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Wealth Gap; Free Perks Found Online; Women Suing Wall Street; Energy, Money Saving Tips; Foreclosed Churches

Aired March 24, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN HOST: All right. Elizabeth, thanks, I appreciate it.

All right. If you want to hear the letters AIG again we're pushing forward. Many people in Congress and the White House and the Treasury and the Fed are right there with you. At a hearing that you might have seen live here on CNN, a House panel vented once again about those bonuses while the president's money men pushed for new authority to head off AIGs of the future. That includes power to sell or transfer the asset of financial companies on the brink. To renegotiate, or dissolve executive pay and to reshuffle risky portfolios. The risk that wrecked AIG came from credit default swaps, a form of insurance on mortgage-backed securities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN BERNANKE, FED CHAIRMAN: Some companies use credit default swaps in order to hedge, that is to protect themselves as opposed to taking gambles in the case of AIG.

REP. GARY ACKERMAN, (D) FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: I just want to suggest that we take a very, very close look at that. Because there is a clear and present danger here. That just like we're finding there are mini Madoffs, there are mini AIGs there. And before we have to start bailing them all out, maybe we should ground some of them, too.

REP. BRAD SHERMAN, (D) FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: I don't think the American people should be blind-sided and find out about bonuses on a Saturday that are about to be paid on a Sunday. Can you give us a chart for each TARP recipient?

TIM GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: Congressman, you're absolutely right. This goes well beyond AIG. The president proposing on February 4th, a range of reforms, including proposing boards of directors ...

SHERMAN: Mr. Secretary, it is my time and I'll reclaim it. Are you going to give us the chart or are you going to hide the ball?

GEITHNER: I'm not going to hide the ball.

SHERMAN: Are you going to give us the chart?

GEITHNER: I will reflect on the suggestion you made and see ... SHERMAN: In other words, you won't commit to telling the American people how many folks at Goldman Sachs or AIG are going to make a million dollars this year?

GEITHNER: Congressman, I will think carefully about your proposal ...

SHERMAN: Thank you for thinking. Let me move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, what is going to happen? Is he going to give up the chart or not? CNN's Brianna Keilar on the Hill. Brianna, lot of pushback has already begun.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Including the top Republican in the House, John Boehner, who said some of these powers requested by Treasury Secretary Geithner, he said it is an unprecedented power grab. He said Congress is really going to have to debate whether they want to give these powers to the Treasury. And furthermore this comes on the heels of some Republicans, including Republican leaders questioning Geithner's job performance. They are getting very cautious. And they certainly don't want to just hand over these powers to Geithner.

But Geithner, for his part, saying, Kyra, that the U.S. federal government doesn't have the legal means to properly dismantle these companies like AIG, that are financial institutions but they are not banks. They need to be dismantled or they need to be wound down when they get into trouble. He said the federal government doesn't have those tools. And he said he's asking for those tools to make sure there isn't more problems like this AIG bonus debacle that we saw last week, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So the hearings are over for the day. So what's next?

KEILAR: Hearings are over for the day and as you know the House last week passed legislation to tax those bonuses coming to AIG, some of which have been repaid voluntarily. That effort doesn't really appear to be going anywhere in the Senate. However, tomorrow this very committee that had this hearing today is going to be considering legislation that would limit those bonuses, that would stop these bonuses, these retention bonuses for companies like AIG.

They are going to be talking about that in committee tomorrow, expected to vote tomorrow. Could be on the floor of the House next week, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll follow it. Brianna Keiler, thanks so much.

And Treasury Chief Geithner, the AIG mess, the war in Afghanistan, just a few contentious issues that President Obama can expect at his prime time news conference tonight. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us at the White House with a preview. Suzanne, what's going to make the address any different from the speeches we have heard in the past couple of months?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Kyra. What we've heard before is please be confident, patient in allowing for these policies to work, whether it's health care, education or energy.

What we're going to hear from the president that's different tonight is that he is going to outline what he says that will essentially prevent one of these AIG executive bonuses scandals from happening in the first place. He is going to talk about some of the ideas, the plans he wants to give the government more authority for regulations of these kind of financial institutions. This is just one of the many things that he's going to make the case to the American people this they are not only accountable and transparent, but they are also looking for ways to avoid getting in this mess in the first place. I want you to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, U.S. PRESIDENT: Right now we do not have resolution authority for a non-bank institution like AIG that is comparable to what we have for banks that get into trouble using the FDIC. And in the absence of that capacity, you end up with the situation that we've been in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So Kyra, really that is the crux of it. He's going to acknowledge some of the frustration and the pain that so many taxpayers feel when they look at their dollars going into the bank or some of these other institutions thinking where has my money gone? Has it gone to executives? He's going to be talking about ways he believes the government can actually prevent this from happening again. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: I'll be watching tonight, Suzanne. Thank you. Best political team on television will be here as President Obama explains strategy in tonight's prime-time news conference. Our coverage begins 7:45 Eastern right here on CNN and, of course, cnn.com.

Well, turning now to the deadly drug war south of the border in Mexico, it's killed thousands of people and now spilling into the U.S. Today the Obama administration announced a $700 million plan to help Mexico fight its drug cartels. It includes sending more federal agents and surveillance equipment to the border and stemming the flow of weapons and money from the U.S. into Mexico. Last hour I asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano how that could be accomplished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: 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 expect southbound vehicles. That's why we're sending technology to the border that will allow us to scan or do non-invasive x-rays to see whether cars are carrying assault weapons, others kinds of weapons that are now flowing into Mexico to fuel these drug cartels. And to find these huge truckloads basically of cash that arte garnered in the United States and sent to Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you don't think Mexico's drug war affects you, take a look at where Mexican cartels have actually set up networks in the U.S. We found this map at newyorktimes.com today. And just to give you an idea of what kind of drugs we're talking about, meth, cocaine, marijuana. And then if you come to this map we've put together, see all the little red dots all across the country? Those are all the areas where Mexican drug cartels have been working. I mean, areas as small as Billings, Montana. Go down here to Texas. Of course we've talked about the problems with drug cartels there. San Antonio, Houston, Beaumont, Texas. Go over here into Mississippi. Look at this. Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Very small town.

Alabama. Dothen (ph), Alabama. We've talked about Atlanta, Georgia, one of the worst areas right now for the drug trade. South Carolina, Charleston, Florence, Myrtle Beach. Come on over here to Washington. Yakima, Washington, Shelton Washington. Everett, Wisconsin, California, Santa Ana, Oakland, California. Go all over the place. Pocatello, Idaho. A lot of these places we couldn't believe that Mexican cartels infiltrated. Something else that grabbed our attention, in Wisconsin, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Milwaukee a bigger city. Sheboygan, Wisconsin, small town. My Irish relatives have a little candy shop. That shocked me.

Over in other parts of states, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, we talked about that. Unbelievable when you see how many cities across the country are being affected by the drug cartels. Go to newyorktimes.com. Check out that map. It's pretty fascinating stuff.

Well, the Obama administration is keeping Mexico on the front burner, three Cabinet members are headed there over the next several days. Starting tomorrow with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, next week Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder also going there.

And then next month President Obama travels to Mexico City for a talk with his counterpart Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

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 learn how Mexico's drug war is fueling widespread violence including now in the United States. Anderson's report starts tomorrow 10:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

Well, they went to the doctor for routine tests, now thousands of veterans could face life threatening infections because somebody dropped the ball and didn't clean medical equipment properly. We're following this story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: In Fargo, North Dakota, an army of sandbaggers, they are trying to keep water out of homes and businesses. Right now an emergency dike is up to 42 feet tall and there's very little wiggle room. River is expected to crest just one foot lower than that. Floodwaters are also threatening parts of neighboring Minnesota.

And to make matters worse the northern plains are also getting buried by a blizzard. The blinding snow has shut down major highways across the region. In South Dakota visibility is so poor that the Department of Transportation has pulled snowplows off the road. Along with the snow, the storm system has also produced tornadoes.

Chad Myers, you suspected all of this. You told us about it yesterday and it keeps picking up.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's ironic. You can get a blizzard and flood warning, a record flood warning in the same state at the same time. That's what we have now. We had rain on top of snow. The snow melted. Some of it refreezing making ice gems which you don't really want anyway. On the back side of this. On the other side of flooding is the snowstorm.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Spin to the wind. All right. We'll twirl around with you for the next hour or so. Thank you so much, Chad.

MYERS: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Step in now or bail out later. The president's money men push for more power to prevent a repeat of AIG.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well some big companies are being good corporate citizens in this tough economy. They are offering freebies to Americans who have lost their jobs. And you might be surprised what's available, even if you're broke.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, as you can imagine, it's causing outrage among vets and their families and rightly so. Thousands of them are now at risk for HIV, hepatitis and who knows what after having a routine colonoscopy. The reason, the medical equipment at Miami's Veterans' Hospital wasn't properly sanitized. Last month there was a similar problem at a clinic where vets received colonoscopies in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Other vets were exposed to infections at an ear, nose and throat clinic in Augusta, Georgia. The V.A. says the risk is slight but they are contacting the vets.

Now we want to help the veterans and examine all the angles here.

Rick Weidman is the executive director of Vietnam Veterans of America in Washington, DC. He says that the VA needs to be held accountable and offer vets better quality assurance.

And we also have Dr. John Vara, he is the chief of staff at Miami's Veterans Affairs health care system. He's standing by on the phone. He's about to hold a news conference. But first let's go back to hear your concerns. I want to go ahead and start with you, Rick. This is not an isolated incident, is it?

RICK WEIDMAN, VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA: Well, unfortunately it's not. For at least a decades, Vietnam Veterans of America we've been pushing hard on the issue of quality assurance. The V.A. has tens of thousands of wonderful people who get up every day and just want to do the right thing by veterans. What we need is leadership and a system, particularly a quality assurance system that's as good as all those wonderful people.

General Shinseki had it right in the hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee when asked what was wrong with the V.A. and what did he need to fix it and he said perhaps more laws but really the issues all revolve around leadership and accountability.

PHILLIPS: But you talk about leadership in the V.A. Let me just confirm something with you. There's still a lot of holdover in that department right now from the Bush administration, right? How many Obama administration types are actually in the V.A., working under the new head of the V.A. to tackle these problems?

WEIDMAN: Five.

PHILLIPS: Five. Out of the entire staff.

WEIDMAN: Out of 285,000 people.

PHILLIPS: Wow, OK. I didn't realize it was such a little number. What's going on? When will we see -- how can change be made if you've got only five people under the new administration?

WEIDMAN: Sometimes things start off pretty slow. The deputy secretary and the assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs, Tammy Duckworth and Deputy Secretary Scott Gould, Senator Akaka has said we'd have confirmation hearing next week and we anticipate it will come to a vote before the Easter recess. Once the deputy is on board, the pace can pick up. It takes a while to get the right people in place at the very top. And that process, in one way or another, will go on until Memorial Day. We anticipate the speed of change will pick up geometrically as we go along.

PHILLIPS: So out of all the thousands of vets that now have to go and get tests for HIV, hepatitis C, have you heard from anybody yet? Has anybody come forward and said I just got the results of my test, this is the deal?

WEIDMAN: We haven't. We talked to our chapters in Miami. We have two significant chapters in Miami itself. We're talking to our folks in Florida State Council. And we anticipate by tomorrow we'll have identified some people who were affected. PHILLIPS: All right. I'm bringing in Dr. John Vara here. It was made clear I could not put you two together and keep this separate. As I go to the doctor, Rick, if you would lead me there by telling me what you would want to know, the one question you would want to know from Dr. Vara as we move into asking him something specific about what happened at the hospital.

WEIDMAN: The key question is how did it go on for six months. It's not that somebody goofed. Mistakes happen in any business but the fact it went on for six months. The quality assurance system which is of course a system of whatever elements is redundant of people checking and supervising what is being done at each step of the way did not pick that up for six months. And that is of significant concern to us. And it's important that those steps be taken across the system so that people can have confidence when they use the V.A. system that it really is the finest care available.

PHILLIPS: Rick Weidman, I sure appreciate your time. You're a tremendous asset and advocate for vets.

Dr. John Vara, I have got you on the phone. I know you've got to get away to hold a news conference surrounding this story. Let me start this with what Rick Weidman had asked. Why six months?

DR. JOHN VARA, MIAMI V.A. DIRECTOR: I'm not sure where he's getting the six months because it's been quite sometime. What I can comment on in terms of the issues, while we're not exactly sure how it started we weren't in compliance with the manufacturer's recommendations, what we do know is that there are at times variations from those recommendations.

V.A. is absolutely committed to the quality assurance efforts that Mr. Weidman referenced. Part of it, we have a nationwide effort in terms of looking at endoscopic procedures at all hospitals to make sure those variations are being addressed even if they have been some way accepted. And to go through and systematically correct them. And another piece of this, we believe that whenever we find any kind of risk, in this case it is a small risk, we have an obligation and the V.A. really wants to lead the way in this manner, of notifying our veterans of what that potential might be and to take steps to make sure that we identify if it has caused harm and to take care of them should that happen.

PHILLIPS: So doctor, let me ask you, are you blaming the manufacturer? You said at the beginning you were just following what the manufacturer recommended. Are you blaming the company that makes these colonoscopy machines?

VARA: Absolutely not. The manual of instructions is very clear about what should happen. But health care is a complex system. And there's a lot of talk about the cost of health care and how we can improve the outcomes. And part of that is addressing variation in how things get applied. And once they are applied, how do we go back and make sure we identify it and correct that. One of the pieces that we want to do in addition to notifying veterans about what we're doing is making sure that the media, every congressional representative down here in Florida and all the veterans service officers truly understand what the nature of this issue is and will help us to make sure veterans get the absolute best care that America offers.

PHILLIPS: OK. So Dr. Vara, let me ask you, there's thousands of vets that could have HIV, that could have hepatitis C and Rick Weidman said this has been going on for months, we're talking thousands of vets. You said it's not been going on six months. How long did it take for you guys to finally realize that thousands of vets could be infected?

VARA: Well, as part of this nationwide effort to look what was going on, we've taken a very broad approach to looking at endoscopes throughout the hospital. And we identified in the G.I. lab that there were some variations. And we identified it and we went ahead and made corrective actions and we're notifying veterans and the public that this is something that is an issue for all of us to take a look at what our processes are. And we've gone ahead and taken corrective actions in terms of processes and accountability and developing systems so that we not only avoid these issues but in the future we'll have a much safer system all across the board.

PHILLIPS: Well, we can only hope because these are our men and women who serve the country and they deserve better quality assurance. Dr. John Vara ...

VARA: I agree completely.

PHILLIPS: I appreciate your time and appreciate you coming on the air with us. Rick Weidman, we'd also like to thank you. Well, if you're a vet and worried you might be affected call the Miami V.A. Health System. Here's the numbers, 305-575-7256 or here is a toll- free number 877-575-7256. Those numbers again, 305-575-7256 or toll- free, 877-575-7256.

We will follow up on this story for sure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Anger over AIG. If you've been watching CNN, you've seen plenty. Most of it aimed at Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Fed Chief Ben Bernanke. At a high pressure hearing on Capitol Hill, both men said AIG is - and you've heard it before - too big to fail. And when it tanked, the government's hands were tied.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SPENCER BACHUS (R-AL), RANKING MEMBER: Well, my question to you -- and I'm not -- was there any discussion over a haircut or a 95 percent -- taking 95 percent or 90 percent as full payment?

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. SECRETARY OF TREASURY: We explored at that time every possible means to reduce the drain on their resources...

BACHUS: Well... GEITHNER: ... including what you referred to. But again, because we have no legal mechanism in place for dealing with this, like we deal with the banks, we did not have the ability to selectively impose losses on their counterparties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Bernanke and Geithner want new authority to step in and take over AIG companies before the point of collapse.

If outrage is measured in dollars, the backlash should be easing. The New York attorney general says 15 of 20 the 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 $80 million, but it won't be easy since much of that money went overseas.

Take a look at the Big Board now. Look at this. What a difference from yesterday. Dow Industrials down 19 points. Yesterday, it closed in the 500s; up.

Well, your wealth, what you've got left in the market or stored in the bank and the value of your home can be a cushion in these tough times. But today, troubling new report on wealth and race.

Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For all of the houses, stocks and savings, for each dollar of wealth owned by white families in America, black families have just ten cents. They are less likely to have bank accounts, more likely to have been steered into subprime loans -- all of that in a new report from the Insight Center for Community Economic Development, an advocacy group for poor neighborhoods.

And what's more, Meizhu Lui, the author, thinks she knows why.

MEIZHU LUI, CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: I would say it was a matter of government policy over a long historical period, but continuing to the present day.

FOREMAN (on camera): The government?

LUI: Yes. The government policies that have assisted some in building wealth and put obstacles in the paths of others are not provided those same opportunities.

FOREMAN (voice-over): As evidence, the report points to programs like the Government Mortgage Bailout in the Great Depression, Social Security and tuition help for GIs after World War II, all of which, studies have shown, helped black people less than whites. The result, black family wealth did not grow as quickly.

So, the center says, young African-Americans have for decades been substantially less likely than whites to get an inheritance of any amount, their college tuition paid for by the family, or financial help to buy a home or car.

(on camera): The study points out the latest government figures show average Americans also lost wealth in recent years, but minorities are bearing the brunt of it, with even fewer African- American families now able to make it through a layoff, to move to where jobs are available or survive a serious illness without going bankrupt.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you're jobless and broke and you can't get to the unemployment center. In Huron County, Ohio, no problem. Look at this. The county has rolled out a mobile job center to help people find work. That county actually has the highest unemployment rate in Ohio.

And some big companies are trying to cushion the blow for millions of Americans who lost their jobs in the recession. Personal Finance editor Gerri Willis joins us now from New Work to tell us more about special perks for the unemployed.

Hey there, Geri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey there, Kyra.

You got to look for the help where you can find it, right? Well, if you have been putting off buying a car because you're afraid you'll lose your job, automakers are angling to ease your nerves. Hyundai has an assurance program that states the company will make your car payments for three months if you lose your job. And if you still need help after those three months, you can bring it back with no impact on your credit.

And a landlord is offering two months free apartment rent if its tenants in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Texas lose their jobs. It's called the layoff proof lease. To qualify, residents must sign a one-year lease and have made three rent payments. For more info go to layoffprooflease.com -Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, what about people who've lost their jobs and they just simply don't have any money to spend, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, when you lose your job, saving money is the first priority. Here are some places to go where you don't have to lay out a dime to get stuff. Check out these websites that stretch your dollar.

Freecycle.org. Here's a site where you can find free things online within your community right where you live.

Swapthing.com. Here you can post what you want and you swap with somebody else. Craigslist.com. Well, you know this site. It has a free barter site where you can look for stuff or trade stuff.

So there are places to go on the web if you don't have money to spend and you need maybe a suit, maybe there's something else you need to try to land that new job. Maybe even trade for something else you own to get what you need -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Gerri, appreciate it.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: And if you didn't file a federal tax return for 2005, the IRS might owe you. It's got about $1.3 billion in unclaimed refunds sitting there ready for its rightful owners. Again, this is money for the million or so people who didn't file in '05. And this would include people who didn't make enough to have to file but still had taxes withheld. Time's a ticking, though. If you don't file an '05 return by April 15th, guess what? Uncle Sam keeps the money forever.

Well, they fought tooth and nail for power and influence. Now, instead of getting raises and promotions, many women on Wall Street are getting pink slips. We're going to tell you just what in the heck is going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: From analysts who sit in front of computers to CEOs and members of the board, women have taken Wall Street by storm, until now. Instead of paychecks, many are now being handed pink slips.

CNN's Alina Cho reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Demoted, pushed out, fired. In the past year and a half, three of the four most powerful women on Wall Street have left their jobs. Coincidence? Some say no.

SUSAN ANTILLA, COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG NEWS: And inevitably, we have downturns. And the downturn comes, and whack, they're gone.

CHO: Susan Antilla says, historically, whenever we're in a recession it's an excuse to get rid of women working on Wall Street.

Brittany Sharpton says it happened to her.

BRITTANY SHARPTON, ALLEGES GENDER DISCRIMINATION: At first I was just shocked. Like, you know, I'm thinking maybe I misheard.

CHO (on camera): You think this is gender discrimination?

SHARPTON: Definitely. I cannot think of any other reason or justification they would have for laying me off. CHO (voice-over): The "Forbes" cover says it all, "Terminated." The 23-year-old is part of a class action, gender discrimination lawsuit aimed squarely at Citigroup. Sharpton says it wasn't just her, that every woman in her group was laid off. And in some cases, she says, the women were more qualified than the men.

SHARPTON: I know for a fact that my male counterparts, some of them did not have the same credentials.

CHO: Her lawyer argues that it's all part of the Wall Street culture, the ultimate boys club.

DOUGLAS WIGDOR, THOMPSON, WIGDOR & GILLY: When they're left with unfettered discretion as to who to choose, they're going to choose people they feel more comfortable with to retain. People they might go out to dinner with. People they might play golf with.

CHO: Others disagree and say the recession is gender blind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in a horrible labor economy and it's hurting all walks of American life. Everybody - families, workers and investors are all getting hammered right now.

CHO: It's no secret the financial services industry is hemorrhaging jobs. The Citigroup layoffs last fall included not just Brittany, but 50,000 workers from executives to tellers. The company won't disclose the breakdown of men and women, but in a statement to CNN, Citi says, the job cuts were done "fairly and lawfully, based on legitimate business reasons unrelated to gender."

(on camera): Your response?

SHARPTON: Bogus, absolutely not true. There was just absolutely no discretion, no regard. Not only with performance, but keeping a generation of women in the group.

CHO: Many we spoke to said the only hope for gender parody on Wall Street is to change the face of the corner offices. And so far, there's no evidence of a shift. None of the leading Wall Street firms has a single woman in any of the top three jobs and no woman has ever been named CEO of a major bank.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Owning a home is a big investment, and when you let energy escape, you lose a lot of money; you know that. But replacing leaky windows or an old furnace can be pretty expensive. How can you get some of your money back? We always go to our Poppy Harlow. She's always got that "The Energy Fix" to tell us how to fix our bills, fix our money, fix all our problems.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Trying to save people some money. It's expensive to make any home improvements these days. Stimulus bill trying to help you out, folks. Some tax credits that you should know about. You can use them this year or next year, but you want to use them before they run out.

They're increasing tax credit from 10 percent up to 30 percent for anything like new energy windows, insulation, air conditioners, furnaces - you get the idea. But this is capped at $1500.

Here's an example you can look at. Let's say windows have a $5,000 price tag. Well, the old tax credit would have only helped you out to the tune of about $200. This new tax credit is up to $1,500. That means you're getting a $1,300 break from the government, Kyra. So it can help, it really can.

PHILLIPS: All right, so can I get $1,500 for windows, another 1,500 for some other improvement?

HARLOW: It's not that good. It's only $1,500 one time. But you can use this for multiple be projects. For example, 500 for insulation, 1,000 for energy-efficient air conditioning or heating. You want to go to this web site, energystar.gov, see exactly what this applies to. Check before you buy, but you can definitely on use it on multiple things, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: What if you want to install solar panels, say, on my roof. How much would you get back with that?

HARLOW: Is that what you're doing this weekend?

PHILLIPS: Don't laugh, because my parents invested in solar panel thing on the roof.

HARLOW: That's great.

PHILLIPS: I still don't know if it saved money or not.

HARLOW: It's expensive on the front, but these tax breaks can really, really help because that's a very ambitious project. So for projects like that, you can claim 30 percent of the total cost, no matter how expensive it is.

Here's another example. If you live in California, you want to put solar panels on your roof, it's going to run you about $16,000. There's a $3,000 state rebate, there's a tax credit of almost $4,000. So the end cost is just over $9,000. So the government is almost covering half, Kyra, for solar panels. So let me know when you do that.

PHILLIPS: You got it. I'll keep you posted. Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Saving for a new baby, getting health insurance and the best mix for your 401(k). Our personal finance expert will be along to tackle your tough financial questions along with her panel of pals.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: A financial crisis has pinned plenty of Americans against the wall. Persons financial sitter is trying to help. She gives answers to your money questions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIS: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's go straight to "The Help Desk."

We wanted to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's go straight to The Help Desk. Ric Edelman is the author of "Rescue Your Money." Beth Kobliner is the author of "Get a Financial Life." And Greg McBride is senior financial analyst with bankrate.com.

OK, guys, these are some toughies. Let's start with Natalie from New York. "My husband lost his business four months ago and we have $100,000 in debt." All of our savings are gone. "We have a three- year-old and will have a new baby in five week. We can barely scrape together money for health insurance and will have to give it up when the baby is born because we can't afford it. Because he was a business owner, my husband doesn't qualify for unemployment benefits. Is there any health insurance we qualify for?"

Beth?

BETH KOBLINER, AUTHOR, "GET A FINANCIAL LIFE": Gerri, this is such a sad one. But what they need to do is he needs to get a job that offers health insurance. You know, it might be difficult because if he owned his own job, he's used to being -- his own business, he's used to being his own boss. But he's got to get a job with health insurance. If they can't, there's a government program, insurekidsnow.gov, which actually offers health insurance for children. So for their kid, they absolutely have to make sure they're covered. And for themselves, they might want to consider a catastrophic plan. A short term catastrophic plan. So it won't pay for their everyday bills, but if something catastrophic, major happen, it will cover them for that.

WILLIS: Very good ideas. The kids program is called SCHIP.

Carla has a question. "I left money in a 401(k) with a previous employer because it was doing well. However, the account has declined from $14,000 to $7,000 in the past year. Should I withdraw the money, take the 30 percent tax and penalty hit and open a CD or other type of safe account?"

Ric, this is up your alley.

RIC EDELMAN, AUTHOR, "RESCUE YOUR MONEY": That will just make a bad situation worse. You've lost 50 percent, so you want to make it an 80 percent loss. No, absolutely and positively not. Take the money, roll it over to an IRA. No tax penalty. No fees to do it. Leave the money invested for your retirement. Invest it in a long term diversified way. You'll be fine in the next 20 or 30 years.

WILLIS: All right. Robert has a question. "I've been calling my mortgage company since December asking for help. At first, they refused to do anything. When the president' economic plan came, they said to call back in the middle of March."

Greg, everybody's getting the stonewall from lenders. What do you do?

GREG MCBRIDE, BANKRATE.COM: It has taken lenders some time to get off the ground, particularly with the new mortgage plan. And kudos for being persistent about this. Keep it up. In the mean time, go to financialstability.gov. They have the eligibility requirements there. Make sure this is something that you're eligible for and that you can qualify. Then, you know, that will give you some time until the lenders all ramped up and ready to roll.

WILLIS: Great answer. The Help Desk is all about getting you answers. Sent me an e-mail to gerri@cnn.com. Or log on to cnn.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions.

And The Help Desk is everywhere. Make sure to check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: T.J. Holmes in for Rick Sanchez today. He's working on the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

What'cha working on, T.J.?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: My goodness. It's a lot back here filling in for Rick. My goodness.

All right, what have we got going today? We have, you know, the Connecticut attorney general says the numbers are a little fishy. The math on the AIG bonuses. A hundred and sixty-five million was being reported, he says, no, that ain't the case. It's actually $218 million. So we're going to have him on, put up a little of a calculus equation, if you will. He's going to try to break this ting down for us and explain to us how he got this different number.

Also today, the top economic adviser to the vice president, to the Vice President Biden, Jared Bernstein, will be on. Of course, we've got a lot of questions about the economy leading up to the president's another attempt at a big sale tonight.

Kyra, that and a whole lot more about the economy. We're trying to see, have we bottomed out on this - on the stock market. It's been looking good for the past week, maybe even two weeks. So have we hit a bottom finally? That's happening today, Kyra. Where are you going to be at 3:00?

PHILLIPS: Where am I going to be? Watching you, of course. Trying to figure out that calculus equation since I never passed geometry.

HOLMES: Well, you might want to tune in.

PHILLIPS: That's why we're in this business, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes, we are.

PHILLIPS: See you in a little bit.

HOLMES: See you in a minute.

PHILLIPS: So, have you ever heard of fake homeless people? Well, you have now. The city of Toronto actually admitted it planted about 50 people among the homeless population to help with a survey. Apparently the fake homeless helped give the stats some validity. But here's what rubs some of the city officials the wrong way, including a lot of people in Toronto. The people who actually had a home to go to were getting $100 prepaid Visa card just for their trouble of going homeless. The big question is, why isn't the city giving those cards to the people who are actually sleeping on the streets.

And they are calling her "The Boob Bandit." She's on the loose in southern California. Police looking for a woman accused of using someone else's line of credit to get a $12,000 breast implant and liposuction, too. They say that after procedures, she didn't show up for follow-up appointments. Right now, she faces burglary, grand theft and big identity theft charges.

Letting it rip. It can actually get you kicked off a school bus in Lakeland, Florida for three days. The bus driver says that a 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, there's no rules against flatulence, but there are rules against causing a disturbance on the bus.

The kid actually may have gotten off pretty easy, though. Listen to this, a 13-year-old was arrested in November at another Florida school after he did the same thing in class.

Somber sign of the times, churchgoers without a church to go to. Their houses of worship foreclosed. How is that for a transition?

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PHILLIPS: Churches not exempt from the recession. Some houses of worship have been foreclosed while others are forced to look for temporary digs.

Here's CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Metropolitan Baptist is more than a mega church, it's a Washington institution, Founded by freed slaves in the 19th century, the church once played host to President Clinton. With all its success, Metropolitan secured financing for a new bigger church in the suburbs three years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're ready to go on that as soon as we can get the available financing.

ACOSTA: Today, the $30 million, 3,000-seat sanctuary sits unfinished. The church has run out of money to complete construction.

(on camera): It must be frustrating to not be able to move into your new home. I'm just thinking like a homeowner. You know, a homeowner would feel that way.

PASTOR H. BEECHER HICKS, METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH: Absolutely. And if I had my way, I probably would have written this scenario a little bit differently.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Pastor H. Beecher Hicks says skyrocketing construction costs during the housing boom sent the project over budget. Then, the recession hit and collections plummeted forcing Pastor Hicks to seek out new lenders.

HICKS: The church is also a business institution that is affected by the financial realities that surround it.

ACOSTA: Bishop Joel Marcus Johnson knows that all too well. When collections dwindled at St. Andrews Anglican Church on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Bishop Johnson could no longer pay the mortgage. His picturesque church was foreclosed on last year by the local bank. The bishop, like many troubled homeowners across the country is packing up.

BISHOP JOEL MARCUS JOHNSON, ST. ANDREWS ANGLICAN CHURCH: When St. Andrews purchased this historic campus back in the middle of 2005, of course everything was going swimmingly for the whole country. The word economic - the phrase, "economic failure" simply do not yet exist.

ACOSTA: A recent study of church finances found 28 percent of congregations across the country falling short at collection time.

DAVE TRAVIS, MEGACHURCH RESEARCHER: What we've had over the last decade is lots of expansion, lots of church building. And yes, it's true, some churches have overextended themselves.

ACOSTA: Metropolitan Baptist is in a tough spot. It's already moved out of its old church and is holding worship services at this D.C. school.

HICKS: We believe that victory is only a moment away.

ACOSTA: Where the faithful pray for divine intervention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, a financial institution that specializes in church lending puts it this way, before 2007 it had never foreclosed on a church. Now it has foreclosed on seven with more likely this year.

Well, we're all praying for T.J. Holmes. He's in for Rick Sanchez and he starts now.