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Deal Struck on Plan to Boost Economy Through Tax Rebates
Aired January 24, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. And stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown. Let's make a deal on tax rebate checks. Ford's deal for workers and what's the deal with Wall Street. Economic questions, Gerri Willis with answers.
COLLINS: A bank in the $7 billion con. It is the largest security scam ever And a five-year-old thumbs here way to school. The story of the tiny hitchhiker today Thursday, January 24th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
New developments this morning affecting your pocket book. That's for sure. Word that an announcement could come today on a plan to jump start the economy. And we're watching Wall Street to see which way the markets are swinging today. Up, up, up. Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange. Susan, good to see you. We're expecting housing numbers to be released any moment now?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're expecting existing home sales out any second right now, Tony. And of course, this has been a very volatile area of the economy. This is really the epicenter where all the problems began. I'm hearing the numbers right now. Can you just repeat that? OK. Existing home sales, the biggest part of the housing market were down 2.2 percent last month. That is probably - 4.89 million is the bulk number. That is a little bit worse than what I had been led to believe just before I got on the floor.
Prices were down 6 percent as well. So continuing pressure there. And that actually of course is compounded by more bad news that we got earlier this morning. We were talking about it earlier this hour or last hour, Tony, with Lamar Holmes, one of the nation's biggest builders reporting a $1.25 billion loss for the quarter. It's the biggest in its 53-year history. Lamar predicting any light at the end of the tunnel. Not in this year anyway. But here's the bright note, the Dow is rallying. We've got some positive after that dramatic rebound late in the session. Yesterday, Tony, one of the traders had a New York rankers jersey that he's hanging by his post. Brian Leech, they're retiring his number 2 number tonight at the garden and they say it's like a hockey game every day here between the Bulls and the Bears, at least for the moment the Bulls are prevailing, Tony.
HARRIS: With plenty of for checking. All right, Susan. Good to see you. Thanks.
LISOVICZ: Quite physical.
COLLINS: Breaking news now. The Associated Press reporting a deal has been struck on a plan to boost the economy through tax rebates. It is a major concern in Capitol Hill. The senate chaplain, in fact, referred to it in a prayer just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARRY BLACK, SENATE CHAPLAIN: Use us to help the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the jobless. Make us your instruments to bring relief to those who live in daily fear of financial calamity. We pray for the members of the senate who feel the hurt of the marginalized and are working for equitable and just legislation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Kathleen Koch is joining us live from the White House. So, Kathleen, what do we know about this potential deal?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have been reporting all morning, Heidi, that a deal was eminent. We just got out of our formal briefing with Press Secretary Dana Perino here at the White House. We peppered her with questions. So, is there a deal, will it be announced today? She said, I'm not ruling anything in or not. It is possible. We've got to let Treasury Secretary Henri Paulson wrapped up his negotiations with leaders on the hill. She said if there was an announcement it could be both from the White House and also from Capitol Hill at the same time. She said basically we're hopeful we'll be able to move near a deal very soon. She said the president is being kept briefed on this constantly.
As a matter of fact, that Paulson was at the White House last night for a social dinner that the White House was holding for senators and their spouses that he and the president talked about the negotiations at that point. Here's what we're hearing from sources on Capitol Hill about the deal that's been reached at this point. That democrats had to give up on their demand that food stamps be increased, that unemployment compensation be extended. Republicans in turn gave up on their insistence that taxpayers only be the ones to receive these tax rebates. That would have left out about 23 million Americans who are working, they pay payroll taxes but they simply don't earn enough to pay income taxes. As to how much the rebates would be for, that is still, we're told, in the state of flux.
The White House wanted $800 for individuals, $1,600 for families. But treasury is crunching the numbers right now because when you add in another 23 million, obviously those numbers have to come down somewhat. Also, there will be tax breaks for businesses. That still is being hashed out. We're hearing they're getting very close.
COLLINS: All right. We know you are watching this very closely for us, Kathleen Koch standing outside the White House for us. Thanks, Kathleen. HARRIS: So, in the headlines this morning, no drug residue, no illegal drugs, and still no cause of movie star Heath Ledger's sudden death. Police say there's no evidence of rolled up $20 bill found in his apartment was used to snort drugs. They also say they found prescription drugs but nothing illegal. Yesterday's autopsy didn't reveal how the actor died. It could take a week or more for toxicology test results. Once, a police source tells us the massage therapist who found Ledger unconscious first called Ledger's friend, actress Mary-Kate Olsen for help. Once the masseuse realized it was an emergency, she called Olsen back and said she was phoning 911. By then, 41 minutes had gone by since the masseuse arrive at the apartment.
And this morning a grand jury is set to consider first degree murder charges against that fugitive marine accused of killing his pregnant comrade. We're expected to hear from the district attorney shortly. Corporal Cesar Laurean is the primary suspect in the murder of Maria Lauterbach. Authorities believe he is on the run in Mexico. Lauterbach's burned body was found buried in Laurean's backyard near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The military is conducting new tests to see if the fetus was born alive and to determine if Laurean is the father.
COLLINS: Search for a serial killer. He could seem just like you, that's according to police in Daytona Beach, Florida. They say the same person who killed a woman earlier this month is responsible for three other killings two years ago. Authorities said the suspect may be deceptively normal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DAVIS, FLA. LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFILER: He may very well be among us in the working. He may, in fact, have a wife or a girlfriend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Authorities say he may also have a volatile temper. $16,000 reward is being offered in the case.
HARRIS: And quickly now to Rob Marciano here. Hi, Rob, in the severe weather center. We've got new pictures for you.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: New pictures of -
HARRIS: ... of snow, highway 5. You were referring to it earlier. Boy, problems for motorists. We're talking about rush hour right now.
MARCIANO: Yes, yes. There are some people that actually cross this area from one side of the mountain to the other to get to L.A., Burbank, what have you, from the San Joaquin valley. And they're snowed in. We did have a shot a little while ago from our affiliate there KTLA that showed trucks, cars just at a halt. Here it is. Just shot a little bit ago. They're not moving. They're done. Until they open up that roadway, which they hope to do later on this morning, it's a slow go.
There have been reports of stranded motorists, police escorting stranded motorists down the mountain. The question I have is, they knew this was coming and, you know, why didn't they shut the road down earlier if they had actually escort stranded motorists. Anyway, that's what's going out there live. New video for you from southern California. Just waking up in California, you know what I'm talking about. You're getting more rain, although it's not quite as heavy as yesterday. It looks like it's tapered off. Here's the grapevine right there. Right there. It looks like, you can see from the pictures that the snow has tapered off.
But there's more snow on the way. This is the 24-hour forecast. And there's going to be a couple of bull's eyes where we'll see ten, 12, maybe as much as 20 inches of snow. This looks like it wants to shift east of the grapevine but nonetheless, the next day we will probably see more snow and the winter storm warnings are still posted from the National Weather Service because of that. And this storm just doesn't want to go away. Here it is, just sitting and spinning. When these sit and spin out there, we have a number of different weather deals to deal with. And one of which could possibly be flooding and mudslides, which I'm happy to say we haven't seen as much as really we could have seen in the last couple of months, considering the burn areas that we saw this past fall. So, keep our fingers crossed and hope that continues to be the case.
HARRIS: Fingers crossed, toes, elbows.
COLLINS: We will looked through that. All right, Rob. Thank you.
Overseas now. Gazans are pouring into Egypt as we speak by the tens of thousands. It is day two of the human tied food and supplies. Our Ben Wedeman is reporting now from the bustling border.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: There are, if anything, more people crossing today into Egypt than there were yesterday. There are more trucks, more donkey carts and more people on the Egyptian side. I was just over there just a few hours ago. It is crammed. You really cannot move your way through the Egyptian part of the city of Rafah. Now, the question at this point is, when are they going to close the border again. American officials apparently have been told by the Egyptian government that it will be closed eventually but there's no clear idea when that's going to happen.
It's rarely officials very unhappy about this situation. Some have said that they are simply ready to wash their hands of Gaza and let Egypt worry about the humanitarian situation here. Let Egypt provide the electricity, the food, and the supplies necessary to keep 1.5 million Gazans alive. One bit of information I just learned today are from local residents is about how this wall, several hundred meters of it, was brought down so dramatically in the middle of the night. What they said was that over a period of weeks, men would come with acetylene torches and cut sections of the wall, leave another part so the whole structure would remain standing and then cut another section. In the final coup d'grace so to speak, they put explosive charges in those sections of the walls and it came coming down dramatically during the night. The sudden fall of the wall apparently was a surprise for the Israelis, for the Egyptians and even the Palestinian government in Ramallah. An embarrassment all around except, of course, for the Hamas movement. I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from the border between Gaza and Egypt.
COLLINS: Over running the border into Egypt to stock up on food and other supplies, we're going to be talking with an international aid official about Gaza's humanitarian crisis. Still ahead in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: In France, shocked. One of history's biggest....
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. In France, shocked, one of the history's biggest frauds. Stay tuned for the $7 billion con.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis is joining us now to talk a little bit more about this economic stimulus plan. Gerri, we have been hearing some word that there is a deal certainly in the works and possibly already agreed to.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, you said it best, it's tentative. We're early stages. We're not done yet. There could be some tweaking. Here are the elements. That the president and democratic members of Congress have come up with a plan to bring us back from the brink of recession. With the stimulus plan that would give Americans $300 for singles, $1200 for couples or families. And it would go to a lot of people.
The Democrats said the president's plan to give this economic stimulus simply to people who pay income taxes wasn't enough. They wanted to extend that pool by as much as 23 million people, giving that money to also to people on fixed income, senior citizens and to those Americans who pay payroll taxes but not income taxes. And for that reason, as you see, we have been talking about folks maybe getting $800 for single, $1600 for families. That number comes down now because so much more money will be going to so many more American families. Again, this is tentative.
We don't know everything. Part of this package, the President wanted business tax cuts, tax cuts for businesses. And that's part of this package. We will be getting more details, I'm sure, as the day unfolds, as the Senate weighs in on this. It will be interesting to see how quickly they can get this through congress, get this done. And of course the expectation here, Heidi, is that folks will take this money and spend it, put it back in the economy, boosting the economy. And the best expectation for how quickly this can be put in place, probably June. Remember the IRS is going to be dealing with tax season and fairly soon. It's going to take them a while to get their gears moving here.
COLLINS: No.
WILLIS: Yes. It doesn't take very long to tax season. Ten weeks to get the checks cut.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, it is very interesting and everybody obviously sort of on the edge of their chairs waiting to hear more about exactly how this will work and how quickly. CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis. Thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: Boy, shell shocked in France. Banking giant Societe Generale revealing today an incredible fraud case. It's not so cute here, more than $7 billion lost and the bank blaming a single trader from Paris now. CNN's senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann. Jim, good to see you. How did this happen?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it's an extraordinary story. The bank says that basically this guy, 30 years old, who worked for the bank since the year 2000 had been in the back room of the bank. That's the place where the controllers sit and watch over the trades that are being made by the people on the front end. He worked there for about five years, until 2005, when he moved out to do some trading himself.
But because he had worked in the back room he knew what the controllers were up to, how they controlled people. And apparently, he got himself into trouble, made a couple of bad trades and kept trying to cover his tracks with increasingly risky trades. And he knew how to avoid the controllers and especially the controllers' timetable, apparently. Apparently, that was critical that he knew when he was going to be controlled and he could finance his books temporarily so that it looked like he wasn't doing anything nefarious. But down the line, they discovered this, and noticed suspicious activity on Friday. Then on Saturday, investigated over the weekend to discover the extent of this fraud which is incredible and made a big dent in Societe Generale's books this year.
HARRIS: Wow. Jim, I'm wondering any recourse for the bank?
BITTERMANN: Well, one of the things that's interesting is the bank first took action itself. It went to the Bank de France which is the regulatory body and explained what was going on. But it didn't go to the police right away. It first cleared out some of the positions that the young trader had taken on and that cost them all that money. Then went to the police and so the police are only just now starting their investigation. And one of the things the chairman told us this morning is that it's quite possible the young man may not even be in the country anymore. Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Jim Bittermann for us. Jim, good to see you. Thank you.
COLLINS: Recession fears. Well, you have questions about how to protect your wallet and CNN's Gerri Willis has those answers. We're going to show you some of the e-mails that have been coming in right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. Let's go ahead and check out the Dow Jones industrial averages. We are down about 13 points resting at 12,258. Who would have think that yesterday we would close to the positive as we did? Almost 300 points. I don't know though. There are actually quite a few people out there who are saying we're going to be very volatile for quite some time to come. Off 200, down 200, up 300, down 300. So, who knows. It has been interesting to watch, to say the least. Plus, we will have more news today, I'm sure on this economic stimulus package coming from the White House. When that deal is reached, if it is today, of course, we will have that for you and the details of it coming up right here on CNN.
HARRIS: OK. Here we go making your wallet recession proof. CNN's Gerri Willis had some tips yesterday but many of you still have questions today. So let's take on some more viewer e-mails. What do you say, Gerri?
WILLIS: Sounds good to me, Tony.
HARRIS: Let's get started here. Debbie from New York writes, "Gerri, I am in the middle of a perfect storm. My savings in the stock market dropped $100,000 and my house has dropped in value, too. I filled out the FAFSA when my son entered college and got absolutely nothing. Now that my stocks have dropped and I have two kids in college, should I still fill out the FAFSA again? What are middle income parents to do, Gerri?"
WILLIS: Wow, that is a big loss.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: I know this is hard to deal with. But to answer your question directly, a resounding yes. Look, the drop in home value won't affect how much money you get but the loss of money in stocks may have an impact. So, here's what you do, you fill out the FAFSA form again and then you call the college's financial aid office and ask for what they call a professional judgment review. Now, this is how a school can make adjustments what kind of financial aid you get and they will probably consider this. So, be sure to bring documents that support any unusual financial circumstances, any loss of income or disability in the family. All those things will allow you to qualify for more aid. If you have two kids in college rather than just one, well, that's a big help, too.
You can check out the expected family contribution calculator at Finaid.org. Plug in how many children you have and your assets and you can get a sense of how much aid you may receive but you could get some more help because of your situation right now.
HARRIS: So, the answer is a resounding yes. That's great. Boy, this is a good question, too. Ricardo is in Florida and he writes, Gerri, "with the recent federal interest rate cuts, is this a good time to refinance my home loan? What things should I take into consideration prior to refinancing, i.e., credit score?
WILLIS: Hey, well you know, bottom line. Listen to this, if you have good credit, you will be a winner. Falling mortgage rates are great for homeowners right now looking to refinance. This is especially true if you face an adjustable rate mortgage reset like so many some people do. But you should know, lenders are getting stricter. Today you will need 20 percent equity in your home and a credit score of about, depending on what kind of loan, 760 to even be considered for the refinance. The terms are all changing. They're making it tougher. I had to tell you, one mortgage broker we talked to said that in the past eight out of ten people who walked through his door would refi. Now it's more like two to three. Can you believe that?
HARRIS: I mean that's the way the markets are tightening. All right. We've been talking about the credit crunch. Another question from Jordan fan954. Gerri, is it a good idea to buy real estate during a recession?
WILLIS: Well, Jordan, it's not about the economy's wealth, it's about your personal wealth. You know, if you're in a position to make the payments and you have a down payment, you may want to start shopping. There are great bargains out there right now. Housing prices have fallen dramatically in some places and you should know, many economists say that prices will fall even more. You may want to wait a few months. It is a good time to start the process of home buying. Now is the time to get the best credit score that you can. Get that number up because you will need to have a great credit score. Investigate markets you're interested in and then start squirreling away that down payment.
HARRIS: Boy, a lot of good questions today.
WILLIS: Yes, really good questions.
HARRIS: Denise from Pennsylvania has a question for you, Gerri. Countrywide Bank has by far the best CD rates than I have seen lately. Is it too risky to open a new account with them given their sub prime lows. They are FDIC-insured. Would I be signing up for a headache?
WILLIS: Hmm, that's a great question.
Look, I understand your concerns but the bottom line is that Countrywide was bought by Bank of America. Since both banks are FDIC insured that means they're backed by the federal government for deposits up to $100,000. You don't have to worry that much. Now, if you still think, wow, I just can't take that kind of risk. Check out other high-yielding CDs at bankrate.com. There are plenty of internet bank offering high interest rates but it's interesting to see that they're offering the most right now.
HARRIS: That's right. That's right. Boy, great questions. Great answers as always. Great advice, Gerri. Give us a preview of what's coming up on the big "Open House" show this weekend. WILLIS: Well, we're recession proofing your savings, everything you need to know now about protecting your money. Join us Saturday morning 9:30 right here on CNN.
HARRIS: Good to see you, Gerri. Have a great day.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Breaking the rules in broken rigs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"JUAN," DRIVER: In order for you to make actual money you can't really be running legally, to be honest with you. I mean, you've got to, you no, you've got to be lying on those logbooks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Truckers putting themselves and you in danger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Top of the hour. Welcome back, everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi, everybody I'm Heidi Collins. I want to let you know that we are watching some severe weather, particularly a lot that is going on in California. A bunch of pictures that we we're getting in earlier today of Interstate 5, Rob Marciano joining us now to talk a little bit more about that. Boy, it's a wintry mix, is saying it lightly.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A story coming up in just a couple of moments, a driver sees her life flash before her eyes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just said I don't want to die like this. This is not how I want to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Man, how she survived to tell her story, straight ahead in the newsroom.
COLLINS: But first, anger this morning after a deadly coalition air strike in Afghanistan. Local officials say nine police and two civilians were killed. It happened during an anti-Taliban operation in central Afghanistan. The officials say villagers protested afterwards. The U.S.-led coalition says it's looking into the report that says several insurgents were killed and captured during the operation.
A suicide bomber kills an Iraqi police chief and two other officers. They were ambushed while inspecting the site of yesterday's massive explosion in Mosul. That blast killed 34 people and wounded 224 others. The U.S. military says the bomber today was wearing an explosives vest under an Iraqi police uniform.
HARRIS: Tens of thousands of Gazans right now pouring into Egypt for a second day. They're stocking up on everything, food, furniture, livestock, you name it. It's described as a carnival atmosphere in the border town of Rafah. This human flow started after Palestinian militants blasted through metal border walls built by Israel.
Israeli and U.S. leaders are calling on Egypt to regain control of that border. They fear terrorists and weapons may be coming into Gaza unchecked. But Egypt is welcoming the Palestinians who are suffering under a recent Israeli blockade. Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman tells CNN the boarder with Gaza will remain open, quote, "as long as this is a humanitarian crisis."
Let's get a better understanding of the human toll. Joining us by phone from Jerusalem Martha Myers of the international agency CARE. She's a country director for the West Bank in Gaza. Martha, good to see you. Good to talk to you. I'm a little confused right now.
I'm getting on one hand we hear of this idea of a carnival atmosphere, and then this idea of this being a humanitarian crisis. I know you're not in -- at the border crossing right now, but your people who are there, how are they describing the scene?
VOICE OF MARTHA MYERS, CARE, WEST BANK AND GAZA: Well, as you've described, Tony, tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Gazans have taken opportunity of the opening of the border to rush into the northern Sinai towns of Rafah and El-Arish and stock up on basic food, clothing, and medical items before returning to the Gaza Strip.
I think for Gazans it is an enormous relief just to be able to get out of Gaza, go shopping in a normal and secure environment and to replenish the depleted resources of their households.
HARRIS: No, I get that. I'm trying to be as clear in describing the situation as we can here. Again, you describe this as the international -- the entire international community agreeing that this is a crisis. Do you see this as a crisis? And we certainly haven't heard the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice use that kind of language. She has warned against a humanitarian crisis.
MYERS: Indeed, Secretary Rice has spoken about her concern of an impending crisis. However, I think that the U.N., CARE International, Oxfam, the World Bank are in agreement that the situation in Gaza is very dire in terms of lack of access to food, water, electricity. Hospitals have severely curtailed the services they provide, food supplies are very, very low.
HARRIS: Well, Martha let me stop you right there, because we are also getting reports that the blockade -- that Israel has eased the blockade and the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert has promised that hospitals will get the supplies that they need and that supplies will not be denied to women and children.
MYERS: We certainly hope that that will be the case. Obviously, we would applaud that. Indeed, the Israelis did soften the closure somewhat on the 22nd of January to allow limited fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip. Of course, that has helped some.
HARRIS: So, Martha, where do we stand right now?
MYERS: Where we stand is that Gaza still lacks enough fuel to run generators for hospitals for more than a few days. Only 50 percent of the needed food entered the Gaza Strip between before Christmas and the present time. Vaccines are at risk as a result of lack of --
HARRIS: Martha, I understand that. A time for other Arab nations to step up and help?
MYERS: I'm not quite sure. In a way the Egyptians have helped. And other Arab nations have been generous in their donations. However, Israel, up to the breach of the border with Egypt, has controlled the ability of anybody to bring food, pipes, cement, fuel into Gaza. They have absolute control over material entering the Gaza Strip.
HARRIS: OK. Martha, let's leave it there for now. Martha Myers of CARE International. Martha, thank you for your time this morning. Appreciate it.
COLLINS: Also in the headlines this morning a military tragedy in Poland. Its defense department now reports 20 members of its Air Force killed in a military transport plane crash. Authorities initially said seven people died.
They were returning from a flight safety conference when the plane went down. Investigators are trying to determine the cause. Back here at home, trying to make ends meet, but at what cost? Some truckers admit they're riding their rigs and themselves past the point of safety. CNN's Chris Lawrence reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just this week one truck pulled into the path of another on a Florida freeway. Right after the sleepy driver let his partner take the wheel. And, on I-75 one trucker's brake problem made him slow down too fast, and two other big rigs smashed into him. Thousands of broken rigs are rolling down America's highways, some with drowsy drivers behind the wheel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to run. You've got to run when you're tired. I mean, you're falling asleep, but -- you got to do.
LAWRENCE: We spoke with an independent trucker we'll call "Juan." He admits he and other drivers forged their logbooks and go well past the point they're supposed to pull over.
JUAN: In order for you to make actual money, you can't really be running legally, to be honest with you. I mean, you've got to be lying on those logbooks, man.
LAWRENCE: Juan says some drivers buy cheap parts at chop shops and instead of buying new tires, get more threads carved into balding ones.
JUAN: When it gets hot, a lot of the tires, man, they blow out on you, man. They blow out on you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've completely swept (ph) through.
LAWRENCE: In California, the highway patrol inspects half a million trucks a year and takes a quarter of them out of service.
CAPT. JEFF GOODWIN, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: We'll stop somebody and find out that out of 10 brake systems, nine of them are out of commission.
LAWRENCE: Drivers like Juan say they do worry about driving bad rigs on little or no sleep. But they've got families at home and barely make ends meet as it is.
JUAN: It's a risk you got to take sometimes, man. I mean, I know at the same time, you're putting not only your life at risk, but other people's life in jeopardy, too. But it's just money gets tight. Money gets tight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Dad's in Iraq, so what's it like at home?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's pretty hard being the man of the house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Pretty hard being the -- give up the title little man, daddy's finally home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Look, short on time and money, Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign looking for more mojo, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Stock prices have taken some wild swings this week. Boy, that's for sure, worse than my golf game. And today, investors have a whole lot to consider from corporate earnings to some key economic reports, including the latest read on the housing market. Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange now to help us figure it all out.
Hi there, Susan.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES) HARRIS: Boy, how's this for a show and tell at school: Dad serving in Iraq, coming home and surprising his kids.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow, wow, wow! This is Washington state. And that's Buddy Thompson, home for good. The students were gathering for an assembly while an anxious Thompson and his wife waited in the principal's office. And as you can see, it was all worth the wait. Pretty happy homecoming surprise.
COLLINS: Very happy.
Want to be a space cowboy? Well, get ready to suit up. But just be sure to bring your checkbook.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee running on a shoestring budget. Will he get tripped up by a short front-loaded primary schedule? CNN national correspondent, John King, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A Baptist church in Tallahassee, Rich Kincl is the pastor. Look closely at that flag. Mike Huckabee has a friend in Florida, a worried friend.
REV. RICH KINCL, HUCKABEE SUPPORTER: If I had a preference, I would stop the clock for Mike Huckabee. If we could stop the clock for six months and not have these primaries, you know, facing him so imminently here, the vast majority of Americans would get to know him.
KING: Kincl met Huckabee 25 years ago, both were pastors in small town Arkansas. This should be reunion week. Florida's 57 Republican delegates are up for grabs Tuesday, and Kincl is both a friend and supporter.
KINCL: His appeals is to the evangelical voter, but it's far beyond that.
KING: But Huckabee has been all but absent from the state since a disappointing second place in South Carolina, Saturday. The former Arkansas governor acknowledges money is more than scarce.
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've never borrowed money, we're not going to borrow money. We operate in the black.
KING: The cash crunch means no major TV ad buys in giant Florida. A few top aides have quit, others are working without pay. Fewer events and no more big campaign plane.
HUCKABEE: Is there some pretty crazy rumors going around that the Huckabee campaign is pulling out of Florida.
KING: Timing has not been Huckabee's friend of late. Former Tennessee senator, Fred Thompson, is now gone from the race, but too late for Huckabee. Thompson's solid support among social conservatives likely cost Huckabee a much-needed win.
HUCKABEE: It would have been helpful if he had done this before. Now if the rest of them will drop out, we'll really be happy.
KING: But Thompson exit does create a new opening. Huckabee is now the only southerner in the Republican field, and a proud Christian conservative. A poor showing here, though, could make it difficult to capitalize.
WHIT AYERS, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: Governor Huckabee has done more with less than any presidential candidate in recent memory. Now, if he comes in third or worse in Florida, it will look like he's on a downward trajectory.
KING: Huckabee supporters still talk of a Florida surprise, but many concede his best hope is for the race to stay jumbled, heading into less expensive and more favorable territory.
KINCL: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas that are coming up. And he is going to be the man in those states. He's going to be a factor in this until the very end. Mike Huckabee can run on a shoestring. And -- financially, and he will. He has great hutspah, great determination.
KING: And the prayers of a friend in Florida.
John King, CNN, Tallahassee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, do we have a showdown for you in the wild, wild West. A week from tomorrow, the candidates face-off in the California debates. The last debates before Super Tuesday. And you can see it only here, January 30th, 31st, on CNN, your home of politics. Need to get you to dot-com for more on the presidential candidates. Their next stomps. Go to cnnpolitics.com. It's your one stop shop for all things political.
COLLINS: Dirty politics online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Continually having friends tell me at church and other places, hey, you know, he's a Muslim, he's a Muslim. I thought, well -- I said I haven't heard that anywhere. Oh, yes, yes, don't you know he's a Muslim?
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: But it's wrong. So are other claims in an anonymous e- mail aimed at Barack Obama. We're keeping them honest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. The team is working on the podcast, as you can see right now. I think what they're going to do today, is maybe pull together the best of the economic news that we have so far. And maybe get you every bit of information that we have on the tentative deal on the economic stimulus package and what it means to you. Make that a part of a podcast. It's available to you when you logon to cnn.com. Go there and what you'll do is you will download the CNN NEWSROOM daily podcast. It is available 24/7, download it on to your iPod today.
COLLINS: Ever really wanted to travel in space? Well, here's your chance. Commercial space flights. CNN's Adrian Finnigan reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADRIAN FINNIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can you imagine this? Floating through space, looking down on planet Earth. Well, these two high-profile supporters of public space flights are taking it beyond imagination. Sir. Richard Branson and Burt Rutan were in New York on Wednesday to unveil a model of what will be known as "Space Ship II." That's the vehicle they hope will be carrying fare-paying passengers on short up and back down junkets, beyond the stratosphere.
Speaking at New York's American Museum of Natural History, they said the project could literally get off the ground later this year. "Space Ship II" would be carried to its upper flight limits by "White Knight II," a huge, four engine jet aircraft. The passenger unit would then be set free to fire rockets that would carry as many as six passengers into space. Two crew members would fly the "Space Ship II," giving all on board about four and half minutes of zero gravity flight time, not to mention that spectacular view of their home planet.
SIR. RICHARD BRANSON, CHAIRMAN, VIRGIN GROUP: The beauty of "White Knight II" and "Space Ship II" is that they can help change the nature of our relationship to space, achieving an era where space accessibility becomes a commercial and scientific norm, rather than an exception.
FINNIGAN: And it's closer than you might think. The powerful "White Knight II" is more than 70 percent complete, they say, and the passenger-carrying "Space ship II" is about 60 percent done.
BURT RUTAN, CEO SCALED COMPOSITES: I believe this program will be a key to the kind of progress that's made in the next decade for orbital flight. And it's just because it's aimed at large volume and it's aimed at doing it in a profitable way.
FINNIGAN: And profitable it should be. Eventually, seats on early flights are selling for $200,000 each. Rutan is also hopeful that it won't be long before the initial sub-orbital jaunts can be extended to longer orbital flights. The pioneering pair say they already have some 200 prospective passengers signed up from 30 countries. And Branson says that two of those seats are reserved for his own elderly parents.
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