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U.S. Teen Back From Colombia; Tucson Shooting Anniversary; Romney Still Leads in New Hampshire; Candidates Preparing for a Debate in New Hampshire Tomorrow; People Are Not Getting Bank Approval on Housing Loans Below $75,000
Aired January 07, 2012 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: In South Carolina, a toddler has been taken away from her adoptive parents and returned to her biological father and now the adoptive parents are fighting to bring her home. Her biological father is a member of the Cherokee Nation and under the Indian Child Welfare Act, he was able to take the toddler back. More details on that story for you shortly.
A teenage runaway who claimed she was a 21-year-old Colombian in the U.S. illegally is now back home in Texas. Jakadrien Turner's family says she went missing months ago until something popped up on Facebook that made them start searching in Colombia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORENE TURNER, TEEN'S GRANDMOTHER: We don't know when she was really deported. But that's when I saw her, on Facebook, when I saw that picture. And Colombia is right there to the side, where you are shows up on Facebook. And it had Colombia there. So I started looking it up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this a Colombian newspaper?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, Facebook.
LORENE TURNER: Facebook, on the computer. But I had a detective to check it for me. It wasn't her regular detective. It's the one that came to the shop and they checked it. And she was in Colombia. I knew it all the time. But I just wanted to prove to other people that she was there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The teenager's family says they intend to sue the U.S. government agencies that mistakenly deported her to South America.
Iranian officials say the U.S. Navy did a humanitarian act by rescuing 13 Iranian sailors from pirates in the Arabian Sea. Troops from the U.S. Firth fleet responded to a distress call from an Iranian fishing vessel on Thursday. They captured 15 pirates. The American naval men did and most of them, Somalis. And freed the Iranians being held captive.
All right. One year ago tomorrow, a deadly shooting in Tucson left six people dead and 13 injured, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Giffords made her first appearance at her Tucson office since the shooting. She presented a plaque which honors her aide, Gabe Zimmerman, who was killed in the shooting. Tomorrow, there will be a candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona which Giffords is scheduled to attend.
And there are less than two weeks until the South Carolina primary and a new CNN-"Time" ORC poll shows Mitt Romney with a solid lead there, well ahead of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Going into Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire, Romney leads the field with 44 percent. That's according to the latest poll from WMUR and the University of New Hampshire. That's more than double Ron Paul's 20 percent. We'll have a live update from New Hampshire in just a few minutes.
All right. Penn State University is welcoming its new football coach, Bill O'Brien is replacing former coach Joe Paterno who was fired amid a scandal over alleged child sex abuse by a former coach. The team says they are looking forward to a new start.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT MCGLOIN, PENN STATE QUARTERBACK: We're very excited about it. We heard the news late last night. I talked to a couple of my buddies on the team. They're excited as well. It's a fresh start for the Penn State program and I'm anxious to get going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: O'Brien is the outgoing New England Patriots' offensive coordinator.
All right. Encouraging job numbers. The December job report is out, and the unemployment rate is down to 8.5 percent. 200,000 jobs were created in December. 150,000 were expected. President Obama says it's the highest number of private sector jobs added since 2005. But he added, that's not nearly enough.
All right. More now on that South Carolina couple desperately trying to regain custody of their adopted daughter. A judge ordered the child be returned to her biological father, citing a law that makes it illegal to break up a Native American family.
CNN's George Howell has been following all the developments. So George, this is certainly generating a lot of controversy. The family, the South Carolina family is trying very aggressively to try to get the child back. How will they do that?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, right now, they are looking to file an appeal to the state supreme court to see if they can get their daughter back. At this point, we're talking about a family, Matt and Melanie Capobiaanco, who raised this daughter - their daughter, rather, since she was born, two-year-old girl. They say that this was an open adoption. But her biological father has stepped back into the picture, Dustin Brown, and because he is enrolled in a Cherokee nation, his daughter then being Native American, under the Indian Child Welfare Act, he was able to get his daughter back in court.
So on New Year's Eve, this family thought that they'd have at least another day to prepare for this transfer. They didn't. That night, they actually had to hand Veronica over to her biological father. And we actually got an interview with the family from our affiliate WCIV. Just listen to what they had to say about that transfer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIE CAPOBIANCO, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: Matt said when we had to do the transfer, it was like he was failing her as a father, to send her off with people that she didn't know, what she must think of us. She just had this in my mind a really confused look on her face which just - but I'll always remember her crying after us when we had to walk out of that office and leave her there.
MATT CAPOBIANCO, ADOPTIVE FATHER: I mean everybody keeps saying how bad they feel for us. But I mean she's a two-year-old girl that got shoved in a truck and driven to Oklahoma with strangers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: A lot of people talking about this case.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So the father, Dustin Brown, he actually contested this about four months after the adoption, that after he had signed the consent. But he explains that he didn't know what he was signing. So all this time has elapsed and now he's been awarded the right to return - what happened to all that time in between?
HOWELL: And you know, a lot of that clearly, four months after his daughter was born, he got into the process, filed the litigation. We are just now seeing that, you know, come to terms. We're seeing the case. He won that case. But we did get an interesting quote from his attorney. I want to read this to you. This is from Shannon Jones who says, "It is important to understand that the Indian Child Welfare Act was not used as a loophole in this action." She goes on to say, "My client would still be entitled to custody of his daughter under South Carolina law." So apparently this is something that Mr. Brown, his attorney had been working on for some time shortly after Veronica was born.
WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating case. This is really just the tip of the iceberg. It has a long way to go before it is resolved, right?
HOWELL: Yes, again, you know, this case to go to the state supreme court there in South Carolina. That could happen in the summer. So right now, Veronica is with a new family. Brown's attorney says that she's transitioning well. But again the Capobianco family, they want her back.
WHITFIELD: All right. George Howell, thanks so much for bringing us this story.
And in just a few hours, the GOP presidential hopefuls will face off in their first of two debates this weekend. They're criss-crossing New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday's primary. Joe Johns joins us now from Manchester with an update. So Joe, what are they doing in those final hours before the big match-up tonight?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. If ever the rest of the field wanted an opportunity to try to bring Mitt Romney down to size, this would be it. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity. So the first thing we're going to have to watch tonight in this debate and another one that's going to occur tomorrow is the extent to which Mitt Romney becomes the center of attention and how he handles it.
Up until now, we've all assumed the guy leading the charge would be former House speaker Newt Gingrich who feels as though he's been done wrong by all those negative ads that ran in the state of Iowa in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses. But now the former speaker is saying he plans to play nice, at least to some extent. Let's listen to what he said earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not going to go after Mitt Romney. I may define the reality of a Reagan conservative and a Massachusetts moderate. I may describe the difference between cutting taxes and raising taxes or being right to life and putting planned parenthood into Romneycare. But that's the most I'm going to do. I don't have to go - I don't get this "go after" stuff. You don't need to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Newt Gingrich does know he has to be careful because too much nasty talk could actually backfire on him. Another guy to watch will be Rick Santorum who to a large extent in the previous debates before the Iowa caucuses was seen as something of noise in the background. But now after that strong showing in Iowa, he's also potentially a center of attention. He's been attacked again and again by people including Ron Paul who has said Santorum's actually a counterfeit conservative, if you will, even calling him a liberal because Rick Santorum was so involved in the earmarks process when he was in the Congress.
And the last person, of course, you got to watch is Rick Perry. This will be a stamina test for him. You know, he's had problems with that and these are going to be two debates in a row, a lot of chances to mess up, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. So Joe, you talk about some tough words coming from Ron Paul. We know that, you know, some of the tough ads have come from him against his Republican rivals. But somehow that doesn't seem to be, you know, attracting, I guess, the kind of fire or momentum that other candidates are getting? What do we mean?
JOHNS: Yes, you know, the thing about Ron Paul that's really interesting is he's a very soft-spoken man at the debates. He tries to stay polite pretty much. He defends his positions. But when you watch his television ads, they're almost fire-breathing. And so there's a split personality there for his campaign almost. I've even asked him about that, you know, why is it that you're such a quiet- spoken guy and you have such fire-breathing ads? Well, I didn't get an answer from him. But it's pretty clear that he likes his TV ads to do the talking when it comes to the tough stuff.
WHITFIELD: OK. Folks will be watching for the debate and tuning into the analysis tomorrow as well. A special here on CNN, 4:00, political show, "The Contenders 2012." All right. Joe Johns, thanks so much. Appreciate tat.
So trust CNN and the best political team on television for complete coverage of the New Hampshire primary. Join Wolf Blitzer, Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, and John King for live coverage Tuesday night, 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
All right. He's on trial for murder. So why is Joran Van der Sloot yawning in court, rubbing his eyes, seeming like he'd rather be somewhere else? The judge gave him a talking-to, details on that straight ahead.
Then, do you have post-Christmas shopping regrets? Straight ahead, planning for better 2012 holiday season, plus tips for getting the best deals all year long.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Some international headlines. A militant Islamist group is blamed for triggering a three-day spate of violence in Nigeria. Officials say the group is specifically targeting Christians in a series of attacks. It's the same group that claims responsibility for attacking churches in Nigeria on Christmas day.
And animal rescuers in New Zealand managed to drag 18 pilot whales back into the ocean that have mysteriously beached themselves on the South island. Seven whales died because they spent too much time in shallow water. At last check, the rescued whales were well offshore.
The trial of Joran Van Der Sloot will continue in a few days. The main suspect in the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway faces murder charges but it's got nothing to do with Aruba and Natalee Holloway. CNN's senior Latin America Affairs editor Rafael Romo explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICA AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): Joran Van Der Sloot had spent the past 18 months as an inmate at the Castro Castro Prison in Peru's capital city of Lima. Some inmates see the 24-year-old Dutchman as a celebrity.
WALTER RAMOS, PRISON INMATE: He's one of us. (INAUDIBLE) It has nothing to do with us. We don't have nothing against him.
ROMO: After his arrest in Chile in June of 2010, he was sent back to Peru and taken to the Lima prison to await trial in the robbery and beating death of 21-year-old Stephany Flores. This surveillance video shows Flores and Van Der Sloot playing poker at a local casino. Another video shows the couple entering Van Der Sloot's hotel where the victim's lifeless body was later found. She had suffered multiple injuries, a broken neck and was covered in blood. The killing happened on May 30th, 2010, exactly five years after Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba after spending time with Van Der Sloot.
Though arrested as a suspect in Holloway's death, Van Der Sloot then 17 was never charged due to a lack of evidence. In Peru, Van Der Sloot initially confessed to killing Flores.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So it is true, and I'm going to ask you this, and you can say yes or no, did you kill Stephany Tatiana?
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, DEFENDANT: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You killed Stephany Tatiana Flores, right?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
ROMO: But Van Der Sloot later recanted. His attorney say he was not given a translator during his interrogation. Peruvian authorities say they have done everything according to law.
COL. MIGUEL ANGEL CANLLA ORE, PERUVIAN NATIONAL POLICE (through translator): The statement given by the Dutch citizen where he declares himself convicted and confesses his crime was done according to the formalities of the law.
ROMO: Unlike other inmates in prison, Van der Sloot has a cell to himself and he still has the support of his family and some friends.
JOHN LUDWICK, VAN DER SLOOT'S FRIEND: What the media portray him as is far from the truth. He's a good person and a good friend and he's not the serial killer, sociopath, psychopath you guys, the media makes him out to be.
ROMO: The Flores family says it wants Van Der Sloot to be punished to the maximum extent of the law.
CAROLINA FLORES, SISTER-IN-LAW OF STEPHANY FLORES: We need justice. He's a psycho, a murderer and he has to pay.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: OK. Rafael Romo here with me now. So you spoke personally to his attorneys. And are they even perplexed about what Joran Van Der Sloot has in mind or what he wants for his destiny here?
ROMO: Well, I spoke with his attorneys just before they went to court yesterday morning. And what he told me was, "We're going to follow the strategy. We're going to plead guilty to a charge of qualified homicide." That's what they call it in Peru. Here it would be similar to a first-degree murder. And under Peruvian law, that allows somebody accused of this kind of crime to get some sort of leniency from the judge. So instead of getting the maximum 35 years in jail that he would, it would be maybe a maximum of 20. So that's what they were originally going for. But then at the last minute in court, Joran Van Der Sloot changes his mind and he says, "I need more time." And that's the reason they were granted a continuance.
WHITFIELD: So not only has he asked for more time, he needs more time to think about it. But he was rather disrespectful to the court. So to ask the court for leniency it seems as though he may have shot himself in the foot on that.
ROMO: That's correct. At one point, the judge told him, you have to sit up straight and you have to respect the court. Because he was slouching, he was scratching his head, he was yawning multiple times. And so that's not going to help -
WHITFIELD: The yawning seemed in kind of a sarcastic way. It didn't seem like it was legitimate.
ROMO: Yes, and at some point when the prosecutor was reading some of the very specific charges, he was shaking his head in disagreement. And specifically let me read this to you, when the prosecutor said, "He beat her violently in the face, he beat her in the head, he took her pants off, he strangled her with his own hands and finally choked her to death with a piece of clothing of his," when the prosecutor was reading this, he was shaking his head and you could see that he was in disagreement. But not only that, a very disrespectful demeanor in court. That was not a very good thing to do.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll see what this new week brings. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.
ROMO: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right. Police say there is a serial killer in California. His target, homeless men. And they are terrified.
But first, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has launched a new program called "The Next List." The show profiles innovators from all walks of life. And this week, he talks to a former cab driver turned award-winning perfume maker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being self-taught is very much a blessing and a curse. The curse part means that I do not have or did not have a lot of the technical experience that people who were classically trained in the very few perfume schools that exist do. They knew how to make certain cords because this they were taught how. They knew how to work with certain materials because this is the knowledge that was passed down through these schools. I had to figure everything out myself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And tune in Sundays to watch "The Next List" or set your DVR for 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. And then in our Sunday 2:30 p.m. "Newsroom" show, a year after six people were killed at a Tucson shopping center. We'll be live in Arizona for the ceremonies marking the tragic event.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Perhaps you spent too much money or you bought things that weren't on your Christmas list. Well, if so, now's the time to correct those mistakes and plan for the next holiday season. 2012 already.
Jayne O'Donnell, consumer columnist from "USA Today" joining us. So Jayne, besides overspending, tell us about some of the shopping regrets that people start to feel about now. Because they're getting those credit card bills about now.
JAYNE O'DONNELL, CONSUMER COLUMNIST "USA TODAY": exactly. All of them are pretty much variations on overspending. But things like losing track of your purchases. We all can do well by shopping early. But I don't know about you, but I tend to hide the purchases from the little one in my house and then you can forget you even bought it. So you obviously need to keep close track of what you've bought. Also, a lot of us will get these kind of last-minute jitters and say, there's not going to be enough under the tree and then buy too much. These last-minute purchases tend to not be very well thought out and poorly researched.
WHITFIELD: OK. So your bottom line is you got to learn from those mistakes. First you have to assess and identify what those mistakes were. Learn from them because even though it's January and Christmas and all the, you know, gift-giving holidays are behind us, you say time now to start planning for your budget for a better 2012. How do you do that?
O'DONNELL: Well, you really want to look back on what you did spend. So it's a good idea to go through your credit card bills, look at what your debit card purchases are and hopefully you'll remember if you paid just cash. But look at how much that was. If that's a reasonable number, if you think it's reasonable to do that again whether you can afford it, take that number, divide it by 10 and then take that amount out of your checking account and put it in perhaps a no-fee Christmas club or some sort of separate account that you're not going to tap throughout the year, that that will be your Christmas account.
WHITFIELD: So the idea is you want to maybe spent that much, if that's what was comfortable this past year, or stick within that goal that you just set of how much money you're going to be saving per month. And don't overextend yourself.
O'DONNELL: That's right because then you're not going to have the big year-end credit card bills. You know, you can actually spend a little bit throughout the year to even have less of an effect at the end of the year.
WHITFIELD: OK. So let's talk about how you're going to spend throughout the year. Because you say there are certain months where there are certain deals. If you know that, you know, you want to get Johnny, you know, some sort of electronic, there's a certain month of the year where it might be best to do that. And that's how you need to, you know, plan your budget.
O'DONNELL: That's right. Electronics can be a little iffy. There are some great deals to be had late January and early February. Of course, if you're buying little Johnny one, he might not want it or there may be a newer version by the end of the year. But one of the things, two of the things I recommend, winter clothing. I mean who doesn't like a nice pair of leather gloves or great mittens or a great hat? Get those now. Stock them away for next year. In June, there are some great white sales, if you've got a child going away to college, that's a great time to stock up on those kinds of things. The June white sales, I'm told, by dealnews.com are even better than the January white sales.
WHITFIELD: Wow, and jeans, jeans in September and October? Did I see that correctly?
O'DONNELL: Yes, that's a great time to buy jeans. If you got the right size and the right style, good time -
WHITFIELD: Don't gain, don't lose any weight. And then November, you've got the HDTVs and laptops and December, those are the other electronic games and bicycles as well. All right. Thanks so much for helping us to plan already. We're still, you know, trying to shake it all off from 2011. But time to start thinking and planning for 2012. You don't go overboard. Jayne O'Donnell, thanks so much.
O'DONNELL: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right. Of course, everybody's heard of wind surfing. Maybe you've even tried it. Well, you've got a board, you've got a sail, the wind and usually water. But how about in the case of the stillness of winter? Then what do you do? You're going to find out in viral videos next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. In the dead of winter, oftentimes you start thinking about, "I wish I were on a beach or something like that, maybe wind surfing." So maybe you can't go to the beach. But you can do something like wind surfing.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It can feel like that if you dress appropriately.
WHITFIELD: That's funny, right. And what are they calling this?
JERAS: I think it's ice surfing right or ice sailing. I've heard of ice sailing before.
WHITFIELD: Ice sailing.
JERAS: Ice sailing is more like kind of a boat thing that you sit in. This is standing up. So it is like being on a wind surfer -
WHITFIELD: The only difference is you're kind of wearing ski gear as well. But it's fun nevertheless. This guy has a hat on.
JERAS: (INAUDIBLE) hello.
WHITFIELD: What is your problem, mister? Are you not feeling that cold? I am and I'm just looking at the video.
JERAS: There's no snow out there. They're getting bored in Montana. They got to come up with something to do, right.
WHITFIELD: Well, this is interesting because it's been so warm in so much of the country, you're lucky if you found a little sliver of water here that's frozen enough to do this.
JERAS: Right, that has been a concern that, a lot of the lakes that people would normally go out and do outdoor activities on haven't been stable enough to do so.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And so apparently you can go at quite the clip there 25 to 30 miles per hour apparently.
JERAS: Imagine. That's almost like a snowmobile almost, right? You're going that fast.
WHITFIELD: That's gone viral. Everyone's looking at that because kind of fantasizing about how to do that wind surfing thing. They have a great idea.
JERAS: You need to (INAUDIBLE) life.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.
All right. Well, renters want to become homeowners. But some, they have the down payment for what they can afford. But the problem is, banks won't finance the rest. Why? And how to find help.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The Republican presidential hopefuls are getting ready for their first of two debates this is weekend in New Hampshire. Polls show Mitt Romney with a huge lead ahead of Tuesday's primary. Political analysts say that's put a bull's-eye on the back of the former Massachusetts governor.
And it will be one year tomorrow since that Tucson, Arizona, shooting left six dead and 13 injured, including congresswoman Gabby Giffords. This weekend, that tragedy is being remembered in many ways. Giffords made her first appearance at her Tucson office presenting a plaque honoring her aide, Gabe Zimmerman, who was killed.
Tomorrow, among other event, there will be a candlelight vigil at the University of Arizona which Giffords is scheduled to attend.
Penn State University is welcoming its new football coach. Bill O'Brien is replacing former coach Joe Paterno who was fired amid a scandal over alleged sex abuse of children by a former coach. The team players say that they're excited for a fresh start. O'Brien is the outgoing New England patriots' offensive coordinator.
And tens of thousands of homes under $75,000 are for sale across the country. But families aren't able to move in because they can't get the loans, even if they have the down payment.
Jodie Fleisher from our affiliate WSB in Atlanta explains why banks say these loans are not profitable.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will let dream come true.
JODIE FLEISCHER, WSB: Peggy (inaudible) says of course she wants to own her own home. She's spent the last 2 1/2 years renting this house in South Pole (ph), spending nearly $25,000. For that, she could have bought any of these houses if she had the cash all at once.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We never can calculate because it's other things going on. We have bills to pay. We have rent.
FLEISCHER: RJ Morris is a real estate investor who's trying to sell this home in Hapeville for $40,000.
RJ MORRIS, REAL ESTATE INVESTOR: Do you know what your payment would be on a $40,000 loan, $160 a month. But there's the rough. Banks say $160 a month; we can't make money on that.
FLEISCHER: He says he said plenty of interest from families but they don't have $40,000 in cash and would need to get a mortgage.
MORRIS: No one would finance the loan. Not because they have bad credit, but rather because the bank said we don't do loans under $75,000.
FLEISCHER: This year, 1,749 Fulton homes have sold for under $50,000. Only 4 percent of the buyers found banks that would give him a mortgage.
LAURA SOSA-ROCHA, FIDELITY BANK: They make the same percentage on a small large than they do on a large loan. Of course, the percentage -- the amount is larger on a larger loan.
FLEISCHER: Laura Sosa-Rocha thinks that's why most larger banks just won't do it. She works for Fidelity Bank, one of the only local banks that will grant smaller loans.
SOSA-ROCHA: Every one person that has called ten places before she called me. Everyone deserves a home in America and if they can afford $50,000 or $30,000 then, you know, we will do the loan for them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Alright, so what are the options for renters who are looking to buy a home? John Adams, real estate consultant and columnist for Atlanta Journal Constitution joining us now.
So John, it's really not that simple like cut and dry. But bottom line is you do have to find a bank that is willing to finance a loan for, say, a property that's under $75,000 as we learned from that piece. That's hard to find. So, how do you find the bank willing to do that?
JOHN ADAMS, REAL ESTATE COLUMNIST, AJC.COM: Well, you're going to have to shop around. And you're going to have to call a lot of sources. The problem is the lending originators get paid on a percentage basis of what they loan. It's a lot harder to lend somebody $50,000 than the person buying the $500,000 house. And yet you make ten times as much on a half million dollar loan.
WHITFIELD: So, besides a bank perhaps not making a profit off a home that is under $75,000 or at least market value, what are some of the other reasons as to why a bank will say, no, we're not going to go for this?
ADAMS: Three things. Owner occupants who tend to be attracted to these very inexpensive bargain homes tend to also have credit problems and they don't tend to have much in the way of savings. That makes it difficult for them to get approved, even for a very small loan because we have stricter underwriting guidelines as a result of the housing meltdown.
In addition, a lot of these homes need repairs. It's not unusual that these are bank-owned homes. The people that left them may have left them in poor condition or they may have been vandalized.
WHITFIELD: So a bank sometimes doesn't want to say, I don't want to help you -- finance for you a fixer-upper.
ADAMS: Exactly. In other words, the house has to be in almost perfect condition today then you run into an appraisal problem. Appraisers come in and look and they see, this kitchen's been damaged, that's going to cost up to $15,000. Do you have knit reserves? No, they don't have it in reserves. All of these things go away when you're dealing with an investor who says, I'll pay you cash on the barrel head as is.
Finally, there's the issue of closing costs. Owner occupant home buyers, almost always, ask the seller to pay closing costs. Investors on the other hand say, I will write a check for this amount. I will take it as it is and you know you got a closing wrapped up.
WHITFIELD: So here, a Georgia family was mostly being profiled and the state of certain counties in Georgia. Is this a nationwide trend that it's going to be difficult no matter where you are or is it an issue of geographic? Florida is a big foreclosure state, Arizona also.
ADAMS: Fredricka, it's national. We've seen a tightening of underwriting guidelines literally from Fannie and Freddie, which of course is a national set of standards. But beyond that, lenders just don't want to make those small loans. It's not profitable for them. As you know, banks have really struggled in the last couple of years. They're looking for profitability right now. Where is that? It's in $300,000 to $500,000 loan category. A $50,000 loan takes more time than is profitable for them.
WHITFIELD: It is kind depressing though, people want, you know, to be able to say they can get that American dream, not if it's, you know, half a million dollar home or million dollar home but something within reach.
ADAMS: Exactly. And these would be ideal properties. I talked to a national lender and I called them and I said will you make a loan for under $50,000? And they said, no way. I said, why not? They said, well, each state has different usury guidelines. And this - in order for us to make a profit, we have to charge so much that we might be in the usury category. It's a complex issue. But anybody who is renter really ought to be persistent because this is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
WHITFIELD: Alright, John Adam. Thanks so much. God to see you! Appreciate it.
And we will have much more of the NEWSROOM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alright, the 69th annual golden globes are coming up next Sunday, January 15. And today, the focus is on the comedy or musical categories, at least in my conversation with our movie critic. Movie critic Matt Atchity with rottentomatoes.com earlier he talked about what the lineup looks like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT ATCHITY, MOVIE CRITIC, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM: "50/50," that is a really solid film. That's just recording line. It's starring a man who has cancer, based on the story of a writer who gets cancer and his dealings with it. It's very funny but gets pretty serious as well.
We've also got "the Artist" which I think is probably the favorite. "The Artist" is fantastic film. It's a silent movie. Its kind a throwback to the silent movie era about a man who is trying to change with the invention of sound as sound comes into the film. It's directed by man named Michael Hazanavicius. It's a French film and it's a really interesting movie. That's Berenice Bejo as his - as the love interest and Jean Dujardin as lead. There's a lot of Jean Kelly and Paul Deshadans (ph) as you see there. Really kind looks like classic Jean Kelly. It's a great performance and I think he's probably the favorite for best actor in a comedy this year.
WHITFIELD: OK. And we're talking about this comedy or musical category. And also included one finds it hard to believe "bridesmaids," not because it wasn't funny.
ATCHITY: Bridesmaids.
WHITFIELD: it's what over the top hilarious but wow, it's up for a golden globe?
ATCHITY: Yes. I was happy to see that it got nominated for a golden globe. It is a very funny movie. And it shows that Hollywood foreign press association did catch that, catch that movie. And, you know, it's hilarious. It's Kristen Wiig. Melissa McCarthy who I think really kind of steals the movie.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
ATCHITY: You know, it's kind a female take on, say, "the hangover." And, you know, I'd expect we'll probably see a sequel as well.
WHITFIELD: OK. Let's take a look at some of the actresses nominated in this category. And we're talking about Jodi Foster in "Carnage." Charlize Theron, young adult.
ATCHITY: Jodi Foster, yes. It shows there a lot of glam on this category. Charlize Theron, Jodie Foster. We have got Kristen Wiig, Michelle Williams, who I think is probably the favorite here. Although Kate Winslet as well. But Michelle Williams' portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in my week with Marilyn, I think she's probably going to walk with it this year. The Hollywood foreign press really likes to give -- they really like to give the award to the most glamorous person or the most glamorous role in this particular category. And I think that she's probably going to get it.
WHITFIELD: Wow, OK. So actors nominated in this category. We are still talking about comedy or musical category?
ATCHITY: Yes, we are, believe it or not. Believe it or not. Some relatively serious people in here. You know, the musical and comedy category, it's kind of a weird one. They divide it up from the foreign press the way we see it. Different than we get in the Oscars. But you've got like I mentioned Jean Dujardin there, French actor playing the lead in the artist. Brendan Gleason from his great work in guard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt from 50/50, Ryan Gosling and Owen Wilson rounding up that group. I think the award is probably going to Jean Dujardin. That's my gut.
WHITFIELD: So "the artist" it's considered more of a musical than it is comedy because it is a silent film?
ADAMS: I think it is a musical comedy. I think so. I think they consider it a musical, kind of a comedy. It's got a lot of dance numbers. They play a lot more laughs. And although it does have a serious story going on, you know, it's kind of that old-school silent film where it never gets too heavy. It's still played pretty light. So, I think that's why it ended up in that category.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And those facial expressions, more important than anything because it is a silent movie. So I guess if you really pull that off or carry that that takes you to a whole new level of respect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Coming up, what does a math lesson have to do with slavery? A homework assignment that has parents outraged.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alright, some parents are outraged in Georgia after an elementary school's homework assignment used examples of slavery and beatings in math problems.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRANCE BARNETT, PARENT: I'm having to explain to my 8-year-old why slavery or slave or beatings is in a math problem. And so, that hurts.
CHRISTOPHER BRAXTON, FATHER: Whoever put together this paperwork and everything else, the schools and everything, shouldn't teach it this way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, both of those dads contacted the schools. Officials say it was an attempt at cross curricular activity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SLOAN ROACH, SCHOOL DISTRICT SPOKESWOMAN: The teachers were trying to do a cross curricular activity. We understand that there are concerns about these questions and we agree that these questions are not appropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: After the school acknowledged its mistake, they discontinued those assignments.
Police in Orange County, California, are calling the murders of three homeless men the work of a serial killer, as Casey Wian reports, the county's homeless are terrified and seeking shelter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for this meal. I ask for your hand of protection on this area --
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A prayer for protection for thousands of homeless in Orange County, California, particularly meaningful now. Police say they're being targeted by a serial killer.
JIM PALMER, ORANGE COUNTY, RESCUE MISSION: We're handing out sort of an emergency guide and kit that we put together specifically because we realize that these homeless men are being targeted by a murderer. We've got a flashlight on a lanyard that's set up so they can see what they're doing and in case of an emergency get some attention or hopefully scare away the perpetrator.
WIAN: That perpetrator was caught on surveillance tape at one of the murder scenes, a shadowy figure in a dark-hooded sweatshirt. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a coward that attacks people who sleep alone.
WIAN: This camera recorded video of the first murder actually taking place. But police are only releasing a handful of still images. This is where that surveillance tape shows the killer standing the night of December 20th, when the first murder occurred at the suburban street mall in the city of Placentia.
Even today, a memorial to the victim, James McGillvery is still her. Some of the notes reading, "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for the maker." And this one simply "Jim, we know you're at peace with mom."
Eight days after McGillvery was stabbed to death, the body of Lloyd Midov (ph) was found. Two days later, Paulo Smith (ph) was killed outside a library in (inaudible).
SERGEANT BOB DUNN, ANAHEIM POLICE DEPARTMENT: We believe it is a serial murder. That's because the proximity and time that these murders occurred, the fact that all of the victims were middle-aged male homeless, they were all stabbed multiple times and geographically, they're quite close to each other.
WIAN: The murder scenes form points of a nearly equilateral triangle but the radius of less than three miles. Three local police agencies, the Orange county sheriff and the FBI are investigating the killings and looking for the driver of this white early 2000s model Toyota corolla. Police are recommending the county's homeless spend the nights in shelters, which are beginning to run short of beds.
Casey Wian, CNN. Orange County, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Alright, no rest for the Republican presidential hopefuls. We'll catch up with them on the campaign trail ahead of the New Hampshire primaries.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Alright, just three days away from the first primary of the 2012 presidential election. The Republican candidates are fanning out across New Hampshire, courting voters. And in the latest NBC/Marist poll, Mitt Romney has 42 percent of likely primary voters, a 20-point advantage over Ron Paul with 22 percent. Rick Santorum came in third with 13 percent. And Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry are all in the single digits.
So you'll have a chance to hear the candidates square off on the issues in just a few hours. They will take part in fact first of two debates this weekend in New Hampshire.
And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNpolitics.com. And of course, tomorrow at 4:00 eastern time, "the Contenders," one hour, one full hour of more politics.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's getting heated. It's like, you're bad, no, you're worse. My God.
WHITFIELD: That's how it goes.
LEMON: That's how it goes.
WHITFIELD: How are you? You have a lot straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: I certainly do have a lot - you know, you heard about the missing woman here in Atlanta that we have been talking about.
WHITFIELD: Yes, Ms. English.
LEMON: Yes. Exactly and you're right. We're going to be talking with the parents of Ms. English, a missing woman who disappeared right here in Atlanta. Stacey Nicole English was her name. She was last seen around Christmas. Take a good look. If you have any information, please get in touch with police.
Her car was found later abandoned and running, Fred. And police are wanting to question a man who is in St. Louis now and who told them that he had stayed with her. They had had, apparently, an argument. He said, get out and he took a taxi that night. Her parents turned to social media to get her case out there. And we'll talk to them.
Also, I knew you are going to find this interesting. You've heard all the debate about the president. Is he acting like a monarch by working around Congress or is he just playing Chicago-style politics? I am going to talk with an insider from "the Chicago tribune". You have to hear this. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The myth was sold by David Axelrod who is Rich Daley's mouthpiece. And he sold it to the national media that Barack Obama was transcending politics as if he was floating in a plastic bubble across the United States with a wand like Glenda the good witch, you know. I'll transcend here, I'll transcend there. But reality, OK, reality is that he's from Chicago and we have bosses. And they take control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So --
WHITFIELD: And you being a former Chicagoan -- can I say you're a former Chicagoan?
LEMON: You're always a Chicagoan like you're always a New Yorker.
WHITFIELD: You, a Chicagoan --
LEMON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: You've heard that dialogue before.
LEMON: I've heard it before.
WHITFIELD: People defending the style of politics in Chicago.
LEMON: What he's saying is that in Chicago, you have a boss. And the mayor is the boss. Whoever's in charge is a boss. And if you want to appoint someone, then you do it. That's essentially what he's saying in that sound bite. But is it Chicago-style politics? We are going to discuss more.
WHITFIELD: All right.
LEMON: And, listen, I went on the book store. Gained so much weight, room service, airplanes. I did --
WHITFIELD: Whatever, you didn't gain any weight at all.
LEMON: Close-up, my cheeks were like that.
WHITFIELD: You just waste, your hard on yourself.
LEMON: And now they're like this.
WHITFIELD: So what's going on? Were you doing something --?
LEMON: I had Mark McDonald on the program a while back. I saw him. He's a Chelsea handler. He is an inspiration for help on the fitness front. He has tips for us. He says four tips that will make the new year ahead the best ever when it comes to healthy eating.
WHITFIELD: This is the number one resolution people make.
LEMON: That's his book. It's called "Body Confidence." And let me tell you, you don't have to starve yourself.
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEMON: I will go, I can't eat all of this food and I'm still losing balance. There's a secret. It's about balance.
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEMON: He is going to join us.
WHITFIELD: Meaning? OK. Darn. So, I'm ready to talk a little bit more about it. He's never had a weight problem, at least in the time I've known you. You are always fit and svelte and still looking that way. So, Don Lemon, we look forward to seeing you.
LEMON: You're one to talk, lady. Look at you.
WHITFIELD: Much more of the NEWSROOM after this.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Alright, let's check the stories that out affiliates are covering. A dash camera on a bus caught the end of a police chase in Oklahoma City. Police say the four men in the car were speeding from a home they had just allegedly robbed. Officers took off after them and the chase ended in a crash. Three of the four suspects were caught.
A Seattle driver is in trouble with police for putting a skeleton in his passenger's seat in order to use the HOV lane. Police initially pulled him over for speeding and then discovered who his co-pilot was. The driver got a ticket for speeding and using the high-occupancy lane without a passenger.
Alright, let's check in with our Jacqui Jeras. You're laughing.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I've heard of people putting blow-up dolls -- I hope that was a fake skeleton, by the way. Just saying.
WHITFIELD: Yes! What's going on?
JERAS: I've been down the east coast --
WHITFIELD: Follow the rules though.
JERAS: Exactly. That's right. No cheating out there.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: Lots of record highs across the country, a handful of them mostly into the northeast. Here to check out new threat. New Jersey at 65, 63 in Newark, Islip at 60, JFK there at 60. And Bridgeport Connecticut, at 55.
Look at the current temperatures across the country. Behind our front, it is cooler but still above where you should be this time of the year. Yesterday, we're talking 15 to 25 above average across the plane state. Now today, we are looking at those temperatures all across the east. This cold front will continue to make some progress. But like I said, you're only looking at a drop of maybe 10 degrees and that is still way above normal.
So tomorrow, New York looking for 44 degrees, that's six above where you should be. Atlanta, 63 degree, 11 above the norm. And check out Minot, North Dakota, 41. That's double where you should be for this time of year, so feeling pretty good. The cold front kind a stalling out here. We are going to see a series of storms make its way across the southern part of the country. So, they have mostly just means gathered rainy shower across parts of the southeast. We'll see those showers on and off the next couple of days.
Our next storm-maker is going to bring heavy snow into the higher elevations across New Mexico and Colorado. Colorado really needing the snow here. We're also seeing the strong high drop in from the north bringing in strong or offshore winds. So the Santa Ana's are really going to kick in. We could see damaging winds across southern California for tomorrow. In the meantime, skier's delight because six to ten in the same in the Santa Cristo Mountains by Monday morning.
WHITFIELD: Because skiers are not happy right now.
JERAS: So, you go one place of --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate that.
Well, don't forget, you need to join us tomorrow, 2:30 eastern time. We will have more news straight ahead but before that my colleague Don Lemon has a host of new stories for you coming up as well. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You see much later tomorrow. Don Lemon on his way.
LEMON: Bye, Fred!
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Have a good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
