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Supreme Court to Hear Immigration Fight; Sanford Rejects Chief's Resignation; Social Security Outlook Worsens; Obama Goes After Youth Vote; Pumping Money Into Politics; Baby Boomers Hurt By Recession
Aired April 24, 2012 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta, where it's 12:00 noon, 9:00 a.m. in the West Coast, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.
I'm going to get you up to speed for this Tuesday, April 24th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all for everything that you do. And congratulations, I'm going to present this spiffy-looking award to Rebecca Mieliwocki.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Good for her.
This morning, at the White House, President Obama honoring Rebecca Mieliwocki as the 2012 teacher of the year. He defined her as the definition of above and beyond. She's a second generation English teacher in Los Angeles who lets her seventh-graders film adaptations of books, write their own plays that professional actors actually perform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney can't clinch the Republican nomination by the numbers but he's going to take a big step towards ceiling the deal. Five states hold primaries today, including New York, Pennsylvania as well. Romney's closest competitor is out of the race. Romney campaign official says that it marks the semiofficial end of the primary campaign.
Now, check this out. Wild police chase in California. It's got twists, turns, crashes, a suspect clinging on the side of the minivan. But the amazing part is this -- a police dog named what else but Rambo ends the pursuit by dragging a suspect from the van. According to KTLA, the suspected robber was treated for an injury caused by Rambo at the nearby hospital.
New fallout now from the Trayvon Martin case, after Sanford City commissioners refuse to let the police chief resign. Now, some say that the chief, Bill Lee, bungled the case by not pressing charges against the man, Zimmerman, who shot and killed the unarmed teenager. But others insist that the chief is simply a scapegoat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATTY MAHANY, SANFORD CITY COMMISSIONER: Chief Lee is paying for the sins of past police officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: At the beginning of this unedited version of the video, you can see King does try to get up and run. He appears to lift his arms before falling to the ground. Fifteen minutes of hell. He sustains more than 50 baton blows and shocks by a taser gun.
RODNEY KING: Blood is gushing down the street. Death wasn't far away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The infamous video of Rodney King beating at the hands of L.A. police officers polarized this country, brought police brutality to the forefront.
Well, now, 20 years later, King is talking to our Don Lemon about the beating as well as the aftermath. You don't want to miss this. "CNN PRESENTS: Race and Rage," Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Supreme Court hears Arizona's case on the controversial immigration law. That is happening tomorrow. Now, a federal court has already blocked four key parts of the law, saying immigration is a federal responsibility. A Senate hearing was held on this today.
Here is what Senator Chuck Schumer, head of the Immigration Subcommittee, here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Immigration is not and never has been an area where states are able to exercise independent authority.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, he refused to attend this hearing.
Why? Well, he issued this statement saying, "I will not participate in today's hearing because it is strictly political theater.
The timing of the hearing just one day ahead of the Supreme Court's review of the law suggests that its purpose is either to influence the court's decision or to garner publicity."
Our Kate Bolduan, she's joining us from Washington and more.
And, Kate, you know, clearly, some folks think that yes, this is just political theater here. What does this supposed to accomplish. What are we expecting from the Supreme Court tomorrow regarding this?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Supreme Court, the justices are going to hear one hour of oral arguments tomorrow. And this really is, in the legal sense, a classic state versus federal powers struggle that they're looking at. The key issue before the court is who should be enforcing illegal immigration laws.
The state of Arizona argues that it's facing an economic and public safety crisis, they -- the state attributes to illegal immigration and they say the law is meant to assist the federal government in trying to stop illegal immigration. State officials really saying that they are stepping in where they think the federal government has failed so far.
On the other side of the case, the Obama administration, though, is arguing that Arizona would be interfering with what is exclusively a federal authority, immigration policy. And the law could damage relations, Suzanne, with other countries and make immigration matters actually worse.
MALVEAUX: So, Kate, when you look at this Arizona immigration law, what does it do specifically? How is this different than, say, some of the other places in the country?
BOLDUAN: Right. This law was passed in 2010. It was meant to crack down on illegal immigration in Arizona. A border state, of course.
And the federal court has blocked four key provisions. I want to tick through those, because they're at the heart of this fight here.
The first provision is, a provision that requires local police to check a person's immigration status while they are in the course of enforcing the law if there is a, quote, "reasonable suspicion" the person is in the country illegally.
There is also a provision that's being blocked, a provision allowing police to arrest an immigrant without a warrant if, quote- unquote, "probable cause" exists they committed a crime.
Also, a provision making it a crime for unauthorized immigrants to fail to carry registration papers, as well as other government ID.
And another provision, a ban on unauthorized workers, like day laborers, who are trying to solicit or perform work.
So this is all on hold as the Supreme Court considers the question of who should be enforcing immigration laws. Obviously, opponents of this law, Suzanne, they say those provisions I ticked off they lead to forcing police to racially profile.
MALVEAUX: Yes. And, Kate, a lot of -- a lot of folks in Arizona, at least, they are saying that they have a lot of concerns about this because they've got safety concerns about folks coming over the border. They say that this also presents a financial burden to some of them, that the federal government can control this problem.
Do we have a sense of overall how Americans perceive this issue, this problem of immigration? Because it's so controversial.
BOLDUAN: So controversial. It's no surprise to you, you covered many presidential races. Immigration issues have long been highly, highly political.
And, in fact, the Supreme Court is taking this up in an election year only increase it as a political stake. The issues become part of, you know, discussions on the campaign trail between both candidates, and, you know, Latinos are a growing and important voting bloc that candidates are going after.
But take a look at this, this is very interesting. There is a new Quinnipiac University poll out that shows that a majority of Americans appear to support the Arizona law, 68 percent, almost seven in 10, say they approve of the law, and specifically approve of the provision requiring the police check a person's immigration status while in the course of enforcing other laws.
So again, a big split amongst Americans and it will be a very interesting case tomorrow.
MALVEAUX: All right. Everyone's going to watch closely. Thank you, Kate. Appreciates it.
BOLDUAN: Thanks, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: One of the leading voices for the immigration law is Arizona's sheriff, Joe Arpaio. He calls himself America's toughest sheriff.
Well, I got a chance to talk to him a couple of months during the Arizona primaries about accusations of racial profiling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Speak to some of the Hispanics here who accuse you, who say, "I've been unfairly pulled over, I've been unfairly targeted by your office."
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: These are isolated incidents. There's no systemic racial profiling. I know it and I want the Justice Department to prove it. Let them prove it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Meanwhile, a newly surfaced audiotape shows Arpaio scoffing at a federal investigation that accuses the sheriff of racial profiling in his county. Arpaio played it for laughs at 2009 fundraiser with an anti-immigration group.
Now on the tape, Arpaio says that because of the investigation, his officers rounded up even more undocumented workers. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ARPAIO: I know what I'm doing. If I knew we were really wrong I'd cool down a little, but I'm not. After they went after me, we arrested 500 more just for spite.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering.
A New York woman donates her kidney for her boss. But now she says her kind act is now backfired and she's out of a job.
The Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee tries to resign. He is denied. We're going to look at Lee's career and background.
Plus, money for your retirement, Social Security trust fund, drying up now faster than we thought.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. It's pretty bizarre. This is a bizarre lawsuit.
A New York woman says she was fired after donating a kidney to help out her boss.
Deborah Stevens was working as an assistant to an executive at a billion dollar car dealership on Long Island. But she says she offered to help her, Jacquelyn Brucia, who needed a new kidney. Stevens says what she found out she and her boss were not a match, she donated her kidney to a multiple patient kidney chain.
So, the boss was bumped up to the donor list, received a kidney that match hers perfectly. So, after the surgery, however, Stevens says the boss began pressuring her to come back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH STEVENS, FIRED KIDNEY DONOR: She said, you know, you cannot just come and go as you please. People are going to think you're getting special treatment.
She did break my heart. She did. I'm trying to find within myself the reason why it had to be like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So Stevens says when she complained to the human resources, they transferred her far away from home and later, they fired her.
The Atlantic Auto Group has now issued a statement, saying, quote, I'm reading it, "It is unfortunate that one employee has used her own generous act to make up a groundless claim. Atlantic Auto treated her appropriately and acted honorably and fairly, at every turn."
So bizarre story. We want you to weigh in this. What do you think about all this?
So, watch us here at Facebook -- on CNN rather. Next hour, we're going to talk to our legal analyst, Sunny Hostin. Tweet me. You can get -- we're going to get your thoughts @SuzanneMalveaux. Like me on Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN.
We're going to read your responses in the next hour.
The divide over the Trayvon Martin case, it's deepening now in Sanford, Florida. The city's embattled police chief, he's collecting a paycheck, he's keeping his title, whether or not he wants to. That is because the city commission has rejected Bill Lee's resignation. Some say that leaves a scapegoat. Others say, his department, they botched the investigation into the death of the unarmed teenager.
Law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks is joining us.
Mike, first of all, it's kind of strange, right? Because Bill Lee --
MIKE BROOKS, LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right.
MALVEAUX: -- the police chief, tries to resign. They reject his resignation.
Do we know what this guy is like, who this guy is?
BROOKS: Well, apparently he had 27 years with the Seminole County sheriff's office. Now, Seminole County is the area that takes in Sanford. He was a high ranking official there, and had only been on the job for 10 months, Suzanne, when he got the job as the police chief.
Now, we heard about a former police chief whose son had been accused of beating up a homeless black man there in Sanford. There was a problem with another chief, apparently, in the past also. In fact, one of the commission members last night at a meeting has said it's because of these other chiefs that he is being fired. But the vote was 3-2.
But what I want to know, is there also maybe a double-edged sword here because they don't want him to resign because if he did, he would get a $54,000 severance package, because he was riding severance package, we'll see you later.
But some of the members want to wait until the investigation, the independent investigation, is done to see if there is any wrongdoing. And if they found there was wrongdoing on Chief Lee's part, he would not get that severance.
Whether or not that's the case, me as an investigator, that's I'm going to look between the lines here.
MALVEAUX: Yes.
BROOKS: And I'm seeing maybe there's maybe two reasons why they don't want to resign.
MALVEAUX: Yes, both sides.
And then, also, one of the supporters, the commissioners weighed in on this. I want our viewers to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHANY: Chief Lee is paying for the sins of past police officers. He's -- police chiefs. He has been here -- he has been in office 10 months. How do you steer a boat that big, Mr. Mayor? How do you steer a boat in 10 months to a turn around? You don't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, the back story is that there were previous chiefs that got into trouble, essentially.
BROOKS: Right.
MALVEAUX: Yes.
BROOKS: And some people are saying, well, look, he had been on the job 10 years, being brought in to clean up the police department, if you will. Maybe change the culture there. But did he have enough time to do that?
And other people are saying well, look. You know, he's not the one who was investigating the case.
But I say to that he is the one who has the -- overall responsibility for looking at what the investigators are doing, especially in a high profile case like this.
Was there any wrong doing? We don't know. It's going to be interesting to see what the investigators do find in this particular case.
MALVEAUX: And, Mike, what happens to the community. I mean, we were asking this question early this morning, Sanford's community. They don't have -- does he have power if he tried to resign, can't resign.
BROOKS: Right.
MALVEAUX: Does he -- is he able to make arrests? What happens to the residents of that community who are like, are we with or with not a police chief?
BROOKS: No, they have an acting chief right now. They do have a captain who is an acting chief. But they are going to look, they say, outside of the department, maybe outside of Seminole County for a new chief.
But I'll tell you what? If I was looking for a chief's job in the country, I don't think I'd want to come into, you know, a powder keg like this in Sanford, Florida. But time will tell. That's for sure.
MALVEAUX: Yes, kind of sounds like a hot mess over there.
BROOKS: It really is.
MALVEAUX: All right. Mike, thank you.
BROOKS: Thanks, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.
Social Security, Medicare now in big trouble. Funds are drying up faster than we expected. We're going to take a look at what it means for your retirement.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. If you are counting on Social Security for your future retirement, you need to listen up here. Trustees of Social Security and Medicare are out with the annual update on the programs. For Social Security, the outlook is actually worse. The trustees say that Social Security trust fund is going to be in the red by 2033. That is three years earlier than the last prediction.
Felicia Taylor, she's joining us from the New York Stock Exchange.
Wow. Felicia, we've heard this time and time again. We heard from President Bush. We hear it from President Obama. But now, it seems like this is happening a lot faster than we ever imagined.
What does it mean for us and our retirement?
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Suzanne. It's actually a little bit depressing, frankly. The Social Security Administration is just simply paying out more than it's taking in. It's that simple.
More people are collecting as in the baby boomer generation, and they are getting the checks for longer because they are obviously living longer. That's a wonderful thing but, you know, that means that the money can't stretch as far so.
So, there is not as much money coming in and Social Security is funded by current workers where the payroll tax is actually taken out of their current paychecks. But President Obama cut the payroll tax in February. That, plus a lot of people are out of work and simply just obviously not paying the tax because they aren't collecting a paycheck.
Social Security has to tap into reserves that it's actually been able to build up over the years.
MALVEAUX: So, what happens in 2033 when the trust fund is actually in the red?
TAYLOR: Just in time for when I would be starting to collect.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Bad timing there, Felicia. Bad timing.
TAYLOR: Or right about then. I know. Also, just gave away my age. But there you go.
Social Security will only be able to pay about 75 percent of its benefits, so the checks wouldn't stop, but they're going to shrink by about 25 percent.
Right now, the average check is worth about $1,125 a month. So 25 percent cut means that people will get about $844 a month. The reserves are going to be dry by then, but workers still have to pay into the system because that's where the money is going to come from.
Congress needs to do something about this. But of course any changes are going to be unpopular because it means cutting benefits, raising payroll taxes, things that, you know, current workers just don't want to see.
MALVEAUX: And, Felicia, tell us about the market, the stock market today. It started off mixed but might be changing a little?
TAYLOR: Yes. Well, it's a little mixed picture. We're off of the highs that we've seen in the session. The market is basically ignoring what was a new home sales number down 7 percent, that's not good. But not a surprise in this housing market, it's been sort of, you know, jittery for a long time.
However, what they are focusing on are better than expected earnings from companies like 3M and AT&T, and actually AT&T is up about 3 2/3 right now, and 3M is up 2 1/2 percent.
So, the earnings forecasts are looking very good, especially when it comes to forward guidance.
The NASDAQ is still getting hit by Netflix, which was down 14 percent and 15 percent on a worse than expected earnings picture. So, a little bit of a mix.
MALVEAUX: A little good, a little bad. OK. At least there are some good to it.
Felicia, thank you.
Bill Clinton, he's got some advice for President Obama: use Mitt Romney's words against him. We're going to tell you which phrase in particular he's zeroing and why. That's coming up in our political roundtable.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we're working on next.
The battle is on to win the young voters. We're going to tell you what they are waiting to hear from the candidates.
Then, he could have been president until a web of sex, lies and videotape brought him down. The latest from day two of the trial of John Edwards.
And later, tired of walking out, check out the mail box, finding a bunch of useless flyers. We've got a high tech solution to help you clean up the chunk.
It's the biggest Republican primary day since Super Tuesday, but the only suspense could be Mitt Romney's margin of victory. That's right. Romney already looking past today's five primaries to the general election and so is President Obama. In fact, he's getting advice from who other than former President Bill Clinton.
I want to bring in our political panel to talk about it.
Democratic strategist, CNN contributor Maria Cardona, and conservative Chris Metzler, professor at Georgetown University.
Good to see you both.
I just have to say how surprising it is, first of all, covering 2008, that Bill Clinton has a role now that is actually advising President Obama. How things change in just four years or so.
Here's an article from "Politico". Calls on Bill Clinton -- calling him an Obama campaign whisperer. And according to the article, urging Obama to basically shift from portraying Romney as this flip-flopping kind of guy, to someone who is a severe conservative, out of touch with the mainstream.
And here is how one Democratic strategist put. He said, "The decision here is that if you are going to pin a tail on the donkey, make it a conservative tail."
Wow. Maria, just weigh in here first of all. Bill Clinton, now on the team advising.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, absolutely, Suzanne. I think it's terrific. I think it's smart of the Obama campaign to be using him.
He is still incredibly popular within not just the Democratic base but with independents as well. People really remember his eight years as one of the greatest in terms of the economic expansion. And so I think it's terrific that he's giving advice.
And the advice is good advice. And in fact, if you have listened to the words that the Obama campaign folks have used, they've already started using that, using Mitt Romney's words against him because he frankly, during this primary process, has embraced the ultra right wing conservative policies so much that it's going to be very difficult for him to etch-a-sketch away from those severely conservative positions.
And so, I think it's smart that the Obama campaign is doing that.
MALVEAUX: Chris, she used the etch-a-sketch phrase. She brought back the etch-a-sketch.
Chris, how is Romney going to pivot back to the middle to get those independent voters? Because Maria is right in a sense -- he is going to need them.
CHRIS METZLER, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Yes. He is definitely going to need them. And as it relates to pivoting, I think some of the things he has to do is really just focus on the record of the Obama administration.
Now, to paint Romney really as this severe or extreme conservative would be to paint me like a severe basketball player. Not good.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Chris, I don't know how you play basketball.
METZLER: Not good.
MALVEAUX: Not good, not good. OK. You're saying there is a leap of faith there to take. You know, we talk a lot about the women voters, Latino voters.
But we know the president is going after young voters. You've got three universities in these battleground states, beginning in North Carolina.
And we've got a poll out, CNN/ORC poll showing that Obama is leading Romney, 64 percent to 32 percent among these voters who are 18-34 years old. Back in 2008, he beat out John McCain, 66 percent to 32 percent among that same group here.
And here's what Romney said about the young folks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I think young voters in this country have to vote for me if they are really thinking about what's in the best interest of the country and what's in their personal best interest, because the president's policies have led to extraordinary statistics. And when you look at 50 percent of the kids coming out of college today, can't find a job or can't find a job which is consistent with their skills, how in the world can you be supporting a president that's led to that kind of an economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Maria, we know 2008, he had them in the palm of his hands, was exciting, he was electric, they came out. They voted for him. They are trying to close this enthusiasm gap here.
They are not as enthusiastic as they were before. What does he need to do to try to win them over this time around? We're talking about turnout here. He's got to get them to come out and vote.
CARDONA: Well, I think what he needs to do is frankly what he has started to do, which is continue to talk about what he is going to do to continue to put us on the path of that economic growth. We've had 4 point million new jobs created since he came into office. And, yes, there is no question there is a challenge because of the horrendous economy that President Obama was handed.
But if you look at what this president has done for students in terms of Pell grants, in terms of making sure that they are able to go to community colleges and just now he's talking about making sure that student loan interest rates don't go sky high.
If you look at what Romney is embracing with the Paul Ryan plan he will decimate those Pell grants, he will decimate those job training and college career training community college courses.
And so, I think that he needs to make clear with young voters as he needs to do with every other voter, the stark vision that exists between what his plan is, which is to make sure that the middle class, along with young voters and along with working mass voters are on this path for economic growth and job creation.
MALVEAUX: Chris --
CARDONA: And really compare that to Mitt Romney's plan, which is frankly the same one that George Bush embraced that put us in the economic hole that President Obama inherited to begin with.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: -- and really compare that to Mitt Romney's plan, which is frankly the same one that George Bush embraced that put us in the economic hole that President Obama inherited to begin with.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Chris, how does he close that gap? That's a very big gap to going into this. That's a big vulnerability right now.
CHRIS METZLER, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: Yes, it is a big vulnerability, but I think there are a couple of things. One, he's got to talk about the future.
So if we look at the issue of debt, we look at the national debt, we look at those kinds of things, I think he has to be able to talk about what he's going to do in the future. I think that's going to be a critical component.
I also think it's going to be important for him to talk about he is going to be the president who is going to help get government out of the way to create jobs for everyone across every sector because youth unemployment is a concern. So I think he's got to go both present and future. That's going to be interesting.
MALVEAUX: Looking at the future here, you got a lot, an awful lot of money, gazillions of dollars it seems like involved in this so cnnmoney.com says "Super PACs" alone, they pumped about $200 million in the campaign already.
The president could raise what their goal is $1 billion. Romney Republicans are aiming at $800 million or more. Maria, is there a danger here when you have this much money flowing into politics? Does it taint this experience?
CARDONA: Absolutely, Suzanne. But I think that the danger lies in not with the campaigns raise, which have limited money in terms of the amount of money that they can raise with individuals. And you can't -- corporations can't raise for campaigns.
But it's the "Super PACs," the ones that are injecting this really dangerous I think phenomenon, which is that you sometimes don't even know where these donors are coming from.
And that is, of course, thanks to the Citizens United decision that came out of the Supreme Court, which Democrats and this president are against.
But if you look at what the campaigns are raising, you know, they are the ones and especially President Obama, most of his donors come from donors who are donating less than $100 each one.
If that was the case with everything, that's the kind of democracy that we need not the kind of unhinged money that is coming from "Super PACs" that frankly you don't know who the donors are.
MALVEAUX: Chris, I want you to weigh in real quickly. Does it help or hurt your guy?
METZLER: Well, I think it actually is going to help him. However, the bigger problem is when we talk about money and politics. We also have to talk about the influence of unions giving unlimited funds of money. So, week got to talk about that as well.
MALVEAUX: All right, Chris, we've got to leave it there. Chris and Maria, good to see you both.
So, what happened to the April showers? People in the northeast, they are dragging out winter jackets digging out of the snow. We're going to tell you if this cold is here to stay.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: I want you to look at this. This is the northeast cleaning up after a powerful late April snowstorm socking the region with more than a foot of snow in some areas, covering roads, runways and flowers that were already blossoming.
Our severe weather expert Chad Myers is joining us. Chad, this is surprising. How long is this going to last?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's my fault.
MALVEAUX: It's your fault? You predicted it?
MYERS: I put away my sweatshirts last weekend. Brought down all of my summer clothes, but all of the sweatshirts on the top of the closet, but I had to dig for this morning.
It's not going to last long. It will be in the middle 60s by the end of the week in New York City. It's OK, but melting the snow may take a while. Laurel summit picked up 23 inches, Newfield, New York at 10 inches.
There were quite a few reports between 6 and 10 inches of snow. But everything was kind of the east of Buffalo and to the west maybe of state college and to the east of Pittsburgh. Here we go.
A big trough of low pressure in the east, the cold air came straight down from the north, right here. But then to the west, all of this warm air is coming straight up from the south. In fact, it was 105 in Phoenix yesterday, 113 in Death Valley. That's the highest they have ever been on any April day, 113.
It's cooler today. They will cool down to about 99 today and then the below normal temperatures on the one side, above normal temperatures on the other. So here we go for the forecast and the records for today.
Denver, you'll get to 88, your old record 85. You'll break that. Phoenix, 97, you won't be quite there. Your old record is 99. Newark, the only ground stop I have, a delay at about 40 minutes, all the other airports doing well. That's all that's left.
Just a little bit of light snow. Maybe even toward Syracuse picking up light rain, snow mix. It's all over. The warm air will come back.
MALVEAUX: We have record highs in the west.
MYERS: Yes, absolutely. It was crazy out there. Even yesterday in Salt Lake City, 88 degrees. MALVEAUX: That is incredible. Also tell us about the pictures we are seeing as well. You've got great video, purple, gold, northern lights in Minnesota?
MYERS: Yes, this is a geomagnetic storm out of the sun and into the earth's atmosphere. These magnetic energy fields came through, made beautiful pictures from Minnesota back up to New Hampshire.
There may be more of this tonight. You may have to go to Canada to see it. It's not rare in the arctic, but in Minnesota, three or four times a year. Last night was a beautiful event.
MALVEAUX: Really spectacular. Thank you, Chad. Good to see you.
All right, check it out. We're talking about junk mail, tired of getting all of this junk mail. We got an app that is actually going to take care of this? It's free up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: The children of the post-war boom, baby-boomers born from 1946, in their early 60s, have had a huge impact on society. Well, this week our series, age against the machine looks at this amazing generation.
Now today, we look at how the last recession has affected the baby-boomers who still going to have 10 or more years before they retire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not trying to move up the ladder.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Von McCants is a 27-year telecom veteran with an MBA, a baby boomer looking for a job since July.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMAEL: I had to describe how it's going. It's not been very fruitful.
ROMANS: She followed all of the advice about networking, the resume and online job searches.
E. VON MCCANTS, JOB SEEKER: I spend a lot of time looking at jobs, looking and saying is this something I want to do. Do I have the skills that this employer is looking for?
ROMANS: The good news for von, the jobless rate for boomers is lower than the national average. The bad news, once out of work it's harder for a boomer to get a new job.
Men age 50-61 are 39 percent less likely to get a job each month than younger workers. Women, 18 percent less likely. For even older workers that jumps to 50 percent.
Glenn Grossman found himself in Von's position about 10 years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually had no real opportunities. I got very depressed about it and you know, you got to take control.
ROMANS: Now he is the one hiring. With his background in finance and accounting, he started Dinosaur Securities, pun intended.
(on camera): You have four generations working for you. Is that right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think more generations, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s.
ROMANS: He says ideas, contacts and sales are what count, not age. Emphasize that.
GLENN GROSSMAN, FOUNDER, DINOSAUR SECURITIES: It's not about age. It's about working and just forget about gender, age, anything.
ROMANS: Recruiters see better days ahead for boomers. Boomers have experience and less turnover.
FORD MEYERS, AUTHOR, "GET THE JOB YOU WANT": That means ultimately less cost for the employer, so it's good to have some adult supervision around the office and employers are beginning to realize that.
MCCANTS: Then let's start over again.
ROMANS: Von McCants is an adult ready to supervise again.
MCCANTS: It's a new year, I feel like it's a new year and a lot of new things are going to happen.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Taking care of parents to the risk of anti-aging medicine. Go to cnn.com/boomers and tune in all this week for age against the machine. That's our special.
Tired of getting all the junk mail, there is an app that actually is going to help you do that. It's free up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's the bad news. Millions of computers may be infected with a virus that could cut off access to the Internet this summer. There is good news, however, there is a way that you can test your device. The better news is that we've got our HLN digital lifestyle expert, Mario Armstrong. That's a mouthful. But you got all that. You got all that going on.
ARMSTRONG: Yes. It's a big problem, though.
MALVEAUX: Tell me about it. How do we know, first of all, when it's coming and whether or not we can avoid it?
ARMSTRONG: It's already here. The problem has infected over 500,000 computers, and that's a rough estimate given by the FBI. We really don't know the exact number of infected computers. This was an internet hacking ring that was trying to do criminal work to get advertising dollars and trying to fraudulently send people to nonexisting websites or fake websites. You would think you are typing in a legitimate address but it would reroute to you another location unknown to you. That's the problem and what is hitting over half a million or so computers.
MALVEAUX: Is it everybody, is it Macs, you name it?
ARMSTRONG: It's pretty universal. It is a Windows vulnerability. It's not going to happen on the Linux operating system. Most tablets are okay. But there are some issues with PCs or Mac computers that have used PC software could be at risk.
MALVEAUX: How do we find out if we're affected here?
ARMSTRONG: There's a couple of websites. One is Real Simple. This is the same group that's helped with the FBI to figure out this problem. They can't just pull the plug or else a lot of computers would go dark. They just wouldn't connect to the Internet. The best way to check your computer is go to dcwg.org. Go there, if you get a green light you're okay. If you get a red light that means you are infected and you'll get the steps to walk you through how to repair your computer.
MALVEAUX: You can repair it.
ARMSTRONG: Yes. You can get this removed. This is -- has kind of taken away the ability of anti-virus software you had so it disengaged that. So a lot of people are saying I don't know what to do. So they give you the steps. Green light, you're okay, red light, you're not. You need to take some steps. You can fix it. If you know the signs with the computer running slow now or if it's not connecting to the internet you're probably infected.
MALVEAUX: Simple enough. Red light, green light. I got that.
ARMSTRONG: Try to make it easy.
MALVEAUX: Tell us about the app that would allow you to get rid of some of the crazy junk mail.
ARMSTRONG: Tons of this stuff is showing up in mail boxes across the country. Look, I love teddy bears just as much as the next person but I really don't need to get this sent to me. I really don't.
MALVEAUX: I'm going to send you one of those.
ARMSTRONG: We all get all types of junk mail. It's hard to understand how to get out. There is an app called Mail Stop. What this -- works on the iPhone or iPad. You take a photo of the actual mailing address and you can see I'm going to do it here, I'll take that photo. It will put it on the opt out list. This works through privacy choice and through a registry that says remove you from this.
MALVEAUX: Does this work? They listen and say okay, we're not going to send that to your address? do we know if they are going to pay attention?
ARMSTRONG: It's called catalog choice. We do know that that company has been around for a while. They have over a million and a half users. They are talking about how happy they are to see their mail box get depleted down to the very minimal.
I think the only thing people need to be aware of the app does advertise itself as free. It is for the first five opt outs. After that you pay $1.99. I wish they would be up front and clear. It starts free. Then it doesn't end up being free. So I guess you have five chances. If you like it and it works you pay for the next set of five.
MALVEAUX: If you don't end up paying does the junk mail come back?
ARMSTRONG: Tenfold.
MALVEAUX: That's cool. I'm trying to think of my own app I can create and become rich.
ARMSTRONG: Follow kickstarter.com, so many entrepreneurs are doing that, the Jobs act helped that. We can make this happen.
MALVEAUX: I know. I think we can do this. I think there is app here. You look better than Skype, I tell you. I've only seen you on Skype. Going to have you back more often.
ARMSTRONG: Who knew?
MALVEAUX: You do.
ARMSTRONG: What do you expect?
MALVEAUX: Nice to see you. The youngest nation now on the brink of war, we've got that story coming up next.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the Help Desk where we get answers to your financial questions. Greg Olsen is a financial planner and partner at Lenox Advisors and Lynette Khalfani- Cox is the founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com. Thank you for being here. We appreciate it.
Greg, first question for you from Tom in Ohio. Tom wrote that his pension plan has $200,000 in it but he is $25,000 in credit card debt. He wants to know if he should use money from his pension to pay off his credit cards.
GREG OLSEN, PARTNER, LENOX ADVISERS: No. The first thing that's going to happen he's going to have to pay income tax on whatever he withdraws from his pension plan, then has to pay a 10 percent penalty depending on what bracket he's in. He could be asked to take up to $50,000 out of the pension plan just to pay off the $25,000. A better idea would be to switch to the lowest interest rate credit card he could find. After that introductory rate is over, six to 12 months, switch to the next lowest interest rate you can find.
HARLOW: Good advice. Lynnette, Jill wrote that she and her husband got a copy of their credit report and showed three collections. She wants to know how to pay them off and get them expunged from the report.
LYNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: She can pay them but just paying them unfortunately doesn't mean it gets removed from your credit report. This is one of the down sides of course of people who want to pay off debts but the fact is that under the law, negative information like a collection can stay on your credit report for up to seven years. So simply paying it off won't automatically remove it. You can negotiate. You can reach out to the company that you owe and ask whether they would agree to delete the information from all three credit reports, there is no guarantee, they may just do it, though. Doesn't automatically happen.
HARLOW: Once it's there, it's there. Thank you. We appreciate it.
If you have a question you want answered send us e-mail to cnnhelpdesk@CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Today Sudan and south Sudan on the edge of a full scale war after an airstrike killed civilians. David McKenzie has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The immediate aftermath of an airstrike. The target may have been a key bridge near the border. But the result: more civilian blood shed. A 10-year-old boy charred beyond recognition, the latest victim of the bitter dispute. A dispute many thought would end after south Sudan's military withdrew from an oil field claimed by Khartoum.
MAC PAUL, SOUTH DIRECTOR, SUDAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE: It was taken by the government and the council of ministers. And we withdraw but there has been continuous provocations from the Sudanese army and its militia and militias towards our borders.
MCKENZIE: The SBLA took the oil fields earlier this month. They say this video shows at least part of the operation. The occupation drew swift international condemnation with the U.N. Security Council threatening sanctions. Under intense pressure, the south announced a withdrawal and Khartoum was quick to declare victory.
DAFFA-ALLA ELHAG ALI OSMAN, SUDANESE AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Great honor for me and with great jubilation I would like to convey to you that our heroic armed -- Sudan's armed forces have chased out the aggressors today. MCKENZIE: When south Sudan split from the north, issues of demarcation, citizen rights and oil sharing were left unresolved. Most of Sudan's oil is in the south but it's shipped and controlled through the north. Oil cooperation has broken down completely. Sudan's president has used the dispute to rally domestic support. The country still smarting from its divorce from the south. There was little talk of peace.
PRESIDENT OMAR AL-BASHIR (through translator): There will be no negotiations with those people. Our talk with them will be through guns and ammunition because this is the only language they understand. They understand nothing except that.
MCKENZIE: Sudan denies that it's bombing the south. New satellite images from the sentinel project, an independent monitoring group, shows Sudanese jets and helicopters allegedly positioned within easy range of south Sudan and its oil fields. Sudan's official news agency is reporting that the government is enacting special laws to, quote, severely punish any one found collaborating with the south. Both sides say they want to talk but their rhetoric and actions seem to be pulling them further away from the negotiating table and closer to all out war. David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
