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American Morning
U.S. Markets Rally Around the Government's Bailout of Financial Firms; Separation of Sexes in Schools; Could the Race Factor Help or Hurt Obama?; JetBlue's Terminal at JFK Evacuated
Aired September 22, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, crossing the top of the hour, here are some of the top stories we're following for you right now. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be in New York tomorrow to speak at the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly and he's also ramping up his anti-U.S. talk. On Sunday Ahmadinejad vowed to quote, "break the hand of any aggressor targeting Iran's nuclear facilities."
Pakistani officials says the country's President and Prime Minister were supposed to have dinner at the Marriott Hotel, that same hotel that was destroyed by a deadly truck bomb over the weekend. They say they changed their plans at the last minute. 53 people were killed, including two Americans.
New surveillance video shows the truck driver blowing himself up at the gate. The cab of the truck caught fire. The security guard tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher. And then shortly after that, the 1,300 pound of explosives and main bomb detonated, ripping the front right off of the hotel.
Will the markets continue to rally today? Right now Dow futures are down 76 points. Stocks in Asia finished higher and stocks in Europe also opened higher before retreating moments ago.
The $700 billion bailout for the financial market could get even bigger. Democratic lawmakers are rushing to add their own provisions including more congressional oversight and more help for struggling homeowners as well as restrictions on executives' pay. That fight could slow down the bill. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says any delay could mean more turmoil in the world market.
And for the latest now on what may be added to the $700 billion rescue plan, let's bring in CNN's Brianna Keilar. She's live in Washington this morning with more on how this is going.
Hi there, Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kiran.
Well, the discussions from Democrats and Republicans at this point is still to try to get some legislation through Congress by the end of the week. Now, that said, democrats are talking about what's not in this proposal, what they want to add to it. And that is giving some -- resulting in some warnings from Republicans here on Capitol Hill and from the Bush administration that adding things on to this proposal is just going to slow it down.
CHETRY: Are there concerns, Brianna, that if this whole thing drags on, it will negatively affect the market?
KEILAR: There are some concerns and that's being floated. That's actually something -- a question actually that was posed to Senator Dodd, Christopher Dodd, who is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. He said that he has heard -- he said that he has heard of that concern but that he doesn't see that they're doing anything that negatively is going to affect the market.
He said that obviously the goal is to try and push some things through by the end of the week. But if it takes a few more days than that, he said he'd rather do this right than just rush to getting this finished. He said, it took the administration days to get this proposal together. It should be expected that it's going to take Congress days to figure out exactly how they're going to put their stamp on this, that they don't want to rubber stamp it.
Let me tell you a little bit about some of the things Democrats are proposing here, Kiran. First of all, they're saying overall they don't want American taxpayers picking up a $700 billion price tag only to find out that, yes, it propped up Wall Street but it didn't help keep them in their homes. It didn't help stop their foreclosure on their homes. Some of the other things, Democrats are demanding independent oversight and accountability. They want some checks and balances in all of this. And they're also talking about limiting executive pay. We've heard a lot about this.
The idea that the government could essentially bail out these corporations and then these corporations could turn around and pay huge salaries to their CEOs, that's not sitting well with Democrats here on Capitol Hill, Kiran.
CHETRY: So, a lot to hammer out for sure. Brianna Keilar for us this morning. Thank you.
And for more on this is Christine Romans. She's "Minding Your Business" this morning.
So, a lot of talk about -- just how quickly they can hammer out what's going to be the largest decision that we're going to see this year or possibly this decade when it comes to financing.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And you're hearing a lot about a broader oversight, too, and a regulatory revamp completely. And Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary has called for that even a few months ago before all of this happened, but I'm sure this is supposed to be the first step.
$700 billion is the first step. And then there's a lot more to come after that. Now, one of the things -- what does it matter to your money? Well, you know, last week, on Monday or Tuesday, if you were so concerned about all of this and didn't know quite what was happening and pulled your money out of the stock market, guess what, by the end of the week, stocks basically were unchanged, down just like 30 points for the Dow or something. So, it's a reminder that you should take a longer view in stocks.
Now, Asian markets are up overnight and they're catching up with Wall Street. Tokyo up 1.4 percent, Hong Kong up 1.6 percent. Look at Shanghai, up 7.8 percent. Dow futures are expected to be down a little bit when the market opens here. But again, a day by day look at the stock market isn't going to help anybody here. So just take the long view and make sure that if you are invested in stocks, that you have the appropriate exposure for your age and for your current situation.
Now, what could the economy look like without a bailout? There's been a lot of complaints about using taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street. So, what does it mean? Well, Wall Street's crisis is a money crisis, and a money crisis makes it your crisis.
First of all, companies couldn't make payroll, couldn't pay their bills. Consumers and small businesses can't get loans. That was already happening. Corporate profits fall. That hurts government revenue at a time when you've already got burgeoning deficits. Housing prices could continue to fall. They've already fallen 20 percent from the peak. That means property taxes decline, and that starves local communities of important money for schools and for other services, everything from crossing guards to school pools to all kind of different things.
We've already seen the local governments getting hammered by the housing market decline. So from top to bottom, the implications are there, what it all means to the economy. And apparently, Washington thinks it could be that much worse if they didn't go in and commit all of this money. It is an incredible amount of money. And more people -- more than anything, people are telling me they just hate having to rescue Wall Street. I mean, you guys must be hearing this, too. People saying (INAUDIBLE), my money is going to --
(CROSSTALK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, they're all crying for the government to get out of their lives and it's now like throw us a lifeline.
ROMANS: Absolutely. And so, people are so angry about that.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: It was just a few months ago that it seemed all the politicians were saying, it just doesn't make sense to bail out these homeowners that got themselves into these subprime loans. We just can't go around bailing out individuals stuck in the work.
ROMANS: Right. And now, and the smartest guys in the room were making $25 million bonuses. Suddenly their company goes belly-up. You know, how can you feel sorry -- how can you feel sorry for those guys? So, there's a lot of anger about that. There's a lot of anger about how far this has come. And remember, it wasn't very long ago. This caught Wall Street by surprise. It caught Washington by surprise. Last December was when the president first said there was storm clouds on the horizon. And Henry Paulson, the Treasury secretary, just over about a year and a half ago said it was the best global operating environment of his career.
ROBERTS: Yes. It would be an interesting question to look into whether or not it would have been cheaper to bail out those homeowners or wait until now.
ROMANS: That's what I would like to know, too. That's a very interesting question.
ROBERTS: There you go. Something to pursue this morning.
ROMANS: All right.
ROBERTS: Christine, it's good to see you. Thanks.
The financial crisis is issue number one out on the campaign trail. Not surprisingly. John McCain and Barack Obama appeared on CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday. Both were asked if they thought we were in a recession. Here's what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think there's no doubt that we're going to see, when the numbers come out, that we are officially in recession. I think, for a lot of people, they've been feeling like we've been in a recession for years now. When their wages and incomes don't go up, and the cost of gas and groceries and home heating oil and prescription drugs are all going up, that feels awfully like a recession to them.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Sure. Technically, I don't know. You know, but unemployment is up. Wages are down. Home foreclosures are incredibly high. Those people, they don't care whether technically we're in recession or not. The fact is they're hurting and they are hurting very, very badly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama have their doubts about the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. John McCain in particular is calling for an oversight board to keep financial firms in check.
CNN's Dana Bash is live for us in Washington this morning.
And Dana, it would seem that when you're out on the campaign trail, you just can't hammer Wall Street hard enough or express enough skepticism about this bailout plan.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're exactly right, John.
And we're actually told that John McCain is going to use a town hall that he is going to attend and hold later this morning in Pennsylvania to express his concern about that deal reached over the weekend. Specifically, what he opposes is giving one person, the Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, and what McCain calls unprecedented power to spend a trillion dollars of taxpayer dollars on the basis of trust me. Now, he previewed his proposal for what to do instead in an interview with CNBC last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: I think we need to appoint an oversight board of the most respected people in America, such as maybe Warren Buffett, who's was an Obama supporter; Mitt Romney, Mike Bloomberg, so that there can be some kind of oversight of, instead of just putting all this responsibility on a person who may be gone in four months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Again, we're going to hear more about that from McCain later this month. That oversight board fits into his campaign strategy right now in a couple of ways. First, it shows he's pushing for accountability, which aids call central to his reformer message. And, second, saying that President Bush's Treasury secretary shouldn't be in charge allows McCain to separate himself from the practices and personnel of the unpopular president. And John, advisers call that distance one of his biggest, most important political priorities right now.
ROBERTS: He doesn't want the SEC chairman to be in charge anymore. He doesn't think that it should be the Treasury secretary who's looking after all of this. I mean, he really is playing himself as the maverick. And on the stump, is he tailoring his message to voters who may be struggling financially?
BASH: He is trying. You know, John, we have a candid conversation with just about anybody in McCain's campaign and they'll admit that last week his message was muddled. He had a really hard time recovering from how he started the week which you remember, what he did, he repeated his line the fundamentals of the economy are strong as Wall Street was tanking.
So, aides insist that both in message and in image this week is going to try to connect better with hurting voters. Over the next couple of days, he's going to do that in particular. Tomorrow, actually, he's going to go to two factories in battleground states to actually talk to workers.
And also, John, expect McCain to keep up the populist pitch we've heard louder and louder. For example, McCain is expected to say compensation for CEOs of failed firms. They must have a cap. No multimillion dollar golden parachutes. You know, that puts him in line much more with Democrats than some of his fellow Republicans on the Hill right now.
ROBERTS: Sure does. Barney Frank was on a little more than an hour ago saying exactly the same thing. Wow. So, everybody is on the same page with this economy. Imagine that. Dana Bash for us this morning in Washington. Dana, thanks so much.
And don't forget that the candidates are going to be talking a lot about this on Friday at their first debate. Barack Obama and John McCain, face off. "Debate Night in America" take place at the University of Mississippi, and of course CNN is the place to be for complete coverage, analysis, everything you need to know about that debate Friday night, September the 26th. It's going to be a big event right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Well, the separation of sexes in schools. Do boys and girls really learn better when they've been split up? We'll take a look at the class divide.
Saving social security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: We need personal savings accounts.
OBAMA: We are not going to gamble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The candidates in Florida fighting over your future.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
Time to fast forward to see what stories will be making news later today. Investigators will interview six children taken from an Arkansas church complex Saturday during a child porn investigation. The ministry is led by Evangelist Tony Alamo. Alamo said that the investigation is part of a federal push to legalize same-sex marriage while outlawing polygamy.
Federal investigations want to speak with former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ A.M. Both are expected to make a recovery after they survived a fiery crash of their Learjet in South Carolina Friday night. Four people were killed in that crash. Federal safety officials say that a blown tire may have caused the jet to skid off the runway.
In Texas, more than 1500 Hurricane Ike evacuees will return home today. Hard-hit Galveston Island is set to reopen Wednesday. And police will enforce a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew when the island is open. Officials say nearly a million are still without electricity and it could be weeks before basic service is restored in all the areas.
Our Reynolds Wolf is watching the tropics for us. He joins us now with more. That area still feeling the remnants of those storms.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: You know, Reynolds, if you look at that whole video, he's just sitting there in that capsule which is like his own separate little boat. And he just opens up the canopy and kind of waves to people saying, I'm OK, come and get me. 15 minutes after the hour --
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's hard to believe.
ROBERTS: Yes, it is. Unbelievable. 15 minutes after the hour. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
Separating the boys from the girls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is best for a 6-year-old girl is not what is best for a 6-year-old boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: How some schools are changing the way kids learn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it more. I can concentrate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And why some are suing to stop it. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Breaking news this morning here on CNN. If you're flying out of JFK Airport particularly JetBlue, you're going to want to hear about this. Apparently their terminal has been evacuated this morning.
Assume that that's Terminal Six. They are scheduled to move into a new terminal, Terminal Five, but not until the first of October. According to Jenny Dervin, a spokesperson with JetBlue, they have evacuated that terminal because a suspicious package was found. Not sure yet what the contents of the package are, but out of abundance of caution, they have evacuated the terminal. So, if you're flying JetBlue out of JFK this morning, you might want to check with the airline, because there will probably be some problems in getting to your flight on time. Again, they've evacuated that terminal. We believe it's Terminal Six because of a suspicious package that was found.
19 minutes after the hour. In a special CNN series, we are taking a look at broken schools across the country and ways to fix the system. Splitting classes by gender. It's a controversial idea and it's in place at more than 150 schools across the country.
Our Kathleen Koch now takes a look at the pros and cons of splitting up boys and girls.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A seventh grade language arts class at Woodbridge Middle School and a seventh grade math class. The boys and girls are being taught not just separately but differently. The boys don't have to sit in desks. Reviews become relay races.
MEAGAN KENNEDY, LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER: They had a blast and they wanted to be the one that had to run down with the answer.
What it does is makes them pay attention more and they have to be involved in the actual learning.
JOEY SANTIAGO, 7TH GRADE STUDENT: It is easier to learn because we all mostly like the same stuff and so when teachers will teach us and throw balls we'd catch it, and we usually like get a little energized.
KOCH: Girls work more in groups in less stressful non- competitive settings.
This approach springs from Leonard Sax's controversial book "Why Gender Matters." It maintains boys and girls brains are different so most will benefit by being taught apart.
Sax says boys in particular suffer in traditional classroom settings.
LEONARD SAX, AUTHOR, "WHY GENDER MATTERS": What happens is these boys in particular tune out. They are not paying attention. They need schools who understand that what is best for a 6-year-old girl is not what is best for a 6-year-old boy.
KOCH (on camera): There is no definitive research on the merits of single gender education. The Department of Education says it can provide some benefits to some students under certain circumstances.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Girls on the other hand have more success in a calmer atmosphere.
KOCH: The ACLU is suing the Education Department to stop such programs.
EMILY MARTIN, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: I think that that is a real concern that we spend a long time in this country fighting against the notion that schools should treat boys and girls differently.
KOCH: Some parents who were skeptical at first say they recognize same-sex classes may be beneficial.
LASHANDA WILLIAMS, MOTHER: So much focus was on it, I just kind of felt like I didn't want my daughter to be left out.
ROSHAILA WILLIAMS, 7TH GRADE STUDENT: I liked it more because I could concentrate and not be annoyed by boys.
KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Woodbridge, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And there are some surprising new information on voters' true feelings about race and election. Could the race factor help or hurt Barack Obama? We'll break it down.
And financial market meltdown. Where will the freefall stop and what should you do with your money to keep it safe in these scary times? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
As Barack Obama tries to become the first black president, a new Associated Press Yahoo! study shows how race may affect his chances. Among the findings, 40 percent of white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, including more than a third of white Democrats and independents. And 2.5 percent of the voters may turn away from Obama because of his race.
Joining me now is Jeff Johnson, host of BET's "The Truth With Jeff Johnson." He's in Atlanta. And also here in New York Walter Shapiro. The Washington Bureau Chief of salon.com.
Thanks to both of you for being with us.
WALTER SHAPIRO, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, SALON.COM: Thank you.
JEFF JOHNSON, HOST, "THE TRUTH WITH JEFF JOHNSON": Thank you.
I want to ask you -- and Walter, I'll start with you. Will the negative opinions that Yahoo! and A.P. cited in this study -- do you think it will have a direct effect on Barack Obama, or can there be negative opinions about quote/unquote "a certain group of people," but it doesn't have to distill down to a certain person in that group, meaning Barack Obama?
SHAPIRO: Well, first of all, I think that last point is totally correct. The whole thing is the hardest thing in the world for pollsters to poll for with the exception of sexual behavior is racial attitudes and how it affects behavior.
Everyone I talked to in politics late at night in bars, in places like Columbus, Ohio, will go off the record and say, I don't know how big the racial factor is going to be in this race, but I'm really, really suspicious of people who try to precisely quantify it and it's quite possible that the outpouring of the youth vote, for example, for Barack Obama may counter balance the votes he'll lose because he's the first African-American candidate.
CHETRY: And, Jeff, I want to get your take on this because the poll which was conducted by Stanford University suggests that this percentage of voters who may turn away from Barack Obama simply because he's black as this 2.5 percent could actually easily be larger than what it came down to in the 2004 election.
Do you think people are making too much of that? Or is that a real concern?
JOHNSON: Well, I think there is a concern clearly about the number of people that will vote based on race. But I agree. How you quantify that number, I think, is very difficult. And I think that's a slippery slope to climb when you begin to start saying 2.5 percent.
I mean, there are people, we have to admit, in not just middle America. I mean, we're not just talking about conservatives here that have a racial issue. There are liberals also in many cases that are racist. And so, I don't think that we know yet how that's going to play out. I think we still have to see what's going to happen. But more than that, Kiran, I think this is about how does Barack Obama message. And how he messages is going to have a great deal to do with how those people respond to him.
CHETRY: I want to -- in fact, let's play a little bit of what Barack Obama himself said about this issue, the race issue last night on "60 Minutes." Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Are there going to be some people who don't vote for me because I'm black? Of course. There are probably some African- Americans who are voting for me because I'm black, or maybe others who are just inspired by the idea of breaking new ground. And so I think all that's a wash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Walter, do you agree, it could just be a wash, or some that will vote for him because he's African-American perhaps?
SHAPIRO: Well, part of the problem is -- for that argument is that any Democrat gets roughly 88 percent to 90 percent of the African American vote just by the fact that they're a Democrat. So it's very hard, while it might be easy to increase turnout, it's hard to build on that. But what's really important here is the fact that we -- it's nice to think it's a wash because this is a country where race doesn't matter. We don't know if it's going to be a wash. This is a topic that the best way to approach is with total humility.
CHETRY: Jeff, last word?
JOHNSON: Yes, I don't know if I believe it's going to be a wash. I think it's going to matter. This race is extremely close. And so every single demographic and every single point is going to count. And so I think Barack has to be able to stay on message. I think he has to speak to the issues of the people in Middle America. And by that, it can counter balance some of these racial issues.
CHETRY: All right. Well, I want to thank both of you for joining me to talk about it.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
SHAPIRO: Thank you.
CHETRY: Jeff Johnson, BET host, "The Truth With Jeff Johnson." And Walter Shapiro, Washington Bureau Chief of salon.com. Thanks.
ROBERTS: It's 29 minutes after the hour. Breaking news out of New York to tell you about this morning. JetBlue's terminal at JFK has been evacuated this morning. That's Terminal Six. According to a spokeswoman for the airline, the terminal was evacuated because of a suspicious package. And out of a, quote, "abundance of caution." So far, no word on the contents of the package.
Port authority police telling CNN that it was going through an x- ray machine at the time. They spotted a couple of suspicious objects and that's why they out of abundance again of caution decided to evacuate. JetBlue operates probably about 125 to 130 flights out of that terminal at JFK everyday.
So, if you're booked on JetBlue out of New York today, be sure to check with the airline because obviously this is going to cause a lot of delays out of that Terminal Six.
Well, U.S. markets rally around the government's bailout of financial firms. That's the $700 billion question this morning as investors brace for another volatile week on Wall Street. Asian Markets were sharply higher overnight, but European markets are trading lower and Dow futures are also down ahead of the opening bell an hour from now.
The White House pushing Congress for a swift approval of the Wall Street bailout plan. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says, it needs to be "clean and quick." Congressional leaders are on board for the most part but Democrats want the proposal to include independent oversight, protection for homeowners and limits on executive compensation for firms that go to the government for help.
And the Fed tossing a lifeline to the two major investment banks that are left standing on Wall Street, it's allowing Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to change their status to bank holding companies. They will now be able to create commercial banking subsidiaries that can take in deposits to bolster their finances.
CHETRY: Well, the financial crisis on Wall Street is probably a little confusing for most people. What do you really want to know? Really it's what to do with your money, right? Personal finance expert Suze Orman answered that question for Larry King. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZE ORMAN, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Here are the rules. You have 10, 20, 30 years until you need your money. You have got to keep investing in your 401(k). This is not the time that you sell. You keep investing every single month. Just make sure you're investing in good quality either mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, whatever it is.
However, if you happen to be somebody who is retiring in six months and you need this money to be safe and sound, maybe to generate income for you, whatever that is, this isn't the time that you take a risk. This is the time that you never should have been in the stock market to begin with, that you need to be in safe things to generate income.
Larry, here's the thing also that people should really think about doing. At times like this, if you are afraid and you don't know what to do, there's nothing wrong with switching your investments, meaning you can come out of the stock market but buy things, stay in the stock market, that give you good dividend yields. Exchange-traded funds that are paying you 4 percent, 5 percent, you got nothing to lose. So if the markets continue to go down, at least you're getting income so you're not so freaked. Otherwise the money would just be sitting there making 0.5 percent, maybe 1 or 2 percent in money market funds. So there's always a way to invest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Advice there from Suze Orman from "Larry King Live."
Given all of the turmoil in the financial markets you might be wondering about your own safety net. Could your money be at risk? Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here to tell us about assessing your financial risk. So what do people need to do to protect their money? We heard Suze Orman say if you're in there long term, stay there. But other people it gets a little more dicey.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right. Well I think the first thing people want to think about today, John, is just taking stock of your bank accounts right now. You need to look at your CDs, your savings accounts, your bank accounts and figuring out what you're protected for. The FDIC stands behind these accounts at banks up to certain limits. Let's take a look at those. Up to $100,000 in bank accounts for individuals. Up to $200,000 for joint accounts. So if you're married and you have you and your husband or you and your wife have some kind of account, you're covered up to $200,000. Retirement accounts are covered up to even more, $250,000.
Now this doesn't mean that you can't have more at a bank and have it covered. In fact, as long as you have different names on these accounts, you will be covered, you are safe. And of course we talked a lot about money market mutual funds last week and this week. This is an investment that's been in the crosshairs. I know it's something you all rely on as savings. Safe, safe, safe. And of course, we've had some problems with those.
Now the federal government is going to stand behind those. But what you might want to think about is how is my money market mutual fund invested. You can find this out from the prospectus by calling the company itself. What you're looking for, what you want to know is my money market fund invested in treasuries? Is it also invested in corporate bonds? The safest place to be as a money market fund is invested only in treasuries. You can easily find that out. Swap it if you don't feel safe.
Certainly we have had a lot of concerns about that. One thing I do want to talk about quickly here, mutual funds, we're on tap this month for the biggest exit from mutual funds ever by individual investors, some $30 billion on tap to come out of mutual funds this month alone. And I have to tell you, if you're years away, just as Suze Orman said, if you're decades away from retirement now is not the time to be pulling your money out of the market because you're locking in those low prices.
Look at what happened the last few days of last week. We saw the markets rally. If you are in the market for the long haul, now is not the time to be making a trade. But lots of concerns out there, John, people are really worried.
ROBERTS: And in terms of the money market, just to back up on that, you got a little bit of time because the Fed is guaranteeing those against losses for the next year.
WILLIS: Absolutely right. The federal government is standing behind those up to, I believe, $50 billion. You don't have to worry about that right now. But I just want to give people a way of gauging risk because a lot of people chase performance. The primary reserve fund was the highest performing mutual fund in that category at one time. Clearly, people chose it because it was doing so well.
ROBERTS: What about insurance accounts? After the near failure of AIG, this huge insurance company, what should people be doing in that front?
WILLIS: What you need to know about insurance, life insurance, if you have an annuity with an insurance company, even AIG at this point, these businesses are walled off. In the case of AIG, those businesses are doing very well indeed. You don't have to worry about your investments there. They are protected. They're heavily regulated. These are investments that are even more heavily regulated than possibly stocks and 401(k)s. They want to make sure the money is there for people who need it.
ROBERTS: But bottom line, just take a little bit of time, assess where you are.
WILLIS: Right.
ROBERTS: And figure out what decisions to make.
WILLIS: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Gerri Willis, good advice as always. Thanks.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Well, just in. We have an update now for you on the breaking news out of New York, the JetBlue terminal at JFK Airport is now reopened. We're getting this word from the spokesperson of JetBlue. The terminal was evacuated earlier this morning after some suspicious items turned up at an x-ray machine. It turns out that these resembled grenades. They turned out to be toy grenades that were apparently World War II replica paper weights. The spokesperson for JetBlue not releasing information about the customer who attempted to bring those items through the security. But no doubt, many headaches for people trying to just board their planes and get out of the JetBlue terminal. All of it evacuated and now reopened. All of it, though, over some replica grenade, replica paper weights.
Well, the financial turmoil giving Barack Obama a new opening to attack John McCain on social security. The McCain campaign hitting back hard and taking their message to Florida's Republican heartland where tens of thousands turned out over the weekend to hear from Governor Sarah Palin. CNN's Jim Acosta live in Lady Lake, Florida with more for us this morning.
Hi, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
There's a reason why social security is called the third rail in politics. And right now John McCain and Sarah Palin don't want to touch it. Governor Palin landed in Florida here yesterday under a barrage of attacks from Barack Obama on this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: In this key swing section of Florida, Sarah Palin told a sea of supporters, many of them senior citizens, that only John McCain can fix the mess on Wall Street.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He told Congress, he warned Congress that we needed to do something before these problems became a crisis, but Congress did nothing, and now Americans are paying the price.
ACOSTA: But Palin had no response to a new line of attack from Barack Obama who is trying to link the financial crisis to McCain's past support for changing social security, changes the Democrats label as privatization.
OBAMA: When I'm president, we are not going to gamble with social security. If my opponent had his way, millions would have watched as the market tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes.
ACOSTA: For years, McCain has favored allowing young Americans to divert payroll contributions away from social security and into financial markets.
MCCAIN: You have to go to the American people and say we won't raise your taxes, we need personal savings accounts, but we've got to fix this system.
ACOSTA: Accusing Obama of entitlement fear mongering, the McCain campaign insists that the Arizona senator is simply trying to keep the program solvent.
MCCAIN: I will not privatize social security.
ACOSTA: Democrats are also highlighting an article written by McCain in a trade magazine for actuaries in which the Republican nominee calls for deregulating health care. Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, the senator wrote, "as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."
OBAMA: So let me get this straight. He wants to run health care like they've been running Wall Street. Folks, you cannot make this stuff up.
ACOSTA: Not so say the McCain camp. But With Florida almost dead even, McCain supporters want their campaign to steer clear of social security.
TONI MAGGIORE, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: I don't think he's going through with it because he knows a lot of us are against it. I believe that anyhow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: As for that article on health care, the McCain campaign says the Arizona senator was simply talking about increasing competition as a way to lower costs but the Obama campaign is not buying it. They're sensing that they got an issue that is tailor-made for Florida's senior citizen voters.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta for us in Lady Lake, Florida this morning. Thanks.
Also Barack Obama and John McCain face off for their first debate this Friday. It takes place at the University of Mississippi. It's 9:00 Eastern Friday night, September 26. Join the best political team on television for your front row seat.
ROBERTS: So what do most Americans think about the $700 billion bailout plan? We asked you, the taxpayer, to sound off. And wait until you hear what you had to say.
And leaders from all across the globe gathering at the United Nations this week for the general assembly. What are the biggest issues Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is facing? We'll find out with our Zain Verjee. She's here in New York today. You're watching the most news in the morning.
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ROBERTS: It's coming up on 18 minutes to the top of the hour. We're back with the most news in the morning. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has got a big week ahead of her. As world leaders convene in New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. She is facing several tough issues including Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Joining me now, State Department correspondent Zain Verjee. She's got a lot of work to do in the next few days.
ZAIN VERJEE, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: She really does, John. She's always talked about racing to the finish line to deal with all these issues but her foreign policy is really in danger of falling apart. Secretary Rice is holding court at the mega luxury hotel in New York at the Waldorf Astoria and she is going to be meeting back to back with world leaders.
Let's look at the issues. On Iran, what she wants to do is get the allies together, to pull together and hit Iran with new sanctions, but she may not get some of the key support she needs. On North Korea, it's supposed to be one of the big foreign policy successes for her. And that may be in danger of unraveling. Also, John, the U.S. tensions with Russia, do you know it's been the worst since the Cold War. Secretary Rice is coming here to New York after really ripping the Russians, criticizing them and she is coming needing their help on some key issues like Iran, like negotiating on North Korea.
ROBERTS: And Russia is saying that it's going to resist any new U.N. sanctions, just hold that anti-aircraft missile system to Iran. And we just find out, too, North Korea apparently has asked IAEA inspectors to remove the seals on all of the uranium there at the plants so it can conduct tests.
VERJEE: Exactly. And these are the really difficult issues confronting Secretary Rice here. The problem is that whether it's Iran or North Korea or any of the world's leaders here in New York, many of them are looking at this administration going it's a lame duck administration, there's really no point dealing with it. What the problems here, John, really do underscore, though, is that they're really going to spill over to the next administration. So whoever is in the White House is going to have to deal with all of these volatile issues.
ROBERTS: All right. Zain Verjee, it's always great to see you. We'll be seeing a lot more of you this week here in New York.
VERJEE: You will.
ROBERTS: All right.
VERJEE: Sorry about that.
ROBERTS: It's our benefit.
VERJEE: The other thing about being in New York, though, is the traffic dead lock here. Everybody's complaining about the United Nations General Assembly, that everything just stops. We're a part of it.
ROBERTS: Yes, I remember a couple of years ago I had to actually walk from the U.N. on the east side over to the west side to broadcast and then walk back to go do my live shots. So you're right, exactly. Enjoy it, though, while you're here.
VERJEE: I will.
ROBERTS: 43 1/2 minutes after the hour. Going public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are really seeing a groundswell of parents coming to our schools.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Tough times force parents to ditch private school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a lot of anxiety. I just want to make sure that they're OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Why it could be a big boost for public schools.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: On a special CNN series, we're taking a look at "Broken Schools" across the country and ways that the system could be fixed.
This morning CNN's Kara Finnstrom looks how a tough economy has hurt private schools in California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Ennis family never thought they would do this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's 6.
FINNSTROM: Pull all three kids out of private schools and go public.
TAMMY ENNIS, PARENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT: I have a lot of anxiety built up and I just want to make sure they're OK.
FINNSTROM: But when the economy began to tank, it hit the Ennis family. One cost that especially hurt, rocketing tuition.
ENNIS: From $8,000 to $12,000 in today's economy.
FINNSTROM: That's per child.
ENNIS: That's just too hard.
FINNSTROM: The Ennis' are part of a growing trend of middle income families transferring their kids into Pasadena Public Schools. It reverses a trend that began in the '70s when a judge ordered public schools here to desegregate through bussing. That led many middle and upper income families to get out.
MARYBETH NOBS, PARENT OF PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT: Feedback was very negative about the schools from drugs and bullying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The importance of taking a look -
FINNSTROM: But public school test scores in Pasadena and across California have risen in recent years. And a grassroots public education group is showcasing that improvement to attract some parents back to the public school system.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't do it by doing spin but we do it by making it easy for parents to have good experiences with the schools, get on campus. They tell their friends.
We are really seeing a ground swell of parents coming to our schools and I think it's exciting.
FINNSTROM: Tammy Ennis, a teacher herself who has worked at private and public schools, looked at public school statistics and visited campuses.
ENNIS: I was very pleased and surprised.
FINNSTROM: Educational leaders say the influx of middle income kids benefits everyone, including teachers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know from 40 years of research that all students do better when there is a core of middle class families in a school. And all students do worse when there are high concentrations of poverty.
FINNSTROM: The Ennises simply hope their kids won't lose out in the process.
ENNIS: It's a child. You know, you have to know that your child is getting the best education that he can.
FINNSTROM (on-camera): Now, many Pasadena families say even with that increase in test scores, they still believe public schools here have a long way to go. But the interest statewide does appear to be growing. We checked with half a dozen major school districts across the state and all are reporting at least a slight increase in transfers from private schools.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Pasadena, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away now. In fact about ten minutes away. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what lies ahead.
Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, John.
That's right. Here's what we're working on at the CNN NEWSROOM.
"Issue number one," the economy. Wall Street wants a $700 billion bank rescue plan and fast, too. Will Congress delay the package, though, and possibly make it costlier?
And new details behind the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan. Who escaped the blast because of a change in plan?
And the hunt for gas. Post hurricane supplies dry up in the south. I can attest to that personally. We get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN. John.
ROBERTS: Heidi, we will see you then. Thanks very much.
So what do you think of the $700 billion bailout? As the government steps in, we ask you, the taxpayer, to speak out. Outspoken Americans sound off this morning. Wait until you hear what they had to say.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. You know, there's a lot of talk about this $700 billion bailout. Congress is going to debate it. It could actually get bigger.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine that? I mean, $700 billion is a starting figure.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I looked at the number. There's 11 zeros after the 7. It's incredible. I'm not used to seeing it.
ROBERTS: So we wanted to know what people thought about all of this. And Alina is here with all of that for us.
CHO: Well, you know, guys -
ROBERTS: Can we say it on TV?
CHO: We can.
ROBERTS: Does it have any of George Carlin's seven words?
CHO: Well, a couple, yes. But we won't print those. Hey, guys, good morning. The headline on CNNMoney.com is mad as hell. We asked you what you thought about that $700 billion plan. And boy did we hear from you. No, no, no, not just no, but hell no, said one. And another said this is robbery, pure and simple. And yet another, it's our money, let these companies die. Here's a look at some of your other comments. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm pretty mad actually. I really don't want the government to use my money to pay for banks' mistakes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why they're bailing out these big multimillion dollar corporations and putting the burden on the taxpayer. As a taxpayer, it makes me angry and I just want to find out when that's going to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Well, how about this one. Take a look at this full screen that we're going to show you. R. Kidd from North Carolina writes, "I will be watching to see which of our representatives vote for this bailout... let the American people see how many we can fire come election time." Interesting sentiment. We heard from hundreds of you and an overwhelming majority agree that the government should not be bailing out our financial institutions.
But we did find a few with the opposite view. Here's one. Take a look at the screen. Bill from St. Louis writes, "I was opposed to the bailout at first but realized that the scope of this thing is global and so massive that the entire global economy could collapse if nothing was done. If Wall Street collapses, Main Street will go with it."
And President Bush, well, he admits this is a big price tag, but he adds, it's a big problem. The President says the risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package. So there you have it. The overwhelming majority, hundreds of people weighed in. They say no, no, no. Not just no, but hell no.
CHETRY: A lot of anger. And we've been hearing the same thing from a lot of the economists which is no, this isn't a good idea, but at this point there is no other choice.
CHO: Right. And that's where - therein lies the problem but a lot of people weighing in.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks so much for that.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: The biggest news from last night's Emmy Awards. Basic cable makes history. We are in Hollywood for the Emmy night wrap-up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It was a history-making night in Hollywood. And our Kareen Wynter has got your Emmy night wrap-up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM SELLECK, ACTOR: "Mad men." KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On TV's biggest night, one thing was clear. Emmy was mad for "Mad Men." The AMC show made history as the first basic cable program to win outstanding drama series.
JOHN HAMM, ACTOR, "MAD MEN": This is an incredible time. It's an incredible honor to bestow on our show and I can't say enough about it.
WYNTER: Basic Cable scored other big drama wins. Glenn Close won lead actress for FX's "Damages." And Bryan Cranston was the surprise lead actor winner for AMC's "Breaking Bad."
BRYAN CRANSTON, ACTOR, "BREAKING BAD": This is such a wonderful icing to a great cake.
WYNTER: The address for comedy this year was "30 Rock," outstanding comedy series, acting and writing trophy for Tina Fey and lead actor Alec Baldwin's first Emmy in seven tries.
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR, "30 ROCK": To tell you the truth I would have bet money Carell was going to win. I totally thought Carell would win. So when I won I was very shocked and very happy.
WYNTER: In the supporting comedy category, Jean Smart won for "Samantha Who," while Jeremy Piven earned his third Emmy in a row for playing the Ari Gold, the fast talking agent of "Entourage."
(on-camera): This is the first time the primetime Emmy Awards have been held at the new Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. In all, 30 awards were handed out on a stage that was shared by five co- hosts. One of those hosts, "Survivor's" Jeff Probst became the first ever recipient of the reality show host award.
JEFF PROBST, HOST, "SURVIVOR": It was really good to be a part of the first group and to be the guy lucky enough to get recognized for it.
WYNTER: On such an historic night perhaps it was fitting that the biggest winner was a miniseries focused on history. The revolutionary war drama "John Adams" broke the record for Emmy wins, nabbing a lucky 13 trophies, including miniseries, lead actress Laura Linney and lead actor for Paul Giamatti, who plays the title role.
PAUL GIAMATTI, ACTOR, "JOHN ADAMS": I'm living proof, kids at home watching, that anybody can play the president.
WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right. Well, thanks so much for joining us this morning on AMERICAN MORNING. Hope to see you back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: We will. Right now here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins.
