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Obama's Bid for 2016 Summer Games; Letterman Reveals Sex with Staff; More Jobs Lost in September; Strategy for Afghanistan

Aired October 02, 2009 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President's pitch. Mr. Obama aims to close the deal on Chicago's bid for the 2016 summer games.

And Iran says it will cooperate with nuclear inspectors, but will actions follow words? We look at what's next after key talks.

And late-night comic monologue turned serious. David Letterman exposes an extortion attempt against him.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Friday, October 2nd, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

An awful lot to get to today. In fact, countdown now to the 2016 games. Will one American city actually edge out its international rivals? You know what I'm talking about.

Our correspondent Ali Velshi is actually in Chicago. He's waiting for the announcement. Going to happen today about where these games will take place, going to be coming from the International Olympic Committee. So we'll get to him.

We will also get to Ed Henry who is live in Copenhagen, Denmark, where President Obama has made this extraordinary pitch for his hometown.

Barack Obama, lobbyist in chief. His appearance in Denmark may be the highlight of Chicago's charm offensive, but it's not winning favorable reviews from everyone.

CNN's senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, as we said, joining us now live from Copenhagen with more on that.

Ed, good morning to you. So this is going to happen. We're actually going to find out today, yes?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. In fact, we're going to see the voting start about 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time this morning. But that's all done in secret behind closed doors. We're going to get some sort of an announcement of the final result sometime after 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The president and the first lady, they're actually going to be on Air Force One when the news comes across. They're going to find out in the air on the way back to Washington. And this morning the president made his final pitch, as you mentioned, but I think he probably gets the silver medal while his wife took the gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): After flying through the night for seven hours, the president arrived in Copenhagen for just four hours, immediately joining forces with First Lady Michelle Obama to help make the final pitch for Chicago and the U.S. to host the 2016 Olympics.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is nothing I would like more than to step just a few blocks from my family's home with Michelle and our two girls and welcome the world back into our neighborhood.

At the beginning of this new century, the nation that has been shaped by people from around the world wants a chance to inspire it once more.

HENRY: But his wife stole the show with a speech that tugged at the heartstrings.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: In my dad's early '30s, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And as he got sicker, it became harder for him to walk, let alone play his favorite sports.

HENRY: Mrs. Obama spoke emotionally about her father getting sicker, but still teaching her how to play sports while propping himself up on crutches.

M. OBAMA: My dad was my hero, and when I think of what these games can mean to people all over the world, I think about people like my dad. People who face seemingly insurmountable challenges, but they never let go. They work a little harder, but they never give up.

HENRY: It also wouldn't be Chicago without lobbying from the mayor.

MAYOR RICHARD M. DALEY, CHICAGO: We want to share our city from the world. We want to welcome people from all nations. You have my commitment that Chicago will work every day for the next seven years to be an Olympic city. That you and the world would be proud of.

HENRY: But the final word went to the president, who was still talking about his wife's remarks as he wrapped up the arm twisting.

OBAMA: For Chicago! It made me miss home, just looking at those videos.

QUESTION: Did you feel you accomplished what you set out to do?

B. OBAMA: I think Chicago could not have made a better presentation. Obviously, now it's up to the IOC members, but we are just grateful for the incredible hospitality and I'm proud of Pat Lyon, the mayor, and my whole crew.

The only thing I was upset about is they arranged for me to follow Michelle. That's always bad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Now the real drama gets started when the voting starts about 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Very interesting. A few years ago London beat out Paris by just four votes. Some people on the ground here in Copenhagen close to this Olympic committee suggesting the voting today, especially between Chicago and Rio, the front runners, could be every bit as close, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. So we'll obviously be watching that. But as all of this is going on, Ed, obviously, there many other stories, many other issues that the president needs to keep his eye on. One of them being Afghanistan.

I understand that there was a face-to-face meeting, right, with the top commander, General Stanley McChrystal and the president today?

HENRY: That's right. That's right. The president had been started to get some criticisms especially from Republicans that he had not had a face-to-face meeting with General McChrystal, certainly, since the McChrystal was written and handed to the president just a few weeks ago, and hadn't met with him face to face since he took control a couple of months ago, of the war in Afghanistan.

And so this was a chance because General McChrystal was in Europe. He was in London giving a speech yesterday. So they brought him over here to Denmark and they actually had a secure meeting on Air Force One for about 25 minutes, talking about the war in Afghanistan, about the way ahead, specifically following up on that three-hour meeting in the White House situation room this past Wednesday.

So, clearly a chance for the president to continue to weigh his options as he considers a very, very big decision about whether to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. There's actually a lot of news on that today. Learning more about a vote that was taken, too, to whether or not Stanley McChrystal will actually be testifying in Washington. So we'll talk more about that a little bit later on.

Sure do it appreciate it, Ed Henry, thanks so much, from Copenhagen this morning.

And back to the Olympics now. Public opinion is divided in Chicago. Some locals actually want to seize the world stage. Others are afraid of footing the bill for it. And the numbers actually may surprise you on this.

CNN chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, is joining us now to explain a little bit more.

So, Ali, if Chicago wins, how much could it really cost in order to host those games? I mean, this could be a big price tag, right?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, look, Heidi, we should remember that this is always a debate that goes on in candidate cities. There are those who think it will be fantastic for the economy and for the city's pride. There are those who think, if you're going to spend that kind of money, why don't you spend it on other things.

And Chicago certainly has those people who think that there's crime in the city, there's a need for greater public schools, there's a need for greater policing on the South Side. Why do they spend there?

So far, it's estimated that Chicago has spent about $100 million on this bid. And what they're looking at spending, if they get the Olympics, the budget's a little under $4 billion plus another $1 billion in infrastructure improvements.

One of the advantages of a place like Chicago, it's not a developing city, so they don't need the infrastructure developments that a lot of other places would have. So there are a lot of people are saying, well, if we're not really going to be developing new subways and new roads, we're developing temporary structures, is this the best way to spend the money?

I've also spoken to other people who say this is Chicago's opportunity to shine. It's to show the world what it really is. It's a place of great restaurants, entertainment, sports venues. It got a lovely lake and rivers. They really use its beautiful architecture. Most people are on the side of the bid.

We're here at Daley Plaza, Heidi. This is in front of city hall. This is where everyone's gathering for the announcement. It'll be within the next four hours and you can see here there are crowds of people all over the place. There's a water fountain over there. It's hard to see from here, but they've dyed it orange, which is the color of the bid.

You can see the media all set up here. International media ready to broadcast the decision. And there's a little bit of a chill in the air, but as you know, Heidi, that doesn't scare Chicagoans. This is nothing compared to how cold Chicago can get.

So generally speaking, people are in favor of this, and those who are in favor, in typical Chicago fashion, are very, very enthusiastic, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Ali Velshi. live on the scene. As the way it's looking there they look pretty confident, too. We'll see. Ali, appreciate it.

And we are talking about Chicago's Olympic bid on our blog today. We want to hear from you. Do you think Chicago should be the host city for the 2016 games or should one of the other cities win? Just go to my blog, CNN.com/heidi, and let me know what you think.

And make sure you stay with us for live coverage of the IOC announcement. We're going to find out the winning city during the noon hour right here on CNN.

Funny man David Letterman shocks his audience, admitting he had sex with women on his staff and saying he's been the victim of an extortion attempt.

CNN's Alina Cho is following this story. She is outside the Ed Sullivan Theater right now in New York.

Alina, good morning to you.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, good morning to you. In a word, it was simply stunning. You know, if you're a David Letterman fan, you are well aware that Letterman has often used his show over the years to make major announcements about his personal life, his marriage back in March, his emergency heart bypass surgery, even to reveal a kidnapping plot against his own son. But certainly never anything like this, until now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): It started out like it has for nearly three decades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's David Letterman!

CHO: Late-night laughs.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": So bright and sunny, the skunks were coming out of the subway squinting.

CHO: But after the monologue, it quickly turned serious. The audience, stunned.

LETTERMAN: This whole thing has been quite scary.

LETTERMAN: When David Letterman revealed he is the victim of an alleged extortion attempt.

LETTERMAN: This morning I did something I've never done in my life. I had to go downtown to testify before the grand jury.

CHO: Letterman said he received a package three weeks ago from a person who claimed to have information about his sex life, and he wanted $2 million. Pay up or he goes public.

LETTERMAN: I get to looking through it and there's a letter in the package, and it says that, "I know that you do some terrible, terrible things. And I can prove that you do these terrible things." And sure enough, contained in the package, was stuff to prove that I do terrible things.

CHO: The 62-year-old host went to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which began an investigation. Letterman said he set up several meetings with the man, who wanted to turn his life off stage into a screenplay and a book and gave him a fake check for $2 million.

On Thursday, an arrest. Then, another bombshell.

LETTERMAN: And I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I have done that were going to be -- now, why is that funny? That's -- I mean...

CHO: The admission, right from the host, right from his desk.

LETTERMAN: The creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show.

CHO: He then tried to break the tension by taking shots at his favorite target, himself.

LETTERMAN: Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps it would. Perhaps it would. Especially for the women.

CHO: It is not known when the sexual encounters with staffers took place. Letterman married longtime partner Regina Lasko in March. The couple has been together since 1986 and they have a 6- year-old son, Harry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: And CBS is now reporting that the suspect has been identified as 51-year-old Joe Halderman, a long-time producer at CBS News. Now as for Letterman, important to note that this stunning admission comes really at a time of great success in his career. After years of lagging behind Jay Leno, he now consistently beats Conan O'Brien in the ratings.

Now, as for his future, Heidi, Letterman said last night on his show that he hopes to protect his job, but CBS so far on that front is not commenting. Heidi?

COLLINS: Any idea, Alina, at this point of what the penalties or what could happen with the suspect in all of this, in the extortion?

CHO: We have been reaching out to the district attorney's office all evening long and this morning. What we can tell you is, presumably, the suspect, Joe Halderman, will be arraigned today in New York, charged with grand larceny.

As for what the penalty is, certainly it depends on the outcome of a trial, but we will be watching this very, very closely.

COLLINS: Yes -- no, we didn't know about the charges. All right, very good. Alina Cho, appreciate that in New York today. Thank you.

A new snapshot of the economy. September jobless numbers are just out. We'll tell you about those.

Also, what happened in Geneva yesterday? What will the payoff be of those Iranian nuclear talks?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Many economists believe the recovery has begun, but we're not seeing job growth just yet. CNN's Christine Romans is here now with the latest on employment numbers.

We've been waiting for these numbers. What is in the report, Christine?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's another 20 months now, 20 months in a row now of job losses in this economy, and more job losses in September, Heidi, than we had expected and economists had expected.

The unemployment rate is now 9.8 percent. 263,000 jobs lost in the most recent months. And some economists have been more 175,000. So this means that employers were still laying off more people.

We thought that maybe that was slowing down, but still they're laying off an awful lot of people. And since the recession began, some 7.2 million people have lost their jobs. This is clearly the most painful period for the American worker since the 1930s.

The job loss comes into construction, manufacturing. We've seen that for almost two years now. And manufacturing, even longer than that. But also government jobs, Heidi. We lost 53,000 government jobs. And you know that has been a rare bright spot.

Government job creation because of the stimulus and all these other things, the government has been expanding dramatically and that's been meaning jobs, it did not, though, in September.

We did see some job creation, however, in the health care sector. I can't say that enough. We are seeing jobs created in health care, not nearly enough to over -- you know, to offset the jobs lost in manufacturing and housing. But there is a rare bright spot there.

Want to break down for you the unemployment rates by gender and by racial group. Men, 10.3 percent. Let's talk about this one first. Whites, 9 percent, blacks, 15.4 percent. Hispanics, 12.7 percent.

You know, for blacks and Hispanics, this recession has lasted much longer than the last two years. I mean, these numbers tell a story of a lot of financial pain for American households.

And then we've also been hearing it called not a recession but the he-cession. That's because male unemployment, Heidi, has really, really risen sharply and dramatically. About 10.3 percent is the unemployment rate for men. That compares with 7.8 percent for women.

And for teens, it's the highest it's ever been. Teenagers, more than 25 -- 25.9 percent of them are unemployed.

One last little nugget, you know, I dig into these numbers every month.

COLLINS: Sure, yes.

ROMANS: And there's a little nugget in here that I think is really telling. And I want to let you know about as well. The average workweek for people fell to 33 hours. That's a record low. Think of that. I mean even if you've got your job, your employer is cutting back on your hours, probably paying you less, but cutting back on your hours, you know, cutting back on your overtime, 33 hours for a workweek.

That's not a sign of a healthy economy. So we know that it's a lagging indicator. We know the economy could start to get better, but jobs can still be lost and that's what this report is telling us.

COLLINS: Yes. No question. So as we continue to look at those numbers and analyze them, a lot of questions will be coming out, I'm sure.

ROMANS: Yes.

COLLINS: So what to do next. How to fix this.

ROMANS: Exactly.

COLLINS: Continues. All right, Christine Romans, thank you.

A strong earthquake hit the South Pacific island of Tonga today, rattling nerves already frayed from Tuesday's devastating earthquake and tsunami. The death toll from that disaster continues to rise. Officials now say 168 people are dead. Most of the deaths happened on the neighboring Samoan Islands.

Officials in Indonesia say nearly 3,000 people may be trapped under rubble after a powerful quake hit that country on Wednesday. At least 1,100 are confirmed dead.

President Obama's lightning quick European trip was about more than lobbying the IOC. We'll tell you how the Afghan war figured into his day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Checking our top stories now.

President Obama is calling the Geneva nuclear talks with Iran, quote, "a constructive beginning." Yesterday's meeting was the highest level contact between the nations in years.

Iran is promising to give the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency unrestricted access to the newly disclosed uranium enrichment site. The U.S. pushing for that to happen within two weeks.

And happening now, officials with the Madrid delegation making their case for the 2016 Olympic Games before the International Olympic Committee. President Obama earlier made his pitch for Chicago. And Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo also in the running.

The IOC's final decision expected in the noon Eastern hour. We're going to have that for you live when it happens.

Two more troop deaths to tell you about in Afghanistan. NATO says a U.S. service member died in a grenade attack in eastern Afghanistan. The Associated Press reports a second service member, a British airman, was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan.

The U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan is part of the president's focus today, even while he's in the middle of his Olympic lobbying efforts.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, joining us now from New York with more on this meeting that we touched on a little bit earlier in the show, Barbara, between the top commander of Afghanistan and the president on Air Force One.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Heidi. General McChrystal flew where he was in London, he flew on to Copenhagen to meet on board Air Force One with the president.

Consider this, it is the first time the two men have met face-to-face since General McChrystal took command and went to Kabul, Afghanistan. They had a couple of video teleconference meetings, but for the first time since taking command, they've looked each other in the eye.

A lot of people thought it was high time, because General McChrystal, Heidi, has really laid his cards on the table.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Secrecy has surrounded the high- stakes White House deliberations about Afghanistan. But key military players are now putting their cards on the table.

GEN. STANLEY A. MCCHRYSTAL, TOP MILITARY COMMANDER IN AFGHANISTAN: We need to reverse the current trends and time does matter. Waiting does not prolong a favorable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely. Public support will not last indefinitely. STARR: In London, General Stanley McChrystal laid out his urgent case that it is troops on the ground that are a must to fight the insurgents.

MCCHRYSTAL: A strategy that does not leave Afghanistan in a stable position is probably a short-sighted strategy.

STARR: Vice President Joe Biden wasn't mentioned, but Biden and National Security Council adviser Jim Jones are said to be calling for a more limited effort, going just after al Qaeda, using fewer troops on the ground.

In Washington, McChrystal's boss, General David Petraeus, was asked what if the president decided to use drones or a small number of special forces on the ground. He pointedly failed to endorse the idea.

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I think we would go back to what I think is, let's talk about again what are the goals and objectives. I think this is why this is a hugely important and hugely valid conversation to have.

STARR: By all accounts, Petraeus and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are backing McChrystal.

But what side is Defense Secretary Robert Gates on? A senior Pentagon official tells CNN, Gates is becoming more comfortable with the notion a significant number of additional combat forces will be sent. It just may not be the entire 40,000 the military believes are need. But Gates' bottom line?

ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The reality is, failure in Afghanistan would be a huge setback for the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: So, Heidi, how is this all lining up? Well, on one side, you have Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, David Petraeus, the head of the Central Command, and General McChrystal, the man on the ground, all staking out their positions for a full-on counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan that most likely would require tens of thousands of additional troops.

On the other side, Vice President Joe Biden, the White House political staff. The betting money is Defense Secretary Robert Gates will have the ear of the president at the end of the day and will be perhaps the most influential player in whatever the final decision comes out to be, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. It's interesting, though, you know, we've seen General Stanley McChrystal out there doing some television interviews, also in London as we just saw, but not in Washington testifying on this.

I know that there was a vote yesterday that said, you know, he's not going to do that, at least at this point, to let Congress know about his assessment. What's next on that? What's the buzz there?

STARR: Yes, this is one of the big political military undercurrents in Washington right now. If General McChrystal can go to London and give speeches, meet with British defense officials, why is he not coming to Washington to testify before Congress?

Well, Defense Secretary Gates and the White House clearly aren't quite ready to let that happen just yet. They want to get some decisions on the table, but of course Congress wants to have a voice in those decisions, so they want to hear directly what General McChrystal has to say.

He is expected to show up in Washington at some point, just not anytime soon, Heidi.

COLLINS: Wow. All right. Well, we will be watching that one alongside you, of course. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, thank you.

Face-to-face negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, but will Tehran alter its nuclear program? We'll have that for you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: This morning, that the recession is still inflicting lots of pain. The opening bell there for you on a Friday, just a couple of minutes ago. The government says the unemployment rate rose 9.8 percent last month. The highest it's been in 26 years.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a look at how Wall Street is taking that news.

Hi, there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In predictable fashion, Heidi. We are seeing an attitude adjustment on Wall Street. That's why stocks have closed lower, six out of the seven previous sessions. And we are seeing more negative sentiment in the early seconds of today's trading session following this very disappointing news.

I mean, since the start of the recession, the number of unemployed people in America has grown by 7.6 million and the jobless rate has doubled. So yesterday we saw the worst sell-off since June, and we're seeing more selling, at least in the first few minutes of trading. The number of job losses last month, 263,000 is worse than expected.

Meanwhile, Heidi, one of the nation's biggest commercial lenders continues its desperate efforts to avoid bankruptcy. CIT group launching another effort to restructure its debt, in hopes of trimming its balance sheet by more than $5.5 billion. In case it doesn't work, the company is also asking bond holders to approve a reorganization plan so it can get in and out of bankruptcy quickly.

But analysts are optimistic about Apple's outlook. A Morgan Stanley analyst says iPhone sales could double next year. AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the iPhone, but after that contract expires, Apple will probably strike deals with several very interested other carriers.

The Dow right now, off 73 points or three quarters of a percent. Ditto for the two other averages.

Finally, Heidi, a birthday. No celebration connected with this, though. TARP turns one tomorrow. Many analysts say the government's $700 billion rescue plan helped us avoid a second Great Depression, even though we could end up losing a good chunk of our investments.

Better than the alternatives, though.

COLLINS: I'm going to say good-bye to you right now until I talk to you again.

LISOVICZ: I'll be back and hopefully there will be some reconsideration out here on the street.

COLLINS: All right. Susan, thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: President Obama is calling the Geneva nuclear talks with Iran, quote, "a constructive beginning." The rare session was the highest level bilateral contact between Iran and U.S. in years.

CNN's foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty, explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At crucial talks in Geneva between Iran and the U.S. and its big-power allies, the Obama administration's pledge to engage with its enemies swings into action. A pledge to meet again in a one-on-one meeting out of camera range during a lunch break between a top U.S. diplomat and Iran's chief negotiator.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today's meeting was a constructive beginning, but it must be followed with constructive action by the Iranian government.

DOUGHERTY: It's a dramatic detour from the path George W. Bush traveled on Iran.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil.

DOUGHERTY: But is it a breakthrough? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls the talks productive, but she's treading carefully.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We've always said we would engage, but we're not talking for the sake of talking. We're not involved in a process just to say that we can check a box on process. We want to see concrete actions and positive results. And I think today's meeting opened the door, but let's see what happens.

DOUGHERTY: Critics of engagement warn Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, may be trying to simply run out the clock. One Iran expert cautions, the longer talks with Iran continue, the more pressure there may be on President Obama.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: If after weeks and months of meeting with the Iranians there's no headway, we've not seen any signs of compromise by the Iranian government, I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on the Obama administration to justify these conversations if they're simply an exercise in futility.

DOUGHERTY (on camera): And on that point, President Obama says he and his allies will not negotiate indefinitely. Iran has agreed to cooperate fully with the United Nations, and allow its inspectors full access to Iran's secret uranium-enrichment facility. And Mr. Obama says they must do that within two weeks.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Joining us now with where we go from here is Deepti Choubey. She is the deputy director of the non-proliferation program at Carnegie Endowment in Washington.

Thanks for being with us.

You know, as I watch that report and watched yesterday sort of the run up to these talks, my question was always, OK, whatever happens in these talks, is it actually going to follow through later on? And now we know, apparently, Iran has agreed to weapons inspectors coming in. Is that really going to happen?

DEEPTI CHOUBEY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT: Good morning, Heidi, and thanks for having me.

Yes, the Iranians have said that they would allow unrestricted access to the inspectors, and there are reports that the head of the IAEA, Mohammed ElBaradei may be in Tehran as early as this week.

COLLINS: But they've said yes before, and then when the weapons inspectors showed up, it didn't really happen.

CHOUBEY: And here it's important to remember that the strategic context in which the Iranians are operating has drastically changed. And that's due to last week's revelations of the secret second uranium enrichment facility. Iran for years has been claiming that its nuclear file is closed. That's clearly not the case anymore. I think they are a little shaken in terms of being forced to reveal it before it was revealed for them. And now they have to really change tactics here. And they're going to have to let in these international inspectors. There's a big demand for that internationally.

COLLINS: So you're saying that if they had not been found out, perhaps this would -- these talks would not have gone in this direction? So it is a bit of progress, and yet we still have to wait and see.

CHOUBEY: Well, I think it's worth acknowledging that Obama's strategy of engagement is starting to pay off in terms of some modest dividends. And it's right for us to have realistic expectations about what was accomplished. But it is, again, it's a big deal that they have agreed to these inspections, that there is a proposal on the table that will essentially take 75 percent of the -- or up to 75 percent of the uranium that the Iranians have and send them to other countries like Russia and France.

COLLINS: What about the idea of sanctions? Obviously, there had been a lot of talk about that prior to these meetings and prior to what the apparent agreement is at this point.

We've heard from Russia, at least a little bit, about the direction that they were feeling they may need to go in.

What about China in all of this. I'm still very curious as to whether they're going to be on board or not, if in fact the sanctions become necessary later.

CHOUBEY: Right. So a few key points about that.

One, the purpose of sanctions is not to get the Iranians to stop enriching. The purpose of them is to get to the negotiating table and for them to negotiate seriously. And in terms of Russia and China's position on it, we have to really emphasize that these key powers have all been unified. That is absolutely enforced out of yesterday's talks. They all had an agreement back in New York last week, which was the basis for their positions. So there is a lot more unity than, I think, that that's really known. And particularly for the engagement track of the two-track strategy.

COLLINS: All right. So what's next?

I mean, we're kind of just have to wait and see what happens, first off, with these inspections.

CHOUBEY: Right. Well, there's that. So there's some really key questions that need to be answered, and why these inspectors need to have unfettered and full access to inspect the facility and to see where any of their leads take them.

Secondly, this is not open-ended talks. So there are some really quick markers that are going to come up in the next month. For instance, on October 18th in Vienna, there are experts that will talk about the technical details of this proposal to take the Iranian enrichment -- enriched uranium out of the country to Russia or to France. They'll talk about that. And then there is likely going to be another higher level summit that will happen before the end of the month. This is a pretty quick timetable.

COLLINS: Yes. And who knows if there may even be other facilities out there that they are led to.

CHOUBEY: That's exactly right, and that's one of the key questions out there.

COLLINS: Certainly. Well, we appreciate your time very much.

CHOUBEY: Thank you so much for having me.

COLLINS: Deepti Choubey from Carnegie Endowment in Washington today.

CHOUBEY: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you.

Iran's crackdown on election protesters. This activist says it was far worse than anyone imagined. His shocking account of abuse in an Iranian prison.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Health care reform clears a major hurdle. The Senate Finance Committee has wrapped up debate on legislation that includes sweeping changes. The measure does not contain the controversial public option. The committee is expected to vote on the bill next week. In a statement, President Obama says we're closer than ever before to passing reform.

A national rollout of the H1N1 flu vaccine is moving ahead of schedule. Federal health officials say manufacturers began shipping the nasal spray earlier this week. Some 600,000 doses will be distributed to 21 states and several major cities by Tuesday. The spray is recommended for people ages 2 to 49 who have no pre-existing health conditions.

Allegations of torture and rape inside an Iranian prison. The accusations being made by an election protester who claims he was victimized by his captors.

Here now, CNN's Ivan Watson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ibrahim Sharifi says he's a victim of the government crackdown in Iran. The 24-year-old university student and political activist recently fled to Turkey to escape the Islamic republic.

IBRAHIM SHARIFI, IRANIAN DISSIDENT: The Islamic government, I think, want to kill me and my family.

WATSON: Sharifi says he was tortured and raped last summer in an Iranian prison. CNN has not been able to independently verify these claims published last week by human rights groups investigating reports of abuse in Iranian prisons.

JOE STORK, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: What we're encountering are numerous accounts of brutality, really poor treatment, even torture, serious beatings, for instance. A couple of cases, as you know, of alleged sexual assault, rape.

WATSON: Sharifi says he joined street protests that erupted after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared winner of Iran's disputed June elections. On June 22nd, he says three men grabbed him off the street, handcuffed and blindfolded him.

He says they took him to prison where they stripped him to his underwear and began multiple buildings and mock executions. On the fourth day, Sharifi says he snapped.

SHARIFI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WATSON: Then Sharifi says one of his captors raped him.

SHARIFI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WATSON: The young man says he was later dumped blindfolded by a highway. Sharifi eventually went public about his alleged ordeal in a video posted on the Website of opposition presidential candidate, Mehdi Karoubi, who claims to have found at least four victims of alleged rape in Iranian prisons.

(on camera): These shocking allegations prompted the Iranian government to investigate. The judiciary denied any rape took place. Since then, Iranian security forces have raided the offices of opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi. Ibrahim Sharifi is now a traumatized refugee, alone in a foreign country. Before he fled Iran, he says government officials accused him of lying about the alleged rape for money, charges he angrily denies.

SHARIFI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Ivan Watson is joining me now from Van, Turkey by telephone.

So, Ivan, we have heard allegations of torture and abuse during the Iranian government crackdown. How widespread were incidents like this one?

WATSON (via telephone): Heidi, that's so difficult for us to tell, because since the crackdown of last summer, international independent human rights organizations and Western journalists can't operate freely in Iran. I do have to say, though, that we have interviewed another Iranian refugee, a young woman, 21-year-old Mariam Sabari (ph) who also fled to Turkey. She said she was jailed last July after attending an opposition protest, and then raped four times, and she fled Iran amid threats to her family and herself.

And this is definitely forcing human rights organizations to question, such as human rights watch, whether or not the sexual assaults in the prison, the other accounts that have come out, according to opposition candidates for president, whether or not this might be some form of punishment or some form of interrogation. The Iranian judiciary denies both of those charges.

COLLINS: Ivan Watson, reporting for us from Van, Turkey.

Ivan, we know you'll continue to follow that story and we will stay on top of it here as well.

Thanks so much, Ivan.

Authorities say the mom passed out under the influence while her car was running in the driveway. Her two young children are later found walking two miles away on a busy street.

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COLLINS: Rob Marciano joining us now from the severe weather center.

Good morning to you, Rob. Storms in the south it looks like.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right. I know we'll be watching all of that.

I didn't quite have enough time on the Mac. I was googling Haynesville and Jackson, Minnesota. Haynesville, though, in the center of the states.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right in the center?

COLLINS: I got that much. Yes.

MARCIANO: That makes sense.

COLLINS: Thanks, though. I'll get you back later.

Thank you, Rob.

We do have a lot going on this morning, and CNN crews are in place to bring you all the details. We're going to be checking in with our correspondents beginning with Ed Henry in Copenhagen, where all the action is just a couple of hours away.

Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Heidi. They're going to start filling out the secret ballots about who will be hosting the 2016 Olympics. In just over an hour from now, I'll give you the scoop and I'll have an inside report that's way, way, way better than Ali Velshi's at the top of the hour.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ali Velshi in Daley Plaza, downtown Chicago. And there's nothing that Ed Henry has got that's going to beat the thousands of people who are here waiting for that announcement. This is Chicago. They celebrate whether it's good news or bad news, and I'm going to be with them when they hear the news about the Olympics in 2016. I'll have more on that at the top of the hour.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have bad news for Ali Velshi. This is Shasta here in Rio, and this is definitely party central. I'm on Copacabana Beach where Brazilians are already gathering and it's been declared a public holiday here in the city. So, we'll see who wins then, and the party is there.

Heidi?

COLLINS: Yes, I don't know, Shasta. But I think you got these two guys beat. There's a lot more people behind you and a lot more activity going on. So we'll keep the competition up, and of course, awaiting that announcement for where the 2016 summer Olympics are going to be held.

Thanks, guys.

Also ahead, the nuclear talks with Iran. President Obama calls it a constructive beginning, but also warns the clock is ticking.

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COLLINS: A South Florida woman is in jail on DUI and child neglect charges after authorities say she passed out drunk in her car leaving her two young children to walk two miles from home. Reporter Derek Hayward of affiliate WSVN reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: These are highlights from the police report.

DEREK HAYWARD, WSVN REPORTER (voice-over): The details are not pretty. 44-year-old Brenda Lee Duclos is accused of starting the engine of her 1990 Ford Windstar, her 3-year-old son and 4-year- old daughter in the back before passing out under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: You're charged with child neglect, DUI first offense. HAYWARD: Stuck in the driveway, mom in the ozone and engine running, the 3 and 4 year olds decide to leave. Two miles away, a stranger finds them trying to cross busy southwest 100th Avenue two miles away by themselves on their way to find their older sister.

(on camera): Deputies say when they arrived at the house with the kids in the back of the patrol car, they found the mother here passed out behind the wheel of the van with the engine still running. And that the kids told them they had been in the van, for in their minds anyway hours. They got tired of it, and just climbed out and walked off.

VEDA COLEMAN-WRIGHT, BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: She was about to drive under the influence with her two precious children. She was going to pick up her older daughter. But when she passed out, those two youngsters actually got out of the van and they were trying to walk to their sister's school to tell their sister what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me make this clear one more time. You are not allowed to operate a motor vehicle in which there is anyone in that car under the age of 16. Do you understand?

Ma'am, I hate to try to be a tough guy or hard on you. But ma'am, your children were found two miles away from you passed out in your driveway and if that is not a danger to your children, then I don't know what is, ma'am. Short of having a loaded gun with them, I don't know what's any more dangerous.

DEREK HAYWARD, REPORTER, CNN AFFILIATE WSVN: Brenda remains here at the Paul Ryan Detention Center. And although she's only under $5,000 bond which means her husband actually only has to come up with $500 in cash he appears reluctant to bail her out.

When we got him by phone and asked to make sure that the two are actually still married, his response was, "Not for long."

In Pompano (ph) Beach, Derek Hayward, 7 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)