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Justice David Souter to Leave Bench at End of Term; Impact of a Vicious Virus; CNN Hero: Bartender Turns World Activist With Wine To Water Campaign; Who Might Replace Justice Souter?

Aired May 01, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Friday, May 1st. And here are the top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM. A vacancy at the Supreme Court? Justice David Souter plans to retire. We'll look at potential Obama nominees.

More U.S. schools close their doors to disinfect as the global flu outbreak spreads to new places.

Chrysler makes its first trip to bankruptcy court today. The company idling most of its factories until the new Chrysler comes online.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And at the top this hour, sources confirming to CNN Supreme Court Justice David Souter will leave the bench at the end of the term in June.

Souter has been on the court almost two decades, a New Englander nominated by the first President Bush. Souter disappointed conservatives as a reliable member of the court's liberal bloc. Souter reportedly told friends last summer he would head home to New Hampshire if Obama won.

It is no secret he doesn't like Washington. Best job in the world, he once said, in the world's worst city. Ouch.

What qualities will President Obama look for in a Supreme Court nominee? He told us last fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think it's true that we shouldn't apply a strict litmus test. And the most important thing in any judge is their capacity to provide fairness and justice to the American people. And it is true that this is going to be I think one of the most consequential decisions of the next president.

It is very likely that one of us will be making at least one and probably more than one appointments. And Roe versus Wade probably hangs in the balance. Now, I would not provide a litmus test, but I am somebody who believes that Roe versus Wade was rightly decided.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Suzanne Malveaux is our CNN White House correspondent.

Suzanne, good to see you this morning.

I want to backtrack, one big step backwards first, and then we can move forward. Is the Souter retirement official? As you were explaining earlier, there is a protocol to these things.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There certainly is, Tony, and what we've learned from Phil Meers (ph), who's covering the Supreme Court, the producer there, is that Justice Souter is sitting down with fellow justices and giving them the news this morning in a private meeting saying his intention is to retire. At that point, and only afterwards, that is when he's likely to give the OK.

We expect a marshal to come from the Supreme Court, here to the White House, to deliver a letter informing the president and the White House officially. So, White House officials telling us, look, that hasn't happened yet. They certainly don't want to get ahead of the announcement.

So, Tony, we've got our cameras that are trained on those entrances to the White House to see when, in fact, the marshal comes to deliver this news formally. But clearly, White House aides, senior administration officials very much prepared for this to roll out very likely today. And Tony, they have been preparing for months when it comes to that vetting process, looking at potential candidates. President Obama looking at perhaps shaping his legacy very early on in his administration in selecting and appointing, at least, a nominee.

HARRIS: And Suzanne, the president, then, as candidate Obama, was asked on several occasions about the qualities that he would look for in a nominee. Isn't this true?

MALVEAUX: Well, yes. I mean, there's numerous occasions he actually was asked about it as a candidate, as well as president.

I want you to take a listen. This is the debate, the Democratic debate, that was hosted by CNN in Las Vegas when he was asked to describe what kind of qualities he was looking for beyond the Roe v. Wade decision.

Take a listen, Tony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Sometimes we're only looking at academics or people who have been in the courts. If we can find people who have life experience, and they understand what it means to be on the outside, what it means to have the system not work for them, that's the kind of person I want on the Supreme Court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Tony, he went on to say at a Planned Parenthood speech, he said, look, 95 percent of the case that go before the Supreme Court, all of the justices are basically aligned and in agreement, but there's five percent where it really matters, what is the heart of the justice? And he said, again, looking, we need somebody who has got the heart, the empathy to recognize what it's like to be, say, a young teenage mom or to empathize -- empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American, or gay or disabled or old. " That's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

If you take a look at what he is saying, Tony, it sounds like this is a court that potentially is going to look a little different than previous courts. Perhaps a first time for a Hispanic woman, perhaps an African-American woman, or somebody else who will make a difference here.

HARRIS: CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux for us.

Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.

Vice President Biden, as Suzanne just mentioned, is said to be putting together a list of Supreme Court possibilities. Some of these faces may very well be on it...

Sonia Sotomayor, a Bronx-born Hispanic and federal appeals court judge. Diane Wood, a judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Elena Kagan is the first woman to serve as solicitor general of the United States. She is a former dean of the Harvard Law School.

And Leah Ward Sears, chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. She has announced plans to leave in June.

And finally, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. He worked as assistant attorney general for civil rights under President Clinton.

If President Obama chooses a woman, it would certainly delight Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She's been the only female justice since Sandra Day O'Connor retired in 2006.

In a March interview for "USA Today," Ginsburg said, "The word I would use to describe my position on the bench is lonely. This is how it was for Sandra's first 12 years. Neither of us ever thought this would happen again. I didn't realize how much I would miss her until she was gone."

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin's recent book focused on the ideological battle for the bench. He is the author of "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court."

Jeffrey, good to see you. Thanks for your time this morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tony, this is like the nerd Super Bowl. I am so excited about all this.

HARRIS: Well, let's talk about this then. All right.

So, Vice President Biden is said to be putting together a list of Supreme Court nominees. How deep is the bench for this position?

TOOBIN: Well, you know, what's a little unusual about this setting is that is there is no clear frontrunner. And in fact, President Obama has to make kind of one threshold decision, which is, is he going to go the traditional route of appoint a sitting appeals court judge? Because all nine justices on the current court are former federal appeals court judges, and so he could go for Sonia Sotomayor, who would be the first Hispanic on the court, or Diane Wood, who was a colleague of Obama's at the University of Chicago Law School.

But the more interesting possibility is the one he alluded to in his interviews while he was campaigning, which is to go back to the tradition of Earl Warren, of Hugo Black, public officials, non- judges...

HARRIS: Public officials, yes.

TOOBIN: ... who might be appointed to the court. Someone like Janet Napolitano, the secretary of Homeland Security, former governor of Arizona, former attorney general of Arizona. That's the kind of person that would be that other court.

So I'm sure the long list that the vice president is putting together will include people from both groups.

HARRIS: So Jeffrey, what you're suggesting here is, look, since this is a white male who is retiring -- there are other white males on the bench -- you're suggesting here that this is a decision where the president can go in a number of directions, that this is really wide open for him.

TOOBIN: I think it's very wide open, and I don't even think the ethnicity and gender is the major consideration here. I do think at the end of the day it's likely it will be a woman.

We are now in a world where more than half the law students are women, where almost half the lawyers in the United States are women. It is an oddity and, very frankly, obsolete to have only one female justice on the Supreme Court.

So I think that imbalance will probably be addressed. But, you know, Obama is someone who, unlike most presidents, really knows these issues very well.

He taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago for almost a decade. That's unusual in a president, so he is going to really, I think, dig deep in this -- on this choice. And, by the way, is likely to have several more in his four or eight years as president.

HARRIS: Well, let me push back a little bit with you on this.

Why in the world would he not choose a Hispanic? I mean, come on here. We're talking about Hispanics make up, what, 14 percent of the population of this country right now. Hispanics have been lobbying, have wanted a place at the highest levels of this administration.

You know that. It seems to me all but -- your analysis is going to be better on this.

TOOBIN: Well, I think that's a good political point in the abstract.

HARRIS: Yes.

TOOBIN: But unfortunately, you don't appoint Supreme Court justices in the abstract. You pick an individual. And so is there a Hispanic who is someone who is politically in sync with the president, who has the qualities -- the qualifications he wants, who is young enough? Remember, age is a big issue here...

HARRIS: I think you're absolutely right.

TOOBIN: ... because these people serve for life, so someone who is qualified but in their mid-60s is not going to get the job.

The presidents want younger appointees, and they want to influence the court for decades, not for years. So all those factors need to be considered. And yes, a Hispanic would be ideal if the right person fits all those qualities.

HARRIS: It seems to me there's a firestorm for this president if he doesn't -- we'll talk about it because you're back next hour.

Jeffrey, appreciate it. We'll talk about it a lot more.

TOOBIN: I've got lots more to say.

HARRIS: All right, Jeffrey.

All right. More of Jeffrey's nerd Super Bowl next hour. Thoughts on the Supreme Court vacancy from law professor Sherrilyn Ifill. Actually, she's coming up later this hour. She teaches at the University of Maryland, and she will join me from Charm City, Baltimore, Maryland.

Supreme Court Justice David Souter wants to go home to New Hampshire. This will be President Obama's first opportunity to influence the direction of the court.

A lot of potential nominees are being tossed. So, yes, we want to play the name game.

Though let's be smart about this, friends. The president wants a justice who will protect people who may be vulnerable in the political process, the outsider, the minority, those who are vulnerable, those who don't have a lot of clout. That's from the president. So given that guidance, who would you like the president to consider for the high court? Who would you put on the president's short list? And then tell us why.

Post those comments, cnn.com/newsroom. That's the bloggy (ph) thing there.

So, the World Health Organization says swine flu cannot be transmitted by pigs. That isn't stopping Egypt from killing off thousands of pigs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Swine flu now reported in Asia for the first time. Hong Kong today confirming a case of the H1N1 virus in a patient who arrived from Mexico.

Joining me now to track this -- I guess we can call it pretty vicious -- yes. We've got deaths in Mexico. We've got a...

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Vicious in Mexico, yes.

HARRIS: Yes.

Elizabeth Cohen is here to explain what we need to know.

Do this for us, Elizabeth. Walk us through the additional information of what we know about this virus today, May 1st.

COHEN: OK. Let me tell you what the WHO, World Health Organization, said, today, May 1st, about five minutes ago. OK. Let's do that.

They say that this virus has been causing illnesses in 11 countries, that there are 331 cases and 10 confirmed deaths. That's what we know so far.

Now, as far as the United States, 109 cases in 11 -- I'm sorry in 17 states, and that figure is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And U.S. military officials confirm two Marines have contracted the virus and they are quarantined at Camp Pendleton near San Diego.

And the outbreak has prompted almost 300 schools to shut down. That's about 170,000 students not in class. I bet they're pretty happy.

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: Plus, Harvard Dental School is closed today because of a probable case of swine flu.

Now, the World Health Organization is no longer using the term "swine flu." Officials want to avoid confusion, because the H1N1 virus is not transmitted by pigs, they say. Their decision is coming as Egypt begins a mass slaughter of pigs.

CNN's Tim Lister has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For these and about 350,000 more pigs in Egypt, the end is near. The government has ordered the slaughter of the entire population even though there are no reported cases of swine flu in Egypt and it can't be caught from eating pork.

This slaughterhouse in Cairo is taking nothing for granted. Workers from the Ministry of Health are suited up as if ready to deal with bioterrorism. They take samples from the pigs before slaughter, but authorities say the operation is less about swine flu and more a general health measure.

DR. SOUD EL KHOULI, MINISTRY OF HEALTH: This is just a precaution.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And how long do you think -- how long is it going to take you to slaughter...

EL KHOULI: I don't think how long, but I think within this month, two weeks.

LISTER: A precaution, because most of Egypt's pigs are raised not on farms, but in the slums of Cairo, by garbage collectors. They give food scraps they collect to their pigs.

They're called Zebalin (ph), and many are Christians. Egypt's Muslim population doesn't eat pork.

Rauzia (ph) is a single mother. She says authorities took away her 25 pigs and offered her no compensation.

"My life is worse than a beggar," she says. "I can no longer afford to send my three children to school."

Angel (ph) says her pigs have no disease. "The government came to our home," she says, "and I told them, 'Before you kill the pigs, kill us, because we have nothing but our pigs.'"

Few of the pig owners believe government promises that the meat will be frozen and returned to them.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says Egypt's mass slaughter is unnecessary, but Egypt is still haunted by its experience of avian flu two years ago. It was among the countries hardest hit. At least 20 people died from bird flu, and it's still lingering. The latest victim, a 6-year-old boy, died just last week.

Egypt's sprawling, chaotic capital is on edge. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and a lack of medical infrastructure make Cairo inviting to epidemics, but whatever the perceived risks, Egypt's condemned pigs are not going quietly. Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Pig on the run.

And so help me understand this a little better. Maybe you can explain how it is that the World Health Organization is saying that swine flu is not transmitted by pigs. So sort that out for us, Elizabeth.

COHEN: OK. It's being transmitted person to person at this point. Now, who knows where it came from originally? That's not the question. Right now the question is, how is it being spread?

It's definitely being spread person to person. You see that. Americans, for example, are coming home from Mexico and are spreading it to their immediate family.

So I think that's what the World Health Organization and folks here in the United States, too, are trying to get at. People aren't getting this from pigs. They're getting it from each other.

HARRIS: And this isn't being spread like wildfire right now, is it?

COHEN: That's right. And that is a hugely important point.

For example, someone comes home from Mexico, they're sick, maybe they're getting their wife sick, their husband sick, another student at a school sick. And so it's spreading that way. But you don't see it spreading through entire communities. You don't see a sick person going into a movie theater and getting the entire movie theater sick.

HARRIS: Or coming back from a trip from Cancun and coughing in the middle of the newsroom and everyone else is...

COHEN: Correct.

HARRIS: It's not happening that way.

COHEN: It's not happening. It's happening close contacts -- husband, wife, nephew, uncle, that kind of thing.

HARRIS: Yes. See how I worked myself into that?

COHEN: Yes, you did.

HARRIS: Why, I don't know.

Elizabeth, appreciate it. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

HARRIS: What do you do if you're out of a job and have a $55,000 credit card debt? Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis answers this and other questions straight ahead for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So you've got money questions, and we've got answers. Well, actually Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has the answers. Don't look at me for answers. She joins us every Friday to tackle some of your e-mail questions.

Good Friday to you, Gerri. Great to see you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Happy Friday to you, Tony.

HARRIS: Are you ready to get started?

WILLIS: Let's get to those viewer questions.

HARRIS: Yes. This first one comes from Ivan in Georgia, who writes, "I am 26 and a novice at investing, but I have the itching feeling that the market may bounce back soon and I don't want to be on the outside looking in. Where should I turn first to get in on the market before I miss the opportunity?"

WILLIS: Well, Ivan, yes, the market has been trading higher, generally speaking. And as a first-time investor, you're better off investing in what they call a broad-based low-cost index fund. And in index fund is a passively managed mutual fund that tries to mirror a specific index like the S&P 500.

It's like instant diversification. Check out companies like Vanguard, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price for low-cost options -- Tony.

HARRIS: And our next question comes, Gerri, from Jay in Massachusetts, who writes, "I've got $200K in a penalty-free withdrawal-type CD making between 2 percent to 3 percent interest. I have also got $60K in debt." So here is the question, Gerri. "Do I take money from that CD to pay off my credit cards?"

Wow. That's a lot of credit card debt.

WILLIS: That's a lot of credit card debt. You need to think about that first, but then here is the strategy.

Take a look at what the interest is on your credit cards. You're almost certainly paying more than 3 percent in interest, what you're getting on the CD.

So you may be better off taking some money out of your CD, provided you don't have a hefty penalty, and wipe out some of that high-cost debt. It will be a better return on your money. That's what you're doing, just comparing the two interest rates. Now, keep in mind, you don't want to completely drain your cash cushion, but making a couple extra payments will help out.

Job number two is sitting down and thinking about $60,000 in credit card debt and how to keep that from happening again. HARRIS: Boy, another credit card question here, Gerri. Last question comes from Daniela, who writes, "I recently lost in job, have all my credit cards maxed out, and am trying to figure out how I am going to figure off that $55,000." Man. "Do you know of a credit counseling company that can help me without having to file for bankruptcy?"

Boy.

WILLIS: More credit card debt. And remember, for some of these folks I should say, Tony, some of these folks, it's actually business debt that they put on a credit card and they run it up really quickly. Others, it's not.

But at any rate, to Daniela's problem, you need -- a credit counseling agency can be helpful if you're having trouble paying those debts. A credit counselor works with your creditors to get rid of late fees, penalties, reduce your interest rate.

This ultimately cuts your cost. You may also be put on a debt management program.

Here are a couple resources for you. You might want to get our pencil out -- National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 1-800-388- 2227. The Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, that's 866-703-8787.

Now, you should note these are nonprofits, and you don't want to use a for-profit debt relief company that's going to give you more headaches, cause you some problems. Make sure they're not for profit and on the up and up. You can check with the Better Business Bureau about that.

But lots of folks with a lot of credit card debt. Hate to see that. Tough in these times.

HARRIS: Man, boy, that is tough.

Want to do a couple things before we lose you here, Gerri. First of all, let's get the e-mail address, all right, to folks if they have questions for you.

WILLIS: Gerri@CNN.com. Send me an e-mail. We want to hear from you.

HARRIS: And have we talked about "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" this week?

WILLIS: Let's talk about "YOUR BOTTOM LINE."

HARRIS: Come on. Let's do that.

WILLIS: OK. Well, we're going to show you how President Obama's first 100 days is impacting your wallet. Plus, what you need to know about the swine flu if you're planning travel this summer. And finally, you know the right way to handle money issues?

I don't know if a friend, Tony, has ever asked to borrow money from you or...

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: ... or you're trying how to figure out how to split the bill over dinner.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

WILLIS: Join me. Join me for "YOUR BOTTOM LINE." We're going to answer those questions and others, Saturday morning, 9:30, right here on CNN.

HARRIS: Gerri, you have a great weekend. Thank you.

WILLIS: You, too.

HARRIS: And check out our special report, "AMERICA'S MONEY CRISIS." There you go, at CNNMoney.com.

U2 lead singer Bono recently interviewed actor George Clooney, named this year as one of "TIME" magazine's most influential people. Bono sat down with Clooney for "TIME" and "AC 360." Here's a quick look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONO, U2 LEAD SINGER: The thing I can't get away with because I'm Irish and you really can is that you are an American who deeply cares about your country without it being in that corny patriotic "I will do some stupid stuff for the flag." You're saying, no, no, I care about my country not to do stupid stuff. And there's new patriotism that I think you represent.

GEORGE CLOONEY, ACTOR: Our country is in right now one of its bigger crises it's had. We tend to, it seems, at the exact time we've needed it as a country, gotten the right guy.

You know, we needed the Constitution, we got Thomas Jefferson and Adams. You know, we had the Civil War, we had Lincoln. We had the first Great Depression and the world war, and we had Roosevelt. We had the Cuban Missile Crisis and we had Kennedy.

When we've absolutely needed the right guy, we've gotten him. I used to think, well, maybe because of what happened with Iraq, I kept thinking, wow, first time we got unlucky, but I actually think it's now. I think now is the most important time, and we seem to have really the right guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And you can see the rest of that interview on a special "TIME 100/AC 360" hour, "The World's Most Influential People," highlighting select members of the "TIME 100" list. That is tonight at 11:00 Eastern, 8:00 Pacific, only on CNN.

More time to spend with your child, less money to provide for the child's needs. A father caught in a child support crunch, and advice on what to do if you can't pay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. This just in to CNN. We have new numbers on the swine flu, H1N1 outbreak in the United States. The CDC is confirmed 141 cases across 19 states. Those are the new numbers just in from the CDC. We will update all of our maps for you so we can give you a look at this now 19 states with confirmed cases, 141 in all.

And the latest press conference from the CDC updating the swine flu H1N1 outbreak in the United States scheduled for 1:15 p.m. We will have portions of that for you, of course, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The stress of losing a job bad enough, but what happens when you can't provide for your child because you've been laid off? The story now from CNN's Brooke Baldwin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE TREICHLER, FATHER: Run, Mikey. Run, run, run, run!

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Five-and-a-half- year-old Mikey Treichler is seeing a lot more of...

MIKEY TREICHLER, SON: My daddy.

BALDWIN: ... both on and off the baseball field.

MIKE TREICHLER: Have a good day at school today, buddy?

BALDWIN: Last December, Mike Treichler got laid off.

MIKE TREICHLER: When it happens to you, you're like, wow. I can't, you know - I can't believe that it's me that it happened to.

BALDWIN: After ten years at IBM, this divorced dad found himself out of work and soon after, unable to pay the $1,200 a month he had been providing in child support.

MIKE TREICHLER: I've used up severance packages. I used up my 401(k) and I'm getting into the position where now I'm going to have to tap into other money resources which I did not want have to, to the point where there's not additional income coming in.

I am on unemployment now. And that money, even though it's a huge help, it doesn't help me with the $1,200 a month bill.

BALDWIN: It's a big bill that Mike has told his son's mom that he can't pay.

MELISSA TREICHLER, MOTHER: I was more disappointed, probably, than mad. But unfortunately, if I focus on that, then it weakens me in the event of maintaining composure, staying strong for my son and making sure that he gets what he needs. MIKE TREICHLER: Good job. All right.

BALDWIN: The result? Melissa and Mike are trying to reach a child support payment compromise. So far, they're negotiating out of court.

And according to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, the current downturn in the economy is making it increasingly difficult for parents to provide for themselves and their children.

In New Mexico, for example, from February of 2008 to 2009, the state's Child Support Enforcement Division is reporting a 96 percent increase in the number of requests for case reviews and adjustments.

And just this month in Alabama, the district attorney's office in Lauderdale County sent letters to 155 parents warning them if they don't pay child support by the 1st of May, they could be arrested.

Dr. Gerry White works with Families First, Georgia's largest nonprofit family service agency. He says this the financial strain on unemployed fathers, or mothers, carries an emotional burden as well.

DR. GERRY WHITE, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, FAMILIES FIRST: What we have to help the men understand that, while you're out of a job, that does not mean you are unworthy to be around your child.

BALDWIN: This Little League coach doesn't feel unworthy.

(on camera): How do you explain to him that daddy suddenly has all this time?

MIKE TREICHLER: Well, he's happy about it. So I don't have to give him too much detail about it. It's all a positive thing as far as he's concerned.

BALDWIN (voice-over): But this dad does admit the stress of unemployment is starting to take its toll. Mike has already applied to more than 6,000 jobs. His biggest worry?

MIKE TREICHLER: Am I going to have to take, you know, a very low-paying job and work so many hours that I won't have the time to spend with him?

BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Kennesaw, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Come Monday - we'll get to that in a moment, but do we have Austan Goolsbee on with Ed Henry?

OK, Austan Goolsbee is President Obama's key economic adviser and a member of the president's Auto Task Force. And this morning, he is talking to our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry on Ed's weekly radio show.

Let's dip in. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: I'd say you got to say the biggest recovery and stimulus package ever in American history is the signature achievement. But it wasn't just one thing. You know, he inherited a house where five different rooms were on fire, and he was bravely taking on all of them at the same time.

So certainly the housing program is a highlight where they were trying to prevent millions of unnecessary foreclosures while not rewarding people for bad behavior.

I think the small business lending facility and some of the other lending programs that they've done to try to restart credit was a pretty big deal.

And I think the budget is a big deal. So I'm not -- I can't...

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Don't mean to interrupt, but when you're talking about the stimulus package, now we saw poor gross domestic product numbers this week. And I think the question on all the minds of a lot of Americans is, well, the president has been touting that stimulus plan that got through, when are they going to feel the impact? Are you concerned that it's not sort of trickling down to the American people yet?

GOOLSBEE: Well, remember, the GDP numbers that came out here were the first quarter numbers, so January, February, March. So the stimulus had not yet begun. I think that really big negative number following on the huge negative number in the fourth quarter of '08 are exactly why we needed to pass a stimulus and we needed to get the thing going.

The first money -- it kind of goes in a couple of waves. The first money, changing the withholding and the tax cut for 95 percent of workers started April 1. You saw some of the money going out to the states so that they don't have to cut police, cut fire departments and things like that, also in the early stage. By the end of the year, hopefully a lot of the direct monies will start getting out. And then over the coming months into next year, kind of the big infrastructure and those things ramp up.

So I think it goes in three parts, but it was not yet in the GDP numbers. That's why it was so bad.

HENRY: We're talking to Austan Goolsbee, one of the president's chief economic advisers.

Austan, what about banking? A lot of people wondering when we will hear about the stress tests and how are you going to sort of communicate to the public because they're wondering whether their bank is healthy or not, how are people going to find out about this? Is it going to be on the Web? How are you going to do that?

GOOLSBEE: That's a good question. I think it's going to be in a lot of places. I think it's going to be on the Web. I think they're going to release it to the news.

It was going to be on Monday, but the banks have the right to -- maybe argue is the wrong word -- they have the right to go back and make their case to the regulators who did the examinations where they disagree and say, look, I don't think this was fair. You know, they're kind of like the guy complaining about his grade in class.

So they are allowed to do that, and that is -- so I don't exactly know how long that will take. I don't think it's any longer going to be on Monday. It may be a little delayed, but it's going to be quite soon that they put that out.

And I think that an important thing to remember about this is this isn't the pass/fail test. This is meant to lay out where is each institution, what do they need. It's a diagnostic. It's a test, a form. It's what is the state of your health and what do you need to do -- how do you change your diet and how much more exercise do you need to get yourself in a good spot. So I don't think this is...

HARRIS: OK. That's Austan Goolsbee. He is one of President Obama's top economic advisers talking with our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry.

Ed is - actually, beg your pardon, his weekly radio show. And there's the number - great, guys - if you'd like to call Ed right now. He'd appreciate your call. Leave the television on as well and the laptop. OK, so you need the phone, the laptop and the TV set on. OK, 877-266-4189 if you would like to participate in Ed Henry's radio show.

Some interesting comments there from Austan Goolsbee reflecting on the president's first 100 days, the economic stimulus plan and when the bank stress test will come in. Originally scheduled to be in on Monday, but that's going to be delayed a bit as the banks get an opportunity to challenge the results, the grades, if you will.

Come Monday morning, Chrysler is shutting down most of its operation. Then what?

Plus, it is the newest parlor game in Washington, guessing who will replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Time for you and me to join in the fun with Maryland law professor Cheryl Lynn Ifill.

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HARRIS: You know, we should learn more today about the road ahead for Chrysler. The automaker's first bankruptcy hearing is underway right now in New York. Chrysler is shutting down, as you know, most manufacturing operations starting Monday. The company hopes to emerge from bankruptcy in about 30, maybe 60 days as a leaner more nimble operation. Chrysler is joining forces with Italian automaker Fiat to build smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

After Chrysler teams up with Fiat, manufacturing plants will reopen but which ones and how many? Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at how Chrysler will make those decisions.

Good to see you, Susan. Welcome back. We missed you.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I missed you too, Tony, but I had our favorite network on and I saw you.

Tony - yes, of course.

Now, in the meantime, you know, now that we have a bankruptcy filing, we do have an indication of some of these plants that will close. And, of course, this could affect 27,000 autoworkers.

Chrysler has 22 plants in the U.S. From the bankruptcy filing it looks like eight plants will close by December of next year; three in Michigan, two in Missouri, one in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Delaware.

Why? Well, I think that's some of the things that may come into play here. Factories that are closer to suppliers have a better chance of staying in existence. And the core plants, not surprisingly, are in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. Plants that recently received investments or can be retooled have a better chance. Warren, Michigan, for instance got a multimillion dollar renovation.

So that's an early look at what's going to happen, and I think emphasis is on early, Tony.

HARRIS: Susan, what about the deal with Fiat? Won't that help to keep more Chrysler plants open?

LISOVICZ: Right, but then again we don't know what kind of cars will be made in those Chrysler factories. I mean, they're very different than what Chrysler makes, they're much smaller, they're more fuel efficient. On the other hand, it would cost a whole lot of money to ship them from Europe.

And then again you have the U.S. government involved with this with a big stake here. So you know that job protection is going to be a big factor. "The Detroit Free Press" reports 6,300 jobs could be lost from these eventual closures, but Chrysler says that's not accurate because Fiat intends to produce vehicles in the U.S. And it maintains it's possible there could be, ultimately, a net gain in jobs. We don't think that's going to happen in the near future, but that would be nice.

Chrysler is, of course, privately held. Ford and GM are public companies, and they are both trading down. And you're seeing a mixed market on this first day of May. Blue chips in the green just a little bit, and the Nasdaq in the red just a little bit. Not a whole lot of movement, in other words, Tony.

HARRIS: Very good. Good to see you, Susan. Have a great weekend.

LISOVICZ: Likewise. You too, Tony.

HARRIS: A seat opening up on the nation's highest court. An update on our top stories ahead in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Supreme Court Justice David Souter stepping down. We will have the latest on who might replace him, including some of your suggestions from our NEWSROOM blog. Wow - Chrysler and - are you guys actually using that thing?

Chrysler in bankruptcy court today. What it means for you? Personal finance editor Gerri Willis has advice if you own a Chrysler or if you're think about buying one.

And start me up! A successful entrepreneur who is thriving in this recession. Now he has another business, helping others get their ideas off the ground.

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HARRIS: Just as David Souter is going home to New Hampshire this summer - sources confirm to CNN Souter will step down from the bench when the Supreme Court term ends in June. Souter was appointed by the first President Bush in 1990, but he disappointed conservatives with his moderate to liberal voting record. That was cemented in a 1992 decision to uphold Roe v. Wade.

His departure gives President Obama his first chance to nominate a justice. That raises the obvious question: Who?

Let's talk about it with Sherrilyn Ifill. She teaches law at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.

Sherrilyn, it's good to see you again.

PROF. SHERRILYN IFILL, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND LAW SCHOOL: It's good to see you.

HARRIS: Joining us from Charm City.

OK, how deep is the democratic bench to choose from here? What are your thoughts on this?

IFILL: Oh, it's deep and wide. There are a lot of tremendously skilled folks out there who are qualified for this position.

I think it's interesting that, you know, in the past few years we've come almost exclusively to look at those who are already serving as federal judges as the pool from which we tend to think of nominees. But that's actually not the only pool and if we go beyond that pool, it gets even deeper and wider.

HARRIS: Boy, so do you believe with what appears to be a growing consensus that the president has a wide open slate here in terms of gender, ethnicity, experience to choose from?

IFILL: I think he's got a lot to choose from. I think it's very likely that the short list has a number of women very high up on the list. And among those women, I suspect that there are a number of women of color, including African-American women and Latina women that I think are probably very high on the list and I think for very understandable reasons. In fact, I would strongly suspect that if there's weighing happening right now, that those names are very, very high on the list.

HARRIS: Wait a minute now, so let's do this. Sonia Sotomayor, right, right? Hispanic judge, federal appeals court judge.

And we've got pictures here. So let's assist everyone with who we're talking about here. There she is.

Elena Kagan is a name that's been mentioned as well. Would you - would you have her on your short list?

IFILL: Absolutely. Former dean at Harvard Law School, selected by President Obama to be solicitor general, which obviously expresses his tremendous confidence in her legal skills.

She also has been at Harvard Law School as dean and has actually received praise from a number of conservatives on that faculty and conservatives in general for some of the hiring decisions she's made at Harvard. So she's got some across the aisle appeal, if that's what the president is looking at.

HARRIS: How about Leah Ward Sears?

IFILL: Leah Ward Sears is tremendously talented. And this goes to what I think is the piece that lots of folks are not looking at. One of the things we lose by having Justice Souter step down from the court is we lose a justice whose got experience on the state court bench. Remember that many of the cases that come to the Supreme Court come to the court from state courts. That's an important tool bag to have on the bench. And so we lose that with Justice Souter.

Justice Leah Ward Sears, she's the chief justice Supreme Court of Georgia.

HARRIS: In Georgia, sure.

IFILL: And here's where I think there are a number of African- American women who are serving on the highest courts of their states. The chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court. You've got a judge on the Louisiana Supreme Court, very distinguished woman. So there are a number of state court justices, African-American women in particular, who I would suspect would also be on the short list and I would suspect that Leah Ward Sears would be at the very top of that list.

HARRIS: Thank you for playing a name game. Sometimes you have to drag folks kicking and screaming to play the name game. You're happy to do it. Sherrilyn, it's great to see you. Have a great weekend. Thanks for your time.

IFILL: Thank you, same to you.

HARRIS: He went from serving wine to water only. Clean water to those who couldn't get it. And that landed him on our list of CNN Heroes.

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HARRIS: Each year millions of people die from drinking dirty water even though the technology to save them is available and inexpensive. While looking for a way to get clean water to those in need, this week's CNN hero found one at his own local watering hole. He went from serving wine to providing water.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOC HENDLEY, WINE TO WATER: Approximately one billion people lack access to clean water. It's killing more children than AIDS and malaria combined. And yet, all that can be prevented.

I used the only resource I had, which was tending bar, to try to do something about the problem. Your regulars especially sit on the same stool, drink the same drink and pay the same tab every day. I felt like they really did want to be a part of something, they were just waiting for somebody to bring that something to them.

My name is Doc Hendley, I used to be a bartender and now I provide clean water to people in need.

I got on the ground in Darfur to get my field training. The security issue is not a deterrent for me. I wanted to go where the greatest need was, that's where my heart is. Seeing these people living in conflicts and bullets whizzing by their ears, yet their biggest concern was a huge loss of life because of the unclear water. That's when water changed from being my passion to the burden of my life.

Whether we're filtering water or filling a well, we want to train and educate people that are already on the ground, enabling locals to fix their own water needs. Doing work like that, you've created ownership. That is going to change lives as well as bringing that clean water.

TEXT: Since 2004, Doc's organization has brought sustainable clean water to more than 25,000 individuals in five countries.

HENDLEY: That joy is the only thing that helps lift the burden.

You can just be a regular anybody and you really, really can change the world. I'm walking truth of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: If you would like to help Doc Hendley or know someone doing something so extraordinary they deserve to be a CNN hero, here's what you do. Go to CNN.com/heroes.

Remember, all of our CNN heroes are chosen from people you nominate, so tell us about yours.