Federal Reserve Announcement on Interest Rates Expected.
VAUSE: The U.S. Justice Department is expected to announce a criminal settlement with General Motors over a faulty part. At least 100 people died as a result of a faulty ignition switch. The settlement would involve G.M. acknowledging it misled the government and the public. A judge still has to decide whether to accept this deal. The car maker has admitted it delayed a recall announcement. G.M. declined to comment. Later today, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to announce if interest rates will rise for the first time in nine years. Economists are split on what the Fed will do. And as Maggie Lake reports, there is no clear argument one way or the other.</s>MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mechanics at 54th Street Auto Center know a thing or two. They want to make sure they are in top shape before they hit the road. (on camera): What are you doing here?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am tying up the terminal.</s>LAKE: A car is a lot different than crafting Fed policy but they have one thing in common. Both require a lot of care and one wrong move could cause a lot of damage. (voice-over): For the Fed, job number one is keeping the wheels running in the U.S. without sparking excess inflation. Many say there is a lot more work to do on the monetary motor.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We used to raise rates and never used to raise them just because let's get it over with. We had the interest rates and we are in the seventh year of zero percent. We still can't get any real inflation. Doesn't that tell you the engine is broken? If the engine is broken, raising rates is probably the wrong thing to do.</s>LAKE: Others think the Fed has room to tap ever so slightly on the brakes. Employment is close to Fed target. The jobless rate is at seven-year lows. Key segments of the economy are strengthening.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do have a tail wind is a much stronger housing market and most people care about the value of their home. They hold less stock than prior to the crisis. In fact, home prices in most markets hit their previous highs, which is a tipping point. There is a tail end and the extra tax cut of falling prices will help consumers.</s>LAKE (on camera): Another key factor for the Fed, the lack of economic shock absorbers. If they keep the rates, they will have less tools to use in the next downturn. (voice-over): But be careful what you wish for. They could mess up the transmission and trigger a rise in borrowing costs.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the Fed officials hope is they can raise it a bit and nothing will happen a long time and they creep up slowly. What's more likely to happen is when interest rates start to rise, they will pop up and cause more turmoil.</s>LAKE: No one wants drastically higher borrowing costs that could knock the wheels off of recovery. The pressure is on Janet Yellin and the Fed as they begin their look underneath the economic hood. Maggie Lake, CNN, New York.</s>VAUSE: The Russian prankster and his sidekick has fessed up to prank calling pop star, Elton John. The pair fooled the singer by posing as Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin spokesman. During a recent phone call, John apparently thought the Russian leader had called him for real to discuss gay rights and posted a message on social media thanking Mr. Putin for the call. When the Kremlin learned of the Instagram post they denied that anything had taken place. The Russian pranksters have a history of making prank calls to celebrities and politicians. A man in South Korea used a golf club and a baseball bat to smash up his new Mercedes Benz. He bought it six months ago and had a lot of engine trouble and the dealers won't take it back. He parked it in front of the lot and started clubbing away. He did a good job. Mercedes Benz did not return the request for comment. Let's go back to the top story, the CNN debate featuring the Republican candidates for U.S. president. They took on a lot of issues with insults and fun as well. Here's a look at the lighter moments.</s>BUSH: 40 years ago, I smoked marijuana and people may not want to see it in front of 25 million people. My mom is not happy I just did.</s>TRUMP: I'm in favor of vaccines. Do them over a longer period of time, same amount --</s>JAKE TAPPER, DEBATE MODERATOR: Thank you.</s>TRUMP: -- just in little sections.</s>TAPPER: Dr. Carson, you heard his medical take.</s>DR. BEN CARSON, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's an OK doctor.</s>TAPPER: What would you want your secret service code name to be?</s>BUSH: Ever Ready. It's very high energy, Donald.</s>TAPPER: Mr. Trump?</s>TRUMP: Humble.</s>VAUSE: They all really do like each other. And if you like watching that, you can see it again. We'll replay the whole debate again in a few hours' time, 11:00 in London, 9:00 in Berlin. That does it for me. I'm John Vause. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Errol Barnett, 100 percent more, Lynda Kinkade. Stay with us.