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Intelligence Reform Legislation Pressure May Compound Bureaucracy

Aired December 07, 2004 - 13:30   ET

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

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


TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: We're taking a look at stories now in the news.
Hundreds of U.S. Marines are heading to flood ravaged Philippines to help clean up from deadly storms. As many as 600 Marines will be assisting relief efforts in the wake of flooding that's left more than 500 people dead or missing.

In Saudi Arabia, a local wing of al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate. Gunman stormed the consulate in Jeddah yesterday killing five employees. Four of the five attackers were also killed.

An amazing story in Indiana, a 28-year-old woman survived a car crash that left her impaled by a metal fence rod. The 12 foot rod was pushed through her mouth and out the back of her neck. Ouch.

She is reported in critical condition.

If you're putting on extra pounds, you may not be getting enough z's. Two new studies show lack of sleep can boost levels of hormones linked with appetites and eating behaviors. That's something you might just want to sleep on.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: So, will baseball players play ball, or will Congress be forced to clean up its steroid mess?

Baseball players and owners today still trying to agree to tougher testing on steroids.

Our Matt Morrison, live at the players union annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hi, Matt.

MATT MORRISON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good day to you, Kyra.

As of right now, the only thing we can tell you is that there is a report of -- a published report -- of a proposal on the table where the players union representatives are considering reopening the contract that runs through 2006.

And whether they have any incentive to reopen that contract and renegotiate that baseball steroid testing policy remains up in the air right now.

PHILLIPS: Think a decision will be made? I mean, how can the players union -- it's the players that vote on this, right? So how do you convince -- it seems like kind of a double-edged sword.

MORRISON: Very much so. In the past, the players union has really held all the cards in almost every issue that they've come under negotiation. Again, THIS contract runs through 2006, their current, collective bargaining agreement. And there really is no legal way to force that to reopen.

However, due to recent events, particularly the leaked testimony in the Balco case and, of course, the credibility damage that's been done primarily over the last week, well there is a lot of incentive for these guys to get on the ball and do something to not only save face for themselves, as individuals, but for the players that -- on the individual teams, as well as the sport of baseball itself.

So I think the union chief, Donald Fehr would have to recognize this, get his constituents to come together to work with baseball on this particular issue. The credibility is shot, really. And we expect that there will be some sort of movement.

And it would be the first time ever that the players union has opened itself up and changed a policy within its contract before that contract has run out.

PHILLIPS: Matt, has anyone said anything to you about John McCain stepping up and saying, hey, if you don't do something, the federal government will? Is that irritating or bothering any of these folks?

MORRISON: Well, it's forcing, certainly, the urgency of these meetings this week. Senator McCain is expected to report here to his home state at some point while the meetings are taking place.

He says he wants to meet with the union chief, Donald Fehr. Now, there are some legitimate concerns from the union standpoint when you talk about government intervention.

First of all, what is -- what legitimate intervention can the government do to force a union in a labor agreement with its employer.

Second of all, this entire situation stems from the Balco Lab investigation where the government -- well, let's face it -- they leaked information that put a lot of baseball players who testified, supposedly under confidentiality rules, in the spotlight and has forced this issue to this point.

So the union certainly will have something to negotiate with the government saying, we'd like to cooperate, but in the past we've done that and the confidentiality was broken.

So I think there's going to be a little more give and take than Senator McCain may automatically think.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of give and take, our Matt Morrison outside of the resort there because cameras have been banned on the inside. Nobody probably wants to answer tough questions, like from Matt Morrison. OK. Thanks, Matt.

Coming up in our 03:00 hour on LIVE FROM, we're going to talk about whether baseball fans really care if players take steroids or not.

HARRIS: Well, it took weeks of compromise, persuasion and arm twisting, and finally lawmakers have reached a deal on a sweeping intelligence reform bill. But no surprise not everyone is happy.

CNN contributor and a former congressman, Bob Barr, joins me now to talk about the specifics of the bill including what's in and what's out.

And Bob, I've got to tell you, we were listening to Ed Henry's report at the top of the hour. And he was describing a meeting with House Republicans, where Jim Sensenbrenner gets up to talk about the intelligence reform bill, and the folks in the room go crazy.

My question is, will Republicans who vote for this bill be doing it with their fingers on the nose and holding their nose because they just don't like it?

BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that will happen. And of course that's nothing new.

With all of the pressure from the White House and these outside groups, it may cause a lot of Republicans that know better, that believe that immigration -- tough immigration -- reform needs to be part of whatever anti-terrorism measure we pass.

It's going to force them, perhaps, to vote for something that they really know they should not be voting for because it doesn't have those tough anti-illegal alien measures in it.

HARRIS: So, you don't like the bill?

BARR: I don't like the bill, no.

HARRIS: Why don't you like it? Is it principally because of the immigration issues that are not addressed in the bill?

BARR: It's really threefold. That's one of them. The other is, it moves us in the direction of more "big brother" over law-abiding U.S. citizens. For the first time in our nation's history, if this bill becomes law, we will have a national identification card, something that very, very few people realize.

Thirdly, I don't think that the administration or the Congress has really sorted out all of the complexities in creating a massive, unprecedented, powerful position of a national intelligence director, with power not only over foreign intelligence but domestic as well.

HARRIS: Now, the idea behind this director is that we're going to meld all of these agencies. Are we really just applying another layer of bureaucracy over these 15 intelligence agencies? BARR: Not only are we now going to ladle another layer of bureaucracy on top of all of the different bureaucracies that we have, that was such a problem that led to 9/11, but it's going to be a massive new bureaucracy.

And this is something, again, I don't think that people have really thought out. It's sort of a Jimmy Carter approach. You solve a problem with one bureaucracy by creating two.

HARRIS: Do -- are you concerned that there was really sort of one voice on intelligence reform, and that voice was the 9/11 commission and its report, and that has been the only blueprint for intelligence reform?

BARR: Funny you should mention that because that's absolutely correct. The problem is, you have this 9/11 commission that came out with recommendations and that -- because of the tremendous PR machine that the 9/11 commission had accompany its product -- that became the only game in town.

Congress basically abrogated its responsibility. They just accepted this 9/11 commission report without doing their due diligence and their own homework.

HARRIS: Duncan Hunter raised opposition to the bill. He wanted language about the chain of command. He didn't want it broken. He wanted to make sure that the intelligence got from the field, got to the commanders who could handle it and dispense with it as they needed to.

The language that was changed, it really wasn't changed dramatically. Didn't he just bow to the pressure?

BARR: I think basically what happened there is the administration and the others on the hill, the Republican leadership on the hill, probably said, we've got to go with this, Duncan.

We'll make some language changes here that will save face. But I don't think it really changed an awful lot.

HARRIS: And Jim Sensenbrenner, who held out for the immigration reforms, is he going to get that legislation next year or is it over?

BARR: It will be very, very difficult, primarily because, strange as it might seem, of opposition from the White House.

It is the White House, this administration that has been consistently the major opponent for legislation that would really crack down on the illegal aliens, illegal immigration into this country. And it's a real security problem.

HARRIS: And those driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

BARR: Right.

HARRIS: Bob Barr, good to see you, as always. BARR: Thank you.

HARRIS: OK -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN, we're getting reports a stabbing incident at the department of agriculture.

We're being told that a contract worker was stabbed this morning inside the main area within the department of agriculture building in Washington. It's being called a personal altercation, though.

Evidently, the stabbing occurred around 11:15 Eastern time in the south building. We're being told that the employee is in stable condition now at George Washington University.

The attacker has not been caught yet. But we are being told that they do have a suspect that they are looking for.

There are about 6,000 employees that work at the department of agriculture. It was closed down when this happened. Evidently, both contract workers knew one another, and this was an isolated incident, according to the federal protective services there at the department of agriculture.

We'll keep you updated on what we know.

Well, do you think you're tough dragging yourself into work with that fever and nagging cough? Well, think again because the new health etiquette on the job -- we're going to tell you what it is.

And later, superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, will his turn as eccentric bizillionaire, Howard Hughes, turn into a holiday hit?

It's the LIVE FROM interview you have yet to see right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: LIVE FROM continues after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Remember what your momma taught you?

PHILLIPS: There's a lot of things I remember that my momma taught me.

HARRIS: One of the things...

PHILLIPS: A lot of them I don't remember, too.

Sorry.

HARRIS: One of them, if you're sick, stay at home until you get better.

PHILLIPS: I always liked that one, actually.

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Like snow days. Well, it seems like a no-brainer, right? But it also seems like a lot of people are coming to work sick these days. And of course it makes all of us sick.

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, has more on why that might not be such a good idea this winter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the old days, coming into work when you were sick was a badge of honor. But these days, it's kind of a badge of stupidity because one sick worker can infect many others and then...

ROSLYN STONE, CORPORATE WELLNESS INC.: You go outside of your office, and you get others sick. They get -- they may get sick. Their children may get sick. Their children go to school and may get your children sick. And it becomes a vicious cycle.

COHEN: And this year especially companies are trying to get the word out to stay home if you have the flu. That's because in years past, about 60 percent of businesses offered flu shots to their employees.

But this year's shortage of shots forced companies to cancel their vaccination programs leaving work places more vulnerable than usual. It may sound obvious to stay home when you're sick, but one study shows 90 percent of workers come in when they don't feel well.

Roslyn Stone is chairwoman of the Center for Disease Control's work place flu prevention group.

STONE: An employee is out for two or three days, and they feel the pressure to come back to work. They know their work is piling up. They know other people are handling parts of their workload. They think that other people might, you know, be thinking poorly of them.

COHEN: According to one online workplace poll, 27 percent of workers said they had too much work to stay home when they're sick; 24 percent came into work sick because they didn't want to seem disloyal to their employer; and 17 percent said they were saving their sick days for an emergency.

And even when people do stay home, sometimes they don't stay home long enough.

STONE: So they come back to work when, in fact, maybe they should be out for a week to two weeks because they are still contagious. They are still not at nearly 100 percent. COHEN: So, next time you feel a cold or the flu coming on, think about leaving work. Your boss may thank you for it.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Grammy nominations and another musical moment that you may not forget, even if you try.

PHILLIPS: Trust me, you won't forget this.

We're going to re-live a television moment that still mystifies all of us.

Find out what Tommy Lee and the guys of Motley Crue had to say to our Larry King, next.

SCHAFFLER: I'm Rhonda Schaffler in New York. I have the scoop on freebies one airline is giving away to try to lure more first class flyers.

It's coming up on LIVE FROM. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Good stuff.

Grammy nominations out this morning, Kanye West will be the one to beat when they hand out the statuettes next year. The "College Dropout" artist snagged 10 nominations, including album of the year.

And listen to the lyrics. Good stuff.

Hot on his heel is Alicia Keys and Usher, who can both say, yeah, after netting eight nominations apiece.

And it's not just a cliche when you refer to this guy as the late, great Ray Charles. As you know, Charles passed away in June. But thanks to his duet, album "Genius Loves Company," the legendary artist is up for seven posthumous Grammy awards.

Green Day can thank "American Idiot" for six nominations.

And even former president, Bill Clinton, is up for a Grammy...

HARRIS: Oh, my.

PHILLIPS: ... for his narrated version of his autobiography "My Life."

The awards will be handed out in Las Angeles on February 13.

HARRIS: And in the absence of a full moon last night, we're at a bit of a loss to explain an unusual show biz -- a convergence is coming together here. PHILLIPS: I thought I was dreaming.

HARRIS: Did you? Larry King, Motley Crue. In case you missed it, the band chose Larry King's show to announce its reunion tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY LEE, MOTLEY CRUE: All the promoters are calling us and saying that all the fans wanted this, so we all got together, and we pulled it together in true Motley Crue fashion like -- the fans want it, so let's do it.

MICK MARS, MOTLEY CRUE: Give it up to the fans. We made some new music. We did a new video. And we're going to go out on tour.

LARRY KING, CNN "LARRY KING LIVE" HOST: But Vince, you had a bad breakup. What's going to change now?

VINCE NEIL, MOTLEY CRUE: Well, we still hate each other, but we're tolerating it.

No, we -- the good thing is, me and Tommy have found a common bond in Pete Agressio.

KING: Do you expect things to be a lot better now, Vince?

NEIL: I -- you know what, it was never bad in the first place.

KING: No?

NEIL: It was just -- it was kind of -- no, it was kind of like who squeezed the toothpaste, you know, from the bottom or from the top.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I was trying to see what Tommy's tattoo said. I got a little distracted. Did you see?

HARRIS: No, I didn't.

PHILLIPS: Mayhem.

HARRIS: Is that what that was?

PHILLIPS: Mayhem in the AM (ph)?

HARRIS: Oh, the common bond is more money to be made. That's the common bond.

PHILLIPS: All right. I wonder if we're having any mayhem at the New York Stock Exchange. What do you think?

HARRIS: Let's check in with Rhonda and find out.

Hi, Rhonda. SCHAFFLER: Hi, there is never mayhem here.

But, guess what I wanted to tell you about? Free stuff -- imagine this -- airlines trying yet something else to try to get your business. And by the way, this is something for passengers who like to spend money.

Continental's going to be giving away some freebies on flights. But it is for those first class passengers. Passengers flying first class from Newark, New Jersey to L.A., San Francisco, San Diego or Seattle will take home a luxury goody bag.

Those routes are especially competitive for the airlines. And the carriers are really trying to increase amenities without substantially increasing the cost.

So what's in the goodie bag? Things like perfume, skin care products and books.

As for what's happening here on Wall Street, stocks are heading south even as oil prices retreat. The Dow Industrial is off 67 points. NASDAQ is down 0.75 of a percent.

That's it from Wall Street.

Coming up on the next hour of LIVE FROM, the worst may not be over on the jobs front as those job cuts keep piling up. Details on that a little bit later.

Kyra, Tony, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rhonda.

Also coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM, a star of Titanic proportions.

HARRIS: A special LIVE FROM interview with Leonardo DiCaprio. He is promoting his new movie, "The Aviator."

PHILLIPS: LIVE FROM's "Hour of Superpower," up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired December 7, 2004 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: We're taking a look at stories now in the news.
Hundreds of U.S. Marines are heading to flood ravaged Philippines to help clean up from deadly storms. As many as 600 Marines will be assisting relief efforts in the wake of flooding that's left more than 500 people dead or missing.

In Saudi Arabia, a local wing of al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate. Gunman stormed the consulate in Jeddah yesterday killing five employees. Four of the five attackers were also killed.

An amazing story in Indiana, a 28-year-old woman survived a car crash that left her impaled by a metal fence rod. The 12 foot rod was pushed through her mouth and out the back of her neck. Ouch.

She is reported in critical condition.

If you're putting on extra pounds, you may not be getting enough z's. Two new studies show lack of sleep can boost levels of hormones linked with appetites and eating behaviors. That's something you might just want to sleep on.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: So, will baseball players play ball, or will Congress be forced to clean up its steroid mess?

Baseball players and owners today still trying to agree to tougher testing on steroids.

Our Matt Morrison, live at the players union annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Hi, Matt.

MATT MORRISON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good day to you, Kyra.

As of right now, the only thing we can tell you is that there is a report of -- a published report -- of a proposal on the table where the players union representatives are considering reopening the contract that runs through 2006.

And whether they have any incentive to reopen that contract and renegotiate that baseball steroid testing policy remains up in the air right now.

PHILLIPS: Think a decision will be made? I mean, how can the players union -- it's the players that vote on this, right? So how do you convince -- it seems like kind of a double-edged sword.

MORRISON: Very much so. In the past, the players union has really held all the cards in almost every issue that they've come under negotiation. Again, THIS contract runs through 2006, their current, collective bargaining agreement. And there really is no legal way to force that to reopen.

However, due to recent events, particularly the leaked testimony in the Balco case and, of course, the credibility damage that's been done primarily over the last week, well there is a lot of incentive for these guys to get on the ball and do something to not only save face for themselves, as individuals, but for the players that -- on the individual teams, as well as the sport of baseball itself.

So I think the union chief, Donald Fehr would have to recognize this, get his constituents to come together to work with baseball on this particular issue. The credibility is shot, really. And we expect that there will be some sort of movement.

And it would be the first time ever that the players union has opened itself up and changed a policy within its contract before that contract has run out.

PHILLIPS: Matt, has anyone said anything to you about John McCain stepping up and saying, hey, if you don't do something, the federal government will? Is that irritating or bothering any of these folks?

MORRISON: Well, it's forcing, certainly, the urgency of these meetings this week. Senator McCain is expected to report here to his home state at some point while the meetings are taking place.

He says he wants to meet with the union chief, Donald Fehr. Now, there are some legitimate concerns from the union standpoint when you talk about government intervention.

First of all, what is -- what legitimate intervention can the government do to force a union in a labor agreement with its employer.

Second of all, this entire situation stems from the Balco Lab investigation where the government -- well, let's face it -- they leaked information that put a lot of baseball players who testified, supposedly under confidentiality rules, in the spotlight and has forced this issue to this point.

So the union certainly will have something to negotiate with the government saying, we'd like to cooperate, but in the past we've done that and the confidentiality was broken.

So I think there's going to be a little more give and take than Senator McCain may automatically think.

PHILLIPS: Speaking of give and take, our Matt Morrison outside of the resort there because cameras have been banned on the inside. Nobody probably wants to answer tough questions, like from Matt Morrison. OK. Thanks, Matt.

Coming up in our 03:00 hour on LIVE FROM, we're going to talk about whether baseball fans really care if players take steroids or not.

HARRIS: Well, it took weeks of compromise, persuasion and arm twisting, and finally lawmakers have reached a deal on a sweeping intelligence reform bill. But no surprise not everyone is happy.

CNN contributor and a former congressman, Bob Barr, joins me now to talk about the specifics of the bill including what's in and what's out.

And Bob, I've got to tell you, we were listening to Ed Henry's report at the top of the hour. And he was describing a meeting with House Republicans, where Jim Sensenbrenner gets up to talk about the intelligence reform bill, and the folks in the room go crazy.

My question is, will Republicans who vote for this bill be doing it with their fingers on the nose and holding their nose because they just don't like it?

BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that will happen. And of course that's nothing new.

With all of the pressure from the White House and these outside groups, it may cause a lot of Republicans that know better, that believe that immigration -- tough immigration -- reform needs to be part of whatever anti-terrorism measure we pass.

It's going to force them, perhaps, to vote for something that they really know they should not be voting for because it doesn't have those tough anti-illegal alien measures in it.

HARRIS: So, you don't like the bill?

BARR: I don't like the bill, no.

HARRIS: Why don't you like it? Is it principally because of the immigration issues that are not addressed in the bill?

BARR: It's really threefold. That's one of them. The other is, it moves us in the direction of more "big brother" over law-abiding U.S. citizens. For the first time in our nation's history, if this bill becomes law, we will have a national identification card, something that very, very few people realize.

Thirdly, I don't think that the administration or the Congress has really sorted out all of the complexities in creating a massive, unprecedented, powerful position of a national intelligence director, with power not only over foreign intelligence but domestic as well.

HARRIS: Now, the idea behind this director is that we're going to meld all of these agencies. Are we really just applying another layer of bureaucracy over these 15 intelligence agencies? BARR: Not only are we now going to ladle another layer of bureaucracy on top of all of the different bureaucracies that we have, that was such a problem that led to 9/11, but it's going to be a massive new bureaucracy.

And this is something, again, I don't think that people have really thought out. It's sort of a Jimmy Carter approach. You solve a problem with one bureaucracy by creating two.

HARRIS: Do -- are you concerned that there was really sort of one voice on intelligence reform, and that voice was the 9/11 commission and its report, and that has been the only blueprint for intelligence reform?

BARR: Funny you should mention that because that's absolutely correct. The problem is, you have this 9/11 commission that came out with recommendations and that -- because of the tremendous PR machine that the 9/11 commission had accompany its product -- that became the only game in town.

Congress basically abrogated its responsibility. They just accepted this 9/11 commission report without doing their due diligence and their own homework.

HARRIS: Duncan Hunter raised opposition to the bill. He wanted language about the chain of command. He didn't want it broken. He wanted to make sure that the intelligence got from the field, got to the commanders who could handle it and dispense with it as they needed to.

The language that was changed, it really wasn't changed dramatically. Didn't he just bow to the pressure?

BARR: I think basically what happened there is the administration and the others on the hill, the Republican leadership on the hill, probably said, we've got to go with this, Duncan.

We'll make some language changes here that will save face. But I don't think it really changed an awful lot.

HARRIS: And Jim Sensenbrenner, who held out for the immigration reforms, is he going to get that legislation next year or is it over?

BARR: It will be very, very difficult, primarily because, strange as it might seem, of opposition from the White House.

It is the White House, this administration that has been consistently the major opponent for legislation that would really crack down on the illegal aliens, illegal immigration into this country. And it's a real security problem.

HARRIS: And those driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

BARR: Right.

HARRIS: Bob Barr, good to see you, as always. BARR: Thank you.

HARRIS: OK -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: This just in to CNN, we're getting reports a stabbing incident at the department of agriculture.

We're being told that a contract worker was stabbed this morning inside the main area within the department of agriculture building in Washington. It's being called a personal altercation, though.

Evidently, the stabbing occurred around 11:15 Eastern time in the south building. We're being told that the employee is in stable condition now at George Washington University.

The attacker has not been caught yet. But we are being told that they do have a suspect that they are looking for.

There are about 6,000 employees that work at the department of agriculture. It was closed down when this happened. Evidently, both contract workers knew one another, and this was an isolated incident, according to the federal protective services there at the department of agriculture.

We'll keep you updated on what we know.

Well, do you think you're tough dragging yourself into work with that fever and nagging cough? Well, think again because the new health etiquette on the job -- we're going to tell you what it is.

And later, superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, will his turn as eccentric bizillionaire, Howard Hughes, turn into a holiday hit?

It's the LIVE FROM interview you have yet to see right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: LIVE FROM continues after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Remember what your momma taught you?

PHILLIPS: There's a lot of things I remember that my momma taught me.

HARRIS: One of the things...

PHILLIPS: A lot of them I don't remember, too.

Sorry.

HARRIS: One of them, if you're sick, stay at home until you get better.

PHILLIPS: I always liked that one, actually.

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Like snow days. Well, it seems like a no-brainer, right? But it also seems like a lot of people are coming to work sick these days. And of course it makes all of us sick.

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, has more on why that might not be such a good idea this winter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the old days, coming into work when you were sick was a badge of honor. But these days, it's kind of a badge of stupidity because one sick worker can infect many others and then...

ROSLYN STONE, CORPORATE WELLNESS INC.: You go outside of your office, and you get others sick. They get -- they may get sick. Their children may get sick. Their children go to school and may get your children sick. And it becomes a vicious cycle.

COHEN: And this year especially companies are trying to get the word out to stay home if you have the flu. That's because in years past, about 60 percent of businesses offered flu shots to their employees.

But this year's shortage of shots forced companies to cancel their vaccination programs leaving work places more vulnerable than usual. It may sound obvious to stay home when you're sick, but one study shows 90 percent of workers come in when they don't feel well.

Roslyn Stone is chairwoman of the Center for Disease Control's work place flu prevention group.

STONE: An employee is out for two or three days, and they feel the pressure to come back to work. They know their work is piling up. They know other people are handling parts of their workload. They think that other people might, you know, be thinking poorly of them.

COHEN: According to one online workplace poll, 27 percent of workers said they had too much work to stay home when they're sick; 24 percent came into work sick because they didn't want to seem disloyal to their employer; and 17 percent said they were saving their sick days for an emergency.

And even when people do stay home, sometimes they don't stay home long enough.

STONE: So they come back to work when, in fact, maybe they should be out for a week to two weeks because they are still contagious. They are still not at nearly 100 percent. COHEN: So, next time you feel a cold or the flu coming on, think about leaving work. Your boss may thank you for it.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Grammy nominations and another musical moment that you may not forget, even if you try.

PHILLIPS: Trust me, you won't forget this.

We're going to re-live a television moment that still mystifies all of us.

Find out what Tommy Lee and the guys of Motley Crue had to say to our Larry King, next.

SCHAFFLER: I'm Rhonda Schaffler in New York. I have the scoop on freebies one airline is giving away to try to lure more first class flyers.

It's coming up on LIVE FROM. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Good stuff.

Grammy nominations out this morning, Kanye West will be the one to beat when they hand out the statuettes next year. The "College Dropout" artist snagged 10 nominations, including album of the year.

And listen to the lyrics. Good stuff.

Hot on his heel is Alicia Keys and Usher, who can both say, yeah, after netting eight nominations apiece.

And it's not just a cliche when you refer to this guy as the late, great Ray Charles. As you know, Charles passed away in June. But thanks to his duet, album "Genius Loves Company," the legendary artist is up for seven posthumous Grammy awards.

Green Day can thank "American Idiot" for six nominations.

And even former president, Bill Clinton, is up for a Grammy...

HARRIS: Oh, my.

PHILLIPS: ... for his narrated version of his autobiography "My Life."

The awards will be handed out in Las Angeles on February 13.

HARRIS: And in the absence of a full moon last night, we're at a bit of a loss to explain an unusual show biz -- a convergence is coming together here. PHILLIPS: I thought I was dreaming.

HARRIS: Did you? Larry King, Motley Crue. In case you missed it, the band chose Larry King's show to announce its reunion tour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY LEE, MOTLEY CRUE: All the promoters are calling us and saying that all the fans wanted this, so we all got together, and we pulled it together in true Motley Crue fashion like -- the fans want it, so let's do it.

MICK MARS, MOTLEY CRUE: Give it up to the fans. We made some new music. We did a new video. And we're going to go out on tour.

LARRY KING, CNN "LARRY KING LIVE" HOST: But Vince, you had a bad breakup. What's going to change now?

VINCE NEIL, MOTLEY CRUE: Well, we still hate each other, but we're tolerating it.

No, we -- the good thing is, me and Tommy have found a common bond in Pete Agressio.

KING: Do you expect things to be a lot better now, Vince?

NEIL: I -- you know what, it was never bad in the first place.

KING: No?

NEIL: It was just -- it was kind of -- no, it was kind of like who squeezed the toothpaste, you know, from the bottom or from the top.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I was trying to see what Tommy's tattoo said. I got a little distracted. Did you see?

HARRIS: No, I didn't.

PHILLIPS: Mayhem.

HARRIS: Is that what that was?

PHILLIPS: Mayhem in the AM (ph)?

HARRIS: Oh, the common bond is more money to be made. That's the common bond.

PHILLIPS: All right. I wonder if we're having any mayhem at the New York Stock Exchange. What do you think?

HARRIS: Let's check in with Rhonda and find out.

Hi, Rhonda. SCHAFFLER: Hi, there is never mayhem here.

But, guess what I wanted to tell you about? Free stuff -- imagine this -- airlines trying yet something else to try to get your business. And by the way, this is something for passengers who like to spend money.

Continental's going to be giving away some freebies on flights. But it is for those first class passengers. Passengers flying first class from Newark, New Jersey to L.A., San Francisco, San Diego or Seattle will take home a luxury goody bag.

Those routes are especially competitive for the airlines. And the carriers are really trying to increase amenities without substantially increasing the cost.

So what's in the goodie bag? Things like perfume, skin care products and books.

As for what's happening here on Wall Street, stocks are heading south even as oil prices retreat. The Dow Industrial is off 67 points. NASDAQ is down 0.75 of a percent.

That's it from Wall Street.

Coming up on the next hour of LIVE FROM, the worst may not be over on the jobs front as those job cuts keep piling up. Details on that a little bit later.

Kyra, Tony, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rhonda.

Also coming up in our second hour of LIVE FROM, a star of Titanic proportions.

HARRIS: A special LIVE FROM interview with Leonardo DiCaprio. He is promoting his new movie, "The Aviator."

PHILLIPS: LIVE FROM's "Hour of Superpower," up next.

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