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Gunman Leaves Destroyed Families, Lives in Alabama; German Shooting Murders At Least 10; Wall Street Gaining as Dow Rises Above 7,000; Examining Health Insurance and Coverage in America; Nickelodeon Under Attack for Perceived Support of Chris Brown

Aired March 11, 2009 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEP. JOSH MYERS, GENEVA CO., ALABAMA, POLICE: I've got a lot to take care of by myself now. And I don't know what else to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: On the trail of a gunman. A deputy comes home to find his wife and daughter, two of the victims. We have the latest on the Alabama shooting spree.

Half a world away, another deadly rampage. A 17-year-old returns to his old school, shooting teachers and students.

Plus, a market's big bounce-back. Can it keep on its winning ways? It is Wednesday, March 11th, I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All eyes on Wall Street today after that huge rally yesterday. Right now, you see the numbers up double digits, about 78 points or so in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but most importantly above that 7,000 mark. Now 7,000 -- and there it goes right below it. So we are watching the numbers closely. Could we see another bull run today? Well, CNN's Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange. As you can see, Susan, it's pretty much back and forth and all around from minute to minute.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. It's been a choppy session and 30 minutes of trading. But the fact is, we are above 7,000, we're at the highs of the session so far. And these kind of things are elusive, back-to-back gains in this ferocious bear market. We haven't had a back-to-back gain for the Dow, for instance, in five weeks.

This week is going to be a challenge, because we're not expecting a lot of big economic reports. Nothing like, say, the jobs report that we had last week. So it could be a volatile week. But we are seeing strength in financials for a second day. Citigroup, which was such a catalyst yesterday on the fact that it made money, Citigroup shares rallying another 15 percent. The whole sector is up.

And, of course, the fear in this big market is the fear about the stability of the financial sector. Investors want to see banks lending. They want to see troubled assets under control. And a bottom to the real estate market. There is a lot of questions that remain, but the fact is, we are seeing a rally early in the session. Heidi.

COLLINS: We'll just hang on to that. All right. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Our money crisis, front and center on Capitol Hill today. A House hearing taking place this hour on TARP, the oversight and accountability for it. You remember TARP refers to the $700 billion bank bailout. The company will hear from TARP point man Neel Kashkari. And a House subcommittee holding a hearing on the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Shapiro who heads the SEC will be testifying and lawmakers have been critical of the SEC for not moving fast enough to uncover the Bernie Madoff scandal despite many warnings.

President Obama talking next hour about reigning in spending. Congress - instead of another spending bill, this one is $410 billion, enough money to keep the government running through this budget year. He is expected to sign it, even though it contains about $8 billion in earmarks.

So get your resumes ready. AT&T, which recently cut jobs, is hiring once again. The company plans to add 3,000 new jobs this year. Many of them will be in AT&T Wireless and Wired Broadband divisions. That involves an investment of between $17 and $18 billion.

So are we talking too much about the economy? Are you sick of it? Or is the crisis so serious that you need to hear more, trying to learn more? E-mail us or go to Facebook to share your comments. Josh Levs will join me later on this hour. We're going to talk about what you had to say.

A killing rampage in southern Alabama. Eleven people are dead in carnage littered across two counties. Police say Michael McLendon hunted down family members, and opened fire at anyone who crossed his path. Today the crime scenes span three separate communities. CNN's Sean Callebs is in Samson, Alabama now with this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the worst tragedies in recent memories.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The suspected gunman, Michael McLendon of Kinston, Alabama. Police say he started his killing spree near the Florida-Alabama border, by shooting this mother and her four dogs. He left the home in plains, and from there he took his rampage on the road across southeastern Alabama, firing shots as he barreled down state highway 52.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He puts five or six bullet holes in the truck. And then he took off.

CALLEBS: The shooter also targeting the family that raised him.

CPL. STEVE JARRETT, ALABAMA STATE POLICE: Four adults and one child were found shot to death at one residence. One adult was found shot to death at his second residence, and another adult was found shot to death at a third residence.

CALLEBS: The county coroner says the victims included his McLendon's grandfather, grandmother, aunt, uncle and a sheriff deputy's wife and child who lived across the street, unsuspecting residents, some sitting on their porches, witnessed it all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard about 10 shots in all. And I saw someone with a gun, and I turned and went the other way.

CALLEBS: Then, two more people shot and killed, apparently at random. At a gas station and a Samson pipe and supply store. The horrible tale came to an end at the Reliable Metal Products plant. First he fired a 30-round burst. A police chief shot and wounded but saved by his bullet-proof vest. Then McLendon went inside and apparently turned the gun on himself.

JARRETT: Within minutes, shots were heard from within Reliable Metal, and law enforcement officers found him dead from what are believed to be self-inflicted gunshots.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: CNN's Sean Callebs is joining us now from Samson, Alabama. So, Sean, just a little while ago we heard from that sheriff's deputy who actually lost his wife and a child and another child is now in very serious condition in all of this. Very, very tough press conference to watch.

CALLEBS: Yes, without question. We heard from the sheriff's deputy who was actually involved in the call at the metal shop where the gunman apparently took his own life. He was out there, he said he was talking to a friend. He knew there were fatalities here in Samson. It's about 12 miles from where the metal shop was, and he said a friend came up to him and said, "you've got to get your butt home."

Listen to how he talks about this, he has lost one daughter, the son is fine, and another daughter is in a Pensacola hospital right now in stable condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MYERS: Keep my baby girl in your prayers. I don't know what else to say. Just be praying for my baby girl. My son who was here at the incident, he's OK. So I got a lot to take care of by myself now. And I don't know what else to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Well, it's been a very long night for Josh Myers, the deputy there. Had a chance to speak with him off camera, Heidi, a little bit afterward and he said that the gunman, Michael McLendon was incredibly well armed, he had an AK-47. He had an M-16 and two pistols inside the metal shop where he took his life and he also has a shotgun inside his car.

Clearly, this was an individual who was ready and did do a great deal of damage to this whole portion of Alabama.

COLLINS: Yes and Sean, I know that they are working desperately on some type of motive, and it always seems like at this point it doesn't really matter, I guess. But people are going to have those questions, certainly. Sean Callebs, we sure do appreciate that, live from Samson, Alabama this morning.

A school in southwestern Germany was the site of a deadly shooting rampage just a few hours ago. A former student opened fire in Winnenden near Stuttgart. Police say he killed 15 people, many of them were students. The gunman also now dead. We're going to have the very latest for you coming up in just a few minutes here on CNN.

And a discussion later this hour about everything you have been hearing and reading about the economy. Is it too much doom and gloom? And overwhelmed in Ohio. Just look at the rising rivers are doing, Rob. Look at that.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a lot of flooding there, Heidi. Good news is the rain at least there has come to an end. The snow out west, tremendous. And the space shuttle going to be launching off later on tonight. Talk about it when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Very quickly now, I want to take you back to this story happening in southwestern Germany. Our Diana Magnay is standing by in Berlin to tell us about 16 people, Diana, are dead in this school shooting that happened just a few hours ago. Can you tell us the very latest?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. Fifteen victims in this school shooting incident, and the gunman himself killed in a police shootout about three-and-a-half hours later after he originally walked into this school in the town of Winnenden in southwest Germany and opened fire. Now in that shootout, which lasted about two minutes, he killed as many as 10 people, some of them teachers, most of them students.

He then left, shooting at passersby on the way, hijacked a car, taking someone hostage in that car and drove 40 kilometers to a neighboring town where he was finally shot out by police, shot dead, but while killing two passersby at the same time, Heidi. So this really was a horrific incident, shaking the whole of Germany today, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. I imagine that investigators now are talking to anyone and everyone they can, trying to figure out why this happened?

MAGNAY: Well, yes. He's a former student at this school where this incident took place, this 17-year-old former student. And apparently what we know from police is that he was - he was holding a rifle, which he probably got from his own parents, whose house was raided today, and they found 18 weapons in his parents' possession.

So that's where he would have gotten the weapon from. But still, we have no knowledge as to a motive. We don't know what - what motivated him to go into that school, and kill essentially his former fellow students. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Diana Magnay, keeping her eye on the story for us from Berlin this morning. Thanks, Diana.

Bernie Madoff, once considered the wizard of Wall Street may now see his final hours of freedom slip away. He is expected to plead guilty tomorrow to engineering one of the biggest investment scams in the nation's history. Madoff could face up to 150 years in prison. Prosecutors say he is not cooperating, and that could crush any hopes of recovering money for his former clients, and many of them saw their entire retirement savings vanish.

Excessive pork barrel spending on the hill. Lawmakers call it earmarks for pet projects. President Obama campaigned against it, but he still is set to sign a controversial $410 million spending bill stuffed with earmarks. While at the same time, announcing ways to curb them. Live now to CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. It's a little confusing, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOSUE CORRESPONDENT: It is a little confusing, Heidi. I spoke with a senior administration official who said, look, they believe that President Obama can take this political hit. This is really not something that he wants to fight members of Congress on. Obviously, both sides, they believe are guilty. Republicans and democrats are stuffing the spending bill full of these pet projects that really don't - they don't go noticed until much, much later. And they kind of sneak through this whole process. And it is fair to say that President Obama's position on this has evolved.

I want to take you through some of this here. This is a study from the independent Taxpayers for Common Sense. They found that in Obama's first three years as a senator, he co-sponsored $90 million plus worth of earmarks in 2008 appropriations bills. But then you take a look at what he did later on. Also the senator, he introduced and got passed bipartisan legislation requiring more disclosure about this, transparency regarding these kinds of pet projects that are stuffed in the spending bills.

And then finally what we did hear as candidate Obama, he made some promises, he said, look, we've got to reform this whole process. He is promising as president to slash earmarks to the 1994 levels. He wants to ensure that these decisions about spending and where this money is going is transparent. So we have seen kind of an evolution, if you will, with his position here, but what is going to happen is, yes, he is going to quietly go ahead and sign that spending bill. They argue this is President Bush's administration, last administration's business that they are going to go ahead, moving forward, reforming the process.

But they don't need to get into this fight right now. There is much too much on the table, they believe, to actually have the president veto this legislation over the earmark issue, Heidi.

COLLINS: Remind us again, Suzanne, why this particular bill, the $410 billion is so critically important, according to the White House.

MALVEAUX: Well, obviously, it keeps the government running. This is from the last year's budget they've got to basically keep the government running, otherwise you would have members of Congress once again going ahead and having kind of a stop gap measure for another week to fund the federal government. No, this is going to keep - the wheels in motion here. That's what they need. And then obviously, the Obama administration saying, look, you know, everything is going to run smoothly. Let's deal with what we have in front of us. And that is this incredible economic crisis, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. We'll be watching and trying to understand. Suzanne Malveaux, sure do appreciate that. Live outside the White House this morning. And here is a look at some other things on the president's agenda today. This hour, he is getting his daily economic briefing from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Next hour, he'll make that announcement on the earmark reform. Then, at 1:00 this afternoon, the president signs an executive order, creating the White House council on women and girls.

The Obama administration expected to choose a drug czar nominee today, officially, anyway. Sources tell CNN, Seattle, Washington police chief Gill Kerlikowski will be picked as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, that's the actual title for the drug czar position. That formal announcement expected at noon today. And then he has to be confirmed by the Senate. Kerlikowski took over as Seattle's police chief in 2000. Before that, he was a deputy director at the Justice Department office providing federal grants for the local police. The former police chief of Buffalo, New York, Fort Pierce and Ft. Lucie, Florida. He was also a military policeman in the Army.

Lots of flooding to talk about in certain parts of the country. The Midwest, to be specific. Rob Marciano joining me now with more on that. Hey, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Heidi, the rain has stopped. That's good news, but the flood warning is still in effect for a number of these counties. Some or most I should say of the rivers are beginning to recede. But still up and over the flood banks. Go to Illinois, this is Naperville, Illinois, which saw a tremendous amount of flooding yesterday. This shot, as the water was on the rise. And the folks out of there saying all we can do is hope.

Obviously a lot of that street and business frontal property - inundated by that water. We're all seeing a flash flood warning right now across White and Carol counties here in northwestern, Indiana, because one of the dams, the floodgates actually opened there. Not sure if that was planned but downstream from that dam, we are seeing a tremendous amount of flooding right now. This front is bringing some rainfall, which is beginning to weaken, except for down across parts of Texas, where we're seeing a lot of rain, and that could see a little bit of flooding there.

Yesterday, Nashville, Tennessee, 80 degrees. The old record was 79 set back in 1879. Look at these old records falling. In Louisville, Kentucky, as well, 78 degrees, an old record in there. And in Cincinnati, Ohio, 75 degrees. That is balmy for southern parts of the Ohio Valley.

Here is a shot at Nashville. You know what, after an 80-degree high temperature yesterday, it is just dropping like a rock. Certainly not dropping like it's hot. Temperatures now in the 40s, and we'll continue to plummet as the cold front moves through. WKRN, thanks for that shot. The warm spot would be Orlando, Florida, or just to the east where they're launching the space shuttle later on tonight -

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: Nine twenty, a crowd-pleaser. It's a night launch, because that thing will just light up the sky. We got no problems with weather.

COLLINS: Good. Yes.

MARCIANO: So that's not going to be an issue. Here is a little treat for you, Heidi. Check out this map. This actually shows you, and I stole this off space.com. This shows you where you'll be able to see the flare in the night sky.

COLLINS: Yes. Because you said 500 miles.

MARCIANO: Yes, that would include Atlanta. So, for the first few minutes right after launch, you'll see it very low on the southeastern horizon, this thing lightning up. Actually as it gets closer to the northeast, we got some problems with clouds here, but you might be able to see what looks to be just a bright yellow star that's moving very low on the eastern horizon. It will be moving pretty quickly. That thing wants to get into orbit in a hurry -

COLLINS: Yes, cool, because the eight-year-old is also tracking the moon. Or keeping tract of that like for the month or something.

MARCIANO: Really?

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: I think tonight may be a full moon.

COLLINS: Yes. Last night, too, wasn't?

MARCIANO: Yes, maybe it was last night. COLLINS: Excellent. Throw the shuttle in there, and it will be great. All right. Hey, stick around for this, because we have a couple of stories that are pretty interesting here. Southern California now, look at this, a gray whale loses its way and winds up in San Diego bay. Boaters first spotted it yesterday and helped wave ship traffic safely away from it. Very good idea.

Great pictures, too. The harbor patrol is trying to herd the whale back to sea, and the receding tide could help usher it out. Do you have tide prediction?

MARCIANO: No I don't. All I know is that San Diego is awfully nice and mama whale. Well maybe it just wants to hang out. Check it out.

COLLINS: OK.

MARCIANO: Port of call there.

COLLINS: Want him to be safe, though. So as you can see, people are concerned, as usual, with the whale watching and we'll keep an eye on that. Remind everybody what happens.

Hey, also, springtime in Alaska, that means the legendary iditarod race. I love this event. Sled dogs and their human teammates are now about 2/3 of the way through the 1,100 mile course. Did you remember it was 1100 mile? Race officials say the teams are surprisingly fast pace. Ironically, though, the unseasonably warm weather with temperatures above 20 degrees is not such good news. But their hearts are working. They are sweating. Racers say it is hard on the dogs, and takes away their appetites, too.

MARCIANO: But they love it. The dogs love it.

COLLINS: Are you being facetious?

MARCIANO: No, I think they do love it.

COLLINS: OK. They love it.

MARCIANO: I could hear the phones light up.

COLLINS: Some people - well, yes.

MARCIANO: These dogs want to go.

COLLINS: They do. They have little slippers.

MARCIANO: See?

COLLINS: Very important for their pads. Anyway, we digress. Thank you, Rob. We'll see you a little later on.

Insurance for pre-existing conditions. President Obama wants coverage to be part of his health care reforms. We're going to hear from a man who is hoping that will happen. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Mental health advocates say the U.S. does a poor job in taking care of its mentally ill. In a report out today, the National Alliance of Mental Illness gives the U.S. a "D" for its adult mental health care system. It's the same grade the group gave three years ago. Today's report says, there's only been marginal progress, not even enough to warrant a better grade, and the alliance warns conditions could worsen if the economic crisis forces cuts in state mental health budgets.

President Obama putting health care reform high on his first year agenda, included in his plan making health insurance available for people with pre-existing conditions. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One or two?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jim Matthews was living the American dream in South Carolina. But a serious heart condition forced the 56-year-old optometrist to sell his practice. To replace his group insurance policy, Matthews went looking for individual health insurance. He told us he was stunned by what he was told.

JIM MATTHEWS, OPTOMETRIST: He basically laughed, and he said, you have no hope of getting insurance as an individual.

GUPTA: No hope because of something called a pre-existing condition. Matthews had had open-heart surgery and also been diagnosed with an aneurysm that could require more surgery one day.

MATTHEWS: He won't even write you a policy. It's a waste of time. He said, you are uninsurable in the state of South Carolina.

GUPTA: A pre-existing condition is any illness or a medical problem you have before buying or enrolling in a health plan, even surgery a decade ago could count. And in 44 states, and the district of Columbia, it's perfectly legal for insurers to deny coverage or in some cases charge higher prices to people with pre-existing conditions.

Different companies have different lists of conditions they won't cover. Things like arthritis, diabetes, depression even pregnancy and obesity. No one is immune. Recently Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, talked about the difficulty his mother had when she was pregnant with him.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: I was - the folks in the insurance industry now called a pre-existing condition.

GUPTA: There are exclusions that vary state to state, even policy to policy, and different rules apply for individual plans and employer-sponsored group coverage. But if President Obama has his way, insurers will not be allowed to discriminate against people like Jim Matthews and would be required to cover pre-existing conditions, no matter the illness or the medical history.

The insurance industry says, that's fine, as long as everyone has to buy insurance. Otherwise, premiums, they say, will increase dramatically.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Media coverage of the economic crisis, too much or too little and is it affecting real life conditions. We'll talk about it coming up with a panel of experts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: We are following two shooting sprees this morning. First, the latest from southern Alabama. Authorities are trying to figure out a motive for a gunman who opened fire on both family members and apparent strangers. He killed ten people yesterday before killing himself.

Today in southwest Germany, police say a 17-year-old dressed in military gear killed 15 people. He began the rampage at his former school, where three teachers and nine students were killed. Police killed him in a nearby town during a shootout.

Yesterday's huge rally on Wall Street gave all of us some hope, but stock analysts say we need to see another gain today to feel good about the direction of the market. Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange now with some more details on where things stand.

We see at least still a plus sign there, Susan. That's good.

LISOVICZ: That is good, Heidi. I mean, we're up the highs of the session. But let's just enjoy it for what it is. It is a modest rally coming after the best gains of the year for the Dow, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

Why is that? Why did we see the gains? Something we've been talking about for months: worries about the financial sector. Citigroup says it made money in January and February. Bank of America said that it can weather this storm. Of course, we're still waiting for the Treasury Department concrlete details about what it has in mind for propping up the financial sector.

But if we continue to hear more of this kind of talk, well, then, maybe this won't just be a one-day wonder or maybe a repeat of back- to-back gains. But back-to-back gains are something we have not seen in five weeks for the Dow industrials.

As you mentioned, the Dow briefly above 7000. There was some indecision at the open. But the bulls seem to have some traction. And right now, blue chips are up 63 points, flirting with 7000 once again, Heidi. The Nasdaq, meanwhile is up 26, doing a little better on a percentage basis -- Heidi.

COLLINS: But you're right. I mean, we do have to be careful, and keep it all in perspective. And yet, obviously, President Obama reported on this yesterday. It was 50 days through his first 100 days, halfway, of course. How does the president measure up on Wall Street?

LISOVICZ: Well, not too well. I mean, you know, you have to put a lot of caveats there. President Obama's first 50 days are the second-worst in history for a president, incoming president. The Dow fell 16 percent over the first 50 days. That's second only to Gerald Ford. He had his own official bear market, down 20 percent in his first 50 days.

Of course, the first 50 days are not indicative of the long term, of the entire term. And the best example of that is Gerald Ford's entire term when, in fact, blue chips rose 23 percent. Everybody recognizes that since President Obama came in on January 20th, that there were a lot of issues that preceded him. There was a lot of nervousness.

There have been some criticism from the street here, for sure, about lack of details, for instance, about the bank, going back to the bank plan, from Treasury Geithner. But the fact is, we've got a ways to go. And we're talking about long-term investments here, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Susan, very good. Thank you. Appreciate that.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Yesterday and today, exceptions to the doom and gloom in the news these days. In case you need a reminder, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It has been a jaw-dropping week for those worried about job security out there. The unemployment numbers are out, and it's at a 25-year high.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Eight point one percent of Americans are out of work. That's a very large number. It means that 12.5 million Americans don't have a job.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The global financial crisis is deepening. According to the World Bank, the global economy will shrink this year for the first time since World War II.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: OK. So, some good news and some bad news, that's for sure. Our question to you this morning, though, what do you think about the media's coverage of the economy? Our Josh Levs has been fielding some of your responses. I'm very curious about this, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's interesting, Heidi. And I'll just let everyone know, I mean straight up, you don't hold back, and neither do we in showing you what it is that you're saying, all right? So, you're going to see it.

Let's zoom in over here. You'll see. I mean, one thing that's good about Facebook is, people respond to each other through discussion. So, this is what we asked this morning on my page, Josh Levs CNN: Your views on the medica's coverage of the economy.

Check it out, Heidi. We're going to start here. Laura is saying, "The media is spreading Obama's wave of panic and doing a great job of it. Rather than fighting fear, the media is panic- mongering."

But then look at this. We get a response from Chris: "Our country and media is so used to having a president who can only handle one task at a time, we're penalizing President Obama for multitasking." And we got another post here at Facebook. This is Jeff, who says he thinks he's normally fair. "So far, I would give the media a B on the overall coverage of the economic issues of our time." So I guess in that sense, Heidi, not too bad, huh?

COLLINS: Yes.

LEVS: One of the nicer ones comes in on e-mail. Take a look at this. This is from Mrs. Joe Richards, she goes by. She says, "I don't think you spread too much doom and gloom. I appreciate your reporting overall."

Let's go to one beneath that: "Too many generalities. Overall unemployment rates, job fairs, cities or sections of the country that may be hiring. That isn't helpful for professionals like me, a lawyer."

And Heidi, I'll show you one more here that came in by e-mail. "The value of economists has sunk to zero. They can be found holding positions on every point of the spectrum," from JDC.

All right, we've got two ways you can weigh in today. We've got the Facebook page, Josh Levs CNN, or e-mail us CNNnewsroom@CNN.com. There it is. And Heidi, we're going to keep an eye on this. And we'll keep talking about it in the days to come. It's very interesting to see what folks are saying about the media's role in the economic crisis.

COLLINS: Yes, it really is. It's a struggle every day. Do we do too much, too little? We've got to get the news out, but, you know -- all right.

LEVS: Every day.

COLLINS: Josh Levs, appreciate it. Let us know what else you get there.

LEVS: You got it. Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: Turning the spotlights on ourselves. In fact, we want to get some more reaction to the media's coverage of the economic crisis.

So, joing me this morning is Farnoosh Torabi, a senior correspondent for thestreet.com, Paula Caligiuri, a psychologist and director of the Center for Human Resources Strategy, and Mike Paul, a P.R. and media consultant. Thanks for having an easy name there, Paul. You win.

Guys, it's a good question. I'm hoping that you were able to hear what some of our e-mailers and our Facebook friends have been saying to us in response to our e-mail question this morning about, you know, the job that we're doing. Mike, I'll begin with you. What do you think? How do we do our jobs and not depress everybody?

MIKE PAUL, P.R. AND MEDIA CONSULTANT: Well, look, the media is not only about reporting the news. It's also a business. And one of the things that we know is that fear works. It's the reason why fear is used in political campaigns. It's the reason why fear is used in ad campaigns. Quite frankly, it gets our attention.

That doesn't mean that it's happening in the entire country and it affects everybody. For example, one of your reporters said that 1 percent of America is out of work. That is a high number historically, but that still means that 99 percent of the people in this country have jobs.

COLLINS: But, wait, the unemployment rate is 8.1 percent.

PAUL: Say that again, I'm sorry?

COLLINS: The unemployment rate is 8.1 percent right now.

PAUL: Yes. So if it's 8.1 percent...

COLLINS: Which is the highest, like, since 1948.

PAUL: Well, we're still talking about 92 percent. Agreed. But you can either lean towards the number being 8.1, or you can towards the number being 21.9. And talk about those that still have jobs. Talk about those small businesses that are still doing well. Talk about those large businesses that are still doing well. Talk about those that are in the stock market that also still have money in it.

COLLINS: All right. Paula, what do you think about this?

PAULA CALIGIURI, DIR., CENTER FOR HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY: Sure. Heidi, it's not the media alone that is creating the anxiety and the fears. Its also the combination of very salient personal experiences. So you could be saying the sky is falling, the sky is falling, the sky is falling, but when we walk outside and a piece of sky falls on our head, we start to listen to those messages a little more clearly.

COLLINS: Yes, it hurts when that happens.

CALIGIURI: Exactly. Exactly.

COLLINS: Yes, I mean, we're talking about...

CALIGIURI: And so, that's really what's creating part of the anxiety.

COLLINS: OK, well, we're talking about 401(k)s, because we hear a lot about that every day. And we are listening to our viewers, and we do read those comments very frequently here. Let me ask you, Farnoush, what's your assessment of the job we've been doing?

FARNOOSH TORABI, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, THESTREET.COM: Well, I think I'd have to agree with your reader who said, I give the journalists a B. You know, Heidi, really, to be a true journalist, it's not just running a business, but you have to service your readers and your audience. Fear-mongering, yes, that grabs your readers' attention, but at the end of the day, what value...

COLLINS: Yes, panic-mongering.

TORABI: ... is panic-mongering?

COLLINS: Panic-mongering was one that one of the e-mailers said, yes.

TORABI: Right, that doesn't service your journalists. You have to provide what is happening. And what is happening is both awful and great. There are stories, heroic stories that people are triumphing in this market.

Guess what, our savings rate is up 5 percent, the most in 14 years. And we are talking about money in an intimate way. And of course, now because the economy is suffering, we're talking about money. But guess what? I think that when this economy improves, we are going to see a paradigm shift. And our dialogue about money will continue. And that's a very healthy thing. And so, I...

PAUL: But Heidi...

COLLINS: Go ahead, Mike.

PAUL: I was going to say, one of the things that we need to have is, we need to have more tips as to what they should be doing. For example, should people be buying more food versus going out, or should they feel pressure to go out and help those small restaurants and businesses in their community?

TORABI: Those things are out there.

PAUL: Should they be investing in stocks right now, or should they be putting more money into savings? There's a lot of mixed messages out there, and they need more help.

COLLINS: Well, people can't watch everything. I mean, we know that. But they certainly can go about doing their research. In fact, we've had a couple good stories, Mike. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC BELL, NEWLY EMPLOYED: Well, after an eight-month layoff, I've started in the last couple weeks a contract position. It feels good to have a regular routine again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are lending money, and on behalf of my colleagues around the country, they're lending money, as well.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people very optimistic that at least, at least Wall Street is still capable of responding to good news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And I know the other night on "Larry King Live," Rachael Ray was there. And she was talking about buying up all that chicken when it's on sale, putting it in the freezer and becoming sort of your own frozen food market, if you will. Paula tell me, what can we do better?

CALIGIURI: What can the media do better?

COLLINS: Yes.

CALIGIURI: I think it would be helpful if we could start providing some diagnostics to allow people to evaluate their situation. For example, yes, unemployment is high, 8.1 percent. But you know what, 91.9 percent of us have jobs. And many of those jobs are very stable. So, it would be extremely helpful for the media to start helping us self-diagnose whether our jobs are at risk or not.

COLLINS: OK. And Farnoosh, I give you the last word here.

TORABI: Well, I just think that it is the responsibility of Americans to diversify where they're getting their news. If you're just watching one news station or you're just getting information from one newspaper, you're not doing yourself a service.

You have to, you know, reach out and inform yourself. We have to -- if anything we're learning right now, it's we have to take the initiative. We have to have self-accountability, and we can't wait for the news to come to us. We have to go out there and get that information.

COLLINS: Mike, I lied. You can have the last word now.

PAUL: Well, one of the things I think we need to do is take the pressure off of President Obama. He did say that the buck stops with him. But bottom line is, the economy is dealing with things within the business sector, and the business sector needs to have more of a voice. The internal messages, for example, you just saw from Citigroup's chairman in getting an e-mail that should only have gone to employees, but he made sure that the world read it, actually impacted the market and has impacted (INAUDIBLE). COLLINS: But he is the guy in charge right now. He is the guy who is pushing for, you know, these economic recovery packages. And we're talking about billions and billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars.

PAUL: Yes, but the accountability might be with him, but the impact and the decisions are still made by the CEOs and the (INAUDIBLE) in this country and abroad.

COLLINS: And people on their own, personal responsibility, as well. Boy, we certainly appreciate the time, guys. Farnoosh Torabi, Paula Caligiuri and Mike Paul. Thanks, guys.

TORABI: Thank you.

PAUL: Glad to be here.

COLLINS: Another busy day for President Obama. He's already off and running this hour, getting his daily economic briefing from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Next hour, he'll make that announcement on earmark reform we've been talking about. And then 1:00 Eastern, the president signs an executive order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls.

Supply and demand. More hybrid cars are on their way, but lower gas prices could leave them in the park. It's our "Energy Fix."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: High water and heavy snow. Those weather woes affecting people in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Rob Marciano gives us a little bit of a closer look now. Hey there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Well, they dared to speak out, and now they live in fear for their lives. Businesspeople, journalists, everyday citizens on the run from Mexico's drug traffickers and asking for asylum in the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Startling new numbers out. A growing terrorist watch list in the U.S. "USA Today" reporting the list now has one million entries. That's up 32 percent since 2007. The latest increase reported despite the removal of 33,000 entries last year when people's names are purged due to outdated information or when they're cleared through investigations.

They were reporters, businesspeople and everyday citizens in Mexico. Then, they angered the drug traffickers, and now they are running for their lives, trying to find asylum in the United States.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From a tiny restaurant in El Paso, Texas, Jorge Aguirre and Emilio Gutierrez (ph) agreed to meet with us, two Mexican reporters in hiding. They say their articles criticizing Mexican government officials were met with death threats.

EMILIO GUTIERREZ, MEXICAN JOURNALIST: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAVANDERA: The fear never ends, Emilio told me. I had become a source of frustration for them.

Aguirre runs a Web site called lapolaka.com. He was on his way to a friend's funeral last November in Juarez, a fellow reporter who was assassinated, when his cell phone rang.

JORGE AGUIRRE, MEXICAN JOURNALIST: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAVANDERA: They called and told me I was next, Jorge says. I went into shock. I thought I was going to die right there on the street corner.

Aguirre says he knows where the threat came from. He rushed his family into El Paso and hasn't been home since. Gutierrez has already requested asylum. Both men say politicians controlled by drug traffickers want them killed. Mexican government officials have denied this.

GUTIERREZ: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAVANDERA: If I go back, they will kill me, he says.

(on camera): The number of Mexican citizens asking for asylum in the U.S. because they fear the violence in their home country has been going up. In 2003, there were 54 cases. That number jumped to 312 last year.

But asylum isn't a sure bet. Less than half of those cases were approved last year. Applicants must show they're being persecuted for social or political reasons. There are business owners, even law enforcement agents, including three Mexican police chiefs who refused the bribes of drug cartels. One of those worked in the small town of Palomas, on the border with New Mexico.

SHERIFF RAYMOND COBOS, LUNA COUNTY, N.M.: It's pretty hard to fight that type of a situation by yourself.

LAVANDERA: Sheriff Raymond Cobos knew the Palomas chief. He heard the chief was denied asylum and is hiding somewhere in Mexico.

COBOS: If I was interested in surviving and living another day and taking care of my family and protecting my family, I would have to give up my post because I wouldn't have anybody else to rely on.

LAVANDERA: And now we have learned the American attorney for the two Mexican reporters says he's being threatened for taking their case, saying he's been followed on the U.S. side.

(on camera): Do you view this as a threat on your life?

CARLOS SPECTOR, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: Yes, I've taken it very seriously. I've grown up in Mexico. I've lived in Mexico. I lived on the border my entire life. I know how they function. It was clearly a threat that if I don't stop, something will happen.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Another reason for Emilio Gutierrez and Jorge Aguirre to to remain hiding.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, El Paso.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: He is accused of a brutal beating, and now the kids' network Nickelodeon in a tug of war with parents over whether R&B singer Chris Brown should still be honored at a ceremony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Some parents say Chris Brown has no business showing his face on any stage right now. And they're gathering signatures online to stop him. They want Nickelodeon to withdraw the R&B singer from the ballot at the upcoming Kids' Choice Awards. But the cable network disagrees.

Here now, CNN entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was once hard not to like Chris Brown. The 19-year-old fresh-faced R&B singer wooed kids and their parents with his clean lyrics and polished good looks. But that was then.

Brown now stands accused of viciously beating his equally famous girlfriend, Rihanna. He faces arraignment next month on charges of assault and criminal threats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was like, Chris Brown? You wouldn't expect Chris Brown to do that because of, like, his music and how he acts.

WYNTER: And now, the latest wrinkle in the ongoing case involves the upcoming Kids Choice Awards on Nickelodeon. Both Brown and Rihanna are up for two. A growing community of angry parents is calling on Nickelodeon to remove Brown's name from nomination.

DR. CARA NATTERSON, MOMLOGIC.COM: We're telling our children, it is okay to behave this way. It is okay to break the law and to hurt someone.

WYNTER: An online petition linked to sites like Twittermoms.com and momlogic.com gathered thousands of signatures in its first days up, and has been adding hundreds of new Web signatures every hour. In part, it reads, "To say that either of those people is setting a suitable example to be held up as winners is preposterous."

But Nickelodeon isn't backing down, telling CNN, quote, "Like all our Kids Choice awards nominees, Chris Brown was nominated by kids several months ago, and the kids who vote will ultimately decide who wins in the category."

NATTERSON: The network is for kids. But the network is not run by kids. And we don't allow children to make their own decisions in many different facets of the world. So, it is important for us to step in and tell kids what is right from wrong.

WYNTER (on camera): Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards will air later this month. The network has said neither of the two stars has indicated they plan on attending. Brown's next court appearance, by the way, is set for April 6.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. Join us again tomorrow morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. For now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.