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Grading The President on His 200th Day In Office; Gym Club Killer Revealed His Plan on the Internet; Avoiding Hospital Mistakes; Pricey Planes on the Taxpayers' Dollar?; Some Giving Up on Stereotype of the American Dream; Are There Other Manson Family Victims?
Aired August 06, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour now. We begin with the Obama presidency. It's 199 days and counting as we approach tomorrow's milestone. We want to take stock. How has the administration done in facing its toughest challenge -- fixing the economy?
Let's get some perspective now from CNN's Christine Romans of our money team.
Good morning to you, Christine.
ROMANS: Good morning, Heidi. Well, you know, the freefall is over in the economy. I mean, that part is pretty clear. The banking system is at least stabilized here. That began under the Bush administration, but continued under this administration. The auto industry is seeing a little bit of a pop because of parts of the stimulus, the cash for clunkers and, in fact, two of the three American auto companies have been steered through the bankruptcy process, something that would have been unheard of, even last year.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: So, these are some of the successes and the progress of this administration. But there are two very important things here that are going to remain a headache for this administration and the first one of those things is jobs. Jobs trouble. I mean, tomorrow we're going to get an unemployment report that is likely to show maybe 9.6 percent unemployment. Today we had a jobless claims number that showed some moderating in the number of people who are filing first- time unemployment benefits but a record 6.3 million people are continuing to get jobless claims and a private sector and also showed a jump in job cuts in July of 31 percent. So, the job issue is something that so central to every American's family pocketbook and their own personal budget and that is something that is still pretty intractable here.
And then you got the housing woes. We talked earlier about that. Deutsche Bank report, Heidi, showed that almost half of all loans will be under water by the year 2011, by the first quarter of 2011. It's actually 58 percent will be under water meaning the people will owe more on the home than the home is worth. It's hard to see a meaningful housing recovery when so many people are underwater on their loans. House prices are part of the reason why we're under water because these house prices when you measure it from Case- Schiller are down 33 percent nationwide from the peak. Down 33 percent. So, a lot of people who had what we used to call the wealth effect, the ability to tap their home for some income and to make up for stagnant wages and not really getting ahead very much on their jobs, now they don't have that to draw from.
So these are two things. Your house and your job that are central to every American family's ability to feel like they're living the American dream and to feel like they have the American standard of living and both of those things are still, still, they're still under the weather here, quite frankly. So those are the real challenges going forward for this administration.
COLLINS: Yes, boy, they sure are. All right. Christine Romans, thanks for that.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: So this eve of the president's 200th day in office, what does the public think? According to our latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, just over half of Americans believe the Obama administration has been a success. Thirty-seven percent say it is a failure. President Obama's positive rating actually falls short over George W. Bush, six months into his presidency in 2001. Fifty- six percent of Americans said the Bush administration was a success.
Turning now to the economy. 44 percent of those polled say President Obama's policies have made the economy better, just over half said they made the economy worse. Some optimism, though, 58 percent of Americans believe economic conditions will be good one year from now. Forty percent say the economy will still be poor.
President Obama marking his 200th day in office tomorrow. So, now is your chance to grade the job he's done so far. Just logon to cnn.com/reportcard. See the results from CNN's "National Report Card" tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
Some evidence companies are cutting back on the number of people they're laying off. First-time claims for unemployment benefits are down, just released Labor Department figures show 550,000 people filed for unemployment last week. Now that's 30,000 less than expected. But on the flip side, the number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits is actually up to 6.3 million.
Take a look at some other numbers right now. Dow Jones industrial average, the Big Board for you there, down slightly by about 16 points right now. Still resting at 9264. We'll keep our eye on that for you throughout the morning, right here in the NEWSROOM.
We are also following this developing story now out of North Carolina. The former mistress of ex-North Carolina Senator John Edwards is in federal court in Raleigh this hour. No immediate word on why Hunter is there. Edwards has acknowledged that he is under federal investigation over payments to Hunter's production company but he denies any wrongdoing. Edwards has admitted having an fair with Hunter while he was running for the Democratic nomination for president. The Senate wrapping up debate on Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. A confirmation vote is expected today. If the first two days of debate are any indication. It looks like President Obama will get his choice confirmed. Two more Republicans are now publicly stating their support for Sotomayor. She would be the first Latina and just the third female justice who could be sworn in as early as tomorrow.
And a quick programming note for you now, coming this October, CNN will present "LATINO IN AMERICA," a comprehensive look at how Latinos are changing America, reshaping politics, business, schools, churches and neighborhoods. "Latino in America" this October on CNN.
A judge in North Carolina is refusing to allow six terror suspects out of jail before their trial. He says they are all flight risk because of their ties outside of the United States. At least one of them trained at terrorist camps both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The men are accused of planning murders overseas. Part of the violent holy war. A seventh suspect has his hearing coming up next week.
A chilling self-portrait. The man who killed three people at a Pennsylvania fitness club revealed his plan on the Internet. CNN's Jeanne Meserve with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George Sodini was silent when he opened fire at his Pittsburgh-area health club killing three women before taking his own life. But in his on-line diary, the 48-year-old spoke volumes about the carnage he was to inflict. "Why do this to young girls," the journal begins. "Just read below. I kept a running log that includes my thoughts and actions."
Indeed, he did. He called his killing spree his project and it began months ago. On November 5th, 2008, he wrote, "plan to do this in the summer, but figured to stick around to see the election outcome." And in an entry from December 22nd, an apparent reference to the plot and the women at his gym. Time is moving along. Plan to have this done already. Many of the young girls here look so beautiful as to not be human. Very edible." The journal also revealed his desperation and loneliness.
From Christmas Eve, "no girlfriend since 1984, who knows why. I am not ugly or too weird. No sex since July 1990 either." In May, more despair. "I made many big changes in the past two years," he wrote, "but everything is still the same. Life is over."
This is from August 3rd. "I took off today, Monday, and tomorrow to practice my routine and make sure it is well-polished. I need to work out every detail. There is only one shot. Tomorrow is the big day." Hours later, Sodini wearing shorts and carrying a bag loaded with guns entered an aerobics class, turned the lights off and fulfilled his death wish.
MIKE HENTOSZ, WITNESS: I was right beside the room where it all took place. I'd seen everybody running.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a good neighborhood. Stuff like this doesn't happen.
MESERVE: But they did. Committed by a man, who at the top of his journal, typed his name, age, date of birth and listed his date of death as August 4th, 2009. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Hawaii could be in for a whole lot of rain, maybe even a brush with a hurricane. There's actually one in the vicinity and our Rob Marciano, of course, is keeping a close eye on it. So do people on the islands. Already hardware and grocery stores, you see here, people are stocking up. Of course, Rob, that means lots of bottled water and batteries, I would imagine, right?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There's a lot there and it's still on the shelves. I was watching this video. There is that one person checking out and buying a flashlight. The nervous nelly.
COLLINS: They're the only one not afraid of the camera.
MARCIANO: We still have several days before this thing gets close to Hawaii. Hawaii does get hit with hurricanes but its fairly rare because we're talking about a tiny target and also the waters that the hurricanes have to get through to get to Hawaii are typically not all that toasty. So we have that hurdle to deal with.
All right. Here is Hawaii, here is our hurricane. Actually, here is a tropical storm, as well. That's Enrique, refusing to weaken, still 50-mile-per-hour winds getting very close to what is Felicia - kind of getting wrapped up a little bit. This sometimes can happen with one stealing the strength from the other and swirling it around like this is doing. We don't expect Enrique to do a whole lot, but Felicia has winds of 140 miles per hour. Check that out. That is the category four storm, my friends. That will be a whole lot of hurting.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: It gets to Hawaii. But this is the forecast track that is expected to decrease in intensity and as it heads this way, again, temperatures are cooler in those waters. So there you see the decrease in intensity to about tropical depression status before it gets to Hawaii. So that's the good news there, but, you know, forecasting intensity is not a slam dunk business and it may hold on to its strength before it gets there. We'll keep you posted on that front.
All right. Looking at these storms that are heading across, well, mostly across the northwest, but some will fire up across the southeast and then the heat's going to build across the midsection of the country and eventually the east coast over the weekend and it will get kind of toasty for Saturday and Sunday of lakes and beaches, I think, will be busy. Heidi, back over to you.
COLLINS: OK. Very good. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: You got it.
COLLINS: Congress dealing with a massive deficit, but it's apparently not bad enough to stop a shopping spree. Taxpayers on the hook for private transportation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It looks like Cash for Clunkers will get a refill. The Senate is expected to vote today to pump another $2 billion into the rebate plan extending it until Labor Day. That gives car shoppers another month to trade in their gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient cars and get as much as $4,500 of a government rebate.
The Pentagon getting more than it asks for. It seems some members of Congress want some new planes to fly the VIPs around the world. VIPs like members of Congress. And guess who's paying for it? CNN's Lisa Sylvester has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember this? The CEOs of the big three automakers exchanged jets for cars after they were attacked for using company planes to get to congressional hearings in Washington. Lawmakers said it didn't look good that they were flying in style asking for bailout money.
REP. GARY ACKERMAN (D), NEW YORK: Couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet pooled or something to get here. It would have at least sent a message that you do get it.
SYLVESTER: Good question. A question Congress might ask itself as it faces a rising budget deficit. Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee signed off to spend nearly $200 million to buy three new Gulf stream jets as part of the Defense Appropriations Bill. Those private planes are to be assigned to the Air Force units that about 20 percent of the time shuttle congressional members around the country and the world. Taxpayer watchdog Pete Sepp thinks it's ridiculous.
PETE SEPP, NATIONAL TAXPAYERS UNION: Apparently Congress has created its own Cash for Clunkers program. Turn in your old jets and taxpayers will buy you new ones.
SYLVESTER: A congressional staffer familiar with the situation defended the decision by the House Appropriations Committee, saying that the squadron passenger airlift planes are outdated. "They have to replace a bunch of them, five to six of them. The decision was made to replace three this year instead of spacing them out." But Pentagon officials didn't ask for three Gulf streams, they asked for only one.
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: We make it a point of asking for those things we need and nothing more.
SYLVESTER: The Pentagon frowns upon Congress adding to their inventory above what they asked for because Congress just considers the price of the plane, but not the operational cost of the crews, maintenance and service.
(on camera): In addition to the three Gulfstream planes, Congressional House Appropriators also agree to provide the Air Force with five new C-40s. The military equivalent of the 737 passenger plane. The Pentagon wanted only three.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: $200 million of your money. Should it be spent on Gulfstream jets for the government? At the bottom of the hour we're going to talk to a taxpayer activist about whether or not this purchases were justified.
We also want to hear from you, what do you think about the House approving nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three Gulfstream jets for top government officials and members of Congress to use? Give us your feedback at CNN.com/heidi or you can give us a call on the "Hotline to Heidi," that number on your screen there 877- 742-5760.
Is your hospital safe? Some people aren't so sure. A revealing new study on vigilant parents protecting their children from hospital errors.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Despite the summer heat, thousands of activists turned out on Capitol Hill to rally for health care reform. In today's "Health Care in Focus," photojournalist Jeremy Morehead gives us an inside look at the work and determination of volunteers hoping to make a difference.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we are for health care for America.
JULIE: This is a huge undertaking. Right now we are in upper Senate parked in front of -- I'm the Marshals captain, my name is Julie. And we're going to be positioning folks throughout this upper Senate park. It will be a great rally.
We've got many, many groups who are volunteering their folks. The main responsibility will be to keep the sidewalks clear. Why am I doing this? Because I support health care for all. I think health care is a right and I think that this is a pivotal time in our history to make sure that we guarantee that. We got almost 65 buses that are coming in the next two to three hours. I think that people coming as far as Hawaii.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three bus loads from West Virginia.
JULIE: Some of them will be going to town halls to meet with senators. There is going to be a lot of people.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Health care now! We want, we want health care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is more of you than we expected which is what a movement is about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you go to Europe, you get health care from cradle to grave and here in America, the richest country in the world and you've got millions of people who don't have healthcare. If you lose your job, they lose your healthcare. If you get divorced, they lose their healthcare. These are basic stuff, why can't we have health care?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to work together to pass universal health care. There is no option but a public option. Thank you. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Look for more stories from CNN photo journalists as we continue our series. In fact you can also find more information at healthcareinfocus.com.
Hospital mistakes and how to avoid them. A new study shows most parents feel they need to be vigilant when their child is in the hospital to make sure the hospital doesn't make mistakes. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here now to explain. Good morning to you, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COLLINS: So I thought hospitals, you know, were supposed to make you feel better, but I think a lot of us have seen, you know, quite a few of these reports that come out about errors that definitely take place. So, when you're a parent of a child, your child is ill, and I feel like people are really wanting to know more and be very focused on the care that their kids are getting.
COHEN: Yes, this survey says that people get it. Two-thirds of parents say that they get it that they need to be vigilant when their child is in the hospital to make sure that the hospital doesn't make some kind of an error that could make their child sick. And you know what, they're doing it with reason. Studies have shown that 1 out of 15 children in the hospital, excuse me, is harmed by a medication error. That's one out of 15 kids. That's a pretty high rate.
For all of us, take a look at these statistics. There are up to 98,000 deaths in hospitals due to errors. Not because you're sick, but due to an error that made you sicker and also 99,000 deaths from infections that people get in the hospital. In other words, Heidi, they come into the hospital without an infection and get the infection in the hospital.
COLLINS: Yes, well that number from the Institute of Medicine, I'm not sure when that was actually done, but I remember that number being out there for quite some time. I would love to see an even newer number. I think was about 1998 or so.
COHEN: Yes, it is change.
Over the years, people have looked and they sort of argue back and forth, but the numbers are definitely huge, there are no questions.
COLLINS: Yes, it's really scary. But for your "Empowered Patient" column this week, you went and you asked nurses a little bit more about what types of errors they have seen in hospitals, and it's very interesting because you got some dramatic responses here. A lot of it talks about the culture, too, doesn't it?
COHEN: Right. The culture sort of being quiet and not talking about what's going on. But you know what, nurses perhaps more than other groups - they are coming out and saying, you know what, we're seeing things happening that shouldn't be happening.
For example, Susan Gonzalez who is a nurse here in Atlanta. She said that she was with her father who is in the hospital. She was visiting with him and the nurse came to hand a medicine to give to here father, an IV medicine. And she said to the nurse, what is that? and he said, the nurse said, oh, it's ampicilin for your father and she had my dad is allergic to ampicillin. It could have killed him and the nurse said, oh, my goodness, you're right. That's terrible.
And we heard many stories like that of nurses even for themselves of their spouses or their parents and children noticing these kind of errors in hospitals.
COLLINS: Yes, I've been there personally. I mean it's something you really have to stay on top of. There are all these terms out there too like hospital lists or advocates. I mean, do the nurses suggest a way that you can feel safer or for your loved one protect them even better?
COHEN: Yes, they definitely have tips for things that you can do to try to protect your loved one or try it yourself when you're in the hospital. So let's take a look at these tips. First of all, they said - ask about every drug, as we saw with that situation there. Ask about every drug. Say what is it, what is the dosage and am I really supposed to get it at this time?
COLLINS: And buy a PDR, a physician's desk reference, too, right?
COHEN: Yes, definitely.
And you don't even really need to. I mean, you can -- you should know, I mean, as they you should know. If they say this is drug x and you know you're not supposed to get drug x, just speak up. COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: Tell doctors and nurses to wash their hands. I know, I was just in the hospital with a family member and most of them did not, and I had to say could you please go wash your hands. It was very uncomfortable.
COLLINS: What was their reaction?
COHEN: They were not happy. I could tell that they were not happy but I was like, you know, I would rather make you unhappy than have you touch my loved one with you dirty hands. And there was a third tip in there which is don't back down, which actually sort of speaks to what we were just talking about. When I sort of got kind of those dirty looks from people who didn't want to wash their hands, I didn't back down. I said I'm sure you did it just before you walked in the room, and I'm so sorry to have to bug you about this, but could please go wash your hands in front of me so that I could see you.
And for more tips, Heidi, if you go to cnn/health.com and you can see my column which has a few more tips.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. I love this. We can talk about this issue all day long. But we also want to know about "Empower Me Friday." Remind people where they can send their questions.
COHEN: Right. That's tomorrow you got any questions for me, e- mail me at I have to check empoweredpatient@cnn.com. There it is.
You think I would know, "Empowered Patient," at CNN.com, send me any questions about health care. We answer one person's question every Friday.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Elizabeth, nice to see you. Thanks so much.
The Obama presidency as he approaches a milestone, we take stock. How has he done so far? We'll take to guest from opposite sides of the political divide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: News as it develops, as only CNN can bring it to you. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: President Obama tomorrow marking his 200th day in office. So, how has he performed so far on two of the biggest issues? The economy and health care reform. Let's put that question to our guest on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Rich Galen is a Republican strategist. There he is. Rich, thanks for being with us.
RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: And Bill Press is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host.
BILL PRESS, HOST, "THE BILL PRESS SHOW": Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: Thank you for being with us, Bill. Gentlemen, President Obama's approval rating has been steadily sliding in recent weeks. Let's start this out by looking at least one of the polls that we have here. His approval and disapproval. This is a CNN opinion research corporation poll. 56 percent of people, approve of the job that he's doing. 40 percent disapprove.
Bill, to you first, these numbers are down. What's going on?
PRESS: As the president moves in office, his numbers inevitably go down. I mean, I would like to point out that is more than double the approval rating that George Bush had when he left office.
GALEN: Yes, but I think it's about the same as George Bush had at this time in his administration. So, they're almost equal.
PRESS: That's fine. Bush was under 20 at one point before he left office. I just think.
GALEN: That was 7 1/2 years to go.
PRESS: Rich, I'd like to finish this sentence here, okay. I would say, look, inevitably with the president tackling so much and people see that, you know, they're going to say, hey, why haven't you delivered for us yet. I think 56 is a pretty healthy number. Go ahead, Rich.
GALEN: I agree. I think these things happen. Gravity overtakes the euphoria of a new election, and most presidents, I think, other than in times of great crisis, war, attack, those sorts of things, that the mid-50s is probably the best in this day in age that any president can expect to have: Republican, Democrat, liberal, conservative.
COLLINS; All right, well, let's move on to the issues that affect people at home so much and maybe sort of gearing into those approval ratings that we're seeing. Obviously, right now, one of the main issues is health care. We also have the economy.
But let's talk about health care for a minute here. Even though the House has been in recess, there's been a lot of anger, confusion, frustration that we have seen from people at these town hall meetings where they're going back and hearing from their constituents on health care reform.
We've got a poll on this one, too. You see it in front of you there. It looks like -- let's see, that was not the right one, but they show that 50 percent of people are in favor, 45 percent are opposed to Obama's health care plan at this point...
GALEN: That said 43 percent.
COLLINS: Yes. And 44 percent of them don't actually think that health care will affect -- will help them personally. Some of them believe that, yes, this plan that's out there, at least what they know about it, will help other families, but not them. How is the administration, Rich, going to really zero in on the individuals and help people to understand how it does affect them?
GALEN: Yes. I think this is one of those times so far, it's a rare time that Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, former congressman, really had a tin ear about how to sell this thing.
The problem is, there is no plan to sell. The president hasn't been clear on the basics of what he's trying to get accomplished. What he's done is sort of tossed it over to the Congress, and that's always dangerous. As long as we're talking about polls, the NPR, not exactly a mouthpiece for the conservative wing of the Republican party, their latest poll shows -- I'm sorry, NBC/Wall Street Journal -- has the approval rating of the Congress at 24. So, to Bill's point, the Congress wishes they had George Bush's numbers.
What happens is that people don't know what they're for and they don't know what the president is for. Sebelius -- Governor Sebelius (sic) said the other day the Senate bill hasn't been written yet. So, it's very difficult to go out and sell a concept without any kind of hard facts.
COLLINS: Well, Bill, do you agree with that? Bill Press, there are people trying to weigh in on this as to how they understand it. But in most of the questions, at least the ones I looked at that are eliciting these poll results, the questions are written as from what you have seen and heard about this bill, what do you think?
PRESS: Right. I have a slightly a different take. First of all, I have to say that think this is the most important issue facing the American people today domestically, and I got to say, President Obama has taken it from nowhere, not on the agenda, to putting it absolutely on the front burner and said this is number one legislative priority.
I think there will be legislation passed this year, I think that's good. Here's where the problem is, and Rich touched on it, too. I think the president has given Congress too much running room on this. He has put it in their hands, and therefore what people see is the sausage factory. And they see these senators who can't decide which direction they're going, and the Congress is all over the place.
And I think the president's got to seize this thing, I would say, I'm sorry, Rich, stop spending so much time trying to get Republican votes. He's got enough Democratic votes. Tell the American people what he wants, what they're going to do and then just do it the way I'm convinced Republicans would do if they're in charge.
COLLINS: Rich, at first you were shaking your head in agreement.
GALEN: Yes. That's exactly right. I think the president has to have more clarity. They sent these members of Congress home with no idea about what they were supposed to be selling, and they're hearing from their constituents that, as your poll shows, health care is very personal. You don't need a car particularly on a cash for clunkers. If you have a job, unemployment, sort of somebody else's problem. But as your previous segment pointed out, health care is everybody's issue, and they're very concerned that they're not going to turn it over to a bunch of people who may be acting not in their particular interest.
COLLINS: Bill, very quickly, you actually said the economy, though, as we move over to the other major issue for this administration, cannot be fixed without health care reform. Really?
PRESS: Absolutely right. No, and the president, I think, has been very clear on this. Health care is 16 percent of our GDP. Health care accounts for one out of every six American dollars we spent, and health care is one of the fastest growing part of the economy.
The costs are out of control. Big business, small business, families are being hurt by this. You cannot fix the economy without fixing health care. That's why we got to get it done, and also that's why the president couldn't wait, as some people suggested, to fix the economy first and then we'll come back and fix health care. They're one and the same.
COLLINS: But Rich, I thought this was all about the economy, anyway -- the housing problem.
GALEN: Well, there's a lot of problems still out there for the president to deal with: the housing, credit card debt. I mean, there's a lot of stuff. But to Bill's point, one of the things we know in Washington is this is the kind of thing that has to get done in the odd numbered year, because if it slips over to next January...
PRESS: Totally.
GALEN: ... or into the election year, it will never get done.
PRESS: Totally.
COLLINS: Very quickly from both of you, we have, like, ten seconds. Give me a grade for the first 200 days for President Obama. Rich?
GALEN: C on the economy, because he hasn't dealt with jobs, incomplete on health care.
COLLINS: OK. Bill?
PRESS: I give him a B-plus on both. A B-plus on health care because he hasn't taken the lead, he's left too much time for the Republicans. And B-plus on the economy, only because I think he hasn't spent money fast enough. The stimulus money hasn't gotten out the door fast enough. Otherwise, good job on both.
COLLINS: Rich Galen, Bill Press. We appreciate your thoughts. Thank you, guys.
PRESS: Thanks.
COLLINS: Well, in fact, it is up to you to decide how President Obama is doing so far, but CNNmoney.com writers and editors have their own opinions. Poppy Harlow is in New York on this. So, Poppy, how are your colleagues at the Web site, actually, rating the president's money moves?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Heidi. They're using basketball analogies. We know President Obama likes to shoot hoops. There's some slam dunks and some air balls. We're going to show you some of them.
Let's start off with the slam dunk. And that actually, believe it or not, it is the auto bankruptcies. If you click on it, you see why. A lot of people, Heidi, did not think it was a viable option a bankruptcy of Chrysler or GM saying, listen, folks won't buy cars from bankrupt automakers. President Obama pushing on those warranty guarantees. Also pushing hard on the creditors so that these bankruptcies could happen, and we saw record speed for GM and Chrysler emerging from the bankruptcies.
Want to play you a quick video here, a clip of what our team thinks on the president and the auto bankruptcies. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER VALDES-OAPENA, SENIOR WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: In a way, it was like what nobody predicted.
CHRIS ISIDORE, SENIOR WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: I think there was a lot of doubt that you could have them be in and out of bankruptcy as quick as they were.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really -- unprecedented for a company that size, the size of General Motors, to go through a bankruptcy in, what, 40 days?
LEX HARRIS, MANAGING EDITOR, CNNMONEY.COM: Obama pushed it through. He really nailed it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right, Heidi, you heard it, he nailed it. Big slam dunk on that one, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Well, CNNmoney.com is rating that a big success, as we've seen, but the administration has also thrown out some other questions that are out there. Some air balls that you mentioned.
HARLOW: A number of air balls. I mean, look across here. You have some big misses from the beginning of the year until right now.
Let's talk about job creation. Just click here and take a look. We heard the president say time and time again, we will save or create 3.5 million jobs. The adminstration has said it's done that with about 750,000. However, the numbers show -- and you can't dispute the numbers. This economy has shed 3.4 million jobs this year already. So, they're saying that that is just an air ball.
Let's take a look, finally, here at the AIG bonus rage. We are talking about $350 million in bonuses. The president -- they were quiet on it for a little while, and then our Ed Henry pushed him on it. He came out and talked about it, they said these contracts have to be honored. But then, Heidi, when you look at it, two-thirds of the bonuses have been paid out.
We want you to judge for yourself, want to read you a quick Facebook comment. First, from Brandon, writing in to us: "Obama's spending policies are wrong, just like George Bush in many ways. He was right to save GM, however, I live in the Midwest and it would have been a catastrophe if they went into liquidation." One more comment here from John, John rates it a C-minus. He says, "I give him a C- minus, and I feel his first 100 days were very good, the last 100, I think he overspent."
Let us know what you think. This tool, it's fun, Heidi. Very interactive, and it's only on CNNmoney. Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. Very fun. All right. Poppy, thank you.
HARLOW: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Have the second 100 days of the Obama administration been days of change or days of frustration? Let your voice be heard. You can cast your vote now at CNN.com/reportcard. We should say cast your grade, and then you can get the results from CNN's "National Report Card" tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
The American dream could be slipping away. Fewer people own homes these days, and it could stay that way for quite a while. Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange now to explain more about why. Good morning to you, Felicia.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. You know, Heidi, it's true, people are evidently giving up that American dream, the old "house with the white picket fence" in favor of renting. We haven't seen that in a while. More than 67 percent of Americans actually own homes. That sounds like a lot, and it is, and that's down from nearly 70 percent from just back in 2005.
So, of course, some baby boomers are downsizing by choice. They don't want the major they've seen in the past. But of course, there are many others that are being forced to lose their homes through foreclosure and other things because they can't make those payments. The sad part is that Deutch Bank says this trend could continue. Twenty-five million homeowners will be, quote, "underwater by 2011." That's where they owe more on their home than the home is actually worth.
That's a huge difference. Up from 14 million this year. Almost double the number. Again, underwater is where you owe more on the home than it is actually worth, and some borrowers walk away from their mortgage and think it's better than selling their home at a loss. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes. Then there are people because they can't sell their homes they are renting them out and renting for themselves somewhere else. So, it seems to go on and on. We did hear, though, last week that home prices are going up, but it's clearly still a problem.
TAYLOR: Well, exactly. This recovery has been anything but steady, and we have a long way to go. We're far from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel just yet. So, you're right. Last week we saw a report that home prices rose in May compared to April. But, if you look at that number from the year before, prices fell 17 percent. It's a big problem for people who bought their house at the height of the market.
States suffering the worst so far are places that may not surprise you, but Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin. And, get this, parts of Florida and California are going to see 90 percent or more of their loans underwater by 2011. That is a scary number. Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, definitely is. Felicia Taylor, thank you.
TAYLOR: Sure.
COLLINS: Taxpayers, fasten your seat belts and prepare for takeoff. Lawmakers want to spend millions of your dollars on private jets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This morning, we told you about a story that is sure to make a lot of taxpayers mad. A House committee added three new Gulfstream jets to the military's shopping list. They're replacing some older planes, apparently, but here's the catch. The Pentagon only asked for one.
You see the long-range jets are used to ferry VIPs around, including members of Congress. So, is this really the best use of your $200 million? That's the question. Steve Ellis is the vice president of Taxpayers For Common Sense. He is joining us from Washington this morning.
Steve, thanks for being here, we appreciate it. What was your reaction when you learned about the House appropriations committee and the fact that they approved only one, at the price of -- I think it was $65 billion per jet, but three in total for the Air Force?
STEVE ELLIS, VICE PRESIDENT, TAXPAYERS FOR COMMON SENSE: Well, when I saw that in the bill, I noticed that first off, it had specified that these two additional jets go to two particular units that actually just had their squadron named. But when you dug into it, you saw that they were going to Andrews Air Force base and we're about to spend $133 million so Congress will have nice Gulfstream jets, the same things that the CEOs fly around in, to travel in comfort. COLLINS: Yes. In fact, there was quite a bit of outrage from this same exact committee with the auto executives. Let's listen in to some sound from that for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GARY ACKERMAN (D), NEW YORK: Couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet pooled or something to get here? It would have at least sent the message that you do get it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Hmm. So, if Congress goes through with this, which they have already approved it, isn't this a kind of "do as we say, not as we do" scenario?
ELLIS: Yes, you could say that Congress is sending a message, as well, which is, hey, even though the rest of the country is strapped for cash and they're putting off big expenditures, Congress is bellying up to the bar and asking for two additional aircrafts so that they can fly in comfort and luxury that they rightfully criticized the Big Three automaker CEOs for doing.
COLLINS: So, wait. Let's be fair about this, of course, because we probably need to reserve a brain cell for the possibility that congressional members absolutely do need to travel on jets like these. Is it some sort of security issue?
ELLIS: No. There are certainly security issues and there could be logistics issues both between -- you know, this is not just for members of Congress. Also Pentagon brass. But certainly there are cases and instances where this would make sense, but it isn't like they don't already have jets.
COLLINS: Well, that's what I was going to say. If the Pentagon has done this study, as they do, they are very careful about how they spend their money and they have their own budget and they ask for one, but get three. Are they happy about it?
ELLIS: I don't know if I would say the Pentagon is always careful how they spend their money. But in this case, they always have more than they need.
They only asked for one, there is a placement schedule, and Congress is essentially accelerating that so that they can get these sooner. And not only that, these aren't all located in the D.C. area. These type of aircraft are in various units around the country, and so they specified these had to go to these units so that Congress could get the nice aircraft or at least get first dibs on it.
COLLINS: All right. Well, Steve, we sure do appreciate your time here this morning. Thank you very much.
ELLIS: Thank you.
COLLINS: Also, should let you know, according to our reporting, this isn't the only aircraft we're talking about. Apparently, the Pentagon wanted three 737-type passenger planes. They asked for three, and the House approved five. So, we will continue to follow this story and try to figure out what's going on here.
Meanwhile, we very much, as always want to hear from you on this. What do you think about Congress approving $200 million of taxpayer money for these Gulfstream jets? in fact, we have got a lot of responses. Let's head over to the Heidi Mac and take a look at the blog comments.
The first one says this. Suzanne: "I think it's inexcusable and shows the hypocrisy of congressional members and the lack of consideration they have for the citizens they are supposed to represent." And another one, here from Kay. "No, this is an unneeded waste of taxpayer dollars. They money needs to be spent on something that can benefit our country and the people, not for three luxury jets."
And finally: "Before weighing in on the new Gulfstream planes, I think we need to know something about the condition of the existing aircraft. How much time is on those engines, how old are the planes, how airworthy?" We just heard from Steve there that they're not replacing old jets, these are all three new aircraft.
You can always give us your feedback. We love it right here. CNN.com/heidi. Or give us a call at the "Hotline to Heidi" and that number is 1-877-742-5760.
Forty years later, Charles Manson is still in prison along with members of his so-called "family." Still hiding secrets about their brutal killing spree.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme is getting out of prison. You'll remember, she was convicted in 1975 for the attempted assassination of then-president Gerald Ford. She had a gun but never fired. The now 60-year-old Fromme gets out on parole one week from Sunday.
Squeaky Fromme probably (ph) declared himself a member of Charles Manson's family, but she wasn't there 40 years ago when the Manson family burst into the spotlight with a series of brutal murders. Four decades later, questions remain. Was the family responsible for even more murders? CNN's Ted Rowlands takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you guilty of any murders?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, speculation has swirled that the nine murders linked to Charles Manson and his followers could be just the tip of the iceberg. That more victims, possibly runaways or others who came in contact with the Manson family may have been murdered. According to prosecutors, Manson family members at one time alluded to as many as 35 victims. (on camera): If there are other Manson victims, the theory is that they could have been buried at one of the Manson family hideouts. Right now we're at the Spawn Ranch. This is where the Manson family was before the Tate-LaBianca murders. This used to be an old movie set. There were buildings right in here that were all wiped out by a fire, but the theory is just over this ridge, there could be gravesites.
KITTY COX, CARETAKER, SPAWN RANCH: This is where they lived. Right on the riverbed.
ROWLANDS (voice-over) : Kiddy Cox is a caretaker at Spawn Ranch.
(on camera): Do you think there are bodies out here?
COX: I think there could be.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): The other place people believe there may be more Manson victims is Death Valley, the Barker Ranch where Manson was eventually arrested. When we traveled there last year, we met Emmett Harder, a gold prospector who met Manson and some of his followers, including Tex Watson. Harder said one story he was told by a Manson follower made him believe there are bodies here.
EMMITT HARDER, KNEW MANSON AT BARKER RANCH: This one girl didn't get along with Manson or Ross at all, and they took her for a walk. And they came back in a short distance and we never saw her again.
ROWLANDS: Paul Basti (ph), a former police detective, brought his cadaver dog, Buster, to both the Barker and Spawn Ranches. Basti said Buster located potential gravesites in both places.
The local sheriff authorized a dig at Barker Ranch last year but nothing was located. One person who would know is Charles "Tex" Watson, Manson's right hand man. We wrote to him in prison and received this letter back that says, in part, "I was the first family member to go to the desert after the murders and, also, the first to leave. I say this only to let you know that no one was killed while I was in the desert, but I don't know what took place after I left."
Over the years, none of the Manson family members have ever said anything specific about other victims, and they are the only ones who may ever know.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Make sure you catch "ANDERSON COOPER 360" tonight for part two of the series on the Manson murders 40 years later. "AC 360" comes your way tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is holding talks today with the president of Somalia's new transitional government. The meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, is part of Clinton's seven-nation tour of Africa. Earlier, she talked about the political struggles of Kenya and other African nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: The fact is that Kenya has not fulfilled its economic promise, and I believe in part because it hasn't yet realized fully what it means to have a functioning, dynamic democracy and a free press and an independent judiciary and a sense of future gains from present-day sacrifice among the people who have run the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Clinton's Africa trip will include stops in South Africa, Nigeria and Liberia. On CNN Sunday, Secretary of State Clinton talks about the global dangers that keep her up at night. "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" Sunday, 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
A Kodak moment for former president Bill Clinton one day after securing the release of American journalists held in North Korea. He'll be back home in New York today. The former president and leading drug manufacturers will make an announcement in Harlem about HIV and AIDS. We'll keep you posted on that one.
Health care, the economy, and foreign affairs. You can grade the president on his second 100 days in office. Cast your vote now at CNN.com/reportcard and get the results from CNN's "National Report Card" tonight, 8:00 Eastern.
I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Mr. Don Lemon.
