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Three Confirmed Dead after Arkansas Tornado; Lifeboat Holding Kidnapped Captain Likely Confining, Poorly Ventilated; Woman Pulled from Car after High-Speed Chase in California; Internet Ponzi Schemes Flourish; Some Communities Making Local Currency; Disclosure Forms Reveal Deep Pockets of Some Obama Staffers

Aired April 10, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN, ANCHOR: You see him there, another guy is beating in the other side of the window and very shortly they're going to be pulling the driver out of the car. Obviously, something was going on inside that vehicle and she was not coming out. So, physically - they're going to forcefully pull her not out the door but in just a second right here they are going to pull her right through the window and still fighting back with those officers.

Again, something that you don't see every day but obviously we'll be following this and try to get the latest on exactly what happened there but again it started out as a domestic violence call and that is how it ends there. This coming to us from our affiliate KCAL and KCBS out in southern California.

All right, let's get to you some other news happening right now.

A suicide bombing in northern Iraq kills five U.S. soldiers. Iraqi officials say a truck packed with explosives breached the outer security barrier of a police complex today in Mosul. In addition to the five U.S. deaths, three Iraqis were killed in that blast and 60 people wounded.

Well, a U.S. official says the captain of a U.S.-flagged cargo ship attacked by Somali pirates tried to escape his captors last night. The official says Richard Phillips jumped out of a lifeboat where four armed pirates have been holding him hostage. Phillips was reportedly trying to swim to a nearby U.S. warship, but he was recaptured. Negotiations for his release are ongoing.

President Barack Obama is zeroing in on the economy today. His top financial advisers are attending talks at the White House this morning. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and FDIC chair Sheila Bair. They are all focusing on efforts to stimulate the economy, the rising unemployment rate and the health of the nation's bank.

Well, raging wildfires and powerful tornadoes leave two towns just devastated. Hurricane-force winds roared across Texas and Oklahoma late yesterday. Look at the pictures and all that smoke. The fires spread so fast that firefighters could not keep up. You see one building there just being engulfed in flames. We've seen neighborhood after neighborhood just go up in smoke.

And in one Oklahoma border town, fires, they are still burning at this hour. The downtown area of Nina, Arkansas, well it's been cordoned off, it took a direct hit from a tornado last night. Three people are dead there, around two dozen others injured. The town is under curfew. And National Guard troops are patrolling the streets.

Well, the threat for severe weather is not over just yet and our Rob Marciano is tracking those storms. Ed Lavandera is taking stock of the destruction along the Oklahoma border. So let's begin with the American southwest, where hurricane-force winds have pushed wildfires across thousands of acres, and dozens of homes. Several hundred people have been forced to evacuate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope my house don't burn down. It's all I've got. As long as I save my babies and my wife's in good shape, I don't care. Everything down that road is burning like hell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That is definitely the exact description of what it was like. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Ed, the police chief there says it looks like a war zone and today may not be any better. Is that what you're seeing?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're hoping it's going to get better. We're looking at the forecast throughout the day. We're expecting the winds to start dying down. They kind of come and go at this point, but they're definitely much quieter than they were yesterday.

But you know, as you walk around these neighborhoods that have been devastated by these wildfires, it almost seems like it reminds you of the devastation you see after a tornado where you see one or two homes that have been burned down but yet the homes next to it on either side are intact. And that is because of the winds whipping around here, blowing up the embers, landing on top of these homes and that has what triggered many of these fires. And you can see these two homes right here have been burned out. This pile of debris, you see right here, that is actually a car that's been melted away.

As you look back over to these homes right over there, you see these homes were left intact. So throughout the region, some close to 35 people were injured in these fires. One of them critically injured firefighter who suffered burns over 35 percent of his body, we understand. He's still hospitalized as well.

And in Texas, there were two people that were killed in these fires.

So, right now what people are doing? We've seen firefighters a little while ago. A few hours ago there was a little flame that kicked up over here behind this doorway or what was once a window or an entryway into this home. And they're going around dousing a lot of the hot spots that they see in the homes that were severely damaged and burned up yesterday.

So, that's what the firefighters tell us they'll be doing throughout the day to make sure these fires don't flare up again and keeping everyone safe, but many of these, the subdivision we were in was evacuated yesterday.

Many people starting to come back and get a sense of what's going on if their homes are still intact. So the wind's starting to quiet down and officials here and emergency officials are hoping that remains to be the case today. There is still a severe threat of more wildfires, but if the winds stay down, they feel like they'll be able to get everything under control - Betty.

NGUYEN: Exactly right, the winds are going to be key to that. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much.

You know, a good part of Mena, Arkansas, is off limits this morning, only emergency crews are being allowed in the downtown area. Three people were killed when a tornado ripped through the town overnight. The city hall, courthouse, churches, a school and more than 100 homes heavily damaged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It started going through the air and my husband grabbed his grandmother and we all huddled on the living room floor while glass was breaking and hitting us but luckily all of us and our animals are fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Just before that tornado hit Mena, areas south of the town were slammed by large hail. Here's some pictures of that right now. The National Weather Service says the hail was three inches in diameter. Forecasters describe the frozen precipitation as apple- sized. Can you imagine the damage that could do?

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We want to give you some new developments on the high seas and that hostage standoff.

The captain tried to escape his pirate kidnapers. And a U.S. official tells CNN that Captain Richard Phillips jumped into the ocean, trying to swim away from the lifeboat. Some of the pirates went into the water after him, he was recaptured, but we are hearing that he is OK.

U.S. Navy has two more ships on the way to the area. Both ships are part of the U.S.-led anti-piracy force which is operating off the coast of Somalia. The USS Bainbridge remains in place watching the pirates.

Well, you know, the Navy is standing by just in case of trouble and keeping watch for the other pirates. CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence joins us now live from Washington on this.

This is really a delicate situation for all involved.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It is, Betty. And you know just to give you a little context, we're hearing a little bit more about what happened with this attempted escape. Apparently, it happened so quickly that the Navy wasn't really able to respond, even if they had wanted to.

You know, really all of this happened in a very, very short amount of time. But we are told that once he got back on the boat, once the pirates took him back on the boat, that the Navy was able to see him talking with the pirates which suggested that, A, they didn't harm him, and he is OK.

Now, if you take a look at these lifeboats, just getting off of one is a mean feat in itself. We're not talking about an open rubber raft like a lot of people think. You're talking about a fully- enclosed vehicle. So even to maneuver himself to the area where he would be able to have a chance to get off could have been quite difficult.

Again, he went into the water and the pirates came after him, caught him and brought him back on board. The Navy was able to see this, because they have eyes on that lifeboat. They've got surveillance plane that is flying above, that is able to see down. And, they also have some unmanned drones that they have flying to try to try to keep eyes on that. Even though the Bainbridge is close, they are using these planes and these drones to try to keep an eye on what's going on there.

And of course, the negotiations continue. FBI negotiators giving their expertise to the Navy, who is then communicating with the pirates.

NGUYEN: So any idea, did this happen just so fast that there was not enough time for those U.S. crews there to be able to assist him once he was in that water?

LAWRENCE: Yes, we don't have specific exact details like moment by moment on how it went down, but my understanding from people here is that it happened so quickly - and you can imagine that if he goes into the water, swims a few strokes and then the pirates get him, that could all happen in a very, very short amount of time.

NGUYEN: Yes, no doubt. All right, Chris Lawrence following it for us and joining us live. Chris, we do appreciate it.

Earlier this morning our Jason Carroll talked with a friend of Captain Phillips. He said he wasn't surprised by the escape attempt and that he knows the captain is a survivor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. JAMES STAPLES, FRIEND OF CAPTAIN PHILLIPS: Well, I'm sure his first instinct is to keep it positive and know that he's going to get out of this situation, and with his strong bearing in his mind that I'm sure that Rich is staying positive and he knows he'll get out of the situation. He's resilient, a very resilient man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And again we are being told that Captain Phillips was not hurt in the escape attempt.

Americans killed in Iraq when a truck loaded with explosives blows up. It is the worst day this year for U.S. troops.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: A deadly day for Americans in Iraq. Five U.S. soldiers have been killed in a suicide truck bombing this morning. The military says it happened in the northern city of Mosul when the truck rammed a barrier outside police headquarters. Two Iraqi policemen and an Iraqi soldier were also killed. The military says it is the single deadliest attack against U.S. forces in Iraq this year.

And in Afghanistan, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops have killed 27 suspected insurgents in two separate clashes. It happened in the southern part of the country in a region where President Obama has ordered thousands of new troops to battle the Taliban insurgency. The military says there were no Afghan or coalition casualties.

In Greece, a student who felt picked on is blamed for that nation's first school shooting. The 19-year-old gunman opened fire outside a technical college. He wounded three people before killing himself. Police say the teenager left a note accusing his fellow students of picking on him and saying he couldn't take it anymore.

Well, a special Good Friday funeral mass approved by the Pope. Two hundred and two flowered draped caskets were on display at a somber memorial in Italy today. Loved ones came to honor those killed in the earthquake that struck on Sunday. Even as they prayed aftershocks continued to rock the region. The presiding cardinal offered a message of hope vowing the towns would rebuild.

Christians around the world are marking Good Friday, a day that commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. In about 45 minutes, Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to preside over a Good Friday service at the Vatican and we're going to bring part of that service to you live. Later today, the Pontiff will attend a procession at the Colosseum in Rome, recounting Jesus' final moments of life.

Well, the final hours for actress Natasha Richardson, could she have been saved? CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: There are lingering questions about the death of actress Natasha Richardson. You recall, she died after a fall on the ski slopes in eastern Canada. Well, 911 transcripts reveal a timeline of her final hours and whether she could have been saved.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, traveled to Canada looking for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was Monday, March 16th. The conditions were clear, cold and sunny on the mountain, when the first 911 call went out.

In French, an operator dispatches an ambulance to the Mont Tremblant Resort. A woman has fallen.

(on camera): 12:43 p.m., a call comes in. Natasha Richardson has fallen somewhere on these slopes, gentle beginner's slopes. What no one could have known then was when she fell she hit her head hard enough to fracture her skull and start bleeding on top of her brain. The clock had started ticking for Natasha and the closest trauma center, two and a half hours away.

(voice-over): Richardson likely doesn't know what was happening to her. She is up, she's walking.

By 1:00 p.m., 17 minutes after the initial call, an ambulance did arrive here and Natasha Richardson was already heading back to her room. She said she felt fine.

(on camera): I can tell you as a neurosurgeon, that's not unusual. Someone who has a significant blow to the head and then has what is known as a lucid interval where they do feel fine but that pressure is still starting to build up in the brain. (voice-over): The paramedics are told to stand down. Richardson says she doesn't need medical attention.

(on camera): The Mont Tremblant ski resort is considered one of the best in eastern Canada, yet there are no medical helicopter services here, which got us wondering if this was less about the tragic story of Natasha Richardson and more about anybody that chooses to ski here. Remember the closest trauma hospital is two and a half hours away.

(voice-over): Richardson's story is about to take a turn.

2:59 p.m., another 911 call comes in. Natasha Richardson has been at this resort for more than an hour and she's feeling sick, from a head injury like this that typically means she has a headache. She is feeling disoriented. She may have trouble seeing.

3:09 p.m., about 10 minutes later, another ambulance comes in here.

(on camera): The paramedics go inside and they work on Natasha for about 33 minutes. Precious time here, before they bring her back into the ambulance.

What we now know is that she was suffering from an epidural hematoma. Epidural hematoma, it occurs when a blood clot forms between the skull and the outer layer of the brain. Too much pressure causing brain damage. Every moment counts. DR. LIAM DIRK, MONTREAL NEUROLOGICAL INSTITUTE: While symptoms are apparent, it can be in a matter of 30 minutes, to an hour to 90 minutes before there's a major deterioration.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Liam Dirk is a neurologist with the Montreal Neurological Institute.

DIRK: It is a rapidly deteriorating situation and the distance may have been too much by ambulance.

GUPTA: And that's the point. It happened to be Natasha Richardson, but for anyone who suffers a head injury on this mountain, a trauma center may be too far away.

(on camera): Under the best of circumstance it is would have taken her a few hours, more than two hours to get to Montreal, the closest trauma center. Is that close enough?

DIRK: Too difficult to say.

GUPTA (voice-over): Back in the ambulance, Richardson is lapsing in and out of consciousness.

It is now 4:20 p.m., Natasha Richardson is brought to this hospital in St. August. It is only 38 minutes away, but here's the problem, it is not a trauma center and they can't provide the sort of care that Natasha needs.

Keep in mind it is recommended that anyone who is in Natasha's condition needs to be in a trauma center within 60 to 90 minutes. It's now been three and a half hours. Way too long since she fell on the mountain, and doctors here without the right equipment, without the right facilities, eventually send her to a trauma center in Montreal.

She arrives close to 7:00 p.m., time has run out.

Twenty-four hours later, she is flown to New York where she's taken off life support and where she dies.

Flight time from Medevac helicopter from the mountains to the trauma center is about 15 minutes so could it have saved Natasha Richardson? No one can answer that question, but let's pose the question this way. If this happened to you, what would you want?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Mont Tremblant, Canada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, CNN reached out to the Canadian government for a comment on the lack of Medevac services in Quebec. They would not return our repeated calls and e-mails.

All right, so a sign of the times? A New Hampshire job fair becomes a mob scene. Check it out. There aren't enough jobs to go round. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Betty Nguyen.

NGUYEN: All right, here we go. Well this is Good Friday, but it's anything but a holiday for thousands of people. More than 100 homes in Oklahoma have been burned to the ground, the fires fueled by hurricane force winds.

Well, they also roared across parts of Texas yesterday; at least two people died.

And last night, a tornado ripped through the town of Mena, Arkansas, near the Oklahoma state line. Three people are dead, at least 24 injured. More than 100 homes have been heavily damaged along with much of the downtown.

And we understand talking with Rob Marciano here in the Severe Weather Center that, Rob, these storms not done yet.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We want to get you more details now about what is going on in Arkansas. Reporter Tracy Douglas of our affiliate KARK joins us now. Tracy, what kind of damage are we talking about?

TRACY DOUGLASS, KARK-TV CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty. This town is absolutely devastated. Let me tell you a little bit about Mena. It's a fairly small town here in Arkansas. There are about 6,000 people, and it's located two hours west of Little Rock. And as I said, it's absolutely devastated.

It's only been several hours since we've had daylight, and what the light has revealed is going to take a very long time for these folks to recover from. Last night in Arkansas we did have various storm and tornado watches and warnings, but it appears now that Mena was hit the hardest.

We've had three confirmed fatalities, up to 25 injured. And officials now are having a really hard time keeping the sightseers away. The streets are dangerous. Power lines are still down, but I think they have the electricity off. We've had sheets of metal stuck up in trees, and that's falling.

The Masonic lodge on the other side of our truck here, there were about 14 people trapped in there, and unfortunately, one elderly woman passed away. With me now is Captain Heathscott, and he is with the Arkansas National Guard.

Captain, what are you doing here right now?

CAPT. CHRISTOPHER J. HEATHSCOTT, ARKANSAS NATIONAL GUARD: As of this morning, we have about 50 soldiers on the ground, and right now they're working with the civil authorities and doing house-to-house search and rescue effort, just going through every single home, every single vehicle, just to see if there's anybody around, and make sure everybody's OK.

DOUGLASS: And what have you found? How long have you been here?

HEATHSCOTT: Well, our first troops arrived on the scene last night. The troops here locally from Mena as well as from DeQueen, which is nearby. But...

DOUGLASS: You had to wait until it got light out.

HEATHSCOTT: Well, the main effort began when the light, when it opened up with the sun. But our troops are going door to door now. We'll be assisting civil authorities with security. We're delivering meals from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management in Little Rock here to this location. The governor will make an aerial assessment with our ajutant general this morning and determine if there's any further need, working with the local authorities, to see what else we can do to support this community.

DOUGLASS: All we know right now is that there are three confirmed fatalities. Have you found any other deaths, and have you found anybody trapped in any of these houses?

HEATHSCOTT: We have found some elderly people that needed some assistance getting out, but to my knowledge, we have not found anybody in critical need at this time. But you know, you've got to have -- your hearts just go out to the families that are feeling this pain, and you just can't describe the words, in words what we're seeing here today.

DOUGLASS: Absolutely. And God bless you and thank you for being here. And again, as I said, this town is devastated. If you've never met an Arkansan, you've got to. They've got a lot of strong heart, and they're brave, and they'll get through this. But it's pretty bad. Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: They've got a lot to put back together, too. All right, thank you for that report. We do appreciate it.

We want to take to you now to the wildfires in the American Southwest. Tens of thousands of acres scorched. In Oklahoma, wind- driven flames have been so fierce and fast-moving that at least 34 people have been injured. More than 100 homes damaged or destroyed. The fires have forced widespread evacuations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's heartbreaking. It happened so fast. I was just driving back home and wanting to check things out, and it came so quickly that I tried to water down my neighbor's yard, my yard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Firefighters are mopping up hot spots today and bracing for the return of high winds. Yesterday, gusts topped 60 miles an hour. All right, let's take to you Texas. The fires, they have turned deadly there. Authorities in Montague County say a man and woman were killed when flames overtook their homes. You can see why. I mean, just look at this video right here. Their son was badly burned and is now in fair condition. More than 90,000 acres have burned over the last couple of days. The towns of Sunset and Stoneburg are said to be devastated.

And we do have some new developments in the high seas hostage standoff. The captain tried to escape his pirate kidnappers. A U.S. official tells CNN that captain Richard Phillips jumped into the ocean, trying to swim away from the lifeboat.

Now, some of the pirates went into the water after him, and he was recaptured, but we are hearing that he is OK. The U.S. Navy has two more ships on the way to the area. Both ships are part of the U.S.-led anti-piracy force operating off the coast of Somalia. The USS Bainbridge remains in place, watching the pirates.

OK, want to get you back to the captain here for just a moment because earlier this morning our Jason Carroll had a chance to find out more about the lifeboat where he is being held. He also got a chance to speak with one of the captain's good friends, Captain James Staples.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And Captain Staples knows Captain Phillips very, very well. They went to school here together. They graduated in the same class here at the Maritime Academy back in 1979. Obviously, you have been watching the situation very closely, watching to see what's been happening with your friend. Tell us what you can tell us, anything you can at all about him and about his character.

STAPLES: Well, Richie, like you said, Richie and I graduated in 1979 together, and Richie was always a fun-loving guy. He always had a smile on his face. He's a strong personality. He's very resilient, and I believe that Richie will fare through this very well.

CARROLL: You were also telling me that this was someone who people knew that they could rely on in a tough situation.

STAPLES: Richie, well, being the captain, absolutely. And Richie was -- he's known through the industry as a very good captain, a top-shelf captain. And he's been out there for a long time, and just by the length of time he's been out there, proves that he is a consummate professional.

CARROLL: You are familiar with the region. You are familiar with these pirates. And you know the type of training that men like yourself receive. Give us an assessment, if you will, in terms of what might be going through Captain Phillips's mind as he's going through this ordeal. STAPLES: Well, I'm sure his first instinct is to keep it positive and know that he's going to get out of this situation, and with his strong bearing and his mind that I'm sure that Richie's staying positive, and he knows he'll get out of this situation. He's resilient, very resilient man.

CARROLL: Now, as I keep asking some questions here, I also want to show our audience something that's right above us. That is one of those lifeboats, very similar to the kind that Captain Phillips is being held by those pirates. Give us an assessment of what the conditions are like inside a boat like that.

STAPLES: Well, it's a very, very small boat. It's a covered boat, so during the day I'm sure it's getting very, very hot in there. There's not a lot of ventilation. There is no sanitation inside that boat. The boat's basically made for survival if you have to leave the ship in any type of an emergency. It's something that you really don't want. You're not planning to be in for any length of time, even though you have provisions for approximately ten days.

It's an uncomfortable -- it's a hard ride. It's not a very comfortable ride, and you'll have the fumes of the diesel inside there, and it could be claustrophobic.

CARROLL: Now, I know you've been watching the developments closely. You know about Captain Phillips's escape attempt. Is that the type of thing -- when you heard about that, were you surprised by that, not surprised? What was your assessment?

STAPLES: No, I wasn't surprised by that. That just shows you Richie's, his character. He's not going to give up. He's going to be thinking all the time what he can do to get out of this situation safely. He's not going to lay down. He's going to stay and fight until this is over and resolved and he's back home safely.

CARROLL: All right, I know your prayers are with him, his family prayers with him as well. Captain James Staples, thank you so very, very much for joining us. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: All right, Jason Carroll reporting for us right there.

We want to get you these really remarkable pictures out of southern California, a high-speed chase across several freeways caught on tape. You see the end of it right there, slams into the patrol car, but what happens after this is really quite remarkable.

Police say when the chase began, the officer responded to a call of a woman screaming at a house in Long Beach. The woman took off in her car, the one you see right there, when police arrived. And affiliates reported at one point she circled the pursuing police car, then leaning out of the car and yelling at the officers.

But then here's the takedown. You see the officers, one about to jump on top of the roof. Another's beating the window in on the other side. Apparently the woman did not want to come out of the car, so they went in to get her. In fact, you're going to see right here very shortly one officer sticks his hand inside the driver's side window and pretty much pulls her out of the window. Here it comes right there, pulling her out, and she's still giving up a fight, not wanting to go with the officers.

But they do get her on the ground and do arrest her. Obviously, a scene there in California that you don't see every day. But we have heard of high-speed chases before, and this one started as a domestic violence call. We're told that the woman, whose name was not released, is now in custody. I'd say so.

Well, too many people for too few jobs. Ten thousand people cram into a statewide job fair, but 90 percent of them have no chance of getting a job there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Bernard Madoff has become synonymous with the Ponzi scheme. But while Madoff is in jail, it appears such schemes continue to flourish on the Internet.

CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York with some of the telltale signs.

OK, so what should we be looking out for, Poppy?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, I think, Betty, if we've learned anything from the Madoff scandal, it is simply, if it appears too good to be true then, folks, it probably is.

There are thousands of these videos online. We're learning more about them this week. What they do is, they promote a cash gifting program. It sounds pretty legal on the surface.

Take a look at this Web site here. We'll talk about that in a minute. It appears to viewers as a simple, easy way to get some big bucks, but the Better Business Bureau coming out this week warning people about them. We want to play for you one that we found on YouTube. The headline says it all: "Pays Forever. You're in Business for 29 bucks."

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This little moneymaker will put instant $20.00 payments right into your payment processors. You can use Eagle, SafePay, A ertPay. It's just fantastic. Plus, it's also based on a one-up system, so every time you get a new person on board, you create another power line, and eventually the $20 payments just keep adding up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Sounds like easy cash, huh? Well, look at -- this is the Web site. This ATM machine, it just keeps spitting out dollars. It's says you instantly -- rewards you instantly for your efforts. What you're going to see on your credit card statement if you join -- we traced it -- is DNS Enterprises, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

So, it could be legitimate, but I guess the caution here, Betty, is, tread carefully because it could be nothing more than a pyramid scheme, Betty.

NGUYEN: Yes. In these trying and desperate times, it can be very dangerous out there for folks looking for just a leg up. So, what can people do to keep from getting sucked into this?

HARLOW: Right. There are some tips that we got from the Better Business Bureau this morning about all of this, three ones (ph). We'll pull them up for you here so you can take a look at them.

The first one here, ask yourself these questions: Do I have to pay to obtain the right to recruit others? That's a big one. Another one here, when I recruit another person into the program, will I receive what the law calls consideration? That usually means money. Are you going to get paid every time? And the final one is, will the person I recruit have to pay money as well another to recruit other people? That's a big question.

So, ask yourself those questions. Questions, Betty, I guess if the answer to any of them is yes, you want to steer clear of that. Thousands of these on Internet getting millions and millions of clicks, so a lot of people looking at these, Betty.

NGUYEN: Too good to be true, probably is. That's probably the easiest one...

HARLOW: Yes, exactly.

NGUYEN: ... to ask yourself. All right. Poppy Harlow, thank you.

You know, a statewide New Hampshire job fair attracted a lot more people than were expected, around 10,000 more. They showed up in Manchester, New Hampshire. Look at these lines. And that was just the first two hours. There were so many people that organizers had to turn others away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm actually shocked at the turnout. It's a little depressing to know that these many people are out of work, and it's a little stressful. You know, everyone's looking for something, and I don't think there's enough to go around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Employers attending the fair only had about 1,000 jobs available. Now, plans are being made for another job fair, but it might not be held for another few months. All right, so this is a novel approach making a comeback in these tough times. One community is trying to make it more attractive for people to spend locally by coming up with their own currency. Joining me this morning is Mary Demare, general manager of Chatham Marketplace.

And Mary, you know, it sounds like a great idea. Who doesn't want to print their own money? But explain how this works.

MARY DEMARE, GENERAL MANAGER, CHATHAM MARKETPLACE: Well, it's a great program. The plenty, the N.C. plenty -- I have one here -- is exchangeable for goods and services in Chatham County and hopefully in a larger area of North Carolina.

NGUYEN: All right, so what you do is, when you get into Chatham County, you can go and exchange your dollar bills for what is called the plenty. And actually, you get a bit of a discount when do you that, correct?

DEMARE: Right. If you go to Capital Bank, a local bank in North Carolina, they've partnered with the Plenty. And you can take nine American dollars to Capital Bank and get ten plenties back. So, you're increasing your local buying power by 10 percent.

NGUYEN: OK, well, what benefit does this have for the local businesses?

DEMARE: Well, the local businesses, it's just another really strong way to support the local economy. So we know that the plenty, the more it moves around, one plenty moves around Chatham County, the more we're supporting our neighbors.

NGUYEN: But the businesses aren't taking a hit because people are getting more money in the plenty than in the dollars, right? You're not having to make up for that.

DEMARE: Well, no, I mean, if -- the point of Chatham Marketplace Co-op is to continue to circulate the plenties around and around the community. So, we'll get a plenty in, and then we'll pay a vendor for $1 worth of goods with plenties, and they will shop at another store with their plenty, and they'll go to the farmer's market and give it as change to another local consumer. And it stays in the community, and to not exchange it, we avoid that 10 percent hit.

NGUYEN: Gotcha. OK, you know, it sounds like a great idea, but is it really catching on? Are people actually doing this?

DEMARE: You know, it started in 2001, the N.C. plenty did. And it had a really nice, big burst when it started, and then it kind of fell off. But the reorganization of the plenty, it's making a comeback, and they're doing a new printing in about three weeks. And with the bank's backing, with Capital Banks's backing, I believe it's going to really take off.

NGUYEN: All right. Nothing like printing your own money.

DEMARE: I know.

NGUYEN: Mary Demare, thanks so much for your time today.

DEMARE: Thank you.

NGUYEN: So, in in this economy you have questions -- we know it -- and we do have some answers for you. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis has the information that can mean money in your pocket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: The economic crisis, there are a lot of numbers and theories and experts and opinions, but what is really going on? We want to answer the questions that matter most to you. That is, the issues that can mean money in your pocket. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is manning "The Help Desk."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to "The Help Desk."

Donna Rosato is a senior writer with "Money" magazine. Ryan Mack is the president of Optimum Capital Management. That first e-mail comes from Howard. He asks, "Some folks are going to get a $15 to $25 raise in their weekly paychecks. What about those of us who are on Social Security or are disabled?" Donna.

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: Well, he's talking about the "make work pay" credit, which people are already start seeing in their paycheck. And that was part of the stimulus program. Now, there is something for retirees, too.

That was meant to give money to people who are working, but for retirees or people on disability, they're going to get a one-time $250 payment this year. And if you're married and your spouse is also collecting Social Security, you'll get a $500 payment as well.

WILLIS: A little something for everybody...

ROSATO: Yes.

WILLIS: ... in that, right?

And as a matter of fact, there are a lot of bennies (ph) in the tax bill you're really going to have to pay attention to this week. C.R. asks, "I know that employers can't ask an applicant's date of birth, but during my job search, I noticed that employers ask what year the applicant graduated high school. Obviously, they can determine a person's age by that, so why is that question allowed?"

Ryan, here's somebody who really wants to mask their age.

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, you know what, I like this question because it really shows the impact of knowing your rights and how that can affect your personal financial situation. And actually, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- that's the primary agency in charge of implementing the Age Discrimination in Employment Act -- essentially said that -- they came out with a regulation saying that asking an applicant's age in itself does not constitute an establishment of age discrimination, so that's not the case.

As a matter of fact, I found a case, Wanda Smirofsky (ph) versus Phillip Morris, that she tried to file a claim against Phillip Morris because Phillip Morris asked her, does this state -- you know, what year did you start working professionally. And essentially then filed because of that that it didn't, you know, it did not file for age discrimination

WILLIS: But Ryan, don't you think the dirty little secret of this recession is that a lot of employers are taking out older workers?

MACK: Yes, well, we have to look at all the facts. And the law's the law. So, by itself, just asking an employer (sic), how old are you, that is not illegal.

WILLIS: Yes, I think there's an undue burden, though. on older workers in this economy.

MACK: There is.

WILLIS: They've really got to work hard to keep those jobs, obviously. All right, guys, thanks for your answers. Great answers, tough questions.

"The Help Desk" is all about getting you answers. Send 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)

NGUYEN: And speaking of money, how about a millionaire's club right at the White House? Find out which presidential aides are banking big bucks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: So, every year the White House releases financial disclosure information on administration staff. Well, the Obama White House has done the same, releasing new documents that reveal many of the president's top aides are millionaires. Here's CNN's Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, senior advisers Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod, social secretary Desiree Rogers, President Obama's inner circle, with big bucks in the bank.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIV. OF VA.: Being a millionaire is almost the price of admission.

CHO: In a Democratic administration, the party of the middle class? Republicans have long been known for having wealthy aides in the White House, but President Obama is famous for being a man of the people.

SABATO: It's a conundrum. You want really successful people to be in a White House, but if you have all extremely successful people, successful financially, they're no longer representative of the broad body of Americans.

CHO: And no longer in touch with average American concerns. Or are they?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Anybody can say, well, how are they going to relate to me? I'll tell you why. If you've been broke, you remember what it means to be broke.

CHO: Thirty years ago, according to "Newsweek," most of the 56 aides in the Carter White House lived on little more than their salaries, about $45,000 a year. At the beginning of their tenure during the Clinton administration, top aides George Stephanopoulous and Dee Dee Myers, according to "The Washington Post," reported five- figure salaries. Once they left the White House, they went on to make much more in the private sector.

Then there's chief of staff Emanuel, who also served as a Clinton senior adviser. Emanuel left the first time to work in finance, made more than $16 million in two and a half years, and is now back at the White House with assets totalling between $4 million and $11 million. Like almost everything in politics, whether that's good or bad depends on the spin.

SABATO: Money is not just the mother's milk of politics. It's the currency of employment today in the White House.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Money often flows to talented people in our society, and rather than being surprised by it or knocking it, I think we should celebrate when a president has the, I think, is smart enough to bring people along with him who've had some success in life.

CHO (on camera): CNN senior political analyst David Gergen goes on to say these are people who know how hard it is to break through. They've also dealt with heavy-hitters, and frankly, they're not intimidated by them. Exactly the kind of people, he says, who are badly needed at the top levels of government. Gergen adds the real headline out of all of this is that these people gave up a lot of money to work at the White House.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And there you have it. I'm Betty Nguyen. Join us again Monday morning in the NEWSROOM. And you can catch me and T.J. Holmes this weekend, starting at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow.

For now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.