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American Lifestyle Change; Bernard Madoff Jail; No Party
Aired March 14, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right, well let's get the global economy back on track, at least that's the goal of the group of 20 leaders of the world's 20 richest and emerging nations are set to meet in London in less than three weeks, but right now their top financial advisers are in Britain laying the groundwork. President Obama has sent Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. He's expected to make a few minutes this hour. We'll let you know what he says.
And President Obama huddled with other members of his economic team this morning. He also welcomed Brazil's president to the White House last hour to talk money matters. President Obama appears more upbeat about this country's long-term prospects. He is urging Americans to give his stimulus plan a chance and he wants Congress to do the same with his budget.
So, Republican leaders are saying not so fast. Iowa Senator Charles Grassley is the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. It handles all tax legislation and he says the president's programs don't connect all of the dots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: The president and his allies in Congress want to spend too much, tax too much and borrow too much. Somebody has to pay. If not the middle class now, eventually the middle class gets hit. Meanwhile, if taxes get too high, people drop out of the workforce and pay less taxes, so higher taxes don't bring in more money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: In the Republican radio address Senator Grassley says Americans Washington to, "fix only what it can without destroying opportunities for the next generation."
All right, we're hearing a lot of cheering for Wall Street, actually, after this week, some of it coming from the big annual rodeo in Houston.
All right. Well, the Dow closed with another rally on Friday, that's four days in a row. One financial analyst calls it a relief rally, others see it as a confidence builder. Most everyone says we need to see more of that.
High-end restaurants are taking a hit, but grocery stores are getting a boost as more of us happen to look for ways to cut costs. Candy Crowley looks at the winners and the losers as Americans change their lifestyles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could to help someone over here.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are new faces at Shoppers Food Warehouse in suburban Virginia and the regulars buy differently.
ELIZABETH "BETTY" RILEY, ALEXANDRIA RESIDENT: Before I browsed, shopped and bought way too much of stuff that I didn't really need. So, now I'm more specific. I make a list and I follow the list.
CROWLEY: It's the return of a penny saved is a penny earned. Shoppers armed with lists and coupons and budgets.
TOM MOWERY, V.P. (PH), SHOPPERS FOOD WAREHOUSE: One of our lockdowns for the month of March is iceberg lettuce.
CROWLEY: People are buying a lot more chicken, flocking to store brand merchandise and picking up loads of frozen dinners.
MOWERY: I suppose that's because of the restaurants, you know, losing that business. Customers can come here at a cheaper price and buy those things.
Our frozen food sales are up substantially from where they were in the past.
CROWLEY: It's not just five star restaurants that are hurting. Domino's Pizza took a hit in the fourth quarter -- domestic sales off three percent. As Americans cocoon against a harsh economy, Netflix delivering DVDs to your door, TV set or computer is blowing off the roof -- 10 million subscribers including a net pickup of 600,000 since January.
TED SARANDOS, NTEFLIX: Kind of defied gravity and in this down economy I think people are cherishing the value a little bit more than they had in the past. The net result is very fast growth.
CROWLEY: The sale of DVDs, by the way, was down 32 percent in the first quarter of '08.
DIANE KRESH, DIRECTOR, ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA LIBRARY: It's free. Everything is free.
CROWLEY: For DVDs, books, children and adult programs, Internet computer training and job search resources, it's hard to beat free. These are boom times for public libraries.
KRESH: We're really about helping people manage their lives.
CROWLEY: In the past couple of months, Diane Kresh at the Arlington County, Virginia Library has seen a seven percent increase in foot traffic -- and traffic jams at the computers.
KRESH: When we open in the morning, people make a beeline. And these terminals are -- are generally full.
CROWLEY: Borders Books posted an 11.7 percent sales decline over the holiday period.
Postings on Craigslist also tell the tale of changing lifestyles. Nationwide, garage sale ads were up 100 percent. Ads for roommates went up 65 percent, for sale postings, up 75 percent.
And a doubling of barter offers, like this musician wanting to swap a 4-hour gig for dental care. In this economy, you do what you gotta to do.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: The economy is issue No. 1 for you and for us. Next week we focus CNN's vast resources on "The Road to Rescue," a CNN survival guide. What do the numbers really mean? And where are the jobs, exactly? That's all next week beginning Monday.
And new this morning President Obama calling the nation's food safety system a hazard to public health. The president made the comment this morning during his weekly address. To fix the problem, he wants to create a food safety working group to coordinate laws nationwide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Our system of inspection and enforcement is spread out so widely among so many people that it's difficult for different parts of our government to share information, work together and solve problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, also this morning the president announced that his pick to head the Food and Drug Administration is this woman right here, New York City health commissioner, Margaret Hamburg.
Right now President Obama is hosting Brazil's head of state at the White House. He and President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva are expected to touch on the economy, the environment and energy. President de Silva he also wants to ask the U.S. to take a different view of Latin America. President Obama might want to bring up the custody battle over Sean Goldman, right here. The child was taken to Brazil by his mother four years ago. His father wants him back. Our Jill Dougherty has been following this case, she'll be joining us later on in the hours.
All right, another audiotape purportedly by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is calling Israel's recent offensive in Gaza a holocaust. Arabic language news network al Jazeera aired the message this morning. The authenticity of the tape, however, cannot be confirmed. The last time we heard from bin Laden was in January when he called for a holy war to stop Israel's military campaign in Gaza. After years of relative quiet in Northern Ireland, three men have been arrested in connection with the killing of two British soldiers. The victims were shot to death a week ago at a military base as they were preparing to ship out for duty in Afghanistan. A group calling itself "Real IRA" reportedly claims responsibility.
Fire strikes the arson-plagued town of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, yet again. Officials in the small Philadelphia suburb say they found two homes on fire just after midnight. The blazes come a day after a 19- year-old suspect was bound over the trial, accused of setting nine fires including this inferno that destroyed 15 row homes in late January.
Waters are slowly receding in Dundee, Michigan, this morning after the Raisin River flooded. Officials say the river crested late Thursday and early yesterday, it may be another day or so before water levels drop significantly. For now, a state of emergency is in effect.
Bernard Madoff and the biggest investment fraud in Wall Street history. What happens to the victims? We'll ask our legal guys back together again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Bernard Madoff goes directly to jail. The NAACP goes after the banks and laid-off workers go after their former bosses. We turn to our legal guys. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor and, our Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor.
I feel like Peaches and Herb should be walking in, "Reunited."
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Play that music.
WHITFIELD: Yay! We're all back together again. It's so good to see you, Richard. We missed you and our viewers missed you.
HERMAN: Oh, I watched you guys every week. Fred sent me beautiful pajamas and Avery was e-mailing me every day. It was so beautiful, really. And thank you so much. I missed you. You know, my beautiful Lisa, Dr. Tevor Moskowitz (ph) and TD's (ph) at NYU Medical, they saved my life. Here I am, I'm ready, getting stronger every day.
WHITFIELD: And I love how you describe yourself a cross between Matt Lauer and "The Rock."
HERMAN: What do you think?
WHITFIELD: Oh, I like. I like. It's a good look. It's working for you.
AVERY FREIDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Maybe Matt Lauer.
HERMAN: What do you think, Avery?
WHITFIELD: All right, what do you think, Avery? FRIEDMAN: Look at -- oh, he's gorgeous. It looks the same to me. Yeah, he's gorgeous.
WHITFIELD: We're so glad you're back. All right, so let's get right to it. Let's talk about Bernie Madoff and Richard, I'm going to let you have a swing at it first because it's right in your backyard. You know, folks testified they were glad to see him go off to jail, but they still want to know, are they going to get any money out of this and now his attorneys say we're appealing. On what grounds?
HERMAN: Well, the appeal is ridiculous. So, forget it. He pled guilty, he wanted to trial, been convicted, he's going to prison -- $65 billion fraud. He's worth $88 hundred million. He could flee, no good. That appeal is going to be denied.
But, you know, the investors were happy he went to prison. I was not happy and I'll tell you why. That signified to me that there is no deal with the government for him to provide assistance.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: That's bad, Fred. That means he stood up there, his lawyers wrote that allocution where he admitted to everything he did wrong, his mea culpa and in that, he took full responsibility, he said no one helped him. It was all him, all him.
FRIEDMAN: That's the fraud. That's his biggest -- is the rip-off.
WHITFIELD: But, wait a minute, Avery, his sons apparently were very involved in the business and his wife as well, but suddenly now he says it's all about me.
FRIEDMAN: Right. It was all about me. You know, it was just me and no one else had anything to do with it. Look it, the federal trustee has already recovered $1 billion. The fact is it's a ponzi. They're not anything to recover most of the $65 billion, but the fact is that this was a great deal for Bernie Madoff. It's a death -- it's a life sentence, anyhow, he's 70 years old. He'll probably spend 20 years. That's the end of his life, there. But, the tough question is long way to go in finding out where that money is.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, where's the money.
FRIEDMAN: Just the beginning, right now.
HERMAN: And they needed him to help provide assistance. All of these people at the SEC who may have known what was going on and turned a blind eye to this. The SEC has culpability here and some lawyer should go in that direction.
FRIEDMAN: Oh, Richard, what kind of culpability can the SEC have?
HERMAN: I'll tell you. Back in 1992...
WHITFIELD: Well yeah, because I thought there were allegations that there were those who actually went to the SEC and said, hey, wait a minute, red flags, look out for this guy and they didn't.
FRIEDMAN: So what?
HERMAN: And they closed their eyes and they closed their ears and didn't look at it. But in 1992, a $500 million fraud case was brought against the Madoff empire and it was settled immediately and the SEC did not further investigate. I'm talking early '90s.
FRIEDMAN: The SEC has no liability.
WHITFIELD: All right, you know, we are going to talk about that case some more in days and weeks to come, but you know, real quick, the NAACP saying wait a minute, you know, Blacks in particular, Hispanics as well, were discriminated against as it pertained to trying to get loans for their homes. Avery, where does this case go?
FRIEDMAN: Big case, tough one to prove. Bottom line, they're using statistical data, the only way you win one of these cases, Fredricka, is if the NAACP gets a federal court order to any into your mortgage file and everybody else's file to find out not what the statistics are, but rather what the credit worthiness, the credit scores of the individuals. That will be thousands of files, hundreds of thousands of hours, frankly. It's going to be a tough one to win.
HERMAN: Hey, Fred, the significance is they say we're not seeking financial damages...
FRIEDMAN: Yeah they are.
HERMAN: ...we're seeking transparency. We want transparency.
WHITFIELD: OK, and Richard and Avery, because we're so happy that we're all together again, we're going to have you back a little bit later on in this hour. We're going to talk about Anna Nicole Smith, for one, among the cases that is now front-page news once again.
HERMAN: Lots to talk about.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, all right, thanks again.
FRIEDMAN: Great, see you in a little bit.
WHITFIELD: Again, so great to see you.
All right, the slumping economy, well, it's showing that more women than ever are bringing home the bacon. Coming up, and in depth look at this role reversal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Michelle Obama stepping out, helping to push her husband's policy agendas while shaping her role as first lady and first mom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): With her husband's first 100 days' agenda on the line in Washington, Michelle Obama puts in a good word for him on ABC's "Good Morning America."
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: I believe in this nation, and I believe in my husband. Those are two things. I wouldn't want anybody, but Barack Obama to be working at this time because he is a focused, clear-thinking, rational man and that's what we need right now.
WHITFIELD: And to those who say her husband might be doing too much too fast she says...
M OBAMA: There are also people that is a he's not doing enough. We're going to have to try a lot of things. Some of them will work, some of them will. I think right now people understand that we're going to all have to work together and make a set of sacrifices.
WHITFIELD: How far will she go in advocating her husband's agenda?
LIZ CHADDERDON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I'm sort of waiting for the real Michelle to appear, the one who likes to take on the tough issues, the one who will stand up and say things that perhaps will make people raise their eyebrows. I like that Michelle.
CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So if Michelle Obama goes too far into policy, she's going to be controversial and it's not going to help her husband.
WHITFIELD: Another challenge, balancing her official duties with time for her two daughters.
M OBAMA: I think I have a pretty full plate, but I still have time to be home for homework, and to make sure I'm there before they leave and to go to their parent-teacher conferences and all of the things that are important to do as a parent, so they're doing great. They keep us going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, Michelle Obama showing her leadership roles and really across the board nationwide we're seeing a lot of women in households taking leadership roles. And then, just look at this, being underscored by these new statistics. Recession just isn't leaving millions jobless, it could change that family dynamic with men losing their jobs at a faster rate than women.
According to the Center for American Progress, the jobless rate for men rose from 4.4 percent to 7.2 percent in the years since the recession began in December 2007, just about three percentage points. For women it climbed from 4.3 percent to 5.9 percent over the same time period, just over one percent.
So, joining us to talk about whether this could lead to a role reversal in American households is Marie Wilson, the president and founder of the White House Project.
Marie, good to see you.
MARIE WILSON, WHITE HOUSE PROJECT: Thank you. Good to be here. WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk about that. Women are losing their jobs at a slower rate than man since the recession began in '07. How is this changing the family dynamic, in your view?
WILSON: Well, I think it's changing it quite a bit because men, when they lose their jobs actually don't actually participate in the care of the family as much and that is an issue for the family. When women start to take on more, the problem for the family is of course, women's jobs are paying less, women have fewer health benefits and women, of course, end up doing two jobs. So, in a way, they're becoming leaders, but they're also leading and taking on more responsibility.
WHITFIELD: Which is interesting, you brought up the pay issue and we heard Michelle Obama when she was with Secretary Clinton at the State Department earlier in the week underscoring that still, women are making 78 cents to a man's dollar. So, here you have more women that are the breadwinners in the family, but this disparity of pay is still huge.
WILSON: Well, the disparity of pay is still huge, but again, one of the biggest things is also that you have a 10 percent loss of jobs, a huge rate among women who are heads of household and those are the women who really are suffering most because they can't afford to outsource anything anymore and they have to go out and look for a job.
So, part of what we need to do is figure out how to support women during this job loss and realize that women will lose more jobs possibly as they hit those sectors of health and welfare that women are highly concentrated in the service sectors.
WHITFIELD: So, how do you see the white House Council on Women and Girls unveiled this week by the Obama administration? How do you see that tying in to this, I guess, new family structure that we're seeing in this country -- maybe not new, but it is ballooning.
WILSON: Well, it's a little new. You're absolutely right. It's good that he started this council right now because several things, one is you've got it headed by Valerie Jarrett who is just unquestionably the most powerful woman in the administration, so it's got some clout.
You have women who are heads of these administrative agencies where the task of that council is going to be to look at the programs and policies of any governmental agency and see the agenda lends, how they affect women and that means how they affect American families and hopefully how they affect men, in terms of the issues of work and family.
It could help, but I think Lisa Belkin raised a good issue in her "New York Times" blog this week, and that is if it could do more than be a switch track for how policies are looked at and coordinated across the agency, and really create some new policy, then we'd be in business.
WHITFIELD: And are you encouraged that, whether it be Valerie Jarrett, adviser in the White House or their other advisers in the economic team and other layers of the White House administration that are led by women, if not guided by women, the first lady included, do you think that that is going to translate and spill over into policy making that's going to be more sensitive to women's issues, needs, et cetera?
WILSON: Well, knowing Kathleen Sebelius and what she's done at Kansas and what can do at HHS, knowing, actually, Solis in Labor, knowing Janet Napolitano for one, knowing these women -- Karen Mills at the small business, these are women that most of us have really worked with and we trust and we know they can make a difference, but I'll tell you what Obama hit at the very end of his speech the other day that would make the most difference and that is he talked about putting women in the high places and that's the issue that we haven't addressed because women are still only 10 percent to 20 percent of every sector in American society and until you put women in the high places you'll never permanently address this situation.
WHITFIELD: Marie Wilson, president and founder of the White House Project, thanks for your time, appreciate it.
WILSON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, an explosion of violence south of the border. Find out about the big push coming from inside the United States to stop Mexican drug cartels.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Half past the hour and happening right now, enemy combatants right now in a reversal of bush administration policy. President Obama's Justice Department is anything away with the term to describe terror suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay prison.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is in England talking with his counterparts from the 20 richest and emerging nations. World leaders are seeking answers to the global financial crisis.
The president could fill another cabinet post next week. Confirmation hearings for commerce secretary nominee, Gary Locke, are set for Wednesday. Locke is a Democrat and former governor of Washington State.
On Tuesday Mr. Obama hosts officials from Ireland at the White House for St. Patrick's Day upon. The president will also go to Capitol Hill where House Speaker Nancy police's St. Patrick's Day luncheon. And on Wednesday he flies to California for a town hall meeting in Santa Ana.
The Republicans' unified chorus of no's to the president's plan for stimulating the economy is generating new ammo on the Democratic National Committee Web site. CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, joins us now from Washington.
So, Paul, what are the Democrats trying to accomplish?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They're having a lot of fun, here. What I think they're trying to do, and this is basically political theater, they're trying to paint Republicans as obstructionists. They're saying, Fredricka, at a time of economic crisis the Republicans are just saying no.
They got this Web site and basically on this Web site it's a clock that ticks and they're saying ever since the president released his budget blueprint, a couple of weeks ago, the Republicans are saying just the word no. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You've got the top three Republicans right there in Congress and what this website is saying, basically, that's all they're doing. It's basically, petty politics and empty obstructionism and that is the message, here.
Now, this political push here by the Democrats follows another one. Remember in the last couple of weeks they've been trying to paint Rush Limbaugh as the face of the Republican Party.
WHITFIELD: Right.
STEINHAUSER: And so, it's kind of a one-two punch here to the "Party of No," and if they aren't saying no, they're listening to Rush Limbaugh. That is their message.
WHITFIELD: And so what are the Republicans saying about all of this? What's their response?
STEINHAUSER: It's interesting, Republicans are actually saying, you know what, we are glad to be the "Party of No" if we're saying no to the massive spending that is basically going pass on all this debt to our grandchildren and to our children. The Republicans are saying, first of all, they don't agree with the president's politics here, they want, of course, fix ret session and get us out of the recession, but they say his plans aren't going to work and they're too expensive.
Now, number two Republican in the House, Eric Cantor, his spokesman put out a statement yesterday saying, "If Democrats want to highlight the plan -- highlight the plan Republicans designed and gave to the president that said no to government waste, no to taxes, no to saddling every child in America with $70,000 of debt and yes to creating small business jobs, we applaud them for getting our message out." That is the spokesman for Eric Cantor. He's the number two Republican in the House.
This is an interesting back-and-forth between the Democrats and Republicans. And, Fred, it's a little risky for the Republicans because they can't be seen as rooting against the president's trying to fix the economy, that, you know, you can't root against the country. It's not smart.
I guess the final answer on this political battle will be next November, in the mid-term elections. If the recession continues, the Republicans will say, we told you so. And they may do well. If the recession -- if we get out of the recession, the Republicans can't take any credit for fixing the economy. And the Democrats, Fred, will probably do well in the elections.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I guess, risky, too. And this is something you and I are going to talk about again at 2:00 o'clock as well as the 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour, is the whole face of leadership, Rush Limbaugh or is it Michael Steele. We'll talk a little bit more about that when I see you again later on.
Paul, thanks so much.
STEINHAUSER: You got it. Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Mexico is calling out 5,000 reinforcements to fight the drug cartels. Convoys of troops began rolling into Juarez on Friday. Eighty-five hundred troops -- take a look at the images -- and 2,300 federal agents will patrol the border city across from El Paso, Texas. They'll take control of the police department, the state prison, even the traffic division. About 1,600 people were killed in drug gang violence in Juarez last year.
The U.S. military may be sent to the border to guard against drug violence. Here's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of National Guard were deployed to the border in 2006 to stop illegal immigrants. Now, the governors of Texas and Arizona, again, want a strong guard presence to stop the spillover of Mexican drug violence. The president is weighing their request.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president enumerated again that our long-term challenges relating to many policy decisions along the border are not going to be solved in the long-term through the militarization of the border.
MESERVE: But at a congressional hearing, officials said plans are being drawn up.
ROGER RUFE, HOMELAND SECURITY DEPT.: We're working very closely in the planning process right now with our president and the National Guard and the Department of Defense to make sure we're ready when the time comes. We would exhaust all of the resources of the federal government short of DOD and National Guard troops before we would reach that tipping point.
MESERVE: Exactly what the tipping point is -- officials won't say. But in an interview with regional newspapers, President Obama says a cartel murder of even one U.S. citizen would be "unacceptable, enough of a concern to do something about it."
The Pentagon is already providing Mexico with up to five helicopters and a marine surveillance vehicle. Satellite imagery provided by intelligence agencies is used to monitor the border as our Customs and Border Protection unmanned aircraft.
(on camera): The Pentagon is in the process of determining if there are other ways of helping the Mexican government short of sending drops to the border. And Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is drawing up new proposals she will discuss with Mexican officials during meetings next month.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: There is so much more to this story -- violence spilling into the U.S., people desperate to find safety, trying to leave Mexico. We're devoting a full hour to Mexico's drug war this afternoon and we want to hear from you. What are your questions and concerns about the drugs and weapons smuggling, Mexicans seeking asylum in the U.S. and your travel plans south of the border.
"Mexico's Drug Wars" live from the newsroom at 4:00 p.m. Eastern today, and you can weigh in on the discussion at Weekends@CNN.com, and also send us your iReports at iReport.com.
Meantime, how easy would it be for terrorists to get U.S. passports and actually live here? Pretty darn easy judging by a new government investigation into post-9/11 security. The investigator used phony documents, even the identity of a dead man to obtain passports. He tried it four times and actually succeeded each time.
A State Department spokesman calls it human error and says the department plans to have facial recognition screening for all applicants six months from now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, you and I look at this and we see an engine. Well, some mechanics out there look at it and see an opportunity to rip you off. What you should watch out for. We've got the answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Admit it, it's either happened to you or someone you know, or you've worried about it. Getting ripped off when you had your car fixed. Well, many auto mechanics are honest -- unfortunately, not all of them are. And with money so tight these days, our Josh Levs is here with it ups to avoid getting taken for a ride. LEVS: Ever happen to you, Fred?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: Did it?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: Yes, I think that ...
WHITFIELD: You know what? Yes, OK. I won't go into it, but yes.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: It burns me up. It's happened.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: I was going to tell the story, I decided not to go there.
WHITFIELD: Don't get me started.
LEVS: Especially if some of those mechanics are watching and they'll know how to get you. You don't want to give anyone any idea (ph).
WHITFIELD: I'm showing restraint.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: All right. Let's see the idea here. We had some fun with this one. Obviously, it's a serious thing that happens to too many people.
But I got to interview the automotive expert from "Consumer Reports." He gave me some great advice and what I did was when we took this, we boiled it down to 90 seconds for you.
So, here you go now in 90 seconds, what you need to know to avoid mechanic scams.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON LINKOV, CONSUMER REPORTS: One of the things you want to look out for is the serial parts replacer. You know, the person who's constantly replacing a belt, you know, or the person who's always saying, oh, you know, you got to replace your battery again, oh, your battery is draining, oh, you know, it's a bad thing.
If that's happening and you're constantly replacing the same part over and over again or a bunch of parts and it's still not causing, you know, the problem to go away, you want to talk to that mechanic first off or fire them and find someone new.
Another rip-off that you might see is what's called the "flush." You go into the service center and they say, oh, we really we should flush the oil out of the engine or we should flush the radiator and get all new fluid in there. They used a power machine that just basically rips everything through, sends all the fluids out and replaces it with new fluids. Unfortunately, that knocks the sediment out of the radiator or out of the engine or the transmission, and that can cause problems down the road.
One thing people have to know is that you don't have to go to the dealership to have service performed. You can go into independent mechanic to have the regularly schedule maintenance performed. In the car, you have your service manual. It says the 12,000 service, the 30,000 service, the 45,000 service. And it lists what has to be done.
You can save about $200 to $300 in some cases by going to an independent rather than a dealer.
The final thing that you really should look out for is the severe use cycle. We all really drive in a normal average use cycle, where it's stop and go traffic on the highway, in and out of the city. But a lot of times, a dealer will say, no, you're in a severe use, you need to have a more aggressive cycle in getting your car maintained. So, instead of having, say, 7,000 mile oil changes because you're using a synthetic, they want you to replace every 3,000.
Where they make money in dealerships nowadays is in the service, not upfront when they're selling the car, it's in the service department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, I like that.
LEVS: Yes. It was pretty cool, huh?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: It's getting (INAUDIBLE).
And we showed you the Web site right there at CNN.com/autos. Just great stuff here, it's one of the ones I pulled up. There you go. CNN.com/autos, it has really interesting information about this, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK. So how do we find a reliable mechanic? Because you got to start there, too.
LEVS: Right. Exactly, finding a reliable mechanic. I just spoke with him about that as well. And his basic idea, he said, obviously, you know, speak with people, not just people you trust, but people who have been with the same mechanic for a long time.
Also, a lot of the places I've been looking at are recommending that you stay inside AAA or one of the other automotive services in which people have a group that they have to respond to, and if there's a problem, you know, you can try to go to the small Better Business Bureau or something, but if they're part of AAA or another automotive group, you complain to that group, and sometimes they have more pull.
WHITFIELD: Got it.
If you want to avoid the problem, because once you have a problem, got the wrong part put in your vehicle or used part, et cetera, really, it's a nightmare trying to undo that. It costs you more money, you know, to try and get that fixed. I'm telling you, I can go on and on and on.
LEVS: Speaking from experienced people.
WHITFIELD: I know.
LEVS: She's been there. I know. We all have to be careful about this stuff.
WHITFIELD: Yes, you want to get it right the first time, that's for sure.
All right. Thanks, Josh, appreciate it.
LEVS: Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, imagine lining up at a job fair and being told that you can't come in. It actually happened this week in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. Take a look at these pictures by iReporter Miguel Spivey.
Several thousand people actually showed up, way more than the job fair could actually handle. The event was so overcrowded hundreds of people were actually told that they couldn't come in. They just simply reached capacity.
So, perhaps you are job hunting. Check out CNN.com to see who is actually hiring in your area and get the hot spots across the nation as well. You'll find the tips there on how to land and hopefully keep that job and much, much more. That's at CNN.com/jobs.
The long arm of the law. Anna Nicole's been dead for two years now, so, why are prosecutors just now going after the people suspected of giving her just too many drugs? Let's see if you agree with our legal guys or maybe you'll disagree as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. She died two years ago, but again, everyone is talking once again about Anna Nicole Smith. Let's turn to our legal guys and then explain why: Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor; and Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor.
And just in case you're just now joining us, Rich, we're just so happy that it's the three of us once again ...
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: ... because Richard has gone away for awhile and we so, so missed him.
HERMAN: Thank you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. So here we go, Anna Nicole Smith, the reason why people were talking again about this case because now, Avery, her boyfriend and two of her doctors are now being, I guess, the target of an investigation as to giving her too many drugs. Explain.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes. Well, actually, Howard K. Stern has been charged with a conspiracy to furnish controlled substances and illegal drugs. The reality is that this came about by, at least, some argue, that Howard brought a defamation case in Florida and the guy that's defending it decided to defend by getting into this furnishing drugs. That data was turned over to the California attorney general. Howard's right back in the soup again.
WHITFIELD: All right. So, Richard, why did it take two years?
HERMAN: I don't know why it took two years, but I'll tell you what, Fred, this is a very serious case.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HERMAN: He's got eight counts against him for three years each. He perjured himself in his testimony down in Florida.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
HERMAN: His lawyer appears extremely incompetent right now. He better wake up because this Governor Brown, former Governor Brown, now the Attorney General Brown is very serious about this.
You cannot get prescriptions under fake names in order to get them filled. You can't go to different pharmacies to get them filled. She was obviously out of commission and obviously addicted, and you can't continue to pump drugs into someone in that condition.
FRIEDMAN: Yes. Well, and doctors also, in all fairness, in addition to Howard, there are two doctors that are on the line, particularly one who was responsible for virtually all of the prescriptions right up to the point of the death of Anna Nicole Smith.
HERMAN: Yes.
FRIEDMAN: So, you got two doctors on the line. You got Howard on the line. We're just looking at the beginning. But I agree, this guy is in a world of trouble as are the doctors.
HERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: OK. And, Richard, I'm going to give a little extra time on this because you've been out of the mix. And your input on the Rihanna/Chris Brown situations.
HERMAN: Oh, my God.
WHITFIELD: So, now, the latest being, we understand the two are putting out a duet together. FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And even maybe pending a book which may be talking about domestic violence. All this on the hills of -- we still don't know if this is going to be a case. We know that there are some pretty serious charges that could be lodged against him. She, through her spokesperson also said that she would cooperate.
But I don't get it. How are you going to cooperate against your alleged abuser and at the same time collaborate with? Explain.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: This is nauseating, Fred. This is just horrific. This poor girl is so lost. She needs someone to come and swoop down and save her right now. Making this duet is pathetic. She's not going to assist.
WHITFIELD: And what would that do if there is a legal case? I mean, can you have one?
FRIEDMAN: Well, without her testimony, there is no case.
HERMAN: Well, that's not true.
FRIEDMAN: Richard, wait a minute, I think you're looking at a plea and I'll bet you agree with that. And so, she's not going to go to trial.
HERMAN: I absolutely agree, there's going to be a misdemeanor plea here ...
FRIEDMAN: Sure.
HERMAN: ... because she doesn't want to go out there and say, you know, go after this guy and crush him. But, you know, she's so lost, Fred. It's horrible.
WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE).
HERMAN: And, you know, this was not the first time. We know -- I've got to believe this was not the first time he beat the crap out of her.
FRIEDMAN: It won't be the last time, either.
HERMAN: And it won't be the last time.
WHITFIELD: OK. And we have -- we have time for one more case, Richard, because you're back, you know, you pick. You want to talk a little Hulk Hogan and what's going on with that divorce case or ...
FRIEDMAN: Go ahead, Richard. Tell us about the Hulk.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: ... Patrick and text messages? Which one? Take a pick.
HERMAN: Well, Hulk Hogan going at it with his wife's attorney in the hallway of the courthouse, all that means to me is that his wife is kicking his butt in that divorce proceeding. That's what that means, right?
WHITFIELD: Really?
HERMAN: Right, Avery?
FRIEDMAN: Well, actually -- I actually think the lawyer shouldn't have even gotten involved. His name is ...
WHITFIELD: Well, yes. What was that?
FRIEDMAN: Well, his name is Rafool. I think that tells you everything.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: I saw that name and I knew one of you is going to like, you know ...
FRIEDMAN: You knew it was going there.
WHITFIELD: Sink your teeth into that one, yes. OK.
HERMAN: Hey, Fred, you know, Avery did such a wonderful job, just you and Avery all that time.
WHITFIELD: He held down the fort. He did.
FRIEDMAN: Look, I'm just a backer boy. I'm waiting for you, man, to get better.
HERMAN: I hope -- I hope when you get your own show, you put me on a few times with you.
(LAUGHTER)
FRIEDMAN: We're all -- we're all back together.
WHITFIELD: You are both prized possessions, glad to have both here.
HERMAN: I love you, Fred.
FRIEDMAN: You guys are the best. Take care.
WHITFIELD: I love you back.
HERMAN: Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: All right, Richard and Avery, thanks so much.
All right. In the meantime, momentarily, we understand that we're going to be hearing from the White House. President Obama as we reported at the top of the hour has been meeting with the Brazilian president, they're talking about trade, they're talking about the economy and we understand there will be some remarks that we will be bringing to you as soon as it happens.
Live pictures of the White House -- always beautiful no matter what the weather there in Washington.
Much more -- straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Standing eye-to-eye. An Israeli company developed a robotic suit that lets paraplegics stand and walk again. Paula Hancocks reports on this week's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Radi Kaiof was paralyzed from the waist down 20 years ago. An Israeli soldier, shot in the spine while on patrol in Lebanon. Now, he can walk, thanks to some high-tech assistance. He still has no feeling in his legs, but that makes no difference with the ReWalk.
Radi tells me, "Standing changes my whole environment. I don't have to look from the bottom up, now I am eye-to-eye with everybody."
The ReWalk is the brainchild of Dr. Amit Goffer after he became disabled in an accident in 1997. Dr. Goffer focused on developing an alternative to a wheelchair. By 2007, this robotic suit or exoskeleton was ready for testing.
DR. AMIT GOFFER, REWALK INVENTOR: Because this maybe the -- number one problem with sitting in the wheelchair is leaning. And secondly, tremendous (INAUDIBLE) and health.
HANCOCKS: The robotic suit has advanced motion sensors and on board computers. And crutches keep the patient upright. It's not on the market yet. The ReWalk is still going through clinical trials. But if it's approved, the device could be available in 2010.
I'm Paula Hancocks in Haifa, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And we should know in about three hours whether the Space Shuttle Discovery will take off tomorrow. NASA scrubbed Wednesday's scheduled launch due to a leak in the shuttle's fuel tank. At 3:00 p.m. Eastern, press briefing is expected to confirm whether Sunday's liftoff is still on. It's tentatively set for 7:43 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll keep you posted.
All right. Let's check in with our Reynolds Wolf there in the weather center.
Kind of lonely over there today, huh? REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. But I'll tell you, all eyes, you're talking about the space shuttle, and everyone's keeping a sharp eye on parts of Florida, especially Cape Canaveral for the launch tomorrow. The launch is expected to be around 7:43 Eastern Time, that is if the weather holds together.
Right now, we do have a chance of some scattered showers, mainly today and possibly the some for tomorrow, but for the launch time, we do expect conditions should be OK -- a few low clouds, about 80 percent of it taking off. So, we'll keep a sharp eye and keep those fingers crossed.
Meanwhile, another big weather story we have today, is still the flooding in parts of the Midwest. We're talking about Michigan, into Ohio and Indiana -- well, conditions are going to be better today as those waters recede. We're not expecting any additional precipitation in the Great Lakes for about the next five or six days. That is good news for them, but the cleanup really is going to get underway early next week.
Scattered showers possible for your holiday weekend, this is, of course, the weekend -- a lot of people going out and celebrating, namely in Chicago. Let's see, St. Patrick's Day. Hard to believe it's already coming here.
Take your way down and into parts of south Texas, you can see some scattered showers. If you're heading down, say, to Brownsville maybe even Padre Island -- a lot of people are heading there for spring break, look for some scattered showers.
Dry conditions for then northern and central plains, but in the Pacific Northwest, rain is going to be your big issue early in the day and later on today. Possibly some scattered snow showers in the high mountain passes. Anyone making a drive from Seattle back to, say, Snoqualmie Pass, maybe going to Lake Sammamish, you're going to have some issues there.
Fifty-two degrees is your high in Portland, 54 in Salt Lake City, 55 in Billings, mainly 40s in Minneapolis. Chicago, I don't think they've started dyeing the river green yet downtown, but that is going to happen.
WHITFIELD: Getting close!
WOLF: Exactly. And probably ...
WHITFIELD: And maybe they'll get to wear shorts while doing it? It's getting warm.
WOLF: If you can withstand 50 degrees, sure. I'm sure you've been ...
WHITFIELD: That is so warm for Chicagoans.
WOLF: Well, maybe so and they'll be drinking stuff that will keep them warm. And I'm not talking about hot chocolate either. (LAUGHTER)
WOLF: You aren't going with that.
WHITFIELD: Well, hot (INAUDIBLE) or something.
WOLF: Hey, just leave the rest to the imagination.
WHITFIELD: OK. I get it.
WOLF: You bet.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.
WOLF: No problem.
WHITFIELD: You know what? "Sesame Street," did you watch as a kid?
WOLF: I still watch it.
WHITFIELD: Are you watching now because of your kids?
WOLF: I'm still watching, I have two little ones.
WHITFIELD: I know what you mean.
WOLF: Again, Elmo, he's my homeboy. Yes.
WHITFIELD: OK. Well, we got some bad news for "Sesame Street." They've been smacked down hard by the recession. You know, how they had the game of, you know, and they'd help you with the alphabet. Well, "L" is for layoff apparently. That's the latest word that folks are learning there.
Sixty-seven layoffs apparently will be taking place, 20 percent of the show team. So that's not good news, but somehow, the comedians out there have made it into a funny or two. They've got a few parodies out there.
Kermit the frog is giving a press conference as opposed to anybody else. "Mad TV," they have a skit going. Cookie monster is apparently diabetic, forced to cut off a foot because he can't afford healthcare.
That is not funny and another "Mad TV" skit, bank forecloses on Big Bird's nest. Certainly not funny stuff because the kids need Sesame Street, and I think we all grew up on Sesame Street. So we wish them the best and some survivability through all of this.
All right. Well, a new report from John Hopkins University finds the graduation rate in the country remained flat between 2002 and 2006. It also shows improving numbers in a dozen states. Good news, finally.
Tennessee had the largest gain. The graduation rate went from 61 percent to 72 percent. Other states with big improvements in graduation rates include, Delaware, Kentucky, South Dakota, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina -- stay with me -- New York, Nebraska and New Hampshire.
All right, the perils of plastic. Credit card companies are cracking down and you may soon feel the pain. We'll be talking about it in just about an hour from now. The economy, issue number one for you, for us. Next week, we focus CNN's vast resources on the "Road to Rescue: A CNN Survival Guide." What do all of the numbers really mean? And where are the jobs? It's all next week beginning Monday.
All right. Stay with CNN. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
