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Air Crashes in Afghanistan; Strategy in Afghanistan; Bombings in Baghdad; More Jobs?; Answers to H1N1 Questions
Aired October 26, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Checking stories happening now. Federal investigators are on the scene of a smoldering fuel depot near San Juan, Puerto Rico. They're looking into whether someone intentionally caused an explosion over the weekend. Hundreds of people had to evacuate the area after thick, toxic smoke spread from the fire.
Philadelphia Transit workers have authorized a strike just days before the city will host a World Series game. Talks to avert a walk- out are scheduled to resume today. A transit management spokesman says the two sides have made progress and he hopes a deal can be made. Workers have been without a contract since March.
The Michael Jackson CD "This Is It" being released in most of the world today and in North America tomorrow. The release is timed to Wednesday's debut of the movie of the same name. The 2-disc CD includes original masters of Jackson's biggest hits, new version of classic tracks. The title track is just released as a single and a spoken word poem.
And now we begin this hour with grim news from the war in Afghanistan. This morning, at least 14 Americans are confirmed dead in two separate helicopter crashes. U.S. civilians are also among the dead. At this point, the military says it does not appear enemy fire played a role in either crash.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is in the Afghan capital now gathering all of the latest details on this morning's developments.
CNN's Kate Bolduan is at White House where the focus is on the future. This morning President Obama and his security team wrestle with the question of what to do next in the volatile region.
And in Iraq a day of mourning after the country's worst bomb attack in two years. The death toll rises and anger builds.
Let's begin this hour CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is in the capital city of Kabul. He's joining us now with the latest details on the deadly helicopter crash.
So, Chris, what do we know at this point?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we know that two helicopters apparently collided in southern Afghanistan, causing them both to go down. That killed four American crew members and injured a couple others. In a completely separate incident on the western half of the country, the side of the country, a strike team went into a compound, raided this compound, where they believe that insurgents were trafficking drugs.
U.S. officials say that a pretty violent firefight broke out and in fact, more than a dozen insurgents were killed in that fight. All of the Americans survived the firefight, but afterwards they loaded up on the helicopter and as they took off, that helicopter went down.
Seven American troops and three American civilians who had been working with the embassy were all killed in that crash. This was the heaviest loss of life in a single day since 2005, when insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter. But officials here in Kabul tell us they don't believe that was the cause of these crashes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. WAYNE SHANKS, ISAF SPOKESMAN: Now in both of these incidents, we do not believe that enemy action was responsible for that. We're still looking into it to see what actually happened. But we don't believe that it was due to any enemy fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: U.S. officials here in Kabul tell us that, for the most part, they are scaling back on any major offensive operations over the next week or so, as everyone gears up to try to secure this run-off election. I'm told that that is now the highest priority for U.S. and NATO forces here. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. And we've talked about that before, Chris. Even amongst the tragedy that we're talking about this morning that run-off election for November 7th. What about the opponent? I understand Abdullah Abdullah has actually made comments now regarding the upcoming election.
LAWRENCE: That's right. We saw him today at a press conference here in Kabul. He's basically making demands, saying that not only does he want the head of the Independent Election Commission removed, fired, he wants the person who inputs data then up to 100 other employees as well.
He says they were responsible for a lot of the fraud in the first election, say they favor President Hamid Karzai. He's demanding that they be removed in order to have a -- what he calls a fair run-off election.
The big question remains, if he doesn't get his way, if these demands aren't met, what is his next step? What will he do then? Heidi?
COLLINS: True. All right, Chris Lawrence for us coming out of Afghanistan this morning.
Chris, thanks for that. Now let's get to the White House where President Obama discusses Afghanistan with his national security team next hour.
CNN's Kate Bolduan is there now with the very latest. So, Kate, what are we expecting to happen in this particular meeting today?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Heidi. Good morning. Well, by our count, this is the sixth of this meeting.
COLLINS: Right.
BOLDUAN: Of these scheduled meetings that the president and his national security team. What we're told is they will be going over what they have been going over in past meetings, really reviewing military and civil policies and issues in the region, looking at the security situation and reviewing U.S. strategy in Afghanistan going forward.
Those expected to attend today, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, as well as White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. An administration official saying that the president today really wanted to meet with his tops, some of his most -- top military and civil aides to really get their take on the situation.
What we're, of course, looking at is the president and the big question of whether he will commit additional troops and if so, how many.
Heidi, you've talked about it so much. General Stanley McChrystal, the top commander on the ground, has said -- has reportedly requested 40,000 additional troops. Will he get that request? That's, of course, part of the topic and part of this review process.
We are -- one interesting point about today's meeting specifically, Heidi, is these meetings have lasted, many of them, about three hours long.
COLLINS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: And today's is scheduled to be a bit abbreviated, about 1:15 as the president is then scheduled to fly to Florida to speak to service men and women at the naval air station in Jacksonville.
COLLINS: Yes, I wonder, and I don't want to speculate, obviously. I wonder if that means that a decision is coming on this?
BOLDUAN: Such a good question. We ask it every day, every time we're here. They get the question all the time. The latest guidance I have is that for the meetings they are now, quote, "in the latter phase of this process." That's the clearest guidance I could get.
The White House continues to say that the president will make his decision and announce his decision when the time is right. So basically telling us wait and see which no one really is wanting to hear. Everyone is looking for an answer at this point.
COLLINS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: They've continued for weeks to say that it could be weeks, something we do know schedule-wise is that, you've noted earlier when you're talking to Chris Lawrence, is that the presidential run-off in Afghanistan is scheduled for November 7th.
COLLINS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: That's a little shy of two weeks away. And President Obama leaves just days later for a trip to Asia. So we will be keeping an eye on those kinds of scheduled events and if that could affect his announcement. We're waiting to see.
COLLINS: All right, very good. Well, let us. Kate Bolduan standing by at the White House this morning. Kate, thank you.
The president has declared a national emergency over the H1N1 virus. It relaxes some hospital rules to treat patients faster. Now the CDC is downplaying the declaration saying it is a, quote, "proactive measure to stay prepared." But it also admits that vaccine production is behind schedule.
If you have questions about H1N1, make sure you stick around. Elizabeth Cohen is going to be joining us at half hour to answer several of the frequently asked questions.
If you are out of a job, you may want to keep an eye on the want ads. A new survey shows more jobs may be popping up pretty soon.
Susan Lisovicz is live for us in New York from our bureau there.
So, Susan, what's behind these numbers?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's behind these numbers, Heidi, is the sense that things are getting better and there's probably no more dramatic example of that than hiring.
This is a survey released today from the National Association for Business Economics, Heidi, and for the first time since the recession began the number of respondents saying they are going to add workers exceeded those planning to cut since the recession began, and that was nearly two years ago in December '07.
What's more, they're saying that they're seeing rising demand for the goods and services, the first time in five quarters they have rising profit margins. We've seen that a lot of that, of course, has driven by cost cutting.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: They're spending more on their businesses. It's called capital spending. That's positive for the first time in a year. What's on the downside? Well, prices are increasing, that's something we're going to be talking about a lot in the next year or so to come. That can certainly be a casualty of an improving economy, of a rapidly improving economy.
Credit remains tight. Not as tight. And one of the things that's so dramatic here, Heidi, is that you see the difference between July and October. The same quarter, a huge difference in that three- month span, which is something we talked about in the last hour.
Why the third quarter is so important, when we get that GDP number later this week, a lot of economists say that's when the U.S. economy actually pulled out of recession.
You know, we've talked a lot about recovery this year, Heidi and it's come too slow for almost all of us, at a glacial pace.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: First, things were just simply less bad, then signs of stabilization. But something like this, you can say this is outright improvement. A Federal Reserve official quoted here says, "This is new evidence that the recovery is under way." We hope so.
COLLINS: Yes, we do hope so. All right. Keep watching those numbers. Sure do appreciate it. Susan Lisovicz from our New York bureau this morning.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: We are also of course keeping a close eye on Wall Street. Want to get you a quick check of the big board right now.
To the positive, almost 100 points. We've been watching this thing, still above the 10,000 mark. NASDAQ up about 27. Again, we will watch these numbers throughout the trading day right here on CNN.
You could always keep up with stocks anytime, in fact, and the latest money news on the new CNN.com. You should check this out. We've taken the number one online news site and made it better. Check out new CNN.com as soon as you can.
Millions of unemployed people waiting and wondering, the Senate is considering a bill to extend unemployment benefit but was not everybody is on board with it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: New questions this morning about the ability of Iraqi forces to protect their own nation. The increased focus follows yesterday's car bombing in Baghdad that killed at least 160 people.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is joining us now live from the Iraqi capital.
Mohammed, you were at that bombing site today. What more can you tell us?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, the chaos and the shock of yesterday really turned to anger and sorrow. Today we were out there a little bit earlier, they're still cleaning up. There's recovery efforts going on. This is what we witnessed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMJOOM (on camera): It's been over 24 hours since the twin suicide truck bombs had torn through central Baghdad. Behind me you'll see the Ministry of Justice. This is where the first truck bomb went off yesterday approximately 10:30 a.m.
All this devastation which caused from one truck bomb, not just this building but the building across the street. This is the Ministry of Municipality.
Now behind me, you're also seeing a search and recovery effort that's still going on. There have been six bodies already today that have been pulled out of one of the ministry buildings. There are a lot of family members here looking for the remains of their loved ones. They're looking for the bodies of family members that disappeared yesterday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JAMJOOM: Now, Heidi, we saw women wailing, enraged, saying, how come the Iraqi people can't protect their children and so many children are dying, and mothers are losing their sons and daughters.
We also men asking, how can this happen? How can this just happen after two months ago when another similar attack happened in this exact same place, just a little bit down the road at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.
So there's really a lot, a lot of shock and a lot of sorrow and a lot of anger wondering how Iraq is going to handle this in the future. Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. And the question, still as we've been talking about whether or not when you see attacks like this, an increase in violence, are U.S. forces going to be able to keep the withdrawal timetable that is set up?
JAMJOOM: Well, this is the key question here right now. Everybody is concerned about this. People on the scene today were saying to us they didn't see how the U.S. could pull out if this kind of carnage will continue. The situation is going to deteriorate. Obviously these were civilians.
You know, publicly, the U.S. keeps saying that they are committed to the timetable that they have set. They are going to continue to maybe even to accelerate the drawdown that has been happening.
Iraqis are saying that the Americans are going out. Buy, you know, yesterday at the scene just after the bombings there were American troops there. They have been pulled off their bases at request of the Iraqis. They were there to help with the investigation.
And so there's a lot of questions about what's going to happen next. Heidi?
COLLINS: All right, Mohammed Jamjoom, staying on top of the story for us, out of Iraq this morning. Thanks, Mohammed.
A massive rock slide causes a major detour for drivers this morning at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line. It shut down part of Interstate 40. Highway patrols say one woman was hurt when her jeep was hit by falling rocks.
North Carolina Department of Transportation says sections of the interstate could remain closed for months, in fact, while crews clean up the mess.
Rob Marciano following all of the stories today. Good morning to you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Yes, I know your friends were here just the other day from Colorado. Pretty excited about the snow there. Yes?
MARCIANO: I think you were excited to meet them as well.
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: Yes, I was. Thanks for calling me out. All right, Rob, we'll check back later. Thanks.
MARCIANO: All right. See you.
COLLINS: A widespread outbreak, a vaccine not everyone can get and more people dying by the day. If you have questions about the H1N1 virus we have some answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Top stories now.
The funeral for a University of Connecticut football player is scheduled to begin at the top of the hour in Miami. Jasper Howard's teammates will attend after they dedicated their game to him on Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCUS EASLEY, WIDE RECEIVER, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT: It still doesn't seem so real. Just -- you know, it's hard to believe that we're actually, you know, suiting up, getting ready to play a game without Jazz. And just that moment of silence, you know it meant a lot for me and I guess the rest of the team.
ANDRE DIXON, RUNNING BACK, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT: I just couldn't stop thinking about him throughout the game. When people made plays, you know, when the other team was doing stuff, I mean, I just kept continued to think about Jazz, man. Just something that's never going to leave us. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A viewing for Howard was held in his hometown yesterday. A steady stream of visitors were there and some left the funeral home in tears. Howard was stabbed after a dance on the UConn campus nine days ago. No one has been charged in the death.
Extending unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans a big agenda on the table for Senate Democrats this week. A bill that would extend expiring benefit at each state for 14 weeks and states with the highest unemployment rates would get an additional six weeks. But not all Republicans are on board with the plan. Democrats say they'll listen to any GOP amendments.
The tea party express is back on the road. The conservative movement against big government spending is moving ahead with a nationwide tour. They plan to hold rallies in 38 cities in 19 days. The movement also opposes increased government involvement in health care, corporate bailouts and deficit spending.
The president has declared a national emergency over the H1N1 virus, but the flu isn't the only thing spreading around the country. So are the questions and concerns about this disease.
Here now with some of the answers, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
All right, first off, want to remind everybody, tell us exactly what a national emergency means. What does that mean when you get to that level, if you will?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. First, let me tell you what it does not mean, and you pointed this out in the last hour. It does not mean that people are dropping dead right and left and that this -- you know epidemic has hit some kind of horrific height.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: That is not what it is. It's a procedural kind of thing. It allows the government to do certain things if the situation worsens. For example, let's say one state has a terrible outbreak of H1N1 and they need doctors to come in from out of state.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: This declaration makes it so the doctors can practice even though they're not licensed in that state.
COLLINS: OK.
COHEN: So it's that kind of thing. It's no reason to panic. It doesn't really mean anything to you or me right now.
COLLINS: OK. Interesting. Let's remind everybody, too, because whenever we can remind them it probably helps, the symptoms of H1N1. I still get people all the time saying how do you know if that's that and not just the regular old flu?
COHEN: Well, the answer is you don't always know. But I'll...
COLLINS: Why does that matter?
COHEN: OK.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: So let me look at the symptoms. Let's look at the symptoms for a minute and you'll see what I mean. Here is some of the symptoms. Fever, cough, sore throat, runny, stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, chills, fever, fatigue, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea.
Now everybody has felt this at some point in their life, and so you might well, how do I know whether it's H1N1 or some other virus? I mean lots of viruses, not just flu viruses cause these problems.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: So the answer is you really don't. But I will tell you that if you show up at your doctor today with those symptoms they will probably tell you, hey, you have H1N1, because it's everywhere and chances are if you have those symptoms, there's an excellent chance that you have H1N1.
COLLINS: All right, so...
COHEN: And it doesn't really matter if you have H1N1 or another virus.
COLLINS: Exactly.
COHEN: The treatment's the same which is...
COLLINS: Thank you.
COHEN: ... don't really do much of anything, go home and rest, and take care of yourself.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes. All right, so we should probably talk about this vaccination situation. We know that there have been some issues with getting ahold of the vaccine. Maybe we should back up for a second and talk once again about who should be looking for that vaccine, those risk groups.
COHEN: Right. Anyone who wants to get vaccinated can. So, you know, it's up to you. If you want to get vaccinated, go right ahead. However the Center for Disease Control has said that certain people really need to go get vaccinated. They recommend vaccinations highly to these groups. Pregnant women, anyone whose age is 6 months to 24 years of age, anyone who takes care of a baby under the age of 6 months since those babies cannot get vaccinated, health care workers and anyone ages 25 to 64 who has a health problem. Those are the folks at highest risk for having terrible complications from H1N1 including death. But again, anyone who wants it, go out there and get it, if you can find it.
COLLINS: Exactly, if you can find it. So what about the shortage?
COHEN: The shortage is here. They expected to much more vaccine at doctors' offices and clinics than they actually do have.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: We are told by the federal government, you know, it's coming. Just wait. It's coming. It's coming. But they don't really say when it's going to be here. But in the meantime, there are long lines of vaccination clinics. It's very hard to find. It's especially hard to find a shot. Easier to find the nasal spray but not everyone can get the nasal spray because it's a live virus. So if you're pregnant you can't have the spray.
COLLINS: Exactly.
COHEN: If you have asthma, you can't have the spray. There's a whole bunch of people who can't have the spray.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes, and it seems weird that there isn't some sort of projected date because they know where they are with, you know, growing the virus and the whole entire process of getting the vaccine complete. You think they might have a projected date...
COHEN: Well...
COLLINS: ... if we expect to have this many more by next month?
COHEN: Well, they thought they had a projected date and then they said oh, we're going to have this many by this time and then it kind of bit them.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: Because it didn't happen than way. Vaccine is tricky. You're not just throwing a bunch of chemicals into a vat.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: You're trying to grow a virus. It's tricky. It's difficult. It doesn't always grow the way you want it to. And they were behind to begin with. They started in May, hoping to have it ready for October. Usually they start in March.
COLLINS: Right. This is a slow grow.
COHEN: And have them ready for the fall. And this appears to be a slow grower.
COLLINS: Interesting. All right, our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
COLLINS: And also you can find out more on how the government plans to control the spread of H1N1 by checking out the new CNN.com. It is fully loaded -- you can see right above our heads here -- with enhanced videos and options that lets you customize your own news experience. So make sure you check that out.
Standing next to a suicide bomber, one unsuspecting man just feet away when a bomber detonates his explosives, lived to talk about it. We'll hear his story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: From the bombings in Iraq to the offensives in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we are watching hot spots around the world this morning. Car bombings in Baghdad yesterday killed at least 160 people, and they are raising questions about the Iraqi government's ability to protect its people.
At least 14 Americans died today after separate helicopter crashes in Afghanistan. And Pakistan is in the middle of a massive offensive against terrorism in several Taliban strongholds. Earlier today, Pakistani security forces arrested eight Iranian security personnel in uniform when they trespassed into Pakistani soil. A police official says the Iranians were in two vehicles and chasing a third when they crossed the border.
After a serious offensive by Pakistan's military onto Taliban territory, the terrorist group responds by blowing up a university. Our Ivan Watson talks to a student who was feet away from a suicide bomber.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Legs and arms wrapped in bandages, face shrouded in cotton. This young man, one of most recent victims of a war that's now spread to Pakistan schools. Twenty-four-year-old Waqar Khalid, a university student who walked out of his classroom straight into the inferno of an exploding suicide bomber.
WAQAR KHALID, UNIVERSITY STUDENT: When he pushed button, right at that time, we -- I saw fire.
WATSON: On that bloody day, twin suicide bombs are attacked the men's and women's campuses of this university, killing seven people.
(on camera): Five days after the attack, workers are already repairing the Sharia (ph) law department in Islamabad's International Islamic University. The suicide bomber was standing right about here when he self-detonated, spraying ball bearings throughout this hallway. You can see the pockmarks and some of the bloodstains from this horrific attack.
In a few weeks, this building may look as good as new. But Waqar Khalid may never fully recover from his injuries.
(voice-over): Waqar is now in critical condition. During our visit, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the lens of our camera.
KHALID: I'm looking now at my face. I'm looking. I...
WATSON (off camera): It's the first time?
KHALID: It's first time. It's first time. Very first time. I have no patience or courage to see myself.
WATSON (voice-over): Before the attack, Waqar studied Arabic and English with hope of becoming an interpreter or a teacher working overseas. He was also an active member of an Islamic student association that publicly condemned the Taliban.
KHALID: And we say openly, these are terrorists which are the response responsibility of the Pakistani condition now.
WATSON: At the Islamic university, professors taught students a moderate version of Islam that challenged the Taliban's violent jihad. People here were shocked by the attack.
PARVEEN QADIA AGHA, VICE PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY: We never expected it, but the reason could be that to create chaos and to create psychological warfare actually going on.
WATSON: Waqar's mother is devastated; terrified that her husband, a police officer, could also become a target of the waves of Taliban suicide bombers attacking Pakistani cities.
Forever scarred by the conflict, this young man has one message for the Pakistani army.
KHALID: They should kill them. They should not arrest them. They should kill them. Those terrorists who are killing innocent people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Ivan Watson now joining us live. Ivan, what will Waqar do next if he recovers, as well as I'm sure he's very much hoping to?
WATSON: Well, he is in critical condition, and doctors are very worried. These are very tense times for somebody with 60 percent burns across their body.
He is already talking about, Heidi, going back to school. He's very concerned about missing classes. He's very ambitious. He wants to get involved in politics, and that really struck me when I met this young man. He's covered in all of those bandages. He's just suffered horrific wounds, but then he goes and says, "I can't wait to get back to school, I want to study and I want to start my professional life. I want to get going again."
But he has acknowledged that his life will be forever changed by this attack. And he's just one of so many people here in Pakistan that's been affected by this escalating conflict, Heidi.
COLLINS: Understood. Boy, what a story. Ivan Watson, sure appreciate that. Thank you.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, in fact, the entire world is at your fingertips when you visit CNN.com. The number one online news site is now even better. You're going to want to check this out. CNN's Josh Levs is actually doing some of that for us today. CNN.com newsroom now to tell us more. Hey there, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi. A lot of moving stories, like we were hearing about there. What you can do is not just get information but in the brand-new CNN.com, we actually have video embedded in the main page.
Let's zoom in for a second. You can see, this is the new main page. CNN.com totally redesigned to be very interactive, user friendly, ways for you to interact with us right off the top. You have videos, you have photos throughout here.
Let's go to the World page. I want you to see some of the key World stories we have. This is international news, and our reporters like Ivan with the latest information they're getting us from anywhere. You can see obviously here leading with what we're getting from Baghdad.
Along here, all of these are some of our latest videos. Pakistan, Afghanistan, anywhere you're looking at, all at your fingertips. And we also have this which talks you through the new CNN.com. All you need to do is click it to play. It takes you through an explainer of how the CNN.com works.
But Heidi, this is something especially you and I do. So, I want to go for a walk here. Every Thursday, as you know, in the 10:00 hour, we talk about technology. Some of the latest technology stories. To get those, I always go to CNN.com/tech. And the man who oversees that is right here. This is Brandon Gregs. Hey, Brandon.
BRANDON GREGS, CNN.COM/TECH EDITOR: Hi, Josh.
LEVS: Talk to us. A great story on the main page of CNN.com/tech right now. What are we seeing here?
GREGS: This is -- everyone knows that Jack and Ashton Kutcher are huge on Twitter. This is five people who are very popular on Twitter, but most folks may not have heard of.
LEVS: OK.
GREGS: This is Heather Armstrong. She's a Salt Lake City mom, has a very popular blog. 1.4 million Twitter followers.
LEVS: So, these are people who weren't famous before but have managed to harness the power of Twitter to grab followers.
GREGS: Exactly. Stephanie Michaels writes about travel, about 1.3 million followers.
LEVS: Man.
GREGS: Brandon Memleson writes about social media, breast cancer awareness, almost 1 million followers.
LEVS: A million followers for these people who weren't famous before but Twitter stars.
GREGS: Veronica Belmont, she's a young hipster. Writes about tech, video gaming, 1.4 million followers. And John Dickerson, columnist, political writer for "Slate" magazine.
GREGS: This is great. Brandon, thank you.
And Heidi, what I love about this. There's so many features in CNN.com. As we're chasing these stories that you would never hear about otherwise, and as you saw right there from Brandon, they're interactive, right before your fingertips. You've got video, you've got photos, you've got the ways to interact and ways to interact with us today.
Let's show the graphic. This is how you tell us what you think about the brand-new CNN.com. Are you loving it? Things you would change? What do you think? Blog, CNN.com/josh. Also Facebook and Twitter. JoshLevsCNN. Heidi, we're hearing from a lot of people. Happy to say, so far, a lot of positive responses. We're going to hang out here for a while in the dotcom newsroom and see how to shakes out today.
COLLINS: OK. Very good. Josh Levs, thank you.
We could see a major development in the debate over health care reform. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid could decide today on whether to push for the so-called public option. According it a senior aide, the proposal could establish federal standards for a government insurance program, but then individual states would be allowed to opt out of it.
Anger and outrage this morning at the war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. United Nations judges abruptly adjourned the proceedings after Karadzic boycotted the opening day. He says he has not had enough time to prepare his defense. The trial will resume tomorrow at The Hague with the prosecution's opening statement.
This hour in Texas, a trial is set to get underway for a member of a polygamist sect. You may remember this case from a year and a half ago. Twelve members were charged in the largest child custody case in U.S. history. More than 400 children taken into state custody. Many of those kids have since been returned. The sect is a breakaway of the Mormon Church. On Wall Street, the Dow tumbled more than 100 points on Friday, but today it's trying to gain some of that back. Susan Lisovicz is in New York now with a check of the all the action. Hey there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi, the Dow is back above 10,000. More importantly, it's getting real close to its high of the year. We have a Dow 30 company reporting better-than-expected profit and revenue today. That company's Verizon.
And it's a theme, frankly, we've seen over the last couple of weeks. In fact most companies -- 80 percent of companies that have reported their quarterly earnings -- have beaten the estimates for this last quarter, the third quarter. This week, we'll hear from nearly a third of the companies in the S&P 500.
We also get the first look at third quarter GDP, which is a kitchen-sink report. It includes everything from financial to manufacturing and technology. Most economists expect it will show that the U.S. economy grew last quarter for the first time in more than a year.
And we told you earlier this hour about the dramatic improvement in companies' willingness to hire. That survey shows the number of respondents planning to add workers over the next six months exceeded those that plan to cut worker for the first time since the recession began nearly two years ago.
With all of that optimism, no surprise stocks are rallying. The Dow Industrials right now up 82 points, or about 1 percent. Ditto for the NASDAQ and S&P 500. Nice way to start the week. Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, I like it. Susan, we'll check back later. Thanks.
The top execs may not be the only ones getting big pay cuts at bailed-out firms. Some star traders could also take those hits.
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COLLINS: U.S. motorists are feeling a new pain at pump. Across the country, self-serve gas prices jumped an average of 18 cents a gallon over the last two weeks. The new average? $2.66. The Lundberg survey blames rising oil prices and says investors are betting on even higher prices in the future.
Fat paychecks on Wall Street could be reined in even more. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York with more on this. So, Poppy, more pay cuts are coming?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, this is the big question, Heidi, when we saw those top executives pay cuts announced last week. The pays are Kenneth Fineberg is going further now when it comes to assessing that compensation.
What we learned last week is those top 25 highest-paid employees at the seven companies that received those T.A.R.P. bailouts, they're getting big haircuts. Now other employees may, too. The pay czar is reviewing the packages right now of the next 75 most highly compensated employees at these firms. You have to wonder where is he going to go after that at these companies.
The decision for those employees, Heidi, we'll likely see it this December or early next year. So, definitely this winter. And the reason this is happen, Heidi, is because it's not unheard of on Wall Street or other major corporations for star employees, say, star traders on Wall Street to get pay packages that are tens of millions of dollars and actually eclipse those of senior management. It's something we saw at Citigroup with an energy trader with a reported $100 million payday.
So, that's something they're looking at. It's not necessarily top executives, it's who's getting the most money, and that's why they're monitoring it, Heidi.
COLLINS: What about companies that didn't get any of the T.A.R.P. money? Are we going to see any changes in compensation there?
HARLOW: It's a great question. We're already seeing it. You've got Morgan Stanley, a big Wall Street bank. What they've done, they've instituted these clawbacks, essentially saying they have the right to take back money from an employee if their actions prove profitable at first but then they result in a loss for the firm down the road. They can take that money back.
The reason here, trying to find that balance, trying to strike that long-term performance balance that has been difficult to come by on Wall Street. The Fed is also getting involved. What they're proposing is monitoring pay at thousands of banks, even banks that never received bailout money, trying to ensure they're not encouraging behavior that could be profitable in the short term but very risky and result in a loss down the road.
There are some critics, though, Heidi, that say the only way you can change things is to have the shareholders more involved in the companies and have them regulate what are compensation committees. No one talks about compensation committees, but was they decide what, say, the CEO of AIG were to get or the CEO of a firm like Citigroup. They decide. They're not being held accountable right now.
So, Congress may pass a billeting shareholders vote on executive pay. The problem, Heidi, even if that becomes a law, it wouldn't be binding. So, some are going as far as to say, kick out the board members if they don't make good decisions on executive pay. This is definitely not just going to be those top executives. This is trickling down through Wall Street to more and more employees, Heidi, and we'll be following.
COLLINS: Yes. So many questions out there regarding this. I think it's fascinating. We actually had one of the economic advisers to the White House on Friday talking about that. We'll have to see what happens here. Lots and lots of questions still about how it will all work out. Poppy Harlow, we sure do appreciate that. CNNmoney.com.
A ticket for speeding is one thing. A ticket for not speaking English quite another. Why the Dallas Police Department may have a lawsuit on its hands.
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COLLINS: Accusations of racism against a Chicago nightclub. A group from Washington University was on a class trip to the city, but when they went to Mother's Nightclub Original, they say all six black members of the group were turned away. They were told it was because they were wearing baggy pants. But they call it discrimination. After one of the black students was denied, he switched pants with one of the white students. They released this flyer showing them wearing the same pants. They say the white student got in with no problems. Affiliate KTVI reports no comment from the club.
Ticketed for not speaking English. A simple traffic stop is turned into a debate over language in Dallas. A rookie officer stopped the woman for allegedly making an illegal U-turn. When she started speak Spanish to him, he also ticketed her for that. The driver turned to her daughter for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDA MONDRAGON, DAUGHTER OF TICKETED MOTHER: She says she got pulled over for doing an illegal U-turn. And then I read the ticket and noticed there were three offenses, and the first one was for the illegal u-turn, second one was for not having her driver's license on her and the third one was for being a non-English-speaking driver.
So, I basically told my mom that she had gotten a ticket for not speaking English. She was worried that now every time she drives, you know, she gets pulled over, is she going to get another ticket for not speaking English? So, I called the number on the back of the ticket to find out fees. And the guy who answered the phone -- I don't recall his name -- put me on. When I told him -- he asked me for offenses, I told him all of them and for the non-English speaking, he said, "I'm not sure about that one let me check, hold on." He put me on hold for two minutes, came back and said, "Well you could get a ticket for being a non-English speaker driver and it's going to be 204.
So, I told my mom that it was going to be 204, and she was stressing. She's unemployed, so she was stressing how she was going to pay that. So, I told her I would take care of it for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Affiliate WFAA says commercial drivers can be ticketed for not speaking English but not people in their own cars. The family may sue.
Let's go to the Severe Weather Center. Once again, Rob Marciano standing by with more rain in Texas. More rain in Spain, but Texas, really. MARCIANO: We'll leave that for our friends at International.
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MARCIANO: Want you to see this. Heidi, usually we show video of gator catchers in Louisiana -- well, certainly Louisiana, but also Florida. This is out of Fall River, Massachusetts, just over the border outside of Rhode Island. Apparently, it's legal to have an alligator for a pet in Rhode Island. I think this guy got away and has been feasting off of rodents and the like all summer long. He's kind of cute.
COLLINS: Yes, he's gotten pretty big. He's been doing just fine for himself. Now what? Do we know what's going to happen to him?
MARCIANO: I don't know. Need a pair of shoes? No, I don't know. I'm kidding!
COLLINS: I do not. Synthetic only.
MARCIANO: Don't know what's going to happen. I'm sure they'll find a more appropriate home for him, likely somewhere further to the South and maybe let him go.
COLLINS: Yes. Take that electrical tape off of his mouth, too. Rob Marciano, thank you.
MARCIANO: OK, see you.
COLLINS: Great story here. Three Army buddies, one mission to visit 31 NFL stadiums. Now their travels are to honor a fallen soldier who was supposed to complete the journey with them.
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COLLINS: Right now, three Army buddies are living their dream to travel to 31 NFL stadiums. But they are also honoring a fallen soldier who was supposed to complete that mission with them. Reporter Janet Corey (ph) from our affiliate KNBC in Kansas City has a look at the latest stop on their journey.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a lot of fun. It's exhausting.
JANET COREY (ph), KNBC-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty thousand miles, 31 NFL stadiums, three friends and one mission.
NATHAN THOMPSON, VISITING STADIUMS TO HONOR FRIEND: Just want to try to honor Joe as best I could; I think he would enjoy this trip as well. We like to have fun together.
COREY: Nathan Thompson is tailgating as Joe Lusk (ph) would have liked. They went to West Point, then Kuwait together and talked about when they got out, they would travel the U.S. in an RV watching football. But before they could, Joe was killed in Kuwait when his helicopter crashed during training.
THOMPSON: Not being able to attend his funeral back in California, be around his family, you know, talk to them, it was difficult.
COREY: Nate decided to complete the mission, raising money along the way for a memorial fund in his friend's honor.
(on camera): Being here at Arrowhead makes their 20th stadium, their 13th NFL stadium and seven college stadiums. There was a minor hiccup, though, along the way. This is their parents' Suburban. That wasn't supposed to be the way they were traveling. Their RV, though, broke down along the way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're a little bummed out right now because we don't have the RV with us. But no, still just as fun.
COREY (voice-over): These guys say the best part is seeing the country, meeting new people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seeing the different cultures at every stadium. Everybody has different ways of tailgating and different ways of celebrating.
COREY: Even before pulling up in this Suburban, they knew what they were in for at Arrowhead.
AARON THOMPSON, VISITING STADIUMS TO HONOR FRIEND: Here it's rowdy and so far, it's living up to its expectations.
COREY: At Arrowhead, it also happened to be Military Appreciation Day, a fitting tribute to honor a fallen soldier.
N. THOMPSON: He's always present in the mind and hopefully all around us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The next stop for the three guys will be Orchard Park, New York, where they will see the Buffalo Bills play the Houston Texans.
Health care reform talks in just a few minutes, why the public option is still very much on the table.
I'm Heidi Collins.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.
