WikiLeaks Founder Goes to Court; Tax Agreement and Your Dollars; Fallout from Tax Deal; Elizabeth Edwards' Cancer Worsens
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. Here's some of the stories that have us talking this morning. Breaking news. Julian Assange, the controversial WikiLeaks founder, expected to head into a courtroom any minute now to face sex crime charges. He's locked up in London after surrendering to police just hours ago. CNN is tapping into the global resources to bring you the latest. President Obama strikes a deal with Republican leaders and those Bush era tax cuts, looks like they're staying in place for everyone no matter how much you earn. We're crunching the numbers. Sad word this morning that Elizabeth Edwards has stopped cancer treatment at the advice of her doctors. She is resting at home with her family. We'll talk about what she is facing next. All right. Let's begin with Julian Assange of WikiLeaks but what's happening in a British court right now has nothing to do with leaking classified information but rather rape. Assange faces charges in Sweden of unlawful coercion. Two counts of sexual molestation and one count of rape. Assange denies all these charges. However, the two women do admit to having consensual sex with Assange. Let's bring in Mark Ellis. He's the executive director of the International Bar Association. So, Mark, what do we know about the two women who actually admitted to having sex with Assange but are now making rape allegations?</s>MARK ELLIS, EXEC. DIR., INTERNATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION: Well, this is a --this is a process that happens in most any criminal jurisdiction. If there are serious allegations of criminal acts, the authorities will look at that, they'll investigate that. If they see or feel that there's prima fascia evidence to pursue an indictment or an arrest, then they will pursue an arrest. And that's exactly what has happened now. They feel that there's sufficient evidence to at least have an opportunity to talk to Mr. Assange and they want him to back in Sweden. So they go forward with a European arrest warrant process which was given to the UK. The UK then has an obligation to arrest Mr. Assange. But he also has an opportunity to appear in court which he is about to do today.</s>PHILLIPS: So Mark --</s>ELLIS: Once he's in court, he'll be -- mm-hmm?</s>PHILLIPS: But here's my question. They admit to having consensual sex with him. So now why all of a sudden are they coming forward saying, he raped us?</s>ELLIS: Well, my understanding -- and again, we really don't know all of the allegations or the details of the allegations. That's what you're going to find out once this process starts in Sweden. Assuming that the UK authorities extradites him back to Sweden on their request because simply because there is consensual sex doesn't mean that at one time there was not forceable sex that could be -- could be viewed as rape. That will depend on Swedish law. But there's no question that the Swedish authorities believe that there's a prima fascia evidence to pursue this further or they would not have been able to obtain this arrest warrant and that's where we are right now.</s>PHILLIPS: OK. Here's my next question then. You know Eric Holder came out last night saying that they are looking at charging Assange for leaking this information under the Espionage Act of 1917. So, how does that play in here and do you think the U.S. may be working with Sweden because it got Assange to turn himself in? He's now facing these charges of alleged rape? So if he's found guilty, can the U.S. still extradite him and try and charge him under these espionage charges for WikiLeaks? Or -- and if he's not found guilty, can they immediately extradite him? How does this play with what the U.S. wants to do now with regard to espionage charges?</s>ELLIS: Well, this is a much more complicated and challenging process. What you're witnessing now in the UK is a fairly straightforward process within European law on extradition. And my sense is he'll -- he will fight that extradition but in the end he'll probably be extradited. Now the U.S. comes into play and says well, we want to extradite him for violating the Espionage Act. That then comes into play in a political element is automatically brought into play because the Swedish government will take an active role in deciding whether or not Mr. Assange is, in fact, permitted to be extradited to the United States but there are a lot of challenges here. The extradition treaty between Sweden and the United States is complicated. There are another -- a number of factors that the U.S. would have to show before Sweden would, in fact, agree to extraditing him back to the United States. This will be a very long process and it won't be done overnight.</s>PHILLIPS: Got it. Mark Ellis, appreciate it. Another story that we're talking about this morning, the president and the GOP striking a deal on your taxes. It's not final yet but after weeks of haggling on the Hill, the White House did lay out a blueprint for what's to come if congressional Democrats sign off on it. And the price tag is pretty big. It will costs between $600 and $800 billion over the next two years, all of it deficit spending. So here's the tradeoff. All of us will keep our tax breaks for the next two years. Even the richest among us. Unemployment benefits will be extended for 13 months and we'd see a one-year payroll tax holiday. Social Security payroll tax could be knocked down two percentage points, meaning more money in your paychecks through the end of the 2011. Well, a lot of Democrats are not happy about this compromise. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry standing by to talk about how the president is working to get his own party back on board, but let's get down to the question that all of us really want answered, Ed. And what does this mean -- sorry. Let's go to Christine Romans and talk about, first, what this means for your bottom line, Christine?</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what it means is that the tax rate, the taxes that you paid last year, it will stay the same for this year, you know, depending on what your income is and your life changes, but you're not going to see a tax increase for almost everyone here. It's going to stay the same, but you are going to get a little bit of a bonus here. A holiday on your payroll tax. What does that mean? Well, as it stands right now, for every $106,000, 800 that you earn, you pay 6.2 percent in payroll tax. They're going to change that to 4.2 percent. That means a worker making $40,000 would pocket $800 next year in that payroll tax holiday. A working making, say, $70,000 would pocket $1,400. So for one year this is seen as a stimulative boost to the economy and so not only are your taxes going to stay the same but you're going to get this benefit here, too -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: So this is going to cost the federal government a lot of money. I mean we're talking about $800 billion.</s>ROMANS: Yes. This is -- doesn't come for free. We have to pay for this eventually and no indication how we're going to pay for it. As you pointed out, quite rightly, it's deficit spending and the size of it is pretty big. $600 billion to $800 billion is what this will cost overall. Think of that, Kyra. That $862 billion stimulus that was so reviled and all of that spending that helped push the Republicans to take over the House, on the campaign trail, so many people did not like the stimulus, this is the same size as that. This is spending that hasn't been paid for yet, emergency spending. And there's also an extension of jobless benefits. That would allow people to continue -- in some states to continue to get jobless benefits for up to 99 weeks. Again, all of this still has to be paid for -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. Christine Romans, appreciate it. Vice President Biden has some selling to do so he's planned a bit of a power lunch with Senate Democrats, shall we say? It's going to be tough to defend that tax deal. Many Dems are still stuck on the promises of then candidate Obama.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. And it means letting the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire. And rolling back the Bush tax cuts to the top 1 percent. We have to roll back. I want to roll back. We're going to roll back -- I'm going to roll back the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans. For the wealthiest Americans. For the wealthiest Americans. For the wealthiest Americans. It is true that I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the very wealthiest Americans and go back to the rate that they paid under Bill Clinton.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. The key words there, wealthiest Americans. A lot of Democrats don't like extending the tax breaks to the richest people among us, and plenty of Americans agree with them. Almost half say tax cuts should only continue for families making under $250,000 a year. All right. Now let's bring in senior White House correspondent Ed Henry. So, Ed, what's the political cost of this tax deal?</s>ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it could be huge, Kyra. Because you're right. Democrats are -- some of them anyway -- furious about this. It's exactly as you laid it out. I talked to a senior Democrat last night who said there was a pretty tense meeting here last night at the White House when the president met with Democratic congressional leaders, in part because this was a bedrock principle the president had going back to the campaign. Not allowing the Bush tax cuts for the rich to continue. Use that for health care and other priorities, use that money. Reuse it if you will. Number one. Number two, they don't understand -- some of these Democrats on the Hill -- why this president with such rhetorical gifts has not been able to engage the public and convince them. As you noted, there are polls backing this up that the rich should pay more and you have people like Warren Buffett, a billionaire, coming forward saying they believe it's patriotic to pay more. Why hasn't this president been able to convince the public to let the tax cuts for the rich expire and only extend the middle class tax cuts? The president's response last night was basically look, I tried. I don't have the votes in the Senate and this is the best deal I could get. Take a listen.</s>OBAMA: I have no doubt that everyone will find something in this compromise that they don't like. In fact, there are things in here that I don't like. Namely, the extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and the wealthiest estates, but these tax cuts will expire in two years.</s>HENRY: But some Democrats are frustrated because when they expire at the end of the 2012 that means it's going to be a big issue once again -- just as it was in the midterms -- in the presidential and congressional elections of 2012. And that's why when Vice President Biden goes up there for lunch with Democrats, one senior Democrats told me it's going to be a very lively caucus -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Isn't it always a lively caucus, Ed, when it comes down to --</s>HENRY: Yes, maybe a little more. Maybe a little more heartburn.</s>PHILLIPS: Yes. Well, yes, there you go. Bring the Tums. All right, thanks a lot, Ed. Well, doctors can't do any more for Elizabeth Edwards. We've actually learned that she's stopped getting -- or stopped getting her cancer treatments. And that she might only have weeks to live now. She is home in North Carolina with her family and at her side is John Edwards. He's included, as well. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer, as you know, about six years ago. The cancer returned in 2007. And she's thanking people on her Facebook page now for all the prayers. Here's what Elizabeth writes. "The days of our lives for all of us are numbered. We know that. And yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living in hope and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in this world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that, I'm grateful." Let's bring in our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta to talk more about this. I tell you, she -- when this news broke last night, not only did it get people talking about the cancer, but just how strong of a woman that she's been, or that she has been, not only through this but her personal life, as well.</s>DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: She opened up about this. She talked about it very forthrightly. And we've been -- you know, talking about this for seven years now. Hard for people to believe but it was 2004 when she was first diagnosed and she really went on a mission to some extend as well to educate people about what was happening to her and use that as an example for other women. In 2007, as you know, you know, it had spread to her bone and now to her liver and that's what's really prompted this most recent discussion about what to do at this point.</s>PHILLIPS: Is it all about making her comfortable right now?</s>GUPTA: I think that's a fair way to put it. I mean, you know, they -- doctors and health care professionals are saying, look, we're not stopping treatment but we're no longer treating for a cancer. We're treating Elizabeth Edwards in terms of her symptoms, her pain control. Trying to prevent nausea and vomiting. Fluid that might build up in the lungs or the abdomen. Those are things that are unfortunately all associated sometimes with the disease at this point. But she's in her home and there's been a lot of studies showing people in their home during this stage, lower anxiety for them, for their families. The quality of life can be better. So, you know, these are the tough decisions I'm sure they've been thinking about that.</s>PHILLIPS: You know, and you and I have talked about this in the past. And I'm getting sidetracked, I will -- I promise to get to the follow- up question, but it's really important for the family as the family sits around her to say, it's OK.</s>GUPTA: Yes.</s>PHILLIPS: It's OK to go. Because a lot of us, you know, want to hang on no matter how much pain we're in for family members because we know how much it's hurting them. So that's an important aspect, too, right? As that family gathers around to say, mom, sweetheart, whatever it is, you know, it's OK. We're going to be all right.</s>GUPTA: Those conversations, the nurturing and fostering of those conversations probably couldn't happen at any other time or any other place. And she has young children. I mean this is a very difficult time. It's the holiday season. It's a very difficult time, I think, no question. But I think that, you know, from a -- from a medical standpoint, this is something that's been researched. You know this idea of people being able to be with their family being in their own home really seems to make a difference, a positive one at that.</s>PHILLIPS: There's a lot to be learned from Elizabeth Edwards, isn't there?</s>GUPTA: You know I -- you were just reading that quote. And I mean I think anybody can relate to that quote, this idea of, I'm just human. I've done things that -- you know, that any human being would do. She also again being so forthright. I mean, Kyra, you know this is something probably every woman thinks about in terms of their own risk of breast cancer. She didn't have much of a family history. She admitted that for some time after the birth of one of her children she skipped the mammograms for a period of time. She wishes she hadn't done that. Would it have made a difference? Who knows? But I think for a lot of women out there who've done this, and this is to indict or malign anybody, but I think Elizabeth Edwards always said, it's a good reminder to go get that mammogram. It's not a perfect screening test but it's something that can certainly help.</s>PHILLIPS: When you're talking about that one line saying this is -- you know, we would try to get as much patience and strength as we like. It's called being human.</s>GUPTA: Yes.</s>PHILLIPS: That's -- that's some real mental and physical strength right there.</s>GUPTA: No question. And that's another lesson.</s>PHILLIPS: Yes.</s>GUPTA: I think for all of us.</s>PHILLIPS: Thanks, Sanjay.</s>GUPTA: Thank you.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, cover your pets, your pipes, your plants. It's pretty cold outside. From the Midwest to Virginia and deep into Florida, details from the severe weather center coming your way.