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Compromise With Republicans; Julian Assange Arrested in Britain; 'The Big Play'; Dangerously Temps in Florida, Affecting Citrus Crop; Outpour of Support for Elizabeth Edwards' Decision to Stop Cancer Treatment; AT&T Voted Worst Wireless Carrier in the Nation; Tips to Maximize Jobless Benefits; Christine Romans on Holiday Work Available; Teen Hit Man Forced by Cartels to Kill

Aired December 07, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from Studio 7 at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, the news and information you need for Tuesday, December 7, 2010.

The founder of the anti-secrecy group that's leaking thousands of U.S. documents is now under arrest and held there without bail on alleged sex crime charges. We'll tell you what might be next for Julian Assange.

A teenager training to kill for Mexican drug lords is arrested trying to get back home to San Diego.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION (translated): How many people have you executed, friend?

EDGAR JIMENEZ LUGO, "EL PONCHIS" (translated): Four.

QUESTION: How old are you?

LUGO: Fourteen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This teen was forced into becoming a hired assassin. We'll tell you how.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Tony Harris is off today.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We should call this one the art of the deal. The deal is on the table, but the devil, of course, is in the details.

We begin with the main points of the deal between President Obama and Republicans leaders on the Bush tax cuts. It calls for extending the cuts for everyone for two years. The president only wanted to keep them in place for the middle class. That's what he wanted, but -- and that includes an extension of unemployment benefits for another 13 months.

Also in the deal though, a payroll tax holiday. Every worker gets a two percent cut in Social Security taxes next year. And if you make $60,000, that means an additional $1,200 in your paycheck. The president concedes, though, it's not perfect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know there are some people in my own party and in the other party who would rather prolong this battle even if we can't reach a compromise, but I'm not willing to let working families across this country become collateral damage for political warfare here in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We should probably talk about what the president wanted versus what he actually got. During the campaign, candidate Obama's promise was no tax cut extension for the wealthy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: -- end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans --

And it means letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire.

And rolling back the Bush tax cuts to the top one percent.

We have to roll back.

I want to roll back.

We're going to roll back.

I'm going to roll back the tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans.

For the wealthiest Americans.

For the wealthiest Americans.

For the wealthiest Americans.

It is true that I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the very wealthiest Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That hurts.

Some liberal Democrats say President Obama compromised too much with Republicans.

Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar is on Capitol Hill right now. Promises, promises, Brianna. Here's the question: Can Vice President Biden convince angry Democrats to go along with the deal and with the president?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to be a hard sell when he comes to talk to Senate Democrats today, Don. And you can tell just by listening to what some of those Democrats are telling us just in the last moments, as we were able to catch up with them as they came back to Capitol Hill.

Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey telling us that this deal has a "let them eat cake quality" to it. Democrats feeling like wealthy Americans are getting a good deal here, middle class Americans, lower-income Americans, not getting enough.

You ticked through the different items that are in this agreement. And let me explain to you what these senators -- and also, you're going to get some liberal House members -- why they think this isn't such a good deal for the middle class.

For wealthy Americans, there's a $5 million exemption in the estate tax. This is for an inheritance you might get. So, the first $5 million in an inheritance, that would be tax-free.

Also, they get that extension, wealthy Americans do, of that lower income tax rate like all Americans are going to get. And those two things are going to be in effect for two years.

Well, one Democratic aide said to me, "But look at what the middle class get, look at what the lower income are going to benefit from. There's that payroll tax holiday, there's also the extension of unemployment tax benefits for 13 months, and those are things that are only going to be in effect for a year. So you have Democrats -- and we're expecting to have a rising chorus of liberal Democrats -- getting upset about this, Don, as the days going on, saying that they're just not getting enough for the middle class.

LEMON: Yes. It's definitely not a done deal yet, and I'm wondering if Nancy Pelosi may have the last word on this, because she was sticking to her guns, saying there won't be any bill, nothing will happen unless there's a tax cut for the middle class here.

So, listen --

KEILAR: Well, and there is a tax cut for the middle class.

LEMON: There is a tax cut, but she didn't want it for the wealthy as well.

KEILAR: Exactly.

LEMON: When do we expect this to reach the president's desk?

KEILAR: There's a lot of steps between now and then, so we don't know exactly. But those unemployment benefits for millions of Americans are set to expire by the end of the year. Those income tax cuts are set to go up at the end of the year. So that's really the timeline -- get it done before the end of the year.

LEMON: Brianna Keilar, thank you. I'm sure we'll be talking with you a lot throughout the day. We appreciate it.

You know, we've talked about what's in the tax cut deal. Now let's take a look at how much it's going to cost.

An analysis by CNNMoney.com puts the price tag between $600 billion and $800 billion. There's a breakdown of the big-ticket items on that bill. The Bush tax cut extension, $458 billion. The extension of unemployment benefits, $57 billion. And the Social Security payroll tax holiday, $120 billion.

More on the cost of this compromise coming up next hour with our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi.

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: Now to some breaking news involving the founder of the Web site WikiLeaks. Julian Assange is in custody right now. That is following his appearance in a London courtroom within the past hour.

A judge denied bail and ordered him held until December 14th. The arrest of Assange is not related to the secret documents leaked by his Web site. He was arrested on a warrant from Swedish authorities who want to question him about sex crime allegations.

Now that Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is under arrest for sex crimes in Sweden, what does that mean for the countries who want him jailed for publishing classified documents on the Web?

CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, can help us with that. And he joins us now on the phone from New York City.

Jeffrey, thank you.

So what does this mean now for Julian Assange? Can they hold him, can the U.S. hold him? Can British authorities hold him on those charges, on other charges, for leaking the documents?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, there is no charge yet relating to the leaking of the documents. The only formal proceedings against him relate to the alleged sex crime in Sweden, and he is now in the extradition process from England to Sweden, and he can fight the charges.

He can claim that this was just cooked up because of the political pressure from the United States. He can make the argument that England should not extradite him to Sweden. What remains to be seen, the great unknown in this case, is whether or when the United States will file charges against him.

LEMON: How long can they hold him on the charges from Sweden for the sex crimes?

TOOBIN: Well, the way British extradition law works is, if he agrees to extradition, which is appears that he is not, it could be as little as a week. If he fights it, it could be 90 days. So, probably in that range, although in any legal system, it's always safe to bet that things can take longer than you think.

LEMON: OK. Jeffrey Toobin, stand by, because I'm going to talk to you after this.

We're going to go to Atika Shubert. She is in London. She's at the courtroom and she is following developments there.

Atika, it was a madhouse around the courtroom as Julian Assange -- has he entered and as we believe he left in that truck.

How did Assange react while you were in the courtroom? What was his reaction?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He was actually quite calm, collected. He answered the questions.

He really didn't seem to be affected by the huge media frenzy that was happening just outside. And the courtroom was packed with reporters. But basically, he seemed pretty calm and he didn't seem to be surprised by anything.

There was a little interesting exchange at the very beginning when the court asked for his address, and he said, "Do you want it for correspondence or otherwise?" And you could see a little bit of that defiance in his voice when he said that, and he basically initially refused to give an address. He gave a P.O. Box address, and then eventually wrote down an address, handing it to his lawyer.

The court read it out. It was an address in Australia.

And this all did have significance on the judge's ruling later on to deny him bail, because one of the arguments from the prosecutors is that he has a nomadic lifestyle, basically hopping around the world, and there was no guarantee that he would stay here to see this legal case through. And that's why -- one of the reasons the judge said he denied him bail, and he has been remanded into custody until December 14th.

LEMON: Atika, quickly, describe to us the media, just the frenzy outside of the courtroom. I haven't seen anything like this unless it's some Hollywood celebrity who is being taken into custody.

SHUBERT: Yes. It has gotten very intense media scrutiny here. And you point out Hollywood celebrities. This was, in many ways, a celebrity trial. Not only Julian Assange, who is quickly becoming a celebrity himself, but John Pilger, the well-known journalist here; Ken Loach, who is British film director here; Jemima Khan, who is often seen in the pages of society magazines here; all of them showed up here to give their support to Julian Assange.

They actually offered to put up the surety, or the bail for it for Julian Assange, offering essentially more than $100,000 to post bail. The judge declined that, essentially decided not to do that. But it does show the kind of star power Julian Assange has behind him.

And, in fact, as the police van rolled away with him inside, a number of supporters that had collected outside the courthouse were actually yelling their support, running after the van, saying that he is a political prisoner. So he is quickly becoming a cause celebre.

LEMON: Yes, absolutely. Stand by, Atika.

Jeffrey, you're still there, right?

TOOBIN: Yes, sir.

LEMON: Jeffrey, I've been wondering this. There was an article in "The Financial Times" -- I believe it was yesterday or the day before -- that sort of said that he was a "Scarlet Pimpernel," the modern "Scarlet Pimpernel," but also hero or villain, depending on whom you ask.

If you listen to his attorneys and people who spoke out for him outside of that courtroom, he is doing a service not only to journalism, they say, but to the world, and that these charges are trumped up. That's what they believe. In some circles, he's a hero.

TOOBIN: He is. And there is a long tradition of civil disobedience for people who have strong political views.

It is also part of that tradition that you expose yourself to legal trouble. And sometimes people who engage in civil disobedience are arrested, and sometimes people who engage in civil disobedience think they're doing good, but in fact are not doing good.

And a lot of Americans certainly think that about Assange, that he is jeopardizing American lives, American foreign policy, jeopardizing the lives of people who cooperate with the United States. And that is not something that many people want to celebrate.

LEMON: Yes. And Julian Assange, obviously, he and his attorneys, smart people. They did not want him to go into custody in the first place.

So the common sense, what people would think here, Jeffrey, is that once they have him, they're going to hold him, and the people who want him on leaking these documents are going to create some sort of charge for him to be held as well. Chances are he is going to be probably held for a while.

TOOBIN: You would think that. I mean, certainly, when the attorney general of the United States holds a press conference, as Eric Holder did, and said we think this individual is involved in criminal activity, you would think and I would think that that would lead to American criminal charges. It hasn't yet, but it certainly seems like the United States is not simply going to leave this entire matter to the Swedish courts. It seems inconceivable to me.

LEMON: Jeffrey Toobin, Atika Shubert, who's in London with all the chaos over there, thanks to both of you. We appreciate it. And you heard Jeffrey Toobin talk about Attorney General Eric Holder. Well, he says the U.S. has taken significant actions in its criminal investigation of WikiLeaks. Holder says national security is at risk and the Justice Department is doing everything it can, but he would not say if that included possibly shutting down WikiLeaks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I don't want to get into what our capabilities are at this point. I will simply say that, as I said, we have a very serious criminal investigation that's under way, and we're looking at all of the things that we can do to try to stem the flow of this information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Attorney General Eric Holder on Julian Assange.

You know, there's been an arrest in the case of murder in the Disney community of Celebration. We'll go "Cross Country" in the news next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. So remember our question before the break? We asked you, who was part of the original "Monday Night Football" broadcast team?

Drum roll. The answer, of course, "Dandy Don" Meredith, who just passed away, Howard Cosell, and Keith Jackson. That's what threw me off.

You may have thought it was Frank Gifford. I did, but he replaced Keith Jackson in 1971.

OK. Speaking of "Monday Night Football," last night was a blowout at Gillette Stadium outside Boston. The Jets didn't know what hit them, dropping to the Patriots 45-3.

Brian Jordan, what the heck?

He's a former NFL and Major League Baseball player, and joins us with this painful game to tell us what happened.

So how did the Patriots dominate them so badly? That was a shellacking, a schooling. They didn't even show up.

BRIAN JORDAN, FMR. NFL AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER: Well, it just shows how Bill Belichick is a genius. You know, you talk about preparation, after losing to the Jets earlier this season, it was about revenge, it was about getting some get-back in the NFL.

LEMON: I'm going to do this, yes.

JORDAN: That's right. And the bottom line is the Jets had no answers. I mean, defensively, you're talking about a young defense of New England just prepared out of their minds for this game.

The Jets, Sanchez had no chances -- three interceptions, 164 yards. That's not Jets' football. But you've got to give Belichick all the credit.

LEMON: Talking about Belichick, both teams came into this 9-2. So how much animosity was there?

JORDAN: Well, this sends a statement. This says that New England, down the stretch, is always the better team.

And Tom Brady, you know, you look at that offense. Ever since they got rid of Randy Moss, 6-0. You know, you get rid of a great player and you become better because Tom Brady spreads the ball out.

You look at Woodhead, come on. This guy went to Chadron State. And he's an excellent ballplayer. I mean, he's an average player that Tom Brady makes look good.

LEMON: All right.

Did you catch the tribute to Don Meredith during the game?

JORDAN: Yes, I did. I thought it was fitting.

You know, it's "Monday Night Football," and I'm a big Dallas Cowboys fan. So I grew up watching Don Meredith, a quarterback, and to move -- transition into the broadcast booth, he did a great job with Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford. Those guys had a lot of fun in that booth and they made it exciting to watch.

LEMON: We talked about -- with his passing, let's talk about "Monday Night Football" and how it's changed over the years.

Is it still as be a deal as it used to be? And I don't even know if there's a comparison, because when it started, there were basically three channels. If you lived in a bigger city, maybe five or six, two independents. But that was what you did on a Monday night.

JORDAN: That's exactly it. I mean, you looked forward to that one game every week.

LEMON: Can you compare it to now?

JORDAN: No, you can't. I mean, it's saturated now, because you've got Thursday night football and you've Sunday night football. And now Monday night is really no big deal unless you get the big games like last night, New England and the Jets, big rivalries. But other than that, it's just another football game.

LEMON: Josh McDaniels, the Broncos fired him. Does this mean anything for Tim Tebow? JORDAN: Well, I think his -- you know, for one, everyone was surprised he got drafted in the first round. I think Josh McDaniels is probably the only guy that really believed in Tebow and believed that he could make the transition.

LEMON: The coach. Go ahead.

JORDAN: Yes. And the bottom line is he's in trouble. I mean, he's thrown one pass this year. He had Kyle Orton starting -- he was struggling, and he still didn't put Tim Tebow in as a starter. So the bottom line is I think his future is dim.

LEMON: I'm going to look real quick here and make sure I get it right, because Wade Phillips of Dallas Cowboys, Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings, they were all fired. That's a bunch of coaches.

What's going on here?

JORDAN: Well, the bottom line is owners are tired of it. They're trying to transition into new management at the end of the year so they can figure out what next year's going to look like, so give their offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators an opportunity to kind of save the season, in a sense.

You look at Dallas, I mean, Garrett is doing a great job. All of a sudden, the team is playing for Garrett. So Jones is saying, wait, what's the problem? I probably should have gotten rid of him before the season. And now they're looking to go into a new direction.

LEMON: Business as usual. This isn't a trend, right? It just so happens --

(CROSSTALK)

JORDAN: No, it's business as usual. No trend.

LEMON: OK, got it.

Brian Jordan, thank you for coming in.

JORDAN: Hey, thanks.

LEMON: Hope to see more of you.

JORDAN: All right, man.

LEMON: Appreciate it. A lot of fans in the studio. Everybody's shaking hands.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: You're a superstar. Superstar. Thank you, sir. Nice job.

The big tax cut deal President Obama outlined yesterday includes a little bonus for everyone who is employed in 2011. And we'll get a breakdown on how that could work from our man at the New York Stock Exchange.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.

The tax cut compromise that President Obama announced last night includes a little boost for every working man and woman, and it's going to come in the form of a bigger paycheck.

Carter Evans is at the New York Stock Exchange with details.

Carter, how much are we talking about here? And when I hear "bigger paycheck," my ears perk up.

CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think everyone's ears perk up when they hear this. And it is real, real money. Everybody's going to get this, but it depends on how much money you make.

So the proposal right now is to cut the payroll tax from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent. The cut will only be for one year. This is your Social Security tax, by the way.

So, for example, if you make $60,000 a year, you'll get $1,200 more in your pocket next year, but the cut only applies to the first $106,800 of your salary. So if you make more than that, that's where it tops out. The total tax benefit tops out at about $2,100, so if you make more than $106,000, that's how much more money you're going to have in your pocket.

But it's going to affect everyone. Everybody is going to have more money in their pockets -- Don.

LEMON: The payroll tax pays for Social Security. So what happens to that program's funding?

EVANS: Well, that's the problem. Social Security is going to lose about $120 billion from that deal. And they have got to make it up somewhere because right now, Social Security, this year and next, is paying out more in benefits than it's taking in, and that was before this tax cut. So the government is going to have to shift some money from the general fund into Social Security to make up for it.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. A new survey says 80 percent of married couples in America have hidden purchases from their spouse in the last year. So what's the most common hidden pleasure?

OK. There it is.

The answer is clothes for both men and women. Twenty-four percent of men hid clothing purchases from their spouse. Forty-three percent of women did. We'll have more surpassing hidden pleasures coming up.

All right. If it's hot on the Web, then we're watching it for you. Sandra Endo is in Washington today with what's trending.

So, Sandra, it sounds like a lot of people are very concerned, as they should be, about Elizabeth Edwards. What are they saying?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Don. A lot of comments out there trending today. It's a hot story online, on Twitter, and, of course, on CNN.com.

The prognosis of Elizabeth Edwards; stopping her cancer treatment and only having a matter of weeks to live. Here's what some people are saying on CNN.com right now. We can scroll up to take a look at some of the comments people are posting right now. And again, an outpouring of support.

One comment says "Elizabeth Edwards, God bless you, you are won gracious lady. This world would be a wonderful place if more women out there were like you."

And another one, just real quickly, Don, "Your name will always remind us of what a beautiful, gracious lady you are and loved by so many. God bless you and grant you serenity."

So certainly a lot of outpouring of support and encouragement out there for her, Don, today.

LEMON: I have not heard much, if at all, from John Edwards, from her estranged husband. Do we know how he is reacting to this at all right now?

ENDO: Yes, it's interesting to note, Don, that we are learning from sources that the former presidential candidate is, in fact, by her side. We know that friends and family members have gathered at her North Carolina home. And even though they've had a very public and bitter divorce situation, they've been separated for over a year now, he is, in fact, in the picture and by her side at this moment.

LEMON: All right. Let's move on and talk about -- and we wish her and her family, really the best.

Let's move on and talk about another story that's trending right now on CNN.com. And it has to do with wireless carrier ratings. And we all have our personal opinion about them. If you have this service, you say, oh, I get so many dropped calls. You have that service, you can't hear very well, I can't get it overseas.

How do they match up?

ENDO: Well, I got to tell you AT&T is the worst cell phone carrier this year. Now, that's according to a study released by Consumer Reports today. The nation's second-largest wireless network received the worst possible rating in eight of the nine categories the magazine studied. And that includes overall value, voice service, data service, and phone support.

Now AT&T also supports all of those iPhone users out there, and this study says they're especially upset with the carrier's data service. But, the company says in a statement, quote, "We take his seriously and will continually look for new ways to improve the customer experience."

So, there you have it. But when we talk about the number one and two spots, U.S. Wireless got the top score with Sprint and Verizon about tied for second place, Don.

LEMON: Sandra Endo, thank you. We appreciate it.

All right. So, the White House and Republican leadership seem to have struck a deal. Unemployment benefits could be extended for another 13 months. But, what if your benefits run out before the deal goes through? Christine Romans joins us with tips for surviving a long, jobless streak. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon in for Tony today. He'll be back with you soon, no worries.

There's a new deal on the table in Washington that could extend benefits to the unemployed for 13 months. Christine Romans is here with advice for making ends meet if you're one of millions currently collecting unemployment.

Christine, I love saying your name because you always have good advice and you're always great personality. So, what does this mean out for those collecting?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Aww, thanks, Don.

Well, first of all, nothing's set in stone. The plan in Washington is to extend jobless benefits for the next 13 months. These are the extensions for the long-term unemployed. Here's the deal right now.

We know that 99 weeks is the maximum in jobless benefits available. This new plan allows for those out of work to get that 99 weeks of benefit. It funds it. But it isn't for those who have hit 99 weeks. Once you hit 99 weeks or you go over 99 weeks, that's it. Your benefits run out. And not ever state -- I want to point out -- allows the full 99 weeks of paid jobless benefits.

Right now, two million people could stop receiving their jobless checks this month. Up to four million will lose benefits by February if this plan does not go through. This is a colossal problem, Don. You've heard me say it a million times -- 6.3 million people have been jobless for six months or longer.

So the advice for you from the experts is continue filing for extensions on a weekly basis just to keep your name in the system even if you don't actually get money now, you don't actually get a jobless check now. Because if or when lawmakers pass this extension, it will be a smoother transition. You'll get the money faster.

LEMON: And you'll see that you've been working on it, and that you've actually been unemployed and you'll be there. So it will help.

You said also a priority is budgeting, right?

ROMANS: You know, I have asked a lot of people about this, if you are one of the 99ers, you're one of the folks who's long-term unemployed, you know, losing the cash flow is a big wakeup call. You've got to cut the spending.

The experts say lower your cell phone bill, get rid of your land line, cut back on cable bills, newspapers, magazine subscriptions. You might be surprised, this sounds like a no-brainer, but you might be surprised. You might be paying for things that you don't need and you really -- if you haven't already cut to the bone, those are the things to look at first.

Ryan Mack, president of Optimum Capital Management, he says call your credit card company, Don, tell them that your jobless benefits are about to expire. And them that maybe they just did expire, if they did. Ask them bluntly, if you want to get paid at all, what can you do to help me here? What can we do to work together to make sure these bills get paid? And being proactive, he says, might even incline them to be a bit more helpful. You might be surprised.

Also, employment attorney Robin Bonds says look at federal and state resources. Every state, Don, has a temporary assistance for needy families program. That can help with food stamps, financial assistance, jobs searching. There are a lot of resources out there. Depending on what state you're in, there are different levels of effectiveness. But try them. Go to Department of Health and Human Services. There's a web site you can look at, www.acf.hhs.gov. That's a lot of dots and letters, so Don, I'm going to put it on my Facebook and I'll tweet it and so you can, too.

LEMON: OK. Hey, thank you for that. Will you stick around? Because I want to talk to you about something I think you can offer a perspective on this.

An interview with the news program, "60 Minutes" this weekend, the Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said he thinks it could take four or five years before unemployment rates are back to normal. That could be a painful time for a whole lot of Americans.

And when we come back, more with Christine on how to make the best of some tough times. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back with Christine Romans breaking down the top tips for surviving long-term unemployment.

Christine, benefits aside, what people are really looking for in this economy are jobs. So where can people look for work? ROMANS: Look. We know there are 4.6 job seekers for every available job. So it's tough. But that being said, employment attorney Robin Bonds says that if you need work, if you're out of benefits, look at temporary employment agencies. They want people immediately ready to send out on assignments. That might be a good place to look first. Look at short-term consulting gigs. She says you can doing concierge-type work, like being a handy man or a virtual assistant. This is basically becoming your own boss, hiring yourself out there, trying to drum up any kinds of jobs that you can.

Holiday time means seasonal jobs. We know we've been reporting to you all of the seasonal hiring from a lot of different kinds of companies. If you want to work in a department store, be a Santa, be prepared to work holidays. That's what holiday jobs are. Retail jobs are -- some of those still available, too.

Robin Bond also suggests looking at federal and state government web sites as good sources of jobs. Ironically, all of the processing of all of these jobless benefits means there may be some positions in some of the unemployment agencies and the like. So that might be a place to look -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Christine Romans.

And we're back with much, much more, including some bad weather in the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Cold in Florida, to the point where -- dangerously cold as far as the citrus farmers are concerned. Last night was a touch and go situation for them. They did everything they needed to do to protect their crops. Oranges, of course, and then strawberries are coming into season, too. So they've really needed to do what they needed to do there to protect their crops.

Can't see the video. There you go.

The reports that we've gotten in so far is that no widespread damage. So that's good news there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's take a look at your top stories.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange refused to waive extradition in a London court. He will now have to stay in police custody until another hearing on December 14th. Assange turned himself in on a Swedish rape investigation warrant, but he says the allegations are a smear campaign in retaliation for his release of secret U.S. documents. Iran completed nuclear talks with five other nations, including the U.S., today in Switzerland. The group agreed to hold another round of talks in Istanbul next year. The Iranian nuclear program was the main topic of the discussion, an issue Iran had previously said it did not want to focus on.

A towboat is pulling a disabled freighter back to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The U.S. Coast Guard says the 783-foot Golden Seas will likely reach harbor today. The freighter was headed to the United Arab Emirates when it started having engine trouble on Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The war in Afghanistan getting more hands on attention from the Obama administration today. And, Ed Henry, part of "The Best Political Team on Television" live from the White House, what's crossing right now?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, you're right. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a secret trip to Afghanistan. He's at Bagram Air Base. That's exactly where, as you know, President Obama made his surprise trip on Friday.

You're probably wondering why there's all this activity. Well, the administration has a year-end review. It's been worked on for months now by top officials, a year-end review of war policies. It's coming out in the next few days. Officials say we should expect the report says there's been some progress because of the president's troop surge, but there's still a long way to go.

The other big story crossing the Ticker right now, of course, is this tax deal that the president announced here at the White House last night. He largely forged that with Republican leaders, Democratic leaders kind of largely left out of those talks in a sense because, you know, among other things the price tag is something that CNNMoney is taking a close look. Jeanne Sahadi, one of our fabulous colleagues, has a story up right now saying the their price tag for this tax deal could be somewhere between $600 billion and $800 billion.

Now I just got off the phone with budget analyst Stan Collender (ph) who said it could reach about $900 billion because the difference between 800 billion and 900 billion is sort of like a rounding area for the government when they go through these kinds things.

And it's interesting, so quickly after this Debt Commission, the president's Debt Commission put out its findings late last week, both parties talking a lot about deficit reduction. In this plan, we're not going to see it, at least in the short term.

And finally, in terms of selling that tax cut deal, I mentioned Democrats on the Hill frustrated that they were largely left out of the final talks here. I'm told it was a pretty tense meeting last night when Democratic leaders met with President Obama here at the White House. Vice President Biden now going to the Senate Democratic Caucus luncheon to kind of talk things over, expected to get a lot of fireworks from especially liberal Democrats upset about the fact that it looks like the White House gave in on those Bush tax cuts for the rich. For example, one senior Democratic source telling me that behind closed doors you can expect there to be a lively caucus among Democrats when the vice president comes in there for lunch, Don.

LEMON: One can only imagine what that meeting was like last night.

HENRY: Oh, to be a fly on the wall, yes.

LEMON: "A lively talk."

Thank you, Ed Henry, appreciate it.

Your next political update in an hour and for the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.

We reported this story to you over the weekend, and it is making some progress here. Unbelievable, a 14-year-old boy forced to kill. How he and others his age are being forced into a life of crime.

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LEMON: Everyone is pretty much horrified by this story. A teenage boy in Mexico says a drug cartel forced him to become a hit man. The 14-year-old is now in police custody and admits to killing four people. By the way he was recruited when he was 12 years old.

Ed Lavandera reports on how children are becoming easy prey for drug cartels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A teenage boy caught in the middle of a violent man's game. On the street, he is known as El Ponchis. Mexican authorities say this kid worked as a drug cartel hit man, slitting the throats of his victims.

QUESTION (translated): How many people have you executed, friend?

EDGAR JIMENEZ LUGO, "EL PONCHIS" (translated): Four.

QUESTION: How old are you?

LUGO: Fourteen.

LAVANDERA: In Mexico, criminal suspects are routinely paraded before the news cameras, and it was no different for this young boy. Captured near Mexico City at the airport with his sister, the teenager told reporters he was trying to get to San Diego where he was born. He says a man called El Negro forced him into the deadly drug cartel world. QUESTION: Who picked you up?

LUGO: El Negro.

QUESTION: And he convinced you or made you join this?

LUGO: He made me.

QUESTION: What did he tell you?

LUGO: That either work or he'll kill me.

QUESTION: You don't have parents?

LUGO: No.

LAVANDERA: The boy said he dropped out of school after the third grade, says he started killing with the help of drugs.

QUESTION: Who gave you the orders to hit them, to execute them?

LUGO: El Negro.

QUESTION: Where did you learn to execute, to beat?

LUGO: I got high.

QUESTION: Did you get drugged?

LUGO: El Negro drugged me.

QUESTION: Since when did El Negro drug you?

LUGO: Since I was 12.

QUESTION: You belonged to the gang since you were 12?

LUGO: Yes.

LAVANDERA: The young boy says he was on the cartel's payroll making $500 a week.

CHARLES BOWDEN, AUTHOR, "MURDER CITY": They're used like Kleenex, as they say in the business. You can just throw them away.

LAVANDERA: Charles Bowden has documented the cartel's stranglehold of young kids. He recently wrote a book called "Murder City," about the violence in Juarez, Mexico.

BOWDEN: You have got to imagine getting to 11 and 12 knowing you have no future, knowing your life is going to be a ruin, knowing nothing is going to get better. And here's a shot, go out and kill somebody and make some bucks, be a big guy for a while, all the while knowing you'll die.

LAVANDERA: Cartels have preyed on teenagers for years. Bowden says they're recruited because they aren't punished as severely if arrested and don't know enough to testify against cartel leaders.

Authorities say it's not rare for teenagers to reach the level of assassin. Two American teenagers in Laredo, Texas were convicted of murder a few years ago. Rosalio Reta and Gabriel Cardona were teenagers when they joined the Zetas drug cartel. Their faces and bodies marked with sinister-looking tattoos. Cardona even had eyeballs tattooed on his eyelids.

Reta claimed in this videotaped police interrogation that he started killing at age 13. "I loved doing it, killing that first person. I loved it. I thought I was Superman", said Reta. And that is the lure, the hope of becoming bigger than life and escaping the squalor around them.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Unbelievable.

Some other stories that we're working on for you next hour, a movement to put homeless families into foreclosed homes. It may have a certain logic to it, but the problem is, it is not legal. We'll meet a couple as they become squatters.

And the heartbreaking news that Elizabeth Edwards has stopped her cancer treatments. We'll talk to our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta about how long she may have left to live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Some of the best videos today.

Police making a traffic stop in Kansas City, Missouri, a surprise by what they find in the back seat -- a tiny, teeny alligator. Animal control was called in - oh, is it like a miniature horse like two weeks ago? They cuffed it around the neck and they hauled it off. No word on what the driver was doing with it or where it came from. And if it was a surprise to the driver, not good.

And talk about a whale of a tuna, look at this thing. iReporter Jim Grant (ph) submitted this photo to us. He says the fisherman caught the 405-pound yellowfin tuna off San Diego with sardine as bait.

There you go.