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Outrage Over Iran's Election Spilling Into Streets of Tehran; TV's Digital Conversion; High-Tech Farmers; Swine Flu Pandemic

Aired June 13, 2009 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Outrage over Iran's election spilling out into the streets of Tehran. It's night right now in the capital and demonstrators continue to protest the re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some broke into shops, tore down signs and even started fires, as you can see there.

Earlier, angry voters clashed with police, claiming the election was stolen from Ahmadinejad's rival, reformer Mir Hossein Mousavi. Official results show Ahmadinejad beat Mousavi in a landslide vote. But Mousavi and his supporters say those results were rigged. Ahmadinejad characterized the election much differently during a televised speech just about an hour ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): The elections in Iran are really important. Election means consensus of all people's resolve and their crystallization of their demands and their wants and a leap towards high peaks of aspiration and progress. Elections in Iran are a totally popular-based move that belongs to the people with a look at the future aimed at constructing.

WHITFIELD: CNNs international, CNNs chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Tehran and she has the latest on Ahmadinejad's speech and the protests surrounding his election.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well the President Ahmadinejad who has just been officially announced, as the newly re-elected president is speaking to the nation. He is thanking everybody for their vote and he is saying that Iran had two choices. One was to move backwards to the ways of the past and the other was to move forward. He declared the people by choosing him chose to move forward.

He said that people were looking for progress. People were looking for their economy and their problems to be solved, for unemployment to be solved. That Iran was a great nation. He went on in that vein. Basically portraying himself as champion of the people and the engine of progress and development in Iran.

Now at the same time, right now, in squares around the city. There are protesters out, several hundred in some places. And other similar numbers in others. As one place not too far from here it is getting violent. It is getting into a riot.

WHITFIELD: All right. The White House is responding to the events unfolding in Iran. CNNs Elaine Quijano is in Washington but they are being very careful Elaine about the language being used.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly right. The Obama administration is making crystal clear there is skepticism for surrounding these election results. In a written statement, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says like the rest of the world we were impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated particularly among young Iranians. We continue to monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities.

That statement was echoed by secretary of state Hillary Clinton; she spoke at a news conference earlier today and said the United States is keeping a close eye on the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, we watched closely the -- the enthusiasm and the very vigorous debate and dialogue that occurred in the lead-up to the Iranian elections. We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran. But we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide. The United States has refrained from commenting on the election in Iran. We obviously hope that the outcome reflects the -- the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, President Obama said yesterday, regardless of outcome, he plans to continue trying to engage with the Iranian government. But observers say with Ahmadinejad remaining in power that certainly is going to have an effect on the U.S.'s comfort level with Iranian leaders.

Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thank you so much. Viewers reacting to the Iranian election on line. CNNs Josh Levs is monitoring those responses from the news room. Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fred. Hot topic over the last hour on Facebook. I will show you that. Last few hours. Zoom right in. By the way CNN.com, main story right now. Lots of photos there to help you get the story. Let's go to the newsroom blog to start off with.

Scott wrote us that he is so disappointed with the elections in Iran. Even if the elections are fair and not rigged he says, it's so sad that President Ahmadinejad has won another term as president.

Facebook, I am going to do something different. Scroll down. See they keep coming in. Leeann Taylor. "Not true results. It's obvious." Cheryl, "I can't believe they would re-elect him. Are they true election?" Josh, "Funny how it is just like the 2004 American elections."

Interesting you think that. I think the overall participation is testament to change and willingness to do so as a culture. It is unfortunate, violence has stemmed from the result.

And looking at twitter. Stars and bars writing us this. Such a blow to the Iranian people who finally found some one with a more open approach to the west to rally around.

Show on the graphic where you can write in about CNN newsroom blog, CNN.com/newsroom. Facebook.com, Twitter.com/josh levscnn. Keep you updated. People weighing in. And all of the places interesting to see perspectives pop up.

WHITFIELD: Lots of perspectives being shared around the world.

LEVS: All around the world. What's nice is you have the viewers then people responding to each other. Really becomes this discussion. Maybe even a little bit of learning.

WHITFIELD: Thank you, Josh. Appreciate it.

LEVS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We are taking a harder look at the Iranian election and what the results mean for the rest of the world. A live interview with a Middle East expert is just minutes away.

Meantime, the other international story on radar. North Korea -- it is vowing to ramp up its nuclear program. Pyongyang says it is enriching uranium and will weaponize all plutonium. It comes one day after the United Nations approved new sanctions against the communist country. North Korea has said that it would react strongly if punished for nuclear weapons and missile tests. Remember North Korea has no proven effective way to deliver nuclear weapons right now.

And two hours ago, secretary of state Clinton responded to the latest from North Korea and has this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We intend to do all we can to prevent continued proliferation by the North Koreans. I will add, however, that the North Koreans continuing provocative actions are deeply regrettable. They have now been denounced by everyone. They have -- become further isolated. And it is not in the interest of the people of North Korea for that kind of isolation to continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Clinton also praised the new U.N. sanctions on North Korea as tools to take "appropriate action."

All right, Jacqui Jeras in the Severe Weather Center. Lots of nasty storms.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, just the beginning Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

JERAS: Yeah, not a lot of action going on out there right now. We have general showers and thunderstorms scattered across the country. But we are expecting the next couple hours for strong to severe storms to begin developing and things going downhill throughout the evening. We don't have any watches right now. The storm prediction center is monitoring this area right here across eastern parts of Colorado into southeastern parts of Wyoming. For potentially issuing a watch in the next hour or so.

And of course as soon as that happens we'll bring you that information. Meantime, let's check out some pictures from storms yesterday. Across the state of Tennessee. These pictures coming in from the Memphis area. Where a very powerful thunderstorms plowed through this area. Causing multiple accidents and leaving about 100,000 people without power. There you can see the trees down all over the place. We did have trees down on several homes across the areas as well.

As some injuries were reported. But nothing serious. So I expect that we will see more pictures just like that today across parts of the plain states. And then we are also monitoring this area across the Deep South for potential of severe thunderstorms. We have had a complex of showers and storms moving through that area throughout the morning but really not much. In the way in terms of severe thunderstorms.

Now we do have some activity here across the northeastern corridor. Nothing terribly strong, but some really good downpours across Trenton, on up towards the south of New York City and into Philadelphia. If you are trying to travel in and out of this area we are start starting to see those delays increase now because of the storms.

Newark, ground stop. Can't take off to get there. We also have delays out of San Francisco, 25 minutes because of the thunderstorms into Philadelphia. And there you can see delays into Tarboro. This is Alabama -- there you see showers, thundershowers, diving into the southeast, southwestern parts of Georgia. Atmosphere becoming a little more unstable into the area that we're moving into.

We'll be watching that over the next couple hours. Tomorrow it is your Sunday! You want to do something great don't you? Watch out for potential of storms here in the Plains again as well into the middle Mississippi River Valley. If you live in the west or the east for the most part you will be OK. But you can be dodging showers or storms.

WHITFIELD: Doing something great on the Sunday, as long as it is indoors.

JERAS: Always something good to do on a Sunday.

WHITFIELD: Bowling, the list is long. All right, thank you, so much Jacqui, appreciate it. All right. From Gitmo to Bermuda. A new and very different life for some detainees. A Don Lemon exclusive.

Plus, a political firestorm in the making. A southern Republican insults the first lady.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he won fair and square. He says it was a free election and that's why he has been re-elected. However there are protests in the streets not just in Tehran but other streets across the world. London, for one. Joining us now to understand exactly what might happen from here. Fawaz Gerges a Middle East analyst and professor at Sarah Lawrence College joining us from New York. Good to see you.

FAWAZ GERGES, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST: A pleasure.

WHITFIELD: We understand the opposition has sent a formal letter to the grand ayatollah to see if there is any way in which there could be a recount or reconsideration of this outcome. How do you see this playing out?

GERGES: Well, the supreme leader, who is the most powerful man in Iran, has already said it was final. He said it was a divine assessment, a divine assessment, for the win for Ahmadinejad. Obviously, the supreme leader on the side of Ahmadinejad.

WHITFIELD: Now the opposition has gone around him and gone to an even higher place to see if there is still an opportunity to either recount or perhaps have another election or even a run-off?

GERGES: I think what's happening, Fredericka, is that there is a common sense of disbelief and shock. There is a belief that the election was stolen. And I would argue that it was a major coup by Ahmadinejad and his men. In particular in the interior ministry and the revolutionary guard, the revolutionary guards are the spearhead of the Islamic Republic. And I doubt it very much whether the results will be basically counseled or whether a re-election will take place.

I think what has happened what we have witnessed is that the divide between young voters, between the ages of 30 years old and 14 years old who represent about 65 percent and the ultraconservative that is the divide has deepened and widened. And regardless, regardless of how Ahmadinejad and his allies package and sell his victory today, I think many people, most Iranians have called into question, not only the fact that he has won, but even the numbers. Remember, he won by 63 percent. We are told that 85 percent of Iranians voters. Both members are being called into question by many Iranians.

WHITFIELD: Is this then a moot point for all of these protestors who have taken to the streets -- mostly young people, as you just mention, who represent a good part of the vote for the opposition? They are doing this for naught? GERGES: Well, I think what we need to understand is that the Islamic Republic that is really governed by what I call different sets of power, you have the president on the one hand, and who is not the commander-in-chief. You have the supreme leader that is the supreme leader is the most powerful man along with the National Security Council, that is, I mean the young people can complain and protest. But the reality is there is, we are not going to witness a revolution in Iran today.

WHITFIELD: Are there any repercussions?

GERGES: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: What are they?

GERGES: I think the repercussions that divide is going to become wider and deeper within Iran. The legitimacy of Ahmadinejad is called into question. There is a great economic crisis. I think what we are going to witness in the next four years that his inability to manage the economy, the social policy, and also the international question. I think there is a sense that Ahmadinejad is not a legitimate leader and I think it will affect his ability to govern domestically and also to represent the Islamic Republic international as well.

WHITFIELD: Professor Gerges, of Sarah Lawrence College, appreciate it. Always love your insight.

GERGES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: You don't want to miss Fareed Zakaria, "GPS" tomorrow. Still more talk about Iran, the fight for the future of Iran, what is at stake. That is at 1:00 Eastern Time tomorrow only on CNN.

A great day for some but not all. Chinese Muslims who have been held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nine detainees were transferred from the facility this week. Part of the drive by the White House to shut the facility down by next year. A secret deal that relocated four Chinese Muslims to Bermuda came under heavy criticism from China and Britain. Bermuda is a British territory, and London says it was not consulted about the transfer. China calls the men terrorists and demanding their extradition. The two men denied that accusation in an interview with CNNs Don Lemon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When people say you are a terrorist -- how do you respond to that?

KHA ABOUL NASSER: I am not a terrorist. I have not been terrorist. I will never be terrorist. I am peaceful person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The fate of 13 other Chinese Muslims held at Guantanamo now uncertain. Last week the Pacific Nation of Palou said it agreed to President Obama's request to take the detainees. Today the country's president said it is not a done deal. Catch more of Don's exclusive interview in THE NEWSROOM starting at 5:00 Eastern Time.

Take two aspirin. Call your doctor in the morning? Why simple medical advice doesn't seem to work anymore. Why we are paying the price.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama is pressing Congress to make government sponsored health insurance available to all Americans. Most Americans consider health insurance basic necessity these days. But that wasn't always the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice over): In the early years of 20th century medicine, there wasn't much need for health insurance. What could be cured could be cured at a relatively low cost. That began to change as health care became more sophisticated and more expensive. By the 1930s, several major companies were selling medical policies. World War II spurred the growth of health insurance. Government restrictions limited wage increases and many companies began offering health benefits in a bid to attract scarce war time workers.

After the war ended, unions took up the fight. Demanding company paid health care as a standard benefit. Harry Truman was the first president to propose government health insurance back in 1945. Some 20 years later, Truman watched as President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law. From that point on, America had a two tier health care system.

With private employers paying the tab for many working Americans, and the government helping the poor and the elderly. By the 1990s that system was showing signs of strain. The number of the industries that provided benefits to workers was shrinking. Just as health care costs were rising. President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary proposed a plan to provide health insurance for all Americans. But it died in Congress.

The next president, George W. Bush, added prescription drug benefits to Medicare. But with the election last year of President Barack Obama, the debate over national health care insurance started all over again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Obama wants all Americans to have health insurance. He wants the government to offer a plan for those who don't have coverage through their employer. So what do you think? Prescription -- health care reform. A special hour of the CNN NEWSROOM today at 4:00 Eastern Time. Send us your comments and questions to my blog as well as to Facebook and WEEKENDS@CNN.com. Pose the questions to a Republican and a Democratic Congressman that will be joining us in the 4:00 hour. Well if your neighbor comes knocking on your door today they may want to watch your television. In the first 24 hours of the big digital switch and not everybody is happy about that.

A southern Republican apologizes for insulting the first lady

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: What is happening right now? Thousands of Iranians took to the streets protesting an election they say was stolen. Hard line leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared the landslide winner in yesterday's presidential election. Reform candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi (ph). Supporters say the results were tainted by wide spread fraud. Ahmadinejad defended the election calling it a great achievement of the Iranian people.

And it will be another four days at least before the shuttle "Endeavour" gets into space. NASA scrubbed this morning's scheduled launch because of a hydrogen gas leak. NASA will meet tomorrow to decide what to do next.

Thousands of people in Tennessee are without power after dangerous storms tore through the Memphis area last night. Dozens of homes were damaged. Officials say it may take a week to restore power to all customers.

A long time Republican activist says he was only joking when he made comments about the first lady Michelle Obama. He said he is sorry if he offended anybody but his critics say that's not enough. Ben Hoover of CNN affiliate WIX has the story from Columbia, South Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN HOOVER, WIX REPORTER: The story first hit the blog Friday night with a headline reading, SCGOP activist posts remarks disparaging the first lady. The activist is this man, Rusty a former state senate candidate and former state election commission chairman. The article shows an entry, posted on Facebook, commenting on the gorilla that escaped from River Bank Zoo Friday. Quote, "I'm sure it is just one of Michelle's ancestors, probably harmless. He tells me he was talking about first lady Michelle Obama seen here speaking at SC State during the presidential campaign. The Bob Coble mayor of Columbia and one of the political rivals condemns the comments.

MAYOR BOB COBLE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: I think the comment is inappropriate. It is a racist comment. I think that he should apologize.

HOOVER: I spoke with DePass over the phone Friday night, he said, "I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone." The comment was clearly in jest.

COBLE: I don't think there is anything funny about that comment. That is the first lady of the United States. We have had a long tradition of wonderful first ladies. And, I don't think any of them deserve that type of comment.

COBLE: He took his apology a bit further and also told me, quote, the comment was hers not mine. Telling me that the first lady, made statements in the media recently saying we are all descendants of apes. A Google search turned up no news articles of the like. All that aside. The mayor wants a clear cut apology.

DePass is well known in the community. And I know he has done many good things in addition to his political work. I don't want a comment like that coming out of Columbia, South Carolina for the world to comment on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That was Bob Hoover of CNN affiliate WIF in Columbia, South Carolina. The Facebook comment has since been removed.

Television stations making history, they cut their analog broadcast signals yesterday and went to just digital. The switch left many Americans staring at a blank screen. Now the scramble is on to help them get reception again.

Acting chairman of the Federal Communications commission, Michael Copps is here to talk about the switch. How are you?

MICHAEL COPPS, ACTING FDCC CHAIRMAN: I'm fine, Fredericka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm good. All right. Is it all going according to plan?

COPPS: It is going about as we expected it would do. It is an historic day. Broadcasting has gone from the dinosaur age to the digital age. There is going to be a little bit of dislocation along the way. But we have turned the FCC into veritably a grassroots organization. We have got people out there. We have emergency call line. You can call 1-888-call-fcc if you have got a problem. We are trying to deal with it as best we can.

WHITFIELD: For some people it has been complicated because perhaps they haven't been able to either get the box to, you know do it, the digital converter, or, they can't afford cable.

So what do you do for people who have, feel like they were a little unprepared for this day?

COPPS: Well we spent a lot of time trying to get the word out. We do have help still available. You can still get the coupons that will take a couple weeks to get the subsidized coupons. The boxes are going to be available through the end of July. We have our walk-in centers and clinics being held. So, there is a lot of help out there and we hope people will take advantage of it.

WHITFIELD: So, it doesn't mean get rid of your TV set. It just simply means you need a new piece of apparatus to make it work. COPPS: You can keep the old analog set that's maybe been a member of your family for 20 years if you don't want to part, but you need few get a converter box hooked up to it. Then you have to make sure your antenna is working right and you don't have any problems. It takes a little time to do it, but as I say help is available.

But, this is a great boon for the American people when we're through. It is freeing up spectrums for wireless applications and for broadband. It's going to bring people a better picture, belter sound. And really important here, it's going to bring them more free over the air broadcasts, more channels, and it's a great boon for localism and diversity because stations will be able to put on, in the same amount of spectrum they're using for one channel now, five or six different programs streams...

WHITFIELD: And people like to hear the word "free." So, when you talk about these free channels that would be available, it's right around the corner, right around the corner meaning in months or in years?

COPPS: There is some up right now. The educational TV folks, most of them have three, four different program streams on now. A lot of the commercial broadcasters are running local news channels. But, we want to make sure that everybody takes advantage, all the broadcasters. We don't want to have more home shopping channels or Doppler radar scopes, we want real local program to reflect local culture, local ethnic groups, local music, local politics and all the rest.

WHITFIELD: All right, acting FCC commissioner, Michael Copps, thanks so much, appreciate it.

COPPS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, it is no surprise that technology has changed the way that we do watch television, now. It is changing the way things work down on the farm. Chad Myers looks at how high tech engineers built a better tractor to help farmers cash in on their crops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Jack Bailey, a Georgia farmer, harvests wheat he studies the stream of data coming at him.

JACK BAILEY, FARMER: These different colors are different averages.

MEYERS: GPS satellites and information from sensors built into the machine create a real time overlay of the field. The data helps him harvest the crop and can be used to plan for next year.

BAILEY: It lets you make better crops, lets you know where you have problems spots are in your fields so your fields can be more uniform. MEYERS: Some use ground-based stations to correct the GPS satellite. And developers say they're accurate to less than one inch. A few miles away, Cody Williford is using the GPS to spray a peanut crop for weeds. He keeps an eye on the display as the computer turns the sprayers on and off.

CODY WILLIFORD, FARMER: It paints you a line of where you sprayed before and then when you're coming back into where you sprayed, it cuts itself off automatically so you don't overlap and you know, spray more chemicals than you need.

MEYERS: Top of the line technology allows tractors to drive themselves in perfectly straight lines.

BO BLANCHARD, BLANCHARD EQUIPMENT CO: And once he sets it up, it actually picks an implement up for him, turns the tractor around, drops the implement back in the ground and goes back to driving a straight line, all without him having to do anything.

MEYERS: Bo Blanchard sells the technology at this Waynesboro, Georgia John Deere dealership. He says it saves big money and allows farmers to do more with less.

BLANCHARD: Night time dusting, none of that will shut him down anymore, because he doesn't need to see outside the window except, you know, except for obstacle avoidance.

MEYERS: With all the technology will the farmer ever beef taken out of the picture? Blanchard says no.

BLANCHARD: It being an autonomous vehicle, it's there. I don't know if you will every see it where a guy is driving it from his home computer, because there is too much liability with -- with something such as that.

MEYERS: As they have done for decades, farmers will keep planting, plowing and harvesting but with high tech help.

Chad Myers, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The swine flu and you. What you need to know about the latest action by the World Health Organization and when we can expect a vaccine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Swine flu may have claimed another victim here in the U.S. A police officer in Madison Heights, Michigan has died after being hospitalized with flu-like symptoms. The local health department says it suspects the 28-year-old had the H1N1 virus, but test results have not yet been released.

Last month 15 police officers from the same police department came down with symptoms of the flu. Michigan has 418 confirmed cases of swine flu. And at least three cases of swine flu have been confirmed at a Boy Scout camp in North Carolina. Camp Daniel Boon remains open today after 30 campers and six staff members fell ill. North Carolina has 96 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus. The sick Boy Scouts are not included in the count because they came from outside the state.

All right these latest swine flu cases have induced the World Health Organization to take dramatic action. Here now is CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Reporter: Fredricka, the decision to raise the alert level was based on the fact that the virus is spreading not that the disease itself is getting any worse. The WHO says countries that haven't seen cases of the swine flu should prepare. But for countries like the U.S., it won't mean significant changes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. MARGARET CHAN, WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic.

SNOW (voice-over): And with that, the World Health Organization declared its first pandemic in 41 years. The H1N1 virus, or swine flu, continued spreading in countries like Australia -- now entering their winter season. The move will probably speed up the production of a swine flu vaccine. So far, most cases are mild, say officials, who worry that a move to the highest alert could cause panic.

GREGORY HARTL, WHO SPOKESMAN: We have to try to help people understand that the word pandemic doesn't necessarily mean severe. Pandemic means the geographic spread of the disease.

SNOW: Among the concerns, people crowding hospitals when they are not sick with the disease and closing borders unnecessarily.

But an infectious disease expert criticized the WHO, saying decisions should be based on science, not on how the world will react. He says while the worst may be behind us, it may not be.

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: The idea that we need the world to be concerned about this is absolutely critical. We don't need to put them to sleep with complacency and saying it's OK.

SNOW: What remains unknown is how the virus will evolve -- become milder or more severe. A haunting reminder is the 1918 flu epidemic, in which the flu virus was mild in the spring, only to return months later in a deadly form. A repeat of that, says influenza expert Dr. Peter Palese, is highly unlikely. But, he says, what is likely is the swine flu will resurface in the U.S. in the fall.

PETER PALESE, MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: I think the recommendation will be that the regular flu shot should be taken in -- in the fall of 2009. And the question will be do we have to also consider a second vaccine against the swine flu.

SNOW (on camera) : Now, as for a swine flu vaccine, a spokesman for the HHS says five different manufacturers are developing a vaccine, with testing to be done over the summer. And if there is a decision to go ahead with the vaccine, the first doses will be ready in the early fall -- Fredricka.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Mary.

Well, talk about commitment. A "CNN Hero" sells her home and drastically cuts her budget just so that children she doesn't even know can actually get a decent education.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Lidia Schaefer has a productive new life in the United States, but her home in Ethiopia is never far from her mind or her heart. She's the "CNN Hero" making a difference putting aside two days of pay a week to help educate Ethiopian children.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LIDIA SCHAEFER, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: I like my job. I get to talk to different people. I work in Washington, D.C. But I'm from Ethiopia.

When I go home to visit, it is so different. These children, they are hungry to learn. They have to walk three hours to go to school. One of the little girls, she was walking the last child, she got killed by a hyena. I know I have to do something.

My name is Lidia Schaefer. I built a school for my village in Ethiopia. I was working two days for the school, four days for me. Save my tips.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She made huge sacrifices. She sold her home. All those (INAUDIBLE) are important.

(BEGIN GRAPHIC)

From tips, donations and selling her house and car, Lidia raised more than $250,000 to build the school.

Today, it educates nearly 1,500 students from several nearby villages.

(END GRAPHIC)

SCHAEFER: In 2006, the school is finished. We have eight buildings, 16 classrooms, library, lavatory. It's not beautiful, but it's good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Because of Lidia (INAUDIBLE), now, I am continuing my education, which is a good chance for me. I am grateful to Lidia.

SCHAEFER: Seeing them learn feel really good. I don't feel like I give up a lot. I really work with my heart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Maybe you'd look to help Lidia Schaefer or you know someone who is doing something so extraordinary that they too deserves to be a "CNN Hero" go to CNN.com/heroes. Remember, all of our "CNN Heroes" are chosen from people that you actually nominate. So, tell us about someone you have in mind.

All right, President Obama says he wants to reform America's health care system. This weekend, he's talking about how to pay for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: These savings will come from commonsense changes. For example, if more Americans are insured we can cut payments that will help hospitals treat patients without health insurance. If the drug makers pay their fair share, we can cut government spending on prescription drugs. And if doctors have incentives to provide the best care instead of more care, we can help Americans avoid the unnecessary hospital stays, treatments and tests that drive up costs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president wants a new government sponsored health plan, opponents worry that will cost too much and hurt private insurers as well.

So, the president, his fellow Democrats and Republicans all agree something needs to be done to reform health care, but deciding on what is, well another matter. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow takes a look at some of the options.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Fred. Well one thing is for sure. Details of proposed health care reforms are sparse at this point. What we know is that 46 million Americans are currently uninsured and 25 million more are underinsured. If you add it up that is roughly twice the population of the state of California.

And what we also know right now is what is not on the table and that is one big national health care plan that everyone is enrolled in. Private insurance companies are here to say, they're not going away.

Now, the new plan, whatever it turns out to be would be a competitor to private insurers (INAUDIBLE). A good analogy is public versus private schools. We all pay taxes that fund public schools, but some people still choose to pay to send their kids to private schools. One idea getting a lot of attention out there right now is a government-run public plan as a fall back. For example, maybe in your area only a few private insurers are accessible. So, maybe you fall back on a different plan that is partly government run. It would be paid for by premiums and co-payments and Medical providers wouldn't be forced to participate. That's important.

Another idea that's picking up some steam is a nonprofit cooperative. That's where participants would pay into that plan and then the co-op would negotiate directly with health care providers for low cost rates. That would not be run by the government, but the government might provide some seed money to get it started.

Now this might be more attractive because it might get more bipartisan support. As for what all of this could cost, that's a big question out there. But some estimates, put it at about $1 trillion to insure the uninsured 46 million Americans.

One idea of how to pay for that is to tax the health care benefits that we get right now from our employers which are currently tax free. And if president Obama goes with that idea, that would be a turnaround from the campaign trail where he criticized his competitor, Senator John McCain for pushing that idea.

You can find out much more on the debate, it is certainly complex, but we have it detailed on CNNmoney.com right in this story -- Fred.

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WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Poppy. And CNN plans live coverage of President Obama's speech at the American Medical Association conference. That's in Chicago and it's coming up on Monday. So we want to know what you think. And we've been receiving a lot of e- mails, questions and comments from you about health care reform, if it's time for it. And Josh has been weeding through a lot of it.

JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, we're getting a ton of them, Fred. This a big issue, obviously, literally that affects every person. This is one of those issues that effects everyone, so there's no surprise people have a lot to say about it.

Let me first tell you how to get to the NEWSROOM blog. You want to go to CNN.com/NEWSROOM in fact, let's zoom right in. you'll see this question there and you got to do is click on Fredricka's picture and that will get you right over there. Click on Fredricka and it will get you to this question.

And Fred, I was just piecing through the dozens we've been getting. You can take a look at here. Tom Harper, his position is: "Of course I believe the government should provide a safety net for health care. In my opinion, health care is a human right." And says, "there should be a single payer national health care system."

Let's go to Charlie over here. Charlie says, "This is such an incredibly complex situation, there are so many variable in this equation, that it's impossible to know up front what the price tag would be," he says, "affordability is a relative term."

Also, Fred, I know you're getting some on your Facebook page. Here's yours. I was looking what Khalil told us: "Health care should be provided for everyone if we are truly one nation under God. No person left behind, other country do it. Why not us?"

But Fred, I'm also going to be showing you next hour, an iReport that I was just looking at from someone who says you know what? Universal health care does not work. It's getting a grand reputation, right now. We should not be planning to go in that direction.

Let me show you. We've got two screens for you here to make it really easy to show how you should weigh in with your views, your questions for next hour.

First of all, you've got Fred's contact, right there, that's the NEWSROOM blog, then you've got Fredricka Whitfield CNN at Facebook, then you've got our e-mail address, right there.

Go to the next screen now, you've got mine, FaceBook.com/JoshLevsCNN, Twitter.com/JoshLevsCNN. We do the octopus thing for this hour. We reach out in all directions that we can. We want to hear from you, share as many different ways as we can.

And Fred, let's talks guests. We're going have a Democratic representative and a Republican, so we'll be hearing both sides. Your questions for them. You've also got someone who, I believe, has no insurance.

WHITFIELD: That's right, we do indeed. Someone who has lost a job and the family structure changed considerably and how do you be -- how are you able to afford health care is something that she's struggling with and she definitely wants some answer.

So you mentioned those tentacles we've got reached out to a lot of people. You know, a lot of folks are saying, yes, there may be a need for health care reform, but obviously not everyone is agreeing on how to come about that.

A couple more comments coming from our blog, there. This from Jay Tennis (ph) who says: "It surely seems to me that any government intervention into the business of our nation's health care system needs to be seriously questioned."

So there are some who are quite doubtful about the government getting involved. And then, this from Michael who says, "The conservatives, Republicans, are anti-government and anti-American. When they were in power, America was for sale. We were the people paying for the lies and ideology."

And then Sarah says, "We need a single payer health system, people can go to their doctors if they choose. Elective surgeries and treatments will be at the cost of the people, small co-pay would keep citizens from abusing the system."

So, lots of comments coming from folks in so many different ways. We're going to oppose them, of course, as you mentioned, Josh, to our experts who will be on hand. We want you to part of the conversation, 4:00 Eastern Time, just 7 minutes away.

All right, let's talk about little league baseball. The toughest challenge isn't on the mound, it's in the economy. We'll tell you how the recession is taking the luster off the diamond.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, little league baseball. For millions of Americans kids it a magical part of sum, but in towns the recession has caused long-time sponsors to simply disappear.

CNN's Dan Simon (sic) takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This field of dreams has been hit by an economic nightmare.

DANNY RUIZ, COACH, RIALTO MINOR PIRATES: We've had some sponsorships that we used to get every year, give us a nice substantial check and help out the league. This year, they just couldn't, there's no extra funds for them to help us out.

ROWLANDS: What used to be $45,000 in sponsorship every year has shrunk to just $3,000.

RUIZ: It's been difficult this year. We had a couple kids that have signed up and, you know, the parents don't have the funds to support them.

JIM UNDERWOOD, COACH, RIALTO JR. PADRES: I grew up here in this league, played in this league, and these are all people I've known for 30-some-odd years. And we're all in the same boat.

ROWLANDS: The same boat means more than just trouble on the field. This part of San Bernardino County consistently ranks in the top five for highest foreclosure rates in the country. The county's unemployment rate is 12.5 percent.

UNDERWOOD: You know, life was good, work was good, the economy was good and then all of a sudden, you know, bills come due. All of a sudden there's not enough money. And it just -- it happens really fast.

STEVE THOMSON, COACH/LAID OFF AUTO TECH: This is my outlet, you know, this is where I come, you know, to be with the kids, because it's not about me, it's about them. But I could tell you that even little league we're seeing a punch in the little league with the way the economy is and the slowdown and everything else, just by the lack of kids that are signing up, you know. So it's hard all the way around.

Then I'm trying to find work. It's not like I'm sitting at home doing nothing. But there's just nothing out there. ROWLANDS: The families and the league had no choice but to rally around each other.

RUIZ: We've had to ask some of the parents to gather up some of their, you know, cleats that maybe their kids have outgrown or some used gloves and we had to supply some of the kids with the used equipment so they could play.

JANIS STRONG, PRES., N RIALTO LITTLE LEAGUE: We did a candle sale with Go Candy Candle (ph). We've had parents bring water and Gatorade and then we sold the water and the Gatorade. And then we also had a pancake breakfast. And we washed cars for the first time. We have 17 teams and the kids are in uniform and everyone's having a great time and that's what it's all about.

ROWLANDS: With everybody pitching in, not a single game has been missed because of hard times. A life lesson these players can take to the bank.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)