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Will Gas Prices Continue to Rise?; Ted Kennedy Returns Home; Stretching Your Miles Per Gallon; Flooding in Lake Delton

Aired June 09, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Everybody talks about the soaring price of gas. Well, this hour, we're doing something about it. We can't make it any cheaper, of course, but we can make your money go further this hour.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: If you are underwater in the Upper Midwest, issue No. 1 to you, of course, is the rain. Our Chad Myers is watching, keeping a watch on devastating floods in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan, and here in Wisconsin, where a swollen lake has washed away at least three homes.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

KEILAR: Well, you are filling your tank. You're feeding your family, and it's costing you more by the day, record gas prices, rising food costs, straining your wallet, stressing you out. We know it, you know it, so we're not going to give you a laundry list of problems. Instead, we're offering solutions all day long here on CNN. It's the economy. It's your money, and it is issue No. 1.

So, let's go ahead and start with gas prices now, topping $4 a gallon. Some of you have been feeling that four bucks a gallon or more for quite a while. Are we in for more spikes, or will this fuel bubble burst?

Let's bring in Ali Velshi, senior business correspondent. He's in New York to tell us the answer to that question -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I should just set a date and see -- like just say, yes, we're in for more spikes, because the science ran out on this one a long time ago. We have got a drop in the price of oil today of about $4.25. We're around 134 bucks, and we think that's a deal.

The bottom line is at these levels we would still continue to see an increase in the price of a gallon of oil -- a gallon of gasoline. So, we're at $4.02 a gallon right now. That's the national average. That's the highest we have ever been. And yes, we're likely to see those prices increase.

The issue now is where does it go from here? We have a CNN/Opinion Research poll out that indicates some more than 70 percent of our respondents think that gas will hit $5 a gallon this year alone.

Now, an interesting development a little earlier, Brianna -- you and I talked about this -- the Saudis have come out and said that they want to have a meeting with nations that consume a lot of oil. And they want to -- I don't know what they want to discuss, but they want to have a discussion because the Saudis are saying that the price of oil at this level is unjustified.

Now, that's -- that leads one to believe, they say it's unjustified because it's not based on supply and demand. So, what is driving the price of oil up? Well, some think it might be excessive speculation. So, earlier, I spoke to the treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, and I asked him whether he thinks it's speculation in the market, and this is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY PAULSON, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I don't believe financial investors are responsible for -- to any significant degree to this price movement. This is supply/demand. Financial investors are on both sides of the market. They're long and they're short. They don't set trends. They follow the trends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Notice, Brianna, that he calls them financial investors, because speculators is becoming a bad word, even though speculation is not necessarily illegal and is necessary to the functioning of most markets.

You have to have some people who invest in something just because they think it's going to go a certain way. That's what makes the market interesting. But you notice the treasury secretary is talking about financial investors, in other words, people who invest in oil who don't use it as a final product. So, you're not buying oil futures because you need the oil. You're buying it because it's a good investment.

KEILAR: And, Ali, let's get back to the Saudis trying to put together this meeting together of oil-producing and oil-consuming countries. Do we know if this is really going to have any effect on oil prices and thus gas prices?

VELSHI: I don't know. This is a good question.

About a month ago, when the president was in Riyadh, and he went sort of cap in hand asking for the Saudis to put more oil on the market, they said no, and they said that the market is in supply -- that supply and demand are in balance. Now they're saying the price is not justified by supply and demand.

So it's very unclear as to where they are coming from on this. I think there may be some fear on the part of oil-producing nations that, as these prices go higher and higher, particularly as gasoline passes $4 threshold in America, we have seen Americans change their behavior. There's some sense that maybe, maybe this will start to wean us off our dependence on oil.

And that would be bad news if you're an oil-producing nation.

KEILAR: Sure would be. And we will be keeping an eye, no doubt, on this meeting to see what comes of it.

Ali Velshi for us in New York, thanks.

VELSHI: OK.

KEILAR: And if you're behind on your mortgage maybe, maybe you're squeezed by credit card debt, you might think that you're on your own, but there's actually expert advice out there, and guess what? It's free.

Our Rusty Dornin is picking up our daylong issue No. 1 coverage. She's at Consumer Credit Counseling office in suburban Atlanta.

And, Rusty, it's really an amazing free resource.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is. Who knew, Brianna?

I had absolutely no idea. They have been in business for 40 years. They have got counselors here like Rashawn Barlow (ph), more than 80 here in Atlanta. They have got three offices nationwide. And all they do are answer questions about step by step how to deal with your foreclosure, credit rating problems, that sort of thing.

And here to talk to us a little bit about credit problems because we have been taking e-mails from our viewers about that is Brian Oliver (ph).

Now, I'm going to give you our first question here and we are going to go through that.

"A few months ago, I had open-heart surgery and have not been able to work since. I sent a letter to both companies, as well as all three credit reporting agencies, with a letter and proof of the surgery. What can I do to minimize the effect on my credit -- Don."

So tell us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I first want to commend Don for taking the first step, which is really making sure that the credit agencies and the other companies know what's going on.

The one thing he's going to want to do is make sure that the statements that he sent in, that they are attached to his credit bureau. You're allowed to attach a 100-word statement to your credit bureaus. And what that will do is that will allow other credit reporting agencies, and anybody who is looking to give you credit, they're going to see that and they're going to understand why you're having the problems that you are. DORNIN: Do you need to follow up on that, though, then, and find out whether they got that?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a doubt. You can do it one of two ways. You can pull your own credit or what I would do is actually contact them. You can get their number off their Web sites, and Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, and just really make sure that it is on there.

DORNIN: And if they're having trouble, can they call someone here who can sort of help this process?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a doubt.

One of the things we're first going to do, which is the second step in this, which is really be able to prioritize his budget and make sure that he understands what he needs to be paying first. And then after that, we can help him put together the statements and things like that, that he would need in order to be successful getting that completed with his credit agencies.

DORNIN: OK. And let's do another e-mail here.

"My house was foreclosed not too long ago. I'm concerned about how my credit will be affected. I now make $200,000 a year and want to buy a new property. What can I do to position myself as a renewed viable mortgage candidate?"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

And I think the first thing is, you have got to be patient. Right now, if you have actually gone through the foreclosure process and you have lost your home to foreclosure, it's going to be two to three years before you're going to be able -- allowed to qualify. No mortgage company is going to be able to do a loan for you earlier than two to three years.

The second thing that you can do during this time is review and track your credit scores. You're going to want to go on to a company like annualcreditreport.com and go on there. And you can pull your credit reports free once every 12 months. Take advantage of that. Know what's on there and track that.

And then, last but not least, you have got to make timely payments. Any other credit that you have, car payments, credit cards, you want to make sure that you're paying those on time, so that you don't make the situation any worse during that two- to three-year period that you're waiting to get new financing.

DORNIN: And if you can't pay it on time, you need to call the credit card companies and say, look, I have got a hardship going on here for some reason.

(CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a doubt. See if they can work out some kind of plan. You don't want to leave your debt hanging. And that's the worst thing can you do. But you want to do what's going to least affect your credit, and really talking to them. And it's the same with anybody. You want to talk to them and try to get something worked out. They want to get paid.

DORNIN: OK. Great.

Brian Oliver, thank you for joining us.

I think the big lesson to be learned here is, don't wait too late. Don't wait until your house is being foreclosed on next month, that sort of thing. These people here can help you if you get started earlier. If you think you're in trouble, maybe your lender doesn't even know you're in trouble yet. Give them a call and they can help you start to work this stuff out. They have been doing it for 40 years.

And, once again, it's free, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, it's free and there are so many locations all over. I remember, back in 2001, there was a consumer credit counseling service location in Yakima, Washington, where I was living.

And didn't you find, Rusty, that these are really folks who want to do well by you? It's not a service obviously that you pay for. These are volunteers, and this is their goal.

DORNIN: No, and absolutely. And all the folks that we have talked to here are dedicated. They feel a lot of success within themselves for a job well done in trying to help people and really seeing these success stories happen, where people can climb out of debt, and they're able to save their home, and stay in their home, and actually -- or get their credit rating back, things like that.

There's definitely a feeling of pride, I think, among the people here when they can help somebody do that.

KEILAR: Certainly. And, as you said, do it sooner than later.

Rusty Dornin here for us here in Atlanta, thanks.

And straight ahead in our issue No. 1: Will juicing up your tires save gas? How about replacing your air filter? We're going to separate fact from fiction, debunk some motorist myths.

Plus, some food for thought.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Thelma Gutierrez here at the farmers market in Santa Barbara, California, where farmers and businesses are coming up with creative solutions to feed struggling families.

We will have that story coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And we will feed you some tips all day long, issue No. 1 special coverage you can see only here on CNN.

LEMON: We have been telling you about all the flooding and the bad weather happening in the Midwest. We have seen homes washed away.

To update us now with Jeff Jelinek. He's with Sauk County Emergency Management. He's the director there.

Can you tell us about these pictures. I have not sure if you can see them, but these homes that appear to have washed right into the water there.

JEFF JELINEK, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, SAUK COUNTY: Yes. We had a breach of Lake Delton. Information is out there that the Lake Delton Dam breached. And that is incorrect. What happened is, the water did go over the Lake Delton banks. And as it continued to go down, it actually went across the highway and the gap between the channel actually got bigger and bigger. And it actually did sweep into the Wisconsin River.

But we did not have any injuries. We had evacuated the area beforehand because we expected we might have a problem with that area. So, there were no injuries, but we have confirmed four houses that were destroyed.

LEMON: Oh, my gosh. OK. Well, it was lucky no injuries so far. And I'm not sure if you have done a complete sweep there, but that's good news to hear.

Describe this video to us. These homes that we're looking at, which appear to be going downriver, tell us about these homes. Are these residences or are these places where people come to vacation?

JELINEK: We do not have that information right now.

Chief Tom Dorner of the Lake Delton Police Department was actually on scene when that happened and we have not begun damage assessment. So, as of right now, that information, I am not aware of.

LEMON: OK.

Again, lucky no injuries, but tell us what you're doing and describe to the people who are watching you around the country exactly what you guys are dealing with there.

JELINEK: We're just dealing with a lot of protective measures right now. We're still in a response phase. The river is continuing to rise, and it's not expected to crest until some time on Wednesday. So, we're really looking at trying to keep the citizens of the county safe, trying to establish shelters, and just trying to help out where we can.

LEMON: You don't know how many people are out of their homes, do you?

JELINEK: Right now, it's hard to say. In shelters, we have approximately about 35 families. But there's other people that have been displaced, but are with friends or family.

LEMON: You have been around. Have you witnessed anything like this before in that area?

JELINEK: We have had floods before, but nothing to this magnitude.

LEMON: All right. Jeff Jelinek, Sauk County Emergency Management Director, we appreciate you joining us on what we know is a very busy day for you.

Best of luck, OK?

JELINEK: All right, thank you, sir.

LEMON: Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, he put their live ahead of his own. The crew of a capsized boat talks about their dramatic rescue and the loss of a fellow sailor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Senator Ted Kennedy is back home in Hyannisport. He was released this morning from the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University in North Carolina one week after surgery for a malignant brain tumor. He is expected to follow up with radiation and chemotherapy in Massachusetts.

Kennedy's office released a statement saying: "Doctors are pleased with his progress since surgery a week ago. And he will continue to recuperate at home before starting the next phase of his treatment."

KEILAR: Well, as their boat took on water, he hustled them off, and then he went down with the ship. The crew members of a Texas A&M sailboat are calling Roger Stone, the man that you see there on the right, the far right, wearing the white hat, they're calling him a hero.

The safety officer was found dead yesterday inside the Cynthia Woods, the boat. And hours after his five crewmates were plucked from the Gulf of Mexico, that's when he was found. Now, this boat was taking part in a regatta when it ran into trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN GUY, SURVIVOR: The water was coming in.

And Roger said, you need to go out this way. So, I held my breath to get ready to dive under, and I felt him push me and it pushed me into the cockpit. And I got to the wheel. I grabbed the wheel, because it was a way to orient myself. And I pulled myself to the backstay.

Once I cleared the backstay, I surfaced, and I was right next to Steve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Survivors coming up. Survivors just below the aircraft. Survivors coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That's the rescue you are looking at there. The men were in the water for 26 hours before they were found. Fish were starting to nibble on them. And they said something with a shark-like fin was circling. They were finally able to signal rescuers with a flashlight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF PETTY OFC. ALBERT SHANNON, COAST GUARD RESCUE SWIMMER: It's such a long shot, at times. You know, six people -- you know, people in the water in the vastness of the ocean, at night. You know, it's really -- even though you have your search grids and what not, it's still a needle in a hey stack to find somebody. So everyone was pretty excited that we actually found these guys, found them alive and in good shape.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Coast Guard officials say the Cynthia woods was missing its keel, indicating a possible collision with something in the water, since the keel helps stabilize the sailboat and keeps it from overturning.

LEMON: Well, we have all heard them, ideas about how to squeeze another mile out of each gallon of gasoline. But do they work? We're kicking the tires on gas saving-tips right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Filling up at the pump means cutting back elsewhere. A CNN poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation asked whether buying gas has taken money away from other household spending -- 55 percent say that it has. The poll also asked whether the price of gas has made you consider a more fuel-efficient car. And 71 percent say that it has.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

KEILAR: We're looking at some serious weather in the Midwest, some flooding we have been following all day. We're talking Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, but especially in Wisconsin. I mean, we're even talking about a lake that has spilled over its banks into a river, taking homes with it. It's a very serious situation.

Let's listen now to some new sound in to the CNN NEWSROOM. This is Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JIM DOYLE (D), WISCONSIN: It's going to be kind of up to what happens with the skies. We get more water, and, you know, these problems that -- we can't hold any more water in this state right now. And we get any more, and we could have to be calling many more out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So, you heard him saying there that they can't get any more water, but we do understand, at least in some areas there, it's not over. The water is expected to continue to rise.

But what we're seeing here is flooding. Over the weekend, we saw a lot of heavy rain. We even saw tornadoes. We saw some damaging wind. And now they're suffering the aftereffects there of that flooding.

We are going to continue to monitor the situation there as it continues to progress right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: It's one of our big stories today, as well as the economy. As gas prices rise, so does the price of food. What it means for charities trying to feed those in need.

But, first, in this unstable economy, you never know when you will need some extra cash in a hurry. Ali Velshi has some tips that are "Right on Your Money."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI (voice-over): Protect yourself. When it comes to this economy, having easy access to cash gives you a safety net for the unexpected, like losing your job. So you should have enough on hand to cover your lifestyle for several months.

WALTER UPDEGRAVE, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": For my emergency reserve, these three to six months that I need. Your primary concern here is safety. You're not trying to get the absolute highest deal.

VELSHI: The key is putting your money in an investment you can withdraw from any time without penalty.

UPDEGRAVE: Security is of utmost importance. So you want to stick primarily to savings accounts, money market accounts, short-term CDs. You want to do the best that you can within those categories.

VELSHI: So, shop around and remember, this is a low-risk, low- reward investment. That's why finding the best rate is your best bet.

UPDEGRAVE: You are still, probably, a little bit below 4 percent, so you may be still losing out a little bit to inflation. But you can still do a little bit better than, for example, just getting the average return, just going -- automatically going to your local bank.

VELSHI: And that's "Right on Your Money." Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar.

You're live in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Issue No. 1 just one of our focuses today here in the CNN NEWSROOM. But issue No. 1 to these people in the Midwest, of course, is about flooding. Take a look at the these homes near Wisconsin Dells, right in the Wisconsin Dells here.

We heard just moments ago from an emergency management director in Sauk County, in that area. We were told that four of these homes were washed away. They have confirmed that. But they're saying, luckily, they have had no injuries.

Here's what happened here. It was that Lake Delton went over its banks and caused much of this damage. They're expecting the Wisconsin River, which also helped to create some of this damage to crest on Wednesday. And hopefully, that will provide them some ease from all of this pain that's going on.

But we're watching severe weather throughout the United States -- flooding in the Upper Midwest and, of course, heat on the East Coast.

Nearly a foot of rain in Southern Indiana washes out homes, closes roads and bridges, and leaves dams bursting at the seams.

Our Susan Roesgen is in a neighborhood in Columbus, where people can't believe it happened.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what life is like after a flood. A dump truck comes and takes basically your whole life story away. These are people's belongings spread out on the lawn. At first, it looked to us like a garage sale, a big neighborhood garage sale. And, in fact, this is a neighborhood's grief.

All these single story homes on either side of the street were just flooded Saturday night -- got about two feet of water in just a few hours. The people didn't even know it was coming.

Look at this house over here, dumping out everything they've got -- their appliances, their furniture. Really, the whole life story is on the front lawn. And that's the way it is up and down this street. And many of the people here say they don't know if they're going to rebuild, they don't know if they're going to or try to recover and come back. They don't know if they can afford it.

In this house over here, there was an 80-year-old couple. Lived there 38 years. Now their son and daughter and their friends are cleaning it up for them. They haven't been back to look inside their home, this elderly couple, but they have told their children they don't think they can come back.

This house over here, a younger couple that probably will try to come back. But up and down this street -- no insurance, no insurance, no insurance, no flood insurance. This is not a floodplain. The people here never expected to get water in their homes. Their insurance agents told them they didn't need flood insurance and now they desperately need it. In fact, some insurance agents have told the people here sorry, you're just out of luck.

They're going to have a terrible financial difficulty now trying to restore their lives and possibly repair these homes, if they can.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, Columbus, Indiana.

LEMON: All right, Susan.

And we always tell you how you can help people when there are disasters overseas, like China and Myanmar. But now you can help the people in the floodplain to recover. Go to CNN.com/impact, CNN.com/impact. You can Impact Your World and let CNN be your guide.

KEILAR: You know, Don, all of these storms are really keeping our I-Reporters hopping. These images, for instance, were sent to us by Ralph DeStephano, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. He took this picture. And he says a tornado hit early Saturday morning only one block from his home. Now, he was lucky. He only lost a tree branch. But some of his neighbors lost a whole lot more, as you can imagine.

And when the weather becomes the news, you can count on CNN to bring it to you first. And if you see severe weather happening in your area, go ahead, send us an I-Report.

You can go to CNN.com. Just click on I-Report or type iReport.com into your cell phone and you can share your photos or video.

Well, when the economy is struggling, charities often take a hit. And that means that organizations that help so many families put food on the table, well, they have to get really creative.

Our Thelma Gutierrez is at a free farmer's market in Santa Barbara, California with a case in point -- Thelma, what is this?

I've never heard of this -- a free farmers market?

GUTIERREZ: Yes, that's right, Brianna.

In fact, all the produce that you see right here in front of me was grown here in Santa Barbara County. And the farmers that donated this produce, it's surplus. Some of it's cosmetically imperfect. It would be plowed over into the ground or it would just simply rot in the field.

Instead, it's going to feed many hungry families. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ (voice over): From the strawberry fields of Santa Maria, California, to a free farmer's market in Santa Barbara, from the excess of a Chinese lunch buffet...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gosh, is that good.

GUTIERREZ: ...to the table of a homeless family. This is a story about a network of regular people you rarely hear about. People who have busy lives and jobs but donate their time, their goods and services, to help feed the poor.

NANCY KAPP, NEW BEGINNINGS: I just don't think any food should be going to waste.

GUTIERREZ: For Nancy Kapp, it started with a simple question when she and a friend went to lunch -- what happens to all that food that isn't sold?

They asked the owner, Mei Jung Lu, if they could have it.

KAPP: She said, yes, you know, we do have leftovers. And if she can come pick it up every afternoon after the buffet, then she's welcome to have it.

MEI JUNG LU, MADAME LU'S RESTAURANT: You toss the food. It's very bad, you know. Still, I always thinking, still has a lot of people out here that doesn't have anything to eat.

GUTIERREZ: Bins of fresh food that would end up in the trash. But for the last two months, Kapp, who is an outreach counselor for the homeless, picks up extra food from Madame Lu's Restaurant and takes it to the homeless, like the Clements, who live in a parking lot.

JENNIFER CLEMENTS, FOOD RECIPIENT: It's great because we don't get to eat out. It helps with our food bill, you know. It adds to that. And everybody just enjoys it.

GUTIERREZ: On a much larger scale, California farmers are kicking in tons of produce that will end up at a free farmer's market for the poor and elderly -- surplus produce that might be cosmetically imperfect, that would normally be plowed under. George Adams of A&A Farming says he donates about 70,000 pounds of lettuce each year. Patrick Sheehy, who grows for Driscoll Farms, says they donates more than 1.5 million pounds of berries a year.

PATRICK SHEEHY, LOS PADRES BERRY FARMS: We pay for the harvesting costs and the packaging costs. So there is a direct cost to me. But it's, you know, better to put it on somebody's table than throw it in the dump.

GEORGE ADAMS, A&A FARMING: It's not all about the bottom line all the time. It, you know, it can come back in much greater ways.

GUTIERREZ: For 78-year-old Joseph McNulty, the free produce mean his doesn't have to make hard choices.

JOSEPH MCNULTY, FOOD RECIPIENT: Could they cut money and buy medicine.

GUTIERREZ: A reason why so many businesses are committed.

(on camera): Times are tough on everyone, including business people like yourself.

LU: Oh, it is a very, very tough time right now. Even I -- my restaurant, we have about 20 percent drop in all the business. But, still, you can do it. This is little things that can help.

GUTIERREZ: Mei Jung and the others, who've come up with this food solution, say what they're doing isn't new, but it is critical as more Americans end up in food lines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ: Now, all the produce that you see right here goes to feed about 100 people at the free farmers market. And this thing goes on every single week and it happens because all the volunteers have stepped up and donated their time here to this cause -- back to you, Brianna.

KEILAR: And, Thelma, what kind of people, I guess, are coming to get the food?

Because I've seen stories -- you've covered this issue so many times. And what we see a lot of times is that these are what you would think to be middle class families that have come upon hard times. And I'm just wondering if that's the same thing that you're seeing there at the free food market.

GUTIERREZ: Yes. Absolutely, Brianna. In fact, we're seeing so many families who are having to come through the line. We talked to a senior citizen just a couple of minutes ago and this woman is a piano teacher. And she told me she just cannot make it on social security. And on top of the rising food prices, she says, this is the only alleviation that she has, that she's able to at least eat healthy because these farmers are donating so much of this produce.

But you're seeing a lot of families, Brianna, lots of people who have never had to stand in a food line before.

KEILAR: Yes. But such a great cause, such great things -- a great thing that those folks there are do doing.

Thelma Gutierrez, thanks for that report.

LEMON: All right, so you cut your air conditioning, you lighten the load in your car, even turn off your engine at stop signs but is any of this helping you squeeze yet another mile out of your tank?

Our Gerri Willis is in Yonkers, New York, with some tips that really work -- Gerri, hey, you've been doing some great stuff there, very interesting live shots.

What do you have for us this time?

I see you've got a -- is that a little Porsche? What kind of car is that behind you?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: This isn't a Porsche. This is a Honda Fit, Don.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIS: Very different from the Porsche, I have to say. But you know what, it gets great fuel economy. Just terrific.

And John Linkoff (ph) is going to give us more tips on how to save money on gas. I know you're interested in this, Don.

John, let's start.

John Linkoff, by the way, is the managing editor of "Autos." (ph) he says you've got to have those tires properly inflated.

How will you do that?

JOHN LINKOFF, MANAGING EDITOR, "AUTOS": Definitely. What you want to do is you want to use a tire pressure gauge sort of like this. Just go here, put it right here, down here on the valve stem. And you don't inflate to the pressure on the sidewall. What you do is you look at the car, you look right inside the doorjamb here and we have the tire pressure...

WILLIS: (INAUDIBLE) the numbers, right?

LINKOFF: Right. We have the numbers here and we have for cold tire pressure, do it when the tires are cold the first thing in the morning. Fill it up with a little battery powered pump. You'll save one to two miles per gallon.

WILLIS: One to two miles a gallon. We're adding up numbers every time and you I talk.

LINKOFF: Exactly.

WILLIS: Rolling resistance you say is important when it comes to tires.

LINKOFF: Right. Rolling resistance basically is a type of friction on the tire. The tire has friction for good grip, for handling, for breaking. So what you want is a tire that is safe, with good braking capabilities, but also it has less resistance for fuel economy. We have ratings on "Consumer Reports." you can go to other sites, in "Tire Rack," for example, and find that. And you want to find a tire that has a good balance between safety, with good resistance, but also not enough so that it hurts your fuel economy.

WILLIS: All right. We are going to tell you a bit here about the air filters. I know we're running out of time. You say the filters are not critical to gas mileage.

LINKOFF: It's not important run out and go out and get a new filter because of fuel savings. You're not going to save anything. We blocked off the filter and we didn't have any problems whatsoever with fuel economy.

WILLIS: OK.

All right, well, Don, I'm going to send it back to you now. I just want to tell you, if you do slow down just a little bit, maybe 10 miles per hour, you'll save five miles per gallon each and every time you do that. So drive a little slower, Don.

LEMON: Yes. And what you hear about being a lead foot is absolutely true.

Hey, Gerri, we appreciate your reporting. Great job today with your live shots. Really nice stuff.

WILLIS: Thanks so much. An absolute pleasure.

LEMON: All right.

Thank you.

KEILAR: We're watching some severe flooding in the Midwest, Wisconsin in particular really having a hard go right now. We've got some new pictures into the CNN NEWSROOM. This coming to us from Lake Delton, Wisconsin.

What you have here is a lake that has broken its banks. It is spilling into a nearby river. And, actually, I think we had, in some of our pictures -- I don't know if we can rescue it just to show you -- you can see here, this is almost -- this water that is coming in between those two -- that road there that is broken, that road, that is coming from the lake and into the river.

And just a short time ago in those pictures, we actually saw a house floating through the stream area breaking off.

LEMON: There it is.

KEILAR: Here you see it. This is what people there are facing after over the weekend, when they had a whole lot of heavy rain, even some tornadoes in the area. And now this is the aftermath -- a lot of flooding. So much erosion that you can see in these pictures -- obviously, eroding up to these houses, ruining the foundations of these homes and just completely obliterating the homes in this area.

We are going to continue to follow this here. And -- actually, you know what, let's stay with this.

LEMON: Yes. How much (INAUDIBLE)...

KEILAR: Let's show you a little more of the video, because I think we have a little more here. But again, this is Lake Delton, Wisconsin. This is unlike, really, anything these folks have ever seen. That obviously is a pontoon boat that's not supposed to be cut loose there. And this is an area -- Don, you've been -- have you been to this area here?

LEMON: Yes. When I lived in Chicago. Lots of people in the Midwest, they'll tell you, lots of people vacation here because it's close. It's a nice drive. Look at this. Wow! Just unbelievable. Lots of people vacation to the Dells. And each year, it becomes more and more popular. And I think it's becoming even more popular for Americans throughout the country. They're starting to go there because, again, as I said, it is just so beautiful -- the lakes. It's for the Midwest -- it's a little bit hilly. We're going to get to -- we're watching this video, which is just incredible.

As we look at this Tom Diehl, who is from Lake Delton Village Trustee -- he is a Lake Delton Village trustee. He's going to join us on the phone to talk about this.

We are looking at all this incredible video of homes just snapping in two there, Mr. Diehl, and floating away down the river. Unbelievable.

VOICE OF TOM DIEHL, LAKE DELTON VILLAGE TRUSTEE: Yes. It's been a very tragic event. The -- about 100 volunteers worked most of the night last night to put sandbags on the dam to make sure we didn't have a problem there. But, unfortunately, came into the lake a lot faster than it could get out and it breached where those three homes that you showed, across their lawn and carved that humongous 400-foot wide trench right to the Wisconsin River.

So it's -- it's an absolutely devastating thing to observe.

LEMON: Yes. And I was trying to explain to people about why people come to the Dells, about how beautiful it is and just how popular it is. And there a couple of folks talking to me there. I'm not sure if it came across at just what is being destroyed here.

Describe to our viewers what we're losing here.

DIEHL: Well, the Lake Delton is a 254-acre lake. And it's right in the heart of Wisconsin Dells. And so, for example, our Tommy Bartlett Water Ski Show is performed for 55 years here in Lake Delton. And right now, in front of our 5,000 feet amphitheater, we have nothing but a mud pond, because the lake is gone.

So it's going to have a devastating effect on the -- all the resorts around the lake, the marina operators on the lake, because it was a very heavily used recreational lake for Midwest vacationers. Now the ducks who operate on this lake can alter their routes and they'll go to, you know, the Wisconsin River and they won't use the lake now. But all the resort owners are in -- are really in for a horrible time.

LEMON: And, Mr. Diehl, again, we're looking at this home. I'm not sure if you can see the video.

DIEHL: Yes.

LEMON: We're looking at this home falling into, you know, the water here. And we see people just standing by watching, really, with nothing -- they can't do anything.

DIEHL: We had hoped that that house wouldn't go. I was out there about 15 minutes before it -- I was standing out on the corner there. And we thought that the water would subside enough that it wouldn't erode the bank there. But as the breach moved further back into the lake, of course, it widened. And so it took that last house. There were three other ones before it.

LEMON: Mr. Diehl, our meteorologist, Chad Myers, with us, as well.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Mr. Diehl, we had pictures earlier of the dam. And, in fact, the dam was completely fine. It held back the water perfectly. But it's this little thin spot right through here that you're talking about. And the houses that are missing are right through here. The water crested over the road.

Is this Highway A?

Is that why that A is on there?

DIEHL: Highway -- no. Highway A is the big one up -- yes, right there. That's Highway A.

MYERS: OK.

DIEHL: And those homes were sitting, you know, their driveways, off Highway A.

MYERS: Yes.

DIEHL: And the water came through their yards and then took a path to the Wisconsin River, which is way up in the upper right hand -- that's the Wisconsin River. And it found a shortcut to get there. And just watching it, it happened so fast that you wouldn't believe it.

MYERS: I just talked to the managers down there of the lower dams, because there are many downs down there, New Prairie du Sac. They're not worried about this water. It's still going to be maybe a day before for that to get there.

But how much water came out of this lake, all of it?

DIEHL: Yes, basically, all of it.

MYERS: Wow!

DIEHL: We're left with a stream right now. But the Wisconsin River is so big and it's -- this 254-acre lake draining into the river, you wouldn't even notice it.

MYERS: OK. But you obviously notice some of the structures that are floating down.

DIEHL: Oh, yes. I'm sure that that...

MYERS: We saw some of the...

DIEHL: ...once they get down to Prairie du Sac to the dam, they're going to have -- hopefully, they'll get caught up somewhere where they can be dismantled before they get there.

MYERS: Now, I'm sure you're not a structural engineer, but I mean from what you've seen, does this little bank dam here -- this bank -- can it be rebuilt?

DIEHL: Well, that's before they can rebuild the road and rebuild all the infrastructure that was on Highway Trunk A there, they're going to have to secure that breach. And that's the only way they're going to be able to put the water back in the lake. But that, you know, that's going to be awhile.

MYERS: Wow!

Amazing -- Don.

LEMON: And, Chad, thank you very much.

And real quickly, Mr. Diehl, before I let you go, I know this isn't a floodplain. I don't think it is.

DIEHL: No. It definitely is not.

LEMON: So people don't have flood insurance, do they?

DIEHL: No. No one here would.

LEMON: Oh.

DIEHL: Because it's a manmade lake and that, you know. But when you get the types of super cells that we had go through here for three straight days, this whole watershed got so saturated and everything drains into Meer Lake (ph), which is one up from us and over that dam and into ours. And the water was coming in much faster than we could get it out.

LEMON: Oh my gosh.

All right, Tom Diehl, Lake Delton Village trustee.

We appreciate you joining us.

And, again, of course, our hearts and prayers go out to you guys, and our prayers, as well.

DIEHL: Thank you very much.

LEMON: All right. Thank you. That's just one place this is all happening -- obviously, one of the most severe places. That video you don't see a lot, a home just breaking off and floating down into a river.

These pictures are amazing. But we have pictures from all over the country, including the heat wave on the East Coast right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We are not just giving advice in our special issue No. 1 coverage, we're also getting it from our I-Reporters. Like Stephanie Torgerson in Podus (ph) -- let's see if I'm going to say this right -- Pataskala, Ohio. I hope I said that right.

LEMON: OK. Poduskala.

KEILAR: Well, she is not giving up her SUV despite the record gas prices. Why?

Well, she has three little kids who really need their space and so does she. But Elizabeth Peisner of car-crazy Los Angeles is leaving her car in the driveway. She is opting for public transportation.

These are just a couple of the real life, real time I-Reports that we're getting. And to see more or if you want to even submit your own, just log onto iReport.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

KEILAR: He's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, guys.

Issue No. 1, that's what's coming up. As gas prices hit a new all time high and the economy is foremost on the voters' minds, we're going to have a major debate between two key economic advisers to Barack Obama and John McCain. They're coming in here to "THE SITUATION ROOM."

And Hillary Clinton -- she may be gone, but she and her supporters are certainly not forgotten, especially when it comes to women supporters.

Candy Crowley is standing by live.

And what about Bill Clinton?

Now that his wife's run for the White House is over, what will the former commander-in-chief's role be in the general election?

All that and a lot more, guys, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." LEMON: Thanks, Wolf.

KEILAR: Well the closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street. That is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Very cool.

Did you see that?

LEMON: Was Robert's phone on -- Robert, why is your phone on there?

Are you going to tell us later?

Oh, I'll find out.

KEILAR: Oh, we'll find out.

LEMON:. OK. All right. Let me see, is that an iPhone?

KEILAR: All right. Let's head to Wall Street now.

LEMON: That's pretty cool.

KEILAR: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at all of the action today.

LEMON: Susan are you going to tell us why this iPhone was in our (INAUDIBLE)?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LEMON: Yes, Susan. But you know what? It's in the plus category, we'll take it.

KEILAR: Yes, we will.

LEMON: Thank you.

KEILAR: Let's head now to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.