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Tax Break Debate; Tapping Natural Gas; Evolution in Education; Big Business Bets on GOP; Inside the VMAs; Prostate Cancer Screening
Aired September 13, 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: And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM where anything can happen. Here are some of people behind the day's top stories.
Homes suddenly blown away from a gas line explosion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED). What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is that?
HARRIS: Wow. That is strong. Residents of a charred California neighborhood see their homes for the first time while investigators look into what went wrong.
Natural gas. A cheaper but controversial way to get it out of the ground known as fracking under scrutiny for contaminating drinking water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any fossil fuel -- coal, oil, gas is -- they don't see the dirty side. This is the dirty side of natural gas. It's clean to burn but it's not clean to get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And you're online right now. We are, too. Maria Ines Ferre is following what's hot -- Ines.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, from CNN.com, you don't have to be rich to rent an island. And when in doubt, put it to music. Taylor Swift sings a song for Kanye West. She forgives him -- Tony.
HARRIS: I need some Gaga in this show as well.
All right. Let's get started with our lead story.
Tax cuts promised to be a hot topic in Washington this week. Everyone pay attention.
What lawmakers on Capitol Hill decide will affect Wall Street and Main Street. The debate is over extending the Bush tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year. President Obama wants to keep them in place for those making less than $250,000 is year. The top House Republican wants to extend them for everyone, but he says he is willing to bend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, I'll vote for them. But I've been making the point now for months that we need to extend all the current rates for all Americans if we want to get our economy going again and we want to get jobs in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The issue of whether to extend the tax cuts is a political issue, but it also raises questions about who is considered rich and whether keeping the tax cuts will help the economy.
Chief Business Correspondent and the host of CNN NEWSROOM at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Ali Velshi, joining us from New York.
Ali, let's -- $250,000 and more. Is there any debate as to whether or not that makes you wealthy in the United States of America?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, there's lots of debate about that. And that, of course, has to do with the cost of housing and the cost of living, certainly in places like New York and San Francisco. There are good arguments that that doesn't make you wealthy, but it sort of divides up into 97 percent of the population, households earning less than that, about three percent of the population, two to three percent, earning more than that.
So, politically, it's the "Why don't we get some more money out of the very rich? -- they're not politically all that influential in terms of numbers -- and it can get us some money?" It can get us about $680 billion to $700 billion into our federal coffers.
HARRIS: Would you agree with me, sir, that for most of the people in this country, if you're making more than $250,000 a year, you're pretty well in America?
VELSHI: I would say generally true, yes. I think if you are earning more than $250,000 as a family or as an individual you are doing pretty well.
The issue is, what will you do with the tax cut if you lose it? What happens if you end up getting that rescinded, as the Obama administration wants to do? What effect will that have on the economy?
Well, it will have a few effects. One is it will put, as I said, $680 billion to $700 billion back into federal coffers to help reduce the deficit, or whatever else it may be.
What happens if you don't take that cutaway? In theory, you've got Republicans saying, well, people will invest that money. They will invest it in maybe startup companies that will create jobs, and that it will instill confidence in the economy, that this is an anti- business or anti-rich people administration.
Unclear whether any of this actually is going to work. The fact is, we're just having a tough time making decisions between spending and taxes, and that's what's going to have to happen. We are going to have to face the music on this.
HARRIS: Well, the pointed questions here then. What percentage of the money already given to the wealthy through the Bush tax cuts has gone to investing?
VELSHI: Well, that's a good question. We don't have an absolute answer to that.
This is one of those things where it's less of a science than it is an art because it creates a sentiment. Right? If you tax people at a lower rate, in theory they will feel better about the economy, they'll use that money in a good way.
Now, let's say that people did take that money that they've saved on taxes and invested it. First of all, we don't know how they're investing in a way that helps the economy. So look at that top line. They could just be saving. It doesn't help anybody if they're doing that.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: The bottom row there is they could be spending. Now, if you spend, you create jobs, you create demand. That can help the economy, but that's got the same effect on wealthy Americans and middle class Americans. And arguably, those with a lower income spend a greater amount of what they earn or save in taxes on day-to-day needs, so you've got greater effectiveness there.
Look at the middle line though, Tony. Wealthy Americans may be prone to invest the money that they don't pay in taxes. Now, if they invest, they might invest, let's say, in a startup company. That startup company may end up hiring people.
Those people who are hired then may end up spending money, and you've got that virtuous circle. There are a couple of problems with that, is that they may end up investing in the stock market, they may end up investing in companies that don't operate in the U.S., or maybe in China or India or Brazil, where so much business is being done this way.
So, this is the problem with this whole debate. Politicians present it as if there is some straight line between tax cuts and prosperity. The straight line simply does not exist.
I will re mind you of one other thing. And by the way, every time you and I have a conversation about taxes on this show, it ends up on some blog who says we're both liars. But I will tell you this: everybody talk about the Reagan tax cuts. When Reagan cut those taxes, they were at a much higher level than they are now and there was a lot of room to cut. We're not talking about that much room between extending the tax cuts and what will happen if you don't extend the tax cuts. So it's very unclear that it will have that decided an effect on the economy that some people will have you believe.
HARRIS: I love that they're writing about us, talking about these issues. On the other hand --
VELSHI: As long as they're talking about it and spelling our name right.
HARRIS: That's it.
On the other hand, final point here, isn't it clear that when you cut taxes, regardless of what wealthy people do, whether they do, in fact, invest, spend, then spending, at least hiring, isn't it clear that when you cut taxes to people in the middle class they use that money in their day-to-day lives?
VELSHI: Well, you know, it's a fact that the lower you are on the income scale, a greater proportion of your income is used on things like housing and transportation and food and heating, and things that you need. So, the lower you are on the income scale, the more you are likely to do with a tax cut than the higher you are in the income scale.
If you earn $250,000 a year, you don't use all that money, generally speaking, unless you're not all that responsible, on heating and clothing and housing and all that kind of stuff. So, yes, that's true. The lower you are in the income scale, the more you are likely to use.
But again, I have to remind everybody, we're not talking about adding a tax cut. We're talking about whether you get to keep your tax cut or lose it. So I don't know that everybody is going to treat that as a windfall, just not losing a tax cut.
HARRIS: Exactly. Let's see what they write about this segment.
Ali, good to see you. See you at the top of the hour. Thanks, man.
VELSHI: All right, buddy.
HARRIS: All right. We want you to be part of the conversation. If you have a question for Ali on the economy, you can reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter and my blog, of course, at CNN.com/Tony.
So how much are the tax cuts we're talking about here, and how long have they been in place?
Josh Levs is crunching the numbers on that one for us and what the tax cuts would mean to your current budget -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I've got something surprising for you, Tony, based on what we were talking about last hour.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Let's do this -- first, I want to give some people some basic examples.
There's this thing called the tax calculator out there from the Tax Policy Center, and they give you a look at the difference between your taxes now and what would happen if the cuts were to expire. So here's our friendly avatar couple. I'm going to give you a couple examples from them.
If their income is at about $57,000, there are tons of variables. We're using this imaginary example. And if their taxes are around $3,500 annually right now, it determines -- if these cuts expired, t hen they would go up a couple thousand dollars, which is a lot for a couple making $57,000 a year.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Now, no one's talking about making that happening. Right?
HARRIS: Right.
LEVS: I mean, the president and Republicans both want to keep that tax cut in place.
Here's another one, a little bit higher. If they're together making about $106,000, and they're currently paying taxes, about $9,000, then it would go up about $3,000 if that expired.
And still, when you've got two people making $50,000 a year each, I mean, it's what most consider middle class in America. That's a big chunk of change. You don't want to see that go away.
Now, you were asking --
HARRIS: Josh, Josh, Josh, before you go there, let me get back to the light here because I'm trying to look at the numbers here. But isn't the middle class firmly in this range of between, say, $35,000 and $60,000 a year for a family? Isn't that the range for the middle class in America? If you're making $100,000, you're doing pretty well by middle class standards, right?
LEVS: The Tax Policy Center calls that high, but you have to understand because there's no official definition of what the middle class is in America. I was just reading about this from factcheck.org. What you're describing is the middle of the middle.
HARRIS: OK, $35,000 -- right. OK. Go ahead.
LEVS: People watching right now who are a couple where one's making $60,000 and one's making $40,000, they're certainly not feeling wealthy, especially in this economy.
HARRIS: True. That's true.
LEVS: I think they would sit there at the TV and be, "Hello? We're middle class."
HARRIS: Right.
LEVS: But yes, they're doing a lot better than the middle of the middle.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: Now, you were asking about, what if someone makes $251,000, right?
HARRIS: Right.
LEVS: Well, this is interesting. I've been taking a look at those figures, and you really don't start to see any changes. And the reason is, having income isn't the same thing as having adjustable income and then having the taxable income.
HARRIS: Oh, lord. OK.
LEVS: And all of these things that come into play.
Take a look at this. Look at our friendly avatar couple. All right?
When I went to the tax calculator -- and this is surprising -- and I gave them an income of about $305,000, it found that the taxes they would pay actually would be about the same under President Obama's plan. Now, people are going to see that and say, what? Over $250,000 it goes up.
It does, but there are also other factors that change, including the widening of one of these tax brackets. We have a story here on CNN Money that's very interesting that talks about a sweet spot. They call it a surprise tax cut for the almost rich.
HARRIS: For the almost rich.
LEVS: There are some people -- some people out there -- who might actually come out ahead under President Obama's plan. But again, a lot of people over $250,000 will see their taxes go up. But you have all these different factors come into play.
This is the big thing right here. All right? When we talk about big picture, how will the amount of money the government's getting change? In one way, take a look at the millionaires out there making a lot of money.
HARRIS: There you go.
LEVS: If your income is $1.75 million, current taxes, $573,000. Look what happens. It jumps up to $645,000. That's another $70,000-plus. That is a really big difference, one place which the government would be collecting a lot more money.
And that's when you get in this debate, what is best for the country? Leave that for people to spend and use in certain ways, give it to the government to try and spend in certain ways that way? That's the debate right there.
HARRIS: Well, the government wouldn't necessarily have to spend that money. The government could apply it to the deficit.
LEVS: Which would be nice. Let's see if that happens.
HARRIS: Which would be nice. All right, Josh. I hope that helped.
Still to come, ever heard of fracking? Well, some people say the procedure is contaminating their drinking waters. The CNN Special Investigations Unit will explain.
First though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Got to tell you something. It is a growing problem sweeping the sports world. It is our "Random Moment of the Day," worth further examination.
The Tennessee Titans' mascot, a ravenous raccoon by the name of T-Rac, devours -- look at this -- a cheerleader. The end game snack came in the fourth quarter as the Titans smashed my Oakland Raiders, 38-17.
Several other cheerleaders, we understand, have fallen victim lately to mascots. We will keep documenting their appetites in your "Random Moment of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, it is not something many of you will be familiar with, but it could impact us all.
Today, in upstate New York, the Environmental Protection Agency is holding a public hearing on the highly controversial process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The hearing over the drilling technique for natural gas production is drawing a large crowd, both pro and con. The hearing in Binghamton.
Drew Griffin of CNN Special Investigations Unit, introduces us to folks in Pennsylvania who say fracking is dangerous.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bill Ely's pure artisan well water that he and his family have been drinking for nearly 50 years is now full of methane gas. He's sick of telling people about it, so now he just shows them.
BILL ELY, LIVE NEAR NATURAL GAS DRILLING: I'm not going to be able to light this because the wind's blowing. It's going to blow it right out, but I'm going to try it.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Whoa. It looks like you scared me.
(LAUGHTER) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know what? You're really lucky you didn't --
GRIFFIN: What just happened? I mean --
ELY: That's just -- the gas went down. And that's why I said, it comes back and blows it out these holes. But if I turn it up a little bit and the water blocks that, and then it'll just burn a flame right off the top.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): The gas bubbles through his well.
ELY: And as you can see right now, you can't see it in the hose into the bottom of that because that's all gas.
GRIFFIN (on camera): And it was at one time clear?
ELY: Clear. Crystal clear.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): It steams off like Alka-Seltzer. In his chicken coop, where it's dark, he can show you the flame.
What's causing this? He says like a lot of people in rural eastern Pennsylvania, he has been fracked.
This area is seeing a boom in the natural gas business because of a geological formation known as the Marcellus Shale and a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. Fracking, as it's known, drills down and then sideways into the massive shale rock that lies thousands of feet below, injecting mostly water and some chemicals which cause many earthquakes. That fractures the rock, releasing clear, odorless, floating gold, natural gas trapped inside the Marcellus Shale, hundreds of trillions of cubic feet worth, enough to supply the northeast for decades to come.
Craig and Julie Sautner say they too are being fracked.
GRIFFIN (on camera): I'm going to play a little devil's advocate with you. That's a little bit why they say they're doing this, because this is clean fuel.
CRAIG SAUTNER, LIVE NEAR NATURAL GAS DRILLING: Clean fuel.
JULIE SAUNTER, LIVE NEAR NATURAL GAS DRILLING: It's - it's not clean to get. It's a fossil fuel. Any fossil fuel - coal, oil, gas, is - they don't see the dirty side. This is the dirty side of natural gas. It's clean to burn, but it's not clean to get.
GRIFFIN: Like Bill Ely, the Sautner's well is poisoned. Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection confirmed it, and it's now forcing the gas exploration company, Cabot Oil & Gas, to truck in clean drinking water, though Cabot denies its process of fracturing has contaminated anything.
In fact, the company's spokesman cites a 2004 EPA study which found only a minimal threat to underground drinking water, and told CNN, "We don't believe the process is contaminating the ground water. As a technology, it's proven and safe."
C. SAUTNER: We don't know --
GRIFFIN: The Sautners and other homeowners just don't buy that. They are suing. Craig wants a clean water pipeline to his home, and he wants to be paid for a house that now has a methane release stack in his front yard.
C. SAUTNER: To keep it -- to keep it from blowing up, yes.
GRIFFIN: And a neighborhood, he says, that is sometimes fogged in with methane mist.
C. SAUTNER: Will this become a ghost town some day? Maybe, right?
I sure don't want to live here anymore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Drew Griffin joins us now.
Drew, I'm trying to put this story -- it's dramatic stuff -- into a context that I can handle here, because it seems to me that a lot of this comes down to money. We're talking about two groups of people here, people who were paid for their land to -- for this process to take place.
GRIFFIN: Right.
HARRIS: Right?
GRIFFIN: Right.
HARRIS: Who don't drink the water, right?
GRIFFIN: Everybody gets paid.
HARRIS: Everybody gets paid.
GRIFFIN: Everybody gets paid. These people got paid $2,500 an acre to lease their land, a one-time payment, plus royalties. There's a lot of money involved here.
They are small landowners, so they don't get a whole lot of money. And they say it's certainly not worth it if you live there and cannot use your water anymore.
But the basics is, this was going to be a big boom for a lot of these people in these depressed areas, and that's what's going on in New York, Tony, that a lot of big landowners who see big payments coming want fracking. They want this exploration. They want that gas to come out of the ground.
Number one, they don't drink the water. Number two, many of them maybe don't live there. But the warning is from the people who live there, go slow, be careful, because right now, they turn on the tap, they're getting gas coming out of their faucets.
HARRIS: Wow. Terrific reporting. Good stuff. Thanks, Drew.
When we come back, we'll get an update on Hurricane Igor, now a Category 4 storm. We will check in with Chad Myers. He is tracking Igor. He'll tell us where it is and where it's headed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. A bit of breaking news coming into CNN.
We're just learning from sources in Washington that Capitol Hill Police have evacuated, let's see here, the areas around the House chamber, including the galleries on the third floor. And if you're familiar with the building, the galleries, that's where tourists go to view the House chamber. The House press galleries on the third floor also evacuated.
So we're going to follow this. The House floor is closed right now, and the House is not scheduled to be in session until 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.
We don't know why the evacuation has been ordered, but we'll keep an eye on this situation and talk to our folks on Capitol Hill, and get an update for you soon, as soon as they have additional information, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: I've got to tell you, Detroit's public schools are logging some of the lowest grades on the nation's report card. But there may about solution, or, rather, an evolution that's adding up to more high school graduates.
It's what we're talking about in our "What Matters?" segment.
CNN's Poppy Harlow takes a look at a program that is making math fun in the Motor City.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Detroit may be trying to reinvent itself, but when it comes to educating its children, the word "struggle" only begins to describe the situation.
PROF. LEONARD BOEHM, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, MATH CORPS: Almost every kid has to walk through a metal detector just to go off to school.
GERALD MARTIN, STUDENT TEACHER, MATH CORPS: One of my students said he and his friends mentally prepared themselves for what to do if somebody puts a gun in your face.
HARLOW: Only 59 percent of Detroit's public school students graduate from high school, and right now the school system is battling a $363 million budget deficit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's start it off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three plus three --
HARLOW: But as desperate as the situation may be, two Wayne State University professors have found success inspiring Detroit kids. Out of all places, a math camp.
BOEHM: Remember, you want to play mathematics up here, you better keep it simple. OK? You better keep it down.
HARLOW: In 1991, with just a few kids at first, Professors Leonard Boehm and Steve Kahn started Math Corps, a free six-week program for youngsters grade seven and up. What's different? Complex and often scary math problems are transformed into team challenges.
BOEHM: That's perfect!
HARLOW: The curriculum creates an environment where supporting others is central to learning.
LASHIONTE LUKE-OWENS, STUDENT, MATH CORPS: We have a support system. We support people like this. And when they get it right, we agree, so, like, it makes them happy to see when they turn around and see all these people agreeing with them.
HARLOW: Math Corps now accepts 500 students per year. They come from different backgrounds with different abilities, not only to learn, but also to teach.
PROF. STEVE KAHN, DIRECTOR, MATH CORPS: Kids teaching kids works unbelievably well because it's not kids teaching kids. It's kids caring about kids.
HARLOW: And the proof is in the numbers. Ninety percent of students who complete Math Corps graduate from high school and 80 percent go on to college.
BOEHM: The fact that you have them on a college environment at a young age -- I'm sorry -- that plants that seed in them. You're worth something. You're worth 100 points.
KAHN: We believe we cannot just change the school system, but change, you know, the city in a fundamental way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: That's so positive. I want to run that story every day.
And to read more stories that matter to all of us, just pick up the latest issue of "Essence" magazines on newsstands now.
You never want at view like this from your backyard deck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED)! What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is that? Was that a plane crash?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That is the video of -- can you believe that?-- the natural gas pipeline explosion near San Francisco. The investigation shifting into high gear.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, I don't have much new information, but I do want to update the story we brought you just moments ago.
Capitol Hill Police have evacuated the areas around the House chamber, including the galleries on the third floor. That's where tourists go to view the House chamber in action.
Let's see. The House press galleries, also on the third floor, evacuated.
And we've got two pictures here. And you see the Capitol there on left, and then I believe that is the east front of the Capitol building on your right there.
So we're trying to get some additional information to learn why the evacuation was ordered. Don't have that yet, but as soon as we do we will pass it along to you.
Crews outside Boulder, Colorado, hope to contain a wildfire today. It has destroyed 166 homes.
The new concern is this blaze burning near Loveland. That's about 40 miles north of Boulder.
Firefighters say about 100 homes may be at risk there. Already, two homes and several other buildings burned as the fire spread over 700 acres.
California is directing PG&E to inspect its entire natural gas pipeline system. A blown-out section of pipe from the San Bruno explosion is going to Washington for forensic analysis.
CNN's Ted Rowlands shows us some scary home video from the incident and tells us some people got a chance to go home on Sunday for just a few brief moments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALTER MCCAFFREY, SAN BRUNO RESIDENT (off camera): Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED), what the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is that?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This incredible home video was captured moments after the explosion from a house balcony just behind the blown gas pipe. The voice you hear belongs to Walter McCaffrey. He had one hand on his video camera, the other on his phone, telling his wife not to come home with their three children.
This is the view from that deck now. Walter and his wife Cherry (ph) were allowed back Sunday afternoon to their house for the first time since the explosion.
MCCAFFREY: Just looking at all this. I mean, I saw all of this from the news, but being here and the first time coming up here and looking at all of this, it was just -- no words. I can't really explain.
ROWLANDS: Teams are still sifting through ash, searching for remains of people still listed as missing. As investigators try to learn what caused the explosion, questions have surfaced about the section of pipe that blew, a PG&E document outlining costs to replace the pipe says, quote, "the likelihood of a failure makes the risk of a failure that the location unacceptably high." That doesn't mean that PG&E thought there was a chance the pipe could explode.
But Mark Toney, executive director of the consumer watchdog group Utility Reform Network, says it's important if reports that residents smelled gas before the explosion are true.
MARK TONEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE UTILITY REFORM NETWORK: Nobody, PG&E included, could have imagined something as horrible and terrible as the San Bruno blast and fire as happening. But the fact remains that when PG&E got the report of gas leaks from several customers over several days, they should have realized that this was an area that was old, that was at high risk that they identified as high risk.
ROWLANDS: Federal officials leading the investigation are looking into the reports about the smell of gas in the days before the explosion and how PG&E responded.
CHRISTOPHER HART, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: We would ask anybody who says that they smell gas and called it in to let us know.
ROWLANDS: The McCaffreys plan to move back when they are sure it's safe to do so. While their home suffered only minor damage, their neighborhood will never be the same.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And, Tony, they are still working and searching the debris area for possible remains. There are four people that are missing. Never actually went down -- over the weekend, it was originally at six. Two people showed up, but four are unaccounted for. They're searching for the remains still, even today. And it's unclear when the people that actually lost all of their homes will have an opportunity to come back and see their property, because their homes are completely obliterated.
HARRIS: Man, that video is just - that is unbelievable video. Ted Rowlands for us, Ted appreciate it. Thank you.
An engineer and his wife sick of going through layoffs cash in their 401(k) to start their own business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We thought that you know, that this was the best way to invest into our future.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'd always talked about ideally wanting to have a family business some day. You know, wouldn't it be great?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Launching a business after 30 years in the corporate world. We will show you how the Phelps are doing it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: No, you're messing up my shot. I wanted the tour to be on television!
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: How's everybody?
GROUP: Good!
HARRIS: All right. Well, you tell Maria Ines Ferre that I need a little bit of work out of her today!
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: All right, everybody, let's get you to CNNmoney.com, the best financial Web site on the web. You can see the big story. Wall Street Bets Big on Republicans.
Let's see. Some other items of note here. We'll just go to the latest news column here and take a look here. A lot of news. That's important about the economy right now. The team does a terrific job. Right here, CNNmoney.com.
Jack, let's get on over here to the Big Board, look at the numbers here. New York Stock Exchange. We are certainly off of session highs right now, but we're still in positive territory. Up 41 points. The NASDAQ, let's see three hours into the trading day, up 30.
Got to tell you, this is a story that I think there are a lot of lessons to be taken away from. An engineer who went through five - yes, five layoffs decides to cash in retirement and start fresh with his wife as his business partner. Take a look at this DIY, or do-it- yourself economy story. Again, there are some lessons here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS (voice-over): For the first time in their 29-year marriage, Steve and Kathy Phelps share their morning commute to work. That's because after all of these years, they both work for the same company. Their very own.
KATHY PHELPS, PRESIDENT, PHELPS INNOVATIONS: We'd always talked about ideally wanting to have a family business some day. You know, wouldn't it be great?
HARRIS: After 30 years of working in corporate America, Steve, a product design engineer got fed up with the corporate life. He was sick of watching his friends get fired and nervously waiting for the other shoe to drop.
STEVE PHELPS, PHELPS INNOVATIONS: Through my career, we've been through five layoffs -- four, five layoffs.
HARRIS: So, during this last recession, the 51-year-old decided enough was enough.
S. PHELPS: At this point in your career, at our age, it was kind of like, man, starting over again is, was not something we were looking forward to doing again.
HARRIS: So he took control of his own destiny. Last year, in the middle of the recession, the Phelpses decided to cash in their entire 401(k), worth $50,000 and formed their own company. It is a decision they made while watching their nest egg shrink.
K. PHILLIPS: When we saw that much gone of it already, you almost get an attitude, like we don't have much else to lose.
HARRIS: They named the business after themselves. Phelps Innovations, designing products to make people's lives easier. Something Steve was already an expert at, having work for 11 years at a well-known household products company. He used his expertise in bathroom product design and took it on the road.
It's a product inspired by the couple's road trips and dirty restroom stops.
S. PHELPS: I think everybody at one point in their life has been to a bathroom where you were missing something.
This is the Spare Square Potty Pack. What this does, it contains eight feet of toilet paper, folded toilet paper, a toilet seat cover, a flushable personal light.
HARRIS: Steve tried to pitch the product while in his old job but he says his employer didn't see a large enough market for it, or a enough of a profit margin. But the Phelps think it will be huge.
S. PHELPS: Bill gates worked for IBM and he proposed the idea to them. They said we don't see a market for that. We don't see that many personal computers and -- I think they made a mistake.
HARRIS: Kathy does the books, takes care of the taxes and comes up with creative product names. Her husband does the hands-on designing. Together, they assemble the products in the world's shortest assembly line and what is mostly an empty warehouse.
S. PHELPS: We've got an income that keeps the lights on here and at home. That's good. HARRIS: The Phelps also teamed up with an outdoors writer and designed a series of waterproof fishing guides. Once again, going with their theme of making life easier for people.
S. PHELPS: We've been out fishing, I can never remember how to use the lure.
HARRIS: Steve's latest project -- a new type of charcoal chimney that heats up the coals, then drops them without any mess. These are just prototypes for now. He's got a patent pending. So far, six stores carry their products, but they dream of something much bigger.
K. PHELPS: We don't want it to be just a family business. We want it to truly be something that produces products that really make people happy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Yes, the Phelps' advice for anyone thinking of launching a business, the Small Business Administration was really a huge help for them both in helping them secure a loan and getting their business plan in place. Just go to SBA.gov to get more information.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Let's gets you caught up on top stories now.
An airplane carrying at least 47 passengers and crew has crashed in Venezuela. CNN learned about half of them are in a hospital right now with various injuries. We'll keep you informed as soon as we learn more about the survivors.
The estimated number of violent crimes committed in the country has declined for the third straight year. That's according to number released by the FBI today. Property crimes also dropped for the seventh straight year.
And the largest employment of New Hampshire Guardsmen and women since the Second World War are headed for Operation New Dawn. The brigade expected to arrive in Kuwait by November. They'll provide logistics and beef up security for personnel coming in and out of Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PVT. ANDREA WENZEL, NEW HAMPSHIRE NATIONAL GUARD: Lots of support from New Hampshire. Lots of support from the family, and everybody. It's wonderful.
BEN WAITES, ATKINSON RESIDENT: I think it's awesome to have a part of my family in the military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Politics and Wall Street, they just seem to go together. Don't they? Our senior political editor will tell us who big business is betting on in the upcoming midterm elections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Time now for your CNN equals politics update. CNN senior political editor Mark Preston is on the best political team on television. He joins us live from D.C.
Mark, good to see you. What's crossing right now?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Tony, looks like Wall Street is hedging its bets on November. They're sending millions of dollars to Republican candidates according to the Senate for Responsible Politics.
Our own cnnmoney.com writer has the story. It's posted on cnnpolitics.com. You're really going to take a look at this really interesting stuff. Let's focus here in Washington, D.C. What House Democrats are doing, Tony, to try to win in November.
Look at this story that might my colleague, your colleague, Alison Hardy has up. They've gone to cyber space. They are trying to convince voters, Tony, that they have the goods, that they have the ideas to stay in the majority as we all know House Democrats up against the fence right now, Tony as they are trying to win re- election.
And then let's just talk about my tip sheet for the week. What a week in politics, Tony. What a crazy week in politics. We have seven states holding primaries tomorrow including the District of Columbia so eight total.
We have competitive races in New Hampshire, in Delaware. Here in D.C., the Mayor Adrian Fenty is up against the wall and, then, of course, we have Charlie Rangel, the embattled representative up in Harlem. He has a very tough contest, a lot of questions for Mr. Rangel up there.
HARRIS: That's for sure.
PRESTON: But just focusing on down, the RNC kicks off this 48-state bus tour on Wednesday, Tony. On Thursday, it looks like we're gearing up for 2012, because on Friday the Value Voters Summit happens, Tony.
This is where we're going to have all these social conservatives come here to town. They're going to hear from the likes of Mitt Romney, Mike Pence, and Rick Santorum.
Somebody we won't hear from is Sarah Palin because on Friday night, she's going to be in Iowa headlining a major fund-raiser for the Iowa Republican Party.
So we're talking 2010. We're also talking 2012, Tony.
HARRIS: That's terrific stuff. Mark, good to see you. Appreciate it. Thank you.
And your next political update coming in one hour. For the latest political news, just go to cnnpolitics.com.
You may remember Kanye West's rant at last year's MTV Video Music Awards show when Taylor Swift was in the spotlight, right? They were back last night for this year's awards, and our Ines Ferre we'll tell you what happened. Plus bring you what's hot from the web.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So let's see here. Ines Ferre is here with what's hot online. We know you're online, right now. We are, too so what's trending, what's hots? Where do you want to start with, Ines?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So let's check out the outfits first.
HARRIS: From the video music -- everyone sings dance - OK, all right. Good, good.
FERRE: OK, you've got some Lady Gaga going on, and -
HARRIS: Bieber - Beiber fever.
FERRE: And - Snooki, our favorite.
HARRIS: Can we just go a day without her in the program? OK, is that it?
FERRE: No, we've got some other ones here. Usher and --
HARRIS: All right.
FERRE: And --
HARRIS: That's classy. Usher looks good.
FERRE: Katie Perry, this dress got a lot of attention as well.
HARRIS: What do I know. OK.
FERRE: OK, then next one - so, Kanye West, do you remember last year --
HARRIS: Yes. He said the award that went to Taylor Swift should have gone to Beyonce?
FERRE: Right, he was very drunk when -- saying that and then - so then a slew of apologies. So this year --
HARRIS: So they were both there?
FERRE: Yes, they both were there. He's saying she also saying --
HARRIS: He doesn't sing. He raps.
FERRE: OK.
HARRIS: All right -- FERRE: Good point and she's sang a ballad.
HARRIS: She sang a ballad?
FERRE: Yes, she sang a ballad and we want to play some of that for you and it's -- says --
(MUSIC PLAYING)
FERRE: She says you'll have new Septembers, every one of us have messed up, too.
HARRIS: Well, hang on a second. Is she singing a song to Kanye, for Kanye? Referencing Kanye?
FERRE: Yes, it's a song referencing Kanye.
HARRIS: All right, and I forgive you? That's old. That's a year ago.
FERRE: Well, I know. But they're all -- both of them have really been -- he's been tweeting about it.
HARRIS: He has?
FERRE: It's been going on a year. They're much talked about at this VMA award.
HARRIS: OK.
FERRE: OK, and this next one is from a game in Morocco. It's a tournament in Morocco. We want to show you the video because it's unbelievable. They're off the penalty kicks, and -- you'll see that the --
HARRIS: So he gets the stop.
FERRE: He gets the stop but then it --
HARRIS: No, no. Top spin on it and it just keeps rolling through.
FERRE: It just rolls through.
HARRIS: So the goalie is thinking, we've won.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: Right.
FERRE: He gets up, he's like, OK. I did that and then -- yes. And it actually -- and so they got, the guy that --
HARRIS: Do we have time for the Gaga and the meat?
FERRE: This is unbelievable. This outfit is, Lady Gaga with an outfit that looks like it's meat. A lot of people have been commenting online about it. Ellen DeGeneres actually interviewed her.
HARRIS: Looks like a slab of meat on her forehead. I don't want that to move. All right, we got to go because we've got an update a quick story here.
We told you about the evacuation at the Capitol. We understand that the all-clear has been given. We'll update the story in just a couple of minutes. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So at the top of the hour, we told you about the evacuation ordered for the House Chamber, Capitol Hill, the third floor gallery ordered evacuated. We've just been given word by the Capitol police that the all-clear been sounded, emergency over. The all-clear sounded.
A simple blood test may be a strong indicator of a man's risk for developing prostate cancer that's according to a new study from the American Cancer Society. But whether men should get that blood test is still up for debate. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains why.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, usually when we talk about cancer we say, I want every test I can get. I want to know if I'm going to get cancer.
Prostate cancer however, is a bit different, and here's why. It's very likely that when you get screen for prostate cancer the doctors going to find something very small, very slow growing that will never kill you.
But once you find it, you and your doctor might feel compelled to treat it and in that case, the treatment can sometimes cause impotence, incontinence and other problems.
So this new study out of Europe, it was a large study, asked the question, is it OK to just screen once when a man is around 55 years old? And if it's OK, stop doing screenings?
Here's what they found. If you screen 25,000 men at around age 55 and they have a nice, low PSA, if you rescreen them all later in life, you will save one life, and on the other hand, cause many, many more men to become incontinent or impotent and other problems as well.
So looking at that, of course, the question is, should men get screened for prostate cancer again if they've had one good screening and the answer is -- every man has to answer this on his own with his doctor.
It is not an easy question to answer. In fact, some men choose not to get screened for prostate cancer at all, including I know the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, he doesn't want any screening. These are all valid options.
So here's something you can do. Go to my Twitter, which is elizcohencnn, that's my Twitter account and you will see a link to an Empower Patient article that I wrote called "What's a Dude to Do?" because this is a difficult decision. It takes you through step by step. Also, you can take a look at my book, the "Empowered Patient," which has now gone into its third printing. It also talks about how to think through medical decision making - Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Elizabeth, appreciate it.
Quickly now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with Ali Velshi in New York City - Ali.
