Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Wallet Woes; Florida Redo; Surveillance Showdown

Aired March 14, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: What's on the rundown? Gas tops four bucks a gallon on Tuesday. And it is a record high almost everywhere else.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN, ANCHOR: Our focus on the economy, personal finance editor Gerri Willis answers your e-mail questions about your money.

HARRIS: A lot of politicians can't agree on a plan. It's a maybe in Michigan, the scramble for a primary do over today, Friday, March 14th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: All right. So, it's Friday, payday for many Americans but that paycheck it just keeps on shrinking. Gas is up again. Hawaii and California are already reporting prices above $4 a gallon. Oil once again sets a new record. And the dollar at a new low. Americans are apparently feeling the squeeze. President Bush though is feeling the heat, too. And he's actually going to talk about it. We're going to hear from him live next hour. CNN's Ed Henry is on-site with a preview and CNN's senior business correspondent Ali Velshi has the new numbers to factor in. But first, let's begin with Ed. Ed, what do you expect to hear from the president today?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, obviously, the economy is issue number one, not just on the campaign trail but also at the White House. The President realizes that a possible recession could really sour his legacy and also could damage the Republican presumptive nominee John McCain in this presidential election year. So, he wants to give the impression that he's on top of this. He's doing all he can one thing we can expect he will tell the economic club of New York as he thinks Congress should pass more legislation to try and help homeowners who are on the cusps of foreclosure and he's also going to talk about trying to bring more transparency into the process of mortgage applications so people don't get stuck in loans they don't really understand.

But he's also wary of the government over-reacting and having a bailout that would essentially reward risky behavior by lenders. We also could expect him to rip Democrats on Capitol Hill for last night passing a budget that would let the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010. We've heard the President say before that he thinks the election this year should be framed in part around keeping taxes low, so we can expect him to talk about that. Finally, the president will tap the economic stimulus plan that he signed into law just in the last month or so, saying that he believes that the economy could start coming back ever so slightly in the second and third quarter of this year. But obviously the fact that those rebate checks, the tax rebate checks are not likely to go out until at least May is not likely to give consumers too much relief in the short term, Betty.

NGUYEN: So, any chance just very quickly he'll utter the dreaded "r" word, recession, during his speech today?

HENRY: Not a chance, Betty. He's not going to utter the "r" word. His spokesman Tony Fratto said yesterday the White House does not like to put labels on the economy. It's interesting though, you remember when the economy was humming along the president was very happy to put labels on the economy at that point, saying it was very strong, very solid, pro-growth. Right now, obviously, with the president's legacy on the line, he's not going to use the "r" word. Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. Ed Henry joining us live. Thank you, Ed.

HARRIS: OK. And let's get you to Ali Velshi in New York. Ali, are you watching these numbers with the Dow?

ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very, very sudden and steep drop in the Dow. The Dow actually opened to the upside after we had some inflation numbers, you and I talked about over an hour ago. Now, what has happened? Let me tell you what's happened, Bear Stearns, which we've been hearing for the past few days has gotten itself into some financial trouble, reported half an hour ago that their financial position, their liquidity, the amount of cash available, has deteriorated substantially in the last 24 hours.

J.P. Morgan Chase and the New York federal reserve have intervened to provide money to Bear Stearns. The stock of Bear Stearns is down about 35% right now. All of the financials are being pushed out. Look at that Dow, we're almost 300 points lower now on the Dow because of increased concerns about liquidity and banks. So, the problem that we thought was -- we're getting to the end of, this is the same problem we've seen for months and months. More banks in more trouble. So, that's what we're seeing first of all.

HARRIS: Let me jump in very quickly. I know you want to get to the dollar and some other items as well. But is Bear Stearns, obviously one of these financial companies -- was Bear Stearns involved in bundling these mortgage-backed securities?

VELSHI: Right. You can call them collateralized mortgage obligations, collateralized debt obligations. These vehicles where you took mortgages and resold them, Bear Stearns is involved more than most. In fact, it's a bigger part of Bear Stearns business than it is of any of the other investment banks. So, now that that world is disappearing as we know all those things are worth nothing, Bear Stearns doesn't sort of stand up amongst its peers in terms of being a first-tier bank in all those other areas. So, Bear is going to get hit more than the others. But the others were all down as well on this news because they sort of work in tandem.

So, that's problem number one. That's what you're looking at on the Dow. Now, you and I talked about inflation.

HARRIS: Yes.

VELSHI: Now, inflation numbers came in for February. For the year, inflation as the government say is 4% year over year. Most people think it's more than 4%. But the way the government measures it, that number came in actually lower than expected. So, that was good news. That's why the markets started higher. But the problem we've got here is high oil, low dollar. Now, take a look over the last year. As the dollar has been sinking the price of oil has been going up because oil is denominated in dollars. That orange line is the dollar. The blue line is oil.

If you're Saudi Arabia and you're selling oil you're getting dollars in exchange. Those dollars don't buy you as much in Europe or wherever else. So, how do you make up for it, you restrict the out- flow of oil and you get more money for the oil. Also, there's a school of thought that says the dollar goes down, the oil goes up. We're seeing the dollar again today hitting new lows. We're seeing -- by the way you're looking at that Dow back up on the session.

Yes, you know, we're seeing that dollar going down, oil going up. On Tuesday, the Fed is meeting again. We're expecting them to cut rates by another half a percentage point. And that's kind of where we stand right now.

HARRIS: OK, Ali, the roller coaster ride continues this week. Boy, for months now with the markets. Good to see you, Ali. I know, you're back with us in the 11:00 hour as well. See you then.

VELSHI: OK.

HARRIS: The economy, it's your money. This morning, a President Bush confronts your concerns. You will hear him live right here next hour in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Also, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis will be joining us all next week with a special report on money issues near and dear to your heart. It's called "Issue Number One, the economy." Monday, we'll tell you how the struggling economy affects your job, your savings, your debt as well as your home. As of noon Eastern only on CNN.

Well, gas prices soar. The dollar stumbles. We do want to hear from you today. How is the economy affecting you, your family, and more importantly your wallet. E-mail us at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

HARRIS: Presidential candidates on the trail in Pennsylvania today. And the new developments in the primary do-over debate. Here is a look at the political headlines. Republican John McCain holds a town hall meeting in Springfield, Pennsylvania. That's happening this hour.

He is back on the campaign trail after returning to Capitol Hill for budget votes yesterday. Democratic Hillary Clinton also returning to the stump in Pennsylvania today. She visit a gas station in Pittsburgh and holds a rally there this afternoon. Michigan Democrats may be close to a deal on re-doing their primary. According to the Associated Press, the Democratic sources say they hope to reach an agreement today. Michigan and Florida are stripped of their delegates for breaking party rules and moving up their primaries. Florida redo, a proposal for a presidential primary by mail is in the works, but will it happen?

Here's CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARELLA, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: The state Democratic party is proposing what's been rumored for a week, a vote by mail primary.

KAREN THURMAN, FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRWOMAN: This has got to move forward. I think the unrest is not good. And I'm ready to try to give them something to look at. If this is not it, then what?

ZARELLA: The party's proposal also sets up some 50 regional election offices where people can vote in person. According to the proposal this will ensure disadvantaged communities have the ability to vote. The plan needs several stamps of approval before it can move forward. If the Obama and Clinton campaigns don't sign off on it, one Democratic party leader says, it's dead in the water.

THURMAN: We don't want to move forward if this is not what people want to do.

ZARELLA: And with the ink barely dry, there are already concerns. Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a leading advocate for a revote, is concerned this plan does not provide a way for the state to verify signatures. Representative Robert Wexler, an Obama supporter, is not satisfied either.

REP. ROBERT WEXLER (D), FLORIDA: A mail election would be a chaotic, potentially divisive election that would wind up with two contested elections, not one.

ZARELLA: State party officials say their revote plan will cost between $10 and $12 million. Between now and April 14th fund raising to recover the cost and final Democratic National Committee approval. April 30th, last day to register to vote. May 1st, set up the 50 regional offices. May 9th, ballots go out in the mail. June 3rd, primary day. Whether it this plan or something else, the National Democratic Chairman says there needs to be a resolution for the good of the party.

HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE: The issue is here do we want to be united in the convention. We ought to fix this problem now and not wait until the convention to fix it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARELLA: Under this proposal the state would have nothing to do with running the election. Private companies would oversee it. The problem is while most people seem to agree there needs to be a fix, no one can agree on the solution. John Zarrella, CNN, Miami. HARRIS:. And stay with CNN for unmatched political coverage throughout the day. We have much more on the candidates and what happens next. Join us for CNN "Ballot Bowl" today noon Eastern.

NGUYEN: It started peacefully enough, but quickly it turned violent. We're not talking about the mascot this time. We're talking about a serious situation. These new pictures out of Lhasa, Tibet this morning. Gunfire, tear gas, injuries. The violence began after Buddhist monks poured into the streets. The police were attempting to stop them from leaving the monastery for another day of demonstrations. The monks and the ethnic Tibetans are protesting Chinese rule. These protests started Monday, the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Beijing rule. They destroyed military trucks and had been targeting shops owned by Hun Chinese, which is the predominant ethnic group in China. Now, in China's (Kan Zu) province, Chinese security forces are watching protests their about 2,000 Tibetans carried the Tibetan flag, to protest Chinese rule in their native land.

HARRIS: Behind closed doors, a rare secret session on Capitol Hill sets the stage for a showdown over eavesdropping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We want you to take a look at how things are shaping up today on the big boards. Talking about the markets today. If we can get that up. Look at that, 144. It's still a negative territory, but definitely rebounding from what we saw a little bit earlier. Yesterday there were a lot of gains. The Nasdaq down 25 today. Again a lot of talk today about the economy. In fact we're going to be taking you live to New York where the president is going to be speaking on this very issue. That's going to be taking place, oh, around 11:10 Eastern as President Bush talks about the economy and we're watching as the numbers continue to stay in negative territory. So stay with us. We're on top of the economy. It is "Issue number one." And you're in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: This is quite a story. She is 83 years old and standing up to thugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He asked me for money. And I said, son, I don't have any. I just put in the $20 that I had to fill up my van. That's when he grabbed me. But he thought he was going to grab the purse and run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Watch out because she used the gas nozzle as her weapon. We have the story in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Your security now, surveillance showdown. That issue of eavesdropping of calls and e-mails to track down terrorists. The House takes up the legislation after a late-night secret session, Kate Bolduan live from Capitol Hill. Kate, good to see you. What are we expecting today?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Tony. We're expecting debate and we're expecting a vote on the house version of the intelligence bill. Of course, known as FISA. But getting back to that secret session, that was held last night, a very late meeting actually, and it was very rare case, it was the first time that a closed session has been held in 25 years. The Republicans who called for this closed session say that it was necessary because they had -- there was classified information that they thought all members of the house should be aware of before they make their very important votes. But Democrats say - that some Democrats say that Republicans were just playing politics, trying to delay this vote on FISA. One senior Democratic member did say, to me in his words, that there's a big difference between theatrics and legislation.

The Republican minority whip did say coming out of the meeting in a statement that it was a constructive session but on the flip side the Democratic majority leader Steny Hoyer said that he learned very little new information regarding this FISA. So, of course, the big question now, what happens with FISA and how will that session have any affect on the vote. We'll see today and they're in session now and we're expecting a vote on FISA midday.

HARRIS: OK. So, Kate, the Senate has been busy as well with earmarks in the budget. What's been decided there?

BOLDUAN: You know, the Senate had a late night as well. The earmark is the big issue. There was an amendment in the budget. It's a high-profile issue, a high-profile vote that brought all three presidential candidates back to home base which is rare because they're so busy on their campaigns. Senator John McCain as well as Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama all making their way to the senate floor to cast votes in support of this earmark ban that was in question.

Now, what they called for was called for one year moratorium on earmarks in the senate. These are pet projects, money directed by senators to projects in their home states. But in the end that amendment, that measure failed. So no ban on earmarks but they passed a $3 trillion budget last night.

HARRIS: OK. Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill for us. Kate, appreciate it. Thanks.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Tony.

NGUYEN: Get to the weather now because did you know, Tony, spring, what about a week late? Six days, something like that? Rob Marciano.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: I was just checking that.

NGUYEN: Rain, yeah? Six days away.

MARCIANO: It's five days, 15 hours, 30 minutes, 53 seconds.

NGUYEN: All right. Getting technical on us. But you know, hey, OK--

MARCIANO: I'm not kidding. The Web site, national weather service has a counting clock on it.

NGUYEN: With that in mind, there's, what, the snow that's falling in the Rockies? Is that what's happening?

MARCIANO: This is high time to really get out to the Rockies, anywhere out west. And get in some good spring skiing. Put the shades on, kickback and do more hanging out than you do skiing. Boy, it's just been a ridiculous year for snow out there. And it continues, one to two feet of know expected. Everywhere from, you know, snow mass, Aspen, (Brek), up to Beaver Creek, all of the way up to Steamboat, probably Teton will also get into the act as well.

Here's a shot for you live in Denver. This is up the road a piece from Denver. That's likely I-70, near the Eisenhower tunnel. KUSA, thank you very much. That road is going to be jam-packed later on this afternoon and tomorrow morning for all the folks who live in Denver that are going to be hustling up the hill to catch some freshies tomorrow morning because you will have it. And in some spots, it will be knee to waist deep. Here it is on the radar scope, down i-70 we go. I wouldn't be surprised if chains were required in spots here. I-25 as well, up and down from Denver to Colorado Springs looks to be pretty white too. Looking more like winter. My goodness.

Nashville to Knoxville to Huntsville, that's where we're seeing rain develop this hour. This is not the severe punch that we're expecting. But later on today as some of that energy comes out of the Rockies, we could see large hail, damaging winds in isolated tornadoes in the same spot that saw rough weather move through last night. So, we continue to see a roll over the same spot. And on the back side of this system is going to have some heavy winds. So, 70- mile-an-hour winds across New Mexico and western Texas. And critical low, relative humidity. It will be really warm. The temperatures here will be near or over 100 degrees in some spots. And there's none going throughout. So, certainly we don't want any grass fires to fire up there in the west of Texas because as you know, Betty, the winds get going there pretty good. And that's not a good thing.

NGUYEN: That's it all. Fire and ice for us today. OK.

MARCIANO: That's right.

NGUYEN: Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. See you.

NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about the dangers of driving. Get this, large ocean waves, you know, they usually don't come to mind, right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Can you believe that? Don't tell these drivers in Spain that waves don't come to mind when it causes driving problems. They got blasted from a freak wave that spilled over a sea wall during a storm. The cars swept aside as if they weight next to nothing. No one was hurt. That's the good news. But some pedestrians weren't as lucky. At least four people were reportedly injured after getting hit by this massive wave. Look at that.

HARRIS: Man. I know, it's beginning to sound like a bit like a drum beat here. Look at those pictures one more time.

NGUYEN: Hear the sound, wah! What did she say?

HARRIS: It was pretty dramatic stuff. Let's talk about the economy here. You know, it begins to sound a bit like a drum beat, Betty, the economy sputtering. The economy sputtering but your financial plans actually can forge ahead. Gerri Willis answers your money questions, coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well CNN does equal politics. And we are going to take you straight to the campaign trail. Senator John McCain at a town hall meeting right now in Springfield, Massachusetts. Let's listen in.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...very late last night and the United States Senate casting votes and it affirmed again what, I believe it was Mr. Bismarck years ago said that two things you never want to see made are laws and sausages. And last night, as we were voting on major issues of profound consequences with no debate, no discussion, and ten minutes to vote and then moving on to another one, anyone who had the misfortune of watching it will know that how hard it is trying to do the Lord's work in the city of Satan, my friends.

And so -- and we had a number of votes but the important thing is that there's gridlock in Washington. You know it as well as I do. And the first thing I want to commit to you, I will wage a respectful campaign but a vigorous campaign against whoever the Democratic opponent is, either Senator Obama or Senator Clinton. But I want to tell you there's stark differences. And we'll talk about those as we go forward. But I want to tell you also, I'll change the culture in Washington. I know how to reach across the aisle and work with the other side. But you have to demand that they work with me. And that's an important part. We'll start getting things done in Washington. And so I want to talk to you just a couple of things.

One, of course, is the economy, we all know that America is hurting now. We know that there's great challenges and difficulties that families are facing all over this country, including this great state of Pennsylvania. We know there are people that are losing their homes. We know that people have lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector with very little hope of getting back into gainful employment and meaningful ways of taking care of themselves and their families and improving their lives and that of their children.

Let's be very straight here. And every time we pick up the newspaper we hear of a new challenge. Well, my friends, that's not what America is all about. But let me also begin by saying the fundamentals of our economy are strong. We are still the greatest exporter, the greatest importer, the strongest economy, the strongest nation in the world. So, I believe our economic future is bright and we will remain the leader in the world. But right now we've got to take some steps which are very, very necessary.

And the first thing we want to do is not raise your taxes. So the tax cuts have to be permanent. We can't raise your taxes in a time of economic difficulty in America. We need to make -- as I said, we need to make those tax cuts permanent. We knead need to find ways to even reduce your burden even more. Many Americans don't know that the highest corporate taxes in the world, the second highest are paid by United States' corporations. Corporations leave America, take jobs with them. We need to cut those corporate taxes so corporations will find it most profitable to stay here in the United States of America.

There's many steps. We need to have depreciation over one year. We need to eliminate this thing called the alternate minimum tax which many Americans don't even know about, which is now -- which was designed, which was designed, my friends, to -- for only a handful of people of the wealthiest Americans. Now it threatens 25 million American families. We have a two-tiered system. We'll be coming forward --

NGUYEN: All right, you have been listening to Senator John McCain speaking today in Springfield, Pennsylvania that is. This is a big push in Pennsylvania by all the candidates as the big primary comes on April 22nd. Talking about a lot of things that are at issue right now for the U.S. and one of the main things that a lots of people are thinking about today is the economy. It is "Issue number one." And President Bush, in fact, will be speaking about the economy. And what he expects will come with the future of it and some of the things that he's putting in play that will help average Americans get through this difficult time. That will take place at 11:00. He's going to be speaking at the economic club of New York. You're looking at a live picture of that. And that should happen about, oh, 30, 40 minutes from now. And when it does, we'll bring it to you live.

HARRIS: And also, a motorist, all of us, we need to buckle up. Gas reaches $4 a gallon in parts of the country. We will tell you where and what it means to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody, on this Friday. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Betty Nguyen in for Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. Hey, Betty.

NGUYEN: Hey.

HARRIS: Good morning. I'm Tony Harris.

The president making a speech this morning just about half an hour or so away from right now. A speech at the New York Economic Club.

Got a little bit of guidance on this speech the president will make this morning from Deputy White House Press Secretary Tony Frattto. He says -- let me find it here -- the president will talk about how he sees the economy today with the things that are Americans are dealing with and where he sees us going. And in terms of the policy responses he will talk about some of the things that we've already done and he will also talk about some of the things that we should avoid doing moving forward.

A little bit of the guidance there on what the president will have to say this morning, 11:00 Eastern Time. We will, of course, bring it to you right here in the NEWSROOM.

In the meantime, $4 a gallon of gas. It is no longer for our fetch, it is a reality in at least two states, the sign of the summer ahead.

CNN's Sandra Endo is on gas watch for us in Washington.

Sandra, good to see you this morning. What are you seeing there in Washington?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good to see you, Tony. And you're talking about California and Hawaii that has to pay a whopping $4 a gallon for gas prices there.

But here in Washington, D.C., at this gas station at least, it's costing $3.33 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas and you still see a lot of people lining up here at the gas station filling up but they are feeling the pain at the pump. And a lot of people have been telling me it costs about $50 a pop every time they fill up their tank to the max. So a lot of people pinching their pennies, yes, because of the economy.

HARRIS: Hey, so Sandra, with gas prices going up the way they are right now, you know, you're talking about $50 a pop there, in many cases that's when the automatic shutoff on those pumps take effect, which means in many cases you actually put more in. Your tanks going to hold more.

But I have to ask you with prices going up the way they are right now, I'm wondering where else consumers are feeling the pinch other than at the pump.

ENDO: Well, there's certainly a trickle down affect. You have a lot of businesses which transport goods throughout the country and they're paying a lot more in gas prices as well. You have diesel fuel going up to $3.90 a gallon. So certainly businesses are affected in transporting those goods and likely consumers will feel the effect in terms of buying those products and the trickle down effect there for those prices rising in terms of goods at the grocery store and hardware stores, things like that.

HARRIS: Yes. And if you think about it, I'm wondering what the price of gas now in terms of the impact it will have on people planning to travel by car this summer. I suppose there will be less of it and folk will take shorter trips.

ENDO: Well, according to the AAA, that's the American Automotive Association, they're putting the price of gas right now, the current national average at $3.28 a gallon. Now that's up from last month at $2.97. And they're expecting it to go up to $3.50 nationwide.

Now, they're saying because it's a busy season, spring and summer, people are going to travel, they're likely to see less people travel very far from home. They're going to see a lot of people stay closer to home, stay at cheaper hotels, and likely not eat out as often.

HARRIS: That's right. And what happens later in the summer, say, June or so when the summer blends start to make their way to gas stations cross the country. What's going to happen to prices then?

Sandra Endo for us in Washington, D.C. this morning.

Sandra, great to see you. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Retirement savings, credit card debt, two areas of concern for you today. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis sifted through your e-mails and she has some answers for you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi, there. Let's get right to that first e-mail.

It's from an anonymous viewer. They write, "My wife and I have about $6,000 that we're looking to invest in something. We're in our mid 30s. What do you suggest?"

Well, if it's a long-term investment, let's say five to ten years, consider investing in index funds, exchange trade funds or ETFs. You may also consider asset allocation funds with a company like Fidelity or Vanguard. Now, these funds take rebalancing out of your hands. You just decide what kind of risk portfolio you want, either conservative, moderate or aggressive, and the fund is rebalanced accordingly.

Our next question comes from Kevin. He writes in, "I rolled over two different 401(k)s from previous jobs in 2007 to one traditional IRA. Should I convert it to a Roth? I'm 35 years old."

Well, that's a good move. But before you do that, make sure you can take the tax hit. When you convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA you will have to pay tax on the amount you transfer and that could be thousands of dollars. But since you're young and likely to be in a higher tax bracket when you retire, it will be worth your while if you can convert your IRA to a Roth. The tax hit you take now will be less expensive than the tax that you take later when you're in a higher tax bracket.

And Debra from Washington writes, "I'm about to graduate from college but I have a lot of credit card debt on top of my student loan. Will it be easier for me to consolidate my credit card debt?"

Well, Deb, consolidating only makes sense if the new loan has a considerably lower interest rate than all of your credit cards. Taking on new debt to pay off old debt, hey, it's rarely in your best interest. Plus, finding a lender that will extend a personal loan is going to be more difficult in today's environment. Creditors want to see higher scores and that's going to be hard with a lot of credit card debt. But your best bet may be to transfer your credit card balances on to a low interest rate card. Be sure to read the fine print.

And finally, a question from John in Atlanta. He asks, "I'm a 35-year-old male who has roughly 30 more years in the workforce. Why would I want to continue setting my money to Social Security if ultimately I will not benefit from it down the line when I reach eligible age?"

Well, the answer is, you don't have a choice. The government requires employers to take it out of your pay.

And of course, if you have any question, send them to us at Toptips@CNN.com. We love to hear from you.

NGUYEN: Good advice. And in fact, we do have a question for you today.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: And that is, how is the economy affecting you, your family, your wallet? And we've got some really interesting responses.

Rick and Lynn in South Carolina wrote in saying, "The continued cost of gasoline has us cutting back on what we can put in our 401(k) account and other savings. Also, we plan to go to a state park close to home this year for vacation."

HARRIS: Yes. Wow. Brian in Los Angeles writes, "I have purchased a scooter that gets 50 miles per gallon and use it when weather permits. I am also considering trading in my current car that gets about 17 miles per gallon for something that gets better gas mileage."

Practically speaking here.

NGUYEN: Well, listen to this one. It has nothing to do with gas prices. It's dealing with the economy and jobs.

Mark writes, "I've had to take additional deployment because the job market has been tougher as a reservist still look for employment." HARRIS: And this from Jarrett who writes, "The debate team at my school missed three debates this year because the gas prices were so expensive."

NGUYEN: Really? That's interesting. Affecting schools like that.

HARRIS: Absolutely. So look, this is having a ripple effect throughout the economy. And people are obviously dealing with it the best they can.

And here's the question. We would love your response on this. How is the economy affecting you, your family and your wallet? CNNNewsroom@CNN.com is the address.

The economy and the drip, drip, drip of difficult news. This morning President Bush confronts your concern. You will hear from him live this morning right here in the n NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Also CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis -- you just saw her. Well, she'll be joining us all next week with a special report on money issues near and dear to your heart. It is called "Issue Number One: The Economy." Monday, we'll tell you how the struggling economy affects your job, your savings, your debt, your home. That's at noon Eastern only on CNN.

Hillary Clinton trying to soothe African-Americans troubled by one of her supporters, her husband and even President Bush.

Here's CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, part of the best political team on television.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hillary Clinton is in the hot seat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's hear it for Senator Clinton.

MALVEAUX: Facing fallout from racially charged remarks from fundraiser Geraldine Ferraro. At a gathering of black publishers, she tried to make a mends.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I rejected what she said and I certainly do repudiate it.

MALVEAUX: Senator Clinton was full of apologies before this group as she was confronted with various perceived offenses, including remarks considered racially insensitive that her husband, the former president, made on the campaign trail.

CLINTON: I am sorry if anyone was offended. It was certainly not meant in any way to be offensive.

MALVEAUX: She even apologized for President Bush's lackluster response regarding Hurricane Katrina. CLINTON: I apologize and I am embarrassed that our government so mistreated our fellow citizens.

MALVEAUX: Her aides say this is not a mea culpa tour, but rather a clear message. She has not given up on the black vote.

TRACI BLUNT, CLINTON CAMPAIGN STAFF: So because the numbers are skewed, it appears as if we are losing ground in African-American community, she's not conceding that vote whatsoever.

MALVEAUX: But looking ahead, she certainly has her work cut out for her. While Barack Obama has steadily seen his African-American support grow, from 78 percent in South Carolina, 90 percent in Virginia, and 92 percent in Mississippi, Clinton has lost ground.

JOHN D. SMITH, NATL. NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSN.: They are open to her but at this point they are kind of lukewarm because of disparage in comment some of her people, not necessarily she.

MALVEAUX: While Clinton tries to minimize the damage, she is leading on loyalists. One of her biggest fans is Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, seated in the critical state of Pennsylvania where she'll campaign heavily for that important contest.

(On camera): Clinton's game plan to deny Barack Obama a clean sweep. She's going put herself out there to answer the tough questions before the black media. She'll also visit churches, social and civil organizations. The message, don't count her out.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And if you're a political junkie, CNNPolitics.com is the place for you. Check out our new interactive delegate counter game where you can play real-time, what-if scenarios with delegates and superdelegates. Just look for the delegate calculator. That and more on CNNPolitics.com.

Barack Obama's pastor, uncensored, video of a Christmas day sermon burning up the Web. A preacher's words and the fallout.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good Friday to you. I'm Tony Harris.

Listen to this. A father is accused of forcing his kids to kill the family cat. The details still ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Covering the angles, uncovering the details, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Oh, the sputtering economy. Well, a pep talk from President Bush today. His remarks to the Economic Club of New York. That's going to happen at 11:00 Eastern. It's going to take place right here in the NEWSROOM as we bring it to you live.

In the meantime, though, shares of one of the biggest brokerage firms in the world are in a free-fall this morning.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with detail on this.

Suzanne, it is definitely affecting the markets today.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. This is really one of the fears that has been in the marketplace for months now and now we're seeing the dramatic evidence of an investor run on a bank this morning playing out.

Bear Stearns has been denying it's in trouble despite reports of major liquidity issues. In other words, not enough cash to meet obligation. Well, it's reality. Bear Stearns says its situation has, quote, "significantly deteriorated," end quote, in the last 24 hours.

Now JP Morgan and the Federal Reserve are stepping in by securing short- term financing and they'll work on a more permanent solution for Bear Stearns. Bear Stearns shares right now are down 47 percent. Its shares have plummeted 76 percent since mid-June.

Other financial companies have been under tremendous pressure as well, Betty. They're down about 33 percent. But this is just a stampede out of it.

Let me just briefly explain what the situation is. Investment banks like Bear Stearns are highly leveraged. They borrow a lot of money. They take the money, they turn it around, they put it in investments. Some of these investments were very risky and a lot of Bear Stearns were tied up with these subprimes.

So they have plummeted in value. Nobody wants to touch them. And then you have a crisis of confidence and you get Bear Stearns to where it is today. And what you're seeing is what might have been a rally when we got word of a good inflation report for a change. And you're seeing a triple-digit sell-off instead.

Betty, check it out. The Dow right now down 188 points or 1 1/2 percent. The NASDAQ is down 2 percent. So a very tough start to the session. And you know, not surprising, given the word...

NGUYEN: Well, but, you know, I think you alluded to it, too, because we were expecting, as far as indicators go, they were pointing to a sharply higher open, especially ending so well yesterday. I mean, but look at it, in negative territory. And this is not nearly as bad as it was right after the open today.

LISOVICZ: Well, let's talk about the good news that came into the market because we've -- everybody has been rattled by all-time highs for gold, all-time lows for the dollar, all-time highs for oil and gasoline. So when we get the consumer inflation report, which is a key economic report, and we get it nonetheless just a couple days before the Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, it comes in better than expected. Prices actually held steady whereas the Street is expecting a jump.

So that was good news and futures turned around. It came in about an hour before the opening bell. Futures turned around, we're expecting a jump. But then we got this really, this rare and very disturbing bit of news coming from the Federal Reserve and J.P. Morgan. And you're seeing investor sentiment unhinged.

NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Susan Lisovicz watching the markets today as they continue. They're up and down and then, of course, we'll be checking in with you to see how things play out throughout the rest of the day.

Thank you, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

HARRIS: How about this? Comedian Billy Crystal, a lifelong Yankee fan, and for one game, an official Yankee player. No Joke. Crystal signed a one-day contract to play at the spring training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is only at bat he sent a sharp grounder down the first baseline. You will see it here in a second. But it was, yes, a bit off.

Crystal wore the number 60 on his shirt marking his 60th birthday. But here's the question, Betty. Will the comedian try a comeback?

NGUYEN: Really?

HARRIS: Crystal says the way his hamstring feels, right now...

NGUYEN: And Robin Williams.

HARRIS: ....highly unlikely.

NGUYEN: You know what? I don't think he did too bad. Not at all.

HARRIS: He did what he was supposed to do against Major League pitching, which is strikeout.

NGUYEN: Exactly. Thank you. Thank you. Just strikeout and you know...

HARRIS: And sit down.

NGUYEN: Sit down. Happy birthday.

HARRIS: That's the bench.

NGUYEN: Well, you may want to grin and bear it. Ranking cities with the best and the worst teeth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: You young punks. That's how an elderly woman describes the men who tried to mug her.

Bernie Garcia is a feisty one and she tells Chris Ramirez of affiliate KOAT how she fought back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNIE GARCIA, ATTACKED AT GAS STATION: He got real close to me and I'm always such a good-hearted person. I feel sorry for everybody. And he asked me for money. And I said, son, I don't have any. I just put in the $20 that I had to fill up my van.

CHRIS RAMIREZ, REPORTER, KOAT: 83-year-old Bernie Garcia says she was at the Smith's grocery store on (INAUDIBLE) road filling up for gas.

GARCIA: And that's when he grabbed me. But he suddenly was going to grab that purse and run.

RAMIREZ: But that's not what happened, Bernie had her purse double wound on her arm and when the purse snatcher yanked the purse Bernie went with him. But she fought back hitting him with the gas nozzle.

GARCIA: Shoot the gas in his face. I wanted to but there wasn't no more gas. I -- didn't spill any, which is the good thing that (INAUDIBLE). Where I got all the energy that I did, I don't know.

RAMIREZ: Police sent out an alert and within minutes they captured three men towards Espanola. Santa Fe Police believe Jody Martinez and Julian Romero drove the getaway car and they believe it was Angelo Trujillo who attacked her, a guy 20 years old, four times younger than Mrs. Garcia.

GARCIA: That how old they were? I don't need -- -- They looked like young punks. Skinny and not even built. I could have taken him any day of the week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Twice on Sunday, any day of the week.

NGUYEN: Any day of the week. (INAUDIBLE) with that, granny.

HARRIS: Young, skinny, scrawny...

NGUYEN: Punk.

HARRIS: Punks.

Oh, hi. You want to -- here's something else. Smiles, Lubbock, Texas, ready? "Men's Health" magazine brands it the city with the worst teeth. It's based on a study of 100 large city the best teeth can be found. NGUYEN: Oh. Did we have to put those pictures up?

HARRIS: Shut up.

Madison, Wisconsin, the best teeth. The report is based on annual dentist visits, canceled appointments, flossers(ph) and household using fluoride.

There you go.

NGUYEN: So if you're looking for a man, looking for a husband?

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: And you don't mind the teeth...

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: Hey, Lubbock may be your place.

Well, a movie from the '90s. Is it art imitating life or the other way around? Horrifying reality.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, a forgettable movie from the 1990s, now possibly playing a part in a real live series of killings.

CNN's Rusty Dornin has what could be the horrifying reality.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The 1995 movie "Deadly Run" went straight to video. It portrays a serial kill who preyed on women he set loose in the woods. The plot, the film's producer claims, came from this man, Gary Michael Hilton. The same Gary Michael Hilton who confessed to killing Meredith Emerson in the North Georgia Mountains in January and is charged in the murder of a Florida woman and suspected in the deaths of a North Carolina couple.

Producer Samuel Rael says more than 15 years ago Hilton told him...

SAMUEL RAEL, PRODUCER: Go ahead and let some beautiful women out in the woods and then they could be hunted down like prey.

DORNIN: This is the Gary Hilton Rael says he knew. Bearded, lean and obsessed with the outdoors. Rael is an attorney. He says Hilton was one of his first clients and they became friends. Rael defended him on a number of cases from trespassing to arson.

RAEL: Everything Gary did was crazy and unusual and odd. But, not in a way where you would think it would be violent.

DORNIN: Rael says Hilton lived in the storage space in Atlanta and often took camping trips in the woods. He says Hilton gave him the location for shooting the film.

(on camera): And in fact, this is all in the woods.

RAEL: There, that one he helped find the cabin which is very difficult to find.

DORNIN (voice over): The cabin was located near Cleveland, Georgia, 30 miles to the southwest, the mutilated body of Meredith Emerson was discovered in January. Hilton held her captive for three days before she was killed.

RAEL: I remember him giving me actually those words.

DORNIN (on camera): What words?

RAEL: I'm the hunter. Where's the challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY FENDLEY, ACTOR: I'm a hunter, Barbara. Where's the challenge?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN (on camera): When you heard what happened did you flashback to the advice he had given you to the film?

RAEL: To me almost word for word, that's what was really scared then.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxantshop.com