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Maersk Alabama Strikes Back; Clinton Visits Afghanistan; One- On-One With President Obama

Aired November 18, 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: For the second time, an American ship comes under attack by Somali pirates off the coast of Africa.

Attorney General Eric Holder on Capitol Hill and under fire over trials for Guantanamo detainees.

And this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We received a lot of questions from CNN iReporters, who went to our Web site. They wanted to ask you a question directly. This one is from Guy Watson in Albuquerque.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow. How about this? President Obama sits down with CNN in China and a CNN iReporter gets a question.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So, what are the chances pirates strike an American containership for the second time this year? But this go-around, the Maersk Alabama strikes back.

CNN's Barbara Starr is on this developing story at the Pentagon.

And Barbara, how did the crew get the upper hand here?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: A different outcome this time than April, Tony, when, of course, the ship was hijacked and the captain held hostage by pirates for several days as the world watched. This time, as pirates approached the ship and got within a couple of hundred yards, there was a priority security team on board the Maersk Alabama.

They did everything they could, all indications are, to warn pirates away. They pirates kept coming.

The private security crew then opened fire on them with small arms, and using some loud noise- making devices to drive the pirates away. We are told that at that point, the pirate attack was thwarted.

And, you know, this is a case where it did work, because ever since the Maersk Alabama, the first time in April and over the last several months, the military that patrol those waters have been talking to the commercial shipping industry to tell them to take some more proactive measures to try and defend their ships. This time it worked -- Tony.

HARRIS: So, Barbara, is this private security team on board, is this a change since the April hijacking?

STARR: You know, I think it is a bit of a change in terms of companies doing this more than in the past. Not unprecedented.

What we do know is, you know, -- and it is interesting -- in those waters off Somalia, a lot of times the cargo ships are actually carrying U.S. military cargo back and forth from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those ships do have armed guards on board. This was a strictly commercial cargo, and it's fairly new.

One of the other interesting things -- new for them to have the armed guards. One of the other interesting things, Tony, is this happened 350 miles off the coast of Somalia. That's a good, long distance for pirates to travel. But they are extending their reach more and more in recent months -- Tony.

HARRIS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us.

Barbara, appreciate it. Thank you.

STARR: Sure.

HARRIS: And checking the wire and the day's other big stories.

Attorney General Eric Holder facing tough questions about the decision to try 9/11 terror suspects in New York City. Holder is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is defending the decision to bring accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others from Guantanamo Bay to New York for a civilian trial. Holder denies it will give them a platform for their propaganda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: And if Khalid Sheikh Mohammed makes the same statements he made in his military commission proceedings, I have every confidence that the nation and the world will see him for the coward that he is. I'm not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial, and no one else needs to be afraid either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK.

North Korea's nuclear program and free trade atop President Obama's agenda on the last leg of his Asia trip. The president arrived in Seoul, South Korea, just a few hours ago. He meets with that country's leader tomorrow. In an interview with our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, President Obama reflects on the challenges he's had to confront since his election a year ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Do you feel some pressure to get some of these things done?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think that there's no doubt that in the same way that -- on domestic policy, our first job was to stabilize the situation and prevent disaster. On the international stage, our first job was to stabilize the situation to allow us to move forward.

A lot of our initiatives have not yet borne fruit, but we knew that something like Iran's nuclear program wasn't going to be solved in a year. The question is, are we moving in the right direction? And I think there's no doubt that we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: We will have much more of Ed's interview with the president later this hour.

The Senate is moving ahead with its investigation into the shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas. That's despite President Obama's request that Congress hold off.

Next hour, Senator Joe Lieberman will preview hearings that begin tomorrow in the Homeland Security Committee. He will be joined by Senator Susan Collins, the panel's ranking Republican.

A potential setback in Iraq. The January election and planned U.S. troop drawdown are in question today because Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president is now rejecting part of a key election law that was recently passed. Tariq al-Hashimi is sending part of the law back to parliament to be amended. He wants more seats allocated for Iraqis living abroad, most of whom are Sunnis.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Afghanistan today. Her announced visit comes on the eve of President Hamid Karzai's inauguration.

CNN foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty joining me live from the State Department.

Good to see you, Jill.

And given all the concerns the U.S. has about the reliability of Hamid Karzai, is Secretary Clinton carrying any particular message?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: She is. It's definitely on corruption. That's the big concern by the U.S. government. And, in fact, when she arrived, she told the staff there at the U.S. Embassy that this is a critical moment, and that President Karzai has, as she put it, a clear window to demonstrate that he's doing something about this.

Now, a senior U.S. official does tell CNN that the government of Afghanistan has done a few things.

Number one, they started this commission that you probably heard about, anti-corruption commission, that will be investigating allegations of that. And then they also have a tribunal that then will prosecute the cases that the commission brings up.

Interestingly, they also are now going through the different ministries of the government and they're certifying them as open and transparent, or not. If they pass the test, open and transparent, they can get direct funding from the U.S. If they don't, they have to take steps to do that. And Tony, one of the big things that the secretary is talking about is definitely what we're calling the civilian surge, those civilians who will be helping out, along with the military.

HARRIS: Well, Jill, can you tell us more about the civilian aid efforts?

DOUGHERTY: Yes. It's every bit as crucial as the military side, Tony.

The civilian surge, as it's called, what are the purposes? Well, number one, improve Afghan governance; provide security, justice, jobs and services and, very importantly, meaningful alternatives to the Taliban's recruiting.

Now the numbers. There will be 974 Americans over there by the end of the year. There are presently 603 that are going to be out in the field.

Where do they come from? Well, they're recruited from the U.S. government. They also come from outside experts. And there are diplomats, lawyers, agronomist development specialists of many types.

Importantly, they will be following the military. They won't be armed, and they'll be relying on the military for both security and mobility -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right.

Jill Dougherty at the State Department for us.

Jill, appreciate it. Thank you.

Sudden price hikes for some popular prescription drugs have some senators seeing red. We will find out what's going on.

But first, a check of the markets, better than 90 minutes into the trading day.

As you can see, a bit of a sell-off. The Dow down 25 points.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More than two million votes cast for the CNN Hero of the Year. And today is the final day to cast your vote for the Hero of the Year. Just go to CNN.com/heroes right now to vote, then Thanksgiving night, at 9:00, join Anderson Cooper for the all-star tribute to those changing the world.

You know, President Obama goes on the record now about the economy, the 9/11 terror trials and Sarah Palin's book. The president sat down for an interview with our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry. Mr. Obama also talked about the road ahead in Afghanistan.

(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 would like is the next president to be able to come in and say I have 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 questions about why bailed out banks have not helped more small businesses and foreclosed families.

OBAMA: Look, I understand people's frustrations. The American people have gone through a very tough year. And my job as president is to help navigate through this tough year. And people who don't have a job right now, people who have lost their home, I would 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 reelection?

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 because we've gone through these wrenching changes, you know, politically I'm in a tough spot, I'll feel all right about myself.

HENRY (on camera): But in the next breath, the president sounded like someone who would relish taking his case to the American people in 2012, saying he's taking on big issues like health care and Iran, that have not borne fruit, but he's confident they will and he'll eventually be rewarded.

Ed Henry, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, a majority of Americans may favor a woman's right to abortion, but they don't want to pay for it. A CNN/Opinion Research poll out today looks at abortion language in the House health care reform bill. We asked: Should public funds pay for abortions when the woman cannot afford it? Almost two-thirds of those polled, a full 61 percent, say no, 37 percent say yes. Slightly more than half of the people in our poll say private health insurance should not cover abortions, 45 percent say yes, that's OK by them.

Bishop T.D. Jakes touched on the abortion issue with CNN's Larry King. You'll hear that conversation next hour.

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia today becomes the longest- serving member of the United States Congress ever. Byrd came to the House in 1953 and moved to the Senate in 1959. He has been in Congress 56 years and 320 days, and is third in line to the presidency.

What happened in 1953, Byrd's first year in Capitol Hill? Ike was president, Joseph Stalin died, the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee, color TVs go on sale, as does "Playboy." Gas was 20 cents a gallon.

Senator Byrd turns 92 tomorrow. He has three years remaining in his term.

Top stories are next.

Later, a case of murder on the battlefield. CNN's Special Investigation Unit digs deeper into the case of three Army sergeants convicted of killing four Iraqi detainees. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. As always, some pretty cool pictures from NASA TV.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is almost at the International Space Station. We're expecting it to arrive in about 30 minutes or so.

Before docking, the shuttle will do a routine spin for the space station's cameras so NASA can check the thermal -- ooh, look at this, inside.

What are we looking at now, Joe? What is that?

OK. These are pictures from just a couple of minutes ago as the astronauts get ready for docking with the International Space Station. Pretty cool stuff. And then the shuttle will park for about a week or so.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Attorney General Eric Holder is on Capitol Hill facing questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about the controversial plan to try several 9/11 suspects in New York. He is also expected to get questions about the incident at Fort Hood.

Pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia again, but this time the ship and all of its crew managed to escape. The U.S. Navy says private security guards on board the Maersk exchanged fire with the pirates. No casualties reported. During a hijacking in April, you'll recall, the ship's captain was held hostage for five days.

A manhunt is under way right now in Florida for a pair of masked gunman who held up a clothing store. The incident started around closing time last night.

This is video of SWAT teams. This is pretty dramatic stuff here. SWAT teams freeing some of the hostages who were held for hours. It is not clear how the gunmen managed to get away.

Iran hands down death sentences to some of those arrested in post-election protests.

Let's get to Reza Sayah, who is monitoring the situation from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

And Reza, these sentences handed down by Iran, a surprise or expected?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not the first time they've handed out death sentences to opposition supporters. Last month, there were three death sentences handed out, Tony.

But this is Iran's hard-line leadership sending a clear message to the opposition movement and its supporters, and that message is if you come out and protest in public, there's going to be a heavy price to pay. It's a message that, for the most part, has been ignored by Iran's opposition movement because they've continued to come out and publicly protest. But again, reports out of Iran today say that five individuals, five opposition figures, will be paying the ultimate price for doing so.

According to state-run media, these five individuals were sentenced to death by Iran's judiciary. Today, as we mentioned before in October, three other opposition figures were sentenced to death. These five are in addition to those three individuals.

State-run media has yet to reveal all their names, but according to reformist Web site, mojcamp (ph), five of the individuals are Reza Homadi (ph), Mohammed Reza Ali Zamani (ph), Arash Rahmanipur (ph), Nasir Abdul Hasani (ph), and Hamed Rohan Ninajad (ph).

And Tony, what are the charges? As it is often the case with Iran, the charges are extremely vague, according to Iran's judiciary. These men were convicted of corruption on earth and acts against God -- Tony.

HARRIS: One quick one here for you, Reza. Is there any reaction from the various human rights organizations that follow these things about these sentences?

SAYAH: No reaction yet to today's death sentences, but you can be sure today's news is going to get the attention of international human rights groups. These are human rights groups that have condemned the harsh crackdown on the part of the Iranian government against opposition figures, a crackdown that, according to reformist groups, have killed at least 69 people. Human rights groups say these individuals who have been arrested are not getting fair trials, and there are sometimes indications they're not even getting access to lawyers -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right.

Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Reza, appreciate it. Thank you.

Three decorated Army sergeants shot and killed four detainees in their custody at a Baghdad canal. The story about what happened that day in 2007 is contained on Army interrogation tapes obtained by CNN.

Special Investigations Unit Correspondent Abbie Boudreau has a preview of her report tonight for "AC 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: We've obtained 23-and-a-half hours of Army interrogation videotapes where investigators pressed soldiers on details of the crime, tapes you'll only see here on CNN.

Here, Sergeant Michael Leahy, who was eventually convicted of premeditated murder, confesses to firing at two of the men.

UNIDETIFIED MALE: How many times did you fire?

SGT. MICHAEL LEAHY, U.S. ARMY: I fired twice. I fired and, like, this other guy fell back on me. And when he fell back on me, I don't know why I fired again. It wasn't at him.

Like, my arm went up to the right and I fired again. I'm pretty sure it didn't hit anybody, but I'm not going to say that because I don't know for sure. I wasn't looking when I shot the second time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No reasonable person is going to believe that you shot and then this guy fell back on you, and then your arm went at this angle. If you shot this dude, just say you shot him.

LEAHY: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just be honest about it.

LEAHY: It is true. This guy did fall, and my arm...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't doubt that that guy fell on you, but if you purposely shot this guy, Mike, just say it.

You've already manned up. You've already shown that's what you're made of. I know it's hard, but I know that's what happened, dude.

You wouldn't have so much question in your mind right now if you didn't know what happened. And I know it's hard.

LEAHY: You're right, it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just tell us what happened, Mike.

LEAHY: I'm, like, 80 percent sure, yes, I turned and shot this guy. But I'm not 100 percent sure I turned and this guy.

BOUDREAU: Sergeant Leahy would go on to tell Army investigators that his bullets killed one of the men, but not the other. He says another sergeant actually killed the second man with two bullets to the chest.

This is all part of our investigation, "Killings at the Canal: The Army Tapes," tonight, only on "AC 360."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wow. All right.

CNN tonight, was it murder on the battlefield or justice? See the rest of what CNN uncovered, then decide for yourself. "Killings at the Canal: The Army Tapes," an "AC 360" investigation, CNN, tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

You know, here's something you don't hear every day, an apology from one of the big banks at the heart of the financial crisis. Goldman Sachs is saying sorry to the tune of $500 million.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: When it comes to the financial crisis, there's been a lot of blame shifting and finger pointing, but here's a surprise -- one of the nation's biggest banks is now admitting it played a part in the debacle. Susan Lisovicz in on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with details.

And, Susan, good to see you. We're talking about Goldman Sachs here.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about Goldman Sachs. It's actually right down the road on Broad Street, Tony.

And this apology, by the way, is coming from the man at the very top, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO, you know, unprovoked. He was speaking at a corporate conference yesterday, and he said, "We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret. We apologize."

A few hours later, Goldman Sachs announced a plan to help the little guy, quite literally. A $500 million initiative, Tony, to help boost lending for small businesses. Nearly half of that money will go to scholarships to universities to help, small business owners who, Tony, needless to say have been devastated by this financial crisis.

And I think something that really a lot of folks don't know and deserves more attention is that small businesses are an engine of growth and it's actually quite lucrative for companies that do lend to small businesses. I mean, that's how Goldman Sachs and Microsoft and Dell Computers, they started small. They're entrepreneurial.

HARRIS: I got to tell you, this sounds pretty good because we remember the congressional hearings when, you know, the CEOs were loathed to really apologize. But 500 million, isn't this really just a drop in the bucket for Goldman?

LISOVICZ: It is. It is. Incredibly enough, half a billion dollars. If you look at it, $17 billion targeted for bonuses this year. If you look at $500 million, it's 3 percent of that. Not only that, there's a clear and undeniable sign over the last six months that companies, including Goldman Sachs, have pulled back from lending to small businesses. So this is one way to address it. Not enough, I think, many critics would note, but it's a start.

By the way, Warren Buffett is on the board of this small business initiative and certainly he has been a huge force in philanthropy.

Let me just tell you something else about numbers. Dow and Nasdaq giving back a bit, Tony, today. The Dow has been higher nine out of the last ten last sessions. We did see a disappointment on housing starts, they were down nearly 11 percent. And it's a little bit of a pullback, but not too bad given the run-up we've had, Tony.

HARRIS: I love it when you're down there on the floor of the exchange there mixing it up with the traders. It's good stuff, good energy.

All right, Susan, see you next hour.

And, of course, at this time we always remind you to check out our special report, "AMERICA'S MONEY CRISIS," that's at CNNMoney.com.

Big drug companies are jacking up prices ahead of possible changes to the health care system. That could cost Americans an extra $10 billion for brand-name prescriptions this year.

Here's CNN's Louise Schiavone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's probably no bulletin to the patients who use them, over the past 12 months the cost of brand-name drugs has risen an average 9 percent, this according to a study commissioned by the AARP.

JOHN ROTHER, AARP: The most frequently consumed drugs, the ones that most people end up taking and they're for hypertensives, they're cholesterol drugs, they're drugs that are pretty well recognized, and those are the ones that led the way in terms of price increases.

SCHIAVONE: Among the drugs, the study included these well known products from Merck -- Fosamax for osteoporosis up 6.9 percent, Singulair for respiratory ailments up 12.5 percent, anti-cholesterol agent Zocor up 6.9 percent.

Merck declined to CNN's request for comment, referring us to a statement from pharmaceutical industry association Pharma saying, quote, "Alll companies make their own independent pricing decisions based on many factors, including patent expirations, the economy... and huge research and development costs...", end quote.

On Capitol Hill, there could be repercussions. Top Senate Finance Committee republican Charles Grassley says the past year's price escalations are an outrage.

SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R-IA), FINANCE COMMITTEE: It's outrageous because it comes on the heels of a time when the pharmaceutical industry was bragging because they were contributing $80 billion to health care reform. This is what makes people cynical about the issue of health care reform.

SCHIAVONE: Harvard University health economist Joseph Newhouse says he saw drug prices climb in 2006 after Congress made pharmaceuticals part of Medicare.

JOSEPH NEWHOUSE, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I did look at drugs that were heavily used by the elderly and drugs that weren't, and what we found was that the drugs that were heavily used by the elderly went up noticeably more than drugs that weren't.

SCHIAVONE: Bayer Health Care, which the study says raised the price of its multiple sclerosis drug Betaferon (ph) by 28 percent, says that it's eliminated the co-pay for qualified patients in economic distress.

(on camera): The report promises to make the health care reform debate all the more intense. Senator Grassley is forecasting that when all of the negotiations are over, the drug industry may wind up giving more than $80 billion over ten years.

Louise Schiavone for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Got to tell you, in some cases you can beat the price hikes by going the generic route. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen will be here next hour to talk about that.

Another check of the morning's top stories straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Checking our top stories now, Attorney General Eric Holder is on Capitol Hill today facing questions on the decision to try 9/11 suspects in the U.S. civilian court. Critics say the suspected terrorist should be tried by a military tribunal.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Afghanistan. She plans to attend President Hamid Karzai's inauguration to show U.S. support for his government. Earlier, the secretary met with General Stanley McChrystal the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

A U.S.-flagged ship escapes a repeat hijacking attempt by pirates off the Somali coast. The U.S. Navy says private security guards onboard the Maersk Alabama fended off pirates. It is the second time the ship has been attacked in seven months.

A single mom's duty to her country and her child collide resulting in a missed deployment and a battle with the Army. Brian Todd has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kamani Hutchinson, less than a year old caught up in the middle of a dispute between his mother and U.S. Army. Kamani's mom, Specialist Alexia Hutchinson is restricted to her post at Ft. Stewart, Georgia. A single mother under investigation by the army after missing her deployment to Afghanistan earlier this month.

An official at Ft. Stewart tells CNN, Specialist Hutchison showed up on the eve of her deployment and said her Family Care Plan had fallen through and she couldn't find anyone to care for her Kahmani. The official wouldn't discussion possible charges she could face, but her civilian lawyer did with CNN affiliate KGO. RAI SUE SUSSMAN, SPEC. HUTCHINSON'S ATTORNEY: AWOL, missing movement, desertion, failure to have a Family Care Plan, and disobeying an officer.

TODD: The attorney told CNN the Army threatened to court-martial Hutchison if she didn't deploy after reneging on a promise to give her more time to find care for her son. A spokesman at Ft. Stewart emphatically denies claims.

KEVIN LARSON, FT. STEWART SPOKESMAN: The Army did give her a 30- day extension and like all soldiers, was given plenty of time to work out another care plan.

TODD: Kevin Larson says Hutchinson's Army unit has known for months that it would deploy to Afghanistan, that she was given an extension back in August and September and that it wasn't until the last moment that she told them she had no one to care for her son.

Hutchinson had tried to place him with her mother, Angelique Hughes. Hughes initially tried, but said she couldn't handle it because she had other relatives in her care, plus a home day care operation.

Still, with his mother under restriction, he's now back with his grandmother.

ANGELIQUE HUGHES, KAMANI HUTCHINSON'S GRANDMOTHER: I'm spreading myself thin. And then, I deal with kids all day long so I have not a break in between anywhere.

TODD: I asked former Air Force Jag Officer Michelle McCluer about this case.

(on camera): Does Specialist Hutchinson have a legal or regulatory leg to stand on in this case?

MICHELLE MCCLUER, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MILITARY JUSTICE: Most likely not. When soldiers are ordered to deploy and single soldiers included, they have to have a Family Care Plan in place if they are single or military married to military and they need to implement that.

TODD (voice-over): And it says so in black and white, military form DA-5305, the Family Care Plan each soldier has to agree to when they sign up. It says if they don't have plan to take care of their families while deployed, they could face disciplinary action. Then, in a check-off space for soldiers it says, "If arrangements for the care of my family fail to work, I am not automatically excused from prescribed duties, unit deployment or re-assignment."

(on camera): Still, Hutchinson's attorney told us she's going to try to get an administrative discharge for her under one military statute that allows you an out if you can't perform your duties because of parenting responsibilities.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, the president continues to listen to advisers and ambassadors about troop levels in Afghanistan and we are listening to you.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Hi, my name is Patrick. I'm from Mercer, Wisconsin. I think we should send in all the troops we need as soon as we can so we can keep things from escalating and coming more towards the U.S. Thank you.

CALLER: My name is Herb. I'm from Las Vegas, Nevada. We don't know how to fight a guerrilla war. We're too civilized. We don't belong in the Middle East going from house to house. What are we stupid?

CALLER: Mr. Obama, you are 100 percent right to have withheld your decision. I think that you should put Karzai's government on notice that as long as his people do not support his government that there will be no further help from the United States.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: Good stuff all around. We would love to hear from you, more of your comments. Just give us a call, there's the number, 1- 877-742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan. If you can also get on camera, send us an iReport. Just go to CNN.com/iReport and tell us what you think -- same question -- the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.

A billion people going hungry -- a billion -- while tons of food goes to waste every day. Can leaders at this week's World Food Summit find a way to fix the problem? Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. How about this -- oh, cloudy day.

I love what's going to happen here. More than 2 million votes cast for the CNN Hero of the year and today is the final day to cast your vote. Just go to CNN.com/heroes right now to vote. Then, Thanksgiving night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time join Anderson Cooper for the All-Star tribute to those changing the world.

World leaders are gathered in Rome for the final day of a UN summit to fight hunger. An estimated 1 billion people around the world don't have enough to eat.

International security correspondent Paula Newton reports, it's more than a moral issue, it's a security problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): There is enough food on this planet to feed everyone. And yet, one in six people is still at risk of starving to death according to the U.N. So this refrigerated van winds its way through the streets of Rome trying to match overflowing plates with empty stomachs. The small charity Siticibo roams Rome in search of food that is perfectly edible but would just get thrown away.

To prove their point, we went to the building where world leaders are right now meeting to try to end hunger.

(on camera): So even here at the World Food Summit, still some food is going to waste, as you can see here from us doing some dumpster diving. Alessandro, if you want to get in here, we still have some salad and some other vegetables and things.

(voice-over): In the meantime, the charity van delivers its food to La Basilica de Santallisio (ph) and it's soup kitchen just a few blocks from the U.N.'s World Summit.

"The fact that all of the leftovers could end up wasted is something we really have to avoid."

"Shock, yes. I didn't realize before how much food is wasted."

And Padre Bruno Masetto says, he has plenty of hungry people knocking on his door.

"What can we do?" he says. "How can we send them away? None of our hearts are that cold."

No one is kidding themselves here, this won't solve world hunger. But treating food as a precious commodity even in rich countries is a start.

JACQUES DIOUK, DIRECTOR GENERAL, FAO: There is the realization that issue of hunger is not only a humanitarian issue, which it is. It's not an issue of social justice only, which it is. But it's an issue now of peace and security in the world and that's going to have economic impact even in developed countries.

NEWTON: Even the epic famine in the horn of Africa in the '80s changed nothing for those in the very same region still stalked by hunger this very day.

The problem? Where to start; climate change, the rising cost of food, the economic crisis, food for biofuels, feeding cars and not people.

LUCA DE FRAIA, ACTION AID: Every time you have a new set of challenges. So, I wouldn't say that we are facing the same challenges we are facing 20 years ago, so we need a new agenda.

NEWTON: But in the meantime, 100 million more people were added to the rolls of the world's hungry last year alone, some in the most unlikely of places.

Paula Newton, CNN, Rome. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy. Sad there.

All right, let's get to Rob Marciano now.

And, Rob, let's do this as a bit of a plan here.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right.

HARRIS: Why don't we start with weather around the country, and I know you've been watching the pictures of the Shuttle Atlantis about to dock here, pretty soon, right, with the International Space Station?

MARCIANO: Yes, it's really been amazing to watch the two start to come together. Moving at slow-motion, yet moving at thousands of miles an hour. I believe we're looking from -- from the shuttle's vantage point looking at the target, so to speak.

HARRIS: Nice.

MARCIANO: And while we're on the topic, we'll just talk about it...

HARRIS: OK.

MARCIANO: ... because the pictures are cool.

These things, the margin of error about three inches. OK?

HARRIS: Yes.

MARCIANO: And they're traveling together at 17,500 miles an hour. So, that is just incredibly difficult to get your head around.

HARRIS: Yes, but there's never been a miss, right? There's never been an oops or a redo, let me take a mulligan on this?

MARCIANO: They're smart and really good.

HARRIS: They're really good.

MARCIANO: The pilots up there can adjust if they need to. You say 17,000 miles an hour, but it's all relative and they're traveling through a vacuum and there's nothing really to stop them. So once they get up to speed together, they can make the microadjustments.

What you are watching right now is the Space Shuttle Atlantis closing in on the docking port on the International Space Station at one inch a second to hopefully dock here in the next 2 1/2 minutes. So, that's amazing stuff to watch.

HARRIS: It looks good.

MARCIANO: I think there are six flights left as far as the space shuttle is concerned and this one an 11-day journey. They are carrying two pallets, each with about 20,000 pounds of just spare parts, basically.

HARRIS: Right, right.

MARCIANO: Light bulbs, that kind of thing.

HARRIS: There are a lot of worms they're carrying as well. I think I read something, just to test prolonged space journeys on -- on astronauts, and so, yes, the worms as well. And 15 tons of supplies and all kinds of things.

MARCIANO: Yes, when you get rocket scientists in a room who want to launch a rocket, you can bet there are a lot of other biological scientists knocking down the doors saying let my worms get a free ride. Move some of the spare parts to the side so we can study science here.

And every mission, the things that they track down and study intensely, as that zero gravity vacuum-packed lab that circles around the earth, it's amazing to watch.

All right, I guess that's -- that's -- that's about the extent of that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Docking right. Now, I think. I bet the bank that they're not going to have -- they're going to do it smoothly, Tony.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

MARCIANO: And about two hours now the astronauts from the ISS and the Space Shuttle Atlantis will open that dock and have a party.

HARRIS: How about NASA-TV and the pictures they're providing? That's just wonderful.

All right, Rob, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

MARCIANO: You're welcome.

HARRIS: And here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, mammogram concerns and confusion. Dr. Sanjay Gupta questions a task force member about controversial new recommendations. Should women in their 40s get screened or not?

A second pirate attack on the same American container ship, but there's even more to the pirates' story than the attack on the Maersk. We will update you on a British couple held by pirates for almost a month.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: President Obama says he understands people's anger and frustration over the sluggish economy. In an interview with senior White House correspondent Ed Henry, the president responded to a CNN iReporter's question about the bank bailouts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We received a lot of questions from CNN iReporters who went to our website, they wanted to ask you a question directly.

This one is from Guy Watson in Albuquerque.

(VIDEO CLIP, IREPORT)

GUY WATSON, CNN IREPORTER: My question is, why have you chosen to give our tax money to the banks without holding them responsible or forcing them to lower their rates for start-ups and to facilitate refinancing of foreclosing homes?

(END IREPORT CLIP)

HENRY: You hear that a lot.

OBAMA: I do. And I think it's important to understand, first of all, that the so-called bank bailout started before we came in. I actually think it was the right thing to do in a crisis. We had to make sure that you did not have a complete meltdown, which would have been even worse. And I've said in the past, I supported President Bush's decision to move forward on that.

Once we got them in a place where they were no longer in a crisis, the problem was things were put together so quickly last year that there weren't as many strings attached as we would have liked. And so, what we've tried to do is to create some structures after the fact that would impose more accountability, more discipline, you know, most obvious example would be the rules on executive pay.

But it's always hard to do, particularly when a lot of these banks now got well and then just paid the money back, and so we now no longer have leverage. This is why I think it's important moving forward to make sure that we've got a financial regulatory framework that protects consumers, makes sure that they're not getting gouged, makes sure that there's a lot of charity in terms of mortgages that they're getting.

In the meantime, just on the emergency basis, we're trying to do everything we can to poke, prod, incentivize banks to help responsible homeowners who, through no fault of their own, are finding it very tough for them to pay for their mortgages, to make sure businesses are getting lopes. And we've massively expanded small business lending through the sba.

You know, those are all steps we're taking. But, look, I understand people's frustrations. I mean, 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. And, you know, my job is to, within the institutional constraints that I have and the resource constraints that we have -- because we also inherited a structural deficit of several trillion dollars -- to try to make the best decisions possible to help as many people as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The president of the United States answering a question from a CNN iReporter.