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Looking for a Paycheck; Where the Jobs Are; President Obama Speaks to Police Recruits; Same-Sex Marriage Showdown; The Help Desk; Jobs Report; Class in Session; Chris Brown to Rihanna: I'm Really Going to Kill You
Aired March 06, 2009 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Here are the headlines from CNN for this Friday, the 6th day of March, 2009.
The jobless rate soars past eight percent in February. We've got help if you're looking.
R&B superstar Chris Brown - police outline sickening details of his alleged assault on singer Rihanna. Is his career over at age 19?
The next generation of leaders and terrorism. Find out what today's college students have to say when class is in session in the NEWSROOM.
All right. Let's begin with these fast-moving developments this hour in the Bernard Madoff scandal.
You'll remember he is the former high-flying Wall Streeter charged in a $50 billion swindle. We'll be talking to Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff in a moment. He apparently is waiting to find out whether he will be indicted or get a plea bargain ahead of his next scheduled court date, which is March 13th.
Now, speculation arose that this might be in the offing yesterday when a special court hearing about a potential conflict of interest with his lawyer was quickly postponed just hours after federal prosecutors had requested it. And March 13th is the last deadline for prosecutors to get an indictment or hold a preliminary hearing.
We will continue to follow developments in this story and talk to Allan Chernoff in just a few minutes here in the NEWSROOM.
The financial meltdown is proving to be a big job killer. The Labor Department released February's unemployment figures today - 651,000 Americans lost their jobs last month. That brings the total loss since this recession began 14 months ago to almost 4.5 million. The jobless rate jumped to 8.1 percent, the highest in 25 years. And that was a surprise.
Here's the unemployment figures by race - 7.3 percent for whites. That's below the national average. But African-American and Hispanics are well into double digits, as you can see. The exception among minorities, Asians, just under 7 percent unemployment.
OK. So where are the jobs, America? Believe me, we are searching.
Here to help us, Nicole Lapin of CNN.com, telling us about a new CNN site where you can actually find jobs.
Wow, that's good news.
And Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis at a career center in Yonkers, New York.
And Gerri, let's start with you.
Talk to us about that job center. I would imagine that business would be booming there.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, business is brisk. In fact, they're saying that they have double the number of people coming into this office each and every week now than they did, say, a year ago. Let me tell you just a little bit about this room.
You know, when you get unemployed in this county, you have to come here to get some assistance. You can get help on writing a resume, how to reach out to employers. And I want to introduce you to one of the counselors here.
This is Lynn. Hi, Lynn.
LYNN CARR, YONKERS EMPLOYMENT CENTER: Hi, Gerri. How are you?
WILLIS: I'm good.
So I want you to talk about your specialty here, which is really working with the disabled. And you say they're having a very hard time of it.
CARR: Yes, they are. I am a disability specialist, and I work with individuals with employment barriers.
Many of them are looking for part-time work due to their disabilities or their employment barrier, and those jobs are few and far between now. We have a lot of competition.
A lot of people, non-disabled people, are willing to take anything that they can get, so now individuals with disabilities are up against a wall. They have a lot of competition now.
WILLIS: It's a tough time for people who are disabled. And I know you're counseling them here each and every day.
They talk to all kinds of people here, Tony, every day.
I wanted to show you though - because I know it's easy enough to think that, you know, look, people don't get jobs, but they do, and they get them in this office. So come over and see this wall of success I want to show you right here.
HARRIS: Wow.
WILLIS: These are folks who actually got jobs.
HARRIS: I love it.
WILLIS: So this is the good side, this is the flip side of the coin. We talk about this all the time, how do you get a job? People do it. They do it every day.
They do it by doing the hard work of talking to employers, getting out there, meeting people, working their network, making sure that everybody that they know who are friends and potential people who could hire them are there to help them. And you know, here in the employment center, people are online, they're trying to find work, they're talking to employers, they're hooking up with the online Web sites - there are so many of them now - monster.com, for example...
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
WILLIS: ... where they really help you find a job. But I have to tell you, everybody I've talked to today, nobody sounds like they've totally lost hope, Tony. They really seem, you know, somewhat hopeful that they're going to get some kind of employment, and soon.
HARRIS: Hey, Gerri, are you close to Lynn Carr?
WILLIS: Yes.
HARRIS: Are you close to her? Let me ask you a question...
WILLIS: Yes, we can go back.
HARRIS: ... as you walk back over to Lynn...
WILLIS: Yes, sure thing. Lynn is fantastic.
HARRIS: ... because I'm sort of curious - yes. My question to Lynn is, you know, we are hearing reports from folks who go to some of these job fairs and they stand in line for two, three hours, and they get maybe three, four minutes to talk to someone. I'm wondering how much time Lynn actually spends with one of her clients.
WILLIS: OK. All right.
Well, our anchor wants to know, how much time do you spend with individual clients?
CARR: Well, it varies, but it seems like we're spending more time with them now because they have more issues. So I would say maybe anywhere from a half an hour to maybe an hour, sometimes two hours with my population, because they do have specific needs that have to be addressed.
WILLIS: Right. HARRIS: That's awesome. Yes.
WILLIS: And Tony, I just want to mention to you, I've seen this woman at work.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: She may talk to somebody for 30 minutes today, but they come back over and over. And this is a relationship that they build. They talk to people over time, and it can be months where she's actually developing a relationship with someone...
HARRIS: That's wonderful to hear.
WILLIS: ... helping them get out into the community and really find that next job.
HARRIS: That is really wonderful to hear, because I've got to tell you something - what could be more frustrating than to stand in line for two or three hours and get just a couple of minutes with a potential employer? That's got to be maddening.
WILLIS: Yes, I think it's frustrating. And you know, those people tell you just to go online, apply online.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes, please.
WILLIS: And as we've heard today, that's a closed door.
HARRIS: It really is. Gerri...
WILLIS: That's very tough.
HARRIS: ... good to see you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: That's good stuff. Thank you, Gerri.
Nicole Lapin is busy at our big touch screen, and she's here to answer the question of the day - how the heck do you get a job?
Nicole, you're still at it, huh?
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM: Yes. I mean, you can't top Lynn there.
HARRIS: Yes.
LAPIN: You really have to help yourself. Like Gerri said, you have to go online, you have to be proactive, and think of that wall, Tony, of all of those success stories as you're hitting the pavement, because we have the job fairs outlined on CNN.com/jobs. You can search by location.
So, Tony, here in Georgia, we have one on April 21st at the Cobb Galleria. You can check by calendar as well. There are job fairs almost every day these days.
So look, once you find the job fair, you have to spruce up your resume, of course. And we can't all be Dr. Sanjay Gupta and have an M.D. and a Ph.D. behind our names.
HARRIS: That's right.
LAPIN: But you know, there are some certifications that you can get that you don't even know exist. You can actually become certified as a florist, Tony.
HARRIS: OK.
LAPIN: So in a couple of states, California, for example, you can have a CCF after your name. That's California Certified Florist. And we link to cbinstitute.com to help you get certified. It is pretty easy to do that...
HARRIS: Nice.
LAPIN: ... because really what it translates to is more money, and sometimes more respect, which we all need.
HARRIS: Yes.
LAPIN: And then once you get that interview, some tough interview questions, because let's be honest, you hear the same types of questions over and over again - what do you plan to do in five years? What would other people say about you?
HARRIS: Right.
LAPIN: And then, of course, we have that question, what is your weakness? And Tony, that is not a rhetorical question. What is your weakness?
HARRIS: What is my weakness? What is - my tie?
LAPIN: You're too shy.
HARRIS: Oh, I'm shy and retiring? Not hardly. Not hardly.
LAPIN: Career Builder says don't say that. Career Builder would be upset at you. They say use it as a positive.
HARRIS: OK.
LAPIN: So look at the prospective job.
HARRIS: So plug (ph) your weakness?
LAPIN: Yes, exactly. If you're going to do a lot of public speaking in your next job, say, well, my weakness is, in my last job, I didn't get to hone my presentation or my PowerPoint skills.
HARRIS: Right. Well, here's the other thing. If you have a job right now, you really have to work hard at maintaining that job.
And give me that relationship shot there with Nicole, because what we're hearing is, is that employers are going to some of these job fairs, and they're looking to upgrade their staff. So if you have a job now, look, continue to work really hard, because employers are looking in many cases to move you out, in some cases, and bring a more qualified or better worker, in their mind, into your job.
LAPIN: Well, that's the thing. That's what you don't want to happen...
HARRIS: Yes.
LAPIN: ... if you can't. What the experts online are saying, don't just dust off your old resume. Don't just go and photocopy the old resume.
HARRIS: Right. Right.
LAPIN: Focus on the skills, don't necessarily focus on the industry.
HARRIS: Nice.
LAPIN: And those are the things that are really going to translate over.
HARRIS: And pretty easy for folks to navigate the site, to get the information?
LAPIN: Yes, absolutely, because, look, there are jobs out there.
HARRIS: Great.
LAPIN: Silver lining.
HARRIS: Nicole, good stuff. Thank you.
LAPIN: You're welcome.
HARRIS: All right.
President Obama hit the road today to showcase jobs saved by the stimulus bill. Last hour, the president spoke at a graduation ceremony for police recruits in Columbus, Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For those who still doubt the wisdom of our recovery plan, I ask them to talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan. I ask them to talk to the nurses who are still able to care for our sick, and the firefighters and first responders who are still able to keep our communities safe. I ask them to come to Ohio and meet the 25 men and women who will soon be protecting the streets of Columbus because we passed this plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: White House Correspondent Dan Lothian is traveling with the president.
And Dan, 25 jobs were saved there as a result of the president's plan. How much money is going to save those jobs and how long is it going to last?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's about $1.25 million that the mayor had gone to Washington and really pushed to get that money here so those jobs could be saved. And when you look at it, you know, from the national picture, it really is just a drop in the bucket, especially when you see the new unemployment numbers released today...
HARRIS: Yes.
LOTHIAN: ... 651,000 jobs lost last month.
So it's a drop in the bucket, but nonetheless, they think it's crucial, because these were cadets who were given pink slips in January. They were kept on the payroll through February. Just two days before their money was to run out, they got the news that this stimulus money would be saving their jobs.
It only will last through the end of the year. And so what happens after that? Well, we were talking to a public safety official here and he said they're really only concerned about the now, and they'll have to worry about that later.
HARRIS: Yes.
LOTHIAN: But one of the cadets I was talking to told me that he's hoping two things - first of all, that the economy will turn around so he doesn't have to worry about, he'll get to keep his job, or that some of the older police officers who will be retiring will retire, and he'll be able to get those slots.
HARRIS: Well, that's interesting. You know, I would suspect the good people of Columbus are happy to have these officers on the beat, but they're probably wondering if there is going to be money available to train additional police officers.
LOTHIAN: That's right, Tony. And the answer to that is, no, at least for now.
They typically have two sessions of these academies, cadet academies, each year, six-month sessions. And as of now, they've canceled both of those, so they're not bringing in any additional officers.
And one of the cadets I was talking to said they're already lacking in police officers out on the beat. And so this will be very difficult. For communities out there that need that police protection, they won't be getting any additional new blood coming in. So the hope is that obviously the economy will turn around, or that perhaps they can even get additional funds from the stimulus package to retire or hire new police officers.
HARRIS: That's right.
Dan Lothian traveling with the president in Columbus, Ohio.
Dan, thank you.
So Congress is (INAUDIBLE) today to come up with a temporary spending bill for the federal government. Otherwise, official Washington faces a partial shutdown tonight.
Senate Republicans are blocking a $410 billion spending bill. They say it is fat with pork. The Obama White House calls the bill last year's business, covering spending for the current fiscal year that the previous Congress failed to approve.
I promised at the top of this newscast that we would get to Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff for the latest developments in the Bernie Madoff case.
Allan, good to see you. What is the latest?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, as we've been reporting, there have been some plea discussions between the Madoff defense attorneys and the U.S. Attorney's Office here in New York. And now, this morning, we're getting word just a few minutes ago that the U.S. Attorney's Office has filed an information - they're saying that they will file an information upon the defendant's waiver of indictment.
What exactly does that mean? It means this is an indication that there may be a plea deal about to be reached.
HARRIS: I see.
CHERNOFF: It hasn't happened just yet, but they're giving notice here. They're saying if the defendant waives his right to a grand jury indictment - which he would do if there were a plea deal - then they will file an information. So why would they tell the court that? It's logical to think that they're telling the court this will be happening on the idea that a plea deal is close.
HARRIS: And Allan, it wouldn't be big breaking news if a plea deal in fact were reached. I mean, it's part of the reason, if you're Bernie Madoff, that you cooperate with the authorities, so that you can get a deal.
CHERNOFF: Yes. At the same time, this is not a typical case at all.
HARRIS: Not in any way. CHERNOFF: Bernie Madoff, who, as we know, allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme that cost investors, by his estimate, $50 billion, Madoff, according to anybody involved in the case - I mean, he would really still be facing a lifetime in prison.
HARRIS: Yes. OK.
CHERNOFF: He doesn't have any big fish to give up. He is the big fish. Typically in plea deals, it's somebody lower down the food chain, and they're giving information to the higher-ups.
HARRIS: All right, Allan. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Saving your home from foreclosure. Elizabeth Warren, the woman in charge of making sure the bailout money targeting - Elizabeth, good to see you. - foreclosures doesn't go to waste or worse.
Elizabeth is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The Obama administration has come up with a $75 billion plan to stem home foreclosures. A report issued today calls the lack of government information on foreclosures striking. The report also suggests that bailing out banks could be undermining efforts to help borrowers.
Joining us from Washington, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren. Ms. Warren chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel set up to monitor the spending of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package.
Elizabeth, great to see you again.
Talk us through some of the findings and the conclusions of this most recent report.
ELIZABETH WARREN, CHAIRWOMAN, CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT PANEL: Well, the report starts with the fact that we really do have a crisis on our hands here. One in every 10 families in America is either in default on their mortgage or currently in foreclosure. And there is no end in sight.
The way to think about this is, you know, if you looked up and down your block, one in every 10 houses is on fire. And those mortgage foreclosures, they bring down values for your house. They threaten your neighborhood and they threaten your community.
HARRIS: Yes.
WARREN: And we're really worried that this thing is spreading. So it's going to go way beyond people who took some bad risks or people who really got cheated and sold some bad mortgages. We're really worried this thing is moving and it's moving fast.
HARRIS: You know, the House passed legislation yesterday giving bankruptcy judges the power to reduce mortgages in some cases, actually reducing the principal. Do you think this piece of legislation is a good idea?
WARREN: Well, here's a big problem we've got. Right now - I'll go back to my numbers again - one in every five homeowners is below water on their mortgage. That means they owe a mortgage bigger than the amount of their homes, the value of their home.
Now, when they get into trouble and can't make a payment, when they're caught in one of these mortgages that escalates, there's literally nothing they can do. They can't refinance, because nobody's going to refinance you for 180 percent of the value of your home.
So what bankruptcy offers is it offers a chance to just say, look, let's get real. We're going to bring the value of the mortgage and the value of the home into 100 percent alignment. So the homeowner has to pay 100 percent of the value of the home, but the lender has to acknowledge, you lost this. You made a bet and you lost this amount. And that's what the bankruptcy bill is designed to do.
HARRIS: Well, Elizabeth, how do you answer the criticism that this is just bad policy, the idea of judges being able to break contracts? You know, you sign the dotted line. You signed to be responsible for this mortgage. The idea of breaking a contract, that's almost un-American.
WARREN: Well, actually, it's not almost un-American. Businesses do it all the time and are allowed to do it all the time. They have an absolute right to do it, and they do it with their real estate, with their investment properties, with their buildings, they do it with their equipment. Shoot, they even do it with their financial assets that get written down.
HARRIS: Yes.
WARREN: And they say, hey, look, that's the investment deal. You know? You lend somebody money, they sign on the dotted line, but it's a chance.
That's why you get paid a premium. That's why you get paid interest to make a profit. If you make very careful bets on your borrowers, you'll come out fine in that case. But you know, if you throw a lot of money out there and you're not careful about where it goes, some of it is going to end up in bankruptcy.
HARRIS: You know, there is some question - plenty of questions about the direction the Obama campaign - or the Obama administration is going with respect to the financial bailout plans. I'm curious to your thoughts on the $75 billion in foreclosure relief that is designed to keep four million U.S. homeowners from foreclosure.
That comes out of TARP funds. In your opinion, is that a good approach?
WARREN: Well, can I give you a good news/bad news kind of answer here?
HARRIS: Sure. WARREN: There is some good news in this. The Obama administration has some really creative parts to this.
They're focusing on affordability. They want to make sure that if you're actually getting a new mortgage, a workout, that your payments haven't gone up, because that just means we're just going to have a foreclosure later down the line. And that's good. And they've got some really creative moves in it, sort of out-of-the-box thinking.
The downside is, it's limited. There is limited eligibility here. It doesn't take care of this problem we talked about with mortgages that are way in excess of the value of the property. It counts on the bankruptcy bill to do that.
And, you know, bankruptcy is not going to do it all for everyone. A lot of people aren't going to take it. In fact, it hasn't even passed Congress yet.
And there are other difficulties in the plan. The real question is, it's a step in the right direction. I really want to emphasize that, but it's a modest step. And we've got a fire here.
HARRIS: Got you.
One final question. I'm Chris Dodd, and I chair the Senate Oversight Committee.
WARREN: Great hair.
HARRIS: Yes. Thank you. Thank you.
And what I want to know is, look, Elizabeth, you work for us, you work for Congress, you don't work for the administration.
WARREN: That's right.
HARRIS: So what I want to know is, what are your thoughts on whether or not the idea that's being floated by the administration of creating these funds, these public/private funds to buy the bad assets off of bank books, whether you think that is a good idea.
WARREN: OK. So now the first thing I'd say is, look, Senator Dodd, I'm not scripted here, so I can't speak for my whole panel. Right?
HARRIS: Yes.
WARREN: They haven't had a chance to speak to this.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
WARREN: But I'll tell you this, if private money wanted to buy those funds, they'd do it right now. Right?
HARRIS: Exactly.
WARREN: There's private money out here. If they want to go out and buy these toxic assets, they can do it.
So if they're not doing it, you have to ask, what does bringing the government into this do? And the only way I can figure it out is, if you bring the government in, the government could subsidize the deal. You know, they could pin a $20 bill to your collar, and then maybe someone would want to buy you. You know, they could put enough money into it.
HARRIS: Yes.
WARREN: That's just another form of subsidization. And if we're going to subsidize the financial institutions who are holding these transactions, let's not use fancy language, let's not call it good bank/bad bank, let's not call it toxic assets. Let's stop and talk about why we're infusing public dollars and whether that's a policy we want to pursue.
HARRIS: Elizabeth Warren, thanks for your time. Have a great weekend.
WARREN: Thank you. You, too.
HARRIS: And actually see you next week in Washington, D.C.
More CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment, right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Very quickly now, let's get to Jeanne Meserve in Washington.
And Jeanne, I understand you have some breaking news from the Supreme Court that it is a bit of good news for the Obama administration.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: For the Obama administration, yes. The Supreme Court has just decided that it will not be hearing the case of Ali al-Marri.
Al-Marri and his lawyers had gone to court challenging whether the president of the United States has the authority to indefinitely hold an enemy combatant without charging them. The court has now said it is not going to hear this matter. This dismissal was requested by the Obama Justice Department because it wanted to bring civilian charges against al-Marri.
A little bit about who he is.
He's a native of Qatar who was arrested in Peoria, Illinois, back in 2001. For years, the U.S. government has maintained he was an al Qaeda sleeper agent.
According to the Pentagon, this gentleman trained at a terror camp in Afghanistan. He met with al Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He volunteered for a martyr mission. He was asked by al Qaeda to explore ways to disrupt the financial system via computer hacking, and had stored on his computer information about poisonous chemicals.
In 2003, al-Marri was declared an enemy combatant and sent to a military brig in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was hell for years in virtual isolation. But he was not charged with a terror- related crime until one week ago, when the Obama Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging him with conspiracy to provide material support and resources to al Qaeda. At the same time, the Obama Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to drop al-Marri's case, challenging the president's right, authority to hold him without charges in the U.S.
Now that matter will not be settled by the Supreme Court. They have said we are not going to take arguments on this, we are not going to make a decision. So that larger question remains unresolved.
HARRIS: I see.
MESERVE: Now, what will happen with al-Marri, we don't know specifically when he will be transferred to civilian custody, but he will. And then he will face charges in civilian court.
HARRIS: All right.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve with the breaking news from Washington, D.C.
Jeanne, good to see you. Thank you.
MESERVE: You bet.
HARRIS: California's battle over same-sex marriage now in the hands of the state's Supreme Court. Justices have 90 days to decide whether to overturn Proposition 8.
Voter-approved ban on gay marriage. CNN iReporters are weighing in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MORRISON, IREPORTER: Now, a lot of people are claiming that the issue of interracial marriage and same-sex marriage is not the same. They claim that race and sexual orientation are different because race is immutable and sexual orientation is not.
This is a dangerous and false distinction, and one that we need to make sure we don't let these people get away with. Sexual orientation is not a choice, it's not a lifestyle. It's an immutable characteristic just like race, and it's about time we stop letting these people get away with this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, people on both sides of the debate are very passionate about their positions. Our Dan Simon is in San Francisco. That is ground zero for the same-sex marriage showdown.
Dan, good to see you. You know, we heard plenty of voices outside the court yesterday in favor of and against Proposition 8. You were there and you were inside the courtroom. What was the atmosphere like inside the room?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's always interesting going inside a supreme court hearing because this is not a situation where lawyers can just get up and just read from their notes and go with their talking points. The justices, anybody who saw this on television, saw that the justices asked very specific, very pointed questions. And you have to be very well prepared and you have to be quick on your feet. And a few times I was thinking to myself, I'm glad I wasn't one of those attorneys because it's awfully tough in there, Tony.
HARRIS: Who made the pro-Proposition 8 argument for really the voters in California?
SIMON: It was Kenneth Starr. And everybody remembers Kenneth Starr during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He, of course, was the special prosecutor looking into the White Water situation. And you can say what you want about Kenneth Starr. He certainly evokes strong emotions, strong opinions. But unquestionably, he was well prepared. He is extremely smooth and made concise arguments. And the main point he was trying to make is that people in California have the right to amend the constitution. You may not like some of the decisions that people make, you may not like what appears on the ballot, but nonetheless people have that right. And the judge wanted to make sure - the chief justice wanted to make sure that he was being intellectually honest in making that argument. So I want to go to some sound between the chief justice an Kenneth Starr. Take a look.
HARRIS: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JUSTICE RONALD GEORGE, CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT: Right to marriage, right to free speech, whatever, that can be removed by the simple amendment process.
KENNETH STARR, PRO PROP 8: We may govern ourselves very unwisely, but happily because we're in a federal republic, there are fail-safe mechanisms under the federal constitution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: So what Kenneth Starr is saying is that people have the right to decide this issue when it comes to same-sex marriage and, obviously, the justices will decide.
HARRIS: All right, Dan Simon for us in San Francisco.
Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, we want to bring you some of the passionate sights and sounds from both sides of the debate. Some of the pictures brought to you by you, our CNN iReporters. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Equal rights! When do we want them? Now.
Equal rights! Equal rights! Equal rights!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If homosexual marriage is allowed to be legalized, that would be a fantastic attack against the children of our nation, both now and in the generations to come.
CROWD: Yes on 8! Yes on 8! Yes on 8! Yes on 8! Yes on 8! Yes on 8! Yes on 8! Yes on 8!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now if you're going to stand before God, you're going to give (ph) an answer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are actually like Adolf Hitler. Can't you see that?
CROWD, (singing): What the world needs now, is love, sweet love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So you're struggling to pay your mortgage? Your college student got a little carried away with the credit cards? You've got big concerns about your money. And our personal finance editor Gerri Willis and her team of experts has the 411.
WILLIS: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to The Help Desk. Manisha Thakor is a personal finance expert and the author of "My Own Two Feet," John Simons is senior personal finance editor with "Black Enterprise" magazine, and David Bach is the author of "Fight for Your Money."
Welcome, all. Let's get right to the questions.
Jeannine asks, "My 26-year-old son has a credit score of 621. His credit has been perfect since 2005. However, when he was in college, he was given three credit cards like they were handing out candy. He charged them up and couldn't pay. How can we fix his credit report?"
Manisha.
MANISHA THAKOR, AUTHOR, "ON MY OWN TWO FEET": So Jeannine is using two phrases that are often used interchangeably but they're very different. Credit score is a three-digit number summarizing how responsible you are. Credit report is the history of what you've done with your money. Unless there's a mistake on the credit report, which sounds like there isn't, what Jeannine wants to help her son do is improve - not fix - improve that credit score. Two best ways to do it, pay the bills on time and keep his debt as low as possible relative to his total outstanding available credit. WILLIS: All right. Let's go to the next question. Ken in Mesquite, Texas, asks, "I've been unemployed for a few months now and my FHA mortgage will soon become a challenge. I wanted to know which would be a smarter option for me, to pursue an FHA streamlined refinance, or to request a loan modification with my lender? "
John, what do you think?
JOHN SIMONS, "BLACK ENTERPRISE MAGAZINE": Well, the e-mailer is saying that he's been out of work for about three months. Most people in this situation should be very proactive going - trying to get ahead of this. And, you know, when they do lose their job, they should immediately try to address the situation of their mortgage.
In this situation, I think this person should go for the FHA streamline. I think both options are fine, but the FHA's been doing this for a long time and they will be seeing more of these types of things and dealing with similar situations.
WILLIS: What do you think, David?
DAVID BACH, AUTHOR, "FIGHT FOR YOUR MONEY": Well, loan modification is only a short-term solution. So what we're talking about here, if he streamlines it, is a long-term solution to the problem. Hopefully his unemployment is short term. We don't know in this market. But, I agree, I think streamlining it, refinancing, getting a lower rate is key right now.
WILLIS: All right. You got to act quickly, obviously.
I want to thank my panelists for their help today. Great answers to some really tough questions.
The Help Desk is all about getting you answers. Send me an e- mail to gerri@cnn.com or log on to cnnmoney.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions. And The Help Desk is everywhere. Make sure to check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.
HARRIS: You know, the current downturn has been called the great recession and a lot of that comes down, frankly, to jobs. All told, 4.4 million positions have been cut since the recession started in late 2007. Susan Lisovicz, back with us again from the New York Stock Exchange to drill down a little deeper on the government's monthly jobs report.
Good to see you, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, that's right, 4.4 million jobs lost since the beginning of the recession. Half of them came in the last four months. So, obviously, the labor market's deterioration coming - really increasing, I should say, in the last few months.
February lost 651,000 jobs alone. That was in line with estimates. December and January revised higher and analysts said this is what falling off a cliff looks like.
It's obviously very painful for those who have lost jobs. And in the big picture more job losses mean consumers spend less, manufacturers make less, and it could lead to more losses. It's a vicious cycle.
Also, higher job losses translate into more foreclosures. What we're seeing in the market right now, well, we started with a bit of a rally. Could not hold it. And now modest declines.
But we do have to single out GM shares, once again, down 21 percent. Under $1.50 a share. This is a 75-year low for the stock, Tony. Just to give you an idea, to put it in perspective, a Chevy in 1933 cost $445. And that's what you could get for about a share of - $1.50 a share of GM. That's how far GM has come.
HARRIS: That's amazing. Yes, that is amazing.
Susan, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Singer Chris Brown is facing serious charges. Is his career about to end on a very bad note?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, I've been talking about a lot of pretty heavy subjects with our "Class In Session" young people recently - racism, the tanking economy. Here's one we haven't covered - the fight against terrorism. Some pretty smart answers from our future leaders at Georgia Tech. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes. The lights a little intense. Welcome to my world.
Where would you like to see the new president place an increased emphasis in trying to bring more peace to the world?
NICK WELKAMP, SENIOR, INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING: Personally, I think we need to put the most focus on Iran. I am scared to death of a, you know, a rogue state having nuclear weapons because, I mean, who knows what they themselves would do with it? Who knows who they would give it to? We have to make sure that someplace like Iran is not - who's feeding the entire Middle East conflict with the resources they have - it doesn't acquire something like a nuclear weapon or chemical biological weapon.
SHELBY BERNARD, SENIOR, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & CULTURE: As an African, I think we should put more emphasis into Africa. Africa is so rich with natural resources that people have been stealing or, you know, just not even using or taking advantage of. There are so many people and so many places where we could test our new technology or, you know, just safely, of course. But there's so - it's like a blank canvas and I really feel like if we kind of tapped into that a little bit more, hopefully with his ties to Kenya, he'll kind of see it that way, too.
HARRIS: Which one of the hot spots in the world right now do you believe has the greatest impact on the homeland?
SEBASTIAN GUERRERO, GRAD STUDENT, CIVIL ENGINEERING: I think invariably it's Iraq. I mean there's no way around that. I mean Iraq has to be the centerpiece of our foreign diplomacy right now and foreign, you know, efforts. We've seen our image degrade so much from our involvement in Iraq that we've lost a lot of credibility and a lot of image. And, you know, and that hurts our diplomacy all throughout the world. So I think the sooner we deal with Iraq, the sooner we can move on to other places.
HARRIS: Were any of you surprised that President Obama spoke out and reached out in a very open way to the global Muslim community?
CHRISTINE LIU, FRESHMAN, INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: I have a lot of Muslim friends. And my best friend is Muslim. And I feel that that was a very, very good option for him, to reach out and to actually, you know, be like, there are extremists in every single - in most religions. And we are just focused - so focused on the fact that these extremists are Muslims because I will admit sometimes, you know, suicide bombs, obviously it's not good. But the whole thing is just that, like to reach out to them and let them know, you know, we are still your friends, we understand that this is a small portion of what your religion represents.
GUERRERO: I think we need to engage the world in positive ways. And we've seen a lot of negativity, you know, with wars and with blunt statements, you know, and instigating conflict. And I think we need to go to positive diplomacy. Engage other peoples of the world and try to forge alliances and improve communications.
HARRIS: All of these years without another terror attack. You guys have gotten soft. You're taking your eye off the ball and you're going to leave the homeland vulnerable. That's what you're going to do.
WELKAMP: No, that's what they told us for the past eight years, just that, you know, don't take your eye off the ball. But, I mean, we can't let the fact that, you know, a random terrorist attack might occur here or might occur there really, really impact our daily lives.
LIU: We probably all have had it drilled in our brains that, you know, the world is not necessarily the safest place. I mean there are bad people out there. But if we continue to live our lives like we're going to drop dead or somebody's going to gun us down every second, what life are we living?
VERNELL WOODS, FRESHMAN, COMPUTER ENGINEERING: I'm not OK with sitting here saying that there may be a terrorist attack, because that terrorist attack may be here where I am. I'm not OK with that. But at the same time, I have confidence, especially with this new - with President Obama's new campaign and with him in presidency, I have confidence that I am safe so I can go about living my life in a normal way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Once again, we want to thank Georgia Tech for allowing us to come on over to the campus and chat with some of their really bright students. Stay tuned for more smart talk from our nation's young people around the country on "Class in Session."
Singer Rihanna asks a judge not to ban Chris Brown from having contact with her, even though he faces felony charges of assaulting her. Chris Brown's arraignment yesterday was delayed until April 6th. Police reports released in court detailed a brutal and prolonged attack. Brown issued an apology last month. Now the two are said to be back together. Joining us now from New York, is BET correspondent Toure.
Man, it's been a long time. How are you?
TOURE, BET CORRESPONDENT: How you doing, man?
HARRIS: Man, I am great, but I'm disturbed by this story. And I'm sure you've read through the affidavit. What's your reaction?
TOURE: I mean, the affidavit, the search warrant and the detectives notes, which came out yesterday, lay out a really gruesome picture of what happened that night. At least from Rihanna's side of the story. You know, and not a defensive situation from Chris, but a very offensive attack on her, very horrific words and actions and headlock and punches to the face and, you know, it's a very sad, difficult story to hear.
HARRIS: So, Toure, I'm trying to understand what doesn't appear to be understandable. Is there something - what do we know about his background?
TOURE: I mean, well, a couple of things. I mean Chris Brown was the boy you could take home to mom, right?
HARRIS: Yes.
TOURE: The sort of clean-cut, you know, great dancer, pop singer, seemed like a super nice guy. Now we also know, however, that he dealt with a lot of domestic violence in his home. He saw his stepfather beating his mother and had a lot of bitterness and anger toward him about that. So you kind of think maybe he won't do that again, but then we know that if you see it in the home, you're very likely to repeat it.
HARRIS: Let me ask you, is he done? And I say that understanding full well that we're talking about a young man who is 19 years old. But is his career over? Is it finished?
TOURE: You know, I have a hard time seeing how he comes back, just from the photographs . . .
HARRIS: I'm with you on that. TOURE: And the notes. I mean those things seem to just fight in the mind against the image that we had. How can you see him as the nice boy next door when you know that he did this to Rihanna? It seems that he would have to create an entirely new image, a new persona, to go forward in the music business now.
That said, Rihanna's gone back to him, or at least it seems that she has. So then his fans can hang their hats on that. That, look, Rihanna's forgiven him. It's a private matter. Why should I judge?
Here's the big problem for Chris now going forward. Because what you really want as a recording artist, come to my tour, that's where I'm going to really make money. OK. And he's looking for teenage girls mostly to come to his tours. And he's going to have to fight against every mom in America who's going to say, no way, you're not going to the tour of the new Ike Turner. And the teenage girl is going to try to make their arguments and who's going to win? I bet a lot of those moms are going to win.
HARRIS: I've got a conversation I'm having with my two children, one being an 11-year-old girl this weekend. I am reading the affidavit.
Toure, good to see you. It's been a while, my friend. Take care. Have a great weekend.
TOURE: Thanks. You too.
HARRIS: CNN has just confirmed the wife of Zimbabwe's prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been killed in a car accident. That's according to senior officials with Mr. Tsvangirai's party. We're told the prime minister and an aide were injured along with the driver. No word on their conditions. Their vehicle slammed head-on into a big truck. Tsvangirai, as you may recall, was sworn into office last month in a power sharing deal that was meant to end almost a year of deadly violence and a political stalemate with Robert Mugabe, the country's long time president.
More NEWSROOM in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know what, let's loop Chad Myers in on this. You know, there is an important rocket launch tonight that you may have heard about. NASA is embarking, Chad, on this mission to look for other earth-like planets. So during the next four years, it's the Kepler.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kepler.
HARRIS: A NASA space telescope will literally train its eyes on 100,000 stars all at the same time looking for what, the signatures of other earth-like planets, right?
MYERS: Yes. Actually looking for suns that could support more earth-like planets. Kind of like a Hubble, but the Hubble's a zoomed- in telescope. This is a wide angle thing. It's going to look for everything. It's just going to keep looking for three-and-a-half years. Some amazing video right there. But I don't know if you've seen the best video of the day so far, but it's all over the web. Let's just look.
HARRIS: What are you talking - come on, now. Come on. Oh, you've got to be kidding me! Hey maybe - hang on a second.
MYERS: I am so happy (ph) right now.
HARRIS: Hang on. Hang on. There's a little something there. Hang on a second.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: What exactly were you singing?
HARRIS: Come on, now. Come on. It was "the way you make me feel" from Michael Jackson.
PHILLIPS: Hey, Chad, you know what? I did a little research, you know, because, you know, Tony sings really well. I mean, he's got the moves. And I did a little research. And check this out. He used to be a "Solid Gold" dancer. He used to be a "Solid Gold" dancer. I did a little research, found some pictures. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.
MYERS: I give it an 82. It's pretty easy to dance to.
HARRIS: Oh, man. You know, you know you - thank you. You know, you sit up here and you try to do smart stuff. You're on a commercial break and so you're having a little fun. Yesterday was all about Michael Jackson for about an hour and a half following the bus and everything else, right?
PHILLIPS: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) that he said so much at his press conference.
HARRIS: Yes, exactly. You know, I was singing longer than he was up there in front of the microphone speaking. And here you go. How long (ph) for your show.
PHILLIPS: I'd like to see you in concert.
HARRIS: You would?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
MYERS: Hey, we'll both be the first one to tell you, never say anything with a mike on that you don't mean.
HARRIS: Absolutely. You'd think after 30 years I'd know that.
PHILLIPS: Oh, gee! I think that's where I'm - I'm going to get up and exit on that note.
HARRIS: More Kyra Phillips in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Oh, man!
