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Showdown in Arkansas; Divided Republicans in Kentucky; Oil Leak Hearing; Fighting Drug Cartels
Aired May 18, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN in 60 seconds.
The nation's anti-Washington mood gets a test today with a string of primary elections.
Five American service personnel and a Canadian are killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan. At least a dozen civilians also died.
The U.S. Army recalls 44,000 combat helmets. They failed to meet ballistics testing standards.
An administration official says President Obama plans to set up a special commission to investigate the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster.
The U.S., Russia and China agree on a new U.N. sanctions resolution against Iran.
The mothers of three American hikers held in Iran head to Tehran and hope to return to the U.S. with their three adult children.
Missouri and Illinois are getting soaked again by heavy rains.
The feds expand their investigation in the recent recall of Children's Tylenol.
A prosecutor says a former Harvard student made up a king-size story about his credentials to get thousands of dollars in scholarships.
Mt. St. Helens erupts 30 years ago today. Fifty-seven people were killed when the mountain exploded with atomic force.
This is CNN in 60 seconds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen.
Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
Primary elections. Voters in several states sending a message that could impact races where you live.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to vote for any incumbents. I think it's time to get them all out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope things will change. And I think everything needs to -- I think we need to change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK.
The oil spewing into the Gulf. The big questions today, what could have been to stop it and how will it be cleaned up?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a disaster, a manmade disaster that we now have to help fix. The people have to fix it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You're online right now, and we are, too. Ines Ferre is following the top stories trending on the Internet -- Ines.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, trending on Yahoo! right now, a new study that says that happiness comes with age. And also, Google looking to introduce Smart TV. They're combining their TV and Internet experience.
I'll have more on that story coming up.
HARRIS: Happiness comes with age, a trending story. Good. I'm trending in that direction.
All right, Ines. See you later.
Let's get started with our lead story. Voter voices coming through loud and clear today. Elections under way in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas seen as a measure of just how angry many of you are across the country.
Incumbents are at risk in today's primaries. Pennsylvania's five-term senator, Arlen Specter, who, until last year was a Republican, is neck and neck with challenger Joe Sestak.
It could be a Tea Party takeover in Kentucky's Republican Senate primary. Political newcomer Rand Paul challenging Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.
And in Arkansas, it is Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln versus Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter, who is attacking her for not being liberal enough.
The best political team on television brings you the results today in the key races.
Right now, let's talk to one of the members of that political team, Dana Bash, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
And Dana, look, you have been at a polling place most of the morning here. What are you seeing? What are people saying to you?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, there is interest, heavy interest, in this race here in Arkansas. And I wouldn't be surprised if it was true across the country.
But early voting actually started here May 3rd, and the secretary of state's office here in Arkansas says 125,000 people have already voted in both the Republican and Democratic primaries. That is a record in this state.
And as it goes today, we are at this polling place. We've been here all morning. And they say that there has been a slow and steady trickle. And they say it's a little bit above average, probably, for a Primary Day in terms of voter interest.
Now, what are voters telling us? It is really mixed, Tony. It's very interesting.
What we are hearing with regard to Senator Blanche Lincoln is some of what we have heard on the airwaves and heard in the diners and so forth, which is that some voters are coming in here and they are casting their ballot against the incumbent senator, because they say they are just sick of Washington, they want change, and she's the one that they can change right now. But it's also a Democratic primary. She is a moderate Democrat.
So, you also have some Democratic voters coming in here and saying that they don't like her because she wasn't tough enough on health care, and specifically that she didn't support a public option. Listen to one voter on that.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for Blanche Lincoln.
BASH: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lesser of two evils. I wasn't really happy with either candidate, but I feel that Arkansas needs to have a legislator up in Washington at this time.
BASH: And why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because there's a lot of decisions being made right now in Washington, and a junior statesman would not be on the committees that we need to get things accomplished.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That is so interesting, Dana. And yet, my understanding is you're talking to voters today who have decided to stick with the incumbent. Tell me why.
BASH: That's right. And that was actually one of those voters. I think we got our sound bites a little mixed up.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: That was a voter that was indicative of people who are sticking with Blanche Lincoln. What I was going to tell you is and what you were going to hear from the other voter, Tony, is that they were not happy that she waffled, in the words of that voter, on health care. And that is definitely a trend when it comes to Democratic primary voters.
But what is very fascinating is that when we were with Blanche Lincoln over the past couple of days, she has been campaigning as any incumbent would -- I have been up in Washington. I am not one of them. I'm one of you.
She was doing it in her Delta drawl, saying that, I'm fighting for you, I have very important positions, like her chairmanship of the Agriculture Committee. And we have talked to several voters -- we just heard one of them -- who say, I buy that. I actually agree. We need someone with a little bit of seniority to help us here in Arkansas, which is a relatively poor state.
So, that message seems to have been resonating. The question for Blanche Lincoln is, will she get enough of these voters here to hit that 50 percent threshold, or at least a little bit more than that, so that she can avoid a runoff? But very interesting to hear these voters who really are very mixed with regard to her and with regard to their feelings about Washington.
HARRIS: Boy, it is one of the hot contests today.
Our Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash in Little Rock, Arkansas, for us.
Dana, good to see you. Thank you.
In Kentucky, it is the old line Republican guard battling the Tea Party, Secretary of State Trey Grayson versus political newcomer. We're talking about Rand Paul.
National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin -- do we have Jessica? She is joining us now from Bowling Green.
And Jessica, if you would, size up this race. What are you seeing at that polling place so far today?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, the voters we've spoken with, Tony, say -- almost repeat Rand Paul's campaign message. They want outsiders. It's a lot of what you've heard Dana say. They want change in Washington. And to a person, we found voters who support Rand Paul -- that is, the upstart, the insurgent, and a man who is a standard bearer in a way for the Tea Party movement.
When I spoke to him and I asked him if he should win, what kind of message should that send to voters nationally, to the Republican Party, what does it say about the Tea Party?
Let's listen.
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YELLIN: How big a victory would it be for the Tea Party?
RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY SENATE CANDIDATE: I think this will be the first statewide primary that anybody wins that's a Tea Party candidate. So I think it can't be overstated, how big a victory this would be for the Tea Party.
YELLIN: And what should politicians broadly learn from this going forward, Republicans in other states who will be running for office? Your success must speak something to them.
PAUL: Well, I think that we're tired of politics as usual. We're tired of a Washington that seems out of touch. But also a Washington that just keeps spending and spending and spending. And people are at a breaking point. We're worried about what happens to our kids and grandkids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So, he has promised that if he goes to Washington, he will vote his principles. He will not be basing his votes, Tony, on what the senior senator from this state does. That would be Mitch McConnell, who is also the minority leader in the Senate. There is a clear divide between the two of them. It will be interesting to watch if that one gets healed -- Tony.
HARRIS: He says, Jessica, he will be voting his principles. What are some of his positions that folks are gravitating to?
YELLIN: Yes. Some of them, it's interesting. He, for example, wants to return power to the states and rein in federal spending.
So, how would he do that? One way, he wants to abolish the federal Department of Education. He says all that should be returned to the states.
He would also shut down the Federal Reserve if he has his way.
He's against the IRS, but he recognizes that taking that away would be difficult right now, so he just won't raise taxes.
Some of those views definitely are outside the mainstream. But he prefers to focus on the views that he thinks are shared by many Americans. For examples, his emphasis on term limits and on a balanced budget. He says those two issues alone prove that he's in the mainstream and can win on his themes (ph) in November. We'll see -- Tony.
HARRIS: Got to tell you, those first two positions, he sounds like a chip off the old block. We've heard those same positions articulated by his dad.
YELLIN: Right. Grew up with those views.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
YELLIN: Ron Paul.
HARRIS: All right, Jessica. Good to see you. Thank you.
Before you see him tonight on CNN, see him right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. CNN's John King talks about today's key primary races and incumbents on the line. That's in about 20 minutes.
And then join John tonight on "JOHN KING USA" for primary results. "JOHN KING USA," 7:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
Got to tell you, developments are unfolding on several fronts in the oil slick in the Gulf. BP said today it has increased the amount of oil being pumped from the ruptured pipe into an insertion tube. The company says 2,000 barrels a day are now being siphoned off.
And researchers say a plume of oil may be getting dragged into the so-called loop current. That is the current that runs south of the Florida Keys, into the Gulf Stream, and up the East Coast.
A Senate panel is looking into what the government did and didn't do in response to the oil leak. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is among the witnesses at the Senate hearing going on right now.
Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar has that part of the story from Capitol Hill.
And Brianna, let me start with this -- how much responsibility does the federal government accept in this disaster at this point?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In prepared testimony, Tony, Secretary Salazar pretty much acknowledged that the federal government has some responsibility here. He said there was a failure on the part of the federal government to make sure, basically, that the oil industry was drilling safely.
Now, in particular, we're talking about the Minerals Management Service, the MMS, which we've been talking a lot about now for weeks, it seems. This is an organization that, toward the end of the Bush administration, was mired in a rather debaucherous sex scandal, aside from regulatory issues, pure regulatory issues that some senators have brought up today.
This was a sex scandal where some of the regulators were literally having sex and doing drugs with the oil company representatives that they were supposed to be policing. And so, we heard Secretary Salazar really acknowledge some of the failings of this agency under his department.
Listen to this.
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KEN SALAZAR, INTERIOR SECRETARY: That responsibility, I will say, starts first with the Department of Interior and the Minerals Management Service. We need to clean up that house. It's an effort which we started back now some 15, 16 months ago, which included dealing with sex and drug investigations that had been under way. People who have been involved in those issues have been prosecuted and have been terminated, and other personnel actions have been taken.
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KEILAR: But as you know, Tony, we've also been seeing the representatives from these oil companies that are involved, BP the largest among them. We've seen them in hearings up here on Capitol Hill over the last week. And Secretary Salazar really pointed a finger at them.
We've been seeing these individual corporations pointing fingers at each other, but he said, look, BP, which owns the well, Transocean, which owns the rig, Halliburton, which did some cementing on the well, and Cameron, which is the manufacturer of that blowout preventer, they all bear some of the responsibility here.
But, I have to tell you, it was really interesting. I just heard in this hearing one of the Democratic senators, Ron Wyden, really come down on Salazar for the MMS, basically just saying, look, you need to drain the swamp here of this regulatory agency.
HARRIS: How did the interior secretary respond to that?
KEILAR: I mean, he acknowledges that there are some major problems with MMS. And one of his announcements recently has been that they're going to split up this agency.
This is an agency that is essentially a landlord, right? Collecting royalties, collecting the rent, if you will, for these oil leases out in the Gulf and in other places. But they also regulate these oil companies.
So, one of the proposals from Salazar has been to split this down the middle so that you can separate what is at least a perceived, if not a very real, conflict of interest. And he said there's going to be more announcements coming on how they're going to deal with these regulators in the coming days.
HARRIS: I can't wait to hear what's next. All right.
Our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, for us.
Brianna, appreciate it. Thank you. Training along the border, how the U.S. is helping in the war on drugs. First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
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HARRIS: Billions of dollars and thousands of lives, the cost of fighting the war on drugs. It is estimated the U.S. has spent -- listen to this -- $1 trillion over 40 years. These days, much of this war is being waged in Mexico.
President Felipe Calderon visits the White House tomorrow, and you can bet he and President Obama will talk about what more can be done to stop it.
Next week, Congress will decide whether or not to continue funding one program in particular.
CNN's Rafael Romo looks at that.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice- over): At a training facility in Arizona, U.S. Border Patrol agents are teaching their tactics. Many of the beneficiaries of this training are not new recruits, but Mexican police officers fighting a war on drug cartels across the border from Nogales, Arizona.
Thomas Pittman (ph) heads up the Border Patrol's program.
THOMAS PITTMAN (ph), HEADS PROGRAM: We just hope that if they get into a situation where they have to utilize this type of training, that they prevail and go home to their families, just like we want to do every day.
ROMO: The training is part of a cooperation agreement between Mexico and the United States called Merida Initiative, approved by the U.S. Congress in June of 2008. Under the Merida Initiative, Mexico has received $400 million in the last three years for the training, plus surveillance equipment and communication networks.
P.J. CROWLEY, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: We are significantly invested in the Merida Initiative. You know, under the first phase, involved the delivery of significant systems to augment Mexico's capability. We're now in the midst of transitioning into more training that allows the military and law enforcement to develop institutionally.
ROMO: Seven Central American countries, as well as Haiti and the Dominican Republican in the Caribbean have received $65 million in the same period of time. Lately, the Merida Initiative has come under criticism in Mexico and abroad. Some say it's not working as drug violence has increased, especially in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas.
More than 2,600 people died in Juarez alone last year, but officials on both sides of the border say most of those killed are people involved in drug trafficking, and the overall strategy is working.
CROWLEY: We understand the commitment that President Calderon and his administration have. We share that commitment. We're working hard with Mexico and other countries in the region. This certainly isn't just about the United States and Mexico.
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HARRIS: Let's drill down on this a bit more. Rafael Romo joining me now, live on the set here.
And Rafael, how does President Calderon justify this program given the fact that deaths -- people continue to die in Mexico?
ROMO: As many as 23,000 people have died in the last three years. But if you ask his administration, they will say that most of those people are drug traffickers themselves, or people related to drug trafficking in Mexico. Although we have seen many deaths of civilians in the last few months.
HARRIS: What is the -- how would you describe the level of cooperation between the Mexican government, the government of the United States, and investigating this drug activity, these cartels, along the border?
ROMO: There's great cooperation between the two countries. Last week, a former Mexican governor in the state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, was extradited to the United States. And then I was taking a look at some numbers. More than 300 people, Mexican citizens, have been extradited to the United States since Calderon took office.
So, there's a good level of cooperation there. But the question is, is it really enough?
HARRIS: Yes.
President Calderon has been in office since -- is it 2006?
ROMO: December of 2006, yes.
HARRIS: And what was that number again of deaths since he's been in office related to the war on drugs?
ROMO: Twenty-two thousand seven hundred. Almost 23,000 by now.
HARRIS: Wow. That is massive.
Rafael, appreciate it. Thank you. And you'll be back with us to help us with our coverage of the meeting between Felipe Calderon and President Obama tomorrow.
ROMO: Absolutely.
HARRIS: Looking forward to that.
A massive combat helmet recall by the Army, but it only solves half the problem. Why 44,000 U.S. troops could be in danger.
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(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: A message from the Pentagon to the troops on the front lines -- check your helmets.
Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence reports the military has lost track of 44,000 defective helmets.
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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The search is on for tens of thousands of potentially defective combat helmets. But there's no clear idea which American troops are wearing them.
BRIG. GEN. PETER FULLER, U.S. ARMY: Of the 44,000, we don't know where they are. So they could be on some soldier's head in either Iraq or Afghanistan. They could also be anywhere else in the world.
LAWRENCE: The army ordered a recall of about 100,000 helmets made by Armor Source. About half were already in storage, no danger there. But the others got shipped out to troops. So the Army is ordering soldiers to check their helmets and look for the Armor Source label inside.
FULLER: Just pull back the cover of your helmet to identify where the tag is.
LAWRENCE: The army is not saying a bullet would punch through these helmets, but they might not protect troops from a worst case scenario of multiple gunshots from a specific angle.
The army issued a warning alleging Armor Source helmets were produced using unauthorized manufacturing practices, defective materials, and improper quality procedures, which could potentially reduce ballistic and fragmentation protection.
LAWRENCE DICKSON, CEO, ARMOR SOURCE: I believe that statement to be totally and wholly inaccurate.
LAWRENCE: I spoke with the Armor Source CEO and Larry Dickson was shocked by the recall.
DICKSON: We made a life's career out of making products that protect the soldiers. That's what I've done for 30 years. There's no product here that went out the door that hadn't been 100 percent tested and accepted by the government.
LAWRENCE: Even the Army admits that's true. They did test these helmets before handing them to soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it was not evident during that time. LAWRENCE: But then the Army learned the Justice Department was investigating Armor Source. That set off alarms. So they went back and retested those helmets and this time the Army says they did not meet the ballistic standard.
(on camera): Now, the Army uses several companies to make helmets, and they say they're already pushing replacements out into the field. In Afghanistan, some troops have already started to turn in their helmets in exchange for one that's not on the recall list.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, the Pentagon.
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HARRIS: I've got to tell you, incumbents are sweating out today's primaries. We will show you why.
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HARRIS: Electoral showdowns in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas seen as a measure of what might happen in your state come November. Many voters want to kick out the incumbents, kick the bums out.
In Pennsylvania, five-term senator Arlen Specter is in a dead- heat race against challenger Joe Sestak, who at one point was 20 points behind.
CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley is covering the primary from Philadelphia.
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CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, there is double trouble on this Election Day for Arlen Specter.
First, he has been a senator for 30 years. And this may be an anti-incumbent year.
Add to that, that for 29 of those years, Specter was a Republican. Just last year, he switched over to the Democratic side. And although he had the backing of President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and the governor of the state, Rendell, he has not been able to take that support and translate it over to the tried and true Democrats who still have some suspicion of Specter and that party switch.
Now, Specter's opponent, Joe Sestak, has really delved into that. He put out a devastating ad about Specter talking about his party switch. It has really caused some voters to take notice.
Sestak once was 20 points behind. He is now running dead even.
It is not, though, that Specter is without some advantage on this Election Day. First of all, he has been elected statewide five times, something Sestak has not been even once. Second of all, with the backing of Governor Ed Rendell, Specter does have a turn-out-the-vote machine that can be very useful on primary days, when everything matters, how many voters you get out there. Generally, these are low voter turnout events, so the more you can pour into a machine and get to that voting booth, the better off you are.
Specter also enjoys some very good union support. Unions, too, have feet on the ground, as they say. They can knock on doors and say come on out to the polls.
So, Specter is not without some weapons here. But this is the most serious challenge he has had in his 30-year career. And certainly, the winds, the prevailing winds have been anti-incumbent. If he falls tonight, this is going to tell us a lot about what in store for incumbent this fall - Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, that's for sure. Candy, thank you. In addition to the Pennsylvania Senate race, there are contests in Kentucky and Arkansas today. This headline in the Northwest Arkansas Times suggest, have better than usual turn out today for that U.S. integration Kentucky, the Lexington Herald leader has the headlines, "State takes Center Stage." That's for sure.
So let's do this. Let's talk about these races and the people who are making cliffhangers with CNN's John King, host of "John King U.S.A" weeknights right here on CNN.
John, it's good to see you. Thanks for the time for being here. Let's talk about these races? This is amazing stuff happening today. Who is taking part, John, in these midterms notoriously known for their low voter turnout. We had a large turnout from African- Americans for the election of President Obama. What role are African- Americans playing in these races?
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, they could play decisive role if they turnout and that's one of the things we try to track in these early hours. If African-Americans turnout - let's focus first on urban African-Americans.
If they turnout in large numbers in the city of Philadelphia, nudged on by their mayor, nudged by their unions, nudged on by their ministers then Arlen Specter most likely would be happy because he has the institutional support, Candy was just talking about.
He needs a big African-American turnout in the city. Will they play? We don't know the answer to that. We know there was a lot of energy on Barack Obama was on the bell in 2008. So far, indications are people aren't as interested in the midterm elections and a lot of people on the left of Democratic party, felt that they've gotten much for a president and big Democratic majority. So, will they play?
Urban African-American voters are critical in Pennsylvania. Rural African-American voters are critical in that Arkansas primary and they will be critical. We're just learning about these two states today. They're races all across the country. HARRIS: Right.
KING: Where Democrats and Republicans will watch turnouts today try to figure out what's going to happen when my race comes up, two weeks, three weeks, a month or three months down the road.
HARRIS: Hey, John, we seem to be seeing some real purity test here in some of these races. Tea Party activism in the Kentucky race and a challenge from the left to Blanch Lincoln in Arkansas, is this the day that may if it was, big (tent) politics is over, forget about it?
KING: Well, big tent politics are surely being challenged. Look, primaries are often purity test, you know, it's the most Liberal base of the Democratic party turns out. The most Conservative base of the Republican party turns out so primaries are more about the edges.
General elections tend to be more about the middle, but there is more evidence of that drive for dissatisfaction and some would say (inaudible) issue. Take the left first, you see the race in Pennsylvania.
HARRIS: Yes.
KING: Sestak is fueled by people say, hey, all inspectors are not a real Democrat. He only switched a year ago to save his job. In Arkansas, Democrats are saying, you know, Blanch Lincoln is one of the reasons the Democrats should have the courage to stand up and fight for the public option. We need to get rid of her and get a more pure Democrat in there.
And on the right, you mentioned, the Tea Party race in Kentucky, Rand Paul is running not just against Barack Obama and the Democratic agenda, he says the Republican party -- the Republican party that he says, screwed up in 2006, screwed up in 2008.
HARRIS: Right.
KING: Spent the country's - spent all that money when you had allegedly Conservative president. He says, they need awake up call as well as the Democrats. So on both ends of our political spectrum, you have restiveness, restlessness and a bit of agitation, and the leadership, the establishment of both parties is being challenged in this election.
HARRIS: You know, I'm getting a wrap here, but I can't let you go before I ask you at least one more question because I don't get you that much and I want to work -
KING: Sure.
HARRIS: Yes - you know, I'm interested in the race where Billy John Murtha's seat in Pennsylvania. Look the winner here will be serving - will go to Washington right away. This has been a strongly Democratic dispute, but could Dems lose this seat? KING: They could lose that seat. Democrats are hoping that because there is more interest in the Democratic Senate primary in Pennsylvania, that more Democrats will turnout and they will hold this seat. The Democratic candidate is named Mark Critz (ph). More than $4 million has been spent here. This one will be looked - I remember the Scott Brown race in Massachusetts.
HARRIS: Yes.
KING: He won that race. The Republican took that away. Ted Kennedy is all see for the Democrats if Republicans win. They will say this is another message election. If the Democrats can hold on to this one, they will say, you know what, this is a tough year, but maybe it won't be as bad as you think.
HARRY: There he is the man, John King, the name of the show over his right shoulder, "John King USA." Good to see you, sir. Thanks for the time.
KING: Take care, Tony.
HARRIS: One thing is clear, most of you do not like the direction of this country is taking. A new Gallop poll shows 24 percent of respondents are satisfied with the way things are going. A whopping 74 percent dissatisfied so we want to know what do you want? What do you want?
Just to go to our blog CNN.com/tony, leave us a comment and we will share some of them with everyone a little later. We'll be back in a moment.
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HARRIS: OK, CNN of course is your story to financial news. Let me get you to CNNmoney.com here and just you see what is the lead story here, "Pledging to Reform Ties with Big Oil."
But I want to find something else that is even more pertinent to your life right now. Your money is your number one progress. Five secrets, yes, five secrets of successful career changers. Let's get you there. You know, what is it these days?
You go through it maybe three, four or maybe five different careers in the course of a working lifetime so that's CNNmoney.com. Let's get you to the New York Stock Exchange. We are better than three hours into the trading day and the Dow is back in positive territory. We are up close to 7 points. The NASDAQ is down so we've had a mix day going for stocks.
Film making is certainly not new to New Mexico. It's beautiful there and it is proving to be a boom for the state in this difficult economic times. We are talking a billion dollars a year. CNN's Tom Foreman is in Albuquerque.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony. The movie business has always been about big dreams, but a lot of people here could not had dreamed what was going to happen when they launched a big plan some years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): What do Transformers, Indiana Jones, and No Country for Old Men have in common?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, this is just a deal gone wrong isn't it?
FOREMAN: They were all made in New Mexico.
(on camera): The film industry here is just going gamebusters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really is.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And in the capital, the governor's man in charge of film, Eric (Witt) is delighted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has helped a lot of the people in our local economy, not just film, but all the related industries.
FOREMAN (on camera): And what is this place right here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an establishment called "Evangelist," one of the more famous bars here in Santa Fe. It's been here for about 40 years. In this bar, they shot "Crazy Her."
FOREMAN (voice-over): New Mexico has built this love affair with film through an aggressive campaign that started seven years ago. That's when the state began offering big rebates to filmmakers who would come and hire local workers, buy local products and use local facilities.
Like the sprawling new sound stages just outside of Albuquerque. In addition, the state can cover salaries for local folks being trained for film jobs. As a result, the number of skilled film workers here has gone from 100 to 3,000.
STEVE BROWN, STAGE FOREMAN: It's a very high paying jobs, great benefits.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the construction has really slowed down, this has really been a good way to fill that - that economic void for jobs.
FOREMAN: This is not an utterly new idea. Thomas Edison's picture company made the first film here more than a century ago and in the '20s and '30s, cowboy films rode all over the New Mexico range, but what is happening now is much bigger than what was happening back then.
(on camera): Even bigger than what was happening 13 years ago when they had five film and video projects in this state. Last year, they had more than 40 and the number keeps growing.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The state estimates 10,000 jobs have been created on the sets and by the dozens of local businesses providing everything from catering to computer animation to big spending filmmakers.
(on camera): Do you have any idea how much they're spending each year here?
ERIC WITT, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR: They're spending about $300 million a year here right now in hard cash, generating about a billion dollars a year now in economic activities. The money circulates to the local economy.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And that ride by almost all accounts is just beginning.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on camera): They've been still hit by the recession pretty hard here, but they feel like this is one bull work against that giving all those construction people, for example, something to do. And the result, they now have more trained film technicians here than anywhere in the country outside of New York and Los Angeles - Tony.
HARRIS: Pretty amazing. All right, Tom Foreman for us. You know, we're answering your questions on health care reform. We're going to take you to the help desk, right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: That's good, that's good. That's Keisha, isn't it? Who? Didn't she spell it Keysha? That's what the kids are listening to. The Stones still rolling after 50 years, and our main man, Larry King, who is no stranger to staying power went one-on-one with the front man, Mick Jagger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": How do you react to reviews?
MICK JAGGER: Well --
KING: I mean, when you're this famous, does it matter?
JAGGER: I think it does matter. See, there are some reviewers that you kind of respect to some extent. There are some reviewers that just write rubbish and you can discount them. But you kind of want -- when you put out a piece of work, you want to have the approval -- you want your own self-approval first. You want to feel good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You can catch the rest of the interview tonight on "Larry King Live" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and that is 6:00 p.m. Pacific right here, Mick Jagger on CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The big question today for the CNN Help Desk Center on health care coverage and college savings. Here is Stephanie Elam with answers for you.
STEPHANIE ELAM: Time now for the Help Desk where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour is Ryan Mack. He is the President of Optimum Capital Management and Donna Rosato. She's a senior writer with "Money" magazine.
All right, thanks for being here guys. Our first question, this question is how can I find out when and if I'm eligible for the new health plan and if I can discontinue the very expensive COBRA I can no longer afford since I'm divorced? What do you think, Donna?
DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, MONEY: This is a question a lot of people have. President Obama signed the most sweeping health care legislation into law in March, but the law takes effect in phases.
Some things will happen immediately, for example, if you're a young adult and you don't have insurance through work and you're 26 and under, you can be on your parents' health insurance. But for folks like this person, if you don't have health insurance, it's going to take until 2014 before you're eligible to get more lower cost insurance.
The states will set up health care insurance exchanges. By 2014, she will be eligible. For now she might want to check into her local state Department of Health and ask if there's any programs that are available to her for a little less expensive insurance, and she can also go to white house.gov/healthcareform and find out a little bit more about when the different changes take effect.
ELAM: Yes, that's one of the number one questions I get all the time too. All right, go to our next question, which comes from Fred in P.A. and the question is, I have a 7-year-old son and we have about $5,000 we're saving for his education. Someone told me having that the money in his name is not a good idea. I'm not sure what to do with it. Ryan, are you sure?
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: That's actually correct. I mean, if you have $5,000, my favorite thing is actually open up a 529 plan and keep it in your name, but allow the beneficiary to be your son.
So the problem is when they're figuring out financial aid they calculate about 20 percent of the child's assets as going toward college as opposed to the parent. They calculate the maximum of about 5.64 percent of their assets is going to college. So It's actually heavier weighting if it's only in your child's name.
So you must make sure in order to use your money responsibility. A lot of big mistakes in terms of saving for college. A lot of individuals taking money out of the IRA that can be included as tax deductible income thereby lessening the amount of financial aid.
So just want to make sure you're smart in using your money wisely and saving for college. Keep it in your name.
ELAM: In your name, your son is beneficiary. Good answers today, guys. Thanks so much. The Help Desk is all about getting answers to your questions. So send me an e-mail at CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com or log on to CNN.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions. You can also pick up the latest issue of "Money" magazine. It's on newsstands now.
HARRIS: All right. Getting smarter and younger every day. Kid geniuses and what's smart TV? Google is coming to a TV near you?
Plus, Miss America. It's a new story about Miss America like you never seen here. Ines Ferre has the stories burning up the web. She's next right here in the CNN "Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, so let's logon to some of the stories generating a lot of buzz on the internet. It's what you're logging onto. Our Ines Ferre joining us again from New York.
All right, Ines, what's hot? What's hot? What's hot?
INES FERRE: All right, Tony, one of the most popular searches on Google, Miss USA, Rima Fakih. She's one of the most popular searches on Google. She's very popular these days because of some pole dancing pictures, not seen here, but there are pictures that were taken three years ago at a strip tease class sponsored by a local radio station. And she was dressed and she won and those pictures are circulating. And this one is one of the most popular ones on CNN.com. Listen to this 9-year-old computer genius.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO CALASAN, 9-YEAR-OLD COMPUTER GENIUS: With knowledge everything is possible. I designed my system and also the system can afford age lessons with mp 4 format, which is an extremely low bit rate of just a half a megabyte per second.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: OK, so did you understand that, Tony? That was Marco Calasan. He's from Macedonia and he wrote a book on Windows 7 and he's only 9 years old.
HARRIS: My kids have to compete against that guy? OK, sorry.
FERRE: Yes, exactly, against that guy, yes and speaking of smart, Google is looking to introduce Google TV or what some people are calling Smart TV. They're looking to do that at a conference this week, developers conference.
They will work with Sony and Intel so that you users can surf the web and they can also access sites like Facebook and Twitter and look at videos. So it's coming together.
HARRIS: It is coming together. Google around the world here in a second. We got to go. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN "Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
