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A Check In The Mail?; Watching Wall Street; Democrats' Divide; South Carolina Showdown; Cancer And The Candidates; Heathrow Crash Landing; Man Throws Toddler From Overpass on to Busy Freeway; Another Bush Administration Resignation; New Tensions in Middle East Peace Push; Cyber Thieves

Aired January 18, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Follow our road trip, see interviews with the candidates and hear all about the behind-the-scenes action. The address is cnn.com/am.
Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. That's it for us from South Carolina but I'll see you tonight on the election center --Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins starts right now.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Friday. Yes, Friday, January 18th. Here's what's on the rundown.

President Bush highlighting a plan to pump up the listless economy. Will it mean a check for you?

HARRIS: Election eve in South Carolina and Nevada. Live previews from both states this morning. Will the nomination picture get any clearer?

COLLINS: San Francisco Zoo attack. Court documents offer new indications the victims did taunt a tiger. Mauled while drunk, in the NEWSROOM.

Your check could soon be in the mail. Tax rebates part of plans to put some pep in the economy. We're going to be hearing from President Bush this morning. Meanwhile, Brianna Keilar is at the White House for us today.

And so, Brianna, what will the president talk about today? Are we going to get any money out of this?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know -- here what we know. We know that he's going to be talking about principles of what he thinks a good economic stimulus package will be. We're told it's not specific. So that's going to happen just before noon Eastern Time.

But one of the things we know President Bush won't be pushing for in this economic stimulus plan, that is the longtime White House priority of extending his tax cuts. We heard this from a counselor to the president, Ed Gillespie. He said they were going to push for that but we're going to do it separately.

And today, really, all about the economy for the president. He'll give another statement about the economy this afternoon. And the White House really trying to communicate that they are on top of this. They understand that Americans are feeling the pinch -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, Brianna, what do Democrats think about the president laying out a plan today?

KEILAR: Well, you know, it's interesting. We saw late yesterday a public fissure in what has really been an unusual show of bipartisanship on this issue. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid saying that he's disappointed that President Bush is going to be talking about his plan today. Really what Reid would like to see is a unified approach -- Democrats, Republicans and the White House coming out with a unified plan and presenting that together -- Heidi.

COLLINS: That would be nice if everyone were together on at least one of these issues, wouldn't it?

All right, Brianna Keilar live at the White House for us this morning. Brianna, thanks.

HARRIS: OK. So we're less than 30 minutes from the opening bell on Wall Street. Another brutal sell-off yesterday. Will potential tax rebates put investors in a cheerier mood. Stephanie Elam live from the New York Stock Exchange -- from our bureau.

Stephanie, look you're shaking your head. He's wrong already. Getting started on the wrong foot. Stephanie, great to see you.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

HARRIS: What are your thoughts about this. Certainly another brutal day yesterday. Three hundred points?

ELAM: Oh, let's put this into perspective on just how brutal it was, to use your word. I'm running out of negative words to use to describe the market. I want to be fresh and use my verbs, but it's a lot of negativity because the Dow losing 307 points yesterday.

It pretty much, as far we are in 2008. I know it's not far, but we've already wiped out 8.3 percent of the value. So that takes away the gain that we saw last year. This was the biggest drop in two months as it lost nearly 2.5 percent. The Dow in now at a ten month low. And from its high, down 14.5 percent. So it says that a bear market is looming.

Now NASDAQ off two percent yesterday, also at a ten month low. The S&P really getting spanked. It lost about three percent of its value yesterday. Its biggest drop in two months. But it's now at a 15-month low.

So all of this having to do with Merrill Lynch coming out with their worst quarterly report ever. Then on top of it we got that Philly Fed, which is a regional economic data that we look at. It was also really weak. So all of that factored into the markets and we saw this massive sell-off.

The other issue, Ben Bernanke testifying before Congress. And he really laid it down. Said what needs to happen. He's like, hey, the economy is slowing down. It is not a recession yet. But the economy needs a quick, but temporary, stimulus package. He says this needs to happen right now. So if you're wondering, is that really going to help us? The Fed's been cutting rates. That hasn't done anything.

HARRIS: Yes.

ELAM: Well, for one thing, when the Fed cuts rates, it takes about nine months for that to factor into the economy anyway. Some say it may be even a year. So that takes a little bit longer. If you take a look at a stimulus package here. Look at what happened in 2001 when we saw a similar idea come into the market place. Americans got, if they were single, $300, families were getting $600. Twenty percent to 40 percent of checks were spent within days.

Consumers also held on to about a third of it. And then two- thirds of the rebate entered the economy within two quarters. So this is what Mr. Bernanke is talking about. He's saying, let us go ahead, get people back with cash in their hands and out there spending because, as we know, the consumer drives the economy in this country.

HARRIS: Absolutely. But, you know, the early indications, at least from a poll on "AMERICAN MORNING" just moments ago, most folks are saying, when they get that money in their hot little hand, they're going to pay down debt. But I have to ask you, I'm wondering, all of this talk about a stimulus package. What are the early indicators from Wall Street saying to you? What about the futures market?

ELAM: The futures looking good. Looks like we're poised for a higher open. And there's a few reasons why. IBM also raised its guidance. GE met the street. People like it when these big, huge companies are saying that things look OK. So that's giving a little bit of peace on Wall Street.

Also, they like to see that there is going to be some sort of package that finally, down in Washington, they're on to it and saying something has to be done. That the president's going to speak about it. That this idea of a bipartisan stimulus package could come in here and help out.So right now we're looking for a higher opening. Of course, you know, things can change, as they often have been doing so far this year. By the time we close, it could be a different story.

HARRIS: Absolutely. Wow, OK, there she is "Minding Your Business," in for Ali Velshi this morning and most of the week -- Stephanie Elam.

Stephanie, have a great weekend. Thank you. ELAM: You too. Thanks.

HARRIS: Another reminder. We are going to bring you President Bush's remarks on boosting the economy live in the NEWSROOM. We expect to hear from the president, at about 11:50 a.m. Eastern Time. That's 8:50 for our friend in the West.

COLLINS: South Carolina holds its primary for Democrats one week from tomorrow. The tug of war for African-American votes will likely intensify.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In South Carolina, where nearly half of the Democratic voters are African- American, there's a fierce fight to their support. Polls taken last month suggest there is also a generational divide. Older black voters going for Hillary Clinton, younger voters backing Barack Obama. We went to see for ourselves and found 17-year-old Joseph Davis squarely in Obama's camp.

JOSEPH DAVIS, OBAMA SUPPORTER: We had opportunities and chances and sometimes we blew it. But I feel that, you know, Barack Obama's going to set a trend for more (INAUDIBLE), maybe myself or one of my family members, maybe one day be in the same position.

MALVEAUX: Grandmother Sheryl Mack backs Senator Clinton.

SHERYL MACK, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I see her as my sister and also as a parent. But I also think that she has a broad appeal.

MALVEAUX: Hillary Clinton's appeal, many older African-American tell us, comes from their appreciation of her work in the civil rights movement and her husband, President Bill Clinton's, policies supporting the black community.

SAMUEL ROBINSON, AWENDAW COUNCIL MEMBER: It is true on the one hand because the older people remember. As the Jewish people say, we never forget.

MALVEAUX: Forgetting what the Clintons did, some say, is like betraying an old friend.

KATIE CATALON, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I need to tell them they need to go back 12 years ago to see what that administration did. And because of that administration, that is why they're in colleges and universities today.

MALVEAUX: But some young people, like Joseph, see their elder's message as too cautious.

DAVIS: We don't even know what it is either being told to us. We wasn't there a long time ago. So what the older generation tells us as young kids, is that the blacks can do this. We don't have to pay attention to what our grandmothers, our grandfathers said and we believe that it can happen.

MALVEAUX: And the more people we talked to, the more we discovered older voters also believe it can happen. An African- American can be elected president. The church elders at St. James Presbyterian all talked about their deep affection for Clinton, but are supporting Obama.

CHARLOTTE DUNN, OBAMA SUPPORTER: Some of the struggles that we as black women face, I don't believe she can speak to them.

CAROL SMALLS, OBAMA SUPPORTER: Like these ladies say, a change. Hillary's been in the White House.

MALVEAUX: Some see an Obama win as a civil rights victory after years of personal struggle.

ROBINSON: It's a little more than Obama at this point. It's becoming bigger than him.

MALVEAUX: Is that a good thing?

ROBINSON: It's a very good thing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joining us now live.

Suzanne, one of the big issues, obviously, in South Carolina now, maybe for the rest of this campaign I would imagine, is the economy. What are you hearing from people on the ground about that issue in particular?

MALVEAUX: Heidi, it's the number one issue here. A lot of people are struggling. This is a place where you've got 14 percent who are living below poverty. Twenty percent who are unemployed. And, really, you get a sense here that people really want things to be better. They want better jobs, better education, more money to put in the their pockets. They're quite concerned about their future.

We visited yesterday with a volunteer who was visiting and elderly couple. The woman was bedridden. She needed assistance. The older gentleman needed his mail to be read to him. I mean, these are hard times for a lot of folks here. So they are carefully weighing those kind of economic stimulus packages that we keep hearing about from the various candidates.

But part of it, too, is really a gut feeling that a lot of people have. It's about competing loyalties here and really a struggle for a lot of voters whether or not they're going to go for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. The one thing I am hearing from young and old is that they do believe that Obama at least should get a chance. But, you know, we can't predict these things, as we saw in Iowa and New Hampshire -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, boy, that's for sure. All right. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux for us in Charleston, South Carolina. Thank you, Suzanne.

HARRIS: All right. The showdown in South Carolina, Republicans racing towards tomorrow's big primary. Three candidates each with earlier wins in the presidential contest. CNN's Mary Snow is following one front-runner. She's at an event with Mike Huckabee.

Mary, great to see you. What is Mike Huckabee's closing argument to voters there in South Carolina?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Tony.

And it is about the economy. You know, Suzanne was just talking about generational gaps. Mike Huckabee, just a short while ago, spoke to older residents here in Sun City. This is a residential community for people who are 55 and older. And one theme that was striking a cord with them, and many of the voters I spoke with today, is his idea for a fair tax. He has been touting a plan to abolish income taxes as we know it, replace it with a national sales tax. Here's a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'd like to be the president that nails the going out of business sign on the Internal Revenue Service, ends the IRS and ends the nightmare of trying to fill out tax forms and have a simple consumption tax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now, Tony, Mike Huckabee hasn't come out with an economic stimulus package like some of the other candidates have in recent day, but he has been really touting the fact that he understands the working class. To give you an idea of just how heavily courted these voters are, there's about 12,000 people living in this community. Mitt Romney was here just yesterday. Mike Huckabee asked people here repeatedly to show up and vote. He said he really needs their vote. He wants to win.

And he made the point that since Ronald Reagan, no Republican president has made it to the White House without first winning the primary here in South Carolina. And he is being aggressive about canvassing the state. He plans to make seven stops alone today. And his campaign is saying he's made 33 in three days -- Tony.

HARRIS: Mary Snow with the Huckabee campaign this morning.

Mary, good to see you. Thank you.

And Monday night, South Carolina, the Democrats take part in the congressional black caucus debate. See it live only on CNN. Again, Monday night, 8:00 Eastern, CNN, your home for politics.

COLLINS: Let's take minute to talk to the snowman. That's what we're calming him lately because, you know, we had snow down here in the southeast. It was very exciting for all of us. And I believe the little bird told me it's going to happen again, right?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Cancer and the presidential campaign. They're deadly serious about it in South Carolina. We'll tell you why with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

Horror in Hawaii.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guys that live here called me down to the overpass and they said this guy in scrubs just threw a baby off of the rails.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You just can't believe this story. A toddler tossed into traffic from a bridge. The story next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Health care and the presidential race. Cancer concerns in South Carolina. Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on the campaign trail in Columbia.

So, Sanjay, this is interesting. Why is cancer such an important issue in that state in particular?

DR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

We're at the Lizard's Thicket Restaurant here in Columbia, South Carolina, talking to a lot of people about this issue. You know, it's interesting, as far as cancer, health care generally and cancer specifically, it is on the minds of a lot of people I think for a couple of reasons. One is that -- if you consider the statistics, about one in two men will get cancer at some point in their lifetime, one in three women. And the rates are the highest here in South Carolina, really, of any place in the country.

But more than that, as we've dug down a little bit deeper, we found that the disparities are pretty striking. A couple of examples. If you're an African-American woman diagnosed with breast cancer, you're 60 percent more likely to die as compared to a white woman diagnosed with breast cancer in this particular state. There's also more smoking-related cancer among African-American's as compared to whites. So there's disparities, there's high numbers and it's on the minds of a lot of people -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well because it's such a major public health concern in that state, I imagine there's quite a bit of awareness? I mean are they working really hard to let people know about this?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, there is a lot of awareness. I mean just talking to people around here you get a sense of that. And also there's a sort of underlying theme that there's a lot of ways to prevent a lot of the existing cancers. There's hundreds of thousands of people who die who otherwise shouldn't have with what we already know, without some major breakthrough.

But there's also an interesting ad in the newspaper today that you may have seen or may have heard about. Lance Armstrong. Take a look at this ad. It's pretty remarkable. I don't know if you even recognize him. Take a look at that picture there.

COLLINS: Wow. No, hardly.

GUPTA: But look at the caption next to it there. He says, Lance had cancer on his mind in 1996. Today he still does. Does your candidate? That's the question he's posing. He's reminding people that cancer, as it stands now, the second leading cause of death in this country, and it could become the first unless we do something about it. Full disclosure, I'm on the Live Strong Board. This is something he talk about all the time. This is what he said specifically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE ARMSTRONG, CANCER SURVIVOR: We want to know how the next president is going to fight for us and our loved ones against this dreaded disease. And throughout this campaign, I promise to make it my mission to keep cancer at the forefront.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: Along those lines, Heidi, keep in mind, the National Cancer Institute budget was actually cut. So that actually was going in the wrong direction, while cancer deaths still where they are and could become the leading cause of death in this country.

Also, again, we have a lot of know-how already to prevent cancer deaths, we've just got to apply that and make sure people have access to these issues. That's what a lot of people here are concerned about -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, I imagine they are. What do the candidates want when it comes to cancer?

GUPTA: Well, you know, first of all, so many of the candidates have had a very personal relationship with cancer. I think it's worth pointing out. I mean to talk about Mayor Giuliani, John McCain, their cancers obviously well documented, prostate cancer, melanoma. Senator Fred Thompson, also lymphoma. A lot of people may remember that as well.

But also, if you dig a little bit deeper, you'll find that Barack Obama, for example, his mother died of uterine cancer. Hillary Clinton's mother-in-law, Bill Clinton's mother, died of breast cancer. And John Edwards, his wife has metastatic breast cancer. So there's a lot of personal relationships here.

If you ask about their plans, in no particular order, John McCain, for example, will talk about the fact that we spent too much money on chronic disease. We need to spend more money on prevention. Barack Obama, because he's a former smoker, will talk about the fact that we need to talk more about screening programs. Hillary Clinton wants to increase federal funding towards this. Mike Huckabee wants to increase access to experimental therapies. John Edwards has a national coalition for targeting cancer specifically, increasing funding in that way.

So it's really remarkable that people are talking about it as much as they are and, you know, Lance Armstrong actually had a presidential forum where he talked to a lot of the candidates about this issue. And that's a lot of what they were starting to talk about -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow. All right, well, I didn't know this about South Carolina. It's very interesting. Hopefully we will hear even more about it as we continue on through this process.

Chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, from Columbia, South Carolina. Thank you.

And a reminder, you can catch more of Sanjay on his show "HOUSE CALL" this weekend. "HOUSE CALL" airs Saturday and Sunday mornings, 8:30 Eastern, right here on CNN.

HARRIS: And we're just receiving word here at CNN that the World Bank has decided to close its office in Washington, D.C. The World Bank, we understand, has received a series of bomb threats recently. Not sure if it's specific to the Washington office, but clearly what's happened is, there was a bomb threat most recently last night at the Washington office.

So the officials have decided to clear the offices, to check and decided just to keep those offices closed today and to tell the employees not to show up for work. So the latest news that we have on this is that the World Bank has decided to close its Washington offices. We will, of course, keep an eye on this story for you.

A crash landing at Heathrow. The damaged British Airways jet still on the runway. The latest on why it happened, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Making his mark this week, the economy. Falling stocks, rising prices and fears about the "R" word. It's all taking a toll on your bottom line. Congress and the president working on emergency plans now to pump up the economy and fend off a recession. It could mean more money in your pocket soon. In fact, we're going to be hearing from the president this morning. We'll have his remarks live right here in the NEWSROOM, 11:50 Eastern, 8:50 Pacific.

HARRIS: Crash investigators trying to figure out why a British Airways jumbo jet landed short of the runway. CNN's Phil Black is at Heathrow in London.

Phil, good to see you. Any better idea today of what happened with that jet yesterday?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, Tony. At the moment, Heathrow Airport continues to operate almost normally, with that stricken Boeing 777 sitting just near the end of the southern runway. And the airport tells us that that plane is going to remain there, lying on its belly, until investigators give permission for it to be moved.

Now the British investigative team is going to be receiving some help from a team from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, as well as receiving some technical guidance from the people at Boeing. At the moment, there are lots of theories and speculation about just what happened. Most of them focus on witness accounts that seem to point to a possible power failure. A significant power failure.

Just as this aircraft was on its final approach to land, with just seconds to go, both engines may have died, which then cause a sudden, significant loss in altitude. The plane just creeped over the parameter fence here at Heathrow Airport before slamming down very heavily into the grass just shy of that southern runway. And then it -- the wheels dug in, broke off as the momentum carried the plane forward.

Now that's the theory. But a tip, perhaps, from British Airways, is they do not believe pilot error was to blame here. They have been speaking glowingly about that pilot's actions in getting that plane on the ground.

So, too, has the British prime minister. He was delayed here at the airport. He was due to leave on an official visit to China. He eventually got there. He's now in Beijing where he has spoken about his thoughts on the pilot's actions that day. Let's hear from him now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think it's right to pay tribute to the calmness and professionalism of the British Airways staff. The captain, Peter Burkill, for what he achieved in engineering a landing that protected lives, for the speed of the evacuation, which we saw it firsthand, and for the total professionalism and dedication of the staff. And it's at times like these that you remember that you're in the hands of pilots and staff who do an extraordinary job. And this has been proved yet again by what is a marvelous response in very, very difficult circumstances.

When we arrived at the airport, we knew that there was an incident taking place. The plane had come overhead. And at the same time, of course, we saw the evacuation moving very, very quickly indeed, and that's a tribute to all the staff involved. And I'm very pleased to hear that people are safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: Tony, the airport's operations are in much better shape today. Just 50 cancellations so far, compared to the hundreds that were cancelled or diverted following the incident yesterday -- Tony.

HARRIS: And maybe this is the most glowing tribute, Phil, to the work of the pilot. Is it true that there were a number of passengers on that jet who didn't realize there was really a problem until it was absolutely obvious? Until the chutes were deployed?

BLACK: Yes, indeed. There were some almost amusing stories coming from some of the passengers aboard that flight. There were some 136 onboard. A lot of them say they had no idea that something was actually wrong until the plane came to a halt and, as you say, the chutes were deployed and the crew started directing them to leave in a fairly quick way.

HARRIS: Amazing.

BLACK: They say that they thought it was just a rougher landing than they're used to -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. CNN's Phil Black for us at Heathrow Airport. Phil, appreciate it. Thank you.

Here we are. Here we are. Good Friday. Bottom of the hour. Welcome back. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Want to take you straight to this place. Yes, the opening bell, New York Stock Exchange. We, I don't know, should we just not talk about yesterday? Would that be total denial? I don't know. Things were down considerably. Looks like we ended things at 12,159 yesterday. We are going to be checking on all of these business stories. The economy, really becoming obviously a major issue for everybody in America. So we're talking about it with our financial experts, our business people. And going to hear even more about what the presidential candidates are saying.

HARRIS: And we are going to of course bring you President Bush's remarks on the economy, live in the NEWSROOM. We expect to hear from the president, again, at 11:50 a.m. Eastern Time, 8:50 a.m. Pacific. An emergency economic plan. It could mean more money in your pocket. Advice from a personal finance expert on what you should do now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Financial 9-1-1 trying to rescue the economy from recession. What does it all mean for you and your finances? Terry Savage is a syndicated personal finance columnist with the "Chicago Sun-Times." Her latest book "The Savage Number." How much money do you need to retire? Can I get through tomorrow? She joins us from Chicago.

Terry, great to see you. TERRY SAVAGE, COLUMNIST AND AUTHOR: Good to be with you, Tony.

HARRIS: What is this you're talking about a moment ago to us here? Triple witching day? What are you talking about here?

SAVAGE: Well, you know, I know the market is opening now. And if you are addicted to the stock market or you're a trader, then you know it's going to be a volatile day, not only because of yesterday. And they'll be a rebound, because this is triple witching day action, desperation leads to expiration. But for most people out there who are just worried about balancing your 401(k) account, let me assure you, you should not be going crazy with this ups and downs. You just keep that money flowing in. If you're going to retire 15, 20 years, you need to keep investing.

HARRIS: Well, Terry, lets sort of pars this out a little bit. Would that be the open there? Was it up 91? The Dow up 90 or something? Let me see that number again here -- Dow up 95. The roller coaster ride begins. And you're saying, don't be a Dow watcher.

SAVAGE: Tony, you're going to be around. You're going to be around a long time. Do not think about your retirement money now. Think about the long term when it comes to investment.

HARRIS: God, love your optimism. All right, let's -- you know, Larry King did a big show on this last night. And I want you to hear some of the advice from CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis and then let's talk about it, all right?

SAVAGE: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: You want to make sure that you get enough money in the bank in case you lose your job. You want emergency savings. You want to make sure that you've got a safety net. Maybe even take out a home equity line of credit so that if you do lose your job, you can pay your mortgage for the next two or three months until you get a new one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: What do you think? You know, you're at home. You're listening to a bunch of advice out there. Guide us, it's all yours.

SAVAGE: Well, my friend Gerri always gives good sound advice. And that certainly is. You know, it's an interesting headline this morning. The president's about to speak. Bernanke said to Congress, do something, because monetary policy, luring rates won't do it. So there's now talked about giving people a tax rebate and the implication is, well, they should go out and spend it.

HARRIS: Yes.

SAVAGE: In number one, I think it's great for Washington to acknowledge that taxpayers do a more efficient job of spending their money than government. They should always keep that in mind. And I'm sure some people will need to spend it on their higher heating bills, higher gasoline costs. It will be very welcomed to many people. But the idea, that you have a patriotic duty, if there's a tax rebate to go out and go shopping is very strange.

And my advice along with many other experts would be, oh, no. Don't go out and buy new stuff unless it's food and absolute necessities. Use it to pay down the bills you already have, all of which will be showing up in your mailbox from that Christmas shopping any day now.

HARRIS: So pay down your debt right now is the advice, if you can get a $500, $600 rebate check and don't go blow it on -- pay down a debt.

SAVAGE: Yes. You know, I'm sure someone out there is saying, well, advice like that is going to cause a recession. Look, I'm talking to you as personal finance advice. And it's not your patriotic duty to carry the world and American economy by going shopping. This is going to be an interesting time, it's a much broader based slowdown than we've seen before because it's not just the people that worked in auto and steels like in the past recessions where they would go out of work and then the economy would pick up.

Now, we've got financial services people being laid off, people in the retailing sector and everything that flows out of housing. So this could last a while and you need to plan your finances accordingly. Let me add to Gerri's advice, this is a time where there are still jobs. That even though you're a young executive, you might want to get out and get a weekend job as a waitress, in the evenings, something like that, to store up a little extra cash.

HARRIS: So you think -- are we in a recession now? I mean, that probably doesn't matter technically. It's probably what you feel in terms of your own personal finance, what do you think?

SAVAGE: Yes, well, it's interesting. They never label a recession until they've finished it at least six months, because it's technically two consecutive quarters of declining growth, but it certainly feels like a recession right now. And of course, if it happens to you and your job, that's for sure, is one. And it could happen.

So the watch word is to be smart about your bills, and to, first of all, face up your finances today. So many people are just burying their heads. I don't want to know. I won't think about it. Pile up those bills. Figure out what you owe, make sure you can figure out a way to earn extra money. Pay a little extra on your bills. Get a little extra work, and be careful now, because this is a time when we sort out the people that survive and prosper and those that are going to be struggling. And there are unfortunately too many of those around because too many people have too much debt.

HARRIS: Terry, that's terrific. Terrific advice. Just what we needed this morning. Good to see you. SAVAGE: Thanks, Tony. Remember, we get through all recessions and get better in America. It never is the end.

HARRIS: Exactly. All right, optimism. She ended on an optimistic note. We love that. Terry, great to see you. Thanks.

So the economy sputters. You have questions. Our finance expert Gerri Willis has answers or e-mails just ahead.

And another reminder, we are going to bring you President Bush's remarks on pumping up the economy, live in the NEWSROOM. We expect to hear from the president 11:5 a.m. Eastern Time. Again, that's 8:50 Pacific.

COLLINS: Horrifying story from Hawaii. A man throws a toddler from an overpass on to a busy freeway. The boy was killed. The suspect later arrested. It took all day for police to reach the boy's mother. More now from our Tammy Mori of Honolulu affiliate KHON.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMMY MORI, KHON AFFILIATE (voice-over): The mother found out about her 2-year-old's death just a few hours ago. She ran into her home screaming, why weren't you watching him? Police don't know who was supposed to be watching the boy named Cyrus before he was killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Called me down to the overpass and they said, this guy in scrubs just threw a baby off of the rail.

MORI: The man suspected of throwing Cyrus off of the rail is Matthew Higa who lives upstairs from the 2-year-old. Neighbors had seen him playing with the baby in the past.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the baby sees Matthew he gets all happy and he runs up to Matthew.

MORI: Police say they are still trying to find out how Matthew got his hands on Cyrus. One neighbor saw Matthew Higa...

CHARLIE ORNELLAS, NEIGHBOR: He is sitting down right there. He's a loner-like. He is always by himself smoking cigarettes.

MORI: He also saw the 2-year-old boy across the street from the apartment complex a few hours later.

ORNELLAS: Right there.

MORI: An off-duty officer saw the same thing and picked the toddler up. When he called for backup, a man who claimed to be the mother's boyfriend took the toddler back home. But that's the last time he was seen. And what happened next to the defenseless child cannot be explained.

EDMOND GOUVEIA, NEIGHBOR: I was shocked. Worried. Something like this is happening in my building, I have my family here. MORI: And another shock at this apartment complex was when police arrived to the house again picking up the mother of the baby and the man who police believe is her boyfriend, as people of interest in this case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The suspect was taken to a hospital after being booked. A police spokeswoman didn't know whether the man had a history of mental illness.

HARRIS: New this morning. News of another Bush administration resignation. Sources tell CNN, Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs is stepping down. Burns is the third highest ranking official at the state department and a friend to this program, and the state department point man on Iran's diplomacy. Sources say Burns is returning to the private sector. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to make an official announcement later this morning and we will keep you updated on developments.

COLLINS: Escalating violence. Gaza on lockdown. New tensions putting a revived Middle East peace push in jeopardy. We want to go live now to CNN's Ben Wedeman. He is in Jerusalem this morning. Ben, we're getting word of new air strikes today.

What more can you tell us about that?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears there's been a strike on the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza City, although the Israeli Defense Ministry is not confirming it, but we have reports of at least 60 people injured. One woman dead in this strike. It occurred on a day when normally there isn't anybody in the ministry. It's Friday. Friday, of course, is the weekend in Gaza.

In addition to that, there have been a series of air strikes by Israel in the Gaza Strip. This comes just a few hours after the Israeli Defense Ministry declared that all crossings into Gaza would be sealed. This is in response to this continuous barrage of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. The pressure is mounting on the Israeli government here to do something, whether it's military operations, to tighten the siege of Gaza, so to speak. Something to stop these rockets from being fired into Israel.

It's becoming a real political problem for the government here. And it appears that they're going both ways, using the economic squeezing of Gaza in addition to military action, but so far it doesn't seem to have had much impact. The rockets, we have reports of five being fired from Gaza into Israel just this morning.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Ben Wedeman. We're just looking at some of this video now out of Gaza City there. All right, appreciate the updated report. Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem this morning. Thank you, Ben.

HARRIS: And let's get another check of weather now with Rob Marciano in the severe weather center. Rob, I understand you have something a little special for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Cyber thieves want to use your cell phone to steal your hard earned cash. Veronica De La Cruz has the story coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: What? What? I was waiting for the cue.

COLLINS: It's a lovely song.

HARRIS: So, we're podcasting later today. And you know how this goes. A story that necessarily can't -- because it's an action-packed thrill ride. Three hours with a lot of news. Breaking news. The president is coming up here shortly. So we have a -- like a ton of other stories that we're going to load up the podcast with, including the podcast today will be a lengthy apology from Rob Marciano, who moments ago showed this lovely video of deer in Colorado, and thought to himself, what a wonderful stew.

So, expect that and more in the podcast. Go to cnn.com, download the CNN daily NEWSROOM, available to you 24/7, right there, download it on to your iPod.

COLLINS: There's a new scam out there trying to take away your hard earned cash. Internet correspondent Veronica De La Cruz is joining us with more on this.

So Veronica, what kind of scam is this? And who's at risk?

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello to you, Heidi. You know, first it was land lines, and then we saw e-mail, now we're seeing cell phones. Hundreds of customers from Empire Bank in Missouri received text messages to there cell phones warning them that their accounts had expired. Then they asked them to logon to a Web site, empireservicesonline.net which is a fake Web site.

And when they did, their banking and personal information was captured. Now, the vice president of the bank says that this is a fourth wave of fishing scam targeting customers. Now, you got to watch out, Heidi. They're using your cell phone to send you text messages.

COLLINS: I hate that.

DE LA CRUZ: You got to be careful.

COLLINS: Yes. So what's this new survey that saying that some gadgets are just too hard to use? I don't know -- people are returning them or something because they can't figure it out.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes. I wanting you have to agree, right? They're not all easy to use.

COLLINS: I only know enough to be dangerous with my, you know, Blackberry and things.

DE LA CRUZ: And your video iPod to watch the podcasts, right?

COLLINS: There's that.

DE LA CRUZ: There you go.

COLLINS: Of course.

DE LA CRUZ: Hey, did the winter boots, did they make it yesterday? You know, I'll watch later. I got it right here. So this report, it was published by (INAUDIBLE) technology and...

COLLINS: They busted me. Sorry, go ahead.

DE LA CRUZ: Heidi, it shows that consumer tolerance is limited to 20 minutes. After that, would be users give up. They assume that the product is faulty and then they take it back. They take it back to the store. And overall, the reports are just more than 50 percent of household gadgets are returned to store because they're just too difficult to figure out.

And other parts of the study show nearly two-thirds of respondent said they own gadgets that function and they don't understand and they don't ever use. Now, the least popular gadget in the survey, the complicated remote control. Yes. The remote control, the one for your TV, your DVD player, even your stereo and when it comes to picking up design, six out of ten respondents says that they would pick this simple mobile phone design. They also said that they would pick the easy to use digital camera, just point and click, and that's it.

COLLINS: Point and shoot. Yes. That's everybody wants. Good quality and lots of pixels, right?

DE LA CRUZ: So the winter boots, did they make the podcast? I never got an answer.

COLLINS: I don't know. Did it? Can't remember. This was yesterday. I mean -- all right, (INAUDIBLE) hours ago.

DE LA CRUZ: OK. But I got it right here. I'll go watch.

COLLINS: You take a look and let us know. The judge is reading. Thanks so much, Veronica. And a quick reminder, you can also catch Veronica every weekday on "AMERICAN MORNING." She is still there, 6:00 to 9:00 Eastern. Wave bye, bye.

DE LA CRUZ: Have a great weekend.

COLLINS: You, too.

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, they look alike, they walk alike, and sometimes they even score alike. Twins pursue perfection and reach it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Acing the ACT, a perfect score on the college entrance exam is pretty impressive. Even more amazing when twin brothers do it. Here's Nathan Moore from affiliate KPTM in Omaha.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATHAN MOORE, KPTM AFFILIATE (voice-over): They look the same, they take the same classes and both achieved something that only one in 4,000 students accomplished. Identical twin brothers Brian and Ross Devol earned a flawless score of 36 on the ACT.

BRIAN DEVOL, PERFECT ACT SCORE: I always thought about it but never thought it would really happen. So it's just pretty exciting and it also means you'll be likely to get into colleges and get scholarship and stuff like that.

ROSS DEVOL, PERFECT ACT SCORE: And mostly, I was excited because he got it first. So I had to get, but -- hopefully, you know, (INAUDIBLE) lot of scholarships and go to college (INAUDIBLE).

MOORE: Brian scored perfect the first time. Ross achieved perfection on his third try. The Bellevue E seniors admit they're competitive when it comes to school, they have the same grade point average and either could end up with the top spot in their class.

B. DEVOL: I think it definitely does. It makes us picture of keep staying on our toes to stay on the top.

R. DEVOL: I'm not sure I would try this hard if I aren't competing for somebody for the valedictorian position. But then I might get few Bs here and there but so far it's still all As.

MOORE: School leaders have noted their success.

BRIAN STUEVE, PRINCIPAL: I really wasn't that shocked with the B in those two young men, because I've known them since they were in seventh grade. I was a teacher there in their middle school. And it really wasn't that surprising to me that those two men achieved what they did.

MOORE: The twins say not everything they do is the same. The two belong to different school clubs and are considering different colleges and also make different choices when it comes to their free time.

R. DEVOL: I do more band stuff than he does, but I think he's little better at video games.

MOORE: While the rivals at school; it's obvious they still spend plenty of time together. What is his favorite number?

B. DEVOL: Nine.

R. DEVOL: No. It's four.

MOORE: And what is his favorite number?

R. DEVOL: I don't know, I guess six.

B. DEVOL: Actually, it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: One of the boys wants to be a doctor, the other wants to go into business.

HARRIS: You know, a little more jingle in your pocket could go a long way. President Bush thinks about tax rebates to punch up the economy. Here's the question -- how much?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Chess legend Bobby Fischer is dead. Fischer died yesterday in Reykjavik, Iceland. The site of his 1972 Cold War era showdown with Soviet chess champion Boris Spassky.

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