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CNN Sunday Morning
Eight-Year Mystery of Chandra Levy's Slaying May End; Democratic, Republican Governors Spar on Stimulus Cash; Comebacks Add Excitement to Oscar Night
Aired February 22, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Good morning, everybody. February 22 already.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be 2010 before we know it.
NGUYEN: I know.
HOLMES: I know it's early.
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE) like tomorrow.
HOLMES: Yes. I'm T.J. Holmes. Yes, 6:00 here in Atlanta, Georgia; 3:00 out in San Francisco, California. Glad you could be here.
It's a big day out there in California, in the southern part of that state right now. A big gold rush; all eyes on the glamour, the glitz, all things Oscars. And it's all about "Slumdog Millionaire," which you tell me is a fine film. I haven't seen it yet.
NGUYEN: It is fantastic. If you haven't seen it, go out and see it today, because you will see why it will win tonight.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: I -- I bet it will.
HOLMES: Do you work for the company that made it (ph)?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: No, I don't. But I tell you, it's a fabulous, fabulous movie.
All right. In the meantime, listen to this story: Former President Bush heads to the hardware store. He picks up some batteries, a flashlight -- and oh yes, he gets a new job offer. So who's hiring? Life after the White House, we have it right here.
Plus this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN JAPANESE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING JAPANESE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, this is how we sometimes look probably when we're...
NGUYEN: Probably at 4 in the morning, when we walk in.
HOLMES: Maybe right now at 6. Might keep an eye on me.
No, this is -- or the former now Japanese finance minister apparently not getting enough sleep. He's on our schedule, apparently. We'll tell you more about this press conference and exactly...
NGUYEN: What happened after, yes.
HOLMES: Yes, what went down here.
But we will start with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She is heading back home. She's wrapping her first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat. She attended church services in Beijing this morning. She talked with Chinese leaders and urged them to continue to invest in the U.S. and to help end the global financial crisis.
Of course, human rights always on the table when it comes to China. But Hillary Clinton saying that you can't let those things get in the way -- even though they should still be addressed -- can't get in the way of moving forward on fixing the country -- the world, really, economic crisis.
NGUYEN: Listen to this story: Pennsylvania police say an 11- year-old boy shot and killed his dad's pregnant girlfriend at point- blank range. Here's a picture of the woman. Well, that boy has been charged as an adult with two counts of homicide, including the death of an unborn baby.
The victim is 26-year-old Kenzie Houk. Police say she was eight months pregnant when she was shot in bed on Friday.
HOLMES: Illinois Senator Roland Burris -- well, he's just not getting a break from the spotlight these days, is he?
CNN looking into -- trying to confirm some reports coming out of Chicago that the senator met with federal investigators. Now reportedly, the meeting dealt with corruption accusations against the ousted governor, Rod Blagojevich. Burris, however, is facing calls to resign after revealing that he did speak to Blagojevich aides. He denied speaking with any of Blagojevich's people when he testified before an Illinois House committee.
NGUYEN: President Obama has a bold goal for the $1.3 trillion deficit that he inherited. One administration official says he wants to cut that by half by 2013.
HOLMES: What's the question now? NGUYEN: How do you do it?
HOLMES: How exactly you going to do that?
Well, by cutting spending in Iraq; that's going to be a big part of it. Also, raising taxes on the rich, and targeting government waste.
The sooner, the better, of course. Let's take a look here: americaneconomicalert.org, that keeps up with the national debt -- this thing continues to tick up and up and up.
Well, this week President Obama will share his budget for the next fiscal year. And it comes just after he already signed that $787 billion stimulus plan. The president says most Americans will start seeing the upside of that plan really soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of what we did, 95 percent of all working families will get a tax cut, in keeping with a promise I made on the campaign. And I'm pleased to announce that this morning, the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks, meaning that by April 1, a typical family will begin taking home at least $65 more every month.
Never before in our history has a tax cut taken affect faster or gone to so many hard-working Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And tomorrow, President Obama hosts a summit on fiscal responsibility. And as part of that, he's meeting with governors who are already in town for their annual convention. They'll be talking about what exactly their states are getting out of the stimulus plan.
Some Republican governors say they may turn down some of the money that's coming to their state from the stimulus bill. Their Democratic counterparts aren't going that far; still, they're cautious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: The states are not off the hook. We are doing difficult and -- and challenging things ourselves. We're assuming the burden. And this doesn't get us off the hook. This helps us; this stops us from having massive layoffs, incredible reductions in services that would have exposed our citizens to tremendous personal risks.
I was asked by somebody, what's the mood in Pennsylvania about the stimulus package? And I said, 10 percent of the people don't like it very much; 10 percent of the people are enthusiastic; and the other 80 percent are waiting to see how it works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: The direction I gave everyone in my agencies is to make sure, first of all, that when you spend a dollar, are you saving a job or creating a job? If not, are you digging a hole deeper?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now Tuesday, President Obama is talking to Congress about the economy. And we have got a lineup for you that night.
Of course, the president address is scheduled for 9:00 Eastern Time. That will be followed by Anderson Cooper, and the best political team anywhere on the planet. A special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" will follow at midnight.
NGUYEN: All right. Here's a question for you this morning: "If you could address Congress, what would you say?" And like your mama would tell you, please be nice; these are officials here.
That's our morning e-mail question though: "If you could say something to Congress, what would you tell them?" Especially since we're in this mortgage mess, this financial crisis, all the things many of you face, and including losing -- losing jobs out there.
So what would you address? What would you say to them? E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com. We're also asking these questions on our Facebook pages, T.J. Holmes at Facebook, also Betty Nguyen at Facebook.
And you -- have you already gotten some responses to this?
HOLMES: Gotten a few this morning already, and I don't think she was following your instructions there about being nice.
NGUYEN: Be nice?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: This one coming to us early from Amanda. If you could address Congress, what would say? You read it for yourselves there, folks. She would say, What is your problem -- essentially, is what she would say.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Again, that's coming from Amanda.
We do appreciate it. So if you don't want to e-mail us at weekends@cnn.com, you do have another option, which is to send it to us on our Facebook pages. You can find those fairly easily. We'll be sharing those throughout the morning.
NGUYEN: Also, a bittersweet situation for the family of murdered Washington intern Chandra Levy. After eight years, police say they are close to making an arrest.
CNN's Don Lemon has reaction from the Levy family, and the congressman Chandra Levy was having an affair with when she was killed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a case that shocked the nation in 2001: 24-year-old Chandra Levy, graduate student at the University of Southern California, and a federal-government intern who disappeared in Washington on May 1 of that year.
Levy's remains were found a year later, in Washington's Rock Creek Park.
Now, eight years after the trail seemed to have gone cold, a potential break in the case. A source close to the investigation confirms that the suspect in the Chandra Levy case is Ingmar Guandique. He is a laborer from El Salvador who is already serving a 10-year prison sentence for two assaults in Rock Creek Park that same year.
Guandique has denied any involvement in her death.
For Chandra Levy's parents, who have been told an arrest is imminent, it is a glimmer of hope in the search for justice.
SUSAN LEVY, MOTHER: It's pretty hard...
ROBERT LEVY, FATHER: Still mad.
S. LEVY: ...not having your child with you.
R. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: I mean, you want justice; you want the person off -- you know, incarcerated.
R. LEVY: In prison.
S. LEVY: And you want justice.
R. LEVY: Want him put away.
S. LEVY: This shouldn't happen to anyone.
LEMON: Much of the media attention on the case was because of Levy's involvement with then-U.S. Congressman Gary Condit. Condit, a seven-term Democrat, was then having an affair with Levy, who was from his California district.
Police never named Condit a suspect. But he was defeated in his 2002 re-election campaign. Condit now lives in Arizona.
In a statement, he says he's grateful that the Levy family is getting the answers they deserved. He went on to say: "It is unfortunate that an insatiable appetite for sensationalism blocked so many from searching for the real answers for so long. I had always hoped to have the opportunity to tell my side of this story, but too many were not prepared to listen. Now, I plan to do so."
For the Levys, one chapter might be closing. But the sorrow lingers.
R. LEVY: It's more toward..
S. LEVY: Painful. No matter what.
(CROSSTALK)
R. LEVY: Yes, it's painful.
S. LEVY: Your child is dead and gone. And...
R. LEVY: Until -- until we get over there and see them again.
S. LEVY: And it's painful, but we -- we're -- we're glad that the police and people are doing something and investigating and making a difference so somebody's not on the street to do it again.
LEMON: Don Lemon, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So we're taking a look at cnn.com right now, and the No. 1 story on cnn.com is this: That of course the 11-year-old boy that we talked to you about moments earlier, accused of killing his dad's girlfriend.
Well, now a small-knit community tries to understand how something like this could happen.
HOLMES: Also, of course, we are looking ahead to President Obama's schedule. He's got a heck of a week ahead. He continues to deal with a hectic month of this economic crisis.
Stay with us here on the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. There are some out there, some actors -- we thought they were down and out, but no, they have made a comeback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE WRESTLER")
MICKEY ROURKE, ACTOR: I'm the one who is supposed to take care of everything. I'm the one who was supposed to make everything...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That's Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler." He's not the only Oscar nominee who's a comeback kid.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE")
(MUSIC)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: I want to start reading, but Betty's enjoying the song so much that...
NGUYEN: And the dance.
HOLMES: Yes, I didn't want to disturb your groove over here.
This is from "Slumdog Millionaire." The song is "Jai Ho," I'm told. It's earned music collaborators -- they are Rahman and Gulzar -- an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Rahman also has another chance to win in the category tonight. He's also up for a song that he did with rapper MIA. You remember her. You know that song of hers. "O Saya" is this one, however. It's also from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire."
And finally, the last song nominated in the category, is "Down to Earth" from the Disney-Pixar film "Wall-E." It's by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman.
NGUYEN: Now, the nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role -- I feel like I'm presenting right now -- Richard Jenkins for "The Visitor" ...
HOLMES: I can get you an envelope over there.
NGUYEN: Right.
Frank Langella as Richard Nixon in the movie "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in the movie "Milk"; Brad Pitt as Benjamin in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; and Mickey Rourke as Randy in the movie "The Wrestler."
Well, you can score one for Hollywood's comeback kids. Actors Mickey Rourke and Robert Downey Jr., just two to mention.
HOLMES: Yes, sometimes they're in the news for not all the right reasons, in the past at least.
NGUYEN: True.
HOLMES: Both of them made some mistakes that could have actually been killers for their careers. But tonight, they could each walk away with some gold.
Here now, CNN's entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty years ago, they were big stars. Ten years ago, their careers appeared to be over.
But Mickey Rourke and Robert Downey Jr. are back. And each could take home an Academy Award.
ROBERT OSBORNE, OSCAR HISTORIAN: Hollywood likes a comeback. Not just Oscars, but Hollywood. It's a business that, you know, so many people have ups and downs and slumps. There's nobody that stays a major star forever without a downturn.
GARY OLDMAN, ACTOR: You know what? It's -- I've got to say it's lovely to see Mickey Rourke back in the frame.
WYNTER: In "The Wrestler," Rourke, who's nominated for best actor, showed the kind of talent that got him noticed in films like "Diner" and "9 1/2 Weeks."
GREG KILDAY, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Many people thought he, too, would be one of the most promising actors of his generation. But he drifted away from acting. He had a lot of personal problems.
ROURKE: You know, I didn't care about repercussions. So you pay the price for that. you know? And it's -- it's a -- it's like any profession. You -- you know, I tried to beat the system. And it beat the (EXPLETIVE) out of me.
WYNTER: Already known as being difficult on set, when Rourke decided to try professional boxing, he left his career in ruins.
ROURKE: So I thought when I -- I left the business, I thought I could get back into it in two or three years. And it took, you know, 13 or so. So it was a long, long journey.
WYNTER: A journey that Downey could relate to. He got an Oscar nomination for his 1992 role in "Chaplin." But in the next 10 years, his career would stall as he battled drug addiction and spent a year in jail.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR, ACTOR.: It's like I have a shotgun in my mouth. And I've got my finger around the trigger. And I like the taste of the gun metal.
WYNTER: He says an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in "Tropic Thunder" is less about his career being back on track than his life being back on track.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, can we cut?
DOWNEY: I just feel good. And then this is kind of a byproduct of it, I guess, you know?
WYNTER: And while we may have thought their careers were over...
ROURKE: I'm an old, broken-down piece of meat.
WYNTER: This year, Oscar is all about second chances.
ROURKE: I'm more grateful and thankful than I am surprised, if that makes any sense.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And we invite you to go to cnn.com for all things Oscar. Just click on the link that says "Oscars." You can vote for your favorite nominees and check out video clips of nominated movies and actors. Join CNN on the red carpet, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern for "HOLLYWOOD'S GOLD RUSH."
HOLMES: Reynolds -- Reynolds, you -- you couldn't make my Super Bowl party. Are you going to make the Oscar party tonight?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I -- why not? I mean, if I couldn't be there physically, I'd have to be there in spirit.
But, you know, I got to tell you, I -- I don't get emotionally invested into these movies. The last time I really was -- was lock, stock and barrel hardcore into a movie was "Muppets Take Manhattan."
HOLMES: You, too?
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: You, too, huh?
WOLF: Yes. Yes. I mean, if it's Fozzy Bear.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Yes, that's what I'm talking about. I mean, that's -- that's -- the -- the kind of thing that pulls me in emotionally and spiritually.
HOLMES: And again, you haven't seen a single one of the nominated movies, is that right?
WOLF: Mm-mm. (INAUDIBLE). Happens actually.
HOLMES: What's going on? Good night to stay in and watch the Oscars, or...
WOLF: Thank -- thank heavens for weather, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: Yes. Yes. Yes, I would say so. You know, it's going to be great for you in parts of the Northeast. Northeast is going to get socked with some -- some really heavy snow in places. But also the West Coasts, parts of California -- it's been just a battering ram out there in the Golden State. Certainly it sounds bad, but I got to tell you, T.J., that's actually very good news. Reason why is because California has really a deficit (ph) -- easy for me to say -- deficit in terms of rainfall. So every bit of precipitation they get will be welcome news for them. So that is certainly some great news.
We're also seeing right now some windy conditions in parts of the Northeast. This is the same storm system right here -- you see this pulling into parts of New England -- that brought the heavy snowfall to portions of the Great Lakes. We're going to be seeing scattered snow showers along parts of 75.
But as we pull a little bit more back to the East, what I want you to notice will be the watches and warnings that we have popping up for you in Maine, parts of New Hampshire, even into Vermont. That stuff could get heavy later on today, some gusts topping 15 to 30 miles per hour, certainly a possibility.
Highs today, 59 degrees in Denver; 63 in Dallas; 38 degrees in Nashville. For the Gulf Coast, conditions should be OK, temperatures mainly into the 60s. A few 70s here and there. New Orleans, a pretty nice day for you for Mardi Gras.
Got some Mardi Gras video, I believe. And I tell you, it's going to be a great time to go out there and enjoy yourself, right along the -- the street. Go and get some beads and have a good time and -- and don't get crazy. You know, always holding back a little bit, I guess, makes it a lot of fun.
Always fun for these guys. You see them making their way up the street, banging on the drums, dancing. Good times for everybody.
All right. Let's send it back to you guys -- T.J., Betty.
HOLMES: I wonder if they're going to follow that advice, Reynolds -- don't get too crazy.
NGUYEN: Yes, the party's still pumping down there in New Orleans.
WOLF: No one listens to a word I say. Like I'm Mr. Party Advice.
NGUYEN: They're not even watching.
WOLF: Exactly.
NGUYEN: They haven't even gone to bed yet, in fact.
WOLF: Hey, a replay of "Muppets Take Manhattan" with the wolfhounds.
HOLMES: Oh wow.
NGUYEN: Oh my...
(CROSSTALK) (LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: All right, Wolf.
WOLF: All right.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Thanks.
OK, so where exactly are the stimulus dollars going? Don't you want to know? Well, we do. And Josh Levs, he's been looking into it.
Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey, how you guys doing this morning?
So the government has set up a Web site where we can all apparently follow the money. But there are actually other places you should be looking. I'm going to take you on a little tour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBIN HAYDEN, IREPORTER: I do not agree with the stimulus that Congress is currently considering. I don't see where it's going benefit me directly. And I believe, my personal feeling, is that the citizens deserve a bailout. It is our money. It is our money that financed Wall Street. And they said it was to help Main Street.
Well to me, the only way to help Main Street is to give us the money. Give us all of the money. That's how you help Main Street. That is how you are going to help stimulate this economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. Well...
HOLMES: She calls (INAUDIBLE), doesn't she?
NGUYEN: She -- she -- no! She wants all money. She wants us to have all of the money.
Our CNN I-Reporters, they are weighing in on the economic- stimulus package. Robin Hayden of Atlanta disagrees with the stimulus effort because she says it is not aggressive enough.
HOLMES: Yes, Hayden has been unemployed for about five months now. She says she is now her human-resources background to provide resume-writing services to other folks.
So she's using her skills out there, helping other folks...
NGUYEN: Yes. HOLMES: ...and still (ph) trying to get a job as well.
NGUYEN: Right.
Well, you know, one of the biggest concerns people have about this massive stimulus package is knowing where all that money is actually going.
HOLMES: Yes, Josh Levs here to show us how you can keep an eye on all those billions and billions and billions and billions...
LEVS: And trillions.
HOLMES: ...of dollars -- Josh.
LEVS: Yes. You know, it's really amazing how much money we're talking about. We were talking about this yesterday.
So this site went up just the other day, right? We've been looking forward to this for awhile, recovery.gov. There's been a lot of talk about it. And the White House says this is where to find what's going to go on with that money.
I want to first show you how they've been building it. Let's listen to the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The size and scale of this plan demand unprecedented efforts to root out waste, inefficiency and unnecessary spending. Recovery.gov will be the online portal for these efforts, publishing information about how the funding secured by the legislation will be spent in a timely, targeted and transparent manner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. So how much can we actually learn from this site?
Let's zoom in on the board; I'm going to show you some things to know about recovery.gov.
First of all, on the main page right now, you can see more of his message. But if you go father down, they say, "Where is your money going?" And there's something of a breakdown here, how much to tax relief; state and local fiscal relief -- I'll tell you more about that in a minute.
This is something to keep an eye out for: The timeline. This part -- I know it's hard to see on your screen -- but at -- at the bottom of the main page, it should be telling you when some money might make it to your area. They're continuously updating a timeline. So keep an eye out there for the dates when some money might work its way through to your area.
This is interesting, too: They've set up this kind of bubble graph that breaks down where the money's going for you as well. They say, how much to protecting the vulnerable, how much to education and training. This is helpful for you to understand the plan, but it's also helpful for people in my industry to keep an eye on and to reality-check those figures.
You can read the whole bill here.
And this is a map where they're showing you how many jobs they hope will be created in any given state. You can just pick a state. Let's go over to New York. You can see that's how many they're hoping will be saved or created -- 215,000 jobs. Let's check out California. So that's interesting for you in your area.
But guys, at this point, there's not a lot of meat on it. It's some basics; it's some projections. It doesn't go a lot farther than that.
NGUYEN: All right.
So what have the initial reactions to this been like so far, this site?
LEVS: Yes, you know, not too much excitement so far.
Yes, I'll show you one really quickly.
NGUYEN: There's not much on it. That's why.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: Yes, exactly. You can tell why.
This is an interesting Twitter that came from Slate -- John Dickerson of Slate. He wrote, "Continuing the administration effort to break new ground in revitalizing the press release, they have launched recovery.gov."
So we'll keep an eye, but so far, this is the kind of thing we're hearing.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: All right. We're going to turn now to a story that's really affecting a small community north of Pittsburgh. And a lot of people are struggling to understand this.
There was a shooting there. A pregnant woman -- eight months pregnant, actually -- now dead. An 11-year-old is the prime suspect here.
NGUYEN: And in Washington, President Obama prepares to host the nation's governors at a White House dinner. They'll tell him what they want and what they need.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Good morning everybody, and welcome back on this Sunday. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Six-thirty here in Atlanta, Georgia; 3:30 out there in Tinseltown, where the Oscars, of course, happening tonight.
We will start though, right now, on the other side of the country, where the nation's governors are in Washington for the National Governor's Association meeting. They'll be hosted by the president and first lady tonight.
Most governors are welcoming the money that's heading to their states because of that $787 billion economic-stimulus package. But a few Republican governors say they will reject at least a small percentage of the money intended for specific areas.
NGUYEN: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed back home after wrapping up her first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat. She attended church services in Beijing this morning after talks with Chinese leaders. She used a television interview to urge China to continue investing in U.S. bonds. Saturday, Clinton said both nations will continue to hold frank discussions on human rights.
HOLMES: And the Connecticut EMS crew is now describing what they saw when a pet chimp got loose and attacked as woman. After the initial shock, they say they remembered they had a job to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREA REPKO, STAMFORD EMS: It wasn't so much dealing with the animal, it was dealing with the horrific attack of an innocent person, an innocent victim. This lady was just trying to go and help her friend.
CAPTAIN BILL ACKLEY, STAMFORD EMS, After the call, you know, we all sat down, and we all talked. We are our own best support group because we have the same experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The woman who was attacked suffered serious injuries and may actually need a face transplant. The police did shoot and kill that chimp.
NGUYEN: Well, listen to this story, an 11-year-old Peninsula boy is accused of the unthinkable. Police say he shot and killed his dad's girlfriend who was eight months pregnant. The boy is in a county jail charged as an adult. Now a community is struggling to understand exactly why this happened. Mark Willis filed this report from affiliate WPXI, before police named a suspect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK WILLIS, REPORTER, WPXI NEWS (voice over): With lights off and sirens silent, a caravan of emergency vehicles leave the scene of a homicide in Lawrence County. As family members tried to comfort one another and come to grips with their loss.
JACK HOUK, VICTIM'S FATHER: I wouldn't know anybody in the whole world that would want to kill a 26-year-old beautiful daughter like mine and take a child. I don't know who would be crazy enough or nutty enough to want to do something like that, gotta be sick.
WILLIS: Friday morning around 10:00, police were called to the 1100 block of Wampum New-Galilee Road, in New Beaver Borough, Lawrence County. Inside they found 26-year-old Kenzie Houk, in a bedroom, dead from a gunshot wound. A mother of two, Kenzie was pregnant with her third child.
In fact, Houk's four-year-old daughter was the one that alerted a man in the area trimming trees that something was wrong with her mother.
STEVE CABLE, CALLED POLICE: We had a little girl that come to the door and told us that her mummy passed away. And we were trying to -- I called 911.
WILLIS: It's a been a difficult day for friends and members who know and love Kenzie.
J. HOUK: And the thing that hurts me the worst is I can't remember the last time I really told her I loved her, and that will hurt me the rest of my life.
WILLIS: Who in two weeks was expected to bring a new life into the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: It is just so hard to understand. Police have not given a motive in this case. The boy, though, is charged with criminal homicide and homicide of an unborn child, and investigators say he used a youth model shotgun in the shooting. Those types of guns are designed for children to hunt with and they do not have to be registered.
HOLMES: Day two of the annual meeting of the National Governor's Association in Washington, D.C. The governor will be hosted by the president and first lady at the White House later tonight. Our Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser joins us now live from Washington on what's been happening with this meeting.
Paul, good morning to you. Always good to have you here.
The Governor's Association, of course, everybody is talking about the economy, these governors, their states are cash strapped. Sounds like they should just want to show up and get their money and run. But it's not that simple. A little debate, and back and forth, about the stimulus bill?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yeah, it sounded almost like the presidential campaign again. There was some politics, if you can believe it, T.J., in Washington, D.C., yesterday as the governors got together, on the first day of their meetings.
And you are right. It's all about the stimulus package. Remember these states are mandated by law. They have to balance their budgets every year, unlike the federal government. So this stimulus money could really help a lot of these states and not force them to lay off some of their own state workers.
Just about all the Democrats here, at this conference, are in favor of the plan. But there are a couple Republican governors like Jindal of Louisiana, and Sanford of South Carolina, Barber of Mississippi, they have problems with some portions of the stimulus package. Brian Schweitzer, he is the head of the Democratic Governor's Association, here's what he had to say about those Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BRIAN SCHWEITZER, (D) MONTANA: If you don't like these federal dollars, what about the 95 percent of the other federal dollars you have already received. If you reject $98 million for unemployment, why did you receive the $10 billion for all the rest of the programs that came from the federal government?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: The Democrats say maybe politics is at play here, because remember some of these Republicans, maybe Jindal, maybe Sanford, they may have designs on running for the White House in 2012. But you know what the Republicans say now, this is not about politics. This is about being fiscally responsible. And you know what they say? This stimulus package, $787 billion, signed by the president last Tuesday, they say it's a little too expensive.
HOLMES: And you know, still in there, I mean, their logic, I guess a lot of these Republicans are saying this creates an issue right now. Yes, well we will have this money now, and it's a one-time thing, but you know when it runs out a couple of years down the road, where are we going to come up with this money. We will have to increase the taxes or something to sustain some of these programs.
So, I am sure you are right, though, Paul. It's some politics at play here as well.
Let's get away from the politics for a minute. Let's go to some pageantry. Supposed to be a good night, tonight, at the White House?
STEINHAUSER: Yeah, a black tie affair. I will not be there. I don't think you will either. But the governors will be there, T.J. They are going to be hosted by President Obama and the first lady. And catch this, the musical entertainment tonight will be a goodie, and an oldie, Earth, Wind & Fire.
If you want to join in here, T.J., and do a little singing, please go ahead. I don't have anything else to say.
HOLMES: I will stick with the dancing. We saw you bobbing your head there, as this was going.
I never heard anybody quite put it like that, a goodie and an oldie. I thought it was an oldie, but a goodie, but we know it's early for you still, Paul.
STEINHAUSER: I'm not waking up yet.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Always good to see you, always good to talk to you. We'll talk to you again this morning. Talk to you here soon, buddy.
STEINHAUSER: See you then.
HOLMES: Tuesday, of course, the president talking to Congress about the economy, and our primetime programming will be all about the president's address. It's scheduled for 9:00 Eastern Time, that will be followed by "Anderson Cooper" and the best political team on television. And a special edition of "Larry King Live" will follow that at midnight.
Well, the president, he's got something to say to Congress, but what about you? If it was your opportunity to stand up there and address Congress, what would you say? That is our question of the morning. You can send us your answers, you can send them to weekends@cnn.com. And what would you say to Congress, if you could address them?
That's one way of sending us your response, also Betty and I, on our Facebook pages, both of them, you can find them quite easily. You can send us your responses as well. We are starting to get some already.
Robert sent one this morning already, saying. "Would Congress be willing to take a pay cut or work furlough until times get better?" That's what he would say to Congress.
What do you think, Betty, Congress would say to him?
NGUYEN: Probably a big N-O.
(LAUGHTER)
I am just guessing here. But I kind of have a feeling that's what he would get.
But you know what? Hey, you have to take your complaints out there, and have them be heard, and we are asking for what you would say if you had the opportunity to address Congress. Send us your thoughts, Weekends@cnn.com, or on our Facebook pages
But in the meantime, our own Reynolds Wolf getting hands on with some sea life in need. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) . REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST (On camera): Do you see a lot of patients sometimes that come in and you say theirs is no way we are saving this animal? It's just not going to happen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're looking at one of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He is helping save the turtles. He will tell us what goes on in this turtle rehab clinic.
And Reynolds joins us this morning. Boy you do a little bit of everything, don't you, Reynolds?
(WEATHER FORECAST)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN MOVIE CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lady Chatterley felt his naked flesh against her as he went into her. For a moment, he was still inside her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is disgusting. Where did you get this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Borrowed it from someone in school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you should be ashamed. Go on.
(END MOVIE CLIP)
HOLMES: Have you seen this one?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: I have not seen the movie, but, wow.
HOLMES: That, Kate Winslet.
NGUYEN: That's what the reader is about, huh?
HOLMES: Who knew? They should have put that in some of the descriptions, in one of the previews, maybe more people would have gone to see it.
NGUYEN: More people would have gone to see it.
HOLMES: No. That is Kate Winslet there, she's nominated for best actress. Here are the other nominees, Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married", Angelina Jolie, in "Changeling", Melissa Leo in "Frozen River", Meryl Streep in "Doubt". The Academy Awards, 8 o'clock Eastern, and you can join CNN on the red carpet starting at 7 o'clock Eastern Time.
NGUYEN: Hey, do you remember the Clinton's cat at the White House called Socks.
HOLMES: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Well, the former president was the governor of Arkansas when the stray cat was adopted by Chelsea Clinton. Well, last year Socks has been living with the former president's secretary since the Clinton's left Washington in 2001. Well, last year, Socks began losing weight, he was also suffering from cancer. Well, Friday the cat, who has his own online fan club, was euthanized.
HOLMES: The presidential -what it's been dogs now, well, certainly President Bush had dogs in the White House. But a cat, you remember there were times he was just running around. Do they really allow it to run around the White House like that?
WOLF: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: Apparently, they had the Barney cam. Remember that around Christmas.
HOLMES: Yeah.
NGUYEN: And I know there's probably a special place in your heart, because you love cats.
HOLMES: I do love cats. I have a couple of cats at the house.
NGUYEN: And Reynolds loves turtles.
WOLF: And cats. I like cats.
But, the thing about Socks, if a cat were to have a bucket list. You've got to figure, he's pretty much a lot of things off. Chasing squirrels outside the White House, check, hairball in the Lincoln Bedroom, check.
NGUYEN: Oh, my god.
WOLF: Seriously. I mean, in terms of catdom, that's got to be a pretty cool thing. And in 18 years, you think about that in cat years, that's a long time.
HOLMES: That is a long time.
WOLF: That's a long time. So hats off to you, Socks. Or socks off to you, Socks.
NGUYEN: We will talk about what you have done to help some turtles, coming up.
WOLF: Absolutely. That's going to be coming up again. A lot of these animals have been protected, many of them in danger. We will definitely touch on that. We will also touch on the weather. Where it is raining cats and dogs, and not turtles. We'll have a minute and a half to show.
NGUYEN: That's coming up right.
Let's rock and roll.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
HOLMES: Everybody loves Socks. Fine list of presidential pets, that's what I'm saying.
NGUYEN: Always.
HOLMES: Well, she was the first African-American woman admitted into the Mississippi State -into the Mississippi state bar, actually, and our Don Lemon sitting down with Marian Wright Edelman.
NGUYEN: And you remember that finance minister who didn't sound quite right at the microphone? Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Japanese)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: OK, even in Japanese, can you tell that his speech was a little slurred. What happened to him?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A pair of attacks in Afghanistan killed at least 14 suspected militants. And one government officials says eight of them died in a coalition air strike, in a minivan. That happened in one of the country's southern provinces. The other attack happened west of Kandahar, after the Taliban ambushed police, NATO and Afghan forces responded with firepower killing at least six militants.
NGUYEN: It is another break from the Bush administration's foreign policy. Senator John Kerry is among some U.S. lawmakers in Syria today, trying to smooth things over. But after all this time, can these countries find any common ground? Well, CNN's Cal Perry is in neighboring Lebanon with more on this meeting for us.
What did they discuss, Cal?
CAL PERRY, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well according to Senator Kerry, they discussed U.S. interests, Syrian interests and regional interest. What I think makes this so fascinating is we've seen, just within the first 100 days of the new Obama administration, a complete shift in their policy towards Syria. It was something that John Kerry was not shy at all in talking about when he spoke to the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) CHAIRMAN, FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE.: This is a region that has been struggling for peace and stability for a long time. It's no secret that some of us had big differences with the last administration, of our country, over our policies in the region. Now we have an opportunity with a new president, President Obama, a new administration, and with a Democratic Congress to put in place a different approach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERRY: Now the shift in Obama policy in Iraq, Betty, is actually really going to affect the way the United States has its relations with Syria going forward. Because, of course, Barack Obama wants a serious withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, Syria shares a border with Iraq. It is key that that border is secure. That is something that is going to be very important to both countries going forward, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, Cal, so if there truly is a breakthrough between the U.S. and Syria, what does this mean for relations between the U.S. and Hamas?
PERRY: Well when John Kerry said regional issues were discussed, I think that's where Hamas comes in. And Syria finding itself really literally in the center of the Middle East, geographically, a very important place, because Hamas' leadership, Khaled Mashaal, who directs the entire organization resides within Damascus. Now within the first 100 days, as I said, Betty, we've seen drastic shift in policy towards Syria. I think it's quite possible that we could see a shift in discussions with Hamas, maybe not direct discussions. The Obama administration has said they're not interested in direct negotiations. But certainly, indirect negotiations are a distinct possibility, especially when you look at Hillary Clinton, who on March 2, will be in Cairo, for a Gaza for a fundraiser.
NGUYEN: All right. Call Perry, joining us live today.
Thank you for that, Cal, we do appreciate it.
And in other world news, have you seen this video just yet?
HOLMES: We should just roll it and then explain what's happening here.
NGUYEN: Explain afterwards.
HOLMES: Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Japanese)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh, this is not the long version, and it almost appears like he is falling asleep there. That's the Japanese finance minister, or the foreign Japanese finance minister -- former, I should say, because he is no longer in that position.
HOLMES: And because of this performance is why he no longer has a job. Even if you don't speak Japanese, and even if you did, you wouldn't be able to understand what he is saying, many would say. But this is Shoichi Nakagawa, is his name. He's at this press conference in Rome and he appeared, just as you are seeing him. You judge for yourself what he appears to be? Many people thought he was actually drunk.
NGUYEN: Inebriated, but he says it was cold medicine. And he was not feeling well and so he took some cold medicine and it kind of knocked him out, per se.
HOLMES: That Nyquil can be tricky.
NGUYEN: Yes, it can. He says he, "Is deeply sorry for causing the public trouble due to my carelessness in dealing with my health." But like we mentioned, he's no longer in the position after that press conference.
HOLMES: That performance. I know we start now at 6 a.m. on our show, and at about 6:02 we're kind of like that. It takes us a minute to get going.
NGUYEN: A little bit to warm up.
HOLMES: Doing good now. Moving on here.
President Obama beginning a whirlwind week of tackling the economy and we'll talk with our political experts on what to expect next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since this is a music show.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we would like to ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe to hear you sing, just a little bit?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh, my goodness. That is Hillary Clinton on a TV show in Asia. So, does she do it? Clinton was also asked for her favorite music and exactly that is. We have all the answers next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Marian Wright Edelman is a woman with grace and grit. She founded the Children's Defense Fund in 1973 and has pushed for civil rights throughout her entire life. She is also the first African-American woman admitted to practice law in Mississippi. Our Don Lemon had the opportunity to interview her.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (On camera): So, you know, you are wearing this necklace, and have Sojourner Truth on it, and you've got these women who are heroes. Do you realize you are a hero to us, to people like me?
MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN, FOUNDER, CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Yeah, maybe I did my work. Yes, I did my work.
Thank you. I am glad. I'm glad I'm sort of standing (ph) a little something. But I think that one of the big problems is that adults have let down young people, and we have to live the words we preach. And it's hard and we are not perfect and we make all kinds of mistakes, but we are trying. So, I'm glad.
LEMON: In all that you do, you feel like adults have let down young people? Do you feel like you have let down young people?
EDELMAN: Well, I think we're all doing that. I mean, I think what when I look at what is going on with young people today and the kind of buffer that many adults provided in my childhood. You know, we look at one in three black boys are going off to prison. Somebody is not doing enough. And so, I think that every day I kind of try to think about how I can do 10 percent more.
LEMON: All right. Now, think about this. Who is your hero? I'm sure you -- you know, but who is your hero?
EDELMAN: I have been a number of -
LEMON: Who is your Marian Wright Edelman?
EDELMAN: Who is my Marian Wright Edelman?
I've been so blessed to have had a number. It's an ordinary people of grace with grit. It's the people, who don't particularly don't have a whole lot of education, who love children, and love their faith, tried to live their faith. You know, Ms. Mae Bertha Carter in Mississippi, who ended freedom-of-choice, because she wanted her seven younger children to have a better life and put them in these white schools. They were harassed, but they all got out of Ol' Miss and are professionals. Her grandson is in Parchment (ph) Prison, which is why I'm -- Ms. Mae Bertha's memory says you stop these black boys going off to prison.
It's Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer, it's these -- it's Ella Baker, it's Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, these brilliant but illiterate slave women, who did not lose a moment's fighting against injustice. I mean, Harriet Tubman didn't wait for Lincoln to free her. I mean, Sojourner Truth didn't wait for anybody to tell her to speak out against second-class treatment of women or slaves.
And so I think these folk who have been unbelievable roll models of just trying to do God's work in the world. And so they keep me going.
LEMON: This is my last question. And you know, it's -- if there is a headline, we all have to, in 200 or 300 years, if there is a history book, I don't know if there will be books, maybe the Internet. You know, maybe it will be just -it will pop up. But if somebody is looking at a history book and there's a headline that describes Marian Wright Edelman, what do you want it to say?
EDELMAN: She tried to live her faith and create a just world, that was fit for every child.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: You can watch more of Don's interview tonight at 6:00 Eastern tonight and again at 10:00.
Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is February 22nd. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hey there. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 7:00 o'clock here on the East Coast, 4:00 a.m. out west. Glad you could start your day here with us.
What do you do when you are no longer in charge of the country? Read some books, probably his bike, get some rest and maybe get a new job.
NGUYEN: Hmm! Who's hiring? That's the question.
HOLMES: Who's hiring? You know, maybe the stimulus bill is working already.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Former presidents finding work. Yes, life after the White House, it's all about batteries and a flashlight.
NGUYEN: And little more.
Plus, you know, times, they are hard, you know this. And people are sinking to desperate measures. Coming up -- who sank this yacht, though, and why?
And meantime, though, most of the nation's governors are in Washington this morning for the annual governor's association meeting. They'll be at the White House for dinner tonight with the president and the first lady. Now, most governors welcome the money heading to stair states from the $787 billion economic stimulus package, but a few GOP governors say they will reject some of that federal money.
HOLMES: Also, a law enforcement official says DNA links a man already in prison to the 2001 murder of Chandra Levy. A person close to the investigation is saying that police are expected to address Salvadorian immigrant Ingmar Guandique in the next few days. Investigators questioned back in 2002 about the murder after he was convicted of two similar attacks in the park where that former intern disappeared.
NGUYEN: And new Defense Department report includes that detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention center are treated humanely. The defense official with knowledge of the report tells CNN the review also recommends that high value and violent detainees at Guantanamo be allowed to pray and have recreation in groups of three. President Obama has ordered that Guantanamo be closed within a year.
HOLMES: President Obama is looking for some people to step up and take some responsibility. And he's holding what he calls a fiscal responsibility summit. It's happening tomorrow. The details of this are coming to us from our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He's in Washington for us.
Paul, good to see you again. I joked with Kate Bolduan yesterday about this fiscal responsibility summit that some might say it should have happened before they passed the $800 billion bill but, I digress and here we go. What are we going to get out of this summit?
STEINHAUSER: Well, here's who's coming -- independent groups, advocacy groups, economic experts, the Obama administration's own economic team, members of the Congress, and the whole idea -- unions -- the whole idea here, T.J., is to make the government more cost- effective, I guess in terms in business terms, to streamline, because, as we know, the federal government is one big massive operation. So, they are all getting together to come up with ideas to make the government more cost-effective.
And this is crucial, because we've learned that President Obama wants to cut the deficit, the federal deficit in half, the budget deficit by the end of -- by about four years from now. Right now, they project next year, $1.23 trillion deficit for 2010, they want to trim that in half. And it's going to take, streamlining the government is also going to take probably raising taxes on the wealthy, and it's going to take reducing the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan when it comes to those wars.
So, tomorrow's summit is step one. Step two will be the speech on Tuesday night that President Obama gives in primetime. And step three will be the introduction of the budget on Thursday. But hey, don't hear it from me, hear it from the boss himself.
Here's President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: That work begins on Monday, when I will convene a fiscal summit of independent experts and unions, advocacy groups and members of Congress, to discuss how we can cut the trillion-dollar deficit that we've inherited. On Tuesday, I will speak to the nation about our urgent national priorities. And on Thursday, I'll release a budget that's sober in its assessments, honest in its accounting, and lays out in detail my strategy for investing in what we need, cutting on what we don't, and restoring fiscal discipline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: As you can imagine, there is probably some partisan politics here, because, hey, this is Washington, D.C., when it comes to such a massive amounts of money. So, stay tuned later today, "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING," I think you're going to hear both Republicans, top Republicans here in Washington and some of the governors as well and Democrats talk about this, T.J.
HOLMES: What are we going to hear? What else on Tuesday -- are there high expectations people are going to be looking to him to say something in particular on Tuesday to Congress that might help with confidence in this economy?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, I think you're going to hear the massive stimulus package that President Obama signed into law last week, this past week, is the first step. And he's going to talk about how this is the first step towards the long but hard road to recovery. So, yes -- I mean, yes, these are tough economic times, and President Obama has been straightforward about that with the American public.
But I think you're also going to hear a message of hope that things will start to get better as we head down this road to recovery. The economy, of course, will be the top issue but he will also probably talk about a few other things, and maybe Afghanistan and Iraq and some of the other world affairs, but again, it's all about the economy, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Of course, we will all be listening.
Paul Steinhauser for us in Washington -- as always, good to see you, buddy.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
HOLMES: Like we talk about there, on Tuesday, President Obama talking to Congress about the economy and you need to be right here with CNN. We've got a full lineup for you in our primetime coverage.
Presidential address is scheduled for 9:00 o'clock Eastern. That will be followed by Anderson Cooper and, of course, the best political team on television. Then a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" right after that at midnight.
NGUYEN: And if you could address Congress, what would you say? That's our morning email question. Let us know what you'd say to Congress if you could pretty much say anything that you wanted. I know you have questions out there, especially dealing with the financial crisis that we all face. E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com. or go to our Facebook pages.
HOLMES: We've been getting responses from a lot of you coming on mine and also Betty's Facebook pages. Here's one we've got this morning from Barry saying, "I would think that the first thing I would say is let's work together, and like the president said, it should happen right away. We decided on a stimulus package, so let's get it to whomever needs it and get it to them right away."
Also, another one I just have to share with you this morning that I found interesting. It comes from somebody who's calling himself D- Lucks, Betty.
NGUYEN: D-Lucks.
HOLMES: And saying, he'd say to Congress, "May God have mercy on your souls."
(INAUDIBLE) continue to have your comments come into us at weekends@cnn.com or Betty or my Facebook pages this morning.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, it has been a fast-paced month and office for President Obama. But is there anything that he could have learned from his predecessor that could serve him today? Our D.L. Hughley spoke with the former White House press secretary to get his thoughts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D.L. HUGHLEY, "D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS" HOST: You see Obama coming in.
ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: He's popular.
HUGHLEY: Right, he's very popular.
FLEISCHER: Yes.
HUGHLEY: Do you think that there is anything he could learn from the Bush administration?
FLEISCHER: Well, the most important thing in public life is to stand by your principles and act on them. You know, this is what attracts people to you, because you might be right, you might be wrong, nobody is smart enough to really know, but if people think you are sincere and it comes from your heart, and people will back you up. That's why George Bush won in 2004.
(CROSSTALK)
FLEISCHER: Iraq wasn't going so well but a lot of people said he beat John Kerry in the election. And one of the reasons was people said, "I may not agree with everything you stand for but at least I know you take strong positions and you mean it." That carries a lot of weight in politics. It's called sincerity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And just a reminder, "D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS," tonight at 11:00 Eastern.
Well, Hillary Clinton is wrapping up her first trips overseas as secretary of state, and as foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty explains to us, she is bringing a whole new style to her role as America's top diplomat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: On a popular youth TV show in Jakarta, Indonesia, she confesses what her favorite music is.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY: The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHTER)
DOUGHERTY: At a women's university in Seoul, South Korea, she tells young students the meaning of love.
CLINTON: How does anybody describe love? I mean, poets have spent a millennia writing about love.
DOUGHERTY: In Beijing, China, she tours a clean energy power plant then shakes as many hands as she can.
Welcome to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's new world of diplomacy campaign-style. On her first international trip as secretary, Mrs. Clinton in Asia did what top diplomats usually do -- she met with government officials and spoke at news conferences. But with reporters struggling to keep up with her, Secretary Clinton also toured a crowded Jakarta neighborhood, highlighting projects funded by the U.S. government.
America's top diplomat also is one of the world's top celebrities. Being a celebrity, she says, is an asset in making people more receptive to American ideas. And she's promising to reach out to people in what she calls "non-conventional ways." So, with the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, get ready for more town hall meetings, more handshaking ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we would like to ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe to hear you sing.
DOUGHERTY: ... and more TV shows as she campaigns for American diplomacy around the world.
CLINTON: To all of these people, if I start to sing, they will leave.
(LAUGHTER)
DOUGHERTY: Jill Dougherty, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right.
HOLMES: There are -- yes, the singing, huh?
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: Well, there are six sea turtle species in the U.S. and all are listed as either threatened or endangered.
NGUYEN: Yes, but our own Reynolds Wolf works to help save some of them and he's going to explain how you can help, too. And how about walking into the hardware store and seeing -- I don't know -- a former president there. That's what happened to folks in Dallas. So, what did the president buy and what kind of offer did he get?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "FROST/NIXON")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, just so I understand correctly -- are you really saying that in certain situations, the president can decide whether it's in the best interest of the nation and then do something illegal?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm saying when the president does it, that means it's not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That, of course, from the movie "Frost/Nixon," that's up for best picture in tonight's Academy Awards. Here now for you, the other nominees -- the nominees are "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," of course, with one of your favorites.
NGUYEN: Brad Pitt.
HOLMES: Say it again.
NGUYEN: Brad Pitt.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) just Brad. But that's my bet.
"Milk" also, starring Sean Penn. "The Reader" with Kate Winslet.
NGUYEN: Winslet is one of your favorites actually.
HOLMES: Well, she's been gone over the years.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: She has been. And also, "Slumdog Millionaire" with, yes, of course, is one of your favorites.
NGUYEN: It got my vote.
HOLMES: And you could join CNN on the red carpet tonight starting 7:00 o'clock Eastern for tonight's Academy Awards, "Hollywood's Gold Rush," is what we're calling it.
NGUYEN: All right. From that to the hardware store, shall we? It's a big difference. But, what sort of heartwarming gift do you get your new neighbor, well, especially when he used to be the leader of the free world? HOLMES: Exactly. We're talking about former President George Bush and his wife Laura -- they moved into their new home yesterday, in some quiet cul-de-sac in a Dallas neighborhood and all of that good stuff.
NGUYEN: Yes, but a new home always needs a little bit of ...
HOLMES: More work.
NGUYEN: ... fixing up when you move in. So, the former president went where most of us would go and that would be a hardware store. But -- you would think he would send down the Secret Service agents ...
HOLMES: Just thought he might.
NGUYEN: Well, as a gag earlier this month, Elliott's Hardware Store in Dallas wrote an open letter to the ex-president, inviting him to apply for a greeter position, you know, the folks that welcome you when you walk in to the store, and to everyone's surprise, he actually walked in yesterday and joked that he'd like to apply. Can you imagine?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Well, he was there. Mr. Bush picked up things like flashlights and WD40s. So, apparently, he is doing a little fixing up around the house.
HOLMES: You know, it's tough. What a drop off from going from president to just being a dude on the block. You got to go and get your own WD40.
NGUYEN: I don't know. It's a pretty good life. Have you seen the neighborhood where they live?
HOLMES: Yes. But, he has a good resume, and now, what he's qualified for is a greeter?
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Yes, where do you stack that? When you're making that resume, where do you put that? Do you put, you know, the greeter at the bottom, or the president first, I mean, how ...
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Yes. I think he'd put experience up president of the United States of America right there at the top.
WOLF: I think that goes right at the top one.
HOLMES: And you have some experience to tell us about here. We really enjoyed seeing this story yesterday.
NGUYEN: Yes. WOLF: You want to see it again?
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
WOLF: All right. That's what's we're going to do. We're going to show America this great story.
We are talking about sea turtles. They've been around for some 200 million years. But with over-fishing and distraction of their habitat, many of them now need our help. Recently, I visited a rehabilitation center in Jekyll Island, Georgia, to learn about what's being done to save this amazing and ancient animal.
BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): It's just another day on the job for Dr. Terry Norton. This is the first of seven patients he'll see in his Georgia clinic. For some, it's a grind. But for him, it's a passion.
This is a dream come true.
DR. TERRY NORTON, GEORGIA SEA TURTLE CENTER: Yes, and more. I mean, I didn't have any idea it was going to be this big or popular with, you know, people.
WOLF: And turtles. See, nearly a decade ago, Dr. Norton had a vision. And in 2007, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center became a reality. The objective is to rescue these endangered nomads of the sea and educate people about saving them. First in for treatment is "Pumpkin," a loggerhead sea turtle.
NORTON: She came in almost comatose.
WOLF: And probably underweight.
NORTON: We're going to sit her here for a second.
WOLF: This awkward procedure will help open and strengthen her beak, allowing her to eat freely in the wild.
NORTON: She couldn't open her mouth at all. So, this is one technique we use for physical therapy.
WOLF: Treating these prehistoric animals is not a one-man job. It's a group effort, from weighing in to drawing blood to prepping their food. The work never ends.
ERIKA KEMLER, GEORGIA SEA TURTLE CENTER: They're graceful- swimming dinosaurs. And just to be able to work with them is a really neat opportunity.
WOLF: And it provides a chance to try innovative medical procedures. The severely broken shell of this green turtle is being treated with honey.
NORTON: Honey has a lot of different properties. One is the production of hydrogen peroxide once it hits the tissues.
WOLF (on camera): Well, do you see a lot of patients sometimes that come in and you say, there's no way we're saving this animal. It's not going to happen.
NORTON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're looking at one of them.
NORTON: She's pretty much a trouper. Amazing that she's come this far.
WOLF (voice-over): And yet all of these turtles have a long way to go, to heal wounds that may have been prevented, from boat strikes to fishing entanglements to trashing the ocean. We have not made it easy on these animals. Norton's main goal for the sea turtle center is to instill a sense of awareness.
NORTON: By treating this one turtle, we're not going to save sea turtle populations, but we can -- by you talking to me and by writing about it, putting it up on our Web site, and that has a huge impact, much, you know, much more impact by engaging people in what we do.
WOLF: An impact that's really felt when these endangered creatures can head back into their natural habitat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: And for more on rescuing these sea turtles, the GeorgiaSeaTurtlesCenter.org, you can go and visit yourself. And you can adopt a turtle. If you'd like, you can even track it with an account on the site. It's a lot of fun. And, you know, it's funny that the great things you learn about these turtles ...
NGUYEN: Yes.
WOLF: ... one thing you're going to learn at the sea turtle center is the danger of just your basic plastic bags, the reason why. I mean, you see these in the store, they seem innocent enough and you throw them away.
NGUYEN: Right.
WOLF: And if this end up in the ocean, what of the big things these sea turtles happen to eat would be jelly fish. Well, in the water to a sea turtle ...
NGUYEN: Oh, it looks a lot like it.
WOLF: That's right. This gets into their gastrointestinal tract, and then the party is over, it's bad news. And contrary to popular belief, these things don't taste good.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: I haven't tried that lately, but I'll take your advice on that.
WOLF: No question. But, in all seriousness, you know, you got to watch out for these beautiful animals.
NGUYEN: What was it like being up close to those turtles? I mean, of course, they got the hard outer shell, but were you able to touch them? Were they ...
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. I mean, they are all different sizes.
NGUYEN: Yes.
WOLF: I mean, the green sea turtles are a little bit smaller, like the size of like the football that, you know, so much black. But then, you have like the bigger one, that looks like a giant lizard inside of '73 Volkswagen.
NGUYEN: Wow.
WOLF: It's like picking up like a coffee table, it's a huge, huge animal.
HOLMES: Wow.
WOLF: And the strength of these things is just outstanding. They could live, you know, 70 to 80 years, sometimes even longer.
NGUYEN: That's amazing.
WOLF: And they're just absolutely fascinating. They really do need our help. So ...
NGUYEN: That was a good thing that you did.
HOLMES: We appreciate that this weekend.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: I appreciate sharing with you.
HOLMES: We appreciate it.
Well, tough times right now -- we've been talking about a lot with the economy -- so tough that a man was driven to sink his own yacht?
NGUYEN: Yes. Just maybe the first project completed from the stimulus money, this is something different, and Josh Levs is here to talk about that.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, it's about the whole other thing. But it's interesting, because there is one state that is claiming that a stimulus project has already been done. And we are trying to figure out how that's even possible. Also, what does it mean about the projects near you? We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. I like boats. I like yachts. I like the water. But don't know what will drive me to sink my own yacht.
NGUYEN: No.
HOLMES: But a man apparently is being charged with doing just that for insurance fraud, they're saying this is.
NGUYEN: Well, yes, there you go. Authorities say the 50-year- old Brian Lewis deliberately destroyed the boat because of financial pressure and frustration with maintaining it. So, here's the picture of the yacht. Beautiful. A wooden yacht there.
Well, Lewis allegedly sank that Jubilee, as it was called, in the Puget Sound last March, and then rode a borrowed dinghy back to shore. He had all this planned out apparently.
HOLMES: Apparently so, an inspection found that a hole had been drilled into the bottom of the yacht, and it appeared that the engine strainers were broken -- the main engine strainers have been broken with a hammer. So, he went to town on the yacht. When confronted, Lewis admitted that he did sink it. He had recently had it listed for 28,500 buck trying to sell it.
NGUYEN: Can you just imagine, though, OK, so you do this, which you know it's not the right thing to do.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: But you're thinking you're going to get some insurance money out of it, but you've been, you know, busted, that this was all a fraud, not only did you not get the insurance money, but you lost your yacht and you are going to jail.
HOLMES: Yes, and you might be going to jail.
NGUYEN: It's not a good gamble, folks.
HOLMES: Not a good gamble.
Dollars haven't been doled out just yet on the stimulus.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But one state claiming to have carried out the first project in the nation funded by those dollars already, Betty.
NGUYEN: Is that even possible though?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Well, our Josh Levs is here. Josh, explain how this works?
LEVS: Yes, from sinking things in the water to building something over the water, this is the deal. The folks in Missouri are saying that this right here -- you see this little bridge? Let's zoom in.
Near the town of Tuscumbia is the nation's first stimulus project. There is the little town over here, Tuscumbia, and here's the little bridge. Now, apparently, it's a major route inside Missouri. And I'll show you a little sound byte of what they're saying happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER RAHN, DIRECTOR, MISSOURI, DOT: The stimulus bill is funding work in Missouri that otherwise would not be taking place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And they have been calling for -- check it out. First in the nation. So, I called and I asked, and basically, here's the deal -- they went ahead with the project once the stimulus bill was passed and they are expecting that they will be paid back out of stimulus funds. So, they just kind of jumped right into it. They don't actually have the stimulus money yet. We're all waiting to see how quickly that gets out to the states and how much longer it takes to get one informed about how much their town is going to get, the state is going to get.
I want to show you also a couple other projects. We a cool Google earth imagery. We're going to start up with this bridge, because as we go in, I'm going to be able to show you how much money some folks around the money are saying different projects will cost. This one right here that they went ahead with was $8.5 million.
But as we go further over now -- there is the bridge itself there you can see it's a nice shoot -- there they're saying it's $8.5 million. But I'm going to show you two other projects where we have spoken with officials and they're telling us how much money it's going to cost once they dig in. I'm showing you two kind of different ends of the financial spectrum.
This one right here is only going to be about $15 million, and that one down is in Southfield. And then we're going to go over to Phoenix, Arizona, where they want to extend light-rail in their major city, you're talking a lot more money, a three-mile stretch, and they want to use some of this funding for, and it's in the hundreds, we're talking now $250 million that they are trying to pull together there from the stimulus funds.
So, those are two examples of projects that have not been funded yet. But, guys, you can see what happened. Folks in Missouri went ahead with theirs and saying they're going to get paid back, but the stuff is going on (ph). And then these other cities, they're saying, "OK, this is what we want to do, this is what we think is important, we just need the money first.
HOLMES: So, is it legit?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Will we say -- is that officially first in the nation?
NGUYEN: Only if they get reimbursement, right?
HOLMES: Yes.
LEVS: Yes, exactly. If they don't get it, then it wasn't. So far, I haven't heard any federal officials complain about that declaration. So, it seems like they're going to carry on with that, because they did go ahead, and the chances are very good ...
NGUYEN: OK.
LEVS: ... that they will be able to use stimulus funds for that.
HOLMES: All right.
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: That's a way of forcing their hand, you know, making it work.
HOLMES: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: Exactly. Better get it now.
NGUYEN: Be a tool.
All right. Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: Well, Betty, as you know, I grew up in Arkansas.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: I've been to church plenty of times in Arkansas. It might be a little different when I go back and go to church.
NGUYEN: Why is that?
HOLMES: The preacher might be packing?
NGUYEN: Really?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Heat?
HOLMES: Weapons in church, praying and packing.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: That's in our "Faces of Faith" coming up next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Our e-mail question today: What would you say if you could address Congress?
Well, I'm getting this from Brian on my Facebook page. He says, "What is going to happen to all these foreclosed properties that you can't get top dollar for?" It's just one of the many emails that are coming in.
Send them to both our Facebook pages and weekends@cnn.com.
HOLMES: And, of course, Betty and I will be back with you at the top of the hour.
Right now -- "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
