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CNN Sunday Morning
Illinois Prison Eyed for Gitmo Detainees; In Asia, Obama, Medvedev Seek Nuke-Pact Progress; Despite Several Jobs, Worker Labors Without Health Coverage; Madoff Auction Rakes in Nearly $1 Million
Aired November 15, 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: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is November 15. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
It's 6 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia; 5 a.m. in Thomson, Illinois. We'll be talking about that town a lot this morning. Yes. The world's most dangerous terrorist could be heading there.
It is Thomson, just outside of Chicago. The Obama administration thinking about buying a prison in his home state of Illinois to house the Gitmo detainees, with Guantanamo Bay scheduled to close in January 22, of course. Finding a place for all those folks is sparking a lot of controversy. We'll have some details just ahead on that plan.
NGUYEN: Yes. Plus, it's the auction that raked in nearly a million dollars. Watches, jewelry, furs, property - you name it. Bidders forked over big bucks to get a piece of Bernie Madoff. And we're going to talk some of them.
All right. So but first, let's take a look at some of the stories that we have been following for you overnight.
Pressure mounting on Iran's nuclear program. President Obama says time is running out for Iran to agree to ship its enriched uranium out of the country for further processing. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Iran needs to prove that it is not trying to build a nuclear weapon. And he says further sanctions against Tehran are possible.
HOLMES: Now, police investigating the disappearance of a 5-year- old girl have charged her mother with human trafficking and other crimes. Shania Davis was reported missing from a mobile-home park in North Carolina on Tuesday. Police still searching for her.
However surveillance video from that same day shows a man carrying her into a hotel room. You're seeing this there. He has been arrested, facing kidnapping charges. The charges originally brought against the mother's boyfriend, however, have been dropped.
NGUYEN: Well, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney blasting President Obama's handling of Afghanistan. Romney spoke last night to the Young America's Foundation in California. The former Massachusetts governor said that he considered it - quote - "incomprehensible and inexcusable" that the president doesn't have a strategy for Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: The president's inattention and dereliction have reminded me of the - the Northwest Airline pilots...
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: ...who became so distracted with things of little importance that they lost their way, which is exactly what this president has done in Afghanistan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: In this case, with greater consequences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So you heard it from his mouth.
Romney has been sending strong signals of his intention to run for president again in 2012.
HOLMES: Now, President Obama, meanwhile, has promised to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center by January of next year, now admitting probably that's not going to happen. Still, we have learned where the suspected terrorists may be heading when Gitmo finally does close.
Officials from three federal agencies will visit the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois tomorrow. The maximum-security center is about 150 miles west of Chicago. Illinois' governor says administration officials want to determine whether the nearly vacant facility can be used by the Bureau of Prisons.
There are 1,600 cells at that correctional center. There are about 215 detainees at Gitmo right now. Among those detainees are five suspects in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Friday the five would be tried in a federal court in New York.
There's been a whole lot of back and forth about whether or not all those folks at Gitmo should be moved to U.S. soil. Nobody seems to want them in a lot of ways, but would you believe we found somebody who actually wouldn't mind having those terrorists - suspected terrorists in his community? He's going to explain to us why right now.
He's the president of Thomson Village, Jerry Heibler. He's kind enough to take our call early this morning.
Kind sir, we know it's really early there in Chicago. We appreciate you, or in Illinois and where you are. We appreciate you jumping on the phone here with us.
Explain simply - most people would scratch their heads - but explain why you think it could be beneficial for your community to have the Gitmo detainees come to your community.
JERRY HEIBLER, THOMSON, ILL., VILLAGE PRESIDENT (by phone): Well, we've been living in limbo for eight years, and we're open to all - all or - you know, suggestions open, the 1,600 max-security facility for - one reason for economy. It'd bring about 1,800 jobs to the area. It'll help our town, which is almost a ghost town.
But I don't like to chase for jobs if the - but my neighbors and friends in jeopardy, the - we want to - we got a lot of questions to be answered.
HOLMES: So are you tying to - trying to have to - trying to balance, quite frankly, it sounds like, the safety of your community, the comfort of your community in having these Gitmo prisoners, vs., like you said - that's sounds like an awful lot.
If you open that prison back up - 1,800 jobs. Yes, that's a heck of a balancing acting. You're trying to reconcile those questions, safety vs., really, the - the long-term stability and...
HEIBLER: Yes.
HOLMES: Of your community.
HEIBLER: Yes. That's got to be a lot of questions, you know, for security. Because I - I don't want to be not sleeping at night, you know, with these people in town. But we need the jobs, and - and the, like I said, the economy for the community in the surrounding areas.
HOLMES: Sir, how is that building, that facility being used now? From what I can tell...
HEIBLER: Now there's about 150 to 200 minimum. Just a minimum side. There's 1,600 max for - for max security.
HOLMES: And - and sir, you said your community's been in limbo. So - so the facility has kind of been shut down, and you've been waiting to see...
HEIBLER: It's never been opened, sir.
HOLMES: Never been opened?
HEIBLER: Nope. Been sitting there for eight years.
HOLMES: Now why was it never opened?
HEIBLER: Because no money of the state. We'd get our hopes up up here, and then when it come to the thing, it - they don't have money to open up.
HOLMES: Well, sir, what - before we let you go here, tell some of the members of your community who may be hearing you speak now and who might not be that comfortable with 215 suspected terrorists coming to - to town, make them feel a little better.
What could you say to comfort them? I know some things to be worked out. But what could you say to them to comfort them and - and maybe make them feel better about the possibility?
HEIBLER: Well, I want to hear more about the federal prison, you know, for the safety and security of the community. And like we said, bottom line, we're - we're looking for all - alternate stuff to try to get it open for economy and, you know, and build up the community again.
HOLMES: But right now, this looks like your best chance, is having these Gitmo detainees there? That the best chance for getting that prison open?
HEIBLER: Last I heard, yes.
HOLMES: Yes. Oh my goodness. That is a heck of a position to be in.
HEIBLER: Yes.
HOLMES: Again, the - the - the Thomson Village President Jerry Heibler. Sir, that's, I mean, a heck of a position to be in. Sir, we appreciate you giving us a few minutes and giving us some perspective on what's happening there, and really, what your community is going through and having to deal with in - in this decision.
Sir, thank you so much. We'll be checking in with you again, I assure you.
HEIBLER: OK. Thank you.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
NGUYEN: Well, President Obama is on his way to China this morning. It is the third stop on his nine-day tour through Asia.
And he left Singapore earlier, after the APEC conference ended. Now, in Singapore, he was also the first U.S. president to attend a summit for the Association of Southeast Asian nations. Myanmar is part of that, and the president called on the country to free political prisoners, like Aug San Suu Kyi, who is a pro-democracy leader.
As we mentioned at the top, President Obama also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. And in addition to Iran, they also discussed replacing the START nuclear-arms-reduction treaty.
Now, the 1991 agreement called on both countries to reduce their nuclear warheads by at least one-fourth. That is set to expire next month.
Well, all of that happened at the edges of the main event in Singapore. The APEC conference is what brought everyone together there, and it is where we find our Andrew Stevens, who is standing by live.
So - so take us back. What was the main initiative here, and was it accomplished, Andrew?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the - if we're looking for positive news - let's begin on that, Betty - and it is that treaty you were talking about, the nuclear-arms-reduction treaty between Russia and the U.S.
That - the existing treaty expires on December 5. But there was some pretty positive news coming out from both leaders, who said that they were working together like they've never been working together before, and they were expecting to have a new treaty perhaps by the end of this year, as early as the end of this year. And that new treaty would - would substantially reduce the number of nuclear warheads carried by both countries. So some pretty good news.
That, as you say, coming on the edge of the - of - of the main summit meeting. Let's just first listen to what the president had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In our first meeting, when I traveled to Moscow, we arrived at an understanding that it made sense for our two countries to begin reducing further our nuclear stockpiles. Our negotiators have made excellent progress over the last several months.
Our goal continues to be to complete the negotiations, and to be able to sign a deal before the end of the year. And I'm confident that if we work hard and with a sense of urgency about it, that we should be able to get that done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEVENS: Well, you hear the president there talking about "excellent progress" being made there.
I'll tell you one place where excellent progress though is not being made, probably the most pressing global issue right at this moment. I'm talking about climate change, of course. And the - the APEC leaders were expected to put out a statement saying that they supported some sort of significant cuts in CO2 emissions.
In the end, they couldn't agree on language which pointed towards a - a - a sort of a definitive statement on climate change. So what happened instead, a surprise visitor turned up, Betty. The Danish prime minister came in on an overnight flight to have an impromptu meeting with 19 of the APEC leaders to put forward his plan to get some sort of success out of the Copenhagen global climate-change meeting.
He came up with a plan which is basically one agreement, two steps. If they can get an agreement in Copenhagen - a political agreement, not a legally binding agreement, just a political agreement - that would be a start, and they can move forward from there. And most of the leaders, including the Chinese president, who was at that impromptu meeting, agreeing to go forward, to push for some sort of success at Copenhagen with a political agreement.
So a chink of light there. But certainly, the expectations on Copenhagen have been ratcheted back so far, almost anything now is going to be taken as - as reasonably good news, Betty.
NGUYEN: Hmm. Interesting.
All right. Andrew Stevens, joining us live. Thank you for that, Andrew.
Well, here are some details about APEC, or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Leaders from 21 countries which border the Pacific Ocean meet annually to discuss regional economic development. And a few of the countries attending this year include the U.S., Canada, Japan and New Zealand.
APEC began back in 1989.
HOLMES: All right. A lot of people worried about their health care these days.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: And worried about whether or not they're covered by their jobs. So if someone that was working four jobs...
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: ...you would think at least one of them would have them covered by health insurance.
NGUYEN: Yes, at least one out of the four. Eh...
HOLMES: Not so much.
NGUYEN: Really? All right. And...
HOLMES: We've got that story coming.
NGUYEN: Also going to be telling you about this: Who made off with Bernie Madoff's prized possessions? We are going to crunch the numbers from Saturday's huge auction in New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So imagine working four jobs, but you still don't have health care and can't afford to get it. Or what if you're an employer and the rising cost is eating into your bottom line?
HOLMES: Yes, CNN's Elaine Quijano examining the real-life challenges of health care.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Betty and T.J, with lawmakers tackling health care, we wanted to get some perspective. And we didn't have to look very far.
Here at Frager's Hardware, just down the road from the Capitol, we met an employee and her boss who are each wrestling with health- care issues in different ways.
CARY CALDWELL, HAS FOUR JOBS: You're thinking about 8 by 10..
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifty eight-year- old Cary Caldwell never imagined struggling like this.
CALDWELL: I'm working all the time, not making a whole lot of money, and don't have any health insurance.
QUIJANO: For 39 years, she worked and paid into an employer- sponsored health-insurance plan. But the economic downturn suddenly left Caldwell without a job and without health insurance.
At first, she tried paying for health care herself, but without her employer picking up half the cost, she found insurance out of reach.
CALDWELL: That's a lot to me. Three hundred and forty three dollars a month when you don't have a steady income, it -- it's like saying $3,000 a month. I just plan didn't have that kind of money.
QUIJANO: So Caldwell, who suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, is doing without three of the four medications she needs.
CALDWELL: I don't know what my blood pressure is and I don't want to know.
QUIJANO: She works four part-time jobs but doesn't have health insurance from any of them.
One of her bosses, John Weintraub, a co-owner of Frager's Hardware, wants to change that.
JOHN WEINTRAUB, CO-OWNER, FRAGER'S HARDWARE: We don't know if we can afford to put her on the plan.
QUIJANO: As a small-business owner, Weintraub says politicians haven't done a good job explaining how health-care legislation might benefit him, and in turn, his staff of 50 employees.
WEINTRAUB: We can't understand it is the big thing. Don't understand what is truly going on.
QUIJANO: Weintraub says the health-care plan he offers employees went up this year, costing 30 percent more than last year. That's affected his bottom line and his ability to help his staff, including Cary Caldwell.
CALDWELL: I'm doing everything I can do. How can the system help me live like a normal person and have the health care I need?
QUIJANO: For now, she's taking a major gamble, foregoing that expensive medicine for her diabetes, a disease she knows full well can lead to blindness, kidney disease, amputation or stroke.
CALDWELL: S o I'm living on borrowed time now and this situation isn't helping that, you know? I feel good, but I don't know - I don't know what the future holds, you know?
QUIJANO (on camera): President Obama wants a health-care bill on his desk by the end of the year. But with that deadline looming less than seven weeks away and lawmakers deeply divided over cost and the public option, it's not at all clear whether the president will get his wish - Betty, T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So just how quickly is the government spending our money? The numbers staggering I hear.
Yes, Josh Levs shows us how to track the debt online.
HOLMES: Also, we were talking about the Bernie Madoff - excuse me - auction yesterday.
NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.
HOLMES: We'll tell you what sold and how much. Some of the numbers - they actually got a little more money than they were expecting yesterday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, could prisoners from Guantanamo Bay end up in Illinois? The Obama administration looking at a prison west of Chicago to house the 200-plus detainees and also federal inmates from Gitmo.
Administration officials will visit the maximum-security site tomorrow.
NGUYEN: Well, a funeral will be held in Cameron, Texas, today for Michael Cahill, the only civilian to die in the Fort Hood shootings.
And across the nation, though, yesterday, about 200 mourners paid tribute to U.S. Army Specialist Jason Dean Hunt in his hometown in Oklahoma. He was just 22 years old.
In Utah though, services were also held for Private First Class Aaron Thomas Nemelka. Also remembered yesterday were Private First Class Michael Pearson, Army Staff Sergeant Justin DeCrow and Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger. They are among the 13 killed almost two weeks ago.
HOLMES: Well, also, the space shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad. And look at that picture this morning. That is gorgeous. NASA hoping to take off from Kennedy Space Center tomorrow. The crew will drop off supplies to the International Space Station. NASA scheduled three space walks for this upcoming mission. So hopefully they'll get off the ground...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ...tomorrow.
Well, when you ask most people about the federal deficit, they will probably tell you it's pretty bad.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But what would you believe when you hear somebody say it's worse than expected? Not exactly what you want to hear when it comes to the deficit.
NGUYEN: Oh no.
Well, you know what? The new numbers, they are in and we're on track for the worst annual deficit since World War II.
Josh Levs is here to run down the numbers.
Really? Since World War II?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, because when you factor in inflation and the way that money has changed - I mean, you think about the price that the country paid...
NGUYEN: My goodness.
LEVS: ...during World War II, right - with so many men who were away, so many women doing so much work at home. I mean, it - it - it fundamentally changed what the country was like at the time. That's how bad the deficit is getting right now.
I will tell you at the top, we've been hearing from the Obama administration, and, to be fair, many economists, too, that it takes a lot of spending to get out of this recession. Still, these numbers are just straight-up ugly.
Let's go right to them.
One hundred seventy-six point four billion dollars in October. That was the size of the federal deficit for just that one month. Worse than expected, is according to where our latest reporting is. And that was the largest monthly deficit on record, according to the Treasury Department.
Now, this was the 13th month of a reported monthly deficit.
The government's fiscal year begins in October, and as of now, the Treasury's estimating a deficit of $1.5 trillion for the upcoming year at this rate. And that would soar past the past year, which was $1.4 trillion for the last year. So we're talking about incredibly high, the highest since way back then.
Now, all of the - obviously, all of this adds to the overall debt, right? The deficit is how much we're behind every month. The debt is what we owe overall.
If you want to follow what the debt is looking like online, there are some places you can do it. Let's zoom in.
I want to show you one here called Treasurydirect.gov. And this is debt to the penny, according to the government. It looks like a big mix of number. So Scotty (ph), let's zoom in way over here. Total public debt outstanding - you can see the figure right there. We're pretty much at $12 trillion, $11.99 trillion.
And you see these words in white over the blue. Debt held by the public, ingovernmental (ph) holdings. Sounds fancy. What it basically means is that a lot of people in America hold this debt through bonds, that kind of things. Intergovernmental holdings means other holdings, other governments out there that have invested in our government, that have bought up some of that from that treasury, basically owning our debt.
And we are constantly paying interest on our debt. For example, the entire Iraq war has been paid on what CNN Money calls "the national credit card," all of it on debt. We're paying interest on all of that.
And here's one more whopping figure. Speaking of the debt, take a look at this: In October, guys, $22.8 billion, the interest paid in October on that debt, just that one month alone.
We want to know what you think about all this. Here's how you can weigh in. We've got the story posted for you, and we're listening to you: CNN.com/josh. Also Facebook and Twitter, joshlevscnn. Tell us what you think.
So Betty and T.J, there you go.
NGUYEN: All right.
LEVS: Not exactly the happiest news at 6 a.m., but it's important stuff.
NGUYEN: No....
HOLMES: No.
NGUYEN: ...but, you know, it's reality.
LEVS: You got it.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you so much, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: So items belonging to convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and his wife hit the auction block. And Tuesday, his boat actually - or, I shouldn't just say his boat - his boats...
HOLMES: Boats.
NGUYEN: Several of them go on sale.
HOLMES: Ah, he had it good, didn't he?
Well, some of the smaller items, they were up for auction yesterday. Now, the boats, you expect some big-ticket item. They had a lot of big money to come in for those.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But there was also kind of a bidding war over his wife's jewelry and some of the smaller things.
NGUYEN: Have you seen some of the diamonds that were on the auction block? I could understand why.
HOLMES: I'm told they're impressive.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But even something as simple as a duck decoy that people were fighting over.
NGUYEN: Really?
HOLMES: Yes, Susan Candiotti at the first in a series of auctions yesterday in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fast and furious bidding to buy a piece of Bernie Madoff. Anyone could watch online.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). Twenty, now 30.
CANDIOTTI: But inside the auction, no cameras allowed.
Here's part of Madoff's spread at a preview. More than 51 watches, lots of gold-studded Rolexes among them. This one, a rare "prisoner watch" from World War II, sold for 65 grand. Ruth Madoff's triple diamond-drop earrings, estimated at around $21,000 went for...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) last call. (INAUDIBLE). Sold.
CANDIOTTI: Seventy thousand dollars, more than triple projected worth.
Madoff's house sign, valued at 20 bucks, sold for 2,000.
His decorative buoy, labeled "Bullship," took in $7,500.
Madoff's custom silk Mets jacket, worth about $500, went for more than 14 grand.
A retired St. Louis businessman flew in for the auction ready to spend big.
(on camera): You snagged a number of items. Do you have any idea how much you spent?
LESTER MILLER, BIDDER: No, but it was - I'm sure it was in the six figures, conservatively (ph) to higher than six figure.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): He's taking home a bundle of glamorous jewelry, including these pearls for $1,200, four times their estimated price. Surprise gifts for his six grandchildren on an upcoming cruise.
MILLER: And we're going to make them all take numbers, and they'll all go one at a time. And they'll buy the - take a piece of jewelry.
CANDIOTTI: Madoff's belongings, from golf clubs to boogie boards to everyday china, failed to impress professional collectors.
LARK MASON, "ANTIQUES ROADSHOW" And what I saw instead was a garish display of gold and diamonds and things that are expensive but not tasteful. And the art and antiques were mostly reproductions and the lower-quality things that you'd find in any suburban garage sale.
CANDIOTTI: Didn't seem to matter some. Wooden-duck decoys valued at about 50 bucks each went for more than $11,000.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like getting a plate of china from the Titanic. And Bernie Madoff may have been an even bigger shipwreck.
CANDIOTTI: The proceeds, more than $900,000, will benefit victims of the convicted swindler.
Lester Miller will make sure his grandchildren know it.
(on camera): What is the lesson that you're going to tell your grandchildren?
MILLER: That greed is no good. And this man had a lot of greed. And he lived on greed, and he lived in a - with a lie.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): More Madoff auctions to come. It ain't no lie.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: I am so surprised by how much those items went for.
HOLMES: I don't understand why overpay for them. And he said he just wants them for gifts.
NGUYEN: Especially in this economy. Right. HOLMES: He could have gotten gifts from Kay Jeweler.
NGUYEN: I - I mean, I guess, you know, just - yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I mean...
NGUYEN: You know, I - I guess to be able to just say, 'Look, you know, this was part of Bernie Madoff's collection,' if you will.
But, you know, we were talking yesterday about that jacket, the Mets jacket...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ...that they were thinking - what? - what, 200, 500 or something like that?
HOLMES: Yes, about 500 to 700 for that jacket.
NGUYEN: Not - not that much, right?
HOLMES: Double that.
NGUYEN: Yes. Fourteen hundred dollars for a jacket that says "Madoff" on the back of it.
HOLMES: Why would you want his stuff?
NGUYEN: I - I don't know. Collector's items, I guess.
HOLMES: All right.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Let's go to eBay and see why they wanted his stuff.
HOLMES: Oh, yes. There you go. That's a good point.
NGUYEN: All right. We'll get you caught up on the morning's top stories when we come right back, including why an Illinois prison could become the next Gitmo.
HOLMES: All right. And hold on to that gold jewelry.
NGUYEN: Oh yes.
HOLMES: Not the Madoff you might have just bought, but your gold jewelry - at least until you see our guide on getting a fair price for it.
NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello, everybody. Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning and welcome back. Thanks for being here. I'm Betty Nguyen.
Let's take a look at some of our top stories right now.
President Obama is calling on Myanmar junta to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel peace laureate has been under house arrest for 14 years. The president made his request just hours ago at a meeting of 10 Southeast Asian leaders. And the president was in Singapore for the APEC summit, which wrapped up today. He now is on his way to China.
HOLMES: President Obama said he wants to close Gitmo. Where are those prisoners going to go? Possibly Illinois? Yes, the Obama administration looking at a prison west of Chicago to house 200 detainees and federal inmates from Gitmo. Administration officials will visit the site in Thomson Village tomorrow, about 15 miles west of Chicago. We spoke with the village president, Jerry Hebeler a little earlier this morning. Would you believe he likes the idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
We've been living in limbo for eight years and we're open to all alternate suggestions. To open the 1,600 max security facility for one reason, for economy. It would bring about 1,800 jobs to the area. Help our town, which is almost a ghost town.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Hebeler explained to us this morning that, in fact, that prison was built several years ago but never has been opened. So, they have been waiting and waiting for the possibility, and Gitmo prisoners might be their opportunity to open it up and get some jobs. Well, several of the 9/11 suspects could be among those transferred to Illinois.
NGUYEN: Harsh criticism of President Obama and his policies from one of the Republicans who may try to take him on in 2012. Mitt Romney spoke to the Young Americas Foundation in California. The former Massachusetts governor was talking to them last night and here is a listen to what he had to say about the president.
All right. We are having some technical difficulties. We'll try to get that sound in a minute.
But in the meantime, you are trying to make ends meet by selling your gold jewelry? Find out if you are really getting fair market price, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, you've probably seen the TV commercials by now. Companies offering to turn your gold into cash. In the current market, though, gold is worth more than ever. But our Poppy Harlow asks will you get a fair price for your trinkets? (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 10 karat.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Not a jewelry store or a pawn shop. This is a party. A gold party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Who has got gold?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came to be honest with you, because I need cash.
HARLOW: Each piece examined and the gold content is measured.
MICHAEL GUSKEY, CEO, GOLDFELLOW: How much is it worth, Bonnie?
HARLOW: So, what is Grace's payday? It all depends on the purity and the weight of the gold, and most importantly, gold's current market value.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grace, $315.18
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Better than collecting dust in the drawer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
HARLOW: But how do you know if you're getting a good price? Michael Gusky, founder of Gold Fellow, the company running this party, has been in the gold business more than 30 years. He says, here you will get 62 percent of the gold's value and warns you should never accept less than 50 percent.
GUSKY: Some of the largest companies in this business are paying as little as 18, 20 percent, relative to the price of gold.
HARLOW: We were quoted $411 for this necklace at the gold party. But we hit the streets of New York in search of a better offer.
(On camera): So, now we are here in what is known as the diamond district in Manhattan. We're going to go in some of these stores, some of these establishments. As you see across the street here, they all say, "We Buy Gold, We Buy, We Buy". So, we are going to go in and we are going try and see what they'll give us for this gold necklace.
(voice over): I just wanted to sell the necklace, this gold necklace. Bu I don't know how much it's worth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 500.
HARLOW: About 500 bucks?
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd probably go to like $620.
HARLOW: You would go to $620?
Can I ask how much for this necklace?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $630.
(voice over): But the lowest offer was still to come. We headed to Canal Street in Downtown Manhattan.
How much is it worth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. You tell me.
HARLOW: You tell me. I've never sold a gold necklace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like $200.
HARLOW: 200 bucks?
(On camera): 200 bucks, that was my offer in there. $200. And I said is this a fair price, fair market value? And he said, yes, a very fair price.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: But, you know what, T.J. and Betty, the it really wasn't a fair offer. After I told that store owner that I was a reporter and I work for CNNMoney, he then told me this necklace is actually worth $550, not worth $200.
What this goes to show you is you have to haggle. And you have to know what you've got this is a 14 karat gold necklace. So, it's only 58 percent gold. You have to know the value and know what you can expect to get so you don't get ripped off.
That is just part of this story. The full story you can see right here on CNNMoney.com. Back to you.
NGUYEN: It pays to shop around.
HOLMES: Clearly it does.
NGUYEN: Especially when are you are the one trying to get the money back.
HOLMES: That's amazing. Somebody just tried to get over on her. I work for CNN by the way. Can you adjust that price a little bit?
NGUYEN: And look into the camera.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Yes.
(LAUGHTER) HOLMES: All right. Still ahead, we are going to have another check of the morning's top stories, including a story we're following out of North Carolina. Where they are investigating a little girl's disappearance and now her mom is facing some charges. We'll explain.
NGUYEN: And will the second half of the weekend be a winner for the Northeast? Because they have dealt with some nasty weather so far. We have the full forecast, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get you back the story of the harsh criticism of President Obama and his policies. In fact, from one of the Republicans who may try to take him on in 2012. That being Mitt Romney. He spoke to the Young Americas Foundation in California. And the former Massachusetts governor slammed the president's foreign policy, especially on Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIT ROMNEY (R), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I find it incomprehensible and inexcusable in this president has been in office for 10 months, and he does not yet have a strategy. What has he been doing that's so much more important than -- than -- than developing -- you have some ideas. Than developing a strategy to protect the lives of our soldiers, who are in harm's way? He is the commander in chief. What has he been doing?
Do you realize he carried out more than 30 campaign visits in this last season for various Democrats, while he can't make up his mind on Afghanistan, or have enough time to meet with generals, he's out there campaigning. Also carrying out these bogus, phony, town meetings. I call them that, because, of course, the audiences are very carefully selected to include only those that are friends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. Well, Romney dropped out of the presidential primaries last year, but he has been staying in the public eye since then. And many believe he will make another run in 2012.
HOLMES: To a closer look at Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. According to a transcript from a military tribunal back in March of '07, he said he was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z. He also claims he personally beheaded American journalist Daniel Pearl.
He has also claimed responsibility for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and a litany of other crimes. He was born in Kuwait, but educated right here in the U.S. A 1986 graduate of North Carolina A&T State University. We are happy that we do have CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen to break a lot of this down for us this morning.
Peter, good morning to you. I want you to first, and let our viewers listen to, some of the first reaction we got to these trials, happening in the U.S. from President Obama who was over in Japan. Let's take a quick listen to what the president had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people insist on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The most, Peter -- the most exacting demands of justice. What is this supposed to look like here? Is this supposed to look like a fair trial? Or is this just supposed to look like we're going through the motions to get these guys to the electric chair?
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, T.J., I think will be a fair trial. I mean, it is being held in a courthouse that has actually tried quite a number of major terrorism cases. The U.S. embassy cases, for instance, in Africa, in 1998, where more than 200 people were killed. And Al Qaeda plot was tried in the same courtroom. The people who were convicted in that plot are all serving life sentences, without parole, in Florence, Colorado, the super max facility, which makes Guantanamo look like a Sunday picnic.
So the -- I -- I think this is long overdue. This could have happened several years ago. These people will -- the military tribunal system has been a complete failure basically. There has only been three convictions out of Guantanamo in the eight years it's been open. And federal terrorism trials have a very high rate of success of appropriately convicting people involved in major terrorist activities and then putting them away or executing them.
HOLMES: You say appropriate acquittal. That was one sound byte from the father of someone who died, in the piece leading up to you. Where he essentially said he'll get a fair trial and then we'll execute him. And I know you talked about the military tribunals have not had a lot of success. So, this is the best option. But still how do we go into? For the world watching, that is going to be watching this, to go into it is thinking that there is anyone that is going to be sitting on any jury, who is going to be giving these guys - giving these guys - a fair shake?
BERGEN: Well, you know, we have trials in the United States all the time where people are, you know -- have committed very, very serious crimes, that are very well known to the juries, and this is obviously on a very large scale the same kind of thing.
But one thing I would say, T.J., is that not only did Khalid Sheikh Mohammed admit in a military tribunal setting that he was responsible for 9/11, he also gave a very extensive interview to Al Jazeera, long before he was captured, in which he explained how he lead the -how he was in charge of the hijackers. He they communicated. He gave every detail of the plot. So, the reason this case is going forward, is because it is very low-hanging fruit. You don't even have to get into the water boarding or anything else. He has freely volunteered this long before he was captured. HOLMES: Water boarding, you don't think that will be part of it, trying to throw out those confessions, at least? Since he was water boarded some 843 times?
BERGEN: Yes, it will come up. But as far as the 9/11 plot, you know, he has already admitted it. He gave these very extensive interview to an Al Jazeera reporter in Pakistan, in which he admitted the whole thing.
HOLMES: All right. Have to let you go. If you can, do this for me quickly, how do you secure this place? Every activist, and idiot, and sympathizer, and terrorist, everybody is going to know exactly where these guys are going to be and at exactly what time. How do you secure this trial?
BERGEN: Well, you know, again, Foley Square in Downtown Manhattan has been the scene of major terrorism cases before. And the New York Police Department is probably one of the most effective police departments in the world on these sorts of issues.
HOLMES: They have done it before, you're right. Peter Bergen, CNN analyst. We appreciate you, as always, good to have you here on a Saturday (sic) with us. Thanks so much, buddy.
BERGEN: Thank you, T.J.
NGUYEN: Police investigating the disappearance of a five-year- old girl have charged her mother with human trafficking and other crimes. Shaniya Davis was reported missing from a mobile home park on Tuesday. There is a picture of her, right there.
And police are still searching. However, surveillance video, from that same day, shows a man carrying her into a hotel room. He has been arrested and faces kidnapping charges. The charges originally brought against the mother's boyfriend have been dropped.
HOLMES: President Obama is calling on Myanmar junta to free pro- democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel peace laureate has been under house arrest for some 14 years now. President Obama made his request just hours ago, at a meeting of 10 Southeast Asian leaders. The president was in Singapore for the APEC Summit, which did wrapped up today. He is now headed to China.
NGUYEN: Well, the Space Shuttle Atlantis is on the launch pad in Florida this morning. And NASA hopes to blast it off from Kennedy Space Center tomorrow. The crew will drop off supplies to the International Space Station and NASA has scheduled three space walks for this mission.
All right. So, how is the weather back here on Earth going to be treating us for the launch of that? We are going to check in with Karen Maginnis right now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right, T.J. is having a bit of rough going this morning with that asthma cough -- what's going on?
HOLMES: I think it's asthma. I don't treat it deal daily, like I should. So then when I do have a problem I have a big problem.
NGUYEN: Yes, so we are going to go commercial break, so he can use his inhaler.
HOLMES: Please. Thank you.
NGUYEN: We'll be back. But here is what we are going to be talking about. A place where you wouldn't expect to find a GPS -- in your garbage. Yes, students at one of the country's top college think, though, it's a great idea for you to track your trash. Why? We're going to tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: How do I transition to trash from that?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: That was such a beautiful moment we were having with the "Heroes".
NGUYEN: We all have it, whether you're a hero or not.
HOLMES: We all have trash. Very nice.
NGUYEN: We all do.
HOLMES: Some of us wonder where does all that trash go?
NGUYEN: Yes. And a group of MIT researchers are working on the answer, hoping that in the process they are going to find a way to eliminate some of that waste. Here is Patrick Oppmann.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The waste of our lives. Newspapers, empty milk cartons, plastic bottles.
(On camera): Many people throw out an aluminum soda can like this, and never give it another thought. But if you knew how far this can will travel, and the cost involved, you might think twice about what you are throwing out. Call it tracking trash. That's what a group of MIT researchers are doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you throw it away, it sends a message. It gets picked up by the truck, sends another message.
OPPMANN: They are attaching 3,000 electronic trackers like this one to the trash of people who volunteered for the study.
ASSAF BIDERMAN, MIT SENSEable CITY LAB: What would it be like to live in an environment were every object is addressable. You know what it is; you know where it is in real time. Can we create a situation of minimum waste?
CARLO RATTI, MIT SENSEable CITY LAB: Today we know a lot of things about the global supply chain. And that is how everything comes together on the planet. Goods are moved and they come together, are produced, assembled and sold. But we know very, very little about what you could call the removal chain. And that is about trash.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A steel can, old Zip Loc.
OPPMANN: That removal chain starts on the house boat of study volunteers Ethan O'Conner and Stephanie Chang (ph). Researcher Molina Wolf (ph) shows them how to put a tracker on their trash where it won't be seen or fall off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't want to put it right in the fold. We want to kind of put it near this fold. Let's tape it in there.
ETHAN O'CONNER, STUDY VOLUNTEER: There is a strategy of all this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Absolutely. I mean, you do have to think it through with each piece, unfortunately. Some of them are going to be -- you won't have a lot of choice. This metal pipe, if we want to tag this, we are just going to have to tape something to the outside. And unfortunately it is going to look like we taped something to a metal pipe. But with this cardboard box, we can actually hide it on the inside.
OPPMANN: This couple sees the study as an opportunity to have an impact, however small.
O'CONNER: The disposal is one part of it, using it in the first place is another part. I mean, no one is saying that we are bad people for using stuff. But the reality is, I mean, we each get 1/6 billionth of what the earth can produce. And what we have is a lot more than that.
OPPMANN: The study isn't complete, but the tracking technology shows the couple's trash has already traveled tens of miles. Some may end up in landfills, some at recycling plants. Some even thousands miles away. Tossed in the trash, but not forgotten.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Seattle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, you're seeing a beautiful shot outside this morning. Downtown Atlanta, the sun is coming up. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is November 15th.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 7:00 a.m. here where we sit in Atlanta; 6:00 a.m. in Thomson, Illinois, which you're going to be hearing a lot about in the coming days and weeks even.
NGUYEN: Definitely, because the world's most dangerous terrorists could end up in Thomson. The Obama administration is thinking about buying a prison in his home state in order to house Gitmo detainees. Now, Guantanamo Bay is scheduled to close on January 22nd. And, of course, finding a place for them, mostly likely, this sparks controversy wherever that is.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: We're going to give you some details on the Illinois plan -- straight ahead.
HOLMES: Also, a former vice presidential contender, Sarah Palin, she's going rogue this week. The book is finally coming out. Yes, we'll explain all of that in our political week ahead.
NGUYEN: But first, though, let's get to the latest on our top stories from overnight.
The governor of Illinois says federal officials, as we mentioned, are considering a correctional center in western Illinois to house some of the terrorist suspects now held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Now, the Thomson Correctional Center is about 150 miles west of Chicago. Illinois's governor says administration officials want to determine whether the nearly vacant facility can be used by the Bureau of Prisons.
A funeral will be held in Cameron, Texas, for Michael Cahill, the only civilian to die in the Fort Hood shootings. Across the nation, though, yesterday, about 200 mourners pay tribute to U.S. Army Specialist Jason Dean Hunt in his hometown in Oklahoma. He was just 22 years old.
In Utah, services were also held for Private First Class Aaron Thomas Nemelka. Also remembered yesterday were Private First Class Michael Pearson, Army Staff Sergeant Justin Decrow, and Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger. They are among the 13 killed almost two weeks ago.
President Obama is on his way to China right now after a brief stay in Singapore. He attended the APEC Conference which wrapped up just a short while ago.
Now, in Singapore, he was also the first U.S. president to attend a summit there for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. During the summit, President Obama called on Myanmar junta to release pro- democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as other political prisoners.
HOLMES: And President Obama is expected to land in Shanghai, China, just a few hours from now. This is the third leg, of course, of his four-nation, nine-day tour through Asia -- his first trip to the communist nation as president.
CNN international correspondent Emily Chang joins us now live from Shanghai.
Hello to you, Emily. So, how are they preparing right now for the arrival of President Obama?
EMILY CHANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J.
Well, President Obama is expected to land here in Shanghai exactly two hours from now. it's a bit windy and rainy. So, hopefully, that will not delay Air Force One. When he does touch down, it will be quite late in the evening. So, we expect to go right to bed and rest up for his meetings tomorrow.
As far as preparations on the ground, well, the Chinese taking every measure to make sure this visit measure goes as smoothly as possible. Security is tight. Shanghai's red light district has been cleared out and Obama-branded merchandise, that's normally popular at local markets, has been effectively banned. There is a t-shirt that some may think is funny that depicts Obama wearing Chinese communist attire, well, that is no longer available.
Chinese citizens, though, they are very excited. President Obama is on the news here almost every day. And many Chinese are just as fascinated with him as people are in the rest of the world with President Obama's meteoric rise to power -- T.J.
HOLMES: Aha! No -- I'm surprised there is a market for the president on a t-shirt wearing communist gear. But, I guess, maybe the White House gladly took those off the shelves.
Tell us, you mentioned he has meetings tomorrow, what exactly is on the agenda? What's he up to tomorrow?
CHANG: Well, first thing, he's got a meeting with the mayor and the communist party secretary of Shanghai. Then he will head to the much-anticipated town hall meeting with what they are calling China's future leaders, most of them students from Shanghai. This is where the students will get to ask President Obama questions, and he will presumably ask them questions as well.
But we are told that the White House has been struggling to come to an agreement with Chinese authorities as to how this meeting will run. President Obama has said he wants to reach as large an audience as possible. He wants it to be uncensored and unscripted and broadcast live. Well, Chinese authorities weren't too happy with that.
So, we're still not sure exactly how the meeting is going to run. We did speak to CCTV, the national state-run broadcaster. They say they will not be broadcasting the event. However, Shanghai news channel, a local channel, will be broadcasting the event but to a much smaller audience. But we are told that some of the negotiations will probably be going on until the very last minute and we won't know exactly what's going to go on until tomorrow -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, uncensored and unscripted is not really a strong suit of the Chinese government as we've seen over the years. Finally, you mentioned that he's going to be talking possibly to some students there. But, also, other reports of students being arrested ahead of the president's arrival -- what's happening?
CHANG: Well, there are some reports of dissidents being arrested ahead of the president's arrival, including the father of a child who is sickened in the tainted milk scandal, who's really become a champion for parents as well as some other human rights activists. Now, there is now way to confirm whether these detentions are directly related to Obama's arrival, but it is widely understood that China tends to round up some of these dissidents ahead of state visits. They really just don't want any trouble.
Now, analysts are saying that human rights issues like this aren't going to be featuring prominently in Obama's discussion with Chinese leaders. Obama has said he will emphasize American values like freedom of speech and freedom of religion. But the administration has made it pretty clear that it doesn't want differences on human rights to take away from some of the more important issues they'll be discussing like the financial recovery, climate change, and security -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Emily Chang for us in a kind of a rainy, kind of a messy Shanghai right now -- thank you so much. We'll be checking in with you again, I'm sure. Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, back here in the U.S., a small town in Illinois that's out of money and desperately in need of jobs could become the next Guantanamo Bay. Tomorrow, officials from the Obama administration will visit an empty maximum security prison in Thomson Village, which is just located about 150 miles west of Chicago. The administration is considering moving about 200 detainees there.
And we spoke with the president of the Thomson Village just a short while ago. He says the prison was built eight years ago but it has never been used.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY HEBELER, THOMSON, ILL. VILLAGE PRES. (via telephone): We've been living in limbo for eight years and we're open to all -- all, you know, suggestions, to open the 1,600 max security facility for one reason, for economy, and bring about 1,800 jobs to the area. And help our town, which is almost a ghost town.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, Thomson is a small town with a population of about 500. But while some of the town favor of the idea, others across the state -- they oppose it. An Illinois Republican running for the president's old seat is circulating a letter among elected officials, asking them to write to President Obama opposing the plan.
HOLMES: While President Obama continues his Asia trip next week, the Senate is going to start debating his domestic priority, of course, health care. That's just one of the showdowns we can look forward to in the days ahead.
NGUYEN: And CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser is here to talk about the breakdown and the highlights.
All right. So, could we get a debate in the Senate on health care?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's the big question.
NGUYEN: This week?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. I think -- because you know what, in the Senate, pretty much you need to vote to even begin to start to talk about this bill.
NGUYEN: Right. Yes.
STEINHAUSER: We haven't seen the bill yet. So, hopefully, we'll see the bill this week. And then, will we get a vote?
They need 60 votes to start the debate. That is the big question mark. That's the big first showdown.
HOLMES: And you said, we don't even -- we don't have the Senate bill just yet. We don't know for sure what's going to be in there. But people are speculating what will be in there.
How will that be different from what we got out of the House?
STEINHAUSER: The Senate bill will probably be more moderate than the House bill, which is a little more liberal, probably a little cheaper. It will pay for itself in a different way. It won't tax the most wealthy Americans. It will probably put a tax on those high-end Cadillac health plans. Also, the public option, the House bill had one; the Senate bill maybe, maybe not. If it does have one, it will allow states to opt-out.
NGUYEN: We saw the stakes for Nancy Pelosi. What are the stakes for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid?
STEINHAUSER: Just as high. We saw that House vote, barely -- that was really close, a victory for Nancy Pelosi but a very close call. Harry Reid is going to have as close a call in the Senate. And remember, Harry Reid is up for re-election next year. He's going to have a tough reelection. This could help him or hurt him.
HOLMES: All right. We're talking about those guys hard at work up there on Capitol Hill. We'll turn to somebody now who doesn't even have a day job, but we are talking an awful lot about her lately, Sarah Palin. Talking about a leading up to, but this is the actual week now. Coming up, the book comes out. What are going to be talking about Sarah Palin this coming week?
STEINHAUSER: We are going to be talking about, first of all, Monday. She's on "Oprah." HOLMES: Yes.
STEINHAUSER: What a great way to kick off a book tour, right? So, we're going to be talking about what she says on "Oprah." We already got a taste of it, but we'll learn a lot more.
Tuesday, the book comes out. We'll see what's in there. We've already got excerpts. We'll see a lot more.
And then, on Wednesday, her book tour begins and is taking her to some interesting states.
HOLMES: Interesting politically. Interesting states.
STEINHAUSER: Yes.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And, you know, the GOP is hoping to capitalize on those victories in New Jersey, Virginia. What does this mean, you know, for her momentum as we look ahead?
STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes, because, you know, we talk about next year's battle for control of Congress.
NGUYEN: Yes.
STEINHAUSER: It is also a battle for the governorships. Almost 40 states have governors' elections next year.
Democrats have the majority now. The Republicans are going to try to win a lot of those back. They're having a big conference this week down in Austin, Texas, Betty. And you're going to see the two stars of this past election in Virginia and New Jersey, the two governors who -- New Jersey Republicans who won there, they're going to be at this conference.
So, Republicans are hoping to ride that wave of momentum.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: It's a light week is what you're saying.
STEINHAUSER: Not much going on.
HOLMES: All right. Deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser -- it's always good to see you. It's good to have you here in Atlanta. Thanks so much, buddy.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: So, has the worse of the winds and rains left the Northeast? Well, I know a lot of folks sure hoping so. The Sunday forecast is coming right up. HOLMES: Also, we're talking still about the Michael Jackson funeral. It was an expensive affair. So, exactly, how much was it and how that was money spent? We're breaking that down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: Well, you're only happy when it rains. New York City, you must be overjoyed today because that was a picture of New York City. I know you can't tell because all of the fog and raindrops.
But, hey, Karen, what is going on with all those rain along the Northeast?
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right. You know, it's funny, because I love rainfall, I really do. Even though my house got flooded just six weeks ago -- yes, that's a different story. But anyway...
(LAUGHTER)
MAGINNIS: In New York actually, the temperature is going to be about 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. So, visitors are going there to see plays, doing some of the fun stuff that people do around New York City during the fall. It's kind of really nice, very un-November-ish for this time of year.
What we've got across the west is an area of low pressure just about over the Four Corners region. You can almost see the spin in the atmosphere. This is not going to be moving very far or very fast, and it is also going to contribute to some gusty winds that will materialize across southern California.
Those winds are coming out of the northeast. There's a ridge of high pressure up here. And as a consequence, some 40, maybe 50-mile- an-hour winds expected across southern California over the next 24 to 36 hours.
So, a little bit of a Santa Ana affect taking place here. So, we could see some blowing dust, maybe reduced visibility. And the same goes if you are traveling to the interior west, maybe along Interstate 25 headed up to Steamboat Springs or something.
Let's go ahead and move on. I'll show you some of those high temperatures that we're looking at. Take a look at what's happening in New York City, just about 65 degrees. Atlanta, 74.
I think we have a picture of the White House -- in Washington, D.C., the temperature is supposed to be about 74 degrees. There you see crisp skies this morning. The temperatures, right now, are in the 50s. It's going to be a glorious afternoon if you're headed up there, do some fun things up there. It should be terrific.
Back to you, T.J. and Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, Karen. We do appreciate it.
And up next: another check of the morning's top stories.
HOLMES: And we'll tell you about a campaign -- a special campaign that has Will Smith on board as well. And, yes, you might have guessed it has a little something to do with shoes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Well, Michael Jackson's funeral took place two months ago behind closed doors.
HOLMES: And a lot of people were able to see -- remember, the big memorial they had.
NGUYEN: Service, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: This was the funeral itself.
HOLMES: This was -- this was different. Now, we're learning more about how much all of this stuff costs. Josh Levs is looking into there for us. Good morning to you.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, guys. Yes, exactly, because we all remember way back in July, we have some images for you from that. That was when millions all over the world are watching as Michael Jackson was remembered at that big ceremony.
Then it was on September 3rd that this happened. This was his funeral behind the closed gates of Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
And for Michael Jackson's estate to cover the costs of that, courts had to approve it. And those court papers have just been released. And "Time" magazine's Web site. Time.com, which partners with CNN.com has them in this breakdown. So, I'm going to bring to you right now.
Take a look at this. The biggest cost: $590,000 for his interment in the great mausoleum of Forest Lawn, Glendale; $88,500 for the endowment care there; $25,000 for a solid bronze casket with 14karat gold-plated handles; and $35,000 for the burial outfit that he was in; $16,000 for flowers at that funeral that took place on September 3rd; and $175,000 for Glendale Police Department and city support.
We have some images actually of the grand mausoleum for you there. That is the place where he is being interred or actually where he was. And you can see a lot more about that in a special section that we have at CNN.com.
In fact, let's come back to the screen. Let's show you it right here. All you got to do is click CNN.com/MichaelJackson. And you get right here, it gives images from throughout his life, stories about ultimately his interment, and you can also take a look at some of his past, some of the images and also links to music, videos, all sorts of things -- CNN.com/MichaelJackson.
And I'm posting a link to all of this for you, including the "Time" magazine. We'll show you the graphic where that is. We got it up at the blog. We've also got it going on Facebook, JoshLevsCNN and Twitter.
So, guys, all of the expenses combined for that event, September 3rd, including the event afterward. It all came out to more than $1 million -- Betty and T.J.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: You bet.
NGUYEN: Now, we want to take a look at our top stories for you. And another funeral, this one held in Cameron, Texas, today for Michael Cahill, the only civilian to die in the Fort Hood shootings.
Across the nation yesterday, though, about 200 mourners paid tribute to U.S. Army Specialist Jason Dean Hunt in his hometown in Oklahoma. He's only 22 years old. In Utah, services were also held for a Private First Class Aaron Thomas Nemelka. Also remembered yesterday: Private First Class Michael Pearson, Army Staff Sergeant Justin Decrow and Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger. They are among the 13 killed almost two weeks ago.
Well, pressure is mounting on Iran's nuclear program. President Obama says time is running out for Iran to agree to ship its enriched uranium out of the country for further processing. Now, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Iran needs to prove it is not trying to build a nuclear weapon. The two leaders also said that they are well on their way to reducing their nuclear stockpiles.
Check this out. The space shuttle Atlantis on the launch pad in Florida this morning. NASA hopes to blast off from Kennedy Space Center tomorrow. Now, the crew will drop off supplies to the International Space Station and NASA has scheduled three space walks for this mission.
Up next: One woman's mission to change thousands of lives in Africa.
HOLMES: And how is she doing it? With shoes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Changing lives, it can be as simple as doing it two feet at a time. That's the goal of this foundation that we found. They just shipped 10,000 pair of shoes and more and two tons of medical supplies to Ghana.
NGUYEN: And it's a great story. Our Don Lemon shows us how it all came together and the woman behind this movement. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's a mother.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: No, I'm OK. I know how to get down.
DION FEARON, FOUNDER, THE ASHE FOUNDATION: You're in the thicket.
LEMON: A visionary.
FEARON: You sit right like that, and you put another pair of shoes there. There is a science to this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, OK.
LEMON: And a fighter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm being (INAUDIBLE)
FEARON: She's packing the shoes wrong.
LEMON: Battling extreme poverty on the continent of Africa, her weapon? Shoes. A million pairs she hopes.
FEARON: A million pairs of shoes, but I believe that it's going to be way more than a million pairs.
LEMON: Dion Fearon founded a nonprofit called the ASHE Foundation. ASHE is Yoruba for "the power to make things happen." And that's exactly what she did after seeing this image.
FEARON: That image of the feet wearing pop bottles for sandals kind of struck a chord in me and I said, "You know what? I could do something about that."
LEMON: Shoes for Africa was off to a running start with a little star power from R&B recording artist Kenny Lattimore, celebrity stylist Okera Banks, and Antina Campbell, a complete stranger who would be Fearon's closest ally. The two met in church after one of Fearon's appeals for shoes.
ANTINA CAMPBELL, DIR. OF OPERATIONS, THE ASHE FDN.: She started talking about the ASHE Foundation and collecting shoes and taking to Africa. And all that was like, wow, to me. You know, like, I got to help her.
OKERA BANKS, CELEBRITY STYLIST, COSTUME DESIGNER: I had just wrapped a Nickelodeon show. So, I had an abundance of shoes for kids. And I said, "I'm going to go home and I'm going to go through that garage and give her some shoes."
KENNY LATTIMORE, SINGER: I didn't want it to be somebody used my name and, you know, I came by, I drop a little donation in the bucket and keep going. I wanted to really be a part of something that was going to be life-changing. LEMON: The organization's mission is to change the lives of millions of children in African nation who have been orphans by the devastating effects caused by HIV and AIDS. Thanks to actor Will Smith, the ASHE Foundation took its first shipment of shoes to Africa in January.
FEARON: Will Smith was in church one Sunday, and he heard me begging for shoes, and he said, "OK, I'll pay for 15 people -- 15 members of the congregation to go to Africa to deliver these shoes."
LEMON: The experience made Fearon even more determined to, as she calls it, beg for shoes for barefoot children. These two showed up for the shoe distribution sharing one shoe each.
FEARON: My heart is in Africa. It beats in Africa and I -- and for a very, very, very long time, I ran from the responsibility of knowing that I was going to make a difference there.
LEMON: And now, she's at it again. This time, it's more than two tons of medical complies and 10,000 pairs of shoes en route to Ghana.
LATTIMORE: This looks like it's hardly ever been worn. Never been worn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never been worn.
LEMON: Volunteers showed up to pack the shoes. A box like this one holds 70 pairs if packed right and packed tight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, what's the count?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventy pairs in this box.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beyond good.
LEMON: On shipping day, a handful of volunteers loaded this 20- foot crate with box -- after box -- after box. It's hard work, but it's fueled by purpose and passion. The crate is finally packed to capacity and ready to head to the shipping dock.
FEARON: This is a good day.
LEMON: She says a prayer...
FEARON: That this container makes it to its final destination.
LEMON: ... in hope that its contents will change lives, two feet at a time.
Don Lemon, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, many of you have been asking, how to get involved with what the ASHE Foundation is doing. So, here it is -- TheASHEFoundation.org is where you need to go. And you can check out our blog at CNN.com/newsroom as well. It was written by producer Annika Young who went to Los Angeles to cover this amazing trip and group of people as well.
HOLMES: Well, good. Annika is one of our best.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: We appreciate her as always.
But, the CNN SUNDAY MORNING will continue at the top of the hour, Betty and I will be back.
But first, of course, time for the good doctor.
NGUYEN: Sanjay Gupta. Stay with us.
