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Obama and McCain Closer to Picking Their VPs; The Day After a 5.4 Magnitude Earthquake Rocked Los Angeles; How to Make Money During Rough Times in Our Economy; President Bush Speaks in the Rose Garden
Aired July 30, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
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.
High drama in Hollywood. Cameras are rolling for the L.A. earthquake, today, after (INAUDIBLE) some clean up. Man.
COLLINS: President Bush pushing Congress to expand offshore oil drilling. He's meeting with his cabinet this hour, ahead of Rose Garden remarks.
HARRIS: Ah, yes. The men and women who might be the next vice president. Our political panel looks at the contenders today, Wednesday, July 10th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Southern California's back to business as usual, this morning, after a day they are not likely to forget anytime soon. The 5.4 magnitude quake rattled nerves all over Los Angeles. In the heart of Hollywood, cameras captured the quake from many angles, stories like this one. Subdivisions even city council all felt the rattling. One audience filming a TV show ducked for cover.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He paid approximately -- he took out, I believe, $729.99.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay calm. Get under the desk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A number of aftershocks. But amazingly, just a handful of injuries. The quake was centered near Chino hills, about 30 miles from downtown L.A.. Some buildings were damaged, but none toppled like they did, of course, in the Northridge earthquake back in 1994. L.A.X. had a mess on its hands. So, no doubt many people have a big clean up job awaiting them this morning.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: So, the earthquake wasn't the big one many Californians are expecting but it's a resounding reminder a bigger one may be looming.
Kara Finnstrom live at the Caltech campus is Pasadena.
Kara, good morning to you. What are those smart people there, those seismologists telling you?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, they have been carefully monitoring the more than 900 aftershocks. Take a look at this. You could see one of the charts that they put together, really watching those closely. The good news, they tell us, most of the risk right now for this quake triggering another larger earthquake has passed. But here in California, we live with the risk of a big quake every day. And joining us live now. We are with Dr. Lucy Jones, with the U.S.G.S. Thanks for joining us. Much of your work right now focuses on hazard preparation and talk to me a little bit about what you've created here and what this tells us about a possible big one that might hit.
DR. LUCY JONES, CALTECH/U.S.G.S.: OK. Over the last year, we assembled a team of over 300 experts to help us describe exactly what a big San Andrea's earthquake would be like. We're asking everybody to prepare for this event. They need to know what they're preparing for. So what we did is we got a team of seismologists, several teams of seismologists simulate what the shaking would be like and what we're seeing in this movie is our best estimate of what the pattern would be like for this particular San Andrea's earthquake. Starting here at the southern end of the fault, you could see a ruptured front moving up to fault and then the waves created moving out from the event.
FINNSTROM: And I think what's really interesting here as you said is this will be real time. This is one of the interesting things that science can provide for us. Because in a quake this size, you say there could be some warning time. You guys wanted to really make the most of that.
JONES: Right. We know - it's not that the earthquake will happen but once it's begun, we can say the shaking has begun, the earthquake's on its way, strong shaking to arrive in 30, 40, 50 seconds. And you see now, one minute 18 seconds into the earthquake, the shaking is just starting to arrive in the Los Angeles area.
FINNSTROM: And just real quickly here. Give us some idea of what you hope this science can do for us? What could you really do in a minute or two if you had that kind of warning?
JONES: OK. If we could out the warning here, we could do some very simple things like bringing alarms into operating rooms so the surgeon pulls the scalpel out of your chest. You could have all the elevators in the city connected to this so they moved to the nearest floor and open the door and you don't get caught in the elevator during the earthquake. You could stop handling of toxic materials. You could cut off lifelines that are going to be, you know, could be ruptured with the fault. A lot of ways we could actually reduce the losses with this system.
FINNSTROM: All right. Thanks so much for joining us. Tony, some interesting ways we may be able to learn yet even from this earthquake.
HARRIS: Hey, Kara. Don't let her go yet. I've got a question for Lucy.
FINNSTROM: All right.
HARRIS: You got an earthquake like yesterday in Chino Hills, does it release the pressure that's been building up in that area so that it makes another event in that particular area less likely in the future?
FINNSTROM: All right. Let me let her answer that for you directly. Our anchor Tony Harris has a question of his own. An event like yesterday, does it release the pressure in that particular area so that a huge event in the future is less likely?
JONES: It reduces a little bit of pressure. It increases it elsewhere, and actually what we see is that every earthquake makes other earthquakes more likely. The 90 aftershocks that we just had are other earthquakes that have been triggered by the first one. So now it actually ups the probability a little bit. You got to remember that this earthquake probably released one percent of the energy of Northridge and one of 10,000 of the earthquake as big as the big San Andreas event. Doesn't make much difference.
FINNSTROM: Yes. Not really the assurance but I think a lot of the people were hoping there for it, Tony. Lots of questions. And folks, folks can visit the USGS web site. It got lots of answers to a lot of questions that this raises.
HARRIS: That's terrific. Kara, good to see you.
COLLINS: Reynolds Wolf joining us now and talk a little bit more about this and those dry conditions. I was reading that one seismologist said that yes, you know, if you're looking for that stress reliever, really, this is minuscule. Right, Reynolds? In comparison to all the stress that has built up in years gone by.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, for just a moment, let's just forget about geological stress, let's just think about the people stress in California.
COLLINS: Oh, yes.
WOLF: You got the fires. You got the earthquakes. You got all kinds of this happening in California. What is going on in the golden state? It's a crazy time. Today, hopefully, they're going to get a little bit of a break in terms of the earthquake. Certainly, some rough conditions.
Well, you've seen the video. This incredible video. We have some video of a pool with water shaking around. Take a look at the Queen Mary. We got a shot of Queen Mary right now. Thankfully, it's not shaking in that location. We got that for you coming up. Just a beautiful shot. A little bit of that marine layer coming in. That's going to burn off and then skies are going to become just beautiful. However, inland, it is going to be a problem. Still up in the high hills of Sierra Nevada, where we're talking about the fire. There are still dry conditions there.
But still the firefighters will have an easier time getting up there in dousing parts of the blaze with some aircraft. You know, you have to remember it's a two pronged attack, you got some crews in the ground but with those steep hills, those mountains out there, you have to have some assistance that's going to come in the form of the rotary aircraft, the (INAUDIBLE) aircraft, that can be battling around the clock, doing what it can to stave off the blaze.
Again, we are talking about the fires there. We go from the fires to the flooding. And quite a bit of it is possible today in parts of Missouri. You'll notice a lot of the dark and the line shades on the maps here indicates areas we have watches and warnings there in effect due to the heavy rainfall. They've had rainfall over an inch an hour in parts of Missouri. Today, the rain's going to continue through the mid day hours possibly into the afternoon. The worst is over though for the time being. And now, we look back at Philadelphia, where we have extreme heat, no rain in sight. It's going to feel like it's 100 degrees or warmer through the afternoon. And for the eastern third of the country, you can expect a slight chance of rainfall but still out west, the dry conditions will persist. Slight chance of storms in the northern plains.
OK. We're wrapping it up for you. Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
COLLINS: Thank you.
WOLF: Any time.
HARRIS: Your money. Your concerns. The economy, of course, "Issue number one" here at CNN. So, let's check the latest headlines impacting your wallet.
All eyes on oil after prices hit a three-month low. This hour, investors are awaiting a report on gas inventories and oil reserves. Gas prices slide yet again. Yet again, AAA says today's national average is less than $3.93. That's a penny and a half less than just yesterday.
A promising sign last hour from a job market. According to a new study by a payroll manager, the private sector gained 9,000 jobs in July. That is much better than expected. And a big improvement on June. So, let's check in on Wall Street and see where things are. The big board, triple digit gains inside the first hour of the trading day. As you can see, the Dow up 121 points. We are following the markets with Susan Lisovicz throughout the morning, right here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And speaking of President Bush meeting with his cabinet right now and appearing next hour in the White House Rose Garden to discuss energy and gas prices. More specifically, the Washington debate over how to rein them in. Setting the stage for us now at the White House, CNN's Kathleen Koch. Good morning, Kathleen. KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. There is quite a debate. Obviously, the White House knows that Americans are very frustrated at the pump even they are coming down a little bit. So the President yesterday spoke on energy and he'll be speaking tomorrow on energy. And then as you pointed out today, right now, meeting with his cabinet. In about an hour, coming out of the Rose Garden and the President will be pushing what he believes is the best fix for the situation.
First of all, more offshore drilling. Also, drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The President also wants to see more public lands out in the west open to oil shale development. And then finally, the President is very interested in streamlining regulations so we can build more oil refiners in the U.S.. The President points out often that we have not build any in the United States since the early '70s. And in his remarks this morning, Mr. Bush will be pushing Congress to put some of these republican ideas into energy legislation and pass them before they recess in a matter of days for the rest of the month of August.
But the democratic leaders of Congress obviously have a very different take on the situation. They believe that it's speculation in the oil futures market that is responsible for much of the increase in prices of 25 percent at least they say and they also want to see more investments in alternative energy sources - wind, solar, ethanol, things like that. So right now, there's a stalemate on Capitol Hill. They do have a couple more days to try to work things out. The Press Secretary Dana Perino this morning saying that she believes and the President believe that Congress should give an up or down vote to the republican ideas. Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Very interesting. We are going to hear more about that. CNN's Kathleen Koch. Thank you.
KOCH: You're welcome.
COLLINS: In fact, President Bush will speak, as we said, in the White House Rose Garden this morning with his cabinet and vice president by his side. Again, that is scheduled for 11:15 Eastern and we will carry it live.
HARRIS: In North Carolina, police have charged a man with killing the pregnant soldier who was found in a motel bath tub last month. Army Specialist Megan Touma was seven months pregnant when she died. Now, a few soldier, Edgar Patino, is facing charges. So far, police have not released the motive but friends of the slain soldier say the pair had been romantically linked. They say they were once stationed together in Germany. Patino is expected to be in court this morning. North Carolina police are expected to hold a news conference at 11:00 a.m. Eastern this morning. When that happens we will bring it to you live.
Hell in paradise. Honeymooners violently attacked at a luxurious Caribbean resort in Antigua.
COLLINS: The wife was killed instantly and the husband is not expected to recover. John Irvine is following the development.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN IRVINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The authorities here in Antigua are in crisis mode for they knew that this island's reputation as a holiday is under threat. Thanks to the monstrous crime that took place here early on Sunday morning. The island's entire police force is dedicated to find the man responsible for the shooting of the honeymooners from Britain. We're being told that the Ben Mullany, the husband in this case is in fact brain dead. He's lying in a hospital here. His parents arrived from Britain yesterday. They have to his bedside on number of occasions as you would expect. They presumably now have an agonizing decision to make.
The authorities are shaking the tree as it was of finding the perpetrators. By their own admission, the police are spreading the neck fairly wide. Speaking to the usual suspects, if you will, that may be a tactic that works on a small island like this. But the police commissioner has admitted right now that he's got no firm suspects. For this island's reputation is on the line right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And this information just in to CNN right now. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens will be arraigned tomorrow afternoon. The influential republican was indicted yesterday on seven charges. He's accused of lying about accepting more than $250,000 in gifts. Stevens says he is innocent.
HARRIS: Who's on the short list? Both presidential candidates have unfinished business. Picking a running mate, for instance.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Airline passengers, buckle up for yet another new charge. Are even more fees on the horizon? We'll talk to a travel expert.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Airline passengers, pack light or pay up. Delta is now doubling its charge for a second checked bag. The new cost, 50 bucks. It's designed to off set near record fuel prices. Are more hikes on the way? Joining us from Dallas, Tom Parsons with bestfares.com. Tom, thanks for being here but you know what. People are getting ticked. I mean, is this really about I don't know. I guess I wonder why we're charging for bags when really, it's the cost of fuel.
TOM PARSONS, BESTFARES.COM: Well, it's the cost of fuel but at the same time, I think what we're truly going to because of the cost of fuel is a true a la carte system. If you want to do something extra other than get a reservation on an airline, you're going to pay for it. We already see six different airlines charging for premium seats. As a matter of fact, Spirit Airlines is charging 5 bucks for a middle seat, $10 for a window, 15 for an aisle and that's per plane. COLLINS: I mean, that's my point. As all of these stuff have existed previously at no extra cost, nothing has changed along those lines. Why don't they just write on your ticket, or when you're getting on line and buying a ticket, a little line that says, fuel costs.
PARSONS: That would be nice, but the problem they have right now - there's two enemies of the airlines. And one is fuel --
COLLINS: People.
PARSONS: And the second one is Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines fly more people in the United States than any U.S. airline. They actually have fuel heads of only $52 a barrel for about 70 percent of their fuel this year. Next year, it's in the mid-60s. And again, when the airlines sit out there and Southwest, look at what they did this last quarter. The major airlines lost over $6 billion in three months, $6 billion and yet Southwest, that lean mean flying machine actually made $327 million.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, to be fair though. The airline is run completely differently than the big three.
PARSONS: Sure but people still want to travel. They want to do it I like cheap. We still want to go coast to coast for under $200. And we do see air fares out there for that number. I mean Philadelphia, you know, San Jose, today's $178. Baltimore to Las Vegas is 168 bucks.
COLLINS: That's awesome.
PARSONS: But you know, we looked at some markets, where the low cost airlines don't compete. Those folks have seen airfare hikes go up $420 since December 20th. So, some are paying a whole lot more and I think today as we go into the fall season, we're still going to see some bargain basement deals, but as we get to Christmas, New Year's and Thanksgiving and holidays, we're going to pay a lot more than we go, much more than we did last Christmas. But at the same time, I think if you fly away from those holidays, and away from family travel, you could find a reasonable, I'd say reasonable air fare.
COLLINS: Yes. Well, that's just it. You know, reasonable is really a keyword here. A couple stories right. But the first thing I want to ask you about is isn't it fair to say, we have to remember the state of the airlines before fuel costs started really going in, you know, out of the ceiling. And they were in a big whoop of trouble, if you will, long before fuel prices were going up.
PARSONS: Sure. If you look at 2000, I think the airlines over expanded in the 2000s. I mean, late 1990s and the 2000s, they had to be the jack of all trades. They had to fly to every Tom, Dick and Harry City. They had to keep that route system in there for their heavy frequent flyers, business travelers that pay the most money. And then all of a sudden, we've had three downsizing. We had one after 9/11. We had another one when all the bankruptcies occurred in the mid 200s. And now we're having another downsizing. COLLINS: Yes.
PARSONS: So imagine if we're flying more people today than ever, why do we have so many planes in the sky in the first place and the planes that are flying are so fuel inefficient and that also becomes a very big handicap for the traveling public.
COLLINS: Yes. I'll tell you my other stories off line. Because they're yelling at me that we have to say good-bye to you, but Tom Parsons, we certainly do appreciate it.
PARSONS: All right. Thanks.
COLLINS: Thanks so much. Bestfares.com.
HARRIS: Homeowners at risk of foreclosure, a massive rescue plan on the way but what help is there. Now, Gerri Willis has answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, we like the way this looks. Yet again, yesterday was a great day. The Dow Jones industrial average is up. I think it ends up 266 or so at the end of trading today - today, I should say 152 point to the positive. Nasdaq up about 20. You see it in the lower right hand side of your screen there. We are watching all of those numbers. Also have some things to talk about in the price of gas department as well.
HARRIS: A stroke of a pen and help may be on the way for thousands of troubled homeowners. This morning, President Bush signed a massive rescue plan into law. The new law goes into effect the beginning of the fiscal year in October. But October is too far away for homeowners at risk of foreclosure right now. Would you say there is help if you know where to look. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here with details. And Gerri before we get into some of those details, maybe you can help us flush out a bit of a housing bill that the president signed into law this morning.
GERRI WILLIS: Well, hey good morning, Tony. Good to see you. President Bush as we said has signed the housing bill this morning and while the part of the bill that allows homeowners to refinance in government-backed loans, it's probably the most attractive piece for consumers. While it could be implemented as soon as October. There is some question where it could take longer than that. Look, if you are in danger of being foreclosed, here are some steps that you can take. Now, we're going to tell you about.
HARRIS: OK. Now what kind of timeline are we talking about here, Gerri, before a house is in real danger of foreclosure?
WILLIS: Well, let's talk about the steps.
HARRIS: Right.
WILLIS: OK. Once you miss a payment, your lender likely reports that to the credit bureaus. And every time you miss payment, your credit score goes down, making it harder to get a new loan plus you start getting hit with late fees. Now, after 90 to 150 days, in most cases, your lender may file a notice of default with the local courthouse. If you don't become current on your local payment then, you may have anywhere from two to three months to a year before the house is put up on the auction block. So, it can happen pretty quickly out there. And we just want people to understand the step.
HARRIS: OK. So, what are the options here for a homeowner?
WILLIS: Well, you want to try to get a loan modification. Insiders call, the loan mod. Before you even miss a payment, try to get that. It's probably the least of the options out there. But if you can get it. Basically, it just means a change in loan terms. A modification will lower your monthly payment or let you skip a few payments. To request a modification, call your lender, ask to be transferred to the loan modification department. Make sure you have some recent pay stubs, current or prior year W2 forms, bank statements, property tax bills, insurance bills. They need all that data, you're going to have to be persistent. Because the process can be frustrating and it can take weeks. You want to get their attention, sometimes that's tough.
HARRIS: Oh boy. Hey, Gerri. What do you do if you're upside down on your mortgage? Are there some options out there?
WILLIS: Well, this is tough love here. If you can't afford your mortgage, your best bet is probably to sell your home. But if you owe a lot more on your home than it's worth, you may be able to get the lender to accept a less than you owe on it by negotiating what they call a short sale. Basically, you sell the house for what you could get and the lender agrees to accept whatever that is. Sometimes, that deficit is forgiven. But sometimes, you have to sign an unsecure loan for the amount.
The other thing you could do is a deed in lieu of foreclosure transaction. Here, you just hand over the deed to the lender and you're released from your mortgage but having your lender accept the deed in lieu can be challenging. And what's more you give up any equity that you built up on the house. Well, we've talked about some alternatives to foreclosure. Sometimes, it's unavoidable, keep in mind if you have to go that route, you could still repair your credit over time. It takes some time but you can do it. And of course, if you have any questions about foreclosure, about anything else, send it to us at toptips@CNN.com. We love to hear from you.
HARRIS: Hey, I know you're working on "Issue number one" at noon Eastern time today. Give us a bit of a preview there, Gerri.
WILLIS: Well, we're going to talk a little bit about why Americans love affair with credit cards is hitting a big bump in the road. Maybe you've experienced it. And how to get what you want every time. Well, I'm going to be listening hard to this. I'm going to show you how to haggle?
HARRIS: Yes, I hate those credit cards. Not really. I'm not particularly good at it because I want to make sure everyone is getting and their families are fed, and so I end up paying more than I should. But I'm not putting it on a credit card because I hate those things.
WILLIS: Good for you.
HARRIS: All right, Gerri. We'll see you at noon Eastern time. Good to see you. Thanks.
WILLIS: Can't wait. Thank you.
HARRIS: The housing law that President Bush signed into law today provides a safety net for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Just want to add this and it also throws a lifeline to many homeowners who are at risks of foreclosure. Some 400,000 homeowners could actually benefit from the rescue plan.
Air attack on the California fires. Firefighters call in helicopters to battle the tough terrain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
Shaken and a little stirred as people in southern California go back to business as usual this morning. Boy, you know they're going to be talking about yesterday's 5.4 magnitude earthquake.
It was centered near Chino Hills. But, buildings swayed from Los Angeles to San Diego. So far, dozens of aftershocks. There was some damage but, no major injuries. The biggest jolt appears to have been to nervous.
COLLINS: Crews are focusing on air power today, in the fight against fires in northern California. The wildfire near Yosemite National Park has destroyed at least 20 homes so far. Thousands more are threatened. Residents are being kept out as firefighters try to tame terrain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICH CADIGAN, FIREFIGHTER: This is very unique because of the magnitude and how quickly it built, just in over 24 hours. It's unbelievable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, I'm stressing. I can't think. I can't sleep. But, you know, we'll get through this.
CHIEF DAVE PHILLIPS, ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY: It's in such steep terrain that it's hard to get men and equipment in there. So right now, we're concentrating the air resources on it. And believe me, that is our number one priority along with protecting the structures in the areas to keep it out of the national park.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Yosemite National Park has been spared so far. Right now, visitors are dealing with power outages and smoke. The fire is still several miles from the park's west entrance.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf is standing by now, looking at all of this. Such dry conditions out there. And the heat wave in the East, too.
You've got it all, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we really do.
You know, two out of the last three people we just heard from just moments ago, were talking about the terrain. They're talking about the high hillsides, the mountains out there.
Here's the thing about heat. Heat rises. So, when you have these hillsides that are going up like this, then you have the fires down in the valleys, they go right up. That heat rises just like heat would in say, maybe a chimney. That's going to be a real problem because you can't take those fire trucks and go right up the hillside. They really have to rely on aircraft and that's what they're going to be doing today.
Even then, as far as ground crews, they have over 3,500 men that are going -- men and women, that are going to be on the ground battling from the ground. In the skies above, you've got fixed-wing aircraft, you've got rotary aircraft dropping flame retardant, dropping water. It's going to be a full effort today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: And just a reminder. When the weather does become the news, remember to send us your iReports. Go to iReport.com, or type iReport.CNN.com into your cell phone. And please, stay safe.
HARRIS: New information this morning, on Senator Ted Stevens. His arraignment now scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The Alaska republican accused of perjury. The case revolving around hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from a company he was helping in Washington.
CNN's Joe Johns has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brawling and combative, Ted Stevens is now the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate. Once lionized as quote, "The Alaskan of the Century," an honor for all he's done to build up his home state. But now with his re-election on the line, the Justice Department and a Federal grand jury have called him out for the fight of his life.
The case of the United States of America against Theodore Stevens charges that the senator essentially lied for years and years about gifts and services he got from an Alaskan oil services company called VECO. We're talking about tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff, especially labor costs when Stevens renovated his house near Anchorage eight years ago. But that's not all.
MATTHEW FRIEDRICH, ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL CRIMINAL DIVISION DOJ: The indictment also alleges that Senator Stevens received other gifts from VECO and its CEO, including household goods, furniture, a new Viking gas range, a tool storage cabinet, and an automobile exchange in which Senator Stevens received a new vehicle worth far more than what he provided in exchange.
JOHNS: Prosecutors says Stevens was supposed to report any gifts valued at over $260 and generally reimburse the donor. Failure to do so is pretty much against the law. Prosecutors say Stevens didn't do it.
Interestingly, the indictment also claims VECO was getting assistance on its lucrative projects in Pakistan and Russia for example. And yet the government does not claim that Stevens took a bribe.
FRIEDRICH: At the same time that Senator Stevens was receiving these things of value over that same time period, he was also being solicited by VECO to do certain things which he or his staff on occasion did.
JOHNS: Still, the charges stunned the Senate.
SEN. HARRY REID, (D) MAJORITY LEADER: It's a sad day for him, us. But, you know, I believe in the American system of justice that he is presumed innocent.
JOHNS: Following Senate rules, Stevens said he was temporarily stepping aside from his powerful positions on Capitol Hill Committees and he said in a statement quote, "The impact of these charges on my family disturbs me greatly. I am innocent of these charges and I intend to prove that."
What's puzzling is that after an investigation lasting months if not years, this powerful man would wind up getting indicted for something like making false statements on his Senate Financial Disclosure Forms. But Congressional watch dogs say it looks like the prosecutors were trying to take the cleanest shot possible as a Capitol Hill icon.
STEVE ELLIS, TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE: They said that all right, you're supposed to disclose everything that you received of value and he didn't do it, year after year after year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And here are some stats, though on Ted Stevens. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968. He's been reelected six times, making him the Republican's senior senator.
COLLINS: John McCain making money. He picked up a little more than $3 million at a fundraiser in Denver. That's the site, of course, of the upcoming Democratic convention. McCain stays in Colorado for an event today, before heading to another fundraiser in Kansas City.
Barack Obama spent Tuesday in Washington. He met with House Democratic leaders to talk about the campaign and his overseas trip. Today, he is in Springfield, Missouri, where he'll hold a town hall meeting on the economy. Of course, CNN will bring you coverage of that speech a little bit later this morning.
Well, there is still something missing from the presidential campaigns. We're of course, talking about running mates. And important test for the candidates.
Here to talk about the possible choices, Republican strategist and McCain supporter, Cheri Jacobus.
Hi there, Cheri.
CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good morning.
COLLINS: And Democratic strategist and Obama supporter, we have Jamal Simmons.
Thanks so much for being with us, to the both of you.
All right. So, let's just chat a bit about these VP choice. And I understand that a lot of this is a little speculative, but that's OK.
Cheri, who do you think Senator McCain will be choosing?
JACOBUS: I have no idea.
COLLINS: Oh, come on!
JACOBUS: That is the honest answer. And I heard all the people talk about this over the course of the days and the weeks and anybody who thinks they've got the inside track, really doesn't.
COLLINS: Well, let me do this. Let's go ahead and put this short list up on the screen so that people can at least see the names that are being thrown around. And I'm sure a lot of people have heard these names.
But, we've got Governor Charlie Crist, we've got Governor Tim Pawlenty, we've got Rob Portman and we've got former Governor Mitt Romney. Of those, what do you think?
JACOBUS: You know, I like them all. But if I were to you know, go with my favorites today, I'd probably say Rob Portman. I think he come from a state that would be good for McCain. Obviously from Ohio, he's got the economic background with budgets. He's well-known. He's got a lot of experience but sort of balances McCain on the age issue. So I think that he'd probably be a good pick. COLLINS: You think he's pretty well-known?
JACOBUS: I think he is. He's been in the Cabinet, he's been in the Congress. So, he is somebody that is well-known with the political circles and he's very articulate, intelligenic and does very well with crowds.
So I think that he'd be a very good pick, an exciting pick. And I think that he's somebody that the country would enjoy getting to know as the process moves forward..
COLLINS: Hmm, interesting.
All right, Jamal, weighing in from the other side.
If you had to look at the Republican VP, what do you think? You think Portman is well-known enough and could help on the economic front for McCain?
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes. The problem is he's well-known for being George Bush's budget director. And for being George Bush's trade secretary.
The problem here for McCain is, to get out from under the blanket of Goerge Bush. And by picking someone who's so closely affiliated to George Bush, it just makes it such an easier target to continue to tell people that John McCain is just a continuation, a third term of George Bush, when it comes to economic policies and the foreign policy that Americans so clearly disagree with.
COLLINS: All right. Well, let's go ahead, then and switch to the other side. I'll let you weigh in first Jamal, on the short list for the VP candidates for Barack Obama. If in fact, this is what we're going to be talking about.
Look, we've got Senator Joe Biden, Senator Evan Bayh, Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Tim Kaine. I think we are going to put those pictures up in just a moment, here.
If you had to choose from that list, what would you say, Jamal?
SIMMONS: I'd say Democrats are blessed by the plethora of choices.
COLLINS: No! You wouldn't say that, would you, really?
SIMMONS: Absolutely.
COLLINS: I am shocked.
SIMMONS: Absolutely. And I agree with Cheri. I mean, the only people who know who are really on the short list here, are John McCain and Barack Obama.
When it comes to the Democrats, I think any one of these Democrats would be great to take on John McCain and his running mate because we are right on the economy. We want to get the economy back in order, not give $400 million tax cuts to people. That the jump for giving out tax cuts to wealthy people like John McCain does, we're ready to end the war in Iraq unlike John McCain, who's ready to keep troops in Iraq for as long as it takes because he has a strategy to stay in Iraq, not a strategy to succeed there.
COLLINS: All right. Cheri?
JACOBUS: Well, first of all, I do want to say something about John McCain. He can pick just about anybody and he will not be considered Bush's third term. This man has so much experience and a list of accomplishments on his own and contributions to this country, where he very much stands on his own.
With regard to Barack Obama, he's in a little bit of a different position. If he balances his ticket, so to speak, with somebody like Biden, it's going to look like that ticket should be turned upside down. The guy with the most experience, Biden, should actually be the nominee for president. So, Barack Obama, I think, is going to lean towards someone who really is rather weak, who doesn't show him up in areas of foreign policy, in -- and with the military and a whole host of issues. So, I think that he really has to sort of slouch downward so that you know, he can at least have some sort of stature at his convention. And that means he cannot pick somebody with a lot of experience or even a moderate amount of experience because he has virtually no experience.
COLLINS: OK. Everybody's gotten their shots in, now. But you know, the fact of the matter is this. I mean, history will show that people don't vote on a vice president.
Right Jamal?
SIMMONS: That's right.
I mean, people are looking at the top of the ticket. And despite Cheri's characterization, in fact, Barack Obama has been out there for now, a couple of years. And people have gotten to know him pretty well.
What they know about him is that he was against the war in Iraq from the beginning. They know about him is that he can perform on the world stage, they're feeling more comfortable with him as a commander in chief. And then they have John McCain on the other hand, who is you know, now talking about Social Security taxes. Who's now talking about, you know, he's unfairly attacking Barack Obama on several different points. And he's been called on that by -- all over the place.
JACOBUS: I think the keyword that Jamal said, was performing on the world stage. And that's what we saw from Barack Obama, last week, was a performance. That's not leadership.
COLLINS: OK. You know what, guys? Since we're trying to talk about VP, this is the next step in the process, we all know that. We are waiting to hear about who the VP is going to be for both of these candidates.
A little interesting stuff that I've been looking up here. Usually, the VP is announced, at least according to history, I've looked back to 1956, around convention time. Most of them during the convention.
Either one of you have any idea when we're going to actually learn for either candidate? Cheri?
JACOBUS: There's nothing conventional about this election season.
So, I think it's that individual choice on who the pick will be, as well as the timing. I think, you know, all bets are off this campaign season. And we should just throw conventional wisdom and tradition out the window, quite frankly.
SIMMONS: And in fact, if you look back at history, look at George Bush who chose Dick Cheney. Nobody expected that. If you look at Al Gore who chose Joe Lieberman, nobody expected that. So...
COLLINS: Yes, that was actually the longest one out. That was 20 days out from the convention, as far as what my notes show me.
But Cheri, you brought something up that I want to kind of, bring up too. Reminding us about the trip that Senator Obama took overseas. A lot of people talking about whether of not that really helped him in the polls, gave him the boost that he was looking for, for some more momentum after that trip. We're seeing video here.
There's actually an article written in the "Washington Post" today, talking a little about the trip and what has to come of it. I want to put it on the screen for you, the clip that we have. Again, coming from the "Washington Post," one of the writers wrote this:
"Barack Obama has long been his party's presumptive nominee. Now he's becoming its presumptuous nominee."
What do you think about that? I'll give you both a chance.
JACOBUS: Well, I think there's something to that. And I think the polls are reflecting that, somewhat. He went over and spoke and -- he has this habit of giving these big speeches where he's sort of shouting at people from the stage. And this was 200,000 excited Germans. And he did not meet with the wounded troops, as we know. And seems to be blaming that on the Pentagon. That's a bit of a problem for him.
But, here's the thing. Of likely voters, John McCain is ahead. Which means that his supporters really are more passionate. So, Barack Obama needs to have these huge crowds. He's changed his venue for his acceptance speech's convention so he can have tens of thousands more people, rather than talking to them. And I think that's wearing starting to wear on people...
SIMMONS: If it were possible, let me get... COLLINS: I'm going to relieve the other side now.
SIMMONS: Let me get in here.
COLLINS: Of course, Jamal. Go ahead.
SIMMONS: Barack -- I'm sure if John McCain can speak to 75,000 people and hold their attention he would try to do it. I'm not sure that he could. And we get to Germany. You know, the last time we saw Europeans standing on a stage -- on the world -- in front of the world cameras, waving American flags was right after 9/11. And George Bush squandered that good will around the world. And now Barack Obama's has prepared to really bring America back to the world and say we're ready to participate in the global and global affairs.
Now let's get to this issue of the troops. John McCain's an honorable man...
COLLINS: But, that's not at all...
SIMMONS: No, no no. Hold on, wait one second.
COLLINS: But, that's not at all what the question was. The question was about whether or not Barack Obama is being presumptuous versus presumptive.
SIMMONS: Exactly. And he's not being presumptuous. What he's doing is that he's actually answering the questions that Americans have and they want to see Barack Obama as a world leader. And he's showed that he can be a leader on the world stage.
COLLINS: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
SIMMONS: The point here is that John McCain is an honorable man, but he's been running a dishonorable campaign when it comes to this issue of the troops.
Barack Obama met with wounded troops when he was in Iraq. He did not take cameras with him. Every Republican knows that, every journalist who's...
COLLINS: All right, guys. I'm going to have to call it quits.
SIMMONS: And it's unfair and it lacks the integrity that John McCain has said that he has to continue to make...
COLLINS: I sure do appreciate the insight and both of you, guys, I got to call it quits so we're going to go to a commercial break and I'm going to have to end it rudely.
So, I appreciate to both of you of being here, today. Cheri Jacobus and Jamal Simmons, thank you.
SIMMONS: Thank you. COLLINS: So, if you want to know more about the leading VP contenders, because that's where we started, CNN's political unit and CNNPolitics.com has assembled a (INAUDIBLE) with pros and cons of each. So, if you want to check it out and you're curious, go ahead and check that. The political market and all of that at CNNPolitics.com
HARRIS: And let's talk you to West Palm Beach, Florida right now. I want to show you some pictures that we received here at CNN, just a short time ago.
The Palm Beach County sheriff's office is searching for one suspect right now in connection with a bank robbery at a Wachovia Bank. And deputy's say an armored car driver was shot during the robbery attempt. Not quite sure what we're seeing here. But this is the story connected, I'm hopeful to part of this scene that we're showing you right now.
Again, the armored car driver, we're told, has been transported to Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach. We have no word on his condition at this point. We're going to try to get further clarity on the story and bring you an update as soon as we can.
Still to come, billions of dollars in unpaid taxes. The dead beat companies that don't pay up. And what Congress wants to do about that.
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HARRIS: So, this week, the big oil companies are once again reporting huge and often record profits. But where is all that money going? Is there anyway we can get our hands on some of it?
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our Energy Fix from New York.
Poppy, good morning.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Good morning, Tony.
Wouldn't that be nice.
HARRIS: Yes, it would.
HARLOW: A little chunk.
Grab your hands around this number, Tony, $35 billion. That it -- I know. That's how much...
HARRIS: My hands aren't big, my arms aren't wide enough. Can't do it.
HARLOW: Yes, well, big oil companies are. That's for sure.
The world's four biggest oil companies are expected to have earned $35 billion in just the last three months. So, where on earth is all that money's going? It's going in a lot of different places including in the wallets of the oil executives. But, a much greater amount is going back to shareholders, possibly to you.
Last year, more than half of a available cash from the five biggest oil companies went back to shareholders, either in the form of stock buybacks or dividends. If you can compare that to 2000, we saw just 30 percent of the money going back that way in 2000. And just 1 percent in 1993. So, that benefits a lot of mutual funds and 401(k) accounts. In other words, it can really benefit you and me.
And for the second straight day in a row, our Energy Fixes, if you can't beat them, join them. The question though, where isn't the money going?
Well, it's not really going to more oil explorations. Spending there over the past 10 years or so, Tony, is virtually flat.
HARRIS: Wow. Hey, Poppy, what's happening to the stock prices of these oil companies? Are they on the rise?
HARLOW: You would think so with these record profits that they're taking in.
But surprisingly, most are not on the rise. The price of oil of course, has been rising. We all know that. But it has not translated into higher stock prices for the world's biggest oil company, ExxonMobile. Oil prices up 27 percent this year and it was up a lot more than that just two weeks ago. But Exxon's stock this year, down about 14 percent. Even though it's expected to report another massive quarterly profit tomorrow. One reason Exxon increasingly has to buy more oil on the open market to refine that into gasoline. That means its costs are up but your's aren't, thanks to more Energy Fixes.
Check this one out. Prayer at the pump. I love this story. This group in Ohio, prayed for lower prices towards the end of June. Since then, gas is down eight cents, or two percent. Hey, it's something, right?
HARRIS: It's the power of prayer.
HARLOW: It's the power of prayer.
But, if praying for cheap gas is not your thing, many more Energy Fixes right there, on our site. Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: You got to believe. All right, Poppy.
HARLOW: You got to believe.
HARRIS: Good to see you, thanks.
HARLOW: You, too.
COLLINS: The focus, economic security. Barack Obama holding a town hall meeting in Springfield, Missouri. Live, next hour.
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(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
HARRIS: Well, he says it will lower gas prices. President Bush pressing Congress to expand offshore oil drilling today. Live from the White House Rose Garden at 11:15 Eastern, or sooner, right here in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Let's get you strait to the Rose Garden. And President Bush, after meeting with his cabinet.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... the economy, amongst other things. And we spent time on the high gasoline prices.
Every one of our citizens who drives to work, or runs a small business, is feeling the squeeze of rising prices at the pump. And they expect their elected leaders in Washington to take some common sense action.
