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"Occupy" Protesters Clash In Oakland; "Occupy DC": End Camp Or Get Arrested; "Honor Murder" Verdict: Guilty; Herman Cain Endorses Newt Gingrich; Santorum Cancels Florida Events; New York Medical Mystery; Fire Dangers In Florida, Georgia, Alabama; IAEA Team Arrives In Iran; Women: How To Get A Bigger Paycheck; Death Mount In Syria Clashes; Cops Check Robbery, Find Five Dead; Police: Blood Found In Toddler's Home; New Fitness Gadgets; Economy Is Growing; First Monthly Jobs Report Of 2012; Joplin's Symbol Of Strength

Aired January 29, 2012 - 14:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. It is January 29th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Oakland, California, assesses the damage today after a night of violence. Police and "Occupy" protesters clashed in the streets yesterday. Police say it started after demonstrators tried to take over a vacant convention center.

They say the violence escalated from there and protesters broke into city hall, damaging displays and burning an American flag. Police responded with tear gas, bullets and smoke grenades.

More than 100 protesters were arrested after they entered a YMCA there. Oakland's mayor says there's no excuse for this behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JEAN QUAN, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: It's time, I think, for the "Occupy" movement to take a stand on whether this behavior, this kind of behavior that has nothing to do with the 99 percent movement, can -- should be tolerated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Protesters say it's not over and they plan to continue today with what they call a rise up festival at an area park.

On the East Coast now, Washington, D.C., "Occupy" protesters have been warned to stop camping in two parks near the White House or they could be arrested.

Our Athena Jones joins us now from one of those parks, McPherson Square. So, Athena, when are they going to start moving people out of that area?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the thing, Fredricka, according to the National Park Service they put up this release on Friday to indicate some of the violations the demonstrators here, the rules they've been breaking since early October when they set up tam camp here.

But it's only until now that they are going to begin enforcing these rules and they are a little bit unclear. We know that around noon tomorrow is when park service police will come in on or about noon they say.

And they say that if camping violations are observed, you don't have a right to camp here, not supposed to sleep here or prepare to sleep bed down in any way, and that they come in here tomorrow and they find that these violations are present then the people who are violating may be arrested.

But there are some things unclear here, for instance, according to the park police, they say people just have to remove all camping material from the park, which means sleeping bags and other belongings and then leave one side of all temporary structures open at all times.

And so you can see this is sea of tents behind me, there's a lot of questions as to whether let's say if we just open one side of the tents make sure there's no sleeping bags in there will they really tear them down?

So it's unclear exactly what's going to happen tomorrow. You can see some of the demonstrators behind me are holding a meeting to decide how to proceed and how to handle the actions tomorrow when the police come, how to handle themselves, whether to engage in civil disobedience, that's all still being determined here in some level -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Athena, is the issue that McPherson Square is only a couple blocks from the White House and it's the proximity that's at issue here, not necessarily that if there are demonstrators in other portions of Washington, that that's not a problem?

JONES: Well, the issue really seems to be the whole idea of allowing people to camp here long term. Many of these people have been here since the beginning of October. It's going on a long time. It's caused some headaches, of course, for the city.

Until you have this House hearing last week of the House Oversight Committee where you had Representative Daryl Isaac coming up and saying, look, this can't be allowed to go on and so the park police are now stepping in to take action.

But we have spoken to some people here and they say we're here to stay. They're going to do what they have to do. We'll do what we have to do. Let's listen to what one of the occupiers told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ZANGAS, OCCUPIER AT MCPHERSON SQUARE: We'll be here. We're going to continue to occupy this space and spaces across the country until we have redress of the issues that we're discussing with our elected officials and with the financial institutions. We're going to continue our protests as long as it takes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so that's what people have been telling us that they're going to be here. Now what being here will look like over the coming days is really the big question.

One more thing I want to tell you, we spoke with a chaplain, the protest chaplain, one of the members of the Faith Community who have been involved in this movement since very, very early on and he says that several churches around here are considering whether to step in.

Provide places for some of the demonstrators to sleep so they can come out and maintain a 24-hour vigil. So they won't be sleeping out here onsite, but they'll still be protesting.

One protester I talked to a little while ago said, I plan on staying here and not sleeping for as long as possible. They're talking about a sleep strike and staying up and playing games and that sort of thing.

So it will be really interesting to see how they respond, what they do, and how they carry on this protest over the coming days -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, thanks so much in Washington, D.C. Appreciate that.

This just in now to CNN, a jury returns a verdict in what's being called an honor murder case in Canada. Three teenage sisters and one of their father's wives, all from Afghanistan, found dead in a car under water.

Prosecutors put the father and the mother and their son on trial for the killings. Just moments ago, a jury found the accused guilty of first-degree murder.

All right, back in this country now, Republican presidential pursuit. Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is campaigning in Florida today, one day after getting a rather big endorsement from a former rival.

Herman Cain threw his support behind the former House speaker just days before Florida's primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse Newt Gingrich for president of the United States!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Cain suspended his campaign in December.

Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum is not in Florida and he has canceled all his campaign events scheduled for today. Because he had to rush home to Pennsylvania after his 3-year-old daughter was admitted to a hospital in Philadelphia. She suffers a genetic disorder. Santorum is running a distant third in Florida polling.

And big developments in a medical mystery upstate New York. Environmental activist, Erin Brokovich is now joining others who were trying to find out what's going on in the town of Leroy. More than a dozen students from the same school are suffering from uncontrollable verbal outbursts and twitching.

Brokovich's team was turned away from the high school, but collected water samples from elsewhere in the town. Since fall, the case has baffled doctors, infuriated parents and gotten a whole lot of national attention.

All right, happening right now in Northern Florida, Interstate-75 is closed after a string of crashes overnight killing at least nine people.

Officials tell us the highway will be closed in that area for most of the day. The sheriff's office says visibility was poor because of smoke from a nearby brush fire.

And it's not just a problem in Florida. Fire warnings are in Alabama and Georgia as well. Jacqui Jeras is joining us from the weather center. What's going on?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the fire danger elevated across much of the southeast, Fredricka. We're under the extremely dry air mass, high pressure has settled into the region, so humidities are very low.

They are down into the teens here across parts of Alabama and Georgia. That's why the red flag warnings are in effect here. And then we're looking at more like 20 to 30 percent, which is still considered extremely low.

Across central fire and this fire weather watch now in Central Florida including near Tampa Bay area has been extended through your Monday. So they're asking people not to do any outdoor burning, Fredricka, as it's a dangerous situation just play by those good safety rules.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

All right, now let's talk money, shall we? Ladies, listen to this. The salary disparities still exist in the American work force.

According to the "Business Journals," the disparity is worse in Detroit. According to their research, the median earnings for men more than $47,000 and for women, more than $29,000. When we right come back, find out where women seem to be catching up with men as it pertains to salaries.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.N. nuclear inspectors are in Iran today. It's an unusually high level delegation from the IAEA. Both the chief inspector and deputy director generals are there and more on their mission in a moment. So before the break, I told you about the big earnings gap between men and women. According to "Business Journals," it's pretty bad. In Detroit, men with a median annual salary of $47,000 to women at $29,000.

It's more encouraging scenario in the San Francisco/Oakland area according to biz journals this area has the smallest wage disparity of any big city, median earnings for men there, almost $53,000, women more than $41,000.

So women, you've heard for most of your career that you're not making as much as the men in your office, so what can you try to do to level that playing field?

Debra Shigley, the author "The Go Getter Girl's Guide" joins me right now. So Debra, you say sometimes it's in the asking or maybe even in the demanding. If you're to learn that a male cohort is making more money sometimes that's secret.

DEBRA SHIGLEY, AUTHOR, "THE GO-GETTER GIRL'S GUIDE": Yes, it usually is secret. That's a great point you raise, choosing to negotiate because we do see these statistics where in 942 major markets in the country, men are making usually 30 percent more, sometimes more than 100 percent more.

WHITFIELD: My goodness.

SHIGLEY: But contrast this to some of this new research, which is showing women are in fact asking for raises or promotions, they're just not getting it and we don't know why that is.

We hear the president talk about equal pay for equal work. There are some things that need to be done in the governmental, legal, corporate levels, but we also want to empower women to make those decisions and ask for the raise and promotion?

WHITFIELD: So how do you feel empower? How do you do that? Because sometimes it's really hard to toot your horn, sometimes it's difficult to even demand I deserve more.

SHIGLEY: Exactly, well, the first thing you want to do is gather your arsenal. You have to know what are other people making that do the same work that you do. Go to sites like salary.com, figure out what is the going rate for your job and duties.

And also you want to quantify your accomplishments. You know, you never get a raise because you think you need it or think you should get one.

WHITFIELD: Just because you want it.

SHIGLEY: You have to show that what you're doing is contributing to the bottom line. You want it to show how many customers you're bringing in, how much revenue you're bringing in, what you're saving the company money in terms of productivity and efficiency, and those are things you want to gather before you go into the meeting. WHITFIELD: And then you need to present that in the form of a pitch and you need to kind of rehearse that, maybe even stand in the mirror and say this what is I'm going to say.

SHIGLEY: Yes, I would practice the pitch in front of the mirror, mentor or a friend and try to anticipate what those counter arguments are going to be and also gain the confidence for when you go into the meeting.

WHITFIELD: OK. Think like a tiger mom, what do you mean? Made very famous by the book.

SHIGLEY: Yes, exactly. Well, research has shown that women often times feel more comfortable negotiating on behalf of a third party. I don't know if you can relate to this as a mom, but I know as a mom I was doing everything I possibly could to get my kid into the preschool we wanted to get into.

WHITFIELD: Stressful.

SHIGLEY: Yes, it's very stressful and it brings out your sort of natural inner negotiator acting like an agent on behalf of someone else. So if you can kind of channel that mindset --

WHITFIELD: At all costs. This is going to happen.

SHIGLEY: Well, yes, channel the mindset in terms of your creativity and assertiveness in making that argument as an advocate for yourself as you would for a third party.

WHITFIELD: And then often times, you hear the word, no. You're very discouraged. Don't want to try it again, but you say, no. Don't take it as a no, take it as a not now, which means you try it again.

SHIGLEY: Exactly. You know, this is your opportunity, first of all pat yourself on the back because you got in there and did this. And, you know, women who just consistently negotiate their salaries earn over 1 million more over the course of their careers. So you're getting that practice right now.

So second, you want to use the opportunity as a who, what, when, where, why it didn't happen, what can you do specifically to get yourself to be reconsidered for this raise or promotion over the course of the next three, six, nine months.

And finally, have a backup plan, of things that maybe it's a new title, maybe it's professional development, maybe it's on working on a coveted project that would actually help you move your career forward, maybe not in the monetary sense, but you can re-examine that a few months down the road.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and it really is tough to start that process.

SHIGLEY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And you say you really got to develop that kind of inner courage and that confidence and just do it.

SHIGLEY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: The worst you could hear is not now, not a no.

SHIGLEY: Absolutely. You know, I believe when in doubt blurt it out and so just go for it.

WHITFIELD: All right, Debra Shigley, thanks so much.

SHIGLEY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Always good to see you.

SHIGLEY: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, nearly 60 people now are dead in Syria. That's just today. Top international headlines next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Iran on the defensive saying its nuclear program is peaceful. U.N. inspectors are there today to see for themselves. A team from the IAEA arrived in Tehran today.

The agency's director said two days ago that he's not sure Iran is being completely transparent. The United States and Australia both ramped up sanctions against Iran this week.

Another day of street violence and dozens of deaths in Syria. This man was reportedly shot in a Damascus neighborhood in a clash with government forces. An opposition activist group says at least 62 people were killed today in the capital and in other cities. Yesterday, the Arab League stopped its monitoring mission saying it was simply too dangerous.

And this is just in to CNN, the verdict is guilty. A jury in Canada has convicted an immigrant from Afghanistan, his wife and their son for killing four members of their family allegedly for being too westernized.

Now look at other news happening in the U.S. In Alabama, police responded to a robbery call this morning in Birmingham and found five people dead inside the home. It is now a homicide investigation. The cause of death has not been released.

Maine police confirm blood was found in the home of a missing toddler, Ayla Reynolds. Authorities say the next step is to determine who the blood belongs top. Reynolds was 20 months old when her father reported her missing over a month ago.

Thousands of people in Maryland went for a dip in the chilly waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The annual polar bear plunge is a charity event sponsored by state police in support of the Special Olympics.

All right, everyone admits it's hard to stick to New Year's resolutions especially if your goal is to lose some extra pounds. Our tech expert, Marc Saltzman joined CNN's Gary Tuchman yesterday with some health and kind of fitness gadgets to help you stay on track.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC SALTZMAN, TECHNOLOGY WRITER (via telephone): Strive is a small two inch gadget you can clip on to your clothes or attach to your key chain and it's really a three-part product.

One is it's a pedometer, so it measures your steps with your walking, running, even climbing stairs. The other part it's a game. You're unlocking rewards in this game called my land, as an extra incentive to exercises and the third part is basically a fitness motivator with games.

It has unlockable trophies for reaching certain milestones and the more that you exercise, the more money that is sent to charity says the company. Not out of your pocket.

It does cost $99 for the product, but they say once you reach certain goals money is donated to various organizations.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bathroom scales normally don't sound high tech, but this is the first Wi-Fi enabled bathroom scale. Firstly, why do you need a bathroom scale that's Wi-Fi.

SALTZMAN: That's right. So this is really for convenience sake. What this Wi-Fi bathroom scale does, it is from a French health technology company.

What it does is that it automatically uploads your information to a password protected web site or to an app, so it measures your weight, body mass index, and you also can set goals.

Again it's not just showing you this graph or chart, which it can do, but set goals for yourself and monitor your progress. That's how it works and if you want, depending on the type of person you are and how open you are with your friends.

You can also have this information such as your weight loss, uploaded automatically to social networks like Twitter or Facebook. So you're essentially broadcasting your progress as an extra incentive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: For more high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to cnn.com/tech and look for the game and gadgets tab or follow Marc Saltzman on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

All right, "Occupy" protests on both sides of the country are stepping up again. Straight ahead, what police are doing to try to get a handle of the situation?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Apparently, your spending is boosting the economy and the job market may be looking up. Our money team is keeping an eye on all of it for you. Let's start with Felicia Taylor in New York.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. The economy picked up steam at the end of 2010. The government said this past week that GDP grew in the fourth quarter at a 2.8 percent annual rate helped by rising consumer spending.

That's the fastest in more than a year, but Wall Street expected even better. The economy grew a little bit more in each quarter as 2011 progressed, but the growth rate for the year was just 1.7 percent.

Analysts are expecting GDP to be a bit better than that this year, but still far from robust because of Europe's debt crisis. Poppy Harlow has a look at what's coming up in business news -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Thanks so much, Felicia. We're coming to you this week from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Looking ahead to next week in the United States, we'll get the January jobs report. It is the first reading of the New Year. The 2011 ended on a high note with 200,000 jobs added in December.

The unemployment rate also fell to its lowest level in nearly three years. Last week, the Federal Reserve said, it is more optimistic about the labor market than it was just a few months ago. That's good news.

Policymakers expect the jobless rate to average somewhere between 8.2 percent and 8.5 percent this year. Of course, we'll track it all for you all week leading up to that jobs report on Friday. You can find it all on CNN Money. Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, ladies. Checking our top stories now.

"Occupy" protests on both sides of the country, in Washington, D.C., protesters must stop camping in two parks near the White House or face arrest. The National Park Service has been distributing flyers warning protesters.

On the West Coast, Oakland, California, assesses the damage today after a night of violence. More than 100 protesters were arrested after clashing with police.

Happening right now in Northern Florida, Interstate-75 is closed after a string of crashes overnight killing at least nine people. Officials tell us the highway will be closed in that area for most of the day. The sheriff's office says visibility was poor because of smoke from a nearby brush fire.

And a community's symbol of strength and compassion today enters a new era of healing. The hospital in Joplin, Missouri, took a direct tornado hit last year. Today, it's being demolished. Coming up at 5:00, I'll talk to somebody who knows firsthand about the town's healing process. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll be back in one hour. Wolf Blitzer will be joining me to talk about the GOP debate. He moderated in Jacksonville and then it's on to Las Vegas.

Republicans will be caucusing there in Nevada next. Nevada's biggest newspapers already endorsing their favorite candidates. More of that straight ahead. Right now, time for "YOUR MONEY."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)