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Campbell Brown
Senator Allows Vote on Unemployment Benefits; Family of Four Vanishes in California
Aired March 02, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody.
We have some breaking news to tell you about tonight, a truce on Capitol Hill to stop a one-man filibuster and return unemployment benefits to thousands of Americans.
That story tops the "Mash-Up." We're watching it all, so you don't have to.
And, after a whole day of closed-door negotiations, Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning finally gave in. He has agreed to vote for a bill extending unemployment benefits. He had blocked it in protest, saying that lawmakers first had to figure out how to pay for it. His move furloughed thousands of workers and suspended benefits for thousands more.
He spoke on the Senate floor just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JIM BUNNING (R), KENTUCKY: If we cannot pay for a bill that all 100 senators support, how can we tell the American people with a straight face that we will ever pay for anything? That is what senators say they want. And that is what the American people want. And I will be back on future spending bills, demanding that they be paid for, so future generations of Americans will not be burdened with our overspending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: We are going to be live on Capitol Hill, and we will bring you all of the details of this deal coming up in just a few moments.
You have heard this before, but this time, it could be real. We may have to say so long, finally, to Saturday mail delivery. The United States Postal Service is in the red and the man who runs it says something's got to give.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're all simply doing more e- mailing and online bill paying, and that means a lot less physical mail to and from your doorstep.
What is the volume like now compared to, say, five years ago?
DELVIN JOHNSON, WASHINGTON, D.C., MAIL CARRIER: Well, it has dropped off about maybe a third.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plummeting numbers tell it all. Four years ago, the Postal Service handled 213 billion pieces of mail, last year, 177 billion. The Postal Service is now facing a $7 billion budget deficit this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today, the postmaster general spelled it out.
JOHN POTTER, U.S. POSTMASTER GENERAL: The Postal Service is facing a severe income gap that we absolutely have to close.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: If they cut delivery on Saturdays, would they also cut pickup on Saturdays? In other words, if you drop your mail in one of those little boxes in the neighborhood, would it just have to wait until Monday to be picked up?
TODD: Pretty much. A Postal Service official tells us, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The postmaster general also wants congressional approval to replace some of his 36,500 storefronts with satellite locations that require less overhead, like this one located inside a Dallas Target store.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you like anything else today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he wants to be able to raise postage rates faster than inflation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The option of privatizing the entire public postal system not on the table.
Chile's president says the government will apply the full force of the law to crack down on looting and vandalism in the wake of Saturday's killer earthquake, this after looters on Concepcion ransacked stores as soldiers stood by and watched. It has gotten so bad, neighborhood residents have set up armed security committees. Meanwhile, other desperate quake survivors are forced to scavenge for food.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They followed their instincts and listened to the experience of their fathers and their forefathers that they survived. They said that if they had listened to the authorities and returned to their homes, hundreds would now be dead.
The entire town ran to high ground and is now camped out here. Groups of women take turns cooking for the whole community.
"Look at the time. This is the first time we have eaten since we had bread and tea a day ago," she said. It's the men's job to scavenge for ingredients, even if that means ransacking the local fish cannery.
"Looting is if we were taking televisions, but how can you call that looting when we need to eat?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The Chilean air force is coordinating the influx of aid that's beginning to arrive.
Here, at home, an emotional moment on Oprah's couch, movie critic speaking Roger Ebert publicly for the first time since cancer robbed him of his voice four years ago. Well, now new technology uses audio clips of Ebert's new voice to give him a new one. Watch the difference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Do you remember the last words that you spoke out loud?
ROGER EBERT, FILM CRITIC: No, I don't, because I didn't realize at the time they were going to be my last words. I probably spoke them to Chaz as they wheeled me out to the operating room.
They were probably, "I love you." At least, I hope those were my last words.
Want to hear the new voice?
OPRAH: OK.
EBERT: This is the first version of my computer voice. It's what they -- it still needs improvement, but at least it sounds like me. When I type anything, this voice will speak whatever I type. When I read something, it will read in my voice. I have got to say, in first grade, they said I talked too much, and now I still can."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Ebert is now cancer-free.
More than six million people tuned in last night to watch Jay Leno reclaim "The Tonight Show," and chances are Howard Stern, not one of them. The shock jock savaged Leno this morning on rival network CBS. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Just the mere mention of Jay Leno's name makes me want to vomit. I don't like this guy. I don't disguise it.
And probably what irritates me the most is people in show business are afraid to say how much they dislike Jay Leno. First of all, let's look at the history of Jay Leno. Jay Leno pushed Johnny Carson out of "The Tonight Show." That was number one. And he did it in a merciless way.
Jay is a lapdog. He goes on at 10:00 at night. He bombs there. Jay should have dusted himself off, gone to another network. He certainly had the money and the offers. And he should have gone and beaten Conan and beaten Dave and beaten Jimmy Kimmel, all these guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Ouch. Well, Stern did go on to accuse Leno of stealing some of his best routines also.
And, after that, it's only right that tonight's "Punchline" comes courtesy of Jay Leno himself. Enjoy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Blackwater Worldwide, you know the State Department's largest security contractor, those guys we hire as guards? Well, now they have been accused of hiring prostitutes with tax dollars and putting them on the company payroll, yes.
In fact, they say this is the first time tax money has ever been used to pay a bunch of whores since that Wall Street bailout.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Jay Leno, everybody. And that is the "Mash-Up."
Tonight's breaking news: the man who single-handedly froze a million unemployment checks and a whole lot more finally backing down. We are going to live to Capitol Hill to find out why Senator Jim Bunning gave in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Breaking news to tell you about right now in Washington, the U.S. Senate getting ready to vote on a bill extending unemployment benefits, after Senator Jim Bunning in just the last hour finally dropped his efforts to block it.
The two-day standoff held more than a million unemployment checks hostage, along with half-a-million COBRA insurance subsidies. The gridlock also meant steep cuts in Medicare reimbursements and the furlough of 2,000 federal workers. Bunning was on the Senate floor minutes ago, explaining why he held out, his growing frustration over the ballooning deficit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUNNING: That is what the American people want. They want us to get our budgets in order, just like they have to get their budgets in order every day. But that is not what the majority is doing.
So, tonight, tomorrow, and on every spending bill in the future, we will see whether they mean business about controlling our debt, or if it is just words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And let's go straight now to senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, who is on Capitol Hill with the latest on all the machinations.
Dana, what do we know?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know this deal which will produce some votes that will start, Campbell, in about 20 minutes ends several days of drama, discord, raw politics, and raw nerves, especially from Jim Bunning himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): Another day...
(on camera): I have really just a couple of easy questions for you to answer.
BUNNING: I bet you do.
BASH (voice-over): ... another stab at questions for Jim Bunning.
(on camera): I understand your point. I understand your point that you are making about the need to pay for these benefits. But what Democrats are asking -- I think it is a fair question -- is, why now? Why not before?
BUNNING: Well, it has been.
BASH: Why haven't you called...
(CROSSTALK)
BUNNING: I have been.
BASH: What has changed? What has changed? Why are you now calling for things to be paid for?
BASH (voice-over): Not much luck there, and no luck here for the Senate Democratic leader.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: We need to vote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there an objection.
BUNNING: There is. I object. And let me...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Objection is heard. BASH: Bunning objected for the 12th time since last Thursday to unanimously passing $10 billion for laid-off workers, health care subsidies, road projects, and more that expired Monday.
BUNNING: I have the same right as any other senator here on the floor.
BASH: Using that right to demand that senators find a way to pay for these benefits without adding another $10 billion to the deficit.
BUNNING: The question I have been asked mostly is, why now? Well, why not now?
BASH: It got pointed.
REID: I understand how you feel, that this should be paid for. The majority of the Senate disagrees with you.
BUNNING: It's really hypocritical of the Democratic side of this aisle.
BASH: And personal.
BUNNING: He was elected by people in Nevada with fewer people than the people in Kentucky.
BASH: Meanwhile, in the real world, that stalemate is having a devastating effect on people like Madonna Alvarez.
MADONNA ALVAREZ, UNEMPLOYED: This cardboard box that we will be living in.
BASH: A single mother of three who was laid off last year. She says her unemployment check is blocked until Congress passes the extension.
ALVAREZ: I'm just trying to pay my house. That's it. That's the only thing that I don't want to lose. It's my kids' home. This is all we have.
BASH: Alvarez is one of 100,000 people the Labor Department says lost their jobless benefits as of Sunday. Stories like that prompted GOP Senator Susan Collins to publicly plead with Bunning, her fellow Republican, to give in.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: On behalf of numerous members of the Republican Caucus who have expressed concerns to me, there are 500 Mainers whose benefits expired on Sunday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And, Dana, I guess, after all of that, finally a deal tonight. What do we know in terms of the details?
BASH: What we know is that Senator Bunning will get one vote on his wish, which is the concept of spending this $10 billion for all of the benefits that we talked about and much, much more, but to also pay for it.
And that is going to happen first. That's a first vote that we're going to see. We expect that vote to fail, Campbell, because there are a number of Democrats who say that they just simply disagree on principle. They think that these benefits are emergency funding and it shouldn't have to be paid for.
So, we expect that to happen first. Then, finally, we will have a vote to do what Democrats have been calling for since last week, which is to extend the benefits and to make people like Madonna Alvarez, who you saw in this piece, will allow her to get her unemployment check, and much, much more.
BROWN: All right, Dana Bash for us tonight.
We have got more on this story coming up. When we come back, we're going to talk about the fallout here. And could we expect a repeat performance from the always unpredictable Senator Bunning?
That when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: More now on our breaking news.
As we have been telling you, Senator Jim Bunning backing down and allowing a U.S. Senate vote on extending unemployment benefits, a welcome relief for more than a million jobless Americans facing monthly bills without benefits. For them, the stakes couldn't have been higher.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA CALVIN, UNEMPLOYED SOCIAL WORKER IN KENTUCKY: Washington doesn't get it because they are not unemployed. They're not affected by the unemployment rate. They're not affected by the people who can't pay their rent. They're not affected by the people who can't buy groceries for their children. They're not affected by any of these things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: But what exactly does today's agreement mean?
And here to break it down a little bit for us is CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger and Erick Erickson, who is editor in chief of RedState.com.
Welcome to both you.
Gloria, let me start with you here. Senator Bunning's position created a pretty big headache for his own party. How relieved are they that a deal has been brokered here?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think they're quite relieved. I think they were part of brokering this deal. I spoke with a couple of Republican senators today, one of whom said to me that what Senator Bunning did -- quote -- "plays right into the Democratic narrative that we're obstructionist, and we look insensitive."
So, it's clearly -- look, Republicans want -- they care about the deficit. They care about spending. They just didn't think that this was the particular issue they ought to pick the fight on.
BROWN: But at the same time, he did, Gloria, raise a valid point here, that if everybody sort of supports this idea, why not make these tough choices, figuring out how to pay for them?
BORGER: Sure.
BROWN: Why did this become so hard, I guess?
BORGER: Right.
Well, you know, when you talk to Democrats about that, the first thing they point out is that this was an emergency measure, just as there had been emergency measures in the Bush administration, and that they are the ones, of course, who passed the pay-as-you-go budget.
They're also calling for a deficit commission. And that's where the serious work needs to get done, Campbell, not on these -- sort of these bills where you want to make your political points, but on a deficit reduction commission, where you can finally get control of spending on Social Security and spending on Medicare, and make those very, very tough decisions.
What Senator Bunning wanted to do is say, ah, take the $10 billion out of the stimulus package that I don't like and let's call that a deal. And lots of folks felt that just wasn't the way to go about it.
Erick, I know that you think Bunning basically was doing the right thing here. Why, then, were his fellow Republicans not more supportive of him?
ERICK ERICKSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF, REDSTATE.COM: Well, you know, I think it goes to what Gloria was saying. They didn't want to appear insensitive, never mind what their job was or the ballooning deficit or what the Constitution says. They didn't want to be insensitive.
That's why a lot of conservatives were pretty happy with what Jim Bunning did, myself included. All he did was object to a unanimous consent. If the Democrats didn't want the P.R. opportunity, they still could have run it through and probably gotten 60 votes, probably gotten 80 votes on it, if they wanted to vote on it, instead of playing games with it.
Bunning made a very good point. We don't have the money to pay for it. The Democrats, only a few weeks ago, did pass the pay-go legislation, and now they want to not pay for this. They just want to print some more money, which is troubling to a lot of conservatives. BROWN: Well, Gloria, let me have you address Erick's first point there, because Democrats really could have stopped this if they had wanted to.
BORGER: Sure.
BROWN: But they were milking. It wasn't just Republicans sort of being painted as obstructionists. Democrats were milking this for all it was worth, too.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: Well, here's the thing, Campbell. There's no denying that the Democrats on the floor of the Senate had a lot of fun with this, because it was a very easy target.
Jim Bunning was a very easy target for them. And they could have called a vote last week. Now, had they called cloture to get rid of Senator Bunning over there, they could -- without boring you with the Senate rules, it would have taken them more than a week to get through it, because you can't just call cloture and say, oh, the vote's going to happen in a minute.
There are rules of debate that require 30 more hours of debate, et cetera, et cetera. And they would have had to stop all the business of the Senate while they were involved in this with Senator Bunning.
And the Democrats I spoke to today said, no way we were going to do that. But, yes, did they enjoy this debate? Of course. It was an easy one for them.
BROWN: Erick, how much political fallout could there be, just because this goes to, I think, a bigger issue beyond this one incident involving Senator Bunning? I mean, that's a big part of the Democrats' message with regard to Republicans, that they are obstructionists, they are the party of no. So, here's yet another example of a Republican stopping something.
How does it fuel the fire, I guess, in terms of Democrats making that argument?
ERICKSON: You know, there was some legitimate fear among the Republicans. You had Steny Hoyer in the House saying, this is proof the Senate's ungovernable. We need reconciliation for health care or it can never get through.
While I may disagree with that, it does lend credence to the Democratic argument that the Senate is ungovernable. But, you know, the founding fathers, George Washington said the Senate was going to be the tea saucer where the tea is cooled down, the legislation will be cooled down.
The Senate is meant to be difficult. And you just have a lot of senators who don't like the fact that their own rules that they have all put in place make it very difficult to get things out of the Senate.
BORGER: You know, Campbell, what they didn't like, really, was the fact...
BROWN: Yes.
BORGER: ... that this took Republicans off-message. They were getting up -- and I think Erick would agree with this. They were getting up a pretty good head of steam on health care reform in the Senate.
ERICKSON: Right.
BORGER: That's what the leader, Mitch McConnell, wanted to be talking about today.
BROWN: Right.
BORGER: He didn't want to be talking about voting against extending unemployment benefits.
BROWN: And just a final point here. I mean, Bunning was kind of a rogue. I mean, this isn't -- he's not everybody's favorite senator.
BORGER: Yes.
ERICKSON: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
ERICKSON: He and Mitch McConnell actually don't get along at all. He and Mitch McConnell, I think, haven't spoken in four or five months.
BORGER: Right. I think Mitch McConnell was the one who kind of helped force Senator Bunning into retirement.
ERICKSON: Yes.
BORGER: So, they're not exactly buddy-buddy.
BROWN: All right, so no love lost as well either.
All right, Gloria Borger...
BORGER: No love lost.
BROWN: ... for us tonight and Erick Erickson, thanks, guys. Appreciate it.
ERICKSON: Thank you.
BROWN: When we come back, in Southern California, the hunt on for a family of four that has simply disappeared. The latest clues -- we will talk about that story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tonight, police in Southern California are searching for a missing family of four.
Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer, and their two sons, ages 4 and 3, have not been seen or heard from for nearly a month. Their SUV was found abandoned near the Mexican border. This is miles from their home north of San Diego.
But, since then, the trail seems to have gone cold.
And Tom Foreman has been digging into this case for us.
Tom, what have you got?
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, this is just a baffling mystery. This is what we know.
Joseph McStay, his wife, Summer, and their two toddlers, Gianna and Joseph, vanished around February 4 from the middle of a busy neighborhood north of San Diego. He was self-employed, selling decorative fountains. She was a stay-at-home mom. Their vehicle, as you noted, was found very close to the Mexican border, and there seem to be almost no clues as to what happened, no signs of a break-in or violence at the house, no signs of a struggle in the car, and, so far, Campbell, no witnesses either.
BROWN: So, what evidence, I guess, is there? Were there signs of any trouble for this family at all before the disappearance?
FOREMAN: No. Their family and friends say absolutely not. They say this is a happy couple who loved their kids, loved their dogs, loved their home, and they kept in regular contact with extended family.
The simple truth is, one of the things that's puzzling about this is that the evidence that is there points to just nothing other than a disappearance. There were eggs left out on the counter that should have been in the refrigerator. Summer's prescription sunglasses were left behind.
The man made no provision for his business to be taken care of while he was away. And even their beloved dogs were left without food or water. So, the investigators say, look, if this was a family going away on an unannounced vacation, it just doesn't look like that, Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Tom Foreman for us tonight.
Tom's going to be following this story.
Of course, Anderson Cooper, we should mention, is going to have a full report on the missing McStay family as well. That's tonight at 10:00 Eastern on "A.C. 360."
Coming up: CEOs going incognito and into the belly of their own companies. So, what did the bigwigs actually learn doing the real work? That when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Ever sit at work and think, if only my boss could do my job, then he would understand the day-to-day challenges I face. Well, in this tough economy, some bosses are doing just that and seeing firsthand what it's like to work outside of a cushy corporate office. Check this out.
As part of the CBS show "Undercover Bosses," leaders from companies like White Castle and Waste Management did just that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Water on the belt.
DAVID RIFE, OWNER, EXEC. BOARD MEMBER, WHITE CASTLE: Messed them up. Damn it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two, three cheeseburgers --
RIFE: Oh, OK. As soon as I find it.
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL III, PRES., COO, WASTE MANAGEMENT: This goes by so fast. Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheese on my chicken sandwiches.
RIFE: Pardon? What?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You picked a bad shift for a first night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And joining me right now is Larry O'Donnell, who is president and COO of Waste Management, and David Rife, who is the owner and executive board member of White Castle. You saw both of them right there having a good old time.
So, Larry, let me start with you here. Not exactly trading places. You really went out and did some of the toughest jobs in your company, including the garbage route. Tell us what you learned from this experience.
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL III, PRES., COO, WASTE MANAGEMENT: Well, Campbell, it was a great experience for me. You know, I think most people show up at work every day wanting to do a good job, but they want to feel appreciated and they want to be recognized when they do a job well. And they also want to have a voice. And one thing that we're going to do now at Waste Management is when we're going to start a new initiative that's going to have an impact on our front line employees, we're going to make sure we pull one of those employees from the front line to serve on the team to put that initiative together.
BROWN: And, Dave, not uncommon, I guess, for you to hear employees grumble about rules that come down from the central office. When you were working the burger line, though, or the drive-through, did you feel like that a little bit?
DAVE RIFE, OWNER, EXEC. BOARD MEMBER, WHITE CASTLE: You know, I did. It was -- it was very eye opening for me, because our team members face such challenges in the day-to-day operations that, you know, I was so fortunate I was able to participate in this, because it gave me some real insight into the challenges they face. And we were able to take some good lessons away from this and some things that we can really build upon to make us a better company, a stronger company.
BROWN: And to that point of learning about these various challenges, I want to share one, Larry, that you faced. I thought it was a rather interesting issue. Here's a little clip. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you're seeing me along here working on the garbage truck, this is our outhouse. Definitely our little pee pot.
O'DONNELL: That's it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's it. You obviously can't keep breaking off route all the time to go use the restroom. That would add all kinds of time on to the route. Every time I hit to go to the bathroom, I have to break off.
O'DONNELL: Wow. You pee in a can? You're OK with that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I guess I have to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So not something that you probably ever thought about, is it? How your female employees would go to the bathroom on a long route? Did you make any changes following that experience?
O'DONNELL: Yes, Campbell, that one really struck me. You know, when she first handed that to me, I didn't even know what it was. You know, I'm from Texas and we call them pecans and I thought maybe it was a can of pecans that one of the customers had given her. But once I got it in my hand, I knew exactly what I had. And you know, I couldn't believe we had never thought about that before. So what we've done is we've made sure that on our drivers' route sheets, we've made arrangements with either a customer at one of our disposal locations that if nature calls, they have a place they can go.
BROWN: All right. Dave, I'm not letting you off the hook here either. I know you actually had some real trouble trying to do your job. And I want to share this clip with some folks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIFE: Ah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn the bag change out. Pull these buns out, throw them in the garbage.
RIFE: These are all messed up. I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all right.
RIFE: Ah, I did it again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut them off, pull them out. Pull this back.
RIFE: Ah, what happened?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Not very good with the buns there, Dave.
RIFE: You know, I don't know whether it was the smell of those fresh baked delicious buns in that bakery or what, but, man, I blew it that night. I really struggled. That was tough. That's a challenging piece of equipment to run. And the guys who normally run it, they make it look so effortless.
BROWN: What was the reaction? Let me ask both of you this, Dave. You start from your employees when they found out who you were and what you were doing?
RIFE: You know, our employees when they found out who I was and what I was doing, they were surprised. They were really pleased. They really embraced us and thanked me for going undercover and finding out what it is to live their life and work their position and see the challenges that they face on a regular basis.
BROWN: And what about -- what about you, Larry? What was their reaction? And are you trying to stay in contact with a lot of the people that you met and worked with?
O'DONNELL: Yes, Campbell, my -- the employees that I worked with had much the same reaction as they did with Dave. They were all very pleased that I had actually done that, you know, actually come out and tried to walk in their shoes. And I have stayed in touch with each and every one of them.
Since the show, I've followed up with several of them -- well, every one of them I made commitments to and we've been following up with those. And you know, I've wanted to make sure that I'm doing what I told them that we would do following the show.
BROWN: Let me ask you both just a final question. I think kind of given your newfound experience, I guess at both ends of the corporate ladder. With the economy that we're in right now and so much time we talk about unemployment, the unemployment rate in this country and joblessness, do you have any advice for the people out there who are looking for jobs right now?
O'DONNELL: Well, we've actually received a lot of employment applications as a result of our show, you know, being out there, "Undercover Boss." So, you know, you can go on www.ww.com and make application. You can actually go on there. We have some job openings now. And folks can go out there and see what jobs are available and they can actually apply online.
BROWN: And, Dave, what about you?
RIFE: Yes, you know, just like Larry said, we have -- since the show aired Sunday, we have gotten -- a lot of people have contacted us and asked us about, you know, potential employment. And you know, you can go to whitecastle.com and there's a link out there that you can see what jobs are available throughout all of our regions and you can actually fill out the employment application online. You know, times are tough and we're trying to do everything we can to take care of us and all the people in the community that help support us.
BROWN: Well, to both of you, it was fun watching you go through this process. I got to say, very clever idea. Larry O'Donnell and Dave Rife, many thanks for joining us tonight. Appreciate it.
RIFE: Thank you.
O'DONNELL: Thanks for having us, Campbell.
BROWN: And when we come back, we have a breakthrough treatment to tell you about for asthma that is changing a lot of people's lives. And if you know someone who's got asthma, you're going to want to see this. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to be here in just a moment with the story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: More than 23 million Americans have asthma and it's a disease that is getting more and more dangerous. Asthma death rates have increased more than 50 percent since 1980. So tonight's medical breakthrough report is literally a matter of life and death. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains for us now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You wouldn't know it, but Jenny McLeland and husband Michael have battled severe asthma since childhood.
JENNY MCLELAND, ASTHMATIC: I was on the highest dose of a corticosteroid maintenance inhaler, as well as (INAUDIBLE) inhaler at least two to three times a day.
MICHAEL MCLELAND, ASTHMATIC: Even with medications and stuff like that, I was in and out of emergency room a couple times a month.
GUPTA: An in fact, every day in the United States, 30,000 people have an attack, 5,000 visit emergency rooms, 1,000 of them are admitted. And 11 people die every day from asthma.
But now a new medical breakthrough could slash those numbers and change the lives of thousands of asthma sufferers, just like it did for Michael and Jenny. Two and a half years ago, the McLelands participated in a clinical trial of a procedure that doesn't just claim to treat asthma attacks, but to prevent them.
DR. MARIO COASTRO, WASHINGTON UNIV. SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Once we're positioned in the right place in the lung and will introduce the catheter --
GUPTA: What you're looking at is the first non-drug therapy for the treatment of severe debilitating asthma. It's called bronchial thermoplasty.
CASTRO: It allows us to go down into your windpipes, into your bronchial tubes and deliver a very controlled energy, a controlled heat to the lining of the windpipe.
GUPTA: Here's how it works. When the smooth muscle around your windpipe constricts, it causes shortness of breath, chest tightness. The heat from the bronchoscope reduces the size of that muscle. It's three treatments, three weeks apart, and no overnight hospital stay. And get this, the treatment is long-term, could be permanent. Asthma symptoms could flare up for 24 hours, but within a week, they're generally gone for good.
CASTRO: Deep breath in, out through your mouth.
GUPTA: Mario Castro, a pulmonologist, led the study of nearly 300 patients, the largest of its kind in the United States.
CASTRO: It resulted in a decrease in your asthma symptoms, the shortness of breath, the wheezing, chest tightness. It also resulted in lest emergency room visits, less hospitalizations, less days missed from work or school.
GUPTA: To be exact, patients in the study who got the treatment logged 84 percent fewer visits to the E.R. than patients who didn't.
CASTRO: This does, I believe, represent, you know, a new treatment now that I can offer these patients that I believe will improve their quality of life.
DR. NORMAN EDELMAN, AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: It's a new concept. Nobody up until now has thought of dealing with asthma by changing the anatomy of the lung.
GUPTA: Dr. Norman Edelman of the American Lung Association.
EDELMAN: There's very little that we have to offer to people with severe debilitating asthma. Anything new that will help these people is an important advance.
GUPTA: But it doesn't come without risks.
EDELMAN: It's a complex procedure. People will have to be trained to use the technique.
GUPTA: And a Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee agreed. Last October, they recommended approving the device on the condition that doctors who use it get appropriate training and only perform the procedure in a facility equipped with advanced life support measures. The McLelands testified at that hearing about how their lives had changed.
J. MCLELAND: The summer following our treatments, we did RAGBRAI, which is a week-long bike ride up in Iowa. So it involved biking about 550 miles and camping over an entire week. Prior to the treatment, I couldn't sleep outside. I couldn't sit in the grass without getting wheezy.
M. MCLELAND: I felt like I should have felt like when I was 18, 19 years old. I've done two half marathons. I've done a triathlon. We've done two bike rides across Iowa. It leaves me speechless. It's like, I don't know, like I tell everybody, it's like winning the lottery.
GUPTA: And if the FDA approves, McLeland's winning ticket will turn out to be a real medical breakthrough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Sanjay Gupta live with me now. Sanjay, who is the ideal patient for this type of treatment?
GUPTA: Well, you know, Michael and Jenny in many ways do represent sort of that ideal, in the sense that these are people who really didn't have a lot of options as far as treating their asthma and was greatly debilitating their way of life. So typically, it's people who have tried the basic things, avoidance -- avoidance of irritants that can really worsen your asthma, but have also tried all the various medications, gone through the ladder of medications and not really gotten good benefits. So at the end of all that, they think there's about 10 to 20 percent of, you know, these significant number of asthma sufferers who may be candidates for this in the future.
BROWN: And I guess you said not many other options. I mean, what are the other options? Is there anything else in the pipeline, you know, for people who are suffering like this?
GUPTA: You know what's interesting, Campbell, when we looked into this a bit, we found that so many different medications are being introduced all the time for asthma. That's what a lot of people pointed us to when we started investigating. The problem is that a lot of those medications fall under the same class of existing medications. There may be slight variations, but a lot of times they just weren't offering any additional benefit for medications that patients had already tried and failed with.
So what the focus really seems to be on is this idea that inflammation in the body seems to be a key ingredient in some of the worst asthma attacks. Control the inflammation, you can control those asthma attacks. But there's not a great medication for that yet. And again, a lot of the new medications aren't wildly different than what already exists. That's what makes this, this non-medication therapy, so potentially exciting for the future, Campbell.
BROWN: It is. Sanjay Gupta with us tonight. Sanjay, thanks. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: Thank you.
BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" starting in just a few moments. Larry, what do you have for us tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": We, Campbell, have an action-packed hour. Jerry Brown is talking only to us about his latest run to be governor of California again. We've got the chairman of both political parties squaring off face to face in a debate. And we're going to take you to one of the wildest exhibits ever -- crime scene evidence from some of L.A.'s most notorious cases. And we're going to begin, though, with breaking news about a missing girl, next on "LARRY KING LIVE," Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Larry, we'll see you in just a few moments.
Coming up, the final votes being cast right now down in Texas. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joining us in just a moment with the very latest on the political showdown between a Republican senator and a Republican governor. Polls closing shortly. We'll have all the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Coming up, primary day in Texas where a Republican senator wants the voters to toss out a Republican governor. First, though, we've got more must-see news happening right now. Mike Galanos here with tonight's "Download."
Hey, Mike.
MIKE GALANOS, HLN PRIME NEWS: Hey, Campbell. First off, President Obama is proposing rebates of $1,500 to $3,000 for people who make their homes more energy efficient. He gave out details during a visit to Savannah, Georgia. The instant rebates, no paperwork involved here, would go to homeowners who put in better insulation, new water heaters and improved windows, doors, roofing. One hitch, though. Congress still has to improve that.
Well, you think Americans are angry about bank bailouts. Take a look at this. While Indonesia's parliament debated whether a bank bailout in 2008 was an abuse of government power, angry protesters threw rocks at police who fired back, you see here with tear gas, water cannons. And not much pretty inside the parliament building. Outraged lawmakers surged toward the speaker, some punches thrown at each other. Folks fired up about bailouts there as well.
And an American has set a new record for the longest jump on a Harley Davidson. The old record was just over 52 yards. Well, Seth Enslow, he goes 58 yards today then broke his own record going 61 yards. Then he said the impact of the landing caused his groin to hit the bike and crack the paint work. No pain, no game. So check out those jumps.
Finally this, the Oscar race getting a little nasty. The motion picture Academy has banned a co-producer of the "Hurt Locker" from attending this Sunday's award ceremony. Here's why. Nicholas Chartier has been e-mailing Academy members asking for support for his movie. Some of these e-mails leaked and showed up in "The L.A. Times" basically support my movie, not that $500 film I think he was referring to "Avatar."
BROWN: I think he meant $500 million.
GALANOS: Yes. $500 million, yes.
BROWN: All right. Well, "Hurt Locker" is a good movie.
GALANOS: Yes.
BROWN: All right. Mike Galanos for us tonight. Mike, thanks very much.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starting in just a few minutes. Next, though, polls just about to close down in Texas. We're going to have the very latest on the Republican primary for governor being billed as a battle for the party's heart and soul. Candy Crowley with us up next.
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BROWN: All the polls down in Texas are going to be closed just minutes from now. At the top of the hour, that's what we're waiting for. Republican voters are settling the long, rough primary race for governor. It is a three-way contest. Incumbent Governor Rick Perry was challenged by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and tea party favorite Debra Medina.
Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley live for us tonight in Driftwood, Texas. And, Candy, we're already seeing I think some early returns. What are they showing?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Early, we've got about two percent of the precincts reporting. This out of the secretary of state's office here in Texas. It shows Rick Perry, the current Republican governor, running at about 53 percent. Kay Bailey Hutchison, a U.S. Senator, running at about 30 percent. And Medina, the tea party activist, running at about 16 percent.
What is interesting about these numbers, first of all, we should say, two percent of the precincts reporting is not very much. So we can't say a whole lot about this other than if Rick Perry, the sitting governor, keeps it at 53 percent or over 50 percent, there will not be a runoff. And that's what the Perry people want at this point, is not to have to have a runoff with Kay Bailey Hutchison. Not so much that they think they wouldn't win, but because it really does suck away at the campaign coffers and they expect they'll have a pretty good race coming up this fall and they'd like to save the money. So even if he gets, let's say 49, there will be some pressure on Hutchison not to have a runoff. So a good clean win over 50 percent is what the Perry people are going for at this point, Campbell.
BROWN: And, Candy, talk to us more generally, there's been so much attention focused on this race, in part because of what a lot of people think it says about the kind of broader issues that the Republican Party is dealing with right now. Talk us through kind of the dynamics of that.
CROWLEY: Well, a couple of broader issues, and one I think is sort of a bipartisan problem, if you're a sitting congressman, lawmaker in Washington, D.C., and that is, there is not a lot of love for Washington, D.C., here in Texas or across the country. And this entire campaign pretty much from Governor Perry has been predicated on trying to frame Senator Hutchison as a Washington insider. She's gone Washington, she's been there, she's all about earmarks, that sort of thing. And it really has been very, very effective, sort of an us against them when it comes to states rights.
In addition to that, just sort of inner party, you have, first of all, Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was seen as more of a traditional Republican in the sense that she was one of those who thought that the party should expand its base. You saw Rick Perry sort of moving to the right, embracing the tea party, at one point talking about, you know, seceding Texas from the union. And then you do have a tea party activist in this race, and how well she does will be looked at very closely across the country as to how those tea party candidates put into a primary will affect the races one way or another. So there's lots of things in here that people will be parsing tomorrow morning.
BROWN: All right. Candy Crowley for us tonight. We'll, of course, be updating you throughout the night as we get the results from this race. Candy, thanks very much.
That's going to do it for us for now. You can follow me anytime on Twitter. Thanks for joining us.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
