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President Obama Assessing Damage on Gulf Coast; Top Kill Details are Stock Market Sensitive; Sisters in Service; Plane Snooze Leads to Lawsuit; More Changes at Facebook; Managing Your Money; Job Offer for Rep. Sestak

Aired May 28, 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: 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.

Concerns that BP is clamping down on information about the impact of the spill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds like there's a cone of silence that's been issued on this situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: People taking care of birds soaked in oil speak out about what they've been told not to report.

An air traveler's nightmare -- locked up on plane alone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three o'clock in the morning, and I got up and there was nobody on the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, man.

You're online right now, and we are, too. Josh Levs is following the top stories trending on the Internet -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, people along the Gulf Coast are using the Internet to try to convince you to visit their beaches this weekend. I'm going to show you some videos coming up.

Plus, the ATMs that are dispensing gold. Yes, actual gold.

I've got all that for you coming up this hour -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's get started with our lead story right now.

BP reports some success in its latest attempt to stop the oil leak in the Gulf, but it could be Sunday before we know whether the so-called top kill procedure is successful. The oil leak is estimated to be the largest in U.S. history.

You're looking at images supplied by BP, but trying to get a true picture of what's going on is a very different story. For most of yesterday, BP left the public and the media with the impression that the top kill was taking place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: The top kill, BP's latest attempt to cap the runaway leak, is now well under way.

HARRIS: BP is now 21 hours into the operation, pumping high pressure mud into the oil well.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: We are now into hour 25 of BP's top kill aimed at finally plugging that oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The top kill procedure to try to plug the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has been under way now for a full day.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Today, for 16 hours or so, BP stopped pumping drilling mud into that leak. But they didn't feel the need to mention it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Top kill was suspended while the company used another technique known as junk shot.

Today, on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," BP's chief executive said the focus shifts back now to the top kill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: As I said, we go back to pumping mud later today. I think it's probably 48 hours before we'll have a conclusive view of this.

I know that's frustrating for everyone. I am probably more frustrated than many. I want to get this thing done and over with as soon as we possibly can. We are doing everything we can to achieve that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: President Obama has arrived in Louisiana to get a first- hand look at the oil disaster.

CNN's Ed Henry is in Grand Isle, Louisiana, with more on the presidential visit. And Ed, if you would, lay out to the best of your knowledge the president's agenda while there.

ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's going to be going to Port Fourchon Beach. He's headed in that direction now, maybe take a walk there with Commandant Thad Allen of the Coast Guard, trying to get an up-close look at what's washing up on these shores, first of all. Then he's going to be getting a high-level briefing with not only the Coast Guard, but the governor here in Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, and trying to get a sense, an assessment of the situation, the latest information he can get.

We're also wondering -- he has some time built in where he could add a stop or two. And we'll see whether he does that, whether he meets with fishermen or not. We haven't had that added officially to the schedule yet.

But I think the bottom line is, following up on yesterday's news conference at the White House, this president is trying to battle back against that image that maybe the federal government was too slow here, didn't get a hands-on-enough approach early on, and has farmed out too much of it to BP. The president, over and over again yesterday, saying, "I take responsibility, the government is engaged, I'm fully engaged."

This is a chance for him now to demonstrate it on the ground -- Tony.

HARRIS: You know what, Ed? I'm looking behind you as you're talking there, and a lot of schools in the South, particularly, are out for summer. And I've got to tell you, it seems to me that that beach that you're on now should be close to full of people.

What are you seeing there?

HENRY: Not seeing a lot of people. I am seeing some family and kids, but not big groups.

Why? Well, maybe because if you look down at my feet, what's going on, these are known as tar balls. These are essentially -- this is crude mixed with sand.

You can see them all over. They're very small, but when you look at them in my hand -- I've had a couple in my hand for a couple moments, with a seashell. Look at that oil coming out on my fingers right there.

And when you smell it, it is pretty foul. You can tell, obviously, that it's oil. Some of my colleagues who have been here longer on this beach have been telling me that they've stopped holding them in their hands because they just get kind of a sickening feeling once they smell that again, because they've been doing this for a couple of days.

Take a look at this. This is an Ocean Spray bottle that washed up on shore here. You can barely recognize it. Look how dark it is. Look at the oil caked all over it.

These are just small, little remnants of what people have been seeing washing up now for days and why they've been demanding that the federal government get more active here, because if this is what's over here on the beach, one can only imagine what's just out there in the water.

HARRIS: Let's just hope the people who make their living through tourism get compensated for this. That's a real mess.

Our Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry for us.

HENRY: We're starting to hear some helicopters, as well. That's why I'm looking off to the side.

We're hearing some helicopters, but I don't see them yet. The president is heading to this area.

There's one -- two helicopters right there. My photojournalist here, Mike Calloway (ph), is going to take a look at it. And you see them here on the left.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

HENRY: And they're just starting to come in.

Now, we don't know whether that's the president, or if this is a team coming in ahead of him to scout it out, which is very typical. But it certainly does not look like Marine One. But you get an idea of what they're trying to do here on the ground to get ready for the president to come here.

HARRIS: OK.

Ed Henry for us.

Ed, appreciate it. Thank you.

The oil slick in the Gulf hitting you in the wallet when you go out for seafood. Some restaurants say they are seeing a sharp rise in what suppliers are charging. The biggest increases in popcorn shrimp, oysters and scallops. Right now, many of those owners say they simply can't pass the higher prices on to their customers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're paying probably double what we've been paying in the past. The Gulf has really hurt us a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have to pass on their expense. And that's part of their expense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be tough, I think so, because the price is going to continue to go up.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: While the Gulf oil is really gushing at an estimated rate of 19,000 barrels a day, or about 800,000 gallons, the flow of information out of BP is a mere trickle. Now the company spokesman says he can't send out e-mail to reporters because it would violate stockholder privileged information rules?

Christine Romans is in New York with our "Fact Check."

Christine, is he correct in that?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, here's the indication we're getting from the company.

After first being told that we're going to get as much information as they can possibly give us, as quickly and as often as possible, then there's also this indication from the company, well, they also have to be careful about what they're giving out and to whom and how widely, simply because of something called Regulation FD Reg Fair Disclosure. There are rules, Tony.

If you are a big company, and you have public shareholders, and you're giving out information to the media or to stock investors, or to other investors, or to the public in general, you have to make sure you follow certain rules and have all of the information uniformly distributed so everyone has access to it and nobody can be trading on it here or there. So, that's Reg FD. And that's why a lot of companies over the past few years, when they found themselves in a situation where there's something happening where there's a lot of media coverage, they tend to want to control the information and give it to everyone at the same time, either in a press release or in a --

HARRIS: Do a conference call.

ROMANS: -- press conference, all at the same time. Or a conference call, right, instead of -- I mean, imagine how many people are trying to get a scoop, right? Trying to get a scoop and find out whether this is working, and they want to get it out first. Well, if you do that, then some people are going to be trading on it, and that's something -- it's a sticky situation. But these are SEC rules.

And look, I mean, the SEC is usually pretty clear about this. If you're talking to a small-town newspaper and nobody else, that could be in violation of Reg FD. If you're talking to a reporter for a national cable station, for example, that's pretty wide dissemination information, probably not in violation of Reg FD.

HARRIS: Yes. You know, it seems to me that you're in crisis mode here. And the crisis and information on the crisis trumps your position as a shareholder in the company. But I may be wrong about this.

And the reality is,, is you may be a shareholder, each and every one of us, and not really know it, correct?

ROMANS: Right. In some cases, these SEC rules are meant to protect you and me, quite frankly, because we -- Tony, you probably have BP shares somewhere if you have a 401(k) or a pension or a plain vanilla mutual fund. BP shares are probably in there.

If you have any kind of a mutual fund or a stock instrument that has a lot of dividend-yielding stock, the kind of stocks that pay you back in dividends, that's probably BP. You look at the top mutual fund holders of BP, Vanguard is a big holder of these. A lot of Vanguard funds have BP shares.

Windsor II, this is a popular mutual fund. The Specialized Energy Fund, the Wellington Fund. Fidelity has a diversified international fund. If you have only a few mutual fund choices through your 401(k) at work, you probably have Fidelity, you probably have the Diversified International Fund. There's a T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fund.

And also, Tony, we found -- believe it or not, at the end of last year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were huge holders of BP shares. We started digging around. There are other foundations also that own BP shares.

My suspicion would be because it pays off this dividend, you know, meaning you're getting some income on your investment in the stock. But interesting as well that foundations, people who do charitable work, have found themselves in the position where they're owning BP shares at a time when BP's reputation has certainly not taken a very charitable turn.

HARRIS: Well, OK. So I may be a shareholder. So what's happening to my stock? I mean, what's happening to the share price for BP these days?

ROMANS: Well, your stock has been hit pretty dramatically. It's been cut more than a quarter since this whole thing happened.

And yesterday it rallied, I think, seven percent. And then today it's off again. And it's been very volatile over the past few days, which is one of the reasons why for -- since maybe Tuesday, there's been a lot of chatter in Wall Street circles about, well, wait a minute, how are they going to start disseminating information if every little bit of news about top kill could potentially move the stock? And people on the street get very nervous because they think the stock might start moving if there's some report somewhere on the Internet about how the top kill is going.

So, now what's happening day to day with this company is now being very closely scrutinized by Wall Street and the investors who are in this company.

HARRIS: Oh yes, through and through.

All right, Christine. Good to see you. Have a great weekend. Thank you.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: A quick reminder here. President Obama speaks live from the crisis zone next hour. His statement set for 1:30 Eastern Time in Grand Isle, Louisiana. And you can watch it here, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It's the first warm weather holiday weekend. Travelers will be headed for the Gulf Coast and some other sunny places.

You are looking at a live beach cam from Mobile, Alabama.

Chad Myers has your weekend forecast straight ahead.

First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Wow. OK. A pork chop on a stick. You should instantly know it's a "Random Moment of the Day," live during the Yankees/Twins game.

Last night, a reporter shows off the new food fad at Target Field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: That is Kim Jones of the Yankees YES Network. She never flinches, but later calls the man "revolting."

For the record, you can also get halibut on a stick at Target Field.

"Random Moments" not available on a stick, but always sharply pointed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We would like to introduce you to six women, all Army officers and sorority sisters. These sisters in service are what we're talking about today in our "What Matters" segment.

Here's Fredricka Whitfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Fort McPherson Army Base in Georgia, there's a group of African-American women who share a bond of sisterhood. They're all colonels and members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a sorority founded on sisterhood and public service.

COL. SHERRI CALHOUN, U.S. ARMY: When I went to college and found that Delta was the most active sorority on the campus, involved in different community events, social action, I chose Delta.

WHITFIELD: Their reasons for choosing the sorority and the military are the same -- the desire to serve. COL. MARGARET BARNES, U.S. ARMY: When you look at the army, the army is -- is about service, and it's not so much public service as serving your country.

WHITFIELD: Colonel Lee says her experiences as a Delta helps her to be the soldier she is today.

COL. GLORIA LEE, U.S. ARMY: Mental toughness, and also physical toughness. But I can reflect back to me pledging on yard -- on the yard back as an undergrad, and it was, OK, you can't touch me.

You know, you just have that attitude and you have that -- you know, it's like there's nothing you can do to me because I have been broken down, so, you know, I'm mentally tough I'm ready for this, and it really does help you be prepared for any and anything that comes your way.

WHITFIELD: Each woman is active within her community, and they sometimes participate in sorority activities together.

COL. DEBORAH GRAYS, U.S. ARMY: I have always wanted to be part of an organization that was giving back. And even today, after, you know, almost 27 years of service, you don't feel like you're giving back enough.

WHITFIELD: They say as they travel the world, it's encouraging to find another sister in service.

LEE: There's no place that I have been that there wasn't a Delta. Not necessarily in uniform, but a Delta, and that is the sisterhood part that is there.

FREEMAN: It's a comfort, you know, knowing as you move around from state to state every three to four years or so, as in the life of a -- a military person, that you're going to have your military family and you're going to have your sorority family.

WHITFIELD: Colonel Archibald (ph) is currently serving overseas, but all the colonels agree, whether at home or abroad, the bond of sisterhood in sorority and military life is strong.

Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And next month, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will be celebrating its 97th anniversary in New Orleans. The colonels say they plan to attend.

And to read more stories that matter to all of us, just pick up the latest issue of "Essence" magazine on newsstands now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Top stories for you right now.

In India, at least 73 people were killed when a passenger train derailed and was slammed by a cargo train. Indian officials say it was sabotage and blame maliced rebels.

In Guatemala, hundreds of people are on the run from an erupting volcano. At least 1,800 people are in shelters. At least three deaths are reported.

And actor Gary Coleman is unconscious and on life support in a Utah hospital after suffering bleeding of the brain. Coleman, best known for his role on "Different Strokes," he has battled kidney problems all of his life.

More top stories for you in 20 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's see. I want to see these new pictures of the president and Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen touring a beach, Port Fourchon, Louisiana, as we get to our Candy Crowley.

The president visiting Louisiana now. Air Force one landed in New Orleans within the past hour. The Obama administration, as you know, is under fire over its response to the crisis.

Let's bring in our Chief Political Correspondent and the Host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," Candy Crowley, live from Washington.

Candy, all right. So we're starting to see pictures of the president on site. And I'm really curious here, what is the point of the president going to Louisiana? If it's just about optics, and if it is partly about optics, at some point he has to meet with real people impacted by this disaster, doesn't he?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He does. And listen, there's nothing the matter with optics.

Part of what people want from their president is -- any president -- is some show of leadership. Part of what's been hurting him in the polls is people feeling that he is detached.

So, what you are seeing in these pictures, with more to come, is a president who is showing with pictures what he said yesterday -- I'm in charge, I care, I wake up in the morning thinking about it, I go to bed at night thinking about it. So, these are the pictures that go with that message.

I mean, what was the most powerful political picture out of Katrina? It was President George Bush flying over.

HARRIS: Yes.

CROWLEY: And so optics matter. They send a message. And this president and this White House understood that they needed to send a message that he's not detached, that he's not removed from what's going on. But I agree with you, at some point there has to be some real people involved.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, what can he really do here? I mean, he can't cap the oil leak. And I understand that the optics are important, but he can't this leak.

CROWLEY: No, he can't. And I think that there are two things obviously that we talk about going on here.

There's one, capping this leak. And there's, two, cleaning this up.

I think when you get to the cleanup, I mean, no one blamed George W. Bush for Katrina hitting. They blamed him for the aftermath.

I don't think anybody holds President Obama accountable for this leak insofar as directly accountable. There are going to be lots of questions about the oversight and the regulation and that kind of thing, but at this moment it's not the leak, per se. They don't expect him to somehow fix it.

And the fact of the matter is, it's impossible. Because you know where the experts are? The experts are in the industry.

HARRIS: Yes.

CROWLEY: The equipment is in the industry.

So, the president, you know, said however many times yesterday, we're overseeing this, they don't do a thing without our approving of it. And so that will -- that's kind of how they're approaching the leak itself.

I think it's going to be an entirely different thing when the cleanup gets under way, because that's when people do expect their government to step in. Surely, they can find skimming boats.

HARRIS: OK. So, Candy, look, you're our chief political correspondent, you're the host of "STATE OF THE UNION." Evaluate this for us politically.

How much of a hit is this president, this administration taking on this?

CROWLEY: Well, they're taking a hit. There's no doubt about it. He's more than -- half of all Americans don't like the way he's been handling it.

It is certainly not a fatal political hit. It is -- I think it is overstatement, this Bush's -- Obama's Katrina thing. I think that oversells, over-hypes what's going on. I'm not saying that maybe down the line that people look back and say they didn't do a thing, or we find other things that go wrong, or they don't clean it up, or they turn their backs on things. Well, then it's a whole different ballgame.

But he's certainly taking a hit at a time when it's not all that helpful because it is an election year. And what it does is, it really does underscore people's feeling that the federal government's fairly incompetent. People tend to think that they thought that. When they looked at Katrina, they thought, good grief, we can't even get people out of -

HARRIS: I think you're so right there.

CROWLEY: You know, a coliseum. They look at this and say, well, look at all that oil. Can't someone send someone in there to get rid of it? And so I think that's what's going on. And, indeed, the polling shows that while the president is taking a hit, the bigger hit is for the federal government in toto (ph). So they don't kind of personalize it as much to President Obama, but he's still taking a hit.

HARRIS: I can't wait. Really, I can't wait to see your show this weekend on this.

Candy, great to see you, as always. Thank you.

CROWLEY: Thank you.

HARRIS: And tune in to "State of the Union with Candy Crowley" on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

President Obama is on the Gulf Coast right now to see the oil damage. CNN will have his remarks live. The president is expected to speak next hour, 1:30 Eastern, from Grand Isle, Louisiana.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, wait a minute here. I'm trying to check out stocks here. Oh, CNN, your source for money news. CNNmoney.com and our Money team. You want to make this - I guess you could make this your home page or make CNN.com your home page. But then the second click needs to be to CNNmoney.com.

"Stocks slump ahead of Memorial Day." Let's see, we're better than three hours -- just past three hours into the trading day and we're selling. Stocks are down 45 points. We'll follow these numbers. The Nasdaq -- Jenny, what was that again -- down 11. We'll follow these numbers for you throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, after she dozed off on a flight, after it left Washington, we're talking about a passenger who is now suing United Airlines. Nobody woke her up when the plane landed in Philly. Reporter Hank Winchester now with Detroit affiliate WDIV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just woke up and I looked at my phone, I grabbed my phone and looked at it. I was like, oh, my God, it's 3:00 in the morning. And I got up and there's nobody on the plane.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Oh, the story - oh it -- it froze, right? It just froze on us? OK. Well, the lawsuit claims the woman suffered emotional distress and false imprisonment. And you didn't see the reporter or the attorney in the piece, but Geoffrey Fieger is representing the woman in this case and he also worked with Dr. Jack Kevorkian, you'll remember, for a number of years.

All right. In a little less than an hour's time, President Obama talks about the BP oil leak, the crisis, and he will take some questions. That's at 1:30 Eastern Time. CNN is carrying it live for you. And if you can't watch it with us, you can watch it on our iPhone app.

We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

President Obama is in Louisiana talking with Gulf Coast governors and other officials and seeing for himself how desperate the situation is. This is his second trip to the Gulf area since the oil rig explosion last month. We expect to hear directly from the president next hour.

Back in Washington now, lawmakers move closer to scrapping the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The full House is expected to cast a final vote today on a defense bill that includes a repeal of the ban. Currently gays and lesbians are not allowed to serve openly in the military.

In eastern Pakistan, gunmen stormed two mosques during Friday prayers. At least 80 people are dead. Both mosques belong to a minority sect in Lahore.

Facebook changed its privacy settings this week. We're checking out what they're about and if they're really any better.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So if you connect with your friends on Facebook, you probably notice some changes this week. The company has rolled out new privacy settings. Tech expert, where is she, Katie Linendoll with us from New York to explain it all.

All right, Katie, you had a couple of days to take a look at this thing. Explain it to us, please.

KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: Yes, and, listen, Tony, I know somebody out there has nearly broken their hand trying to get to a remote because here we are again talking about Facebook privacy.

HARRIS: Yes.

LINENDOLL: But this time it's a good thing because it's kind of a victory, a marginal victory, for the people. HARRIS: OK.

LINENDOLL: On Wednesday, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has actually announced that, yes, these privacy concerns have resonated with Facebook and they are going to roll out new, easier to use privacy settings and also give you better control of your data. We'll see those changes in the next few weeks.

HARRIS: Oh, so they're not out. That was just the announcement, huh? OK. OK.

LINENDOLL: They're rolling out slowly, yes.

HARRIS: Yes. So what do we do? What do people do who use Facebook to better, you know, just to sort of better protect themselves?

LINENDOLL: Right. We're going to give you a few tips. And they may be a little fundamental, but really, according to "Consumer Reports," over 50 percent of people are still over-sharing online.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

LINENDOLL: So the first thing you do is, don't wait for those privacy settings to roll out. Go on right now and update them. If you're spending hours on Facebook, at least take the two to three minutes to really understand what you're opting out of. Because let me tell you something about Facebook. It's a little backwards. You are automatically opted into advertising. You have to opt out. And also you are not defaulted to the most strict privacy settings. You have to go in there and change that. That's what's backwards about Facebook.

HARRIS: I see. So why has Facebook remained so popular in the face of all of this controversy over privacy?

LINENDOLL: Well, it's really tough. You know, we think about it and at one point we were all on AOL.

HARRIS: Right.

LINENDOLL: We were all on Instant Messenger. A lot of us were on MySpace and then moved over. There really hasn't been enough competition. We're seeing a lot of groups now come out and get a lot of investors actually to try to compete. But until we have that strong competitor, we're not going to move over.

And, Tony, I want to just teach you some more tech tips, too for how to protect yourself on Facebook.

HARRIS: Come on. Come on.

LINENDOLL: I want to go to number two, and it is pretty fundamental, but something that often gets over talked about and it's, do not accept every friend request. I think everybody knows the more popular you are, the more friends you have. But when you reach 1,000 friends, there isn't a balloon drop. If you're worried about your privacy settings, at the same time, you shouldn't be accepting every single friend. There's lots of weirdos out there. I just want to let you know.

HARRIS: Oh, OK. Any other tips? Because if you want to leave it there, it's perfect. Is that good?

LINENDOLL: No, we have actually have -- we've got five.

HARRIS: OK. Come on. Let's go.

LINENDOLL: We have five. And I just want to go to the third one, which is do not over share your information. Again, we're talking about "Consumer Reports" letting us know that over 50 percent of users are still over sharing on the web. So don't put your cell phone, don't put your address, don't be smarter about the content that your share. Even if you have just friends, anybody can access that data.

And also, with that, too, location. This is a big one. Don't say you're going on vacation for two weeks. Sites like pleaserobme.com have showcased status updates from both Twitter and Facebook and saying, if you're going to share your location, we're going to show you how incredibly vulnerable you are by putting yourself out there. And pleaserobme.com is on a hiatus but it was just such a great example of really how people saying where they are at all times and really ask for it.

And last but not least, our last tech tip in how to protect yourself on Facebook. And this is an important one. Just because you're taking concerns on your privacy settings, you're opting out of applications, your friends applications, their virtual pets, their farms may have data -- access to your data via their applications. Again, this is a sneaky way that Facebook gets in there and really pulls your data, even if you're being smart.

And I just want to let you know, too, great sites like Life Hacker really walk through every one of those steps and how to really go into Facebook and change your settings because right now there are over 100 controls that you have to click through. They claim that there's only going to be two in these new privacy rollouts. But for the time being, it is incredibly confusing. If you don't want the world to see it, don't post it.

HARRIS: Terrific stuff. As always, Katie, appreciate it. Have a great weekend.

LINENDOLL: You, too.

HARRIS: You rock girl.

All right, you've heard the saying, you need to spend money to make money. What about borrowing money? CNN's Stephanie Elam gathers the experts to help you manage your money.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Donna Rosato, she's a senior writer for "Money" magazine, and Valerie Morris, a financial journalist. All right, ladies, let's get right to our question. The first one is from Dave in Pennsylvania. He writes, I am a 30-year-old working professional and interested in going back to school for an education degree. I still have student loans from my bachelor's degree. How can I make going back to school economically feasible?"

What do you think, Valerie?

VALERIE MORRIS, FINANCIAL JOURNALIST: First of all, let's make sure he understands that those student loans we consider good debt. So I'm not pushing them aside, I'm just saying that's on the good debt ledger. Let's address this going back to school, which I congratulate you for thinking about this because the higher your degree, then the greater your opportunity for your salary to increase.

How can you do it? I would say start first with your employer. Find out if your employer will pay for your continuing education, either in part or in full. They have certain tuition reimbursement programs. So check there first. I think that that could be a very good way for you to go.

If your employer doesn't offer that, I am a huge proponent of online universities because they allow you to keep your day job while you are continuing your education.

And one final thing for Dave. In your 30s is an absolutely ideal time for you to find a good certified financial planner because then she or he would be able to help you figure out more ways to do this economically and make it feasible.

ELAM: So a few options for Dave there.

Let's go on to our next question which comes from John. He writes, "what is an open-end mortgage? What are the pros and cons of them?"

Donna, what's your answer?

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY": An open-end mortgage simply allows the borrower to borrow against the principle they've paid off so far. So if you've got $100,000 mortgage and you've paid down $10,000, you could borrow against that $10,000 if you need the money.

Now, is that a good thing? Well, I think we all know that if you're lucky enough to have equity in your home, you don't really want to eat away at the equity by borrowing it. And that got a lot of folks in trouble, you know, recently.

But, on the other hand, it's similar to a home equity line of credit. So if you have an open-ended mortgage that -- and you don't touch it, it's a nice safety net for you to have as long as you don't abuse it.

Now, most mortgages actually are closed mortgages. They have, you know, set terms and payment limits. And it's hard to get an open mortgage these days. You would have to talk to your lender about that. But if it's a possibility and you're disciplined about not borrowing against it, having it as a safety net could be a good thing.

ELAM: All right. Well, thank you so much, Valerie and Donna.

"The Help Desk" is all about getting you answers. So send us an e-mail to CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com or you can 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.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A big controversy stirring in Washington right now over Representative Joe Sestak. He managed to beat long-time Senator Arlen Specter for a chance to run as the Democratic candidate from Pennsylvania during last Tuesday east primaries, right? We're now getting details about how the White House tried to dissuade Sestak from running. CNN's senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is on the story for us.

And, Dana, you know what, look, this doesn't necessarily ring as criminal. We may learn more later. It certainly rings as politics as usual. What have Republicans seized upon here? Is it business as usual from a president that promised better?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Republicans are saying that it is both, in fact. And what we're talking about specifically, we can remind our viewers, is a White House confirming with a report this morning that, in fact, the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, used former President Bill Clinton as an intermediary to try to actually offer Congressman Joe Sestak some senior presidential appointments, unpaid, in order to persuade him not to run for Senate.

Now, I just talked to Republican Darrell Issa, who is the lead Republican on the House Investigations Committee. And he says he disagrees with the White House that no law was broken. He says he does believe Rahm Emanuel committed a misdemeanor and maybe everybody President Clinton, too. But he says, besides that, he says he doesn't think that that will actually ever be prosecuted. But besides that, he says the White House has broken the spirit of the law and their promises.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: We can no longer trust this administration when they say we're more ethical and we're -- you should trust us. That trust but verify is gone. It's clear they can't be trusted. It's clear that they are holding themselves to a lower standard, not a higher standard, because the Bush administration never would have issued, in my opinion, or the Clinton administration, a -- well, there's no controlling legal authority. We didn't quite go outside the law. Other people did it. Really believing that that was going to be the end of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, White House officials are aware of Congressman Issa's accusation that they did break the law. They insist that they scrubbed the law upwards and backwards and they don't think that they broke any laws.

And one other thing I want to mention that you were asking earlier on the air.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

BASH: And that is, our John King is getting word from a source he talked to who's familiar with the internal review at the White House who said that President Obama was not aware, was not aware at the time that this was going on, and only recently became aware in conjunction with being briefed on this report that the White House put out and also reports that Rahm Emanuel did not seek any counsel office advice before enlisting Bill Clinton. That he did it solo.

HARRIS: Wow. Well, terrific. We ask questions in our conversation, Dana, and we get answers from the White House. I love that. Let me see if we can be -

BASH: Don't get used to it.

HARRIS: Yes, let's see if we can drill down a little bit more on this. If it is an unpaid position that the congressman is being offered here and the congressman, even if he had accepted that unpaid position, would continue to serve as a congressman, has a law been violated if that is the offer?

BASH: The White House says no. Congressman Issa, who I just spoke to, says he believes that a law has been violated. A law that prohibits people in government from offering somebody, for political reasons, something of value. He believes that that was still the case and he believes that there was at least a misdemeanor. Again, the White House simply says that is not true and that they have scrubbed the law and they believe that they are on firm, legal ground here. The political issue, the ethical issue, that's a very, very different question.

HARRIS: Well, let's see if the White House will send John a note saying here's the legal language on this. Let's see if we can make that happen for T.J.'s show coming up in just a couple of minutes.

Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.

BASH: Thanks.

HARRIS: We've got new pictures now of President Obama, Port Fourchon. I think that was the last dateline I was giving. The president looking out over the Gulf right now. We should add, he is expected to speak about the oil leak crisis and take some questions next hour, 1:30 Eastern. And you can watch it right here on CNN or on our iPhone app.

We're back in a moment. Clear the decks here so that T.J. can get in here for Ali Velshi.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Very quickly now let's get back to our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash.

Dana, what do you have for us?

BASH: Now the official word for the first time from Congressman Sestak on his account of what happened. And he says, in the statement, that he did receive a phone call, Tony, a phone call from former President Bill Clinton, who said that he was calling on behalf of the chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and did ask him if he would take a position on a presidential board, stay in the House of Representatives and not run against Democrat Arlen Specter for Senate. And he says point blank in the statement, I said no. And he told President Clinton that his only consideration is, from his perspective, what's best for the people of Pennsylvania. He thought that was getting into the race and that's how they proceeded and they moved on to other issues.

Tony.

HARRIS: So no in person meeting between the two. It happened on a phone call.

BASH: According to Congressman Sestak, you got it, a phone call from former President Clinton.

HARRIS: OK. Dana, appreciate it. I know you're all over it. We keep asking questions here and you and John King and the best political team on television continue to get answers on this story. We appreciate it. Thank you so much.

BASH: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: Let's turn things over now to T.J. Holmes. He's sitting in for Ali Velshi. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Tony, thank you. We're probably going to be getting a whole lot more on that Sestak situation coming up.

Tony, thank you so much.