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Bernanke: Normal Unemployment Maybe Years Away; Iran Claims Nuclear Independence; Facebook Rolls Out New Profile Page Design

Aired December 05, 2010 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us.

We begin tonight with a stunning admission from the nation's top economist. Brace yourselves. Recovery may take much longer than expected.

This grim news from Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, coming just two days after that unexpected grim jobs report. Bernanke said tonight on "60 Minutes" that at the rate we're going, it could be four, five years before we are back to a more normal unemployment rate. Our chief business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us now to explain.

Ali, what does this means for Americans?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Hey, look, Don, the issue here is that Ben Bernanke was on the other side of this recession in the beginning and saying that things were not as bad as they were. So I think what he wants to do here is not get everybody's hopes up.

The reality is it probably isn't going to take four or five years to get back to the 5 percent unemployment that we were at before this recession at the beginning of -- at the end of 2007. But it is going to take a while and things have been slower than expected.

Most estimates were that sometime in 2014 or so, things would start getting back to normal, or at least we'd get to those levels. Now it looks like it's going to be a little longer, and Ben Bernanke doesn't want you blaming him for it if it takes longer than expected.

LEMON: Ali, just last week before we got those job numbers, we're saying the economy -- it was looking better. That's what experts have predicted.

VELSHI: Yes.

LEMON: Now we're hearing the 9.8 unemployment rate and now this. Are we going backwards?

VELSHI: Well, we're not going backwards. We're going forwards more slowly than we had hoped to be, and the problem is that when you look out and you look out at next year's economy, it's actually going to be better than this year's. It's just we -- between technology, which makes us need fewer workers, and globalization, which makes us outsource workers, we're not getting the jobs back.

It's not that the rest of the economy, if you listen to what Bernanke said, not that the rest of the economy is not going to recover faster. It's we -- we get back to that 5 percent unemployment rate that we were at around there right before the recession. That's the thing that's the thing that's going to take us a little longer.

LEMON: And Ali Velshi will be reporting this tomorrow, and may actually be his lead story at 1:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. He is our senior business correspondent.

Thank you, Ali.

There's word tonight from Washington that Democrats are trying to reach some sort of compromise on the so-called Bush tax cuts. Those cuts expire at the end of the year, just a few short weeks from now. So far, Republicans have been able to block attempts to extend the cuts for only the middle class, and the GOP wants the cuts extended for everyone, including the wealthy.

Now earlier, CNN political contributor William Bennett -- Bill Bennett explained the conservative position.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BENNETT, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: You know, if you live in a state like Maryland and you make $250,000 a year, your family does, you're paying 50 percent of your income in taxes, and that's a lot, and we think that's enough. Second, we've got to get spending under control. We don't get spending under control if we keep feeding the beast, and we think that's part of the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And CNN senior political editor Mark Preston tells me both sides, Republicans and Democrats, will have to compromise. Democrats, on extending the cuts for all, and Republicans, on renewing jobless benefits for the unemployed. Otherwise, Mark says, both parties will be in big trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: We have several more days for them to try to work it out, you're right. We are in December. People are very tired from the midterm elections, but allowing these tax cuts to expire would really be political suicide, Don.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Also, Congress is also running out of time to take on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The House passed a bill to repeal it way back in May. There could be enough votes to do the same in the Senate, but other priorities like those tax cuts have stood in the way.

A recent Pentagon report showed some service members are dead set against a repeal, but most are OK with the idea. Democrat and former General Wesley Clark tells ABC that the time has come, but Bill Bennett says the debate shouldn't end yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENNETT: The closer you get to combat, the more opposition you get. Marines who are going to be in combat are opposed. Also, army folks who are in combat, combat army, are opposed. We say we want to pay attention to them. We want to do everything for them. We want to honor them. We probably ought to honor their wishes, at least take them seriously.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FMR. NATO SUPREME COMMANDER: Society is moving on. The Army and the rest of the services should reflect the society that they are protecting, and the people in the services are willing to do it. So I think what they need to do is...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they are not.

CLARK: ...take the military out of the crosshairs of the culture wars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Bill Bennett and I covered a lot of topics tonight. In just a minute, you'll hear his thoughts on Sarah Palin's new TV show and her political future. Plus, he talks about his new book. It's called "The American Patriot's Almanac." That's coming up just five minutes from now here on CNN.

There's been a startling announcement out of Iran today, exactly the kind of message Western governments did not want to hear. Iran says it can make nuclear fuel from scratch, including a crucial component known as "yellow cake." Until now, Iran has had to depend on other countries for this raw material from which enriched uranium is made.

If Iran's claim is true, though, it poses a serious potential threat to global stability and security. Both Republicans and Democrats are in rare agreement that Iran is treading on very dangerous ground here. First, former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich followed by Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: The Iranians have been pretty straightforward. They say, you know, every day that goes by they get stronger. And if the world doesn't do something decisive to replace this dictatorship, we're going to be faced with a nuclear- armed Iran in the very near future.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, I think there's going to be a very serious discussion at the United Nations and the National Security Council. There will be a very serious discussion with our allies about steps to take to really ratchet down significantly the sanctions. If the Iranian leadership doesn't get it by now and they are not willing to be a legitimate partner in non-proliferation efforts in the country, then we're going to have to take stronger steps to push them in that direction. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Nuclear talks between Iran, the U.S. and five other countries are set to resume Monday in Geneva.

Also tonight, breaking news out of Utah. Incredible story of a pilot pulled alive from a fiery plane crash just outside of Salt Lake City. This story is still developing. Tonight, the FAA, though, is confirming to CNN the single-engine Cessna was cleared for an instrument landing at Ogden Airport just north of Salt Lake City when it hit a house and then burst into flames. Several homes caught fire, but no deaths have been reported. There was heavy fog at the time.

Again, we are following this developing story. Any new developments, we'll bring it to you here on CNN.

Up next, more with conservative commentator Bill Bennett, including what he thinks of Sarah Palin as the leader of the Republican Party.

Also the big change that's about to affect 500 million of us. Facebook is getting a major makeover. The founder of the company revealing the changes tonight and talking about protecting your private information.

Plus, terror at an upscale resort. Sharks in the water, and vacationers are under attack. One woman has already died.

We're online and you should be, too. Send your comments to us. We're on all those social networking sites right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: More now of my conversation from CNN political contributor William Bennett. His latest book is "The American Patriot's Almanac." It's a new version of his national bestseller. We talked about that book and about Sarah Palin, and I asked him about Sarah Palin's new reality TV show and her political future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENNETT: Look, she's a media star. She's a sensation. She's a beautiful woman. She's talented in a beautiful state. I can see this with, you know, the clips you're showing. But as to whether she will be the president of the United States or the candidate, she's going to have to take her chances with I think at least 15 -- 10, 15 other people.

And what we have to do, I think, as a party, my own view, is to sit down when the time comes and to say who is the person who can take on and defeat Barack Obama and get us a Republican president. And then unsentimentally, just like you pick, you know, the winners of the Bowls or the teams that should go, not with your heart but with your head, you pick that person who is going to come out the best.

LEMON: Can she do it?

BENNETT: Sarah Palin has very -- well, she's got very strong positives from part of the Republican Party.

LEMON: OK.

BENNETT: She's got very strong negatives and independents are a problem for her. She's going to have to win over the independents because the numbers are not there for her in a general election.

The idea here is to make our history as interesting as it actually was. You know, this is our worst subject in school, Don. Our kids do worse in history than in reading or math, and yet these books, you know, these biographies of Adams or Washington sell like hot cakes. It's a fabulous story, the American story, and we try to tell it here.

We have a day for each day of the calendar and we say what things that happened on that day, the things you just mentioned. And we have other things like 50 great American movies, that's something folks can argue about, and 12 reasons to love this country.

We have all the basic documents. We have a lot of information on the states. It's kind of a handbook for young people and for families to learn about the country. There's a lot of talk about patriotism, a lot of invocation of patriotism, but this is the real stuff.

And by the way, I know we're doing political stuff earlier and I expect that. This is not a political book, and I think if you looked at it, you can tell it's not. It neither leans to the left, to the right. It's just the facts, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Now it's time for "What Matters" tonight. We're talking about Jared Williams. He knows what it means to persevere and what it means to have good friends. Jared's former high school football teammates gathered at his new home in Dallas this weekend to install landscaping and get this -- it's a home they raised money to build. You see, last year jarred was injured in a game, paralyzed from the waist down. Jarred says he's struggling but determined, and he's thankful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED WILLIAMS, RECEIVING NEW HOME: I try not to give up, but it's hard. It's a hard journey. I just keep my head up and just don't give up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Jared and his mother will move into their new home just before Christmas.

We're following a disturbing story tonight. The search for two children. They were only recently reported missing, but they haven't been seen in months.

Also, recall to tell you about that involves chicken salad that sold coast to coast. And remember that big TARP bailout two years ago? Here's something very interesting. It may cost a lot less than originally thought. That's right, less.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's check your top stories right now on CNN. For a second day, police search for the bodies of two Alabama children. Police now believe their father and stepmother killed them. The father reportedly told police that he buried the bodies. The kids, ages 3 and 4, haven't actually been seen since June, but a missing person's report was only filed recently.

We have a recall to tell you about. It involves two pre-packaged snack that contain Bumble Bee canned chicken salad. The products are also sold nationwide. Look there. That's the information on your screen. The recall was prompted by people who complained they found pieces of loose plastic inside the packages. And you can check out the website, it's our website at cnn.com for complete details on that recall.

A hunt for a shark. A killer shark is under way after a deadly attack forces an Egyptian beach to shut down. Officials say a shark went after a 70-year-old woman while she was snorkeling today. A lifeguard rushed to her shore -- rushed her to shore, but she died from blood loss. The other sharks were caught and killed in the same area on Friday after three snorkelers were attacked and injured.

Tonight, the Kennedy Center is honoring some of the nation's most celebrated artists. President and Mrs. Obama hosted this year's Kennedy Center Honors or honorees at a gala, the White House reception prior to that show. The five are country singers -- Merle Haggard, Broadway composer Jerry Herman, dancer-choreographer Bill T. Jones, Beatle Paul McCartney and Oprah Winfrey. From the red carpet, Oprah gave her secret for success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, KENNEDY CENTER HONOREE: The only advice is to be yourself because all of life is about becoming more of who you are, and you can be you better than you can be anybody else. You know, I started out pretending to be Barbara Walters and then figured out, I could be a better Oprah. So, my best advice is always to find a way to your true self, to the highest, truest expression of yourself, because that's what people are looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Kennedy Center Honors taking place tonight.

Just how bad is this bearcat? The University of Cincinnati mascot was cited for disorderly conduct yesterday after throwing snowballs into the crowd at the football game. A school spokesman says the mascot was told to stop but he didn't. They say he pushed a security guard and both fell to the ground. The mascot was cited for disorderly conduct. A backup mascot took over at halftime. OK. And then there were two. We're talking about Auburn and Oregon will meet in the BCS college football championship game on January 10th in Glendale, Arizona. Not exactly the two favorites when the season started, but both teams have been dominant and both are undefeated. Auburn clinched a championship bid by destroying South Carolina last night in the SEC championship game.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The big bailout is actually going to cost less. No Christmas help for the unemployed and a big fight over candy. Here's Stephanie Elam with this week's "Getting Down to Business."

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The $700 billion TARP bailout might actually end up being a whole lot cheaper. The Congressional Budget Office says the total loss from the bailout program could be just $25 billion. The estimated loss was once more than 100 billion. This is due in part to banks repaying loans, and the recent sale of General Motors stock to the public. Look for the latest treasury budget on Friday.

The Senate has failed to extend the deadline to file for unemployment benefits into next year. Two million Americans could stop receiving their benefits this month if a new bill isn't passed. Look for the latest unemployment numbers on Thursday.

And they may taste sweet but a battle between rival candy makers has gone sour. Hershey is suing Mars, claiming the company is mimicking its packaging. Mars has no comment but the companies have traded barbs for years over whose sweets reign supreme.

That's this week's "Getting Down to Business." Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.

LEMON: All right. The big change that's about to affect 500 million people around the world. Facebook getting a makeover. Plus, how worried should you be about your private information staying private?

And "Saturday Night Live" poking fun at the most wanted missing man in the world, the head of WikiLeaks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Facebook is making over your profile page. The popular social networking site is rolling out a new design that displays your photos, your biographical information and your relationships with your friends more prominently. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg talked about the changes on CBS' "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK FOUNDER: You can see all the things that you have in common with that person. It's just like -- it gives you this amazing connection with that person in a way that the current -- the current version of the profile that we have today just doesn't do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Zuckerberg also addressed allegations that Facebook sells its members' information and invades their privacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZUCKERBERG: We never sell your information. Advertisers who are using the site never get access to your information. Do we get it right all the time? No, but it's something that we take really seriously and, you know, every day we come to work and just try to do a good job on this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And yet you've got the FTC looking into it. You have members of Congress looking into it. There have been privacy groups who have lodged formal complaints. You've hired a lobbyist in Washington to deal with this. So you know it's a problem.

ZUCKERBERG: Well, I think that it's a really important thing for everyone to just be thinking about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's huge.

ZUCKERBERG: I mean, privacy and making sure that people have control over their information is I think one of the most fundamental things on the internet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A new Facebook look starts rolling out tomorrow, but you can get a jumpstart by clicking on Get New Profile on your page.

CNN will be closely following any new developments this week in the murder investigation of Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen but we begin this week's look ahead in Washington.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House where it's a big week for the president on the economy. After returning back from Afghanistan for that surprise trip, the president on Monday is immediately heading to North Carolina, a big pivotal state, of course, in the 2012 electoral season as well, but a chance for him to give some remarks on the economy after those awful unemployment numbers on Friday.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jeanne Meserve in Washington. Next week, the latest on the WikiLeaks investigation. Will they find Julian Assange, and will the U.S. press charges against him? We'll have the latest.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Wall Street was pretty shaken on Friday following a much worse than expected jobs report, but on tab this week we'll get a look at latest metro area unemployment stats as well as a look at consumer credit and also ahead the latest report on oil and gas inventories here in the U.S.

Then on Thursday, the weekly jobless numbers will be released. That will be a big focus for investors. And on the earnings front, Costco and Neiman Marcus report their quarterly numbers. And then the week wraps up on Friday with the latest consumer sentiment report.

We'll track it all for you on CNNMoney.

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer, and here's what we're watching this week. Hollywood's big murder mystery. We'll have the latest developments in the murder investigation of legendary celebrity publicist Ronni Chasen.

Plus, "Showbiz Tonight" will be breaking big news this week when we reveal the star that we're naming as the most provocative celebrity of the year. Who do you think it's going to be? We'll have it all for you on Tuesday.

"Showbiz Tonight" live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN and we are still TV's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

LEMON: All right. Thanks, guys. That looks interesting -- what's happening domestically, on this side of the pond, or in the U.S.

Let's bring in our international desk editor Azadeh Ansari to tell us what's going on internationally.

Day "X" in the UK. The students are upset.

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: They are very upset. They've been upset for a long time now. So, the UK government is set to vote on a plan to increase the tuition cap. So take a look. These are pictures that took place -- these are protest pictures that took place last week. We're going to see this, if not more, pictures like this coming out of these protests on Thursday.

LEMON: Have they gotten violent?

ANSARI: Very violent. They have -- over 100 arrests have taken place. And, I mean, imagine if this happened in the U.S., if all of a sudden they are like we're going to increase the tuition three-folds. So, I mean, people would be really upset.

LEMON: OK. And take us now to St. Petersburg, Russia.

ANSARI: Really, really cool festival that's taking place. It's the world's first audio and visual festival of its kind. We have multimedia artists from around the world that are going to gather and showcase work.

And one very, very popular artist is Brian Eno and he has this painting called 77 million paintings. And so -- they are different clips that he's made over the course of 20 years. And if you want to take a look, this is a clip, I believe, that is on YouTube that shows this installment that they are going to be showcasing at this festival. And so it's one -- it's a two-week festival that's going to take place. All visual, audio stimulation taking place. A lot of it.

LEMON: And then if you're there, 2018, in Russia, FIFA, the World Cup.

ANSARI: Maybe we can get tickets this time.

LEMON: Maybe so. Maybe we can go.

ANSARI: We missed it last time.

LEMON: Thank you, Azadeh Ansari.

Now we want to update some breaking news out of Utah, where a pilot was pulled out alive from a fiery plane crash that happened just north of Salt Lake City near Ogden. Here's what the FAA is saying. They are confirming to CNN the single-engine Cessna was cleared for an instrument landing in heavy fog when it hit a house. Several homes caught fire. The plane broke into pieces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We actually didn't know it was the plane at first. We just thought the power lines went out and so we just stayed with that. And then as we looked around and moved in, we saw different parts of the plane.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And what did the plane look like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We'll follow. No deaths have been reported.

WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange dominated the headlines this past week. It is a very serious story with very serious implications. So, it is a perfect target for "Saturday Night Live" which had some laughs over it with host Robert de Niro. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to WikiLeaks: TMZ. Looking for world leaders behaving badly. Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our guys caught up with President Hamid Karzai leaving town last night, and I think it kind of speaks for itself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, you forgot your briefcase.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not take bribes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What an idiot. Good work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Funny stuff from "S&L" last night.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Thanks for watching. Have a great week.