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Rep. Giffords Stands Up; China's President to Capitol Hill; Kidnapped Girl Reunites with Parents 23 Years Later; Extreme Parenting, Sports Training for Toddlers; Bank's Big Military Mistake; Wal-Mart Pushes Healthy Foods; Aristide Eyeing Haiti Return; Berlusconi Denies Sex Scandal
Aired January 20, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Good morning.
All right. Let's get started with some breaking news.
The FBI hammering the mob this morning. We're told raids on seven mafia families in three states -- New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. So far, a hundred arrests on charges from murder to racketeering to extortion. We're talking about bookies, higher-ups, even some union officials caught up in the dragnet.
We should learn more in just a couple of hours. We're told that Attorney General Eric Holder will hold a news conference on the raids. We will take that live.
Also right now, we're following some breaking news out of the Pacific Northwest. A power plant fueled by natural gas exploded in Chehalis, Washington.
We've got some live pictures from our affiliate there in Seattle, KIRO. You will be able to see that in a second. There we go.
It's a little dark, but fire crews are on hand trying to bring it under control. No immediate reports of injuries. We will bring you the details, though, as they come in.
Here are some other stories that are buzzing in our NEWSROOM this morning.
A baby stolen in 1987 grows up and tracks down her real mother. Wait until you hear all the details behind this story.
And a grim update on the Daniel Pearl case. Three-year study supports to an imprisoned al Qaeda leader boasted he beheaded the "Wall Street Journal" reporter. Well, the FBI and CIA compare the vein in the killer's hand. So, who is he? Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
And a Delta Airlines flight makes an emergency landing in Little Rock, Arkansas. Pilots recognize the problems in the landing gear shortly after taking off from Atlanta. Sparks fly; no injuries though among the 78 people on board.
Well, doctors say Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is now able to stand with some help. Her husband by her side and her doctors are more and more optimistic about her slow recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PETER RHEE, TRAUMA DIRECTOR, UNIV. OF ARIZONA MEDICAL CTR.: Today, we were getting her out of bed again and we were able to stand with assistance on her. She's got the strength to stand on her own, lift her head up. And these are -- I see improvements every single day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And tomorrow, Giffords is expected to be flown to Houston to begin her rehabilitation.
CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is just outside that rehab center.
So, Elizabeth, this place actually specializes in brain trauma, right?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, Kyra. It's one of the best in the country. It's also near where her husband lives and works.
And when she gets here, they're going to check on a bunch of different things. One, does she have full mobility? Two, does she have weakness on one side or the other?
And then they're also going to look at cognitive issues. Is she able to think through things? Is she able to, let's say, plan for something? Were those areas of her brain affected?
And, finally, they're going to look at her emotional state. Sometimes, you know, the brain controls our emotion and when someone takes an injury to the brain, it can sometimes make them very overly emotional, or sometimes can make them just sort of not -- kind of like a bump on a log as one doctor puts it.
Those are all of the things they're going to look at when she arrives here -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk more about the rehabilitation and if we know anything also about her ability to talk.
COHEN: Right. We know right now that she -- what we have heard is she's not really talking very much and she's had a tracheotomy so with a hole in her throat, it would be difficult for her to really talk. So, that's another thing that they're going to be assessing. Obviously, they want to communicate with her. They want to see both if she's able to talk and also if she has the processing in her brain, if that's there to help her form words -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we're all going to be eager to hear more on her rehabilitation and how she's doing. Elizabeth Cohen there in Houston for us -- thanks.
All right. Now, let's talk about the accused shooter. A federal grand jury has indicted Jared Loughner for the attempted murder of Giffords and two of her aides. Prosecutors say that this is only the first step, though, in filing charges against him. They say that they are moving slowly and carefully because Loughner could face the death penalty. He's due back in court on Monday to plea though charges.
Well, there was no red carpet but plenty of celebrities at the White House state dinner for China's president. Barbra Streisand and hubby James Brolin, along with action star Jackie Chan and fashion designer Vera Wang. Her friends were born in China. Chan is from Hong Kong.
And a lot of stars, two superpowers in a state dinner, all of the ingredients for a fascinating peek into what may be the most important relationship in the world between two countries.
CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry with a closer look.
Quite a night.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
PHILLIPS: There actually were some developments that were made as well in addition to a big night of hobnobbing?
HENRY: You're right, Kyra. I mean, think about the star power at President Obama's table alone, four presidents at one table -- Mr. Obama, President Hu, two former U.S. presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And so, all kinds of power there.
And beyond the partying, you're right, some substance. I mean, Jeff Immelt from G.E. was at that same table as well. And that was on purpose, because a big part of this was trying to show the American people that there were some trade deals cut, about $49 billion worth of trade deals with China, including $19 billion I think it was for Boeing -- about 200 aircraft that China will be buying.
And so, the president is clearly trying to show, look, this is a complicated relationship with China. There's a big trade deficit. But the U.S. is trying to narrow that gap. But, obviously, they are still going to be a lot of Americans skeptical, feeling like these trade deals are a drop in the bucket frankly, especially right now with unemployment so high, about 9.5 percent here in the U.S., number one.
And, number two, a lot of people concerned about issues like human rights, which the president did address yesterday, saying he's got differences with the Chinese president on that obviously. But the president believes that on balance, the U.S. still needs to have this open dialogue with China, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, he also heads to the Hill today, right? What's going to happen there?
HENRY: Yes, the Chinese president will be up there. I think it's going to be interesting because he's not going to quite get the red carpet there. I mean, interesting that at least two big leaders in both parties skipped last night's dinner.
Harry Reid, a big Democratic ally of this president and the Senate majority leader, declined the invite to be at the state dinner, saying that it was -- you know, he is flying back from Nevada. But interesting that he gave a local interview where he called Hu Jintao a dictator. He kind of walked that back later. But it gives you an idea some of the anger that Democrats -- some Democrats have.
And then Republicans Speaker John Boehner, he declined to comment as well, saying that, look, I'm going to meet with Hu Jintao today. I don't need to go to the state dinner.
But you have to wonder if that has do with the fact there are some rank-in-file Democrats and Republicans who yesterday were really ripping into the Chinese president and saying that Mr. Obama shouldn't have welcomed him here because of those human rights abuses, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll definitely be following his entire trip. Ed, thanks so much.
HENRY: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: The House has passed a repeal of the health care law and, though, Senate repeal is unlikely, House Republicans are moving ahead on alternate plans. The House is set to vote today on asking some committees to come up with a legislation -- or come up with legislation, rather, to replace the health care law.
Meanwhile, a liberal-leaning group has released ads targeting three freshmen Republicans who voted for the repeal. And the House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing next hour on medical liability reform. The focus there: cutting cost, increasing investment and creating jobs.
Now, there are 20 states seen here in blue now taking part in the federal lawsuit against the health care reform. The states in red are considering joining the suit. Virginia has filed a separate suit and Oklahoma plans to do the same.
We got snow falling overnight. Just outside Busch Stadium in St. Louis, but what a difference a few hours makes. This has now turned into a winter storm in parts of the city getting six 6 inches, possibly more, of snow. Great shot there of the St. Louis Arch.
They are also expecting some winter weather in the Oklahoma area as well, right, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they are. They've been getting it overnight. Just a couple of inches in Oklahoma City. But St. Louis, woo, they are getting it good out there right now.
And look at -- you know, the tower cam you just showed, take note in the little corner here -- that's some snow stuck on the lens of the tower cam. Yes, that's what happens when you get eight inches of snow overnight and it's coming down like now. So, we got the winter storm warning. It's bitterly cold. It feels like 12 above in St. Louis right now. Snow will be coming to an end, maybe another one to three at most on top of what you already have throughout the rest of the day.
So, we got a storm system spreading snow across the plain states. It's starting to move into the Ohio River Valley as well. So, it's going to be impacting a whole lot of people.
Kansas City, you're kind of winding down here. Chicago, just a little bit of light snow. Indianapolis, several inches, and that's going to be moving into Cincinnati as well.
Let's show you where the storm is going to be moving to. Here is our area of low pressure. And this is a fast-moving storm, so that's the good news. This is going to keep your snowfall totals down or this thing could have pumped out a good foot or more for those of you in the plains.
This is going to be moving towards the Northeast as we head into late tonight and then throughout the day tomorrow. And because it's moving so quickly, we think our snowfall totals, for the most part, are going to stay under six inches for the big city, although Boston and Portland will have to watch. You'll probably be a little bit higher than that. But most snow, we do think will be into the mountains in the Northeast, as well as into parts of Maine.
By Saturday, it's over and done with. So, plan your weekend, right? Just enough time to get that thing cleaned back out.
And our last weather headline of the morning here, Kyra, is that the wind chills are bitterly cold across the Upper Midwest. Wind chill advisories are in effect. By tomorrow morning, it's going to be feeling like 25 to 30 degrees below zero and that's enough to cause frostbite in about 10 minutes.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
JERAS: So cover up.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it happens quickly.
We got another live shot out of St. Louis. This is coming to us from our affiliate KMOV. Take a look at that! Now, here's what's interesting --
JERAS: Is that an accident or is that plows?
PHILIPS: Well, I don't know.
JERAS: Those are plows.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it is plows. But that is -- I mean, St. Louis is usually prepared for this kind of weather. They do it a lot earlier. I mean, this is where I grew up.
Maybe because the snow is -- is it falling right now or has it stopped?
JERAS: It's still coming down right now.
PHILLIPS: OK. Still coming down.
JERAS: And the winds are howling as well. So, that makes it difficult, you know, to keep the roadways cleared. Of course, it's rush hour. It's 8:00!
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's a good point.
JERAS: And so, even though they have got the ability to be able to take care of a storm like this, it's still a lot of snow in a short period of time.
PHILLIPS: What a shot! All right. Thanks, Jacqui.
Well, a New York woman gets a heck of a phone call. It was from her daughter stolen n from a hospital 23 years ago. Do you think they got some catching up to do? Well, we got the remarkable union today for you. It's our talker.
And maybe you can't imagine life without Facebook. Well, this guy might have lost his life without it. When his house caught fire and he couldn't get out, a Facebook friend about 2,000 miles away saved his life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, for the first time in decades, bison will be roaming free on public lands -- let's head cross-country starting in Yellowstone. Twenty-five bison were released from Yellowstone National Park in a nearby Gallatin National Forest. State and federal agencies released the animals in an attempt to conserve a wild bison population.
And in Washington state, Facebook helped save a man's life. He's disabled and doesn't have a telephone. So, when his house caught fire, he didn't have a whole lot of options, so he posted his cry for help on Facebook. A friend all the way in Indiana saw the post and called 911.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was online playing one of these games through Facebook and I just started typing, "This is not a joke, I need help. There's a fire in the kitchen, can someone please call the Spokane Fire Department," and I put my address and all that on the Internet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wow. He had some minor smoke inhalation, but, otherwise, he's OK.
And in Dallas, a debate over the life-sized cutout painted to look like a homeless family, bearing messages about supporting the city's homeless. A few dozen have popped up around the city. A local homeless organization created them to raise awareness.
Well, city officials weren't too impressed. They say the cutouts are in violation of city codes and they have to come down by the end of the week.
We've got one heck of a talker this morning. A young woman knew something wasn't right about her family or her past. It was just that nagging feeling that led her to a Web site for missing and exploited children. I tell you what, we've come a long way from the milk cartons, folks.
That site proved what her instincts had been telling her for a long time. It turns out, someone had snatched her from a New York hospital back in 1987 when she was only three weeks old. Now, she's reunited with her shocked birth parents, years of tears wiped away. CNN's Alina Cho is following this story for us.
Gosh, where do you even start with this? There's so many questions and it's the story we have all been talking about this morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Kyra. And you're about to be a mother, so you can only imagine. Just the not knowing for so many years, two decades. And now, to finally reunite with your long lost daughter. Just an incredible story what happened to little Carlina White, not so little any more, of course.
Now, the last time Joy White saw her daughter, she was just 19 days old, 3 weeks old. She was just a little, little baby. And now, 23 years later, an adult. On Friday, Carlina White was reunited with her birth mother. The family's prayers two decades later, finally answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT CONWAY, CARLINA WHITE'S AUNT: Carlina was a missing link! And we have gotten her back in the name of Jesus! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
ELIZABETH WHITE, CARLINA WHITE'S GRANDMOTHER: She was just like she'd been around us all her life. She was no stranger. She was just -- just fit right in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Imagine the catching up that this family has to do now, and what a joyous occasion. It is a story that made national headlines back when it happened 23 years ago.
Carlina White, an infant from Harlem, again, just 19 days old, was taken to the hospital for a high fever. She was kidnapped by a woman posing as a nurse. It stunned the city and it stunned the nation. It stumped the New York police department. Detectives were left with no leads. And this is how her mother reacted to the news all those years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOY WHITE, CARLINA WHITE'S MOTHER: I hope she's alright. For the love of God, I hope she's taking good care of my baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Carlina was never heard from again. She was raised under a different name, was reportedly abused. But in her teens, smart girl, she began to think something was wrong when she wasn't able to find her birth certificate.
Of course, that led her to the internet. She actually found baby pictures of herself on the website for the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. And in the end, remarkably, she found her own way home. She called her birth mother, she called detectives. Now to be certain, the NPYD did take DNA samples. Of course, they came back, they were a match.
Now, Kyra, the big question is, who kidnapped Carlina all of those years ago? Authorities are remaining pretty tight-lipped about this. They've not identified any suspects, but those suspects could face federal charges.
Of course, a lot of people are wondering, was the person who raised Carlina for all those years the person who also took her from the hospital? Authorities aren't talking about that at this early stage.
PHILLIPS: We don't know that yet. OK. So, where was she living? Was she out on her own or with this family?
CHO: She was.
PHILLIPS: Does she have a family of her own?
CHO: She was. Well, she does. She has a daughter. Interestingly enough, Kyra, it was when she got pregnant at age 16 that she really began to suspect something was wrong.
She asked the woman who she thought was her mother for her birth certificate so that she could get prenatal care. That woman wasn't able to provide that form of identification, and she began to think, "You know what? Something's not right here. And, by the way, I also don't feel like I look like the family who is raising me."
And that's really what led her to the web and to those pictures and to those phone calls and to this reunion.
PHILLIPS: That is just amazing. And she spent all these years --
CHO: It's unbelievable.
PHILLIPS: Living less than an hour away from her birth parents? Is that true?
CHO: That's right, 45 miles away in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her family, her birth parents were in the Bronx, New York. You know that's not far away, Kyra. The other thing that's interesting is, she actually lives right now right in your backyard in Atlanta. She moved there, but she apparently said on Twitter that she plans to move back to New York to be with her birth family.
And, again, just imagine, after 23 years, what it must be like to be altogether again. As you heard one of the relatives say, it was like she fit right in.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
CHO: And they certainly have a lot of catching up to do.
PHILLIPS: She's here in Atlanta. Boy, we've got to try to get her to come into the studio. Thanks for the tip. An amazing story. Thanks, Alina.
CHO: It is.
PHILLIPS: Well, there's no question obesity is a dangerous problem in our country. The surgeon general has called it an epidemic. And since your health habits start early, here's a thought. Sports training for babies. We're actually going to hear from an organization that teaches structured fitness training to toddlers and from some in the medical community throwing up red flags on this idea. We'll talk about that, too.
Fifty years ago today, John F. Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th president of the United States. Frank Sinatra hired photographer Phil Stern to capture that historic event, and the whirlwind that followed. Those pictures have been collected for a special showing, and we've got a sneak peek into that treasure trove.
(MUSIC - "That's Life")
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we've been preparing a series for this week called "Extreme Parenting," when, out of the blue, a woman who calls herself "Tiger Mother" blasted into the scene. A memoir from a Chinese- American law professor whose ultra-strict parenting techniques has triggered a national debate and led CNN NEWSROOM to ask a question that we've not heard anyone ask before. "You know you're an extreme parent if -- "
We're going to have plenty of stories to help you fill in the blank, and plenty of parenting experts as our guides.
We begin with Christine Romans. She found some parents who are trying to tackle their kids' health from the get-go. So, Christine, we know that there are problems with overweight children, but it appears that some parents are definitely going to the extreme to deal with this.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It gives new meaning to the term "training your toddler." I mean, the way I train my toddler is not like this kind of training that some people are doing. Sports training for the diaper set. According to the woman you're about to meet, you can never start sports training too soon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOREEN BOLHUIS, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, GYMCO: Hey, you guys ready?
We would not leave academic education to chance and hope that children figure it out. We cannot leave physical literacy education to chance.
ROMANS: At Gymco Sports in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Doreen Bolhuis trains tykes, some of them only a few months old, to kick, throw, climb, and balance. Bolhuis's goal is to get kids moving earlier than ever before.
BOLHUIS: That's very good balance.
We like to do things that we're good at, so when we teach children how to move well, they're going to keep moving and choose to be active.
ROMANS: Nora Cares is an acolyte. Her now middle school kids have been training since they were two.
NORA CARES, PARENT OF FORMER GYMCO STUDENTS: I think it set them apart in that they have built their confidence a lot sooner than other kids their age.
AVA CARES, FORMER GYMCO STUDENT: I remember when I was really young, I'd like to go on the balance beams.
GEO CARES, FORMER GYMCO STUDENT: I remember jumping on the trampolines.
ROMANS: But doctors like NYU's Dennis Cardone worry about pushing kids into specialized sports too soon.
DENNIS CARDONE, SPORTS MEDICINE, NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER: We are seeing injuries in younger children that we had never seen before. We're seeing overuse injuries, which were exclusive to adults, and now we see them in seven, eight-year-olds.
ROMANS: The government now classifies more than 10 percent of preschool age children as obese.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swing forward. That a boy, land in the blue. Perfect!
ROMANS: Everyone agrees kids need to be more active. It's the how that's the question. There's organic play, and then there's specialized sports. Where do you cross the line?
CARDONE: Unstructured activity is probably -- will lead to less of these overuse type injuries that we see. It's not until you introduce a parent or a coach into the activity that it leads to these overuse type injuries.
ROMANS: It's one thing to encourage babies to stretch and roll, say psychologists like Wendy Walsh, but toddler sports training is extreme parenting, she says, especially for kids who may not be ready.
WENDY WALSH, BLOGGER, MOUNTLOGIC.COM: You want to be a good parent? Go to the playground. Climb the monkey bars with your kids. You can get in shape with them. I used to do pull-ups on the bars and sit-ups in the sand box, OK? That's what kids need.
ROMANS: The Mayo Clinic concludes unstructured physical activity, not training, is what's best for kids up to age five. But tell that to a thriving gym full of two, three, and four-year-olds.
BOLHUIS: I understand that there are skeptics and there are concerns, and every good thing can be done in a harmful way. But the fear of that should not keep us from doing the good things that we know are important for our children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go for it!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: OK, every kid has their own developmental timetable. This is something that everyone we talked to for this piece, they all agree on that, that each kid is different and has their own timetable for learning and for growing and for learning these skills.
Don't aim to live vicariously through your kid. Don't push them to be like any of their peers. Recognize that individuality. They may learn different skills sooner or later than you'd hope to expect, but the playing field will even out by the time they enter grade school.
I'll tell you, Kyra, though. A very fast-growing part of sports training and even train -- personal trainers are these kids in grade school who are training to be the pitcher of the baseball team or they're training to be the striker on the soccer team. Very intense training. It's something that Tiger Mom or no, soccer moms are actually out there, really working hard on their kids to push them ahead.
PHILLIPS: Yes. It's such a delicate balance. You really want your kids to be successful in all areas of their life. At the same time, you don't want to be abusive and push them into anything that they don't want to do.
ROMANS: Yes. And you don't want a -- as the doctor was saying, you don't want them to get a specialized sports injury when they're in grade school or something. Working too hard on the pitching or working too hard on the -- on some of these skills, because they are still growing, and that's just simply the bottom line.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Christine.
A major bank admits to a major blunder. A mistake that cost some military families their homes. We're investigating into what the bank is doing to make things right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: It's about 9:30 in the East. Sun comes up over San Diego in just about 20 minutes.
We're hot in these stories right now:
New evidence linking suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to Daniel Pearl's execution in 2002. You remember Pearl was that reporter for "The Wall Street Journal" and a report says a technique called "vein matching" compared the picture of a hand seen in a video of Pearl's murder with pictures taken after Mohammed's capture. Mohammed doesn't deny his role in Pearl's death but he's never been charged.
Alabama's new governor off to an apologetic start after he took the oath of office. Robert Bentley told a Baptist Church congregation that non-Christians could not be his, quote, "brothers and sisters." That raised a lot of eyebrows. And yesterday, he met with members of Alabama's Jewish community and leaders of other faith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ROBERT BENTLEY (R), ALABAMA: I would like to say that anyone who heard those words and felt disenfranchised, I want to say that I'm sorry. And if you're -- if you're not a person who can say that you're sorry, then you're not a very good leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And Wal-Mart says it's going healthier. The company plans to lower the fat, sugar and salt in a lot of its packaged foods and the slash prices on fruits and vegetables. The company is inspired by the first lady's commitment to healthier foods.
And it's a story that is almost hard to believe. JPMorgan admits it overcharged 4,000 members of the U.S. military on their mortgages and accidentally foreclosed on 14 homes.
CNN's Jason Carroll is on this story for us.
We read about this and just couldn't believe it -- like the families don't have a hard enough time, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Kyra, you know, you cover a lot of these military stories. You know they are already under enough stress dealing with deployment. Now, imagine the stress of the possibility of losing your home on top of that.
Well, you know, JPMorgan Chase has already admitted to the costly mistake and tells CNN it is mailing refunds.
Kyra, the person who's largely responsible for this coming to light is Julia Rowles. She called her family's experience with Chase a four- year nightmare. It began in 2006 when her husband went on active duty. They notified Chase because according to federal law, the bank should have adjusted their mortgage rate. Under the Service Members Civil Relief Act, interest rates should be capped at 6 percent for those in active duty. But Chase continued to charge the family up to 9 percent, saying more than $10,000 was overdue.
Well, the couple got an attorney and discovered that the bank may have overcharged, Kyra, 4,000 military families and foreclosed on the homes of 14 service members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIA ROWLES, OVERCHARGED BY CHASE: Every time we talked to Chase, they were telling us we were in the wrong. It's amazing to me that we found out how big this is. This is our number one battle right now -- not for ourselves but for the other families that I'm speaking for them right now. And I'm hoping that they're watching right now and listening and can understand and answer this call that Chase needs to be held accountable for their actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Well, Chase has admitted making the errors, saying, "We made mistakes here and we are fixing them. There is no finer group of people than the men and women in the armed services who fight to protect our country every day. And while any customer mistake is regrettable, we feel particularly badly about the mistakes we made here."
The bank says it's mailing $2 million in refunds to the service members overcharged and it has resolved 13 of the 14 accidental foreclosures.
The Rowles believe they are still owed money and they are suing the banks themselves and other members of the military in a class action lawsuit. Really, when I spoke to Julia last night, she said she just couldn't believe how many times she told the bank over and over that a mistake had been made, and she said no one was listening.
PHILLIPS: Yes. It's not surprising. Let's hope they all get their homes back. Not just a refund but a home to live in.
Jason, thanks so much.
Well, we got an update on the breaking news that we brought you at the top of the hour. The FBI hammering the mob this morning. We're getting pictures now of the first arrest.
Here's we know: raids on seven mafia families happened in three states, New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. And so far, 100 arrests on charges from murder to racketeering to murder extortion have been made. We're talking about bookies, higher ups, even some union officials even caught in this dragnet.
We should learn more in just a couple of hours. Attorney General Eric Holder is going to be holding a news conference on these raids. We'll bring it to you live. The sizzle and steak of the Chinese president's visit to the U.S. Marketing pros call the substance the meat of the visit its goals -- that's a steak. The sizzle? The image like this Times Square ad by the Chinese government which is getting some flak back home.
We're going to talk about that and one American's experience in China -- an outsider's experience from the inside.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The Chinese President Hu Jintao spends day three in the U.S. on Capitol Hill after a day at the White House. Yesterday, the Chinese government has produced an ad which is running on a giant billboard in Times Square and on U.S. television.
Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
PHILLIPS: Eve Bower joining us from CNN International.
There are some back in China who are actually upset by the ad. So, let's talk about the controversy that it's creating. What's the story on this campaign? What's the back story?
EVE BOWER, CNN INTERNATIONAL: So, this ad is not running on Chinese TV. It's definitely created for an American audience. But it has gone viral on the Chinese Internet and lots of people are commenting. There are plenty of negative comments and some positive as well.
PHILLIPS: So what are people saying? What are the positive comments? What are the negative comments?
BOWER: I think from the positive side, there's definitely a patriotism -- a nationalism pride in all that China has accomplished were just highlighted in that ad. On the negative side, I think some people feel like part of the people who are focused on this ad have become American and they're no longer Chinese. So, a bit of maybe frustration that they get to paint China's image.
Well, and put that in perspective for us, because there are a lot of people in China that go online and a lot of Chinese Americans here that go online on. But you'll find, depending on where you live, you don't always get all of the information you're looking for.
BOWER: Absolutely. As you know, in China, there is the great fire wall which makes Internet access a little bit more difficult than it is outside of China. So, within China, there are Chinese versions of Twitter and Google. And on those Web sites, people comment very actively and say all kinds of things.
But one thing I noticed this morning, I was looking for sort of the social media reaction to President Hu's visit. And the search term Hu Jintao, which is the president of China, is blocked. If you search Hu Jintao on the Chinese Twitter, Sina.com (ph), you will find, according to the Chinese law, these results cannot be displayed. PHILLIPS: Interesting. All right. I want to give our viewers our a little perspective here because they're thinking, what does this blond-haired, blue-eyed, beautiful Saint Pauli girl know about China?
Well, here's what unique about Eve. She lived and worked in China. You are fluent in Chinese. When I hear you speak Chinese, it's mind- blowing.
Just to give us kind of a perspective. What was it like when you first got there? How did the Chinese respond to you? And especially when they found out you were totally bilingual?
BOWER: Well, when I first got there, it was 2001. And China had officially been opened at that point, for more than 20 years. But Westerners were still kind of a novelty, even in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
So people walking down the street would ask to touch my hair or strangers would ask to take pictures with me. And there was a sincere curiosity and a desire to connect. Many people are never seen a non- Chinese person in their lives.
PHILLIPS: So, that's interesting. You say that there was a lot of curiosity, and because of censorship and a lot of the things there in China. You actually had an interesting interaction with someone who is selling things on the street one day behind the -- tell us about that.
BOWER: So, this is in the days right after September 11th. And I think sort of in a way that's similar in the United States. This lack of exposure has allowed some negative stereotypes to sort of persist. And in China, there is certainly a current of anti-American sentiment in certain pockets.
And this man saw me, determined that I was an American, and said "Bin Laden is my hero." And as sort of surprising as that was, I think it created an opportunity for dialogue. And I realized, in retrospect, he had never interacting with an American in his life. And putting that very human face and a human interaction on that abstract notion of America really changed his mind.
PHILLIPS: So, when you walked by the next day, what did he say?
BOWER: He was introducing me. This is Eve or (INAUDIBLE) my Chinese name. This is (INAUDIBLE), my friend.
PHILLIPS: Isn't that amazing?
BOWER: Total 180.
PHILLIPS: So, great to have the perspective from you.
All right. Now, before we go to break, just so -- how about we do this? We've got this -- well, OK, no, I'm not going to put you on the spot and make you read the tease in Chinese. But how about this? How about looking in the camera and just say, "More news coming up from the CNN NEWSROOM and more coverage on President Hu Jintao's visit"?
BOWER: This one?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
BOWER: OK. (SPEAKING CHINESE)
PHILLIPS: There you go! Eve Bower, I love it! One of our stars on the international desk -- thanks so much to you. Great perspective.
BOWER: Thank you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Also, we're talking about Wal-Mart has a plan to cut prices on fruits and vegetables, cut fat and sugar content in its food brand. The first lady is joining company execs for this morning's announcement. We'll have it for you.
And Ellen DeGeneres' 6 million Twitter followers received a pretty startling tweet. You may remember, British comedian Ricky Gervais ripping into the Hollywood types during the Golden Globes hosting stint? And now, from Golden Globes to golden clothes. Guess what Ellen did? Oh, yes, she gave him a little something special and you're going to see it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the nation's biggest retailer planning to help Americans eat healthier and at a lower cost. First Lady Michelle Obama is offered that new strategy.
Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joining us once again with that story. So she is -- she is doing all kinds of things within this -- the past 48 hours -- Ed.
HENRY: Yes. I mean, this is a -- the first lady has got to juggle a lot of things. I mean, she's hosting this big state dinner for the President of China last night. Turns right around and this hour she's making a big announcement with Wal-Mart we're told by officials where she's going to announce -- a continuation of her healthy eating initiative that Wal-Mart is going to now step in.
This retailing giant, obviously a lot of clout and pressure their suppliers to drastically cut sodium in their packaged foods, sugar, trans-fats, et cetera.
Take a look what they're going to be announcing, first of all, that Wal-Mart will be cutting prices on fresh fruits and vegetables to try to encourage people to buy more of those. Also cutting sodium, trans- fats and sugars as I noted in some of their company branded packaged foods and all these changes will be phased-in over the next five years.
I thought it only fair though, since we talked about the First Lady juggling all of these tasks to take a look at last night's state dinner to see how it measures up on this health eating. Now they did start out with a pear (ph) salad with goat cheese and then had some black walnuts which can be good for you. Lobster with carrots and mushrooms, again, really good there are some vegetables mixed in.
And then, the dry-aged rib eye for protein. But buttermilk crisp onions with double stuffed potatoes, obviously veering into some dangerous territory there along with creamed spinach and topped off with apple pie and ice cream.
So you know, a special occasion, obviously and we don't want to make too much light of it. And occasionally there's going to be a nice splurge of a dinner. But the First Lady has put a lot of time, a lot of energy and her name and clout behind this healthy eating initiative for all Americans but especially she's been focused on kids to get them started and get those habits started early.
And this is going to be a big step forward for her initiative. If you can get a retailing giant like Wal-Mart behind it may be other companies will start following their lead. This could be a big, big development -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Ok, well, we'll definitely be following it. Thanks so much -- Ed.
HENRY: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Sex, money and politics. Italy's Prime Minister faces scandalous allegations once again. This time he's accused for paying for sex with a teenage girl. Well, he's speaking out about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, get your passport ready for our trip around the world.
We begin in Haiti where Former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide wants to return home. We're getting this word after the surprise return of an exiled dictator.
CNN anchor Zain Verjee following this for us and more. Hello, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there Kyra, good to see you.
Jean-Bertrand Aristide wants a one way ticket back to Haiti. Now, Kyra this is nothing new. He has said this for a long time, but he just issued a statement saying that he wants to go today, tomorrow or anytime.
He left in 2004 under huge pressure from the United States to leave because of all the unrest that was happening in Haiti. There are a lot of people saying that there's no way he can return because the U.S. won't let that happen and France won't let that happen, and those are Haiti's two biggest allies.
They're basically worried that if he goes there it's going to create and totally throw off the political process. His supporters are very violent. And the situation is just so combustible there right now and -- and the tensions heightened because Baby Doc is there, too.
So it -- it looks like there would a lot of road blocks to him going back -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And it is a lot of concern among the Haitian people. We'll definitely be following that story for sure.
Meanwhile this is something we've been talking about for months and months. Boy, Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi just can't seem to get himself out of a scandal, can he?
VERJEE: No, and this one is a pretty big one. It's serious; it's grabbing all the headlines across the country and around the world with all the parties, the orgies, having women dressing up as nurses and police women and then stripping down for him.
He is denying that he ever abused his power and he's also denying that he had sex with a teenaged dancer. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SILVIO BERLUSCONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): It is absurd to think that I had paid to have a rapport with a woman. It is something that I have never done, not even once in my life. I find it degrading for my dignity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: He says that all of these allegations are politically motivated and in the end the truth will always win. Well, the woman at the center of all of this, her name is Ruby, she was alleged to be 17 at the time, but they're saying that he had sex with her.
He says that she told him that she was 24. Listen to what she had to say when she was asked by a reporter whether she slept with the Prime Minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBY RUACOURI, NIGHTCLUB DANCER (through translator): Absolutely no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you received presents?
RUACOURI: Well, I received 7,000 Euros the first evening that I went to his house. Because I had just arrived in Milan and it was a little bit difficult living there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: The real question that surrounds all of this, Kyra, is can Berlusconi survive, can he hang on to power. That's what a lot of people in Italy are asking themselves. Berlusconi is also saying that look, "I'm not resigning", he says, quoted in one report, "I'm just enjoying myself." So --
PHILLIPS: Yes, obviously. Someone else that's enjoying himself, Ricky Gervais and Ellen have some sort of thing going on with their underwear.
This is --
(CROSS TALK)
VERJEE: Yes, yes.
PHILLIPS: -- this is a story for a time.
VERJEE: Kyra, yes it -- it sure is, you know, Ricky Gervais was actually speaking to Piers Morgan and he said, "With the whole Golden Globe thing, he says look, I'm not judging anyone". He say "I'm just talking about the elephant in the room".
Take a look at the picture that Ellen tweeted out.
I just want you to see it and take a close look here Kyra. And Ellen said, "Look I just want everyone to enjoy this photo of Ricky Gervais in my underwear. You can see there it is. The "Ellen Show" logo is there. And that's him on a balcony in L.A. I want you to just take a close look at the picture, Kyra. Ricky Gervais and those -- those Golden Globes -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes indeed. Yes, he's been working out, he looks pretty good. And you could see an exotic dancer in those gold lame shorts with Ellen's name all over him.
Got to love it. Thanks.
VERJEE: In short pants.
PHILLIPS: Thank -- thank you Zain.
Well, people are still talking about Ricky Gervais' controversial hosting performance at the Golden Globes. And now he's tells Piers Morgan what really happened behind the scenes. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICKY GERVAIS, ACTOR: They hired me for a job. And if they didn't want me, they shouldn't have hired me.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Someone asked me, you know, what do you think as a fellow Brit on TV in America. What do you think will happen to Rick, I said, well, it's a bit like inviting a hammerhead shark to dinner. And when he eats all the guests, you start complaining.
You kind of know what you're going to get.
GERVAIS: That's one thing, but also, as I say, I don't think I did anything wrong. I honestly -- those were light jibes at these people and I'm sure they have a sense of humor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, you can watch more of that interview on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT", 9:00 Eastern only on CNN. His premiere week continues tomorrow, wrapping it up with George Clooney.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you know all about the Laker girls, the NBA teams, dancing cheerleaders. Well, yes, baby, we got the newest Laker girl. Go, baby, go.
Jeff Fischel, what the -- (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: The man of a thousand moves. He doesn't stop.
PHILLIPS: Here he comes. He's going do the sprinkler in just a second here. Oh, yes. He's been watching a little too much Beyonce, I think.
FISCHEL: It is good stuff. Honestly, he keeps going and I promise you, you'll get to see more. The Laker team was out of step last night against the Mavericks in Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, taking it to the Lakers.
There's Nowitzki, dipping it over to Terry for the three. The Lakers go down to the Mavs. Mark Cuban even loved this one, pumping his chest. And, you know what, this guy so excited, he wants to keep on dancing seeing the Mavs win. I think Bruno would say -- on "Dancing with the Stars" you would think, you've gone from messy to marvelous.
All right. Let's move on. I'm going to check that out again; Packers and Bears fans very excited about the game that could send one team to the Super Bowl.
Check out Green Bay fan Andy Holmberg (ph) outside his flooring store. Yes, he painted "Go, Packers, Go" outside. It's the oldest rivalry in the NFL and someone's going to the Super Bowl.
A certain Bears fan is pretty fired up, as well -- President Obama. He says, oh yes, I'm going to the Super Bowl if the Bears are going, as well. In fact, no sitting president has even been to the Super Bowl. And if the Bears win it all, guess who -- Obama might look like this. The president. Yes, that'll be him if the Bears win it. You can just see it now.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
FISCHEL: I know we're joking about this. He actually was dancing for about two and a half minutes straight, doing this.
PHILLIPS: It was just great. Got to love it. Can't get enough. Thanks, Jeff.
FISCHEL: All right, Kyra.
