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CNN Saturday Morning News

Important Tax Cut Vote Pending; FDA Helps Fight Obesity

Aired December 04, 2010 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. President Obama is back. He is back home. And he's back with some worst economic conditions than when he actually left for Afghanistan.

The bad unemployment news, just in time for the holidays. We're going to be talking about that plenty this morning.

And something else, it's coming close to the end of the year. So, can the middle class expect some tax relief, or will taxes be going up at the beginning of the year? Well, it's going to take some action by Congress.

And today, the Senate is acting, holding a rare Saturday vote that could affect millions of people. That will be happening, we're expecting, sometime within our hours here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We will certainly bring you that live.

From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

President Obama, like I just mentioned, he is back from that quick trip, unannounced trip to Afghanistan. All set now to make a major trade deal announcement with South Korea this morning. Air Force One -- as you see here -- touched down. This is just a short time ago, less than an hour ago, at Andrews Air Force Base.

The president made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan yesterday, delivering some greetings to U.S. troops who are stationed there had.

Now, we'll tell you more about this trade deal. We're going to get more details from the president here in a little bit. Let me tell you what we do know right now. The White House is saying, at least, it will create jobs -- or at least support jobs here for Americans, maybe up to 70,000.

Again, more details possibly going to be laid out by the president. But this is what we do know at this point. It would do away with most tariffs between the two countries, 95 percent of industrial and consumer goods. And this would all happen within the next five years, within five years of the agreement being signed. The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that the tariff cuts will increase exports of U.S. goods by some $10 billion to $11 billion.

Also, it calls for South Korea to reduce tariffs on American car imports by half, from 8 percent to 4 percent, and then it would eliminate that tax in the fifth year of the agreement. Meanwhile, a 2.5 percent tariff on cars imported from South Korea will remain in place until the fifth year of this agreement. But, still, talking about the deal that has been made now between the administration and South Korea still would have to be approved by Congress.

CNN will be bringing you President Obama's comments on the new U.S.-South Korea trade agreement live this morning. We expect, again, sometime in the next few hours here. We'll certainly bring that to you live when it happens.

Now, we need to talk about your money. The Bush era tax cuts you heard so much about that are going to be -- going to be expiring at the end of the year. Well, the job is now on the lame duck Congress to do something about it. And they are doing something about it today.

Take a look here -- a live picture of the Capitol. Lawmakers are going to be gathering to discuss extending the cuts beyond this year. Democrats want to exclude those making more than $250,000 a year. So, they just want it for, like I say, the middle class, just people making up to $250,000.

However, Republicans want everybody to keep the tax cuts. They say that tax cuts shouldn't be going up for anybody in this country at this volatile time for this economy.

Our CNN senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, with the preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., usually when the Senate works on a weekend, it's because they're racing to complete something that is a pressing issue before the country. Well, what they're working on, expiring tax cuts, certainly is pressing. The Bush era tax cuts are going to expire at the end of year, that's in just 27 days.

But the reality is that the reason or the votes that they're going to take later today are not going to get the Senate and the Congress any closer to solving that issue. And the reason for that is because -- everybody knows that the votes they're going to take are not going to pass.

What we're talking about here is the plan that Democrats have put forward, since President Obama was campaigning. And that is they believe at that only tax cuts that should be extended are for those makes $250,000 or less. All other tax cuts, those for higher income earners, they believe those should expire.

Now, Republicans, they don't agree. They believe that all tax cuts for all income levels, all of them should be extended. And that is why Republicans will vote against this.

Again, everybody knows that this is going to happen later today. But what Democrats say is it is critical for them to get on the record with their position, long-held position. This is the right way to go.

Meanwhile, while this is going on, there are negotiations going on that we expect maybe could see fruition by early next week to -- what we're told by Democratic and Republicans sources -- extend all Bush era tax cuts for all income levels temporarily, probably two or three years -- T.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Dana Bash. We'll check in with her throughout the morning.

Now, it's time for us to check in with Reynolds Wolf.

We were commenting on that shot behind you right now. It's a beautiful shot of downtown of Atlanta.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. Can we take that thing full and share that with the rest of America? What a beautiful shot we have here. Mackerel skies here in Atlanta, Georgia. We've got a great day ahead. Mixed sunshine and clouds, highs going up in the 50s and 60s, kind of like a late fall day here.

But for the rest of the nation, winter is coming on strong. We're going to tell you who's getting what in just a few minutes, T.J.

HOLMES: OK, Reynolds. Appreciate you, buddy. Talk to you here shortly.

Also, we're talking a lot about your money this morning. We're talking about that tax relief. And also talk about this holiday shopping. It's a tough time. And also got that economic news yesterday, the unemployment rate going up.

So, given all of that, how are you supposed to survive the holidays? We're going to try to give you help in doing just that.

But, first, another quiz here for you having to do with something we saw this week, the Grammy nominations. This week, the nominees for the 2011 Grammys were announced. Who was the only artist to have a Grammy Award revoked in the history of the awards? Do you know the answer to that one? We'll have it for you after the break, though.

It's five minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Seven minutes past the hour now.

Before the break, we asked you this question. Inspired by this week's announcement of the 2011 Grammy nominees, who was the only artist to have a Grammy Award revoked in the history of the Grammys? You know this answer, folks. You know it.

Go ahead and tell us, Reynolds.

WOLF: Flava Flav.

HOLMES: No. It was Milli Vanilli. Do you remember these guys? Who could forget these guys? Girl, you know it's true, ooh, ooh, ooh.

They won a Grammy for the Best New Artist in 1990. But the truth came out soon that they didn't actually sing their own songs on that debut album. The recording Academy revoked the award.

You know what, no matter what, a lot of people still say they like those songs. The guys, maybe, were a fraud, but, still, people like those songs.

WOLF: Do you find it interesting that they were ripped apart because of that? I guess they were caught by lip-syncing, weren't they?

HOLMES: Yes.

WOLF: And, now, how typical. Now, it's common for bands to go out and lip sync.

HOLMES: And you got the auto tunes, everybody uses now to manipulate their voice. So --

WOLF: You know, they just don't make them like Burl Ives anymore, do they? They really, really don't. Goodness gracious.

Guys, let me show what we got out there. For people traveling around the nation, you're going to be singing the blues in places like Chicago, and Cleveland, and Cincinnati, all due to the heavy snow fall. When I say heavy snow, again, let's be honest. It's going to be one to three inches, maybe up to four inches of snow in many of these spots.

However, it's going to cause a few delays. Salt Lake City, clouds and light snow could give you few a little bit of hints of delays in the morning, just 15 to 30 minutes. Just keep that in mind.

Let's switch gears for just a moment and talk about people who will not be traveling, they may just be staying inside, watching college football. Your forecast for a lot of the games, for Auburn and South Carolina, obviously that is in a dome. But for people walking around, about 56 degrees around the stadium.

For Oregon/Oregon state, 46 degrees. Oklahoma/Nebraska, about 40 for Arlington, in Arlington for that game.

Virginia Tech and FSU -- T.J., I want you to notice this one. This one is going to be very interesting because the temperature for takeoff is 33. There's a chance we may have some snow, possibly some heavy snow showers during that game in Charlotte. Yes, I know. It could be a snow bowl. You'll never know. We'll keep a sharp eye on that.

And, of course, you got Nevada and Louisiana Tech, that's going to be a 3:30 start, in Ruston. OK. About the snowfall. The heaviest is now falling in parts of the Ohio Valley. We've seen some heavy snow for the last couple of days in places like Buffalo. Buffalo is going to get a little bit of break today.

And as we wrap it up, you're going to see again the big focus stretching from just out of the Twin Cities, all the way down through Lexington and into the Carolinas. Again, back towards Charlotte, yes, the dusting of snowfall possible in time for kickoff -- at least by the third quarter tonight. It could be interesting.

HOLMES: That is very interesting. And we should know by the end of the night, as things go as some expect them to go, who's going to be playing for the national championship.

WOLF: We'll see. You bet.

HOLMES: We should know. Reynolds, appreciate you as always, buddy.

Well, 10 minutes past the hour here now. We're talking about this picture-perfect town in Florida that has now been shaken by violence -- two different incidents of violence in this town. We will take you there and tell you what is going on.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twelve minutes past the hour now.

The Disney Corporation created its dream community some 14 years ago. It's just five miles from Disney World in Orlando. They called it Celebration.

Well, listen to what's happened in Celebration now just this past week. The community logged its first murder ever this week. Then a resident turned a gun on himself after a standoff with the SWAT team. That happened just yesterday.

Take a listen to some of the people there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS STELLWAG, CELEBRATION RESIDENT: It's being very new and a unique occurrence, happening one time. And I don't know that there are many communities in the United States or the world where you could say, you know, something like this happens once every 15 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Celebration, again, the name of the town there, is compared to the perfect community depicted in the film "Pleasantville."

Coming up: losing weight, as we all know is difficult to do. Some people actually turn to surgery to try to shed some pounds. But that's not an option for everybody. But there are new rules being put in place now that could change that.

Thirteen minutes past the hour. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Sixteen minutes past the hour now.

There may be some new help on the way for people who are severely obese. The Food and Drug Administration is changing the qualifications for getting what's called lap band surgery.

But CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen wants you to know about the possible risks here as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., some people are heavy, but not quite heavy enough for lap band surgery. Lap band is a device that's used in some obesity surgeries. And what it does, is it makes the stomach smaller -- so, well, you eat less and you lose weight.

Now, let's take a look at the current FDA guidelines for who is allowed to have this surgery. Under the current FDA guidelines, if you're 5'8" -- you're supposed to weigh 230 pounds or more before having the surgery. However, under the proposed new guidelines you would only have to weigh 197 pounds.

Insurance companies pay close attention to these guidelines. So, if they pass, that means that more than 30 million people will become eligible to get a lap band and have it pay for pretty easily by insurance.

Now, one shouldn't rush out and get lap band or any kind of obesity surgery.

Let's talk about some the risks of having a lap band when you're doing obesity surgery. Several different things can happen. For example, the band can slip. This band is in your body, remember? And a band can spontaneously deflate and it can also erode.

So, before you go and have obesity surgery, you need to be an empowered patient and ask the right questions. First of all, decide what type of obesity surgery do I want? You don't have to use the lap band. You can do it without it.

Also, another question you should think is: who's the right doctor? There are doctors who do this surgery all the time and there are doctors who kind of do it as a side business. And you want someone who's doing it all the time.

Also, think ahead of time. Can I follow the right diet, once I get the lap band? Once that thing is in your body or once the surgery has been done, you have to follow a very strict diet. You have to lower the number of calories you're eating by quite a bit. Some people have a really hard time with this and they suffer the consequences after the surgery.

T.J., back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Thanks to our Elizabeth Cohen.

We want to give you a look at some of the stories making headlines right now.

The president, he's back. He's back at the White House this morning after an unannounced visit to Afghanistan yesterday. We're waiting to hear from the president and a live briefing expected sometime a little later this morning to talk about the newly announced trade agreement with South Korea. We will, of course, carry the president's comments live for you right here when that does happen.

Also, they are trying right now to get planes going again in Spain and trying to get people out of the airports after air traffic controllers went on a strike there. The airspace in Spain has been closed since yesterday. Possibly, it could be closed all weekend.

But the air traffic controllers are in a dispute right now over wages and working conditions. If you don't have air traffic controllers who are essentially out there, they're traffic cops, if you will, directing traffic in the skies, you essentially cannot fly. The military has moved in and taking over some of those air control towers.

Also, a child advocacy group -- advocacy groups are criticizing Mexico's handling of a 14-year-old boy who was arrested Thursday for allegedly being a hit man for a drug cartel. The teenager claims to be a U.S. citizen. Also claims that he killed four people while working with this particular drug cartel. State authorities are now asking Mexico's federal prosecutors to move in and intervene in this case.

It's 20 minutes past the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty-two minutes past the hour now.

In these tough economic times, tough economic conditions, and even the bad news we got yesterday about the economy, the unemployment rate going up, tough times for a lot of folks now. Now, the holiday season, when a lot of people spend money, how are you supposed to save right now? Can you even save? How are you supposed to survive even the holiday season?

We've got our Clyde Anderson, our financial analyst here, with a specific five things people can do right now.

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: That's it. HOLMES: Give them to us. Start with number one.

ANDERSON: Number one, the first thing is you've got to really understand where you are. And you've got to be able to be proactive about things. And you've got to make payment arrangements. A lot of people don't understand that payment arrangements, your companies are willing to work with you. You know, if you call them and say, hey, I can't pay right now, they'll work with you.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: That sounds like a tough task for folks, just to call them up and say, hey, I need a couple of extra months. Are they really -- a big company, especially -- going to give you that?

ANDERSON: Yes, they will. And that's the amazing thing because most people don't call.

HOLMES: Just don't do it.

ANDERSON: So, now, you set yourself apart from everybody else because you've taken the time to call, and especially if you've got a good track record of paying on time. Now, they're really going to work with you. And they understand, hey, I want into some problems, I do want to pay you, but I just can't pay you today.

HOLMES: Is that somebody specific or specific department you should talk to, or any customer service representative?

ANDERSON: Any customer service rep. If they (INAUDIBLE) from there. They will. They'll ask later and say, well, let me get approval for my manager. But the first thing is to talk to that first point of reference, that customer service person.

HOLMES: That's a good point. You say a lot people probably just don't think to pick up the phone and call and probably think they're going to get rejected anyway.

ANDERSON: Exactly and they're embarrassed. A lot of people are just embarrassed about the situation. You know, there's time-out for being embarrassed, you know? You just really got to deal with it.

HOLMES: All right. Let's move to number two you have on the list here, which is review your credit card payments?

ANDERSON: Yes, review credit card payments. Know exactly what you owe on your credit cards. You know, again, we talk about a lot of people just kind of putting their heads in the sand and said, hey, I can't pay it all, so, now, I'm not going to pay anything.

Pay something on it. Pay the minimum. The minimum is 20 bucks, pay the minimum. Of course, that's not going to get that credit card paid off before 30 years. But, you know, pay something on it.

Otherwise, you're going to have those late fees that turn into, you know, collections. And those are additional fees. And that's something you can't handle when you're in this position.

HOLMES: All right. Next here, you said you need to set your priorities.

ANDERSON: Yes, set your priorities. What's first, what's second? You know, really got to realize what do I really need versus what are my wants? When are the due dates? You know, when do I have to have these paid?

And some people don't realize if your gas gets cut off a lot of time in most states, it takes four days for them to come out and got you on again. So, you're talking about wintertime. You know, you're going to be cold and not having any hot water. You know, it can be things like that. So, you got to think through all these things and realize what do I really need today?

HOLMES: OK. That's a good point. You need to stay in the house. You need the lights on. You need the heat on. You need your car probably.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: -- transportation if you got a job to get to, to make sure you got that income coming in.

HOLMES: All right. Next on this list, we always hear you have to save, put a little something back every month.

ANDERSON: Yes.

HOLMES: This ain't the time.

ANDERSON: It's not the time to save. You know, it sounds good. If you want to save, well, pay yourself first. People advocate of paying yourself first.

But if you're broke and you don't have the money, you've got to keep the lights on, or do you want to have a little bit of something extra in the savings account. Right now, I want to keep the lights on. I want to have some gas in my car. I want to have those necessities.

So, savings will come later. But then I'll build up at 5 percent. Buildup -- once I've got to the point where I've got things kind of under control, where I plan this out, because you can have a plan. And once you plan it out, you're in good shape.

HOLMES: OK. Next one sounds like common sense.

ANDERSON: Yes.

HOLMES: Eliminate the unnecessary stuff.

ANDERSON: Yes, it sounds like common sense. But we hold on to things that are familiar. And so, you don't think about sometimes getting rid of that cable. You know, it's a comfort thing sometimes. HOLMES: Oh, stuff like that.

ANDERSON: Some things like that. But also, there's things that you can get rid of that we don't think about sometimes, like reducing your car insurance payments. Meaning that you may find a better deal.

A lot of us haven't shopped our car insurance in years. We're with the same company. We're comfortable with that company. We haven't put them to the test. We haven't called another company and say, hey, what's your best rate that you can offer me?

You know, taking the time to do an audit in all the bills, all those automatic debits that come out. You know, we got those $9.95 that come out, and sometimes, we forget about them. They're worse. And so, you really got to be -- you know, conscious of those things. Unless you do that, you got a better picture of where you are.

HOLMES: All right. We need to get these up. Again, five specific things that like you say, they may sound like common sense. But some of the people just don't even think about.

Good stuff as always. Good to see you, buddy.

ANDERSON: All right. My pleasure.

HOLMES: Thanks so much.

ANDERSON: Thanks.

HOLMES: Twenty-six past the hour. We're not done just yet. We've got something else coming up for you.

A pair of quick-thinking high school basketball coaches saved one of their players with the help of an iPhone application. It's the sports wow of the week. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. I'm joined now by Joe Carter, from CNN Sports. Good to have you --

JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good to be here.

HOLMES: -- with us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

This is story is interesting. There's an app for everything. There's an app that can save your life.

CARTER: Yes, you can say that. Yes. This happened at a basketball practice in the Los Angeles area. Now, this kid's name is Xavier Jones.

HOLMES: All right.

CARTER: He's with a really, really basketball team. "Los Angeles Times" has them ranked seventh in the entire country. HOLMES: OK.

CARTER: All right. But it's more about what his coaches did and how quick they acted. During his basketball practice, he suddenly collapses, stops breathing, starts seizuring. His two coaches run over, one starts to administer CPR, while the other gives instruction from his iPhone, OK?

Now, get this -- he starts breathing again. He's taken to the hospital. Now, he's pulled through. You're seeing the video. He's OK now.

But here's how the iPhone app came into play. The night before Xavier collapsed, his coach decided to download this app called Phone Aid. A $1.99 app, right?

HOLMES: Wow.

CARTER: Now, both of these coaches are certified trained in CPR. But they wanted to download the app as a sort of a refresher course, OK? So, he downloads the app the night before. And here it is, the app comes into play because one of his players who has a history --

HOLMES: Oh, really?

CARTER: -- has heart history problems but had never collapsed before. So, thankfully, his coaches quickly came to his aid. He's going to be OK. And it's because the doctors say because he started breathing so quickly.

HOLMES: Now, what's the name of the app again?

CARTER: It's called Phone Aid.

HOLMES: Phone Aid. And again, it can give people step by step instructions, right there on the spot. OK, dude, even if you don't know CPR.

CARTER: Correct. Correct. Isn't that incredible? Correct, right?

HOLMES: I'm actually amazed by this and everybody needs to have this thing apparently on their iPhones. But and it shows picture, instructions as well. You said the guys -- the coaches have had training in the past anyway as well. So, this is kind of reminding them.

CARTER: A refresher course. Now, this is a kid who's got a 4.0 grade point average, wants to be a military doctor. And the coaches said he's the kind of guy you want your daughter to marry. Good guy. So, great story.

HOLMES: That is a great story. Joe Carter with us this morning. A wow sports moment of the morning.

We're going to be back at the top hour with more CNN SATURDAY MORNING, more live news.

Right now, I need to hand it over to the good doctor.