Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

African Union Delegation Meets Gadhafi Opposition; Nuclear Plant Safety Concerns; Customers' Personal Info Hackedj; Checking The Truth-O-Meter; Talk Back Question; Looking Beyond Financial Aid; Writing With No Hands

Aired April 11, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed.

A five-member delegation from the African Union is working to end the civil war in Libya today. The envoys, presidents of five African nations, are in Benghazi today meeting with Libyan rebel leaders about a possible truce.

The African Union delegation says Moammar Gadhafi agreed to a cease- fire and international peacekeepers during talks in Tripoli on Sunday. The envoys made no mention of Gadhafi's departure, a key demand of the rebels.

And several major aftershocks rocked northeastern Japan today. The strongest, a magnitude 6.6, triggered a landslide that buried several houses. It also cut electricity for a time to the cooling pumps at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Somber ceremonies across Japan today. The country marked one month since the earthquake and tsunami devastated the northeastern coast. More than 13,000 people are now confirmed dead. A similar number of people are still missing.

Protesters jeer Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as he arrives for court in Milan today. He is facing tax fraud charges related to his media business. It is one of four criminal cases against Berlusconi. The most scandalous case involves his alleged sexual relationship with an underage teen, something he denies.

A new law banning face coverings like the Muslim burqa took effect in France today. Now, lawmakers say it ensures the dignity of women and improves security, but some Muslim women say that their religious beliefs should take priority.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HIND AMAS, MUSLIM (through translator): In all honesty, I'm just sad. I'm just sad and disappointed, because, quite frankly, to get to this point, I think it's very revealing about many things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: On Wednesday, President Obama will lay out his long-term plan to bring down the nation's deficit. Now, aides say the blueprint puts Medicare and Medicaid spending on the table. The president also wants to let tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire so he can raise revenue.

Gas prices are closing in on the record highs set in 2008. AAA says that gas jumped almost 12 cents a gallon over the past three weeks. It is now running at $3.77 a gallon, on average, nationwide. A year ago, gas was almost $1 a gallon cheaper. Well, now it's just 34 cents from the record high, at $4.11.

Well, dangerous storms are possible from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes. That is happening today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: It doesn't happen that often, but right now both Republicans and Democrats seem to be agreeing on at least one thing -- that the country has to rein in its spending. And that could mean a major overhaul for a program that helps millions of seniors.

Our Carol Costello is here with today's "Talk Back" question.

Carol, I mean, this is amazing, because most politicians beforehand would not touch this.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, but maybe the time is right. maybe voters say, hey, we understand. Who knows?

But is pretty clear Medicare, once untouchable, is now on the political chopping block. At least in some form.

Sure, everyone pays into Medicare through payroll taxes, but here's the ugly math -- 47 million people are enrolled in Medicare today. By 2040, Medicare will cover nearly double the people it does now, but it will cost three times as much. Medicare, it would seem, is unsustainable.

But how to go about changing it? Republicans say to save Medicare, the government should stop paying bills directly and, instead, give seniors vouchers so they can purchase private insurance. That's to make health care more affordable, they say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: The price controls of Medicare today are causing doctors to stop seeing patients, and Medicare is the biggest contributor to sky-rocketing health care costs. Price controls, which is the current plan in Medicare, doesn't work. What we think works to bring down price costs is competition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Not to be outdone, Democrats are jumping on the change Medicare bandwagon. President Obama plans to unveil his proposal this week, with one distinct difference from the GOP. That's what his top adviser is hinting, anyway. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PLOUFFE, PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Seniors, the poor, the middle class in the congressional Republican plan are asked to bear most of the burden. If you weren't giving enormous tax cuts to millionaires, you wouldn't have to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The GOP proposal cuts Medicare costs without raising taxes, although it does close tax loopholes. According to the Congressional Budget Office, however, the GOP plan will cost seniors more for health care. But can Mr. Obama do any better?

So, today's "Talk Back": Is now the time to consider changing Medicare?

Write to me at Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll read some of your answers later this hour.

MALVEAUX: A lot of people expecting specifics from the president on Wednesday. They have not been really big on specifics. We're looking for some answers here.

COSTELLO: No, but maybe, finally, it's time, and maybe Paul Ryan has pushed the president into coming up with a detailed plan that does affect entitlement programs.

MALVEAUX: The Republicans are certainly pushing the agenda, setting the agenda.

Thank you, Carol.

Here's a look at what's ahead "On the Rundown."

The future of nuclear power here in the United States in light of what we've been seeing, that crisis in Japan.

Also, how to protect yourself from a security breach that may expose your personal information.

And out of the spotlight, but now back in turmoil. New unrest in Egypt.

Plus, another budget battle ahead over raising the country's debt limit.

And finally, a senator's comment about Planned Parenthood put to the Truth-o-Meter test.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: If you want an abortion you go to Planned Parenthood. And that's well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Back to our lead story, the cease-fire efforts that are under way in Libya right now.

African Union mediators, they're trying to get opposition leaders to agree to a proposal that Moammar Gadhafi now has accepted.

Our CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, he joins us live from Tripoli.

And Fred, first of all the African Union, this delegation, is talking now to opposition leaders in Benghazi, but the proposal doesn't address whether or not Gadhafi's actually going to step down.

Do we think that this plan is dead on arrival?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, pretty much, according to what the rebels think. I mean, obviously, getting rid of Moammar Gadhafi is really the main thing that they want to do, and certainly it appears as though they are rejecting this proposal that's been put forward by the African Union leaders. And that was certainly the centerpiece, but it wasn't only that.

I mean, the other things that the rebels were really skeptical about was, first of all, the mediators themselves. The African Union have a long history with Moammar Gadhafi. They've received a lot of money from Moammar Gadhafi.

The countries of the African Union, each of them have received a lot of money from Moammar Gadhafi. So he's still very popular there. So it didn't seem to many rebels that this was really an impartial offer, if you will, Suzanne.

And the other big thing is Moammar Gadhafi's track record when it comes to cease-fires. As you know, along the way, in this long ordeal of this civil war, we've seen a lot of cease-fires that were announced by the Libyan government, but then NATO has come along and said the Libyan army still continues to shell towns, still continues to attack civilians, and, of course, still continues to advance in the east.

So those are certainly some pretty big sticking points for this cease- fire proposal -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK. Fred Pleitgen.

Still very unclear whether or not there's any kind of viable deal between Gadhafi and the opposition.

Thank you, Fred. Appreciate it.

Well, also, moving on, exactly a month after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, there are now more aftershocks that are rocking that area. The most powerful quake, a 6.6 magnitude, triggered landslides and even fires. It also forced a brief evacuation of workers at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. They're still trying to cool down these crippled reactors, and the government wants to widen now the evacuation zone around the plant, which means more people will have to leave their homes.

So, what about the safety, the future of nuclear plants in this country?

From New York, I want to bring in former EPA administrator and former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman.

Thank you so much for being here.

Full disclosure, currently co-chairs a nuclear advocacy group paid for by nuclear energy. But we want to talk about Japan here, if we can just focus on that for a minute, because what we've been seeing here is that new news regarding the Fukushima plant, and now Japanese people's exposure to radiation, it gets more and more devastating as we learn more about this.

When you watch this, do you believe that you've heard the worst out of Japan, or do you even suspect that we are looking at another Chernobyl?

CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, FMR. EPA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, we certainly hope we've heard the worst. I can't presume to know one way or the other because I'm not there. But, clearly, every day seems to pose another challenge to them.

They've now widened the evacuation zone, as you say, but in fairness, if you think about it, that's exactly what the chairman of our nuclear regulatory commission suggested from the get-go. So whether that recognizes an increased problem, or just finally saying, yes, we should have done this all along, I can't tell you. But obviously if that sort of thing were to ever happen in this country, you would have seen this kind of evacuation zone from the get-go.

MALVEAUX: Obviously, for some folks it's a little to little too late. When you look at our nuclear facilities in this country, are you convinced that they are safe? Are they prepared for anything, whether it's an earthquake, tsunami, even a strategic attack?

WHITMAN: Well, I mean, you can never say you're prepared for everything. Obviously, you just can't predicate and predict everything that might happen. But certainly, ours are enormously safe.

After 9/11, they vastly increased the security around them, and they're learning and imposing new restrictions right now as we speak. I think as you recognize, in the middle of a crisis is the worst time to make long-term policy, but this is when you start taking initial steps. And already, the nuclear energy industry has told every one of the operators they have to perform their -- there are four steps that they have to take within a month to go back and check.

What would they do if they lost power? What would they do in case of water? Are they secure enough if there were to be a direct attack from an airplane? Of course, these are all things they've been anticipating before, but now, obviously, you ratchet it up a step because we've never seen anything like this.

MALVEAUX: What is the biggest threat do you think to our nuclear plants?

WHITMAN: Well, if you take what happened in Japan, the biggest threat would be combination of an earthquake that causes a tsunami. Actually, the reactors in Japan worked the way they should in reaction to the earthquake. They shut down. That's what they are supposed to do.

It was the tsunami that took out the cooling, the generators that provided the cooling for the rods. And so that's something you've got -- about which we all need to be concerned, and we are.

And that's why the industry is spending so much time, as is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which is a separate government agency overseeing the industry, to make sure that they are following through on the kinds of security measures we need to take. But, you know, you can never say you can anticipate absolutely everything.

The world's going to end anyway, I think they're all saying on the 12th of May, something like that. And I love the headline, "Are You Prepared?" I don't know what you do if the world comes to an end, how you prepare for that or what you're preparing for. But you have to take this very seriously.

MALVEAUX: And Governor --

WHITMAN: You have to be very concerned. The industry is.

MALVEAUX: Sure. And real quick here, if I may, half of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors are over 30 years old. That's according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Is that not a problem, that we have such an old structure, an old fleet, if you will, of these plants?

WHITMAN: Well, actually, the probably is that eventually, they're going to be aging out and we're going to have to replace that power and find some source that does it in a clean way. As for the reactors themselves, most of them -- or many of them -- they're all going through a re-licensing process. All those that have gone through re- licensing thus far from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have gotten another 20-to-30-year life. But

So they're here for a while, but we have to anticipate the fact that at some point, we're going to need to replace that power. It's 20 percent of our power today, but over 70 percent of our clean power. And that's really the challenge -- how do we provide an affordable, reliable power that doesn't destroy our environment?

MALVEAUX: OK. Governor Christine Todd Whitman, thank you so much for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. Appreciate your time.

WHITMAN: Pleasure.

MALVEAUX: Extreme weather is keeping our affiliates busy across the country today.

The hot and dry winds are fueling at least 13 wildfires in Texas. The largest has scorched 80,000 acres so far. Dozens of homes have burned now to the ground. Neighboring Oklahoma declared a state of emergency after fires forced evacuations there.

In Fargo, North Dakota, the Red River crested near 40 feet yesterday. It's expected to remain high again for another few days. That community has been sandbagging since Valentine's Day in anticipation of flooding.

Take a look at this monster tornado barreling towards the west Iowa town of Mapleton. It hit right before midnight on Sunday, with winds up to 165 miles per hour. Officials say that 60 percent of the town is leveled. No one was killed, if you can imagine that, or even seriously hurt, because warning sirens went off about 10 minutes before that tornado hit.

Well, it's a message that many of you saw in your inbox this weekend -- "Dear Valued Customer, your e-mail address may be in the wrong hands." So, is it really as scary as it sounds? We're going to go beyond the headlines with CNN's Carl Azuz.

And tell us what happened, how many have been affected by this data break, if you will

CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're looking at potentially tens of thousands of people. And that's why so many folks had e-mails over the weekend come into their inboxes saying exactly what you said, your e-mail address might have been compromised.

Basically, there is a company named Epsilon, and that company sends out the marketing and promotional e-mails for a lot of the places we do business with. Epsilon says about two percent of its information was actually stolen by a hacker. But if you look at the companies involved, it's a significant two percent.

We are talking about banks, hoteliers, retailers. You see Ameriprise, Chase on there, Verizon, Target. So, because there are so many significant companies involved here, that is why so many people could potentially get those e-mails we're talking about -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: I got one of those e-mails actually. And it was really quite surprising.

How is it going to impact us? I mean, is it really a dangerous situation that folks have your information now, that it's been compromised?

AZUZ: Well, fortunately, the danger is minimal. The only information they were able to get are names and e-mail addresses, and that's a good thing.

You do have to watch out for a couple things though. One is increased spam. You treat that just like you do any other spam. You delete it. But phishing is a little more serious. And what phishing is, is you might get an e-mail in your inbox that looks authentic, it looks like it might have come from Chase Bank, for example, and it asks you to click on the link and enter account information. It might even say something like, you've been locked out of your account, we need you to reset your security.

Things you can do to protect yourself -- don't click on a link and enter any personal information. Companies very rarely seek personal information through e-mail. You'll want to keep that in mind. If you see something suspicious, just go ahead and delete it.

If you have any questions, you can always call customer service on the back of your credit card or the back of your receipt to make sure if they're trying to get in touch with you.

MALVEAUX: I realize. I got one of those e-mails.

AZUZ: And as long as we're careful, I think we'll be all right. We just have to watch out for months now. Just be careful, don't click links and share personal info. We'll be OK.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carl. Appreciate the advice.

AZUZ: Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Thank you.

In today's "Choose the News," we are featuring people who are inspiring others. Let us know which story you'd like to see. Vote by texting 22630.

First, he lost a $6 million business and was declaring personal bankruptcy. So he popped in an opera CD to help him relax. And that one move changed his life forever.

Next, the remarkable story of a fifth grader born without hands or lower arms. Despite that, he wins a unique award at a national penmanship competition.

And finally, a Florida woman who epitomizes the expression "paying it forward." Hear the unique reason she decided to donate a kidney to a complete stranger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- to have her kidney in me, but the rest of her will be in my heart for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "The Accidental Tenor"; vote 2 for "Boy Without Hands Wins Penmanship Award"; or 3 for "Kidney Donated to Stranger."

The winning story will air in the next hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It was center stage in a movement that is still ripping through the Arab world. But while the eyes of the media have now turned to other battles, rage and unrest are still rocking Egypt.

We're going beyond the headlines with Michael Holmes to get a look at the situation in Cairo that is taking place right now.

Michael, thanks for joining us.

And we've seen a lot of activity, particularly other the weekend, that calls into question whether or not there is dramatic change that is happening in Egypt. What do we know?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is something we've talked about from the very beginning, isn't it, that we don't yet know what's going to happen. And it's certainly not a happy ending yet in Egypt.

You had those thousands of protesters who swarmed into Tahrir Square. That happened on Saturday.

Now, they were enraged by what had happened before, which was a deadly pre-dawn raid on demonstrators there by Egypt's military. There were actually some soldiers also among the protesters.

Those protesters were calling for the government to prosecute Hosni Mubarak, the former president, because of -- and they're saying that things aren't moving fast enough. There's amateur video on YouTube that shows the troops storming the square's central roundabout. We heard at least one person died from a gunshot wound, at least 42 were detained.

As I say, there were some soldiers in the mix there as well.

MALVEAUX: I understand that Hosni Mubarak, he's out of power, but he's now stepped back into the limelight. What is he saying?

HOLMES: Yes, not the way he wanted to, really.

On Sunday, we did hear from him for the first time since his ouster, which was two months ago now. Hard to believe.

He's still in his home on the Red Sea, Sharm El-Sheikh, essentially under house arrest. He has to stay in Egypt. He and his family, not allowed to leave.

Now, what had happened was he spoke up to deny allegations that he has property or bank accounts overseas. Protesters say otherwise, and investigators. They say he might have anywhere between $1 billion and $70 billion hidden away.

No evidence of a firm number yet, but certainly a nest egg. That's the accusation. Unconfirmed, as to how much, of course. Now, the attorney general is calling him and his sons, in for questioning about that money. We've seen that happen to other people in the former regime as well.

MALVEAUX: And it was funny how he came out and said, oh, I don't have anything. I don't have any -- don't worry about the money.

HOLMES: Yes. My reputation. That's right. Yes.

MALVEAUX: It seems to be almost like Egypt when you look at this -- it was really the catapult to so many different things -- that there's a lesson here that perhaps change does not come quickly, and it's not just about the toppling of one regime, this is an ongoing process.

HOLMES: That's exactly right. You know, we're not likely to see the kind of change that those protesters initially who were out there in Tahrir Square were hoping for, at least until the presidential elections, which are meant to take place later this year. But we need to see what parties will be there, what opposition will be formed. And will it be a good, strong opposition, a fair one?

If Egypt was supposed to be the model of a successful revolution, all of the aftershocks, if you like, that we're seeing could be a warning that this could be a very slow, painful process not just in Egypt, but in other countries dealing with similar uprisings in the region. And a lot of those uprisings didn't have the restraint that we saw in the Egyptian revolution.

So, yes, a long way to go yet. Not just in Egypt, but all throughout the region.

MALVEAUX: All right, Michael. Thank you.

HOLMES: Good to see you.

MALVEAUX: Good to have you back from break.

HOLMES: Nice to be back. Surfing. Very nice. Loved it.

MALVEAUX: Oh, nice vacation, huh?

HOLMES: It was.

MALVEAUX: I'm envious.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Michael.

Another story that we're monitoring, this in Africa, the arrest of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo. His refusal to step down after losing an election months ago plunged Ivory Coast into civil war that has left hundreds dead. While it is not immediately clear who arrested Gbagbo, his advisers said French troops stormed the presidential compound and seized him. But French officials say he was captured by forces loyal Alassane Ouattara. That is the man recognized by world leaders as the rightful president.

Gbagbo is being held at a hotel where Ouattara and the United Nations are headquartered, and we are told that he will face justice.

Well, if the national debt were a credit card, it would be about maxed out. We're going to tell you what the budget debate in Washington will mean for your family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEUAX: Here's a look at what's ahead on "The Rundown." First, the battle over government spending. Why what we saw last week may be just a preview.

Plus, John Boehner getting heat from the Tea Party.

And Donald Trump on the birther bandwagon. His claims tested in the Truth-o-meter.

The battle over this year's budget nearly brought Washington to a standstill. But the real war? That's going to be over how government plans to pay for next year's bills, and the year after that and the year after that. At the heart of the debate is what is being called the debt ceiling.

Carl Azuz is here to break down some of the tough questions, all of the numbers here. And Carl, first of all, just explain to us what is the debt ceiling?

AZUZ: Great question. Best to start off with a definition. Essentially, the debt ceiling is a cap. This is a limit set by Congress on the amount of debt that the federal government can legally borrow. So, when we're spending more than we can afford to pay off is when we need a debt ceiling.

And you can think of this kind of like your credit card. You've got a credit limit, that's the maximum amount you are allowed to borrow. Now, imagine all of America's debt all being on that credit card. We maxed out that card a long time ago. And we've raised that time limit time and time again. In fact, we've had to do it 74 times since the 1960s, to be exact. But in order to raise that limit, Congress and the president have to sign off on it.

Now take a look at the national debt over the past 20 years. Through the roof with expenses like Social Security, military operations. Now, we are way up right now at over $14 trillion worth of debt and we're within a whisker of maxing that out again. That's got a lot of people ticked off.

We'll most likely hit the debt ceiling this May. And if we don't increase that debt ceiling the United States will have to default or to continue the analogy, not make our credit card payment. That would be really bad for the value of the U.S. dollar.

MALVEAUX: So, if the U.S. government can't borrow enough money to keep it running, then what happens? AZUZ: Well, then they'd have to take immediate action to cut spending or raise taxes or some kind of combination in order to meet its obligations. And according to Tim Geithner, the Treasury secretary, not raising the debt ceiling would have some very tangible consequences immediately. This could affect military salaries, retirement benefits. Also Social Security, Medicare payments. We wouldn't be keeping up our interest on the debt, either, and add that to the fact unemployment benefits, tax returns could be affected, too.

There aren't easy answers here, Suzanne, because we are the at over $14 trillion, we are counting and we are considering raising that again. But these are the types of core political issues that could really cause an ugly fight, and we expect it to in Washington.

MALVEAUX: It's just the beginning. All right, Carl, thanks very much for explaining all of this. Really appreciate that.

AZUZ: Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEUAX: Thanks.

The last-minute budget deal kept the government running. We're going to have some brand-new poll numbers out on who gets credit and who gets blame. That up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED ARMISEN, SNL CAST MEMBER: The Capitol building cleaning staff is unhappy with the mess we left after our meetings. Congressional interns were unhappy to work late on Friday. A night they reserve for casual, commitment-free hook-ups.

(LAUGHTER)

Members of the military are very unhappy at being used as pawns by both sides in this debate while nonessential government workers are upset about being reminded once again that they are nonessential.

And kids across the country are deeply unhappy that their family vacations to national parks will now go forward as planned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You got to love it. Saturday Night Live's President Obama with a laundry list of reasons why nobody it seems has any love for the new budget agreement. The House today takes up the last-minute budget deal that kept the federal government up and running. In the new poll numbers we're seeing released just this hour shows that most Americans do approve of this deal.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 58 percent say they approve of the agreement, while 38 percent say they disapprove. Want to bring in our senior political analyst Gloria Borger, who joins us from Washington. Gloria, it was a great clip because everybody kind of gets a chuckle out of that one. Who was happy here? Who's actually satisfied with what happened?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it would have been a complete embarrassment for everyone, Suzanne, if they hadn't cut some kind of a deal. Honestly, given congressional approval ratings which is somewhere below 20 percent, if they hadn't gotten this deal, I think they all would have been in some trouble. And in the end I think that John Boehner, the speaker of the House, convinced his Republican caucus that this was the best that he could get, and so they did it. And I think it was probably a pretty good thing for all of them.

MALVEAUX: Who gets the most credit, do you think, Gloria, for the budget agreement?

BORGER: It's kind of interesting because we did a poll that kind of broke that down. Let's take a look at it.

Democrats approved of the budget deal 66 percent. Independents, 56 percent. Republicans, 47 percent. So you see there, Suzanne, Democrats were the most willing to compromise, but that 56 percent number from independents is very, very important because of course, those are the voters that both parties are going to need come 2012. You see that it was the independent voters who really revolted against the Democrats in the midterm election.

So, they're a little happier now because they saw both sides working together. So, this was a good thing as far as they were concerned, and that bodes well for everyone.

MALVEAUX: How did that play out on the Republican side?

BORGER: Well, it's interesting -- I mean Republicans are not really thrilled with the budget deal. They want to have more budget cutting, Suzanne. And that's kind of a problem because Democrats are getting more credit for this.

Take a look at this. "Who's more responsible for the budget agreement that prevented the government shutdown?" Obama, the Democrats, get 48 percent. Republicans get 35 percent. So, that's where you see the independent voters having an impact there.

But I should say, Suzanne, that when you look at the approval rating of the president, he's gone down a few points to 48 percent, down from 51 percent. So, he's not getting a tremendous amount of credit here either. You know, so overall, I think it's kind of a wash. But it would have been a disaster for both parties if they hadn't gotten something done.

MALVEAUX: The Tea Party folks really don't seem to be to happy with Speaker Boehner. I just went on their Web site, read this -- they say that "The almost universal opinion of Tea Party members is the agreement between John "the white flag of surrender" Boehner and the Democrats is nothing short of a disaster."

I mean how are they going to resolve the differences within their own party? How is Boehner going to control his own party? BORGER: You know, this is a real challenge for both parties right now. If you look at the Republican party, Suzanne, I think they're trying to redefine conservatism to a certain degree. It's got to be about cutting the deficit. It's got to have some social agenda in it. But there do they find the middle ground so they can get the bulk of their party to agree on things? J

And just as they're defining -- redefining conservatism, you look at Barack Obama and the Democrats. He's kind of redefining what it means to be a liberal, and where can he get his Democrats on board for these budget cuts that are going to be very, very difficult? I mean, I presume when we se this vote in the House, the president is not going to get 100 percent of his Democrats on board with these budget cuts. And Hoehner won't get 100 percent of his Republican caucus either in the House.

So, we're really at a moment right now as we head into the 2012 election as the leaders try and redefine exactly what their parties are going to stand for in the next presidency.

MALVEAUX: And there's so much at stake because we're talking about everybody -- benefits major entitlement programs, and people who really depend on the government in some ways.

BORGER: A lot of constituencies at play here, Suzanne. Women, younger voters, senior voters when you think of Medicare, so sort of everything seems to be up in the air right now.

MALVEAUX: All right, Gloria Borger, thank you so much. Appreciate your perspective.

Controversial comments that made last week from Donald Trump, Representative Charlie Rangel and Senator Jon Kyl. We're going to test them all in the Truth-O-Meter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So we've been hearing a lot about government spending lately from lawmakers who want to take an ax to a few programs. Well, what's true, what's false? Want to bring in our Bill Adair. He's been doing some checking for us. He's the editor of politifact.com and the Washington bureau chief for the "St. Petersburg Times."

Bill, thanks for being here.

I want to start with this one first. OK. Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona said that abortion services are, quote, "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does." True or false?

BILL ADAIR, EDITOR, POLITIFACT.COM: That one got a false on the Truth- O-Meter. That's just way off, particularly if you look at the number of procedures done by Planned Parenthood. Abortion services only account for about 3 percent. There are other ways of looking at it. But, overall, it's just false. In fact, Kyl himself has acknowledged it's false. MALVEAUX: All right. And what about Congressman Charlie Rangel's claims? He says that "Franklin Roosevelt was the last president to come to Congress to ask for permission to engage into war."

ADAIR: We rated that one half true on our Truth-O-Meter. The reason is, he's technically correct that FDR was the last president to seek a declaration of war, which, of course, is what's in the Constitution. But it's important to point out that several other presidents have sought approval for wars, such as President George Herbert Walker Bush did for the Persian Gulf War back in the early '90s. So Rangel gets a half true.

MALVEAUX: Finally, Donald Trump, who may or may not run for president, we'll see, says President Obama's "grandmother in Kenya said he was born in Kenya and she was there and witnessed the birth." In fact, I pressed him on this last week. Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR (voice-over): His grandmother in Kenya said that he was born in Kenya. Now, he could have been born -- and she said it very strongly, that he was born in Kenya and she was there when he was born. And the newspapers were a week late. So he could have been born in Kenya and gone over to the United States and everybody wants to be a U.S. citizen and his grandparents put an ad in saying that he was born in the United States, because of all the benefits you get from being born in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ADAIR: That one got a false on the Truth-O-Meter. Trump is just wrong that she said that very strongly. In fact, if you listen to the tape, she didn't say it strongly. She said it. She was confused. She then went back and corrected herself and repeatedly said, no, he was born in America. And so he gets a false. It's worth listening is the whole tape because although she got it wrong initially, she corrected herself.

MALVEAUX: Right, that's --

ADAIR: And --

MALVEAUX: Widely debunked.

ADAIR: It has been widely debunked. And yet Donald Trump persists with that one.

MALVEAUX: All right, Bill Adair, thanks for setting the record straight. As always, we appreciate it. Thanks.

ADAIR: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: We're getting a lot of responses to today's "Talk Back" question. We asked, is the time now to consider changing Medicare? Peter Swiss says, "no, I am disabled and will be on Medicare in a year. I will need it to pay my medical costs. I live on my Social Security disability and can't afford extra costs." Carol Costello is back with more of your responses.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The budget battle in Washington could end up with major changes to the country's Medicare program. Right now, about 47 million seniors in this country rely on Medicare for their health care coverage. That is the topic of today's "Talk Back" question. And Carol Costello, she's got more on what all those folks have to say about this. They weighed in.

What'd they think?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They had a lot to say, let me tell you. The "Talk Back" question, is it time to consider changing Medicare.

This from Rusty. "Strengthen it so that it costs less but still provides the very much needed benefits the disabled and elderly need. And for goodness's sakes, don't use the savings to pay for yet another tax cut that further drives up the budget deficit and the national debt."

This from Daisy. "With the aging population, it would be foolish not to take the time right now to change it. Chang it now so that more people can benefit later. It's a must."

This from Cindy. "Medicare is affected by the unbridled greed of pharmaceutical companies and hospital chains, both of which have had Republicans profiting from them. Now we're to believe these profiteers want to fix Medicare by replacing it with private companies so they can make more profit off the backs of grandpa and grandma?"

And this from Daniel. "All the people that have enough money either from their retirement plans or from what they have earned in their lifetime to take care of all their needs and expenses, including health care, should not receive Social Security or Medicare. That money should be a patriotic gift for the elderly."

Oh, Daniel, I think that will be a very tough sell.

Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn, facebook.com/carolcnn.

That is a good idea. I mean some people think that is a good idea for Social Security because these millionaires don't need their Social Security benefits after they retire, but they're not giving them up.

MALVEAUX: Right. And President Bush didn't do so well trying to privatize Social Security, so --

COSTELLO: Oh, that lasted for about 2.5 seconds.

MALVEAUX: Yes. We got to go. All right, thank you, Carol.

Accepted by a dream college, then denied. Financial aid. Devastating news to students and their parents. But "Smart Is The New Rich" author Christine Romans says there are options.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OLIVIA POGLIANICH, STUDENT: And two new dorms, which everyone wants to room in, but I'm kind of leaning towards the all-freshman dorm.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, HOST, CNN'S "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" (voice-over): Eighteen-year-old Olivia Poglianich has made it into her first choice school, Cornell. And she's hoping she gets to go.

CLAUDIA POGLIANICH, OLIVIA'S MOTHER: We are waiting between two very good schools that she likes, one school has already awarded the financial aid package and one school hasn't, so we are on pins and needles.

ROMANS: Tuition is up a whopping 400 percent since the 1980s. That means many families simply cannot manage without some sort of financial aid. But that's not the only option. "Princeton Review" publisher Robert Franek says --

ROBERT FRANEK, PUBLISHER, "PRINCETON REVIEW": 529 plans are college savings plans.

ROMANS: Specifics vary from state to state, but here are the basics. There are two types. You can invest in a savings plan where the money goes into investments like mutual funds. And there's a pre-paid college plan, which allows parents to purchase units now and bypass higher tuition later.

This mom tweets from Florida, "I've prepaid the college tuition for my two boys. Florida's program is great. It freezes the cost at the time you sign up." Her sons are now 13 and 15. "I signed up for the plan this when they were 8 and 10 and now it's all paid up. A great feeling."

But some states are no longer taking new enrollments and market fluctuations and state budget crises have raised concerns about the future of some other programs. But what happens if your child doesn't go to the state school as planned?

FRANEK: Generally speaking, if you don't use those accounts, if you don't use those resources for approved educational expenses, so tuition, room and board and any fees that that university would charge, you can, in some states, port (ph) that over to another sibling or another family member. So there is some portability factor for some 529 plans.

O. POGLIANICH: I'm very excited just to get going. To know the day that I'll start orientation. To know who my roommate's going to be and to know that my mom and I will be able to afford a college education at one of my dream schools.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Here's your "Choose The News" winner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're always trying hard at everything you do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His classmates, teacher and family, an entire gym packed to celebrate Nick Maxim's extraordinary effort.

EVERT MAXIM, NICK'S FATHER: No matter what it is, if he wants to do something, he puts his mind to it and keeps working on it until he gets it the way he wants it to be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Born without the lower two thirds of his arms, Nick has spent a young lifetime overcoming some pretty tough odds. But don't tell his fellow students he's any different than they are.

QUINN HYLAND, NIC'S BEST FRIEND: He can do things that I can, and things that I can't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Things like playing football, soccer and writing. A pencil clutched between his arms, Nick attacks writing in the same manner he does virtually every task, seemingly unphased by his disability.

NICK MAXIM, BORN WITHOUT HANDS: Because I just like writing. Writing's my hobby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That hobby, though, has caught the attention of a company which sponsors the National Handwriting Contest. Hoping now to entice other disabled students to follow Nick's lead, it has created a new special category. And the winner will receive the Nick Maxim Trophy.

SEAN REARDON, ZANER-BLOSER HANDWRITING: The inspiration that a boy like that can provide someone who doesn't let their disability be a hindrance to them. It's just something for them to aspire to and to work hard. And that inspires other people around the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those closest to Nick say they're no longer surprised by his accomplishments. They come from simply working to be the best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes his best is better than some other people. Sometimes his best isn't quite as good, but it's his best.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: If your choice did not win or you just want to check out the runners-up, we'll have links to them on my Facebook page, Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN.

CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Randi Kaye, in for Ali Velshi. Hey, Randi.