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After a Trillion Dollars of Stimulus, Economic News Still Bleak; Severe Weather in the Midwest
Aired March 07, 2009 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf. Thank you very much.
Nearly $1 trillion later and today, still no assurance from the president on when the economy will get moving. He is at Camp David. We are in Washington.
Charles Barkley calls the president his good friend and apologizes from behind prison gates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA STAR: Let's be realistic. I mean, I'm not going to kill myself. This is just a screw-up on my part and that's it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. Well, that's not it because later on he talked about Rush Limbaugh; he talked about Bernie Madoff, Chris Brown to name a few. You'll hear the whole unusual exchange and talk to the sheriff who called the press conference, live right here, right now.
We begin though with some developing news as it pertains to the weather. We have severe weather and reports of a tornado touchdown in the Midwest. Jacqui Jeras is on top of it -- Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Don. This is in Kansas. We had a report of a tornado touchdown about an hour ago, but we're still tracking that cell which is very dangerous. Let's show you where that system is on our Doppler radar and we'd zoomed in there. And this is the one of concern.
They just literally, 30 seconds ago expired the tornado warning, but still have a severe thunderstorm warning in place. And this storm could be putting down hail at least the size of quarters right now. We want to track this cell for you and show you the direction that it's going. It's moving off to the east-northeast.
The town of Marion, Elmdale and Cottonwood Falls -- all are going to be impacted by this storm. This is in central Kansas. It's about 30- plus miles north of the Wichita area. And there you can see there are more storms developing to the south and west of that area.
Also, we'll continue to track these storms.
But, Don, this is just one of many weather stories that we're dealing with. Today, we've got fires, we've got floods, we've got avalanches. It's a weathercast you don't want to miss -- coming up in just a few minutes.
LEMON: Yes, we'll talk to Jacqui in about 29 minutes. Thank you, Jacqui, so much.
The president today is preaching hope and optimism. Not much else he can do when you look at the job market. "Brutal" is really the best way to describe it. Yesterday, we learned that the nation lost more than 650,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate is now 8.1 percent, the highest rate in a quarter century. And try to wrap your head around these figures. More than 12 million people are now unemployed and more than 4 million jobs have disappeared since December of 2007.
President Barack Obama sat down with the "New York Times" to talk about the jobless numbers and the economy. The president told "The Times" how long it will take before recovery actually translates into stronger job markets and so forth is going to depend on a whole range of factors.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House to help break down all of these numbers for us.
But hearing that from the president, not too reassuring considering jobs right now and also those economic recovery and stimulus plans, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly right, Don. And, you know, that is the challenge for President Obama. He, of course, is trying to first and foremost fix the economy. And as part of that, he's trying to restore people's confidence that the economy is going to bounce back.
But at the same time, as you noted, he's also seeing these jobless numbers which continue to go up and up. So he's trying to sound realistic as well. So, in his weekly radio and Internet address, President Obama tried to set just the right tone and tried to strike that delicate balance.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: We will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead, but I also believe that we will get through this. That if we act swiftly and boldly and responsibly, the United States of America will emerge stronger and more prosperous than it was before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, the president says that his administration is already taking action to create jobs, to try and spark lending, and to slow down the number of home foreclosures. The president is trying to basically send the signal that his administration is committed to doing everything necessary in order to turn this economy around.
Now, could that mean a second economic stimulus package? Maybe. The Obama administration has really left the door open to that possibility. And, Don, with some economists predicting 10 percent unemployment just around the corner, this could really be a more urgent priority, Don.
LEMON: Yes, you know, 10 percent and 10 percent happening soon. So it's going to be a challenge to see if we can get another -- the Obama administration get another economic stimulus plan passed, the American people or get them to sign off on it, Elaine.
QUIJANO: Yes, and you know, keep in mind, of course, he's going to be doing this against the backdrop of really sore feelings still left over from the fight over the first economic stimulus package.
LEMON: Yes.
QUIJANO: There was such heated rhetoric about the spending, about the president and the Obama administration being socialists and, of course, the Obama administration scoffed at that, because they say, "Look, how did these soaring deficits come to be in the first place, oh, right, it was under a Republican president."
So, there is still a lot of ill will about the first economic stimulus package.
LEMON: Yes.
QUIJANO: So you can bet, as this economic crisis continues and there is continued talk of a second stimulus plan, there are going to be some pretty pitched battles ahead -- Don.
LEMON: Yes, we got here, and regardless of how we got here, there is a limit. There's only so much we can do. Elaine Quijano, we appreciate it. Elaine Quijano -- in Washington -- thank you.
You know, after a while, the raw numbers in this recession can be a little overwhelming. So, let's take a quick look at the people behind the stats that we tell you about.
African-Americans are really taking the hardest hit here. More than 13 percent of African-Americans are unemployed. Almost 11 percent of Hispanics are hurting, and more than 7 percent of whites. The rate for Asians is 6.9 percent, really not good for anyone.
Let's take a look at age now. Eight percent of adult men are unemployed and 6.7 percent of adult women. More than 21.6 percent of teenagers are out of work now.
And next hour, make sure you don't miss this. It's called the "CNN Money Summit." It's Ali Velshi, Anderson Cooper, and, of course, the CNN Money Team. They'll focus on your job, your money, your jobs -- let's hope you have one and you can get one, and your money, hope you have that too. And that's tonight, 8:00 p.m. on CNN, following this broadcast. OK, go with me on this one. Let's go to prison now.
All right. A little bit of -- there we go; a little hello and cheering to Charles Barkley right now. You know what? He is behind bars, but his mouth has escaped. It is running free.
Former NBA star-turned-TV analyst, Charles Barkley is serving a three- day sentence this weekend in Arizona for drunken driving. He is spending today and tonight in Maricopa County's infamous tent city. He spoke with reporters last hour and, boy, he sure did drop a lot of names and have a very interesting press conference.
Listen up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKLEY: I don't discuss the DUI anymore. It was 100 percent screw- up, all my fault. It was unacceptable and l let down a lot of people. That's 100 percent on me.
And I'm here, I'm going to do my time. I'm looking forward to getting past this. I am used to being famous. I accept the good with the bad. And this is just one of those things.
But, like, let's don't -- I know you guys get overly dramatic on things, but let's be realistic. I mean, I'm not going to kill myself. This is just a screw-up on my part and that's it.
You know, the guys here have been fantastic. You know, they wanted me to sign some autographs to their families and that was cool. But that's pretty much it. You know, I've just been reading a lot. I mean, you got a lot of free time. You never realize how much time there is in a day when you've got like nothing to do.
So -- but like I say, everybody's been fantastic. This is 100 percent screw-up on my part. I'm here, I'm going to do my time and get this behind me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And as I just said, you know, Barkley certainly covered a lot of topics. That was him apologizing and saying that he's learned his lesson.
All right. Now, time for this name-dropping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKLEY: Bernie Madoff is a crook. You guys aren't crooks. Martha Stewart went to jail and the she came back out and she was Martha Stewart. President Obama is a good friend of mine, and I just like to think about him. And, you know, I know, you know, Rush Limbaugh and a lot of (BLEEP) who are giving him a hard time right now. You can never hurt the woman. That's unacceptable. I wish both of them the best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So, Martha Stewart, and I think he even talked about Chris Brown in that. And he is spending -- seriously, I think he did. And I'm going to talk to sheriff and see if that's -- spending all of today in custody. He's allowed out of jail for 12 hours tomorrow. That's on a work release. He gets out for good on Monday. All total, he'll spend about 36 hours behind bar.
OK. So, the man who was sitting right next to Charles Barkley at that news conference is no stranger to the spotlight because he is Joe Arpaio. He's a longtime sheriff of Arizona's Maricopa County. He is known for his unique get-tough approaches to law enforcement. His tent city, he's chain gangs, making prisoners wear pink.
He joins me now from Phoenix. And I'm not going to ask him about whether or not Charles Barkley is going to wear pink right now, but I'll ask him about this press conference.
So, did it seem unusual to you -- is it unusual for you to bring folks out like this? Obviously, not everyone is Charles Barkley, but it turned into kind of a unique, shall I say, press conference.
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA CO., ARIZONA: I brought the media out when I transfer 200 people that were convicted, that were illegal into the tents. I go to the tents all the time. I have an open-door policy, nothing to hide.
He wanted to talk. He agreed to. He was very cooperative. So, why hide appearances by him and also by me from the media.
LEMON: Very gracious of you to come on and we appreciate you coming on. There's a lot of interest in this story, so make sure you stick around. We're going to talk about pink, whether Charles Barkley has to do that, and the rest of the press conference, how it went. We'll get more from the sheriff. Sheriff, thank you.
Also, we have heard a lot of talk from the post office about raising rates, possibly cutting service. So how could it afford to buy -- check it out -- this is a $1 million house. CNN investigates.
Time for your comments. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com. We'll get it on the air. Sheriff is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Charles Barkley is doing time in jail for -- doing time in jail this weekend for drunken driving. He used to be the center of attention, but today, he had to share the cameras with the sheriff who you know.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARPAIO: Twelve years ago, I wrote my first book, "America's Toughest Sheriff." And other than Rush Limbaugh and McCain, guess who was nice enough to endorse the book? Charles Barkley. And he had some nice remarks here.
Chuck, if you remember, I'm not a role model and all that.
BARKLEY: Yes.
ARPAIO: I don't know if you still are or if that's something you can explain. But sure, he endorsed this book and I want to give you a copy in case you didn't read it.
BARKLEY: I appreciate it.
ARPAIO: I know you have nothing else to do for three days.
BARKLEY: I'm learning Spanish.
ARPAIO: You're learning Spanish?
BARKLEY: I'm learning Spanish. If you can believe that.
ARPAIO: You can talk to the inmates here.
(LAUGHTER)
BARKLEY: I don't know what to say to them yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's Charles Barkley and Joe Arpaio, who's a top lawman in Arizona's Maricopa County.
Sheriff, again, thanks for coming on with us. Not many sheriffs will have their book at a press conference. You have to admit that.
ARPAIO: Well, that's the old book. My new book is "Joe's Law."
LEMON: And you're still promoting it, right?
ARPAIO: No. How many people will have Chuck endorse the book along with Limbaugh and McCain? So, you know, fate takes strange turns, doesn't it? I never thought I'd meet him in a jail, in my tents.
LEMON: OK. You know, he apologized, you said that he had paid his time, he was a gentleman, he took his medicine -- all of that. Do you think by being kind of chummy with him, calling him Chuck a number of times in the press conference that people might say, hey, this guy got off easy?
ARPAIO: No. I'm not the guy that sent him to the tents, talk to the judge. I just run the hotel. And everybody in those tents, 2,000, are convicted. I'm an equal opportunity incarcerator. I treat everybody the same -- whether it's him or anybody else. I had Mike Tyson in the same tent that he's staying in.
LEMON: OK. We got -- when we were listening to this press conference -- got a little bit political, pop culture came in, things that are happening in the news here. Let's see -- he talked about Chris Brown. He talked about Chris Brown and Rihanna, obviously; talked about the president, called him a good friend; talked about Bernie Madoff, Martha Stewart. Who else? Rush Limbaugh.
You surprised that Charles Barkley would bring this up at a press conference when it's really about him and whether or not he is paying for his crime?
ARPAIO: No. You know, Chuck's Chuck, I guess. Watch the television. He has a history of saying what he wants to. I have a history of saying what I want to, too. He's not the sheriff, though he's on the other side of the fence right now, but he can bring up whatever he wants.
LEMON: OK. Last question -- so, you know, prisoners have to wear pink, does that include pink underwear where you are?
ARPAIO: You mean in the tents? Everybody wears pink.
LEMON: Pink everything. Will Charles Barkley have to wear pink?
ARPAIO: No, because he's on a special program work release, so he gets out during the day to go to work, so we don't place our people under that program that was ordered by the judge, by the way, in pink stripes.
LEMON: Always outspoken, Joe Arpaio, top lawman in Arizona's Maricopa County. He is a sheriff there. Thank you.
ARPAIO: Thank you.
LEMON: All right. You guys are weighing in on this and a lot of thing. Here's what Megalin (ph) says. "What do you expect? He gets paid to talk, he has time and all publicity is good publicity. At least he's serving some time," talking about Charles Barkley. Wordzmind (ph) says, "Charles Barkley in jail while Madoff in a luxury condo. What's wrong with this picture?" Resawhite (ph) says, "The economy is killing us. Don't let these cameras bury us."
And Scottinga says, in Georgia, I guess that would be, "43-year-old white male. Insurance is $389 per month, goes up $50 each year. Raise deductible to lower premiums. Afraid that will be priced out of it soon." I will be priced out of it, that's what he means. It's tough all over. Sorry about that, man. Good luck to you.
Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com, your comments will get on just like those folks as well.
Meantime, is General Motors heading for a crash? What is it going to take to save the troubled carmaker and is it even worth it? Tough questions, we'll get some serious answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. One share -- one share of General Motors, G.M., that stock now costs less than a gallon of gasoline. And relatively speaking, gas is not that high right now. It cost much less, as a matter of fact, only a buck 45. That's as of Friday close. It hasn't been this cheap since, you know, the Great Depression.
The giant automaker says it will do everything possible to avoid bankruptcy, but many investors and analysts think G.M. is on a collision course with Chapter 11. One G.M. worker says the problem is really quite simple -- too many non-American cars on the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL MCGOWAN, POWERTRAIN PLANT WORKER: I don't blame it on no one but the American people because the Big Three put America and the world on wheels. And if they start turning their back on the American companies and stop going to the foreign companies, things will get better. And I think things will get better for us all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. Well, General Motors lost $31 billion last year -- $31 billion. That's a big loss. And a $13 billion loan from the federal government is keeping it going for now. But G.M. wants much more money. Did you hear that? G.M. wants much more money.
The question now is: Why would anyone buy or lease a G.M. car? And if you already have one, what are your options? The new consumer reports -- Lauren Fix, who is a car expert. She joins us now -- automotive expert.
I think G.M. ranked, as far as quality, somewhere very low, if no on the bottom. So then what gives here?
LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE EXPERT: Well, it's interesting. A lot of people are saying that G.M. and Ford and Chrysler aren't building good cars. The truth is, they are. I think the problem is, everybody's running scared.
LEMON: Yes. But that guy said the problem is too many non-American cars on the road, Lauren. I don't know if it's that simple.
FIX: I don't think it's that simple either, to be totally honest with you, because a lot of them are being built here in the U.S.., which is giving jobs to Americans. You've got Honda, you've got Toyota, you've got Kia, Hyundai -- they're being built here, Mercedes, VW is building another plant here. So, if they're building plants and they're giving us jobs, it's not necessarily the problem.
The problem is G.M.'s got a huge cash burn going on and they're trying to do their best they can slow it down. They're selling off Opel in Europe. They've already getting rid of Saab. They're getting rid of Saturn. They're going to end up with Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC.
LEMON: OK.
FIX: So, look at that, that's a big change.
LEMON: Well, here's the thing, though. I mean -- obviously, they know you can't do business as usual. I guess the bottom line is, here -- is it fixable? And if so, how do we do it? If not, why do we keep putting more money and more money and more money into G.M. or any of these car companies when maybe the problem is not fixable? Maybe they just need to restructure and do business differently.
FIX: Well, I think that's why they're putting out that little bit of a threat of "We might go bankrupt." I think it's a pressure on the UAW to say, "Listen, we've got to renegotiate these contracts." And UAW is basically stuck their heels. And now I know they've given a lot and their people have given a lot.
But, you know, when they already have their golf course and all their nice things going on ...
LEMON: Yes.
FIX: ... you've got a lot of people out of jobs, and they're letting a lot of people go. Not just in upper management, but you've got blue-collar workers and it's affecting a lot of people. We're in such a bad situation, our economy now ...
LEMON: Yes.
FIX: ... that when you throw out that "B" word of bankruptcy, people are ...
LEMON: It scares people.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I've got a real quick question for you, which is really -- let's talk practicality.
FIX: OK.
LEMON: It's not -- they haven't gone out of business yet. A lot of people own G.M. cars. If you own one ...
FIX: Right.
LEMON: ... lease one, you're worried about getting a repair, where should you stand on that? Is this a real concern for folks?
FIX: Not at all.
LEMON: OK.
FIX: Not at all. G.M. is not going Chapter Seven. They're going to dissolve and disappear off the planet.
LEMON: OK.
FIX: If they reorganize, it's actually better for consumers because they'll come back stronger.
LEMON: OK. FIX: Not necessarily like the airlines or the steel company, I'm not saying this is the best choice, but we're already in such a bad position with their sales being down over 50 percent. If this is a booming economy and people were buying cars, this would be a really bad time to go bankrupt.
LEMON: Yes.
FIX: But this is not a bad time at this point, if they have to pick now versus, you know, two years down the road.
LEMON: I hear that. And it's not just the car companies, but with a lot of companies being bailed out, and even with the stimulus, you know, yes, we're in major trouble, but how much more can we take? How much more do we keep digging ourselves in further and further and further?
FIX: I agree.
LEMON: And that's the question that we've got to start somewhere saying, you know what, no more -- no more.
FIX: Right. Chrysler is asking for another $5 billion.
LEMON: Yes.
FIX: You know, they're asking for $30 billion. That's a lot of money. And we don't -- money doesn't grow on trees, not for anybody.
LEMON: Money doesn't grow on trees and doesn't even grow at banks anymore, because there's none there.
FIX: Right, absolutely.
LEMON: Thank you, Lauren. We appreciate it.
FIX: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: You guys are weighing in on this as well. And here's what I think is Deranged -- I thought it's a defranged (ph) -- DerangedTeddy says, "If the free market followed its natural ebb and flow, G.M. would have crashed a long time ago. The only problem, we need them."
Heatherp62 says, "Great piece. King Charles is great. I love how he speaks his mind."
MusicalQT says, "I didn't put too much stock in Barkley before and he hasn't shown me that I need to do so now. More important issues at hand."
Thank you very much. We agree, but it's also part of the news -- new news that just happened. So we put it on so you can get it. We move on and talk about other things.
Bigdogmike says, "It's nice to see Barkley taking responsibility for his actions and apologizing. Also, this proves that no publicity is bad," or all publicity is good publicity. I think that's what they mean by that.
TylerCurtis says, "With 29 percent of teens unemployed, we need a stimulus bailout bill! Give U.S. $100 -- give us -- I should say, no period -- us $100 and can't we boost the economy?"
Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
We want to get you on, just like those guys. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com. That's how you become part of the show.
It a busy night in the CNN severe weather center. Tonight, from floods to high winds here, heavy snow, a wildfire risk. Jacqui Jeras is working hard, keeping a close eye on it. You see her right there.
And back on the market, a mansion on a lake, complete with indoor pool. How nice. Wouldn't it be nice to live there? And the postal service is buying it.
Remember, they're raising stamp rates because they can no longer stay in business if they don't. Wait a minute, isn't the postal service bleeding cash? What's going on here? Time to investigate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Time to pay attention, because the information Jacqui Jeras is going to give you right now could save your life, especially if you're in the Kansas area. She's talking tornadoes.
Jacqui, take it away.
JERAS: Yes. We just got report of another one on the ground. This was 10 minutes ago. It's not on the ground as we speak, but the warning remains in effect. This is for Barber County and also for Kingman County in central Kansas. So, storm spotters saw this just north of Medicine Lodge. And this is moving towards the north and east. And this is the cell that we're concerned about at this time. We've got this whole line kind of developing to the west of the Wichita area. They also have a history of producing large hail, about the size of quarters. So that's like an inch in diameter. And that can cause some damage as well.
This is a severe thunderstorm watch, but as we've seen tonight, at times, you can get isolated tornadoes, even under these types of conditions. Now, in addition to the severe weather, we've got a stationary boundary that's kind of parked here across the Great Lakes. That's bringing in the threat of flooding this weekend, from places like Iowa all the way over into the northern parts of Ohio. Not a lot of flooding going on, but we're going to be talking about one to three inches before the end of the day on Sunday.
We're also looking at some major airport delays because of the low clouds and rain. O'Hare, over two hours now. Delays in Newark are over an hour. We'll see more wet weather in the northeast for tomorrow. Now, where the rain isn't, the wind is. On the southwest side of this storm, the fire danger critical here today. Improving conditions by tomorrow, but in the meantime we're still looking at some strong gusts. 50, maybe 60 miles per hour. So we're real concerned about those conditions.
Best news I can tell you, Don Lemon, is that at least ahead of this system, the temperatures are sweet. 75 degrees in Atlanta tomorrow and 84 in Dallas.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Those are real life threatening conditions, yes.
JERAS: Yes, they are.
LEMON: Now to the fun part. I didn't want to come to work today. It is so beautiful in Atlanta today. If you're not here, you should see it. We don't have a shot outside. It's getting dark, right?
JERAS: Yes. It's getting dark.
LEMON: Maybe we'll find some video.
JERAS: Days are getting longer, don't forget about your clock, by the way.
LEMON: Oh, that's right.
JERAS: We're losing night -
LEMON: Daylight saving.
JERAS: I know you're so happy about that.
LEMON: Saving. No "s."
JERAS: No "s."
LEMON: Saving. We need to do that with this economy. We save everything even daylight. Thank you very much, Jacqui.
For sale signs everywhere. Millions of homeowners hoping for just one offer. You're more likely to make a quick sale, though, if you work for the post office. Why is the cash-strapped postal service buying mansions? Special Investigations Unit correspondent Abbi Boudreau found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBI BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: So where are you showing me?
BILLIE BIERER, NEIGHBOR: This is the house that the post office took over as a relocation package for an employee that transferred to Texas.
BOUDREAU: Oh, wow. It's huge.
BIERER: It is huge.
BOUDREAU: Look at this. It's an 8,400 square-foot home in rural south Carolina. One of the largest on this lake. Six bedrooms, four bathrooms. Two more half baths.
BIERER: It has an indoor swimming pool.
BOUDREAU: I saw those pictures online.
BIERER: Yes.
BOUDREAU: It's pretty gorgeous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Quite a house.
BOUDREAU: Here's the listing online. A huge living room, gourmet kitchen, hardwood floors, and here's that indoor swimming pool and spa. A CNN investigation found the U.S. Postal Service bought this estate for $1.2 million from an employee who was being relocated.
In fact, the post office has purchased more than 1,000 employee homes in just two years. The average cost of those homes, $257,000. Billie Bierer owns the lot next door.
BIERER: This should not be allowed. In any company. In this economy. Things need to change.
BOUDREAU: Bierer wonders how the postal service can afford to buy a house like this, considering Post Master General John Potter recently told Congress that times were so bad they had already cut travel and frozen executive salaries.
JOHN POTTER, POSTMASTER GENERAL: If volume continues to decline, beyond what our expectations are, we might be forced to, you know, reduce the number of the days that we deliver.
BOUDREAU: And just last month, the Postal Service told CNN it also made changes to its relocation policy, to cut back costs and reduce the risk of not reselling the homes it buys. A spokesperson says it will now pay no more than $1 million to purchase an employee's home. But prior to that, the postal service had no limit on how much it would pay. The most expensive home it purchased cost $2.8 million.
PETE SEPP, NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNION: At a time when the Postal Service is considering cutting back on delivery, raising stamp prices, perhaps even going to the federal government for a taxpayer bailout, this sends the wrong signal.
BOUDREAU: The Postal Service declined our request for an on-camera interview, but in an e-mail, the spokesperson said, when qualified employees relocate, the Postal Service can purchase their home through a company called Cartus Relocation, a government contractor. He wrote that only 15 of the 1,022 homes bought in the last two years remain on the market. All of the houses that cost $1 million or more have sold. Except for this one, which it just bought last month.
Real estate records show the Postal Service's relocation company purchased this five-acre property from the former Postmaster in Lexington, South Carolina and his wife. In a brief phone call, he told CNN the Postal Service was not making him move, he said he wanted to move to Carrollton, Texas to become the customer service manager there, a lateral move, not a promotion. He would not discuss their former house.
So in October, they put their house on the market. But it didn't sell for three months. That's when the Post Office, through its relocation contractor, had the house appraised, and went on to buy it . In this down market, South Carolina realtor Dave Ruckrose says no one is buying right now.
Do you think a $1.2 million house would sell right now?
DAVE RUCKROSE, REALTOR: That would be very tough.
BOUDREAU; The Postal Service says the goal is to sell all the houses purchased without losing money. But that doesn't always happen. On average, it costs $58,000 on each sale, including commissions, and closing costs.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: When you talk about a million dollars, that sounds outrageous.
BOUDREAU: We showed Senator Chuck Grassley, a long-time critic of the relocation policy what the $1.2 million house looks like.
GRASSLEY: I'm going to write a letter to the inspector general. We're going to get this policy nailed down. We need to know that the Postal Service, for the patrons of the Postal Service, the people that are buying stamps, the people that are supporting it, that they're getting their money's worth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Right. That was Abbi Boudreau from our Special Investigations Unit. You know, the Postal Service is not the only agency with a relocation policy. Many companies have them. Government agencies, we'll have to check into that. But the Food and Drug Administration has a relocation policy. It gives employees who are moving up to $330,000 for their houses. Senator Grassley's office tells CNN the Inspector General is now reviewing all such policies, so there could be some changes there.
A lot of you are weighing in on this story. Take anyhow, for instance. She says, I guess that's why the cost of stamps keep going up. Lazysmirk says, trying to stimulate the economy or do a good employee a solid? That's a question mark. Bad press, post office, bad press.
Admaven says, government employee, housing bailout plan. Douglasi says, that's the new breed of socialism. Let you voice be heard. That's letyourvoicebeheard. Well that's a name. That's a pretty cool name. (inaudible) twitter and Facebook. Well, you didn't include the fact that they say they are broke and they are raising our stamp prices two cents to compensate. I think we did mention that. Part of the show, you can be as well right there. See it right on your screen. Meantime, L.A., we're talking about Los Angeles, almost synonymous with smog -- not fog, it's smog. But is the city really ready to clear the air? One of the worst polluters in the nation may be going green. I thought everything was green in California.
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LEMON: OK. This is a sad story. Too bad it doesn't have a happier ending, unfortunately. But it was a very somber service today in Florida. Family and friends gathered to remember William Bleakley, one of the three men missing and presumed dead in last weekend's boat accident off the Florida coast. Bleakley, his friends, Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith, and Nick Schuyler had went fishing on a 21-foot boat that capsized in rough seas. Schuyler was rescued on Monday. He is in good condition at a Tampa hospital. Wishing him and the families involved the best in that situation.
In Texas - we always, do the presidents really have feelings and emotions, they kind of have to put up that wall. Well, here's one president who you saw the real side of him, because in Texas, the former First Lady, Barbara Bush, she has been moved out of intensive care, out of the unit at a Houston hospital where she had heart surgery. It happened on Wednesday. Doctors replaced her aortic valve with a pig valve and Mrs. Bush's medical team expects her to make a full recovery. But her husband, the former president, George H.W. Bush, here's where he showed the emotion. He really choked back tears at the news conference with her surgeons. Look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: it went so well, and I've been a nervous wreck about it. Today, we heard from four presidents of the United States. Obama, Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George Bush - George W. Bush, and I think there's a lot of interest because of who she is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's love, folks. Been together for a number of years. The former first lady, who is 83, is expected to spend another week in the hospital. And by the way, as I said before, we heard from the former president. She's expected to make a full recovery. We wish her the best. Get this, we are told she has forbidden all of her children, including George W. Bush, from visiting her until she goes home. She gets to tell the president what to do because she's the mom. As my mom always says, I'm the mom.
All right. Los Angeles, famous for glitz and for glam and smog, toxic pollution. But there may be a way for the city to clean up its act. Kara Finnstrom found out how they're going to do it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Much of the smog and pollution for which Los Angeles is infamous comes from here, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Together they're the single largest polluter in the nation's second largest metropolitan area. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These ports every day produce more smog-forming pollution than six million cars in the region.
FINNSTROM: That's bad news for schoolteacher Bernice Bernares. She has asthma, so do her five children. They live less than eight miles from the port.
BERNICE BERNARES, SCHOOL TEACHER: My doctor told me two years ago because of the pollution here that I should not work here anymore. He told me that I should try to move as soon as possible, to a different site.
FINNSTROM: But you haven't?
BERNARES: I have not. I really don't want to leave, so that's why I'm fighting for clean air for our neighborhood here.
FINNSTROM (on-camera): Bernice has taken on a big, big fight. This is the largest container port in the western hemisphere. Every year about eight million of these containers move through here carrying furniture, clothing, and other goods into American stores.
And the ships, the trucks, the trains that move those goods create a toxic fog of pollution. About a decade ago, studies identified clusters of cancer and asthma around the ports. A huge lawsuit followed, and as part of the settlement, the port came up with a plan to cut its carbon footprint in half within five years.
Families living in the neighborhood already see a difference. Hundreds of the oldest diesel trucks have been banned from the port, replaced by hundreds of newer trucks running on cleaner burning natural gas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot quieter, a lot smoother.
FINNSTROM: The port's locomotives have been re-engineered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you need more power, it senses the demand and it kicks one engine on and then two engines on and then three engines on. But if you don't need the power, it will just be running on one engine.
FINNSTROM: And just now rolling out, the first of a fleet of electric trucks that can haul 30-ton shipping containers around the port. The ports are also moving to solar power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We decided to install what is in essence an urban power plant here at the port. And that would be putting solar panels on our rooftops and also on our parking lots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're doing here is the prototype of what ports all around the world are going to be doing.
FINNSTROM: Los Angeles mayor Antonia Villaraigosa says greening the port will allow it to expand without adding to the health problems of people living nearby. And a bigger port, he says, will be good for the economy. But not everyone is completely on board. The American Trucking Association says it supports greening trucks, but that the ports plans to discriminate against small, independent truckers in favor of large companies with more resources to make changes.
It's suing to try and block some regulations. Advocates of a green port also say while a lot has been accomplished, there is much to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Until kids can play outside without having to worry about having an asthma attack, until there aren't cancer clusters in these communities, our job isn't going to be over.
FINNSTROM: The total cost for all the environmental changes planned for the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, at least $2 billion. Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: It takes money, more money in a bad economy. That's going to be tough.
The lasting legacy of don't ask, don't tell and how it's hurting the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is it time to reverse the policy? We'll talk about it.
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LEMON: All right. This is going to touch your heart because it's a time for hugs and, sadly, good-byes.
All right. That is Canton, Georgia. And they bid farewell to its Navy Guards, National Guard, I should say national guard, I should say, unit as the troops left for a year-long - one year long deployment in Afghanistan. Family and friends came out for the ceremony. David Burris, Bravo troop's chaplain, promised to watch over the soldiers as he deploys with them as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. DAVID BURRIS, CHAPLAIN, BRAVO TROOP: I want you all to know that as a chaplain, as their pastor, as their shepherd, I'm going to do my best to take care of these guys, pray for them every night. When they get those late calls, when things isn't going right at home, they're going to come, pray with them and talk to them and get them through the hard times that's going to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. You know their mission is to train Afghan military and police forces. They are among the recent surge of 30,000 troops ordered to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama. And I just did this because we just by coincidence, our A.P. associate producer extraordinaire's Bonnie Gass'(ph) fiancee just happened to be part of that group, didn't know we were going to shoot it. And Bonnie, I said, Bonnie, you don't need to hear anything. She wrote the story and someone said your soon-to-be husband was in that. Tough time for families. And this is the second time he's been deployed. BONNIE GASS, AP ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: It's a little rough. He went to Iraq 18-month deployment and now one year. It was a tough good-bye, but we're going to go see him for a few days leave in Mississippi before he goes. And then he'll be gone to Afghanistan.
LEMON: How you doing?
GASS: Hanging in there. Hanging in there. It's hard when you get used to a routine with him at home and all of a sudden it's quiet. It's tough. But we're - you know, we'll get through it. The wives stick together, so -
LEMON: Fingers crossed, prayers everything with you. Look at the ring. Beautiful. What is it, Specialist Clark Turner -
GASS: Clark Turner.
LEMON: Clark Turner. Good luck. Thank you.
GASS: Thanks, Don. Thank you.
LEMON: We'll be watching out for Bonnie. She's going to be fine here. Specialist Turner is going to be fine as well because the chaplain said so and we believe him.
Meantime, the recession has helped military recruiters but not as much as you might think. With civilian jobs scarce, more servicemen and women are re-enlisting, but recruiting new troops is still a problem. The Pentagon says only 25 percent of Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 are candidates for military service. The rest are ineligible because of limited education, obesity or drug or alcohol problems.
Something else limiting recruitments, the rule banning gays from serving openly in the military. Some say it's time to abandon the don't ask, don't tell policy. Brian Todd checks it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alex Nicholson is openly gay now, but wasn't when he worked in army intelligence. Then he says someone outed him.
ALEX NICHOLSON, DISCHARGED UNDER "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL": They had to discharge me, so the Army lost a multi-lingual human intelligence collector that speaks among other things Arabic.
TODD: That was right after 9/11 when the military desperately needed Arabic speakers. Nicholson was among thousands of gay service members discharged under the don't ask, don't tell rule. Democratic Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher is now pushing a bill to overturn the ban on gays serving openly in the military saying too many good people have been lost in the 16 years it's been around.
REP. ELLEN TAUSCHER (D), CALIFORNIA: They weren't taking their sexuality to work with them or the battlefield but they just weren't going to deny it anymore and they found it to be absolutely crosswise with what they were fighting for, which was the liberty of people to be who they are.
TODD: Those who support the ban say it worked well to remove any possible conflicts over a service member's sexuality and if the ban is removed -
LT. COLLINS:. ROBERT MAGINNIS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): You have forced intimate situations where you say, look, you're going to room with this person and that's an order. Then, in fact, you can begin to have the residuals, the morale issue, the whole issue about retention and recruitment come up.
TODD: President Obama supports overturning the ban, but some analysts say he could get dragged down politically if this is revived now, when the U.S. economy is his focus.
CRAIG GORDON, POLITICO: He does not want to get a distraction like that, kind of get the cultural issue riled up so early in his presidency and I feel like he's trying to learn the lesson of President Bill Clinton and not take it on so forcefully right at the start of his presidency.
TODD: Those Clinton parallels analysts say could be very strong, a new president with an economy to fix getting distracted by a cultural issue. Some believe Clinton got knocked off message early in his presidency over a dispute which made him look indecisive and damaged him.
TODD (on-camera): But gay rights activists and others who want this overturned say now is the time to do it when President Obama has political capital with the military that Bill Clinton didn't have. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Brian, we appreciate it.
Here's what some of you are saying about the stories we're putting on the air. Reyes87 says qualified citizens don't want to serve because we don't want to be tools for occupation. If we were going to Sudan, that's a different story. Gabbeejr says a greener city is a happy city. Greerengineer(ph) says the key word here is qualified. The same is true in the private sector. Many warm bodies, but are they the right talent. Bigem(ph) says - it could be bigEM, another says bigem, as a former soldier, I find that hard to believe when they've offered everything to recruit, even waivers for 40-year-olds.
Enk109 says citizenship via enlistment, should we do that? Craigmac1000 says I think I should have gotten a job with the post office, nice job if you can afford a million dollar mansion. Twitter, Facebook, myspace gets you on the air and gets us thinking as well.
Thank you so much.
There's a new arrival at the White House that the first daughters will certainly be enjoying. I want to go hang out with them and do that. It's not a puppy, though, not a puppy. I'll explain. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So, listen, America's most famous resident has a new addition. The White House added a wooden swing set. That looks like the mother of all swing sets. Look at that. That is awesome. It has a fort and, of course, it's for the Obama daughters. It was installed right outside the Oval Office so the president can keep an eye on the girls while he's working. Cool swing set.
All right, let's talk about what you guys are talking about. Migratory jewel says, if they let go of so many gay men and women, the U.S. military wouldn't have a problem with qualifying recruits. Jake 3456 says, I'm sure if the war was for just causes they'd have no problem finding willing volunteers. Gator 1940 says, how did a post master in South Carolina afford such is a house? I'm in the wrong business!
Yes. Keep your comments coming. That's where you send them. I am Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. It's getting close to the top of the hour now. And that's when we're going to join CNN the "Money Summit," "AC 360" special report that begins right now. We'll see you at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
