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Democrats Close to Revolt?; President Obama Holds Cabinet Meeting; Remembering Elizabeth Edwards; Larry Summers on Tax Deal; Saturday Funeral for Elizabeth Edwards
Aired December 08, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everyone.
I want to begin with this 18-page criminal complaint. You see this thing? Have you heard about this story? Two developing stories, the first including this. Let me tell you what I know. This all pertains to a recent Muslim convert in federal court just this past hour accused of trying to drive a truck full of explosives into -- here it is -- this is the military recruiting station this morning. That's where he was in Maryland.
That is the station there. Now, what -- who is this guy? His name is Antonio Martinez, but apparently now he goes by Muhammad Hussain. And I have been looking at this, you know, 18-page federal charging document here. And it -- it really describes all of the undercover dealings the FBI had with Martinez.
And apparently they have been tracking him very closely since October of this year. And it says in this complaint -- he -- he told undercover agents his original plan was to go into the military facility you just saw, try to hide out with some weapons, and then unload when Army personnel showed up for work.
Now, this document here, it also explains, before Martinez converted to Islam, he had wanted to actually enter the military, and that experience of going to that building made him familiar with his potential target.
And all of these details come from this FBI agent who recorded his encounters with Martinez. And again, just to underscore, these federal charges include attempt to murder federal officers and employees and attempt to use a weapon of mass destruction against federal property. More on that a little bit later.
Also, this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: I'm not saying that you never compromise or that you never -- you know, that you never do deals. This is Washington. That's how laws get passed.
But he just -- he and his team just don't seem to be that good at it. He seems to go from zero to compromise in 3.5 seconds. You fight, you articulate, you demonstrate that you want it. And you're the president of the United States. You -- you -- you have a lot of -- a lot of persuasive arrows in your quiver that he doesn't seem too willing to -- doesn't seem to want to engage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Zero to compromise in 3.5 seconds, did you hear that? That is part of what the Democrats are saying right now about their president, that he got rolled by the Republicans again, gave away the farm on tax cuts, broke a promise, doesn't want to fight.
So, also, just so you know, we're hearing the president is about to assemble his Cabinet for a meeting there at the White House. We are going to be watching for anything that could possibly percolate there.
Also, keep this in mind. Mr. Obama sounded quite angry. We brought it to you yesterday, right around this time yesterday, when he talked about his fellow Democrats, defending this deal, this agreement with Republicans that allows the wealthiest 2 percent to keep those tax cuts. So, we're going to listen to some of that a little bit later.
But just a short time ago, he was asked again about the controversy, and it sounds like he's trying to lower the temperature. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: It is inaccurate to characterize Democrats writ large as feeling, -- quote, unquote -- "betrayed." I think Democrats are looking at this bill -- and you've already had a whole bunch of them who've said this makes sense.
This is the right thing to do. I expect everybody to examine it carefully. When they do, I think they're going to feel confident that, in fact, this is the right course, while understanding that for the next two years we're going to have a big debate about taxes, and we're going to have a big debate about the budget.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Joining me now from Washington -- there she is -- senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
And, Dana, you just heard from the president suggesting that, if his Democrats get to know the deal, they will see that -- I think in his words it will make sense to them, it will be better. So, they have had now about 24 hours to digest this, marinate on this a little bit.
Any indication their anger perhaps is dying down today?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what? There actually is just a little bit.
I can tell you I literally just got here from standing outside of a meeting among Senate Democrats, and there were representatives from the administration there as well.
And several Senate Democrats came out and said that they actually thought that the reaction and the reception from Senate Democrats in that behind-closed-doors meeting was more positive.
Now, let's be frank here. It's pretty hard not to be -- it's pretty easy to be more positive, after it was so incredibly negative, by all accounts, the first reaction from Senate Democrats, as well as House Democrats yesterday.
But what they did inside this meeting just now, Brooke, is members of the administration presented economic data, independent economic data, I'm told, that shows that the overall package you're talking about, everything from the tax cut extensions across the board, to the unemployment extensions, and that payroll tax holiday, that 2 percent payroll tax holiday, the economic data that they presented showed that it's overall good for the economy.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: And I'm going to -- we have Ali Velshi also in just a second here who can also speak specifically about the other part of this, which is also the estate tax --
BASH: Yes.
BALDWIN: -- part of the negotiations.
But you mentioned, Dana, the reactions from some of the Democrats. We talked yesterday to Senator Bernie Sanders. I know he's an independent out of Vermont, he but caucuses with the Dems. And, you know, he was pretty mad. He was trying to -- talking about how he's trying to potentially block this in the Senate, a filibuster.
I want you to listen to what he told me yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: What we have got to do is rally the American people, have them call up their Republican senators and say, Senator, you can't give tax breaks to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year, to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, to people who don't need it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: In fact, Dana, I'm hearing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is speaking right now on Capitol Hill. There he is.
Let's listen and then we will talk.
BASH: OK. Great. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: We have a tax issue. We have got the funding issue. We have got the START treaty. We have got the defense bill. And we have the DREAM Act. We have the firefighters issue. We have the funding of the seniors for their COLA that they deserve.
We have the 9/11 situation regarding the people in New York who are -- been harmed, damaged and are sick. So, we have lots of things to do. And we have a lot of nominations we have to try to work through.
We just finished the caucus. We had a good discussion there on a number of different issues. I'm working to -- within the framework that was presented to us on the tax bill to see if we can get some changes.
I know one of the first questions that will be asked, when are you have going to bring it to the floor? This is not as hard as most things, because we already have from the Senate -- I mean, from -- I'm sorry -- we already have from the House the message that we voted on last Saturday.
So, it's there. So, I only need one cloture on this matter. So, we can do that fairly quickly. And I hope that can be in the next day or two that we can be on that.
In the meantime, we're going to try to work through the other things we have.
Let me talk about the defense authorization bill. We know the issue that's created a lot of heartburn for my Republican colleagues is the don't ask, don't tell. I have worked a lot with Senator Lieberman, Senator -- and Senator Collins.
Senator Collins has been most helpful in trying --
BALDWIN: Dana, I want to -- Dana, I want to bring you back in.
One thing that struck me -- and I'm sure you heard this, too -- as he was talking about coming out of his caucus that you were just speaking about, and he said they have been working within the framework maybe to get some changes. What does that mean?
(LAUGHTER)
BASH: Well, you know, that's a good question. That is what he said yesterday as well, that they're -- that the Democrats want to try to change this.
And Republicans are saying, uh-uh, this deal is ironclad and this is what it is. What was also striking, Brooke, is that he said that he believes that the Senate can vote in the next day or two, day or two, which is pretty interesting. That's sooner than we were initially told. We were told that probably they wouldn't vote until next week. You also heard him use the word cloture. Let me translate.
BALDWIN: Yes.
BASH: It goes to what you were -- the sound bite you just played from Bernie Sanders vowing to block this. What that means is that the Senate is going to need 60 votes to do this, because, frankly, everything at this point needs 60 votes to pass in the Senate. That's just kind of the way everything works out.
But in this particular case, it happens to be because there is so much anger from people like Bernie sanders and other people on the left that this is the deal that the president cut with Republicans. That's why they're going to need the 60 votes, but very interesting that he believes that they can bring this up pretty soon.
What kind of changes do Democrats think they're going to get? Unclear. But one thing that we do know in talking to senators coming out of there is that they at least want to have the opportunity to try, maybe to amend this. Will those amendments pass? Unclear.
BALDWIN: We don't know yet.
BASH: Maybe unlikely depending -- depending on what they are, but the fact that this process is going to start soon, that was just announced there.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: That is staggering, that we could see this thing try to go through within the next 24 hours. But you mentioned it -- 60 votes, that is what they need in the U.S. Senate to get this thing through.
Dana Bash, thank you for that.
I also turn to a part of the deal that perhaps you may know about, maybe you don't. You know about the tax cut. We talked about this a lot for the top 2 percent of Americans, that the cost for that $75 billion.
But have you heard about the deal to relax the estate tax? The cost of that is even more, price tag $88 billion.
Ali Velshi is here to help us a little bit with that.
And, Ali, we said this morning that the estate tax would benefit a total of 32,000 families, and some say, you know, this is really the -- the richest of the rich out there.
Is that true?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well --
BALDWIN: Because $88 billion is a lot of money. VELSHI: It's a lot of money.
This is a philosophical argument more than anything else. There are some people who say, all right, if you want to tax people less while they're alive, good opportunity to tax them is after they're died, after both spouses have died, because you can pass money to your spouse without this tax.
But once a married couple has died and they pass it on to their descendants, how much of that should be taxed? In fact, we were going to revert to a situation where for most larger states, 55 percent of it was going to be taxed. The Democrats think that's fair. Your descendants, who didn't earn the money, get to keep a big portion, and you -- and the government gets a big portion of it to help pay down our deficits.
Republicans think this is terrible. Why would you have take all the that wealth somebody has created and they want to pass down to their family and eat a big portion out of it? So, this new deal says that it's a 35 percent tax of that part above $5 million that you pass on. And that seems to be a deal they have agreed to.
BALDWIN: I had read that this bit about the estate tax was sort of one -- the final bit of the negotiating, perhaps even between a phone call between Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden.
VELSHI: Right.
BALDWIN: Did the Republicans -- did they make a big demand to get this, perhaps even further roiling some of the Democrats?
VELSHI: You know, there are a lot of surprises in here. Anthony Weiner said it. It is a bit surprising, because all of these things were not on the table. There was a extend the Bush era tax cuts vs. extend unemployment benefits.
And it does -- I can see why some people get the impression that the president was rolled. He answered that yesterday in his press conference.
The issue here is -- is -- is fundamental. Do you think people should be taxed on what they get from their parents, or do you think not? There's a key issue to remember. For those people who think that there should be an estate tax, and why not let people pay, especially if they're rich --
BALDWIN: Right.
VELSHI: -- this affects a lot of farms and a lot of businesses, because if you don't have --
BALDWIN: So, not just the big mansions, when we think of estate.
VELSHI: Right, because if you have to pay -- if you have a business that has grown over time, maybe 25 or 30 years, your parents have had it, and you have to pay 35 percent tax on that inheritance, you may not have the money for that, so you would have to close the business or you would have to sell the business or sell the farm.
That's one argument in defense of those who say that there shouldn't be an inheritance tax. But it's a fundamental, politicized argument.
BALDWIN: And it's part of the deal, apparently, part of the deal.
VELSHI: And it's part of the deal. That's right.
BALDWIN: It's a deal that could be voted on as early as tomorrow.
VELSHI: Which may go down as the biggest -- biggest compromise we have ever seen.
BALDWIN: Absolutely.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Yes.
BALDWIN: Ali Velshi, thank you so much.
VELSHI: Good to see you.
Long before Elizabeth Edwards passed away, she talked about her death and whether she was ready for it. You're going to hear her own words. And I will -- I will be speaking with one of her closest friends about what is next for her young children, two of whom just 10 and 12 years of age. That is ahead.
Plus: amazing video out of France -- severe weather disrupting everything from flights to, yes, the beautiful Eiffel Tower. That is next.
Plus: President Obama's Cabinet meeting at the White House. What's being said. Would there be any changes on the way in this whole tax cut deal? Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A couple of stories we have our eyes on right now, we mentioned the president has called his Cabinet to the White House for a meeting at this hour. We're going to keep our eye on the West Wing to see what could possibly happen there.
And you just heard from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He said that the Senate may vote in the next day, maybe the next two days, on this tax cut deal. And he also used one very important word: changes. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Well, I'm not going to talk about how I'm going to change the bill out there. There are some things I think that I -- would make the bill much better, and I'm going to work on those. Telling everybody here what I would like to do would be a good way to doom whatever I want to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, that is what we're watching there on Capitol Hill.
And here is a little something that many people in France are watching. How do you say snow in French? La neige.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: La neige.
BALDWIN: Apparently a lot of French speakers on Twitter loving it watching our show.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: A lot of streets closed because of this snow and a bit of problems in the airport, Charles de Gaulle.
Chad Myers, you know, I was actually in Paris this time last year.
MYERS: Really?
BALDWIN: It was lovely, and a lot of snow, a lot of people out and about on bikes. It didn't seem like the city shut down too much.
MYERS: Right. No, this was a temperature issue.
BALDWIN: Ah.
MYERS: This was rain and snow on top of frozen ground. And, all of the sudden, there was ice was below the snow.
BALDWIN: That's not good.
MYERS: When -- especially when you can't see it.
BALDWIN: Oh.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: We were trying to speak French earlier, right?
BALDWIN: What, earlier?
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Let's not even try.
MYERS: (SPEAKING FRENCH) I would like some --
BALDWIN: You would like some cheese?
MYERS: I would like some cheese. I was a Spanish major, not French.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: So, where do you go from here? Do you go underground? Do you take the busses? Yes.
The -- basically, the entire Orly Airport was not good, Charles de Gaulle, 1,800 flights canceled, planes not going anywhere, people not going anywhere. Now we're up to about -- or down to -- depends on your point of view -- 200-minute delays. That's about three hours just to get in and out, and a lot of people are sleeping in the airport.
BALDWIN: Well, if you're not traveling, though, it's quite lovely in France in the snow, speaking from experience.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: But, I guess if you're traveling, no, no, not so much.
MYERS: Well, the farther you get to the south, you're in good shape.
And we have a couple of reporters that are there.
BALDWIN: Yes.
MYERS: And some of them that are in the Burgundy region are just saying it's just kind of rain, it's cold, it's 33, and yuck. It's just -- it's not pretty at all, but up there in Paris where we have some pictures, there you go.
BALDWIN: Pretty pictures, nonetheless.
MYERS: Yes.
BALDWIN: Chad Myers, thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
BALDWIN: Merci.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: The other story -- the other story developing this hour, Gator fans, have you heard? Just in to CNN, University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer stepping down after the outback bowl against Penn State. That is New Year's Day. Meyer led the Gators to not just one, two national championships.
This is the guy who is synonymous with the swamp in recent years, but football fans also know he was also the head coach at Utah, also at Bowling Green before that. There will be a news conference in Florida tonight -- big news out of Gainesville. So, how long can you go -- think about it for a minute -- how long could you go without using your cell phone, texting someone, any social media? These days, kind of tough, sad to say. But there is apparently a school in Washington State that is putting that experiment to the test for an entire week. I'm going to check in with a teacher and a student, see how that's going for them.
Also, sanctimonious. Who is sanctimonious? The president lashing out at the left, yes, his own party, the left. Jessica Yellin, she's digging into this Democratic fallout. She's got the goods next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Welcome back to the newsroom.
Perhaps you would call this a bit contradictory. You go back a couple of months, a lot of Democrats have said that the president needs to get in there, needs to fight, get mad. Well, now he is angry all right, at them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We will never get anything done.
People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position and no victories for the American people. And we will be able to feel good about ourselves and sanctimonious about how pure our intentions are and how tough we are.
This is a big, diverse country. Not everybody agrees with us. I know that shocks people. You know, "The New York Times" editorial page does not permeate across all of America.
This country was founded on compromise. I couldn't go through the front door at this country's founding. And, you know, if we were really thinking about ideal positions, we wouldn't have a union.
And I don't think there's a single Democrat out there who, if they looked at where we started when I came into office and look at where we are now, would say that somehow we have not moved in the direction that I promised.
Take a tally. Look at what I promised during the campaign. There's not a single thing that I have said that I would do that I have not either done or tried to do. And if I haven't gotten it done yet, I'm still trying to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I want to bring in Jessica Yellin, our national political correspondent.
And, Jessica, we just heard a big S-word, Ms. Harvard, that I need you to explain to me here.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: He -- he referenced some of his fellow Democrats, people of his own party, as sanctimonious.
Explain, please.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, you know, he's saying it's basically they're being holier than thou if they are letting -- if they want to vote against this, because it's letting perfect be the enemy of the good.
Clearly, he was frustrated, but to plenty of progressives, that really sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. I asked Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown about that and particularly about the use of the word sanctimonious. Let's to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "JOHN KING, USA")
YELLIN: The president also had some pretty biting words for members of his own party. He basically described the position you and other critics of this deal have taken as sanctimonious.
He seemed to say --
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D), OHIO: Yes, I guess I -- yes, I heard that.
You know, I don't think it's sanctimonious to live up to a campaign promise, frankly.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: I'm curious, can you elaborate on that? Are you sort of surprised that his greatest anger is with his own party, seemingly, and not with the Republicans, who pushed him into this position?
BROWN: I think there's a lot of people in our caucus that are concerned about that. But I -- I -- you know, I'm asking the president to live up to his campaign promise. And when I -- I don't know who he is talking about with sanctimonious, but it was an unfortunate choice of words that I would guess he probably wished he hadn't said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: That was from John King's show last night.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
YELLIN: You know, it's certainly not the way to win over wavering senators who you want to vote for your tax package. But, again, clearly, he's frustrated with his own party.
BALDWIN: But what about, Jessica, the thought of maybe, by doing that and using that language, that he's winning over Americans? Perhaps this is a fight that the White House wants. Is it perhaps showing that the president is rising up above to try to get something done for the American people, even though perhaps it angers some of his own party?
YELLIN: Right.
And I do understand why you could theorize that the president gains politically from having a fight with his own party. Clinton triangulated, you know, worked with the Republicans against his own, sometimes, and it worked for him.
But this one, Brooke, is not a fight the White House wanted, because disorganized Democrats are not helpful at this point, because if they're not able to pass this tax package and the new Congress were to open with another tax fight, that would be bad news for the White House.
Now, I should point out, progressives are lobbying hard to try to kill the deal. But the progressive Democrats are not an enemy the president and the White House wants right now.
BALDWIN: We know in the Senate, they need those 60 votes.
YELLIN: Yes.
BALDWIN: And we could see within the next 24-48 hours if they get it.
Jessica Yellin, thank you, ma'am.
YELLIN: Good to see you.
BALDWIN: The feds, they have busted another terror plot, this one in Baltimore. Coming up, I'm going to tell you more about the target, that have building, for one, and the motive here.
Also, brand-new video shows a U.S. soldier -- there he is -- in custody of the Taliban. Now, this is not the first hostage video obviously that we have seen, but there is something very, very different about this one. We will explain that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A couple of news stories percolating this hour, one, the story out of Baltimore.
We're still getting some more details where police today arrested this man they say was plotting to bomb this military recruiting station. He had reportedly been under surveillance for several weeks. Authorities chose today to be the day to pick him up. They also say he was planning to blow up the recruiting office with a truck bomb and that they acted, the FBI acted, before there was to be any danger to the public -- more details to come on that one obviously.
Also, this: The guy on the left -- wait for -- there he is -- the guy on the left of your screen, he's an American soldier reportedly captured in Afghanistan about a year-and-a-half ago. He is Specialist Bowe Bergdahl, and he appears in this video released last night by a group close -- with close ties to the Taliban.
Now, there is no date or time stamp on the video. These are just two scenes part of a -- a longer video that lasts about 45 minutes. Bergdahl's family confirms the man is indeed that soldier officially listed by the Army as missing or captured.
And police are calling it Operation Ivy League, five students from Columbia University in New York locked up today, caught in this long-running undercover drug operation, now are charged with many, many counts of selling narcotics. Investigators say the students were selling marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD to undercover police officers oftentimes out of their own dormitories, even out of some frat houses.
And this just in here to CNN. Larry Summers, one of the president's top economic advisers, has just told reporters that if this tax deal does not pass, it could send the economy into a double- dip recession, obviously stark, stark words from one of the president's closest economic experts, Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council.
We're going to get some more information from our guy at the White House, with Ed Henry getting some of that information. We will get to Ed momentarily here.
Also, a small army of computer hackers targeting several Web sites, including MasterCard. And these attacks are all over WikiLeaks. So, which Web sites possibly could be next here? That is ahead.
Also, what is next for Elizabeth Edwards' young children? How will she be remembered this weekend? One of her closest friends going to join me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: A lot of talk this week, particularly today in Washington about this possible tax cut deal, not only on Capitol Hill but at the White House as well, where the president has been meeting with member of his cabinet.
Our White House correspondent Ed Henry is standing by. He has new information from one of the president's top economic advisers, Larry Summers.
Ed, big words, stark words coming from him?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Big time, Brooke. That's right.
I mean, this is really a sign of -- you know, how much the White House is amping up the rhetoric right now. We saw the president yesterday having strong words for Republicans, strong words for fellow Democrats.
Now, Larry Summers, his top economic adviser, just jacked it up another notch. He just told reporters on the record that if this tax deal does not pass by the end of the year, it would, quote, "materially increase the risk the economy will stall out and we will have a double-dip recession." That's a direct quote from Larry Summers, the president's principal economic adviser.
Now, obviously, what that means, this had been a fear that economists had, maybe a year, 18 months ago, that, you know, you drop down and all of a sudden coming back up and you have this double-dip and, all of a sudden, we're back in the throes of a deep recession instead of coming out of it, instead of seeing growth. And we've seen growth, obviously, for months now, just anemic growth, not as strong as the president or the Republicans want, or the American people, many of whom are unemployed, have wanted.
But that is something that for months now the White House has said, no, there's no longer a risk of a double-dip recession. We're not worried about that. Larry Summers just threw it out there just now, moments ago, here at the White House.
Now, what will be important is whether Democrats on the Hill think that this is just fearmongering.
BALDWIN: Right.
HENRY: That this is just ramping up the rhetoric to scare them into passing it, or do they think this fear is real.
I will note also that for the first time, Robert Gibbs just held the door open on the possibility that the president himself might go up to Capitol Hill. He left it open. He didn't say it's going to happen but he said he might go up to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers on this. That's how intense and serious this has gotten because --
BALDWIN: Wow.
HENRY: -- some of his own fellow Democrats are not on board, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Right. We know the vice president has been on Capitol Hill today to do that. And perhaps it will take the president himself. I know we have a camera on Capitol Hill, so perhaps this news can travel quickly and we can get Dana Bash back in front of the camera to see how that -- how that rhetoric, that ramped-up rhetoric is sitting with some of the fellow Democrats.
Ed Henry, thanks for hustling and getting that for us today. Thank you, Ed.
And also, coming up after the break, we're going to talk to a very close friend of Elizabeth Edwards. We're hearing she will be laid to rest this weekend. But what about her three children? Two of whom are very, very young. I speak to a close family friend coming up.
Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Parents, imagine trying this in your own home. Here's the deal -- there's this radical social experiment happening right now in Washington state. Some high school students, they've stopped tweeting, they've stopped texting, no more Facebooking -- I know, can you believe it? It's crazy! They're only doing it for a week, but still, some of these students at this high school, at Shoreline High School near Seattle, they made this faux movie trailer all about this.
Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The average teenager spends 200 hours in front of a screen each year?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thousand -- 2,000 hours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now that I have all this free time from screens, I can do whatever I want.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you do my homework for me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This social experiment is really an eye opener.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. But not everyone can handle it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What if someone posts something on my wall? What if they poke me? I'll never know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But there are other things in life to worry about than who's been poking you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So weird just talk to people. I have to actually talk to them face to face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't handle this!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trent!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, they're coming after Trent. Who is Trent? Trent is Trent Mitchell, a teacher at Shorecrest High School who came up with this idea.
Trent, what a crazy concept, talk to people face to face.
And he is good enough to join me along with Eimanne El Zein, a student at the school.
And, Eimanne, I'll start with you. And just to underscore kind of my point, I have not just, I have two cell phones. So, not tweeting, not texting, not Facebooking, it would be tough for me.
How's it going for you?
EIMANNE EL ZEIN, SHORECREST HIGHT SCHOOL STUDENT: It's going OK for me. I think the hardest thing about it is that what I do with my free time is Facebook. And I have Facebook on my phone. And I have e-mail on my phone and I text.
So, now, I'm finding that it's really hard to resist that habitual thing of just checking my phone all the time. I'm really having to concentrate on not being so plugged in to things.
BALDWIN: Eimanne, I'm going to come back to you because I'm going to ask what in the world you've been doing to spend your time now that you're not -- you know, you have your fingers sort of twiddling and you don't know what to do with them.
Trent, what a crazy idea. I'm being entirely facetious. But, you know, actually having kids, here we are day three. You know, having to communicate with one another face to face, is that sort of part of the reason why you're doing this?
TRENT MITCHELL, TEACHER LEADING THE "SOCIAL EXPERIMENT": Yes. You know, it just started. It was an offhand remark in one of my video classes. You know, I kind of challenged the kids. I said there's no way you could do this for a week, stay off Facebook and stop texting. And it was just kind of a joke.
And one of the students said, hey, we should do it. And so, we talked to the class. And about half thought it was a good idea and the other half did not think it was a good idea at all. But so far, on day three, we seem to be doing OK.
BALDWIN: And you say "we" because it's not just the students, Trent. It is also you. I understand you handed your cell phone over to your wife. I don't know how she feels about that. But how is it going for you and what's the toughest part for you here?
MITCHELL: Yes, my wife has the phone. You know, it's very nice of her to hold it for me. I don't think she would give it back if I ask. But actually, I'm a Twitter guy. So, I like Twitter because I like getting the news feeds. So, for me, that's really tough.
I'm not as addicted to the texting and Facebook like I think some of my kids or even some of my peers are. But there are also a few staff members at Shorecrest that are doing the same thing. And, yes, we're learning a little bit about ourselves for sure.
BALDWIN: Eimanne, what are you doing in your spare time? Like hanging out with your friends?
EL ZEIN: I'm exercising a little bit more --
BALDWIN: That's good.
EL ZEIN: -- now that I'm not just on the computer all the time. And I've had to call my friends to try and hang out. So, it's a little bit less convenient than when I would just text them, but I am talking more with people and that's kind of nice to have those conversations.
BALDWIN: Bottom line, Eimanne, you know, the week is going to be up. Do you think any of what you learned this past week will translate into down the road or are you just going back to your cell phone forever?
EL ZEIN: No, I think it will. I'm definitely going to be glad to have my cell phone back. But I think at those moments when you might be sort of bored and with other people instead of just going on my phone, I'll actually try and talk to them a little bit more. So, I've learned some valuable skills during this week.
BALDWIN: There is something to be said about talking to someone face to face instead of burying our heads in our laptops and cell phones. Both of you, Trent Mitchell and Eimanne El Zein, good luck to you both. Thanks so much.
And coming up: we're going to have a little bit more on the news that Ed Henry broke about Larry Summers' comment about, you know, look, if this tax deal doesn't get passed, we could see a double-dip recession. The drama, as I guess right now, unfolding on Capitol Hill. It affects everyone. More on that coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We are learning a little bit more about how and when Elizabeth Edwards will be buried. Spokesman for the funeral home arranging that funeral tells CNN Elizabeth Edwards will be buried this Saturday at a Raleigh, North Carolina cemetery, next to her son, Wade, who was killed in a car accident in 1996. He was 16 at the time.
Elizabeth Edwards died yesterday after a lengthy battle with breast cancer. She was 61.
And you see these pictures. She's leaving behind three little ones, three children, two little, one grown. Also her husband, estranged husband former presidential candidate John Edwards.
I want to bring in Karen Finney. She's one of Elizabeth Edwards' friends, also her former communications director. And she joins me from New York.
And, Karen, I can't help but think about those three kids.
KAREN FINNEY, FRIEND OF ELIZABETH EDWARDS: Yes.
BALDWIN: How are Cate, Emma Claire and Jack -- how are they doing?
FINNEY: You know, I think under the circumstances they're doing as well as can be expected. Obviously, it's a sad time. But one of the remarkable things about Elizabeth, and sometimes I feel like, of course, Elizabeth did this as I say this. You know, she really worked hard to prepare the children because she knew that this time would come and that they needed to be OK and be able to, you know, keep going.
So much of her life was about -- and how she wanted to be defined was, you know, she picked herself up after Wade died, which could have been, you know, the most horrible thing I think anyone could imagine. And you -- you know, you move on with your life and you find meaning in your life and you give back. And, you know, she really found joy and hope and strength from people and friends and family.
And so, you know, kind of giving those tools to her children so that they could then, you know, be OK when she passed was really important to her.
BALDWIN: One tool I have read about specifically -- and I imagine moms sitting up and they're thinking, ah -- but she wrote these letters to her children knowing she wouldn't be around for a little while, sort of perhaps imparting mother's wisdom once she's gone.
FINNEY: Yes.
BALDWIN: What do you know about that?
FINNEY: Yes. It was interesting. Actually, she wrote about that in her first book actually, how she wrote -- I believe she called them the "dying letters."
BALDWIN: Right.
FINNEY: And it's kind of in the event that if something should happen -- and obviously once she was diagnosed with cancer, that sort of became more of an end-point than, you know, maybe for others. And just words of wisdom and thoughts and ideas and kind of her opinions about, you know, how she hoped their lives would go, and what a great gift to have something like that from your mother.
BALDWIN: Absolutely. Do we -- do you know -- her youngest Emma Claire, 12 and Jack 10 -- do you know who will get custody, who will be taking care of these kids? Will it be John Edwards?
FINNEY: You know, I think -- I assume so, although I think, you know, there's plenty of time for all of those details to be worked out. At this point, you know, so much of the focus obviously over the last few days was just enjoying and being with Elizabeth for as long as possible, making sure that she was comfortable and that she was in good spirits and, you know, comforting each other. And, obviously, now, we're looking towards making the arrangements for this weekend and coming together as a community.
One thing I just would point out, that it's been really heartening to see is that, you know, over the last 24 hours or so, just tremendous outpouring of love and affection and thank yous. I mean, she was such a role model for women, for cancer survivors. It's really been wonderful to see that, you know, even at this last moment, she's helping to create a community of hope. It's been beautiful.
BALDWIN: Yes, I understand she was surrounded by family and friends in these final days. But I also want to play this clip if I may. It's Elizabeth Edwards. She spoke with our own CNN's Larry King this past June.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": What do you say to other cancer patients?
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS' WIFE: That as long as you're walking around, as long as you're not dead now, then you're alive.
KING: Look in the mirror.
EDWARDS: Look -- that's right. You're alive and, you know, don't spend your time worrying about when it is you're going to die. Spend your time worrying how you're going to live today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Spend your time worrying about how you're going to live today. That how people are going to -- how should people remember her, Karen?
FINNEY: You know, I hope that is how people remember her. I have to tell you that even before she was diagnosed with cancer, I happened to be with her when she found out she had cancer, that was pretty much how she was living her life. I mean, you know, campaigns can be grueling and she really found joy in so many of the things that, you know, most of us take for granted or don't pay attention to. I mean, she really enjoyed those moments campaigning and talking with people and sharing stories, you know, that was so much of kind of what helped her get through with Wade.
And so, I hope that that's what people remember. She's an incredible woman. I think she would want us to remember that, like the rest of us, she was human. She was not perfect. And that, you know, we all do the best we can to have a life with meaning. And I think that's -- you know, to me, she won. And that's really all you could ask for.
BALDWIN: Something we can all sort of take away from this. And, of course, our thoughts, our prayers are with the family. And, Karen, safe travels to you as you head to North Carolina for the funeral this weekend.
FINNEY: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Karen Finney, thank you.
I want you to take a look at this video. If only Congress handled disagreements this way. Kidding! They're duking it out here in the middle of this debate -- when lawmakers go wild. That is ahead.
And did one of your favorite Web sites get hacked today? Several were targeted in retaliation over this whole mess over WikiLeaks. We'll get you those details --.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Before we get to Poppy I want to show you some video. This is out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The situation there got out of hands. This is right around the University of Puerto Rico campus. Police and school security, they're bracing for trouble. Trouble is apparently precisely what they got. I'm going to tell you why in just a second.
But I want to bring this up full and I want to watch what happens in the streets of San Juan.
(VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Dozens of students here, they are furious at the school's plan to charge everyone at the university this $800 fee. So, the students announced this two-day protest. They put up some barricades. You see some around the university buildings last night. Students and school security guards are all smashing glass (ph), threw trash cans, made a mess of the campus. A couple of people, students, security guards included, reportedly hurt.
Reports from San Juan today that things are calmer but police remain out in full force in case trouble like this flairs up again. Students there staged a similar strike early in the year when the school proposed some academic changes.
And now to trending -- and topping the hot list today of MasterCard having its Web site hacked has a lot of people on edge about that. And Walmart back in the business headlines this time because of pay cuts.
Poppy Harlow in New York.
And, Poppy, should people be worried about this MasterCard story if they have a MasterCard?
POPPY HARLOW, CNN.COM: No.
BALDWIN: OK.
HARLOW: Let's put that out there. This isn't affecting if you can use your debit card or credit card, your ATM card. But what's interesting is that this is tied to WikiLeaks. When I first read this headline, I thought, what's going on?
MasterCard's corporate Web site, Brooke, has been broken down all today after a cyber attack of Internet activists taking matters that their own hands. What is happening here is they're targeting MasterCard allegedly -- we can't confirm this, but this is what tweets are saying and what others are saying they did because MasterCard stopped processing donations for WikiLeaks.
Now, this comes as WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange remains in British custody, of c course. He was arrested on a Swedish warrant this week. And what MasterCard is saying -- I want to pull out the statement so you can see this, because again, it doesn't affect the use of your card.
But take a look at the statement from MasterCard. They said, "MasterCard is experiencing heavy traffic on its external corporate Web site, MasterCard.com." They went on to say, "We're working to restore normal speed of service. There's no impact whatsoever on our card holders' ability to use their cards for secure transactions."
So, you can use your card. But this is very interesting, Brooke, because this also comes just a few days after PayPal's Web site was the target of a cyber attack --
BALDWIN: Right.
HARLOW: -- that some say also tied to this. Their service didn't go down. It was slowed, but it didn't go down. This is interesting that this WikiLeaks story is leading over into major corporations like MasterCard because they have stopped servicing payments for the site.
BALDWIN: Right, timing is very suspicious.
HARLOW: Yes.
BALDWIN: And, number two, what's the story, Poppy, with Walmart today?
HARLOW: Sure. Walmart is a huge employer. They employ millions of Americans. They have confirmed to us they're going to stop paying their new employees extra money, overtime, to work on Sunday. This is only going to affect staffs that are hired after January 1st. They won't get the extra $1 an hour. The current employees do and will continue to on Sundays.
Now, $1 doesn't sound like a lot, but add it up for hour and a lot of people like to work on the weekend for overtime.
Now, I should say Walmart wanted to make clear about 1.5 million of their employees aren't going to be affected. They say, they won't confirm to us, Brooke, whether or not this is cost cutting. But you have to look at the background here. Walmart stores in the U.S. have seen sales falling for really the last six quarters or so. Their costs are going up and labor is their biggest expense.
This is not going to affect employees in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, because those states, Brooke, have these laws that guarantee that if you work on Sunday, you have to be paid more. This is also not going to affect the people at their distribution centers.
And Walmart spokesman told us this, I'll read it to you, "We're confident that our pay and benefits are better than other retailers." But this affects a lot of people that are making minimum wage or pretty close to minimum wage, working across the country at Walmart.
If you're looking for a new job there, starting January 1st, this is going to affect you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Got it. Poppy Harlow, thank you.
HARLOW: You got it.
BALDWIN: Have you heard about this mystery that's unfolding right now? Here's what happened. A couple gets into this car accident on their way home from a Christmas party. The husband is killed, but his wife and mother of four is nowhere to be found. So, where is she? That's ahead.
Plus, President Obama and his own party at odds over all these tax cuts. So, who wins here? Coming up next, Wolf Blitzer with the latest breaking news from the world of politics. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Now to "The Best Team on Television," "CNN Equals Politics."
Wolf Blitzer with the latest from the CNN Political Ticker.
Wolf, busy, busy day in Washington. What do you have?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": It's always busy, especially at CNNPolitics.com. The Ticker moving stories all of the time.
And now, there's a new Gallup poll that we're featuring. Take a look at this -- two-thirds of Americans now say they support this compromise, a deal that was worked out between President Obama and the Republican leadership on temporarily extending for two years the tax cuts for everyone, including the most -- including the wealthiest Americans. Sixty-six percent according to this Gallup poll released today say they support extending the tax rates for all Americans, including families earning more than $250,000 a year.
So, while a lot of the liberal base of the president's own Democratic Party, they're not happy with this deal at all, they're complaining. They're grumbling and the deal still has to be passed by both the House and Senate and still very much up in the air whether they have the votes to do so, especially in the House. At least this Gallup Poll is weighing in, but a lot of Americans, they may not necessarily love it, but they think under the circumstances, it's probably the best thing to do. That's the new Gallup poll.
We're going to be speaking a lot and reporting extensively in "THE SITUATION ROOM," Brooke, on the latest because this is a fast- moving situation, fast-moving story. Yesterday, in "THE SITUATION ROOM," Bernie Sanders, the liberal senator from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, he's an independent. He fiercely opposes this deal because of the tax breaks that continue on for the wealthiest.
We're going to get a very different perspective today from Senator-elect Rand Paul of Kentucky. He's a conservative. He's a Tea Party favorite. He has very, very different views. I think our viewers will be anxious to hear what he has to say.
Finally, this item crossing the CNN Political Ticker. Guess who will be hosting the White House Correspondents Association dinner in April of this year? Brooke, this is the question for you.
BALDWIN: Well, I'm kind of cheating because it says on the screen Seth Meyers.
BLITZER: So, you know. OK. Never mind. All right. I'm trying to see if you knew Seth Meyers of "Saturday Night Live," he's going to be -- he's going to be the host and it's always a great fun dinner for those of us who live and work in Washington. Jay Leno, as you know, did it last year. We've had all sorts of people, including Stephen Colbert, doing it.
This year, though, there may be a few fewer reporters in Washington at the dinner than in earlier years. You know why?
BALDWIN: Why? Why?
BLITZER: Because it's April 30th, and April 29th, there's a big wedding in London -- I don't know if you've heard about it.
BALDWIN: Right, that little thing.
BLITZER: Yes, and a lot of reporters presumably will be going over to cover it. I don't know if they're going to be back in time for the Saturday night dinner. But that's the nature of the business.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, I don't know what kind of strings you could pull, but I myself have never been to the White House Correspondents dinner. So, if you find yourself coming across an extra ticket, sir, I'd love to go.
BLITZER: You're in. Don't worry. You're there.
BALDWIN: Excellent.
Wolf Blitzer, thank you so much.
We will get another Political Ticker update for you in a half hour and you can get more political news. You can got to CNNPolitics.com, or they're on Twitter. Their Twitter handles is @PoliticalTicker.
And now, this --
(MUSIC)
BALDWIN: The Feds busted another terror plot right here at home. The target, a military recruiting station and we're told the suspect is a young man who wanted revenge. There is a disturbing trend here. We're all over the story in 60 seconds.
I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
