Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Earthquakes Devastate Samoa and Indonesia; American Imprisoned in Japan for Attempt to Recover Kidnapped Children; New Unemployment Numbers Released; Scammers Target Job Seekers; Health Care Bill Moving through Senate Finance Committee
Aired October 01, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And time now for your top of the hour reset. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It's 11:00 p.m. in Padang, Indonesia, where rescuers are struggling to get to survivors trapped in the rubble of two earthquakes.
It is 1 a.m. Friday in Tokyo, where a jailed American talks exclusively to CNN about his fight to reclaim his children.
It's noon in the Bronx, where a little boy was pulled from a burning apartment by a stranger. Let's get started.
Now to Indonesia, where people are reeling after back-to-back earthquakes there. The first struck Wednesday evening local time at 7.6 magnitude. Then Thursday morning, a second one at 6.8. Officials say 529 people have died and thousands could still be trapped. It is unclear how many people are missing.
In the South Pacific now, another disaster, another death toll rising. At least 139 people are confirmed dead in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga from Tuesday's 8.0 magnitude quake and tsunami.
Most of the victims are from Samoa. Some were swept into the sea, others buried in sand. Survivors have begun the grim task of identifying and burying the dead. Wakes are being held all over the islands.
Some residents of Central California are feeling the ground shake. The U.S. Geological Survey said a moderate 5.1 earthquake struck just after 3:00 a.m. local time, the quake about eight miles from Keeler, California, and some 180 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Local governments are reporting no injuries or damage from that quake or several smaller ones.
(WEATHER BREAK)
HARRIS: I want to get you to Josh Levs now. And Josh, last hour you brought us iReports from American Samoa and Indonesia, and you mentioned that more were coming in. Do you have more to share with us?
LEVS: I do, in fact, from all these places. And I'll zoom in a second. But let me just tell you, there have been so many serious weather stories for you over just the past few day, it's kind of amazing all the images coming in at once.
We'll zoom in now. Let's go straight to the latest ones from Indonesia because these are some of the most powerful images, these coming to us from the AP. You can see the rubble and people right next to it.
And when you see people in these situations, it really shows you the scale of the devastation we're talking about. These are some of the toughest pictures to look at when people are removing victims.
HARRIS: I'm sorry, where are these from?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are all from Indonesia. All the ones I'm showing you right now are from Indonesia.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: We'll go through a few other places as well. Here's a place where people are trying to help victims, and Tony, you can see again just how moving it is.
But you were saying, there's a lot to keep track of here, isn't it?
HARRIS: Absolutely.
LEVS: These are from Samoa, from iReports from Samoa. We can show you these, too. Take a look here. We're getting so many from different parts of the Pacific, we'll make sure to label them.
A lot of them are showing the impact and the strength of the storm as it was coming through. Some of the most popular pictures we've been seeing people clicking on them like crazy at iReport.com are of the vehicles.
Look at the homes, Tony, just smattered. It's absolutely amazing.
And this just coming in, this is talking about the Philippines. You can see some of the things that have been washed out and pulled out of the house there.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: If watching all this makes you think, how can I reach out to people, how can I help, this is your place to do it. Tony, it's getting a lot of traffic today I'm happy to say -- CNN.com/impact, and we'll trace you to the various organizations that you can access in order to help people in any of these regions or in all of these regions.
A lot of people saying what can I do? This is your answer, CNN.com/impact to "Impact your World."
HARRIS: Very good, Josh. Thank you.
LEVS: You got it, thanks.
HARRIS: All right, let's take you back to Indonesia now and the island of Sumatra absolutely in shambles. Rescuers are frantically digging through collapsed buildings looking for survivors. CNN's Dan Rivers standing by for us in Padang on the west coast of Sumatra. And, Dan, if you would, describe what you're seeing.
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm just outside one of the hospitals here in Padang. You can probably see behind me the yellow body bags of 12 different corpses that have been recovered. They're simply lying them out right behind me in front of the hospital.
Several of the hospital buildings everybody severely damaged. One over the road from us is in a very bad state, looking quite precarious.
At the moment they are really working in total darkness here. The hospital has some light, as you can see behind me, working on generators. The airport has light, but that's pretty much about it. The rest of the city is in complete darkness. So, that's really holding back the rescue effort here.
HARRIS: And, Dan, I understand where you are, Sumatra, is home to some 900,000 people, and so far it has received the brunt of this in terms of the highest number of casualties. Is that correct?
RIVERS: Yes. Padang is a pretty -- pretty big city, as you say, approaching 1 million people here, very densely populated. We've driven through some of the town just on the way to this live cross with you.
I'd say, you know, the damage is not widespread. There are a lot of buildings that are still intact. But then it's quite patchy. You'll get to some areas where there's, you know, one or two buildings that are completely flattened. It seems to be the bigger concrete buildings that have come down. A lot of the smaller houses seem to be intact.
It's a difficult picture. Just as we're speaking to you, another ambulance is pulling up right now, presumably with injured on board -- we hope survivors, not more bodies.
HARRIS: And, Dan, so much devastation obviously in that area. It's odd. We've focused a lot of attention, or a lot of attention has turned to the story of one man from Singapore trapped since Wednesday's quake in hotel rubble. Can you give us an update on his situation?
RIVERS: Well, what we understand, he is now in this hospital and that he is OK. We don't have any update on his condition, really, but we know he got out. He was dug out after my cameraman, Lance Phillips, managed to talk to him over a period of several hours today.
He was trapped under the rubble. Managed to coordinate with the local authorities here, and they dug him out. We understand he's here now. He was pinned under a big bit of concrete, basically, so it was quite a job to get him out, but some good news on that story.
HARRIS: OK, CNN's Dan Rivers in Padang, the west coast of Sumatra, for us. Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.
An American father is being held in a Japanese jail charged with kidnapping his own children. You'll hear what he has to say in an exclusive interview with CNN. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The health care debate goes on in Congress today. Just as we've been doing all week here in the "CNN Newsroom," I'm going to speak with two of the key players today. Senators Jim Bunning and Bill Nelson, who will actually step out of their finance committee hearing and tell us what's going on. That's coming up right here in the "CNN Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: President Obama heads to Denmark later today to make a personal pitch for Chicago's Olympic bid. He is the first U.S. president to make such a direct appeal for an American city.
Chicago is competing against Rio, Tokyo, and Madrid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. We will have extensive live coverage of the Olympic committee announcement tomorrow during this hour, the noon hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
China putting on an Olympic-size celebration today to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the communist government. Plenty of fireworks and thousands took part in a parade in Beijing.
An American father has been jailed in Japan, accused of kidnapping his two children. His ex-wife fled back to her native country with the kids, and he went after them. Our Kyung Lah got this exclusive jailhouse interview with Christopher Savoie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a second-floor interrogation room, we waited for Christopher Savoie on our side of the glass. Police gave us 15 minutes, a stopwatch running in the corner. They took our electronic devices. No cameras, no tape recorders.
And then an emotional Christopher Savoie entered the room. "I'm so scared," he said, carefully choosing his words and speaking in Japanese as required by police during a jail visit. "I don't know how long I'll be in here.
I want Americans to know what's happening to me. I didn't do anything wrong. Children have the right to see both parents. It's very important for my children to know both parents." Police have charged him with kidnapping his two children as they walked to their school in Inagawa, Japan. Savoie drove eight year old Isaac and six year old Rebecca to the U.S. consulate, but Japanese police arrested him just steps from the front gates.
Under U.S. law Savoie has sole custody, but in Japan, ex-wife Noriko, who abducted the children from the U.S., is the recognized guardian. "Japanese people think she's the victim here," Savoie told me. "In the states, my ex-wife is the one who's in the wrong."
In this rural town in southern Japan, those who have heard about the case side with the mother even knowing the U.S. courts awarded custody to the American father. "They belong with their real mother" says this woman.
That cultural divide is what Savoie's attorney says is difficult to fight. He says Japanese law clearly sees Savoie as the criminal.
"He technically may have committed a crime, according to Japanese law" says his attorney, "but he shouldn't be indicted. He did it for the love of his children."
Savoie wanted us to get this message to his children. "I love you, Isaac Rebecca. Your daddy loves you forever. I'll be patient and strong until the day comes that I can see you both again. I am very sorry that I can't be with you."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: If convicted, Christopher Savoie could face five years in a Japanese prison.
Iran under pressure at the negotiating table today with six major world powers. The U.S. is pushing Iran to open its nuclear facilities to U.N. inspectors and suspend uranium enrichment.
But Iran says its right to nuclear fuel is not up to discussion. The U.S. representative at the Geneva talks and his Iranian counterpart had private discussions on the sidelines.
As fire erupted inside a building in the Bronx, one man responded by running into the flames and helped save a life. What made him do it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: An amazing rescue, and a heroic tale of bravery in the Bronx. A good Samaritan is credited with helping save a little boy's life after he pulled the boy from a burning building, the dramatic scene all caught on camera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: It's an image you never hope to see, smoke pouring from an apartment building. For one man that image, the sound of screams, was enough to move him to action.
Horia Cretan stepped outside his shop, grabbed a ladder, and climbed up to the fire escape. What happened next is truly dramatic.
HORIA CRETAN, RESCUED BOY FROM FIRE: I guess I just kicked in, I kicked in gear. I put the ladder down. I went upstairs and I did the best I could.
HARRIS: Firefighters inside the building handed Cretan a limp, four-year-old boy. He carried the child down the fire escape. At a landing, he kept telling the child to breathe, breathe.
CRETAN: He couldn't breathe. I just held his head up. I put my hand underneath his neck so he could breathe better. I felt his heartbeat. It was faint, but it was all right. And I made sure I protected him with the curtain because they were throwing glass from on top of the stairs. But he's fine.
HARRIS: Firefighters rushed the boy to the hospital still alive, thanks to the stranger who kicked into gear and risked his own life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Wow. The boy was listed in serious, but stable condition after he was taken to the hospital. And he is expected to be OK.
Speaking of heroes, tonight beginning at 11:00 p.m. eastern Anderson Cooper reveals the top ten "CNN Heroes" of 2009. Watch for Anderson at the top of each hour beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern, then see all of the "Heroes" tonight at 11:00 eastern on a special edition of "Anderson Cooper 360."
Let's get you caught up on some of our top stories right now. The death toll has risen to at least 529 after not one but two strong earthquakes shook the island of Samoa in Indonesia. Officials say that number will rise because so many people are believed to be trapped in buildings.
People are waiting on the swine flu vaccine. But the rush to get it out has delayed production of the regular flu vaccine. The largest supplier says some doctors' offices and clinics may not get flu vaccine until November.
Another check of the top stories in 20 minutes.
New jobless figures today, and they show companies remain reluctant to hire. The Labor Department says first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to 551,000 last week. That is up 17,000 from the previous week. Overall weekly jobless claims have been trending down since late spring.
People who have lost their jobs in this tough economy may become victims again, this time from con artists peddling job scams. CNN's Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joins us with tips to help us avoid from being taken. And Gerri, first, let's start with this. What kind of scams are out there?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, Tony, there are headhunters out there, people who claim to be headhunters who are not. As Drew Griffin reported yesterday, the Arthur Executive Search was nothing but a scam operation. Victims lost thousands of dollars.
The thing to keep in mind here, Tony, the takeaway is, guess what, headhunters don't charge you. They charge the companies doing the hiring. So, if somebody comes and says, hey, give me $3,000, I'll find you a job, say no way.
HARRIS: What about work-from-home scams?
WILLIS: There are a lot of these. There are some legitimate work-from-home opportunities, but there are also a lot of scams. That's according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Be aware of those classic schemes like medical billing or envelope stuffing. Legitimate work-at-home sponsors should tell you in writing what's involved in the program.
Find out if you'll be paid a salary or by commission and get the total cost off the work at home program, including supplies, equipment, and memberships fees. The higher the cost, the less likely it is that it's legitimate.
HARRIS: OK, so scams and scam artists out there. How do we protect ourselves?
WILLIS: Well, you know, the takeaway here is just because you're familiar with maybe a jobs Web site, that doesn't mean you can let your guard down. Places like Craigslist or job search engines like Career Builder, they do sometimes have less-than-legitimate job postings. So it's up to you to watch out for the red flags.
Here's some to watch out for. Beware of offers requiring fees. Big promises or guaranties of jobs, that just doesn't happen. E-mails that ask for sensitive info.
If you have a funny feeling about a company, make sure you check out their record on the Better Business Bureau, or call you local attorney general's office for any complaints that may have been lodged against the company.
HARRIS: "Bottom line," perfect segue. I'm not going to let you get out of here.
WILLIS: It was pretty sneaky, wasn't it?
HARRIS: Yes. "Your Bottom Line," this week, what have you got in store for us, Gerri?
WILLIS: We are talking privacy, privacy, privacy. People are concerned that, you know, it's not just their employer looking over their shoulder, it's also the credit card issuer, it's the federal government.
We're going to tell you all about it, plus how to protect yourself, 9:30 a.m. eastern Saturday morning right here on CNN, "Your Bottom Line." Tony, will you watch?
HARRIS: Of course. You know the answer to that. I'm there. I'm with you every week.
Gerri, good to see you. Thanks.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: OK, the issue is health care, and I will get the latest on the debate from senator bill nelson of Florida right here in the "CNN Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER BREAK)
HARRIS: You know we could see a health reform bill coming out of the Senate Finance Committee as early as tomorrow. What's in it already? What's not in it? And what's going to happen?
It's a pleasure to welcome to the program Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida. Senator Nelson is a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Senator, good to see you. Thanks for your time. Thanks for leaving the meeting, and we will get you back to the meeting so you can continue the work there in just a moment, but a couple of questions to you. You proposed some amendments that were voted down. Do you plan to bring those up again on the Senate floor?
SEN. BILL NELSON, (D) FLORIDA: Well, one of them, Tony, is taking care of seniors, not taking away benefits that they have. And I think we're going to get that worked out before we vote on final passage, which will probably come tonight.
The other one, of course, is to get the pharmaceutical industry to do competitive bidding on the bulk purchases of drugs for Medicare just like they do in Medicaid.
HARRIS: Yes.
NELSON: And they don't want to do that, because that means that they have to sell the drugs cheaper to Medicare just like they sell to Medicaid.
HARRIS: Right.
NELSON: That was defeated by three votes. I intend to bring that up on the floor of the Senate.
HARRIS: All right, let's talk about that a bit more. You're writing an opinion piece about Medicare and the proposed cuts. Let's sort of bottom-line this thing. How much is the Finance Committee going to cut from Medicare? And how will it rein in the cost in the Medicare advantage plans, which I know you're equally concerned with?
NELSON: All right. If you separate Medicare Advantage from the traditional Medicare, and that's where these insurance companies get a bump of 14 percent per senior citizen. And that has to be winnowed out over time because they're just getting too much of a cushion.
HARRIS: Right.
NELSON: But my point is, well, the seniors have it now, don't take it away from them.
HARRIS: Right.
NELSON: Take it on a going-forward basis. So I'm trying to grandfather in existing senior citizens. And that's what we're trying to work out right now as we speak.
HARRIS: Yes. Big-picture this for me just a moment here. Do you think you're going to get a bill out of committee by the end of the business day tomorrow?
NELSON: Either by tonight or tomorrow. I think we will have it voted out. I think all the Democrats will vote for it, and very likely Senator Snowe, Olympia Snowe, a Republican from Maine, that she will vote for it as well.
HARRIS: Hey, what do you think in the final analysis here, the final Senate bill, after this bill is melded with the health bill, do you think it will include the public option? Is that a way for the public option to come back?
NELSON: The public option that I voted for and that I think is going to be very attractive is the one offered by Senator Schumer. And it puts a public option insurance company in the health insurance exchange, bidding for that business on the same level playing field, the same competitive rules. And I think people feel like that that's fair play. And I think that might have a decent chance of staying in the bill once we get to the floor. The alternative to that is -- and I think this is going to be offered by Senator Snowe, maybe on the floor...
HARRIS: Is this the trigger plan?
NELSON: That's the trigger. At a certain time in the future, that if insurance companies are not having the costs kept down by true competition, that a public option would kick in and, therefore, give that competition to keep them in their rates, their premiums, down.
HARRIS: And let's leave it there for now. Senator Nelson, we're going to let you get back to work. Thanks for your time.
NELSON: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: And we will get a Republican perspective from Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Just minutes ago I asked Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida about progress on that big health reform legislation. Let's turn now to the other side of the aisle for the Republican view of the same proposal. Joining us now, Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky. Mr. No-hitter. Also a member of the committee working on the bill.
Senator, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.
SEN. JIM BUNNING, (R) KENTUCKY: Thank you.
HARRIS: Hey, I'm wondering, can you support what's taking shape in your committee now?
BUNNING: Well, if there were a lot of changes in it, I could. We're trying very hard to make sure that President Obama keeps his promise to not raise taxes on any Americans making more than -- or less than $200,000 as an individual or $250,000 as a family. And in this bill there are billions of dollars of taxation. And also, if we're so transparent about this bill and we want the American people to be informed about it, we should at least have passed my amendment that required legislative language, 72 hours, and a score from CBO to be posted on the Internet.
HARRIS: Yes. Hey, senator, I'm curious, you mention the number of fees in the bill that's taking shape now. I'm just curious, do you or don't you consider the premium increases from year to year for families and individuals, the rising cost of co-pays and everything else attached to health care? Aren't those fees, aren't those in essence taxes on people?
BUNNING: Well, they are depending on what kind of coverage they buy. In other words, people seem to adjust the higher the premium goes, some employers and some people who are like me, who buy the other part of the insurance, would take less coverage for the same amount of money or pay a premium to buy the same coverage or even more coverage.
HARRIS: But would you accept that any premium increase, regardless of your plan from year to year, is additional money out of the pockets of families and individuals and thereby . . .
BUNNING: I accept that.
HARRIS: OK. You know, it seems to me in watching the news shows and reading the newspapers on a daily basis here, that we seem to be moving away from the health care reform story. I wonder if you agree with that.
And I'm wondering if that in some way is because health care reform feels more and more with each passing day like settled business. Something is going to pass this year. No one will be totally happy with it, but it's going to get done. Do you have that same sense?
BUNNING: Well, we feel that there's probably something going to be passed. We would like to incrementally adjust health care. We don't want -- we don't think a great big package that includes all the things that are in the chairman's mark should all be done at once because the American people are not ready for that. They have told us so many times during August and many, many, many, many times at our offices that they -- they want incremental change and not a big package full of changes that they can't understand.
HARRIS: Right.
BUNNING: They can understand if you lower their premium or raise their premium and what they buy with that. They understand that. They want to keep the health care that they have. Seventy some percent of Americans are pretty well satisfied with the present health care. Now, the escalation of the premiums and the cost is something we have to get at. We don't think it should be addressed in a big, massive bill.
HARRIS: Right.
BUNNING: We think it should be addressed incrementally.
HARRIS: You know, I've heard it expressed this way, that we all agree on this committee on about 80 percent of the language in the legislation. If we could just take care of that 80 percent, then set aside the 20 percent where we don't agree, that might be the approach. Do you sign on to that?
BUNNING: Well, I disagree on the percentages. But, yes, but that's pretty accurate.
HARRIS: Yes.
BUNNING: Because we do agree on a lot of things. We disagree on raising so many different mandates.
HARRIS: Yes.
BUNNING: And we don't think that the American people should be subject to those. There's an infringement and we're using health care to infringe on the privacy of our people. And I don't like that.
HARRIS: Senator Bunning, thanks for jumping out of that meeting to have a conversation with us. And come back and see us again when whatever is passed out is passed out. We'll have another conversation about it. Thanks for your time.
BUNNING: Glad to do it.
HARRIS: You know, we've been taking a look at what health care reform means for you and your family. We're focusing on the Senate Finance Committee proposal by Chairman Max Baucus. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us with another example.
Good to see you, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And good to see you.
Our example today, Tony, is low-income Larry. We wanted to see, what does the Baucus plan do for someone like Larry?
Now you can see that he is employed. He works in a supermarket. He's employed. But he doesn't make a lot of money. So he's employed and he does get insurance through his employer.
So, let's take a look at Larry's statistics. Larry makes $15,000 per year. All right. I think we can all agree that's not very much. All right. His employer gives him insurance, but he has to pay for some of that. His premium costs that he has to pay every year is $1,500 per year. So he's spending 10 percent of his income paying for his health insurance, plus that doesn't count the co-payments and the deductibles and whatnot.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: All right. So, he's in a bit of a situation. He's paying 10 percent of his income on premiums, plus more for other parts of health care.
So, what does the Baucus bill do for him? The Baucus bill does nothing for him. And the reason why is the Baucus bill says, look, if you're employed and your employer gives you insurance and you're not paying more than 10 percent of your income for the premiums, we're not going to do anything for you. You should take what your employer is giving you. We're not going to give you subsidies. We're not going to do any of that.
HARRIS: We don't have a better deal for you.
COHEN: Right. We don't -- right, that's basically it. Correct.
HARRIS: Wow. OK. And, wow, all right. And, well, that's it. That's tough, Larry. Sorry.
COHEN: Right, Larry's in a -- I mean we made him smiling. We probably shouldn't have.
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: I mean he has insurance. So a lot of people don't. So that's a big deal. But some people would say, you know what, it doesn't quite do enough for Larry. Larry needs a little more help. Other people would say, Larry should just be happy he's insured.
HARRIS: Absolutely. All right, Elizabeth, look, the facts are the facts.
COHEN: That's right.
HARRIS: Thank you, Elizabeth. COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories right now.
People are reeling after back-to-back earthquakes in Indonesia. The official toll now is 529. But officials fear that number could grow much higher. It is unclear how many people are still missing.
Iran told negotiators in Geneva today it will soon allow U.N. inspectors inside a nuclear site that until last week was secret. The pledge came at a meeting with five other world powers about Iran's nuclear agenda. Iran is facing pressure to open its nuclear facilities to inspectors and suspend uranium enrichment.
Derrion Albert's funeral will be Saturday. Chicago police are asking the Secret Service to enhance a video that shows the attack on the honors student. They're trying to identify more suspects. Three more, in fact. Four are already charged with murder. The tape shows attackers hitting Albert in the head with two-by-fours.
What happens when a city is so economically devastated that people can't afford to bury their dead?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A reunion today for the pilot and the copilot of the Miracle on the Hudson. Can't forget that. They flew together the first time since a bird strike forced them to ditch their plane in New York's Hudson River. The flight also marked Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's new role as an active management pilot for U.S. Airways.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. CHESLEY "SULLY" SULLENBERGER, U.S. AIRWAYS PILOT: I'm look forward to my return to U.S. Airways. I will have a role in safety management. And I will continue to be the same kind of advocate for aviation safety that I've been for decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And speaking of heroes, tonight beginning at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, Anderson Cooper reveals the year's top 10 CNN heroes. Watch for Anderson at the top of each hour beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, then see all of the heroes tonight at 11:00 Eastern on a special edition of "Anderson Cooper 360."
You know, four months ago we profiled a government plan to help ease the housing crisis. Since then it's come under heavy criticism. Hundreds of families are still waiting for help. The money is still there, but patience is running out. Our Ed Lavandera has today's "Money & Main Street" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA LOCASCIO, NEW HOMEOWNER: Super duper, thank you. ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Finally, Lisa Locascio has the key to a new home. The first she's ever owned.
LAVANDERA (on camera): When's the housewarming party?
LOCASCIO: right now.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): But reaching this moment has been a test of endurance. She bought the house with the help of the federal government's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, or NSP, which has $6 billion to help people buy foreclosed or abandoned homes in 250 cities nationwide. But most of the money hasn't been spent yet, and how it's distributed varies from state to state. But in Phoenix, Arizona, the goal is to help 900 home buyers. But six months into the program, Lisa is just the third person to close on a home.
LAVANDERA (on camera): So, what's it been like to . . .
LOCASCIO: It's been rough.
LAVANDERA: Yes?
LOCASCIO: It's been a long process.
LAVANDERA: Tired?
LOCASCIO: No, I was more annoyed.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Since June we've tracked Lisa's progress through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. One of the NSP program offers prospective home buyers up to $15,000 to cover down payment and closing costs. The idea was also to help banks get foreclosed homes off their books and keep neighborhoods from deteriorating in value.
LANCE CONNOLLY, REAL ESTATE AGENT: $15,000 back.
LAVANDERA: But Lisa's real estate agent, Lance Connolly, doesn't think banks got the memo.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Did you find that banks were willing or eager to deal with you?
CONNOLLY: No, pretty much every bank except for Fannie Mae was pretty much unreceptive to the program whatsoever.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The Housing Department official in charge of dishing out the money here in Phoenix, Maria Bears, says people like Lisa Locascio are competing with real estate investors. They offer the banks cash, usually at a lower price. Locascio bid on nearly 30 homes before striking a deal.
LAVANDERA (on camera): But you still think this is money well spent?
MARIA BEARS, PHOENIX DEPUTY HOUSING DIRECTOR: I do. Anytime you stabilize a neighborhood, that's the fabric of our communities. So, ghost towns don't do anybody any good at all.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Maria Bears is trying to build momentum. She's helped organize this Spanish-language telethon to get the word out. City housing officials say there's reason to be optimistic about the plan. Another 72 families have been approved and are ready to start home shopping.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Everyone here agrees this program is off to a slow start, but the Neighborhood Stabilization Program won't last forever. The clock is ticking. It's set to expire toward the end of next year.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And for more stories of people thriving in a tough economy, watch for more "Money & Main Street" reports tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Unemployment, corruption, and abandonment are just some of the plagues eating away at the city of Detroit. Lost jobs, lost homes, lost dreams, but it's the things you can't see that speak loudest about Detroit's struggle. Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow reports. But we want to warn you, some of the images you're about to see may be difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): Sixty-seven bodies and counting. At freezing temperatures, they wait, unclaimed. Some for up to five years.
ALBERT SAMUELS, CHIEF INVESTIGATOR, WAYNE COUNTY MORGUE: This is our freezer.
HARLOW: Chief Investigator Albert Samuels is in his 13th year at Detroit's Wayne County Morgue and says he's never seen anything like it. A record number of unclaimed corpses filling the freezer at 1300 East Warren Street.
SAMUELS: And I have to believe it is because of the economic problems that we're having with a lot of -- some people don't come forward even though they may know the people are here. They don't have the money.
HARLOW: Darrell and Cheryl Vickers did come forward. And when we met them at the morgue, they had just identified their late aunt, Nancy Graham. But like more and more people in Detroit, they left their loved one behind.
CHERYL VICKERS, DETROIT RESIDENT: And we try to do everything we can, but with -- the money's just not there.
HARLOW: The money would usually be there, but with Detroit's economic struggles, Wayne Country's budget for burying the unclaimed dead ran out in June. People can apply to the state for funds, but it can take weeks, sometimes months, for an application to be processed.
DARRELL VICKERS, DETROIT RESIDENT: To be pushed to the side and say that, you know, there's no financing or no help available, you know, it's -- it's -- it breaks your heart to know that you have a loved one sitting there in cold storage and there's nothing you can do for them.
HARLOW: Dr. Carl Schmidt, the morgue's chief medical examiner, says although such destitution has become a daily reality, its ramifications speak volumes.
DR. CARL SCHMIDT, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, WAYNE COUNTY MORGUE: One of the ways that we look back on it historically, you look at a culture's evolution, is how they dispose of their dead. We see people here that society was not taking care of before they died. And society is having difficulty taking care of them even after they're dead.
D. VICKERS: What kind of peace is the body getting sitting in a morgue in cold storage?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Poppy Harlow joining us now from New York.
Poppy, good to see you.
Has there been any update on the Vickers' situation since you first met them?
HARLOW: There has, Tony. Believe it or not, some good news for the Vickers. I talked to them on the phone this week and they told me they were able to scrape together the $695, Tony, that's what they need to cremate their aunt. They got it from social services, Social Security, and they went to their aunt's church. They couldn't get it from the city of Detroit, the county. There's just no money there.
But the reality is, Tony, when you look at these pictures, these are the bodies that still remain, 66 of them now, in that freezer at the morgue. And they tell a much darker story of Detroit and the struggles there than any of the emptied streets or the shuttered businesses or the closed plants. It's what you can't see, Tony, that's really telling the story there.
HARRIS: Well, I guess we were right in offering up that warning to folks watching that it would be a difficult piece.
HARLOW: Right.
HARRIS: Is this problem only in Detroit, or are there other cities dealing with this same problem?
HARLOW: It's a great question. I think it's more pronounced in Detroit because the county literally ran out of money. They're waiting for their 2010 budget money to come through for the fiscal year. But when you look at Los Angeles, they said they got more than 200 bodies unclaimed in the morgue freezer there. There's not an increase in bodies in L.A., Tony, but what there is, is an increase in the people that come forward and say, we just can't pay to bury our loved ones. L.A.'s reorganizing their budget to deal with that.
Look at Las Vegas. They've seen a 22 percent increase in the burials and cremations of unclaimed bodies this year that the state is having to pay for and the county because under their laws, the county's required to provide that service. That's not the same situation in Detroit, Tony. So, no, it's not just happening in Detroit. It's happening in more big cities across the country.
HARRIS: Hey, I got to tell you, I was listening and looking over your shoulder there to what you have up in the plasma screen here. Will you talk to us about this special page there at cnnmoney.com?
HARLOW: Yes, of course, Tony. Thanks. What you're looking at is cnnmoney.com/detroit. It's a special initiative through cnnmoney and Time Inc. It's at least a one-year commitment that we've made to covering the city of Detroit.
Tony, you look at a city like this right in our own backyard. Twenty-eight percent unemployment. An auto industry on its knees. Massive foreclosures. How could you not focus on a story like that? So, continuing coverage all the time right there. We're constantly updating it. And we actually -- Time Inc. bought a house in Detroit fully staffed with reporters 24/7 for the next year to really tell that story -- Tony.
HARRIS: And kudos to you. You spent a lot of time in Michigan recently. Kudos to you for taking on the project.
HARLOW: Well, it's our whole team, but thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, all right. And pass that along to the rest of the team.
Poppy, appreciate it. Thank you.
HARLOW: Sure.
HARRIS: What city do you think will win the right to host the 2016 summer games? We will share your pick. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A celebration took place this morning at the Carter Center in Atlanta. The museum at the presidential library is being reopened after a five-month renovation. And just in time for Jimmy Carter's 85th birthday. Before the ceremony, the former president talked to CNN about how he views the museum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The main thing that this museum now shows is kind of a continuum of what you do before, during, and after the presidency. And, you're right, this is the first presidential library that's really shown anything of substance after the White House years. So I think it's going to be a fascinating thing just to see the history of one person, that is me, but also the history of our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: This is the first time the museum at the Carter Center has been updated since it opened 23 years ago.
So, which city do you think will win the bid to host the Olympics in 2016? Rio, Madrid, Tokyo, Chicago? Give us your quick vote. Just go to cnn.com/tony.
Let's do this. Let's take a quick look at the results so far. Chicago is far ahead. Come on, now, Chicago? Yes. Tokyo, sure. How about Rio? Hmm. That's what I'm thinking, Kyra. And Madrid? There you go. Cnn.com/tony.
We are pushing forward now with Kyra Phillips, but, first, Anderson Cooper reveals the first of our top ten heroes finalists.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Anderson Cooper.
Each hour today we're revealing one of our top 10 CNN heros for 2009. From New York, meet Jorge Munoz. Every day, this school bus driver hands out hundreds of free meals he makes at home.
I'll be back in an hour with our next top 10 CNN hero. And join me for our "360" special at 11:00 p.m. tonight to meet our heroes and begin voting for the CNN hero of the year, who will win $100,000.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
