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Pentagon Mistakenly Ships Missile Parts to Taiwan; Consumer Confidence Plunging; Presidential Politics and Economic Fixes

Aired March 25, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello everyone, once again. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.

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

Developments keep coming in to the CNN NEWSROOM on Tuesday, the 25th day of March.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Breaking news. Minutes ago, the Pentagon admitting it mistakenly shipped ballistic missile triggers to Taiwan.

HARRIS: Consumer confidence plunging today. New numbers as the presidential candidates wrap up plans to turn things around.

COLLINS: A text and sex scandal leads to a court date today for Detroit's Kwame Kilpatrick. The mayor's big mess -- in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Breaking news. It is a blunder that is thundering across two of the world's nuclear powers. The Pentagon mistakenly shipped missile parts to Taiwan. That's sure to test Washington's already strained relationship with China.

CNN's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr is at her post with this new information.

And Barbara, share with everyone your reporting from just about 20 minutes ago.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it's hard to know where to begin. The Pentagon has just concluded a very high- level briefing for reporters. We now do have more information.

These parts that were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan perhaps best described now as being electrical components that go at the front end of the assembly for an intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile may be nuclear but these actual components, of course, are not nuclear.

These are essentially the electrical fuses, the firing signal, if you will, when it's all put together. This sends the electrical signal to the missile that begins to activate the entire missile. But here's what's absolutely astounding, Tony. These four components were actually shipped to Taiwan back in 2006 and were sitting in a Taiwanese warehouse until the government of Taiwan recently discovered last week that what they thought they were storing was helicopter batteries from the U.S., was actually these components for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

It is not explainable at this moment, to say the least, how these parts went to Taiwan. They are under strict controls. They are inventoried constantly by the U.S. military. How they have been in Taiwan since 2006 seems rather extraordinary.

The Taiwanese last week informed the U.S. of this mistake. The U.S. military went, took control of these parts, and has brought them back to the United States.

President Bush has been informed about this. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been informed about it.

Listen for a minute to one of the things that was just said at this briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN HENRY, DEP. UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The department will determine the facts and take appropriate corrective action regarding this regrettable incident. When informed this past Friday morning, the secretary directed the immediate return of the equipment to U.S. custody and with (ph) positive control. The president was subsequently notified that day.

Secretary Gates further ordered the equipment to be expeditiously returned to a secure facility in the United States. And as Carter (ph) has let you know, that has now been accomplished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: A full investigation under way, to say the least, but perhaps even more problematic, the U.S. has now had to inform China of this event and what has happened, and is taking many steps to try and reassure the Chinese there is no change in U.S. policy regarding China and Taiwan. One can only imagine how sensitive the government in Beijing is to the fact that the Taiwanese may have had -- did have these components in their possession since 2006 -- Tony.

HARRIS: Particularly at a time, Barbara, when the United States is pushing China over its handling of the unrest in Tibet. Can't wait to see where this story goes from here. We know you will be following it for us.

At her post at the Pentagon, Barbara Starr.

Barbara, thank you.

STARR: Sure. COLLINS: The troubled economy is issue #1 for you, and John McCain and Hillary Clinton are talking about it on the campaign trail today.

This hour, we're keeping a close eye on Wall Street. You see it there. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, anyway.

The market appeared ready to build on yesterday's gains but then hit sort of a big speed bump. Right now you see down by about 45, 46 points or so.

The reason for the skid, last hour's report on consumer confidence. It is now at a five-year low. The all-important gauge helps predict future spending. Of course, a key element in healing the economy.

And more signs the housing crisis is getting worse. A new survey this morning shows home prices fell more than 11 percent in January. That is the steepest drop since Standard & Poor's began crunching the numbers back in 1987.

So our money team has you covered on this very important story. CNN Senior Business Correspondent Ali Velshi watching the markets, and Dan Lothian following issue #1 on the campaign trail.

Ali, we want to begin with you in New York this morning. Boy, that index not so good, huh?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The Consumer Confidence Index is one of those things that measures sort of how consumers feel. And in the United States, that's a very important thing, because we, more than most other big economies, depend on actual consumers buying products and spending their money that way.

So look at the numbers. It's not really worth getting into how those numbers are figured out, but it's 76.4 in February. It was expected to be about 73 in March. And look what happened, 64.5.

Basically, what that is saying is consumers are uncertain about this economy. And when they are uncertain, they tend to spend less money.

Now, you mentioned another survey, the Case-Shiller Index, which is a home price survey, which again shows a massive drop in home prices. We also saw something that showed a massive drop in the sales of homes over the last year. But what we did see -- and this is my silver lining that I'm bringing in -- was that there was a slight uptick in the sales of homes from January to February because the price of homes has fallen so much in the last year, and certainly since the highs of July of 2006, that people are finding that at the prices at the median home -- median price for an American home is selling, $193,900 -- that's the price at which half the homes are higher and half are lower -- some people are thinking it might be time to actually get into the market.

So, Heidi, that's the good news and bad news. The bad news is consumers are losing confidence. Home prices continue to drop. Home sales, you know, are slow. The good news is that on the house price thing, some people might be seeing themselves bargain hunters now.

COLLINS: Yes, OK. Well, that's an interesting way to look at it, of course.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COLLINS: Ali Velshi, thanks so much.

VELSHI: OK.

HARRIS: Now presidential politics and economic fixes. What are the specifics of Hillary Clinton's proposals?

CNN's Dan Lothian now on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our economic crisis is at its core a housing crisis.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Hillary Clinton tackling the economy on the campaign trail in Philadelphia, unveiling a four-point economic plan she says will help restore confidence in a battered economy and a housing market drowning in foreclosures.

CLINTON: Our housing crisis is at heart an American dream crisis. Your home isn't just your greatest asset, your greatest source of wealth. It's your great source of security.

LOTHIAN: Senator Clinton wants President Bush appoint an emergency working group with top financial experts like Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Paul Volcker, finding new ways to deal with the housing crisis.

And she revisited last week's proposal of a second stimulus package, at least $30 billion to help hard-hit states and communities fight foreclosures.

But to Senator Barack Obama, Clinton's plan sounds like a loud echo.

Here's what his campaign manager told reporters on a conference call.

PLOUFFE: Most of them are repackaged ideas. We have talked about many of the same solutions.

LOTHIAN: And the Obama campaign says Clinton's emergency working group sounds like what they proposed a year ago in this letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Putting out a strong message on the economy and the mortgage crisis is critical, not only for Obama and Clinton, but for Senator John McCain, because, for voters, both Republicans and Democrats, it's issue number one.

In opinion pieces in "The Washington Post," advisers for all three campaigns made their case for turning things around. But is what they're offering enough to tackle this monumental problem long term?

Bill Rosenberg is a political science professor at Drexel University.

BILL ROSENBERG, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, DREXEL UNIVERSITY: The candidates are doing somewhat a good job at addressing this, but not a completely great job. We need to change the way business is being done, that we really can't have a mortgage industry that is left unbridled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And CNN's Dan Lothian joins us live with the Election Express in Philadelphia.

And Dan, Hillary Clinton is under some fire for some comments she made about a trip to Bosnia. What's the latest on that?

LOTHIAN: That's right. You know, this is a case where you have to really be careful what you say, because there's videotape that might show otherwise. And this goes back to something that she said on the campaign trail last week, where she was describing how she went into Bosnia in 1996 and it was a dangerous trip. They went in under sniper fire, and then they had to sort of duck and run as they were getting off the plane.

But as it turns out, when you look at the videotape, that that apparently was not the case, as was described on the ground by even those who were there. And then Senator Clinton had to essentially backtrack and say that she misspoke.

This is tough for the campaign, because as you know, Tony, she really has been sort of building her campaign on her resume and saying that she has the foreign policy experience, that she's made all of these trips overseas. So this sort of give as little opening for her critics, including Barack Obama.

HARRIS: Always a little difficult to believe that the first lady would fly into a sniper zone to begin with. All right.

Dan Lothian for us this morning in Philadelphia.

Dan, thanks.

The economy issue #1 for the presidential candidate. Republican John McCain unveils his recovery plan at 1:00 Eastern. We will have live coverage of that event for you, as well as Hillary Clinton's town hall meeting. That's to get under way at 1:30 Eastern Time. And keep watching CNN. Our money team has you covered, whether it's jobs, debt, housing, savings. Join us for a special report. It is called "ISSUE #1," the economy all this week at noon Eastern, only on CNN.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In Detroit, fallout from the mayor's text message sex scandal. Plenty of it, too.

This morning, the city's two major newspapers calling for Kwame Kilpatrick to quit. It comes just hours before his arraignment.

Live now to our Susan Roesgen.

Hey, Susan, last time we spoke you said you were going to check on the security situation, because I know that there is quite a scene expected for that arraignment at 1:00 Eastern Time.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. I did a reconnaissance mission, if you will. I talked to the security folks inside. They're going to have the same number of security officers from the courthouse, but the mayor will be bringing in his own security team, a few officers there, and the Detroit Police Department will also have some officers in the courtroom.

What they're going to do, Tony, is they're going to make sure that no other cases, nobody involved in any other of the felony cases that would normally be in one this one judge's courtroom, will be allowed to be in there. They're going to stop all traffic except for the mayor's arraignment and then his former chief of staff's arraignment.

The only people that are going to be allowed in that courtroom will be the media and the mayor's staff. So what that means basically is that the mayor will not have to face other, you know, jail inmates in their orange jumpsuits in there, as you normally would when you'd be going for an arraignment.

The whole process should not take more than five minutes. But Tony, this is going to be an unprecedented five minutes for the city of Detroit.

It will be beamed live on television here, carried live on local television. So right over the lunch hour, you can imagine all the people sitting in bars and restaurants watching their mayor face these formal federal charges: obstruction of justice, misconduct in office, and perjury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYM WORTHY, WAYNE COUNTY PROSECUTOR: You know the fundamental principles of the justice system are fairly simple. We learned them as children. They aren't hard -- tell the truth, take responsibility for your actions, admit when you're wrong, play fair and be fair, don't take or use things that aren't yours, and there are consequences for bad behavior. Even children understand that lying is wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KWAME KILPATRICK, DETROIT: I'm deeply disappointed in the prosecutor's decision. I can't say that I am surprised, however.

This has been a very flawed process from the very beginning. However, at the same time, I recognize that this is merely the first step in a process that I believe in that's grounded in a presumption of innocence that is guaranteed to each and every American citizen by the Constitution of these United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Now, once again, Tony, the issue isn't the sex. The issue is not so much that he had an affair with his chief of staff. It's that he and she both lied about it and that he arranged for the firing of a couple of police officers here who uncovered it. And they, in turn, sued the city for wrongful termination.

The city had to pay more than $8 million to those police officers in their whistle-blower suit, and that's what's really at the crux of this case, betrayal of public trust. And what many people here that I've spoken to say was an incredible waste of public money -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. All right. Susan Roesgen for us in Detroit today.

Susan, appreciate it. Thank you.

And still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, the words of a killer. Shocking details revealed in the death of a Georgia hiker.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Now information that could really save your life. It's about a condition that could feel like muscle soreness but turn into something far more serious.

Deep-Vein Thrombosis, it occurs when a blood clot forms in a large vein. And check out these statistics, too. I bet you haven't heard them before.

DVT affects two million Americans every year. It can develop into pulmonary embolism. Three hundred thousand people die from PE every year. In fact, more people die from pulmonary embolism in the U.S. than breast cancer and AIDS combined. So now you have the numbers.

And to talk about more of this, Melanie Bloom. She's from the Coalition to Prevent DVT. Her husband, NBC News correspondent David Bloom, died from DVT and PE.

Melanie, it is always such a pleasure to talk to you. I know that you have been working tirelessly, mostly on unawareness for DVT.

Had you on last year. Tell me what changes have taken place in the year since we've seen you last.

MELANIE BLOOM, COALITION TO PREVENT DVT: That's right. Good to see you, Heidi.

Well, March is DVT Awareness Month.

COLLINS: Right.

BLOOM: And today actually we're having a DVT screening day, where we are encouraging hospitals and health care providers across the nation to screen their patients for Deep-Vein Thrombosis. You mentioned the statistics which are staggering numbers of deaths from a condition that can be prevented and successfully treated.

COLLINS: You know, I think just because I have had one, I've had both, the DVT and pulmonary embolism, and very, very thankful every day to be here, quite frankly, I had absolutely no idea -- and we mentioned it in the introduction to you -- that my sore calf could have resulted in something so incredibly serious.

How do people know? What do they look for in particular?

BLOOM: That's right. It's so important to know if you fall into a risk category. And our Web site, preventdvt.org, has some simple questions that can assess your risk.

So once you know whether or not you are at risk for DVT, you should be aware of, like you mentioned, a simple cramp or leg pain. Sometimes it's tender or swelling.

My husband, when he was covering the war in Iraq, mentioned some leg cramps very casually.

COLLINS: Right.

BLOOM: Was dead two days later. So it can be a very dire warning sign that if you have a clot in your leg if you have some discomfort. However, 50 percent of the time there are no warning signs or symptoms. So, it's so, so important to know if you can be at risk.

COLLINS: And also important to point out, too, I think, Melanie, that sometimes you don't fall in that risk category. At least in my case. And it really made no sense to this very day. We don't know where it came from, a complete anomaly.

That being said, talk about some of the challenges that you have with awareness, with letting everybody know what Deep-Vein Thrombosis is. I mean, are you finding that when you say those words now people know what it is?

BLOOM: Right. I partnered with the coalition after my husband passed away, and at the time I had never heard of DVT. A study showed 75 percent of America had never heard of DVT.

COLLINS: Wow.

BLOOM: So, in these past four years, working with the coalition to prevent DVT, we have seen that the awareness level is rising. Forty percent of Americans are now familiar with the term "DVT" or Deep-Vein Thrombosis. But there's still a really big myth between awareness and the number of lives lost.

And today, with our national screening day, along with Premier Healthcare Alliance, we are encouraging hospitals and physicians to really make this a top priority. DVT happens to also be the number one cause of preventable hospital deaths in our nation.

COLLINS: It's really just so shocking.

All right. So let's say that you are recognizing some of these symptoms in yourself. What's the first thing that you do?

I mean, do you call 911? Do you get yourself to an E.R.?

BLOOM: I would, yes. If you fall into any of the risk categories -- maybe you've been on a long flight, or you're a woman who is on hormone replacement therapy, or oral contraceptives, or you've had a recent surgery or illness, anything that lays you up or restricts the mobility in your circulatory system, if anything like that has occurred, and you're having leg pain, I would immediately speak to my physician.

They can do a simple ultrasound which scans the leg.

COLLINS: Right.

BLOOM: And they can immediately see whether or not you have a clot. If the clot has broken free and hits the lungs, the symptoms can appear as shortness of breath or even maybe mimic the feelings of a heart attack.

COLLINS: Yes. Or a knife going into your back, which is what I felt.

BLOOM: Or a knife.

COLLINS: Not that I had ever felt that before, but the pain is very, very intense.

Melanie, quickly, if someone is fortunate enough to make it through a blood clot, we always talk about what happens on the back side of that. There's a lot of jokes about these compression stockings because they're so pretty, that you get to wear.

BLOOM: Aren't they attractive?

COLLINS: They squeeze the blood, basically, up to your heart, make sure that you are getting the correct circulation. And I know you guys have a really great event that's coming up. We are looking at some of these fashion stockings right now.

Tell me about it.

BLOOM: Well, on May 7th we are partnering with the Parsons School of Design so that these socks aren't so unattractive.

COLLINS: Yes. It would be great if you could make those cute.

BLOOM: That's right. To draw awareness to the leg. So socks is sort of a light-hearted approach to raise awareness about a very serious medical condition.

COLLINS: Absolutely.

Well, we are so proud of you and the work that you're doing. We miss David, of course. As I'm sure you do, too.

We appreciate your time here today. Thanks so much.

BLOOM: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: Melanie Bloom, the DVT Coalition.

To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, you can always log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address, CNN.com/health.

Good morning once again, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

The governor of Virginia is denying reports the state has reached a settlement with families in the Virginia Tech massacre. Some relatives of those killed had said the families were offered $100,000 each if they agreed not to sue. But the governor says that's not true. He said the state is still negotiating. Thirty-two people were killed in the shooting last April before the gunman, a student, fatally shot himself.

The family of an indicted bank executive found killed, a sixth body found inside the wreckage of the family's burning car. It happened in Iowa. Police say the crime may have started here at the family's home. Police responding to a 911 call found a woman and her four children dead, her husband missing. Minutes later, police responding to an accident found the family's van on fire, a body inside. Police say it may be the missing husband who had recently been indicted on embezzlement charges.

COLLINS: A chilling murder confession. A man tells detectives how he killed a hiker in Georgia.

Richard Elliot of affiliate WSB has the story. And a warning now, you may find some of the video disturbing. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY MICHAEL HILTON: I'm going to tell you right now, there was never any plan to let her go.

RICHARD ELLIOT, WSB REPORTER (voice-over): Without a trace of emotion, Gary Michael Hilton tells detectives how he kidnapped and later killed Meredith Emerson.

HILTON: It didn't seem real. It doesn't seem real looking back on it.

ELLIOT: Hilton describes how he kidnapped Emerson so he could steal money from her ATM. He also says he was surprised how hard she fought back.

HILTON: I had to hand fight her and I still couldn't get control over her. She would faint or pretend that I was in control and then start fighting again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

HILTON: So I had to -- I had to hit her a number of times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meredith Emerson put up a valiant battle for her life over the three or four days that she was with Hilton.

ELLIOT: Hilton says he was never able to steal money from Emerson's account because she kept giving him the wrong ATM codes. He says he raped her out of anger. Finally, he confesses to beating her to death with a tire iron while she was still chained to a tree. And he describes how he felt after her death.

HILTON: It was like an out of body experience. And you know, you look back on it and you say, that wasn't even real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh.

HILTON: I don't know what it was. I was just in -- you might say an altered state. I just don't know. It was hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

HILTON: It was hard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Gary Hilton is serving life in prison for murdering Meredith Emerson.

HARRIS: Unprotected flights, CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT" looks at the Federal Air Marshal Program. You may be surprised by what we found. It's a report you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Securing your safety in the air. Surprising revelations in a CNN exclusive investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there is one place Americans should feel safe after 9/11, it should be here, sitting on a commercial airplane about to land or take off at Washington's Ronald Reagan Airport. Certainly any attempt to take over the plane would be thwarted by federal air marshals. But that is only if federal air marshals are on board.

(on camera): Are the numbers classified because the numbers are embarrassing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would be very embarrassed by them if they were to get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT" correspondent Drew Griffin here with us. Drew, great to see you. I think it would be interesting if you would share with the folks watching a bit of the information as to how you came to this investigation.

GRIFFIN: Yes, serious, serious story here and one that we debated on a long time ...

HARRIS: Yes.

GRIFFIN: ...whether we should go with. But basically, this came from federal law enforcement people to begin with who told us, look, 9/11, we had a big spike in air marshals. Suddenly they're gone, they're nowhere to be found. We finally contacted the air marshals. They want this story out because they think something is wrong with their agency. We're blogging about it.

HARRIS: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Getting a lot of responses on CNN.com. You can also read the entire story and tonight, of course, on "AC," we'll have the full story.

HARRIS: So tonight, the full story, tonight, "AC 360" at 10:00 Eastern time, the full report.

GRIFFIN: That's right.

HARRIS: Can't wait. OK, Drew, appreciate it. Thank you.

And CNN's security watch keeps you up-to-date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

COLLINS: The Supreme Court in action this morning. And for the first time in 12 years, the nation's highest law officer will argue a case. Attorney General Michael Mukasey wants the justices to reverse an appeals court ruling in a terror case. It involves an Algerian man convicted of plotting to attack Los Angeles International Airport before New Year's Day in 2000. The appeals court threw out a conviction on an explosives charge. Mukasey says the ruling has made it harder to go after terrorists.

Fierce fighting today between Iraqi security forces and a prominent Shia militia. The clash is threatening to rupture a long- standing ceasefire.

CNN's Kyra Phillips has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): A showdown in Iraq's second city, one that may threaten the success of the U.S. surge. Iraqi troops and police on the offensive against Shia militia groups in Basra. Their main target, the Mehdi militia led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Mortar and machine gunfire echo through the city. A thick pale of smoke rose above the skyline. Residents say intense fighting broke out soon after dawn on Tuesday. U.S. and British troops are not taking part in the crackdown, which was ordered by Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. On a visit to Basra Monday, he said its people were suffering a brutal campaign waged by a legal militia and accuse them of smuggling oil, weapons and drugs.

Local resident customs supports the government's action. "God willing," he says, "we are fully confident the Iraqi police and army can spread security."

But Muqtada al-Sadr reacted angrily. Through a spokesman, he ordered a campaign of civil disobedience and warned of a nationwide strike. Al-Sadr supporters in Baghdad protested the army's action and schools, shops and markets were closed in neighborhoods controlled by the Mehdi militia.

The army offensive in Basra may also threaten the fragile ceasefire against U.S. forces being observed by most of al-Sadr's fighters. That's led to a sharp decline in clashes between U.S. troops and the Mehdi militia and allowed U.S. commanders to focus the surge on battling al Qaeda.

(on camera): Now, with the American troop surge winding down and General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker preparing to return to Washington to report on the progress in Iraq, the timing couldn't be worse for a possible end to a delicate ceasefire with the Mehdi militia.

Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Risky journeys, this Cuban man has tried 28 times to reach the United States and failed, yet he's lucky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Endeavour disengaged. Before undocking it was hugs all around. The shuttle astronauts saying goodbye. They were at the International Space Station for 12 days. The visit included five spacewalks to complete construction projects on part of a Japanese lab module and the giant robot handyman, Dexter. The astronauts are now preparing for a Wednesday evening landing at the Kennedy Space Center.

COLLINS: Risking their lives for a better life. Despite past failures, many Cuban are still determined to leave their island for the U.S.

Here now CNN's Morgan Neill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Luis Guzman says nothing is going to stop him from seeing his wife and sons in Florida.

"I've tried 28 times," he says. "I'll try 28 more. I'll see my family or I'll die trying."

This New Year's Eve he came close to both. Luis said he was among 30 Cubans who boarded a speedboat that dropped them off within sight of the Florida coast, but a deep channel and a strong current stood between them and the shore.

Luis was able to swim to land, but what he heard from those left behind made him stop and turn around.

"He's drowning, he's drowning," they screamed, pointing to a boy in the water. When Luis swam back to help, he was picked up by the Coast Guard and returned to Cuba.

Ivan Gonzales' sister and brother-in-law weren't so lucky. Their boat left Cuba around November 22nd with some 40 people aboard and disappeared.

"It's difficult, very difficult," he says. "We don't know anything."

Many of those aboard came from the town of Perico (ph), east of Havana. In the main plaza, everyone seems to know their story. "This is a little town," says Antonio (ph) Garcia. "I knew almost all of them." It's rattled the town, and residents say fewer people are now leaving.

But that's not the case elsewhere. Unlike other migrants, Cubans who touch U.S. soil are generally allowed to stay. Even though more Cubans now enter the United States through Mexico, Coast Guard interceptions in the Florida straits are at their highest level than in 1994.

Luis Guzman says Fidel Castro's retirement won't change that. "Things are going to stay the way they are," he says. "We're going to keep going along the same path. There's no way to improve this." (on camera): Would-be migrants say it's not politics that drives them to risk the seas. They've had enough of politics. It's the idea that something better lies just there, across the water.

Morgan Neil, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You're out of town, but it's your stuff that's taking a road trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They saw a posting on Craig's List saying that the property owner is leaving the country, has to get out of town right away and come and get everything on the property is free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A Craig's List hoax, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Just chillin', kicked back here. Barack Obama taking a leisurely detour from the campaign trail. A CNN exclusive in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Homeowners' horror story. An organ man came home to see dozens of people rummaging through his stuff. Someone posted false ads on the Craig's List Web site. That hoax claimed the family had to leave the country and their belongings were free for the taking. Now police are saying people who took the stuff could be prosecuted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD FOGARTY, JACKSON CO., OREGON SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Those people need to return the property. If they don't make an effort to return the property we can make them part of the theft case. It baffles me why people would see something on Craig's List, and just buy the face value that it was legitimate, and then refuse to obey the demands of the property owner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: What? some of the stuff on the Internet isn't true? Police say several items have been returned, but a number of others can't be found. But somebody did return, thankfully, a horse.

HARRIS: Help for homeowners, a growing issue on the campaign trail. Are recent proposals enough? CNN's Christine Romans reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The foreclosure crisis savaging Main Street is reshaping this presidential race.

JOHN GEER, VANDERBILT UNIV.: We can easily imagine it playing real havoc on this election because you're talking about people's key asset, the thing that they really care about so much.

ROMANS: In Pennsylvania, Senator Hillary Clinton talked about government billions riding to the rescue of Wall Street.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Homeowners, on the other hand, have received next to no assistance. Well, let's be clear, when families are losing their homes, that's also a financial crisis.

ROMANS: There are subtle nuances between Clinton and Barack Obama's plans to rescue homeowners. And a chasm between the Democrats and Republican Senator John McCain. McCain says he opposes taxpayer bail outs of banks, lenders and homeowners, but supports steps to address, quote, "overall instability of the financial system."

His top economic adviser vows the senator will, quote, "not play election year politics with the mortgage crisis." The cornerstone of the bush administration's effort is a hot line called hope now for homeowners not yet behind in their mortgages.

FAITH SCHWARTZ, HOPE NOW ALLIANCE: We're mailing out outreach letters to all borrowers at risk. We have had over 1 million letters mail out, borrower's at risk who have not been in contact with their servicer.

ROMANS: Homeowner advocates are critical of that effort.

JOHN TAYLOR, COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT COALITION: We need speed, because if we suffer another four months of nothing happening other than voluntary compliance, which is what the administration has called for, we will see another million foreclosures.

ROMANS: And congressional efforts are under way. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So we know that issue number one for you, voters, is the economy. What about issue number one with car buyers? There she is, Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us. Susan, good morning.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. You just have to connect the dots on this one. AAA says gas mileage is now the top priority among car buyers. That puts it ahead of make and model safety features, performance, seating capacity, and even those popular technology features and gadgets.

The report says consumers also want tougher government regulations on fuel efficiency. 61 percent say lawmakers should require higher fuel efficiency standards. Tony?

HARRIS: Yes. And Susan, what about people who aren't in the market for a new car?

LISOVICZ: Well, you are seeing some changes there, too, because they're trying to cut down on fuel costs, Tony. 76 percent say they are consolidating shopping trips. 23 percent say they're even revising their vacation plans. 22 percent say they're doing nothing to conserve, but hey are a minority these days, Tony.

HARRIS: Really, no coincidence here that the interest in conservation comes as these gas prices at record levels. Come on.

LISOVICZ: No question about that, Tony. Gas prices, however, did fall one cent.

HARRIS: A penny.

LISOVICZ: According to AAA, they're down to $3.25 a gallon for regular. That's about three pennies lower than the all-time high of 3.28 cents hit on March 16th. That drop has come as commodity prices have eased, including oil prices and crude prices are falling just a bit today. Six cents, to about -- nearing $101 per barrel.

Part of the reason for the decline that we've been seeing recent, the weakening economy. We got two weak reads today. Report on home prices showed a double digit year-over-year drop. Consumer confidence meanwhile is at a five-year low. Here you see the market. Not too bad. We've had two nice days of gains. The DOW off 47 points. The NASDAQ is actually up, well, it's up just half a point. Okay. Not much but it's hanging in there.

HARRIS: It's hanging in there. All right, Susan, appreciate it. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: The economy issue number one, does it give either party on advantage heading into November? CNN's Mary Snow has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Slumping home prices, higher gas bills, layoff worries, these are issues that are not only fueling fears of prolonged recession, some say they can also predict the party winner in the next presidential election. One forecast measures economic growth, job creation and president's approval rating.

Political Science Professor Charles Tien, calculates that as of now a Democrats could get as much as 54 percent of the vote in November.

CHARLES TIEN, HUNTER COLLEGE: Right now, the numbers would indicate that the Democrats are going to have an easy time next year.

SNOW: Another model by Yale Economic Professor Ray Fair, author of Predicting Presidential Elections and Other Things, shows right now Democrats would get about 52 percent of the vote. The models very but there is one common denominator. THOMAS MANN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: You go back over time and find that when the economy's doing badly, the incumbent president's party is under siege.

SNOW: One example, 1980. Democratic President Jimmy Carter lost in a landslide to Republican Ronald Reagan following hard economic times. In 1992, Democrats points to the high unemployment rate under then Republican President George Bush as a key reason why Bill Clinton was elected.

AL FROM, DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL: In 1992 the problem may have been higher unemployment. I think the housing crisis this time has the same kind of affect on voters.

SNOW: But if Democrats have the edge, why does a recent CNN poll show an equal number of people say they believe Republican John McCain and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would do a good job handling the economy?

STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: Sometimes the general impressions of the candidates are more important than their particular policy prescriptions. And John McCain's overall numbers are quite good. I think that's why he benefits when people ask how he could hand the economy.

SNOW: But, political analysts point out there are lots of variables. While the economy is the number one issue now, the big question is, will it be the top issue by next fall? Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Good question. While the economy issue number one for the presidential candidates anyway, Republican John McCain unveils his recovery plan at 1:00 eastern. We will have live coverage for that. As well as Hillary Clinton's town hall meeting. That is due to get under way at 1:30 eastern. So keep watching CNN.

Our money team also has you covered, whether it's jobs, debt, housing or savings. Join us for a special report. It's called ISSUE # 1, THE ECONOMY, all this week at noon eastern only on CNN.

HARRIS: Senator Barack Obama seems to be enjoying his downtime. He is in the Virgin Islands taking a vacation in friendly territory. Obama, won the Virgin Islands caucuses in February. Tomorrow, it's back to the grind of the campaign trail. He has a stop planned in North Carolina.

COLLINS: All right. CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: So, let's get to it. ISSUE # 1 is next with Ali Velshi and Gerri Willis. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. Have a good day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins at the CNN center in Atlanta, "ISSUE #1" starts in just a minute, but first a check on stories making headlines

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