[Tony Harris, Cnn Anchor:] And good morning, everyone. It is Wednesday, May 27th, and here are the faces of the stories driving the news today in the CNN NEWSROOM. First GM's workers, more than 200,000 worldwide, they get the news today that bankruptcy for their employer is now a near certainty. Supreme Court choice Sonia Sotomayor, her unlikely journey from a poor Bronx neighborhood to the high bench. And California's gays. I'll be talking live with one same-sex couple about the state's Supreme Court's ruling on Proposition 8's effects, a new ban on gay marriages. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. First this hour, it is a big day in bankruptcy court for Chrysler. The company's lawyers are there right now urging a judge to approve a plan for Chrysler to sell its core assets to Fiat. That would put Chrysler on pace to emerge from bankruptcy, close to the 30- day mark, perhaps next week. Incredibly swift given the size and complexity of the company. Some Chrysler creditors could try to tie up the bankruptcy with appeals. That would not stop the new Chrysler, however, from doing business under Fiat's leadership. We've got a CNNMoney.com producer in the courtroom right now, and we will update you when we get any word. GM's chances of steering clear of bankruptcy aren't looking so good today. That's because creditors have rejected a debt for stock swap deal. CNN's money team is on the story, of course Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, and Christine Romans. Christine, first to you, what is your take? Christine, does a GM bankruptcy, does that feel like a certainty to you at this point? All right, Christine. We're having some issues with your microphone. Until we get that fixed, let's get to the New York Stock Exchange and Susan Lisovicz. And Susan, I'm sort of curious. I've been reading some analysis about market reaction to any GM bankruptcy filing, and some of the analysis suggests that if GM does file for bankruptcy protection, markets might actually surge upward with the certainty of some kind of decision for
[Gm. Susan Lisovicz, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Well, Tony, I mean, watching GM shares over the past year has been a torturous thing. This is a stock that was trading at $90 at the beginning of the decade. At one time, General Motors was called Generous Motors. I mean, it set a standard for the middle class, and set a standard for the world for good pay, good jobs, good work, good product. And it's an entirely different story. Right now, shares of GM are trading lower, by 12 percent, which amounts to 17 cents, Tony. The stock is trading at $1.27. If it files for bankruptcy protection, Dow Jones tells us it will be delisted. It will be disqualified from the Dow 30. And, you know, even if you don't directly own shares of GM, chances are that you're affected by this. Why is that? Because the Dow 30 is something that a lot of us have funds that track the Dow 30. More of us, many millions of us, own shares own mutual funds that track the S&P; 500. So, it's something that we're all feeling. You know, there are a lot of questions as to what will happen in bankruptcy protection. This is an unusual and a complex story with the government involved, but the basic tenet of bankruptcy, Tony, is quite simple. You're trying for an orderly and equitable distribution or resolution of its obligations. And for shareholders, unfortunately, who have suffered so much, they go at the end of a very long line. If you have Christine, I know Christine wanted to talk about the bondholders, and many of us are all affected by that. But bondholders are the first in this line. And then other creditors, for instance, suppliers, for instance, who are owed money. And then preferred shareholders and then the common shareholder. That stock is almost worthless now. It's guaranteed that they will get very, very little. So, you know, it's a painful situation, but we're getting very close to finding out what will happen Tony.
[Harris:] Susan, appreciate it. Thank you. We don't have Christine yet, but we will talk to her a little bit later in the hour. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange for us. One other quick note about issue number one. A survey of leading economists suggest light at the end of the long recession tunnel. Three-quarters see a rebound beginning in the third quarter of 2009, but the experts caution a turnaround won't be quick, but rather sluggish to moderate. That survey from the National Association for Business Economics. And follow more on the auto industry bailout and possible bankruptcies by logging on to CNNMoney.com. All right. Let's take you to Pakistan now. Gunmen detonate a van packed with explosives, killing at least two dozen people, wounding more than 250 others. The brazen attack happened in Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city. Our Reza Sayah is monitoring it from the capital, Islamabad, and he joins us live. And Reza, was a particular group the target of this attack?
[Reza Sayah, Cnn Correspondent:] Tony, based on where this explosion happened, what we do know is that the target was the heart of Pakistan's security apparatus. This was a compound that housed some very sensitive government buildings. You had the police headquarters; you had offices of the ISI, Pakistan's top intelligence agency; and you also had Pakistan's emergency response headquarters there. So these are all these groups that are charged with going after the militants here in Pakistan. And here you see the militants taking the fight to them. So, the target appears to be the heart of the security apparatus in this country Tony.
[Harris:] Reza, we're starting to see some of these pictures here to the right of our screen. Just how powerful was this blast? Is it true it actually brought down a two-story building?
[Sayah:] Yes, Tony, this was a massive bomb. Police officials tell us the weapon was a large passenger van packed with 100 kilograms of explosives, and indeed, it did bring down a two-story building. That building was the emergency response headquarters. And police officials say here is how they carried out the attack. They said the militants drove up the passenger van to the initial barrier, three men jumped out. Two of them started shooting. One of them lobbed a grenade. In that confusion in that initial explosion, they penetrated the initial barrier, and then you had the massive explosion. And the death toll right now stands at about 24, with more than 250 injured Tony.
[Harris:] What's the analysis on this, Reza? Is this a clear retaliation for the ongoing fight against Taliban fighters in the Swat Valley?
[Sayah:] That's what the speculation is at this point, but police say it's much too early to link this attack in Lahore today to the operation in Swat. Pakistan's interior minister, in a live interview today with local television, did say in recent weeks, Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud did issue a general threat saying if the Pakistani military doesn't stop its offensive in Swat, the militants will attack a major city, a large city. And certainly in Pakistan, with the exception of Karachi, no city bigger than Lahore Tony.
[Harris:] Well, and that leads me to my final question for you. Lahore has been so much in the sights of these terrorists recently. Can you tell us why?
[Sayah:] Well, Lahore is considered the cultural capital of Pakistan, and to many it's considered the safest and most sacred city, off limits to militants. But with this attack, militants are saying no city is safe in Pakistan. No city is out of their reach. And also, we should note that Lahore is the capital of Punjab province, which is a province that, according to officials, militant groups linked with Lashkar-e-Taiba are still operating. Lashkar-e- Taiba, of course, the banned militant group, suspect number one in the Mumbai attacks last year Tony.
[Harris:] All right. CNN's Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad, Pakistan. Reza, appreciate it. Thank you. Tough consequences for extreme actions. North Korea's nuclear program straining relations around the globe.