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Obama's Accountability; Mass Layoffs in February Keep Unemployment Numbers High; Sacramento Mayor Cleaning Up Tent City; Rules to Becoming an "Empowered Patient"

Aired March 20, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It's an uphill journey for many of you, but our "Road to Rescue" coverage aims to help you navigate the economic storm. Our correspondents have what you need to know.

Stephanie Elam, with a just-released snapshot of the jobs picture. Suzanne Malveaux, bringing us the president's latest message on AIG, and Dana Bash looking at how the House wants to get your money back from those bonuses at bailed-out companies.

The mortgage mess, the Madoff scandal, and the anger over AIG bonuses. All of it has Congress looking at ways to better protect you and your interests. This hour, members of the House Financial Services Committee are looking to strengthen laws that focus on the rights of consumers and investors.

The full House has sent a clear message now to corporate executives. If you don't give backbone bonuses, Uncle Sam will take them back. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, on a bill now that imposes a bruising tax on big bonuses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democrats are under intense pressure to get beyond the outrage and actually do something about AIG bonuses.

REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), CHAIRMAN, WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE: Do these people deserve at taxpayers' expense to receive these type of bonuses?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to recover the taxpayers' money for them!

BASH: So House democrats rushed to pass a bill imposing a 90 percent tax on bonuses for employees with family incomes above $250,000. It applies not just to AIG, but all companies that got at least $5 billion taxpayer dollars. Some democrats admit that punishing employees by taxing bonuses after the fact may be legally questionable, but because of public outcry, worth the risk.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: I realize that this may be subjected to constitutional challenge, and/or the courts. But, you know what? I'm prepared to battle in the courts.

BASH: Keeping the honest, the question is, why didn't Congress wage this all-out battle before, to prevent the bonuses?

Let's start with republicans. They now say...

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: The AIG situation underscores the fact that Washington isn't doing anything to help our economy.

BASH: But the reality is, many GOP lawmakers voted against multiple attempts to ban bonuses, calling it meddling in the marketplace. As for democrats who run Congress, they did pass strict anti-bonus bills, but they also allowed the Bush White House and the Obama administration to prevent those from becoming law.

In fact, the Obama team's role came to light when CNN reporting forced Senator Chris Dodd to reverse himself and admit under pressure from the Obama Treasury Department he inserted a loophole, allowing AIG executives to keep their bonuses.

SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-CT), CHAIRMAN, SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE: The administration had expressed reservations about the amendment. They came to us and asked for modifications.

BASH: And now another senate democrat tells CNN, the Obama administration blocked his attempt to stop the bonuses.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: But I can tell you, specifically, as I talk to virtually the entire administration economic team, I wasn't able to convince them to go along, and I think that's unfortunate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Dana Bash joining us now live.

So many questions for you, Dana. To begin with, what reason did Wyden give for not stopping the bonuses?

BASH: It's very interesting, Heidi. Senator Wyden said that the reason that the Obama officials gave him is that they were worried that banning these bonuses would drive what they consider to be talent away from Wall Street.

COLLINS: Yes. We've heard that.

BASH: Exactly. But this is important in terms of the timing. This was just last month. They were worried about banning bonuses at the White House, because of this talent problem that they consider a big potential problem, and now we're hearing anger from the White House about the fact these bonuses are given.

So it's definitely is an interesting dynamic, not just from Senator Wyden, but other democratic sources here saying they tried, but there was a culture, and the Obama administration, what democrats here are saying that it was not unlike what they heard from the Bush administration that they didn't want to get rid of these bonuses.

COLLINS: Yes. Boy, there is just so much time being spent on this. What's next? What's next in the senate?

BASH: Well, that's right. The House passed this legislation yesterday, and we are expecting to see the Senate take up something similar next week. It is going to be the same idea, which is to tax these bonuses with the goal of basically stripping them away from the executives at AIG, and other companies.

COLLINS: Yes, and there has been so much talk about this, there's actually been some threats to the security of the people who receive these bonuses, and, in fact, we now know - our CNN Money reporting just yesterday that attorney general of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has the list of the exact people, the executives who got the AIG bonuses. Is he going to make those names public? Any idea? What's the talk on that?

BASH: Well, I think the reporting is that Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general does have them, but he's waiting to release them, because he is looking into potential security concerns about these executives.

You remember just this week, the House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, he had the CEO of AIG before him...

COLLINS: Right.

BASH: ... and he was demanding the same thing. He said, I want to see the names. And he even threatened to subpoena the company to get them.

But the response from AIG's CEO was, you know, I don't want to give them to you unless you promise you won't make them public because of security concerns. Barney Frank said, I can't promise you that.

So, that is why, actually, Andrew Cuomo in New York, he has the names, but here on Capitol Hill, they don't yet have them.

COLLINS: Wow. Very, very interesting angles to all of this. All right. Barbara? So sorry, that would be Dana. Thanks so much.

BASH: No problem.

COLLINS: Appreciate that. Great reporting here.

BASH: Thanks.

COLLINS: CNN Saturday and Sunday night, Ali Velshi and the CNN Money Team are searching for truth inside the AIG scandal. See what they found in AIG, facts and fury. CNN, Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

President Obama has already had a few things to say about huge executive bonuses.

Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now live with that. So Suzanne, the AIG controversy followed the president all the way to the west coast, where he talked about the bonus fiasco on late- night TV.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, it did follow him. And somewhat overshadowing.

But really, Heidi, when you take a look at his performance, it was obviously very casual, very comfortable, using some charm. The intent here to get beyond the AIG controversy. To focus on a broader message. To talk about the economy, the budget, and to try to sell that economic stimulus package is really being the fix to turning things around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to do everything we can to see if we can get these bonuses back. I think the most important thing that we can do is make sure that we put in a bunch of financial, regulatory mechanisms to prevent companies like an AIG holding the rest of us hostage, because that's the real problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You know, for the weeks to come, he'll be making some announcements about that.

He also took the opportunity to defend his - the right man - right-hand man, his secretary, Tim Geithner, who has been under a lot of scrutiny lately about how he has been handling things. And he says he has all of the confidence in the world. This is a really tough job.

And he also says that he is under scrutiny himself, being - like being on "American Idol," he says, but Simon Cowell is the only judge.

So, obviously feeling a little bit of heat here as everybody picks apart what he says, and how he is saying it, and how he is going to be dealing with this economic mess.

COLLINS: Absolutely. Well, also, something interesting that we're seeing as sort of a dramatic shift, I would say, in tone, at the White House on Iran.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. What happened overnight - actually, it was released at midnight, it was embargoed until midnight, was a videotaped message to the Iranian people, as well as the Iranian government, wishing them a happy new year. Now, this may not be a big deal to us, but it certainly is a big deal to them.

This is unprecedented. This is something that the Bush administration did not do. They released a paper statement from time to time, but this was a videotaped message directly to them, saying, I want to engage. The U.S. government wants to engage that there can be this partnership. And it really is the president taking what he said on the campaign trail, which is opening up a dialogue. And diplomacy with Iran, taking it to the next level as president. One of the things that was interesting is that he spoke directly to the Iranian people, saying that he believed that this was really a sign of commitment and respect between these two nations. So we'll see how it's received. But this is a big deal.

COLLINS: Yes, because no word yet, right? No response back. From Iran.

MALVEAUX: Right. That's right.

COLLINS: OK. Very good. We're watching that one, as well.

Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much, live from the White House this morning.

President Obama says, when it comes to AIG, the buck stops here. And yet there is always a "but."

CNN's Jessica Yellin explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the face of the AIG mess, President Obama accepted the blame once...

OBAMA: Listen, I'll take responsibility. I'm the president.

YELLIN: ... twice...

OBAMA: We are responsible, though. The buck stops with me.

YELLIN: ... three times.

OBAMA: Just go ahead and talk to me. Because it's my job to make sure that we fix these messes, even if I don't make them.

YELLIN: Sounds noble. But when you listen closely, it's not clear what part of this mess he's willing to own.

OBAMA: Nobody here drafted those contracts.

YELLIN: True. But many contract law experts think his administration should have told AIG to delay or refuse to pay those bonuses.

OBAMA: We find ourselves in a situation where we're having to clean up after AIG's mess.

YELLIN: But that's no surprise. The government started bailing out AIG last September. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner helped negotiate AIG's first bailout plan when he ran the New York Fed. That's why so many critics accused the administration of dropping the ball on these bonuses. OBAMA: And I know Washington is all in a tizzy and everybody is pointing fingers at each other and saying it's their fault - the democrats' fault, the republicans' fault.

YELLIN: OK, it's true. Cable chatterers can get overheated playing the blame game. But isn't it also fair to ask who in Washington knew and why didn't they act? After all, the president supports accountability.

OBAMA: I'll make our government open and transparent.

YELLIN: Could the president be ever so slightly redefining what it means to take responsibility? Remember when Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination?

OBAMA: I think I made a mistake. And I told Tom that.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": What was your mistake, letting it get this far?

YELLIN: He never said what the mistake was.

(on-camera): Critics say this isn't accountability, it's the appearance of accountability.

On the other hand, administration insiders believe the press is out for blood and the president is taking the most open position he can in a tough situation.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: A U.S. Navy ship and a U.S. Navy submarine collided near the Strait of Hormuz near the Persian Gulf. Fifteen sailors aboard one of those vessels on a submarine were slightly injured.

The accident happened as the U.S.S. Hartford, that's the submarine and the U.S.S. New Orleans made their way through the strait, one of the busiest waterways. The Hartford is a nuclear- powered submarine, but it's propulsion plant was undamaged. A fuel tank though ruptured aboard the amphibious ship New Orleans. Twenty- five thousand gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the Persian Gulf.

We'll keep our eye on that story for you.

New job numbers due out soon. We'll have the latest on mass layoffs.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN severe weather center. A little snow on this first day of spring across New York. We got some travel delays. Plus, a spring flood that could be of historic proportions across the Midwest.

Details coming up when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We just got some new numbers that you need to hear. The government's latest reports on what they call mass layoffs.

Stephanie Elam has the brand new information, joining us now live from New York.

We should probably begin with, what are we talking about here? What is a "mass layoff"?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's a good place to start, Heidi.

The idea of a mass layoff is when 50 or more people are axed from their jobs in one fell swoop. So, that's what they're talking about. Fifty or more people in one movement here.

And let's take a look at the numbers that we have for February - 2,760 mass layoffs in February that led to 295,477 job cuts for that month of February. Now, these mass layoff numbers actually up 542 from January.

The other information that we got from this, Heidi, is that unemployment claims associated to those cuts, they were up by 57,575. So we are seeing some big numbers here still. It's showing that a lot of people still having a very difficult time in this market. A lot of companies having a difficult time.

COLLINS: Yes.

ELAM: One thing I also want to point out. California had the highest number of initial claims. And if you are looking for the states that show year over year decreases, there are only two. And they would be Louisiana and Mississippi.

COLLINS: Interesting. All right, Stephanie, thanks for explaining that. Appreciate it.

Wal-Mart is sharing the wealth with its employees. Now, the company says it's awarding U.S. hourly employees with $2 billion in financial incentives this year. That includes $934 million in bonuses and $789 million in profit sharing and 401(k) contributions. Early this month, the company announced sales were up just over five percent in February.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: When a woman stopped at a bar near Atlanta, she got much more than she bargained for. She got a glass of wine and the bartender accidentally rang up the wrong amount on her debit card and then she ended up with $80,000 in her bank account.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEANNA HAMILTON, RETURNED MONEY: I bought the $8.00 drink and the bartender accidentally pressed $80,000. And when he went to void it, it deposited the money into my account. Initially, I thought I had a won a drawing or something. Yes, a lot of people would have been halfway to Singapore by now, but I guess I did the right thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Because she was honest and reported the mistake, the bar is holding a party in her honor tonight to say thank you. I wonder if it's going to cost $80,000.

Homeless in Sacramento. People have been crowding into what's become known as "Tent City." Now the city's mayor says he has an answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Down and out and living in a tent city in Sacramento, California. The numbers are growing, as jobless figures across the state top 10 percent.

Steve Large of affiliate KOVR reports now from Sacramento.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE LARGE, KOVR REPORTER (voice-over): You would never know what's here if you didn't look for it. On the other side of the train tracks, under a slew of mud (ph) power lines and now the focus of national and international media crews, it is a city of tents.

This is the unofficial mayor, Rico.

"RICO," MAYOR OF TENT CITY: A lot of these people here, they consider this home. And they really mean it. Some of us, we're trying to get out of here.

LARGE: And now the real mayor has a million-dollar plan to clear it out.

MAYOR KEVIN JOHNSON, SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: We've got to have tough law, and we've got to be very compassionate.

LARGE: The homeless here will be given choices. Shelters, churches, community centers, and permanent housing solutions will all be made available.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not going to work, man.

LARGE (on camera): The city says about 150 people live in this area that's become known as "tent city," but if you ask the people living here, they'll tell you that number is a lot higher, maybe as high as 250, or 275. And about another seven people move in every single day.

(voice-over): One welcome addition on this day, Port-a-Potties, rented by Sacramento Pastor Gerald Wilhyde (ph). If the city has its way, they won't be needed for long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The city has got a plan in place, from what I understand - I haven't seen a lot of action in terms of the plan.

LARGE: But Mayor Johnson is calling on everyone to keep watch.

JOHNSON: And I challenged everybody who came from international and national "New York Times," L.A., come back six months from now, do a follow-up story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Sacramento's mayor and city leaders plan to meet again today to talk about the future of "Tent City," and along with neighborhood activists, they are trying to find ways to help the city's growing homeless population.

No job, no health insurance. The tough realities of unemployment. In our snapshot across America.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We're starting something new here on the CNN NEWSROOM. Every week, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen gets tons of questions on how to become a more "Empowered Patient." And every Friday, she is going to join us to answer some of those e-mails.

So, yes, this has become a very popular segment that we have been doing, actually on the cnn.com, "Empowered Patient." People read it, they have these questions and then you have a difficult time getting back to them. So we want to put them on TV for you.

First question. Ready?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm ready.

COLLINS: OK. This comes from Dexter. It says, "I just saw your report on prostate cancer screenings. Is it the PC screen that advances the cancer? If so, how does it do this?"

COHEN: OK. I think Dexter might have misunderstood a little bit. This is an incredibly complex story, so I am not surprised. This is very confusing. So let me try to simplify it.

A study came out in the "New England Journal of Medicine" yesterday that said that men who get screened for prostate cancer are just as likely to die as men who don't get screened. I mean, it sort of makes it sound...

COLLINS: What about early intervention?

COHEN: No. With prostate cancer, it grows so slowly that it may not really help you to catch it early. As a matter of fact, it might hurt you to catch it early, because you catch it early and then you feel compelled to do something, when maybe you're better off just letting it grow slowly. You could live with it.

It sounds crazy, I know. But you can live with a small prostate cancer for decades, just fine. And if you treat it, you can cause problems.

So the treatment might be worse than the illness. So I think it's important to go over, what are some of the down sides of treating prostate cancer, because usually, you think treatment, that's great. The dark side of treating prostate cancer is it might make you impotent and it might also make you incontinent, and also it can cause depression, because you think, gosh, I have cancer when really you have the teeny tiny cancer that's not such a big deal.

Also, if you find out you have prostate cancer, you may be uninsurable in the future, which is very important to remember.

COLLINS: Yes. All right.

COHEN: So some prostate cancers really do need to get treated right away, other ones are better off not treating.

COLLINS: OK. I definitely don't think people know that.

COHEN: Yes.

COLLINS: The "New England Journal of Medicine."

COHEN: CNNhealth.com has a wonderful article on this.

COLLINS: OK. Good.

Here is the second one, too. Let's see, it says, Meredith - she wants to know this. "About four months ago, I was in the hospital for ten days, because of an undiagnosed gastric problem. They performed a battery of tests and procedures to include all of these, bone marrow, biopsy, colonoscopy, endoscopy, lab work for bacteria, virus, parasite, infections, et cetera, that rang up of a bill of about $75,000, which she has not paid. What do I do? Please help me."

Of course, my medical advice would be check for celiac disease, because it sound like a little bit like that. It took me 12 years to get diagnosed.

COHEN: Right. But aside from that, this woman is now, in addition to being sick, $75,000 in debt. It is a terrible thing, but this happens more and more, this happens to many Americans. As a matter of fact, personal bankruptcies, when people declare bankruptcy, a huge chunk of the time it's because of medical debt like this.

COLLINS: It sure is.

COHEN: So we have some great advice on what to do when you're in medical debt. First of all, get the bill. Because a lot of times, hospitals double charge. Or sometimes they have been known to charge for surgeries that you never had. So make sure that that bill is correct.

COLLINS: It's like when you go to a restaurant, get the bill, and check it. No matter what. COHEN: Right. Because you don't want to be charged for some lasagna you never ate. You know, I mean, make sure you got all of those procedures.

And then another thing - another thing that you want to do is that you want to try to negotiate with the hospital and with the doctors. They actually will negotiate with you, and people forget that. You can get that price down. And you can also try to contact a medical billing advocate.

COLLINS: OK, good.

COHEN: And if you go to CNN.com/empowered patient, we tell you how to find a medical billing advocate. So empoweredpatient@CNN.com is where you can send more questions. But also, the Web site where you to find more tips is CNN.com/empoweredpatient.

COLLINS: Very good. Hey, this is great. And we want to do a lot more of it. I know you have so many more questions, but...

COHEN: We do.

COLLINS: ... make sure that everybody knows...

COHEN: Our inbox overflows.

COLLINS: That's right -- every Friday. All right, Elizabeth, sure do appreciate that. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

COLLINS: Want to get you to Wall Street now. The bulls are trying to make it two weeks in a row of gains. That used to be pretty common. Not so much anymore. Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with more on the day's moves. So, Susan, let's see. We're up by about 40 points. We always like the plus sign, especially on a Friday.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but what may be even more rare than a plus sign on a Friday, Heidi, is that the three major averages are in a position to record their first back-to-back weekly gains in nearly a year.

COLLINS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Basically, investors are looking for and hearing, occasionally, signs that the economy may be on the mend. We'll be listening to Ben Bernanke. He'll be giving a speech around noon Eastern time. He's been a very busy man this week, but there's no question, the bulls have been on a buying binge. The Dow is up 13 percent over the last eight trading days. The S&P 500 a much broader average of 15 percent over the same period. And as you mentioned, blue chips right now up 36 points. Nasdaq is up eight -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Investors then pretty jittery, though, about whether there will be enough of this good news in the coming days -- obviously, next week is what we would be talking about -- in order to keep a rally going.

LISOVICZ: Right. And one of the areas that we have always been watching is the bank sector. That's really where we got the first glimmers of hope. Last week, you may recall, Bank of America and Citigroup said they were profitable in the first two months of the year. If banks recover, Main Street recovers, the stock market recovers. It's as simple as that -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, also watching financial shares. Kind of weird about AIG.

LISOVICZ: Well, AIG, despite the firestorm about its bonuses, has been red-hot this week. Monday through Thursday, its shares were up sharply every day this week. It's giving some back today, about -- AIG shares down about 22 percent. That's pennies on the dollar, because AIG shares are only worth about $1.50 each.

Goldman Sachs also down. Goldman Sachs is going to have a conference call about its relationship with AIG. You may recall, AIG earlier this week disclosed that Goldman Sachs got about $13 billion in taxpayer money. All of that largess from the government, some of it going to Goldman Sachs, and Goldman Sachs will be talking about it. Yet another wrinkle in the AIG story, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Want to get to this now. In an exclusive interview, Eliot Spitzer talks to Fareed Zakaria about the economic crisis and the scandal that led to his own resignation as governor of New York. Spitzer conducted his own in-depth investigation of AIG when he was attorney general of New York State. And he says that while so much attention is focused on these AIG bonuses, we might be missing even bigger problems.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": So, do you think that the problems that AIG got into later on stem from some of the same practices that you were trying to get at?

ELIOT SPITZER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: They stemmed from an effort from the very top to gin up returns whenever, wherever possible, and to push the boundaries in a way that would garner returns almost regardless of risk. Back then, I said to people, AIG is at the center of the web. The financial tentacles of this company stretched to every major investment bank. The web between AIG and Goldman Sachs is something that should be pursued. And as I have written...

ZAKARIA: Meaning what? Meaning that a lot of the money that we, the taxpayers, gave AIG has ended up being paid to Goldman Sachs?

SPITZER: Precisely.

ZAKARIA: And other companies.

SPITZER: The so-called counterparties to these very sophisticated financial transactions. When AIG initially received $80 billion, a decision that was the consequence of a very brief meeting of the president of the New York Fed, the secretary of the Treasury, perhaps Chairman Bernanke, and arguably some reports say the chairman of Goldman Sachs, $80 billion, virtually all of it flowed out to counterparties, $12.9 billion to Goldman Sachs.

Why did that happen? What questions were asked? Why did we need to pay 100 cents on the dollar on those transactions if we had to pay anything? What would have happened to the financial system had it not been paid? These are the questions that should be pursued.

Now, the bonus is a real issue. It touches us viscerally. The real money and the real structural issue is the dynamic between AIG and the counterpart.

ZAKARIA: You know, there are a number of people watching who are going to say Eliot Spitzer doesn't have credibility to talk about these issues because of what happened over the last year with your own behavior. What would you say to them?

SPITZER: I would say to them that I never held myself out as being anything other than human. I have flaws as we all do, arguably. I failed in a very important way in my personal life, and I have paid a price for that. I have spent a year with my family, with my wonderful and amazing and forgiving wife and three daughters. And we'll -- have rebuilt those relationships and hope to do that as time goes on.

I also feel that to the extent -- if I'm asked, and I can contribute to a very important conversation, I will do that as well. That is our right, arguably our obligation as citizens. I will do what I can, and with full awareness and heaviness of heart about what I did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: You can hear more from the man once called the sheriff of Wall Street. Eliot Spitzer has inside knowledge of AIG and what he thinks Congress should do about the bonus outrage. Plus, more on the scandal that cost him his job. It's a "GPS" exclusive Sunday at 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

In had today's "Snapshot across America," people out of work and desperately looking for jobs. Obstacles, frustrations, and successes. Eric Bell is an unemployed mid-level manager who is joining us now from Phoenix, Arizona. Actually, now, a part-time worker. And Laura Walker is uninsured, and she is unemployed mother -- actually, I believe you also are working on some part-time jobs in Columbus, Ohio. And Sharon Brown is a job seeker who joins us from Orlando, Florida.

We have talked with Eric and Laura before. So, we're going to get an update from them, see how they're doing in just a minute. But let's begin with Sharon in Orlando. Sharon, it's nice to have you. Tell me how long you've been out of work and what exactly you're looking for.

SHARON BROWN, JOB SEEKER: I've been out of work very shortly, actually, because I was on a short assignment, as I had mentioned in my telephone interview, and so it hasn't been that long. But I'm working very fervently right now with one of the recruiting firms that I use, which is Robert Half, and they're looking very fervently right now for another position, so...

COLLINS: Are you hopeful?

BROWN: I am very hopeful. I'm very hopeful. There are things out there. I just have to, you know, remain focused and keep in touch on a regular basis with the recruiting firms with which I work.

COLLINS: What exactly -- what's the type of work that you're looking for? Where are you working -- looking for it, specifically?

BROWN: I have 20 years of training and development experience. Also, a lot of international experience. And so I'm really focused on getting back into that. There isn't a lot of that so much here in Florida, and in the Northeast where I lived before, there was more of that. But here in Florida is more development work. But I'll take whatever can -- I can get at the moment.

COLLINS: Would you move just about anywhere, too?

BROWN: Sorry?

COLLINS: Would you move just about anywhere, too, for a job?

BROWN: For the right position, absolutely. In fact, I was flown recently to Switzerland for a job interview.

COLLINS: Hey, that's not a bad gig.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: How do you keep yourself going every day? Obviously, you look to have a smile on your face and a good attitude.

BROWN: I try to strike a balance between staying focused and being persistent and consistent and sending out resumes and keeping a personal contact with all of my, you know, people who I send out my resumes to, as well as destressing. It's very important to make sure I get out and take a walk and not stay in the house all the time.

So it's -- that's very, very important to strike a balance. And plus, I have my faith, my family, and my friends around me...

COLLINS: Wow.

BROWN: ... too. That's very important.

COLLINS: Yes. Good for you, and we love to hear that, and certainly wish you the very best of luck. We'll check back with you, too. We'd love to hear how things go for you. Eric Bell, we want to get to you, because we've spoken to you before. We know that you were in middle management, and then you went to unemployment. But what is the latest story now? You are working part time, right?

ERIC BELL, UNEMPLOYED MID-LEVEL MANAGER: I have a contractor position. I've been in that position a month and a half now, and I'm very thankful for that. And that position actually has been extended to September. So I'm...

COLLINS: Ah-ha.

BELL: ... I feel just really encouraged about the opportunity to use my brain again and keep working. You know, I'm thankful for my family's support and the support of the Lord.

COLLINS: OK. Well, that is great, because, you know, the advice out there has been for people to not just sit at home and wait for that full-time job, but to go ahead and take one of the part-time jobs while you continue to work and to look for the position you really wanted. So you really took that advice.

Are you still looking for, you know, a job outside of this? Probably shouldn't be saying that, in case the temporary employer is listening, but -- or are you hoping this one will turn into that full- time job?

BELL: You know, I'm changing paths now. I'm really ready to help build a business, so I'm working on an entrepreneurial adventure or venture, trying to bring the market in computerized trading (ph) system along with three other people. Our goal is to get funding sometime this spring or early this year.

COLLINS: All right. Well, very good. We will keep in touch with you and certainly wish you luck with that entrepreneurial idea. Fascinating.

Laura Walker, I want to talk to you now, because when we talked to you last month, you were literally one day away from losing your insurance. First of all, did that happen? And what are you doing about it?

LORA WALKER, LOST FULL-TIME JOB: Yes, I don't have any health insurance on myself right now.

COLLINS: And the problem was, or one of the problems for you was that your daughter had been injured, and you had paid just a whole slew of medical bills.

WALKER: Yes. I've been working with the insurance company in trying to get all that taken care of, and working with the individual billers themselves, trying to get all those bills taken care of. I just sent out letters yesterday again to them, explaining my situation.

COLLINS: And are you hopeful? I mean, are you going to be able to get some coverage here, because I know you lost your full-time job back in December.

WALKER: Well, the next choice for me would be to go on, like, welfare, Medicaid, you know, to kind of get that kind of insurance. But for my daughter, she was able to get insurance through her employer, so that was a help for me.

COLLINS: OK, well, very good. Do you feel like you're getting any help? I mean, we keep bringing different avenues of help to our TV show about, you know, what people can do, who they can talk to in order to learn more about their situation and maybe come out of it a bit. Do you feel like you're getting that from some of the agencies?

WALKER: Well, definitely. The transition center they have set up in Wilmington through AVX Air has been a tremendous help. We have a -- caseworkers that work with you, and they explain all the things that are available. For me in particular, I am taking advantage of the educational funds that they have sent into the area.

COLLINS: Great.

WALKER: So I am actually starting classes March 30th.

COLLINS: OK, well good for you. It sounds like you're going to have a whole career change there. So, we will certainly keep in touch with you, as well, Lora. Sharon Brown, Eric Bell and Lora Walker, thanks so much, you guys. We appreciate it. Our "Snapshot across America" today.

So, lots of people are out of work, unfortunately, and looking for a job. But that doesn't mean they've given up hope, as you just saw. This weekend, Fredricka Whitfield brings you a series featuring some amazing optimism during one of the worst economic times in American history. She talks to people like Amber Carder, who showed up at the largest job fair in Georgia's history. Carter got tips from the Georgia labor commissioner, Michael Thurmond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me ask you this. When you were sitting out there, and you're sitting there among thousands, did you have any idea what was going to happen once you came through the door and compared that with your first impressions once you did come through the door?

AMBER CARDER, JOB SEEKER: I was just like, there's a lot of people out here, and I'm one of, you know, 10,000, you know. I have a 1 in 10,000 chance of getting a job, you know, and I hope my resume and what I have, you know, can grab a job. I mean, I think it's good. I think it's a good opportunity for people out there that, you know, what can I do next to go to a job fair to find a job.

WHITFIELD: So, what advice, Mr. Thurman, would you give her to be versatile, to be able to land a job, maybe outside of the area that she has been used to for the past five years.

MICHAEL THURMOND, GEORGIA LABOR COMMISSIONER: First of all, continue to be encouraged. Don't lose hope. And also, look at your transferable skills. Look at the skill sets you were utilizing on your job with the trucking company and see if there are other jobs or even other careers that might be looking for those same skill sets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Tomorrow afternoon, make sure you join Fredricka Whitfield for "Jobless, Not Hopeless," an emotional series that follows some of the unemployed from the day they step inside the job center all the way to the day they actually get a job. "Jobless, Not Hopeless," beginning at noon on Saturday.

Raw emotions in a rough world. We take a look at how you're facing the recession.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It can take years to make back the money you initially spend on a hybrid car or solar panels, but some energy-saving improvements can pay for themselves pretty quickly. Alison Kosik has a few of them in today's "Energy Fix." Hi there, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. You know, it's possible to cut your energy bill without pouring tons of cash into expensive upgrades, and one of the fastest ways, install one of these, a programmable thermostat. And they cost anywhere from $40 to $120 and let you preset your home's temperature.

Energy Star says these can save about -- homeowners about $180 a year, and to figure out how much you can save, you can go on the Energy Star Web site, and there's a calculator on there. It does all the work for you and makes it really easy, Heidi.

COLLINS: That's great. How about some other low-cost tips for cutting these energy costs at our homes?

KOSIK: Well, this is kind of surprising. If you have a second fridge in your house, it's probably costing you about $100 to $200 a year to run, especially because it's likely to be an older model. Instead, why not buy a dorm-size fridge to keep your extras cold? You can even find Energy Star-rated versions that would only cost you $30 a year to run -- Heidi.

COLLINS: What about tips for cutting air conditioning? Obviously, summer is coming up, and it gets pretty hot.

KOSIK: Yes, this one's pretty easy: Keep those filters clean. New filters cost only about ten bucks each for central systems, and if you've got a window system, you can just wipe it clean.

Clogs or dirty filters cut your system's efficiency by 5 to 15 percent, so if your air conditioning bill for the summer is $600, you can slash your bill by at least 30 bucks, covering the cost of three filters for the year. Every little bit counts, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it sure does. All right, Allison, thank you. KOSIK: Sure.

COLLINS: Filling up your tank with your trash. Yes, you heard me right. I'll tell you how, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: An innovative problem-solver wants drivers to be able to ditch their trips to the gas station and use their trash to fill up instead. Here to explain, CNN's Reynolds Wolf.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(VIDEO CLIP -- "BACK TO THE FUTURE" MOVIE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like the movie, "Back to the Future," we may soon be picking through our garbage to fuel the family car.

TOM QUINN, E-FUEL CORPORATION: It's a crime what we throw away in our garbage cans that are energy. Our lawn clippings, things we throw away, can now be turned into fuel.

WOLF: Tom Quinn's new invention, the E-Fuel 100 Micro Fueler, makes homemade ethanol.

QUINN: Ethanol is compatible with every combustible engine, even works on diesels.

WOLF: It works like a washing machine, mixing sugar and yeast with water. Then it ferments for a day, followed by low-heat distillation.

QUINN: Basically press one button, and it does the rest.

WOLF: Priced under $10,000, it sounds like a more high-tech version of a moonshine still. This grain ethanol is only safe for your car to drink.

QUINN: You have a DOT-approved pump nozzle that allows you to take the hose, put it into your car and start to fill up.

WOLF: The price at your own personal pump may give you cause to celebrate, about $1.20 a gallon, but the cost could be mere pennies if you tap discarded beer and wine at restaurants and bars and at the source.

(on camera): According to Quinn, it's millions of gallons of potential energy literally going down the drain. This brewery owner thinks homemade ethanol is a winning solution.

JIM STUMP, OWNER, LOS GATOS BREWERY CO.: Absolutely. Drink more beer, make more fuel. Sounds good to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: All right. Sounds interesting. Let me show you something kind of fun, because normally we have our CNN medical correspondent, senior medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta on our show a lot here.

Wanted to show you the new babe. That's right, you're looking at baby Soleil (ph) alongside Sage and Skye and daddy Sanjay right there. There's a close-up pic of Soleil (ph), 8 pounds, 20 inches, born on Monday. So that's why Sanjay's not around right now. He's doing the baby thing. Beautiful baby.

People changing their career path. We take you to California, where nursing schools have become a ticket to a job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: During this week's "ROAD TO RESCUE" coverage, CNN photojournalists and producers around the country have captured still images evoking a range of emotions surrounding the recession. Producer Sarah Weifeld (ph) edited this collection of images to a musical score. Take a look.

They always say a picture shows a thousand words. Great job, Sarah (ph).

I'm Heidi Collins. Have a good weekend, everybody. I'll see you Monday morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. For now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with T.J. Holmes.