, a couple of different things going on Capitol Hill right now. There is so much debate about whether or not to extend the unemployment benefits for so many that are going to expire. These so-called 99ers, there's a limit. There's a 99-week limit for unemployment benefits. That is part of the debate going on right now as well.

Rhonda Taylor is one of these so-called 99ers who has exhausted all of her unemployment benefits. Mary Snow with her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA TAYLOR, IT WORKER UNEMPLOYED SINCE 2008: Watch out for the heater because that's my heating source.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Forty-two-year-old Rhonda Taylor shows us what she calls a tough downgrade, her family's third rental home in two years, a spiral from the working-class neighborhood they once called home. At that time, Rhonda estimates she was earning $60,000 a year. Her partner, Kevin Wallace, was a stay-at-home dad, taking care of their son, now nine, who has mental disabilities, and their daughters, ages 3 and 4. But everything changed when Rhonda lost her job in April of 2008.

SNOW (on camera): How long did you think you'd be out of work?

TAYLOR: Two weeks.

SNOW: Rhonda worked in information technology. Before that she was a teacher. Her search for work has made tougher in Rhode Island which has an 11.4 percent unemployment rate, the fifth highest in the nation.

TAYLOR: I will look anywhere.

SNOW: Recently she found holiday work for Kevin on a delivery truck. Still, they face possible eviction.

TAYLOR: Savings is gone. 401(k) is gone. I've sold every possession that is valuable.

SNOW: And in March, Rhonda exhausted the 99-week limit on unemployment benefits.

TAYLOR: Hi. I'm Rhonda. I'm unemployed, too. I'm a 99-weaker. I lost my benefits.

SNOW: Rhonda is now organizing with others who call themselves 99ers. They're trying to pressure Congress to extend benefits by 20 weeks. Opponents say the cost of extending benefits would need to be offset by spending cuts. And there are critics who say widening the safety net will deter people from getting work. That's something Rhonda is trying to fight.

TAYLOR: Collecting didn't deter me. The problem was is there was no jobs. Nothing motivates you more, nothing, than losing everything you own. You won't be picky. You will get a job. You will take what's out there. There's nothing out there.

SNOW (on camera): Some of those critics will say, look, go work at McDonald's. What do you say to them?

SNOW: I've tried.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you looking for something in particular?

SNOW: I have little kids.

TAYLOR: With no money left, Rhonda now finds herself going to a ministry for clothes at no cost. The next step, she fears, is homelessness.

TAYLOR: We are going to be on the street among millions of other people out there. But in Rhode Island, the shelters are full. So my kids, I can't take them to the street.

SNOW (on camera): What are you going to do?

TAYLOR: I'm going to call foster care and say, here you go. I can't be that selfish. And it hurts to say that, but I can't.

TAYLOR (voice-over): Mary Snow, CNN, Providence, Rhode Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And coming up tomorrow morning, 8:00 eastern, Rhonda Taylor, who you just met in that story, going to be joining us live here at CNN. As you heard, she's trying to convince lawmakers to extend unemployment benefits past 99 weeks. We find out how Congress has been treating her efforts in the morning. That's Sunday, 8:00 eastern right here on CNN.

I'll give you a look at some of the stories making headlines this morning. Authorities in Corvallis, Oregon, say they've searched the home of 24-year-old Cody Crawford who is now considered a person of interest in last week's fire at an Islamic center. Police say they've seen propane bottles, a lighter, camera, and a white, powdery substance. Here's what his neighbors think about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope they come searching every day to figure out who did it. He's always been nice and tried to help, you know. That reaction is kind of hard, like, to see it come from a person like him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And the Islamic center was torched two days after a Somali-born teen was charged in a plot to kill thousands at a Portland public square. Crawford, though, has not been charged.

Also, that stream of secret U.S. documents being revealed by WikiLeaks, well, the federal government has a message for its employees. Do not read them. A government memo issued yesterday says many are still considered classified, and any unauthorized worker looking at them either on the job or on a personal computer could be punished.

I am told now a live picture inside the Senate chamber. We've been telling you about this all morning. The senators are working on a Saturday because they are taking up two measures that have to do with the Bush era tax cuts.

One of those measures already passed by the House would, in fact, extend the Bush era tax cuts for everybody making less than $250,000. The other measure they're taking up is one by New York Senator Charles Schumer. Charles Schumer has introduced one that some thought might be a bit of a compromise. It would actually extend the Bush era tax cuts for all people making up to $1 million. So technically, it would be a millionaire's tax next year.

Now, if they don't act, if this lame duck Congress does not act, then all of our taxes for everybody are going to go up next year.

Now, here's the twist to what we're seeing here. It can seem -- and it is -- I don't want to pretend like it's not -- but for a lot of people watching this, you see senators coming in to work rarely on a Saturday to convene, to be in there, to be voting on this day.

You would think it was something significant we're going to get out of it. What we're going to get is a big nothing for the most part. It's already -- both of these measures -- are expected to fail. We know this.

What this is about, according to many observers, is about a show to put on and to get many of the senators on record, Republicans and Democrats, to get Democrats on the Record of saying yes, we voted for these tax cuts. We voted to extend these tax cuts to the middle class and those making under $250,000.

But, aha, look what our Republican colleagues did. They voted the other way. They voted to actually -- because they actually want to extend these tax cuts to millionaires in the country.

That's kind of what this is about. While all this is going on behind the scenes, you still have negotiations going on behind closed doors between Democrats and Republicans and the White House trying to hammer out a deal, a compromise of some kind.

Our Dana Bash is with us this weekend on CNN Saturday morning. Dana, it's good to have you here with us. I understand this vote is now under way. Which of these measures right now, like I said, there are two, but which one are they actually taking up now?

BASH: The one that they are voting on right now, T.J., is the one that the president campaigned on when he was running for president. And that is the idea that only families making $250,000 or less will get a tax cut, meaning that only those will be extended. That's what they're voting on right now.

And I think it's about -- there's about six minutes left. But because it's Saturday morning, I would not be surprised if this 15- minute vote goes a little bit longer. It takes a little longer for people to trickle in here. But that's the vote that they're doing right now.

We should tell our viewers that what needs -- what this vote needs is 60 -- 60 senators to vote yes for it to pass because they're effectively trying to break a Republican filibuster. Nobody expects that to happen. But Democrats wanted to get on the record that this is what their position is, and they wanted to force Republicans to vote against giving middle-class families a tax cut. That's basically what this is. HOLMES: All right, and you help me here, Dana, because I don't want to characterize this inappropriately here. And I just mentioned a second ago, this looks like -- people waking up on a Saturday morning and seeing their senators in there voting, they're in there on a Saturday, and they're voting. There's something big that must be coming out of this.

That's not necessarily the case here. This is a foregone conclusion what's going to happen. So how does this -- how is this Saturday supposed to advance this entire debate?

BASH: Well, technically, it's not going to advance the debate. I mean, you are right, there definitely is an urgent matter here. And that urgent matter is that the Bush era tax cuts are going to expire at the end of the year in 27 days. That's critical. And everybody believes that that should be dealt with in some way, shape or form.

Politically, Democrats say, look, we want to do this. And I will tell you that they did try to offer Republicans their chance to have their position on the floor as a vote today. The deal fell through for various reasons. I won't get into the weeds with our viewers, but it fell through.

So what they are doing now is holding these votes. And I've got to tell you that in many ways, Jon Kyl, he's a Republican senator from Arizona, he is somebody who is trying to negotiate a solution on this. He said on the Senate floor this morning that he believes that the reason this is happening is because Democrats need to show their rank and file, their base, that at least they tried before they move on towards a compromise.

And I've got to tell you, I think that there is a lot to that. There is a lot of pressure out there, especially in the wake of elections, where Democrats did not do well, a pressure from the democratic base to say, excuse me. Just because Republicans have one house of Congress doesn't mean they're going to get, the House, doesn't mean that you should give in so easily.

So I think part of it is at least expressing, this is where the votes are. The House did it last week, the Senate is doing it today, this is where the votes are. See, this is why we need to sit down with Republicans and try to find a compromise because if we don't, everybody's taxes are going to go up.

HOLMES: OK, and I need to go, Dana. There was one other point that was very important here. They're trying to have negotiations behind the scenes. Is this going to damage those negotiations and chances of a compromise if the people negotiating across the table from you are making this kind of political move, some would say?

BASH: I think the answer to that is actually going to be no. And that is because people like Senator Kyl and other Republicans, for example, have made clear that they understand that this is kind of a political dance.

And that this maybe needs to happen for political reasons, everybody to get On the Record on these tax cuts, particularly Democrats on the idea that only people making $250,000 or less, only they should get a tax cut in the new year. Once that is done, then maybe they can -- everybody can get that out of the way and have earnest negotiations.

HOLMES: All right, Dana Bash, we appreciate it. We'll check back in. The vote is going on now, and there will be another vote after this as well. We'll see what the final numbers are. Dana, thank you. Good to have you with us this morning.

BASH: Thank you.

HOLMES: A quick break here and we're coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF: Are you ready? Are you ready? It's game on.

HOLMES: I'm fine.

WOLF: He says he's fine. Anyone who's ever watched CNN Saturday morning knows that T.J. and I have this thing about college football. We tend to be passionate about football. We're lucky enough here in Atlanta that we've got one of the biggest games in the nation, the number one Auburn Tigers taking on the number 19 South Carolina Gamecocks.

And we're very fortunate to have Jay Tate here covering the tigers. He's with "The Montgomery Advertiser." He's also the hottest auburn blogger on the net. Let's be honest, for full disclosure, T.J. is a skeptic of one of the biggest stories that the Cam Newton situation in auburn. T.J., fire away.

HOLMES: Well, you know what? You said you have the hottest blog there. What are you folks saying? For our viewers here, this is hands down the best player in the country.

WOLF: Absolutely.

HOLMES: The best college player in the country. He is going to win the Heisman unless something unforeseen happens. What are they saying, though, about him being declared ineligible this week? Five minutes later, he was reinstated.

JAY G. TATE, REPORTER, "MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER": It was actually 24 hours. That's a long term of ineligibility. Think about the week he had, OK? He led auburn to the biggest comeback win in the program's history. He was declared ineligible. He was cleared. And then the NCAA president came out and said I know a lot of people are confused about why that happened. It's a loophole and we'll get it fixed.

HOLMES: Tell us about the loophole.

TATE: It's that, OK, simply negotiating a deal is sort of against the rules and sort of not. And there's not really a way to punish him for that. I mean, that's not something that happens. Typically when you solicit something, you get it. And in this situation, there's evidence of solicitation but not that they got anything. And until that comes up, I don't know if you have a major violation.

WOLF: Jay, the number one thing that I know a lot of football fans want to say this -- want to hear you say this, is this thing over? Is it over?

TATE: A lot of Auburn fans want to hear me say that, but it's not over. The investigation continues, and there's every reason to believe they're going to find some new stuff or they may not. What came out this week to say he's eligible to play, that's not the end of the road at all.

HOLMES: We're talking about and what people are fearful of, he wins the Heisman. Auburn wins the national championship. A year or two down the road, wrongdoing is found. Here we go again, somebody else has to give back the Heisman or god forbid, Auburn would be to vacate an entire season. That's a possibility still.

TATE: It's a possibility but the fact that the NCAA would come out and say he's clear to play this game and based on the information we have right now tells me they feel pretty confident they know what they're talking about and that nothing's out there.

I mean, they've had nine to ten months to really investigate this. And my thought is if they were going to find something, they probably would have found it by now.

WOLF: It's interesting, we talked about possibly giving back wins, vacating a national championship. Before we even talk about a national championship, we have to deal with the game today.

We're talking about, of course, the SE championship. Auburn's going to be going up against a wonderful team with a great coach. And to be honest, we talked about this during the break, the story of Steve Spurrier is one that we probably should have been covering for a good part of the year instead of the Cam Newton story.

TATE: Absolutely. Cam Newton has been such an incredible player. He's the best player in this league since Herschel Walker. And you could argue better than that.

But Steve Spurrier to come around at 65 years old and to reinvent himself. His first few years at South Carolina, he was trying to put his ideas onto the team. They had a six and seven-win season, and he finally learned I'm going to deal with what I've got. I'm going to try to make the players play the way that they're capable of doing.

And look at what they're doing now. They've got a nine-win team, playing in the championship game, they've got a chance to do something special. A lot of people didn't think Spurrier could do.

HOLMES: Auburn and Oregon, if they both win, everything goes to plan. What could cause chaos today with the BCS?

TATE: Auburn losing would personal put some issues there. A lot of people think that auburn has a chance to go to the BCS championship game if they lose, but I don't see how that's going to happen. The computers love auburn, but the human polls don't. If they lose that game and TCU's undefeated, I don't see it happening.

HOLMES: We planned on sharing this, back to Cam Newton here, the statement you mentioned from the NCAA president. I forgot about it. I have it here in my hand. Mark Emmert says "We recognize that many people are outraged that a parent or anyone else could shop around a student athlete and there would possibly not be repercussions on the student athlete's eligibility.

I'm committed to further clarifying," this is what you said, Jay, "clarifying and strengthening our recruiting and amateur rules so they promote appropriate behavior."

I absolutely hope he's innocent, but it's scary. I think that's the part, like wait a minute. You can shop the kid as long as the athlete, wink, wink, doesn't know about it, he can still be eligible. That's what people think a dangerous precedent has now been set.

TATE: Yes, that's the situation right now. And the SEC specifically forbids kids there playing who agree to accept benefits or their people do that. But there's no proof that they actually agreed to accept it. They were simply discussing.

WOLF: One final question. Regards of how this turns out, do you see any way -- is there any way you see this guy staying for his senior year, Cam Newton?

TATE: No, I don't. There's too much scrutiny. It's reasonable to assume that he will continue to be cleared, but there's so much scrutiny on him. I don't see what he gains by coming back. He's improved so much. He's already the best player in college football. I don't know where he goes from here.

HOLMES: Good point. What else do you do? You're the best in college football and your team is 12-0. What do you do from there? We appreciate you coming. We appreciate you coming in. Good to see you, my man.

TATE: Thanks for having me.

HOLMES: We've got video here. We showed this to you earlier as well. Explain what was happen, a police officer arrived on the scene and this is what he saw. We'll explain what happened. He thought he was going to be pulling a body out of there.

I want to go back to Capitol Hill where a vote has been taking place. Dana, tell me, what just happened and why Harry Reid had a smile on his face just there.

BASH: Well, I'm not sure why he has a smile on his face, because as expected, his position on tax cuts just failed before the Senate. It was 53-36. And what we're talking about here is a Democratic measure to extend the Bush era tax cuts just for those making $250,000 or less. This is historically been the democratic position, by and large, the president's position. The Democrats wanted to get it on record, now they have done that.

They have shown that yes, there may be a majority of the Senate, 53 senators voting yes, but not enough to break a Republican filibuster, and that would have been 60 votes.

It's what we expected. But now they have done it, and Harry Reid is about to move on to the second vote, T.J., and the second vote is going to be to extend the tax cuts for those making up to $1 million a year. We don't expect that to pass either. T.J.?

HOLMES: So we're expecting the same result. But it has been done. And actually, if I can, guys, for a second, I see Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell going back and forth. Let me just hear what possibly Senator McConnell and Harry Reid are going back and forth about.

SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We need to complete the impeachment as quickly as we can. We've got to make sure everything's fair, and we'll make sure that's the case. But we expect some work to be done on Tuesday with votes being required here in the Senate. Most of the proceedings will be closed. We'll have to be here.

HOLMES: All right, they're talking a lot of procedural stuff clearly about what's going to happen possibly next week as well. Dana, continue to stand by. We appreciate you. Another vote is going to take place, and we will check in with you on that one as well.

But, again, like Dana just reported and what was expected to happen, that first measure about possibly extending the tax cuts next year for those making less than $250,000 has failed in the Senate. One more vote to go. We'll continue to keep an eye on the Senate working on a Saturday. It's about five minutes to the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Taking a look now at a few stories making headlines across the country. First stop, California, where prison officials are asking how one of the world's most notorious killers got access to a cell phone.

Charles Manson was caught with an LG flip phone under his prison mattress. He had already made several calls across the country. You'll remember Manson was able to get people to kill on his behalf. California's Department of Corrections has recovered more than 8,000 illegal phones from inmates this year alone.

A billboard in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is giving an exact date for the second coming. It says Jesus will return to earth on May 21st of 2011. You can expect it's got a lot of people's attention, got a lot of people talking. The group that put it up doesn't want to frighten anyone here. They say they hope the billboard will encourage more people to read the bible and to find themselves.

Well, in New Jersey, a difficult decision by Camden City Council. They have agreed to let 400 workers go, half of them, police officers and firefighters. It's about a quarter of the city's entire work force. The cuts going to take effect sometime in mid-January. Camden City Council, they say that the drastic measure is necessary to bridge a $26.5 million budget deficit.

Well, we were talking to you about so many things, oftentimes here on CNN Saturday and Sunday morning, we like to tell you about somebody we think you should know. And this morning we want to tell you about a police officer who we think you should know after he rescued a woman.

This woman, we'll give you an idea what happened. It all was caught on dashboard camera. This was the Florida Highway Patrol. Says the driver lost control and slammed into a street pole. That's when the SUV caught fire. A woman was trapped inside. Listen to the officer now tell us what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER JIMMY JALIL JR., FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL: I told her move up as far forward as she could. I fired two rounds, the glass spider- webbed. When I smashed the rest of the windshield at the time, I could hear her yelling for me, "Get me out of here!"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And he was able to pull the woman to safety. She's OK. And that's why the officer, Jimmy Jalil, is just somebody we thought you should know this morning.

Well, at the top of the hour here once again, hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could with us from the CNN worldwide headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

We've got a heated battle over tax cuts. It's playing out right now. Live on the Senate floor. Yes, senators are working on this Saturday. We'll have a live report from Capitol Hill in just a moment.