this in more capable hands than mine. my good friend tony harris will be taking you through the next two hours in the newsroom. hello there. >> good to see you. you have a great day. sunny and 75 in atlanta. not tough to take. here are some of the big stories. in the cnn newsroom for monday, april 26th, how about this? the 20th anniversary of the hub bell telescope. violent tornados in the south. at least 12 people killed. survivors relive the terrifying moments. >> it was terrifying. i mean, scared me to death. i have never been in anything like this before in my life. >> our severe weather team bringing you all the angles of the storm. plus this -- >> i was based here. i grew up here. i don't know if i want to live here anymore. >> fighting for his country, taking on his state's new immigration law. an american soldier born in mexico, raised in arizona. >> you know, for a short term, you know, whatever. at least to try to get some of

the violence down, you know, i think it will work. >> i don't think it's a good idea. >> why? >> it's dangerous. >> yeah. in chicago, residents are certainly reacting to what some consider a pretty drastic idea. yeah. you see the picture there. calling in the national guard to combat a violent crime wave. good morning, everyone. i'm tony harris. those stories and your comments right here, right now in the cnn newsroom. if you need proof the job market is still struggling, look no further than queens, new york. hundreds of people camped out for the chance to apply for 100 jobs repairing elevators. they started lining up at 4:00 a.m. friday. cnn's ines ferre is there. what's the situation like this morning? >> reporter: well, tony, as you said, these people have been here since friday. some of them since last night.

this is really kind of the end of the line now. the door started opening a for 750 applications to be given out. you could take tests and then interview for an elevator mechanic job. this was just filled with hundreds and hundreds of people that have been waiting here. as you can see, it's drizzling. yesterday, it rained. right here, gabriel, you have been here since midnight, you're saying? >> yes. since midnight last night. >> reporter: i heard the announcement from one of the cops that there weren't any more applications left, correct? or there were only 50 left. what are you feeling now? >> that's what we were told. i feel horrible. the fact is that last night around 4:00 in the morning there was just -- someone said something about the line forming and hundreds of people literally ran for this spot. >> reporter: a lot of people came here. >> literally running, skipping everyone else.

this chaos, this desperation really causes people to get hurt. causes serious situations. >> reporter: gabriel, you have been looking for a job for how long? >> for over a year now. >> reporter: well, good luck. i hope you're one of the people that gets to go in there. the cops have been slowly just letting about 20 people in at a time because this is really the last of it, tony. as you can see, this job is really important to people because, a, it's a union job. some of the people in line told me that they have been looking for work for a long time. other people have work but they feel this is a real career they can go towards. it is an apprentice type of job, four years of school plus a job that pays $16 an hour starting salary with benefits. so important to them. >> help me with this. maybe you can clear it up for me. we are getting word -- and maybe you don't have access to this information because you're outside and maybe this is from

someone inside that the doors are about to close and that the facility is essentially allowed in just about everyone it can at this point. it sounds like you have a lot of people still in line. >> reporter: definitely. some people have left already because there was an announcement saying there are only 50 applications left. the probability is that you guys aren't going to get in through those doors, tony. so, yeah, this is really dwindling down. >> one last note. how much do those jobs pay? >> reporter: $16.40 an hour sartisart i starting salary, plus increases err year. it's a four-year apprentice program. >> is there something you wanted to add there? >> reporter: a lot of folks they this is a career. this union takes care of about 60% of the elevators in new york ci city. >> i guess if the applications

aren't available, the jobs are filling up, that's just the way it is. appreciate it. thank you. some of the most coveted jobs in america now are apprenticeships. that's where you learn how to do the job on the job. watch our story "apprenticeship" wednesday. coming up, internal company e-mails show goldman sachs bet on the housing crash even bragged about it. those e-mails are fuelling democrats' push for financial oversight. goldman sachs executives face tough questions tomorrow on capitol hill about conduct before and during the housing market melt-down. the securities and exchange commission will investigate pursuing charges against the firm. snrk a violent crime wave in chicago prompts a call for the national guard to step in. the surge in crime include as night last week when seven

people were killed and 18 wounded. the police superintendent says calling in troops isn't the answer but two state dau lawmakers say police need help. >> we have the ability with very little effort to immediately deploy these men and women right here in their backyard to assist the police department. >> let's go back to 1970 at kent state. national guard comes in. four students shot, killed. i don't think we want that in chicago. >> we want to hear from you. should the national guard be called? ? think about it. go to our blog and leave us a message. we'll share your comments on the air later in the newsroom. you know, it's been nearly a week since an oil rig exploded and sank off the gulf of mexico. crews are scrambling to find ways to stop it from leaking. right now, an unmanned submarine is being used to try to shut off the valves. about 42,000 gallons are gushing out every day.

the leak goes as far as a mile down and an oil slick on the surface has grown to about the size of houston. wow. a painful cleanup effort is under way after this weekend's deadly tornados. at least ten people killed in mississippi. two in alabama. reynolds wolf is in a hard hit city in mississippi. reynolds, tell us exactly where you are. look at that scene behind you. >> reporter: it's hard to believe, tony. this is basically the stamp of a storm that came through here. it was a mile wide from where you happen to be and the viewers tuning in, seeing this on the screen. the storm came from behiemd you and back over to the watertowers. the storm, incredibly wide. about a mile at times. it actually expanded to about a mile and three-quarters. farther up the path that extends back into alabama also. when it came through here you can see the damage. here in the foreground you have

what's left of the church n. the background you see tree damage. some of the trees almost untouched. others just shattered stumps for the time being. some of the worst damage was here in yazoo county. a trail of destruction and a fatal blow to mississippi. >> it was terrifying. i mean, scare me to death. >> roof started to cave in on us. sounded like a train coming through the restaurant. top flying off the restaurant. >> reporter: a twister with winds up to 160 miles per hour tore across mississippi saturday killing almost a dozen people, including two children and a 3-month-old baby. >> reporter: a twister with winds up to 160 miles per hour tore across mississippi saturday killing almost a dozen people, including two children and a 3-month-old baby. more than 30 people were injured. >> it was unbelievable.

when the wind exploded it was like anything i have never experienced. >> reporter: sunday, many people came to see what's left of neighborhoods. toppled trees, damaged carrings, hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed. >> we're lucky to be alive. >> reporter: rescue operations continued sunday. a state of emergency official says there are no specific reports of people being trapped inside the rubble. mississippi's governor says there is utter obliteration in yazoo county where he grew up and owns a home. but he believes it could have been worse. >> my god's grace it did not go into the central part of the city or the most populated. now it is expected that later this afternoon the governor will request for federal assistance. understandably so when you have this widespread devastation. devastation that rob was talking about earlier during an update where the winds now, much stronger than 160 miles per hour, possibly exceeding 170 miles per hour. >> wow. >> that is as strong as a category five hurricane, tony. this being in a state that borders parts of the gulf of mexico that is prone to dealing with tropical systems when they come on shore, be it tropical storms or hurricanes. they are used to this stuff. but still, it's mind boggling. they have their work cut out for them. there have been instances of

neighbor helping neighbor but they are also getting assistance in the state. over 80 members of the mississippi national guard will be here to help clean things up. what a tall order on a day with sunny skies. back to you. >> reynolds, i'm going to do this on the fly because i know you can handle it, but i want to see the scene behind you here. what are we looking at here behind you? >> reporter: unfortunately i'm encumbered by a little bit of ifb cord. >> you're tethered. >> reporter: exactly. we have a nice shot here for you. it's a nice shot but not nice content. this came through like a giant sawblade. this is just a tiny part of what happened here at hillcrest baptist church. this scene has played out in many places. nearly 700 buildings completely damaged by the storm as it came through. many people at home today.

the local shelters set up by the american red cross housed 38 people last night. many people stayed with friends and family. pure evidence of people helping people. but the sad thing is this is a tiny speck of the stamp of the storm. you're going to see more of this. on the other side of the hill, and i don't know if we can get a shot of this, you can see a bit of aluminum siding, wires. you can even see pieces of cars. a car door here and there pikd up and thrown. michael humphrey, our truck operator took shots of wood driven through by the strong winds. a piece of wood going through parts of sicinderblock walls. it's shocking. hard to believe. >> terrific. >> reporter: that's a big killer. >> we just wanted to see what was behind you there and what's left of the church there. good stuff as always. appreciate it, sir.

thank you. my goodness. some of the ireporters were also on the scene minutes after the twister barrelled through yazoo city. take a look at these incredible shots from timothy ginn. you can see it for yourself here. it's like a bit of a small forest of broken trees, snapped off, looking like toothpicks there. don't forget. if you have pictures to share with us, send them along to cnn.com/ireport. so will more parts of the southeast get hit today? rob marciano is tracking the system from florida to virginia. his forecast coming up for you. the markets have been open for coming up on two hours now. let's get a look at the latest. the dow up 41 points. we're following these numbers throughout the day for you here on the cnn newsroom. that's why we created the tide "loads of hope" program, a free laundry service that provides clean clothes to families affected by disasters. [ woman ] it feels so good to be able to know that i've got clean clothes. you don't know how very basic essentials are

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don't spend your money in arizona! [ cheers and applause ] >> here we go. thousands of people have been demonstrating against arizona's new immigration law calling it racist. the law signed friday by governor jan brewer is due to take effect in 90 days. it will require police to check the immigration status of anyone suspected of being undocumented.

one u.s. soldier for whom the issue is personal. ♪ >> i'm here because this is something that's close to my heart. i went off to protect this country, protect my family. that's what hurts. it's my job to try and save lives. >> reporter: private first class jose medina is 20 years old, an army medic home on leave in arizona. >> when i first joined the military they would ask, where are you from? i was proud to say, i'm from the great state of arizona. i was raised here. i grew up here. i don't know if i can say that. i don't know if i even want to live here anymore. >> reporter: for medina, this is personal. you were not born in this country? >> no, i wasn't. >> reporter: you were born in mexico. >> that's right.

iillegally when i was 2. >> reporter: but now he has a green card. >> when i heard of the law that passed i couldn't believe it because the america that i know -- freedom, liberties that we enjoy are for everyone. i love this state. i grew up here. but a state that doesn't even want you here? i might take this uniform off. >> reporter: why do people feel indignant about being asked to produce an i.d. that they ought to have? >> it's an insult almost because of the color of your skin, because you're not white. >> reporter: is it that you resent the fact that you could be stopped and asked for your papers while you're fighting for this country? is that what angers you? >> it's not so much anger. it's hurt that, you know, that could happen to me, to my family, my friends.

come on, man. come eat. >> reporter: hours before his flight, jose invited us to his going away dinner. >> you may go to afghanistan, iraq. after this night, man, we may not see you again. you are offering your life for this country, for all of us. >> it's my duty to go and do what i have to do. >> reporter: before jose left arizona he told me he was leaving with a heavy heart. >> i worry. will my family live in peace? while it's keeping us safe here, if we lose ourselves, lose a part of what makes america so

great? if we drive fear into our own people's hearts. >> reporter: thelma gutierrez, cnn. >> there will be a showdown in a few hours on financial reform. for people with astigmatism. acuvue oasys for astigmatism. they work with the way my eyes move and blink, which helps them stay in place. and this is the only lens of its kind made with hydraclear plus. i'm seeing more clearly, crisply, comfortably, all day long. now life doesn't have to be a blur. [ male announcer ] for a free trial pair certificate, go to getacuvue.com. acuvue oasys for astigmatism.

a political showdown today over efforts to crack down on wall street. democrats scheduled a vote this evening to e begin debate on financial reform legislation. republicans say "not so fast." let the bipartisan negotiations play out. >> the vote against this bill as it stands and i hope a lot of democrats would. >> 18 months later we're in no better position today to protect ourselves against that kind of crisis again than we were 18 months ago. >> dana bash is live from capitol hill. great to see you.

here's the lay of the land here. we have a test vote planned for early this evening to start debate on this legislation, but it's not looking like it's going to pass, so why hold the vote? >> reporter: it's a very good question. democrats say it is one of the lessons they learned from the health care debate that lasted a very long time. if you let the bipartisan talks go on too long then the whole thing will drag out. they say they will hold this vote to keep the pressure on. but democratic sources are not shy about the political upside to potentially losing this vote tonight. according to a source i just hung up the phone with, they say, look, republicans will be faced with a dave oh headlines say -- day of headlines saying they blocked reform. here's what the political goal is. their political goal is to -- they think they have all the republicans lined up to vote against this to start debate which means blocking it because

democrats need at least one republican vote. the argument will be, look, we are voting against the bill. but we are voting for bipartisanship. there are earnest bipartisan discussions still going on. if they have a few more days, maybe longer, there could be a big bipartisan bill here. >> okay. let's dig a little bit deeper here. what is in the bill democrats are pushing now and what are the issues that republicans have with it? >> very long and very complicated. let's peel out a couple of interesting nuggets here. first of all, the bill -- and this is the democrats' bill written mostly by banking chairman chris dodd would have new consumer financial protection bureau. that would set up a bureau designed to protect you, the consumer, from abusive practices from lenders, mortgage companies, credit card folks and others. republicans are worried that specific bureau would be too -- not only intrusive but set up too much work for a lot of banks, especially the small

lenders in communities all over the country and it would make them fold and cost jobs. that's one example. another is a new process to liquidate failed companies. we all remember from the fall of 2008 when government had to bail out companies it was because they were called too big to fail. it would hurt the entire economy. well, the goal here is to set up a process to unwind or liquidate some of the companies in an orderly fashion so there wouldn't be such a thing as too big to fail. the problems with republicans is there are too many loopholes. the goal is to make sure taxpayers aren't on the hook anymore, but there are loopholes that actually do just that -- put taxpayers on the hook. those are some of many, many things they are trying to work out with the overall goal that everybody says they have which is to make sure the taxpayer bailout doesn't happen again. >> so senator shelby is holding an event here soon? >> reporter: some of his staff is giving a background briefing

to have a discussion with reporters on what his position is, just to lay d groundwork. we believe at 2:00 this afternoon senator shelby, the ranking republican who we heard from earlier in the segment and the chairman chris dodd will go back to the table to have negotiations. but at this point, hearing both sides, it doesn't sound like they will have a deal tonight. >> let us know what happens in that little briefing, that little gaggle if there is news made. >> reporter: sure will, tony. >> appreciate it. coming up this hour, financial expert diane swonk joins me and christine romans. we'll kick it around with a lively debate on reforming wall street. let's check top stories right now. tensions are rising again in a long-running dispute over u.s. air base on the japanese island of okinawa. nearly 100,000 protesters turned out yesterday demanding that the base be removed.

japan's prime minister could lose his job over the controversy. one of spain's most famous matadors was badly gored during a bullfight. i want to see this. oh, oh. in mexico, jose tomas needed up to 17 pints of blood. he's now in stable condition and his life is no longer in danger. nasty stuff. after six months, officials re-opened a stretch of interstate 40 in western north carolina. the road was closed after an october rock slide. a local newspaper reports that it took almost $13 million to clean up the mess. the road is closed to big trucks. the sun is out and fema crews are on the way as several communities in the southeast pick through the debris following this week's deadly tornados. build a new generatiof airplanes to connect the world. airplanes that fly cleaner and farther on less fuel. and make nonstop travel possible to more places.

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more now on one of our big stories of the day. a massive cleanup across parts of the south after weekend tornados swept through. the most severe storm-ravaged

parts of mississippi. severe damage there killing ten people including two children and a 3-month-old baby. fema teams are on the scene now. the storm cut a path of destruction some 50 miles long and more than a mile wide. two people died in northern alabama. hundreds hurt. homes damaged and destroyed. and in missouri, no injuries but power lines and trees were knocked down. you warned us that this would be quite a weekend event and something to be mindful and cautious of. you were true to your word there. >> it wasn't difficult to see. the only obvious part we couldn't do anything about, tony, is we saw it moving from the plains, less populated, to the mid south and southeast, much more populated and people get in the way of the storms. they go where they want to go. yazoo city got the prubrunt of saturday afternoon. it tore a path 97 miles long, at

times almost two miles wide and got all the way to alabama. yesterday, that was no picnic for the folks in south carolina and north carolina. we have ireport video out of this area where we had a couple of tornados touchdown. that's good stuff of the rotating cell. in darlington, south carolina, south of the border there was a twister there. storm chasers caught this one on video of debris. these guys getting up close and personal with this one. there was damage and reports of injuries in darlington, south carolina. yazoo city not the only ones getting into this. as you mentioned seven states getting tornado action here over the weekend. there have been severe weather warnings out for parts of florida. the tail end of the system, as it slowly moves to the east, this thing moving painfully slow

from its inception almost a week ago. south florida, you are seeing rain. some heavy at times. there have been severe thunderstorm warnings posted with this but those have been lifted. just frog stranglers as far as how much rain is coming. rain will be on the increase in the northeast with wind as well. that's going to create problems of their own. probably going to slow down some of the travel. an hour delay in miami. ft. lauderdale with delays. new york and newark under an hour. that's not horrible. we set it up for another batch of severe weather likely toward the end of the week. we have a few days at least to catch our breath and get the cleanup under way there in mississippi. >> these systems seem to run in a bit of a pattern, right? it looks like it's shaping up again. >> yeah. >> more of this action possible by the end of the week. >> it's been a slow 2010. now it's ramping up. the gulf of mexico is warmer. that helps with the sun getting stronger. we have a lot of cold air left at the upper level of the atmosphere from the cold winter

we had. folks afraid of what may will bring. >> thank you, sir. new developments in the goldman sachs fraud case. the government itself is asking, was the s.e.c.'s investigation politically motivated? [ sneezes ] ♪ music plays ♪ [ sneezing ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what are you gonna miss when you have an allergy attack? benadryl® is more effective than claritin® at relieving your worst symptoms -- runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes -- and works when you need it most. benadryl®. you can't pause life. soak our yards in color. get our hands a little busier. our dollars a little stronger. and our thinking a little greener.

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and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. so the s.e.c.'s internal watchdog says he will investigate whether the agency's decision to pursue fraud charges against goldman sachs is politically motivated. that is a serious claim. several republican leaders have made -- listen to my conversation last week with a republican congressman, darr darrell issa. >> they could have sued goldman sachs six months ago, six months from now. they sued them during the basic run-up week to this event. >> do you have a document? where do you get to make a claim? what do you have? >> look. first of all, i have letters out to do discovery and i have not been given responses. do i have an event with the s.e.c. that shouldn't have happened? you know, the s.e.c. does not

release during the trading day except nick they released during the trading day and goldmangoes down by 13 points. now there is a back and forth about whether it was an appropriate case or intended to cover up a report that said this s.e.c. doesn't do its job. >> wow, wow, wow. it was hot, christine. harsh charges. >> still is. >> any evidence of this? i wanted a document, something. >> it gets hotter every day. no evidence yet. that's why issa and others have asked the inspector general to look at this. and last night he said yes, he will launch an investigation of the timing of the investigation to probe the timing of the lawsuit after, of course, republicans questioned the independence and impartiality. mary shapiro and the president himself said the timing for

regulatory reform but the s.e.c. inspector general will investigate. >> i can't wait. lawmakers released some interesting internal e-mails from goldman sachs. >> yes. >> showing how the firm profited from the subprime mortgage melt-down. >> yes. four e-mails were released out of, as goldman sachs points out, more than 20 million pages of documents released over the weekend by senator carl levin's office. one from lloyd blankfein commenting on the company in the mortgage crisis. of course we didn't dodge the mortgage mess. we lost money, then made more than we lost because of the shorts. he goes on to say, it's not over, so who knows how it will turn out ultimately? there is another e-mail from a goldman sachs manager, tony, on the downgrade of mortgage securities. as the securities were downgraded, that triggered things that meant goldman would make money and this manager said, sounds like we will make serious money on that particular downgrade. there are a couple of other ones that seem to appear as if there

are goldman managers gloating over the fact that they are making money while the mortgage market was coming unglued. goldman is coming out hard on this saying, overall, tony, in 2007-2008 on residential mortgage-backed securities they lost $1.2 billion. they say the senate subcommittee has cherry-picked four e-mails from almost 20 million pages provided by goldman sachs. lucas van praag saying it's concerning that the subcommittee seems to have reached its conclusion even before a hearing. goldman e-mailed me and i will send it to you. hundreds of pages of documents explaining its different dealings throughout the mortgage crisis. they say the narrative is simple. they have prudent risk management. their internal alarm bells in late december 2006 were saying something is happening and it's not good in subprime. we need to start hedging. work we are doing for client who is want to be exposed to the

subprime market, we need to be sure somewhere else we are not exposed so they can get closer to home. the question is did goldman profit from the collapse? did it somehow in the things that it was making and selling to clients exacerbate the collapse? what exactly is goldman's position here? that's what the hearing tomorrow is trying to get to the bottom of. >> is the fabulous fab going to be part of that hearing? >> oh, yeah. the mother-in-l the moral of the story is -- he will always be fabulous fab. he's the vice president who said the only survivor of the subprime crisis in an e-mail that the s.e.c. it will be me, fabulous fab standing above the monstrosities i helped create. we'll hear from him. >> and send the e-mail back to our friends at goldman sachs. thanks for sending it along. the e-mails are the e-mails. i know we are talking about the e-mails in the middle of thousands of documents here, but

sometimes that's where you find smoking guns. >> oh, yeah. i can guarantee you people are going through all of these e-mails like crazy. what some of them show is at the end of the day, you know, a manager of a certain division like the mortgage division is reporting saying, this is the profit & loss for the day. we lost $20 million on this, $5 million on this. but, look, we made a killing because mortgages wept south and we have a hedge on this. that's what the e-mails are like, showing where they were starting -- they were starting to make money in 2007 at a time when, you know -- the way it plays for critics of goldman sachs -- >> when people were losing their homes. >> the way it plays is these guys were standing there making money at a time when america was coming unglued. >> yes. >> it's just not fair. >> when we say america was coming unglued financially that means people were losing their homes. >> these are from 2007. this is before the big blow-up in the financial crisis. >> all right, christine. >> more tomorrow on this.

this will be riveting stuff tomorrow on capitol hill. the ceo and the fabulous fab, the trader who is now famous for his e-mails will be there. >> the trader. that's an interesting thing. christine, stick with me, if you would, please. we'll take a quick break and be joined by diane swonk. there she is. you haven't been on in a long time. it's about time you were back with us. ot of americans didn't e with giving gm a second chance. quite frankly, i can respect that. we want to make this a company all americans can be proud of again. that's why i'm here to announce we have repaid our government loan, in full, with interest, five years ahead of the original schedule. but there's still more to do. our goal is to exceed every expectation you've set for us. we're putting people back to work, designing, building, and selling the best cars and trucks in the world. with our 100,000-mile, 5-year powertrain warranty to guarantee the quality.

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the death toll from this weekend's southern tornados is now up to 12 including three children. residents in mississippi, louisiana and alabama are starting the cleanup process. rock singer, reality tv personality bret michaels is hospitalized in critical condition. the 47-year-old suffered a massive brain hemorrhage on friday. okay. a test vote is set for this evening on legislation to change the way wall street works. the push for legislation is aimed to stop the kind of melt down that brought the u.s. to the brink of collapse. two heavy hitters join us. in chicago, boy, it's been a long time since diane swonk has been here. chief economist for mesero and christine romans of course of the cnn money time. christine, weigh in anywhere you want here. diane, here's senator dodd, chair of the senate banking committee yesterday talking about the reform effort. >> 18 months ago people broke

into our home, stole everything in our house and we haven't even changed the locks on the place yet. 18 months later we are in no better position today to protect ourselves against that kind of crisis than we were 18 months ago. >> diane, that may be the case. but does the legislation passed by the house and being worked on now by the senate fix the problems that brought on the financial crisis senator dodd is referring to from 18 months ago? >> the simple answer is no. it's a first step in a long road to rethinking how we lend and manage money in the u.s. it will prevent some things from happening again, but the elephant in the room is fannie mae and freddie mac and underwriting mortgages, none of which are being address bid the legislation. >> make the argument for me here with fannie and freddi. >> one of the key elements is back in 2004 congress said that fannie could buy subprime

mortgages. immediately the mortgages they bought, mortgage-backed securities on the market, they allowed lenders to lend -- we call them ninja loans. no income, no job applications. those went bad almost overnight in 2005. >> let me stop you there. the legislation allowed them to buy and permitted these loans to go forward. absolutely. >> no job loans, no nothing. it was incredible. we have not begun to deal with the issue yet in financial regulation. it's a complicated process. >> it is complicated. but why is a financial institution going to step away from what had been established practices for signing off on the loans and then get into the business of providing no doc loans? >> well, certainly it wasn't banks.

it was a lot of the nonbank creditor -- >> countrywides. >> yes. it's now part of bank of america. >> sure. >> it was people not doing underwriting and selling off the risk. unfortunately, ironically enough, our big banks weren't doing these loans but they were buying the risk. >> absolutely. >> it sounds crazy but that's what was happening. they weren't holding the risk, weren't being compensated on that basis. they were being company sated on the churn and how much volume out the door, not the quality of the loans. that's a critical issue. >> tony, you asked why do that? well, because they were making money. >> you got it. >> this was a period of time that was america's get rich quick scheme from top to bottom. it really was. people from the person who didn't have a job, didn't have assets and didn't have money who was getting a loan to people who were profiting off the loan, securitizing and selling it to other investors to those

investors selling it, everybody was making money because housing prices were going up. and there was just a consensus held by the banks, by the lenders, by the borrowers and by congress and by the fed chief and several presidents that housing prices were always going to go up. that was the fundamental miscalculation. >> christine, wait a minute here. the consensus was from 2005 on economic forecasts -- and i kept forecasting a decline in the housing market. there was a lot of consensus. we were wrong so many times that we stopped doing it because the market kept defeating us. the bottom line was timing. we were all off on the timing. but ned gramlick who is no longer with us called this a long time ago. there were a lot of warning signals, people saying this can't last. you guys were saying, this can't last, this is crazy. but we wanted to believe it. a lot of people were making enough money. >> let's understand what everyone was buying into and

believing. look, the sector was believing and buying into this idea that you could make loans to people who didn't have jobs. anyway, i'm about to lose -- >> they were getting compensated for it. christine's right. they made money off doing bad behavior. a lot of that's not changed. a lot of servicers make money off pushing home owners into foreclosure. that's not beneficial either. >> so christine, do we really need a bill? do we really need reform and what do we need to get out of that reform? >> well, if you listen to the president, if you listen to larry sommers who eloquently put it this weekend as well, we don't want any more bailouts. you have to handle too big to fail. you have to handle the casino stuff. you know, you want financial innovation and growth. i think diane will agree with me on this. you want growth but you want to take out the dangerous part of

the risk. i don't know how you legislate that, but we'll hope -- >> difficult. >> it's hard. >> you got it. >> you can kill the risk but kill the innovation, too. it's a hard balance to walk. you have to have consumer protection. you've got to make sure people are not being preyed upon whether it's mortgages written, their credit card contract. everything really here from the credit card language to derivatives, it's all on the table here. >> yeah. you've got to start with something. it may not be perfect, but you have got to start with something. >> that's a really important point. you need a first step. we don't know now. there is so much uncertainty that a lot of banks aren't playing at all. until they know the rules, good, bad or indifferent they won't give us loans. we need the lending environment to change. now it's very hard to get loans at all. >> hey, tony, does diane think the too big to fail legislation, are we making sure if it passes like the president wants that we

won't have another too big to fail problem or did they miss it on that? >> you know, actually, i think the real issue is not too big to fail. too complex to fail. >> complex. >> and we're still dancing around the issue. -- these bank holding companies do a lot of different things. i used to work for one, thankfully no longer. but it's important to understand that many of these institutions are too complex. that's what got us in trouble. >> got to go. >> they're losing within minutes. >> got to go. diane, come back on the program. i know you're a big shot now. >> i promise i will. >> ladies, appreciate it, as always. >> always love you guys. >> we're back in a moment.

congress is talking about reforming wall street right now. but you can reform your own finances right now this minute, this second. cnn's stephanie elam with today's top tips. stephanie, where do we start

here? >> tony, let's start with your paycheck, and taxes, right? that's a good place to start, basic. make sure you're not giving uncle sam an interest-free loan. the bigger your tax refund, the more money you've been lending to the government free of charge all year long. you need to adjust the amount of money withheld from your paycheck for taxes. by changing your w-4 withholding, you can keep more of your paycheck throughout the year, and you can always ask your tax planner for advice on how much you should be withholding in the first place, tony. >> i get this a lot, so i know you must get it a lot. how do people increase their credit scores? >> people feel like it's a murky thing. there are really basic things you can do. pay your bills on time. that's what you need to do. and try to always pay more than the minimum. the amount of debt you have is also vital to your credit score. so if you have a lot of debt and only make those minimum payments, your credit score is taking a hit because your balances are creeping toward

that credit limit. you also want to hold on to credit cards that you've had for a while. because if you shut down a credit card account, your debt load looks larger in comparison to your available credit. so you should also avoid applying for a lot of credit cards as well, with the same theory in mind, including the retail store cards. they are included in that as well. every application you fill out, every single one, is giving permission for your credit report to be pulled, and that together can lower your credit score. >> a lot of available credit, just don't use it all, right? >> exactly. >> so when it comes to getting guidance with your finances, how can you be sure you're really getting the best advice? >> this is one i get a lot, too. people are concerned, like i don't just ask anybody. if you're looking for a financial adviser, check out fpa for financial planning.org. this will allow you to find a planner in your area. make sure you talk with his or her references, and take a look at their records by going to finra.org. that's the website for the

financial regulation agency. you'll find a broker check tab where you can check the qualifications, including licenses, registrations and exams the broker has passed. when it comes to cleaning up a bad credit, be skeptical of anyone who solicits business. huge red flag right there. don't trust a credit repair company that advises you not to contact a credit bureau directly because you want to make sure you're not taken for a ride. >> good stuff, as always. thanks, stephanie. see you next hour. the wave of crime that's hit chicago streets in the last few years has two state representatives calling on the national guard to assist police with patrols. what do you think? should the national guard be called in? go to our blog cnn.com/tony. eeks which are one of a kind. the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those who'd climb mountains or sail across seas...

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garlique's clinically proven ingredient maintains healthy cholesterol naturally. eat right. exercise. garlique. okay. time for troops, that's the question. crime has gotten so bad in chicago, some city leaders want the national guard called out. we break down that story for you in the noon hour. and on the cheap, a man bargain hunts for surgery overseas and actually finds some success. but how wise is this move. that's coming up for you in the that's coming up for you in the noon hour of "cnn newsroom."

i'm tony harris here in the "cnn newsroom" where anything can happen. here are some of the real people behind today's bigger stories. >> it's dangerous.

it's too dangerous right now. >> i think they need them. this is ridiculous. >> whatever we have to do. police need some help. >> calls for the national guard to step in and help fight crime in chicago. has it really come to that? and on the job front, it has certainly come to this. >> i just hope i can get the job. i've been unemployed for two years. and this is like the last hope. >> there's a chance, that's all we want, a chance to get a good job to provide for our family. >> can you believe it? people camp out through the weekend in new york for a chance at just 100 job openings, as an elevator mechanic. sign of the times. let's do this. let's get started. deadly violence on the streets of chicago leads to a drastic idea. two state lawmakers want to bring in the national guard. they say 113 people have been killed so far this year and a handful of chicago neighborhoods. the crimes are mostly gun violence. one night last week, seven

people were killed and 18 wounded. lawmakers want guard troops to help police, get a handle on the violence. >> is call for national guard deployment a drastic action? of course it is. is it warranted under these circumstances? without question. there should be no mistake, people may be quick to equate national guard deployment with martial law. we're not talking about rolling tanks down the street. we're not talking about armed presence on every corner. we are talking about individuals, men and women that have been specifically trained to assist law enforcement and assist with civil unrest. >> well, chicago's police chief says bringing in the national guard is not the answer. he says mixing military and law enforcement functions can lead to trouble. >> let's go back to 1970, you know. at kent state. national guard comes in, four students, shot, killed. you know, i don't think we want

that here in chicago. >> some chicago residents say deploying national guard troops in neighborhoods would be dangerous. others say the situation is already dangerous and support bringing in the troops if it will make them safer. >> i really and truly think it will work. you know, for short term. whatever. at least to try to get some of the violence down. >> pretty drastic, but it's life we're talking about. people are dying. >> it's dangerous. it's too dangerous right now. >> so what do you think would be wrong with having armed soldiers outside on your street? >> it won't be good. >> yes. because i have grandchildren. and they can't even come outside to play. because it's so dangerous. yes. yes. >> you don't think that would be scary for your kids? >> no. no. they're scared right now, because we have no one to protect us. >> we have a hot debate here. here to talk about possibly

deploying national guard troops to help combat violence in chicago, state representative john frichey, one of the lawmakers who proposed the idea, and victor woods, author of "a journey to redemption." representative frithcyey, what impact do you believe the guard will have on this problem in chicago? >> i think we need to look at this short term and long term. obviously the long term answer is to provide job opportunities, economic opportunities, have parents step up and be parents. and get, you know, hope in an opportunity again. people just accept this as part of their daily life. in the short term, we need to do something. we're losing people every day to gun violence. and we need additional resources to help combat that. the majority of these crimes in the city are happening on just 9% of the city blocks. so if we can target these hot spots like the police superintendent has talked about, and put more personnel out there, we want to prevent having a spike in the summer this

summer like we usually see. >> this culture of complacency, what are you referring to here? that people in these neighborhoods are resigned to being poor, underemployed? >> they resign themselves that violence is part of their daily life. that sitting out on their porch can get them shot. sitting out in your car outside, they can get shot, and whether their child can make it home from school alive. that's not something they should be accepting. in order to get them to break that cycle, we first need to put a stop to that violence and then provide the after-school opportunities, provide job opportunities, provide training, and get the community to reclaim the community for itself. the economic impact of this violence is staggering. you have businesses that can't stay open, because people won't come and shop there. home values are through the floor in some of these communities. and we need to start to do something to address this. >> got you. i'm with you. victor, as we bring you in, let's put up a map here. we're talking about neighborhoods south and west of

chicago highlighted in the red here. what about this idea of bringing in the national guard? we're not talking about -- let's be clear here, we're not talking about tanks rolling through these neighborhoods. but what about using the national guard? maybe to assist police in intelligence gathering. is that a bad idea? >> first of all, good afternoon, tony. and let me say this. i respect the representative. buff i disagree with him profusely. first of all, look at how we got into this situation. we have a long history of police not getting along with the community in the first place. we have to go back and understand how we got in this situation. this is years and years and years of neglect on both the south and west side of chicago. we've got to look at the juvenile detention center where these kids are being released with no infrastructure, no data base in terms of whether they're going back to school or whether they -- >> but you've got a long --

you're talking about -- victor, you're talking about some long-standing issues that began to take the shape and feel of something that's systemic, and we've got summer coming. what do you want to do? >> yes. well, first of all, the police are going to have to take off their guns and vests and go into the community and regain the trust of those communities. you can't open up dialog with people with a gun on. we had a young man killed a week ago and his dying breath, while blood was rushing from his body, he said when the police officer said, do you know who shot me, he said, yes, i know who shot me and i'm not going to tell you anything. there is a huge trust problem in the community. that's one of the major problems we have right now. and we also have to have -- >> state representative, respond to that. on one hand, it seems that maybe one of the things you would want to consider is flooding the zone

with -- we can show the map again -- with police officers, in some of these -- the most violent crime concentrated areas. figure out a way to maintain a presence there, so the officers can get to know the people in the community. and representative fritchey, you and your colleagues of the legislature figure out how to pay for it. >> victor, let him speak. >> thank you, tony. i appreciate it. i actually don't disagree with him that much. we do need to improve the relationships. but we're talking about long-term and short-term strategies, and i don't think they're mutually exclusive. we need to do something now. what's interesting to me is, the strongest support for this proposal is coming from the people in the affected communities. they're not worried about tanks rolling down the street or their doors being kicked in, because that's not what we're proposing. we're proposing additional eyes and ears on the street to help work with the community, help get the bad people out of the

neighborhood, get the criminals off the street and let them be able to live in their community the way that they should be able to. >> victor, last word to you. >> who are the criminals? we don't know who the criminals are. >> they're shooting at the police. the ones killing -- >> no, no, we cannot send in the national guard, because it is like sending in a militia. the majority of the people on the west and south side of chicago do not want armed security like they are a bunch of animals running around terrorizing a community. they don't want that. we need to implement some programs where we put some money into those communities. i haven't heard anybody say anything about investing hundreds of millions of dollars in that community. we have a governor that is now wanting to take $15 billion over a five-year period for construction. and i bet none of that money is going to reach the south or west side of chicago. let's implement some money into this situation. these people have no jobs, tony. >> let's do this. let's continue the conversation, and representative, maybe you

can send us an e-mail on specifically how this would take shape. what the role of the national guard would be. we would love to see that. >> i would be happy to continue to work on this. hopefully it's a problem that will go away. >> thank you. it would be up to the illinois governor to deploy national guard troops in chicago. we contacted governor pat quinn's office. but they had no comment on the request. we want to hear from you on this one. hot, hot, hot, hot. should the national guard be called in? go to our blog cnn.com/tony, leave us a message and we'll share some of your comments later on in the hour. a test vote is set for this evening on legislation to change the way wall street works. senate majority leader harry reid moving ahead with the senate's version of a financial reform bill. republicans say they still don't have a bipartisan compromise. and say they will try to stop movement until they do. economist diane swan told me earlier there is a big problem the legislation does not deal

with. >> it's the first step in a long road towards rethinking how we lend and manage money in the u.s. and it will prevent some of the things from happening again. but the elephant in the room is fannie and freddie, and underwriting mortgages, none of which are being addressed by this legislation. >> make the fannie and freddie argument for me here. what needs to happen there? >> well, you know, one of the key issues in the fannie and freddie situation is back in 2004, congress said that fannie could buy subprime mortgages. and immediately the mortgages that they bought, mortgage-backed securities on the market, allowed lenders to lend, we call them ninja loans, no income, no job applications. those loans went bad almost overnight in 2005. >> diane, let me stop you there. the legislation allowed fannie and freddie to buy and permitted these kinds of loans to go forward? >> you got it. encouraged them. >> the president continues his white house main street tour this week.

tomorrow he will visit an energy facility in ohio. the tour is designed to hear from the best and brightest ceos and small business owners about their ideas to grow the economy and put americans back to work. on wednesday the president makes stops in missouri and illinois. a killer tornado rips through the southeast. that's just one of the places we're taking you the rest of this hour in choctaw, mississippi. people are wondering how to rebuild their lives. >> i was based here. i grew up here. i don't know if i want to live here anymore. >> dateline, phoenix, arizona, where a soldier joins the protest against a controversial new immigration law there. we're going to london where suggestions that pope benedict come up with his own brand of condoms, among other things, is leading to, oh, please, father forgive me.

one of the world's top as tro physicists says there's extraterrestrial life out there. he says we should stay the heck away from them. steven hawking add mitsz this year's size of the universe probably means there's alien life out there. but he says we shouldn't go all gaga and be ready to throw out welcome mats and red carpets. these guys, says the famed

scientist, will try to take us out for our natural resources. message to all you trekkies out there waiting for first contact, be careful what you wish for.

the most restrictive immigration law nlt country is set to take effect in arizona 30 days from now. it's already reverberating around the country. here was the scene. demonstrators from far and near descending on the state capital to voice opposition of racial profiling, because law requires police to demand proof of citizenship of anyone suspected of being an illegal resident. it's pushed immigration reform

back on the front burner on capitol hill. senators were expecting to pass landmark energy legislation, but now this is his top priority. the wider fear is arizona's law could spark other states to pass similar legislation. casey wian looks how law enforcement officers view the new law. but first, comments from a u.s. soldier who was born in mexico, and grew up in arizona. >> i felt this country has given me so much. when i heard of the law that passed, i couldn't believe it. because the america that i know, freedom, liberties that we enjoy, are for everyone. i love this state. i grew up here. but a state that doesn't even want you here? i might take this uniform off, and i'm just another hispanic. >> why do people feel indignant about being asked to produce an i.d. that they ought to have? >> it's an insult almost,

because of the color of your skin. because you're not white. >> is it that you resent the fact that you could be stopped and asked for your papers while you're fighting for this country? is that what angers you? >> it's not so much anger, it's hurt, that, you know, that could happen to me. it could happen to my family. my friends. >> protesters outside arizona state capital are angry over a new law requiring local police to help enforce federal immigration law. >> people are going to be stopped just because of the color of their skin. and it ain't right. are they going to be looking for europeans as well? or is it just the brown people? >> what do you have to say to those concerns? >> they're really unfounded. the arizona law enforcement community is made up of many hispanics. we've never had a policy of racial profiling. in fact, quite the contrary.

>> our law enforcement people -- >> reporter: at a town hall meeting, police chief criticized opponents of the law and news media for spreading fear and disinformation. >> as a law enforcement officer, i'd like to say to trust us, we will do what we're expected and able to do. we have no interest in violating the law that has been brought to us. >> reporter: arizona's u.s. senator john mccain did not take a position on the law but says he understands why it passed. rising violence and crime associated with illegal immigrant and drug smuggling. >> i believe that they acted out of frustration, because the federal government had not complied with its constitutional responsibilities. >> reporter: for those who believe their constitutional rights may be violated, one police chief asked them to report any problems to authorities. >> there's a huge historical context for people treated a serb way by local law enforcement. for those individuals, that's real. we in law enforcement have to

understand that when we interact with them. >> reporter: arizona police chiefs say crimes related to illegal immigration are stretching their budgets and manpower to the breaking point. they hope controversy over the new law will pressure the federal government to take action. casey wian, cnn, phoenix, arizona. the tornado hit fast and hard. >> they always talk about, you hear the train. there was no train. there was a bomb. >> oh, man, we will take you to a mississippi community where three young girls were killed, and a community is still and a community is still reeling.

checking our top stories. massey energy said there was no warning sign to the explosion at the coal mine in west virginia. they said air samples taken just before the blast showed everything was okay. 29 miners died in the april 5th disaster, which may have been caused by explosive gases. and still no word on how long it

will take to stop that oil leak in the gulf of mexico. the spill started after an explosion last week at an oil rig 50 miles off the louisiana coast. it is now flowing at a rate of 42,000 gallons a day. and an oily sheen covers some 600 square miles. >> certainly people are concerned. and we're concerned here. and that's why we're working very closely with all stakeholders in the states, and elected officials to keep everyone informed. right now the oil remains 30 miles offshore. the weather is still looking favorable for us to continue with our cleanup operations. >> we will get another check of our top stories in about 20 minutes. they are still cleaning up in mississippi and alabama after storms and tornadoes blamed for a dozen deaths. cnn's ed lavendera now reports from choctaw county, mississippi. >> reporter: tony, the preliminary report from the national weather service shows that this tornado at its widest

point at times reached a mile and three-quarters on the ground. and at times the winds reached up to 175 miles per hour. this was an incredibly intense storm. just look at what's left of this church right behind me. essentially the tornado dropping here and making it explode. we found math i mccray and his wife, jo, on a back road in choctaw county, mississippi. their house blown 40 feet off the foundation. his guitar is muddied, but it's days like these that inspired the mississippi blues. ♪ what was it like being in there when this happened? >> it just went -- whoomp! >> reporter: was it incredibly scary. >> i just started praying, asking the lord to save us. >> i told my husband, i looked around, i said, honey, i don't believe he's going to save us.

>> reporter: along this dirt road the tornado killed its three youngest victims, two sisters and a 3-month-old baby girl. this is where 13-year-old brittany jobe and her 9-year-old sister, tian, were killed. they were here with their parents when the storm hit. it was so powerful it essentially disintegrated their mobile home. it was thrown beyond that tree line right over there. the girls' grandfather tells us that their bodies were found back in the woods over here. >> just amazing. >> reporter: ron sullivan and five others were able to walk out of this grocery store. >> there's a coke machine turned over there that kept that roof from falling on me. >> reporter: can we go see it? >> certainly. i never touched the ground. when it hit, he blew me back. the next thing i felt was my wall and myself falling backwards. they always talk about you hear the train. there was no train. there was a bomb.

>> reporter: what goes through your mind when something like this is happening? >> the only thing that went through my mind. two things. please don't let anything else fall on me, and i hope my wife is okay. >> reporter: his wife, peggy, was just a few feet away. when the tornado struck here it launched that 5,000-pound gasoline tank into the back of the grocery store. it rolled this way. peggy sullivan was standing right behind this white freezer. the tank lodged up against it and saved her life, keeping her from getting crushed. tony, what we've heard over and over from survivors over the last couple of days is that this area of mississippi is very hilly, that there are a lot of trees. so they really never had a sense of exactly where this storm was. and many people kind of felt they didn't realize that the tornado was on top of them until they saw it bearing down on their homes. so people say they had very little time to react to it. and that's why you get the sense around here when you talk to people, that they also feel very lucky to be alive. tony? >> okay. ed, appreciate it. ed lavendera for us. the carnage and destruction

from a tornado captured through the lens of cnn ireporters. these images we're showing you here are from neil moore, resident of mississippi. just take a look here. the devastation goes on for about a mile. we'll sort through more of these photos and what happened next. nothing short of incredible. a schoolteacher and his family are unhurt as the powerful storm literally rips through their trailer. a story that shows both determination and desperation. we're talking about hundreds of people camping out in the rain for days. the reason? they desperately want a shot at a job fixing elevators. we will show you what happened when they finally got to put in their application.

so, okay, how was your weekend? probably pretty miserable for hundreds of people in new york, who spent theirs camping out on the streets in queens, all for a shot at a job application. not a job, a job application. it pretty much shows that people are willing to work, but the jobs are just scarce right now. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, tony. but they're willing to camp out. today we saw hundreds and hundreds of people lined up along this sidewalk. there were tents earlier this weekend. there were also chairs for these people. these folks were all lined up for 750 job applications. just the applications to take a test later to be interviewed for an elevator mickic you job.

you can see here now, this sign says, sorry, there are no more applications. union reps tell me that well over 1,000 people showed up just for these applications. and we spoke to some of those people that were waiting here for hours. some of them since friday. and they told us what it was like. listen to this. andy, how long have you been waiting in line? >> 17 hours. with my cousin, isaac. >> reporter: and what are your hopes of getting an application today? >> well, to get the application and hopefully succeed. get the job i'm here for. >> reporter: how long have you been looking for a job? >> well, the last five months, i would say. >> reporter: when you heard that this opening was -- that they were going to have this -- these openings, what did you think? >> i got excited, of course. i wanted the opportunity. that's why i'm here. >> i've been here for ten hours. actually, since 12 midnight.

>> reporter: what's it been like? >> hectic. a lot of arguing. people cutting in line. there's a lot of things that you have to go through. i've been unemployed for three months already. it sucks to be unemployed. >> reporter: and tony, we spoke with jeremy, who was the first person in line who was here since friday at 4:00 a.m., and he said he had been out of a job for six months and he said, look, my job right now is to get a job. so i'm doing my job, to try and get a job. >> boy, oh boy. just all those folks lined up since friday, just to get an application. all right. ines, we appreciate it. thank you. you're about to meet a young man for whom health care reform isn't just a political debate. >> i cried so much, i don't want to do it anymore, you know? i just want to try and -- whatever obstacles i have in my life. >> his biggest obstacle right now, he doesn't have insurance and can't afford medication to control his disease. what's being done to help him,

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produced deadly tornadoes in mississippi over the weekend continues to bring threatening weather to parts of the u.s. today. we're focusing in on south florida, where a doppler radar indicated tornado over florida bay right now has prompted a tornado warning for the upper keys in monroe county. key largo is in the line of this storm as it moves eastward around 40 miles per hour. so you need to be seeking shelter now, getting to the lowest level of your home or building that you happen to be in, away from doors and windows. this is a potentially dangerous storm here moving through the upper keys at this time. there is a slight risk of severe weather throughout south florida through the rest of the afternoon. we have new video that we want to show you from the mississippi storms from yazoo city from storm chasers. there you can see that huge wedge tornado. it is wrapped in rain a little bit, but this funnel is so wide, it's just a big wedge on the ground. the national weather service has been out assessing some of the damage. and they're estimating that this was a mile and three-quarters

wide as it moved through parts of yazoo city. it was on the ground for about 97 miles. and the most extensive damage likely had winds around 170 miles per hour, which is what we would call an ef-4 tornado. this is still very preliminary, by the way, tony. they're going to kind of continue to do the forensics of tornado investigation over the next couple of days. but this was really a giant of a tornado. and so sad and so devastating, it's actually, when you think about it, ten people lost their lives. which is just terrible. but it's amazing there weren't more lives lost when we're talking about such a huge storm. >> remember, i don't know why this just popped in my head. we were on the air together, maybe a year or so ago, and just looking at those pictures, it reminded me of that storm that we were talking about together where we actually had the funnel cloud, remember? and there was a horse -- was it a horse farm? >> oh, oklahoma. yeah. we had an oklahoma one. that was a much weaker tornado.

but yeah, we watched that live on the air. >> that was amazing. we were on the air together. it just popped in my head as i was looking at this and the people. it's that time of year, isn't it? >> it is that time of year. it's been a crazy, slow start, tony. we've had a record length of time in this spring months where we haven't had a significant tornado outbreak. this is really late in the game. but boy, when those conditions are favorable, man, they are favorable, aren't they. >> jacqui, thank you. thousands of southern california residents will get some free health care. more than 5,500 people turned out at the los angeles sports arena yesterday to register for a seven-day health clinic. they got special wrist bands that will allow them to return tomorrow to see doctors, dentists and other health care professionals. >> i had a blood infection this year. it went into my heart muscle. because of my teeth. >> i want to see if my heart condition has gotten worse, or any better. >> i really do need my teeth repaired.

it does look ugly. >> oh, man. so health reform has passed. what now? you know, one of the most significant measures kicks in later this year. young adults will be able to stay on their parents' insurance plans until age 26. cnn money.com poppy harlow is in new york. poppy, you actually sat down with someone who could benefit from that change. >> yeah, we could. kelvin areas, lives in new york. we covered health care reform so intensely. focused so much on what the politicians said and pundits. but it's these people who don't have insurance that it really matters for. for kelvin, he's too old to be on his parents' insurance. he doesn't have enough hours under his belt yet to qualify for insurance from his employer. he makes too much money, though, through working at his employer, whole foods, to qualify for medicaid. he's one of the many people in this country that is stuck squarely in the middle of this ongoing debate. but that may change for him soon. we sat down with him to see how he's doing right now. take a look.

>> i feel like i don't have my life. i don't have my health. i cried so much, i don't want to do it anymore, you know? i just want to try and -- whatever i have in my life. i want to be able to live instead of worrying about it so much. >> reporter: what would help? >> first of all, for me to get good health insurance. without health insurance, i'm nothing. i'm not able to get my medicine. i'm not able to go see a doctor. >> reporter: and that makes it worse, your disease worse? >> yeah. it definitely aggravates it. if i don't have any medication, my disease is not in control. >> reporter: how much does the medication cost you right now, without insurance? >> for generic, $640. >> reporter: $640? that's a paycheck. >> yeah. that's more than a paycheck for me.

>> reporter: could you go without it sometimes? >> i've been going without it since january. >> reporter: and you've spent a lot of time in the hospital, even recently? >> yeah. i went to the emergency room to get admitted. i was feeling stomach pains. and a whole bunch of other side effects from my condition. >> reporter: are you going to have to pay for part of that? >> i'm going to have to pay for everything. >> reporter: do you know how much that's going to cost? >> hundreds and hundreds of dollars, if not a couple thousand, at least. >> reporter: do you ever try not to go to the hospital because you think, i can't afford it? >> yeah. that's probably why i wait so long, is because i know i can't pay for it. i was robbed of my childhood, because i wasn't able to run and play basketball, or play baseball. i was in little league and i had to stop playing little league because of my condition. >> reporter: do you really think if you get insurance it will make this situation better for you? >> most definitely. like i said before, if you have your health, you have everything.

>> reporter: and we are going to check back in, tony, with kelvin in a few months and see if reform has changed anything for him. it's one thing that the law's through, it's another thing if it really changes people's lives, like kelvin who needs it. hopefully he'll get on his parents' insurance in the next few years. the answer then is, then what happens. >> then what happens to him, yeah. maybe he'll be able to shop at the exchange a little bit. but boy, he is so right about that one statement, when you have your health, you have everything. >> reporter: everything. >> poppy, good to see you. thank you. when it comes to your health care, it is a pretty good idea to shop around. cnn's eliz bith cohen brings a story of one man who saved himself literally tens of thousands of dollars on surgery.

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the top stories now. the senate is nearing a test vote today on legislation to reform how wall street operates. the senate financial reform bill seeks to prevent big bank bailouts and shine a light on complex financial contracts known as derivatives in those credit default swaps. a memoir written by president george w. bush will hit bookshelves a week after the

november elections. the book titled "decision points" will focus on 14 decisions the former president has made, both in the white house and in his life. we're back in a moment.

you know, everybody loves a bargain, right? but is it really a good idea to shop for rock-bottom prices when it comes to medical care? some americans are looking for cheap surgery deals overseas. cnn's senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen introduces us to one of them. >> reporter: you're quite the bar gain shopper there. >> absolutely. >> reporter: and you've had to do this not just with food. >> you're quite right. >> reporter: what other things do you bargain shop for besides applesauce and pasta? >> well, big-ticket item right now i'm confronted with is having nasal surgery. >> reporter: you actually went surgeon shopping, going place to place to find the cheapest price because you don't have

insurance? >> that's correct. >> reporter: how exactly does one go surgeon shopping? can you show me? >> i can. it's quite an adventure. >> reporter: let's go have an adventure. this is the first place that you went to to get a price quote. if you had had it done by these surgeons, what would have been the total bill for the entire procedure? >> almost $34,000. >> reporter: $34,000, you're semi retired, you have no insurance. could you even pay that? >> i wish i had $34,000 sitting around. no, we don't. >> reporter: what did you do? $34,000, what was your next step? >> i thought, i'm going further. i'm going surgeon shopping again. because this is ridiculous. >> reporter: let's go to that different surgeon. let's see what that price was. >> absolutely. >> reporter: okay. so godfried, what would it have cost for the entire procedure by these folks? >> approximately $33,000. >> reporter: only 1,000 fds less than the first place. >> that's correct. my shopping didn't do much for me really, did it?

>> reporter: you found basically you could not afford to have your polyps removed in indianapolis. >> absolutely not. >> reporter: and so you needed to think outside the box. >> i went way outside the box for this. >> reporter: you're going to go to the united states kingdom, crest? >> that's correct. >> reporter: getting on the plane and getting the surgery in wales, airfare, surgery the whole thing, how much is that going to cost you? >> $3,600. >> reporter: and the price here was $33,000. >> yes. terrible, isn't it? >> reporter: oh, my gosh. it's almost ten times less expensive. give me a call. let me know how it goes. and the best of luck. >> are you kidding me here? elizabeth cohen joining me here now. we're talking about one particular procedure here. prices overall, generally speaking, are they that much higher here in the states? >> they're a lot higher here in the states. that was for nasal polyps. let's talk about bypass surgery. if you want to have bypass surgery in india, it will cost you $8,500.

costa rica, $25,000. you don't have the answer, so i'm going to get you to -- what do you think? i was going to have you guess, but -- >> yeah, definitely. >> $144,000. so you can see the huge difference there. with a hysterectomy, $5,000 in thailand, $6,675 in mexico, in the united states, they would ask someone for $15,000. to do a hysterectomy. so, yes, the differences are very clear. it's across the board. it's over a large number of procedures. >> i kind of want to know why it's so expensive. this idea of medical tourism, right, is this a growing trend? are a lot of people leaving the states to go elsewhere for medical care? >> it is. absolutely. hundreds of thousands of people are leaving the united states to go get medical care because it's cheaper. because either they're uninsured or they don't have great insurance. this is sort of an interesting growing trend. people have insurance, and the insurance says, mr. smith, you can have that historiectomy here

in the united states but you're going to have to pay 20%. that's a couple thousand bucks. or go overseas and get it for free. so mrs. smith gets to make that decision. so yes, it is a growing trend. what's interesting about it is that in a way, americans are sort of profiting from the fact that these other countries have a -- not necessarily some of them have socialized medicine, some have medicine more socialized than in this country. if you want to know how to bar gain shop for health care outside the united states, read a column by sabrina. she did a fabulous job. >> she's pretty doggone good. or she wouldn't be on your team. does she take on the issue whether it's safe? a lot of folks might consider this, but they have this thing in their head, i'm not going to go there because the quality is not as good. >> it's difficult to know, absolutely, is it as safe. there's one thing that's interesting. the group that accredits hospitals in this country, they give them their accreditation, they started to do it overseas as well. but let's say they goof.

when they make a mistake in this country, what do you do, sue? can't sue when you're overseas. you lose that legal standing. >> good stuff. elizabeth, good to see you. thank you. a new immigration law inspiring all kinds of controversy and protests. we'll have your thoughts just ahead right here.

well, the vatican got the memo. but they didn't like it much. a to-do list for pope benedict.

sent from inside the british foreign office, but in very poor taste. sasha breaks down the fallout. >> reporter: it was an internal memo after a foreign office brainstorming session. the aim? how to welcome the first papal visit to the uk since 1982. the blue sky thinking wasn't supposed to go public, but it got leaked to a paper. top suggestions for the pope include, asking him to open an abortion clinic, bless a guy marriage, launch a range of benedict-brand condoms, sack dodgy bishops, and launch a helpline for abused children. no marks for tact. but humor? >> definitely a bad move. >> why would you sell condoms with the pope's name on it? >> i understand, i think i understand the theory. because moving into the 21st century fmplts the pope kind of has to move along with it. >> reporter: lest we forget, this is a catholic church still

reeling from an alleged child abuse scandal. >> translator: after the celebration, i decided to meet some people who were victims of abuses by clergy. i share their suffering, and i prayed with them, with emotion, assuring them of church action. >> reporter: the pope only spoke publicly about that last week. >> i think the reaction of the foreign office to the leaked memo has been out of all proportion. you know, they have bent over backwards to apologize and grovel to the vatican, even though this is just a light-hearted, humorous quip by lower-level official. it wasn't a government statement. it wasn't government policy. >> reporter: the british government's been quick to comment. this is clearly a foolish document that does not in any way reflect uk or fco policy or views. the individual responsible has been transferred to other duties. >> obviously the fact that the foreign office apologized so quickly, that it's apaulg, does not represent the foreign office

officially. but i think at the same time, if it doesn't ally an ignorance or disillusionment, we should talk about it. >> reporter: this being election time, and with more than 4.2 million catholics in the uk, they will be keen to nip this issue in the bud. but other parties in the election have been quick to get a word in, too. the conservatives saying this memo should never have been written let alone circulated in the foreign office. ministers were right to apologize immediately for this completely unacceptable blunder. the pope's due here in early september. and the vatican said that for them the case is now closed. and they've accepted the apology from the uk foreign office. but it remains to be seen how long the diplomatic fallout will last. sasha harryman, cnn, london. a race to stop a huge oil spill. that is ahead in the "cnn newsroom."