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Fixing the Financial System; Americans Accused of Terror Plot; Limits on Health Care Coverage

Aired December 11, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now, top of the hour, for a reset.

Hello, everybody. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Betty Nguyen, sitting in for Tony Harris.

Yes, it is 12:00 on Capitol Hill, where the House plans to vote today on a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's financial rules.

It's 10:00 in the evening in Pakistan, where a police report says five young Americans planned to wage jihad in Afghanistan.

And it is 6:00 p.m. in Copenhagen, where climate delegates are asking why doesn't the U.S. use more nuclear power?

Let's get started.

First up, a developing story to tell you about. The nation's financial rules may soon get their biggest makeover since the Great Depression.

The House votes today on the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. But first, though, lawmakers have to get several amendments to the bill out of the way, and one would let bankruptcy judges rewrite mortgages to cut monthly payments. A second amendment would kill the bill's Consumer Protection Agency.

National political correspondent Jessica Yellin takes a look at that angle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ETTA HUNTE, HOME WAS FORECLOSED: So it's cooking.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Etta Hunte is a victim of the kind of consumer abuses that helped take this nation to the brink of economic crisis.

HUNTE: I went on my own, I thought I was doing the right thing and this is where it ended.

YELLIN: She lost the house she lived in for 17 years after she signed a new mortgage she didn't understand and couldn't afford. Her broker did not make it clear her payments would skyrocket.

HUNTE: Yes, I'm reading it, and I'm signing this thing, signing my home away and had no idea and no one was informing me that it's an adjustable rate.

YELLIN: The problem? No single federal agency oversees all mortgages. Instead, five agencies have a hand in it. And during the subprime mortgage crisis, some companies worked the loopholes.

Elizabeth Warren is a watchdog for Congress.

ELIZABETH WARREN, CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT PANEL CHAIRWOMAN: There are gaps in between and overlaps in the regulatory structure.

YELLIN: Mortgages are just one piece of a much bigger problem for consumers. Across the federal government seven different agencies set rules for everything from loans to mortgages, credit cards and insurance products. So some companies play one regulator against another.

Now Democrats in Congress are pushing a major overall that would organize these powers into one new consumer protection agency.

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), BANKING CHAIRMAN: Our plan will stop abusive practices by creating an independent consumer financial protection agency with one mission and that is standing up for consumers.

YELLIN: Congressional Republicans oppose the Democrats plan but do support new streamlined consumer protections.

REP. JEB HENSARLING (R), FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: I believe in regulations that make markets more competitive. I believe in regulations and respects the rights of consumers. I don't see this happening with this particular agency.

YELLIN: But business interests, they're ready for battle and have spent more than $334 million lobbying this year. They're led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

TOM QUAADMAN, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: You can see a multiplication of agencies. Big government isn't the answer.

YELLIN: He says the power new agency will hurt business innovation.

QUAADMAN: It creates a scheme where you have regulators who are really starting to decide who winners and losers are.

YELLIN: Because Etta Hunte just wants someone to speak for her.

HUNTE: I would like for them to have somebody to keep tabs on these -- all of these mortgage companies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And Jessica Yellin joins us now live from Washington.

All right, Jessica, so how would the Consumer Financial Protection Agency actually work here? YELLIN: Right. Nuts and bolts, it could mandate that banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies and the like, that they make simpler contracts, that they encourage companies to offer loans with clear and straightforward terms. And they could even, Betty, have the power to sue financial companies that they believe are abusing customers. Right now, most of this power lies with the Federal Reserve, and in Washington the consensus generally is they didn't do a very good job of protecting consumers in the lead-up to the financial collapse.

NGUYEN: OK. That being the case, we're finding out more and more about this legislation. What else may be in there?

YELLIN: Right. There's measures giving the government the power to unwind failing financial companies like AIG companies we now call too big to fail, so they don't have to be bailed out in the future. It would also give the government new ways to regulate high-risk investments that helped lead to the collapse. And there's even this one controversial measure you mentioned that would give bankruptcy judges the power to rewrite mortgages and help homeowners. It would completely remake the financial picture in this country.

NGUYEN: All right. A lot to be decided on.

Jessica Yellin joining us live.

Thank you, Jessica.

YELLIN: Thanks.

NGUYEN: Well, checking the CNN wire for you right now.

A little more holiday cheer this year, if you will. A survey finds more companies plan to hand out yearend bonuses this time around. Sixty-four percent are planning a little something extra for workers, and that compares to 54 percent in 2008. An outplacement consulting firm called Challenger, Gray and Christmas did the survey of 100 HR specialists.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not mincing words about Iran. Clinton was speaking just a short time ago about Iran's interests in Latin America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We also are well aware of Iran's interests in promoting itself with a number of other countries, Venezuela and Bolivia, as you mentioned. And we can only say that that is a really bad idea for the countries involved. And we hope that there will be a recognition that this is the major supporter, promoter and exporter of terrorism in the world today. I think that if people want to flirt with Iran, they should take a look at what the consequences might well be for them, and we hope that they will think twice, and we're going to support them if they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Those strong remarks from Clinton coming at a Hispanic outreach event in Washington.

Well, a high-ranking al Qaeda leader has reportedly been killed in a drone attack. A U.S. government officials says it happened in western Pakistan. The official is not identifying who was killed, except to say that it was not Osama bin Laden or his right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Now, drone attacks in Pakistan have increased since President Obama took office.

New details now on the five Americans arrested in Pakistan for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks. A police report is just out and it reveals the suspected plan.

Let's take you live now to our Arwa Damon in Islamabad.

All right, Arwa, you had a chance to talk to Pakistan's interior minister this morning in an exclusive interview. What is he saying about these guys and the plan?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, we do have a number of new details to inform you about. First and foremost, is that according to Pakistan's minister of Interior, the FBI notified Pakistani authorities that these five men might be turning up here.

Also, that police report you just mentioned there highlights some more details about where the men were trying to reach. That being Afghanistan.

What we also know from the minister of Interior is that they tried to get in touch with at least two Pakistani militant groups, both of whom rejected them. The minister speculating that it might be because they lacked the proper jihadi credentials.

And in trying to understand the dynamics that are at play here, we also asked the minister about why so many young jihadists were making their way to Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REHMAN MALIK, INTERIOR MINISTER OF PAKISTAN: Obviously, they don't normally come only for Pakistan because they have to find a route. Either they go to Afghanistan or they come to Pakistan. But historically speaking, if you see all these flow (ph) of terrorists who were brought in during the war of Soviet Union and Afghanistan, there are all those remnants.

So they had been living or their father had been staying here. Some way or the other, there had been a connection with that war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: Combating terror, the minister said, be it those that are coming here from abroad or Pakistan's own homegrown militants, is not going to be able to be successful with just the involvement of Pakistan itself. He said the country needs help. It needs the cooperation of its neighbors like Afghanistan, and they also need the U.S. military. Bearing in mind at this point, though, these five have not yet been formally charged -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. If you would, give us a little bit more detail on what their motivations might have been. What were they intent on doing?

DAMON: Well, you know, what's interesting about this group is that they are fairly well educated. These were all university students. They don't exactly fit the cookie cutter mold of what many of the jihadists in this part of the world are, which is young, uneducated, disgruntled.

Now, we were speaking with the police yesterday, who told us that they had brought up this very issue with these young men and debated it with them at length. And the police were telling us that these men were saying that their motivation wasn't necessarily Islam, per se, it was more that they had seen the atrocities being committed against Muslims across the entire globe, and that is what really seared itself into their souls.

And they just felt compelled to take some sort of action, and that they were the ones who, in fact, reached out to the militant groups, set up connections, communications through the Internet, and then eventually made their own way here to Pakistan.

NGUYEN: All right. So that being the case, they are arrested at this point. What happens next? What will Pakistani and even U.S. officials do?

DAMON: Well, at this point, the Pakistanis are merely saying that they are holding them. Again, they have not yet been formally charged. And the Pakistanis are saying that the investigation is still ongoing.

We did hear that they were likely to be charged in Pakistan with the intent of carrying out a terror attack. But depending on how that plays out, depending on how the investigation plays out, the minister said that it was likely that they could be charged here in Pakistan. Or, if the Pakistanis decide to let them go, they could be deported to the United States, and then it would be up to America whether or not to press charges against them there.

They are also being investigated by the FBI, according to the Pakistanis.

NGUYEN: All right. A lot of investigations taking place dealing with these five men.

OK. Arwa Damon joining us live.

Thank you, Arwa.

Well, a loophole in the Senate Health Care bill -- why the American Cancer Society says it just doesn't make sense.

First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, folks. It is that time, our "Random Moment of the Day," where we're spicing things up just a little bit today with some salsa.

Let's take a look.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NGUYEN: Yes, she may look some 20-something kicking it out there, but this is a grandmother who is 75 years old. But her legs are holding it at 29 or even younger than that.

Her names is Patty Jones (ph), and she shimmied her way to the championships of a Spanish TV talent show. Man, this woman can dance. And why not? This British retiree is just five years older than Tina Turner.

And there you have it, the "Random Moment of the Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. So, imagine being told that you have cancer and then being told your insurance company will not completely cover you. It happens way too often, and health care reform hopes to change that, but will it really help?

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

And we are hoping that you have some answers for a lot of people who really are disappointed when they not only get the devastating news, but then the news on top of that, that their insurance won't cover all of this.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it must just be a horrible thing to hear that. You know, and the cold, hard language of insurance companies, it's called limits.

You might have an annual limit for how much they will spend to take care of you. The insurance company just basically says, all right, that's it, you're done, you've spent too much money.

Well, the health care reform bill in the Senate hopes to address this by saying that insurance companies -- this is the plan in the bill -- that insurance companies cannot set unreasonable limits. That's how they're hoping this will take care of this problem.

NGUYEN: All right, keyword, "unreasonable."

COHEN: Right.

NGUYEN: What exactly does that mean?

COHEN: Right. That's the problem, is they don't define "unreasonable." So, one insurance company may decide one thing and, who knows? And then...

NGUYEN: So, is that their little loophole, that it's so subjective?

COHEN: The concern is that it's a loophole. I mean, the hope is, is that the federal government would step in and give guidance as to what "unreasonable" means, but it's not spelled out in the bill. So, as you can imagine, there's a fair amount of anxiety about this.

NGUYEN: Well, then, why don't they just make it plain and simple and say no limits, period?

COHEN: Well, CNN asked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the majority leader, well, why don't you just say limits? And basically, the response that we got was, look, if you just say, OK, no annual limits at all, that that might raise premiums. It's always a tradeoff. If you increase coverage, you might also be increasing premiums, making an insurance policy too expensive for many people, so that's the tradeoff, as always.

NGUYEN: All right. And then there's this -- some insurance companies set those lifetime limits, correct? Could that be in the bill?

COHEN: Right. The Senate bill does say no lifetime limits, period, end of sentence.

NGUYEN: OK. At least we got an answer on that one, right?

COHEN: There you go. Exactly.

NGUYEN: Very good.

Elizabeth always providing us with answers.

At least when you know the answers, right?

COHEN: That's right. That's right.

NGUYEN: Some of them, you just don't have it.

All right. Thank you, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks, Betty.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: He struck Olympic gold in the pool, but years before, he almost lost his life while swimming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

When I was 5 years old, I almost drowned, and my mom got me into lessons instantly.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: The stroke of luck that propelled this medalist to spread the message of swimming safety.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Checking your top stories right now.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates telling U.S. troops their mission in Iraq remains critical, despite the focus on Afghanistan. Gates delivered that message personally today to some 300 soldiers and airmen in Kirkuk, and he reassured them plans to draw down forces there next year remain intact.

Well, a new twist in the tale of Tiger Woods. Britain's high court has granted an injunction blocking any nude pictures of him from being published. Not that the golfer is acknowledging such photos exist. Woods' lawyers says pictures may have been manipulated to create the false impression of Woods in the nude.

The Olympic torch gets a standing ovation from Canada's parliament. It made a stop there yesterday, en route to the site of the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver. Carrying the torch, 81-year-old figure skating legend Barbara Ann Scott, Canada's first figure skater to win a gold medal.

We have more top stories in 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: An Olympic gold medalist is carrying the torch for swimming and minority children. It's what we're talking about in our "What Matters" segment today.

The lack of opportunities to learn how to swim leave many minorities at risk of drowning. Swimmer Cullen Jones is trying to change all of that.

And our Stephanie Elam joins us now. She's a former swimmer herself, competitive swimmer at that, diving into this story, if you will.

Hey there, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Betty. Yes, this story just got me going when I saw the stats on this, because I had no idea that the drowning rates in this country were so bad. And on top of it, 60 percent of black kids in this country don't know how to swim.

With numbers like that, it's no surprise that drowning is such an epidemic. And then you take look at someone like Olympian Cullen Jones, who almost drowned himself as a kid. He's not the first black American to win a gold medal in the Olympics, but at this point he wants to make sure he's not the last.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELAM (voice-over): In one of the most exciting moments from the Beijing Olympics, Cullen Jones solidified his place in sports history. He was part of the gold-winning 4x100 freestyle relay with Michael Phelps, Jason Lezak and Garrett Weber-Gale.

CULLEN JONES, OLYMPIC SWIMMER: I've gotten around the Olympian part, but the gold medal is still something that I'm still trying to live and get into my mind.

ELAM: Jones' story, however, almost didn't get its golden ending.

JONES: When I was 5 years old I almost drowned. And my mom got me into lessons instantly.

ELAM: His mother's reaction changed the course of his life.

JONES: I started loving the water. And she told me, you know, "If you're going to start this, you have to finish it to the end." And I'm still going.

ELAM: Jones is now also the face of the USA Swimming Foundation's Make a Splash Initiative, highlighting drowning prevention.

JONES: There is a solution for drowning, and it's swim lessons. Nearly 150,000 kids have part of this. It's been great. This is in the last year.

ELAM: The statistics are alarming.

JONES: It's staggering that African-Americans and Hispanics are almost three times more likely to drown than Caucasian or any other race in America. Fifty-six percent of Hispanic kids don't know how to swim.

ELAM: At this Make a Splash event in Los Angeles, Jones talked about the importance of learning to swim. He made sure his message hit home.

JONES: In L.A. alone, 85 kids drown every year, and 90 percent of those kids -- 90 percent of them -- are actually being watched.

ELAM: After the assembly, he took to the pool with a few of the students. I asked the kids what it was like swimming with an Olympian.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a good teacher and he actually listened to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My parents love him because most of them don't know how to swim and they're happy I got the chance to learn how.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was pretty good.

ELAM: Jones, who lost his dad when he was 16, says students' stories often resonate with him.

JONES: There was one of the kids that I just taught, his dad passed away three years ago, and he had never been in the water again. And today was probably the first time he actually swam finally again. And definitely proud (ph) of that.

ELAM: Fellow Olympic medalists turned out to support Jones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he puts a real face on it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This man is such a wonderful spokesman for the sport and for the initiative.

ELAM: As for the Olympics, Jones wants more hardware.

JONES: I expected to swim the 50 freestyle in 2008 and I didn't get that opportunity. So I'm really hungry to try to go back in 2012.

ELAM: Chances are he'll have a new wave of fans cheering him on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And obviously the biggest part of this story is that people need to know that drowning is such a huge problem in this country. And, Betty, just to give a little bit of statistics here just to support what you heard there, nine people drown in the United States every day. That's coming to us from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

And then, on top of it, only 13 percent of children who come from a non-swimming household will ever learn how to swim. So a lot of it has to do with what we learned from our parents. And if they don't know how to swim, chances are then we won't learn how to swim. And that's what really has to change here -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, on top of that, though, help us understand why there's such a disparity among the races when it comes to the drowning rates.

ELAM: There's a few reasons why there's issues. You know, you hear a bit about the history of racism. You go back to the '50s and '60s, when you had segregated beaches in this country, you had segregated pools, you even had people, hotel managers, throwing bleach into pools, just to keep black people out of them.

So there was a whole fear effort behind that that was part of it. But then, also, you move later into the years and you have an access problem.

Are there pools in urban areas? Are there pools in minority communities? And a lot of times you'll find that that is just not the case. So, therefore, that becomes an issue.

Then, also, there's the legacy of fear. Like I was mentioning before, a lot of people didn't learn how to swim, but then they have kids. And instead of teaching their kids to swim or getting them lessons, they just pass that fear on to their children.

"I stayed away from it, you stay away from it." But you still hear about people drowning in just four feet of water because they never learn how and then they panic.

And then a lot of people just also have this whole scary notion about what will happen, whether or not -- there's been out there years ago, whether or not black people can float and whether they're too dense or too muscular for that. And a lot of that has also proceeded into the legacy of people saying, oh, well, black people aren't going to be great swimmers anyway, which obviously is not the case when you have someone like Cullen Jones winning gold medals.

NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely. OK. Stephanie, very interesting. Thanks so much for that report.

ELAM: Thanks.

NGUYEN: Sure.

And you can read more about Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones. All you have to do is check out Stephanie's report online at Essence.com.

Living in limbo. A homeowner who thought she was getting mortgage help under the president's plan now fears that she may lose her home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Give you a live picture now of Andrews Air Force Base. That's a tight shot right there. What are we looking at? Well, we are looking at Air Force One. We're waiting for the president to step out of the airplane. He is coming back from Oslo, as you well know, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. And, again, the president has just landed at Andrews Air Force Base and we'll be watching as he returns here to the U.S.

More to come here, including money news. We are going to check out the markets for you today and give you the latest on that, as well as financial news and analysis. But looking at the Dow right now, it is still up 37 points. We'll continue to watch it for you.

In the meantime, though, President Obama is not too happy with bailed-out banks right now. Fat paychecks and bonuses, for one thing. Another, sitting on money rather than lending it. Let's talk with "Your Money" co-host Christine Romans. She joins us now live from New York.

All right, Christine, the bailout pay czar, Ken Feinberg, is out today with new limits on paychecks. So give us the numbers and the breakdowns.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: These are paychecks, Betty, for the 26 through 100 best paid people at some of the firms that frankly got the most and still have your money and my money in their coffers holding them up. These are companies like Citigroup, AIG, GM, also GMAC.

What did the pay czar decide? No more guaranteed cash bonuses. They want a restructure to focus on rewarding employees for performance, not for taking risk. $500,000 pay cap. And if there are bonuses or any kind of compensation above and beyond that, for incentives, it has to be held for a period of years. And, in fact, money could be clawed back in the future if the profits or the gains from the company prove to have been, you know, not there. If they disappear or there turns out to be some kind of a problem. So all bonuses are subject to clawbacks.

No more golden parachutes. No more rich retirement plans. These, again, are for these companies that are still pretty much under the thumb of the U.S. government because they have so much government money in them.

Bank of America is no longer on this list, Betty, just FYI, because it paid back $45 billion to the Treasury this week, so it was able to squeak out from under these pay rules from the pay czar.

NGUYEN: All right. So here's a question for you. How can the president actually convince banks to lend money that is being made available to them?

ROMANS: It's interesting because so now you've got the pay czar today with this ruling here. His second ruling, quite frankly. On Monday, the president has summoned the big bank CEOs to Washington, where many say the president is at a boiling point here. The president hears the public anger and furor over the fact that main street is still hurting, and the president wants to push these bankers to bump up their small business and consumer lending. He also wants to push them and talk to them more about financial regulatory reform. Something that the financial services lobby has been pushing back on some parts of.

So the president, many say, is going to give some of these bankers, frankly, a tongue lashing, that he is feeling the populist pain and knows the way the story is playing out in the public eye, that Wall Street is getting healthy and the banks are starting to make money and main street is still suffering with 10 percent unemployment and the optics of that are something that the president is keenly aware of as he invites those bankers -- there's the president coming back right now to the United States from his Scandinavian trip. First order of business after a little bit of rest and some debriefing, I'm sure, will be that big meeting, frankly, Betty, on Monday.

NGUYEN: Yes, he has a lot on the plate. And, again, referencing the video that we're watching, the president arriving back in the U.S. at Andrews Air Force Base, with the first lady. We saw her taking a picture there as well, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

But I want to get back to you, Christine, because "Your Money" is coming up this Saturday and I know you're going to be talking about something that's in the news a lot lately. A lot of people concern about that, the case for climate change. ROMANS: That's right. You've got Copenhagen. This big, global summit. Fifteen thousand people there. Bureaucrats, international bureaucrats and negotiates. But also something called BINGOs, Business and Industry Non-Governmental Organizations. That's the term on the ground there. Those are the big special interests who are trying to influence this debate over climate change.

We're going to talk about the money, the money behind the climate change debate, how to follow the money when you're talking about research and funding of climate science, but also the raw lobbying numbers and the conflicting, sometimes conflicting interests of different business groups and different groups across the board for climate change. So there's a lot of -- I would say a lot of intrigue in Copenhagen, quite frankly, and a lot of money being pushed around. We're going to talk about all that.

NGUYEN: Yes.

ROMANS: Also we're going to talk about on the program, Betty, how much would you pay to fix the environment? How much would you pay out of your pocket to fix the environment? Because that's what it comes down to, what people are willing to pay in the very near term to fix the problem that could cost us a lot of money in the long term.

NGUYEN: Well, that's some really great stuff. BINGO, huh, OK. We're learning a new term every day.

ROMANS: BINGO.

NGUYEN: Thank you, Christine.

Well, the government is putting more pressure on banks to help homeowners in trouble and officials want lenders to speed up the process of providing permanent new mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure. The story from national political correspondent Jessica Yellin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Daisy Vidal thought she was one of the lucky ones. On a trial basis, she was offered a more affordable mortgage thanks to the Obama administration's homeowner relief program. So why is she still living in limbo?

DAISY VIDAL, HOMEOWNER: I feel frustrated because, you know, like for me, it's very difficult.

YELLIN: After three months of steady payments, her mortgage company was supposed to decide if it would make her temporary mortgage permanent. But instead, for six months, the company kept asking for more documents without making any decision. She worried she'd lose her house.

VIDAL: I worry so much, when I hear a lot of people losing their houses. YELLIN: She's not alone. So far, lenders are failing miserably at offering permanent new mortgages under the president's program. The Treasury Department expected 50 to 75 percent of homeowners in the trial phase of the program would get permanent mortgages. Instead, through November, the lenders made offers to a measly 4.3 percent of eligible homeowners. That's just over 31,000 people. Some in Congress say it's time to put the screws to the banks.

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: We forced the lion to lie with the lamb. But if you look closely, when the lion gets up, the lamb is missing. And we're saying, here, kitty, kitty.

YELLIN: The administration insists it's angry, too. Herb Allison is a top Treasury Department official.

HERB ALLISON, ASSISTANT TREASURY SECRETARY: We were going to move to the point where we're disciplining the banks if they don't perform better than they are today.

YELLIN: The banks, which received bailout moneys, insist they're doing what they can to keep up with overwhelming demand.

JACK SHACKETT, BANK OF AMERICA: Our goal is to keep as many customers in their homes as possible. We understand the urgency of our solutions.

YELLIN: After CNN's inquiries, Saxon, the company that holds Vidal's mortgage, determined she does not qualify for a permanent mortgage under the president's program. Still, they're offering her a mortgage on their own. They add, they've launched a number of proactive initiatives to help other homeowners who are having difficulties with President Obama's mortgage program.

YELLIN (on camera): Treasury Secretary Geithner points out that 750,000 Americans have gotten at least temporary new mortgages through the program. And on average, they've seen their monthly payments reduced $550 a month. Still, Treasury is stepping up its pressure on the banks. Even sending what they're calling SWAT teams into the lenders to speed the process along.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Stories right now.

The man accused of secretly taping ESPN reporter Erin Andrews plans to plead guilty to stalking. According to court documents, Michael David Barrett will enter the plea on Tuesday. Barrett is accused of taking nude pictures of Andrews through hotel peepholes and posting those videos online.

All right, you got to catch this out. A police dash cam captures the feat of bravery in Alton, Texas. Angela Gutierrez (ph) saw a group of teens attacking a police officer. She stopped her car and ran to his rescue. But here's what's even more heroic. She is nine months pregnant, as you can see in some of this video. She says it was just a reaction and the teens were later arrested.

Well, South Carolina's first lady, Jenny Sanford, filed for divorce today. Her husband, Governor Mark Sanford, admitted to an affair last June with a woman in Argentina. Mrs. Sanford says she decided on divorce after quote "many unsuccessful efforts at reconciliation."

And a jolt to your wallet. The government says the average price of electricity is going down. So, why are some utility companies raising their rates?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, the government says the average cost of electricity will be about 1 percent lower in 2010 than it was this year. That would be the first decrease in eight years. Well, despite that, some power companies are raising their rates for 2010. Stephanie Elam has our "Energy Fix" from the cnnmoney.com newsroom in New York. She joins us now live.

All right, Stephanie, so how can companies justify raising rates in a recession when the cost of powering these homes has gone down?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, exactly, Betty, that's the big question that everyone wants to know. And the power companies say they need the extra money to upgrade their infrastructure to make their systems more energy efficient and actually regulators are tending to agree. State regulators approved rate hikes for Duke Energy and Xcel Energy that will add an average of about $4 a month to residential electric bills in North Carolina and Colorado.

Customers in Minnesota and South Carolina could also expect rate hikes. Cases are pending approval in at least seven other states and the District of Columbia. Xcel Energy said it spent nearly $2 billion already to upgrade its grid and now it says it needs its customers to help kick in. So that's the reasons here that we're seeing the change, Betty.

NGUYEN: OK. So if the goal is to make the system more efficient, can we expect to one day pay less to power our homes, even if we're paying a little bit more over the next few years?

ELAM: Yes, that sounds completely reasonable. And the power companies actually used that argument to get the rate hikes approved in the first place. Now the problem is, it's still pretty hard to sell that in a recession. Pending rate hikes are facing opposition from officials who say companies can't burden cash-strapped Americans with the added expense. But the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that implementing smart grid technologies could save businesses and consumers over $20 billion over the next 20 years. It also says new technology will create tens of thousands of new jobs. So it's feasible to think of your higher bill as an investment in new technology, Betty.

NGUYEN: OK, it's feasible, but it's not a guarantee, is that what you're saying? ELAM: Right, it's not a guarantee at this point. And even so, we don't know if they'll then drop the prices later.

NGUYEN: Right.

ELAM: You know, that's the other thing, too.

NGUYEN: Hey, our money is the bottom line here. OK. Thank you, Stephanie. Good to see you.

ELAM: Sure.

NGUYEN: So, going green for a living. What to do if you want to get into an eco-industry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, so all week we've told you what green jobs are and we told you where green jobs are. But if you want to get into this field, what's the best way to position yourself? Personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins me now.

All right, Gerri, it's a new field. It seems training is a good place to start.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right. Good morning, Betty.

Not all these jobs require you to go to a four-year college. Many jobs that are currently or predicted to be in demand are middle- skilled jobs that require more than a high school diploma, but less than a bachelor's degree. And that's where community colleges can fit in. They offer associate degree and certificate programs, plus some non-credit courses.

Here's a sampling of some community college offerings, just so you can get a sense of it here, Betty. Green interior design, solar thermal installation, hybrid car maintenance, energy auditing techniques. You get the picture here. If you're thinking about going back to school, you really want to make sure that the college is affiliated with companies who could ultimately hire you. Bottom line, ask what happens when you walk out of those doors.

Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes, no doubt. OK. So we have an idea of what some of the colleges are providing, but how do you know what certifications you actually need to get that job?

WILLIS: This is critical. Industry specific training and certifications are often listed through the websites of national organizations. That's where you start. Here's some places to go. If you're interested in solar energy, check out the North American Board of Certified Energy Practioners. It's if energy efficiency training, go to the North American Board of Certified Energy Practioners. They have a website. It's natresnet.org. And for green building, go to the Building Performance Institute. They have a website, bpi.org. So all of these organizations affiliated, they have certifications that you'll want to get.

NGUYEN: All right. That's all good and dandy, but we are in a recession. So what if you don't have the cash to get trained? Are there any options out there for you?

WILLIS: Well, the economy is certainly waking (ph). You may not be able to afford training. Volunteering is a great way to make connections and figure out if you even like the industry. Check out project offered through Americorps, Seniorcorps or the Clean Energy Service Corps.

Idealist.org, this is a website that has volunteer opportunities that you can sort by interest and location to get a sense of what's out there. Sometimes you just want to dip your toe in the water.

Betty.

NGUYEN: Actually, and that's such a good idea because why go through all the training just to find out, I don't really like this, you know?

WILLIS: That's right.

NGUYEN: You might as well save yourself the trouble.

WILLIS: That's right. Yes.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you so much.

You know, it is Friday. A lot of people looking forward to the weekend. I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning. CNN "Saturday Morning" and my partner here on the weekends joins me now, because you've got a great show coming for you.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. What's it like? Are you OK anchoring up here by yourself? You've been up here . . .

NGUYEN: I've kind of missed you today a little bit.

HOLMES: Come on.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HOLMES: Thank you for making that admission.

See, everybody's like, aww. They -- aww. Isn't that the sweetest thing.

NGUYEN: Aww. You can pay me later.

HOLMES: But, yes, we will both be here tomorrow.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HOLMES: We've got a lot of stuff we're going to be talking about.

You remember all the hubbub about credit card rates? Do you remember Congress . . .

NGUYEN: And how they were going up.

HOLMES: Yes.

NGUYEN: And Congress was trying to make sure that they stayed at a certain level.

HOLMES: Congress wanted to get in there by -- get on the credit card companies. Well, the companies got nervous and they thought, hey, before they pass some legislation, let's raise everybody's rate.

NGUYEN: Oh.

HOLMES: So a lot of people, a lot of you out there are getting those credit card rate hikes. Those notices in the mail. We're going to be talking about that and what you could possibly be doing about it.

Also something I know you're interested in?

NGUYEN: Which is?

HOLMES: BSC.

NGUYEN: Oh, yes, my Longhorns are in the national championship. Although . . .

HOLMES: OK. Some not (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: Yes, there's a little debate out there, but hey, I'm a die-hard fan.

HOLMES: A little debate. But still, we've got BSC system. This is what we have. Congress isn't crazy about the system. They are getting involved. Some legislation on the table. They are taking up some legislation to possibly change the BCS system.

NGUYEN: Did President Obama have anything to do with this?

HOLMES: I don't know. He's got his plate full right now. But we're going to be talking about that.

NGUYEN: He was asking for it. He was asking.

HOLMES: He was, of course. But we've got two other good things. Rent a dress.

NGUYEN: Rent a dress.

HOLMES: Designers out there. Thousands of dollars.

NGUYEN: Yes, a dress that would normally cost say $2,000, $3,000 to buy.

HOLMES: Rent.

NGUYEN: You can rent it for $200.

HOLMES: You can rent the . . .

NGUYEN: It is the holidays, so you've got lots of parties to go.

HOLMES: We'll show you that -- we'll be showing that Web site.

A lot of good stuff. So I will see you back here tomorrow morning.

NGUYEN: And you won't be in a rented suit.

HOLMES: I will not.

NGUYEN: OK. We'll see you tomorrow morning.

HOLMES: All right. See you, B.

NGUYEN: All right. So who exactly are the young Americans accused of trying to join terrorists in Pakistan? We talk to those who know them in Virginia next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: One of the Americans arrested in Pakistan, accused of trying to join terrorist groups, was a dental student in Virginia. CNN's Brian Todd takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ramy Zamzam, a dentistry student at Howard University, seen here on his FaceBook page. One of the five young men who went missing from the Washington area and was arrested in Pakistan. On the campus of Howard, he was known as a cheerful, engaging student who happily took part in Muslim community activities. Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, the former Muslim chaplain at Howard, didn't have close connections with Zamzam, but gives new detail on what fellow students are saying.

TODD (on camera): What do they tell you that Ramy Zamzam was risking by leaving for Pakistan at this time?

IMAM JOHARI ABDUL-MALIK: Well, you know, this is the exam season at Howard University. And if Ramy is not here now to take the examinations in his senior year in dental school, it means that he's thrown away this academic year. And if he comes back, not only does he risk this year, but perhaps maybe he's thrown away his hopes of having the life, the American dream, that his family sacrificed for. They're a people of modest means.

TODD (voice-over): A Muslim student at another nearby college who knew Zamzam tells CNN he was devout, but they didn't talk politics. Imam Abdul-Malik says he's been told the five young men all worshiped at the Islamic Circle of North America in Alexandria, Virginia, and took part in youth activities.

MALIK: Feeding the homeless. We have the youth get-together from different universities and go downtown Washington and distribute food to the needy. They were engaged in all of those types of activities.

TODD: Authorities say Ramy Zamzam was the one who left behind what's called a farewell video that drew the concern of Muslim leaders in the Washington area. Those leaders now pledge a new outreach effort to counter militant recruiting in the U.S., including on the Internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We realize that the old traditional ways of just bringing them into the mosques and sitting them down in a circle and talking, that's not happening now.

TODD: One terrorism expert says the stakes are high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the moment, counterterrorism agencies in the United States believe that there are a number of Americans still at large in the tribal areas of Pakistan, al Qaeda safe haven, potentially are receiving terrorist training over there. That's causing a lot of concerns.

TODD (on camera): As for these young men, Imam Abdul-Malik and other Muslim leaders say they do not believe there were any recruiters physically sent to the United States to lure them to Pakistan. Abdul- Malik says he believes they were radicalized and inspired to make that trip via the Internet.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, the CNN NEWSROOM continues with my good friend here, Kyra Phillips.

Hi, Kyra.