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Democrats Vow to Pass Health Care Reform; Americans Killed in Mexico; Obama Proposing Sweeping Education Overhaul; Justice Thomas' Wife Forms Political Group; Justice Thomas' Wife Forms Political Group; One Town in Georgia Planning to Close its Police Department; TV Station Sends the Country of Georgia into a Mass Panic; Lab Scandal Could Jeopardize Drug Cases
Aired March 14, 2010 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: This evening a White House promise, whether you like it or not, by week's end, your entire health care system will be overhauled.
First it was the president criticizing the Supreme Court. Now one of the justices' wives says harsh words for Mr. Obama. What she said to tea partiers, raising some eyebrows.
Some are saying the Census doesn't make sense. And the billions of dollars it will cost you are better spent elsewhere.
And we take you to a city that may predict the economic future for where you live. Times are so bad it is getting rid of its entire police department.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. We go in depth on the future of health care reform in just a moment. But first, we want to catch you up on some other stories that are making news this hour.
A violent, deadly weekend in Juarez, Mexico. The latest, three people shot to death while leaving a children's party. Two of them Americans. The victims either worked for the U.S. consulate in Juarez, or their spouses did. The White House quickly condemned the killings and vowed to bring the killers to justice. The State Department also sent out an advisory to U.S. consulate workers in Mexico to temporarily send their families out of the country as a precaution.
And it said Americans traveling to Mexico should exercise extreme care and avoid places where drugs or prostitution are likely. In addition to these killings, 25 more victims surfaced in western Mexico yesterday. The bodies of nine civilians and five police officers were found across parts of Acapulco. And a shootout with federal agents trying to carry out search warrants resulted in ten more deaths in another town.
The video of the runaway Prius seemed to be visible proof of the huge problems facing Toyota. But federal tests do not appear to back up the story by the Toyota owner. Jim Sikes claims his gas pedal stuck and the car sped out of control last week on a California freeway before a state trooper helped bring it to a stop. But according to a draft congressional memo, technicians couldn't recreate the same conditions on the car. Sikes claims he slammed on the brakes, but the memo says that does not appear to be feasibly possible. Sikes says that he stands by his story.
It may be several days before hundreds of thousands of people in the northeast get their lights turned back on. This weekend's torrential rains and 70-mile-an-hour winds crumpled homes, toppled trees, and caused five deaths. Rains are weakening, but flooding remains a threat.
The week ahead could bring an end to the marathon Washington debate over health care reform. President Barack Obama has what amounts to one last chance to pass his signature proposal. But Republicans vowed to block it any way they can.
So I want to bring in now our CNN political editor, Mark Preston. He is in Washington tonight.
Mark, I want to start with the president's spokesman and what you might call a great example of staying on message. Here's Robert Gibbs this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This time next week --
This time next week --
This time next week --
This time next week, you all will be talking about health care reform not as a presidential proposal but as something that will soon be the law of the land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Mark, that is a pretty bold statement. Do Democrats have the votes here?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, I don't think they have them in hand right now. But I think in the next couple of days if Democrats are correct in their belief that they will able -- they will be able to get the 216 votes needed to pass health care reform in the House.
I will tell you, there's a lot of arm twisting going on, Don. I've been speaking to Democratic consultants. Over the past week, they've told me that their clients have been actually lobbied on behalf to pass this bill from President Obama. They really do think now. House Democratic leaders, the White House believe that they're just a few votes away from getting to 216.
LEMON: And we shall see. So, Mark, you know, talking about staying on message and the White House machine, I want you to listen to this, and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBS: The president is going to travel to Ohio tomorrow. Near the home town of a woman named Natoma Canfield.
DAVID AXELROD, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR: Natoma Canfield. Natoma Canfield was someone who had insurance in the individual market. She didn't get it through her job. She paid through the nose for it.
GIBBS: She had to decide, she said in that letter to the president, do I keep the house that's been in my family since the '50s, or do I pick health insurance?
AXELROD: She had to choose between her house and her insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So Mark, again, as we say, staying on message here. But is this any indication that they realized that this may be their final shot and just how severe the severity of this, whether it gets passed or not?
PRESTON: You know, Don, what they're trying to do, there is put a human face on that, of course, by invoking that woman's name. They also had a very young child here in Washington, D.C. this past week talking about how his mother was denied health care coverage and she in fact died. Yes, they are on message. This is President Obama's top domestic priority. And the fact is there's very, very little room for error.
LEMON: Yes. And it's not just that, though. It's television ads and, as you said, a lot of arm twisting and a lot of lobbying. So take us behind the scenes and tell us about that.
PRESTON: Sure. The inside game, outside game. The inside game, President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Harry Reid, all trying to arm twist here in Washington, D.C., trying to get members of Congress, Democrats to support health care reform.
The outside game. Outside interest groups, Don, will be spending at least a million dollars a day on TV ads all across the nation either in favor or against health care reform. They really see this as the end. So if you're an opponent, you're trying to stop it. If you're in favor of it, you are trying to get it through. Some of the groups that are doing this, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and then the liberal group Americans United for Change.
And Don, this morning I was at church. We're even hearing it from the pulpit. When I was at church, at the very end the priest said, look, tomorrow we ask you to fast and to pray because we don't like this abortion language in the health care reform bill as we see it. So we're also hearing it from the pulpit, Don.
LEMON: Mark, I know you're good. I'm not sure if you're that good. Do you have a crystal ball? But can you give us a day of when this may be signed or this may happen?
PRESTON: You know, I think it's towards the latter end of the week, perhaps even the weekend. Perhaps it could be a very, very long Saturday for members of Congress. They could actually be forced to stay in to vote on this. So look for the latter end of the week, Don.
LEMON: Mark Preston, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
President Barack Obama wants to take a red pen to the "No Child Left Behind Act."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our future is determined each and every day when our children enter the classroom, ready to learn and brimming with promise. It's that promise --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president's proposing sweeping changes that could have a huge impact on your children.
Plus, a drug war zone right over the U.S. border. A new warning you need to hear if you're traveling to Mexico.
And terrifying moments on a mountain in British Columbia. An avalanche right in the middle of a snowmobile competition.
And it's time for you to become part of this conversation. Make sure you log on to the social networking sites. We'll get your comments on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Two Americans were among three victims this weekend of the deadly violence in Juarez, Mexico. All either worked for the U.S. consulate in Juarez, or their spouses did. The White House quickly condemned the killings and vowed to bring the killers to justice. And the State Department also sent an advisory to U.S. consulate workers in Mexico to temporarily send their families out of Mexico. They're doing that as a precaution.
Juarez in recent years has earned a spot as one of the deadliest cities in the world. But this weekend's killings could represent a disturbing new chapter.
Rafael Romo is CNN's senior editor for Latin American Affairs. Tonight, I spoke with him about what we know about these deadly attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: What we know is that these three people were together at a children's party Saturday morning. After they left, somebody was chasing them, stopped the car and started shooting. It was a female American employee of the American consulate there who was shot along with her husband -- not yet identified by the State Department.
And also, on a separate incident, it was the husband of a Mexican employee of the American consulate there in Juarez.
Now, the State Department is really urging all of their employees in six consulates located across the U.S.-Mexico border to return to the United States for 30 days while they investigate and really find out what's going on, whether drug cartels are indeed targeting Americans or whether there was -- this was some sort of random act.
LEMON: Well, the question is whether or not this is some sort of message that they're sending to the U.S. government or to people who are trying to crackdown on the drug violence there, and the drug trade, I should say.
ROMO: Exactly. And you have to remember, this is Juarez. The reason why we have so much violence is because it's right in the middle of operations of the Gulf cartel and the Juarez cartel, and it's a very lucrative drug business trying to smuggle illegally cocaine and marijuana into the United States, and that's the reason why we see so much violence.
Three years ago when President Calderon took office, he said, "I am going to declare war on these drug cartels," and now, we're seeing the consequences.
LEMON: We are hearing seven people a day, that's how many people are dying on the streets of Juarez, and it could be even more than that. It could be even more than we're hearing.
Here's a question, though. It's not just Juarez. There were 25 people shot in western city in Mexico. Tell us about that.
ROMO: Exactly. This time of the year, we know college students go to places like Acapulco, Cancun. In the last 24 hours, we have two separate incidents in Acapulco where 25 people were killed, also drug- related but very -- it's a lot of concern for authorities because there were civilians involved and authorities say they may have been related to the drug trade but we don't know yet. And one of the instances we know federal police was trying to carry out a search warrant there and a shootout ensued, and that's the reason why 10 people got killed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: As we mentioned, some U.S. government employees in Mexico are being encouraged to send their families out of the country at least temporarily.
We want to go now to Roberta Jacobson. She's the deputy assistant secretary of state covering Canada, Mexico, and NAFTA, and she joins us now by telephone.
Thank you for joining us. I want to just talk about something we talked about there very quickly. Mexico is -- lots of Americans go there for vacation. So what if you already have tickets to go there? How safe should you feel if you are planning to go to Mexico on a trip?
ROBERTA JACOBSON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, U.S. DEPARTMENT: Thanks, Don, for the opportunity. Can I correct one thing that was said earlier? Which is that while we have authorized departure for family members in posts along the Mexican border, we are not ordering families out of the Mexican posts. And in fact, we're not necessarily encouraging it. We're simply allowing them to if they wish to take advantage of that possibility.
LEMON: I appreciate that. I think we said that they have asked the family members to leave as a precaution. I don't think we said order. But, listen, let me ask you this --
(CROSSTALK)
JACOBSON: Very good.
LEMON: Most Americans who are watching this who don't work for the government and may be going over on a trip, what advice would you give them?
JACOBSON: What we would tell people is what's most important is that they get good information before they go. We absolutely are not telling people not to go to Mexico. The travel warning that we put out largely contained the same information that it had prior to our decision about authorizing the departure of dependents. That was the major change.
We also put out a month or more ago, as we do every single year around this time of year, something called "Spring Break in Mexico: Know Before You Go," to make sure that students and others going down to resort areas for spring break know some of the possibilities for getting in trouble or the requirements of Mexican law.
So the most important thing, we think, is that folks should check our Web site, travel.state.gov, make sure they know all the latest information so that they can make informed decisions about whether or not to make those trips. But we are not telling people not to travel.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Roberta Jacobson, deputy assistant secretary of state covering Canada, Mexico, and NAFTA. We appreciate it. Have a good evening.
Still ahead here on CNN, a little boy's 911 call that you will never forget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly what happened. OK. Just stay where you are and, don't hang up, whatever you do. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. The guys, they have a --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Terrifying. That call saved the lives of his parents. You'll hear the entire thing and why it was such a desperate situation.
Also ahead tonight, your census form is coming to a mailbox near you. But do you have any idea just how much you paid for it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Check your mail. An official U.S. Census form should show up in your mailbox very soon. The constitution of course mandates every ten years the federal government count each man, woman, and child living here in the United States. So what it does not mandate, however, is how much a Census should cost. Turns out it costs a heck of a lot. Here's CNN's Kate Bolduan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Accounting for the nation's 300 million-plus residents is no doubt a big job. But it's also an expensive one. Total projected cost for the 2010 census: $14.7 billion. But it's the millions of dollars some argue the Census Bureau has already wasted that is coming under fire.
REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), UTAH: You hear these horror stories of people being paid to do nothing. And that -- that's just infuriating when we're $12 trillion in debt.
BOLDUAN: According to a Commerce Department inspector general report, more than 15,000 employees were paid for attending census training but worked less than a single day or not at all. The cost, more than $5.5 million.
Census Bureau Spokesman Stephen Buckner says those issues have been addressed.
STEPHEN BUCKNER, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU SPOKESMAN: We didn't do a good job at the beginning estimating the number of people that would stay on the job. However, since that operation and every operation since then, we've been on time and also on budget. It's a myth that the census is over budget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Snapshot of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And then there's the Super Bowl ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Isn't that kind of what the census is doing?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Uh-huh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a leading critic of the census, calls that an expensive embarrassment.
CHAFFETZ: I just think we need to go back and look at this and say, was this well executed? Was this well planned? Right now, I just see, by the tens of millions of dollars going out the door, that's not really going to count that person that was hard to find in some part of whatever state.
BOLDUAN: Overall, the Census Bureau defends its outreach efforts, which include $85 million in mailers to encourage people to return their census form.
BUCKNER: It's very important we get an accurate count. As such it's costly. But we could actually save about $1.5 billion in taking of the census if every single person mailed back their form. Because it's a lot less expensive to mail back your form than for us to send a census taker to your door.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Census data helps determine everything, from congressional representation to where more than $400 billion in federal funding is directed each year. The lingering question is just how much does that need to cost taxpayers?
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Let's go now to Jacqui Jeras.
Jacqui, when we -- last we met like this last night, about 500,000 people were without power and it was really going strong in the northeast. So what do we have now? I'm sure people are concerned about tomorrow and getting to work.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, people are still without power. The height of the storm did occur about 24 hours ago. But we're still left with this lingering low. And this is going to stick with us through tomorrow. So the winds are gone, but the rain continues, and the flood threat remains high.
I want you to take a look at these pictures that we have out of Massachusetts. This is just outside of the Boston area, where people had to be evacuated in a bucket loader. They got trapped in their homes there as the waters rose in the streets. There were also ten car rescues, which took place because people actually drove around some of the barriers. So you never want to try and drive in this stuff.
And, you know, Massachusetts, certainly not alone with the flood concerns. Take a look at this map. These are all the river stream gauges from the USGS across the country. And what I want you to notice is all of the blue and black colors. This is where the stream gauges are running above normal, and where you see all of the red and the green, that's where things are dry. So you can see this is focused in a very large area.
Another spot that we're watching for this flooding is across the upper Midwest in the Red River Valley of the north, where we're seeing some major flooding already taking place in Wahpeton.
We'll show you Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, where you had record flooding last year. Well, look at this. Major flooding is going to be expected by Tuesday and we're going to get very close to that record flood by next weekend. So we'll be covering this story in the week ahead. Of course, travel has been a nightmare across much of the northeast and mid-Atlantic because of that powerful storm. We still have delays over two hours at LaGuardia and over an hour and a half here at Newark.
Expect most of the major northeastern airports to have travel problems tomorrow because that area of low pressure will still stick around. So expect more heavy rain for your forecast tomorrow. Much better by Tuesday. Much of the rest of the country pretty calm other than some fog in the upper Midwest and low pressure moving across parts of Texas to bring some scattered thunderstorms.
Don, back to you.
LEMON: Jacqui, I'm going to hold you to that. Much better, we hope. Thank you so much.
Canadian police say the search for any more survivors of Saturday's deadly avalanche is now over and everyone has been accounted for. Two people were killed when a huge wall of snow came tumbling down Boulder Mountain during a crowded snowmobile competition. Thirty people were hurt.
Yemen is targeting a suspected al Qaeda hideout tonight. The country's defense ministry says Air Force jets carried out an air strike on militants south of the capital city. It says it struck before an imminent attack by the insurgents. Yemen's al Qaeda wing has claimed it was behind the failed Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner.
We're learning tonight about the death of actor Peter Graves. Los Angeles police say he was found dead at his home today. They don't suspect foul play. The 83-year-old actor is best known for portraying the character Jim Phelps on TV's "Mission Impossible." Others may remember him for his role as Captain Clarence over in the movie "Airplane." One of my favorites. Peter Graves, 83 years old.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Low test scores, high dropout rates. American students falling behind their peers in other countries. Tomorrow, President Barack Obama hopes to begin changing all that by proposing sweeping education changes. He is sending a brand new set of guidelines to Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: As a nation we are engaged in many important endeavours -- improving the economy, reforming the health care system, encouraging innovation in energy and other growth industries in the 21st century, all while still in the midst of two wars. But our success in these efforts and our success in the future as a people will ultimately depend on what happens long before an entrepreneur opens his doors or a nurse walks the rounds or a scientist steps into her laboratory.
Our future is determined each and every day when our children enter the classroom, ready to learn and brimming with promise. It's that promise we must help them fulfill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And tonight we brought together a panel of a parent, a teacher, and a principal. And I asked them what they want to see from this new plan that the president is introducing tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICIA AVALLONE, FORMER PRINCIPAL: I think from everything I've heard about what the president is just saying that he's going to take the best points of the "No-Child-Left-Behind". I think he is going to change the name and he's going to make it address the issues that are not just addressing math, reading and science.
For years -- for the last eight years in education, we've been taking an awful lot of time drilling in math, drilling in English and just recently we added science into that. But to the detriment of all the other programs that enrich the lives of children.
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know that anyone knows exactly what the Obama plan is just yet. So it's unfair to say that I'm against it or for it. But what I've heard about it says that it's going to peel back the responsibility, as Ms. Avallone talked about, the pressure on the schools.
The point of "No Child Left Behind" is simply that, to establish a standard by which every single child will be measured and that their performance is what determines whether or not a school is an effective school. I have a deep problem with anything that goes in the opposite direction of that.
BRUCE PIEFKE, CONCERNED PARENT: I think parents have to be responsible. They have to be involved in the schools if we're going to raise the standards. There has to be accountability, yes, but I think no child left behind -- the problems hopefully they're fixing them. Problems where really good schools were being punished and other schools that weren't achieving the results they should probably were slipping through.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: All right. Let's turn now to another story.
Clarence Thomas, of course, is one of the nine most powerful people in the world. He's a justice here in America. Well, his wife, Ginni -- or Virginia, I should say, has just launched a Web-based lobbying group to organize conservatives.
Here's what the "Los Angeles Times" is reporting. The group, called TheLibertyCentral.org, LibertyCentral.org, also has ties to the tea party movement. And some legal scholars say Justice Thomas may run the risk of conflict of interest questions as his wife's political activism goes forward.
So I want to ask our senior legal analyst, Mr. Jeffrey Toobin, who's joining us on a Sunday night to talk about this.
Jeffrey, it's good to talk to you tonight. So listen, is there anything ethically wrong with a Supreme Court justice's wife getting involved in politics?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there's certainly nothing illegal and there's nothing in the canons of ethics that prohibits what Ginni Thomas is doing. There is perhaps the question of whether it's good judgment and whether it's a appropriate thing to do. But certainly, there's no rule that either she or her husband is violating.
LEMON: OK. So listen, here's what -- you think of some of the words. She says, "I am an ordinary citizen from Omaha, Nebraska, who just may have the chance to preserve liberty along with you and other people here." And this is what she said to tea party leaders in Washington.
And then she went on to say count herself "among those energized in action by President Obama's hard left agenda."
First, as we said in the beginning of the show, it was the president criticizing U.S. Supreme Court justices at his state of the union, and then, now it is her criticizing him.
So these words, again, are they going to come back possibly to haunt Clarence Thomas in any way.
TOOBIN: I think in fairness to Ginni Thomas, it's important to remember that she has a long history in politics. She used to work for Dick Armey, who was the House Republican leader.
She's worked for various conservative foundations. She is a formidable person in her own right. So the fact that her husband is a Supreme Court justice shouldn't prevent her from doing the work that she's trained and studied and has experience to do. So --
LEMON: And you know what, you're right, because, I mean, she fired right back and made a point, you know, noting to the "L.A. Times" that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is married to a federal appellate judge, so saying what's the difference. TOOBIN: Well, there is a substantial difference because Marjorie Rendell is on the 3rd circuit court of appeals, which is an important job. But it is nowhere nearly as important as the Supreme Court of the United States.
And because Clarence Thomas is one of only nine justices, and because they deal with the absolutely most hot-button and most politically sensitive issues, there is somewhat of a tradition. I wouldn't say a law, I wouldn't say a -- any sort of formal guidelines, but there is a tradition for the justices off the bench to stay away from anything that is remotely political.
We now live in an age where people's spouses are working as well. And that is -- you certainly wouldn't want to prohibit one of the spouses from doing her work. But you can see why it might make some people uncomfortable that she is so explicitly anti-Obama and so activist in her activities. But you know, it is a new day, and she is an experienced --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You know what, I've got to move on here, Jeffrey, but you know, freedom of speech, that's what this country is about. And her husband's a Supreme Court justice and you're an attorney, so you know, everyone has that right. But as you said, it may not be prudent for her to do that.
TOOBIN: Prudent. That's the word.
LEMON: That's the word.
TOOBIN: All right.
LEMON: Thank you, Jeffrey.
Looking for savings? Well, meet a woman who's made bargain hunting an art form. We mean it. Look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So before any savings at all, we're at $130.21.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You won't believe the total after she lays down her coupons.
And the Russians are coming, or are they? A TV station sends the country of Georgia into a mass panic. What happened?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Now the stories you'll be hearing a lot about in the week ahead, from politics to the economy to entertainment. We start tonight on Capitol Hill. DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, where we've heard it many times before, but this time it seems as though Democrats really mean it when they say this is going to be the final push to get a health care bill to the president's desk. And this coming week, we are going to see more arm twisting and lobbying than we've seen in some time. The president and democratic leaders trying to squeeze out enough votes, votes from fellow Democrats skittish about this health care legislation.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry in Washington. On Monday, the president heads to Strongsville, Ohio. Maybe a good omen. He's hoping to have a strong final push on health care reform. But what we learn from the fact that he's delaying his Asian trip by a couple of days is he does not have the votes yet to push this through the final hurdle in the House. If he had the votes, he'd have one foot out the door already.
Robert Gibbs, nonetheless, insisting the president's gotten momentum from taking a more hands-on approach. We'll see. The White House hoping that next Saturday they'll have a big signing ceremony at the White House for health care, then he'll finally head on a delayed basis to Indonesia and Australia. I have to bet the trip on Air Force one would be a little sweeter if he has a victory to celebrate.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Coming up this week, we will get a bill from Senate Democrats proposing broad changes to the financial regulatory system. And the fed will meet on Tuesday to make a decision on interest rates. Housing will also be in focus. We'll get the latest housing numbers.
And for all you basketball lovers out there, the NCAA tournament gets under way this week. And businesses lose a lot of their productivity as employees. You know you're one of them; you work on your brackets. We're going to cover it all this week on CNN Money.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": I'm "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT'S" A.J. Hammer. We are expecting big news breaking this week in the investigation into the deaths of '80s teen idol Corey Haim.
Also, there's going to be big news breaking Monday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the newest members are inducted, which includes two beloved blasts from the past, Abba and Genesis.
LEMON: All right. Domestic and international desks. Let's check in.
We'll check in with our Chris Friedman.
Chris, you have something on Tuesday concerning the tea party movement. This health care thing, of course, ramping up.
CHRIS FRIEDMAN, CNN NATIONAL DESK: Right. Health care big push this week. Tea party activists adamantly opposed to the health care legislation. Big protest on Capitol Hill on Tuesday so we'll be all over that on Tuesday.
LEMON: On Thursday, we've been reporting a lot about this so- called "Jihad Jane."
FRIEDMAN: Right. The alleged terror suspect. She'll have a hearing on Thursday in Philadelphia.
LEMON: OK. Also on Thursday, what do we have coming up on Capitol Hill? Military brass will be back on Capitol Hill.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, another Don't Ask, Don't Tell hearing. Obama administration wants to repeal that policy. We'll hear from some military brass on Thursday.
LEMON: Nice job. Thank you, sir.
We'll go over to Azadeh Ansari. What do you have coming up? There is deadline for Darfur peace deal looming. Did that already started last week or does it start this coming week?
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK: Well, they started last week, but the deadline is actually tomorrow. So hopefully they can reach a full-fledged peace agreement before the scheduled elections in mid-April.
LEMON: It also says in this report -- we were talking about Japan, this boat going up against a whaling boat or what have you, because there's an issue there. Well, this is happening in Qatar. What is the issue happening here? It's already started.
ANSARI: Right. It's last Friday, and it's going to go until March 25th. It's the U.N. Convention on the International Trade on Endangered Species or SITES. And what they're proposing is a global ban on the Atlantic blue fin tuna. And that obviously has dire ramifications for the Asian market should that happens.
LEMON: It's a big issue, and it affects the economy. So we shall see what will happen.
Azadeh, Chris, thank you. We really appreciate it.
Meantime, a game of chicken on the high seas. I just talked about it with Azadeh. Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A $3 million speedboat faces off against a massive Japanese whaling ship. One of them lost and sank. And now somebody is in jail for it.
And just ahead, a deadly weekend in Juarez, Mexico, has the U.S. State Department telling families of its workers they can leave the country if they want to.
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LEMON: Our top story tonight is the cold-blooded killings of three people connected to the U.S. Consulate in Juarez, Mexico. Two of the victims were Americans. The third was the husband of a Mexican woman who worked at the Consulate. Now, the White House today condemned those killings. In a travel advisory the State Department says the family of workers at some of the U.S. Consulates can leave Mexico if they choose. It's also warning Americans to use extreme caution if traveling to Mexico.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is launching an investigation into the timing of an announcement that Hillary Clinton called insulting to the United States. During last week's visit by Vice President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister -- ministry officials announced plans to build 1600 homes for Israelis in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as their capital. Biden sharply criticized the move and said it makes peace talks more difficult.
A fake broadcast sends the country of Georgia into panic mode. A Georgian television station aired what it called a simulation of a new invasion by the Russians, but many thought it was the real thing. They rushed into the streets and jammed phone lines. It brought back memories of the 2008 war between the countries. The show used old sound bites and footage from that conflict. The station later apologized.
The slowing economy hits home in a way most people never imagined.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just a shock to everybody. Nobody believed it. I couldn't believe it.
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LEMON: This is how tough times are all over. Budget cuts could force a small town in Georgia to close its entire police department. We're going to take you there.
And not convinced that coupons are worth the trouble? Well, just go grocery shopping with the coupon mom. The savings, I'm telling you, really, they're unbelievable. You want to stick around.
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LEMON: Well, cities, probably the one where you live, facing some really tough economic times. We've been talking a lot about spending cuts, school closures making headlines. But it's not just education, really, that's taking a hit. Consider this small town that's in Georgia. It's called Monticello. Hit by the same economic slowdown and falling revenues as so many other cities. City leaders like their counterparts around the country are being forced to make some really tough tradeoffs. In this case a possible shutdown of the entire police department.
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LEMON (voice-over): Detective Roberta Andersen has spent 19 years protecting the small road city of Monticello, Georgia and about 2500 people. (on camera) Is this an area that you are more concerned about? What areas are you concern about?
DET. ROBERTA ANDERSEN, MONTICELLO, GEORGIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes. This is Mason Street.
LEMON (voice-over): But soon, she may have to hang up her badge for good.
ANDERSEN: It's just a shock to everybody. Nobody believed it. I couldn't believe it. But, it was said that they have no money. So, they cannot afford to fund the police department. And it was cut.
LEMON: In February, the city council reduced the police force, now there are just three offices. The mayor said barring a miracle, the entire department will probably be gone by July.
(on camera) You don't have enough reserve just to get through this economic downfall to keep a police department?
MAYOR GLENN NEWSOME, MONTICELLO, GEORGIA: Unfortunately, we have no reserve.
LEMON (voice-over): Mayor Glenn Newsome calls it the perfect economic storm. Just as the city was dealing with nationwide problems like declining tax dollars, the real estate bust and unemployment, it was hit by unusually cold winter and the city runs the area's power, gas, and water systems.
NEWSOME: People came in and said, we keep their utility rates. And the council decided to lower the utility rate for electricity. It's called a power cost adjustment. When they lowered that, that reduced anticipated revenue by $250,000 for the remainder of this fiscal year.
LEMON (on camera): And you already had a shortfall.
NEWSOME: We already had a shortfall.
LEMON (voice-over): The city put land up for sale, borrowed money, furloughed employees and cut programs. But even that wasn't enough to save what makes up the biggest part of their budget, the police department.
NEWSOME: I think, the council had no other choice. I mean, I think that was the only place you can't have a deficit. I mean, we just can't do as a federal government. And so, there was no other place to go to get that kind of money.
LEMON: The county sheriff will take over but many here worry about safety.
NICKI WOMACK, MONTICELLO, GA, RESIDENT: We have been told our crime is low. Of course, it's low because we have the presence of the police department. But without the presence of the police department, you are going to see our crime rate go up. LEMON (voice-over): This week, the city council got an earful from the people of Monticello, demanding they keep the police department. Make other cuts and audit its budget. The council accepted offers by two judges to cut their salaries. It is considering selling laid off police officers their old guns. They will even rent the mayor's office in City Hall, but a motion to save a police department failed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Motion fails by vote of 2 to 3.
LEMON: For now, Detective Andersen and her two remaining colleagues are still on patrol, hopeful that somehow, somewhere, the city will find the money to keep them on the beat well past summer and the seemingly unrelenting economic downturn.
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LEMON: It isn't isolated. Closing a police department, it might seem like a drastic move, but again, it's not unheard of. Byesville, Ohio is the same size as Monticello. Its police department will close at the end of this month. And Highwood, Illinois with about 4,500 people considering the same move. Same as in Auburn, Michigan, with population 2,000.
We'll be covering this story for you.
Still ahead here on CNN. A little boy's 911 call that you will never forget.
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LEMON: All right. So you know, you may be one of those people who say coupons, eh, waste of time. Waste of time. I was one of those people. But this story convinced me, otherwise. Because right now everybody is trying to cut back on spending these days. Right? And we all know just how expensive groceries can be.
In tonight's "Mastering Your Money," Rafer Weigel of our sister network "HLN" went to the supermarket. I want you to check out what he found out with the coupon mom.
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RAFER WEIGEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stephanie?
STEPHANIE NEILSON, COUPON MOM: Yes.
WEIGEL: I'm Rafer, nice to meet you.
NIELSON: Are you ready to save a lot of money?
WEIGEL: I am. I'm excited
NIELSON: Good. Let's go.
OK. Now, it's all about strategic shopping. Strategic shopping is when you combine promotions with coupons and sales. And this is a good example of understanding how your store works. This says ten for $10. You don't have to buy ten. You can just buy one for $1.
And what I'm trying to do today is to save the most with coupons. And I have a coupon for $2 off two, so I can get two absolutely free.
So here we are. We are at all the baby products. I got the item that is pictured.
WEIGEL: Right.
NEILSON: I would get $1 off and pay $2.19.
WEIGEL: Which would seem like a good deal to most people.
NIELSON: You know what I like? Nine cents.
WEIGEL: You can do better?
NEILSON: Here is a bar of soap that is the same brand, and it applies. It's usually $1.09. You take the coupon and I'm getting it for nine cents. Most people wouldn't know that you could get that because they are going by the picture. But when it comes to coupons, you always go by the words.
WEIGEL: She's like the coupon ninja.
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NIELSON: I buy three copies of the newspaper because if you are a coupon user, if you have three sets of coupons, you're going to save a lot more. You're going to get a lot more free stuff.
WEIGEL: Oh my goodness. A whole $1.19.
NIELSON: No, I'm looking for free. We're looking for free.
WEIGEL: All right. You've got high standards or low ones. I'm very impressed.
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NIELSON: Here is a great example of what I call stacking the savings. That's when you combine more than one savings program. In this case there is a special promotion. So this item, instead of $3.79 is $2.29. I also have a coupon I printed for $1. So that brings it to $1.29. But I can use that along with an electronic coupon. I'll pay 29 cents instead of $3.79.
And I think we got everything on the list.
So before any savings at all we are at $130.21.
WEIGEL: Which is an average week at the grocery store.
NIELSON: For some people. Not for us. WEIGEL: Yes.
NELSON: But I start out by doing the store card, which gives us all the sale price - all the sale price savings.
That brought us down to $72.87.
WEIGEL: So right now the computer is in disbelief.
NELSON: Right, although you didn't do anything wrong. It's just --
WEIGEL: As am I.
NELSON: OK. Good. I'm happy. For a varsity shopper, this is the kind of number we want to see.
WEIGEL: Look at that, 89 cents. That is insane. That's insane. That's crazy.
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LEMON: Will you come shopping with me, please? That is amazing, don't you think? That is pretty cool.
OK. Listen. Serious story. Case is tossed, criminals may be freed, in one major city all because of a lab worker who's accused of snorting the evidence.
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LEMON: Time now for the news you missed. This one is about drama on the high seas. Look at this heart-stopping video. It's off the coast of Australia. A $3 million speed boat belonging to anti- whaling activists playing chicken with a giant Japanese whaling ship. The pricey little boat, of course, lost. The skipper of the speed boat was taken into custody by the whaling captain and that speed boat sank.
In San Francisco, hundreds of narcotics cases are in jeopardy because of a scandal in the city's crime lab. At the center of it, a 60-year-old lab technician accused of stealing cocaine evidence for her own use. She has since retired. Prosecutors fear hundreds, perhaps thousands of cases may have been compromised.
We end tonight with one of the most gripping 911 calls that I've heard in a while. A 7-year-old boy in California credited with saving his family's lives. Today he is hailed as a hero.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911, state your emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a guy that is going to kill my mom and dad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are you at?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Norwalk, California.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, what is your name?
CARLOS, 7-YEAR-OLD HERO: One of them having just a jacket and they both have guns, but there was three of them.
And they have guns. They shoot my mom and dad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Can you come?
CARLOS: They were next to the door with my mom and dad. My mom was putting her hands up and her head down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where were you?
CARLOS : Me and my sister were at the bathroom, calling 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen to me, take a deep breath. We already have the police coming.
CARLOS: Can you drive really fast? Hurry up.
MONIQUE PATINO, 911 DISPATCHER: I still hear his little voice on the phone. So to hear him talking in person, it kind of just brought back the memories of that phone call.
Tell me exactly what happened. OK. Just stay where you are and don't hang up, whatever you do.
CARLOS: OK. The guys -- they have --
PATINO: I'm very proud of myself that I kept it together as long as I did. But once I heard the screams towards the end, honestly, I'm holding the phone and I'm in tears. I can barely talk. I'm shaking. I'm in tears because all I hear is them screaming and it was very, very tough for me.
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LEMON: I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for watching. Have a great week.
