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American Morning
U.S. Soldier Held Captive in Afghanistan; Possible Tax on Rich for Healthcare Reform; Deal to Save Main Street Lender; Struggles of the Uninsured
Aired July 20, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, once again, we're coming up at 8:00 here in New York on this Monday, July 20th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us today.
Here's what's on this morning's agenda. The stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
On the ground in Afghanistan, U.S. forces are trying to rescue one of their own after he turns up in a Taliban video. We're live with new details on who this private first class is, where he may be, and his family's prayers to get him home safe.
CHETRY: A new poll suggests President Obama's approval rating is slipping on key issues like health care now dropping below 50 percent for the first time. We're going to take a look at the president's six-month report card.
ROBERTS: And a lifeline reportedly reached through a lender who is helping to keep Main Street running, only it's not the government. We'll tell you who's behind it and why the lender CIT matters to so many people.
Race against time for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, trying to rescue Army Private Bowe Bergdahl who appeared over the weekend as a prisoner in a Taliban video. It was the first public glimpse of the 23-year-old Bergdahl since he disappeared from his base in eastern Afghanistan nearly three weeks ago. In the video, he talks about his family and his fears.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PFC BOWE ROBERT BERGDAHL, CAPTURED U.S. SOLDIER: I have my girlfriend, who I was hoping to marry. I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America.
And I miss them every day that I'm gone. I miss them, and I'm afraid that I might never see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again. I'll never be able to hug them.
Well, I'm scared. I'm scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN Pentagon Barbara Starr is working her sources at the Pentagon this morning.
What's the thinking there, Barbara, on where this Private might be?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, I have to tell you, here at the Pentagon, very disturbing video. Of course, we really haven't seen anything like this since the hottest days of the war in Iraq, when there were several servicemen held in captivity briefly.
This now about three weeks, so that really puts a lot of strain on the search for Private Bergdahl. When these cases happen, the best chance is to try and get them back as quickly as possible. But now, of course, it's been about 20 days.
They are continuing to search by all accounts along that rugged border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is where he was based, that is where he disappeared. And they tried to seal that area off very quickly when this incident happened. So they're hoping that whoever has him hasn't been able to take him very far.
John?
ROBERTS: You have to expect, too, Barbara, that the family would be extraordinarily upset by seeing that video, just beset with worry. What's the military doing for the Bergdahl Family?
STARR: Well, it should be said that there has been a military liaison with them in Idaho since this unfolded. The military has been keeping them fully apprised of all of the developments. The Bergdahl Family over the weekend issued a very brief statement asking people for privacy, for the media not to come and approach them. And, in fact, in the Idaho town where he lives, people there have known for some time but have kept it very quiet.
Part of the thinking here is if they can keep it quiet, if they don't raise the profile of all of this too much, military officials say that may help their chances of trying to get him back. But they are using all efforts, they say, to try to locate him and rescue him.
John?
ROBERTS: And, hopefully, they'll have some success. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Barbara, thanks.
And stay with us because coming up in about ten minute's time, we're going to be talking with our CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen to get some insight on the military's options. Also, whether or not he thinks Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl is still in Afghanistan or potentially has been moved across the border into Pakistan.
CHETRY: As President Obama increases the pressure on Congress for health care reform, there's a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll suggesting that public support is eroding. It shows the president's approval rating on health care dropping below 50 percent for the first time. Since April, his approval rating has dropped from 57 percent to 49 percent with disapproval increasing from 29 percent to 44 percent. Again, all of this on how the administration is handling health care.
Suzanne Malveaux is live for us at the White House right now.
You know, there are other challenges as you well as you well know, Suzanne. Growing concern out there over spending and rising unemployment rate.
So where does the administration go from here?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I spoke with top aides who believe that, look, the president still has momentum here. He still has political capital, but they really need to push this. They feel that there's a sense of urgency here. They certainly don't want to try to push this when he starts to lose that kind of support, but right now, he still has it.
So, they are putting him out there front and center. A very aggressive public relations campaign. We're going to see the president later today at the Children's National Medical Center pushing for reform.
All of this, Kiran, as you know, after a real body blow to his plan going into the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Facing a tough week ahead, President Obama is trying to recapture the spotlight in the health care debate.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade.
MALVEAUX: This after a devastating announcement on Friday by the Congressional Budget Office that the administration's health care bill would raise health care costs and add $239 billion to the deficit over ten years.
The White House dispatched their head of health care Kathleen Sebelius.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH: This is a working progress. The good news is the House and Senate are actively working, and share the president's goal that overall costs have to come down for everyone.
MALVEAUX: And the president's top money man Peter Orszag took up the argument. PETER ORSZAG, DIRECTOR, U.S. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE: The bill has to be deficit neutral. President yesterday said, he will not sign a bill that isn't deficit neutral.
MALVEAUX: Republican seized on the deficit announcement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those were pretty damning words, to be very honest with you.
MALVEAUX: The Senate's minority leader said the bill will not have Republican support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a bill that shouldn't pass at any point, either before the August recess or later in the year because it's not good for the country.
MALVEAUX: The Obama administration is pushing hard for the bill to be on the president's desk before the August recess. But many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say that's too ambitious.
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: Sure we wish we had more time, but the president has given us a deadline. We're working under it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And Kiran, there's a lot of discussion whether or not this is a deadline or a goal, and just how far the Obama administration should really push it to the sense of urgency here.
We are going to hear and see the president's primetime news conference. Once again, Kiran, on Wednesday, 9:00 Eastern. This is the fourth one that he's had primetime in the first six months of his presidency. Obviously, he knows how to use the bully pulpit, also the media to try to sell his agenda -- health care reform at the very top.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us outside the White House this morning. Thanks.
And we want to know what you think about this story. Should the government raise taxes for individuals with an annual adjusted gross income of $280,000 or for families making $350,000 or more to help pay for health care reform. We want you to send us your thoughts. Go to our blog cnn.com/amfix.
ROBERTS: Other stories new this morning. President Obama will mark the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing by welcoming the Apollo 11 astronauts to the White House this afternoon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins will use the opportunity to urge the president to take another leap, backing a man mission to Mars.
CHETRY: And Pulitzer price-winning author Frank McCourt has died. He was 78 years old. He was gravely ill and being treated for skin cancer. McCourt was most famous for his memoirs "Angela's Ashes." (INAUDIBLE) recounting his childhood living in poverty in Ireland. The book turned him into a literary celebrity. Before that, McCourt spent nearly three decades as a high school English teacher in New York City.
ROBERTS: And federal safety investigator say operator error may have caused a light rail train crash in San Francisco over the weekend. The NTSB says the operator switched the controls from automatic to manual just moments before the train slammed into another one parked in the station. 48 people were injured, including the operator.
It's eight minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We're back with the Most News in the Morning.
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is again apologizing for an extramarital affair and asking people in his state to forgive him. Writing an op-ed letter in the state newspaper, Sanford says, God will change him so he can emerge from the scandal a more humble and effective leader. Sanford has said that he will work to repair his relationship with his wife.
CHETRY: Well, Sarah Palin is getting ready to step down and move out of the Alaska governor's digs. On her Twitter page Sunday, Palin said that she and her husband, Todd, were packing up the family possessions at the governor's mansion in Juno. Palin officially steps down July 26th. That's 18 months before the end of her first term.
ROBERTS: Are you stashing millions of dollars overseas? If you are, Uncle Sam is coming after you. The IRS getting tougher on people who have offshore accounts. The enforcement campaign could sweep up tens of thousands of taxpayers and billions of dollars lost each year to offshore tax evasion. The agency warning that you have until September 23rd to come clean or you'll be hit with far bigger penalties.
CHETRY: Well, back to one of our top stories this morning.
The Taliban releasing a tape of an American soldier held hostage. It is the first confirmation that 23-year-old Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl is alive after he was captured in southeastern Afghanistan by the Taliban nearly three weeks ago.
CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen is in our Washington bureau, and joins us this morning with more on this. And the broader picture of Afghanistan right now.
Peter, great to see you this morning.
PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: Taking a look at this video. They say it was shot on the 14th of July. They have no idea where, dropping leaflets, obviously trying to do their best to tap intelligence.
What else can they do in a situation like this?
BERGEN: Well, they can do -- obviously, a rescue operation. The problem, Kiran, my hunch is he's not in Afghanistan. He's probably in Pakistan already. We've seen this pattern before with Westerners being kidnapped in Afghanistan by lower-level Taliban, and they are either sold or given further up the food chain of the Taliban leadership, which is all based in Pakistan.
We saw that with "New York Times" reporter David Rohde. Other journalists who are being kidnapped in Afghanistan, similarly are being taken into Pakistan. Obviously, the United States has much less leverage and ability to find somebody in Pakistan than they do in Afghanistan -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And so, depending on who he was sold to, if you say that, you know, they sort of do this selling back and forth, how does it determine the outcome? What's the best-case scenario here?
BERGEN: Well, I mean, unfortunately, there are no best-case scenarios, except, you know, if the soldier was able to escape as David Rohde. Obviously, that would be the best case.
But what will happen is the Taliban, likely the Haqqani network, based on the Pakistan side of the border, will start making demands. The kinds of demands they're going to make, Kiran, are not demands U.S. government is very likely to agree to. The release of Taliban prisoners from Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan, very large sums of money. The U.S. government official policy is not to negotiate these kinds of releases. So, unfortunately, this is going to be a very tough situation -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Speaking of tough situations, July turning out to be the deadliest month so far in Afghanistan for coalition forces there. We've got two weeks left before July is even over.
Is this a sign the situation is deteriorating, or what has changed?
BERGEN: Well, I think one of the biggest variables here is you've got 17,000 American soldiers who have just gone, you know, into southern Afghanistan, mostly southern to eastern Afghanistan, and they are conducting very aggressive operations. So, trying not only to clear areas in southern Afghanistan, but to hold them, which historically native forces have not been able to do. So that's why the death rate has gone up so markedly. We saw exactly the same thing, Kiran, with the surge in Iraq.
CHETRY: Until we saw it go back down again after the surge as well.
BERGEN: Yes.
CHETRY: So, you know, we can hope that that progress will be made there, as well. But, you know, in the meantime, people have started to compare the war in Afghanistan, calling it Obama's Vietnam. And we even had Defense Chief Robert Gates making some statements, saying that "after the Iraq experience, nobody's prepared to have a long slog." Or, it's not apparent that you're making any headway. He goes on to say, "The troops are tired. The American people are pretty tired."
And you just wrote a column about U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.
Where do things stand now in terms of figuring out what our strategy is?
BERGEN: Well, I think the Obama strategy is pretty good. It's based on bringing more security to the Afghan people. And that is one of the reasons that you've got this much larger presence in southern Afghanistan.
Historically, the U.S. -- the number of U.S. boots on the ground is being pretty low in Afghanistan. So bringing security to the Afghan people is really the first and most important thing that the U.S. and international community can do.
But the situation, Kiran, is very different from then in Iraq. It is still in Iraq, four times more civilians are being killed every year that's in case in Afghanistan. Iraq, which we now think -- the conflict thing more or less over, is still far more dangerous than Afghanistan.
And Afghans, unlike Iraqis, remain very enthusiastic about international forces on their soil. Sixty-three percent of Afghans in the recent poll said that they are in favor of intentional forces. That's a pretty looking number. And also quite an optimistic number if you're looking at the center of gravity of any insurgencies, the views of the population. Right now, the population is rooting for the international community to do what they hope all along which is the rise of a more secure and prosperous country.
CHETRY: And you actually argue the exact opposite of calling it Obama's Vietnam. You say this is not Vietnam. This is the war to win. And the reason that there's been so much trouble in the past is because we historically misread Afghanistan.
If you had to offer what you think would be the solution that would turn the tables and help bring about change there and peace there. What would it be?
BERGEN: Well, I think pretty much what is happening right now, which is an effort to -- Afghans right now don't feel very secure, particularly in the south and the east of the country. And that is something, I think, that with the new strategy and also with the emphasis, by the way, very importantly, General McChrystal's new tactful guidance to avoid civilian casualties, which is the main political problem that the international community has in Afghanistan.
If you can provide security and dramatically reduce the number of civilian casualties, you're well on the way to some form of success in Afghanistan. Kiran?
CHETRY: Peter Bergen for us, CNN national security analyst and author of "The Osama Bin Laden I Know."
Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
BERGEN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Well, it appears as though it's back. El Nino brewing off the coast of Peru.
What does it mean for our weather coming up this winter? That's always when the El Nino has had the most effect. What about the Olympics in Vancouver? Are they going to get any snow?
And, hey, you're looking at a hurricane. What does it mean for this summer's hurricane season? Will it be as bad as normal or might it be not as bad?
We'll find out coming up a little bit later on this. So stay with us.
It's 17 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
The leading lender for Main Street, which is desperately in need of help reportedly is getting a bailout, but it's not from the government.
CNN's Christine Romans joins us now live with details on a deal to save CIT.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And that marks the new phase in all this bailouts, right? When the government sits back and says, let's let the free market figure out how to do this. And CIT close to a second chance we're waiting word on what this deal with bondholders is going to look like to avoid bankruptcy. But it's incredibly important the future of this company for an awful lot of small business owners.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice-over): Furniture retailer Bob Saquet has weathered many storms at his store in Middleborough, Massachusetts, but he's never seen one like this.
BOB SAQUET, OWNER, EGGER'S FURNITURE: I'm not about to call it quit, throw in the towel. We'll be around. We'll find suppliers. I just feel sorry for the manufacturers that I would lose.
ROMANS: He's just one of a million small businesses that depend on the CIT Group. The latest lender to face financial ruin. CIT was denied a bailout last week by the federal government because its failure wasn't deemed detrimental to the financial system as a whole.
CIT did receive $2.3 billion as part of the initial Bush administration bailout last fall. But this time, the Treasury Department issued a statement citing, quote, "A very high threshold for exceptional government assistance." Bottom line, CIT wasn't big enough to get help. The National Retail Federation says that was a mistake.
MALLORY DUNCAN, GENERAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: What we're saying is that CIT is too important to fail. It literally finances the life blood of the retail economy.
ROMANS: CIT specializes in a type of lending called factoring. Factoring keeps businesses afloat so they can stay operational while they wait for the money to roll in.
DUNCAN: If CIT is not there, that 80 percent to 90 percent up front cash that the supplier needs in order to produce more goods to sell to another retailer isn't available. And consequently, it's likely the supplier will go out of business.
SAQUET: Maybe from the big picture CIT is too small to deal with. But from the bottom end, this is where small business dwells.
ROMANS: Saquet says he doesn't know why the government bailed on CIT's bailout, but he fears that decision may mean lights out for small businesses across the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: At a time when they're already having an awful lot of trouble, I mean, small businesses are getting hit from their own declining, you know, demand for their products and their vendors are in trouble.
And it's been a real tough moment here when the factoring, that's that lending that keeps the cash flowing among businesses starts to dry up. That can be a real problem for them, when they're trying to hold on. So, the irony here is that CIT allows the cash keep flowing among business, but CIT is fighting for its own cash crunch.
CHETRY: And you know...
ROBERTS: Go ahead.
CHETRY: It just give you a lot of people to say, so, the bailout is good enough for Wall Street, but when it has to do with small business, they're not getting any money.
ROMANS: That's absolutely right. And that's what a lot of these retailers and small business owners have been saying. They're like, wait a second, so we only care about the big guys?
But it seems as though what is happening in Washington is that they made the determination that the financial system has healed enough that they can let this company fend for itself, and maybe that there are other healthy players who can either help this company or take over the business. That's -- that's the wager here.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Christine, thanks so much.
El Nino is back. Everybody cares about the weather. What's the weather going to be like, because this pull of warm water is growing up on the coast of Peru. We'll find out coming up in just a couple of minutes.
Gene Norman -- he's the chief meteorologist with KHOU and an expert on El Nino -- joins us to tell us what the forecast might be. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, President Obama putting out heavy, heavy push right now to get health care reform rolling. He's set to speak at the Children's National Medical Center this afternoon.
And day after day, the president has been waging really an all out campaign to try to gain support to help the 46 million Americans with no health care.
CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Knoxville, Tennessee.
You get a chance to see firsthand here just how many people are struggling with no health insurance.
Hey, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Absolutely. That's right. And you may be wondering with this health care debate going on, how the uninsured go about getting treated.
Well, in many cases, they rely on charities like the one based right here in Knoxville called Remote Area Medical, which has treated the uninsured for decades.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): It started before sunrise. People in wheelchairs and holding babies waiting in line for their number to be called.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, who's got number one?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Come on down.
ACOSTA: And with that the doors were open.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 141, where are you at?
ACOSTA: Within minutes, the charity organization Remote Area Medical transformed this high school in Tennessee into what looked like a hospital for the uninsured.
STAN BROCK, FOUNDER, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL: We have had to cut back on our operations in places like Haiti and Guatemala and India because of the tremendous demand here in the United States. We're getting into the nitty-gritty here.
ACOSTA: The group's founder, Stan Brock, took us on a tour of his operation that provides medical, dental and even eye care at no cost.
BROCK: And all of these people that you're seeing here, and all of our support staff, they are all doing it for free.
ACOSTA: The licensed doctors, dentists and nurses fly in from across the country on their own dime. Some patients can barely make it through the front door.
KEN SMITH, REMOTE AREA MEDICAL PATIENT: The way my blood pressure was so high, I might have had a stroke, and you know...
ACOSTA (on camera): If these folks weren't here?
SMITH: Yes.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Need your teeth pulled? No problem. Need glasses? Stan's got them.
ACOSTA (on camera): And this is all free?
BROCK: Absolutely free.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But Brock says it's Washington that could use the glasses.
ACOSTA (on camera): Would you like to see the president? Would you like to see members of Congress come to one of your events and see these folks firsthand?
BROCK: Oh, well, I think that would be a marvelous idea. Nothing would please me more than for us to be put out of business here in the United States so that we can concentrate on these places where the need is so, so desperate.
ACOSTA (voice-over): One thing Brock and his volunteers can't stand, turning people away.
KRISTIN ROBERTS, VOLUNTEER: Seeing the lines here, seeing the need for services in so many ways is very clear evidence that we need health care reform in this country.
ACOSTA: As the sun was setting, Remote Area Medical had treated nearly 500 patients. And there were cars lining up for the next day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, how do they pay for all of this stuff -- the services, the equipment? Actually, all of it is paid for, thanks to donation from people just watching these sorts of stories on Remote Area Medical and feeling compelled to call in and donate their time and money.
And believe it or not, later this summer, Remote Area Medical will be holding other events around the country. One in southwestern Virginia, another on an Indian reservation in Utah and then the group's first ever urban setting in Los Angeles, which will be in just a couple of weeks from now. They are expecting more than 10,000 people, and until Washington fixes this nation's health care system, Kiran, as Stan Brock says he will be in business.
CHETRY: Well, meanwhile, they are doing great work and making a difference in the lives of so many people.
Great story. Jim, thanks.
ROBERTS: Twenty-nine minutes now after the hour. And checking our top stories this morning. The Pentagon confirming the identity of a captured American soldier who appeared in a video posted online by the Taliban. He is Private Bowe Bergdahl, a 23-year-old from Ketchum, Idaho. The military calling it a piece of propaganda.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERGDAHL: Well, I'm scared. I'm scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bowe, if you see this, know that we love you and we are praying fervently for you, and prayers are going up for you from all over the world. Stand tall and stand firm. And to all of our valiant men and women in uniform, know that the American people believe in you, support you, and are 100 percent behind you. And we thank God every day that you have our backs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Private Bergdahl disappeared from his base in eastern Afghanistan nearly three weeks ago. The exact circumstances surrounding his capture remain unclear. The military has been distributing leaflets in the area seeking his release.
CHETRY: Growing concerns about terrorists' ability to outsmart security measures. According to the "Wall Street Journal," the bombers in the Jakarta, Indonesia hotel attack disguised bomb parts to look like laptops. Meantime, police is Jakarta now say that the explosive material used in Friday's bombings is identical to explosives used by the terror group in Jemaah Islamiyah in previous attacks.
ROBERTS: And Pope Benedict XVI showing his metal just three days after falling and breaking his wrist. The Pope preached to followers on Sunday in northern Italy. A spokesman for the 82-year-old Pope said that he is learning to live with his cast and the pain from that injury.
Well, no matter where you live in the country, chances are you've seen some strange weather this summer. The experts say that it just might have something to do with the weather phenomenon known as El Nino. It's making a comeback.
Gene Norman works on weather monitoring technology for NASA. He is now the chief meteorologist at KHOU television in Houston and that's where we find him this morning. Gene, it's so great to see you. We know how much you love El Nino. Do us a favor here, explain what happens here in the El Nino year.
GENE NORMAN, KHOU-TV, CHIEF METEOROLOGIST: Well, John, the way to think about El Nino is kind of like a pendulum out in the Pacific Ocean. The water temperatures fluctuate from being warmer than normal or being cooler than normal.
And now, we are back into an El Nino phase where monitoring abnormally warm water out there, and what that tends to do is shift the pattern of jet streams. It intensifies the tropical jet streams, so it bring out tropical air from the Pacific out across the southern United States. That should lead to a wetter winter and a stormier spring for us here in the South. And with Texas being in a drought for the last two years, that's great news.
Now, across the northern plains and over to the Great Lakes and the Northeast, we're looking for a somewhat warmer winter with perhaps less snowfall than you all have been experiencing. The other thing that El Nino does by shifting those jet streams is brings them over the Caribbean and the tropical Atlantic, introducing more sheer into the atmosphere, and that helps reduce the overall number of tropical storms. Now, it doesn't mean we're not going to have any tropical systems this particular summer, but what it does mean is that we'll probably see fewer of them.
You know, back in 1983, we had an El Nino season and of course, we had Alicia. Who will ever forget that here in the Houston area?
ROBERTS: Right.
NORMAN: That was only a summer we had four total named storms. 1992, another El Nino season. And of course, we had Andrew, a very powerful hurricane in south Florida. But in that year, there were only seven named storms. So, the overall number of storms could be less, but there might be one big one that gets you.
ROBERTS: Yes.
NORMAN: And you can't rest on the fact that El Nino's going on, but it could be good news.
ROBERTS: But you know, Gene, I remember back in 1992, and Andrew was, you know, that upper-level wind sheer was keeping it disorganized, that it jumped north of that subtropical jet and wound up into a monster Category 5.
But we all remember the El Nino year of '97 and '98, where there was devastation to the California coastline. We talked about an El Nino brewing this year. How strong might it be? And also in terms of less precipitation, warmer temperatures in the northern tier of the country in Vancouver this winter, we've got some Olympics. Are they going to get any snow there? Talk to us about California and talk to us about snow in British Columbia.
NORMAN: Well, that's going to be a little bit dicey for the snow in British Columbia. It'll all depend on when we see the drop of the surge of the polar jet stream. That brings that cold air out of Canada. Now as far as southern California and as far as the South, again, we could see more stormy weather. It all depends on how deep the El Nino gets.
You know, they have about 70 buoys that are out in the Pacific, constantly monitoring the temperatures out there, and that tells us what's going on as far as how deep that warm water is going. And we're still getting a sense of what's that looking like. But I don't know that it's going to rival the '97 to '98 El Nino, but it might come close.
ROBERTS: And in terms of hurricanes, is there enough of an El Nino out there now that you've got as you showed in your map that subtropical jet stream to keep the hurricanes a little more disorganized than they might normally be in a typical year?
NORMAN: Well, so far, we are seeing more sheer out in the Atlantic. You know, at the same time last year we already had three named storms. So the fact that we're seeing more sheer, some of those tropical waves is coming off the west coast of Africa had not had a chance to intensify. So that's good news early on in the season. Of course, things will start to heat up by the time we get to August and early September.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, Gene Norman from KHOU, we really appreciate you coming on this morning and telling us all about that. We'll come back to you, I think, frequently throughout the season too, Gene, to get a read on how things are going with El Nino. Really appreciate it.
NORMAN: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Thank you. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, just in to CNN, the former NFL star Michael Vick is now a free man. His future, though, still unclear. His attorney telling the AP that Vick was released from federal custody this morning, also saying that he can now remove that electric monitoring device. He was convicted on federal charges of running a vicious dog fighting ring.
Well, anyway, whether or not he'll return to football still a big question. He is allowed to resume his pro football career technically. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said that he will review Vick's status after he completes his sentence, so that would be now. Vick wouldn't be with Atlanta, though, because the Falcons released him in June.
All right. So there you go.
Meanwhile, "Slumdog Millionaire's" child star Rubina Ali, you may remember her and we heard her family's story, still living in the slums. Some of the homes around them being razed. Well, she is now writing her autobiography. I'm sure she has quite a story to tell. You know, from living in the slums of Mumbai to being on a Hollywood set, winning huge accolades and then back again.
ROBERTS: And there was some talk about her father trying to...
CHETRY: Possibly sell her.
ROBERTS: Wow. What the heck is going on with that life?
CHETRY: I guess we'll find out more as we hear about how she's going to be writing this autobiography. It's 36 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Well, she stole our hearts and headed back to her poverty-stricken life in the slums of Mumbai, now the child star of the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire" has a new role. And our Zain Verjee has the latest feat of the famous nine-year-old.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, forget about California dreaming, how about slum girl dreaming? One young girl shares her dramatic life and she's not even 10.
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VERJEE (voice-over): From the streets to the store shelves, "Slumdog Millionaire's" child star, Rubina Ali, is telling her life story in "Slum Girl Dreaming." She's nine years old but to her fans, age is just a number.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she's had so many experiences already that you know, she has so many stories to say and stuff with her dad and...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got a little mini Oscar there.
VERJEE: Rubina grabbed the headlines since her Oscar night, but the stories have taken an ugly turn. Her father was accused by a London tabloid of trying to sell her to an Arab sheik. Police investigated, but no charges were filed.
Her mother and stepmother were caught on camera fighting over the girl's custody. Rubina's life hits a low note when the slum house she lived in even after her huge success was among the homes torn down by authorities for being built illegally. Rubina's hoping her rags to riches to rags story sells many copies.
JULIA KINGSFORD, FOYLES, HEAD OF MARKETING: It will interest people who are generally interested in how a nine-year-old girl goes from living in a slum in Mumbai to becoming a movie star.
VERJEE: Disney's singing sensation Miley Cyrus was the grand old age of 16 when her book "Miles to Go" came out, and a young Casanova Alec Greven stole the public's heart when he wrote his own book at the age of nine.
ALEC GREVEN, AUTHOR, "HOW DO YOU TALK TO GIRLS": "How do you talk to girls" by Alex Greven a book for boys with crushes.
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VERJEE: We don't know how much money Rubina will make from profits from "Slum Girl Dreaming", but we know they're going to be shared with the charity, Doctors without Borders, one of Rubina's biggest dreams though get out of the Mumbai slum she lives in still isn't fulfilled. John, Kiran.
CHETRY: You know, the amazing thing about that is that the producers and directors of that film set up trusts for these kids because they wanted them to be able to have, you know, a secure financial future than what they were living in before getting plucked from obscurity to be in the movie.
ROBERTS: It is tragic what happened to them. You know, any other place in the world that has a robust movie industry, you would think that they would have been better taken care of.
CHETRY: Well, good luck with her memoirs.
ROBERTS: Yes, absolutely.
Forty years ago today, Americans landed on the moon. So, where is the space agency headed next? There's only a handful of shuttle flights left. The folks who landed on the moon have some ideas about that. Our John Zarrella is tracking all of it and he'll be chasing it down for us next. It's 42 1/2 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Love this shot of downtown Atlanta today where it'll be another hot one. Forty-five minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward to stories that will be making news a little bit later on today.
California budget talks continue today. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger postponed the talks because of a scheduling mix-up. Lawmakers believe they're on the verge of closing the state's $26.3 billion budget deficit. The state has gone as far as issuing IOUs to cover their bank bills. We're also keeping a close watch on the markets today. Stocks closed on an upswing on Friday after the first week of major quarterly financial results. More tops companies will be issuing earnings reports this week but Texas Instruments reporting today after the closing bell.
And astronauts aboard the International Space Station are scheduled to carry out their second space walk today. That will be at 11:28 a.m. Eastern time. But they also have another task. They need to repair one of the space station's broken toilets. Get out the plunger.
So what's next for NASA? Besides the broken toilet. Buzz Aldrin says that we should aim higher but the space agency now facing budget cuts and layoffs in an uncertain future. And another chapter is nearing its end with only a handful of shuttle flights left. Here's CNN's John Zarrella with a future for NASA.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one. Booster ignition and liftoff of Endeavour.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And now, there are seven. The number of space shuttle flights left. Nearly 30 years of flying astronauts in a reusable space plane soon just a chapter in history books.
DAVE LECKRONE, HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENTIST: And it makes me want to cry to think that this is the end of it.
ZARRELLA: When the last shuttle flies in September 2010, it leaves a gaping hole behind. Because of NASA budget cuts, the next generation vehicle, the Aries rocket and Orion capsule, key opponents of the constellation program won't be ready to fly astronauts until 2015. Until then, NASA has to carpool with the Russians to get to space. Thousands of shuttle workers not needed for the new vehicle will lose their jobs. Workers who are needed may not be around if more budget cuts further delay the next generation of spacecraft.
And further delays are possible. An Obama administration ordered Blue Ribbon panel is reviewing NASA's direction after shuttle ends, i.e., the constellation program, which Leckrone says is fuzzy on direction.
LECKRONE: I just don't see that if that organization within NASA that's producing constellation doesn't begin talking to their potential customer base, they're going to end up with something that no one is interested in using.
ZARRELLA: Precourt insists that constellation is clearly visionary.
CHARLIE PRECOURT, ATK LAUNCH SYSTEMS: It behooves us to build an architecture that can serve a multitude of missions for those next 50 plus years and that's where this was first envisioned was to think about space station, lunar, asteroids beyond, maybe to Mars.
ZARRELLA: Build as less expensive as shuttles, safer for astronauts, the Constellation program is supposed to be everything shuttle is not.
(on camera): Funny how perceptions change. For decades the shuttle program was maligned as too costly, too complicated a vehicle, too risky, too unreliable. Now what do you hear? Too bad it's over. John Zarrella, CNN at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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CHETRY: There's some dramatic new video of a major protest coming into CNN now. This is inside Iran this morning, amateur video. You're looking at it now, of a huge rally of university students in the streets of the historic city of Chiraz. This demonstration follows a call from a former president to release people arrested in last month's uprising following the highly contested elections in that nation. And while the Iranian government clamps down, trying to silence the opposition there, it can't quiet the voices that are coming from beyond its borders.
ROBERTS: What happened in New York last night might be proof of that. Our Reza Sayah was there to take it all in and he's here now to tell us all about it. Good morning, Reza.
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. You know, ever since the 1979 revolution, millions of Iranian have left their country because they wanted to do just that, get away from the reach of the government. They've wanted more social and political freedom. But over the past month, I've spoken to so many Iranians who have watched the protest and the government crackdown and say, "I want to be back there to help."
For a group of musicians in New York, that's not been possible, so they've decided to do what they do best.
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SAYAH (voice-over): In a lounge in Manhattan's Lower East Side, a group of young musicians take another step towards stardom, but their thoughts are half a world away, they say, in the Islamic republic of Iran.
JOHNNY B., LEAD SINGER, ELECTRIC BLACK: Since the event started unfolding in Iran, it's all that I've been consumed with. I haven't really been thinking about anything else.
SAYAH: Johnny B. doesn't fit the common stereotypes, but he's Iranian. For the past month, the lead singer of Electric Black has seen the Iranian government's brutal crackdown on mostly peaceful protestors.
JOHNNY B: It's heart breaking. SAYAH: Raam says he's heart broken too.
RAAM, LEAD SINGER, HYPERNOVA: I wish I was back there in the streets right now, with my brothers and sisters.
SAYAH: Three years ago, the lead singer for Hyper Nova was in Iran where rock n' roll is considered un-Islamic. Play it in public and you can spend the night in jail. Today it's Iranian protestors landing in jail.
RAAM: These kids out on the streets are risking their lives in the name of freedom and justice. And we over on this side of the planet we feel very powerless.
SAYAH: Then came the idea to simply raise awareness. So the musicians Hypernova, Electric Black, Ali Escandarion Espan (ph), and filmmaker Nari Mamhamid (ph) created Freedom Glory Project.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a song for all the people, the brave ones that stood up against the oppressive.
SAYAH: Just days after the dispute in Iran, the group wrote and dedicated a song to Iran's opposition group and started playing sold out shows in New York.
(on camera): Some say a concert on the lower east side of Manhattan can have little impact on an opposition movement half a world away that's facing a fierce government crackdown. But don't tell these guys that they can't make a difference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a part of us that wants to stand up and let our voices to be heard.
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SAYAH: That was a Freedom Glory Project rocking it in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Kiran, John, it's remarkable, a few days after the elections and the unrest, they got together and about 12 hours, they wrote a song and they dedicated it to the opposition. It's remarkable how many of these events are happening outside of Iran. Wednesday, a hunger strike in the front of the U.N., and Saturday, a call for protests all over the world.
CHETRY: And does that make a difference? Does that make any dent in what's going on there?
SAYAH: Well, certainly Iran and especially the Iranian youth monitor the internet. They know what's happening outside of the country. And any of these types of events certainly gives them a boost to keep going.
CHETRY: Reza Sayah for us this morning. Thanks.
SAYAH: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Right now, it is 55 minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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ROBERTS: Well, this is the story of a coffee shop owner who was doing so well that he decided to open up a second location. Then, the recession hit.
CHETRY: Yes, and that recession hit his business hard, but in today's "Money and Main Street," our Allan Chernoff found a little coffee shop owner who didn't fold, instead he got creative.
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ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It all started with a left wing radical activist who wanted to create what he calls the anti-Starbucks. A communal cafe, bookstore, debate parlor and performance space. Vox pop, he called it, short for Voice of the people in Latin.
SANDER HICKS, FOUNDER, VOX POP CAFE: My vision was to create a place where people could come together and voice their opinions and share and cross pollinate. And so, you know, across the political spectrum.
CHERNOFF: In one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, Brooklyn's business park, Vox Pop was becoming the people's cafe. But just as the recession was taking hold, Sander opened a second location in Manhattan.
HICKS: The recession bit me in the butt. I literally saw the economy come grinding down to a halt in front of me.
CHERNOFF: Enter Debi Ryan, a friend of a friend with a smattering of non-profit business experience. She quickly discovered well-meaning employees were running Vox Pop into the ground.
DEBI RYAN, GENERAL MANAGER, VOX POP: Somebody would order a salad, they'd run across for $7, they run across the street to the organic market and buy a salad for $9 and come back and sell it. And like, OK, there's a problem right there.
CHERNOFF: Debi she had the Manhattan cafe close, yet Vox Pop was $190,000 in debt, behind on rent, taxes, and fines for health code violations.
RYAN: The soundest business decision would have been throw in the towel, file bankruptcy, call it quits.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Instead of a bailout, Vox Pop found its rescue in a buy-in, a community buy-in. The cafe sold stock to its customers for $50 a share and in 10 days raised $64,000. Nearly 200 people invested to keep their cafe open -- families like the Mitchells who put in more than $1,000.
STAN MITCHELL, VOX POP INVESTOR: What this place provided was unique for the neighborhood.
JOAN ADAMS, VOX POP INVESTOR: We have to think about where we put our money, but that was a no-brainer for us. We believe in what they believe in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I consider it a good investment for my neighborhood, for me, for my kids, for my coffee addiction.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Shareholders are a long way from seeing a profit. Vox Pop is still paying off debt, but investors say they couldn't be happier because communal capitalism has allowed them to keep the voice of the people alive.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.
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ROBERTS: As long as they stop buying those $9 salads, they might be in better shape.
CHETRY: Exactly.
Well, you can continue the conversation on any of the stories you saw here today, just head to our blog at cnn.com/amfix. Hope to see you right back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Yes, thanks very much for joining us. The news continues with Heidi Collins and CNN NEWSROOM.
