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Thousands Rally in Support of Immigrant Rights; U.S. Family Hosts Sick Iraqi Girl; CEOs Getting Richer?

Aired April 10, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Different cities, different faces, one voice. Want proof the U.S. is a nation of immigrants? Well, take a look at this, just some of the almost 70 immigration-rights rallies taking place coast to coast.
First off, let's get to New York, where marchers are filling the streets of Manhattan.

Our senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, is there.

A lot busier than it was an hour ago, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kyra.

And, as you see, the rally here is just beginning right now. A band is beginning to play. Right behind me, you see a broad coalition here. We have plenty of union representatives, people right here from the laborers' union. They are construction workers. And you also have plenty of (AUDIO GAP) rights organizations, about 150 groups, many of them carrying signs that say "Amnistia," meaning amnesty for immigrants right now.

(AUDIO GAP) calling for immigration reform. They certainly want Congress to take some action, but action that will get immigrants accepted here, illegal immigrants accepted as U.S. citizens.

Of course, many of these rallies were started by the House bill that, of course, had been calling for criminalizing illegal immigrants, but now people are hoping for true reform in Congress -- Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff, a little loud, but that's the amazing thing about wireless technology. We're able to get Allan Chernoff right there in the middle of that protest, where -- where marchers are already filling the streets of Manhattan. We are continue to check in, of course, with Allan.

Meanwhile, the National Mall has a very international feel today, a huge immigration rally set to kick off in less than an hour in the nation's capital -- as you can see, student activists, labor unions, social workers, politicians, religious leaders, all planning to be there, already gathering there.

And, while protesters fill the streets, the halls of Congress are empty, or mostly so, lawmakers having gone on recess empty-handed on the issue of immigration. Will the rallies prod them to act? Let's get straight to Capitol Hill and our Andrea Koppel.

What do you think, Andrea, no break or break?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: No break? What do you mean by no break?

PHILLIPS: Well...

KOPPEL: Sorry, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: No, that's OK. I'm...

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I love it. That's how you and I talk. "Just lay it out, Kyra."

(LAUGHTER)

KOPPEL: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: Basically, do you think they are going to come together and have to tackle this issue, or do they're going to -- they're going to take a break from it?

KOPPEL: Oh, they are going to -- they are going to have to deal with the issue.

But it is an open question as to whether or not the Senate is going to be able to come to a meeting of minds. As we heard -- or at least I think some of us heard -- Allan Chernoff trying to say, over the crowds there, what these folks are demonstrating here in Washington and around the country is not what they were debating last week in the Senate.

It's what already passed the House of Representatives in December, a much, much tougher immigration reform bill that does not deal with guest workers. It does not talk at all about laying out a path to earned citizenship for these 11 to 12 million immigrants. What it focuses on is border security and criminalizing the 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants who are in this country and those who help them.

In fact, some of the signs that my colleagues have seen in the crowd here today say things like, "We are not criminals." "We want to pay taxes." They are trying to get their message through to the politicians here in Washington -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Forgive me. Next time, I will be a little bit more direct about the two-week recess.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Andrea, forgive me. All right. We're going to continue to tackle, of course, the political aspects, as well as all the protests -- Andrea Koppel there on the hill.

You know, millions of illegal immigrants come to the U.S. to work, to do the job that many Americans don't want to do. And many Americans are more than happy to hire them.

Our Rick Sanchez profiled one of those employers. And he joins me now with more.

Boy.

(CROSSTALK)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Interesting person, Mexican- American. He arrived 35 years ago, came to this country, and decided that he would -- well, he started off as a -- as dishwasher. Today, he employs 80 to 90 people, pays them, sees in them what he saw in himself 35 years ago.

And he says, I don't ask them: What is your documentation? Prove to me you're an American citizen. The government needs to do that. I do make sure, though, that they have a federal tax number, to make sure that they are paying taxes on whatever income I give them, or else I would end up having to pay it.

So, call it selfish or call it what you will. He's making sure that they are -- they are at least documented in some way, even if they don't have a specific card or a specific piece of paper, as some would ask for.

PHILLIPS: Now, Florida has these special immigration laws for -- for other ethnic groups.

SANCHEZ: Right.

PHILLIPS: Cubans, for example, right?

SANCHEZ: Mmm-hmm. Special status.

PHILLIPS: This is...

SANCHEZ: Yes. That is called an...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: This is your background, if I'm remembering correctly.

SANCHEZ: Nineteen-sixty-six Cuban Adjustment Act says that...

PHILLIPS: OK.

SANCHEZ: ... anybody who is Cuban essentially gets the status of being allowed -- allowed into the United States as a resident immediately. That was adjusted during the Clinton administration during the Guantanamo fiasco, where they did is, they established something called the wet-foot/dry-foot policy, which says, if you're a Cuban-American, and you're in the ocean, we still can send you back, unlike what the '66 Cuban Adjustment Act says.

However, if you get to dry land, thereby dry foot, you get to stay in the United States. And that's the one they tussle with now.

And that's more of a political declaration that the government made, because, you know, they consider -- the Cubans were enemy. They were fleeing a communist country. You get into the argument, Kyra, about a political exile vs. an economic exile, and we can go all day on who is and who isn't. But that's the different status that they gave to Cubans.

And that's what these folks today you see in these protests are saying: We wish we would have something like that as well.

PHILLIPS: You know, you used to work in Miami. And I know that you have talked a lot about these issues before, and you have debated them. And there have been protests and rallies, and -- but is it pretty amazing for you to -- to kind of sit back and now see these protests happening, I mean, 70-plus protests around the country?

It's not just the typical areas where we're used to maybe hearing about this...

SANCHEZ: I...

PHILLIPS: ... or debating this, or...

SANCHEZ: You know what I think has happened? I think what we're talking about is affecting someone's honor.

I think most of these people who we're looking at in these pictures -- I just came back from there. We were out with our crew, interviewing some of these folks. And, for the most part, they have been pretty much been in the shadows of our American way of life. Some people told me out there, what they have done is, they have woken the sleeping giant, because they affected our honor, when they started using the word criminalized.

We're not criminals, they say. We came here to do our jobs. We try to be as law-abiding as we can. We just want a chance to work. And once they said that, just by being in this country, these people were being felonious or that they were committing a felony -- not said, but by looking at legislation that would possibly propose that -- frankly, that made a lot of people extremely upset.

Then, the radio stations started getting and talking about it. They are the ones, as usual -- all over this country -- they call it "Radio Bemba." "Radio Bemba" means radio lips. Once -- once you get people talking...

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: ... once you give people the choice: Are you going? Yes, I'm going. Are you going? Yes. We have got to get together. We have got the unify.

For the first time in this country, we're seeing people who are coming together and saying, you know what? Maybe we ought to tell them what our perspective is, what side of the story we can present on this.

And I think that is what we are seeing taking place right now.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're also seeing -- a lot of people think that every single one of these individuals in these protests are illegal immigrants. But...

SANCHEZ: Many of them aren't.

PHILLIPS: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: Right.

PHILLIPS: I mean, you have a lot of -- of legal immigrants that are joining in on these protests, which makes it very interesting as well.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I mean, there are so many different stories...

SANCHEZ: And there are so many...

PHILLIPS: ... coming together.

SANCHEZ: And there are so many different types of status in the United States. You could have the green card. You could be a resident. You could be an illegal alien, I suppose, is the term that is often used by people. You could be somebody who is in process.

PHILLIPS: Do you find that offensive? I'm just curious.

SANCHEZ: The term "illegal alien"?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: I think, generally speaking, it would be offensive to anybody who might be called that.

I think probably a better term would -- I think it's fair to say undocumented. If you don't have documents, you're undocumented.

I almost think you could almost say it's illegal. The illegal alien, it's that combination of the words that, probably, for -- if nothing else, from a semantic standpoint, tends to rub people a little bit the wrong way.

PHILLIPS: I was talking earlier -- Tony Harris and I were talking about this, as we were taking all the various live pictures -- we are taking live pictures now from our affiliate KOAT, also KTR -- what is that, Scottie (ph)? Is that -- KTRK.

Do you think that -- how soon -- or do you think we will even be able to see what kind of effect, if any, this will have on the economy here in the United States, as we start to see a number of these workers not working or marching or boycotting or protesting or...

SANCHEZ: I called some builders today. And I asked them that question.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SANCHEZ: And I said, how many of your guys have showed up for work? He said none. So, there's very little...

PHILLIPS: Really?

SANCHEZ: ... in the construction trade taking place today.

PHILLIPS: And -- and where was that? Was that here in Georgia? Was it...

SANCHEZ: South -- south Atlanta...

PHILLIPS: South Atlanta.

SANCHEZ: ... where...

PHILLIPS: OK.

SANCHEZ: ... you know, you see all that new construction...

PHILLIPS: Right.

SANCHEZ: ... all those new homes.

This person, in particular, who hires these people, said, look, Rick, here's the -- here's the bottom line. If you pay $300,000 or $350,000 for a house today and, tomorrow, those 11 million -- quote -- "undocumented workers" left the United States, that same house is going to cost you $600,000, $700,000, $800,000, because that's how much more they are going to have to pay for the labor.

Now, that's their assertion. He is somebody who happens to hire these people. And he knows what he would have to pay. And he knows what he pays now. He says, I don't pay minimum wage. I pay, $8 to $10 an hour, starting. Some guys, if they are the -- the boss of the crew, can get all the way up to $20 an hour.

But you can be guaranteed that they would have to pay a lot more, they say to me, if, indeed, that was a little bit different.

So, you know, it -- it would it have its effect. Is it having an effect today? Yes, it's having an effect in different -- in Georgia and throughout the South, the -- quote -- "immigrant population" is doing a lot, in terms of farming, the poultry business, which is huge, as you know, in these states, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee... PHILLIPS: Oh, yes.

SANCHEZ: ... and -- and also the construction trade.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

SANCHEZ: So, is it one day, though? I don't know. It's hard to say in one day, because...

PHILLIPS: Kind of impact.

SANCHEZ: ... on a rainy day, they wouldn't go to work either. So, it's hard to measure just one day.

PHILLIPS: Well, we will be talking about it for more than one day. That's for sure.

SANCHEZ: Always good talking to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rick. Appreciate it.

Well, you can see Rick's full report on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." That's tonight, 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

A slick trick turns into a sticky subject at an L.A. County high school. The principal wanted to keep students from walking out during immigration rallies. So, he slathered grease all over the school fence.

Can you believe that, Rick?

About 300 students slipped out anyway, ending up, well, greasy. And students and parents aren't really happy. Now the school board is rethinking the use of grease.

No slick fences in Montgomery County, Maryland -- the school district there is supporting immigration rallies, even giving extra credit to students who take part. A spokesperson says, the district allows for political activism, but one parent says, it's just poor judgment.

As the temperatures go up in the Southwest, so do worries about wildfires.

CNN's Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on that from our Weather Center -- Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, unfortunately, Kyra, temperatures are definitely heating up.

This is a look at our current numbers right now. And you can see the areas in red and orange on your screen. That indicates some very warm numbers here for Texas, Oklahoma, even back towards Colorado and into Kansas. And that's the area we're watching today for fire danger. In fact, as we take a look at the map for today, what you will find is, we are looking at not only warm temperatures, but a lot of wind coming through. I'm going to go over here and switch the computers, so we can show you some of the wind gusts that we are looking at around the region.

You will find that most of them, right now, into Colorado, not too bad. But head over towards Kansas and down through Oklahoma, into Texas, we have got winds coming out of the south, 24 miles per hour. The gusts are higher than that. I just checked the current wind gusts in Amarillo, Texas -- 30 miles per hour, so, some very strong winds. We had fires in Texas over the weekend.

And, once the winds get going throughout the afternoon, unfortunately, if we get any sparks, these winds can spread them about. We also have very dry conditions, with low relative humidity, across a good portion of the desert Southwest.

Now, as we look towards tomorrow, unfortunately, the critical area for fire danger will exist over the same place it does today, into Texas, into Oklahoma, and also parts -- a small portion of Kansas and Colorado, but mostly into New Mexico and this region here, right over the Panhandle and into northwestern sections of Texas.

Once again, the heat will be building. We will also be looking at warm conditions. And with this area of disturbed weather, this area of low pressure working its way to the east, it will kick up the wind. And we have our trough right through here, meaning some strong winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere.

And, unfortunately, that may kick off the potential for more fires right here in this region in this part of the country.

Another area we're watching very closely for tomorrow is Northern California for the potential for flooding, especially here towards the Fresno area, Modesto, near San Francisco, and down further to the south as well, where we could see a flooding potential to exist, with a strong storm system that's coming on shore for California, so a lot of wind to contend with in the Southwest, and then wet weather towards California -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Bonnie Schneider, thanks so much.

Well, a lifesaving journey from Iraq to the U.S. -- baby Noor isn't the only Iraqi child whose life will be changed by the kindness of strangers.

LIVE FROM has this baby's story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Real men, we know they don't eat quiche, but we had no idea they hide out in spider holes. This is one of the Iraq's real men, at least in the view of Saddam Hussein's eldest daughter.

In an interview on the satellite network Al-Arabiya, Raghad -- Raghad Hussein also praises her undershirted uncle Barzan Ibrahim and all the other men standing trial in Baghdad for alleged crimes during the old regime. In her words, they illustrate the honorable image that represents our country.

Well, another Iraqi child is capturing hearts in America. You may remember baby Noor, brought to Atlanta late last year for lifesaving treatment, at the urging of U.S. troops. She will stay here for a few more week, though her father and grandmother have already gone back.

Now a similar story in Tennessee. A 10-year-old Iraqi girl born with spina bifida, the same birth defect as baby Noor's, will undergo surgery in Knoxville tomorrow. Her life would have been much different had it not been for Ted Ousley and his family.

They join me now live from Knoxville.

Great to see all three of you.

Gunner, how did you find out about Ghofran?

TED OUSLEY, HOSTING SICK IRAQI CHILD: Well, on the station I work in, in Knoxville, WIVK Radio, we have a weekly broadcast with Tennessee soldiers.

And during one of the broadcast with the 278th -- they were live from Iraq -- they told us about this little girl. Her dad had actually carried her into the camp on his back, seeking help. And they said, is there anything we can do?

So, we started the process rolling.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

So, you came back. And -- and tell me how you helped raise the money and generated support. And, now, here she is.

T. OUSLEY: Well, here in east Tennessee, we call it good old east Tennessee hospitality.

(LAUGHTER)

T. OUSLEY: We raised the money through our church, the First United Methodist Church of Maryville, Tennessee.

They totally -- totally are funding this. And East Tennessee Children's Hospital, that's where they are getting treated. They are at the hospital right now. They are providing all the surgeons, the doctors absolutely free. So..

PHILLIPS: Wow.

And, Samantha, we're looking at these pictures of you and your -- your new friend. Tell me what it has been like gaining, I guess you could say, a new sister, right?

SAMANTHA OUSLEY, 8 YEARS OLD: It has been good.

PHILLIPS: What have you learned from your new friend?

S. OUSLEY: She taught me how to speak some Arabic.

PHILLIPS: Really? What did you learn how to say?

S. OUSLEY: Stuff like horse and cat and dog.

PHILLIPS: Yes? Can you say "I love you" or "Hi, how are you?"

S. OUSLEY: No.

PHILLIPS: Those are too difficult. OK.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: That will be the next lesson.

OK. Why don't you tell us, how do you say dog?

S. OUSLEY: (SPEAKING ARABIC)

PHILLIPS: Oh. Very good. Very proud.

And, mom, you must be so proud. This has not been only pretty amazing to see what your husband has done, but you have taken in the little girl and helped tremendously. And you have seen it -- you have seen her make such an impact on your own daughter.

LAURA OUSLEY, HOSTING SICK IRAQI CHILD: Oh, yes. It has just been so positive on my daughter and educational. We have -- we have learned so much from these people. They're very special people.

PHILLIPS: Well, Laura, how has Ghofran and this whole set of circumstances impacted your family? And -- and talk about how she has specifically impacted Samantha.

L. OUSLEY: OK.

They have -- their -- their culture is so much around themselves. I mean, it's more -- it's not just sitting and watching TV, like we are so used to doing. They are more used to talking and actually speaking to each other, more than we do.

And I think that has been a very, very positive effect for our family, and especially for Samantha, because growing up and hearing the foreign -- the language and seeing how these people are, it's just -- it's so educational for her. It's -- it's hard to put into words, until you actually are there to see it. And it has let us see what Iraqi people are like. It's -- it has really brought them to life, I mean, really.

PHILLIPS: No, it's true. The Middle Eastern culture has such a beautiful sense of family. And they're -- they are so good to one another. And, Samantha, as I look at those pictures of you and Ghofran, it looks like you have grown up together. You're so comfortable with each other. And she is very loving, isn't she?

S. OUSLEY: Mmm-hmm.

PHILLIPS: And -- and tell me what you have been able to teach her. I know you have been learning Arabic. What have you taught her?

S. OUSLEY: I have taught her, "I love you."

PHILLIPS: You did? You taught her how to say it?

S. OUSLEY: Mmm-hmm.

PHILLIPS: Aww. Do you say that -- do you tell each other that you love each other?

S. OUSLEY: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Are you worried about her?

S. OUSLEY: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Yes? But everything is going to turn out, yes?

S. OUSLEY: Mmm-hmm.

PHILLIPS: Do -- have you visited her in the hospital?

S. OUSLEY: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You have.

S. OUSLEY: Mmm-hmm.

PHILLIPS: And, Gunner, what has that been like, just to see how Ghofran is doing? And is -- is she holding up OK? Is she nervous?

T. OUSLEY: You know, the -- the major surgery starts early tomorrow morning. And, you know, they have been with us now for over three months. And, so, we took them over there as a family.

And -- and I -- I would just like to really quickly say that, you know, a lot of folks, when they were talking about this, a lot of other Iraqis said, you know, the Americans are never going to get this one girl over here. They are -- they are never going to do this. A lot of folks on the other end in Iraq told them that.

And just the fact that, yes, we did and we're helping, you know, I -- I guarantee you, the word is going -- the word is going to spread over there.

PHILLIPS: No doubt. It's such a beautiful message.

T. OUSLEY: Yes. PHILLIPS: And all of you have talked about how Ghofran has a big heart.

Well, among the three of you, boy, I don't think you can get much more love in that room.

The Ousley family, thank you so much for your time.

T. OUSLEY: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We will follow the progress of Ghofran. Will you let us know how she does?

T. OUSLEY: Yes, we will.

PHILLIPS: OK.

Samantha, you have -- you have been very good to your new little sister. You keep supporting her, OK?

S. OUSLEY: OK.

PHILLIPS: OK.

Bye, you guys.

T. OUSLEY: Bye.

L. OUSLEY: Bye.

PHILLIPS: Well, your paycheck could probably use a few more zeros. But the man running this company has more than you would believe -- a look at CEOs and their VIPs, very impressive paychecks, coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's enough to bring a tear to Dagwood's eye.

The world's most expensive sandwich went on sale in London today. Check this out. Served on specially fermented sourdough bread, layers of black truffle mayo, fresh fois gras, and Wagyu beef imported from Japan.

This whopper is actually called the MacDonald's sandwich, after the chef who created it, Scott MacDonald. It's no value meal, though -- price tag, 148 bucks.

Poor Katie Couric. You may have heard her new gig at CBS will pay her about $15 million a year. If only she were a CEO. Some of their paychecks contain nine figures. That's $100 million or more. Who could possibly be worth so much?

Well, our CNN's Ali Velshi, of course.

(LAUGHTER) PHILLIPS: He spent a lot of time with one of the CEOs on this list, right?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the number-two guy on the list, Bruce Karatz, who is the CEO of KB Home. We have been talking for years about home sales in this country. Remember I used to do the show "THE TURNAROUND"? It was a small business makeover show.

PHILLIPS: I remember. Whatever happened to that show? We need to get that back on.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: It was a -- it was -- it was a, you know, great success.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Maybe we should get your buddy...

VELSHI: I'm going to get you the...

PHILLIPS: ... your buddy Karatz here to -- to pay for the show again.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Yes. No. Exactly.

Look at that. Look what his -- his compensation was. This is his total compensation for 2005, $163 million. And I went out there to L.A. And I spent a few days with him last year, and a really down- to-earth guy, rides a motorcycle for fun, as I do. So, that was -- that was good. We were going to go on a -- on a ride. We didn't do that.

PHILLIPS: Why did...

VELSHI: I should have.

PHILLIPS: Yes. You should have taken advantage of that.

VELSHI: Well, if I had seen this information then...

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: Now, here's the thing.

PHILLIPS: Did you know he was this rich?

VELSHI: You know, he had -- he has been making the top of these highest paid lists for a while.

And -- and the thing about it that is interesting is that, when you take the -- the highest pay -- Now, he -- he was $163 million. If you look at a -- the number-one guy, the -- the CEO of Capital One, the credit card company, $280 million -- in every case, on the -- on the list of the highest paid, the money came from the exercising of stock options, mainly.

The salaries are generally not that high. In fact, the highest salary was the CEO of Cendant Corporation, a little over three million bucks. And some of it is -- is bonuses, but most of it that, to sign up these CEOs, they give them a lot of stock options. And these CEO hopefully bring value to the company. The stock goes up, and then they exercise these stock options. And that's where the bulk of the money comes.

PHILLIPS: So, what -- what is a day like for -- for someone like that? Is it meeting after meeting after meeting after meeting? Are they really making all the pivotal decisions? Is this more of a -- I mean...

VELSHI: They are -- they are -- you know, every one I have spoken to -- and I have -- I have interviewed a lot of CEOs, and I have spent some time with -- you know, beyond the length of an interview with -- with some of them -- they all seem to be very much type-A personalities. They all get up very early in the morning.

They all read a great deal. Almost all of them exercise. Usually, running is what they do. And -- and they all work a very, very long day. They work in the car to the airport. They work in their planes. They work everywhere they go. I haven't seen one of them who is particularly relaxed.

But, you know, that's the compensation for it. If you're -- if you're going to get that kind of money, they are going to work really hard. I -- I -- I have met most of them. I mean, we all run into people who we think are overpaid for what they do. But, you know, Bruce Karatz, for example, does well. And -- and a lot of companies say, that's what you have to do to attract the best in order to run your companies.

PHILLIPS: So, in -- in -- anywhere in the article that, when it laid out how much money each one of these individuals make, did it talk at all about charity? Or do they do anything else with that money, besides the fancy cars and the planes and the homes?

VELSHI: They do -- they do tend to be pretty big on the -- on the charitable side, on a couple levels.

One is, they serve on boards of charities, which allows those charities to attract more money by having these CEOs. So, in other words, they tap their friends to -- to donate to certain causes.

The other thing is, when you're earning that kind of money, you're having someone do your accounts for you. And it is beneficial to be giving money to charity. So, they tend to be large donors. So, they're philanthropic on their own. But it -- it is actually unwise, if you're -- if you're bringing in that kind of money, not to be giving.

So, you will find, typically, that these people do donate a lot. In fairness, Kyra, so do Americans. I mean, Americans generally are -- are -- are good givers. But top-earning Americans tend to be very good givers as well

PHILLIPS: Well, you're good with the -- with the numbers. Can you figure out what someone like Fairbank would pay in taxes? Take a look at that salary. What do you think?

VELSHI: At 280 -- well here's the interesting thing. Zero is salary. He gets none of that money as salary, none of it as bonus; $250 million is money that was -- stocks that were sold, and he realized the gain. There will be taxes to pay on that.

And, then, the rest of that is sort of potential value of other stock options. So, on 250 million bucks, you know, I'm going to have to talk to an accountant about that.

PHILLIPS: OK. Yes, the numbers are so big.

VELSHI: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Ali Velshi, thanks. We will see you when we get close to closing bell.

VELSHI: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, it is being called a national day of action -- live pictures from Washington, D.C., and New York right now, as we continue to cover the massive rallies around the country.

The news keeps coming. We are going to keep bringing it to you -- more LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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