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Bush Administration Offers Financial Fixes; McCain Speaks about Economic Crisis
Aired September 19, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Band-Aid, chill pill or major surgery? Yes, yes, and yes. The treasury, the Fed and the White House throw everything they've got at the worst financial breakdown since the Great Depression.
The candidates for president agree: something has to be done, and the other guy still doesn't get it. They're staking out positions in the battle for the title of economist in chief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was hurtful to read about it or to see it on television when I hadn't gotten anything, and I thought I would get it first.
NGUYEN: A soldier dies. A father grieves, and wonders why the Army won't tell him everything about his son's death in Iraq. Find out what CNN has uncovered, this hour.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips live on this Friday, live at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
OK. So this time they mean business. The economic movers and shakers in the Bush administration plan to shake up the U.S. financial system in ways that we have not seen in decades.
The biggest: a plan to let taxpayers take over the bad debt and shaky securities that are weighing down the titans of Wall Street. And, by some estimates, that could cost a trillion dollars.
Now, in the meantime, the government plans to guarantee deposits in money-market mutual funds and bar the so-called short-selling of stocks in financial companies. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson points out, believe it or not, that the real work is still to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: When we get through this difficult period, which we will, our next task must be to improve the financial regulatory structure so that these past excesses do not reoccur. This crisis demonstrates in vivid terms that our financial regulatory structure is suboptimal, duplicative, and outdated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So this hour we are watching Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are anxious to see something in writing. And our Kate Baldwin is there. Susan Lisovicz is also on Wall Street where investors are -- they're liking what they're hearing so far, as we look at the markets. And in our New York bureau, "Fortune" magazine's Andy Serwer will tell us what all this can really cost and what it means to prevent -- or what it's meant to prevent.
So let's start with Congress. Kate, how fast can something this big get done?
KATE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, we do always talk about how things are slow moving in Congress. But when they're under pressure and they really want to get something done, these lawmakers, they can move something pretty quickly. And they're looking at a pretty short time period here.
In a rare showing of bipartisan -- bipartisanship here on Capitol Hill, lawmakers, leaders in both chambers, on both sides of the aisle, coming together to work with administration officials, the top money men in the government, to get this comprehensive plan under way. And this all started late last night with that dramatic meeting, them all coming together to lay the groundwork of where they're going to go.
And today here on Capitol Hill there continues to be a broad sense of continued cooperation among lawmakers, but they do want details, as you said. And they are talking about -- specifically, what I con continue to hear is they want to know who this plan helps? Lawmakers wanting to make sure that the struggling homeowner is a major part of this plan, not just the banks.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ROY BLUNT (R-MO), MINORITY WHIP: We want to do the best thing for taxpayers, the best thing for pension funds, the best thing for mom-and-pop businesses, the best thing for people that have a mortgage that they're concerned about. And I think there's a way we can do that, and we'll just have to see if that's what happens. You know, it's going to take -- the Democratic majority also has to be committed to solving this problem, or it won't be solved.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-CT), CHAIRMAN, SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE: I've never been in a more sobering moment in my 28 years, with the language that was used, careful language used by the financial leaders of our -- of this administration in the country.
And that's why all of us are gathered here at this moment. That's why all of us are prepared to do whatever we can this weekend, working with the administration as they present their plan, to fashion a proposal here that will get us out of this mess.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: And you can really see the sense of urgency in -- in the Senator from Connecticut, Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, in his voice there. They really want to get something done and get it done quickly.
Lawmakers are waiting for that proposal to make its way to Capitol Hill. One Democratic aide says they hope to get it late this afternoon or this evening. And once than happens they're going to hunker down, they're going to work through the weekend and hope to get a bill passed by the end of next week. But leaders say, Betty, that they're prepared to stay here as long as need be to get this done.
NGUYEN: And people watching very closely, wanting something to happen quickly. Kate, we do appreciate that.
Let's take you now to CNN Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with a look how all this is playing out for investors.
And Susan, so far the markets are liking it.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do like it. Yes, investors like it, big time. In fact, you know, 24 hours ago, the Dow was 800 points in the hole. You know, when the market opened yesterday.
Today the blue chips are positive for the week. That is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had a deficit of 800 points yesterday, is up in -- on the positive side right now.
And why is that? Because there's a sense that, you know, we can clear the decks and get financial -- the financial sector in better shape so it can start lending again.
And the biggest recipient of this largesse is financial stocks. Take a look at Morgan Stanley, for instance. It's shares are up 31 percent. Washington Mutual shares are up 28 percent.
So a big, big rally that has erased, at this point, the week's earlier sell-off. An extraordinary week, historic week on Wall Street but also a wild week for the stock market -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Some people are a little seasick after all this moving up and down and just really, the questions that linger. Susan, thank you for that.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
NGUYEN: You know, the cost of cleaning up big banks' balance sheets will be high, no doubt, but not cleaning them up could be worse. That's the thinking, anyway. Let's hear what Andy Serwer is thinking today. He's managing editor of "Fortune" magazine and just the man to walk us through all of these financial fixes.
Andy, I'm so glad to see you, because there are a lot of questions. First and foremost, there are things at play here. One being short-selling. That is being halted. Talk to us about the need for that and if, indeed, it's really going to fix anything.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, short-selling, Betty, actually is a long-established practice on Wall Street, where you actually bet on companies doing badly and betting on their stocks going down. And it's actually important, because it's sort of a check and a balance. If a company's fraudulent or if it's wildly over- inflated, it actually helps bring that back under control. It's a perfectly legal thing to do. It's a perfectly legitimate thing to do.
However, there are instances where people take advantage of this, because they put in short positions. In other words, they'll short a stock, bet that it's going down, and then spread false rumors that a company is going bankrupt or there are problems there. And that's illegal to do that. There's concern that there's some of that going on.
So the government has just decided to bar all short-selling, which is a pretty dramatic move.
NGUYEN: Yes, because how pervasive are those rumors? I mean, can you say, indeed, that those rumors led to the downfall of Lehmans and all these other companies? Can you really say that enough to halt short selling?
SERWER: Well, I think that it's really probably true that short selling did not make Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns go splat. It's absolutely true. Did short sellers profit from it? They sure did.
NGUYEN: But there's nothing illegal about that, Andy.
SERWER: No, there isn't. I mean, that's why it's controversial. I think the government is going to look into this, Betty, and see exactly how much rumor mongering was going on. How much of the bad short selling, if you will, actually occurred. I think they just say, "Look, we want -- you know, some kids in the playground were bad. All of you kids got to take a time-out." That's what's going on here.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. All right. Let's move over to something else that's happening right now, because the government is really trying to shore up these mutual funds, these money markets. Talk to us about the need for that and where is it getting the money to do so?
SERWER: Well, the government's getting the money from the treasury, and essentially, it's just like your learn about at school. They simply print more money. Obviously, we're going to have to pay for it down the road. The government is going to have to borrow more money. We may see higher interest rates because of that.
But you know, money market funds, they're priced at $1. You really don't even see it, but it's sort of that the banks and the money-market funds invest in very short-term securities. If people all try to come in and redeem them at the same time, they have to sell. And the price goes less than a dollar. That's an extremely dangerous situation. It's very rare. It just happened the other day, and it's happened only one other time before.
The government is coming up, shoring up that particular form of investment. Very important to do.
NGUYEN: So that's in case people want to go in and cash out, get their money out of those accounts? I mean, you gave me a really good analogy. It's kind of like, you know, the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," where they go in and try to take all the money from the bank. And the banks say, "Hey, we don't have all the money in one place. We can't give it to you right now."
SERWER: That's right. I'm not going to do my Jimmy Stewart imitation.
NGUYEN: Please don't.
SERWER: It's not that good. But that's right. Because the bank doesn't actually have everyone's money at this, any specific moment. It's being lent out. And if everyone came to the bank at the same time to try to get their money out, that would be a real problem. So that's what the government's trying to prevent, which is essentially, you're correct, Betty. A run on the bank, it's a very important thing, and I think we're starting to see confidence restored over the past couple days, as reflected in the stock market that Susan Lisovicz was talking about.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's tackle the big problem and that's what folks are really trying to get to this weekend, and get it through Congress as soon as possible. How wide-ranging and long-reaching is this comprehensive plan going to be, has to be in order to make a difference?
SERWER: Huge, historic, unprecedented, momentous. I mean, you really have to go back to the 1930s, really to look at this, because it's going to be a lot bigger than the Resolution Trust Corporation that was created to solve and get us out of the S&L crisis.
You know, I think that the worse of this immediate crisis may well be over right now. You know, I'm going to go out on the limb a little and hope I don't look silly in a couple days, but I hope that it's over. I hope that maybe the worst of it was Wednesday, Thursday, and now we're sailing through.
On the other hand, the effects of this are going to last for a very long time, for years. Tens of billions, maybe hundreds of billions, maybe up to a trillion dollars worth of funding is going to be put into the system, and buying back these bad assets later sold off, the government hopes, and hopefully -- or they hope, excuse me, that not -- they'll be able to do that, and make some money off of it.
But we will be paying. I mean, it's not free. Taxpayers will have to pay for this, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, we're talking higher interest rates, too, when it comes to borrowing.
SERWER: I think so.
NGUYEN: All right. Andy Serwer, that's why you break it down for us, and we do appreciate it. Thanks for your time today.
SERWER: Thanks, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Want to get you to something that's happening right now. Take a look at some live pictures coming in to CNN as we follow the election.
You see right there Sarah Palin, Governor Sarah Palin, speaking live now in Blaine, Minnesota, where she is there with the man behind her, Senator John McCain. This is a speech that they're having, and it's at an airport in Blain, Minnesota. They're holding a rally there.
Of course, the economy is going to be on their minds as they talk to the folks who have crowded around to hear what they have to say today. We'll be following this and monitoring it and bringing you the latest from it.
In the meantime, though, Barack Obama is supporting the federal bailout plan to deal with the country's deepening financial crisis. Now, the Democratic presidential candidate is campaigning today in Florida, as well, and this morning in Coral Gables he met with a team of high-powered economic advisers to craft proposals to calm this crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know these are difficult days, and I know there are a lot of families out there that are feeling anxiety about their jobs, about their homes and about their retirement savings, but here's what I also know.
This is not a time for fear. It's not a time for panic. It's a time for resolve, and a time for leadership. I know we can steer ourselves out of this crisis, because we have done it before. That's what we do as Americans. Our nation has faced even more difficult times, and each moment when we have, we've risen to meat the challenges as one people and one nation. I'm confident that we will be doing the same in this circumstance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Obama's economic advisers at this morning's meeting included three former treasury secretaries and billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
Well, all the latest campaign news is at your finger tips. All you have to do is go to CNNpolitics.com. We also have analysis from the best political team on television. It's all there, CNNpolitics.com.
Listen to this. A Florida family seethes with anger. Their son, a 24-year-old soldier in Iraq, was shot and killed by another American soldier. They say the military is being very tight-lipped about what happened, and they want answers now. Plus, scenes from a disaster zone. I'm going to show you some of the pictures that I took while I witnessed the fury of Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Guilty of second-degree murder. That was the verdict today for two young South Florida men who went on a violent rampage, targeting homeless people.
Brian Hooks and Thomas Daugherty face possible life sentences for fatally beating a 45-year-old man with a baseball bat. You saw just a little bit of that video seconds ago.
Well, they're also found guilty of attempted murder in attacks on two other homeless men. A security camera captured one of those beatings. Here it goes again. The video shows a 61-year-old victim desperately trying to shield himself from the blows.
A third man who took part in the attacks testified against his friends. Under his plea bargain, he faces 10 to 20 years in prison.
Well, just across the border from San Diego, an anxious group awaits for hundreds of Mexican families. They're waiting word on the fate of their loved ones after a riot at the state prison in Tijuana.
Mexican police shot and killed 13 inmates to regain control of the complex. Four other inmates died in the rioting. Government officials say it was started by rival drug gangs, but a human-rights activist says women inmates started the riot after they were served spoiled eggs for lunch and given no water. It was the second outbreak of violence at that prison this week.
Well, former congressman, Mark Foley, won't face charges in his home state of Florida as a criminal investigation comes to an end. Authorities are investigating whether Foley used computers to engage in or solicit minors in illegal activities.
Foley, a Republican, gave up his House seat two years ago after suggestive e-mails and instant message had written -- he had written to a teenage house page surfaced. Now, Foley denies he ever engaged in sexual activities with minors.
Detroit, well, it is finally putting the Kwame Kilpatrick drama in its rearview window. City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr. was sworn in as mayor this morning. He called this, quote, "Our time for hope and renewal, time to breathe life back into the city."
Yesterday was Kilpatrick's last day in office. He resigned as part of a plea deal, admitting to perjury in a case tied to a sex scandal with his former top aide. He'll start serving his four-month jail sentence October 28.
Listen to this story. A soldier's family gets the sad news of a death in Iraq, then to learn more, they say, they had to turn on the news. The story plus a live update from Baghdad. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let me get you some live pictures now from Blaine, Minnesota, where Senator John McCain is obviously talking about the economy. It is issue No. 1. Speaking specifically about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the financial crisis. Let's take a listen.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... another supporter of Senator Obama, Mr. Raines, got $25 million of your money. Let's tell him to give it back. Let's tell him to give it back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give it back! Give it back! Give it back!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give it back! Give it back! Give it back!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give it back! Give it back! Give it back!
MCCAIN: You know, we've heard a lot of words from Senator Obama over the course of this campaign, but maybe just this once he could spare us the lectures and admit to his own poor judgment in contributing to these problems.
The crisis on -- the crisis on Wall Street, my friends, started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence-peddling, and he was right square in the middle of it. My friends, this is the problem in Washington. People like Senator Obama have been too busy gaming the system and haven't ever done a thing to actually challenge the system. That's not country first. That's Obama first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No-bama! No-bama! No-bama!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No-bama! No-bama! No-bama!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No-bama! No-bama! No-bama!
MCCAIN: This morning -- this morning I laid out my plan to solve these problems and grow our economy. About the same time, Senator Obama said that he isn't going to offer a plan. We've seen him play this game before, my friends. As a state senator -- and he was a state senator a short time ago -- he voted "present" over 100 times on difficult issues. My friends, Senator Obama may not realize it, but you don't get to vote "present" when you're president of the United States of America.
Senator Obama and congressional leaders seem unable to deal with the current crisis. We know what their plans are for the economy. This week, this week, Senator Obama's running mate said -- you probably heard it -- raising taxes is patriotic. Raising taxes in a tough economy isn't patriotic. It's not a badge of honor. It's just plain dumb. I'm not going to let that happen.
So let me give you a little straight talk about this election, my friends. In 46 days, you will make your choice. Your vote will determine the next president of this great country that we all love. A lot of you -- a lot of you have these economic challenges on your mind. So let's start here. A vote for me will guarantee immediate pro-growth action: tax cuts. Tax cuts for America's hard-working families; strong support for small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy. And an end pork barrel spending in Washington, an end to the earmark, pork- barrel spending in Washington. My friends, I will make them famous. I want to promise you, I'll take an ink pen, and I will veto every pork barrel, earmark spending bill that comes across my desk. I will know their names, and I will make them famous.
Senator Obama has -- in the short time he's been in the Senate, has voted for nine -- has asked for $932 million in pork-barrel projects. That's a million -- that's nearly a million dollars -- that's nearly a million dollars for every day he's been in the United States Senate.
A vote for Senator Obama will guarantee higher taxes, fewer jobs and an even bigger federal government. These policies will -- these policies will deepen our recession.
A vote for me will guarantee that the forces that have brought down our economy will be out of business. I will end -- I will end -- I will end the corrupt practices on Wall Street and the back-room deals in Washington, D.C. I will hold accountable those responsible for the oversight and protection of consumers, taxpayers and homeowners, and I will hold them accountable, my friends. And if that means that some people leave their cushy job, they should leave and leave now.
A vote for Barack Obama will leave this country at risk during one of the most severe challenges to America's economy since the Great Depression. You see, when it comes to growing the economy and protecting you from the corruption of Wall Street and Washington, Senator Obama just doesn't get it.
Americans have had enough of business as usual. Americans have had enough of the cozy relationships between politicians and power brokers. The days of "me first, country second" will end on November the 4th with a vote for me and Governor Sarah Palin.
You see, we've made the tough choices that make us unpopular in our own party. I wasn't elected Miss Congeniality again this year in the United States Senate. Governor Palin took on an incumbent governor of her own party, because she thought they need to clean up Alaska. And she won, and she did.
So that's how we see this election. Country first, or Obama first? And I have a feeling -- I...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Country first! Country first! Country first!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Country first! Country first! Country first!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Country first! Country first! Country first! MCCAIN: We've pushed the reforms that ruffled the feathers and angered the entrenched interests. We will never forget who we work for. We work for you. We work for you.
So when it comes to cutting taxes for seniors, for working families, for small businesses, my opponent didn't put the hard- working people of this country first. When it came time to support our troops fighting to protect our freedoms and way of life, my opponent said that he'd never deprived them of the funds they needed to fight, and then he voted to do just that.
He voted against funding the equipment our troops rely on as they fight to protect us. That's not -- that's not putting the men and women of our military first, my friends.
When it comes time to reach across the aisle and work with members of both parties, to get things done for the American people, my opponent can't name a single occasion in which he fought against his party's leadership to get something done for the country. That's -- that's not putting the country first.
And now we're faced with an economic crisis. The country is looking for leadership. The country is hungry for change. They want a leader who will stand up to the special interests in Washington and on Wall Street. They deserve a president who knows when to put politics aside and act in the best interests of the nation. The choice is clear. You have my word. I will always put my country first.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
MCCAIN: My friends -- my friends, you know this is a tough campaign and it's probably going get a lot tougher in the next 46 days. And I regret and sometimes I'm offended by some of the negative aspects of this campaign. And it's tough and it's hard. And sometimes you think, well, this is really tough. But every once in a while you have an experience that puts everything into the right perspective.
Two days in a row now I've had an unusual experience. Yesterday, Governor Palin and I landed at the Green Bay airport. There was group of people out there to meet us. There was a woman there named Shirley Patrick (ph). We met her. She handed me an envelope. And the envelope said -- Staff Sergeant Patrick Lee Liebert (ph) killed in action in Afghanistan. And on the envelope she wrote, please support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(APPLAUSE)
And inside the envelope is something that most of you have already seen -- dog tags and a little picture of her son -- her son Patrick Lee. Liebert. I was deeply moved.
Today, Sarah and I landed at the airport here. I met there a brave young American, a member of the Minnesota National Guard. His name was --
(APPLAUSE)
-- his name was Sergeant John Crysler (ph). He was badly injured in Fallujah, Iraq, December, 2006. He lost both his legs. He was there, and he said to me, Senator McCain, I want to you have this coin. I want to you have this coin, because I want you and all Americans to remember my three buddies who were not as fortunate as me -- Sergeant Brian McDonough (ph), Sergeant Cory Rystad (ph), Staff Sergeant James Lasiga (ph) -- who did not come home to the country they love so well.
So, that puts everything in perspective, my friends. So I want you to give long and sustained applause to the men and women who are serving, those who have sacrificed, and served on behalf of our freedom in the most incredible, outstanding and courageous fashion. God bless them, and God bless the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
NGUYEN: And you have been listening to Senator John McCain speaking today in Blaine, Minnesota.
Now, the person who introduced him today is the woman that you see right there. Well you did -- to your left. That, of course, being Governor Sarah Palin. And she said something very interesting that we're going to show you in dealing with Iran. But in order to show you that, we want to give the back story. She was invited to a rally, and anti-Iran rally. But -- the same rally that Senator Clinton was invited to. Senator Clinton decided to withdraw that invitation because she didn't want to make it a political issue. She didn't want to make it a political event.
Well, that particular organization then withdrew its invitation to Governor Palin. And Governor Palin, not only mentioned that today, but she also dealt with the issue of Iran. So take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You may have heard also that I had planned to speak out on the threat posed by Iran next week in New York. I was scheduled to appear at a rally with Senator Clinton, whose commitment to this I appreciate. This is a critical issue, and it should be an issue that unites all Americans. Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, period. Unfortunately, though, some Democrat partisans put politics first and now no elected official will be able to appear at that stop Iran rally.
Iran's pursuit of these weapons should concern all Americans. This should not be a matter for partisan politics. John McCain and I are committed to drawing attention to the dangers posed by Iran's nuclear programs. And we will not waver in our commitment.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: There you go. Governor Sarah Palin on the issue of Iran and where she stands with it. Also detailing there with a little dustup, a political dustup, over which candidate, which person, which person of political office, is going to be attending that rally and it appears neither Sarah Palin will be attending, nor Hillary Clinton. So there's the latest on that.
In other news, though, your health can pay a steep price for all this angst and drama on Wall Street. Who is going to bail out your well-being? Well we're going to a look at the economy and depression in just a bit.
But take a look at the market. It is up 394 points today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: You know, all the drama on Wall Street can be enough to make you sick. So let's talk about what this whole bad news can do for your physical well-being. Our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is in New York with that.
So let's get to it. How can a financial fallout, like this one, affect our health, besides -- I know my blood pressure has gone up because of it?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk, Betty, about all the anxiety that people have been feeling about the economy. The numbers are really quite striking. Take a look at this survey by the American Psychological Association. What they found is that economic fears are the No. 1 cause of anxiety in 2007, 74 percent of the people they polled said worker money was stressing them out. Compare that to just a year before when only 59 percent said that. Now, I'd be very curious if the American Psychological Association did that survey today, after everything that has been going on. Those numbers are probably through the roof.
NGUYEN: Yes, I was going to say that.
OK. So we know how stress can affect us emotionally. But how does it affect our bodies? Give us some specifics here.
COHEN: Right, it really does affect your body. Let's go through the entire body, head to toe, everything that it does.
First of all, stress can affect your jaw. You tend to tighten your jaw and that can cause terrible headaches. It also affects the entire cardiovascular system -- high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and also the GI system. Heartburn, stomach cramps, nausea are all associated with stress.
And really, Betty, stress -- it is a whole body experience. You don't sleep well when you're stressed out. Your immune system suffers. Really everything suffers.
NGUYEN: I know. I can feel it in my jaw, in my neck. It's all getting tense. So what can you do about this? How do you get it under control?
COHEN: Right. We need to be doing yoga in the newsroom, Betty. I think that's probably one way to get it under control.
But we asked a psychologist that. And here's what she said. She said you want to have a feeling of control and a sense that you're actually doing something. So sit down, make a plan, make a budget. Identify -- what are your big financial stresses in your life? Also, have a family meeting so everyone is onboard with changes that you're going to make.
And finally, be realistic about what you can control. Betty, you and I cannot control the global economy as much as we might like to, but we can control our own bank accounts.
NGUYEN: But sometimes it's hard to control your own stress, though.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: That is very, very true.
NGUYEN: But you're right. Maybe a little yoga will help us all.
COHEN: There you go. We'll start (INAUDIBLE) classes.
NGUYEN: Just don't look at our stock reports. That's not going to help.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks, Betty.
NGUYEN: Join us this Saturday night at 6:00 for a special "Your Money: Emergency Edition." Investment banks bought up, bankrupt or bailed out by the government, how can you understand exactly what went down this week? Plus, all the information that you need to feel more secure. Get the answers on a special "Your Money: Emergency Edition." That is tomorrow night, 6:00 Eastern only on CNN.
The military informed them their soldier son was killed in Iraq. The media had to tell them how. Our Cal Perry is live in Baghdad with the latest.
Plus, historically black colleges and universities in the future. Next hour, we're going to show you how the new challenges are out there, and what folks are doing to face them.
But first, Election Day is less than seven weeks away and Americans are keeping score. But when it comes to the issues, do debates really sway voters? CNN's Sandra Endo is listening in this week's "Election Express Yourself.".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will help decide a lot of people's opinion and sway their vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not too important when they do so many of them. If they would limit the debates and focus on the important issues, I think they would be important.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the important issues need to be talked about more than the other rhetoric.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably the most important thing is trying to coax out of the candidates what their platforms are and what they stand for.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think they're really important because they give you a lot more details, and you can get a little closer to what they think about particular issues usually.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To some people they're important, but I think a lot of people have already made up their minds. I have already made up my mind.
(AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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NGUYEN: Two American soldiers killed in Iraq over the weekend. The first military press release just said, these were non-combat deaths. Well, the men's grieving family say that's pretty much all they were told as well. In fact, though, they said that they have learned from the media than the military. And one of the soldier's fathers talked with Pat Peterson from our affiliate, WKRG, in Pensacola, Florida.
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PAT PETERSON, WKRG CORRESPONDENT: Between customers, Pensacola barber, Darryl Mathis reads the newspaper to get information about his son's death.
DARRYL MATHIS, SON KILLED BY FELLOW SOLDIER: It's just unbelievable that someone else would get it before I got it. And it's just devastating.
PETERSON: On Sunday, Mathis' 24-year-old son was killed at a U.S. patrol base in Iraq. Military officials say Staff Sergeant Darras Dawson (ph) wasn't shot during combat; he was killed by another U.S. soldier. Mathis says the Department of Defense never told him exactly how his son died.
MATHIS: It's very hurtful to read about it or to see it on television when I hadn't gotten anything, and I thought I would get it first. But I hadn't.
PETERSON: Dawson was known as a loving father, and a respectful son. A basketball star in high school, the father of four enjoyed his military career.
(on camera): Staff Sergeant Dawson graduated from Escambia High School. And here on campus, there's a memorial honoring fallen heroes. Dawson's name will be added to that list later this year.
MATHIS: We know he was in a dangerous situation when he went over there. We know that. But to not know what happened, that's the thing that's the most puzzling. That's the most hurtful thing at this point. And to get bits and pieces from the media, just -- it's not right.
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NGUYEN: So difficult. Well, the soldier accused of killing Mathis' son and Sergeant Wellsey Durbin (ph) of Hearst, Texas, is in military custody.
Let's get more from CNN's Cal Perry who is in Baghdad joining us live.
Cal, have you heard anything from the military? What is their response to this?
CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well the military is being very tight-lipped about this incident and in many ways it's because they have to be. The incident is under investigation and they have to protect the rights of the soldier who did the shooting. So what they've said is, we have a soldier in custody, the situation is under investigation, and that's all we can say from Baghdad.
Now from Fort Stewart in Georgia, there was a press release that did go a bit further. It said that a soldier opened fire, killing two of his fellow soldiers.
We do know from the military code of justice that whenever a U.S. soldier is detained by the U.S. military, within 24 hours his name and the charges against him have to be released to the commanding officer. The code of justice does not say that it has to be made public, that's why we don't know who the shooter is and what the circumstances are. And again, we probably will not know the exact details of the incident for a few months, until this becomes, until it goes to trial, Betty.
NGUYEN: How did you find out about this, then, if all of this really wasn't disclosed?
PERRY: Well, I -- you know I was waking up having my morning coffee, and I was trolling the Internet looking for news about Iraq and I came across a small blurb in a local Pensacola, Florida, paper that said U.S. soldier killed in non-hostile action. I phoned the U.S. military, the Multi National Force Iraq press desk, and asked them if they had any information on the incident. And they did. They had a press release the day before that we had not received. They sent us that press release and it classified him as nonhostile. And I really wanted to follow up that term with the soldier's father -- nonhostile. There are roughly 750 nonhostile deaths in the war in Iraq. Roughly one fifth of all deaths have been -- quote, unquote -- nonhostile. And as we have heard the father say time and time again, how can it be nonhostile when this is a war zone?
That was something that I wanted to clear up right away. And then it continued and it ended with the stepmother sobbing on the phone saying, all that we know, all that we know, is that our son died a useless, needless death, Betty.
NGUYEN: That is just so chilling to hear it in those words. All right. Cal Perry, we do thank you for that. And for our viewers, and the folks on the Internet right now, if you want more information on the Cal Perry's article, just go the CNN.com.
In other news today, the Port of Houston is back open and running. That is some good news, but the same cannot be said of Galveston. The city is still closed and still not ready for people to come home in the wake of Hurricane Ike. That is pretty evident given these new pictures from FEMA. Texas governor, Rick Perry, is asking evacuees to be patient as the repair crews try to bring back basic services.
We do have another bit of good news for you from Galveston. One gasoline pump is become in service. That is believed to be first working pump since Ike came through.
We just can't get enough of this surreal picture. Take a look at it once again. Just look at that. It's from the Bolivar Peninsula up the shoreline from Galveston, all of the devastation Ike leveled just about every house in this part of Gilchrist, except for that one. Imagine how Pam Adams felt when she saw that her house was the last one standing.
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VOICE OF PAM ADAMS, OWNS "LAST HOUSE STANDING": Well, we are a tight knit group down there. If someone was working on their house the others came out and helped. We had holidays together, barbecues together, and you know, it was a family -- everyone knew each other. We were really close knit. It is just devastating. You know, we cannot even talk on the phone without crying.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I can imagine. Pam --
ADAMS: It is just really, really hard and I just want the nightmare to be over with and I just want to go home.
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NGUYEN: Well, Pam and her husband, Warren, lost a house to Rita three years ago so they made sure this one was built hurricane tough. The inside of the house, though, is still a mess. The storm surge has demolished pretty much everything, and the last house standing, as it is called, might actually face the wrecking ball.
But Jacqui Jeras joins us now. And, Jacqui, you have seen a lot of these hurricanes. You've covered them for years. But when you watch it and you see how certain things survive -- I took some pictures while I was down in Galveston. And -- standing on this roof right here, it is amazing how it just takes certain parts and throws it all over the place, and yet other homes just stay standing intact.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and don't be fooled, by the way, by those pictures. You see one house standing, and you think, oh, those people were lucky and their house is OK, but you know with water that got in that entire house and mold issues and things like that -- they are not lucky. Their house was not saved certainly.
Welcome back from Houston, by the way, Betty.
NGUYEN: Well thanks. I want to show you --
JERAS: Great job.
NGUYEN: Thank you -- some of the other pictures that I took while I was in Galveston.
This is a really interesting shot and I thought it was really representative of the situation. Look at the left-hand side, you see, Caution Drop Off." Well essentially that sign is for the beach down below, which is non-existent. But if you look at the pier, it is fitting because there is a piece of the pier that is missing, and talk about a drop off. It is a good thing people are not out there on Galveston Island. They are keeping people away because that could become very dangerous.
I've got another picture of just the shoreline, what is left. This used to hold sand. This was part of Galveston Beach. But because of the hurricane, you see all of the erosion that has taken place.
JERAS: Oh, yes. Not just erosion in Galveston, too, by the way. There is beach erosion all of the way through the Florida panhandle. This was such a large storm.
Also amazing when you look at pictures like that, too, Betty, to see how selective, sometimes, that water can be. You think of storm surge just wiping everything out, but water takes its little ebbs and flows as well. And so sometimes you'll see an area that was better built or maybe the water wasn't as strong forcing through that area.
NGUYEN: Well, I was going to say, I have a picture of that. And this is along the seawall, if we can put it up. It is of the businesses there along the seawall. You see -- I believe -- a Domino's and then a Wendy's and a Ramada. But look at all of the debris from the surrounding buildings and what has just blown ashore because of Hurricane Ike. It is really amazing just the awe and the power that you see from a hurricane like that.
JERAS: Well, we are going to continue to see it. Believe it or not, they still have above-average tide leftover from Ike, so we could still and be seeing things washed up.
I also checked a press release that we got today from the U.S. Coast Guard. And they are saying that they're doing a number of calls just in the last couple of days of oil spills and things like that --
(CROSSTALK) JERAS: -- other environmental issues that we are dealing with too.
NGUYEN: Kind of like a trickle down effect.
All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you so much.
So, will this be basic cable's big weekend? Emmy voters like what they saw this season. And we're going to preview Sunday's awards.
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NGUYEN: So, do you have a favorite to win an Emmy Sunday night? Well, the red carpet is out and our Kareen Wynter has been looking at the nominees and she tells us, the cable channels are really making an impact on the awards.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before you leave tonight, just say something.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Emmy voters are crazy about AMC's "Mad Men" and fixated on the FX's legal drama, "Damages."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The collapse of your company wasn't your fault.
WYNTER: This year's Emmys are significant for the rise of basic cable shows.
LYNETTE RICE, SR. WRITER, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": They are doing the kinds of things that we wish the broadcast networks would do more of. They deserve a place at the table.
WYNTER: "Mad Men" and "Damages" made Emmy history by becoming the first basic cable programs nominated in a best series category.
JON HAMM, ACTOR NOMINEE FOR "MAD MEN": Cable television has sort of come into its own as a place to watch original, scripted programming.
WYNTER: "Mad Men"'s Jon Hamm is favored to win for outstanding actor -- drama. His nod for playing a brooding ad exec marks another Emmy trend -- recognition for dark characters, including a serial killer and a chemistry teacher turned criminal.
RICE: Emmy definitely embraces a character that is not the typical cutout, leading man role that you see in broadcast.
WYNTER: Experts say another category to watch is outstanding actress in a drama, with big screen veterans like Sally Field, and Glenn Close and Holly Hunter going head-to-head.
MICHAEL SCHNEIDER, "VARIETY": They are all gravitating towards cable, especially. That is where all of the juicy roles are now for older women who have already won their Oscars and are finding that the film world is turning their back on them.
WYNTER: As for best drama, critics say it is a tossup between "Mad Men" and ABC's "Lost."
Outstanding actor in a comedy is another tight race.
RICE: We feel like Alec Baldwin was robbed, robbed last year. And we would like to see him win this year for "30 Rock." Probably his biggest competition is Steve Carrel in "The Office. "
WYNTER: Talk about competition. In another Emmy first, Sunday's show will have not one, but five co-hosts who will share the stage. The deal here, the five are also competing in a new Emmy category this year, outstanding reality or reality competition show host.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
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