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President Obama Outlines Initiative to Help Unemployed; California Wildfire; Murder Near Campus; White House Moms; Pasta Lady Hits the Road; "The Help Desk"; Bailout for Mothers; Tornado on Ground in SE Missouri

Aired May 08, 2009 - 11:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty thousand people have now fled that southern California wildfire, and more could be leaving really soon here. Hot, dry brush in deep canyons being ignited by embers scattered by winds gusting to 60 miles an hour. Several firefighters have been injured in this four-day-old fire. The number of homes destroyed or damaged also growing.

Take a look at this. Beautiful mansion, one of several consumed by the fire. At least 74 others affected.

We're going to speak with David Sadecki -- he is a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Fire Department -- in just a couple of moments and get you an update on the number of people evacuated. And we will talk to Reynolds Wolf in just a couple of minutes and also get an update on conditions for firefighters.

The nation's unemployment rate reaches a 25-year high, but there are signs of hope in the new numbers out today. The jobless rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since September of 1983. On a positive note, the pace of job losses slowed in April.

The Labor Department says employers cut 539,000 jobs. That's fewer than economists were expecting.

And if you're out of a job, President Obama wants to make it easier for you to get in school. Last hour, the president outlined a new initiative to help the unemployed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach town employment in this country so that it's no longer time to look for a new job, but is also a time to prepare yourself for a better job. That's what our unemployment system should be, not just a safety net, but a stepping stone to a new future. It should offer folks educational opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have, giving them the measurable and differentiated skills they need not just to get through hard times, but to get ahead when the economy comes back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And Jill Dougherty joins us from the White House.

Jill, good to see you.

Why do the unemployed need this plan?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are a number of reasons. But, you know, you'd have say the primary one is, let's say that you're on unemployment, you're getting unemployment benefits. Now, if you want to go back to school, get some more training or go back to a community college, in most cases you'll lose your benefits. And that's the primary thing.

So what the president said today is they want to change that, and here's the plan essentially that he is proposing.

Number one, the unemployed who do want to go back to school or get training, they would keep their benefits. Then also, they could be eligible for Pell Grants. Those are education grants for people with lower incomes. And then finally, the Pell Grants will be increased, and they would be increased by $500 to a total of $5,350.

And if you want to get some information on this, Tony, they've also set up a Web site, and that's www.opportunity.gov. I went on there, and there's actually quite a lot of good information for people to get.

HARRIS: All right. That is good information. And thanks for the Web site, too.

Jill Dougherty for us at the White House.

Jill, appreciate it. Thank you.

His job revived communities across Michigan shattered by the downturn in the auto industry. President Obama's auto communities recovery director, Robert Montgomery, is on a two-day tour of Michigan. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate of any state in the nation, inching toward 13 percent. Montgomery announced new grants and expanded business loans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MONTGOMERY, DIRECTOR, AUTO COMMUNITIES RECOVERY: Clearly, the government has to play a role in making sure that the initial support is there, making sure we can give them unemployment insurance, make sure that if they want to start thinking about training, that that's available for those workers. And then what we're here today is to start the process of figuring out what are short-term and long-term solutions to get the auto industry strong, to make the suppliers viable, to get the economy growing. How do we help the communities and the people in it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Labor Department statistics shows Michigan has lost around a half-million jobs this decade.

All right. We want to get an update on the fire situation in Santa Barbara.

As you know, a number of homes have been destroyed so far. And there is at least an indication that more people may have to be evacuated from their homes.

Glenn Fidler is with us. He is the fire captain for Santa Barbara County's Fire Department.

Glenn, it's good to talk to you.

If you would, give us a by the of a new perspective. A couple of hours of daylight for sure out there, 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. What is the scene as we look at some live pictures? This is a pretty hot fire that we're looking at right now.

CAPT. GLENN FIDLER, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, actually it is. Normally during the day it's been calming down a little bit, getting a little bit more dormant. And then once the temperature and winds increase in the afternoons and early evenings, that's when we're getting our significant fire activity. So right now we're seeing a very calm situation compared to what we'll probably see.

HARRIS: Are Glenn, are we talking about those sundowner winds giving you problems in the late afternoon?

FIDLER: Yes, absolutely. We have a local phenomenon known as the sundowner winds, and they're very localized. So, depending on where you're at in the fire, you could be experiencing completely different situations than they are in the canyon right next to it.

HARRIS: And Glenn, we understand the last bit of information that we had is that we had a containment figure of about 10 percent.

Is there an update on that?

FIDLER: Yes. We would have to reduce that. What happens is, as the fire grows exponentially, the amount of line that's held, if there was 10 percent at 1,000 acres, once the fire grows past that, the same amount of containment line is that much smaller.

HARRIS: All right. We're talking about 30,000 people who have had to leave their homes so far because of the fires. Are you having to order new evacuations?

FIDLER: New evacuation orders were put in place last night. My figures showed 20,000 people were forced to evacuate, and approximately 30,000 more are impacted by the warning zone.

HARRIS: Wow. All right.

Captain Glenn Fidler has been with us and talking about the situation, giving us a fresh update on the situation with the Santa Barbara fires.

Captain, we appreciate it. Thank you for your time. (WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: The suspect in the shooting of a Wesleyan University student was arraigned last hour.

Susan Candiotti was in the courtroom and she joins us on the phone now.

And Susan, if you would, talk us through the proceeding this morning.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it was uneventful hearing and it didn't last very long. Stephen Morgan, the murder suspect here, was led into the courtroom.

He was wearing a blue jumpsuit. He was in handcuffs, of course, and did not say anything to the court. It was a pretty standard hearing where the first-degree murder charge was read against him, and he will continue to be held with bond set at $15 million.

But Tony, what's even more interesting are some of the details we're finding out now according to a police affidavit of what was discovered, kind of evidence that was discovered inside the bookstore. Can we tell you about that?

HARRIS: Yes. You know what? I was reading some of your notes, but if you would, share with us what you found after having a look at the affidavit.

CANDIOTTI: Well, interesting, among the things that they found inside the bookstore after the shooting, police recovered a composition book. This was a journal that we've been hearing about. And it was inside a laptop computer case.

In part, there was an entry dated May 6th. That's the day of the shooting, entered at 11:00 that morning.

According to the police, it mentioned seeing "... all of the beautiful and smart people at Wesleyan University..." and it goes on to say, in the words of the suspect, Stephen Morgan, "I think it's OK to kill Jews and go on a killing spree at this school." And then there's another entry, according to the police, in Morgan's words, "Kill Johanna. She must die."

Disturbing information -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Susan, that's interesting. Thanks for the clarification.

I think I may have mentioned that this composite notebook was found on his premises, but thanks for the clarification that it was actually found at the crime scene in the bookstore. All right. And thanks for the additional correction. So the bail has been set at $15 million?

CANDIOTTI: That's what I'm told. That's correct. HARRIS: OK. Our initial reporting was that it was at $10 million.

Susan Candiotti for us.

Susan, appreciate it. Thank you.

Nicole Lapin is at the breaking news desk for us following another big crime story -- Nicole.

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, we just established a live signal actually waiting for Drew Peterson. The former Illinois police sergeant to walk out of jail to face charges this afternoon. Of course, he's the prime suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

You remember these scenes, Tony, during that investigation. We heard him say and do, in this case, filming the media, some pretty outrageous things. Now he's being indicted on murder charges for his third wife, Kathleen Savio.

Here's a little bit from his lawyer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL BRODSKY, PETERSON'S ATTORNEY: If there was ever going to be a charge, we always knew that it was going to be the Kathleen Savio case, because that's the case that they have a body on. And I've never found a homicide prosecution in the state of Illinois in the last 100 years where there's no crime scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAPIN: Now, the lawyer also says they have an "airtight alibi." That's a direct quote. The renewed interest in the Savio case, which was deemed an accidental drowning, stemmed from this most current investigation, Tony.

Of course we're monitoring all of the routers (ph), all of the details. I'll get you some updates as I get them.

HARRIS: Appreciate it. Thank you, Nicole.

Locals count 147 dead, but today the U.S. military in Afghanistan called that number of civilian deaths in attacks on Taliban militants extremely exaggerated. This incident comes just as the U.S. ramps up troop levels in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban. Let's talk about Afghanistan with Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent. CNN's Stan Grant is joining us as well in Kabul.

And Barbara, let's start with you.

What new information is beginning to emerge here from these most recent air strikes by the U.S. military against the Taliban?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, what U.S. military officials tell us is their preliminary results of the investigation that they have been conducting is that they believe now about 50 people killed in these air strikes earlier this week. And yes, they do believe a number of civilians, men, women, and children, were also killed in these strikes.

They believe at this point that these civilians, some were injured. Obviously, there's been pictures emerging from hospitals. They believe these civilians were likely being used as so-called human shields, if you will, being held by the Taliban in these areas where the Taliban were operating, firing against Afghan and coalition forces, knowing full well that the U.S. would likely call in air strikes.

What we are told is it was more than a dozen bombs launched against more than half a dozen targets. What were those targets? Fixed buildings, we are told, that were located in the middle of poppy and wheat fields, where the U.S. says the Taliban were using those buildings to stage very heavy firing -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Barbara, let's drill down then. These attacks taking place as more American troops enter the region. Will the fallout from this make their job even more difficult?

STARR: You know, this is what worries people, indeed. The fallout continues, because there have been many of these cases over the last several years, of course, tragically, civilian casualties, and the ones that result from air strikes cause a lot of anger with the Afghan civilians, with the Afghan people.

They put the government of Hamid Karzai under a great deal of pressure with their own populous for Karzai to explain why Americans are doing this. Air strikes very tough at 40,000 feet. You really can't tell the difference between an insurgent and a civilian, so these become very controversial, and that's part of what those U.S. troops are walking into -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Barbara, let's do this -- let's turn to our colleague in Kabul, Stan Grant.

And Stan, what is the reaction -- Barbara alluded to it -- of local Afghan citizens to the growing U.S. presence there?

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, Barbara just touched on it. When incidents like this happen, you get an outpouring of anger, and obviously an outpouring of grief as well.

People are concerned when individuals, when civilians, particularly women, children, are caught in the middle of this crossfire. It's very difficult to explain to them, particularly when they look around and they don't see great improvement in their daily lives.

But as U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said when he was just here in Afghanistan, this is a ground war. It is being fought block by block. And there are going to be civilian casualties. It is regrettable, but as Barbara pointed out there, he said that it's deeply regrettable, but it's difficult to be able to separate who is in the midst of all the battle.

But what it does, though, it feeds into the Taliban propaganda as well. They're able to use this against the U.S. to bring more people to their side.

It's interesting to point out as well, Tony, that you don't have to be pro-Taliban here to be anti-American. And that creates even an even more confusing mix for the troops here trying to win support from Afghans.

HARRIS: Well, help me with this, Stan -- what would people there say is the best thing the United States could do to improve their daily lives?

GRANT: I've spoken to people about this, Tony. They are like you and I.

People here have everyday concerns. They want to be able to send their children to school. They are concerned about health care, housing, education, employment, and they're very, very concerned about their economies.

You have people here who are struggling on a couple of dollars a day at best to be able to feed their families, look after their families. So they are looking for stability. They're looking for security. They're looking also for some economic improvement.

And you know, this is the battle that's been said time and time again, is not going to be won by bullets alone. There's a civilian aspect to this, and there's also a responsibility of the government here, of Hamid Karzai, to be able to deliver.

When I've asked people about what he has done, overwhelmingly they have been dissatisfied. As one woman said to me, he's done nothing in the past. Why should they expect him to do anything now?

HARRIS: That's very good, very smart.

And our thanks to our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr and Stan Grant in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Thank you, both.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will be in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with CNN's Wolf Blitzer today. See the interview at 6:00 Eastern, 3:00 on the West Coast, right here on CNN.

Residents in the Santa Barbara area of California fighting to save their homes from fast-moving flames. We will get a live update from the scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Seventeen minutes after the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

Firefighters in Santa Barbara, California, have their hands full with that growing wildfire. Look at these pictures to the right of your screen here. More than 20,000 people have evacuated.

A fire official says another 30,000 people are impacted by the fire. At least 75 homes destroyed or damaged.

Kara Finnstrom is talking with some of the firefighters.

And Kara, what are they telling you about the difficulty of fighting this fire with all of the canyons and ravines out there?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they can't reach these areas on foot lots of times, so they're relying largely on air attacks. That's problematic.

The other big problem for them here has been the winds. They picked up again last night. And Tony, fire officials say this drove this fire in a whole new direction.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FINNSTROM (voice-over): Firefighters in California's Santa Barbara County have a crisis on their hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Literally, last night, all hell broke loose.

FINNSTROM: Just when they thought strong winds were calming down, winds whipped up again Thursday night, pushing flames into more neighborhoods, forcing officials to expand evacuation orders. Thousands more residents were forced from their homes, bringing the total number of evacuees to at least 30,000.

Chris Lane has already lost his home, but he says he's fighting to save his mother's.

CHRIS LANE, LOST HOME IN FIRE: We're not going to lose this one. It's the greatest place we ever lived in. We're fighting for this one.

FINNSTROM: Firefighters have only been able to contain a small percentage of the fire. Already, it's destroyed more than 3,000 acres and dozens of homes, and it continues to move quickly.

Today, as the blaze rages on, fire officials said when they're able to control the flames may depend on Mother Nature.

CHIEF TOM FRANKLIN, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: This fire is really being driven by the weather. So, as unpredictable as the weather can be, that's about as unpredictable as the fire is going to be.

FINNSTROM: In addition to the strong winds, dry brush and a lack of rain are also fueling the flames. Thursday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger thanked the fire crews for their efforts. At least 10 firefighters have been injured battling the blaze.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Our thoughts and prayers are with them so that they recuperate as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FINNSTROM: Now, the official number of homes damaged or destroyed by this fire still stands at 75. But Tony, fire officials say that number doesn't include all the homes that were lost last night, so that number will be going up.

HARRIS: Kara Finnstrom for us.

Kara, good to see you. Thank you.

President Obama reaching out to the Latino community as it deals with the new flu outbreak. We will show you how.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Prince George's County, Maryland -- watch this. Well, that's a gas explosion in a business at a strip mall.

This is in Forestville, Maryland. Eight firefighters were hurt, along with a gas company worker. Their injuries from burns and flying debris.

Man.

Two firefighters were admitted to an area hospital. Six stores were damaged.

And happening now, the Obama administration holding a Spanish language town hall meeting on swine flu. The event taking place in the Eisenhower Executive Building next door to the White House and broadcast live online at WhiteHouse.gov.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis -- you see here there -- joined by homeland security officials and health experts to discuss the H1N1 virus. The White House calls it an unprecedented effort to engage the nation's largest minority group. The president -- late guidance here -- is expected to make remarks, and we will bring those to you live.

Civilians by the thousands are fleeing Taliban fighters in Pakistan. CNN takes you there as one of the U.S.' most important allies in the region tries to regain control of its country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And as we mentioned, President Obama taking part now in a Spanish language town hall meeting on the H1N1 virus.

Let's have a listen. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)

OBAMA: ... first step in making sure that whenever we have a public health issue that has to be addressed, that everybody is on the same page. So I want to ensure everybody that we're seeing that the virus may not have been as virulent as we at first feared, but we're not out of the woods yet and we still have to take precautions.

Many of you are community leaders. Obviously those who are viewing this on television are going to be able to give information to your friends and family about washing your hands, about covering your mouths, staying home if you're sick, keeping children home from school if they're sick. That kind of commonsense approach can make all of the difference in the world.

And so I just want to thank the Centers for Disease Control. They've been vigilant on this issue. They believe that we're going to have to keep on taking some precautions and we may have to prepare for an even worse flu season sometime in the fall.

This H1N1 flu obviously has hit Mexico much more badly than it's hit us so far. And I've been working very closely -- I spoke to President Calderon last weekend to ensure that we were providing Mexico with the assistance that it needed, because one of the things that we have to understand is public health issues like this not only is important for all communities within the United States to be working together, it's also important to be working internationally together.

So I'm very proud of this first White House town hall meeting conducted entirely in Spanish. I am grateful -- except for my part.

(LAUGHTER)

You know, I'm kind of messing up the whole thing.

I'm grateful for Univision for hosting us. And I'm happy to see that we've got officials from many different departments, including my Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis.

So I want to let you continue with your conversation. I hope you've learned something.

Please ask questions. These folks are extraordinarily well informed. And then distribute the information that you learn from this town hall throughout your communities. And this is just the first of many, I hope, mechanisms for outreach that will improve the quality of service that the White House provides to the American people.

So, muchas gracias.

Thank you. Thank you, everybody.

HARRIS: And the president and the White House called this event an opportunity to listen to concerns and respond to questions from the Latino community about the government's efforts to control the impact of the H1N1 virus.

As Mother's Day approaches, "Essence" magazine has exclusive interviews with first lady Michelle Obama and her mom. I will speak to the magazine's editor-in-chief -- there she is -- about her experience speaking with those two fabulous ladies in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So we squeezed the show into the Web site just to tell you that CNN is your source for money news. And you can always check out cnnmoney.com for the latest financial news and analysis. What's the headline there, "Blue Chips Boosted by the Jobs Report."

Let's take a look at that ride today for the Dow component stock. As you can see, the Dow is up 118 points. Just past three hours into the trading day. And the Nasdaq, Joe, up 10? The Nasdaq is up 10. We will check on these numbers throughout the day with Stephanie Elam right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We are launching a new series in partnership with "Essence" magazine called "What Matters." We hope to focus on African-American issues that inspire a broader discussion and matter to everyone. We start this week with the high court.

Two minority women are emerging as front runners to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Leah Ward Sears is the first black woman to preside over Georgia's supreme court. And Sonia Sotomayor has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals since 1998. If appointed, she would be the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court.

Another woman initiating change is Rear Admiral Michelle Howard, the first African-American woman to head a Navy strike force. Yes, you heard me right there. Howard oversaw the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, who was held hostage by Somali pirates. She commands 26 war ships and 1,000 Marines. Speaking to "Essence" this week she says, "we had an American citizens trapped on a life raft with pirates. In that circumstances, you cannot even sleep."

The White House will be honoring two moms on Sunday. First Lady Michelle Obama and her mother, Marian Robinson. Mother and daughter recently gave their first interview together to "Essence" magazine's editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray. And Angela joins us now from New York.

Well, you go, lady.

ANGELA BURT-MURRAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "ESSENCE" MAGAZINE: Hi.

HARRIS: Congratulations to you on the cover story.

BURT-MURRAY: Thank you.

HARRIS: It is absolutely the interview everyone wanted and you landed it for your publication. So here's my question, Angela.

BURT-MURRAY: Yes.

HARRIS: How big has it been for your publication? And you can talk about it in any terms you would like, sales, awareness of the brand, and maybe some other intangibles.

BURT-MURRAY: Right. Well, we've just really been overwhelmed by the positive response that we've received, not only from our regular "Essence" readers, but the community at large. I think that everyone, like you said, was really interested in seeing the conversation between the first lady and her mother, Marian Robinson, because she's been so behind the scenes throughout the campaign, but now she's playing a pivotal role in the White House by joining the first family there and really being part of taking care of Sasha and Malia. So it was a wonderful conversation to have with the two of them.

HARRIS: Yes. So are you enjoying this level of access to the White House? And does your access to this administration give you an opportunity to expand your base beyond being thought of as niche publication?

BURT-MURRAY: Well, I think it's really been interesting. This is the first time that we've had a Washington correspondent, Cynthia Gordy (ph), who's in the White House press briefing room every day covering the administration for essence.com, as well as for the magazine. And I think it's an opportunity for the African-American community to really engage around the important issues that the administration is covering, but also to have their voices heard. So we are talking to the administration every day and trying to negotiate different opportunities, but also letting them know what the African- American community is talking about.

HARRIS: Let's get back to this wonderful cover. Mom and daughter together for this first joint interview. And you -- to your credit, you asked a number of really compelling questions. I love this one. You asked Mrs. Robinson, "what is the one thing you have learned about your daughter through this process that perhaps you didn't know before?" And I thought her answer was revealing. Share it with us.

BURT-MURRAY: Well, you know, Mrs. Robinson is her daughter's biggest fan. So she thinks that her daughter has handled herself amazingly well through this arduous campaign and transitioning into the White House. So she said that she's really not surprised. There hasn't been anything that was really revealed to her, but she looks forward to seeing her daughter develop into this role. So she's incredibly supportive and proud, as any mother would be.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. And Mrs. Robinson, really, it seemed to give, give you some energy when you asked what her late husband, Frazier Robinson III, would say about this moment. Share some of those thoughts.

BURT-MURRAY: Yes, she said that you would not be able to shut him up.

HARRIS: I love that. BURT-MURRAY: That he would be so proud, obviously, not only of his daughter, but also his son and his son-in-law. She said that he used to brag about them before they had even done anything. So certainly reaching this height would have been something that he would have been talking about quite a bit. So she...

HARRIS: And, yes, that was wonderful. Let me play this other tremendous moment. You know the one I'm going play for you here from the first lady's visit to a grade school, a girls school during the president and first lady's recent European trip. Have a listen and then I've got a question for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: And even though my current life, trust me, is very different than it was and for most people -- and I do know that; I know that right now I am living, as challenging as it may seem, in a very blessed situation, because I have what most families don't have, is tons of support all around, not just my mother but staff and administration. I have a Chief of Staff and a personal assistant, and everyone needs that; that's what we need.

(LAUGHTER)

Yes, everyone should have a Chief of Staff and a set of personal assistants.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Angela, a couple of things there.

Let's talk about this moment first, does the first lady believe she can really advance the interest of girls and women around the world?

BURT-MURRAY: Well, she's quite conscious of her role that she has, not only on a national stage, but also an international stage. And she definitely wants to advance the conversation about women and work-life balance and all the, you know, topics that she talked about through the campaign. So I think you're going to continue to see her tackle that conversation and figure out how perhaps the administration can be more supportive of working women and young girls.

HARRIS: Angela, terrific. Kudos to "Essence." I've been reading "Essence" forever trying to figure out women.

BURT-MURRAY: Oh, good. Well, keep reading.

HARRIS: Lord, all that it's done for me. Angela, terrific. I'm really looking forward to this weekly segment and our new series and partnership with "Essence" magazine. It's called "What Matters." And you can look for "What Matters" segment every Friday in the noon hour and also Angela and Don Lemon's show Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Angela Burt-Murray, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

BURT-MURRAY: Thank you so much.

HARRIS: Yes, thanks for the partnership.

And riding out the recession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People honking and they wave at it and point and I just think that's so much fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We're not talking about an ice cream truck there. One woman's passion for pasta hits the road.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: As we learn more about the worst unemployment numbers in 25 years, small business owners are trying to survive the recession by being inventive. In our "Survival of the Fittest" series, Brooke Baldwin introduces us to a pasta lady who is riding out the recession on wheels.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elisa Gambino is passionate about pasta. The mother of two has been rolling it out fresh with the help of a small staff almost every day for seven years.

ELISA GAMBINO, OWNER, VIA ELISA: We make several kinds of cut pastas -- fettuccine, pappardelle, tagliatelle, tonnarelli, angel hair.

BALDWIN (on camera): Dinner.

(voice-over): Elisa's inspiration, years of living and eating in Italy. She spent the first half of her career as a TV producer for CNN's Rome bureau.

GAMBINO: The cheeses that we put inside of our filled pasta are so good that you could enjoy them on a cheese platter.

BALDWIN: But then a year ago she noticed her raviolis weren't rolling out the door like they used to.

GAMBINO: I could see in my numbers, a year before anyone actually made an official announcement, that things were not right.

BALDWIN: Elisa went from providing pasta to 20 Atlanta area restaurants to just 13 in a matter of months. And on top of that, fewer customers were passing through her shops. So she got inventive and hit the road, literally, transforming her reputation to the pasta lady on wheels. Taking the pastas to the people. Kind of an ice cream truck for pasta lovers. But instead of mint chocolate chip, it's spinach gnocchi.

GAMBINO: A little over a year ago I had one other neighborhood. And then in the last six months, I added two more neighborhoods. And then in two weeks from now, I'm adding two more neighborhoods.

BALDWIN (on camera): So what's so important with this is that you totally cut out the middle man?

GAMBINO: Really no middle man because I personally go out there and I sell the pasta.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Necessity became the mother of invention.

(on camera): And your house is all of . . .

AMY MCBRIEN, BUYS PASTA OFF TRUCK: Right there.

BALDWIN: Wow, and dinner is right here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right here.

MCBRIEN: I've got a whole families worth of dinner, probably about three dinners, for $15.

BALDWIN (voice-over): And these fettuccine fans know where to find her. Elisa parks her pasta truck in specific neighborhoods on certain nights of the week. Customers e-mail their orders and then she doles out dinner. She says her truck single-handedly stopped her financial downward spiral.

GAMBINO: The pasta truck has made up for that. And so now my retail sales are flat, which in this economy, I'm very thankful for that.

BALDWIN: And Elisa is now sharing the lessons she learned with inspiring entrepreneurs. Lesson number one, identify the city's needs. In this case, her truck filled a niche. Convenience, fresh food, low costs.

GAMBINO: Look in your community and see, what are people talking about, what are people's needs?

BALDWIN: Number two, think cash flow.

GAMBINO: Because people that buy from the pasta truck, they pay me immediately. They order and it gets paid.

BALDWIN: Three, give your customers an extra incentive to buy from you. Elisa teamed up with a local organic farm, giving them space on her truck for their produce.

And, four, enjoy the ride.

GAMBINO: One day I may not sell my business for millions of dollars, but I need to have had a good time while I was doing this.

BALDWIN: Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Good, good stuff.

You know, a lot of you have financial questions these days. One of our viewers wants to know whether it is wise to tap their 401(k) to go back to school. We will get answers from our financial Help Desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Using retirement money for grad school, is it a good idea or not? That is one of your money questions for Gerri Willis and her team at "The Help Desk."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's go straight to "The Help Desk." Donna Rosato is a senior writer for "Money" magazine, and Ryan Mack is the president of Optimum Capital Management.

All right. Let's get to that first question, guys. It's from a viewer in New York who asks, "do you think it is a good idea to use my 401(k) to pay for graduate school instead of taking out a student loan? Are there penalties and tax implications?"

Donna, everybody's talking about how do I retrain and how do I pay for it?

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY": It's a great idea to go back to school if you're -- and it's good to educate yourself more. But, remember, your 401(k) is for your retirement and you don't really want to dip into that pot now if you don't have to. Now, if you do have a 401(k), you can borrow from it if you're still employed and you may be able to -- but if you borrow from it, you're going to have to pay it back. You have to pay it back with interest. And then if you leave your employer, say you want to go to grad school full time, you have to pay the whole thing back.

Now if you're talking about taking -- just talking it all out and cashing it out, there are taxes and penalties. You'll pay a 10 percent penalty and you'll pay federal and state taxes as well. That's a big price to pay.

WILLIS: It could be as much as 40 percent out the door right away. Generally it doesn't pay to break into the 401(k) because interest rates on student loans are so low.

ROSATO: Exactly.

WILLIS: Let's go to Carolyn's question. "My brother lost his job in December. He contacted the bank in January to see if he could work out his mortgage. And when he didn't hear back, he called again and again. Finally, yesterday, he reached someone who told him that since he couldn't show an income, besides obviously unemployment benefits, he didn't qualify for assistance. Where else can he go for help to avoid foreclosure.

Ryan, the dirty little secret of foreclosures is, if you don't have an income, you can't get a new mortgage.

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Exactly. Exactly. Well, the first thing is to get a job. You have to make sure you have some sort of proof of income. Get a part-time job. I mean, go down to your local community center and see if there's any jobs available. Ask your local politicians for job listings if they're available.

The major four things we have to do is, first of all, we have to understand, don't ignore the problem. Go to the mortgage lender with a plan. Know your options, restatement, forbearance. Maybe at the end of the day, short sale. That's the last option, but it is a viable option. And finally, stick to the plan. Once you get a plan to come together, stick to it and you should be fine.

WILLIS: Al right, guys, great answers. Very good questions indeed. "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)

HARRIS: You know, we are seeing bailouts here, there, everywhere. Millions, sometimes billions of dollars. But what about mom? Shouldn't she get in on some of this action, Nicole Lapin.

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: Hello.

HARRIS: Hi, Nicole.

I still got to get used to this whole . . .

LAPIN: You like that camera.

HARRIS: Maybe not.

LAPIN: It's -- come on.

HARRIS: All right. So here's the thing. We are just days away from Mother's Day. Let's show mom a little love.

LAPIN: On Sunday. Why not?

HARRIS: Let's do that.

LAPIN: Some say moms are priceless.

HARRIS: Yes.

LAPIN: And what they do cannot be quantified. But let's try to do that, shall we? Salary.com has this great feature that calculates just what moms do in time for Mother's Day.

HARRIS: All right.

LAPIN: So you have to fill in some information here.

How many kids you have, what ages they are. I filled this in based on you.

I know you're not a mom. Your Mr. Mom sometimes.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

LAPIN: Two kids ages six to 18. Then, we get a general range. Moms, nationwide, should be making $40,000 to $116,000 a year for what they do.

Let's make it local. I put in our zip code here.

HARRIS: Nice.

LAPIN: Housekeeper. Day care center teacher. Cook. Moms do a lot of stuff.

HARRIS: Well, that's true. That's true.

LAPIN: Based on typically how much you spend doing those things in this area, moms should get $91,000 a year. Think about it. Housekeeper, $9.51 an hour. A cook, $12.89 a hour. You calculate that through the year. You have 1,400 hours.

HARRIS: That's not chunk change. That's good money.

LAPIN: And then you have your day job. See this nice little check. Can we zoom in there, Roger, if you don't mind. Mom gets a whole nice check on salary.com. Imagine printing this out and saying, yes, happy Mother's Day, mom, here's your hug and here's your little printout. $91,000. That's a lot of money.

HARRIS: That is. That is a healthy amount of mom. But, you're right, moms, look, you can't put a price tag on (INAUDIBLE) moms.

LAPIN: Do you have a second for another Internet . . .

HARRIS: Yes, go ahead. What do you have?

LAPIN: On the blog. We updated it.

HARRIS: Oh, we did.

LAPIN: Because I know you wouldn't. So I did.

HARRIS: Yes. I think my mom has a Facebook page. LAPIN: Cnn.com/newsroom. Bailout for moms. How much is mom worth?

HARRIS: Mom's Twittering.

LAPIN: They're worth it. Come on.

HARRIS: Mom's Twittering.

LAPIN: You can see they're worth it.

HARRIS: Did you -- my mom's Twittering.

LAPIN: And you're not. I love that.

HARRIS: All right, Nicole.

LAPIN: Give her a present for Mother's Day and get on the Twitter. How about that?

HARRIS: You got it. All right. Fingers crossed all the way on that.

Thanks, Nicole. Have a good weekend.

LAPIN: You're welcome. You too.

HARRIS: We've got some severe weather to report to you in just a moment. We'll get to our Reynolds Wolf right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And very quickly we want to get you to Reynolds Wolf in the Severe Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Let's push forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.