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President Obama Defends Tax Deal; WikiLeaks Founder Arrested; Reality Show Shakeup on TLC: The Gosselins Visit the Palins' Alaska
Aired December 07, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And want to remind everyone we will get another "Political Ticker" in about a half-an-hour.
But, meantime, I have some of these guys in the studio.
Wave, everybody. Hello.
As we end the 3:00 and start the 4:00, these are my new friends from Cliff Valley Elementary, future CNN journalists.
Can you say, we will be right back?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: We will be right back.
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN (voice-over): There is a big surprise in the tax cut deal, money just in time for the holidays for you, but, boy are some Democrats angry with President Obama.
We're live with the latest. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
The news is now.
President Obama changing his tune.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, APRIL 9, 2008)
OBAMA: For the wealthiest Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FEBRUARY 26, 2008)
OBAMA: For the wealthiest Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, OCTOBER 29, 2008)
OBAMA: For the wealthiest Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, OCTOBER 20, 2008)
OBAMA: It is true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So did the president break a promise? Some Democrats think so.
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: It, in essence, borrows $700 billion from China, gives it to the wealthiest 2 percent.
BALDWIN: This group tours the country disrupting funerals for American troops. This man, a U.S. veteran, turns out to protest them. Now this group is accusing him of stalking. Huh? How is that fair? We're going to take a closer look at the law.
What do Sarah Palin and Kate Gosselin possibly have in common? Reality TV, for one. Now they team up on the former governor's reality show. Will Gosselin learn how to hunt and fish and shoot for eight on "Palin's Alaska"?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Hello once again. I'm Brooke Baldwin. A lot of news happening right now on this Tuesday.
Rapid fire, let's begin with this. Now facing anger from fellow Democrats, President Obama is defending his tax deal with Republicans today. If Congress agrees, the Bush era tax cuts for America's wealthiest will continue for two more years. The president says it's the only way he could continue the -- to give tax cuts to the middle class. And he says the tax cut package will help stimulate the economy. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We're going to keep on having this debate. We're going to keep on having this battle. But in the meantime, I'm not here to play games with the American people or the health of our economy. My job is to do whatever I can to get this economy moving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Mr. Obama vows to phase out tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans come 2012.
Next to WikiLeaks. Founder Julian Assange is arrested in London. A judge orders him in jail without bail for at least a week while Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden. That is where Assange faces questioning about rape and sexual molestation allegations made by two different women. But there is no sign yet of the secret encrypted document, the poison pill Assange had threatened to release if he's arrested or harmed or if the whole Web site WikiLeaks is taken down.
We're going to go inside that doomsday scenario for you in just a moment.
Meantime, next, almost home, moving very, very slowly, a broken- down freighter is limping to harbor there in Alaska thanks to that tow boat. This is one of those huge cargo vessels loaded down with crude oil and cargo headed for the Persian Gulf. The engines failed out there in the rough seas in the Aleutians. And officials were afraid of a leak, but it should be safely back in Dutch harbor soon.
Next, a couple of days of talks, any real progress? Not really. Diplomats from six countries and Iran's nuclear policy chiefs just wrapped up two days of talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Now, this is important here since it's been an entire year since the last round of talks. But all they really settled on was a date and a place to hold more talks. Next month, they're going to Istanbul.
Next, listen to this. A Salvation Army bell ringer -- there he is -- walks off, walking away with the kettle and the cash. Who does that? This is for kids. Police arrested 41-year-old Ernest Mize today. They say he walked off the job -- this is near Atlanta -- on Friday with all of 400 bucks in that kettle.
And get this. They think he set up the kettle and rang the bell in other locations, trying to scam even more people. Mize told police he didn't know anything about the theft. Hmm.
Next, when is $110 billion a problem? When some of the bills are bad. Take a look at what I mean here. This is a $100 bill. Now, it's got high-tech security features like a 3-D security strip -- you saw that -- and a color-shifting image of a bell.
Here's the problem. Millions of these bills folded during the printing process created a blank portion running across the bill face. So, more than a billion of these things are bad and they're sitting in vaults in Texas and D.C. right now.
Next, a moment of silence in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Today, December 7, it was 69 years ago to the day since a surprise Japanese bombing attack that thrust the United States into World War II. The number of people who witnessed the attack now is dwindling, but about 120 Pearl Harbor survivors gathered there today for the dedication of a new visitors center and Pacific war memorial.
Next, if you are a parent, you know it costs a little bit of money to have children. But wait until you hear exactly how much. The USDA apparently putting a dollar figure on this, telling us it costs parents more than $200,000 to raise one child. And that doesn't even include college. That is for the average middle-income couple. And it's 22 percent more in real dollars than parents spent back in 1960.
Next, let's talk about a doggone rough fight. What is inside that dog carrier forced a U.S. Airways flight from Newark to Phoenix to make an unexpected landing in Pittsburgh. It was a whopping monstrous dog. I'm totally kidding. This thing was 12 pounds. It was a little Manchester terrier named Mandy. Sounds harmless, right?
Well, apparently not. Mandy became agitated during the flight, bit a passenger who tried to calm her down, then broke out of that dog carrier you see there. Mandy ran up the aisle, bit a flight attendant.
Mandy, that's a no-no. The bites, they were not that serious, but the pilot decided to detour the plane. Mandy and her 89-year-old owner got off in Pittsburgh. Flight to Phoenix continued without them.
Next, have you met Captain Awesome? He's actually a real guy, an unemployed cabinet installer from Oregon, real name Douglas Allen Smith Jr., but a judge recently approved his request to change his name to Captain Awesome, for real. I'm serious. So, this Awesome dude, there he is, says the name was inspired by a character on the TV show "Chuck."
All right, fair enough. The judge also approved Mr. Awesome's request for a new signature. Yes, you're looking at it. It's a smiley face and two arrows.
But here's the problem, Mr. Captain Awesome. Your bank account doesn't think it's so awesome. They refuse to accept the new signature because they say it's too easy to forge.
I'm agreeing with the bank there.
Next, how are the markets reacting to this big news today, the tax cut deal that the president talked about?
Carter Evans at the New York Stock Exchange.
And, Carter, how is Wall Street looking?
CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, things were looking pretty good, but stocks slid back on reports that authorities are ramping up those insider trading probes, the Dow closing down about three points.
Now, the S&P 500 did hit a two-year intraday high, but then it pulled back just a little bit. So, let's talk about these tax cuts. They are a stimulus. They are an extension of the Bush era tax cuts, but also that extra 2 percent payroll tax cut. Many argue the best way to get money back into the economy is to take less from people's pockets in the first place.
This could translate into more spending. Also the tax deal is more business friendly. It allows businesses to write off 100 percent of their expenses in 2011. It brings some certainty to Wall Street as well. A lot of people were very concerned about what was going to happen with this. Now it looks like we know what's going to happen, though it's not a done deal -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Carter, before I let you go, talk to me about Citigroup. We hear the government finally selling its stake in Citigroup.
EVANS: Yes, selling off the rest of its stake in Citigroup, and Citigroup shares actually closing about 3 percent higher today on that news.
The government is selling the rest of its 1.2 billion shares of Citi stock. They were originally bought as part of a $45 billion bailout in 2008. Here's how it all breaks down. We're actually going to make money on the deal. By we, I mean taxpayers. The original bailout, $45 billion, but, after it's all said and done, taxpayers are getting back $57 billion, for a total profit of $12 billion, a 26 percent return in two years, not bad.
BALDWIN: Not bad.
Carter Evans, thank you.
Want to tell you about this double amputee who by the way is a war veteran getting all kinds of support for what he did to members of this controversial Westboro Baptist Church, where all these protests -- you've seen them. There's a couple of them right now. We're going to tell you what that was and why he could be in some big trouble. That's ahead.
And the leader of WikiLeaks is behind bars right now sitting in a London jail, now fighting extradition to Sweden, we will tell his story, what is the latest for Julian Assange, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.
The noose now really tightening around WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. Assange right now sitting in jail after turning himself into British police, who arrested him on a warrant from Sweden, actually.
Swedish police want to question him about rape and sexual molestation allegations by two separate women. Assange was in a London courtroom today, where a judge denied him bail and ordered Assange jailed for another week.
Now, so far, there is no sign that today's developments have triggered that encrypted file that Assange had threatened to release if he was arrested or if he was harmed or if WikiLeaks is shut down. So exactly how would that actually work?
We looked into it. And I want you to watch this. This is from my colleague Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some call it a doomsday file, a poison pill. Assange's own attorney calls it a thermonuclear device. He calls it an insurance file to be opened in the event that he is captured, killed or if WikiLeaks is taken down.
And here to look at it, I'm with Ira Winkler. He's the author of a book called "Spies Among Us." He is a cyber security expert and a former analyst at the National Security Agency.
Ira, we just kind of got into this file. Show us what it looks like, with the encryption.
IRA WINKLER, CYBER SECURITY EXPERT: With the encryption, basically, open it up. And if the average person was to look at it, all they would see is a bunch of garbage.
TODD: How tough is it to de-encrypt this?
WINKLER: If you don't have the password, there are trillions of potential options of recovering the data. You have to go through trillions of trillions of trillions of options to actually get the right sequence of characters back. So that's why the password is so important.
TODD (voice-over): Apparently, only Assange or those very close to him have that password.
When we got into the file, we saw huge reams of characters in what looked like an exotic language. But if something game-changing happens to Assange or WikiLeaks, he'll blast out the password. Assange says more than 100,000 people who have been able to download the archive will get the decrypted information, and the documents could hit the Internet instantaneously.
The file is massive. It's not clear what's in it.
(on camera): His side says this is simply for the historical record. It's to preserve history. What do you call it?
WINKLER: Well, when you have your own lawyer calling it a thermonuclear device, that kind of says you intend to cause damage.
TODD (voice-over): Contacted by CNN, officials at the Pentagon and the Justice Department wouldn't comment on WikiLeaks' so-called insurance or doomsday file, but Ira Winkler says you better believe there are specialists in the U.S. and other governments running this through supercomputers, trying to decode this material as we speak.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Actor Wesley Snipes, he is about to head to prison this week on tax evasion charges. I'm going to tell you why a judge would not let him wait until after the holidays. That's what he wanted. That's trending this hour. That's ahead.
And how would you like to go camping with Kate Gosselin and her eight kids, and just for good measure, let's throw in Sarah Palin? Hmm. Joe Johns has that reality show drama that apparently really is happening in your "Political Pop."
Joe Johns, what are you cooking up every day? We will talk after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: One of our favorite topics here at CNN and a topic we really like to sink our teeth into is this concept of broken government. So while this whole tax cut debate agreement possible here rages on at the Hill, we started compiling some of the questions that are not getting answered right now.
And who better to answer some of those questions, or try to, Joe Johns. He joins me now from Washington with "Political Pop."
So, Joe, part of the debate here --
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I got to be honest with you.
BALDWIN: Be honest. Just be honest. What were you going to say?
JOHNS: The truth is -- yes, I was going to say, the truth here is right now we're probably just asking those questions more than answering them.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: We have got these meetings going on on Capitol Hill, people running all over the place and I suppose the very first one is, wasn't part of the debate in the last election about the need to reduce government, reduce the size of government.
BALDWIN: Reduce spending.
JOHNS: Right, right.
So now that the election is over, how is it that the Republicans and the White House agree that what we need most is billions of dollars more in government spending?
And then there's this related question: Why procrastinate when you can just postpone the whole thing, right?
For those of you who have been keeping track, the debate over the Bush tax cuts has been going on for about a decade and that's not really hype, Brooke, it really has been going on for 10 years when the first Bush tax cuts were enacted. The Bush tax cuts, if you remember, were an issue during the Kerry presidential campaign, they were certainly an issue during President Obama's campaign for the White House. And by the way, we have been talking a lot about this on the show, the Democrats had control of the House and the Senate and the White House for awhile and now they're down to running out the clock to try to get a deal.
And the last question, of course, is all about the holidays, you know what that is. Who will be the ultimate Grinch this year?
BALDWIN: Who will be the ultimate Grinch?
JOHNS: Well, here you go, if you sort of calculate it out, until January, Democrats are in control of the House, the Senate and the White House. So it's easy for people to say, you can spin it to make it look like it's the fault of the other side, the Republicans, that's if you spin.
But if you remember, the Democrats spent the last several months claiming they had a problem communicating their message on things like health care and the stimulus. And suddenly, though, people on the left are saying the Democrats are saying they're going to miraculously break through the message morass and connect with all the people who weren't hearing them the last time around.
Just saying.
BALDWIN: Maybe a couple of Grinches.
But let's get to the story -- look, we hate getting back to Sarah Palin, but we couldn't resist Palin plus eight.
What is the story, Joe Johns?
JOHNS: Oh, I love this. I love this.
BALDWIN: Do you?
JOHNS: Just when you thought things were -- yes, I do. I mean, first of all, how can you not, as a reporter, like to cover Sarah Palin? There's just so much there.
BALDWIN: She keeps it so interesting. How do you resist?
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: Yes. I mean, they were losing the buzz, you know? People were not talking about the show so much. Now there's a new twist. The folks at TLC have decided to put Kate Gosselin in the mix, along with eight kids, and they were nice to send us some video of it.
Do you want to take a look? Here you go.
BALDWIN: Here it is. So what are they doing? Do we know -- this is the upcoming episode of "Alaska" is it not?
JOHNS: Right, right, right. Yes, and they're basically, what? They're cooking some marshmallows, they see a grizzly, good grief. This is great stuff.
I mean, who cares why? It's just the fact that they're together with Sarah Palin and we have two reality shows meeting one and it's quite exciting.
I've been up there in Alaska this time of year, it is pretty cold. So I kind of feel for the kids.
BALDWIN: Yes, eight little ones. It didn't look like Kate Gosselin was enjoying it, but who may be enjoying it is TLC may be enjoying it because the ratings may be pretty good this Sunday.
JOHNS: She looked miserable, didn't she?
BALDWIN: She looked miserable. But you know? Alaska is a beautiful place, maybe not for hunting for everyone, but it looks kind of lovely. I would love to go.
Joe Johns, we'll see how that show ends up doing. We'll check back with you on that on Monday. Joe, thank you.
Let's talk about actor Wesley Snipes. He's preparing to go to prison for three years for evading his taxes. All this talk about taxes today, he's going to prison for evading his. We're going to tell you why he has to surrender this week and could not wait, as he wanted to, until after the Christmas holidays.
That's next, but first this.
All this talk about reality TV, if you're checking off your Christmas wish list, here's a list you'll want to check out, the highest paid reality stars. Who could they possibly be?
This is compiled by the news website, this is the "The Daily Beast." Any guesses on who raked in the most dough this year, 2010? Take a look.
Coming in, speak of the devil, number five, Kate Gosselin. The mom of eight apparently showing up hunting in Alaska with Sarah Palin, she was also on "Dancing With the Stars" made $3.5 million this year. Wow.
Number four, from "The Hills" to "Dancing With the Stars," Audrina Patridge, beautiful love. She earned a cool $3.5 million.
At number three, any "Real Housewives of New Jersey" fans out there? Bethenny Frankle -- New York. It's New York, not New Jersey. She parlayed her TV show, her book, her healthy lifestyle, she's a new mom, all into a reportedly whopping $4 million.
So those are your top three. Who could the top two be you wonder? Wait for it. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, before we goat to "Trending," I want to finish that last. Reality TV, it's a tricky business, but some savvy stars have managed to turn it into a very lucrative one. I have the top two reality show earners. Did you guess?
Hers' number two. This is Lauren Conrad, she was on "The OC," she was the star of "The Hills," she earned $5 million this year.
And number one, did you guess? I feel like there's not a moment she's not on some TV. This is Kim Kardashian, what some might call the Midas touch, since everything she touched in 2010 apparently turned to gold. Kim Kardashian raking in a reported $6 million. Wowzer.
OK, time for "Trending," and tonight, CNN's Larry King has an exclusive interview with Wesley Snipes. He's a 48-year-old actor, he was sentenced to three years in prison on tax charges. He was initially convicted and sentenced two years ago, but this is the only interview -- this is a huge get for us.
This is the only interview he's going to be giving before he's scheduled to report to a federal correctional institution in Pennsylvania. That has to happen on December 9th.
Wesley Snipes is well known for being versatile in his acting roles. You think of him in "White Men Can't Jump," "Blade," and "To Wong Fu Thanks For Everything," just to name a few.
By the way, you can watch the entire and only interview with Wesley Snipes, you know the time, "LARRY KING," 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
And last night, did you see? Larry King also interviewed a massively high profile actor, Al Pacino. Pacino considered by many as one of the greatest actors of our time talked about his regrets, about his roles and the art of being an actor -- watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL PACINO, ACTOR: Let me tell you something, our art is in the repeats, an actor's art. Believe me when let me tell you, it's in the -- that's why the actors of the past, before there was movies, before there was television, why they would do these roles over and over again, because they -- Edmund Kean did "Richard" when he was 8 years old. He was a spouter, he would be doing the rich people's houses and spout "Hamlet" and "Richard." When he was 25, he'd be doing it. When he was 30, can you imagine his "Richard'? If that wasn't a total extension of his whole feeling about life, what was?
So what happens is you merge your life with the character. And the more you continue something and especially when you're doing Shakespeare, the nuances start coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Al Pacino. Hey, if you missed the interview last night, you can always log on to CNN.com/video watch highlights from that interview with Mr. Larry King. Now to this, doctors are now going to stop treating this woman. This is Elizabeth Edwards, she's had cancer. They're going to focus on her symptoms now. A Dr. Sanjay Gupta report is ahead.
Plus, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is arrested in London today. Not only that, he is denied bail. Assange is fighting extradition to Sweden. We're going to have a live report for you from London next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: There is a lot happening all around the world today, so it's time to play "Reporter Roulette."
I want to begin with -- we have Atika Shubert, we have Sanjay Gupta, but we're going to begin with Atika in London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sitting in jail right at this moment.
Atika, I saw you earlier today in the midst of sort of a melee outside the courthouse. For people who missed that, I want you to paint that picture for me and also what happened inside the courthouse when Assange appeared before that judge.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, media was swarming outside. It had caused a little bit of a scrum, a few scuffles between cameramen. There were also a lot of Assange supporters and actually, as he was led away in the police van, some of them actually yelled "We love you," shouting that he's a political prisoner.
Inside the courtroom, however, Julian Assange was very calm, cool and collected. He didn't seem very emotional. But it was a big setback when he found out that bail had been denied and that he would be spending the next week in jail.
BALDWIN: Do we know how long, Atika, he'll be in jail?
SHUBERT: We know he'll be in jail for at least a week. His next hearing is on December 14, but his lawyers say they will try and get him released on bail again.
BALDWIN: What about this -- we have heard about this poisonous pill, the doomsday document? What of that? Because he had threatened that if he were to be arrested.
SHUBERT: Well, this is WikiLeaks' final trump card, and they're not playing it yet. Basically, it's a file that nobody knows what's in it, heavily encrypted, a massive file, but it's supposed to have possibly all of WikiLeaks' information, what they haven't released but what they haven't released yet. Could be highly damaging, but they say they're not in that grave a situation yet, they're going to wait to see if WikiLeaks gets shut down completely. If that happens, they say they will release a keyword that will basically unlock this file and release it to the public.
BALDWIN: Atika Shubert, staying up late for us in London. Atika, we really appreciate it. Next story here, talking about Elizabeth Edwards, we're hearing doctors giving her possibly just weeks to live. She has stopped her cancer treatment. Next on reporter roulette, Dr. Sanjay Gupta here in Atlanta. Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you it's an incredibly difficult decision I think, obviously, for Elizabeth Edwards, her family, the health care team. It's not that she's not getting treated anymore, it's that she's getting treated for symptoms as opposed to treat or cure the cancer. That's been the big thing that's happened here. She's at home surrounded by her family, says she's pain free.
Remember, she was diagnosed back in 2004, she knew that it had spread to her bones in 2007 and now has spread to the liver. At each stage, thee decisions are made. And at this point, the thinking is that the treatment to try and treat or cure the cancer, the risk/benefit analysis just doesn't add up anymore. The treatments may be too toxic, her likely benefit is too small, and that's how they sort of arrive at this decision.
For most women, the trajectory for most women, after five years, 88 percent survival rate is possible. At 10 years, 80 percent survival rate. So the numbers are quite good across the board here. So, the numbers are quite good across the board, but again, cancer is an individual disease in every individual patient. And at this time, with Elizabeth Edwards having her breast cancer spread to her both bones and her liver, the doctors have decided that further treatment for the cancer is probably not going to be productive, instead focusing on symptoms for the time being.
Sources close to Elizabeth Edwards say it will probably just be a matter of weeks. They say she is quite sick and it will be a matter of weeks before she passes away from this disease. Back to you.
BALDWIN: Sanjay guppy for us in Atlanta. Sanjay, thank you.
Finally, with reporter roulette, I want to go to Dan Lothian for us at the White House. Dan Lothian, huge day for the president, announcing as part of that news conference an agreement he has reached with regard to those tax cuts, highlighting the fact that he did not want middle class Americans' taxes to go up.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Yesterday what we saw the president doing was playing offense and talking about this deal. Today, he was essentially defending it. We saw the vice president going up to Capitol Hill to work with those Democrats who are not happy with the deal. And the president making the case that the reason that he did compromise is because Republicans weren't willing to bend on those tax cuts for the wealthy, those making more than $250,000 a year. They wouldn't budge, so the president said he could have extended this into next year when it would have been much more difficult to get a deal done, and so he thought now was the right time to compromise.
BALDWI: And then it heads to Congress. Any chance this deal could have trouble getting through?
LOTHIAN: Well, you know, that's the big question, I mean it -- by all accounts, it appears that it will be tough, but most likely this deal will get done. But again, this is only an extension, what we're talking about here with these tax cuts for another two years. So, this will again come up in 2012.
The president pointing out today that his compromise in no way shows that he's going to bend to every request from the Republicans, that he's still willing to fight, has some fight left in him, and he will have to fight for the extension of the tax cuts for the wealthy Americans when it comes up in 2012.
BALDWIN: Right. I mean, speaking of fighting, will the president fight to end the tax cuts for folks making more than $250,000 in 2012, which is obviously a huge, huge year for him?
LOTHIAN: That's right. The congressional elections, the presidential election as well. So, this will become a huge issue. And as the president pointed out today, this is something that Republicans very much support. They want to have a permanent extension for all Americans, including those millionaires and billionaires. And it's something that he is adamantly against. He will give it this two-year extension, but beyond that, he will fight it. That's what he says.
BALDWIN: That's what he says. Dan Lothian for us at the White House. Dan, thank you.
And that is today's reporter roulette.
Next to Virginia. So there's a parade that's happening. Apparently some folks there saw one of their heroes -- kind of a hero -- go down just before the Christmas holiday. You know the reindeer, with that big red nose? You got to see this video, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: OK. Everyone's favorite reindeer, you know, Rudolph, known for helping guide Santa's sleigh with his bright red nose. But this weekend, it seemed it was Rudolph who needed a little direction. You got to see this.
Folks in Richmond, Virginia turned out for the holiday float parade. Leading the pack, there he is, Rudolph. But even his bright red nose could not save him from certain impending doom. Oh, no, Santa's trusted reindeer. A deer in the headlights going down. Looks like St. Nick. may have some tough choices to make this Christmas Eve. Poor guy.
Why fly when you can take the train? Maybe that's what this hawk was thinking when its stopped in the Boston rail station. The wayward bird caught a bird's-eye view of commuters, that is, before being captured by animal control.
And last time I checked, legal driving age in most states, 16, right? So check this out with me. This is video from a police dash cam, the officer thought he was pursuing a drunk driver, that car right there, speeding along. Apparently, speeds reached as high as 100 miles per hour. Officer gets the car to pull over, hops out, gets up to the driver, and lo and behold, that whole show me your license and registration, sir, meant nothing to this driver. And when I say kid, I mean kid. Thirteen years of age driving this car.
And he was not alone. He had three friends in the car with him. Apparently just out joyriding. But not so joyful for the parents, who had no idea their child - there he is -- was out joyriding until they heard from police.
The Supreme Court agrees to review a Wal-Mart gender pay lawsuit, one of the biggest in the country's history. I'm going to take you through that, ahead.
Also, members of that controversial Westboro Baptist church, allegedly stalked by a war veteran for demonstrations like these. Now he is facing charges, the war veteran, but also getting an outpouring of support. His story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Now to tomorrow's news today. Let's fast forward. Elizabeth Edwards, she is told additional cancer treatments will not help. So, what is it like for her right now in her home surrounded by friends and family, including her estranged husband, John Edwards? I'm going to talk to an insider tomorrow.
Also, parents, imagine this happens with your kids. Some high school teachers and students in one school district, they're trying a brave experiment. They're giving up texting, tweeting and Facebooking for a whole week. I'm going to talk to a teacher and a student from Shorecrest High School in Washington state to see how they're coping without one of these, a cell phone.
And we're going to spend a couple of minutes now on a story that really addresses the heart of this country's core ideals, freedom of speech. There's this group of people who some say takes full advantage of that freedom for their very own unusual agenda. They're the members of the Kansas-based Westborough Baptist Church. I know you've heard of this group, but it's a small congregation, but it's a very controversial one.
Why? Well, they tend to make news when they show up at public events what they see as a protest as affronts to God, particularly homosexuality. Very often their targets are these military funerals. They picket them, shouting their extreme stance that God punishes service members for America's quote, "sin of homosexuality." Their words.
One of their slogans is, quote, "Thank God for" -- I don't even want to read it. You see it.
Most of the church's congregation belongs to a single extended family. Their families are often present at those protests. They receive the protection of local police and stand behind their constitutional right to express themselves.
OK. You got it. That's the background, here's the news. This man is jailed today in Kansas, accused by Westborough Baptist Church of stalking church members. Here's something else you need to know. The man in jail is a disabled Army veteran who lost his legs in Afghanistan. This is retired sergeant Ryan Newell. Now, Westborough Church members say Newell has been following them, making them afraid for their safety.
I want you to watch this. This is from our affilate in Witchita, Kansas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The decorated war veteran was arrested Tuesday for stalking and false impersonation. Investigators say a Sedgewick County sheriff's detective saw Newell following members of the Westborough Baptist Church and became suspicious. Although it's been reported Newell had weapons and ammunition, the sheriff's department won't confirm that.
Mulvane is the home of the Kansas Patriot Guard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a fair judgement of the people that are reacting because of the emotions that they're under.
Larry Cushenberry (ph) lives in Marion County and knows Newell. He's also a Patriot Guard member. He doesn't know what happened in this case, but does know the effect Westboro protesters can have on soldiers and their families.
You've got emotions there that affect your judgement.
Newell's family didn't want to go on camera, but say they're stunned and want to leave it at that. Cushenberry (ph) says it's important not to judge until we know what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't because, like I said, you know, you've got people that got emotional issues going on for whatever reason, if it's a loss of a loved one, a loss of a limb, you know, a loss of time spent with family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: How about that?
Now, Newell is now being held on a $500,000 He's apparently getting a hearing set up for next week. One update on the story does not look like the Westboro Baptist Church is going to let this stalking case proceed quietly. We have reached out to a church spokesperson who tells us they will picket in Newell's small hometown in Kansas. Police, they are holding meetings to inform the public on how to deal with all the protesters.
We, of course -- we are watching this story, the developments, and we will stay on it for you. The president answering questions on the tax cut deal. Wolf Blitzer is all over the political news making headlines today. Wolf Blitzer is next.
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BALDWIN: President Obama says that his tax deal is a necessity to defend middle class Americans. He promises to keep fighting over taxes over the course of the next two years.
Wolf Blitzer watched that whole news conference there from Washington, joins me from "THE SITUATION ROOM," where he'll continue to cover, of course, this tax deal.
And Wolf, you heard the metaphor about the "hostage takers." It was the president accusing the GOP of holding the middle class hostage to get what the president called their "Holy Grail."
What did you think of that?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You know, a lot of Republicans hate it and a lot of others think it's an inappropriate comparison, to compare the GOP to hostage takers, if you will, because it reminds a lot of folks of terrorism, if you will. So the president used that metaphor once before, he's using it again today. I think he's going to be criticized by a lot of Republicans for making that comparison.
Already, Eric Cantor, the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, is saying it's an inappropriate comparison. People are very sensitive.
Ironically, it comes at a time when the president is getting some praise from Republicans for this tax deal. In fact, a lot of the Republicans are saying they're going to vote for it. They like what the president has done by extending, at least for two years, all of the tax rates for the middle class, as well as for the wealthy.
He's getting a lot of grief from a lot of Democrats. Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator who caucuses with the Democrats from Vermont, he's going to be joining us in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
I know you have spoken with him as well. He's very upset about this. We're anxious to hear what he has to say.
Also, Austan Goolsbee, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors over at the White House, who obviously supports what the president is doing, he's joining us as well. So we'll have extensive coverage of what's going on. Lots at stake, Brooke, as you know.
BALDWIN: Well, going back to Republicans, you mentioned, of course, they're already irritated by that comparison. But it was almost as though, if you watched the president, he was more visibly irritated when he was talking about the Democrats who still have to agree to this deal.
BLITZER: And it's by no means a done deal yet. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, he's suggesting that there could be some changes yet. But the Republicans say if you start reopening, renegotiating, opening up some of this deal, the whole thing could collapse.
It's a very sensitive moment right now. Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, put out a statement a couple of hours ago that was sort of wishy-washy, didn't endorse the deal, didn't totally reject the deal either. So it's problematic, what the Democrats in the House are going to do.
Remember, this is a lame-duck session. The Democrats have an overwhelming majority in this House of Representatives. The Republican will have an overwhelming majority in the next House of Representatives come January. And in the Senate, the Democrats are going to lose a net six seats, so they're not going to have as many as Democratic senators, even though they'll still retain the majority.
BALDWIN: And then some analysts may say this is also though contradictory, because this whole compromise, when you add it all up, this adds billions to the deficit, and we have heard all of these political promises about cutting spending, cutting the debt.
BLITZER: Right. None of the tax breaks, none of the elements in this compromise, the framework agreement, as the president called it yesterday, are paid for, including extending the unemployment benefits so that folks can continue to get unemployment for up to 99 weeks, none of the tax cuts, everything is part of the -- is part of the long-term debt. It's going to increase the debt, the annual budget deficit. By our estimate, the two-year deal is going to cost the American taxpayers in terms of increasing the deficit $900 billion.
BALDWIN: Yes, almost up to the T-word, trillion.
Wolf Blitzer, we will look for you in just a couple of minutes there on "THE SITUATION ROOM."
And if you have to pay those extra fees at the airport for all your bags, shouldn't it arrive at its destination on time? Right? That's kind of like the ideal.
Well, that is the subject of a number of lawsuits nowadays. Did you realize that? Sunny Hostin knows that. She's on that case next.
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BALDWIN: Sunny Hostin is "On the Case." I want to bring Sunny in, and we're going to talk about the Supreme Court agreeing to review the biggest class action lawsuit in the country's history. This involves sex discrimination complaints by Wal-Mart workers.
So, Sunny, what specifically is the issue before the court?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: Well, the issue before the court is whether or not all of these women -- and there are supposedly a lot of them -- that were victims of alleged discrimination by Wal-Mart can ban together as a class instead of having to fight these cases individually. And as you know, Brooke, in the law and under the law, there is more strength in numbers.
BALDWIN: It all started with -- it was six women. Wal-Mart says it could end up including every female who has worked for Wal-Mart over the course of the past decade. So how much could that cost Wal- Mart if the company loses?
HOSTIN: If the company loses, people are saying this could cost Wal-Mart hundreds of millions of dollars, and that is because Wal-Mart is, as we know, the nation's largest employer. They employ today, I think, about 1.8 million people. And that means that over the past 10 years, as this suit alleges, they would have discriminated against 500,000 and 1.6 million women. That's a lot of money when you add it all together -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: So, before I move on, depending on how the highest court rules, would this affect, you know, us, any female working anywhere, not just Wal-Mart? Would this affect our employment or how employers treat us, pay us?
HOSTIN: Well, absolutely. I mean, people are really watching this because, again, the issue is whether or not women can ban together or victims of alleged discrimination can ban together as a class, as opposed to fighting these cases one by one. And so people are saying this would be one of the largest class discrimination cases ever.
BALDWIN: Wow.
Let's talk about those pesky baggage fees, Sunny. I know you're back and forth traveling, so am I.
HOSTIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: We all know about the extra fees we all have to pay, right, when we check our luggage? But that doesn't mean that your bags will always arrive at your destination when you do. That is always very frustrating. So now some passengers are actually taking the airlines to court.
What's the story there?
HOSTIN: That's right. And I love this case, Brooke. I mean, who can't get behind this?
No one likes paying that $15, $25, $30 to check their bags. That used to be free. Not anymore. And so people are fighting back, passengers are fighting back.
They have filed class action lawsuits for their baggage fees. They're saying if you make me pay for my bag, that bag better be there when I get there. So if I get there and my bag isn't, you've got to give me the money back.
I just love this case. I say right on to the passengers.
BALDWIN: You say right on to the passengers, but you know the airlines have to respond. And what are they saying?
HOSTIN: That's right, and they're fighting the good fight. And I have got to say their argument is pretty good.
They are saying, Brooke, well, yes, we have to get you your bags, but not necessarily on time. We just have to make sure that they don't get lost. And I've spoken to a couple of legal experts about this, and everyone is saying they think, unfortunately, that the airlines may win on this one -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Wait. So I just want to make sure I'm hearing you. So it's the airline's responsibility -- just so I don't -- it's the airline's responsibility just to get you the bags, make sure it's not lost, not necessarily to get you your bag on time.
Is that right?
HOSTIN: That's right. That's right.
I mean, really, the rules are on that little pesky baggage claim ticket that we rarely look at, but there's nothing on that ticket that says that the bags have to be there on time. But what it does say is domestic airlines are responsible if they lose your bag to pay up to $3,300 depending on the circumstance. So there is some responsibility --
BALDWIN: Sunny, I want to interrupt you. Forgive me. I want to interrupt you.
And before I do, Angie (ph), are we -- CNN has confirmed?
CNN has confirmed at the age of 61, that Elizabeth Edwards has died. Family is at her side.
She released a Facebook message just yesterday to many of her family and friends. She had breast cancer.
She learned she had breast cancer in 2004. It came back.
We also have learned that, you know, she's had this home in Chapel Hill, in North Carolina. She separated from her husband since January, John Edwards.
There have been reports that he has been in the home, along with their three young children. She lost one child in a car accident just a couple of years ago. And she talks a lot about -- if you read her Facebook posting, she talks a lot about resilience and hope.
But, again, sad, sad news across the country today. We have now confirmed Elizabeth Edwards has died.
Want to turn things over to Wolf Blitzer in Washington with "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BLITZER: And we want to continue the breaking news here on "THE SITUATION ROOM," the sad news that we have to report.
According to a family spokesman, Elizabeth Edwards has passed away. Only yesterday we learned she was very, very sick, in the sense that there was no more treatment, that the family had gathered around her, including her estranged husband, the former Senator John Edwards.
