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Pentagon Puts Planes and Ships in Place to Victims in Myanmar; President Bush Discusses Meeting with Republican House Leadership; John McCain Discusses 'Taskforce on Human Trafficking'; Clinton Camp Short on Cash

Aired May 07, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris.

Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the run-down.

Out of cash but not out of gas. For a second time, Hillary Clinton loans her campaign millions of dollars. It's new this morning.

WHITFIELD: And don't forget, John McCain, the Republican, holding a town hall meeting this hour in Michigan. Live coverage.

HARRIS: The Pentagon lining up ships and planes to help cyclone survivors. Will Myanmar's military rulers let them in today, Wednesday, May 7.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: All right, breaking news from the presidential campaign. CNN has learned Hillary Clinton loaned her campaign more than $6 million in the last month. So, what does it mean?

CNN's Jessica Yellin is in Indiana where Clinton scored a primary win. Susan Roesgen looks at questions over accounting and less than 30 minutes away, we'll go live to the next battleground state.

Let's begin with Jessica in Indianapolis. So Jessica, Hillary Clinton taking financial steps to keep her campaign alive. What more can you tell us?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredricka, this money, according to Candy Crowley, who has broken this story for CNN, came over the last month. We should make it clear, Senator Clinton did not loan herself $6.4 million overnight. It's been over the course of a month that she's given herself this financial support. And you'll recall the last time she announced that she had made a loan, that spurred her donors to start pouring money into her campaign coffers. So, we can see this today. Again, another effort by the Clinton campaign to call on her supporters to sort of pour in cash to continue to fuel this race because Senator Clinton is making it clear that at least at this point, she does not plan to get out. Today, she is going to West Virginia. She is going to Washington, D.C. Her schedule will take her on to Oregon.

She sees herself as continuing to fight in this campaign. It is a hard story line for her to sell after her narrow victory here in Indiana compared to Barack Obama's landslide win in North Carolina. Very difficult to convince the superdelegates to come her way. But that will be what she plans to do in the next few weeks -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so Jessica, any idea what that $6.4 million gets her? Is that more money for advertisement, more money to help keep her very vital staff members with her? Or is it kind of, you know, that rainy day fund just in case?

YELLIN: The $6.4 million gets her a lot of publicity. And I think that, yes, it supports her operations, it supports her -- allows her campaign to go on. But more than anything, it tells the public and the press, the pundits, that she believes in her campaign, she's invested her own money in it, saying she does not plan to back out. And it's really a call for all of us to sort of back down on saying that this thing is over. Or letting -- and letting her donors know that she plans to go on -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jessica Yellin, thanks so much -- Tony.

HARRIS: And very quickly, let's get you now to Rochester, Michigan. You see John and Cindy McCain on stage there in Oakland University, when the senator from Arizona begins his remarks. Described as a town hall meeting there, Rochester, we will bring those comments to you live.

But first, Senator Clinton's victory in Indiana didn't become clear until well after midnight. The reason, a painfully slow count in a county near Chicago.

CNN's Susan Roesgen joins us now from the Lake County town of Crown Point. And Susan, what took so long? And at the end of night or first thing in the morning, as it turned out, a lot of those poll workers felt attacked and vilified, didn't they?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it took a full 24 hours, Tony. You know, the people who voted early, voted absentee, did it to be, you know, convenient for themselves, but it made a terrible inconvenience here for the county.

I'm actually at the election headquarters here. I want to show you a couple of headlines. This is what was happening. The nation was looking at this particular county, "Vote Hangs on Lake Tally." That's one from the local newspapers here. And "Hillary Holds on as Lake Holds Out."

You know, last night on CNN, of course, we were wondering what's going on? Why has this county's results not come back yet? They had some new voting machines here. They had a record number of voters here and they had a record number of these absentee ballots. Four times as many as they've ever had, 11,000 absentee ballots.

And you know, Tony, it's not as simple as just opening one of those absentee ballots and reading the vote. There's a lot more to it than just reading the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE FAJMAN, ELECTION SUPV., LAKE CO., INDIANA: They verify signatures from the application to the ballot. Then, they separate those, then they open up the ballot envelope. Then, they look for two sets of initials on there to make sure it's been validated. Then, they separate those out. They (INAUDIBLE), then they come over to a scanning team. We match them up to the report, make sure that our numbers match. If you have 25 ballots, you have 25 returns and so forth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: And all that is before they even put those absentee ballots through an optical scanner to find out how people voted, all that. They say it can take five minutes or more for each absentee ballot. And just 30 seconds, Tony, to do an entire precinct because those are done from those, you know, touch screens, the electronic voting. That's real simple, goes straight to the computer.

They said the -- you know, an entire precinct of thousands of voters could be tallied in 30 seconds. Each absentee ballot, maybe more than five minutes.

HARRIS: My goodness. All right, Susan Roesgen for us this morning. What a story in Lake County. Susan, good to see you. Thank you.

A couple of events now that we want to bring to your attention. Certainly on our radar, we're expecting -- on the left of your screen, you see the president. I believe that's the president, making his way. He is about to make a statement this morning. John McCain on the right.

But first, let's go to the North Portico of the White House for comments, a statement from the president.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ...Republic House leadership, these are dear friends of mine and they are committed to doing what's right for the country. I just met with the Republican Caucus, and the House. And I want to share some thoughts with you.

First of all, we are committed to a good housing bill that will help folks stay in their house, as opposed to a housing bill that will reward speculators and lenders. Household turner league (ph) that will do the right thing for the American people when it comes to housing.

I will veto the bill that's moving through the House today. If it makes it to my desk and hurts members on both sides of the aisle to focus on a good piece of legislation that is being sponsored by Republican members.

Secondly, we talked about gasoline prices. No doubt about it, we're deeply concerned about the high price of gasoline which means that the United States Congress should not pass legislation that makes it harder to increase the supply of crude oil as well as increase the supply of gasoline.

What they should do is allow for the construction of refinery and/or environmentally-friendly domestic exploration. And the truth of the matter is, Congress were that concerned about the consumers, they ought to make sure that they make a tax relief we passed a permanent part of the tax code.

We talked about the supplemental that's moving. I told the members I support $108 billion supplemental without any strings. We're going to work towards that goal.

I talked about the Colombia Free Trade agreement. The speaker stopped the bill from moving. All we ask is that it be given an up or down vote. The bill is in our economic interest. If you're worried about the economy, then you got to recognize that opening markets for U.S. goods and services will help strengthen the economy. And if you're worried about the security in our neighborhood, turn our back on a strong ally like President Uribe will be a -- is bad national security policy. And the speaker has got to let this bill come to the floor for an up or down vote.

And finally, we talked about FISA. That's the ability for our intelligence folks and folks on the frontline of protecting America to have the tools necessary to stop al Qaeda from attacking us. And the fact that the Democratic leadership refuses to let this vote come to the floor is bad for our national security.

This vote will pass. This bill would pass. And has passed the Senate, will pass the House thanks to the leadership of the members up here, as well as discerning Democrats. And yet, the leadership refuses to let it come up. And the country is at greater risk as a result of not having a modernized FISA bill.

And so, those are the issues we discussed. It's a positive agenda. It's an agenda that speaks to the economic interests of the people. It's an agenda that speaks to the national security interests of the people and it's an agenda that recognizes that we can find the wisdom of the American people in their souls and their hearts. We listen carefully to what they think and we respond in a way that, you know, meets their needs.

And so, thank you all for coming. Proud to work with you. And enjoy visiting today. Thank you.

HARRIS: All right, there you have it. The president after his meeting this morning with House Republicans, the House Republican Conference, taking some shots at the Democrats on Congress, in Congress right now, over a couple of issues: the Colombia Free Trade, FISA.

And the president making clear that he plans to veto, if this bill, this housing rescue bill that is working its way through the Congress right now, through the House right now, if it makes it through the Senate and makes it to his desk, the president is promising that he would veto it. The plan has bipartisan support. And it calls for the government to guarantee $300 billion in new loans for borrowers. The president saying that that is a bill that if it makes it to his desk, the president is promising that he would veto it.

The plan has bipartisan support, and it calls for the government to guarantee $300 billion in new loans for borrowers. The president saying that that is a bill that if it makes it to his desk, he will veto it. We will sort out more of these issues throughout the morning for you right here in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And on stage right now in Rochester, Michigan at Oakland University, presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain -- right there. We are monitoring his comments. We'll have much more of McCain and all other news events in the NEWSROOM right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Back to the race for the White House. On stage right there in Rochester, Michigan, presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... Fifty years after our nation ended the institution here, the practice still thrives in the dark corners of our society. Most of the victims of human trafficking in the United States, and in most other places in the world, are the most vulnerable among us. Destitute women and children were sold into bondage as sex slaves.

A 2004 State Department report concludes that of the estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women and children transported across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The State Department estimates that between 15,000 and 18,000 human slaves are brought into the United States, many of whom are forced into the sex trade every year.

While the past few years have seen increased efforts on the part of the State and Justice Departments and FBI to combat the slave trade, we must do more. As president, I will increase cooperation and communication between all agencies of the federal government by establishing an interagency task force on human trafficking whose purpose will be to focus exclusively on the prosecution of human traffickers and the rescue of their victims.

(APPLAUSE)

The task force will strengthen cooperation between federal officials, state and local law enforcement and prosecutors to ensure that jurisdictional issues are not barrier to success and that we have a coordinated, international response to this scourge. I will require that the task force agencies to report directly to me on the status of the problem and the progress we are making to defeat the stain on the reputation and character of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

And we will take care to show compassion for victims of this despicable crime against humanity by making sure shelter, counseling, legal assistance is available and accessible to them. We must --

WHITFIELD: Presidential candidate, John McCain, talking about what he believes should be the country's commitment to help end various types of slavery worldwide. Of course if you want to continue to watch and listen to his remarks from Oakland University there in Rochester, Michigan, you can go CNN.com/live.

HARRIS: The Democrats' race for the White House. Hillary Clinton vows to fight on despite money troubles. Barack Obama's campaign hints it is time for superdelegates to step up.

Where are things headed? That's the question for our veteran Washington with insider, Susan Page. Susan is the Washington bureau chief for "USA Today." And Frank Sesno is a former Washington bureau chief for CNN. He now serves as a special correspondent.

Susan, Frank, great to see you, as always.

Susan, let me start with you. After the results yesterday, do we have, practically speaking, a Democratic nominee for president and is his name Barack Obama?

SUSAN PAGE, "USA TODAY" WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: You know, I think effectively, we do. Four months after those Iowa caucuses, an amazing race we have seen, surprisingly protracted, really hard- fought. But I think that Barack Obama demonstrated to superdelegates and Democratic Party leaders last night that he has weathered the Jeremiah Wright affair, that he can handle some of the troubles he is going to have on the campaign trail in the general election and that he has won this nomination.

Not quite done yet --

HARRIS: Yes.

PAGE: -- but I think effectively over.

HARRIS: Well Frank, weigh in. What do you think?

FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't quite agree. I'm not quite there yet.

I think the dynamic changed dramatically last night. There is no question about the numbers and the math. I think Barack Obama in his speech was commanding and very different. He tried to turn a page and sound like the nominee. But don't underestimate Hillary Clinton. Don't underestimate what she can do going forward and don't underestimate the question of surprises.

People are out there saying -- before you start talking about the October surprise, wonder if there is a May surprise. And if there is another Jeremiah Wright out there. It is a reach. I grant you that. It is kind of a big leap. But I don't think the celebrating can start just yet.

PAGE: I don't know. Just look at the body language last night. Look at Hillary Clinton who gave a speech where she promised to fight on -- and I don't doubt she is going to stay in through those June 3 primaries. But she also had almost a valedictory feeling to it -- thanking her family.

She had Bill Clinton behind her. We haven't seen Bill Clinton standing behind her at one of these nights for months. And look at how he looked. He looked wistful, he wiped away a tear at one point. I think the Clintons realize that they are now figuring out how to conclude the contest, not how to win it.

SESNO: Well, I will tell you this. I spoke to -- this morning I spoke to a superdelegate who is a committed Clinton superdelegate who asked not to be named so that she could speak more candidly. And she said that without question, this is a disappointment for Hillary and the parade now starts to him, to Barack Obama, fully expecting superdelegates to announce for Obama.

So it could well be. But it has not happened yet. And I think there have been a lot of surprises here. Let's give it a little --

HARRIS: Let me follow up with you here, Frank. The news this morning obviously is that Hillary Clinton has loaned herself $6.4 million over the course of the last month to continue in the fight.

SESNO: Nice to be able to do that.

HARRIS: Yes. Moving forward, what changes? What happens? What's her tone even in West Virginia later this morning?

SESNO: Well -- it's I fight on. That's the only tone it can be. I was -- in a conversation with one of her top aides just last week, he was saying well, we are up by 30 points in West Virginia and we are up by, you know, a ton in Kentucky. But those are small prizes.

Susan is right, absolutely dead right about the general direction of this whole thing. The math is hard to get around. John King has been showing that throughout the morning on the board. It is hard to figure out how this moves forward.

But she's going to say -- here we are. Here's the message that they are going to try to make in the last desperate throws here. And that is that he, Obama, is not electable in the general election campaign in the fall.

PAGE: I guess I disagree with you, Frank. I think they're going to stop making that argument because that's going to divide the party at a point when it is moving towards a nominee. I expect her tone to be a little different this afternoon. It is not that she won't still be making her own case, but I think she will take a less harsh tone towards Barack Obama in recognition there is a lot of concern among Democrats about the party united.

In Indiana last night, in the exit polls, four out of ten Clinton supporters said they would not vote for Barack Obama in the fall. I think the party needs to --

SESNO: What is that about?

HARRIS: What is that about?

PAGE: Today when she speaks in Sheperdstown.

HARRIS: Do you understand that?

SESNO: That's about a lot of discomfort. That's about a lot of the questions that have been raised. The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of questions within the Democratic Party about how Barack Obama can sell nationally and the comfort with him over the Jeremiah Wright and other issues that have been raised. The question about whether he is the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate and how that is going to package throughout the fall.

So there is a lot of excitement around Barack Obama. But there is also a lot of question about how this is actually going to package out.

HARRIS: Isn't this a man who has earned more Democratic votes in this Democratic process than any other Democrat in this process before him?

PAGE: You know, this is just -- let's not lose sight of this. This guy was elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time four years ago. And the fact that he is now close to vanquishing the Democratic establishment candidate for president and get the nomination -- this is really extraordinary. And he has done that by exciting a lot of new voters.

But that does not mean he comes to this undamaged. We have had -- the race has highlighted some of the issues, some of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities he will have in a general election for sure.

HARRIS: And that's what this process does for anyone who takes it on.

And speaking of tone, and we have done that a couple of times in our minutes together here this morning, Frank, you heard something in the tone of the speech last night that struck you. Let me play just a brief portion of it and I'm going to have you comment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So North Carolina and America, don't ever forget that this election is not about me or any candidate. Don't ever forget that this campaign is about you. It is about your hopes; it is about your dreams. It is about your struggles; it is about your aspirations. It is about securing your portion of the American dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Go ahead Frank, your thoughts.

SESNO: Tony I think that one of the things that was really significant and that has been sort of overshadowed in a sense by all the other news and the developments, is that that speech was an extraordinary speech. For weeks, Barack Obama has been sounding tired, kind of lackadaisical at times. Certainly on the defensive.

And he came out roaring last night. I've listened to a lot of presidential candidates' speeches over the years, and he hit all the themes in that speech he needed to hit. Some may dismiss it as saying it was a little bit too much. But it was optimistic, it was patriotic, it was personal.

He demonstrated his own vulnerabilities. He referred to himself as an imperfect messenger. But above all, it was hopeful and optimistic. He talked about people who have been suffering. The woman I met in Indiana who lost her job, the college student I met in Iowa who is working around the clock, the mother in Wisconsin who gave him a bracelet inscribed with her son's name who died in Iraq.

But principally, it was hopeful and optimistic right down to the point where you could think that this was the shining city on the hill speech where he talked about in -- it is a light of opportunity that led my father across the ocean.

HARRIS: And Frank, if I could, let me go to Susan very quickly here -- the last word. Take it wherever you want, Susan.

PAGE: Well I'm struck by how both these candidates have improved through the long process. And you saw Barack Obama addressing some of those vulnerabilities that we talked about in trying to make his case, for instance, to working class voters, by talking about them and their problems. That's a change from four months ago.

HARRIS: Frank, great to see you.

Susan, great to see you.

Let's do it again soon.

PAGE: Thank you, Tony. SESNO: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: Thank you both.

WHITFIELD: Aid on hold. International assistance for Myanmar held up. We will talk to one aid agency director about what can be done to help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Helping cyclone survivors. The U.S. is moving ahead with plans for humanitarian missions to Myanmar. But that operation is stopped at the border for now. Admiral Timothy Keating is the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, formerly of -- Northern Command. Well he joins us now from New York this morning.

Good to see you, Admiral.

ADM. TIMOTHY KEATING, CMDR., U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND: Good morning, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So what are the supplies that we are talking about? Water, Food? In the region, whether it be on ships or even on helicopters, but then what?

KEATING: Fredricka, the United States Pacific Command forces are ready to respond across a fairly broad spectrum to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. You covered some of them -- food, shelter, clothing, medical assistance, water, purification units, blankets. We have a large amount of material. We are just waiting for permission to send it forward.

WHITFIELD: OK. So you have a lot of material. You don't have the permission from Myanmar in order to actually get into the country to make these deliveries.

But how about using the neighbor of Thailand, for example, to go ahead and, I guess, use as a third party to try to get the material to the folks in greatest need?

KEATING: It is a great point. That's exactly what we are doing, Fredricka.

We have C-130s, we've got a Marine task force, we've got a Marine three star who is going to head our task force. That's where our troops are marshalling. That's where the material is flowing and as soon as our president gives us the green light, we will stage out of Thailand.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then what about Thailand saying OK, we could facilitate as opposed to just waiting for our own folks to get the green light?

KEATING: You're right. And that is another good point.

We are going through our friends in the area, Thailand and Australia, amongst them, asking for their help in interceding with Burma and Burma's leaders to give us permission to provide the assistance that the Burmese citizens need so badly.

WHITFIELD: But it seems like there is some hesitation because it has been a couple of days now. Why isn't some of that material just getting to the people in greatest need?

KEATING: Some is, but not from the United States.

The United Nations is beginning to distribute material that had been stockpiled in Burma. But as yet, we have not been permissioned to go and we are asking through as many channels as we can.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so from this point forward, is there a timetable that you would be able to share? And -- obviously getting around is going to be a great challenge. How do you actually get these supplies? Is it going to be an issue of airdropping once you get the green light, whether it be from this administration or neighboring countries, or Myanmar?

KEATING: We will use as many medium as we can. We will come through the air, we'll use sea lift. If we get permission, it will take a little bit longer for sea lift. But we've got fixed wing and rotoring (ph) assets in position ready to move as soon as the president tells us to go.

WHITFIELD: There seems to be a lot of frustration in trying to move the help right?

KEATING: We have been watching the cyclone come ashore, Fredricka, over the weekend in our command center. We were aware that the damage was significant. As in all cases early reports were inaccurate and were low. So we have been poised, waiting for a direction from the president, secretary of defense, for a couple of days now. It is frustrating not to be able to go.

WHITFIELD: And you know, if you're talking about 60,000 people, or upwards of 60,000 people killed that means a lot of bodies are strum about which means potentially bringing on other viruses, illnesses, disease, et cetera.

How concerned are you about the medical, I guess, vulnerabilities here for the people, the survivors?

KEATING: It's a great peril for those who survived. We have some experience with the tsunami disaster in Indonesia and the Bangladesh cyclone last Thanksgiving. So we have folks, including the marines that are ashore in Thailand now, who have experienced on hands-on training with this sort of challenge and they are ready to go as soon as we get the green light.

WHITFIELD: Admiral Tim Keating, thanks so much for your time.

KEATING: Thanks, Fredricka.

HARRIS: Well, we know, you may want to help. At CNN.com, we have a special page with devastation in Myanmar. Complete with links to aid agencies that are organizing help for the region. It is a chance for you to impact your world. Let us be your guide.

Let's take you to the New York Stock Exchange for a look at the big board inside. The first hour of the trading day. Pretty flat so far. The DOW down 12 points. A little better for the NASDAQ. Still in that flat range, though. The NASDAQ up five. We are watching the markets with Susan Lisovicz throughout the morning right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: All right. A new report paints the portrait of today's young adults and their pocketbooks. It is not pretty people. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis. She is pretty. There she is. And very informative who will tell what's in the report.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I love that. Well, let me tell you, this is not good news. And this report is out from the nonpartisan research group, Demos. Here's what they have to say.

Earnings of full-time workers from age 25 to 34 are lower today than a generation ago.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

WILLIS: Right. One out of three young adults do not have health insurance. The debt burden of young households increases 148 percent between 1989 and 2004. Students borrowed $14 billion in private loans. That's college loans -- 734 percent increase from a decade ago. So I got to tell you, young folks, they have a lot of debt. They are incurring more debt. It is a tough time.

WHITFIELD: OK. So what do these young people need to do to become more financially independent? More secure?

WILLIS: Well, first off, be realistic. You know, college debt is probably the defining characteristic of today's young adults. You know with the cost of tuition rising each and every year, wages stagnant, it's really up to you to keep your choice of college realistic.

Look, if you're entering in career field -- can I say journalism? That is known not to be very lucrative. You may want to think twice about going to a private four-year college where tuition is $35,000 a year.

When you are applying for college, make sure you max out that as much federal aid as you can get because that's the low-interest debt. Interest rates on private student loans can range anywhere from 12 percent to 19 percent. So the take away here. These loans are with you for your life. And so you pay them off. You can't get them discharged in bankruptcy. You want to minimize the loans you take out for college.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Speaking of life, you know, a lot of young people think that they are, you know, so strong and they are fearless. They can't possibly ever get sick. So they don't have health insurance.

So how you can say to a young person that, you know what, yes, you do need health insurance? And this is what you need to do in order to get it.

WILLIS: Well, for a lot of folks they will be covered by their parents' plan until they are at least 24-years-old. But if this is not the case for you, you need to find out what health plans are being offered by your college.

Premiums and benefits vary from college to college. If you're between jobs or hey you're just getting ready to enter the job market, consider short-term health insurance. These policies only last one month to maybe six months. The insurance plans will protect you against accidents and illness. But routine doctor visits, not so much.

You may also consider going with a high deductible health care plan. The premiums are generally lower but you have to pay at least the first $1,000 of medical expenses before your plan begins covering your care. Compare these plans at ehealthinsurance.com.

Bottom line, you know, one major accident can put you at bankruptcy's door.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, yes.

WILLIS: You need some coverage.

WHITFIELD: You've got to have insurance. All right, how about getting out of debt? Because so many young people, you know, have so much debt, so much baggage.

WILLIS: Well, you know, look, forget the gimmicks. You've seen the credit card companies on campus talking free candy, free T-shirts and boy just like the play. Don't judge the card by what knick knacks they are offering. You want the important stuff. Check out student credit cards at creditcards.com.

Look out for interest rates. You may also be able to earn cash back rewards for maintaining a good GPA and mom and dad will be happy too. Some cards will give you five percent cash back on purchases at the grocery store, gas stations, convenience stores. It's much better than the T-shirt, don't you think?

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. I'm giving this cheat sheet to my nieces and nephews. All of them are in their lower 20s, in the mid-20s because they need to hear all this stuff. Because hearing from auntie, you know -- they like yes, whatever. This they may listen to you. WILLIS: Well, let me remind your viewers. If you have any questions, send them to us at toptips@cnn.com. We love hearing from you. And of course, we will be doing "ISSUE #1" today, Fred. It's going to be a great show.

We will bring you the latest on the housing bill that's being debated today. Plus, we are going to break down why you pay what you pay for a gallon of gas. I know you want to see that.

WHITFIELD: Oh yes. Everybody is going to want to see that one. All right, Gerri Willis, thank you so much.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: You know, just getting some information on this, just in to CNN. Take a look at this. This is one of the situations where the picture seems to tell the story just fine, thank you.

This is a -- maybe we lose the banner or something here so you can see the picture a little better. That is a plane in a backyard in Louisville, Kentucky. A plane down, small plane. Louisville neighborhood near Interstate 64. If you are familiar with the interstate in the area in Louisville.

The plane took off from a nearby airfield and landed upside down. This happening inside the last hour. In this backyard, no one on the ground injured. No one in the home was hurt. Don't know if -- what about the people on the plane itself?

No word on the possibility of injuries there. Police and firefighters obviously on the scene. It seems the plane just lost power after taking off. Several homes in the area, I would guess, because of the jet fuel evacuated. But that's the scene right now.

And our thanks to our affiliate there in Louisville, WAVE, for providing these pictures of this plane. Small plane down in the backyard of this Louisville, Kentucky neighborhood. We will continue to follow this story and bring you the latest information as we get it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Of course, campaign '08. We continue to follow that. Well, where to now? Clinton and Obama go mining for delegates in coal country. That's West Virginia. Here they come in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: Good morning. A peek inside the finances of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. We've learned that she has lent her campaign $6.4 million over the past month. That more than doubles Clinton's personal investment in her presidential bid. It also sends a message about her plans to stay in the race. We will keep an eye out to see if her supporters pony up money of their own.

HARRIS: Hillary Clinton already looking ahead to the next primary. She campaigns in West Virginia. Next hour, it is a last- minute stop added to her schedule. Live at Charleston. And CNN's Jim Acosta.

Jim, good to see you. What are people there most concerned about as this campaign comes to town? My guess would be issue no.1, the economy.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is issue No.1, Tony, that is correct. And Hillary Clinton is scheduled to make a campaign stop to talk about the economy in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. And in case you're not up to speed on where Shepherdstown here, I wasn't either until I looked it up.

Shepherdstown is right there on the border of Virginia and Maryland. It is one of those excerpts that you hear Democratic strategists and Republican strategist talking about. It's a town where commuters make that long drive into the Washington, D.C., area suburbs and into the capital to go to work.

So you guessed it. The subject of high gas prices are on the minds or is on the minds of voters in that area. It is also on the mind of this state's Democratic governor who also happens to be an undeclared superdelegate.

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GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I've never felt more helpless as being governor of my great state of West Virginia that I just want to jump in and do something. It's wrong.

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ACOSTA: Now, Tony, West Virginia plays to all of Hillary Clinton's demographic strengths. It is older, it is whiter, and it is more rural than the rest of the country. But both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be making a play for the coal vote in this state.

The coal industry is a big player in this state. They call it king coal here. And they will be making a run for the support of the Democratic stronghold support group here, the Coal Miners Union. They had endorsed John Edwards on this race. But since he has dropped out they are staying neutral for now. But we will be looking for both of those candidates to fight hard for that coal miner vote.

HARRIS: You know, it is interesting, Jim. I'm wondering about your conversation with Governor Manchin. It's undeclared, a superdelegate. I wonder what he is waiting for. Did he give you any indication as to where he might be leaning? I know he certainly took note of the bitter comment from Barack Obama.

ACOSTA: He did. And he also took note, Tony, of the Jeremiah Wright controversy. And I know that the conventional wisdom had said hey, that's in the distant past. That's in the rear view mirror here.

But public opinion may not move as fast here in West Virginia as conventional wisdom does in Washington. So it is on the minds of voters here. We not only heard it from the governor and a political science professor here in West Virginia. Also heard it from voters. But at the same time, the demographics are just so strongly in Hillary Clinton's favor, not only here in West Virginia but in Kentucky. So she stands to win two out of the three primaries in these next couple of weeks.

HARRIS: There he is. Jim Acosta for us in Charleston, West Virginia.

And Jim, appreciate it. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And back now to Oakland University. That is Oakland University in Rochester, Wisconsin. John McCain right there taking questions on the economy. Even though earlier, he opened up his speech talking about slave trade across the country -- across the world, that is. And how this country is committed to ending that. Let's listen in right now on the economy.

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MCCAIN: Information technology that is -- that is now the future of the economy of America and the world. And I mentioned eBay earlier on. I mentioned the fact that the automotive industry in this state is not finished. The automotive industry in this state can develop hybrid cars, can develop ethanol and can develop hydrogen, can develop a battery. Can develop a battery, can develop a battery that will take a car 100 miles before you have to plug it in.

That -- the technology and the green technology is there. The innovation is here in this great state of Michigan. The birth place of the modern automotive industry in the world. And I say of course the old kinds of doing business is not coming back. But the new innovation and technology and green technology that will both eliminate our -- as we go back to the previous question, our dependence on foreign oil as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions is here in the state of Michigan, but we've got to retrain and educate workers to take advantage of that opportunity. That's my commitment and promise.

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And could I say -- and could I say in all due respect, governments matter. Government matters. Senator Obama wants to raise taxes. I want to lower taxes. The government -- the government of this state -- the government of this state decided to raise taxes. That's a decision made by the state of the government -- government of this state.

In the state of Alabama, U.S. steel just decided to locate in one of the poorest counties in the State of Alabama. And hire hundreds of new workers. In the State of Alabama, ten years ago, they didn't have manufacture single automobile.

This year I believe I was told that there will be 800,000 automobiles manufactured there. My friends, government matters. Lower taxes, business friendly climate, training and education of workers. That's what helps -- that's what helps the -- I just needed a little drink of water.

Thank you very much. Thank you. I appreciate it. And could I -- there was another gentleman who was standing who obviously -- yes, sir. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: On global warming, there is a new book out by NASA scientist, Dr. Roy Spencer. Climate confusion. I would very much appreciate it if you would read that book. It is 182 pages. It's an awesome book and it turns on a lot of lights.

As for oil, this country has more oil than Saudi Arabia. We have more oil than Saudi Arabia just off the California Coast. We have a million barrels a day in the Anwars (ph). So I hear on the news. There's a new field in the Gulf of Mexico and in North Dakota now. They discovered a field that probably equals the continental shelf off California. You know, in 1973, Richard Nixon --

MCCAIN: And your question? You are just reading your piece of paper now, my friend. Thank you. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Why don't we drill for it?

MCCAIN: I think -- I think we should. Could I say that I do believe that we should drill for it? But I also believe -- I'm federalist and I believe the rights of states to make those decisions.

And the State of Louisiana, they decided -- they decided that they wanted drilling off their coast. I think we can offer more incentives to states like California and Florida and more larger share of the revenues and taxes from the oil that you may exploit off their coast but I can't tell the people of California what to do with their coast. I can't tell the people of Arizona that we should drill in the Grand Canyon. I can't say that we should drill in the most pristine parts of America.

And I also believe that the answer to our nation's energy requirements is further exploitation in areas where it is available to do so. But I also believe that sooner or later we are going to have to become energy independent in the respect we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that means nuclear wind, solar tide, et cetera. And my friends -

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WHITFIELD: All right. John McCain there talking about America's appetite for oil in this informal Q&A here at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. You can continue to hear more of this dialogue at CNN.com/live. Much more in the NEWSROOM, straight ahead.

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HARRIS: All in all, just a flat morning for the markets. The morning session, I guess we're off of session lows. We are down four. We've been lower than this so far this morning. So we're flat. Let's just call it what it is. We're flat. Not a lot of activity. I don't know what kind of volume that represents there. If we are busy this morning. We are going to check in with -- Stephanie Elam is with us. Susan Lisovicz has a couple of days off. Stephanie Elam is with us. Next hour, right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Excellent. Well, they may have lost contact with their families. But they are connected to a crisis. Long distance help for Myanmar.

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WHITFIELD: Kicked out of their dorm by fire. It happened at Our Lady of the Lake University in Texas. Take a look right here. The damages so sensitive that more than 100 students were forced out of their dorms. The school helped find them other places to live on campus of course. While this morning, classes are canceled. And arson investigators are now on the scene.

HARRIS: Cash shortage. Hillary Clinton's campaign borrows millions from Hillary Clinton. Can she turn things around on a dime?

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HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. You are informed with CNN. I'm Tony Harris.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: On this Wednesday, May 7. Here's what's on the run- down.

WHITFIELD: Short on cash. Hillary Clinton loans herself millions to keep the campaign going. But to where? We will look ahead to the next primary.

HARRIS: The Pentagon puts planes and ships in place to help storm victims in Myanmar, live, this hour care, emergency director.

WHITFIELD: And how would big city hospitals handle a new terror attack? Seven year after 9/11. Survey's surprising findings. Code blue in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Money and presidential politics. We have a lot of news to cover this hour.