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CNN Sunday Morning
Pakistan Shifts American Terror Suspects to Lahore; U.S. Military Advance Parties Brace for Troop 'Surge' in Afghanistan; Man Runs Across U.S. for Charity; World Food Programme Seeks 1 Billion People to Fight Hunger; Experts: 'Princess and The Frog' Is Positive Imagery for African-American Girls
Aired December 13, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(LAUGHTER)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Atlanta, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's where we are this morning.
HOLMES: That's a good start. She asked where are we, to start the show. It's all right.
NGUYEN: I was joking because you didn't have yourself together.
HOLMES: I know you were kidding.
NGUYEN: Don't try to call me out.
HOLMES: You're right; I did not have myself together. I...
NGUYEN: It's Sunday, too.
HOLMES: I do now.
Hello, I'm T.J., and I am together.
NGUYEN: Thankfully.
Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for waking up with us.
It is early, 6 a.m. in Atlanta; 5 a.m. in Houston; and 3 a.m. in San Francisco.
All right. Let's get to the news right now, because five American terror suspects held in Pakistan have been moved to a new place due to security fears. Now, we are live in Islamabad with the latest on that probe, including possible links to a broader terror network.
HOLMES: Also, a lot still happening in Washington on this Sunday. At a rare Sunday session on Capitol Hill, the Senate set to vote on a huge funding bill to keep the government up and running.
NGUYEN: And the Obamas celebrate their first Christmas in the White House. But what do you get the couple who seem to have everything? HOLMES: Mmm.
NGUYEN: Hmm. The president and first lady reveal their holiday wishes coming up.
HOLMES: Yes, but first, let's give you some of our stories that are making headlines right now.
The city of Houston has its few openly gay mayor. Annise Parker won the runoff there with 53 percent of the vote. Houston is now the largest American city to ever elect an openly gay mayor.
Listen now to the mayor-elect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNISE PARKER (D), HOUSTON MAYOR-ELECT: This election has changed the world for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Parker, who is a Democrat, was Houston's city controller for five years, and also on the city council before that.
NGUYEN: Well, in Oregon, rescue crews found the body of one of three missing climbers who set out to scale Mount Hood on Friday. Authorities identified the body as that of 26-year-old Luke Gullberg. A search resumes this morning for the two other climbers.
Now, this search is still being called a rescue operation, and some family members have joined in.
HOLMES: Turn to Southern California now. More than 100 cars stranded after a series of mudslides north of Los Angeles. The cars were trapped on the Angeles Crest Highway in Angeles National Forest.
A Los Angeles County fire inspector says they managed to get most of the cars out late last night, while the drivers, they had to be sheltered at nearby restaurants. No injuries were reported.
NGUYEN: Security concerns over the five American terror suspects in Af - or, Pakistan, I should say. They were thinking about heading to Afghanistan.
Here's a picture of all of them. Authorities have moved them from a small-town jail to a more-secure location in the larger city of Lahore.
Meanwhile, though, the leader of their mosque back here in the U.S. is struggling with the allegations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ESSAM TELLAWI, MOSQUE LEADER: We love for things to go back the way they were. We were a very happy community. I still imagine - I still - you know, in my memory, see them just walking in the mosque and praying with us. And I want - I want them to come back and pray with us and for things to go back to normal. (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now from Islamabad, Pakistan.
Arwa, give us the latest on this investigation. What have you found out so far?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty.
Well, as you were saying earlier, the - the minister of Interior here telling us that the detainees had been moved from Sargodha, where the raid and the arrests took place, to the city of Lahore, he said for their own security, without going into details.
Also, one of the six has been released. He is the father of one of the five young men. He was taken in, according to the police, not because they believed that he was involved in this terror plot, but just for further interrogation.
At this stage, the investigation is still ongoing. They have not yet been charged. And we also do now know that according to the Pakistanis, if they are found to be not guilty and are released, they will then be deported. As to what the Americans decide to do with them, that remains to be seen - Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. So as we're waiting and watching, want to find out if there's a definite link or if one has been discovered between these five and a terror network.
DAMON: Well, what we are hearing so far is that the five were in touch with some sort of a network through the Internet before they actually came to Pakistan. And then upon their arrival to Pakistan, they reached out to at least two known militant networks here, both of whom though rejected them. The speculation by the minister of Interior is that it's because they were lacking the proper terrorist credentials.
They were, however, in touch with someone who's linked to a network who was supposed to be facilitating their movements into Afghanistan.
Now what is especially concerning to Pakistani authorities about all of this is that their movements - the raid, their arrests - all took place in the province of Punjab. And that is especially worrying, because the province is home to the military and political leadership here. And the militant networks in that province are especially concerning.
NGUYEN: Well, since the Pakistanis are obviously taking the lead on this, are they willing to accept the U.S.' help in the investigation?
DAMON: Well, they have reached out to the FBI, and the FBI is also very heavily involved in this, because they are, after all, American nationals.
There is a very interesting and complex dynamic here though when it does come to U.S. and Pakistani help. In this case, however, what we do know from the minister of Interior is that Pakistani authorities were alerted that these young men could possibly be traveling to Pakistan, and that's how they were able to take the appropriate measures and detain them.
And the Pakistanis are looking at this case and saying, 'Look, if you share with your intelligence with us, we can take the proper movements, we can go out and get these individuals that might be carrying out acts of terror.' The issue that the Pakistanis have is that the U.S., they say, is reluctant to share intelligence and reluctant to share some of the - its technology, military technology that would allow the Pakistanis to go after its own homegrown terror networks in an even stronger manner - Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Arwa Damon joining us live from Islamabad. Thank you, Arwa.
HOLMES: Well, the first of the new troops headed to Afghanistan are expected to arrive this week. Fifteen hundred Marines are headed for Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. That's the area of focus for President Obama's new strategy.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen says 16,000 troops have their orders for Afghanistan. He also says winter gear and other equipment already in the pipeline.
Nearly two weeks, the president committed 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. They're all expected to be deployed by the summer.
An advance U.S. intelligence group is scouting areas in southern Afghanistan right now, just as insurgent threats start to intensify.
Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Here in southern Afghanistan, military advance parties are already on the ground, getting ready for the 30,000 additional U.S. troops that are headed to this war zone.
What we have encountered is small groups of U.S. soldiers having a look around with their commanders, trying to decide where they will go, where their bases will be, how they will operate in this region.
These are the so-called enablers, the first 4,000 or so U.S. troops that will work on intelligence, countering IEDs, explosive bombs, MedEvacs, all the support functions that the incoming combat troops will need.
Now, here in Kandahar, we are also learning from U.S. officials that the Taliban and the insurgents are responding. In the last several weeks, the campaign of fear and intimidation against the Afghan people has picked up. We are told the threats have risen.
And that, of course, is a concern to the U.S. troops. One of their main jobs here will be to try to protect the population. But when U.S. troops go out, they do not always get a very welcome reception.
MAJ. DAVID HILLS, U.S. ARMY: We are moving through the city, and then all of sudden, we just took a big barrage of rocks. Some were being thrown from the streets, some were being thrown from the rooftops. And so it was -- it was easy to tell where they were coming from, but it wasn't easy to tell who was throwing it.
So there really wasn't much we could do except button up and take care of our own people and keep moving through.
STARR: U.S. military officials also tell us that the thousands of combat troops headed to this region in southern Afghanistan are likely to be based in perhaps as many as half a dozen new forward- operating bases that will be constructed across southern Afghanistan.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Let's take you to Washington right now, where the Senate has a crucial vote in just a few hours that will affect all of us. It is on a massive $1.1 trillion plan, with emotions running high over so-called pork projects.
The bill funds transportation, justice, foreign, labor, health, education and veterans programs for next year. And this is the second weekend in a row senators have been at work.
Yesterday, in a narrow vote, they put an end to the debate over the plan. The vote will likely happen today at 2 Eastern.
HOLMES: Well, most of us can't even imagine running one marathon. We'll explain to you coming up why one man is essentially running a marathon every single day.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm meteorologist Karen Maginnis in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We're looking at ice, rain and snow. That's just in the eastern United States. We'll tell you about what happens here and across the West, coming up in the next few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, right now, in the West Texas town of Midland, a young man is up, he's awake, he's stretching his legs for another grueling day.
HOLMES: Yes, because over the next several hours, he will run, essentially, a marathon. Then he'll rest up, he'll get up tomorrow and do the same thing. And then the next day. And then the next day.
His name is Jonathon Prince. He's spending five months running from California to Washington, D.C. But why?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): He's underfunded and overstretched. He says he's been running 44 of the last 59 days, sometimes in the bitter cold. Some days a little less than a marathon, some days.
And it's all for charity.
The donations aren't actually pouring in, but Jonathon Prince just keeps on running.
JONATHON PRINCE, HOPEORDIE.ORG: Damn, it's cold. Woo.
HOLMES: This is Prince's third cross-country trek. His first, back in 2005, raised $20,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Impressive for someone who never ran track a day in his life.
PRINCE: Eleven and a half. (INAUDIBLE). Good job.
HOLMES: This time, he's running for six non-profit organizations.
PRINCE; Right now, I could barely feel my face. You know, it's really cold and I'm really numb right now, so I think about the six charities I'm running for. I think about the people that need help, and (INAUDIBLE) asking the question about "hope or die" on a daily basis.
HOLMES: Prince launched the Hope or Die Project to encourage others to use their natural abilities to give back to the community as well as influence positive change in the world. And according to Prince, if you're not hoping for something, you might as well be dead.
PRINCE: Are you going to have hope, or are you going to let the dream die?
I wanted to run across America to promote hope.
HOLMES: His journey started on October 15 in Santa Monica Pier. His goal is to run across the country all the way to Washington, D.C. by March 27. He's hoping for a big finish.
PRINCE: If we're blessed enough, President Barack Obama will run the last mile with us.
(CHEERS)
HOLMES: But that's a ways off for Prince and his one-man, one- woman team, Michael Hansen and Andrea Batel.
Hansen works in television and Batel worked for an accounting firm. Both Hansen and Batel quick their 9-to-5 gigs to go on the road with Prince. And when their sponsors don't come through, they pay for their own room and board, sometimes sharing a room.
MIKE HANSEN, ROAD MANAGER: Sometimes you've got to take risk. We're out here risking it all in the 30-degree weather, as you see.
ANDREA BATEL, ROAD MANAGER: How often do we get a chance to just leave our jobs, leave all responsibility behind and just go on the road for a movement, something that's positive, something that's going to be uplifting and change our lives as well as the lives around us.
HOLMES: Now it's time for the last leg of today's run. One of our producers and a photographer followed Prince to the finish. Our producer then decides to run, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woo! Woo!
HOLMES: Then he encourages her to finish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing (INAUDIBLE). Go ahead, (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, the number is just staggering. And we're talking about a billion hungry on Earth. And it - and you, you know, really put that up against Jonathon Prince. He's running for a - what? - six different charities.
HOLMES: Six charities (INAUDIBLE).
NGUYEN: And he's already having a hard time with that.
Now consider a billion people hungry, and - and just all the need out there. Not only those six charities, but now we're talking about those going out without food.
HOLMES: Yes, that number, we're getting that from the - the World Food Programme. It's created now a new project to help fight hunger.
Josh Levs here to show that to us. Good morning to you.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, guys.
I mean, you know, the last couple years, with the economic crisis, right? A lot of people have been saying, of course, hunger is going to get worse all - all over the place. But this billion figure really is staggering. So what the World Food Programme has done is create something online. They have a video where they talk to you about it. What they're trying to do is get a billion people on Earth involved.
Let's take a look at this video, and you'll see some of the numbers that they're throwing out at you there. It basically shows how incredibly many people are sending e-mails and on Facebook and on Twitter and doing all these other things online. They say there are a billion people in the world active online.
What if every one could do something to increase the awareness that there is out there about hunger? And you can see right there, at the same time, 10 children die from hunger.
So we spoke a representative of the World Food Programme about this idea. It's called "A Billion for a Billion," and what they hope it will accomplish.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTINA LUESCHER, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMMEME: There are so many people online.
In a nutshell, for example, all the folks who are using these tools -- cell phones, you know, computers -- if they help the ones who need a cup of food, the billion online to help the billion who are going hungry.
And if you spread the word, if you just do a little tiny bit. If you go to your computer and you tell the story and you spread it and you tweet and you blog and you link up with us, we can really change the world.
We can make hunger -- you know, we can eradicate it. It's extremely powerful, what the Internet can do.
LEVS: And let's get pragmatic here. I mean, they -- what you're talking about is getting the word out in the hopes that the more people who hear about it the more people will decide to give money.
Ultimately, this is a fundraising activity.
LUESCHER: It's fundraising and awareness.
LEVS: Yes.
LUESCHER: Fundraising of course this year has been really hard. We got very, very good donations from government, but clearly not enough. We have huge shortfalls. We had to cut rations all over the world.
So we need new donors. We need more people to know about this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: So that's what this idea boils down to. Everyone call tell everyone else, Hey, there's this problem with world hunger. Maybe they'll be able to raise a lot more money, be able to help a lot more starving people.
I want to show you guys how dramatic these numbers are. Let's zoom in on the screen here. I'm going to refresh the screen right now and watch what happens. When they show you here how many people - look, tweets posted, e-mails sent. They say that there are all these millions going on, Facebook updates being done. With 350 million people, (INAUDIBLE) 5000's happen that fast. Children who have died from hunger, down there. So they're trying to make it really stark and reminding you that this happens every second, and there - every couple seconds there's a child dying from hunger.
A lot of great interactives at this site, including this, which is called "The Wall Against Hunger," where people are sending in their stories. And you can learn about people all over the world, what they're doing, how they're getting involved.
We have posted links. I can show you the graphic. It's up at the blog, also Facebook and Twitter. The blog is CNN.com/josh. Facebook and Twitter, at joshlevscnn. We talked about this once yesterday and got dozens and dozens of responses from people.
And guys, it'll be interesting to follow this Billion for a Billion program, Betty and T.J. And we'll see, does it work? Are they able to harness the power of Internet and make more money than they've ever made before to try to help those people starving around the world?
NGUYEN: Gosh I hope so, because the need is so great.
All right. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: Appreciate it.
HOLMES: Want to take a look at some of our stories that are making headlines this morning.
Thirty-one inmates on the loose after a deadly jailbreak in the Philippines. This happened in Isabella City. Authorities say a group of armed men broke through a wall and cut the cell padlock, so the prisoners just ran free. Police say a guard and one of the accomplices were killed.
NGUYEN: Well, the Senate has a crucial vote in just a few hours that will affect all of us. It is on a massive $1.1 trillion plan, and emotions, as you can imagine, are running high over so-called pork projects. This bill bundles six of the government's 12 annual budgets and it covers transportation, justice, foreign labor - foreign, labor - two different departments - health, education and veterans programs for next year.
HOLMES: All right. The Heisman Trophy, it goes to that guy. That's Mark Ingram from the University of Alabama, the running back there, who had a stellar year. He finished 28 points ahead of Stanford running back Toby Gerhart, who really was a - a big favorite, but he plays out in the West Coast. A lot of people didn't see him over here - yes, there's the East Coast bias and all that.
But it was the closest vote in the award's 75-year history. And would you believe, in that storied history of Alabama, this is actually the first time they've had a Heisman Trophy winner.
NGUYEN: Well, congratulations to him.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And little princesses out in full force. A look at how they celebrated a Disney first.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, MILEY CYRUS, "PARTY IN THE USA")
NGUYEN: This song always makes me happy.
HOLMES: Love that song.
NGUYEN: I know you do.
HOLMES: I'm not scared to say it.
NGUYEN: I'm not scared either. It's on our iPods, OK, folks? We'll just put it out there.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Well, many parents and children are raving about the newest release from Walt Disney Pictures, that being "The Princess and the Frog," featuring the first African-American princess.
HOLMES: Yes, some say this storyline is a fairy-tale dream come true.
And CNN's Fredricka Whitfield has reaction from the premiere here in Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG")
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: This is exactly the answer! You must kiss me.
VOICE OF ANIKA NONI ROSE, ACTRESS: Excuse me?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Disney's latest fairy-tale release, "The Princess and the Frog," have hundreds of little fair maidens flocking to theaters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just really wanted to see this movie so badly.
WHITFIELD: More than 400 kids and adults from this Brownie Troop showed up for a special screening in Atlanta.
DESIREE ROBINSON-PHILLIPS, COORDINATOR PARENT, BROWNIE GIRL SCOUTS: We have close to 500 African-American princesses, princes, mothers and some fathers here to celebrate a monumental in Disney history. More than 70 years it took to get us to this moment, and we're thankful for the fact that finally, we have an African-American princess.
WHITFIELD: With the debut of Disney's first African-American princess, many parents, some even dressing for the occasion, are as excited as their children.
TISHA DESHIELDS, PARENT: I'm excited. You know, I'm excited to share it with my daughter, so that when she grows up, she'll be - always remember this time that Mommy and - she and Mommy dressed up and were princesses for the day.
GENISE HUEY, PARENT: We're proud that Disney recognized the importance of having a black princess.
BERT THOMAS JR., PARENT: Something new that we need to see, something positive for our young girls as well as our young boys.
LAWANDA OBANNON, PARENT: I hope it is a sign of the times, and we'll - if - for such a company as Disney to go ahead and be the pioneer and starting something like this, I think it's great.
WHITFIELD: Images like this can be a boost for a child's self- esteem, says one clinical psychologist.
DR. LILY D. MCNAIR, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: The more we see positive images and depictions and portrayals of African-American girls and women, the more girls will see the possibilities for themselves in various arenas of life.
Seeing images that look like you, it says to little girls, 'You, too, can do this. You are important enough that we're going to put images that look like you out there.'
VOICE OF ROSE: Just one kiss.
WHITFIELD: But what do the kids think of the movie?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it was very, very good. I liked when the princess kissed the frog. Yes, I liked that part.
WHITFIELD: And while not everyone is caught u[ in the magic of this Disney princess movie, many hope it is seen in a larger context.
MCNAIR: This is the first time African-American girls can see on the big screen, in a Disney movie, a princess who resembles them. And that's very powerful.
WHITFIELD: But for now, these girls are content to be little princesses, even if just for a day.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: How cute is that?
And - and you know, the - the little princess dolls, too, are selling like hotcakes.
HOLMES: You know they are.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: You know they are. But that's cool. As - I want to say, it's a long time coming.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But so - a lot - a lot of kids, they just see a movie.
NGUYEN: They don't even care.
HOLMES: There was a princess.
NGUYEN: Yes, exactly. Exactly. They don't see the color in all of it.
All right. Well, you know, the president, when he speaks, a whole lot of people listen,
HOLMES: Yes, but are the banks listening? President Obama has a message for the CEOs now that they've been pulled back from the financial brink.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. Good morning on this Sunday. Thank you for watching. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. We'll share the stories making headlines right now.
We'll start in Houston where the city has its first openly gay mayor. Annise Parker won the run off there, with 53 percent of the vote. Houston now the largest U.S. city to ever elect an openly gay mayor. Here now is the mayor-elect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNISE PARKER, MAYOR-ELECT, HOUSTON: The voters of Houston have opened the door to history. I acknowledge that. I embrace that. I know what this win means to many of us who never thought we could achieve high office. I understand.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Parker is a Democrat. And she served on the Houston City Council and has been the city's controller the last five years.
NGUYEN: In Oregon rescue crews found body of one of three missing climbers who set out to scale Mount Hood on Friday. A search resumes at dawn this morning for the other two climbers. The search is still being called a rescue operation and some family members have joined in.
Well, security concerns over the five American terror suspects in Pakistan now. Authorities moved them from a small town jail to a more secure locations in the larger city of Lahore. The five men were allegedly plotting terrorist attacks and planning to travel into Afghanistan. They communicated with militants through an e-mail account, according to Pakistani police reports.
NGUYEN: Also in Pakistan, the military there says it finished an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan after almost three months. But many militants are believed to have fled to other areas along the border with Afghanistan. Pakistani officials say they may launch a new offensive in those spots. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says forces in Pakistan have to keep the pressure on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The Pakistani military has taken on the fight against the Pakistani Taliban and the United States has increased our efforts to help. But there are other terrorist groups is who have set up camp in Pakistan, where they are plotting global attacks and waging war against the troops from 42 nations, who comprise the international security assistance forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has a critical role and an abiding interest in helping this international effort. And we will continue to encourage the Pakistani government to take affirmative steps toward the goal of disrupting, dismantling and defeating Al Qaeda and the other terrorist groups responsible for so much suffering in Pakistan and around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: President Obama plans to work with Pakistan on anti- terror efforts as part of the new strategy in Afghanistan.
HOLMES: Well, federal regulators move to close regional banks in three states. They include Republican Federal Banks' four branches in Miami, the six branches of Solutions Bank in Overland Park, Kansas, and the sole branch of Valley Capital Bank in Mesa, Arizona. T total of 133 banks have failed so far this year. That is the highest number we have seen since 1992.
NGUYEN: All right. So, but what about the banks that have not gone belly-up? Frustrated small business owners are complaining they are not giving out loans despite billions of taxpayer dollars in relief funds. HOLMES: Now the president says it is time they start showing some gratitude. CNN's Kate Bolduan tells us how he plans to deliver that message tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (On camera): Betty, T.J., by government estimates small businesses create 65 percent of new jobs in the past 15 years, but this sector has been hit hard by the economy. And president Obama is trying to show he's on their side taking the message directly to the banks.
See you soon. Take care. Bye.
BOLDUAN (voice over): Andy Shallal has a rare story in tough business economic times. His businesses, bookstores restaurants around Washington are thriving.
ANDY SHALLAL, OWNER, BUSBOYS AND POETS: Washington is a political town. It is a literary town. It is a town that really needs this kind of a place and I think it has been very successful because of that.
BOLDUAN: Shallal is looking to expand and add about 40 employees, but despite good business, the economy is still holding him back. He can't get a loan.
SHALLAL: I am a growing business. I have a track record. I've been in the business for a long time. I have good assets, great cash flow, great credit. Yet, I still have a hard time trying to get enough money to be able to grow my business.
BOLDUAN: The harsh reality many small businesses face and something President Obama is now promising to tackle. White House officials tell CNN Mr. Obama will meet Monday with chief executives with some of the nation's biggest banks, including Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. His message?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, you have a responsibility now, now that we have pulled you back from the brink to help make sure that Main Street is actually getting the kinds of loan that is it needs.
BOLDUAN: But the banks say it is much more complicated than that, at a time when Congress is considering sweeping changes to the banking regulatory system. Scott Talbot represents some of the country's largest firms.
SCOTT TALBOT, THE FINANCIAL SERVICE ROUNDTABLE: Banks are lending to small businesses. There are two challenges here. One, is the small businesses are not borrowing such as they used to. They are holding back. Second of all, you have seen an increase of the tighten of the credit standards. So banks are cautious now about lending in terms of who to borrower is. We are looking to make good, solid loans that can be repaid. BOLDUAN: The Obama administration has also proposed redirecting unused TARP funds to help increase lending to small businesses. Andy Shallal says whatever the solution, he just hopes to start feel the ripple effect soon.
SHALLAL: You really need to give that money back to that - the source that's going to provide the most amount of jobs, the most amount of economic stimulus for the economy, which is small businesses.
BOLDUAN (On camera): When the president meets with bank executives Monday, the official White House schedule says they will discuss their shared interest in economic recovery, the need to increase lending to small business, and financial regulatory reform.
White House officials are more blunt telling CNN the president will pretty much lay it out saying that the banks were saved for the greater good, not their own profit margins, and it is time to pitch in. Betty, T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. Well, a disturbing discovery in Thailand overnight. A cargo plane from North Korea was seized in Bangkok.
HOLMES: Yes, tons of weapons found stockpiled inside. We are getting the latest on exactly where that plane was headed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Some of our top stories this morning, the Senate has a crucial vote in just a few hours that will affect everybody. It is a massive $1.1 trillion spending plan. The emotions running high over so-called pork projects; you know those things they sneak into those bills for the hometown projects. This bill bundles six of the government's 12 annual budgets and provides funding for 5,000 congressional pet projects.
NGUYEN: The U.S. State Department wants to know why one of its contract employees has been detained in Cuba. The man was taken into custody December 5th, but because of privacy laws, few facts are known about the case. "The New York Times" reports that he was distributing cell phones, laptops and other communication equipment.
And the closest vote in history, but in the end, sophomore running back Mark Ingram was named the Heisman Trophy winner for this year. He is from the University of Alabama. Storied history there in the football program, would you believe this is the first Heisman winner they ever had. Ingram edged out Stanford running back Toby Gearhart by just 28 points. Again, that is the closest in history. He also beat some other guy, some quarterback from Texas.
NGUYEN: Oh, boy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: A defiant defense of the Iraq war from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. In an interview with the BBC Blair says he would have supported removing Saddam Hussein from power even if there were no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you had known then that there were no WMDs, would you still have gone on?
TONY BLAIR, FMR. PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: I would still have thought it right to remove him. Obviously, you would have to use and deploy different arguments about the nature of the threat. But I find it quite odd, because I spend so much time out there now, and they are about to have an election, which will be probably be the single most significant thing that has happened in that region for many years. Because they managed at long last to break out of, actually, the religious divide. So you have groupings for the first time standing there in election who are going to be broad based.
Now, we hope that it works. But I'm out there a lot of the time now in the work I do in Israel and Palestine, I can't really think we would be better with them and his two sons still in charge. But it is incredibly difficult. And I totally understand. That's why I sympathize with the people who were against it for perfectly good reasons, and are against it now. But for me, you know n the end I have to take the decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Next year Blair is expected to be questioned at a British inquiry focusing on Britain's role in the war.
HOLMES: A cargo plane from North Korea seized in Thailand with tons of weapons stockpiled inside.
NGUYEN: Yes, what was going on there? Our Dan Rivers in Bangkok where officials want to know what the final destination was supposed to be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (On camera): There is considerable mystery surrounding the plane on the tarmac behind me, an Ilyushin 76 cargo plane, that came from North Korea.
Security officials here were astonished when they opened the hold to find a massive consignment of illegal weapons in contravention of U.S. arms embargo against North Korea. It included about 35 to 40 tons of arms, including 50 or so cases of shoulder-launched missiles, large quantities of rocket-propelled grenades and large amounts of ammunition for small arms such as AK-47s.
I'm told by one source that they think this plane had been in Bangkok several times before, perhaps as recently as the 10th of December. And that it has been under surveillance for some time by several different intelligence agencies. They decided to sweep on this occasion, the plane's manifest had it going next after refueling here onto Colombo for another refueling stop. Bu the final destination is still unclear, possibly somewhere in the Middle East, although that is not yet confirmed.
The cargo has now been offloaded and taken to a military base for further investigation. Meanwhile, the crew of this Georgia registered plane, including four Kazaks, and one man, the pilot, from Belarus; they will appear in court, here in Bangkok on Monday morning charged with charges relating to illegal smuggling of weapons into Thailand. Dan Rivers, CNN, at Don Muang Airport, Bangkok.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Coming up, debt collectors may be taking it too far.
You know, they really can be aggressive sometimes when they come after folks trying to collect the money they are owed, but did one debt collector actually cause a Florida man's death?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, to Washington State now at the coffee shop where four police officers were gunned down. It has now reopened. Bagpipes play as the first of hundreds of the customers walked in yesterday. Some reportedly waited up to three hours to get in; kind of a symbolic gesture here to get in and get their morning coffee.
NGUYEN: Inside, the store's owners have put up pictures of the slain officers. The Lakewood police chief says they are still grieving after the ambush-style attack, but the community support has helped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF BRET BARRAR, LAKEWOOD POLICE: Like everything else the last couple of weeks, it is so heartwarming and really pounds home the point as to why we do this. It is a dangerous job with bad things happening sometimes, but bottom line is we are out here to support the community, and the community supports us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: You may recall the suspect in the murders was shot and killed, by police, two days later.
NGUYEN: You may remember all those protests out in California over the tuition increase in the UC system? Well, at UC Berkley, at least, things have taken a bit of an ugly turn.
At least eight people now in custody after police say they helped vandalize the school chancellor's house. Officials say the suspects and as many as 60 others broke windows, smashed lights and trashed planters late Friday. They reportedly chanted "No justice, no peace." On campus there's mixed reaction to what's been happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm shocked by it, but I'm also shocked that they raised the fees by 33 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is unacceptable. I would not be behind them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, 33 percent. It will cost these kids thousands and thousands more. It will be $10,000 for a year to go to school out there at the UC schools. The chancellor and his wife were home during that attack but were not hurt.
NGUYEN: All right, everybody. If you live on the East Coast, get prepared. If you are on the West Coast, well, it is already there. We are talking about some pretty nasty weather outside. Karen Maginnis joins us now. She is in for Reynolds Wolf.
What are you watching?
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, when it comes to gift giving, who does a better job than President Obama or the first lady? We'll hear them argue that one out.
HOLMES: Also, making the holidays memorable for America's men and women on duty overseas. We'll tell you how you can spruce of their holidays.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it will be the first time the Obamas are greeted by Santa in the White House, their first Christmas there.
NGUYEN: Yes. So, who has the bragging rights when it comes to playing Santa? Well, the president, he thinks he does. And so does the first lady. Well, with that, Oprah tries to get to the bottom of it in a prime sometime special airing tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Is there a greater pressure to give a good gift when you are the president, or can you get away with a lesser gift if you are the president?
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Sorry, busy.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know,
WINFREY: Sorry, busy.
M. OBAMA: What are you going to get me?
B. OBAMA: You know, I have been given some good gifts. M. OBAMA: You should feel pressure.
(LAUGHTER)
B. OBAMA: You get some nice stuff. Here's the general rule. I give nicer stuff than I get.
WINFREFY: Really?
M. OBAMA: No way. I gave you good gifts last year.
B. OBAMA: Oh, come on, please.
(LAUGHTER)
B. OBAMA: It is like -- mother's day and father's day.
WINFREY: Yes?
B. OBAMA: You know, you can -
M. OBAMA: We are talking about Christmas. Don't become distracted.
B. OBAMA: But that principle applies in generally.
WINFREY: So you are a good gift giver?
B. OBAMA: Where did you get this nice little a --
M. OBAMA: This was a gift.
WINFREY: Was this anniversary?
M. OBAMA: Anniversary.
WINFREY: Anniversary, yeah, nice.
B. OBAMA: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: I don't know. I kind of believe him.
HOLMES: About the gift giving?
NGUYEN: At least he has some proof.
HOLMES: He did. He was pretty forceful in his defense.
NGUYEN: He was.
HOLMES: Yes. That sounded authentic. It is cool to see them.
NGUYEN: You are a gift giver yourself.
HOLMES: I am a great gift giver.
NGUYEN: You are. You are very thoughtful.
HOLMES: Thank you. You have got some good stuff coming.
NGUYEN: And me?
HOLMES: Oh, Betty, you have some work, Betty.
NGUYEN: Whatever.
NGUYEN: All right. In case you were wondering, and I know you were. Everyone is interested in the family pet, well, the White House dog won't be left out. Michelle Obama says he gets a stocking, too, just like the rest of the family.
HOLMES: Christmas, of course, a season of good will. It is a perfect time to give back, especially to those serving overseas.
NGUYEN: Gilbert Baez from our affiliate WDVD tells us about a unique way some are showing their support troops one Christmas tree at a time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one will be perfect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah? OK.
GILBERT BAEZ, WDVD REPORTER, FORT BRAGG N.C.: A week ago Patrick Sherlock was in the middle of a war zone. Right now he is home for a couple of weeks of rest and relaxation from Iraq. He made it home just in time to help his wife pick out their Christmas tree.
PFC. PATRICK SHERLOCK, FORT BRAGG SOLDIER: It is wonderful to come out here and see all the support for the troops and the family. Especially coming out here to pick a tree is a really great opportunity, especially being so far away.
BAEZ: It is called Trees for Troops. For the past five years FedEx and the National Christmas Tree Association has donated trees for our soldiers and their families.
PFC. VLADIMIR RIVERA, FORT BRAGG SOLDIER: It is awesome because I don't spend much time at home. So it will be good.
BAEZ (on camera): These trees come from all over the country and they have personal notes to boot. Like this one: It says thank you. You are in our prayers every night. Pete and Carol from Newton, Massachusetts.
HEATHER LOSEE, SOLDIER'S WIFE: I think that's amazing because there's handwritten notes on most of them, saying that they support the soldiers. And it's really special that they come from all over the -- I thought it was going to be from just around here and I've seen Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, everywhere. BAEZ (voice-over): The trees are distributed by Fort Bragg's Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department. They say it's a labor of love.
HEATHER YBARRA, MORALE WELFARE AND RECREATION: Especially for the families of deployed soldiers, it helps boost their morale this time of the year. It's great for the soldiers financially. Things are kind of difficult around the world right now. Anything that we can do to help them out we'd greatly enjoy doing it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And if you want to help make a brighter, greener holiday for the troops, you can. All you have to do is log on to ChristmasSpiritFoundation.org and you would find out all the information you need.
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everybody. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is December, 13th. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, where we sit; 4:00 a.m. in Cupertino, California. Wherever you might be -- thank you for starting your day right here with us.
First here, five American terror suspects held in Pakistan have been moved due to security fears. We are live in Islamabad with the latest on that probe, including possible links to a broader terror network.
NGUYEN: And while you're getting ready for your breakfast, or already thinking about lunch, it's the perfect time to think about the safety of your food. Is the government doing enough to protect us all from salmonella, E. coli and other food-born dangers? The spotlight is on the FDA and we have the details.
The top stories now.
The city of Houston has its first openly gay mayor. Annise Parker won the runoff there with 53 percent of the vote. Houston is the largest American city to ever elect an openly gay mayor. A fact not lost on Parker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNISE PARKER, HOUSTON MAYOR-ELECT: This election has changed the world for the gay, lesbian and bisexual and transgendered community.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Parker, a Democrat, was Houston City's controller for five years.
HOLMES: In Oregon, rescue crews found the body of one of three missing climbers who set out to scale Mount Hood on Friday. Authorities identified the body of 26-year-old Luke Gullberg. The search resumes this morning for the other two climbers. The search is still being called a rescue operation at this point. Some family members even have joined in.
NGUYEN: In southern California, more than 100 cars stranded after a series of mudslides north of L.A. The cars were trapped on the Angeles Crest Highway in Angeles National Forest. The Los Angeles County fire inspector says they managed to get most of the cars out late last night while the drivers were sheltered at a nearby restaurant. No injuries were reported.
HOLMES: Security concerns over the five American terror suspects in Pakistan. Authorities have now moved them from a small town jail to a more secure location in the larger city of Lahore. And the sixth man, the father of one of the suspects, has now been questioned.
Meanwhile, the leader of the suspects' mosque back in the States, struggling still with these allegations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ESSAM TELLAWI, MOSQUE LEADER: We'd like for things to go back the way they were. We were very happy community. I still imagine -- I still, you know, I want to see them just walking in the mosque and praying with us and I want -- I want them to come back and pray with us, and for things to go back to normal, jolly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now live from Islamabad.
Hello to you, Arwa. We just talked about there, they had to be moved. They were moved from a small jail to another, more secure location. Why do authorities there feel that was a necessary move?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., they are not disclosing the exact details as to why they felt if the five stayed in Sarghoda, they would be under some sort of a security threat, but they did say that this was a move that was intended to keep them safe. They moved from Sarghoda to the city of Lahore. Sarghoda, of course, is being where the raid and the arrests took place.
And as you did mention earlier, there was a sixth man -- sixth man who was detained along with the five. He was, in fact, the father of one of the young men who was already in Pakistan, and authorities are saying that they never believed or suspected that he was directly involved in the plot. They did however want to bring him in for questioning.
And at this point, they still have not been charged. None of the five who are detained are officially facing any sort of charges. If the Pakistanis decide not to charge them, we are hearing that in that case, they will be deported -- T.J.
HOLMES: And, Arwa, you said they haven't been changed just yet. They're still being held. So, I guess, what is it that the officials are putting together as far as some kind of link between these men and either a terror plot or maybe a terror network?
DAMON: Well, T.J., this has proven to be a very complex story unfolding here. And what the Pakistani authorities are trying to do is exploit as much information, go after any sort of leads that they possibly can obtain from these five individuals.
What we do know from the minister of the interior is that they have been able to garner a number of very significant leads. They are looking into things like how did these five end up coming to Pakistan, who helped them at customs in the airport, who picked them up from the airport? Who was facilitating movements around Pakistan until they were actually detained? And who was this individual who had issued them their marching orders that they would have carried out and been successful in carrying out if the Pakistani hadn't showed exactly when they did.
And -- so the Pakistanis are saying, though, that, you know, if these individuals haven't carried out an attack or any sort of terror strike just yet, what they might be doing is charging them with the intent to do so. But at this point, they are very much trying to exploit the leads that they can because Pakistan, as we all know, is really struggling in this battle against its own homegrown militants.
HOLMES: And last thing here, Arwa, we're talking about five American terror suspects in Pakistan now. So, are the two countries at least collaborating, working together in this investigation?
DAMON: They are, T.J. And the minister of interior is pointing to the specific cases, being an example and one that should be repeated, what happened is that the FBI, according to the minister, actually alerted the Pakistani authorities to keep an eye out that these five men might be making their way over here. And the minister is saying, "Look, in this case, there was a sharing of intelligence and we were able to successfully conduct an operation on our end and bring these young men into custody," saying that he wanted to see even more sharing of intelligence between the U.S. and the Pakistanis as they do try to combat the homegrown militants here and as blatantly obvious now, militants that are coming in from overseas, even from America -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Arwa Damon for us in Islamabad this morning -- thank you so much, Arwa.
NGUYEN: Well, in just a few hours, the Senate votes on a massive spending plan that is drawing a whole lot of heat.
HOLMES: Yes. It is a massive bill. We are talking about a $1.1 trillion spending bill, includes 5,000 congressional pet projects. The vote is set for 2:00 Eastern, sets the stage for a busy, busy week ahead.
CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, has a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, Betty and T.J.
President Barack Obama meets tomorrow with chief executives of some of the country's biggest banks. White House officials tell CNN the president will push the bankers to lend more money to small businesses and consumers. It's part of the president's plan to try and pump up the economy and create more jobs.
Mr. Obama is also proposing to spend some of the unused billions of taxpayer dollars from the Wall Street and bank bailout to spur growth. House Democrats could pass the bill this week that would include such a move.
But Republicans are pushing back, saying any unspent bucks from the bailout should be used to help bring down the massive budget deficit.
The battle over health care reform resumes in the Senate this week. Senate leaders are waiting for the price tag on a new agreement that would drop the public option.
Republicans and even some Democrats are opposed to a government- run health care plan that would compete with private insurance. So, instead, 10 Senate Democrats this past week came up with a different plan which would allow private insurance companies to offer nonprofit coverage run by the government and the call for expanding Medicare by allowing people as young as 55 to buy into the government-run system.
Once the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office prices the plan, the Senate could vote on a final health care bill as early as the end of this week.
But some Republicans say they plan to rally against the Democrats' bill Tuesday just outside the Capitol -- Betty, T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Thanks for that, Paul.
You know, there are some severe weather on both coasts. We're going to get the latest on several storm systems hitting the country.
HOLMES: And also, Josh Levs looking into something else viral out there on the Web.
Good morning, again.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, guys.
This little guy right here is the hottest new Internet sensation. It's because of what he accomplishes in this video. We're going to show it to you. Plus, how the Muppets have returned in a whole new way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning, everyone. I'm CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis.
A lot to tell you about. Let's start out across the west coast, in Los Angeles, we are looking at a flash flood warning in effect because the rain is coming down, especially those burn areas where a little bit of rain is going to go a long way.
We've got some pictures. Let's start out with the Sierra Nevada, right around Reno-Tahoe area, where snow was coming down today. Once again, the winter storm warnings in effect. So, additional snowfall is expected on the order of six to 12 inches, but some of those higher peaks are looking at maybe one to two feet of snowfall.
In those lower elevations, about a half inch of rainfall expected. Take a look at some of the rock and debris on the roadways in southern California. Take a look at this.
Now, about 90 motorists were stranded because of some of the rock and mud debris that were on some of the roadways here just to the north of Los Angeles. Again, today, that's another possibility.
But this is what we have to deal with right now as the rain moves in. It's not going to be a lot, not comparatively to east coast standards, but a little bit is going to be very meaningful.
I want to show you this particular map where we see you the red, where you see the turquoise areas, winter storm and winter weather advisories all the way from the Sierra Nevada into San Juan, Sangre de Cristo, Wasatch, Uinta Mountains, Sawtooth, the Wind River Valley into the Yellowstone Park, we've got all kinds of weather advisories from a very vigorous weather system that's expected to continue to march its way across the interior west. And right across the interior sections of the Great Lakes and the northeast, winter weather advisories there as well.
CNN SUNDAY MORNING will continue right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: Well, a little boy -- are you all right?
HOLMES: Please.
NGUYEN: A popular song becomes this Internet sensation.
HOLMES: Yes. One of our viral videos, Josh Levs is here to show us this morning. Hello again, Josh.
LEVS: Hi, T.J. I thought you were warming up your voice because you want to sing along with this...
HOLMES: Oh, no, I eat breakfast while Betty is working up here.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: We know your secrets.
So, you guys know the song by Jason Mraz "I'm Yours"? It's been on the radio a lot.
HOLMES: Not well.
LEVS: OK. We're going to give the viewers a little clip of that to refresh their memories.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: OK. A really catchy song that got insane amounts of radio airplay. But no one -- there's been a lot of coverage -- no one has ever done it like this. Huge viral now, take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP, YOUTUBE.COM)
LEVS: This little boy, this has had millions of views over the past week. There have been articles yet about him. We're looking for, I guess, more information. He's got to be about 4 or 5 years old. He doesn't know the lyrics, obviously. Nails the inflections, plays every chord.
Let me play it full again for a second.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: He gets the percussion down perfectly. He plays the entire song, completely alone. It's all one take. People are going wild over this little boy, just wanted to know (INAUDIBLE), on all the various Web sites and we looked at some Web sites that show what the most violent videos in America are. This kid, number one, the viral video on four different list that I saw over the past week, millions and millions.
But if that's not your speed, I'm going to end here with one other little piece of music that's also been huge on the Web over the past week. You've never seen anything like this. Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP, JIM HENSEN PRODUCTIONS)
LEVS: The Muppets are back. They're doing a song that's been covered so many times before, but never like quite this, from Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody." And you can see, even the bananas there are getting in on the action. And people can see it enough.
Now, we love to hear what you're thinking about the viral videos. What you're favorite viral videos are. This is where you can send them. We've got a list for you. Go to the blog, CNN.com/Josh. Also, Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. Hopefully, one of those two give you guys a little music to help wake you up this morning early on a Sunday morning.
So, Betty and T.J., do you have a preference between those two?
NGUYEN: I think the kid is great. I mean, he can play, he can really play.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: There are no lyrics.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: The lyrics, I was trying to make it out, but, you know, maybe it's bad audio. I don't know.
LEVS: There's a lot of na, na, na.
NGUYEN: We'll blame it on that, shall we? A technical difficulty.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: Love it.
NGUYEN: Such a cute pie, too.
All right. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: We're going to let him sing.
Well, nobody out there, you don't like hearing from debt collectors.
NGUYEN: No.
HOLMES: Of course, they want their money and they don't always say please.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I see you I'm going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you up. I want my money and I want it now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, I don't know if there was a debt collector or that was a grease man, I don't know.
NGUYEN: My goodness. But did harassment from collectors actually cause a Florida man's death? We're going to delve into that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Some of the top stories we're keeping an eye on.
In Oregon, rescue crews found the body of one of three missing climbers who set out to scale Mount Hood on Friday. Authorities identify the body is that of 26-year-old Luke Gullberg. A search resumes this morning for the other two climbers.
NGUYEN: History in Houston as the city elects its first openly gay mayor. Annise Parker won the runoff with 53 percent of the vote. Houston is the largest American city to ever elect an openly gay mayor. Parker is a Democrat who served as a city controller for five years.
HOLMES: So, the Heisman Trophy was handed out in New York and there he is, Mark Ingram. He is your Heisman Trophy winner. He's a running back from the University of Alabama. He finished 28 points ahead of Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. That is the closest in the award's 75-year history.
Also, in Alabama history as a football program, this is their first Heisman winner. He'll try to pick up another trophy in January when his team plays for the national championship.
NGUYEN: But if the Longhorns have anything to do with that, they'll take home that trophy.
HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: All right, we'll move on.
They are one of the best arguments for caller I.D. We are talking about debt collectors and the methods that some of them are using.
HOLMES: John Zarrella talks with a Florida woman who claims one collection agency harassed her husband to death.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here's how debt collectors are supposed to treat you on the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to inform you and I am obligated to inform you that this is an attempt to collect a debt.
ZARRELLA: This is how they are not.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stanley McLeod. You need to call Green Tree and get your act together and make your payments on your mortgage and quit playing these games.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Dianne McLeod says the call is one of hundreds her husband got before he died of heart failure.
(on camera): How many phone calls a day did you get?
DIANNE UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six, seven. It might have been more.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): McLeod is now suing Green Tree Servicing LLC with using harassing tactics that broke Florida law and she claims led to her husband's death.
MCLEOD: The stress built up with him. He had trouble sleeping, not eating well. The stress was getting worse and worse for him.
ZARRELLA: The company's general counsel told CNN, quote, "The collection activity did not lead to his death. The claim is meritless. We deny that the content, the number or the timing of the calls had anything to do with him dying in 2005," end quote.
After a heart attack and continuing heart problems, Stanley McLeod went on disability in 2002. The McLeods fell behind about three months on their mortgage payments. The calls began.
This one after explaining to the collector he had been life- flighted to the hospital.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why don't you have that helicopter pick you up and bring that payment to the office?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Scare tactics charges McLeod's attorney, Billy Howard.
BILLY HOWARD, CONSUMER ATTORNEY: That's how this mafia-like tactics result in so much money. People are scared.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Howard says this is not an isolated incident. He's got hundreds of cases involving other clients. Now, how would you feel if you got a call like this?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I see you, I'm going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you up. I want my money and I want it now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Or this one.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You haven't heard the last of me and if it takes me a year or takes me two, believe me, I will find you.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ANNA INGLETT, PHG RECOVERY SERVICES: We want them gone, all of them gone.
ZARRELLA: Anna Inglett runs a debt collection agency. She says collectors breaking the law should be prosecuted.
INGLETT: I feel like sometimes the industry is penalized for a few bad apples. And we try very hard at our firm, we absolutely make sure that we are in compliance.
ZARRELLA (on camera): With the recession, the number of people in debt has gone up and so have the number of complaints against debt collection agencies. According to the Federal Trade Commission, between January and June of this year, they received 45,000 complaints.
(voice-over): That's up more than 20 percent of over the same period last year. But the FTC has only one case pending, referring most complains to the states for legal action to protect consumers. Attorneys say, if you get what harassing messages, do what Stanley McLeod did, save the tapes.
John Zarrella, CNN, Tampa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That's an eye-opener there.
A new report raises some serious questions about the safety of our food.
HOLMES: Is the government doing enough to protect you?
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NGUYEN: All right. This morning as you're having your breakfast, we're asking, is our food supply safe?
HOLMES: Yes. A new report is raising questions about the government's ability to protect us from food-borne illnesses. And as CNN's Mary Snow tells us, the problem lies partially with processing plants.
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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just as recent salmonella concerns led to a recall of more than 20,000 pounds of beef, a new report finds gaping holes in the government's system to trace the food supply. Food facilities are required to register with the Food and Drug Administration to enable the FDA to trace food sources and remove contaminated products from the food chain quickly if need be. But an audit from the Department of Human and Health Services inspector general finds that of 130 facilities surveyed, nearly half didn't provide accurate information about who contact in an emergency. And it found more than half the managers at those facilities were unaware of the registry requirements.
It's something Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who chairs a House Subcommittee on Agriculture, says is unacceptable.
REP. ROSA DELAURO (D), CONNECTICUT: It is shocking and it really is appalling because this is about safety. This is about public health. When you -- when you have negligence like this, then you put the public health at risk -- and, you know, this costs lives.
SNOW: A salmonella outbreak among peanut products earlier this year may have been linked to nine deaths. In another outbreak, officials believe tomatoes to be the source of illnesses only to find out weeks later that jalapenos in Mexico were to blame.
DELAURO: Who is guarding the store here? That's what the issue is.
SNOW: DeLauro blames negligence of the FDA and the prior administration and supports legislation that would give the FDA greater power to enforce rules.
And the FDA in a statement says, "The FDA agrees with the findings of this report. We are hopeful that the food safety legislation currently moving through Congress will go a long way toward resolving many of these issues."
A program was put in place after 9/11 to protect the food supply from bio-terrorism, a threat that seems remote to nutrition expert Marion Nestle, author of "Safe Food."
MARION NESTLE, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: Right now, we don't need to worry about bio-terrorism. We have plenty of our problems with our food supply that we can't seem to get a grip on.
SNOW (on camera): As for possible solutions, one recommendation made in the audit is to give the FDA authority to impose fines on facilities that don't comply with regulations. A similar case is made in pending legislation.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
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NGUYEN: Well, CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues in just 30 minutes.
HOLMES: Yes. But first, "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's up right now.
