claiming the report lowballs the savings. >> that's a damming report. >> s the report is in conflict with the cbo report which says the bill brings down the cost of a healthcare over the years, especially in the second set of -- i'm sorry, in the second decade. i think that this -- >> neil: that is better than just a bunch of numbers guys, i asked my doctor for medical advice, not an accountant. this is a body within health and human services. >> correct. >> neil: submitting a report that the health and human services secretary had to say not quite. >> actually, i don't know it's weird. here's the issue. the report is not just full of bad news. it confirms, though, some positive things that it extends a solvency of medicare for an additional nine years, which was not the case prior to the report. it also talks about other cost savings in the report. here's the -- >> neil: you say it doesn't appreciate the cost savings. >> here's the flaw, it doesn't take into consideration changes to the tax code that are in the bill. if the report doesn't take those into consideration, the numbers will be conservative. >> neil: you can't pick and choose couple they picked and chose. >> neil: they put everything in there. >> they chose not to include the tax code. >> neil: they said 14 million will lose employer coverage. >> they say might. >> could be sent to medicaid, the result to businesses is $87 billion in penalties, 5 billion in the high risk pool is already capped out maybe as soon as next year and 15% of hospitals could be closing. any one of those doesn't happen -- >> a lot of those challenges that are pointed out in this report were challenges that we were aware of. the bill takes steps to recognize fi the challenges. >> neil: wait. >> the bill firms it puts $11 billion to expanded community health centers. that adds additional capacity for people to go to the hospital. >> neil: so you have -- i've give you that. more community health centers but fewer hospitals. >> the reality is hospitals are for emergencies. we need to move people away from the hospital as the primary point of care. >> neil: congratulations, you're going to do it -- >> the hospitals are choked because people don't have insurance so they go to the emergency room. when you -- by giving them insurance they don't need to go to the emergency room. we all pay taxes every time someone goes to the emergency room. >> neil: so 50% of hospitals closing. i guess what i'm nervous is about is how could they be so off? >> because they didn't. >> neil: all i'm saying, you and i discussed this before, there were a lot of unintended consequences. >> the bill saves $577 billion. the out years that the bill will save more. >> neil: it said it will increase $311 billion and the healthcare would go down. it's going to be up. >> but healthcare, because we're covering more people, so there will be a growth in services for those people. also, remember, the bill gives doctors bonuses to go into healthcare. the bill also -- >> neil: here's what i see happening. you're a lot younger than me, thank goodness, but i've heard this song before. and when medicare started, when -- you weren't even born. was i just a spitten the, starting at $65 million. >> right. >> neil: it's a half trillion dollars program now whose lease on life has been ex continued bid another ten years. >> another ten years, thanks to the bill. >> neil: fine. all i'm telling you, that puppy started at $65 million. it's now a half and trillion. >> we have baby boomers. no one knew we were going to have this many kids. >> neil: fine, okay. we can't predict how people pro create. but here's what i'm saying. if we got that wrong to the tune of $65 million program. ultimately would carry a half trillion dollars tab, then using that rough math on a trillion dollars healthcare package, who is to say it's not going to become 20 trillion. >> there are cuts in medicare to con strain the growth of medicare. that's part of what the bill does. also the bill -- >> neil: every in healthcare went up. including medicare it itself, including the percentage of which healthcare took over the gdp. i'm not dismissing some values in medicare, i'm telling you it started as a little puppy and became could kujo. >> we didn't expect the baby boomers but that population affected all our economy -- >> i agree with you say we have a new population boom or not. the rule of thumb, with unintended consequences, darkly with government spending, is it's always more. when we brag about what we're saving, i think you can get enough from this that all of these things that this report warns about, let's say they don't all happen. you're right. but even if a couple happen, the math is way off. >> but neil, the problem is the report warns about things the bill has fail safes to address the very thing the reports warn about. they warn about -- >> neil: so the -- all right. okay, but here's the irony. to take a bragging point from sebelius, there are cost savings including the penalties companies pay because they opt out of the program because it saves them more than -- >> more than providing insurance. >> neil: so we brag about the 87 billion dollars we're getting from guys who opted out because its more money for the program. >> what about small business tax cuts, the fact that if you're a small business owner and have 25 employees or less you're eligible -- >> neil: 14 million, the report expected by -- >> the report says could. it does not say it's going to happen. >> neil: you're right. but i'm saying that when they see the train the way it's leaving the tracks now, that is the direction we're going. then maybe we have to readjust some things. >> , no the president -- the president has been very clear. he says we hit row before you bg the way. >> this isn't a row bump, it's a cliff. >> no, these are things that might happen but it doesn't consider the -- there are actions in the bill that addresses. >> neil: love you dealerle darrellly, it's the twilight zone cookbook. >> we're happy for the tax breaks to do the right thing. >> neil: i had the complete twilight series, i'm going to give it to you. >> the current system is unsustainable. we were going off auto. >> off a cliff. >> neil: good to see you. republicans are saying i told you so. they've been warning about this, including my next guest, eric cantor. what do you make of this. >> this is just bad news that keeps on come being this bill. you know, we -- our argument all along was we need to do a -- we need to affect healthcare reform in a modest way that can be economically sustainable. first a focus on saving costs for taxpayers -- >> neil: but congressman, what if my guest was right and things are things that could happen but there's enough good here that negates that, you don't buy that? >> you know, cms has an independent channel sis, a nonpartisan independent figure which came out and said this bill will increase healthcare costs over the next ten years by $311 billion. and we also -- i think the most frightening news is the statement that perhaps the medicare program could be put in jeopardy because number one, there's over 500 billion -- over a trillion dollars of cuts to medicare. 50% of the seniors who have medicare advantage right now, which is the choice piece of medicare, will no longer have that. we also see language in the report which says that hospitals and other providers won't be able to continue to participate because of the structure of the bill. again, we said all along, trying to do this transformational change a trillion dollar bill which will cost an additional $311 billion -- >> neil: but your point's well taken but flip that around. if the argument is we don't need as many hospitals if we move to the health community centers that a lot of democrats and those that signed off on are bragging about. maybe net, net good. >> if you remember over a year ago we were at the healthcare summit the president hosted. he started the discussion saying we need to bring healthcare cost down but we have to make sure people who have healthcare coverage they like can keep it. this report right there goes to the heart of those matters. number one, it says we're not bringing down costs and, number two, it says that millions, millions of americans, will no longer be able to have healthcare they know because of this bill. so right away we see a little less or over a month from the passage of the bill promises broken, so you hear the republicans saying we need to repeal and replace this bill with the kind of healthcare americans want which is lower in cost, providing -- >> neil: that's an uphill fight. repeal is an uphill fight. >> clearly, but we have got to go and set the goal out there that we need to repeal this and replace it with healthcare that works, not an unsustainable dream that will bankrupt this country. >> neil: eric cantor a pleasure. thank you. >> thank you, neil. >> neil: arizona governor set to vote on the immigration bill. we're on it and all over it. forget wall street, the watch dogs at the sec have been watching this. oh, yeah ♪ [ music ] >> the inspector general who uncovered this, well, so to speak. >> neil: bernie madoff almost got away with it and we may know why. the folks at the sec were watching this. ♪ [ music ] any questions? >> yeah, lots of them. like porn, why were so many watching porn? according to a memo, some senior staffers at the sec spent more time looking at pornography than fighting crime. one guy in excess of 8 hours a day and he was the top attorney. reportedly visiting website like naughty.com. u porn and skank wire. all right. with us, the guy who uncovered this, so to speak, the sec inspector general, david kotz. this builds on early fears this was just something limited to lower ranking officials, but it went up the food chain. do you know how many were involved? >> we found instances, as we said, 33. i know of 31 in particular since i joined the sec as the inspector general in the past 2 1/2 years. 31 instances in the last 2 1/2 years. some were senior officials. >> neil: through the last 2 1/2 years? >> since december of 2007, we've found -- issued 31 reports. some were senior officials. >> neil: that's what makes this somewhat different than prior reports. people in the senior positions are looking at this. were the ones i would think were on top of this but they were on top of something very different. now, how prevalent was this? >> there were only those cases so i wouldn't say it was throughout the commission. the concern we had was not so much with the number, which was only 31, 33 individuals, but with the severity of those instances and the agreesousness. >> neil: do you know if the people involved were fired? >> action has been taken in different cases, different things happened. in some cases people resigned after threat of termination, some people were removed, some were suspended, some were reprimanded. >> neil: were any of the higher-ups involved in this in key positions to decide issues likes how to proceed against a bernie madoff or how to proceed against brokerage officials getting scrutinized. >> we did not find case of anyone involved in the guesting investigation of madoff or allen stanford also viewed pornography. some were enforcement officials involved in cases that should have been brought or worked on rather than having folks sit there and spend several ours a day looking at pornography. >> we did get a statement to the sec. each of the offending employees has been disciplined or is in the process. we will knoll tolerate the transgressions of the very few who bring discredit to thousands of hard working colleagues. is it your belief that has stopped? >> well, i can tell you certainly that chairman shapiro has take a taken a strong policy against this and come down hard against the individuals we've identified as invite -- violating the rules. in the area days there was resistant but chairman shapiro is taking it seriously and taking action against the individuals we're catching. >> neil: we're just getting word that house oversight and government reform committee's daryl isa sent awe letter requesting you initiate and independent investigation regarding action against goldman sachs, have you received this? any -- do you want to comment on that? >> yeah i have received a letter. and we do intend to conduct an investigation. at the request of congressman isa. >> the issue is the timing of the release of that news, right? >> right. >> neil: is it -- is it a problem if people were given a heads up on the release of that information, the sec dis avows that and says that's not the case, but is there anything wrong if that were the case. >> we have to look at the facts and figure out what happened. we need to understand what led to the decision to announce or bring the case on that day. see if there was any undo influence involved. and so we'll look carefully to investigate. >> neil: all right, david kotz, always good seeing you, thank you. >> thank you. >> will she or won't she in the arizona governor making the decision of her life on a controversial immigration bill that made it to her desk. will she sign it or toss it. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir? boss: come on in, i had some other things you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh... boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. >> bipartisan independent commission to help solve our fiscal crisis. >> bipartisan fiscal. >> bipartisan, bipartisan. >> bipartisan. >> in case you missed it republicans are part of the president's debt of reduction commission. it meets for the first time monday. already one of the democrats saying a vat, value added tax, which is a national sales tax, is on the table. >> mike huckabee says the president can't avoid blame. former g.o.p. presidential candidate, host of huckabee with me now. zoo good to see you. >> this is coming, i'm convinced it's coming. >> if we go to a value added tax it will kill a lot jobs, businesses will fold up and go away, we'll become more like europe culturally and financially. there's no transparency. every loaf of bread or gallon of gas or pair of shoes, they'll pay more. they'll be mad at the manufacturer and store and it willing the government they should be mad at. >> they argue its cheaper than what the europeans do. >> that's because europeans have a socialistic form of government but we're getting there. we're just trying to run at fast as we can to catch up so government is everything to us. the europeans had a high vat, but we have a high income tax that's about to get much higher with the expiration of tax cuts. >> neil: what if you use this to negotiate. >> cut the -- >> neil: we won't raise the top rate as much or at all or stall it if you go along with the vat thing. >> it's a bad idea because of the hiddenness of the tax. once installed you can lift it a quarter point, half a point, a point. the taxpayer never knows he's been fleeced. this is the ultimate pick pocket scheme on the part of the democrats if they pull this off. >> neil: governor, another -- you're not in office but governor brewer of arizona is going to decide on the immigration thing, whether she signs it into law or not. she's kind of in a tough situation. >> she's in a very tough spot. politically she needs to go along, the legislature overdid it. 70% want it passed. it's going to open arizona up to a plethora of lawsuits. >> neil: that's the scene in arizona right now as we wait to hear from the governor. go ahead. >> i think its just a fact that you'll have so many lawsuits that it will be very, very costly to the state of arizona. and here's the real challenge, i feel for governor brewer, who i know and have great respect for, this is a federal problem. the feds ought to be picturing this, ought to be standing guard at the we border and enforcing federal laws. when a state has to jump in and take on federal laws, they don't have the money resources or the personnel for this. and the legal quandary is substantial. >> neil: what are you doing this weekend? >> well, for one thing we have knute gingrich and also a fascinating guest, elena fernandez, daughter of fidel castro, and we'll talk to her about what she sees in cuba, she's now an american living here in the united states as a citizen. loves freedom and realizes that the ideas of let's passuality around is not -- wealth around is not all it's cracked up to be. >> neil: we're getting a warning. waiting to hear from governor brewer and governor huckabee is kind enough to stay, actually he doesn't have a choice. guess what, you're staying. >> yeah. >> there's a flip side of this is that there will be the racist charges that you're pulling people off the rod -- road because they look hispanic or foreign so they look illegal. and -- >> that's my concern. that's why the lawsuit will pour in. the first time you have a bona fide third generation american citizen who gets pulled over for documentation and the perfectly european looking white person doesn't get stopped and turns out he's a british citizen, it will be one lawsuit bonanza za that's inevitable. what is the means by which they pull someone over? >> you have to profile everyone or no one or you have to have problemmable cause, something other than your color. there's got to be a broken taillight, not wearing your seat belt. you have to have something other than you look funny. >> neil: actually, something that's supposed to encourage cracking down illegal immigration, if officers are getting concerned or the department are getting sued, they might pull back all the more and not pull anyone over. >> i always try to say what if they were me. fy pulled over because i looked a certain way, i would be offended. there are many hispanic american people who have a right to be unhappy with the idea they might be pulled over. it happened to many of african-americans, crime of being black. >> neil: you've heard the congressman saying this is so all of, what could happen, that he's encouraging businesses not to come to arizona. >> that's the kind of thing that starts rippling. you don't want to see that, arizona is a wonderful state. the tragedy is you have people overrunning borders, committing crimes, murders, kidnappings, they can't let it go. why the heck doesn't the federal government do something to stop the hemorrhaging of illegal immigration crass those border. until you seal the border, none of this means decidedly squat. diddley squat. you have to have control on the front and back door. governor is coming out right now. >> good afternoon, everybody. thank you all for being here to join me as we take another step forward in protecting arizona. bill i'm about to signed assign into law represents not tool to work to solve a crisis we did not the create and the federal government has refused to fix. the crisis caused by illegal immigration in arizona's poorest border. this bill, the support law enforcement and safe neighborhoods act, strengthens the laws of our state, protects all of us, every arizona citizen and everyone here law fully while ensuring the constitutional rights of all in arizona remain solid, stable, and steadfast. i will now sign senate bill 1070. >> neil: all right, as kind of expected, when the president of you state attacked this measure, it looks like governor jan brewer is going to sign into law what was easily passed in both houses of the arizona state government, a measure to crack down on illegal immigration. the governor saying she had no choice in this matter. that the feds kind of dropped the ball as governor mike huckabee indicated. we're now from sheriff paul, the president of the arizona sheriff's association and is among those supporting the governor's actions today. she have, good to have you. what do you make of this? >> thank you, it's welcomed. crime is out of control here in arizona and we in local law enforcement,s sheriff's, we need this as a tool. we hear about people talking and even governor huckabee mentioning if he was hispanic and was pulled over for such a thing, he would be upset. that's not how we roll. >> neil: how do you do that, in order to ward off the critics and those who will file suits, how do you deal with that? how are you going to implement this law? >> well, we use reasonable suspicion and building up to probable cause. if you're speeding, or if we your your license plate and it's insurance suspended we pull of you overand i ask for your driver's license, registration, proof of insurance, if you give me mexican national identification, that's a clue in law enforcement. so. >> neil: that will be a tipoff. but what i'm asking is this argument that a number of immigration groups raised here, that you -- if you see a group of hispanic men gathering in an area, that would be cause enough. what do you say? >> well, fourth amendment rights are in force, this is it america. we're the guys enforcing the law. in the absence of federal action, that this is -- it's off the chart that we would still have to get into asking those questions and building up to that point. if we asked the same questions as cops two or three times -- the reason we do that, to see if you answer the same way, if you don't, there's our suspicion. we ask for identification. and at that point, now, a lot of cities like chandler or mesa, they restrict local officers from asking these questions. >> neil: could i ask you -- i'm sorry, is there any situation where you could envision some of your guys might be getting a little gun shy, no pun intended, and say, you know, i don't want anyone dragging me to court or my department to court. i'm really going to just go easy on this. so this crackdown might actually go the other way? >> not at all. 17% of these illegals have criminal records already in our state. that's why we have the highestc. what this will do is now -- i only have 15 of my deputies certified in 287g, cross certified at federal agents, now i'm going to have 220 deputies now able to do some of this work. they build up to that reasonable suspicion and we get on the phone and call ice or the border patrol to come in and assist us. that's how we solve this. >> neil: back to gunshot back to governor brewer, taking questions. >> officers from and i quote, solely considering race, color or national origin in implementing the requirements of this section. end of quote. the bill requires it -- i quote again, shall be implemented in a manner consistent with federal laws regulating immigration, protecting civil rights of all persons and respecting the privileges and immunities of the united states citizens. end of quote. while the general protection was already included, i believe the issue is so important, we need to make it crystal clear. i believe we need to inscribe it in the statute. words in the law book are of no use if our police officers are not properly trained on the provisions of senate bill 1070. including civil rights provisions. >> neil: we're watching governor jan -- she's gone ahead and signed on a law that was passed by overwhelming margins in both branches of cracking down on illegal immigrants. that is begun to raise concerns about whether racial profiling will be the sort of law of the arizona land. we heard from the governor and from a top sheriff who says that will not be the case but the battle has been joined want. >> things are looking good in jerry and howard's neighborhood. very good news for you. hi, we're the campbells. here's what we can do with 4g from sprint. using the overdrive 4g mobi hotspot, jimmy's playing some video game online, jenny's video-chatting with a friend, nd i'm downlding a huge presentati. and while that's happening, we'll enjoy some family time. 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[ male announcer ] experience 4g from sprint. it's more than a wireless network. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities, it's a wireless revolution. access www.sprintrelay.com. >> neil: through the roof. new homes sales soaring 27% last month. biggest jump since 1963. long island, for example, prices and sales rising sharply. dolly says that's a good sign. one of the top real estate brokers in the cribs year in and year out. good and bad markets. you've been standing out from your brethren because you've not been drinking the kool-aid. you've not been convinced things are turning. did this change your view? >> this mace it rosier. it doesn't totally change the view. it has to last. it can't be one statistics. >> i looked at the number -- we're going to get to your specifics but this is buoyed by the expiration of the housing -- no question. we'll pay for it in the summer. >> neil: do you argue the top end is doing well, the rest does well? >> there's some trickle down but it's not tremendous as a result of the lack of financing. in the old days that was a lot. >> neil: you indicator to that crowd. -- cater to that crowd and it's percolating, particularly in the hamptons. southampton, a 34 1/2 million dollars home on the market. >> on the ocean, lovely home, right on the beach in a beautiful location. >> neil: is it going to get that rice price? >> no but the high 20s. >> this is a $1.6 million property. >> this one closed. >> neil: it did? >> did it get the asking price? yes, it did. >> neil: now it is 4 1/2 million dollars deal. >> this is a terrific house in the estate section, lee afternoon. >> neil: but not on the ocean. >> no. >> neil: that's a big deal there. location within location. >> the highest sale price this year was off ocean. >> neil: this -- only $9 million property. >> right by the ocean, a great location, a great house. and we're -- >> neil: who is buying these homes? >> mostly financiers. >> neil: goldman guys? >> i'm sure there are. >> neil: what about any entertainers or in other words are people getting back to spending on these big place as soon as. >> they're making decisions with money and saying i want to spend my summer somewhere. the volcano is making me not want to go to europe. >> neil: doesn't that kill you? >> can you imagine? >> neil: there's more interest. >> a lot more. >> neil: how do they get financing? >> through private banks. >> so their own little banks. >> not so little. >> neil: really? >> yes. >> neil: it's their own little world. >> it's a nice world. >> neil: you're part of it. dolly, thank you very much. realtor for the stars. i thought we were out of time. i had to ask you a nagging question about new york. i had a theory on big cities. we're told rents are going up again and that could be a precursor to a comeback in real estate. do you buy that? it's a buy versus rent snare. most people do that, so definitely, if rents go up, people decide to buy. always the case, yes. >> neil: so there's enough dots here to connect that real estate's coming back. >> th coming back but it has to stay back. on the other hand, one quarter -- in other words, one quarter does not the year make. it's a question of continuing to hold the trend. will we continue to hold the trend is the question. >> neil: your gut, yes or no? >> through november and the election, we'll possibly hold a trend. afterwards, we'll see. >> neil: good stuff. dolly lens. could we soon see president obama swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? blagojevich hopes so. >> will the new report on healthcare cost be the deciding factor in the elections? frank luntz thinks so. frank is here. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. >> neil: joe biden on the wires saying he's confident we're going to be adding somewhere between 100 and 200,000 jobs next month. he says this is what he predict. the economy was in trouble in march, even some in the white house say don't get ahead of yourself but that doesn't stop the vice president. >> former illinois governor rod blagojevich is sending president obama a subpoena. blago's lawyers -- he's an interest guy -- requesting the president to testify on charges the governor tried to sell once senator obama's vacant seat. the president has taken a stand and can again. >> it's an odd case neil because the president figures in it two ways, as a fact witness because blagojevich's investigators and lawyers found someone senator obama called the day before election, saying after i win i want to be replaced by valley jarrett. that places senator obama in the middle of the chicago style of choosing who gets plumb offices. the other reason they want him to testify is governor blagojevich's lawyers want the jury to under the nature and culture in chicago politics. this is a sordid tale. one blago said this is good as gold, did he really want cash for himself in return or want political benefit? i've got something worth a fortunate, was he selling it for money or did he mine he could get federal dollars for a bridge. that's quid pro quo. who better to establish that defense than the president. >> neil: quickly, governor brewer signing this immigration bill. >> she's going to bankrupt the republican party and state of as. >> neil: what happens? >> hispanics who have a natural home in the republican party will flee in droves. she's going to bankrupt her state because no insurance company will provide coverage. for the lawsuits that happen and people wrongfully stopped, her budget will pay for t the budget will pay legal bills of the lawyers suing those who stopped. this is a disaster for arizona. to say nothing of the fact it's so unconstitutional, i predict is federal judge will prevent arizona from enforcing t problem his tomorrow. >> neil: wow, judge. a new report says healthcare costs will tick up under the new healthcare law but could it tick off voters in the upcoming november elections? to the guy who knows, frank luntz. what do you think? >> president barack obama has a problem. when he was making promises thaw get free healthcare in the weeks just before the final vote, a lot people took him as his word. what is not reported is how many thousands of people flooded phones of the hospital and healthcare providers saying for free healthcare. now you hear from people with healthcare they have to pay more to cover those who aren't going to be covered and everybody's taxes are going up as part of the process. you get a angry electorate. >> how angry? we have reports it's a bloodshed this november, others say is won't be as harmful. >> i know from the focus groups, i have to instruct them do not use four letter language. i don't want the fcc sending a note to fox, take charlie cook, one of the experts. every time he reevaluates the senate seats and house seats he reevaluates them closer to a republican majority and more seats up in the senate. harry reid, every survey shows him losing double digits. leader of the senate doesn't get defeated. it only happen with tom daschle in 2004. american people are angry and healthcare will add to it. >> democrats say that well, the trend economically is our friend, if joe biden is right on expecting the -- we're going to create 200,000 jobs a month, that could be a good wind at their back. >> it is a good wind, but up to a point. look, how much money are they spending for these 200,000 new jobs? i could give you $10 billion and you could create 200,000 jobs and they would be more likely to last. the issue the american people have is don't punishmy kids. don't tell me i have to pay so much more. don't add additional taxation and regulation and litigation to my life. the anger is not just about the job loss that happened in the last year under the obama administration, the anger is the way that washington ignores and treats americans so poorly. >> neil: could stuff -- good stuff, frank luntz. >> can you picture me managing a health food store? then why is this guy telling these guys how they should run their store? . i'm at the doctor getting my shoulder looked at. as we're finishing up, i mention i'm going to the bathroom more often. he checks it out. good thing. turns out... my urinary symptoms -- such as going frequently, trouble going, flow starts and stops... and going often at night -- are due to bph, also called enlarged prostate. he says or time, avodart has been shown to shrink the prostate, improve urinary symptoms, and reduce the risk of prostate surgery. only your health care provider can tell if your symptoms... are from bph and not a more serious condition... like prostate cancer. do not donate blood until 6 months after stopping avodart. tell your doctor if you have liver disease. rarely sexual side effects, swelling or tenderness... of the breasts can occur. avodart is for men only. women should not take or handle avodart... due to risk of a specific birth defect. today's the day to talk to your doctor... about your urinary symptoms and find out... if avodart is right for you. ún about your urinary symptoms and find out... about all the discounts boswe're offering. i've got. i some catchphrases that'llideas make these savings even more memorable. gecko: all right... gecko: good driver discounts. now that's the stuff...? boss: how 'bout this? gecko: ...they're the bee's knees? boss: or this? gecko: sir, how 'bout just "fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance." boss: ha, yeah, good luck with that catching on! anncr: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. >> neil: you know, it would be like me storming into a ponderosa on buffet night and screaming at everyone online, "put the fork down, step away from the dessert station. "they would take a look at me and just go back to buffet. and who would blame them? what is that they say about those who live in glass houses? don't think of throwing sausages. here you have president obama this week coming to wall street to lecture them on financial accountability, from the guy who has overseen spending of trillions of dollars, preaching to bankers about not wasting billions of dollars. the very same man whose stimulus checks found their way to prison inmates, all but treating his terrified financial listeners as if they already were inmates. a president happy to say the financiers have the public trust but refuse to acknowledge he overseen blowing the public trust fund, who said that bankers needed to focus on products, voters could understand and never once bringing up the myriad of program and spending to this day folks cannot even comprehend. a leader attacking an industry for hoisting mortgages on folks who didn't read the fine print but never saying boo about a massive healthcare plan whose advocates apparently didn't read at all! what is galling about lecturing anyone on reform is refusing to reform yourself. to talk to anyone about paying money back, knowing full well you oversee a government that will only keep hitting them up. me. i'm fed up. with politicians who would sooner point fingers than look at america. all i want to know is -- who polices these guys? who polices the police? the guys who oversaw this mess. whose very financial leaders in congress swore fannie mae and freddie mac were fine when they weren't and they weren't overlending when they were. no. no. no. no. i guess it's easier to make scapegoats than make sense. wall street, my friends, does need fixing. but it's hardly should be coming from the guys who got us into the fix and who are in any even deeper fix. so i say fix you. fix you. okay. that will do it here. one hour from now on fox business network if you don't get -- >> demand it! >> neil: yes!
friend, tony harris. >> oh, brooke, have a great day. thank you. it is tuesday, march 9th. here are the top stories for you right here in the "cnn newsroom." >> i won't drive that car again. period. >> police say a runaway prius hit 90 miles an hour on a san diego freeway. toyota dispatching a technician today to investigate sudden acceleration. the recession ate his job and his home's value in wisconsin so now this man works in texas. a 1,000 mile commute. saving carlos. california's budget crunch leads to a crisis for this second grader. good morning, everyone, i'm tony harris and you are in the "cnn newsroom." he says it just kept speeding up. a prius driver in california says that's what happened when his accelerator became stuck on a san diego county freeway. he says the runaway car took him on a wild, frightening ride. cnn's deborah feyerick is following this story for us and has details. deb, what do you have for us? first of all, i'm wondering had this guy taken his car in to have the brakes fixed. as you know, certain models of the prius were on a recall list. >> reporter: absolutely. as a matter of fact, he says that he did take his 2008 toyota prius in to the dealership, but the dealership told him that the car wasn't on the list. that's the first thing. the second thing is this is the first reported case of sudden unintended acceleration in a prius so this could take the investigation in a whole new direction. it is important, though, because if it is sudden acceleration, toyota now has a car that they can analyze to see what is going on, whether in fact it is the electronic control throttle which a lot of people have been talking about. here's what happened. the driver, cruising along east on interstate 8 outside the san diego area when he says he tried to pass another car. he pushed down on the gas pedal he says and the pedal did something kind of funny, it stuck and would not come up. the car accelerated to over 90 miles an hour. the driver desperately trying to avoid other cars, slow the car, keep it from going over a cliff. he spoke yesterday about what happened. >> my thought was going over the side of the hill because there's too many hills, too many angles. that's why i wanted to shut the car off but there was no straight places to do it and then nobody to protect me from behind. there was a few times that i got really, really close to vehicles, especially a truck twice. once early in the game and then another one when he was on the side of me. came real close. >> reporter: now, the driver managed to call 911 for help. dispatchers tried to tell him what to do, tried to tell him to stop the car and nothing worked. at one point he reaches down and tries to pull up the gas pedal by hand but it stayed right where it was, he says. now, california highway patrol officer did catch up to this runaway prius, using the patrol car's p.a. system he helped him to bring the car under control. >> i was just holding on to the steering wheel with my left hand and down at an angle trying to pull -- just tried to pull it back. i thought it was maybe stuck. i mean my mat was perfect. there was nothing wrong with my mat. and the pedal, it wouldn't do anything. it stayed right where it was. he got up on the side and told me what to do. i was standing on the pedals, standing on the brake pedal looking out the window at him. and he said push the emergency brake too. i laid on both of them. and it finally started slowing down right there. it was down to like 55. it had been at 94, i know that. >> reporter: and you hear the driver refer to the mat. well, in fact his vehicle was on the recall list, the 2008 prius, for the mat recall. now, toyota has issued a statement saying that it has been notified. it is sending a field technical specialist to san diego to investigate the report and offer whatever help it can. these cars do have black boxes, so perhaps they may be able to look in and find out exactly what was causing that car to accelerate out of control apparently. >> you know what, deb, i'm a little confused here. so my understanding that the prius fix was for a sometimes bulky brake situation, that it wasn't for a sticking accelerator problem. is this the first report of a prius having a problem with sudden acceleration? >> reporter: well, apparently whether it's the first report, it's the first one that's being reported publicly. obviously a number of people are so much more aware of what is going on, but in this case when you hear this driver and when you hear the officer from the california highway patrol recount exactly what was going on in that car, it is very consistent with other reports that we've heard. >> it is. >> reporter: so that's what's a little bit scary. the interesting thing is that this driver -- you always wonder, well, there are all these class action lawsuits are people just trying to cash in. but this particular driver, he says, you know, i'm not getting back in this car, i'm never driving this car again. that's exactly what another man who experienced a similar problem in a different model also said. they're so afraid to get back in those cars. >> all right. it's interesting because this is the first that i'm hearing of a recall for the prius that might be associated with the floor mats. we were accustomed to hearing about the recall of some toyota and lexus models, right, having to do with the floor mat and the pedal, but this is the first that i'm hearing of a prius problem related to the floor mats. but maybe that's something we can continue to look into. >> reporter: absolutely. because there have been so many recalls now, that in fact, you know, just pick a category. >> that's sad. all right. deb, appreciate it, but true. let's take a look at some of the other stories we're following for you in the newsroom this morning. amazing and terrifying, look at this. a tornado caught on tape as it sweeps across western oklahoma. check it out. >> oh, look out, it's going to take this house. oh, look at that satellite dish. dish network, here we come. >> we're told the twister leveled at least five homes and other buildings in the town of hammon. it was also spotted in another town. incredibly there's no word of anyone getting hurt. an historic day for the nation's capital. the first same-sex couples are getting married right now. they applied for their marriage licenses last week but had to wait until today to make it official. >> by the authority vested in me, i here by pronounce that they are partners in life this day and for always. those whom god has joined together let no one put asunder. amen. you may seal it with a kiss. >> this makes washington the sixth place in the country to allow same-sex unions. senate democrats hope to heave a $15 billion jobs package over a hurlds today. they passed it last month with 13 republicans on board. now the senate must vote again. democrats are concerned the house changes could drive off gop support. they need at least one republican senator to side with them to dodge a filibuster. you know, at the bottom of the hour we're going to talk to joe. he has written a stunning piece of the current issue of the "atlantic monthly" on this current era of joblessness. joblessness and the fear of being unemployed is leading many americans to go to extraordinary lengths to get and keep work. case in point, carol costello's report on a wisconsin man's 1,000 mile commute to keep his job. >> see you, brother. >> see you, dave. >> reporter: it's 5:00 p.m. on mooned steve is off to work. wisconsin is his home but it's not where he works. >> i have a job in texas that pays me good. >> reporter: you heard right. 12 hours after saying goodbye to his wife and two teenaged kids, steve arrives at the gm assembly plant in arlington, texas. his 1,000 mile journey has taken him from janesville, wisconsin, where they used to be a gm plant, to the milwaukee airport and then a two and a half hour flight todown to texas. steve puts fenders on suvs, ten hours a day, sometimes six days a week. >> it's tough out there. it's everywhere. it's not just the auto industry, it's everywhere. i feel fortunate that i got the job. >> reporter: 1,933 gm workers lost their jobs when the janesville planned closed in december of 2008. what happened next is another side of the recession's toll. >> in that house there was a general motors worker too. so there's one, two, three, four gone. >> reporter: about a quarter of the janesville workers accepted jobs at gm plants outside of wisconsin, but that forced them to choose between selling their homes at huge losses or staying put while a parent moved out of state. the kerls chose to stay. the sacrifice is palpable. >> i missed all of my daughter's gymnastics meets. i missed her birthday. >> 16th birthday. >> 16th birthday. i missed my boy's birthday. i missed her getting her driver's license. those are things you're never going to get back. >> it's overall been very hard. i mean what other 16-year-old doesn't want their dad around. >> reporter: for husband and wife the pain of separation often goes like this. >> steve will talk to me on the phone and get me through it, hang in there. and there's the days that the calls come in where he's like, you know what, i'm not doing this any more. i want to come home. i'm like, no, hang in there. >> reporter: on one of his rare weekends home, we found steve working the barbecue, taking the family to a local basketball game and playing surrogate dad to gentlemjanessa's friend, gra. she's staying there until her parents get settled after moving to a gm plant in indiana. >> she's a good girl. we like to have her here. >> reporter: as much as they love wisconsin, the separation in the end has proved to be too much. they just sold their house at a loss and decided to move to texas. >> this will always be our home. >> you'll never take wisconsin out of us no matter where we're at. >> it's always going to be our home. >> we'll return some day. >> reporter: carol costello, cnn, washington. >> can you imagine? so you've just seen how the job situation hit one family. now multiply that by millions of folks, some of them out of work for months. how is that going to affect america long-term? joe peck and his must-read in this month's "atlantic monthly" at the bottom of the hour. rob marciano is tracking weather and has more of that amazing video of the tornado that we just showed you. we'll talk to rob in just a couple of minutes. a little show and tell with rob. first, here's the latest on the dow and new york stock exchange. the dow is up 14 points. we're following these numbers throughout the day. nasdaq, the dow, right here for you in the "cnn newsroom." we're back in a moment. defense secretary robert gates is spending a second day in afghanistan. he traveled to a remote outpost to meet with a hard-hit balgt unit. gates told the soldiers their heavy losses of helped push back against the taliban in their southern strong hold. the army unit from ft. lewis, washington, has lost 22 men. another 62 have been wounded since arriving in afghanistan last summer. mixing with the afghan people is seen as key to winning hearts and minds. cnn's senior international correspondent ben wederman takes us along as u.s. marine do so diplomacy. >> reporter: charlie company and troops from the afghan army prepare to go out on patrol. they trudge through the fields, including fields of opium, toward the village about 40 minutes away by foot. it can be rough going in the midday heat, jumping over irrigation canals on the lookout for land mines and booby traps. but the purpose of this journey is not to engage the taliban in battle. this is a social call, an attempt to make friends and influence people. >> hopefully i get to -- i'd appreciate it if i get to meet their elder one in the future. >> reporter: as the officers talk, the afghan soldiers sip tea and the marines keep an eye out for anything suspicious and try out some of the local weaponry. >> he's no good. >> reporter: they ask villagers to take them to their leaders. >> but he's the elder of this village. okay, okay. we'll keep going. >> reporter: 23-year-old corporal jared st. orge may be dressed like a marine, but he's doing the job of a diplomat. >> i'm going to start by you, sir. i know you are the elder. >> reporter: it's all about finding out what's on people's minds and preventing the return of the taliban. the marines are here to show their presence to make contact with village elders to find out what their problems are and how they can help. they're also asking some questions about the taliban. noticeably missing from this patrol is any ranking official from the local afghan government. it's hard to tell who represents whom. >> the afghan government wants to help build up marjah. >> reporter: 27-year-old second lieutenant george russo is in charge of civil affairs. he's a diplomat and an aid worker. this man complains that his irrigation canals need to be repaired, that he needs a new pump. >> that's why i'm here. they're getting me come here to help fix or build whatever needs it. >> reporter: russo finds it ironic he's had to shift gears from fighting to fixing, but insists the marines are up to the job. >> the infantry marines, they're usually the ones there up front working day in, day out with these people so they know them i'd say more than some of these big agencies that work from a planning room, i think. >> reporter: down the road, more requests. this time compensation for damages caused during the recent fighting. >> you know what, i don't have anything to give them now. >> reporter: they don't teach this stuff in boot camp. ben wedeman, cnn, southern afghanistan. unhappy with the service you've been getting these days? you're not alone. consumer complaints are on the rise big-time. we will tell you how to complain and more importantly how to get results. ♪ what if one little pop ♪ could open a world of wonder ? ♪ ♪ so sensory ♪ so satisfying ♪ the discovery ♪ never seems to stop ♪ ♪ it's the magic friskies ♪ ♪ makes happen ♪ every day ♪ in so many ways ♪ friskies ♪ feed the senses ♪ friskies announcer: wherever the game takes you, transitions is your best playing partner. transitions lenses adapt to changing light to help you stay comfortable and in the zone in all light conditions both on and off the course. kenny perry and trevor immelman have made transitions part of their game. transitions is proud to be the official eyewear of the pga tour and title sponsor of the transitions championship. i looked at my body floating in the water and imagined i was a beautiful nurse. i knew this was wrong, i was a boy, not a girl. >> a private choice with very public consequences. cnn's broadcast premiere of "her name was steven" saturday and subb sunday night, 8:00 eastern. you know a lot of you are really unhappy with the service you've been getting lately. the better business bureau has a new survey out on consumer complaints. which industry topped the list for the most complaints? ines ferre has the answer. break it down for us. >> reporter: right, tony. well, it's been a rough year for a lot of folks. from high unemployment to falling home values, americans are really struggling and they're complaining a lot more. well, complaints to the better business bureau were up almost 10% last year. let's take a look at the industries that really are consumers. the cell phone industry where complaints increased 2% from 2008 to 2009. the tv cable industry, complaints there were up 9%. a whopping 42% in the banking sector. and you also saw an increasing complaints about internet shopping and finally used car dealers. among the industries that received fewer complaints on this survey, new car dealers and collection agencies. those industries are actually down in the number of complaints filed, tony. >> what's the best way, i don't know, to complain about a company and maybe get some results here? >> reporter: look, if you're getting nowhere with the customer service of the company, think about filing a written complaint. some companies have an online form that you can use. make sure to keep a copy of your complaint letter so you can start a paper trail, if necessary. also make sure to include as many details as possible, including the action you want taken and in how much time you expect the situation to be resolved. also check out the government's consumer action handbook at consumeraction.gov where you can find sample complaint letters, for example, and you can also file a complaint with your state attorney general or the better business bureau at bbb.org. don't forget the power of the media. and you can air your grievances at online sites. if you have questions send them to the cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com. >> you can send complaints and problems to our blog page as well. we like to get our nose in the middle of things and maybe get some solutions as well. all right, appreciate it. top stories now, a shooting on the ohio state campus in columbus this morning. one university employee is dead, two others wounded. police say a suspect is in custody. the attack happened inside a maintenance building. police say no students were involved. american charisa coulter is in miami today after a judge in haiti set her free. she is one of the ten missionaries charged with kidnapping a busload of haitian children after the earthquake. the leader remains in jail. the other eight americans went home last month. the university of connecticut women's basketball team, man, oh man, breaks the record for consecutive wins. the 70-game streak was set between 2001 and 2003 by the uconn lady huskies. the ladies topped that last night with their 71st victory. the team goes for the big east championship tonight. so now we're talking about powerful thunderstorms. we're not talking about big snow events now, thunderstorms. parts of the south and midwest are expecting some really rough weather again today. there's rob marciano. rob, we're talking about tornados. we had the pictures in the southern plains states. you know what change of seasons is coming. >> that's definitely a sign. let's show it again as we start to ramp up severe weather season. hammon, oklahoma, just the western part of the state there, roger mills county, this tornado touched down and tore up five homes. you see the rotation as the funnel touches down. this storm chaser getting a little too close and personal. the debris just flying everywhere. amazingly, nobody got hurt and no fatalities reported with this, so we're happy to report that. but seeing people's lives turned upside down as their homes get ripped away by this thing is certainly a reminder of just how dangerous this time of year can be. all right. let's talk about what's to come today and tomorrow. we still have a threat for tornados. not so much today, more so tomorrow. this storm is beginning to weaken just a little bit and the storms that we're seeing down across the south aren't that strong. from memphis east towards huntsville, alabama, we're looking for your garden variety top thunderstorms. we've got a couple of storms that are going to combine. this one is going to weaken and this one out here will strengthen it and that will lead to a wider threat tomorrow. we're seeing pretty strong winds back side of this into parts of southern california and also some snows and heavier lower elevation rains getting now into the great basin so this storm will eject into the plains, catch up with that weakening storm and this is a scenario panning out tomorrow. the threat for severe storms across parts of lower and middle mississippi river valley and into the tennessee valley as well and eventually the southeast. it turns out this is the area of the country, tony, where we expect to see severe weather threat through march and certainly the beginning part of april. so kind of like changing your clocks back, we want to remind you, get your weather radio. this one actually has a cnn logo on that. you can't buy that with a cnn logo in stores but we want to show it to you. this one is made by midland. change your batteries, program it for your county and put it under your bed. it will pop if something happens in your neighborhood. this has saved thousands of lives. doppler radar does a good job, this is even better. >> what did we do, did we stencil that in there? >> they fabricated that in. you can't buy this. it's like that red hurricane jacket. you can't buy this in stores. this is -- only vips that come for the vip tour, which i haven't seen many of. >> we'll give it away as a nice parting gift. thank you, sir. baking the nights away. got to tell you when amy's bread shuts down for the day in new york, the real work is just beginning. it's part of our latest in focus here. our cnn photojournalist shows us what's it like to put on those aprons, grease those pans and work the night shift at amy's. >> when i come in, i tend to get my coffee and try to wake up. i have a good team that i work with, though. we kind of watch each other, keep each other up. these are all our organic breads. we take a lot of pride in them. we try to pack them with as much love as we can. you also have to try to stay focused, which is a little bit hard, being that i work at night. most of us don't wake up until about 2:00 in the morning but we try to do our best. i'm a proud mother of three, so that sometimes can be a little bit harder for me because i have to deal with colds and school appointments, pta. at the same time, maintain a certain level of professionalism. >> good night. so i pretty much come in, i wake my son up because he's the hardest to wake up. it doesn't matter what time he goes to sleep. >> let's wake up. come on. >> it's a team effort. i think working at night it takes a team to make it completely work and be a good, strong foundation. right? we don't get to spend as much time together as a family unit as i would like to. and i also work on the weekends, so when we normally would have family functions, i sometimes have to plan ahead. so as long as i don't have to sacrifice my safety and my health overall, then it's worth it. this is a/k kchlakeira. hi, good morning. when i look at them, i want them to have so much but right now with the way the economy is and everything, i just feel more secure being able to be with them and not have to put them in a day care setting so young. >> have a good day. >> me and my husband sacrifice as far as our personal time together, but at the end of the day we realize what we want. in the long run i have to basically feed my kids and take care of my kids and do what's best for them. we have dreams. hopefully working at night won't kill me before i get them. >> boy, people are on the grind, on the grind for real. for more about the people who work all night to bring some of the things that we take for granted, tune into the cnn special "nightshift in focus" this saturday at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. a new study finds some groups may be more likely to get alzheimer's. are you more at risk? what you need to know next right here in the "cnn newsroom." >> i need you to reach out and talk to me directly. first of all, cnn.com/tony takes you directly to this, bam, our blog page. if you'd like to send your thoughts on facebook, here's what you do. tony harris cnn. and post your comments here. here's my twitter address, tony harris cnn. one other way for you to contact us directly, talk to the show. call us, pick up the phone. 1-877-742-5760. let's have more of your views, more of your thoughts on the program. cnn newsroom with tony harris. dd aveeno has an oat formula... now proven to build a moisture reserve... so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. save at aveeno.com. they clean up gunk left by lower quality gasoline. then 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no one's really concerned about labels. not even mine. labels get in the way. disabilities rarely do. visit thinkbeyondthelabel.com to evolve your work force. you know, minorities may be at greater risk for alzheimer's disease. that's according to a new study. cnn senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here. elizabeth, explain this to me. talk to me about dementia and why it may impact some groups more than others. >> you know, i think the very fact that it does impact some groups more than others is surprising. i know that a lot of people think alzheimer's is kind of random and it actually isn't completely random. let's take a look at this newest study. what it finds is that when you look at white people ages 74 to 85, about one in ten will have alzheimer's. when you look at hispanic people in that same age range, you're looking at one out of four so a much greater risk. when you look at african-americans and alzheimer's disease, we're talking about one out of three. so these numbers are pretty stunning. >> have genetics been ruled out by researchers for the most part? not at all, still being considered? >> i wouldn't use the term ruled out but when we asked them for what's your best hypothesis to explain these racial differences, what they point to is not biology but socioeconomics that minorities have less access to medical care and more chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure and just medically speaking, diabetes and high blood pressure increase your odds of getting alzheimer's. you can think if it's bad for your heart, it's bad 4 head as well, your brain as well. >> boy, if you are poor in america, you seem to be a catch basin for just about everything. >> that is true. you're at higher risk for a whole slew of things, no question. >> anything we can do to ward off alzheimer's? >> warding off alzheimer's involves warding off diabetes and high blood pressure. >> you can make some changes. >> yes, you can make some changes. i don't want anyone to get the impression if you do these things you won't get alzheimer's, that's not the case but let's look at three basic things. eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise and be social. studies have shown that people who have a lot of interaction with other people, sort of use that part of their brain, they tend to get alzheimer's less frequently. also people who do things like learn a language. >> keep learning, right? keep the brain active. >> right. >> use it or lose it. i like that. >> you use your brain a lot. >> i try to figure out how to play piano now. that's the thing you're talking about, pick up something new, try something new, learn something new. >> challenge your brain. i can't wait to hear you play in a couple of months. >> try years. here is a weight loss program that you can drink to. a study published in the archives of internal medicine says women who drink in moderation find it easier to avoid gaining weight. we would have to run that by elizabeth here. researchers tracked more than 19,000 women for about 13 years. they found women who downed one or two drinks a day had a 30% lower risk of becoming overweight. we may need to independently fact check that. the recession may be ending. i've got to tell you it is casting a long shadow over the job market. will high unemployment change american life and culture as we know it for years to come? we will talk with our guest, don peck, of the atlantic and hear what he has to say about this. that's next right here in the "cnn newsroom." #ñ#ñ#ñ#ññññññ i believe we have live pictures now, we'll get that camera steadied up in just a second. advocates of health care reform are taking it to the streets quite literally and targeting the insurance industry. maybe we can hear a little bit of it. you saw the sign just a second ago. if i hear something that sounds like it might be worth listening to i'll pause for a second. a protest getting under way in washington, d.c. organizers with health care for america now accuse big insurance companies of plotting to kill health care reform. what are we doing? are we taking a raw feed here? demonstrators are marching to a downtown hotel where an association of health insurance companies is holding a conference. okay, that's a little better. steady, but it's live. let's check our other top stories for you. vice president joe biden meeting with israel's prime minister in jerusalem today. the visit is aimed at reinforcing a close relationship between the two countries. biden says the u.s. is committed to keeping israel safe and preventing a nuclear armed iran. toyota is sending engineers to the san diego area to investigate a freeway scare that happened yesterday. we told you about this at the top of the program. the owner of a 2008 prius says his car suddenly accelerated and standing on the brakes didn't help. the car reportedly got up to more than 90 miles an hour before a highway patrol officer was able to help the driver stop. the effects of the great recession are likely to linger for years to come and dramatically alter life, culture and politics in america. that's the conclusion of an article in the "atlantic." the author is deputy managing editor don peck and he is with us from washington. don, good to see you. >> it's a pleasure to be here, tony. >> i want to take our time with this because you've agreed to come back and talk to us more about your writing tomorrow. and in all honesty this may be the only question i ask you today. in your piece you write if it persists much longer, this era of high joblessness will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults and quite possibly those of the children behind them as well. it will leave annin delible imprint on many blue-collar white men and on white culture. it could change the nature of modern marriage and also cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. how deep is this hole we're in right now? >> well, it's extremely deep right now. you know, the average duration of unemployment past six months late last year and that's the highest figure ever recorded since the bureau of labor statistics started tracking that figure in 1948. long-term unemployment is really the worst thing that can happen to anyone. it's psychologically equivalent to the death of a spouse and it's a kind of bereavement in its own right. when you have large numbers of 4!&4!!(%)%%44!(%)%)%)%)%%4 &4&444p$ reallyp4444-5v6 really just a catastrophe for those people. and over time for their families, for the communities that they live in and ultimately for our social fabric. >> you know, don, i mentioned just a moment ago, i'll mention it to you on the air, it's worth mentioning, i wonder what the discussion about jobs in this country would be like if the rate of white unemployment in this country was, say, 15, 16% as it is for african-americans or maybe even 12, 13% for white americans in this country as it is for hispanics. make the point here. expand on the comment it will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar white men and on white culture. what do you mean by that? >> first of all, i think you're right to say that if unemployment were higher for all white people, i think the conversation would be different. that's what's so important to recognize. there are certain groups within the u.s. that have really dramatically elevated unemployment rates. young people, minorities, and as you mentioned, blue-collar white men as well. this has been called the man session and that's accurate. three-quarters of all job losses have been to men in part because of construction, finance and manufacturing have all really imploded. and, you know, when men are out of work for a long time, they are particularly badly affected. and that affects many things beyond them personally. marriages tend to sour when men are unemployed for long periods of time. men often don't pick up their share of the housework on average when they lose their jobs. and the happiness of husbands and wives are closely related. so the misery spreads throughout the home. two-thirds of all divorces are legally initiated by women, so i talked to a lot of family experts who really believe that there are likely to be a wave of divorces in the coming years, especially if this period of blue-collar male unemployment persists. >> last question for you today and again you're coming back tomorrow and we'll talk about young people. what is it like to be, say, a 55-year-old man unemployed today in this economy? >> well, it's brutal. your whole identity is gone and you don't know that you'll ever get it back. you know, i talked to one man, gus, in pennsylvania who he's a vietnam era vet. he had worked his way through night school, become an accountant. he lost his job about a year and a half ago at a hospital as a senior financial analyst and he just doesn't know what to do with himself. he took a part-time job as walmart for $8.50 an hour but that's on the weekends so he doesn't see his wife any more. and, you know, he had a really horrific experience a couple of months ago where neighbors of his came in to just buy something at walmart. he rang them up and they didn't even acknowledge him. so, you know, he has fundamental questions about his identity, his self-worth and his future. >> don, you're coming back tomorrow. your amazing piece in the "atlantic," don peck with us. don, see you tomorrow, appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you. when the earth stopped shaking in chile, entire cities had been repositioned. straight up moved. the power of an 8.8 magnitude quake. wellbeing. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nuture it in your cat... with a full family of excellent nutrition... and helpful resources. ♪ purina cat chow. share a better life. as we're finishing up, i mention i'm going to the bathroom more often. he checks it out. good thing. turns out... my urinary symptoms -- such as going frequently, trouble 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the major plates. some of the bigger ones are across south america, that's why this is such an active zone. plates diving underneath the south american plate. >> boy. >> give you an idea, we ordered up a graphic that kind of shows what this movement looks like. >> okay. >> i haven't seen this yet. so work along with me. >> okay. >> basically when the earthquake happened, the entire, that part of the plate, moved -- sprung to the west ten feet. so concepcion literally was displaced ten feet. >> ten feet? >> ten neat. >> a city moving? >> moving ten feet. it's amazing to conceptualize, you look at the damage and the cracks in the earth, something moved, right? to move that much, it's certainly unreal. on a wider scope, these plates are in constant movement. the plate moves three inches per year, that's the pressure that it moves, when you have this plate diving underneath this plate, this guy wants to bend back and it snaps and that's where you get the movement. we saw that movement, ten feet this way by concepcion and santiago, seeing a movement of about 11 inches. and only because it was further away from the epicenter. so, it is certainly amazing to watch these things in action. >> well, you have to remember, you showed us the graphic a couple of days ago. there is the main quake, the 8.8 magnitude quake, and then all of the aftershocks, and i guess if you put it altogether, you can see that kind of movement, but still astonishing that you can move a city. >> we're kind of trying to talk about it and put it in perspective. i guess you can say that conc concepcion is where it's wanting to be for several decades with everything moving the way it did. >> that's good, vivid stuff, rob, thank you. what a year makes in the stock market. a year after the dow hit rock bottom, it's okay to look at your 401(k) statement. [ crowd cheering ] [ male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪ have you checked your 401(k) statement lately if if not, it's time, and don't be afraid what you might see. on this day last year, the dow jones industrial average hit rock bottom, at least the bottom of this recession. stephanie elam is joining us from new york with details. and, stephanie, the reality is we really have come a long way in 12 months. >> it's very true, tony. if i would sing to you, i would sing to you "what a difference a year makes." i can't, so i'll spare everyone from that one. but it's true, one year ago we saw the dow fall to the 6,100 level, it's a 12-year low, and today the blue chips are trading just above 12,500. so, it gives you what a drop it was. it's a gain of 60% we've seen over the past year. the nasdaq gained 68%, and the nasdaq gained 84%. job cuts slowed down dramatical dramatically, and consumer confidence is off record lows and the economy is actually growing again, these are all kind signs, tony. >> say it again, say it loud, good signs. we're talking about a 60% gain in just one year. seems a little extreme. is that too much, too fast? should we be bracing for a bit of a pullback, what do you think, steph? >> sure, definitely it was faster. but history is on our side. the average bull markets lasts four years. some analysts say we could see a correction this year. the real answer could be with the federal reserve, most economists think the federal reserve will raise interest rates in the next 12 months. if the economy doesn't have the jobs, the bull market could be over. but the bull market is under way, so enjoy the ride. here's what we're working on for the next hour of "cnn newsroom," failing economies, forcing schools to shut down. the closing, the class sizes, the layoffs, the impact. we'll put it all in focus for you. plus, a battle for baby patricia, a haitian couple tries to brove that a baby flown to the united states after the quake is theirs. that's next hour right here in the "cnn newsroom." a guy named his own price, wants a room tonight for 65 dollars. we don't go lower than 130. big deal, persuade him. okay. $65 for tonight. you can't argue with a big deal. we're so sure priceline has the biggest hotel deals we're announcing the big deal guarantee, book a hotel with name your own price and if you can find a lower published price anywhere else we'll match it and pay you $25 dollars. book now, big deal days won't last long at priceline. with 4g from sprint, i can download files up to 10x faster than 3g... outside. i can stream the movie airplane to my cell phone... at the airport. i can have a crystal-clear videoconference with my clients... ...muffin basket or something... ...while working offsite, or share five high-speed connections for online gaming... while enjoying the great outdoors. [ video game sound effects ] eat it, yoshi! what can you do with 4g? experience 4g from sprint. it's more than a wireless network. deaf, hard-of-hearing and people with speech disabilities a california politician comes out of the closet, just days after he came out of a gay bar. sacramento police arrested republican state senator roy ashburn. last week for dui. it happened a few blocks from a gay nightclub called faces. now, police say ashburn had a male passenger with him. the senator set the record straight with conservative radio host inga barks. >> i am gay. and so i -- i -- those are the words that have been so difficult for me, for so long. >> now, ashburn is a divorced father of four and has a strong anti-gay voting record in the california senate. why would a gay politician vote against gay rights? >> my votes reflect the wishes of the people in my district. and i have always felt that my faith and allegiance was to the people there in the district. my constituents. >> senator ash bushve burn's supporters say that's principle. gay activists call it a lame excuse. time now for your "top of the hour" reset. i'm tony harris in the "cnn newsroom." across the country, angry students out of the classroom and on the streets demanding affordable education. the battered economy, and budget challenged schools in focus this hour. it is noon in haiti, where an infant rescued from the earthquake is now trapped in an international custody battle, the fight for baby patricia. california's financial crisis got deep for this second grader. saving carlos. let's get started. more and more schools across the nation being hit hard by budget cuts. students are getting fed up across the board. we are seeing middle schoolers in iowa protest plans to cut $33 million from des moines's school budget and slash more than 300 teaching positions. outrage also sparking college and university protests coast to coast. cnn i-reporters have been sending us video from last week's "day of action" demonstration. these images from the university of california, riverside. i-reporter devin anderson says, it's crazy that higher education is the first to get cut. he sent us this protest video from the university of massachusetts, amherst, and a teacher in washington weighs in. >> we have a wide-scale problem on this issue of education, and the more we cut these budgets, the more we're going to see the prison population rise. we're going to see more teachers unemployed. and we're also going to see more unqualified teachers in the classrooms. you know, perhaps the most dramatic measure to date happening in kansas city, missouri. the school board is considering closing half of its public schools. eliminating some 3,000 jobs. we want to know whether this is directly pegged to the recession, so we turned to our fact check desk and executive producer suzanne simons. there she is. okay, lady, what are you finding? >> that's what we wanted to know. most financiing is providing at the state and local levels. 80% of school revenues come from property taxes. now, of course, property taxes are way down. >> oh, yeah. >> since the recession hit. a survey by this same group found that 6% of school districts either closed or consolidated their operations during the 2008-2009 school year with another 11% projected either to close or consolidate during this upcoming school year. so, of course, stimulus money was kind of thrown out there. >> yes. >> as one measure to kind of help prevent the school closings and it has helped somewhat, although a lot of the school districts facing these budget cuts and the options of possibly having to close the schools are instead looking to cut programs, to lay off teachers, administrators, staff. a lot of times the bus routes that have been driven are being canceled and parents are having to drive their kids to school, all as measures to stop the closing of these schools. >> so, wait a minute. so, okay. i think that explains it generally. it's certainly what we heard in our segment yesterday. we've got another one coming up in just another couple of minutes here. but what's the situation with kansas city? i think it's 29 of 61 schools may be closed. why so many schools? >> a huge chunk of the schools in kansas city. and there's several, several factors at play here. but, first, let's get a look at how much it changed. in the '70s there were 70,000 students enrolled in the school district, today only 18,000 schools enrolled. a lot of the reasons behind the closings in kansas city, they don't have the enrollments they once did, people moved to the subbu s suburbs, but it isn't fair to say the recession hasn't played a role at all. >> thank you, suzanne. coming up we'll talk with cnn contributor, steve perry, on the overall problem faceing the nation's school systems, and we will dig deeper with fairfax county, virginia, school superintendent. and then the students sound off. we get some of their views. let's check the other big stories we're following for you right here in the "cnn newsroom." toyota says it is investigating a new complaint of sudden acceleration. the complaint is from a prius driver in southern california. jim sykes says his accelerator became stuck on a hilly, san diego county freeway. he tried to stop the car, but it just kept speeding up. >> i was holding on to the steering wheel with my left hand and down at an angle trying to pull it back. i thought it was maybe stuck. i mean, my mat was perfect. there was nothing wrong with my mat. and the pedal it wouldn't do anything. it stayed right where it was. and i won't drive that car again, period. >> well, sykes called 911 for help. a california highway patrol officer was able to catch up with him. >> when i saw him, i could smell the brakes. i saw his brake lights coming on. so then my next idea was, okay, maybe get up alongside him and use my public address system and try to talk to him. when i started telling him things to, you know, put the vehicle in neutral or try that or to brake, he was -- i could tell he was physically trying to brake and the vehicle was barely slowing down. and then i noticed that it would accelerate again, and we were up to 90 miles per hour. at this point i had the idea of him applying both the brakes and the emergency brake in order to get as much friction as possible to stop the vehicle. and i was going to get in front of him at that point and use my patrol vehicle to slow him down. >> the driver was able to slow down, turn off the engine and coast to a stop. toyota says it has sent a technical specialist to investigate. defense secretary, robert gates, is spending a second day in afghanistan. he traveled to a remote outpost to meet with soldiers there. he said the army unit from ft. lewis, washington, has lost 22 men. another 62 have been wounded since arriving in afghanistan last summer. an unshakeable bond, that's how vice president joe biden is describing the relationship between united states and israel. biden is in jerusalem for meetings with israeli leaders. he sat down this morning with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. a big concern for both men, iran and its nuclear program. biden told the israeli leader the u.s. is determined to help keep iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. also on the agenda, the peace process between israelis and the palestinians. >> the united states will always stand with those who take risks for peace, and you're prepared to do that. and i am hopeful, and i'll be having discussions with palestinian leaders. it is my hope and expectation that they will be prepared as well. >> biden is the highest-ranking m member of the obama administration to visit israel. the obama administration is pushing hard on health care reform and critics are pushing back. cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser joining me now from washington. good to see you, sir. who do americans trust to overhaul the health care system? >> tony, this is really interesting, because most national polls suggest americans aren't so crazy about the overall health care plans that they are pushing, even though they like specifics. who do they have confidence in to do the right thing when it comes to health care reform? check the numbers from gallup in the past several days, most have confidence in the president to do the right thing. his numbers are down compared to last year, but look at the numbers from congress, 37% for democrats in congress and 32% for republicans in congress. only one in four according to this poll see the insurance company industry doing the right thing hen it comes to health care reform. you heard the president yesterday going after the insurance industry, so maybe that is effective in the eyes of americans. >> maybe we'll see more of that. so, paul, how much pressure, really, are lawmakers facing here? >> a lot. and more to come. as you mentioned, congress expected to vote maybe in the next two weeks on health care reform. get ready, tony, you've already seen a lot of ads on health care reform. you'll see more. you'll see the airways flooded over the next few weeks. the insurance industry reportedly putting in over $1 million okay they are advocacy groups putting on ads. and a protest in washington ongoing this hour. the crowds are growing. this is organized by health care for america, a progressive group, and they plan to march down to a hotel where the insurance industry is gathering for a conference today and they're going to be protesting what they say the insurance industry is doing to health care reform. and the tea party groups are bringing lobbyists to washington to lobby against the bill. >> here we go, thank you. >> thank you. public schools in crisis. your children may soon be attending schools that have fewer programs and bigger class sizes. effects of the economy. but, first, "our random moment." ♪ i like big butts oh, oh. you know, it's properly called a buttocks augmentation, but when plastic surgery is bad enough for a "random moment" we call it a cush tush jersey style. let me get through it, okay? 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and, boy, i've heard figures as high as $176 million. maybe you can give us the real figure on that. are we talking about even larger class sizes? because we know you've increased class sizes. are we talking about more personnel cuts, program elimnations? are you considering even maybe a four-day school week? >> yeah, when we were going through the budget cycle, have to do it in the context this is the third year in a row of cuts. and this year what we were facing was probably equal to the prior two years combined. so, this gets pretty serious in raising class size, we're closing some schools, or a school. we're potentially looking at eliminating the elementary bands and strings program, foreign language programs. we come down to what is our core mission and what are our core educational priorities and we just have to hunker down and do those. >> what do you say to folks who say, okay, it's band, get rid of band, it's second language, teach them english better, you know, let's get back to the core mission? get rid of that stuff? >> well, what you raise at the very beginning is we're doing some of this budget balancing on the backs of our kids. and so what i try and do with our community is say let's not throw, you know, band against strings against full-day kindergarten and foreign language programs. we should be talking about what are the values and aspirations of our community, and then we should be setting the tax rates and all so often we're doing it in reverse order. >> that's interesting. one more for you very quickly here. let me have you fill in the blank here, so we have a baseline of understanding on this. you don't have the money to teach your students in the preferred way because of what? >> mainly in our situation it's because of declining property values, both commercial and residenti residential, three-quarters of my budget comes from the local county government and over the last several years we've seen a decline first in residential and then now commercial tends to be in some people's words plumm plummeting. >> have you received stimulus money? >> we did last year, we received federal stimulus money. it comes in three forms, one via direct aid from the state which we can use for a lot of different programs, and then we have a doubling of our title i funds, and a doubling of our special education or ida funds, which likewise helps us out, but that cliff, if you will, comes to us the following year. a year from now we have to be planning for the -- the fall of 2011 or so. >> are you considering a four-day school week? and then i'll turn to steve. >> we are not considering a four-day workweek. we are looking at potentially if we have to, furloughing some people, but we would still run our 180 school days. >> wow. i know, steve, you were talking about the whole concept. there are a couple of school districts around the country that have gone to the four-day workweek school week and i know you don't like the idea. you were talking about it on "campbell brown's" program last night. make your case why this is a bad idea in your view? >> it's not even so much whether i like it or i dislike it. it's just what works. it's those countries that outperform the united states have longer school years and shorter school days. the four-day workweek would require a shorter sceel week, a shorter school year and a longer school day. the single indicator that we can use to improve children's performance above all else, you know, when you consider, of course, teacher quality as a given, is more time on task. while smaller classrooms would appear to be the logical progression and the logical solution, it's not in and of itself the best solution. i understand, the superintendent is like so many superintendents out there, who has decreasing revenue and at least labor costs that are maintained. so, therein lies the gap, as well as other costs like fuel costs, and we have to ask the community. this is where the community comes in. the community can help out here and say to the superintendent, some of us can help you out and volunteer to -- in band. some of us can teach some of it. we don't need parents to come in and teach every single course, but we may need you to do a little bit after school so we can take it out of the school day but still make it available to your children. >> jack, does that make sense as a suggestion? >> actually, it does. and we have some of our elementary schools are looking at providing a foreign language program after school out of their own expenses, so it does make sense. and if we have to cut some of our music programs, then they would likewise take a look at doing some of those kinds of things. the other thing we have in some of our elementary schools even is parents who are certified to substitute in schools, in the classroom, actually come in and volunteer to help us avoid substitute costs. >> the superintendent requires all hands on deck. >> yes. >> all sum s >> yes. >> all sumuperintendents. when you come to the board of education meetings and shout and yell, you are yelling at the wrong person. he didn't create the situation. they are trying to make the best out of it. he and other superintendents across the country are trying to make the best of the situation we're in now. >> let me do this. i want to see if i can squeeze in. maybe i can read two of these, joe, and maybe get jack and steve to comment. we've got some blog comments i want to read to you very quickly here, just to get your reactions, how the economy is affecting your school, if you have some solutions, we've got a couple of blog comments i want to read to you. richard says, "look closely at how much we spend on multiple standardized tests children have to take. so much time is devoted to prepping children for the tests instead of focusing on teaching." jack, a quick comment on that. >> there is a concern that we spend a lot of time on testing, but if we don't spend it on testing, we ought to be focusing on a rich curriculum, then we'll still need the teachers in the classroom. it's not so much a budget savings as what should really be the focus on education. >> and, steve, this one for you. it comes from bernadette. if we can slide forward. "teachers' and administrators' salaries are killing the system. the real estate tax funding must be taken out of the mix. they must receive equal funding no matter the wealth or poverty of any area in the country." what's your take? >> the lions's share of the budget is personnel costs. at this point after you cut all the programs that matter to the children are the individuals. >> yeah. >> and until the organizations that represent these individuals begin to understand that we're all going to either win together or lose together, then we're going to have ourselves in a situation where we keep cutting staff. >> yeah. >> keep cutting staff, and we're taking less staff to do the work that we had for so many more people. >> steve, appreciate it so much. >> thank you. >> jack, good to meet to you. good to talk to you. good stuff. thank you, gentlemen. let's get you caught up on our top stories. university of ohio officials say the person that shot two co-workers was upset about a job review. he shot a man to death and then a co-worker, and then killing himself. it happened at a power plant building on the campus. no students were involved. seven world and the family of the whale trainer killed last month are trying to keep video of the death from going public. wow. seaworld cameras were rolling when dawn brancheau was pulled underwater by a killer whale. under florida law, the tape would be made public after the investigation is finished. the family could seek a court injunction. wedding bells are ringing in washington. same-sex couples get their chance to legally marry. dozens of couples applied for licenses last week when the law changed. today's the first day for weddings. opponents say they will try to overturn the law in the ballot box. ♪ ♪ until you mail it back. ♪ yeah, we need participation ♪ for better schools and hospitals. ♪ ♪ the census, the tool, to make it all possible.♪ ♪ we can't move forward, ♪ until you mail it back. ♪ and welcome back to the "cnn newsroom." i'm meteorologist jacqui jeras. checking the weather conditions at this hour, you know, rough day yesterday across parts of the plains states. we're in to march now and approaching the spring months when we start to see greater chances of severe weather. our big weather story today is an upper-level of low pressure, this will combine with another one throughout the next couple of days to keep things very active across the nation's midsection. in terms of severe weather today, we're not really expecting too much to go on. a few of these thunderstorms across the lower mississippi river valley, could be a bit on the strong side. and there you can see one that sits moving south of the new orleans area and one pushing through tupelo as well, do expect to see lightning here, a few rumbles of thunder and heavy downpours on occasion as well. tomorrow the stage is set better for an increased chance of seeing severe thunderstorms and we will be watching places like new orleans, and haitisburg, mississippi, memphis, even, and south of st. louis, including the little rock area, large hail, damaging winds and even some isolated tornadoes will be possible here. the other concern we have with this as we get these series of storms moving through the nation's midsection, we're going to start to see rain accumulating across parts of the upper midwest the next couple of days. that coupled with temperatures that have been above the freezing mark during the day, below the freezing mark at night, means we are having the snowmelt taking place, so we are concerned about the risk of flooding across the midwest. this is the area that noaa has highlighted across much of iowa and northern parts of illinois and into indiana for the flood threat probably taking place late this week, so we'll be watching that for you as well. in the meantime, though, enjoy some of these lovely temperatures because it sure feels good across parts of the east. >> it really does. >> tony? >> you look at the pattern across the southern plains states, come on that is a strange weather pattern, isn't it? >> absolutely. absolutely is. >> all right. thank you, jacqui. >> sure. out of jail, out of work, out of luck? a different kind of wanted sign aimed at ex-convicts. creating jobs. that's what the american recovery act or stimulus is all about, in some cities it is providing a second chance for some who have been down and out. cnn's ines ferre is manning our stimulus desk for us. ines, what have you found? >> we have been focusing on houston, texas, and we're following a program in houston called road to re-entry. it's designed by the julian communications group and the houston crime coalition. that program received $40,000 in stimulus money to retrain ex-convicts. it held a jobs fair last week. offender-friendly companies had some 40 jobs available. take a look at this video. they were expecting about 250 people. more than 3,000 people showed up, tony. and, listen to what one job seeker said, and also an employer -- >> it's a very, very, very hard thing, that people still look at what you did in the past, and not what you can do in the future. >> i will hire felons and continue to, because everybody deserves a second chance. >> and, you know, the organization -- the organizers of this program said that it was just so incredibly successful that they're planning another jobs fair soon, and the program also provided some 15 scholarships for tech schools for people transitioning from prison to public life, and they say 90% found jobs within two weeks after completing that training, so it has a very high success rate, tony? >> that was houston, correct? >> that was houston. >> what about other cities? >> well, there are some programs in other cities, for example, chicago is using nearly $7.75 million money to train ex-convicts to work in green jobs, everything from tree planting to making products from recycled paper and helping to renovate buildings, tony. >> ines, thank you. out of work and out of benefits. the senate revisits help for america's jobless today. (announcer) you can make a bigger difference in the world. you can make a positive change in your career. you can make a greater contribution to the greater good. and you can start today, by earning your degree online... at walden university. where advanced degrees advance the quality of life. you know, i was just checking out the lead story at cnnmoney.com. citigroup shares no longer toxic? boy, if you want the latest analysis, financial news and from the expert "money" team here at cnn, that's the page, one click away at cnnmoney.com. we tell you this every day at this time because the work is so good, we should probably figure out more ways, more opportunities, to promote the great work they do at cnnmoney.com. let's get you to the big board. new york stock exchange with a bit of a rally here. we are up 45 points. and the nasdaq is up 17. so, a positive start to the day all around. better than three hours into the trading day. senate democrats hope to pass a bill this week to extend unemployment benefits. the measure includes a mishmash of other items. let's talk about it, our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, joining us from capitol hill. dana, great to see you. >> reporter: good to see you, tony. >> how long would this bill extend help for jobless americans? >> reporter: it would be until the end of the year, december 31st, 2010, and specifically what we're talking about, tony, unemployment insurance, extend that, and that is something that has been quite controversial, because you remember a couple weeks ago, just a 30-day extension, that ran out. this would take care of it until the end of the year and also c.o.b.r.a. health insurance assistance, that would also be taken care of until the end of the year. it's one of the reasons why republicans, some of them, might end up voting against this, because they say the right way to do it is three month as the a time. democrats, no accident it is december 31st. that's well past election day, so they don't have to deal with it until then. >> right. i saw some of the senate floor speeches today, the back-and-forth over this. you know, this is a pretty big package, nearly $140 billion, as you just mentioned. much of it is tax extenders. any other highlights in it? >> reporter: yes, other highlights. the people that are jobless, the extension of the unemployment benefits, but there are 60 extensions of some popular tax breaks that have been in the tax code for some time. i'll just read you a couple of them. >> sure. >> reporter: a few of them. tax cuts for teachers who buy supplies for their students with their own money. a tax credit for energy-efficient home improvements and some r&d tax credits nor businesses those are just three, again, of about 60 tax breaks in here. the tax breaks, you might think that's appealing to republicans. maybe this will be a big bipartisan vote. it might by but part of the republicans' arguments against it's much too big, you mentioned it's nearly $140 billion and much of it is not paid for, it adds to the deficit. >> so, bottom-line this for us, will this actually pass this afternoon? >> reporter: both goims ademocr republicans sourcers are saying it will past the key test vote this afternoon and perhaps have a final vote in the senate. largely the side of the vote will depend on where republicans are. democrats do need, if all democrats vote for it, they just need one republican to turn over. but in talking to republicans it looks like more than that will cross party lines and vote for this democratic bill. >> wow. >> reporter: we'll see, and the question, then, is will it become law? it's really unclear because the house had its own version of these bills. >> right. >> reporter: and those measures and it's unclear if the house will take it up. >> all right, our senior congressional correspondent, dana bash, for us. dana, nice to see you. >> reporter: nice to see you. what are people saying about the cutbacks at schools? we'll have it next. well that's great. you haven't seen him... my other can is ringing. progresso. hey can you tell my wife to relax and enjoy the view? (announcer) progresso. you gotta taste this soup. but there's one that makes your skin look better even after you take it off. 98% of women who tried neutrogena healthy skin makeup thought so. does your makeup do that? neutrogena cosmetics. you know, schools across america are learning a very tough economics lesson. it's not just colleges and universities that are reeling from the recession. carla sousa is with us. give us a bit of a perspective on how this reception is impacting young people in schools, in classes, all across the country right now. >> they are seeing it in everything from school lunches, sometimes they're saying that the portions are getting smaller. the food's not what it used to be. many of it are seeing it in the elimination of bus routes. a lot of students logging on and talking to us about it. and many are afraid of layoffs and many students are afraid they will not see their favorite teaches. it's a reduction in class sizes as well. >> how are they responding? >> the first comment comes from oliv olivia. in her school they are canceling bus routes next year and one of them is where i live. now my parents are probably going to have to drive me to school every day next year, or i'll have to change schools. another comment from kiley, she says, yes, the recession is affecting us. here we have to do so many fund raiders to do so many activity we love and like to do. we've already had so many fund-raisers, we have to do a lot just to save the sports here. i want to say not all of them, of course, are affected directly by the recession. many are saying my class sizes is the same. everything is status quo, we're still getting the field trips, but there's a note of concern among our audience. many have seen it in surrounding counties and they are afraid that enventually, it could encroach to them. >> sure. give us your address, because we want to get many people tuned in. what is the address? >> they can e-mail us at cnnstudentnews.com, and we have a blog called "a" to "z" with carlos sousa, me personally. log on and tell us what you're thinking. >> let's do that, since we didn't have the addresses up, we'll put it on our blog page, cnn.com/tony, we'll put your addresses up, and if you'd like to respond on our blog, on your blog. we just want the comments. >> everybody wins. >> good to see you. >> thank you very much, tony. rescued in haiti and flown to florida. she was introduced to the world as baby patricia. now a couple in haiti says that's not her name, and they want her back. ( cold wind blowing ) lindsey vonn takes the lead! earlier, she was suffering from an all-over, achy cold. she stays tough. how does she do it? what is that? i think we've discovered her advantage. speedy alka-seltzer. alka-seltzer plus. specially formulated with pain-relieving power. rushes cold-fighting ingredients to relieve congestion, coughing, and all-over achiness. it's the official cold medicine of the u.s. ski team. alka-seltzer plus. also available in liquid gels. let's get you caught up on our top stories right now. toyota is sending engineers to the san diego area to investigate a freeway scare that happened yesterday. the owner of a 2008 prius says his car suddenly accelerated. this is the prius now. and standing on the brakes didn't help. the car reportedly got up to more than 90 miles an hour before a highway patrol officer was able to help the driver stop. the u.s. naval ship "comfort" is coming home. it's scheduled to sail away from haiti tomorrow. the massive hospital ship has been anchored there since shortly after the earthquake struck in january. the u.s. southern command said the crew has completed its humanitarian relief mission. they treated 871 patients and performed 843 surgeries. ind of e behind my eyes. i'm wondering if you've ever been checked for cortical spreading depression. [ doctor ] yeah. actually, he was. november 11, 2009. came back negative. march 23, 2007, a c.t. scan for nasal polyps -- also negative. [ male announcer ] by putting your medical history in one secure, easily accessible place, electronic medical records from ge will forever change the way the doctor sees you. thanks, guys. can i have my pants back, actually? ♪ [ male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪ you know, following haiti's devastating earthquake, cnn told you about the heroic rescue of a baby. she was airlifted to florida for critical, lifesaving treatment. now, there is a custody battle. senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen, brought us the original report and has an update. >> reporter: i was at this hospital in port-au-prince about seven weeks ago, when i witnessed an incredible reps cue of a tiny baby. she was just 2 months old when she was pulled from the rubble. she'd been there alone five days. the baby girl was near death, barely breathing. doctors from project medishare fought to save her so they could fly her to the united states. they thought she was an orphan and told the ambulance driver they would name the baby after her if she got to the plane on time. and she did. the driver's name was patricia. i thought it was a simple, happy ending. but it turns out this story is far from simple. a couple from haiti has now come forward claiming that baby patricia is their daughter. they say she's no orphan and that her name isn't even patricia, it's jenny, and they want her back. we're told the parents live here in one of these tent cities. i'm going to go try to find them. ♪ what does that mean? what do those words mean? it's beautiful? >> every time i think about jenny, i want to go crazy. i want to lose my mind. >> reporter: this man and his wife say they're the baby's parents. >> and this is the baby's cart. >> reporter: and these are all her vaccinations, and doctors' notes. you say this is your baby? >> translator: yes, jenny is my daughter. >> reporter: how does it feel as a mother to know that your baby has just flown off without you to another country? >> translator: she said, i have a lot of problems. she said, i can't sleep, and it's giving me a lot of problems and this is the bible that i've had since the baby was born, and the bible was under the baby's head always, and she found the bible. >> reporter: so, this bible says jenny alexis, born november 1st, 2009. at 10:00 p.m. i've told their story to many people, and some people say this is just a couple in haiti that wants to get to the united states. they're claiming a baby that's not theirs. what do they say to that? >> translator: we don't know about that, he said. he said. we just have a baby that they took. they're helping us, they took the baby, but we're here, and then we're happy that they they're helping the baby, but it's a help, but we need our baby. ♪ >> okay. so let's see if we can get a bottom line on this. elizabeth cohen joining me obviously. did the parents ever get a dna test here? >> yes. cnn has just learned that the parents did, or the mom actually did get a dna test. the international red cross administered that test. they picked her up at 7:30 this morning. you can see the red cross car right there. and they drove her to a facility. they decided just to test the mom. i don't know if they only had one test or whatever, but they swabbed the inside of her cheek and the results are expected, that's a red cross worker, i believe, right there, the results are expected within a week or two according to folks at the state of florida. and it's interesting, tony, i spoke to an official at the state of florida, they're the ones who have custody of the child right now. and he said, do you think these are the parents? he said, absolutely. i have no ron eason to doubt th but you have to do a dna test. >> elizabeth, thank you. we'll take a look at some of what you're talking about on the internet. ines ferre tells us what's hot, next. covergirl has lightweight coverage just for your skin type. the new look of clean. for normal skin, oil control, and new clean for sensitive skin. so take off that mask and slip into lightweight coverage that really fits. ♪ it's makeup that works for you. -and you. -and you. 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(general) remember omnaris! ask your doctor. in the battle against nasal allergy symptoms, omnaris combats the cause. okay. time for a quick look at some of the stories generating buzz over the internet. it's what a lot of you are buzzing about, talking about. ines ferre joining me again. what are you finding, lady? >> okay, well, tony on cnn.com, tweeting to safety in mexico. >> yeah. >> because of the violence plaguing the country. people are turning to social media. twitter created a site where people following the violence or who are caught in the middle of it can exchange details, and some and for advice on when it was safe to come out. others highlighted specific streets that were especially dangerous in the area. it's really amazing how they're using twitter. >> yeah, it was a hot topic in our meeting this morning, that's for sure. ines, what is this controversy? i know there's a lot of chatter about the controversy with the oscars and the late farrah fawcett? >> that's right, everyone is asking why the academy awards committee decided not to include farrah fawcett in the tribute the were she died last year, and she starred in a lot of films and people were wondering why was she left out? >> maybe we can figure out what the answer to that is. that seems like a pretty dramatic oversight. ines ferre on what's hot and what you're talking about on the internet. thank you, lady. >> thank you. putting a face on california's budget crisis and a health care system that is strapped for cash. saving carlos, part two of our story of an 8-year-old who needs help for his hdhd and anxiety. if you have heartburn more than one day a week, you're one of fifty million americans with frequent heartburn. try prilosec otc. heartburn occurs when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus. unlike some treatments that neutralize acid, prilosec otc shuts down many acid-producing pumps for twenty-four hours of heartburn protection with just one pill a day. plus, it's the number one doctor recommended acid reducer. treat frequent heartburn for twenty-four hours with prilosec otc. this has been pédifacts for prilosec otc. hi, may i help you? yes, we're looking to save on car insurance, even if that means we have to shop all day, right, honey? yep, all day. good thing you're starting here. we compare your progressive direct rate to other top companies', so you can save money! look! we saved a lot! and quick, too. and no more holding her purse! it's a european shoulder bag. it was a gift. mm-hmm. shopping less and saving more. now, that's progressive. call or click today. well, yelled we introduced you to a second grader named carlos. he is 8, uninsured and struggling with adhd and severe anxiety. today cnn's thelma gutierrez brings you part two on his story. more of how his care is being impacted by california's budget crisis. >> reporter: this is carlos. he lives in south los angeles. his mother is a homemaker. his father, a street vendor. carlos says he wants us to understand his world. >> my sister's name is ala. that's my skateboard. that's a picture of me reading the bible. >> reporter: and although he's only a second grader, what struck me most over the month we spent with him, is that he's only 8. already, he says, he wants a new life. >> i am going to change my life. >> reporter: carlos suffers from adhd and severe anxiety. >> i draw a picture above my family because they were fight. sometimes when they fight, it's because my dad -- when my dad -- >> reporter: carlos' father didn't want to be on camera, but acknowledged he has had a hard time lately. financial pressures have only made things worse at home. carlos' mother laetitia wants to keep the family together. she knows she needs help. her soon wn was failing at scho and becoming disruptive at home. but when she went looking for help, what she found was clinics grossly overburdened. in los angeles county alone, $216 million was slashed from its mental health department, so now they're only taking children who are physically violent or suicidal. not kids like carlos, whose condition may not be as urgent, but still just as serious. it took nearly a year for laetitia to finally find st. john's, a free clinic that would help. i asked her why she was so emotional. she told me her kids are everything to her. sometimes you and george get into fights. and she allowed us to shoot her son's therapy sessions, because she wanted to put a face on california's bruising budget crisis. >> and what did we learn last week? >> we learned about when my mom fight with my dad, i have to read a book. >> good job. good job! >> reporter: now, just as core lows is starting to make progress, laetitia learns st. john's clinic is having its mental health care budget slashed. >> just from this one clinic, 7,000 people will not receive mental health care services. >> reporter: out of that number, how many are children? >> out of that number, probably 4,000 are children. >> reporter: this is where kids like carlos are pulled into a political tug-of-war. >> i know it sounds mean. all the money trees have been cut down in california. we have to deal with it by reducing spending as best we can. >> does this state have a responsibility to compare for its children? do conservatives think that we don't have that responsibility? >> the government has overpromised to people. >> reporter: but this is a program for children. who are mentally ill. >> yeah, there are lots of programs for children, mentally ill, the disabled, and the problem is government keeps overspending and overtaxing. >> reporter: but it's a tough trade-off. >> you're going to use your words, right? >> reporter: carlos' therapist elena fernandez said taxpayers will pay the price when he's in therapy or later when he doesn't get help. why as tax payers? >> because eventually we end up paying for the emergency services, the psychiatric wards, the cost it takes to imprison someone. >> reporter: in california it costs about $45,000 a year to keep someone behind bars. fernandez worries leaving a generation of kids like carlos untreated could mean losing them forever. but numbers aside, what about the price carlos would pay? what are you going to do in your future? >> in my future? i want to do -- in my future, i want to be safe good. >> reporter: after six months some hope. elena says carlos is finally ready to leave therapy. meanwhile, his mother said the drinking and fighting at home have stopped. >> look at number one. >> reporter: and at carlos' new school, his teacher told me he's noticed a big difference. now he's thriving in the classroom. and on the play ground.