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College Football Player Fatally Shot by Police; Concerns for Voters as Midterm Elections Near; Facebook Apps Trigger Privacy Breach; Obama Welcomes Math and Science Fair Competitors With Open Arms; Untying the Financial Knot; Foreclosure Crisis Hitting Churches Across the Country

Aired October 18, 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: All right. 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.

A college football player fatally shot by police. The emotional aftermath caught on tape. Friends and family are stunned, saying the young man was peaceful and easygoing. Police say he plowed into two officers with his car. We are talking with a former policeman about it.

Just 15 days until midterm elections, and we are expecting President Obama to talk politics and education. He speaks live at a science fair at the White House. We will bring that to you when it happens.

You're online right now, and we are, too. Josh Levs is following "What's Hot" -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Tony. A new twist in the saga over Facebook and your privacy. A newspaper investigation finds some of the top apps transmit personal information.

I will have details for you on that this hour -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Josh.

Let's get started now with our lead story. A popular Pace University student gunned down by police. The chaos surrounding the incident caught on tape.

This scene, a strip shopping center, a strip mall in New York's Westchester County. Investigators say police were responding to a fight in the parking lot. They noticed a car parked in the fire lane. When an officer approached, the driver pulled off. Police say he hit two officers, who then opened fire.

The 20-year-old driver, Danroy Henry, was killed. His father is too heartbroken to appear on camera, but he is speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANROY HENRY, SR., SON KILLED IN POLICE SHOOTING: He was a student, he was an athlete. He just played a great game. His coach called him today a man of high moral character.

His teammates all loved him. He was very popular on the campus and in this community, I think, as you can see, so we are absolutely beside ourselves right now. Not only are we experiencing this great loss, but we are also absolutely beside ourselves because we just absolutely can't understand how this could happen to our son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The family wants answers. Former police detective Steve Kardian joining me now via skype from Bozeman, Montana.

Steve, good to see you.

Look, there was a lot going on at that scene. Two different police officers were involved.

You used to work for one of them, the Mt. Pleasant Police Department. What can you tell us about what you know about this incident?

STEVE KARDIAN, FMR. POLICE DETECTIVE: Yes, Tony. First of all, my condolences out to the family, to Pace University, to the Mt. Pleasant and Pleasantville Police Departments.

To my understanding, from the information available to date, there was a large fight in progress. The officers were there. They responded, they were clearing out the fire lane. They have having people move on to try and deal with a smaller group of people.

The victim, apparently a police officer knocked on his window to clear him out and he accelerated at a high rate of speed. He hit one officer, knocking him to the ground. A second officer was hit, ended up on the hood of the car, and ended up firing his weapon to stop his actions.

HARRIS: OK. All right. Let's dive into this a bit, Steve.

Taking the police account of what happened at face value, there was a disturbance. Police respond and approach the young man's car. He is parked in a fire lane and then he takes off. So, of course, until we know something more, let's assume that those are the facts.

In more cases than not, from your experience, with these facts, do police open fire on the driver?

KARDIAN: When that officer felt that his life was in danger, and taken into consideration it was a split-second decision, he made the decision to terminate that individual's actions, to stop and perhaps save his life.

HARRIS: He opened fire.

KARDIAN: He opened fire. HARRIS: And what you're saying is, more often than not, in circumstances like this, this will likely be the police action, correct?

KARDIAN: In this particular situation, this was the decision the officer made. It was a split-second decision.

He felt that his life was in danger. He felt that his options -- and again, this decision is made in a split second -- were very limited. He had to stop the actions of this individual to save his life.

HARRIS: OK. And I'm just asking about protocols and procedure and training. So I'll push you on it again. More often than not, given the facts as we know them of this particular incident, the officer in question is likely to discharge his or her weapon, correct or not? Yes or no?

KARDIAN: Firing at a vehicle is not protocol. Firing when an officer's life is in danger is protocol. So, yes.

HARRIS: Got you. OK. OK.

KARDIAN: Under these circumstances, I would have done the same thing, likely.

HARRIS: OK. Thank you.

So is this a department -- you mentioned you worked with one of the departments here. Is this a department -- are these departments with a troubling history of using what some might consider excessive force?

KARDIAN: Absolutely not. The Mt. Pleasant Police Department is a highly professional police department that has great officers working for them. The officers involved are all seasoned veterans that I have observed personally exercise extreme restraint, control and good judgment.

HARRIS: OK. Just trying to get some things on the record here.

Is there, would you say, mistrust of officers by members of minority communities in the Mt. Pleasant, Pleasantville area?

KARDIAN: Not to my knowledge, no. No. But based upon what happened, it's a tragedy.

Nothing good can come out of this. It's a horrendous, tragic act that occurred. The end results are what they are.

HARRIS: Yes.

KARDIAN: The officer made the decision, and he acted appropriately.

HARRIS: OK. So, Steve, the facts as we know them right now, there's got to be a teachable moment in this. So I'm a parent, and I've got -- I've got to use this moment, what happened to this young man, who, by all accounts, is a fine young man, who made a really bad decision here.

Based on the facts, as we know them -- maybe some other information will come to light -- what is the teachable moment here? What do we say to young people about how they should handle themselves when approached by police officers?

KARDIAN: You know, I think you summed it up very well, Tony, when you said a good kid made a bad decision. Talk to your children, prepare them, have them exercise good judgment when dealing with the police officers, especially in a chaotic situation.

Remove yourself from a bad situation. When the trouble starts, walk out, leave, and obey the directions. Remember, these officers are coming on to a chaotic scene, they're making split-second decisions, they are outnumbered, and it's a horrible thing to deal with as a police officer.

HARRIS: OK. And finally, if the officer approaches your vehicle, what do you do? Obviously, no one would suggest the thing to do is to hit the accelerator and gun your car, but what -- again, I'm trying to find teachable moments here.

What do you do? What do I tell my children to do if they're approached and an officer taps on the window in that chaotic situation?

KARDIAN: Roll down your window, listen to what the officer has to say, obey his orders, and act appropriately. Again, good kid, bad decision. He accelerated, he endangered anyone and everyone that was in that area at that time. Again, a tragedy.

HARRIS: OK. All right, Steve. Let's leave it there and let's take the facts as we know them at this point.

Steve Kardian with us from Bozeman, Montana.

Steve, good to see you. And let's have you on the program more.

KARDIAN: A pleasure, Tony.

HARRIS: All right.

Countdown to the midterm showdown now.

With the election just 15 days away, the fight for control of Congress is heading into the home stretch. For some, Election Day is already here. Early voting gets under way today in six more states and the District of Columbia.

With the election getting close, and control of Congress at stake, both sides are bringing out the heavy hitters. First lady Michelle Obama was on the campaign trail with the president over the weekend and she is back campaigning today. She is appearing with the Democratic Senate candidate in Connecticut. That is Richard Bloomenthal. And later today she attends a Democratic National Committee fundraiser.

The CNN Election Express is on the road across the Southeast from now until Election Day, listening to your concerns. And one of the biggest concerns for most of you is the economy, including the foreclosure crisis.

T.J. Holmes is traveling with the Election Express, and he joins us from Charlotte, North Carolina.

And T.J., good to see you again. What are people telling you about the foreclosure crisis? And I know there is a piece here that sort of illustrates where Charlotte is.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, you know, just like every other city and state across this country, I mean, Charlotte, North Carolina, has been hit by this foreclosure crisis here in Charlotte, in particular this metro area.

I mean, their numbers of foreclosures have gone up percentage- wise over the past two years in a dramatic way. Still, this area has been able to stay below, if you will, some of the worst in the country, so not as bad off as some places, but still getting hit and hit hard.

But here it's a little different in that Bank of America, which, of course, now is in the middle of this latest foreclosure mess, it literally and figuratively looms large over Charlotte, North Carolina. That's it right behind me, the Bank of America headquarters, the tallest building standing here in the middle of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Listen now to one of our local affiliate reporters helping us out doing some reporting here, and really kind of sums up what some people are going through here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Gloria McKee is proud of her home and all that's in it.

GLORIA MCKEE, CHARLOTTE RESIDENT: This is my grandson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But hard times have put McKee and her out-of- work husband in a hard spot. Bank of America sent them this letter, telling them they're being foreclosed and could have their house taken away in 60 to 90 days.

The notice came just as Bank of America was announcing its plans to halt foreclosure sales as it investigates whether homeowner documents were properly reviewed. But which homeowners are getting that temporary reprieve?

(on camera): Do you have any idea whether you're included in that? MCKEE: No, I don't have any idea in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The McKees aren't the only ones wondering.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: United Family Services?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The phones have been ringing off the hook at United Family Services, where calls have tripled since the foreclosure stoppages were first announced.

HENRIETTA THOMPSON, MORTGAGE COUNSELOR: People were wondering, did the house actually foreclose? Do they have a chance to save their home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mortgage counselor Henrietta Thompson believes they do. She says anybody in the midst of being foreclosed on should take three immediate steps. Call your lender, ask if your foreclosure has been put on hold, and if so, ask about getting your loan modified.

The McKees have yet to hear whether their foreclosure is on hold, but hope and pray it is.

MCKEE: God will make a way, and I believe he will.

But Lord, I'm not questioning you, but when?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: So as you hear there, Tony, just one -- what one person is going through, and that is certainly emblematic of what so many others are going through.

But Tony, you know, we talk about Wall Street and we talk about Main Street. We need to be talking about Trion (ph) Street here in downtown Charlotte, where Bank of America and so many other financial institutions are, $2-plus trillion in assets floating around back here behind me.

Your money, your mortgage tied up in Charlotte, North Carolina right now, folks.

HARRIS: That is terrific stuff. Good to see you, T. Thank you, sir.

HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: And CNN is, of course, your political headquarters for up-to-the-minute election news. You know where to go. That is CNNPolitics.com.

A threat to your privacy, at FarmVille and other Facebook apps. First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: OK. Our "Random Moment of the Day" also a cautionary tale. Don't steal and try to make a break for it in your birthday suit. Come on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a first in my 15 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: This is crazy. You become a laughing stock, is what happens here. You earn a spot in the "Random Moment" Hall of Fame.

Heck, even the arresting officer couldn't keep a straight face. The 45-year-old burglary suspect was taken to a hospital right before going to jail.

Cops say he flung of his hospital robe and took off in full Monty mode. The naked man -- ooh. The naked man even broke into a display case and grabbed a vintage nurse's skirt. OK.

In the end, he was arrested again, put back in the robe, and taken to jail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, Facebook, as you know, has, what, 500 million friends? But if you're one of them, you may want to be careful. It turns out your personal information could be up for grabs to the highest bidder.

Josh Levs all over this story for us, and he's joining us now to break it down -- Josh.

LEVS: It's the latest twist in this saga that we're hearing all the time, Tony. You know, Facebook is gargantuan. It's so huge. So many people using it out there.

Once in a while, you find a new twist in how they are handling information. And in this case, it's about these apps.

It's a "Wall Street Journal" investigation we're talking about now. This paper is reporting that many of the most popular applications called the apps have been transferring identifying information, people's names, in some cases their friends' names, to advertisers and to Internet tracking companies, even if those Facebook users set their profiles to be completely private.

And The Journal says this actually breaks Facebook's rules. The information being transmitted is called the Facebook I.D. number, which is a public part of a Facebook profile. So, anybody can take that I.D. number and look up someone's name on Facebook.

Now, a Facebook spokesman says that the company is taking steps to dramatically limit the exposure of users' personal information. But I'll tell you, The Journal found that all of the 10 most popular apps were transmitting users' IDs to outside companies, including -- one among them is FarmVille, also Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille.

FarmVille, by the way, 59 million users. Isn't that unbelievable?

HARRIS: Are you kidding me?

LEVS: Fifty-nine million users of FarmVille.

HARRIS: What the heck is it?

LEVS: Oh, man, I'll show it to you later. I don't play it, but it's this game a lot of people get on where you can create -- I'll show you.

HARRIS: OK.

LEVS: But they're all very popular. And a lot of these are used by millions.

It's important to understand, most of these apps are not made by Facebook, but three of the top 10, including FarmVille, have been transmitting personal information about a user's friends to outside companies, according to this study. And I will tell you, since we're talking about this one right here that we just saw, Zynga, which is behind a bunch of these -- Zynga Game Network, they own FarmVille -- they said they have a strict policy of not passing personally identifiable information to outside parties, to third parties, that they're going to work with Facebook.

But what we're seeing here in this report is the latest twist in all the complexities of what happens to your information when you use social networking and give it out there.

I'm going to end with this, great words of wisdom from this guy I've talked to on our air before, Ben Parr at Mashable. He says, "Look, don't put something online if you wouldn't want your mother to see it," because in the end, there isn't such a thing in the social world, media world, as totally pure privacy. It's not going to happen.

HARRIS: Exactly. So, 59 million people are playing this FarmVille?

LEVS: Fifty-nine million.

HARRIS: It's a game, right?

LEVS: It's a game inside the world of Facebook, basically. And, yes, we'll play around a little bit after the show.

HARRIS: All right. Help me with this. You've got to help me bridge this divide here.

LEVS: I know. I know. HARRIS: There's a generational thing going on.

LEVS: And I will tell everyone, I posted information at my Facebook page, JoshLevsCNN, in case you want to see more about what The Journal is reporting, and also information there about how to protect your Facebook account.

HARRIS: OK. FarmVille. Who knew?

LEVS: FarmVille, Tony.

HARRIS: Who knew? Fifty-nine million of you.

Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: You got it.

HARRIS: Three million Cablevision customers in New York and Philadelphia are missing out on some of their favorite shows right now. It's all because of a pricing dispute between Cablevision and News Corp, and analysts say we could be seeing more of this down the road.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

HARRIS: Osama bin Laden living in a house with comforts? Not in a cave? New intel on where the terror mastermind is living.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Fifteen days now until the midterm election, and amid all the mudslinging and political promises, you know, it's easy to lose sight of what elections are really about. They are about shaping what this country is and setting a course for where we want to see it go.

On this program, we want to get back to basics here, to brass tacks, to core beliefs. And so we're asking you to help us answer one simple question. What does America mean to you?

It is a segment we're calling "My America Is..." And we want to hear from you, your personal experiences, your vantage point, your everyday life in this nation. What does this country look like from where you're standing?

Do this -- send us your thoughts and get your voice heard. You can ping me. Hit me up on my Facebook page, right, or at TonyHarrisCNN on Twitter. You can also go to my blog page, CNN.com/Tony.

And we will share some of your comments on the air in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: I want to give you a quick update on the story we were following last hour. New details coming in.

CNN has been able to confirm two female postal workers were killed at a Henning, Tennessee, post office. That happening this morning.

The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department telling us the shooting happened at about 9:00 a.m. local time. That's 10:00 Eastern Time. You see an aerial view of that post office and police on the scene. And my guess is -- I can't make it out clearly, but other workers from inside that postal office probably trying to help authorities in any way they can.

We still don't have any -- or do we? I'm just checking with the control room here -- of the suspect being in custody? Is the suspect still on the loose?

OK, no word yet. The circumstances that led to the shooting are still unclear.

Just to better orient you, in the state of Tennessee, Henning is located approximately 50 miles northeast of Memphis. So we have a manhunt under way right now for the person responsible for shooting two female workers to death at this post office in Henning, Tennessee.

We will continue to gather information on this and give you another update as soon as we have something, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The wife of an American allegedly killed on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake has been talking again to Mexican authorities. Tiffany Hartley wants them to keep searching for her husband's body, but she says drug pirates are responsible for shooting him while they were on a jet skiing trip. His body fell into the water.

This morning, she talked to "AMERICAN MORNING'S" John Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY HARTLEY, REPORTED HUSBAND KILLED ON LAKE FALCON: Well, after they had shot David, I turned my jet ski around so I could go and help him. And when I was -- a boat came up, and they had a gun at -- towards me.

And then they left, and I -- that's when I tried getting David up. And then I saw that boats were trying to come back to me -- or not trying, but were. And so I had had to flee towards the U.S. and I had to pass the three boats in order to get back to the United States.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": You say that the Mexican authorities - they interviewed you on Friday. They say you provided some valuable information to them, but the sheriff of Zapata County, Sigi Gonzalez, claims that Mexican authorities were trying to intimidate you in that interview, tried to scare you into not pushing them to pursue the investigation.

What do you say about his claim?

HARTLEY: Well, I guess -- I mean, since he wasn't really - he wasn't in the interview, so he -- I mean, really didn't know what kind of questions they were asking. But they were asking just, you know, detailed information about the day and, you know, where we had stopped and who we talked to kind of thing. But I didn't feel like it was an interrogation, and I really hope that they do continue the search and continue their investigation.

Ultimately, we just want David back, and as soon as we get him back, then everyone can kind of go back to their lives that they had before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. Let's get you now to the East Room of the White House. There you see the president of the United States. Let's take that full. The president is honoring winners of a math and science and engineering competition from around the country. The president of the United States.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can announce today that I taped a special guest appearance for their show, although I didn't get to blow anything up.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: I was a little frustrated with that.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: I also want to welcome and congratulate Subra Suresh, who was sworn in this morning as the director of the National Science Foundation and who's here with his family.

Please stand up.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We are very grateful to have Subra taking this new task. He has been at MIT and has been leading one of the top engineering programs in the country.

And for him now to be able to apply that to the National Science Foundation is just, you know, going to be outstanding.

So we're very grateful for your service.

But the main reason I'm here is I just want to recognize all the incredibly talented young men and women who have traveled here from every corner of this country to demonstrate their experiments and their inventions.

And I just had a chance to meet with some of them, and it's hard to describe just how impressive these young people are. Their work, from cancer therapies to solar-powered cars, water purification systems, robotic wheelchairs -- all of it is a testament to the potential that awaits when we inspire young people to take part in the scientific enterprise: tackling tough problems, testing new hypotheses, to try and then to fail and then to try again until they succeed.

And, you know, it's hard to single out any of the folks that I saw -- who I met with -- because everybody was so impressive, but just to give you one example, the last young lady that I talked to, between her freshman and sophomore years in high school taught herself chemistry and then decided that she wanted to see if she could create a new drug to deal with cancer cells using light activation, and won the international science competition (ph), and is now being contacted by laboratories across the country to see if this might actually have applications in terms of curing cancer.

Now, if that doesn't inspire you --

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: -- if that doesn't make you feel good about America and the possibilities of our young people when they apply themselves to science and math, I don't know what will.

And -- and, you know, and then so that's just one example.

Now, another example, in Tennessee, there was a team that decided, you know, up in Appalachia, sometimes it's hard to get purified water. And so they constructed an entire system, a self- contained system, powered by -- with a water wheel, that would purify water and could potentially be used for an entire community. So a very practical application of the knowledge that they gained in the classroom.

You just saw example after example of that. And it's incredibly impressive.

And the importance of tapping this potential is why we're here. It's why I wanted to host this fair, which culminates this weekend in a science and engineering festival on the National Mall and across the country where more than a million people are expected to participate.

So we welcome championship sports teams to the White House to celebrate their victories. I've had the Lakers here. I've had the Saints here, the Crimson Tide. I thought we ought to do the same thing for the winners of science fairs --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: -- and robotic contests --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: -- and math competitions.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Because, often, we don't -- we don't give these victories the attention that they deserve.

You know, when you win first place at a science fair, nobody's rushing the field or dumping Gatorade over your head.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: But, in many ways, our future depends on what happens in those contests, what happens when a young person is engaged in conducting an experiment or writing a piece of software or solving a hard math problem or designing a new gadget.

It's in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit and the future scientists, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs are born. That's what's going to help ensure that we succeed in the next century, that we're leading the world in developing the technologies, businesses and industries of the future.

And this is the reason my administration has put such a focus on math and science education: Because despite the importance of inspiring and educating our children in these fields, in recent years, the fact is we've been outpaced by a lot of our competitors.

One assessment shows that American 15-year-olds ranked 21st in science and 25th in math, when compared to their peers around the world.

Now, obviously, the young people who are here all boosted our --

HARRIS: Wow, we're about to run through some of these statistics. President Obama, not just honoring winning sports teams - that's what the president said. The president honoring winners of national science, technology, engineering and math competitions.

So, the president honoring really smart young people who don't throw and catch a ball. The president says the U.S. needs to regain its leadership in math and science education. Recent rankings show students in the U.S. struggling to make the grade and falling behind other nations.

Graphically here, Americans students now rank 25th in math compared to other students around the world. And the ranking in science is not much better. U.S. students are 21st. The president says the lag puts America at a disadvantage in areas like medicine, energy and security.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, breaking up has always been hard to do, but this economy is making divorce in America especially tough. Longtime CNN Money reporter -- hope she doesn't mind me saying that -- and host of CNN's "YOUR $$$$$" Christine Romans debuts her first bock, "Smart is the New Rich" this fall.

Christine joins us. But first here's her story of a woman who put her emotions on the back burner for her family's financial well- being.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALLIE GIBSON, DIVORCEE: Oh, good girl.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: (voice over): We first introduced you to Sallie Gibson 18 months ago and found out breaking up really is hard to do. Sally and her husband of 15 years were getting a divorce but still living under one roof.

S. GIBSON: My husband lives in the guest room. He comes home on Wednesday nights early to have dinner with the kids. The other nights he comes home late to give me my space. So it's not perfect. It's been difficult.

ROMANS: As legal bills for two divorce attorneys piled up, the couple switched to a less expensive mediator. But the situation with the house wasn't as simple.

GIBSON: Right now, there are 20 houses on the market in town that are in our price range and there are no buyers. So my broker has pretty much prepared me the house is going to sit for a while.

VELSHI: For Sallie remaining financially sound meant remaining under the same roof as her ex-husband, for some, getting a divorce is not even an option. The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Says 57 percent of attorneys polled reported fewer divorces during the recession. The couple's stayed in the home for a full year before deciding emotion trumped finances.

GIBSON: It was a very difficult time, very emotional time. And we made the decision to sell the house, and it could have easily sat on the market for a year, and I didn't want to put my kids through that. It was tough enough. So I priced it to sell, and we sold the house right away, and I'm not going to lie, we lost a lot of money, and that hurt.

ROMANS: Sallie started over, changing back to her maiden name; she downsized and started a small business as an interior designer out of her new home.

GIBSON: I've discovered a niche where I'm working with all of my clients right now who are divorced or separated. And so it's kind of nice to work with people that are in similar circumstances.

ROMANS: If there's a silver lining for Sallie and her boys in their smaller home --

GIBSON: We spend a lot more time together as a family. Because there are fewer places for them to scurry away to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Yes, Christine Romans joining us now from New York. Good to see you, Christine.

So, have we gotten to this place where it's not as open question anymore? Is it clear, Christine, that the recession has changed the way many Americans deal with divorce?

ROMANS: Oh, absolutely, Tony. And, in fact, divorce attorneys and divorce financial planners, there is such a thing, financial planners specifically for divorce. They tell me pent-up demand is coming to the surface, and you're seeing people like Sally say, "All right, now, we're going to sell the house for a loss and we're going to move on." Two years of this deer in the headlights stuff is too much and you've got to move on for the family.

So, some tips in the book, Tony, for love and marriage and divorce, frankly. First, how about for love and marriage? A whole bunch of experts have studied this. There are a lot of studies that show if you pay down debt and you're honest about your finances, you have a better chance of keeping this marriage going. People who spend less than they earn and people with little or no debt, no matter how much money they make -- if you just don't have a lot of debt, even if you don't make a lot of money but you don't have a lot of debtor paying down your debt, you do -- thrifty couples last longer that. That is data that has been studied again and again. So that's interesting there.

Now -- so you didn't make it. Now, there are other reasons why people divorce, not just money, of course. Some tips from financial planners about what to do. You've got to prepare a net worth assessment right away. You've got to decide who pays health care.

A lot of times, Tony, in the old days, we didn't think about this. But now you've got to make sure that you don't have kids who are uncovered or you're not covered as we get ready for these big changes in health care reform that could roll out over the next few years.

Got to make contingencies in case someone loses a job. And in the book, I say think five years ahead. Divorce planner like Gabriel Clemons, she tells me even think farther than that, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years ahead. Don't try to think about right now when you're making, you know, a divorce -- you know, your involvement settlement, your divorce statement. Think further out, because you don't know what's going to happen down the road.

Some realities of life. HARRIS: That is. Yeah, hard-core realities of life. Terrific book. Great information. Man, I hope that's jumping off the shelves for you. Thank you, Christine.

Tea Party activists taking their show on the road one last time before the midterm. Sarah Palin helps kick off the latest tour.

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HARRIS: Fifteen days until election day, but election day is already here for many voters. John King, part of the best political team on television, joining us live from the political desk in Washington, D.C. John, good to see you. What's crossing right now?

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Good day, my friend. As we do say, 15 days out. A lot of things to watch in politics. Go to the ticker if you have any curiosity. But you're dead right. In 23 states and the District of Columbia, Tony, a lot of people already have their "I Voted" stickers.

Early voting, that's roughly half the country. And it began in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, North Dakota, Texas and right here in Washington, D.C. So if you've had enough of the campaign ads, made your decision, maybe you'll go vote already.

If not, though, maybe you'll track some other developing political stories, including that Tea Party express bus tour kicks off today with former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin there for the send-off. It will start in Reno, Nevada, this morning, Nevada time, this afternoon for us here in the east. Then it will move to Elko, Nevada tonight.

It will eventually make its way all the way to New Hampshire. It will be in the West Coast, though for the next couple days. Two stops in California Wednesday, Phoenix, Arizona on Friday.

And Tony, if you're dying during the commercial breaks to check in on some other races, some big debates in politics today. New Hampshire Senate debate, Kelly Ayotte and Paul Hodes, that one should be just about wrapping up. It started early this morning.

Tonight, two candidates for New York governor, Cuomo versus Paladino, these guys don't like each other. That's a 7:00 pm Eastern debate tonight. That one could get feisty. Also tonight, the West Virginia Senate debate 8:00 pm Easter, governor Joe Manchin, and businessman John Raese.

Three debates today, Tony, heading into the last couple of weeks. A few more of those out there, help those voters who didn't take part in early voting make their choices.

HARRIS: John, we are paying attention to these debates, because we're trying to tease out the positions of the candidates on, you know, issue number one, jobs and deficits and that sort of thing. How are you doing? Are you getting specifics from these candidates in these debates on where we move forward in January? KING: I think that is a great question, because I think it is the big question mark; is this election about something? Are we going to know on November 3rd what the voters want? Republicans will argue that what the voters are going to do is send a message to Washington for less spending, less reach of the federal government.

But, you know what, we've got to get more specific than that, because the president says he wants to start paying down the deficit. Will he be able to get along with a more Republican Congress, maybe even a Republican majority Congress? What about Social Security and Medicare?

A lot of that gets lost. A lot of these debates, especially in the tight races, have gotten more personal and nasty. The ads are all negative. It's pretty hard to know at this point specifically. Yes, we think there's a general current that Washington maybe spent too much, trying to get involved too much in people's lives. But the day after the election, we are going to have some sorting out to do.

HARRIS: Absolutely. All right, and you'll be doing that for us and helping us. We need it, too. John, appreciate it. Thank you. Your next political update is a few minutes away. And for the latest political news, you know where to go. That's CNN Politics.com.

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HARRIS: OK. Let's do it. Let's get to Josh with what's hot today. You're online, we are too, particularly in this noon hour, which is prime time for folks getting online, right?

JOSH LEVS, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Exactly, yeah, this -- exactly, prime time these few hours. So everyone is talking about this video.

HARRIS: What is this?

LEVS: It's a new Sesame Street ode to hair for black girls. And it's got hundreds of thousands of views. Take a look here.

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HARRIS: Wearing your hair naturally?

LEVS: It's about wearing your hair natural and it's about loving what your hair is. And people are going crazy over this. In fact, I put it in again. Skip to the next section, and she shows these different things that she can do with her hair.

HARRIS: I like that.

LEVS: Because we have talked about this before at CNN, entire spreads about this, about black hair. HARRIS: Right, right, right.

LVES: Messages that young people have about that.

HARRIS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the millions of dollars spent on products to relax hair and natural hair is beautiful.

LEVS: It's a good message for all kids. Do you love your hair, Tony?

HARRIS: I wear mine naturally.

LEVS: All right, all right. While the control room laughs, I've got to get to the next video.

HARRIS: Huh? I'm loving my hair. What are you talking about? Isn't that what this is about?

LEVS: They're just going to it.

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LEVS: Here's what happened, this band named Atomic Tom had their instrument stolen so what they do? They used their iPhones as instruments to put on a show on the subway. This goes viral. Now everyone is talking about Atomic Tom and they're becoming famous online after having their instruments stolen.

HARRIS: That's a great story. But back to my hair.

LEVS: That's what I'm saying.

HARRIS: Back to my hair. Someone stole my hair! Thank you, drew. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Nice.

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HARRIS: You know, churches across America are in crisis. According to some studies, 38 percent of them have seen a decline in donations. That has hundreds of churches facing foreclosure. Stephanie Elam has more.

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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mount Gilia Baptist Church knows a thing or two about going through the storm.

PASTOR DEXTER JOHNSON, HIGHER GROUND EMPOWERMENT CENTER: How many you have came in expecting something great to happen today?

ELAM: A freak tornado devastated the Atlanta church in 2008.

JOHNSON: When the storm came, it toppled that steeple over.

ELAM: After moving around for 18 months, the church finally reopened as the Higher Ground Empowerment Center. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just horrible. But, boy, thank God we carried through that.

JOHNSON: I knew once we got back in the sanctuary, people would come.

ELAM: But the church did lose members. Burdened with more debt, it faced another upheaval, possible foreclosure.

(on camera): Have you heard of a church that was heading into foreclosure before?

JOHNSON: No. This year has been very shocking to me. I believe that the banks are in business to make money, and understandably so. But when it comes down to a church, I think they need to look at it and work with them to ensure that that church stays in that community.

ELAM (voice-over): Hundreds of churches have faced foreclosure in the last two years. Something that was once unheard of.

JOHNSON: I know many of you have been stretching yourselves right through here because you know what we're up against.

ELAM: With their members facing higher unemployment and home foreclosure rates than their white counterparts, black churches are being hit especially hard in their tithing baskets.

JOHNSON: I will not --

CROWD: I will not.

JOHNSON: -- withhold the tithe.

CROWD: -- withhold the tithe.

ELAM: So after 107 years, this church is finding it harder and harder to serve the community. The pastor has even taken a pay cut.

JOHNSON: The tithes and offerings, that's how we're able to do the ministry that we do. And when the people don't have, they can't give like they normally give or want to give.

PROF. JONATHAN WALTON, HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL: For congregations then to have to come to grips with the fact that their sincere investments in the faith and in God are now being seized by banks, that can become a point of spiritual crisis for many.

ELAM: Banks that are surviving the downturn say there is enough blame to go around.

DAN MINES, EXEC V.P., BANK OF THE WEST: There was a build it and they will come mentality that kind of set in in the industry. And the reality is that a lot of these churches, perhaps in part due to the economic downturn, did not grow into their debt as they anticipated that they would. ELAM: The bank that holds Higher Empowerment property said in a statement, quote, "we have worked closely with the church for more than two-and-a-half years to reach a resolution that would allow the church to continue to occupy the property, "end quote.

Pastor Johnson believes his church will remain a rock for his congregation.

JOHNSON: I came in here to say to you all I need you. And I need you right now.

ELAM: There for people to lean on when any storm comes their way.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Atlanta.

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