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Cuba Restrictions Eased; You & the IRS; Airport Attack in Somalia; Pirates Next Plunder: Your Wallet; Controversy Over Citi Field's Naming Rights; Life Without Debt, Plastic

Aired April 13, 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 ANCHOR: Well, I probably don't have to tell you that Wednesday is April 15th, Tax Day. From now until then, CNN is your source for the real deal, everything you need to know about what you're paying, what you're buying, and what to do if you can't pay.

Last hour, the IRS commissioner actually outlined new ways to work with, not against, taxpayers who have lost jobs or homes. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS SHULMAN, IRS COMMISSIONER: ... compliance. At the end of the day, we as a senior team at the IRS talk a lot about our need to be flexible, to be principled, and to empower our employees to use judgment when they deal with taxpayers.

During these difficult economic times, we must also respond to many different kinds of taxpayers who are feeling stress. It's not just the individual taxpayer who may be in dire straits. It also could be a small business or a corporation that's hanging by a thread, seeking help, and thinking (ph) quick service, quick refunds from the IRS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, even if the tax guys will meet you halfway, you still have obligations. And that's where CNN's Gerri Willis comes in.

Gerri, let's go ahead and start with people who are no longer drawing paychecks.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Right. Well, if you lost your job last year, Kyra, there's some things you need to keep in mind as you file your taxes this year.

First off, you still have to file. The IRS requires anybody receiving a W-2 from their employer. If you made at least $8,950 as a single filer, under 65 years of age, or you made at least $400 if you're self-employed, you have to file that tax return. You have to pay tax on unemployment benefits for this year. Next filing season is when they become non-taxable for unemployment benefits of $2,400 or more.

Don't forget to report your freelance and contract work. If you made over $600, look, they'll be issued a 1099. The government will know all about your contract money. If you made less than that amount, you're still responsible for reporting it as taxable income.

And good news here. You can deduct job search expenses if you itemize. You can deduct what you spend on creating our mailing your resume, cell phone charges associated with your search, even transportation and parking for going to an interview.

Unfortunately, though, you can't write off the value of your new interview suit, your briefcase, your shoes for pounding the pavement. So there are limitations there, but there are some costs that you can write off when you're looking for a new job -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. So how is the IRS helping people this year?

WILLIS: OK. Well, you know, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman just talking about this a few moments ago.

They're going to lend a struggling hand to Americans. That's what they're saying.

Among the specific things they're doing, holding off on some collections, reducing payments, or even letting people skip some payments on their tax obligation.

But you have to call for help -- 1-800-TAX-1040. If you need the help, give them a call, see if they can give you a handout.

I know a lot of people out there this year are struggling. Maybe you've lost a job. Maybe you've lost your home. If you need tax help, call the IRS directly.

You don't have to use an outsider. There are some people that are advertising, use outsiders, we have a direct line in. That's not true. Call them directly yourself.

PHILLIPS: Gerri, thanks.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: And you probably pay a lot more taxes than you even realize. In many cases they are hidden in the purchase price of stuff made overseas.

Our Susan Lisovicz shows and tells us a little later this hour.

And President Obama says all's well with the stimulus. As you may have seen live here on CNN, the president went to the Transportation Department to mark a milestone in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... projects. And today, I'm proud to announce that we have approved the 2,000th project, a project to widen an interstate and rebuild an overpass in Portage, Michigan, improving safety, reducing congestion, and boosting local businesses. This project will start this summer, creating an estimated 900 jobs right away, and it will go until 2011, creating nearly twice that many jobs all together before it's finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, the president says that the stimulus is not only working, the projects are coming in ahead of schedule and under budget.

General Motors may be facing a surgical bankruptcy. "The New York Times" says the White House has ordered the carmaker to prepare for filing June 1st, which is GM's deadline to reach cost-cutting deals with union workers and bondholders. The so-called surgical plan would isolate GM's healthy businesses into a new company and unload the rest. So far, GM has taken $13.4 billion in emergency government loans.

Well, three shots, three dead pirates, and one healthy captain. We understand Richard Phillips is resting on the USS Boxer, and doing well after his rescue Sunday. His wife will make a statement today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

And federal prosecutors are still deciding how and where to try the one pirate who's in custody. Other pirates now making threats. One of them calling U.S. forces their number one enemy.

And the retaliation might have started already. Attackers fired mortar rounds at a U.S. congressman's plane that took off today from the airport in Mogadishu. Representative Donald Payne's plane got away with anyone getting hurt.

And just you wait. After the weekend drama, pirates could be raiding your wallet next. We're pushing the story forward later this hour.

Residents across the Southeast bracing for and dealing with some deadly weather today. A look at the damage amid the new dangers moving in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Our David McKenzie in Kenya, where the Alabama crew made port over the weekend. David joining us by phone.

What are you hearing about the plane with the New Jersey congressman that we just mentioned before the break, David?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what we're hearing is that the congressman has landed safely in Nairobi. It does appear that his plane has been the subject of an attack by a known militia in Mogadishu. It's unclear what the damage was to his plane.

State Department officials and his office saying that his plane might have been damaged, that the congressman is OK. He has landed safely in Nairobi.

He was there to meet the prime minister of the transitional government. And it seemed that when he was leaving the Mogadishu airport, the plane came under mortar and small arms fire -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, should Americans take the Somali threat lightly? And do you think this is a response to the Navy SEALs taking out those pirates holding Captain Phillips hostage?

MCKENZIE: Well, it's a bit early to make that connection, because certainly the militia in Mogadishu are generally not particularly sympathetic to the pirates on the coastline. These are very different groups. The pirates are more of a criminal gang that hijacks ships and take hostages for money, whereas the groups in the Mogadishu area are more likely to be groups like Al-Shabaab or Islamic fighters who, in general, have been against the actions of pirates.

So it's not clear whether there's any connection at this stage between the pirates and the attack on the congressman. What is clear, that Somalia is an extremely dangerous place, and certainly a place go to after a lot of careful thought.

PHILLIPS: David McKenzie.

Appreciate it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Jacqui Jeras has also been following the conditions for us out there on the streets of Atlanta, in a neighborhood not far from CNN, actually in the Buckhead area.

Bring us up to date from what is happening to power lines, and also accidents in the area, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Kyra. It's really an incredible sight. There are hundreds of trees down and hundreds of thousands of people without power.

It wasn't a tornado. It wasn't those thunderstorm winds. We'll find out what caused this to happen, an unusual weather phenomenon. That's coming up in a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, he's trading his white collar for a blue one, but he's not feeling blue about it.

CNN's Maggie Lake reports on a New Jersey man who's not laying around after a layoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 28 years, Archie Picinich worked in communications at Verizon. Then one day, this husband and father of four found out his services were no longer needed.

ARCHIE PICINICH, FMR. VERIZON EMPLOYEE: I was kind of surprised because I didn't think it would happen to me. You know, I knew it was coming up. You know, I have been through them before, about four or five in my 28-year career.

And then, all of a sudden, when my manager came in and handed me a package, I saw my name on it, and I said, "Oh, my God, it's me. It's actually me this time."

LAKE: Archie actually has it better than many. He received a severance package that includes pay and health benefits for his family through the middle of 2009. But he wants to get back to work.

PICINICH: If you read about the economy getting worse, you know, you're kind of like, gee, what kind of move am I going to make? You know, am I going to take the money and try something else? You know, I'm 48 years old, now just turned 49.

It's like, do I start all over? I have to reinvent myself? You know, all those buzzwords. So it was kind of scary.

LAKE: Archie's keeping himself busy doing handyman work, something he's thinking of turning into his own business.

PICINICH: If through word-of-mouth advertising, you know, I can get the business off the ground and running, and it's something I can make a living at, I figured, you know what? Why not do it. Because I enjoy doing it. You know, I enjoy being with people, and if it's something that turns out to be a viable business venture, then I certainly will go at it 100 percent.

LAKE: For now, Archie is content so long as he keeps his hands busy. He knows he will get through this period of his life and move on to the next.

PICINICH: The old cliche, when one door closes, another one opens, the whole reinvent yourself thing, I mean, I think there's something for everybody to do.

LAKE: Maggie Lake, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A shipping company CEO tells us there's bound to be something in your house that has been shipped through pirate territory. And guess what that means? Their attacks and threats could hit you right smack in the wallet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, rescued Captain Richard Phillips is resting on the USS Boxer and doing well. He's talked to both his wife and members of his crew. Mrs. Phillips will make a statement today, 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

AND how about that pirate in custody? Well, federal prosecutors are still deciding whether to try him in the U.S. Other pirates are threatening retaliation for the deaths of their comrades.

The Maersk Alabama first officer says that this whole episode should be a wake-up call to the dangers of piracy, and he's urging America to lead the fight.

The pirate drama might be half a world away, but you're going to feel its effects. You wouldn't believe how many products are shipped through those dangerous waters. It's almost guaranteed that something in your house actually came through there. Arming the crews or rerouting the ships won't be cheap, and someone will have to foot the bill.

James Christodoulou is the head of Industrial Shipping Enterprises. He has played the game with pirates before. He joins me live to talk about the future of this.

You know, Admiral Gortney said this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING," that security teams -- he's recommending that security teams now board these ships going through the waterways.

What do you think about that?

JAMES CHRISTODOULOU, CEO, INDUSTRIAL SHIPPING ENTERPRISES: Well, Kyra, there are two ways you can defend against pirate attacks from the ship itself. One is arming the crew. And I have to say, I am completely against arming the crew, as are many other ship owners. You know, aside from legal issues, the sheer number of crew members worldwide, over 1.3 million, make it a logistics nightmare.

As far as putting trained security teams on board, you know, I've thought about it, I've discussed it with other owners. A lot depends on who the securities are, how they were trained, what their rules of engagement are, who commands and controls them. But given the volume of ships and the traffic through that region, you're talking about having to get and develop a force of probably 7,000 or 8,000 people, which is roughly the size of the Philadelphia police force. It's not an easy task to do.

PHILLIPS: So -- but didn't you have security teams on your ship, one of your ships that was hijacked?

CHRISTODOULOU: We did have security teams.

PHILLIPS: So what happened?

CHRISTODOULOU: Well, what our security teams did and what other security teams are doing at this point in time is assisting the shipping company with evasion and defensive measures, helping defend the ship with barbed wire, helping the crew develop high-pressure hose and steam tactics, and helping the crew in the event of an attack to defend against it. But this is non-lethal measures that the ship is taking. PHILLIPS: So why not have lethal if the non-lethal doesn't work?

CHRISTODOULOU: Well, because, first of all, you've got to train 1.2 million seamen around the world. And that's a logistics nightmare.

There are probably 50,000 ships that sail the high seas that would also have to be armed. So you're really talking about the possibility of an escalation and proliferation of violence that, in my opinion, is really best left to the professionals, the military and government agencies, to provide an umbrella of security in the Gulf of Aden, the coast of Somalia, and other hot spot regions.

PHILLIPS: But the military is not law enforcement. We can't count on the military to protect all of our commercial ships that are going through those waterways. I mean, they've got to fight battles and wars and other things going on.

CHRISTODOULOU: Well, clearly, Kyra, you know, the Navy, the U.S. Navy and many other navies around the world, were specifically designed not only to protect the homeland, but to ensure that international waterways remain open and free for commerce. I can tell you that shipping companies are not equipped logistically with their infrastructure, their skill set, their core competence, to be able to engage in interdiction defense, prosecution and other aspects associated with dealing with piracy. This is really a job best left up to the military or professional government agencies.

PHILLIPS: All right. So we're talking about 2,000 ships a month going through the Gulf of Aden, right?

CHRISTODOULOU: That's right.

PHILLIPS: OK. And what kind of items are we talking about, items that I may use on a daily basis?

CHRISTODOULOU: Kyra, roughly 80 percent of all goods or commodities travel by sea. Seven percent of those go through the Suez Canal. So you're talking about roughly five percent of every commodity or refined product or good going through that area.

In addition, you're looking at roughly one-fifth. Twenty percent of the world's oil goes through the Suez Canal. We can't allow a bunch of Somali thugs to force the world shipping community to avoid the Suez Canal and go back to using trade routes that were in effect in the 1850s.

PHILLIPS: So James, let me -- that's really where our problem started, was how we treated the pirates back in the 1800s, or how we didn't treat the problem, I guess, properly. So bottom line, I mean, if there are more security teams that are put on these ships, whether it's military forming a partnership with the civilian companies, this is all going to become more expensive if they start -- if your ships have to start going different routes to try to avoid the piracy problem. Bottom line, our goods and services are going to become more expensive. We're going to have to pay for this. Either we're not going to get the goods or we're going to have to pay more for it, right?

CHRISTODOULOU: That's right, Kyra. I mean, and there are going to be direct and indirect costs to the consumer.

There's also going to be a cost to the environment because the longer routes mean that ships have to steam farther. There's going to be more pollution, so it's going to stress the environment as well.

But in addition to the direct and indirect financial costs, let me just say that the real cost is the human cost. And it's the price that Captain Phillips, his crew and all the brave men and women that sail the seas are paying. It's really a human issue, not just a financial one.

PHILLIPS: It's a dangerous job, too.

CHRISTODOULOU: It is.

PHILLIPS: James Christodoulou, sure appreciate your time. Always good to talk to you.

CHRISTODOULOU: My pleasure. Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Chaos and death in the streets of Bangkok, Thailand. Take a listen.

And now we're being told at least two people were killed in those clashes between anti-government protesters and city residents. Some 6,000 troops are now in the city. Demonstrators are calling for the prime minister to resign. Most of them remain loyal to the former prime minister, who was ousted by a military coup three years ago. The violence threatens the important tourism industry and could lead to the loss of 200,000 jobs.

Here in the U.S., a move to end a loophole in a Virginia gun law, maybe helped prevent future massacres like this one at Virginia Tech two years ago. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined family members of the Virginia Tech victims today. They are unveiling a TV ad urging Virginia to end the practice of allowing gun sellers at gun shows to sell weapons without doing background checks. Back in February, the state senate rejected a measure that would have done just that.

Let's talk about your worst nightmare. It happened to a passenger on a large luxury model King Airplane. While the plane was flying from Marco Island, Florida, to Jackson, Mississippi, the pilot died. One of the passengers went up and took the controls. An air traffic controller in Ft. Myers called a friend in Connecticut who is rated to fly a King Air. And you know what he did? He instructed the passenger on what to do, bringing him to a safe landing. The passenger pilot has been licensed for single engine planes for 20 years, but isn't certified to fly the King Airplane. No word on his name, yet. After a long good-bye to Shea Stadium, the New York Mets finally kicking things off at Citi Field tonight. Our resident baseball nut, Richard Roth, checking the place out. He's live with details, plus info on a major league controversy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Meet the Mets and their new ballpark. In the team's home opener tonight, New York hosts San Diego at Citi Field, which sounds like the perfect corporate name for an urban stadium, until last November, anyway.

CNN's Richard Roth explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a countdown to controversy that few saw coming. The U.S. economy wasn't buried when Citigroup bankers and New York politicians broke ground on a new baseball stadium for the New York Mets back in 2006. But times have changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a resident of New York, I'm outraged.

ROTH: Outraged because Citigroup agreed to pay $400 million over 20 years for the right to call the Mets stadium Citi Field. The same Citigroup that needed $45 billion in U.S. taxpayer money after the financial meltdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it should be changed since they got bailed out of the whole mess here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ballpark with its high price tag is really being subsidized by we, the taxpayers.

ROTH: This Mets fan paid a lot less to purchase naming rights for his family on a brick outside Citi Field.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people pay for advertisement every day. We shouldn't be ashamed of it. Taxpayers' money going to waste on a lot of other things. Let's go Mets, I say.

ROTH: Earlier this year, a Congressman demanded but failed to get the Treasury Department to cancel the deal.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: It is great advertising except for one thing, the American taxpayers have now invested heavily in these banks and the bailout funds should not be used for this purpose.

ROTH: Citigroup denies taxpayer money will be used for the Mets stadium, and the bank told the Mets it will honor the naming rights agreement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The contract is binding. I have no problem with it.

ROTH: Nevertheless, senior executives from the bank will not throw out the ceremonial first pitch or sit in the luxury boxes of the stadium for the opener.

The Mets declined official comment. One of their stars didn't want to make any errors.

(on camera): How do you feel that you're playing for the taxpayers, in effect?

DAVID WRIGHT, THIRD BASEMAN, NEW YORK METS: You know what, I don't comment on things that I don't know enough about. I'm a baseball player. I go out there and worry about my swing.

METS ANNOUNCER: He struck him out and the ball game is over.

ROTH (voice-over): In the end, the only numbers many fans will care about in Citi Field are the Mets' victory totals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: There's a sensitivity to this whole thing. If the Mets play well, Kyra, I don't think the fans are really going to care that much. The Citi Field name, the Citi logo, it's all over the place. There's really not much signage about the Mets, the team that plays here. Citigroup has certainly got a lot of relief from the federal government, more than the New York Mets did when they choked way the last two years of contention for the playoffs.

PHILLIPS: Well, talking about choking things away. Bernie Madoff, apparently, his Mets tickets, are they still up for bid? I heard they were on eBay.

ROTH: I believe those seats sold for $7,500. A federal trustee ordered that Bernard Madoff securities firm which owned two seats to opening night, they have now been sold off. Place supposed to be a sellout. Fewer seats than the old Shea Stadium, which sadly is a pile of rubble just off to my left.

PHILLIPS: Aw. Well, are the seats any good, of course.

ROTH: Don't know. I think they were pretty good, of course. I'm sure Madoff was first class. You just have to believe they were good, right?

PHILLIPS: That's true. Shall I even question. Richard Roth, thanks.

Well, the new Mets ballpark cost a pretty penny to build and it will cost you lots of pennies to catch a game there, too. The team has hiked prices almost nine percent this season. They've also moved more games into their most expensive pricing level. Mets officials point to their improved record and of course, their new digs.

The Easter Bunny joins the Obamas and about 30,000 other guests for a White House holiday tradition. Details rolling your way in just a sec.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Dangerous storms sweeping across the southeast today. It's killed at least two people. Both died after gusting winds knocked down trees at their locations in Tennessee and Georgia. Widespread power outages are reported right now.

Jacqui Jeras checking out the damage not far from Atlanta in DeKalb County - Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, Kyra, it's an incredible sight. And it's really common, even just on this street, we've got at least three different areas where trees are blocking the roadway. Some completely impassable. And these trees have fallen down on top of power lines so power is out all along in this area.

And trees have been uprooted as well. Look at this tree. You know, this isn't the dead, hollowed out weak tree. This is a big, strong, hearty tree. The ground has been so saturated with just inches of rain in the past couple weeks. So it took these winds to just push that thing and just knock it all over. Normally we would need much stronger winds in order for this to happen, but because our ground was so wet, that's why we have had such a widespread event.

Now it wasn't a tornado. It wasn't those straight-line thunderstorm winds that could happen. This is what we call a wake low and it really was a complicated, actually, weather pattern. I don't want to get too technical and meteorological on you, but it's a very rare thing. It's very small scaled and it moved through very, very quickly. And rather unexpected, so it took a lot of people off guard.

Hundreds of thousands of people are without power because of this at this hour. Streets are blocked off all across town, making it very difficult. And what we're real worried about is what could happen late this afternoon and into tonight, Kyra, when more storms could roll on through here, and anything that's left kind of unstable and hanging like this could be in jeopardy once again.

PHILLIPS: Well, you brought up an interesting point of how unique that is. So how often can it happen and how quickly can it repeat itself?

JERAS: Well, any time you get a large area of rain and embedded thunderstorms and you get some real dry air behind that, you have to have a series of events to happen. There was a big scale event of this that happened in Alabama, I believe, back in 1995. So it isn't all that well known. It isn't all that well documented. And that's why it makes it so hard to predict. I don't think we could have expected something like this days in advance, but maybe a few hours in advance, you might be able to see some of the signatures on your satellite and radar. You will be able to get a little bit of a heads- up.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui Jeras, appreciate it.

Chad, you and Jacqui very busy today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Typical D.C. Spring weather for the White House Easter Egg Roll today. President Obama even getting in on the action there. Did he just steal that little girl's spoon?

Oh, this is the wrong video. Big difference between the Easter Egg roll out there at the White House and severe weather. There we go. All right.

Now, talk about the president's stealing the little girl's spoon? Going in. Doesn't look good. OK. He grabs it. Does he give it back? It's hard to figure out.

About 30,000 people crowded on to the South Lawn for the concerts, storytelling and a lot more. The theme of the event, "Let's Go Play." The idea, selling kids on the importance of staying active and healthy.

Well, it won't clean up spills like the Sham-Wow, but might help cleanse your soul. The church's unusual parity pitch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you got debt? Most of us do, but few of us have the discipline of the woman you're about to meet. Three and a half years ago, Sherrie Muldoon decided to free herself from a crippling credit card debt. And over the weekend, she threw a party to celebrate her debt-free life. Sherri joins me now from Denver.

OK, so Sherrie, you know my first question. How did you rack up almost 47 - almost 47 grand in credit card debt? What were you buying?

SHERRIE MULDOON, PAID OFF DEBT, SWORE OFF PLASTIC: We were buying just about everything. Neither one of us had ever been taught how to manage our money. And if we wanted something and we saw it, we had room on the plastic, we bought it. I had always been taught that as long as you can afford the payments, that that's OK. Well, it's not OK. And then I got sick and there were medical bills involved and that was pretty much how we came up with that much money.

PHILLIPS: Wow. OK, so then you took on three jobs, is that right?

MULDOON: That's correct. I was working one full-time job and then I was teaching fitness classes at night and then on the weekends, I was cleaning office buildings.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh. Was anybody else within the family working or was it just you? MULDOON: Oh, no, no, no. My husband has been working full-time at the same job for almost ten years now, and he made decent money, but of course, we were living check to check with the credit card debt. We started out, we were paying minimums on it, and then you know what that does. You don't ever make any progress with it.

PHILLIPS: Right.

MULDOON: Then it got to where we couldn't even make the minimums.

PHILLIPS: So you were working three jobs, your husband's working a job. What else did you do besides try and make money to pay off the payments? Did you change your eating habits, did you change how far you drove the car? What else did you do?

MULDOON: We changed everything.

PHILLIPS: Tell me.

MULDOON: We cut our budget was down to bare-bones minimum. Basically, if it wasn't essential to support life on the grounds of the vast Muldoon Mansion, we didn't do it. We cut our grocery bill back to where I was feeding both of us on just right around $200 a month. We used coupons. We sold stuff. A lot of the stuff we bought on the credit cards we ended up selling for pennies on the dollar.

PHILLIPS: Wow. So tell me about the moment you got it paid off. What was that - how did that feel? What was the last pay or the amount you paid? Tell me about that moment.

MULDOON: The last amount we paid was about -- we paid $1,500. That was all that was left and we paid that off. We went in and got a certified check for it and then mailed it, certified, return receipt, priority mail, you name it. We could track that thing no matter where it went so we could make sure they got it. We went out to the car after we mailed it and I sat down in the car and looked over at my husband and just burst into tears. Because it was done. And I t was like losing a hundred pounds in one fell swoop.

PHILLIPS: And so how did you decide or how did you decide to throw a party, who came to the party? We're looking I guess at video of it right now. This is the KUSA. And I want to know, how did you pay for the party? Did you charge it?

MULDOON: Oh, are you kidding me? I do not have a credit card. Dan does not have a credit card. We don't even think about them. No, I got everything on sale with coupons, except for the balloons. The balloons, I paid full price for and I had anguish over that, but I moved past it fairly quickly. The ham that we served, we raised a couple pigs last year and slaughtered them in the fall so the ham we served was home-grown, home-raised. I got everything marked down. I got vegetable trays half price. They were $4.00 apiece. And just coupons and real good shopping and that's how we paid for it.

PHILLIPS: You know what? I think you just found your new job. You need to consult people that are having issues paying down their card, and you need to start a website. So let me know when you do that, Sherrie. There's a great success story.

MULDOON: You bet you. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Sherrie and Dan Muldoon, got to love it.

Well, as always, "Team Sanchez" back there working on the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Rick, what have you got going?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I would like to sit here and talk about Angel Cabrera winning the Masters yesterday, because wow.

PHILLIPS: Wasn't that awesome? I absolutely love the unexpected to happen in times like that. It's fantastic.

SANCHEZ: The guy smokes cigars, he has an occasional adult beverage, he's got a big paunch on him. And he doesn't take forever to swing, either. He gets up and hits the ball.

PHILLIPS: Well, he had the momentum and kept it through the entire time. It was great to see him take it.

SANCHEZ: Love the guy.

Hey, here's what we're going to do. We got a couple things going on. You know, there's some big news that's going to be coming out of Cuba. I just talked to some of my sources in Miami. They say they've been talking to the White House and it looks like some of these travel restrictions are going to be lifted. So we're going to be giving you We will be giving you the skinny on that.

Also, really drilling down on what's going on with this piracy thing. We will talk to somebody who's going to take us through this vessel. Because when you think about it, how are they able to kill three guys inside an enclosed lifeboat? I mean, how do you shoot through this stuff? We've got the answers and we will show it to you and take you through the inside of how the Navy SEALs operate as well.

All that and more just for you, Ms. Phillips.

PHILLIPS: Well, as you well know, Rick, Navy SEALs wouldn't have the job of Navy SEALs unless they took the bad guy out with one shot. They'd be jobless if they didn't get it in one shot.

SANCHEZ: In the dark in a rocky boat.

PHILLIPS: Let's make that very clear.

All right. We're watching it in just a little bit. Thanks, Rick.

SANCHEZ: See you.

PHILLIPS: Well, as first glance, it could be "Crazy Vince" making another pitch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have some things you want to get off your chest? Sure, there are thousands of products to clear your house, clothes, teeth, hair, anything and everything else. But there's only one way to clean yourself from the inside out. Father Vick (ph) here for "Soul Wow." You'll be saying wow after partaking in the holy sacrament of confession. This Monday, April 6th...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: One young father, but nope. No German-made wonder clothes here. This is "Soul Wow," a priestly parody aiming to get you in to come in for confession. The brainchild of two Catholic dioceses in New York, "Soul Wow" for that almost baptized feeling.

And I can't tell you if this next story stinks or not. An inventor says that his chocolate inhaler, "Le Whif" gives you all the taste and none of the calories of the real thing. It's being touted as the answer to curbing your appetite. It actually evolved out of a culinary art experiment and reportedly goes on sale in the U.S. next month.

Now, help in the battle again against addiction. What high school students are learning from their peers at Recovery High.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: CNN has just spoken to Sherry Rios in New York. Her husband is a crewman on the Maersk Alabama. She knew he was safe, but when she learned on CNN that Captain Phillips was rescued, well, let her explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERRY RIOS, WIFE OF MAERSK ALABAMA CREWMAN: You would have thought he was my husband, you know. I shouted thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus, because to me, if he didn't do what he did, maybe my husband might not have been here. So I thank you, Jesus, for him coming out alive without any harm done to him, because I said, he is really a hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, you can see all of Mary Snow's interview in "THE SITUATION ROOM" starting at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

And the story of her life reads like the plot of a frightening made for TV movie. Smoking pot as a little girl, addicted to coke and painkillers as a teen. But a new kind of high school is helping turn her life around.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, checks out Recovery High.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LUCY GROTH, RECOVERING ADDICT: I mean, I haven't really been in a situation like that since I've been clean.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You won't see classes like this at most high schools. At Northshore Recovery High in Beverly, Massachusetts, it's called group. Here, Lucy Gross gets to talk about her struggles with drugs and alcohol. She's an addict. She's just 17 years old. For Lucy, she says she started smoking pot with friends when she was 12.

GROTH: Well, I was never really comfortable in my own skin. That was, I think, the big reason that I really liked drugs and alcohol.

GUPTA: By high school, the drug use was out of control.

GROTH: I was doing cocaine. I was taking painkillers, prescription painkillers. I was smoking pot. I was drinking a lot. I was doing a lot of pills: Adderall, Vicodin, OxyContin.

GUPTA: She spent six months at a residential treatment facility for troubled teens. And then her parents found Northshore, just 20 minutes from home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I came here, I thought it was OK to go hang out with my old friends because...

GUPTA: The first recovery high school opened its doors in a suburb of Minneapolis in 1987. Northshore opened in 2006. It's the first on the East Coast. Most follow the 12-step model of recovery. All of them offer state-certified diplomas.

Now, there's little formal data on just how well these schools work. But by most accounts, they do. Northshore Principal Michelle Lipinski says without them, life would be next to impossible for these recovering students.

MICHELLE LIPINSKI, PRINCIPAL, NORTHSHORE RECOVERY HIGH SCHOOL: Every student here will tell you when they walk down their public high schools that they know where to get anything. They know where to get pills. They know where to get pot. They know where to get heroin. They know where to get ecstasy. They know the locker to go to.

GUPTA: Here students sign a contract. They can't use drugs or be around known users. There's random urine testing at least once a week.

Here, Lucy's thriving, sober for nearly two years and heading to the University of Massachusetts in the fall. She credits her success in part to this recovery high school.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Beverly, Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta will continue his look at addiction this weekend. He'll profile a mother, a writer and a student, all addicts. Could their brains hold the key to their addiction? That's Saturday and Sunday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

That does it for us. I'll see you back here tomorrow. Rick Sanchez takes over from here.