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Health Care Reform Holdups; Sweeping Election Victories; Got the Flu, But No Sick Leave

Aired November 04, 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: It is Wednesday, November 4th, and here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A Republican rebound. The GOP takes two key governorships from the Democrats. Full election results straight ahead.

Long lines for flu shots. But what if you get sick first and you've got no time off work? Congress may mandate swine flu sick days.

And Iranians mark the 30th anniversary of the U.S. hostage crisis, but some don't protest America. They protest their own government.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris in New York Today. I'm told there is a pretty big baseball game here tonight.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Scrambling to round up the votes on health care reform, the Senate's top Democrat hints at a possible delay, while House leaders tackle sticky issues like abortion and immigration.

Let's get the latest on where things stand.

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

Dana, good to see you.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Let's get started this way -- does this manager's amendment, as you know, which was released yesterday, answer the questions that many Democrats have on the issues of immigration, abortion, and even the public option?

BASH: They don't seem to. It doesn't necessarily address the public option, but on the issue of abortion, not so much.

And what we're talking about, of course, is what House Democrats did last night is something that happens often with big pieces of legislation. They released a package of minor changes. It wasn't that long, and it was aimed at addressing some of the concerns that they heard from some of their fellow Democrats before they actually bring this bill to the floor.

But as I said, particularly on the issue of abortion, that really wasn't addressed at all. And that's why you talk to -- one of the reasons, I should say, you talk to undecided Democrats. They say that they just don't know if they can go for this.

I talked to one of those, Tony -- Jason Altmire. He was one of the most vulnerable Democratic congressman. He's from the state of Pennsylvania, and he made pretty clear he doesn't know where he's going to go, and abortion is one of the reasons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I don't think that we should have a bill that allows one penny of federal money to fund abortion, directly or indirectly. So that is an issue that's of concern.

The illegal immigration issue is of concern to me. So, when you have a 1900-page bill, there's a lot in there that you're going to like, there's a lot you're not going to like. And for me, the issue is, how can we resolve all of these issues in a way that's not going to hurt what we're trying to do in the bill, which is lower the cost of health care?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And on that issue, lowering the cost of health care, for people like Jason Altmire, who really is a fiscal conservative on the Democratic side, that is the name of the game. And he thinks though that the changes that were made in the House bill, that they are actually pretty good, as far as he's concerned, because his biggest concern is that it would add to the deficit. The House bill does not do that.

The price tag is higher than he would like, but he says that the fact that it doesn't add to the deficit, that's pretty good. He'll decide, he said, in the next couple of days.

HARRIS: Yes.

And Dana, Senate Majority Leader Reid now says health care reform may not end up on the president's desk by the end of the year. What do you know about this?

BASH: We know that the Senate majority leader was asked point blank a very direct question yesterday, whether or not he does think that the Senate health care bill could pass by the end of the year. We know that was very much the goal by the Democratic leadership, and especially of the White House.

The answer was not yes. He didn't answer at all, except to say that he is not going to be bound by any artificial timelines.

That is certainly a signal that he is being pretty candid about a reality that is going on in the Senate, Tony, and that is a couple of things. That they are having issues with trying to determine a very important thing, and that is the cost of the health care bill. They don't know how much it is. They're waiting to hear back from the Congressional Budget Office.

And the issue that we have talked about so many times -- moderate Democrats. There is just a big question mark among many of them as to whether they can support what the majority leader wants, and that is a version of the public option.

So, that is delaying this. That is not good news. In fact, I think it's fair to say it's pretty much of a blow to the White House.

It's not a done deal. It is still possible. But he definitely left the door open to bleeding into next year, an election year.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

OK. Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash for us.

Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.

BASH: Thank you.

HARRIS: If it's good enough for the country, it should be good enough for Congress. That is the strategy some Republican lawmakers are using to push back against the public option.

Earlier today, they announced an amendment to the House bill that would automatically enroll members of Congress in the government plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R), LOUISIANA: I think this is the ultimate "put your money where your mouth is" amendment. It says if you really do want a government takeover of health care, you need to join that government plan that you're trying to impose on the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Checking the wire now and some of the day's other top stories.

A Cleveland judge has denied bond for a rapist who had 10 women's bodies hidden at his home. Anthony Sowell is facing multiple charges of murder, rape, assault and kidnapping. Yesterday, investigators discovered four more bodies at his home after finding six a few days earlier, and they'll keep looking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MICHAEL MCGRATH, CLEVELAND POLICE: We're going to bring in the fire department and we're going to check walls, floors, et cetera., in that particular residence. We also, today, with the cooperation of our Building and Housing Department, we checked all abandoned structures that were open, a quarter mile area around that particular residence. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: In Afghanistan, Britain says an Afghan policeman opened fire, killing five British soldiers. The attack happened yesterday afternoon at a checkpoint in the volatile Helmand Province, where the Brits were training Afghan police. Former presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah suggests this is an example of corruption in the Karzai government. He urged President Obama to send more troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, FORMER AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Eight years down the road, we still need more troops. In the absence of a credible and reliable and legitimate partner, more soldiers, more resources are the only thing which would be resorted to. And so that gives you the picture where we are at this stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Cairo today, a last-minute addtion to her Mideast swing. She told the Egyptians that Israel's offer to restrain settlement construction is a positive step, but Clinton says the U.S. wants settlement activity to "stop forever."

Arabs took a remark Clinton made earlier in Jerusalem to mean the U.S. is backing off demands Israel halt settlements.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Our policy on settlements has not changed. I want to say that again. Our policy on settlement activity has not changed.

We do not accept the legitimacy of settlement activity. And we have a very firm belief that ending all settlement activity, current and future, would be preferable, and that is what we have put forth and that is what we have continued to support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: It is a national holiday in Iran. Take a look.

The country is marking events that happened 30 years ago today. Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy and held hostages for 444 days, but this tape shows Iranians upset about June's disputed presidential election. They turned today's event into a protest against the revolutionary government. Riot police moved in pretty quickly.

A live report later this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Elections 2009. This morning, Republicans are celebrating significant victories, claiming governor seats in both New Jersey and Virginia.

CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has been studying the numbers. Paul, good to see you. Let's get started here.

Why did Republicans sweep to victories in New Jersey and Virginia?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good question. And Tony, exit polls kind of give us some clues.

Remember, exit polls are when we question people after they vote, as they exit the polling stations. CNN and other organizations did that.

Let's start with Independent voters. They're very important swing voters.

Last year, Barack Obama won independent voters. But check out these exit polls from Virginia, from yesterday, and you can see that this time around, Independents, by a 2-1 margin, went for Republican candidate, McDonnell, over the Democratic candidate, Deeds.

And Tony, it was a very similar story, similar numbers in New Jersey as well. Independents going for the Republican over the Democrat by around a 2-1 margin.

Another thing, Tony, interesting, younger voters, African- American voters, they came out in less numbers. Not as enthusiastic this year as last year. They obviously supported Obama last year. They supported the Democrats this year, but they didn't come out in as big of numbers. Older voters, they did vote more, and they voted for the Republicans -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, I've got to ask you, Paul, was the economy a factor in these races? I can't imagine it wasn't.

STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes. It was a big factor last year. It was a big factor this year. The exit polls in both contests show that.

The difference is last year, most people who said the economy was their number one issue, they voted for Barack Obama and the Democrats. He won that vote.

This year -- and check out these numbers. These are from New Jersey, exit polls up there, and you can see right here that people who said they were worried about the economy, they voted for Christie, the Republican candidate, over Corzine, the Democrat.

Similar story in Virginia. People who said the economy was their number one issue, they voted for the Republicans, Tony, instead of Democrats this time.

HARRIS: One more for you, Paul. As you read these numbers, any clues, signs for next year and those big midterm elections?

STEINHAUSER: Yes. Everybody wants to know that. And you know, sometimes these off-year elections are a very good indicator of what's going to happen the next year. Republicans won Virginia, New Jersey in '93. They swept back and took control of Congress in '94. The same thing in '05. The Democrats won and then swept back Congress in '06.

This as well, Tony. Everybody is asking -- this is interesting. Everybody is asking, was this a referendum on Barack Obama?

Well, look at this exit poll from both states. Sixty percent of the voters in New Jersey said, you know what? He was not a factor in our vote. Fifty-six percent in Virginia said the same thing, that Obama was not a factor in the way they voted.

But Republicans, Tony, they will say that these elections yesterday are a sign that Americans maybe are not crazy about what Barack Obama and Democrats are doing, and they say that now, the momentum going into next year's big elections, the White House and the Democrats, they disagree -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Paul Steinhauser.

Paul, good to see you. Thank you.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

HARRIS: And voters in Maine say no to same-sex marriages. Fifty-three percent voted to repeal a law that would have allowed gays and lesbians to marry. The law was on hold after conservatives got the issue put on the ballot.

Same-sex marriage, part of the election night discussion on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": Pamela, there are plenty of Obama supporters disgruntled about promises unfulfilled from the president to lesbian and gay Americans. Would same-sex marriage passing in Maine, you think, put more pressure on the president to act on related issues? Because, really, he had no involvement in this Maine decision one way or the other. He really did nothing for it in the last couple of weeks at all.

PAMELA GENTRY, BET: I don't know if this issue is going to be the one, but he's definitely going to be under some pressure still to do something about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," because I think the gay rights activists groups still feel that is something on his list that he really hasn't moved to the top. He said on several occasions that it's not something that he's ignoring, but that it's something that didn't rise to the top soon enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Maine is now the 31st state on the record opposing same- sex marriage.

And still to come in the NEWSROOM, with H1N1 spreading across the country, Congress is considering mandating paid sick leave.

Is this really what lawmakers should be working on?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Live pictures now from Capitol Hill.

A House panel is looking for answers about the shortage of H1N1 flu vaccine. The committee is holding a hearing on the federal government's response to the swine flu outbreak.

So, what happens if you get sick with swine flu but you don't have any sick leave? One lawmaker is pushing a bill to help workers caught in that particular situation.

That is a topic today for Christine Romans of our Money team. She is filling in for Ali Velshi on Ali's radio show.

And I think we're going to get to Christine in just -- Christine, can you hear me OK?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Here I am. I can hear you, Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, Christine, look, I've got to tell you something. You know, you pay attention to some of these debates and you learn some things. For example, I didn't know that as many as 40 million workers don't get paid sick days.

So, I'm wondering about this legislation. How many days would it actually cover here?

ROMANS: Five days if you're sent home by your employer, Tony. Five days if you're sent home by your employer, and that's the key here. Your employer has to decide that, look, we can't have sick people walking around.

You know, Tony, the CDC says if you go to work sick, do you know how many -- and you're working sick in your office right now, you, Tony Harris.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

ROMANS: How many people do you think you make sick? You make 10 people sick.

HARRIS: Well, there are about 100 people on this floor right now.

ROMANS: I know. And you should not be drinking out of their coffee cups. I'm telling you that. This would cover full-time and part-time workers. It applies to a business with a staff of 15 or more. It expires in two years. It's supposed to be emergency.

But Tony, you know, I've been worried about this -- the whole swine flu debacle, I've been worried about this. We're two years into a horrible recession. Companies can't afford to pay people if they're not going to be there working, right? And people who are working, especially part time or paycheck to paycheck, if they're not going to get paid, do you think they're not going to go and work at, whatever, cleaning the hospital, or working at the restaurant where they're going to talk to you and serve you, or working at the mall, or wherever it is?

I think that they're going to choose to go to work sick so that they can still get the paycheck. I think it's a really tough issue right now for companies and for people, and for public health professionals.

HARRIS: Well, this really gets me to my next question. I'm just curious as to whether or not this legislation is even necessary.

Isn't this something, Christine, that employers and employees should be able to work out? Do we need a mandate here?

ROMANS: Yes, they should be able to work it out. And I think one of the things about this issue is if you're sent home by the employer. It can't be -- people can't just be coming in and say, you know what? I'm not going to come in for five days and I want to be paid for it.

People with customer-facing jobs, it's very critical for them. That's important.

It's hard for some businesses. Some businesses aren't going to be able to afford this.

But Tony, think of it this way, too. I've also been talking to people who do have paid sick leave and are still coming to work sick, ,because a lot of companies over the past 10 years have given all of the days in one big pile; right?

HARRIS: They bundle it.

ROMANS: And so you've scheduled your sick days to go to grandma's. So, you would rather, instead of give up your three-day weekend to go and see grandma, you're just going to decide to work through your sickness a little bit. And people, we can't think like that anymore, because this is something serious, and it might be a dry run for something even more serious down the road. So we've got to work this out.

HARRIS: Yes.

And Christine, give everyone the phone number. It's on the screen, but I want your listeners to hear it as well. Do you have it there?

ROMANS: It's 877-266-4189. I do. It's 877-266-4289.

Do you think it should be mandatory that people should have to stay home and get paid if they have the sniffle in the middle of swine flu season? I want to know what you think.

HARRIS: All right, Christine. Yes, have a good hour with the radio show.

ROMANS: Sure. You too.

HARRIS: Appreciate your time.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Tony.

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

A somber vigil outside a Richmond, California, high school where police say a 15-year-old was gang-raped last month. Hundreds of people joining in song and prayer yesterday. And police have now made a seventh -- yes, a seventh -- arrest in that case.

A train fire on top of the transit strike adding to the commuter headache in Philadelphia. A commuter train suddenly caught fire and had to be evacuated yesterday morning.

No one was hurt. No word on the cause just yet. A transit strike had already shut down many of the other bus and subway routes.

Take a look at this. Crews, yes, blasting away huge boulders at a rockslide on Interstate 40 near the North Carolina/Tennessee line. Last month's slide closed that section of the freeway in both directions. Officials say it will take at least four months to get two lanes open.

Fire in the hole.

All right.

Every day patients are turned down for health care claims. Your personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, shows you how to fight back and get what you need.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. You get sick. You go to the doctor and you get tests done. And then your insurer refuses to pay.

The AMA says around four out of every 100 health insurance claims are denied.

Is that true, Gerri? Your personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, is here.

And Gerri, first of all -- hey, good to see you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Great to be with you, Tony.

HARRIS: Good to be with you in New York.

How do you avoid finding yourself in this particular situation?

WILLIS: Well, I don't know how you avoid it, but I can tell you what to do once you're in the situation.

First of all, you need to understand what's covered. It's more important than ever to know exactly what your insurer is covering. Because you know why? There are more caps now on how much insurers are willing to give you and new limitations on how much coverage you'll get per doctor visit, per calendar year, even lifetime maximums.

So, at the end of the day, Tony, what you really want to make sure you understand is, what am I covered for? You know, you can go on the insurer's Web site and really understand, hey, if I have some kind of ongoing issue, what is the coverage that I can expect?

And I realize that people get sick and they don't want to do this work themselves. Appoint a family member to do it for you so you can understand how far that money is going to go. It's critical.

HARRIS: So, I've done the right thing. I'm not feeling well. I go in. I have a test. I see the doctor.

OK. And now the claim is denied. What can I do? What should I do?

WILLIS: There are lots of places to go.

First of all, you've got to make a phone call; right? Call customer service at the insurer to find out why your claim was rejected. Sometimes a denied claim is nothing but an administrative error. You have the right to request a formal review by the insurer, but you've got to do it quickly because there are time limits in place, a month, two months to appeal.

And, of course, in this appeal you have to describe, hey, what was the problem? What was I covered for? How much money was spent? All of the details.

If you want an example of a letter to follow, advocate.org will help do you that. You can also call your state legislator, Tony, because they can help as well. There are regulators at the state level. Your insurance commissioner can help you as well. They will conduct a formal review if you're still battling it out.

And you can also hire a medical advocate on your behalf who will go in there and say, hey, this person is not being treated fairly, they really need some backup, you need to reconsider what you're doing. And there are pros who do that. Go to advocate.org. That's a great place to go to find advocates that you pay for now, but who argue on your behalf.

HARRIS: Well, one last thing here. Does this dispute with your insurer have the potential to impact your credit score?

WILLIS: Yes. This is very, very worrisome for people out there. And let me give you some advice.

Send a copy of your appeal letter to any collections agency that gets in touch with you, because that should stop the process right away. But I know that's a worry for people out there, because as we know, so many families who have medical emergencies, big medical bills, that's the reason they go into bankruptcy. So, we want to stop that and we want to get that under control. And that's a great way to get started if you're really paying big bills.

And our hurt really goes out to those folks. Right?

HARRIS: Absolutely.

Gerri, good to see you.

WILLIS: Great to see you.

HARRIS: Let's do this again tomorrow.

WILLIS: Absolutely.

HARRIS: All right.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, you know, they're European cars with American ties. There's a lot of movement today with Opel and Fiat. And we've got you covered on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: News today about the road ahead for General Motors. The automaker has decided not to sell its European manufacturer, Opel. The company is a main source of engineering for GM cars like the Chevy Malibu and the new Buick LaCrosse.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has European reaction to canceling the sale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The German government says it's very disappointed at General Motors' decision to keep its European wing Opel rather than sell it to bidders Magna and Sberbank. The German government says it now expects General Motors to pay back some $1.5 billion in loans that the German government has already given to this company by the end of November. Meanwhile, a lot of other things are changing in the equation as well. The workers council of Opel says it rejects General Motors' restructuring plan. It believes it will lead to more job cuts in Germany and also in Belgium. It believes it leads to more plant closures and also to less investment in future technologies, and therefore the workers councils here in Germany have said they are not willing to take even a cent of pay cuts to support this deal.

It's very questionable how all of this is going to be moving forward because also there's a new German government in power which has always been against government bailouts, and therefore we expect them to take a very hard line on all of this going forward. Of course, General Motors says it made the decision because its own business climate had improved so much it is now out of bankruptcy, and it believes that it needs its German wing Opel because of Opel's good future ecological technologies.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: So, we got the clear sign thus far yesterday that auto sales are really improving. Most major automakers reported sales increases last month.

Susan Lisovicz right here next to me.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the house.

HARRIS: Come on. Come on. Come on.

LISOVICZ: Great to see you, Tony Harris.

HARRIS: So, details, details. Good news here.

LISOVICZ: Good news, and especially after September, right? So, September, Cash for Clunkers goes away. Auto sales go down the tank. And so, we thought more of the same in October.

Not the case. And one of the things we're learning is that one of the contributing factors to September's crummy sales is that the inventories were so low.

HARRIS: That's right. That's right.

LISOVICZ: So, automakers ramped up production. And you saw much better numbers. GM sales in October up 5 percent, the first monthly sales gain in nearly two years. So, that is great news. Ford, of course, has been stealing market share...

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

LISOVICZ: ... from the other two for the last year. It saw its sales improve as well. Chrysler, well, Chrysler still went south. It saw its sales plummet 30 percent. HARRIS: What do you think here? Is this kind of a blip, or is there something in the reporting here that suggests this might be sustainable?

LISOVICZ: Well, there's a couple things. One of them is that these measure year over year. And you think about October, November, December last year. That's when panic was in the air.

HARRIS: That's right. That's right.

LISOVICZ: Credit was impossible. Layoffs were mounting at an alarming pace. So, nobody was buying big-ticket items for sure. So, the comparison is easy. We still have a much higher unemployment rate a year later, and people tend not to buy big-ticket items.

What's happening that we haven't been talking about too much is that carmakers are still giving away cars with the incentives. The average is...

HARRIS: Rebates, incentives and -- yes.

LISOVICZ: Twenty-five hundred dollars is the average. Now, that cuts into your bottom line, your profit margin. GM giving away the most. Of course, it's phasing out a couple of brands like Saturn and Pontiac, trying to get rid of those old models. That's a problem going forward.

Of course, we're going to hear from Fiat today with its turnaround plans for Chrysler. A lot of questions. The comparisons are easy, but this is tough sledding in an environment like this.

HARRIS: Let's see if we can do this. Jenny (ph), do we have numbers from Wall Street? Because I have stolen Susan's computer.

(LAUGHTER)

LISOVICZ: Let's look, and we can talk about it. Well, you know, this is surprising, and I'll tell you why. We have a nice triple- digit gain, but it's also on a Federal Reserve decision day. Market tends to be very nervous ahead of that, what investors -- what the FOMC, what policymakers are going to say about the economy, about jobs.

HARRIS: There's not going to be a rate increase. Come on.

LISOVICZ: There will not.

HARRIS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: But what it says about jobs and what it will do, will it pull the punchbowl away...

HARRIS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: ... keep borrowing costs at these historic low or not? Why is the market rallying ahead of that? We got two pretty good jobs reports. Still losses, but it's less bad.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

LISOVICZ: We saw with private payroll firm ADP about 200,000 jobs lost in October.

HARRIS: So, the pace of layoffs is slowing.

LISOVICZ: That's a separate report. Pace of layoffs is slowing, and jobs lost actually in October in the private sector is still 200,000. But consider this. For seven months, it's declining. And that's a trend you want to keep seeing. Remember, we saw this 700,000 a month earlier this year.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE) gains. Love that. The Nasdaq up 16.

LISOVICZ: And Tony Harris is in the house -- all good.

HARRIS: Pretty big baseball game here tonight, I'm told. Something about the Yankees and spanking...

LISOVICZ: And they go right past the New York Stock Exchange when they march up the canyon of heroes.

HARRIS: Who's your daddy and all this nonsense going on up here.

Good too see you, Susan. See you next hour.

LISOVICZ: Likewise. You got it.

HARRIS: You know, we need to talk about electric cars. Six companies really trying to grab your attention and attract investors. You can check out that story at CNNmoney.com.

Still to come, a day America would like to forget is a day Iran celebrates. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, let's do this. Let's check some of the other top stories we're following today. Across the country, long lines for the H1N1 vaccine. Thousands showed up at a clinic in Georgia, draining its supply in just three hours yesterday. And there were hundreds of people at a clinic in Kentucky.

Disney is coming to Shanghai. The Chinese government has OK'd plans for a Magic Kingdom-style theme park and resort. No word on when construction will actually begin.

Iranians on the streets today, the 30th anniversary of the hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, one that would drag on for an agonizing 444 days.

CNN's Reza Sayah is monitoring the story from Islamabad. And Reza, look, is it true some Iranians actually using today's national holiday to vent their spleens, their anger, their disappointment with their own leaders?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No question about it, Tony. This has been a strategy of the opposition movement to get out and protest. Remember, the government has banned them from public protests, so what they've done very effectively is zero in on big anniversary days, big calendar days, when the government has sanctioned public events. And what they try to do is disrupt it and hijack it. They tried to do that again today.

Today's a huge day on the Iranian calendar, the 30-year anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy. Every year there's a huge anti-American rally. But showing up today, tens of thousands of opposition supporters. Once again, they delivered the anti-government chants, but we also heard some new chants. One of them for U.S. President Barack Obama. The chant calling for Mr. Obama, calling for support saying, "Obama, you are either with them or with us."

We also saw some rarely (ph) remarkable video clips that showed protesters walking all over the picture of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. This is an unthinkable scene just a few months ago, but, Tony, it really illustrates the fervor and the intensity of this opposition movement.

We also saw some ugly scenes today in video clips. Of course, riot police were there, and on several instances, we saw video of them beating up on women. One video clip shows a uniformed security officer backing a defenseless woman up against the wall and whacking her a couple times on the legs.

The security forces in huge numbers did manage to disperse the crowds after three or four hours. But this was another emphatic statement, Tony, by the opposition movement that they are still here, still able to mobilize against the government.

HARRIS: Absolutely. We get that loud and clear. All right.

Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad.

You know, some elections are final. Others heading for a runoff. We are tracking the races and getting reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL STEELE, RNC CHAIRMAN: Last night was an example of what happens when elected officials and others don't pay attention and don't listen to what people out there are saying. We're listening, and we're paying attention at the GOP, and we're going to build off of last night and hopefully bring some more victories home next year.

GOV. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: I think you just need to read these as local races with local concerns. That's traditionally been the way these two races have gone in the years after the presidential race. But the president is quite popular in both New Jersey and Virginia.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A year after President Obama's historic election, we are taking a look at how it is playing out in global politics. Has the Obama effect made a difference in other countries? Let's start in the U.K.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Morgan Neill in London, where one year after Barack Obama's election, one difference is particularly striking. These days European leaders, including U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, vie for, compete for meetings with the U.S. president or even just photo ops. But another part of the so- called Obama effect has yet to be defined, and that's because many here are waiting to see what the U.S. president does on Afghanistan, a war which many here see as one that was started by the U.S. but that has exacted a high toll in terms of British lives.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm David McKenzie in Nairobi, Kenya. This is an organized protest protesting that President Obama must do more to fight malaria and AIDS in Africa. Of course, President Obama has a strong connection to the continent because his family comes from Kenya, but many Kenyans have been surprised that over the past few months, his administration has had tough talk and strong action against what they say could be corrupt leadership in Africa. But still the people here, on the ground people, really are a huge fan of President Obama and some of his policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. Elections 2009, taking a look at some high- profile mayor races now. Former NBA star Dave Bing wins another four years in Detroit. Bing was elected last May to finish out the term of disgraced mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. And Charlotte, North Carolina, elects its first new mayor in 14 years. Anthony Fox will be the first Democrat to hold the seat since the late '80s.

Still undecided, mayors' races in Houston and Atlanta head for runoffs in Houston. Annise Parker faces Gene Locke in December. If Parker wins, she would be that city's first openly gay mayor.

Atlanta's mayoral race narrows from six to two. Candidates Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed will battle for votes again next month. Norwood stands to become Atlatna's first white mayor since 1973. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ran the most expensive self-financed campaign in history. It's estimated he spent about $100 million of his own money, and it paid off. Today Bloomberg is celebrating a third term win.

Last night, Anderson Cooper asked our political panel if Bloomberg need to be spend all that money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Pamela, did he need to spend that much money?

PAMELA GENTRY, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, BET: I guess if you have it, I guess why not? But I mean, that's a lot of money. I mean, and what is it, 10 to 1, you know, per -- $170 per voter. That does seem like a lot of money.

I think the thing here in New York is that, you know, Bloomberg has been, you know, this iconic type of figure. He's almost a celebrity-type mayor in the sense that he's already this multimillionaire. He has nothing else to do. I guess this is something he wants to do to occupy his time. And he's done well by the City of New York.

But I do think it's interesting. I think we should at least acknowledge that Bill Thompson gave him a pretty good run for his money -- for the money, literally. And he brought in, you know, a good showing. This race was a lot closer, I think, than any of us expected it to be.

COOPER: Yes, I think he was a multimillionaire like 20 or 30 years ago. We're now talking billions, multibillionaire at this point.

GENTRY: Billionaire, right, yes. I'm sorry, get those Bs and Ms.

COOPER: Billionaires find that insulting, from what I understand.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: You know Anderson, I think what was insulting really was the fact that he decided to overturn the will of the voters and the supreme arrogance to say, look, I won a third term. I don't care if you guys actually pass this. And the council went along with it.

I would not be surprised if that also, if you look at whatever exit polling data in terms of these close results. Look, he blew out the last guy, Ferrer, Fernando Ferrer, when he ran four years ago. For this to be this close, that's an issue. I have a problem when you just say, the heck with the will of the people, I just want to do what I want to do. I'm sorry.

ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER BUSH WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But money isn't everything in politics, as we saw in New Jersey. Governor Corzine outspent Chris Christie by more than $10 million, again his own money. I've seen races where the rich guy loses. I've seen them when they win.

Ideas and ideology still are really the dominant force in politics. Another local race here, but Westchester County, New York, a county of almost 1 million people, a Republican won the county executive race there, running against what we call the tax madness of government here.

So, these ideological issues still play a very powerful role.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, we followed all the big races, the ones we just recapped for you, but there were a lot of other races yesterday. And our Nicole Lapin has been monitoring your iReports in the races that matter to you.

What are you getting, Nicole?

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're getting a lot in from all across the country, Tony. It was Election Day in your neighborhood yesterday. Earlier in the hour, we focused on Maine, where they had an initiative that shot down same-sex marriage. And one of our iReporters, Rene Padrassa (ph), came in from Maryland -- he doesn't live in Maine. He came in and started canvassing for votes.

And he, Tony, showed us a lot of students coming in from all across the country. These are students from Yale. There were people in from Portland, Oregon. I interviewed him last night during our coverage on CNN.com for the election, and he said that even with this defeat, Tony, they are continuing their fight for marriage equality.

So, of course, we focused on the biggies, right? We focused on the governors' races in Virginia...

HARRIS: Right, right.

LAPIN: ... and in New Jersey. But there are also local elections going on that got people really excited, like this one from Cincinnati, Ohio. One of our iReporters there captured the scene as he was going to pay his civic duty.

This is from Gregory. I believe he caught up with one of the local city council members as well, and he chatted with her about what it means to vote. So, here's some video, and then he chatted with the candidate.

HARRIS: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAKETA COLE, CINCINNATI CITY COUNCIL: You vote really to say you have a voice on what is going on in the process, as well as what people don't realize is that they have the power to elect as well as the power to unelect people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAPIN: So, there you go, Tony. It happened yesterday. But it is not too late to chime in with your thoughts on the election. IReport is where you can do that.

Miss you, by the way.

HARRIS: Love it, love it. Yes, yes, I'll be back Friday. See you then?

LAPIN: See you then. See you next hour.

HARRIS: Thanks, Nicole. Here's a preview -- absolutely.

Oh, yes, that's right. I've got to keep track of my own rundown.

Here's a preview of what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Which Chrysler vehicles can you expect to see down the road? Partner Fiat is set to reveal what models it will offer in the United States and which Chrysler models will be phased out.

Republicans rebound in some key governors' races, but Democrats take a New York congressional seat. We will hear from both party chairmen about the election results and what they mean. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In Afghanistan, Britain says an Afghan policeman opened fire, killing five British soldiers. The attack happened yesterday afternoon at a checkpoint in the volatile Helmand province, where the Brits were training Afghan police.

Former presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah suggests this is an example of corruption in the Karzai government. He urged President Obama to send more troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, FORMER AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Eight years down the road, we'll still need more troops. In the absence of a credible and reliable and legitimate partner, more soldiers, more resources are the only thing which will be resorted to. And so, that gives you the picture where we are at this stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The first State Department official to resign over the Afghan war is speaking out. Matthew Hoh is a former Marine who fought in Iraq, then went to work for the State Department early this year. He was posted in a Taliban hotbed along the border with Pakistan. In his letter of resignation, Hoh suggested the U.S. presence in Afghanistan is fueling the insurgency, which he says is really a civil war.

He spoke today with CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Let's say that they do decide to go with what you're talking about, which is winding this down and bringing our troops back. How do we go about doing that in a way that doesn't leave us more vulnerable and also that doesn't dishonor the, you know, hundreds who gave their lives fighting our mission there?

MATTHEW HOH, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER: Sure. You know, part of my belief is this, is that al Qaeda evolved after 2001, and they're not tied to a geographical or political boundary. My first priority is to defeat or destroy al Qaeda, and that means to kill bin Laden and Zawahiri as well as go after them in the safe havens that they already have.

People are concerned that Afghanistan will turn into a save haven. Al Qaeda already has at least half a dozen save havens, including Pakistan, so we have to revisit how we're attacking al Qaeda and how we're going to destroy al Qaeda, and we have to do it smarter and realize the organization they are.

We have to support Pakistan more fully. I'm not a Pakistan expert. I'm not sure, you know, whether to go hard on Pakistan or really go soft on them, give them all the support they need or lean on them real heavy. I'm not sure what the answer is but we have to redouble our efforts in Pakistan. And in Afghanistan, we need to seek political reconciliation to end that civil war there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And we've asked you to weigh in on what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan. Here's what some of you are saying.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: This is Al (ph) from Atlanta. I believe an option for dealing with the problem would be to place the entire Middle East region under embargo. We should sever all ties with all nations in that region and allow for our own oil companies to redevelop their own resources, and just isolate the entire region and all assets that are currently there.

CALLER: This is Ron from Holton (ph), Michigan. You cannot fight a war against the people that have nothing because they have nothing to lose. We have nothing to gain over there. We should pull our troops out of there before we lose one more American life.

CALLER: Hi, this is Scott (ph) from Illinois, and I just got back from Afghanistan, did a tour over there. And the bottom line is, is that they need more troops. They need more help. They can't do it with the numbers that are over there right now. It's common sense. The more troops you can put in the area to occupy, the safer it's going to be.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: Got to tell you, we really appreciate your phone calls, and you've been calling in the hundreds. Thank you.

There is still plenty of time for you to voice your comments. Just give us a call at 1-877-742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.