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Federal Judge Issues Major Health Care Ruling; Senate Votes on Tax Cuts; Snow Slams Midwest; Interview With Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey; President Obama Signs $4.5 Billion Child Nutrition Into Law Today; Some Companies Track Consumers' Personal Buying Habits; Cold Front Hits Midwest; Miley Cyrus Caught On Tape Smoking From a Bong
Aired December 13, 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: Hey, Ali. Thank you.
A couple of key issues here we're all over this hour and the next two hours -- key vote about to begin any moment now in the U.S. Senate. The big question is will the tax cut bill live another day or will it die on the floor this hour? We're about to watch a number of senators cast their votes. So, stand by for that.
Also, we are going to get through the piles and piles of snow. This is the windshield view, left-hand side of your screen, of one of our intrepid CNN crews as they drove through Northwest Indiana today. I tell you what. I was in Indiana all weekend in the snow. Got one word for you, yuck.
But first: a huge health care decision today from a judge in Virginia. And really here is the core of the issue here. Can the federal government require every single American to have to buy health insurance? And if you force them to pay for it, is it a tax or is it a penalty?
Well, the judge today out of Richmond, Virginia, says it's a penalty, and Congress does not have the power to penalize Americans for not doing something.
So, I want to bring in right now senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin.
And, Jeff, I want to get to the part here where the judge called unconstitutional. And this was really the centerpiece of the legislation that we saw passing back in March that brought every American into the system, you know, and got them to pay for health care, whether you liked it, whether you didn't.
So, my question to you is, Jeff, if the ruling stands, is there even still health care reform?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the judge very clearly said, yes, that there is only part of the law that he found unconstitutional, that certain provisions that have already gone into effect, like kids being able to stay on their parents' health insurance until 26, no exclusion for preexisting conditions, those are all unaffected by this ruling. It's also important to emphasize that there are lots of challenges to the health care law in various courts around the country. Two judges have already ruled that it is constitutional. This judge said no. All that means is that the Supreme Court is going to have to resolve this question sooner, rather than later.
BALDWIN: And, as you have pointed out earlier, this particular judge in Richmond, Virginia, appointed by a Republican president. We will talk politics in a minute.
But I want to bring in Representative Phil Gingrey, joining me now.
And he has got a couple letters after his name. That's why we wanted him to participate in this conversation, M.D. He is a doctor and also a Republican.
And, first, Congressman Gingrey, I want to play you part of what the White House said today, part of their response. And they say, you know, the whole reason this law is written the way it is, is to protect people with preexisting conditions who find it pretty tough to get insurance at all.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY-ANN DEPARLE, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF HEALTH REFORM: We need to be able to ban this insurance company practice of saying that people can't get coverage because they have preexisting conditions. And that happens right now all over the country.
And you can't ban preexisting conditions unless you -- preexisting condition exclusions unless you get everybody into the system. So, that's why we need to get everybody into the system, and that's what this individual requirement is all about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, here's -- here's my question to you, Congressman Gingrey, Dr. Gingrey.
If you have a preexisting condition or if, you know, you just simply can't afford health insurance for whatever reason that may be, as a doctor to patient, are you just out of luck now?
REP. PHIL GINGREY (R), GEORGIA: No.
Brooke, I -- of course, I understand the tradeoff. Obviously, if you're going to in the law force the insurance companies to take everybody with preexisting conditions, even if they wait until they have had the chondroplasty (ph) or heart attack, cancer, melanoma, whatever, to sign up for the insurance at community rates, then you offset that by forcing everybody else, the young, healthy, those that want it or not, to purchase health insurance, and not only to purchase it, but to purchase a policy that the government decides is an adequate coverage.
So, that is the part that the Judge Hudson of the Eastern District of Virginia ruled unconstitutional under Article I, Section 8, utilizing the commerce clause to say that it's applicable, not only to regulating interstate commerce or commerce between nations, but to force people to engage in commerce. And I think the judge is absolutely right.
BALDWIN: Well, Congressman, you brought up -- you -- you segued into my next point. Talk about commerce. Talk about buying. And it's perfect for you, because you're on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
The federal judge today took issue with the whole part of the health care law that addresses commerce laws specifically.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Page three saying in this ruling the commonwealth argues that requiring an otherwise unwilling individual to purchase a good or service from a private vendor is beyond the boundaries of congressional commerce clause power -- i.e., you can't force someone to have shop for health insurance.
But my question to you is, isn't commerce a good thing? Don't people in this country benefit from having more people spend money?
GINGREY: Well, commerce is a wonderful thing. So, now should we force them to purchase not just an automobile, but one from government motors, since the government controls 60 percent of the stock of General Motors?
And, in fact, when this law was proffered in the Energy and Commerce Committee a year-and-a-half ago, the original draft, the Democratic majority wanted a strong public option.
They not only wanted to force people to have to purchase, but they wanted them ultimately to have to buy it from the federal government. I mean, talk about taking away people's liberty and right to choose. The president had said, you know, if you like what you have got, you can keep it, until you can't.
BALDWIN: I want to bring in Jeff Toobin.
Jeff, I imagine you're still sitting there listening to this conversation. And I don't know if you want to take sides, per se. But to Congressman Gingrey's point, does that make sense?
TOOBIN: Well, I think it really depends on how you see the power of the federal government.
It has been true for decades that the federal government has been intimately involved in health care. There's Medicare. There's Medicaid. And the question really before the court is, is the Obama plan simply a logical extension of Medicare and -- Medicare, which is what the administration says, or is it something new that is outside the power of the federal government? This is, I think, fundamentally a very partisan, political issue. You see it in the makeup of the judges who -- who have decided this case so far. I think you will see it as the case moves through the process. How you look at the Constitution depends on your ideology, and that depends -- and that's going to determine how you come out in this case.
BALDWIN: And, Jeff Toobin, to your point -- and this is for you, Congressman Gingrey, on the whole -- this could perceived as a huge political victory for conservatives today with this particular ruling.
Do you feel vindicated by this judge's decision in Richmond? And furthering that, does this set the stage for Republicans such as yourself to propose repealing the entire law come January?
GINGREY: Well, Brooke, I do feel vindicated. And, of course, more importantly, I'm sure Ken Cuccinelli, the attorney general of Virginia, certainly feels vindicated.
You know there's another lawsuit, 20 states, including my state of Georgia. They will take arguments, I think, oral arguments, on Thursday of this week in a district court in Florida.
And I expect that that judge will rule just as Judge Hudson has ruled. I agree with Jeff in regard to what ultimately will -- will happen. Ultimately, this will be decided by the Supreme Court, and I hope sooner, rather than later.
And, you know, quite honestly, it could be a 5-4 decision, but it also could also be 9-0, even though what he says about the power of the federal government to expand into other areas of health care beyond Medicare and Medicaid, or Medicare for all or Medicaid for all, that might be true.
But what the judge ruled in Virginia was strictly on whether or not it was constitutional to force people in many instances, most instances, in fact...
BALDWIN: That's right.
GINGREY: ... against their will to purchase health insurance.
BALDWIN: That's right. So, ultimately, it will be up to, you know, generally speaking here, the law -- law of the land, Supreme Court, to parse through this 42-page ruling...
GINGREY: Yes.
BALDWIN: ... from the Virginia judge, many other states, as you mentioned, tackling this very issue as well. We will see if it will be sooner, rather than later, that those justices will take this up.
Jeff Toobin and Congressman Gingrey, I want to thank both of you for weighing in here.
GINGREY: Thank you, Brooke. (CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: And now to this. This is video everybody is talking about, not this video. You're going to have to wait for it. But I am talking about this young lady, Miley Cyrus. She's seen in the video you will see a little bit later smoking from a bong. But what is she smoking? That is ahead.
And let's take a live look at the Senate floor this hour. Lawmakers there are expected to decide pretty shortly here whether President Obama's tax cut agreement with Republicans can be voted on. This is huge. This affects you. This affects me. This affects all of our paychecks.
We're going to details live from Capitol Hill -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, welcome back to the NEWSROOM. Let's not waste any time.
I want to take you live right now to Capitol Hill to see, you know, how this tax cut vote is going. It's already begun. This is happening on the Senate floor this hour.
And I want to bring in senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
I want you to explain this vote for me, because people may be confused. This is not the vote. This is a -- a procedural vote, Dana Bash. And the number we're looking for is 60, correct?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You got it, exactly. It's a procedural vote, but it's an important one, because it is a -- as we like to say around here, a key test vote to get a sense where the votes really are on the president's tax cut package.
It's the first time we're going to see that on the floor of the United States Senate. And it started -- it started at the top of the hour at 3:00. But, Brooke, don't hold your breath for it to end any time soon.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: And the reason is because of the weather. The Senate majority leader is going to hold this vote open as long as it takes. He -- we're told that it even might be until 6:00 Eastern, if that means that every senator can get here through the treacherous Midwest weather. And it really might take that long.
But we're hoping to get a better sense how the vote is going before that. And I -- but I can tell you, in talking to Democratic and Republican sources leading into this, everyone is pretty confident that it will get at least the 60, probably more, much more than that, to pass this hurdle. We're going to get a lot of Republicans and probably more Democrats than we would have thought this time last week. BALDWIN: So, we're -- maybe we will get 65. Maybe they will see 70. We are going to have to watch and wait. As you said, it's pretty rough going in the Midwest with the snow. Got to get everyone there and everyone voting.
And let's just remind everyone real quickly, Dana, this tax agreement that the president came together with Republicans, it extends the Bush era -- Bush era tax cuts for two years. That includes every American including that top 2 percent, provides 13 months of unemployment again you benefits, and also would cut 2 percent of the payroll tax.
So that said, just giving everyone the quick reminder of what's going on, what's at stake, let's talk about the House side, Dana, because we know it's going through the Senate right now. This is a procedural vote. If they get the 60, they debate. Then they go on to the official vote and then it goes to the House side.
What happens there?
BASH: Exactly.
BALDWIN: And does the Senate vote -- would the margin of vote in the Senate possibly affect the House?
BASH: Well, that is what the White House is certainly hoping. They're hoping that a -- that a pretty substantial vote in the Senate will kind of force the House to take this up.
You will remember and our viewers remember the -- the pretty astounding news that came out of the House Democratic Caucus last Thursday, when they really rebuked the president and voted that -- that they would not take up this package on the House floor in its current form.
So, what is going on? Democratic leaders met earlier today and they're trying to figure out how, in fact, to take up a tax cut bill. They're all saying that they don't -- that they will not put anybody in a position that taxes -- anybody's taxes, especially middle-income Americans, that their taxes will go up, because what we're talking about here is tax cuts expiring at the end of the year.
But the question is, how are they going to do that and -- and please many Democrats in the House, who are not only upset about that upper- income tax rate being extended for two years, but more importantly I think even at this point, it is something else in there. And that is an estate tax provision. And that exempts individuals who have estates up to $5 million, families who have estates up to $10 million.
And Democrats in the House are not happy about that.
Listen to what Chris Van Hollen, a leading Democrat on this issue, told us earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: We will bring the -- a tax bill to the floor in some form. We find the Senate bill in its current form unacceptable. And there will be changes made, especially as they relate to the most egregious provisions, like the estate tax, which puts a $25 billion hole in the deficit, $25 billion over two years, to benefit the wealthiest 6,600 estates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: So, the question is, how are they going to do that? And if Democrats put up, let's say, an amendment -- that's what they're talking about potentially doing. There are all kinds of procedural ways they could do this. But let's say they put up an amendment to change that estate provision, to make it something that House Democrats like better.
If it succeeds, then what? It will have to -- the whole package will have to come back to the Senate. And you already have the president, you have the vice president and you have the budget director, who we're told is making calls today to House Democrats, warning, if there are major changes, and that may be one of them, this whole thing could unravel.
So, that is the sort of balancing act that House Democrats, especially leadership, vowing not to let tax -- taxes go up, that is what they're trying to deal with right now.
BALDWIN: I was wondering if anyone was going to try to slip in a little something in there before the vote. So, we will be watching for that.
And, Dana Bash, stay in touch with us. We want to see how the vote is going. And as soon as it comes to a close, we will bring you back on air -- Dana Bash for us on Capitol Hill, all the action on the Senate floor today.
Dana, thank you.
And now this. Can't we all just get along? That is the message from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is leading this movement right now to end bitter partisanship in politics. He's calling it the No Labels campaign here.
Jessica Yellin is there. She joins me next.
Plus, the man who will be third in line to the presidency not so much afraid to -- to cry, shed a few tears. So, we have compiled the best of, if you will, Republican John Boehner's greatest watershed moments.
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You have heard it. I have heard it. Everyone has heard. This is not news here, folks. There's a lot of partisanship in Washington. Who could disagree with that? But who is going to fix that? Well, let's see. If this works today, some very powerful politicians are launching this new group whose aim is to get beyond partisanship. And, fittingly enough, one of the participants our viewers will most definitely recognize, this guy. This is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, you following me here, who may or may not run for president.
Jessica Yellin, as always, right in the thick of things for us.
And, Jess, how is this supposed to work exactly?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: So this is an organization, it's not actually founded by Bloomberg or by politicians. It's founded by activists, but very powerful Democrats, Republicans and folks who want to get what they say a sort of MoveOn.org- or Tea Party-style grassroots movement around the middle, the idea being that, if we want to get past partisanship and we want folks in Washington to make compromises, you need a force of people who will send e-mails and petition, et cetera, like the other groups do, for compromise positions.
So, what does that look like? Here are some of the founders of the group explaining their vision, Brooke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC FUNDRAISER: Never give up your label. Just put it aside, so we can do what government should do and solve problems and find commonsense solutions.
MARK MCKINNON, FORMER MEDIA ADVISER TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: We need you to go out and organize in your communities and -- and raise a voice out here. What we're really hoping for you to do is go out there and create a ruckus for democracy, OK?
DAN GLICKMAN, FORMER U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: What I'm arguing for is the need for grassroot move -- grassroots movement to help political leaders reach across the aisle to seek common ground, to try to find solutions, so that America can be the place that the founding fathers intended it to be, so we can be great, so we can provide the leadership at home and around the world that I think that we were set up to be.
The current system rewards the status quo, because conflict -- the conflict that we have today becomes personal and results tend not to follow through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: And, Brooke, we're here in New York City, but they say they hope, from here, it will take off and become much more grassroots -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: And you are in New York City, which just so happens to be home turf for, you mentioned, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
And you're a tough cookie, Jessica Yellin, who asks tough questions, so I know you asked him the question if he's running for president.
YELLIN: I wish I had gotten the chance. He entered through a back door and did his appearance on stage and left.
BALDWIN: Oh.
YELLIN: He was not asked that explicitly on stage, but during his appearance he was pressed on this whole concept of sort of what -- what works out there to find a new way.
And he actually sort of repeated some of the things we have heard him say, which -- but underscored them, Brooke, which is that he does not think that Americans want a third party. A lot of people think he would run as that third-party candidate. He says he doesn't think there's support for it.
He doesn't even think that necessarily most Americans agree that their voice isn't being heard, that many people do feel represented by the parties, even if they're turned off by the partisanship.
So, we know he just said he's not going to run. It sounds like he doesn't think there's room for a third-party candidate, still, but we all know that when there's a movement for someone to run, very often, it's hard to resist in the end.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
YELLIN: So far, he's resisting, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Resisting so far.
And let me ask you this, since this is called No Labels. How do these politicians, the member of the group, Jessica, how do they avoid the perception that they're not Democrat-lite or Republican-lite?
YELLIN: Yes.
You know, it's unclear where it will go from here. There are a lot of Democrats here, some conservatives, some Republicans, some independents. And they really hope that what will happen is that they will launch House parties like we saw during the Obama campaign and local meetings in every congressional district around the country, and that the people will drive this in, the way we have seen people driving other movements.
That's their vision and that would avoid the problem you point out. It's just unknowable, whether it can -- it can or will happen.
BALDWIN: Hmm.
YELLIN: But, you know, we will stay on it.
BALDWIN: You will stay on it there in New York. And I know, hey, Jessica, thank you. You have been in Ohio covering House speaker-to- be John Boehner.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: So, let's talk about Mr. Boehner. He has done it again. Did you see this? He got himself all choked up.
Here is the speaker-of-the-House-in-waiting speaking to Lesley Stahl on last night's "60 Minutes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "60 MINUTES")
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I can't go to schools anymore. I used to go to a lot of schools. And you see all these little kids run around. Can't talk about it.
LESLEY STAHL, "60 MINUTES": Why?
J. BOEHNER: Making sure that these kids have a shot at the American dream, like I did, it's important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: All right, tearful moment number one. Here he goes again. This time, it was his wife, Debbie, who set him off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "60 MINUTES")
DEBBIE BOEHNER, WIFE OF JOHN BOEHNER: Real proud of him. He'll do a good job. I'm real proud of him.
STAHL: You know what's happening over here.
J. BOEHNER: No, no, no. My nose is running.
(CROSSTALK)
STAHL: No, it's not. What set you off that time? Because she's proud of you?
He cries all the time?
D. BOEHNER: No, no, but he's going through an emotional period, too. I mean, this isn't -- you know, as you say, this is not any ordinary job. Whoever would have thought that he would be in this position? He was a janitor on the night shift when I met him.
(LAUGHTER)
D. BOEHNER: He's come a long way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A man can cry. And I guess his wife, Debbie, getting accustomed to it. Apparently, we the American people are about to be accustomed to this.
Want to take you back to November 3, when his Republicans swept the election. What did Boehner do? He got all choked up. Do you remember this? As his wife Debbie said, it's an emotional time for Boehner. After all, he is about to become third in line to the president, to be -- all this choking up, it's nothing new. I want to show you John Boehner on the floor of the House. I want to take you back a couple of years, May 24, 2007, during a debate on the war in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, MAY 24, 2007)
J. BOEHNER: Since I have been here, on the opening day, we all stand here. We raise our right hands and swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
There are a lot of my colleagues that have heard me make this statement, that I didn't come here to be a congressman. I came here to do something. And I think at the top of our list is providing for the safety and security of the American people.
That's at the top of our list. I mean, after 3,000 of our fellow citizens died at the hand of these terrorists, when are we going to stand up and take them on? When are we going to defeat them?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That was John Boehner back in 2007, a reminder, set to become House speaker come January 3. Pretty much guaranteed more waterworks to come.
Many members of his own party have blasted Michael Steele, so here's a question we all want to know. Will he run for a second term as head of the Republicans? That decision could come very, very soon.
And, also, police say a suicide bomber warned authorities before blowing himself up, his target, innocent Christmas shoppers. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Let's talk weather.
And the perfect place to start, this is the Metrodome in Minneapolis, live pictures thanks to our affiliate KARE. This is part of that inflatable roof that, if you saw the video over the weekend, remember, the snow, it just came kind of pouring on through, because they have seen so much snow in Minneapolis. These are live pictures from on top of that inflatable roof.
Who knows what they're going to do next. We do know that they're playing that game tonight in Detroit, but, my oh, my, a lot of snow over the weekend. And one of the places you may not think there would be snow, could it be, Atlanta, Georgia?
Everyone, panic, panic. I'm only half-joking here. And I can say this because I'm an a native Atlantan. Any dusting of snow down here sends the school schedule into a tizzy. And Atlanta traffic, when it snows, forget about it. Don't go out. Now, that's nothing compared to folks in the Great Lakes -- in Great Lakes county. They're looking at our snow in Atlanta. They're shaking our -- heads. This is an iReport from Wausau, Wisconsin. And check out the -- or you saw it -- there it is, the converted ATV snow plows, getting creative there. High temperature there in Wausau, 13 degrees.
And this from Cleveland. This is the morning commute. No one's commuting. The snow is dry and whipping in the wind, a lot of cancellations today at Hopkins International, and the road going pretty slow as well because of all of the ice out there, if it's going at all.
And now this. You see the car there in the middle of your screen? You see, it's on fire? You all those flames? It exploded while parked on a street. This is Stockholm, Sweden, over the weekend.
Look at those pictures. Now, investigators say the man who parked that car there was probably a suicide bomber whose explosives simply detonated too soon. Fortunately, no one else was hurt. The suspect was killed in one of two separate explosions Saturday night.
Swedish police have identified him and say he sent an e-mail warning to police minutes before his car there exploded. Authorities are calling this an act of terrorism and are investigating a possible London connection.
And he is the Republican National Chairman for now, anyway, elected by the party's committee four years ago. But the question today is this. Does this man, Michael Steele want to keep the job? We learned that Steele will hold an invitation-only conference call later today. That is when he could announce whether he intends to run for the chairman gig again.
The RNC will choose its chairman for the next term next month. So far Steele has said nothing publicly as to whether or not he wants to run.
President Obama signing a $4.5 billion child nutrition into law today. He did with his wife first lady Michelle Obama by his side. And they're calling it the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. It aims to expand the number of children in school lunch programs and get rid of junk food in those vending machines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Because while we may sometimes have our differences, we can all agree that in the United States of America, no child should go to school hungry.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: This is all part of the effort to reduce childhood obesity by the first lady. President Obama joked he will be sleeping on the couch if this bill does not pass. And, kind of sad here, it's the final week of "LARRY KING LIVE." After decades on air interviewing the biggest names in news, Larry will hand over the reins to Piers Morgan. But first talking to stars like Conan O'Brien. And the new TBS host is opening up with Larry about his feud with Jay Leno.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": You ever keep in touch with any -- ever talk to Leno, keep in touch? No?
CONAN O'BRIEN, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: No, I haven't spoken to -- I don't think I'll be hearing from them. I'm not going to -- and I don't -- there's nothing really for either of us to talk about.
I haven't talked to anybody. I'm friendly with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and they were really nice enough to come and help me when I did the tour. They came on stage in radio city, and they were absolutely hilarious, brought the house down, and we did a big skit together.
So I think that -- but the other guys, I don't -- I don't have that much of a relationship with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Larry also asked Conan, how is your new gig at TBS, asked him how it's different from network television. Conan answered that and a whole bunch more. "LARRY KING LIVE" at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN.
Question -- would it upset you if companies knew what you watched on TV, what you surfed on the web, or even who you're calling on your cell phone? It's called tracking your digital footprint. It's reality folks. You need to hear about it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All this week we are talking about envisioning the end of privacy here on CNN. Let me just be direct with you. We're all naive if we think anything we do online, on the cell phone or laptop, even our TV sets is 100 percent secure, safe from the eyes from someone who really wants your information. I hope you know that already.
But this isn't want of those hacker conversations. I'm talking about people and organizations out there making a living watching you surf and shop and chat on the internet. This man right here David Norris founded and runs Blue Cava, a company that takes your online information and he does a little something with it.
David Norris, let's just begin with the fact that I have a TV and cell phone and laptop. What kind of information can you get from me?
DAVID NORRIS, FOUNDER AND CEO, BLUE CAVA: So Blue Cava has the next generation technology that can help identify your device when you visit a website. So if you go to a Web site you might shop or browse, we identify the actual computer that you're using.
The usefulness of this is actually pretty interesting. By identifying the device, you can fight online cyber crimes, people trying to do fraudulent transaction transactions.
BALDWIN: You can fight cyber crimes but meantime you can get information from me. What specific kind of information? My name, birth date and Social Security or what kind of websites I'm surfing?
NORRIS: That's a great question. Our technology does not capture any information about you have as an individual. We capture information about your machine or your computer. So by doing that, we protect your privacy. There are no e-mail addresses or phone numbers, any of that, but we capture the unique identity of your machine.
BALDWIN: Who benefits from that unique identity and that information? Who are you giving that to?
NORRIS: So Blue Cava's technology can be used for fighting fraud is one example. Also in online advertising, we can help businesses in creating more relevant content for you based on profile information we have about you.
BALDWIN: So does this mean since I'm engaged and looking at wedding websites you'll see I'm looking at all these websites and I'll suddenly be spammed by wedding vendors, for example?
NORRIS: That's a great point. We actually separate privacy into two areas. There's one area called tracking which would be the equivalent of having someone follow you around to different stores as you went shopping. On the web people do this and actually capture the websites you've been to. That can be a little creepy.
On the other side there's targeting, which means creating a demographic profile of you and targeting information that would be more relevant to your likes and dislikes, but it's a little bit safer and more acceptable than doing this actual tracking.
BALDWIN: So you're targeting. You're not tracking, correct? It's an important distinction?
NORRIS: We actually offer both, but we give the consumer the choice to opt out of the tracking and only have the targeting.
BALDWIN: Responding to complaints you have, the FTC putting the brakes on this tracking software specifically calling for this do not track mechanism that enables consume -- i.e. me and you have -- to opt out. Is that fair?
NORRIS: Exactly right. Would you like someone to follow you around to different stores as you shop?
BALDWIN: No.
NORRIS: No. On the web most consumers don't realize that actually has today. If you go to any popular website, many, many different businesses will track where you have been and where you're going and they use that information to then try to present more advertising information that you'll buy products and services from them.
BALDWIN: The good news for someone who doesn't want this you can opt out. Bottom line online security and online privacy, is this like a thing of the past, sir?
NORRIS: No, no. It's actually something that's very important. Consumers need to understand that their information is out there on the web and just visiting a Web site you could be tracked and have their privacy -- you know, it's something that they could control if they choose to.
BALDWIN: You just have to educate yourself, know it's happening and say no.
NORRIS: It's not always obvious to a consumer how to do that, yes.
BALDWIN: David Norris, thanks so much.
NORRIS: Thank you. Thanks, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
Now take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I've been keeping the first lady waiting for about half an hour. So I'm going to take off.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't want to make her mad. Please go.
OBAMA: You're in good hands. And Gibbs will call last question.
GIBBS: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Keeping the first lady waiting. Hang on a second. See you later. Did you see this? This was Friday. It was kind of a surreal moment, the current president essentially handing off to the former president in the middle of this White House briefing. So will this scene help President Obama in this whole ongoing tax cut debate? That is ahead.
Plus, severe weather whipping large parts of the country. We're talking snow and ice, bitter cold temperatures. The video, the new warnings, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Millions of people -- and you know who you are -- dealing with weather headaches today. A blizzard slamming the Midwest over the weekend. The storm is now moving eastward. If you're on the east coast, heads up there. Take a look what's going on. This is northwest Indiana today. At least two counties there have declared a state of emergency. And police crews are out and about rescuing dozens and dozens of stranded drivers. That does not look like fun.
Also some places in western Wisconsin got more than 20 inches of snow, the governor declaring a state of emergency there for all 72 counties of Wisconsin. Schools there and in Michigan and in Indiana, they're closed today because of this nasty weather.
And no surprise -- a lot of people found themselves stranded at the airport. I do not how that is not me last night getting out of Indy miraculously. Nearly 1400 flights in and out of Chicago's O'Hare airport were canceled as of late last night.
And did you see this? We showed you a live picture a couple of seconds ago. In Minneapolis heavy snow caused the roof of the 64,000- seat Metrodome to deflate. It's like an inflatable roof thing deflated because of all the snow.
You can see the snow there on the field, and the gaping hole in the roof. The Vikings were supposed to play the Giants there yesterday. That game now tonight in Detroit. And Chad Myers, I spent my weekend in Indiana in the snow working. And I am still cold.
(LAUGHTER)
Yes, I'm a wuss and, yes, I'm still cold.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's about 48 degrees in the studio.
BALDWIN: I have my wool sweater on because I was so cold over the weekend I want to stay warm.
MYERS: What do you think Portland, Maine is right now?
BALDWIN: It's 42.
MYERS: Wow! Were you cheating?
BALDWIN: No.
MYERS: It's 49.
BALDWIN: Get out! I'm good.
MYERS: You win. It's 46 in Boston because, Brooke, the cold air isn't there yet. There is the cold front right through there. People in the New York City area going, hey, I'm glad you guys in the Midwest have all this cold air. We don't have it -- yet. Yet.
BALDWIN: The evil laugh.
MYERS: Because it is on the way. Buffalo's 10 degree temperatures will make their way to the east across Binghamton, Syracuse, and Scranton. As a result temperatures there are cold. This is what it feels like working outside. If you would love to have a job let's say loading bags in Detroit's Wayne/metro airport it feels fie below. That's 37 below freezing. I always thought 32 was a mean number to be freezing. Why not zero like Celsius, like centigrade? We shouldn't make that minus five but minus 37 because that's how much colder it is then you skin freezes. It feels like minus four in Minneapolis and two below in Chicago.
So if you have anyone outside working, maybe offer them a warm cup of coffee or some time to get out of the cold air. And if your bags are late off the plane give them a break.
BALDWIN: Let me be honest -- hot cocoa, that does not do the experience. Speaking from experience here, friends. Chad, thank you.
MYERS: Sure.
BALDWIN: Parents, think about this. You think your kids really like those sugary cereals. You know, you're going down the aisle in the grocery store and pulling on them. Maybe not. A new study finds otherwise. Find out what children apparently prefer.
Plus, was Miley Cyrus smoking pot or was it this stuff called salvia? We have a picture of her smoking from a bong that it definitely causing a stir. We'll play it for you coming up.
It is all trending. And by the way, am I correct, you're from Miami?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
BALDWIN: This is like freezing, freezing to you. So you're a wuss as well?
KOSIK: Yes.
BALDWIN: Alison Kosik joining me next in trending.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: So apparently whatever Miley Cyrus does, people tend to pay attention. But when this Hannah Montana star was caught on camera smoking a bong, people kind of perked up and really started paying attention and talking. It's trending for sure.
Allison Kosik, we're lucky enough to have you here. Usually we see your beautiful in New York at the New York Stock Exchange, but we're putting you out of your wheelhouse and doing trivia today. And this is something to talk about.
KOSIK: Talk about a talker. When you see Miley Cyrus do anything it makes news as she goes from a squeaky clean image to a not so clean image. Yes, she's all the rage. She's on video. Let's take a listen to her. She's smoking a bong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold it in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I'm not going to lose it now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just lay down. Going to document this now --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: This video from TMZ. Here's the deal with this video, Brooke. She was supposedly smoking salvia, not pot. What's salvia? It's a natural herbal drug, but it is a hallucinogen and produces an intense high. It's legal in California if you're 18 or over. It's illegal in 15 other states.
Now, this video was shot a few days after her 18th birthday in November. So she's free and clear on that legal front legal front if she was smoking salvia.
Miley's dad Billy Ray Cyrus, he tweeted about it. Imagine what was going through his head. He said, "Sorry guys, I had no idea. Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. I'm so sad. There is much beyond my control right now." As any parent, can you imagine seeing your daughter smoking like that for the whole world to see?
BALDWIN: No. And again, it's her reps saying it was salvia, correct?
KOSIK: Exactly, exactly. So obviously, she was having a good time. And I've heard salvia sales have gone up ever since this hit TMZ.
BALDWIN: Parents want to keep that one away from the children I imagine.
Number two about cereal. And I've got to tell you I was a big Cinnamon Toast Crunch girl back in the day, so I was surprised by this by the way.
KOSIK: Usually you hear that kids only want to have the sugar cereal. Well, not necessarily. There's a study that was done out of Yale University. It shows that kids could eat the low sugar cereals if you put it in front of them.
What this study did was put these kids into two groups, one the low sugar cereal group and the other the high-sugar group. And it showed that these kids were more than willing to go ahead and eat this low sugar stuff. In fact, they were willing to put more fresh fruit into their cereals unlike the sugar brands.
Also, one other interesting thing, the kids who ate the sugar cereals laden cereal more of it. They weren't satisfied with one bowl, and they're getting triple and double the amount of sugar.
BALDWIN: So the important distinction is if it's put in front of them. But I bet the parents are like, the bright, colored boxes --
KOSIK: Well, you know what? The lesson here is given it a chance, give them the low sugar stuff. See how they react. You may be surprised, they may go for it. BALDWIN: Interesting. Alison Kosik, good to see you, thank you.
KOSIK: Glad to be here.
BALDWIN: And now more than eight years after a man took Elizabeth Smart right out of her own bedroom, her kidnapper learns his fate. Coming up next you're going to hear her entire statement there speaking outside the courtroom after that verdict, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Elizabeth Smart was so inspired by the legal system that convicted her kidnapper that she is considering now becoming a prosecutor herself, at least that is what her father is now telling reporters.
I want to remind you the man, and there he is with the big beard, the man who held the teenage Elizabeth Smart captive for nine months and sexually assaulted her was found guilty of those charges Friday in Salt Lake City.
Now, the U.S. attorney said that after this conviction that Elizabeth's three-day testimony was key to convicting Brian David Mitchell. I want to you to listen to her in her own words. This was her statement just outside that courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH SMART, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has put so much work into my case and helping me. Today's a wonderful day and I'm so thrilled to be here, I'm so thrilled with the verdict. But not only that, I'm so thrilled to stand before the people of America today and give hope to other victims who have not spoken out about their crime -- about what's happened to them.
I hope that not only is this an example that justice can be served in America, but that it is possible to move on after something terrible has happened, and that we can speak out and we will be heard.
Once again, thank you so much. I am excited to go back to France and complete my mission. Thank you to everyone for everyone's prayers and support.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Pretty well put together, isn't she? Elizabeth Smart now 23 years of age. She has returned home to a church mission from France she was mentioning to participate in the trial of Brian David Mitchell. Her father tells reporters Elizabeth wants a career seeking justice for victims of crime.
And a driver leads police on this high-speed chase. When the car wrecked, you see the aftermath there, police find him dead. But in the backseat, they hear the cries of a three-month-old girl. The story is coming up. And also, we are watching Capitol Hill, lawmakers holding that test vote, that procedural vote to try to get to the magic number being 60 to open debate and officially vote on that tax cut deal. There are live pictures there from the Senate floor. We'll get you a live report coming up here. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: I wanted to bring in CNN's Gloria Borger with the latest from the CNN Political Ticker. But Gloria, before we talk Ticker, let's talk about U.S. senators voting right now. In fact, I'm hearing as we have producers back there watching the numbers where we're closing in --live pictures of the Senate floor, by the way -- closing in on that 60 mark. To then open debate. What are you hearing, Gloria from your sources?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I just spoke with the senior adviser at the White House who said to me that obviously they expect to get to 60. But they also expect that it's going to be a very strong showing as he put it. And they hope that that will help give them some momentum to take this vote to House Democrats, whereas you know those are the people who have been a little bit more wary of this tax cut deal to say the least, and then the Democrats in the Senate. They're hoping they get the big "mo" as George Bush used to say.
BALDWIN: The big mo, the strong, perhaps showing, 65, 70. That would help regard to those House Dems. What else do you have today, Gloria?
BORGER: First off the Ticker, Haiti. We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of that devastating earthquake. And today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the officials in Haiti need to step up, that the world expects more of them. She was meeting in Ottawa today with some of her counterparts. And she said that the other countries should not stop their direct aid to Haiti because of the election turmoil there.
But she also said that the Haitian government has to come up with a more focused approach on problem solving. So a little bit of a scolding there from the secretary of state.
Another top administration priority this week, we are going to get the year review on Afghanistan. It's due Thursday, and from what we're hearing, the report is likely to say that there has been some progress, but, of course, it's going to take into account the fact that this has been the bloodiest year in Afghanistan in nine years. And we don't expect any major shift in administration policy on Afghanistan.
BALDWIN: All right, Gloria, thank you so much --
BORGER: So, we have --
BALDWIN: That's the latest on the Political Ticker. We got to go, top of the hour here. Gloria Borger, I want you to thank you, apologies there. We're going to get you another political update in half an hour. We'll get you updates any time. You can go to the internet, CNNPolitics.com or Twitter @politicalticker.
