AC360°

Editor's Note: Closing arguments are expected Friday afternoon in the case of a woman who is accused of assaulting police officers in a Missouri Walmart nearly three ago. She says white patrons shoved and hurled racial slurs at her when she switched lines. These are Ellis' mug shots when she was arrested in January 2007.

These photos were taken when Ellis entered the courtroom today.

Heather Ellis entering court this morning in Kennett, MO.

Gary Tuchman and Dave Mattingly
CNN

This much isn't in dispute: Heather Ellis cut in line at a Wal-Mart nearly three years ago.

But the accounts of what happened next vary, depending on whom you ask - and has divided this economically struggling Missouri town of 11,000 along racial lines.

Ellis, then a college student with no criminal history, said some white patrons shoved and hurled racial slurs at her when she switched checkout lines at Wal-Mart in January 2007.

Store employees refused to give her back her change and called police, she said.

And when she was taken outside to the parking lot, an officer allegedly told her to "Go back to the ghetto." Another roughed her up, she said.

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Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more from the parents on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

General Motors says that about 1,600 salaried workers will lose their jobs in the next few days.

Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

A key survey of leading businesses showed Monday that the nation's economy remained weak in the first quarter, but it also hinted that the decline is slowing.

The National Association of Business Economics' April Industry Survey "provides fresh evidence that the U.S. economy's recession is abating," said Sara Johnson, an analyst on the survey.

"Declines still out number gains, but fewer firms are reporting declines and more are reporting gains," Johnson said. "This suggests that the economy is at an inflection point but has not yet reached a turning point."

The big bank hot streak continues. Bank of America surprised Wall Street this morning by reporting a first quarter profit of $4.2 billion. That was well ahead of expectations.

But the stock fell sharply out of the gate as the bank warned of "deteriorating credit quality."

Over the past two weeks, rivals Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and even Citigroup - which like Bank of America has received $45 billion in government assistance - have all delivered earnings that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

Stocks opened lower this morning as investors turn their attention to a slew of mergers and those numbers from Bank of America.

Among the day’s deals, Oracle says it has entered into a definitive agreement to buy server builder Sun Microsystems in a deal worth $7.4 billion.

The announcement comes after Sun reportedly rejected a $7 billion buyout offer from IBM earlier this month.

And PepsiCo is offering about $6 billion to buy the shares it does not already own in its two largest bottlers to cut costs and secure control of its brands as growth switches to new non-carbonated drinks.

The company's plan to consolidate its bottling business underlines an industry trend and would give it control of 80% of its North America beverage distribution volume.

General Motors says that about 1,600 salaried workers at will lose their jobs in the next few days as the troubled automaker accelerates cost cuts in order to qualify for more government aid.

GM said in February it planned to cut 3,400 of its 29,500 U.S. salaried employees, with the majority of cuts completed by May 1.

President Obama plans to crack down on deceptive credit-card industry practices that have saddled consumers with huge debts and soaring interest rates, administration officials said Sunday.

White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers said the president would be “very focused in the very near term on a whole set of issues having to do with credit card abuses.”

“We need to do things to stop the marketing of credit in ways that addict people to it,” Summers said in an interview on the NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

And ExxonMobil shoved aside Wal-Mart Stores to retake the top spot on the Fortune 500, proving that Big Oil was king of the economy last year.

ExxonMobil was the top selling-company in 2008, with nearly $443 billion in revenue, a jump of almost 19% from the prior year. The oil giant was also the most profitable, with earnings of $45.2 billion.

Wal-Mart, which reigned as No. 1 on the Fortune 500 the past two years, slipped to second place.

Ceci Connolly
Washington Post

Washington policymakers contemplating a fundamental overhaul of the nation's troubled health-care system may want to study the saga of Wal-Mart.

Once vilified for its stingy health benefits, the world's largest company has become an unlikely leader in the effort to provide affordable care without bankrupting employers, their workers or taxpayers in the process. From its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., the retailer is doing in the real world what many in Washington are only beginning to talk about.

Read More...

Ken Olshansky
Senior Producer, D.L. Hughley Breaks the News

My wife and I are trying to decide if we should sell our stocks.

We’re looking at our portfolio, weighing all the relevant factors, and giving serious thought to putting our money under our bed. We’re also thinking seriously about hiding under the bed ourselves.

Granted, my wife and I aren’t financial geniuses. But we have kids, we have a house, and we need to be responsible about this stuff.

My current panic started yesterday, when I saw this chart on the Planet Money site.

This chart scared me. It was prepared by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, showing the jobs lost in the recessions of 1990 and 2001, compared to jobs lost so far in this recession. There is some disputing how Speaker Pelosi chose to present these numbers… but there’s no denying her point. We’re losing a lot of jobs, quickly, and there’s no bottom in sight.

That’s when I started talking to my wife about our own stocks. I’m sure there’s no absolute connection; but the idea that ‘no bottom in sight’ might apply to the stock market as well as to the labor market makes me think we may want to get the hell out of Dodge.

We tried to figure out what’s best for our family’s security. We tried to weigh the risk of getting out of the market against the risk of staying in. In a conversation like this, not knowing anything about money can be a real liability.

So I Googled people who do know something about money, and found this quote from Jack Welch: "We're in a recession and I don't see a V-shaped recovery–more like a bathtub U-shaped recovery which will last deep into the second half of 2009 before we start to come out of it."

That’s how we got into the bathtub.

By clicking around, we started to get a sense of what we might be dealing with. And then I saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the past six months, according to CNN Money.

I sort of get the bathtub image… and yet, there’s so much we don’t know! I can definitely see one side of the tub… and maybe I can see the bottom… but I don’t see the other side, where the tub wall starts to climb back up.

And which way is the bathtub facing? The narrow way? Or the long way? And how deep is it, anyway? Is it, in fact, a bathtub? Or something a little deeper… like a quarry?

All I can tell you is – here are two main lessons my wife and I learned from our research:

1) In the year 2000, 341 people drowned in bathtub-related accidents.

2) Stock market charts would be a lot more useful if you could look ahead six months instead of looking back six months.

If you’re looking for us, we’ll be under the bed.

Editor's note: Dr. Gail Saltz is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at The New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Gail Saltz
Psychiatrist

Over the weekend a group of waiting shoppers trampled and killed a temporary Wal-Mart worker who was standing at the door to let shoppers in. How in the world could this happen? How could anyone do such a thing?

This was sadly a case of the effects of group dynamics, or in other words mob mentality. When you put people into a group you tend to increase their level of arousal and excitement. Another phenomena of a group is that of shared responsibility, that each individual feels less directly responsible and “delegates” his own superego (conscience) to the group. The particular group in question here were people feeling the effects of this recession and fearful that they will not be able to get enough stuff for the holidays, thinking they NEED the sales to make their family and themselves happy. This added to the feeling of rationing, that there is a limited commodity of stuff, money, sales items and if they don’t get it now then they never will. This is of course untrue and in no way justifies anyone’s actions, none the less it is this desperate perception that likely fueled extreme behavior.

Mobs can incite all kinds of awful behavior. “Fans” have set fires and destroyed property at sporting events. Concert goers have groped women and jumped on top of and hurt people. Gangs have robbed and destroyed stores in city blackouts. Taken as individuals many of these people would never ever have done something so amoral. But put together they incite each other, embolden the crowd and lose their moral compass.

This weekend’s horror was likely done by a group of anxious, excited shoppers who individually would never have done this and are likely feeling tremendous guilt and remorse that they were in anyway involved. Some will feel so uncomfortable that they may be in utter denial they were involved at all. It speaks to the power that one psyche can have upon another and to the immense power and loss of boundaries in a group. It is also evidence of the tremendous anxiety people are feeling in the face of the economic pressures and the unknowns that financially lay ahead. We need to be aware of the ability of such fears to move us, to make us behave in ways that we will regret. Desperation can mess with your conscience and so we all need to be on the alert to remember there is no material thing worth hurting someone for. Although a group can have a negative impact, it can also have a positive one. What we need is for people to gather together in support of each other, to lend a hand to your neighbor, be a listener to your friend, be compassionate to your loved ones. And remember grouping together for support requires no stuff.

Wal-Mart's health plan will not try to recoup benefits paid for the care of former employee Debbie Shank, 52, who suffered severe brain damage in a traffic accident. Watch Randi's report tonight on 360°

Randi Kaye | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Hey there, I have some breaking news to share with you.

Remember Debbie Shank, the brain-damaged woman Wal-Mart had sued. The company was looking to get back money it had paid for her care after a semi-truck had plowed into her minivan eight years ago.

She was working for Wal-Mart, stocking shelves overnight so she could spend more time during the day with her family. The company wanted $470,000 back but only $217,000 is actually left of the money she had won in her own lawsuit against the trucking company. The money had been placed in a trust to provide for her long-term care. A court ruled Wal-Mart was entitled only to the money left in the trust.

You may recall, neither Debbie nor her husband had noticed the fine print when they signed up for Wal-Mart’s health and benefits plan that said if she settles with a third party in a lawsuit, Wal-Mart is entitled to recoup what it had paid for her care.

After my story about her aired on 360° and I blogged about it, the response was overwhelming. Thousands of you wrote to us, vowing to boycott Wal-Mart, with some saying you would “never spend another cent there.” Many of you told me you had called Wal-Mart to complain, while others tried to raise funds to help the family.

Someone started a petition to boycott the company on YouTube and Facebook, with a link to our story. Just a couple of you spoke for Wal-Mart, one noting the company had done nothing illegal.

Well, guess what. Today there was a major development in that story... Wal-Mart decided to let Debbie Shank keep the money. I read the letter sent to Debbie’s husband, Jim Shank, from Wal-Mart Executive Vice President Pat Curran. It reads in part:

“Occasionally, others help us step back and look at a situation in a different way. This is one of those times. We have all been moved by Ms. Shank’s extraordinary situation. As you know, our current plan doesn’t give us much flexibility, so we began reviewing the guidelines for the trust that pays medical costs for our associates and their family members….We have decided to modify our plan to allow us more discretion for individual cases and are in the final stages of working out the details. Meanwhile, we wanted you to know that Wal-Mart will not seek any reimbursement for the money already spent on Ms. Shank’s care, and we will work with you to ensure the remaining amount in the trust can be used for her ongoing care. We are sorry for any addition stress this uncertainty has placed on you and your family.”

Jim Shank, Debbie’s husband, learned of this about noon today. He told me “I thought it was an April Fool’s joke.” I asked him how he felt, and he said, “The pressure of the people got to them.. It’s not only a victory for Debbie but they are going to change their entire policy.” Then he added, “I want to thank the Lord Jesus and I want to thank you and 360 for all you’ve done.. you broke the story for us.”

Jim also said he is thankful to so many of you, too, our viewers, who pushed to get what Jim says is justice for his wife, Debbie.

- Randi Kaye, 360° Correspondent

Comments to the 360° blog are moderated. What does that mean?

Two nights ago on AC360, I introduced you to Debbie Shank. She is a brain-damaged woman from Jackson, Missouri, who used to work for Wal-Mart.

Debbie Shank, 52, suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident in May 2000.

In May of 2000, Debbie’s minivan was struck by a semi-truck and her brain received the brunt of the trauma. She now lives in a nursing home. Debbie was covered by Wal-Mart’s Health and Benefits Plan but after she settled with the trucking company that hit her, Wal-Mart sued her to get back the $417,000 it had paid out for her care.

What neither Debbie nor her husband, Jim Shank, noticed was a tiny clause in the health plan’s paperwork that said if Debbie settles with a third party for damages, which she did, Wal-Mart has a right to recoup the money it spent on her care.

All that’s left in the fund set aside to care for Debbie right now is $277,000 and she needs every penny of it. Her husband is working two jobs to care for her. She can’t function on her own and, because he has to work, he can't always care for her at home. He even divorced her so she could get more money from Medicaid. It gets worse. After they lost their first appeal in Missouri, their 18-year-old son was killed in Iraq. Debbie attended the funeral but because of her injuries, she doesn’t remember being there or even remember that her son is dead. She still asks for him. She doesn’t understand why she lives in a nursing home. It is no way to live...

Meanwhile, just last week, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the Shank’s final appeal. That means Wal-Mart can now collect every penny that is left in the fund. And the company apparently plans to do just that. 

I spoke with Debbie Shank’s lawyer, Maurice Graham, and he said Wal-Mart earlier this week told him, “they were sending down the paperwork so they can turn over the money.” Graham says he doesn’t think there’s a chance the company will change its mind because, “Wal-Mart worked too hard for it.” Graham hasn’t received the paperwork yet but when he does he says it will be “a matter of days” before Debbie Shank’s account set aside for her future health care is dry.

Ever since our story ran, and my original blog was posted, we here at 360 have been overwhelmed by viewer emails. Most are angry at Wal-Mart and vowing never to shop there again. Others want to help raise funds for the family. One man in Atlanta is planning a church fundraiser this weekend. The family’s attorney says he’s received so many emails he can’t answer them. And Jim Shank, Debbie’s husband, says his phone is ringing off the hook.

Today, Wal-Mart released a new statement, explaining its position: "This is a very sad case and we understand that people will naturally have an emotional and sympathetic reaction.  While the Shank case involves a tragic situation, the reality is that the health plan is required to protect its assets so that it can pay the future claims of other associates and their family members..."

Wal-Mart's statement continues, "Our benefit plan works like virtually every other health insurance plan. When our associates, or their family members, suffer injuries or medical conditions which are the responsibility of others, our plan steps in to pay covered medical expenses so associates and their families don't have to worry about their bills or have large out-of-pocket expenses. It is only after the associate or family member receives payment from the party responsible for causing the injury or accident that our health plan becomes entitled to reimbursement. These plans are funded by associate premiums and company contributions. Any money recovered is returned to the health plan, not to the business. This is done out of fairness to everyone who contributes to and benefits from the plan. The Supreme Court recently declined to hear an appeal of the case, which concludes all litigation. While Wal-Mart’s benefit plan was entitled to more than the amount that remained in the Shank trust, the plan only recovered the funds remaining in that trust."

Wal-Mart has no legal obligation to let Debbie Shank keep the money so she can afford healthcare. Does it have a moral obligation?  She took an overnight job stocking shelves for the company so she could spend more time with her family.  It didn't exactly work out that way.

- Randi Kaye, 360° CorrespondentProgramming note: See Randi's report on Anderson Cooper 360 at 10PM ET.

Debbie Shank, 52, has severe brain damage after a traffic accident in May 2000... Jim Shank, 54, works two jobs and divorced his wife so she'd receive more money from Medicaid.

JACKSON, Missouri (CNN) - Debbie Shank breaks down in tears every time she's told that her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq.

Even though the 52-year-old mother of three attended her son's funeral - she continues to ask how he's doing. When her family reminds her that he's dead - she weeps as if hearing the news for the first time.

Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident nearly eight years ago that robbed her of much of her short-term memory and left her in a wheelchair and living in a nursing home.

It was the beginning of a series of battles - both personal and legal - that loomed for Shank and her family. One of their biggest was with Wal-Mart's health plan.

FULL STORY