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Cutting Executive Pay; Making a Decision on U.S. Troops; Avoiding the H1N1 Virus; Corporate Earnings Roll In; Social Media & the Missing; Give Them Back; As Economy Is Still Floundering, Washington Considers Piecemeal Stimulus Moves

Aired October 22, 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: All right, John and Kiran, thanks so much. Good morning to you, everybody. We have an awful lot to get to this morning.

First off today, what is the timetable for U.S. troops in Afghanistan? When are those decisions going to be made? Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon this morning. We'll get an update from her on that story.

And Christine Romans is covering the big pay cuts that we've been telling you about by the bailed out firm's top guns. We're talking about those top executive salaries.

We also have this story to tell you about this morning. Two missing persons' cases and a big break in one of them.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Thursday, October 22nd, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We begin with the case of a missing 7-year-old girl and news this morning that authorities think a body found in a South Georgia landfill is hers.

Somer Thompson disappeared on her walk home from school on Monday in Orange Park, Florida. Her body was found yesterday, 55 miles away in a landfill in Folkston, Georgia.

Garbage from the girl's neighborhood is taken to that dump. Investigators searched through 100 tons of trash before finding the body. The tentative identification is based on clothing and a birthmark. An autopsy is planned for today in Savannah, Georgia and could positively I.D. the girl.

And Florida authorities, meanwhile, turn their focus to finding a suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF RICK BESELER, CLAY COUNTY, FLORIDA: You know, we have a suspect out there somewhere who's watching this broadcast right now. And I don't want to tell that suspect what we're doing. But I will tell him this. We're coming to get him. And we're going to find who did this and we're going to bring that person to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: As part of their search for a suspect detectives are interviewing registered sex offenders who live near Somer Thompson's home. Take a look at this map. I think you might find it incredible. It shows the five-mile square -- square five-mile area around Somer's home. This is her neighborhood.

The markers pinpoint the home of sexual offenders or predators in the area. So far, detectives have questioned more than 70 of them.

Police are now treating the disappearance of a Virginia Tech student as a criminal investigation. 20-year-old Morgan Harrington was last seen Saturday night at a Metallica convert in Charlottesville, Virginia.

She had left the arena on the campus of the University of Virginia during the show but wasn't allowed to go back in because of arena policy. Harrington's purse and cell phone were found in a nearby parking lot. Police say there were no signs of a struggle in the area.

Police are using the traditional methods like a telephone tip line to look for leads in the case now, but social media sites also part of the search for Morgan Harrington.

Our Josh Levs is looking into that part of the story. Josh, good morning.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi. People are mobilizing to find her, including Metallica themselves. Online resources can do a lot to help, but they can also put people in danger. I'll explain. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right, Josh, thanks so much. We'll get back to you shortly.

Meanwhile, let's turn now to the financial crisis and the government bailout of troubled American icons like General Motors and Chrysler. Many taxpayers have been outraged that some of those same firms are still doling out huge paychecks and bonuses to their top executives.

That's about to change. CNN's Christine Romans is joining us now with more details on this.

So, Christine, how is all of this going to work? I mean we're hearing these huge, huge percentages, I mean like 90 percent pay cuts for some of the top, top executives, right?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These are the top 25 at the big exceptionally bailed out banks. This isn't any kind of bailout. These are the banks that are the hall of shame of the bailed out banks. Companies that wouldn't exist -- not just banks, too, auto companies as well. Companies that wouldn't exist if it wasn't for your taxpayer dollars.

The idea here from the administration's point of view is not to reward or to pay out cash compensation to these top executives and top earners at these places with your taxpayer money. The idea is to begin, at least, to change the pay culture and reward per performance, not for taking risks.

Companies, of course, knew this was coming. We've been talking to people who have been saying they've been working with Kenneth Feinberg. He is the special pay master appointed by the White House earlier this summer who has been going over all of these compensation agreements.

Overall, 175 different people will see their pay capped, Heidi. And in fact, 525 other people will come under some new kind of compensation guidelines.

Who is this guy, Kenneth Feinberg? We're going to hear more from him this afternoon. He's going to speak with reporters at 1:30 Eastern Time. He's appointed by the White House to oversee all of this. You may have recalled his name. He was the one who was in charge of parceling out the money of the 9/11 victims' fund, figuring out how to compensate the victims of September 11th.

So he is somebody who at least one source close to this from the bank point of view, a bailed out bank point of view said that he has been very fair and very diligent and that, in fact, he has seemed to be weighing the idea they need to be attracting top talent at these places, but also not paying out big, multimillion dollars bonus -- payouts here.

COLLINS: Yes. People might be curious to know, Christine, there's a lot of companies that we're talking about here and there's one that's being hit harder than others.

ROMANS: Right. Reports are that it's AIG that will see the biggest hit here. The financial products division, you've heard us talk about that for months.

COLLINS: Yes.

ROMANS: The FP division -- reports are that it will -- no one there will get more than $200,000 in pay. So think about that. If before somebody made $2 million there, they would see their cash pay drop to about $200,000. That seems like a big pay cut, but you know, a lot of people listening to this are like, wow, big pay cuts, but that still is a lot of money to most people who are working in Wall Street or the big insurance companies.

I have to say. The median income in this country right now is about $50,000, I think. So, you know, $200,000 is still an awful lot of money.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much for the update on that. Appreciate it.

The United Nations began distributing ballots this morning for the November 7th runoff election in Afghanistan. Today, President Obama gets an update on the upcoming election from the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. He's scheduled to speak with Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry next hour.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says all eyes will be on the Afghan election and efforts to avoid the same fraud we saw in the first round of voting. He's set to meet with NATO defense ministers in Slovakia. NATO members have troops in the International Security Force in Afghanistan.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us now live to talk a little bit more about this.

So, Barbara, what is Secretary Gates saying now about a timetable for a decision on U.S. troops?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Heidi, Secretary Gates has been really the voice of both caution and speed in making this decision. Taking the time to get it right, but now what he's talking about is even with the runoff election in some 16 days or so, you can't wait forever to make a decision about more troops.

What top military commanders have been saying is Afghanistan needs more security. Regardless of the election, regardless of the outcome of the election. Regardless of what government is installed, security in Afghanistan is really dropping. They need to improve it.

And right now, it's only U.S. troops that can make a real difference. There are Afghan security forces, but not enough of them, so if they're going to make a decision about sending U.S. troops, they need to get moving on it. Winter is coming and still...

COLLINS: Yes.

STARR: ... even if they decided today, it would take months to get them there, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. And I know you've been in country and theater many times. And when you talk about winter in Afghanistan, I mean, it absolutely plays a role as far as what's going on in any type of offensive. I've heard some people say, you know, things just kind of shut down at certain points because it gets so cold.

When we talk about these upcoming elections, though, what exactly is the role that U.S. troops are going to be expected to play? Is it going to be all security?

STARR: Well, I think to a large extent it will be about security. You know, sort of taking that step back, being available, being ready to go, being spread out in key areas where they might be needed if violence breaks out, if the Taliban really decide to cause trouble for the civilians trying to lain up to vote that day and the Afghan security forces can't handle it.

U.S. forces will be there and will be ready to go. But as you said, already, we are seeing the United Nations trying to help move ballots, move voting materials into these remote areas. Perhaps one of the biggest issues in this election is going to be that really only about 30 percent of Afghans are literate, can read, so getting the word out that another election is coming may be one of the biggest challenges right off the top, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. All right, Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent, thanks, Barbara.

A deadly shelling rocked Somalia's capital this morning. At least 30 people are dead. Dozens more are injured. We don't know right now who fired the mortars into a crowded marketplace, but Islamic militant fighters linked to al Qaeda have been battling the U.N.-backed government and African Union troops in that area.

If you're a frequent flyer, you know that queasy feeling of bumping elbows with a sick person seated next to you, and with the swine flu bug floating around, now a lot of us are even more worried. We have some advice you might want to pack along for your next trip.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. A tornado watch posted for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. And a major hurricane getting kind of close to Hawaii.

We'll break it down. The CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Production of the swine flu vaccine is way behind. Here's what we know. The federal government originally promised 120 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine by now, but only about 13 million have actually been delivered.

Health officials blame the delay on an antiquated process of producing the vaccine by using millions of chicken eggs and on manufacturers having to crank out two vaccines. One of them for H1N1 and the other for seasonal flu.

The government says by the end of November, production should be back on track, but a Purdue University study suggests that may be too late to significantly reduce infections.

Clinics around the country that manage to get the vaccine have been swamped, too. People lined up for hours at a clinic in Montgomery County, Maryland yesterday, but only 1,200 doses of the vaccine were available, including just 200 doses of the injectable kind given to high-risk groups like pregnant women.

Demand far outweighed supply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very disappointed. And I think they should have been more prepared and I don't understand why they only have 200 injections for clearly 2,000 people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a great deal of anxiety over the amount of dosages that are available. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The vaccine shortage has forced many states to postpone mass vaccinations.

Listen to these numbers now. Around 2,200 students sick on Monday, more than 65,000 yesterday, all are suspected of having H1N1. But unless everyone gets checked out, there's really no way to confirm that.

As a precaution, though, education officials say they're closing 198 public schools across 15 states. That includes St. Charles East High in Illinois. Administrators there have cancelled classes through tomorrow plus all extracurricular activities, including the football game.

And at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine at least 265 students have shown symptoms of swine flu. That's about 15 percent of the student body.

Close quarters like college campuses are perfect breeding grounds for the flu bug and so are the cramped confines of planes, subways, and buses. So if you're traveling, how do you guard against germs that may lurk anywhere?

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen gives us a closer look.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, if you want to avoid germs on an airplane, who better to get advice from than the former director of the Center for Disease Control.

I hopped on an airplane yesterday with Dr. Judy Gerberding. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): We wanted to know what kind of germs do you face when you're on an airplane.

We have this nice little airplane here so come on and we'll...

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, FORMER DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: OK.

COHEN: We'll get on there and talk about it. We're actually sitting pretty far apart. In a real airplane, we'd be shoulder to shoulder. Let's go with the worst-case scenario. I have H1N1, I cough and cough and I don't cover it up well. What are the chances, do you think, that you'll get sick?

GERBERDING: Well, there's a pretty good chance. Flu is very transmissible.

COHEN: This is a graphic simulation of a cough. The guy in red there, he's the sick passenger. And he coughs. GERBERDING: He's coughing.

COHEN: And there comes those droplets.

GERBERDING: What's happening here is that the ventilation system of the plane is distributing them and basically removing them, except for the people who are close.

COHEN: I mean, look at these little dots. They're just flying everywhere.

GERBERDING: It's a great illustration of why flu is so transmissible. If you're in the strike zone, you're at risk. The good news is that if you're anywhere else on the aircraft, you're probably very low risk.

COHEN: Do I feed to worry about the guy sneezing 10 rows behind me?

GERBERDING: You really don't. That is way outside of the zone where the droplets are going to hit you directly.

COHEN: You had an interesting experience. You were just on a flight from San Francisco to Atlanta and tell me what happened?

GERBERDING: We were ready to taxi down the runway. The lady sitting next to me is speaking on her cell phone and says, I know I have swine flu, I feel miserable.

COHEN: So in retrospect, you wish you had alerted a flight attendant?

GERBERDING: I absolutely do and I ask myself why didn't I do that?

COHEN: Could you please offer this person a mask? I mean that sounds so rude.

GERBERDING: I really do wish I had said, hello, I'm Dr. Gerberding and I think the person sitting next to me has swine flu. Could you do something about it?

COHEN: And you can say it even if you're not Dr. Gerberding.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Heidi, here's something Dr. Gerberding told me she did when she sat next to that sick person, she reached up and turned the air vent towards Miss Sneezy so the air would flow that way. So that's another tip if you happen to get stuck next to a sick person on an airplane - Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Elizabeth. Thank you.

Trouble with the Travolta trial. The grieving father will now have to sit through testimony all over again after the judge takes aim at the jury.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A check on some of the top stories we're watching today.

A judge in the Bahamas declared a mistrial in the John Travolta extortion case. A paramedic and a former Bohemian senator are accused of trying to get millions of dollars from John Travolta to keep details of his son's death private.

Jett Travolta died in the Bahamas in January. The judge suspects one of the jurors revealed the possible verdict to someone outside the injury room. A retrial has now been ordered.

Two militant fighters on motorcycles attacked a military vehicle in Pakistan's capital this morning. Two soldiers in the car are dead. It is the latest in a series of attacks by militants in Pakistan. The attacks come at the same time the Pakistani military is in the middle of a major offensive against insurgents near the Afghan border.

The White House about to announce executive pay cuts at the seven companies that accepted the most bailout money. That list includes Chrysler, GM, and Citigroup. Cuts will be made under a case by case basis, but the top 25 executives at each company can expect their salary and bonuses to be cut by about half.

And we are talking about those executive pay cuts on our blog this morning. So we want to know, if you think the government should actually be forcing these companies to slash salaries.

Again, that question, do you think that the government should be forcing companies to slash salaries of their top executives? You can go to CNN.com/heidi and give us your opinion. We'll go ahead and bring up some of those posts a little bit later right here in the show and share them with you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Another case of too much all at once. Look at that. Torrential rains left parts of the Dallas/Ft. Worth areas flooded yesterday. Storm drains simply couldn't keep up with all of that water. Streets and intersections swamped, forcing a number of drivers to abandon their stranded cars.

Rob Marciano standing by in the Severe Weather Center. Obviously, everybody in Texas looking up at the sky, wondering what's going to happen today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right, Rob, we'll check back later on. Thank you.

MARCIANO: Sounds good. COLLINS: They're firing up some fruit in south Texas, not barbecue, but a couple of guys in Cuero, Texas actually built a cannon to launch fruit 40 feet in the air. But it seems like most of the time the fruit just kind of blew apart when they pulled the trigger. Plenty of people came out, though, to see the big bang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of redneck fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It works. It will take your breath away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's probably the silliest thing, I think, we've ever made. I can't believe it drew this much attention, really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Hey, we love this stuff. The guys said they had so much fun they'll try it again next year. Maybe this time they'll figure out a way not to pulverize the melons during the actual launch.

Billions of your dollars that went into the so-called stimulus package. Is more of your money on the way? We will get some ideas now being considered on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: On Wall Street, the major averages have closed lower for two days in a row now, even as corporate earnings continue to top some of the estimates and profit reports take center stage again today.

Let's talk now to Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, whether we should expect the same down beat reaction today.

Good morning to you, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think investors' eyes are crossing right now, Heidi. If this was a primary day, this would be super Thursday. There is just a deluge of big companies that have just come out with their report cards. Five of the Dow 30 companies alone this morning.

We'll run through a few of them just to show you some of the trends. Overall good. AT&T reporting earnings, edged down slightly from a year ago, but it did get a giant surge in iPhone and wireless customers. The nation's second largest wireless company gained two million customers far more than Wall Street expected.

Merck, the pharmaceutical giant, said its quarterly profit soared due to slightly higher sales. And a huge gain from selling a business. The maker of allergy treatment Cingulair said net income was more than triple what it did a year earlier.

Travelers company, meanwhile, said its profit more than quadrupled in the third quarter, blowing past the Street's forecast. And Travelers boosted its full-year earnings outlook.

Also clocking in this morning, UPS. We keep a close watch on the delivery giant's results, because it's seen as a good indicator of the health of the overall economy. Its profits fell due to the weak economy, but it still managed to top forecasts.

Quickly, more people joining the jobless lines. First-time unemployment claims rose more than expected last week, by 11,000. This after falling for five of the last six weeks. The good news, and you have to put that in quotes, is that continuing claims dropped yet again, but the number is so high, with 5.9 million, Heidi. But that is the lowest number, believe it or not, since late March.

Checking the early numbers on the Big Board. Right now the Dow is higher. Not above 10,000. The Nasdaq's lower by about the same amount, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: All right. Susan, we'll keep our eye on those numbers. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: Be back to you.

COLLINS: The government, keeping their eye on some numbers, in fact, about to crack down on executive pay at some of the companies bailed out with taxpayer money. The president's pay czar will target the seven companies that received the most bailout money. They include Chrysler, GM, Citigroup, and insurance giant AIG. The cuts will apply to the 25 highest paid executives at each company. Each case will be reviewed individually. It's not clear yet if there will be specific limits. But here's the big picture. Both base salaries and bonuses will be cut. Executives will see their total compensation reduced by about half.

You may remember the argument for bailing out these American icons in the first place, the government said they were simply too big to fail. So you may not find a lot of comfort in fact words of the so-called banking czar. He says all that bailout money may have created even greater risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL BAROFSKY, SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL, TARP: I think some of these entities have gotten even bigger and the consequences of their failure would be even greater. And some of them done through government intervention and support. Government supported mergers. So I think that's a problem.

And also, before, there was basically an implicit guarantee that the government would stand behind these institutions. But through the TARP, that implicit guarantee is now explicit and that gives these institutions a tremendous advantage over smaller institutions as well as raising risk for the entire system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Next hour on Capitol Hill, Congress will likely take the pulse of the economy and get a feel for where things are headed. The Joint Economic Committee will hear from Christina Romer, one of the President Obama's top economic advisers. We'll let you know what she has to say.

Today's hearing likely to focus on some areas where we know people are hurting, like housing and unemployment. But in Washington, there's also an eye on the rising anxiety of voters. So could a second stimulus package now be in the making? CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: For our very important meeting...

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four- hour meeting with economists where House Democratic leaders heard a lot of doom and gloom.

MARK ZANDI, MOODY'S ECONOMY.COM: And the possibility of the economy slipping back into recession next year are uncomfortably high.

ALLEN SINAI, PRESIDENT, DECISION ECONOMICS: It's an unsatisfactory recovery, still with a lot of risks.

ROBERT KUTTNER, ECONOMIC COLUMNIST: We've avoided a great depression, but we're at risk of a great stagnation.

BASH: The economists offered a slew of ideas to address the still-ailing economy. Some, no coincidence, mirrored what Democrats are already considering. Extending unemployment benefits now set to expire at the end of the year through 2010; extending the tax credit for first-time home buyers expiring next month into 2010; sending emergency funds directly to the states and extending some tax breaks to small businesses.

KUTTNER: I think just about everybody in the room feels that there needs to be more stimulus.

BASH: But when we asked the House speaker if she planned to push a second stimulus package, the answer was no.

PELOSI: We do not have plans for an additional stimulus package, but we do have plans to stimulate the economy in the work that we are doing here.

BASH: In other words, Democrats will try to pass new proposals intended to spur the sluggish economy, but do it piecemeal to avoid the label "stimulus." Democratic leadership sources tell CNN there are two big political reasons why. One is this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And show us what a world-class credit binge looks like. BASH: Bailout and spending fatigue in the country and Congress.

Second, CNN is told the White House opposes anything appearing to be stimulus, too, for fear it would be a tacit admission that the president's $787-billion package didn't work and undermine arguments like this.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So there's no question that our Recovery Act has given a boost to every American who works at a small business or owns one.

BASH (on camera): Regardless of what Democrats call any new economic proposals they're pushing, Republicans have a refrain that they're not letting go of. That the president's economic stimulus plan so far has not created enough of what everyone agrees matters most, jobs. Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: When a person is missing, friends and neighbors put out fliers, police set up tip lines. Well, now social media sites are being used to spread the word. But that presents its own dangers. We'll explain in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Top stories now. President Obama taking part in a video conference on Afghanistan this morning. The president has been considering a significant troop increase in the fight against the Taliban. The president has suggested troop discussions could be affected by Hamid Karzai's behavior. The Afghan president has agreed to a runoff election November 7th against his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.

A top Iranian lawmaker today dismissed a draft plan coming out of this week's nuclear talks in Vienna. The plan would have Iran shift its uranium abroad for enrichment. The international community sees this as a way to curb Iran's ability to build a nuclear with weapon. Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, despite today's comments, from the deputy parliament speaker, Iran's government must still decide on the matter.

A woman who claimed she was raped and tortured in a racially motivated attack now says she lied. In 2007, Megan Williams told West Virginia authorities that seven white people had held her captive for several days in a trailer. The suspects confessed and pleaded guilty. All but one were sent to prison.

Williams, now living in Ohio, says she recanted the story because she no longer wanted to live a lie. Prosecutors have dismissed Williams' new claims. Attorneys for the defendants would not discuss their plans.

This week, CNN has been looking at the changing face of the United States. "LATINO IN AMERICA" looks at the Hispanic community and the views of Americans as a whole. According to the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll, people have overwhelmingly negative views about illegal immigrants. Nearly three in four Americans want their numbers decreased. And 22 percent say those numbers should stay the same. A mere 3 percent say the number of illegal immigrants should be increased.

CNN's Rick Sanchez wants to hear from you today and tomorrow. He's hosting a live call-in radio show. It's streaming live on CNN.com. And it is being simulcast on CNN.com/live. Checking in with Rick, now.

Hey, good morning to you, Rick.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, how are you?

COLLINS: I'm great. I'm great. Are you hearing from callers, reacting to the Part I of "Latino in America"?

SANCHEZ: Man, am I hearing from callers. I think you could say that the switchboard is about to explode here, OK? They're lighting it up, as they say. And you know what, this is important, Heidi, I think that we need to have a nuanced, intelligent conversation where we share perspectives about who we are, and what the immigration debate really is in this country.

Too often, we get involved in this country - and it's normal, obviously, on both sides, OK, from the left and from the right, in conversations that involved blind partisanship, where fingers are pointed at each other and they're accusing instead of understanding.

I think this is a good thing. I'm so happy to be doing this radio show today on CNN Radio. And I couldn't be more pleased that we're going out and doing something, on "Latino In America". And so far the response has been good. Even people who have problems with it, or people who think it's fantastic, they're all expressing an opinion. And they are important opinions, that need to be shared, about things that are not just black and white. It is a nuanced argument.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: What do you mean by that, Rick? I hear you saying "nuanced" a lot. What do you mean by that? Are people not being honest in their discussion, or -- and they're most talking about illegal immigrants -- is that the main issue you're hearing this morning?

SANCHEZ: Absolutely. The illegal immigrant issue in and of itself is important. You hear things that are often said that make people sound like they're basically biting on the first -- you know, taking the low-hanging fruit. They're illegals, get them out of here. And I'm not saying that everybody else out there is saying that, but sometimes there's an argument that's had -- and I was just having a conversation with a caller from New York. And I asked him to explain the difference between how his parents came here, or how his great grandparents came here, and how these people are coming here today. And when you have conversations about the companies that are recruiting illegal immigrants to come to this company, and the fact that our federal government gives them a tax I.D. number so they can work in the country legally, even though they're officially illegal, you start to wonder, the system's kind of messed up, isn't it? And it's not messed up at the bottom where the illegal immigrants are, but it's messed up at the top, where people are setting up a system that kind of broken. So, maybe if we talk about it in that way. That's the nuance.

And then you get into the issue of who pays taxes. If you're in the United States, whether your are illegal or not, you've got to pay a sales tax every time you buy a stick of gum. And if you live in a house or you're renting property. You are going to pay a property tax, no matter you are. And if you have a job, and they're going to tax you, with the exception of these guys that work for free, or don't charge them, or pay them in cash, they're going to pay a tax.

It's not as cut and dry as often people make it out to be. And there's good arguments to be had on both sides. That's what we've got to be doing, is having this discussion.

COLLINS: All right. You let us know. Keep us informed about what both sides or maybe more than two sides of that discussion really are today.

SANCHEZ: There are about 20 sides.

COLLINS: At least, all right, Rick Sanchez. Sure do appreciate that.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: A reminder, now, tonight, an all-new "LATINO IN AMERICA." A groundbreaking look at how Latinos are changing America, continues. The finale of "LATINO IN AMERICA" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And this will also be simulcast in Spanish on CNN en Espanol.

Rob Marciano standing by now, Severe Weather Center.

What are we looking at, Texas, still, right?

MARCIANO: Yes, Texas been under the gun. Yesterday they had the flooding rains and today they've got the threat for severe weather. It's all part of this storm that came out of the Four Corners and the Rockies and dropped some snow there, yesterday. And it's now moving off to the east slowly. And it's also tapping pretty potent moisture source in the form of what was Rick.

Oh, this is kind of out of order, but I'll jump to it anyway. Typhoon Lupit, a little international flavor for you. Here's where it is. This thing is right about there and the forecast is for it to kind of head this way. And then maybe re-curve before it gets to Japan. Not quite sure where it's going to go. But they think it's going to clip the northern part of Manila and then we'll just have to see. But at that point, it may very well weaken further. That's good news for that.

I guess while we're on this topic, let's talk briefly about Neki, which is near Hawaii, it is a major storm. I want to show you the track. We didn't get to show you this last half hour, but a Category 3 status, heading towards the west of Hawaii. There's a number of little islands and atolls here, between Hawaii and Midway. This thing is forecast to weaken somewhat, as we got through, not so much today and tonight, but I think tomorrow, it will get down to a little bit more in the way of, well, you know, Category 1 status, at least.

I'm going to try to click ahead to get rid of the guy. This is our main weather story here. Tornado watch in effect for much of southeast Texas, southwest Louisiana until 1:00 local time. We've only had one warning come out of the Houston office, that's the good news. But this line will continue to push off to the east. And as it does so, the threat for severe weather will be ongoing.

Everybody east of the Mississippi looks good. This is Atlanta. You see some of those high, thin cirrus clouds streaming across midtown. That's the leading edge of this very large storm system that's slowly moving east. So enjoy another sunny or mostly sunny, or partly sunny warm fall day because rain is on the way for much of the East Coast over the next 48 hours.

COLLINS: All right, Rob. Thank you.

MARCIANO: All right, OK.

COLLINS: We'll check back later on.

MARCIANO: Sounds good.

COLLINS: Halloween, as you know, is just around the corner and tributes to Michael Jackson still under way. Combine them both and you get people dancing to the beat of "Thriller."

These are students from the New World School of the Arts taking part in a so-called flash mob dance in downtown Miami. It was organized by Miami Seaquarium (ph) as the park introduces its newest haunted house, "Buried Alive."

How many people are there? What constitutes a mob?

Prized artifacts from Egypt's past; many are in museums but all in Egypt. We'll take a look at how that country is about to reclaim its treasures.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: An awful lot going on this morning. CNN crews in place to bring it to you. I want to check in with our correspondents now. Beginning this morning with Christine Romans in New York; some big, big pay cuts here. Hey Christine.

ROMANS: That's right, Heidi. Big pay cuts coming from -- for the bailout hall of shame. Some of these big companies, auto companies, insurance and banks that took a lot of bailout money and rely on the taxpayer will see big pay cuts in the months ahead. We'll have that story at the top of the hour.

LISOVICZ: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we are witnessing Super Thursday. The busiest day so far in corporate earnings, the results pretty good, so far investors not so impressed. I'll tell you why in the next hour, Heidi.

MARCIANO: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Leftovers from hurricane Rick that moisture training into Texas for more flooding; also, a tornado watch in effect until 1:00 local time. We'll keep our eyes on that - Heidi.

COLLINS: OK, very good. Thank you, guys.

Updating you now on two missing persons cases that we've been following. Authorities have tentatively identified a body found in a Georgia landfill as being Somer Thompson. The 7-year-old Florida girl disappeared while walking home from school on Monday.

And police are now treating the case of a missing Virginia Tech student as a criminal investigation. Morgan Harrington disappeared after leaving a Metallica concert on Saturday night. A lot of people learned Morgan Harrington was missing through a Web alert issued by the very musicians she had gone to see.

Our Josh Levs is here now with more how social networking sites are used to search for missing people. And good morning once again, Josh.

LEVS: Good morning to you Heidi.

We're seeing these more and more in all sorts of cases. When you hear about someone missing, you hear a lot of people flocking to the Web including authorities.

What I want to do is start off showing everyone what Metallica themselves did. It's on this computer behind me so let's zoom in over there. They have posted about this and about the search for her and encouraging people to do whatever they can.

They say right here at the top. This is Metallica's Web site, Metallica.com, they say how concerned they are. And they put a big alert there.

They also point to this. And we've been looking at this, this morning. And the fact that there is a Facebook page specifically for her which has more than 7,000 people who have signed on.

But check out this. This in general is a Facebook page that is used for missing people and missing children especially and I saw that this, itself, has more than 7,000 people as well. It's called "Missing Children: Let's Find Them."

Not only is there a Facebook but there's also a Twitter page as well. Let's zoom back in. I want you to see that as well. There's a Twitter page focused on finding missing children.

And what we're seeing and I'm able to look at the metrics here is that more and more people join these things and there are times that they help. For example, I pulled up this story out of South Africa from News 24 down there. "Missing kids found via Facebook." And they talk about the fact that after they begin a Facebook page, they found three kids in not very long who had been missing including a runaway.

So we are seeing, Heidi, that social networking is playing more and more of a role for authorities and for families that are concerned. And for people everywhere, as you know, when someone is missing, the biggest tool authorities have is getting the picture and the information out...

COLLINS: Yes.

LEVS: ... to as many people as possible these days.

Obviously you're going to go social networking.

COLLINS: Yes, definitely but there's kind of a flip side to this too. I mean, some of these social media sites can obviously put young people in danger.

LEVS: That's right and that's really important. I'm glad you said that.

I just want to pop up here and say hey, going to social networking it helps but at the same time this is something a lot of parents especially with children need to watch out for.

So I have some tips for you from the FBI on a graphic. And we can get to that right now. And what we're showing you is what they're saying about what parents should be doing.

Starting off, randomly check your children's e-mail. Which is interesting, some parents think checks are in time. They say randomly do it. They say check safeguards on other computers your kids use; the ones at schools, the ones at their friend's houses. What kind of controls are on there?

Also, they say teach your kids not to upload or download any pictures to or from any strangers particularly pictures of themselves, Heidi. A lot of the time kids think its fun meeting a stranger here's my picture. You don't know who you're talking to.

Really important while social networking is a helpful tool, it can also endanger kids especially. We obviously need to keep that in mind.

COLLINS: Absolutely. All right. Josh Levs, thank you.

LEVS: Thank you.

COLLINS: Prized artifacts from Egypt's past. How that country is out to reclaim some of its treasures. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: They were created centuries ago depicting the history of Egypt. Many of the treasures though are no longer in Egypt and the country wants them back.

Here's our CNN international correspondent Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cairo's Egyptian museum is crammed with tourists and tens of thousands of ancient artifacts but a few important pieces are missing.

This is a poor imitation of the Rosetta Stone which allowed this man Jean-Francoise Champollion to crack the hieroglyphic code. The original, however, is in the British Museum in London.

This is a bust of Queen Nefertiti an original one but a much better one is in Berlin. This stunning 3,500 year old bust recently went on display at Berlin's Neues Museum.

According to Egypt's senior archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, the bust is hot and he wants it back.

ZAHI HAWASS, DIRECTOR, SUPREME COUNCIL OF ANTIQUITIES: I was invited for the opening of the museum. I refused to go.

WEDEMAN: German officials insist Nefertiti was obtained legally in 1913. During the age of European imperialism, archaeologists and antique dealers had a free for all, carting away thousands of priceless artifacts.

Earlier this month, Hawass managed to get these ancient frescoes back from the Louvre in Paris. The French relented, though never admitted guilt, after Egypt suspended all cooperation with the museum until they were returned. A strong arm tactic perhaps but it worked so he's going to start twisting arms elsewhere.

HAWASS: If the negotiation will not follow the correct answer and the correct (INAUDIBLE), I will cut the scientific (ph) relation with these museums who will refuse our request.

WEDEMAN: The Rosetta Stone is high on Hawass' list if only to get on loan. He's not insisting everything come home.

HAWASS: I really believe that the obelisks in the squares of Istanbul and Rome and New York City and the obelisks that left (ph) Egypt in the last century can be a good ambassador to us.

WEDEMAN: If those ambassadors don't do the job, however, Egypt is now prepared to use less diplomatic means to regain its most treasured artifacts.

Ben Wedeman, CNN Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)