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River Rises to 112-Year High in North Dakota; More Than a Foot of Snow Dumps on Denver; New Afghanistan Strategy; Rising River, High Anxiety Saver's Remorse; Where to go to Offer Help for Disaster Victims

Aired March 27, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It is Friday, March 27th. Here are the top stories today right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The people of Fargo are bracing to keep the Red River out of their homes. Already, some reports to flee after a sandbag levee springs a leak.

Disrupt, defeat, dismantle al Qaeda and the Taliban. President Barack Obama orders more troops to Afghanistan as he outlines a revised war strategy.

You've got questions about foreclosures and refinancing? Our Personal finance Editor Gerri Willis stops by with some answers.

Tony's off today. I'm Don Lemon in Washington.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Of course, we start with the weather. Fighting or fleeing floodwaters, battling blizzard conditions, we're taking you to the front lines of two extreme weather systems.

In North Dakota today, the Red River today broke a 112-year-old record. The rising water is eroding a levee in Fargo, prompting officials to order a neighborhood full of people to higher ground.

And a state of emergency in Colorado. A major storm dumped more than a foot of snow. The system is now moving southeast toward Kansas and Oklahoma.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: The order of the day in Fargo is to stand and deliver. And the city's mayor vows to go down swinging if they have to go down.

I want to bring in now Mayor Dennis Walaker. He joins us now on the phone from his soaked city.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

MAYOR DENNIS WALAKER, FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA: Good morning.

LEMON: You're a native. And your time there -- you have been working for the city since 1974. Have you seen anything like it? I don't imagine you have.

WALAKER: No. We thought 1997 was going to be the benchmark for the city of Fargo, and how soon it becomes just another fond memory. This one here has been extremely difficult. We are protecting more property in areas that we have never had to protect before, and we're talking about some lousy weather conditions. This morning, it was 12 degrees.

LEMON: Wow.

WALAKER: Does that help? A little bit, but it certainly makes adding to the dikes very questionable, because the sandbags will freeze en route to the areas that we need to place them. And trucks are still continuing to go in. And I drove around last night -- a light show around the areas that they continue to dig holes to hold clay, to not only clay construct dikes, but also reinforce clay dikes.

LEMON: Yes. Now, I know that you were the 1974 civil engineer, and you were responsible for the city's public works operations. You were the manager there. So you know what the city can handle, as far as drainage or whatever, but there's nowhere for this water to go. No matter what you have in place for public works, it can't handle this situation.

WALAKER: And that's part of the process. The problem is we are in some -- what we call uncharted territory. We have exceeded any flood records that are on record, period. I mean, that's -- we are into this new area here, and with that, (INAUDIBLE) significant challenges.

LEMON: Yes. Well, we certainly wish you guys the very best.

WALAKER: We appreciate that.

LEMON: I'm sure you do.

WALAKER: The sun is shining. It's still cold, but he sun is shining here.

LEMON: You know what, Mayor? You know, the positive attitude that you've had -- and we're going to go over to the dome in just a little bit and talk to one of our reporters there, but it's amazing to see people come together. And I'm sure that helps you out at this time.

WALAKER: And it's been amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Like I keep saying, it's almost emotional, what's happening in our area. It's not only the city of Fargo, it's the city of Moorehead, it's the entire area from Bismarck to Minneapolis, where we're getting people that are coming in and trying to participate, to a certain extent, in helping us out. And we certainly appreciate that.

We are getting the same thing from the National Guard, from the Corps of Engineers, a few more people. Our senators are working, the House of Representatives is working to try to make sure that we have everything we need to be successful. Now the question is, can we be successful? And we'll find that out over the next five to 10 days.

LEMON: Well, Mayor, I have, you know, a really strong feeling that no matter what happens, you guys will be OK. And -- but we certainly hope that you don't get flooded out there.

WALAKER: We do, too.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much.

WALAKER: Thank you. Thank you.

LEMON: I said we were going to go to the dome. Actually, that's not it, but we are going to go live now to someone in North Dakota.

It is truly a race against time in Fargo. You heard the mayor there. We are now told three million sandbags are needed to hold back the rising water.

Our Susan Roesgen has been following that effort.

Susan, you have been all over. You were at the dome. Now you're in another place. And you have seen all of these folks coming together trying to save their homes, their property, really their lives.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really they are, Don. And I heard how tired the mayor was. He must be exhausted. But these folks, they don't show it.

We're here at a warehouse where they are still filling sandbags, but here they are using what they call the spider, Don. This is an automated machine; they've got guys way up at the top helping the sand flow through. It comes down those eight tubes, the legs of the spider, and then they put the bags right at the end there, and they can fill, like, eight bags simultaneously in about 60 seconds. It's a lot faster and more efficient than filling them by hand, though they're still doing that, too.

And I don't know, Don, whether the mayor said that the cold weather is actually helping. It is freezing here, but in fact, we're hearing that the cold weather is keeping the water from flowing. It's kind of slowing down the water. And so, OK, maybe they can keep this thing from becoming a lot worse than it could be.

I want to tell you one other thing, Don, about this spider up here. You know, you see the guys in the harnesses up there. Just a few minutes ago, some poor volunteer got his hand stuck in it.

LEMON: Oh boy.

ROESGEN: I saw about five National Guard guys jump up there right away, pull him out. He's OK.

You have to remember, Don, that these are all volunteers. They're not trained in this, but they're here, they're working, they're helping.

And the guy who oversees this whole operation, he's the city's health inspector. He said, "I don't know anything about filling sandbags, but I'm learning." That's what people are doing here, Don. They are pulling together. They don't want to talk about evacuations, they're talking about making sure the river doesn't flood -- Don.

LEMON: Susan Roesgen, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.

We want to turn now to our other big weather story, the blizzard that dumped several inches of snow on Denver.

CNN's Jim Spellman is in Commerce City, a Denver suburb.

Jim, that blizzard warning was canceled earlier today, but lots of travel problems remain, don't they?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely.

I'm here at a truck stop, Don, and lots of truckers from all over the country really have been bedding down here overnight. Depending on what direction they are headed, they're heading out now. If they are heading east, towards Kansas, Oklahoma, they are staying put, because they don't want to drive back into this storm.

They were describing to me what it was like. They said it cam on faster than any storm they have seen for years.

They were driving, and it was just OK, and then a whiteout, is what one gentleman described it to me as. And when that happens, the biggest danger for them, you know, are the cars. And when I was driving around in it yesterday, it was so unpredictable, whether there's ice or there's snow you're driving on.

The roads are really getting a lot better. Plows are out, and schools are closed. And the local government is actually on a furlough day, already today, preplanned. So traffic is very light and they're able to get ahead of it. So, thankfully, it looks like, here in Denver, anyway, things are getting a little better -- Don.

LEMON: Thank you very much for that.

Jim Spellman.

The blizzard has blown into Oklahoma, Kansas, and also Texas.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: We'll continue to follow the flood situation in Fargo, North Dakota, as well as the potential for more snow in the Plains. We'll bring you updates throughout this hour.

And just ahead, what the president calls a clear and focused goal. How he plans to dismantle al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: A devastating suicide bombing today in Pakistan's tribal region near Afghanistan. At least 51 people are dead, more than 100 are wounded.

The bomber targeted a mosque filled with about 250 worshippers. The bombing destroyed the two-story building. The search for victims is still ongoing. It is believed the bomber was among the mosque worshippers.

The blast in Pakistan came hours before President Barack Obama announced his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan. In addition to 17,000 new combat forces headed to the country by fall, Mr. Obama is sending another 4,000 Americans to train Afghan security forces -- a total of 21,000.

Now, the administration is developing benchmarks for Afghanistan. U.S. civilians will help the government meet them, and Pakistan will get additional U.S. aid. But it must confront militants on its territory who carry out attacks in Afghanistan. The president is rebranding the war as a regional problem, and officials say he'll reach out diplomatically to Russia, China, India, and even Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The greatest responsibility is to protect the American people. We are not in Afghanistan to control that country or to dictate its future. We are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and our allies, and the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan who have suffered the most at the hands of violent extremists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All of this, of course, is designed to stamp out al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Barbara Starr is our Pentagon correspondent.

Barbara, the administration doesn't call this a surge like Iraq, but how will it look on the ground?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it will be a real plus-up, whether you call it a surge or not, an increase in the number of U.S. combat boots on the ground, Don, especially in southern Afghanistan. That is where the bulk of the U.S. forces, the additional 17,000, will go.

It is in southern Afghanistan right now, where they are seeing the greatest level of violence as militants have crossed in from Pakistan. And the Taliban have simply begun to move across the southern belt region because there aren't enough security forces there to really control the area. So this is becoming ground zero now for the U.S. effort to try and get a handle on things there.

Will it work? All the experts, all the officials we talked to, say it is going to take some time.

They are going to have to go village by village, town by town, and really try to establish a security presence there, all, at the same time, while they are trying to do the same thing back across the border in Pakistan. That mosque bombing we have seen today is one of the latest indicators that the militants are going after the people of this region. They are the ones that are suffering very greatly -- Don.

LEMON: And Barbara, all of this comes after new violence in Pakistan today.

STARR: Oh, absolutely. The video that you showed just a few minutes ago of the mosque bombing, you know, that, again, one of the latest indicators. It's been a strategy, if you will, of the Taliban.

After the last couple of years, they know they can't win against American forces straight on, so they have developed a strategy of going after the people in this region to sow terror. And that's what the U.S. really wants to get after.

But make no mistake, at the same time, the Obama administration is taking a hard line against Pakistan, saying the government there has to act, and against the government of Hamid Karzai, in Afghanistan, saying they have to get a handle on their own corruption. All of this U.S. assistance doesn't come as a free ride -- Don.

LEMON: Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr.

Barbara, thank you.

We want to go overseas to get the reaction to the president's plan, and today's suicide bombing, as well.

Our Reza Sayah is in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Reza, thanks for joining us. But we hear that Pakistani security officer frequent this mosque. Were they the target of this bombing is the question.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, investigators say it's too early to tell if they were the target. Usually when mosques are attacked in Pakistan's tribal region, it's sectarian violence, but this could be different because of the security forces in there.

We are told by investigators, a little after 2:00 local time in Pakistan, a suicide bomber walked into this mosque during Friday worship. Right before the prayer was about to start, he blew himself up.

This was no small blast. This explosion, powerful enough that it brought this two-story building down, burying people underneath. The death toll stands at 51.

As you mentioned, this is a mosque that's frequented by security forces who protect supplies, U.S./NATO supplies that go through this region from Pakistan into Afghanistan. And some people are speculating this was a militant group sending a direct message to U.S. and NATO forces by attacking security forces that protect those supplies going into Afghanistan -- Don.

LEMON: And Reza, is Pakistan going to be able to do what Washington is asking them to do? It seems like a tall order at this point.

SAYAH: No question. And plainly speaking, so far they have yet to display that they have the ability to crack down on militants because, seemingly, militants are carrying out attacks whenever and wherever they want. Today's mosque attack was another indication.

But Mr. Obama, with his familiar glare when he's serious, he delivered this message to Pakistan, that we will support you, we will provide you with $1.5 billion a year in non-military aid, but what you need to do is get your act together and crack down on the militants. And if you don't, we will crack down on them for you, and we will stop the non-military aid.

So, some tough love coming from President Obama to Pakistan -- Don.

LEMON: Reza, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.

The Federal Reserve is coming to a theater near you. Why you may see a warning about foreclosure scams the next time you go to the movies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, think about this. You are spending more even though you have less money to spend. The Commerce Department says consumer spending inched up .2 of a percent in February. But the report says incomes fell by the same amount last month.

Spending has now increased two months in a row. It fell every month from July to December last year.

OK. Lights, camera, Fed. That "Fed" word doesn't usually go with that, and there's a reason behind that. The Central Bank is going Hollywood with a message for homeowners in trouble.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

LEMON: We are continuing to monitor the situation for you. Of course, that flood situation in Fargo, North Dakota. We'll bring you the latest on the evacuations and how the levees are holding up there.

But first, we want to tell you about this. The statistics are really shocking. Forty-nine percent all murder victims in the United States are black, and even those who survive a violent assault face a greater risk of receiving another violent injury.

This week's CNN Hero is a Baltimore trauma surgeon who got tired of seeing this violence first hand. He did something about it. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN HEROES."

DR. CARNELL COOPER, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: As a trauma surgeon, I see a significant amount of violence (ph) every year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy had brought somebody...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was shot with a .45-caliber gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got shot twice...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It actually blew my leg off.

COOPER: We take care of them, and then they'll come back again.

My colleague said there's really nothing you can do in these situations. I knew that wasn't true, and I knew I could make a difference.

I'm Dr. Carnell Cooper. I'm saving lives by breaking the cycle of violence in Baltimore.

When they are here in the hospital, it represents an opportunity.

I want to talk to you about the violence intervention program.

Maybe for the first time, this individual says, "I almost died."

Are you interested?

Yes. OK. Good.

We say, look, we are going to help you get out of the game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before I was into shooting people, robbing. This group has changed my life tremendously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all got goals now. We know where we're going at.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A GED, job training, more support.

COOPER: You guys have all done great, and I'm very proud of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dr. Cooper, he saved me.

COOPER: Every physician's goal is to save lives.

This is another step in that process. In my mind, it's what I should be doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: If you would like to help Dr. Carnell Cooper, or if you know someone who is doing something so extraordinary that they deserve to be a CNN Hero, I want you to tell us about it. Remember, all of our CNN Heroes are chosen from people you nominate at CNN.com/heroes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, we have some more now from our CNN iReporters. The Red River is expected to crest. It keeps creeping higher for Fargo, North Dakota. People on low ground aren't taking any chances.

Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER SONDAG, CNN IREPORTER: This evening I had been working on packing up stuff from the basement to get it out of the way. I was talking to my parents earlier and asking them, do you think that we'll really get water in the basement? And they said, yes, the whole basement could be flooded with water if the dikes break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Another iReporter sent us this video of the rising water in Fargo. Look at that. Waters - you can't tell, it is so cold there, and it is doing both.

The floodwater is flowing into yards and also into fields. And several roads are starting to get overrun by water. The river level has gone up since these pictures were taken. And as we know, they are going to continue to go up.

The anxiety is rising along with the water and the river in Fargo. The Red River has reached a record level and it is not expected to crest until tomorrow.

That's why we turn to Steve Kastenbaum of CNN Radio. He's on the phone with us from Fargo.

Steve, I'm wondering what you're witnessing there as this water continues to creep up.

STEVE KASTENBAUM, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Don, I'm in a residential neighborhood that's a little bit south of the downtown section of Fargo. And I've been coming back here routinely to check on the dike that runs through the backyards of all of the homes here. And over the days, you could see the incredible amount of water as it's risen foot after foot after foot. And it's now up against -- towards the top of the dikes here. They really only have another two feet more or less to spare, and that's all the head room they have right now.

The homeowners here are absolutely incredible, Don. They're working around the clock, sleeping in shifts, so they can man the sump pumps on a 24-hour basis. They get clogged up really easily. But there's water seepage through the walls and if they don't continually pump out that water, they not only risk having some flooding on their property, they risk losing the integrity of the dike itself. LEMON: Oh, boy. All right. Steve. We appreciate it. We want to get to someone who's on the ground trying to help. Steve Kastenbaum of CNN Radio, wish I could have a much longer conversation with you.

But I want to get to this, because Fargo's fate depends on how largely the levees hold up. That is an issue, of course, for the Army Corps of Engineers. We always turn to the Army Corps of Engineers for a natural disaster. Let's try to get some perspective on it. It's public affairs officer is Frank Worley, and he joins me now from Fargo, very near the scene of the emergency operation there and where they are trying to get this water under control if it does get much higher.

We have been hearing -- first of all, thank you, sir - river's not expected to crest until tomorrow. How confident are you that what you have in place is going to hold?

FRANK WORLEY, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (via telephone): Well, we are cautiously optimistic. These are emergency levees; they're not permanent structures. And we are in, as it said, unchartered territory. This is a record event.

LEMON: Yes, it is.

You've got what? How many people out there assisting you? Hundreds and hundreds, obviously, of volunteers, but you also have people working with you as well to try to maintain these levees.

WORLEY: Correct. The Corps is 114 personnel on the ground, plus about 40 different contract companies assisting in various stages. Plus, the city's got people, the state, the county. And the volunteers, who I can't say enough about.

LEMON: Yes. And you know, we keep saying, "unchartered territory, unchartered territory." For the folks at home, I mean, you can see the pictures, but just from you, as an eyewitness, what are these folks up against? And you as well?

WORLEY: Well, it is tough. Each flood, each disaster situation is different. But again, it's unchartered territory because it is a record. And oftentimes, when our hydrologists look at how a river will act, they'll look at what it's done in the past. And since it's never done this in the past, it's really hard to gage.

LEMON: But you have to have models that have forecast scenarios, especially worst case scenarios. If it continues in the vein in the way that it is, come tomorrow, once it does crest, what are you expecting to see?

And then, if it does crests tomorrow, it's going to linger. That's doesn't mean - that's not the end of it.

WORLEY: That's correct. The crest will last several days.

We built all the levees on the Fargo side to 42 feet with some strategic areas raised to 43 feet and we're adding additional material as we can. And we're also building contingency levees just in case we have an overtopping or a breach somewhere that will hopefully be able to contain the water in a specific area right behind the main levee.

LEMON: Frank Worley with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers battling those flood waters. We really appreciate you joining us.

WORLEY: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you.

We're going to turn now to our meteorologist Rob Marciano. He's going to talk about the Red River.

Rob, you heard tomorrow - you know this, it's going to crest tomorrow. But again, as he said, that's really not the end of it, cause it's going to stay around for a couple days.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is going to stay, stay around. And there's some question marks because we've never been here before. And the river's going to do what the river wants to do. The only thing we can do is try to maneuver around it and, you know, adjust it somewhat, but the water finds a way.

All right. There have been some mandatory evacuations. We'll zoom into the Fargo area. Don't want to ignore what's going on over in Moorhead, Minnesota, because this is a larger swath of evacuated area. From Eighth Street to Main Street all the way down I-94. And then south of downtown Fargo right along the river, there's been an area there that has been evacuated. And I suspect there will be more areas as the river continues to rise and puts pressure on the levees and dikes. And you know, at some point, some of those are going to weaken.

Let's go up the river - or down river, I should say, north towards Grand Forks. Just want to mention this. They were devastated by the '97 floods and spent over $4 million on a flood protection deal that was completed about two years ago. And they're fairly confident or hopeful at least that that's going to hold.

Flood warnings obviously still in effect for this part of the world and will remain so for the next several days. And then flood warnings and watches out for the southeast. For the second day in a row, there have been severe thunderstorms that have rolled through this area. And by tomorrow, there'll be a third day in a row, cause the atmosphere recharging.

But first things first. Until 2:00 this afternoon, we have a tornado watch out that in for - in effect for parts of the Florida panhandle and southern parts of Georgia. And right now, there are three separate tornado warnings for radar-indicated tornadoes for this part of the country here, especially for the St. Marks-area there near Apalachicola and then across I-10 to southern parts of Georgia just south of Albany. These in effect until noon and then 12:15 Eastern time. Off to Colorado we go where blizzard warnings continue in the eastern part of that state. So snows will pile up in the order of 10 to 20 inches in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. But the energy that's producing that snow ejects into the plains once again in the southeast, that will trigger more in the way of thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes. We've seen that two days in a row now, could be a third tonight and tomorrow. Strong winds and some large hail as this entire storm finally makes its way towards the Atlantic Ocean.

I'd like to say, Don, that that will be the last storms for several days to come. But it looks like we've got another one that will come down over the weekend for a potential blizzard again for Sunday to Monday. And then longer range forecast show Wednesday and Thursday of next week, we might have a similar situation.

LEMON: Oh, boy.

MARCIANO: So winter's not done yet, even though we are approaching April 1st.

LEMON: All right, Rob. Thank you very much for that.

MARCIANO: You got it.

LEMON: Well, Fargo isn't the only place dealing with flooding. A flood disaster in Indonesia to tell you about this morning as well.

Torrential rains caused an earthen dam to crumble outside Jakarta. It unleashed a wall of water one witness calls, "a suburban tsunami." And reports say at least 52 people were killed, around 400 homes were submerged.

This video gives you an idea of the depth of the water. This is what people woke up to in the middle of the night.

And this video gives you an indication of the water's power. It is a minivan lifted to the top -- I'm going to look at that myself, wow - of a courtyard wall.

Amazing pictures there.

Many of you are asking how you can help people who may face this historic flooding in this country and other countries as well. And that's where we turn to our Josh Levs to talk to us about it.

And Josh, I see the "Impact Your World" right in the thing there. And that's how you can do it, right?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's like a one stop shop for this. And it's interesting, I've been talking with the impact folks all morning. And they keep updating I think, literally, each hour today with some of the latest ways to help people.

Let's not focus on the yapping, let's zoom in on the board. I want to show you some of the features here right now. First of all, you can't miss it -- CNN.com/impact. And what you do, right now, they're leading with this information about the flood, but if you scroll down just slightly, what you'll see is a list of places that have specific subpages that are focusing on the floods right now.

For example, we link you to the Red Cross which is focusing on the flood. They talk about their shelters, their work to help the people who are in that path.

Also over here, Salvation Army has a specific subpage focusing on what's going on in that area. You can see what they are saying, Don, "A Race Against Time - Minnesota, North Dakota Flood Relief Efforts Continuing."

But Don, one thing I like about this is, back at "Impact Your World," you can actually see a whole bunch of places that are helping people all over the world. You were just talking about some things going on overseas, Indonesia. So over here under "resources," this is actually better with the cursor, check this out. We have all these different topics you can look at anytime - health, poverty, refugees, natural disasters, children.

Let's click on natural disasters, because if you are concerned about people overseas facing flooding as well, you can always click there and they'll chase you through all sorts of places to help, Don.

LEMON: And Josh, that's just on our website where you can go. But I mean online, the social networking, I mean, they are mobilizing. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace - I've noticed on mine, like, I'm getting e-mails and things on the feed about people helping, right?

LEVS: Yes, a lot of people writing us about that today. Wanting to know on the social networks. You're totally right.

Let's zoom back in actually. I've got a couple of them, I'll show you. In fact, Facebook has a whole bunch of groups that are set up right now. This "Fargo Flood '09," "Fargo-Moorhead Flood Information." As you keep going down, you're going to see more and more groups with more and more members in different cases all of them focusing on different things.

Here's one all about volunteering in that area. Don, last I checked, about 5,000 members right there - 4,899.

And then here's a Twitter page for "Fargo Flood Stage." And they're giving updated information, also telling you how you could help out.

I also post all these links on my Facebook page when I get off the air -- JoshLevsCNN. I'll toss it to you, too, so you'll have it, Don.

LEMON: Yes, I'm going to go on in the break and log on to Twitter and Facebook and MySpace and look it up.

Hey, Josh, good information. Really appreciate it, thank you.

LEVS: You got it, thanks.

LEMON: Hey, we're going to talk after the break to someone we love to talking to here. Can give you a lot of information. We're talking about Gerri Willis. Do you have questions about money? From pensions to refinancing your mortgage with a legitimate lender, our Gerri Willis is up next with all the answers. She's standing by.

See you, Gerri.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, it is Friday. And as usual, our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, has been surfing her inbox.

All right. Do you need a board? I mean, how do you do that, Gerri? Do you have to wear a bathing suit?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: It is all here.

LEMON: It's all up there.

So, you have some questions from viewers who e-mail you, right?

WILLIS: That's - a lot of them, actually, yes. And so, do you want to read one?

LEMON: The first question is we really would like to get rid of the house, right? Is that what it is?

Do you know this question? Do you want me to read it or do you want me to read it?

WILLIS: Please.

LEMON: OK, I'll read it.

OK, so the person says, "We would really like to get rid of the house, but we don't want to let it go into foreclosure. Someone mentioned a short-sale. If our lender agrees, should we try this? What impact will it have on our credit rating?"

That's question number one.

WILLIS: Right. Well, and here's the answer. Look, here's the skinny on the short-sale. In a short-sale, you sell the house for less than what the mortgage is worth and the lender forgives the difference.

Now the downside is, if the lender agrees to a short-sale, your FICA score plummets as much as it would with a foreclosure. But Don, that doesn't mean you can't buy a new home. With a short-sale, you may be eligible to buy a home with a loan backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac so that is at least some good news.

But you know, a short-sale will get you out of the house, if that's your goal.

LEMON: No, that's cool. And then FICA, I mean, that's important because that's your lending score, right? So you need to have a high FICA, right?

WILLIS: That's right.

LEMON: OK, question number two is, she says, "My husband was six months away from his 30-year requirement and his job was eliminated. What are the chances his pension will go bankrupt? And if it does, is it insured by the government or will he lose everything?" - Gerri.

WILLIS: Well, look, you know, as long as your husband was completely vested in the pension plan, it should still be there when he retires and files for benefits. That's according to the Department of Labor. And even if the company goes bankrupt, his pension should still be there.

Look, most traditional pensions are guaranteed by something called the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. It's a big phrase that just means a federal agency that insures pensions for companies that are unable to fund them.

Now, you are protected up to certain levels -- $54,000 a year annually when you retire at 65. You can find out if your pension plan is guaranteed by the PBGC by looking at your summary plan, that's the description of your pension plan, you should have gotten those materials.

And if you want answers on what to do if your plan ends, you're worried about that, go to pbgc.gov. But there are federal backups to this if you have problems.

LEMON: Pbgc.gov. PB like peanut butter jelly, GC.gov, OK.

WILLIS: PBGC - not J.

LEMON: No, PBG, that's what I said, OK.

WILLIS: OK.

LEMON: PBGC, we don't want to confuse...

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Let's see, last one, Gerri, is from Kim. Kim says, she wants you to tell her where to look for legitimate mortgage refinance interest rates. Where can she look for them.

WILLIS: Well, and that's a great thing to be thinking about, Kim, because they're so low.

Start with Web sites like hsh.com or bankrate.com. That'll give you an idea of what's going on out in the marketplace. But don't hang your hat on it since those figures don't take into account your credit score. And of course, start by checking with your original mortgage lender. They've already got your information on file. This will cut down on a lot of paperwork. They're familiar with you and your payment history, so you'll be seen as less risky. You may even get a better rate.

And if you are having problems here, go to local credit unions. They're very competitive on rates.

And of course, if you have questions, send them to us at Gerri@CNN.com. We answer them right here every Friday. We'd love to hear from you.

LEMON: I was just going to say, your questions might end up on TV. And they're always really good questions. They really are, Gerri.

You know, over the weekend people sort of have time to sit back and absorb the news and pay attention to your show that helps people out. It's "YOUR BOTTOM LINE." What do you have this weekend for us?

WILLIS: Well, we're 9:30 a.m. Saturday. We're going to take a closer look this week at the state of the housing market and what it mean to the value of your home. And then, you think internships are only for students? Well, not in this economy. We'll tell you how to get your foot in the door at any age - Don.

LEMON: That's good information. Good information. OK, Gerri Willis, our personal finance editor, we appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning.

WILLIS: Thank you so much, Don.

LEMON: And many of you want to save money by saving the environment, right? Well, check out a living house. A living house. Just click on CNNmoney.com.

And yet another growing symptom of our troubled economy. We'll explain what saver's remorse is and why many of us are suffering from it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A federal marshal facing federal charges of stealing weapons has been found dead in Juarez, Mexico. A U.S. law enforcement source says the body of Deputy Marshal Vincent Bustamante was found Wednesday. Juarez is across the border from El Paso, Texas.

A wave of violence has gripped Mexican border towns. And most of the violence involves rival drug factions. A Mexican police official says Bustamante apparently was killed execution style.

We are following developments in several big stories today and we'll have updates in the next hour. Fargo, North Dakota, not giving up without a fight. The Red River has already surged to a record level and it's still rising. We'll go live to Fargo for the latest on the flooding.

Also, arrested trying to buy machine guns and silencers. A popular rap star is sentenced today. Even if you don't know rapper T.I., your children almost certainly knows who he is. Find out how much time he will spend in prison.

You've heard of buyer's remorse? Well, what about saver's remorse? We're going to explain that one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have all heard about buyer's remorse, that feeling of regret that often follows a big purchase. But something new is emerging in this new economy, it's called saver's remorse.

Our Alina Cho reports that it can be harmful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The message is everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money in the bank suddenly seems like a brilliant idea.

CHO: Save, save, save. In these tough times, that's the mantra. It's always been a good idea. But can we take frugality too far?

JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It is a very negative state of mind, physically and emotionally, for you to constantly be saying no to yourself.

CHO: Call it saver's remorse. More money in the bank, but are you any happier?

Columbia professor Ran Kivetz, who co-authored a study on this very subject, says not indulging enough can hurt you emotionally.

PROF. RAN KIVETZ, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL: This notion that we are missing out on life, in a sense, you're missing out on pleasures, that we're missing some balance, that type of emotion or feeling actually persists over time and sometimes even builds up.

CHO: Personal saving jumped from 0.8 percent in August to five percent in January. And in some cases, we're saving when we don't have to. So focused on the future, we're not enjoying the here and now.

KURIANSKY: When you're restricting what you purchase and what you give yourself, you're living in a brain state of scarcity, and that makes people depressed.

CHO: So, what's the answer? Continue to save, but don't forget to treat yourself even in a recession.

KURIANSKY: In this tough economy, people feel out of control. On a deeper level, buying and indulging in certain small pleasures gives you a sense of control.

CHO: And some people say, life's too short to have saver's remorse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our future isn't that long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're too old to do that.

CHO (on camera): Bottom line, everything in moderation. Spend a little, save a little. Psychologists say, balance your checkbook, but also balance your emotional checkbook. That, they say, will keep you healthy.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)