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Tony Snow Dead at 53; IndyMac Goes Bust; Fire Crews Roll in California; Inside Myanmar: Death & Misery Hidden Form the World; Interview with George Herbert Walker Bush

Aired July 12, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM. It is Saturday, July 12th.
Good morning. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Betty Nguyen.

DAN SIMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Dan Simon, in for T.J. Holmes.

New this morning, one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history. IndyMac goes bust, but what does it mean for you and your bank and your investments? Should you race to the ATM this morning? We're going to sort it all out for you.

KAYE: And she's not on the anchor desk, but she is hard at work. Betty Nguyen takes us inside Myanmar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Betty Nguyen.

Coming up, we take you down the Irrawaddy Delta to show you what the Myanmar government doesn't want you to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: It is a CNN exclusive, and Betty will join us live in just a few minutes.

SIMON: But we're going to start with some breaking news this morning. Former White House press secretary Tony Snow has died.

KAYE: He lost his bout with cancer at the age of 53. Snow had recently rejoined CNN as a special contributor not long after leaving his job at the White House.

Our Ed Henry has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

TONY SNOW, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, let me say, back at you.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On his final day at the podium, Tony Snow reflected on how much he enjoyed serving as President Bush's press secretary.

SNOW: I love these briefings, and I'm really going to miss them.

HENRY: A former broadcaster, Snow had an affinity for the media. His background with Fox News and as a conservative radio talk show host prepped him for hand-to-hand combat.

SNOW: You're jumping topics here. So let me -- well, let me finish the answer and then you can come back. OK?

HENRY: He was in his element, battling reporters in what quickly became known as the "Tony Snow Show," full of theatrics.

SNOW: All right. I give up.

HENRY: Ups and downs in Iraq dominated his time at the podium, with liberals pouncing on missteps, such as when he was asked about bungled prewar planning.

SNOW: I'm not sure anything went wrong.

HENRY: But, compared to his predecessor, Scott McClellan, conservatives felt Snow was far more effective at delivering the president's message.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's been a joy watching him spar with you.

HENRY: His tenure, however, was overshadowed by a bigger battle, his valiant fight against cancer.

When he started at the White House in the spring of 2006, Snow spoke movingly about his first bout with colon cancer.

SNOW: And I'll be personal here, but having gone through this last year -- and I said this to Chris Wallace -- was the best thing that ever happened to me. It's my Ed Muskie moment.

HENRY: Robert Anthony "Tony" Snow grew up in Cincinnati. He was devastated when his mother, a nurse, died of colon cancer while he was in high school. He first made his mark as a conservative editorial writer for various newspapers, cut his teeth in politics as a speechwriter for the first President Bush, then made the transition to broadcaster, first at CNN; later at Fox.

BUSH: Tony already knows most of you. And he's agreed to take the job anyway.

HENRY: But the laughter slowed in March 2007, when Snow need surgery to remove a growth in his stomach. It seemed routine at first, but then Snow called the White House with stunning news.

BUSH: He told me that when they went in and operated on him they found cancer.

HENRY: Snow came back, but the strain was clear. He kept a positive attitude, playing with his band Beats Workin' and sticking it out until September 2007, reveling in being part of a select few to hold this historic post.

SNOW: This job has been the most fun I've ever had. I'm sorry I have to leave it.

HENRY: He had to leave to make more money for his family. He was popular on the lecture circuit and had just returned to CNN as a contributor.

SNOW: Thank you, Larry. Good to be here.

HENRY: He leaves behind his wife, Jill, and three children.

In his final days, Snow told those closest to him he felt like he had been hoisted on the shoulders of friends, which helped him see life from a wonderful new perspective.

Tony Snow was only 53.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And White House Correspondent Ed Henry joins us live now from our Washington bureau.

Ed, you were on the receiving end of his give-and-take, I guess you would call it, with reporters at those briefings.

HENRY: Yes, absolutely, Randi. It's such a hard morning, because I saw the last image there in the piece where Tony was waving and people were cheering. And the White House staffers -- I was standing there that day, and there were about 400 of them cheering for him. And he was pumping his fist, trying to say, look, I'm being lifted by you, and I hope I can make it through this battle. And it's so hard to see that he didn't make it through.

He recently was on the Stephen Colbert show and had said about some of the battles that we had that one of the only times on the job as White House press secretary he lost his cool is when I was pressing him on Iraq one time and he said, "Zip it." He made some news by telling me to zip it, basically, and shut up.

And -- but the point of that story is that afterwards, Tony laughed about it with me. And on another occasion, I remember one of his deputies on the White House driveway saying to me and Tony, "I want to get you guys some boxing gloves. You guys are always sparring."

And Tony said, "No, no, no, no. What happens in the briefing room there, that's just business." And he understood the difference between being a warrior in politics and having that personal touch. And I think that's why he affected so many people at the White House and in the press corps, and that's what's so devastating about the fact that he's now leaving behind a wife and children -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes, he was well known for that "Zip it," and "Don't point your finger at me."

HENRY: Yes. I mean, he was tough.

And it should be remembered that when he was brought on in early 2006, President Bush was really struggling, was sort of down in the dumps, the war in Iraq was not going well. And Snow really did elevate the job.

He brought those broadcast skills and really was an effective advocate for the president. And I want to read a brief statement. The president is at Camp David, but was obviously informed early this morning.

He said, "Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend, Tony Snow. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Jill and their children, Kendell Robbie, and Kristi. The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father, and America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character. Tony was one of our nation's finest writers and commentators. All of us here at the White House will miss Tony, as will the millions of Americans he inspired with his brave struggle against cancer."

And on that final point, I remember being in Tony Snow's office after he had left for a while to battle cancer and coming back. And there was a stack, you know, this high of cards and letters that poured in from people who saw him with that thinning hair from chemotherapy and were inspired by him, and that really is going to be one of his lasting legacies -- Randi.

KAYE: All right. Our Ed Henry for us, live from our Washington bureau.

And Ed, we are expecting some comments from George Bush Sr. later this morning as well, and we'll share those with you.

Many of you have thoughts and comments about Tony Snow's death. There are two simple ways you can share them. You can send an e-mail to weekends@cnn.com. You can also send photos and video to ireports.com.

SIMON: Also going to be hearing from Bill Bennett a bit later on, on Tony Snow.

But first we're going to turn to the major bank bust, IndyMac. Federal regulators say the collapse could turn out to be the most expensive bank failure ever.

KAYE: IndyMac was a major player in the mortgage industry.

Senior Business Correspondent Ali Velshi explains what went wrong and what it means for customers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): IndyMac Bankcorp had been on the brink of collapse for months. In June, New York Senator Charles Schumer wrote to banking regulators saying, "I am concerned that IndyMac's financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and borrowers." Within days, customers closed accounts and withdrew $1.3 billion from the bank.

RACHEL SACRAMENTO, BANK CUSTOMER: I guess I did panic just a little bit.

VELSHI: On Monday, IndyMac reported massive losses and warned of bigger ones to come. On Tuesday, the bank told its government regulators that it was no longer well capitalized. It fired half more than half its staff and said it was getting out of the mortgage business.

By Friday, investors had given up. With the stock closing at just 28 cents, the government moved in, seizing the bank and putting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in charge.

IndyMac specialized in mortgages for people who provided little or no documentation of their income or assets. The idea was that the property financed is worth or will be worth enough that the borrowers finances are less important, but as property values dropped, the borrowers defaulted and the bank lost money.

For IndyMac borrowers, the shutdown will have little impact. They'll still have to make their mortgage payments. But for people with bank accounts or individual retirement accounts at IndyMac, it's a different story.

Most bank accounts in the United States are automatically insured by the FDIC for up to $100,000. IRAs are insured for up to $250,000.

DAVID BARR, FDIC SPOKESMAN: If you have less than $100,000, there's nothing to worry about. If you need access to your money, you know, use your checks, ATM or debit cards over the weekend. And come Monday morning, it will be business as usual.

VELSHI: But the FDIC says that up to 10,000 IndyMac customers have more than the insured amount with the bank. Those customers can claim the insured amount plus half of the uninsured remainder. They may get more later depending on how much the FDIC gets when it sells the bank. The total lost to customers could be as much as $500 million.

For now, people with IndyMac accounts can still get money out of ATMs, but they can't bank at a branch, by phone or online until Monday morning.

Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: And on Monday, IndyMac is going to open under federal management. As you can imagine, news of the bank's failure really caught customers by surprise. You see some of them showing up yesterday to find out what the heck was going on. Many are already making plans to withdraw their money as soon as possible. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINA TURNER, CUSTOMER: Hopefully I'll get my money on Monday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you're pulling your cash out of this bank?

TURNER: Yes. Well, I'm sorry they're having their problems, but with their problems I have more of a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: In the meantime, IndyMac customers will have their money transferred to the new federally-controlled bank.

And on top of the IndyMac bank failure, there's also concern about mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Speculation about a government bailout sent their stock prices on a wild ride this week. The companies and the head of the Senate Banking Committee tried to calm those concerns.

Stocks regained some ground after an earlier selloff yesterday. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac either own or back almost half of the country's outstanding mortgage debt.

KAYE: Downplaying Iran's missile testes. Iran firing off eight or nine missiles this week, but an American official familiar with intelligence says Iran didn't show any capabilities the West didn't already know they had.

CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour joined us from London just a short time ago, saying she was told by her sources the missile fires were an act of muscle flexing, a warning of sorts from Iran's government to deter any possible aggression from Israel.

A new day, a new battle against the wildfires.

SIMON: Our Reynolds Wolf is at a fire camp in Chico, California.

Hey, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, where over 3,000 firefighters are getting ready to take on the blaze once again. That story coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: I'm Betty Nguyen. Coming up, what the Myanmar government doesn't want you to see two months after the deadly cyclone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: A somber marker in the ongoing struggle against the California wildfires. A body was found in a burned home in the town of Concow yesterday. It's believed to be the first civilian death directly related to this year's wildfires.

Fifty homes were destroyed in Concow. The town had been under a mandatory evacuation order. That Concow fire one of 41 fires that have burned through one county alone.

SIMON: More than 320 fires still active in the state. Our Reynolds Wolf in Chico, California, where firefighters are heading out for another grueling day on the lines.

Is it already hot there, Reynolds?

WOLF: Yes, it is. It's starting to warm up quite a bit. The sun is getting a little bit higher in the sky, the heat is going to start coming down, although not quite as hot as it has been over the last couple of days.

Today, one of the big battles is going to be near the town of Paradise. Not too far from Highway 70, where the town of Paradise is kind of situated sort of on a bluff.

Then you have sides all around the town that actually lead up to the high spot. Kind of this little maze if you will. The problem is, heat tends to rise, and they are trying to keep those flames from rising up and affecting the town.

Now, if you look behind me, you see all kinds of fire trucks. Some 300 fire trucks have been here. Nearly 3,000 firefighters.

You see them there. They're getting the ice chest ready. Water certainly the best choice.

You also see a couple of school buses. You see these fellows coming here. A lot of these guys from out of state bringing the water.

Good work, guys.

And you'll notice that they've got a lot of dirt on the clothes. It is a very, very dirty job, no question about that. That smoke is going to be just relentless for them today, as well as the heat.

The wind though not quite as strong. Certainly working in their favor. Plus, the humidity going up will certainly make that job fighting that fire just a little bit of an easier task.

Back to you guys.

SIMON: That must be a welcome sight to the crews out there seeing all those water bottles and the ice packs, but I have to ask you, you know, when I was there up in Big Sur, the problem was the bulldozers. They couldn't get the bulldozers up in the mountains because it's just so steep, so they were fighting the fire really with helicopters and, you know, aircraft dropping retardant.

Have you seen those aircraft there in Chico?

WOLF: We have seen the aircraft in Chico. They were allowed to fly just yesterday because sky conditions were just perfect. At the same time, the smoke, thankfully, was not quite as severe around -- I'd say around 2,000 to 3,000 feet, that inversion layer. That compressing effect of the air wasn't quite as extreme, so the visibility was better, they were able to use that.

You were talking about bulldozers. Obviously, you can't see them here, but they were out. They have been out along parts of Highway 70.

Those machines not necessarily built for speed. They only move around 8 miles per hour. But what a great job they do of making those fire breaks back in the woods and kind of cutting off that fuel for that fire to spread.

These trucks obviously, these are the fire trucks. You see them in the yellow. You see them -- again, some white trucks in. They're also -- you see the one saying Butte County from the local guys.

We were talking earlier -- local guys. We have got some guys here in just the area. But keep in mind, there are some that are from around the world. We were talking earlier about New Zealand, about Australia, from Mexico, from Canada.

They're all here helping out. It's kind of a brotherhood and a sisterhood of the firefighters.

Let's send it back to you.

SIMON: All right, Reynolds. We'll talk to you later. Thanks a lot.

Well, as you may have noticed, you've got a couple guests here in the anchor chairs this morning, and over the past couple of weeks many of you have been wondering, just where is Betty? Well, we can tell you she has been on a difficult and treacherous assignment in Myanmar.

That country, it has banned all foreign reporters to keep them from reporting on the grim reality two months after the deadly cyclone killed tens of thousands of people. Well, Betty went in search of what the Myanmar government does not want the world to see. She is now safely in Bangkok, but with a harrowing tale to tell.

NGUYEN: Hi, Dan.

I can tell you that the Myanmar government has made it nearly impossible for us to reach the cyclone devastation. They have set up checkpoints in every city leading to the Irrawaddy Delta. So, after some careful planning, we went in search to find out why the military government is trying to keep the rest of the world out.

I'll warn you, the pictures you're about to see are graphic. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (voice over): The landscape is still littered with the remnants of lives swept away by Cyclone Nargis. This is not what Myanmar wants reported some two months after the storm. The only way for us to capture these images was to sneak into the Irrawaddy Delta under the cover of darkness.

(on camera): This is really the only way to get down there and bypass the checkpoints.

(voice over): I can't reveal how we made this journey because it would jeopardize the safety of the locals who helped us. And once we arrived, it's easy to see why the Junta government doesn't want us here.

Devastation is everywhere. This slab is all that's left off a monastery.

(on camera): The water was this high?

(voice over): The village's only monk says the tidal surge was up to his neck and he barely made it out alive. But many did not.

This farmer forces back tears, describing how he lost his wife and only daughter. He says if it weren't for his two surviving sons, he would have no reason to live.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have nothing. No food, no property, no companion.

NGUYEN: It's a place where the living still walk among the dead. In the thick vegetation that lines the narrow canals, the cyclone's horror is hard to ignore.

(on camera): This is what the Myanmar government doesn't want you to see -- bodies still rotting along the delta some two months after the cyclone hit. And you can still smell the stench of death.

(voice over): Villagers say there were simply too many bodies to bury. They believe this was a child. No one knows for sure. In fact, most are trying their best to forget the painful past.

Perhaps that's why rice was planted in fields just a few feet away. These poor farming communities don't have time to linger over the loss, especially when cyclone survivors are still struggling to stay alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now, very little aid had reached the villages where we were able to get to. Just a little more than some rice, roofing materials, tarp, really not enough to make a difference for the villagers who were suffering, and really just struggling to stay alive. I can tell you, though, the situation may be different in larger cities where aid organizations have set up camp. The problem is, we weren't able to get into those cities without running into the Junta military government -- Dan.

SIMON: And I know, Betty, you literally risked your life to go in there. Just incredible, the mere fact you got into that country.

I know you can't talk about the specifics about how you got in, but I wanted to ask you, the impressions that you got from being in that country, we obviously saw the video of the skulls and I know you saw a lot of bodies. What left an imprint?

NGUYEN: You know, it was the hardest assignment that I've ever taken on. And in fact, it was very difficult not only for us, because we faced a lot of danger in the sense that we really needed to protect the locals who were helping us. They faced imprisonment or worse had they been caught. We faced deportation and who knows what because we're not allowed in that country.

But looking at the situation there, it was just simply devastating. Yes, we went through a lot to get into the country and to get down to the delta, sleeping on rice bags, not showering for days, wading in water near dead bodies. But when you think about our temporary misery, it really pales in comparison to what the people in the delta face on a daily basis.

And the problem now is the aid is not being distributed evenly. Again, the villages where we toured, aid was just barely trickling in. And hopefully with time they'll get a little bit more, but in the meantime, they're left with their own devices and trying to survive just the best way they can -- Dan.

SIMON: Betty Nguyen coming to us from Bangkok.

Betty, safe travels. Thanks so much.

KAYE: Growing up in the shadows of a legend. A conversation with the daughters of Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: What if the man you know as "dad" changed the course of history?

SIMON: Well, joining us now, our Don Lemon. He sat down with daughters of some legendary men. Some serious legendary, Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It's kind of weird being a guest on. You said, "Have you ever been a guest on the own set that you anchor on?" It's kind of weird.

KAYE: And you're usually over here.

LEMON: And I'm usually over there. So we'll switch, Dan. Amazing story. And you guys were asking me about it. Were you close to your dad? Your dad is not around anymore. My dad's not around.

KAYE: No, he's not, but we were very close.

LEMON: Yes. And you know that thing that dads and daughters have. It's just that special bond.

I'm a mama's boy. I have it with my mom. I talk to her every day. She left me a voicemail this morning.

So we have that bond. And these women had that bond with these legendary, fantastic men who changed the world.

This story changed my life. And I hope it's going to change yours, too. Take a look at some of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To be able to sit and just chat about our fathers, I've never had an opportunity like this.

BERNICE KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING'S DAUGHTER: I mean, you're right. You're right. Because even though he was just my daddy, you know...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you call your dad "daddy" too? Do you say "daddy?"

Do you say "daddy?"

KING: Mm-hmm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would literally sit you down and speak to you to a point that you would want to say, "Please give me a spanking."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many people don't know that I watched my father's funeral from her parents' master bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all about family.

LEMON: What was life like as a child in the King home? Do you think it was like a normal typical American family?

KING: My mother, even after my father died, she wanted to make sure we had a fairly normal life. We hung out in the neighborhood with the neighborhood kids. You know, we didn't have -- people who meet me now, they're like, "You don't have bodyguards?" No, I never had bodyguards.

LEMON: And you? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was in high school, my father, a lot of people didn't know him nationally, but he was still very well known in Los Angeles, because if you ever got into trouble, you would see Johnnie Cochran.

LEMON: Did you ever wish that you were just Bob Jones' daughter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, I hid my identity a lot because, growing up, people already knew who I was because my dad would come into our elementary school, and then it would be a big ordeal. And I knew at a young age that being Mohammed's daughter, and people knowing that, you'll never know the truth.

LEMON: So I'm looking at both of you, right, and you're sitting here chatting, really close, the both of you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LEMON: What is it -- is it a connection that's like sisters? Or is it beyond that? What is it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me it's beyond that, because there's more dimensions to what it is. It's kind of an unconditional existence that has a forever after to it. There's no explanation. We're different, but yet it's all in congress. Never debate in over 40 years, we've been in each other's lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Now you'll see why. In that story, Randi and Dan, just those little snippets really don't sum up exactly what this project is.

This was almost two years in the making by a producer here who is the executive producer of this project, Anika Young (ph), who fought for this. And until she got it on the air, it was originally supposed to be just a short special for Father's Day last year, and it ended up turning into a full hour.

KAYE: Kept growing and growing.

LEMON: Yes. We have enough for three hours. It's amazing.

KAYE: Wow.

LEMON: Like I said, this story changed my life with these women. Can you imagine sitting in a room with all of them?

KAYE: What surprised you most about them? Maybe as a group or maybe just one of them?

LEMON: You know, it's not one thing that surprised me the most. I think it was just an honor to be able to sit down with them and absorb that knowledge. And I say that this story is really, for me, as a guy who grew up in a family of nothing but women -- my dad died... KAYE: You were right at home there.

LEMON: Right. So people say, "Why did you do this story? It's a girl story." I'm like, well, I've been accused of that, but it's really about me knowing women and knowing how to sit down and talk to women, and these women were like my sisters growing up in my home. These are the exact conversations we had.

So what surprised me the most was how down to earth they are. And (INAUDIBLE) and Sherry Poitier taught me -- we had tea together -- to believe in my dream and to keep going.

It's an amazing story. It's a tribute to women and to fathers. And you will evolve after watching this.

KAYE: Wow.

LEMON: 6:00 and 11:00.

KAYE: Well, you have convinced me to tune in for sure.

SIMON: Sounds really inspirational.

LEMON: Yes.

KAYE: All right. Don Lemon...

LEMON: All right.

KAYE: You heard it there.

To hear more about growing up with legendary fathers, watch "Daughters of Legacy." That is tonight and tomorrow at 6:00 Eastern, only on CNN. Don't miss it.

SIMON: A major bank collapse. What does it mean for the economy and how safe is your bank? We will talk with a guest from "Smart Money" magazine coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

SIMON: Well, it's an anxious weekend for customers of IndyMac. They cannot -- well, they can use their ATM cards, but they cannot bank online, over the phone or in person until Monday.

Wow.

KAYE: Kara Finnstrom joins us live from Pasadena with more on how customers there are coping -- Kara.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning.

This is a main branch of IndyMac that you see behind me here, one of 33 branches that has been seized and is shut down this morning. As you mentioned, customers will not be able to do business inside these banks. They won't able to do any online or phone banking until the FDIC reopens the bank on Monday.

What they can do is they can use those ATM or debit cards, and they can write checks. But most of the customers we spoke with say getting some weekend cash isn't their big concern now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL SACRAMENTO, BANK CUSTOMER: I saw all of the news crews parked in the Ralph's parking lot, and so I'm about to read the notice.

FINNSTROM (voice over): Rachel Sacramento just found out the bank that claimed, "You can count on us" wasn't so reliable after all.

SACRAMENTO: It is disconcerting that you believe that your bank is very strong.

FINNSTROM: Sacramento had watched IndyMac's financial struggles detailed on the news for weeks. She had acted.

SACRAMENTO: Investor panic. And so I decided to close my accounts. But I did leave my checking account here.

FINNSTROM: Customer Alan Sands waited.

ALAN SANDS, BANK CUSTOMER: I've been thinking about doing this. I've been thinking about taking my money out. And I'm just kind of kicking myself for not doing it earlier.

FINNSTROM: Sands simply did not believe it would all lead to this: the federal government shutting down his bank.

SANDS: We have quite a bit of our funds there, with my wife and I and my mom. So I knew that headquarters was down here. So I rushed down here. And they're closed. So I guess I've got to wait until Monday.

FINNSTROM: FDIC officials say customers who have less than $100,000 in the bank, the majority of customers, are fully insured and can have full access to their money on Monday. But if customers have savings of more than $100,000 in a single account, the FDIC will only provide 50 percent of that money up front. It hopes to make more payments as it sells off the bank's assets.

So which customers could take the hit?

BARR: It runs the whole gambit. We've had fairly young people. We've had older people with their life savings here. There are businesses, nonprofit organizations.

Alan Sands thinks his mom may have saved more than is fully insured.

SANDS: My mom's -- she's a little worried. She's, you know, been around a little longer and has a little more saved up.

FINNSTROM: The fine print is especially confusing to customers like Jeanne Poulin, who never heard the rumors of IndyMac's downfall.

JEANNE POULIN, BANK CUSTOMER: They wouldn't open the doors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not even for you to give them money?

POULIN: No.

FINNSTROM: Poulin just came to make her house payment. She left like so many others, questioning, who can she trust with her money now?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FINNSTROM: And the message the FDIC is hoping all Americans will take away from this, be sure that your savings are fully insured. And for the most part, this means not having more than $100,000 in a single account. That total is insured for higher amounts in special savings accounts, retirement savings accounts. But they say if you have any questions, check with the FDIC. And they say, really all Americans who have savings at any bank should do that -- Dan, Randi.

KAYE: All right. Kara Finnstrom talking to some very jittery customers.

Thanks so much.

SIMON: Buckle your seat belt and hang onto your wallet, because it could be another rough week ahead for your finances.

On Wall Street, the Dow closed at 11,100 yesterday. At one point, it actually dropped below the 11,000 mark, the first time in almost two years.

Also, oil prices edged back up after falling earlier in the week.

KAYE: Wall Street's woes. The IndyMac bank collapse, what does it all mean for the economy and for your personal finances?

Beverly Goodman, senior editor for "Smart Money" magazine, she's with us from New York to help put it all in perspective.

Good morning, Beverly.

BEVERLY GOODMAN, SR. EDITOR, "SMART MONEY" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: A lot of people today saying, could my bank be next? What do you say to them?

GOODMAN: Investors -- or people should not be panicking. The truth is, things are going to get a little worse before they get better. The FDIC has a list of troubled banks. There are about 90 banks on that list right now, but that doesn't mean that it's your bank. Most of the big, well-known ones are pretty OK. It's something the government is keeping an eye on though.

KAYE: We heard so many people struggling with, should they pull out their money, should they keep the money in the bank? At what point -- you know, you watch the media reports, and you might even follow what your bank is doing. But at what point, how do you know that it's time to take your money out?

GOODMAN: Well, what the FDIC does is insure your money, literally. So, if you have less than $100,000 in the account, you're fine. And the same for the folks at IndyMac or any other bank that this might happen to.

If you have less than $100,000 in an account, if it's a joint account you're protected up to the number of people, $100,000 per person that's on that account. And if it's an IRA or another retirement account, you have up to $250,000 that's protected. So if you're under those limits, your money is totally safe and there's absolutely no need to withdraw it or move it.

KAYE: So how big of a deal is this? Do you think we're going to see possibly a domino effect? This is the fifth bank that's failed already this year.

GOODMAN: Right. And there were only three or four that failed at all last year. And we're only halfway through '08.

It's a bigger deal from a more macroeconomic perspective. It's not good for the mortgage industry, it's not good news for the banking industry, and it's certainly not good news for Wall Street. But in terms of individual customers, they're actually the best off in terms of where their money is, and it is fairly safe.

KAYE: All right.

Beverly Goodman, senior editor for "Smart Money" magazine.

Thank you for your thoughts this morning.

GOODMAN: Thank you.

KAYE: Forced to marry. She says her husband beat her. She finally got a divorce at 10-years-old. We're also going to finish...

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KAYE: Tony Snow made his mark in politics in the Bush White House. The first Bush White House. He was a speechwriter and trusted assistant to President George Herbert Walker Bush.

CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry joins us live from Washington with more on that.

HENRY: Well, absolutely, Randi.

We are about to establish contact with the former president, in fact. We know that President Bush, the current President Bush, is at Camp David this weekend. He got the sad news this morning and put out a statement saying that obviously his thoughts and prayers are with Tony Snow's family. He leaves behind a wife and three small young children.

And Tony Snow really was an inspiration to people within the White House because of the fact that he was such an aggressive advocate for the current President Bush, but also because of his brave battle against cancer. He was dealing with that, chemotherapy and whatnot, as he was trying to be White House press secretary for some of his tenure.

That was obviously a very difficult battle. And he really inspired a lot of people around the country. And I remember being in Tony Snow's office dealing with that, and he would get a stack of letters of people who were inspired.

And I understand we now have on the phone former President Bush, joining us from Kennebunkport.

And we're honored to have you.

And I remember last summer being in Kennebunkport, and Tony Snow had just come back on the job after battling cancer once again. And he went out on that boat with you, Mr. President, and he raved to me about how it lifted his spirits once again.

Do you remember being out on the boat with him?

GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Very well indeed. It was a very fast boat and a very wonderful guy, and it's a great combination. The Maine waters, a fast boat, and a great friend. Of course I remember it.

HENRY: And, you know, I spoke about his battle against cancer, unfortunately many battles. You lost a daughter at a very early age to cancer. And it's really been one of the causes you've battled for so long, you and your wife, Barbara.

And I wonder -- I know that Tony wanted to get involved with the group that you're heavily involved with, C-Change. Unfortunately, now he's passed. But can you talk about that group and Tony wanting to help, and him inspiring so many people around the country with his battle?

G. BUSH: Well, he was wonderful. C-Change is a group of cancer experts -- nurses, doctors, specialists in medical care, all kinds of people -- and Tony came to one meeting and just inspired everybody, not only with his own personal courage, which he obviously did not talk about, but about his determination to beat cancer, his support for C-Change, which feels that we can totally reduce the risk of cancer big-time, and maybe get rid of cancer. And having Tony at our side and working for that cause. And he's helped us in other ways, too. It meant a lot to everybody involved. It was just one more manifestation of his willingness to help others.

HENRY: Absolutely. Now, he was a speechwriter for you in the '90s.

G. BUSH: Yes.

HENRY: He was the press secretary, and most people remember him that way, for your son. Have you had a chance to talk to your son, the current president -- he's at Camp David this weekend -- to get his thoughts and reflections, sir?

G. BUSH: Well, I did. I talked to him this morning at Camp David. And he, of course, is grief-stricken, because he shares the same feeling of emotion about Tony that Barbara and I do. And Laura feels the same way.

In this case, it isn't a press secretary. It isn't a speechwriter. It was a dear, valued friend that went on to heaven.

HENRY: Now, the president put out a statement today saying that he really loved watching Tony snow spar with the press. You've obviously had a few rounds yourself with the White House press corps, and you enjoyed some of it. Maybe other days you didn't.

G. BUSH: That's exactly right.

HENRY: And so what -- did you watch Tony Snow in that job? What do you think about how he handled it? Talk about that.

G. BUSH: There was never an edge to Tony. He always forthrightly defended the president's positions. He was an advocate for the positions of the administration.

He did not look for personal cover if the questions were tough. But the thing about Tony, he could disagree with the press, which is not hard to do when they get going in that, you know, conflict of the press room, but he could do it agreeably. And I think he won the respect of even those who violently disagree with the president's proposals and policies.

So, for that, I think he'll be remembered. He brought a certain civility to this very contentious job.

HENRY: Very well said, Mr. President. We thank you for joining us today.

And Randi and Dan, to toss it back to you in Atlanta, I think the former president put it extremely well. He was somebody who had that personal touch. And even when -- I can speak as a White House correspondent who battled with him in that briefing room -- after the cameras were off, it was never personal.

He would come to you and he understood the difference between what was business, what was personal. And also, people in the White House and in the White House Press Corps knew that as much as he loved that job -- and he loved it, and he was a happy warrior in that press secretary job -- he loved his family much, much more.

KAYE: Yes. He had actually said that cancer was the best thing that happened to him, which made him appreciate his family even more than he already did.

HENRY: Absolutely.

KAYE: All right. Ed Henry for us.

Thank you so much.

HENRY: Thank you.

SIMON: Well, reaction continuing to come in about Tony Snow. We're also going to hear from some of you.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The news is unfolding live on this Saturday, the 12th of July.

I'm Randi Kaye.

SIMON: And I'm Dan Simon, in for T.J. Holmes.

And our Betty Nguyen, she is back from a top-secret assignment.

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