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Dems Tax Plan Fails in Votes; Surviving Unemployment; Katherine Schwarzenegger's Self-Esteem Tips; Trade Deal with South Korea Reached; Saving Lives, Saving Organs; 30 Days in Public Isolation; Permanent U.S. Bases in Afghanistan; Small Baker Sells Little-Known Product

Aired December 04, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: New unemployment numbers and expiring jobless benefits are painting a disappointing picture for millions of Americans still looking for work. We follow one man's two-year job search and learn if perseverance pays off.

Also ahead this hour, a "Face to Face" with Katherine Schwarzenegger. She's the daughter of the California governor and first lady, Maria Shriver. She talks to us about overcoming her own personal adversity.

Plus, our look at the top viral videos of the week. Yes, those are cats playing patty cake right there. No joke. But that's only part of the story.

So what brought U.S. Senators out for a rare Saturday session? Tax cuts. More specifically, two votes to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class, but both failed.

We get more from CNN senior Congressional correspondent, Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If Congress doesn't act by the end of the year, we're talking less than four weeks from now, every American in all income level will see a tax increase. But the Senate coming in on a Saturday didn't get Congress or the country any closer to resolving that issue.

What we're talking about are Bush-era tax cuts that are expiring, and Democrats who control the Senate put forward two votes. Both of them failed to break what was effectively a Republican filibuster. One was to extend tax cuts just for those making $250,000 or less. The other would have raised that to $1 million or less.

Now, Democrats say, look, it's just not right, especially in these times, for the wealthiest Americans to have lower taxes. They believe that their taxes should go up. Republicans say just the opposite. They say now is especially not the time for anybody to see a tax increase, even wealthy Americans.

Listen to some of the debate.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: 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 a definition of their values.

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: This debate is not about cutting taxes. This debate is whether or not we ought to increase taxes on anybody during a recession, and we feel you should not raise taxes on anybody during a recession.

BASH: Now, to be clear, Democrats in the Senate came in on this Saturday to take those votes knowing that they would fail, but saying that they wanted the Senate to be on the record.

So, what happens now? Well, negotiations toward a compromise, which have already been going on, are going to accelerate, and that's something that President Obama himself acknowledged when he spoke after the votes.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to redouble our efforts to resolve this impasse in the next few days to give the American people the peace of mind that their taxes will not go up on January 1st. It will require some compromise, but I'm confident that we can get it done.

BASH: Democratic and Republican sources tell us that the most likely compromise is to extend all Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels temporarily, probably for two years. What is unresolved, though, is what are Democrats going to get in return for such a compromise?

They have behind closed doors been trying to press Republicans to give on things that they didn't want to give on, things like extending unemployment benefits for a pretty lengthy period of time, and other tax credits that Democrats have pushed, like college tuition, which are also expiring at the end of the year. Now, sources in both parties say that they hope that this will be resolved by early next week.

Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. The latest jobs report paints a dismal picture for the number of Americans out of work. With only 39,000 jobs added last month, the unemployment rate now stands at 9.8 percent. Labor Department officials say that marks a major slowdown from October when the economy added 172,000 jobs.

Economists say employers are being cautious about hiring. So, on average, many Americans are unemployed about 34 weeks. But, for too many, it's much, much longer than that.

More than a year ago, I met out-of-work electrical engineer Calvin Ratchford at a job fair. At the time, he was hopeful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALVIN RATCHFORD, UNEMPLOYED FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS: I'm hoping at least by April, no later than May, at that time most employers will start, you know, opening up their doors for hiring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, when we first met him, that was March of last year, 2009. He was very hopeful about landing a job at any moment. Well now, nearly two years after being laid off, Calvin Ratchford has finally landed a job. He'll have to move out of state from Georgia to West Virginia, but he's OK about that.

Calvin joins us right now from Champaign, Illinois, where he's visiting some family members before he reports to his new job in just over a week from now.

So Calvin, congratulations, and what's the job that you landed?

RATCHFORD: I'm an engineer assistant with West Virginia DOT, doing inspection work for the State Highway Transportation Department.

WHITFIELD: Well, fantastic. Congratulations. I know it's been a long, long road landing that job.

So give me an idea how difficult it was trying to make ends meet and - and what you had to do along the way as you were looking in terms of changing your lifestyle, moving in perhaps with family members, et cetera?

RATCHFORD: Yes. It was a difficult time. During those two years, I had to use all of my 401(k) and unemployment benefits. Then, when those ran out, I had to make a decision. So it was time to move away from a lofty apartment and move back home to family, and there, I got a lot of support. It helped me find a job. It helped make ends meet.

So I just had to do whatever I needed to do to - to stay afloat.

WHITFIELD: And it seems like you had done all the right things. We met you at a job fair. You've been going to a number of job fairs religiously. You had updated your resume. You were networking. You were checking jobsites online all the time.

But, in the end, even after doing all of those things and not landing a job right away, but eventually landing something two years after being laid off, what do you suppose was the key ingredient in finally landing this job?

RATCHFORD: Well, one of the key ingredients is to don't give up. Never give up. As well, be patient. It's going to take some time. I had a lot of nos before that yes came.

So, during that time, use this opportunity to kind of beef up your skills. Get some certifications if you need to. Volunteer. I did a little bit of that. And just do whatever you can to - to stay marketable --

WHITFIELD: And it sounds like -

RATCHFORD: -- even if it means going back to school. Oh, I'm sorry.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, and that - and we've heard that - we heard that from a lot of, you know, job counselors. Sometimes, it meant - being laid off meant an opportunity to go back to school, kind of freshen up your skills.

I know that you'd also told me that you were very persistent while a job didn't necessarily pan out, the one that you're pursuing at first, when you went to the website of the West Virginia DOT. Along the way, perhaps through your interviewing skills, perhaps through being persistent on calling, when there was another job available, you were one of the first people they thought of.

RATCHFORD: Yes. I applied to West Virginia about a year ago and got on their registry. I did land a few interviews, but, as well, I had to turn down some offers because, at the time, the time wasn't right to leave. So I just had to keep trying.

And then, some of the positions also might not have been paying as much, but, at the same time, I was willing to - to accept them. But I had - I just had to turn it down until one day the right offer came up.

So, just during that time, just kept being patient and just staying in contact with them.

WHITFIELD: Well, very exciting. Congratulations. I know it has been a very tough journey, and you've been so diligent about keeping us posted and we've been reaching out to you.

Originally, when we met you over a year ago, we had met about six or seven other candidates at that same job fair and, along the way, we've lost contact because many people lost their phone service, they had to move, they fell on hard times as well. So we're glad that we do have a bright spot in this story.

You were, you know, among the original six or seven. And congratulations to finding that job and really hanging in there. Congrats, Calvin.

RATCHFORD: Thank you. Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right, teen angst, peer pressure - difficult even when you're a typical kid. But when you have the last name Schwarzenegger, the experience is decidedly unique.

"Face to Face" with author Katherine Schwarzenegger, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk some nasty weather. Of course, it's all relative. Maybe you really like snow, maybe you don't, especially when you're trying to get around.

Take a look right here. This is Chicago. This is from the vantage point of Chicago O'Hare.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You can't see it, by the way.

(CROSSTALK).

JERAS: It's in the background. Trust me. It's there.

WHITFIELD: A lot of planes are not taking off and landing like people would like them to.

And then let's move on to Buffalo, shall we? Well, yes, they are used to snow, but lately it's been a little too much too soon. They are digging out. Massive early snowstorm taking place right there.

Jacqui Jeras here in the Weather Center. You know, the folks in Buffalo are used to it.

JERAS: They are.

WHITFIELD: We're talking about over a foot already?

JERAS: Well, what happened is that so much came in such a short period of time. You know, it was like two to three inches per hour - an hour for several hours, and that, I think, is what caught so many people off guard. Today, they're still dealing with a little bit of lake effect, but we're starting to focus a little bit more on the Midwest.

So let's show you a couple more tower cams, a few more cities being impacted. We've got Indianapolis, for example, dealing with some nasty conditions. You can see the snow on top of some of those buildings there. They're under a winter weather advisory.

So two to four inches. It's - you know, it's not a major winter storm, but it's the first significant one.

WHITFIELD: Uncomfortable.

JERAS: It is. It's uncomfortable. So it's a good thing it's happening on the weekend.

WHITFIELD: We're not ready for it.

JERAS: I know. And if you're trying to travel -

WHITFIELD: That's a good point. It's a good thing it's happening on the weekend.

JERAS: Yes. WHITFIELD: So at least, you know, folks could play, and, if they want to, stay put, right? If they don't want to play.

JERAS: And there's Cincinnati, and I don't see a soul in that picture. How about you? Let's take that full and give people a good look at that, and I'll head on over to the Magic Wall and - and show you what's going on with this storm system.

It's kind of a clipper-type system, and it's making a dive towards the south and it's impacting a whole lot of people today from the Midwest, stretching all the way down into the mid-Atlantic states and even down into the Carolinas. Chicago, you're still under that winter weather advisory, but the main impact from this system is starting to pull away. You already have about three and a half inches on the ground at O'Hare, and we'll start to see actually the winds turn more favorable that we're going to see more lake-effect snows starting to kick in as we head into the afternoon hours.

Then, we head down along the interstate and head over towards Indianapolis and towards Cincinnati, and that's where we have all those advisories stretching through that area. And the snowfall totals here, too, maybe around the range of two to four inches overall. But the roadways are going to be very, very slick.

Raleigh, we're dealing with some light snow right now. You get into the Piedmont, and we're going to see a couple of inches there. And we might see a little wintry mix from time to time as well, so use caution on the interstates. If you have air travel plans as well, the only two delays are both Chicago right now, about an hour and a half at O'Hare, about 30-minute departure delays at Midway.

So that's the difference between these two. A ground delay means people who are taking off to get into O'Hare have that type of a wait, and the departure delays at Midway means people who are trying to get out of Midway are having those delays. But I do think some of those airports could have issues, so make sure you call your carrier ahead of time. And, by the way, there have been over 300 delays -- or cancellations, rather, out of O'Hare today because of this weather system.

Now, where's this thing going and what's going to happen? It's a real fast mover. So, for the most part, this thing is going to be out of here by tomorrow, and we're going to watch this low pressure developing off the coast.

Now, at the same time, we've got low pressure up here into Canada, and these two things are going to kind of merge together and we are going to have some major winds on the backside of this storm system late Sunday and continuing into Monday. So some big lake- effect areas are going to be different than what we saw last go around, like Buffalo, for example. So we're going to see places like Ft. Wayne and down towards South Bend, Indiana could see as much as 10 to maybe even 18 inches of snowfall over the next couple of days.

West Coast dealing with a little system here. This isn't terribly potent, but we're looking at rain in the valleys and snow in the higher elevations so, of course, that always causes some travel issues as well if you're trying to get around across the weekend.

I'm not sure why I did the -

WHITFIELD: I got it, though. You wish you could do this and drive. But you can't do it for real, so just pretend.

JERAS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqui. Appreciate that. Thank you.

JERAS: OK.

WHITFIELD: All right. Loving your inner and outer self, the core of Katherine Schwarzenegger's book, "Rock What You've Got." If the author's name rings a bell, it should. Schwarzenegger's father is California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and her mother is journalist Maria Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family.

Well, Katherine Schwarzenegger opens up about invaluable guidance from her famous parents through some of her toughest times. "Face to Face," she tells me about her discovery of so many other young people sharing similar self-esteem challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A lot of folks who have their own little personal testimonials about, you know, people calling them fat, or, you know, what it felt like when they looked in the mirror, et cetera. How did you find them?

KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER, AUTHOR, ROCK WHAT YOU'VE GOT: I really wanted to get people's personal experiences and their opinions about body image and how they feel. So I did a survey that I e-mailed out to all of my girlfriends and then they e-mailed it out to their girlfriends. So it was kind of a chain e-mail.

And I got amazing responses, and I kind of scattered the quotes throughout the book because I think that, you know, their little nuggets of wisdom are amazing things. People should really read it. It's real stuff.

And, you know, when people are called names and they are 55 years old, they remember that. (INAUDIBLE) -

WHITFIELD: Did you feel like that would help make it more believable, to be able to hear from somebody else, like Lindsay in Boulder, Colorado? She says, you know, I started to watch my body and criticize it when I entered high school and broke 100 pounds in high school. Your weight was something discussed often with your girlfriends, and you tended to say things like, I wish my butt wasn't so big or my body shape was more like yours.

SCHWARZENEGGER: It's something that you really see. OK, this is an issue. It can affect a girl six years old and it can affect a woman that's 70 years old. It's not just for a specific age group. And it's, you know, a real issue you can see in those quotes. WHITFIELD: And then your dad. I mean, talk about, you know, growing up with someone, you know, who is the epitome of being fit, seeing that he was conscientious of his health and fitness. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator, this still made you feel insecure about you?

SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes. I think that, you know, for me, when I was younger, and still today, my dad's just my dad. And he's not, you know, the Terminator to me. He's not, you know, Mr. Olympia to me.

I know, I see the pictures in my house of him being, you know, very muscular, obviously, but I didn't, you know, look at that and say, oh, I need to look like that. That's what I really want to aspire to look like.

To me, it was like, OK, that's what my dad did, you know, back then, but this is my dad now, and to me he's just my dad. He wasn't anything more. And he never pressured me and my siblings to kind of go down that path or to be extra fit because of that.

WHITFIELD: So here's a section that you talk about your dad in particular and what you were feeling at the time - seventh grade, and you felt like all the rules had changed. If you wouldn't mind reading that portion.

SCHWARZENEGGER: OK. It was hard to make new friends, especially because there were a lot more kids who recognized my very distinctive last name. "Are you Arnold's daughter," they'd say? As if it were some big deal. It wasn't to me. But, then again, not everyone's dad was the Terminator, right?

It was awkward to study American history and read a whole chapter on my mother's family. My heritage was something I couldn't escape, and it made me terribly self-conscious and insecure.

As I got older, I was adamant about keeping friends I knew from elementary school, the kids who liked me for me, because I worried the new kids in middle and high school only wanted to be friends with me because of who my parents are. This was something I worried about, perhaps unnecessarily so, at least until I discovered boys. That's when it became obvious he was interested in me and he was interested in my dad.

WHITFIELD: And so that was very difficult, was it not, for a long time to kind of depart from - I mean, you can't depart from the name Schwarzenegger -

SCHWARZENEGGER: No.

WHITFIELD: -- because people are always thinking about your dad.

SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes. For me, when I was in - middle school was the first time that I - my group from elementary school kind of broadened and I got kids from everywhere coming in. And so it was the first time that my last name was a big deal at my school. And I think you really have to trust your gut opinion about who's friends with you for who you are and who's friends with you for other reasons.

WHITFIELD: You wrote in your book that your dad, when you were in your high chair, he was always saying you were smart. You were beautiful. All these beautiful, wonderful words of positive reinforcement.

So what kind of advice did dad give you when you were at this juncture where you doubted yourself?

SCHWARZENEGGER: When you saw me and my sister, as we got older, kind of standing in front of the mirror and constantly criticizing ourselves, he kind of looked at both of us and said, it's really important that you guys talk about the positive things in your life, that you look at your glass half full rather than half empty.

So I think that, you know, those little things of advice that my dad gave me were really important and really made me, you know, kind of stand back and be, like, OK, I am being really hard on myself. I shouldn't look in front of the mirror and automatically say, gosh, my arms are too big. My legs are too big. I wish I could lose weight in my thighs, you know? Just focus on more positive things and changing your attitude about it.

My dad's all about having a good attitude with everything. So, you know, he gave me those advice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Katherine Schwarzenegger, "Face to Face." My conversation with her continues at the 4:00 Eastern hour. She tells me why she canceled her Facebook page while in high school, and she talks about plans for the future for the Schwarzenegger family. Tune in for that.

Also coming up, we have the hottest viral videos online, and, for that, you know what that means. That's the cue for Josh Levs.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fred. You got to take a look at this one. Check this out.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: This is stunning images from a company called Batelco. I'm going to give you the story behind this.

Plus, we've got cats playing patty-cake; a 7-year-old with some serious dancing skills; and we've got the new Hanukkah song that is seriously viral, all coming up, in "Viral Video Rewind."

WHITFIELD: Can't wait. Thanks, Josh.

LEVS: You got it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Josh has our viral videos ready to go. But first, a quick check of top stories.

Republicans today blocked two Democratic measures to extend the Bush-era tax cuts to most Americans. Republicans want the extension to apply to all, including the wealthiest. Without action by Congress, the cuts will expire at the end of the year.

The vote sets the stage for both parties to hammer out a compromise.

And planes are flying in and out of Spain again today, but thousands of travelers were stranded after air traffic controllers went on strike yesterday. Authorities say airspace was reopened after enough controllers showed up for their afternoon shift. Still, there are flight cancellations and delays.

And two people have been arrested in connection with a deadly wildfire in Northern Israel. It's already killed more than 40 people, injured at least 17, and forced the evacuations of thousands, and it's still burning out of control.

Police think the fires were the result of negligence and were not set intentionally.

All right. Here we go. Tricks from computers, cats as well. They're topping today's viral videos. Josh Levs here with the tapes. Good stuff.

LEVS: All right.

Well, we're starting off with these really stunning images. Take a look at this, this beautiful video.

It's for a company called Batelco. It's a telecommunications company based in Bahrain called Infinity. And the theme is a journey through people's ideas, ideas that you never thought possible brought to life. And it just takes you through all these amazing, impossible images.

This is the one we were seeing before the break there. Balls - soccer balls at once (ph). Skip ahead to the next section of this video.

What they did was they worked with a company called Spy Films, which we've seen before in "Viral Video Rewind". Spy Films comes up with amazing videos. Look at that.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

LEVS: And this went viral so fast. You know, at the end they lead people to the Facebook page for Batelco, Facebook.com/batelco.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

LEVS: So, really messing with you.

WHITFIELD: Yes. The - the digital opportunities are just vast. LEVS: It's amazing.

WHITFIELD: Hey, wait a minute, that's really happening? No, don't believe it. He's not really skateboarding that high in the sky.

LEVS: What they can create now.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: I talked to the company this weekend - it is amazing. Spy Films.

WHITFIELD: But it's neat.

LEVS: All right. So the next, we've got a little bit of comedy for you.

WHITFIELD: OK. I want to laugh.

LEVS: Take a look at a couple cats playing patty-cake.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: All right. Here you go.

(VOICES SINGING "PAT-A-CAKE")

WHITFIELD: Speaking of trickery, digital trickery, is that's what's happening here or is this real? (INAUDIBLE).

LEVS: I think they just got this video of the cats doing this and they decided to, after they got it, voice it over. Yes, they started arguing, and so - hey, skip to the next section of this.

This is from YouTube page, JustinCElliott, and he's hilarious. He's (INAUDIBLE).

All right.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's so cute.

LEVS: Now, I've got something else for you, which is adorable. A little - a different kind of adorable.

WHITFIELD: OK.

LEVS: This is a 7-year-old, some serious dance skills. Serious dance skills. Take a look at this kid dancing on the street.

WHITFIELD: Let me see. Oh, seven?

LEVS: I don't think he's seven, but -

WHITFIELD: No, he's looking younger than seven.

LEVS: That's what I thought. But the website - WHITFIELD: He's rolling there.

LEVS: -- says that he's seven, and I didn't find a different age anywhere else online. But, yes, he looks younger than seven to me.

WHITFIELD: He's looking, four, three.

LEVS: I was thinking three or four, but -

WHITFIELD: Oh, cute. Oh, a little Superman. Oh, my gosh.

LEVS: He's got some moves.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: I know.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Oh, that's so cute.

LEVS: And if anyone out there can make out what the song is behind it, let us know. I'm going to show you at the end where you can get in touch with us.

All right.

WHITFIELD: He's got rhythm.

LEVS: Now, sometimes at "Viral Video Rewind" I get to show you these cool tricks of science or just cool bits of video, things you didn't know about.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: Take a look at this one here, the underwater bottle cap trick -

WHITFIELD: What?

LEVS: -- where they just blow a bubble and put a bottle cap in it -

WHITFIELD: Really?

LEVS: -- and the bottle cap spins around at the edge of the bubble.

WHITFIELD: No.

LEVS: And kind of attacks the bubble and breaks it up. And then they do it again.

Isn't that really cool? Something you would have never known.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And of course we're all going to be trying this now when we go to the pool this summer.

LEVS: Yes. Well, let's not have too many bottle caps in the pool, folks.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. That, too. (INAUDIBLE) that.

LEVS: But it's really -

WHITFIELD: Really?

LEVS: -- impressive. Yes. Break.com. They have some of these really amazing, you know, experiments that go on.

WHITFIELD: Those swimmers have too much time on their hands, but that's cool.

LEVS: Yes. (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: That is cool.

LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) viral videos.

WHITFIELD: Like it.

LEVS: OK, finally, this - you know the Hanukkah song. Everyone -- everyone knows it as the Dreidel Song.

This year, there's a new one from this group called The Maccabeats, and it's a takeoff of a pop song. You're going to hear it. And they have done a really impressive job -

WHITFIELD: This is not the Adam Sandler version?

LEVS: No. That's another really popular Hanukkah song.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Right.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: What they're doing is they're telling the story of Hanukkah and a viewer actually tweeted this to me. And you're going to hear them as the other guys start singing along. They have this group and they put together all the song acapella.

WHITFIELD: It's well produced.

LEVS: Listen to this part. We had a story about this on CNN.com. It's already had 1.4 million views and it was just put up last week.

WHITFIELD: My gosh. I love this. That's a good music video and they sound good.

LEVS: They're really good.

WHITFIELD: It's catchy.

LEVS: Let's keep the sound going. Every week I post the videos on my Facebook. See it here. Facebook.com/joshlevscnn. As soon as I'm off the air, I'll post the links and on Twitter as well and you can send us your favorite videos. And we will have them for you next week.

WHITFIELD: I love it. That's catchy.

LEVS: I know, I'm telling you.

WHITFIELD: Maybe it will take us right to the break.

LEVS: You want to go to the break with it? Let's go to the break with it.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks. I like it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama today announced a major trade agreement with South Korea. The president had hoped to secure an agreement with South Korea during his trip to Asia last month, but he left Seoul empty-handed. So, in making his announcement today, the president said the deals offered during his Asia trip were not good enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not interested in signing trade agreements for the sake of signing trade agreements. I'm interested in agreements that increase jobs and exports for the American people and that also help our partners grow their economies.

So I told Ron and our team to take the time to get this right and get the best deal for America and that is what they have done. The agreement we're announcing today includes several important improvements and achieves what I believe trade deals must do. It's a win-win for both our countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president says the agreement will increase U.S. exports and create American jobs. The deal now has to win the approval of lawmakers in both countries.

All right. Now we want to show you some dramatic video from a subway station in Madrid, Spain. As we go to the video, look to the top left of your screen right there. Yes, you see a man losing his balance, falling onto the train tracks below.

You can also see the people on the platform waving their hands on the other side. That's because a train is coming. An off-duty police officer jumps down on the tracks just in the nick of time, pulling the man away. A close call there.

All right, this week in New York, a controversial pilot program began that could dramatically increase the number of donor organs, organs that could save lives. But the program raises serious questions as we hear from CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the next five months, New York City ambulances could be shadowed if paramedics are responding to a cardiac arrest. A second specially- equipped unit, this one, will be on standby to whisk away potential organ donors.

ELAINE BERG, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEW YORK ORGAN DONOR NETWORK: There could be an additional 22,000 organ donors a year in the United States if, you know, if this process was really implemented nationally.

CANDIOTTI: The numbers could jump because a donor would not have to die in a hospital. That's the rule now, but not many people know it. Starting only with kidneys, New York's new pilot program wants to see whether donors could come from the estimated 450 people who die of cardiac arrest each year outside of Manhattan hospitals.

(on camera): Knowing how much scrutiny there will be, organizers have a litany of requirements including these. First, the deceased must be between the ages of 18 and 60, cannot have cancer or any infectious disease, cannot be a victim of crime, and previously must have signed an organ donor card.

On top of that, the family must agree twice, once before the body is taken to the hospital, and finally, before the kidney is removed at the hospital.

(voice-over): That first decision must be made in 20 minutes, or the possible transplant is aborted. Some experts worry whether that's too much pressure on a family.

DR. JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: The chemicals flowing in their body and the emotions that are being flooded are all clouding being able to make a rational decision at that moment.

CANDIOTTI: Some ethicists worry whether there are enough safeguards.

PROF. LESLIE WHETSTINE, BIOETHICIST, WALSH UNIVERSITY: We have to be wary of aggressive donation protocols that were not in our zest to obtain organs that are not bending the rules.

CANDIOTTI: Organizers of New York's five-month test say they've built in so many safeguards. They may get very few new organ donors.

DR. LEWIS GOLDFRANK, PROGRAM RESEARCHER, BELLEVUE HOSPITAL: We do all the things that are right from a human point of view, so we show the city and the country that it works, and then we need support to be able to do this as a unit that continues on into the future.

CANDIOTTI: A $1.5 million federal grant is paying for the experiment. The goal is to save more lives through organ donation. Each year experts estimate 6,500 people nationwide die waiting for a transplant. Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, get a load of this. She lived in a storefront for 30 days on public view, but completely isolated from direct human contact except through Twitter or Facebook or some other social media. She's out now, and she's talking to us about what she learned, whether she likes it, would she return to that existence?

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WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, exploring the anti-social side about social media, but first a look at our top stories.

Senate Republicans blocked efforts today to extend Bush-Era tax cuts to most Americans. The action is expected to clear the way for negotiations between the White House and Republicans before the cuts expire at the end of the year.

And in Moscow today, two people were killed, but 153 survived when a plane made an emergency landing and skidded off the icy runway. About 50 survivors were injured, some seriously enough to be taken to the hospital. Officials say all three engines on the Russian passenger jet failed shortly after it took off from another Moscow airport.

The White House is telling federal employees and contractors to stay away from the leaked government documents on WikiLeaks. The office of Management and Budget said in a memo the cables are still considered classified and should not be accessed at work or at home by unauthorized federal workers.

Public isolation. That may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it's exactly how Cristin Norine spent the month of November. She spent 30 days living alone in a vacant store in Portland, Oregon, connected to the world only through a display window, as you see there, and through so-called social media.

Well, she's joining us right now by phone from Mt. Hood, Oregon. So Cristin, why in the world did you do this anyway? Was it kind of like an experiment? Was it a point you were trying to make? Why?

CRISTIN NORINE, SPENT 30 DAYS IN "ISOLATION" (via telephone): It was an art installation that I did with a partner, Josh Elliott. So it was an art thing just to kind of get people to maybe pay attention to how we use these things in our lives.

WHITFIELD: And so you found this kind of dependency only talking to people via these social mediums that this kind of dependency is a good thing or not so good?

NORINE: Well, I think that -- I mean, what I've learned from it is that I think it's just -- there's a balance that we need to have and just recognizing that. I think it all happened so quickly that we don't have a chance to kind of absorb it as like the latest iPhone comes out. WHITFIELD: So what did you end up missing most of all by only talking to people, communicating with the outside world through these means?

NORINE: Well, I missed fresh air a lot, but I also really missed just that physical interaction of being able to hug another human being.

WHITFIELD: And then what did you love about this form of communication only?

NORINE: You know, well, at first I think that it was kind of a novelty, you know, being able to use Skype and those sort of things can be really cool and wonderful to be able to talk to people all over the world.

But then in the end, it just kind of started to point out to me all of the things that I couldn't do so there's pluses and minuses to all of these things.

WHITFIELD: So in the end now, here you are after these 30 days in kind of isolation, you were kind of like, you know, a zoo animal, too, because people were walking by and able to see you in the window, even though there wasn't that, you know, direct interface kind of communication. So in the end, here you are now in Mt. Hood. You are kind of in isolation. Do I have that part right?

NORINE: A little.

WHITFIELD: OK, but you're being a little social, too. What is it about this kind of need and how are you living right now versus how you were living in that storefront?

NORINE: Well, I actually was feeling when I was in the gallery space, I was feeling really overwhelmed at how accessible I was and kind of almost had some anxiety and kind of noticing things like because I was multitasking, my attention span was shortening.

I just felt kind of like people were coming at me from all directions even though I was in this room by myself because they could reach me through e-mail and Facebook and texting and all these different things.

And so I came up to just to kind of get away from all that. I'm not using my computer. I don't have internet. You know, the old- fashioned phone is the only way we're able to communicate.

WHITFIELD: And then here we're looking at pictures of you being out. You were looking like a freed prisoner or something. Cristin Norine. Thanks so much. Congrats on your - your experiment. You survived 30 days and now enjoy that isolation, but instead in the mountains.

NORINE: Right. Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate your time. Thanks so much. All right, success at school, it's something every parent wants for their kids. But between classes, homework, sports and a social life, it can be tough to keep your child on track. For one family, the battle begins way before the first bell rings. It starts when the alarm clock rings. So we sent in Dr. Steve Perry for an "Education Makeover."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA RACZKOWSKI, MOTHER: We have three marvelous children. They're all in middle school right now. The first is Nathan. Nathan is 14, he just turned 14, and he's in the eighth grade. And then our twins, David and Eva are 12 years old.

They love school because they get to see all of their friends there. But Victor and I feel that the children -- maybe they're not meeting their full potential.

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: We gave the Raczkowski family a flip cam so that I could get a sense of what was going on inside the home. What their daily routines look like, and how mom and dad struggle to get their children to comply with what they want them to do to be successful in school.

J. RACZKOWSKI: Good morning, Nathan, time to get up.

Good morning, Eva, time to rise. Are you awake?

David, good morning; time to wake up. Time to get up and get your stuff together and go to school. Good morning.

Come on, rise and shine, happy guy.

Come on, Nathan, this is your second call. OK. Hurry up, you need to leave with daddy in like five minutes, OK?

It's worrisome because it is 5 minutes of 8:00, I'm leaving the house, and the kid isn't out of the bed yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK, so did they get that wake-up call from Dr. Steve Perry? You can catch "Education Makeover" with the doctor today 4:30 Eastern Time right here on CNN.

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WHITFIELD: Time now for CNN Equals Politics. Here's what's crossing the Ticker right now. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez says giving in to Republicans in Congress is like negotiating with terrorists.

He's talking about Democrats possibly agreeing to extend the Bush-Era tax cuts for all Americans. An aide says the senator was just making reference to the negotiations and didn't mean it personally.

One senator is calling for a bipartisan budget summit to be held next year with the president and his advisers. It comes from Democrat Ken Conrad, who is the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He says future debt decisions should use this week's deficit commission report as a blue print.

And Senator Lindsey Graham wants a permanent American presence in Afghanistan. The South Carolina Republican is proposing that the U.S. keep two air bases there to help Afghan security forces. The Pentagon says they currently have no plans for permanent bases in Afghanistan.

And brand recognition is a problem many small businesses seem to face, but what happens if the public doesn't even recognize your product? That's the hurdle faced by one Pennsylvania company. How did they overcome it?

Christine Romans explains in this week's "Turn Around."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you don't know what a pizzelle is, you're not alone. These waffle- shaped Italian cookies are hardly a household name, but Stan Kourakos is trying to change that. His business, Little Pepi's, makes pizzelles and only pizzelle in this modest factory in Hatfield, Pennsylvania.

STAN KOURAKOS, PRESIDENT, LITTLE PEPI'S: The biggest challenge is just getting people to know what a pizzelle is, even though it's been around since 700 B.C.

ROMANS: Kourakos bought the business in 2003 from the original owner who started out baking the cookies in his own kitchen four decades ago. Little Pepi's had a small but loyal following, but sales began to slow.

KOURAKOS: When I bought the business, there were two big problems, two glaring problems that I saw. Number one was the building was being taken for eminent domain. The second problem was the equipment was all 25 years. It was all electric. It was very labor-intensive process.

ROMANS: The solution, Kourakos moved the company to a larger suburban facility and made a big purchase, a giant waffle stick oven retro fitted specifically to make pizzelles. Production quadrupled, but his energy bills also jumped. So Kourakos went from baking four days a week for eight hours to baking three days a week for 10 hours. He was able to keep almost all of his employees, about one quarter of them have special mental or physical needs.

KOURAKOS: That's a corporate responsibility we've taken on. That's the one unique thing about our business. It is a family-run business, but we're like a family here.

ROMANS: Sales are up 15 percent this year, but ingredient and packaging costs have jumped, too, that's cutting into the company's margins because Kourakos doesn't want to pass those price increases onto his loyal customers.

KOURAKOS: We get e-mails all the time. Your product is just like my grandmother's, and we embrace that.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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