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American Morning

Changes in Bankruptcy Law; "Gimme a Minute"

Aired March 11, 2005 - 08:30   ET

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

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


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. If you are stuck with a ton of debt, you better find a way to pay it off soon. There could be radical changes to bankruptcy laws. We're going show you just who is most affected.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also in a moment here, you will not believe what some airlines these days are charging for in your flight. A lot of perks that used to be free now come with a cost. And they continue to add up, too. Not just the in-flight meal. We'll get the low-down from "Travel and Leisure" magazine about what you need to know when you're flying next time.

O'BRIEN: First, though, let's get a look at the headlines with Carol Costello. Hello.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, good morning to all of you.

A day of mourning in Spain. Today is March 11, the one-year anniversary the Madrid train bombings. A beautiful and somber sound as hundreds of church bells tolled in remembrance of the 191 people killed. It was the worst terror attack ever in that country. More than 70 suspects have been charged so far in connection with the bombings, but it's still not clear who ordered the attacks.

A DNA match in the killings of a judge's family's in Chicago. Police say a cigarette butt found at the crime scene has linked to Bart Ross. He's the man who committed suicide in his car near Milwaukee and left a note claiming responsibility for two deaths. Authorities say they've also matched shell casings to Ross, but they say the case is by no means closed.

A trial day for Army reservist Lynndie England. Surely you remember her. The woman who's often called the poster child of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal will face a court marshal starting on May 3rd. Even though the number of charges against her have been cut by more than half, England still faces more than 16 years in prison if she is convicted.

And the new Martha Stewart, thinner, better coiffed and apparently richer than ever. The homemaking diva has landed a spot on "Forbes" magazine's annual list of billionaires with a B for the first time. Stewart's can thank her company's stock, it more than doubled while she was in jail. Bill Gates remains the richest person on the list. And by the way, out of the 691 billionaires in the world, Soledad, 68 are women. Just 68. O'BRIEN: Carol, hope springs eternal for us, right?

COSTELLO: I hope so.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, the biggest change to bankruptcy law in a quarter century has now passed the Senate. It's going to mean that more people will have to repay credit card and medical and other debts.

CNN financial correspondent Valerie Morris joins us. Nice to see you. Thanks for stopping by.

VALERIE MORRIS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It's good to see you.

O'BRIEN: Why did they feel the need to tackle this issue? How big of a problem are we talking about?

MORRIS: Listen, this problem has been going on for a long, long time. But the effort to correct it has been happening for a while, too. For the last eight years there has been a move to correct the bankruptcy laws. 1.6 million people last year filed bankruptcy. And unlike what a lot of people may, in fact, think, most bankruptcies are not because people have just been spending wantonly. It is because of illness and medical bills, also divorce and then job loss. So this is something that is a net that could catch anyone, and the safety net could be gone.

O'BRIEN: All right, so what's changed in this new measure?

MORRIS: It's important for us to look at this because a lot of people are saying can I get trapped in this? What should I do? This is basically -- the new law is basically going to have a means test which says if you earn above average income in your state, then you could be potentially responsible for repaying some part of that bill. The formula is $6,000 over a five-year period in a court-enforced installment plan. So this is saying that the creditors are grateful for this, they love it. It has been backed by the credit agency. President Bush says that he will sign it, passed through the Senate without any problems and is now going to the House.

O'BRIEN: Well, you say pass without any problems, but overwhelmingly -- and still it was 74-25. So there are 25 -- a large percentage, actually...

MORRIS: No problem, I meant by the fact that...

O'BRIEN: You're right.

MORRIS: ... they just knew that it was going to happen.

O'BRIEN: It wasn't close. But there's a lot of people who actually don't support the measure. MORRIS: Definitely. And there's reason why. I like to explain it this way, Soledad. There's the unwilling and the unable when it comes to excessive debt. The unwilling are people who make up only five percent, people who have a lot of bills that they just generate and that is really spending without any regard. They should be responsible. But the overwhelming number of people are just crunched. They're caught between a rock and a hard place. More than 76 percent of the people who filed for bankruptcy due to medical problems had health insurance. How frightening is that? Because isn't that -- they had to file for it, doesn't that tell all of us that we are just one catastrophic disease away from being in the same situation?

O'BRIEN: So what do you think's going to happen in the House? Do you think it will sail through the House like it sailed through the Senate?

MORRIS: I think that it will because President Bush is seeing this as his second possible success for business. Of course, last month it was, you know, maintaining or at least restricting the limits on lawsuits. But the reason that this one is so important to me -- consumers, that's my business. Personal finance and what you do. The number of people who have lost jobs, who are single, divorced, really up against the wall with it, they are not unwilling to pay their bills, they just can't afford to. And a lot of people are actually saying that this bill could, in fact, make the collection agency's place of reckoning the court, the bankruptcy courts. And that's really a very difficult place.

O'BRIEN: Interesting to see what happens. Valerie Morris, nice to see you. Thanks for stopping by to talk to us this morning -- Bill.

HEMMER: About 24 minutes now before the hour. Time for "Gimme a Minute" on a Friday. With us from Chicago today, we have "Sun-Times" columnist Debra Pickett. Good morning, Debra. Nice have you back with us.

DEBRA PICKETT, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES" COLUMNIST: Good morning, Bill. Nice to see you.

HEMMER: Here in New York City, WABC radio host Mark Simone. Morning, Mark, across town here.

MARK SIMONE, WABC RADIO HOST: Hey, good morning.

HEMMER: And in Boston, Julius Sharpe, writer for the "Late Late Show."

JULIUS SHARPE, WRITER, "LATE LATE SHOW": Hi.

HEMMER: And a first-timer here. Nice to have you, Julius. Good morning.

SHARPE: Debra, you're in the hole first. Democracy in the Middle East. Is President Bush right? PICKETT: Well, you know, I think it's a little too soon to tell. We hear all of this celebrating about the spread of democracy and it sounds like, you know, creamy peanut butter or something and it's just not that simple.

HEMMER: Creamy peanut butter.

PICKETT: Even democratically-elected officials aren't very pro- American.

HEMMER: How would you describe it, Mark?

SIMONE: Well, as Democrats say, behind every silver lining, there's cloud. But we had elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestinian territories. They're starting in Egypt, Saudi Arabia. You know, it's the same thing when Reagan fought the Soviet Union. Everybody kept saying he was an idiot, he was a liar. And we're hearing the same thing now.

HEMMER: Well, we want to know if the president can take credit now. Julius, what about it?

SHARPE: I think there's been a definite improvement. There was that rally in Syria this week and instead of chanting "Death to America," they were chanting "Flu-like symptoms in America."

HEMMER: Different day, different headline.

SHARPE: Yes. And there was one guy shouting about he hopes we stub our toes.

HEMMER: Hey, Mark, second topic now. Congress wants a look at this baseball issue and steroids. Is it their issue to look at or should they butt out?

SHARPE: They should butt out for several reasons. First of all, if there's one group that's never been able to stop illegal drugs, it's Congress. I mean, you can get any drug in the world in this country. The only thing they know how to stop is Cuban cigars. You can't buy one for any amount.

HEMMER: What about it, Debra? Stunned or more to it?

PICKETT: You know, it is so strange, this obsession that Washington has with this issue. I was stumped when President Bush mentioned it in his State of the Union address. You know, not a minute for Africa, but steroids in baseball. Huge concern.

HEMMER: Batter up, Julius. What about it?

SHARPE: I think it's odd. I think they really should look into why it costs $20 to park at Dodger stadium. I bought a ticket for the game, you know, I'm coming. You know, put it in the cost of the ticket.

HEMMER: Man, I'm with you. Play ball, huh? Debra, "Mel Gibson" is re-releasing "The Passion of the Christ." There is no rating this time. They've taken about six minutes out of the original film, they've edited them this time. The idea is to reach a bigger audience. Will he, with the re-release?

PICKETT: It's -- no, I don't think so. I think this is going to backfire. I think part of the appeal of the movie was that you could see an incredibly gory, graphic, violent movie and not feel like a sinner, like you were doing it.

HEMMER: Well $600 million worldwide. Does it make more money now, Mark, or not?

SIMONE: I don't know, I think I have to agree that you shouldn't tone these things down. He even retitled it. It's going to be "The Enthusiasm of the Christ." You know, it's like when you see "Goodfellas" on TV and Pesci and DeNiro use the word "friggin" a lot. It's just not the same.

HEMMER: Go easy now. Julius, what about it?

SHARPE: Well, I think he's definitely making a mistake by including in the extras DVD reel of the bloopers of "The Passion." I don't know if there's that much of a market for that. But also he's doing the same thing with the "Lethal Weapon" movies, which is a huge mistake. Those need the violence. I don't...

HEMMER: I gotcha. Under the radar. Mark, why don't you start of us this category now? What did we miss this past week that's on your mind?

SIMONE: I think what everybody missed this week, this month, this year, the Robert Blake trial came and went. You know, Jackson could walk in with pajamas, it's front page above the fold. Robert Blake could wear a wet suit into court and not get any coverage.

HEMMER: Listen, the jury is still deliberating. But it's a Friday. Perhaps today you get a verdict out there in California.

SIMONE: Could be.

HEMMER: Debra, what about you? What's on your mind?

PICKETT: You know, it's actually a terrorism case out of Michigan. Abraham Parlack (ph), a Turkish immigrant who is now being charged as a terrorist because he was convicted in state security court in Turkey that the U.S. has already declared -- convicts people falsely based on torturing them to get false confessions. So it's another example of kind of the overzealous prosecution.

HEMMER: Interesting story there. Julius, how about it?

SHARPE: You've hit on it already, but Michael Jackson wearing pajamas to court? I mean, when you are accused of child molestation, why would you show up wearing the clothes that are associated with the crime? That's a really bad idea.

HEMMER: Next we'll see a night light, do you think?

SHARPE: Teddy bear, maybe.

HEMMER: Debra, thanks. Mark, Julius, have a great weekend.

"Gimme a Minute," on a Friday. Across the room now, and Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's check back with weather and Chad Myers, he's at the CNN center. Hey, Chad, good morning again.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: See you, Chad.

A classic car retiring for good. Andy tells us how that fun, fun, fun is going away for good. There's a hint in there.

O'BRIEN: And the airlines tackling on even more new fees. This time it's for things that we used to get for free. We're going to tell you what to look out for ahead as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: When you're taking your next flight, if you want to check bag or have a meal or snuggle up with a pillow, it could cost you. Airlines are starting to charge for services that were previously included in the price of a ticket.

How can you recognize some of the hidden costs? Nilou Motamed of "Travel & Leisure" magazine joins us this morning.

Nice to see you. Good morning.

NILOU MOTAMED, "TRAVEL & LEISURE": Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You know, I understand that the airlines are having some serious financial difficulties, but some of the things that they are now starting to do, I think are shocking. For example, I have read that you might have to pay 10 bucks extra if you forego using the phone and talk to a human being when you call in for help from the airlines. I think that's pretty amazing.

MOTAMED: It's actually incredible and it's actually happening right now

O'BRIEN: With who? What airlines?

MOTAMED: If you go on pretty much any airline and go on their Web site, they're actually going to reward you by going on the website and not charge you that extra surcharge onto your ticket, but if you go on to a phone and press zero to talk to a person, $5 to $10 goes right on to the total of your ticket.

O'BRIEN: Wow, I think that people should be up in arms about that. Let's talk about some of the other costs as well, because really, this is just one of a litany, frankly, of things that we're now being charged for. First of all, some of the perks, the pillows, latest news.

MOTAMED: I was just on American Airlines last week and I asked for a pillow. They are gone. Don't even bother looking for them. They are out. Actually, just pillows alone has saved them $600,000 this year.

O'BRIEN: Just in cleaning them? Or making them?

MOTAMED: Just replacing them, cleaning them whenever they did. The things with pillows is, I'm happy to have them go, and same with the food service on planes. I'm actually pleased that they are giving us options by letting us pay for them but getting rid of the mystery meat at 30,000 feet.

O'BRIEN: Yes, because meals is the next thing on your list, in fact. There was a time when you got meals on the airplane. Then they yanked that so then you got nothing on the airplane. Now it's kind of come back on some airlines in a certain way.

MOTAMED: For example, on Delta Song, you can get actually low carb meals, you can get organic meals, even -- you know, healthy options. Well, I got a cheese plate, so that was not healthy. But what was great about it was that I got to choose. And you know, if I didn't get chance to run in the concourse and wait in that long line at the Starbucks to get a danish, this was something healthy I could have on the plane.

O'BRIEN: What -- the cost, though -- I mean, is it comparable with what you would get if you did wait in that long line on the concorde?

MOTAMED: It's absolutely comparable. It's anywhere between $3 to $10 which is really, basically, what you would pay for a lunch in the airport.

O'BRIEN: Also on your list is in-flight entertainment. So, you always had to charge for headphones.

MOTAMED: The headsets, they're still charging you for right now, but they're look at this as a really good revenue source. So, American Airlines is trying out something that Ted, United's low- budget airline, did which is charging you for $12 for an in-flight entertainment unit, which is basically a movie unit that also shows you music videos, does games and...

O'BRIEN: $12 bucks? That seems a little...

MOTAMED: $12 bucks for 20 movie choices. So, if you're going to have a long flight -- the only downside is there's only a five hour battery life on it.

O'BRIEN: Long flight, you're going to pay the $12 bucks but you're not going to be able to see two entire movies.

And finally, baggage fees. There was a long time when if you were overweight on your baggage, they'd let that slide.

MOTAMED: This is -- they are not letting it slide anymore. They're really cracking down on this, especially with families. I know, Soledad, you've got kids. If you've got the strollers, you've got the skies, this is going to be some serious extra baggage and extra costs, up to $80 for an extra bag and even $25 to $50 for heavier baggage.

O'BRIEN: Wow, you really could end up -- just going through these four items, you could end up spending $200 extra on your ticket.

One quick tip on how to save money, then?

MOTAMED: Know when to go online to look for your fair. If you're going to go online, go on after midnight. That's when flights that haven't been booked, that have been reserved, go back into the pool, that's when you're going to get the best deal.

O'BRIEN: All right. Nilou Motamed, nice to see you. Thank you for the good advice and some depressing news as well about flying. Appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad.

11 minutes now before the hour.

A classic Ford going the way of the Edsel (ph); Andy explains that.

Plus, "The File," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back. Here's Jack again.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It says here, you better have your fun, fun, fun, because daddy's about to take the T-Bird away. That story and a market preview. Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's the thing. They keep discontinuing cars these cars that aren't selling so well, and this is an American classic. It's a little bit too bad.

Let's talk about the market, though, yesterday, kind of a mixed picture. Dow was up. Nasdaq was down. You can see here, and you know, considering everything we've been through this year for investors, kind of a lot of sound and furry signifying nothing, because the indexes are back flat for the year. So everything you've been through, we're just here. That's a tale told by an idiot, by the way.

CAFFERTY: Sound and fury signifying nothing.

SERWER: Yes, so I'm not going to continue that too much.

Lower oil prices and a good report from Intel making futures up this morning. Now let's talk about the T-Bird, because Ford is getting rid of this car sadly again, because you may remember this is the second iteration of the T-Bird.

That's the new T-Bird there, Jack.

CAFFERTY: It's an ugly car.

SERWER: Well, yes, and of course the original T-Bird was introduced in 1954, and there it is. That's a '55 there, V-8. And with that and the Corvette were going head to head, and...

CAFFERTY: 1957 was the last year they made one that looked like that, and it was the last year that T-Bird was a good-looking automobile. This thing, this mess they made...

SERWER: Yes, it started looking clunkier as you get into the '60s and the '70s, and it actually went up to 1997. The peak year was '77 actually, sold 300,000 of them, and they reintroduced it in '01. The first year they sold just tons of them, and it was going for way more than the sticker price, about $30,000. The next year sales fell off the cliff. And one analyst said it was like a Cabbage Patch Doll. It was just very hot, and then got one, that's it. Yes, now they are gone. Ford says they're going to keep the brand on the shelf and maybe reintroduce it 10 years down the road again.

CAFFERTY: They should go back to making that 1957.

SERWER: That was so cool.

CAFFERTY: They reintroduced the Mustang, and they haven't ruined the look of the Mustang. So the guys in the Mustang division know how to do this stuff.

SERWER: And I thought the T-Bird was even cooler than the Corvette back then, I mean, really cool.

CAFFERTY: Well, I don't know if anything's cooler than the Corvette.

SERWER: All right, we'll race them, my T-Bird versus your Corvette.

CAFFERTY: Could be the question of the day some day.

SERWER: Yes, a good one.

CAFFERTY: Time for the "File."

Life's unanswerable questions. Let me try that again -- life's unanswerable questions. How can you be smart enough to run one of the world's premiere aircraft companies and be dumb enough to do this? Boeing's CEO, Harry Stoneciper, a 68-year-old grandfather, got kicked out of his job for having an affair with a woman who worked for him there at Boeing. Now that's pretty dumb. But not as dumb as this. It turns out that Mr. Stonecipher will lose $37.7 million in stock bonuses that he would have collected at the end of this calender year. Now that's really dumb. I hope she's worth it.

Another quantum leap forward here in the Big Apple. New York City is now home to the Integrated Pest Management Control Academy. Translation, we now have a college to study rats. The brand new rodent college is funded by a three-year grant and will teach exterminators, rodent inspectors and city workers how to get rid of rats.

SERWER: You kill them.

CAFFERTY: You now have to go to college in New York to learn to do this. Granted, rats are a big problem in this town. The city's informational 311 line got 7,500 complaints about rats between July and October of last year, but now we have a study college to study them, and that will take care of them.

So you buy a bag of pretzels, sit down and watch a little TV, and you munch away, you pull out of a pretzel from the bag that looks remarkably like the Virgin Mary holding the Baby Jesus. What to do? Ebay to the rescue. And Internet casino that previously bought a partially winning grilled-cheese sandwich that looked like the Virgin Mary now has the pretzel, as well. Antigua-based Golden Palace Casino bought the pretzel with only 30 seconds left before bidding closed Wednesday evening. The winning bid for a pretzel -- $10,600. The original owner of the pretzel, Michelle Naylor (ph), said she only paid three bucks for the bag of pretzels up there in St. Paul, Minnesota, which is her hometown.

Apparently, Virgin Mary pretzels, though, are not worth as much as Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwiches. The Golden Palace paid $28,000 for the grilled-cheese sandwich that looked like the Virgin Mary.

SERWER: What did P.T. Barnum say? I mean, unbelievable.

CAFFERTY: Yes, every minute.

Was it never go broke underestimating the stupidity of the American public.

O'BRIEN: We had mentioned the Golden Palace a couple times now, first for the grilled cheese, now for the pretzel. I think they're like that was the best 10 grand we ever spent.

SERWER: Money well spent.

CAFFERTY: That's a good point.

SERWER: They got the belly, they got the pretzel -- they got everything going on.

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, they're laughing all of the way to the bank.

Thanks, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Top stories are ahead this morning, including the big changes to the SAT. Coming up, we're going to tell you exactly what's new and how parents can help their kids prepare.

Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 11, 2005 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody. Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. If you are stuck with a ton of debt, you better find a way to pay it off soon. There could be radical changes to bankruptcy laws. We're going show you just who is most affected.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also in a moment here, you will not believe what some airlines these days are charging for in your flight. A lot of perks that used to be free now come with a cost. And they continue to add up, too. Not just the in-flight meal. We'll get the low-down from "Travel and Leisure" magazine about what you need to know when you're flying next time.

O'BRIEN: First, though, let's get a look at the headlines with Carol Costello. Hello.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, good morning to all of you.

A day of mourning in Spain. Today is March 11, the one-year anniversary the Madrid train bombings. A beautiful and somber sound as hundreds of church bells tolled in remembrance of the 191 people killed. It was the worst terror attack ever in that country. More than 70 suspects have been charged so far in connection with the bombings, but it's still not clear who ordered the attacks.

A DNA match in the killings of a judge's family's in Chicago. Police say a cigarette butt found at the crime scene has linked to Bart Ross. He's the man who committed suicide in his car near Milwaukee and left a note claiming responsibility for two deaths. Authorities say they've also matched shell casings to Ross, but they say the case is by no means closed.

A trial day for Army reservist Lynndie England. Surely you remember her. The woman who's often called the poster child of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal will face a court marshal starting on May 3rd. Even though the number of charges against her have been cut by more than half, England still faces more than 16 years in prison if she is convicted.

And the new Martha Stewart, thinner, better coiffed and apparently richer than ever. The homemaking diva has landed a spot on "Forbes" magazine's annual list of billionaires with a B for the first time. Stewart's can thank her company's stock, it more than doubled while she was in jail. Bill Gates remains the richest person on the list. And by the way, out of the 691 billionaires in the world, Soledad, 68 are women. Just 68. O'BRIEN: Carol, hope springs eternal for us, right?

COSTELLO: I hope so.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, the biggest change to bankruptcy law in a quarter century has now passed the Senate. It's going to mean that more people will have to repay credit card and medical and other debts.

CNN financial correspondent Valerie Morris joins us. Nice to see you. Thanks for stopping by.

VALERIE MORRIS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It's good to see you.

O'BRIEN: Why did they feel the need to tackle this issue? How big of a problem are we talking about?

MORRIS: Listen, this problem has been going on for a long, long time. But the effort to correct it has been happening for a while, too. For the last eight years there has been a move to correct the bankruptcy laws. 1.6 million people last year filed bankruptcy. And unlike what a lot of people may, in fact, think, most bankruptcies are not because people have just been spending wantonly. It is because of illness and medical bills, also divorce and then job loss. So this is something that is a net that could catch anyone, and the safety net could be gone.

O'BRIEN: All right, so what's changed in this new measure?

MORRIS: It's important for us to look at this because a lot of people are saying can I get trapped in this? What should I do? This is basically -- the new law is basically going to have a means test which says if you earn above average income in your state, then you could be potentially responsible for repaying some part of that bill. The formula is $6,000 over a five-year period in a court-enforced installment plan. So this is saying that the creditors are grateful for this, they love it. It has been backed by the credit agency. President Bush says that he will sign it, passed through the Senate without any problems and is now going to the House.

O'BRIEN: Well, you say pass without any problems, but overwhelmingly -- and still it was 74-25. So there are 25 -- a large percentage, actually...

MORRIS: No problem, I meant by the fact that...

O'BRIEN: You're right.

MORRIS: ... they just knew that it was going to happen.

O'BRIEN: It wasn't close. But there's a lot of people who actually don't support the measure. MORRIS: Definitely. And there's reason why. I like to explain it this way, Soledad. There's the unwilling and the unable when it comes to excessive debt. The unwilling are people who make up only five percent, people who have a lot of bills that they just generate and that is really spending without any regard. They should be responsible. But the overwhelming number of people are just crunched. They're caught between a rock and a hard place. More than 76 percent of the people who filed for bankruptcy due to medical problems had health insurance. How frightening is that? Because isn't that -- they had to file for it, doesn't that tell all of us that we are just one catastrophic disease away from being in the same situation?

O'BRIEN: So what do you think's going to happen in the House? Do you think it will sail through the House like it sailed through the Senate?

MORRIS: I think that it will because President Bush is seeing this as his second possible success for business. Of course, last month it was, you know, maintaining or at least restricting the limits on lawsuits. But the reason that this one is so important to me -- consumers, that's my business. Personal finance and what you do. The number of people who have lost jobs, who are single, divorced, really up against the wall with it, they are not unwilling to pay their bills, they just can't afford to. And a lot of people are actually saying that this bill could, in fact, make the collection agency's place of reckoning the court, the bankruptcy courts. And that's really a very difficult place.

O'BRIEN: Interesting to see what happens. Valerie Morris, nice to see you. Thanks for stopping by to talk to us this morning -- Bill.

HEMMER: About 24 minutes now before the hour. Time for "Gimme a Minute" on a Friday. With us from Chicago today, we have "Sun-Times" columnist Debra Pickett. Good morning, Debra. Nice have you back with us.

DEBRA PICKETT, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES" COLUMNIST: Good morning, Bill. Nice to see you.

HEMMER: Here in New York City, WABC radio host Mark Simone. Morning, Mark, across town here.

MARK SIMONE, WABC RADIO HOST: Hey, good morning.

HEMMER: And in Boston, Julius Sharpe, writer for the "Late Late Show."

JULIUS SHARPE, WRITER, "LATE LATE SHOW": Hi.

HEMMER: And a first-timer here. Nice to have you, Julius. Good morning.

SHARPE: Debra, you're in the hole first. Democracy in the Middle East. Is President Bush right? PICKETT: Well, you know, I think it's a little too soon to tell. We hear all of this celebrating about the spread of democracy and it sounds like, you know, creamy peanut butter or something and it's just not that simple.

HEMMER: Creamy peanut butter.

PICKETT: Even democratically-elected officials aren't very pro- American.

HEMMER: How would you describe it, Mark?

SIMONE: Well, as Democrats say, behind every silver lining, there's cloud. But we had elections in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestinian territories. They're starting in Egypt, Saudi Arabia. You know, it's the same thing when Reagan fought the Soviet Union. Everybody kept saying he was an idiot, he was a liar. And we're hearing the same thing now.

HEMMER: Well, we want to know if the president can take credit now. Julius, what about it?

SHARPE: I think there's been a definite improvement. There was that rally in Syria this week and instead of chanting "Death to America," they were chanting "Flu-like symptoms in America."

HEMMER: Different day, different headline.

SHARPE: Yes. And there was one guy shouting about he hopes we stub our toes.

HEMMER: Hey, Mark, second topic now. Congress wants a look at this baseball issue and steroids. Is it their issue to look at or should they butt out?

SHARPE: They should butt out for several reasons. First of all, if there's one group that's never been able to stop illegal drugs, it's Congress. I mean, you can get any drug in the world in this country. The only thing they know how to stop is Cuban cigars. You can't buy one for any amount.

HEMMER: What about it, Debra? Stunned or more to it?

PICKETT: You know, it is so strange, this obsession that Washington has with this issue. I was stumped when President Bush mentioned it in his State of the Union address. You know, not a minute for Africa, but steroids in baseball. Huge concern.

HEMMER: Batter up, Julius. What about it?

SHARPE: I think it's odd. I think they really should look into why it costs $20 to park at Dodger stadium. I bought a ticket for the game, you know, I'm coming. You know, put it in the cost of the ticket.

HEMMER: Man, I'm with you. Play ball, huh? Debra, "Mel Gibson" is re-releasing "The Passion of the Christ." There is no rating this time. They've taken about six minutes out of the original film, they've edited them this time. The idea is to reach a bigger audience. Will he, with the re-release?

PICKETT: It's -- no, I don't think so. I think this is going to backfire. I think part of the appeal of the movie was that you could see an incredibly gory, graphic, violent movie and not feel like a sinner, like you were doing it.

HEMMER: Well $600 million worldwide. Does it make more money now, Mark, or not?

SIMONE: I don't know, I think I have to agree that you shouldn't tone these things down. He even retitled it. It's going to be "The Enthusiasm of the Christ." You know, it's like when you see "Goodfellas" on TV and Pesci and DeNiro use the word "friggin" a lot. It's just not the same.

HEMMER: Go easy now. Julius, what about it?

SHARPE: Well, I think he's definitely making a mistake by including in the extras DVD reel of the bloopers of "The Passion." I don't know if there's that much of a market for that. But also he's doing the same thing with the "Lethal Weapon" movies, which is a huge mistake. Those need the violence. I don't...

HEMMER: I gotcha. Under the radar. Mark, why don't you start of us this category now? What did we miss this past week that's on your mind?

SIMONE: I think what everybody missed this week, this month, this year, the Robert Blake trial came and went. You know, Jackson could walk in with pajamas, it's front page above the fold. Robert Blake could wear a wet suit into court and not get any coverage.

HEMMER: Listen, the jury is still deliberating. But it's a Friday. Perhaps today you get a verdict out there in California.

SIMONE: Could be.

HEMMER: Debra, what about you? What's on your mind?

PICKETT: You know, it's actually a terrorism case out of Michigan. Abraham Parlack (ph), a Turkish immigrant who is now being charged as a terrorist because he was convicted in state security court in Turkey that the U.S. has already declared -- convicts people falsely based on torturing them to get false confessions. So it's another example of kind of the overzealous prosecution.

HEMMER: Interesting story there. Julius, how about it?

SHARPE: You've hit on it already, but Michael Jackson wearing pajamas to court? I mean, when you are accused of child molestation, why would you show up wearing the clothes that are associated with the crime? That's a really bad idea.

HEMMER: Next we'll see a night light, do you think?

SHARPE: Teddy bear, maybe.

HEMMER: Debra, thanks. Mark, Julius, have a great weekend.

"Gimme a Minute," on a Friday. Across the room now, and Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's check back with weather and Chad Myers, he's at the CNN center. Hey, Chad, good morning again.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: See you, Chad.

A classic car retiring for good. Andy tells us how that fun, fun, fun is going away for good. There's a hint in there.

O'BRIEN: And the airlines tackling on even more new fees. This time it's for things that we used to get for free. We're going to tell you what to look out for ahead as we continue on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: When you're taking your next flight, if you want to check bag or have a meal or snuggle up with a pillow, it could cost you. Airlines are starting to charge for services that were previously included in the price of a ticket.

How can you recognize some of the hidden costs? Nilou Motamed of "Travel & Leisure" magazine joins us this morning.

Nice to see you. Good morning.

NILOU MOTAMED, "TRAVEL & LEISURE": Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You know, I understand that the airlines are having some serious financial difficulties, but some of the things that they are now starting to do, I think are shocking. For example, I have read that you might have to pay 10 bucks extra if you forego using the phone and talk to a human being when you call in for help from the airlines. I think that's pretty amazing.

MOTAMED: It's actually incredible and it's actually happening right now

O'BRIEN: With who? What airlines?

MOTAMED: If you go on pretty much any airline and go on their Web site, they're actually going to reward you by going on the website and not charge you that extra surcharge onto your ticket, but if you go on to a phone and press zero to talk to a person, $5 to $10 goes right on to the total of your ticket.

O'BRIEN: Wow, I think that people should be up in arms about that. Let's talk about some of the other costs as well, because really, this is just one of a litany, frankly, of things that we're now being charged for. First of all, some of the perks, the pillows, latest news.

MOTAMED: I was just on American Airlines last week and I asked for a pillow. They are gone. Don't even bother looking for them. They are out. Actually, just pillows alone has saved them $600,000 this year.

O'BRIEN: Just in cleaning them? Or making them?

MOTAMED: Just replacing them, cleaning them whenever they did. The things with pillows is, I'm happy to have them go, and same with the food service on planes. I'm actually pleased that they are giving us options by letting us pay for them but getting rid of the mystery meat at 30,000 feet.

O'BRIEN: Yes, because meals is the next thing on your list, in fact. There was a time when you got meals on the airplane. Then they yanked that so then you got nothing on the airplane. Now it's kind of come back on some airlines in a certain way.

MOTAMED: For example, on Delta Song, you can get actually low carb meals, you can get organic meals, even -- you know, healthy options. Well, I got a cheese plate, so that was not healthy. But what was great about it was that I got to choose. And you know, if I didn't get chance to run in the concourse and wait in that long line at the Starbucks to get a danish, this was something healthy I could have on the plane.

O'BRIEN: What -- the cost, though -- I mean, is it comparable with what you would get if you did wait in that long line on the concorde?

MOTAMED: It's absolutely comparable. It's anywhere between $3 to $10 which is really, basically, what you would pay for a lunch in the airport.

O'BRIEN: Also on your list is in-flight entertainment. So, you always had to charge for headphones.

MOTAMED: The headsets, they're still charging you for right now, but they're look at this as a really good revenue source. So, American Airlines is trying out something that Ted, United's low- budget airline, did which is charging you for $12 for an in-flight entertainment unit, which is basically a movie unit that also shows you music videos, does games and...

O'BRIEN: $12 bucks? That seems a little...

MOTAMED: $12 bucks for 20 movie choices. So, if you're going to have a long flight -- the only downside is there's only a five hour battery life on it.

O'BRIEN: Long flight, you're going to pay the $12 bucks but you're not going to be able to see two entire movies.

And finally, baggage fees. There was a long time when if you were overweight on your baggage, they'd let that slide.

MOTAMED: This is -- they are not letting it slide anymore. They're really cracking down on this, especially with families. I know, Soledad, you've got kids. If you've got the strollers, you've got the skies, this is going to be some serious extra baggage and extra costs, up to $80 for an extra bag and even $25 to $50 for heavier baggage.

O'BRIEN: Wow, you really could end up -- just going through these four items, you could end up spending $200 extra on your ticket.

One quick tip on how to save money, then?

MOTAMED: Know when to go online to look for your fair. If you're going to go online, go on after midnight. That's when flights that haven't been booked, that have been reserved, go back into the pool, that's when you're going to get the best deal.

O'BRIEN: All right. Nilou Motamed, nice to see you. Thank you for the good advice and some depressing news as well about flying. Appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad.

11 minutes now before the hour.

A classic Ford going the way of the Edsel (ph); Andy explains that.

Plus, "The File," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back. Here's Jack again.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It says here, you better have your fun, fun, fun, because daddy's about to take the T-Bird away. That story and a market preview. Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business."

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: That's the thing. They keep discontinuing cars these cars that aren't selling so well, and this is an American classic. It's a little bit too bad.

Let's talk about the market, though, yesterday, kind of a mixed picture. Dow was up. Nasdaq was down. You can see here, and you know, considering everything we've been through this year for investors, kind of a lot of sound and furry signifying nothing, because the indexes are back flat for the year. So everything you've been through, we're just here. That's a tale told by an idiot, by the way.

CAFFERTY: Sound and fury signifying nothing.

SERWER: Yes, so I'm not going to continue that too much.

Lower oil prices and a good report from Intel making futures up this morning. Now let's talk about the T-Bird, because Ford is getting rid of this car sadly again, because you may remember this is the second iteration of the T-Bird.

That's the new T-Bird there, Jack.

CAFFERTY: It's an ugly car.

SERWER: Well, yes, and of course the original T-Bird was introduced in 1954, and there it is. That's a '55 there, V-8. And with that and the Corvette were going head to head, and...

CAFFERTY: 1957 was the last year they made one that looked like that, and it was the last year that T-Bird was a good-looking automobile. This thing, this mess they made...

SERWER: Yes, it started looking clunkier as you get into the '60s and the '70s, and it actually went up to 1997. The peak year was '77 actually, sold 300,000 of them, and they reintroduced it in '01. The first year they sold just tons of them, and it was going for way more than the sticker price, about $30,000. The next year sales fell off the cliff. And one analyst said it was like a Cabbage Patch Doll. It was just very hot, and then got one, that's it. Yes, now they are gone. Ford says they're going to keep the brand on the shelf and maybe reintroduce it 10 years down the road again.

CAFFERTY: They should go back to making that 1957.

SERWER: That was so cool.

CAFFERTY: They reintroduced the Mustang, and they haven't ruined the look of the Mustang. So the guys in the Mustang division know how to do this stuff.

SERWER: And I thought the T-Bird was even cooler than the Corvette back then, I mean, really cool.

CAFFERTY: Well, I don't know if anything's cooler than the Corvette.

SERWER: All right, we'll race them, my T-Bird versus your Corvette.

CAFFERTY: Could be the question of the day some day.

SERWER: Yes, a good one.

CAFFERTY: Time for the "File."

Life's unanswerable questions. Let me try that again -- life's unanswerable questions. How can you be smart enough to run one of the world's premiere aircraft companies and be dumb enough to do this? Boeing's CEO, Harry Stoneciper, a 68-year-old grandfather, got kicked out of his job for having an affair with a woman who worked for him there at Boeing. Now that's pretty dumb. But not as dumb as this. It turns out that Mr. Stonecipher will lose $37.7 million in stock bonuses that he would have collected at the end of this calender year. Now that's really dumb. I hope she's worth it.

Another quantum leap forward here in the Big Apple. New York City is now home to the Integrated Pest Management Control Academy. Translation, we now have a college to study rats. The brand new rodent college is funded by a three-year grant and will teach exterminators, rodent inspectors and city workers how to get rid of rats.

SERWER: You kill them.

CAFFERTY: You now have to go to college in New York to learn to do this. Granted, rats are a big problem in this town. The city's informational 311 line got 7,500 complaints about rats between July and October of last year, but now we have a study college to study them, and that will take care of them.

So you buy a bag of pretzels, sit down and watch a little TV, and you munch away, you pull out of a pretzel from the bag that looks remarkably like the Virgin Mary holding the Baby Jesus. What to do? Ebay to the rescue. And Internet casino that previously bought a partially winning grilled-cheese sandwich that looked like the Virgin Mary now has the pretzel, as well. Antigua-based Golden Palace Casino bought the pretzel with only 30 seconds left before bidding closed Wednesday evening. The winning bid for a pretzel -- $10,600. The original owner of the pretzel, Michelle Naylor (ph), said she only paid three bucks for the bag of pretzels up there in St. Paul, Minnesota, which is her hometown.

Apparently, Virgin Mary pretzels, though, are not worth as much as Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwiches. The Golden Palace paid $28,000 for the grilled-cheese sandwich that looked like the Virgin Mary.

SERWER: What did P.T. Barnum say? I mean, unbelievable.

CAFFERTY: Yes, every minute.

Was it never go broke underestimating the stupidity of the American public.

O'BRIEN: We had mentioned the Golden Palace a couple times now, first for the grilled cheese, now for the pretzel. I think they're like that was the best 10 grand we ever spent.

SERWER: Money well spent.

CAFFERTY: That's a good point.

SERWER: They got the belly, they got the pretzel -- they got everything going on.

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, they're laughing all of the way to the bank.

Thanks, Jack.

O'BRIEN: Top stories are ahead this morning, including the big changes to the SAT. Coming up, we're going to tell you exactly what's new and how parents can help their kids prepare.

Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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