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America's Foreclosure Crisis; Fatal Amtrak Crash in Rhode Island
Aired March 13, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: It's a very bad week to be buying gas, and today makes the third day in a row the average price of regular unleaded has hit a record, the latest, $3.26 a gallon.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there are no new home foreclosure records, but today we learned the February rate was 60 percent higher than a year ago. It was down just a hair, just a hair, from January.
KEILAR: But get a load of that Dow, this uptick all the more impressive considering that there was a triple-digit plunge at the opening bell. Developments we have that affect your bottom line.
LEMON: There was an uptick, though, a couple of days ago and then all of a sudden, there was no uptick.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: That's right. Cross your fingers, right? That's right.
Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar, in today for Kyra Phillips at CNN Center in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson today unveiled a series of proposals today to restore faith in the mortgage business. They include stronger government oversight of mortgage brokers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULSON, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We are encouraging financial institutions to continue to strengthen balance sheets by raising capital and revisiting dividend policies. We need these institutions to continue to lend and facilitate economic growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: CNN's personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, has more on that and she joins us now from New York.
And, Gerri, I started out by saying restore faith in the mortgage business. That's going to be tough to do. What are the main points of this? GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: OK. Well, this is a really extensive plan, Don. It starts with calling for stronger state and federal oversight of mortgage lenders. And it includes pressuring major banks to increase their liquidity, meaning the cash that they have on hand, going so far as to cut dividends.
They really want those banks to be strong, to be able to operate with confidence in the marketplace. Finally, greater due diligence for credit rating agencies. These are the folks who put the credit ratings on some of this collateralized mortgage obligation debt, the stuff that Wall Street was selling to investors all over the globe that contained mortgages. They want those credit rating agencies to do serious due diligence of these investments.
LEMON: All right, so, then, Gerri, what is the upshot, then, for consumers?
WILLIS: Well, the announcement today really goes to the safety and soundness of banks. Is the system working? Is it working well for bankers?
And I have to tell you, the consumer regulations there, not a ton. One provision which is establishing a national registry for mortgage brokers, having them, you know, licensed, having information at the government about these mortgage brokers, that's in there, and that's something that will be consumer friendly.
But I think consumer advocates out there are going to be a little disappointed by that, certainly given the foreclosure numbers we saw for February, just came out today, up 60 percent for the month. That's not encouraging about the other kinds of proposals we have had out there already.
So, I think there's going to be a lot of concern that we're still not getting the help to people that people need -- Don.
LEMON: Yes, and, Gerri, we have watching. You have been doing these wonderful shows on financial security watch, really great information. And it's timely because people really need the information right now. Tell us what's going on next week. We're talking about issue number one.
WILLIS: That's right. We're talking about issue number one. It's the economy for Americans. From our polling and from the polling you see all over the place, that's what consumers are most interested in, even voters. We will be answering your e-mail.
This is all week next week in the noon hour. We are going to have live coverage of the economy, telling you all about your credit, your debt, your home, your mortgage, your jobs, another thing to worry about. All of those issues, we will be talking about all next week -- Don.
LEMON: All next week, at noon Eastern, correct?
WILLIS: That's correct. LEMON: One hour right before --
WILLIS: Join us.
LEMON: Right before the CNN NEWSROOM.
Gerri Willis, we appreciate it.
And of course you know Gerri Willis will have much, much more on the mortgage crisis and more next week. The economy, it is issue number one. Tune in at noon. That's starting on Monday.
KEILAR: Many of us are still having trouble hanging on to our houses. A new report says 223,000 U.S. homes were hit with foreclosure filings during February, that number a little lower than in January, but still 60 percent higher than in February of last year, 2007.
And CNN's Rusty Dornin looks behind those numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is where it ends.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheriff's Department.
DORNIN: Police executing an eviction order for homeowners who can't make their loan payments. It's happening in every city across the country as millions of Americans lose their homes to foreclosure.
Nessia Jones of Atlanta went to legal aid for help, fearing she may be next.
(on-camera): If this doesn't work and you lose this house, what's next?
NESSIA JONES, HOMEOWNER: We will be outside. We have nowhere to go.
DORNIN (voice-over): She remembers the day she moved into her home 26 years ago.
JONES: We were happy. We were finally going to have something of our own.
DORNIN: Those were brighter days. Now Jones cares for her 32- year- old disabled daughter. They live on $1,250 a month in Social Security disability.
JONES: Chelsea!
DORNIN: In October of 2006, a mortgage company offered her refinancing through two new adjustable loans. She needed the money. Now she's paying for it.
(on-camera): About how much altogether did your payments go up as a result of this refinance?
JONES: About $400, $500 almost.
DORNIN (voice-over): According to Jones and her attorney, Karen Brown, the mortgage broker falsified Jones' income on the loan papers.
KAREN BROWN, JONES' ATTORNEY: On one page, the loan application said that Ms. Jones wasn't working. On another page, it said she's getting monthly employment income of $3,950 a month. You can't get employment income if you're not working.
DORNIN: There were other discrepancies as well, and the broker's license has since been revoked. Only Jones didn't discover her payments went up until last February.
(on-camera): So you weren't able to pay these payments as soon as they occurred?
JONES: No. Because I had had to get help from my church the second and third month, and from there on I haven't been able to pay the second mortgage.
DORNIN (voice-over): Frightened she would lose her home, that's when she called Legal Aid. Her attorney says nearly every single case that comes to them is exactly like Nessia Jones.
BROWN: They're devastated. They're desperate. They don't want to lose their homes. they have been living in them for 30, 40 years. And they come to us asking for whatever we can do to try to help them. And we do the best we can.
DORNIN: Jones' case was used as an example in a recent press conference by Georgia legislators open the mortgage tries here.
VINCENT FORT, GEORGIA STATE SENATE: This is the greatest foreclosure crisis, mortgage crisis, since the 1930s. It's unprecedented in the history of this country for the last 70 years.
DORNIN (on-camera): Georgia has the fastest foreclosure rate in the country, just 37 days. And look at this 7,000 foreclosures scheduled for the Metro Atlanta area for the month of February. That's the highest rate ever.
(voice-over): Statistics that become the faces of people like merchandise Nessia Jones. The bank rejected one settlement offer by Legal Aid, and Jones' house is in legal limbo. In the meantime, unable to pay the heating bills, she bundles up, the house falling into disrepair.
(on-camera): You're hoping to hold onto this house as long as you can.
JONES: I'm going to fight going down. I'm not giving up. I can't.
DORNIN: Millions of homeowners fighting like Jones in a crisis economists say every American will pay for, even if their homes are safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And Rusty Dornin joining us now here at the CNN Center.
And you could see those eviction teams going in, but I saw behind you in your stand-up, a motorcycle. What kind of things are they finding here?
DORNIN: Well, the interesting thing is, these guys are saying that, sometimes, when they go in there, it's not people like Nessia Jones, that have been in their house for 26 years, that, many times, they find that people have a big screen TV and these motorcycles, and they just leave them behind, even though their house is being foreclosed on.
They are so deep in debt at this point that they are willing to leave everything behind. And he did tell me that he had two occasions, one of the guys told me, where people have committed suicide twice in the last year in the Atlanta area when the teams have gone to kick these people out of their houses, that it's just so overwhelming to them, they end up going upstairs and committing suicide.
KEILAR: No doubt. It is a very stressful situation. It's such a problem right here in Atlanta, as you mentioned, a 37-day foreclosure rate. What's being done in this area to sort of slow this down?
DORNIN: Well, there's two bills that are going through the Georgia legislature right now, and one of them is when homeowners are being foreclosed on here, they get a letter 15 days in advance. That's all.
And then your house goes to auction. Well, now they're trying to stretch that out to 30. The other thing is, when people are being foreclosed on, they don't know what to do. They don't know who to go to.
And, often, there are these third parties that actually have your mortgage. It's very difficult to even find out who holds your mortgage on some of these deals. So now they are saying that there has to be clear notification of who holds the mortgage, so that, if you're being notified that your house is being foreclosed on, you can say, hey, wait a minute, let's try to negotiate this.
KEILAR: Yes. It can get very confusing, no doubt.
Rusty Dornin, very interesting story. Thank you.
LEMON: Gosh, committing suicide, that's terrible.
All right, she's young. She is pretty. And she wants to be famous. Is this the face of a governor's fateful fling?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: All right, developing news in to the CNN NEWSROOM. And this is a horrific story.
Fred -- Fredricka Whitfield is covering this story for us.
Fred, I understand there may be one death in all of this?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. There was a train accident in Providence, Rhode Island, and apparently this Amtrak Acela train somehow collided into three workers there in Rhode Island, in Providence, and, consequently, one person has reportedly died.
You are looking at some of the newest images that we're getting in now from WCVB. It's kind of difficult to discern what I'm looking at right now, but when we get a better idea -- I'm not seeing the actual train accident in that video. So, sorry about that.
But what we're learning is that this Acela train at about 1:30 p.m. near the West River and Charles streets actually had this impact with these three workers. One, as I mentioned, has died. We don't know exactly the condition of the other two people and how this collision even took place in the first place. But when we get any more information, we will be able to bring that to you.
LEMON: OK, Fred. And if you look at that video, they were trying to, yes, focus in on the train there.
WHITFIELD: Now we see it a little bit more clearly, yes. Alongside the gridlocked traffic that we were seeing earlier, in that view, was these railroads -- railroads right here along that interstate. And you can see the Acela train.
But you're not seeing exactly, you know, what took place in terms of the impact between the three people and that train. We don't know what kind of work they were doing, either. But that's the result of a terrible collision there in Providence, Rhode Island.
LEMON: Yes, and these images of coming to us, Fredricka -- and we really appreciate it -- our affiliate there, WCVB, which is actually in Boston.
Fred is on top of this story. As soon as you get more info, will you give it to you?
WHITFIELD: Certainly will.
LEMON: Thanks, Fred.
KEILAR: The name on the MySpace page, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, but according to "The New York Times," she's the high-dollar call girl advertised as Kristen and paid thousands of dollars by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Now, we have not been able to independently confirm the identification for ourselves. As you know, these are the final days of Spitzer's governorship. He resigned yesterday. He will leave office Monday. And this scandal, it is not only about crime and sex and money. There's also a family dynamic, and the state of New York is today dealing with a major change in leadership.
Now, a couple close to this Ashley/Kristen have emerged, people who live near her, and one man with a more personal interest, her brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYLE YOUMANS, BROTHER OF KRISTEN: Just hectic. I can't really comment on it. Sticking by my sister through everything. She's going to be fine. Everything that's said is, you know, just talk. She's a great woman, an independent woman, and she will make it through. She will be fine.
ALINA, NEIGHBOR OF KRISTEN: Stunned because I never thought that she would be like that. And I'm -- I don't know -- just shocked. I would have never expected it. And I have never seen anyone like come into her room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Again, so far, only "The New York Times" has put a name and a face to this side of the governor's prostitution scandal. At this point, though, we are working our sources to confirm it independently.
LEMON: And the man who will take over for Eliot Spitzer, 53- year-old David Paterson, speaking out for the first time today in Albany, talking about the scandal just a little bit, but mostly in that part talking about the family and how sorry he is for Spitzer, his immediately family and also Spitzer's parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR DAVID PATERSON (D), NEW YORK: This has been a very sad few days in the history of New York. And, for me, it's been sadder. My heart goes out to Eliot Spitzer, his wife, Silda, his three daughters, his parents. I know them all. They're friends of mine. Last summer, his parents actually had my wife, Michelle, and I up to lunch one day. And we used to call them our other family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Fifty-three-year-old David Paterson will be the first African-American governor of New York state. He is also legally blind.
KEILAR: Hate crime or patriotism? We will tell you why these protesters are so upset.
LEMON: And the markets are holding steady, so far, today. At least they're in positive territory. We are going to check in with our Stephanie Elam at the New York Stock Exchange.
You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: Do you know what a gecko is? Of course you do, right? It's that creature that pitches car insurance on TV. It is.
Yes, but, you know, it's also a big inspiration for medical researchers.
And Miles O'Brien is telling us all about it in today's "Next Big Thing."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Leaping lizards, geckos are nature's ultimate gravity defiers. They walk straight up walls, hang from ceilings with a single foot, and generally ignore Newton's laws, by a hair.
JEFF KARP, HARVARD-MIT PROFESSOR: They have hundreds of thousands of hairs on the surface of their feet.
O'BRIEN: All that microscopic hair, 100 times thinner than what's on your head, greatly increases the surface area of a gecko's grip. That's got a lot of scientists thinking. For instance?
ROBERT LANGER, MIT PROFESSOR: Right now, a lot of medical adhesives just aren't strong enough to hold sutures together in a whole range of different situations.
O'BRIEN: These days, surgeons often use a medical version of crazy glue, but it's hard to work with and doesn't sit well with our bodies. These scientists here at MIT are developing an uber-Band-Aid with tiny hairs inspired by the gecko. The goal? A much easier way to patch up tissue and organs.
KARP: Our surgical collaborators think that this may even replace sutures one day.
O'BRIEN: The idea is still in the lab and won't be in hospitals and doctors' office for two to five years. In the meantime, other researchers are enamored with gecko toes because they unstick easily as well. Some are cooking up ideas for a robot that could scale a building. Step aside, Spider-Man. That odd insurance spokes-lizard apparently has superhero powers.
Miles O'Brien, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: One person is dead, several others injured in an Amtrak train crash. Service on that line is shut down -- new information coming up from the NEWSROOM with Fredricka Whitfield.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right. Breaking news in to the CNN NEWSROOM.
Our Fredricka Whitfield is on top of this story -- Fred, last we heard, one person was killed in all of this. You've got some new information for us.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
In Providence, Rhode Island, an Amtrak Acela train somehow collided into three workers in that area. All of this taking place near the West River in Charles Street, a pretty busy area. And you'll see in some of these images how when they pull out, right alongside this railroad is pretty heavy traffic.
It's still unclear exactly what happened or why. But hopefully to help clarify some of the details Cliff Coles is with Amtrak is on the line with us now.
And so, Mr. Coles, how did it happen?
CLIFF COLES, AMTRAK SPOKESMAN: Well, we still don't know. It's still under investigation and it's way too early to say exactly what occurred other than some of the details that you just provided to your viewers that the incident did occur at 1:15 this afternoon and that there were three persons struck by our northbound Acela train.
WHITFIELD: And three workers, is that correct? Were they working on the tracks? Were they simply in the area -- what?
COLES: Well, all we know now is that the persons struck -- two of them were Amtrak employees. One of them was a contractor. And we do know that they were inspecting the tracks in the area at that time. We don't know anything more than that. And one person was fatally injured and two others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
WHITFIELD: And what do you know about the conditions of the other two?
COLES: We just know that the injuries were described as serious and they're being treated at the hospital. We don't know anything else besides that.
WHITFIELD: OK. And what about the passengers on this train or at the time was it an empty train?
COLES: No, the train was -- it had 162 passengers on it. It still does. They're still waiting for the train to be released. Thankfully, the passengers and the six Amtrak employees on board the train were not injured at the time. WHITFIELD: A pretty congested area, just looking at the aerial view of the train tracks and the scene of the accident.
Is there anything more you can tell us about the kind of work that may have been being conducted at the time and what kind of sound- offs, alarms, horns any of that that may have been going off just prior to the impact?
COLES: No, because, you know, we're actually still trying to find out -- you know, we know that the persons were in there inspecting the tracks. We don't know what the reason was for that. But that's all part of the investigation.
And it is, as you said, it's a congested area and there's a lot of train traffic going through that spot. But it's all part of the investigation. And they're trying to sort that out at this point, because this is just fresh and it just happened.
WHITFIELD: All right.
Cliff Coles, Amtrak spokesperson. Thank you so much.
All right. Don, so once again, just to recap, 162 passengers on board that Acela train. And at the time of the impact between this train and three workers there on the ground right -- there on the railroad. It's still unclear exactly what happened, but in the end, one fatality, two others -- two of the workers who have been taken to the hospital and their injuries being looked after.
More when we get it.
LEMON: And we see the -- in the video we see that. I think that's workers on the track and rescuers and it's not the people from the train. They're -- I think your person in your phone -- on your beeper -- or your phoner -- said they're going to hold these people until the train is cleared, right?
They're not going to take them off to another train?
WHITFIELD: That's right.
LEMON: OK.
All right, Fredricka Whitfield in the NEWSROOM. Thank you very much for that new information.
Let's talk some politics now. Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro stands by her comments that Barack Obama is where he is today -- a possible presidential nominee -- because he is an African-American. She's resigned as a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, but she is not backing down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERALDINE FERRARO (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: But let me just say to you this, that if, indeed, if there is -- I personally think that this is the last time that the Obama campaign is going to be able to play this type of a race card, because I think that's what it is. I really do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're saying they're playing the race card, not the Hillary campaign?
FERRARO: Absolutely. And tell you, I'm -- if anybody is going to apologize, they should apologize to me for calling me a racist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Earlier in the NEWSROOM, our political roundtable talked with me about Ferraro's firestorm. Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez, CNN contributor Roland Martin and Carol Jenkins, president of the Women's Media Center.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: They did not call her a racist. Did they take offense to her race-based language? Absolutely.
When you make a point to say that, well, you know, he's gotten here because of, largely, he's black, the bottom line is -- then she says that, you know, she was chosen because she's a woman. Remember, she was chosen for the V.P. nomination. He raised money. He went to the -- went through the snow and the ice in Iowa and New Hampshire, the bad of South Carolina.
LEMON: And Roland...
MARTIN: The voters have decided...
LEMON: Roland, I don't think...
MARTIN: ...not the politicians.
LEMON: I don't think anyone is disputing that. And she's even, saying -- she's even saying you know what, if I wasn't a woman, I wouldn't have been picked. That's what she's saying -- as a vice presidential nominee.
So, Leslie, the whole question is this -- what can you say now? Is this being taken out of context? I mean, you know, Geraldine Ferraro a racist...
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, it's...
LEMON: ...come on. That's what people are saying.
SANCHEZ: No, I don't think that's it. I think there are some main points. One, she continues to show insensitivity on this issue. That's why people see this and have a backlash. And this is an old Democratic stunt. Anybody who's been in campaigns longer than five minutes would know that you send a surrogate out there...
MARTIN: Right.
SANCHEZ: ...to say something that underlines -- you know, there's a veil of truth in that and they let it go. You and I -- we're all talking about it today. And then they'll let it settle down.
But the issue is, for somebody who has benefited from the politics of gender, it's sad to see her to try to use the politics of race...
LEMON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: ...and undermine this candidacy.
The bigger problem with the Democrats is they continue to care more about what you are rather than who you are...
LEMON: And, Carol...
SANCHEZ: ...and that's the biggest challenge.
LEMON: Carol Jenkins, president of Women's Media Center, I'm sure you've got some reaction to this. Do you think that this is being taken out of context? I mean, obviously, I think you know Geraldine Ferraro, I'm sure.
CAROL JENKINS, PRESIDENT, WOMEN'S MEDIA CENTER: Yes, I covered the classic 1984 race when she was running for vice president. And I think the one thing you have to understand is that Hillary Clinton probably could not fire Geraldine Ferraro. First of all, she wasn't really hired, you know.
LEMON: Right.
JENKINS: So Geraldine, you know, did the right thing and she resigned. She knew that these statements had gone too far. But you very rightly, as part of the right part of the media, put this statement into context. And how this whole thing started was that she was really talking about herself.
LEMON: Hey, Carol...
JENKINS: Yes?
LEMON: I hate to cut you off, but I want you to respond to this. Let's play -- she's talking about, actually, the context and how it started.
JENKINS: Right.
LEMON: And then Carol, I'll let -- we'll talk about it once we've heard it.
JENKINS: OK. Great.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FERRARO: That is not what I said. What I did was I was talking about the historic campaign.
Why is his a historic campaign? Is it because he's the senator from Illinois? I don't think so. The problem is I was talking to an audience about politics. It was a paid speech -- 350 people. I didn't even give an interview. And some reporter took up my response to a question and reported it.
I'm assuming that what they said -- was they said was what I said. That's OK. But Ann, that was (INAUDIBLE). What the Obama campaign does is, I'm sure they do a search, as my campaign did, for every piece of newspaper print that's out with the name. I think they took it. I think...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You think the Obama campaign released this information?
FERRARO: Oh, I -- who else would put it into the national press? Who else?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're saying when...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, guys.
Hey, we're running out of time. Quick answers. Go back -- I want to go back to you, Carol.
JENKINS: So, I do want to say this, that I think that both campaigns are playing with fire. In the last few days, we have crossed a line that I don't think we can really easily draw back from. And it has more to do than who wins the nomination of the Democratic Party. I mean they may, in the end, just say OK, we were only kidding and let's work together.
LEMON: Right.
JENKINS: But the engendered feelings...
MARTIN: Don...
JENKINS: ...have -- are just awful in the communities that we talk to.
LEMON: Hang on Roland. Leslie, get in here.
MARTIN: Don --
SANCHEZ: Yes, I think she's exactly right. This is a tactic that Democrats have traditionally used against Republicans, especially when it comes to race, and now they're using it internally. And that's going to be the biggest challenge in trying to unify this party in the summer and then the fall.
LEMON: OK. Roland, I'll give you the last word.
MARTIN: Don --
LEMON: Go ahead. Answer.
MARTIN: On my Essence.com blog, I have a time line. She made that exact statement to John Gibson on his radio show before she gave that speech, then she gave the speech, then it was in the newspaper. And so she cannot say that, oh, I was talking about the historic nature. No.
She made the comment before the speech. It's on the record. It's online and she knows the truth.
LEMON: Yes.
MARTIN: And that's the fact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Ferraro was Walter Mondale's running mate in 1984 -- the first woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket.
KEILAR: Cuban soccer players in Florida for some pre-Olympics matches. Now the roster is a few footballers short. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Five soccer players, all from Cuba, have swapped their Olympic dreams for American dreams. CNN has confirmed that the five young men have defected. That's while the national soccer team was in Tampa, Florida for Olympic qualifying matches. Under U.S. law, Cubans can be granted political protection under the law in the United States if they make it to dry land.
KEILAR: We live in a worldwide economy and the mortgage crisis, rising oil prices and the decline of the U.S. dollar are casting a wide shadow. We're getting reports in from CNN correspondents all over the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Shasta Darlington in Havana.
The global economic crisis just isn't having much echo on the streets here in Cuba. Even though we're just 90 miles off the coast of Florida, the U.S. economic embargo has made the island largely immune to the meltdown next door.
That doesn't mean the prices of gas aren't high, but very few Cubans have cars and they're worrying about their own financial problems, that include a state salary that averages about $15 a month -- which means that the price of gold is just about the last thing on their minds.
NKEPILE MABUSE, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: The weak dollar and the sliding U.S. stocks will affect this country, but that is not what ordinary South Africans are worried about. Electricity shortages, high food and fuel prices are the main concerns here. And as a result of the inadequate power supply, this country, the second biggest gold producer in the world, is unable to fully benefit from the high gold prices.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And we'll have more international reaction from some of our other correspondents later in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Well, with the dollar falling and oil prices soaring with continuing crisis in the credit markets, we went downstairs here in the CNN NEWSROOM to get a flavor of what people are talking about when it comes to this economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So, listen, you heard about the -- you know about the economy. You know it's not so good. Food is higher. Gas is higher.
Are you cutting back on anything?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Food. I have to have gas to get to work.
LEMON: You're cutting back on food so that you can have gas?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I used to go out to eat every day. Now I -- I have to economize. I drive an hour.
LEMON: You don't like these gas prices?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're terrible. They're terrible. I lost sleep over these gas prices.
LEMON: Are you having to cut back on other things to afford gas?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course.
LEMON: Like what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like eating out and stuff like that.
LEMON: People are having to either, you know, decide between food and gas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, indeed. We're fixing to have to stay home and quit traveling because the gas is getting so high. We have a motor home and we use diesel in it and it's getting out -- out of our reach.
LEMON: Are you doing anything to watch your money in this economy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you've got to cut back a little bit everywhere. I mean you just have to be more -- more conscious of how you're spending your money, because the little things do add up. You know, just the other day I was just telling somebody, everybody is watching the price of gas.
Nobody is talking about the price of a gallon of milk. I've got two kids. You know, a gallon of milk was almost five dollars. And so you don't hear from people complaining about a gallon of milk. But you know, it's going up just as -- just like the price of gas is.
LEMON: You've got a family?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.
LEMON: Are you having to -- are you having to conserve? Are you watching one thing to pay for another? What are you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. Yes. We're cutting back on everything. The -- we cut coupons, look for specials in the grocery store, only drive when I absolutely have to with them. I have four kids so.
LEMON: The worst you've seen it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. Well, yes, it is the worst.
LEMON: Why do you say that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I've never in my life seen the gas prices as high as they or the economy as bad as it is, ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The economy, issue number one with people here in Atlanta -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Gold trading at a record price. But who owns it all, you? Not me. We'll find out.
LEMON: Hate crimes or patriotism -- we'll tell you why these protesters are so upset.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Time now to check what videos are clicking on CNN.com.
A 16-year-old girl from Mexico was found padlocked -- in a padlocked room of a Texas home. She tells police she was smuggled into the country two months ago and forced to have sex with men for money. A mother and a son have been arrested.
More than 700 little dogs -- can you imagine -- most Chihuahuas and Terriers -- rescued from a trailer home. This outside of Tucson, Arizona. The owners were breeders who told police they knew they couldn't keep living like that.
And in Rabbit Patch, Kentucky, the mayor's been banned from the general store -- his unofficial courthouse. Supporters say so what if he's a Labrador retriever?
You can link to all of our top story lists from the front page of CNN.com.
That's kind of a cute one.
LEMON: There's a whole lot of other issues going there besides being banned from the city hall.
KEILAR: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: OK. An angry protest was held Wednesday outside of a Providence, Rhode Island -- a heating parts store -- a heating parts store in Providence, Rhode Island. Some Hispanic leaders want the owner charged with a hate crime.
What did he do? Well, David Richardson refused to sell parts to some would-be customers, demanding that they first produce Social Security cards to prove their citizenship. He also threatened to call immigration officials.
Richardson says if he has broken any law, well, he'll apologize for that. He had a quote: "I'll step back a little bit until somebody proves I did something illegally. Now, I did, I'll have to face the penalties, because we do have laws in this country and I've never broken one."
KEILAR: It's always been a precious metal, but gold is on its way to being priceless. The price it's fetching today -- a record $1,000 an ounce. And you probably have just a little bit of gold lying around, in jewelry, maybe. But you actually have a real rich uncle with tons of it. So does Don Lemon. So do I, if you can believe...
LEMON: Right.
KEILAR: His name?
Sam.
CNN's Jennifer Westhoven reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a commodity that's been coveted through the ages -- in jewelry, art...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (SINGING): Goldfinger...
WESTHOVEN: And on the silver screen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love gold.
WESTHOVEN: The Oscar itself is plated with gold. But when it comes to serious amounts of gold, even the fabulously wealthy can't hold a candle to the world's richest government. It's estimated they hold about 20 percent of the world's bouillon. ROBERT JOHNSTON, EURASIA GROUP: The United States and the European Union are significant holders of gold as an official reserve. There's been a lot of speculation about whether countries like China and Russia and the sovereign wealth funds of the Middle East will expand their investments in official holdings in gold. But so far, those investments have been fairly limited.
WESTHOVEN (on-camera): By far, the biggest holder of gold in the world is the United States -- more than 8,000 tons of it. And one of the biggest stores of gold in the world is right behind me at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York here in lower Manhattan. Billions of dollars worth of gold is stored and guarded for other countries. It's in an underground vault.
(voice-over): The U.S. has almost three times the gold reserves of second-ranked Germany; the IMF, third; followed by France and Italy. One country that's seen its holdings shrink dramatically -- Britain. It sold off much of its horde between 1999 and 2002, when gold was trading at a fraction of its current price. Talk about bad timing.
These days, gold investment funds hold more bouillon than the Brits. These funds are, together, the world's seventh largest holders of gold overall and a major force driving prices higher. It seems like everyone these days wants a piece of gold. And not only as a hedge against inflation. It's one of the few hot markets out there.
LOU GRASSO, MILLENNIUM FUTURES: People are now looking at the securities industry and saying well, do I want to own banks? Do I want to own any stocks? No. They're looking at it saying well, there's a diminishing return there.
They can't put their money into bonds because of the diminishing return there. So where do they go? They go to wherever they can make the best return on their investment.
WESTHOVEN: But in the future, the real growth in gold buying could one day come from emerging markets. Their holdings may be modest now but...
JOHNSTON: Those countries, through petro dollars and through the Chinese economic boom, have accumulated such large foreign reserves, the market has been speculating that they're likely to diversify those exchange holdings into gold as a hedge in the same way that other private investors have done, over the next few years.
WESTHOVEN: If that happens, $1,000 for an ounce of gold could one day seem cheap, as a new generation of global goldfingers move in.
Jennifer Westhoven, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Sex and money -- one man's downfall is another man's fortune. See how next.
Question -- what is tiny, loves cheese, hates cats and is powerful enough to stop a big old jet airliner?
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: The story of this unwelcome passenger ahead in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Several airline passengers missed connecting flights in Atlanta today thanks to a tiny little creature that made a surprise appearance on board on flight from Des Moines. A Delta flight attendant spotted a mouse on board just before takeoff today and said it was either the mouse or her.
Well, nearly five hours and a massive hunt later, the plane finally took off -- minus one little mouse. I think that's like a children's book waiting to happen right there.
LEMON: That's almost like a quote. You remember the snakes on the plane -- "I'm sick of these mouses" would be mice.
KEILAR: Mice.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I know. On the plane. OK.
KEILAR: Fun.
LEMON: Mice on the plane.
All right, let's turn now, CNN's Wolf Blitzer standing by to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour.
Hey, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Thanks very much.
Straight ahead, reunited -- all three senators turned presidential candidates coming together once again here in Washington in the Senate. And we're seeing a rare moment of agreement among Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama regarding how our tax dollars are spent.
Also, Hillary Clinton has a message for African-Americans -- I'm sorry. So why is she apologizing? And will it help soothe some of the anger in the African-American community?
And where's the money -- that's what some Republicans in the House want to know. They say they trusted a longtime bookkeeper for the group that raised funds for House Republicans. But they say that person ripped them off. How -- now the FBI is investigating.
All that, guys, and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
LEMON: Thanks, Wolf.
We'll be watching.
KEILAR: And the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Stephanie Elam is standing by with a final look at the trading day.
Stephanie, it was in the plus category a little bit ago.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. We have like...
LEMON: Is it still there?
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
ELAM: There you go, Brianna and Don. Have a good one.
LEMON: We'll take a quarter of a percent. All right, thank you Steph. See you tomorrow.
KEILAR: Thanks Stephanie.
Let's go now to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.
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