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14 Americans Killed in Afghanistan; Public Option Decision?; Iraq Bombings: Security Being Questioned

Aired October 26, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Monday, October 25th. And here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Afghan strategy session. President Obama huddles with his security advisers this hour. When is he expected to decide on sending more troops to Afghanistan?

The public option alive and well, and it could show up in the Senate's health reform bill. An aide says Majority Leader Harry Reid hopes to have a decision today.

And a shot shortage equals long lines. An update on the H1N1 flu vaccine, plus your iReports.

I'm Tony Harris, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Up first this hour, 14 Americans killed in chopper crashes in Afghanistan, one going down in the western part of the country, killing seven soldiers and three U.S. civilians. And in the south, four more troops killed when two choppers collided in flight.

Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence joining us live now in Kabul.

And Chris, were either of these crashes caused as a result of contact with the enemy?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to the U.S. military, Tony, the answer is no. They say neither one was caused by enemy fire.

Let's start with the one in southern Afghanistan, where two U.S. helicopters collided, and the crash brought down both of them. In that one, four American crewmen were killed, a couple others injured.

In a completely separate incident on the western side of the country, a strike team raided a compound where they believe insurgents were trafficking drugs. What followed was a pretty violent firefight. U.S. officials say more than a dozen insurgents were killed.

All of the Americans survived that fight, but they left the compound, they got on the helicopter, and after taking off, that's when that helicopter went down. Seven American troops were killed, ahong with three American civilians who had been working with the U.S. Embassy. But we're now told that at least some of them were part of the DEA.

This was the heaviest loss of life on a single day in more than four years, since insurgents fired and shot down a Chinook helicopter. But U.S. officials here in Kabul say that was not the cause of these incidents.

(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: A senior U.S. military official says that the chopper, the helicopter on the western part of the country, may have appeared to hit something. Whether that something was manmade or not, still not determined. Both of these still under investigation -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Chris, we're getting reports of hundreds of university students protesting in Kabul. What's the story? What's going?

LAWRENCE: Yes, the second day of some pretty angry protests. We were actually at the first one.

We got there and we were told by Afghan police the crowd was very angry, very anti-western. Some of them were taunting the Afghan police, calling them "slaves of America" and "sons of Obama." The security and the Afghan police told us it would not be safe for us to go directly into the crowd, but the Afghan police had to come fire some shots in the air, take about five trucks to settle it down.

All of them protesting what appears to be just a rumor that American troops had burned a copy of the Koran in retaliation for getting hit with an IED. But American forces, Afghan forces investigated this, found no evidence of it. In fact, the governor of the province where this allegedly occurred is blaming the Taliban, saying they're spreading the rumor and that the ISAF forces had nothing to do with it -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right.

Our Chris Lawrence for us in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Chris, thank you.

Checking the wire now and the day's other big stories.

In Baghdad, the deadliest attack in more than two years is raising questions about the Iraqis' ability to maintain security. Back-to-back suicide car bombs yesterday killed 160 people and wounded more than 500. The bombers targeted Iraq's Ministry of Justice and another government building. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom says the bombings could be aimed at disrupting the country's preparations for national elections in January.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The bombings also come at a time of increased political intentions, as Iraq's parliament has failed to pass a new election law. This must be done in order for national elections to take place on January 16th, as scheduled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK.

In Puerto Rico now, federal investigators are on the scene of a massive oil refinery explosion. The weekend blast sent flames shooting high into the air.

Look at these pictures.

More than 150 people had to be evacuated. The fire is now out, but it is still unclear what caused it. Investigators are looking into the possibility that it was intentionally set.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIS FRATICELLI, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Well, we don't know if it's a crime scene, we don't know if it's an accident, so we're not making any determinations at this point until our experts do their work, do their analysis, and then provide input to us as to what they feel happened here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: No doubt, you have notice the a big jump gas prices. The Lundberg Survey reports prices have shot up 18 cents per gallon in the past two weeks. Man. The national average for regular unleaded, now $2.66 a gallon.

Public option decision. We could find out today if the Senate health reform bill will include government-backed insurance. An aide says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering a risky strategy to include the public option.

Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash following developments for us on Capitol Hill.

And Dana, let's start with this: What are you hearing about the latest in the Senate right now?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Democratic sources still tell us that the Senate majority leader is poised to finalize a Senate health care bill later today and send it to the Congressional Budget Office to determine its cost. Now, barring any unforeseen change or any last-minute change, we do expect, as you said, this bill to include a public option, but allowing states to opt out of this new government-run health insurance option.

Now, the big question, obviously, is, does this mean that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has the 60 votes necessary to block a filibuster? And right now we're told the answer is not yet. But he has been working the phones on Friday, over the weekend. And he, we are told, according to one source close to him, that he believes that it is doable.

And he especially took heart in one appearance, actually, on CNN, on "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday, from one of the most conservative Senate Democrats, Ben Nelson. He said not appearing to rule out this idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BEN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: I certainly am not excited about a public option where states would opt out, or a robust -- as they call it, robust government-run insurance plan. I'll take a look at the one where states could opt in if they make the decision themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, he is one of the most conservative Democrats and the most wary of the concept of a public option. He did say he's not excited about it, as you heard there, Tony, but we're told that Reid really did, you know, take heart in the idea that he didn't completely rule it out.

Now, we are told by this aide who has been giving us updates on the strategy that the Senate majority leader understands it is a risky strategy to consider bringing something like this to the floor without knowing that he's got 60 votes in his pocket to do this. But he also feels that not just Ben Nelson, but other conservative Democrats, and on the other side of the Democratic spectrum, liberal Democrats, who want the strongest public option possible, that they are persuadable at this point, and he is cautiously optimistic.

HARRIS: OK.

Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, following all developments on health care on Capitol Hill for us.

Dana, thank you.

And more on the public option in the health care reform debate next hour. We will talk with a man in charge of counting votes in the House, Democratic Congressman James Clyburn, the majority whip, live in the noon hour, right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

And you can follow the health care debate at your fingertips. Just go to CNN.com/politics.

And we are tracking the amount of money the U.S. has spent in Iraq and the lives lost, as that country tries to take control. And we're also listening to you as the president holds another security meeting on Afghanistan.

Tell us your thoughts. Here's the number: 1-877-742-5760.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The deadliest attack in more than two years in Iraq, it is raising huge questions about the state of the war.

Josh Levs is helping us follow that story from the new CNN.com.

Good to see you, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too, Tony.

You know, we were talking about this, this morning. We're looking at this story, what it's really about, how it's impacting what's going on, on the ground, in Iraq.

What's so important to understand is that there are these hopes for national elections in January. And now, in advance of that, you're seeing U.S. officials and Iraqi officials, after what happened in Iraq, talk about their concerns about the advancement of these elections.

Now, I want everyone to keep in mind what the U.S. has put into Iraq and what's gone into it so far, so I'm going to take you to a couple of resources we have up on the screen for you.

First of all, at CNN.com, we keep track of all of the casualties inside Iraq, and you can see that any time at CNN.com. You can click on the name of literally every soldier who gave his or her life in Iraq, and we're at now 4,365 American troops that gave their lives there.

We're also following what the cost of the Iraq War has been -- $685 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service. And we're finding on CNN Money, following this as well, it ultimately could cost way, way more than that, according to some analysts like that, who are saying when you factor in the costs at home -- and these troops who come home, sometimes face foreclosure and medical expenses -- so, you have all that, the lives that have been given, the trillions of dollars put into Iraq, and now you're faced with this, which we're following on CNN.com for you, exactly what happened yesterday, this horrible attack over the weekend in which so many people were killed. And we know a lot of people wounded as well.

This is how you follow all the latest at CNN.com. This is the new look of CNN.com.

HARRIS: OK. LEVS: And as part of it, you just go to the main page right now. It's very interactive. It's packed with photos and videos.

I'm going to take you to the World Page, which is right here. Let's see if we can zoom in.

The World Page now has the latest we're getting from Iraq, also from other parts of the world -- from Pakistan, Egypt, all sorts of places where we're following stories for you. And unlike anything we've ever had before, or any news site has had before, this is most interactive news site, really, that I've ever seen, that that's ever been.

HARRIS: Oh, that's true.

LEVS: Click on any one of these stories, it takes you right to the video, it takes you to more information.

For example, right here, this is the story about Baghdad yesterday. And Tony, sometimes a picture says a thousand words.

Look at this. You can see, you can feel the carnage.

And all of this is part of what we're showing you at the new CNN.com -- the photos, videos, the latest.

And Tony, we want to hear from you. We want to hear what people think about all of this. And this is how you can weigh in.

We have a graphic that shows you how to weigh in here. We're talking about it at my blog, CNN.com/Josh, also CNN.com/Tony.

Go ahead -- there you go. And Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN, people weighing in.

But Tony, what we wanted to do right now, as you're seeing, is highlight CNN.com and how it gives you more information about what ever it is that we're talking about on the air, like this tragedy.

HARRIS: Well, I'm loving all of the interactivity.

I've got to tell you -- and you know this first hand -- that CNN.com has really been ahead of us on the television side at being so interactive, and we're really catching up. It looks like they're taking even bigger, bolder steps ahead in that area as well.

LEVS: Absolutely. You know, I've been hanging out this morning downstairs in the CNN.com newsroom, and I'll tell you, the things that are going into this site throughout today, each hour, are pretty amazing. So we're going to keep our eye on it, and we'll be back...

HARRIS: Well, do this -- as CNN.com continues to make innovations, particularly in this area of being even more interactive with the audience, bring that to the television side, would you, please?

LEVS: Yes, you got it. I'll be here.

HARRIS: Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: During open enrollment for businesses, it is a good time to see exactly what you're paying and what your employer pays for your health insurance.

Personal finance editor Gerri Willis has her "Top Tips." We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

One of Bernie Madoff's big-time investors is dead. Police say 67-year-old Jeffry Picower drowned in his swimming pool. Picower closed his foundation earlier this year because he said he had lost a lot of money in the scam, but some say he also profited about $7 billion through those investments.

In Miami today, a funeral for Jasper Howard, the University of Connecticut football player who was stabbed to death outside a school dance. Friends and family gathering to say goodbye in Howard's hometown. No one has been charged yet with his death.

Pop star Madonna breaking ground today for her charity school, the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. It is being built in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe. Two of Madonna's four children are from Malawi.

Ever wonder how your health insurance premium is calculated if you get insurance through your employer?

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here with answers.

And Gerri, you know, a lot of folks may not know how their employer-sponsored coverage works. If you would, give us a bit of a breakdown here.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, hi there, Tony. Right.

If you work for a smaller company, you may have noticed a difference in how much you pay for your health insurance, as opposed to your neighbor who works for a bigger company. It has to do with how group insurance is priced.

When you're if a group plan, it's not only your health that you have to worry about, it's the health of all your colleagues. Insurance companies evaluated a number of factors to determine what kind of risk each specific workforce represents. Generally, group plans are less expensive than individual plans since the risk is spread over a wider group of people.

HARRIS: OK. So, what factors determine your premium? WILLIS: All right. Here's some factors that go into how much you pay in premiums in a group plan.

Age plays a large role in how much you shell out for insurance each month. If your company employs a lot of older folks, say, late 40s, early 50s, chances are your policy is more expensive than a company hiring a lot of college graduates.

The claim history of your company is also important in determining rates. If you have a lot of older men, chances are premiums will be higher since this population is prone to hypertension, diabetes, heart attacks. On the other hand, companies that have a lot of women in their 20 and 30s will also pay more because of the cost of having kids.

Where the company's located is also important.

And finally, some industries are prone to claims than others. Teachers, nurses, construct workers tend to have more claims than retailers or technology workers -- Tony.

HARRIS: This is amazing.

What types of companies, Gerri, tend to have lower premiums?

WILLIS: Big companies tend to have lower premiums for employees simply because the risk is more spread out over a bigger group of people. If you have a company with 10 employees, and one or two of those workers have major surgery, or maybe preemie babies, it's likely your insurance cost will jump significantly. You may also find smaller premiums at companies that put an emphasis on health and wellness. Maybe there are breaks on gym memberships or weight management classes.

And, of course, if you have any questions, send them to me at Gerri@CNN.com. We love to hear from you.

HARRIS: It seems there are all kinds of incentives there to encourage a healthier lifestyle and for employers to provide all kinds of benefits for you to get healthy and stay healthy. Just a thought.

WILLIS: That's right, Tony. Yes. Yes. Yes, it's a good thing.

HARRIS: All right, Gerri. Appreciate it. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: In just a few minutes, President Obama will meet with his national security team in The Situation Room to discuss Afghanistan.

You are calling us with your opinion. And we are listening.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ron from Olympia, Washington. I don't want any more troops sent in. But after -- we need to remember that the attacks on 9/11 occurred from Afghanistan, where the Taliban was left unchecked. So, if we pull out, the very same thing could happen again, this time in another city.

And do we really want that to happen? No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jerry (ph). I'm from Yuma.

Speaking as a person who spent almost all of 1968 in Vietnam, I tend to agree with the positions of Chuck Hagel and John Kerry in that these wars are a useless exercise in death. Any person who could send a army to get one guy in the worst terrain in the world, surrounded by our enemies, this close a brush with combat had to be a John Wayne movie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jesse (ph). I'm calling from California.

I have a son in the Marines. He's fixing to go to Afghanistan next month.

I believe Obama is doing the right thing about deciding how to take care of sending our troops over there in harm's way, which George Bush left with this mess. I believe Obama's doing the right thing.

Thank you.

(END AUDIO CLIPS)

HARRIS: Boy. We still want to hear from you. You can still voice your comments. Just call us at 1-877-742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Going on right now in the White House Situation Room, President Obama is huddling with his top security people, the strategy for Afghanistan.

Elaine Quijano is at the Pentagon, while Kate Bolduan is at the White House.

And Kate, let me start with you.

Just what are we expecting to come out of this hour's Situation Room meeting?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Tony.

Well, by our count, we're told this is the sixth meeting of the national security team. The focus today, we're told, is similar to past meetings, really taking on civil and military issues and policies in the region, part of this ongoing discussion and review of really what the security situation is on the ground there and what the U.S. strategy should be there moving forward. Participants in the meeting today, attendees, we're told, are quite an array of civil and military advisers to the president -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, which producer by Emily Schultz (ph) tells me that he has been seen entering the White House. So, we know that at least the meeting is about to begin, if it hasn't begun. As well as national security advisers and counterterrorism advisers.

It's all really part of this ongoing strategy review of what the U.S. strategy should be there going forward. It's -- you know, we're told it's going to be about an hour and a half -- an hour and 15 minutes long. This is a bit abbreviated from the majority of the meetings, ,which have been about three hours long. But the president will be heading to Florida to be making remarks down there today.

HARRIS: Got you. And Kate, a quick follow-up. And I'm not going to jump into the camp of folks who feel that a decision should be made right away, but when he are we expecting the president's decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan? At last word, ,we were getting indications that it might come before, ahead of the November elections in Afghanistan.

BOLDUAN: Tony, that is a very good question. I mean, there's a lot of discussion going on outside of the White House walls, a lot of pressure that the president should be listening to the commanders on the ground and giving them exactly what they want.

We know that General Stanley McChrystal has reportedly asked for up to 40,000 additional troops, and many Republicans and many people outside these wall says you should be acting on that request quickly, while others say that, you know what? He's not actually -- he's not dragging his feet, he's taking the time to make that decision. But in terms of timing, Tony, it's still kind of a guessing game.

The White House maintains that he'll make the decision and make the announcement when the time is right for him. The latest guidance I've had from the White House is that this meeting is part of the latter part of the phase of review. Take of that what you will.

HARRIS: Yes, exactly. All right, Kate, appreciate it. Thank you.

That could mean a bunch of different things. Kate Bolduan at the White House.

And we've lost Elaine Quijano at the Pentagon. But -- something technical. We'll work that out, and we'll be back to Elaine as soon as we can.

Gives us an opportunity to hear from you. You are calling us with your opinions about American troops in Afghanistan. We are certainly listening.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Why don't we ask the Afghanistans if they want us there or not?

CALLER: I have a U.S. soldier over there that has been wounded. As far as I'm concerned President Obama is taking too long. He's waiting until the rest of the soldiers are killed before he sends in new troops. I think they should be sent now, and as far as I'm concerned, President Bush would have had them over a long time ago.

CALLER: Hi, this is Rachel from Tacoma, Washington. My feelings on both wars is that we shouldn't even been there. I was against the war from the very beginning.

But seeing that we have President Obama, I thought that he was going to end this war. But instead he has gone over to Afghanistan. He he needs to stand up to his advisers and say, this is what they put me here for, to end both wars. He needs to stand up and end this war. There's just no need for us to be in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow. So many strong opinions on either side of the debate. You can still voice your opinion. Just give us a call 1-877- 742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.

Wall Street and Main Street will find out on Thursday if the economy grew last quarter. But in the meantime, early indications, pretty good. A new survey says more jobs may be opening up -- whoa, did we bury the lead here?

Susan Lisovicz is in New York, the Time-Warner Center, with details. Good morning, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. You know, and this survey showed that 24 percent of companies plan to hire in the next six months.

HARRIS: OK.

LISOVICZ: OK? That's not such a big number, but Tony, it's bigger than the 20 percent that are planning layoffs. And, yes, this is the first time since the recession began nearly two years ago that companies surveyed say that they plan to hire more than those that say they plan to lay off.

The survey's from the National Association for Business Economics. A Fed official involved with it says it is evidence that recovery is under way.

What else is happening? More companies are spending money -- capital improvements. More companies are posting profits. Why is this? Consumer demand is picking up, Tony.

So, you know, there have been a lot of complaints that recovery moves at a glacial pace. You know, remember early on in the winter when it seemed like things were just less bad, and then stabilization, and something like this, that's an improved picture. And not only that, Tony, this survey shows how markedly it improved from July to October, in one quarter how things improved, which is why that GDP report for the third quart that we get later this week is going to be looked at quite closely.

HARRIS: You know, we talk about fundamentals all the time. And that reporting there feels like something fundamental, which is great to hear. But I'm also aware that not all companies are rebounding as fast as others. So, do we know which ones seem to be ready to start hiring again?

LISOVICZ: Right, and we don't want to be irrationally exuberant here. I mean, let's face it. Unemployment is at a 26-year high. It is expected to get higher.

But what did this particular survey show where hiring is occurring? The service sector. That's a big, broad category. In fact, it's the broadest part of the U.S. economy. What does that include? That includes things like restaurants, retail, entertainment, waste management.

Real estate and finance actually also had about the same growth, about 30 percent. Manufacturers, communications, all of this showing that there is room to hire.

Now, not everything is rosy here. I mean, a lot of companies say that it costs more for them to improve their businesses, and inflation is something we are going to be watching for very closely with this recovery. And also, credit conditions remain tight, but not as tight as they were earlier this year. Overall, pretty optimistic.

And you know, it fueled an early rally but right now we see a modest sell-off. The Dow is below 10,000. The Nasdaq's seeing a bit of weakness, too, but it's just modest, Tony. And the day is young.

HARRIS: And the day is young. Susan, see you next hour. Thanks.

LISOVICZ: You've got it.

HARRIS: You can save $500 -- really? -- $500 a month, get this, in all of your business information. Plus, see in-depth interviews at CNN.com/money.

So many concerns, so few vaccines for H1N1. We will bring you up to date on the national emergency declaration.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A pre-emptive strike against the H1N1 flu virus. The Obama administration has declared a national emergency to help hospitals better respond to the outbreak going forward. Health officials are also frustrated that vaccine production is running behind. A CDC official talked about the shortage with Kiran Chetry on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": The federal government originally was hoping, at least optimistically, that 120 million doses of swine flu would be available by now, by, say, the end of October. Right, as I understand it, only 13 to 16 million of those doses have come through. Can you explain why the holdup and when people can expect more of this vaccine to be available in their communities?

DR. ANNE SCHUCHAT, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: You know, this is a really frustrating situation. Influenza vaccines are produced through biological steps. It's like baking bread. You're growing viruses in eggs. Individual eggs are inoculated with the virus, and then each egg is cracked, and you try to see how much virus you've gotten.

Well, we haven't gotten as much virus, or the manufacturers haven't gotten as much as they would have expected. So, we're really seeing a big delay. What this means, though, for people that is doses are coming out, more and more doses every day. But it's going to take longer for there to be lots of vaccine in each community.

I know parents are frustrated. This is a hard time to see increase in disease in your communities. What it means for public health and the health system is we have to use every dose that comes out very carefully and get it out quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The lines for vaccines have been around the block. Nicole Lapin has been watching the iReports you've been sending us. And share some of those with us, Nicole.

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have been getting so many iReports in, Tony, about those lines. Take a look at what's going on in Farmington, Michigan, right now. This is one of our iReporters, Mike. He has a pregnant wife, so they really wanted the vaccine. They showed up at 1:00 in the morning, and there were hundreds -- look at this, hundreds and hundreds of people.

They just gave up because it was rainy, it was wet, it was cold. He had a 3-year-old kid with him, he had his pregnant wife with him, and they thought, Tony, that they were going to get sick just standing in this line.

Similar situation, a little bit different, in California. This is another iReport in that we got from one of our iReporters, Tommy Yoon (ph). He sent us this image from Chevy Chase Park in Los Angeles. He said it wasn't as crowded as the scene was in Michigan, but there were people, as you can check it out, law enforcement officials regulating this.

Not only were they giving out the H1N1 vaccine, but they were also giving out the seasonal swine flu vaccine. And he said that more people were actually taking the seasonal flu vaccine, and there were still some H1N1 vaccines left.

IReport.com, that looks a little fancy, doesn't it?

HARRIS: Yes it does.

LAPIN: I thought you were going to mention that.

HARRIS: Yes.

LAPIN: This is the spiffy, new CNN iReport site. It is all integrated to cnn.com. And right smack dab in the middle, you can see some of the best stuff we're getting in from all of our great iReporters all across the country, Tony, and all around the world. Because we can be in a lot of places, but we can't be everywhere.

Check out how many iReports we've gotten in just in the last 24 hours -- 316 iReports, 22 vetted. Of all time we have had, and look at this ticker, 377,000 iReports.

HARRIS: Wow. All right.

LAPIN: So, it's a really integral part of our newsgathering operation. And we're displaying it on CNN.com right now.

HARRIS: Terrific. Nicole, thank you.

LAPIN: You're welcome.

HARRIS: Let's do this. Let's get you caught up on top stories now. Fourteen Americans killed in separate helicopter crashes in Afghanistan, the military says. No enemy action was involved. Seven soldiers and three U.s. civilians died in a crash in the west. And in south, two choppers collided in flight, killing four more troops.

A rock slide shuts down Interstate 40 near the North Carolina- Tennessee border. It happened suddenly yesterday, causing three vehicles to crash into the falling rocks. One woman was hurt.

Yankees headed to their 40th World Series. Mariano does it again. They beat the Angels 5-2 Sunday in game six of the American League championship series. Let the celebration begin. Joy, joy, joy. They will play the National League champion Phillies starting Wednesday night in the boogie-down in the Bronx.

This morning, a young woman only known as Jane Doe has been identified. Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti takes a look at how police in New York were able to solve this mystery with very little to go on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her real name is Kacie Aleece Peterson of Hansville, Washington. She's 18 years old. After her ordeal, friends are relieved she's safe. Last week, police asked people all over the country to help identify her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New York City police, they've got a mystery on their hands, a teenager who can't remember her own name.

CANDIOTTI: CNN and other media described the girl's dilemma. The publicity worked. An unidentified CNN viewer from Maryland recognized the girl, called police, and that led them to the teen's family in Washington.

(on camera): The teenager was found about two and a half weeks ago on the sidewalk outside a home for runaways in New York, but she wasn't a client there. People found her in a fetal position and called police. They described her as disoriented and guessed she was anywhere from 14 to 20 years old.

They said she'd been missing for more than a month, and doctors said she appeared to have amnesia.

LT. CHRISTOPHER ZIMMERMAN, NYPD MISSING PERSONS BUREAU: Her answers to my detectives' questions so far have been "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know." Very clear and concise, but "I don't know." So, I mean, I don't know -- she was disoriented when she was found. She's a 14-year-old girl. She's definitely scared.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): This fantasy book might hold some clues. The teenager was said to have mentioned some words from a novel called "Fool's Fate" by Robin Hobb and was apparently also writing her own story. Clinical psychologist Dr. Judy Kuriansky suggests the teenager may have been lost in that fantasy world.

JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: The book she had with her, "A Fool's Fate," is about an epic, almost like "Harry Potter. It's phantasmagoric, where the characters are going on a search to slay a dragon. And that fantasy is what she was also looking, perhaps, to write about and that she was living in her own life.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): A local sheriff says Kacie was once found lying by a stream without any memory of how she got there or who she was. Now, her father reported her missing a few weeks ago, and the police were reportedly following her bank activity and did not issue an Amber alert.

So, while we no know who Kacie Peterson is, we still don't know why she vanished or how she got to New York.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So, it is out in London, one day before it's available in the United States.

(VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Otis (ph), turn that thing up a little bit. Let me feel that a little bit.

OK, that is -- that's all we have? -- Michael Jackson's double- disc CD. Get the hype machine fired up for a big, big Jackson week. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Just days before the movie release, Michael Jackson's "This is It" album hits -- we don't even call them albums anymore, do we? They're CDs. Hits some store shelves today, here in the United States tomorrow.

Our Morgan Neill is in London. Morgan, good to see you. Now, you actually had an opportunity to visit one of the stores selling the CD right now, correct?

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. We went out to one of the biggest music stores here in London to get an idea what kind of an atmosphere there would be surrounding this release. Remember, the last time we did this kind of story was just days after Michael Jackson's death.

And we were trying to gauge then just what the response of people would be. Well, compared to that today, it was very low key. A lot of people in the music store didn't even realize there was a new album out today, but those that did see the new album were surprised, but at the same time, delighted, like this young woman we talked to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICKY MANLEY, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: I didn't actually know it was coming out until I saw the adverts and stuff. Yes, I didn't really come to get it, but I'll probably end up spending a lot more money than I was supposed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEILL: Now, what this is essentially is, it's two discs, Tony. On the first disc, you've got a lot of the greatest hits and then the title track, which was actually released a couple of weeks ago. On the second, what you have are previously unreleased demos and a spoken-word poem, so things that might appeal to more long-term Michael Jackson fans, people looking for something they haven't heard before.

HARRIS: And Morgan, I'm curious, is that a line, as we take the live shot again, is that a line at the record store where you are? You mentioned that it's been low-key so far. Is that a line of folks lining up getting ready to buy the CD?

NEILL: We're not actually outside that record store at this point, Tony...

HARRIS: Oh, OK.

NEILL: ... so what you may be seeing may well be a line of people lined up to get some coffee this afternoon. But when we were at that record store, it was early morning. They say business may pick up later.

But what the people there said, the people who were relying on those sales as we head toward Christmas said was that they don't expect a big splash this time, because they saw that just after Michael Jackson's death as an emotional response. People wanted to get out and get memories of the artist that they knew so well.

Now what they expect to see are slow, steady sales picking up gradually as they head toward Christmas. We're also seeing T-shirts, calendars, all kinds of products on sale there -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. I'm actually curious to hear that CD. I want to hear some of the new music. And I guess I have to wait until tomorrow. And the movie is -- help me here, Morgan. When is the movie being released with essentially rehearsal video, correct?

NEILL: That's right. Just later this week -- it will be Tuesday night into Wednesday here in London -- we'll see the premiere of that. And that's going to happen worldwide at the same time, that documentary film that shows a lot of rehearsals that went into what was going to be Michael Jackson's last tour dates here, sold-out shows here in London, and of course had to be canceled afterwards.

Also this week we're going to see the opening of a show of Michael Jackson memorabilia here in London. So, this is really the album or the record or whatever you call them these days, release that kicks off the week -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Morgan Neill getting blasted by the sun there. Morgan, good to see you. Thank you.

You know, there is so much more going on with Michael Jackson's estate. Let's see, the movie being released, OK, Wednesday, and whether or not his children will be in a reality show. Are you kidding me here? Get all of that entertainment news, clips and everything else at CNN.com.

Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. House Majority Whip James Clyburn weighs on the push to include a government-run insurance plan in the health care bill.

And a new study suggests millions of American children may have less than recommended levels of Vitamin D. Our Elizabeth Cohen tells us who's most at risk and why Vitamin D is so important. Those stories and much more next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: 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 flier showing them wearing the same pants. They say the white student got in with no problems. Affiliate KTVI reports no comment from the club. Having health insurance for families facing difficult medical problems is critical. Some people go to great lengths to get that insurance, including a Wisconsin man who enlisted in the Army.

Let's go to Jason Carroll for this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CAROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, this is a story of a family dealing with cancer, no job, no health care insurance. One man decided the risk of his wife being uninsured far outweighed the risk of him joining the Army.

MICHELLE CAUDEL, CANCER PATIENT: Well, that's the wedding album there.

CARROLL (voice-over): Michelle Caudel was living the life she had always dreamed of, a stay-at-home mom, happily married to her high school sweetheart. The couple had three children, and for 21 years her husband worked at a plastics company called PolyOne, not far from their home in Sussex, Wisconsin.

Then, this past February, Bill Caudel lost his job.

CAUDEL: Technically, the economy put me in this situation. You know, if his plant wouldn't have closed, I wouldn't be here right now.

CARROLL: Their situation is this: Three years ago, doctors diagnosed Caudel with ovarian cancer.

CAUDEL: You know, with ovarian cancer, it's so quiet. It just kind of creeps up on you.

CARROLL: Surgery has not worked. Neither so far has chemotherapy. This past May, the cancer returned. No job meant the Caudels had no insurance and few options.

CAUDEL: Kind of in May we knew that the cancer was probably coming back, and when it came to him finding employment, insurance would be a key factor.

CARROLL: So, at the age of 39, Bill Caudel decided he would get insurance and a job by doing something he had always thought about, joining the Army.

CAUDEL: I just kind of laughed, you know, and then all of a sudden he was down there at the recruiter's office. You know, and I decided, because I've been through this cancer and he's been there for me, that I would support him.

He's been there for me. Cleaning the house -- I mean, he'd go to work, he'd come home, he'd clean the house, he'd make supper. He would take care of the house for me. And that's what I said. I said, when he left, I said, who's going to be there to baby me?

CARROLL: A few weeks ago, Caudel left for boot camp at Fort Knox. We wanted to speak to him about his family's story, but he says he wants to focus on training and let his wife do talking.

CAUDEL: How little you looked.

CARROLL: For her part, there is frustration the economy has turned on the family, but Caudel also feels an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

CAUDEL: I am proud of him.

CARROLL (on camera): Bill Caudel was scheduled to complete his basic training in December. At this point, it's not clear what his assignment will be after that. As for Michelle Caudel's prognosis, she has beaten the cancer twice, and though it has come back for a third time, she will continue the chemotherapy and hope for the best -- Tony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Jason, thank you.