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Justice Souter Plans to Retire in June; Impact of a Vicious Virus; Road Ahead for Chrysler

Aired May 01, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: He is homesick and headed for New Hampshire. Sources confirm to CNN Justice David Souter will retire at the end of the Supreme Court's term in June. That opens the door for President Obama's first nomination. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House, CNN en Espanol correspondent Juan Carlos Lopez is in our Washington bureau, and CNN senior legal analyst Jeffry Toobin is in New York.

OK, terrific panel.

Suzanne, let's start with you. No official announcement yet, but what kind of candidate will the president be looking for?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, President Obama has been asked about this as a candidate as well as president, and he has said that's he's not going to apply an kind of litmus test when it comes to how his appointee might feel about abortion rights, Roe v. Wade. But he says he thinks his decision that was rightly decided. He says he's going to protect the privacy and the rights of women as well.

And then he also went on, there was a debate that took place, CNN sponsored it, democratic debate in Las Vegas, in which he was asked about this question to kind of give us a little bit more information. And here's how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sometimes we're only looking at academics or people who have been in the courts. If we can find people who have life experience, and they understand what it means to be on the outside, what it means to have the system not work for them, that's the kind of person I want on the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, obviously, he's looking at potential judges, federal judges, but he's also looking at people who are outside of the system. He said this before in a speech to Planned Parenthood, Tony. He also talked about he wants somebody who can empathize with people who are poor or African-American, disabled, and gay, all of these different things.

He wants somebody who brings something different to this court. So, obviously, suggesting that we're going to see a wide variety of potential candidates -- Tony. HARRIS: Wow. All right. Suzanne, if you would, hold on for just a second. I want to bring in other members of the discussion here -- CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin. His recent book focused on the ideological battle for the court. He is the author of "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court."

And Jeffrey, take it away here. We've talked about this last hour. You've been talking about it with Heidi and others this morning.

What are your thoughts on the decision ahead for this president, his opportunity here that he's presented with to put a stamp on this court?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think, ideologically, there isn't much of a debate. He's going to pick someone in the liberal progressive tradition. How liberal, I don't know, but certainly it's going to be someone who votes more or less like David Souter.

The real interesting question to me is, is he going to change what has been the rule of recent Supreme Court appointments, which is -- has led to the fact that all nine justices are now federal appeals court judges, formerly? Will he go that other route? Will he start picking politicians the way Earl Warren was a politician, the way Hugo Black was a senator, the way so many -- the way Abe Fortas was a private lawyer?

You know, pick people who are not judges. That's going to be the real hard question that they ask -- how big is the pie? Because if they ask judges only, the number of candidates isn't all that great. But if you start saying, look, we'll open it up to people who are not judges, it becomes a very different enterprise.

HARRIS: Well, one of the names mentioned is Michigan Governor Granholm, is someone who has been mentioned. So that would at least -- for that name to at least make the list suggests that the president means what he says, that he may be willing to look outside of the box on this pick.

TOOBIN: She is a former attorney general of Michigan. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

How about Janet Napolitano, the current secretary of Homeland Security, former governor of Arizona, former attorney general of Arizona, former United States attorney in Arizona? And also a former lawyer for Anita Hill. How interesting might that be?

HARRIS: Wow. You just -- the mind just did something crazy when you mentioned that name, but that's what you do, Jeffrey. 7 Hang on just a second because I've got another question for you and for Suzanne.

President Obama's choice of a Latino justice, should it happen? Would it be a first? It would be a first for the nation's highest court.

Let's talk to CNN en Espanol correspondent Juan Carlos Lopez.

Juan Carlos, we have heard members of the Hispanic community who have been saying pretty vocally that we want to see some real representation at the highest level of the Obama administration. Is it your sense that the Hispanic community will see this as an opportunity and ask for serious consideration for an Hispanic candidate to be appointed to this position?

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely, Tony. Hispanic groups already meeting and discussing names.

HARRIS: Already talking about it?

LOPEZ: They're already talking about it. Of course the first name that everyone hears is Judge Sotomayor, a very distinguished judge from New York. But there are other names that are being mentioned and are being discussed.

HARRIS: Give me names. Give me some names.

LOPEZ: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, former attorney general in Colorado; Senator Bob Mendendez. Those are some of the names that are being discussed today. They're talking about others.

HARRIS: And turning now to swine flu and another big jump of the number of infections here in the United States. It is now 141 confirmed cases of H1N1 in 19 states across the country. That figure coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 30 minutes ago.

U.S. military officials confirm two Marines have contracted the virus. They're now quarantined at Camp Pendleton near San Diego.

And the outbreak prompting almost 300 schools to shut down. That's about 170,000 students not in class. Plus, Harvard Dental School is closed today because of a probable case of swine flu.

Breathe, Tony.

It seems information on the swine flu is coming to you from every direction -- your TV, your computer, your friends. It's put some people in panic mode, so our Alina Cho tries to clear up some of the confusion.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony. You know, one of the questions is, yes, we know a pandemic is imminent, to the WHO, but what does that mean? Should we be worried. Well, depending on who you talk to on the street, either you're completely freaked out about swine flu or you couldn't care less.

Should you be scared? Just how bad is it? And why do we react the way we do?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHO (voice-over): When Vice President Biden said this on the "Today Show" Thursday...

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now.

CHO: ... he was talking about airplanes and the subways that he'd tell family members to avoid them, given fears over swine flu, or what officials called the H1N1 flu virus.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: Well, I took the subway here. I take the subway every day.

CHO: Biden's office released a statement saying the VP was referring to a family member who is considering flying to Mexico. But Biden didn't mention Mexico, which begs the question, if there's confusion at the top levels of government, why is anyone surprised by the public's reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard somebody died from it.

CHO: Dr. Robert Klitzman of Columbia University says the media, the Internet, all play into people's fears.

DR. ROBERT KLITZMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: We have a panic button in our brains that when we evolved, when there was a roar of the lion, you wanted to run. You didn't want to think, which way should I go? Should I go up that tree or that tree? You just ran and thought later, and that was very effective.

CHO: Could that be why nearly 300 schools in this country have closed including the entire district of Forth Worth, Texas? Eighty thousand students following one confirmed case of swine flu.

At Ascension School in New York, after a student got sick with flu-like symptoms, New York's mayor held a news conference and included Ascension on a list of schools with possible infections. As it turned out, the student did not have swine flu.

REV. JOHN DUFFELL, PASTOR, ASCENSION PARISH: It wasn't just panic in terms of the school parents, people were afraid to come to the church. You know, the big idea was that we had the swine flu here.

CHO: It's understandable we're confused. The World Health Organization put out a Phase 5 alert -- pandemic imminent, one step away from the highest alert level, 6.

KLITZMAN: We think Level Six, an atomic bomb is going to go off and we'll be wiped out. In fact, Level Six, if you look at the definition, this means that it's been in two or more regions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: What would be a legitimate reason to be scared? Well, the Columbia University doctor you just heard from says you need to watch two things very closely -- how contagious swine flu becomes and how many people die from it. As those numbers go up, the doctor says so, too, should your fears -- Tony.

HARRIS: Alina, appreciate it. Thank you.

You know, many states may not be prepared to fight a flu outbreak. An Associated Press survey finds more than half of all U.S. states have yet to stockpile the number of flu treatment doses recommended by the federal government.

The CDC says shortages are not expected because the federal government is racing to fill states' stockpiles from the nation's strategic reserve.

To see more on the swine flu's global impact and learn how you can protect yourself from the virus, just check out CNNHealth.com -- there you go -- and you can also follow the conversation with us on Twitter. You want to start twittering. You simply search CNNSwineFlu.

Chrysler's lawyers are in bankruptcy court today. So what does it mean if you own a Chrysler?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The bankruptcy process begins for Chrysler. The automaker is in court in New York right now for the first bankruptcy hearing.

Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff looks at the road ahead for the automaker and its employees.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The deal that was supposed to save jobs has put Chrysler hourly workers out of a job for at least the next month.

GENE BEHME, CHRYSLER AUTO WORKER: I was hoping that we would be able to get through this unscathed, but obviously that's not happening.

CHERNOFF: It's the latest hit to auto workers, who this week voted to give up bonuses, break time, and put the future of their health benefits into Chrysler stock. An employee benefits program will own 55 percent of Chrysler.

HAROLD KEITH, CHRYSLER AUTO WORKER: Yes, I am angry, but there's two things I will not do. I will not give up on Chrysler. And I will not turn my back on the UAW.

CHERNOFF: Fiat, the U.S. and Canadian governments will split the remaining ownership of Chrysler. With billions of new financing from the federal government, technology from Fiat, and the leverage Chrysler gains under bankruptcy law, the company hopes to emerge stronger and healthier. Chrysler will gain the ability to chop dealerships and cut relationships with some suppliers, meaning more pain ahead for companies that depend on Chrysler.

EMMETT DEGUVERA, DPR MANUFACTURING AND SERVICES: A lot of the suppliers are going to have a tough time struggling through that because of just the way business is financed through receivables. If those buyers can't ship anything, they can't send an invoice.

CHERNOFF: But some Chrysler employees are remaining optimistic.

SIGMUND IRBY, CHRYSLER EMPLOYEE: Listen, we just ride the train until it crashes.

CHERNOFF (on camera): To help prevent any future business crashes, the U.S. government is investing another $8 billion into Chrysler.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, Warren, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: What does all this mean for you if you have got a Chrysler parked in your driveway?

Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here to give you the facts.

And the facts, that's what we need right now, some facts here, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's right, Tony.

Well, the first thing Chrysler owners need to know -- and here's a fact -- is that bankruptcy filing does not mean the carmaker is going out of business, at least not yet. In the weeks to come, Chrysler will be restructuring, changing management, and combining with Fiat. But there's no indication here that Chrysler will be liquidating its assets or boarding up all of its showrooms. And that's great news for the average Chrysler owner, because getting day- to-day maintenance, well, it's not going to change too much.

Chrysler will still be standing behind those power train warranties, so you can go get repairs you qualify for. And you know what? Auto parts makers are going to continue to function as normal.

Now, it is true that Chrysler may well be shutting down some dealerships in the months to come, but most closures will probably take place in areas with more than one Chrysler dealership in the first place. So instead of driving just down the road, you may have to go across town to get your car serviced. Not a huge difference -- Tony.

HARRIS: Right. Well, Gerri, how about people who might be looking to sell their Chryslers?

WILLIS: Well, as far as resale values go, they're probably going to take a hit here. We spoke to the folks at Kelley Blue Book who know all about this. They say they're not expecting to see a drastic drop, as you might expect. That's because the possibility of a Chrysler bankruptcy filing has been circulating for weeks.

And look, in the longer term, as more consumers realize that Chrysler is still an ongoing, fully functioning company, those prices should stabilize -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. All right. Yes, that sounds pretty upbeat here, Gerri.

Is it possible that Chrysler's bankruptcy won't be as smooth as is being suggested here? And why would I even consider buying a Chrysler right now anyway?

WILLIS: Well, right now Chrysler is aiming to be out of bankruptcy in a matter of weeks. But you know what? Things are better on paper than they are in real life, right?

HARRIS: And in court, yes.

WILLIS: Yes, exactly.

So, you know, angry creditors could slow this whole process down. Chrysler might not be able to emerge from Chapter 11 as soon as it would want to. That could spook buyers, drive sales down, lower prices. Anyway, for right now, that's a waiting game.

But if you want to buy a Chrysler, the good news is, is that you're probably never going to get a Chrysler for a cheaper price. If you're the kind of person who trades in your car every two to three years, maybe the savings will be worth it.

On the other hand, Tony, if you're one of those people, you hold onto a car for a long period of time -- and we love those people -- and really get their money out of an asset, look, we don't really know what the long-term prospects are for Chrysler. So you might want to think twice if you're one of those folks who drives a car into the ground, because you're going to want to have support that whole time.

HARRIS: That's a good point. More and more of us are driving that car into the ground these days, Gerri. That's for sure.

Good to see you, Gerri. Have a great weekend.

WILLIS: My pleasure. You too.

HARRIS: The Chrysler bankruptcy followed the collapse of a deal to reduce the company's debt. And as you may recall, President Obama had some harsh words for the hedge fund managers who refused to go along.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And while many stakeholders made sacrifices and worked constructively, I have to tell you, some did not. In particular, a group of investment firms and hedge funds decided to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout. They were hoping that everybody else would make sacrifices and they would have to make none.

Some demanded twice the return that other lenders were getting. I don't stand with them. I stand with Chrysler's employees and their families and communities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow. All right.

Trying to identify the holdouts was the topic of some lively discussion in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: What happened here? Why did this deal fall apart? We've been kicking it around with Christine most of the morning.

What's your view?

REBECCA LINDLAND, HIS GLOBAL INSIGHT: Well, you know, the real problem were these three hedge funds and...

HARRIS: Ooh, do you know who they are? Do you know who they are?

LINDLAND: I don't. I don't know who they are, I'm sorry.

HARRIS: OK. All right.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Tony wants to name names.

(CROSSTALK)

LINDLAND: I know. I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Who were the holdouts? According to "The New York Times" and "Wall Street Journal," the group include Perella Weinberg Partners -- familiar with that outfit? -- Stairway Capital Advisors, and the mutual fund operator Oppenheimer Funds. So there you go.

Looking to stay fit and get in touch with your inner Zen master? We will meet some pretty tough guys who started hitting the yoga studio.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And just in to the CNN NEWSROOM, are you familiar with Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans? Well, he died early this morning at his home in Nevada. He was a self-described musical impressionist and staple on the Vegas Strip. Gans performed for years at the Mirage before moving to the Encore Theater at the Wynn last February. And unconfirmed reports says Gans had trouble breathing during the night and his wife called paramedics.

Danny Gans, a young man, 52 years old.

Benjamin Franklin said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We found some drivers at a UPS package center in California who are taking that quotation to heart.

Here is Dr. Sanjay Gupta with today's "Fit Nation."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 7:00 a.m. at Zenergy Yoga Studio in California's wine country, but inside you're not going to find your typical yoga students.

SCOTT STEPHENSON, UPS DRIVER: It really balances my life a little bit better. My body's balanced more, it centers myself a lot.

GUPTA: This class is full of UPS drivers.

For Scott Stephenson and many of his fellow drivers, staying fit is part of the job. He climbs up these steps about 400 times a day, making more than 150 deliveries. So the thought of doing more exercise, especially in a yoga studio, never even crossed his mind.

STEPHENSON: Last year was the first time I've ever done it. And I've been doing it twice a week for over a year now.

GUPTA: This twice-weekly pilgrimage of UPS drivers from Napa Valley to the yoga studio started more than a year ago when health and safety manager Mike Yates grew concerned over the number of on-the-job injuries.

MIKE YATES, UPS HEALTH & SAFETY MGR.: Being a UPS drive, it's a physical job. You have to keep yourself in, you know, top physical condition in order to perform the job safely day in and day out.

GUPTA: So he began introducing the drivers to things like yoga, nutrition classes, stretching, walking. The results have been spectacular.

YATES: It affected us so positively. It was amazing. And we have a little tag phrase we use where it's safe by choice, not by chance. It's all the little decisions that I watch people make that make a change.

GUPTA: For Scott, picking up yoga has helped him find more balance in his life, given him more energy, helped him quit smoking.

STEPHENSON: It's probably one of the best things I've ever done.

GUPTA: And he says it sure beats going to a gym.

STEPHENSON: You know, I lift boxes all day. The last thing I want to do is go lift weights.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Yes, that makes some sense.

From physical fitness to small business success.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You came up with the name "Potato Finger" because why?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Yes, laughing all of the way to the bank, in a recession, no less. A potato chip entrepreneur's success story and how we can all learn from his newest venture.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Now of course cnn.com is your source for the latest money news. Just check out cnn.com for the latest financial news and analysis of course. We learn from Ed Henry's radio show on CNN Radio the results from the bank stress test would not be made public on Monday as originally scheduled. You can see the bold headline there at cnnmoney.com, the new date May 7th. We understand the banks are contesting some of the results.

Let's get you now to the New York Stock Exchange for a look at the big board. Three hours almost straight up into the trading day. As you can see the Dow is down pretty much flat or negative throughout the day. The Dow down 13 points and the NASDAQ essentially flat. We're following the numbers all day for you with Susan Lisovicz in the NEWSROOM.

So despite all of this difficult, tricky economic news, there are lots of folks surviving even thriving in this recession. Today in our series "Survival of the Fittest" a man who sells potato chips, a whole lot of them, starts a new company to help others get their startups off the ground. Brooke Baldwin has Leon's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You could call Leon Stoltz a potato chipaholic.

LEON STOLTZ, POTATO FINGER CEO: As a child growing up that was what I remember is having a nice bag of potato chips.

BALDWIN: Five years ago he saw an empty niche for healthy upscale potato chips while walking down a grocery aisle. So he launched Potato Finger.

You came up with the name potato finger because why?

STOLTZ: Because of --

BALDWIN: You eat so many potato chips?

STOLZ: -- residue on my hands on my fingers.

BALDWIN: And the reputation stuck. His healthy chip became Rachael Ray's snack of the day. Food magazines were touting the treat and success followed Stoltz literally. Aspiring entrepreneurs would track him down at his favorite coffee shop seeking his advice.

STOLTZ: I think some people are good at cooking, I'm good at starting companies.

BALDWIN: So good that last December in the middle of the recession this 41 year old risk taker decided to start yet another business. This time getting paid to help startups launch. Stoltz was swimming in ideas so he called his company Idea Ocean. This is end of 2008, the economy has turned sour, people have gone out of business and you're starting up Idea Ocean.

STOLTZ: We formalized it yes.

BALDWIN: Kind of scary?

STOLTZ: Not really. When those things started happening, our phones started ringing more and more.

BALDWIN: He says the down economy is ripe for innovative ideas like this couple's floral design concept.

AMY OSABA, FLORAL DESIGNER: We want this to grow and be a brand, we want it to be bigger and as good as it can be.

STOLTZ: Entrepreneurs are very emotional. They latch onto their products or their idea. They think it's the best thing in the world and to make it into a business is not necessarily that cute.

BALDWIN: But fun, yes. At least Leon and his two new partners think so. Martha Henson serves as the marketing genius, Jenny Ling the finance brain and Leon the big idea guy. Together they have taken on two dozen clients nationwide from real estate websites to homemade hot sauce turning a home spun idea into a multimillion dollar business from the logo to the production to the investors. Their experienced combined has taught them small business lessons they feel compelled to share. Tip number one, get a support system.

STOLTZ: I've seen so many businesses go up in smoke because they didn't have their family's support.

BALDWIN: Number two, do your homework.

MARTHA HENSON, IDEA OCEAN PARTNER: Research every competitor that's out there and see if you have a nice that's really applicable.

BALDWIN: Three, think like a big company.

JENNY LING, IDEA OCEAN PARTNER: Don't treat it like a hobby, but get in there, go to work, be disciplined about your hours and your time and present yourself as a big company. Don't run around in your sweats all day long.

BALDWIN: Four, keep your overhead low. Leon says who needs an office when there's a coffee shop on every block? And five, follow your passion.

STOLTZ: I think if you're motivational or the driver is money, then you probably are not on the right track. You should find the thing that gets you excited and the money will come.

BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Such good advice. All right. A couple of other tips from Leon. Ask for feedback from folks you trust. You have to be able to handle the criticism of course. But in the end it will help your product and always, always, always, go with your gut. So you want to be like Leon, you might want to start with a solid resume. Nicole Lapin, can you help the folks at home with a solid resume here?

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN ANCHOR: Of course.

HARRIS: You can?

LAPIN: Absolutely. Because you can leave it up to (INAUDIBLE) Tony or you can do it yourself. You can take this into your own hands. There are a lot of sites out there but this is probably the most straightforward one I found, it's called how to write a resume.net. Straightforward is what you want to get Tony. Basically it's plug and chug. Put your information in there and then presto out pops a resume. You don't have to worry about the tabs, you don't have to worry about the formatting. So my friends, I hear it's safe but I still made a resume for you. It took me about 15 minutes.

HARRIS: You made a resume for me?

LAPIN: I made a resume for you. It starts like this. It asks for your name. That was easy, Tony Harris. Your address, 1 CNN Center, Anchor, the title. This was kind of tough for me. It asks for a strong headline. So what did I write, Anchorman Extraordinaire, how do you like that one.

HARRIS: God love you, I sure do.

LAPIN: All right, so we went through a couple more steps and out popped the resume. That's your resume, buddy.

HARRIS: That really is plug and chug isn't it? LAPIN: Yes it's qualifications. I hear you have interviewed Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbara Walters, Denzel Washington. You got an Emmy my friend for Tough Choices. How about that. We have WGCL on here, WBSF, WKYC. A little bit of HBO.

HARRIS: Our friends here, our sister network.

LAPIN: And what is this, Front Page?

HARRIS: That was a little magazine show, I was in prime time. You were too young to remember those days.

LAPIN: All right Tony, well I showed you how to make a resume. If you forgot that site, I know this is a lot of internet for you, can you take one more site?

HARRIS: A lot of internet.

LAPIN: How about our site. I updated -- I know you wouldn't so I did. I updated our blog cnn.com/newsroom, you have the link up there how to make a resume.net. Pretty simple stuff.

HARRIS: You are killing me. Nicole appreciate it. Thank you. Thank heavens for the internet. Thanks Nicole.

Oklahoma a developing story is getting hit hard by flooding today. We're going to get you an update from our severe weather center in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We've got a developing story in the CNN NEWSROOM that we want to bring you the very latest on. Here's what we're going to do. First of all, we're talking about some major flooding in Pryor, Oklahoma, Highway 69 in really bad shape now. Ok, so this is a tower cam shot from one of our affiliates KTUL. But what we've done is we've gone to the website and now you're looking at some actual video of this highway in question here. Again from our affiliate station KTUL. Let's roll this as we speak with Corporal Sue Greninger she is with the Pryor Police Department. Corporal thanks for your time, w appreciate it.

CPL. SUE GRENINGER, PRYOR (OK) POLICE (via telephone): You're welcome.

HARRIS: You seem to have a real situation on your hands here. Is it true that you have people who are stuck, stranded and in need of a rescue right now because of this flooding on highway 69?

GRENINGER: Yes, it is.

HARRIS: Tell us about the situation right now.

GRENINGER: We have had torrential rain since about 6:00 this morning. We started water rescues right around 9:00 and several different areas of the Pryor area and the rural area and the city of Pryor. Mostly here on highway 69 in the heart of Pryor we've continued to keep that monitored and blocked off and they're shutting highways down between us and Claremore, which is to the west of us also.

HARRIS: How many people have you had to rescue so far?

GRENINGER: Probably I've lost count at this point. We're right around probably more than 15 water rescues.

HARRIS: More than 15 water rescues right now. How deep is this water?

GRENINGER: In different places it's more than four to five feet.

HARRIS: Any people still stuck in need of help?

GRENINGER: Not that I'm aware of at this point. They are out on other calls at this time where it's starting to intrude into homes. We're starting to see rescues from residential areas now also.

HARRIS: I'm also reading a note here that says you're starting to see some businesses impacted by this as well.

GRENINGER: Yes that is true.

HARRIS: Do you have the resources that you need? Sounds like it's come in pretty fast and furiously. Do you have what you need?

GRENINGER: I think everybody is working together. Things seem to be going as smoothly as can be at this point. Our resources are available. Everyone is willing to help in typical Oklahoma fashion.

HARRIS: So 15 rescues and everybody ok.

GRENINGER: Yes.

HARRIS: All right. Corporal Sue Greninger of the Pryor Police Department, corporal thanks for your time, appreciate it. Thanks for the update.

GRENINGER: You're welcome.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: If you owe the IRS, should you tap your IRA? Gerri Willis will get that answer and more as she talks to our experts at the financial help desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Credit card companies canceling cards and raising rates. What can you do? Should you use money from your IRA to pay the IRS? Let's turn to Gerri Willis and he team at the help desk for answers.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We want to give you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to the help desk. Lynette Khalfani Cox is a personal finance author and Greg McBride is senior financial analyst with Bankrate. All right guys, let's get right to those questions. The first one is from Bobbie, she asks, "My spouse and I have a debt to the IRS. The only means of paying it is with IRA, that's retirement funds as we are both retired. Is it a positive move to withdraw money to pay the debt? Greg, let's talk about this. This is a tough situation that a lot of folks out there find themselves in.

GREG MCBRIDE, SR. FINANCIAL ANALYST, BANKRATE.COM: And while at their age they can make withdrawals from the IRA without having to pay any type of penalties, you have to think about the danger of drawing down too much too soon. I mean at their age they're still young enough, maybe part-time work is a possibility they can pay off that debt to the IRS and build a savings cushion and not have to deplete that IRA too soon.

WILLIS: One of the problems with that kind of debt, you know Uncle Sam doesn't forgive you. There's no statute of limitations on the IRS debt, right?

MCBRIDE: That's not going away, that's for sure.

WILLIS: Let's go to the next one. Debra asks, "My husband and I worked hard for 36 years to attain our recent credit card APR. Last month Capital One closed our card for lack of use. The APR on that card was 4.9 percent fixed now Bank of America has raised our APR from 5.9 percent to 9.9 percent. After I called the charge was originally a variable rate of 11.65 percent. I want my old rates back." I hear this all the time.

LYNETTE KHALFANI COX, PERSONAL FINANCE AUTHOR: Right, and you know, one of the things that most consumers don't understand is that even if you have a fixed rate, it's really only fixed until the bank says otherwise. They can change the interest rate. So yes you can call. You can try to negotiate. You can ask for a lower rate. You can possibly switch cards and go with another credit card issuer. The unfortunate part is that the credit card holder's bill of rights that is going to pass soon I'm sure is not going to be in effect until 2010 and that would make companies give you at least 45 days to notify you of a rate increase, things of that nature, and not be able to retroactively be able to increase your credit card interest rates.

WILLIS: And of course there's legislation, there are fed rules, all of this, none of it passed yet. But you know Greg, you look at a situation like this and you think, wow, this is a tough situation. Why not go to a card web.com, find a new card, maybe rollover your debt?

MCBRIDE: Shop around. We have a free search engine at Bankrate.com, find the lowest rate cards and if you can affect a balance transfer, that might be your lowest cost option.

WILLIS: Great ideas. 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 you check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.

HARRIS: Have you noticed that you're spending less time in the car commuting to work? It is one of the few bright spots of this recession. Jeanne Yurman, good to see you, has our energy fix from New York. Good to see you lady.

JEANNE YURMAN: Good to see you Tony. Well, what we're witnessing is kind of a mixed blessing but as unemployment creeps up, traffic actually improves since fewer people are on the road during rush hour. Americans drove 8.6 billion fewer miles in January and February compared to a year ago and some of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the country are opening up. Rush hour congestion in the largest 100 metro areas fell 29 percent last year and another 7 percent in the first quarter of this year. And Tony I'm not sure if you've noticed but congestion is down 36 percent in Atlanta.

HARRIS: Yes, you can feel it. You can particularly feel it in a city that is as congested as Atlanta is. Here's my question for you Jeanne, with fewer people out there driving right now, why isn't gas even cheaper than it is?

YURMAN: It's a little annoying because you think less demand lower prices but that's not the case. There's two key reasons. First off, crude oil prices which make up a big part of gas prices are stubbornly holding onto around $50 a barrel. Gasoline refineries have cut production to keep a floor under prices. Today AAA says the national average is $2.05 a gallon and it really hasn't budged much in the last few weeks. The energy department for their part predicts it will peak at $2.23 this summer. Although that's going up from where we are now, it's a far cry from the $4 that we saw last July. Tony?

HARRIS: All right, so again with fewer people driving, the government is getting less money from gas taxes. Is there talk of making that up in other ways?

YURMAN: Well there is in fact. Gas tax revenues keep in mind fund the nation's highway projects and those revenues are down sharply in the last two years. So now Washington is in fact kicking around ideas to make up that shortfall. Some lawmakers are calling for a mileage based tax. That could eventually replace the gas tax. One way it could work is essentially you have a GPS device in your car to track how many miles you drive and then calculate how much you owe. The idea though is pretty controversial because critics say it's unfair to rural drivers. Think about it. They have to drive longer distances to places and the idea of a GPS tracking device also raises huge invasion of privacy concerns. So far the White House has rejected the idea but we'll have to see whether or not it has any legs in congress. Tony back to you.

HARRIS: That's so interesting. Again, you look at some of the bigger cities right now and as we go into the prime season for driving, you wonder if demand will still stay low as it has to this point because that is something that is helping on the price side you would think.

YURMAN: Right. Well, we could see demand pick up because a lot of people are doing those staycations.

HARRIS: That's right. Jeanne, appreciate it. Thank you so much. We're just moments away from the president making statements at the end of his cabinet meeting. His second cabinet meeting if I'm correct here. Just 30 seconds or so away. The president we understand is going to make some comments now updating the latest information on the h1n1 outbreak at the United States I believe up to somewhere close to 141, fast approaching 150 confirmed cases of h1n1 in 19 states across the country right now. And then we also understand that there are several members of the cabinet who will actually come to a stakeout position with microphones and offer some comments as well. Here's the president.

OBAMA: It's been just over a week since we learned about this strain of the flu virus that's now affecting people in at least 11 of our states as well as 11 other countries. Throughout this process my top priority has been the health and safety of the American people. To that end we've closely monitored the situation. I am extraordinarily proud of the work that's been done by the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Department of Homeland Security and the CDC. We've got Dr. Richard Besser here as well as Janet Napolitano, they have been really leading the charge. We now brought in the Calvary with Secretary Sebelius.

We're obviously focused on what needs to be done immediately. Identifying and mitigating cases of H1N1 in the United States, prepositioning antiviral treatments for those who are infected and making sure that they're distributed appropriately around the country, providing clear guidance as well as the best science to our state and local officials as they move forward and speaking clearly to the American people as I did the evening of the news conference about the mitigation steps that they personally can take. But we also need to prepare for the long-term. Since we know that these kinds of threats can emerge at any moment even if it turns out that the h1n1 is relatively mild on the front end, it could come back in a more viral form during the actual flu season and that's why we are investing in our public health infrastructure.

We've had discussions about the production of vaccines in anticipation of the flu season and we've made sure that all of our agencies here are coordinating that they have appropriate action plans that we for example are working with the Department of Education to provide clear guidelines for school closures that we are working with the U.S. chamber of commerce for example to ensure that businesses are supportive of their hourly workers who need to stay home but may be worried about losing their jobs because they don't have sick leave making sure that they are cooperating in what is going to be an overarching effort, discussions with our secretary of state as well as our ambassador to the United Nations about how we're going to respond to potential requests from other countries for assistance in dealing with this issue.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the progress that we've made. I think that those who have been on top of this have done an extraordinary job. I'm optimistic that we're going to be able to manage this effectively but we still have more work to do. I'm glad I have such a great team doing it. I want to make clear to everybody and the reason I brought this cabinet meeting together is that we are taking this very seriously and we will take every single step that's necessary to make sure that the American people are safe.

One last point I want to make because this was actually raised during this meeting, somebody asked why is this different from other flus? We don't know for certain that this will end up being more severe than other seasonal flus that we have and it's been noted I think before that you have over 36,000 people die on average every year from seasonal flus. You have 200,000 hospitalizations. It may turn out that h1n1 runs its course like ordinary flus in which case we will have prepared and we won't need all of these preparations. The reason that people are concerned is the scientists are concerned is because it's a new strain. What happens is Americans and people around the world have not built up immunity in the same way that they built up immunity to the seasonal flus that we're accustomed to.