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Wisconsin Teachers Fight Cuts; Texas Sheriff Takes on Cartels; Sleeping Protesters Attacked; Budget Protests Cancel Classes; New York Budget Shortfall; Stimulus Two Years Later; God Points Finger at Clooney; Gumbo Done Right with James Carville; President Obama to Visit Great Britain
Aired February 17, 2011 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed.
(VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Bahrain unleashed rubber bullets and tear gas on sleeping anti-government protesters in Pearl Plaza. The government says three people are dead, some 200 wounded in the crackdown. And protesters followed victims to the hospital.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here because -- because there are many people dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Protesters erupted in anger chanting for Bahrain's royal family to give up power.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she is working the phones today. Officials say she called Bahrain's foreign minister with deep concerns. She urged the police and military to stop attacks on peaceful demonstrators.
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MALVEAUX: And this clip posted on Facebook shows Libyans on the streets today for what they call a "day of rage." Human rights groups and Libyan exiles say 16 people have been killed by security forces, and activists say Libyan authorities texted them today warning them to stay home.
The protests in Yemen are escalating today. Government supporters and opponents brawled in the streets of Sana'a. Police fired warning shots to break up the crowds and there are reports now that the unrest has spread to Yemen's main port city, Aden.
And applications for new unemployment benefits ticked up last week. The Labor Department says 410,000 people filed their first jobless claim. Now, that is up 25,000 from the week before. Analysts caution this winter's harsh weather may be skewing those numbers. And New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is outlining his 2012 budget at city hall right now. The plan reportedly cuts thousands of teachers through layoffs and attrition. New York is trying to close $2.5 billion budget shortfall.
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MALVEAUX: Teachers are back at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison today. They are bent out of shape over a budget bill that is now before the state senate. It would gut teacher's collective bargaining rights and some schools shut down because teachers called in sick.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agonized over it and, you know, I don't think there's a single teacher that can stand down here and say, I loved calling in sick today. However, this bully needs to be taken care of, and this bully needs to be shown what it is that is important to the citizens of Wisconsin.
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MALVEAUX: Is an attack on unions or is an attempt to deal with the budget crisis and avoid layoffs? Well, we are talking about the Wisconsin budget proposal that has teachers and other state workers marching on the capitol.
Joining us on the phone is John Matthews. He's executive director of Madison Teachers Incorporated.
Thank you so much for joining us here in THE NEWSROOM.
I want to start off really by setting the scene here. You've got 15 school systems in your state that are shutdown. Forty percent of the teachers walk out sick in Madison. Nobody is going to school. The kids aren't in school. And thousands are protesting this budget.
What's your next move? What do you do to end the standoff, the stalemate, the crisis?
JOHN MATTHEWS, MADISON TEACHERS, INCORPORATED (via telephone): We hope we can convince a few of the Republican senators who have a conscience that they don't want to go forward and fund education and county and city and state services on the backs of employees. And that's what Governor Walker's proposal does, as well as eliminates their unions.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Matthews, we -- the governor says that he's moving along. We see it moving along through the process of the state government. Where does this end? What do you do tomorrow? Are the kids out of school? Do the teachers call in sick?
MATTHEWS: Well, it appears there will be more of the same tomorrow and perhaps into next week. The governor has received a proposal from some of the senators that I'm talking about, senator with a conscience, and he told them it's not negotiable. Our fear is -- MALVEAUX: What
MATTHEWS: Excuse me.
MALVEAUX: Sure. What have they told you? Are you going to lose your pay, lose your job? Threatened you with sanctions, the teachers?
MATTHEWS: No, they have not threatened us with sanctions but -- and I've asked them not to take a restraining order, that would only be pouring gasoline onto it. I asked the superintendent and their legal counsel yesterday, instead of fighting us, why don't you join us? The superintendent of schools in Madison has written a letter to the governor opposing this legislation, as has the archbishop of Madison, as have many other numerous people, including our great congresswoman, Tammy Baldwin.
MALVEAUX: Now, the governor says this is a matter of making tough choices here, obviously -- that he is going to have to lay off or furlough thousands of teachers if this continues, if he is not able to get this budget passed. What is the alternative here?
MATTHEWS: Well, I've been in this position for 43 years, and as has the director of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which is an independent organization. And he advises that never in the history of Wisconsin, at least in his lifetime, has a governor included all budget requests and a budget repair bill. That is $3.6 billion that should not be in there. That would -- any of those kind of requests would go into the next biennial budget which starts in July.
MALVEAUX: But the bottom line is the governor says that you would lose your job and many teachers, thousands of teachers would lose their jobs if this budget bill isn't passed. That he has got to make some tough choices, he's got to make some cuts somewhere.
MATTHEWS: Well, he's certainly doing his best to destroy public education in Wisconsin as the right wingers across the country, and then they can privatize education.
MALVEAUX: Do you see any room for compromise or negotiating with this governor and this budget bill?
MATTHEWS: We've negotiated numerous very difficult issues. We've offered to discuss this. We're willing to sit down any time and do that. We have -- some of our colleagues working with some of the senators that I mentioned, and we are certainly willing to try to work through things.
To take a hit on finances in the short term is one thing. To destroy 52 years of public bargaining is crazy.
MALVEAUX: I know there are going to be dramatic increases in the amount that you have to contribute to your pension fund, to your own health care. How will you do that?
MATTHEWS: Well, I think people will lose their homes. We're talking about our average teacher having to cough up $8,550 to meet those two obligations -- $8,550 a year, people will not be able to survive if they have to cough up that much money.
You know, they won't be able to make their mortgage payments. They won't be able to buy the groceries. They -- I mean, hardly by gasoline to get to work.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Matthews, I want to thank you for your time. I know you're in a tough spot there.
We are going to hear from the other side at about 2:00 later today. Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, he's going to speak to Don Lemon right here on CNN about what the governor and government is thinking in terms of this budget crisis that is taking place in Wisconsin.
This is something that is playing out all over the country, a lot of people looking at some very tough choices, painful choices about how they move forward, provide services, and at the same time educate children and keep their families well fed.
Well, today's "Talk Back": Is it politics or is it our children? What is all of this about?
Our Carol Costello, she's joining us from Washington.
Carol, you know, you heard him, Mr. Matthews. I mean, he was saying that people are going to lose their homes. They're not going to be able to afford groceries. That this is going to be very tough for them to swallow this kind of budget.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. And he also said it's more about politics than anything else. You heard him say that Republicans want to privatize education.
Well, that's the feeling, at least from the Democratic perspective, across the country. It is nasty out there and it's going -- and it's going to get worse now that public school teacher unions have become public enemy number one, not only in Wisconsin but in Ohio, New York and New Jersey.
Here's New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie.
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GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I'm attacking the leadership of the union because they are greedy and they are selfish and self- interested.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Christie's remarks res natured. Many governments say overly generous union contracts they are busting state budgets. That's why Wisconsin's governor wants to gut almost all union rights for teachers. He wants to control how much money they earn and make them pay a greater share of pension and health care costs.
But union boss, Dan Burkhalter, says the governor's move is purely political, that Republicans don't like unions and they're using a fiscal crisis to advance their ideological agenda.
President Obama added his two cents. He says what's happening in Wisconsin seems more like an assault on unions than a move towards fiscal responsibility.
In the meantime, at least 15 school systems in Wisconsin canceled classes today because teachers called a sickout over this.
So, our "Talk Back" question today: is the teacher union fight more about politics, or is it about our children?
Sound off on Facebook.com/CarolCNN -- Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll have your responses later in the hour -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Carol.
Well, here's a look at what's ahead on the rundown:
A Texas sheriff worries about border towns where Mexican drug smugglers, rather, have taken over.
Police in Bahrain launch a deadly overnight crackdown on protesters. We're going to explain why that matters to Washington.
And the stimulus bill was meant to create jobs and jump-start the economy. So, did it deliver? Our Money Team is on that story.
And find out what story you've picked in our "Choose the News" segment.
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MALVEAUX: The battle between rival drug cartels in Mexico's Juarez Valley has been bloody and fierce. People fleeing the violence say the towns are lawless. Our CNN's Thelma Gutierrez, our colleague, takes us to the Texas border where one sheriff is making a stand.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just open fire on us from across the border.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sheriff Arvin West says there's a war going on just a few miles from his back door, a place he calls Mayberry. He's warning residents to take up arms.
SHERIFF ARVIN WEST, HUDSPETH COUNTY, TEXAS: I don't care what the rest of the country thinks. I could care less. My priority is my citizens in this town.
GUTIERREZ: Sheriff West says several Mexican towns in the Juarez Valley that runs along the border of Hudspeth County are now under siege by cartels who are trying to control smuggling routes into the U.S.
WEST: They will protect the load of drugs at all costs.
GUTIERREZ: From U.S. Interstate 10, it's a quick dash to the border.
In this high-speed pursuit, deputies chase SUVs packed with drugs.
One gets stuck in the Rio Grande on the Mexican side. The drug haul is unloaded right in front of U.S. officials who can do nothing but watch.
The sheriff says the cat and mouse chase to the border a few years ago were the good old days. Now, entire towns have fallen to the cartels and they've unleashed a campaign of terror where hundreds of families have been chased out of places like El Porvenir, their homes set on fire and much more grisly end for cartel enemies -- some of whom have been beheaded and dismembered, and left in plain view.
WEST: You see this little village right there, you see those houses really top way over there?
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Yes?
WEST: I think that's Banderas (ph). The drug cartels run their people off.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Sheriff West showed us what he's up against.
WEST: Hang on because we're going to climb up.
GUTIERREZ: The locals call this "Jurassic Park" fence because it looks like it can keep dinosaurs out. But the sheriff calls it a joke.
(on camera): This is part of the international barrier between Chihuahua, Mexico, and Texas. It's a 13-foot tall steel gate. But take a look at what happens right here. It ends and all you see are posts and some barbed wire.
(voice-over): In the last two years, three chiefs of police have been murdered in the Juarez Valley. The sheriff says it would be suicide if he crossed over the border.
(on camera): You have no law enforcement counterpart on that side?
WEST: No, not any more. The last one I had contact with, they cut his head off and put it in an ice chest. There hasn't anybody step in to the plate since then.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Sheriff West says there's only seven miles of fence along the border, 91 miles are wide open. Even though 300 extra border patrol agents have been sent here, he says a county road crew was recently shot at.
Farmer Joe Galvan's (ph) land runs right up to the border, and so does Gail Karrs (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our hand. This is our little piece of the American dream, you know? I'm third generation on this farm, grew up here, my whole childhood. I have memories of going back and forth to the little town on the side of the river.
GUTIERREZ: But now they say they can see and hear evidence of the violence against innocent families for themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can see the fires from here, for (INAUDIBLE), you know, a mile from us here maybe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One night I sat on the balcony of my house, and I listened. I counted to 120 and finally stopped. It wasn't like pop, pop, pop. It was pop, pop, pop -- pop, pop, pop -- pop, pop, pop, pop.
GUTIERREZ: Karrs says he worries about family and friends there and says the exodus from the towns continues. More than 2,500 Mexican troops have been sent into the Juarez Valley. Even though so, we saw smoke billowing from a home burning right across the border.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's to the point to where I wonder why we're spending millions of dollars in Afghanistan when our next door neighbor is a fallen government basically.
GUTIERREZ: Karrs says he's not a vigilant and he doesn't believe in militias.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my right.
GUTIERREZ: But says if the violence spills over, he and the farmers are ready to be the first line of defense.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Fort Hancock, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: More than a dozen school systems in Wisconsin canceled classes today because of budget protests. Teachers and other workers, they are angry over a plan that would require them to pay more for their benefits and pensions. It also strips them of many collective bargaining rights.
Our Hillary Mintz of our affiliate WISN is live from Madison.
Hillary, set the scene for us here. Obviously, a lot of people very angry and very frustrated.
HILLARY MINTZ, WISN REPORTER: Suzanne, it's really been a marathon of protesting. I mean, if you just take a look at this crowd behind me here, they are loud and they are proud of what they believe in here. They've been chanting as you can probably make out, "Kill the bill."
Today, the Senate will meet about this budget repair bill. It already passed the first step of the budget write-in committee overnight. And like I said, there are tens of thousands of protesters out here. There is the third day in a row they have been out here. Some slept in the capitol overnight, just so they could be there in the morning when the lawmakers come back.
And right now, I want to talk to Nancy Riesch. She's a band director at the nearby school here, about eight miles away in Middleton.
Nancy, you've been out here, this is your third day in a row. Why are you out here?
NANCY RIESCH, MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND DIRECTOR: I'm here for everybody's rights, all union members. I'm here for my students. I'm a teacher. I'm here for my students' rights, so they can have smaller class sizes, so they can have great teachers.
We have a great educational system. People move here from other states to go to Wisconsin. This is about working, people working together.
This is about a dictatorship, and we understand we have to give some things up. It's not about money. This is about people's rights and their voice. That is what is the point -- everybody has a voice.
He's not willing to come to Madison to have the voice. Just sit down with us, Scott Walker. Come on. Partnership! Partnership!
MINTZ: All right. So, there you have it, just one of many strong voices out here. There are even more people inside the capitol right now.
Again, third day in a row this has been going on. It's very loud out here. They want to make sure the governor hears their message.
Scott Walker has said when he introduced this last week that this is not up for negotiation. So, it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out.
Suzanne, back to you.
MALVEAUX: Hillary Mintz, thank you so much.
And we will be speaking with a representative, an official from the governor's office -- that coming up in the 2:00 hour right here on CNN.
Well, police launch an attack on sleeping protesters. A live report from Bahrain -- one of the latest flash points in the reform movement that is rocking the Arab world.
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MALVEAUX: Peaceful protests have been met with deadly force in Bahrain. It is one of the latest flash points in the reform movement that is rocking the Arab world.
Our Arwa Damon joins us by phone from Bahrain.
Arwa, you are there. For most part, it seems like it was peaceful. But that made a dramatic shift, a dramatic change occurred. Why did that happen?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, Suzanne, and that change happening early Thursday morning when police swarmed into the protest site and forcibly removed the protesters from the roundabout using dozens of vehicles. They began firing with pellet bullets, rubber bullets, tear gas at demonstrators, killing at least three people, wounding many others.
There is still quite a scene going on at the hospital itself, with the helicopters overhead. Protesters are continuing to try to demonstrate there. The rest of the capital eerily quiet at this point. There's enormous rage at what happened, a real sense among them that this is the government turning on them, that the government seems willing to use whatever force is necessary to disperse the protesters.
We just heard from an ongoing press conference from the Foreign Minister Khaled Al Khalifa, where he was defending the government's actions. But a reporter spoke up at this press conference, saying that she was not speaking as a journalist. She said, "Look, my -- one of my parents is Sunni, one is Shia. I'm a Bahraini. I am proud to be."
But she was afraid. She wanted some sort of resolution to the crisis that has gripped this very small country, Suzanne, but one that is really having a widespread impact.
MALVEAUX: And, Arwa, this was not the kind of scene that we saw in Egypt where you had people fighting each other, that this was a bloody battle. These were people who were sleeping who actually got caught by surprise. I mean, what was their response, their reaction when they realized what was happening?
DAMON: Well, it was shock and horror. People are telling stories about hearing bullets flying overhead, being awoken from their slumber by tear gas, trying to clear out of there as fast as possible.
We were hearing some eyewitness accounts that men were able to clear out of the area a lot of quicker; women and children who are also at that ground trying to get out.
There's a chilling image of a young child who had been killed, his body completely covered in small little wounds from those pellet bullets that were used. This has shocked this entire country, this level of violence against the people themselves. People are truly, truly stunned at this point in time, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Arwa Damon in Bahrain, thanks so much.
But Bahrain is yet another Arab nation that is steered by Egypt's revolutionary sentiment. There are similarities in many of these countries -- like Egypt, Bahrain is also American-backed and these protests could potentially influence U.S. military interests in the region.
Michael Holmes is here with more in our "Globe Trekking" segment.
When you see that, I mean, it really is stunning a lot people --
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. MALVEAUX: -- wondering what is the difference here in going from a peaceful movement to now something that has turned quite deadly. We have interests here.
HOLMES: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: And this is a very small country, about the size of Rhode Island?
HOLMES: Yes. Yes, 1.2 million people. Yes.
MALVEAUX: Do you think our military -- will our military step in?
HOLMES: You know, I don't think so, no. I think the U.S. is going to stay out of this. You know, this is a tiny little kingdom, as you said.
The U.S. interest is it's the home of U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, been there since 1948, by the way. It makes this small Arab nation a critical anchor point for the American military in the whole region.
And while this was -- has become really an uprising against the monarchy, the hierarchy, it started off as just a call for better housing and the like. It is not an anti-American protest. The presence of the Navy there is really critical, keeping an eye on how the oil flows through the Gulf, the Straits of Hormuz, and also, literally, getting an eye on Iran just across the border.
MALVEAUX: So, how does it play into the oil trade, Bahrain?
HOLMES: It's interesting. It actually is a very small producer of oil. It doesn't produce much at all. It's diversified its economy in recent years.
But what is interesting is that right next door -- you've got the Saudis, the biggest oil producers in the world. The Saudis also have a Shia minority that are not always very happy. Now, the Saudis and Bahrain are linked by a causeway. A lot of analysts are worried that if this continues on, will the Saudis go in and help, and help the Bahrainis? Because they don't want to be seeing this sort of unrest on their door step, if you like.
So, it's a very delicate issue. They got a lot at stake, as does the U.S.
MALVEAUX: And the 5th Fleet, very important naval installation in the United States in Bahrain. Clearly, this is a country that the United States has very serious interest, economic as well as political.
HOLMES: Absolutely, economic as well as political. And Bahrain is an economic importance in the region itself. It's become a banking standard for the entire Gulf region. It's diversified, as I said, away from oil.
And what we see with the U.S., this is not anti-American. The U.S. isn't involved at the moment, but the U.S. is going to have to walk a very fine line here. This is a complex country. If it becomes sectarian and if it becomes a Shia/Sunni issue, this could go very badly.
MALVEAUX: All right. Michael Holmes, "Globe Trekking" -- thank you so much for giving that context. Appreciate it.
February 17th, 2009, President Obama signs the stimulus bill. Well, two years later, what did the country get for all of those billions? The CNN Money Team is checking in.
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MALVEAUX: Here's a look at what's ahead on the rundown.
States in crisis -- budget battles, protests, threats of layoffs and states look for ways to make up these huge deficits.
Also, cooking gumbo with James Carville. You don't want to miss that one and the story you told us you want to see. Our Choose the News winner later this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): More than a dozen school systems in Wisconsin canceled classes today because of budget protests. Teachers and other workers are angry over a plan that requires them to pay more for their benefits and pensions and also strips them of many collective bargaining rights. The governor says the state has no choice.
GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER, (R) WISCONSIN: We've got good, decent hard working people who work in government, but I also recognize there's got to be fairness and we've got to be in balance with where the taxpayers for foot the bill for all of us in government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to affect me down the road. I want to make sure I can take care of so I can support my family, especially when the economy, I got to be able to support my family, and I want my kids to have the best education.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The budget bill that is now before the state Senate. Now state battles are playing out across the country. In Connecticut, for instance, the governor proposes a wide range of tax increases to deal with a huge budget shortfall.
So what are we talking about? The plan would eliminate $500 property tax credit. It would increase the general sales tax, raise existing taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gasoline. And it would add taxes on everything from nonprescription drugs and cosmetic surgery to haircuts and manicures.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he is presenting his budget for the city and teacher jobs are on the chopping block. Our CNN's Deborah Feyerick, she's joining us with the details. What can we expect, Deb? DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg just moments ago said that New York City risks losing some 6,000 teachers, that's three out of every four, would be lost as a result of direct layoffs.
The reason for that, according to the mayor, is that the state simply has cut the budget too severely, that other parts of the state are not absorbing what they need to do. The mayor is threatening those 6,000 positions. Here's what he had to say.
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MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, (I) NEW YORK: And so when we talk about teachers layoffs which has serious consequences for real people, it is not for lack of city funds, the budget assumes that we will lose about 6,000 teachers through layoffs and attrition.
We need the state to step up and do our part. If the state does not come through with the $600 million we need to balance our budget, in addition to having fewer teachers, we're going to have to have a program to reduce the gap which will spread the pain across all agencies. I don't think we can afford to lose any teachers, but if we have to balance our budget, we're going to do with 6,000 fewer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Now, Suzanne, while many people have been hurt by this, this for many teachers is seen as a direct assault. The head of the teacher's union, he says the class size is between 30 and 37 students per class, levels not seen in some three decades.
Really, this is seen as part of the nationwide attempt to reform the tenure system, to get rid of seniority. Specifically what we hear here in New York all the time is, first in, last out or last out, first in. That's something that's under review right now.
Governors in places like Florida and Wisconsin, New Jersey, Nevada, all seen as using this budget crisis as a way simply to crush the union, specifically the teacher's unions, that's why we see so many out in Wisconsin today because they have been threatened with collective bargaining. That's going to be off the table.
This is really a heartfelt passionate issue. It's not just about the teachers, it's whether in fact teachers unions will survive and whether they are being easily targeted as a way to reform education. But the question, is it being done the right way, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: There are so many people will be impacted by this debate. Thank you very much. It is not just the states that are struggling with money. It is a key fight at the federal level as well. The stimulus bill, as you will recall it was designed to jumpstart the U.S. economy and create more jobs.
The White House says that's what's happening, but two years later, how much has it achieved? Our CNN Money's Poppy Harlow, she joins us from New York to kind of break this down for us. There's a lot of debate over this.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: A lot of debate, Suzanne. It's all about who you ask. You ask Republicans, you asked Democrats, two years ago today, even though it doesn't seem like that long ago that the president signed the Recovery Act, the Stimulus Act as we know it into law.
On that day he said two years from now, 3.5 million American jobs will be saved or created. So a lot of Republicans very critical of stimulus now point to the 9 percent unemployment rate in this country and say it has simply not worked. Hundreds of billions of dollars in spending has not worked. What the White House says it certainly has worked. It has saved millions of American jobs.
Now the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, here's what they are saying two years from the date this was signed into law. What they are saying that in the third quarter, somewhere between 1.4 and 3.6 million American jobs exist were saved or created because of stimulus money. Now they also say that stimulus lowered the unemployment rate as much as 2 percent.
What that means is that unemployment could have been 2 percent higher than it is right now if we didn't have stimulus. But let's take a look at the states because the help and what it has done really varies state by state. California, some 42,000 jobs added because of stimulus money in that period of time, Florida, 58,000 jobs is what they are saying on recovery.gov.
Take a look at Nevada. Nevada has the single highest unemployment rate in the country, Suzanne. It is 14.5 percent. They have seen just over 2,500 jobs added. So Nevada not getting the help that many argued that it would need.
So it really differs, Suzanne, state by state, but you are hearing political cries over this, saying, look, this hasn't worked from Republicans and the White House saying it certainly has.
MALVEAUX: And obviously the cost, Poppy, we're hearing that people specifically Republicans talking about cutting spending in all of this. It looks like the stimulus is definitely a target.
HARLOW: No question about it. Stimulus is a target. You say, how can that be? This was passed two years ago. A lot of the money has been spent. There's actually still $168 billion of stimulus that hasn't been spent yet and what House Republicans called for last month, Suzanne, is for 45 billion of that to be taken away, to be cut out and used really to pay down the deficit.
That's what Republicans are calling for, but I want to show you what the CBO says the stimulus has cost us. We thought it would cost $787 billion. Now they are telling us the cost so far it is $814 billion so more than was expected by billions and billions of dollars. We'll see how the fight plays out and whether Republicans win or not in getting a cutback on some of that stimulus, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Poppy. David Letterman apologizes to Lindsay Lohan. He says he was duped. Well, that's in your showbiz update.
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MALVEAUX: Not much time left for you to choose the news. Vote by texting 22360, pick one for charter school accomplishment, two for Victoria Beckham's fashion line or three for 115 and still going strong.
I'm not allowed to say which one I prefer. So you text and you choose. The winning story airs before the top of the hour.
So no David Letterman for Lindsay Lohan, but Charlie Sheen has advice for her and Mel Gibson may still be facing some criminal charges. Our showbiz tonight, Brooke Anderson here to keep up with all things Hollywood. Brooke, you have to fill me in on all these stuff.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Let's start with Lindsay Lohan.
MALVEAUX: Yes, yes. Tell me about that, what happened?
ANDERSON: Well, Suzanne, only Lindsay Lohan could have a fiasco on the David Letterman show without actually appearing on the show. This all started when the "Late Show with David Letterman" announced in a press release that Lohan would read a top ten list. But as Dave explained last night, it never happened. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN: People -- are you kidding me? This is going to be fantastic. This is going to be like the Super Bowl. Lindsay Lohan is going to be with a live satellite kind of a thing and then Lindsay Lohan says none of that it happening. I don't know what's going on. It's not true. It turns out I was duped.
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ANDERSON: The Super Bowl, I'm not sure about that, but Letterman says they were approached by somebody saying they represented Lindsay who then booked her on show and Letterman's people did not know there was a problem until Lindsay tweeted that she was not going to appear.
Letterman apologized to Lindsay and her family for any confusion, but it would not be a Lindsay Lohan story without a twist here. Lindsay's dad, Michael Lohan, has come forward and confirmed to "Showbiz Tonight," Suzanne that he was the one who said Lindsay would go on the show.
MALVEAUX: He was the one?
ANDERSON: And as you know - yes, Lindsay and her dad have had a really tenuous relationship in the past, but it's unclear how this happened and what exactly went wrong.
MALVEAUX: OK, that's a bizarre story. Thank you. Tell us about Mel Gibson. I guess he could be facing criminal charges? ANDERSON: Yes, it's really, really complicated at this point, Suzanne, but, yes, prosecutors are considering the domestic violence allegations made against Mel Gibson by his ex. At the same time, those prosecutors are reviewing the claims that Oksana extorted millions of dollars from Mel.
All of these while the two are battling over child custody. Suzanne, they have a young daughter, 1-year-old daughter together. There's really no word right now on just how much longer it will be before prosecutors decide to -- whether to file charges against one or both of them.
MALVEAUX: All right, Brooke, thank you for catching us up on all of the Hollywood news. You know I need you with all of this. Thank you. I really appreciate it.
ANDERSON: I'm here for you, any time.
MALVEAUX: You can watch Brooke and all of her entertainment news on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern.
Well, celebrity chef, John Besh and James Carville, they're in the kitchen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's cook Louisiana seafood gumbo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Straight out of the Carville recipe book.
MALVEAUX: I don't they have anything over my own mother's gumbo, but it looks delicious, don't miss their gumbo tips.
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MALVEAUX: The Sistine Chapel ceiling is a Michael Angelo masterpiece, of course. This random moment of the day is a not. A Cincinnati artist has recreated a portion of Michael Angelo's famous painting.
You have to look closely here because that's not Adam, it's George Clooney. We don't see all of Clooney's features like we do Adam's, the actor is shooting a movie in Cincinnati and the artist hoped to catch his eye. He calls his mural, God's gift to women.
There's nothing like good old gumbo and I'm not saying that because I'm a Louisiana girl, but just ask our James Carville and celebrity chef John Besh. They're cooking up a pot for CNN's eatocracy.
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JOHN BESH, CHEF: I'm John and this is James. We're here to cook gumbo. What kind of gumbo are we going to cook, James?
JAMES CARVILLE: Louisiana seafood gumbo, the best seafood in the world. The best and safest seafood in the world.
BESH: Straight out of the Carville recipe book. BESH: It's quintessential cooking that identifies Louisiana to its cuisine because it's that one dish that's found all over the state. We're going to start with the rue.
CARVILLE: It is a combination of oil and flour.
BESH: To that we'll add onions and caramelize the onions and adding crabs. To the crabs, just want to stir those in. We're going to toast those shells. Then you're going to add a little bit of celery and bell pepper and then from there we're going to season.
Add some stock, cook it down for a good hour or so and then your shrimp are added in right at the last minute then we'll add the oysters and that's when it's time to eat. Grab some, brother.
What does it need?
CARVILLE: Needs to be eaten. This is just wonderful.
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MALVEAUX: Looks good to me. Schools are closed and teachers are walking off the job insisting the Wisconsin governor is trying to balance the budget on their backs. Today's talk back, is the union fight about politics or our children? Elaine says, it's about politics. If it were about children, they'd be in the classroom. More responses ahead.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the help desk where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Ryan Mac. He's the president of Optimum Capital Management and Doug Flynn, he's a certificated financial planner and founder of Flynn Veto.
Glad you guys are here with us today. Let's get to our first question, from anonymous who writes in, I know that if I withdraw money from my 401(k) early. I have to pay a tax and penalty. Will the tax and penalty be on whole amount, Doug?
DOUG FLYNN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: Likely it will be especially if it was pre-tax money that went in that will definitely be. And here's the thing, if you're about 40 years old and you have $10,000 in your retirement account.
You think it's $10,000, but realistically after taxes and penalties it might only be 6,000 or 7,000. And the bigger issue is if you take that money out and you don't leave it there for 25 years, you might have $50,000 in there. So you see 10,000, you might only get 6 or 7 and you're missing out on possibly 50.
ELAM: Know the bigger picture. Think about that. All right, our next question comes in from Jordany in Florida who writes, does my mortgage company have the right to keep reporting me to the credit bureau every month after my foreclosure has been finalized? What do you say, Ryan? RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: There's a big problem out here with deficiency judgments, individuals going out and they go for foreclosure and think they are free and clear of the obligations.
What happens is if they sell your home and the sheriff or auction for less than the amount owed, many states they have the right to go back for the amount that you were short. Sometimes individuals months later come back and get 200, 300,000 bills and may be garnishing wages and some individuals for lack of response are put in prison.
You have to -- when you're going through foreclosure, makes sure you get a good counselor or at least an attorney to give you all the ins and outs and make sure you know exactly what you're getting into.
ELAM: I know it may be coming down the pipe afterwards. Gentlemen, thank you for advice your today. If you have a question that you want to get answered, go ahead send us an e-mail anytime, CNN help desk at cnn.com. We're happy to help you out.
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MALVEAUX: Let's dip into the White House briefing room. We've learned some new information, President Obama going on a state visit in May to Britain, May 24th to the 26th. The state visit will be accompanied by first lady Michelle and also Jay Carney there at the podium talking about the situation in Bahrain. Let's take a listen.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That the governments in the region need to be more responsive to their peoples in order to live up to the hopes and dreams of their people and also to -- that instability comes from not responding to those -- the legitimate grievances and democratic aspirations of their people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What gives you any confidence that making clear what your position is, is going to have an impact?
CARNEY: Look, this is a process, that again, is about the people in Bahrain. Our position is clearly stated and it is applicable to countries throughout the region. And again, as with other countries, we're not looking to dictate events, but we are making very clear the values that we hold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Final one last one, on the Fifth fleet -- being made for that?
CARNEY: I don't have anything for you on that at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're seeing protests in many countries across the region. How does the White House what going on? Are we witnessing a full scale revolution across North Africa and the Middle East?
CARNEY: Well, each country is different. Each country has different traditions, Steve and there is a commonalty clearly to some of the demonstrations and the unrest we've seen and it's reflective of yearning by the peoples of the region, the peoples of these countries to have a greater participation in the political process in their countries.
And we support that and that's why we have urged the governments in the region for a long time now to respond and get ahead of that, those demands and those aspirations, expressed by their peoples and respond to it and open up their societies in a way that will allow those countries to become more prosperous and their people to improve their loft in life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the case of Egypt, you were very vocal in calling for a peaceful transition. Are you anywhere close to doing that for Bahrain or any of these other countries?
CARNEY: Steve, I would say again, each country is different. What is the same is what we believe about the universal values and universal rights. And we have urged governments in the region, the Egyptian government, Bahrain government, in general to be responsive and to open up their societies and to get ahead of any -- the process of -- in order to respond to the aspirations of their people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lebanon on the U.N. Security Council is working for a resolution or drafted a resolution that would condemn Israel for what it calls illegal settlement activity.
MALVEAUX: You've been listening to the White House briefing room. The briefing there, we've learned a couple of headlines coming out, that President Obama will be heading to Britain for a state visit, that happening in May, late May. He'll be accompanied by the first lady.
At the same time, we have also learned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing that the U.S. is providing an additional $150 million in the transition period for Egypt, the transition to the new election that's to take place in September to figure out where the leadership goes there.
We understand that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also reaching out to the crown prince of Bahrain to try to press upon the regime there that a peaceful move forward -- way forward is the best option. All of that taking place within the last ten minutes or so out of Washington. We're going to take a quick break.
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MALVEAUX: Across the country, states are scrambling to find solutions to budgets in crisis. In Wisconsin, for example, at least 15 school systems canceled their classes today. Teachers and other public employees, they're at the state capitol protesting the governor's budget repair bill, which brings to today's talk back. Carol Costello has your response. Carol, what are folks saying?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, a little background, the Republican governor in Wisconsin doesn't want to renegotiate teacher contracts. He wants to gut the union by stripping it of collective bargaining. That piece of legislation is before the state Senate in Wisconsin. The teachers union says this is more about busting the union than balancing the budget, hence they staged that big sickout and 15 school systems in Wisconsin canceled classes today. So the question was, the teacher union fight in Wisconsin about politics or is it about the children?
This is from Ethan. He says, this is pure politics. If we expect to attract the best and brightest too educate our youth, we better provide them with benefits more than the measly yearly salaries.
And this from Sue, she says, good for those teachers, through collective bargaining our union agreed to no salary increases for one year. In the end everyone won, including the kids and hey, there was no sickout in her school district.
Suzanne -- continue the conversation. I forgot to say, facebook.com/carolcnn. Thanks for your responses. I appreciate them as always.
MALVEAUX: All right, and Carol, obviously a lot of people passionate about that subject. Did they go in either direction? Was it pretty evenly split do you think?
COSTELLO: Most people thought it was really about politics, although, most people understood both sides. But they did think most of them, that the governor of Wisconsin was going too far when he wants to get rid of collective bargaining all together. Why not reopen the contract and renegotiate and have the teachers agree to cuts? Wouldn't that be easier? Wouldn't that be less stressful on teachers and wouldn't that avoid a sickout.
MALVEAUX: We'll have to leave it there and Carol, thank you.
For those Choose the News, the winner was Urban Prep Academy. We will hear from the founder of that academy with Don Lemon. But we are going to bring that to you tomorrow, that Choose the News segment.
So, next in NEWSROOM, in for Ali Velshi is Don. Hey, Don.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Always good to see you, Suzanne.
