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Making the Tough Choices; Banning Texting in Schools; Solving the Economic Crisis
Aired March 07, 2009 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The news is unfolding live on this Saturday, the 7th day of March. Hello everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes. New this morning, the president laying out a challenge and that challenge is who right now is willing to make the tough choices?
NGUYEN: Plus another sign of these troubling times. They paid their rent on time, but in this case, that just was not enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Our ideas and opinions about how to achieve this reform will vary, but our goal must be the same, quality affordable health care for every --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right, apparently that was a technical glitch. Here's what we're talking about, an entire apartment complex evicted. We're going to tell you why.
HOLMES: Also, teenagers out there beware, this could be some disastrous news. A state that's trying to ban cell phone texting in schools. Say it ain't so.
NGUYEN: I can hear them very upset right now.
HOLMES: You can hear it now. We will start with the economy, hoping amidst some hardship right now in his weekly address, the president talking about this being a moment of challenge for the country and how he plans to answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: My administration is committed to doing all that's necessary to address this crisis and lead us to a better day. That's why we're moving forward with an economic agenda that will jump-start job creation, restart lending, relieve responsible homeowners and address the long-term economic challenges of our time, the cost of health care, our dependence on oil and the state of our schools.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The president's budget proposal is making its way through congress right now. Our Elaine Quijano hearing all about it. She joins us this morning. Good morning to you, Elaine, we seem to have another fight on our hands, nothing typical for Washington. So this is another game of chicken. Who's going to have to give something on this issue?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's tough to say at this point. What's so interesting though T.J. is that even some of the president's fellow Democrats are objecting to the massive spending contained in the president's budget. A budget which we should note is just a blueprint basically of how the president would like to spend money. Nevertheless, it does lay out priorities. What we're talking about here is some massive proposed spending, more than $3 trillion.
The tricky part of this for the Obama administration is that the president is really trying to balance, providing some short-term relief for Americans, with also meeting long-term goals for basically fixing the country's overall financial health. Now in the wake of the mortgage meltdown though, of course, those home foreclosures and the ripple effect that we have certainly been seeing in the economy that is not going to be easy at all. The president is saying, though, that he plans with this budget to cut the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term. How do you do that? You have to make some cuts, big cuts in some programs and that of course is going to lead to some very difficult decisions. So as you note, T.J., some really tough choices here and probably some big fights on hand as the president tries to pursue some of these priorities. T.J.?
HOLMES: All right, well, don't get in the way when all that fighting is going on. Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: Republicans are offering a dose of what they call reality, when it comes to the president's move to overhaul health care. Its thumbs down on a proposal that would give Americans the option to buy coverage through a government plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ROY BLUNT, (R) MISSOURI: Some people are spending a lot of time talking about how to spend more of your money on bigger government-run programs. I'm concerned that if the government steps in, it will eventually push out a private health care plan that millions of Americans enjoy today. This could cause your employer to simply stop offering coverage, hoping the government will pick up the slack.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Congressman Blunt says Republicans are intent on fixing what's wrong and keeping what works.
Well, a busy week ahead for President Obama. On Monday, he is expected to lift restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. On Tuesday the president will talk education reform at a meeting of the Hispanic Chamber of Congress. And then on Thursday, he invites President Joe Biden, lead a conference on the stimulus package.
HOLMES: While money from that stimulus package starting to make its way to the states, they can't wait to get their hands on it. Virginia's governor, one of those who certainly wants that money, told our Larry King things already are starting to look pretty good.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING: How long before we start seeing some, where we can say hey, here are some results from this plan?
GOV. TIM KAINE, (D) VIRGINIA: Well let me tell you in Virginia, we have seen it already. I had to write a budget and present it to the legislature in December with no stimulus money. I cut $2.9 billion out of our $80 billion budget. And then by February the revenues were worsening and I was going to have to cut another $800 million out. The stimulus package meant that I did not have to cut $800 million. That saved 7100 state jobs, people that I would have been making plans to layoff right now, had the stimulus package not passed. So we're the first state to have finished a budget since it passed and I can tell you, it has saved 7100 people and their families from being turned out to face the toughest job market in the last 25 years.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The president of course this week was selling his economic package, he was in Ohio talking about some of the jobs there, some police cadets that were saved, about 25 jobs. He said things are getting back on the right track, but still cautioning not to expect a quick fix.
Also the president promised to cut a lot of the pork out of that, you know some of that pork barrel spending you hear so much about. But how many lawmakers' pet projects are still in the massive spending bill before congress? Our Josh Levs will be along in the next hour with a reality check.
NGUYEN: Well here's a reality check for you. For the eighth week in a row, we have a failed bank to tell you about. State regulators seized Freedom Bank of Georgia after the stock market closed yesterday. Freedom Bank is the 17th bank of the year to fail. 25 banks failed all of last year. The FDIC says this will cost the federal fund about $36 million. Freedom Bank's four branches will open Monday under new management.
I want to give you a map of the states affected by bank failures. Take a look at this. You can find it on cnnmoney.com. California and Georgia, they topped the list for failed banks for 2008 and 2009. Maps will also show you which states have the highest percentage of home foreclosures. All you have to do to see that map is to log on, check it out at cnnmoney.com.
In the meantime though, jobs are also taking a blow. Let's put this in perspective for you. In the past three months alone, the economy has shed more jobs than there are people in the city of Philadelphia. That's almost two million. Overall, the number of Americans who want to be working or used to be working tops 12 million. That is the size of the entire state of Pennsylvania. And here's what we learned yesterday, 651,000 jobs were eliminated in February, bringing the unemployment rate to its highest point since 1983.
HOLMES: Well, not that much good economic news out there, but I have some good economic news for some Californians who have been waiting on their tax refunds. They're on the way, folks. Arguments over the state budget held up the checks for more than two months and folks are absolutely happy to get that money now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSLAND TAYLOR: Oh, hooray! I am so glad. I needed my money. I got some work to do around my house and everything. It's a real big deal, it's a blessing. Oh, thank you, Jesus.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Thank you, Jesus. She is getting her refund check. Now the governor there, Schwarzenegger, he signed a budget package that's designed to close that state's $42 billion deficit. Since that package is in place, those checks are on the way.
And of course a lot of universities out there have to make some pretty tough decisions. Not sitting too well with a lot of the students who of course are being affected by these decisions. Yesterday dozens of students and staff at Middle Tennessee State protested outside the school president's house. The school considering cutting close to 50 majors and closing departments including philosophy, physics and geo science. .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN BROWN, GEOLOGY PROFESSOR: All you hear is how the United States is falling behind in science and needs more scientists. And how could the university even think about removing science of any kind?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The university trying to make up for a $20 million budget shortfall.
Of course America's housing crisis ignited by the subprime loan mess, now fueled by record layoffs are you upside down in your mortgage, possibly? Having trouble selling that home? A lot of you are also looking to refinance. Today though at 4:00 eastern, we're drilling down on the foreclosure angles of our troubled economy. We'll talk with a homeowner whose home is now worth less than he owes. A realtor will be here as well with advice on selling your home and will talk about why he believes real estate agents are partly to blame for this whole crisis.
Also, hear from a lender about getting a loan or getting relief if you're struggling to make your payment on your current loan. We want you to join in on this discussion. You can email us at weekends@cnn.com or you can send us an iReport by logging onto ireport.com. We're tackling this important topic in depth, trying to find solutions for you, 4 o'clock eastern right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: CNN has learned former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean could be tapped by President Obama to be the next U.S. surgeon general. He is a practicing physician and reportedly interested in the job. But a source says he hasn't been contacted by the White House. Now the discussion comes a day after CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta withdrew from consideration. Dr. Gupta talked about it with our own Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Sanjay, we're certainly happy that you're going to stay at CNN. What made you decide to withdraw your name?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well let me say first of all it was a very, very hard decision, a tough decision, certainly I was very flattered and honored and humbled even to be considered for this. For me I think it really came down to personal issues, where my third daughter is coming any day now. Anderson you have actually talked about my other daughters when they were born on your show and how much family means to me. I came to grips with this idea that I probably have to live for years away from them, have to sort of commute back and forth. This job of ours, you and I have traveled all over the world, it takes us away from the people we love I think too much already. So I think that was just going to be too hard.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And Dr. Gupta also says his desire to be a working neurosurgeon figured into his decision.
Former first lady Barbara Bush is set to be moved from intensive care today. She's said to be in great spirits as she recovers from open heart surgery. On Wednesday doctors in Houston repaired an aortic valve in the 83-year-old. She could be released from the hospital late next week.
(WEATHER REPORT) HOLMES: The message is go at your own risk. That's what the state department is saying to students who are thinking about going to Mexico for spring break. And you know a lot of them are.
NGUYEN: Absolutely, and the escalating violence along the border can be frightening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well call it a disturbing sign of the escalating violence from Mexico's drug war. Morgues just across the border are overcrowded. Refrigerators in Juarez built to hold 80 bodies are crammed with more than twice that. Morgue directors can't keep up. Nearly 6,300 people were killed in drug related violence in Mexico last year, more than 1,000 killed in the first eight weeks of this year.
Despite the bloodshed, Mexican authorities say Mexico is a safe place to visit. But as spring break begins, the state department is warning college students to rethink any plans that might include making a run for the border. CNN's Gary Tuchman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spring break on Mexico's northern pacific coast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Totally relaxing, what we needed after finals.
TUCHMAN: Where it feels like heaven, unless you make the drug traffickers angry. Then it feels like hell. When you hear a police siren in Rosarito Beach, Mexico these days, your heart jumps. Because in the past half year, this small city of 100,000, has seen at least 30 people killed by the drug cartels. None of them tourists but this very popular spring break location has very few tourists right now. Despite beautiful weather, we saw more horses on the wide beach than people. And at this outdoor bar, the only spring breakers came off a cruise ship and were only here for six hours.
(On camera): You're all on a cruise now, but if they said to you, you could stay in a hotel here for a night or two, how many of you would want to do that, raise your hand?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Knowing what we know now, probably none.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the fact that the beach is completely empty.
TUCHMAN: What they know now is this, in this town in nearby cities like Encinada and Tijuana, roughly 200 people have reportedly been murdered in the last six months and often beheaded as a grotesque message.
HEATHER BERGSTROM, MIDWESTERN UNIV. MEDICAL STUDENT: My mom freaked out about me going to Mexico.
TUCHMAN: What did she say?
BERGSTROM: She said that she was really worried about kidnappings and the drug lords.
TUCHMAN: This man was arrested six weeks ago, not far from Rosarito, first for dissolving remains of cartel victims into barrels of acid. Santiago Mesa Lopez was asked how many people he had done this to, he declared 300. Alerts and warnings have been issued about traveling to Mexico by the U.S. state department, the ATF, even colleges. (On camera): The good people of Rosarito find themselves living among the lucrative drug trafficking route. Among the 30 people murdered over the past few months, seven police officers, all shot gangland style. It's not a job for the faint hearted.
(Voice-over): The mayor of this city says about 75 cops in Rosarito were either fired last year for working with the cartels or killed. About 150 more have now been hired. They're being paid better salaries and given lie detector tests to help make sure they stay honest. Officer Karina Valdez is 20 years old.
TRANSLATOR: The situation is bad, but there are people who need us.
TUCHMAN: Rosarito Mayor Hugo Torres believes his city has never had more honest and brave police officers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beginning in January of this year, we have had no killings at all.
TUCHMAN: And in the larger city of Tijuana, they were saying the same thing.
(On camera): But the relative quiet is now over. At around the same time we were arriving in a police car, authorities announced they had made a horrifying discovery. Near this bull ring, about 20 minutes north from the city of Tijuana, we're only 100 yards away from the California border. They got a call from two joggers who said they saw something terrible right here, right under that graffiti on the ground. When police arrived, they saw three bodies without heads, without hands and a note that said snitches.
(Voice-over): The Tijuana newspaper had a picture of the scene on the front page, with the headline, "The Wave of Violence Returns." 18 miles away, within the city limits of Rosarito, there still hasn't been a killing since the beginning of the year. The mayor thinks tourists should be comfortable coming back and he's hoping for bigger crowds next week when spring break starts to peak, although he himself has to be accompanied by armed guards when he travels throughout the city.
(On camera): What's to stop somebody from driving by and shooting us while we're walking?
MAYOR HUGO TORRES, ROSARITO, MEXICO: Well I don't know. I guess nobody can. If somebody wants to kill you, they kill you, I know that's for sure.
TUCHMAN: The mayor says he has no plans to step down because of fear. He's too busy trying to protect and promote his very empty city that so many are now too scared to visit. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Rosarito Beach, Mexico.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right, so tourism officials in Mexico gave us a statement in response to reports about violence saying, quote, "Mexico remains a safe tourist destination and this is reflected in the 22.6 million international visitors that arrived in 2008, of which 18 million were Americans."
HOLMES: Well, one of those stories that just has people talking this week, had a lot of people talking this morning.
NGUYEN: Absolutely, debating in fact. Singer Chris Brown in court facing felony charges in connection with the alleged fight with pop star Rihanna. Will she testify against him? Are they together again? What is going on? We get to the bottom of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, R&B singer Chris Brown has an April 6 arraignment date on two felony charges relating to the alleged beating of his girlfriend, pop star Rihanna.
HOLMES: Our entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson now with the latest on the legal maneuverings going on in the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A somber Chris Brown made his first court appearance to face charges he beat up his girlfriend, fellow R&B star Rihanna. His arraignment was put off until next month, at that time he'll enter a plea to two felony counts, assault and making criminal threats. Earlier in the day the court released an affidavit from an LAPD detective with shocking details of the alleged assault that left Rihanna bruised and bloodied. According to the affidavit, the altercation began after Brown and Rihanna left a pre Grammy party in a Lamborghini. They argued when Rihanna discovered a text message on his cell phone from another woman.
Brown pulled the car over and tried to push her out but a seat belt kept her fastened inside. Brown then shoved Rihanna's head against the car window and punched her in the left eye the affidavit says. He drove off continuing to punch her in the face with his right hand while steering the vehicle with his left hand. The assault caused her mouth to fill with blood and blood to splatter all over her clothing and the interior of the vehicle.
The report further states Brown bit her ear, put her in a head lock and threatened to kill her. Brown has publicly said he's sorry for what happened and he received a warning --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're ordered not to annoy, harass, molest, threaten or use force or violence against anyone.
ANDERSON: The order does not bar him from seeing Rihanna.
DONALD ETRA, RIHANNA'S ATTORNEY: The one issue that arose in court concerning her rights is whether or not the court should issue a stay away order in this case, Rihanna requested that no such order be issued. ANDERSON: That may add credence to reports the couple has reconciled since the incident. If true, it may complicate the district attorney's efforts to prosecute the case. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now despite the reports of the couple reconciling, Rihanna's attorney says she's willing to testify against Brown if she is subpoenaed. Brown remains free on $50,000 bond. While the Brown- Rihanna assault case tops the docket for our legal eagle, Avery Friedman, that's coming up next hour here in the CNN NEWSROOM, he'll be along with Fredericka Whitfield. Also later we'll be talking about the Chris Brown and Rihanna case with a writer from "Essence" magazine. This is coming your way today at 2 o'clock eastern in the NEWSROOM. Again, you can catch that with Fredericka.
They paid their rent on time, but in this case that wasn't enough for them to keep their apartments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just think it's crazy, we just renewed our lease March 1 and to get that notice three days later after we paid rent. I was like -- at first I thought it was a joke.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You heard it right, rent paid on March 1, by March 4, got a note that says you have to get out of here. An entire complex evicted.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Just past 11:31 Eastern, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is leaving Ankara, Turkey for Ireland any minute now. She announced President Obama will visit Turkey in about a month. And she thanked leaders of the long-term U.S. ally for mediating indirect talks between Israel and Syria.
Now eight people are dead after a suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan. The bomb-filled car exploded today as people tried to pull a body from it. Two other bombings killed seven people in the region. The turmoil comes as the U.S. steps up its commitment to fighting al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the region.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama pledged to root out Washington's wasteful spending. But as our Joe Johns reports, his allies in congress still piling on the pork.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to sell mixed messages in this town. Just last week during the president's speech to congress, he sounded like he turned a corner in the fight against pork barrel spending. OBAMA: I'm proud that we passed a recovery plan free of earmarks.
JOHNS: But some in the audience were saying, you got to be kidding me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was just a roar of laughter because there were earmarks.
JOHNS: And now more comic relief as the president hammers away at reducing wasteful spending and saving taxpayers' money, his buddies over at the capitol are hammering out a monster spending bill loaded up with more than 8,000 earmarks worth nearly $8 billion. According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group that monitors government spending, that includes about $1.6 million for pig odor research in Iowa. $143,000 for a natural history museum in Las Vegas. $238,000 for the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii. All in a bill that's supposed to just keep the government operating. Many senators openly defend the earmarks because for one thing, they're a tiny fraction of the overall bill.
SEN. JAMES INHOFE, (R) OKLAHOMA: Earmarks, if you total them up are less than 1 percent of the $410 billion so we're not talking about that huge amount.
JOHNS: Do you both have earmarks in the bill?
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (I) CONNECTICUT: Yes, good ones.
JOHNS: Good ones? Authorized ones?
LIEBERMAN: Most, not all of them, no. But they're good ones and I'll be prepared to stand up and defend them if somebody raised a point of order.
JOHNS (on camera): But critics say in a time of exploding deficits congress should be tightening up and many Republicans, who according to Taxpayers for Common Sense control about 40 percent of the earmarks in the bill are saying that if the president is so committed to rooting out wasteful spending he would veto this thing.
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, (R) TEXAS: It's just not credible to say that we're against earmarks and then sign a bill that has earmarks.
JOHNS (voice-over): The truth is the president probably can't afford to pick a fight right now with congressional Democrats who are getting about 60 percent of the earmarks. These are the guys that can either drag his massive agenda over the finish line or drag it down to defeat. So the White House and its defenders say this bill is just last year's unfinished business and next time it will be different.
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL, (D) MISSOURI: The president's budget we'll take up in a couple of months. This is a leftover from last year. JOHNS: But when it comes to earmarks, the tradition has been the more things change, the more they remain the same. Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: President Obama has said he will sign a massive spending bill even though it contained billions for lawmakers' pet projects. So just how many billions are we talking about here? Well CNN's Josh Levs joins us with a reality check. Josh, break it down for us.
JOSH LEVS: Exactly, that's what we're going to do, coming right out of Joe Johns there, we're going to break down the numbers for you, because there's some different numbers floating around, I want you to know where your dollars are going to go. Let's zoom in on the board here. Time.com which is linked to cnn.com said this, they were sourcing Democratic Leadership, estimating that there was a total of about $3.8 billion in earmarks in this bill we're hearing about.
But the best reality check website out there, politifact.com took a look at that number, $3.8 billion, look over here, they say that figure was too low with that estimate and down there you can see they gave it a false. What they said is that this group right here, Taxpayers for Common Sense got it right, that when you really dig into this bill, you're looking at $7.7 billion in earmarks. But Politifact also checked out another number, they looked at this from Senator John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: On the floor tomorrow or the next day in the senate will be a bill with 9,427 pork barrel items.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: 9,427, yes, Politifact said yep, that figure is right. If you look at what was put into that bill, that's how many total we're dealing with. And let's zoom back in, I want to show you another thing here, as Joe mentioned, if you look at the breakdown overall this is cnn.com, about 60 percent of the earmarks from Democrats, about 40 percent from Republicans, according to the Taxpayers for Common Sense, that actually works out pretty much evenly spread across congress. So you've got about 60 percent Democrats, 40 percent Republicans in congress. So pretty much you're seeing it on all sides spread out. Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, so when we're talking about pork, as we are, give me some examples? Because I think people want to know where this money is going.
LEVS: They do and it's interesting because one thing we keep in mind is that one person's earmark is another person's job, right? But what a lot of people are frustrated about is that these things just get slipped in. Let's show you a few examples. This is just some that Senator John McCain pointed to. $1.7 million for the Honey Bee Factory in Texas, 1.7 million for that pig odor research we're hearing about in Iowa.
$1 million for cricket control in Utah, close to a million for sustainable energy projects in Las Vegas. So, what we're seeing there, people saying maybe these are worthy but they shouldn't be slipped in by lawmakers that way.
NGUYEN: Pig odor research ah? All right, I'm sure there are plenty more on that list. Where can people go to check them out?
LEVS: You know what, it's interesting. A lot of people don't realize this, let's zoom back in one more time. A lot of people don't realize there's actually a White House website now that shows some of them to you right here. Let me see if I can get you over to it. Politifacts.com will get it to you and they trace through tons of these. And I'll tell you this, we have linked you to the White House website right here at my Facebook page, Joshlevscnn, you can see all sorts of links that you were seeing just now. In fact, everything I just showed you, you can see right there.
And while you're there, I have something to tell you about that's coming up for our noon hour. Check this out, we're inviting you right now to send in your questions on the economy, and in about half an hour, we have a guest who will give you some ideas about how to hold on to your job. If you're concerned about losing your job, you can post your questions right now on my Facebook page, joshlevscnn. You can email us, weekends@cnn.com. We're going to get some of those to those guests. What is it about 25 minutes now, and we'll get you some answers. Guys?
NGUYEN: All right, like it a lot. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks a lot.
HOLMES: All right. You paid all your bills, you should be good to go. But you come home from work and find a flier that says you need to get out. Get out of the place you just paid the rent for. This happened to hundreds of people in one apartment complex. Reporter Christina Boomer from our Phoenix affiliate KNXV with this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA BOOMER, KNXV REPORTER (voice-over): You're helping mommy?
CHRISTY ARMOND, RESIDENT: I have quite a few people from church and different things trying to call me right now because they're trying to help me pack.
BOOMER: Christy Armond and her 4-year-old son Joshua came here after escaping hurricane Katrina. Now once again it's a water issue that has them packing.
ARMOND: Saturday they're cutting off all of our water because the apartment complex didn't pay any of their bills.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I'm like how can I be delinquent when that's included in our rent?
BOOMER: Pearle Ogle and her boyfriend Jeff Milner searched Craigslist for a house rental. Ogle reads us the notice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The property is delinquent on the water bill and that it will be turned off five days from the date of the notice.
BOOMER: Then on Thursday this sign was posted at the main office, which explains that quote, "The management company Bethany Group has abandoned all communities and employees nationwide."
PEARLE OGLE, RESIDENT: I think it's crazy that we just renewed our lease March 1 and to get that notice three days later after we paid rent. I was like -- at first I thought it was a joke.
RAVAA FREEMAN, RESIDENT: First it was the trash that they haven't been paying and now it's the water. I mean I'm pretty sure they knew this months ago. I'm very mad, very. Who wouldn't be mad?
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And again, that was reporter Christina Boomer from our affiliate out there in Phoenix, KNXV. Man, tough times for everybody.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. You know it's become a ritual in British politics if a public official makes you mad, you just slime them.
HOLMES: Don't try that here though folks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Ok, so don't forget to set your clock forward tonight for daylight saving time. That means you'll lose an hour of sleep. Americans are getting less sleep in fact these days. Here's why. A new study shows on average we are getting only 6.7 hours a night.
HOLMES: What?
NGUYEN: For you, maybe. I kind of need those eight hours. The National Sleep Foundation says a decade ago, listen to this T.J., only 12 percent of you were getting less than six hours of sleep. Now it is one out of five. I guess you're in that category, ah? And fewer of us are getting more than eight hours. Experts say that's because of stress over the economy and more time on your Blackberries and the internet which I'm guilty of.
HOLMES: And you and I have been getting less sleep lately because the show starts an hour earlier.
NGUYEN: It's 6:00 a.m. 6:00 to noon folks, Saturday mornings.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: We have a protester who held nothing back, you may have seen this video this week, she came face to face with Britain's business secretary.
NGUYEN: Oh did she? It is the latest in a string of in your face assaults on politicians. It's kind of a grand British tradition. CNN's Phil Black has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Peter Mandelson was flashing a politician's smile, until he met Leila Dean. The British business secretary was slimed.
LEILA DEAN, ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: -- on behalf of the corrupt government.
BLACK: The work done, Leila strolled off with a bounce in her step leaving behind a splatter of green custard. Leila Dean belongs to the group Plain Stupid, seen here invading the roof of the British Parliament last year. Humiliating Peter Mandelson is the latest tactic to fight government plans, for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing green about Peter Mandelson is the slime coursing through his veins.
BLACK: Mandelson cleaned himself up and tried to laugh it off.
PETER MANDELSON, BRITISH BUSINESS SECRETARY: We need to not bother too think about the future of our economy and not bother too much with adolescent protests.
BLACK: Even the British prime minister tried to get a joke out of it.
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: If any of you doubted the greening of Peter Mandelson and his willingness to take the green agenda on his shoulders, we have seen it in practice on our television screens already this morning.
BLACK: The shear flamboyance it's out there with last year's George Bush shoe throwing incident in Iraq, but it's also part of the grand British tradition of publicly assaulting politicians. This is the one people still talk about. In 1991 then deputy prime minister John Prescott was hit by an egg, he responded instantly, thumping the protestor on the jaw.
Three years later, former Prime Minister Tony Blair was targeted with flour bombs while speaking in parliament. More flour was spilled back in 1995 against conservative politician Brian Muwinny. And here is another former minister getting roughed up, it was Claire Short, the issue was Iraq. Now Peter Mandelson joins the list. It could have easily been something other than green custard, but Mandelson says he's not worried about security.
MANDELSON: I don't invite these (INAUDIBLE) -- I also don't think that anyone should overreact and if there's a security issue, that's not for me, it's for the police and others. BLACK: A colorful argument, Democracy, British style. Phil Black, CNN, London.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Let's just say, you don't do that here in the U.S.
HOLMES: Can you imagine what that video would be of that person being taken down by secret service?
NGUYEN: She would be taken away, absolutely.
Let's find out this from you, how would you like to get paid $100,000 for a six-month assignment?
HOLMES: That's it, there's got to be a catch.
NGUYEN: There always is, right?
HOLMES: What do I have to do?
NGUYEN: All you have to do is care for a tropical island. Doesn't sound bad.
HOLMES: That's got to be a catch.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: We want to give you an update now on a dream job being caretaker of an Australian island. Isn't it? It pays $100,000 just for six months.
HOLMES: Six months, all right. You know, a job like this, competition is pretty stiff. 34,000 people applied. They got it down to a short list of about 50 folks now and you can have a say about who makes that final cut. CNN's Atika Shubert with this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can sing --
Don your best bikini. Then for your best flippers, whatever it takes to clinch that interview for the best job in the world. That's what the Queensland Tourism Board of Australia is calling its six- month marketing ploy. $100,000 for six months of being the caretaker of tropical Hamilton Island. Your only responsibility, blogging about your adventures on Australia's great barrier reef from diving to beach snoozing. More than 34,000 applied with slick, homemade videos tailored for the Youtube generation. Ten have been short listed for a final round of interviews in Australia, but the public has a chance to vote in one more wild card candidate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be really cold.
SHUBERT: There are 50 to choose from at islandreefjob.com. The candidate with the most votes wins an interview slot and the deadline is March 18th.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The great barrier reef.
SHUBERT: And don't let that bikini fool you, these are global professionals. Julia is a marine biologist from Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a degree in marine biology.
SHUBERT: Anjan is a radio deejay from India and Kiran is a chef from Kenya. It's a tough choice and then they make applying look so much fun it may make you wish you had tried for that job yourself. Atika Shubert, CNN, London.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Oh no, can they just make an exception for a late entry perhaps?
HOLMES: I was asking when the cut off was, I think we missed it.
NGUYEN: We did. Doggone it.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That looked like fun. I see a movie in the making of just the tryouts for the job because just all of those videos and entries were great.
NGUYEN: How hard is it though to take care of an island?
WHITFIELD: I don't know. I don't know.
NGUYEN: I don't know many people who have ever done that, right?
WHITFIELD: I know, but it's intriguing nonetheless.
HOLMES: But good morning to you. How are you this morning?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing pretty good. You all have been doing a great job this morning trying to help people out.
NGUYEN: With their resumes.
WHITFIELD: We have a lot coming up straight ahead as well in addition to the economy-related stuff, big legal case or at least it seems like it's turning out to be a pretty good legal case, the couple, Rihanna, Chris Brown, the relationship, the potential charges. Our legal expert Avery Friedman is going to be joining us -- you know what, this case is not so cut and dry.
I know you all, all morning have tried to help people get their resumes in check. Well, what if you do have a job? What are the things that you need to do to secure your job, make yourself more versatile at the workplace and try to maintain what you've got? We have an expert who's going to be joining us on that.
And then later on today in our 4:00 p.m. eastern hour, foreclosures. Are you in a position where perhaps you're staring at foreclosure in the face? We want your iReports. If you can send us your iReports today to give us an idea of what your situation is, we're going to focus the 4:00 p.m. eastern hour on the administration's mortgage management plan, modification plan. So it means your participation as well.
NGUYEN: Look at that picture.
WHITFIELD: All day long. Yeah, it's scary.
NGUYEN: Just an idea of the desperation out there when it comes to foreclosing. Ok, thank you.
HOLMES: We will see you shortly, thank you Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: Thank you.
HOLMES: In Iowa, teenagers are trying to come up with more creative ways probably right now to hide their cell phones at school.
NGUYEN: There is a proposal to ban cell phone texting while in the class.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Let's take you first to this video in Spain, all right? At first glance maybe you think nothing is really up here, nothing is really going on. This looks like a cast. Well officials at the airport there in Barcelona, they took a close look at the cast on the leg of a 66-year-old passenger. It tested not for plaster which most casts are made out of Betty, but for cocaine.
NGUYEN: Can you believe that? Authorities say the man was carrying more than 10 pounds of the drug and suggests he may have had his leg purposely broken. He is in police custody and getting medical treatment.
HOLMES: Boy, that is dedication, isn't it?
Now we all know kids are texting like crazy. Do they need to be texting in school, though, Betty?
NGUYEN: In class? What are they doing if they're texting in class, are they cheating?
HOLMES: Means they're not paying attention to learning.
NGUYEN: Well that's for sure. Iowa legislators say enough is enough. They are considering a bill to ban cell phones in schools. Teachers say the kids are texting in class instead of listening. The kids, well, they admit it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAY SCHOLTEN, TEXTING STUDENT: I'm not going to lie, like, I do. I'm not going to lie about that, and I've only been caught once by a teacher. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hide them under our desk, but sometimes they let you --
KEVIN TOOK, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: How can you listen to what the teacher's saying and take notes if you're texting your friend? It's an impossibility.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That's a very good point.
HOLMES: Maybe they're texting notes they want to remember for later.
NGUYEN: Oh is that what it is? Yeah you have a pen and paper.
HOLMES: I'm just saying. Nobody uses pen and paper anymore Betty.
NGUYEN: Or a computer.
HOLMES: School system there currently allow cell phone use only between classes, but as you just heard some of those kids admit foolishly on camera they do it anyway and they actually get away with it. Come on kids, don't give your stuff away on TV.
NGUYEN: You know, a lot of people were probably texting this to their friends. There is a gusher in the middle of the street. You've got to check this video out. Look at that. A delivery truck struck a water main on Staten Island causing it to erupt like old faithful. Water shot at least 20 feet into the air.
HOLMES: Also, it's about time to go green. St. Patty's Day coming our way on Tuesday. Savannah, a long tradition there, Savannah, Georgia, yes, I believe it's one of the oldest parades they certainly have in the country happens there. But ever year the water in the town's picturesque fountains is dyed green, including this fountain there Forsyth Park. It was featured in Forrest Gump actually and also Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. But it's a green garden right about now.
NGUYEN: Hey, good times. You know, speaking of, the CNN NEWSROOM continues with Fredericka Whitfield. Hey Fred.
WHITFIELD: I thought you were going to say, speaking of good times.
NGUYEN: That's what I was saying.
