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Interview With Joe Amendola, Jerry Sandusky's Attorney; Sandusky Waives Right To Hearing Today; Iran Taunts U.S. Over Drone; Interview With Eman al-Obeidi; L.I. Woman's Remains Possibly Found; Declining Income For Young Men; Stocks Move Higher; NASA Looks to 2012 and Beyond; Narrowing Down Tech Gift Choices; Selling Liz Taylor; Talk Back Question; The Biggest Embassy You Can't See
Aired December 13, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed.
Finders keepers, that's the message from Iran about the U.S. drone. The country's defense minister says it is now the property of Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells Venezuelan state TV there are people in the country who have been able to control this aircraft. We'll have more on the captured drone and what it means for U.S. national security just up ahead.
And the Army trying to figure out what caused two helicopters to crash, killing four soldiers. The accident happened last night outside a training area at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. The choppers were observation choppers. No word on whether they collided or crashed separately.
The House could vote today on a plan that would keep about $1,000 in your pocket, but you can't count on that money quite yet. House Republicans say they are willing to approve the extension of the payroll tax cut. But in exchange, they want to speed up the approval of a proposed an oil pipeline between Canada and Texas. President Obama said last week he would reject any effort to link those two issues.
We are also keeping a close eye and watch on the markets there. The stock markets up 60. We're looking at opening higher after taking a beating yesterday, up 60. Investors expecting an announcement from the Federal Reserve. We'll have an update as well in a few minutes from the New York Stock Exchange.
It was billed as a day of high drama. Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State offensive coach, could have faced some or all accusers in court today. Instead, he waived his right to a preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty. That means this will go to trial on charges he sexually abused 10 boys. His attorney explained why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE AMENDOLA, SANDUSKY'S ATTORNEY: We wanted to have a preliminary hearing and the anticipated having one because we wanted to cross-examine Mike McQueary pertaining to accuser number two. The credibility of Mike McQueary has been put into great question prior to today with statements he allegedly has made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Mike McQueary claims he saw Sandusky rape a boy in the Penn State showers. But according to some accounts, McQueary's account of the incident has changed over time.
More now on the back and forth between the U.S. and Iran over the downed spy plane, what it could mean for security here at home. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the drone now belongs to Iran. He says it only going to add to his country's advance in technology.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translation): The North Americans, at best, have decided to give us this spy plane. Currently, we have control of this plane. Those who have been in control of this plane surely will analyze the plane system. Furthermore, the systems of Iran are so advanced also, like the systems of this plane. In the unpiloted planes, we have made many advances, much progress. And now we have this spy plane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: I want to bring in our national security contributor, Fran Townsend. She and other national security officials support the State Department dropping the terror designation on the Irani opposition group, MEK. The European Union has already dropped the group from the list.
Fran, I want to talk about this drone. What do we know about it? What kind of drone is it? And what can the Iranians learn from this?
FRAN TOWNSEND, NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: U.S. officials as described the missing U.S. drone as a stealth reconnaissance drone, run from the Afghan side of the border to support NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan. If this is the U.S. drone that Iran has -- there are two things that are of most interest to them, certainly, A, the technology that makes it stealth. That is how -- what is the technology that the U.S. uses to avoid detection. And second, depending on the condition that the drone was in when it landed, can they understand what was inside? What was the payload? What is its capability, and what was it collecting?
We don't know whether or not this is -- whether the payload survived and, if it did, what condition it's in. And it's not clear that the pictures we've seen are pictures of the U.S. drone. U.S. officials have given us conflicting views on that, but if this is the U.S. drone --
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm not hearing anything.
Fran, are you still there?
TOWNSEND: I am. I'm here, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Oh, OK. I'm sorry.
The Iranians, can they actually control or operate this like Ahmadinejad says?
TOWNSEND: You know, Suzanne, what they've told -- they first said they shot it down. And so, any claims by the Iranians that they can actually control the drone and force it to land, I think we ought to view with a good deal of skepticism. It's not clear to me that they have such technology.
MALVEAUX: And President Obama says that the U.S. is now asking for this drone back, but we've heard from former Vice President Cheney, who says the administration should have more aggressive about this.
This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CHENEY, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The right response to that would have been to go in immediately after it had gone down and destroy it. You can do that from the air, you can do that with a quick air strike, and, in effect, make it impossible for them to benefit from having captured that drone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Fran, does that sound like that would have worked? Could the U.S. have actually blown up the drone inside of Iran?
TOWNSEND: Well, one, obviously a military attack inside Iranian territory might have been seen as an act of war. Second, you don't know where it landed.
You might have been able to do that if it was in a desolate, rural area. It would have been very difficult to do if it was in an urban, populated area, where you likely would have had collateral damage. And so, Suzanne, I think we just don't know enough really. I think I would have gone out and made the request to Iran sooner, but I don't expect the Iranians are going to return it regardless of when we made the request.
MALVEAUX: All right.
Fran Townsend.
Thank you very much, Fran.
A rundown of some of the stories we are covering over the next hour.
First, drones over U.S. air space. We're going to tell you how and why police are now using drone technology.
Then --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So this is really -- actually a remarkable event. We've made it inside the Green Zone with a television camera, and showing you a bit of it, with the idea to bring you as close to the embassy, the American Embassy, as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: -- getting justice a glimpse of the massive U.S. Embassy in Iraq, virtually impossible.
And the American dream fading for one gender. We're going to tell you who's making less than their parents did 30 years ago.
Also, what's next for NASA after a busy year in space?
Plus, they are real and spectacular. Christie's auction -- exquisite jewelry from Elizabeth Taylor's huge collection.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Jerry Sandusky had the opportunity to confront some or all of his accusers in court today, but he chose not to, waiving the preliminary hearing.
Jerry Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, he is joining us live from Pennsylvania.
Thank you very much -- I know you said you're very cold out there, standing in the cold -- for taking the time here to do this. But you had indicated --
JOE AMENDOLA, JERRY SANDUSKY'S ATTORNEY: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: -- earlier that you were eager to question these men, these alleged victims here. Why this last-minute decision to waive today's hearing?
AMENDOLA: Well, we were eager to question and we are still eager to question them, but last evening, in discussions with the commonwealth attorney, we reached an agreement on a way in which we would agree to waive today's hearing in return to guarantees from the commonwealth not to seek any bail increases between now and trial unless Jerry violated the terms of his bail, which I'm sure he won't do.
This proceeding today was not a trial, it was a probable cause hearing, at which it really was up to the commonwealth to present witnesses. We would not have had the opportunity to present our defense today. We could not have questioned those witnesses on credibility issues, which really is the heart of our case, credibility, as to the witnesses versus Jerry Sandusky's defense.
So, once we got concessions from the commonwealth about bail, and about an expedited discovery process, we agreed late last evening, somewhere around 10:00, to waive the proceeding today.
Now, at that time we informed the commonwealth that they could call off their witnesses, but having the duty to be prepared to go forward with a preliminary hearing in the event that Jerry changed his mind at the last minute, obviously the commonwealth couldn't do that, which is why everybody showed up today, including folks from the media. Had we been able to do so, we would have notified everyone last night, and people could have slept in and kept warm, and the witnesses would not have had to appear today.
But until the time that the judge accepted the waiver of the preliminary hearing in this matter, this case still could have gone forward. But again, it was based upon -- the waiver was based upon concessions made on both sides that we felt were important than proceeding with this actual hearing today, which really would have been one-sided. It would have been the commonwealth's case.
MALVEAUX: Just help me understand here -- you said here -- was there any threat that the bail was actually going to increase? I mean, why this deal about over the bail increase? Did the judge say that was going to happen?
AMENDOLA: The attorney general indicated his intent to ask the judge to increase bail. And as you also know, there's still an ongoing investigation, and even though charges might be fallacious and might be untrue, there still is a threat of additional charges being filed. And if there were to be additional charges filed, there would be additional bail issues which could result in Jerry being incarcerated prior to trial. And from our perspective, it's really important that Jerry remain out on bail pending trial so that he can adequately help us prepare his defense.
Someone who is incarcerated, it becomes very difficult for them to really meaningfully assist counsel in the preparation of defense for trial. So we thought that was an important factor in this decision, too.
MALVEAUX: Right. Do you anticipate additional charges? It sounds like to me that you're anticipating more charges to come forward, in addition to the 50-plus that are already out there. Is that true?
AMENDOLA: Well, we're not anticipating them, but after last Wednesday, with the filing of additional charges regarding accusers 9 and 10, I mean, we're acutely aware that there's a risk. And as you saw last Wednesday, Jerry was taken from his home in handcuffs, even though he would have turned himself in and even though I wasn't even given the courtesy of a call from the commonwealth telling me that he was being charged.
I found out actually from you folks, from the media, that he was being led away in handcuffs from his home. So we're mindful of the risk that there might be other situations like that, and we want to make sure that Jerry, to the best that we are able to do so, to keep him out of jail so he can assist us in the preparation of his defense.
MALVEAUX: And I know you can't really try this case, nor would you want to try this case in the court of public opinion here, but your client, Jerry Sandusky, said that he is not guilty. For a lot of people who have been hearing about this case and read the grand jury report, now know there are at least 10 young men who have come forward, how do you square that?
AMENDOLA: Well, what we do is we take each set of allegations separately, and what we do know is that at least several of these young men know each other, have known each other prior to charges being filed. We're looking into the possibility that there may be a financial motivation involved, that there might have been some collusion, some interaction among these young people prior to charges being filed.
We also know that in a number of the charges, there really isn't an allegation of sexual contact as much as there is maybe inappropriate touching. In several of them, there's the actual graphic allegations of acute sexual contact. But we're taking each one separately. We're taking each one and looking at it individually, and attacking it one at a time.
The other factor that's interesting in this case is that a number of these young men who were Second Mile kids, who were teenagers when they said that Jerry abused them, have maintained social contacts with Jerry and his wife. And we find that interesting, too, that so many of them would have maintained contact with someone who, according to them, abused them graphically and horrifically.
So we're looking into those issues also.
MALVEAUX: So, just to be clear, he's saying that he's not guilty of any of those charges, any of those accounts, including the very graphic sexual details that some of those victims have alleged?
AMENDOLA: What I'm saying is, from day one, from the accusations made by accuser number 1 three years ago, Jerry has maintained his innocence. Jerry has always admitted that he showered with some of these kids. He said they were like his kids, and he's admitted that to police, he admitted that to me, he admitted that publicly. But showering with a child does not rise to criminality. There has to be some showing of some sort of sexual gratification intent, and Jerry adamantly denies there was ever anything sexual about his contact with these kids.
MALVEAUX: And finally, we know that the Penn State assistant coach, Mike McQueary, told the grand jury that he saw Sandusky raping a boy in the athletic facility showers there, and now there's some reports that his story is different of this alleged incident.
Do you think that he's a credible witness?
AMENDOLA: I don't think he is anymore. And in fact, I never did.
When you look at his initial allegation as set forth in the grand jury investigation report, you have to believe that what he told Coach Paterno, what he says he told him, what he told Tim Curley, the athletic director, what he said he told him, and what he told Gary Schultz, the vice president for finance at Penn State what he says he told them, for those individuals to simply respond to those allegations as reported by McQueary by saying to Jerry Sandusky, just don't bring kids into the showers anymore, doesn't make any sense. For Penn State not to take any action doesn't make any sense.
And for Mike McQueary to continue to be a participant in Second Mile programs which Jerry ran for kids at risk, to be a celebrity in golf tournaments, to participate in other events with Jerry as an honorary coach, and he being a ballplayer in those charities, it makes no sense. And I've said this all along -- anybody with any common sense and good reason would really have to question what he's saying he told these people.
These people, Curley, Schultz and Coach Paterno, are good people. And to think for a second that they would have been told these horrific activities occurred and not take any action against Jerry Sandusky or report these actions to police officials defies explanation.
MALVEAUX: Last question here. Do we expect that you'll allow Jerry Sandusky to speak to reporters again? He's spoken at least a couple of times. Will he be able to lay out his case as you've allowed in the past?
AMENDOLA: We are contemplating, it's just a matter of picking the time and place and what network we'll reach out to. But we're contemplating there will be more contact.
I believe that the more people see Jerry speak, and his mannerisms, the more they'll realize that the mannerisms they observed and the way he spoke with Bob Costas in the interview with "The New York Times" is Jerry Sandusky. That's the way he speaks.
He's not an articulate speaker like you or other people who are experienced in talking to the public. He pauses, he thinks, he reflects before he answers questions. And he really postures on what's the best way for him to respond.
So I think the more people see that, the more comfortable they'll be, and realize that maybe this is just Jerry Sandusky, not an attempt to evade a tough question.
MALVEAUX: All right. Joe Amendola, thank you very much for your time.
Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of big stories of the day. Today's question: Do Republicans dislike President Obama so much they've lost their focus?
Carol Costello, she's joining us from New York.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Suzanne.
Life at the top is good, until, of course, you become a human pinata. And I'm not talking about Rick Perry. It's Newt Gingrich's turn to be whacked, and it's proving especially painful.
Conservative radio talker Michael Savage is offering Newt Gingrich a million dollars if he drops out of the race because, in part, "In a presidential debate against Obama, regardless of how well he does on television, he will look nothing more than what he is: a fat, old, white man."
The Tea Party's favorite talker, Glenn Beck, is also piling on, calling Gingrich just another Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, HOST, "THE GLENN BECK PROGRAM": If you've got a big government progressive, or a big government progressive in Obama, one in Newt Gingrich, one in Obama, ask yourself this, Tea Party: Is it about Obama's race? Because that what it appears to be to me. If you're against him, but you are for this guy, it must be about race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Some analysts say the only reason Gingrich is flying high is because of voters' intense dislike of President Obama. Mr. Gingrich is smart, he's good at debating, but he's especially adapt at showing his contempt for all things Democratic, and that hits a chord with many Republican voters. It also is what worries some conservatives like Red State's Erick Erickson, who say conservatives have not really given other candidates a fair chance.
But we want to hear from you. So, the "Talk Back" question: Do Republicans dislike Obama so much they have lost their focus?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol.
Well, who can forget the face of this woman crying out in Tripoli that she had been gang-raped by Gadhafi forces? Well, Eman al-Obeidi has now received asylum in the United States. Hear the rest of this exclusive conversation that we had with her here in Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Eman al-Obeidi, the face of the Libyan revolution, captured the world's attention when she burst into a hotel full of international journalists screaming that she had been gang-raped and held by Gadhafi's thugs. Well, now, in the United States, with asylum, she is sharing her story exclusively with us.
I asked her about the state of Libya today with the fall of Moammar Gadhafi. But first, a warning. The pictures of Gadhafi's last moments are graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: What did you think of when you saw those pictures? Did you see those pictures of Gadhafi being killed and dragged in the street?
EMAN AL-OBEIDI, ALLEGED LIBYAN RAPE VICTIM (through translator): This whole revolution came so we can have a state of law. Even though the rebels were emotional and anxious, they should have handed him over so the people can get justice.
MALVEAUX: Did you feel any sense of vindication to see that he was killed, that Gadhafi was dead considering what you had been through?
AL-OBEIDI: No.
MALVEAUX: No?
AL-OBEIDI: No.
MALVEAUX: Why not?
AL-OBEIDI (through translator): They did him a favor when they killed him that way, because in the eyes of some, he became a brave martyr and gave him a happy ending. They shouldn't have given him this honor. There are plenty of people who sympathize with the way he died.
MALVEAUX: Do you think he should have suffered a long death, or you're saying he should have stayed alive and suffered in the future?
AL-OBEIDI (through translator): No, not a longer death. He shouldn't have died in such violence. He should have been prosecuted for all of things that he did.
MALVEAUX: Are you confident that things are changing in your country? Are you worried?
AL-OBEIDI (through translator): No, I'm not comfortable, because there's nothing clear, especially that there are things all the people are scared from -- ones with guns and extreme Islamic movements. They all don't want Libya to become that.
We are an Islamic nation, and the law is Islamic law, but that doesn't have to mean extremism and militia. We should have respectable government and army that respects the government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Well, now Eman, she's living in the United States. She's getting money now from the Libyan government to go to school.
We're going to be keeping up with her, checking on her progress as she tries to assimilate here.
Well, the unexpected happens when the man at the center of the Penn State child sex abuse case goes to court. We're going to get an inside view of Jerry Sandusky's time in the courtroom today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on.
Next, in court today, ex-Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky says he is not guilty of sexually abusing boys. Then, in "Talk Back," do Republicans dislike the president so much they've lost their focus? We're listening to what you're saying.
Plus, Liz Taylor's multimillion-dollar jewelry collection goes on auction at Christie's.
Well, Jerry Sandusky went to court today on child molestation charges, but a day-long preliminary hearing with dramatic testimony from the alleged victims, none of that happened. Instead, the former Penn State defensive coach waived the hearing, putting his case on a fast track for trial.
CNN contributor Sara Ganim, she was in the courtroom in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, today.
So, Sara, describe what that was like when he first arrived.
SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, when the judge announced that Jerry Sandusky was going to waive his hearing, court had really only been in session about 30 seconds. So you can imagine that people had been sitting there very anxiously awaiting what was about to start, and then it's over right like that. And Joe Amendola, Jerry Sandusky's attorney, came out and basically laid out his case for the public on the courthouse steps instead of doing it the traditional way in court.
So it was quite interesting this morning.
MALVEAUX: And we just talked to Amendola, and he said to us that the reason why there was this deal that was struck, that they didn't decide to do this preliminary hearing, is because they feared that the bail would go up in there were additional charges.
Do we anticipate, do we expect that there are possibly more people, more accusers who will come forward in this case?
GANIM: Well, you know, by my count, there have been five people who publicly came forward and said publicly that they were abused by Jerry Sandusky since his original arrest November 5th. So, only two new sets of additional charges have been filed. That leaves three, plus any ones that we don't know about, people who have not come forward and made public statements either through attorneys or anonymously.
These people haven't come forward with their names, but they have come forward. So that makes you wonder if -- we know the grand jury is still meeting, and we know the police are still interviewing people. I think it's possible. You know, just by doing the math, I think that's possible.
MALVEAUX: And we also heard from the attorney -- he said that he's willing now and he's considering putting Sandusky out for more public interviews to talk with reporters to see the real Sandusky, the way he speaks, the way he explains his behavior here.
What was the reaction to Sandusky today when he came before the cameras? GANIM: Well, you know, Jerry Sandusky did make a few statements when he was leaving court. He made a football reference. He said, "We're going to fight through all four quarters," and kind of started to say that he was going to maintain his innocence and keep fighting.
And then Joe Amendola followed that up with, "But this wasn't the right time or place." And then he explained that, of course, later.
But, you know, there was like a quick smile when he was walking into court, that some photographers caught him smiling as he was walking in. It was so brief, his time in court was so brief, that it's hard to say what kind of reaction, because he really didn't have that much of a demeanor. It was so short.
He did have supporters in the courtroom. His wife was there. It appeared that some of his adoptive children were there. And then four or five rows of people from his church.
MALVEAUX: OK. Sara, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
In New York, just a short time ago, police on Long Island announced new developments in the serial killer investigation. You might recall it. The partial remains of at least 10 women have been found along a parkway that is leading to a beach. That happened last year.
Well, I went to bring in Deborah Feyerick, who's joining us with some of the details here.
What do we know about this breakthrough in this case? Are they calling it a breakthrough, police?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, this could be a possible break in the hunt for what police believe is the Long Island serial killer.
The body of this young woman was finally found after 19 months of disappearance. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer spoke just a short time ago, and here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD DORMER, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK, POLICE: After an exhaustive methodical, massive search, we have, this day, at approximately 9:14 a.m., located a set of skeletal remains we believe at this time belong to the missing Shannan Gilbert. Of course, we will not know for sure if it's Shannan until the medical examiner confirms whether the remains belong to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, the skeletal remains were found on a stretch of beach covered in very thick brush and brambles. It was about a quarter of a mile from the location where personal items were discovered just a week ago, and those items included a cell phone, jeans and sneakers, also belonging to Shannan Gilbert. Police have right now cordoned off the location. They are calling it a crime scene and they're doing forensics both on the remains, but also on the surrounding area.
And police say it appears that Gilbert was trying to make it to the parkway, to the road that runs along the beach. She had to run through marsh and was trying to make her way through those brambles and brush, but could not get through that tangled mess to get to the road in search for help. But the police do believe she was running toward the light.
Now, this young woman had advertised prostitution services on Craigslist. The night she was last seen, she had tried to get help, hysterically banging on a man's home in the early hours. She was screaming, "Help! Help! Help!" She was clearly scared.
When the man offered to call police, she disappeared. But now it does look as if that is the body that really launched all of this, launched police, frankly, to find the remains of 10 other women.
So it's an important clue, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. Deborah Feyerick. Thank you, Deb.
Well, the question is, is the American dream fading? The answer could depend on your gender. When comparing income today with much young people earn 30 years ago.
Young men and women seem to be heading in different directions. So who do you think is doing better than their parents? Are young men better off that their fathers or girls over their moms? Answers and details in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: I asked who you thought was earning more than their parents did 30 years ago, is it men or women? If you guessed women, you nailed it. Women today between 25 and 34 make 17 cents more than every dollar than the women their age 30 years ago.
But young men on the other hand not fairing so well, they're between 25 and 34, they are earning 10 cents less on the dollar than mess their age 30 years ago.
Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange to talk about what's happening here. I mean, so what's happening to the guys here. Why are they doing worse?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Suzanne, for the guys who are having fewer opportunities these days because the areas where they used to find a lot of work like manufacturing, construction, other industries, those industries are shrinking.
And it is surprising because, you know, the perception is it's tougher for women to move up in the world, but it's not really the case anymore. It's really all about how the job market is evolving these days.
For women, they tend to really gravitate to jobs that are in service areas like health care and it just happens to be in that area the economy it's expanding and more command. It's actually the service sector that accounts for 80 percent of the jobs in the U.S. compared to just 20 percent for factory work.
So essentially there's just more opportunity for people looking for jobs that attracts more women than men. That's essentially why the ladies have a leg up in this situation -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: OK, we wish the guys -- we want them to do well as well. How does this relate to buying homes?
KOSIK: Well, buying homes and actually getting started with your life after maybe going to college, you know, even with women, earning more turns out both women and men are both having trouble escaping these after effects of the recession.
You know, major milestones like moving out of mom and dad's or beginning a family, those are beginning to be seen as the impossible dream for many young people because they can't find jobs, costs for everything from college tuition to rent to medical costs are all rising.
Many young people really, Suzanne, are questioning whether the American dream, you know, the idea of working hard and doing better than your parents, they are questioning whether even if that's relevant anymore -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Yes, that's kind of sad when you think about it. You know, you always assume that you're going to be better off or do better than your parents. The markets, how are they doing?
KOSIK: Markets are doing much better than yesterday though stocks are off their session highs, still trying to hold on to those gains. There's a big mover today. We're watching Best Buy, shares are plunging over 11 percent.
The electronics retailers had its earnings today, having a tough time competing with online retailers like Amazon and discounters like Wal-Mart and Target. So, yes, shares of the Best Buy deep in the red today -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Alison.
Well, NASA brought you the space shuttle in for a final landing this year, but the agency has good reason to look forward to 2012. Chad, good to see you. What do we know?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: "Time," the magazine, time.com, put out the top ten things of 2011, top ten space things, top ten foods, all of these top ten things if you go to time.com you can find it.
So we went to top ten space things. The tenth thing was the launch of the shuttle. There were so many more important things to NASA than the launch of the shuttle. This right here, that right there, that planet, Tatooine, it was well -- not really but the planet that looked like the planet from "Star Wars."
Remember the planet that they were standing on and the planet had two suns. They have found a planet with two suns far from the earth. We're not talking about our solar system. Number two, I find fascinating, there's always meteors falling from the sky and meteors at times when they've fallen into the Arizona desert will pick up things that appear to be building blocks of life.
But the scientists could never figure out these building blocks of life, were they already on the ground and the meteorite hit them and picked them up or did they come from the meteorite?
Well, now they've found a couple from Antarctica which didn't hit ground, only hit a bunch of ice and they found the same building blocks in meteorite. All of the life on earth and all of other plan et cetera may have been riding on the backs of meteors all this time. That's pretty cool.
MALVEAUX: I like how you explain that actually. Tell us about the Curiosity rover.
MYERS: Still going to be six months from landing, but this almost SUV sized vehicle heading all the way from U.S. and from Florida all the way to Mars. There it is right there. The wheels here about this big around, about as big around as -- I don't know, a bicycle wheel and flatter.
They built this thing. It did cost $2.5 billion to get this thing up there, but this curiosity will fly to Mars, land on Mars, dig a hole in the surface and analyze things below the surface of Mars.
Maybe if there were dinosaurs on Mars, a billion years ago, maybe they'll find dinosaur bones. They are not on the surface because all of the other rovers have been driving around and didn't find anything on surface. Maybe there's old life or ancient life under the surface and curiosity is going to find it.
MALVEAUX: Thank you, good to see you. Tech gifts, the most popular for the holidays, video games, laptops, smart phones, you want something hot, right? We're going to hook you up from Silicon Valley. But first, free money advice from the CNN "Help Desk."
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Time for the "Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions and joining me this hour, Gary Shafski, he's a financial planner and the president of objectiveadvice.com and Gail Cunningham with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Thank you both for being here. Gail, first question for you today, this comes from Richard in Virginia. I occasionally receive unsolicited invitations telling me I'm preapproved for a credit card. Would accepting an invitation adversely affect my credit score?
GAIL CUNNINGHAM, NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT COUNSELING: We have two things working here. Receiving the pre-approved application, it's coming in your mailbox has no impact on credit score, but if you act upon that, of course, the creditor will review your credit history.
That will put what's known as an inquiry on your credit report. It's a small ding. It could lower your credit score, but not for long. Don't worry about it. Just FYI, that is rarely the reason that anyone is declined simply because they have too many inquires. It will be for something more serious if they are denied credit.
HARLOW: That's a very good point. Gary, your question comes from Tom in Ohio. Tom wrote in, I'm retired, my only income is from my pension and Social Security and earnings from my investments. Can I still make my maximum contribution to my Roth IRA?
GARY SCHATSKY, FINANCIAL PLANNER: Unfortunately, you can't. In order to contribute to Roth or regular IRA, you have to have some type of earned income. So you can look at our investments, but one of these tax deferred ones you cannot do without earned income.
HARLOW: Good advice. Guys, thank you both very much. We appreciate it. If you have a question you want answered, please just send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right, it's super cool to give or buy electronic gizmos for holiday gifts, but there's a ton of stuff to choose from. Dan Simon narrowing it down to five main groups, the best of the best. Hi, Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne, coming to you from Union Square in San Francisco, the heart of the city's shopping district, let me first say this year is a bit different. There's no real breakout hit in the technology space.
Yes, the iPad is selling very well, but it's been out for a while. That said, there are five main categories here and this comes courtesy of CNET. Let's go through them. Let's start at number five, game consoles.
Remember the piper spray incident at the Wal-Mart, well, that was over an Xbox. Number four, tablets. Number three, laptops, notebook, computer. Number two, televisions and the number one category for holiday shoppers this year when it comes to technology, smart phones, we talked to Brian Cooley of CNET a little more about that. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON (voice): In game consoles, the number one hot gift according to CNET's Brian Cooley, the Xbox even though it's been around for a couple of years.
BRIAN COOLEY, CNET: Because coming up in the next couple of months, they're going to start adding a lot of media and move it from being just a game device that does media to being a media device that also does games really well.
SIMON: For tablets, do we have to say it?
COOLEY: The iPad is king of tablets there's nothing even remotely challenging. The 2011 was a very tough year for all those that came along, the PlayBook, the TouchPad from Hewlett-Packard. All those various Samsung Tabs out there. And, of course, everyone's looking at these saying, what happened? Why couldn't they get any traction?
DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For laptops, it's the MacBook Air. And in the Windows world, Ultrabooks, thin, fast, instant on, no spinning disk and long battery life. For televisions, Cooley says the biggest game changer isn't 3-D but those that connect to the Internet with built-in streaming capability.
COOLEY: When a TV has a wired or wireless Internet connection to stream over your existing home broadband connection, full screen TV shows and movies from a NetFlix or an Amazon or a Hulu or whoever you may subscribe to. And that will change user behavior around television more than any of these other technologies. And it's the beginning of a real revolution.
SIMON: Finally, it's the Smartphone that's considered the number one tech gift this holiday season. With many great ones to choose from, including the iPhone 4S and the new Droid Razr.
COOLEY: We are seeing enormous traffic of people researching Smartphone's. Obviously they're kind of tough to give as a gift because they're with a contract and a signup and all that. But a lot of folks are buying themselves a gift for the holidays too. So, let's be honest. The smartphone is about to crest depending on the research you look at, the 50 percent mark of cell phone owners in the U.S. That's an important benchmark.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so, Dan, typically, right, TVs have been the number one seller. No longer the case, huh?
SIMON: Not this year. I tell you what, something has happened over the last few years and that is, is that most Americans have gotten rid of those boxy television sets and now have flat screen TVs. The problem is, is now people aren't upgrading. They're not getting 3-D TVs. For some reason, that technology has not really excited consumers. Maybe these Internet connected TVs will do something more to get people out and upgrade their televisions. But right now, smartphone, that's the hottest category. That's what people are going after, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: OK, Dan, put that on my list, OK, my Christmas list.
Well, Elizabeth Taylor, she had it all, looks, talent, a word of admirers and some of the world's most exquisite jewelry. Well, now pieces of her rare collection are up for auction in New York. Kareen Wynter, she's joining us from L.A. with a little piece of this.
Hey, Kareen, what does it look like?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. MALVEAUX: It's probably very beautiful and expensive, yes?
WYNTER: Well, these are the items you want on your Christmas list. They're breathtaking. And by some estimates, Suzanne, the collection, it's going to bring in more than $30 million. And that's a whole lot of bling, folks, that we're talking about here.
The jewelry, it goes up for bid in just a few hours at Christie's auction house in the big apple, in New York City. We're talking about everything, Suzanne, from necklaces, earrings, pendants, rings and bracelets.
Now, some of the more famous pieces include the Elizabeth Taylor diamond. My absolute favorite. A 33 carat gift from that husband, Richard Burton. And it was known as the Krupp diamond when Burton bought it back in the '60s, 1968, for a reported $305,000. But, Suzanne, listen to this. It's expected to fetch a whole lot more, between $2.5 and $3.5 million today.
There's also a 16th century pear-shaped necklace. A pearl necklace called La Peregrina, which should go for between $2 and $3 million. You know, Suzanne, named jewelry, it tends to carry a pretty hefty price tag. So maybe a more down to earth sapphire, perhaps a diamond necklace by Balgari (ph) might suit you a little better. Oh, cheaper. It's only expected to sell around $800,000. You have that in your bank account. The jewelry sale --
MALVEAUX: I was like, what budget are you talking about here?
WYNTER: I know. Your budget. The Suzanne Malveaux budget. And so, anyway, the jewelry sale, it continues tomorrow night and each night for the rest of the week Christie's will be selling off more Liz Taylor stuff. More, more, more. So we're talking fashion, accessories, art, memorabilia. It's all up for grabs.
If you're not a big spender, smaller, less expensive items are available in an online auction by Christie's that will wrap up on the 17th. So you still have time. Those items start as low as $100. Now you're talking my numbers here. A little more practical for me. I can afford the one for $100.
MALVEAUX: Kareen, I just think we need to ask for a raise. Maybe that's it, right? Just up the salary a little bit?
WYNTER: I think that's a great idea. I'll take a dollar, I'll take a million. Come on, send it my way. Those diamonds are beautiful.
MALVEAUX: Oh, they're lovely. They're exquisite.
WYNTER: Somebody's going to have a very good Christmas.
MALVEAUX: Yes.
WYNTER: Yes.
MALVEAUX: Yes, somebody on a much higher pay grade than us, but that's OK. So hopefully --
WYNTER: You just tell me when you pick out your diamond. You just need to send me a photo and I'll just -- I'll have to live vicariously through you.
MALVEAUX: Oh, yes, of course. Oh, of course. Yes. Well, we'll see if that happens.
WYNTER: We're having too much fun. So much fun. See what diamonds does to a woman, a lady. You know, it just makes you go crazy.
MALVEAUX: Yes, that's true. Thanks, Kareen.
WYNTER: Yes, thank you.
MALVEAUX: If you want more information, everything breaking in the entertainment world, "Showbiz Tonight," 11:00 p.m. on HLN.
So, question, do Republicans dislike President Obama so much they've lost their focus. Well, here's what Bruce says. "Republican voters have not lost their focus. Media focus on Polls, personality and expert commentators gives that impression." More of your responses in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on our "Talk Back" question. Do Republicans dislike President Obama so much they've lost their focus? Carol Costello in New York with the answers.
Hey, Carol.
COSTELLO: Hi, Suzanne, good response to this question. And here are some of the answers.
This from Mike. "Republicans have not lost focus on defeating Obama, that's why so many are focused on exposing Newt's record. They understand what a weak nominee he would be and how easily he would be defeated by the president."
This from Carl. "No, they have not lost their focus. Both parties always have focused on and are only concerned with their own individual parties. They have never been focused on the well-being of the country."
This from Uche. And I hope I pronounced that right. Uche says, "Yes, they definitely hate him and have lost their focus. Every single one of these candidates have agreed with Obama on at least one major issue. But when asked if there's anything they think Obama has done correctly, they collectively say nothing."
And this from Michael. "The GOP has been united by one thing, keep Obama to one term. The president has made some mistakes, but the GOP has not offered any viable alternatives. Obama may just win because the GOP can't get its act together."
Keep the conversation flowing, facebook.com/carolcnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Carol.
Well, it's a huge complex in the heart of Baghdad, but trying to even get a glimpse of the American embassy, no easy task. We're going to take you as close as we can get.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Private security company with a troubled history and a notorious reputation gets another makeover. The company once known as Blackwater, now Academi. when guards for the company opened fire in Baghdad back in 2007, there were 17 Iraqi civilians who were killed. Well, the Iraqi government banned Blackwater from operating in the country. Now the company has a new CEO, new management team and a new name. The U.S. embassy in Iraq, it is the largest in the world. So you think it would be easy to find, right, but Martin Savidge found out that is now the case. Turns out, it is the biggest embassy that you can't see. This "In Depth" report, Martin takes us close as possible to this huge, heavily guarded complex.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So here's the premise. We want to try to get you a view of the American embassy in Baghdad. On the surface, that shouldn't be that difficult. After all, it's the biggest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world. It's not one building, it's a campus, 104 acres, 17,000 people located right in there, the Green Zone, the international zone. The most protected part of Baghdad.
We asked for permission to shot in there and film and show it to you. It was denied. So we tried to look from here. The problem is, even from here, you can't see it. We'll try somewhere else.
This is an area where we thought we could give you a ground view of the Green Zone or the international zone. That's it right behind us. But you can't see the embassy.
So in our attempt to come down here and even try and show this scene, we've drawn the attention of the Iraqi military. And they don't seem to keen we're here.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Since we can't get a glimpse from the ground, we try something else, the web.
SAVIDGE (on camera): We pulled up one of these Web sites where you can look down on Baghdad from up in space. And we've focused on the area where the embassy is, which is right in here. Only it's not there.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): We try to drive to the embassy.
SAVIDGE (on camera): Just visiting the American embassy is a major excursion because of security. We have to give ourselves an extra hour just to get through the checkpoints. And every day it's a new problem. For instance, today we heard no cell phones. And they definitely don't want that thing, so we'll shut it off here. So this is really actually a remarkable event. We've made it inside the Green Zone with a television camera. And showing you a bit of it. With the idea to bring you as close to the embassy, the American embassy, as possible. And it's right there, only you can't see it. But, trust me, it's just beyond those blast walls.
All right, now we're back. I took you within 100 yards of the U.S. embassy here in Baghdad and you never saw any of it. And that is just the way the U.S. wants it.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Joe Johns.
Hey, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Suzanne.
