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America's Money Crisis; $700 Billion Bailout; Pakistan Hotel Bombing
Aired September 22, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, September 22nd. We say hello to autumn this hour.
First, the headlines in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Stocks struggling, and so is Congress. Democrats want changes to the administration's big financial rescue plan.
This huge crater, take a look at it here in just a second. A scar of terrorist attack at the Islamabad Marriott. The truck bomb misses Pakistan's leadership after dinner plans change.
The Emmy Awards a big night for Tina Fey, TV's new queen of laughs. And the basic cable drum a pretty good show here, too. "Mad Men" makes TV history.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
OK. Let's get you started with America's money crisis. Here's where things stand right now.
Ninety minutes into the trading day, and Dow stocks can't build on last week's comeback. Markets across Asia mostly up today, Europe mixed. Democrats, well they want to tweak Treasury's nearly three- quarters of a trillion-dollar bailout of the financial system. President Bush cautions, The world is watching you, Congress.
Wall Street changes forever. The last major independent investment houses Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will become traditional banks. And the presidential candidates who will inherit this mess back the bailout, though. Both will like to see a few guarantees for taxpayers put into that mix.
A critically important story with many moving parts. The CNN money team will walk us through it all.
Business correspondent Christine Romans is in New York.
And Christine, good to see you. Let's get started here.
I am happy to hear someone is saying, wait just a minute here on this bailout, no blank checks. Don't you know want to know a lot more about this crisis before you sign off on this huge check?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Here's the deal. It's a three-page proposal from the White House. Just three pages for what everyone says is going to be the biggest makeover of Wall Street...
HARRIS: Not nearly enough. Come on.
ROMANS: ... in a generation -- right. So they're going to hammer all of this out together.
Now, a guy I know named Andy Bush (ph), in his note to clients this morning, said it's a big leap of faith. He said, you know, it's a big leap of faith.
We know three things. We know it's going to cost $700 billion. We know that the Treasury Department is going to have total control of it. We don't know what the pricing mechanism is going to look like yet.
We know that they have to raise the debt ceiling to $11.315 trillion.
HARRIS: Oh boy.
ROMANS: That's an awful lot of money. And that's basically all we know right now. We also know that the Democrats are starting to ask questions and the administration is saying, you know, listen, let's not let this get bogged down in any kind of tacking on other little things.
HARRIS: Sure.
ROMANS: Now, what would the economy look like without a bailout? Well, there's some things we know.
We know because we saw some of the parts of the economy freezing up last week, companies can't make payroll or pay bills, they've got to fire people. Consumers and small businesses can't get loans, people lose their jobs. Corporate profits fall, that hurts government revenue, that makes our deficit even worse.
Housing prices fall even worse than they have so far. Property taxes decline, and when property taxes decline, the funding dries up for schools and local services.
We've already been seeing that, Tony, for about a year now. I mean, I did a story at least eight months ago.
HARRIS: Christine, do you buy all of this? Christine, let me stop you.
ROMANS: Do I buy all this?
HARRIS: Do you buy all of this that -- I mean, is there a company in America anymore that works on cash? I mean, is everyone borrowing now? Is everyone putting everything on a credit card here?
ROMANS: I think these are so interconnected. Well, Tony, you know that Americans have indulged on debt for the past 20 years. I mean...
HARRIS: It's insane.
ROMANS: I mean, we have indulged on debt. And this is a debt society. I mean, and then Wall Street buying, packaging up these mortgages and buying and selling them, we don't even know where they all are, let alone how to value them.
HARRIS: Yes.
ROMANS: You know, the question is, how is the Treasury going to -- some people, Tony, really do -- some economists really do think the Treasury can make money off of this. If everything goes right and they price it right, and they do this thing called reverse auction and they buy them really, really cheap...
HARRIS: Yes. But Christine, who knows what a house is really worth? I mean, it's about markets. It's really about markets. So this idea that maybe the Treasury can make money on that, that's just a wild guess at this point, isn't it?
ROMANS: We have a -- it's a lot of wild guessing. It's wild guessing all across the curve here.
And we have a three-page proposal. We have this week. We have assurances for some of the leaders. Barney Franks said this morning that he hoped we would have something done by the end of the week before they go for the pre-election recess.
HARRIS: Yes.
ROMANS: But, you know, it is one week, a three-page proposal, and a huge, huge, huge problem.
HARRIS: Sure. Hey, do you like what you heard from John McCain last hour in Pennsylvania, his suggestion that the entire Treasury proposal should be placed online for public scrutiny?
Do you like the idea? I love it.
ROMANS: Yes, I would like to see the whole proposal. I would.
HARRIS: Yes. Christine, great to see you. Thank you.
ROMANS: Thank you.
HARRIS: So what are you saying about the bailout? I think it's time we heard from you, frankly. A couple of you commented this way on our CNNMoney.com blog...
"Hell no. Robbery pure and simple."
We asked others of you to talk on camera this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I absolutely feel it's going to affect us as taxpayers. But I feel like the reason is the everyday American knowing now this is going to affect me because my tax dollars are going for this, this is exactly not what I want to happen. I would like my tax dollars to go somewhere else.
And I think the, you know, everyday American is like, geez, I could find a lot more better things to do with this money than buy off these big companies. Knowing also that many of the top executives are getting multimillion dollars, you know, for their own severance packages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I assume we have adults in charge and they know what they're doing, just like your auto mechanic. I mean, they tell you need a distributor, and you get a new distributor.
What do I think? I wish it didn't happen, but it happened. And so I think we need to get some adults in charge and try to fix it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Where are the adults?
Taxpayer money pledged this year to the broad financial sector bailout, at least $1.5 trillion. The bailout announced on Friday adds another $2,000 per person to that tally.
Diane Swonk is chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago.
Diane, great to see you.
DIANE SWONK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MESIROW FINANCIAL: Good to see you.
HARRIS: Hey, let's talk the latest Treasury proposal, $700 billion. You know, Diane, markets got us into this. Why can't markets get us out? I mean, why the bailout?
SWONK: Well, that's the problem, is markets didn't work anymore. And many of the problems that led us to this were either a lack of regulation or regulation on the other side of it, having to mark to market things that we didn't have a market in, things like mortgages.
HARRIS: Where were the adults? Diane, where were the adults.
SWONK: Good question. And I certainly can empathize with those.
I mean, I work for a firm that's not too big to fail. We're smaller and we didn't make these bets, and we're not in these problems and we don't get advantages. So I certainly can empathize.
With that said, our firm doesn't work if the rest of Wall Street doesn't work. So I think we do need to be careful on these compensations to senior managers. That just doesn't make sense. It doesn't sell to the American public. If we're all going to have to give a little pain here, those who made the problem have to feel the most pain in their wallet.
HARRIS: So, does this idea again of maybe markets working us out of this, are you telling me that if lending dries up, business just stops? No one figures out a way to get business done? I mean, is anyone working with cash at all anymore?
SWONK: Well, the problem is cash. I mean, one of the things that came under threat last week was even people's money market accounts were threatened in terms of the guarantees. People not having insurance on a company that has $200,000 in a bank to fund their payrolls, all of a sudden if that bank went under, only $100,000 is insured. You can't have that.
HARRIS: Yes.
SWONK: And so that reality isn't about lending. That's actually about cash. And when it got to cash, I think we had to do something so we didn't have this continual domino effect of, what's the next biggest firm we're going to bail out, out there?
HARRIS: Hey, Diane, how will I feel this, the individual here? Is the Treasury going to at some point ask me to cut a check? I mean, are we inevitably talking about higher taxes here?
SWONK: I think almost any way you cut it we are inevitably talking about higher taxes, although the bill will not be as big as what we ultimately see. The one advantage the government has in terms of pricing these things as they buy them back is they don't have to sell them into a market that's illiquid. They can hold onto them and sell them back in the marketplace.
And many people pay their mortgages. These are not all completely default loans.
HARRIS: Thank you. Thank you.
SWONK: And so to the extent that people do pay their mortgages, there is a value to them. The market's just not giving them any value right now. And so the fact that they can hold onto them and have faith in the American public, the ones who -- the most of us who do pay our mortgage every single month on time, that part is going to come back and we won't have to pay those...
HARRIS: All right. And the big question, the big finish on this question, do you believe this will work?
SWONK: You know, it is going to work in the sense that we need a holistic approach. Is it the right solution? No. Was the New Deal the right solution? No, but it saved us from communism during the Great Depression.
We will have to tweak the system. We will have to continually revise it once we're done.
HARRIS: Diane Swonk, chief economist for Mesirow Financial in Chicago.
Diane, appreciate it. Thanks for your time this morning.
So the government wants you to bail out Wall Street. Just something for you to think about as your car is on empty and you can't find a station with gas. I'm not making it up.
That's the situation facing some drivers in the Southeast. The reason, a pipeline that runs from Gulf Coast refineries to the region has been running low since hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
iReporter Justin Shreiner documented his hunt for fuel in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN SHREINER, IREPORTER: This is a Kroger, one of the few places left selling gas today, I guess. And here's the line of cars that goes all the way out, all the way out to the light, waiting to get in to pump gas.
CITGO is empty. No prices, no cars.
Shell, Shell is done for the day. No prices on their signs either. No cars over there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Can you believe it? AAA says gas supplies across the Southeast are improving daily. Officials are discouraging drivers from panicking and hoarding gas, which only makes the problems worse here.
And you can follow your finances at CNNMoney.com. We have got all the day's market news, the numbers, expert analysis, and much more.
New details coming in now about the massive weekend bombing in Pakistan. The country's entire leadership was supposed to have been about the Marriott hotel the evening of the attack. Were they being targeted?
Live now to CNN's Reza Sayah in Islamabad.
And Reza, we're talking about Pakistan's president, prime minister, and several cabinet members set to have dinner at that hotel.
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. Let's walk you through this, because we're getting some new and somewhat conflicting information about the investigation into this massive truck bombing that rocked the federal capital of Islamabad on Saturday. Earlier today you had Pakistan's head of the Interior Ministry come out in very dramatic fashion and say on Saturday night, the night of the bombing, indeed, Pakistan's newly-elected president, Asif Ali Zardari, along with the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, along with a number of other high-ranking officials, were scheduled to have dinner there. But earlier in the day they made an abrupt change of plans and moved the location of the dinner about a kilometer away, at the prime minister's house. If indeed this is true, this certainly raises a number of issues and questions.
First off, it suggested perhaps the bomber was not just targeting the Marriott, and instead targeting these high-ranking officials. It also raises the question, did the government know that something was about to go down at the Marriott on Saturday night?
CNN did some digging and we found some information that puts the Interior Ministry's statement into question. First off, we spoke to the owner of the Marriott in Islamabad, and he's telling CNN, no, they were never scheduled to host a dinner for the president and the prime minister. We also spoke with a member of Pakistan's senate who says he was invited to that dinner, and that dinner had always been scheduled to take place at the prime minister's house.
So, again, some conflicting information that causes some confusion into this investigation, an investigation that is ongoing. No arrests have been made, Tony, but analysts say this has all the hallmarks of al Qaeda because of the magnitude of the blast -- Tony.
HARRIS: Sure.
Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Reza, good to see you. Thank you.
Students are heading back to class in Houston today, but are things back to normal after Hurricane Ike?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: More businesses are reopening and the power is coming back on, but the Gulf Coast still faces a long road to recovery from Hurricane Ike. Here's the very latest.
More than 1,600 evacuees housed in north Texas are going home today. Shelters around Fort Worth are closing and evacuees are returning to the Houston, Beaumont and Baytown areas. Galveston Island reopens Wednesday, but officials warn it may be weeks before basic services are completely restored.
Back to class. Enough power has been restored in the Houston area to allow some schools to reopen for the first time since Ike.
Rosa Flores of affiliate KHOU has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROSA FLORES, REPORTER, KHOU: Finally a since of normalcy for a lot of families in the Gulf Coast area after Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast. Many schools are back in session today, like this school in Fort Bend County.
Now, the common word from parents out here is they are grateful the students are going back to school, because it was very difficult for them to entertain their kids without power. That, of course, meant no television and no video games. Now, the Texas Education Agency is not asking students to make up the days lost because of Ike, but many districts in our areas do plan to make up those days.
Now, it's hard to believe, but still 40 percent of the Houston area, of the energy capital of the world, is still without power. And, of course, the schools in those areas are closed this morning.
In Fort Bend County, I'm Rosa Flores for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And crews are still working to get the lights back on in Ohio and Kentucky. At least 50,000 homes and businesses in Ohio were without electricity this morning. Utility companies are advising customers that some problems might be in their homes, not with the power grid. Small comfort there. Those repairs for out of the homeowners' pockets.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Tens of thousands of babies sick just because of the milk they drink.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: China's tainted milk scandal getting a whole lot bigger. The number of sick children has jumped tenfold.
Officials now report 53,000 infants and toddlers sick. Some 13,000 of them remain hospitalized. Four have actually died.
All poisoned with the chemical melamine. That is the same stuff that sickened or killed thousands of cats and dogs in the United States last year. You'll remember that story.
China premier is promising stricter laws to protect the public. The head of the country's Quality Control Organization resigned today amid the crisis.
To get your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. There you will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.
In Arkansas, six children have been taken into temporary state custody after a raid on a religious compound. The compound is run by Tony Alamo Christian Ministries Church. It is being investigated on charges of possible child sexual abuse and pornography. Some area residents say they have long been suspicious of the church and are relieved to see authorities acting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart goes out to the kids and the women. And the women are adults (INAUDIBLE) want to be, but those kids are innocent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So far there have been no arrests in the case. The founder of the church, Tony Alamo, is denying any wrongdoing.
Live pictures coming up here in just a moment. Opening statements under way in Atlanta in the long-delayed murder trial of accused courthouse shooter Brian Nichols.
He is charged with gunning down four people, three of them at the federal courthouse. That is Fulton County district attorney Paul Howard there on the screen.
In March of 2005 is when the shooting spree took place. This is surveillance video of Nichols right after the shootings. His defense team concedes Nichols pulled the trigger but says he couldn't tell right from wrong at the time. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Some court observers say the trial could last until Christmas.
In Las Vegas, the O.J. Simpson trial moves into its second week. Today the defense team will get a chance to question collectibles dealer Thomas Riccio. Simpson is accused of armed robbery and kidnapping in an alleged attempt to steal sports memorabilia from a casino hotel room. Riccio secretly recorded the whole incident.
The president and Congress have a plan, a $700 billion plan to bail out some Wall Street institutions. What do you say about it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I think the everyday American is like, geez, I could find a lot more better things to do with this money than buy off, you know, these big companies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: More people are sounding off.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We are fast approaching the half-hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
The $700 billion financial industry bailout -- late details now.
Two hours into the trading day, and Dow stocks can't build on last week's comeback. As you can see, the Dow down almost 200 points. Investors concerned about Democrats after Democrats say they won't give Wall Street a blank check. President Bush cautioned to Congress this morning, the world is watching.
The last major independent investment houses Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will become traditional banks. And the presidential candidates who will inherit this mess back the bailout, though both would like to see a few guarantees for taxpayers put in the mix.
How strong is your financial safety net during America's money crisis? Glad you asked.
Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here.
Gerri, good to see you this morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you.
HARRIS: What should we do? Yes, it's been a while.
WILLIS: It has. Good to see you
HARRIS: It has -- yes.
What should we do? And particularly those of us who aren't Wall Street fat cats. That's most of us.
WILLIS: Which is a lot of us, right?
HARRIS: Yes, that's most of us. So what should we do right now to protect our assets, Gerri?
WILLIS: Well, first off, you have to take stock of your accounts. Figure out what you have in each of your accounts, including savings accounts, checking, CDs, joint accounts, single accounts. That's because your money will be protected up to certain limits by the FDIC if your bank fails.
Now, here are the limits. Take a look at those.
FDIC coverage limits individual accounts $100,000. Joint accounts, $200,000. And if you have a retirement account, it's $250,000.
Now, Tony, you can have more money than this at one bank as long as you divide up your fund among various ownership categories. And you should know credit unions are also insured up to the same limits. If you exceed these limits, move the money around to another bank or credit union.
And if you have a brokerage account, guess what? You're protected in case the brokerage goes into bankruptcy up to half a million dollars.
But I want to tell you a little bit about money market accounts, because people are really worried about those. Last week the U.S. Treasury said it would insure the holdings of money market mutual funds. So guess what? You don't have to worry about losing your money. Make sure you know, though, what kind of money market fund you have and what it's invested in. If it has a lot of (INAUDIBLE), you may be feeling nervous and you may want to switch out to a money market account that invests in treasuries.
HARRIS: That's good advice.
You know, a lot of people are also worried about their insurance accounts, especially after AIG's troubles. Any advice there, Gerri?
WILLIS: Well I have to tell you -- these annuities, the insurance line, particularly the life insurance line, they're all segregated from that parent company, kept separate so that you don't have to worry about losing money. There are big time protections for small time investors when it comes to insurance companies.
Also, I just want to mention quickly, if you're pulling your money out of your mutual funds now, and a lot of people are -- there's probably going to be the biggest exit for mutual funds in a long time -- think twice right now because we've seen the market kind of trading all over the place. You don't want to lock in these lows at this point, particularly -- particularly -- if you have 10 to 20 years to retirement. You're wanting that money to grow over decades and decades.
HARRIS: Are there tax implications for doing that as well?
WILLIS: Well most of us are using -- our retirement funds are in tax-protected accounts, right?
HARRIS: OK.
WILLIS: IRAS, 401(k)s -- so, you don't have to worry about that. But at the end of the day you really want to be thinking about -- do I want to lock in this price that my stock is at right now? Is that the choice you're making?
HARRIS: That's a good question.
All right, Gerri. Appreciate it. Thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: The mega bailout has taxpayers blowing off mega steam today. Josh Levs is gathering some of the reaction to all of this.
Plenty of reaction, I would imagine, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well you know what the deal is. We keep hearing from so many officials, we're hear from Paulson (ph), we hear from a lot of the analysts. But what we want to do is, more and more, hear from you. And that's what we have done sometimes through i-Report, when you're telling us things you're giving up. And today, we went straight to you with the cameras and we asked you how you feel about this mega billion dollar bailout. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the every day American is like, geez, I could find a lot more better things to do with this money than buy off, you know, these (AUDIO GAP) companies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that it's going to make it even worse. It's going to make it even worse because you bail them out and then what's going to happen after that? How are they going to keep it up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's just a short term fix. Nothing has been done for the long term. And I don't like my tax dollars going to bailout private companies. That's what I want to ask -- what about the CEOs of these companies -- of Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers? Are they not being held accountable for their actions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it leaves people feeling, well, wait a minute, what about me? I've got all this -- I'm trying to keep my house, trying to feed my kids, and I'm still paying for this?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: There you go.
LEVS: That is really a good representative sample of the kinds of things that we are hearing. And you know what? We're here to answer a lot of those questions. We're going to keep doing it, so keep following us -- all the coverage of issue #1.
And I will tell you, if you're not in one of the places where we happen to show up with a camera, but you have one of your own, just go to ireport.com. Send us your video about what you think.
And, Tony, we want to hear more and more from people --
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: We're talking broad terms about the economy. But all last week we were doing this, and again this week. It's not, in the end, about hundreds of billions of dollars, it's about your thousand, your five hundred, your interest, your college education, whatever it is --
HARRIS: My student loans.
LEVS: You're experience right there.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: -- student loans.
HARRIS: Student loan. I'm trying to get a car. I'm trying to get out of this gas guzzler and get something that is a little more affordable.
(CROSSTALK) LEVS: -- and the interest rate.
HARRIS: Can't get a loan.
LEVS: I know. This is what it boils down to. And we know that. And in the end, we're going to keep our eye on the base economic level -- that's you, and me, that's all of us. And this is critical.
HARRIS: And the smart guys that got us into it are the same smart guys who are going to get us out of it? Hello.
Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: OK.
HARRIS: You know about that talk about doing away with the penny? Well forget about it. The U.S. Mint is unveiling a new design for the U.S. penny. This one honoring America's 16th president. February 12th of next year marks the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
Catch them -- catch them if you can. But look at them run.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Investors woke up today to find that the landscape in the financial sector had changed dramatically yet again. This time it involves the last two remaining investment banks on Wall Street. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on that and how the stocks are faring so far almost half way through the session.
Susan, good morning.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Yes, the landscape is changing further, I guess we should say, because things have been pretty extreme over the last week, that's for sure. And stocks are selling off in the meantime as investors await congressional action on that $700 billion rescue plan.
Check out the big board right now. The Dow Industrials at their lows, off 200 points, or 1.75 percent. The Nasdaq is down 2 percent, as is the broader S&P 500.
What is the news Tony is talking about? Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs no longer investment banks. After Bear Stearns was forced into accepting a buyout, Lehman Brothers collapsed, Merrill Lynch forced into the arms of another, the last two investment banks standing down here on Wall Street have agreed to convert into traditional bank holding companies. They will now be under the close supervision of government regulators and will attempt to ride out the market turmoil with more success than their rivals did.
That could mean they will not be able to take the kind of financial risks they have long been known for. Right now Goldman Sachs shares are flat. But Morgan Stanley shares are up 8.5 percent. This on news that a Japanese bank is set to pay $9 billion to buy a 20 percent stake of the firm, Tony.
HARRIS: The tough scrutiny of government regulators. OK, Susan.
Quick question for you. What is it about this traditional investment banking model? It just seemed to stop working.
LISOVICZ: Well, risk and reward. I mean, it's nice to have -- take all that risk when it pays off, when your bets are good, right? But a lot of bets didn't pay off, let's face it.
And they rely largely on short-term funding to maintain their capital. In other words, they have enough money to do business every day; however, it was becoming increasingly difficult to acquire that funding after rival investment banks folded, the financial market seized up, and it was always the next shoe to drop. Stockholders are nervous that this practice of operating with borrowed money was getting too risky. So now, by converting into more traditional banks, Goldman and Morgan will be able to take customer deposits. Which are -- well they're not as sexy, but they're certainly stable. And that's what we want right now, stability. And that's why we saw the landscape shift further, Tony.
HARRIS: What we would give for a little stability right now. Oh, maybe $700 billion.
Susan, good to see you.
LISOVICZ: Like wise, Tony. I'll see you in the next hour.
HARRIS: OK, thanks.
Before you know it it will be time to break out the winter -- I can't make myself say it. Most women wear their mink, this one chased hers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so I started to scream. And a neighbor guy came over, so we're like chasing this mink around the neighborhood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So here is what happened. Someone opened the pens at a Utah mink farm and set thousands of the animals -- can we take a look at this? Some suspect an animal rights group is behind the caper. Most of the minks have been rounded up. But the escapees gave a lot of people a good reason to leave church early -- early Sunday.
Hot fashions on the red carpet. Hollywood awards shows have designers showing off their best dressed celebs. Nice.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's bring in our Reynolds Wolf. And Reynolds, we were trying to figure out a great song for this moment, and I think you actually came up with this terrific song. I guess I should pipe down and let everyone listen to it for a second -- it's Earth, Wind, and Fire in "September."
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: How could you go wrong?
HARRIS: It's a great song, as we bring in doctor --
WOLF: That's it.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Will do.
WOLF: Good deal.
HARRIS: Appreciate it, thank you, sir.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HARRIS: A basic cable show -- boy, and it's a good one, too -- wins the Emmy for best drama. Just one of the highlights from the primetime Emmy awards handed out last night. NBC's "30 Rock" won the best comedy award, while "Mad Men" -- it's a good show -- was named the best drama. The show was the first basic cable show to win the award. The Emmy for lead actor in a comedy went to Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock." Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" won for lead actor in a drama.
It was a big night for Tina Fey. She took home the award for lead actress in a comedy, along with another award for writing. Glenn Close won lead actress in a drama for "Damages."
We all know the Emmys are not just about who won what, they're also about what they wore. Entertainment correspondent, Kareen Wynter, live from Los Angeles with a look at Emmy fashions.
I bet this was pretty good, Kareen.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it was fantastic.
HARRIS: What did you wear, by the way? What did you wear?
WYNTER: You know, it's not about me. But I wore a little violet Kaye Unger dress.
HARRIS: Are there some pictures online of you from last night that we can all see?
WYNTER: Maybe -- maybe there are a few.
HARRIS: I'm searching right now.
(CROSSTALK) WYNTER: -- but, let's get to the good stuff -- the celebs. Besides the winners, Tony, what else is everyone talking about the day after the primetime Emmy awards? Of course, the fashion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The trend this year was style diversity. So you saw bold color.
Black and white is a timeless statement.
CHERYL HINES, ACTRESS: Ina Soltani designed this. She's an up and coming designer. She did a beautiful job.
I can't hear you. I'm wearing a 15 carat diamond ring.
SEAN "P. DIDDY" JOHN, ENTERTAINER/HIP HOP MOGUL: She's wearing Donna Karan. And I'm wearing vintage Giorgio Armani.
JEFF PROBST, HOST, "SURVIVOR": Armani and -- how can you go wrong?
JOSH GROBAN, SINGER: I am wearing a tuxedo by Dior Lum (ph).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER: All right, Tony, there you go. You've got to love it.
Now you know, there will be a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking of course about who wore what, who wore it the best. And a couple of celebs that I had a chance to speak with said that's what really worries them, the most, Tony, it's as if they're dressing for critics -- they say -- rather than themselves. And you know how harsh those critics can be, right?
HARRIS: Yes, yes. Real quickly here, because I'm getting the bum's rush here. Did you have a favorite?
I love that Kyra Sedgwick.
WYNTER: I did -- Brooke Shields, hand down.
HARRIS: Really?
WYNTER: She was divine. She wore this fuschia long dress. And she says, you know what? I kept it simple. And it worked for her.
HARRIS: Nice.
WYNTER: You go, Brooke.
HARRIS: All right. Kareen, good to see you. Thank you.
WYNTER: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: I've been searching online for pictures of you last night.
Why wait until November when you can vote today. The polls are open right now in some states.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, check your calendars. Six weeks and a day until the big election. Kentucky, Virginia and Georgia, not waiting. Those states are allowing early voting -- in Georgia. Early voting is expected to shatter records. Like many states, Georgia has seen a surge of voter registration. Several states have expanded early voting provisions, others have relaxed their absentee voting rules.
And in Virginia, give just the slightest of edges to John McCain. An American Research Group poll finds McCain favored by 48 percent, Barack Obama with 46 percent, and 6 percent unsure. The sampling error of 600 likely voters makes it really a razor thin race, plus or minus 4 percentage points.
John McCain spoke to a group in Scranton, Pennsylvania last hour. Here's what he is saying on the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama has declined to put forth a plan of his own in a time of crisis. When leadership is needed, Senator Obama has simply not provided it. And the truth is that we don't have time to wait for Senator Obama's input for our nation to act. I think it's clear that Congress must act and act quickly.
I laid out my plan and priorities last Friday. I spoke to Secretary Paulson about it over the weekend, and I have been looking at the plan that administration has put forth. I urge Congress to study this proposal carefully as they consider the remedy for this crisis.
Never before in the history of our nation has so much power and money been concentrated in the hands of one person, a person I admire and respect a great deal, Secretary Paulson. This arrangement makes me deeply uncomfortable. When we're talking about a trillion dollars of taxpayer money, trust me just isn't good enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well Barack Obama is staying with a familiar theme in his travels. The Democrat talking tax cuts. He was in North Carolina yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I mean by change -- change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but rewards the American workers and small businesses who create wealth and who deserve it.
(APPLAUSE)
I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas. I'm going to give tax breaks to companies that create good jobs right here in North Carolina.
(APPLAUSE)
I'll eliminate capital gains tax for small business and start- ups. That's how we'll grow our economy and create the high wage, high tech jobs of tomorrow. I will cut taxes. Don't be fooled by these ads now. You know they're trying to run the okee doke (ph) on you. You know about the okee doke. Don't let them do it to you.
I will cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families.
(APPLAUSE)
My opponent doesn't want you to know this, but under my plan, tax breaks will actually be less than they were under Ronald Reagan. If you make less than a quarter million dollars a year, you will not see your taxes increase one single dime. Not one.
(APPLAUSE)
In fact, you know -- if we have EMT out here, I think somebody probably just fainted. This happens all the time. They're going to be OK. It's just a little hot. Let's make sure the EMT gets out here. All right.
If you guys got some water, take a sip of water. It's hot. I'm hot, too. I'm hot about what happened on Wall Street.
(APPLAUSE)
I'm a little hot under the collar about these failed economic policies.
(APPLAUSE)
All right, but let's -- I'm also hot about these ads they run. So I want everybody to understand, I offer times the tax relief for middle class families that Senator McCain does. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we need to do is to raise taxes on the middle class. So don't be fooled, you are more likely to get a tax cut under the Obama administration than under John McCain's plan.
(APPLAUSE)
No ifs, ands or buts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Obama heads to Green Bay, Wisconsin, today for an appearance this afternoon. And for all of the up-to-date news on the presidential election, just go to CNNPolitics.com/ticker.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.
And good morning again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. It is Monday, September 22nd. Happy fall. And here are the headlines in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Stocks stumble on Wall Street. New concern after Democrats indicate they'll tinker with the big financial industry bailout plan.
Running on empty in the south. Ten days after Hurricane Ike put a kink in gas supplies, parts of the south run dry.
Did Mayor Palin refuse to let her town pay for rape kits? Critics call it outrageous. Supporters call it a lie. We take a closer look.
And skimming the water at 145 miles an hour, then boom. Take a look at this. I will be talking with the man who was driving that boat. Yes, he's alive and in the NEWSROOM.
