Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Capitol Hill Deal Could Bring Tax Rebates; Dems Battle Over Character; Truckers Engaged in Dangerous Practices
Aired January 24, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: Incessant (ph) care but a slumping U.S. economy. Sources tell us negotiators have agreed on a tentative plan to pump up spending by putting money in your pocket.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And on Wall Street, another roller-coaster ride for stocks. For the housing market, another drop in sales and prices. On the manufacturing front, Ford Motor Company racks up another big loss and plans another big round of buyouts to trim its work force.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We've got everything you need to know about the money crunch. Our Kathleen Koch live at the White House. And Susan Lisovicz keeping track of the ups and downs on Wall Street. We are still learning the details of that tentative deal in Washington to put checks in the mail.
CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us now from the White House. She's going to start us off -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what we're hearing from sources who are familiar with the negotiations on the Hill is again that a tentative agreement has been reached between lawmakers and the White House. What's happening right now is that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader John Boehner are working hard to sell the aspects of this bill to their members: to Democrats, to Republicans.
And what we're being told by sources on the Hill is that Democrats have basically agreed to drop their insistence that there be an increase in food stamps, that there be -- that there an extension of unemployment benefits. And Republicans, in turn, gave ground on an issue that was important to them. They had wanted these tax rebates to only go to taxpayers. Now, that would have excluded some 23 million working Americans who pay payroll taxes but they simply don't earn enough to pay income taxes.
So how much would these checks be for? Now, what we're being told by sources on Capitol Hill is that, for individuals who make less than $75,000, it would be some $600. For couples who earn less than $151,000, it would be $1,200. Now for those who, in the year 2007, didn't earn enough to pay income taxes, but they did earn at least $3,000, they would get a rebate of $300. Sources also say that each child -- the family would get a rebate for every child of $300.
Now, this is not set in stone. This is still being negotiated. And then there's also a very -- what's being described as a very generous, robust package, I should say, of business tax breaks.
So all of this is still up in the air, but we are expecting at some point this afternoon to have a press conference with Pelosi, with Boehner and also with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to give us the final details on all this.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk again and assess once that happens. Kathleen Koch, thanks so much.
LEMON: Let's turn now to our Susan Lisovicz, watching the big board on Wall Street. She joins us now live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange -- Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Well, we're still recovering from whiplash Wednesday. You rode it with me, Don and Kyra. That 600-point swing yesterday was the biggest swing that we had seen since the summer of 2002.
Improbable as that was, we are seeing some follow-through today. Check it out. The big board right now showing gains: Dow industrials, on 30 points. The gains have come in fits and starts. And the NASDAQ, which briefly entered into a bear market yesterday, is up 20 points.
One trader said that trying to get a sense of the outside world is like being in the spin cycle of the washing machine and looking out. Why is that? Because we're just getting so much information thrown at us. Not only that economic stimulus plan that Kathleen was talking about, but lots of corporate earnings. We'll be talking about Ford later this hour. And also, economic data.
Let me just tell you about what's come out of the housing sector this morning. The final numbers for 2007: single-family homes fell 13 percent. That was the worst read in 25 years. Prices, meanwhile, fell 6 percent for the year. First time on record that we saw prices fall for the entire year.
And economists from the National Association of Realtors said prices probably haven't fallen for the entire year like that since the Great Depression.
Meanwhile, we heard from one of the nation's biggest home builders, Lennar. It reported quarterly losses of $1.25 billion. Just for three months. Says it doesn't see any improvement for this year. So no light at the end of the tunnel, not yet.
And that's why next week it is still so important, because the Federal Reserve meets again on interest rates and it is something that, well, the street is expecting another rate cut.
So just a lot going on on Wall Street. And that's why we've seen some of the volatile moves. Right now the bulls are in control.
Don, back to you.
LEMON: All right, Susan, we'll be checking with you throughout the day. Thank you very much.
More money in your pocket? What should you do with your rebate check? That's a good question. We'll get some advice from our Gerri Willis. She's our personal finance editor. And we'll also hear from former labor secretary Robert Reich. He'll tell you what he thinks about the economic stimulus package.
And make sure you stick with CNN for all the news that affects your financial security. And go to CNNmoney.com for a look at how the economic stimulus deal might affect your wallet.
PHILLIPS: All the Democrats are in South Carolina, all the Republicans are in Florida. And the stage is set for the next two primaries in the race for the White House.
Candidates Clinton and Obama may have stolen the Democratic spotlight, but John Edwards is hoping for a home-field advantage in Saturday's contest. In Florida, John McCain is looking to build on his latest win, but his Republican rivals say they're in for the long haul.
Rudy Giuliani has pinned his White House hopes on Florida, but a new poll of Florida polls shows he still has work to do between now and Tuesday's primary. The surveys show that John McCain out front with 27 percent. Mitt Romney just two points behind. Giuliani is in third at 16 percent and just one point ahead of Mike Huckabee.
LEMON: Well, while the Republicans battle in Florida it's getting a little tense in South Carolina. That's the site of Saturday's Democratic primary. Barack Obama is campaigning along the coast today.
And our Suzanne Malveaux, she joins me now from Beaufort.
Hi, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don.
Well, Barack Obama's talking about a lot of issues. He reacted to the president's stimulus package. He also talked about the turmoil in Kenya.
But he's spending an equal bit of time here also addressing what he is calling a campaign of dirty tricks. He is telling his audiences today do not be bamboozled by these dirty tricks.
Now, what is he talking about? Well, in part he's talking about false rumors that have circulated in the -- over the Internet, which claimed that he's a Muslim who does not pledge allegiance to the American flag. Both of those things untrue. Misstatements that the Clinton campaign says it has nothing to do with.
But he is also talking, as well, about Senator Hillary Clinton, what he says is distorting his record. There's a back-and-forth, a radio ad that her campaign out -- ad her campaign put out yesterday essentially over praise for the Republican Party.
Well, his campaign is putting out a counter ad to that. It has all become an issue of character.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One principle that I think we want to firmly establish is, if people are making false assertions about my record, we will answer them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Don, what is happening here essentially, you have the campaigns. They're talking about issues, but what they're discovering as well is that the issue of character is front and center here.
Both of these campaigns have charged that the other one is dishonest, that there is race baiting that is going on. This is a critical state for the Obama campaign. It's really seen that he has to win this one. But both of these sides clearly taking this as a very important issue. Not just employment, not just economics, but who is the honest person here, who is the one that voters can trust -- Don.
LEMON: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you very much for that report.
And don't miss big showdowns in the Wild, Wild West. That happens later this month. The candidates will face off in California, the last debates before Super Tuesday. That is January 30 and 31. And you can see them only here on CNN, your home for politics.
PHILLIPS: And as you know, with the numbers being so up and down on Wall Street right now, and there's this fear of a recession. The president is trying to get Congress to pass this stimulus package to jump-start the economy and deal, of course, with the mortgage meltdown and what we're going to do with our 401(k)s and all our investments.
Now we're being told that House Leader Nancy Pelosi, also House Minority Leader John Boehner and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson should be holding a presser talking about possible details with regard to that stimulus package, 1:30 Eastern Time. We're monitoring that.
And Washington has a plan to stimulate the economy, but how do folks outside Washington feel? Ali Velshi is on the road to find out.
LEMON: And a powerful storm shuts down one of California's most important highways, stranding hundreds of drivers. We'll get the very latest from the California Highway Patrol.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIP: One-twelve Eastern Time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A tentative deal in Washington on an economic stimulus package. Rebates for just about everyone who earns a paycheck, ranging from $300 to more than $1,200.
A Louisiana teenager has been indicted, accused of threatening civil rights protesters near Jena, Louisiana, last year. Eighteen- year-old Jeremiah Munson and an unnamed conspirator allegedly attaches nooses to their pickup truck.
And another round of downsizing for a troubled U.S. automaker. Ford says it will offer buyouts to thousands of workers.
LEMON: Well, you can't get there, not from here. At least not now. Just look at this mess on Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles. We'll hear from someone trying to get things moving again. Wow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, most of us drive. And there is some new information coming out about your safety on the road as it comes to those big trucks.
Truck drivers don't make money if they don't drive trucks. And many say they don't make decent money if they don't drive longer and push their trucks harder than the law allows, and that's the problem.
CNN's Chris Lawrence reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just this week one truck pulled into the path of another on a Florida freeway, right after the sleepy driver let his partner take the wheel.
Interstate 75, one trucker's brake problem made him slow down too fast, and two other big rigs smashed into him.
Thousands of broken rigs are rolling down America's highways, some with drowsy drivers behind the wheel.
"JUAN," INDEPENDENT TRUCKER: You got to run. You got to run when you're tired. I mean, you're falling asleep. You've got to do it.
LAWRENCE: We spoke with an independent trucker we'll call "Juan." He admits he and other drivers forge their log books and go well past the point they're supposed to pull over.
JUAN: In order for to you make actual money, you can't really be running legally, to be honest with you. I mean, you got to -- you got to be lying on those log books, man. LAWRENCE: Juan says some drivers buy cheap parts at chop shops, and instead of buying new tires get more threads carved into balding ones.
JUAN: When it gets hot, a lot of the tires, man, they blow out on you, man. They blow out on you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Completely thread through.
LAWRENCE: In California, the highway patrol inspects half a million trucks a year and takes a quarter of them out of service.
CAPT. JEFF GOODWIN, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: We'll stop somebody and find out that, out of ten brake systems, nine of them are out of commission.
LAWRENCE: Drivers like Juan say they do worry about driving bad rigs on little or no sleep. But they've got families at home and barely make ends meet as it is.
JUAN: It's a risk you got to take sometimes, man. I mean, I know at the same time you're putting not only your life at risk but other people's lives in jeopardy, too, but it's just money gets tight. Money gets tight.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Yes, he's got a wife and two boys at home that he barely sees now because he's working so much.
Now, there may be some help on the way. The ports just approved a plan to spend well over $1 billion to improve not only the safety of some of these trucks but the air quality, as well.
The money is being set aside to help independent truckers replace their older, dirty trucks with newer, cleaner vehicles. The only thing that's still got to get worked out is whether that's going to pay for all of the costs or just part of it.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Long Beach.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And we haven't seen anywhere near the volatility today that we saw earlier this week. Could this be a return to normal?
Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with that and more.
Susan, I don't think anything can be normal nowadays when it comes to the New York Stock Exchange.
LISOVICZ: No. To Wall Street in general, Kyra. And I'm actually above it all for the moment.
Some folks are saying this is the calm before the storm, because it does actually seem kind of quiet. We have had 150-point swing for the Dow Industrials. That's nothing compared to what we saw yesterday, what we rode through yesterday when we had a more than 600- point swing. So just the relative lack of volatility is something that is welcome for now.
But remember, we're just getting a lot of information from all different areas and, for now, the bulls are in charge. The Dow Industrials -- although I wouldn't say the bulls are charging. The Dow Industrials right now up 38 points or about .3 percent.
The NASDAQ, remember, which entered into a bear market briefly yesterday, is up nearly 1 percent. One of the big gainers for the Dow is Alcoa, a company that relies on a robust economy -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Now, among the stocks we're watching, Ford, a company that employs more than 50,000 workers. What's the status there?
LISOVICZ: Well, there's a lot of news coming out of Ford today because it's reporting its quarterly earnings, among other things. And its stock right now, by the way, is down about two -- nearly 2.5 percent.
It employs a lot of people, but some may soon be out of a job. Ford announced two new rounds of buyouts. This as the automaker continues efforts to come back from three years of red ink. Today it reported quarterly losses that were substantial. It lost $27.7 billion. That's a lot less than a year earlier. The automaker expects the problems to continue.
As for which workers are being offered the buyouts, the first wave goes to workers from closed plants in Atlanta, St. Louis and New Jersey, where 800 people would be affected.
The second round would apply up to 12,000 other workers around the U.S. The offer open until the end of the month, and the workers will leave by March 1. The buyout packages are similar to those that were offered last time, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And it's not just Ford. I mean, it's a tough time to be an automaker, period.
LISOVICZ: And that's something that Alan Mullally, the CEO, was talking about today. That, you know, this is a big-ticket item. And when you're talking about an economy that's slowing and people have a lot of debt.
And Ford, as it is, trying to position itself to be more competitive against Asian automakers, particularly Toyota and Honda that are more fuel efficient. That's a tough time. And he was saying these are challenging times.
And what's exactly what Ford is facing right now. But its shares, as I mentioned, are down about 2.5 percent, Kyra.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Susan Lisovicz, we'll be talking again. LEMON: And also, we want to tell you, coming up at the bottom of the hour, it's expected that House leader Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader John Boehner and also the treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, they're going to hold a press conference to talk about that $150 billion package, stimulus package, that they plan to hand to the president. As soon as that happens we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: A Marine on the run, believed in Mexico. Now there's a grand jury indictment for murder. We're going to talk about the death penalty.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Once again we are waiting for that news conference on the Hill. One-thirty Eastern Time it's expected. As you know, the president of the United States trying to convince Congress to pass this stimulus package with hopes to steer off a recession and get those numbers solid once again on Wall Street. So people like you and me do not have to worry about our investments, and our 401(k)s in addition to the housing crisis, as well. And just the mortgage meltdown that so many of us have been dealing with.
So we are expecting House leader Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner and also the treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, to step up to the mikes, give their response and possibly details about a deal that could be struck. We're waiting for that. We'll take it when it happens.
LEMON: It appears they've just got some sort of time warning there. That will happen in just a few minutes.
But just a short time ago we took a camera downstairs to talk to people about that expected rebate check that they're supposed to announce. Not a scientific sampling, but here is what a couple of people told us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RON GRAHAM: Where's the money coming from that they're giving us? So taxes are going to go up someplace. So yes, they're going to give me a $600 check? Another $600 for my wife? Eventually, there's going to be a payment on there. Where is it coming from?
So government doesn't give anything away. Never has, never will.
MARY LYNN GALLAGHER: What am I going to do with it? Well, I'm in the process of moving, so it will probably go towards moving expenses.
LEMON: You think it's going to help?
GALLAGHER: Didn't they do it a couple years ago? So it's -- I don't really think so.
LEMON: Why not? GALLAGHER: I think that something else needs to be done. I don't know quite what, but this is like a little Band-Aid being put on this problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Economic Stimulus 101. The government cuts checks to consumers, consumers spend the money, and bingo, something good happens. A jumpstart for the overall economy. Well, it all sounds good.
Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here to tell us how or whether we spend this rebate check may be crucial.
Gerri, what's the very first thing that you want to do with the check?
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, I don't know. Kyra, I'm not going to the mall. I think folks should pay off debt. And we all have a lot of credit card debt. Or so it seems.
Look at these numbers. The average household credit card debt, $9,659. You're paying almost 15 percent in interest. This means that you're paying interest alone on this debt of $1,400. Let's say you add more to that debt overall, you're paying even more in interest.
So first things first. Let's get rid of some debt. Let's make sure we get that credit card debt down. Maybe you're having trouble paying these very high energy bills. You might want to do that.
But I say at the end of the day, you want to get rid of some of this very expensive debt that you're paying such high interest rates on -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Also, we also talk about how we should have three to six months of an emergency fund. And probably socking away money now is even more important. Right?
WILLIS: Well, it is, absolutely. Look, in a recession, what happens? Well, employers, they let people go. There are layoffs. People lose their jobs. We even heard some of that today going on in the economy.
So you want to make sure that if the worst happens you're prepared. You can continue to pay the mortgage, continue to pay the rent, put food on the table. And if you have some savings, if you have some money set aside, you're sitting pretty. And this will help you weather the storm.
Because, you know, you can lose your home in just three months in some markets. So you want to be sure there's money there to pay that mortgage.
PHILLIPS: All right. Just for a second, let's say -- no, I'm going to use you as an example. Because you're probably perfect at this. You probably have no credit-card debt. You've probably got an emergency fund. And now you're going to have funds coming in. So what do you do with the money? I say go have a good time.
WILLIS: No. Well, you know what? It is a recession, right? I mean...
PHILLIPS: True.
WILLIS: Things aren't looking that optimistic right now. I think you want to make sure that you invest this money. If you already have savings, if you're not -- if you know you're going to be in good shape, why not take that money and invest it?
You just sock it into a high-yield savings account, maybe get a 5 percent return if you shop around. Or, hey, did you notice, stocks are on sale here? You might want to invest in the market. An easy way to do that is an index fund. A big index fund will give you lots of diversification right away, and this will allow you to start building funds instead of spending.
PHILLIPS: OK. Anything else I can do to protect myself?
WILLIS: Well, if you own a home and you have some equity in it, I would think about a home equity line of credit. Here's why. If you lose your job, this gives you a way to pay that mortgage. And if you don't want to use it, you don't have to. So you don't have to pay anything for some of these. Some of these are without fees. Works like a credit card. You know, you can write checks on it. Tap your home equity.
You got to pay it back at the end of the day, but this will give you a cushion. Because once you lose your job it's really hard to get a loan. So this would give you an option if the worst does happen -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Gerri Willis, thanks for the advice.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: And on the weekend Gerri does host "Open House." That's Saturday morning, 9:30 on CNN. Saturday and Sunday afternoon, 3:30 Eastern, right here -- or not here but on Headline News, our sister network.
LEMON: Some big money to be made when it comes to antiquities and also museums. Some big news happening in the art world. And our Fredricka has this developing story.
Fred, what's going on?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, big money. It also means big problems, particularly if a lot -- particularly if a lot of these antiquities that a lot of these museums acquire are not legally acquired.
That's the focus of an investigation taking place right now in Southern California, where search warrants are now being issued to museums because, apparently, a good bit of art just might have been acquired that was stolen.
These museums that are now getting search warrants being handed out by immigrations and customs include the L.A. County Museum of Art, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, and Mingei International Museum in San Diego. Apparently the investigation means that a number of pieces of art that may have come from Southeast Asia that may be housed at any of these museums may be stolen.
So, that's why these search warrants are being issued. And also, the investigators are trying to figure out whether there were some appraisals of some of the art that is in some of these museums may have been inflated so that perhaps they could have been appreciating an improper tax deduction. That's the centerpiece of an investigation now under way in Southern California, Don.
LEMON: All right, Fred, keep us updated. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Let's go ahead and check in with CNN's Ali Velshi. He's approaching the Arkansas/Texas border as he travels cross country on the CNN election express. He's talking to voters about pocketbook concerns. That's what you get, Ali.
You're sitting there e-mailing me so I'm putting you on the air. Instead of us having this conversation, we're going to tell everybody else what you are doing.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk in person. Listen, this is great. We are going down the highway, we've just left Arkansas, we've crossed into Texas. Next stop is probably Dallas, but we are stopping and talking to people about what's going on in the economy, what their concerned about. And the hot topic today, Kyra is this economic stimulus plan.
Is it a good idea or not? Do people think it is going to help them to get a few hundred bucks into everybody's pockets? Will people spend --
PHILLIPS: That's what happens.
LEMON: There he is.
PHILLIPS: Oh, wait a minute. He's back. You're back, go ahead, Ali.
VELSHI: I'm back? Good. We're doing this from the CNN election express. So sometimes when we go into a forested area or we get some trees, we lose the signal. But it is actually a great thing we are doing because we are getting into eleven -- 10 different states and we're talking to people about what they're concerned about, what they'd like the White House and Congress and the presidential candidates do.
And, they're telling us that they need a kickstart to the economy, they want to see something that creates more jobs. Now, Kyra what happens -- you just talked to Gerri about this. What happens is if you get a rebate and if people do spend it in the right places, it creates demand, demand means businesses hire more people.
That means more jobs are created, and that means more demand is created. That's the cycle that the White House and Congress are trying to come together. That's generally getting a good reaction from people, but we have had some people, Kyra, telling us -- in fact just in Little Rock this morning, what happens if people pay off their credit card debts, which is not thought of as a bad thing, doesn't stimulate the economy?
What will people do with this money, how long will it last? And, will people get those checks from the government, if there is a stimulus program, will they get them in time? Those are questions that we're hoping to get an answer to in just moments from now when we hear from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi to see what kind of compromise they've struck.
We're watching the markets to see how investors are reacting. Back in 2001, those tax cuts that they gave everybody, they did enhance things for the market because people went out and spent them. But who knows what happens this time. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Ali Velshi there live for us via broadband on the election express. Ali looking good. And as you saw, Ali reference the big board there on Wall Street. Dow Industrials right now up 17 points. Now up 22 points, continues to rise.
We are also monitoring that live event out of Washington, D.C., waiting for Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker also her number two John Boehner, and Treasury Secretary Paulson to step up to the mikes and talk about this stimulus package the President is trying to convince them into passing it with hopes to avert a recession and get our investments back in order. Give us more confidence.
LEMON: In the meantime, we're following this story, a grand jury in North Carolina has indicted the Marine who is accused of killing a pregnant comrade. The charge is first degree murder. The search for Corporal Cesar Laurean is focused south of the border.
For the latest on the investigation and what this indictment means, let's go to CNN's Susan Candiotti in Miami. They indicted him in absentia.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly did and this is something the prosecutor felt he had to do at this stage of the investigation. Don, let's start with those charges first of all. The first degree murder charge, that's no surprise.
There are four other charges. One is stealing Maria Lauterbach's ATM card, attempting to steal her ATM card, fraud -- in other words, pretending to be her when he used that debit card allegedly. And, he is also indicted for robbing her with a dangerous weapon, a blunt -- remember they say that she was killed by blunt force trauma to the head.
Now the prosecutor explained why he added that last charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEWEY HUDSON, ONSLOW CO., N.C. DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Probably the main reason we decided to go to the grand jury today, which is a little bit -- it is a little bit unusual, but this whole case has been unusual, is that we, as you can see, we charged him with additional count of armed robbery.
And, it is my understanding that when we do extradite him from Mexico, we have to present them all the charges we plan on trying him on. And therefore, we want to go ahead and charge him with this armed robbery because we felt that after talking with the law enforcement officers that there was sufficient evidence to charge him with armed robbery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: And the prosecutor also confirmed what CNN first reported yesterday, the preliminary results of a second autopsy conducted by the military indicating that the fetus was not alive when her body was discovered.
Again, these are initial findings. But the district attorney indicated that according to North Carolina law, that the killing of an unborn, yet viable fetus, does not constitute murder in the state of North Carolina. He also indicated that more tests are being conducted on lung tissue of the fetus to determine whether there is any oxygen present.
If they could find oxygen, that would mean that they might be able to prosecute Laurean on another murder charge. Now of course, while all this is happening, the search goes on for Cesar Laurean. And CNN, as you know, was the first to confirm a sighting at least a couple of days ago that he is in Mexico.
We have also confirmed with a law enforcement source and authorities now acknowledge that he purchased a bus ticket. He traveled first from Raleigh, North Carolina to Houston, and then bought a bus ticket for $170 to go into Mexico. First going to one city, and then winding up in Guadalajara. We interviewed a cousin of Laurean who says that he saw him there early last week and he was with some other people.
But at the time, the cousin did not know that there was an arrest warrant for him. We don't know at this time whether U.S. authorities have completed the process of presenting all the paperwork for an arrest warrant to Mexican authorities and whether the Mexican authorities have yet ruled on that and agreed to start looking for Laurean in Mexico. Bottom line is, no one knows where he is just yet.
LEMON: All right, Susan Candiotti, thank you very much for that report. Meantime, four victims in two years in Daytona Beach, Florida. And the killer hasn't been caught. A criminal profiler says whoever it is probably blends easily into the background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TOM DAVIS, FLORIDA LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFILER: He may very well be among us in the working. He may in fact, have a wife or a girlfriend, maybe has a very volatile temper to co-workers or those in a relationship with him walk on eggshells to avoid that volatility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The latest victim was a 30-year-old woman, Stacey Gage. Police say her death was similar enough to the others to call the crimes serial killings.
John Bryant, age 79. His wife Irene, 84. Were they killed by the same man charged with murdering a hiker in north Georgia? That's a question driving police as they search for the mountains along the Tennessee/Georgia line. That's where several witnesses reportedly put murder suspect Gary Hilton at the same time the Bryants disappeared.
Irene Bryant's body was found in November, her husband is still missing. Hilton is charged with beating to death 24-year-old Meredith Emerson last month. He's also a suspect in the murder case in Florida.
Well, something new from our friends at CNN.com and truTV, they've teamed up to bring you the best crime coverage on the web. Go behind the police tape and into the courtroom like never before at CNN.com/crime.
PHILLIPS: Once again, we're taking you live to Washington, D.C. We are waiting for three specific individuals to step up to that mike. Talking about money in your pocket. Sources tell us there is a tentative deal on a plan to jumpstart the economy that includes tax rebates for you and tax breaks for businesses.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader John Boehner and also Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are supposed to step up to the mike any minute now, and brief us on indeed if they have reached a deal on this economic stimulus package the President has been pushing them to go forward with. We're tracking it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, as we look at live pictures there from Washington, you see the reporters gathered there and the American flags. We are waiting for Nancy Pelosi and minority leader, John Boehner, also treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, to come in and talk about this apparent agreement they have on a stimulus bill to try to jump start the economy. They are supposed to do it at the bottom of the hour. Apparently they are running late, but as soon as they step up to the mics we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: We've got a good way to wait. Every week, we tell you how to become an empowered patient. But is it possible to be so empowered that you become obnoxious? CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, has the how-tos and how-not-tos to be that kind of patient.
Look, I have friends that are parents that drive their doctors nuts. I mean, they're stalkers because they feel if they don't fight for their kids, that they're not going to get what they think they need.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And you know what, in many ways they are right. You do want to fight for your healthcare, especially for your child's healthcare. You don't want to just leave it all up to the doctor.
But I have been hearing from angry doctors, boy have I been hearing from angry doctors, ever since I started this column saying, you know what, people are getting so empowered, they're becoming obnoxious. Kyra mentioned stalking, or people walking with this huge wad of Internet printouts and say, I learned this. You have to -- this is right, you're wrong.
So here are some tips on how to be empowered but not obnoxious. Do not walk in with a stack of Internet printouts. Some folks that I talked to said, you know what, read all of those at home and make bullet points -- hey I learned this, I learned that. But don't walk in with the stack. Your doctor doesn't have time to read 100 pages of Internet Web sites.
Also, be organized. I talked to one woman who has lupus and her health depends on her relationship with her doctor. And she says I don't like to waste his time. I walk in with an index card with three questions or however many questions I have for him. And I have another index card that lists all the new symptoms I've been having. And, she just gets right down to business. There's no long, drawn-out stories. None of that. She gets right down to business and her doctor appreciates it.
PHILLIPS: All right. So, that's how you make sure you don't cross the line, right? Are those a few tips there?
COHEN: Those are a few tips there. Right, exactly.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, let's talk more about the Internet printouts. You're right, there is a lot of stuff on the Internet that isn't true. It is not correct information.
COHEN: Right. And that was, I have to say, one of the very biggest gripes that doctors have, is that people walk in and they think the Internet is smarter than their doctor.
So here's how to use the Internet. First of all, as I said, bring in bullet points, and don't say, well the Internet says that I definitely have a brain tumor. And even though you just think it is a headache, the Internet says it is a brain tumor. You can say something like, you know, I know that you think my headache is just a run of the mill headache, but I've been reading about brain tumors on the Internet and I want to learn more. Can you help me learn more, and what Web sites do you think I should be going to? So your acknowledging your doctor as an authority. They went to medical school, you didn't.
And there's a point I want to make which is, people should be polite, not just because they don't want to make their doctors angry, that's not really the end goal here. The goal is to get good care. And you're going to get better care from someone who thinks you are a nice person.
PHILLIPS: It's true, bottom line.
COHEN: Right, he or she is a human being.
PHILLIPS: As in any business -- it is like being a journalist and getting a story. If you are obnoxious, they're going to shut the door in your face.
COHEN: Right. So you don't want your doctor shutting the door in your face. That's not good.
PHILLIPS: No way. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
And for medical news right there at your fingertips, you click on to cnn.com and look for that empowered patient icon, and you read Elizabeth Cohen's columns.
LEMON: Snow in southern California, icy rain in Texas and beyond, brr -- I guess that's how you spell it, b-r-r -- in Iowa.
Talk about extremes, Chad. Especially with what's happening -- I see it right over you, Interstate 5 closed in parts of California?
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right. We want to take you straight to D.C. -- sorry, about that, Chad. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, talking about a possible deal reached in that economic stimulus plan.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: ... people have known for a long time that they were coming on hard times. Living paycheck to paycheck, they knew that something needed to be done to strengthen our economy.
We were very pleased last Friday in a conference call with the Republican and Democratic leadership of the House and Senate, and with the secretary, that the president expressed the need for a stimulus package.
We went to work right away in a bipartisan way to meet the criteria of being timely, targeted and temporary to turn the economy around. That was our standard.
The agreement that Mr. Boehner and I and our respective caucuses have -- meet those criteria.
I want to commend Secretary Paulson for his extraordinary leadership, his boundless, it seems, patience. And I hope he has more, because there's more to come. I believe that the package that we are putting forth deserves the support of members of Congress. And we'll bring it to the -- we will bring it to the floor at the earliest date so that those rebate checks can be in the mail.
First and foremost, the stimulus package will put money in the hands of hardworking Americans. This is a middle-class initiative to strengthen the middle class and to those who aspire to be in the middle class. It will be in the form of tax rebates and a child tax credit.
The benefits to the middle class and the working -- and those, again, who aspire to that and who need the money will spend the money. I've always said that what we needed to do is to put money in the hands of those who will spend it right away to inject demand into the economy, to help create jobs, to help turn around the economy.
We also have included immediate relief for homeowners who are at the risk of losing their homes because of the subprime crisis.
This bipartisan -- there is -- there are other initiatives that relate to helping the business community in a targeted way and in a timely way and in a temporary way to help spur the economy.
This bipartisan package should be acted upon rapidly and can help alleviate the economic pain felt by millions of Americans.
On a phone call we just had with the president, I told the president that I hoped that we can use this model of bipartisanship to work together on unemployment insurance and Medicaid and other issues that spring from a weakened economy. And should that economy -- our economy continue to worsen, we will not hesitate to advance additional legislation -- speaking for myself -- to respond to the economic pressures affecting the American people.
Again, I thank Leader Boehner for the bipartisan spirit that he brought to the table.
I can't say that I'm totally pleased with the package, but I do know that it will help stimulate the economy. And if it does not, then there will be more to come.
I want to also commend my members of the House Democratic Caucus, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Mr. Rangel -- who, again, is not totally pleased with the package as well -- for his extraordinary leadership in making this compromise possible.
Chairman Barney Frank also was very instrumental. And with his leadership, we were able to include in the package the GSA and FHA changes that give some comfort, I hope, to America's homeowners.
With that, I'm very pleased to yield the floor, with gratitude and appreciation, to the Republican leader of the House, Mr. Boehner.
REP. JOHN A. BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Well, Madam Speaker, thank you. This agreement is a big win for the American people. It'll stimulate our economy in the most direct and effective way possible, by putting money in the hands of middle-income American families and by giving businesses incentives to create and build new jobs in our country.
The speaker gave some, as she said, and Republicans gave some. But I think it's a good compromise that will benefit the American people.
I want to thank Ms. Pelosi for all of her work. This was not easy, as most of you know, for the two of us and our respective caucuses and the differences that the two caucuses have to come together and to work in a bipartisan way and to reach a compromise that I think is in the best interest of the American people.
I also want to thank Secretary Paulson for his work in this process, keeping the process moving and bringing many details that we needed in order to come together to put this package together.
You know, many Americans believe that Washington is broken. But I think this agreement and I hope that this agreement will show the American people that we can fix it and will serve -- to serve to move along other bipartisan agreements that we can have in the future.
I'm looking for a quick action in the House. I hope that the Senate will follow quickly so that we can put this hands in the -- this money in the hands of middle-income Americans as soon as possible.
PELOSI: Mr. Secretary?
HENRY M. PAULSON JR., SECRETARY OF TREASURY: Thank you very much, John.
Let me say, first of all, thank the president for his leadership, thank the speaker for her leadership, the leader for his leadership.
The tone -- the right tone was set last Thursday when we had a very good conference call with the president.
And we had, there, the leaders of the Senate, also. We had Leader Reid and Mitch McConnell, in addition to the speaker and John Boehner and Steny Hoyer.
And we had a good call. And, there, a spirit of bipartisan participation was set, working together with one objective in mind and one objective only: to help the U.S. economy as soon as possible, and the American people.
And so, again, I know the work isn't done yet. As the speaker said, we've got more to do. And I'm looking forward to working with the Senate and working with the House to get a package as soon as possible. Because, again, speed is of the essence.
And again, thank you very much for your leadership, Madam Speaker.
And thank you.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
PELOSI: Well, let's -- what I always say about these packages: Let us praise it for what it does, not disrespect if for what it does not.
This -- I think this is a remarkable package because it is about putting money in the hands of America's working families. It is there to strengthen the middle class, to create jobs, and to turn this economy around. And that is what is important about it.
It is timely, it is targeted and it is temporary. And it was done in record time since our conversation with the president, and, again, in a bipartisan way.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: ... bill here, what if the Senate says, "We're going to do this bill," picks it apart and sends it back, and says, "Take or leave it"?
PELOSI: Well, here's the thing.
A couple of days ago, some of you were present in the room when we met with Secretary Paulson. We met with Secretary Paulson, Leader Boehner and I and Leader Hoyer, as well as Leader McConnell and Democratic Leader Harry Reid. At that meeting, in your presence, they both said -- Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid said, "We defer to the House." Well, of course, the Constitution does as well. But nonetheless, the recognition that this bill had to begin in the House.
What their point was, "Instead of the four of us trying to find agreement, let's see what bipartisanship you can come up with in the House to send us something that we can act upon."
This is the beginning of the legislative process. They will certainly act upon it and we will act upon that.
But I hope that the commitment that we are showing here today in a bipartisan way, and the fact that there had to be some give on either side, doesn't mean that we've exhausted all the remedies that we think will help the economy.
It just means that in this package, at this time, this is the approach that we are taking: help for the middle class, assistance to business for job creation, and helping those who are concerned about the subprime crisis -- the mortgage crisis in our country.
So they will most likely act upon it. But I think the strength of our bipartisanship in this announcement today will mean a lot to them.
But far be it from me to ever predict what the Senate may produce with their very senatorial rules.
BOEHNER: Let me just add to that.
The speaker and I could stand here for an hour and talk about the things that are not in this package. We had members from both sides of the aisle that had an endless list of items that they wanted to include in this.
And the beauty of this package is that it is simple, it is clean, it is neat, and it will get the money back out into the American economy as quickly as possible.
And I believe that if we can have broad bipartisan support for this bill on the floor of the House -- which I do, in fact, believe we will get -- that it will simplify the process.
Not that it's going to preclude the Senate from being the Senate and doing what they do, but I think that the fact -- there's three sections to this bill, two big sections and a comma.
And so I think that we've done our job as best we can do it.
I hope that the members of the House in both caucuses will support this in a broad bipartisan way. And hopefully, we've made the job for the rest of the Congress easier.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
PAULSON: OK. Let me explain this very simply.
I think the easiest way to think about it is, if you are a taxpaying unit, the filer, and you've got earned income of at least $3,000 and then you file, you are entitled to a check of at least $300. I'm going to get to the children in a minute.
$300. And if there's, obviously -- if joint-filers, it would be $600.
And then everyone who pays -- who has earned income above $3,000, right up until you pay at least $300 in income tax, is going to get their $300.
When you pay $300 in income tax, then you will get an additional -- the check will increase by the amount of tax you pay up to $600 per -- you know, per -- you know, for single-filer; $1,200 for joint- filer.
And then, on top of that, everyone who gets one of those checks and has a child will get another check, $300 for each child.
And so, that's -- I hope that's clear.
PELOSI: And what's important to note is that -- what's important to note that is tens of millions of Americans will have a check in the mail. They really will.
PAULSON: 116 million.
PELOSI: 116 million. Well, that's tens of millions, so over 100 million.
PAULSON: Right.
PELOSI: And then over 35 million who never would have been part of any rebate and haven't been in the past for any tax credit.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
PAULSON: What's the top end?
PELOSI: $75,000 of income tax.
PAULSON: The cap on it is, for a single-filer, $75,000 of income; you know, joint, $150,000; and then a phaseout after that, phasing out 5 percent of the benefit for each $1,000 increment in earnings as you move up.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
PELOSI: But that information -- the technical information will be all available to everyone in terms of -- but we do believe that there is some speed in this approach that we are taking, and this is the fastest way to get this money into the hands of the American people.
Mr. Boehner?
BOEHNER: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all very much.
PAULSON: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxantshop.com
