Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Jobless Claims Drop; Snowed in, Frustrated in New York; Mississippi to Free Scott Sisters; CNN's Most Intriguing People of 2010; Blizzard Costing Retailers $1 Billion; Reagan Made of Roses; Urban Campers Live In RVs
Aired December 30, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Tony Harris. The big stories for this Thursday, December 30th.
Mississippi's governor will announce freedom for two sisters this hour. Jamie and Gladys Scott serves life sentences for an $11 robbery. Supporters, as you know, rallied for the sisters, arguing the time didn't fit the crime. Freedom comes with a condition though.
One sister must donate a kidney to the other. That saves the state dialysis cost.
A huge storm coating Arizona and New Mexico with snow and ice today. A stretch of I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff is blocked by tractor-trailers, as you can see here.
As much as three feet of snow will fall on the Rocky Mountains. The storm brought rain to southern California, but no significant flooding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL PETERS, CAL-FIRE: County flood control has been working tirelessly. City has been doing the same. Our regular fire engine crews have been patrolling. On the first day down in this area, they helped to rescue 26 people out of these homes. So it's been an all hands on deck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The pilot of an American Airlines plane says the brakes failed. The Boeing 757 skidded off the end of the runway in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Heavy snow powder brought the plane to a stop. Nobody was injured. Flight 2253 carried 171 passengers from Chicago.
Well, this is the news we've been waiting for. New claims for unemployment benefits have dropped to the lowest level in two years, dipping below an important psychological milestone.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
And Alison, first of all, good morning to you.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. HARRIS: It sounds like some good news here on the jobs front.
KOSIK: It is, Tony. It's great news. But I'll tell you what, nobody yet is popping those champagne corks just yet. But it is a positive.
The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell by 34,000 last week, much more than anybody expected. So claims came in at a total of 388,000. It's down from when the number of claims peaked, over 650,000, back in July of 2009. You know, gosh, we're finally, hooray, below that 400,000 level that economists say we really need to be under to get the unemployment rate down -- Tony.
HARRIS: So, Alison, why no celebration? Where is the rally?
KOSIK: Yes. I mean, the whole patch here, Tony, is to see if we can actually stay below this 400,000 level. The lower number has a lot to do with the fact that there were a lot of people who found temporary work for the holidays, so once they leave the positions, these claims numbers could likely go back up.
Next week is going to be a big deciding factor, though. The December jobs report comes out. Wait to see if this drop in claims actually has any immediate effect on the unemployment rate. Of course, we can't forget that that unemployment rate still stubbornly high at 9.8 percent -- Tony.
HARRIS: Fourteen, 15, 16, maybe even 17 million people unemployed or underemployed.
KOSIK: Exactly.
HARRIS: So are we talking about essentially a ho-hum day for Wall Street?
KOSIK: Yes. You know, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record this week. We've got a really day for the markets. The Dow down 11, the Nasdaq off slightly.
But, you know, we've had a great month to close out a solid year. Take a look at what the story is going to be when we close the books on 2010 tomorrow afternoon.
We are on track for an 11 percent gain on the Dow, more than 17 percent for the Nasdaq, and more than 12 percent on the S&P 500. That's why you may be seeing your 401(k) going back up these days -- Tony.
HARRIS: Oh, yes. Like the sound of that.
Alison, appreciate it. See you next hour. Thank you.
KOSIK: Yes, sure.
HARRIS: Where does all of the snow go once it's scraped off the streets? Our own Susan Candiotti takes us live through snow removal 101.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So back to our lead story. Sisters sentenced to life in prison for an $11 robbery now about to be set free.
Gladys and Jamie Scott have spent 16 years behind bars. Mississippi's governor is suspending their sentences, but only if Gladys donates a kidney to her sister Jamie.
We are reaching out to reporter Molly Parker of "The Clarion Ledger." She's going to be joining us from Jackson, Mississippi, in just a couple of minutes.
And we know our Marty Savidge is working on the story as well. So we will pull the pieces together on this story and we are also going to be speaking to Ben Jealous, who is the president and executive director of the NAACP, shortly.
Snow plows still haven't cleared from all the streets of New York, and it's been five days since the blizzard hit. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has apologized for not doing a better job.
Our Susan Candiotti wanted to know where the snow goes after it's picked up.
Susan, good to see you. I'm assuming it goes to where you are right now.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.
Well, you could say full steam ahead in terms of getting rid of this. I'll show you what I mean by that in just a moment.
HARRIS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: Now, many of our viewers might have been with us just an hour ago. And if so, looking down the street you see all the snow, and you think, well, you didn't make much progress, did you? But this is a typical New York street. Well, somewhat typical.
They have been bringing piles and piles of snow, frankly, by the truckload. All of this stuff is coming from Times Square, and it's far from all of it. They keep bringing it in and bringing it in and bringing it in.
Why? Because, of course, they want to get it out of there before the celebration tomorrow night. So it's coming in by the truckload nonstop, all day, and it will be going on all night.
Three front-end loaders then pile it up. Before, I was allowed to stand next to the snow pile, Tony, but now they won't let me anymore, because for some reason, they're afraid I might get squished by the front-end loaders because they're obviously very busy. But I'm going to stick to the curb here now.
HARRIS: Very good.
CANDIOTTI: In any case, all of this stuff is coming down the street. Going back up to get out of the way. And they bring the snow up here to -- this is where the steam comes in. This thing is assume hot.
They dump the snow in here. It's a snow melter. That's what it is. And it goes into the top load, then it's instantly annihilated.
Sixty tons of this an hour is melted. It goes down this tube here, this drain, into a specially-designed storm sewer that can accept that fitting. There are only about four of them around the island of Manhattan. And it goes into the sewer system.
Of course, there's a filter in there to catch any large debris. I don't know if you can get a shot of this. Jamie (ph) is shooting for us today. That's some of the gunk that they picked up inside the snow, and they are just piling it up there before they haul it away.
It's a huge under taking. Again, all of this is snow that is being picked up from Times Square. And they will be going all day, all night, because they know they have to make sure that everything is ready for all the millions -- well, I don't know millions -- how many people will be in Times Square tomorrow night.
So we're going to be here throughout the day to see and check in on their progress and keep you updated as to what goes on.
HARRIS: Yes. We were watching one of your live shots earlier, and you were way too close to the danger zone there. So just follow the instructions. Stay where you are. OK?
And we'll see you next hour, Susan. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Back to our lead story now. Gladys and Jamie Scott have spent 16 years behind bars, sentenced to life in prison for an $11 robbery, now about to be set free. Mississippi's governor is suspending their sentences, but only if Gladys donates a kidney to her sister.
Reporter Molly Parker of "The Clarion-Ledger" joining us on the phone from Jackson, Mississippi, and our Marty Savidge is with us here in the studio.
And Molly, let me start with you.
I don't know how long you've covered this story, but I am curious about the timeline here. Can you tell us why this is happening now?
MOLLY PARKER, "THE CLARION-LEDGER": Well, they have been in prison for 16 years. Their mother and other activists, largely the black community, has been pushing for the release for some amount of time.
Other governors have declined to look at this case, but I do believe there has been a more -- a heavier push in recent months that was driven by some Democratic lawmakers who got behind this case, who met with the governor, who encouraged him to ask the Parole Board in Mississippi to take a renewed look at this case. As for why now, I don't have a clear indication of why this finally has come to a head.
HARRIS: Yes. That's the part of the story that's curious to me. I'm certainly familiar with the timeline of how long they have been in prison, but I am really curious -- and we'll get an opportunity, Marty, to talk to Ben Jealous of the NAACP about this in just a moment or two. I have got some thoughts on that, as to why this is happening right now. We know that Haley Barbour perhaps has some presidential aspirations.
But what do we know about the crime here? And the women have always maintained their innocence.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Now, this is a crime that dates back to 1993, and it took place in the middle of the state of Mississippi.
And allegedly, what happened here was that these two women were accused of luring several other men into what was described as an ambush, an ambush in which the men were beaten with a shotgun and then robbed of the $11. The young women came to try and they essentially pleaded not guilty to being accessories, but they were convicted of actually being -- or accused and convicted of armed robbery, and they both got life sentences as a result of that.
But what was interesting was that the male accomplices in this case got much less sentences. They've already served their time, and they're already out, which is part of the reason that you had this growing sentiment of anger against the punishment.
HARRIS: Molly, have we ever get an explanation -- and I'm asking you as someone who works in that area -- as to why the men who were convicted of the crime received much lighter sentences, have served their time, and are now free, and yet the two sisters here received such a harsh punishment?
PARKER: I think that is the crux of the case. I think that's the big question mark that created so much support for these sisters.
You know, they were tried by a jury. And the governor was on a civil rights activist radio show last night talking about that very question. You know, why did they get the sentence? He called it an unusually long sentence.
I think that's interesting, for a conservative Republican governor to make that kind of statement. Even he thought that it didn't quite add up, it didn't quite make sense.
HARRIS: Right.
Marty, you want in?
SAVIDGE: Well, we should also point out this is not a pardon. This is not a parole.
HARRIS: Right.
SAVIDGE: This actually that the governor intervened and he has suspended their sentences. And his explanation he gives is not because of the severity of the time they were given. He's giving it on humanitarian reasons, he claims, or medical reasons, and that is, as you already pointed out, the get out of jail free card here is a kidney, and that if Gladys gives the kidney to Jamie, then, in fact, they can get out of jail.
Now, it should be stated that Gladys had already said before all of this that she would donate a kidney to her sister, of course, since she is in medical need.
HARRIS: Yes.
So, Molly, here is one of the questions. And, you know, sometimes we don't know the answers, but the questions are important.
So is this happening now because the governor was caught describing the 1960s civil rights struggle in his hometown this way -- "I just don't remember it as being that bad"? The question, bluntly, is would these women be looking at their freedom if Haley Barbour hadn't made that statement?
PARKER: Well, I don't know, obviously, but I think the timeline should be looked at. And you have to study the timeline.
The governor had the Parole Board looking at this case. Now, he hadn't made a decision about this case, at least not a public decision about this case. But he had asked the Parole Board months ago, back in the fall, around September, I'm guessing -- but around that time to review this case.
So he was looking at the case before he made the comment about the White Citizens Council. Now, the decision comes out the week after.
I think whether they're related or not, whether -- you know, who knows what the governor had in his heart, I think, is anyone's best guess, and that's all it is. But I do believe it will play to the political conversation. There is no doubt that this was a very, very important case to the black community, and that last week, he made a statement that was very damaging for him in the black community.
HARRIS: Yes.
Molly, appreciate it. Thank you.
And I know, Marty, you want a final word on this.
SAVIDGE: Well, just the fact that I believe that the governor was already moving forward on this issue before he made the comments that he did. However, if he does run for president, he's going to run against America's first black president, and race is clearly going to be under the microscope for Haley Barbour. So he moves on this as quickly as he can.
HARRIS: Marty, good to see you, as always.
SAVIDGE: Thank you.
HARRIS: See you again next hour on this.
And Molly, thank you.
Much more on this story straight ahead. We hope to speak with NAACP president Ben Jealous in about 15 minutes or so. We understand he is still in his meeting with Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and they are planning to hold a joint news conference at the bottom of the hour. We will of course bring that to you live.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Mississippi's governor is about to announce freedom for two sisters serving life sentences for an $11 robbery. Jamie and Gladys Scott have already spent 16 years behind bars.
NAACP president Ben Jealous has been pushing hard for their release. He's joining me now, on the phone from Jackson, Mississippi.
Ben, good to talk to you.
Can you tell us something? Give us something about the conversation you have been having this morning with Haley Barbour.
BEN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT, NAACP: Sure. Sure.
HARRIS: Give us something about that conversation.
JEALOUS: He was very clear that this was the right thing to do, and that one of his points was that, frankly, the state was just wasting a whole bunch of money on folks who have very expensive dialysis treatment, in the case of Jamie Scott, and who didn't need to be in prison one day longer. This is exactly the way commutation powers should be used to push justice.
HARRIS: Did he have a comment on whether or not the punishment fit the crime?
JEALOUS: No. You know, we didn't get into that, and he was -- you know it's -- well, in our conversation yesterday as well, because we spoke by phone yesterday, he was very clear, he would like to see them out today. But because their family lives in Florida, and they are essentially being let out to be paroled early, so the supervision needs to be set up there, that it will take a couple of weeks. But he was clear it was the right thing.
And we were just very thankful. We really encourage governors across the country to be courageous in doing the right thing, and it's just a real breath of fresh air to work with a governor who is willing to do the right thing.
HARRIS: OK. Well, Ben, I'm going to push you a little bit on this.
You told "The Washington Post" that this -- and you just mentioned a second here ago -- that this is a shining example of how governors should use their commutation powers.
JEALOUS: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, Ben, frankly, you know, some might say Haley Barbour didn't exactly rush to do this. He has been governor since '04.
Are you being a bit generous in that statement? Should he -- he certainly could have acted sooner.
JEALOUS: Well, you know, the reality is that when you're on this side of the table, you are used to pushing governors over and over and over again and just being bitterly disappointed at the very end. So, whenever you have a governor either like Paterson did last week, came out very courageously on the John White (ph) case, even at the very end of the term, you celebrate.
When you have a governor who still has a year left and who is seriously thinking about running for president, who comes out and does something which is, you know, going to be controversial in some places, unfortunately, because there really should be no controversy in this case, you've just got to call it for what it is and say it's the right thing and it took some courage to do it.
HARRIS: OK, Ben. Is this happening now -- I have to ask the question -- because the governor was caught describing the -- I'm going to read it to you, the 1960s civil rights struggle in his hometown this way -- "I just don't remember it being that bad." Would these women be looking at their freedom if he hadn't made that statement?
JEALOUS: You know, we don't know. There certainly has been a lot of conjecture about that. And we were very clear in our disappointment with those comments, and he went on to correct them.
But the reality is that we've been going back and forth with his office about the Scott sisters at a very high level for a very long time. And we were anticipating this weeks ago, and, you know, so we don't know. But the reality is, like I said, he's shown interest for a long time.
I was down here months ago to file the papers to request that he consider them for an act of clemency, and he sent out an investigator within two weeks, which is pretty much unheard of. I used to be a reporter here in Mississippi, and it normally would take months for a governor to act on a request like that. And even back then, last summer, he made sure somebody was sent out within two weeks. So you get the sense that he's been paying attention for a long time, he's taken an interest for a long time. And he actually had to push his Board of Pardons to do the right thing. They had voted 5-0 against a pardon, and he went back and said, well, you know, can we at least suspend their sentence? And they voted unanimously to suspend the sentence.
And you've just got to give praise when praise is due, just as you've got to give criticism when that's due.
HARRIS: Got you.
One more -- well, maybe not one more. What do you say to those who say this is happening because, look, it is very expensive to treat Jamie's condition, and, you know, let's take her off the government dole here?
JEALOUS: And the reality is, you know, I think folks there are trying to speak to multiple constituencies about this. The reality is that he didn't just let Jamie out. He let Gladys out.
HARRIS: That's true.
JEALOUS: He let Gladys out not knowing whether her kidney will match or not. And he's made it clear he doesn't expect to see Gladys back in prison ever, whether her kidney matches or not. You know, there are lots of folks watching this, and the governor does have a point with regards to the cost, but it's also true that he didn't just let one sister out, he let both sisters out.
HARRIS: Did you ever petition the president for some kind of action on this case?
JEALOUS: We didn't. This is a matter of state law, state courts, and so the governor is who you have to go, just like if it was a federal case, we would go to the president. So this really wasn't -- in the governor's court.
HARRIS: Never made a plea to the president to speak to Haley Barbour --
JEALOUS: Yes, and he actually couldn't do it. He can only release federal prisoners.
HARRIS: OK.
One last one. When will the sisters be released? Do you know?
JEALOUS: We don't know. I'm meeting with their family lawyer in a few minutes, and that's what -- we're focused on that, we're focused on their health care, we're focused on making sure that they have as good a transition as possible, and that both of them are still with us, because it's really touch and go here.
HARRIS: Yes. And the news conference with the Mississippi governor in just a couple of minutes, Ben? JEALOUS: Yes. That will be in a few minutes.
He will not be able to join us, but this is a big moment. The family will be represented by their lawyer, and folks here are just extremely happy.
HARRIS: That's interesting.
All right, Ben. Great to talk to you, as always.
JEALOUS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: And let's take a break.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So who's the most intriguing person of 2010? We invited you to vote, and your answers are in. Josh is here to unveil the top ten.
Are we doing all 10 here, or are we going to split it up?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll see. We're going to split it up a little bit. But we're going to give you the countdown right now. So this is a big countdown that went on, on CNN.com. We invited you to get involved, tell us who the most intriguing people are of the entire year. At number 10, take a look at who you chose -- whom you chose.
No, OK. We skipped ahead to number five is what we did.
HARRIS: Why did we do that? Wait a minute.
LEVS: We're just going to do the top five. That was number five and number five was Marisol Garcia, who became a police officer in a very dangerous town inside Mexico, who put her life on the line and basically it was a criminology student. Went out there and made that decision.
So, guys, I'll follow your cues here. I guess we're going to keep doing top five's. Let's go to the next video, now, which would be number four, right? Let's see what we've got cued up.
HARRIS: No, hang on a second. Josh, Josh, Josh, Josh.
Hey, guys, let's do this the right way. Let's take a break. We were going to do the first five on this side and the second half on the next side. So, let's do this. Let's take a break and come back in a second and we will fire through this list the proper way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Josh, the most intriguing people of 2010, take two.
LEVS: Let's do it.
You chose on CNN.com. Here's who you put at number 10. Take a look at this guy.
(MUSIC)
There you go, Antoine Dodson, who was originally talking in a local news report about crime. People thought what he said was hilarious. It became viral. The (INAUDIBLE). The news guys made a song out of it and the rest is history.
At number nine, interesting men in the news, Kim Jong-Un, who according to experts is believed to be in succession to take over as North Korean leader in the secretive kingdom, from his father. He's the youngest son of Kim Jong-Il.
Number eight, Tony Hayward, disgraced former CEO of BP. That's how "Fortune" magazine puts it, calling him disgraced. As you recall, amid the horror over the oil disaster over the summer, he had some verbal gaffes saying he wanted his life back. Then he went to a yachting race. It did not play off well and he was replaced.
Number seven, Elizabeth Smart, really interesting choice here on your part here, folks. She really intrigued a lot of people this year when she testified about her abduction eight years ago. She's now 23 years old. She was off on a Mormon mission. Actually she went off from that in order to testify.
Number six now, Edison Pena. Check that out. Edison Pena.
HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes, yes. Yes.
LEVS: He was trapped underground in Chile -- he's the Elvis fan. When he came up, he became a bit of a rock star himself. He was treated to a trip to Graceland. He even took part in the New York City Marathon. People love Edison Pena.
Number five now. This one we started to show you before. Marisol Garcia, this is the 20-year-old young woman, criminology student, who decided to go be the top cop in this area inside Mexico where murders -- drug-related murders have been running wild. She took over there in Praxedis G. Guerrero, the border state of Chihuahua. It's been racked by violence.
Number four, a man everyone knows, Steve Jobs, head of Apple. This is who you chose as the number four most intriguing person of the year. The guy behind so many technology inventions that keep exciting people, especially the iPad.
And number three, a sort of related man in the world of technology and computers, Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook is massive, more than 500 million active users. He was portrayed in "The Social Network," the movie this year. Also gives a lot of money to charity and is intriguing people all over.
Finally, now in time for the top two. It's always interesting where the president lands in the list of most intriguing people. This year you all put our president at number two. Certainly had an interesting year.
HARRIS: The president is number two?
LEVS: He's number two.
HARRIS: Oh, lord, who's number one?
LEVS: They're not saying most important, most influential. They're saying, who intrigues them the most.
HARRIS: Really?
LEVS: And this particular year -- well, you know, a couple years ago he probably would have been number one. This particular year he came in number two on CNN.com.
Number one most intriguing person of the year right here, according to you all, Julian Assange.
HARRIS: Oh, lord. Are you kidding me?
LEVS: Look --
HARRIS: This is why we do lists, so we can have debate about them, right?
LEVS: Well, here's the thing. I mean, love him or hate him, he is intriguing to a lot of people, even those who can't stand him. He is the founder of WikiLeaks. He has said repeatedly that WikiLeaks isn't all him, but he's become the face of it. He's going to be telling his story in an upcoming book and he's --
HARRIS: OK. The people voted on it, right?
LEVS: People voted on CNN.com.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: They chose him as the most intriguing person of the year. And now that we're talking about it, the whole list is up at CNN.com and I have linked it at my Facebook and Twitter pages for you right there. I'm @JoshLevsCNN. Go ahead, take a look and let us know what you think because we'll talk next hour. Tony, maybe some of our viewers will have choice comments about this.
HARRIS: Oh, please get those up. And since I didn't vote, I can't really complain.
All right, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.
The monster storm in the northeast, it is costing retailers and fat wad of cash this week. The CNN Money Team's Christine Romans is in New York with us.
Good to see you, Christine.
And what are we talking about in terms of lost sales here?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about $1 billion. A billion dollars.
Because, look, the day after Christmas, and the day after the day after Christmas are two real big days, Tony. The question is, is it lost forever or is it just postponed? Are they going to find new ways to have a few sales over the next six to ten days, Tony, to get us to reach our hands into our pocket and buy that merchandise and those products that we didn't buy when we were snowed under?
A billion dollars in losses, that's according to Shopper Track. It's a company that tracks shopper traffic, get it? And they say when you look at the northeast, for example, shopper traffic down some 42 percent in the northeast. Double digits in a lot of other places, as well. That means it's just a very big couple of days that can't be made up.
They're calling it postponed some of these sales. You'll find retailers, they've kept the shelves pretty lean but they're going to want to clear out anything they've got, Tony, that's still there before the spring stuff comes in because spring is when we're more likely to buy things full price. And they want us to use our gift cards to buy things full price.
Airlines, looks like a loss there. Most are expecting about $150 million. Airlines having their first real year in the black in a very long time. Best profit year for the airline industry in, I think, 10 years. So this stings them a little bit. Fuel costs, overtime, putting up all those people who work for them in hotels and the like.
So, yes. You're looking at some big price tags all around here, Tony.
HARRIS: So were the homebound shoppers finding deals online?
ROMANS: You know, they were. And you look at the numbers of people shopping online and online shopping -- $30 billion.
I mean, when I first started covering this whole online shopping phase, a lot of the experts said, oh, people will never buy a sweater if they can't touch it, feel it, and try it on. Wrong -- 30.8 billion, a record this holiday season. That's up 13 percent from same time last year.
So those same retailers who are groaning about losing the foot traffic on the day after the holiday, well they certainly aren't groaning about having record sales online this year. So, it just shows you, I would watch online, too, to see if there are more deals and the like in the next few days as they're trying to clear out all that merchandise, Tony.
HARRIS: Christine, good to see you. See you next hour. Thank you. A lot of people found iPhones under the tree this holiday season. If you're one of them, there is a privacy concern you need to know about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
You hear the term user friendly a lot when people are talking about Apple computers, but there is nothing friendly about a lawsuit some users are bringing against the tech company over privacy concerns.
Dan Simon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We are outside the apple stores in downtown San Francisco, a place that is always busy. It appears that Apple's retail division had a phenomenal Christmas. But now they're getting unwanted attention in the form of a lawsuit.
This lawsuit filed by a man in Los Angeles alleges that Apple and some popular app developers, are selling some private user information to advertisers without the consent of people who own their devices like iPhones and iPads.
(voice-over): The complaint alleges that in some cases, Apple and the app makers are selling personal data, including age, gender and the locate of people using the devices. The lawsuit notes that iPhones and iPads contain what is called, the unique device identifier, or UDID.
The UDID helps advertisers track what applications user download, how frequently they're used, and for how long. Users cannot block the transmission of the UDID, which is a long character that uniquely identifies each device.
(on camera): Now, it is not alleged that advertisers are getting anything beyond general information, such as names. But, we asked people out here how they would feel about some of their personal data unknowingly going to advertisers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have a problem with because I think they're not -- I especially like the kind where you can click and it says, no, we're not going to send you stuff or sell you stuff when you do those type of things. So I feel pretty comfortable with that. And I feel that that's, you know, probably part of their business. They want to know what market to hit and who likes that little app.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't be happy with it. Of course, it depends upon what information, but anything with my personal stuff being unknowingly distributed is not OK with me. If I know about it, I'd be a little more OK with it.
SIMON: Apple, meanwhile, declined to comment on the lawsuit which is seeking class action status, but the company's official policy is that app makers must obtain user's permission before transmitting data.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: You know, it wasn't all bad news for Apple this week. Skype, the Internet telephone company, has released a new version of a video chat application for the iPhone. The new app improves video conferencing features for iPhone users.
And check out this video. This boy's parents knew what they were doing when they named their son Jordan. That's handled. That's handle, as the kids say. He is 12 years old and there is nothing he can't do with a basketball. Young Jordan McCabe is from Seattle. He's a dribble pro, wouldn't you say? Nice moves, kid.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Checking top stories for you right now.
Hope on the jobs front. The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits falls below 400,000. It is the first time the number has been below that benchmark in more than two years.
A big verdict out of Israel today. Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav has been found guilty of multiple charges of rape and sexual harassment. Katsav was president of the country from 2000 to 2007. The case involved three women, two in the president's office and one in the Tourism Ministry.
And folks in north central Indiana got a rude awakening this morning, a 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit just before 8:00 a.m. local time. No reports of damage so far.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Pasadena's Rose Bowl parade is getting a special touch this year -- boy, this is a nice, too -- a float dedicated to former President Reagan. It marks the centennial of his birth. It's made with 65,000 red roses, millions of poppy seeds and rice. President Reagan declared the red rose America's national flower back in 1986.
The Tournament of Roses was first held in Pasadena to lure freezing vacationers west to thaw out. Pasadena, the town where flowers bloom all year long. What year was the very first Rose Parade held? Was it 1890, 1913 or 1920?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So after a rough night of partying on New Year's Eve, who hasn't enjoyed relaxing on the couch and watching Pasadena's Rose Parade? So here's the question -- When was the first Rose Parade held? The answer is 1890. Did you know that? Instead of floats, people would decorate their horses and carriages. OK, makes sense.
In Los Angeles' Venice Beach, some people have chosen to become urban campers, living in RVs, others do it because they just can't afford a home. Photojournalist John Torigoe has today's "Favorites In Focus" piece.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE HOPKINS, URBAN CAMPER: If I lived anywhere in L.A., I would want to live in Venice, just because I love the water. I love the water, I love the beach. I wouldn't live anywhere else.
My name is Steve Hopkins and welcome to the Blue Buddha Bus. Come on inside.
It's a 1975 Crown decommissioned school bus.
I've been living in a bus for just over two years now. This is my home. I live on the streets of Venice, California.
I take it to different festivals, events. It's powered by recycled veggie oil.
I didn't grow up wanting to live in a hippy bus.
There's no keys actually. All you have to do is push a button and it starts right away.
At the time, I couldn't afford it. Soon afterwards, I did get a pretty decent job. I worked tech support for a graveyard. It's great when you have absolutely no bills, no debts.
I don't need a lot. This is what I have. I could actually afford my own apartment, but I just refuse to do it. I guess you could say I'm almost homeless, but this is a lifestyle that I choose.
When the economy actually did implode, I was fortunate, you know, because I already adapted to this lifestyle. So it really never affected me as much as it did to other people.
TERRI HENDRICKSON, URBAN CAMPER: My name is Terri Hendrickson (ph). We've been in this situation since 2006 when we lost the apartment.
HOPKINS: She lives with her son; Lives in an RV.
BRANDON MAHONEY, URBAN CAMPER: I'm Brandon Mahoney, I'm 16 years old and I'm an inhabitant of the RV.
HENDRICKSON: There's a lot of homeless kids living in the RVs.
MAHONEY: I'd much rather have a house and be able to -- and take showers when I wake up in the morning and have electricity.
HENDRICKSON: I'm not working right now. I have a Social Security check.
One of the important things to me is education, especially during the recession we have now. Cause when the recession's over you never know what job you might like to take. HOPKINS: They were hit hard, and it's sad.
I have seen other people that have been laid off. It's not a pretty scene. You have got 10 RVs and they're really old, usually from the '60s, '70s, all beat up. They have got things all over them, attached to them, tied to them. All their belongings are on the sidewalk. It's not a pretty sight.
We are what Venice is. There's all walks of life here in Venice, and who wouldn't want to live in Venice?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: "FAVORITES IN FOCUS" brings you the stories behind the headlines. And don't miss this compelling hour of television hosted by Tom Foreman 2:00 p.m. Eastern New Year's Day, it is holiday storytelling the award warning "In Focus" CNN photojournalist team is known for.
One fifth of the Brits alive today will live past 100. That's according to government projections. Americans are also living much longer. Are you prepared to pay for it? CNN's Christine Romans joins us to talk about financial and other issues associated with living longer in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus, more on the Scott sisters sentenced to life in prison for an $11 robbery. Mississippi's governor is about to free the young women after 16 years behind bars.
Those stories and more next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The stories of 2010 that hit you the hardest, a rewind now from CNN correspondents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATIKA SCHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Atika Shubert at the entrance to Ellingham Hall in the English countryside, and this is where Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have found a new home.
By far, for me, the story of the year has been WikiLeaks.
Earlier in the year, I approached a then unknown Julian Assange about a cache of documents I heard WikiLeaks was sitting on. But little did I know that this would become the biggest leak of classified U.S. documents. Tens of thousands of war records from Afghanistan and Iraq, secret U.S. diplomatic cables, now all on the web for the world to see.
But Julian Assange is now facing calls to try him for espionage, even as he battles allegations of sex crimes in Sweden.
Julian Assange is now effectively under house arrest for his legal battles at Ellingham Hall with an electronic tag that monitors his movements. He must also report to police every day.
But even under those conditions, he says, WikiLeaks will operate as usual, continuing to release those classified documents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans in New York where the big story for me this year, jobs or the lack of them and when will they come back. It's what so many of you are asking with 9.8 percent unemployment and 15 million people out work.
We did have some jobs creation in the year. I mean, don't get me wrong, there were 951,000 jobs created in 2010 -- 951,000, that's the first sustained jobs growth in two years.
It's not enough to eat into the unemployment rate, though, of 9.8 percent. And we have a problem with 6.3 million people who been out of work for six months longer.
If you have lost a job, you can expect to be out of work for 211 days. In a recovering economy, that doesn't feel so hot.
The story for 2011 will still be jobs, but here's the story. Science, technology, engineering, math -- there's bidding wars for talent in those areas. People who are newly unemployed are having a slightly easier time to find jobs. But this 6.3 million, that will be a political and economic story with us for maybe years to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
