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Apologies for Financial Crisis; Setback in Search for Miners; Virginia Governor Under Fire

Aired April 08, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Time for your top-of-the- hour reset. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 12:00 in West Virginia, where explosive gases forced rescuers to call off their search for four missing miners.

On Capitol Hill, Clinton treasury secretary Robert Rubin feels the heat over the collapse of Citigroup.

And in Virginia, the governor admits to a major omission, amending his proclamation on Confederate History Month to include slavery.

Let's do this -- let's get started.

Today, unexpected apologies for the economic meltdown. Right now, if you are assessing the ruins of your financial life, if you are in a house that was supposed to be your piece of the American dream, and now you have a loan the bank said you could afford but it turns out you can't, or you have been foreclosed, or your home has lost so much value the mortgage payment seems pointless, then you need to pay close attention to this.

Two men who ran a bank that made billions on risky home loans say I'm sorry. Before you hear what they said at a congressional hearing today, keep in mind that their former employer, Citigroup, took a $45 billion bailout from the government during the banking collapse.

Now hear Robert Rubin, a Citigroup adviser and former treasury secretary, and Chuck Prince, the guy who used to run Citigroup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT RUBIN, FMR. CITIGROUP BOARD MEMBER & ADVISER: Almost all of us, including me, who were involved in the financial system -- that is to say, financial firms, regulators, rating agencies, analysts and commentators -- missed the powerful combination of factors that led to this crisis and the serious possibility of a massive crisis. We all bear responsibility for not recognizing this, and I deeply regret that.

CHUCK PRINCE, FMR. CITIGROUP CEO: I'm sorry for the millions of people, average Americans who have lost their homes. And I'm sorry that our management team, starting with me, like so many others, could not see the unprecedented market collapse that lay before us. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Christine Romans is part of our CNN Money Team. She has been monitoring today's hearing.

You've essentially been tweeting and blogging it to us.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

HARRIS: Thank you for that.

Christine, did these guys -- I mean, did they really take a grilling today over missing so many big red flags about the collapsing economy?

ROMANS: Oh, it's still happening. It's getting good, too.

Phil Angelides is one of the commissioners and is sort of running this hearing. He just said to --

HARRIS: And you say he's doing a great job.

ROMANS: He's doing a pretty good job, yes. I mean, he really knows this stuff, too.

And he said to Robert Rubin, the former treasury secretary and a top adviser of Citi, he said, "I'm less interested in assigning blame here. I want to know what you didn't know and why you didn't know it, all of you."

And that's a very good way to look at it, too. There's been a lot of talk about what they know and when they knew it. But why didn't they know this?

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: And one of the things that's interesting here is the crisis could not have been prevented. If you listen to Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin and Chuck Prince, the former CEO of the company, it could not have been prevented. All of these different things that came together, and it couldn't have been prevented.

And Chuck Prince, the former CEO, said, "It's hard to remember, but back in the day, subprime didn't mean bad." Subprime was something they were all going after, and there were not any negative connotations. They didn't think that this would be risky.

And I want you to listen to what Peter Wallison, a commissioner, said to that statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER WALLISON, FINANCIAL CRISIS INQUIRY COMMISSIONER: Most people were very proud of the fact, especially here in this building and elsewhere in Washington, were very proud of the fact that subprime loans were being made. Now, when it turns out that these mortgages failed and caused, I believe -- at least there are indications that they caused the financial crisis -- everyone is running away from it and trying to point fingers at who made these loans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Interesting, right? He goes back to the core of this, which was the subprime lending.

And when he says everyone in this room and everyone in Washington, he's talking about Congress, he's talking about a Republican and a Democratic president, he's talking about the banks, he's talking about the realtors, he's talking about the mortgage lending industry, everyone that was pushing, pushing record homeownership. And now a lot of people trying to dodge the blame.

So it's still ongoing, but very fascinating stuff. I think -- go ahead.

HARRIS: Well, here's -- I want to chop this up with you a little bit.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: Look, not all of these banks were in the game to chase this subprime paper, this, you know, less than A grade paper. But there is a point in time when there was a sea change in the industry, when all of these bank banks started to chase some of this bad paper, some of this subprime paper, in a way that they didn't do before.

ROMANS: And, Tony, the assumption was rampant that home prices would never go down like we saw them go down.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: I mean, these are the very richly-paid people who are paid to be the smartest guys in the room who didn't see it coming. And it just raises a lot of questions about -- someone was just making a point, one of the commissioners was making a point that all of this money that was made, none of it has been clawed back. And we have found that they were making erroneous assumptions all along the way.

You know, the other thing is that history can be an important guide for the future, especially as we're talking about financial reform. And Alan Greenspan made a comment that really got a lot of attention.

He said he's not interested in being retrospective. He's not interested in going back and combing over what exactly where the mistakes he made.

Listen to how he rates his own performance in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN GREENSPAN, FMR. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: I mean, my experience has been in the business I was in, I was right 70 percent of the time. But I was wrong 30 percent of the time. And there are an awful lot of mistakes in 21 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

ROMANS: I'm just -- I'm just going to leave that one to you, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes.

I just -- I'm stunned by this, because you don't chase the bad paper because you know what risks are associated with the bad paper, but you start chasing subprime because you can securitize it. You can bundle it and then you can sell it everywhere, and you can make more money and more money and more money. And you know that's what happened, Christine.

ROMANS: Right. Michael Lewis, who wrote "The Big Short" and "Liars Poker," he calls it short-termism. Every single person was only thinking for the right now and could have seen -- you know, they say it was impossible to see what could have happened. If you weren't looking so short term, you could have seen further out. This was just unsustainable.

HARRIS: Wow. OK, Christine. Good stuff. Appreciate it. Thank you.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: Another big story we're following, of course, disappointment in West Virginia in the search for four missing coal miners. Rescue teams have suffered a setback, and it could be hours before they can continue the search.

Let's get to CNN's Brooke Baldwin for us with the details.

And Brooke, maybe you can detail for us what happened to cause this setback. I've got a pretty good idea it has to do with air quality.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, that's precisely it, Tony.

A couple hours ago, the rescue teams, 32 men, four different teams, they went into this mine. Keep in mind -- just a bit of a lay of the land for you.

From the entrance to where this first and then second rescue chamber is, it's about 5,000 feet. They, in fact, are on top of that. They were just 1,000 feet shy from one of those rescue chambers when they looked at their meters. They saw the readings and they realized that the combination of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, it was just a combustible combination, they had to pull out. And that is precisely what they did.

We're hearing as far as a timetable now, best-case scenario these guys may be able to go in and begin rescue round two today, in about five to six hours. Right now the priority is ventilating that area in the mine.

So they are back up on the top of the mountain, drilling deep, 100 -- 1,100 feet into the earth with that second borehole to try to help ventilate. We heard from MSHA's Kevin Stricklin again. These guys, when they're speaking at these press conferences, keep in mind, they're not sleeping either. And they were talking about the families.

They have certainly suffered from lack of sleep because they're waiting to know the fate of their loved ones. But at the same time, as it's been explained to us, they understand why these rescue crews had to pull out.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN STRICKLIN, U.S. MINE SAFETY & HEALTH ADMINISTRATION: It's a roller-coaster for these people. It's very emotional.

You can only imagine what it would be like. And it's -- they're very understanding. They understand that, as much as they're going through, they all asked me to make sure that we take care of the health and safety of the rescuers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And, Tony, if there's any possibility that these four missing miners have survived, their only chance of survival is if they have holed up in one of these rescue chambers. And they have about a day's worth of air left to survive -- Tony.

Tough.

HARRIS: We hang on to hope. That's what we do.

All right. Brooke, appreciate it. Thank you.

BALDWIN: We do.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The American/Russian relationship took a step forward today. Presidents Obama and Medvedev signed the new START Treaty in Prague. It will leave each side with 1,550 nuclear warheads, levels not seen since the 1950s. The treaty must be ratified by lawmakers in both countries before it takes effect.

President Obama looking ahead to next week's nuclear summit in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But nuclear weapons are not simply an issue for the United States and Russia. They threaten the common security of all nations.

A nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist is a danger to people everywhere, from Moscow to New York, from the cities of Europe to South Asia. So, next week, 47 nations will come together in Washington to discuss concrete steps that can be taken to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Next week's nuclear meeting is described as one of the biggest of its types since World War II.

You know, there is new anger aimed at Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. He has declared April Confederate History Month, but in his initial remarks there was no mention of the word "slavery."

The governor has apologized, but as our Kate Bolduan reports, that hasn't stopped the controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Virginia, known for its Civil War battlefields. Its capital, Richmond, was the capital of the confederacy. Now a new battle over that legacy.

Virginia Republican Governor Bob McDonnell has declared April Confederate History Month "... to understand the sacrifices of the confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens."

GOV. ROBERT MCDONNELL (R), VIRGINIA: I thought that just having people look at the history, learning from the mistakes of the history, but understanding Virginia's role in the battlefields, et cetera, would be helpful for economic development. And so that's why I signed it up.

BOLDUAN: But the governor is now apologizing for what he calls a major omission, failing to make any mention of slavery, and is amending the proclamation to include it. Civil rights activists had accused the governor of trying to "whitewash history."

BEN JEALOUS, NAACP: To, you know, not take even a second to acknowledge that the Civil War -- the main purpose of it, the main reason for the -- you know, for that fire that burned across this country was the south's refusal to let go of slavery, which is a deep and abiding crime against humanity. It does suggest that he lacks courage.

BOLDUAN (on camera): For better or worse, Virginia is steeped in confederate history. Monuments like this one can be found throughout the state. Governor McDonnell, in the proclamation, suggested that the move was meant to help boost tourism ahead of next year's 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. (voice-over): The governor says he issued the proclamation at the request of the group Sons of Confederate Veterans. They say the outcry is politically motivated.

BRAGG BOWLIN, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS: What Governor McDonnell is doing is trying to help educate people. And the people who are complaining refused to look at anything. They're one-sided. They're the people that need confederate history education more than anybody.

BOLDUAN: Earlier, McDonnell gave this explanation for leaving slavery out --

MCDONNELL: Slavery was an absolute abomination on this nation. It was a vile and horrific practice that I'm delighted is wiped off the face of this country. And so I didn't mention it solely because I was trying to keep the focus on really the war aspects of it.

BOLDUAN (on camera): Governor McDonnell says he's now adding language to the proclamation to include saying, "It is important for all Virginians to understand that the institution of slavery led to the Civil War and was an evil and inhumane practice.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You know, we've got some pretty big storms rolling east right now. We will check in with Chad Myers in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on top stories now.

Rescue teams at a West Virginia coal mine turned back because of explosive gasses. They had gone in to look for four miners still unaccounted for after Monday's deadly explosion. The blast killed at least 25 miners.

Tee time for Tiger Woods, about an hour and a half from right now. He tees off in the opening round of the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. It is Woods' first tournament since reports of his extramarital affairs came up late last year.

More of your top stories in about 20 minutes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: An American citizen in the military crosshairs of his own government. What's going on here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A diplomat from Qatar questioned by federal investigators after an in-flight disturbance is free to go. He was reportedly asked about smoking in a bathroom aboard a flight from D.C. to Denver when he made a comment about setting his shoes on fire.

Well, it triggered a major security response involving fighter jets. Now authorities say the incident may have been a misunderstanding.

Officials say President Obama has authorized the CIA to put an American citizen on its kill or capture list. He is Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim cleric born in New Mexico now living in Yemen. Al-Awlaki is said to have ties to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Officials link him to the accused Fort Hood shooter and the Christmas Day plane bomb suspect. The killing of an American citizen by its government, the topic on CNN's "CAMPBELL BROWN."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMPBELL BROWN, HOST: The American government putting an American citizen on an assassination list.

Do we do this?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, in 1975, Gerald Ford signed an executive order that said we do not assassinate, period. Well, after 9/11 that really became obsolete.

BROWN: Right.

TOOBIN: We have been targeting Osama bin Laden and everyone associated with him for quite some time. It is not surprising and it is not illegal that an American is now on that list, because the argument is our military requirements are that we kill al Qaeda leaders. And if it's an American, so be it.

BROWN: So, Fred, is this the first time that you have heard of an American being targeted?

FRED BURTON, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: No, Campbell. If you look, we've had Azzam the American, which is Adam Gadahn, has been a high- value target for quite some time. And I think that if you look at this from a strategic perspective, this is to be expected.

And if you think about it from the concept of these Predator drone strikes hit, they're going to take out whoever is in that building or hut or cave. So I think you're looking at just a counterterrorism strategy here, where this individual has placed himself in a position where he's going to be at the receiving end of a missile strike.

BROWN: That may be the case, Ron, but that doesn't change the fact that I think a lot of jaws dropped today hearing this news that it's not capture this guy but kill this guy, an American. And I know, as Jeff pointed out, the rules certainly changed after 9/11. But were you surprised to hear that this administration would be taking this step?

RON SUSKIND, JOURNALIST, AUTHOR: You know, from the very start, Campbell, I think the thinking was this administration would be moving in the other direction, rather than going further than the Bush administration essentially had which is what they have done at this point. You know, it's interesting because what you're in again is the same sort of problem the Bush administration faced. I don't think the Obama administration is doing much better about it in terms of these wider issues of American principles.

You know, the fact is that how this will traffic around the world as the United States is now willing to kill American citizens that oppose it. Now, obviously, nobody wants this guy to be out there creating the trouble he has been creating, but think about what this does, what happened today.

Essentially, it raises the profile of al-Awlaki, who's a real problem. It makes him something of a rock star. He's already celebrated. And probably 10 times as many people will start reading his virulent matter online, on the vast World Wide Web. You know, this issue of identifying in a kind of "we're going to get you" way, these terrorists or these folks encouraging terrorism, has been shown not to be particularly effective.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Pretty smart discussion last night on CNN's "CAMPBELL BROWN."

You know, video of a deadly helicopter attack leaked on the Internet. Families demand answers and the Pentagon opens a second investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Journalist and children caught in the cross fire. An incident in Baghdad three years ago now. The Pentagon looking into it again after video was posted on the Internet. Here's our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): U.S. military lawyers are now scrutinizing this 2007 video showing an attack by Apache helicopter gunships in Baghdad, asking themselves if an initial investigation that troops took all appropriate precautions before firing was right.

The video was posted on the WikiLeaks website, which specializes in publishing classified documents. The military says it can't find its own copy of the video and it's not certain all investigators saw this video back in 2007. Retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, who served in Iraq, says the new scrutiny may be, in part, due to public reaction.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): But when something like this, a type like this hits the public view, there will be people asking, was everything done that should have been done. I think they'll find out that it was. We're asking our soldiers to make tough, tough decisions in combat when people are shooting at them, people are trying to kill them. They have rules of engagement. Those rules of engagement specifically state under what authority and under what conditions they can use lethal force.

STARR: Back then, the insurgency was at its height. That day, U.S. troops were under fire. Helicopters were called in. Suspected insurgents on the ground killed. The pilots and crews repeatedly asked for permission to fire.

It might have all ended there, but two employees of the Reuters News Agency were killed and troops shot at a van, which they later found had children inside.

Kimmitt points out insurgents have used children as shields against attack.

KIMMITT: When something like that happen, the first thing we do after the fact is sit down and review everything the aviators did and the troops on the ground did to make sure that this was not caused by either error, omission, or commission on the part of those troops.

STARR (on camera): The first investigation found the troops did obey the rules. But if the Pentagon does more than have a second look, if they reopen the entire investigation, many military officers say it will be seen as second-guessing troops in combat years after the fact.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, now the parents of one of the journalists killed are speaking out and demanding answers. They talked to CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A family in deep mourning, all over again.

"What did they do wrong,: asks Chmagh. "What did he do wrong that they would shoot him and kill him?"

Iraqi journalist Saeed Chmagh had worked alongside his friend and colleague, Namir Noor-Eldeen, since 2003. Aerial footage from a U.S. military Apache attack helicopter shows the July 2007 incident when both men were killed when they came under attack. The helicopters were helping ground troops clear insurgents in a neighborhood in southeast Baghdad.

The incident garnered international attention because Saeed and Namir worked for Reuters News Agency. All along Saeed's family have asked how the men could have been killed when they were only doing their jobs. The aerial footage made public by the website WikiLeaks has lead to new revelations about exactly what happened. The family is devastated once more.

"We were in pain. The whole family was in pain," say Samer. "He was a journalist. They saw the camera in his hand. They accused him of carrying a weapon."

The Pentagon says its investigation concluded the Apache attackers had no way of knowing the journalists were among suspected insurgents on the street. Despite how difficult it is for Saeed's family to watch the tape, Saeed's brother is glad it was leaked.

"Thank God the truth has been revealed and the blood of innocent people wasn't wasted," says Safa. "What did the two journalists do wrong to deserve to be killed by this American pilot? They were just doing their jobs."

JAMJOOM (on camera): Saeed's family tell us they still grieve for him every day. But more than that, they're proud of him. Proud because he was a brave journalist who risked his life day after day going out into a war zone and trying to show the reality of what was going on here.

JAMJOOM (voice-over): The family says they have nothing against America, its people, or its military, but they would like to see justice carried out in this case and are considering filing a lawsuit against those involved in this incident.

For now, it's the hurting they'll have to get through. Most painful for them, a portion of the video showing Saeed had survived the initial gunfire and was being rescued when the gunship's crew fired on the van to which he was being carried.

"When I saw the tape, it's like he died yesterday," says Zahra. "I haven't seen it before, but it's like this happened again yesterday. When I saw the video, it's like I went blind. I didn't see my son when he died, but I've seen it now."

Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Man. The search for survivors in West Virginia on hold. Find out why rescuers had to be pulled out of the mine today in top stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's see. CNN, of course, is your source for the latest money news. Just go to CNNMoney.com. The work of our terrific Money team featured right there. The lead story, a tough job getting tougher. We've got physicians featured in this piece at CNNMoney.com talking about a health care reform and how the reform is going to make a difficult job even more so.

Let's get you to the New York Stock Exchange right now. We are just past three hours into the trading day. And, well, a bit of a turnaround. We were in negative territory for most of the morning. But as the afternoon comes to pass, we are turning the corner in positive territory, trading up 12. The Nasdaq, Joe, what's that number? The Nasdaq up -- up two. We're following these numbers for you throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's check top stories now.

Rescue teams have been ordered out of a West Virginia mine where 25 people were killed on Monday. The search for four missing miners now on hold. Safety officials say their readings on the air quality inside the mine were deteriorating and they are worried about another explosion.

Two presidents put pen to paper in Prague, ushering in a new era of U.S./Russian relations. Earlier today, President Obama and his Russian counterpart signed a new nuclear arms treaty. It puts limits on arsenals and cuts about a third of the nuclear weapon on both sides.

You know, they're accused of conspiring to attack police and overthrow the government. The alleged leader of that group caught on tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know they are accused of plotting to attack law enforcement and set off a revolt and overthrow the government. Now an exclusive report. We hear from the alleged leader about the group's anti-government views. National correspondent Susan Candiotti has all the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN has obtained exclusively a audio tape played during a bond hearing for alleged members of the Hutaree militia last week. You're about to hear the voice of the alleged leader in a rant against the government.

DAVID STONE SR., ALLEGED MILITIA LEADER: In this nation, we think we are free, but you need a certificate to be born, a license to drive, a permit to build, a number to get a job and even a paper after you die. These are permission slips from the terrorist organization called the New World Order.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): And FBI agents secretly recorded militia members after infiltrating the Hutaree. The tape was played as part of the government's argument that the defendants would be a danger to the community and a flight risk if they got bail before trial. They didn't and are appealing.

They're accused of conspiring to overthrow the government and planning to murder a law enforcement officer and then attack a funeral processions with homemade bombs to kick off a revolt. On the audio tape, alleged leader David Brian Stone is angry about what he calls the New World Order taking over the U.S.

STONE: People in this nation, as well as some around this world, are waiting for those individuals, like you see sitting in this room, to actually make the decision to go to war against this evil, greedy New World Order. They need leaders who are not afraid to stand up and actually mean no more. We are free and should not be afraid or ashamed to admit that we are the American militia. We outnumber them. As long as we let them terrorize any American through fear and intimidation, then they are winning this battle and we should step up to the fight that they have started and finish it.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors say the Hutaree's leader wanted to create his own country, carved out of four Michigan counties, to defend itself against the so-called New World Order and the Brotherhood. That's what the militia called law enforcement officers.

STONE: Every day we watch ever so close for those evil blue helmets to appear on our streets. But as long as through Interpol, law enforcement mercenaries called the brotherhood working for the New World Order are doing such a great job, then we don't need to watch for these foreign armies to come to our shores. They are already here.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Prosecutors say the recording was secretly made last winter while the group was driving to a meeting of other militias in Kentucky. But they had to turn back because of cold weather. So the alleged leader made the speech anyway while they were driving. Defense attorneys say that's all this was, just talk, free speech.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy, stuck at home for spring break. The tough recession is taking a toll on this annual getaway for a lot of students and their families. Not my kids. Michael (ph), Caitlin (ph), bring some money back to dad, please. We will hear from some of them, what they're saying about all this, in just a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Please.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Boy, the tough economy is keeping a lot of students at home this spring break. We used to call it a staycation. We were having fun with that phrase. But, you know what, the kids need a bit of a break. They're working hard in school. And Carl Azuz is here from CNN Student News.

And how much of an impact, really, is this recession having on kids and spring break plans and families as well?

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: According to a survey we took at CNNstudentnews.com, Tony, around 56 percent of our audience says they are staying home. They're not going on vacation this time around.

HARRIS: Wow. AZUZ: And at least some of that is due to the recession. Students are giving us reasons like, a parent might have lost a job. And some students are saying, both my parents have jobs. They're insecure in those jobs or they're just trying to get so many hours in so that they're able to make ends meet. They just don't have it at this time.

HARRIS: Boy, you getting some comments from some of your viewers?

AZUZ: We certainly are. We have a comment from Haylee this morning. She's talking about how her family usually takes a vacation right here to Georgia. But times are tough. They're squeezing the dollar. Unfortunately, she says, they're running out of dollars to squeeze.

Another student named Phillip wrote in to us saying that his family made him stay home this time around. His mom lost their job. They're going through some tough times. He really hopes it gets better soon.

HARRIS: Well, you've got to find the things in your hometown that you can do that don't cost a lot of money. It takes some time. It takes some effort. You've got to be creative, but you can find some things.

AZUZ: Some are. Some are. And some are doing it just with the simple things. Not even getting super creative.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

AZUZ: Some are saying, you know, we're staying home. We're playing games where our families. If you're a parent out there, you have a student who's home for spring break. Some of our audience is saying they appreciate playing games. They appreciate an old- fashioned sleepover in once case.

HARRIS: Nice. Yes, yes, yes, there you go.

AZUZ: And we had one more comment today from Clint who's saying, you know, yes, times are tough. Yes, there isn't a lot of money going around. People are cutting back. But you can still enjoy a great week off.

HARRIS: There you go. Carl, appreciate it. Thank you.

AZUZ: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: Come on back any time.

Time to take a look at what's hot right now on the Internet. And I've got to tell you, it's all about Tiger Woods. And not just because he tees off at The Masters in less than an hour or so. It's this ad from Nike. Have you see this with a voice-over from his late father Earl saying, I want to find out what your thinking was. Well, we want to know what you think of this ad. From Taryn. Taryn writes, "I personally do not care one way or the other about Tiger's personal life. But this is a strange medium in which to be asking for forgiveness. I thought a Nike ad would show sports equipment or products of some sort."

From Judith. "Tiger Woods should only concentrate on playing golf. A low, humble profile is the only redeeming reaction he should demonstrate. It's offensive that he is trying to regain his huge annual fortune gleaned from Nike."

Boy, sharp stuff here. Want to keep the conversation going. Help us if you would. Leave us a comment at my blog at CNN.com/tony.

Hooked on pain pills. You've heard the stories about doctors who supply the addicts. Now we're going to show you the danger of them saying no.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. So of course you have seen the headlines from stars like Heath Ledger to Michael Jackson. But America's addiction to prescription drugs is growing in places far away from the spotlight. Carol Costello shows us it can be deadly, not only for the addict, but for the doctor who comes between the addict and his fix.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Small town America, with a big problem. Pill poppers.

DANIELLE SANDLIN, DR DENNIS SANDLIN'S DAUGHTER: I didn't really realize how bad it was getting until after I had gotten out of college.

COSTELLO: Danielle Sandlin grew up in eastern Kentucky. Her father was a doctor who, like other doctors in this part of the country, watch prescription drug abuse spiral out of control.

COSTELLO (on camera): In December, things came to a head here in Cornettsville, Kentucky. Population, 792.

COSTELLO (voice-over): In this clinic, Danielle's father, Dr. Dennis Sandlin, refused to prescribe painkillers for a man he suspected was an addict. Police say that man, John Combs (ph), left angry and came back with a gun.

SANDLIN: My dad was writing in a chart at the nurse's station. And they -- someone heard my dad say, you don't want to do this. I take care of a lot of elderly people. And he said, well, you didn't help me. And that's when he shot him.

COSTELLO: Dr. Sandlin's murder didn't come as a shock to Dr. David Greene. He works at a family practice clinic in Berea. Addicts often come to his clinic to shop for doctors. They use every trick in the book to get him to prescribe powerful pain medication like OxyContin. It can get ugly. COSTELLO (on camera): So have you had people come in and scream at you?

DR. DAVID GREENE: Uh-huh. Yes.

COSTELLO: Physically push you or touch you?

GREENE: I've had them threaten -- I have less of a problem because I'm male and I'm taller. So -- but, one of the things we have to do in our office, because I'm the only male doctor, is I'm sort of on call for situations like that that involve anybody else. And I'll deal with them.

COSTELLO (voice-over): But some doctors do refuse to deal with it. They no longer write prescriptions for pain medication, for anyone, regardless of need. Detectives in Louisville can understand that. They arrest two or three suspects a day who routinely call in fraudulent prescriptions to pharmacists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this is a forged prescription that you went and picked up, not just once, a bunch of times. Do you know who's calling these in? I know.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it you? Claiming to be in this instance

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't in the beginning, but, yes.

COSTELLO: It's become an old, tired story.

DETECTIVE STEVE WATTS (ph): That's actually her at the pharmacy.

COSTELLO: Detective Steve Watts is dedicated to fighting just one kind of drug crime, illegal prescription drug use. He's looking at surveillance tape of a woman who allegedly used a doctor's name to call in a prescription for Xanax.

WATTS: There she is with the same distinctive bag, her Wal-Mart bag, walking out.

COSTELLO: We rode along with Detective Watts.

WATTS: We're almost here.

COSTELLO: It wasn't long before she appeared, along with her father, and that purse.

WATTS: If I can make this her worst day of her life, so that tomorrow she will seek treatment, then I've won.

COSTELLO: Back in Cornettsville, there are no winners. Dr. Sandlin's alleged killer has yet to face trial. He says he's not guilty.

SANDLIN: He has to see what he's done. He has to look at my family and know what he did. He took somebody's life. It's the lives of his patients, that community. You know, it's everybody.

COSTELLO (on camera): Danielle is working with a number of group to make it safer for doctors to practice medicine. She says one idea so to create a national prescription database that would allow doctors to see what other drugs their patients are taking.

Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: It is time to take you to the next level. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Why do you have to hand it off to me? Why can't we just hang out together sometimes on TV?

HARRIS: We need to, doc.

VELSHI: Tony, thank you. Have a great afternoon.