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11th Hour Deal To Keep The Federal Government Open; FBI Code Breakers Trying to Solve 12-Year-Old Murder Mystery; Masters Golf Tournament Update and Caddy Interview; Twitters' Five Happiest States; GOP Hopefuls in Spotlight; High Tech in Austin, Texas

Aired April 09, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

Hello to you all, top of the hour here. I'm T.J. Holmes.

It was an 11th hour deal that has now kept the federal government open. Did anybody really win or lose here?

Also ahead, the FBI code breakers are trying to solve a 12-year- old murder mystery and they need your help. Also, the Masters Golf Tournament is under way in Augusta, Georgia. We'll talk to a caddy who has seen it all since 1961.

But up first here, it is, in fact, a done deal, we hope. The government is still open for business today. Democrats and Republicans coming together in the 11th hour to pass a temporary budget. President Obama's expected to sign that, that could happen at any moment now.

This one funds the government through next Friday. Lawmakers say they're also close to a deal to keep the government operating through September. That's when the fiscal year ends.

It calls for more than $38 billion in cuts from the President's original budget proposal. Republicans had originally wanted $61 billion in cuts. From among the issues the two sides were fighting over, funding for Planned Parenthood. Republicans dropped their demands to change that funding in the end, but Democrats agreed to bring it up at another time.

Sources also telling CNN that Democrats and the Senate agreed to take up a Republican initiative to repeal President Obama's health care overhaul law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We protected the investments we need to win the future.

At the same time, we also made sure that at the end of the day, this was a debate about spending cuts. Not social issues like women's health and the protection of our air and water. These are important issues that deserve discussion. Just not during a debate about our budget.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: I am pleased that Senator Reid and I and the White House have been able to come to an agreement that will, in fact, cut spending and keep our government open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: This was done, literally, at the last minute last night. Not much time to spare. Our Brianna Keilar and Ed Henry both worked long hours on this story. They join me, once again, this morning.

Brianna, let me start with you here and the all-important point for our viewers. They hear that there is another extension that goes through next Friday. Why was that necessary and why should we not worry?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really a matter of logistics. The deal one Democratic aide told us on this long-term measure that will keep the government funded through the budget year, it wasn't reached until 10:30. That's when there was actually a hand shake.

So, yes, it was actually the 10th hour T.J., not the 11th hour. That short-term measure that they passed last night in the House that President Obama is expected to sign at any moment, it will keep things running until Friday.

This is important because right now the bill is being drafted. We're expecting the House to come into a pro forma session on Monday and we're expecting a vote on this in the House on Wednesday and then the Senate would follow suit.

So, all of these things take time and this one-week measure was to buy them time, but Republicans had even made it clear, they won't go for the short-term measure unless they had a deal on the whole big package.

And so, as we understand it is, there is. The one thing I think we should watch for is when this bill goes online and people get to read it and get to see exactly what's in it because we still don't know what some of the cuts are. That's when you might hear people raising some objections.

But right now we're hearing from Republicans and Democrats that they have buy in from their members and they'll be able to move forward on this.

HOLMES: Ed, to you now. What was the President's role in these last-minute discussions?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He was on the phones, frankly, pretty much all day yesterday. Speaking a lot to Senate majority leader Harry Reid and speaking no less than four times with House Speaker John Boehner. So, I think the White House, by releasing that information is trying to project an image of a commander in chief in charge, pushing this across the finish line in the final hours. No doubt in part to counter this narrative that had been building in the media among Republicans and even some Democrats that the President didn't get his hands dirty enough at the beginning. Speaking of getting hands dirty and cuts.

They're cutting down a tree behind me here on the White House lawn. That's probably what you're hearing, T.J. If you needed any evidence that the federal government is open, there are federal workers on the lawn behind me cutting down a tree.

HOLMES: Yes, let me turn back to Brianna, so you can finish your work cutting down timber there.

Brianna, back to you for a second.

Tell me the process. What is next week going to look like when it comes, first, to this budget, but also other work needs to be done on the 2012 budget.

KEILAR: This is no coincidence. The vote on Wednesday we're expecting in the House on the 2011 budget, the Senate will follow suit probably on Thursday. Guess what, as soon as the House is done dispensing with this 2011 budget, they take up the Republican proposed 2012 budget.

It's a controversial proposal of budget chairman Paul Ryan that includes an overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid entitlement reform, right, T.J. in the third rail of politics. There's going to be a vote on that on Friday. As soon as one fight to rein in spending ends, another one begins, that's going to be the way things are around here for a while.

HOLMES: One more here to you, Ed, as the work continues behind you. Again, the evidence that the federal government is working now. What about this idea that Democrats did have to give some say a little, some say they just compromised, some say they gave a lot in terms of the numbers that were given up in these cuts and also allowing them to bring up a vote on overhauling the President's Health care reform law.

HENRY: That's going to be a painful vote, especially for a lot of centrist Democrats in the House but the Senate, people like Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, these are guys that will be up for re-election and they're already weary of some, weary of some of the President's agenda and didn't want to have a vote on the President's health care reform plan. A test vote, if you will. So that is going to be politically painful for some Democrats.

In terms of the cuts, Democrats largely started at zero. They didn't want any cuts in this. It got all the way up to $38.5 billion so maybe that's a little bit of a loss for them but on the other hand if you listen to the tea party. A spokesman for them told CNN this morning that this is basically a poultry amount of cuts and they had a little bit of a warning saying there are going to be more intently focused on 2012 now more than ever in the sense that they feel that this is a drop in the bucket, basically, because it's less than 1 percent of the entire federal budget.

Both parties will pat themselves on the back and maybe they took a positive step forward and this is a pretty tiny step in the grand scheme of the federal budget.

HOLMES: All right, Ed, it is the weekend. People do yard work on the weekend. That's a big yard there at the White House.

Ed, good to see you; Brianna, good to see you. Thank you, both, this morning. Thank you so much.

Now here we are at six minutes past the hour. Take a look at this scene. This was overnight in Cairo's Tahrir Square, once again, erupting in violence. A thousand protesters staged demonstrations demanding the ruling Egyptian military council prosecute former President Hosni Mubarak. Riot police and soldiers responded with bursts of gunfire and tear gas and also using sticks to beat back the crowd. Yesterday some soldiers defied their commanders and joined the protests.

Also, getting new video of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Take a look at what you're seeing here, this shows him visiting what looks to be a school in Tripoli. Students were cheering him on as he was there. Gadhafi says NATO targeted that school to be attacked, but the students refused to leave.

Elsewhere the African union convenes today to find a path to peace in Libya. The group will travel to meet with rebel leaders in Benghazi at the Tripoli to see Gadhafi. Libyan rebel leaders are criticizing NATO over Thursday's fatal air strike on one of their tank columns.

Well, Japanese regulators now insist on tougher standards at nuclear power plants. They've learned the painful lesson, of course, from that quake. Nuclear plants need two diesel generators as back-up power at each reactor, that is now required.

Also, take a look at this. The power company released this brief video clip today showing the tsunami that crippled the Fukushima plant. Off in the distance you can actually see the wall of water as it is coming and slams into the complex there.

Well, two of the world's largest pumps usually based in bridge and high-rise construction are headed to Japan. They'll be used to pump massive amounts of water with pinpoint accuracy to try to cool those reactors. Each weighs 190,000 pounds, but can fit fully assembled to a huge Russian cargo plane for that trip.

Well, you folks who like a good mystery, maybe you're good at cracking codes. Take a look at that one. If you can figure that out and crack that code, you could help the FBI solve a murder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Eleven minutes past the hour how.

The code breaking featured in a lot of famous movie thrillers, you know, "Da Vinci Code", "National Treasure." But at the FBI Laboratory at Quantico, Virginia there is a small band of people whose real-life job is unlocking encrypted communications and right now they are stumped at an old murder investigation they're asking for your help.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 1999, in this field near St. Louis, police found the body of Ricky McCormack, unemployed, 41 years old. Authorities think he was murdered. But why? By whom?

Two pages of encrypted notes written by McCormack and found in his pocket could hold key clues but 12 years after they were found, no one has broken on the code. Could it just be gibberish?

DAN OLSON, CHIEF FBI CRYPTANALYSIS: I don't think so. We have patterns and very consistent character repeating sequences. There are almost rules to whatever language this is. This is not random.

MESERVE: Dan Olsen's team at the FBI Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit has sliced and diced and theorized and analyzed but still hasn't found the key. They have unlocked lots of other messages relating to murder and lots of other illegal activity.

OLSON: Well these are codes that are made by humans and are best broken by humans.

MESERVE: Their biggest triumph cracking a code by Brian Regan, convicted of attempted espionage.

OLSON: This message literally contains the locations of seven different drop sites in Patapsco State Park in Maryland where Brian hid the most sensitive and the most secret documents that he had stolen.

MESERVE: In the end, a gag photo in Regan's middle school yearbook was the key to decoding the sequence of numbers. What is the most important skill for someone in your line of work?

OLSON: Tenacity. High self-esteem. You can't get discouraged and you also have to know when to let it go.

MESERVE: And that's where they are with the McCormack messages. Stumped. So the FBI is asking the public for help. In a week and a half, 2,000 emails and 365 letters have provided theories and leads but as yet no key to the mystery of Ricky McCormack's death, so very long ago.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Quantico, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Think you can solve the mystery? The FBI has set up a website where you can see the original note and code for yourself. It is forms.fbi.gov/code. Did you get that at the bottom. Forms.fbi.gov/code all in lower case. Good luck.

Also, a familiar twosome at the Masters this weekend. Ben Crenshaw and his long-time caddie Carl Jackson. Can you believe Jackson has been walking that course for 50 years. We'll be talking to him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Sixteen minutes past the hour now.

It is the most prestigious tournament in all of golf and celebrating its 75th anniversary this week. The Masters is under way. The third round just got under way and our Patrick Snell has the distinct privilege of being there at Augusta National there in Augusta.

Hi there, Patrick.

And again, it seems like, I was asking you last hour, which of these two things is really the headline there? Is it the young guns at the top or the Tiger Woods, close to the top of that leaderboard?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: T.J., welcome back.

You know, I like the topic, I like the theme of the young guns, but, for me, it's still Tiger. He's still the talk of the town, as it were. Thousands of people on the course already. Beautiful Saturday here at Augusta National and they are all anxious to see, T.J., when he goes off in some three and a half hours or so from now whether he can maintain the rhythm of Friday, which saw him shoot a dazzling 66, 31 on the back nine alone.

That run included three straight birdies and nine birds overall. Three bogeys and it left him at seven under par for the championship. You can just hear the roars out there as his rounds started to gain momentum.

Remember, this is a player, a former world number one and now a world number seven who hasn't won a major since 2008. So, there are many people here wishing him well and wishing him on to future glories. Now, that is Tiger.

But what about the afore mentioned young guns and I really do like the look of Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, no doubt about it but there's others too, there's Jason Day of Australia who is having a great tournament. He's currently second. Ricky Fowler, another American player with great potential. He's looking for his first professional win. First win on a PGA Tour, as well.

But these three players were the subjects of a question to Tiger at a press conference after his round on Friday when it was pointed out to Tiger that when he won his first Masters title back in '97, there was something like seven, eight and nine respectively.

Talk about a reality check. Tiger just kind of shrugged his shoulders in response and said, you know what, it's a new generation and, T.J., he is absolutely right. This is a new breed of potential golf superstars that we are watching very closely? Not just this week, but the months and years into the future, T.J.

HOLMES: And that's something. He used to be those guys. I mean those guys are doing amazing things now and he's the mid-30-year-old, however old he is. These guys are 21. The roles have absolutely changed.

SNELL: He is going to be 36 later on this year. So, in a way, they're kind of spurring him on. You're absolutely right. Maybe if they could help him take him to his game to a new level and in a different sort of way, it is fascinating.

He is trying to clip Jack Nicklaus as the all-time sports leading major win and Nicklaus with 18 and Woods is on 14. He needs another five to clip Jack Nicklaus. It's going to be very interesting to follow Tiger Woods and the young guns in the coming years, T.J.

HOLMES: Well, Patrick Snell, you enjoy it out there. Good to see you this morning. Thank you so much.

Well, up until 1983, golfers had to use a caddy from Augusta National. Ben Crenshaw, the golfer, he always chose and he still chooses Carl Jackson. He has been caddying there since 1961. Did you hear that right? For the past 50 years he had been there.

So, the things are much different today than they were back then. Carl Jackson has been doing this and he is doing it, once again. He is about to join us here in just a moment. I see him on the screen. They're getting him miked up for me but you're seeing a picture of him here. Big guy, 6'5" he knows that golf course like nobody's business, if you will.

He doesn't just carry a bag. For anybody out there who knows golf, plays golf at all, you don't necessarily just carry a bag, that is part of it, but you have to be able to give good advice and be able to read those greens and be able to read that course.

Again, Carl Jackson who has been out there since 1961, he is joining me now.

Sir, it is an absolute pressure to get to talk to you this morning. You have been out there caddying since you were 14. Things were much different then. How did you fall into that job and end up getting it in the first place?

CARL JACKSON, AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CADDY: Well, it was, it was a needed job for me. And I had to drop out of school for other reasons just to try to get some work. And I worked at this club under the rights of caddy master Freddie Bennett and members like General Eisenhower and Clifford Roberts (ph) were very concerned that I was out here. Then along comes Mr. Stevens in my life and as I would learn in the future, he knew how to get things taken care of.

HOLMES: All right, well, at the time, how much did you know about golf? Essentially you are a young man and they were looking for young men to essentially just tote around the golf club at the time.

JACKSON: Well, I started caddying in 1958. And I remember over in the old Augusta Country Club a caddy area we could hit golf balls and I would, I would hit golf balls and play alongside the tournament they had there called the title hole. And I was just in the field next door to the 18th fairway and hitting golf balls before then I played, you know, I hit golf balls in the playgrounds of schools and school yards around my House.

HOLMES: And, sir, remind people how it was at the time. It certainly looks a lot different and even though a lot of people see high-profile Tiger Woods, there aren't a lot of African-Americans or other players of color out there on the tour necessarily, but when you were caddying, it was essentially all white players and all black caddies, is that right?

JACKSON: Well, here at the Augusta National there was a tradition in those times, but I like to point out that was, you know, you had Jim Dents and Lee Elders and Charlie Sifford and Pete Brown and other black golfers back in those days. They certainly had more then than we have now.

HOLMES: And, sir, Ben Crenshaw always picked you. Is that right? Why is that?

JACKSON: I hope, I hope it's first from the integrity and my character and, second of all, I worked hard and we had bonded. And I hopefully, again, proven myself dependable. Not to say that other guys was not. But I'm just with being, we just, we just liked and loved one another from the beginning.

HOLMES: And for some of our viewers, a lot of them are familiar with golf. A lot play golf, certainly. You know, a caddie is not just toting around a bag full of golf clubs out there. Tell me what makes you good? Certainly you know Augusta National probably like nobody's business, but what else is it that makes a caddy out there so good?

JACKSON: Well, I mean, the guys before they go out today they're getting their yard books ready and checking their notes and doing their win maps and then they are probably going to think about, you know, the right things to say to their golfer, you know, when they get into a situation.

HOLMES: Sir, you going to retire any time soon?

JACKSON: Well, hopefully I'll be healthy enough in the future to go farther. But my friend Ben Crenshaw said, you know, he's going to think about it and make a decision. I'll wait for that decision.

HOLMES: But you'll be with him as long as he'll have you, it sounds like.

JACKSON: If he has me, I'll be back.

HOLMES: All right. Sir, Mr. Jackson, it's good to talk to you today. Another great weekend out there. Congratulations on doing it all the years you have been doing it and thank you for some spending time with us this morning.

JACKSON: Thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. We're at 25 minutes past the hour here now.

I have a question for you. Are you happy? Well, according to a Twitter survey it may depend on exactly where you live. Here's a list of the top five happiest states in America.

Number five, Florida. Pretty nice spot.

Number four, right here in Georgia. I need to check myself.

Also, the third happiest state, North Carolina.

Can you guess which states now rank number one and number two? I'll have that answer for you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, we're at the bottom of the hour right now. We're back here with a look at the top five happiest states according to Twitter. We'll explain why Twitter picked these as the happiest in a moment.

Remember Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, they were ranking number five and number three.

The second happiest state out there, would you believe? Colorado.

And Twitters' happiest state, Tennessee. You didn't see that one coming, did you?

Well the results here are based on the use of happiness related words in your tweets. Things like nice, best, folks from Tennessee seem to use the most positive language. There you go.

Well, the budget deal, as you know, or maybe you don't know if you're just waking up, it is done. No shutdown of the government, at least for now. Some major sticking points of it. What do you think they were? It was about money, right?

Well, actually some of the biggest sticking points we saw yesterday in the final hours were over Planned Parenthood and health care reform, how did we get there? Paul Steinhauser, he's our Deputy Political Director, joining me now.

What exactly did Americans want out of all of this? Were the politicians talking about what Americans wanted them to be talking about?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I guess so. Tennessee, T.J., I learned so much from watching your show.

HOLMES: We appreciate you watching.

STEINHAUSER: Listen, Americans want a compromise, no doubt about it. They want to revert a government shutdown and they want a compromise so I guess they are happy.

Look at this right here, this is a recent survey, check out this one from Gallup. Nearly six in 10 said they want their lawmakers to compromise so that you could avert a government shutdown, rather than hold out. About a minority, 33 percent, wanted a holdout there. So there was some pressure on lawmakers, T.J., to get a done deal.

Look at the next board, as well. And this is interesting, the blame game.

Listen, both sides realized they were going to get blamed this time. Thirty-seven percent in this recent "Washington Post" poll said they would blame the Republicans in Congress if there was a government shutdown. An equal amount said they would blame Barack Obama, the president, and the Democrats in Congress. And 15 percent said they would blame both equally.

And that's a big difference from the last time we had a government shutdown, which was back in 1995, when the Republicans, more than the Democrats, got the blame -- T.J.

HOLMES: And Paul, again, a lot of people thought this was about money. They just need to get closer and closer to a number they can agree on and how much to cut. But then, yesterday, all we heard about was Planned Parenthood, for the most part, going back and forth in these dueling press conferences. And then there's health care reform we're talking about this morning.

Was this really about health care reform or about Planned Parenthood, or was this about the future campaign trail?

STEINHAUSER: I think a little of everything.

The Democrats, T.J., you are absolutely right. From Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, right on down, they were talking about Planned Parenthood yesterday, that that was the last sticking point, that the Republicans were trying to strip federal funding for Planned Parenthood away from Planned Parenthood. And they were saying to the women of America, listen, the Republicans are anti-women, that they are trying to defund your reproductive health care services. And the Republicans are saying no, no, no, not at all, it had nothing to do with that, this is about spending. The Democrats are not spending enough, they're not taking the deficit seriously enough.

Look at this poll right here -- and this is interesting -- when it came to, should your lawmakers hold out or not? Look at that -- Independents, Democrats, they didn't want their lawmakers to hold out. They wanted a compromise.

Republicans, T.J., were very happy with their lawmakers holding out because they want these budget cuts. And as you said, all this is about, I guess in a way, 2012, reaching out to women voters on the Democratic side, reaching out to conservative activists, Tea Party activists on the Republican side -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Paul Steinhauser with a reality check of policy for us this morning.

Paul, good to see you, as always, buddy. Thanks so much.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

HOLMES: And continuing on the political front, three likely GOP presidential candidates are in South Carolina today. You can guess they'll be talking about this budget deal just a bit.

Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the House when the government shut down back in the '90s. And this morning, he said this latest deal is a step in the right direction, but not good enough for the long term.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER: This administration and, frankly, politicians for a long time, have been all too willing to pile debt, to make today's decision to buy something as though we're saying to our children and grandchildren, we're going to make you pay for our House, although the House won't be there by the time you're done paying for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, CNN's Peter Hamby, live for us in Greenville, South Carolina.

Sir, good morning to you.

What is everybody doing in South Carolina?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, I'm in Greenville, South Carolina, at the Greenville County Republican Party Convention. Most people in the country might ask, why does this matter? Well, if you look at the presidential primary calendar, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and right here in South Carolina, are the first four states that determine who the Republican presidential nominee is going to be, and three candidates, as you mentioned, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour were all here today, working the room, speaking to the crowd, and trying to curry favor with some of the Republican activists who are going to have a really outsized role in determining who Barack Obama's next opponent is going to be.

HOLMES: Are we expecting to see -- I know it's early but, still, this is sometimes the only gauge we get, are these straw polls that are taken at some of these conventions, in different states and whatnot. Are you expecting any out of there?

HAMBY: Yes. There's going to be a straw poll here today. It's tough to read too much into it because it's so early in the presidential race and the field is so wide open.

But I got a peek at the straw poll candidates earlier, and there are some unexpected names on there. You have the usual suspects, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, but you've also got New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. And Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is unexpectedly on this straw poll ballot.

These are people that are popular with the Republican base, but Scott Walker has shown no signs that he wants to run for president. The same with Chris Christie as well in New Jersey, although people like to keep his name in the mix because he is such a rock star among Republicans -- T.J.?

HOLMES: And who are they -- just curious, who are they clapping for? They gave someone a standing ovation behind you back there. What's going on behind you?

HAMBY: Right. Well, there's hundreds of local Republican activists here in the room. The presidential candidates have already spoken, so they're giving out some awards to some of the local activists here who have been really prominent players in the local party here.

HOLMES: Just curious there. Make sure we weren't missing something there.

Peter Hamby for us in South Carolina.

HAMBY: Sure.

HOLMES: Peter, we appreciate you. We'll check in again.

We do want to give our viewers now a look at some of the stories that are making headlines, including in Fargo right now. They have finished piling sandbags along the Red River, expected to crest tonight or tomorrow at 39.5 feet. That would be the third highest crest ever, but crews are hoping that recent experience and new techniques will help them control that flooding.

Also, Dutch police say a gunman opened fire at a mall today, killing five people. Nine others wounded. A CNN affiliate reporting that the gunman killed himself before police arrived.

Also, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords hopes to be present for the April 29th launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Her office is making the plans, but doctors are going to be the ones to give the final OK. Giffords, of course, still recovering from being shot in the head. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is commanding Endeavour's final mission.

Well, a big focus on high tech at a place that draws many in town for great music. Where is this?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 38 minutes past the hour now.

And while the economy is still hurting in many parts of the country, some high-tech areas, booming. One of these places, Austin, Texas, which our "Building Up America' team found is alive and well.

Here now, Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The South by Southwest Festival in Austin is a hot bed not just for music, but also for innovation. Twitter, Foursquare and many other tech sensations made early, big splashes here. So during this year's festival, CNN.com invited innovators from around the country to pitch their ideas during a short ride in a pedicab.

MAX MULLEN, BOUNCER: Hi. My name is Max Mullen, I worked on something called Bouncer, it's built (ph) for e-mail addresses so you can shorten, share and protect your e-mail address.

ALLISON ETTEL, FLYBYMILES: Hi. My name is Allison Ettel, and I'm with FlybyMiles. Booking frequent flier tickets is a nightmare. So we decided to solve that problem by instantly having real time availability of frequent flier seats and be able to book it all from our sites.

ROLAND DILLON, TRIPMEDI: My name is Roland Dylan and I'm representing Trip Medi. Our idea is to make medical tourism available to everyone.

FOREMAN: This is more than just interesting. This town and a growing number of others have realized the relatively low investment high return possibility of tech can be enormous draws for young talent.

MAYOR LEE LEFFINGWELL, AUSTIN, TEXAS: We have a very strong creative sector here and that's due to a well-educated young workforce and a large component of artists, musicians, people in software business.

FOREMAN: And those people in turn can fuel real estate markets, push tax revenues, and build up many more traditional industries, all by starting with one idea at a time.

Tom Foreman, CNN. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, mistakes at your hospital. That's the last thing you want to hear. From missed medication to surgical surprises, and more often than you may think, this stuff is happening. We'll list the most common hospital goof-ups, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, all of us have been in the hospital before. Probably, unfortunately, we'll be -- or we have family members who have been through the hospital, or will be. So, Elizabeth Cohen, joining me here now.

It's certainly scary for all of us to hear that there are more mistakes happening at the hospital.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, it is. In this recent report that just came out, it's maybe there are even more mistakes than we thought. I mean, researchers have been keeping tracks of mistakes. There's a report that just came out that said maybe we haven't been catching them all because of the way that we measure it. So this new report says one out of every three people seems to have something go wrong in the hospital that may be the result of an error, that may be the result of someone doing something wrong.

HOLMES: All right. We hear one out of three. That doesn't sound too good for us going to the hospital.

COHEN: No. No.

HOLMES: Well, how serious are these incidents, or how serious, I guess, are these mistakes we're talking about? Are we talk about life-threatening-type accidents?

COHEN: Yes, some of them are. I mean, we're talking about sometimes accidents, mistakes that can kill people -- luckily, that's not usually the case -- to things that where something goes wrong and it needs to be fixed, but in the end it doesn't end up being a big deal.

But the point that experts make to me all the time is, why are these happening? You know, they're preventable in most cases. Why do these keep happening?

So let's look at the kind of things that go on, because they fall into different categories.

HOLMES: OK.

COHEN: So, medication mistakes are the most common mistake in hospitals. So I get the medication that is meant for you, or you get the medication that's meant for me. You get the wrong dosage, you get it at the wrong time of day, something like that.

Also, bad surgical outcomes. Something goes wrong in surgery, and often it is a preventable error.

And hospital infections. And, you know, experts tell me that they believe most, if not all infections, that you get in the hospital could have been prevented. It's not just fate. Something could have been done to prevent that infection.

HOLMES: Now, in the hospital, we all feel like, OK, these are the experts, they know what they're doing. You feel like you're at the mercy of that hospital, that doctor, that nurse.

So, is there anything you can actually do yourself to try to catch these things, or you're really at their mercy?

COHEN: You're not completely at their mercy.

HOLMES: OK.

COHEN: There definitely are things you can do. And so let's take a look at some of the things that you can do, some of the "Empowered Patient" tips.

First of all -- and I know this sounds icky, but it's so important, I just have to point it out -- if you've got a catheter in you in any part of your body, you want to ask every day, can this thing come out? Catheters are great places for infections. And if you can get it out of you, get it out of you. Every day it's in there, the bigger risk that you're going to get an infection, even one that can kill you.

OK. So that's the first thing.

HOLMES: All right.

COHEN: The second thing is, check your medications. When you get that medication, check the IV bag or the bottle. Make sure your name is on it.

HOLMES: That's easy enough. Check it yourself.

COHEN: That's easy enough. You know your name. Or maybe you're too sick to know your name, but the person who hopefully is with you will know that.

And also, ask doctors and nurses to wash their hands. If they come in and you don't see them wash their hands, ask them. And it's awkward. I've been there, I've done it for family members who have been in the hospital, and they sometimes will actually give you a hard time, believe it or not.

And they say, "Hey, my gloves are on, I'm clean." I say, "Well, I didn't see you put those gloves on."

HOLMES: Wow.

COHEN: What if you put those gloves on with dirty hands? That doesn't work. So please take them off, wash your hands, put on new gloves.

HOLMES: All right. I guess that is a tough spot for a patient to be in, to ask the profession to do that.

COHEN: It is, but I always say, you're not in the hospital to make friends.

HOLMES: All right. Good point.

COHEN: That's not why you're there. You're there to come out alive, and hopefully even better than when you walked in.

HOLMES: Now, some of these things, we just -- it's a big system -- a lot of patients, a lot of hospitals. Are some of these things just going to happen, unavoidable, or, no, we need to be doing better?

COHEN: Well, you know, experts tell me that most of these are avoidable, and that it's really too bad that hospitals haven't done a better job, but that hospitals are getting better. And there is some data that says that hospitals are getting better at preventing certain kinds of infections, or are getting better at catching certain kinds of mistakes. You know, years ago they didn't really even own up to this problem. Now they're owning up to it much more.

HOLMES: As you always say, the empowered patient. Right?

COHEN: That's right. You have to be one, especially in the hospital.

HOLMES: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

HOLMES: Great information this morning.

Well, about a quarter of the top of the hour now.

Need to take you to some -- you see what I'm talking about? This was extreme weather here.

We have some flood watches in effect in a number of places, including a number of counties in Eastern South Dakota. They are under that alert, as you can see in some of these pictures here. And they are working hard to keep some of this water away from some of the homes, at least. Lakes there have been rising an inch or more per day this week. It's part of the spring thaw.

Let me bring in our Bonnie Schneider, in for Reynolds Wolf this weekend.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, somebody out there is a thief, and they're trying to be cute about it. A nice note and flowers arriving at the victim's home. And that's just part of it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, eight minutes to the top of the hour now.

You hear all the time someone adding insult to injury. This one might take the cake for you. Listen to this.

A woman's credit card is stolen. The thief racks up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges. Among those fraudulent charges, flowers and a "thank you" note with those flowers that were, you guessed it, delivered to the victim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They can break the law, they can rob people, and then insult them on top of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's just a lot of gall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She won't be responsible for the $2,000, but now he knows where you live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. It was a few thousand dollars.

You see the note there. It says, "Thnx for ur money."

Are you kidding me? This happened in Rhode Island. Police are going over the false charges, trying to track town that thief.

Not just flowers and nice cards. The victim says she's now getting coupons and magazines in the mail that she did not order.

This is one we absolutely will follow because, oh, boy, if they catch this guy -- it's one thing to steal from someone, Deb Feyerick. It's another thing to rub it in like this.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: That's exactly right, to say, ha- ha, I have your card and you don't.

HOLMES: And thanks for your money. All right.

And Deb Feyerick is here.

It's a treat to get to welcome you to Atlanta. I'm usually on your turf in New York.

FEYERICK: Exactly. Exactly.

HOLMES: Yes. But you're in for Fredricka Whitfield today.

FEYERICK: Yes.

HOLMES: Now, you all -- I have to ask, you got the legal guys today?

FEYERICK: We have the great legal guys and hot topics that we're going to be going over.

HOLMES: All right.

FEYERICK: First of all, we're going to be talking about a teacher. How far would you actually go to quiet a disruptive student? Well, one teacher actually Duct-taped her student's mouth shut.

HOLMES: Oh, wow.

FEYERICK: We'll tell you what the parents' reaction was to that.

And then, of course, there's the gift that keeps on giving, Charlie Sheen. He is actually trying to trademark some of his big phrases like "Duh," "winning," and "Violent Torpedo of the Truth." Believe it or not, he's actually trademarked a phrase before. Specifically, "Drugs are loser-friendly."

HOLMES: Oh my goodness.

FEYERICK: We're going to go into that a little bit.

And then, love has returned, T.J., to the United Kingdom. The wedding that's coming up, I'm sure you've heard a little bit about it, Prince William and Kate.

HOLMES: Yes.

FEYERICK: They're going to saying, "I do" at the end of this month. And we have a great special coming up by the inimitable Richard Quest, who is going to take a look at this great couple who really are going to redefine what the monarchy is for a new generation. And Richard's got that covered back to front.

HOLMES: OK. Now, we talked about some of the items, some of the merchandise that's out there. And one that might be convenient for a lot of folks, they have a royal barf bag. Have you seen this thing? If you just get sick of all this coverage, there's a barf bag for you.

FEYERICK: And this is why Charlie Sheen is trademarking all this stuff, because if you build it, they will buy.

HOLMES: And it's "Duh, winning"? That is one of the phrases. It's "Duh, winning"?

FEYERICK: You know, it could go either way.

HOLMES: Yes, they said it is, "Duh, winning." I just got confirmation in my hear. He's trying to trademark that.

FEYERICK: How do I not know this fact? Troubling. Very troubling.

HOLMES: Yes. It's one more of the more important ones of the day, right, Charlie Sheen?

Deb Feyerick, it's really good to see you. FEYERICK: Always great to see you.

HOLMES: Good to have you here.

You'll see Deb here in just a few minutes, at the top of the hour.

But first, the fact that Congress wasn't able to cut a deal before the midnight deadline, it caused some stress for a lot of government and military families out there. We will hear from a member of one of those families.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, that budget deal reached late last night comes as a sigh of relief to a lot of federal employees, and also a lot of military families. There was talk that maybe the pay to some of those military families would be delayed.

Well, earlier I talked to CNN iReporter Erin Disseler. Her husband is a veteran who now works for the federal government. Got her thoughts about the last-minute deal. Listen to her.

Oh, I'm told we don't have that type there, so it's unfortunate. Won't be able to let you hear it, but Erin was one of a number who were on edge. Now, she said, yes, of course, she is relieved to hear that in fact the government was able to prevent a shutdown, but she was still upset that it had to come to that last-minute dealing.

I'm told we do have it for you. Listen to it now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN DISSELER, CNN IREPORTER: The first thing, months ago, I understand, of course we needed to compromise, come to a middle ground just like everything in life, marriage included. But then after so many months and days, extension after extension, and then coming down to the last week, and then the very last minutes, literally, last night, I became more and more frustrated. It's just -- it should have never ever gotten to that point, in my opinion. They created so much chaos and panic among so many people for a lot of people that didn't need any more. I mean, the guys fighting overseas for us, I mean, that's the last thing they need to worry about.

HOLMES: Erin, you just used the word "panic." Is that the correct word to use, certainly for your case and for your family, and kind of the plans I assume you were putting in place just in case there was a possible shutdown?

DISSELER: Yes. It was definitely panic.

I mean, you think, you know, if you're in the military, or if you're a government worker, you kind of like to hope, think that you have job security. And my husband, being the only worker in the House -- I stay at home with the kids -- you know, absolute panic. I mean, it's not much different than someone being unemployed. So, you've got to come up with Plan B really quickly. You know? So, definitely, rewriting the budget, trying to figure out what I can and can't do to bring in extra money. I mean, we were open to -- I was open to getting a job, too. I mean, it's not an issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And Deb, it's amazing listening to her. Of course, she has the issues she was worried about, upset with the government.

She still has faith in her government. She says you have to. If you don't have that, you've got nothing.

So there's something to end on.

FEYERICK: Well, listen, T.J., and we're going to take it away. Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.

HOLMES: Good to see you. Thank you. Thank you.

FEYERICK: We'll see what we can do here now that you're done. Take it easy, T.J.