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One-on-One with President Obama; Pirates Beaten Back; Jobs for the Class of 2010; Mammogram Task Force Blasted
Aired November 18, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning and good morning to everyone. That's right. Here's what we're working on this hour for the CNN NEWSROOM.
Eric Holder on Capitol Hill. He'll be facing some tough questions today about his decision to try some 9/11 suspects in the state of New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People who don't have a job right now, people who have lost their home, you know, I'd be mad, too, and they expect me to do something about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And President Obama takes responsibility for leading America out of the economic storm. He'll also be talking a little about Afghanistan in a CNN interview. We'll get to that.
Plus, U.S. flag ship -- you remember this ship, right -- attacked again by pirates. But this time the Maersk Alabama fires back.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Happening right now, Hillary Clinton making a surprise visit to Afghanistan. It's her first visit there as secretary of state and follows a recent trip to Pakistan. Tomorrow she plans to attend the inauguration of Afghan president Hamid Karzai. She is now meeting with Karl Eikenberry, he is the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, and General Stanley McChrystal. He's the commander of U.S. forces there and wants the Obama administration to send more troops.
Meanwhile, this hour, President Obama is in South Korea, the final stop of his Asian trip. Earlier this morning he wrapped up his visit to China. He toured the Great Wall and met with the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. Both the U.S. and China say the visit strengthened ties between the countries. In fact, Wen says the U.S. and China are now, quote, "on the cusp of moving forward with this relationship."
For this past week, President Obama's mission has been focused on diplomacy. But when he returns home much of his focus will return to war, specifically what is the strategy for U.S. troops in Afghanistan? He addressed that issue in a one-on-one interview with CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Now on Afghanistan, have you made a decision on troop levels, in your own mind, when we hear that you don't want the U.S. to be in Afghanistan forever, obviously? Do you think you'll be able to get most U.S. troops home by the end of your presidency or will this be something to hand off to the next president just as you were handed off Iraq and Afghanistan?
OBAMA: My preference would be not to hand off anything to the next president. One of the things I'd like is the next president to be able to come in and say I've got a clean slate and I can put my vision forward that I presented to the American people.
We are very close to a decision. I will announce that decision certainly in the next several weeks. The pieces involved, number one, making sure that the American people understand we do have a vital interest in making sure that al Qaeda cannot attack us, and that they can't use Afghanistan as a safe haven.
We have a vital interest in making sure that Afghanistan is sufficiently stable, that it can't infect the entire region with violent extremism. We also have to make sure that we've got an effective partner in Afghanistan, and that's something that we are examining very closely and presenting some very clear benchmarks for the Afghan government.
We have to make sure that we are training sufficient Afghan troops so that they can ultimately secure their own country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The president also talked about the economy and the decision to try the 9/11 terror suspects in New York. At the bottom of the hour Ed Henry will talk with us, gives us a little bit more of a closer look at his discussions with the president.
Attorney General Eric Holder headed to Capitol Hill this morning to defend his decision to hold 9/11 terror trials in New York. He is the only witness scheduled for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing getting under way in about 25 minutes.
We will bring that to you live when it happens.
And last week you remember Holder announced the suspected 9/11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others would be tried in New York City not far from ground zero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September 11th will finally face justice. They will be brought to New York, to New York, to answer for their alleged crimes in a court house just blocked away from where the twin towers once stood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Holder is no stranger to the headlines since taking over at the Justice Department in August. He named a prosecutor to investigate alleged interrogation abuses by the CIA. In April, Holder asked a judge to dismiss a corruption conviction against former Alaska senator Ted Stevens and last February Holder announced the Obama administration wants to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.
Once again, you can see Holder's testimony live here on CNN today when it gets under way at the bottom of the hour.
Now to the Maersk Alabama. Targeted again this morning. You remember that was the ship hijacked back in April. A rescue mission freed the ship's captain. Pretty dramatic, too. Today, it was a much different story off the Somali coast and CNN's Barbara Starr is watching the story for us and joins us now live with the latest.
Can't believe this has happened again to the same ship.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, one more time, Heidi, but of course as you said, a much different outcome this time. It was several hours ago we are now learning, when the Maersk Alabama came under attack by pirates one more time. This time there was a private security contractor crew on board the Maersk Alabama. When the pirates got within a couple of hundred yards of the ship and tried to board it with weapons, they were warned away and then finally the security team opened fire on them with their small arms.
What may be most interesting is this attack happened about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia. And that's a fair distance for these pirates to travel, obviously, these large cargo ships try to stay as far off the coast as possible. But now monsoon season is over in that part of the world, the seas are calm again and the pirates are back at it -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. So basically it seems like since this last happened and at least it got a lot of attention because we know we've been talking for a long time about this body of water and this type of pirating that's been going on for quite some time, seems like nothing has changed by way of patrolling this humongous chunk of water if you will.
STARR: Yes. I mean it's still very tough for anybody, any of the military navies out there to really patrol such a wide body of water. But what they have been doing that is working in many cases, and we saw it now with the Maersk Alabama, is encouraging cargo shippers to put security teams on board, to take measures to defend their ships, to try and do whatever they can in terms of physical security or barriers on their ships, to keep pirates from boarding. If this kind of work...
COLLINS: You're talking about them being armed. STARR: Well, part of it is being armed but another thing that was used on the Maersk earlier today, they had loud noise making devices on board which apparently we are told they use to try and ward the pirates off. Many of the ships are doing simple things like not letting their ladders drag in the water so there's no means of -- for the pirates to get on board, putting some kind of physical barriers on the sides of the ships so the pirates simply, physically cannot climb up along side. All of these measures are working in some cases.
COLLINS: Yes.
STARR: Not all the time. There have been additional hijackings of course.
COLLINS: Yes. I've been reading it It's the worst that it's been there. So we will continue to follow it of course. CNN's Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent.
Thank you, Barbara.
A soldier is under investigation for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan. Specialist Alexis Hutchinson says she has no one to care for her son who is less than one year old. The Army says they gave her an extension to find childcare before her scheduled deployment earlier this month. Hutchinson's attorney says she is going to apply for an administrative discharge. She is restricted to the post at Ft. Stewart in Georgia. Her son is with his grandmother in California right now.
New mammogram guidelines stir up confusion and anger. We'll hear from one task force member defending the group's decision.
Plus, job prospects for the class of 2010. We're going to tell you the kind of companies that will be hiring and careers with an upside.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. That storm in the Midwest, still in the Midwest. Slowly moving off to the east. Slowly. And another round of storms lining up for the Pacific Northwest.
We run down weather when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: If you have a son or daughter who is a senior in college you may be worried about the job market for them next year. Well, the picture may not be as bleak as it was in 2009.
CNN's Christine Romans is joining us now from New York with a little bit more on this.
Christine, so, the outlook for recent college grads not as bad as we might have expected?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look. 2009 was horrible.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: Just horrible for college grads. I mean, frankly, hiring of new college grads in 2009 just plunged. So the folks over at Michigan State University when they do their jobs survey they say that -- they're recruiting survey, they say that look, they think that 2010 is going to be a little bit better.
It will only decline the hiring for new grads next year by about 2 percent and that's across degree categories. So they're expecting hiring to decline about 2 percent next year across degree categories. You know still a decline but better than this year.
The most likely to hire are smaller companies, companies with fewer than 500 employees. And that's pretty clear. We've been trying to figure out how to get credit to these small companies, how to get support to small companies, because many people including the Obama administration, Heidi, say that this is going to be the engine for a recovery. It will come from small companies and this survey would agree that that's where the hiring is likely to be from. Smaller companies -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. When we talk about those graduates, though, what sectors are seeming to offer the most opportunities?
ROMANS: Well, this is what the folks in Michigan State say. In terms of your best bet for getting a job next year in 2010, e- commerce, agriculture, production, food processing and manufacturing, environmental sciences. The economists there at Michigan State say sustainability is a trend that is here to stay and that if you have a degree in environmental sciences there are going to be a lot of ways that you can leverage that degree across different industries. Nonprofits, also statistics, understanding numbers, they say, has never been more important no matter what business you are in. Also, nursing and social work.
A couple of numbers for you, Heidi. $39,900 -- that is the average salary for bachelor degree grads, according to the survey, for next year. $39,900 if you're able to get a job. Also, it's hard right now, right? It's hard to get a job right out of school. We know this. But it's still incredibly important the degree.
Why is the degree important? Be patient. Because when you look at the unemployment rate for people with a bachelor's degree it's only 4.7 percent. Think of that.
COLLINS: Yes. Wow.
ROMANS: It's 10.2 percent unemployment for the country.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: If you have a bachelor's degree, the unemployment rate is much better. So even if you are a college kid, you're in college thinking about dropping out, it's too hard or you are wondering what's the benefit of a college degree, the benefit is even if it's tough for the next couple of years to get a job you're still much, much better off in the work force than without it.
COLLINS: Yes. You've got to get that paper. All right. Christine Romans, thank you. Appreciate that.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: Rob Marciano is standing by in the Severe Weather Center because he is looking at the northwest here. They're getting hit again, huh?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: A vocal group of critics blasting the new recommendations to delay mammograms. Now the task force that issued the advice is on the defensive. Hear what one member has to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Time now to check some of the top stories that we're following this morning.
A private security force fends off a pirate attack this morning on the Maersk Alabama. Pirates off the coast of Somalia fired on the ship. No one was injured. But you'll remember the Maersk Alabama was hijacked by pirates in April and the captain was taken hostage. A rescue mission by Navy SEALS freed Captain Richard Phillips.
In central Florida police are searching for at least two gunmen who burst into a T.J. Maxx store at closing time last night and took several hostages. A local TV station held its cameras and kept them rolling when a SWAT team moved in to help rescue the hostages. Witnesses say the masked gunmen tied up several people. One person sustained minor injuries after she was knocked down by one of the gunmen.
A U.N. commission investigating the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto met with the country's ex military leader. Bhutto was killed at a rally in Rawalpindi in late 2007. Pervez Musharraf was in power at the time. His government and the CIA concluded that Pakistani Taliban with ties to al Qaeda orchestrated Bhutto's killing. Her widower who is now the president of Pakistan called for the U.N. probe.
No letup in sight. The controversial report advising most women to wait until they are 50, not 40, to start getting mammograms is still drawing fire from women and their doctors. A government task force issued the recommendations yesterday and we are learning more about the panel now.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta actually talked with one of the task force members who've been trying to speak with someone to find out where this all came from. So tell us a little bit about your conversation.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, I thought it was worth sort of exploring that further a little bit further.
COLLINS: Sure.
GUPTA: I think most people have read the paper that came out in one of the medical journals. But sort of the story behind the story, I think, is always somewhat important here. So I did get a chance to talk to this person and ask some questions that I think a lot of women and their doctors are going to ask. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: About 75 to 90 percent of breast cancers are found in women who have absolutely no family history and no identifiable risk factors. If you are a woman hearing that at age 40, right now watching, 75 to 90 percent of breast cancers found with people who have no risk factors, no family history, what should they do?
LUCY MARION, PREVENTIVE SERVICES TASK FORCE: I would not recommend it. I would not make a recommendation. We're saying that the benefits are small.
GUPTA: What do you mean by that? When you say the benefits are small? Let's not beat around the bush here. What exactly are you trying to say?
MARION: We look at it in various ways. For example, we look at life years gained by the actual screening every year or every other year. And the life years gained for that group is not very large. There are some life years gained. But it's not very large.
GUPTA: You're a nurse and...
MARION: And I know...
GUPTA: I don't want to, you know...
MARION: I am.
GUPTA: ... dig ourselves into a whole here. You're a nurse, you're in a profession of healing and compassion. Are you comfortable with what you're saying right now? Because what you're saying, what I'm hearing you say is that you're saying some lives just aren't worth it. We -- that's why we're changing these screening recommendations. And that is an incredibly frightening thing to hear from someone like yourself. Is that what you're saying?
MARION: No, I'm not saying that some lives are worth it. I do not say that. But as you know, as a physician, there are many screening tests that could save lives but could create many other issues that we made decisions about.
GUPTA: So, really, the harm that you're saying to women, the harm that you cite is that it could cause unnecessary anxiety and worry in women who get these mammograms, for example, if they have a false positive? Do you think that it would cause anxiety in women if they are told that look, 90 percent -- up to 90 percent of women who develop breast cancer never had a risk factor and now you're not sure if you have that breast cancer because you didn't get the test? Don't you think that causes anxiety as well?
MARION: Yes, we know that the biggest risk factor is age. And that's clear. And so the other -- and we know other risk factors and we know that many do not have known risk factors if you don't include age.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: I don't know any more now than I did before.
GUPTA: Well, I think that, you know, this idea that the benefit is small is so striking to me.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: We know, for example, that mammograms have made a difference. They have decreased the number of breast cancers.
COLLINS: Sure.
GUPTA: And they have decreased the numbers of breast cancer deaths in patients as well. We also know that, you know, about 15 percent of women who are watching right now that have breast cancer found their breast cancer on a routine mammogram.
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: I guess this idea -- I mean, sure, there are certain risks and benefits that are always going to be weighed but this isn't small. The benefit is not small here. I think people are sort of taking issue with that if you just look at the numbers.
COLLINS: So again, I keep on asking this because we did quite a bit on it yesterday as well.
GUPTA: Right.
COLLINS: And we said well, hey, you know, I think we need to follow up here. And so I'm glad that you got to speak with someone. But still, as the person at home watching this, do I get a mammogram when I turn 40 or not?
GUPTA: Well, I think, you know, what this woman said is she doesn't recommend it without a conversation with the doctor. But I think most doctors and, you know, the longer interviewed, the longer comments that she made, say most doctors probably aren't going to change their mind.
So if you go to their doctor, they're probably still going to recommend getting a mammogram at age 40.
COLLINS: Yes. We have...
GUPTA: Why? Because 75 percent or so of women who have breast cancer had no risk factors so what am I going to tell you, Heidi? Is that you have no risk factors, you have no family history, but 75 percent of women didn't?
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: So you probably are still going to want the mammogram. And that's sort of the point, I think, here a little bit.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: What is that conversation all about? What does routine mammogram really mean?
COLLINS: Well, I think there's a lot of people out there, too, who are wondering what this is going to mean for their insurance. When a group like that that has the apparent power or weight that they have makes a recommendation like this, a sweeping recommendation, then later on, you know, is this going to change my possibility of getting insurance to cover it if I go get a mammogram.
GUPTA: I mean this is a gold standard group, to be fair. This is a group that has set...
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Set recommendations for all sorts of things and they are listened to. So your question is very valid. I think at some point it probably will have an impact on the insurance industry. Not right away but at some point I think you're right.
COLLINS: Wow. All right. Well, we'll continue to follow this.
GUPTA: Yes, we will.
COLLINS: Thank you. I'm glad that you spoke with her. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: (INAUDIBLE)
GUPTA: Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
The upcoming January election in Iraq now in question. The uncertainty threatens to derail U.S. plans to withdraw combat troops.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: On Wall Street the focus over the past few days has been the struggling retail sector. But today we look for the housing sector for guidance on how the economy is doing.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with more details on that as we wait for the opening bell.
Good morning, Susan. SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Futures were higher before the housing reports came out. Housing starts unexpectedly plunged nearly 11 percent in October. Builders may have been waiting to see if Congress would extend the first-time buyer tax credit, which of course they did earlier this month. That could boost building in the future. But in the meantime, the outlook is bleak because building permits for future projects also fell.
In the meantime, let's tell you about a candy war that could be looming. Hershey's and Ferrero are reportedly considering a joint bid for Britain's Cadbury whose chocolate Creme Eggs are quite popular on this side of the pond. Italy's Ferrero makes Tic Tac, Nutella and Ferrero Rocher. I know.
Do we even need to say what Hershey's makes?
COLLINS: No.
LISOVICZ: We know.
COLLINS: Yes. We know all that good stuff.
LISOVICZ: You know, although they do have -- they are brand behind Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as well.
Cadbury has already received $16 billion offer from Kraft Food whose confectionery goodies include Oreo Cookies. But Cadbury rejected that bid.
You remember that. Remember, Heidi, when I did my terrible faux British accent and said that...
COLLINS: Yes, it was fantastic.
LISOVICZ: It was fantastic that Kraft may need Cadbury, but Cadbury definitely does not need Kraft. Anyway, Cadbury rejected that bid.
COLLINS: It hasn't gotten any better.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: All right. We'll move on.
Finally, well, we're going to tell you about more nickel-and- diming when it comes to airfares. U.S. Airways adding a 5 percent surcharge to all U.S. flights after May 8th to protect the company in case fuel prices rise. Meanwhile, Delta, Northwest and United bumped the surcharge in some busy days, next March and April, to $30 each way and to $50 on the day after the Super Bowl.
OK. Let's see if prices are rising. No. Airfares are rising, prices on Wall Street are not. Just giving back a little, but we have had a nice run, the Dow has been up nine out of the last 10 sessions. It's a little bit of giveback there. COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And gold prices -- gold prices are at a record high, too.
COLLINS: I know. It's amazing, isn't it?
All right. We'll keep watching. Susan, thanks. We'll check back a little later on.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Testimony about to get under way in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Attorney General Eric Holder expected to face tough questions about his decision to bring some of the suspected 9/11 conspirators to New York for trial. He announced on Friday, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others would face trial at a Manhattan court house just a few blocks from ground zero.
Holder is expected to say he is not afraid of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will say at trial. But critics say, it actually gives terrorist a world stage -- a stage that they have always wanted. Five suspects to be tried in New York currently are being held at Guantanamo, and no timetable, as you know, for the trial has been set just yet.
So, we will continue to watch these pictures and as soon as that begins, we will take you there straight away.
Actually, as I'm watching here, may see a little more activity than we expected this early. Is that -- forgive me, I'm trying to find the attorney general to see if he might be walking in any minutes. So again, we'll keep our eyes trained on this and bring it to you just as soon as he does arrive.
This hour, President Obama in South Korea -- his final stop of his Asian tour. But when he gets home, he has big issues to deal with. The economy, Afghanistan, and the trials of 9/11 suspects -- as we were just talking about.
CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry had a chance to sit-down for a one-on-one interview with the president. He is joining us now from Seoul.
Ed, good morning to you.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Very interesting, it's evening here, of course. We're about 14 hours in advance.
But back in Beijing, I did get a chance to sit-down one-on-one with President Obama, Afghanistan certainly at the top of the list of subjects to cover. The president is very firm in saying that when he announces his new strategy in the coming weeks for Afghanistan, he's going to set out clear bench marks for Afghan President Hamid Karzai to meet. Also, pointedly, when I asked whether he trusts President Karzai, he never quite answered that.
Clearly, he has deep concerns about the Afghan government. The president also revealed that he sort of starting to sketch out a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops down the road, and he laid that out in this interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): In the first hint of a timetable for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the president told CNN he wants most of them home before the end of his presidency.
OBAMA: My preference would be not to hand off anything to the next president. One of the things I'd like is the next president to be able to come in and say, "I've got a clean slate."
HENRY: On the firestorm over 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed being sent from Guantanamo to New York City, the president revealed he did not personally sign off on it.
OBAMA: I said to the attorney general, "Make a decision based on the law." I think this notion that somehow we have to be fearful that these terrorists possess some special powers that prevent us from presenting evidence against them, locking them up, and, you know, exacting swift justice, I think that has been a fundamental mistake.
HENRY (on camera): So, that was his decision, but you'll take responsibility if it goes wrong?
OBAMA: I always have to take responsibility. That's my job.
HENRY (voice-over): The president also took responsibility for the sluggish economy when asked a CNN iReporter's question about why bailout banks have not helped more small businesses and foreclosed families.
OBAMA: I understand people's frustrations. The American people have gone through a very tough year. And, you know -- and my job as president is to help navigate through this tough year and, you know, people who don't have a job right now, people who have lost their home, you know, I'd be mad, too. And they expect me to do something about it.
HENRY: As for Sarah Palin's book...
(on camera): Are you going to read it?
OBAMA: You know, I probably won't.
HENRY (voice-over): Mr. Obama ducked a question about whether he thinks he and Palin will be candidates for president in 2012. When pressed, the president suggested he could live without running again.
(on camera): Can you envision a scenario where you don't run for re-election?
OBAMA: If I feel like I've made the very best decisions for the American people and three years from now I look at it, and my poll numbers are in the tank and, you know, because we've gone through these wrenching changes, you know, politically, I'm in a tough spot. I'll feel all right about myself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: But in the next breath, the president sounded very much like someone who would relish the opportunity to take his case to the American people in 2012, saying that he believes he's taking on big issues like health care, trying to stop Iran's nuclear program. Issues initiatives that have not borne fruit, he acknowledged, just yet, but he said he's confident they will, and that he's going to be rewarded from the American people for taking on these big, big issues, which obviously are causing a lot of controversy back home in the United States -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. And what about Afghanistan? Did he -- did he talk more about the decision on troops? I mean, I'm understanding that we're going to learn something in a few weeks. Does he already have a decision but we're going to find out about it later?
HENRY: Well, I can tell you, before this interview, I talked to one of the president's top aides who said, basically, the president's pretty well decided in his own mind which way he's going. This aide would not tip his hand, but suggested that the Pentagon is not going to get all that it wants.
You know, there have been leaks in the last week or so suggesting that the Pentagon would get maybe a little less than the 40,000 that General McChrystal requested, maybe something in the neighborhood of 30,000, 35,000. Aides close to the president are suggesting it could be even a little bit less than that.
The president would not tip his hand in the one-on-one interview. But he did tell me he's closer to a decision and he hopes to have that soon and he said, the key to all of this, though, in his mind is an end-game, some sort of a strategy to lay out clearly to the American people when are those troops going to come home -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, exactly. All right. We will continue to wait for that answer. Sure do appreciate it.
Ed Henry for us just now on the ground at Seoul, South Korea.
HENRY: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Thank you, Ed.
Now to Iran -- Iran says it has sentenced five people to death over the protests that followed the country's disputed presidential elections last June. State media reports the five were convicted of being members of terrorist groups and for carrying out bombings across Iran. Another 81 were sentenced to prison terms. Their charges range from disturbing the peace to destroying public property.
It looks like January's planned election in Iraq could be in jeopardy, along with the scheduled U.S. troop withdrawal.
Let me go straight now to Iraq and get the very latest from CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom.
So, Mohammed, tell us exactly what's happened here. Why was the law vetoed? And how big of a shock is this to the Iraqi people?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, today, Iraqi Sunni Arab vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, he shocked the political establishment here in Iraq by vetoing this law. His objection was that it didn't give enough seats, enough representation to Iraqi refugees that were out of the country.
But shortly after he did this, Iraqi political leaders came out basically condemning this. You had Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki saying that this was a deep threat to democracy here in Iraq. You had other leaders saying that this might pose a real political crisis from the Iraqis. And many leaders here are now wondering if the election can actually happen by the time they need to happen. They are constitutionally mandated to happen by the end of January -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And so, to take that a step further, will this ultimately affect U.S. troop withdrawal then?
JAMJOOM: Well, U.S. officials have been telling us for a while now that if anything could cause a shift to the U.S. troop withdrawal schedule or a delay, it would be if the Iraqi elections didn't take place by the end of January. Again, they are constitutionally mandated to happen by then. If they don't happen by then, many think the government here will be delegitimized. The U.S. won't have anybody to deal with.
Now, we were with U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill shortly after the election law actually passed on November 8th. U.S. officials on that night were expressing real relief that it happened, they thought they were out of the woods, this thing was over with, they would all be dealt with in time. Now, there is a big question mark about it once again -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Understood. All right. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom -- thanks so much, Mohammed.
Cutting $715 million from the budget -- Governor Haley Barbour joins us next to talk about the tough decisions he had to make for his own state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Checking the top stories quickly.
A 7-year-old El Paso boy and his father are dead after shootings in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. There is no word of an arrest. The third- grader lived with his aunt and uncle across the border in Texas. Pomp and policy. Britain's Queen Elizabeth delivered her annual speech today at the opening of the new parliament session. The speech includes a preview of government plans. It was short on specifics, but there were promises of new laws to toughen banking regulation, restore public trust in government, cut public debt, and preserve social services.
He calls the president his big brother, and he's half right. We're talking with him in China in just a moment.
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COLLINS: A waiting game now on Capitol Hill.
Health care reform is in the Senate's hands but senators can't do anything until Majority Leader Harry Reid unveils the Democrats' plan. And he says he is still waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to tell him how much it's going to cost. He could get those numbers today.
Well, what do Americans want in a bill? A CNN Opinion Research Corporation Survey shows over half favor a public option, that's an insurance plan offered by the government. The poll also found six in ten Americans are opposed to using federal funds for abortions.
Falling tax revenues and rising unemployment doing big damage to states' budgets for the coming year. We've talked about it here before. Check this out now.
The State of California, facing a budget shortfall of 49.3 percent; for Illinois, 47.3 percent and the national average, small in comparison but still a troubling number, 17.7 percent.
Now, Mississippi isn't on that list of the top five but its state revenue fell nearly 10 percent this past year, the sharpest rate in 45 years. And the man trying to come up with a budget that meets that shortfall, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour; he is joining us now to talk more about that.
Good morning to you, Governor, thanks for being with us.
We know that you proposed your budget for next year. And in fact, it cuts state spending by 12 percent. We're talking about $715 million. How did you prioritize? How did you come up with these cuts?
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR (R), MISSISSIPPI: Well, first of all, it's not just a matter of revenue being short. Our revenue is short about seven and a half percent. The other part of it is that you have stimulus, federal stimulus funds that we were given that expire, so and they do in such a way that it creates a cliff.
It would be much better for states if we were given more flexibility about how to spend the federal stimulus money and ramp down a little bit better curve, to have a soft landing instead of it just runs out one day. COLLINS: So...
BARBOUR: But that's what we're faced with and that's one of the reasons that what we have to deal with next year is so large. It is $715 million; that's about 12 percent.
COLLINS: Yes, so give us an idea of where the biggest cuts have been and also maybe even more importantly what the reaction has been from the people of Mississippi?
BARBOUR: Well, people understand it's not business as usual. The budget I presented on Monday includes some significant and bold changes: the merger of some universities; the reduction and consolidation of the number of public school districts; closing some mental health facilities. To reduce the size of state government in a variety of different ways and a lot of this is -- is bold.
And I've told everybody, look. We're going to deal with the problem. And if you've got a better idea of how to save $715 million, I'm all ears.
COLLINS: Yes, what happens to the people? And I know these are just examples that you're sharing but what happens to the people who were using those mental health facilities and what now is the state of some of these universities that have been brought together and also some of the cuts across the rest of the school system?
BARBOUR: Well, let me say, Mississippi has had a bias - too much of a bias in mental health for institutionalization of people. The trend in the country and in the world is in other direction -- more home and community based care.
There are a lot of people in Mississippi who could benefit greatly from home and community based care. It not only is cheaper but also they're happier if they get to stay at home and live in their communities. So, we're starting to change the direction away from institutionalization and toward more home and community based care for the mentally ills.
COLLINS: Well, when you start talking about that, it of course brings up the idea of health care reform and obviously the president has been talking about that an awful lot. So has both the Houses of Congress.
There is an option out there that talks about whether or not states are going to have to decide on this public option and that means that would be in your hands.
Have you thought about that? Do you have any opinion on if it came to that what your decision would be?
BARBOUR: Well, our concern, of course, is state and first of all that the House bill puts a huge unfunded mandate on states. And governors whether Republican governors or Democrat governors are opposed to the federal government making us pay what in Mississippi's case would be about $200 million a year for their federal health care reform program.
Now, that's -- that's going to be -- that would be if it were to pass a $200 million a year tax increase. And I think the same thing is true from California to New York both of whose governors have come out against this.
Let's see if there is going to be a state option for exchange. One of the concerns that we have is how much flexibility will we have? How much ability do we have to tailor it to what Mississippi needs...
COLLINS: Yes.
BARBOUR: ... or is it going to be a one size fits all which really wouldn't help us at all.
COLLINS: Yes, understood. I know that you're in Austin today for the Republican Governors Association Meeting. I imagine you'll be talking a lot about this.
So we really want to know before we let you go, do you have any announcements about 2012 that you want to make here in the CNN NEWSROOM with me? You look blank.
BARBOUR: We're going to have 20 Republican governors here and we're going to have 600 participants. It will be the largest Republican governors' conference that we have ever had and part of that is because of the victories in Virginia and New Jersey.
So we're pretty -- we're a pretty happy bunch. But I'll tell you, there's a huge amount of opposition not just among Republican governors but Democrats, too, to the way this health care thing is going. And the unfunded mandate on stake is going to drive up the cost of health insurance.
You asked earlier in the program what do people want out of health care reform. Well, they sure don't want to drive up the cost of health insurance. They thought the idea and I thought the idea was we were trying to reduce the cost of health insurance and health care. It looks like we're going in just the opposite direction.
COLLINS: All right, understood your thoughts today and again coming to us from Austin where the Republican Governors Association Meeting is happening. We sure do appreciate it. Governor Haley Barbour from the state of Mississippi. Thank you, thanks for your thoughts.
BARBOUR: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: There's a lot going on this morning. We want to give it all to you. Our CNN crews are working very hard. We want to check in with them and to find out what is happening. Let's start with Poppy Harlow in New York. Hi, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, Heidi, it is bonus season on Wall Street. But this year as you probably know no ordinary year; we're finding out how much of a haircut some top execs of bailed out U.S. companies are going to take and the Obama administration's pay czar is not finished yet. Heidi, that's coming up more details in the next hour.
LISOVICZ: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we're looking at a big disappointment from the housing market. New home construction fell to its lowest level in six months but investors are handling it pretty well. Heidi, I'll tell you why in the next hour.
MARCIANO: And the storms continue to line up across the Pacific Northwest. I'm Rob Marciano. That storm plus this one in the Midwest that is moving really slow and there's still remnants of Ida believe it or not, Heidi, that are washing up along the East Coast shoreline. We'll talk about that at the top of the hour.
COLLINS: Ok. Yes. She's been hanging around for far too long. Thanks guys. We'll check back later. Also, a more in depth look at the new recommendations on mammograms; in one congresswoman's opinion they're, quote, "as clear as mud". We'll be talking to her about her concerns and the role of insurance companies in all of this.
For now though, I want to take you back to Washington where we are getting ready to hear a little bit more about Eric Holder, the attorney general. As you know he is facing the senate judiciary committee -- some live pictures for you right there -- because he's going to be defending his decision that was made last week about the 9/11 suspects and the fact that they will be brought to the state of New York to be tried, most specifically Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects.
Here we go. Eric Holder. Let's go ahead and listen in...
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ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: When I appeared before this committee in January for my confirmation hearing, I laid out several goals for my time as attorney general. To protect the security of the American people, to restore the integrity of the Department of Justice, to reinvigorate the department's traditional mission and most of all to make decisions based on the facts and on the law with no regard for politics.
In my first oversight hearing in June, I described my early approach to these issues. Five months later we are deeply immersed in the challenges of the day moving forward to make good on my promises to the committee and the president's promises to the American people.
First and foremost, we're working day and night to protect the American people. Due to vigilance of our law enforcement and intelligence agencies we have uncovered and averted a number of serious threats to domestic and international security.
Recent arrests in New York, Chicago, Springfield and Dallas are evidence of our success in identifying nascent plots and stopping would-be attackers before they strike. Violence can still occur, however, as evidenced by the recent tragic shootings at Fort Hood. We mourn the deaths of the 13 brave Americans include Dr. Libardo Caraveo, a psychologist with the Justice Department's Bureau of Prisons who had been recalled to active duty.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working diligently to help gather evidence that will be used by military prosecutors in the upcoming trial of the individual who was alleged to have committed this heinous act. We're also seeking to learn from this incident to prevent its re-occurrence. Future dangerousness is notoriously difficult to predict.
The president has ordered a full review to determine if there was more that could have been done to prevent the tragedy that unfolded in Texas two weeks ago. We have briefed chairman and ranking member of this committee and other congressional members on our efforts and will continue to keep Congress abreast of this review.
My written statement addresses a number of other issues before the department but I would like to use the rest of my time allowed to me today to address a topic that I know is on many of your minds; my decision last week to refer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others for prosecution in federal courts for their participation in the 9/11 plot.
As I said on Friday, I knew this decision would be a controversial one. This was a tough call and reasonable people can disagree with my conclusion that these individuals should be tried in federal court rather than a military commission.
The 9/11 attacks were both an act of war and a violation of our federal criminal law. And they could have been prosecuted in either federal courts or military commissions. Courts and commissions are both essential tools in our fight against terrorism. Therefore, at the outset of my review of these cases I had no preconceived notions as to the merits of either venue.
In fact, on the same day that I sent these five defendants to federal court, I referred five others to be tried in military commissions.
I am a prosecutor. And as a prosecutor my top priority was simply to select the venue where the government will have the greatest opportunity to present the strongest case in the best forum. I studied this issue extensively and consulted the Secretary of Defense. I heard from prosecutors from my department and from the Defense Department's Office of Military Commissions. I spoke to victims who were on both sides of this question.
I asked a lot of questions and I weighed every alternative. And at the end of the day it was clear to me the venue in which we are most likely to obtain justice for the American people is in federal court.
Now, I know there are members of this committee and members of the public who have strong feeling on both sides. There are some who disagree with the decision to try the alleged "Cole" bomber and several others in a military commission just as there are some who disagree with prosecuting the 9/11 plotters in federal court.
Despite these disagreements, I hope we can have an open, honest and informed discussion about that decision today and as part of that discussion I would like to clear up some of the misinformation -- misinformation that I have seen since Friday.
First, we know that we can prosecute terrorists in our federal courts safely and securely because we have been doing so for years. There are more than 300 convicted international and domestic terrorists currently in Bureau of Prisons custody including those responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and attacks on embassies in Africa.
Our courts have a long history of handling these cases and no district has a longer history than the southern district of New York in Manhattan. I have talked to Mayor Bloomberg of New York and both he and Commissioner Kelly believe that we can safely hold these trials in New York.
Second, we can protect classified material during trial.
