American Job Outlook Grim, Says Economist

Former economic adviser for President Clinton Alan Blinder says that Congress, the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve have helped the economy enormously, but it is still in bad shape. He says although GDP is growing, the amount of jobs is still likely to "shrink." (0:37)

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Economist Says Economy Is At Risk Of Slipping Back Into Recession Next Year

Mark Zandi, Chief Economist for Moody's Economy.com, says the current economic recovery is "fragile and tentative" and thinks the risk of the country slipping back into recession is "uncomfortably high." He believes this because although employers have slowed down layoffs, they have not begun to hire aggressively. (0:25)
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Auto Lending Practices Are Discriminatory, Need Reform, Says Consumer Rights Activist

President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety Rosemary Shahan says African Americans and Latinos are more subject to auto lender's practices of yo-yo financing. Yo-yo financing is a tactic used by auto lenders that forces the consumer to pay a higher interest rate than initially agreed. (0:20)
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Upcoming Amendment To House Bill Could Spell Trouble For Car Customers, Says Consumer Rights Activist

Susan Weinstock, Director of the Financial Reform Campaign for Consumer Federation of America, says an amendment proposed by Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) to the House Finance Services Committee on the Consumer Financial Protection Agency bill will exemplify auto lenders from the agency. The Consumer Federation for America is asking the committee to deny the amendment due to shady lending tactics used by some auto lenders. (0:16)
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Gibbs: U.S. Is Still Working With The Afghan Government To Ensure Nationwide Security

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the U.S. is still dealing with the government of Afghanistan and that the Afghans must provide a candidate that will work to make their country secure. Gibbs says the U.S. is still implementing a policy that the President introduced in March. (0:39)
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U.S. Economy Will Continue To Support Newly Created Education Jobs, Says White House Official

Director of the Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes says that after the two year period of the Recovery Act, individual states should be able to support the additional education jobs that have been created. She says this is because the act was created with the presumption that the U.S. economy would be substantially better by the end of the two years. (0:38)

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Chief Economist Says Preliminary Numbers Show Stimulus Has Been Successful

Jared Bernstein, Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, says that the U.S. is engaged in the most "transparent and accountable" treatment of a government program that the nation has ever seen. He bases this assertion on the progress the Recovery Act has made in saving and creating nearly 250,000 education jobs. (0:26)
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Hillary Clinton Says Robert Gates Is Best Partner And Leader America Could Ask For

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says Defense Secretary Robert Gates is the best partner and leader America could ask for as the United States faces the "responsibility history has placed upon us." Sec. Gates was honored with the George C. Marshall Foundation Award Friday on the 50th anniversary of Marshall's death. (0:25)
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Hillary Clinton Says Marshall Plan Would've Been Scrutinzed By Talk Radio In Today's Age

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says that in today's world, General Marshall and President Truman's request for support of the Marshall Plan would have seen dissent from talk show hosts and cable TV. (0:47)
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Counter-Terrorism Prime Purpose For Intervention In Afghanistan, Says Former CIA Deputy Director

Dr. Paul Pillar, former Deputy Director of the CIA's Counter-Terrorist Center, says the purpose for U.S. intervention in Afghanistan is counter-terrorism. (0:14)
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Counterterrorism Strategy In Afghanistan Should Compliment Counterinsurgency Efforts

Former Army Vice Chief of Staff General Jack Keane says counterterrorism operations are valuable, but must be used to compliment a "fully integrated, civil military counter-insurgent strategy" in Afghanistan. (0:11)
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More U.S. Troops Needed In Afghanistan, Says Former Army Vice Chief Of Staff

Retired Vice Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army, General Jack Keane, says the only way to "stop the bleeding" of the current situation in Afghanistan is to send more U.S. troops. He says this must be done to aid the development of the Afghan National Security Forces. (0:26)
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House Democrat Calls Deaths Along U.S./Mexico Border A "Humanitarian Crisis"

Rep. Raul Girjalva (D-Ariz.) says the nearly 6,000 people have died crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. and is puzzled as to why this situation is not being treated as a “humanitarian crisis.” (0:51)
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80 Percent Of The Guns Confiscated In Mexico Are From U.S., Claims Arizona Democrat

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) says 80 percent of the guns confiscated in Mexico are originally from the U.S. He says Second Amendment "implications" have halted any federal interventions to stop the gun running. (0:19)
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House Democrat Says Education Must Be Part Of Immigration Reform

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) says the U.S. education system needs to be responsive to all children. He adds that the special needs of the Latino community need to be included in the "overall solution" for immigration reform in the U.S. (0:56)
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Creation Of NGOs In Dubai Can Help Trafficked Workers, Says Expert

Woodrow Wilson Fellow Scholar Pardis Mahdavi recalls her experience with an organization in Dubai that was created to help trafficked women workers, but was actually re-trafficking them. Mahdavi believes the creation of civil society organizations, or NGOs, will prevent this from happening in the future. (0:40)


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U.S. Govt Report Damaged Trafficking Efforts In Dubai

Woodrow Wilson Fellow Scholar Pardis Mahdavi explains how the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) damaged the civil society organizations that had been dealing with the trafficking of migrant workers in Duabi since the year 2000. (0:38)
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Michigan Democrat Believes Excise Tax Is Bad For Public

Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) says he signed a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to reject the Senate Finance Committee’s proposed excise tax because he feels “pressure to protect the people of the United States of America.” (0:36)
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Connecticut Democrat Says Proposed Excise Tax Will Affect Middle Class Americans

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) says the Senate Finance Committee's proposed excise tax on "cadillac" health insurance plans will affect a group of people “far wider than the Paris Hiltons of the world.” Courtney says this tax will affect a much larger group of middle class Americans. (0:45)
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Obama Confident Health Care Reform Will Be Passed This Year With Support From Physicians

President Barack Obama thanks the 150 docotors who came to the White House today to represent the medical community’s approval for heath care reform. He says that with the help of doctors and nurses “speaking out” in favor of heath reform he is confident it will get passed this year. (0:36)
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