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CNN Saturday Morning News
School Collapses in Haiti: Search Underway for Children; Hurricane Paloma Now a Category Four Storm; Ebenezer Baptist Church on Election Night; Barack Obama and How He Will Help Fix the Economy
Aired November 08, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is November 8, 2008.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
First here, we got a desperate search to tell you about. It's underway in Haiti after a school collapsed. Dozens of children trapped. Many of them could still be alive under that rubble. We'll get into this.
NGUYEN: Also in the Caribbean, Hurricane Paloma now a category four storm. Forecasters say the extremely dangerous hurricane is headed for Cuba next.
HOLMES: Also, we will take you back to election night. It was a big night in a lot of places. It was a big night, a historic night in a historic place here in Atlanta, Georgia -- Ebenezer Baptist Church, an unforgettable night at a place where Martin Luther King, Jr. once stood at the pulpit. We'll show a reporter's notebook coming up -- Betty.
NGUYEN: A lot of history made this past week.
But we do want to begin with this -- a developing story out of Haiti. Right now, rescue workers are just racing to find survivors of a school collapse that has killed at least 50 students so far. About 200 others, ranging from kindergartens to high schoolers -- they are still missing. Now, the school is located in an especially poor area just outside of Port-au-Prince.
And CNN's Tom Watkins has more on this tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM WATKINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This pile of rocks and dust was a multi-story, re-enforced concrete schoolhouse until 10:00 o'clock Friday morning. That's when it collapsed.
Some 700 people -- kindergarten through high school -- attended College La Promesse (The Promise) school. No one knows how many were inside when it transformed into a tomb.
Rescuers, using pick axes, hammers, or just their hands, pulled many out alive. But scores of others did not survive.
The president of Haiti's Red Cross organized rescue efforts over the phone.
VOICE OF MICHAELE GEDEON, HAITIAN RED CROSS: On the phone, you can hear so many, so many children, you know, crying -- crying and saying, this one is dead, that one is dead. You know, and we're trying -- my rescuers -- and there are many now, many, many, they are trying to, you know, to calm down the kids.
WATKINS: But this woman, who could not find her four children, could not be calmed.
Rescuers vowed to work around the clock. The U.S. government sent a search and rescue team of 38 people, four dogs and 15 tons of equipment.
Tom Watkins, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, those crews were packing up for the big trip last night and we do have some new video because we just got it in from Fairfax, Virginia. Take a look at this. That is the staging area where the U.S. rescue team was prepping for its trip to Haiti. Again, that team of about 38 people and four dogs is expected to arrive in the region sometime today. We, of course, will bring you that information just as soon as we get it.
But this information I want to bring to you right now -- Hurricane Paloma, a category four storm headed to Cuba. Right now, it's lashing the Grand Caymans with strong winds and heavy rain.
Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joins us now with the latest on that.
Reynolds, boy, this is quite a storm.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's a monster. I mean, we're talking a cat four storm in November. It doesn't happen all that often, but it has happened before. And most recently, being back in 2001, the Hurricane Michelle.
One thing interesting about these storms, folks, is that it is very difficult for a storm this powerful to retain this kind of strength. They don't last that long. They tend to weaken rapidly and this one is expected to weaken but just to category three as it makes landfall tomorrow in Cuba.
Very quickly, let's show the path we have from National Hurricane Center, one thing you're going to notice, Betty and I were talking about this during the break, this storm, once it crosses over Cuba, begins to slow down inconsiderably. Watch this. We put it into motion, winds of 140 miles an hour.
As we get to early morning on Sunday, making landfall in parts of Cuba as a category three. It's going to weaken once it moves over land and crosses higher elevation, and then, barely moves at all once it gets back into parts of the southeastern Bahamas. Just as a tropical storm, then it's depression and it is expected to die out as we fast forward all the way into Thursday.
So, at this point it doesn't pose any direct threat to the United States. One thing with could see, say, Miami could be, may be increased clouds or maybe a few scattered showers in the out flow. But in terms of making direct landfall in the U.S., not in the cards. And there's a reason for that. The reason for it is because of the frontal boundary that's making its way across the United States and that frontal boundary this morning is bringing some scattered showers to parts of the I-10 even I-75 corridor.
And as we follow our way up to the eastern seaboard, we're going to see these rain drops right through the nation's capital, back into Baltimore, even upstate New York, along parts of I-81. As we move back towards the western half of the Great Lakes, not really rain we're talking about but also some snowfall back from Green Bay into Madison, even into Milwaukee this morning, snowflakes, something you're going to see but if it's accumulation will not be in the cards, very little is expected.
The strong winds, though, will be at the very least, very interesting. Speaking of wind, take a look at this video that we have for you from the Cayman Islands. We're going to show that right now. And that video is just compelling.
Take a look at this -- the wave is beginning to mount, just pop up. You know, we've seen them up and down much of the gulf coast, especially in Texas this hurricane season. The roughest activity has already taken place in the Caymans. The storm is now leaving the Cayman Islands, including Georgetown in its wake. But as it makes its way into parts of Cuba, I would say, into parts of southeastern Cuba, especially, conditions are going to deteriorate hour by hour, the worst of it by early tomorrow morning.
That is the last we've got for you in terms of your weather. But we're going to give you more updates, of course, and Paloma, and, of course, this nasty winter weather in parts of the Midwest.
NGUYEN: Yes.
WOLF: We'll be talking about that, too.
NGUYEN: A lot going on. OK, thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.
We will turn to the transition for President-elect Barack Obama. He is turning his attention to the nation's ailing economy.
The Dow closed up more than 240 points yesterday. The NASDAQ up nearly 39 points. But however, for the week, the two lost about 4 percent of their value. Now, this comes on the heels of a Labor Department report that 240,000 jobs were lost in October. The nation's unemployment rate at 6.5 percent, that's the highest it's been in 14 years.
Also, the nation's big automakers in some trouble. General Motors reporting $2.5 billion in losses and announcing it is suspending talks to acquire Chrysler. Ford, on the other hand, as well, losing $129 million. Each is believed on the edge of revealing more job cuts.
Also, some more bad news here, another bank failure to tell you about. And actually (ph), we got two to tell you about here. Franklin Bank of Houston, Texas, out, also, Security Pacific Bank of California. Those two now account for 19 bank failures in the U.S. this year.
Well, the president-elect went to the problem of the economy. His first news conference since Tuesday's election, Obama said he wants to deal head-on with the economic turmoil. He gave reporters a brief outline.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT-ELECT: We need a rescue plan for the middle-class that invests in immediate efforts to create jobs and provide relief to families that are watching their paychecks shrink and their life savings disappear. A particularly urgent priority is a further extension of unemployment insurance benefits for workers who cannot find work in the increasingly weak economy. A fiscal stimulus plan that will jump-start economic growth is long overdue. I've talked about it throughout this -- the last few months of the campaign. We should get it done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And Obama said that Congress passes another stimulus package before the end of the year, he would make it a priority when he takes office. Could we actually see another stimulus package? We're going to check in with deputy political editor, Paul Steinhauser.
Paul, good morning to you, kind sir. Good to see you as always. We got one big stimulus package, you know, we have that $700 billion supposed to help out. Now, we could get another round. Is there a possibility this could actually happen?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, T.J., that's what Obama would like, and as you mentioned, that was part of what he said on the campaign trail for the last couple of months, that one stimulus package was not enough. He is pushing for a second one. But, T.J. --
HOLMES: Paul, it sounds like -- hey, Paul, we're going to stop you there. We got a little problem with your mike there. It sounds like we got you in a black hole somewhere. We're going to get you out of that black hole and trying to get that microphone fixed. And we'll get back to you here in just a second. So, stand by there for me, Paul. We will get that fixed and get back to you.
We do want to remind some our viewers here. We got Campbell Brown coming up. A special edition of "CAMPBELL BROWN: NO BIAS, NO BULL," that you can check out the transition to power. Campbell is going to be taking a look at the defining moments from this presidential election. That is tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Also, we want to know what you think about all of this going on, all this transition. What do you want a President Obama to accomplish by 2012? You can send us your answers at Weekends@CNN.com. We will read those responses on the air.
NGUYEN: Well, but -- you know, as we look forward, we do want to pause just a moment to look back history in the making. Where were you Tuesday night?
Well, T.J. was right here working. We start out early in the morning and went through the night.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: You were at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
HOLMES: 1:00 to 5:00 a.m., yes, you and I kicked it CNN's Election Day coverage, if you will. But it continued throughout the night. And something special there -- Ebenezer Baptist, the place where Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly preached from the pulpit. But also, we had so much of the civil rights era movement, and also, a lot to do with voting rights, and to see now to be in that place when the first black man was elected president. We'll show you what was happening in there, some special sights (INAUDIBLE).
NGUYEN: And lots of history. Again, we're going to tell this story, too, though. This is very interesting. What this newborn right here has to do with the president-elect?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, some snow in early November. Look at this. These iReports were taken by Chris Panetta in Northern Black Hills, South Dakota. A pretty site unless that's your car. And they were digging outside his house. And he guessed, as they got -- about 45 inches of snow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Paul Steinhauser, can I get a microphone check from you?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, sir.
HOLMES: There he is, my man. How are you doing? All right, we'll try this again. We're talking about that stimulus, a possible second round, another one that President-elect Obama is talking about. What is real the possibility of that happening and could we see one before he actually takes office?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, you know, T.J., I make more sense when you don't hear me. But...
(LAUGHTER)
STEINHAUSER: Listen, he's been advocating for the second stimulus package for quite some time, on the campaign trail and now as president-elect. Will it happen? The Congress comes back in about a week. It's a lame duck Congress. But right now, the Democrats in Congress and the president and the White House are a little bit at odds over the stimulus package. The White House is not 100 percent sure it's really needed.
So, will it get passed? That's not a done deal. Obama says put partisan politics aside, let's get this done. He said that yesterday in the news conference. He also said that if a stimulus package is not passed in the next couple of weeks, it will be job number one for the new Congress and for him when he takes over in mid-January, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, it's a fine line for him there. He certainly wants to get involved and know he's going to have to deal with a lot of this stuff. But like he said, there's only one government and one president at a time in a news conference.
Let's talk -- also, is this going to be awkward at all? And, you know, it's customary, the new president invites -- or the current president invites the new president into the White House and what not, but, man, Obama has been blasting President Bush out there for months and months and months. So, what about this planned meeting -- how is it supposed to go and when is it supposed to happen?
STEINHAUSER: It's going to happen Monday. And it's going to be the guys and the ladies -- Barack Obama is bringing Michelle Obama. She'll be meeting with First Lady Laura Bush and Barack Obama said he will have serious substantial talks with President Bush at the White House on Monday.
Reporters yesterday at the news conference asked him, "If you don't see eye to eye at with the president, are you going to say so publicly?" And he deflected that question, he was smooth about that, he said, "You know what, let's just talk about bipartisanship," and he really didn't get down to that. But, T.J., as you mentioned, he also pointed out yesterday in the news conference, there is only one president at the time. Right now, that president is George W. Bush.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we know the outcome of the major election that we were keeping an eye on, the major race that we were keeping an eye on Tuesday. Thank goodness. But a lot of stuff is still to be decided out there, a lot going on in the Senate and a lot going on in the House. And all that -- we don't know how it's going to shake out yet. So, one of the big races is still to be determined.
STEINHAUSER: Let's start right down your way in Georgia. You still got a Senate race up in the air. You know, Saxby Chambliss, the Republican incumbent senator, a freshman senator, is not over that 50 percent threshold. And you need that in Georgia, that 50 percent of the vote plus one. They're still recounting votes down there and it's probably going to go to a runoff next month. The opponent, of course, is Jim Martin, the Democrat. So, that one probably won't get resolved for, at least, a couple of weeks.
Up in Minnesota, a similar story. The freshman incumbent senator, Norm Coleman, is just a few hundred votes ahead, about 250 votes ahead of his Democratic opponent, somebody we all know were well, Al Franken, formerly of "Saturday Night Life" and of Air America, the liberal progressive radio network. That one is headed towards a recount.
So, you'll have a new vote in Georgia and you're going to have a recount in Minnesota. And finally, up in Alaska, T.J., the incumbent senator there, no freshman, he's been there forever, Ted Stevens. But -- remember, he was just convicted in a federal trial on corruption. He is just a few thousand votes ahead of the Democratic opponent, Mark Begich. They're still counting votes.
If Stevens pulls it out, then there's a whole host of other troubles because he could get expelled from the Senate. Right now, it's 57 senators on the Democratic side and 40 on the Republican, with three left.
Still, six House races to go. The Democrats have picked up 20 seats. They're 255. They were at 235. And you know what? In the presidential election, we know Barack Obama won, but one state has still not been called, that is Missouri.
HOLMES: Yes, can't wait to see how that works out.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: You have this whole planned out, Betty.
All right. Paul Steinhauser, our deputy political director, glad we got that microphone working. We'll be talking to you again here soon, buddy.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: It's amazing technology, when it actually works, right?
HOLMES: It actually works.
NGUYEN: All right, for months we've been talking about the possibility of massive turnout for this election, but did it happen? Our Josh Levs has a reality check.
Hey, there, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, guys. So, here's the deal. Turnout did not live up to the hype but it did set an important record. And we'll show you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I watched all the way even when I was pushing there (ph), I was watching the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: She said when she was pushing she was watching the election?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: All right. Well, the name Obama might be the next big hot baby name. And that trend is starting, as you see here, in Florida.
A couple has become one of the first in the country to give their newborn a now historic name, the baby's middle name, however. That little one shares more than just the name. They also share that big day. So, Baby Sanjay Obama was born on election night. But she's not the only one.
There's a lady in Maryland who named her child Sasha Malia Ann Taylor. Sasha and Malia are the names of Obama's daughters.
NGUYEN: The daughters, yes.
HOLMES: And then in Arkansas, actually, Benjamin Barack Kimbro (ph) was born as well.
NGUYEN: We're going to see a lot more of this.
HOLMES: Here we go.
NGUYEN: Listen to this story, though, nothing could stop this New Hampshire mom from voting on Election Day, not even labor. Sheena Fitzpatrick (ph) has water-broke early Tuesday morning. She and her husband drove to the polls hours before they'd even opened and then jumped in front of the line. Yes, I think I would have let her in front of me, too. Once their ballots were cast, though, they went to the hospital and Fitzpatrick gave birth to a little girl, no, her name was not Obama, but instead, Reagan.
HOLMES: I guess they probably didn't vote for Obama.
NGUYEN: I'm thinking she didn't.
HOLMES: Maybe not. Yes, you let her in line, the lady that's dripping herself (ph).
NGUYEN: Yes, dripping.
HOLMES: OK. Sorry. Sorry about that visual at 7:20 in the morning, folks. But, of course, election night, a big night for a lot of people and for years to come, and people are really going to likely remember exactly where you were when you first heard the results of the election.
Well, I got to see this election from Ebenezer Baptist Church here in Atlanta, Georgia -- this is a church where Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached -- had a watch party there. I've never seen anything quite like this.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CROWD CHANTING)
HOLMES (voice-over): I have visited countless southern black churches in my lifetime, I have never been bored in one. Southern black churches are known, after all, for the energy and enthusiasm of the parishioners in the pews and the preacher in the pulpit. But I have never seen anything like this.
This wasn't a Sunday service but a Tuesday testimony -- election night at Ebenezer Baptist.
REP. JOHN LEWIS, (D) GEORGIA: I want to thank Martin Luther King, Jr. He must be looking down from the heavens saying, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah."
HOLMES: The same church where Martin Luther King, Jr. preached became the place where thousands celebrated the fruits of King's labor.
REV. BERNICE KING, DAUGHTER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: With me, there's an overwhelming sense of joy and family -- family from the sense that I wish my mother could have been here.
HOLMES: King dreamed aloud of the day his children would be judged not by the color of their skin but the content of their character. Both children were here Tuesday night -- daughter Bernice and son, Martin III. But these weren't the only children King was talking about. He was talking about every black son and daughter out there, including the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya.
REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: He will be able to persuade all Americans that he's their president and that's who elected him tonight, millions of white voted for him. He could not have won just on black votes. He could not have won just in one community. So he must serve all.
HOLMES: The sanctuary was at capacity, filled with young and old. Parents kept their kids up late on a school night to be a part of history. People cheered.
(CROWD CHANTING)
HOLMES: They cried. Talking to people here, there wasn't much suspense about the night's outcome, given the way the campaign in the polls looked on the closing days. But the lack of suspense didn't take away from this moment, when the words "Barack Obama elected president" were flashed on the screen.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: I've been in a lot of black churches before, always enthusiastic, I never saw one quite like that. And, you know, the moment you can't help, John Lewis, we know from here from Georgia to be there in the room with the man who actually took a beating as he was marching in Selma for voting rights...
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: ... just for blacks to get the right to vote and then never thought maybe one day they would get the right to vote for a black man for president.
NGUYEN: And Bernice King talking about her mother Coretta Scott King.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And how wonderful it would have been for her to see it happen. I heard on a radio on Election Day, someone saying, can you just imagine if she were alive and able to cast that ballot. That would have been a sight.
HOLMES: So, her name was brought up a lot. And, of course, a lot were talking about Martin Luther King, but still, Coretta Scott King was a big part of that movement and Ebenezer (ph) right there as well. So, a hell of a night in there on an election night.
NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely.
HOLMES: So, something else on election night, kind of a new edition. This kind of threw me off when I saw this.
NGUYEN: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I don't know how you felt about it.
NGUYEN: I was kind of shocked by it all.
HOLMES: OK.
NGUYEN: But I thought it was cool.
HOLMES: OK, but it was -- I like "Star Wars."
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: So, this was a throw back to "Star Wars." Take a look at what we did.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: You have never seen anything like this on television.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. A big round of applause, we did...
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: We're joined now via hologram with -- by Will.i.am, who is in Grant Park. Let's see if we can beam him in now. There we go. Will, thanks very much for being with us. How is this night for you?
WILL.I.AM, MUSICIAN: This is great. You know, we're at the eve of a brand new day in America. And it feels good being here in Chicago. All this technology -- I'm being beamed to you like it's "Star Wars" and stuff.
COOPER: Yes. It looks like -- exactly like in "Star Trek" when they would beam people down. That's what it looks like right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Beam me up, Andy.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: You know, and people keep asking us, well...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Could Anderson see him there in the studio? Could Wolf see her there in the studio? Folks, this technology, it's a green screen. You know how that works. But to give you a little more insight, we wanted to let the man himself, the man behind all of this, David Bohrman, who explained it to Wolf Blitzer.
David Bohrman is the senior vice president here at CNN. And he really does so much with the political unit.
HOLMES: Yes. And I've got to hear him explain this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF DAVID BOHRMAN, CNN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: There are about 40 of these cameras in semicircle in this rig. We began to call it a transporter. And the cameras are fixed, they don't move.
BLITZER: There's Will.i.am right there.
BOHRMAN: Right. The cameras in our studio here where you and I are right now were basically broadcasting telemetry of information where they are in the studio and the cameras had to calculate out the right perspective of Will.i.am or Jessica so that they would have -- he or she would appear on the red dot over in the corner of the studio.
It was really complicated technologically. The sound was really complicated. I didn't know if it was going to work until yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Hey, but it worked.
HOLMES: I thought he was going to explain it. I don't understand it still.
NGUYEN: Well...
HOLMES: What?
NGUYEN: Boy, it's complicated. It probably takes the whole show for him to explain it in detail. But, you know, what does he call it? Telepathy, telemetry, what was that?
HOLMES: Telemetry.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: And if you're seeing sort of technology, we kind of get it up here, but David Bohrman is the man behind it. And you know, when I saw it on the air, I was kind of blown away by it. Who would have thought?
HOLMES: And you know? And who but you. I remember you said you were going to anchor this show from your house via hologram.
NGUYEN: Right, via hologram. Wouldn't that be great? For me, it would. I don't know how it would look on television, me in my rollers.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I like it. But, all right. We will move on from that image to talking about former Clinton aide who is heading back to the White House with a bigger role in the Obama administration. Stay here. We'll be back in here, not in hologram.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. Good morning. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello there. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad we could be with us on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
NGUYEN: Right now, we are keeping an eye on the disaster in Haiti. Take a look. Fifty children killed when their school collapsed. As many as 200 more are still missing at this hour. Rescue crews in the area working to dig through that rubble.
Plus, we have this news. Search teams from the United States -- they are heading to Haiti to help. We're hoping to bring you a live report a little bit later this morning.
Also, watching Hurricane Paloma. That storm is strengthening to a category four within of just the last couple of hours. It's churning near the Cayman Islands right now. And storm warnings have also been issued for parts of Cuba. Cuba has been battered by a couple of strong hurricanes already this year.
HOLMES: Barack Obama, you've just been elected president. And here is what you've won -- the host of problems. He's actually taking it easy this weekend. Back at work on Monday.
But this is what's on his plate: an Oval Office meeting with President Bush, that's on Monday. His wife Michelle will be there as well greeting First Lady Laura Bush. Also, economic discussions he'll be having with his advisers what to do if anything about the nation's struggling carmakers.
Also, he has a cabinet he needs to name. There's also Iraq and Afghanistan. And Obama is planning a response to his newest pen pal, he got a congratulatory letter from Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
NGUYEN: Well, a former member of the Bush administration says Obama has so far surrounded himself with some talented advisers. Tom Ridge is a former secretary of Homeland Security and he talked with our Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE, FMR. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I'm not going to give him any counsel publicly. If he and his team would be -- would certainly be willing to share some thoughts with him privately. What I would say is more important because he's obviously associated himself with a lot of very talented people. To say the least, you take a look at the group he assembled today, just be, in terms of giving him some input on the economy.
I would ask the Congress of the United States, particularly the Senate, to expedite, to move as quickly as possible, to confirm as quickly as possible, the men and women he nominates, not only for the Department of Homeland Security but there are other critical positions that should be filled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Tom Ridge, a Republican, was the nation's first Homeland Security secretary.
Well, he once trained to be a ballet dancer, but Rahm Emanuel developed a reputation based on force, not grace. CNN's Susan Roesgen on President-elect Obama's chief of staff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. RAHM EMANUEL, CHMN., HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS: I'm very fortunate for my parents were alive to see that, whatever choice I make.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not a side of Rahm Emanuel most people see. This is a guy who is at the top of his game as Washington power player, someone who knows how to throw an elbow to get ahead. Here he is in the Clinton White House defending his boss during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
EMANUEL (March 1, 1998): The president of the United States is doing his job, focusing on the American people and their future. And that's where his energy and time is going.
ROESGEN: Described affectionately as an attack dog...
EMANUEL: I know the president has failed to lead...
ROESGEN: ... Emanuel started as a political fundraiser. First, for Mayor Richard Daley here in Chicago, then for Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton running for president. That led to Emanuel's role as a senior adviser in the Clinton White House.
And the legendary stories that may or may not be true. Like the one about his getting so angry he stabbed a dinner table with a steak knife. Then there's the one about his sending an enemy a dead fish. The kinds of stories Hollywood couldn't resist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got to narrow it down to the guy we want.
ROESGEN: The deputy White House chief of staff in the "West Wing" series is said to be based on Emanuel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop flapping your gums and put him through.
ROESGEN: And in the HBO series "Entourage," the character of the Hollywood agent, Ari Gold, is said to be based on Ari Emanuel, Rahm's powerful brother.
So, what is Rahm Emanuel really like? We asked his rabbi.
RABBI ASHER LOPATIN, ANSHE SHALOM SYNAGOGUE: He is committed to America, committed to his Judaism, and committed to the people around him. And he's very popular in the synagogue. People like him. He's really a good man, good man.
ROESGEN: In 2000, Rahm Emanuel ran for office himself and became an Illinois congressman. Now so powerful that he could be in a position to succeed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the pull of something greater will take him back to the White House. The legend continues.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Well, I don't know if this is a good start, after your first press conference, after being elected president, you have to call and apologize to a former first lady? This was all over a small joke, if you will. But, yes, Obama was talking at that press conference about other White House presidents. Well, here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT-ELECT: In terms of speaking to former presidents, I have spoken to all of them that are living -- obviously, President Clinton.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances. I have re-read some of Lincoln's writings who's always an extraordinary inspiration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Oops. Well, afterwards, Obama actually called Nancy Reagan, offered an apology to her. Obama spokeswoman said the two did have a warm conversation. We don't know what kind of reaction the former first lady actually had to that joke in the first place. But he did feel like he needed to call and apologize.
And for more political news and be sure to click on CNN.com, your home for politics. Even though the election is over -- still your home.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. There's still much more to go, right?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: OK. So, throughout this race, we have kept hearing that turnout could be huge, historic this time around. Well, we did see long lines for days and thought that could be a sign that the predictions were right.
HOLMES: But now we're learning, it wasn't really like that. Josh Levs joining us with a reality check -- Josh.
LEVS: Hey, good morning, guys. You know, check this out. Let's just zoom right in on it. It's the headline from the most respected analysis of the nation, here it is -- "Much-hyped Turnout Record Fails to Materialize," this comes from the Center for the Study of the American Electorate with American University.
Let's go to the breakdown, I've got a graphic for you here. They're estimating that between 126.5 million and 128.5 million people voted. And that would be a record. Four years ago, 122.3 million, so it's more.
But the U.S. population has been growing and the study says the turnout percentage barely moved. In fact, take a look at this. They're estimating here it was exactly the same as 2004 or, at most, one percentage point higher. They're saying between 60.7 percent to 61.7 percent of eligible citizens were voting. And that's substantially down from 1960 when it reached its modern day height at 67 percent.
The Democrats did increase their turnout. But what this study says is that Republicans, in a sense, made up for it by showing up in smaller numbers. The study says McCain choosing Palin turned out to be a singular failure, that's a quote. Republicans were discouraged about the race and Democrats had the enthusiasm factor on their side. So, that's why in the end, it's kind of evened out to the same.
NGUYEN: All right. Let me ask you this, though. Some states didn't have early voting. So, did the states with early voting have higher turnout?
LEVS: Well, actually, no -- which is another surprise. The study looked with this thing called convenience voting which includes early voting, more lax standards for absentee ballots, mail-in ballots, also, Election Day registration.
Check out these numbers. I have more one more graphic for you. Of the 14 states that have the biggest increases in turnout, only six of them had convenience voting and of the 13 states with the biggest drops in turnout, all but one of them had convenience voting. So, there's no correlation, no sign that it paid off.
Now, I'll tell you this, in general, the big increases in turnout were in the south: North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Mississippi. And this is really cool -- I want to zoom in on the board one more time. This is a map on the country. You can click on any state and see the turnout in 2008 and 2004. Let's go to Georgia right there: 61.2 this year, 54 the last time. Over here, you can see Alabama.
Let's go up here a little bit. You can see North Carolina and Virginia. If you're curious about your state, just go to CNN.com/elections. We got this map for you and it will show you the breakdown in any state there, guys.
NGUYEN: And quickly, voter turnout among young people, how is that looking?
LEVS: Yes. You know, I'm going to look at that later this hour. I'll tell you how big a role the youth vote really did or did not play in the election, Betty.
NGUYEN: OK. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks.
HOLMES: Well, a third day of protests over California's Prop Eight. Voters approved a new ban on same-sex marriages. Demonstrations started in Los Angeles earlier this week, now spread to several other cities. The bill has already made it to the state's Supreme Court. The court struck down a similar measure back in May. NGUYEN: Our iReporters are helping us tell the story. This video is coming to us from Matt Hartman showing the protests at the Mormon temple in Los Angeles. Opponents of the gay marriage ban blame the Mormon Church for helping the measure succeed on Election Day.
HOLMES: And another look here at some of the first protests in and around the L.A. area from Wednesday night. This video sent to us by a gentleman by the name of Bill Rude. That first night protestors blocked traffic, they've faced off with police. There have only been a couple of arrests since the protests began.
And, please send us your iReports by logging on to iReport.com.
NGUYEN: You know, those long lines at the polls, we want to find out how big of a voice did young people ultimately have in this election. We're going to look at the numbers. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you make up your mind who to vote for?
GEORGE RENE FRANCIS, AMERICA'S OLDEST MAN: For a black man. I made up my mind when they first put it out in the (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That was a 112-year-old George Rene Francis, considered the oldest man in America who voted for Barack Obama for president.
Last week, we talked about the Asian-American vote and the effect that it might have on this election. I went out to Los Angeles, home of the country's largest concentration of Asian-Americans just to get their impressions and to find out if there is a trend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELIX GUO, RADIO ANNOUNCER: Ever since Bill Clinton got elected, in each subsequent election, the share of Asian-Americans voting Democratic has increased.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, and trending for the Democrats. So, how were they leaning this time around? Well, a pre-election poll found 52 percent were for Barack Obama, 27 percent for John McCain, with 20 percent still undecided a week before voting. Pretty close to how it turned out.
Look at these numbers. The undecided split down the middle -- 10 percent going to Obama, giving him 62 percent of the vote; John McCain got 35 percent of the vote.
HOLMES: Well, earlier this hour, we told you that voter turnout was off in this election but not in the huge numbers that a lot of people were predicting.
NGUYEN: Now, our Josh Levs joins us again to look at the youth vote.
Josh, how big of an impact did young voters really have this time around?
LEVS: Yes. You know what? The short version is that they were a big help to Obama but not by turning out in massive numbers. They really didn't.
Let's zoom back in here. I want to show you this. Young people, age 18 to 29, this is in this election -- they made up about 18 percent of the voters. But they went for Obama two to one. And you can see the numbers there.
Now, what I'm going to do is I'm going to jump back a little bit to four years ago. And you're going to see what happened when it was between Bush and Kerry. Let's zoom back in right here, 18 to 29 years old at that time were 17 percent of the voters. So, it's really not much different.
But if we scroll a little bit to the right, what you'll see is that they are much more split between Bush and Kerry. Bush was 45 percent, Kerry was 54 percent. So, it's not that percentage of voters that had an impact for Obama, it's the fact that the overwhelmingly went to Obama and that's why, they helped push him over the top.
There's one more thing I'm going to show you on this screen. There's a group called Circle which pushes for youth involvement in politics. They are estimating, there could have been more than 3 million young people who took part in this election that didn't last time. So, it could have been a bigger number, up to about 23 million total young voters. It's so soon to know if that's accurate.
But, you know, as we were just talking, there was an increase overall in America because the population is going up. So that increase of young people wasn't enough to change anything. Short version here: there were not a larger piece of the pie, but because they went so heavily to Obama, they did help give him that victory.
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE) is that particularly true in a couple of the swing states, right?
LEVS: It is. And a couple of swing states, yes. You know, you, guys, have been following this where we have called Indiana and North Carolina a little bit later on. Let me show you something, this is Indiana, he only won 18 to 29-year-olds. Barack Obama lost all the other age groups in Indiana. But they voted for him by enough of a margin to push him over the top.
And it was the same thing in North Carolina. You're going to see he won in North Carolina among the youngest voters but not -- there you go -- among any other age group. But in both cases, it was enough to put him over the top. So that is the way that they did really play a big part in the election. Not through size but through the margin of victory among young people.
And one more thing to toss in here, guys. We want to hear from all of you, the viewers, this morning. We have a question for you: What do you want President-elect Obama to accomplish by 2012? Thinking really, realistically here. In one term, by 2012, what do you want to see him get done? And then e-mail us your response at Weekends@CNN.com. Include your name and city. We're going to read some of those in the next half hour -- Betty and T.J.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: You know, the election and pro sports. Owners may be facing new costs under an Obama administration.
HOLMES: A lot of the players, too. Bigs contracts coming up.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: They're trying to get some of their money now, this year, before...
NGUYEN: Gets offset (ph).
HOLMES: ... they think a new tax plan will take effect. Well, we're going to be talking about sports, we have to talk to our man there, Rick Horrow, has got the hair under control this morning. We will see him in just...
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Good morning.
HOLMES: What, Rick?
HORROW: I've been told to be nice to you (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: OK. Appreciate it.
HORROW: All right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: I love this story. Longhorn pride, my Texas Longhorns resonating on the last lap of the campaign trail.
HOLMES: Yes. Obama has, as you know, has had a habit. He plays basketball the day of an election.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: He played on Election Day and he happened to go in wearing a Texas Longhorn's...
NGUYEN: Sweet shirt.
HOLMES: ... sweatshirt. NGUYEN: Actually, I let him borrow it.
HOLMES: And he played -- really?
NGUYEN: Yes, a little luck sweatshirt.
HOLMES: You guys, have the same size? Is that right?
NGUYEN: I don't think so.
HOLMES: All right. But still, he had his Longhorn sweatshirt on. Who knows why? I don't know he -- I mean, he doesn't have a Texas connection necessarily.
NGUYEN: But he knows about things, you know, winners, right? This is a winning, well...
HOLMES: Well, OK.
NGUYEN: Let's not talk about the game last weekend. But --
HOLMES: Yes. At least somebody who was wearing a Texas uniform won last week.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: That's great.
NGUYEN: You have to bring that up.
HOLMES: Rick Horrow, are you hearing this stuff, Rick?
HORROW: That's enough.
HOLMES: That's enough of it.
(LAUGHTER)
HORROW: That's enough.
HOLMES: Well, good morning to you, sir. We're going to -- we're talking taxes with you this morning because a lot of people in the sports world right now, owners and some players and their agents, trying to get some deals done, trying to unload some things or trying to get some money in before Obama and his tax plan actually takes hold. Are they taking this that seriously?
HORROW: Well, of course, they are, but the president-elect historical victory resonates in a lot of circles. You know, remember Monday night, he talked about wanting to do a college football playoff. Maybe he focuses on world peace and solving all other crises, maybe that's easier.
But one of the things he is doing is he's talking about capital gains, and what that means is -- the teams that look to sell anyway may want to do it quickly to avoid that extra bump capital gains-wise. Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to reconfigure their ownership; Miami Dolphins potentially as well.
But, remember, NFL teams are now worth nearly $1 billion on average. And some of these teams were bought for $2,500 or $5,000 apiece. So, there's a lot of money at play.
HOLMES: All right. And agents as well. That's out there -- a lot of these agents trying to -- I mean, you got some big-time, the baseball-wise free agents out there who are going to get a boatload of money, they're trying to get a lot of in-signing bonuses and getting it before any tax plan takes place.
HORROW: Very receptive there. That boatload there regards the income tax increase. And, of course, the average Major League Baseball salary, for example, is $400,000 a player, but most of the players make over $1 million. And if we're talking about a bump for anybody making over $250,000, obviously, all Major League Baseball players are concerned about that issue -- whether or not they want to change it is another matter.
HOLMES: You know, a lot -- one demographic that the campaign is trying to reach, sports. I mean, you got a lot of guys who are sitting there, glued to the television, a lot of potential voters out there. Well, that's done now. A lot of at that ad revenue are not coming in. Is that going to cost, I guess, cost some of the networks and cost some of these leagues?
HORROW: Darn sure. $2.5 billion, remember...
HOLMES: Wow.
HORROW: ... raised by the candidates, spent on a lot of stuff including sports. Now, the ad salespeople have to go back to doing what they used to do best, sell to corporate America in a bad economy. Maybe the consequence is less TV time-outs and that is a platform that any candidate can support.
HOLMES: Yes. One more thing I want to get at before we get you out of here. The video game industry, I thought -- well, some would think, sometimes seems immune to economic downturns. And certainly, this Madden phenomenon is always going to do well but that company not doing so well, having to make some changes.
HORROW: Well, my life and friend, it's part of a broader question about spending money to make money in this economy, EA is a good example, cutting 6 percent of its workforce but still spending $10 million more on ad sales like other companies are doing. And there is money out there, by the way.
You realize, Michael Phelps attended a pool party for a TV network exec a couple weeks ago, he swam five laps. Fee? $100,000. Listen -- if you were to swim five laps, how much would you charge, by the way?
HOLMES: How much would I charge? I need to swim laps anyway, I would do that for free, depending on whose pool party it was.
HORROW: I think people would pay you to get out of the pool, I should say.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: You said you were going to be nice to me today, Rick.
HORROW: Yes, I lied. See you next week.
HOLMES: Well, Rick, always good to see you. We'll see you next week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, kind sir.
HORROW: Yes, sir, kind, sir.
NGUYEN: All right. You all are ridiculous. I mean, I can't take it when you're mean to each other. And I don't know if I like it when you're nice to each other.
HOLMES: You know what? Next week...
NGUYEN: It's an interesting relationship, folks.
HOLMES: You should talk to Rick next week.
NGUYEN: You think so?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: OK. You're going to hand him to me.
All right. Basketball is an Election Day tradition for Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What did you think of this game? You're the pro. You're the trainer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He needs to pass the ball a little bit more.
LEMON: Was he hogging?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was hogging the ball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Really? Well, CNN's Don Lemon gets an exclusive behind the scenes look. You can see it tonight here at 11:00 Eastern.
HOLMES: He's the president-elect, of course, he can hog the ball.
NGUYEN: Get the man to shot, OK?
HOLMES: I always thought, if I've ever played against, am I allowed to really check him? Can you really, you know, body him up? Can you?
NGUYEN: You should. I mean, you don't think he'd want to play and everyone just let him do what he wants to do, right?
HOLMES: I think the Secret Service is standing there. What if I hit him, foul him too hard?
NGUYEN: It's a game, right?
HOLMES: No, it's not. It's more than that.
NGUYEN: But then again...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: It is Barack Obama.
All right. Children trapped under a three-story school building. You have to see this story. Now, this morning in Haiti, they are trying to get a better idea of the challenges they face as people are still missing. We're going to bring you the latest in the efforts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN NIXON COOPER, 106-YEAR-OLD OBAMA SUPPORTER: Well, he would be elated. Yes, he'd be so tickled to death. Yes. Well, we look forward to changes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh, that was Ann Nixon Cooper, who is 106 years old, and she was talking about how her husband would have felt if he lived to see the day an African-American man won the presidency. Now, you may recall, Obama mentioned Cooper's name during his election night speech.
HOLMES: I believe he actually gave her a call at some point in the campaign.
NGUYEN: Yes, left her a recorded message.
HOLMES: And she missed the call. That's too bad.
NGUYEN: I know. But you know what? It's probably better because now she'll have it forever.
HOLMES: She's got it. She got it documented.
Well, we turn to this story in Atlanta that a lot of people are keeping an eye on, a long-awaited verdict in the 2005 courthouse shooting rampage.
NGUYEN: Yes. This morning, Brian Nichols is a convicted man. Nichols showed absolutely no emotion as a jury found him guilty on all 54 counts against him, which includes four murders. The 36-year-old man claimed he was insane and delusional at the time of the crimes. Here are his victims: A judge, a court reporter, and two law enforcement officers. Jurors returned Monday to start the sentencing phase of this trial. Nichols could face the death penalty.
As for O.J. Simpson, though, tell you about him, he is dealing with some news today that he didn't want to hear. A Nevada judge has denied his request for a new trial. That same judge was on the bench last month when Simpson was convicted of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gun point. Simpson's attorneys wanted a new trial saying that there was jury misconduct. Instead, sentencing will go ahead as planned on December 5th.
HOLMES: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for being with us today.
We do want to follow this developing story out of Haiti. Hopefully, you have heard of it because there's a lot going on. The school has collapsed. In fact, rescue teams are headed there from the U.S., trying to help them find dozens still missing. Unfortunately, dozens have already been killed. We'll have the latest.
HOLMES: Also, President-elect Obama, yes, he's won the presidency but there's a whole lot more work to do. You can't take it easy. There's a whole lot on his plate, including some new developments this morning about that U.S. missile shield, missile defense shield in Europe. We'll get into that this morning.
NGUYEN: Also, hoop dreams, the 73-year-old man takes to the court in a community college game and get this, he scores. This man's still got a game. He's only in his 70s. That's still young. We're going to talk to him. It's going to be a great story.
HOLMES: We do want to start, though, again with the latest on the deadly school collapse in Haiti. The sun is up now. Crews have been working throughout the night. They've been using flood lights and digging through the rubble, looking for about 200 children who are believed to be trapped underneath. Officials say the three-story school building which sat on a hill in a neighborhood outside Port-au- Prince suddenly gave way yesterday. At least 50 are dead. Some reports put the death toll as high as 58; 100 other people were injured.
A U.S. search and rescue team is expected to arrive in that area today. This is new video of the staging area in Virginia where the rescuers packed last night for that mission. We're told the team consists of 38 Americans, four rescue dogs. The U.S. government also sending some heavy equipment to help move that rubble.
NGUYEN: Well, hurricane Paloma is category four storm headed to Cuba, but right now it is lashing the Grand Caymans with strong winds and heavy rain.
HOLMES: Reynolds Wolf keeping an eye on category four. When did that happen?
WOLF: It happened earlier this morning. Very, very seldom do these storms reach that kind of power, category four, category five and retain it. It's very hard for these storms to retain that kind of strength. We do anticipate this storm to stay at a category four and then make landfall sometime tomorrow, perhaps around 1:00 in the morning as a category three storm. That is a major hurricane.
This has happened before in the month of November. In fact in 2001, it was hurricane Michelle that made again, reached that status this time of the year. So, again, not -- not something you see every day but certainly it has happened before.
At this time, the storm, again, the center very well defined (INAUDIBLE) Cayman Islands. We got some video for you from Georgetown in the Caymans. Show you that, just some rough stuff. You see the surf there. It is just a scene that we've seen played out so many times up and down the Florida coast, the Gulf Coast. During hurricane season when you have those winds that batter the coast and the intense, heavy rainfall, it's just a tremendous mess. Although the season is beginning to taper off, again, moving into the month of November, this still -- always that possibility.
Let's go back and show you where the National Hurricane Center believes the storm is headed. Right now it is moving to the northeast around eight miles per hour. It is expected to continue that march and as we take a look at the path itself, goes across parts of southeastern Cuba, making landfall tomorrow as a category three storm. But then notice it kind of bunches up, moves just into parts of the Bahamas.
As we make our way into Tuesday, Wednesday, even into Thursday, the storm not expected to make landfall anywhere in the U.S. should stay well away from the mainland. The reason why is because this frontal boundary, it's moving through the eastern seaboard, so that certainly is going to keep the storm at bay, certainly some great news.
That is the latest we've got for you. Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: That sure is a lot. Thank you, Reynolds, be checking in a little bit later.
HOLMES: We got this word just coming in to CNN that President- Elect Barack Obama says he intends to continue plans for an antimissile shield in eastern Europe. That news coming from the Polish president's Web site today. The Web site says that Obama spoke with Poland's president on the phone. Russia, of course, has vehemently opposed that missile shield.
NGUYEN: And if you missed the other major news of the week, Obama has made a key pick for his administration. He has named House member Rahm Emanuel of Illinois as his chief of staff. Emanuel once trained to be a ballet dancer, but in the House, he's developed quite a reputation based on force, not grace. All right. Well, Obama has a lot to do before he's sworn in on January 20th. Going to head back to deputy political editor Paul Steinhauser joins us again from Washington.
Good morning to you again, sir. A lot of people saying one of the most important things he had to do was actually get a chief of staff in place. He has that. What's next? What's the list of priorities, if you will?
STEINHAUSER: It is a pretty big to-do list T.J. I think one of the names you're going to hear about very soon is a guy called Robert Gibbs. It's somebody you've seen a lot on TV. He was a surrogate, you saw him on CNN and the other networks. We believe that Gibbs very likely will be named press secretary and probably very soon.
Robert Gibbs was communications director for the campaign. And he was -- before that, he worked in the Senate office for Barack Obama so he's somebody Barack Obama's known for a long time. He was also on the John Kerry campaign in 2004. As press secretary he'll be the guy leading the news conferences. You'll see him a lot on TV to continue on.
Another name, David Axelrod. This guy was basically the guru of this campaign, the senior strategist for the Barack Obama campaign, somebody Barack Obama knows very well. And he was also with Barack Obama for Obama's run in 2004 for the Senate. It's believed that David Axelrod who you see right there could be named a senior adviser to President Obama.
HOLMES: Yes, those are a couple familiar faces we saw a lot during the campaign season. But another -- he's getting some of those important people, those close advisers in place, but that cabinet, he's got a big post to fill there, a lot of posts to fill I should say. Where does he start? How many does he have? Does he have any that we know for sure are going to be in there and what are some of the names I'm sure floating around?
STEINHAUSER: Let's talk about the Treasury because that's so important right now with the financial crisis sweeping the country. Treasury may be his first pick and it's such an important pick. Yesterday in Chicago, Barack Obama met with about 17 economic advisers and he met with them before that news conference he held yesterday.
And among those advisers there are some that are considered possibles for the Treasury. And they are Larry Summers, who was former Treasury secretary under President Clinton. Robert Rubin, his predecessor, also Treasury secretary under Clinton and Paul Volcker who was chairman of the Fed back in the 1980s. So these are three of many people being bandied about as Treasury secretary.
How about secretary of state? That's another very, very, obviously, important position. Couple names out there, Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico who is somebody who would probably love to be secretary of state. He's got a lot of credentials when it comes to foreign policy. He had a number of posts in the Clinton administration, ambassador to the UN, secretary of Energy. He was also a troubling shooter over the years when it came to foreign crises.
Former presidential candidate and current senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry is somebody else who's being considered for possibly being secretary of State. Susan Rice, who was a player in the Clinton administration and one of Barack Obama's major advisers on foreign policy. He could also go out and try to be bipartisan as well and maybe name somebody like Senator Lugar of Indiana who's got a lot of foreign policy experience. He's a Republican as secretary of State.
And what about defense, this is interesting. A lot of people talking about the possibility of the current secretary of Defense Robert Gates, about him maybe staying on for the immediate future and steering things under President Obama, especially because of the policy in Iraq right now. You've got two wars ongoing, Iraq and Afghanistan. There's some talk about it would be a smart idea to keep the current guy in place. So a lot of names out there, T.J.
HOLMES: A lot of -- I don't know what we're going to do, Paul, when all the speculation ends. We just like guessing. Until he puts people in those places, we will keep guessing and keep us talking about something. Paul Steinhauser, deputy political director, kind sir, always good to see you.
NGUYEN: Well, Barack Obama enters the White House facing great expectations from the people and a mountain of challenges. Here's White House correspondent Elaine Quijano with a look at presidential priorities.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. President, Americans want the broken economy fixed first, maybe a good time for that promised tax cut. If that goes well experts say, keeping other promises on energy alternatives and getting health care for millions more will be easier.
STUART ROTHENERG, THE ROTHENBURG POLITICAL REPORT: In Washington, winning leads to winning and losing breeds losing.
QUIJANO: But setting priorities means navigating treacherous waters.
ROTHENBERG: Between now and inauguration, every group in the country is going to lay down their marker as what they think should be done, what they need, what they want and how they got him elected.
QUIJANO: And in the first 100 days, a president's agenda can easily get derailed, especially if he or she provokes a fight with Congress.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: This compromise is not everything I would have hoped for.
QUIJANO: In 1993, Bill Clinton set out to undo the ban on gays in the military. DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Bill Clinton as talented as he was and he was enormously talented, came in with some uncertainty about where to go each week, each month. There was a certain amount of (INAUDIBLE) . It's important to hit the ground running as president if you want to accomplish a lot.
QUIJANO: Democratic expectations are running high.
ROTHENBERG: They don't think that he's merely going to be president. They think that he's been elected savior.
GERGEN: Barack Obama has to avoid the pitfalls of being, of dilly dallying, of not being certain where he's going to go. I must say about Barack Obama, he's one of the most strategic and disciplined political leaders we've had in a long time.
QUIJANO (on-camera): But foreign policy crises have a way of knocking presidential plans off track and on the domestic front, analysts say, even as the honeymoon phase continues, the expectations and list of demands are soaring.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So are you wondering what it would have been like to be behind the scenes on election night with Barack Obama?
HOLMES: Yes, got some photos here released Friday by the Obama campaign. Show you how the waiting game kind of played out on election night for him and his family. This is in the Chicago hotel. Can you imagine? Barack Obama, he looks, well, pretty cool there. Don't know what he was watching on TV at the time. Probably trying to figure out that hologram we had on CNN.
NGUYEN: You think that's what it was?
HOLMES: And there -- I'm not sure what that is. Not one of his daughters. I'm not sure who that is, but nothing too tense in that room.
NGUYEN: That was Sasha.
HOLMES: Some family members sitting around.
NGUYEN: His daughter Sasha and Malia look as relaxed and as poised as their dad. Little did they know how transformed their lives are about to be. And then Joe and Jill Biden, they joined the Obamas for the final moments before they move into their moment of history. It was, indeed, an unforgettable night.
HOLMES: Well, living the dream on the court. At an advanced age, is that the nice way to put it, he's showing the kids how to get it done. He'll tell us what it felt like to be back in the box score.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN NIXON COOPER, 106-YEAR-OLD OBAMA SUPPORTER: I could go and maybe would go, but I'm not looking forward to it.
NGUYEN: What if he asked you nicely? What if he came here personally and asked you?
COOPER: Oh, yes, of course, I'm ready to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, she is ready to go. That was 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper talking about wanting to go to President-Elect Obama's inauguration. Her name was mentioned in his acceptance speech Tuesday night, so she might get another call from him.
HOLMES: OK. Well, it's never too late to get back in the game. One player is living that dream in Tennessee, 73-year-old Ken Mink, 73-year-old Ken Mink scored a couple of points for Roane State Community College the other day. He joins us now from the phone in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Sir, this is phenomenal to me, an amazing thing to me. Played basketball all my life so to think you could be 73 years old and out there competing with these guys, tell us first -- let's go back to the beginning here. How in the world did you end up on this basketball team in the first place?
VOICE OF KEN MINK, ROANE STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Well, you know, I played college basketball 52 years ago and I didn't get in my second year, I've been frustrated all those years. Finally, when I retired, I decided I was going to go back and give it another shot. I wrote to some colleges around the area and fortunately, one of them -- Roane State (INAUDIBLE) went down, talked to the coach and we got signed up and I'm on the team.
HOLMES: We're looking at some of this video we got from YouTube of your game the other night. You ended up on the free-throw line and you scored a couple of points. Is that right? You ended up on the free-throw line. That means somebody fouled you. Some kid out there is fouling a 73-year-old man?
MINK: yes, he wasn't very nice, was he? No, I had -- I caught the ball on the cross court pass on the wing and made a ball pickup in the air. I got this guy up in the air. He came down, knocked me around a little bit and the ref called a foul.
HOLMES: Well, sir, how do you -- explain to people how at 73 years old most people -- I mean, ripping up and down a court with these young guys. These are 18, 19, 20, 21-year-old guys. How do you, quite frankly, keep up?
MINK: Well, I consider myself a miracle of God, T.J.. I mean, I'm like -- I surprise myself sometimes out there. And I keep praying to God that he keeps me -- gets me going through this. So far, I've been able to handle it OK.
HOLMES: How did the coach receive you? How does he treat you now? In practice, does he take it easy on you a little bit? Does he treat you like the rest of the guys?
MINK: I'm basically treated like the rest of the guys, you know. I was playing college basketball two years before my coach was born. And so -- he kind of takes it into consideration and I have a little seniority out there. He doesn't yell at me quite as much as he does the other guys, but he puts me through it.
HOLMES: What about the fans out there? We saw a sign out there, I think, that said our golden oldie. They have to be getting a kick out of this. Probably the school is bringing in a few more fans, maybe getting some bigger crowds.
MINK: Yes, we had almost a full house for our opening game, and they were crazy. It was -- it was quite exciting. Everybody was going crazy when I finally went in the game. They had a standing ovation for me. I got to the free-throw line, they were all standing up, applauding. All that pressure on me that I was 52 years later, after having played basketball, on the free-throw line. I had to try to make that free throw to keep that crowd from getting disappointed. And I did.
HOLMES: You're wearing number 54. Why not number 73?
MINK: Can't wear (INAUDIBLE) numbers.
HOLMES: That's right, for the refs (INAUDIBLE) so he can call the foul. Ken Mink, sir, I think you have a couple more years of eligibility still left. So maybe we'll see you in the NBA draft here in a couple of years.
We'll be looking for you, but Ken Mink on the ball with us from Knoxville, Tennessee, 73 years old, sir, congratulations to you and certainly an inspiration for a lot of folks to get their butts in gear no matter what age and get out there and get active. Sir, thank you so much. Good luck to you the rest of the season.
MINK: Thank you. I'll be out there.
NGUYEN: That is so great.
HOLMES: That's neat.
NGUYEN: The guy's got game. I don't care how old he is.
HOLMES: Who fouled a 73-year-old man?
NGUYEN: Well, you know, like he said, he was treated like just the other guys. Maybe on the court that's the best thing to see, right?
HOLMES: 73. We got to find that kid.
NGUYEN: Get him on the air. Scold him for it.
Fewer jobs, more people looking for some. The situation is getting downright desperate.
HOLMES: Job-seekers attending job fairs and pounding the pavement across the U.S. We'll have a story behind those statistics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, a massive search is resuming this morning in central Florida. Thousands of volunteers are expected to help look for missing two-year-old Caylee Anthony. Her mother facing first degree murder charges.
Nick Vanzant from central Florida search team joins us now live from Orange County, Florida this morning. Have they already been out and about this morning?
NICK VANZANT, CENTRAL FLORIDA SEARCH TEAM: Yes, they started the search around 8:00 this morning so some of the teams have already went out. You can see exactly just how many people have come out here. This is supposed to be -- Texas Equisearch (ph) is saying this is going to be the largest search for one individual, one missing individual in U.S. history. So they're expecting between 3,000 and 5,000 people. You can take a look over to your left a little bit and you'll see the Orange County sheriff's mobile command.
So, they are expecting to do really just a massive search for all of this. They're going to be using -- we'll show you some of the different equipment that they're actually going to be using. They are going to be taking out with ATVs here. They're going to be going into some of the lakes that are in this area. They're also going to be -- most of these people are going to be doing foot searches, just kind of beating the ground a little bit.
But they're also going to be using sonar, a lot of different things. They're going to be searching three main, key areas where they've been tipped off around Blanchard Park, which is a local park here in Orange County that they think that Caylee Anthony used to frequent, also by the airport, which is pretty close to where we are right now and then around the woods near the Anthony home as well -- Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, Nick Vansant joining us live today. Thank you, Nick.
Well, the next four years, what do you want to see accomplished by the incoming Obama administration?
HOLMES: That's what we asked you this morning, our e-mail question. Josh Levs has that for us -- Josh.
LEVS: The responses are flooding in, calling on the president- elect to pull through on big promises. I'll tell you, some of you have some unique ideas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN NIXON COOPER: I would be as proud to meet him as anybody else, you know. I can't say I would be prouder to meet him than anybody else. But I would be very proud if I could just meet and shake his hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: You know what? She might get to do that. Ann Cooper -- Ann Nixon Cooper is her full name, 106 years old, might actually get to do that. She was the voter who was mentioned by Barack Obama during his acceptance speech. He gave her a phone call. She unfortunately wasn't there to answer the phone. It is on the voice recorder so she will always have it. But who knows? He may be able to reach out and give her one of those golden tickets to the inauguration.
HOLMES: She might need to go shopping for a new gown for the ball.
We have an i-Report to show you now that had a real life Hollywood ending. Take a look at the photo first.
NGUYEN: It comes to us from Doug Van Dorn (ph), a screen writer. His pregnant wife there, Tracy, was at an LA polling station waiting to vote when suddenly her water broke. So, she fought to stay in line, but election officials said, no, lady, you're going to have to go to a hospital. But not to be denied, she managed to wrangle a doctor's note and then return to the front of the line. The Van Dorns (INAUDIBLE) cast their votes and raced back to the hospital to have their first baby.
HOLMES: Wanted to participate in this election.
NGUYEN: History in the making.
HOLMES: History in the making.
We asked a lot of people what they would like to see accomplished by a President Obama.
NGUYEN: We are already getting a flood of responses. Our Josh Levs is piecing through all of them. What are you seeing Josh?
LEVS: We are getting a lot of them. As you guys were just talking about that incredible story of someone going back to vote. Now we're on to the next step, people talking about what they're excited for to happen in this term coming up. So let me show you some of the ones we're getting.
Let's zoom in on the screen here. We slapped them into a Word document. You can see them right now. This is from Jameelah Abdullah. "I would like to see the economy turned around by 2012, bring the jobs that are outsourced back to America." Now, here's another one. "I would like to see Obama accomplish everything he promised during his ambitious campaign. The Democrats will have control of the Senate, House and the presidency. There's no excuse for failing to pass major legislation. During the debates, Obama refused to name anything in particular that might need to be cut due to financial constraints, so let's see him put his money where his mouth is."
Let's scroll down a little bit. This one is interesting. "I voted for President-Elect Obama and I'm encouraged by the response around the world and in the U.S. in his victory. Now it is time for us to hold him accountable. I'd like to see three things: withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops from Iraq; improved access to health care for all Americans, including insurance reform and beginning to shift the perception of our great country across the globe."
Love the specifics and I encourage everybody to be realistic, which is why I have to end by showing you guys this one. Check this out. "My friend and I here attending art school in San Francisco believe and trust Obama will accomplish world peace by 2012," from Michael Gallegus, all righty then. Thank you.
We'd love to hear from you with whatever you want to see accomplished by 2012. This is the question right there. What do you want President-Elect Obama to accomplish by 2012? E-mail us, weekends@cnn.com. We are piecing through them right now and we're going to keep sharing more with you guys right here on TV over the next couple of hours, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
There's something new brewing in Texas. Get this, folks. A healthy --
HOLMES: You look excited.
NGUYEN: -- beer. It sounds interesting for a lot of beer drinkers out there. I'm not included. Students at Rice University have a special batch they say can actually protect against certain diseases.
HOLMES: I'm listening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID OUYANG, RICE BIOBEER TEAM: What someone said was that we're giving the health benefits from the wine and cheese crowd to the Joe six-packs of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Joe six-pack had to show up once again, right? I thought we were done with that. But it is called bio-beer, genetically modified with a compound from red wine. But right now, there is no proof to back up their claims. Even if it is true, you have to drink a whole lot of this stuff to get any health effects, other than extra calories and a big hangover, although I will tell you, I know plenty of people who are willing to take the challenge.
HOLMES: Drink a lot of beer, but bio-beer. That just doesn't sound attractive.
NGUYEN: Yes, you know, so far, they're working out the kinks when it comes to the beer's taste. So, imagine going through that kind of research in the hangover you would have with that.
HOLMES: Rice University, what are they doing on that campus?
NGUYEN: Well, this is all in the name of good health.
HOLMES: Yes, OK.
NGUYEN: They're trying to do a good thing out there.
HOLMES: All right. Biobeer. Where was that class when I was in school?
NGUYEN: Exactly.
HOLMES: Well, stay with us here. We're going to be continuing to talk about this flailing economy, employers cutting another 240,000 jobs nationwide in October, more layoffs actually expected. If you were handed a pink slip, we have information you need to know, tips that will help you get a new job in this tough, tough economy.
NGUYEN: But first, "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta starts right now.
