just last hour. last month rogers said that the administration's chest thumping led to leaking information about the foiled bomb plot in yemen and kind of talking about how the chest thumping was not helping and he said raised a lot of questions but rogers seemed to back away from blaming political motivations in my interview. take a listen. >> i think politics is irrespective of the fact that someone that had access to information narrowly protected found that they for whatever reason leaked it which is a crime and they should be punished with a crime to the severe essex tent of the law. >> the investigation obviously continues. i want to bring in senior congressional correspondent dana bash yoin joining me live. there was a very unusual press conference right afterwards. >> very unusual. you know as well as i do, you walk the halls every day like i

do and we know how partisan it is up here to have the top democrats and republicans join one another in this press conference to talk about what they say is the seriousness of what one called the cascade of leaks coming out of the intelligence community and really does speak volumes. what did we learn out of the briefing since it was about leaks? not too much. the big picture is that what these senior members of the intelligence committees are saying is that they want to try to legislate, to somehow find a way to deter from leaks from the intelligence community, but as you were talking about with the chairman and last hour, the big question is whether or not the leaks that have been coming in the past couple of weeks and months have been politically motivated. john mccain has made that allegation directly. so i asked the democratic chairman woman, diane feinstein about the fact we are five months before an election and anything like this could potentially hurt the white house.

>> do you have any concern that by making such a big deal out of the obama strags administration, maybe not the white house, but this is going to be finger pointing politically at the white house? >> this is not finger pointing at anybody. what we're trying to do is say we have a problem and we want to stop that problem. we're going to put changes in the bill but, dana, this has to stop. when people say they don't want to work with the united states because they can't trust us to keep a secret, that's serious. >> her republican counterpart said that he is not going to -- what he said, the words he used is he is not going to prejudge the investigation. he said wherever it falls it falls. >> of course the big question is when will the investigation be completed and if they -- where was this proof going to be of where these leaks came from and what the motivation is as usual

when it comes to these leaks more questions than answers. you will be on top of it. dana, thanks so much. >> thanks, kate. hearings, yes, congress loves to hold them. i know that all too well. today they're talking about whether the tsa is too rude, yes, too rude and somehow beyonce came up. could americans see a third member of the bush family in the white house? jeb bush makes a surprising comment about why his time to run could have been right now? ♪... ♪... ♪...

choose the perfect hotel mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal.

begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

more news developing now. it is rapid fire. here we go. attorney general eric holder made his eighth appearance before a house judiciary committee investigating fast and furious, the program that had u.s. agents allowing illegal guns into mex to track drug cartel. some of the them were involved in the murder of a border parole

members of con gregs complained they're not getting enough information on the case from holder's office and he told the committee he does not know how many guns were recovered. >> i heard different numbers as well, anywhere from 800 to 1,200. i don't know. i think we start with a number of 2,000 put into inappropriately put into the stream of commerce and then the number that has recovered is i have heard 800 to 1,200. i don't know. bloat and had inefficient, that's how the chairman of the house homeland security committee described a subcommittee described the tsa today at a hearing in washington. republican mike rogers grilled tsa administrators over slow screenings at airports and how he believe the public views the agency as unfriendly. to be more efficient he says they need change. >> as we adapt and evolve to meet the threats of post 9/11 world, so do the terrorists who condition to evolve in their tactics. the problem is the tsa is too

far behind the curve to see what's coming next. the truth is, mr. pistol, i believe you're too bogged down in managing an oversized workforce to mitigate the next potential threat. also discussed at the hearing how the agency should use common sense when it comes to patdowns. >> there are certain people that are so well known that you just have to use common sense because you start patting them down, people will say they're patting down beyonce. she is not going to blow a plane up. >> the tsa employs about 52,000 people. a top aid saddam hussein has been executed. he was the personal secretary, national security advisor and senior body guard as well as the ace of diamonds in the u.s. military's card deck of 55 most wanted iraqis behind only hussein and two of his sons. the iraqi tribunal found him

guilty for crimes against humanity. new evidence in the brutal beating at dodgers stadium. prosecutors played the 911 call made by a friend of brian stowe moments after two men jumped the paramedic and father of two in the parking lot. the friend describes what happened to dispatchers. listen. >> is this dispatch. >> yes. >> hi. i am off duty paramedic. my partner here also a paramedic was punched from the side, didn't see it coming. he is unconscious, slowing respirations at the moment and bleeding out of his left ear and no response to painful stimuli. with he need an ambulance right now. >> the hearings to determine if there is enough evidence for marvin norwood and louie sanchez to stand trial in this case. you may recall stowe was in a coma after the beating on opening day last year and still in a therapy facility. mitt romney on the campaign trail today bashing president obama just minutes ago calling

him inexperienced and not up to the task. >> it is painfully obvious that this inexperienced president with no experience as a leader was simply not up to the task of solving a great economic crisis. this president's miss guided policies have seemed muddled, confused, and simply ineffective. >> romney is in st. louis with the economy as his primary focus. here is an interesting one. former florida governor jeb bush told cbs he won't be mitt romney's running mate this year. >> i am not going to do it and i am not going to be asked and it is not going to happen. it doesn't mean i don't have a voice. doesn't mean i i don't want to enthusiastically support mitt romney. i intend to do that. i am doing it. i am not going to be a candidate with him. >> under no circumstances. >> under no circumstances. >> sounds pretty definitive. bush says he hasn't ruled out a future run for the president but says this year's window of

opportunity was, quote, probably my time. an armed robbery in canada that didn't end well for the robbers. the owner gets out bear spray, sprays them, holds one of them down and even takes down his pants and, look, the owner's wife starts kicking the robber. the guy was arrested and his partner is still on the loose. george clooney, barr ra stroois and, robert downey junior, lady gaga, some of the celebrities who with support president obama and now republicans are using that against the president in a new attack. does this sound familiar? just a quick note for those of you heading out the door, you can continue watching cnn from your mobile phone or if you're at work, you can also watch cnn live from your desktop. of course you want to. go to cnn.com/tv. concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. new tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ [ male announcer ] fast relief, fresh breath, all in a pocket sized pack.

mcallen, texas. in here, heavy rental equipment in the middle of nowhere, is always headed somewhere. to give it a sense of direction, at&t created a mobile asset solution to protect and track everything. so every piece of equipment knows where it is, how it's doing or where it goes next. ♪ this is the bell on the cat. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪

here is a list for you. george clooney, robert downey junior, lady gaga, not a hollywood premiere guest list. we're talking about celebrities who support president obama. republicans are slamming him for planning a fund raiser at the house of sara jessica parker a

week from tonight. there is video promoting it. this isn't the first time the gop has used the celebrity and chief argument. we want to bring in joe johns in washington. joe, republicans say the president is too close to tinsel town again. >> yeah, kate. i mean, even some democratic strategists says the president needs to watch how it looks hobnobbing with the super stars because the economy has hurt so many people and he risks just sort of seeming out of touch. we in the media have had a lot of fun with the web ads for the president's fundraisers in new york, the fundraiser as you mentioned that seems to have captured the most attention is hosted by sara jessica parker of sex in the city and anna winter of vogue magazine. seems like republicans trying to take advantage, too and have an ad of their own slamming the video by anna winter who by the way is believed to be the inspiration for merrill streep's character in the movie the devil

wears practiced prada. . they have superimposed a bunch of negative economic numbers using one of the most glamourous supporters of the president. can we play a little bit? >> we're hosting a dinner along with the president in new york city to benefit the obama campaign on june the 14th. it will be a fantastic evening and you can join us. we're saving two best seats in the house for you so you have to enter to win. you can enter right now. >> good touch. >> crickets. >> yeah. >> nice touch. >> it wasn't the tv set. they were actually turning the volume down on the anna winter ad while you're supposed to be reading that, i guess. >> it did take a lot of focus to get through that ad. i mean, am i having deja vu? we have seen attacks on on the celebrity connections before, back in 2008.

>> yeah. not that long ago, and they really are taking a page from the political playbook four years ago when john mccain ran ads basically calling senator obama then the biggest celebrity in the world. listen. >> he is the biggest celebrity in the world. is he ready to lead? with gas prices soaring, barack obama says no to offshore drilling and says he will raise taxes on electricity. higher taxes, more foreign oil. that's the real obama. >> i don't know. i mean, i don't know how effective that was and the question of course is whether it could be more effective the second time around if the republicans keep trying to do this. >> that was kind of -- i was wondering aloud, does this play? is it effective? we to want give mitt romney his due. he does have his own celebrity backers, ted nugent, kidd rock,

donald trump. maybe we should have a celebrity-off to see who has more a-listers or if the a-listers are better than the b listers >> and probably the ads from four years ago with all the people chanting and everything, i don't see how it is a very goods attack ad, you know? you still have all of these people chanting for this guy kwho is running for president or whatever. >> yeah and, well, that won't not only attack ads we'll be seeing. plenty of time for that, right? >> you can say that again. >> exactly. joe, thanks so much. talk to you soon. happening right now, our wolf blitzer just sat down with bill clinton as the former president has been taking some heat for comments he has made about mitt romney as well as the economy. does president clinton regret those comments? hear his surprising response when wolf is going to be joining me live in just a moment. first, it is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases and health officials are warning there is a strain

that doesn't respond to antibiekts and the job search, 22,000 people apply for 887 positions. hear what one company does when they see this overwhelming response. ♪ oh!

[ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen ♪ ♪ we all need it. to move. to keep warm. to keep us fed.

to make clay piggies. but to keep doing these things in the future... at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol - a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. ♪ >>a minute, mom! let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go. in your car. now count the number of buttons on your tablet. isn't it time the automobile advanced? introducing cue in the all-new cadillac xts. the simplicity of a tablet has come to your car. ♪

the all-new cadillac xts has arrived. and it's bringing the future forward. an st dmorphing into a super bag and a summer blockbuster accused of bad casting. time for reporter roulette. let's begin with an emerging worldwide public health crisis. doctors say it has to do with a new strain of st d that more than 100 million people contract every year worldwide. elizabeth cohen has the latest warnings about gonorrhea. elizabeth. >> the world health organization is warning against this gonorrhea super bug. what they say is the bacteria has gotten smarter and starting to outwit the drugs that we use to treat the disease. this he say they're seeing the super bug in australia, japan,

and in parts of europe. they say this process is just beginning. the drugs are still useful and in some cases they're not as useful as they once were in the past. gonorrhea is a really serious sexually transmitted infection. if the disease goes unchecked what can happen is that in women it can cause spontaneous abortions, infer tilt, and blindness in newborns. in the united states we have not seen this super bug yet, but scientists can see that gonorrhea is getting smarter and even in this country and they worry about that in the years to come the drugs we have won't work at all and they say we need more research to come up with better drugs. for more information about gonorrhea and the super bug, go to cnn.com/empoweredpatient. kate. >> elizabeth, thank you so much. next on reporter roulette the blockbuster drawing fire for the casting. a group that represents little people says the wrong kind of actors were used in the role of the dwarves in the movie snow

white and the hunts men. why is this group upset? >> it comes down to what you mentioned, the casting choice of char leez theron, christian stewart and it has so many people in hollywood, little people up in arms and instead of actually casting little people to play snow white's seven dwarves they did resize the faces of full-sized actors and transplanted them onto the bodies of little people. the voices from the full-sized actors were also use and had dead wood star ian mcshane and bob hoskins are a few of the actors cast as dwarves and a los angeles based theater group which features a group of little people tells tmz, wait a minute, what's wrong with casting actual little people to play dwarf roles? they reportedly sent a letter to universal pictures and the studio behind it and calling this an injustice and they're also threatening a, quote, 100

miget march. little people of america says it feels robbed and a rep for the organization tells us little people of america supports the equality of opportunity for the employment of little people in all industries of course and this includes the entertainment which we believe should cast little people in the full breadth of possible roles. the film by the way came outlast weekend, kate, and mate $67 million, a little more than that at the box office and we'll have to see if this off screen battle has any impact at all on those financial numbers. >> it is a very good question. is universal saying anything about it? >> no official statement from universal of the it is important to note here that little people were in fact cast in the film because the bodies were used for dwarf roles and the decision to use only the faces of well known british actors like mcshane and hoskins was for recognizability and acting background. >> there you have it.

thank you so much. next on reporter roulette thousands of applicants for hundreds of jobs. one auto maker is hiring big time in obama. this is great news for a lot of people. felicia taylor is at the stock exchange with more. >> this is really good news, no doubt about that. it is 22,000 applicants for just 877 positions. that's good. at a hyundai plant in montgomery, obama, about 25 workers competing for each job position ep on. jobs will eventually add a third shift to the factory and so no wonder there is great demand and frankly the pay is pretty good. it ranges between like 16 and $22 an hour for production line and maintenance positions. montgomery, by the way, has unemployment rate of about 7% and so that's less than what the overall national average is and still very high considering. >> hyundai isn't the first company to bring this similar jobs to obama, right? >> you're absolutely right.

obama has had a big manufacturing boom in the past five years which you know in the united states is somewhat unheard of. honda and boeing also have factories in montgomery and incentive the state has pretty well low taxes and great trade schools to train the employees for a possible jobs. there is also a statute that curbs union wours so workers can't be forced to join as a condition of employment. it is definitely an incentive as well. the auto industry overall has been a bright spot of the recovery and returned to being profitable thanks to an increase in demand. kate, somebody out there is buying cars >> somebody out there is buying cars and it is becoming an issue and might be not hyundai but on the campaign trail as well. thank you so much. that's today's reporter roulette. so coming up syria, more bloodshed, more deaths. the united nations envoy says the crisis is escalating and soon civil war could break out. a big moment going on right now at the u.n.

a georgia company is taking farming to a whole new level growing produce in climate controlled boxes. it is better for the environment. here is today's solutions. >> most of the produce you eat is probably grown on a farm hundreds if not thousands of miles away. it can take days for the food to get to your supermarket burning fuel and causing pollution along the way. matt liotta and his team say they have a better way. >> we use less water. we use less land. we use less fossil fuels because we don't have to transport it to where consumers are actually going to consume the product. >> pod ponics is growing lettuce in climate controlled recycled shipping containers for people in atlanta. >> we grow our lettuce hydro upon i cannily without using sun or soil. they're grown in a nutrient solution in a channel of water. >> a computer is calling the

shots. >> the computer krolz the lights, the environment from the air temperature, humidity, co2 levels. >> he says one container produces the equivalent of about an acre and a half of farm land. >> we believe the future of farming involves being able to grow food where it is consumed and this is a perfect example of how to do that.

earlier today the u.n. special envoy to syria stood before the united nations outraged by a report of another massacre in that country and in a blunt warning kofi annan warned expect an all out civil war if action is not taken to stop the syrian government from killing its own people and now for lack of action by the u.s. against such massacres has

senator john mccain lashing out at president obama. listen. >> the president of the united states as this slaughter goes on is silent and his spokesman says that they don't want to mill tar eyes the conflict. how in the world could you make a statement like that when 10,000 people have already been slaughtered? that to me is so bizarre, image not sure i have ever seen anything quite like it. >> so let's bring in foreign affairs correspondent jill dougherty. what else did he say? it was amazing what was said in front of the u.n. today. any new plan in the works since the assad regime hasn't complied with any of the six-point peace plan to this point? >> there was an expectation that he would come out with some type of another plan, maybe a contact, a meeting, a

conference, something, but he wasn't very specific. i mean, you would have to say all he said was the world has to work together. the strongest comments came from bonkimoon saying it is going from the tipping point to the breaking point. the question is what do you do about it? so that brings you then to hillary clinton who at this point is the furtherest forward on what should be done. she is saying regardless of what happens, everyone has to agree that syrian president bashar al-assad has to go, that there can be no peace if he is still there and she is urging everyone to plan very specifically for the next steps. otherwise i think the message that she is giving and the u.s. believes is that if people don't get on board now everything is going to go and you hear that from everything and the problem again is will russia do anything? they're really key. >> that is a key question, and

has been really all along. clinton was saying that russia was really a key obstacle to peace in syria. secretary clinton met with the turkish foreign minister today. can you tell us any more about what she said and any more about what she said kind of directing her comments to the asad regime? >> what she has been doing is bringing together the allies if you want to call them that and talking about the next very specific steps, so what she would like to see and the u.s. would like to see is that assad steps aside in some way, gives up power, and there is an interim government and then you go to elections. this seems very far away. one of the key issues is getting the russians involved in that meeting and having everybody put pressure on anyone they can in syria to stop that fighting. >> the pressure they're trying to apply and they keep saying it and the violence continues as a

lot more talking is going on at the same time. we'll are to look for action at some point. jill dougherty, thanks so much. >> just in, wolf blitzer wrapped up his interview with former president bill clont on and the discussion not only turned to mitt romney but about the turnt president and whether clinton is undermining president obama. we'll talk after the break.

talking with cnn. straight to wolf blitzer who just wrapped up this interview, interviewing the former president moments ago. wolf, what is the headline? i am sure there is a lot to go through. >> he was apologetic that he suggests that he made a mistake in suggesting the other day in an interview that he did that he would support a temporary extension of all of the bush tax cuts including the bush tax cuts for the wealthiest. he says he misunderstood the nature of the question and didn't have all the facts in front of him and we go into detail on that as you know that caused a lot of heart burn with the obama campaign and the other issue that caused a lot of heart burn with the obama campaign is when he said last week on piers morgan tonight that mitt romney had a sterling reputation as the head of bain capital and that he was qualified to be president of the united states. a lot of that coming on the heels of those ads as you know going after mitt romney because of his reputation and his experience at bain capital and all resulted in this exchange.

let me play a little clip of the interview i just wrapped up with the former president of the united states. listen to this. >> some of your critics have said, you know, the former president is undermining the current president for whatever reason. >> look, in 2008 when he ran for president and defeated hillary in the primaries, i did 40 events for him, 40 in the election. in 2012 i have done these measured fundraisers. i have spoken up for him whenever i could. i have told people repeatedly i think he has done a good job, a really good job under very trying circumstances and better than some people give him credit for. i am strongly committed to his re-election, and i just regret that -- you know, my instinct, you know me, i don't think i should have to say bad things about governor romney personally to disagree with him politically. the fact that i was

complimentary of his success as a business person doesn't mean that i think that he should be elected and president obama shouldn't. >> kate, we go in depth on a lot of these issues. i pressed him pretty hard on the whole issue of the tax cuts, the bush tax cuts, also on the bain capital. we go in depth on some other critical issues right now, for example, syria, and the full interview will air during our 5 p.m. eastern hour. we're going to have more highlights during the 4 p.m. eastern hour but bill clinton talking about what's going on in the world right now politically and we're here in chicago and can clinton global initiative, leader from around the country. the focus is jobs, the economy, and this election as all of us know. it is all about jobs and the economy. >> looking forward to seeing the full interview. do you think from what you heard and so we can tease to your full interview, are you satisfied with the answers? do you think viewers and voters will be satisfied with his reasoning he gives for these

supposed gaffes? >> i think because we can spend a lot of time going back and forth on the whole issue of the taxes that he fully understand what was going on and as you know the president has said he would veto any extension of the bush tax cuts for individuals making more than $200,000 a year or families making more than $250,000 a year. we go into the specifics and he says he made a mistake and regrets it and apologizes for that mistake and he is ready to move on. by the way, we're also going to get reaction to all of this from david axelrod who is the top strategist for the obama re-election campaign from eric furnstrom joining us live as well, the top strategist for the romney campaign. in addition to this long interview with president clinton we'll also have david axelrod and eric furnstrom joining me live in "the situation room" coming up at the top of the hour. >> a lot to work through. that's great.

look forward to seeing that. thank you so much for giving us a little taste of what you have coming up in just a few minutes. dispute over a loud birthday party leads to gun fire and a murder trial and the whole thing was caught on video by the defendant, a retired texas fire fighter. it starts with raúl rodriguez trying in vain to get his neighbors to tone it down. >> would you turn that down, please? >> who are you? >> i live over here. turn it down. >> don't holler at me. >> i am hollering because you can't hear me. i told you repeatedly to turn it down. >> i heard you screaming. >> some of rus trying to sleep. >> the situation escalates when the partiers con front rodriguez as he is calling 911. >> it is about to get out of hand, sir. please help me. please help me, sir, my life is in danger now. he is going to go in the house

and come out and be more than equal than me and now i am standing my ground here and these people will try to kill me. i am going to tell them to stay back when they come. they're drunk. >> wow. three men were shot. one of them died. that video was played in court yesterday by rodriguez's attorney who says it proves his client is not guilty of murder. legal analyst sunny hostin is on the case on this. how crucial is this video to rodriguez's claim of self-defense? it is pretty unusual. >> i think it is everything, actually, this video, because in self-defense cases and really in any case it is where someone is killed, it is very rare that you have a video tape sort of outlining the altercation, especially in a self-defense case when credibility means everything, where someone's version of events means

everything. this is very unusual because you have almost a seven or eight-minute video just capturing the entire thing. >> this is yet another case that appears that puts this so-called stand your ground laws in the spotlight, best known now from the george zimmerman case in florida over the shooting of trayvon martin. do you think the state will take a second look or are where he talking about it more. >> we're talking about it more, no question about that. i do think the states will be looking at it. when you listen to that video, one of the things he does say is i am standing my ground here. actually referencing the law, and we know that the stand your ground law has really come to the forefront especially because of the george zimmerman matter and in fact representative garnet coleman, a democrat out of texas says he will file legislation in the 2013 legislative session to repeal the provisions of texas's stand your ground laws which really

mirrors florida's stand your ground law that we know so much about because of the trayvon martin shooting. >> sunny hostin on the case. thank you so much. >> thanks. when she talks, people listen, especially since it impacts your 401 k, your portfolio and keen your job. ben bernanke telling americans what could be in store for the economy and he says there is one thing he is most concerned about, and erin burnett is standing by with thoughts coming up next. emily's just starting out... and on a budget. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. see how much you could save with allstate. are you in good hands?

in here, great food demands a great presentation. so at&t showed corporate caterers how to better collaborate by using a mobile solution, in a whole new way. using real-time photo sharing abilities, they can create and maintain high standards, from kitchen to table. this technology allows us to collaborate with our drivers to make a better experience for our customers. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪

reserve to come up with another round of economic stimulus any time soon, but don't count it out either. it all happens -- it all depends on what happens in the job market. that's the, and it seems fed chairman's ben bernanke's testimony on capitol hill. ier inburnett is here to pay attention to bernanke. it seems bernanke expects the economy to keep chugging along, but he does seem concerned about jobs. what's your take about what he said today. >> >> his takeaway is if things get considerably worse, even though we've had very weak numbers, he doesn't see the need to do anything immediately. what i took away was, look, congress, you need to get your

act together because it's unacceptable to what's happening here and you need to deal with the so-called cliff. it's half a trillion dollars, kate, in a hit that will hit this economy in the end of the year and that will be the bush tax cuts that are slated to go away, unemployment insurance will go away for another 6 million americans and payroll taxes will go up 2%. if congress doesn't deal with that it will be a huge hit and it will send us back into a recession. i don't know any economist that says it wouldn't, but it's congress' turn to act. it's amazing. when you look at what ben bernanke has done to stimulate this economy, $2 billion he's spent on the quantitative easing round, but $2.3 trillion to keep interest rates low, a 30-year rate for a mortgage is at its lowest level since 1971. low interest rates is not the problem and the problem is the certainty and knowing what with washington will do. do your job, i'll do mine.

>> the fiscal cliff issue you're talking about, such a huge challenge that is coming up any day now, they need to face it and this couldn't come at a more partisan time on capitol hill. bernanke doesn't think the u.s. is in any quote, unquote, greece situation. what about greece and the rest of europe? what do you think the impact of europe's troubles is and will be here at home? >> i think it's significant, and i think a lot of americans are starting to realize that, and sure, there's greece. i like to think of it as a little domino and it hits it and, boom, the dominos continue to fall. spain is significant and spain is a big player in europe unlike greece which was the canary in the coal mine. american banks take a hit and it's harder to get a loan here and with europe as a training partner, there could be tens of thousands more jobs that are lost and it gets even worse than that. today china did something, kate,

that they haven't done in four years. they lowered interest rates because their economy is starting to teeter, too. every american realizes we rely on china now. so europe really does hold the key now for china and the united states. so it's not just a scary situation to watch, horrible riots to watch, but it is something now where the chickens can come home to roost so europe is crucial. and the domino effect is something that people should keep their eye on and worried about, quite frankly. watch erin, tonight, 7:00. "erin burnett out front." you want your ked kids to go to college. our next guest says washington is simply playing politics with your future. pinch... and zoom... in your car. introducing the all-new cadillac xts with cue.

♪ don't worry. we haven't forgotten. you still like things to push. [ engine revs ] the all-new cadillac xts has arrived, and it's bringing the future forward. ...more talk on social security... ...but washington isn't talking to the american people. [ female announcer ] when it comes to the future of medicare and social security, you've earned the right to know. ♪ ...so what does it mean for you and your family? [ female announcer ] you've earned the facts. ♪ washington may not like straight talk, but i do. [ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org.

on medicare and social security morning, boys. so, i'm working on a cistern intake valve, and the guy hands me a locknut wrench. no way! i'm like, what is this, a drainpipe slipknot? wherever your business takes you,

nobody keeps you on the road like progressive commercial auto. [ flo speaking japanese ] [ shouting in japanese ] we work wherever you work. now, that's progressive. call or click today. student loans, a trillion dollar's worth hanging over people's heads. that's more than we all owe on our credit cards. it's a big deal. president obama is talking about student loans in a speech he's giving now in las vegas. the president is urging congress to do something to keep the interest rate on student loans from doubling and they've been fighting about it for a while now. republicans and democrats agree that the rate should be kept at 2.3% for another year and what they cannot agree on is how to pay the $6 billion tab for it which they often disagree on. they better do something quick. rates are set to rise to 6.8%

next month and a whole new crop of college students are taking out loans to pay for school. the financial columnist for "the chicago sun-times," terry, this shouldn't be as confusing as it is. what do cleollege students needo know? why is this so complicated? >> because it's politics and not reality. student loan repayment rates were tied to treasury bill interest rates which means today if they hadn't changed the formula, the rates would be less than 0.1%. they're the artificially high rates and a lot of student loan rates are already at 6%. parents who borrow repay at 7%. this has gotten out of hand. both political parties say if the treasury borrows at 8.thr3%t

the students borrow at 1.3%. >> that would be quite a change. president obama signed a presidential memorandum, directing his admin directing students on their repayment options and making it easier for the income-based repayment plan. what will that do? what are we talking about? >> well, there are some programs already out there. there were just forbearance and deferrals and income-base red payment where if you graduate and don't have a job you don't have to make repayments. there are plans that let you do public service and if you pay for ten years, then they'll forgive the rest of it. there's one website that has been put together recently where you can see all of the options and see how much it would cost to repay your loans and that website is called pa payobacksmarter.com and it has the alternatives and help you price out your loans. look, you can stretch them out and that means you're paying

more interest over the long run. here's a message to all graduates this year. you have six months and you can't ignore this. you have to start a plan, even if the plan is income-based repayment. sorry, i don't have a job, i can't repay. they'll put that in your record, just don't ignore it. >> there's so much that college students and their families are already dealing with when they began college, and clearly the student loan is not top of mind. it should be, or more of a priority, bottom line i don't have much time, but bottom line what do students need to know or what could washington actually do to help them? >> first of all, you need to know there's another great website, fine aid.org that will help you price out student loans, but families need to think about this. community colleges and you don't want your kids at home for two more years and they don't want to be there and that would be a less expensive way to finance your education.

we can't have graduates coming out at $50,000 or $60,000 at rates higher than what credit card borrowers are paying. >> terry savage, financial columnist for "the chicago sun-times." thank you so much. great advice. i also want to listen to this guy. wolf blitzer in "the situation room." i'm done. it's his turn. >> kate, thanks very, very much. happening now -- >> i'm sorry sorry about what happened yesterday. >> bill clinton apologizes. he's certainly a powerful campaigner for president obama but does he do occasionally more harm than good when he goes off message? >> my one-on-one interview with the former president of the united states. who is spilling u.s. intelligence secrets with a stunning display of bipartisan outrage, lawmakers demand an end to the leaks. a new breakthrough can reveal the entire genetic blueprint of