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Fatal Plane Crash in South Carolina; America's Financial Crisis; Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa Resigning; Car Bombs Rocks Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan

Aired September 20, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday. You may want to fasten those seatbelts. It is a busy day, got a lot to tell you. Good morning everybody, I am Betty Nguyen.
RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, a lot happening. I am Richard Lui, in for T.J. Holmes. As Betty was saying, we have got a lot of news for you on this Saturday. We are following three breaking news stories right now.

First off, to South Carolina we go. Plane crash there. Two recognizable names among those on board. Both of them are in critical condition at the moment. We will have a live report on what's happening there.

NGUYEN: Those names, they run in that young Hollywood crowd, so you'll want to stay with us for that.

In the meantime though, this is what a lot of people have on their minds. The most important story of the day especially when it comes to your money, America's financial crisis. And we understand this bailout package comes to the tune of $700 billion. We have details from the CNN money team.

LUI: And then, we also have news in this morning of an embattled world leader from South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, stepping down. We'll tell you why he stepped down and what's involved behind the entire story there.

You know, first off for you, a problem so severe, the government had to step in. President Bush last hour describing a historic bail out of the nation's financial markets.

NGUYEN: Yes, Congressional leaders now have the administration's plan in their hands. They will be working all weekend to come up with a bill designed to avert a financial catastrophe.

LUI: And the Bush administration is asking Congress for sweeping new powers to bail out faltering banks and other institutions. It includes buying up $700 billion in bad mortgages and backing money market funds. Also, buying the bad debt for U.S. financial institutions for the next two years.

NGUYEN: Our CNN money team, as I mentioned, is on top of all of this morning. Just look at them there. Kate Bolduan is on Capitol Hill. Kathleen Koch is at the White House. Charles Hodson in London for us today. And business news correspondent Stephanie Elam joins us from New York.

So let's start with you, Kate. And we do understand that congressional leaders have this plan in hand. As I mentioned just seconds ago, it contains a hefty price tag.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A hefty price tag, that definitely is definitely what we are talking about. We are talking about a comprehensive plan, right, Betty. Yes, well this proposal, it is brief and it's too the point. This comprehensive plan is three pages long. They said it was going to be clean. They said it was going to be very focused. And I would say they definitely at least accomplished that.

Now, you just mentioned that this proposal, many lawmakers have this in their hands now. Our congressional producer, Deirdre Walsh, she obtained a copy. We have it right here. And this proposal, as you mentioned, comes with a hefty price tag. The treasury secretary is asking Congress for $700 billion to buy up bad mortgages from financial institutions. This jives with what many have thought would be part of this plan, this comprehensive plan, buying up these bad mortgages, to really get the country out of this financial crisis.

The price tag doesn't come as much of a surprise. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said just yesterday they were going to need hundreds of billions of dollars to have any real impact, which they really need to do to turn the economy around. And President Bush just moments ago from the White House addressed the plan. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My first instinct was to let the market work until i realized on being briefed by the experts how significant this problem became. And so I decided to act and act boldly. It turns out that there is a lot of inner links throughout the financial system. The system had grown to a point where a lot of people were dependent upon each other. The collapse of one part of the system wouldn't just affect a part of the financial markets. It would affect the average citizen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The average citizen, the struggling taxpayer, that's what lawmakers say they are laser focused on making sure this is not just a bailout for Wall Street. They are focused on Main Street and helping struggling homeowners. That's really what is staying on their minds right now. Part of this proposal, as we're reading through it - as I mentioned, it is short -- it does say that this authority that Congress would grant the Treasury, it would expire in two years.

So there is an end game into this authority. We will see if that appeases many lawmakers here. That's really what we are looking for is where do we go next, what's going to be going on? We know staffers and lawmakers are going to be very busy this weekend discussing this proposal. That's exactly what's going on on Capitol Hill right now. NGUYEN: All right, so the proposal is three pages long and it's only going to last for two years and it comes at the price tag of $700 billion. We will see if it is passed within the next couple of days. Kate Bolduan joining us live -- thank you, Kate.

LUI: Much more on the economy coming up for you. But first, a couple of other breaking news stories this morning for you. First, a change at the top in South Africa. CNN confirming that President Thabo Mbeki has agreed to resign. We will have CNN's David McKenzie later from Johannesburg on this latest development coming out of South Africa.

And other news though, we are just getting this news in. Singer, song - singer, song artist, actually, D.J. AM, Adam Goldstein as in his name and former Blink 182 Travis Barker, they are both in critical condition with extensive burns after their plane goes down in South Carolina. An FAA spokeswoman says the plane went off the runway at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport just before midnight and crashed on a nearby road. The NTSB says two passengers and two crew members were killed.

Now, Travis Barker was married to former Miss USA Shannon Moakler. The pair had a reality show. You may remember it, called "Meet The Barkers." But just to reiterate, D.J. AM, Adam Goldstein and former Blink 182 drummer are the two people who have survived this plane crash in Columbia, South Carolina. As soon as we get additional information, we will bring it to you.

OK, now, the very latest coming out of South Africa. We were telling you just moments ago about Thabo Mbeki stepping down. Of course, this a major development coming out of that country. David McKenzie is reporting for us in that region to tell us what is happening there. And the big question is at the moment, David, why?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, why, it's the million dollar question. In the last few days, the last week, the writing has been on the wall for President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. It is because of a long-running rivalry with Jacob Zuma, the head of the African National Congress, which has ruled the country since democracy's inception in 1994. Jacob Zuma was under a corruption trial.

But last week, those charges were thrown out. And now, the head of the ANC, the secretary general of the ANC made a press conference today and a statement that sent shock waves through the nation.

LUI: Now, David, the question might when we talk about the issue of Thabo Mbeki, was he involved in this case of corruption against Jacob Zuma. Is the judge saying that?

MCKENZIE: Well what the judge said was he made inferences. He said he didn't have any hard proof. But what he said was that there was high-level interference from the highest levels of government in this case where they were pressing the judiciary to push these charges against Jacob Zuma. But essentially, there has been a cease change in the power of the African National Congress, the ruling party here. And that has meant that they have basically used this as a catalyst to push Mbeki out of power. He has now said he will resign. It might take a few days before he officially announces that. In the meantime, South Africa's politics is really hanging in the balance.

LUI: David McKenzie, one of the considerations might be here is that when you think about Thabo Mbeki, he is a member of Nelson Mandela's party. Things were relatively good at that moment. Right now, in South Africa, the issues of unemployment as well as crime, is that an input to this?

MCKENZIE: Well, it's not really on the ground issues in South Africa. It's politics and politics as usual. This happens all over the world. But what has happened here is that it's been a power struggle of those in the African National Congress who support Mbeki, who is mostly being seen as a technocrat, a sharp and smart ruler.

Jacob Zuma is seen as a populist and one of the people. And they have criticized Mbeki for not connecting with the people and putting through those promises of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. Nelson Mandela hand picked him Thabo Mbeki to be the president. But it will be seen as a major humiliation, Richard, that now he is being asked to leave by that very same party.

LUI: The last one for you here, the question has to be now that Thabo Mbeki is stepping down, what next in terms of stability? Who will take power?

MCKENZIE: Well, it's a golden question again because the constitution states that if the president resigns, the deputy president should then become the acting president. But she has said she will resign with him. So that's what's going to happen tomorrow. Mbeki is going to talk with the cabinet. They are going to decide how to thrash out this issue. They are going to try and cooperate so this is a smooth transition. This country is not yet a full democracy as you know, so any transition needs to be handled very carefully so that the biggest economy in Africa doesn't suffer as a result.

LUI: David McKenzie with the very latest coming out of South Africa. Again, the resignation we are hearing from Thabo Mbeki. He has agreed to that, coming into us here at CNN within the last hour. Of course, will keep you on top of that story.

NGUYEN: We're also watching the weather, especially on the heels of Hurricane Ike and all the devastation and destruction it caused. Looking at Karen Maginnis this morning, especially that little circle on the map right next to you.

Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well you know, the candidates and the economy, their plan is to clean up the mess, that's what they are doing a lot of talking about. We are going to check into it. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: We are covering a story that's just come in this morning here on CNN. We are watching a plane crash in South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina. We are getting the very latest this morning. We have the latest pictures for you. We are going to take you straight to what's happening there and what has happened now. Let me tell you about what the plan is. It is a Learjet 60. Six people involved. Two people are reported dead, two crew, as well as two passengers. Two survivors, though.

We go straight to WIS, Jennifer Wilson is there for us to tell us what is happening there. What do you see there, Jennifer?

JENNIFER WILSON, WIS CORRESPONDENT: What we can see behind us is an unbelievable scene. Take a look. What you can see is a crashed Learjet on the side of a highway next to the airport here in Columbia, South Carolina.

Airport officials say the plane left the runway shortly before midnight last night, around 11:55. Six people on board went skidding off the runway, knocked over a fence, went across the road next to the airport and crashed into an embankment catching fire.

A witness recently told us that he was driving down the road and saw the plane crash. He said it was a fire ball coming across the road before it crashed into the embankment. We have confirmed the identities of the two survivors on the plan.

One of the survivors, Travis Barker. He is a former drummer for the group Blink 182. Another survivor also well-known in the music industry, Adam Goldstein, also known as D.J. AM. He is well known as a deejay in Hollywood circles in California.

Both of those men are being treated for those burns at the Augusta Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia. This morning, the National Transportation Safety Board is on its way here to investigate the cause of the crash. And for now, the airport here, a good-size commercial airport, is closed.

LUI: Jennifer, the question might be, who else was on that plane? We have two very famous people when it comes to music. Do you hear anything? Do you know anything about that?

WILSON: We don't know who else was on the plane and we really don't want to speculate. But what we do know is there was a very big concert in downtown Columbia last night in a neighborhood called Five Points, an outdoor concert and it was sponsored as a free concert. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were there.

We do know that some other artists were there last night, Perry Farrell, formerly of the group Jane's Addiction and a solo performer, Gavin DeGraw. But we have no idea if those people were on this plane at all or where they went after the concert last night. But certainly, a lot of questions to be answered about who else was on the jet.

LUI: You mentioned sparks. What about weather?

WILSON: The weather here as far as I know was great last night. There were not any adverse weather conditions. This morning, it is a beautiful fall morning here. What we can see is that the runway is over here to my left. There is debris all stretching from the runway to a fence here. Then, it goes across the fence, across the street, into an embankment on the other side of the highway. One witness had reported that the plane was just a fire ball coming across the road here last night when he saw it.

LUI: So a line of debris you can see right over your shoulder. That might provide some information to us there. Jennifer Wilson, thank you so much for giving us the very latest there as we take a look at the plane crash that involved two people that survived at the moment. Travis Barker from Blink 182, as well as D.J. AM. We're going to stay on top of this story all this morning. Travis Barker on the right, D.J. AM on the left-hand side.

NGUYEN: In fact, we got a little bit more information earlier. As we spoke with the person with the Joseph Still Burn Center to get you additional information on the condition of these two people.

We were told that Travis Barker was brought to that burn center by ground transportation. That gives you an indication he was well enough to be taken by ground. But, Adam Goldstein, D.J. AM, was taken by air. So obviously, he was in very critical condition, to be flown to that burn center.

Both of them, this morning, do remain in critical condition. So we will continue to follow that. That's a little bit additional information that we received from the burn center as we spoke with the person there a little bit earlier there today.

In the meantime, this is a story that definitely is affecting just about everyone, not just here in the U.S., but on a global scale as well. And that is the financial crisis. I am joined again by CNN business news correspondent Stephanie Elam and CNN international business anchor Charles Hodson.

And I know both of you have been discussing it this morning. We have got a little more information that this plan, this huge plan is going to cost $700 billion. The question now is, what are the details? Is it really going to do the job?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Betty, that's something that we will be looking at as we get more information coming out. Obviously the White House getting that out to Congress overnight. But what we want to talk about with Charles since he is in London is a bit about how this plan is being received in Europe and Asia. Tell us about that, Charles.

CHARLES HODSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ANCHOR: OK, well I think pretty clear, "Global markets roar in approval" is the front page of the "Financial Times" over here. We saw the European stocks went up by 8 percent, very nearly 10 percent for the gains on the Hang Seng in Hong Kong. So we are seeing a huge, if you like a sigh of relief. But at the same time, I think there is a lot of hard thinking being done over this weekend by people in the markets.

Here, for example, is another British newspaper, "The Independent of London," saying, "the panic is over, possibly." We have to wait and see. I'm very interested to see how markets open on Monday, Stephanie.

ELAM: And it's true. When it comes to Monday, Charles, obviously for those of us here on the East Coast, that's really talking about Sunday. And when that happens, if there has not been a deal that has been worked out, what can we expect from the markets in Europe and Asia come Monday morning for them?

HODSON: I think that people understand that this is a huge decision as far as Congress is concerned. If the "Associated Press" is right in talking about $700 billion, that is a very large number. They would also have to be lifting the statutory limit, which you have over there in the United States, on the level of the deficit.

But I think that markets will be impressed if this is truly the number that is involved. You know, that will certainly get -- it has restored a bit of calm. It doesn't seem to really restore confidence to the credit markets yet. We saw that in Friday's trading. So it's really an open question.

I think a lot of people will want to jump in on this rally and hope that the rally will continue for a month or so which is what wise heads are telling me. But I must say, you've also got to understand those who are still a little bit panicky, see this big rally and say, I'm going to take the cash and get out of here. Stephanie?

ELAM: Yes, Charles, I think at this point, there will still be a lot of waiting and seeing going on on Monday. Thanks so much, Charles.

HODSON: That's for sure.

ELAM: Betty, as you can hear, it's now a global problem, something that started here in the United States. But the whole world is watching to see how it is going to be resolved.

NGUYEN: And you mentioned a lot of waiting, a lot of nervous waiting, especially for folks, Stephanie, who are looking at their 401(k)s and seeing them drop dramatically. I know you at home are probably thinking about what should I do? Well coming up next, we are going to take those questions to our guests, a writer for "Forbes" magazine. Stay tuned for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: And we have breaking news for you coming out of Pakistan, an important ally on the war on terror with the United States. We are hearing at the moment that there has been an explosion, a very large one close to the Pakistani capitol Islamabad. Now, this has occurred there in the vicinity of the Marriott Hotel. We are just getting in these pictures from that incident as we speak. The blast resounded through the city of Islamabad. No immediate word on casualties or the cause at this moment. But of note here, many foreigners do stay in the hotel while visiting Pakistan and it is heavily guarded normally speaking.

Now, Pakistan has faced a wave of violence in recent weeks following military offensive against insurgents in its border regions as well. Again, reporting on this breaking news story. A large explosion in Pakistan, an important ally of the United States in the war on terror and of course a nuclear power. This along with an earlier explosion this morning. Whether those two are connected, we don't know.

All right, we're going to go to Reza Sayah who is our correspondent there in Islamabad. He will be joining us later. And that will be happening within the next hour.

NGUYEN: In the meantime, though, America's financial crisis and your retirement savings, what are you going to do? What is the best way to invest your money right now during these troubled times? A lot of questions. I know you have them. So we are going to take them to Carrie Coolidge, who is a staff writer at "Forbes" magazine.

Carrie, you are in the hot spot today my friend. OK first up, when people look at the market situation, they look at this financial crisis and they see their 401(k)s. They want to know what to do. I mean, should I move things around? Should I take money out? What do I do? What is your advice?

CARRIE COOLIDGE, FORBES MAGAZINE: I am experiencing the same thing myself, Betty. Let me tell you, it is no fun. The worst thing you can do is let your emotions take over your investment strategies. If you are involved in a 401(k) or some other type of retirement plan, stick to your course. If you are younger, your allocations should be more weighted towards equity-driven investments, mutual funds, et cetera, invest the stock market.

Don't change your plans. The worst thing you can do is change your allocations right now and put more money into the really safe investments. If you had done that on the days this past week when the market had hit lows, you wouldn't have gotten back all the gains if you had stayed in until the end of the week.

NGUYEN: So what i am hearing you say is don't do anything, just stay right where you are, is that correct?

COOLIDGE: Yes, basically, I think this is right unless you are really close to retirement, you really shouldn't worry about it. You should wait it out and you will get all these losses back over time and you will come out ahead, way ahead.

NGUYEN: But for those who are close to retirement, what should they do? COOLIDGE: You know, if they are close to retirement, they probably shouldn't do a lot because even if they are retiring in the next few years, the retirement plan is going to see them through way down in the future. So they are not going to want to pull their money out of the stock market. They may want to start contributing more heavily whether they look at their contributions into the government income funds just because if that will help them sleep at night, that's the thing to do. But don't do anything drastic.

NGUYEN: OK, government-income funds, what are some other safe areas right now when people are trying to recoup maybe some of those losses or put that money in a safe place?

COOLIDGE: Well honestly, I still believe in the stock market. I think that people should keep investing, maybe even boost, if they are younger, what their contributions are to the funds that are invested in the stock market. Because there are a lot of great companies out there right now trading near their 52-week lows. Huge bargains. And the safest way to invest in those companies is through a fund where your risk is spread out through many companies instead of investing in one company.

NGUYEN: So pretty much, stay where you are and if you can, take advantage of this down market and do some buying. Be a bottom feeder because eventually it's all going to go back up at some point in time. And hopefully this package will help out tremendously, that's if Congress is working on this week. And Carrie, we do appreciate your time today. Thank you.

COOLIDGE: Thank you.

LUI: And Betty, we are also watching the story coming out of Pakistan. We just want to update you in case you're joining us. Breaking news out of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, which is an important ally to the United States in the war on terror. We are hearing that a very large explosion has occurred in the vicinity of the Marriott Hotel there. Many foreigners stay in this hotel. Now we don't have immediate word on casualties. But we're digging into that. Our own Reza Sayah, our correspondent there in Islamabad, will be joining us on this.

Plus of course, we are keeping you up to date on the $700 billion solution. President Bush looking very worried as well as leaders on Capitol Hill coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: Back to the United States money crisis. President Bush's historic bailout of the nation's crisis is now in the hands of Congress.

NGUYEN: Lawmakers will be working all weekend to come up with a bill designed to avert a financial catastrophe. And we are learning new details about this plan this morning.

LUI: That's right. It includes buying up $700 billion in bad mortgages and backing money market funds as well. This will also allow the government to buy the bad debt of U.S. financial institutions for the next two years. This plan would likely cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, though, in the end.

NGUYEN: Indeed, our correspondents are closely following this huge financial story, including what the White House and the presidential candidates are saying about it. Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser, is in Cincinnati watching the presidential race. But we start with Kathleen Koch, at the White House.

And, Kathleen, just a little bit earlier, the president came out and he made a statement about the situation. Obviously, he is watching it closely.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Betty. And what is remarkable, first of all, is that this is the first day that the president has actually taken questions on this unprecedented rescue plan, as you mentioned, some $700 billion. It's even larger than some were discussing last night and early this morning. We were hearing something along the lines of $500 billion. This is truly massive and unprecedented.

The president, in the Rose Garden, today, confirmed that this really did go against the grain for him, personally. He described himself as a market guy. He said it was his instinct to let the market work, to continue dealing with this, as the administration had been, on a case-by-case basis.

But, the president said, when in the end, his top officials, Paulson and Bernanke sat down with him and made him understand just how severe the situation was, that it was going to ripple all the way to Main Street, and affect Americans ability to get a loan for their -- to send their kids to college, to pay their mortgages. The president said he decided it was time to, quote, "act, and act boldly."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The house of cards was much bigger, beyond just -- sort of stretched beyond just Wall Street, in the sense of the effects of failure. And so when one card started to go, we were worried about the whole deck going down so, therefore, moved and moved hard. I believe this is going to work.

We had to consider judgment of a lot of capable people. It is not only just here in Washington but our people were listening to a lot of other voices. We took our time to come up with a strategy and a plan that would address the problem. You bet it's big. It needed to be big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, President Bush said over and over again that he believed that U.S. taxpayers would get, as he put it, a lot of the money back. Important to note, he did not say, "all". But the president, in his remarks, did stress that it was his belief, his conclusion that the risk of the package was less than the risk of doing nothing.

Right now, administration and congressional leaders are huddled in Washington going over the details of the plan trying to reach an agreement, under the authority that the administration has proposed. It would expire the ability to buy these troubled mortgages in two years.

What is not in the plan are some things Democrats would like to see. They would like to see help for individual homeowners who are having trouble paying their mortgages, also perhaps and extension of unemployment benefits.

But President Bush said today this has to be passed quickly and cleanly -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Which is another reason why it is only three pages long.

KOCH: Also.

NGUYEN: Let's see if they can do it. Kathleen Koch joining us live.

LUI: The next president will have a lot of cleaning up to do in the wake of the United States financial crisis. So, how do the candidates plan to get this all done? Do either of them support a federal bank bailout? Well, our Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser. He is in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the battleground states. He is aboard the Election Express, which is right over his shoulder, there.

Paul, let's talk about their two plans. They don't necessarily agree about what to do here, do they?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEP. POLITICAL DIRECTOR: No, they really don't see eye to eye, Richard. You know, they both had radio addresses this morning. And they did agree on one thing, they both say that the bipartisan efforts between the White House, the administration and Congress is a good thing. But that's basically where they end.

John McCain is saying it is greed on Wall Street that is a problem here. He is laying out some specific plans. Barack Obama, right now he's in Daytona Beach, Florida, at a live campaign rally. He is talking about less specifics and more bigger principles right now. He really hasn't laid out specifics. He says he wants to wait and give the administration and Congress a chance to fix things first.

But he is saying that not only Wall Street but also Main Street needs to be bailed out. Both candidates though, Richard, as politicians do, are attacking each other on this crisis. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator McCain gave a speech in which his big solution to this worldwide economic crisis was to blame me for it. This is a guy who spent nearly three decades in Washington. After spending the entire campaign saying, I haven't been in Washington long enough, he apparently now is willing to assign me responsibility for all of Washington's failures.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have heard a lot of words from Senator Obama over the course of this campaign. 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 Wall Street started in the Washington culture of lobbying and influence peddling and he was right square in the middle of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: A lot of rhetoric, a lot of blame game there, Richard. But one thing is for sure, it is issue number one. The economy issue number one with Americans and with each financial crisis it only increases, Richard.

LUI: All right, Paul Steinhauser, there live in Cincinnati, Ohio. Thanks for wrapping that up for us in terms of how to reacting to the current crisis. Appreciate it.

NGUYEN: We do want to get some reaction to a breaking news story that we've been telling you about over the past hour. A large explosion has occurred in Pakistan in the vicinity of a Marriott Hotel, there. Obviously, a lot of foreigners stay at that hotel. We have with us on the phone, CNN International Correspondent Reza Sayah, who is at the scene.

Reza, tell us what you know, so far, about this explosion.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Betty, just an awful, awful scene here in Islamabad on this Saturday night. Chaos and bloodshed after a huge explosion right in front of one of the most popular hotels here in the federal capital, the Marriott Hotels, a hotel frequented by foreigners and Westerners.

The death count right now stands at 20. Police tell us 20 others are injured. By the looks of this incident, look for that death toll to go up. Just to give you an idea how large this bomb was, the CNN bureau is located a few miles away from this hotel. I was sitting behind my desk and about 45 minutes ago, all of the sudden, the bureau roared and rumbled. A few of our windows shattered. We frankly thought that the bomb was next door. We got into our car and drove to the Marriott, which is about two or three miles away. And absolute chaos here.

The Marriott is about five floors. This hotel is on fire. They are saying there was a gas leak. The bomb set off the gas leak and there was an ensuing fire. Parts of the fifth floor are on fire. There is trees that are destroyed, cars that are mangled as is always the case. There is pandemonium here. A lot of rescue crews and police officers. And just a horrible scene of bloody victims being dragged out.

This incident, this explosion comes just hours after the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari for the first time addressed the joint session of the parliament as the newly elected president. In that address, he promised to root out terrorism. In tonight's explosion, tonight's incident, a strong message by militants that they are here and they are going to have to be dealt with -- Betty.

NGUYEN: We want to tell our viewers, we apologize for the blood that they saw there. These pictures are just coming into CNN, raw video, new video, of the aftermath of this explosion as Reza was reporting, right outside the Marriott Hotel, which is on fire. You're looking at some of the other victims right now, who have been injured in this.

Reza, let me ask you this, any indication as to whether this was a car bomb, a suicide bomb. Obviously, you say, it was a very huge explosion.

SAYAH: Early indications, we have talked to a couple of police officers, they say it was a car bomb. By the magnitude of this, my guess is that it was. The problem with car bombs is when they explode, they completely disappear. They usually leave a crater. We haven't been able to find the crater. But a couple of police officers have told us that it was a car bomb. But judging by the magnitude of it, just the sheer destruction that I'm seeing right before my eyes, it's a safe guess it is a car bomb. But police officials have yet to confirm it.

NGUYEN: We are looking at the Marriott Hotel , right now. There is new video coming in and you can see parts of that hotel on fire as emergency crews arrive outside. You say that fire is because of a gas leak. It wasn't a direct result of the bomb hitting the building.

But, another question that I have for you. I don't even know if these two are linked, but it is awfully curious. We got word around 2:30 a.m. this morning, Eastern Time, of a suicide bombing, that also occurred in Pakistan, that killed Any indication if that had anything to do with this?

SAYAH: That's impossible to say, Betty. But what we can tell you Pakistan is a country in turmoil where there is bloodshed and violence every week. There has been recent spate of violence since President Zardari took office. And it is interesting to note, once he took office, we saw an increase in those U.S. missile strikes, from those unmanned drones, on the tribal region.

Those are strikes that really outraged the Pakistani people. They promised revenge. It is impossible to say that this is linked to those U.S. missile strikes, but certainly, it looks that way.

I just wanted to tell you something about the Marriott Hotel . This is considered one of the safest locations in Islamabad. A lot of embassies who are located in Islamabad do not let their employees go to many place, many restaurants within Islamabad. But they do let them go to this Marriott, because it is fortified with guards and gates. Police are telling us that -- the one officer we spoke with -- the car bomb may have rammed into one of these gates. This considered one of the safe areas in Islamabad. But certainly, militants got at it tonight.

NGUYEN: And at this point, we know of 20 dead and 20 injured. We will continue to watch that toll of the dead and injured as this story continues to play out. But again, video coming into CNN, of an explosion in Pakistan, Islamabad, to be exact. A very large explosion right outside of the Marriott Hotel, where Westerners and foreigners obviously go to stay. A place that, as we heard from Reza Sayah, our CNN international correspondent, say a place considered to be safe. Obviously not this morning. We'll continue to follow this story.

LUI: A lot of news happening this morning, Betty. We will stay on top of the big issue, also, here in the United States, which is the financial crisis and what the government is doing. You have all gone on line, you have taken a look at your 401(k)s. It's all going south. The question for you is what do you do now. Do you sell or do you keep with it?

Well, we are going to go to Allan Chernoff after this break. He will tell us what not to do.

NGUYEN: We're also going to introduce you to someone who is in the front seat of that rollercoaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: A huge explosion in Pakistan, Islamabad, the capitol. Here is what we are hearing at the moment, if you are just joining us. We are hearing 20 dead and at least 20 injured. We are getting reports in live from Islamabad throughout the day right here on CNN from Islamabad.

There is also issues of financial markets on this day. They are in turmoil. You know that. Banks are failing. The market is plummeting. Investors are in a panic. What do you do when your portfolio starts to tank? CNN's Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff explains what not to do.

(BEGIN VIDETAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As her stocks plummeted Thursday, Charlotte Forbes watched her financial security collapsing before her eyes.

CHARLOTTE FORBES, INVESTOR: Very, very scary. I was on the edge of my seat thinking that disaster could happen at any moment.

CHERNOFF: Financial shares were dropping like a stone and Charlotte sold her stake in investment firm Goldman Sachs, only to buy it back later in the day.

FORBES: It was very frightening. I panicked.

CHERNOFF: Charlotte, an author, and her husband, artist Joe Stallone, rely on their stocks for mortgage payments on the apartment they just bought last month, and for their daughter's private school tuition. Never in her 10 years of actively trading stocks had Charlotte seen a day, or week, like this. The year has been tough enough. Charlotte's stocks are down 25 percent since January.

FORBES: Financial security is at stake. That's a very big deal. Everything I have. All the money that I have saved and invested over the years.

CHERNOFF: Some financial advisers say when the market appears on the verge of collapse, it is often best to just sit back and do nothing.

ALYSE ZOLLMAN, CHARLES SCHWAB FINANCIAL ADVISER: Oftentimes, when we make changes in reaction to short-term market events, we often end up hurting ourselves. So, panic is definitely not an investment strategy.

CHERNOFF: Staying in for the long-term often pays. Even after all the zigs and zags, the Dow Jones Industrial average is up 19 percent over the past five years. Charlotte doesn't know what next week will bring, whether the market will swoon or soar. But even after riding Wall Street rollercoaster, Charlotte says she still believes the stock market is the best place for her family's money.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: All right, so with the markets like this, the mortgage meltdown, the financial crisis, people are having to give up a lot of things that they want to hold on to. But, unfortunately, they can't because of the situation. Josh Levs has been monitoring it and he joins us now with the latest on that.

Hey, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys, yes. The folks at I- Report asked people to send in stories about what they're giving up in this economy. We have some heartbreaking ones.

Let's start with this picture I want to show you here. This one comes to us from Amanda Scott. Who says she had to give up her dogs. She calls them her babies. She is in Owasso, Oklahoma. She says between the payments for the house and they have a new baby, an actual baby-baby, it just became too expensive to hold onto their dogs. So, they had to give them up.

Let's go to the next picture now from Michelle Wallace. You see that car in the background, that is what her husband takes to work. Well, she says it would have cost him $600 a month for gasoline. It's not like they have the money to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. So, he now lives near work during the week. He is not around during the week. He only comes home on the weekends.

Let's start over here. Let's zoom in on the board. I'm going to show you a few more before I toss it back to you guys. Let's start over here. This is a really sweet picture: "Hitting the road. Good- bye, California." This one comes to us from Catherine Conrad. They are leaving San Diego where they were trying to create this dream life and they are going to move in with her folks in Arizona.

Let's go over here. "Giving up most everything". This one comes to us from a realtor in Charlotte, North Carolina. Michael Bennett who says because of the realty market, he has now had to give up vacations, buying clothes, all sorts of basics even.

If you have some stories to send to us, go ahead and do it, I- Report.com. Your photos, your videos, your stories; we would love to hear from you and share those stories with everyone. If you have something, maybe the economy isn't hurting you as bad. We are happy to hear from you as well if there are some silver linings folks out there.

NGUYEN: Yes, send those in. We will ask you for a loan if that's the case.

LEVS: I know. Who are you and how are you doing that?

NGUYEN: Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks, guys.

NGUYEN: We are following this breaking news out of Pakistan where a blast has occurred in Islamabad outside of the Marriott Hotel; 20 people dead, 20 injured. We will have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: It's hard to imagine the scope of the devastation Hurricane Ike left behind. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just released some aerial pictures -- see them right there -- that leave nothing to the imagination for you.

In these before and after shots of Gilchrist, Texas, these neighborhoods have been wiped away. Now let's take you to Galveston. There is all but a fraction left of three piers. You can see in the pictures here. You can also see a tremendous debris amount of debris in the bottom left corner, if you look carefully. No doubt left behind by Ike's storm surge.

Now, stepping in after the storm, Farm Aid founder, Willie Nelson, says the charity is donating $30,000 to groups that help families affected by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. Farm Aid 2008 is being held in Mansfield, Massachusetts today.

NGUYEN: We also want to take a look at some of the damage still left behind because of Ike. This is one of the pictures that I took, while I was down there coving the story earlier this week. What is amazing is this roof has been just tossed on top of a bridge, an entire roof of a home picked up and tossed on to a bridge. It just shows you the power of the Category 2 that came ashore.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And you look so insignificant --

NGUYEN: It's huge! MAGINNIS: -- compared to everything that is around you.

NGUYEN: Right. That's just one sample of it. I have another picture to show you. I find this one really quite ironic. If you could step out of the way just a second, Karen.

You can see right here it says caution drop off. Well, no kidding. Look at this pier right there. Right at this point here. It completely drops off. So it is really ironic how a sign like that, which was talking about the beach below, "Caution Drop Off" really applies to what has occurred during the hurricane.

And speaking of it -- let's talk about the power for a second. This is where the beach used to be. You used to see sand right here. We are looking at a lot of beach erosion because of Hurricane Ike, aren't we?

MAGINNIS: Yes, we really are. This is the 17-foot wall, seawall.

NGUYEN: The seawall, yes.

MAGINNIS: What was your lasting image from what you saw there in Galveston, and Houston?

NGUYEN: On the way out, I saw a sign, you know how a lot of people board up their homes and they spray paint signs on there to the hurricane. There was one that said, "Take a hike, Ike." I thought it was really fitting. Unfortunately, Ike really did a number on Galveston. Look at this damage. This is right along the seawall. You can see all the debris. Yes, as we have been talking about some of the items that just still remain standing. It is kind of like a tornado. It is hard to know why something was left alone. You see these buildings. They seem to have survived OK, but not all of this.

MAGINNIS: Exactly. And, Betty, I've covered a lot of hurricanes. I had a home that was damaged by Hurricane Hugo, near Charleston, South Carolina. My house was damaged. Other houses next to us were damaged, one house in the neighborhood, untouched. It was the most beautiful house in the neighborhood but it was untouched.

NGUYEN: Goodness. I mean, it just really shows you the power of this storm. Obviously, it is going to take a long time for them to repair all of that. For one, Galveston needs to get some electricity back on the island so folks can begin that process. In the meantime, we have this.

MAGINNIS: We do. This is something the National Hurricane Center is watching right now. Moving towards the west, looks a little more impressive on the last few images that we have on the enhanced satellite imagery. We have talked about Ike, and Gustav, and all the other hurricanes that we have seen so far this year. Out west, they deal with a different matter this time of year. That is fire.

We have got some thunderstorms moving across the Pacific Northwest. But it is the dry thunderstorms that will be problematic across southeastern Idaho. This is the Hidden Canyon -- actually, this is the Trail Canyon. This is the Hidden Creek fire in Montana. They are looking at gusty winds around 40 miles an hour. But there are about seven major fires from Northern California into Oregon. As a result, just a fire danger continues for that region.

Richard, Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: If it is not one thing, it's another, isn't it?

LUI: Well, it's been very busy in terms of the Northwest with those fires. It is still so late.

MAGINNIS: Right.

LUI: It is very late in the season. OK, thanks a lot.

NGUYEN: OK, let's talk about this right now. Because it has been breaking news this morning. A massive explosion in Pakistan, this hour. At last count, 20 people killed, 20 injured.

LUI: That's right. We are following this and several other breaking stories. It has been a very busy Saturday for us here, including a deadly plane crash in South Carolina with two very recognizable names aboard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LUI: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, the news is unfolding live on this Saturday. There is a lot of it. The 20th day of September. I'm Richard Lui in for T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Yes, good morning everybody. Boy, is it unfolding today.

LUI: Yes.

NGUYEN: I'm Betty Nguyen. Let's start with this. President Bush says the size of the financial solution fits the size of the problem.

LUI: But will it help Main Street? Bullet proofing your wallet. We'll have a how-to coming up.

NGUYEN: And the end of an era, last weekend at Yankee Stadium. We will show you all the ins and outs here in the NEWSROOM.

The broad rescue plan is in place. But now is the nitty-gritty. Working out the details for the government to buy out bad mortgage debt from banks and other financial institutions. Congress and the president's money experts are working through the weekend on this massive bailout. The goal, a deal by Monday morning.