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Gang Rape Arrests; U.N. Staffers Killed by the Taliban; Hearing for Terror Suspect
Aired October 28, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now for your top-of-the-hour reset.
I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM. Boy, a lot going on here in the NEWSROOM at this particular hour.
It is 8:30 p.m. in Afghanistan, where the U.N. has just suffered a big blow. Five of its staffers killed by the Taliban.
Plus, your opinion about Sarah Palin. New polling numbers just out. They may surprise you.
And it is noon at the White House, where a briefing is about to begin. We will take you there live when the key issues are being addressed.
Let's get started.
We are following developments in a disturbing story out of California, the gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl. Authorities say as many as two dozen people may have witnessed the attack following a homecoming dance. Now several people are in custody.
Lieutenant Mark Gagan with the Richmond, California, Police Department is on the line with us.
And Lieutenant, if you would, bring us up to speed, the latest in your investigation and the information that you've been developing that's led to this new round of arrests.
LT. MARK GAGAN, RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA, POLICE: Last night, our detectives and our SWAT team went out and arrested three more individuals. This is bringing the total of people in custody to five.
When the rape first occurred on Saturday, we caught one adult at the scene, and his statements led the arrest of a student at the high school on Monday. The three that were brought in last night, two of them are juveniles and one's an adult. And we are confident that we have many of the key players in this assault, although we still believe that three to five suspects are still outstanding.
And what's even more disturbing is we know that there were between probably 15 and 20 people who witnessed this assault and this crime as it went on for two and a half hours. None of them got involved. Some mocked the victim. Some made comments and dehumanizing behavior. But nobody helped her, nobody called the police.
HARRIS: Was this an isolated attack? Was this young woman -- or was this young woman targeted?
GAGAN: I would say that she knew many of the people that she was initially with because she was a student at the school, and some of them are students. I think that she felt comfortable being with them, and I think that the dark of the alley and the alcohol that was being consumed is what changed the dynamics.
HARRIS: Fifteen to 20 people watching this and not helping. Can you explain what is going on? Have you seen anything like this? And how do you explain people who are witnesses a crime, at some point understanding the severity of what's going on, and still not cooperating by giving you the names, a way to get to the other people who witnessed this and, in some cases, participated?
GAGAN: Well, a definite mob mentality took over. I think that of the suspects who committed the acts, individually very few of them would have behaved in that way if they were on their own. But in that group, in that pack, they were able to do unspeakable, atrocious things.
And I think that the people that watched had a sense of anonymity in the crowd. And the thing that we're seeing now is that when you pull an individual suspects into an interview room, in an interrogation room, and start accusing them and showing them how much trouble they are in, that mob mentality that allowed them to behave that way, now it's individual culpability. And we're seeing people crumble, and they're telling us everything that they did, as well as what they know other people did.
HARRIS: How confident are you that you will be able to get everyone who was involved in any way, shape or form in this attack?
GAGAN: Well, I know that we have many of the key players, and there are a few more that we are going to apprehend. And what bothers me is, the people that played lessor roles in this, as well as those who observed and did nothing, cannot really be punished.
And I think that anybody that was aware of what was going on from 9:30 to midnight, the two and a half hours that this ordeal went on, those people who did nothing actually cannot be brought to justice. There is no punishment for not reporting. And so, for those who committed the atrocious sex acts and robbed our victim and beat her, I'm fairly confident that they will all be will punished for their felonies. But those who betrayed the victim by not doing anything, they can't be punished.
HARRIS: And some of these people the victim considered friends?
GAGAN: That's correct. I was disturbed by -- when I heard some of the statements made by the suspects and our victim, that that was how close the relationship was. I actually cannot explain what allowed so many men and so many school -- students -- to behave this way, but a definite mob mentality took over. HARRIS: Lieutenant Gagan, thank you for your time.
GAGAN: You're welcome.
HARRIS: And thanks for -- boy, that's a pretty frank discussion of the investigation at this point.
Janine De La Vega of our affiliate KTVU is joining us now. She is live from Richmond, California.
And Janine, I don't know if you had an opportunity to listen to that.
JANINE DE LA VEGA, REPORTER, KTVU: I did.
HARRIS: But that was a pretty frank and honest discussion. You could hear the frustration and the emotion in the lieutenant's voice as he was describing what's going on with the investigation at this point.
Can you give us a sense of how that community, how that school is reacting to this horrible attack?
DE LA VEGA: Yes, Tony. Well, this has really outraged the community. Let me tell you what is going on at the school campus.
We were there yesterday, and, you know, while students are outraged, the talk among some of these students, they're saying that some people are actually blaming the victim, saying that she was drunk and that, you know, she shouldn't have done that. Some people are saying that people used to make fun of her for other various reasons. Other students are hearing that and saying, you know, how could you blame her? So it's this back and forth.
School district officials are really upset that students are reacting like this. And actually, tonight there is going to be a community meeting at Richmond High School. They are inviting parents to come, they're inviting students to come and discuss safety.
They feel that a school assembly is also needed to address the fact that there were so many witnesses, maybe up to 12 people, who actually stood there and did nothing about it. That's very bothersome to the administrators here at Richmond High School.
So, that maybe gives you a sense of people are laying blame, some on the victim. Some saying of course it's not her fault, how can you say that?
So, I think though for the majority of the people, they are saying this is a definitely a heinous crime. They are encouraged that police have been making arrests, and this is positive news, that police seem to be gaining good leads.
HARRIS: Yes.
Janine De La Vega with our California affiliate in Richmond, California, KTVU.
Janine, appreciate it. Thank you.
Overseas now to a brazen attack in the heart of the Afghan capital. Militants killed five U.N. staffers in a guest house.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is in Kabul and was close enough to see some of the action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just before dawn, militants storm a compound in the middle of Kabul. Armed with machine guns and suicide vests, they attacked a private guest house where United Nations workers were sleeping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were sound asleep when we started hearing -- well, we started hearing that. Now there's black smoke rising about. Man, no more than about two blocks away, you can look down there, you see a lot of the Afghan police, U.N. vehicles that have been pulling out.
LAWRENCE: Afghan police surrounded the compound; security forces tried to drive the militants out.
(on camera): This is the result of what we were hearing all morning. Bullet holes all through this gate, shell casings just littering the ground. That was all part of the crossfire coming from the compound where the militants attacked.
(voice-over): Militants and Afghan security forces were killed. The U.N. says the initial attack killed at least five members of its staff.
ADRIAN EDWARDS, U.N. SPOKESMAN: This is a totally senseless thing that's happened here. It's an outrage and it's a tragedy.
LAWRENCE: President Hamid Karzai, the European Union, and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul all condemn the militants' raid. "Attacking civilian workers will not lessen our determination to support the Afghan people and their election progress."
The Taliban have claimed responsibility, fulfilling an earlier threat to disrupt next week's presidential run-off election.
EDWARDS: We obviously will have to adjust our security in light of this, but this is a very serious incident.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence joining us live now from Kabul.
And Chris, look, the obvious question is, where was the security lapse here? What happened? LAWRENCE: That's right, Tony. That is exactly what the United Nations is trying to determine right now. In fact, they are re- evaluating their entire security plan across the board. And President Hamid Karzai has just offered the Afghan army and police to step up its security over all the international organizations in the city, not just the U.N. -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. CNN's Chris Lawrence for us in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Chris, thank you.
Neighboring Pakistan also reeling today from a terrorist attack. This one, a massive explosion at a marketplace in Peshawar. The blast causing buildings to crumble, fires to break out in shops, homes and mosques. Authorities have just raised the death toll to 100, with at least another 200 people wounded.
Most of the victims women and children. Officials say the blast was caused by a vehicle packed with 330 pounds of explosives.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls the militants who launched the attack cowards on the losing side of history. Clinton is in the Pakistani capital right now, on her first official visit to the country. She is trying to chip away at anti-Americanism and establish a relationship based on more than just terror-fighting operations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a critical moment, and the United States seeks to turn the page to a new partnership with not only the government, but the people of a democratic Pakistan. We hope to build a strong relationship based on mutual respect and mutual shared responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: NASA's next generation rocket finally got off the ground. Take a look at this.
This was spectacular last hour. After a number of bad weather delays, the first test flight lasted just two minutes. The unmanned prototype is being developed to eventually replace the shuttle fleet.
The push to include a public option in the Senate health reform bill hits a stumbling block. A key senator says he will side with Republicans to block any bill that includes government-run health insurance.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is struggling to get the 60 votes he will need to break a Republican filibuster, but he can't count on Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: It's still a government- run health insurance plan that puts the federal taxpayer on the line. And I don't want to do that at this point in our nation's history. If at the end it's not what I think is good for our country, and most people living in our country, then I'll vote against cloture, I'll join a filibuster, and I'll try to stop the bill from passing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: I have the greatest confidence in Joe Lieberman's ability as a legislator, and he with work with us when this gets on the floor. And I'm sure he'll have some interesting things to do in the way of an amendment. But Joe Lieberman is the least of Harry Reid's problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK.
One of two men arrested in an alleged terror plot abroad is due in court in Chicago this hour. The men are accused of planning an attack against a Danish newspaper. The paper set off widespread protests, you may remember, after it printed a cartoon depicting the prophet Mohammed wearing bomb-shaped turban.
Drew Griffin of our Special Investigations Unit is here with more on this case.
And Drew, as we mentioned, one of the suspects in court right now.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
HARRIS: Another to be in court soon, I would imagine. Who are they?
GRIFFIN: You would say the lesser of the two was in court. But what's really interesting, you know, this was old, an old story, right? Remember?
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.
GRIFFIN: Years ago? You thought it was all done?
Apparently, according to the allegations thahat are being made now by the federal government, these two men were stewing about this in Chicago, wanted to do something about it, so they got together. They both went to school in Pakistan in 1974. They find themselves living there in Chicago. They start talking about how mad they are over these cartoons. They contact terrorists in Pakistan.
HARRIS: Yes.
GRIFFIN: High-ranking terrorists, Tony. Really bad guys.
So, these guys from Chicago are able to communicate, do some planning, work out a plan where they are going to go to Denmark from Chicago, bomb the newspaper, kill the cartoonist, all in the name of their terrorist affiliation in Pakistan. I think overall what we're seeing is just how dynamic, how interconnected these terrorists are, and how hard it is to infiltrate them, because these guys in Chicago planning a terrorist attack, with the help of Pakistan terrorists, through Denmark.
HARRIS: OK. Now, we've seen that all of these plots are not created equally.
GRIFFIN: That's right.
HARRIS: But this one feels different. This one feels a little bit more scary.
GRIFFIN: And the reason is because the main person -- David Headley is his name -- in Chicago, he changed his name, the FBI says, so he can travel more easily. His original name was Daoud Gilani (ph). He has contact with a guy in Pakistan named Kashmiri (ph).
Kashmiri (ph) is such a bad guy, that the U.S. tried to kill him with drones. OK?
HARRIS: OK.
GRIFFIN: So, we've got this communication going back and forth between, hey, what looks like a business guy in Chicago, right, dealing with this major terrorist and terrorist organization in Pakistan, all conspiring to blow up a newspaper in Denmark.
HARRIS: So maybe you're hinting at how the FBI was able to get these guys.
GRIFFIN: What we're learning is intercepted phone calls, intercepted e-mail, obviously some kind of traffic pattern in terms of where these guys are traveling. Headley goes to Denmark a couple of time, he does surveillance. He takes videotapes, he comes back to Chicago. Next thing you know, he's going to Pakistan. So, they were able to put all of these little pieces together.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Yes.
GRIFFIN: So, he's going back and forth. He was actually arrested at O'Hare Airport with the videotapes in his pocket of the Denmark newspaper in Copenhagen that he's allegedly tried to blow up.
HARRIS: All right. This absolutely feels like an important one. Thanks for working on this.
GRIFFIN: It is important, yes. It's hard to break.
HARRIS: Yes, exactly. Drew, appreciate that, the new information on this. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, is it all about the branding? Some congressional leaders are exploring new names for the public option in order to get the idea approved.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In the make-or-break debate over health care reform, would a public option by any other name be as controversial? That's what some Democrats are trying to figure out.
As CNN's Jim Acosta reports, they are trying out different ways of rebranding the hot-button issue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In front of a group of seniors in Florida, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was testing out some options for what to call the public option.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: We're not throwing them to the wolves of the insurance industry without an option for them to choose which is what I would call not the public option but the consumer option.
ACOSTA: The consumer option she said just sounds better.
PELOSI: Everybody says that there's got to be a better name for this because it can be misrepresented.
ACOSTA: And she's not alone. We caught up with Minnesota Congressman Jim Oberstar who just got out of a meeting with fellow House Democrats where he pitched the Medicare Part E, "E" as in everybody.
REP. JAMES OBERSTAR (D), MINNESOTA: The general public are very comfortable with, attach to, trusting of Medicare. Call it Medicare E, they'll understand better.
ACOSTA: But Republicans say a government insurance program for the uninsured won't work no matter what you call it.
SEN. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: It's time to stop all of this. It's time to hit the reset button and start over in a bipartisan way.
ACOSTA: And if there's one group that's having the toughest time accepting a public option, it's seniors, who already have government health care in Medicare. According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Poll on the public option, 61 percent, overall, like the idea. But among 65 and older, that support plummets to 41 percent.
KEATING HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: The fact that many seniors are happy with their own Medicare may mean that rebranding this as Medicare will bring a few seniors at least on board. That's the group that the Democrats might be worried about the most.
ACOSTA: And Democrats have worries within their own ranks. Independent Joe Lieberman, who caucuses with the Democrats, says he'll support a filibuster to block the public option as it stands now.
REID: Joe Lieberman is the least of Harry Reid's problem.
ACOSTA: Jim Oberstar says a public rebranding may be in order inside Congress.
(on camera): Do members of Congress understand what the public option is, do you think?
OBERSTAR: Oh, there is a great deal of, I think, confusion about what is really in and what is not.
ACOSTA: Really, even in Congress?
OBERSTAR: There are gaps in the understanding of what the public option really means.
ACOSTA: A spokesperson for the Speaker says Democrats aren't discarding the public option brand just yet, but members of Congress do recall one line they heard time and again at those town hall meetings: "Keep your government hands off my Medicare." Democrats may find it easier to sell the public option if they just call it something else.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right. Let's get caught up on our top stories now.
A traffic nightmare for folks in the San Francisco area. Authorities have shut down the Bay Bridge indefinitely for inspection after a rod and metal brace fell from the upper structure onto the highway. About $280,000 vehicles cross the Bay Bridge every day.
After numerous weather delays, NASA's exploration rocket finally made it off the ground today. This was spectacular. The unmanned test flight lasted just two minutes. The Ares rocket is being developed to eventually replace the shuttle fleet.
Taliban militants storm a guest house in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing five U.N. staffers, including one American. It was part of a bloody effort to undermine next month's presidential run-off.
We will check the top stories again for you in 20 minutes.
The government turns its eye on the NFL and health risks associated with repeated brain injuries. A House committee wants records on football head injuries from the players' union, the NCAA, high schools, and medical researches. Fifty-six former football players report having dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, or other memory- related problems. Today, the committee heard from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: Medical considerations must always come first. Decisions regarding treatment of players with concussions, and when they can resume play, must be made by doctors and doctors alone. We are changing the culture of our game for the better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The committee is discussing whether the issue is serious enough to warrant federal oversight.
Your opinion of Sarah Palin, honest, trustworthy, qualified to be the next president? We'll break it down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. What do Americans think of Sarah Palin, and what do Republicans think about Palin as a candidate in 2012?
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining us from Washington.
Paul, good to see you.
All right. So we've got some new polling out, a new CNN/Research Opinion poll on Sarah Palin.
What's in it? What does it say?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Tony, remember last year, when the then-Alaska governor was John McCain's running mate?
HARRIS: Oh yes.
STEINHAUSER: The big question, was she qualified to be president if something happened to McCain? Check out these brand new numbers.
It's still a question mark. Less than three in 10 Americans think she is qualified to be president, and 71 percent say no. You break it down by Republicans, and they're split on that question as well.
But look at these numbers. There's some good things here for Sarah Palin as well, I guess.
Two-thirds think she's not a typical politician. That's good. A good role model for women, cares for people, and is honest and trustworthy.
Tony, you asked about that early, early, early look at the race for the White House the next time around, the Republican presidential nomination. Here are our numbers as of right now. Mike Huckabee at 32 percent. Remember him, the former Arkansas governor, ran last time.
Palin, about one in four.
Romney, 21 percent. He ran last time as well.
Tim Pawlenty at about 10 percent.
They're looking for somebody else. Tony, it's real early. We're about a year away from the real race for the White House on the Republican side. This is still the pre-game show, but a little sneak peek.
And remember, these numbers on Palin, they come less than three weeks before her new book comes out. Everybody is looking forward to that book, I would assume.
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. I want to read that myself.
All right, Paul. Appreciate it. Thank you.
And for all of the latest political news and analysis, check out the new CNNPolitics.com.
Let's show you the White House briefing room here. We're trying to tee this up for you.
We're going to take a portion of the White House daily briefing today with White House spokesman Robert Gibbs because there is a lot of interest in the president's take on a number of issues. We're talking about health care reform. Maybe we can get an update on the president's deliberations as he gets closer to making a decision on the way forward in Afghanistan. Maybe some reaction to another really horrible day not only in Afghanistan, but in Pakistan.
So we're going to bring you a portion of the daily briefing today. We will let the White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, go through some of his early notes, and hope to get your back there just in time for some of his reactions and some of his thoughts, some of his answers to questions on the real issues of the day. We'll do that in a moment.
From CEO of eBay to gubernatorial hopeful, in today's "Mind Over Money," we are talking with Meg Whitman. She is campaigning in California.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEG WHITMAN, FORMER EBAY CEO: It's taken a while to get it to this situation and will take some time to get out. But if we can create a better business climate that will be more employers, more employees paying taxes, then that will help the revenue side of the equation.
We have got to improve the unemployment rate in California. We are bleeding jobs to neighboring states.
Small business is very important because we have to create the conditions for businesses to grow and thrive.
We can either cut services or raise taxes. There's a third way, which is make this government much more efficient. And I know we can do this.
There's billions of dollars that can be saved by doing things that we do in business every day. So, the government will never be run exactly like a business, but a little he bit of business savvy, business know-how, I think will go a long way.
Be your authentic self. Mean what you say, say what you mean, have a set of core values that guides both your business life, as well as your personal life. So, integrity and trust and authenticity, I think, ,is the most important thing. So, you have to be exactly who you are, operating on a core set of values. And I think that's probably the best advice that I got from my dad way back when.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, that's good stuff.
All right. As Congress considers extending unemployment benefits, who is getting hit the hardest and where?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Let's get you to the White House daily briefing and the White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: That's person to ask that to or somebody in the CIA.
QUESTION: What's the reaction here to the attack in Kabul?
GIBBS: Well, look -- I think whether it's the events in Kabul or in Pakistan obviously -- the president sent his condolences to those innocent victims of violent extremists in Kabul obviously, there is an attempt by some to disrupt the will of the Afghan people in choosing their next government that this administration believes will not succeed and I think the events in Pakistan demonstrate the lengths that extremist will go to -- when the type of threat that they pose not just for this country but for the government of Pakistan as well.
QUESTION: Is there a reason here about or either how much or what kind of security is needed over the next couple of weeks, then?
GIBBS: Well, obviously that has been discussed in this run-off process and the administration is confident that there are appropriate resources to conduct the election and that the world and the Afghan people won't be thwarted. Excuse me.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) What is President Obama doing to help Harry Reid get to 60 votes?
GIBBS: Well, the president is obviously working to see Congress continue to be made on health care. How? The president and his team are spending time on Capitol Hill in dealing with Capitol Hill each day in order to move this process forward. Yes, sir?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Going back to Pakistan, the president has said repeatedly that again -- in Florida the other day that it is more important to get the strategy right than do get it done fast. But given the fact that there has been new violence pretty much everyday this week in Afghanistan, October has become the deadliest month in the war. Doesn't Senator McCain have a point resources become kind of a long-protracted decision making process, and maybe it's time to act?
GIBBS: I don't think -- I certainly wouldn't agree with Senator McCain on that. I don't think the American people agree with Senator McCain on that. I think it's important to hear and get -- to get this right. And that's the process by which the president is undertaking with this national security team. And that's what is important.
QUESTION: Back in March, part of the rationale with sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan was to help secure the country in advance of the election. There's a runoff coming up. By that same rational, why not send more U.S. troops in the short term in order to secure the country. There is a run-off coming.
(CROSSTALK)
GIBBS: ... Because, as I stated it earlier, the troops that were authorized to go by the president to create a security environment that allows us to have an election, we saw the same type of cowardly violence leading up to the first election.
I don't doubt that are going to be members of the Taliban or violent extremists that seek to disrupt as I said, the will of the Afghan people. That's not going to be successful. The Afghan people are going to decide who their next government will be run by. And we're confident of that.
QUESTION: "The Washington Times" is reporting today that the president has awarded big donors to Democratic National Committee with various accesses to senior officials here at the White House. One donor got a visit to the Oval Office. Obviously, no -- other White House or Democrats with public is up done things like this. The president has actually promised to clean this up. What went wrong?
GIBBS: Well, and I think understanding that what this president has done is institute the very toughest ethics and transparency rules in any administration in history. We're the first administration in history that will soon provide a list of each and every person that visits the White House, something that has never been done before.
And the Democratic National Committee does not accept contributions from registered federal obvious or a political action committee that hasn't done so since President Obama became the party's nominee last year. I think it's the statement that we should said a contributor -- contributing doesn't guarantee a visit to the White House. There was a preclude.
QUESTION: People are getting special access because of these donations.
(CROSSTALK)
GIBBS: Hundreds and thousands of people have visited this White House since the president came in, and I think the president has returned to a stance of transparency in ethics that hasn't been matched by any other White House.
QUESTION: The RNC (ph) is calling for the White House to release the names of those who have gotten special access to White House advisors like the bullying ally (ph). You list those names?
GIBBS: Every name of every person that comes to this White House will be released. I think, soon to be some, look back list that will be released but, again, this is something again -- for the first time in any administration at any point in our history that we've undertaken, releasing publicly those names.
(INAUDIBLE)
GIBBS: The Republican National Committee. There are two political parties. There are two major political parties in this country. One party doesn't accept contributions from registered federal lobbyists. That same party doesn't accepts contributions from political action committees.
QUESTION: Are you saying?
GIBBS: It's not the committee with what you just asked me the question now.
QUESTION: Are you saying the White House will release the names of the donors will come in and they would say did they meet in the particular white house advisors as in exchange for those recommendations?
GIBBS: We have an agreement that we announced in August the names of people that came into the White House will be released. As per the Fed forms on the FCC.
QUESTION: Will we have a name on the list or will we know that they came here to meet with the senior White House official in exchange for a contribution?
QUESTION: Chip, as we did this briefing in August, I'll remind you that the wage records will denote who that person is, when they came, how long they were here and who they met. Again, a standard not met by any other previous White House.
QUESTION: What if they use the White House bowling alley, for example?
GIBBS: Well, there are only a couple of people that I know that use the residence bowling alley. I can report to you that with the bumpers down bowled a couple of games while eating some Chick-Fil- A.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Was there a quid pro quo here?
GIBBS: No, of course not.
QUESTION: The DNC documents actually say those who raise $300 thousand before the 2010 midterm election get quarterly meetings with senior members of the Obama administration. But there was White House officials.
How can you point us to them when its White House officials do the meeting ...
And one other, do you know if any of these donors have had a reminding of a ...
GIBBS: No, I'm not aware of.
QUESTION: In view of the escalation of deaths in Afghanistan was the president considering withdrawing or considering a change?
GIBBS: No, the president begins the meetings on the assessment saying that we are not -- we were not leaving Afghanistan. We understand -- we understand that we have a role to play in ensuring stability in the region which is why the president is taking his time to get this policy right.
CHUCK TODD, NBC CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Follow up questions. When the first round of these releases is December 15th is when we are supposed to get them?
GIBBS: Sometimes in late December, yes.
TODD: That is for everybody going back three months? Is that -- and that's, the White House is going to work every three months, we'll get the previous three months?
GIBBS: That's what I understand, yes.
TODD: All right. On Afghanistan, I know you don't want to comment but Karzai's brother but for authorities like this, obviously they don't just get consumed here. Is it a concern with the White House that a story like this can -
(INAUDIBLE)
TODD: Are you worried about stories like this? Influencing the environment in Afghanistan?
GIBBS: I will say very separately from again, if you have questions about that story, there are places to go to.
TODD: I have a speculation like this. It is helpful?
GIBBS: I would say you have a speculation, Chuck.
(LAUGHTER)
GIBBS: But I would say that this administration is, as you know, conducting a comprehensive assessment as to where we are and every participant in any meeting that has happened here as part of that assessment understanding that we have to have and we must have a partner that address its government issues as we move forward that goes from anybody this year representing anybody that is a civilian or anybody also.
TODD: As Karzai's brothers ...
QUESTION: That sounds like a little bit of a slap down.
GIBBS: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: That sounds like a little bit of a slap down.
GIBBS: I've said repeatedly...
QUESTION: How is that related to something like that story?
GIBBS: Well, I said to Chuck that it wasn't related. If you have questions about that story, there are places to go.
TODD: As Karzai's brothers business dealings come up in the Afghanistan, and one of the thing, on these professionals, there were dramatic drops in the public perception as to whether the president is changing business as usual, uniting the country. Why do you think the public doesn't see him as doing very well on those markers?
GIBBS: Well, look, I think that the public understands as it relates to many of the questions in your poll, that we have -- we have work to do -- we have not -- you guys take polls on fairly periodic basis.
We continue to work on making sure that what the president asked what was happening in this campaign that the American people reported. That we work to accomplish. Not all of that was done by the time your poll was conducted...
HARRIS: OK. Let's do this. Let's leave the daily White House briefing. Stay with us while in just the moment while we try to rack up the news the conference scheduled to begin any moment now. Secretary Napolitano and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius holding a news conference to give us an update on the H1N1 virus.
Do we have it yet? Until we do, we'll stay with the White House briefing.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GIBBS: In reading your poll, the president doesn't spend a lot of time focused on only what is politically popular. The president didn't take an approval rating in January and put it on the shelf for all of us to shine and admire.
TODD: This was something that he just talked about as Senator Brook? And the president -- it looks like the public is saying, this isn't happening.
GIBBS: It isn't happening. But I...
QUESTION: What about accepting responsibility?
GIBBS: The president accepts responsibility of reaching out every day to make sure it happens. He's done that. But as I've said -- if I said it once, I've said it two dozen times; there are many roads that lead from this building to Capitol Hill. Very few of them are one way.
Look, again, as we talk about the recovery plan, before the motorcade left the White House they put out a statement opposing it, John Boehner came out several months ago saying he opposed health care despite the fact that your same poll shows that if we leave the system as is, that will be a disappointment for the American people because they will continue to pay for the high cost of health care and they will continue to be discriminated against by insurance companies. Million more small businesses will not be able to offer the type of benefits that they need to offer to attract the type of workers they need to create jobs.
QUESTION: Can you tell us between now and Tuesday what more activity if any the president and the vice president are going to be having for Democratic candidates up for election?
GIBBS: I don't have the vice president's schedule. I know the president as was previously announced will be in New Jersey on Sunday.
QUESTION: Is that for a rally or a fundraiser or both?
GIBBS: I believe there's two stops, and I believe one of them is a rally.
QUESTION: And what do you think -- what do you think this election means to Democratic Party and to the president?
GIBBS: Well, we'll have a chance to dissect stuff at different points. I'll reiterate what I said yesterday on the plane while we were in Virginia. I think that the pollsters at "The Washington Post" poll identified the fact that roughly 70 percent of the state said their vote had nothing to the president of the United States. That the remaining 30 was roughly divided evenly among those who wanted to use the vote to say something about the president and which led the pollsters to reduce and had very little to do with the Obama presidency. I think the same poll should that among likely voters for next Tuesday -- HARRIS: OK. Let's jump out of the White House daily briefing at this point. A couple things here, there's not a whole lot of news made in the briefing but on health care, the question was asked, what is the president doing to help majority -- Senate majority leader Harry Reid get to 16 votes on health care reform. You heard Robert Gibbs saying that the president is doing and his team were working on Capitol Hill to get it done.
OK and on the question of why this much time to make the decision on Afghanistan the White House spokesman said the president doesn't agree with those like Senator McCain who says the president is taking too long to make a decision on Afghanistan, He was saying the president will announce his decision when he is ready to do it. When he is ready to make that decision public and available for all of us.
All right. The White House daily briefing. Let's take a break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Let's take you to Health and Human Services right now for an update on the h1n1 virus with Secretary Sebelius.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The national bio defense board, his advisory committee on immunization practices to make sure that we were getting the best lenses on the situation that we possibly could.
And they all agreed that we should be doing the following. That we should track and isolate the virus, study who is most at risk which is how the priority group for the vaccination group was developed and make sure that the treatment protocols and health guidance were clear and transparent and communicate critical information on a as you know it basis, and I would say the robust communication strategy has included interesting partners from Elmo to Facebook to try and reach out with messages.
Securing and distributing critical anti-viral drugs and medical equipment, working with the five manufacturers that are in place and I would remind people that as recently as four years ago the United States relied on one manufacturer for flu vaccines.
So, diversifying that manufacturing basis has been a key part of the planning leading to this state. And developing a safe and effective vaccine, which was done in less than six months when the typical timetable is closer to nine months.
We have a brand-new distribution system. More robust than ever in the history of this country, with up to 150,000 sites ready to receive vaccine, identified virus state and local partners and we have now a state-of-the-art vaccine safety and tracking system.
HARRIS: All right. We are listening to the secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, and on her right is the secretary of Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano giving us an update on H1N1. We'll continue to follow developments on this story of course.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, are you twittering on company time? It is costing your boss a lot of money.
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HARRIS: Is twittering a dangerous waste of your time? Well, it could be if you do too much of it while you're on the job. Our Errol Barnett explains.
ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All those twits that you are sending and crops you are growing on Farmville one of the most popular games on Facebook, that is wasting your company's time. No, big surprise, right?
Well, you might think so when you realize just how much time and money it is costing your bosses. According to a new survey just released by an ITV research firm in the UK they surveyed almost 1,500 employees.
Here is what they found. More than half admitted to using the social network every day at work and the averaging spending about 40 minutes a week on these social sites for themselves. But they said other people at work spend up to an hour a week, and the most serious findings that they have seen quote, sensitive company information posted on social networks. It cost more than 2.2 billion a year because of lost productivity that is almost 1.4 billion pounds.
The researchers said that true cost to the economy as a whole could actually be much larger. One of the problems that they identified is that about three quarters of the employees surveyed said their bosses just don't have any rules about using twitter at work and that is what these researchers want to aim to change.
One of them said look when it comes to an office environment, the use of these sites is clearly becoming a productivity black hole. Businesses shouldn't turn a blind eye. And a rep for an employment placing firm says, "As long as the younger generations join the workplace businesses, we'll inevitably have to embrace social networks and recognize the benefits."
They even said some of those benefits are well desired down time or networking within your industry. So, what do you think? Is using social networks while at work a waste of time of a necessity? Send me your thoughts at Twitter. You probably shouldn't do that while you are at work.
From the CNN Center, I'm Errol Barnett.
HARRIS: Here are some tweets right now. We're pushing forward with next hour of CNN. Kyra.
