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American Morning
Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer Have Head-to-Head Showdown; Madoff Behind Bars, Victims React; Three Charged in Anna Nicole Smith Case; First Lady Michelle Obama's Military Mission; Japan Protests North Korea Launch; Oprah Winfrey on Abusive Relationships; Two Governors Want Troops at Border; Make Money by Selling Old Jewelry
Aired March 13, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thanks for being with us. It's Friday, March 13th. I'm Kiran Chetry. Rob Marciano is filling in for John Roberts, who's in his native homeland of Canada.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Big doings with John. I didn't realize why he was going back to Canada, but we're going to tell you more about that during the show, honored back and to our friends to the north.
CHETRY: That's right.
MARCIANO: And it's Friday the 13th, but this round should be better than the last, at least for now.
CHETRY: Exactly.
MARCIANO: All right, Kiran. Good morning, everybody. Lots to cover this morning.
Here are some of the top stories on our agenda right now, and we're going to be breaking them down for you in the next 15 minutes.
The showdown between "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart and CNBC's "Mad Money" man Jim Cramer finally took place last night. After weeks of finger-pointing and name-calling over the financial meltdown, Jon Stewart did not hold back. CNN was at yesterday's show and we've got more on the face-to-face and what you didn't see last night.
Plus Wall Street's three-day rally driving markets overseas into positive territory, and the current optimism stretching from trading floors to Washington. President Barack Obama trying to talk the economy back to life. Is it working and will Wall Street's rally hold? Our CNN money team is standing by with the latest news on your money.
And it's the first day of the rest of Bernie Madoff's life. The convicted swindler now federal inmate number 61727054. Madoff spent the night in a seven-by-eight holding cell after pleading guilty to operating a Ponzi scheme that robbed investors of billions. Madoff will be sentenced in June.
CHETRY: And now to the story that already has people talking this morning. It's the long-awaited showdown between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer.
The Comedy Central funnyman and CNBC's moneyman have spent the past week in a war of words and last night they faced off on "The Daily Show." There were some fireworks. There were some laughs but mostly it was Stewart unloading. He seemed to channel the anger that a lot of people in the country are feeling right now over Wall Street. He also blasted Cramer and CNBC saying that they could have done a lot more to protect the economy before it tanked.
Christine Romans joins us now with more on this showdown. And what did you think?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I thought it was really interesting, but it wasn't the Brawl of Wall Street or the Battle of Brawl Street that they were billing it out to be. It was interesting. Twenty-five minutes was the actual interview.
MARCIANO: Wow.
ROMANS: But they obviously edited it down. You know, you tell us what you think. See for yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Welcome to "Brawl Street."
ROMANS (voice-over): It was the showdown TV viewers had been waiting for, Jon Stewart versus Jim Cramer.
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": It's go time!
ROMANS: And "The Daily Show" host didn't pull any punches.
STEWART: I understand you want to make finance entertaining, but it's not a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) game. And I -- when I watch that, I get, I can't tell you how angry that makes me.
ROMANS: But despite days of heated exchanges, the meeting was less mano-a-mano and more mea culpa.
JIM CRAMER, HOST, "MAD MONEY": I got a lot of things wrong because I think it was kind of one-in-a-million shot, but I don't think anyone should be spared in this environment. Absolutely, we could do better, absolutely. There's shenanigans, and we should call them out.
Everyone should. I should do a better job at it. I'm trying. I'm trying. Mr. Stewart, I'm trying.
ROMANS: Stewart did try to find some common ground with his cable nemesis.
STEWART: Look, we're both snake oil salesmen to a certain extent, but we do label the show as snake oil here. Isn't there a problem selling snake oil as vitamin tonic and saying that it cures impetigo, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera?
CRAMER: There are people who come out and they make good calls or bad calls and they're financial professionals. And then there's the people who say they only make good calls and they're liars. I try really hard to make as many good calls as I can.
ROMANS: And Stewart made clear that his problem wasn't with the frenetic host of "Mad Money" but with the network he works for.
STEWART: CNBC could be an incredibly powerful tool of illumination.
ROMANS: But Cramer hit back when Stewart accused financial news networks of being soft on banks and businesses.
STEWART: It is this idea that the financial news industry is not just guilty of a sin of omission but a sin of commission, that they are absolutely in bed with this idea...
CRAMER: No, we're not in bed with them. I don't think that's fair, honestly. I think that we try to report the news.
ROMANS: The meeting may finally end the feud between the two hosts, but there had been one clear winner, Comedy Central's ratings. Viewership for "The Daily Show" is up 20 percent since Stewart's first rant against CNBC, while ratings for Jim Cramer's show are down 24 percent since Stewart went on the warpath.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Let's remember these are two entertainers. There is a big financial crisis, but these two men are entertainers. Both of them admit that but shining a light really on questions about, you know, the run-up to this financial crisis and whose responsibility it is to shine a light on that. But the fact is...
CHETRY: It's interesting though because you say they're entertainers but Wall Street is glued to CNBC, right?
ROMANS: Sure.
CHETRY: I mean, you know...
ROMANS: People on Wall Street -- but there are people who are on Wall Street who are entertained by CNBC and he -- Jim Cramer made a point. He said, look, I'm supposed to have an entertainment show about money and investing and that's what I do. And you know, I mean, he throws bulls and bears and he, you know, hits bells.
MARCIANO: Yes.
ROMANS: I mean, if you watch that show you don't think it is a serious news show.
MARCIANO: It's good TV. You know, and both shows...
ROMANS: Right.
MARCIANO: Both shows are good TV. They are two very successful TV hosts and Cramer was on -- definitely on the visitors' playing field at that point.
ROMANS: That's right. And this feud was great TV as well but Cramer supporters were like Cramer, hit back! I was watching it sort of online while it was happening. There's some "come on, Cramer, hit back. Hit him back. You know, they thought he was too apologetic and he was pretty apologetic.
It wasn't the fireworks I think that some people have been thinking. You know, it was the cable feud of the century or this cable feud of the week, if you will. So, now we'll see if maybe this puts it all to rest.
MARCIANO: Well, I can tell you when you get a forecast wrong, be it weather or a business one, you do want to have some --
ROMANS: You can relate. You can relate.
MARCIANO: You want to have some humility.
ROMANS: That's right.
MARCIANO: There are some things that are out of our control.
ROMANS: And nobody has a perfect track record in calling the markets and Cramer was absolutely right about that. I mean, everybody in the markets makes bad calls. I mean, that's the nature of the beast but now, every bad call is being really, really highlighted.
CHETRY: Right. I think also what Jon Stewart was trying to get to when you talk about that is the fact that a lot of people are asking now, where was everyone when people said wait a minute, we know everybody can't afford these homes? Wait a minute, this is a bubble. Wait a minute, you know, how are these companies continuing to get in these, you know, double-digit profits. Something that doesn't smell right, and he sort of tapped into the feeling that people said why didn't anyone ask more questions.
ROMANS: Right. There were people (INAUDIBLE) and on CNBC and elsewhere. There were people who were asking these questions but, you know, people were making money for a very, very long time and it just wasn't the top news headline, you know.
CHETRY: You're right.
ROMANS: It just wasn't.
CHETRY: Yes, you're right.
ROMANS: It is now.
CHETRY: It sure is. Christine, thanks.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Christine. It's still on your beat (ph), we're following developing news in the financial markets this morning.
Right now overseas, indexes riding the wave of Wall Street's three-day rally. The CNN money team reporting green arrows from Europe to Asia. All of this comes as Wall Street gets ready to start the day back over the 7,000 mark. The Dow picking up another 240 points yesterday, and the signs of confidence and optimism weren't exclusive to trading floors. Barack Obama also seeing things in a more positive light.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think things are ever as good as we say, and they're never as bad as they say. And things two years ago were not as good as we thought, because there were a lot of underlying weaknesses in the economy, and they're not as bad as we think they are now. We're going to restore confidence by, in a very systematic way, getting this financial system fixed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is the only reporter live at the White House this early in the morning. And, Suzanne, when it comes to a message going forward, what can we expect from the White House?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Rob, actually what we've been seeing is this full court press, really public relations campaign to try to prove that this administration knows what it's doing. That's the message to the business community.
Three things we're actually seeing here. Yesterday, President Obama and business leaders in public, on the same page talking about health care and taxes, earlier in the day. The second point, you saw the president as well as the vice president playing kind of good cop/bad cop with top state officials, saying look, we're going to hold you accountable for spending the money. We're going to be tracking the money. It has to be transparent.
And the third thing we saw earlier in the week, Rob, that was when we saw the president with his treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, side by side essentially talking about the global economic crisis, how there's a need to open the markets.
So that is the message. You're going to hear it loud and clear from this administration. You're going to hear it again today. And what the bottom line is, they're trying to make sure that they instill confidence in the business community, Rob.
MARCIANO: Well, at least after a three-day rally there, at least temporarily, maybe breathing a bit of a sigh of relief.
Suzanne Malveaux live for us at the White House. Thanks, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Sure. MARCIANO: Well also this morning, President Obama's top money man defending the administration's big spending plans. Here's more on an "AM Extra."
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifying on Capitol Hill that all parts of the president's $3.6 trillion budget are "necessary" to lay a foundation for recovery. He encountered some pushback even from the president's own party. Democratic Senator Kent Conrad questioned the $634 billion price tag to reform health care. He went on to say huge spending could lead to huge and unsustainable deficits in the future. That's a concern we're also hearing from our iReporters like Jim Hennessy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM HENNESSY, IREPORTER: It makes no sense to me how spending and borrowing more than we actually have is going to get us out of this problem. My family doesn't do that. When my family is in trouble, we don't spend more than we actually have coming in. It makes no sense to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: And we want you to join the conversation. Send us an iReport. Go to our Web site, CNN.com/am.
CHETRY: Also developing right now, from a penthouse to the jailhouse. This morning, disgraced moneyman Bernie Madoff is behind bars. He's waking up in a Manhattan correctional facility in a cinder-block cell much like the one you're about to see here.
Madoff was locked up after pleading guilty to a massive Ponzi scheme that robbed investors of billions of dollars. And he didn't pull any punches telling the court "I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come." He also had a message for his victims. This morning many of them are sounding off.
Jason Carroll joins us this morning with that part of the story. A lot of anger understandably, but many of them felt like they needed to go to the courthouse in person and make sure the judge and the prosecutors heard where they were coming from.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. They wanted to be there. They wanted to see him. They wanted to witness what happened. I really got an earful when I went down there yesterday to listen to some of these victims.
Madoff told the court he knew what he did was criminal and he would eventually be caught. The victims who came to hear him speak not moved by his words. In cases, it left them more angry and with more questions about where their money went.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Outside federal court, a gathering of angry voices. CYNTHIA FRIEDMAN, MADOFF VICTIM: I think he should rot in hell. He's evil. He's evil.
BENNETT GOLDWORTH, MADOFF VICTIM: He's a sick man. And his going to jail, I don't even think that's really just punishment.
CARROLL: The victims from what may be the biggest scam in Wall Street history, unable to contain their bitterness towards Bernard Madoff, the man who, in some cases, took everything they had.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just sickens me. The whole thing sickens me.
FRIEDMAN: He's way up there with all the evil people in the world.
CARROLL: Madoff pled guilty to 11 felony counts and told the court he was ashamed and sorry saying, "I am painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many, many people, including members of my family and the thousands of clients who gave me their money." Clients like New Jersey State Senator Loretta Weinberg.
STATE SEN. LORETTA WEINBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: To me, Bernie Madoff is a sociopath. He's a man with no morals, no standards, no set of values whatsoever.
CARROLL: Feelings of betrayal are deep. Many of Madoff's victims saying neither his guilty plea nor his apology make up for the billions he stole.
HELEN DAVIS CHAITMAN, MADOFF VICTIM: I don't attribute any sincerity or honesty to anything he said.
RICHARD FRIEDMAN, MADOFF VICTIM: It's not enough just to say, OK, I'm guilty, put me away. What about all the other people involved? What about his family? I want to know. What about the money?
CARROLL: Prosecutors say Madoff's fraud may have totaled close to $65 billion, money taken from modest investors, wealthy celebrities, even Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. Leading to public fury so intense, Madoff wore a bullet proof vest to court. His attorney received death threats. Seeing Madoff taken from court in handcuffs for some is not justice.
DR. GAIL SALTZ, PSYCHIATRIST: For some people that's not going to even be close to enough, because at the end of the day him sitting in jail doesn't bring you back your money.
CARROLL: Victims like Miriam Siegman, who came to court, are still trying to comprehend it all. Her life savings gone. She showed me the food stamp card she now needs.
Why did you come down today? What did you hope to...
MIRIAM SIEGMAN, MADOFF VICTIM: I came down to, you know, damned if I know. I came down because I need to feel connected to what I'm feeling the result of what's happened but it's like living in a bubble of nothingness.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: I can tell she's still trying to get her head around what happened to her. The anger from many of the victims I spoke to also directed at the federal government, who they say missed the signs of Madoff's scam for so long.
Madoff will be sentenced on June 16th. He's likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. His victims say prosecutors need to pursue the other people they suspect helped Madoff orchestrate his scheme.
CHETRY: You just feel for them. Hopefully there's some way they'll be able to get some of their money back. But as we've been talking about, it will likely be pennies on the dollar, if anything.
CARROLL: If anything.
CHETRY: All right. Jason Carroll for us, thanks.
MARCIANO: Developing this morning, new charges linked to the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Long time partner and attorney, Howard K. Stern, this morning home on bond. We'll break down what police day he and two doctors are accused of.
And Michelle Obama's first official trip outside the Beltway as first lady was a military mission. Hear her message to U.S. troops and their families.
It's 13 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: It's 16 minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward to the stories that CNN and CNN.com will bring you later on today.
A court ruling is expected this morning on New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's request for access to secret memo about $3 million in bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch employees just before Bank of America acquired the bank. Bank of America has received $45 billion in bailout money.
And the search resumes for survivors of a helicopter crash off the coast of Newfoundland. Sixteen people are still missing. The chopper was carrying oil workers to an offshore platform Thursday when it ditched and sank in the frigid north Atlantic. One man was rescued and one body was recovered.
And we're also following a developing story involving Anna Nicole Smith's case. At 1:00 p.m. Eastern, the Los Angeles attorney general will hold a press conference on charges Smith's former companion and lawyer provided highly-addicted drugs to the late model. Howard K. Stern and two doctors charged with eight felonies. It all comes more than two years after Smith died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is live in Los Angeles for more on this. Ted, was all of this a surprise or was it expected?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, you know, after Anna Nicole Smith died in 2007, the attorney general in California, Jerry Brown, came out and said he was going to launch this investigation. He was going to look at the doctors, because you remember back in Florida, where Anna Nicole Smith died in her hotel room, there were literally hundreds of pills, prescription pills. So the attorney general said we're going to go after these doctors.
Well, we haven't heard anything really much for the last two years and then last night, that sort of a bombshell and that they did file charges in this case. And the attorney general's going to go ahead and pursue charges against not only two doctors but against Howard Stern. This is the guy that was Anna Nicole's companion, started off as her lawyer. You saw him. He was involved in that custody battle, that strange battle in Florida after the death of Anna Nicole Smith for the custody of her daughter.
What the attorney general is alleging here is that two doctors, the attorney general says, were prescribing Smith with a battery of different types of prescription drugs for no apparent reason, and they're saying that Stern was taking those drugs, getting them and funneling them to Anna Nicole Smith over a three-year period.
There are significant charges. A lot -- there are multiple felony counts against all three of them. And a lot of people are going to be watching this case not necessarily just because of the Anna Nicole Smith connection but because prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in this country and this is a clear case where there is a trail, and in a lot of cases there are trails. And if they get a conviction here, it's going to be tough, but if they get a conviction, it will be a clear shot out, a warning shot to physicians that are abusing prescription drugs in terms of prescribing them unwarranted, in unwarranted cases. So a lot of eyes on this.
Stern turned himself in last night along with one of the doctors, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor. They were both released on $20,000 bail. The other doctor, a psychiatrist, Christine Eroshevich (ph), is expected to turn herself in on Monday -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Ted Rowlands live for us in Los Angeles. Thanks, Ted.
CHETRY: We have a quick check of some other stories new this morning. Some frightening moments at the International Space Station. A three-member crew had to take shelter in their escape capsule for about ten minutes yesterday when a small piece of space junk got too close for comfort. Though NASA says the space debris came from an old rocket engine, usually the station can dodge incoming space junk. They say, in this case, there is simply no time.
And a big rush for tickets to Michael Jackson final curtain show in London this morning. Jackson fans lined up around London's 02 arena as tickets went on sale this morning. Jackson was originally going to play ten days. Promoters though say that due to the unprecedented demand for tickets, he's now going to do 50 concerts -- 50 concerts. Who knew that demand was still there for Michael Jackson.
MARCIANO: He's still the king.
CHETRY: He still got it.
Well, first lady Michelle Obama shining a spotlight on the plight of America's military families. We're going to hear her message to the troops and their spouses during a visit to Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
It's 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. President Obama could unveil his new strategy for Afghanistan as early as next week. Officials say that the war-time goals are expected to rely heavily on Pakistan for getting rid of terrorist safe havens and also containing extremism in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The president's plan also includes developing the Afghan armed forces.
Meantime, first lady Michelle Obama is on a military mission of her own. She visited the Fort Bragg Army base in North Carolina, met with soldiers as well as their families, and it was her first official trip as first lady outside of D.C. Mrs. Obama telling them that the needs of military families are an issue close to her heart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: What's always powerful for me is that what I notice is that when you meet a soldier is the pride that they have for the work that they do. I don't just see it here. I see it everywhere I go in the faces and the conduct of every military person that I meet.
They have respect for their work. They have respect for their fellow soldiers, and they have respect for the country that they love. These soldiers, they get up every day and they hold themselves to these extremely high standards, the highest standards imaginable. They work hard to prepare every day, not knowing what tomorrow will bring.
Their dedication isn't just for their own sake but for the sake of their unit and for the sake of this country. It's pride, high standards, selflessness, dedication, responsibility -- these are their values.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. And the first lady also shared hugs with soldiers. She read Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat" to a dozen of the servicemen's children as well. They're probably thrilled to have the first lady visit them.
MARCIANO: Yes, exciting times as well.
Exciting times north of the border. Our own John Roberts honored last night for his early career -- you may not know this -- as a Canadian VJ. There he is, epitomizing '80s cool north of the border.
CHETRY: Can we just stop for a second and look at his mullet? I love it.
MARCIANO: Hot.
CHETRY: It is.
MARCIANO: Listening to some of his old work, I mean, he nailed it. He was killing it. He was a host of what's called "Much Music," the equivalent -- the Canadian equivalent of MTV. This was John back when he was known simply as J.D.
Well, last night he was inducted into the Canadian broadcasting hall of fame.
CHETRY: There he is.
MARCIANO: There he is. Congratulations, Tom -- John. Let's take a listen to -- to J.D., John, I can't keep them all straight. Here he is accepting his award.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I can't tell you how much of an honor it is and how humbling it is to be inducted into the hall of fame tonight. It really is quite extraordinary for a kid from Mississauga.
I left Canada in 1992, but it's a place that you can never really leave behind. This really is incredibly kind of you, and I will redouble my efforts to be worthy of the honor that you bestowed upon me tonight.
Thank you all so very much. It's so wonderful to be back here, and I really am completely overwhelmed tonight. Thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: My goodness. Was he welling up there?
CHETRY: I wonder. I think he was getting a little teared up. You know, he also did an interview which you can read online. There he is holding it up.
MARCIANO: That's awesome.
CHETRY: He said that, you know, so much more of his career has been journalism and television journalism, but because that was so popular, he's still known for that, you know, really around Canada and also here in the U.S. And so, you know, good for him. MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: Congratulations.
MARCIANO: And his love of music continues today.
All right, check this out. One of our producers put this little side-by-side comparison together. Let's see if we can tell John looks like back then.
There's John Roberts on your left, and do you recognize the celebrity next to him? That's George Clooney from his days on "Facts of Life." Very similar.
CHETRY: That was a very in-style hairdo, I got to tell you.
MARCIANO: Mel Gibson.
CHETRY: Did you ever do a mullet?
MARCIANO: Yes, I rocked the mullet. Yes, sure.
CHETRY: You did?
MARCIANO: Oh, yes. Not quite that well, but I gave it a go. Mel Gibson also on "Lethal Weapon" would be similar.
CHETRY: I love that.
MARCIANO: These are two guys you would love to be compared to, so congratulations to John on all parts.
CHETRY: All right. Good for you, John.
Well, Oprah Winfrey sending a message to Rihanna and to other young women. Hear what she said about why women suffer again and again at the hands of an abuser.
It's 27 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It may look like a circus big top, but this is the heart of a new Green School. It's made almost entirely from bamboo and its founders, John and Cynthia Hardy, hope it will be on the very cutting edge of environmental education.
JOHN HARDY, FOUNDER, GREEN SCHOOL: The idea of Green School is three years ago. It came as a flash.
RIVERS: There's a heavy emphasis on engaging with the environment. People grow their own vegetables and eat what they harvest.
The classrooms look more like boats, with 80 percent of the students international from 17 countries. The other 20 percent are Balinese here on scholarships.
Erica Carpenter moved to Bali from California so her two sons could attend Green School.
ERICA CARPENTER, PARENT: That old educational environment was developed 150, 200 years ago, and the world has changed so much since then.
RIVERS: The school is designed to have the smallest carbon footprint possible, from composting toilets to no air conditioning. Children get to interact with animals, and the manure from the livestock is used to make methane gas for cooking.
Power is generated from this hydroelectric vortex on the river, which runs right down the middle of the campus, providing a spectacular natural playground.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Bali.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's half past the hour. Checking now our top stories.
Japan issuing a sharp protest against North Korea's alleged satellite launch. The government said it could shoot down the rocket for safety. The warning comes after Pyongyang said it would fly over Japan and designate a danger zone off the Japanese coast. The U.S. believes the launch is a cover for a ballistic missile test.
And this morning, banks Wells Fargo and HSBC are the targets two lawsuits alleging mortgage discrimination. The NAACP says the two banks frequently steered African-American homeowners into mortgages with higher interest rates when their credit history was similar to white home buyers. So far, both banks have refused to comment.
And more good news at the gas pump. Gas prices are down for a fifth straight day. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular is now $1.92. That's down a penny overnight. Right now, just 10 states and Washington, D.C. have gas prices of $2 or more -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob. Well, this morning, Chris Brown's arrest for allegedly beating his girlfriend, Rihanna, sparked a nationwide conversation on domestic violence. In fact, Oprah was so moved by the story that she dedicated a whole hour to the subject on her show yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": I've said it so many times before, love doesn't hurt. And if a man hits you once, he will hit you again. He will, because that's what he knows how to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So what type of impact does Oprah have? Joining me now to talk about this is clinical psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere.
Thanks for being with us this morning.
JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: You know, she was very moved...
GARDERE: Yes.
CHETRY: ... and she wanted to dedicate a whole show because of the Rihanna-Chris Brown situation. And we talk about the Oprah effect, where, you know, when Oprah speaks, people tend to listen. So, what in your opinion would carry more weight with a young person maybe in an abusive relationship, the fact that Chris Brown and Rihanna have reportedly gotten back together and reconciled or Oprah saying this is a bad idea, Rihanna?
GARDERE: Well, we have to look at the timing of the messages. Chris Brown and Rihanna getting back together, that was a very negative message to young people. It said you can go back to your abuser without preconditions. But then you have last but not least Oprah weighing in, saying the reason you go back is because these are unhealthy relationships, unhealthy emotions. And on her show, for those people who watched, she actually had a lot of young people on from different colleges, high schools and so on, so kids tend to identify with the other children that they saw.
And, of course, she had Tyra Banks on, and Tyra appeals to a younger demographic. So, she knew what she was doing. So, hopefully the message did get out there loud and clear that you should not go back to your abuser. If you do go back, there have to be preconditions, of course, therapy and so on.
CHETRY: Right. So, at the end of the day, with this -- for Chris Brown and Rihanna getting back together, I mean, is there pressure on their relationship and pressure on others in potentially abusive relationships because of Oprah and Tyra's influence?
GARDERE: Yes, I think there's definitely pressure on Chris Brown and Rihanna, because now they really have to explain why they got back together again, why they probably will have to do public service announcements and so on. They reportedly are doing a duet together and that's about relationship strife.
But more importantly, this is about young people. They are zeroing in on young people and getting them to question being in teen dating violence. Because a lot of kids just don't think about it. They just exist in it.
CHETRY: Right. And let's listen to what Oprah said about why someone like Rihanna would go back to Chris Brown. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WINFREY: If you go back with a man who hits you, it is because you don't think you're worthy of being with a man who won't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Is that true?
GARDERE: It is true. We see that victims of domestic violence usually have very, very low self-esteem. They come out of domestic violence themselves. And most importantly, we see that a lot of these young women tend to misinterpret the messages that they get. In other words, if this guy hits me, that means he loves me, and that's how low the self-esteem is, or even, I'll accept attention from any guy that I can get, I'm lucky to have him.
So even someone as beautiful and famous as Rihanna, she has some of these self-esteem issues. So it's like the perfect storm between her and Chris Brown who also comes out of a domestic violence situation.
CHETRY: Right. They both talked about that in their childhood. All right. Jeff Gardere, clinical psychologist, thanks for being with us this morning.
GARDERE: Always a pleasure and you look beautiful, by the way.
CHETRY: You're so sweet.
GARDERE: I'm telling the truth.
CHETRY: He always makes me feel good about myself earlier in the day -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Amen to that. She always looks great.
Well, Mexico's bloody drug war is getting worse and it may bring U.S. troops to the border. Why the governors two of states are saying they need National Guard help right now.
And in today's dark economy, there's a new silver lining, it's gold. Selling the precious metal for cash. But just how much money can you make? We'll tell you. It's 35 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. The war between drug cartels against the Mexican government is growing and the violence is spilling across the border into the United States. It's prompted the governors of Texas and Arizona to ask the federal government for National Guard help. Well, CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is following the story. She's live for us in Washington, D.C.
It is getting worse down there, isn't it Jeanne?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Rob what the governors wanted is for the federal government to pick up the tab for sending in the National Guard. The reason, of course, is this violence that is escalating so sharply along the border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Thousands of National Guard were deployed to the border in 2006 to stop illegal immigrants. Now, the governors of Texas and Arizona again want a strong guard presence to stop the spillover of Mexican drug violence. The president is weighing their request.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president enumerated again that long-term challenges relating to many policy decisions around the border are not going to be solved in that long- term through the militarization of the border.
MESERVE: But at a congressional hearing, officials said plans are being drawn up.
ROGER RUFE, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPT.: We're working very closely in the planning process right now with the National Guard and the Department of Defense to make sure we're ready when the time comes. We will exhaust all of the resources of the federal government short of DoD and National Guard troops before we would reach that tipping point.
MESERVE: Exactly what the tipping point is, officials won't say. But in an interview with regional newspapers, President Obama says a cartel murder of even one U.S. citizen would be unacceptable, enough of a concern to do something about it.
The Pentagon is already providing Mexico with up to five helicopters and a marine surveillance vehicle. Satellite imagery provided by intelligence agencies is used to monitor the border, as are customs and border protection unmanned aircraft.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: The Pentagon is in the process of determining if there are other ways of helping the Mexican government short of sending troops to the border and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is drawing up new proposals to fight the cartels that she will discuss with Mexican officials during meetings next month -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Jeanne Meserve live for us in Washington, D.C. Thank you, Jeanne.
MESERVE: You bet.
MARCIANO: It's 41 minutes after the hour.
CHETRY: Need some extra cash?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We get a lot of necklaces. We get a lot of class rings. Dental gold is big. A lot of people sending in dental gold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: How a gift from your ex could save you right now. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. With the economy in recession, many nervous investors are turning to the security of gold. They're actually raiding their jewelry boxes for old pieces of the precious metal with the hopes of turning it into cash. So just how much can you actually make doing that? Well, here's CNN's Carol Costello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran and Rob, a lot of people are doing it, selling anything gold they possess. It has become quite a phenomenon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sent in my diamond wedding band from my first marriage and got money the very next day.
COSTELLO (voice-over): We've all heard the cheesy commercials.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now is the time to send your unwanted gold for cash.
COSTELLO: Who knew so many would take Ed's idea and run.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your 14 carats?
COSTELLO: Selling gold has been a gold mine for places like U.S. Gold Buyers in New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business is very good. Business is very good.
COSTELLO: Business is good across the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $500.
COSTELLO: From a gold-selling house party in Connecticut...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four, five, six, seven.
COSTELLO: ... To the gold booth at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are 10 carats.
COSTELLO: Gold sellers say it's insane. Customers say hey, times are tough.
LEROY ENGLISH, SOLD GOLD NECKLACE: I got some extra gold laying around the house. I need a little money for the gas tank, you know, for the table, so I'll go down and get some cash for it.
COSTELLO: And they're willing to give up everything and anything to pay the bills. And I mean anything.
JOSE CAVA, U.S. GOLD BUYERS: We get a lot of necklaces. We get a lot of class rings. Dental gold is big. A lot of people sending in dental gold.
COSTELLO: He isn't kidding. Back in the '80s, gold fillings were the rage. Today, yanking them out is.
CAVA: We ask customers not to send in the teeth, the enamel. In this case, this gentleman sent in some items like that, and we end up knocking all off the enamel. Yes, it's pretty gross. It was in somebody's mouth but at the end of the day it's going to turn into somebody's ring.
COSTELLO: Don't laugh. Depending on the quality of the gold, you could get 45 bucks a tooth. If it sounds desperate, it is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you have late bills to pay and some other emergency expenses, then you're just trying to catch up.
COSTELLO: If you're wondering if it's worth it to sell your valuables, Cava says it depends on how much you love the item you're giving up. Once it's melted down and molded into a gold bar, you can't get anything back but cash.
CAVA: On the average transaction, for a necklace, you're looking at about $200 and up depending on where the market's trading at. If you're talking about a higher quality necklace like 24 carats, you could be looking at $900 and up.
COSTELLO: Not a gold mine but more than enough to pay the electric bill, at least for a month or two.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 2, 253, 354.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Cava says he has a 2.5 percent profit margin. So on a $700 payout to a customer, he makes around $17. But he says he makes up for it with the volume of orders he's getting nowadays. Now you know -- Kiran, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, Carol. Well, Kiran will be popping out her grills in order to raise money for her kid's summer camp. I can just see it now. You look great with pearly whites.
CHETRY: No, by the time my cavities came along, what did they do for us? They did...
MARCIANO: It's porcelain now.
CHETRY: Yes. Composite.
MARCIANO: Not gold grills.
CHETRY: Yes.
MARCIANO: All right. It's the showdown that people will be talking about at the office all day long today. Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer going face-to-face last night after a week of jabs at each other over the economy. CNN was in the audience and we'll show you all the action. It's 47 minutes after the hour.
"L" is for layoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED CARTOON CHARACTER: Usually we have sunny days at "Sesame Street" but today, unfortunately, is not one of those days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: First Wall Street. Now pink slips on "Sesame Street." A look at how Big Bird and Elmo stole some of Bernie Madoff's air time. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": "Sesame Street" is laying off 20 percent of its workforce. Yes. And it's going to be really difficult finding these guys new jobs, because it's been 40 years. They're still learning the alphabet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Late night's newest edition Jimmy Fallon weighing in on the recession hitting "Sesame Street." Word of the layoffs on the street had Muppet takeoffs taking off on the Internet. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOKIE MONSTER, "SESAME STREET": C is for cookie.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forget cookies, C is for cutbacks. And when the producers of "Sesame Street" announced them, the parodies weren't far behind.
VOICE OF PHILLIP WILBURN, WWW.FUNNYORDIE.COM/PHILLIPWILBURN: Usually we have sunny days at "Sesame Street." But today, unfortunately, is not one of those days.
MOOS: This is not the official announcement. This is the voice of viral video comedian Phillip Wilburn delivering the bad news.
WILBURN: Reducing our job forces by 20 percent.
MOOS: Sixty-seven out of the 355 staff positions are being cut. On Muppet blog, sadness reigned. Wall Street is one thing, but "Sesame Street?"
The world is coming to an end.
Count von Count...
COUNT VON COUNT, "SESAME STREET": One. One (INAUDIBLE).
MOOS: ... seemed worried his days were numbered.
WILBURN: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many jobs are we talking?
One?
One job. Two?
Two jobs.
MOOS: The real producers of "Sesame Street" wouldn't specify which jobs will be cut. Repeat after me, kids -- "L" is for layoffs, "R" is for recession, "F" is for foreclosure.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Bird, why aren't you in your nest on "Sesame Street?"
BIG BIRD, "MAD TV": The big bank took it when I defaulted on my adjustable rate mortgage.
MOOS: Actually, this comedy bit foreshadowed the "Sesame Street" layoffs. MAD TV did it months ago.
(on camera): "U" is for uninsured.
(voice-over): So when the Cookie Monster's insulin levels dropped...
COOKIE MONSTER, "MAD TV": Cookie no have health insurance, so Cookie have to cut off own foot. Oh. "D" is for diabetes.
MOOS: Despite the attempts at humorous headlines, Oscar the Grouch gets canned. It's a safe bet the 20 percent of positions eliminated won't include the star characters.
(on camera): "S" is for sorry -- we're sorry to be making fun when we know real people are losing their jobs.
(voice-over): But losing our sense of humor wouldn't help -- though there are worse things to lose.
COOKIE MONSTER: I lost one of my feeties.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Diabetes is what is wrong with cookies.
MOOS: ... New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Straight to the slammer. A look at conman Bernie Madoff's new cinder block penthouse, and the victims who hope he rots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely a sociopath and a thief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Plus man versus shark. A wrestling match where only one survived. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. RNC Chairman Michael Steele is under fire again. This time for some progressive comments he made about gay rights and abortion.
For a look at that and other stories buzzing inside the Beltway this week, we turn to CNN political contributor and "Washington Post" reporter Dana Milbank.
Good morning, Dana. Thanks for joining us this morning. Always love to hear your insight.
Let's get started with Mr. Steele. In a recent "GQ" magazine, of all things, he made some statements about the woman's right to choose and homosexuality is not being a choice. His interview obviously causing an uproar in the GOP. Mike Huckabee, a big GOP heavyweight says "Comments attributed to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele are very troubling, and despite his clarification today, the party stands to lose many of its members and a great deal of support in the trenches of the grassroots of politics."
Well, is Steele not to mention what went on with Rush Limbaugh -- is Steele becoming a liability for the GOP?
DANA MILBANK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I think to put it lightly. I think it's safe to say that Chairman Steele has set the land speed record for going from zero to complete albatross in all of 40 days that he's been in office there.
But, you know, first, he took on the real sacred cow in many ways of the conservative movement, when he called Rush Limbaugh's work ugly and incendiary. Now he takes on gay rights and abortion rights. All of these other weird things in the "GQ" interview, too. He says the office is too male for him. He described his office kind of crazy, and he's giving out chocolate kisses as treats.
So word is no more interviews for awhile for Michael Steele. I think they've got him under house arrest over there at the RNC, and I think he's completely lost phone privileges.
MARCIANO: All right. No word of him actually losing his job at this point.
MILBANK: Not yet.
MARCIANO: He's on probation.
All right. Let's move on to First Lady Michelle Obama. This is interesting. She's adding healthy eating to her agenda. She recently visited a soup kitchen in Washington, D.C. Let's take a listen to what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Collect some fruits and vegetables, bring by some good healthy food. You know, we want to make sure that our guests here and across this country are eating nutritious items.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: All right. Well, you know, tough economic times is not always economical to buy the healthiest food. I mean, they're not cheap. You know, is this a worthwhile agenda for her to take on at this point?
MILBANK: Well, there's nothing wrong, Rob, with healthy food. But the First Lady is also saying, you know, we should be having as well as those going to the shelter should be having organic and locally grown and sustainable food. And I think there she gets in a little trouble of sort of the let them eat cake problem in that, you know, this is a small percentage of the food is actually grown in that way and can be 50 percent more in price. So, you know, this is a Wal- Mart country, and you don't want to be seen as the first lady of whole foods. So got to be a little bit careful with that one.
MARCIANO: Yes. The whole farm-to-table movement, eating locally hasn't quite caught on yet to be economical.
All right, let's move on to this interesting thing, which I didn't know was a big deal back in the '90s. Taxation without representation, license plates that most folks who live in D.C. have. Well, the "Washington Post" reporting that Barack Obama is under pressure to put them on the limousine that he drives around town. So, I mean, is this -- you know, what's the story here? Should he be adding this? Because Bush took them off after Clinton put them on. I mean, what's the big deal about this?
MILBANK: Well, I think it's probably a better message than "eat organic food." And as a resident of the district, I'm pleased to have him put that on the car. The truth is we actually thought we were going to be getting a vote in the District of Columbia, but that was just held up in Congress over gun rights. So presumably this is a bit of a consolation prize. We can't actually have the vote. Maybe the president will put the protest plate on his car.
I think the best solution for Washingtonians is what one member of the Senate proposed, forget about the representation, just get rid of all taxation for people who live in the district. That would solve the problem, and we'd be very happy.
MARCIANO: Well, in these tough economic times, I'm not sure that's a solution. I have no idea, what does the president's license plate say? Does it say,"1"? Does it have a vanity plate on there?
MILBANK: There have been various different ones. In fact, during the transition, Obama was going around with a "44" on his plate for the 44th president.
MARCIANO: OK. Well, that makes sense.
MILBANK: But you know, presidents can get just about any vanity plate they'd like.
MARCIANO: Dana Milbank, CNN political contributor, good to see you.
MILBANK: Thanks, Rob.
