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CNN NEWSROOM
Pentagon Shootings; Jobless Rate Holds Steady; Bartender Demoted for Being Pregnant?
Aired March 5, 2010 - 09:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Another look at our top stories right now.
Rescue crews have set up triage right in the westbound lanes of I-10 near Phoenix where a passenger bus, possibly a tour bus crashed. Authorities tell CNN six people were killed, 21 others were hurt after the bus driver rear-ended a car and lost control and then crashed. Police say at least eight cars and a couple of semi trucks were also involved.
And military personnel and others who can't come to the polls on Sunday are voting now in Iraq's parliamentary elections. The elections are seen as an indicator for whether Iraq will stay on a path toward democracy or move towards a more religious state. The vote also seen as a signpost on the way for U.S. troops to ultimately exit the country.
And New York Governor David Paterson has lost his voice. His spokesman is stepping down in the middle of an ethics allegations investigation against the governor. Meanwhile African-American leaders in New York are offering their support for Paterson, but they still say they want to meet with him to talk about his ability to run the state.
Across Washington a big question looms -- why did a gunman open fire outside the Pentagon? Two Pentagon police officers were slightly wounded. They returned fire, critically injuring the gunman who then later died. A law enforcement source identifies him as 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell of Hollister, California. This is believed to be him in a video posted on YouTube. Investigators are still searching for a motive. Surveillance tapes show that he was alone during the attack. Investigators believe he was alone in plotting it as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RICHARD S. KEEVILL, PENTAGON POLICE: It appears he's had some issues in the past. He has had a couple of contacts with the law. He's a very well educated individual. Right now we don't know if we have a motive yet.
There is no indication at this point that there are any domestic or international terrorism nexus to this at all. At this time it appears to be a single individual that had issues.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Let's find out more about the suspect if we can. CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence has been digging for new details. Chris, what are you learning?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. We've learned that Bedell came from California. He started driving out here a few weeks ago, making his way from west coast to east coast. Apparently he was living with his parents out there. Police say he's well educated. On the web site he says he's got a bachelor's degree in physics.
He has a problem from his web site, he has a problem with the authority of the government and he actually makes some well thought out and well articulated criticisms of the government in terms of its reach, in terms of its authority over people. Listen to a little bit of what he says in this audio clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PATRICK BEDELL, ALLEGED PENTAGON SHOOTER: To prevent themselves from being enslaved, the powerful masters of our existing governments use every means at their disposal, including bribery, theft and murder, to control those governments, which are imperfect institutions operated by imperfect individuals.
In order to properly address these very serious matters, it is necessary to recognize the importance of enduring principles for setting a positive direction that we can pursue, mindful of the real threats that we must overcome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: He also talks about possible government - talks about possible government involvement in the September 11th attacks, but it's not clear exactly where these criticisms of the government translated to walking up to the Pentagon and shooting two police officers who were on duty.
The police say he was well dressed. Didn't say much, maybe uttered a word or two, but gave no indication until the point where he actually pulled the gun that anything was wrong.
WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Lawrence at the pentagon, thanks so much.
All right. Last night's attack at the Pentagon brings to mind other shootings that rocked Washington. Last July a routine traffic stop just a block from the capitol led to a wild chase and deadly shooting. A police officer shot to death a man. And when he refused to put down his firearm.
And the month before that a gunman opened fire inside the Holocaust Memorial Museum, you remember that. A guard was shot and killed. The shooter, an elderly white supremacist, was shot and wounded. And in July of 1998, a gunman opened fire at a metal detector just inside the capitol building. Two U.S. capitol police officers were killed. The shooter was wounded and captured.
All right. Washington has debated health care reform now for months, but it seems like a bill is still light years away from the president's desk. The president is talking tough and twisting House Democrats' arms, but the future of a final bill looks as uncertain as ever.
Here's CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How hard will it be to get health care through the House and on to the president's desk? Just ask the speaker.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: Every legislative vote is a heavy lift around here. You assume nothing.
BASH: Privately Democratic sources suggest heavy lift is an understatement. To explain why, let's go back to November when the House approved its version of health care. The vote was 220-215. Already a slim margin. And since then, Democrats have lost four votes, three vacancies and one Republican publicly bolting. That leaves just 216. One vote short of 217. The minimum number currently needed for House victory.
(on camera): And now the outcome is even more uncertain. That's because to get around Republican opposition, the president asked House Democrats to just send him the Senate's bill with a package of changes.
REP. DAN MAFFEI (D), NEW YORK: Yes, this is a tough one.
BASH (voice-over): Dan Maffei is a Democrat in a Republican- leaning district. One of many Democrats who voted yes to the House bill but may vote no now because of a tax that he says hits middle class Americans.
(on camera): Have you decided yet how you will vote in the coming process?
MAFFEI: Well, I have to say I was very disappointed with the Senate bill mainly because it taxed health care benefits. As much as I want to do health care reform, I don't think you can rob Peter to pay Paul.
BASH (voice-over): Then there's a group of a dozen anti-abortion Democrats insisting on tougher abortion restrictions and threatening to switch yes votes to no.
REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: We will not compromise that principle or belief.
BASH: But there are some Democrats in the no column who could be persuaded.
REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I'm open. I want to bring down the cost of health care.
BASH: Congressman Jason Altmire says the House bill didn't go far enough in doing that but -
ALTMIRE: We have work to do. But the Senate bill is definitely a better starting point than the House bill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Dana Bash joins us now live on Capitol Hill. So, Dana, the president says he wants this done in two weeks. Is that possible?
BASH: I is going to be very hard in talking to Democratic sources. Look, the Democratic leadership, particularly on the House side, they say they are going to try. What the president wants is that he wants the House to get this done by the time he leaves for an international trip, that's March 18th. So they say that they're going to try to do it by March 17th. But you are heard a couple of members in the piece there, I talked to many, many other undecided House Democrats and they say that, you know, they're just not sure.
And one of the big things that's missing, a missing piece of the puzzle here is what that package of compromises is going to look like. That really, as we speak Fredricka, is what Democratic leaders are working on in the Senate, and the House and at the White House to figure out that sweet spot to find exactly what they need to put in that compromise to get various members to get through that threshold.
The president is much more aggressive right now. He had several members of Congress on the liberal side, on the moderate side, down to the White House yesterday, but in talking to lawmakers, they say that they're happy that he's more involved but unclear if it's maybe a little bit too late in terms of the pressure that they're feeling back home. That might be more important than the pressure they're getting from their president.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dana Bash, Capitol Hill. Thanks so much.
All right. Now, we know that jobless rate held steady last month. Let's find out how that's going over with Wall Street and Main Street.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ines Ferre at an employment center in Yonkers, New York where job seekers are looking for leads.
With that new numbers on the unemployment crisis today. 36,000 fewer people had jobs last month but we are seeing some signs of light in what's been a very long, dark tunnel. I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange and I'll have that story after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. A warm-up over the next couple of days and some fresh powder in the mountains. Sounds like a pretty good weekend. Complete forecast coming up later in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The nation's unemployment crisis, new numbers came out early this morning and they show the jobless rate held steady last month by 9.7 percent. That's seen as good news. Analysts had expected the jobless rate to climb slightly and the outlook may be better than the numbers suggest. The experts say the snowstorms that pounded the east coast last month may have artificially inflated the losses.
All right. Let's go to the New York Stock Exchange to see how investors are reacting to this report. Alison Kosik is here with details on this.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.
So far so good here on Wall Street. We are seeing solid gains. You know, Wall Street expected the report to be much worse. They're digging a little deeper, feeling pretty good about it. The Dow industrials right now up 76, the Nasdaq higher by 20.
The White House economic adviser, Christina Roamer, is coming out and saying that the report is consistent with what she calls the gradual labor market healing. And we're breaking down the numbers now to show you a little bit of that healing now. We are seeing job gains in leisure and hospitality areas, 7,000 jobs there. You know, we haven't seen a gain like that since last fall. Hotel, restaurant and rental car jobs. You know, they make up one of the biggest parts of the labor market.
We're also seeing job gains in temporary help. That's a good sign because it's seen as a sign of future hiring, something we all definitely want to see. We are also seeing some small job gains in manufacturing. These are all good signs that maybe we're going to see these companies start hiring again. Once again because we are seeing that uptick in temporary workers, that gives some unemployed some hope -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.
KOSIK: Sure.
WHITFIELD: Well, you know, some people probably haven't heard the news about the jobless rate holding steady. Why? Because they're too busy looking for work. CNN's Ines Ferre is at an employment center in Westchester, New York, with more on that. How's it looking there?
FERRE: Yes, Fred. Well, we've been talking here this morning with job seekers, with specialists at this employment center in Yonkers, New York, and you can see some of the specialists to my left and they help jobseekers with things like resumes, interviews, with any job leads. We want to talk over here with Shea. Shea, thanks so much for speaking with us. Shea was a paralegal for two years and for three months you've been looking for a job, Shea. How has that been?
SHAY STEELE, JOB SEEKER: It's been kind of stuff.
FERRE: Why?
STEELE: A lot of the employers now are basically saying that you are overqualified for a particular position even though you know you can naturally do it.
FERRE: And what's your reaction to that?
STEELE: Well, you go through several resume revamps, as I'm doing now, and you just constantly keep putting it out there and trying to keep pursuing any employment opportunities you can.
FERRE: And today what are you doing here. You're doing your resume and you're also doing a workshop?
STEELE: No, actually today I'm doing my resume but I also spoke with my counselor who has provided me with several leads. So I'm just going to revamp the resume again and get it out there.
FERRE: And you were saying something interesting to me earlier that you're really willing to do pretty much any kind of job. I mean, you're not specific as far as your job.
STEELE: No, not at all. I think the biggest misconception is when employers look at your resume, they automatically assume that you only want that particular field. In a perfect society, yes. However, in today's economy, you have to pretty much do what you can.
And if you have families, such as myself, you've got to take whatever you can. So you know, if it's a job that's doing windows, you know, I'm going to do it as long as it's enough to pay the bills to make my family work.
FERRE: Well, good luck. We hope you find one. And you know that - actually that sentiment is something that I've heard before, that people even if they are overqualified that they're willing to do other kinds of jobs. I mean they just want to work. And at this place, this center, we'll be here today and we'll be talking to some of those people, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK, Ines, thanks so much. And all the best to Shay. Hopefully she lands something so she can take care of her family. Thanks so much.
All right. President Obama hits the road this morning to talk about the future of job growth. He'll make an announcement about clean energy jobs at a small business in Arlington, Virginia. That's set for 11:25 Eastern. And of course you can watch it right here on CNN. Convicted felons packed a job fair near downtown Houston yesterday. Several hundred were expected instead more than 3,000 showed up. This so-called road to reentry event was made possible by federal stimulus dollars, and it was designed to give people who have a record, a job. Job training and placement skills. The job hunters say everybody deserves a second chance.
Cash-strapped students across the country are asking why us and why now? A movement protesting huge budget cuts to education in California spread across the country yesterday. Take a look. San Francisco City Hall right here where demonstrators protested $1 billion in cuts to the state's university system.
And on the other side of the country, demonstrations at Hunter College in Manhattan. Students attempted to take over the school's main building, but failed. At the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, at least 15 people were arrested. Our affiliate WTMJ reports that a school official called campus police when protesters tried to enter the building which actually houses the chancellor's office.
A bartender at a gentleman's club is crying foul. She claims that she was sacked because she's pregnant.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. There was a deadly bus crash earlier today on interstate 10 in Arizona. The Department of Public Safety says six people were killed. Police say eight cars and two semi tractor-trailer trucks were involved. No word yet on exactly what caused that collision.
And check out this amateur video. It was taken aboard that cruise ship in the Mediterranean that was slammed right there by three monster waves on Wednesday. Two people were actually killed and 14 were hurt. The cruise ship was just off Spain when the waves struck and we're told winds were blowing between 60 and 90 miles an hour at the time.
A bartender at a New York gentleman's club claims that she was fired from her job simply because she was pregnant. The 29-year-old woman is filing a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She said her boss moved her out of the bar and offered her a cashier's position for half the pay. The reason? She claims that he thought that customers wouldn't perceive a pregnant woman as sexy.
Her attorney released this audio tape reportedly of a conversation between his client and her boss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys don't think that a pregnant - they're not coming in to see sexy bartenders that are pregnant that are bulging out, I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I bonused nine times since August.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since August!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since August, how many other people have bonused nine times, that's once a week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each week you're getting bigger and bigger and bigger and more unsexy, unsexy, unsexy. OK, it's more obvious, obvious, obvious, that you're pregnant, pregnant, pregnant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All aright, let's talk some severe weather out there. Rob Marciano in the weather center. Severe weather is the prelude to spring weather right around the corner. Come on, spring weather.
MARCIANO: Yes. I'm hard pressed to find some severe weather today, at least in the lower 48.
WHITFIELD: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Unless you're skiing. But I mean, you don't consider that severe, you kind of like the spring snow showers that may be on the way.
MARCIANO: Oh, yes, yes. You know, a little powder to just kind dust over the mountains. That's what we're expecting today. We're seeing it across parts of Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. And it's been quite honestly not the blockbuster years that they have had the past two. Most snow packs are below average.
So any sort of accumulation we will take and they're getting some today. I think probably anywhere from 6 to 12 inches is the total of storm accumulations with this across parts of the Wasatch in Utah, up a little in Cottonwood Canyons, and up through the Tetons (ph) and through the i-70 corridor, both north and south. Aspen, Vail, north towards Steamboat (ph). You bet. You're all going to get a little piece of this. It's not going to be waist deep but maybe ankle and knee deep as you go through tomorrow will be a little bit on the sunny side.
So you know, six, right inches of fresh powder over the bluebird bay, it's not a bad deal. All right. Let's talk tomorrow, mild air is trying to build its way into this area, which east of the Mississippi has been unusually cold. Very low averages for the past couple of months, including today. 10 to 15 degrees below average and we're looking at a little taste of spring as we get towards Saturday and Sunday, at least to get to normal conditions.
All right, got a little something special for you. Take a look at this.
WHITFIELD: OK. Bring it on. What?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3, 2, 1, 0 and liftoff of the Delta 4 rocket, completing a new weather satellite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Oh, yes. It's not going to the moon, it's going about a tenth of the way there. 22,000 miles up and we're going to get it locked in place and start taking snapshots of the atmosphere, water vapor, ozone, of course clouds, helping us forecast.
Also we'll have an x-ray telescope to monitor solar flares that are launched from the sun so this is the ongoing program which there are a number of satellites that are up there since the early '70s. Nothing like a rocket launch to get your weekend off to a good start. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: There's something soothing about that. Why is that?
MARCIANO: Well, because you know, one, the rocket launch is just fascinating and, two, you know, the more weather satellites we have, it's like a blanket of security that you can (INAUDIBLE)
WHITFIELD: OK. That was a stretch but that was good. That was really good. And spontaneous. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right. See you.
WHITFIELD: All right. We've been talking all week about how a lot of your health care dollars are actually going down the drain and now you're telling us your horror stories.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK. We told you about some pretty outrageous costs connected with health care this week. Well, today it's your turn. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is back with some responses to her series "Health Care Prescription for Waste." A lot of folks have been weighing in on this one.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Everyone seems to have a story of some crazy line item in their hospital bill, it's amazing. Hundreds of people wrote in saying you wouldn't believe what I got charged for, so let's get to it and show you some examples.
We got a comment on a blog from one viewer who said that his child was in the hospital, had two ccs of Children's Tylenol, you can see it right there. Those two ccs, $128 for two ccs.
WHITFIELD: That's a lot of bottles of Tylenol.
Right. Exactly. You can go to Target or whatever, right, and nab them up. OK another person had just had a baby and this little girl used the pacifier, like newborns tend to do. How much was that pacifier? $121 for one pacifier. Now, if we can show again, this baby used 11 pacifiers because at hospitals when they fall on the floor, they don't like to just wipe them off. They throw them away.
So this baby used 11 pacifiers.
WHITFIELD: No.
COHEN: 11 pacifiers, yes. I am not kidding you, $1,331 according to the viewer who wrote in. When you do the math, 121 times 11. Isn't that crazy? You want to hear my favorite.
WHITFIELD: OK.
COHEN: A man went into the hospital and was charged for a pap smear. Yes.
WHITFIELD: All righty. You can't do that.
COHEN: There you go. Right, you can't do one on a man, it just doesn't work.
WHITFIELD: OK. Well, we've been getting e-mails from people on cnn.com and this one shares a story that I guess some can identify with. Saying "all I can say is we need to standardize costs across the board. The no-one can set prices that are as outrageous as these." So Elizabeth, you know, Why don't hospitals and insurance companies try to standardize costs across the board.
COHEN: Well, because it's like a restaurant. Some restaurants charge $1 for a hamburger and other restaurants get away with charging $30 for a hamburger. It's what the market compare and if the hospital can find someone who's going to pay $121 for a pacifier, then they will do it.
WHITFIELD: Yes, except they're not asking passengers if they'd do it, they just send them the bill.
COHEN: Right. They do and that's true. That's right, they do and there's a lot of negotiating going on. We've talked to hospital association, the American Hospital Association and they said, look, it's not like going to a drugstore and getting a pacifier. We're wrapping in all sorts of things, like electricity, nurses' salaries, that new MRI machine THAT we just bought, it's different, which of course, we totally get. But having the government step in is would be unusual.
I mean this is a private enterprise. And of course some people want that. In the state of Maryland, they're doing that on a state level to some extent. But you know, when the government steps in and starts to get involved with regulating health care, Americans go ballistic.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
COHEN: You saw what happened this summer, right? I mean, people went crazy. So it's not an easy thing to do.
WHITFIELD: OK. I know you are continuing your investigation. What can we look forward to from here?
COHEN: Well, I'd love to hear more stories but I think these are really pretty incredible. So people send them to elizcohencnn on Twitter. Elizcohencnn. Send them there and I would love to chat with you more.
WHITFIELD: Wow. I think I'll double check that next hospital bill or doctor bill a little bit closer.
COHEN: Right. You never know. You never know how much that Advil is going to cost you.
WHITFIELD: That's right. What's going on here. All right. Thanks so much Inez, appreciate that.
All right. Parliamentary elections, they are going on in Iraq this weekend. We'll take you live to Baghdad to see how the results could actually impact what happens with U.S. troops serving there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Iraqis head to the polls this weekend for parliamentary elections, and those elections could have an impact on just how much longer U.S. troops actually stay in that country. CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now from Baghdad. So, Arwa, you talked exclusively with the Iraqi leader about this and other things. We're talking about the prime minister.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. Let's first start out by talking about why these elections are so important. They're being called the most decisive moment in Iraq since 2003.
And after these elections, what's going to happen is all sorts of jockeying between the various political parties. Alliances will begin to crumble and new ones are going to form. There will be losers and they will not be happy, and we do know that this is a country where people who are disgruntled tend to resort to violence.
There is also the threat out there from groups outside the political process who are saying that if in their view the government that emerges is as sectarian as this one, they will continue to conduct attack. All of this would impact the U.S. military's ability to stick to the timetable that it has laid out. So, we asked the Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, under what conditions would he consider asking U.S. troops to extend beyond any of their deadlines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINSTER (via tranlator): This depends on the future, on whether the established Iraqi army and police would be enough or not. So, this issue is depending on the development of the circumstances and regulated by the strategic framework agreements between the United States and Iraq.
DAMON (on camera): So, just to clarify, if the situation dictated it, you would be willing to have U.S. forces extend their stay in Iraq.
AL-MALIKI: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON: And this, Fredricka, is very much a departure from the rhetoric that we had been hearing from the prime minister in the past. Perhaps it's a reflection of a reality here, and that is that nothing is ever guaranteed.
WHITFIELD: Arwa Damon in Baghdad, thanks so much.
Meantime, British prime minister Gordon Brown says going to war in Iraq was the right decision. The prime minister just wrapped up answering questions today at the Iraq war inquiry panel. Mr. Brown was asked if he thought military action in March of 2003 was the right decision. The prime minister said it was not only the right decision, it was, quote, "for the right reasons." Brown was head of the British treasury at the time of the Iraq invasion.
A top Taliban leader is reportedly in custody in Pakistan. A senior Pakistani military official tells CNN that he was arrested in a southern port city of Karachi. He was the finance minister for the Taliban government in Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion and reportedly a close adviser to Taliban Mullah Mohammed Omar.
All right. A dying man says he wants to be buried with his dog. Wish granted. Just one thing, the dog was still alive. Was it right to euthanize a young, healthy dog so that it could be buried with its owner?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A crash course in Creole. One U.S. college is actually preparing aid workers for their relief trips to Haiti.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Another look at our Top Stories right now.
Two Pentagon police officers are recovering today after returning gunfire from a lone gunman outside the Pentagon. Authorities say 36- year-old John Patrick Bedell of Hollister, California, was shot and killed by the officers. It's believed Bedell left a message in a video posted on YouTube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF JOHN BEDELL, ALLEGED PENTAGON SHOOTER: The freedom is inevitably centered on the role of government in society. From a practical perspective, my desire is to see the cost of governmental services reduced and the quality of those services increased. On a philosophical level, I personally perceive a responsibility to do what I can to continue the admiral legacy of justice, prosperity and tranquility that has been established in the United States and directly confront the forces that undermine that legacy. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Investigators are still searching for a motive.
Imagine this shock when you go to your mailbox. A phone bill for, yes, $67,000 when you're on the $50 a month plan, by the way. The Kentucky woman who actually received it says she got slammed with overage fees. She said she only watched a few television shows and did some online shopping. The phone company told her the charge was valid and offered a payment plan. The woman countered with a lawyer, and the phone company eventually cancelled the woman's debt.
And for all you tech-savvy folks, the social blogging site Twitter hits a milestone. Watch the count right there. It has surpassed the ten billionth mark. The CEO of Twitter says the tweet came from a person with a profile that can't be viewed by the public. At its current rate of use, it is estimated the 20th billion tweet will hit come July.
And the countdown is on. Apple's highly anticipated iPad goes on sale in the U.S. April 3rd. Customers can start preordering the tablet-style computer march 12th. Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, calls the iPad a magical and revolutionary product, but magic comes with a price. The least expensive model will sell for $499.
All right, some animal lovers in Arkansas think a state law needs to change. It's a law that lets you put your pet to sleep for any reason. They're questioning it after a dying man requested that his dog be buried at the foot of his grave. The dog, by the way, was alive and well. Just two years old, a very healthy Yorkie, but the man's family had it euthanized and buried anyway just as the man wanted. An animal shelter director says what a terrible waste.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTINE MIDDLETON, FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS ANIMAL SERVICES DIRECTOR: We do deal with euthanasia. It's a constant thing here. It's just really hard to grasp why someone would put down a dog that still has a lot of love to give, a lot of life to share with someone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The vet who put the dog to sleep says he begged the family to let it live, but he ended up doing what they asked. He said he feared the dog might be killed anyway in a less humane way.
So many movies, so many nominees. It's Oscar time, and you'll want to see our preview of who and what to watch.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Time to check in with our Rob Marciano for another look at weather. How's it looking? (WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: Gosh, it's non-stop.
MARCIANO: I can't imagine being down there. Their nerves must be absolutely frazzled.
WHITFIELD: Yes. To say the very least. All right. Rob Marciano, thank you.
MARCIANO: All right. You bet.
Communication aid for people providing aid in Haiti. Duke University is offering a Creole course for relief workers going to the quake-ravaged country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROFESSOR DEBORAH JENSON, DUKE UNIVERSITY: Creole really is the language spoken by all Haitians. Some Haitians speak French, but not very many. But Creole is the language that relief workers will be encountering.
JESSICA FEINGOLD, STUDENT: Being a French speaker and being someone who wants to work in disaster relief was something I picked up on and was really interested in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you don't have to be a college student to take the course but you do need permission from the instructors.
It's Oscar time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDETNFIEID FEMALE: Being nominated for an Oscar, just sum up what that means to you.
LEE DANIEL, DIRECTOR, PRECIOUS: It means that my kids will respect me for a couple more months.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it?
DANIEL: Yes. It means that I'm a superstar at home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: He's definitely on the map. Director Lee Daniel talks about his nomination for the movie "Precious."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING) WHITFIELD: Okay. It's Oscar weekend. Have you noticed? Let the jitters begin.
Lee Daniel, the director of "Precious" once described his Oscar nomination as "off the hook insane," but he was pretty calm when he sat down with Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Being nominated with an Oscar. Just sum up what that means to you.
DANIELS: It means that my kids will respect me for a couple more months.
WYNTER: That's it?
DANIELS: Yes. That means that I'm a superstar at home for a couple of months.
WYNTER (voice-over): Lee Daniels is a bona fide superstar, even outside of his home these days. He's been producing and directing nearly a decade. And now his critically acclaimed "Precious," based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire, has six, that's right, six Oscar nominations, including one for best director.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABOUREY SIDBE, ACRESS (as Precious): Nobody loves me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People do love you, Precious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WYNTER: Daniels is only the second African-American to be nominated for best director. The 50-year-old openly gave Philadelphia native produced "Monster's Ball," "The Woodsman" and "Shadowboxer." Daniels dealt a blow to his manager and fired him because he didn't believe in "Precious."
DANIELS: I did it for me as I do all of my films, so all of this is just icing on the cake.
WYNTER: On March 7th if he hears the words, "And the Oscar goes to Lee Daniels..."
DANIELS: I can't dream that far. I mean, it'd be nice if it happened, but I'm just happy to be at the party.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: Who will win an Oscar and who will walk away empty- handed? Movie fans and stars alike are waiting for the envelope, please. Let's talk about the big night with Lauren Sanchez, the weekend host of "Extra," good to see you.
LAUREN SANCHEZ, HOST, "EXTRA": Good to see you. How are you doing?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. OK, Lee Daniels, he's got some pretty stiff competition there in that best director category. We're talking about Kathryn Bigelow from "The Hurt Locker," James Cameron "Avatar," Jason Reitman - am I saying that right? "Up in the Air." -
SANCHEZ: You are saying that right. "Up in the Air."
WHITFIELD: OK, and then Quentin Tarantino. Yikes.
SANCHEZ: I know. We can't forget Quentin Tarantino. No one's really been talking about Quentin. He directed a magnificent film.
Lee Daniel's, unbelievable in "Precious." But the big story is "Avatar" and "Hurt Locker." It's this huge, big-budget film versus the little movie that could. And of course, James Cameron versus his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow.
But this is the thing. This is what the Oscars looked at when they voted. They have this huge film, "Avatar" that literally technically changed the way we will ever watch movies again. We will never see movies in the same light. Then we have "Hurt Locker" this unbelievably directed film by, oh, a female, which would be the first female director winner.
And the Oscar, it's a neck-in-neck race right now, and I don't think anyone knows who's going to win, and that's what's making this years Oscars so exciting.
WHITFIELD: When we talk about the best picture category, what an incredibly crowded field. There are ten nominees. How did it get to this point, anyway?
SANCHEZ: Well, it got to this point because they wanted more people to watch the Oscars. So, they wanted to try and include more films that people have seen.
You know, they did it. I think everyone has seen a lot of the films, at least one of the films nominated this year. Last year, I don't think anyone saw any of the films nominated. But the big -- I think the big prize is going to go to "Avatar." I think "Avatar" will do a clean sweep of a lot of the awards. Best art director, best visual effects, best cinematography. But once again, like we were saying, the big prize is best director, and that one is still way too close to call.
WHITFIELD: Even though there are some actors who expressed, member of the Academy who expressed a little concern about throwing so much support into "Avatar" because it really does kind of threaten the actor's job because of so much digital enhancement, et cetera.
SANCHEZ: Yes, I don't think it will threaten the actor's job, if you think about it. They used actors in the movie. They just put these suits on them. It will change the way we do movies forever, that's for sure, but I think that's positive. I think it's really good.
And 3-D. If you saw it, it was visually entertaining. It was an experience. You didn't just go to the movie, it was an actual experience.
WHITFIELD: So what's the big moment for you that you look for, Lauren, in watching the Oscars? I know you'll be there.
SANCHEZ: I'd love to say it's like people seen getting the awards. That's all fun, that's great.
But the best part is the fashion. I love to see what the women wear. It's going to be so much fun. We have a lot of young actors hitting the red carpet. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, they're presenting. So, it's nice that a lot of young Hollywood is coming out for this as well.
Then of course who's going to bring who? Gerard Butler, is he going to bring someone. Brad Pitt, is he going to bring Angolan Jolie or maybe he'll bring one of his kids, you never know. That's always exciting to me and just hearing everything that goes on on the red carpet because there's a lot of stuff that you don't see that goes on.
WHITFIELD: Yes! Of course. All right. Lauren Sanchez, you'll be there and you'll be helping us get to know all those things that usually happen behind the scenes irk .
SANCHEZ: I will. I promise to tell you all the good stuff that happens on the red carpet.
WHITFIELD: Good deal. Thanks so much, Lauren. Appreciate that. Be sure to watch "SHOWBIZ" tonight Sunday night for Oscar's special "Road to Gold" at 7:00 Eastern time. You don't want to miss that.
All right. A feast for your senses. Music for your ears. Music for your ears, magic for your eyes. You won't believe the complexity of this music video or how many takes it actually took to get it right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Do you remember what a Rub Goldberg contraption is? It's a wildly over-engineered chain reaction with the sole purpose of completing a simple task. What you're about to see doesn't accomplish anything except create a music video that is absolutely mesmerizing, says our Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It takes balls, not to mention Dominos and sledgehammers to make what may be the most mesmerizing music video of the year, and the rock group was called, OK Go, and they went all right.
To condense the action, we have to edit the shots. Their music video "This Too Shall Pass" consist of one single tracking shot of a Rube-Goldberg type contraption that last almost four minutes. The group partnered with 20 engineers from the outfit called Synn Labs who create the installation.
UNKNOWN MALE: We decided to make a video where essentially we have a giant machine that we dance with.
MOOS: The machine took a month and a half to build in a Los Angeles warehouse.
UNKNOWN MALE: It would be great to have the audio cut out at some point and have the machine play some part of the song.
MOOS: It took 60 takes to get completely through the course a couple of times. Usually, something failed before they got a minute into the video, and they would have to reset everything. The group's treadmill video which won a Grammy makes a cameo this time around on the TV screen. Note all of the destroyed TV sets from previous takes in the background. Same for the piano. It went through two. First is back there.
MOOS (on-camera): Doesn't the video remind you a little bit of that old childhood game with different music, of course.
MOOS (voice-over): A shower of umbrellas created by engineers who could design rockets. Their boss says other videos inspired them. For instance, the way things go by a pair of Swiss artists is played with fire, and Peewee Herman played with toast. No egg on the face of the musicians who did this. Just paint.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And I guess we'll keep the motion going this way. It's Tony Harris's turn.
