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Plan for the Poor; Stimulus Project
Aired January 26, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): ... with its public relations.
NANCY STERLING, SPOKESWOMAN, AGGREGATE INDUSTRIES: The company took it extremely seriously. It's a very different company than it was prior to the big dig. There are new managers, new owners and a whole new corporate ethics and compliance policy in place. We paid the fine and part of the reason that we agreed to settle was so that we would be able to continue to do work for the government.
GRIFFIN: It is right there in the agreement worked out by the U.S. attorney, the Massachusetts attorney general and the Federal Department of Transportation. No cutoff from government contracts for Aggregate. There was nothing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation could do legally, a spokesperson says, to prevent the contractor from coming back to bid on new contracts.
Conviction or not, Aggregate is back, the lowest bidder, and, therefore, the winner of some $10 million to repave some roads.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Top stories now. When it comes to protecting Americans, the federal government is falling short. That's according to a commission that measured U.S. progress for goals outlined in the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. Response time to biological attacks flunks. Oversight of high containment laboratories passes barely.
The German Chancellor Merkel has just committed 500 more troops to help fight insurgents in Afghanistan. That's on top of the 4,200 already there. Merkel says that the new troops will work in security and trainers.
And it's been two weeks since Haiti's earthquake. New video exclusive to CNN shows the moments right after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is crazy. I just got hit.
PHILLIPS: The quake killed or injured tens of thousands of people and displaced many more. Yesterday relief organizations, Samaritans Purse, loaded a barge with more than 200 tons of heavy lifting equipment. It will be sent to Haiti to help remove the rubble and rebuild.
A big car company with a very lofty goal, General Motors, says that it will become the first major car maker to design and manufacture electric motors in the U.S.. GM's electric motor will roll out in a new line of hybrid vehicles in 2013.
Whoa, Nellie. The president has a plan to rein in spending. He'll unveil it during tomorrow's State of the Union address. CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us live now. So, Suzanne, have you been able to get any details about what he is definitely going to talk about? And any inside scoop on who's writing, how long it's taking, kind of the situation room of the speech writing?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We got a little bit of inside scoop on all of that too. I want to first tell you a little about the critical part of the speech and that is, of course, the announcement that he's going to be freezing discretionary spending for three years. It does not include, exempts some major departments, that of course being Homeland Security, Defense as well as Veterans Affairs. Doesn't include some of the non-discretionary spending as well. Big entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid as well as social security.
This is a very controversial proposal, Kyra, because obviously you're going to be taking a look at some major cuts here. We have already heard from the former Labor secretary under the Clinton administration Robert Reich, who says this is just not a good idea. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT REICH, FMR. LABOR SECRETARY: I don't think it makes much sense, Larry, and I'll tell you why. The government under the circumstances we now face is the purchaser of last resort. Consumers are not buying. They're still scared for good reason. Businesses are not investing very much. They don't want to invest if there are not consumers out there. So government is going to spend. You know, this is something that a lot of people have difficulty understanding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Kyra, Republicans, some Republicans are saying that these freezes are not enough. Democrats on the other side saying this is too much. And what is this essentially do? Why is the White House even doing this? It is because it will appeal more to the right. It will attract those fiscally conservative Democrats, the independents that the president is losing as well as some Republicans.
White House and the president they need to do that if they're going to get anything done legislatively, the president acknowledging that, that he wants that kind of bipartisan support and that's part of the reason why health care reform had failed. This is what he told Diane Sawyer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had to make so many decisions quickly, in a very difficult set of circumstances, that after a while we started worrying more about getting the policy right than getting the process right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And Kyra, you asked about some of those behind-the- scenes details. The president is going through by hand, handwritten notes, writing out some of the drafts of the speech. The number of drafts countless. They have lost count at this point, but he's working with his major speech writers to sit down, some of this done on the computer. Later is when he's going to start practicing that speech in the theater.
But this is something that goes back to November when his team first started to lay all of this out. Now they're working in earnest to get all those details tinkering away at something that they consider to be one of the most critical addresses to the country in his young presidency. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thanks so much.
Don't ask, do tell. Another thing on the president's "State of the Union" agenda. Senator Carl Levins says if President Obama will discuss the military's don't ask, don't tell policy during the speech. But Levin says he doesn't know exactly what's going to be said. So stay tuned. In the past, you know, the president has said he would end that policy.
Watch it here tomorrow night. CNN's primetime coverage begins at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific. You'll see the whole speech and analysis afterward.
You think drunk drivers are a danger, then hear this. Researchers say that drivers who text are twice as likely to be in accidents as drivers who were legally drunk. Still don't believe texting is a distraction? Check out this PSA. We had to edit out the violent climax, by the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Dave. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not even funny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just get his number.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now the federal government is cracking down on texting truck and bus drivers. Starting today people who text while driving commercial vehicles may face penalties of up to $2,750. There's no word yet on how the ban will be enforced.
Poor people are just like animals. OK, South Carolina's Lieutenant Governor didn't say it just like that, but pretty darn close. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF LT. GOV. ANDRE BAUER (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: But the problem is, there's so many folks now that don't have to do a thing. In government we continue to reward bad behavior. Any time we give somebody money, we're rewarding them. We're telling them to keep doing what they're doing.
My grandmother was not a highly educated woman but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem. If you give an animal or person ample food supply, they will reproduce, especially one that don't think too much further than that. And so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Needless to say that didn't sit very well with a lot of people but Andre Bauer isn't backing down, although he admits his metaphor was a bit messy. Joining me to talk about the foot-and-mouth moment, Frank Sesno, director of the school of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University and CNN education contributor, Steve Perry.
Now, Frank says if I remember correctly, because go back a long time, you covered welfare reform I believe in the '90s. You know, so this guy didn't even get his facts straight.
FRANK SESNO, FMR. CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Look, welfare reform was built around the idea of personal responsibility so he's on to something there and he's certainly tapping into that strain. You know, the bill that was actually signed by Bill Clinton, who ran on ending welfare as we know it was called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.
So, you know, getting in on this notion of ending dependency on government, breaking the cycle, he's on to something there, it's just that it's utterly inelegant the way he expressed himself but it will resonate with some of his voters.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: But I thought when welfare reform passed in '96 that you were on it for a while but then you have to get off of it.
SESNO: You're on it for a while, you have to get off. There are work fair elements in it. The whole idea behind it was to break the very dependency that Bauer was railing against. But there's a lot of folks out there who still believe that government programs encourage dependency, that they're still on the wrong track and as many people in the conservative community say, you know, we fought the war on poverty and poverty won. That these government programs fundamentally don't work. A lot of distrust about those. PHILLIPS: So Steve, is this racist or just stupid? Because if you look at the numbers of the people on welfare, it's mostly white people, right?
STEVE PERRY, CNN'S EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it is. I don't know this is comments are necessarily just inelegant, I think they're profoundly disgusting. I think they're reprehensible and is in fact, an embarrassment not just to his state but his grandmother. I don't imagine that she expected that the analogy would be used to describe people who are attempting to come up out of poverty.
When we see many of the programs that are used to support people in poverty ultimately benefit the children. So does he say that he doesn't want it the programs to benefit the children anymore or private businesses who receive these vouchers in payment whether they be through food stamps or through public housing vouchers.
PHILLIPS: So, Steve, can anyone, whether it's Andre Bauer or anybody else in his support staff or anybody that supports him make sense of this or is this just completely indefensible?
PERRY: You can make sense of any nonsense. I work with children every day so I hear children decide to explain away the most foolish things, but in the end dumb is dumb. And this is where the voters of South Carolina have to make a decision. Is this the man who you want representing you in any way, shape or form?
PHILLIPS: We'll pick up from there in 90 seconds. Frank Sesno, Steve Perry, stay with me.
Plus what do you think? Dying to know here. Go to my blog, cnn.com/kyra. Post your thoughts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: (INAUDIBLE) South Carolina's Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer basically equating them to wild animals. Let's continue our discussion.
CNN contributor Steve Perry with us and Frank Sesno, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington university. All right, guys, should he get the boot? Frank.
SESNO: Should he get the booty? Certainly, he should get the boot in terms of the way it's being discussed in public. And if this taps into, you know, the way he thinks and the way he operates, the voters are going to have to decide. The guy is running for governor.
By the way, this is in a state with an unemployment rate over 12.5 percent. So this may not be a very smart thing to say when a lot of hard working people, who have never been on government assistance before and your friends and neighbors are on it too now too and that's the lifeline. So this could be very dangerous stuff to be out there with.
PHILLIPS: Steve Perry? PERRY: Student financial aid is government assistance. There are quite a number of programs that we're very proud of. In fact it appears that the lieutenant governor himself was on some form of financial assistance. And so for him to then go and trash the very systems that made it possible for him to become a lieutenant governor is disgusting.
I don't see how anybody in his state could find a reason to vote for a man who believes that these things -- he's not backing down because he believes it. So on some level I respect the fact that he's staying with the foolishness. He's not coming up with some apology because he doesn't really feel sorry.
SESNO: Just remember that gaffes aren't always fatal. OK. What did Harry Reid say about President Obama when he was -- you know, looking at his candidacy. It didn't do him. What did Ronald Reagan say about welfare queens when he was running? OK. So this is sort of a proud tradition of open mouth, insert foot in politics.
PHILLIPS: OK. We'll see. So who's worse, Mark Sanford with his love in Argentina cheating on his wife or is it Andre Bauer saying hey, you know, people on welfare, they're like wild animals. Guys, what do you think?
SESNO: You can't make this stuff up.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Steve?
PERRY: I'm going to leave that to Sanford's wife, and I'll let the voters decide on the part of Mr. Bauer.
PHILLIPS: Oh, Mr. Perry, so politically correct there on that.
PERRY: I try to stay out of grown folks' business.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I hear you. I know.
SESNO: I'm going to say -- I'll venture to answer that one, Kyra. I'm going to say that a governor going AWOL for five days rates higher on the scale of just don't do this as somebody opening his mouth and shoving his foot in like this.
PHILLIPS: Yes. He's comparing compassion to cruelty, it's just plain out wrong.
Frank Sesno.
SESNO: You don't talk about people like animals. I mean, you just don't do that.
PHILLIPS: Amen. Steve Perry, final thought?
PERRY: There is the final thought. These are people. People are attempting to make their lives better and who the government has said, who we the community have said that we're going to help them because we're a humane society. To malign them because they're attempting to use the resources, the very ladder that we put in place to move them forward is disgusting. It's reprehensible and fortunately each voter gets an opportunity to make their point known.
PHILLIPS: Got it. Steve Perry, Frank Sesno, great discussion, guys. Thanks so much. I really appreciate you both.
PERRY: Thank you.
SESNO: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And we want to know what you think of the lieutenant governor's comments. Post your comments on my blog, CNN.com/kyra and I'll read some of them throughout the hour.
Your money, their decisions. We're going to look at how Washington is spending that stimulus money. This week our colleagues are shining light on a number of projects that you just may not believe. Yes, some of the stuff is unbelievable. Imagine that. Back in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: What are we doing? All right. All this week rolling out a special project here at CNN, looking at how $158 billion in stimulus money is being spent. It's your money, after all. So we're talking nearly 57,000 projects. So some (INAUDIBLE) on the scene, some so much.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT, STIMULUS DESK: Yes.
PHILLIPS: I'm sorry I don't know what camera I'm supposed to look at, I'm going with the flow here, pal.
HOLMES: We just chatted up here.
PHILLIPS: You have to tell me what's going on.
HOLMES: I'll tell you what's going on.
PHILLIPS: Tell me about the projects.
HOLMES: What we told you about yesterday, people questioned a million dollars going to give researchers money so they could go to Argentina to study plant fossils.
PHILLIPS: Right.
HOLMES: OK. Is that really what the money is meant for? Well, a good thing about this project that we're doing at the stimulus desk, we are getting feedback. People are coming back and we're getting answers essentially to those questions. And we got calls from people we did some of these projects about and said hey, I'd like to defend my project. OK.
PHILLIPS: Are we going to do that now?
HOLMES: We're going to let them do it right now. Peter Wilf is with us. He is one of the lead investigators on this project we were talking about yesterday. There he is, joins us via Skype.
PHILLIPS: Are we going to walk over there?
HOLMES: We can hang right here.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Right here and take a look at it. Peter, we appreciate you coming on. He's the lead investigator of this project. So sir, thank you for being here.
PETER WILF, PENN STATE PALEOBOTANIST: Thanks very much, T.J..
HOLMES: I'll ask you the simple question. A lot of people know about that stimulus bill and they heard it's supposed to create jobs and get the economy going. So you explain to us how your project is going to do either one of those things.
WILF: Well, first of all, I'm no economist but I strongly feel and many reports have sown that support the basic science and very diverse science as fundamental to our national success. Paleontology is a basic science. It's how we learn about the history of our planet, the life on it.
We're making fundamental discoveries about the southern half of our climate and how it has changed through time, climate and the biodiversity (INAUDIBLE) through time. The appeal of our work is fairly clear. It's been widely covered in the media actually.
HOLMES: Now, we hear (INAUDIBLE) Peter.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Go ahead.
WILF: Yes. This is submitted not to some kind of stimulus czar. This is submitted as a normal science proposal to the National Science Foundation before the stimulus plan existed. This is a (INAUDIBLE) science proposal that was rated very highly for its quality and the National Science Foundation received a large supplement in last fiscal year to fund basic research. And the National Science Foundation chose to fund this project out of the stimulus allotment which was given to many different science agencies (INAUDIBLE).
PHILLIPS: So Peter, let me ask you, bottom line in a sentence or two, what are we going to get for our money? What are you going to give us for our money?
WILF: Well, in addition to the science I want to make really clear I reviewed the budget for this. 90 percent of the funds are spent in the U.S.A. For example, how do you think we got to Argentina to collect the fossils and work with our colleagues there. We fly on U.S. air carriers.
Every time we buy an instrument, every time we buy chemicals, we're buying them from U.S. suppliers. Furthermore we're supporting the work of excellent students and post-docs who are training them to become scientists in their own right and train other people. So those are concrete (INAUDIBLE) --
PHILLIPS: OK. We're going to get some new smart scientists.
HOLMES: Peter, answer this as well. Because you said you didn't apply for this under stimulus funding. You applied through the normal channels before the stimulus even came about. So do you believe your project even belongs under the purview of stimulus?
WILF: It's not for me to judge but...
HOLMES: What do you think? Come on, Peter.
PHILLIPS: You want the money. You've got the money. You're not going to say you don't want the money. Come on, Peter.
WILF: It was included as a small part of the stimulus initiative. I want to mention this is not just for me, this is for 17 investigators and their students. It's not just for Penn State but for many institutions. We are stimulating the economy. We have numerous people working under this grant. The money is circulating, 90 percent of it, back into the U.S. economy and we also feel that exciting science is good for the U.S. economy.
So, yes, I'm proud now that we are in the stimulus program. I'm proud of it and I'm happy to wear the badge. Thanks.
HOLMES: And I want to make sure we have it right. How many or any jobs saved or created here?
WILF: Well, as I said, we're fully funding students and post-doc who would not otherwise be funded and these are people -- that includes all of their financial support, training them to become scientists in their own right.
HOLMES: So any jobs saved or created though? I know it's helping them, but any jobs saved or created? We see that smile on Skype.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if you can answer that question.
HOLMES: When you pay someone to be a student or post-doc is that not a job as well as an education? And we have a large number of contractors, part-time workers so, you know, I feel that this money is circulating back into the U.S. economy even though the site of the work is overseas.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Peter.
HOLMES: Peter, we absolutely appreciate it. That's the whole point of this week is to get some answers and to let people defend the projects they're doing. And we absolutely appreciate you coming on. So, Kyra. There you go. That is --
PHILLIPS: I'm still going to join him on the trip to Mendoza for the (INAUDIBLE) wine from Argentina. See, he's smiling.
HOLMES: We're not going to fund your trip.
PHILLIPS: OK. All right. I guess, I got to do that on my own. Thank you, T.J..
HOLMES: Yes, you do.
PHILLIPS: We'll be talking again.
HOLMES: All right.
PHILLIPS: Well, if there's nothing else, the stimulus has pushed the term shovel ready into our lexicon. Here's a look at our continuing coverage from the stimulus project. Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING $5.5 million to fix up a resort town. Are you OK with that? Is it a good use of your taxes? Well, one woman is happy to have it.
And tonight on Campbell Brown, 8:00 Eastern, is the stimulus working for your average American? Well, an exclusive interview with Earl Devaney. He's actually the man, the watch dog or that the president assigned to oversee the stimulus plan. He's the watchdog stimulus guy.
Then at 10:00 Eastern, "AC 360" investigates why stimulus money is being wasted on roadsides that aren't really needed but they sure are pretty. The stimulus project all this week only on CNN and at cnn.com/stimulus.
So many children needing help in Haiti right now and so many tough decisions. Baby Patricia was flown out to Miami but so many others are left behind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's now been two weeks since Haiti as we knew it was shattered. Here's some exclusive video that just came in to CNN showing the moments just after that powerful earthquake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is crazy. I just got hit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: At least 200,000 are dead and that's just an early estimate. Almost the same number were injured. The U.N. says that around a million people are now homeless, and that includes Haiti's president. He says he'll live in a tent and is trying to highlight the desperate need for tents in Haiti. Meanwhile his people say where have you been all this time.
$3 billion to rebuild. That's what Haiti wants from the international community. Representatives from the major donor nations heard the plea during a meeting in Montreal. More than a billion dollars already pledged.
On the spot, life and death decisions are putting doctors in very tough positions. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, just back from covering the earthquake and she joins me for our first debrief. First of all, really great work. That must have been quite an experience.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It was quite an experience to be there and it was quite an experience to see these doctors, this rag-tag group of doctors, didn't plan to do this, coming down and saving lives and making extremely difficult decisions about who was going to live and who was going to have to stay behind in Haiti and not live, because they did manage to get some patients out.
PHILLIPS: And we'll talk more about that too and just the resources. You did so many various live shots and reports on the doctors not getting what they need. But a very memorable story, baby Patricia.
COHEN: Right. Let's talk about baby Patricia. Because last time we left her, she was on her way. OK. I want you to look at this. The baby is down there, she has just come into the hospital and they are really not sure they're going to save her. Someone said we've got a baby, we don't think she's going to make it. One of the doctors, a doctor by the name of Karen Schneider from Johns Hopkins Hospital, she couldn't even get an IV in her. This girl was so dehydrated.
And if they couldn't get an IV, they couldn't save her. So what Karen did, was she put an IV through her bone marrow. Putting an IV through a bone marrow is a very difficult thing to do. They really wanted to save this child. That's Karen there with the short-sleeve green t-shirt and the long hair. Karen is also a nun so she has been on many of these missions before. And then what happened was there was this huge discussion among the doctors whether or not to bring her to Miami.
They said this child is not going to live here in Haiti, we need to get her to Miami and some of the doctors said absolutely not. She won't survive the trip in our private plane. We need to save that spot for a patient who will survive the trip and there was a big discussion. And the doctor who wanted her there basically won and got her on that plane to Miami.
PHILLIPS: So how did she get the name Patricia? I'm assuming that came from somebody. And how is she now?
COHEN: Well, we're told she's doing very well now. She's in intensive care in a hospital in Miami. And she was an orphan. They had no idea what her name was. So the doctor who wanted so desperately to get her to that plane, he was in the ambulance and he said to the -- ambulance, in the ambulance --
PHILLIPS: The back of the truck more likely. COHEN: Exactly, and said to the ambulance driver if you can get this baby to the plane on time, we will name this baby after you and the ambulance driver's name was Patricia.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my God.
COHEN: That's why her name is...
PHILLIPS: I just got a lump in my throat. I didn't know that story.
COHEN: Right.
PHILLIPS: OK. So I don't know if you know this or not, but what's going to happen to her with regard to a family or do we know yet?
COHEN: Who knows? I mean technically she's in the United States illegally. They shouldn't have brought her. And they said we're willing to take that risk. One doctor said you can arrest me. He put his hands up, he said you can arrest me, I'm bringing this baby to Miami. She's not a ward of the state, she's not a --
PHILLIPS: That doctor needs to be able to adopt that baby, let me tell you. Patricia, there we go. Before we go. What's the most powerful moment for you? I mean, what are you never going to forget. I remember you during 9/11 and how that really touched you. This has been a pretty -- your second really big disaster that you've had to dive right into.
COHEN: You forgot about Katrina, you forgot Virginia Tech. So, yes, there have been others.
PHILLIPS: I just remembered the first time I saw you and I remember seeing you here. It's in my mind.
COHEN: I think there are two things that I'll never forget. And one is the bravery of these patients. I mean, these are people -- there were two women with broken pelvises and all they were getting was morphine by mouth, which does not take care of the pain. They spent a week lying on a cot with a broken pelvis that nobody could fix. They were screaming in pain but still brave.
I mean they just laid there and they just sort of took it. They knew they had to take it. And even the kids were brave. These patients were incredibly resilient. I think if these were American patients, oh, my goodness --
PHILLIPS: They'd be suing.
COHEN: They'd be suing. Exactly, right.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Exactly. Exactly.
PHILLIPS: That's pretty amazing.
COHEN: ... that's true.
And the bravery of the patients and the bravery of those doctors. They were not trained to do this. They did not come under the auspices of the U.S. government. They just got on a plane and said hey, let's start a hospital and they did it and they saved hundreds of lives. I'm glad you're back home.
COHEN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Elizabeth.
All right. More from CNN NEWSROOM, straight ahead.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, you get so many stories here from us during these two hours of our newscast, but we also go a lot to our web page, CNN.com, and there's a specific icon I want to tell you about, something we go to every morning called "News Pulse." If you go to CNN.com, go to the top, come over to the left, push that, you're going to get the most popular stories that you are looking at online right now. And we just refreshed it.
The most popular story right now, imagine this, Tiger Woods. Remember that story? Kind of went away for a while but that's what you are talking about and looking at right now. Apparently with the title "New Tiger Bombshell: Did Tiger Really Put His Wife on the Phone with his Mistress in an Attempt to Convince Her That He Wasn't Cheating?" Go to CNN.com, press "News Pulse," you'll get that. Second most popular story right now, "GM to Make Electric Motors in the U.S." Third most popular story, "Home Prices: First Drop in Seven Months.
And then of course it continues to go on, but here's another one I want to read you a couple more details from. Remember Nancy Kerrigan, remember the whole ice skating disaster, Tonya Harding, et cetera, et cetera? Well, listen to this. Kerrigan's brother jailed in father's death. Apparently, the father of this American figure skating, Nancy Kerrigan, is dead and her brother is behind bars actually accused of assault and battery against the 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan.
There you go. CNN.com, go to "News Pulse," and see the most popular stories right now.
It's a way, too, if we have missed a story, at least we know what you're logging on to and can tell you about it. Newspulse.com. The page is updated every 15 minutes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, this week we're digging. Actually we're always digging into stories, but we're looking at how your tax dollars are being spent in the stimulus package. Our business correspondent, Christine Romans, here with pork spending now that even fiscal vegetarians might be able to stomach. What do you think, Christine?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is real pork, not the smelly, D.C. pork. This is the real thing, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: The stuff in the diner?
ROMANS: It comes in a can, actually. But yeah. We know the stimulus money is going to obvious things like fixing roads, saving teacher jobs, but it's also, Kyra, helping to put food on the plates of struggling Americans.
Some of the biggest names in the food industry got big-cash contracts to stock food banks across the country, so we followed your money from the Treasury straight to the plates of struggling Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT CARLUCCI, FOOD BANK CLIENT: Thank you so much.
ROMANS (voice-over): Robert Carlucci never thought he'd carry home his groceries in a box from a food pantry. This single father of two from rural Franklin, North Carolina, lost his job as a carpenter more than a year ago. And now, like 18 million other unemployed Americans, he struggles to make ends meet.
CARLUCCI: I can't believe I'm here. I mean, I'm the one that's usually donating around Thanksgiving time and Christmas time. And now here I am, I'm needing that. And it was just surreal.
ROMANS: Carlucci's dinners are now paid for in part with $100 million of stimulus money, awarded by the government to food companies you've heard of like Del Monte, Jennie-O and Tyson to make food for overburdened food banks. But the biggest influx of cash went to little known Lakeside Foods, one of Wisconsin's largest companies. It received more than $21 million to make, among other things, canned pork.
Lakeside declined to talk to CNN, so we went to their factory in Plainview, Minnesota, to find out how employees feel about the lucrative contract.
STEVE KOHN, LAKESIDE FOODS EMPLOYEE: It's great. It helps the company out a lot.
JEROME DEFRANG, LAKESIDE FOODS EMPLOYEE: I heard they received some money but I didn't have an idea of how much it was.
ROMANS: It was enough, according to our government sources, to create 52 new jobs. Overall, the Department of Agriculture tells CNN the entire $100 million for food companies created 195 jobs. For Kitty Schaller, head of the Manna Food Bank in Asheville, North Carolina, her priority is feeding people.
KITTY SCHALLER, MANNA FOOD BANK: It is not a waste of taxpayer money. The economic stimulus package has helped us to provide for the most basic needs for people who are truly in need.
ROMANS (on camera): Her food bank gladly took that canned pork, where demand is up 40 percent. So did thousands of other food banks across the country. But is this stimulus?
ROBERT RECTOR, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: This is clearly a type of welfare. It's a welfare expansion.
ROMANS (voice-over): Robert Rector, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, approves of using federal money for food banks. But he argues the entire stimulus bill merely expands welfare.
RECTOR: It does help support people who've lost their jobs and that's a good thing, but it's not going to put more jobs back into the economy.
ROMANS: Steven Kyle, a professor of economics at Cornell disagrees, saying there's also a ripple effect.
STEVEN KYLE, ECONOMIST, CORNELL UNIV.: Sure it's stimulating the economy. That food is produced here in the United States. That stimulates the U.S. economy. Those farmers then end up with more money, and they turn around and buy more equipment, hire more laborers, maybe they buy themselves a new Caterpillar tractor. Who knows?
CARLUCCI: I'm barely making it.
ROMANS: As for Robert Carlucci, the stimulus bill may not have given him a job, but it did give him and his daughters, Samantha and Alison, from going hungry.
CARLUCCI: My kids have to eat. We all have to eat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: And that's what this part of the stimulus was meant to do, Kyra. $100 million of stimulus money for food companies that helped create 195 jobs. That's according to the Department of Agriculture.
And I'm so pleased to be able to give you this great update from Robert. He tells us he just got a new job after being out of work for 13 months. He's a carpenter, we told you. He'll be building log cabins. So, Kyra, hopefully that shows at least for some people after a long drought, there are starting to become some opportunities out there.
PHILLIPS: Did you say he's going to be building log cabins?
ROMANS: Yes, using his carpentry skills on log cabins.
PHILLIPS: Hey, I like that. Yes, let's make a bid. Let's get him to build one for us. A little weekend getaway. Thanks, Christine, that's great news.
Here's a look at our continuing coverage from "The Stimulus Project." Tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," $5.5 million to fix up a resort town? Tonight on "CAMPBELL BROWN," 8:00 Eastern, is the stimulus working for average Americans? An exclusive interview with the man President Obama picked to oversee the stimulus plan.
Then 10:00 Eastern, "AC 360," investigating why stimulus money is being wasted on unnecessary road signs. "The Stimulus Project." All this week only on CNN and at CNN.com/stimulus.
Know of stimulus money that's just being flushed down the toilet or could better be spent in your hometown? Well, we want to hear about it. Call our Stimulus Desk tip line, 1-800-CNN-TIPS. One viewer's call already has one of our news crews out and working today, so how about that? A shovel-ready news story. 1-800-CNN-TIPS for the CNN Stimulus Tip Line.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. Three straight days of dry weather for southern California, but a fourth not in the cards. The latest on the storm hitting the West, that's coming up in about 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let me make one thing clear, Jacqui Jeras, you're not cold as ice. We're talking about the bad weather for the West Coast.
JERAS: Thank you for that because I think our viewers were a little concerned for a minute....
PHILLIPS: Where is she going with that music?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Sounds great. Thanks, Jacqui.
In Connecticut this morning, the animal research technician charged with killing a Yale grad student expected to plead not guilty. Police accused Raymond Clark of strangling 24-year-old Annie Le and then stuffing her body behind a wall.
The last surviving member of the Bonanza Boys has died. Actor Pernell Roberts passed away Sunday at his home in Malibu, California. Depending on your age, you knew him either as Adam Cartwright from NBC's famous Western or in later years as trucker John M.D. on CBS. He had been battling cancer. Pernell Roberts dead at the age of 81.
You got jobs? We've got job seekers. IT, health care, finance experts. Their "30-Second Pitch straight ahead." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Time now for the "30-Second Pitch." Every week, we try to get you a job. Richard Jovesky lost his IT job last May. He had the position for 12 years. He's in New York this morning.
Then we've got Eddie Turner who worked as a health care analyst until he lost his job in December 2007. He's joining us from Chicago.
And Lyle Nasser was a financial analyst for an HMO until last February when he was laid off. He's joining us from Denver.
Guys, thanks so much. Eddie, let's start with you. Tell me what the heck happened. Did you see it coming?
EDDIE TURNER, JOB SEEKER: No, I didn't. But in December 2007, I was working as a senior help desk analyst for General Electric right here in Chicago.
PHILLIPS: And so were you prepared at all financially? Did you feel the effects immediately?
TURNER: No. I was prepared. I've tried to follow good fiscal discipline and follow the rule of having six months salary, eight months salary put away. But didn't think that the vicissitudes of the economy would last this long.
PHILLIPS: Sure. Richard, what about you?
RICHARD PACHOVSKY, JOB SEEKER: Well, we had a five-year plan, and we kind of expected that something was coming on with the economy, so we're holding on own.
PHILLIPS: Were you able to have a good savings account to that point, or has it been a struggle?
PACHOVSKY: Well, I had a good severance package and, like I said, we put in a long-term financial plan and with frugal spending and putting some money aside, we're doing all right.
PHILLIPS: Lyle, how about you?
LYLE NASSER, JOB SEEKER: Well, one of the things when the economy started going down, people start losing their health care coverage. So, members to the HMO were pretty much dropping off. So, it sort of got to a point to where cuts would come eventually.
PHILLIPS: So you -- were you prepared financially, or was it an immediate struggle for you? We're not always ready for this. Our savings accounts aren't always ready to go.
NASSER: I was not ready for this. But I've coped.
PHILLIPS: Wow. All right, guys, let's get right to it then. Eddie Turner, let's start with you. Look straight into the camera, you've got 30 seconds. Give us your pitch. TURNER: Well, I am extremely passionate about technology and learning. And I am very interested in using my years of experience in technology support and teaching, combined with my Northwestern education, to help manage an organization's technology project team. Or an organization that has a learning and development department -- I'd love to help them power up their employee engagement through the use of technologies such as social media and the Apple iPhone.
(BELL RINGING)
PHILLIPS: Look at that. Right on the money. And you're very good with time. All right, Richard Pachovsky, take it away.
PACHOVSKY: Hi. You're looking for someone who has more than just a focus on technology. You're looking for someone who has...
PHILLIPS: That's okay. Go for it, tell us. Just speak to me like we're sitting at the dinner table. Go ahead, Richard. What do you have? What can you offer?
PACHOVSKY: That...
PHILLIPS: That's okay. Regroup for a second. No problem.
PACHOVSKY: Okay.
PHILLIPS: Go ahead. Take it again.
PACHOVSKY: OK. You're looking for someone who is more than just technology-savvy. Someone who has customer focus and international experience. A person who is a problem solver, analytical yet still has common sense.
I'm that person. I have great customer focus skills and great soft (sic) skills. I have the ability to take end-to-end ownership of a project and the determination to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
PHILLIPS: Fantastic, Richard.
PACHOVSKY: Thank you and...
PHILLIPS: Oh, that's OK. You don't have to thank us. We're going to move right on to Lyle Nasser. Go ahead, Lyle.
NASSER: I'm Lyle Nasser. I'm a results-oriented professional with demonstrated experience in budgeting, capital planning and corporate strategy. I have a BBA in business and an MPA from the CU school of public affairs. I'm looking for a position in health care, nonprofit or a political campaign. If you need someone hard-working and a self-starter, I'm your guy.
PHILLIPS: There we go. Lyle Nasser, Richard Pachovsky and also Eddie Turner. It ain't easy doing live TV, but you guys did great. Gentlemen, keep me posted. Let me know what happens, all right?
PACHOVSKY: Thank you, Kyra.
NASSER AND TURNER: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys.
You can find out more about these folks and get their e-mail addresses by visiting my blog. If you want to be part of our "30- Second Pitch," just send your resume to 30secondpitch@CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes, it was a "gotcha back" moment for a teacher on the court. Students had promised the girls' basketball coach that tickets to the NCAA championship, well, he'd get them if he hit a half-court shot blind folded.
Well, here's the joke. The students were going to cheer to make him think he'd hit it. Watch what happened.
(VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Whoops! Now the joke is on the kids because they never really had the tickets to begin with. One of the players says they'll have to come up with something really special, unless, of course, you've got tickets and want to help these kids out.
Speaking of special, check out the local reporter who was covering the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB LOW, WDAF-TV CORRESPONDENT: What was supposed to be a prank on a teacher instead backfired on the students. A blindfolded half court shot that is now the talk of campus and beyond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Okay, was that real? Rob Low's got some skills. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Controversial comments from South Carolina's lieutenant governor, and he's sticking by his message. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF LT. GOVERNOR ANDRE BAUER (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: But the problem is, there's so many folks now that don't have to do a thing. In government, we continue to reward bad behavior.
Any time we give somebody money, we're rewarding them. We're telling them to keep doing what they're doing.
My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? (INAUDIBLE VOICE)
BAUER: Because they breed! You're facilitating the problem. If you give an animal or person ample food supply, they will reproduce, especially one that don't think too much further than that and so what you've got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don't know any better.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Is your mouth agape, too?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.
PHILLIPS: Yes, wow is right. So stupid.
All right. We wanted your reaction to the governor's comments. Let's get down to it. We've got about 200 e-mails, by the way.
Ryan Lee writes, "Lieutenant governor is spot on. His metaphor was blown out of context by the media. People on public assistance need to curb their breeding practices, white or black, animal behaving or not."
Ellen writes, "What is going on in South Carolina that would cause an elected official to make this comment? This is outrageous, and for these words to be spoken in the U.S. in 2010 is shameful."
John writes, "Very bad metaphor to use. However, we all know what he's referring to. We need to put an end to all, and there are many, who abuse the system and endlessly repeat the cycle."
We love hearing from you. Log on to CNN.com/kyra to share your comments.
Mm-hmm. How do you feel about that, T?
HARRIS: I'm just working everyday to try and find some common ground. Honestly, trying to find people who are like-minded enough to get some stuff done. Try to drive solutions here.
PHILLIPS: You don't compare compassion and cruelty?
HARRIS: I - I...
PHILLIPS: Don't politicians know they're always being recorded?
HARRIS: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: Tony, have a great show.
HARRIS: Yes. Thank you. Let's get started.
