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Senate Passes Tax Compromise; Soyuz Space Launch; Justice Department Sues BP, Others Over Oil Spill

Aired December 15, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, here we are, back to the top of the hour now. Got a live picture we want to show you. This is coming to us from NASA TV. And what we're keeping an eye on here, we're waiting for the Soyuz capsule to take off. This is a live picture, too, from NASA TV? Are they just getting on -- this is video. Those three you're seeing there are actually boarded up, and they're getting ready to go here in the next 10 minutes. They're going to be lifting off in the Soyuz capsule.

I believe they are taking off -- it's one American, at least. I think one is from Europe, another is a cosmonaut from Russia. But Cady Coleman is a 50-year-old woman. She's the American who's going to be going.

They're going to be joining three others who are already at the International Space Station for this mission. And they're going to do their NASA thing when they get up there, scientific experiments and so on and so forth.

But the key is Cady Coleman, that we have had exclusive access to for months and months as she got ready for this mission, today is mission day. She is taking off today. Expecting that liftoff here in the next 10 minutes or so.

We'll try to bring you a live picture of it when it does happen, but this is video from NASA TV, that streams on NASA TV. They continue to switch the feed. They've been going back and forth.

We have seen a live picture of the capsule sitting there on -- no, that's not the live picture, I don't believe, but that's what it looks like. When it does take off, we will bring you that to you live. But, yes, that's a live picture of it lit up at night.

We are waiting, standing by, for that Soyuz capsule to take off.

Meanwhile, something we saw a short time ago happened up on Capitol Hill, another vote on Capitol Hill. Every vote you see up there takes place, it affects somebody out there.

The vote that happened last hour that we saw affects absolutely everybody. We're expecting to see possibly another vote tomorrow that affects everybody.

Now, you've been watching CNN. You know the Senate just passed a tax and unemployment package that's worth about $900 billion. It centers on a two-year extension of the Bush-era income tax rates for everybody. It also extends, for 13 months at least, emergency jobless benefits.

It also grants a one-year break in the payroll tax which funds Social Security, the rate paid by workers drops from 6.2 to 4.2 percent. Tax on estates is restored, but only on big estates worth more than $5 million. This is the estate tax. Some call it the death tax.

Also, that's really a turning point. It's proving to be the major political hang-up in this whole deal. Democrats in the House want a higher tax on smaller estates.

Now, for what it's worth, the public likes this compromise deal. A Pew Research poll finds that 60 percent of Americans do like it, 22 percent don't, 18 percent not quite sure.

However, this is what we are sure about -- if something is not done, income taxes are going to go up January 1st for just about everybody. Federal jobless benefits will run out if this compromise is not reached, or one very much like it.

The House, it's in their hands now. What are they going to do?

That brings us to our "Two at the Top" now and CNN's Dana Bash. She's on Capitol Hill.

Dana, hello to you, as always.

We are hearing possibly tomorrow the House is going to take that up. Is that what you're hearing?

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's likely going to be tomorrow in the House. And the fact that the Senate had that overwhelming vote, T.J., 81-19, with just 13 Democrats, one Independent voting against it, and five Republicans voting against it, that is something that, ,certainly at the White House, they are hoping pushes the House to act and act fast without making major changes.

We do believe at this point -- you mentioned the estate tax -- that is probably the change that House Democrats are going to try to make, if they make any. Unclear if even that is going to pass, because the writing does seem to be on the wall with this overwhelming Senate vote, and that is certainly something that is very -- makes people at the White House, including the president, very happy after the mutiny that House Democrats raised.

They're not happy, still, but it looks like they're, for the most part, resigned.

HOLMES: OK. So much of that we've been talking about is centered on this tax cut deal, but there's other work that needs to get done.

BASH: There is a lot of other work that Senate Democrats in particular are pushing to get down in the very short amount of time that we have between now and Christmas, including debate on the START treaty, that treaty with Russia, and a huge spending bill that they just put forward yesterday.

But guess what? We are likely to see in the Senate -- the Senate actually locked up for the next couple of days at least. Why? Because Republicans are not happy that they're trying to push this on the Democrat side.

So they are going to probably force the clerk of the Senate to read the treaty, which could last 15 hours, and the 2,000-page huge spending bill which could last who knows? It could last even more than that.

So, their goal is to lock things up, make it clear that they are not happy that Democrats are trying to push these things through without a lot of time.

HOLMES: Well, you know, there have been complaints in the past that some things have gotten through because they didn't take the time to read it. So maybe this --

BASH: Tune in.

HOLMES: -- is one to take the time to read.

Dana Bash, of course, on Capitol Hill.

We appreciate you, as always, Dana. Thank you so much.

BASH: Thank you.

HOLMES: Well, in our "Sound Effect," the one today we have for you is -- and I quote -- "surreal." That's the word from a man who survived this ordeal.

You may have seen this video already. And "surreal" is just one of a number of words you can assign to this scene.

This was a routine school board meeting. This was in Panama City, Florida. Routine, until an ex-con named Clay Duke stood up, he pulled out a gun, ordered everybody out of the room except for the six male board members.

News cameras were there rolling because they thought it was just another routine meeting. You see this on local access channels sometimes. They will play these school board meetings live, so cameras were there.

We're going to play this video for you. We need you to know that it is disturbing. We also need you to know that no board members were hurt here. The gunman was shot by a security officer by the name of Mike Jones.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLAY DUKE, GUNMAN: Everybody in this room behind that counter, hit the road. Leave.

You may leave. You may leave. And you can leave.

Six men stay. Everyone else leaves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's talking.

John, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's your wife?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Ginger, no. Ginger, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't worth it. This is a problem.

DUKE: Please don't. Please don't. Please.

(GUNSHOTS)

DUKE: I'm going to kill you. Don't you understand?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, you saw him, Clay Duke, wounded there on the floor. Amazingly, as close as he was to those board members, none of them were shot. None of them were hurt.

Now, hours later, the board members, they came out and spoke with reporters, one of whom, Ginger Littleton, the woman you saw there with the purse who tried to knock the gun out of the man's hand. She was asked, "What in the world was going through your mind?"

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGER LITTLETON, BAY DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD: I don't think anything was going through my mind except for the fact that these guys were sitting ducks. They were lined up like pigeons on a wire, and I couldn't leave them without trying to at least divert or somehow or other diffuse the situation, or just buy some time until Mike Jones, bless his heart, could get there to help us out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you could have seen that gentleman's eyes, this was going to happen. You saw this was going to happen.

We could have had this place like Fort Knox and he would have shot us when we'd come out of the building. He was going to do this. There was nothing we could have done to stop him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Duke's motive still not clear, though he claimed the school district had fired his wife. Now, you saw him. He was shot. He was wounded there in that video by a security officer. But then the suspect, Clay Duke, he did take his own life. Now, as for that security officer, he was hospitalized, reportedly with chest pains. But he is expected to go home today.

Well, $1.5 million, that's how much police say an armed gunman got away with from the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. They also believe this is not his first casino robbery.

CNN's Casey Wian, live for us in Las Vegas.

Casey, hello. It seems impossible that somebody would get out with $1.5 million, but this might be $1.5 million he might not be able to lose.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely.

You know, T.J., isn't it everybody's dream to come to Las Vegas and turn what's in your pocket into $1.5 million in chips? Well, it turns out, when you do it at the point of a gun, it's not so easy to cash those chips in.

Law enforcement officials and casino officials tell us that because of security measures that they won't disclose in detail, it's going to be very difficult for him to redeem those chips. The chips that he took were in denominations ranging from $100 to $25,000, and some casinos on those higher-denomination chips, they have implanted security devices described as similar to a credit card that make it very difficult for the wrong person to cash those in. There's also agreements among casinos to make sure they don't redeem each other's chips in the event of a robbery like this.

So, one of the theories that police are looking at is this guy may have had an accomplice, a known gambler, someone who was familiar to the casinos and who they may believe they'd have an easier time of getting some of those chips cashed in. But one official with one of the casinos here said that it's very unlikely that the Bellagio is going to suffer any significant losses as a result of this latest robbery. Still, it's absolutely brazen, how this guy pulled his motorcycle up to the valet parking area of the Bellagio Hotel --

HOLMES: All right. Casey, excuse me one second. I'm sorry, Casey. I apologize, Casey. I have to hop in here because we were waiting on this launch.

I'm told we're 30 seconds away from this Soyuz launch, so my apologies to Casey Wian there. But here it is. Let's just go ahead and listen for a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five seconds.

Engines at maximum thrust and lift-off of the Soyuz TMA-20, as Cady Coleman, Paolo Nespoli, and Dmitry Kondratiev head toward the International Space Station.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the perimeters within the control systems are within the norm. OK. We copy. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Soyuz lighting up the night sky at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It's a good pitch program recording the flight controllers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Functioning -- thrusters are stable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Soyuz delivering 102 tons of thrust from its four boosters and single engine. The first stage of the Soyuz measures 68 feet in length and 24 feet in diameter. It is burning liquid fuel in the first two minutes and six seconds of the flight.

HOLMES: All right. As we keep an eye on the Soyuz capsule -- we'll keep the live picture up -- I want to bring in our John Zarrella. Our John Zarrella is standing by here with me.

John, you spent a lot of time with one of the astronauts who was aboard there. So it has to be -- I don't want to say a proud moment, necessarily, but kind of a special moment. You spent a lot of time with Cady Coleman.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I kind of feel like part of the family. That's for sure. I think all of us here in Miami do.

We spent over a year, more than a year, exclusive access, unprecedented access to Cady Coleman and Dmitry Kondratiev, who is the Russian commander, and Paolo Nespoli, the Italian Space Agency, as they trained for this mission. And, you know, it's funny, because the last time I talked to Cady, I said, "Well, Cady, what are you going to be thinking when you're walking up the stairway?" And you show the shot at the beginning of the show.

"When you're walking up that stairway to get in, what's going to be going through your mind?" She told me -- she said, "I'm going to be really excited, but I really am going to be really careful that I don't bump anything and mess anything up when I step my feet inside."

You know, another interesting thing, T.J., about them, as you can see that Soyuz spacecraft, Cady gets seasick. This is -- it's hard to believe, I know.

Here's a woman who has flown twice on the space shuttle flights, is now heading for six months on the International Space Station, and does all of these incredible things. And we're looking forward to actually spending a little bit of time talking to her actually live from the space station. But here she is. She can do all this, but she can't go on a boat because she gets seasick.

And there's a shot you can see in the center of the screen. You can't see his face. That's Dmitry Kondratiev. And to the upper right there, that's Paulo Nespoli, the Italian Space Agency astronaut. You can't see Cady. She would be to the right of Dmitry.

HOLMES: OK. Now what is -- and again, you said they're going to be up there for six months now. I guess, what is it in particular -- I'm focusing on the American here, even though there are two others on board. But I guess, necessarily, what is her specialty? What will her role be up there as she moves in for the next few months?

ZARRELLA: A whole heck of a lot of science. One of the things they were going to do --

HOLMES: And is that her there? The camera changed. Is that her there on that side?

ZARRELLA: That's her. There you go. There's Cady right there. You see the American flag there on her shoulder.

Several of the big things she's going to be doing, bone loss experimentation she'll be doing, blood pressure experimentation, heart experimentation. Lots of science, medical science.

Because you know what's interesting? They have found out that the heart actually shrinks in space. The muscle shrinks.

Why? Weightlessness. It doesn't have to work as hard. Your blood pressure goes down in space. So, anybody that's hypertensive, we need to be able to get them up to space.

So these are the kinds of things that she's going to be doing, along with a lot of other stuff. And they're going to be flying Robonaut, literally this artificial intelligence robot up there, and one of her jobs is going to be working with Robonaut that's going to be up there doing sort of a lot of different menial tasks, things that they can relieve the astronauts to do more important things.

But this is a phenomenal -- look at her. She's actually -- she's waving.

HOLMES: We just saw her wave to the camera.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

HOLMES: She's waving to the camera. This is amazing, that we are able to see a live picture inside the Soyuz capsule as they are on their way up still.

And I don't want you to go away, John. I've got one more question for you certainly.

Just a reminder to our viewers. You are watching. We just saw this take off less than probably three minutes ago. The Soyuz capsule taking up three different people into space. One of them being NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, that our John Zarrella spent so much time with in her year, unprecedented access as she got ready for this mission.

And John, another thing here, this group, and she, in particular, Cady Coleman, she will be on the International Space Station to greet the last two groups that come up with the space shuttle. Two more missions that are planned for next year, and one has continuously been delayed, but she should be on the International Space Station for those last two shuttle missions when they come up.

ZARRELLA: Yes, absolutely. No question about it, the last two flights.

One scheduled in February now, the Discovery mission. One scheduled in April. She'll still be there until May. If NASA is able to get the funding to add the third mission they want to add next year, then she would be gone before that June/July mission actually flies.

But, you know, she's also going to be up in space for the 50th anniversary of the first human in space, which, of course, was Yuri Gagarin, the Russian. That anniversary coming up in April. And in May, Alan Shepard, the first American to orbit -- to go into space, his anniversary coming up. His anniversary coming up.

And I know they're planning some things around those anniversaries that these astronauts will be a part of when they're up there, so -- but this is spectacular, actually getting to see the crew as they're rocketing into space. I've seen that. You can see how cramped they are, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes.

ZARRELLA: I have looked down in Houston at an actual Soyuz capsule. And the three of them in there are, like, elbow to elbow. There is no room to move around at all, and they're in that for, what, almost two days, a day and a half, two days, until they rendezvous with the International Space Station on about Friday? And then they can get out and stretch their legs.

And then when I talk to Cady from orbit -- in about a week I'm going to talk to her from orbit, and I've got to get all the details from her about where she's going to be sleeping and all that.

But you remember at Christmas when you and I talked, she played the flute for us and played that Christmas song?

HOLMES: Yes. I remember.

ZARRELLA: That's a year ago. She brought her flute up there with her, and she also brought some earplugs for the other astronauts -- no, I'm just kidding about that. But she brought another flute from Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull, and she brought a tin whistle up there from the Chieftains.

HOLMES: My goodness.

ZARRELLA: And supposedly, she's talking about doing some little concert from space with them down on the ground. So lots of very cool stuff that she'd like to do.

You know, one of the things that she's very, very proud of is she likes to do experiments where she can then talk to school children. She is very, very keen on the importance of delivering the message that no matter who you are out there, if you -- you can do what I can do. There's no limitation.

HOLMES: Well, you know, this is very -- I know it's nice for you and nice for all of us, because we were there. You were certainly right next to her, but also, we were there along the ride with you, as you allowed us to come in through your reporting, her yearlong journey to get ready for this mission.

And to see it finally taking place and to see her on her way, along with the others as well, is very nice. And we'll continue to follow her.

John Zarrella, we appreciate you hopping on. Appreciate talking to you, as always, buddy. Thanks so much.

ZARRELLA: Thanks, T.J.

HOLMES: Well, it's 17 minutes past the hour. Another breaking story coming in to us now.

The Justice Department has now filed a lawsuit in New Orleans against nine defendants in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This suit is asking the court for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act. And this lawsuit also asks that eight of the defendants be declared liable without limitations under the Oil Pollution Act for all removal costs and damages caused by the oil spill. This includes damages to natural resources.

Again, we are waiting to hear from the attorney general, Eric Holder, expected at any moment now. We were expecting this around 2:15 Eastern Time, but they're running a little behind. But we're still expecting this at any moment.

Again, from the Justice Department, Eric Holder, the attorney general, expected to give us details about this suit. We're expecting -- we said nine defendants there, but you can bet BP is certainly one of them, one at the top of the list, if you will. But now the Justice Department seeking damages and has filed a civil suit, asking for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act.

When he step out -- we're going to try to get a break in now, but when he steps out, you will certainly hear that hive. Again, the Justice Department, the U.S., now suing BP and others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Want to take you live now to Attorney General Eric Holder giving a press conference on the U.S. suing BP and others over the oil spill.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: -- who heads our Environmental and Natural Resources Division.

In the wake of the largest oil spill in our nation's history, Tony (ph) and Ignacia (ph) helped to lead the Justice Department's efforts to hold accountable any and all parties found responsible for this disaster. Today we are here to announce the initial results of our civil investigation.

Now, this investigation began shortly after April 20th of this year, when an explosion and fire destroyed the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig that was located in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 50 miles from the Mississippi River Delta. This incident claimed the lives of 11 rig workers and it marked the start of a massive oil spill that would take more than three months to contain. And it set of a chain reaction of devastating consequences for the people, for the environment, and for the economy of the Gulf Coast, a region still struggling to recover from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Now, while oil spill response efforts were under way, the Department of Justice launched both criminal and civil probes into this matter. We dispatched dozens of top attorneys to the Gulf region and members of the department's senior leadership have also made multiple trips to the area.

For months, department lawyers and investigators have been working night and day, and in close coordination with the local U.S. Attorneys offices, as well as our colleagues in the state attorneys general offices as well. As a result of this work, today the United States has filed a civil lawsuit in United States District Court in New Orleans against nine defendants.

The defendants named in the lawsuit include: BP Exploration and Production Inc., Anadarko Exploration and Production, LP, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, MOEX Offshore 2007, LLC, Tritaon Asset Leasing GmbH, Transocean Holdings, LLC, Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., Transocean Deepwater Inc., and QBE Underwriting Limited Syndicate 1036.

Now, in the complaint, the United States alleges violations of federal safety and operational regulations including a failure to take the necessary precautions to secure the Macondo well prior to the April 20th explosion; failure to utilize the safest drilling technology to monitor the well's condition; failure to maintain continuous surveillance of the well; and failure to utilize and to maintain equipment and materials that were available and necessary to ensure the safety and protection of personnel, property, natural resources, as well as the environment.

Now, we intend to prove that these violations caused or contributed to the massive oil spill, and that the defendants are therefore responsible under the Oil Pollution Act, for government removal costs, economic losses, as well as environmental damages. We're also seeking civil penalties under the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the unauthorized discharge of oil into the nation's waters.

Now, we allege that the defendants named in this lawsuit were in violation of the act through the months that the oil was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, and we intend to hold them fully accountable for their violations of the law.

Over the past year, I myself have visited the Gulf region multiple times. I've seen the devastation that this oil spill caused throughout the region to individuals and to families, to communities, and to businesses, to coastlines, to wetlands, as well as to wildlife.

Now, even though the spill has been contained, and even though it no longer is the focus of the round-the-clock news coverage that we saw and subject of front-page headlines, the department's focus on investigating this disaster and preventing future devastation has not wavered. While today's civil action marks a crucial first step forward, it is not a final step.

Both our criminal and civil investigations are continuing, and our work to ensure that the American taxpayers are not forced to bear the cost of restoring the Gulf area and its economy goes on. As I've said from the beginning, as our investigations continue, we will not hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary to hold accountable those who are responsible for this spill.

The civil investigation into the Gulf Coast spill is being handled by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospherici Administration, and the Department of Interior's U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement. And I want to thank all of these partners for their tremendous efforts.

Now, as our investigations move forward, Justice Department attorneys will continue to work closely with our federal, state and local partners to get to the bottom of what caused this disaster and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that they are brought to justice. The American people, and especially the people of the Gulf Coast, deserve no less.

I want to hand it over now to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Lisa Jackson.

LISA JACKSON, ADMINISTRATOR, EPA: Thank you, Mr. Attorney General.

And good afternoon.

Today is an important day for all affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Since April, we have worked diligently on the response and recovery efforts for the people of the Gulf Coast. Now we take an important step in ensuring that responsibility to the affected communities is met.

President Obama has said from the beginning that the responsible parties in this spill would be held accountable. Today we are taking formal action to hold BP and responsible parties accountable for the impact this spill has had on our environment and the livelihoods of those who depend on the Gulf's ecosystem.

This is about getting a fair deal for the region that suffered enormous consequences from this disaster. And it's also about securing the future of the Gulf Coast, ensuring accountability strengthens our ongoing efforts to help Gulf Coast communities get their lives and livelihoods back on track. The government's complaint seeks civil penalties against those responsible for the spill and will lay the foundation for securing what is needed to restore the Gulf.

As I said, this focus on responsibility comes alongside our response and recovery efforts. As we speak, the Gulf Coast ecosystem Restoration Task Force is forming a strategy to help cut through red tape and align the efforts of people working to address the long decline of the Gulf Coast.

State and local governments, the private sector, tribal groups, scientists and our citizens have great plans for dealing with the effects of the spill and taking on the long-term challenges. We want to help shape these plans into a comprehensive and coordinated mobilization.

Finally, let me say how grateful I am --

HOLMES: All right. Listening in there to the EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson. But what you heard before she got to speak was the attorney general, Eric Holder, saying, in fact, the United States is going after those they feel are responsible, at least going after them civilly, and seeking damages -- don't know how much -- for those responsible for the BP oil spill.

Several entities are being sued, several different companies, if you will. BP certainly among them, and also Transocean, which was responsible for that particular well, the one where the explosion took place. It was back in April now. Eleven people died after that explosion and subsequent oil spill that leaked some five million barrels of oil out into the Gulf Coast.

Now, the attorney general said this is just one step. This is just the first step to move this whole process forward, but says the civil and criminal investigation continues.

But nine different defendants named in this particular lawsuit. Again, among them, BP and Transocean. Halliburton not among them. Halliburton did cement that particular well, but Halliburton not named in this particular lawsuit.

We're coming up on the bottom of the hour here. We'll continue to follow and monitor that particular news conference.

A quick break here. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, the Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit in New Orleans against nine defendants in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The suit is asking the court for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act. It's declared eight of the defendants liable without limitations under the Oil Pollution Act for all removal and damages caused by that oil spill.

Also, just about an hour ago, the Senate pass the tax cut compromise bill that would keep the Bush-era tax cut in place for two years. The deal also extends unemployment benefits for an additional 13 months. The tax cuts were set to expire at the end of the year. This measure now headed to the House.

Also, four suspects are in custody and authorities are searching for another after a U.S. border patrol agent was shot and killed along the Arizona border with Mexico late last night. Brian Terry was the third agent killed in the line of duty this year.

I want to turn now to Chad Myers, the weather. Ice? Did I hear that right?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: I feel smarter. You're the first person that made me feel smarter after doing the weather.

MYERS: Wait till we go to partly sunny/partly cloudy.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: You can get your degree.

HOLMES: Appreciate you as always, buddy.

All right. What do we got here, about 34 minutes past the hour.

Juarez, Mexico, you've seen that in the news lately. Usually when you hear that name, it's not followed by good news. Is it also now becoming the deadliest city out there? New numbers you need to hear as we go "Globe Trekking." Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Time for us now to go "Globe Trekking." And our first stop, Greece.

Look at this here. This was all part of protests staged by unions. They had protests, they had marches. This was all against Greek financial reforms. Now, most of these protests we saw were peaceful. However, you're seeing video here of those that turned for the worse. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails, burned out a couple of cars. You see some of those fires down there. But again, most of them were peaceful.

Now, the unions are angry about wage cuts and also a change in labor laws that were required under terms of that May bailout. You remember, Greece was in that big debt crisis. Well, this all is a part of that. Some of those changes in labor laws and the wage cuts. Today was the climax in the week of strikes. Hospitals, airlines, courts, banks -- all were affected.

We continue to Globe Trek. Let's turn to Iran now where suicide bombings were there outside a Shiite mosque. Iran's Fars news agency says at least 32 were killed. Sixty others had to be taken to the hospital. The governor of the region there says a suspect is in custody. We continue to keep an eye on this story.

I want to turn to now to Juarez, Mexico. A disturbing story there . This year, now the deadliest they've ever seen. Rafael Romo here with me now. It seems like -- wasn't it a few years ago, deaths there - or murders were down in the hundreds.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Exactly. Just imagine if Atlanta or New York or Washington were to see their homicide, the number of homicides multiply itself by ten times in three years. That's exactly what happened in Ciudad Juarez. If we go back to 2007, 301 homicides that year along. Now it is 3,000, according to some reports in local media.

Now, let's take a look at this graphic. It's -- Juarez is going to end 2010 with a homicide rate, that's homicides per 100,000 people, at anywhere between 220 and 250. Juarez is located in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. If Chihuahua were a country, if it was a country, it would be the most dangerous in the entire world with 74 homicides per 100,000 residents.

So, that gives you an idea of what we're talking about here. By comparison countries like El Salvador in Central America, 71. And for example, here in the United States, if you go to, for example, Washington, D.C., is 24. So, that gives you an idea.

HOLMES: It seems like the murders -- we talk about this violence and the cartels, it seems like it's concentrated. We talk so much about Ciudad Juarez. But is there a danger or a threat or concern that that started to branch out to more of Mexico?

ROMO: So far, it has been largely concentrated in four states along the U.S. border. Mainly Chihuahua, just south of Texas and Coahuila.

And let me show you something. Twenty percent of all drug executions in Mexico happen in Ciudad Juarez. Eighty percent of drug- related executions since 2006 have taken place in seven percent of municipalities. So, that talks about the concentration of violence that we have seen.

However, Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, only has a murder rate of eight, which is three times better than, back again, Washington, D.C. So, so far it's highly concentrated, but the tendency here is it's getting more and more widespread.

HOLMES: All right. Rafael Romo, who covers certain colors (ph). Mexico, Latin America for us extensively. We appreciate you as always.

ROMO: Absolutely.

HOLMES: Thanks so much.

Coming up, a new school that we're going to tell you about. It doesn't just teach reading, writing, arithmetic. They also teach jazz. We will explain this coming up. Stay here.

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HOLMES: Breaking story we are getting just a minute ago on the BP oil disaster. This topic our look at top stories right now. The Justice Department has filed a civil lawsuit over the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The suit is naming nine defendants. The government wants to declare that eight of those defendants are responsible for all removal and damages from the oil gusher. That includes damages to natural resources.

Also, last hour, the Senate pass the tax cut compromise bill that would keep the Bush-era tax cuts in place for two years. The deal also extends unemployment benefits for an additional 13 months. The tax cuts were set to expire at the end of this year. This measure now headed to the House, where they could vote as early as tomorrow.

Four suspects are in custody and authorities are searching for another after a U.S. border patrol agent was shot and killed along the Arizona border with Mexico late last night. Brian Terry was the third agent killed in the line of duty this year.

A little talk/talk for you now. Quincy Jones. A legendary musician, performer, composer. He's won more Grammy awards than any other living musician. But today he has another honor bestowed on him. In less than an hour, the Quincy Jones Elementary School in Los Angeles will be dedicated in his honor. It will be the first public elementary school in the nation to provide instruction in jazz music. It's being dedicated to Jones for his quote, "accomplishments as a jazz musician and artist who has contributed greatly to jazz and American music."

Quincy Jones also will join us here tomorrow to tell us more about it. Don't miss it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Coming up. Did you hear about the new inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Might be a name or two in there you never heard of. You need to stick around, find out who got inducted after the break.

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HOLMES: Atlanta native Usher Raymond, we're listening to there.

Check this out now. Things got a little rough at a concert. Monday night, this was at Madison Square Garden. He invited somebody, a fan up on the stage. Look at that! Invited her up. Trying to serenade her, and what does she do? She kicked him in the face. She kicked him in the face!

It was an accident, of course. He laughed it off. Can y'all rerack that for me? In case you didn't know it was coming and you missed that part. Again, he was able to laugh it out. But if you didn't catch it, we're going to show it for you again.

Look! Excited fan. She's all into it! "Usher invited me up on stage." I'm here with my man! And oh!

(LAUGHTER) HOLMES: Man! OK, Usher is okay. He's fine. I don't know how she's doing because he immediately tossed her directly off the stage. I'm just kidding. He laughed it off and continued to serenade her. Everything is fine.

Now, let's turn from violent R&B to rock and roll right now, shall we? A new crop of inductees have been announced by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Let's turn to Kareen Wynter. She has the list for us. She joins me now from Los Angeles.

Kareen, good to see you as always. Tell me about this new crop.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, T.J. Well, I'm so happy to tell you. That video is so distracting. She almost decapitated him.

(LAUGHTER)

WYNTER: There are some musicians who are having an easier day than our Usher. As you mentioned, the inductees of the 2011 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They were announced this morning. And among the performers, shock rocker Alice Cooper as well as singer/songwriter Neil Diamond. Of course.

You may wonder, T.J., how two so seemingly different performers made the cut, right? According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, artists, they become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record. That's a long time, and they must have also made significant music contributions. So, the nominees are then voted on by a panel of 500 music experts, and the artist with the most votes, guess what? They get inducted. So, there you go.

All right. From rock and roll artists to rock and roll lifestyle, it seems actor Charlie Sheen is not quite in the clear from his Plaza Hotel room incident. We all remember that. The "Two and a Half Men" star hit headlines back in October when cops were called to his suite at Manhattan's uber-luxurious Plaza Hotel by a woman who claims Sheen assaulted and then threatened her.

Now, despite all the reports floating out there, T.J., that Sheen would not be charged by New York prosecutors, a spokesman for NYPD, they tell CNN they're still investigating this case.

And finally, so sad. A surprising celebrity split to tell you about, T.J. Have you heard about this?

HOLMES: Aww, this is so sad. I was disappointed. I was really pulling for these two.

WYNTER: Yes. Actor Ryan Reynolds. Look at that beautiful couple right there, and his wife of just two years. Scarlett Johansson. They're parting ways. Johansson was recently named GQ's Woman of the Year and Reynolds crowned People's Sexiest Man Alive back in November.

Well, they released a joint statement explaining their separation. Listen to this. "After long and careful consideration on both our parts, we've decided to end our marriage. We entered our relationship with love and it's with love and kindness we leave it. While privacy isn't expected, it's certainly appreciated."

HOLMES: Who breaks up like that? Nobody breaks up like that!

WYNTER: I know! I mean, can you imagine waking up and looking at her, she looking at him every morning. I mean, you'd be so happy. It's blissful! But you know what? They're saying maybe the distance --

HOLMES: Ah, yes. They are working folks.

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WYNTER: But I have a feeling these very, very attractive people will not be single for long. You know how it works in Hollywood and the entertainment biz. They break up, onto the next.

HOLMES: All right. So, we're waiting for the photos to show up on the cover of some magazine. Kareen, good to see you as always, dear lady. Thanks so much.

WYNTER: Thanks.

HOLMES: Well, reading the treaty. Seems simple enough, does it not? But how will reading the treaty stop the Senate from getting anything else done? That answer in our CNN political update. That's next.

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HOLMES: Exactly what is a compromise? Depends on whether you're talking to Democrats or Republicans. But what if you're talking to CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger, who just wrote about compromise on the political ticker?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I did!

HOLMES: What exactly is compromise?

BORGER: I did. That's kind of an interesting question. I've been watching the to'ing and fro'ing over this tax cuts. And of course, I watched the soon-to-be speaker John Boehner on "60 Minutes" on Sunday. We were all talking about how he was crying, right, T.J.? And people had different opinions about whether or not he should cry.

What I was interested in -- by the way, I think it was fine that he cried. But what I was interested in is he refused, even when pressed by Lesley Stahl, refused to utter the word compromise. He kept saying, you know, "when you say the word compromise, a lot of Americans look up and go, uh-oh, they're going to sell me out."

Now, Barack Obama, as you know, has used the word compromise very frequently in talking about this tax cut deal and talking about what he wants to do in the future. So, I looked at the polls, and suddenly it made sense to me. Because what I discovered is that Republicans don't like the word compromise, okay? Forty-one percent say their leader should stick to their beliefs, but 59 percent of Democrats say compromise is the right way to go. So, hence we see the differing language from the Republicans and the Democrats.

Now, I want to talk about another Democrat also on the ticker today, and that is Rahm Emanuel, who's left us here in Washington to go back home, and I emphasize the word home to Chicago. He spent the last day having to prove that he's actually a resident of Chicago. He told us one way he could prove it is that he left his wife's wedding dress at their house, which they rent out. Of course, you can't leave your wedding dress and not have it leave home.

But polls today actually show that Rahm Emanuel is the heavy front runner in this race. 32 percent of voters support him in a very large field, and undecideds are at 30 percent. So, looks like Rahm Emanuel is doing well at this point. So, we'll have to see what happens on his residency, however.

HOLMES: Yes. If the wedding dress is there, that's your home, no doubt about it, Gloria.

BORGER: Yes, that's what I figure.

HOLMES: Gloria, good to see you as always. Thank you so much. Next CNN political update is just one hour away.

Coming up, the founder of Facebook is this year's "Time" magazine Person of the Year. But his great creation, not without some problems. My "XYZ" is next.

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HOLMES: All right. I don't know if you're like me but I have a lot of friends in relationships and they're having some relationship issues. So, just about every person I know that's having a problem in their relationship, they cite Facebook as a part of the problem. In some way, form or fashion, "Oh, I got his password. I checked his pictures. Oh, some girl was sending him these updates." Something along those lines.

To back up this, I thought just my friends were crazy. But the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers say that 81 percent of those attorneys who deal in divorce law have used Facebook or other social networks as evidence in a divorce or had that evidence used against them. So, it's for real.

So, now Facebook, the founder, has been named Time's Person of the Year. Why? According to "Time," for connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them, for creating a new system of exchanging information, and for changing how we all live our lives. You could probably add for making us all paranoid, for making us suspicious of our mates, and for making deception a whole lot easier.

Mark Zuckerberg, Time magazine's Person of the Year. The person for the next two hours is Brooke Baldwin.