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CNN Sunday Morning
Is Economy Getting Better?; Obama Meets With President of Brazil
Aired March 15, 2009 - 08:00 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, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this March 15th. It's 8:00 o'clock in the morning here in our headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. It's 7:00 a.m. in West Memphis, Arkansas.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN ANCHOR: West Memphis, Arkansas?
HOLMES: Yes.
ROESGEN: Just in case you're wondering what time it is ...
HOLMES: Yes.
ROESGEN: ... in West Memphis, Arkansas.
HOLMES: Central Time, it covers the whole central.
ROESGEN: Yes, I know. In Billings, Montana, what is it? Mountain Time?
HOLMES: Yes, is it -- it's like what -- 6:00?
ROESGEN: It's an hour earlier, 6:00.
HOLMES: All right.
ROESGEN: All right.
HOLMES: Hello to you all.
ROESGEN: Yes. I'm Susie Roesgen. I'm filling in for Betty Nguyen this weekend. And we're really glad you're here with us.
We do have a lot of news to get to this morning. Big story in Pakistan: Riots have been going on all day there. It's late afternoon now in Pakistan. The government police have been clashing with the demonstrators in Lahore, in particular.
Several different groups are protesting for several different reasons, but all of them say they're unhappy with the government of the new president. Pakistan's opposition leader is supposed to be under house arrest. He says he's not. The government says he is.
But in the meantime, the police have not been able to get a handle on this demonstration.
HOLMES: Also, breaking story we got this morning out of Miami. Police say it's a murder/suicide. Four people found dead in one home and another location in another home, they find somebody else who's dead. We'll continue to get more information about this. We expect it in the next hour. As we get it in, as it trickles in to us, we will pass it along to you.
But I want to start with these two words for you, "cautious optimism." All right, it's not that great but, still, that's something. At least it has optimism in there, and people are maybe starting to look at more optimistic about this economy, including the president. He admits, however, there is a tough road ahead before this economy recovers, but his administration is pointing out we're starting to see some glimmers of improvement. You can also call them glimmers of hope.
The Dow and S&P, both posted gains four consecutive days last week. Also, Citibank and Bank of America, this was a big story because they say they are in better shape than they thought and that they don't need any more bailout money. Citigroup also said that it absolutely was in the black the first two months of this year. G.M., meanwhile, says it doesn't need as much money. That's something.
Republicans are not really buying all this good news just yet. Overall, still, a little critical of the president's ambitious policies.
We want to head on to Washington, D.C., where our Paul Steinhauser is keeping an eye on everything political -- and a lot to keep an eye on.
We know, Paul, that being president is a 24/7 job. But we're not used to seeing really the president necessarily have a lot of events and things on Sundays, but we know he's doing something on this Sunday about the economy. What's he up to?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: He sure is. And, you know, T.J., we're both working this weekend and as you mentioned, so is he.
This afternoon, he'll be at the Oval Office. He'll be meeting with economic advisers House and, of course, there's plenty to talk about with the budget. He needs to get to Congress next month and the G20 Economic Summit next month in Europe as well.
Also, yesterday, we saw the president met with the Brazilian leader. And they talked about the economy as well. President Obama said that talk that the U.S. and Europe are not on the same page when it comes to battling this world -- global recession is not true. And we also heard Vice President Biden talking pretty optimistically yesterday about the economy as well. So, that is the message this weekend, T.J. HOLMES: The message at this weekend, the message next week probably is going to be something similar. But the specific things he's doing this upcoming week about the economy, what do they have on the plate?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, the top two guys are on the road. President Obama on Wednesday will be in Santa Ana, California. He's holding an economic summit with people out there. And, of course, California has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country; it's over 10 percent now.
The next day, on Thursday, you're going to see Vice President Biden, as part of his middle class task force, he will be in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, again, talking about the economy and getting the message out that, yes, there are tough times ahead but things are going to get better.
HOLMES: And Republicans, in the meantime, how do they combat? I mean, they have some issues with the president and some of his plans, some of his policies, but, of course, he has that big ole microphone in front of him when he speaks. They are trying here to get a message out.
What is it necessarily? What avenues do they have available to them to try to combat what they say are bad policies by this president?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Since they don't really have so much -- especially in the House of Representatives, they don't have much power in the Senate, they have a little bit more, but you're right. Their only outlet right now is to get out to the media.
Yesterday, we heard in the Republican response to the president's weekly radio address, the same theme from Republicans that this president, while we want him to succeed in fixing the economy, they feel he is spending too much -- too much money. Just spending masses amount of money that is going to unfortunately fall to our children and grandchildren, they have to pay off this debt. The same message also as well that this president is taxing too much and borrowing too much. That is their message.
While the Democrats, they have this new Web site, the Democratic Party is up with a new Web site calling the Republicans the "party of no," and that is how the Democrats are fighting back that they say all of the Republicans are doing, the top Republicans in Congress are saying -- no, no, no. Republicans say -- listen, we're saying no to all this massive spending because it is not going to help, it's only going to make matters worse, T.J.
HOLMES: Paul Steinhauser, keeping an eye on this for us in Washington, as always, we appreciate you. Paul Steinhauser is a friend of our show here on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING -- it's always good to see you, buddy.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks, T.J. ROESGEN: If politics doesn't make your blood pressure go up today, how about this? You know, AIG, that's American Insurance Group, the big insurer that sort of put the whole bailout business in motion, the CEO of AIG is saying that he's going to have to give bonuses. He says he has to do that because he's bound by legal obligations to give people bonuses, even though they are getting, what, $170 million in bailout money?
The CEO, Ed Liddy, has written a letter about this which CNN has obtained. Here's a little bit of it. It's a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
He says, "Needless to say, in the current circumstances, I don't like these arrangements and find it distasteful and difficult to recommend to you that we must proceed with them. With the benefit of hindsight," he says, "I would have designed this different and at significantly lower levels." He says, "I am committed, however, to working within the existing arrangements to get the most out of them for AIG's constituencies."
So, Ed Liddy, the CEO of AIG is saying that the bonuses have to go out. He says some of those bonus payments will to go out today but he is promising in that letter that we obtained here at CNN that he's going to reduce the bonus payments this year by 30 percent.
HOLMES: Well, everybody is looking for a solution to this global economic crisis. What about this solution? More regulations, more oversight. That sounds pretty good? Well, that sounds good to the finance ministers and bank officials who've been meeting at a G20 Summit in England. This G20 meeting has been happening a little outside of London.
The group there says there should be an increase support for the International Monetary Fund. That's the IMF, also, the Asian Development Bank. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says -- hey, we need to get together on this thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: You are seeing the world move together at a speed and on a scale without precedent in modern times. All of the major economies are putting in place substantial fiscal packages. The stronger the response, the quicker recovery will come. And that's why the United States has passed the largest, most comprehensive recovery program in decades.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, this meeting this weekend laid the groundwork for April's meeting of the G20 world leaders that will be talking place around April 2nd. I do believe it is.
All right. So, let's show this. You have to do this. All these big meetings, you got to take this class photo. These are all the G20 finance officials.
You've been hearing G20 a lot. You're probably wondering, maybe what exactly does that mean? What is it?
Here's a little G20 101. The group was created back in 1999. It made up of 19 countries, the world's leading economies. Also, the European Union. So, 19 plus one equals what, Susie?
ROESGEN: Twenty.
HOLMES: Very nice.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Well, the group's focus has been to promote international financial stability. The G20 meeting in England this weekend, again, is just teeing up April's summit of G20 leaders.
ROESGEN: Of course, they are talking about much bigger numbers than 20 anyway.
HOLMES: Oh, yes.
ROESGEN: Yes.
Now, the big demonstrations on the streets of Pakistan, that's a big international story today and it could have big implications for our policy in Pakistan.
You see some of the scuffling there. There had been protests in Islamabad and Lahore. Pakistan, as you know, is a huge ally, supposed to be our ally in the war against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. But the police apparently detained an opposition leader there and that opposition leader is in a struggle with the current president of Pakistan.
Hundreds of lawyers, the lawyers have been protesting before. They are protesting again. They're going to have what they're calling a four-day march and going to wind up at the parliament building tomorrow. So, there may be some more demonstrations tomorrow. The lawyers are insisting that the government restore some judges who were ousted by the former regime of President Musharraf.
Five people are dead in what the police are calling a murder/suicide in Miami. The police have found four bodies now behind a home. They think it's a domestic situation. They got a call about more gunshots and a fire nearby.
And they did find the alleged gunman. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot. Investigators say it may have been a domestic dispute, and it may have involved a birthday party.
HOLMES: All right. So far, so good, if you look at NASA's Web site, maybe. I don't know if they have a departure schedule there. But right now, the shuttle Discovery, they said, is on time for an on- time departure this evening. Here's a live look at it down there in Florida, just resting right now.
The initial launch is supposed to happen on Wednesday, it got scrubbed because there was a hydrogen gas leak which sounds pretty darn important if you're trying to go to space. NASA says they have fixed the leak and the shuttle is good to go. Discovery is headed to the International Space Station and going to drop off a Japanese astronaut, also going to be dropping off some supplies for a solar power system.
ROESGEN: And did you know, T.J., that the longer that sits there, the more orange the fuel tank you can see? You know why?
HOLMES: The more orange it gets.
ROESGEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Why is that?
ROESGEN: That foam on the external fuel tank actually tans.
HOLMES: All right.
ROESGEN: It's made out of ...
HOLMES: It tans.
ROESGEN: It really does. It tans, it gets darker and darker. That's why when you look at a shuttle launch that's been delayed as this one has, it gets very dark. And it could be very dark orange. But when it first comes off the assembly line in Louisiana, it's white.
HOLMES: So, just like us, if we're out in the sun too long ...
ROESGEN: Yes, we get tanned.
HOLMES: We get tanned. They do, too. I don't think they have enough suntan lotion, Reynolds, to put on that.
ROESGEN: Not for that thing.
HOLMES: To put on that big thing, not to much.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, I mean, you'd need one heck of a spray bottle to take care of that.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: But, you know, Daytona Beach is right up. I'm sure you could go on more than surf shops and they need to be taken care of, they'd be more than happy to.
HOLMES: Well, they say they have the leak fixed, Reynolds, but the other part of it is the weather. Is the weather going to permit them to take off as well?
WOLF: You know, right now, so far, so good, T.J. I mean, you'll see right there in that picture beyond the tower, you can notice a few clouds here and there. That's what they anticipate it's going to stick around to a good part of the afternoon and into the evening. The launch is expected, as you guys may have mentioned, at 7:43.
Let me show you something on our computer models. We're going to zoom in right to the Sunshine State where we are expecting more sunshine. But farther to the north, as we take the next minute or so, you'll noticed some scattered showers way far to the north, away from the launch site -- easy for me to say -- so conditions should be fine. We're looking at about an 80 percent chance of a launch, at least in terms of the weather cooperating.
Weather is sort of cooperating and I guess you could say in parts of the southeast. I mean, in Atlanta and parts of Georgia, we've been desperate for the rainfall. Today, we've been getting those scattered showers. Still, there's a flood watch in effect for a good part of the state of Georgia through tomorrow.
So, that is certainly going to be a concern. Low-lying areas and places with poor drainage, you could have some rough issues in terms of the potential of flooding. Flooding conditions in parts of, say, the rivers in the Midwest, river levels continue to drop. That's certainly some good news. Still, they got the cleanup to deal with. And we see another storm system coming into the Pacific Northwest and could bring some heavy snowfall to the mountains, to the Rockies, the Bitterroot (ph) of Montana, perhaps even the Cascades before the day is out.
With temperatures mainly in the 40s for part of the northwest, New York and Boston mainly to the 50s, 44 in Washington, D.C., 65 in Dallas, 79 in Phoenix. As we wrap it up, your high in Miami not bad, 81 degrees, the city of Tampa with 85.
That's a look at your forecast. Let's send it back to you guys.
HOLMES: That sounds outstanding.
ROESGEN: That sounds so nice!
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: It's cold and rainy today here in Atlanta.
ROESGEN: Yes.
WOLF: Guys, just think about it -- a couple of months, we're going to be in the 90s.
(CROSSTALK)
ROESGEN: OK. Then we want to go to Alaska after that. Yes.
WOLF: Exactly, that's what I'm saying.
ROESGEN: OK. Thanks, Reynolds.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, appreciate your perspective.
WOLF: You bet guys. ROESGEN: So, they have the big auditions for "America's Next Top Model," the most beautiful women in America, maybe, but not that pretty at the audition. People are arrested. People went to the hospital. We'll show you what happened.
HOLMES: Yes, take a look at this, folks. This is a camera from up above here, if you will. But -- well, take a look at this. Like you just said, maybe some of the most beautiful people around wanted to be models, ugly behavior -- just ugly behavior.
ROESGEN: Yes, right.
HOLMES: But this started, this is one of these auditions -- this is one in New York outside of a hotel. And I usually try to, you know, go hang outside these things. Just to see what's going on.
ROESGEN: Oh, yes, right. Yes, and make your pick.
HOLMES: Well, I'm reporting actually.
ROESGEN: Yes.
HOLMES: There's always a story to be -- why are you laughing?
ROESGEN: They're competing.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Well, six people were actually hurt in this thing. Not too seriously but some actually had to go to the hospital to check in. Nobody really knows what started this thing.
ROESGEN: Right.
HOLMES: Why it started in the first place. But competition is always stiff on that show, we understand.
ROESGEN: I hope they protected their faces. What can you say?
HOLMES: Yes. That's very important.
ROESGEN: There's going to be more tryouts, some more tryouts. Let's not hopefully have this kind of thing again in Dallas and Chicago and L.A. So, you can hang out in those three cities.
HOLMES: Well, now, it looks a little scary now.
ROESGEN: And bring your reporting.
HOLMES: They can riot police at the others, I do believe. But, Chicago, let us know how it goes when you go back.
ROESGEN: Oh, yes. Yes, I'll be there.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we're going to talk about a gold rush here. A lot of people, you do what you got to do, but can you believe people are taking the gold fillings out of their teeth now to try to make end's meet? We'll show you some of these new creative ways people are trying to make end's meet in these tough times.
ROESGEN: Yes, when the Dow is down, the gold goes up.
HOLMES: The gold is up.
ROESGEN: Also, a spider bite. Not a spider bite that gave one guy superhuman strength but we'll tell you how a spider bite led to his being able to walk after 20 years in a wheelchair.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Everybody needs to make a few extra bucks these days. Maybe you got some old jewelry laying around? You got that old ring? Old kinked up necklace you could get rid of and you can return, cash it in? Stop with the jewelry.
The jewelry -- people are making money with this right about now. You could actually sink your teeth into a good deal. That's quite literally. Other people are doing this. No joke here.
CNN's Carol Costello explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sent him my diamond wedding ring from my first marriage and got money the very next day.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We've all heard the cheesy commercials.
ED MCMAHON, TV PERSONALITY: Now is the time to send your unwanted gold for cash.
COSTELLO: Who knew so many would take Ed's idea and run?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your 14-carat.
COSTELLO: Selling gold has been, well, a gold mine for places like U.S. Gold Buyers in New York.
JOSE CAVA, U.S. GOLD BUYERS: Business is very good. Business is very good.
COSTELLO: Business is good across the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $500.
COSTELLO: From a gold-selling house party in Connecticut ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four, five, six, seven.
COSTELLO: ... to the gold booth at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are 10-carat.
COSTELLO: Gold sellers say it's insane. Customers say, hey, times are tough.
LEROY ENGLISH, SOLD GOLD NECKLACE: I got some extra gold laying around the house. I need a little money for the gas tank, you know? For the table. So I said, well, I'll go down and get some cash for it.
COSTELLO: And they are willing to give up everything and anything to pay the bills and I mean anything.
CAVA: We get a lot of necklaces. We get a lot of class rings. Dental gold is big, a lot of people sent in their dental gold.
COSTELLO: He isn't kidding. Back in the '80s, gold fillings were the rage. Today, yanking them out is.
CAVA: We ask customers not to send in the teeth, the enamel. On this case, this gentleman sent in some items like that and we end up knocking off all the enamel. Yes, it's pretty gross out, it's in somebody's mouth, but at the end of the day, it's going to turn to somebody's ring.
COSTELLO: Don't laugh. Defending on the quality of the gold, you could get 45 bucks a tooth. If it sounds desperate, it is.
CAVA: When you have, like, bills to pay, and some other emergency expenses, then you're just trying to catch up.
COSTELLO: If you're wondering if it's worth it to sell your valuables, Cava says it depends how much you love the item you're giving up. Once it's melted down and molded into a gold bar, you can't get anything back but cash.
CAVA: On the average transaction for a necklace, you're looking at above $200 and up depending where the market is trading at. If you're talking about a higher quality of necklace like 24 carats, you could be looking at $900 and up.
COSTELLO: Not a gold mine but more than enough to pay the electric bill, at least for a month or two.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three hundred fifty-two (ph), 353, 354.
(on camera): Cava says he has a 2.5 percent profit margin. So, on a $700 payout to a customer, he makes around $17. But he says he makes up for it with the volume of orders he's getting nowadays. Now you know.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Well, all this week, CNN is going to be focusing on different ways to help you get through the economic crisis and put more money in your wallet. Our special coverage of "Road to Rescue: A CNN Survival Guide" starts tomorrow morning. In every newscast here on CNN, around the clock, we will bring you information that should help you brave the economic tough times.
HOLMES: All right. We have a live interview coming up with the former Vice President Dick Cheney. Not us. It's not our interview. It's John King.
He is coming up at the top of the hour. He does, in his show, "STATE OF THE UNION," coming up at the top of the hour, a live interview with the former Vice President Dick Cheney, his first interview since leaving office. John King is going to be along live here in just a second to preview it for us. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: So, John King will be talking live right now, today live, not a tape interview, a live interview ...
HOLMES: Yes.
ROESGEN: ... with former Vice President Dick Cheney.
John, what are you expecting to ask him? Giving him some hardballs?
JOHN KING, "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: Susie and T.J., good morning to you.
Look, this is his first interview since leaving the vice presidency, his first television interview since leaving office. It's exclusive for us on "STATE OF THE UNION." So, we're very excited.
If you listen to President Obama just about every day, he says, look, I inherited this mess. He blames the Bush administration for the depth of the economic crisis. We want to talk to the vice president about that
The new president has changed dramatically U.S. policy in terms of Iraq. He said he's going to bring the troops home. He has a very different policy about fighting the war on terrorism. He's going to close down Guantanamo Bay.
Vice President Cheney before he left office said he thought that would be a mistake. So, we'll also talk the war on terrorism and we'll also talk life after politics.
Remember, Dick Cheney wasn't the vice president for eight years, he was in the first Bush administration in the cabinet, served in Congress before that. He was Jerry Ford's chief of staff back in the '70s. So, 40 years in Washington. He's now on the outside looking in. So, we want his personal observations as well. It should be a fun chat.
HOLMES: All right. And like you said, it's going to be live, coming up at the top of the hour for "STATE OF THE UNION." Also, I know you're going to be talking about a lot of politics this morning. You just mentioned that line about Obama. Pretty much you can't hear him make a speech about the economy without using that line, "I inherited this recession."
KING: Right.
HOLMES: But something else you can guarantee he is saying, at least lately in every speech, is the word "confident" or "confidence" or "optimistic." He is changing tone a bit -- different tone coming out of the administration now.
KING: Without a doubt, T.J. In the final days of last week and pretty much throughout the last week, the administration was saying, look, a lot of big problems, a lot of challenges; it's going to take some time. But they believe and they're beginning to make the case, they're trying to take credit. You know, Wall Street was up four days in a row last week, not since November has the market closed up, had a little bit of a rally like that.
Will it continue? That's probably the big question folks are asking around the breakfast table this morning. And the administration is trying to make the case that the stimulus package is beginning to kick in and that their economic policies are beginning to restore confidence in the financial markets.
It's a bit of a risk there. One week does not a recovery make. A bit of a risk if the market goes down again and the economy struggles that people will start to say, "What happened, Mr. President?"
But they have decided at the White House to shift to that more upbeat, more optimistic tone, trying to take a little more credit for the beginnings of some good signs anyway and also, beginning to say, T.J., Susie, that, you know, look, the Republicans keep saying no. They should be supporting the administration more.
ROESGEN: Right. And when you say, you know, up week, one week does not a recovery make -- I think he's hoping that everybody has a short attention span. So, we're up, we're confident today.
HOLMES: We will take it.
ROESGEN: We'll see what happen next week.
HOLMES: We'll take it.
John, we appreciate you as always, and looking forward to it at the top of the hour. Again, Susie and I, the warm-up act for the big show ...
ROESGEN: Oh, yes. We are.
HOLMES: ... coming up at the top of the hour.
ROESGEN: All right, John. HOLMES: "STATE OF THE UNION," 9:00 o'clock Eastern Time, right here. Again, it's about half hour away. And he has live at the top, former Vice President Dick Cheney.
John King, we'll be watching. Good to see you, man.
ROESGEN: And then the kind of odd story that we're going to have right here, a warm-up to John King.
HOLMES: Yes.
ROESGEN: Something to think about the next time you see a spider in the closet.
HOLMES: Yes, a spider bite may have helped at least get a guy to where he needed to be and then he discovered he could walk for the first time in decades. No kidding. He hasn't walked in 20 years. A spider bite, he ends up walking.
We'll explain. Those details -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: And welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Live from CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Susie Roesgen, filling in today for Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. We're glad you could be here.
How does it sound to you? AIG, which got billions in taxpayer bailout funds, is going to be paying out $165 million in bonuses to its highest paid workers. However, insurance giant says it is legally obligated to do so. However, they are saying they will scale back such pay in the future.
They have gotten $170 billion of federal bailout money. Earlier this month, AIG reported losing $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter. That is the largest loss in corporate history.
ROESGEN: Other news this morning, Altovise Davis, the widow of entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. has died. Her publicist says she died yesterday at a Los Angeles Hospital two days after a stroke. She was a dancer and an actress in her own right when she met Sammy Davis Jr. He died of throat cancer in 1990. Altovise Davis was 65.
HOLMES: Well, the President is filling another vacancy in his administration this weekend. He named former New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to lead the Food and Drug Administration. Now, despite this appointment, our senior political analyst Bill Schneider tells us there are still vacancies and the administration is looking for actually a lot of good people.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Unemployment has been rising but there is one place that's having trouble filling positions -- the Obama administration. Of nearly 500 high-level appointments that require Senate confirmation, only 34 have been confirmed so far.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are -- we are continually looking for good people. We're continuing to get them through a very rigorous process to serve.
SCHNEIDER: Actually, the Obama administration is ahead of where the George W. Bush administration was and nearly equal to where the Clinton administration was at this point.
GIBBS: I'll refer again to many of those statistics that demonstrate that we are ahead of the game in filling critical positions.
SCHNEIDER: This week saw the new Labor Secretary sworn in.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hilda Solis will demand to be heard. Ladies and gentlemen, why do I repeat that phrase? We have not heard much from this department in a long time.
SCHNEIDER: That leaves three cabinet level nominations still to be confirmed: Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Health and Human Services and U.S. Trade Representatives. That's more unconfirmed cabinet positions at this point than for any of the last five Presidents.
Deputy Secretary, is the number two job in each department, 12 out of 15 Deputy Secretaries have not yet been confirmed. The Treasury Department is facing the biggest challenges.
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Critical parts of our financial system are damaged and are working against recovery. This is a very dangerous dynamic.
SCHNEIDER: But 17 out of 19 top Treasury positions are still vacant. The job is getting done, the White House says.
GIBBS: What's been done in a few short weeks with the Treasury Department exceeds anything that might have been imagined just a few years ago.
SCHNEIDER: Why is the Obama administration having such a tough time filling jobs? Because it's imposing tough standards and appointees are facing tough scrutiny. In recent weeks, we have seen four people withdraw their names from consideration for top Treasury Department positions, including two for Deputy Secretary.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Next month, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Mexico to support its crackdown on the drug cartels. And the issue has gotten a lot of attention lately because the violence has got a lot closer to the U.S. border.
Just yesterday, in fact, the bodies of seven men and two women were found in the desert near Juarez, Mexico. The police are still trying to identify the victims but they had all been tortured. And Juarez as you might know is right on the border of U.S. border there right across from El Paso, Texas, and Juarez is becoming a hot bed for cartel violence.
HOLMES: Well, the Sundays are numbered at 52 Catholic parishes around Cleveland. The diocese will close 29 of its 224 parishes, the reason we are up to that number 52 is because others will have to merge together. The churches in the area have been losing followers and also loosing priests. And right now, nearly half of these Parishes are operating in the red.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR LUCY KOLIN, RESURRECTION LUTHERAN CHURCH: It's our testimony to ourselves and to the public that we have a God who never forecloses on anybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A God who never forecloses on anybody. Well, now it's time for you to mix some politics here in with a little religion; a passionate conversation on the issues.
This one a little different it's about a Lutheran Minister and many other religious leaders taking on Capitol Hill. For our "Faces of Faith" this morning we are talking to the Reverend Lucy Kolin.
Good morning to you Reverend Lucy Kolin. We appreciate you being here. You are watching all this foreclosure mess. Apparently you don't feel like not enough is being done by maybe some of the politicians out there, the policymakers, so you have decided to do something yourself. What are you doing?
KOLIN: Well, most recently, I was part of the recovery express which was a busload of 50 leaders -- faith leaders from California and all across the country that traveled through eight of the hardest hit cities, cities hardest hit by foreclosure to bring a message of hope and challenge.
Hope to people who have already gone through foreclosure who are facing it very soon, and a word of challenge and encouragement to the Senate, in particular, to take on bankruptcy reform and pass it.
HOLMES: So this is the way, really, you were trying to draw attention to the issue and also lend some support. But I guess as far as getting into some kind of tangible result, are you hoping to do that as well? It sound like you are going after some of these policymakers.
KOLIN: Yes. We're leaders from an organization called PICO, People Improving Communities through Organizing. We represent one million families across the country and foreclosure is an issue that is very -- at crisis proportions in many of our cities and neighborhoods.
HOLMES: You say crisis proportion there. We always throw out, unfortunately, sometimes you just hear these numbers. And you went out there and you're looking at these faces and seeing some of these stories but oftentimes some of those personal stories get lost in those numbers.
Do you think that not enough is being done and sometimes, unfortunately, it's too much that we lump people together as a statistic of the foreclosure crisis?
KOLIN: I think the stories need to be told and, no, there's not enough yet being done. We're really grateful for the first big step that President Obama took in announcing the housing program, but those programs which banks can use to perform loan modifications are -- don't have any sticks with them. It's voluntary that banks use those guidelines.
HOLMES: Yes.
KOLIN: So we want to see bankruptcy reform. If a bank won't work with a person working in good faith, then they would have the opportunity to go into court and see if the judge can make that loan modification for them.
HOLMES: Ok.
KOLIN: But ...
HOLMES: Go ahead. Finish your point. Please.
KOLIN: Well, we just want to be sure, too, that the whole population that is affected by foreclosure is addressed. We have a particular interest in seeing that communities of color and low and moderate income folks -- make sure that they are protected since they were the folks most affected by predatory lending.
HOLMES: Well, Reverend Lucy Kolin, and certainly a good cause there to take up. And we appreciate you you're bringing the attention and I appreciate you on what you're doing, and as also, going across the country and, again, telling more of those stories instead of us just lumping sometimes these numbers into statistics.
There is a story and a family and a face behind all of those numbers. Reverend Kolin, thank you so much for being here this morning and good luck as you continue your work.
KOLIN: Thank you very much.
HOLMES: All right -- Susan.
ROESGEN: Well, this next story sounds like a comic book fantasy. T.J. and I have been talking about it all day.
21 years ago, a motorcycle crash made a guy a paraplegic. His name is David Blancarte. He's in California. And a few months ago, a brown recluse spider bit him. And he had to go and get medical help for the spider bite and he had actually eight months of therapy.
And sometime in there a nurse noticed that his leg was twitching, one of his legs was twitching and that's when he said he felt a jolt like electricity going through his legs. Days later, he was walking after 20 years in a wheelchair.
Now, he is crediting the spider bite for waking up his nerves but the doctors say there probably wasn't anything to that. Don't go looking around in your closet for a spider to bite you. Or your mailboxes or something like that, don't do that.
They say it was sometime in the therapy when the doctors noticed that he did have some feeling in his legs and now he's walking. So now you know.
When President Obama proposed longer school years, you can bet that students across the country had a thing or two to say to him about that. We'll get their reaction in our "Extra Credit" report coming up.
And a reason for you to do your homework when it's time to fix your car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So you and I look at this and we see an engine. Well, some mechanics out there look at it and see an opportunity to rip you off. What you should watch out for. We've got the answers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, I want to give you a face that folks out there, you parents -- you might not know the face but your kids certainly do.
ROESGEN: Oh yes.
HOLMES: This is the man in schools across the country. Carl Azuz, with CNN's Student News is going to be with us every Sunday.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: I appreciate you how you totally committed me to every Sunday. Two little words every Sunday and that means I'm waking up early.
HOLMES: But with CNN's Student News, to a lot of people and this might be news to some of our viewers but not to a lot of students out there. So explain this right quick and then we'll get in to more of the top.
AZUZ: You got it, we are a ten-minute commercial-free news of the day program available for middle and high school students. We are actually available to anyone, you can find every show we've done so far this year on cnnstudentnews.com. Also we are available on HLN and we broadcast at 4:00 a.m. Monday through Friday and we are available as a free downloadable podcast on ITunes; also commercial-free and cost-free.
ROESGEN: I wish we had that one. When I was in the high school you have something fun to watch you know.
HOLMES: Me too.
AZUZ: And you can't be saved by the bell.
ROESGEN: We mentioned going into the break that President Obama is talking about longer school days and longer school years, right?
AZUZ: And actually I have a sound bite coming up from the President on that. But that was one of his five-tiered education proposal we heard last week.
Now, he doesn't have the power to actually implement these proposals; that's largely up to the state. But he did have some suggestions on how he thinks the education system in America can be improved. I want you to take a listen to this sound bite really quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas but the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Ok, the President admitted that wouldn't be ultra popular particularly with Sasha and Malia and, surprise, surprise, it wasn't ultra popular with our student audience. We have a few blog comments for you. From our blog at cnnstudentnews.com.
Dylan wrote, "It won't help if there is anymore school because kids will dropout. A lot of people were afraid more students would dropout." He was saying, "Plus kids would missed out on sports."
We had a comment from Mr. Mensink's class. Students and teachers sounded off on this, they said, "Making the day long would have a negative impact on after-school activities and students with jobs after school. The cost of school would go up dramatically if we have longer school days.
And then Sean got both personal and professional. He wrote --
"Carl how would you feel if you had to record CNN Student News for more time every day and I'm sure you're tech crew wouldn't do too well either," he said and then he wrapped that up by saying, "Think about the kids."
HOLMES: Think about the kids.
ROESGEN: Oh yes. HOLMES: We've got to think about the kids. Now there's so much that comes up in policy and politics and with President Obama. But do you find -- I mean, you cover all of those stories but when you find with something like this, the kids can really key in on and they start to pay attention a little to more. And maybe you're getting reaction on this because hey, they know that directly affects them.
AZUZ: Absolutely, anything T.J. that happens in the schools tends to generate a lot of traffic on our blog.
HOLMES: Yes.
AZUZ: They mentioned it on our Facebook page as well. Anything that's directly relevant to them is something that's going to get a lot of reaction from them. And what always amazes me is the breadth of their comments. They are usually -- you know they run the game but they usually split 50/50, though not on this issue.
AZUZ: Yes, they are. They're very quick.
HOLMES: I want to get to a couple of quick shout-outs from our Facebook page. We had Ms. Johnson's social science class from "Way out in mid-Nebraska," write in on the official CNN's Student News Facebook page.
And I want to give you a quick shout out, it's a segment on our show. Students and teachers are always trying to get on. one goes out to Mr. Saleeby's College Government Class in Franklin County, Virginia. So we thank you all for watching Student News and for watching us here on CNN on Sunday morning.
ROESGEN: Yes, we've got to it -- everybody in class an A, right?
AZUZ: I hope so, I told them if it were up to me, I would give everyone an extra credit.
ROESGEN: Of course.
HOLMES: Now a lot of people, students, now before you go, how can people get that shout-out? People are loving that, people just love shout-out. But how can students do that?
AZUZ: We have a lot -- a ton of requests coming in. But if they want to logon to our official Facebook page, you search CNN Student News official, they'll find the wall like your Facebook page T.J. and they can write their comments on there. And I'll try to get to them on Sunday mornings because I'm on every Sunday.
ROESGEN: Every Sunday morning.
AZUZ: Thanks to you, T.J.
HOLMES: All right, it's "Extra Credit" again, with Carl Azuz every Sunday, here with us on here on "CNN Sunday Morning." Carl, we appreciate it. Everybody is going to be looking for you now.
AZUZ: Thanks so much, T.J.
ROESGEN: Yes. No turning back.
HOLMES: Don't thank me.
ROESGEN: Well, if you're looking to save a few bucks, and who isn't, maybe you should check under the hood of your car.
HOLMES: Yes, it's going to help you here to avoid some costly scams and also some costly mistakes. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: You know, when times are tight, nobody wants to go out and buy a new car. Ask all the car dealers out there with zero percent financing and all that kind of stuff. A lot of people are just trying to keep their car going, keep the clunkers working and maybe to a 100,000 or 200,000 miles without needing a whole lot of repairs.
HOLMES: That's tough to do but if you maintain it over time, you know, change the oil like you're supposed to, supposedly, it will last.
ROESGEN: So they say.
HOLMES: Supposedly. But you also have to get a good mechanic. There are tons of them out there. The overall whelming majority we're sure are honest and reliable but you know there are some out there who are trying to scam you.
Josh Levs is going to help you avoid some of those scams right now. This is information everybody could use because people are trying to stretch those miles a little farther.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Have you guys ever done that? Have you guys ever made a car last to 200,000?
HOLMES: No
ROESGEN: No.
LEVS: I'll be happy if I make it to a hundred with the one I got right now. But here is the thing. I talked to a guy from "Consumer Reports;" he's this expert on automotive issues including how to fix up cars. He gave me these great tips on avoiding mechanics, scams -- I'm going to say off the top, we know not all mechanics will ever try to scam. Lots of them are great. But the fact is, some might give it a shot.
He gave us great advice about avoiding that. So we've taken that; we boiled it down to 90 seconds for you.
Here we go. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON LINKOV, CONSUMER REPORTS: One of the things you want to look out for is the serial parts replacer -- you know, the person who's constantly replacing a belt. Or the person who's always saying, "You got to replace your battery again. Your battery is draining. It's bad."
If that's happening -- you're constantly replacing the same part over and over again or a bunch of parts and it's still not causing the problem to go away, you want to talk to that mechanic first off or fire them and find someone new.
Another rip-off that you might see is what is called a flush. You go into the service center and they say, "We really think we should flush the oil out of the engine. We should flush the radiator and get all the fluid in there." They use a power machine that just basically rips everything through, sends all the fluids out and replaces it with new fluids. Unfortunately, that knocks the sediment out of the radiator or the engine or the transmission and that can cause problems down the road.
One thing people have to know is that you don't have to go to the dealership to have service performed. You can go to an independent mechanic to have the regularly scheduled maintenance performed. In the car you have your service manual. It says the 12,000 service, the 30,000 service, the 45,000 service and a list of what has to be done. You can save about $200 to $300 in some cases by going to an independent rather than the dealer.
The final thing that you really should look out for is the severe use cycle. We all really drive in a normal average use cycle where there's stop and go traffic on the highway and in and out in the city but a lot of times the dealer will say, "No, you're in a severe use. You need to have a more aggressive cycle on getting your car maintained." Instead of having say 7,000 mile oil changes because you're using a synthetic, they want you to replace every 3,000.
Where they make money at dealership nowadays, it is in service. Not up front when they're selling the car, it's in service in the service department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: See, I love that. Bim-bam-boom. Everything you need. Speeding up through it. Check it out. The Web site you're showing you right there cnn.com/autos. It's right behind me on the screen right now.
There you go. You can you see it over here and talks you through all sorts of automotive stuff. In case you weren't taking notes just now, we should talk. It's up here at cnn.com/video and I've also posted a link over here, the Facebook page, joshlevscnn. Hopefully guys, it will help people avoid get scammed in the future.
HOLMES: Yes and people that was an interesting way he just put there. They're not making money by the sale of the car but they make so much of it by getting you in the service department.
LEVS: The dealer getting to you some come back for all of those services.
HOLMES: That is something.
LEVS: Yes, they have to get you.
HOLMES: Yes, that's something to keep in mind.
Josh, we appreciate it. Thank you so much.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
ROESGEN: And coming up next, finding home sweet home in a flood of foreclosures.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: In this economy, you know, some house hunters are trying to benefit from other people's misery. Many people are touring foreclosure auctions now trying to find a deal for themselves. They don't always get one.
CNN's Tom Foreman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the port town of Portsmouth, a few hundred souls are searching the shipwrecked economy for gold, lining up bid at auction on scores of foreclosed houses -- bad news for some.
DARLENE SHELTON, PROSPECTIVE HOMEBUYER: It's a very nice neighborhood.
FOREMAN: Good news for others. Like Darlene Shelton a government worker who rents, but wants to buy a place to share with her two grown daughters, one in college and one laid off from a teaching job.
What do you like up here?
SHELTON: Well, the porch is nice. With some renovation, I can just turn this into a sit-out screened porch. It needs a lot of work, but it's nice.
FOREMAN: RealtyTrac says more than 5,000 homes in Virginia went into foreclosure in January. And here, just as it is all over the country, that is bringing out investors, developers, hopeful families.
Trent Ferris sees them all.
TRENT FERRIS, REAL ESTATE DISPOSITION, LLC: The fact that they're here, they see an opportunity. And that's really what this is, is a phenomenal opportunity. FOREMAN: Well, this is a big house.
SHELTON: Yes.
FOREMAN: Darlene, divorced, but recently remarried, spends most of her time at her husband's place in D.C. But having a house in her hometown for her girls matters, so she's picked out two possibilities.
SHELTON: They have done some work in there to it.
FOREMAN: It's tricky. She's not been inside. She's hoping they will go for $25,000 to $50,000 each. And she's failed before.
FOREMAN: The two times you have tried this, you haven't gotten a home yet.
SHELTON: No, nothing that would fit my budget and something that I feel like I could really fix up and put together.
FOREMAN: Do you feel lucky today?
SHELTON: Well, yes, I do. Yes, I do.
FOREMAN: At the auction, the big bidders hit hard, snatching the best properties. Darlene waits, watches, and then...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's start the bidding.
FOREMAN: ... her houses are up. And, for Darlene, the third time is still not charmed. Each goes for twice as much as she can afford.
SHELTON: Yes, it happened very fast. And, you know, the bids, they start off at, like, $1,000. Then they jump to $50,000. So, you don't get a chance in between to go...
(CROSSTALK)
FOREMAN: You were out almost as soon as it started.
SHELTON: Yes.
FOREMAN: But she vows to be back, like many of the others, who are rebuilding the real estate market one bid at a time.
SHELTON: Well, I -- I have faith. Look, I feel the economy -- I know it's going to come back up.
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, Portsmouth, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Good for her.
HOLMES: Yes. A nice story to see this weekend. "STATE OF THE UNION" is coming up next with John King. That's just ahead this morning. He has an exclusive interview with the former vice president Dick Cheney.
ROESGEN: And it is Cheney's first television interview since he left office on January 20th. Don't miss it.
HOLMES: All right.
Before we get to that, I've got a quick check of the headlines here for you.
President Obama bringing his advisers to the White House today. They are talking about the issue that's on everybody's mind, the economy, of course. The president has been trying to spread a more upbeat economic message as of late.
Also, clashes to tell you about between police and protesters in Pakistan this morning. That erupted as anti-government protesters began protests and demonstrations began after police tried to detain the leader of an opposition party. Some protesters are demanding that judges who were removed by the former regime be restored.
Also, out of Miami, five people dead in what police are calling a murder/suicide there. In Miami, police found four bodies behind a home early this morning. They also found the alleged gunman at another home. He was dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators say this may have been a domestic dispute.
Just some of the headlines there for you.
But right now, John King, "STATE OF THE UNION," with the former vice president.
