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Seismic Surge?; President Obama Holds Bipartisan Meeting on Financial Reform Legislation; NASA Uncertainty

Aired April 14, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The big stories for you now in the CNN NEWSROOM for Wednesday, April 14th.

Mud buildings crumble like cookies. Strong earthquakes rock a poor region of China. Hundreds of people are killed, thousands may be trapped.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to hurt our bottom line, and we may have to lay off some people and just downsize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: While Florida waits to hear President Obama's plan for space, I will talk to a mayor about the end of the shuttle program and the jobs it supports.

And the new numbers on mortgage modifications don't add up. A report says the Obama administration's foreclosure rescue plan is a bust.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Those stories and your comments right here, right now, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

At the top, how about this, taking the fight against illegal immigration to a whole new level? Arizona's governor says he will sign a wide-ranging bill including requiring police to check the status of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. House Republicans passed the bill through with a party line vote. The strict enforcement measure sparking fierce debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN KAVANAGH (R), ARIZONA: Illegal immigration has been, is and will continue to be a serious problem for the people and state of Arizona.

REP. TOM CHABIN (D), ARIZONA: This bill, whether we intend it or not, terrorizes the people we profit from.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: An advocacy group spokesman warns, "Arizona's economic recovery will lag way behind the country's if we keep chasing away our workforce."

We will stay on the story and continue reaching out to the key players.

Checking the day's other big stories, Tea Party activists return to the birthplace of the country's revolutionary spirit. They're holding a rally in Boston. It is the last stop before the cross- country tour wraps up in Washington tomorrow.

Live pictures now of Sarah Palin. She is the headliner at today's event, firing up the crowd. She says they will have their say come November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: It's not about titles or power struggles within. It's not about dividing America. And it is not about one individual politician.

This is about the people. This is the people's movement.

(APPLAUSE)

So the people in Boston and all across the U.S., we're sending a message to Washington that come November, the big-government, big- debt, Obama-Pelosi-Reid spending spree, that there, there, little children, we're here to take care of you, that agenda is over. We're voting them out. We're going to tell them you're fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A mixed message on the economy coming from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Testifying before the Joint Economic Committee this morning, Bernanke said the recovery is taking hold, but growth will not be strong enough to quickly reduce the unemployment rate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN BERNANKE, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: I'm particularly concerned about the fact that in March, 45 percent of the unemployed have been without a job for six months or more. Long periods without work erode individual skills and hurt future employment prospects. Younger workers may be particularly adversely affected if a weak labor market prevents them from finding a first job or from gaining important work experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: A rush now to save lives after a series of powerful earthquake in China. The epicenter, a remote western mountain region.

Authorities right now fear 400 people dead, another 10,000 injured. Many victims including schoolchildren buried under collapsed buildings.

Rescuers have been struggling to clear debris. Take a look at these pictures. They're actually trying to clear this debris with their hands, trying to reach those trapped below. Got to tell you, the strongest of this morning's quakes measured at 6.9.

Let's bring in our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras.

And Jacqui, as we mentioned, a number of aftershocks in a really tight window here of about, what, three hours of the initial quake?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a couple of hours. We've had aftershocks anywhere in the range from about 5.3 down to 4.1, so they aren't terribly strong.

We'll zoom into the area and show you what we're talking about.

And there you can see the big red dot. That was the big one, the 6.9. And then you can see one, two, three, four, five aftershocks right within that center.

So, you know, it's really common to get these aftershocks. That's certainly not a surprise there. And we'll continue to see them in the hours and the days and the weeks, and even into the months ahead. So that's something of course we'll continue to monitor.

We want to take you over to the United States and some other interest in earthquakes and what's been happening here in the U.S., and that's been across the state of California. A report released yesterday said that the number of earthquakes in California since January had --

HARRIS: Hey, Jacqui, I apologize. I need to interrupt. I need to get to the president.

JERAS: OK.

HARRIS: He was holding a meeting this morning with bipartisan members of Congress on financial reform legislation.

Let's get to the tape right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're obviously at the beginning of a lengthy work period, coming off a very tough work period. One of the things that we're going to be talking about is the economy.

I'm going to be presenting to them the latest report from the Council of Economic Advisers on the impact of the Recovery Act. What we're seeing, I think, is some significant improvement in the economy and stabilization, but obviously everybody here, Republican and Democrat, recognizes we've still got work to do, that there are too many people who are still unemployed, the housing market is still very soft, too many small businesses who aren't getting credit. And so we're going to spend some time exploring, how can we build on the progress that has been made to make sure that ordinary Americans are seeing improvements in their own lives?

I'm also going to be interested in talking to them about our ability to move quickly on a financial regulatory reform package. I think all of us recognize that we cannot have a circumstance in which a meltdown in the financial sector once again puts the entire economy in peril, and that if there's one lesson that we've learned, it's that an unfettered market where people are taking huge risks and expecting taxpayers to bail them out when things go sour is simply not acceptable.

As a consequence, I'm actually confident that we can work out an effective bipartisan package that assures that we never had too big to fail again, that consumers are adequately protected when it comes to financial instruments, whether it's mortgages or credit cards or debit cards. That we have a strong mechanism to regulate derivatives, something that we have not had, a derivatives market that is in the shadow economy, but is enormously powerful, enormously risky. We want to get that into daylight so that regulators and ordinary Americans know what's going on when it comes to this huge segment of the financial system.

And I am confident that if we work together diligently over the next several weeks, that we can come up with a package that serves the American people well and does not put Americans ever again in a position where they're having to choose between a terrible economic situation or rewarding people for failed policies and bad risk-taking. So that's going to be a top priority of this meeting.

Finally, we've got a range of issues from a Supreme Court vacancy, a START Treaty that I believe needs to be ratified, a host of other issues related to appointments that we're going to talk about. And I'm going to be also, obviously, listening to congressional leaders about their priorities over the next several months.

So I very much appreciate them taking the time to come. And I'm hopeful that this will not only be a productive meeting, but we will see a productive session over the next several weeks.

All right?

Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: There you go. The president meeting with a bipartisan panel of lawmakers to discuss financial reform.

As you know, there are hearings on Capitol Hill right now on the financial meltdown. But also, you may be aware of a bill, a legislation that's working its way through Congress right now, the Senate version of which sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

So far, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, is asking that Republicans say no to that reform legislation. The president hoping to find some kind of bipartisan approval to move forward on financial reform.

We will of course be following that story for you right here in the NEWSROOM.

Uncertain times for NASA workers. The shuttle program soon to be grounded.

What is next for all those who work to keep it flying? We will hear one man's personal challenge next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Exploration and inspiration. Forty-nine years ago, President Kennedy envisioned man on the moon. Tomorrow, President Obama heads for the Kennedy Space Center to talk about his vision for the final frontier.

A White House official tells CNN it includes -- let's see here -- there you go, $6 billion in new funding, thousands of new jobs, and modernizing the space center in Florida. He also wants to revamp the Orion capsule, designed to ferry crews from the space station. Plus, he wants to speed up development of a powerful rocket to take crews and cargo deep into space.

You know, with only three more shuttle missions scheduled, thousands of NASA employees are wondering, what's next?

We get to know one of them with the help of CNN all-platform journalist John Couwels

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TERRY WHITE, ORBITAL PROCESSING FACILITY MANAGER: We're now standing under the right-hand wing of Atlantis. I carry the model because there is no place in this building that you can step back and see the entire orbiter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zero. Liftoff.

WHITE: We knew from the beginning that the orbiter was designed to fly 100 flights. So it wasn't some piece of spacecraft that was going to keep going on forever and ever.

All the gray-looking ones were pristine black like the ones that you see right here. They have been on since original bill.

Like the rest of our space history, we envisioned that when the shuttles were done their job, that then we would go on to the next program of exploration.

The orbiter sees an average of about 4.5 million miles in each flight.

And we look at the orbiter. It's a very -- the whole space shuttle is a very amazing vehicle. We look at it as the eighth wonder of the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ignition. Liftoff of Ares I-X.

WHITE: Would I necessarily be on the next program? Maybe not. But the fact that the work got done on this program, you know, in my history would make me a viable candidate for the next program. Knowing now that we don't have a next program standing there to step into tomorrow, for me it's a little bit frustrating because the United States has been the leader in space for many years.

Yes, go ahead and walk out here. You're going to realize that there's only a few people in the world that get to do this, to look down like the astronauts -- main engines two and three.

We have the 401 system, so you save for your retirement. And we all know the last couple of years, most 401s took a severe beating.

You doing all right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Gary. How are you?

WHITE: Let's see if we get to see a couple of our spacecraft operators.

Are you guys working today?

I'm 61 years old now, so I still have to continue to work for a few more years. I'm not really ready to retire, so I'll probably have to leave the area and look for employment somewhere else in the country.

It's been many years since I wrote a resume. So the resume world out there is totally different. So I have to go look at writing a new resume to the current standard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: We are going to talk more about this in just a couple of minutes here. The mayor of Cocoa Beach, Florida, is concerned about NASA job cuts and the impact on the surrounding community. Mayor Skip Beeler joins me live in about 25 minutes on so.

You know, it sat silent for 200 years. Now a volcano in Iceland has hundreds of people on the run.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's get you top stories now.

Four hundred people are feared dead today following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in northwestern China. Mud homes and schools collapsed across the region, trapping thousands. Several strong aftershocks also brought down buildings.

Americans are coming out of their shopping slump and gaining more confidence in the recovery. The Commerce Department says retail sales surged -- listen to this -- 1.6 percent in March. Car dealerships saw a particularly robust sales increase.

Let's check in with what you are saying to us about the country being so deep in debt. We asked, "What will you sacrifice or accept to reduce the national debt?" Many of you were calling in with your comments.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the bankers, the ones who caused all this, should pass the hat around and put some money back into our economy because they walked away with everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's huge, as you well know, and everyone is going to have to pitch in. It has to be solved. So I'm willing to do anything that's asked of me, and I think everybody else should be, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would absolutely get rid of the United States postal system. I would gladly save all that money there and use FedEx or UPS. And they serve my needs.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: More, more, more, more, please. I know you have something to say on this. I know you do.

So just go to CNN.com/Tony, and you can leave us a comment or you can share that with us by calling us. Here's the number: 1-877-742- 5760.

Leave your comment there after the tone. And if you would, include your name and where you were calling from. And keep your comment, if you would, to under 30 seconds so we can get as many as we can on the air here.

Conan O'Brien coming to late night on TBS. But how does the guy whose timeslot he is taking really feel about all of this?

Larry King talked to George Lopez about getting "Leno'd."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE LOPEZ, HOST, "LOPEZ TONIGHT": I believe that this combination, almost the same-sex Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, if you will, will take late night into a new generation and change the landscape.

Larry, I'm a Latino. I know something about landscape. It's going to be fantastic come November.

What he was concerned with was that he wasn't going to do to me what was done to him at NBC. That was his biggest concern, that he did not want to get, as they say on Twitter, "Leno'd."

I am not getting "Leno'd." I welcome Conan. I think that moving to midnight, hey, I'll go to work an hour later.

Come on, it's a dream come true. And the pay is the same?

I am predicting that these shows will change late-night TV. My intention was to bring the party back to late night. From the time I've been on in November I've been doing that, and Conan is a fantastic addition to TBS.

And listen, he's on earlier. He needs to get done earlier and get out and get some sun. Eventually, I want us to end up being the same color.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK.

What happens when your livelihood is tied to the shuttle program?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I put everything I got in the shuttles. So it going away, losing money, would be devastating to me personally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Yes. The trickle-down effect is what we're talking about here. Business owners near Kennedy Space Center worry about their future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Business owners near the Kennedy Space Center will be listening closely when the president makes his space program announcement tomorrow. With a lot of their money tied to NASA, they're hoping for some good news.

CNN photojournalist Dominic Swann talked with one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Let's go. You can start taking table 8, drinks.

BILL GRILLO, SHUTTLE DUGOUT SPORTS BAR: The shuttle has been here for over 30 years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you doing, OK?

OK.

GRILLO: We've catered to all of the space center workers in that time. So it's kind of an institution in this area as far as Kennedy Space Center. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that my shuttle burger?

GRILLO: We've had -- most of the astronauts have flown from Kennedy Space Center. John Glenn and all those guys have all been here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you check on the pizza?

GRILLO: I'm very concerned with our future, about our future. I hope that there's enough other programs out there that can keep us alive and keep us going, but it's definitely going to hurt our bottom line. And we may have to lay off some people and just downsize.

Right now we're employing about eight to 10 people. The employees depend on us to be here. They depend on the space center and the workers from Kennedy Space Center to come in and have their lunch here.

Well, there's going to be a definite trickle-down effect -- car dealers, boat dealers, grocery stores. Everybody is affected when it comes to a major shutdown similar to this program shutting down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What else are you guys doing today?

GRILLO: And we're looking to the president for some answers, to find out whether or not we can maybe extend the program, downsize the program, and just kind of keep it going a little bit, if that's possible.

I have -- my life savings is in this business right now. I put everything I've got in the shuttles. So it going away, losing money, would be devastating to this personally. But more than that, my employees, they would have to move on to other areas of the country to find employment. And as we know, the country isn't in great shape right now.

Most of our business is based on the space center. And now if that goes away -- and it will if the program ends -- I don't know what people are going to do. I really don't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: President Obama has been promising a new, more efficient space program that keeps America in the lead. Now we are finding out just what he has planned.

Josh Levs is here.

And Josh, we're talking about a shift, really, in priorities.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are, in some critical ways.

You know, this question has been around for decades, really ever since Apollo 17, which I don't know if you can believe it. All the way back to 1972. The question has been -- I love looking at this video. I love it.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: So many people wondering when the United States will ultimately put people back on the moon.

And then in more recent years, you've had another question on top of that. How long, how far in the future, before we can get people all of the way out to Mars? And as we know, the nation that leads the way in space can be at a critical place in the future, but it is, of course, very expensive.

Now, here's what happened. This was just weeks ago and I was talking to you about this right here on this show that President Obama talked about plans in his budget to cancel this. Let's see if we can zoom in on this.

This is from NASA's website and it traces through the Constellation program that was aimed at getting people back on the moon and also, Tony, studying the possibility of establishing a moon colony. NASA spent $9.5 billion on this, but the president said a panel found the project was way behind its goals, it was not adequately efficient. So what he did is he promised a new, robust program that had similar goals and that brings us today date.

Now, this is what we know. The president tomorrow is going to be announcing plans, as you've been saying, to increase NASA's budget by $6 billion over five years. Some of that will go to overhauling what you're seeing here, activities at Kennedy Space Center, modernizing the equipment there.

It's also, though, has this shift in priorities that you're talking about. A lot of what we'll be learning is moving some money from NASA's human spaceflight program to other spaceflight programs including robotics. There's all sort of robotics programs that NASA operates and a lot of them are looking at Mars, Tony. There are great things on the website about what Mars looks like and robot missions to get out to Mars, information, explorations.

The White House says that the goal remains to eventually get people to Mars, but in the meantime, the president's plan instead is going to pump federal funds into some private companies, Tony, to develop spacecraft to ferry astronauts.

But a critical context for this, the space shuttle that we use to get astronauts out there, schedules to retire at the end of this year -- to the International Space Station, rather. And after that, U.S. astronauts will now rely on Russia, on these Russian Soyuz rockets, when they want to reach the International Space Station.

HARRIS: So, all right, Josh, so the blue-ribbon panel empanelled by the president came back and concluded, what? That it was -- the goals weren't being met, that it was underfunded?

LEVS: It was behind on its goals compared to amount of money.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Not enough money and that the goals weren't feasible moving forward, right? So here's the thing. You know, the president will announce a shift in priorities tomorrow and jobs associated with that shift. What do we know about the jobs question in all of this?

LEVS: Yes, to me it was one of the most interesting things here. I have figures for you. So the folks at the Kennedy Space Center who took a look at the plan and they are saying it could cause layoffs of about 7,000 people. At the same time, the White House talking about this plan is saying that this plan will create thousands of jobs.

Now, on the face of it, that makes sense. If you're dropping some programs at Kennedy, right? If you're shifting priorities, thousands of people will lose jobs. At the same time, they're doing this modernizing, that means construction right there.

What we also will learn more about is the changes in technology. If they move more to robotics, maybe it will be the same people, maybe it will be other people out there with different skills, Tony.

HARRIS: And the suggestion here in part is that so much of the infrastructure for whatever comes next is housed where it is. I mean, we're going to talk to the mayor of Cocoa Beach in just a moment, and then the infrastructure is housed there, so whatever comes next, a lot of the jobs will remain in that community.

But there's no doubt about the fact that some people will lose the jobs as has been the case in sector after sector after sector as change has come. Correct?

LEVS: That's inevitable. I mean, that is what happens with change and we'll see how the numbers ultimately shake out. But yes, some people will lose their jobs, some people will get jobs through the actions that are happening now.

HARRIS: Good stuff, Josh. Appreciate it, thank you.

LEVS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: You know, changes at NASA are sending ripples throughout Florida's space coast. Cocoa Beach Mayor Skip Beeler -- there he is on Skype -- joining us to talk about how NASA job cuts could affect the entire area.

We are back with that man in just a minute. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: NASA means jobs for communities near Florida's Kennedy Space Center and the changes at NASA will mean job cuts. The end of the Shuttle program and the cancellation of the Constellation Moon program could mean a loss of up to 7,000 to 9,000 contract jobs. Cocoa Beach officials say as many as 20,000 area jobs could be lost.

Dr. Skip Beeler is mayor of Cocoa Beach and he is also a contract worker at the Kennedy Space Center who could lose his job.

Mr. Mayor, appreciate your time. Thanks for talking to us.

DR. SKIP BEELER, MAYOR, COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA (via Skype): Nice to be here, Tony.

HARRIS: A couple of questions from one here. From one here, the Obama administration says thousands of new jobs will be created as it changes the emphasis in the space program, won't many of those jobs come to or remain in your community, Cocoa Beach, given that so much of the infrastructure is there?

BEELER: Well, the way NASA's set up, they have ten centers and they spread these jobs all over. It's never been clear to any of the local community leaders where these new jobs are going to come. Even in a recent meeting I was in with the center director with some local congressmen, they couldn't quantitate how many of these new jobs would come to this area.

HARRIS: How do you know you'll see job losses in the area of 7,000 to 9,000? Where does that figure come from?

BEELER: Well, we get those numbers from NASA. The Congress tasked NASA to give them certain numbers every six months as to what they thought those job loss numbers were going to be and those are the numbers that we're getting from NASA, KFC.

HARRIS: And the idea that you could lose 20,000 jobs in the surrounding community and your community and elsewhere, where does that figure come from?

BEELER: That comes from the Economic Development Council. That's our local, regional business group.

HARRIS: OK. The people who have been working on the Shuttle and Constellation programs, what's your thought on this? Will they be able to shift into these new areas, the new emphasis that is about to be laid out by the president tomorrow?

BEELER: Well, that's a good question. I mean, we have a highly trained workforce. We have 10 percent of our people here are in high- tech jobs compared to 4 percent or 5 percent nationally and 10 percent are in, you know, intellectual jobs compared to about 8 percent nationally. So they're very highly trained and educated, but it's a little unclear still because this vision is vague, at least to those of us who are here. So we don't know if they can transfer.

HARRIS: The idea of either greatly redefining or canceling the Constellation program as it is currently laid out, do you fundamentally disagree with that idea, that notion from the president?

BEELER: Well, I'm not a space person. I'm a physician. I mean, I think that it was very unfortunate that that happened because, you know, that was going to be the bridge to the next, you know, vision of space, and it was going to keep some jobs here and buffer this -- what now looks to be a catastrophic loss to this area. HARRIS: Tell me about that vision. The idea of building a community on the moon -- doesn't the moon have a kind of been there, done that quality to it? What do we get out of Constellation and its goals of building this commune, this community on the moon? What do we get out of that?

BEELER: Well, I can't -- you know, again, I'm a physician, but I'm going to many of the local forums put on by our local paper, "Florida Today." I think one of the Congressmen said it better, the people who have the high grounds are in the best position, the moon and space are high ground. I think a lot of our military and a lot of our success as a country is because we excelled in space.

HARRIS: Yes. What do you think the impact will have on tourism?

BEELER: Well, it will effect tourism because we get a phenomenal number of people here for shuttle launches and landings, and people coming into the Kennedy Space Center. Our fear is once that goes away those people just aren't going to be coming back.

We always -- we have the beach, that's the part of Cocoa Beach. We're always going to have that, but a big part, a good part of our local tourism is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Center and you know, the people who come to see the launches. And that -- we could easily lose a good chunk there.

HARRIS: Well, you got to -- you know, if it all goes away, you've still got a museum. Does that hold any kind of appeal for you?

BEELER: Well yes, but let's face it, the museums don't give you that striking feeling like watching a space shuttle or seeing your country's number one space vehicle fly into space. I'm telling you -- and I know you've seen it, many Americans haven't -- it's one of the most patriotic things you can ever see.

HARRIS: No, it is tremendous. It is absolutely.

Mr. Mayor, appreciate it. Maybe we'll have you back after the president's announcement and we'll get your thoughts and your views on what might be coming your way and whether or not it is feasible at all and maybe can save some jobs for your community. We appreciate it.

BEELER: I would be glad to come back any time.

HARRIS: Appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

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

A remote area of western China rocked by a major earthquake and aftershock. The quake had a magnitude of 6.9. Right now, 400 deaths are reported and at least 10,000 people are hurt. Many of those victims including schoolchildren trapped in the rubble.

Six people shot today in Chicago. Four are dead including a 7- month-old baby and 3-year-old girl. Police are questioning a person about the killings. Reports indicate that person is a family member. Thirty-six hours and 20 minutes or so, all of the time you have left to file your taxes, but don't be in such a rush that you get scammed. Help is on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right, let's rock this. Midnight tomorrow, the deadline to get your taxes done. For those of you rushing to file, beware. Got to tell you, beware of scam artists. Ines Ferre is back with us, she's in New York right now.

And, Ines, great to see you. What are the big of the scams you're finding out there?

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we spoke with the IRS commissioner and he says beware if you get an e-mail from the IRS. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS SHULMAN, IRS COMMISSIONER: This week we're very busy processing returns, trying to get refunds out quickly. We're not doing a lot of outreach. You should make sure if you're going to give any sensitive information to anyone that it is the person they claim to be. We're not sending e-mails out to people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: In fact, the IRS never sends e-mail. If the agency needs information, you'll be contacted by regular mail first or by phone eventually, Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Ines, I think this is pretty interesting. Next year, the IRS says it plans to regulate tax preparers. How big a problem is fraud in this particular area, do we know?

FERRE: The IRS says it's a big problem and these are some things that you should actually look out for. People who claim they can get you unusually larger refunds than other preparers, if they base their fee on a percentage of your refunds, or they ask you to sign a blank form. Reputable preparers will ask for receipts and will ask questions to determine whether expenses, deductions and other items actually qualify, Tony.

HARRIS: And what else should people, generally speaking, watch out for right now?

FERRE: Right. Don't believe outlandish arguments that it's voluntary to file your taxes or the myth that if you don't file your taxes the government will do it for you. It won't. Those are falsehoods. They've been around for awhile and they won't let you get out of filing your taxes or paying Uncle Sam, Tony.

And if you suspect any kind of fraud, you can call 800-829-3676 or visit the IRS website at IRS.gov. And of course, any questions, send them to us at CNNHelpDesk@CNN.com, Tony. HARRIS: Awesome, awesome. And you're back with what's hot on the Internet, correct?

FERRE: I sure am.

HARRIS: See you next hour. Ines Ferre in New York for us.

Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

We are listing projects and naming names -- this is going to be fun. The Congressional Pig Book. That's right, the pig book is out. Who had the biggest earmarks and where was the money spent?

Plus, a look at the Catholic Church's latest controversy. A top Vatican cardinal blaming the child sex abuse cases on homosexuality.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: I need you to reach out to the program, talk to me directly. A couple ways to do it. First of all, CNN.com/Tony takes you directly to this -- bam -- our blog page. To send us your thoughts on Facebook, here's what you do. Tony Harris, CNN. Here's my Twitter address, TonyharrisCNN. Call us. Pick up the phone. 877- 742-5760. Let's have more of your thoughts on the program. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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HARRIS: That is good stuff. Love it.

Going beyond reading and math, Washington high school students are learning to conserve energy and live greener lives. Photojournalist John Bodner (ph) has our story.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I am measuring to figure out how much power the pencil sharpener is drawing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We work with schools. All elements of it, teachers, students, administrators.

MEGAN CAMPION, THE ALLIANCE TO SAVE ENERGY: This is what we're going to use to see how much power is being drawn by each light bulb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trying to teach energy efficiency and bringing that to the schools and back home.

DAVON BRYNT, STUDENT: I would definitely take home to my parents and talk to them about just energy efficiency and how we could save money.

Now, we're going to take some energy data and go upstairs and check out how efficient our school is.

CAMPION: The first is to educate students about the link between energy and the environment.

BRYNT: The desktop is right here, and I'm guess that uses the most energy since it's always on.

CAMPION: The Green Schools program helps to save energy in schools and allow schools to have that money to spend on other things.

BRYNT: It's 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That's pretty good.

CAMPION: The third is to expose kids to careers in energy and other green careers in sustainability.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been burning coal and wood for the past thousands of years and it's just starting to really hit us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young people have all the tools at their disposal.

CAMPION: It's not a heat gun. It's an infrared temperature gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the Alliance to Save Energy is really working to get those tools into their hands.

CAMPION: So this measures the luminosity of any particular light source.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young people can be the center of moving this forward, making our buildings, making our society, making schools far more efficiently than they currently are.

BRYNT: By applying it in my own life, I'm educating the people around me. And by bringing some of the things that I learned in class today to the administration, I could help the school for years to come.

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HARRIS: That's our special "GREEN SOLUTIONS IN FOCUS." The week of Earth Day, CNN's award-winning photo journalist will highlight some of the people behind the green movement and the positive impact of their project projects. "GREEN SOLUTIONS IN FOCUS" here Saturday April 24th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.

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HARRIS: So the Obama administration's Mortgage Modification program is not keeping pace with the flood of foreclosures. CNN's Stephanie Elam at New York at the Business Desk there.

Stephanie, give us the new numbers from Congress' bailout watchdog.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, this is something that obviously we've been watching.

I'll tell you this. First of all, the Obama administration was hoping to help 4 million people through these plans, and it turns out that according to this Congressional Oversight Panel that they'll likely help only about 1 million people. Now, they are saying today that the numbers of people that they are helping here is now like 230,000 homeowners who have gotten permanent help as of the end of March. Still, a far cry from what they want to do.

Now, take a look at this on the screen. You can see for every one home saved, 10 foreclosures are happening. That's obviously not the ratio you want. They're saying as far as long-term help as of February, that number was 168,708. And they're saying that 6 million delinquent homeowners, people who are more than six days behind on their payments, there are 6 million people there. So clearly, there's a lot of people who fit into this overwhelming majority who are just not getting assistance.

The panel does say that the Treasury pushed to move people out of these temporary works and find a way to put them in permanent solutions is a good thing. That's one of the good things that they're doing, it's just not helping enough of the people out there that really need it. So the panel is really concerned about the long-term sustainability of these programs. They're also saying what's going to be the ultimate cost, what are the goals.

And the other issue is that six programs came out last year. As you remember, Tony, it was a hectic time. And everyone is like, what do we do? And they're throwing programs out, they're trying to figure out ways to help people. And they're saying because of that there may be confusion and that may be leading to some delays. So that's part of the issue there, too.

HARRIS: So you can maybe streamline the system and make it more efficient for more people.

The other thing to keep in mind here is that TARP, and Elizabeth Warren is chairing that commission, TARP was, in part, designed to get this problem under control. It wasn't just about bailing out the financial institutions, correct?

ELAM: Oh, right. No, this money that they're talking about here that they've put forth to these programs is coming from the TARP money. That's the reason why you're seeing the Congressional Oversight Panel discussing it, because it falls into their purview.

But that's the thing, is that they take a look at it and they're saying overall, you know, we've heard that the Obama administration programs to help foreclosures had been criticized, they're just saying this could be doing more and that even when it is truly fully operational it's not going to do what they were hoping to do and help out 4 million, and we've got 6 million people in that situation.

HARRIS: And even the Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is saying the program is not working as efficiently and effectively as it should and there needs to be changes and modifications. Stephanie, appreciate it. See you in a couple minutes.

ELAM: I just want to say that the Treasury is saying that they never expected all these programs to help out everyone anyway, but they do wish they could help out more people. That's all.

HARRIS: Stephanie, appreciate it. Thank you.