Obama Meets with Israeli P.M. Netanyahu; IRS Warns About Scams
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes, it's almost our favorite time of year, tax time, and if you're trying to find all those receipts and donation slips, well, if that is not enough to worry about, how about all the scams that are out there? Alison Kosik does has advice for us, though. Alison?</s>ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, and there are plenty of scams out there as we get ready to put our taxes together and do the fun of putting our taxes together. The IRS is actually warning taxpayers about scams on everything from phony refunds to tax preparers who may not be so legit, shall we say? So, if you wind up getting an e-mail, a text message, or even a social media message that claims to be from the IRS looking for personal or financial information, the advice is, guess what, don't reply, don't open any attachments or click on any links. Check the URLs, too, because scammers wind up setting up fake websites using common misspellings of legit Web addresses. Now, the IRS does not contact taxpayers through e-mail, either through U.S. -- and they only contact you through U.S. mail as a first contact or will contact you as a second resort by phone. Now, you can forward the suspicious e-mail or link to phishing@irs.gov or, if you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to verify this person is an employee before you give out any information. Kyra?</s>PHILLIPS: Well, Alison, too I think this is kind of a no- brainer, but I think we should emphasize, if you get a refund that you think is too good to be true, it probably is.</s>KOSIK: It is and it's worth reminding because, yes, it is a no- brainer, but it's always good to hear it again. You know, the IRS is warning taxpayers against phony refunds based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit. That's a higher- education tax credit. Scammers are actually trying to convince people they are eligible for it even if they went to school decades ago. Also, if you are getting charged excessive up front fees to file claims like these, that is a big red flag that your preparer may not be on the up-and-up. Remember, you are legally responsible for what is on your return and you have to pay back any refunds you got, even if it is your tax preparer's error. Kyra?</s>PHILLIPS: Well, imagine this, there is now an app for taxes. Do tell.</s>KOSIK: of course. Of course, there is. Yes, and guess what? The IRS tweets. Don't you want to follow the IRS on Twitter? So, if you want to start following them, you can go to @IRSnews on Twitter and there's also, as you said, a free app for your taxes at IRS2Go. That's available on Apple and Android phones, which allow to you get your refund status and your tax records. And, remember, here is a big change this year. Your taxes are due on Tuesday, April 17th, because the April 15th date on a Sunday. Kyra?</s>PHILLIPS: All right, Alison, thanks so much. All right, we just got the two-minute warning right now at the White House behind closed doors, the president of the United States meeting with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over how to respond to a nuclear threat from Iran. My colleague, Wolf Blitzer, here, of course, for politics, but it's perfect timing we can talk about this, as well. This is right in your wheelhouse. We're going to talk about the issue of nukes, Iran. Also Ali Velshi going to weigh in about the issue of gas prices and oil. It's all happening at the AIPAC conference. But this -- the talk between Netanyahu and Obama -- a lot of questions about, OK, could there be another war with Iran? The president doesn't want to do that. Netanyahu says, I am going to do what I have to do in order to prevent nuclear weapons from harming us.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": You know, the difference, the nuance and the difference, and I will be anxious to hear once we get this tape. They were in the Oval Office, the president of the United States, the prime minister of Israel, and the network pool television cameras were inside there as well. They're about to feed it. I'm anxious to see the nuances on what they are saying about Iran's nuclear capability to build a bomb versus actually building a bomb. It's a nuance that we will be paying attention to as we hear what these two gentlemen have to say.</s>PHILLIPS: And, of course, what does that mean for the U.S., for Israel? A possible war, we are going to hit -- apparently, we're going to be able to see actually what happened behind those closed doors, as we roll the video now.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All right, everybody in position? Well, I want to welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu and the entire Israeli delegation back to the White House, back to the Oval Office. This visit, obviously, comes at a critical time. We are seeing incredible changes that are taking place in the Middle East and in North Africa. We have seen the terrible bloodshed that's going on in Syria. The Democratic transition that's taking place in Egypt. And in the midst of this, we have an island of democracy and one of our greatest allies in Israel. As I have said repeatedly, the bond between our two countries is unbreakable. My personal commitment, a commitment that is consistent with the history of other occupants of this Oval Office, our commitment to the security of Israel, is rock solid. And, as I've said to the prime minister in every single one of our meetings, the United States will always have Israel's back when it comes to Israel's security. This is a bond that is based not only on our mutual security interests and economic interests, but is also based on common values and the incredible, people-to-people contacts that we have between our two countries. During the course of this meeting, we will talk about the regional issues that are taking place and I look forward to the prime minister sharing with me his ideas about how we can increase the prospects of peace and security in the region. We will discuss the issues that continue to be a focus of not only our foreign policy, but also the prime minister's, how we can potentially bring about a calmer set of discussions between the Israelis and the Palestinians and arrive at a peaceful resolution to that long-standing conflict. It is a very difficult thing to do in light of the context right now, but I know that the prime minister remains committed to trying to achieve that. And obviously, a large topic of conversation will be Iran, which I devoted a lot of time to in my speech to AIPAC yesterday and I know that the prime minister has been focused on for a long period of time. Let me just reiterate a couple of points on that. Number one, we all know that it's unacceptable from Israel's perspective to have a country with a nuclear weapon that has called for the destruction of Israel, but, as I emphasized yesterday, it is profoundly in the United States' interest, as well, to prevent Iran from taking a nuclear weapon. We do not want to see a nuclear arms race in one of the most volatile regions of the world, we do not want the possibility of a nuclear weapon falling into the hands of terrorists, and we do not want a regime that has been a state-sponsor of terrorism being able to feel that it can act even more aggressively or with impunity as a consequence of its nuclear power. That's why we have worked so diligently to set up the most crippling sanctions ever with respect to Iran. We do believe that there is still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution to this issue, but, ultimately, the Iranians' regime has to make a decision to move in that direction, a decision that they have not made thus far. And as I emphasized, even as we will continue on the diplomatic front, we will continue to tighten pressure when it comes to sanctions. I reserve all options and my policy here is not going to be one of containment. My policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and, as I indicated yesterday in my speech, when I say all options are on the table, I mean it. Having said that, I know that both the prime minister and I prefer to resolve this diplomatically. We understand the costs of any military action and I want to assure both the American people and the Israeli people that we are in constant and close consultation. I think the levels of coordination and consultation between our militaries and our intelligence, not just on this issue, but on a broad range of issues has been unprecedented and I intend to make sure that that continues during what will be a series of difficult months, I suspect, in 2012. So, Prime Minister, we welcome you and we appreciate very much the friendship of the Israeli people. You can count on that friendship always being reciprocated from the United States.</s>BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISREALI PRIME MINISTER: Thank you.</s>OBAMA: Thank you.</s>NETANYAH: Thank you. Mr. President, thank you for those kind words. And thank you, too, for that strong speech yesterday. And I want to thank you also for the warm hospitality that you have shown me and my delegation. The alliance between our two countries is deeply appreciated by me and by everyone in Israel and I think that, as you said, when Americans look around the Middle East today, they see one reliable, stable, faithful ally of the United States and that's the democracy of Israel. Americans know that Israel and the United States share common values, that we defend common interests, that we face common enemies. Iran's leaders know that, too. You know, for them, you are the "Great Satan." We are the "Little Satan." For them, we are you and you are us and, you know something, Mr. President, at least on this last point, I think they're right. We are you and you are us. We are together. So, if there's one thing that stands out clearly in the Middle East today, it's that Israel and America stand together. I think that above and beyond that are two principles, long-standing principles of American policy that you reiterated yesterday in your speech, that Israel must have the ability always to defend itself, by itself, against any threat, and that when it comes to Israel's security, Israel has the right, the sovereign right, to make its up decisions. I believe that's you'll why appreciate, Mr. President, that Israel must reserve the right to defend itself. And after all, that is the very purpose of the Jewish state, to restore to the Jewish people control over our destiny. And that's why my supreme responsibility as prime minister of Israel is to ensure that Israel remains the master of its fate. So, I thank you very much, Mr. President, for your friendship and I look forward to our discussions. Thank you, Mr. President.</s>OBAMA: Thank you very much. Thank you, everybody.</s>PHILLIPS: Wolf Blitzer was trying to read between the lines here. Israel refusing to rule out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. The president preferring peace over war, but also making the point he will not -- he will take no options off the table. So, a lot of people wondering, a new Middle East war in the coming months?</s>BLITZER: Well, let's hope not. Let's hope that they can, as the president says, resolve this diplomatically, that the sanctions will work, that the government in Iran will realize that it's in its own best interest to try to deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency and scale this crisis down. I'm not holding my breath. I'm not sure the Iranians are going to do that, but this is a sensitive moment and, when the president of the United States says the next few months are going to be very difficult months, he knows what he's talking about because it's one thing for the U.S. position, which is the U.S. will not allow Iran to have a nuclear bomb. The Israeli position is a bit different. The Israeli position is the Israelis will not allow Iran to have the nuclear capability to build a bomb. So, the respective what they call the "red lines" between what would trigger military action on the U.S. part as opposed to the Israeli part, they're different. It's an important nuance that all of us are going to be learning more about in the coming months.</s>PHILLIPS: President Obama saying that the sanctions have been crippling. Would you agree with that?</s>BLITZER: The sanctions have been crippling on the Iranians. They are -- and, especially, most recently, went the U.S. and the Europeans and the others began to sanction the Iranian central bank because most of Iran's oil exports -- they smuggle some oil out -- but most of it has to go through financial transactions through the Iranian central bank and other banks in Iran. If they can't do that, their oil exports are going to dry up and without exporting oil, the Iranian economy is going to collapse even more rapidly than it already is. And, so, they are in trouble, the Iranians, and we'll see how they respond.</s>PHILLIPS: And, Alison Kosik, when you look at gas prices, how they keep soaring and we are paying more at the pump, we can look to what's happening in Iran and look to these discussions when we start talking about that impact. It ties together.</s>KOSIK: And, well, the interesting thing is, yes, you see sort of the fear of that supply crunch happening in the oil trade. Oil right now is trading actually down a bit today, but still at a very high level, about $106 a barrel. But, you know, there's another side to why the oil prices are soaring, as well, the improving economy here in the U.S. There's an expectation that demand is going to grow as the economy grows and that's also why you see oil prices going up, as well. But, with the fear of what's happening with what Iran happening, there is a tipping point. When you look at the price of oil, you don't want it to get too high for too long because that means that consumers are spending more of their disposable income filling up their gas tank and not spending it on other things and then, of course, comes the fear of slowing down the economy because consumers aren't putting their money into other things, other than gas. Kyra?</s>PHILLIPS: Alison Kosik from the New York Stock Exchange, thanks so much. Wolf Blitzer, we'll be talking more about this.</s>BLITZER: Let me make one more point.</s>PHILLIPS: Yes. Yes.</s>BLITZER: Because I'm sure a lot of our viewers are going to be wondering why we have the cut-away cameras showing what was going on between the prime minister of Israel and the president of the United States because it looks impolite. You have the prime minister speaking or the president speaking and the photographer is cutting away to reporters just listening or whatever. And, as a former White House correspondent, let me explain what has just happened before we get a lot of hate mail that we weren't being polite.</s>PHILLIPS: That's interesting. You think our viewers pay close attention to that?</s>BLITZER: Oh, yes. Believe me.</s>PHILLIPS: They watch the camera shots?</s>BLITZER: A lot of them will be complaining. The president of the United States is speaking. The prime minister ...</s>PHILLIPS: And we look at reporters.</s>BLITIZER: And you're cutting away to reporters, taking pictures of them? What was that all about? And, so, let me explain. There are always two, network pool cameras that go into the Oval Office to record this historic moment. There's a head-on camera that has the president and the prime minister and then there's the cut-away camera. Almost always, the network pool -- in this particular case, NBC News --- they feed in the head-on, first so that the cable networks can take it live and show what's going on, whether it's CNN, MSNBC, or Fox, or whatever. In this particular case, they fed in the cut-away cameras first. We wanted to get the news on the air because it's CNN. The news comes first. So, we let that camera bring it to our viewers so at least we would get it on the air. Normally, we do would do the head-on camera first, but that explains why we were seeing reporters listening as opposed to the prime minister or the president.</s>PHILIIPS: Wolf Blitzer, the ultimate newsman and the ultimate gentleman. Thank you, sir.</s>BLITZER: I just wanted to preempt a lot of hate e-mails and tweets. I knew that was going to be coming.</s>PHILLIPS: Wolf, thanks. Coming up right after break, we are going to be talking about the town of Marysville, Indiana. In the words of a sheriff's official, it's completely gone. So, how do these 1,900 people rebuild? We're going to take you there live next.