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CNN Sunday Morning
Caribbean Devastation; Russian Nuclear Submarine Deaths; Gay Marriage Ban; Inauguration Ticket Demand; Unemployment Struggles; Obama's White House Visit; Economy; Dying Boy's Last Wish; Veteran Cares for Graves
Aired November 09, 2008 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Devastation in the Caribbean. This morning in Haiti, the desperate search for more survivors after school collapse. And in Cuba, Paloma roars ashore as a Category 4 hurricane, although it has been downgraded.
T. J. HOLMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Downgraded substantially. Also, we've got a story developing this morning. Twenty people killed onboard a Russian nuclear submarine.
NGUYEN: Are you looking for tickets to the inauguration? Well today, we do have a warning for you. You better not pay for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a great time. And until it's time -- my time has come, I'm going to keep having a great time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You will remember this story this morning. A young man you need to meet, 11-year-old with a last wish. And we will tell you what it is here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Glad you all could be with us. I'm T. J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. It is Sunday, November 9, so let's get to it.
NGUYEN: Yeah, we want to start in Haiti this morning, however, heartbreaking scene there, searchers looking for possible survivors, also pulling out the dead this from that school building collapse.
On the sidelines, anxious parents holding pictures of their children, smiling children. The search is going on around the clock and our David Mattingly is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Official estimates are placing the number of children who could be buried in all of this rubble at 100 to 300. This three-story school building came tumbling down during school hours on Friday morning. So far, over 100 have been injured with serious head injuries and broken bones. There is a death toll, official death toll that's over 80. That is expected to go higher. Earlier this evening, we were watching U. S. crews, search and rescue crews, going through the rubble, punching holes in some of the areas and forcing in small video cameras, looking for signs of life. We wish we could tell you differently, but they are not finding any signs of life at this hour. But we're told that is not a reason to give up hope.
MICHAEL ISTVAN, USAID SEARCH AND RESCUE: Throughout history, there's been people found 48, 72 hours later still alive, in good shape. Are they injured or are they just trapped? So, you know, those are the things that we have to think about.
MATTINGLY: The biggest concern for search and rescue operations right now is the rubble itself. They're all worried that there might be some kind of vibration that would cause these massive pieces of concrete to slip and cause more harm to the people who are here. So far, that hasn't happened, and they've taken steps to shore up some of these large pieces to prevent that from happening. But they've got a long way to go and so far, no signs of life at this scene, but they are looking for signs of hope.
David Mattingly, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The U. S. military helping out, as well, donating $10,000 in supplies to Haitian hospitals. Team from the united nations and the group Doctors Without Borders are there as well. Haiti has been stretched thin after hurt tans and tropical storms in the past few months.
NGUYEN: Well this morning, Tropical Storm Paloma is in the Caribbean. Yesterday at this time, it was a powerful Category 4 hurricane, but things have changed. So, let's get a check on it from CNN's Reynolds Wolf in the Hurricane Center.
Boy, what a difference a day makes.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm telling you. And how these things have changed, I mean, the storm yesterday, as you mentioned, was strong (INAUDIBLE), it was a Category 4 storm, now a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles-an-hour.
I'll tell you, if I didn't give you that information and you would have just taken a look at it with our satellite, you can just see this thing shearing apart as it crosses over parts of the eastern Cuba, now moving into parts of the southern Bahamas.
Now, even though this storm is pulling away, there's still a huge cleanup across Cuba. You got to remember the Caymans, they got rocked about 24, 48 hours ago, also. But the storm is not expected to cause much more damage, in fact, it is expected to meander a bit in the southern Bahamas.
As we take a look at the forecast path from the National Hurricane Center, you can see that as we get into Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, the storm just continues to weaken. By the time we get to Wednesday, maximum sustained winds only 25 miles-an-hour, and thankfully the storm does not pose a threat to United States. There's a reason for that. The reason why it's not going to pose a threat is because this frontal boundary the we see extending off the eastern seaboard, this frontal boundary is going to push that storm deeper into the Atlantic, but at the same time, high pressure forming behind it is going to give us pretty cool and dry conditions for parts of the southeast.
If you're going to Rome, Georgia today, maybe going out in Jefferson, this is going to be a great day for you. Part of it north of the Great Lakes, we're talking about lake-effect snowfall. And back in the Rockies, snow time up in Snowbird. That is the latest from your forecast, let's send it back to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Reynolds.
HOLMES: Thanks, Rey.
WOLF: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: You know, out in California, thousands, they are standing up against a newly passed measure that bans gay marriage in the state. Street protests taking place in numerous cities. Well, CNN's Ted Rowlands has the story on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWD: Yes, we can!
TED ROWLANDS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Up and down the state of California, same-sex couples and their supporters hit the streets in protest because voters appear to have said yes to Proposition 8, which outlaws gay marriage.
In Palm Springs, they gathered at city hall. In San Francisco, thousands marched in the streets of the Castro district. In Los Angeles and Long Beach, protesters clogged intersections with thousands of people.
Organizers say, expect more because people are angry.
IAN THOMPSON, ANSWER COALITION: There have to be more demonstrations. There should be a national march for equal marriage rights.
ROWLANDS: Rose Greene and Helena Rovin (ph) were married after the state Supreme Court made it legal earlier this year. They say they can't believe people voted to take that right away from them.
ROSE GREEN, GAY ACTIVIST: This was not a gift, this is our constitution. And what our constitution says is that we are to be treated equally, all people.
ROWLANDS: But Proposition 8 changes the state constitution to ban gay marriage. Demonstrators have targeted Mormons with protests in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City because the church pumped millions of dollars into the "Yes on 8" campaign. The Mormon Church issued a statement saying, in part, quote, "it's unfortunate the church is being singled out for speaking up as part of its democratic right in a free election. "
While it is clear supporters of gay marriage are upset, it's unclear what they can do about it. Legal experts say they've likely lost the battle in California. What is still up in the air, are the marriages of thousands of couples like Rose Green and Helena Rovin, who tied the knot when it was legal.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR LEGAL ANALYST: The hottest legal question in California right now is, are the existing gay marriages valid? Anyone who says they know for sure the answer to that question is not telling the truth, because this is a very open question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No on 8!
ROWLANDS: Protest organizers say they plan to keep fighting until gay marriage is legal.
Ted Rowland, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. You might have great cholesterol levels, might be outstanding, but still, it might be a good thing for you to take cholesterol-lowering drugs because they could drastically reduce your risk of heart disease. That is according to a study we just got a few minutes ago. Researchers tested people with good cholesterol levels who also had elevated levels of a certain protein that indicate inflammation in the body. Well, the study found participants cut their risk of heart attack, stroke and death by, get this, 50 percent. The study was funded by the maker of a cholesterol drug.
Well, thousands of people coming together to search for Caylee Anthony. Volunteers back at it in Orlando, Florida. The 3-year-old has not been seen since July. Her mother, Casey Anthony, facing first degree murder charges, she's also accused of lying to investigators looking into her daughter's disappearance. She has pleaded not guilty.
NGUYEN: Also want to tell you about this, disaster at sea aboard a Russian nuclear sub. Reports this morning say that both crew members and civilians were killed.
(BEGIN GRAPHIC) Nearly 20 percent of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan - 300,000 in all - report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment. " RAND Corporation Study, April 17, 2008
(END GRAPHIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CPO SUSAN HAMMOND, NATIONAL GUARD: Hi. I'm Chief Petty Officer Susan Hammond from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and I'm deployed with Command Security Transition Command Afghanistan, here in Kabul. I'd like to extend Veterans Day greetings to my shipmates with the Chief Petty Officers Association of Oklahoma City, Fleet Reserve Association Branch 268, as well as my reserve friends at the Navy Operations Support Center, Oklahoma City. Thank you all for your service to our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, Russian navy officials, they are trying to figure out what caused a fire extinguishing system to malfunction onboard a nuclear submarine in the Sea of Japan. At least 20 people were killed. Russian news reports say 17 of those killed were civilians, members of the shipyard crew, 21 people were injured. And we have learned that Freon gas released during that accident may have caused those injuries and deaths.
Now, eight years ago, you may recall, all 118 crew members died when a Russian sub sank after an onboard torpedo exploded.
HOLMES: All right, a church fire at a predominately black church in Massachusetts is being called arson; however, investigators say they don't think it was a hate crime. The Bishop at Macedonia Church of God and Christ says the church building suffered some $2 million in damage, and he says that church, they will rebuild.
NGUYEN: Police officers in Texas are hoping that this surveillance video can help them track down the culprit of scribbled messages of hate at a Kilgore high school. Kilgore police discovered this graffiti at a local state park on the walls inside the school's guy. They believe it refers to the historic election of the nation's first black president. They also suspect the racially charged messages were put there by adults.
Well, if you want to see the presidential inauguration, you'll have to fork over a lot of cash. Well, CNN's Brianna Keilar reports you won't find many freebies this time around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the hottest ticket in town, the 2009 presidential inauguration and it's free, at least it's supposed to be.
(on camera): How much would one of the VIP seats be?
$13,000?
(voice-over): Huge demand has turned traditionally a giveaway into a thriving online marketplace. Our quick search of the Internet found site after site, many of them legitimate ticket brokers promising a view of Barack Obama being sworn in as the next president for a precious price.
(on camera): I'm looking at reserved VIP, $23,377?
(voice-over): Howard Gantman is the Senate staffer tasked with pulling off Washington's biggest event.
(on camera): Is it against the spirit of the event for these tickets to be sold?
HOWARD GANTMAN, INAUGURATION PLANNER: Well, we think it's absolutely insane to be selling those tickets. We understand some people want to try to make a buck, but for those people thinking of buying tickets, buyer beware.
KEILAR (voice-over): Ticket brokers are middlemen, selling tickets they say they buy from Hill staffers or people who get them free of charge through members of Congress. But because those tickets are only given out at the last minute, Gantman says brokers can't be sure they will get as many as they've sold.
(on camera): You could end up in a hotel room with nothing more than a refund.
GANTMAN: Quite possibly. There are no tickets available now. The tickets will be distributed less than a week before the event.
KEILAR: Congressional staffers caught selling theirs could be fired.
GANTMAN: We are going to be alerting all members of congress that it is against the code of ethics for staff or for members to sell these tickets to the public.
KEILAR: But ultimately, Gantman says it's inevitable some will be sold and some people will pay cut-throat prices to witness history.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, we know Barack Obama is putting together his transition team. He's getting a lot of advice these days. Well, we got a guest coming up who's going to give him some more advice, a guest who says he needs to be a transformative figure or he'll be a failed president. Stay here.
(BEGIN GRAPHIC)
Living U. S. Veterans
23. 6 million - total.
(END GRAPHIC)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
According to the World Health Organization, more than 33 million people around the world are suffering from HIV or AIDS. We'll introduce you now to a woman rising to the top not only to save life, but an entire communities.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Dr. Helene Gayle has dedicated nearly half her life studying and trying to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.
DR. HELENE GAYLE, PRESIDENT/CEO, CARE USA: When I first came to the Centers for Disease Control in the mid-eighty, many people told me to stay away from HIV. They said it was just this kind of mysterious, strange disease.
HOLMES: But she wasn't afraid of the unknown.
GAYLE: I grew up with a mother who had a long-term and chronic pretty severe mental illness. I have an appreciation for the sense of stigma, the sense of shame that goes along with illnesses that people don't want to talk about.
HOLMES: Gayle went on to study medicine and later got a masters degree in public health. She has traveled extensively throughout the Third World. Her goal is to cure communities, not just individuals, of disease.
In 2006, Gail became the first African-American and first female to head CARE USA, a organization devoted to fight global poverty.
GAYLE: I want people to be able to believe that their children can have a brighter future, that expecting good health is something that's a right, not a privilege.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK, 1994. That was the last time the unemployment rate was as high as it is right now, 6.5 percent. Want to give you a tally of jobs cut just this week. Circuit City with 7,300 layoffs, Ford at 2,600, they top the list of those with layoffs. Fidelity, Mattel and GlaxoSmithKine also handing out pink slips. All told, 15,000 people were show the door this week.
And you know, those folks joined thousands who filed for unemployment last month.
HOLMES: And as a result now, as you hear, that unemployment line is at a 14-year high and finances, really low for so many families, Ed Lavandera reporting for us from Dallas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over here, ever here! Get him!
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there's a silver lining to unemployment, this is it for Alan Cannefax, helping coach his son's football team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get him, Connor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, fumble
LAVANDERA: Cannefax lost his job as an Internet creative director six months ago. The severance package runs out next month. He and his wife are making a list of what will be cut from the family budget. The stress is building.
ALAN CANNEFAX, UNEMPLOYED WORKER: A couple of days ago I just went through a bout of anxiety and thinking you know, oh, my gosh, where are we going to go? What are we going to do? This is my Web site. . .
LAVANDERA: Cannefax created a Web site to showcase his work, ThisDudeRocks. com. He networks and picks up freelance work. He's only been invited to two interviews. He finds companies are laying off just as quickly as they might hire.
CABBEFAX: It's tough. Once the door you see is open, and all of a sudden you walk up to it, and it's suddenly shut.
LAVANDERA: Business doors across the country are closing, tens of thousands of jobs disappearing, leaving workers everywhere feeling desperate, like at this job fair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My usual response that I'm getting these days is my resume looks good, but people don't have the money to hire me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I've already consoled myself to the fact that I'm not probably going to find the same type of paying job.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Many people looking for work say they're amazed at how many different types of people are hurting, and those who do have jobs say they constantly worry that they'll be the next victim of the latest rounds of cutbacks or layoffs.
ASHLEY PORTFILIO (ph), UNEMPLOYED WORKER: I know it might have to be entry level, but. . .
LAVANDERA: Ashley Portfilio (ph) has seen her commission-based income cut in half. She works in the mortgage industry and even with a master's degree, the job hunt is dismal.
PORTFOLIO: I'm not hearing back from anybody. I've applied for 150 jobs.
LAVANDERA: Alan Cannefax says he'll look for temporary retail work this holiday season so until the next year comes around, Cannefax will enjoy football season.
CANNEFAX: Connor, Connor, Connor, he got away. He got away. It's OK, son. Come on.
LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right, so how do the Obama's prepare for their new digs?
HOLMES: You have to, like everybody, you take a tour of the place first.
NGUYEN: Check it out.
HOLMES: See if it feels good to you. I don't think they have a choice, though.
NGUYEN: No. They're going there not matter what.
HOLMES: No one is going to would pass up this house. And they may get some advice from the current residents of that house.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Two-hundred children missing in the collapse of that school building in Haiti. Friday's collapse of the three-story building killed at least 84, injured another 150. The owner of the school has now turned himself in to authorities. He has been detained, no charges have just yet we've got word of, however. Haiti's president at the site of the massive search effort says the building did not meet building regulations. He now wants a review of those regulations.
NGUYEN: let's talk about some weather out there, because things were really churning up yesterday. Category 4 storm called Paloma, but today a little different. Reynolds Wolf has been watching this. This has really kept a lot of folks on edge, Reynolds, but today the story's much different.
WOLF: Yeah, it really is. I mean, what a transformation we've seen just over the last couple hours. The storm yesterday morning was making its way right past the Cayman islands as a Category 4 storm, one of the strongest storms on the planet and then as we fast forward to this morning, take a look. I think have you can see over the past couple hours, moving over Cuba and then over the open waters, it just began to disintegrate. One of the reasons why is because of its interaction with the land, with Cuba, it's away from its primary power source, that being that warm water. And now it continues to diminish. Winds still packing a bit of a punch, around 70 miles-per-hour, some gusts have been up to 110 miles-per-hour.
And the latest path from the National Hurricane Center brings the storm to the southern Bahamas, kind of veers around a little bit into Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. By Wednesday, 25 mile-per-hour winds and then that pretty much should be the end of the story.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Really, all right, I'm going to be making a phone call once we're done here. Thank you Reynolds.
WOLF: Got to watch out for your mom.
NGUYEN: I appreciate it, and she does, too.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: Love these personal forecasts.
OK, this news is really disturbing. At least 20 people dead onboard a Russian nuclear submarine in the Sea of Japan. We want to get you the latest now. CNN's Matthew Chance joins us by phone from Moscow.
Matthew, again, 20 people dead. What happened here?
MATHEW CHANCE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well those are the latest casualties, Betty. And because of the kind of scant official information that's coming to us from the Russian defense ministry and from the Kremlin and from others, it's proving quite difficult to piece together exactly what were the circumstances of this apparent accident.
But it seems that this (INAUDIBLE) nuclear-powered submarine was being put through its paces in the Sea of Japan off Russia's eastern coast, in its far east region, when there seems to have been some kind of malfunction with its fire extinguishing system, and a certain amount of Freon gas leached into areas which were being serviced by civilians and military personnel. That led to them being suffocated, it seems, according to the information we have, because the Freon gas said to extinguish any trace of oxygen.
NGUYEN: A field test is what they were doing, according to reports, but 17 of those fatalities -- you alluded to this -- were civilians. What were they shipping yard crew? Who were these people?
CHANCE: Well, this submarine, because it was still being constructed and put through its final paces before was actually inducted into the navy, well, had a number of civilians onboard including technical staff from the shipyard in the Russian far east, where it was being built.
And so, it seems that the civilians onboard were kind of technical staff and shipbuilders there to iron out any last-minute problems before this submarine was actually commissioned into the navy, if, indeed, that's what it was meant to be doing. So, that's who we believe the civilians are.
NGUYEN: All right, and this is a Russian nuclear submarine, any news about the submarine's reactor?
CHANCE: Yeah. It seems the rest of the submarine was unaffected by this, it seems to have been confined, the malfunction, to the fire extinguisher. According to Russian, military officials who have been commenting on this, they say that the reactor was not affected at all, and indeed, the functioning of the submarine wasn't affected at all, it returned to its port near the Russian city of Vladivostok quite soon after this accident took place, and is seems as no actual leakage of radioactive material at all.
NGUYEN: Well, that is good to know. CNN's Matthew Chance, joining us by phone from Moscow, today. Thank you, Matthew . HOLMES: All right. Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, going to get a new look at their new crib on Monday. That is their new crib, the White House. Yes, an interesting meeting being set up, there.
Jessica Yellin in Chicago, where the Obama's are right now.
Jessica, hello, there. Oh, I was expecting to see a hologram possibly, but I see you in the flesh. So, it's nice to see you. But tell us, how is this thing going to go? Are they, you know, they're going to go by, it's supposed to be pretty informal, kind of just to check out the house in some ways, but a little business needs to be talked about.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a little business will get done tomorrow. What we're going to expect is a formal sort of greeting ceremony. There'll be some cameras out there where the president and first lady will greet President-elect Obama and Mrs. Obama on the south side of the White House, that's where the helicopter usually lands and takes off.
We'll see video of Obama and President Bush walking down the colonnade, that where that famous picture of JFK, when he was president, with furrowed brow, that famous long walk. They'll be down walking along there and into the Oval Office. A private meeting between President Bush and President-elect Obama.
And, you know, there's been a lot of talk about how tense that could be because President-elect Obama went after Bush in the election and they have different views. But here are two men who are so well-known for their ease, their interpersonal ease in relating to other people. They're in this rare position. And I expect it will be a pretty easy going or at least comfortable meeting for the two men.
President Bush is a man who came in with very little time for his transition because of the long recount, and he is really going out of his way to make it as easy on his end as possible for President-elect Obama, setting up an transition advisory board to help the incoming team know everything they need to know to take over right away, including setting up a demonstration of how they respond if there's some sort of event during the inauguration event.
So, while they're meeting, we expect Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Bush will have their own chat and tour of the house and Mrs. Bush can no doubt share with Mrs. Obama some of the pressures of a first lady goes through. When you hear past presidents talk about what their transition meeting is, they always say it's pleasant, it's easy because who really knows what this experience is expect this small, select group of people, and so there is a natural bond -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yeah, just a handful know what it's like to get the keys to the White House. You talking about relaxed setting, certainly they'll have, for tomorrow. But, the soon-to-be first couple had a relaxing evening, as well. It's been a long, really, couple of years almost of campaigning. They enjoyed a nice little night out, last night.
YELLIN: They did. They went to a well-known Italian restaurant here in Chicago. I'm afraid I'm going to butcher the name if I pronounce it. Biagio or Spagia?
HOLMES: Yeah, it sounds great.
YELLIN: Everybody says it's one of the best in town. And where they celebrated Michelle's birthday there earlier in the year and they've had anniversary dinners there. So, they dined as couple out with the kids only with a small coachary (ph) of media, secret service, and onlookers.
HOLMES: Yeah, that sounds awfully romantic.
YELLIN: You can't hide when you're president-elect.
HOLMES: Yeah, you can't really hide anymore and be by yourself too much. But, we were talking earlier. He keeps taken her to the same place. I guess they like it, but they don't mix it up too much. I wonder how women would react to that normally, being taken to the same place over and over.
YELLIN: My guess is she probably likes it. It must be Michelle spot, right?
HOLMES: OK, Jessica Yellin, again, good to see you. I'm sorry about the hologram joke, but you going to be getting that hologram joke for the rest of your professional career.
YELLIN: At least you didn't call me Princess Leia.
HOLMES: All right, good to see you, Jessica. We'll see you later.
The president-elect, of course, working on his transition team, we're breaking down the Democratic agenda plus what's next for the Republican Party. John King hosting TRANSITION TO POWER, tonight at 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: No Princess Leia, but we could always call it Princess Yellin, right? Beam her right up?
HOLMES: We should be using that clip.
NGUYEN: We need that.
HOLMES: Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi.
NGUYEN: We need some holograms on this show. OK, we've been asking this weekend, what do you want Barack Obama to accomplish in his first term?
HOLMES: Josh Levs looking into that -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I totally lost focus. Princess Leia. Awesome. Oh man, we got to get Jessica back on.
What was that? Oh, yeah, I know what it is. Check this out, it's really interesting. We're asking this question, you guys are sending us your to-do list for the president-elect and I'll show you how to get yours in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK).
HOLMES: So, all right. Barack Obama, you have just been elected president, and you know what you win? A host of urgent problems to deal with. Up first, the economy, certainly one of the toughest things he'll be dealing with. Our guest has some ideas and some tips about how he needs to deal with it. Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co- editor of "The American Prospect" magazine, he's the author of "Obama's Challenge."
Sir, you're not one of his official advisers, but you're about to give him some advice. Now, you say he needs to be a transformative president or risk being a failed one. What does that mean?
ROBERT KUTTNER, THE AMERICAN PROSPECT: It means he has a Roosevelt moment, and he needs to be something like Roosevelt or he's at risk of being something like Hoover. In the segment a few minutes ago that your viewers saw, you saw a laid-off person tightening his belt. If you multiply that by several million, people spend less at the store. The "New York Times," yesterday, had a story about retail sales cratering, 20 percent, 25 percent reductions in retail sales, so you have a classic downward spiral. And he has a rare opportunity, people wish him well, but he's at risk of thinking too small. The stimulus that he's talking about, $100 billion a year, sounds like a lot of money. The one they did last year was $168 billion. So, he needs to think big or the economy could fall in on him.
HOLMES: You talked about people wishing him well. Is that kind of an advantage here? We remember President Bush talking about, in his re- election, in '04, talking about he had just been given some political capital that he expected to spend and was going to spend. Does Barack Obama have something similar to that in that people wish him well, want to see him do well, certainly have high expectations, but does he have a bit of political capital here as well? I mean, he -- pretty big landslide in the Electoral College, so does he have some of that going in?
KUTTNER: Well, he's also got -- he's got another kind of political capital. People want him to succeed, they also want the economy to succeed. And you can just imagine, let's say he comes into Congress in January and unemployment's up to 10 percent and the phone is ringing off the hook from congressmen of both parties who are hearing from their small businesses, their mayors, their county officials saying do something to help us. I don't think any congressman, Republican or Democrat, is going to say no, that's too much money. I think they're going to be asking for more help. So, he's got to reach for the stars.
HOLMES: Now, are the expectations to the stars, as well? Are they through the roof? Is there any way he can live up to these expectations? People have a lot vested in this man politically, personally. People that don't even know him, they follow him in such a way. And they're expecting big things from him now.
KUTTNER: Well, there's only one important expectation for the first six month and that's to prevent a financial crash from turning into the great depression. He's got to get the financial rescue right, as Secretary Paulson has not done. He's got to put a floor under housing prices so that one foreclosure does not cascade into another foreclosure and drag down the whole neighborhood.
He's got to prevent state and local governments from having to lay off people in a deepening recession. And that's topic A, and it's also topic B and topic C. If he does that right, he will have even more good will and then he can get around to some of the more difficult stuff like universal health reform. So, expectations are high, but the most important expectation is let's of a depression.
HOLMES: All right, but lot of big things on the plate, like you said, topic A, topic B, topic C all the economy, right now. Robert Kuttner, again, author of "Obama's Challenge." Maybe you will become one of his official advisers once he gets a look at your book and some of your ideas...
KUTTNER: I just hope he reads the book.
HOLMES: All right, well, you're given free advice, even better. All right Robert Kuttner, we appreciate you, sir. Have a good one.
KUTTNER: Thanks so much for having me.
HOLMES: All right, so President-elect Obama preparing to hit the ground running when he takes office in January. Certainly, doesn't really have a choice, but to hit the ground running .
NGUYEN: Yeah, absolutely. So, what should be at the top of his to-do list? We asked you that question and our Josh Levs has some answers.
Hi, Josh.
LEVS: Hey, there. Yeah, we were just going through them and I'll tell you, people are getting really specific with us. We slapped some of them onto the screen. Let's do them, right here. We're going to start off with this: "I'm only going to mention one policy, which I believe is the most important after maintaining top-notch security for our people. This policy is learning to understand capitalism and continuing it as our economic system. I'm referring to capitalism with enough regulation to keep our players honest." That's from Donald Watson.
Scroll down a little bit. Whoa! "I'd like to see the Department of -- Obama discontinue the Department of Education and apply that money to the national debt. As a retired teacher who spent time in ghetto and project schools, I saw millions of federal dollars spent on consultants, experts, vice principals, but not a dime's worth of help ever reached the classroom." She says, "In one school system we suddenly had five new coordinators, each earning more than $50,000, yet I couldn't get a set of dictionaries for junior high English class because 'we don't have the money.'" That's from Barbara in south Mississippi.
We have time for a couple more, here. "I would like to see Obama create universal healthcare. I understand wanting to cover children, however, if their parents, who are more likely to have health problems, do not have coverage and a serious illness befalls the parent, this jeopardizes the child's whole life and future. Whole families need solutions not just children."
You can send us your thoughts, weekends@cnn.com, also you can write to us at ireport.com. We'd love to hear what you've got, there. Please send videos, photos, stories, whatever's on your mind. It's called "Dear Mr. President," and we will keep talking about to-do list, guys, up until inauguration day.
NGUYEN: Speaking of to-do lists, thank you for that, Josh.
A young boy who is actually dying from leukemia is not ready to give up just yet because he has something on his to-do list.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a great time. And until it's time -- my time has come, I'm going to keep having a great time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A good time. And you know what his idea of a good time is, this dying young man? It's to help others in his final days. He enlisted a bunch of friends to help make this all happen. We'll have his story.
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NGUYEN: It's time now to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what is ahead on CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES.
Hello, Howard.
HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hello, Betty. Coming up, Barack Obama makes history, but have some journalists gotten carried away by the emotion of the moment? And how will they cover the Obama White House?
After hiding out from the press, Sarah Palin suddenly can't stop talking to reporters and he she's pushing back against the media for allowing all those unnamed McCain sources to slime her.
Plus, Whoopi Goldberg and her pals aren't happy with me for accusing them of being politically unfair. I'll have my own "view." That and more ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
NGUYEN: Uh-oh, going head-to-head with Whoopi? Can't wait to see this one.
KURTZ: Tough competition.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Howie.
It is a heartbreaking lesson of courage and selflessness from an amazing -- we don't say that too often -- but this is an amazing 11- year-old. Brenden Foster is his name, he's of Washington State, and he had everything taken from him.
HOLMES: But, even through it all and even though he may only have weeks to live, Brenden simply wants to keep on giving. Alyssa Jaffe of our affiliate KOMO with his story.
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ALYSSA JAFFE, KOMO-4 NEWS REPORTER: Brenden Foster is only 11 years old, but his time to die has come.
BRENDON FOSTER, LEUKEMIA VICTIM: I should be gone in a weeks or so.
JAFFE: Brenden was the kid who ran the fastest, climbed the highest and dreamed of becoming a marine photographer. Leukemia killed all that, but not his dying wish to help others.
WENDY FOSTER, BRENDEN'S MOTHER: He's always thought about the better of others, wanting to help others, he's never complained about having to go through this, ever.
JAFFE: In the last days of his life, it's this homeless camp that captured Brenden's heart.
B FOSTER: Well, I was getting back from one of my clinic appointments and I saw this big thing in the middle full of homeless people. And then I thought, I should just get them something.
JAFFE: Brenden is too ill to leave his bed and feed the homeless. He walked into an emergency room last December and hasn't walked since, but tonight, a group is gathering and making sandwiches to carry out Brenden's wish.
JENNIFER MORRISON, PARTICIPANT: We're making 200 sandwiches, half ham and cheese and half peanut butter and jelly. He said he didn't want to do just all peanut butter and jelly because what if someone was allergic to peanut butter.
B FOSTER: They're probably starving, so give them a chance.
JAFFE: Brenden is now surrounded by love and urges all of us to follow our dreams.
B FOSTER: Mine have already came true.
JAFFE: He's relapsed one for the last time. There's no more chemo, no more transfusions. Just comfort medications.
W FOSTER: It's devastating, but I find great peace in knowing that we've had our time together and that we will see each other again.
JAFFE: His next wish, become an angel who accomplishes even more in heaven than he did on earth.
B FOSTER: I had a great time and until it's time -- my time has come and I'm just going to keep having a good time.
JAFFE: Don't cry for Brenden, he doesn't want leukemia to get any more tears.
Alyssa Jaffe, KOMO-4 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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HOLMES: Of course, Tuesday is Veterans' Day, a lot of people keep veterans on their minds day in and day out and certainly a lot of ceremonies, a lot of paying tributes on Tuesday, of course. But, we have a story here for you now about one person who has been caring for his fallen comrades.
NGUYEN: Yeah, CNN photo journalist, Debora Brunswick (ph), introduces us to a cemetery worker and a veteran who spends his day's graveside.
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WILLIAM MCNAUGHTON, CALVERTON CEMETERY CARETAKER: Section 27.
We had taken the last two bodies that just came from two chapels and now we'll bring them out to the lines for their final burial. Most of us are veterans that work here. This is our way of saying thank you.
When people come up to me they know I work here, I say it's how nice it is out here. That's what makes it easier and you know, a sense of pride that these guys, this 100 employees here take care of everybody.
My name is William McNaughton and I work at Calverton Cemetery as a cemetery caretaker. My primary duty is bring these people, bring the veterans and their family out to the line and help lower once we get out on the line.
Why do I work here? It's because right over here, my son is in Section 67. Staff Sergeant James Dennis McNaughton, 306 M.P. Battalion out of Uniondale, New York. He was the first NYPD cop killed in Iraq.
This is my way of being close, if you want to say. I see him in the morning when I come here, I touch his headstone when I leave, touch his headstone. I don't feel right if I don't. People also ask, how do I work here? But this is my way of dealing with it.
I should be laying there, not him. But that's what I see here, these people, young men and women, they went that extra step. To me, that's service. I think my old older brother said it the best, I'm in his backyard now. He grew up in my backyard and now I'm in his backyard. And in all these veterans' backyard. I'm here to take care of them, make sure nothing happens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, you can hear more from our war veterans, just go to CNN.com/specials at the top, click on "Veterans in Focus" and when you go there some of the stories you hear are just heart wrenching, but it will also make you very proud to be an American. And be sure to join Heidi Collins for CNN NEWSROOM Tuesday morning live from the deck of "USS Intrepid," the famous aircraft carrier is being re-dedicated to a museum in New York after a two year restoration. Coverage begins at 9:00 a. m. Eastern.
And be sure to logon onto CNN.om/impact for more information on how you can donate to veteran causes. Again, that's CNN.com/impact.
HOLMES: All right, last couple things we want to leave you here with. Kind of on a lighter note. New Yorkers getting ready for an annual and very popular fall event. Take a look at this. Which Smurf is that? I can't remember all the names. Betty, which one is that?
NGUYEN: Gosh, I don't know. Smurfette. Papa Smurf.
HOLMES: Yeah, Papa Smurf. But, whatever Smurf that was, flying high. One of the giant balloons, it'll be in the 82nd Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Smurf is actually going to be new. But why? Smurf's been around for a long time, haven't they?
NGUYEN: Maneuvering these things, you can imagine, not easy to do. You have to have a pilot, you have to have a captain, you have a flight management team of 12 people, rotating teams of hundreds of balloon handlers. So, an entire flight crew. Fewer people fly AirTran than have to handle those balloons.
HOLMES: Another one here, this thing drives me crazy, Rubik's Cube, I don't get this. Well, I don't understand how these guys do this in 10 seconds. Look at it.
NGUYEN: One handed, no less.
HOLMES: One hand. This was in England, this was on Saturday. This popular toy -- these folks from all over and they gathered in Manchester, working, as you can see, their fingers. Competition of mind and will, the open championships. The open championships. They solve these things, in like I said, about 10 seconds or less. The Cube has been around for 30 years, sparked a huge craze in the early '80s. Apparently these guys don't know they make like Nintendo and other things. Other things you can do, guys.
NGUYEN: You know, but people who are into this are serious about it. I have a cousin, during one of the holidays, came over and he put his Rubik's Cube out there and he said, OK, time me. I'm like, what are you talking about, time you? I mean, he could do that in seconds flat.
HOLMES: I don't know how they do it.
NGUYEN: I'm thinking, shouldn't you be outside playing or something.
HOLMES: He should take entire road trips with my family. I couldn't get the thing by the time we got two states away.
NGUYEN: How old are you, now? Still can't get it.
HOLMES: Still can't get it. But, 350 million of those things have been sold, today. So, a successful toy.
NGUYEN: Wow, all right. Well, what a historic week we have had. There is much more history to be made, though. And coming up next on RELIABLE SOURCES, Howard Kurtz talks with reporters who will cover the first African-American U.S. president.
HOLMES: Then coming up on LATE EDITION, we've had the election, well, what do we do now? CNN's John King filling in for Wolf Blitzer. Today, he'll talk with one the top guys in charge of Barack Obama's transition team. But first, we got a few headlines here for you.
American rescue crews are in Haiti helping search for children under a collapsed school. 84 deaths known from that collapse. That collapse happened on Friday. The building's owner now being detained, not charged just yet, though. Here for you.
American rescue crews are in Haiti helping search for children buried under a collapsed school. At least 84 deaths known from that collapse. That collapse happened on Friday. The building's owner now being detained, not charged just yet, though.
Hurricane Paloma, no longer hurricane, tropical storm now, Paloma, slammed into Cuba last night as a dangerous Category 4, but quickly weakened. Storm expected to make landfall in the Bahamas some time tomorrow.
And a Canadian journalist kidnapped in Afghanistan last month, now free. Melissa Fong was released yesterday after (INAUDIBLE) tribal leader and government officials. Fong says her captors kept her in an underground cave. She says she was not harmed.
President-elect Obama and his wife, Michelle, will soon get a tour of their future home. They're visiting the White House tomorrow, meeting with President Bush and the first lady and they'll get a tour of the private residence.
We'll have more top stories here for you in about half-an-hour. RELIABLE SOURCES, though, begins right now.
