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Music Icon Don Cornelius Dies; What Mitt Romney's Win Means; What Florida Means Moving Forward; Super PACs Spend Big Bucks; Facebook IPO May Happen Today
Aired February 01, 2012 - 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.
They might be bringing up the rear but they are not throwing in the towel. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul pushing ahead. Paul is in Las Vegas this hour. The Nevada caucuses coming up. Santorum campaigning in Colorado. Caucuses are just six days away.
Mitt Romney has momentum after a big win in Florida. He took 46 percent of the vote compared to 32 percent for Newt Gingrich. His victory follows a bruising campaign barrage of negative ads targeting Gingrich. Gingrich leaves Florida defeated but defiant. He says the results show that this is a two-man race. He says he's going to keep going all the way to the Republican Convention.
The death toll in Syria keeps rising while diplomats at the U.N., they are struggling how to handle this. An opposition group now says 63 people have been killed today alone in the cities across Syria. This video was just posted online. It's said to show fighting in the city of Homs.
And Arab and Western nations supporting a resolution calling now for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but Russia and China want dialogue.
A leaked NATO report is fueling suspicion today that Pakistan is helping the Taliban in Afghanistan. According to "The Times of London," the NATO document shows Pakistani intelligence forces are keeping track of Taliban commanders, but the paper says the Taliban don't believe they need help and are confident they will win the war in Afghanistan. NATO is downplaying the importance of this report, and Pakistan firmly denies helping the Taliban.
An Amtrak train in Michigan went off the rails this morning after hitting a car at a highway crossing. The engine tipped over on its side and two passenger cars jumped the tracks. Thankfully, no life- threatening injuries were reported.
MALVEAUX: Sand news now to report from California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON CORNELIUS, CREATOR, "SOUL TRAIN": I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Music icon Don Cornelius, the creator and former host of "Soul Train," has died. Police told -- the coroner, rather -- that Cornelius died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cornelius created a pilot for "Soul Train" using $400 of his own money. It went on the air in 1970, and the show featured top R&B and soul artists performing before a studio audience and showed off dance moves in the "Soul Train" line.
Last hour I spoke with Grammy Award-winning singer Gladys Knight about the life and legacy of Don Cornelius.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLADYS KNIGHT, SINGER: Every step of the way, Don was always Don. If you talked to him socially, if he was on "Soul Train," he was that same character, that same person that you saw on that TV. He was just very laid back, very intellectual. He was one of those people. And you know what I loved about Don? He always encouraged us to be ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: In a few moments we're going to hear more about the impact, the legacy of Don Cornelius. I'm going to talk to Debra Lee. She's chairman and chief executive officer of Black Entertainment Network, which airs the "Soul Train Music Awards" show each year.
Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day, President Obama and his efforts to win a second term in the White House. The question: Is President Obama's new charm offensive connecting with the middle class?
Carol Costello, she is joining us from Washington.
Carol, the charm. He's putting on the charm there, huh?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At least he's trying, Suzanne.
As Mitt Romney celebrates his Florida victory, President Barack Obama is increasingly portraying himself as a defender of the middle class. It's a tough sell, because many analysts point out the president has trouble connecting with middle class voters who don't quite get "No Drama Obama." They wonder why the president can't express his ideas more clearly.
In a wildly popular YouTube sketch, comedians Key & Peele poke fun at him, at an emotionless Obama who hires an anger translator named Luther to convey what Mr. Obama really means.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
So, just so there's no more confusion, we've hired Luther here to be my anger translator -- Luther.
Since being in office, we've created three million new jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three million new jobs!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ended the war in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ended a war, you all. We ended a war! Remember that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These achievements should serve as a reminder that I am on your side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not a Muslim!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The president seems to be trying to connect. He actually sang a bar of an Al Green song at a fund-raiser in New York City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (singing): I am so in love with you
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And on NBC he celebrated actress Betty White's birthday by poking fun at himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Dear Betty, you look so fantastic and full of energy. I can't believe you're 90 years old. In fact, I don't believe it. That's why I'm writing to ask if you will be willing to produce a copy of your long-form birth certificate. Thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Of course, charm can only get a politician so far if he or she doesn't deliver the goods. If you're unemployed or under water on your mortgage, an emotional, passionate president might not cut it for you.
Still, President Obama says he can deliver the goods. He's outlining a new housing plan. You heard that. He did that in Virginia earlier today.
But will President Obama's new charm offensive convince frustrated middle class voters to listen?
The "Talk Back" question today: Is Obama's new charm offensive connecting with the middle class?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your responses later this hour.
MALVEAUX: Carol, I don't know if it's connected with middle class, but I know there are several women who have the singing -- the Al Green singing as a ring tone on their phone. It's caught on. You know?
COSTELLO: It increased Al Green's record sales by, what, 500 percent or something crazy like that? So he did connect. I don't know if in the right way, but he connected.
MALVEAUX: People are talking about it. All right. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we are covering over the next hour.
First, the head of BET joins me to talk about the death of "Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius.
And new audiotapes form the day JFK was assassinated are now public. Listen to an amazing conversation you don't want to miss if you love history.
Then, could you spend three months without sending a single e-mail or text? I'm going to talk to a guy who made that pledge and he came out better for it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Sad news. Music icon Don Cornelius has died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON CORNELIUS, CREATOR, "SOUL TRAIN": I'm Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Police tell the Los Angeles coroner, Don Cornelius, the creator and former host of "Soul Train," died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Last hour I spoke with Gladys Knight about the legacy of Don Cornelius, and she told me how he opened doors for African-American singers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KNIGHT: We, as artists, are so grateful to him for giving us that faith. He gave those people commercial opportunities to have a way to get our products out. I mean, he was just a pioneer like you would not believe, and he's really an unsung hero. He really is.
People used to ask me all the time what soul was. They'd say, like, "What is soul?" And I'd try to explain to them, Don made that which is an inner feeling, something you feel spiritually, deep down, and have a passion for things -- made that a common word, "soul."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Joining me now with more on the death of Don Cornelius and his impact on the entertainment world is CNN entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter, in Los Angeles. And from Washington, Debra Lee. She is chairman and CEO of Black Entertainment Television.
Kareen, I want to go to you first.
What more are we learning about the circumstances surrounding his death?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, very sad and shocking news today about the legendary icon in this entertainment industry.
"Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius died early this morning at his Sherman Oaks home here in Los Angeles. Now, the coroner's office tells CNN that the 75-year-old, he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
What we're also being told is that there is going to be an autopsy done sometime today to see if that was at all self-inflicted. But you heard from Gladys Knight, Suzanne. There's so many people just reacting to this really, really tragic death.
I'm actually still on the phone. I put them on hold. Full Force a group from the 1980s, they worked very, very closely with Don Cornelius over the years, and they told me something really interesting.
Don -- so many people reached out to him, Suzanne, over the years to comment on their work, and you see that plaque right there. That was supposed to have been presented to Don Cornelius this past Saturday at a screening here in Inglewood, California.
And I'm told by Full Force, the group, that Don's people called them. They were texting them at the very last minute saying, you know what? Something came up, we can't make it.
And the reason that they wanted to honor him with this plaque is that Don -- this was the one documentary that he did agree to do. He was interviewed in it. It just aired this past Monday, "Unsung: The Full Force Story," where he just talked about this group, Full Force, who he mentored over the years, they were close friends. And even after "Soul Train" ended, Don Cornelius kept in touch with the group.
Right before coming on air I spoke to a couple of members. Very emotional. So hard to keep it together. Just blown by this tragic, tragic news and trying to find out how this all happened, why it all happened.
But again, he was supposed to be at this special screening this past Saturday in Inglewood, California. Something came up. It seemed a little suspicious that he would back out at the very last minute.
Not sure if it's at all connected to these new developments, but they are stunned. And I'll be catching up with them, speaking to them after this to find out more regarding this very tragic story -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Kareen, thank you. I know both our BlackBerrys, our phones, just blowing up with texts and e-mails of people reaching out and reacting to this news.
I want to bring in Debra Lee.
And, you know, BET, you guys air the annual Soul Train Music Awards. We were just there together a couple months ago, clearly recognizing his legacy.
Can you talk a little bit about what he was like and what he meant to you?
DEBRA LEE, CHAIRWOMAN & CEO, BET: Right.
Well, Don Cornelius was such a pioneer in the music business. He gave exposure to African-American artists in the '70s, '80s, '90s that was not available in other outlets on TV.
Our African-American artists could not get on "American Bandstand." And when Don Cornelius started "Soul Train" in 1970, he provided an outlet for our artists.
And I grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, and every Saturday morning I had to get my chores done so I could watch "Soul Train" and learn the latest dances, hear the latest music, see the latest fashion. And he really had such a connect to youth culture, Don Cornelius did.
And the "Soul Train" show is just a legacy that will be there for him always. I mean, his favorite "Love, peace, and soul" as a way of signing off will go down in history.
The "Soul Train" line has changed the way black Americans dance at every party, every wedding, every family reunion. And he was just such a great businessman.
To be able to create this show in a time where advertisers weren't supporting black programming, in a time where TV wasn't very supportive -- I mean, other than "Soul Train," the only thing on TV at the time was a show called "Julia," which starred Diahann Carroll.
So he did so much to uplift our artists and to give us exposure, and to really make black music the music of young America for Motown artists, for artists from other labels. And he was just such a great, charming man.
I mean, I've met him personally many times. He usually comes to Clive Davis' annual Grammy party, which will happen next week. So I know it's going to be very sad for him not to be there.
The last time he was on BET was at our 2009 BET Awards program. He paid tribute to the O'Jays and told great stories about the O'Jays and their history.
So, like Gladys Knight said, I mean, our artists owe so much to him. And he also let non-African-American artists on "Soul Train." And when he did that, he made them cool, like Elton John and David Bowie, The Average White Band.
So it was a badge of honor for white artists to come on "Soul Train," because standing there next to Don Cornelius, you couldn't get any cooler than that.
MALVEAUX: You got some cool points for that, right.
LEE: Right. He was the epitome of cool. He was the epitome of soul. He's a great businessman.
And at BET we're proud to carry on his legacy with the continuation of the Soul Train Awards. As you said, Suzanne, we were down there in Atlanta a couple of months ago. We've been doing that show for three years.
And when the artists come and accept a Soul Train Award, they still tell stories about how wonderful Don Cornelius is, and they pay tribute to him like Gladys Knight did and Earth, Wind & Fire this year. So we're glad to be able to carry that on.
He also paved the way for BET to exist, for us to have a show like "Video Soul," and now "106 & Park." He paved the way for the BET Awards.
So we owe so much to this great man, and it's a sad day in the music industry, in the black business community, to have to see his death happen like this.
MALVEAUX: All right.
Debra Lee, thank you so much.
CEO of BET, Debra Lee.
Thank you.
LEE: Great. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: A Texas teenager is deported to Colombia even though she had never been there before. Well, now she's back home and talking about this ordeal to CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: It's been almost 50 years, but if you're old enough to remember, it is a moment that no American could ever forget: November 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Kennedy has been assassinated. It's official now. The president is dead. Women here in shock, some have fainted. Grown men, Secret Service men, standing by the emergency room, tears streaming down their face.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That same day, Lyndon B. Johnson would take the oath of office aboard Air Force One. President Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, also made this phone call from the plane to President Kennedy's mother, Rose, to give her the terrible news.
This is a newly released tape of that conversation from the National Archives.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Mrs. Kennedy. I have Mr. Johnson for you here.
ROSE KENNEDY, JFK'S MOTHER: Yes. Thank you.
Hello?
LYNDON B. JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mrs. Kennedy?
KENNEDY: Yes. Yes. Yes, Mr. President. Yes.
JOHNSON: I wish to God there was something that I could do, ,and I wanted to tell you that we were grieving with you.
KENNEDY: Yes. Well, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
I know. I know you loved Jack, and he loved you.
LADY BIRD JOHNSON, FIRST LADY: Mrs. Kennedy, (INAUDIBLE) we've just had --
KENNEDY: Yes. All right.
LADY BIRD JOHNSON: We are glad that the nation had your son as long as it did.
KENNEDY: Well, thank you, Lady Bird. Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
LADY BIRD JOHNSON: Love and prayers to all of you.
KENNEDY: Thank you very much. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The JFK Library has also released 45 hours of new recordings of President Kennedy himself from his time in the Oval Office. You can find those at www.jfklibrary.org.
Mitt Romney adding to his credentials as front-runner, but what does his big win in Florida mean for the road ahead for the Republican race?
Our own Wolf Blitzer, he's going to weigh in on that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: So, Nevada, the next state on the presidential calendar. The state holds its caucuses this Saturday. Mitt Romney is the front- runner in Nevada after the big win in the Florida primary.
I want to bring in our own Wolf Blitzer to talk a little bit about what all that means.
You and I were just talking about nothing really rose to the occasion of Iowa and the drama that we saw there.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S THE SITUATION ROOM: We went into 3:00 a.m. in Iowa. Last night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern we projected Mitt Romney wins Florida, so not as exciting, shall we say.
MALVEAUX: Yes, it was kind of wrapped up by 8:00.
But Florida gives us a pretty good indication, right? I mean, it's a microcosm of the country.
You've got Hispanics, blacks, high unemployment, a foreclosure problem, all those things that exist in Florida. Romney did pretty well across the board in all areas.
Does it give us an idea about how he would perform in the general election?
BLITZER: I think it does. It shows that in Florida, which will be very competitive, and both of the Republican candidate and the Democratic candidate, the president of the United States, they are going to work aggressively in Florida.
It's the fourth largest state. And we know the first three largest states basically determine -- New York always goes in a presidential race for the Democrat. California as well. Texas always goes for the Republican candidate.
So, Florida is the biggest prize in the competition. And what we saw from Mitt Romney yesterday, he did really well with all the groups, basically, in the northern part of the state, the southern part of the state. Some in the northern part, small counties, he didn't do so well -- Evangelical groups, the real southern part of Florida, which happens to be in the northern part of this state.
But it shows that Florida is going to be very competitive. I suspect if Mitt Romney were to get the Republican nomination -- it's still a long way to go -- he would be very competitive against the president.
MALVEAUX: And Newt Gingrich says he's going to go all the way with this until the Republican convention. So this could be a long slog here. But we saw in Florida -- he was talking about everything from setting up colonies on the moon, going after what he thought what would be Mitt Romney's vulnerabilities, talking about that he's run a dishonest campaign.
Does Newt Gingrich need to kind of get one message straight going into the contest forward?
BLITZER: He certainly does. And he needs to look ahead.
Look, I think he was so angry at what happened to him in Iowa, when the anti-Newt Gingrich super PAC ads, that Mitt Romney super PAC put out, really destroyed him in Iowa, collapsed his campaign there. And he didn't really respond. He tried to take the high road.
And he realized in Iowa, after losing badly there, you know what? If somebody hits you, you've got to hit right back. And it's getting very personal, getting very ugly.
He emerged from South Carolina the big winner.
He won by double digits in South Carolina and he sort of held back a little bit going into Florida. I think he began to think he was about to get the Republican presidential nomination.
I don't think he appreciated what the re-organization of the Romney campaign. What they did in Florida and the enormous amount of negative ads that they could put on the air there.
And Romney did very well in those two Florida debates. Newt Gingrich didn't do that well in those two Florida debates. He can't blame anyone except himself for that. So he's got to rethink his strategy right now, which I'm sure he's doing.
MALVEAUX: Wolf, I just want to turn the corner if I may, Don Cornelius passed away today. You and I went to the BT "Soul Train" awards --
BLITZER: You were my date and Brooke Baldwin, too.
MALVEAUX: We went as a group, but yes, I mean, really kind of a sad occasion here. He really set the path. I grew up on "Soul Train." You're a "Soul Train" fan.
BLITZER: I grew in Buffalo, New York. You know, I watched "Soul Train" every week. I loved "Soul Train" and Don Cornelius was an icon and my heart goes out to his family.
He really did an amazing amount for music in our country and you know, all of us who grew up watching "Soul Train" saw what he did, the artist that he helped elevate. You know, we all were enriched by what he did. I'm really sad that Don Cornelius is gone.
MALVEAUX: All right, we all are. Thank you, Wolf. Appreciate it.
Big money already being spent in the election. A lot of it coming from what we've talked about, the "Super PACs." Christine Romans is breaking down the numbers.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, there are some 277 registered "Super PACs" and they've spent almost $49 million in this campaign so far. You know, they can't coordinate with the campaigns.
They are basically working for the benefit of the candidate, parallel but separate from the campaign. What is this money buying? It's buying ad time, voter call banks, parking lunch, you name it.
These "Super PACs" have names like "Make Us Great Again" and "Red, White, and Blue Fund". "Endorse Our Liberty" is another one. You get the bland patriotic image here. But the "Super PAC" working to elect Mitt Romney is the biggest.
It's called "Restore Our Future." It raised millions from some of the most famous financiers in America including hedge fund and private equity managers. We now know that four of them gave $1 million each last year.
"Winning Our Future," that's on behalf of Newt Gingrich. Now his campaign raised $5 million in January alone. The "Super PAC," which he does not direct, it also raised big money. We can see the results for 2011.
Several donations are $500,000 each. That doesn't include the January support from billionaire casino mogul and Israel supporter, Sheldon Adelson and his wife. Now there's also the Stephen Colbert "Super PAC."
It's called "Americans For A Better Tomorrow Tomorrow." It's raised more than a million dollars. Colbert, of course, the comedian is cutting pundits in the political system.
In a statement he said, it's the way our founding fathers would have wanted it if they had founded corporations instead of a country.
Big money from the candidates raising money and big money in the "Super PACs" raising money to work next to that candidate driven spending -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Thanks. Today's talk back question, is President Obama's new charm offensive connecting with middle class? Carol Costello's got your responses up ahead.
And you can call him a cook and a fighter. See why this guy made our CNN "Next List."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really a person that explores the science of food. We're always exploring what this food could be. We use a lot of different tools, centrifuges, lasers. We're actually starting to work with super conductors.
If you look at, you know, the limitations of creating new products, you're only limited by the technology that you have to work with. You know, the real thrill with the food experiment that we do is creating something that is impossible. Creating something that just shouldn't be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: First lady Michelle Obama was a guest on NBC'S "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" insisted that she explain herself about a certain incident involving weatherman, Al Rocker. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": You got a little testy with Al Rocker. We'll show that footage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are jumping jacks your exercise of choice?
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: You know, I do everything. I mean, jumping jacks, squat --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president have to worry about the boxing part?
OBAMA: You know, sometimes when he sees me punching he kind of --
LENO: You are competitive.
OBAMA: I didn't mean to hit him that hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: You've been sounding off on the talk back question. Is president Obama's new charm offensive connecting with the middle class?
Carol Costello is joining us from Washington. Carol, the first lady is not that mean. She doesn't have the left hook like that. It's all about in the editing, yes?
COSTELLO: I bet she has a strong left hook. That was so funny. So both Obamas are on the charm offensive, right. They're both cracking jokes. Showing their human side. That's the talk back question today.
Does President Obama's charm offensive, is it working for you? Is it connecting with the middle class? This is from Joe, "I don't think President Obama's connecting with the middle class in the right way. The people who are unemployed, underwater on their mortgage and financially unstable want more than just a few bars of an Al Green song. They want results."
This is from Todd, "What middle class? Aren't they all unemployed now?" This is from Mark, "President Obama is going to have to prove this time around to counterbalance the fact that he's surrounded himself with Wall Street power brokers as economic advisers. He has some hypocrisy issues to either clarify or rectify. Most progressives would say the latter."
This is from Paul, "I am an Obama supporter, but I don't think this tactic will have much sway. After almost four years of a struggling economy and bitterly divisive and nasty political discourse, it will take a lot more than charm to win over independents. He's got a record to defend and a vision to communicate and I think he will."
And this is from Sammi, "Well, I don't think any of the politicians can connect with the middle class, but I know what I need and want and Lord knows that he's been perfect for people like me. I think President Obama has connected better than any other politician I've seen."
Please keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/carolcnn and thanks, as always, for your comments.
MALVEAUX: All right, so Carol, you've got to stick around for this. This is kind of funny.
COSTELLO: No.
MALVEAUX: We're asking you if you have your rappetite. What does this mean? OK, there's this restaurant. You might have heard of it in Atlanta.
It's called "Bon Rapetit." Here's what is on the menu. Ready? Salt-N-Pepa crusted tilapia, old dirty custard, you know where we're going with this?
COSTELLO: I don't want that described.
MALVEAUX: Cream puff daddies, Snoop doggy corn dogs. We checked this place out, Carol. It doesn't even exist. If you go to the web site, there's an Atlanta address, but Google map takes you to somebody's house.
So I don't know if they are cooking there or not, who knows. It takes you to a house. It's not really a restaurant. It's very creative and I still want those Queen Lapizza.
COSTELLO: Where is the house?
MALVEAUX: We're going to find out.
COSTELLO: I'm going to visit you in Atlanta. We're going to explore whose house that is.
MALVEAUX: I like the menu. I think it's kind of creative.
COSTELLO: Kind of funny.
MALVEAUX: I'm going to make one when I get home, a Queen Lapizza.
COSTELLO: You are a Queen Lapizza.
MALVEAUX: All right, Carol, we'll see you.
COSTELLO: OK.
MALVEAUX: We're talking about Facebook as well and it might be the biggest web company IPO in history. Exactly what is an IPO? We've got that and how soon you may be able to own a tiny slice of Mark Zuckerberg's brain child.
But first, I want to test your biz knowledge a little bit. Take a look at these companies. These are the biggest IPOs in America since 1980, and these are the size of the deals, UPS, Kraft Foods, AT&T, not the biggest. The top two when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A minute ago, I asked you to name the biggest IPO deals in America since 1980. UPS, Kraft, AT&T among the top five, none of them was as rich as General Motors IPO. Two years ago raised more than $18 billion or Visa's top IPO that earned the company almost $20 billion.
So Facebook would not technically go public today. The process has many steps and the day you can actually buy shares, months away from now. Nobody at Facebook has confirmed that today is the day that they're going to file this IPO paperwork. But sources say, the company hopes to raise up to $5 billion. If that happens, Facebook will be the biggest ever Internet IPO. So, to explain all this, IPOs, market debuts, how can we actually buy a piece of Facebook, here's Christine Romans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): IPO stands for Initial Public Offering. An IPO is when a company, whether it's a mom and pop little store that's getting bigger and bigger or say a social network conceived in a Harvard dorm room that now has five million people who follow it, can get on a radar, get -- attract capital and basically grow up.
Companies want to go public because they want to unlock the value in their enterprise. When you can get investors to pay to buy shares of your company and then those shares are traded on a stock market, like the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, it also gets you money. When you go public, investors are putting money into your enterprise. It allows you to raise money quickly.
One of the downsides is, when you are a public company, you are scrutinized by the government. You have to, every quarter, file your numbers, your balance sheet, to the Securities & Exchange Commission so that your investors and so that the markets can see exactly what you're doing. If you're a private company, you don't have that kind of scrutiny. You don't have investors selling their stakes in your company if you have one or two bad quarters. So that's one of the reasons why private companies like to stay private. Well, eventually, it's everyone, like you and me and you're 401(k). You have shares of companies. Those are companies that have gone public and their shares have started trading on stock exchanges and then you buy them in our mutual funds or sometimes you buy them outright say in an E*Trade account or something. Initially, at an initial public offering, it's the big names who get in. It's some of those original private investors. They usually get a good shot. Founders of the company get a good shot to buy more if they want.
Facebook is the holy grail of IPOs. It would be probably the biggest tech company IPO in history. Facebook already has 500 different private investors basically. And when you get to that level, that threshold, that's when the Securities & Exchange Commission says, OK, now you've got to open your books. Now you've got to file to become a public company. You're getting too big. The whole game is about when will Facebook go public, how much will the company be worth and what will the share price be, what does it say about how this company can make money and can grow going forward?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Meet a guy who left Facebook and Twitter and his phone and anything that beeped or booped. Could you go three months with zero gadgets? Well, this guy did and he survived.
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MALVEAUX: All right, imagine living without your phone, the Internet, any of the electronic conveniences, anything that's got a battery or a keyboard or a blinking light. Could you go for a week, maybe a month?
Jake Reilly, he did just that. He decided one day last year to unplug completely. No more texting, no more cell phone calls, no more TV. He said it was time to reconnect with real, live people. And he learned something about them and about himself. Jake Reilly joining us from Chicago. Glad that we can connect with you now, that you are reconnected here. But tell us about, first of all, why you decided you wanted to go through with this social experiment. What happened?
JAKE REILLY, SWORE OFF GADGETS FOR 3 MONTHS: I guess it was one night I was kind of sitting around in my apartment with -- I live with five other guys and we were sitting there all watching a basketball game, went to the University of Wisconsin, and I kind of looked around and noticed that every single one of my roommates was either on a laptop, on their Blackberry. And I finally asked them, I was like, what are you guys all -- like, what is everyone doing? We're all like -- should be enjoying each other. And everyone's either playing Angry Birds or playing Words With Friends, like this mind-numbing pastimes. And I'm like -- kind of just realized like there should be more to life than just sitting here and trying to pass the days.
MALVEAUX: Yes. And you said before that your -- so your routine included tweets -- reading tweets from, what, 250 people on Twitter, you said an hour and a half on Facebook, you were texting, you were living on the cell phone. So what was it like to just all of a sudden drop all of that? REILLY: I mean the decision itself was probably one of the scariest that I've ever made. The first two weeks you were like so much anxiety about missing out. But then your mind kind of just falls into this state of freedom where all you really have is whatever is in front of you. So your relationships with people change. You really just focus on whatever you're doing at that very moment and you're not kind of always wondering what the next best thing is or kind of looking for something better than what you're doing at that very -- at that very moment. You just are forced to live with what you have right then. And it's a really cool feeling once you finally stop caring.
MALVEAUX: And I understand you did things -- really unique things. Like you would go and you would -- we saw some pictures of you writing in chalk in front of people's houses, that you would ride your bike to go and give messages to people in person?
REILLY: Yes, I experimented with a ton of stuff. I carry carrier pigeons and smoke signals at first. But, yes, then I ended up doing more realistic things, like I would send my girlfriend a cookie with like a message written in frosting, or a lot of letters written -- almost more than 100 handwritten letters over the three months. And, yes, you kind of have to be creative and figure out a way to stay in touch with the people that you care about.
MALVEAUX: Now, I understand during this three-month process you actually got back together with your girlfriend. That you guys weren't together. You were kind of on rocky times. You got back together. What did you learn about people and about your friendships, not being able to communicate through this kind of social media?
REILLY: I mean, I think that's what I'll take as the biggest take away from all this is, Facebook and social media, it's just kind of a -- there's no end game to it. All you're ever going to do is be comparing your life to other people's and there's always going to be somebody with a better job, better girlfriend, better whatever than you, but you kind of have to just realize, OK, I'm happy with what I have. And, you know, with the girlfriend, there was no jealousy. There was no like late night fighting on the phone. It was like, OK, well, I'll see you at the coffee shop at 6:00 and that's really all we had. So, it was really kind of a great new way to explore like just being happy with each other.
MALVEAUX: It's really nice. Well, congratulations, Jake. It's a good ending to your experiment there. Your social experiment. Nice to see you and your girlfriend back together. That cookie, that homemade cookie, probably won her over as well. Probably helped. Nice to know that we don't' have to -- you know, we can survive without these things. Thanks again, Jake Reilly.
Well, a family of five goes from (INAUDIBLE) middle class to living in one room in their neighbor's house. We want you to hear about this telling story of what is happening across our country today.
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MALVEAUX: Thirteen million people are out of work and looking for jobs across the country right now. Many of them haven't seen a paycheck in more than six months. That is the story for this New Jersey family of five. Here's Poppy Harlow.
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POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): One room now home to a family of five.
TALIA MOGLY (ph), UNEMPLOYED: We have the two girls who sleep on the bottom, Yaman (ph) and Isis (ph). And then Nasier (ph), our oldest, who sleeps on the top.
HARLOW: Mom and dad somehow manage to sleep together on the couch.
T. MOGLY: Most of the time, honestly, I lay on top of him.
Yaman, the littlest one, then Nasier.
HARLOW: If you think you know what long-term unemployment can look like --
ADAM MOGLY, UNEMPLOYED: Why don't you come in the kitchen.
HARLOW: Think again.
A. MOGLY: You can't understand something until you've lived it.
HARLOW: Adam and Talia Mogly brought in more than $100,000 just two years ago. By all measures, middle class, until they were both laid off. Frightening new numbers show 50 percent of the unemployed in New Jersey have been out of work for more than six months. And it's a similar story elsewhere.
A. MOGLY: I was a lead technician for Comcast.
HARLOW (on camera): You had it made?
A. MOGLY: Yes, I had it made.
T. MOGLY: I was a customer service rep.
HARLOW: What's the hardest element of this situation that you think people might not know?
A. MOGLY: It's definitely not financial. It's emotional. If you're not strong people, it could buckle things.
T. MOGLY: It could break you. Yes.
HARLOW (voice-over): The Mogly's unemployment checks have run out and they've exhausted their savings.
A. MOGLY: The only benefits that we get from the state right now is assistance with the food.
HARLOW: Human services of Morris County, New Jersey, where the Mogly's live, has seen their food stamp caseload surge 140 percent since 2007.
PHYLLIS TONNESEN, MORRIS COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES: Seeing duly unemployed families, that's unusual for us.
HARLOW (on camera): So the bottom is falling out of the middle class?
TONNESEN: Uh-huh. I believe that.
HARLOW: Have you seen something like this before?
TONNESEN: No, not like this. Never. And I've been here since 1980.
HARLOW (voice-over): This is one of the wealthiest counties in America, where the median household brings in over $91,000 a year. But when you can't find a job here, you can't get by.
T. MOGLY: You send out a lot of resumes. You pray to God someone gets back to you.
HARLOW: Five hundred resumes later, nobody has offered Talia her a job.
HARLOW (on camera): How long do you think you can go on like this?
A. MOGLY: Honestly, not very much longer.
T. MOGLY: What's up with you?
A. MOGLY: How was work?
HARLOW (voice-over): Afternoons are spent at grandmas with their three kids. Then it's back to Laura Sullivan's house, where they're living rent-free. She took them in after knowing the Mogly's less than a year.
LAURA SULLIVAN: People ask, like why would you take someone in and you have no privacy? I'm like, honestly, you want to put -- compare my privacy to a family not having a home? Like, is there any comparison?
HARLOW: It's far from ideal. But when you've been out of work this long, there's no room for ideal.
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MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye. Hey Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Suzanne.
