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American Morning
Admiral Mullen Says Afghanistan Situation Getting Worse; Report About CIA Interrogation Tactics Out Today; New Orleans Showing Strength; Government Offers Easier Terms for Student Loans; Alec Baldwin entertains Senate run against Joe Lieberman; Health Care Reform Debate Continues; Gearing Up for Swine Flu Vaccination; Businesses Get Creative in Economic Downturn.
Aired August 24, 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, it is Monday, August 24th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, I'm John Roberts. Here's what's on the agenda. The big stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
There could be tough choices ahead for President Obama in the war against the Taliban. His top military officer Admiral Mike Mullen says the insurgency is getting better and the fight for Afghanistan is "deteriorating." Could we see more American troops in the front lines? The breakdown from the Pentagon just ahead.
CHETRY: And a report on CIA interrogation tactics will be made public today. it was written by the CIA's inspector general, concealed for five years until a federal judge just ordered it released. Now in a moment, Elaine Quijano on guns and power drills allegedly being used to scare terror suspects into talking.
ROBERTS: And just when it appeared the U.S. was about to break free from the global recession, a warning from a note in the economist that we could suffer a recession relapse, just what you wanted to hear. We'll tell you why.
We begin, though, this morning with a developing story. The highest-ranking man in the U.S. military says the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is getting worse. Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, made the news on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I think it is serious and it is deteriorating, and I've said that over the last couple of years that the Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated. Their tactics -- just in my recent visits out there and talking with our troops -- certainly indicate that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: There's also talk that the top U.S. general in Afghanistan wants more troops. But will he ask for them? Barbara Starr is working her sources at the Pentagon this morning.
Barbara, what do you found out?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, it now seems inevitable, several congressmen and senators coming back from Afghanistan who met with General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander there, say the indications are that he will ask for more troops. Why is this? Admiral Mullen is talking about it being serious and deteriorating.
CNN has learned just how bad it is. The latest U.S. military assessment now shows that the Taliban exert their influence, if not outright control, over one-third of that country. And we are just a few weeks away from the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks planned in Afghanistan. This war has gone on a good many years, and the Taliban now control essentially one-third of the land mass. That means they can intimidate the people, conduct their shadow governments, their shadow court system.
It's very grim -- a very grim outlook right now and it seems inevitable that General McChrystal will have to ask President Obama to send more troops to that war -- John?
ROBERTS: Barbara, what about the timing here? When could an order for more troops come? How soon until they're actually headed into battle there?
STARR: Well, what we are now hearing is that General McChrystal's overall assessment could come perhaps at the end of this week or next week. That will be followed at some point in the subsequent days by any request for troops. But when it surfaces, when it actually becomes public, certainly, will also be a political calculation by the Obama administration. They have a lot on their plate in Washington right now and there is a good deal of concern just under the surface here at the Pentagon that if they ask for more troops, public support could ebb a bit in all of this.
So, there's going to be a lot of thought given to when they come out in public about it all, John.
ROBERTS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning -- Barbara, thanks so much.
And just ahead, we're going to speak with Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker. He was in Afghanistan during...
STARR: That was excellent.
ROBERTS: Thank you, Barbara. It was excellent.
Last week's presidential election, he could tell us exactly what it's like on the ground there. That's coming up in about 10 minutes here in the Most News in the Morning.
CHETRY: A report being released today says that the CIA used guns and power drills on terror suspects to get more information from them. That report was written by the CIA's inspector general. It's been concealed for five years. But a federal order from the courts just ordered it release. It's part of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU.
Our Elaine Quijano is live in Washington.
Tell us more details what do we know about the findings in this CIA report?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, as you noted, the CIA report is expected to be released today. But new details are already emerging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO (voice-over): In separate incidents, CIA interrogators threatened Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri -- he's the man suspected of plotting the deadly bombing of the USS Cole -- according to knowledgeable sources familiar with the 2004 CIA report. Sources confirm one interrogation session involved a gun, another an electric drill. Both meant to scare the al Qaeda prisoner into giving up information.
And "Newsweek" reports mock executions were staged, including one where a gun was fired in a room next to a detainee to make him believe another prisoner had been killed. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued to get the CIA report released, called the tactics under the Bush administration, quote, "not only reprehensible, but illegal"; and said, "The American public has a right to know the full truth about the torture that was committed in its name."
Although the government had authorized such controversial techniques as waterboarding, the use of a gun and drill fell outside approved tactics. A CIA spokesman said, quote, "The CIA in no way endorsed behavior no matter how infrequent that went beyond formal guidance"; and added that Justice Department officials reviewed any cases of alleged misconduct.
But the report could renew questions about whether the Bush administration went too far in the name of national security.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney has maintained the interrogation program as a whole was needed to keep the country safe.
DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The intelligence officers who questioned the terrorists can be proud of their work, proud of the results, because they prevented the violent death of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people.
QUIJANO: For the Obama administration, the report's release means a delicate balance.
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We will not be doing anything that would endanger the American people, or in some ways lessen our national security.
QUIJANO: But some fear the release will have a chilling effect on intelligence officers trying to do their job.
GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: We will teach timidity to a workforce that we need to be vigorous and active.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now, Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to announce soon whether he'll appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration's interrogation policies -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Elaine Quijano for us this morning -- thank you.
ROBERTS: There's been a slight let-up in the gale-force winds that are driving wildfires in Greece. But unfortunately, it's not the break the firefighters need. Winds are expected to pick up again later on today. The fires broke out on Friday just north of Athens in a town called Grammatiko. And so far, they have turned more than 37,000 acres and hundreds of homes into ashes. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate.
CHETRY: A Malaysian model who was set to become the first woman caned in the South Asian country for drinking beer in public has now had her sentenced spared, according to her father -- but postponed is probably a better way to put it. The violation of religious law in the Muslim country was drinking beer in public. But the government says she'll be facing the punishment and a week in prison after Ramadan ends.
ROBERTS: Lightning fast. Usain Bolt has struck again, this time at the Athletic World Championships in Berlin over the weekend. World's fastest man won a third in gold at the 4x100 meter relay.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen caught up with Bolt and asked him about his amazing performance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What makes you so fast? What's your secret?
USAIN BOLT, JAMAICAN SPRINTER: My secret is hard work and dedication. I'm really dedicated to being a champion. I want to be a legend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Hard work and dedication, and having the legs of a racehorse transplanted on his.
And what's next for Usain Bolt? Well, he says he'd like to try his hand at long jumping.
CHETRY: Well, some of the most beautiful women of the world were competing last night for the title of Miss Universe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: All right. The first runner-up is Dominican Republic, which means Miss Universe is Miss Venezuela again.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The announcer says "again" because 2008's winner was also from Venezuela, and she was right there to congratulate the person who will be stepping into her shoes and crown, I guess you could say. Eighteen-year-old Stefania Fernandez, congratulations to her. It's the first time that two contestants from the same country won back-to-back titles. They seem pretty thrilled about it, don't they?
Well, besides the crown, Fernandez also gets a two-year scholarship at the New York Film Academy and also a vacation for two in the Bahamas.
ROBERTS: When you live in Venezuela, why do you need to go to the Bahamas?
CHETRY: Right. Congrats, anyway.
ROBERTS: So, the Afghan elections, we won't know the results for a little while. And what about the proclamation over the weekend with CNN's John King on "STATE OF THE UNION" by Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating?
We're going to talk with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker -- coming up right after the break. He just returned from Afghanistan. He had eyes on the ground there, and he'll tell us what his perception of the situation was.
It's coming up now, and 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Lots of news developing out of Afghanistan today: allegations of voter fraud or regularities from last week's presidential elections. Plus, the top man in the military is painting a grim picture of the fight against the Taliban there.
Admiral Mike Mullen made the news right here on CNN talking to our John King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MULLEN: Well, I think it is serious and it is deteriorating, and I've said that over the last couple of years, that Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker visited a voting site in Afghanistan last week and he joins us now from Chattanooga, Tennessee, this morning.
Senator, it's good to talk to you. Get your take on the elections in just a second here. But let me, first of all, ask you about this proclamation from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the situation there in Afghanistan is deteriorating, according to "The New York Times," American military commanders told Richard Holbrooke that they didn't have enough troops there to do the job.
You were on the ground. You had a good look at things. What's you assessment to the situation there militarily?
SEN. BOB CORKER (R), TENNESSEE: Well, I don't think there's any question that things have deteriorated. The fact that we were far more concerned about this election and security surrounding it than we were the election of 2004, to me, is a clear indication. And I think, no doubt, we've had a lot of focus on Iraq, things have deteriorated, and I think the American people -- we need to talk directly with them about it.
We are engaged in Afghanistan, truly in nation-building -- or state-building probably is a more appropriate term. We're building a nation that candidly will not be able to sustain itself financially.
And we need to be able to articulate to our troops what true victory is. We need to remember that still, our enemy is al Qaeda. There are about 2,000 al Qaeda operatives around the world, about 500 of them reside today in (INAUDIBLE) areas of Pakistan. And that still is our enemy.
And so, this is getting particularly complicated, and I think, certainly, our troops need to understand clearly what victory is in Afghanistan.
ROBERTS: And, Senator, do you think that more American troops are needed to achieve victory, whatever form that comes?
CORKER: Well, I think at the end of the day, much of our victory will depend upon economic gain. It will depend upon weeding out corruption. It will depend upon a political solution -- which means we have to have an appropriate partner in Afghanistan. Whoever the winner of this election is -- no doubt to secure that, we have to have security on the ground, that is true. But so much of what we do in Afghanistan is going to depend on the partners that we have there and some political reconciliation.
ROBERTS: So, you have at the same time this election, which has not been determined yet because the results do take a long time to come in, the former foreign minister who was challenging President Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah, is saying widespread voting irregularities occurred. But, again, to the point of, you know, the American side of the equation there, do you believe that we need more troops on the ground in Afghanistan?
CORKER: Well, look, the fact is that the Taliban is gaining ground. The fact is that we have wonderful men and women that are making tremendous sacrifice on behalf of our country. We need a policy that certainly is worthy of their commitment. But at the same time, I do know that we are losing security grounds.
So, there are numbers of things that have to occur simultaneously. I've asked for benchmarks and they've been put in place or will be put in place...
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Senator, why won't you say this morning whether more troops are needed or not?
CORKER: Well, I think what I'd like to say is -- as I've always said -- is that I rely upon the military leadership on the ground to say that. My sense is that General McChrystal will ask for more troops. And as I've said in the past, I rely upon them to make those determinations. I do believe that he will be asking for more troops. I ask him the question in person this last week and he was not ready to make that commitment, wanted to see what happened during the elections.
But my guess is that in the short term, we will need more troops on the ground. In the midterm, though, I think we've got to have -- we have to be able to articulate to our troops, to the people back home what we believe victory is. And we've got to have commensurate policies that will make sure that will be the case, and a partner there -- a partner that is willing to work with us in that regard.
ROBERTS: So, if the general were to request more troops, is that something that you would firmly support?
CORKER: If that's what the general -- yes, but I want to know what the benchmarks and what an articulation of victory is simultaneously. I think we owe that to the American people. We owe that to our troops.
ROBERTS: Senator Bob Corker from Tennessee, it's good to check in with you this morning. Thanks very much for taking the time. I really appreciate it.
CORKER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, it's something a lot of families go through, their children get accepted into college and then they see just how expensive that four-year education is turning out to be. A lot of people are turning to financial aid options, but still struggling to pay college tuition.
Well, joining us -- coming up in just a moment -- is Kim Clark. She is a senior education writer at "U.S. News and World Report." They've done an entire issue trying to help you find money out there. It's just waiting for you.
Seventeen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Christine's "Minding Your Business and laughing that both she and the "Financial Times" are a nice salmon color there.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
ROBERTS: Either that or you've got "Financial Times" pink on.
ROMANS: That's what it is, I think. Well, look, today, we're talking about double dip recession. Double dip is not a good thing. It's not two scoops of chocolate. It's not a good thing. It's not a double dip that you like.
Nouriel Roubini in the "Financial Times" this morning writing the risk of a double dip recession is rising. Why do we care what Nouriel Roubini says?
ROBERTS: Because he's a perma-bear, you know? He's always looking for the worm under the rock.
ROMANS: No, he sees the recovery.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: He's a smart guy. I joke. He's a very smart guy.
ROMANS: He is, and he was right -- he was right about what happened here. Very precisely predicting what happened. So, we want to know what he thinks about the recovery. But he says double dip that we will have a recovery and then we could have trouble again and you go back into recession. So that's what a double dip recession is, the risk of that is rising.
Here's a couple of things to keep in mind. The stock market has been doing very, very well all summer. It's anticipating a V- shaped recovery. It's anticipating that the economy is going to do much better and that we're going to have a recovery.
He says the recovery started in China, France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and it will not start in the U.S. until later this year. The economy will bottom out not until later this year. And he says U.S. and Western Europe are going to have anemic and below trend growth for at least the next couple of years. So, that would suggest some of these bulls in the market might be ahead of themselves.
Also, let's take a look at oil, commodities. He says that these are reflecting unwarranted optimism about the economy. And, in fact, when you have oil going up -- you can't see that very well -- we have oil going up above $74, $75, $76 a barrel, then at what point do those higher prices for food and energy alike start to dampen the recovery again?
So, he's talking about the risk of a double dip recession potentially rising. He does see -- he does see a recovery.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: He always says I'm not a perma-bear, I'm not "Dr. Doom," I see a recovery, but it will be a weak and anemic recovery.
CHETRY: Well, economics -- but I mean, we talk about people not being able to afford what they have. Meaning home ownership was on the rise, right? We're on a record amount for home ownership and now, this people are foreclosing. And so, people are losing their homes and losing their jobs. So, even if...
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: ... the stock market's doing well, how does that help you if you've lost your home?
ROMANS: There are a lot -- so many red flags and that's why it's hard to predict what -- you know, what this is going to look like when we go forward. He also talks about having to rein in what we've done, all of these emergency measures that we've been done to try to rescue the economy, pulling back all of that. That also poses risks, as well.
Remember back in 1937, pulling all that back in is what helped throw us back into another recession.
ROBERTS: I don't remember firsthand but I've read it.
ROMANS: It was total dark days.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Still, when we're talking about all of this money, if you've got a "Romans Numeral" for us this morning.
ROMANS: That'd be 9 trillion. This is kind of an easy thing.
ROBERTS: Well, it could be anything. I mean, it's not the debt that's for sure, because we're well beyond that.
ROMANS: Nine trillion is what we're expecting tomorrow for the White House to confirm is its 10-year budget deficit proposal over 10 years, $10 trillion. And that's why the CBO, the Congressional Budge Office, was they're over 10 years.
CHETRY: They readjusted it, right, and added two more trillion over the weekend.
ROMANS: Yes. Adding two more trillion, we'll get that official word tomorrow. But that is a challenge for the president's agenda. Both his supporters and his opponents alike are saying, look at these numbers, this means we couldn't be doing this. Or look at these numbers, it means we must do this.
ROBERTS: I remember 10 years ago, we had budget projections of a $5 trillion surplus.
ROMANS: You know, I can't even -- sometimes I can't even -- I write these numbers and I can't believe I'm writing these numbers.
ROBERTS: You've got to write them fast. It doesn't hurt as much.
ROMANS: I start crossing off zeros.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" this morning -- thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, one of the problems we've been talking about in this whole thing is paying for college. I mean, you know that you should go to school and you know that getting an education helps you eventually get on sounder financial footing. But how do you pay for all of it? Coming up: our next guest is going to give us some tips and some advice for people who are going to college and need to find extra cash somewhere.
It's 23 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Four years ago this week, New Orleans was decimated by Hurricane Katrina. Many believe the city would never recover. We're going to have reports from the Big Easy all this week. Our Sean Callebs is live there this morning.
And, Sean, I was in New Orleans just a couple of weeks ago. Some of the parts of the city you'd never know that it got by a hurricane, but other parts of the city you'd never know that four years have gone by. It still looks the same.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really is a tale of two cities, John. And I was listening to Christine give us some pretty sobering economic news in that last segment. And, you know, the sun is shining in this city on this day literally and figuratively. While the punishing recession continues to drag on -- to a degree, New Orleans is one city that is bucking that national trend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): New Orleans has been shielded in the aftermath of Katrina -- not by levees, it has been an economic buffer. Federal and private money as the city rebuilds.
Jazz great Irvin Mayfield recently opened a club in the French Quarter. But he wants to talk about his job as commissioner of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority.
IRVIN MAYFIELD, NEW ORLEANS REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: Redevelopment is just another word of self-investment to citizens. And I think that passion has always been important to New Orleans. We're now trying to figure out how to transform that passion for music and food into different areas of redevelopment in our neighborhood.
CALLEBS: After Katrina, close to 80,000 homes had to be rebuilt, attracting legions of construction workers. It's helped keep New Orleans' unemployment rate at about 7.2 percent, while the national average is closer to 9 percent.
(on camera): With its hotels and night life, New Orleans has a share of service jobs, for entrepreneurs who are also investing here, finding there are benefits to being in this city.
Nic Perkins is CEO of the Receivables Exchange. He could have started his business anywhere.
NIC PERKINS, CEO, THE RECEIVABLES EXCHANGE: Donny from Pennsylvania, Darrell from England, John from Boston.
CALLEBS: New residents know about the problems: crime, a poor education system, the slow pace of rebuilding. But they are convinced the positive outweighs lingering, deep-rooted problems.
PERKINS: We have an operation like this, would be literally five or six or seven times more for us in New York or San Francisco. The quality of life that we have here -- you can live in New Orleans exceptionally well under a start up salary.
CALLEBS: Home prices are up about 1.1 percent from 2008 to 2009. Nationally, they plunged about 10 percent over that same period.
New Orleans is a long way from being whole. Entire neighborhoods remain in ruin, and thousands are still displaced.
MAYFIELD: I think a lot of people who see this may say, "Look, you guys have been at this for four years, why isn't this done already?" And I think people need to really understand the volume of things that we have done and we're doing.
CALLEBS: And in many ways, the city has something it couldn't claim four years ago: optimism.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: Well, one of the great things about this city, listening to people, like Irvin Mayfield, not only on stage but also out doing what he can to try to redevelop the city. But, John, I really don't want to paint a picture of over-optimism because, like we've talked about, so many areas of the city, Gentilly, St. Bernard Parish, Lakeview, New Orleans East, it goes on and on and on -- those areas are still in dire need of revitalization and redevelopment.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. Sean Callebs for us this morning from the Big Easy -- Sean, thanks so much.
Tomorrow morning, our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reports on a tiny clinic in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. It's operated by two nurses, offers free care, and used to be the home of one of the nurses who now runs it.
CHETRY: Ninety-nine minutes past the hour. Right now, we check our top stories.
The reality TV contestant wanted for the murder of his "Playboy" model ex-wife is found dead. Police say Ryan Jenkins' body was found hanging in a hotel east of Vancouver, Canada. He was the prime suspect in the murder of Jasmine Fiore. Police say Fiore's body was found stuffed inside of a suitcase in Anaheim, California.
ROBERTS: Bill proving to be deadly in the U.S. -- even though it was way offshore, the storm made landfall early this morning as a category one hurricane in Newfoundland, Canada. It's now been downgraded, but it's still packing 70-mile-an-hour winds. Officials say a 7-year-old girl died after being swept away by the waves yesterday in Maine and a swimmer in Florida died on Saturday.
CHETRY: More fallout over Scotland's decision to show a mass killer mercy. The Scottish Parliament is holding an emergency debate questioning the government and First Minister Alex Salmond after the Lockerbie bomber was sent home. Abdelbasset al Megrahi was released because he's terminally ill with prostate cancer.
As you see from the pictures, he came home to a heroes welcome in Libya which is outrage to many in the international community. The Libyan was the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. It killed 270 people, most of them Americans.
Well, as we know in these tough times, college students are struggling more than ever to pay for their college education. Tuition at the average public university has more than quadruple over the past two decades.
When you add in dorms, books, and other costs, you're looking at more than $18,000 a year, and we're talking about state schools here. Kim Clark is senior education writer for "U.S. News and World Report," and she joins us from Washington with some advice on how to navigate the system. Kim, thanks for being with us this morning.
KIM CLARK, SENIOR EDUCATION WRITER, "U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": It's my pleasure.
CHETRY: As we always know, financial decisions, of course, are one of the big factors when choosing a university for your child and when you're a college student yourself deciding where to go. But as we've seen in these tougher times, it's harder to get a loan now, it's harder to get credit. What are some of the biggest challenges facing students as the cost is going up and their ability to borrow money isn't?
CLARK: Right, two things. You're absolutely right. Private banks are very leery of making loans, not only to students, but to businesses and homeowners.
But this is one area that the federal government has really stepped up. Every student can get a student loan -- it's called a Stafford loan -- of anywhere between $5,500 to $12,500.
And if they stick with the federal loans, they won't go broke paying them back, because there's a brand new program called income- based repayment. Once you graduate, you can cap your payments below 15 percent of your income. So you can take out these federal loans, and you won't go broke paying them back.
CHETRY: That's great. You talk about these changes. Are they coming too late for people who are perhaps getting ready within the next week or so to drive to college? Can you still benefit from some of these programs if you're already about to attend your school?
CLARK: Well, that's another great thing about the federal program. They realize that a lot of people put things off to the last moment, and even a little beyond the last moment.
Believe it or not, you can still apply for aid, if you haven't filled out the free application for federal student aid, it's not too late to apply, and they can award the aid retroactively if you don't get your act together until September or October. So it's not too late to apply.
And if you have applied and are not happy with the amount of aid that you received from your college, it's not too late to write an appeal letter. And you write the appeal letter explaining why you think you need more money -- let's say you lost your job or you had to take a pay cut or you had unusual medical expenses or maybe you need child care expenses to go to college -- they can account for all these things and retroactively award the aid even now, even in September.
CHETRY: That's great to know. And also the other thing people are running up against is that the financial aid packages, a lot of time they're determined by the income, the proof of income you show from the year before.
But a lot of people's situation has changed. We see in Maryland and in some cases in Virginia and the District of Columbia, unemployment has doubled since last year. So what if things have changed in your household from a year ago?
CLARK: Well, that's exactly right. That's a great reason to write an appeal.
The federal government actually sent a letter to every single college financial aid officer saying, you know you've got to take into account the fact that maybe people's situations have changed and maybe be a little more generous.
So if you have lost your job, if you had to take a pay cut, if you've had some other unusual situation. If you're getting divorced, maybe you'd had some legal bills, absolutely write that letter. The federal government has told colleges to be more generous.
And I've talked to a lot of financial aid officers, they are definitely being more generous.
CHETRY: And this is interesting. There are some people who may be wondering should I just drop out? Maybe I'll come back and take those last few credits when I'm in a better financial situation.
What is the best advice that people have told you, the experts, about whether or not dropping out, try to find a job, bank some money until you can actually afford it?
CLARK: It's a very difficult situation, because frankly, as you just mentioned, the unemployment rate is 9 percent or in some cases 10 percent.
If you drop out, you're not necessarily going to get a job, right? So it's not such a great idea to drop out without a job in hand, right?
One thing you can do is ask your college if you can go on a payment plan. So if you can't scare up the money in August or September, for about a $50 fee, usually colleges will let you string out the payments over the years. That's one way you can delay repayment a little bit.
CHETRY: That's a good idea, as well. All of these are great options. People should look into them before throwing in the towel.
And what we're going to do, Kim, is we're going to link on our Web site a lot of your information, because you've got great stuff out there in the magazine this week. Kim Clark, senior education writer with "U.S. News and World Report," thanks so much.
And again, people can also find out this information by heading to CNN.com/amfix.
ROBERTS: Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and actor Alec Baldwin are sparring in the press these days, and they could be squaring off at the polls in 2012. Baldwin recently told "Playboy" magazine he's considering moving to Connecticut so he could mount a challenge for Lieberman's Senate seat in three years time.
The actor told "Playboy," quote, "I have no use for him."
Lieberman responded this weekend on CNN's "State of the Union" John King channeling "Dirty Harry."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": In the latest issue of "Playboy" magazine, Alec Baldwin is quoted as saying "Maybe I'd move to Connecticut. I'd love to run against Joe Lieberman. I have no use for him." You're not up for three years. Do you want to go against Alec Baldwin? You had a good one last time.
SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (I) CONNECTICUT: First, let me say, when you started with the "Playboy" reference, I'm glad you ended with Alec Baldwin and not with one of the centerfolds.
Second, you know, make my day.
(LAUGHTER)
I must say I respect Alec Baldwin as an actor and as a comedian, and if he wants to run, that's his right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Lieberman has a track record of surviving tough election battles. He lost the Democratic Senate primary in his state in 2006 only to run as an independent and win.
In the health care debate we're talking about a public option, what does it mean? And will it even survive? New pressure on the public option. We'll tell you all about that, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 39 minutes, almost 40 minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to "American Morning."
This morning, President Obama is on Martha's Vineyard along with his family for a weeklong vacation. But no rest for the debate over health care reform back in Washington.
ROBERTS: Right now a growing list of lawmakers are breaking with the White House over a so-called public option. That's a government- run health plan that would compete with private plans and supposedly drive down costs.
CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Washington with what lawmakers are saying today. Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Jim and Kiran.
You know, "Jaws" was filmed near Martha's Vineyard, and the president just might need a bigger boat to get health care reform through the Congress this year.
The first family may be taking a vacation on Martha's Vineyard, but with the health care debate raging, the president may not get much of a holiday from Washington. Some Democrats don't want the president to get rest as much as they want him to get tough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: With the president hitting the beach on Martha's Vineyard, the tide may be turning against the idea of government-run insurance program or public option in health care reform.
LIEBERMAN: I'm afraid we've got to think about putting a lot of that off until the economy is out of recession. There's no reason we have to do it all now.
ACOSTA: Add Connecticut's Independent Joe Lieberman to the list of Republicans who doubt the president will get everything he wants.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I believe that one of the fundamentals for any agreement would be that the president abandon the government option.
ACOSTA: The president is also feeling the heat from liberals in the House threatening to vote no on the reform unless it has the option.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a line in the sand saying I vote no.
REP. MAXINE WATERS, (D) CALIFORNIA: Absolutely.
(APPLAUSE)
ACOSTA: At her own boisterous town hall, California Congressman Maxine Waters urged the president to start twisting arms in the Senate.
WATERS: Not only are we going to do everything we can to organize and put pressure on the senators, some of whom are Neanderthals, we are going to say to the president to use every weapon in your...
ACOSTA: In his weekly address, the president was more interested in what he sees as twists of the truth.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we've all heard the charge that reform will somehow bring about a government takeover of health care. I know that sounds scary to many folks. It sounds scary to me, too. But here is the thing. It's not true.
ACOSTA: But before the president could say cowabunga, an ad from one reform opponent accused the White House of a government takeover.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because his public option health plan could lead to government run health care.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: We need message discipline on the Democratic side. I can't speak for Republicans, but I can tell you without message discipline this has been a very difficult uphill battle for the president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: This week, the president's grassroots volunteer network known as organizing for America's urging its members to show up at town halls and rally near local congressional offices.
Sound familiar? Well, the move is right out of the play book of reform opponents who have raised their voices at town hall meetings for weeks.
And John and Kiran, just when you thought it was safe for the president to go on vacation, he is going to have health care raging here in Washington all week long. He's going to have it waiting for him when he comes back.
ROBERTS: It's rarely safe to go on vacation when you're the president.
CHETRY: Right.
ACOSTA: That's true.
ROBERTS: That's Jim.
We know that you've got lots of questions about health care reform. We've sorted out fact and fiction and put together all the answers for you. It's all online. Just head to CNN.com/healthcare.
And I'm going to bug out early here to go over to the Cleveland Clinic which many people say is a model for delivery of health care, a way to give top notch health care at much lower costs than many other places. So we'll bring that you that in the next couple of days.
CHETRY: All right, we look forward to it. Have a safe flight.
ROBERTS: Thanks.
CHETRY: All right, and still ahead, we're going to be talking about swine flu. There's this massive vaccination campaign. Something like this the government hasn't undertaken before, because you may remember it was just months ago they were scrambling to even make a vaccination. How is this going to work?
It's 44 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty-six minutes past the hour. It's time to fast forward through some of the stories that will be making news later today.
Cash for Clunkers, it's now in its final hours, as we said, in fact, just under 11 hours to go now. Uncle Sam's hugely popular car rebate program ends tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Over the weekend, some dealers did extend hours to meet demand. Others though say they were forced to hit the brakes ahead of tonight's deadline.
The final beam removed from the World Trade Center is scheduled to return to ground zero in lower Manhattan later today. The column weighs nearly 60 tons. It became a makeshift memorial cover in engine company logos and police patches after the 9/11 terrorist attack. Well, now it will be part of the permanent memorial at the site.
And it was a really early morning launch. It's planned for tomorrow, 1:36 eastern, for Space Shuttle Discovery in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Forecasters says the weather is good for launch.
The planned 13-day mission will take about 17,000 pounds of supplies as well as the seven astronauts to the International Space Station. Three space walks are also on the agenda.
(WEATHER BREAK)
CHETRY: By the way, you know there's this massive swine flu campaign, this vaccination campaign that's underway. It's something the federal government has not undertaken before, from developing the vaccine just a few months ago to trying to get everybody immunized in time for the flu season. How is it going to work?
We're going to follow a little bit more about this coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Pretty shot of the sun this morning in Atlanta, Georgia, where it is sunny and 67. A little bit later, it's also going to be mostly sunny, 85 degrees for a high.
It's 52 minutes past the hour. Welcome to the Most News in the Morning.
The federal government is planning to vaccinate millions of people in a matter of months against swine flu. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Atlanta right now.
They're calling a race against time. Is this doable?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what? I was at a meeting at the White House a couple of weeks ago, and they said, you know, look, this is going to be definitely a tough job. They're trying to vaccinate half the population in less than three months, Kiran.
So there are logistical issues. They're going to set up clinics at churches and schools. But there are also some other issues. They're trying to convince people to get shots who really are not accustomed to getting flu shots every year.
And Kiran, when I show you this list, you'll see what I mean. This is a list of the people who were supposed to get flu shots against h1n1 -- pregnant women, anyone ages six months to 24 years old, anyone ages 25 to 64 with health problems, parents and care givers of babies under the age of six months.
This is a much younger group of people than who get the regular seasonal flu vaccine. And when you see the statistics I'm about to show you, you'll see why they want younger people to get vaccinated. The reason is that most of the hospitalizations and most of the deaths have been in young people -- 75 percent of hospitalizations have been in people under the age of 49, 60 percent of deaths under the age of 49.
So Kiran, the challenge here for the CDC is that they're trying to convince younger people to get the shot than who were accustomed to getting it - Kiran.
CHETRY: I'm by no means anti-vaccine. I understand there's always a big debate, especially when new vaccines are introduced. But have they had enough time to test this for safety and for efficacy? I mean, given that, as we talked about, it was just months ago that they were scrambling to come up with the actual vaccine.
COHEN: Kiran, the CDC says that by the time the shot is on the market, which is expected to be in mid-October, they will have tested it in enough people to know it's safe and effective.
And Kiran, you're right, it is a new vaccine in that it's against a virus that has never been seen before, certainly in anyone's recent memory. However, it is also just a flu shot. Flu shots are given every year. So in some ways this is new, but in some ways it's not.
CHETRY: And we also remember back to the 1976 effort, right, it was an immunization effort against swine flu back then, and people reported getting ill with -- I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing it right. Is it Guillain Barre Syndrome?
COHEN: Guillain Barre Syndrome.
CHETRY: And there was a big backlash after that situation happened. Of course we've certainly made advances in medicine since then. Would you encourage people that you know to get this shot if it's available?
COHEN: You know what? I'm a reporter, so I never encourage anyone to do anything. But I think what's going to be important is once those clinical trials are done, you want to see, when they tested it, did anyone come down with this disease, GBS, that you mentioned.
What we've heard so far is there have been no serious side effects and the clinical trials are underway.
CHETRY: All right, well, it's a huge undertaking, as you said, and a lot of challenges as we get ready to head into flu season. It's coming faster than we think.
Elizabeth Cohen for us, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead, we are talking about ways people are keeping ahead of the recession. The shoe business looking for creative ways to stay ahead of difficult times for retail. We're going to introduce you to two twin brothers, Shane and Shawn, and how things are working for them.
It's 55 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It was eight years ago that twin brothers Shane and Shawn Ward started a shoe business, and their concept was they wanted shoes to be comfortable but hip at an affordable price. They quickly became a hit.
And then when the economy tanked last year, the twins had to come up with creative ways to stay one step ahead of the recession.
Stephanie Elam introduces us to the twins.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Shane and Shawn ward are always checking out people's shoes.
SHANE WARD, CO-FOUNDER, SHANE AND SHAWN SHOES: We have to correct each other's posture because now we walk like...
ELAM: When friends cry for dress shoes that were comfortable, the twins launched Shane and Shawn, keeping their prices lower than major fashion brands.
SHAWN WARD, CO-FOUNDER, SHANE AND SHAWN SHOES: Our price range for women's range from $130 to $350, and men's from $160 to $250.
ELAM: In 2001, armed with a combined $500,000 from a business loan and their own savings, Shane, already a shoe designer, and Shawn, an engineer, got to work.
SHANE WARD: We have this inlaid sole that's quilted like a mattress or like a Lazy Boy, and that's how we communicate our comfort, and we call it the luxury liner.
ELAM: To promote, Shane and Shawn stepped out.
SHANE WARD: We partied a lot, so we just started to pass out business cards, put our shoes on really cool people.
ELAM: Now retailers like Macy's and Amazon.com carry their shoes.
Still, the economy has left its footprint on the shoe business. According to the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, second quarter sales in the northeast fell about 4 percent. At the end of 2007, just as the recession began, those sales were up 4 percent.
SHAWN WARD: Right around October of last year, when we saw literally, you know, from one month to the next month, you know, sales decline almost 50 percent. This year, if we can, you know, stay flat or about 5 percent above what we did last year, we'll be happy. ELAM: Besides running a lean operation, the twins have gotten creative to survive the recession.
SHAWN WARD: So if we have three or four styles for men and women that are just hot and proven, we're going to go back to those styles.
We actually brought in some other designers to share space in our store.
ELAM: They're also developing a sub-collection.
SHANE WARD: We're working with a larger shoe company to come out with a sub-brand of the Shane and Shawn collection that goes towards the masses. And the price points are more $79 to $89.
ELAM: With comfort as the soul of their business, Shane and Shawn think their customers will keep walking back for more.
Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And continue the conversation today on any of the stories that you've seen by going to our blog at CNN.com/amfix.
And that's going to do it for us here on AMERICAN MORNING. Hope to see you back here tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the news continues with Heidi Collins.
