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Getting America Back to Work; More Options for Afghanistan; They Steal, You Pay

Aired November 12, 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.

It is noon in Washington, where President Obama announces a jobs summit, but there's no announcement on his Afghan war strategy.

Staying on the East Coast, the leftovers of Hurricane Ida turn into a whopper of a nor'easter.

And it is 11:00 at Fort Hood, Texas, where a survivor of last week's shooting spree talks exclusively to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Let's get started.

President Obama is on his way to Asia right now, but he is also keeping the focus on jobs and the economy here at home. Before he left, the president addressed the nation's unemployment problem. New numbers out today show a bigger-than-expected drop in first-time claims for jobless benefits last week, but the unemployment rate has climbed to 10.2 percent. The president announced plans to get more Americans back in the workforce.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In December, we'll be holding a forum at the White House on jobs and economic growth. We'll gather CEOs and small business owners, economists and financial experts, as well as representatives from labor unions and nonprofit groups, to talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again.

It's important that we don't make any ill-considered decisions, even with the best of intentions, particularly at a time when our resources are so limited. But it's just as important that we are open to any demonstrably good idea to supplement the steps we have already taken to put America back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The stimulus plan, the meeting with his Economic Advisory Council, and now a jobs forum -- will any of these efforts by the president succeed in getting America back to work, or is this just more talk, talk, talk, talk, talk?

Christine Romans of our CNN Money team joining us live from New York.

Christine, look, President Obama is surrounded by a high-powered team of economic advisers. What is this December forum going to give him that they can't or they haven't yet?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They need some new ideas, Tony, and they need new ideas quickly.

Look, the president talked about creating jobs and getting the economy moving again. The big concern is, you get the economy moving again but the jobs don't come with it, or at least not good-paying jobs that are going to allow America's middle class to grow.

It's interesting, Tony, that this is all happening on the eve of his trip to Asia, a region that has seen millions, if not tens of millions, of American jobs transferred over the past 30 years, relocated manufacturing jobs, in particular, from here to there. So he's going to be on the other side of the clock, on the other side of the globe for the next few days, while we have a serious retractable (ph) problem here, so getting out ahead of that, I think, with this announcement today.

But you're right, he's got all of these high-powered thinkers about the economy and the jobs already around him. What more can he get?

Well, a lot of the progressive think tanks are already saying that they're looking forward to participating in December. Already people talking about another kind of a stimulus, what are we going to get jobs growing. But the government can do so much, but at some point business has to start growing and adding jobs here. And that's what we haven't been able to find the key to yet -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. OK. Christine, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's check the wire now and get you caught up on some of the day's other big stories.

A payroll tax hike for the wealthy may be included in the Senate health care reform bill. A Democratic source says Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering an increase in the Medicare tax. It would affect individuals making more than $250,000 a year. Senate debate on a health reform bill could begin next week.

The CDC now says about 4,000 people in the U.S. have died from the H1N1 flu. That's almost four times the previous estimate, but the higher figure includes deaths caused by complications from the flu and does not reflect a dramatic increase in fatalities.

Finding the H1N1 vaccine is still a challenge for many Americans. CNN's Campbell Brown talked with a New Jersey congressman about the manufacturing problems and the delays in getting the vaccine out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. FRANK PALLONE (D), NEW JERSEY: I think part of the problem was that this was a very slow-growing vaccine. Even though it's actually a very good vaccine and it's very effective, it was not anticipated that it was going to be this difficult to grow. And so that was the problem in getting it out there.

And we're now picking up the pace. Another manufacturer was approved today, so more is getting out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: CNN learned about a half hour ago that formal charges will be filed today against the Fort Hood shooting suspect. The military plans to charge Major Nidal Hasan with 13 counts of premeditated murder.

That word from CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr, who has been talking with U.S. military officials.

It is becoming clear President Obama wants any announcement of increased troop numbers for Afghanistan to go hand in hand with an exit strategy. The commander-in-chief yesterday ordered his war council to come up with new options for Afghanistan. He says U.S. troop commitment there is not open-ended and he wants clarification on how and when American forces would turn over responsibility to the Afghan government.

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan has reportedly warned President Obama against sending more troops to that war and partnering with the government in Kabul. CNN has now learned that that advice has prompted a call from President Hamid Karzai's office.

Live now to CNN's Chris Lawrence in the Afghan capital.

And what can tell you us about this, Chris?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, you know we had been with Ambassador Eikenberry in the morning on an event, and his press team made a point of keeping us and other press away from the ambassador. They didn't want him asked questions about this, and so we began calling the Karzai government to get their reaction to these supposed memos. And finally, after some repeated calls, the deputy spokesman for President Karzai said that he had just spokes within the ambassador's office within the last hour and that, because the ambassador's office would not confirm to them the truth of these alleged memos, then they would have no comment on it -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. And Chris, what is the current state of fighting between U.S. forces and the Taliban? Can you give us an update on that?

LAWRENCE: Well, in the short term, in the last few days, you know, fortunately, we haven't seen any major IED attacks, no major battles. But again, that's really not indicative of how things go here. It can be quiet for a few days, and then you could have a truly violent attack somewhere in the country.

It seems as if things may be slowing down a bit. We know in the wintertime that some of those mountain roads become impassable, that it does cut off certain supply routes and things like that. Violence does tend to dip somewhat over the winter months and then pick up again in the spring.

But again, speaking with some of the senior commanders here, they don't feel like you'll see an end to the violence in any way as we go forward over the next few months.

HARRIS: All right.

CNN's Chris Lawrence for us in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Chris, good to see you. Thank you.

And on CNN tonight at 9:00, he backed President Obama's run for office. Now Al Gore talks about what he thinks the president should do about the war in Afghanistan and why he says time is running out to take on global warming. Al Gore on "LARRY KING LIVE," CNN tonight, 9:00 Eastern.

Heavy winds and heavy rain are pounding parts of the East Coast. Chad is in the Weather Center checking on how long the storm is going to hang around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: You know, we're talking about a shocking increase in shoplifting really across America. That's what a new report finds.

What are people stealing and how much is it all costing you and me?

Josh is tracking that for us.

I bet it's pretty substantial, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Tony. In fact, I was just pulling up some of the videos that we just at CNN.com alone have had over the last year of instances of shoplifting across America, some of the more striking cases.

You can watch all sorts of cases on CNN.com, but it's a reminder of how incredibly -- well, not that one. It's a reminder of how often that's happening.

And this right here is a report we're going to talk to you about right now called "The Global Retail Theft Barometer" from 2009. Here's the basic idea here.

It costs the U.S. billions of dollars every year, but this new report says that in this economy, retail crimes, including shoplifting, employee theft, and also supply chain fraud, Tony, have jumped big-time over the past year. Look at this figure -- $42.2 billion from June of last year to June of this year. This is from the Center for Research...

HARRIS: That's real money, huh?

LEVS: That's real money -- it's based in the U.K.. And look at that. And they conducted a confidential survey of more than a thousand large global retail companies.

Now check out this next figure. This is how much it jumped from the previous year, up 8.8 percent from the previous year. And before that, it had only gone up 1.5 percent. So this report is looking at this and they're saying this is primarily a result of the recession.

And Tony, they list the most frequently stolen items in the country. I don't know if you would guess some of these. Take a look -- razor blades, perfume and cosmetics. Also, game systems, iPods and cell phones. And then from supermarkets, they say meat and cheese are the ones being stolen.

Now, those might be things people are taking home and using for themselves, but in general, in general, what they say about store theft is that it is usually about resale, whether by employees or patrons who show up there. People are trying to grab it, resell it, get some money. And as a result of all this, prices go way up.

And this is our story here on CNN Money: "Store theft cost to your family: $435," because the spike in prices to make up for all of that, Tony, leads to all of us paying more throughout the year.

HARRIS: So, I'm somewhere -- I'm not going to name the area, the city here in Atlanta, just outside of the city -- and I met one of these little corner convenient stores in one of these neighborhoods, and there is a guy who pulls up in his car, pops his trunk, and he is stocking the store with goods out of his trunk. I'm just saying.

LEVS: Stocking the store with it?

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: Well, we have all weird experiences where you see strange things like that. But it's a problem affecting the whole country. And the more this theft goes on, the more we all pay a price. And that's why it's good to look at these figures.

HARRIS: Oh yes. All right, Josh. Appreciate it.

LEVS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: The shootings at Fort Hood impacted a lot of lives. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has an exclusive television interview with one of the victims who shares his experiences from that horrible day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. And checking our top stories now, the number of first-time claims for unemployment fell last week to the lowest level since January. The Labor Department says new jobless claims dropped to 502,000 for the week ending November 7th.

President Obama plans a White House summit on jobs next month. The brainstorming session will include academics, economists, small business experts and CEOs. Unemployment has topped 10 percent, and that is hindering any recovery from the recession.

A lawyer for the Heenes say the couple will plead guilty to charges stemming from a balloon hoax. The couple tried to make authorities believe their son was aboard a runaway balloon.

We will get another check of our top stories in 20 minutes.

It has been one week now since the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, and some of the wounded have reached the point where they can talk now about the horror of that day.

Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with an interview you will see only on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What was the first thing you remember when something was not right.

SPC. LOGAN BURNETTE, U.S. ARMY: The blood, seeing blood coming from everywhere.

GUPTA (voice-over): November 5th, it started off as a normal day for Army Specialist Logan Burnette. He went to what is called Fort Hood's Ready Room, filling out papers, preparing to ship out to Iraq. Then, as he describes it, all hell broke loose.

BURNETTE: I got down once the shots were fired, out of instinct. And, you know, I didn't know what to think. But seeing bullet wounds in the back of a friend's head, seeing friends grabbing their arms and blood just everywhere, it's a pretty hard thing to see, and not having any way of defending yourself.

GUPTA (on camera): You saw a bullet in the back of your friend's head?

BURNETTE: Yes. Yes.

GUPTA (voice-over): Authorities now say it was Major Nidal Hasan who was pulling the trigger, spraying those bullets, killing Specialist Burnette's fellow soldiers.

(on camera): What did he look like? I mean, what was he -- was he -- did he look angry? Did he look mad? I mean...

BURNETTE: Serious, intent. He stood up, screamed "Allahu akbar!" and then he just started shooting.

GUPTA: He screamed "Allahu akbar"?

BURNETTE: He did, at the top of his lungs. GUPTA: "God is great"?

BURNETTE: Yes. He didn't even walk in.

Like, he -- it was like he had been in the room for a while, in the corner, preparing. And nobody was really paying attention. It was like he just stood up and began firing on all of us, and then taking steps and reloading and firing again, and reloading and firing again.

GUPTA (voice-over): Burnette had been hit. He didn't even know it. He was crawling away, but the gunman kept coming closer, kept firing. Burnette felt hunted.

BURNETTE: And as I was crawling, he hit me in the elbow and then once again in the...

(CROSSTALK)

GUPTA (on camera): So, you're crawling away, and he's shooting at you?

BURNETTE: Yes, as well as other people who are already on the ground.

GUPTA: I feel almost silly asking this question, but I don't know the answer to it. What did it feel like to get shot?

BURNETTE: It felt extreme pain through here, all throughout my abdomen. I didn't even know I had really been hit in the hip. I knew my leg wasn't working right for some reason. So, I didn't know where I had gotten hit.

I could see, visually, my arm. I could see my pinky. And I saw that, when my arm got it, I was already on the ground.

GUPTA: And here's what happened next. Just a few minutes later, doctors here at Metroplex got a call that eight wounded soldiers were going to come in through this emergency room. They quickly determined that Logan Burnette was one of the most serious, and off to the operating room, he went. Let's take a look.

The bullet came very close to his blood vessels, though.

GAIL BURBRIDGE, METROPLEX ADVENTIST HOSPITAL: Yes, it did. It did.

GUPTA: If it had been just a little further back?

BURBRIDGE: If it had been one inch further back, it would have taken out the blood vessels to his leg, and he very well could have bled to death right there.

GUPTA (voice-over): Specialist Burnette has had two operations, and he has more to come. He is beaten, he is battered, but he also told me he's had time to think. (on camera): There's a brotherhood, a sisterhood that I have always seen when I have traveled with the military all over the world. Your brother takes a shot at you.

BURNETTE: Right, three times, and shoots at all your other brothers. It's definitely a strange feeling.

GUPTA: What do you think should happen to him?

BURNETTE: I would like to make sure, one way or the other, he can never hurt anybody else.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Fort Hood, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Look, you're going to love the top story at CNNMoney.com. The lead story is Uncle Sam sitting on a gold mine. Right? And that's the story all about the United States.

Did you know the United States is sitting on the world's largest gold reserve? Talk about stimulus you can believe in, slide a couple of those bars your way, my way.

CNNMoney.com, if you want the latest financial news and analysis.

Let's get you to the Big Board now, New York Stock Exchange.

After six days in positive territory, we are seeing some profit- taking right now. The Dow down 47 points just about three hours into the trading day. The Nasdaq, at last check, down seven.

With unemployment topping 10 percent, it is tough for anyone to find a job. Now imagine what it is like for an ex-con.

CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York.

And Poppy, how tough is it -- I can only imagine -- for prisoners to get work right now?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Right. Sure.

I mean, Tony, this is something that we -- you and I, we cannot even imagine. A lot of people forget about these folks after they get out of prison. Employers usually take one look at their rap sheet and say, forget it, they're not even going to look any further.

But our team, one of our producers, Ian Orafus (ph), and one of our writers, Aaron Smith (ph), did some great reporting. They went up to Harlem. They talked to an ex-con to find out what his situation was after 32 months in prison, and who they met is Greg Hedley (ph).

He now has a temporary job. He's a sidewalk sweeper. He got it thanks to a nonprofit. It's known as the Center for Employment Opportunities. They helped place him there, and as I said, our team caught up with him in Harlem.

Take a look at what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREGORY HEDLEY (ph), RELEASED FROM PRISON AND JUST STARTING WORK: My name is Gregory Hedley (ph). I just came home from upstate New York from serving a prison sentence of two to four. This is how I will get my life back on track.

I'm on my way to work. Every day I wake up 5:30, I'm out the door by 6:00. You know? So starts my day.

Oh, my biggest fear, it's that being asked that question, you know, what crime did you commit? How the can you sugarcoat criminal sale of a firearm?

You know, $40 a day hardly seems like enough, but you know what? I'll take working making minimum wage any day now, as opposed to prison or death.

It is almost 9:00 a.m. You know, a little rough commute, whatever, so I'm about to start my work site now.

Basically anything that's going to pay the bills right now, you know, help me get on my feet. So right now I'm the trash man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right, Tony, he may be a trash man, but, boy, is he working hard. A three-and-a-half hour commute back and forth, back and forth. He makes $40 a day. But, you know what, Tony, he said, he wants to go to college and he wants to work at that non-profit that helped him get this job.

Tony.

HARRIS: And Doctor King said be the best trash man you can be.

Poppy, look, is Greg one of the lucky ones here to find some work? I'd imagine most people in this situation would have a very difficult time.

HARLOW: Yes. Yes, I think you could say that. You know, there's no national gauge, Tony, of unemployment for ex-cons. There is, though, an independent study. It was done here in New York. And what it found, unfortunately, many would say, is that 60 percent of former prisoners are still out of work a year after their release. And you've got hundreds of thousands of prisoners released every year. Without work, there's a bigger temptation, right Tony, to fall back into crime and therefore hurt society more.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

HARLOW: I mean case in point, Greg said, listen, I may make $40 a day now, but I used to make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in my criminal past. So that's what he had to say. I want to add one note. He said to our team, one of the most meaningful things about this job, Tony, is that he can actually have breakfast every day with coworkers. That he has people to call his coworkers.

So, a really interesting story. A lot more of that story, it's all here on cnnmoney.com. And folks can follow us now, twitter.com/cnnmoney.

Tony.

HARRIS: OK. That's terrific. That is terrific stuff. And ,Greg, you don't have people -- you don't have to look over your shoulder every moment of your day as well. That's a positive change, too.

HARLOW: Exactly.

HARRIS: Poppy, good to see you. Thank you.

New rules on overdraft fees passed today by the Federal Reserve Board. Gerri Willis is here with details.

And, Gerri, if you would, explain to us what's going on here.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes, you're going to want to listen to this.

Overdraft fees, which we have been talking a lot about, these are penalties banks charge when you spend more than you have in your bank account. And the fees can be steep, $35 or more in some cases. But new rules out today by the Federal Reserve will prohibit banks from charging these overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions unless a consumer opts into the bank's overdraft service.

OK. As it stands now, more than 75 percent of banks automatically, automatically sign customers up for overdraft programs. These fees have received a lot of scrutiny in Washington lately. The FDIC has been a vocal critic. But, of course, for banks, overdraft fees are a big revenue source because so many people rely on debit cards. The financial services industry is on track to make about $38 billion this year on overdraft fees. That's according to estimates.

Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. And so what can consumers expect here, Gerri?

WILLIS: OK. So before opting in, you would get a notice that explains exactly what the overdraft service is and what the fees are. If you don't want to opt into the service, your account terms, conditions and features remain the same. Keep in mind, these rules don't go into effect until July 1st of next year. So this is something you're going to watch.

A lot of people have hit their -- stubbed their toe on these fees not knowing that they had overdraft protection. Now the rules are going to change. You're going to have to say, I want overdraft protection, not, oh my goodness, what is that fee. Oh, it was the protection.

So the world is changing a little bit. A little more protection for consumers outs there.

HARRIS: Got you. Hey, before I let you go, I know "Your Bottom Line" is set and ready to go. Give us a bit of a preview of this weekend's show.

WILLIS: All right. So we're talking about making money right now. Increasing your income. We've got a list of ways for you to pump up your income right away. Steels and deals on airfare. If you want to travel, Tony, we've got some great ideas for some trips you might want to take in the next month, two months, they're cheapo. So that's "Your Bottom Line," 9:30 a.m. right here on CNN.

HARRIS: Can't wait. Thank you, Gerri. See you next time.

WILLIS: Thank you, sir.

HARRIS: The Fort Hood police officer who put the accused gunman out of action is discussing events from her vantage point. Sergeant Kimberly Munley, nicknamed Mickey Mouse, and hailed a hero talked to Oprah Winfrey. Munley happened to be outside when the shooting started and she leapt into action, opening fire on the shooter to end the rampage. She took a bullet in each leg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. KIMBERLY MUNLEY, FORT HOOD POLICE: When I got shot, it felt like, honestly, a muscle being torn out of my leg.

OPRAH WINFREY, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Have you had a chance to process all of this?

MUNLEY: I take it day by day. And I know it is going to be a slow process to get back to my normal life, but I know that I can accomplish it and get back to what I do and love to do on a daily basis. So I think that it will come in time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And that was Officer Munley's partner, Sergeant Mark Todd, there with her on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." He handcuffed the suspect after Munley's bullets brought him down.

Let's turn now to your views on what to do in Afghanistan. President Obama has ordered his war council to come up with more options, but many of you, our viewers, know exactly what you want.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, this is Kurt (ph) from Naples, Florida. No, don't send any more troops. Bring home our troops now from Afghanistan. Please. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, this is Diane from Port St. Lucy. I am appalled that the president has not sent troops over there at the request of the general. I feel if -- with this delay, others perhaps could have been spared if he would have acted more timely instead of running around for the Special Olympics -- for the Olympics for Chicago. I say get with it, do what you have to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Tony. My name is Arman (ph). I would like to comment. I think we need to think twice before sending troops to Afghanistan. There has to be a very good strategy thinking. As you know, the government -- the Afghanistan government is very corrupted. And, you know, yes, of course, we need to support our troops. However, we need to have a kind of good strategy thinking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And, of course, we want you to keep your comments coming. You can call us at 1-877-742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.

And, look, attention all you camera-ready i-Reporters. We've got a little assignment from you. We also want to hear from you on this issue. Just go to cnn.com/ireport. Tell us what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.

The debate over abortion is playing a key factor in the future of health care reform. We have got the latest from the political battleground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

President Obama tabling any decision on troop levels in Afghanistan. He told his war counsel yesterday, the U.S. troop commitment there is not open-ended and asked them to come up with revisions on four options under consideration.

Military officials say Army Major Nidal Hasan will face 13 preliminary charges of premeditated murder from that shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was wounded when police returned fire. He remains hospitalized in San Antonio.

Firefighters in central Arkansas made a gruesome discovery earlier today. The bodies of five people were found in two homes on the same property in Garland County. One house has been burned. Affiliated KARK reports a car registered to the owners of the burned home was found elsewhere. It, too, was on fire.

Abortion has emerged as a divisive issue in the debate over health care reform. The House version includes tight restrictions on paying for abortions. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash explains what those restrictions are and whether the Senate is likely to follow suit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jubilation over passing health care in the House.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The bill is passed.

BASH: But many of these cheering Democrats are already threatening to block a bill from going to the president's desk unless strict prohibitions on abortion are removed. What are those restrictions? Ask advocates on different sides of the abortion debate and get different answers.

CHARMAINE YOEST, AMERICANS UNITED FOR LIFE: People still have the choice of having abortion coverage if that's what they want, but you can't have federal dollars going to abortion coverage.

CECILE RICHARDS, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: It's a very far-reached amendment that would fundamentally change women's access to getting health insurance that covers all of the reproductive health care.

BASH: So, which is? let's take a closer look. It would ban abortion coverage in a new government-run health insurance option. Private insurance companies in a new government-regulated exchange would also be prohibited from offering abortion coverage to anyone getting taxpayer money for health care. But private insurers would be allowed to offer separate coverage that includes abortion only to people paying with their own money.

RICHARDS: The intent of this amendment was to insure that no one under health care reform could purchase a plan that included abortion coverage.

BASH: Abortion rights advocates argue that in practical terms insurance companies aren't likely to offer two plans and say even if they did, middle-income women eligible for government assistance probably won't pay for additional abortion coverage with their own money.

RICHARDS: How ludicrous is it to think that a woman would ever plan to have an unintended pregnancy and plan to have an abortion.

BASH: But anti-abortion activists say, if government-assisted health care coverage is expanded, current law restricting abortion coverage must be as well.

YOEST: This simply extends what current federal policy is. The ultimate objective of the abortion lobby in this whole fight is to define abortion as health care.

BASH (on camera): Most abortion rights advocates do call it part of health care for women. It's one of the many reasons there is such a deep divide on this issue. Now several female senators are trying to come up with a compromise to ease the abortion restrictions passed in the House, but anti-abortion Democrats say they won't budge. Strict prohibitions on abortion or they won't vote for health reform.

Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: And we have been asking you to weigh in on this issue. Would you like to see a similar prohibition on abortion in the Senate health care bill? Here's what some of you are saying on our blog.

Leonard says, "yes, I would like to see the ban in the Senate. An abortion is a personal choice, and as such, it should be paid out of their own pocket."

Lydia says, "women of means will always be in a position to obtain a safe abortion if they so choose. This amendment will simply deny poor women that same option."

OK, it is Thursday, and you know what that means, a new set of questions on the CNN Challenge. All you have to do is go to cnnchallenge.com and start playing.

All right. Here is your first question. Here we go. This week marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. When was the wall built? Was it 1945, 1953, 1961 or 1963? We will be right back with the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Every Thursday, CNN Challenge comes out with its new questions for the week. Just before the break we showed you a sample. Here it is one more time. This week marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. When was the wall built? Was it 1945, 1953, 1961, or 1963? Ready for the answer? Hit me. Bang! 1961. Run, run, run, do not walk to your computer. Go to cnnchallenge.com and take this week's full quiz.

Chad Myers knew the answer to that question.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: A beauty queen gets her tiara twisted on "Larry King Live." Gay marriage opponent and former Miss California, Carrie Prejean, almost walked out on Larry. So here's the setup. Prejean is on a media tour to sell her new book. She lost her job, as you'll recall, as Miss California USA in June over lingerie photos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You sued the pageant after they fired you. They counter sued. And then you accused them of a number of things, including religious discrimination. Clearly an issue very important to you. Why did you settle? You don't have to tell me the terms of the settlement, but why settle if you had a fight to carry on?

CARRIE PREJEAN, FORMER MISS CALIFORNIA: You know what, Larry. Larry, everything that was discussed in mediation, I'll say it again, is completely confidential. I'm not going to be able to talk about that. I'm just letting you know that ahead of time.

KING: So you can't even say why you settled? That's not -- how does that break what you settled for. I'm not asking you what the settlement was.

PREJEAN: The confidential agreement.

KING: I'm asking you, why did you agree to settle?

PREJEAN: It's a confidential agreement and I am not allowed to talk about that.

KING: So the agreement discusses the motive behind why each party agreed?

PREJEAN: Larry, you're being inappropriate. You really are. So, I'm not going to talk about . . .

KING: What? I'm asking a question.

PREJEAN: I'm not going to talk about anything that was discussed in mediation. It's completely confidential and it was a confidential settlement.

KING: All I'm asking -- so -- all right. So what you're saying is, in mediation, it was discussed why you were mediating?

PREJEAN: Larry, it's completely confidential.

KING: It was discussed.

PREJEAN: And you're being inappropriate.

KING: OK. I . . .

PREJEAN: OK.

KING: All right.

PREJEAN: You're being inappropriate.

KING: All right, inappropriate King Live continues.

PREJEAN: Yes.

KING: Detroit, hello.

CALLER: Hi. I'm calling from Detroit.

KING: Yes.

CALLER: I'm a gay man and I love pageants. I'm sure that you, Carrie, have got, you know, great gay friends that helped you possibly win. What would you give them as advice if they wanted to get married?

KING: Did you hear the question, Carrie? Did she hear the question? Is she leaving because I asked what motivated the settlement?

PREJEAN: Excuse me?

KING: Did you hear the question?

PREJEAN: No, I can't hear you.

KING: You took the mike off. If you'll put the mike on, we can hear you.

PREJEAN: Yes, I think that you are being extremely inappropriate right now and I'm about to leave your show.

KING: Well, so I went to another area. I took a phone call. They asked a question of you. I left that subject. You feel it was inappropriate. I didn't mean to be inappropriate. I just thought it was a logical question. But you need to have a mike. Who are you talking to? Hello?

We'll be back right after these messages on "Larry King Live."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So Prejean put the mike back on after the commercial and the show went on.

Tonight on "Larry King Live," at 9 p.m., he backed President Obama's run for office. Now Al Gore talks about what he thinks the president should do about the war in Afghanistan and why he says time is running out to take on global warming. Al Gore on "Larry King Live," CNN, tonight 9:00 Eastern.

Tennis great Andre Agassi admits in his new book he used crystal meth in 1997 and lied about it to tennis officials. Agassi also reveals he hated tennis but his dad pushed him into the game. He talked today on CNN's "American Morning."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN: Can you imagine the reaction this book would have gotten? I listen to a lot of sports radio and watch a lot of ESPN and it's been pretty hard.

ANDRE AGASSI, RETIRED TENNIS PLAYER: It has. It has. You know, to some degree, though, it doesn't really surprise me. I mean you've got to remember, I've spent years processing a lot of these mistakes in my life and it would be hard for somebody to put it in context over a headline. You know, it's a body of work, which happens to be my life. It was a portion of 1997. But at the end of the day, it's the anger, disappointment, I've turned that on myself for a lot of years.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN: It's interesting, though, because when people write about -- when people write their autobiographies, sometimes you want it to sort of be -- you want to gloss over the worst of it and you want it to be almost like a lesson. You know, people can learn from your experience, draw inspiration. But you were just brutally honest in this book about so many things, your ups and your downs. Did you debate it within yourself when you thought, I'm going to put pen to paper and write this, about just how much you were going to tell the world?

AGASSI: Well, it wasn't an option. You know, it wasn't an option. The alternative I didn't consider because, you know, you know the stories of your life. Everybody has all these stories about their life, but what is your actual story? What is your message?

And I always felt like my story was pretty inspirational to people who knew parts of it. You know, I fell to 141 in the world. I came back to number one. But the truth is, is I climbed Mount Everest but I was starting at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and I think there's some real power in it. And if my experiences can help those people who wake up in a life that they didn't choose for themselves, or wake up in a life that they find themselves in, people that wake up in a marriage that they don't want to be in, kids that, you know, are looking to find a way and make sense, adults labeling them and, you know, if I can help somebody avoid those pitfalls or get through some of that or give them the tools to move on with their lives, I'd be -- I'd consider it a huge success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Look, he turned out to be a sensational tennis player, a real champion. Andre Agassi also reveals in his book he wore weaves, hair weaves, on the court. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, investigators are still trying to learn what led to the Fort Hood shooting rampage. Questions are being raised. A major one, were signs of trouble involving Major Nidal Hasan missed. Our Elaine Quijano has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the aftermath of the Fort Hood shooting, lawmakers, including Senator John McCain, are asking, did government officials fail to raise red flags about Major Nidal Hasan.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think one thing is pretty obvious, and that is that there were signs that this individual had some very disturbing behavior patterns which should have been alerted to the proper authorities and actions should have been taken.

QUIJANO: Top officials say U.S. terrorism investigators monitored up to 20 communications between Hasan and a radical imam, Anwar al- Awlaki, overseas. A joint terrorism task force, that had Defense Department representation, ultimately decided those contacts were consistent with research Hasan was conducting in his position as a psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

A federal law enforcement official tells CNN the decision not to pursue further investigation was made by one of the defense officials. Still, those communications should have triggered a further look by the military, says CNN national security contributor, Fran Townsend. FRANCES TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Even if the FBI made the correct decision, in the joint terrorism task force, not to pursue it as a criminal matter, the next question becomes, what did the military do.

QUIJANO: But a senior defense official says the military never knew about the Hasan contacts, telling CNN that under the ground rules for the joint terrorism task force, "no member of the task force may unilaterally go back to their agency and share the information gathered by the task force."

There are dozens of joint terrorism task forces spread throughout the country. They include members from a host of government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Defense Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HLN law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks sat on one of those task forces.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: And I find it hard to believe that, you know, that they would just say, OK, well, we're not going to share any of this information with the military. I mean that's why you have a person from the military, from different military branches on the task force.

QUIJANO (on camera): A former counterterrorism official tells CNN the information about Hasan's contacts with the radical imam should have been shared with the military, unless there was a specific FBI instruction not to.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)