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Obama Sets End Date in Iraq; Print Newspapers in Financial Trouble; Restaurant Owners Simplifying

Aired February 27, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing forward, onward, homeward, just not as quickly as some people would like. President Obama sets the date for the end of the war in Iraq.

Marking the end of a major American newspaper, but not the end of the story. Pushing forward after the presses stop.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

August 31, 2010. You heard it here live on CNN. President Obama in his first trip to a military base as commander in chief, setting an end date for our combat role in Iraq. Over the next year and a half, most of the 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq will leave, but as many as 50,000 will stay through the end of 2011.

The president spoke at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So let me say this as plainly as I can. By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end. As we -- as we carry out this drawdown, my highest priority will be the safety and security of our troops and civilians in Iraq. So we will proceed carefully, and I'll consult closely with my military commanders on the ground and with the Iraqi government.

There will surely be difficult periods and tactical adjustments. But our enemies should be left with no doubt: this plan gives our military the forces and flexibility they need to support our Iraqi partners and to succeed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Juggling the war, shifting the focus. As the president sets in motion the departure of roughly 100,000 troops from Iraq, he also musters 17,000 more troops for Afghanistan.

Now, keep in mind, the Iraq drawdown will be a lot more gradual than the Afghan buildup. And that's a sore point for many Iraq war critics. They want all troops out in short order. You may remember candidate Obama pledged to end the war in 16 months.

As for those so-called non-combat forces that will stay in Iraq until the end of 2011, CNN's Chris Lawrence picks this up -- picks it up from there. Hi, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Yes, what they're doing is they're classifying these remaining troops as enablers, as support staff of troops without a defined combat mission who would nevertheless still be considered operating in a war zone.

You know, just to give you some perspective, let's take you into Iraq. You can see kind of where, basically, the U.S. forces are stationed now. Let's zoom you into Baghdad and give you some historical perspective.

At the height of the surge, you can see how extensive the U.S. forces were spread out across Baghdad. Gradually over time, they have paired back and moved back mostly along the perimeter with the exception of the Green Zone there, right in the center.

The remaining troops after this drawdown would mostly operate out of large bases well outside the major cities, like Balad there. What we would see would be intelligence and surveillance specialists and all of their related equipment. Those could include some unmanned aircraft.

And they will primarily be concentrating on three primary missions. One: to continue to advice, equip and train some of the Iraqi army and police forces. Two: protect civilians, in other words, protect U.S. assets in rebuilding infrastructure. And, three: to conduct counterterrorism missions.

We are told that, primarily, those would be done following the lead of the Iraqi forces and that they would be intelligence-based missions that the Iraqi forces would take the lead on and that the U.S. forces would assist with -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Chris, thanks so much.

Well, we're going to keep pushing forward on the president's war plan, but we're also pushing forward on the economy beyond Wall Street, straight to your wallet. You know, you can make most of your money every day, make the most of it, rather. Some ideas: you can brown bag your lunch; you can keep your plastic in check; and keep checking that 401(k). Your personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, well, she's going to tell you all you need to know, straight ahead.

PHILLIPS: Now, we all know the economy is sliding. We just didn't know it was this bad. The government says that the gross domestic product dropped at a 6.2 percent rate in the last three months of last year, the worst decline in 26 years.

So what is the GDP? It measures all of the goods and services produced in the U.S. And it's considered the broadest measure of economic activity. Fewer exports and less consumer spending played a part in the decline, which was much worse than expected. Well, the government is trying to bail out Citigroup for a third time. The upside: your money is not involved, at least not directly. The downside: well, Uncle Sam is assuming more risk. The government is planning to take more of an ownership stake in the struggling bank, up to 36 percent of Citigroup's common stock.

It's complicated but basically involves a $25 billion stock conversion deal, aimed at boosting the bank's capital, which will hopefully encourage it to lend more. This won't cost any extra taxpayer money, and the government says it's not looking to totally nationalize this bank or any others.

Well, the deal does dilute the stake that existing shareholders own in Citigroup, and that's not sitting too well on Wall Street, where Citigroup shares have tumbled. Checking the broader markets right now, Dow Industrials down about eight points.

Earlier today, the S&P 500 index dropped below its November trading low, which it reached at the height of the credit crunch.

So how would you like to save nearly 4,000 bucks a year? One of our iReporters says she's doing it. What's her secret? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNI REDD, IREPORTER: Well, I knocked $90 off my cable bill per month. I just went down to the basic so that I could have my news channels and get TV reception.

I also dropped the house phone, so that knocked $70 a month off of my bills. And I now just use my cell phone, which I also streamlined by 50 bucks a month.

And in order to connect to people, what I've done is kept my Internet very nice so that I can talk to people in Google Talk, Google Chat and Skype, which are free ways to connect online. Plus social media sites like Facebook.

And the other thing that I did was I moved closer to work. I was living an hour and 20 minutes away. Now I'm four miles from work.

So here we go. Monthly, I save myself $340 a month and yearly, $3,960. That sounds like a nice principle mortgage payment to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Very good tips.

Well, Joe Biden is trying to help out, too. The vice president chairs the administration's middle class task force, meeting right now at the University of Pennsylvania. This first meeting is aimed at finding ways to create more green jobs, like putting up solar panels and wind turbines and helping middle-class workers actually find them.

A prominent newspaper goes out of print. Not exactly breaking news anymore. But now that it's breaking newspapers left and right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: "You're rehired." Don't hear that too often these days. But workers in at least two cities are hearing it. Two bright spots in a dark recession.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's certainly nothing you did. You all did everything right. But while you were out doing your part, the business model and the economy changed, and the "Rocky" became a victim of that.

So let me go ahead and answer one question: so why did it come out this way? You know, why "The Rocky" and not "The Post" or whatever? And let me try to be just as straight as I can. Denver can't support two newspapers any longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Wow. Well, when this news broke, it was pretty grim, and it was personal. Yesterday the staff of Denver's "Rocky Mountain News" learned that today's paper would be their last. The final front-page headline, "Stop the Presses."

While the banner on the special section simply reads, "Good-bye, Colorado," "The Rocky's" demise comes after months in limbo, years of financial struggle, and just shy of its 150th anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE LINDSAY, REPORTER: Your professionalism takes over, and you don't think about the fact that you're about to lose your job. Well, now we have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like a death and to say, you know, this is it. This is -- that's it. It's really hard to -- you know, to finally come to grips with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, pressing times for newspapers across the country. Big-name, big-city papers, awash in red ink.

Publisher Hearst says it will have to close or sell the "San Francisco Chronicle" if it can't cut costs in the next few weeks. And the owners of Philadelphia's "Inquirer" and "Daily News" just filed for bankruptcy protection. The parent company of the "L.A. Times" and "Chicago Tribune" did the same in December. And then last month it was the "Minneapolis Star-Tribune's" turn. And "Seattle Post- Intelligencer" is set to close if a buyer isn't found by April.

Print journalism has seen a double-barreled blow: rising Internet use and, of course, the free-falling economy. CNN's Richard Roth takes a look at more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sounds like newspaper reporter Pia Catton is on a deadline. Instead she is at home. Pia got her news five months ago. She lost her job as arts editor after "The New York Sun" shut down.

PIA CATTON, FORMER NEWSPAPER REPORTER: The feeling on that day was pure fear. What is going to happen? What is going to happen to me, to this newspaper, to this industry? Will I have a career? Will I ever work again?

ROTH: She is far from alone. Newspapers used to report other people's problems. Now they are in a fight for their life.

ERIC ALTERMAN, MEDIA CRITIC: It's in a free-fall and nobody knows where the bottom is. It's kind of like the water in the toilet, it's swirling around.

ROTH: The bad news arrives every day across America. Readers, especially younger readers, are shifting to the Internet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My children do not read the newspaper. My children get all of their news online.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't even subscribe anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, what else?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's a story about...

ROTH: The morning meeting at the New York "Daily News," seventh highest circulation in America. Mort Zuckerman is the publisher.

MORT ZUCKERMAN, PUBLISHER, NEW YORK "DAILY NEWS": All newspapers are under great difficulty. They'll survive. They'll survive in different forms. Their cost base will have to be dramatically lowered.

ROTH (on camera): Newspapers have been part of my life since my grandfather dropped off the New York "Daily News" at the front door with some bread. Now it's a hoarding problem. The way things are going, though, in the industry, I think these piles will be valuable one day to a museum or collectors.

(voice-over) A dramatic decline in advertising in a brutal economy has forced newspapers to cut costs by firing cartoonists, columnists and more and sharing resources with former competitors.

ZUCKERMAN: So it is a hugely challenging time. We think that some newspapers will survive. And not all of them will.

CATTON: Check out my e-mail about this story on savings.

ROTH: Pia, the reporter, took a short-term gig editing a book, but she's decided she may need a different career.

CATTON: I mean, there always will be work to produce. You will always need to know immediately what is happening. Will there be a market for newspapers? That's another question.

ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: How about people going back to work for a change? Guess what? It's happening in these two spots. Chicago, you might remember this scene from last year. Some 200 workers staged a sit-in at a window and door factory after they were laid off with just a few days' notice. Well, now there's a word that California company hopes to reopen the plant soon with the same workers.

And then to the Cleveland area. Ford says it plans to restart an engine plant that's been idled for about two years. But it won't have nearly as many workers as it used to. Ford is planning to bring back about 250 workers that were laid off from other plants in that area. We're hoping to talk to one of them coming up later in this hour.

Can't stand the recession? Get out of the kitchen, or do what some restaurant owners are doing. Mark down the menu.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE AEVERMANN, IREPORTER: What am I cutting from my budget? Something sad -- I'm sad about. My car. I'm trying to sell it. For a couple of reasons. One, I can't find a new job, so I can't afford the car payments anymore. Mr. Obama, this is where you're supposed to come in and give me a job, please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, an iReporter telling us what he's giving up in this economy. Kyle tells us that unloading his car also will save him money in gas and insurance. And of course, he's got to get a buyer first.

Good luck, Kyle.

Well, on Wall Street, the latest snapshot of economic activity paints a pretty scary picture. Investors were preparing for bad news, but what they got was even worse.

Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with those numbers.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

This is a scary picture, but it's an old picture, because the fourth quarter ended December 31. So just keep that in mind, because the stock market is typically a forward-looking mechanism.

Having said that, yes, the final three months of 2008 were terrible. The U.S. economy, the biggest in the world, shrank at a 6.2 percent annual pace. Much worse than the estimate on that.

Why is that? Well, we all know: because we didn't spend. We didn't spend. Even in the holiday shopping season, consumers cut back on spending by the most in 28 years. Businesses saw that, cut back their own spending by the most in 50 years.

And exports, a huge factor here, because exports were really supporting the U.S. economy, even during the housing recession until the credit crunch really intensified, because we saw that coincide with the global downturn. And so we saw exports really plunge.

And so did the Dow. The Dow is bouncing off its lows. And I should say the Dow at its low today, flirting with 7,000, so it's positive that it can still go below that. Right now blue chips down 32 points.

Citigroup, despite the newest plan by the government to up its stake in that battered financial, Citigroup shares trading about $1.50 and down about 30 percent. NASDAQ, meanwhile, is positive by one point, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, now Susan, it was just a few days ago that Ben Bernanke was saying that the recession could end this year, right? So with numbers like these, is that a realistic expectation?

LISOVICZ: Well, these are estimates and, you know, it's hopeful estimates, too, I might add. You know, when you see something as awful as that, you have to dig out that much -- you have that much further from which to dig out, Kyra.

But I think the general consensus is, among Ben Bernanke and many economists, is that we're in the trenches right now. That this particular quarter we're in now may, in fact, be the worst.

The U.S. economy will likely shrink the first half of this year and that all of that stimulus that's coming, the nearly $800 billion stimulus plan, all of the money that's going into save homeowners from foreclosure, all of the aid going to financials, that it will help this U.S. economy recover slowly.

Ben Bernanke said, earlier this week, that the recovery -- the recession will likely end later this year if all of this works. And that recovery could begin next year. That's the hope.

PHILLIPS: All right. That's the hope. Fingers crossed.

LISOVICZ: Yes, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right.

LISOVICZ: Fingers are crossed and toes, too, I might add.

PHILLIPS: Thank you, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, the recession has really flambeed the restaurant industry. Places are closing; jobs are disappearing. Some restaurant owners -- owners, rather, already have taken a radical new approach to survive. They're marking down the menu.

Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's opening night for Jason Denton and his new restaurant, actually a reopening of sorts. This used to be his old restaurant, Bar Milano, an expensive eatery that folded in a withering economy. Now a new name, Inoteca, and a new menu.

JASON DENTON, OWNER, INOTECA: Our decision overall was to take the fancy restaurant and go back to more of an inexpensive-style restaurant.

CARROLL: It's a restaurant recession strategy: slash menu prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're creating something for now, for the recession.

CARROLL: Other hot spots, like Kraft Steak (ph) in New York, promote two ways to eat for less.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One is called Damon's Frugal Friday. There's nothing over $10 on the menu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egg salad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And also over at crab steak, we created "Half Steak." And there's nothing is on the menu over $14.50.

CARROLL: According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants are the nation's second largest employer, with roughly 13 million workers. Over the past six months, some 100,000 jobs were lost due to the economy.

HUDSON RIEHLE, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: This is the most challenging period for the restaurant industry in several decades.

CARROLL: Restaurants have been shutting down in nearly every major city, from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh to Minneapolis. But some are opening, and succeeding.

ALEX RAIJ, CHIEF/OWNER, TXIKITO: I think it's always scary to open a new restaurant because you're -- I mean, obviously, you're exposed to debt.

CARROLL: Txikito has been around for just a few months. Owners cut their prices even before opening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can just take a few things and share them with your friends, and it's pretty affordable.

CARROLL: Customers here have fallen for the inexpensive, vast menu.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was nice to come and have a little snack and have a glass of wine and not kill your budget.

CARROLL: Another key to their early success: there are just 28 seats here.

RAIJ: Being small helps. And there's also the privilege that comes with this economy, which is actually being able to get to know every single one of your customers.

CARROLL: Keep it small, keep it cheap or both. Tips to help keep the doors open during tough times.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Once again, that was our Jason Carroll reporting from New York. He says that restaurant owners promise the cutback in price won't mean a cutback in the quality of the food.

Chad Myers, a lot of unsettled weather across, what, the eastern half of the country now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, there's lots of other ways to save money. What about a few rules for using those credit cards? I know, it's tough. We're going to examine when you should, should not, pull out that plastic.

And here's a question for you. On this date in 1991, what did George H.W. Bush announce when he was president? Can you remember? Well, here's the answer: Operation Desert Storm came to an end.

Bet the wordsmiths taking part in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament knew that answer. It's going on through the weekend in Brooklyn. It's the oldest and biggest crossword competition in the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This month will mark the sixth anniversary of the war in Iraq. By any measure, this has already been a long war. For the men and women of America's armed forces, and for your families, the war has been one of the most extraordinary chapters of service in the history of our nation. Many of you have endured tour after tour after tour of duty. You've known the dangers of combat and the lonely distance from loved ones. You have fought against tyranny and disorder. You have bled for your best friends and for unknown Iraqis. And you have born an enormous burden for your fellow citizens, while extending a precious opportunity to the people of Iraq.

Under tough circumstances, the men and women of the United States military have served with honor and succeeded beyond any expectation.

I want to take a moment to speak directly to the people of Iraq. You are a great nation, rooted in the cradle of civilization. You are joined together by enduring accomplishments and a history that connects you as surely as the two rivers carved into your land. In years past you persevered through tyranny and terror, through personal insecurity and sectarian violence. And instead of giving in to the forces of disunion, you stepped back from a descent into civil war and showed a proud resilience that deserves our respect.

Our nations have known difficult times together, but ours is a bond forged by shared bloodshed and countless friendships among our people. We Americans have offered our most precious resource, our young men and women, to work with you, to rebuild what was destroyed by despotism, to root out our common enemies and to seek peace and prosperity for our children and grandchildren and for yours.

PHILLIPS: Well, the commander in chief at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. President Obama told Marines bound for Afghanistan that the U.S. combat role in Iraq will end no later than August 31st of next year. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux gauging the reaction back there in Washington. Suzanne, some Democrats have expressed concern that the residual force Obama is planning to leave in Iraq is too large.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely right. The one thing they're not complaining about necessarily is the campaign pledge that they'd all be out by -- in 16 months. It's now 18 months.

But there is some concern here when you look at the numbers -- 142,000 U.S. troops inside of Iraq, and the president saying that perhaps 35,000 to 50,000 may stay as a residual force. Now, he made it clear these are not combat troops but there would be some missions, some targeted counterterrorism missions that they would be engaged in, and obviously, the concern is that there's still going to be in harm's way. Is this going to be mission creep?

We actually heard from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi questioning the number there, saying, well, perhaps can we make it a third of what we're talking about here, perhaps 15,000 or 20,000? But the president making it clear here that there is a mission, a clear mission. And that's why you heard him talk about the fact that the U.S. troops have gotten their job done and that he will bring the war to an end -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, how important is this turn in Iraq policy? What's your sense? MALVEAUX: He ran on this initially. This really launched his campaign, when he talked about bringing U.S. troops home. Arguably, it was the economic crisis, when he started to deal with that when he won the presidency. But initially it was all about ending the war in Iraq.

So, this is really critical to him and one of the things that he really has to do. He not only has to make that turn successfully, but he has to do it fast because, as he acknowledged himself, there's a new front in the war on terror, and that is Afghanistan -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live from the White House. Suzanne, thanks.

Fewer troops in Iraq. More in Afghanistan, 17,000 more in the next few weeks and months. Long before he became commander in chief, Barack Obama vowed to give the Afghan war priority. But CNN senior political analyst David Gergen tells Anderson Cooper it can't be an either-or proposition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Instead of going bold, he's gone with a more conservative 17,000 troops. The military wanted 30 in the beginning. I think that the president is feeling his way along. And in contrast to the Democrats on the Hill, who can stand up and say, pull everybody out, he after all, at the end of the day, has to be the president who does not lose Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, we know that you have a lot of questions for the White House, in particular the Obama administration and why decisions are being made. And they've actually had this pretty good integrated Web site at whitehouse.gov. And you can actually go to a section here, "contact us," and down at the bottom of the page, you can click on to right here. It's the office of public liaison.

And you, yourself, can actually put in your information, e-mail the White House a specific question and hope for a response back. But here's what we did to make it a little easier for you. You can just e-mail us at mailtothechief@CNN.com. And what we've been doing is, every single day, looking through all your e-mails, submitting them to the White House, and a number of times we get somebody live from the White House to answer the questions for you.

But we still are waiting for actual e-mail responses. So, we're trying to do both. So, if you feel we're not asking the questions you want to be asked, then you can e-mail them to us once again at mailtothechief@cnn.com. We'll send them directly to the White House and hopefully get some answers for you.

All right, disappearing jobs, shrinking paychecks. You know the drill. But there are ways to protect yourself. In fact, there are things that you can do every day to make the most of your money. That's why we're bringing in CNN's personal finance editor, Gerri Willis. She's here with some tips for us. Gerr, help us out.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey there, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Where do we even begin?

WILLIS: Well, OK, start with the little things. At the end of the day, that's what really adds up. Even just bringing your lunch to work instead of going to the cafeteria or ordering out could make a big difference in your wallet.

Take a look at these numbers. Assuming it costs you $7 to eat out for lunch and about $3 to have a bagged lunch, in one year, you can save almost $1,000. Bring your own lunch for two years, you've got $1,900. We're talking an extra vacation here is what your savings would equal. Managing your money is being aware of where you stand financially. Look, we all want to hide our eyes from our 401(k) statements, but as one expert told me, you cannot hide your head in the sand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY OLSEN, PARTNER, LENOX ADVISORS: Be aware. I have heard so many stories from people recently, I don't even open the envelopes. I don't even look. That's the worst thing you could possibly do. Because there may be things that you're doing that are completely and totally wrong for this market.

You should be looking to rebalance. You should be looking, if you can't continue to lose money, to be more conservative. And I really get upset when I find out that people are putting their head in the sand and not paying attention. So, the first bit of advice that I would give to people is, make sure you're opening up your statements and you understand what's going on with your portfolio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: So, no matter how painful it is, knowing where you stand is really half the battle -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, what do you think really trips people up when it comes to managing their finances?

WILLIS: Plastic. One word. It is the credit card, right?

PHILLIPS: Oh, it's a downfall for all of us. Yes.

WILLIS: Absolutely. Well, you know, it's so easy to lose track of spending when you're doing it all on a credit card because you're not paying something for weeks on end. So, you're likely -- more likely, certainly, to make that purchase. Here are some situations where you really want to rethink using the plastic.

A, number one, don't use it to pay monthly bills. Your utility bill, all of those should be paid online out of current cash or by check. Impulse purchases. You want to get in trouble with a credit card, make impulse purchases. Other credit cards. Sometimes people pay credit cards with credit cards and their mortgage. This will get you into real trouble.

But there are times using credit cards are the best strategy, because you can dispute charges, you have proof of purchase and you have consumer protections if somebody steals your card. OK, so, think about using a credit card when you're making very big purchases. Because if you have to take that flat-panel TV screen back, you want to make sure it was on a credit card.

Buying online, as you know, can be problematic. You want to be able to prove that you paid for it. Even at gas stations, if you have one of those credit cards that gives you points for spending money at the gas station, that's not a bad idea, either. So, there are times to use credit cards, but that time isn't all the time. You want to make sure you're limiting your credit card use.

PHILLIPS: Don't forget frequent- flier miles. That's how we get all of our free tickets.

WILLIS: Right, right, right. Well, you know, see, there are uses. Just, you know, try to limit it as much as you can.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Gerri.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, they call it medical tourism, but this is no pleasure trip. Heading out of the country to save money on a surgery, would it work for you? We're going to get the bottom line from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: President Barack Obama's prescription for change is sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system. It sounds like the Clinton efforts of the early '90s, except for one big difference. Old foes are now supporting the changes. CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: It is our responsibility...

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Sound familiar? a Democratic president is vowing to overhaul the health care system.

OBAMA: We can no longer afford to put health care reform on hold.

YELLIN: The administration's budget director tells CNN he is optimistic it will get done this year.

PETER ORSZAG, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR: We're going to try to avoid the mistakes of the past and not lay down a fully detailed plan, but rather work constructively with Congress. YELLIN: It may not be a pipe dream. Remember those Harry and Louise ads which killed President Clinton's ambitious health reform plans?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another billion-dollar bureaucracy.

YELLIN: Well, the same business and insurance groups that fought the Clinton health care effort are pushing Congress to pass reform now. Can you imagine an insurance industry spokesman saying this in the '90s?

ROBERT ZIRKELBACH, AMERICA'S HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS: Rising health care costs are putting a burden on individuals, small businesses and families across the country. The most expensive thing we could do is nothing the at all.

YELLIN: The president has started laying the groundwork for reform. His stimulus package provided the first steps with billions for electronic health records, research on efficiency, and community health centers. The budget calls for creating a $634 billion health care fund over the next 10 years, and would pay for it in part by raising taxes on the wealthy, beginning in the year 2011, saving on Medicare with more competitive pricing on insurance plans and reducing the cost of prescription drugs in part by encouraging more use of generics. Not every one likes this road map to reform.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), MINORITY LEADER: The question is, how do we get to that goal? When you look at the president's plan, it puts the government in charge of delivering this.

YELLIN (on camera): Several groups of senators have been meeting on a weekly basis to hash out just what health care reform legislation might look like. And the White House is holding a health care summit next week, so we should learn more then.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the high costs of health care have led to something called medical tourism. But it has nothing to do with sightseeing. It's people like you and me who travel in search of lower medical costs, and last year, in fact, three-quarters of a million Americans left the country to have major surgeries outside the U.S. Now, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been investigating the medical tourism phenomenon, and he takes us inside the ER at a hospital in New Delhi, where the technology is top of the line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, I got a chance to scrub into this operation with the chief of neurosurgery, Dr. Ajaya Jah (ph). We're looking at a brain tumor operation. This patient as a pituitary tumor. It's a tumor in one of the hormone glands in her brain. Unclear exactly why she got that tumor, but what's really remarkable is the way that they're removing this tumor. They have what's called an endoscope. It's going through her nose, and that's how they are removing this particular brain tumor.

You can see all of their eyes not focused on the patient but focused on the screen. That's where all the action is. And they're just getting down to the tumor and starting to remove it. This is a remarkable operation in a pretty remarkable room. You have an interoperative (ph) MRI scanner in here. You have an endoscope. You have a navigation system. Millions and millions of dollars to put this room together all for the benefit of operations like this.

So, he's about to drill some bone right around the sinus, pretty remarkable. Look at this on the screen. Keep in mind you're doing this entire operation right through the nose. And it's worth remembering that all of this is happening at this hospital here in New Delhi. They do hundreds of these brain tumor operations every year, just like we do them back in the United States, using all of the sophisticated equipment to try and get this tumor out.

From an operating room in New Delhi, I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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PHILLIPS: Well, Dr. Gupta also tells us that medical tourism is becoming a big deal. India, Thailand and Singapore are the top destinations, and the care can be downright luxurious. Private rooms, personal concierges in many cases.

Well, another blast of winter in the upper Midwest. And now the storm's causing more problems as it moves east. We're going to check in with Chad Myers for the latest.

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PHILLIPS: Well, in Minnesota, it's something you have to get used to. Another big winter storm has dumped heavy snow on the state. A few areas got over 9 inches, including 11 inches in one spot. After the storm, bitter cold temperatures, at- or below-zero forecasts for much of that state.

Well, there's a lot of unsettled weather right now over the eastern half of the country. Snow, heavy rain, the threat of hail and damaging winds. Of course, Chad Myers is tracking it all for us.

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PHILLIPS: Hey, Emeril Lagasse, what makes you so bam cool? He did a really nice thing for a customer in Ohio. First, the setup, though. Here's the story we reported yesterday.

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PHILLIPS: And the many uses of Emeril Lagasse's cookware, bam.

EMIRIL LAGASSE, CHEF: Come way back over here and you just go, bam! UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I whacked him. And he came up and looked at me like, lady, why did you do that? And I hit him again.

PHILLIPS: Hey, and his face didn't even stick. Thanks, Emeril. The 70-something is now describing how she dealt with four intruders who broke into her Ohio house and tried to take her money, and her Jack Daniels. The suspects ran off. Police arrested four teens later. They probably recognized one by the Emeril logo stamped on his face.

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PHILLIPS: All right, we do have the update now. Police actually took the saucepan as evidence. And guess what, Emeril found out and is now sending Mrs. Basinski (ph) an entire set of his signature cookware. So now consider her very well-armed.

So, did you guys have any idea that tomorrow is International Sword Swallowers Awareness Day? No? Well, clearly the event's a good idea, then. Seven Ripley's Believe It or Not museums are hosting are hosting sword-swallowing events. There will be some records attempted, both individual and group, that we're told.

And the goal? To raise awareness of the arts. And no kidding, to celebrate the last day of National Swallowing Disorders Month.

Well, this man has lost everything in the global recession, his high-paying job, his wife, his kids. Even his country isn't what it used to be. We'll explain.

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GINA BOCK, IREPORTER: I lost my job three months ago. I've given up shopping, driving, pretty much everything, just to save money. I try not to drive much. I try to walk so I don't have to spend money on gas. But I have -- I get unemployment, but I pay the rent, the cable, the phone and then grocery shopping. So, pretty much, I have nothing left.

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PHILLIPS: American workers aren't the only ones feeling the pinch of the global recession. Japan used to be an economic powerhouse as well. Now its economy has tanked, and that's taking a heavy toll on families. CNN's Kyung Lah reports from Tokyo.

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KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was home for Hidefumi Ito (ph). The size of a closet, it had what he needed most, an Internet hook-up and computer to job search. Ito (ph) rented this net room for around 20 U.S. dollars a day after he lost his art gallery director job, his expensive home and went bankrupt. Then, his wife and three children left him. Six months later, life has improved.

HIDEFUME ITO (PH), LOST JOB AND HOME: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAH: Ito has a tiny apartment with his own kitchen and bath. But more importantly, a job. It's not glamorous, but it's saving him from a life on the street. Ironically, the same economic downturn that cost Ito (ph) his upper-class lifestyle landed him this job.

Su Casa (ph), the company that created the net rooms, is seeing a boom in demand for its cheap daily rooms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAH: Occupancy is always 100 percent, says Su Casa's (ph) general manager. The company is constructing more buildings, but can't keep up with the demand. Su Casa, growing beyond expectations, hired Ito a few months ago.

ITO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAH: This is today's Japan, says Ito. It's a reality of the country. There's no safety net. We don't know our lives tomorrow.

You can hear that same warning again and again in Tokyo's tent cities. This is a once-unthinkable scene in a country where lifetime employment was a rule just a decade ago. After the change in labor laws, temporary workers now make up a third of Japan's work force. They make less, have few employment rights compared to full-time workers and are being fired en masse in Japan's recession.

MAKOTO KAWAZOE (ph), YOUNG WORKERS UNION: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAH: They're the working poor, and they're the ones losing their jobs, says Young Workers Union Makoto Kawazoe (ph). It's not true anymore that Japan is a stable, rich country. Kawazoe (ph) says there's not enough unemployment insurance for these workers and not enough jobs, so the fired have no way out.

LAH (on camera): Compounding the problem, Tokyo is one of the world's most expensive cities. So the line between comfortably middle class to suddenly homeless is in some cases very thin.

ITO: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LAH (voice-over): It was for Ito, who still grieves for what he once had. But he's trying to focus on rebuilding a life. Step by step, he says. A process that is painfully slow, unlike how quickly you can lose it all in this economy. Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

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