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Geithner Questioned by Congress Over AIG Bonuses; Severe Weather Strikes Midwest; Companies Offering Perks for Unemployed; Young People Often Uninsured; Vets Face Infection from Unsanitary Medical Equipment; Napolitano Pledges Initiatives to Fight Mexican Drug War in U.S.
Aired March 24, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Betty, thanks.
We're pushing forward two major developing stories with one thing in common: an outrage factor that's off the charts.
The chairman of the Fed says, "Don't blame me for those AIG bonuses." Ben Bernanke tells Congress he wanted to sue.
And we can hear the lawsuits now. Veterans' hospitals in two states warn thousands of patients their colonoscopies may have given them HIV.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
First, E.I. -- AIG, rather, and the grilling session taking place on Capitol Hill. The treasury secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve are on the skewers with members of the House Financial Services Committee turning up the heat.
Nobody likes those bonuses, and everybody wants to head off the AIGs of the future. So can Obama's money men do it?
CNN's Brianna Keilar right outside the hearing room with the latest.
Brianna, a lot of push back today.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, push back coming from the top Republican in the House, John Boehner, who said, Kyra, that this is an unprecedented power grab, the authority that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is asking for. He said there needs to be real debate before Congress would decide to hand over this authority.
And the backdrop of all of this is that you've heard a lot of Republicans, including some Republican leaders, who have questioned Timothy Geithner's job performance over the last week in light of this AIG bonus debacle. So some caution coming from them.
But Geithner, in turn, telling this panel that this authority is needed because the U.S. government doesn't have the legal means to basically manage an orderly restructuring, winding down of a large non-bank financial institution, for instance, like AIG. He said they don't have the tools, and they need them, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, and you talked about the caution. How about the color? Let's take a listen to Brad Sherman when he really went Geithner about those bonuses and if they'll continue. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BRAD SHERMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: What the American people want to know is about the compensation packages. Will you publish a list of all the TARP recipients, of the companies that got the money, and how many of their executives -- I don't want any person's name, just how many of the executives earned more than a million dollars in 2008, how many of them got bonuses of over half a million dollars, and likewise for 2009 how many of them are earning salaries of over a million a year, and how many of them have...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, Brianna, Geithner didn't have much to say once Sherman continued his long-winded question there.
KEILAR: No, he didn't. He answered by saying repeatedly, "Let me think about what you're saying, and I will get back to you."
But Timothy Geithner refusing to be pinned down on that. The crux of what Brad Sherman of California was trying to get at is how many millionaires are these bailed-out companies creating? I want to know. Will you tell me?
And as you said, yes, Tim Geithner not willing to be pinned down.
Should mention, as well, though, just to give some context here, Brad Sherman is a Democrat who is against the bailout, has been against it from the beginning. He voted against it back in September. He doesn't speak for a lot of Democrats, but he certainly is someone asking some tough questions today, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Brianna, thanks so much.
And if outrage is measured in dollars, the backlash over bonuses should be easing. The New York state attorney general says that 15 of the 20 biggest recipients of AIG retention payouts have given the money back. That accounts for some $50 million of the $165 million at the heart of the controversy.
The A.G. says that he hopes to get back as much as $80 million, but it won't be easy, since a lot of that money just went overseas.
AIG, new help for banks, a budget battle is about to explode. President Obama will talk about all those things in a prime-time news conference you'll see right here on CNN. He has set the stage with an op-ed piece appearing in 31 newspapers around the world. It calls for bold, comprehensive and coordinated steps to beef up government controls of financial monoliths (ph). Well, the best political team on television is your guide as the president explains his economic strategy tonight. Our coverage of the news conference begins at 7:45 p.m. Eastern on CNN and CNN.com.
Let's take a look at the big board real quickly as we're following our financials. Dow Industrials down 18 points. Quite a switch from the big rally we saw yesterday, getting up into the 300's.
Recession-battered General Motors started laying off white-collar workers. One hundred sixty employees at a technical center in Warren, Michigan, got pink slips today. The layoffs take effect April 1. They're part of GM's restructuring plan that will trim 3,400 salaries and 18,000 hourly jobs in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Still no packet (ph).
Well, a potent mix of weather across the U.S. today. In Fargo, North Dakota, sand-bagging is in high gear as that city tries to keep flood waters from the Red River at bay.
In Central Kansas, hurricane-force winds, they were so strong they blew tractor-trailer rigs off Interstate 70.
In Wyoming and the Dakotas, a spring blizzard has shut down several major highways.
Parts of the northern plains are expecting up to 30 inches of snow now.
Chad Myers keeping a close eye on all of it.
Busy day once again, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is a crazy day, Kyra. I mean, and then farther up to the north, we've had this flooding. And many -- almost most rivers are at or above flood stage.
But there is one, one in particular that is really hard hit today. This is the Red Lake River at Crookston. And this is substance over style, I'm afraid. This is where the flood stage is way down here, 15 feet. Not a pretty map, but you'll get the idea.
The area right there, that number, that's 25 feet. That's where the river is now. It is topping this city. The city is being evacuated. The whole town, if you will, of Crookston being evacuated at this point because of an ice jam down river. The water is backing up and now getting over the levees in that town.
Also, severe weather all the way from almost Chicago down to Louisiana. Not quite as severe yesterday when I was here watching at least ten, maybe 15 tornadoes on the ground. I don't think that's going to happen today.
Today is a severe weather today, a wind day, a small hail day, but not so many when it comes to tornadoes. There are some stronger storms into parts of Missouri and also into Arkansas. The red zones here, the big orange boxes, those are severe thunderstorm warnings. Hail could be about the size of a quarter, or winds could be 60 miles per hour.
But I guess the big story today will be the people up there in the parts of the upper Midwest just suffering from all this flooding. And Kyra, we say this all the time. It's here. It still has to get to the Gulf of Mexico. There's going to be a lot more people down- river suffering, as well.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk a lot more, Chad. Thanks so much.
Well, speaking of suffering, it's our other top story today. It's enough to make you sick. Thousands of veterans undergoing delicate, unpleasant tests at V.A. hospitals learning they may have picked up life-threatening viruses in the process.
Today we know of two cases of potentially contaminated colonoscopy equipment situations. Well, they were probes used in ears, noses and throats. We're going to be pushing that story forward over the next two hours, beginning with this report from CNN affiliate WSVN in Miami and Rosh Lowe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. Apologize for that. Having a little issue there with the fact that it was late getting adjusted. We'll try and get that fixed and bring you a story you will definitely want to hear. Because if you're a vet and you think that you may have been infected, you can call the Miami V.A. health care system right now. You can actually speak with a staff member or even set up an appointment for a screening.
The numbers that we have for you right now are 305-575-7256. There's also this toll free number: 877-575-7256. Once again, those numbers: 305-575-7256 or 877-575-7256. We'll bring you that story, hopefully, right after the break.
We're also going to be talking about perks for the job. Some companies in the U.S. trying to cushion for Americans in the unemployment line. We're going to find out what kinds of freebies that they're offering.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're anything like me, you like to get your news the ways it's always been coming: either on TV or buying a newspaper. I have three different newspapers here. Maybe the network doesn't want me to recite or show their names, but nonetheless, I enjoy reading my newspaper every day. This is my morning fix. Before I get up and get dressed, drink that coffee, got to look on the front porch for my newspaper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: You could be working with us here at CNN. We love doing the same thing.
And this won't please newspaper lovers, but we have another case of taking the paper out of the newspaper. "The Ann Arbor News" in Michigan is dropping its print edition. Big losses have driven it to a Web only format now, and they've been cranking out a daily since Andrew Jackson was president.
Other papers in Michigan are making big changes because of money, as well. "The Flint Journal," "Saginaw News" and "Bay City Times" will cut back print editions to three days a week. And four other papers are consolidating into one based in Grand Rapids.
And "The Charlotte Observer's" pain just gets worse. The paper is handing out pink slips to 82 employees, nearly 15 percent of its workforce. The ones lucky enough to hang onto their jobs are looking at fewer hours and pay cuts. This is the fourth time staff has been cut in the last few months.
Well, they're young, healthy and uninsured, so why are they costing you and me so much money?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Millions of Americans have lost their jobs in this recession. And to cushion the blow, some companies are offering perks to the unemployed. JetBlue out with a refund program and even the Y has a deal.
Personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins us now from New York to tell us more about these deals.
Hey, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, Kyra, good to see you.
Yes, companies today rolling out special policies for folks who find themselves with a pink slip. Let's look at the detail of JetBlue's Promise Program.
Now, if you've booked a trip between February 17 and June 1 of this year, and you've been downsized or laid off from your full-time job on or after February 17, you may be eligible for a refund. Now, you've got to put the request in writing two weeks before the travel date. It doesn't cover corporate or group travel bookings. For more info, go to JetBlue's Web site, where they'll tell you all about the Promise Program -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, let's talk about other perks that are out there for the recently unemployed.
WILLIS: Well, you know, gyms are also trying to make it easier for you to join or keep your membership if you're laid off. Some YMCAs out there, for example, have waived signup fees. Member costs may be reduced, or your membership may be extended at no extra charge. Check with your local branch for details.
Even clothing stores are marketing to the unemployed. Joseph A. Bank recently announced a program that offers a full rebate on the price of a suit if you lose your job. And you get to keep the suit.
And we every have some places to go if you are unemployed and don't want to spend any money. SwapTree.com lets you swap books, movies, video games with other members. And we have lots more goodies and bartering sites for in the next hour, so you'll definitely want to stay tuned.
PHILLIPS: You got it. We will. Gerri, thanks so much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Well, important health insurance news for you. The American worker -- and it's something that many of you already know -- you're working without a net.
According to a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, one in five U.S. workers do not have health insurance. That's 6 million more uninsured workers than in the mid-1990s. The problem? Cost.
Researchers say that premiums for employer-based plans have jumped six to eight times faster than wages.
Some of you don't think that you even need health insurance, right? The industry calls you young invincibles and that's mostly because you're young and healthy and don't mind dodging the bullet. But when you get sick, everybody else pays.
Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-four- year-old Austin Horse pops in and out for work on these city streets.
AUSTIN HORSE, BIKE MESSENGER: Hey, what's up?
COHEN: He's a bike messenger. His workday: making fast-paced deliveries while averting serious accidents.
HORSE: Once I was -- I was run over by a taxi. Another time I had a livery cab knock me off my bike, and I got stuck in a -- in one of the sewage grates up to mid-thigh.
COHEN: Fortunately, neither accident resulted in serious injury, but potential accidents loom around every corner. And Horse does not have health insurance.
HORSE: Part of why I don't have insurance is because I don't feel like I need it.
COHEN: That sentiment makes Horse what insurance companies call a young invincible. They're young and they feel, well, invincible, so they don't buy health insurance.
KEN THORPE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PARTNERSHIP TO FIGHT CHRONIC DISEASE: Obviously, it's the healthiest part of our population, and so health care and buying insurance is not at the top of their list.
COHEN: Thirteen point seven million young people ages 19 to 29 did not have health insurance in 2006, according to a recently- released study.
Young people lose their health insurance at two junctions in life: college graduation, and when they're dropped from their parents' insurance policies, usually at around age 23. Young invincibles don't get their own plans, according to experts, because it's just too expensive.
HORSE: For what I make, maybe a third goes to rent. Then there's all the utilities. Health insurance doesn't fit into all that.
Every now and then, you know, like a joint or something will feel funny and, yes, I just hope it stops. You try to nurse it perhaps or, like, ice it if it's really bad. Maybe take some anti-inflammatories.
COHEN: If more serious problems crop up, it's off to the emergency room. And if they can't pay...
THORPE: All of us end up paying for it. Taxpayers pay for it. People with private health insurance pay for it. So somebody's picking up the bill.
COHEN: During the campaign, Obama said he wanted universal coverage.
THORPE: What the president has proposed is to find ways to make health insurance less expensive by having the federal government provide financial assistance to pick up a part of the bill.
If we're ever going to get towards universal coverage, we've got to find ways to get younger adults to purchase health insurance.
COHEN: Austin Horse says he's waiting for an affordable plan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Now, the insurance companies love these young invincibles.
COHEN: Right, as long as they buy a plan, because if the young invincible buys a plan, and if they get a job and get health insurance, chances are they're going to pay premiums but not be real big, heavy users.
So really, when young people join the insurance pool, it helps all of us. Because old people, older people...
PHILLIPS: They're going to use it.
COHEN: ... pay their premiums and use it.
PHILLIPS: Right.
COHEN: Younger people pay their premiums but don't use it very much. So it really helps all of us when these young invincibles participate in the insurance process. But from their perspective, they're thinking, "Hey, I'm invincible. Why should I spend that money when I don't really need to?"
PHILLIPS: Well, you're invincible. We're putting you to work in -- double time today.
COHEN: That's right. Absolutely.
Not just talking about this, but the story that we've been all been talking about this morning, about the V.A. hospitals and these war vets going in for a colonoscopy and now finding out they weren't sterilized; the equipment wasn't sterilized. And they, thousands and thousands of vets, have to come to get tested, because they might have HIV or hepatitis C.
COHEN: That's right. And not just in Florida but also in Tennessee, there might have been problems with the equipment that could have led to people, thousands of people, getting colonoscopies from machinery that was not sterile.
How in the world did this happen? And is there any way to prevent it from happening again? That's what you and I are going to talk about later.
PHILLIPS: Look forward to it. About 30 minutes from now. Thanks, Elizabeth.
Well, it's tough news for the meat-and-potatoes crowd. A new study by the National Cancer Institute says that eating too much red and processed meat could shorten your life. Researchers found that those who consume four ounces of red meat a day had a 30 percent greater risk of dying.
And as you can imagine, the meat industry isn't happy with the results and issued the following statement, saying, "Consumers should set this latest study of the week aside, or they may experience another case of nutrition whiplash."
A new report on Alzheimer's is revealing a pretty disturbing trend today. Every 70 seconds, someone in the U.S. develops that disease. In the report, the 2009 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures, researchers estimate more than 5 million Americans over the age of 65 now have it, and that number is only expected to rise as Baby Boomers age.
Caring for them and people who suffer from other forms of dementia is three times more expensive than caring for other seniors, placing a financial burden on their families and the medical system.
A raging drug war south of the border spilling over into the U.S. Just a short while ago, the Obama administration unveiled a new plan to help Mexico fight its deadly drug cartels. We're going to talk with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We're pushing forward on some potentially-contaminated medical equipment at veterans hospitals. The V.A. facility in Miami is one of at least two to warn thousands of patients they may have been exposed to infection, possibly HIV or hepatitis, during otherwise routine colonoscopies.
Our other top story: angering Congress over AIG aimed squarely at the treasury secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve. Both say broader regulation is the key to stopping future meltdowns before they begin. With AIG, their options were limited.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SPENCER BACHUS (R), ALABAMA: Was there any discussion over a haircut or a 95 percent taking 95 percent or 90 percent as full payment?
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: We explored at that time every possible means to reduce the drain on their resources, including -- including what you referred to. But, again, because we have no legal mechanism in place for dealing with this likely deal with the banks, we did not have the ability to selectively -- to selectively impose losses on their counterparts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: President Obama says that he hopes it doesn't take long for Congress to grant new authority over financial firms other than banks and that the banks are on the brink of disaster.
Now, back to our top story. It's enough to make you sick. Thousands of veterans undergoing delicate, unpleasant tests at V.A. hospitals, learning that they may have picked up life-threatening viruses in the process. We'll be pushing this story forward throughout the newscast, starting with this report from CNN affiliate WSVN in Miami and Rosh Lowe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSH LOWE, WSVN REPORTER (voice-over): It is the V.A. hospital where our nation's most prized treasures are treated, men and women who risk their lives to fight for our freedom. And now some of our veterans may be at risk.
DR. JOHN VARA, V.A. HOSPITAL CHIEF OF STAFF: At this point we have no data or evidence to -- you know, that anyone has become ill at this, but we feel an obligation to notify those veterans who may be at risk.
LOWE: More than 3,000 veterans may be at risk for Hepatitis B or C or HIV, after it was discovered that tubing attached to an endoscope, used in most cases for colonoscopies, wasn't sanitized properly.
VARA: You do have water that can be connected all the way through here. So in the unlikely event, though possible, that there was some back flush in the water channel, it potentially could carry some viruses or other small particulate organic material back through there.
LOWE: This all happening at the V.A. hospital in Miami.
The endoscope is the small thin tube which has a camera attached to it which allows the doctor to look inside the body. The issue here, though, is the tubing that never touches the patient's body. Water is pumped through the tubing to the endoscope which, in most of the cases here, was examining the large colon. Because the tubing was rinsed and not thrown away or disinfected, there is a small chance of cross-infection.
VARA: We have identified the veterans who may have had a procedure with one of these scopes and are currently sending letters to them.
LOWE: The letter looks like this one here. The V.A. hospital says the patients affected had the procedure done between May 2004 and March 12, 2009. This is over the course of five years. It was only recently the hospital realized the tubing wasn't washed correctly.
MARY BERROCAL, V.A. HOSPITAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR: There is no risk that we believe is acceptable when it comes down to our veterans.
LOWER: In 2007, U.M. President Donna Shalala and former senator, Bob Dole, were appointed by President Bush to look into concerns of substandard care at V.A. hospitals.
VARA: One of the important parts about patient safety and improving that is creating a culture where, when there are mistakes made or there are various risks that providers, health care systems come out very openly and acknowledge it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you're a vet, and you think that you may be infected, call the Miami VA Healthcare System. You can actually speak with a staff member or set up an appointment for screening. Here's the phone numbers: 305-575-7256 or toll free, 877-575-7256. Once again, here's those numbers: 305-575-7256, 877-575-7256. Over the next hour and a half, we'll continue on this story. We're actually going to talk to somebody from the V.A. in addition to an advocate for those vets that now have to go back and be tested. And we're going to hear more about the risks, the tests and the regulations from CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
Well, Chad Myers is an awfully busy man today as severe weather slams parts of the U.S. Chad, what's happening right now?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I don't even know where to start with severe anymore. Usually it means hail and wind. And then obviously a tornado. But I have 84-mile-per-hour wind gusts in Rapid City, blowing snow, I-94, I-90, I-80 shut down because you can't even drive through the blizzard out there.
Major flooding across the Dakotas. Some spots that haven't seen flooding like since 1997, and some of the floods will go over the record '97 flood back to the 1897 flood. How ironic they were 100 years apart. And then a 10- to 30-inch blizzard out to the west of there, where the snow was coming down, and it isn't rain. But the flooding all the way across a lot of North Dakota.
And like we were talking about just a little bit ago, this isn't just going to sit in North Dakota. It has to go south eventually and then down into the Mississippi or down into the Missouri and all way down south. So this bubble of water will be with us for many, many weeks on end before it finally does get all the way down into the Gulf of Mexico and out of our sight.
There's the snow that's coming down. And it's not so much the snow that's blowing around now that's coming down from the sky, but what is on the ground blowing around that is shutting these interstates down. And these interstates will be shut down for most of the day today with these winds. You can't drive a tractor trailer when the wind's going 80 miles per hour to your side. It's just going to flip you over, so that's why she's interstates are closed down up there in the northern Plains.
Rainshowers and thunderstorms, some of the storms have been severe. No real tornado threat today. Maybe a couple. But not like we had yesterday. Then rain showers north of Chicago back up to Green Bay, and then obviously all of that snow and blowing in the Midwest -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Chad, thanks.
MYERS: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Well, sad update to a weekend story. A fourth California police officer wounded in a gun battle has died. Officer John Hege was declared brain dead Sunday, but his family was keeping him alive to donate his organs. Three other officers died during two separate incidents with the same man on Saturday. That gunman was also killed.
Homeless guy? Here's something to keep in mind? He might be faux homeless, and you might want to ask him why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Shifting now to Mexico's drug war, killing thousands and now spilling over into the U.S., just a short while ago, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano unveiled a new $700 million plan to help Mexico fight the violent drug cartels. It includes a U.S. crackdown on the flow of weapons and money into Mexico, which helps fuel the drug trade.
Also, more federal agents and surveillance equipment will be sent to the border. The move sets the stage for visits to Mexico by three administration Cabinet members, starting tomorrow with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Well, not since the 1980s "Miami Vice" years has such brutality been seen on U.S. soil. That's according to the DEA agents that work the streets. Then, it was Colombian cartels serving up cocaine in Miami. Now, it's Mexican druglords.
Do you think this border problem doesn't affect you? Think again. Take a look at this. Anchorage, Alaska; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Atlanta, Georgia; Sheboygan, Wisconsin; and nearly 230 other cities all feeling the effects of these violent Mexican gangs.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is no stranger to the Mexican border. After a decade of serving Arizona as attorney general and governor, she joins us live from D.C. Madam Secretary, thanks for being with me.
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Oh, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, I want to get right to it because we'll never be able to defeat the druglords until our own demand for drugs here in the U.S. is curbed. I mean, it is our consumption in the U.S. that fuels the druglord production. So, what are you going to do to decrease that demand?
NAPOLITANO: Well, the whole package we announced today is not only about enforcement and stopping the flow of drugs into the United States and helping Mexico against these very brutal cartels, but it includes money for more drug courts and reduction in demand. So, we look forward to working on the demand side as well as the supply side, but I'll tell you, where the Department of Homeland Security is concerned, it's all about border safety and security and making sure that spillover violence does not erupt in our own country.
PHILLIPS: And that's understandable. You're putting a lot of money and a lot of efforts toward the border. But like we set up this interview -- or the information, rather, that we set the interview up with, I mean, we're talking about more than 200 cities, cities that we'd never think of like Sheboygan, Wisconsin and Sioux Falls. I mean, what about the people right now that are dealing with sexual abuse, murder, house invasions, kidnapping?
NAPOLITANO: That's right. What is happening, for those who don't live on the border is that there are some large drug cartels. They're old. They've been in Mexico for a long time, but they've gotten larger and more powerful. The president of Mexico has said, enough. And he is really going after those cartels.
We've been clamping down on the land border, so the cartels simultaneously are fighting each other over ever-diminishing turf and they're fighting the federal government of Mexico. And that's what's caused 6,000 homicides in Mexico, northern Mexico last year, 550 of which were law enforcement or public officials who were assassinated by the cartels.
But the cartels got so big and powerful because they were bringing tonnage loads of cocaine and other illegal drugs into our country, and their organizations ultimately went to supply those who are using illegal drugs in places like Sheboygan and places -- other places where you wouldn't think of having any connection with these big cartels. Their fingers were everywhere. We want to shut those cartels down.
PHILLIPS: Well, there's a lot of leaders here in the United States that say it's been -- we've helped those cartels. We've actually helped fuel the problem. And if you look at Dick Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, he said the drugs are coming north, and we're sending money and guns south. And as a result, these cartels have gained extraordinary power. And he also added, about 90 percent of guns seized in Mexican raids are traced back to the United States, About 2,000 firearms cross the border into Mexico daily.
NAPOLITANO: Well, it's a significant number of the guns used in this wave of violence in northern Mexico absolutely come from the United States. That's why part of our plan is increasing the number of agents who are going to inspect southbound vehicles. That's why we're sending technology to the border that will allow us to scan or do noninvasive X-rays to see whether cars are carrying assault weapons, other kinds of weapons that are now flowing into Mexico to fuel these drug cartels. And to find these huge truckloads, basically, of cash that are garnered in the United States and sent to Mexico. This is a strategy that we are -- have used in certain places. Now we're employing it borderwide.
PHILLIPS: So, Madam Secretary, let me ask you about the military. For example, we've covered the city of Juarez, Mexico. You know how bad of a place that has been. Brutal murders, sexual abuse against women, people being beheaded, kidnapped, I mean, just ruthless cartel activity. And what did Mexico do? They took 5,000 military troops, 1,200 federal police officers and just about bombarded that had city of Juarez.
And so, now they've seen a drop in these drug-related killings. It's sort of like what we saw in Iraq, you know, putting in troop surges into certain areas, and you saw a drop in violence. Would you ever consider doing something like that, getting the military involved and saying, OK, we can't take this anymore, we've got to do something drastic or it won't work? NAPOLITANO: Well, obviously, the violence problem in Juarez was of a different quality and kind than anything we've seen in the United States. And it really did demand that kind of response by the federal government in Mexico.
We have contingency plans on the United States side. And we're still evaluating a request that we do send some National Guard to some of the border areas. We're still looking at that. But you know, that clampdown in Mexico, in Juarez in particular, was really called for. The homicide situation there was out of control.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk about Gil Kerlikowske, the former Seattle police chief. Obama has selected him to be the drug czar for all of you. He hasn't been confirmed yet. But what does he know about dealing with cartels who have mastered kidnapping and beheadings and are using grenades and other forms of firepower, quite frankly, that is far greater than a lot of police forces we have in the U.S.?
NAPOLITANO: Well, he's a police chief, and police chiefs know a lot about a lot of different things. And as you yourself pointed out, these drug cartels have fingers that reach all over the United States, including into communities like Seattle. So, he'll come into that job, assuming he's confirmed, with a knowledge base, and also a knowledge base about what the use of illegal drugs is doing to people, does to families, does to our neighborhoods, our communities. That's why we need to work on the demand side as well as the supply side through these cartels.
PHILLIPS: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, we'll definitely follow your efforts. Appreciate your time.
NAPOLITANO: Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: And something you don't want to miss, CNN's Anderson Cooper reports live from the U.S./Mexican border tomorrow and Thursday. He'll look at how Mexico's drug war is fueling widespread violence, including now in the U.S. Anderson's report starts tomorrow, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
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PHILLIPS: Ever heard of fake homeless people? Well, you have now. The City of Toronto admits it planted about 50 people among its homeless population to help with a survey. Apparently the fake homeless helped give the stats some validity. But here's what rubbed some city officials the wrong way. The people who actually have a home to go to are getting $100 prepaid Visa cards for their trouble. The big question is, why isn't the city giving those cards to the people who are sleeping on the streets?
And they're calling her the boob bandit. That's right, she's on the loose in southern California. Look out, police are looking for this woman accused of using someone else's line of credit to get a $12,000 breast implant and liposuction. They say after the procedure, she didn't show up for follow-up appointments. Right now she faces burglary, grand theft, and identity theft charges. Passing gas. It can just get you kicked off a school bus in Lakeland, Florida for these days. That's right, three days. The bus driver actually said that the 15-year-old broke wind to make the other kids laugh, but the smell was so bad, it was difficult to breathe. So, school officials say that there's no rules against flatulence, but there are rules against causing a disturbance on the bus. The kid actually may have gotten off easy. A 13-year-old was actually arrested in November at another Florida school after he did the same thing in class.
Well, they're part of your everyday life, icons of American business. But some of these companies have been battered by the recession. We're going to look at who they are and their chances of surviving.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They come in here in tears. We try to joke around a little bit, give them some hope.
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PHILLIPS: Well, that hope comes in the form of a "jobmobile," apparently the only one of its kind in (INAUDIBLE) County, Ohio. Thanks to a $70,000 state grant, the "Hope on Wheels," as it's called, offers job seekers a place to talk, get help with writing resumes and actually use laptop computers. It makes the rounds in this isolated county four hours a day, four days a week.
It's not just for college students anymore. Instant noodles are catching on in households trying to save a few bucks. Remember these? We're talking about dorm room staples such as ramen and Cup o' Noodles (SIC) now hitting family dinner tables.
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LINDA CHUNG, NISSIN FOODS: We're seeing a shift where people beyond their college years are going to ramen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inexpensive, and people have to eat.
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PHILLIPS: It's true. I think I just saw $1.59. I remember paying 29 cents for the ramen noodles. Apparently, the sales of ramen noodles in the U.S. have jumped by more than 30 million pounds in the past two years. And it's not just instant noodles. Sales of Italian pastas are also up as much as 7 percent in the last three months.
Well, you know them. You've probably grown up with them, the giants of American business, the icons of popular culture. Many are now fighting for survival. CNN's Maggie Lake reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAGGIE LAKE, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Their stories are entwined with America's story. They prospered in the boom time and like America itself, are being hit hard in the bad. Weeks ago, shares of 100-year-old icon General Motors dropped below $1.50, a level not seen since the Great Depression. General electric, an original member of the Dow industrial, saw shares fall to a 16-year low, under $8. And one share of Citigroup, once the most powerful financial firm in the world, dipped briefly below a buck, less than a cost of a withdrawal fee.
WILLIAM COHAN, AUTHOR, "HOUSE OF CARDS": It's historic. It's extraordinary. And yet, they're so big and so iconic that it makes it all the more dramatic.
LAKE: Dramatic and extraordinary, yes. But New York University professor Richard Sylla says America has seen these wrenching times before, many times before.
PROF. RICHARD SYLLA, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: This is nothing really new. It's just happening to us now, and we're not used to it.
LAKE: U.S. history is filled with the names of iconic firms that not only struggled in hard times but never recovered from them.
NARRATOR, RAILROAD COMMERCIAL: You're a rugged mass of molded steel.
LAKE: Two companies at the turn of the century were the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad. They went belly up in the 1970s. And more than 5,000 banks failed in the Great Depression.
SYLLA: Capitalism is often described as creative destruction. When you have a crisis, it sort of weeds out the weaker companies.
LAKE: To be sure, many current American icons are holding up well in today's crisis. Apple shares are up more than 10 percent thisyear. IBM has rallied. And sales remain strong at the Golden Arches. Not only are most icons expected to survive the recession, tough times have proven to be good times for future icons getting their start.
SYLLA: In the recession of the early '80s, you know, some companies went down, other ones rose. But that's when Microsoft and Apple were just rising.
LAKE (on camera): Experts say in tough times, it's critical for the government to support entrepreneurs. Who knows, somewhere in the country in a garage just like this, a small startup may be on its way to becoming the next corporate icon.
Maggie Lake, CNN, New York.
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PHILLIPS: Well, health care that can make you sick. Thousands of veterans at risk of HIV because the hospital they trusted did not properly sanitize their equipment.
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PHILLIPS: Well, checking top stories happening right now. The country's top two money men go to Capitol Hill. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke face tough questions on the economy. We'll have a live report from Capitol Hill in just a moment. And President Barack Obama going prime time. Efforts to strengthen the economy are expected to dominate the president's news conference tonight. Our live coverage of the news conference starts at 7:45 eastern tonight. But stay with us for the pregame analysis that will happen all throughout the day.
We're also watching the markets today. It may be a bit of a roller coaster as investors respond to Geithner and Bernanke on the Hill. As you can see right now, Dow industrials down 21 points. This time yesterday, we were in the 300s up. The Dow jumped nearly 500 points by the end of the day.
Well, colonoscopies can and do save lives. But thousands of vets are learning the invasive and time-consuming test that they suffered through at the V.A. Hospital in Miami may have exposed them to life- threatening viruses, including HIV. The problem, poorly cleaned equipment. And the same thing may have happened in Tennessee. Here is what the chief of staff in Miami told our affiliate WSBN.
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VARA: At this point, we have no data or evidence, you know, that anyone has become ill with this, but we feel an obligation to notify those veterans who may be at risk. We have identified the veterans who may have had a procedure with one of these scopes and are currently sending letters to them.
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PHILLIPS: Well, our CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us now. And she's been talking with the V.A. Hospital and the people who actually make those machines. So, what are they telling you?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What they're telling me is that there may potentially be problems, Kyra, not just in Florida but also in Tennessee. Let's take a look at some of these numbers. These are veterans who are receiving letters saying, hey, you've got to come on back in, and we've got to test you for a bunch of different viruses and bacteria.
In Tennessee, we're talking about 6,000 veterans who were -- who received various kinds of tests between April 2003 and December 1, 2008. In Florida, we're talking about 3,200 vets who received colonoscopies between May 2004 and March 12th, 2009. Well, what's going on here? Two different problems.
In Florida, they were found that they were not disinfecting a part of the tubing that is used in the colonoscopies. They just didn't disinfect it. And they said that went on for years and years. In Tennessee, it was a little bit different, Kyra. What happened there is that they switched out some parts. They disconnected some things and reconnected some things that they were not supposed to do. And that may have caused people to become infected diseases. No one that we know of is sick right now. They're just testing people at this point.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I mean, there's thousands of people.
COHEN: Right.
PHILLIPS: I mean, I talked with one vet who said, I don't know if I have time to go on CNN, I'm just, you know -- basically cussed and said, I'm pretty upset at this point, wondering if I have HIV. I mean, they're furious right now.
So, what we -- we know for sure that these were not cleaned properly. OK, that's one thing. But it sounds like there's another issue, too. Some are saying, well, maybe these machines should be redesigned or looked at to be replaced. So, there's actually two kind of fingers pointed here, right?
COHEN: Right. Two different things. Let me explain what happened in Tennessee. In Tennessee, they had tubing with a green connector on it. And the green connector was supposed to stay there. Instead, they took off the correct green connector and put on the wrong green connector. And that may have caused bodily fluids to backflow into some tubing, and then that tubing was used on other people. There is a slight chance, really, that anyone is infected, but it's still a chance.
PHILLIPS: OK, and so, you know, you hate hearing time and time again the issues that vets go through when it comes to medical care. It's really frustrating. So, let's talk about the lessons learned here. I mean, obviously, there needs to be more pressure on the V.A. to get whatever it is. More money, more staff, more quality control is what it sounds like. But what are other lessons here?
COHEN: Well, I asked one of the doctors at the V.A. how in the world did this go unnoticed for all these years? I mean, we're talking nearly five years that you didn't notice that someone wasn't disinfecting something they were supposed to be disinfecting.
And he said, yes, this should not have happened. And we are taking a look at the policies and procedures that we can change so that this doesn't happen again. Now, I talked to the folks at Olympus. They're the ones who make the colonoscopy equipment. And what they said is, look, our design was right. Our design was fine. Somebody disconnected a part they weren't supposed to...
PHILLIPS: We don't have pictures, do we? Do we have any pictures?
COHEN: We do have pictures. I'm not sure where they are, but we...
PHILLIPS: Because that's what I was sort of waiting for. Do we have those?
COHEN: Yes, we have them, hopefully somewhere, or maybe not, but I -- there you go.
PHILLIPS: Here we go. OK.
COHEN: Do you see that little green...
PHILLIPS: Trying to visualize what you're talking about.
COHEN: I know, it's hard. I know, so here we go. See that green connector, and there's a little arrow there? That is connected to a piece of tubing. It shouldn't be there. Somebody snapped off the right one and put that one on. Let me show you the right one, the next graphic. That's the right one. That's the one that should have been on there, so somebody snapped off one green connector and put on another green connector. They were not supposed to do that.
Now, I said to the folks at Olympus, but maybe you should have made it so that you can't take them on and off, and so then you can't confuse them. And they said, look, we think our design is fine, but we're always reviewing and seeing if there's any changes that should be made.
PHILLIPS: I love it. Now you're giving design recommendations. You might have a -- hey, after this, you might have a new job.
COHEN: Well, and I should be clear. I talked to experts first. I talked to some safety experts, and I showed them those pictures.
PHILLIPS: All right. And that's their concern.
COHEN: Yes, and they said, you know, clearly somebody at the V.A. goofed. They shouldn't have snapped those off. But maybe you can make them so they can't be snapped off and interchanged. Maybe you should make it that way.
PHILLIPS: To let our viewers know, coming up, we are going to talk with someone from the V.A. Hospital, also an advocate for vets who is actually fielding all these phone calls, hearing all these nightmare stories and dealing with all these vets that are racing to get tested now. And we're hoping to actually talk to some vets that are going through the testing at some point. But we're going to stay on top of this story.
COHEN: And I think it's important to point out that the V.A., the folks at the V.A., they are way ahead on patient safety in many ways. So, the fact that we're sharing about this at two V.A.s doesn't mean that V.A.s are necessarily worse than other hospitals. It may mean that they're more vigilant about catching these problems and more honest about telling people like you and me about them.
PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth, thanks. I appreciate it.
