American Morning (CNN) - 2008-12-29 (partial)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] In a column back in March 19th, 2007, it

[0:03] said, quote, "The magic negro is a

[0:05] figure of postmodern felt culture coined

[0:07] by snarky 20th century sociologist who

[0:09] explained a cultural figure who emerged

[0:11] in the wake of Brown versus Board of

[0:12] Education. It's it's a Hollywood plot

[0:14] device uh as described elsewhere uh

[0:18] where an African-American comes along to

[0:20] help the white lead character get out of

[0:21] trouble." Spike Lee denounced this. He

[0:23] parried it. Perry did it in a movie. He

[0:26] he actually went on to say it's the

[0:27] super duper magical negro in the film

[0:30] Bamboozled. I mean, does that make it

[0:33] doubly offensive that this would go out?

[0:35] >> I think that the thing that's clear is

[0:37] that politicians are really not allowed

[0:39] to be funny this way. And because it's

[0:42] not funny when politicians do it, it

[0:44] sound it's in bad taste. It's offensive

[0:46] and it it it doesn't perpetuate the

[0:48] stereotype. I mean, Republicans have an

[0:51] African-American issue that there are

[0:53] only two African-Americans on the entire

[0:55] Republican National Committee out of

[0:57] hundreds of of of members. There's just

[1:00] they have no credibility to then go

[1:02] ahead and try and create parody because

[1:05] they don't even have a legitimate um

[1:07] analysis of what's going on with race.

[1:09] >> You want to give us one final thought

[1:10] here, Leslie? Then we got to run.

[1:12] >> John, there's so many other things to be

[1:13] talking about. I mean, there's a song on

[1:14] the CD, Star Spanglish Banner. I mean,

[1:16] there there's just so many ways this is

[1:18] wrong. It's great to do parody, but I

[1:20] agree with Hillary. This is it. People

[1:22] are very sensitive. It can be perceived

[1:24] as very hurtful. In this case, it is.

[1:26] And I think there's just so many ways we

[1:27] want to move beyond that uh with a new

[1:29] revive uh renewal of the Republican

[1:32] party and and move as far away from that

[1:34] as possible.

[1:34] >> Leslie Sanchez, Hillary Rosen, it's

[1:36] always great to see you folks. Happy

[1:37] holidays. Happy New Year to you.

[1:38] >> You too, John.

[1:39] >> Thanks.

[1:40] >> And it's 1 minute after 8 here in New

[1:42] York. A look at the top stories this

[1:43] morning. Pressure now building along the

[1:45] Gaza Strip. Israeli tanks are gathering

[1:48] troops or mobilizing. Israel's defense

[1:50] minister Barack saying his nation is now

[1:52] in a quote allout war with Hamas. And

[1:55] right now, the fighting continues from

[1:56] the air. Israeli war planes pounding the

[1:59] Palestinian territories, wiping out a

[2:01] prison, tunnels, and part of an Islamic

[2:03] university. Palestinian medical sources

[2:05] say the death toll has now topped 300.

[2:08] This morning, crews from several states

[2:10] are converging in Michigan to help

[2:12] restore power to more than 400,000

[2:14] people. Wind gusts topping 60 mph downed

[2:17] power lines and trees across the state.

[2:20] Officials say it may take several days

[2:22] before service is restored. Also this

[2:25] morning, we're learning more about

[2:26] Illinois Governor Rod Lgoyovich's

[2:28] defense strategy against impeachment.

[2:30] His lead attorney says he plans to

[2:32] submit the president-elect's internal

[2:34] report, which revealed there was no

[2:35] wrongdoing between Obama's transition

[2:37] team and the governor. In the meantime,

[2:38] the lieutenant governor of Illinois says

[2:40] that he's certain Buoyovich will be out

[2:42] of office in less than two months.

[2:45] Returning to our breaking news in the

[2:47] Middle East, Israel says it's now in an

[2:49] allout war with Hamas. Israeli troops

[2:51] and tanks growing in number along the

[2:53] Gaza Strip as the fierce air assault

[2:55] escalates now to a third day. Some 300

[2:58] air strikes since Saturday aimed at

[3:00] forcing Hamas back into a ceasefire. The

[3:03] attacks have flattened a major prison,

[3:04] smuggling tunnels, and hit the campus of

[3:06] an Islamic university. And it's also

[3:08] been deadly. More than 300 reportedly

[3:11] killed. The air strikes also provoking

[3:13] outrage across the Arab world. Hundreds

[3:15] appeared at a large demonstration in

[3:17] Syria. Protests were also held in Iraq,

[3:19] Turkey, and Egypt. And despite growing

[3:21] international appeals for calm, Israel's

[3:23] defense minister, Iud Barack, says it's

[3:25] now in an all-out war designed to send a

[3:28] clear message to Hamas.

[3:32] We want peace. We have stretched our

[3:34] hand in peace many times to the

[3:35] Palestinian people. We have nothing

[3:37] against the people of Gaza, but this is

[3:39] an all-out war against Hamas and its

[3:41] branches. The restraint that we have

[3:43] demonstrated is the source of our

[3:45] strength when it is time to fight.

[3:48] >> CNN is on the ground in the region.

[3:50] Paula Hancock's live for us along the

[3:52] Israel Gaza border and joins us now.

[3:54] Paula, what are you seeing right now?

[3:59] Well, Kieran, it's uh very clear that

[4:01] this operation is ongoing. We're still

[4:04] hearing Israeli air strikes hitting

[4:06] different targets in Gaza. Now, this is

[4:08] as close as we can get to Gaza. The

[4:11] Israeli government isn't allowing us

[4:12] inside. They're not opening the

[4:14] crossings to allow us inside. Uh but

[4:16] certainly, we have our sources inside

[4:17] who say that they haven't seen this kind

[4:19] of devastation for years. This is a very

[4:23] substantial operation that Israel is

[4:25] carrying out, trying to stop the rocket

[4:26] attacks from Hamas and other Palestinian

[4:28] militant groups in to Israel. Now, we've

[4:32] been seeing that's that's Gaza City

[4:34] you're looking at there. We've been

[4:35] seeing many Israeli air strikes across

[4:38] that area. I can hear a drone overhead

[4:40] at this point. They're taking

[4:41] coordinates, taking uh all the details

[4:43] that they need from the air for the air

[4:46] strikes to come in. Now, we're not

[4:47] seeing a ground operation, but that's

[4:50] yet. We have seen a lot of tank

[4:52] movement. We've seen tanks moving

[4:54] towards the border and then heading

[4:55] north towards where some of these

[4:57] rockets are being fired still by

[4:59] militants. And uh we've also seen some

[5:02] bulldozers moving into place. Obviously,

[5:04] they be the first in in any ground

[5:06] operation. As you heard, Barack has made

[5:08] it very clear if he thinks there needs

[5:09] to be troops on the ground inside Gaza,

[5:12] he'll put them inside Gaza. And also the

[5:15] uh the area where we were a little

[5:17] earlier on, we got moved from and that's

[5:19] now a closed military zone. So it's

[5:21] possible there is a ground operation on

[5:23] the on the way, but I'm not sure if you

[5:25] can hear in a distance there's still air

[5:26] strikes going on. Kieran,

[5:28] >> and what is the uh I I guess the best

[5:30] case scenario, the endgame for Israel if

[5:32] it's able to militarily take out Hamas.

[5:35] certainly still has the political uh

[5:37] ramifications to deal with and also

[5:39] growing Arab outrage over what uh what

[5:41] has been seen the uh the video of the

[5:44] carnage being run um nonstop on Arab

[5:46] television.

[5:50] >> Well, that's the thing. It's very easy

[5:52] to start a war, but it's much more

[5:54] difficult to end it. Now, for Israel,

[5:57] the ideal scenario would be to take out

[5:59] Hamas completely, to have a Gaza that

[6:02] was Hamas free. Maybe the Palestinian

[6:04] Authority and FATA could take over it

[6:05] again, but in reality that is

[6:07] practically impossible. Hamas is Gaza.

[6:09] There are Hamas installations everywhere

[6:12] you look in Gaza. And certainly uh from

[6:15] the Palestinian point of view, there are

[6:17] still one and a half million residents

[6:19] living in this tiny piece of land. And

[6:22] some civilians are getting caught up in

[6:24] this violence. Israel's only targeting

[6:27] Hamas installations, but it's so

[6:29] residential and so densely populated

[6:32] inside there that inevitably civilians

[6:35] are being hurt. So, Israel really needs

[6:38] to to be very mindful of that. And many

[6:40] countries across the world have have

[6:41] said they need to be mindful of that and

[6:43] try and limit the number of civilian

[6:45] casualties. But, as I say, our sources

[6:47] on the ground in there say they haven't

[6:49] seen anything like this in years. There

[6:51] are complete buildings being wiped out.

[6:53] Half a university being wiped out as

[6:55] well, Kieran.

[6:56] >> All right, Paula Hancock's for us along

[6:58] that border. Thank you.

[7:00] >> The new violence in Gaza may well

[7:02] continue into the next administration,

[7:04] but for now, the president-elect is

[7:06] deferring to the White House and

[7:07] President Bush is blaming Hamas for

[7:09] breaking the peace. CNN's Ela Kihana was

[7:11] live in Crawford, Texas for us this

[7:12] morning. It appears that the

[7:14] administration, Ela, is handling this

[7:15] very much as it did the conflict between

[7:17] Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of

[7:20] 2006. And that's pretty much hands off.

[7:24] >> Hands off right now. President Bush

[7:26] certainly getting updates on the

[7:27] situation. As you know, he's of course

[7:29] at his ranch here in Crawford, Texas,

[7:31] getting those updates from his top

[7:33] advisers by phone and by secure video.

[7:35] Those advi advisers include his national

[7:38] security adviser, Steven Hadley, as well

[7:40] as Secretary of State Conda Rice. But we

[7:43] have not seen President Bush all

[7:45] weekend. In fact, the last time we saw

[7:47] him was back on Friday when the

[7:49] president arrived here in Texas aboard

[7:51] Air Force One. Since then, the White

[7:54] House has been making its statements

[7:55] through its spokesman, Gordon Jondro,

[7:57] who over the weekend said Hamas was

[7:59] nothing but a group of thugs and said

[8:01] that Israel will do what it must in

[8:03] order to defend itself. So, the White

[8:05] House again clearly pinning the blame on

[8:08] Hamas for this latest round of violence,

[8:10] but we have yet to hear from the

[8:12] president himself on camera about the

[8:15] developments. Aids say they are

[8:17] continuing to monitor the situation on

[8:19] the ground very closely, and certainly

[8:21] things could change. The president

[8:22] doesn't have any events on his public

[8:25] schedule right now, but if things do

[8:27] escalate, uh it's very possible that we

[8:29] might see the president feel compelled

[8:31] to come out and make an on camera

[8:33] statement. So again, just sort of wait

[8:35] and see mode right now. John,

[8:36] >> Ela, to the best of our knowledge, the

[8:38] Israeli military action thus far has

[8:40] been confined to air strikes, but they

[8:42] are massing troops and tanks along the

[8:44] border. What's the Bush administration

[8:46] saying, or at least officials saying

[8:47] about Israel calling up its reserveists

[8:49] and and at least uh keeping open the

[8:53] option of a ground assault?

[8:56] >> You know, it's really been radio silence

[8:58] on that point. Interestingly, John, I

[9:00] posed that very question uh to an aid

[9:02] over the weekend and uh obviously they

[9:05] are well aware of all the speculation uh

[9:07] that that move is prompting about the

[9:09] possibility of a ground invasion and yet

[9:12] they are making a point not to comment

[9:15] on that particular development. Um so

[9:17] we'll wait to see what happens. Uh that

[9:19] in and of itself of course raising

[9:21] questions. Is the administration aware

[9:23] of some plans that might be set in

[9:25] motion soon? We just don't know. they

[9:28] aren't responding to that question or

[9:30] not commenting on that development about

[9:32] the Israeli cabinet um agreeing to call

[9:34] up those reserveists. So, u we hope to

[9:37] learn a little bit more right now. Uh

[9:39] spokesman Gordon Jondro is scheduled to

[9:40] have a briefing in just a few hours and

[9:42] certainly that will be one of the

[9:44] questions likely that will be posed to

[9:45] him. John,

[9:46] >> well, looking forward to an answer on

[9:47] that point. Ela Khano for us in

[9:49] Crawford, Texas this morning. Elaine,

[9:50] thanks so much.

[9:52] >> Oh, it's hard to believe, but the man

[9:53] accused of running Wall Street's biggest

[9:54] investment scam is officially a victim

[9:56] of theft. himself, although on a much

[9:59] much smaller scale than many of his

[10:01] built investors. We're going to find out

[10:03] what was stolen from his South Florida

[10:05] mansion. And you might expect to get hit

[10:07] with popcorn, but certainly not a

[10:09] bullet. Gunfire at the movies. The

[10:11] latest on the movie go who police say

[10:13] shot another man after a fight over

[10:15] talking. It's 10 minutes after the hour.

[10:22] I'm Chris Berman and I lost 41 lbs with

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[11:34] Share the next big moments as the story

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[11:49] politics.

[11:52] >> My name is Harvey Mil and I'm here to

[11:55] recruit you.

[12:04] You've got to get it all.

[12:09] >> 12 minutes after the hour, Christine

[12:11] Roman here, you're minding your business

[12:12] this morning talking about Bernie Maid

[12:13] off. Made off with an awful lot of money

[12:16] according to some people.

[12:17] >> Those are the allegations. That's

[12:18] absolutely right. And that's why the

[12:19] securities uh there's a big securities

[12:21] fraud case against him. And we will have

[12:23] he has until Wednesday to tell a judge

[12:26] exactly what he has, where it is, his

[12:28] all of his property, his lines of

[12:30] credit, his investments, his real

[12:32] estate, all of this stuff. He has till

[12:34] Wednesday to come up with it. And and

[12:35] some of the sort of like forensic

[12:37] accountants are saying, I don't know if

[12:38] he can do it by Wednesday, you know,

[12:39] >> but is this going to help people

[12:41] possibly recoup some of their money or

[12:42] at least find out where

[12:43] >> this is the very first step trying to

[12:45] figure out just what what is out there

[12:47] and what is exists. And then this

[12:48] mystery is so crazy. Even this weekend,

[12:51] a report that the Palm Beach police are

[12:53] telling us that indeed he was the victim

[12:55] himself of a theft. A 4 foot tall uh

[12:59] lifeguard statue sitting next to his

[13:01] pool disappeared worth some $10,000. It

[13:03] just walked away one afternoon. The

[13:05] property manager said it was there and

[13:07] then suddenly it wasn't. Um it's two

[13:09] lifeguards sitting next to each other. I

[13:10] don't know who the artist is, but the

[13:11] Palm Beach police say they have no

[13:12] leads, no suspects, and no tips. But

[13:15] certainly there's a little bit of irony

[13:17] this morning. So many people are trying

[13:18] to figure out what happened to the $50

[13:19] billion dollars they thought that was

[13:21] being he was managing. And

[13:23] >> you know it's also interesting the plot

[13:24] thickens about this situation because

[13:26] there are people who are now suing their

[13:28] money managers who say that I was paying

[13:30] you to manage my money and instead you

[13:32] just handed it all off to Bernie

[13:34] Maidoff. No one complained when they

[13:35] were getting big returns but now they're

[13:37] seeing that that this is a lot the

[13:40] tentacles spread wide. I would be

[13:41] furious if I found out that the guy that

[13:43] I was or the woman who I was giving my

[13:45] money to and I was getting decent

[13:47] returns wasn't actually managing my

[13:48] money but had handed it off to somebody

[13:50] else. There are people who didn't even

[13:51] know that they had invested in Bernie

[13:52] Maidoff who who are saying now that

[13:54] they've been victimized.

[13:55] >> Remember we had Mort Zuckermanman from

[13:56] US News and World Report on and his his

[13:58] charitable trust was invested with maid

[14:01] off and apparently the money manager who

[14:03] invested with maid off took all of the

[14:05] the money I think it was $30 million in

[14:07] this case as part of a $1.8 eight

[14:09] billion dollar pot and just said here

[14:11] you go Bernie take it

[14:12] >> and then think about the people getting

[14:13] no diversification

[14:14] >> and think about the people getting the

[14:15] fees so then they're accepting what 2%

[14:17] of of the assets for their fee to manage

[14:20] it and they're having somebody else

[14:21] manage it and getting fees all the way

[14:22] down the line. So, um there are a lot of

[14:24] wealthy people and individuals and uh uh

[14:28] charities and foundations who are who

[14:31] are really ticked off here and still

[14:32] trying to just kind of figure out what

[14:34] happened.

[14:35] >> Take a long time to unravel

[14:36] >> and and Wednesday, if we even get an

[14:38] accounting of where all what what he has

[14:40] if there isn't even complete accounting

[14:42] by Wednesday, the mystery will will

[14:44] certainly deepen. And perhaps when the

[14:46] dust settles, just like we talked about

[14:47] with the mortgage situation and the

[14:48] mortgage back securities and all the

[14:50] things that were happening with the

[14:51] investment banks, maybe this will change

[14:52] the way that people are doing business

[14:54] and and maybe cause people to be a

[14:56] little bit more careful.

[14:57] >> One thing that people are very furious

[14:58] about is that he's sitting in his

[14:59] multi-million dollar mansion on house

[15:01] arrest right now while a lot of people

[15:02] are completely out of money, you know.

[15:04] >> Well, the one thing that never changes

[15:06] over the millennia, greed. That's true.

[15:07] >> Thanks, Christine. This morning, tanks

[15:09] are rolling, bombs are falling, and

[15:11] Israel's air force moving deeper into

[15:13] Gaza. We're live on the front lines

[15:14] covering the fighting and the

[15:15] possibility of what could become a wider

[15:18] war. And pipe down or pay. Police say

[15:20] one movie goer shot another one over

[15:23] talking too much at the movies. Now one

[15:25] has a mug shot and the other one's got a

[15:27] bullet in his arm. We'll bring you the

[15:28] very latest on this bizarre case. 15 and

[15:30] a half minutes now after the hour.

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[16:09] Tell us how you did it because I believe

[16:11] >> Chris Angel Larry King live CNN tonight

[16:14] 9 Eastern.

[16:16] >> Welcome to Progressives Concier Claim

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[16:47] >> Happy New Year. Welcome to

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[17:16] >> Raw. Honest reporting. Anderson Cooper

[17:19] 360. CNN tonight 10 Eastern.

[17:24] >> Well, it's 17 minutes past the hour.

[17:25] We're going to fast forward now some to

[17:27] some stories that'll be making news a

[17:28] bit later today. Right now, Israeli

[17:30] tanks are gathering on the border of

[17:32] Israel and Gaza. They could go in for a

[17:34] ground offensive today. Over the

[17:36] weekend, Israeli air strikes killed over

[17:37] 300 people, according to Palestinian

[17:39] medical sources, injuring hundreds of

[17:41] others. While earlier today, Palestinian

[17:43] rockets killed the second Israeli since

[17:45] this offensive began. At noon today, a

[17:48] special committee investigating the

[17:49] possible impeachment of Illinois

[17:51] Governor Rod Bleggoyovich will

[17:53] reconvene. This panel announced

[17:54] yesterday that it will not subpoena

[17:56] advisers to President-elect Barack

[17:58] Obama, and that would include Obama's

[18:00] incoming chief of staff, Haram Emanuel.

[18:02] And we're hoping to hear more from

[18:03] police and prosecutors in Philadelphia

[18:05] today about a very bizarre story. A man

[18:07] accused of firing a gun in a crowded

[18:10] movie theater. He's suspected of

[18:11] shooting a man because the people he was

[18:13] with wouldn't quiet down. CNN's Susan

[18:16] Candyotti is working the story for us

[18:17] this morning.

[18:21] John Kieran, good morning. You're in a

[18:23] movie theater. People start making

[18:25] noise. It's really annoying. What do you

[18:27] do? A Christmas night shooting at a

[18:29] movie theater in Philadelphia has a lot

[18:31] of people wondering how to react.

[18:34] Christmas night at the movies in South

[18:36] Philly seemed like fun.

[18:38] >> How old are you?

[18:39] >> Seven. But I look a lot older.

[18:42] >> A mom, boyfriend, and her three teenage

[18:44] kids went to see the curious case of

[18:46] Benjamin Button. But the on-screen drama

[18:49] nearly turned deadly for one movie go.

[18:52] Kia Banner tells CNN the theater was

[18:54] packed and her family was laughing at

[18:56] the show when this man told him to pipe

[18:58] down. She told him to back off and her

[19:01] son verbally defended her.

[19:02] >> He throws the popcorn on my kids. The

[19:04] whole bucket of popcorn. He threw it on

[19:06] my kids and next thing you know, he's

[19:08] swinging.

[19:09] >> Banner says her boyfriend stepped in

[19:10] front of her children and a shot rang

[19:12] out, hitting her boyfriend in the arm.

[19:14] He's no longer in the hospital. CNN

[19:17] affiliate WPVI quotes a source as saying

[19:19] suspect James Cella told police he shot

[19:22] in self-defense. Police cannot confirm

[19:25] it and are unable to say whether Cella

[19:27] has entered a plea or remains jailed.

[19:30] >> Who brings a gun to a movie theater? I

[19:32] don't understand that.

[19:33] >> Would you say that this man simply

[19:35] snapped?

[19:36] >> Well, see, I don't look at psychological

[19:38] situations like this where the person

[19:40] just snaps. I kind of don't believe

[19:42] that.

[19:42] >> Psychologist Dr. Buzz von Ornsteiner

[19:44] says when something like this happens,

[19:46] the anger's been building up like a

[19:49] boiling kettle.

[19:50] >> It starts to steam and then without any

[19:52] intervention, without any good coping

[19:55] skills, without any logical or

[19:58] reasonable solutions, it just kind of

[20:00] explodes.

[20:01] >> We asked movie goers how they handle

[20:03] noisy people around them.

[20:04] >> I'll usually turn around and tell them

[20:06] to be quiet. I try to ignore it usually

[20:08] unless I uh it gets really bad, then I

[20:11] might change seats.

[20:12] >> Dr. Buzz says if that doesn't work, tell

[20:14] management.

[20:15] >> Let them handle it. They're the

[20:17] professionals.

[20:18] >> Good advice for movie fans worried about

[20:20] another flare up.

[20:21] >> The movie shouldn't be that important. I

[20:23] think that maybe it does make me a

[20:25] little bit more scared maybe to say

[20:27] something to someone.

[20:28] >> The accused shooter in Philadelphia

[20:30] faces several charges including

[20:32] attempted murder. John Karen

[20:37] >> Kennedy talks. I was um dismayed by my

[20:40] uh by the my voting um uh record.

[20:44] >> The woman who wants Hillary Clinton's

[20:46] Senate seat on the hot seat. What

[20:48] Caroline Kennedy revealed in her first

[20:50] big sitdown interviews. You're watching

[20:53] the most news in the morning.

[20:56] >> Why are nine out of 10 seniors satisfied

[20:59] with their Medicare prescription

[21:00] benefit?

[21:01] >> Because I get to spend more time on my

[21:03] paper whites, not paperwork.

[21:06] Because I'd rather lose sleep over my

[21:08] doctorate than my doctor.

[21:10] >> Because I want to fritter away my time.

[21:13] >> Here you go, Grandpa.

[21:14] >> Not my money.

[21:16] >> Affordable premiums, a choice of plans,

[21:18] and enrollment is open. In just 3 years,

[21:21] 26 million seniors have signed up for

[21:23] Medicare prescription coverage. Now you

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[22:26] >> I'm Anderson Cooper. Usually you see me

[22:28] every night on 360 at 1000 p.m. Well, on

[22:31] New Year's Eve, I'm going to be live in

[22:32] Times Square with my co-host, Kathy

[22:34] Griffith.

[22:35] >> It is such a treat for you to be here

[22:36] with me tonight, Anderson. I'm um very

[22:39] happy to be your sidekick.

[22:41] >> I'll try to cover more of the news

[22:42] angles and I think maybe you can cover

[22:43] more of the like the pop angles.

[22:45] >> Yeah, that's backwards.

[22:46] >> Are you going to get in trouble again

[22:47] this year?

[22:47] >> My goal is to get you fired by midnight.

[22:50] >> I'm starting to rethink this whole New

[22:51] Year's Eve thing.

[22:52] >> CNN New Year's Eve live Eastern. This is

[22:55] CNN.

[23:02] >> 23 minutes after the hour now. Caroline

[23:03] Kennedy intensifying her campaign for

[23:05] Hillary Clinton's soon to be vacant

[23:07] Senate seat. She is speaking to

[23:08] reporters now laying out her agenda and

[23:11] taking on critics who are questioning

[23:12] her qualifications. CNN's Deborah Feric

[23:15] is following all this for us and she

[23:17] joins us this morning. Hey De.

[23:18] >> Hey there John. Well, you know Caroline

[23:19] Kennedy says she knows she's an

[23:21] unconventional choice to take over

[23:22] Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. Still,

[23:24] she believes she has a lifetime of

[23:25] experience and visibility, which will

[23:27] make her an effective senator for New

[23:29] York. Responding to criticism, she's

[23:30] brushed aside reporters since expressing

[23:32] interest in a political future nearly a

[23:34] month ago. Kennedy answered questions

[23:36] for select newspapers this weekend, even

[23:39] sitting down for an extended TV

[23:40] interview with a local New York City

[23:42] cable station. Kennedy says her mom

[23:44] believed strongly in doing the

[23:45] unexpected, and she tried answering

[23:47] nagging questions about her

[23:49] qualifications.

[23:51] there are many other qualified

[23:54] candidates. So, I'm not saying I'm the

[23:55] only choice. I'm just saying I'm just

[23:57] telling you what I bring. And I think

[23:59] that's a lifetime of experience and

[24:01] commitment to public service. It's a

[24:03] deep uh respect for the Constitution and

[24:06] a knowledge of that. It's a work for

[24:08] education for families. Um I'm a lawyer

[24:11] and you know, and I think that I have

[24:13] relationships in Washington that I would

[24:15] like to put to work to benefit the

[24:17] people of New York.

[24:19] Kennedy talked about her family's

[24:20] history of service, particularly in the

[24:22] Senate, where her uncle Ted Kennedy

[24:24] remains a powerful voice. She was also

[24:26] pressed on the embarrassing question of

[24:28] her voting record, which shows she set

[24:30] out many local elections.

[24:33] >> I was um dismayed by my uh by the my

[24:36] voting um uh record. There isn't a good

[24:40] excuse. So, I don't have one. And um

[24:43] obviously going forward, I will make

[24:44] sure to correct that. So, I appreciate

[24:46] the fact that everybody in the city now

[24:49] knows about my mistake.

[24:51] >> Kennedy stayed away from talking about

[24:53] her personal wealth and said she'd be

[24:54] happy to discuss it privately privately

[24:56] with Governor David Patterson who will

[24:58] be choosing the next senator. She said

[25:00] it was September 11th and supporting

[25:01] Barack Obama that moved her to give back

[25:04] to her community and said the economic

[25:06] crisis, healthcare, and education would

[25:08] be her top priorities. Now, there were

[25:10] some questions about her connections to

[25:11] Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg's top

[25:13] aid has been working to help Kennedy, a

[25:15] fact that has some Democrats concerned,

[25:17] but Kennedy said she was a Democrat

[25:19] through and through and wouldn't be

[25:20] beholden to anyone. John,

[25:22] >> pesky little thing, that voting record,

[25:24] right?

[25:24] >> Tricky. Very tricky.

[25:25] >> And and one of the New York tabloids

[25:26] also today has a big spread on the $50

[25:29] million estate that she inherited from

[25:31] her mother in uh in Martha's Vineyard.

[25:33] >> That's what happens when you dip your

[25:34] toe in politics. It's all of these

[25:36] things come out.

[25:37] >> I mean, everybody knew about that is

[25:38] it's one of the best real estate

[25:40] purchases anybody ever made. more than

[25:41] 300 acres and

[25:43] >> what's astonishing and she knows it. She

[25:44] knows that she's luckier than many of

[25:46] these middle class people who are losing

[25:47] everything. But she says those are the

[25:49] people that she wants to fight for. So

[25:50] that's why she's throwing her hat in.

[25:51] >> All right, good. Deborah, thanks so much

[25:53] for that.

[25:53] >> Well, what if you're trapped in a bad

[25:55] marriage in a bad economy, money and

[25:57] divorce? What couples who can't afford

[26:00] to get out are being forced to do. Plus,

[26:03] Israel's defense minister says his

[26:05] country is in an allout war with Hamas.

[26:07] We're going to bring you the latest from

[26:08] the Gaza border live straight ahead.

[26:10] It's 26 minutes after the hour.

[26:32] >> Find your perfect gift,

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[27:45] >> The stories are just so incredible. You

[27:47] cannot help but meet some of these CNN

[27:49] heroes and not be inspired.

[27:52] >> Welcome to our second annual tribute to

[27:54] CNN Heroes.

[28:01] The CNN Hero of the Year is Liz

[28:03] McCartney.

[28:05] Thank you to the nine other people that

[28:07] were nominated. You guys are incredible

[28:09] human beings.

[28:18] 28 minutes after the hour now. We're

[28:20] following breaking news in Gaza this

[28:22] morning. Plenty of chest thumping

[28:23] between Israel and Hamas. In Gaza,

[28:26] rockets from Gaza, air strikes from

[28:28] Israel. Israel's defense minister Ahoud

[28:30] Barak says his country is in an allout

[28:32] war with Hamas. The United Nations says

[28:34] there is panic in Gaza and Palestinian

[28:36] sources say at least 300 people are

[28:38] dead, including five children with at

[28:40] least 650 wounded. Both sides are making

[28:43] their case in the conflict appearing

[28:45] here earlier on American Morning.

[28:48] >> When we look at Gaza, we don't see Hamas

[28:51] or Fat or any other faction. This is not

[28:53] political. We see only a human tragedy.

[28:56] We see people suffering. We see the

[28:58] occupation on the rampage without any

[29:00] checks, without any accountability. And

[29:03] we see the Israeli parties playing

[29:04] politics with our lives. This has been

[29:07] premeditated. It's a plan that was there

[29:09] for a long time and now they've declared

[29:11] this openly. To deal with Hamas, with

[29:13] those terrorists, we have to make them

[29:15] understand that they must stop shooting

[29:18] rockets at Israel. For the last 6

[29:21] months, and even before that, for years,

[29:24] rockets has been fired over Israel.

[29:27] Quarter of a million people in the south

[29:30] of Israel are sitting in shelters and

[29:33] suffering daily and this has to stop and

[29:35] this is the main goal of this operation.

[29:39] >> General Motors and Chrysler receiving

[29:40] the first part of a federal bailout

[29:42] today. The price tag on the bailout

[29:44] likely to reach 17.4 billion by the time

[29:47] all is said and done. Under the terms,

[29:49] each will get $4 billion today. Hey,

[29:51] General Motors also gets at least one

[29:53] more cash infusion and likely two over

[29:56] the next two months. Authorities in

[29:58] Tennessee promising to clean up over a

[30:00] billion gallons of sludge and coal waste

[30:02] that spilled into a small town in

[30:04] eastern Tennessee. The byproduct of coal

[30:06] power was being held in a retention pond

[30:08] in Kingston. But the wall breached a

[30:10] week ago, sending the sludge sprawling

[30:12] across 300 acres and into 15 homes.

[30:17] >> What a mess there.

[30:19] Is today's poor economy actually keeping

[30:21] unhappy couples together? A recent

[30:23] survey of divorce attorneys found that

[30:25] 37% of them have seen a decrease, they

[30:27] say, in the number of couples seeking a

[30:29] divorce. Some couples simply can't

[30:30] afford the legal fees or living on one

[30:33] income after the split. Jeff Gardier is

[30:35] a clinical psychologist in New York and

[30:37] has seen this in his own practice. Good

[30:38] morning and thanks for being with us.

[30:40] So, you know, it's almost like, you

[30:42] know, a lot of people say, and you

[30:43] probably know this in your practice,

[30:44] that that one of the chief reasons

[30:46] people fight or there is marital discord

[30:48] is about money. What happens when you

[30:49] throw a recession into that?

[30:51] >> Well, that's right. That's always been

[30:52] the number one issue in any marriage are

[30:54] issues of finance. And now that we have

[30:56] this really tough economy, we're seeing

[30:59] more and more people fighting uh about

[31:01] money. Uh those people even who are

[31:03] looking for amicable divorces now become

[31:06] very conflicted because they have this

[31:07] whole issue of the upside down mortgage.

[31:09] they can't divide the marital assets.

[31:11] So, it becomes a very contentious

[31:13] situation. It's just really tough out

[31:14] there for people who are divorcing or

[31:16] the people who decide to stay together

[31:18] because they can't afford to divorce.

[31:20] >> So, I guess there's a couple of things

[31:21] going on right now when you see an

[31:23] economic downturn do marriages and even

[31:25] you know couples that are cohabitating

[31:27] is is it a more stressful time in

[31:29] general? It is a more stressful time.

[31:31] But what we're finding, Kieran, is

[31:33] normally in a recession or hard economic

[31:35] times, we see divorce rates go up. But

[31:37] in this particular recession, we've seen

[31:39] divorce rates start to go down. In Cook

[31:42] County and Chicago, uh divorce filings

[31:44] have dropped by 5%. In Miami, Florida,

[31:46] they've dropped by 18%, which is close

[31:49] to that 20% foreclosure rate, by the

[31:51] way. But the last time we actually saw

[31:53] divorce rates actually go up was during

[31:56] the depression uh between 1930 and 1935.

[32:00] So what we're really seeing here is when

[32:02] there is a recession, when there are

[32:03] tough economic times and the severity

[32:06] the severity is very extreme, that's

[32:08] when we tend to see divorce rates really

[32:10] really start uh uh going down.

[32:13] >> Yeah, this is the interesting thing. So,

[32:14] uh, is there perhaps a silver lining in

[32:17] this in that people who may have been,

[32:19] uh, willing to throw the towel in are

[32:21] willing to give their relationship,

[32:23] their marriage a second chance, they're

[32:25] forced to do it initially because the

[32:26] financial situation, but it turns out

[32:28] that they're able to salvage that

[32:29] marriage.

[32:30] >> I think for a long time, people got very

[32:32] comfortable into this whole issue of,

[32:34] you know what, the marriage isn't

[32:35] working. Let's move on. Let's go ahead

[32:37] and get a divorce. We'll find someone

[32:38] else. Now people are rethinking that

[32:41] this is really an investment that this

[32:43] is something that they really need to

[32:44] work on. It's not something that you

[32:46] just can get rid of. So there is that

[32:48] silver lining there. People are working

[32:50] harder to make their marriages work

[32:52] because they just can't afford to break

[32:54] up.

[32:54] >> This is interesting. So then for the

[32:56] people who who both agree, you know

[32:57] what, this marriage is all but over. We

[32:59] have to live together right now until

[33:00] this financial picture changes. You have

[33:03] some tips for trying to do this

[33:04] situation where you're living together

[33:06] even though you both know it's probably

[33:08] over. So what that seems like a very

[33:09] difficult situation.

[33:10] >> Yeah, I have some very quick tips. I

[33:11] think one of the first things you need

[33:12] to do is look at this as some sort of a

[33:14] business investment. Uh this way that

[33:16] you will use your partner or your

[33:19] soontobe exartner more as a friend and

[33:22] someone who will help you work through

[33:23] protecting the marital asset which may

[33:25] be the home that you can't sell right

[33:27] now or can stay together long enough to

[33:29] be able to collect rent and do this the

[33:31] right way when you decide to divorce or

[33:34] if you decide to stay together. also

[33:36] looked that it's about personal growth.

[33:38] You can work it out. You can get couples

[33:40] counseling. There are things that you

[33:42] can do to make the marriage stronger or

[33:44] even if you do decide to divorce to be

[33:46] able to work out a lot of those loose

[33:48] ends while you're still in that marital

[33:51] home. And I think another very important

[33:52] thing is look at rules and boundaries

[33:54] especially if you're not getting along

[33:56] especially if you decided that you are

[33:58] going to break up you're going to stay

[33:59] in that home. protect each other's, look

[34:02] at each other's personal space, and act

[34:04] accordingly. And of course, if there are

[34:06] kids as part of that union, you want to

[34:08] make sure that you don't confuse them by

[34:10] having new lovers, boyfriends, or

[34:11] girlfriends coming through and so on.

[34:13] So, it really is about respect. Whether

[34:15] you stay together or whether you decide

[34:17] to divorce, you can still have a healthy

[34:19] relationship together, something that we

[34:21] never thought that you could do before.

[34:23] >> And especially if you have kids, you're

[34:24] in each other's lives either way. So,

[34:26] yeah, respect goes a long way. Uh

[34:28] Jeffrey Gardier, great to talk to you as

[34:29] always. Thanks.

[34:30] >> Always my pleasure. And I'm staying

[34:31] married, by the way.

[34:32] >> Good for you.

[34:32] >> I can't afford a divorce.

[34:34] >> Just kidding. He's happily married. Four

[34:36] children, by the way.

[34:37] >> Yes, he is. My wife's watching. You

[34:38] better

[34:39] >> point of contention, is it? He wants

[34:40] more and she does not right now.

[34:42] >> Oh, that's a whole other story, isn't

[34:43] it?

[34:43] >> Yeah. Which we don't have time for. All

[34:45] right, John.

[34:45] >> Well, let's hope that she feels the same

[34:47] way as Jeff does, right? This morning, a

[34:49] father is being called a hero after some

[34:51] quick thinking saved his family from an

[34:53] armed kidnapper. Here, how he was able

[34:54] to trick the gunman when he joins us

[34:56] live. It's a story that you do not want

[34:59] to miss. And in our continuing series,

[35:01] Baby Quest, we'll look at the

[35:02] evertightening restrictions on

[35:04] international adoptions and how one

[35:06] woman says her own perfect little angel

[35:09] practically fell out of the sky. 35

[35:11] minutes now after the hour.

[35:16] >> There's the week, there's the weekend,

[35:18] and then there's the weekender.

[35:19] >> Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the

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[35:25] It's come a little early. So the deal is

[35:26] you call the 1-800 number and then you

[35:28] get Friday, Saturday and Sunday for470

[35:30] which is half off which is pretty crazy.

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[36:16] >> CNN New Year's Eve at 10. All the best,

[36:19] all the worst. 2008. Then at 11:00,

[36:21] Anderson Cooper with Kathy Griffin. Live

[36:23] from Time Square. New Year's Eve only on

[36:25] CNN.

[36:27] >> Happy New Year. Welcome to

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[37:34] It's a story line that could easily be

[37:36] made into a blockbuster movie. Two

[37:38] gunmen take a bank manager and her

[37:40] family hostage. They had hoped to use

[37:41] the wife to help them rob a bank, but

[37:43] their plan quickly fell apart after the

[37:46] husband was able to outsmart the two

[37:48] armed men. And one of them at least is

[37:50] in custody now. James Spruel is that

[37:52] husband. He joins us this morning from

[37:53] his home in Clinton, Maryland. James,

[37:55] good to see you this morning. Let Let me

[37:56] kind of just help uh you walk folks

[37:59] through what happened. It's 7:15 on

[38:01] Friday night. You're at home. Suddenly,

[38:03] your wife calls you and says, "Come

[38:05] here." What was going on?

[38:08] >> Oh, I thought she she was just coming in

[38:10] for work. When she said, "Come here."

[38:11] You know, just normal routine and

[38:13] everything until I saw the gunman had a

[38:15] gun in their head and one had a knife

[38:17] and I was like, "Oh,

[38:20] man." And you know, I was just shocked.

[38:22] So I closed the door.

[38:23] >> So this was a home invasion robbery.

[38:25] These two guys had come in. The plan, as

[38:27] we said, was because she was a bank

[38:28] manager to to get her to go to the bank,

[38:31] help rob the bank. What happened after

[38:33] you saw the two men, one with a gun, one

[38:35] with a knife.

[38:37] >> Okay. I I closed I closed my children's

[38:40] door cuz I didn't want them to see it.

[38:42] And then after that, he ordered us into

[38:46] the living room where he tied me up and

[38:48] he tied my wife up. and he had the kids

[38:51] to the side. Then he put us all in

[38:53] separate rooms. We was we was tied up

[38:55] for about 12 hours. So the plan was for

[38:59] the rob one of the robbers to go to the

[39:01] bank while the other one stayed here

[39:03] with us. And if the plan didn't go

[39:06] right, he was supposed to give him the

[39:07] word to, you know, to exterminate us.

[39:10] >> Oh my god. You must have been terrified.

[39:13] >> Yeah, of course we were scared. But I

[39:15] was just sitting there and I gave I made

[39:18] up a plan, a hoax that my aunt was

[39:20] coming over and he was like, "Well,

[39:23] I'mma take all of y'all." So when he

[39:24] took all of us, which that's what I

[39:26] wanted, we was riding down the highway

[39:28] and I was speeding hopefully to be

[39:30] pulled over.

[39:32] >> And then as I was driving, the trooper,

[39:35] Officer Cameron, the trooper that came

[39:37] through, he was just starting his uh

[39:39] shift.

[39:40] >> So So So let me let me let me just set

[39:42] the scene here for folks. So you're

[39:43] driving down the beltway that loops

[39:45] around Washington DC and it just so

[39:47] happens a Maryland state trooper pulls

[39:49] up behind your car. So you start weaving

[39:51] back and forth tracked his attention.

[39:53] What happened then?

[39:55] >> Okay. What happened then was that the

[39:57] gunman had took his mask off. So when he

[40:00] was taking his mask off, that's when I

[40:01] started weaving, you know, weaving in,

[40:04] you know, weaving in out of track, just

[40:05] weaving, swerving the car. And then um

[40:08] the state trooper pulled us over. So

[40:10] what I did was I handed him my bank card

[40:12] instead of my license.

[40:14] >> And then that which made him kind of

[40:16] sense that something wasn't right. So I

[40:18] said I could give you my driver's

[40:20] license if I could unbuckle myself, you

[40:23] know, from my seat belt.

[40:24] >> Right.

[40:24] >> So when he let me unbuckle myself from

[40:26] my seat belt, that gave me the

[40:28] opportunity,

[40:29] you know, I looked at my son, gave him a

[40:32] look, he moved to the side, and that's

[40:33] when I jumped on his asalent.

[40:35] >> You dove into the dove into the backseat

[40:37] of the car and jumped on a guy with a

[40:39] gun.

[40:41] Yes, I did.

[40:42] >> Unbelievable.

[40:43] >> And I So I I jumped on the back and held

[40:46] him down and told said to the sailor, I

[40:49] say, "He has a gun. He has a gun."

[40:50] >> Wow.

[40:51] >> And that's when the trooper responded

[40:53] quickly. He drew his weapon and backup

[40:57] came and they apprehended his suspect.

[40:59] >> Oh. And I and I understand that the SWAT

[41:01] team was sent to your house after that,

[41:03] but the other guy had left by that time.

[41:05] I mean, what an unbelievable act of

[41:08] heroism to leap from the front seat of

[41:10] your car into the backseat of your car,

[41:12] pin a guy down with a gun and try to get

[41:13] the policeman's attention to say, "Help

[41:15] me out here." I mean, did you did you

[41:17] ever think I mean, what was the

[41:18] calculation you were making in your mind

[41:20] at that point?

[41:22] >> My thing was this. If I would have went

[41:24] to the bank for them to facilitate that

[41:26] robbery with my wife, we wasn't

[41:28] guaranteed to still be here talk. I

[41:30] wouldn't be guaranteed to be talking to

[41:31] you today. I just thank God that it

[41:33] turned out the way it did turned out

[41:36] because it could have turned out another

[41:37] way which would have been too pleasant

[41:39] for nobody. My family,

[41:42] >> you know, everybody.

[41:43] >> Wow, what an incredible story. James

[41:45] Furl, thanks for joining us to share it

[41:47] this morning. I mean, that's a Christmas

[41:49] that you'll never forget. We hope that

[41:50] the new year goes a lot better than the

[41:52] day after Christmas did. Thanks for

[41:53] being with us.

[41:55] >> I hope so. Thank you, John, for

[41:57] everything.

[41:57] >> All right. God bless.

[41:59] >> That is unbelievable. Well, we're

[42:00] following breaking news in the Middle

[42:02] East. New explosions just heard as

[42:04] Israel steps up its assault in Gaza.

[42:06] We're live at the scene. Also,

[42:09] international adoptions have gotten

[42:10] harder and harder to arrange. We're

[42:12] going to meet one woman who was waiting

[42:14] for an overseas baby to adopt, but then

[42:17] found her little angel practically in

[42:19] her own backyard.

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[44:27] Welcome back to the most news in the

[44:28] morning. We're following breaking news

[44:29] out of Gaza today. Fresh attacks and

[44:31] more tanks on the move at Israel's

[44:33] border with the Palestinian territories.

[44:35] Our Paula Hancock joins us live from

[44:37] along that border. And Paula, there

[44:38] seems to be an increase in activity in

[44:40] the last few minutes there.

[44:43] >> Well, John, certainly in the last few

[44:45] minutes, we've seen more Israeli air

[44:46] strikes into the Gaza Strip. Behind me,

[44:49] you can see Gaza City. This is as close

[44:51] as we can get. Israel won't allow

[44:53] journalists in at this point, and it

[44:55] won't open the crossings. And certainly

[44:57] what the area that we were before as

[44:59] well, we got moved along from and that

[45:01] became a closed military zone. So, of

[45:03] course, the uh question now is, is there

[45:05] going to be a ground operation? They

[45:07] have moved much of the media back. They

[45:09] have made it a closed military zone. We

[45:11] have been seeing tank movement alongside

[45:13] the border. At this point, it's just

[45:15] patrolling the border. It's not getting

[45:17] any closer. Uh and we've also been

[45:19] seeing a couple of bulldozers getting

[45:21] themselves ready. Obviously, if there

[45:22] was a ground operation, those bulldozers

[45:24] would be the ones to go in first. Uh but

[45:27] we are continuing to see the air strike,

[45:29] the ground operation aside and we're

[45:31] continuing unfortunately to see that

[45:33] death toll rise. More than 300 according

[45:36] to Palestinian medical sources. Now

[45:38] Hamas is saying that many of these

[45:40] deaths in there are Hamas operatives,

[45:43] but there are many civilians being

[45:45] caught up in this as well. It's an

[45:47] incredibly densely populated area. If we

[45:50] just zoom in to Gaza City and just to

[45:52] give you an idea from this distance, it

[45:55] is so densely populated, even if you

[45:57] have the smartest bomb in the world and

[45:59] you have a pinpoint air strike attack,

[46:02] it is impossible not to get anyone else

[46:04] involved as well, passes by civilians

[46:06] that just happen to be living next door.

[46:09] So that's incredibly difficult. But the

[46:11] fire is also coming this way. We know

[46:13] that there's been at least 30 rockets

[46:15] coming from these militant groups into

[46:17] Israel. 10 mortars. We understand from

[46:20] Israeli security sources have been fired

[46:21] into Israel as well today. One Israeli

[46:24] was killed up in Ashcolon. That's about

[46:26] 15 kilometers north. So at this point,

[46:28] Israel is continuing these air strikes,

[46:30] possibly going in on the ground to stop

[46:32] the rocket attacks, but it doesn't

[46:34] appear to have dented the capability of

[46:37] militants to keep firing these rockets.

[46:39] John,

[46:40] >> our Paula Hancock's there up very close

[46:42] to the border between Israel and Gaza

[46:43] this morning. Paula, thanks so much.

[46:46] Well, overseas adoptions have been made

[46:48] famous by the likes of Madonna, Angelina

[46:50] Jolie, but more and more couples are

[46:52] hitting a wall with other countries

[46:54] adoption laws. In our continuing series,

[46:56] Baby Quest, Zayn Vie is looking at the

[46:59] challenges of international adoption.

[47:03] >> Yay! Good girl.

[47:05] >> Take a look at Natalie Alice. So small

[47:07] and sweet, her mother, Kelly, almost

[47:10] can't believe her eyes.

[47:11] >> She's just an amazing baby. She's

[47:15] angelic. I look at her and she's like an

[47:17] angel sent to me from heaven.

[47:19] >> It took Kelly a long time to get her

[47:21] angel. She thought she'd have to travel

[47:23] as far as China.

[47:24] >> If you were looking for a healthy

[47:26] Caucasian baby, which is my case, that's

[47:29] what I was hoping to have. Um the sense

[47:32] is the consensus is out there that

[47:35] they're not available.

[47:37] >> Wasn't it supposed to be easier to adopt

[47:39] from China

[47:40] >> at that time? It was very easy. China's

[47:43] very open. um the the children are

[47:46] healthy. It's not a problem.

[47:48] >> And for years, it wasn't a problem. In

[47:50] 2004, international adoptions by

[47:53] Americans hit a high of nearly 23,000.

[47:56] Now, it's fewer than 18,000. Countries

[47:59] which provided the largest number of

[48:01] babies like Russia, Guatemala, and China

[48:04] then began restricting or stopping

[48:06] adoptions. I was 45 at the time and I

[48:09] said, "I just I just can't do it and I

[48:11] don't know if it's going to ever happen

[48:13] at this point." They kept saying it

[48:15] would, but the wait just kept getting

[48:17] longer and longer. It never stopped.

[48:20] >> So, she took a drastic step, placing a

[48:22] classified ad searching for a newborn to

[48:25] adopt, and a year ago, a pregnant woman

[48:27] called from Pennsylvania. Kelly asked us

[48:30] to use only her first name to avoid

[48:32] helping anyone identify the woman.

[48:34] >> I had to pinch myself. I was like, on

[48:36] cloud9. It I felt like it was in a

[48:39] dream. I was in a dream because I had

[48:40] worked. This has been a four-year

[48:43] process for me. A lot of work, a lot of

[48:45] time, a lot of effort, a lot of hope, a

[48:48] lot of emotion.

[48:50] >> Um,

[48:51] I just couldn't believe it was

[48:52] happening. It was ecstatic.

[48:54] >> The process was easier than she could

[48:55] have imagined.

[48:56] >> December 2007, I found the lawyer and

[48:59] she was born August 20th. So,

[49:01] >> about seven or eight months. It's almost

[49:04] the same time as a natural birth.

[49:06] >> When Sam Piccowski adopted his children,

[49:09] he chose international adoptions because

[49:11] they were fast and the birth mothers

[49:13] couldn't change their minds. Now he says

[49:16] adoptive parents are looking closer to

[49:18] home.

[49:18] >> They're turning to domestic adoption

[49:20] because many of the countries have

[49:22] changed their laws and made it much more

[49:24] difficult for them to adopt.

[49:25] >> Kelly feels lucky her little girl was

[49:27] waiting for her not far from home. Zayn

[49:30] Vie, CNN New York.

[49:34] Well, congratulations to her for sure.

[49:36] CNN Newsroom's just minutes away.

[49:37] Richard Lou is at the CNN Center with a

[49:39] look at what's ahead. Hi, Richard.

[49:41] >> Hey, good morning to you, Karen. Yeah,

[49:42] here's a check of what we're working on

[49:44] in the newsroom. All out war. Israel's

[49:47] defense minister describes a military

[49:49] mission against Hamas. We'll have the

[49:51] very latest from Gaza. Then, auto rescue

[49:54] payout. Two automakers get their first

[49:56] installment today. Big bucks and you are

[49:59] paying the bill there. Plus, shredding

[50:02] the old but not shedding a single tear.

[50:05] Good riddance to bad memories in 2008.

[50:08] We get start at the top of the hour on

[50:10] CNN. Back to you, Karen.

[50:12] >> All right, thanks Richard.

[50:13] >> Well, a holiday prank has become a hot

[50:15] topic inside the beltway. One prominent

[50:17] Republican sends out a CD with the song

[50:19] Barack the Magic Negro on it. So far,

[50:22] he's completely unapologetic, though he

[50:25] has been roundly condemned for it. We'll

[50:27] talk more about that coming up. 10

[50:29] minutes to the top of the hour.

[50:35] >> Moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis

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[51:35] >> Accountability AC 360 at 10 p.m. That's

[51:39] what we're all about. Anderson Cooper

[51:41] 360. CNN Tonight, 10 Eastern.

[51:44] >> Welcome to Progressives Concier Claim

[51:46] Center. You must be Mr. Garcia.

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[52:15] >> Happy New Year. Welcome to

[52:16] progressive.com. This

[52:18] >> place is hopping.

[52:19] >> It's resolution season. Well, my

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[52:39] >> I wrote that.

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[52:45] >> Chris Angel, Larry King Live, CNN

[52:47] Tonight, 9 Eastern.

[52:52] Coming up on 53 minutes after the hour.

[52:54] Just, you know, it's not good in in

[52:55] Michigan. You got the problem with the

[52:57] the big three automakers. The Detroit

[53:00] Lions went 0 and6 yesterday and now they

[53:03] got bad weather there, too.

[53:04] >> So much bad that the the power was out.

[53:06] And I think uh there was kind of planned

[53:07] by Mother Nature so people couldn't

[53:08] actually watch the the Lions. Mother

[53:11] Nature was being merciful. Is that

[53:13] >> Exactly. Let's talk about it. We had

[53:14] Yeah. rough storms over the weekend

[53:16] across the Detroit area, actually across

[53:17] much of Ohio, Michigan, even upstate New

[53:20] York. Winds gusting over 60 miles an

[53:22] hour. And at one point yesterday, we had

[53:23] 200 thou 230,000 people in the Detroit

[53:26] metropolitan area without power. And

[53:28] you're seeing some of the damage here.

[53:29] So that will slowly get restored. We've

[53:32] got snow and lots of it across parts of

[53:33] the Rockies, not only the US Rockies,

[53:35] but the Canadian Rockies and problems

[53:37] with that. In Fernie, BC, which is just

[53:39] north of Washington State, we had 11

[53:42] folks trapped in an avalanche. Three

[53:44] were recovered, eight still missing

[53:46] there this morning. So, that search is

[53:48] ongoing as record amounts of snow

[53:50] continues to it's kind of a a blessing

[53:52] and a curse. You get a lot of snow to

[53:53] have some fun in, but in this case, a

[53:54] lot of snowmoers causing some avalanches

[53:57] and getting caught within those. Another

[53:58] storm heading into the Pacific

[53:59] Northwest. So, avalanche danger remains

[54:02] high there. But notice much of the

[54:03] eastern twothirds of the country. A

[54:04] little bit more quiet today than it was

[54:06] yesterday. And temperatures getting a

[54:08] little bit more back to normal after

[54:10] record-breaking high temperatures for

[54:11] the last two days in the 60s and 70s. in

[54:14] places that should be in the 30s and 40s

[54:15] this time of year. Today, a little bit

[54:17] closer to normal. 41 in Chicago to be 49

[54:19] degrees in New York City. 49 as well in

[54:20] DC. And then tomorrow, we got a storm

[54:22] that's rolling across the plane. It

[54:23] shouldn't be uh terribly bad. Uh for

[54:26] folks uh who want to get out and enjoy.

[54:27] You know, we had a lot of snow. We

[54:28] talked, you know, let's roll this

[54:30] beautiful bean footage of Mory the sled

[54:32] dog because

[54:33] >> you guys just light up.

[54:34] >> You can talk Labradors into anything.

[54:36] Look at him go

[54:37] >> and h they're happy to do just about

[54:38] anything es and they seem to perform

[54:40] very well when the camera's on. Look at

[54:42] the calm and the cool and the

[54:44] steadiness. He loves it. The wind

[54:45] barrels down. That's in Middleton,

[54:47] Wisconsin, where they had 40 inches of

[54:49] snow and his companion there to greet

[54:51] them. And as John pointed out last hour,

[54:53] >> you got to bring the sled back up if you

[54:55] want to go down again. That stick's not

[54:56] going to be

[54:56] >> brings the stick, right? Forget the

[54:58] sled.

[54:59] >> Good times across the

[55:00] >> Now, if you attach if you attached the

[55:01] string to the stick and attached that to

[55:03] the sled, then maybe the sled would come

[55:04] back and you'd be in business.

[55:05] >> All right, Rob. Thanks so much. All

[55:07] right, guys.

[55:07] >> 55 minutes after the hour. We'll be

[55:09] right back.

[55:11] fit to lead. So, how did the

[55:13] president-elect wind up with a physique

[55:15] like this?

[55:15] >> I've got the paparazzi photo that's been

[55:17] seen all around the world. How do I get

[55:18] from here to there?

[55:22] >> What it really takes to get those Barack

[55:25] hard abs. Anyone can do it, right?

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[56:43] actress and best picture of the year.

[56:45] The Weer, rated R.

[57:03] at the same time.

[57:20] Welcome to Pumping Up with Hans and

[57:22] Fron, the informative training program

[57:24] for the serious weightlifter.

[57:26] >> Once again, I am Hans

[57:27] >> and I am Fran AND WE JUST WANT TO PUMP

[57:30] >> YOU UP.

[57:32] >> That's Hans and Fron and a classic clip

[57:34] from Saturday Night Live. You know, it

[57:36] appears President-elect Barack Obama may

[57:38] have bought into their program. He's

[57:40] been hitting the gym every day for

[57:42] months, and judging from that now famous

[57:44] paparazzi photo that made the rounds

[57:45] last week, seems to be paying off. CNN's

[57:48] Ed Henry decided to see if he could

[57:50] handle Obama's rigorous routine.

[57:55] John Kieran, everyone's looking for a

[57:56] New Year's resolution, so after those

[57:58] paparazzi photos here in Hawaii, I

[58:00] thought I'd figure out what it takes to

[58:01] be like Barack. Meet personal trainer

[58:04] Mike Sap, who worked with California

[58:06] Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in his

[58:08] bodybuilding days and has been reading

[58:10] up on President-elect Barack Obama's

[58:12] routine. I've got the paparazzi photo

[58:14] that's been seen all around the world.

[58:15] How do I get from here to there?

[58:19] >> Okay, we're Is there any hope?

[58:21] >> There is. There is. I mean, he's in

[58:22] pretty good shape. So, uh, we're going

[58:24] to have to we're going to have our work

[58:26] cut out for us. A combo of cardio and

[58:29] strength training, just like the

[58:30] president-elect, who's religious about

[58:32] working out six days a week.

[58:34] >> 13 14 yard.

[58:37] >> Good job that way.

[58:38] >> I've got a long way to go. But just a

[58:41] couple months ago, Governor

[58:42] Schwarzenegger mocked candidate Obama's

[58:45] physique.

[58:45] >> I don't know. We're going to go and give

[58:46] him some biceps cross to beef up the

[58:48] scrawny little arms.

[58:51] >> The governator has since walked that

[58:53] joke back and it's easy to see why. Mr.

[58:56] Obama is clearly in better shape now

[58:58] than he was at the beginning of the

[59:00] campaign. On this Hawaiian holiday, he

[59:02] started every single morning except for

[59:05] Christmas at the workout facility of a

[59:07] local Marine base. Dubbed Seer Fit that

[59:10] can be an inspiration to millions of

[59:13] Americans trying to get fit.

[59:15] >> It's going to kill the, you know, I

[59:16] don't have time theory, right? I mean,

[59:18] so I mean, if he can make the time and

[59:20] he makes the commitment, then I think,

[59:22] you know, you owe it to yourself to to

[59:24] try to get in shape also. So Mike, how'd

[59:26] he do?

[59:26] >> Arnold would be proud.

[59:28] >> Really?

[59:28] >> Yeah, he did.

[59:29] >> Too shabby. Puts new meaning into the

[59:31] term fit for office. John Karen, you

[59:34] >> all right? Ed Henry this morning, uh,

[59:36] it's got a little way to go, but he's

[59:38] got the makings there. He's got the raw

[59:39] materials.

[59:40] >> I sent him an email. I said, "You look

[59:41] nice just the way you are. You don't

[59:42] have to worry about it. Don't suffer

[59:44] through the preacher curls for this."

[59:45] >> You know, the one thing that we just

[59:46] couldn't brook though was him in the

[59:49] board shorts with

[59:50] >> Well, you know what?

[59:51] >> Doing the live shot. All I can say, all

[59:54] I can say is rub