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Gas Prices Going Up; Effect on Finances if No Tax Deal; WikiLeaks: China's Government Hackers; Hot Off The Political Ticker; Trending on the Web; $200,000 Ride Into Space; Obama Speaks Live in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Aired December 06, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Live this hour, President Obama talking about jobs and the economy at a community college in North Carolina. He's going to make his remarks right there. We're going to bring it to you live.
Bleak news on unemployment outlook from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: Between the peak and the end of last year we lost 8.5 million jobs. We've only gotten about a million of them back so far, and that doesn't even account the new people coming into the labor force. At the rate we're going, it could be four, five years before we are back to a more normal unemployment rate, somewhere in the vicinity of, say, 5 or 6 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Hmm.
We are also keeping an eye on Capitol Hill, the search for a deal on extending the so-called Bush tax cuts.
But first, a story that's starting to hit all of us in the wallet. It hit me last night as I filled up.
Gas prices -- a new survey says we are going to see prices averaging about $3 a gallon or more by Christmas. Some cities already seen that $3-a-gallon mark. Long Island, New York, $3.21; $3.09 in Chicago; $3.19 in San Francisco.
Why? Why? Why?
Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi, why?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I know, Drew, you specialize in finding the hidden answers behind a lot of issues out there. Unfortunately, this is an easy job. There's no hidden answer. The price of oil has been going up.
When we saw gas at $4.11 back in the middle of 2008, oil was almost $150 a barrel. Now oil is $90 a barrel. But that's still pretty high, considering we all feel like we're in a slow economy.
Keep in mind, China's not in a slow economy. Asia, the rest of Asia is not in a slow economy. Russia is doing well. India's doing well. Brazil is doing well.
And when these countries do well, they consume more energy. They have got more factories, they've got more houses, and they've got more cars.
So the bottom line is, world demand exists for oil. Oil is priced internationally.
We are not increasing our demand as we used to, but the reality is we're paying the price for it. So no nefarious stuff behind this. The price of oil is up. And as a result, the price of gas is up. And there are many people who think the price of oil is going up a lot in the next coming years.
GRIFFIN: And what's interesting we talked about before the show, Ali, is you said there is a price point where we, then, react.
VELSHI: Right.
GRIFFIN: Right now, I'm buying as much gas as I need. I don't care.
VELSHI: Right. And you're kind of annoyed by it, but the reality is when we saw gas prices going um to $3.50 a gallon for the first time, what we saw then is that's when people started to trade in their SUVs. You couldn't sell an SUV, if you recall.
People were buying more fuel-efficient cars and the market started to shift. When it got up to $4, then people really started to change behavior. When it came back down, we forgot all of that. And now, as we cross $3, it's just a psychological barrier for a lot of people, but we will start to think more about electric cars and hybrids and not driving around and carpooling, and things like that.
GRIFFIN: All right. Ali Velshi, you'll see him right here, 1:00 to 3:00.
Thanks a lot, Ali. Appreciate it.
VELSHI: All right.
(NEWSBREAK)
GRIFFIN: Well, back to Capitol Hill, lawmakers expecting a deal -- and soon -- on extending the Bush-era tax cuts. But if they don't reach a compromise, what's it going to mean for your finances?
We welcome back Christine Romans of our Money team. She's been crunching the numbers and joins us live from New York.
I mean, it's like two sets of books you're looking at. Right?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You're right.
And, you know, these tax cuts, when they were first enacted, there were some budget gurus right away who were saying, oh, boy, it's really hard to take money out of a paycheck after you've put it in. So this is going to be real tricky stuff, and that's exactly what Congress is finding right now.
Let's take a look at what the tax bill would look like for, say, a single person who made $47,000 a year. If the tax cuts are extended, the Bush-era tax cuts are extended, that tax bill is roughly $4,259. These are numbers crunched by the Tax Policy Center. If the tax cuts expired, that single person making $47,000 a year, the tax bill would be $5,078.
So let's look at a married couple, retired, maybe age 65 or older. I guess I don't know if they're retired, but I know that they make $121,000 a year, they're 65 and older. If the tax cuts were extended the bill is $12,600. But, Drew, if those tax cuts are allowed to expire, their tax bill goes up to $19,567.
Now, let's take a look at a young family, a family with two small children.
GRIFFIN: Wow.
ROMANS: The family of four making $75,000 a year, now there are some child tax deductions and the like that will be pared back if those tax cuts expired. Look at the difference between extending the tax cuts as they are today and if the tax cuts expire on a family of four making $75,000 or more a year.
So you can see why Democrats and Republicans and Republicans are sort of united in extending those tax cuts for the middle class. And the question is, do you extend them for everyone? And that looks like what they're thinking they're going to push through.
The big question for me is, if they manage to add on an extension of unemployment benefits, emergency unemployment benefits, still not real clear on that yet, but that's what a lot of Democrats are hoping for -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Yes. I mean, the Republicans wanted those unemployment benefits paid for. Right? So I don't see how do you all this in one bill.
ROMANS: Yes. Well, you pay for them by taking it from someplace else. That's the problem.
GRIFFIN: That's exactly right.
ROMANS: OK. See you.
GRIFFIN: Christine Romans, her new book, "Smart is the New Rich," a great book. You'll find it just about everywhere, and it's going to help you with your bottom line. You know, Christine, you should really send that book to Congress. I'm telling you. They need to read that thing. It's easy to understand. Follow the rules.
Two stories to look for. A bombshell in those WikiLeaks documents, it involves China's propaganda chief, government-paid hackers and Google.
And a teen take as giant dump truck for a ride. The outcome -- messy. You're going to see the results right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Here's the latest bombshell from WikiLeaks. According to a leaked diplomatic cable, China has been hacking into U.S. government and Google computers for nearly a decade, and the hacking of Google has allegedly now been personally overseen by the Chinese government's powerful propaganda chief.
Deborah Feyerick is following developments on this, joining us from New York.
Almost unbelievable, Deborah.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really is, because China seemed to be acting without -- or with impunity, I should say.
The U.S. diplomatic cable showed just how far China was willing to go to keep information from its own citizens, targeting Google politically, and economically as well. And the heavy-handed tactics appear to have come directly from the top Chinese official in charge of propaganda, someone in the State Council Information Office who had Googled himself and found unflattering descriptions not on Google China, but on a link that gave people access to Google.com.
China's tactics included recruiting three of China's ministries to pressure Google to stop what it called Google's "illegal activities." Also, accusing Google of working with the U.S. government to "foment peaceful revolution." That's right, "foment peaceful revolution."
Now, it also pressured Chinese telecom companies not to do business with Google. The diplomatic cable from WikiLeaks says, "One telecom cable company is seeking to back out of an existing contract with Google, while the two others have stopped moving ahead with negotiations."
And this was a big hit for Google, because -- two reasons. Google's the only international search engine doing business in China. And, two, they're negotiating with the Chinese telecom companies to develop Google's mobile Internet service.
Now, amidst all these accusations, Drew, as you said, cables from January, 2010, show that China was hard as work doing its own work hacking which was sanctioned, it seems, by the propaganda office, breaking into Google and more than 20 other U.S. companies which were described as "targets of sophisticated attacks from China."
The cables do not say exactly which companies were targeted or the kind of information that China was after. But not only are they going into Google to try to shut it down, but they're also using it to develop their own information. A very complicated, dynamic certainly. A clear picture what Google was up against and really just how far China was willing to go -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Amazing stuff. Thanks.
Deborah Feyerick, live in New York on this development. Another development, a shocker from WikiLeaks.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Some homeowners in trouble are getting a break from foreclosure, at least for the holiday season. Several lenders including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac say they will not evict people during the last two weeks of December.
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow joins us now from New York.
Poppy, I guess that's good news for the homeowners. But just temporary, right?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes. Well, it's temporary. It's good news. It's just Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
They're, of course, the biggest mortgage backers in this country. So, most likely, your loan is through them. So this is good news, but you're really just delaying the inevitable for two or three weeks, because right on January 3rd, they kick right back in with those evictions.
But what we've been looking at is sort of the other side of foreclosure.
We know that we all think about foreclosure as someone losing their home. It's also really big businesses.
Banks want to get these homes off their books. So a lot of banks are hiring companies across the country to auction off their foreclosed properties, and then they get a percentage of the sale. The company does.
For buyers, it can also be a really huge deal. What we see from RealtyTrak -- they track all of these numbers -- is that homes that are repossessed by banks sold for 41 percent less than non-foreclosed homes looking at the third quarter.
So we went to one of these foreclosure sales, these big auctions, just like an auction you might think. It was in Fort Myers, Florida. Take a look at what we found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hundred and sixty-thousand five hundred dollars.
TRENT FERRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF AUCTIONS, REDC: Tonight we have 61 properties that we're going to be bringing across the auction block. Folks asked us the question, who are the bidders? And really, you're going to find a mix.
You're going to have your investor, you're going to have your first-time homebuyer. You're going to have your folks that are downsizing and the folks that are looking to move up a little while they can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We bought, all together, probably about 12 homes so far. Still got 10 of them. We just sold a couple of them. But the rest of them we're renting until the market turns around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It hasn't been lived in very long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great buy. I mean, where can you buy a house for $40,000 or $50,000, $200,000 to $300,000 three or four years ago. It's a spectacular value.
It could get up to probably $150,000 in value in five years. I mean, nobody knows.
It's not just this house. There's hundreds of houses available in the Fort Myers area. We are just looking into possibly buying one or two. Some investors probably buy 10 or 20.
Everybody knows somebody that's had a problem with foreclosures, and that part of it is difficult. We're buying them from the bank. The bank's going to sell them to somebody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we'll pay more when we buy one. We're paying more than anybody else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three hundred thousand dollars --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We expect to get 8 to 10 percent on our money while we're holding the property. Not a lot of time, but maybe down the road it probably -- definitely will be worth a lot of money. I don't know where else you can get that kind ever return on a safe investment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And what's interesting, Drew, you heard that father and son team saying it's a safe investment. Others would disagree.
But just at that one auction alone in Florida, 66 properties were up for auction. Forty-four of them sold for $4.5 million.
One of the homes you saw there, $319,000 valuation, Drew. It went for under $49,000. And look, the companies say this helps re-establish the market. When a house sits vacant, it falls apart, there are squatters. That hurts the local economy, it hurts the value of the block and the value of neighbors' homes.
So they see it as good thing. Not necessarily a safe investment, but more and more people are jumping in and taking advantage of foreclosures this way -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: Boy, Poppy, my heart goes out to the neighbors of those properties who are paying their mortgage, doing the right thing, and all of a sudden their value just tanks.
HARLOW: Right. Yes.
GRIFFIN: Fort Myers, hard-hit, too. Boy, let's lay it on the line. That's a hard-hit area.
HARLOW: Yes.
GRIFFIN: You've also been following this robo signing. I guess it's called a scandal that's had an impact on the foreclosure business.
HARLOW: Yes, that's a good question. I mean, this broke earlier this fall, looking at the lack of verified documents in people's loans.
And what we wanted to know because of these auctions is, has that had an impact on these auctions? Has that meant that these foreclosures have been halted so these homes couldn't be auctioned off?
What we heard from auction.com, that runs a lot of these auctions across the country, they say they've seen no impact from the robo signing scandal. Then say, look, it's business as usual, people are flooding into the auctions. It's not the case though everywhere.
According to Foreclosure Radar -- they also look at these numbers -- they say the number of properties that are coming to auctions now in some of the hardest-hit states which you know, Drew, whether it's Arizona, California, Nevada, those have dropped more than 30 percent from September to October. That's really when this robo signing scandal broke.
So, we have yet to see the bigger impact. But some say yes, some say no. It looks like it's really slowing down in terms of hardest hit states like Nevada and like Arizona -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: All right. Poppy Harlow, we really appreciate all of your reporting on that. Thank you so much.
HARLOW: Got it.
GRIFFIN: It is all about the economy today, the president's focus while he's in North Carolina. He's touring a technical college. Winston-Salem, that's the town. That's the scene where we're expecting the president in just a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
GRIFFIN: We are just minutes away from a courtroom battle over gay marriage in California.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Simon in downtown San Francisco. You can see a large crowd of gay rights supporters here at this federal courthouse. We're expecting a hearing to begin in about 30 minutes dealing with Proposition 8 and same-sex marriage.
That story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: We're less than an hour way from the next court battle over California's Prop 8.
But first, we want to go to President Obama, who is getting ready to speak in North Carolina. We expect his remarks to be on jobs and the economy. You see the president there heading to the podium. He is touring Forsyth Technical Community College. That's in Winston- Salem, North Carolina. Been waiting for his remarks. Looks like he's about to speak. We're going to him, guys?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you. Thank you.
GRIFFIN: Okay. We'll listen in to the president here as he makes some comments on the economy.
OBAMA: It is good to be back in North Carolina.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: Love North Carolina, although I have to say I came down here for slightly warmer weather.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: What's snow doing on the ground in North Carolina? Come on now.
Anyway, it is a great honor to be with you here at Forsyth Technical Community College. There are a few people I want to acknowledge who are just doing outstanding work. First of all, your incredibly impressive college president Gary Green is here.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: Your wonderful governor Bev Purdue is in the house.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: Your senators, Richard Burr -
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: and the better looking one, Kay Hagen.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: Two hard-working Congressmen, Mel Watt and Brad Miller are here.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: We've got secretary of state Elaine Marshall in the house.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: And mayor Alan Joins is here.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: Well, it's been about a month now since the midterm elections, and in Washington, at least, much of the chatter is still about the political implications of those elections. What the results mean for Democrats. What they mean for Republicans. And already we're hearing from this means for the next election.
And I have to tell you, I came to Winston-Salem because I believe that right now, there are bigger issues at stake for our country than politics.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: And these issues call on us to respond not as partisans but as Americans. At this moment, we are still emerging from a once- in-a-lifetime recession that has take an terrible toll on millions of families. Many here in North Carolina who have lost their jobs or their businesses and their sense of security.
Now, fortunately, we've seen some encouraging signs that a recovery is beginning to take hold. An economy that had been shrinking for nearly a year is now growing. After nearly two years of job loss, our economy has added over 1 million private sector jobs in 2010.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: I was just talking to -- just talking to Bev, and she was mentioning that here in North Carolina, we've seen 50,000 new jobs here in North Carolina.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: And after teetering on the brink of liquidation not two years ago. Our auto industry is posting healthy gains. So, we're seeing progress, across the country. But as we also saw in November's jobs report, the recovery is simply not happening fast enough. Plenty of Americans are still without work. Plenty of Americans are still hurting. And our challenge now is to do whatever it takes to accelerate job creation and economic growth.
Now, in the short-term, that means preventing the middle class tax increase that's currently scheduled for January 1st. Right now, Democrats and Republicans in Congress are working through some differences to try to get this done. And there's some serious debates that are still taking place. Republicans want to make permanent the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. I have argued that we can't afford it right now.
But -- what I've also said is we've got to find consensus here, because a middle-class tax hike would be very tough, not only on working families, it would also be a drag on our economy at this moment. So, I believe we should keep in place tax cuts for workers and small businesses that are set to expire. We've got to make sure that we're coming up with a solution, even if it's not 100 percent of what I want or what the Republicans want. There's no reason that ordinary Americans should see their taxes go up next year.
We should also extend unemployment insurance for workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. That is a priority.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)
OBAMA: And I should mention, that's not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do. Because if millions of Americans who aren't getting unemployment benefits stop spending money, that slows down businesses. That slows down hiring. It slows down our recovery.
Now, even if we take these and other steps to boost our recovery in the short term, we're also going to have to make some serious decisions about our economy in the long run. We've got to look ahead. Not just to the next year but to the next 10 years, the next 20 years. We've got to ask ourselves, where will the new jobs come from? What will it take to get them, and what will it take to keep the American dream alive for our children and our grandchildren?
Think about North Carolina. Obviously, this recession had a devastating effect here, like it did everywhere else, but the trends -- the trends had been going on for quite some time. I was just visiting with President Green --
GRIFFIN: We're listening to President Obama speaking at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The political takeaway there, the president talking about the tax issue going on right now in Congress now. The president willing to reach out and compromise with Republicans on extending the tax cuts for everybody, including the rich. But obviously saying he needs unemployment benefits for those people whose benefits are about to run out.
We will continue to listen to the president. See if he's going to make any more news there. Meantime, we'll move on with the news. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: We have showbiz news to get caught up on from last night's star-studded Kennedy Honors to an actor speaking out after he gets kicked off a plane for texting. "Showbiz Tonight" host Brooke Anderson has us covered. Begin with the Kennedy honors, Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" CO-HOST: That's right, Drew! A huge night. The Kennedy Center honors in D.C. attracted megastars like Julia Roberts, James Taylor, Gwen Stefani, John Travolta. And as Chris Rock points out, even the world's most powerful leader who we've been listening to was in attendance. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: I walk in this room and it's just an amazing feeling to look up and see the most powerful person in the world, and right next to her -- Barack Obama!
(LAUGHTER)
ROCK: He didn't get her job. She got him a job!
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You got the joke there, right?
Well, Oprah was one of five honorees at last night's event, which was hosted by the president and first lady Obama. Paul McCartney was toasted too, along with composer Jerry Herman, choreographer Bill T. Jones and country icon Merle Haggard. All of them were celebrated for their lifetime of cultural contributions.
CNN caught up with Oprah on the red carpet and asked if she has any advice for the next Oprah as she wraps up her final season this year. Listen to what she says.
(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 figuring out that 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)
ANDERSON: Drew, thee event taped last night. It will be broadcast December 28th on CBS if you want to check it out.
GRIFFIN: All right, Brooke. I'm going to take some advice from Oprah. I'm going to be myself and tell you I don't know who Josh Duhamel is. So, before you tell us why he was booted off a flight for texting, can you first let me know who he is?
ANDERSON: Yes, he's an actor, he was in the show "Las Vegas." He's been in some good movies.
GRIFFIN: Okay.
ANDERSON: He's a pretty well-known name, Drew, and yet he is finally speaking out about getting kicked off that flight from New York to Kentucky on Thursday. And he says that he's learned his lesson.
Here's the lesson, everybody. Don't mess with the flight crew. They give you instructions, you better follow them. As "Showbiz Tonight" reported, he was booted from that flight because he refused to turn off his Blackberry after a flight attendant asked him to do so several times. So when he didn't, the plane reportedly had to turn around, back to the gate. They were already on the runway. Had to turn around to the gate at LaGuardia Airport, and Josh was removed.
So, can you imagine how frustrated, how ticked off the other passengers had to be? Well, Dumahel is now telling "Access Hollywood" this, quote, "I've learned it's best to always turn them off. Lesson learned." The actor also admitted that the experience was, quote, "not my favorite moment."
I'm sure it was pretty embarrassing for him. And, Drew, I'm sure some people can relate to Duhamel in part, because sometimes it's hard to power down that Blackberry or stop texting or talking on the phone. But rules are rules and they're there for a reason. He to learn the consequences the hard way.
GRIFFIN: All right, Brooke, I think you buried the lead on him. Because I'm told that he's married to Fergie.
ANDERSON: Oh. So you're familiar with Fergie?
GRIFFIN: I'm familiar with Fergie.
ANDERSON: She's Duhamel's wife. The worldwide singing superstar known at Fergie.
GRIFFIN: All right. So, that's Mr. Fergie.
All right. Hey, appreciate it, Brooke! Thanks a lot.
You want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, Brooke's got it. This evening, "Showbiz Tonight," 5:00 and 11:00 on HLN. Great show.
Lawmakers playing a game on let's make a deal on tax cuts. We'll tell you whether they're close a compromise in our political update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: We may be close on a compromise over the tax cuts. Wolf Blitzer, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," live from the political desk in Washington.
Wolf, is it going to happen?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": It looks like it's going to happen. Whether it happens today, tomorrow, later this week, all that is up in the air. Still, until it happens, it has not happened. They've got to tie up a lot of loose ends. The Republicans, as you know, they want to keep the tax rates for everyone, including those making more than $250,000 a year, those making more than $1 million a year the same, at the same 36 percent, 35 or 36 percent tax rate that currently exists right now, instead of going back up to the 39.6 percent highest tax bracket that existed during the Clinton administration.
And it looks like they're going to get their way, at least for a year, but probably two years provided that they agree to let the unemployment benefits for about 2 million American continue beyond 99 weeks, and provided that they allow the tax breaks for the middle class that President Obama included in his economic stimulus package to continue as well. It's going to be very expensive. It's going to, obviously, not decrease the national deficit, all of those tax break, all of those tax rates remaining the same. But it looks like that's going to be in the works.
If they reach an agreement, that could set the stage for more action on other sensitive issues during this lame duck session in the month of December, including possibly -- possibly -- ratifying the START treaty with Russia that would reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles. Senator Lugar of Indiana, he's the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he think the deal can be done. As you know, Drew, they need 67 senators to ratify a treaty. Senator Kyl, who's the number two Republican in the Senate, he's not sure that that can be done during this lame duck session. May have to spill over to January, into the new Senate, where it could be more problematic because they'll be fewer Democratic senators in the new Senate than in the current Senate.
But we'll see. This is a very, very high priority for the White House right now and they're working hard to get that resolved. It's one of the reasons why I think the president is inclined to compromise with the Republicans on the tax rates so that they can try to get the START treaty ratified.
We're going to be having all of that coming up in "The Situation Room," Drew, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Also a special interview, I've just taped it, with Congressman Charlie Rangel, who, as you know, was censured by the House of Representatives last week. And we go through point by point by point what he did wrong, why he was censured. He gets very passionate in this interview. I think our viewers will be interested in it, seeing it. That's coming up, 5:00 p.m. Eastern as well.
GRIFFIN: All right, Wolf, thanks a lot. We look forward to that. And your next political update here on CNN in one hour. For the latest political news, cnnpolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: If it's hot, you know we're watching it here for you. Sandra Endo checking out the web in Washington today.
What's trending, Sandra?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Drew, trending today, strong reaction to another FaceBook makeover. Take a look at this. This is my FaceBook page right now. It has the current standard settings we're all used to. But this is the new version. And you can see right here what they'll have is a person's name and their personal information way up top, as well as the pictures of the person and their profile and the pictures that they were tagged on. So clearly a new look, and FaceBook says it's a way to streamline all the person's personal information up top.
But there's also strong reaction, Drew. Take a look at the Twitter board here. Here's one guy who says, "switch to the new FaceBook profile layout, visually appealing but a bit too cluttered." Here's more reaction from Twitter. "Trying to get used to the new FaceBook profile. What the heck is this thing?" And some good reaction. "Just updated my FaceBook profile layout. Looking good."
So, did you tweak your page yet, Drew?
GRIFFIN: No, no, I'm not into that. I hate to say it, but I'm just not.
Here's also something I'm not into, and that's this thing over Barbie. You know, you want to put your young, young, young daughter on the Internet with her own video.
ENDO: Oh, boy.
GRIFFIN: You can do it with this thing right here. Little Barbie.
ENDO: I know, yes.
GRIFFIN: And this is me, daddy, saying, no, no, no.
ENDO: No, no, no.
GRIFFIN: This is a camera. Can you see that? Where is it? Right there.
ENDO: Yes, right on her chest.
GRIFFIN: That's a camera. A video screen on the back. This is not only creating a hub, but some controversy, too, right?
ENDO: Yes, absolutely. This is a big story trending on cnn.com right now. And, Drew, the controversy is specifically over that new Video Girl Barbie that you were holding.
GRIFFIN: Yes.
ENDO: Now the FBI issued an alert saying the doll could potentially be used by pedophiles to make child pornography. The Barbie has a built-in camera, as you showed, on the doll's chest and can record up to 30 minutes of video. And as you showed as well, there's also an LCD video screen in the back of the Barbie and now the FBI's cyber crime alert does not cite that any misuse of the doll was made, just the potential of misuse of the doll. And this cyber alert came out -- or actually the doll came out in July and has since raised concerns for investigators.
And the alert was mistakenly leaked to the media and in response, I should mention, Drew, that Mattel issued a statement to KING-TV saying, quote, "the FBI is not reporting that anything has happened." Steve Dupre (ph) from the FBI Sacramento field office has confirmation there have been no incidents of this doll being used as anything other than its intent. So you can check that out and further of Mattel's comments on cnn.com.
Drew.
GRIFFIN: All right, Sandra, thanks a lot for that. Look forward to your next report.
Well, if you have $200,000 to spend, you may be soon be able to go up to space for two hours. Find out who's in line for that ride.
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GRIFFIN: If you're adventurous, have a lot of cash, a trip into space could be in your future. CNN John Zarrella looks at America's first spaceport being built in New Mexico.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Southeast of the Elephant Butte Dam, tucked away in the middle of the New Mexico desert, right there, do you see it rising up from the scrub brush? This is where the future of space travel has taken root. Spaceport America.
It is still in its infancy, growing with each steel beam, each pounding of the dry dirt. Funded by taxpayers and private industry, this $200 million facility will be the world's first commercial spaceport.
RICK HOMANS, SPACEPORT EXEC. DIRECTOR: I pinch myself sometimes and say, what -- how often does one have the opportunity to be part of a project that is so historic? This is the birth of the new commercial space age.
ZARRELLA: The vision -- private companies will launch cargo and humans from here, perhaps to orbiting hotels. That first vacation in space you take might start right here. CAROLYN WINCER, VIRGIN GALACTIC ASTRONAUT SALES: If you're going to have commercial operations, taking tourism to space, you know, safety has to be your guiding star all the time.
ZARRELLA: Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Company has taken the lead. A year or so from now, a mothership will roll down this runway, lift off at 50,000 feet, release a space plane. The six passengers and two pilots will reach 350,000 feet and weightlessness for four minutes.
WINCER: Our plane is actually not as aggressive on the stomach as you would think because it's straight up over the top and straight back down again.
ZARRELLA: When you're back on the ground, your wallet is, well, $200,000 lighter. The cost of the ride. By next summer, the three- story centerpiece building should be completed.
ZARRELLA (on camera): On the first floor, the civilian astronauts will get ready for their flight. The second floor will be mission control. And on the third floor will be an astronaut lounge where they can hang out and wait for their flight.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): For New Mexico, the venture is risky. How many companies will see commercial space as smart business and how soon? Will this place be a thriving hub of space flight or the outpost of a dream born before its time?
ZARRELLA (on camera): So far, more than 350 people have either put down deposits or paid in full for the flights that will last between and hour and a half and two hours. We understand on that first flight, Sir Richard Branson and his family.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: And the CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
