here is cnn's sandra endo. >> it all of our stock out. >> reporter: at collectible treasures gift shopfairfax, virginia, to stay afloat in these tough economic times, strategy is key. >> profit margins are down because of the economy. we have to do more sales. we have to do more promos. anything to get customers. >> reporter: with millions of americans out of work, owner shelly jennings wishes she could hire more employees to help run her three shops. but with sluggish sales, hiring workers is just too expensive, especially for small businesses. >> you have to be competitive. there is a minimum wage, but you can't offer minimum wage because nobody wants to work for that. you also have to pay -- match social security that the employee has taken out of theirs, you have to do unemployment taxes. you have to pay federal insurance and all that other stuff so it adds up to be quite a hefty sum. >> reporter: which is one reason the 9.1% national unemployment rate isn't getting better. the latest monthly report from the national federation of independent business shows the worst hiring prospec

sandra endo is in washington d.c. cs investigation fellow democrats are now launching. sandra. >> reporter: well, pam, his tearful confession yesterday revealed that the congressman not only sent a lewd photo and tweeted it to one particular female, but that in fact he was engaging in inappropriate communication with six women over the last three years. now the married lawmakers admitted such after lying about it for a week. he apologized to his family, supporters and the media for lying about it, but admitted that the picture was him and that he in fact tweeted it about a week ago. now the house actually as you mentioned, pam, is underway with an investigation, an ethics investigation, into if he used government issued resources to engage in this communication. the congressman said he welcomed the investigation and this was part of his confession yesterday. >> i don't know what i was thinking. this was a destructive thing to do. i'm apologetic for doing it. it was deeply deeply hurtful to the people i care about the m

sandra endo is in washington d.c. with the break down of just what passengers are paying for now. sandra. >> reporter: pam, it's really hard to imagine those good old days when we didn't have to pay for checked bags and changing your flights, having a little bit more travel flexibility. well, airlines are profiting from all those fees to the tune of $5.7 billion last year. $3.4billion just in checked baggage alone. and $2.3 billion for changing your flights or for cancellations. taking a look here at the smart board right now you can see the top three airlines who raked in all that dough, delta, american and u.s. airways just for baggage fees alone and also delta ranking number one again in raising the most money really for reservation and cancellation and change fees. american and united coming up after that. so clearly a lot of money to be made from airlines getting a lot from passengers paying those fees. for example, delta if you check one bag, that's $25. the second bag is $35. and when you get to the third bag it could be a whopping $150 on some airlines. so clearly making a

sandra endo joins us now from washington d.c. with information on how the u.s. fueling the drug violence in mexico. sandra. >> reporter: well, disturbing news out because a group of senators here on capitol hill are wanting and demanding tougher firearm regulations because of a new report that shows 70% of the firearms used by mexican drug cartels and violent crimes in mexico actually originate here in the united states. also under fire is the atf for essentially allegedly undergoing an operation selling firearms to known mexican drug gangs in the effort of tracking and tracing these firearms to the original crime group. and of course that is not sitting well with a lot of people here on capitol hill. but on the flip side the u.s. government says it's combating these efforts across borders and says that it actually captured more than 300 firearms in border states that were about to be smuggled into mexico. certainly this is a big problem. especially with violence increasing in mexico since 2006 more than 34,000 lives have been lost because of the violence from ga

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sandra endo joins us with more. sandra?reporter: well, tori, there was a lot of interest outside of the court, a lot of international media as well as dominic strauss-kahn being treated by supporters of his accuser, other hotel maids showing up in support for their friend and colleague. now, as you mention, the former international monetary fund chief appeared in court in new york to plead not guilty to seven charges including criminal assault and sexual abuse. he's accused of a may 14th incident at the sofitel hotel in new york city, of allegedly sexually assaulting a hotel maid. here's what both sides had to say after the arraignment this morning. >> once the evidence is reviewed, it will be clear that there was no element of forcible consumption in this case whatsoever. any suggestion to the contrary is simply not credibility. >> the victim wants you to know that all of dominique strauss- kahn's power, money, and influence throughout the world will not keep the truth about what he did to her in that hotel room from dumbi

sandra endo joins us live in washington, d.c. with a look at what each of the contenders has to offer. sandra? >> reporter: well, good morning, tori and dave. certainly, a very founded -- crowded field. you'll see seven candidates on the stage. it's the first major republican primary debate in the season. so far you see the list of names here. of course, the candidates want to make a difference, want to gain some ground with their supporters as well as pose an alternative to president obama and while president obama will likely be the target of most of these candidates' remarks, also a target is front-runner in the pack, mitt romney, the former massachusetts governor. he's leading in polls and rivals will likely criticize him for his healthcare reform plan which they say mirrors that of president obama. so clearly a lot of jabs will likely be thrown tonight against each other and also against the president but each candidate trying to distinguish themselves to really break out in the pack. notably missing is sarah palin. the specu

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our reporter sandra endo joins us live from washington to explain how the u.s. is being blamed to fueling the drug violence in mexico. sandra? >> well, dave, yeah, actually, here on capitol hill, congress members senators want answers as to why this operation took place according to the atf and u.s. government they say they wanted to trace these guns that were sold to known smugglers to see origin of these crimes but the operation unraveled because -- unraveled because it was too dangerous. a report shows 70% of the funs used by these drug cart elseles in mexico -- drug cartels actually originate from united states. so struggle -- so trouble there. clearly a lot of congress members here want answers and want to know how to stop this smuggling activity from happening. so we'll hear a lot of fireworks here on capitol hill. that's the latest from here. back to you. >> thank you. >>> our time now 7:46. well, the government is accusing airport security screeners at one the nation's largest airports of racial profiling. the. screeners at newark international picked out