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Summer Scorcher Hits Northeast; President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister to Meet; Teen Summer Jobs in Jeopardy; Lindsay Lohan's Day in Court; Retailers' Own Stimulus Scheme
Aired July 06, 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: Good morning, everyone. Live from Studio 7 at CNN World Headquarters, the big stories for Tuesday, July 6th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would think in this day and age, they would have the power grid worked out and details worked out where power is supplied to us consistently. All right? But they haven't done it yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: To 100 and beyond, dangerous heat will smother much of the Eastern Seaboard today. The summer sizzler pushes the electrical grid to the limits.
Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan in court this hour in Beverly Hills. A judge could send her to jail for violating her probation.
And the American teenager and the jobs gap. A push to get kids off the streets and into the workplace runs into trouble -- yes -- in Congress.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We are talking about a dangerous heat wave blanketing the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic from Boston to the nation's capital. The worst of it is expected today. The forecast calls for triple- digit record-breaking temperatures in some cities. The heat is especially tough for those who have to work outside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NELSON FERNANDEZ, SCAFFOLDING WORKER: It's really tough. You sweat all day and it's not good. You've got to stay hydrated the whole day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very hot. Very hot. I have one more stop, then I go home, take a shower and relax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, you have to. It is the dog days the summer, and even the dogs are trying to stay cool.
Our correspondents Nicole Collins and Jim Acosta look at what people are doing to stay safe and to cool off.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From this creek in northern Virginia to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to the beaches of the Jersey Shore, the city pools in New York and Pleasure Bay in Boston, the goal was simple.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trying to beat the heat.
NICOLE COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officials say stay hydrated and stay out of the sun. As some areas open cooling centers like this one in New York City, some find their own ways to beat the heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most times I just ride on the end, go to the end of the bus, and just keep on riding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay in the shade. Well, what else? Trying to go to the gym (ph) as much as possible. They have free AC inside.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: It is a summer scorcher. Let's make a turn. Jacqui Jeras in the Severe Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Other big stories to follow.
On day 78 of the BP oil disaster, this U.S. Navy blimp -- we'll show it to you in just a second here -- will take to the skies over the Gulf of Mexico today. It will monitor oil flow patterns and direct skimming boats. The blimp is more cost-effective than helicopters.
And for the first time, tar balls from the oil leak have washed up in Texas. Oil has now been spotted along some 600 miles of Gulf Coast from Galveston to the central Florida panhandle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were so sad and disappointed because with thought we would get away with not having it come here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've dealt with seaweed, we've dealt with everything. Today we've got tar. The first time we've seen it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Officials also confirm tar balls have made it into Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain.
The British monarch will spend five hours in New York today. Queen Elizabeth's stopover comes after an eight-day visit to Canada. She will address the United Nations for only the second time in her reign. She will also pay a visit to Ground Zero to honor those who died in the 9/11 terror attacks.
At the White House, President Obama is now it talks with the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. The broad goal here, kick- starting long-stalled peace talks with the Palestinians.
Perhaps just as important, the two leaders will show whether they can work together. Their March meeting being described as ice cold.
You will recall Israel had embarrassed Vice President Joe Biden during his visit when it announced new settlement construction. Since then, Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla has soured its friendship with Turkey. The incident did lead Israel to partially lift its blockade on consumer goods entering Gaza.
Against that backdrop, let's talk to CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty at the State Department.
Jill, good to see you.
In order to get some real work done, it seems to me these two men have to establish some kind of real relationship. Do you think the two men can get their personal relationship on track here?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's an important thing, because we talk about countries having good relationships, but there was a lot of trust broken between these two men, and certainly a tense relationship right now. So that's question number one, can they pull that back on track?
There have been a couple -- in fact, I think we have got some video that just came in, the arrival of the prime minister, Netanyahu, at the White House. There he is.
And you know, there have been a couple of good things after some very bad news with that flotilla back in May. The United States did something that Israel appreciated, and that is, it didn't jump down Israel's throat after that.
It wanted an investigation, but it didn't join the rest of the world in really very strong condemnation. So that went down well.
And then from the Israeli side, that moratorium on settlements in the West Bank has continued. It will expire in September -- September 25th, in fact. And the big question now, Tony, is whether that will be extended. Certainly, the United States would like to see that happen, and it's a question for Benjamin Netanyahu, because he could use that as a bargaining chip with the Palestinians.
The object that he wants is to get back to direct talks. And maybe that could be a way of inducing them to do that. HARRIS: Yes. Well, any breakthroughs expected today on restarting those talks, direct talks?
DOUGHERTY: I wouldn't say any real breakthroughs. You know, there hasn't been a lot of progress so far, and we're not expecting anything today. Primary is to just get those two men in a room talking and try to get that relationship a little bit less frosty than it's been.
HARRIS: I think you're right, Jill.
All right. Jill Dougherty, our foreign affairs correspondent.
Jill, appreciate it. Thank you.
The president and prime minister will have brief remarks from the Oval Office at the top of the hour. We will bring you those remarks as soon as they are made available to us, 12:00 Eastern, 9:00 Pacific.
Summer jobs to keep kids off the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as I turned 12, I was able to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A program to create jobs is in jeopardy because of concerns about the deficit. Our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, will explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, I don't have to tell you it is a tough job market -- tougher for teenagers and even worse for African-American teens. Now a program designed to create summer jobs is in jeopardy because of concerns about the deficit.
The story now from Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kyle Flora grew up in one of the roughest parts of Washington, D.C., in the shadow of the Capitol --
KYLE FLORA, DC SUMMER JOBS PARTICIPANT: As soon as I turned 12, I was able to work.
Good hustle, you guys.
KEILAR: -- coaching children in the city's Homerun Baseball Camp, a job he got through D.C.'s Youth Employment Program. Many teenagers in Kyle's neighborhood spent their summers much differently.
FLORA: They would be getting in trouble. I know that. KEILAR (on camera): What kind of trouble?
FLORA: I mean, in my neighborhood it would be the things -- you know, selling drugs. And it wouldn't be the right things, it wouldn't be things that I'm interested in.
KEILAR (voice-over): He says working kept him off the street. Unlike Kyle, a lot of inner city teenagers can't find a job. 23.2 percent of young white Americans are unemployed. But almost 40 percent of African-Americans of the same age are out of work.
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D), D.C. DELEGATE: Unemployment should not be a racial issue, but that's what it's become.
KEILAR: Washington, D.C.'s congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, along with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, fought to get a billion dollars for youth employment programs approved by the House of Representatives. But it's a cost that would add to the deficit and in the Senate a few fiscally conservative Democrats, along with Republicans, could strip out the funding.
SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Of course we want to help with summer jobs. But we also have to have tough choices and we also need to live within our means.
KEILAR (on camera): What do you say to critics who say this is a good cause but shouldn't add to the deficit?
NORTON: How are we going to reduce the deficit on the backs of unemployed people and unemployed youth at that? How much do we contribute to the deficit by getting a billion dollars out for youth unemployment?
FLORA: If you're up, you're there. If you're not up you're in the grass.
KEILAR (voice-over): Across town, Kyle Flora is teaching kids to field a baseball, working his last summer job before heading to college. He's concerned these kids won't have the opportunities he's had and he certainly is not concerned about deficit spending.
FLORA: This saves lives, I feel. It's that important. I mean, the money is needed. The money is going to a good cause.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: I've talked with Republican sources who say they agree, but you still have to pay for it, because, Tony, as you know, there are a lot of voters out there right now who just think that government spending is at too high of a level, and that midterm election is right around the corner.
HARRIS: You know, I think this a real push-pull here, Brianna. I'm curious as to when Congress will get to work on this, and what's likely to happen. And maybe a third one here, is the money there? KEILAR: Well, let's start at the beginning. When will Congress take this up? Of course, they're away right now. They come back next week. And this is on the to-do list.
But here's the rub. This money, it isn't just money for summer jobs. It is on a big spending bill that funds the war in Afghanistan, as well as a number of domestic issue like this one, summer jobs. And what you have, especially now that the ball is in the Senate's court, you have a lot of Democrats, maybe a growing number of Democrats, who are against this war spending, and then you have all Republicans and some Democrats who want a clean bill for the war.
They don't like all of these domestic tack-ons. And so you can see it's hard to get the votes there for the Democratic leaders in the Senate.
So, the answer is they're supposed to get it done, I'm told, but they don't know exactly when.
HARRIS: Yes. OK.
Our congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, for us.
Brianna, good to see you. Thank you.
One man has made it his life's work to change the way America gets its energy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LONNIE JOHNSON, INVENTOR: When you come up with something that's really out of the ordinary, it takes a while to get people, even technical and scientific experts, to accept the idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Some say Lonnie Johnson's inventions could change the world, and people in government are starting to listen.
Watch my "Next Big Thing" series, "Engineers: Life Mission," today at noon Eastern.
While we're bringing you the news from around the world, we are also watching what's hot online.
Ines Ferre surfing the Web for us.
Ines, what are you following?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it's all about Lindsay Lohan online right now, and you're following as she goes to court again. She could face jail time if she is found guilty of violating her probation.
And there you see the court, people waiting outside the court right there. HARRIS: Oh yes. All right.
FERRE: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: We'll be back in a moment.
FERRE: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, a lot of you are sharing your pain with me on the brutal job market.
For example, Ann says, "It is so frustrating. I have worked for many years. Now I am collecting unemployment benefits and looking for a job. It has been 18 months. All I want to do is work, but so far the doors are closed."
The question is, how long will they stay closed?
Georgia Tech economics professor Danny Boston says many of those lost jobs may never come back. Here's part of what he told me on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY BOSTON, PROFESSOR, GEORGIA TECH: Look, the financial meltdown just simply put us in a kind of shock therapy. But corporations, major corporations, mid-and-small-sized businesses, they are in need of an adjustment. And what they did is took the opportunity of the financial meltdown to make the adjustment, to displace millions of workers that they have no intention of bringing back on board. So, that's the way --
HARRIS: That they have no intention of bringing back on board?
BOSTON: Most of those businesses -- and I've interviewed many of the CEOs -- they say that even when things turn around, they are still going to go with the workforce that they have and supplement that with new forms of technology that can allow them to produce --
HARRIS: And what are we calling them, permalancers and part-time workers who are just getting more hours and they don't come with the benefit costs?
BOSTON: Absolutely. Right. Right, an increasingly larger percentage of the workforce.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow.
So, you have been let go and you can't get your foot back in the door. Got a blog comment here from Curtis I want to read to you.
He says, "With today's system of application submissions, it is impossible to distinguish yourself or personalize your application."
OK, Curtis, listen up.
And the rest of you who find yourself in Curtis' position here.
Josh has some unique tips to help you get going again -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, because yesterday we were talking about some of these amazing ideas we had never heard of. It was actually really exciting.
You know, I've been doing so many segments throughout this economic crisis trying to help you find jobs. It's rare people come along to me with brand new ideas, but yesterday we had some, like someone who wanted a job as a poker player, went in for the interview, and instead of being interviewed, just started dealing and acting like there were people there.
There was someone who sent coffee cups to hiring managers and got information from FedEx as soon as they signed for it. And boom, called them and said, "Will you have coffee?"
These are clever ideas. And I have a few more for you today. It's from the same blog. It's a Yahoo personal finance blog called Money and Happiness put together by a woman named Laura Rowley (ph).
Take a look at this: "Pretty Envelope." You know, some of those things you wouldn't know would work, but she has this story of a woman in Detroit who used pretty invitation style envelopes, sent that to a hiring manager, and when they got that, they actually opened it, unlike a lot of the other mail. People start paying attention.
Take a look at this: the "Chain Mail Approach." This is interesting.
This is a guy who was without a job and was reaching out to so many people, and suddenly got an idea. He wrote a letter about this qualifications, sent it to 20 contacts he had, and asked them to please forward it to anyone they think might be able to help him.
They did. It became chain mail. He ended up getting a job I believe within six weeks. Six weeks later he got a job.
Take a look at this one: "Hand Delivery." If you can find a way to get your resume hand-delivered to the person instead of through the general mail process, if you know someone who works there who will drop it off, even if you don't, try to find a way to get it in there, sending it to someone that you look up in the building.
And I am going to mention this. Get on ZoomInfo, which is an important Web site that a lot of these companies out there go and look for, and they will try to find someone with a lot of expertise.
Now, Tony, before I go back to you here, take a look at this: the don'ts. These are important about what not to do. Don't send on pink paper. Don't send a singing telegram. Do not send a champagne bottle. And whatever you do, she says do not use a homing pigeon, an actual real-life story of something that happened. Someone tried to use a homing pigeon to deliver a resume.
It's all up for you at my Facebook page, JoshLevsCNN.
See what you think, share your stories with us.
HARRIS: A homing pigeon?
LEVS: A homing pigeon, Tony.
HARRIS: I was thinking a homing pigeon would set me apart.
All right, Josh. Appreciate it.
Moments ago, Lindsay Lohan, the actress, arriving in court. Let's take a look at those pictures from just moments ago for her hearing today.
A judge will decide whether she violated her DUI charge. There is a possibility -- that's not the shot I wanted. I wanted to see Lindsay -- OK, all right. So that's inside the courtroom.
The whole hearing will be live.
Do we have live pictures or the pictures from just a short time ago?
We will rack those up and show you those pictures. Lindsay's a blonde this time around.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FERRE: Let's get you up to date on the oil disaster.
Seventy-eight days after the oil started gushing into the Gulf, tar balls have reached Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain. That area is now off-limits to fishing.
In other top stories, friends and families say a final good-bye this hour to Senator Robert Byrd. A private graveside service follows a funeral in Arlington, Virginia. The long-time West Virginia lawmaker who died last week will be buried alongside his late wife Erma.
And as you just saw, actress Lindsay Lohan arrived in court again. This time, she may end up in jail. The question is whether she broke her probation on a drunk driving conviction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT) HARRIS: Tar balls spread farther into Gulf Coast states, now showing up near New Orleans. We are live from the area.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Day 78 of the BP oil disaster. This U.S. Navy blimp -- you'll see it in a second here -- set to take to the skies over the Gulf of Mexico. There it is.
I've got to tell you, the flight has been delayed until Friday due to severe weather. The blimp is more cost-effective, we're told, than helicopters. It will monitor oil flow patterns and direct skimming boats.
For the first time, tar balls from the oil leak have washed up in Texas. Oil has now been spotted along some 600 miles of Gulf Coast from Galveston to the central Florida panhandle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were so sad and disappointed because we thought we would get away with not having it come here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've dealt with seaweed, we've dealt with everything. Today we've got tar. The first time we've seen it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Officials also confirm tar balls have made it into Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain.
Let's go live now to our Brooke Baldwin.
Brooke, if you would, set the scene for us. What are you seeing and what are folks saying to you?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first part of your answer is easy. Here's what I'm seeing.
If you look at it, it just kind of sticks to my hand. These are the tar balls that we've been talking about all morning that were first spotted here at Lake Pontchartrain yesterday. And this is significant for a couple of different reasons.
One, Tony, keep in mind, New Orleans is perched right on Lake Pontchartrain, and so the stories now become very personal for people here in the New Orleans and the greater New Orleans area.
Secondly, this is the farthest inland that we have seen evidence of this oil or these tar balls, farthest north, farthest inland since that explosion back in April. And when you really start talking to some of these people -- I met a young man, Jarrett Cocran who works here. He is filling up a boat just over my left shoulder, and he also helps gets some of the bait for some of these fisherman.
But keep in mind now, as a result of this stuff, a third of the lake is now shut down to fishing. So he's kind of worrying about his own job.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN (on camera): Right now, there are tar balls in the lake you can how may that affect your job?
JARRETT COCRAN, BAIT SALESMAN: I can't get live bait in. So that's where we make most of our money from live bait.
BALDWIN: Because they shut down the commercial fishing?
COCRAN: Yes, from the highway down all the way back to Lake Borne (ph) and Biloxi marsh all the way back to Hopedale and through the Gulf pretty much. And all that's shut down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: But then there are also people, Tony, who aren't necessarily as alarmed as (INAUDIBLE). His father Jeff, who's been fishing on this lake for about 35 years. And he told me, yes this is a huge deal, but at the same time, look, oil is big business down here along the Gulf Coast.
Here is Jeff Cocran.
JEFF COCRAN, RECREATIONAL FISHERMAN: Yes, they're around. Hopefully they'll eventually degrade over time. They don't seem to be that bad. There is really no oil sheen. The tar balls, whether it's part of the emulsification process that BP is doing off shore and they're getting up here because there's heavy tidal movement through the Regales Pass, and, therefore, it doesn't surprise me that it's here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Some of the good news, Tony, is that the weather has at least improved this morning, so the cleanup crews who have been kind of waiting for the rain to subside, they're now out there. They're laying boom and there are also barges to keep this oil - they're they're thinking ahead because of the winds -- to keep the oil out of lake Pontchartrain. It's a tough situation.
HARRIS: You have to try everything possible. Yes, it really is.
All right, Brooke. Good to see you. Thank you.
Got to tell you, according to federal estimates, 2.5 million gallons of oil may be gushing into the Gulf every day.
Randi Kaye is tracking its growth and where it is heading.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Our talented folks at CNN.com have put together this animation. Take a look. When you hit play, you can see how the oil spill has moved and grown in size. This interactive map tracks the oil's activity from May 7, soon after the spill, all of the way through today. You can see how it hits different points along the coast there.
One of the first places the oil hit was Grand Isle, Louisiana. It also hit was Barataria Bay in Louisiana, which is home to one of the nation's most productive estuaries. It's a nursery, really, for baby shrimp and also baby red fish. But if you look at the map that we created, you can see how the oil keeps moving both east and west.
The oil's been working its way around the Mississippi Delta, hitting Pelican Island about two weeks or so ago. In Mississippi, 240 pounds of tar balls were picked up on Mississippi beaches in a single day last week. Tar balls have been found in Waveland, Gulfport, and Biloxi. Also today, tar balls were also found in Lake Pontchartrain today, the lake that flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Just today we confirmed tar balls are as far west as Galveston, Texas.
In fact, look at these the photos from a couple of CNN iReporters in Biloxi. You see the thick brown sludge in the water there. And one other iReport from a Biloxi viewer. See how they just use that stick to pick up that thick oil? In Alabama, tar balls have hit Gulf Shores Beach and Orange Beach. An oily sheen was also reported in Perdido Bay. One iReporter told us he's been watching oil come ashore in Fort Morgan, Alabama for days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very nasty. For the last four days we've seen tar balls, big and small, washing up the coastline here as you can see. And I can even see more in the water further out, too. It's sad.
KAYE: Florida tried booms and berms and skimmers but in the end, that wasn't enough to keep the oil away. Take a look at this incredible video from an iReporter in Pensacola Beach. See the oil washing up on shore? You can see that crab. He's caught right up in it, just like so many little creatures stuck in this mess. And another iReport from Pensacola Beach shows what people are dealing with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's just what washed up on my feet. This is terrible, guys.
KAYE: Over the July 4th holiday weekend lots of folks weren't able to use the beaches because of the oil. A health advisory was issued for Pensacola's beaches. An iReporter from Gulf Shores, Alabama, sent us this video of what he called an oily tide coming in and staining the sand red. All of this has led people all along the Gulf Coast to call the last couple of days the lost Fourth of July weekend.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now that's pretty tough.
Holding out hope for the A-Whale, the giant oil skimmer tested in the Gulf.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's see here. Do we have live pictures of Lindsay Lohan in court in Los Angeles? I think we'll see her in a second here. The camera shot will widen out a bit. She is in court today because, as you know, the hearing is for a judge to decide what to do about a possible violation of Lindsay's probation on a DUI charge. I think it's pretty clear knew there was a violation. It's just a matter of what to do. And there she is, there's her attorney. You can make her out there. There is a chance she could get some jail time today. We've heard maybe a possibility of six months, but we'll keep an eye on it. When we get some information, maybe the judge's decision, we'll certainly pass that on to you.
The recovery. The economic recovery certainly can't happen, as you know, without you. Any economic comeback really depends on consumer spending. So retailers are coming up with their own private stimulus schemes. The CNN Money Team is all over this.
Christine Romans in New York for us.
And Christine, I hope the word "free" is a part of the scheme.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look Tony, I've been talking to people in banking, in the credit card industry, in retailing for some time now who have been telling me now that you have moved beyond the worst of the recession and maybe you're in a recovery, they're trying to find out the people who have money in their pockets, how do you get that money out their pockets? What do you have to do to get our business and get our dollars?
You know, the person with a job, spends a discretionary income, according to Gallup, about $75 a day. That's on food, gas, clothing, everything except for sort of their rent and taxes, and stuff like that. $75 a day. So retailers want to figure out how to get that money out of your pocket.
One of the things that Sam's Club is doing - you know, Sam's Club was designed as a wholesale club for small business owners. Well, they have partnered with a lender and the SBA to come up with a plan to give small business loans of up to $25,000. $5,000 to $25,000. You can go on the Sam's Club web site and see all about that. But that's for their members so that they can get money in the pockets of their members and then maybe those members go and shop at Sam's Club to stock their restaurants or their small businesses.
Also, Target has a new program. A five percent discount program for their cardholders. Also some programs if you fill five prescriptions, for example, you get a coupon for $5 off a subsequent purchase. That's to get you back in, also to get your business there to fill those prescriptions.
Toys R Us has a Christmas Fund, Tony, that you can put up to $2,500 on this card, this Christmas Savers Card. Remember the old Christmas clubs? Remember those? HARRIS: Yes, I do remember those. Yes.
ROMANS: So at the end of the year then, you can go and spend your money for your kids at Toys R Us. That's a way to get you saving now. They kick in up to three percent so you get a $75 bonus, or something, and then you can pay for your Christmas gifts for your kids at Toys R Us. See, that gets your money out of your pocket.
Staples has a plan too, free items, some penny sales. I mean, if you look around, you're going to see more of this. Somebody in the credit card industry recently told me that they've been looking at credit scores. And they've been looking for people whose credit score has dropped, Tony, to the 600s, but they used to be in the mid 7s.
They want to figure out how to get that person to start spending and borrowing money again because they think that even the credit score has fallen, they think that person is a responsible user of money and credit. And they're trying to figure out - you can have a two speed recovery, Tony. Some left behind but some people who have a job and do have disposable income. They're trying to get you, with the disposable income, to spend some money and get the economy going again.
HARRIS: I heard the "free" once in that report. That's promising. OK, if we hear it a few more times that would be nice.
All right, Christine, see you next hour. Thank you.
ROMANS: Sure.
HARRIS: I want to get you back to the courtroom in Los Angeles, where the actress Lindsay Lohan is about to hear what her judge is going to decide to do with her, given her probation violation for a DUI charge.
Let's listen in and see what happens.
(BEGIN COVERGE)
JUDGE MARSHA REVEL, L.A. COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: -- they're subject to cross-examination on how it goes, otherwise a program could just send in a good report in every single case never to be questioned and we'd never know whether it was really a good report or not. You can't get the benefit without getting it subject to cross-examination.
Clearly, if the people had submitted a report that said it was a bad report from the program, you would want them here to cross examine them. So in order for me to accept a hearsay document, they're entitled to have a witness testify. But before we get to that, just want to know, because if there is no claim of confidentiality, I don't even have to get to the point as to whether it's a legitimate claim or not.
So I'm asking you now, not based on what anybody else told you, not for the sake of the program. Each case is a individual case. The ruling in one case doesn't necessarily mean the ruling in all cases. I am asking you now, whether you are objecting to the information being turned over to the district attorney.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not objecting because everything in the file is positive on behalf of Miss Lohan.
REVEL: And that's fine. If you're not objecting, there's no privacy right for me to get to. So I'm going to order them to turn it over because even if there were a privacy right, which I haven't ruled there is, but even if there were, if the person who would be subject to the privacy in your estimation doesn't claim it, it's waived. And so I'm ordering to turn it over immediately.
Give everything to Miss Myers (ph). She can go through that before she has the witness testify. And clearly, Miss Myers, as she indicated previously, isn't going to go into certain things that would not be relevant to this proceeding. The only thing that would be relevant to this proceeding is, did she go every week as ordered? If she didn't go, were there a number of times she didn't show up, did she get there late, did she say she was going one place and didn't go that place? All of these things are relevant to the court in determining if she is in violation, exactly how flagrant or unflagrant the violation may be.
So she's clearly entitled to that. You've indicated you are not objecting to it so there is no privacy issue. The program doesn't have to be concerned at all. So I order it be turned over right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, your Honor.
REVEL: And while she's doing that, perhaps I can call some other cases.
(END OF COVERAGE)
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute, what has happened here? Is this a discovery process here? Are we still talking about turning documents over? Have we clearly not determined whether or not Lindsay Lohan is in violation of her probation? Did she report for treatment when she was supposed to? If she didn't, how often did she not reports as ordered? Flagrant violation or not?
Let me figure out what's going on here and what happened in court and whether we will get some kind of decision on Lindsay's status today.
Let's take a break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Here's the deal. Any minute now, maybe, actress Lindsay Lohan will find out if she's going to jail. Moments ago we saw her inside a Los Angeles courtroom.
On the phone with me right now is Michael Lewittes, as he is following the story for gossip.com.
Michael, good to talk to you. Hey, can you clear up what just happened in court? It sounds like the judge is trying to get information -- or the prosecution is trying to get attendance record for Lindsay, as to when she showed up at this treatment center, what time, did she show up as scheduled. And that information was not made available to the court.
Am I close here?
MICHAEL LEWITTES, GOSSIP.COM: Yes. That's exactly it. And the presumption is that anyone who goes through those courses are going to get a glowing report because why would the alcohol education people say that people who have gone through their classes didn't do a good job? And the prosecution now is saying, well, you know, maybe that's not entirely the case. Let's challenge this. And the judge -- this makes me wonder about where the judge's head is right now, has gone along and said, sure, we need to challenge this.
HARRIS: Well, Michael, maybe I just think in a pretty straightforward way here. But if part of the determination was to find out whether or not Lindsay had reported as required, why is there an issue about getting the records?
Shouldn't that have been taken care of before we get to court today?
LEWITTES: Absolutely, it should have been taken care of. But there are privacy issues and so the alcohol education class which isn't necessarily bound to the court wants to make sure that her privacy issues are protected. It should seem like it's one of those things that automatically the court gets but it's not necessarily so.
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute. Michael, wouldn't the court have to have approved of this particular treatment facility for Lindsay?
LEWITTES: That is correct. That is correct. And now the prosecution is saying, well, yes it was approved, but everyone who goes through this is always given essentially a rubber stamp if they take the number of classes that were required of them.
HARRIS: So what are we to take from this? That perhaps you can't rubber stamp Lindsay because Lindsay has some real problems and that the treatment program she was enlisted in didn't work?
LEWITTES: Well, I think there are some extenuating circumstances here. She did complete the number that were required, but she didn't do it in a timely fashion. And so they're questioning now, like, well, you're saying yes, she did complete them. But we want to know how good a student she was. Certainly she didn't show up in the time that was allotted to her. Certainly she wasn't, you know -- or they're going to argue she wasn't serious enough about it to have done it in the time they wanted her to do it. So now they are questioning it.
HARRIS: OK. Let me stop you there. So if you don't complete the program in the time allotted, is that a probation violation?
LEWITTED: It is.
HARRIS: Technically. LEWITTES: Technically, it is, yes.
HARRIS: I think it would be, Michael, for the guys that grew up in my neighborhood. But the question is, is it for Lindsay Lohan?
LEWITTES: Well, you know, they argue that she was working on films, and she had other reasons why, and that she --
HARRIS: That's my point exactly.
LEWITTES: I know. yes.
HARRIS: Yes. So what's at stake for her? If she's found to be in violation of her probation, what could happen?
LEWITTES: They're going to remand her to jail. That will be it. Today.
HARRIS: Do you know how long possible?
LEWITTES: It could be -- you know, it's one of these nonviolent crimes. So it could be six months. But really, at the end of the day, it may be a number of weeks.
HARRIS: OK.
LEWITTES: Or a couple weeks, even.
HARRIS: Michael, we're going to call you back when we get some kind of resolution on this thing and you can sort it through.
LEWITTES: And I'll be following it, as well.
HARRIS: OK, Michael. I appreciate it. Thanks for your time.
LEWITTES: Thank you.
HARRIS: Your money in the stock market. We are watching it closely.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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HARRIS: Here's what we're working on next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
Millions of lost jobs that probably won't be coming back. We will talk with career counselor Maggie Mistal. She is terrific. And we will talk to her about how you can survive the changing job market.
And the former NASA engineer who invented the Super Soaker water gun has a new mission. He is working on ways to increase America's energy independence. The story and today's report on the Next Big Thing in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
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