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Historic Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers Still To Yield Plan For Global Financial Crisis; Texas Landscaper Says He's Not Stressed By Market Meltdown, Bad Economy
Aired October 11, 2008 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There should be no doubt there will be bumps in the road. This is going to be a bumpy road, because it really hasn't ever been traveled in North Korea. However, we're building a road.
NAAMUA DELANEY, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. is laying the foundation for better relations with North Korea as the communist country promises to back off building nuclear weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have heard that it can be up to $200,000 a year, you know, for the last couple years.
DELANEY: The rising cost of health care. The presidential debate and a father with a life-threatening disease. We're bringing you the real cause and real effect of the financial crisis.
Plus, men of distinction. They fought racism, now they're educating the next generation. Hello, I'm Naamua Delaney in for Fredricka Whitfield. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well after years of conflict over North Korea's nuclear program, Washington and Pyongyang have a deal today. North Korea has agreed to a plan for inspections of its nuclear facilities, and the United States has dropped North Korea from its list of terror sponsors. CNN's state department correspondent Zain Verjee has all the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: It was a dramatic save. The Bush administration risked criticism at home to rescue the nuclear deal with North Korea.
SEAN MCCORMARK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: The Secretary of State this morning rescinded the designation of the DPRK as a state sponsor of terrorism, and that was effective with her signature. North Korea has stated it will resume disablement of its nuclear facilities.
VERJEE: The U.S. agrees to take North Korea off the terrorism sponsor list immediately, earlier than previously planned. Other sanctions remain in place. North Korea agrees to inspectors on the ground and other checks to prove its revealing nuclear secret.
PATRICIA MCNERNEY, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: Verifying North Korea's nuclear declaration will be a serious challenge. So we're not going into this naively. This is the most secret and opaque regime in the entire world. VERJEE: North Korea had turned up the pressure, taking steps to restart its nuclear reactor that produces plutonium for nuclear bombs. Administration point man Christopher Hill flew to North Korea last week to salvage the deal. President Bush made the final decision Friday night. The administration is now coming under fire from fellow Republicans, including presidential candidate, John McCain, who wanted verification first before removing North Korea from the terrorism black list. They say the administration is rewarding bad behavior and North Korea can't be trusted.
MCCORMACK: We're not going to talk about the politics. We're not going to talk about political campaigns. But I can tell you, the Secretary and the President wouldn't take these kinds of decisions if they didn't think that these decisions would help us, the United States, ultimately get to the goal of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, again, without compromising on principle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: The State Department says North Korea will have to tell what it has and what it knows, including down the road its suspected uranium enrichment program and whether it's shed any nuclear expertise with other countries, including Syria. Zain Verjee, CNN, New York.
DELANEY: The North Korean government is expected to make its own announcement about its deal with the United States, but so far, North Korea state news agency has been silent. CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour says the agreement appears to be a real breakthrough.
VOICE OF CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Many, many officials both inside the U.S. administration and at the IAEA says the only way you can really verify a nuclear disarmament is by mutual consent or by consent of the host government. And now you can see that, according to the state department, which read out the agreement, that the experts will have access to all sides, he said, with mutual consent, the verification will carry on. So it looks like they were able to get over and get past what was causing a major stumbling block.
DELANEY: With North Korea's removal, only four countries remain on the list of state sponsors of terrorism. That's Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Sudan.
In a statement released shortly before, the U.S. North Korea agreement was announced, Republican presidential candidate John McCain signaled skepticism. McCain's statement said, "as this process moves forward, I expect the administration to explain exactly how this new verification agreement advances American interests and those of our allies before I will be able to support any decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism."
Democrat Barack Obama was somewhat more upbeat, calling the move, "an appropriate response, as long as there is a clear understanding that if North Korea fails to follow through, there will be immediate consequences." And now, a developing story that touches us all. The financial crisis. President Bush met today with finance ministers from the world's major economic power houses. CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House. Hello, Elaine. What came out of the talks?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello to you, Naamua. This was a rare weekend meeting here at the White House, clearly meant to present the united front and to provide a boost to investor confidence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Less than 24 hours after his last comments on the financial crisis, President Bush was back in the Rose Garden. This time surrounding himself with top advisers, and finance ministers from the world's six other richest nations.
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're in this together, we will come through it together.
QUIJANO: The president started his day meeting with officials for about 30 minutes, and afterwards outlined broad principles but no details on how the international community would tackle the crisis together.
BUSH: We resolve to continue our strong efforts to return our economies to the path of stability and long-term growth.
QUIJANO: A senior administration official would only say the U.S. is in the early stages of reviewing ideas from other countries. Meantime, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and his team are moving ahead with a plan to buy stocks in banks and inject much-needed capital into financial institutions.
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: We are working to develop a standardized program that is open to a broad array of financial institutions.
QUIJANO: The move is meant to encourage banks and financial institutions to lend money once again and help thaw the now frozen credit market. As investors anxiously await that action, Secretary Paulson insists it will happen soon.
PAULSON: Trust me, we're not wasting time. People are working around the clock to deal with this. There is no doubt in any of our minds in looking at the U.S. or looking at countries outside of the U.S. what we're dealing with is capital and U.S. financial institutions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now today President Bush again urged patience as the government gets its massive financial rescue plan up and running. A message, Naamua, that he is aiming not only at Americans, but of course the broader global markets as well. Naamua.
DELANEY: Yes, it is hard to have patience when you keep looking at the stock markets falling every day. And it gets six, seven, eight days in a row of losses but I guess it's all we can have right now. Elaine, thank you very much, Elaine Quijano joining us live from the White House.
QUIJANO: All right. Well efforts are underway at this hour to do something about the global financial crisis. In our next half hour, we will report live from the G-20 meeting with what world leaders hope to accomplish.
And Wall Street is licking its wounds today after the worst week ever for the Dow Jones industrial average. The Dow lost 1874 points, 18 percent of its total value in both points and percentage. That is the biggest one-week drop in the Dow's 112-year history. Bigger than in any week of the great depression.
QUIJANO: For the first time since the depression, the government is planning to buy partial ownership of some U.S. banks. CNN's Stephanie Elam is standing by with the details. What do we know, Stephanie?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is obviously something that is taking up the entire time of the Treasury, and that's what we're keeping our eyes on here. The pressure is definitely on Henry Paulson here as he looks to see what is going on and to see what the other nations and what they're doing.
And last night, Henry Paulson said the U.S. government is working on a plan to buy stock in financial institutions with some of the funds authorized in that $700 billion bailout bill. We just heard Elaine talking about that as well. Well, Paulson said the idea would be to develop a standard program that would "use taxpayer money and more efficiently and have it go farther." He also said the Treasury is working to unveil the plan as quickly as possible. Still the government has yet to unveil any concrete plans and investors are hoping for more details before the Asian marks open Monday morning, and it's very clear around here that nerves are short for investors.
Yesterday the trading session was especially erratic with a more than 1,000-point swing on the Dow. Positive territory is so rare these days, traders actually cheered at the NYSE. Now, for the total week, those losses totaling nearly $2.5 trillion. There you go. That's the first cheer. That's the cheer that happened when they first went into positive territory, then we swung back down to the negative and we came back up in the last hour of trading and there was an even bigger cheer.
All right. So as you were pointing out, the Dow lost 1,874 points in the worst weekly decline. And if we take a look at what this means, it means over the last eight days we've seen the Dow losing 22 percent. Nasdaq has shed 300 points despite ending its seven-day losing streak on Friday. The S&P 500 lost 200 points for the year.
And you know, Naamua, it was just one year ago this past week that the Dow set its record high above 14,000. What a difference a year makes.
DELANEY: That is what is so crushing. And Stephanie, you were talking about how patience is lacking on Wall Street right now, so is there any sort of solace that people can latch on to? How long before some of these measures might have some impact?
ELAM: Well, that's exactly what Wall Street wants to see. Wall Street doesn't like uncertainty. And right now we don't have anything concrete and that's why we've seen these days of just loss after loss after loss. They want to see something happen, and that's why I think we're looking at Henry Paulson trying to make as much done before the markets open, the global markets open Sunday night. That will hopefully soothe all these investors, all these jitters that are out there, because so far when the president has been speaking it hasn't been helping out. So they're looking for any way they can to get this into the market and help things along.
DELANEY: All right. We will all welcome that day. Stephanie, thanks ever so much. Appreciate your time.
ELAM: Anytime.
DELANEY: Well, candidates on the campaign trail with calls for attacks on the rise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't trust Obama. I - I have read about him, and he's not - he's not - he's an - he's an Arab. He is not -
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not? No?
MCCAIN: No, ma'am. No, ma'am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DELANEY: John McCain putting the brakes on his supporters' attacks on Barack Obama and getting booed for it. And honoring the legacy of the first African-American pilots in World War II, the Tuskegee National Airman National Historic Site opens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DELANEY: Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin denies she abused her power as governor of Alaska. Governor Palin didn't address state investigators conclusion that she broke the law when she tried to get her ex-brother-in-law fired from his state trooper job. Instead, she focused on the report's finding she was within her rights when she fired the state's public safety commissioner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INAUDIBLE)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. And if you read the report you will see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member. You've got to read the report.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DELANEY: That's hard to hear but Governor Palin's comments came this morning as she was leaving a Pittsburgh hotel.
Barack Obama is widening his lead over John McCain. CNN's latest poll of polls shows Obama with a 49 percent voter support. McCain is eight points back with 41 percent. 10 percent of respondents remain undecided.
An action-packed schedule for the presidential candidates. Today Senator Obama held a series of rallies across Philadelphia. He detailed his plans to cut taxes for millions of Americans, and spend more on alternative energy sources. Senator McCain also focused on economic issues today. He told a crowd in Davenport, Iowa, Washington is on the wrong track. He vowed to cut government programs that don't work, and balance the budget by the end of his term.
Well, what we didn't hear at McCain's campaign stop today, angry anti- Obama attacks from McCain supporters that riled up the crowds at several rallies this week. Last night in Minnesota, Senator McCain tried to calm things down, and he got an earful. Here's CNN's Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After a week of escalating anti-Obama rhetoric from supporters at his events, John McCain suddenly tried to turn the temperature down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would like you to remain a true American hero. We want you to fight.
MCCAIN: I will fight. But we will be respectful. I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments. I will respect him and I want - no, no. I want every one to be respectful.
BASH: Nothing like getting booed at your own event, and it didn't stop there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't trust Obama. I have read about him, and he's not - he 's not - he's a - he's an Arab. He is not -
MCCAIN: No, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No?
MCCAIN: No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a - he's a decent family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're - we're scared. We're scared of an Obama presidency. I'm concerned about, you know, someone that cohorts with domestic terrorists such as Ayers. MCCAIN: I want to be president of the United States and obviously I do not want Senator Obama to be. But I have to tell you, I have to tell you, he is a decent person, and a person that you do not have to be scared as president of the United States. Now - I just -
BASH: But McCain may be trying to put the genie back in the bottle. Ever since last weekend when Sarah Palin first accused Barack Obama of palling around with terrorists, referring to 1960s radical William Ayers, rowdy crowds have called Obama -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liar.
BASH: And worse, now McCain has released this new TV ad on Ayers.
ANNOUNCER: When convenient, he worked with terrorist Bill Ayers. When discovered, he lied.
BASH: Yet he doesn't talk about Ayers unless asked, and then insists it's about Obama's rhetoric versus reality.
MCCAIN: Senator Obama said that Mr. Ayers was a guy in the neighborhood when in reality, Senator Obama's political career was launched in Mr. Ayers living room.
BASH: And while McCain may now be trying to tamp down on over the top rage against Obama, he's still careful not to extinguish enthusiasm he needs to win.
MCCAIN: I don't mean that has to reduce your ferocity.
BASH: The boiling emotions this week present McCain with a dramatic balancing act. He's trailing and needs every ounce of energy he can get, but clearly sees a risk in not stopping those he believes are crossing the line. Dana Bash, CNN, Lakeville, Minnesota.
DELANEY: The troubled economy is making it harder for some Americans to get health care. It's also become a factor in the political debate over health insurance. CNN's T.J. Holmes takes a look for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN, ANCHOR: At 45 years old, Steve Diekhoff bought his dream house and he looked forward to nights just like this, with his two teen-aged daughters, Alena and Alice.
STEVE DIEKHOFF, ALS PATIENT: It can solve a lot of disease for $700 billion.
HOLMES: Life seemed close to perfect, even though (Diek), as his friends call him, was worried. Two years ago he started getting some odd cramping in his left hand. Doctors were baffled until August of this year, when his walk seemed off.
DIEKHOFF: First when he told me I had Lou Gehrig's disease, I didn't know exactly what it was. I knew it wasn't good. HOLMES: The first place he went to was to the ALS website and he's been staring at these words ever since. The average life expectancy of a person with ALS is two to five years.
DIEKHOFF: The father, son, holy spirit. Amen.
HOLMES: A dad first and foremost, his thoughts raced to Alena and Alice.
DIEKHOFF: The thing that's most important to me in life is being a daddy. You know, I always used to say, you know, when my time is to go, I just want one word on my headstone and that's daddy.
HOLMES: Diek wants to leave his daughters wonderful memories, strong values and financial security. But the road ahead looks costly.
DIEKHOFF: I have heard that it can be up to $200,000 a year, you know, for the last couple of years.
HOLMES: Diek admits he cares more now about the presidential election than he did three months ago. And no doubt Barack Obama and John McCain have very different views about health care, views that are obvious during this last presidential debate.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's a responsibility.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it should be a right.
HOLMES: Obama wants to require the larger employers to provide health care coverage. He also supports spending more on government-sponsored programs for those who can't afford coverage. McCain wants to stimulate the free economy by offering a $2500 tax break for individual health insurance policies or a $5,000 tax credit for families. But the plans of both candidates could be blown out of the water by the current financial crisis.
DIEKHOFF: There's a lot of people out of work right now. What would happen if I would have gotten laid off earlier this year?
HOLMES: T.J. Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DELANEY: An earthquake and several aftershocks strike one of Russia's poorest regions. And hurricane Norbert makes landfall plus winter weather out west. Our Karen Maginnis is tracking the storm.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DELANEY: A deadly earthquake in Russia, the 5.3 magnitude quake hit Chechnya and other parts of the north caucuses today. It was centered near the Chechnya capital of Grozny. Officials say at least 12 people were killed in the quake and in a series of aftershocks. Most of the victims were hit by falling debris. More than 100 people were hurt, and buildings were destroyed in several areas.
And October surprise for Lake Tahoe, California. Snow, not much of it stuck to the ground but temperatures did plummet to about 20 degrees where it was cold enough for ski resorts to crank up their snow making machines and blanket the mountain sides with even more snow. One resort says a few more cold nights could allow them to start the ski season before Thanksgiving.
Hurricane Norbert has made landfall, tracking that storm from the CNN weather center, meteorologist Karen Maginnis. Hey, Karen.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Naamua. We're going to start across the interior west with this huge winter storm that is impacting a good portion of an area all the way from Montana down across New Mexico and into the four corners region. We've got an area of low pressure just kind of stuck in the atmosphere across the Great Basin. To the south, the frontal system just across Arizona, that's presenting its own problems. But on the backside of this area of low pressure that's where the coldest air can be found. And this is where we're going to see significant snow fall. From the saw tooth and the bear tooth, wind river, the Wasatch, the Winter Mountains in Utah, extending over the front range of the Colorado Rockies mountain region, and extending to (inaudible) Park also in Loveland.
We've got some pictures, some live pictures out of Loveland, Colorado. Take a look at what's going on there. It is overcast right now, and the temperatures are mostly in the 30s. Do we have that live picture, maybe we don't but it looks like - there we go. As you go through those mountain passes, the snow is going to be again falling begins to fall, and see just to the right edge of your screen, some of the mountains there already starting to see some snowfall in those higher peaks.
All right. We did mention Norbert and it is making its way across the extreme isolated area of the Baja peninsula. It's going to make a secondary landfall along the northwest coast of Mexico and some of that moisture is going to be drawn on in across western sections of Texas. Now, this is a category 2 hurricane and it looks like it's going to lose some of its strength very quickly, but as it moves across the interior sections, mudslides, landslides, certainly possible. But this has been a very powerful hurricane. We haven't seen quite this intensity with a hurricane in quite some time.
So Naamua, we are seeing quite a big storm system across the interior west. We'll continue to watch that.
DELANEY: All right. Trouble out there. Karen, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Well, trying to ease the world's financial crisis, world leaders are meeting. We are live with what they hope to accomplish. And how is the economic crisis affecting you? A live picture now from the Dallas farmer's market where we're taking the pulse of the people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NAAMUA DELANEY, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Now, the financial crisis. The world's economies are so interconnected that world leaders are coming together to try to do damage control. CNN Business Correspondent Maggie Lake joins us live from Washington, where all of the action is taking place.
Maggie, what's the latest there?
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The action, or lack of action. Frankly, it's been a very long day of waiting as finance officials from around the world have met behind closed doors. We are starting to finally hear from them. An IMF press conference is getting underway in the building just behind me.
Shortly after that we're expecting the G20 finance ministers to have their picture taken and then a short time after that, hear a briefing from them. Of course, what everyone wants to know is are they going to lay out a detailed plan of how they're going to bring stability back to world markets, or are we just going to hear just more reassuring, sort of vague promises that they're going to work together? Everyone wants a detailed plan, investors around the world. They're not going to be satisfied with just talk. They say the time for that is over, Naamua.
DELANEY: All right. So, Maggie, we're talking about a lot of heads trying to come together here. How hard is it for these countries to actually agree on some sort of a concrete way to move forward?
LAKE: It is extremely difficult. As we know, nothing happens fast by committee, and you're talking about unprecedented times. And they're being asked to move very swiftly. Having said that, a lot of people say this weekend is a fantastic opportunity. All of these officials from around the world are in the same city, in many cases sitting right across the table from each other, and they want to see that they -- they use that opportunity well and they came up with something concrete.
Unfortunately, they have very different economies. And it's not clear -- this is where the confusion is, not sure if they're agreeing in principle and they are hammering out the details or simply can't come to an agreement. I think that's what's unsettling investors.
DELANEY: Thank you, Maggie, very much. We appreciate you staying with this.
The crisis on Wall Street is having a big impact on Main Street and beyond. We went to a farmer's market in Dallas to talk with folks there. Ed Ruiba is the owner of a landscape company is joining us now.
Ed, thanks very much for being with us. Do we have you?
ED RUIBA, OWNER, LANDSCAPE SYSTEMS OF TEXAS: How are you?
DELANEY: I'm very well, thank you, Ed.
I gather that the economic doom and gloom have not necessarily had an impact on your business at this point?
RUIBA: Well, no, I -- as far as our business is concerned right now, we've been doing as much or more than we did last year.
DELANEY: That's absolutely staggering. What about the impact on your customers?
RUIBA: Well, I -- most of our customers that come in, they're still upbeat and -- they're not really talking about the economy that much. They're busy shopping and doing what they do every day.
DELANEY: That is staggering, because it seems like whether it is jobs or it is the stock market, there's more and more bad economic news every day. Perhaps you can share your secrets with us, how you manage to stay immune.
RUIBA: Well, I think maybe because of the business that I'm in, that people tend to stay home more and they do more in their yards and they -- they just do stuff around the house, which is -- I don't know, I guess maybe benefits my business, but people just don't seem as affected by it.
DELANEY: That's interesting. You're suggesting that perhaps they can't afford to have external entertainment, if you will, they come and they seek things that can help them make their home environment better, because they can't necessarily afford to get out of it.
RUIBA: Well, yeah and maybe they are just staying home more and doing more around the house.
DELANEY: You're finding your family, you're hearing from anybody a different story or you're pretty much all insulated?
RUIBA: It's -- well, I mean, I have talked to people here, you know, I'll ask them how they're doing. How their businesses are doing, and pretty much everybody around here is pretty much upbeat and they're doing as good as they ever have. You know, there's a few of them I've talked to that they're down a little bit, but for the most part, everybody around here seems to be pretty happy.
DELANEY: Wow. Well, Ed, we are delighted to hear that. And we want to thank you very much for join being us this afternoon. In front of a very impressive looking collection of pumpkins there. Thanks, Ed.
RUIBA: All right. Thank you. >
DELANEY: Well, you can tell us what changes are you and your family making to deal with the economic crisis? To send your comments, just go to IReport.com or type Ireport@cnn.com into your cell phone.
Well, if there is a silver lining in the economic mess, you can find it in gas prices. AAA reports we are paying an average of $3.29 for a gallon of regular. That is a 6-cent drop from yesterday. Oil plunged almost $9 yesterday to less than $78 a barrel. Unbelievable. One reason oil prices are falling is, of course, because of fears of a possible recession. Well, cheaper gas prices may be too little, too late for Detroit, GM and Chrysler reportedly have been in talks that could turn the Big Three into the big two. They began more than a month ago. "The Wall Street Journal" says the discussions have stalled amid the financial crisis, but "The New York Times" quotes a source as saying it's about a 50 percent chance of a deal.
Barack Obama is going after John McCain's plan for the mortgage crisis, saying it adds to the burden on taxpayers. Is that true? Well, Josh Levs from the CNN Truth Squad is here to sort this out for us.
So, Josh, how is this one rating?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Naamua. Can I say how good it is to have you here in the afternoon?
DELANEY: Oh, thank you.
LEVS: Instead of downstairs at CNN.com.
DELANEY: It's a delight to be here with you.
LEVS: Someone else excited to see the Truth Squad because while you were talking, just now, we actually started a little too early to show the ad I'm going to talk to you about. So let's re-rack that ad. I'm going to show you this clip and then I'll Truth Squad it for you. Let's watch.
(BEGIN POLITICAL AD)
ANNOUNCER: On Tuesday, an announcement.
JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would order the secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America.
ANNOUNCER: On Wednesday, the details. McCain would shift the burden from lenders to taxpayers, guaranteeing a loss of taxpayer money. Who wins? The same lenders that caused the crisis in the first place.
(END POLITICAL AD)
LEVS: OK, so that's one of the latest ads from Barack Obama. As you saw in there it includes a clip of this CNN Money story behind me, which talks about that very topic. So, we had every reason to want to take a look at this.
Let me do this. Let me explain what it's all about. Just go to this graphic here and I'll summarize it for you. Under McCain's plan, that he's laying out for the mortgages, the government would buy up some troubled mortgages at their full value. That means that lenders would not take a loss. And the government would then renegotiate those mortgages so that eligible homeowners would pay rates based on their home's current reduced value. Before this, McCain previously supported a plan under which the government would renegotiate with lenders. And that meant that the lenders would have to take a loss. But his economic advisers said McCain now believes that that would take too long, and that to move quickly the government should day pay the entire value of the loans and get that process going. So that's the big change.
And I'll tell you, the McCain campaign acknowledges that that change means that taxpayers are paying more. The lenders aren't taking a hit, taxpayers are paying more. So our verdict on this one, you have it in front of you, that is true. The plan would shift the burden to taxpayers instead of lenders.
I'll also tell you, Naamua, next hour we're taking a look at an attack from the other side. I'll tell if you that one is true or false.
DELANEY: Wow, Josh, you managed to find something true from the campaign trail. Very impressive.
LEVS: I've got to tell you, when we start looking at these things, we don't know in advance we don't know in advance what we're going to find. And when we find something's true, obviously, I know for a lot of viewers, they're happy to hear that yes, sometimes political attacks are justified.
DELANEY: It feels like it should get a gold star. Thanks, Josh, ever so much. We'll see you later.
LEVS: You got it. Thanks.
DELANEY: A major lesson learned from 9/11. First responders must be able to communicate. CNN's Rob Marciano looks at a high-tech study aimed at improving disaster response.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice over): Electronics engineer Kate Remley watches buildings implode, conducts tests in abandoned mines and works in this odd-looking echoless chamber. Her research to improve radio communications began after 9/11.
KATE REMLEY, NIST ENGINEER: One of the big issues was the emergency responder radios did not transmit from inside the building to outside the building. Also at ground zero, some urban search and rescue robots were deployed to try to find survivors. The radio signals were lost rapidly.
MARCIANO: Beside the challenges of how radio waves function, equipment for first responders must work in dangerous spots.
REMLEY: Things like collapsed buildings, burning buildings, tunnels, basements, other difficult communication areas.
MARCIANO: Commuters know that in a subway cell phone calls often get dropped. But researchers have now identified sweet spots in mines and tunnels where radio signals travel farthest. That may help them design more robust wireless systems.
REMLEY: The radio sweet spot really depends on the dimensions of a tunnel.
MARCIANO: Engineers are testing radio signals in other structures as well, from apartment buildings to sports stadiums.
CHRIS HOLLOWAY, NIST ENGINEER: We carry these transmitters through the buildings and try to get a radio map of the building.
MARCIANO: Equipment is also put into structures that will be imploded to see how it holds up when the building blows up. Strange looking labs at the National Institute of Standards and Technologies help scientists with their tests.
REMLEY: This is an anechoic chamber, which means, without reflections. We can measure the received signal levers very precisely in this chamber because there are no reflections off the walls.
HOLLOWAY: It's called a reverberation chamber. The idea here is get as many reflects as possible. It would give a researcher or engineer a very quick and dirty way of testing how a system might work.
MARCIANO: Engineers want to make sure new technologies are robust and reliable for the dangerous work of first responders. Rob Marciano, CNN,
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DELANEY: Speaking of bravery, 60 years ago, they offered assistance at a time when their help was needed, but not wanted. These brave soldiers became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. And, today, another way to make sure their legacy lives forever.
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DELANEY: Most Americans haven't heard of Moton Field, but the airbase has a special place in civil rights history. It was the training ground for the Tuskegee Airmen, the black pilots who fought in World War II. Sean Callebs spoke with the men who conquered their enemies and their nation's legacy of racism.
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SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The honors came late in life for the Tuskegee Airmen. Trail blazers, who once easily hoisted themselves into the cockpit, today gingerly made their way to a dedication ceremony.
DAN KEEL, TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: As men, we have overcome a lot.
CALLEBS: Moton Field, where the nation's first African-American fighter pilots trained is being recognized as a national historic site.
LT. COL. ALEX JEFFERSON, TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: I'm so thankful, I'm so thankful, I'm so thankful.
CALLEBS: Lieutenant Colonel Alex Jefferson came to Tuskegee at age 22.
(Voice over): At the time did you realize you were making history?
JEFFERSON: Hell, no. I was surviving. I was surviving. The war is going on.
CALLEBS: Until then, no one had given blacks a chance to fly in combat.
JEFFERSON: You're too dumb, you're too ignorant, you're too stupid. When you tell me I'm stupid and I'm crazy and I'm black, but I'm a college graduate, something is wrong.
CALLEBS: It doesn't add up, does it?
JEFFERSON: It doesn't add up.
CALLEBS: Like other blacks in the military at that time, Jefferson was a victim of discrimination. Of the 110 students in Jefferson's class, only 25 graduated. Jefferson flew 18 combat missions over Germany, but on the 19th --
JEFFERSON: We were strafing, trying to knock off radar stations and as I went right across the top of the target, the damn shell came up through the floor.
CALLEBS: Jefferson spent the next nine months as a prisoner of war.
(On camera): Jefferson is one of 994 men who became pilots here at Tuskegee. But this ceremony is really to honor all 16,000 people who trained, or worked, here from 1942 to 1946. Originally, this ribbon- cutting ceremony was scheduled for March of next year, but the survivors are in their mid 80s and every week --
JEFFERSON: Sherman Rose (ph) just died. Sherman Rose (ph) just died.
CALLEBS: The photos, the displays, the planes, they aren't going anywhere. But the legacy of living history is precious.
JEFFERSON: I tell everybody, the Air Force is the best thing that ever happened to me.
CALLEBS: The Tuskegee Airmen overcame racism to help defeat Germany, and say they didn't just open doors for others, they knocked those doors off their hinges. Sean Callebs, CNN, Tuskegee, Alabama.
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DELANEY: And amazingly, one of the pilots who helped break the color barrier in the armed services was Mal Whitfield, father of CNN Anchor Fredricka Whitfield. They were both in Tuskegee for the ceremony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: On his 84th birthday he's celebrating it with all these airmen he hasn't seen really since the war. So it's an extraordinary event for him and very memorable. He was crying all the way during the drive here. So it's going to be very nice.
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DELANEY: Mal Whitfield served as a aerial gunner in the Korean war. He also won three gold medals competing in the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games. And Don Lemon is joining us now to look ahead a little bit.
And, Don, you've actually interviewed Mal, right?
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: I've interviewed him, I've met him. I've hung out with him. I didn't know him before he went to the Beijing Olympics, a couple weeks ago with Fredricka. And I had to interview him here. We're doing this thing called "CNN Heroes". So they asked me who my hero was. I said, I have a new one, it's Mal Whitfield.
DELANEY: How would you know? He's an Olympian?
LEMON: I was captivated by him. Yes!
DELANEY: Now, this war hero.
LEMON: Amazing man. And if you're watching, Mal, we are so proud of and so proud of Fredricka. We love both of you. You've raised a wonderful, wonderful daughter.
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But meantime, I want to tell you, you mentioned that I'm going to tell you what's coming up. Have you noticed, Naamua, that the tone on the campaign trail, at least on one side, on the McCain side, it has really changed.
DELANEY: Really?
LEMON: Just in the last couple of days.
DELANEY: Kind of a brief truce.
LEMON: They've been saying nice things about each other, especially John McCain saying nice things about Barack Obama out on the campaign trail, just for the last couple of days.
Are you surprised by that? It is true. We will explain why. It's very interesting why this has changed. Was John McCain forced into doing this? This is the question.
OK, also, we're going to talk about the culprits of this collapse. How did we get here? You know, before last month, how many of you had even heard of this huge insurance giant AIG?
DELANEY: Although, coverage (ph) has expanded hugely over the last few days.
LEMON: They've been bailed out twice in this, Naamua. So what are we talking about here? We're talking about the people behind this so- called bailout and behind this collapse. We're going to take a very close look at AIG this time. But it's a series we're doing on the culprits of this bailout. Very interesting stuff. Plus, much, much more to come. You want to stay tuned in just a couple minutes.
DELANEY: All right. We will make sure we do.
LEMON: Good to see you, as well.
DELANEY: You, too, Don. Have a good show, thanks very much.
Well, an important question for women in the fight against breast cancer. Do self-exams really help? An old study is getting a new look and raising new concerns. Judy Fortin has today's "Health For Her" report.
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JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): One of the weapons in fighting the war against breast cancer is causing a lot of confusion lately, the breast self-exam; that monthly hands-on tool that for years has been the do-it-yourselfer's first line of defense against the number two killer of women from cancer. A study done five years ago that was just recently reviewed again generated a flurry of news articles that suggested the self-exam didn't do much to help women survive breast cancer due to early detection.
Instead, turning up benign lumps that led to a lot of unnecessary biopsies. But that study has many doctors shaking their heads.
DR. RUTH O'REGAN, DIR., BREAST CANCER RSRCH., EMORY UNIV.: I don't think there's a down side in doing self-breast exam. It doesn't cost anything and you obviously may pick up a cancer earlier. But on the other hand, I think do you it in conjunction with other recognized screening tools. For example, seeing your doctor every year for clinical breast exams and having your mammograms done according to the guidelines.
FORTIN: The correct way to do a self-breast exam is a three-step process. The first part is a visual exam. Next, comes the hands on part that many health care providers encourage women to do in the shower or bath.
CHRISTINE MCCARTHY, NURSE PRACTIONER: This is how we typically recommend who do a breast self-exam. Keeping in mind the breast tissue is not just in the breast mound but extends from the sternum or the center of the chest over, halfway to the collarbone, over under the armpit down under the breast and back. So it really is kind of a shield shape here.
FORTIN: And the last step is done lying down. MCCARTHY: Whether it be on the couch or in bed, put a little bit of support behind your back. Then go ahead and cover the exact same area of the tissue you examined but applying just a little bit more pressure. Again looking for any changes or any hard masses or anything that hasn't been there before.
FORTIN: Sounds like a lot, but medical experts say all in all this self-exam should take just a couple of minutes. A few minutes that could in the end quite possibly be saving your life. Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.
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DELANEY: So, 150 miles in eight days sounds easy enough, unless you're traveling in a pumpkin. How this unusual trip is helping to make children's dreams come true.
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DELANEY: J.R. Hildebrant is traveling 150 miles in eight days to raise money to grant dreams for children with special needs. But it is the way he is traveling that is astonishing onlookers. Here's the story from Rome, Wisconsin, and affiliate WAOW.
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CAMI MOUNTAIN, ROME, WISCONSIN (voice over): J.R. Hildebrant is making the trip of a lifetime, 150 miles in eight days, paddling a hollowed-out pumpkin. Why? He's raising money for the Tri-City's Children's Dream Foundation, a non-profit that helps send special needs children on their own trip of a lifetime.
J.R. HILDEBRANT, RAISING MONEY FOR KIDS: We've sent children to Disneyland, Disney World, we sent them to NASCAR races. We even sent one little girl to Jamaica on a cruise. I wanted to take it a step further.
MOUNTAIN: Hildebrant wants to build the kids a dream retreat, a place where they can go to get away with their families and just be kids.
HILDEBRANT: There's a lot of money raised for cures and that's great. But a lot of these children may not ever see a cure in their lifetime. So we're trying to give them something now they can enjoy and have more fun with.
MOUNTAIN: This pumpkin weighs some 760 pounds and inside J.R. will have everything that he needs aboard to keep him stable. A chair, of course, for comfort, and a even a heater for those cool October mornings.
JOHN FLODSTROM, HAULS PUMPKIN CANOE: I thought it was crazy. I'll tell you, but I give him a lot of credit for what he's doing. Like I say, I'm glad he's in a pumpkin and not me.
MOUNTAIN: Flodstrom is helping Hildebrant on his quest by pulling the pumpkin's boat trailer alongside to each riverside town he stops in. And although he thinks his friend's idea is a little hair brained, he fully supports it.
FLODSTROM: I think it's a good idea. It's something different.
MOUNTAIN: This is Hildebrant's first fundraiser for the retreat. And he just can't wait to wait to finish.
HILDEBRANT: It's going to help some more children,
MOUNTAIN: Cami Mountain, Newsline 9, Rome.
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DELANEY: Certainly eye catching. For more on this pumpkin cruise and the cause it supports, visit our Impact Your World page, that is at CNN.com/impact.
Well, I'm Naamua Delaney. Don Lemon has the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.
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