can't figure it out. melissa: that could be a mercedes problem. that's all the time we have for you. tune in at 1 p.m. when the senator talks about his efforts to -- gerri: hello, i'm gerri willis. tonight on "the willis report," the obamacare scam artists, fraud taking advantage of the law to take advantage of you. also, the new push to get rid of america's favorite tax breaks. is congress trying to kill the mortgage tax deduction, and spending less for your college education? you can do it. we're on the case tonight on "the willis report." ♪ gerri: all that and more coming up. first tonight, our top story. listen to this. they passed obamacare, but now

congress wants an exception from it. lawmakers holding biparn secret meetings to find a way to exempt themselves and their staffs from part of president obama's health care law. with more on this, senior fellow at the manhattan institute. you know, can you say hypocrisy? look, these are the people who passed the legislation. they think it's good enough for us, but not good enough for them. what do you think of it? >> well, you know, a lot of people on the hill are scared because a lot of the staffers, particularly, who work for congress, they are young. one of the things about obama care is it dramatically drives up the cost of health insurance for young people. a lot will be exposed. gerri: i take the point, and i understand it, but the same thing holds true for the rest of america. if people in washington, d.c. making pretty good dough can't pay for obama kay, how in the heck people across the country going to pay for it? >> that's absolutely right.

this is one of the most important provisions of the law. it was not to be in there. what happened was in 2009 when obama care was winding its way through the senate, republicans senator from iowa, chuck grassley, slipped this amendment into the bill, and the democrats had to vote for it not to look like hypocrites, and now they are stuck with the amendment that says members and the staff have to be on obamacare exchanges. gerri: this is what you wrote. look, the idea was simple if congress was going to impose obamacare on the country, it should have to experience what it is imposing first hand. you covered this so intensely and watched it so closely. you know, i have to say, so many unintended consequences. now congress won't abide by it. at the end of the day, what can we look forward to over the coming years? all the important tenants of obamacare really come into effect. >> yeah, you know, i think the biggest thing is the rise in

health insurance premiums, particularly for people who buy health insurance for themselves and for small businesses. large businesses, they'll be affected too, but less so. it's going to be individuals who shop for insurance for themselves, and small businesses because those are the people whose insurance obamacare affects the morse. these exchanges will be a big part of it. that's why it's important for the staffers and the mes of congress to be on the exchanges because when the law brakes down, look, you could fill every minute of every hour of every day of your show of stories of dumb regulations that congress passed that we have to live with, and i think that's why the story's have fractions. finally, they are stuck with it. maybe that means they get it fixed or reformed in the end. odds are we are stuck with the law for a long time. it's important that congress have some insight in how to fix it. gerri: you know, it's interesting to watch. john boehner and hair rereid, you know, their minons meet secretly and watching them play the story today, boehner said

something like, well, i don't want anybody to have to, you know, be a part of obamacare, it's a terrible law, happy to do what i can to keep members of congress not having to be a part of it, and reid says this, or, actually, his office said this, senator reid believes this is the effect of the legislation written, and that, therefore, no legislative fix is necessary. well, what's really going on? don't think -- think the opposite personnel management will fix the mar gyps, rewrite rules a little so they don't have to worry about a darn thing? >> yeah, so speaker boehner said, look, this is a democrats' problem, their law. if they don't want to be stuck in the exchanges, they have to fix it. what reid said was interesting because it's carefully worded. he says no legislative fix. well, yeah, so no legislative fix, what they are trying to do is lobby this government necessary, the office of personnel management that runs the federal employee health benefits program, lobby that agency to fix this so congress

doesn't have to. i'm not sure the opm, as it's called, fixes everything reid wants. i think they are stuck with it. we'll watch what happens. gerri: such cheaters, unbelieve l. they try to get away with stuff. can't believe it. thanks for coming on. great to see you. >> same to you. nice to see you. >> now we want to know what you think. here's the question, should congress abide by the same laws that we do? you can tell how i feel. log on, vote on the right-hand side of the screen, and i'll share the results at the end of tonight's show. scam artists are capitalizing on it, so what should you be on the lookout for? joining me now, james of the coalition against insurance fraud and dan, a former prosecutor. dan, i'm going to start with you. i think that the changes to obamacare have made for big opportunities for scam artists.

do you agree? >> absolutely, gerri, i definitely agree. the thing with fraudsters feed on fear and confusion, and, obviously, in this situation, especially for the elderly, there's a tremendous amount of fear and tremendous amount of confusion about the implementation of the massive new law, and so fraudsters work at the edges, figure out where the issues are, and then they go after the people trying to get their personal information, get access to the bank account, to their savings, and other things. it can be a small operation. some of the operations are worldwide. it's a terrible situation. gerri: i want to break this down into small bites because it's complicated. james, to you. you've been involve the -- in this, seen it up close. how do these scams work? >> well, there are many flavors. it's a large playbook. often, people knock on your door

or you get a call from a telemarketer saying i'm here from the federal government here to sell you obamacare insurance, and all you have to do is fork over your social security number, your bank account number, your credit card number, and we'll sign you up, and you're on the federal data base. gerri: james, these are people who think they'll get a phone call from the government, a, to be sold the insurance. they are really lacking in information. do they tend to be older? >> well, many of the scams are aimed at seniors. the scammers perceive that schoolers are confuse -- i mean, that seniors are confused and easily fooled. many of them tend to be at home, more likely to answer the tornado watch, and telephone and they come from a generation where people were much more trusting. gerri: dan, how difficult is it to prosecute? you talked about who the people actually are, sometimes just an individual scam artist who finds a way to do this, and sometimes

they are overseas. rings of criminals, criminal networks trying to get in your pocketbook, and let's face it, probably in your mom and dad's pocketbook or your grandparent's. this really tends to be tact targeted at the elderly. who are these folks? >> they are people from all different walks of life, but the main thing they have in common is absolute disregard for other people's money and for preying on the elderly, and instead of seeing, you know, an elderly person of someone to be protected, they go after them, and, you know, it's really true. when you prosecute the situations, start at the grassroots level as far as the small organizations, and then work with national and international police and government organizations to ultimately track down the ring leaders. gerri: well, how -- >> it's a transnational problem. gerri: transnational. it's all over the globe, really. dan, how hard is it to prosecute if people are overseas doing this? >> you have to ultimately work

through our treaties of mutual assistance with other government agencies through interpoll and throughout the world. it's really, really tough, but it starts with -- quite frankly, it starts with the individual person. if you are contacted by phone or by e-mail, immediately contact your local law enforcement authorities and never give your perm information out. you're not going to get contacted by a legitimate government or private authority and just ask for your social security number or your credit card, that's nonsense. gerri: james, i know the irs doesn't e-mail anybody. can you make a similar care on medicare, medicaid, obamacare? >> well, right now, the scammers really are going to be -- are using e-mail and they are using knocks on the doors as one of their primary means. now, when health care kicks in, the exchanges are going to be marketing their insurance in many, many different ways, and we will see people knocking on

doors as official enrollers related to the exchanges. this gives scam artists a great chance to try to pretend to be official enrollers with forged documentation and ids. gerri: wow. well, we have that to look forward to. [laughter] >> gerri, if i can jump in on that? gerri: sure. >> what i recommend there is that people out there who are experiencing these things, go talk to your personal insurance agent. go -- contact your local police. if you close the door, it's your home, close the door, hang up the phone, get advise -- advice from someone you know and trust. gerri: kids need to talk to mom and dad and the grandparents, absolutely. thanks. i hope we don't have to do this segment again. thank you so much for coming on. it's an interesting story, and i'm glad you warned people about it. >> thank you too.

>> thank you. gerri: all right. well, just ahead, the feds say you are too distracted when you drive so they want to change your car. we'll explain, and next we'll take a look at the correct responses in times of crisis with somebody who just had to deal with a big one last week. ♪

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gerri: from manmade to natural disasters, how do you respond in a crisis,? real issue for the folks in boston after the terrorist attacks, but how the businesses responded is a lesson for everybody. the chief operating officer of ppl public partnerships is one of those businesses, and he joins us now. will, i have to say, some businesses had a very difficult time reading storying about companies who couldn't get the word out to employees not to

come to work, confusion on the ground, but you guys were able to execute. tell us, first, a little bit about yoor business and what you do. >> well, great, thank you. pcg public partnerships is a leading provider financial services for participant direction programs, and we actually have our headquarters in boston, but seven locations across the country serving about 40 programs in 22 states in the district of columbia, and what these programs do is they allow individuals that are eligible for medicaid funding and have long term care needs to actually hire personal attenadapts to come and assist with their activities and daily living so they are able to stay in-home and community based settings rather than be institutionalized. gerri: help me out here. are you sending out checks every week, every month? >> well, a key element of what we do is we process the payroll

for the individuals and file in deposit taxes and track their budgets, and making sure that the paychecks go out on time is a real critical element of the process, something we do on a daily basis. gerri: great lengths to get the checks out. tell us about that. >> well, we certainly did. i mean, first of all, i'd like to say that any of the challenges that we encountered last friday just pealed in comparison to how the people that were affected by the bombings were affected. our hearts go out to the victims, their family, and, certainly, to the courageous police who were pursuing the criminals; however, having said that, we had operational commitments to meet on a daily basis. gerri: people were waiting for the checks. let's face it, if you didn't get it together, people would, you know, maybe they were not you managed to work around. what did you do? >> we were surprised, as everyone else was, that public

transportation system was shut down in boston in lockdown. what we did is we immediately implemented our continuity of operations plan which basically entails thinking through what operations we might shift to different locations and working remotely, and it started with meeting with our crisis management team where we reviewed priorities in different alternatives, and we initially thought we were going to have to shift operations in the boston area to phoenix where we have a production facility, but we were able to verify that our chelsea location, which was just north of boston, was not directly impacted, although, not everyone got into the office, and with, of course, staff there, we had our check printing operations retained there, but the folks in boston couldn't get through to the office, and they needed to work we motely and do some critical functions like cash verification and claims processing. gerri: wow. >> and it was really incredible what they did because, you know,

they were right in the midst of this boston lockdown with the tremendous amount of activity going on in the area. gerri: right. well, you know, you run the boston marathon, not this year, but you -- this really hits home with you, and i've got to tell you, we're shooting over the shoulder as the area that was impacted. i lived in that neighborhood. it's a fantastic place to live. our hearts go out to your city, and we're impressed with the way your company, one company, really rallied to do what they needed to do that day. thank you, will, for coming on. really appreciate your time today. >> great, thank you very much. appreciate it. gerri: unbelieve l -- unbelievable what people have to do. up next, answering the question, how do you do that, with another flash crash and another website under attack, how do you-and-a-half good faith trade -- how do you navigate trading? we have must-hear tips next. stay with us.

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gler gerri james one of the nation's biggest online brokers, schwab experienced a major cyber attack this week. what it means to you, next.

gerri: one of the nation's largest online brokers, charles schwab, shut down for awhile, not able to trade online for hours monday and tuesday this week, when apple announced a big surprise. they resolved the issue, but l ceo warns more attacks, more attacks could come in the future. navigating online trading is harder than ever. how do you do it? what do you do to stay safe? market watch and host of "money life" is here on set, great,

really appreciate your time. >> thank you. gerri: what do you think of the snafu? >> recognize that denial of service attacks are going to happen, and it's not just schwab, but every brokerage firm because that's the culture that we live in. the question is -- gerri: i don't want to embrace it though, chuck. at the end of the day, more and more makes me feel less and less comfortable, not just with the brokerage, but with the bank. >> i agree with that, and them the question becomes are you going things where it's a real disruption? you know, if you're an average investor, you're not necessarily doing that much trading, and the idea, okay, buy a stock, is the order in today, that's not making a difference if you're a buy and hold. if you trade rapid saying, hey, i want out, well, then you got those issues, and, oh, by the way, it's not denial of service. if you trade on the app, you're behind pros anyway. they are faster, quicker, and

skimming you for pennys anyway. gerri: i shouldn't trade on the app? i should be doing what? >> well, for the average investor? no, don't trade on the app if it's actual trading. if it's -- i want to make a transaction, that's fine. go off, do that, and if the app helps you, more power to you. if you want to be in a situation to trade in and trade out five minutes later or ten minutes later or what have you, you got some bigger issues, and, yeah, the technology is just one of them, but, you know, the problem comes up. gerri: my view is the uneven playing field for individual investor, and if you think you can beat the pros out there in terms of executing a trade, getting the best price for a trade, forget about it. >> well, i agree with that, but that's why you, as an individual investor, an average investor, shouldn't beat the pros at their own game. the idea is to hire them to manage the many money or say i'm not going to try to get every little penny, but capture that long term trend.

too many people are worried about what's happening right now, and, oh, by the way, they miss out on what's going on in the long stretch. gerri: cold comfort, though, i got to tell you because denial of service attacks concern me, and i do worry about not having access to my money or my investments when i want it. there was a report today from the financial stability oversight council looking at the denial of service attacks. here's what they said, "during 2012, more than a dozen financial institutions sustained distributed denial of service attacks to the public websites, all of which were attributable to a single group. with this recent experience of financial sectors increasingly adept in assessing, preventing, and mitigating cyber risks." really? my reaction is do i really believe that? >> well, get away from denial of service and just go to the other things, the fishing expeditions, who lost security, and now somebody's information is out there, and all of those other sorts of thing you know that's what they wind up doing.lked ont

scams. well, hey, if they don't scam you if they can basically crack a code and go off and get apps, access to your account. gerri: right. check, what do you think about being safe? >> take every precaution to be safe, and i think a lot of folks kind of get casual in what they are doing, and the flipside is, you know, as much as we love the convenience, there are still a whole lot of people who sit down every month, do it from home, and they don't go out, you know, they take it at the most secure computer, do it on a regular basis, don't have anything that shows up. if anything happens, you know, pay your bills on the 1st and 15th, and there's an app that shows up that makes it look like you paid on the 27th, it's goofy there. you recognize that fast when you have really good straightforward security. gerri: do payments regularly, investing regularly, and then you know if it's weird or strange. we ran through it quickly, but great advice. chuck, thank you for coming in

tonight. great to see you. come back soon. >> i look forward to it. gerri: thank you. well, time now for a look of the stories hot and trending tonight on foxbusiness.com. well, i hate to tell you this, but prepare for more airline fees. united and u.s. air jacked up the fee to change a flight costing you between 200 and $p # 00 to change your -- $300 to change your ticket. that's right. mortgages at a record low, 2.61%, and 350-year near a record low to 3.4%. that's good. all right, stocks, end of the day higher today after solid earnings results and a fall in weekly jobless claim, but the rally fizzled by close after corks -- cautious comments by ben bernanke. starbucks posted results in line with expectations and raised a full year profit outlook a fraction. the stock down after hours. those are stories trending right now on foxbusiness.com. coming up, a change in the u.s. tax code could keep some from

the american dream. we'll have the latest on the mortgage deduction, and, next, feds looking to crack down on distractedded drivers, but as is the case, will they go too far, again? ♪ ♪ thank you orville and wilbur... ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future...

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from our fox business studios in new york, here, again, is gerri willis. gerri: well, furloughs of air traffic controllers continue to cause headaches for fliers. lawmakers on both sides trying to undo that, and we're just learning a possible end may be in site. rich edson joins us from reagan international airport. hey, rich. >> good evening, gerri, and right now, they are working in congress, a bipartisan group of senators, to find a way to try to avoid furloughs going on for four days now.

there's been anywhere from 400 to 1200 daily flight delays in that time period. that's what the faa says, and what the group of senators is working on doing is giving the faa and department of transportation the ability to find $200 million that the furloughs are saving, and find it from somewhere else in the budget. the faa budget alone is $16 million, so spending latitude is something the department of transportation needs to avoid this problem, and that's what the senate's working on right now. conceivably, they could pass it in the next couple of days to go to the house where they take care of it, and the president would sign it. it's not a guarantee he would, but the white house is showing willingness to find temporary fixes to ensure flight delays do not continue. the senate is working on it now. an aid says they are close, but they are not there yet. senate leadership would have to sign off on this, house leadership has to sign off on this, so there's a bit to go here. this also is not something that can wait until next week because senate and house are both out next week.

if it's not done tomorrow, they come back after recess, the week of may 6th, to take care of it. gerri: do those people work? i swear. i wish i had their vacation schedule. it's so amazing. well, i guess things still up in the air with the furloughs. thanks a bunch, rich, appreciate your time. good to see you. >> thanks, gerri, you too. gerri: well, the feds are behind your wheel, the wheel of your car add providing drivers what technology and can and can't have in their own vehicles, edmond's analyst joins us what it means for the drivers on the road today. thank you for helping. the story is under my skin because i'm not sure i want the federal government imposing new guidelines on us. tell us what they are trying to do, what they think is important to accomplish. >> well, first of all, it's not a 4r5u yet. they are guidelines put out. there's a real concern about distracted driving. it is a serious issue. what the guidelines focus on the

automobile itself, a highly regulated thing. the idea is to put in regulations or guidelines that keep you from -- keep your eyes on the road, hands on the wheel. there are guidelines about how long it takes to do functions on your navigation system, and then to disable text messaging, internet access while driving. >> so limit distractions to two seconds, and i don't know anything i can do in two seconds, enable video functions, websites, social media, e-mails, and texts. what is distracting drivers these days? when you look at it, are accidents caused by these things? what are people doing that's distracting them in the cars? >> well, everything. it's not a new thing other than the added electronics that we have now. there's a study last week about daydreaming being a big distraction. we know for a fact that having other passengers in the car, that's why we don't let

teenagers have kids in the car because that's very distracting. how many times have you seen women putting makeup on or men shaving and eat and drink in the cars? there's a lot of distractions, and add the layer of electronics, and it's dangerous. gerri: we looked at the cars and what they have this 234 them, and, i mean, they are loaded with electronic gizmos. the ibeetle, a iphone dock, display, navigation, hands free calling media streaming, goes on and on what you do in your car, and, in fact, consumers are demanding this. do you think car buyers are on a collision course with the fed? >> well, i -- you know, they definitely are demanding these kinds of things. look at the ore banks of the car companies, they order cars fully loaded with these electronics, and if you don't have them, you use an ipad.

you use a portable navigation system and iphone. how do you regulate those things in the car with you? gerri: good point, even if you take away the stuff on the dash, people bring their own phones, own ipads, and use those instead. what do you tell -- >> and your cup of coffee. gerri: don't forget the coffee. coffee's critical. >> yes. gerri: what do you tell people about these guidelines to watch for, what do they think about as they buy a new car, drive around town? >> i don't think it's about the guidelines. i think people need to think about the behavior driving. i'm as guilty as the next person. driving is a big thing, and you need to focus on it. it's all -- i think it's mostly about driver behavior. be aware of what's distracting you and focus on driving. gerri: focus on driving, you know if i had a blackberry, i'd pick it up, and, oh, right. michelle, thank you, pleasure to see you, great story, appreciate

your time. >> thank you. gerri: well, when we come back, the changing look of a college education, and next, is washington really set to get rid of the mortgage tax deduction? it would be a major hit to homeowners across the country. we'll have the latest. ♪

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since the batteries caught on fire at logan international airport and in a smoking battery in another 787 caused an emergency landing in japan. well, on to news out of washington. is congress trying to evicts one of the most popular deduction on tax returns? the mortgage interest deduction could be on the chopping block. peter barnes on the story. what are they thinking about doing? >> well, gerri, as part of tax reform, the house ways and means committee had a hearing today on whether and how to cut back on the mortgage interest deduction if tax reform proceeds. now, this is a big tax break, worth $70 billion this year alone for some 35 million homeowners, proposals from the obama administration and some in congress would reduce the mortgage interest deduction, possibly capping most itemized deductions, particularly for wealthier family, and you can deduct on mortgages up to a million dollars in total value. some cut that to 500,000.

others want to eliminate the deduction for mortgages an second homes, but many law makers want to preserve some kind of homeowner tax benefit for at least middle tax -- middle class taxpayers. gerri: well, i wonder if congress -- >> my biggest concern is we not pay for tax return on the backs of working people. broadening the base and lowering the rate sound great, a great bumper sticker and slogan, but that can't come at the cost of working class families. >> okay, we wanted that sound bite in, gerri, sorry about that. gerri: no problem. >> no problem. it is to replace the tax deduction itself with a tax credit for mortgage interest payments. that's one idea. gerri: a lot of stuff out there, a lot of ideas about the mortgage deduction. you know, i feel like do you really want the industry to fully recover, and maybe you want toe think about this before you do something, and i can

imagine the realtors group in washington is probably having a cow tonight. >> realtors, home builder, mortgage bankers are all having gigantic cows. [laughter] and, in fact, we have the president of the realtors who testified today. take a listen to this. >> if congress were to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, it could mean an average tax increase of over $2500 per family. realtors realize that most believe congress would not attempt to completely eliminate mid. we hope they are right. >> i think that you're looking at some point, gerri, if there's a deal on the budget between the white house and republicans, at least a limit on the deduction for higher income families. i think that that's definitely on the table. gerri: the favorite target of the administration, i have to say.

something different for a sec, peter. i know you are following the conversation in washington among regulators today on denial of service attacks. what did you learn? >> well, we went to the meeting of the financial stability oversight council, released its annual report to congress, and, gerri, there were some very frightening details about cyber attacks on banks, particularly big banks and that have been having the denial of service attacks. more than a dozen attacks since september on major banks and regional banks according to the fsoc report, and they said they are all coming from one source. now, they wouldn't name the source, i tried to get them to tell me on background rather, but we know that the administration has been pointing the finger as for the attacks at china. it was -- it was quite -- we have not heard about the size and scope of this, more than a dozen since september. scary.

gerri: more than a dozen? upsetting to individual consumers. thank you for reporting on this. we care about the issue. peter, thanks for coming on. great to see you, thank you. >> okay, gerri, thanks. gerri: switching gears here a little bit. do you feel stressed? if so, you not alone. nearly 41% of us feel stress, some more than others, especially if you live in one of the states in tonight's top five. the most stressful states, number five, massachusetts, not for the reasons you think. more than 43% of residents feel stress, maybe it's health care. i don't know. number four, utah. despite residents expressing enjoyment in the lives and it's a beautiful state. number three, kentucky, 45% feel stress. number two, rhode island, 46% are stress and 8% say they have enjoyment, the lowest in the country. number one most stressed state is west virginia. big surprise, 47% of the state feel stressed. who is relaxed?

it's hawaii. not surprising there. i'd be relaxed too on a beach with a maitai in my hands. still to come, another new tax coming down the pike, and, next, going to college without leaving your living room. on line classes the rage now. we'll tell you about one of the options you may not have heard about. ♪

gerri: ivy league education free of charge, take online courses by top university professors without breaking the bank. no kidding, denails next.

gerri: we talk about how education is just too expensive. today, we have a solution for that. it's a new era of higher education as college students seek open on line courses in droves offered by harvard, mit, stanford, sounds good, doesn't it? free of charge. is online education a right for you? we have professor at stanford university, all right, tell me what this does? >> well, it works for the best universities to offer the best classes from the best instructors the students are everywhere around the world, 3.3 million students now taking education from the best education for free. gerri: taught by professors at 6 # # -- 62 universities, so how do you do this? my goodness? how do you convince people to teach for free? >> i think that for a professor,

given an opportunity to take something they are passionate about and convey it to tens of thousands or even a hundred thousand people is really a priceless opportunity for them to get the message out about something they care deeply about. at the same time, for the universities we're working with, this is is a great opportunity for them to change the way in which on campus instruction is done because a lot of times instructors take a lot of insights as well as the materials developed as part of the online education effort, and use that to better teach students on their own college campuses doing what's called flipping the classroom or moving active learning into the classroom so they have a chance to engage with their students. gerri: huh, that's interesting. what students are taking advantage of the online version? >> oh, we have students from every age group. we have 10-year-olds, we have 90-year-olds, students from every single country around the world, students from very different economic backgrounds, we have a lot of students with disabilities who will not be able to make their way into a

real educational experience without this kind of online access. we really believe in learning without limits of any kind. gerri: so, if i take your courses, can i get a degree eventually? do i get anything at all other than satisfaction of having the knowledge? >> so you do not get a degree. we're not a degree granting institution, but you have the option of getting what we call either statement of accomplishments, just a letter from the instructor saying you successfully completed the class, you have the option of getting a verified certificate verifying your identity, this is for some classes, and attest to the accomplishment in a rigorous way including university brand, and then for a few of the courses, the american council for education assessed them for credit equivalency so completing %-transfer those into a college degree at an institution of which they are enrolled. gerri: could be in some cases become credits.

that's awesome. >> yeah. gerri: at the end of the day, say you are mid career who wants a better understand of what you're doing, maybe take one of the courses, put it on your resumé; right? it bolsters your own since of accomplishment, and did i say "free"? i think i said "free." free, free. >> totally free. you know what? the options are available forever those of us who are working professionals in terms of continuing education over the terms of life is limited. you can watch it on tv, but it's lonely or find a baby-sitter three times a week for community college, neither of these is really all that attractive for a lot of people. gerri: fascinating stuff, thanks for coming on to tell us about it. appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you very much, gerri. gerri: well, it's time if this day in business history. it was on this business day back in 1901 that new york became the first u.s. state to require automobile license plates rather than issuing plates for $1, the

state took an application of drivers using initials. drivers made their own plate. people quickly gamed their system with fake initials or false information and bypassed the registration process forging their own plates. in 1903, there was government issued numbers and seals to be used on home made plates. for a number of years, plates of shapes and sizes were common. kansas and tennessee cut plaits to match the shape of the state itself, most changed to the standard size we have now, but it started when the empire state was the first to require auto license plates. today, april 25th, 112 years ago. unbelievable. we'll be right back with my two cents more and the answer to the question of the day, should congress abide by the same laws we do? ♪

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the. gerri: of planned to make lawmakers and their staff to ru@ at the early stages under obamacare has proved to be a logistical nightmare, and of those on the hello trying to find a way to be exempt under the law. first insider-trading criminal law but care. should congress have to abide by the same laws as the rest of us? here is what your posting on my facebook page. yes, she says. be punished harder when they do not. they not only violated the law, they violated the public trust. rob says, but i think we should abide by the same rules congress does. we also asked the son gerriwillis.com. everyone said yes, no one said no. be sure to log on to gerriwillis.com for online question every weekday. finally tonight, flus season is winding down. next season could be expensive

because washington wants to put in place of food tax. according to the weekly standard there are two bills lead in the winter capital hill that would enact a 75-cent tax on food shops. from 135 million jobs each year, that comes up to 100 million each year of most of which would go toward the vaccine injury compensation trust fund. it is used to select seen related lawsuits. as of november the fund already has more than three and a half billion dollars debt. many vaccine lawsuits are there every year? that many this the last 25 years since the last -- the fund has only been out soon a half billion dollars. $0.75, but it is a sense -- symbol of what is wrong with this country. we will have a revenue problem. we should be incentivizing people, especially seniors on fixed incomes and not get a flu shot? that is what would happen if you put in place this tax. that is my "2 cents more." coming up tomorrow, the business of nail care.

the to executive vice president beam is here to tell me how 0pi is tapping into the billion dolr industry. does it for tonight. thank you for joining us. don't forget to records showed you cannot get to slide a great. ♪ lou: good evening, everybody. thank you for being with us. another target on the boston morning suspect list was revealed today. new york city mayor michael bloomberg saying he received confirmation from fbi investigators said that the brothers had planned to detonate bombs in new york city's crowded times square, a plan that investigators call spontaneous, but nonetheless potentially deadly. >> we were informed by the fbi that the surviving attacker reveal that new york city was next on their list of targets. he told the fbi, apparently, that he and his brother had intended to drive to new york