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Is Swine Flu Peaking?; Obama Plans to Sew Up Tax Loopholes; Restaurant Workers Suing Employer for Firing over MySpace Chats; No Privacy Online, Internet Privacy Expert Warns

Aired May 04, 2009 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Well, it moves, it spreads, it peaks, it wanes, sometimes it kills. The flu outbreak pushing forward in all sorts of ways and all sorts of places.

And free speech is one thing, but can you dis your boss online on your own time, on your own computer? A test case from cyberspace this hour.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, when it comes to the so-called swine flu, where you stand depends on where you live. Here's the big picture right now: 1,025 cases in 20 countries according to the World Health Organization. But we're still getting word of additional cases the WHO hasn't confirmed.

The official count in the U.S. is 286 in 36 states. And in Mexico where the outbreak started, word is the worst is over. Most businesses set to reopen on Wednesday.

But here the CDC says the flu seems to be on the upswing, though almost all the known cases are mild. The experts point out that H1N1, as the flu bug is technically known, could lie low over the summer and come back hard in the fall.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tracking all the ups and downs.

Elizabeth, do you think it's too soon to breathe easy?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what the CDC says, Kyra. As you stated, they think that we're on the upswing in this country. They expect to see more cases. They do expect to see more deaths.

Now, you might wonder why in Mexico do they think it's already peaked, and their numbers are going down, whereas in this country the numbers are going up? The reason is actually pretty simple. The outbreak started in Mexico. They're sort of ahead of the curve. We are, in some ways, probably headed where they have been. And then we will peak at some point in this country, but we haven't hit that peak yet -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep following it. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much. Meanwhile, Mexico might have turned its health alert level down a notch, but its is still up. You can really see that guard on display at one hospital where the staff comes face to face with the virus. Our exclusive trip now behind the glass doors with CNN's Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Step into an isolation ward. This is a front line in Mexico's fight against the killer virus. Medics shrouded in biohazard suits and goggles are moving fast to halt the spread of the H1N1 strain.

DR. MANUEL VELASCO, MEXICO CITY HOSPITAL (through translator): With this protection the risk of infection is minimal. It allows us to avoid direct contact with the patient.

PENHAUL: Doctors here in Mexico City's naval hospital are allowing us a rare visit behind the glass containment doors.

But before we enter, we, too, must don protective gear to stop us getting infected with the swine flu virus.

(on camera) When I first saw it, it looked pretty scary. But now I kind of understand it. Obviously, the mask to keep any virus trying to get in onto the damp tissues, your mouth and to your nose. The goggles, the same thing, to stop any of the virus getting into -- into the wet parts of your eyes. Because we're told that that way we can get infected, as well.

(voice-over) Navy Dr. Manuel Velasco heads to emergency admissions. Patients are arriving with symptoms which need to be examined urgently in case they're early signs of swine flu.

Five-year-old Leo Almadore (ph) has come in with a sore throat. His mother says the whole family is panicking and they're frightened, so they've all come for a checkup.

Leo (ph) was later given the all-clear for the virus.

Meanwhile, 12-year-old Patricia Arenas is diagnosed with common flu, not the new mutant virus. "I'll take the medicine to get better," she tells me.

In another cubicle, doctors do a lung x-ray to try to pinpoint the cause of this woman's breathing problems. Results come back.

VELASCO (through translator): There's nothing that makes us suspect there's any sign of swine flu. That's good news for her.

PENHAUL: Since Wednesday, Dr. Velasco says staff have examined more than 2,000 patients. So far, he says, none of the results from the naval hospital has tested positive for H1N1.

VELASCO (through translator): That may mean the virus is stabilizing and then could be totally controlled, but we have to wait a bit to be sure. PENHAUL: Mom of two, Lorena Valdez, began feeling sick this morning. After checkup, doctors decide to keep her in for observation to see how her symptoms progress.

"I got a headache, chills in my body, fever and a cough since this morning," she says. Mexican health officials say the virus may finally be in retreat, but experts are still hunting vital clues.

VELASCO (through translator): We've seen this virus tends to affect women more than men, but we cannot say right now why that is.

PENHAUL: Scientists must also answer another key question about the pandemic: why Mexico?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Karl Penhaul Now joins us live from Mexico City.

Karl, does it look like the worst is over?

PENHAUL: It does a little bit this morning, Kyra, because there's been good news, as we've said, from the Mexican health ministry. They say that they think this virus is in retreat. They think it has already peaked and that the number of new cases is now diminishing.

But really, you know, the fact that over the last week or 10 days they've managed to just about shut down one of the biggest cities on earth, closing tens of thousands of bars, restaurants, canceling public events, including Sunday masses and soccer, both equally important for this Catholic nation, it's just been amazing.

And -- and today, though, things do seem to be getting a little bit back more to normal. People seem to be a little bit more confident. They're taking off the masks gradually, and they're coming back out onto the streets, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Karl Penhaul, thanks so much. We're monitoring a CDC news conference right now. We'll take that live when we see it in Port Nuduso (ph).

Meanwhile, a dramatic scene for Dallas Cowboys players and staff. Take a look at this.

A storm brings down the roof of the Cowboys indoor practice facility.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Internet privacy, what an oxymoron. If you ever talk smack online about your job and you think it's OK because you're at home in a private chat area, get ready for a rude wake-up call. I'll be taking your comments on this one. Go to Twitter.com/kyraCNN.

And the president said that he's cracking down on offshore tax havens. I'll talk with Jordan Belfort about that. He knows all about illegal transactions, and he served prison time for it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It can run. But if President Obama has his way, U.S. companies that earn profits overseas won't be able to hide from U.S. taxes. As you may have seen live here on CNN, the president outlined a plan that he says would raise more than $200 billion over the next decade. It would sew up loopholes that let corporations shelter profits in foreign countries and make it a whole lot harder to stash money in secret offshore accounts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... Congress to pass some common-sense measures. One of these measures would let the IRS know how much income Americans are generating in overseas accounts by requiring overseas banks to provide 1099s for their American clients, just like Americans have to do for their bank accounts here in this country.

If financial institutions won't cooperate with us, we will assume that they are sheltering money in tax havens and act accordingly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the president's crackdown targets write-offs, deductions and shelters that are completely legal. Jordan knows them inside and out, and he also knows about the illegal stuff. He's a former millionaire stockbroker who wrote the book "The Wolf of Wall Street after a stint in federal prison on fraud. Jordan joins me now from Los Angeles.

Good to see you, Jordan.

JORDAN BELFORT, AUTHOR, "THE WOLF OF WALL STREET": Thanks. How are you?

PHILLIPS: So, listening to the president talking about cracking down on this type of business, what do you think? I mean, will these laws on tax havens actually make a difference? I mean, can he make this work?

BELFORT: Well, there are two distinct things going on here. One is just simply corporations diverting profits overseas manipulate. He's trying to close that hoop local. In the past you just check a box saying that the business is overseas, the profits are staying there, and people wouldn't have to pay -- the corporation wouldn't have to pay taxes on that.

That, I think, is a good thing. That loophole should be closed, because I think it will also help shift jobs back into the United States, because right now it benefits companies to do their business overseas, because there's less taxes to be paid. So that's a good thing.

On the other side of the equation is individuals that are stashing money overseas, something that I did and went to jail for. And I think that's also a good thing. I think definitely that banks should have to -- if foreign banks should have to issue 1099s to U.S. citizens, that would be, you know, definitely a good thing.

But you have to be careful now. Because I think one of the things I read in -- in the legislation is they want to change it to guilty until proven innocent. And that scares me in the sense that, you know, that's pretty un-American. It's always about, you know, innocent until proven guilty. And, you know, where does that line stop? OK, now you're going to say it's guilty until proven inspect. What about the next time? So you've got to be really careful. It's a slippery slope to walk down, but ultimately I think it's a good thing.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, let me -- let me -- well, maybe it's a good thing. All right. Let me go back then to the illegal side of things, when you did it. How easy was it? I mean, tell me exactly what you did. And did you pretty much laugh at how easy it was? Or did you have to be pretty cunning in -- to know where the loopholes were and how to work the system?

BELFORT: It was really easy. And, you know, the Swiss bankers, at least the ones I dealt with, taught me all the loopholes. And there are so many of them. You know, what I did is I basically smuggled large amounts of money overseas cash, actually smuggled cash overseas through couriers. The bank also offered to use their own courier service, believe it or not. So two ways to get the money overseas.

Once it was there, they told me -- they showed me how to hide it through a web of -- what's called barren (ph) corporations. It's corporations that doesn't have your name on it. So you don't appear anywhere. And you hide behind the bank secrecy laws, and you have a trustee, which is a Swiss attorney, you know, someone like that who does all the transactions for you. So essentially, it's very easy to hide your money overseas.

However, the more difficult thing is bringing the money back. How do you actually spend the money? And that's really where it starts to get complicated, when a lot of people get in trouble.

So it's easy to get your money there and a bit more difficult to actually get it back or spend it in the United States. But there are strategies to do that, too.

PHILLIPS: OK. So what would those strategies be, and if indeed this does work the way the president says he wants it to work, what does it mean for me, the jobless taxpayer -- taxpayer? Will I see any of this money come back directly to me or to the economy?

BELFORT: Well, clearly what happens is the strategies are -- the main ones are this.

No. 1, let's say you have a bank account in Switzerland with a million dollars. The bank issues you a debit card. So you go around spending money in the United States, and it gets deducted from your bank account in Switzerland. That's the first way. Another way would be to issue a mortgage your own house. So let's say you have a million dollars in Switzerland and the bank -- say it's in UBS. Nothing against UBS. I'm just making up a bank, a Swiss bank. They could write you a mortgage for a quarter million dollars. So it's actually your own money that you're lending back to yourself. So what's happening is you're getting an interest deduction in the United States and getting money made tax free overseas. That's another way.

Another way is just to go around making investments using your overseas accounts where you would put a little of your own money in and have your overseas account lend the additional sum. So it gives you the leverage of having -- you know, using tax-free money.

As far as there's a benefit to the U.S.? Of course it does. The average taxpayer essentially is getting ripped off by people that are hiding their money overseas...

PHILLIPS: Right.

BELFORT: ... because there would be more money coming into the government. So you know, there would be less of a deficit and so on and so forth. So yes, it's a good thing for everybody if these loopholes are closed.

PHILLIPS: All right. So Jordan, you were talking about the illegal and the legal. And how do you always know, you know, what is legal and illegal, because there are so many loopholes?

And I want to ask you about this GAO report that came out in January of 2009 at the beginning of the year. And it named 83 of the top 100 publicly-traded companies, OK, had subsidiaries in tax-haven countries. For example, Coke, Caterpillar, Amex, Chevron, Dupont, Ford.

BELFORT: Right.

PHILLIPS: Even federal contractors were named. Is it just because they have these subsidiaries in tax-haven countries? Does it necessarily mean that they're doing anything illegal? Or is it the type of thing where, OK, let's have a moral compass here, and let's keep the money in the United States since we're struggling so badly right now?

BELFORT: Good question. And that's the difference between, you know, legal-illegal, versus ethical or unethical. And clearly, these companies, these multinationals like, you know, Caterpillar -- you named one -- they're not breaking the law. The law is written right now so they can have these overseas...

PHILLIPS: They can do that.

BELFORT: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Right.

BELFORT: So they're not -- and you can't blame these companies. If that's the law, why should they not take advantage of it?

Now clearly, Obama has a point that, you know, given the circumstances. Overall it would be nice to have some of the tax revenue back in the United States, also to have those jobs back in the United States. Because what happens is if you make it tax -- a better tax deal for a company to shift jobs overseas to a country with a low -- a low tax burden, they're going to shift those jobs overseas.

So why not try to create, you know -- institute a law or policies that make it advantageous to bring the jobs back to America?

So, you know, again, you know, this is -- this is a good thing, but you need to be very careful right now. You know, that the government is getting very involved in business. And you know, there's got to be a certain point where capitalism has to be capitalism. So it's a very fine balancing act. I overall agree with what Obama is trying to do, but you've got to be careful.

PHILLIPS: The book is "Wolf on Wall Street." Jordan Belfort, I really appreciate your candid discussion with me.

BELFORT: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Well, we're not done yet. Big business calls, the White House tax plans, a giant tax hike. I'm going to ask a top White House economic adviser about that later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As promised, we were following that CDC news conference. And here's the latest from Dr. Richard Besser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RICHARD BESSER, ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: The median age of confirmed cases is 16 years with a range of 3 months to 81 years. The most recently confirmed case is May 1.

There are 35 known hospitalizations in the United States, with the one reported death. Sixty-two percent of the confirmed cases are under 18 years of age.

Now, the World Health Organization earlier today was reporting 898 cases in 18 countries.

I like to each day put this in context with seasonal flu. With seasonal flu, we see in the United States over 30 million cases. We see 200,000 hospitalizations and, on average, 36,000 deaths.

We have teams working in Mexico as part of the tri-national effort there. And they're hard at work to try to understand the situation in Mexico. What we're hearing from Mexico is what has been reported in the news, as well, is it appears that things are leveling off in Mexico. They are reporting less activity in Mexico City. But as we're seeing here, they're seeing different things in different parts of the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And once again, that was Dr. Richard Besser there at the CDC. We'll continue to monitor all the updates that he brings us here out of Atlanta, Georgia.

Well, the Dallas Cowboys are one tough team. But even they are no match for nature's fury. A powerful storm flattens their practice facility. I'll look at the scary moments and an update on the injured, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Government safety inspectors now on the scene in Irving, Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys practice dome collapse, permanently paralyzing one staffer. Take a look at this dramatic video.

An assistant coach for the Cowboys is now undergoing surgery. Joe DeCamillis is fractured -- or has a fractured cervical vertebrae in his neck. It happened during this powerful thunderstorm that happened over the weekend. He's one of the dozen people injured in that collapse.

The most seriously hurt is Rich Behm, who works as a scouting assistant. His spine was actually severed. He's now paralyzed from the waist down. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has issued a statement about Rich Behm. He says, "To the Behm family" that "we extend our love, comfort and full support of every person and resource in this organization. Rich is a courageous member of our family and someone for whom we care deeply. We ask for all friends and fans of the Dallas Cowboys to join us in embracing him and his family with their thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time."

Well, the Cowboys' bubble dome is one of many across the country built by Summit Structures. That company declined an on-camera interview, by the way, when we asked for that today. But company President Nathan Stobbe issued this statement to us: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families. This is obviously a very difficult time for each of them and for the Cowboys organization. I've flown to Texas along with other representatives of our company to assist in any way possible. We'll be working with the Cowboys organization and local professionals and officials to fully assess the severity -- or this severe weather event."

Well, nasty weather has several parts of the country on edge today. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN weather center with more -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kyra, we've had a lot going on, you know. It's been going on since the weekend. And we're just going to continue to go throughout the week with a very active weather pattern. A couple of highlights and some incredible pictures we want to show you. Fist off, this is in Perry, Iowa. It's outside of the Des Moines area. And this is a bowling alley that actually collapsed.

What happened was the ground underneath became unstable, and a sinkhole developed, and then one side of the wall, the building apparently came on down. They had to tear down the rest of that building because it was so unstable, unfortunately.

All right, on to what's been going on in Oklahoma, a state that's been hit all weekend long and even into last week with heavy, heavy showers and thundershowers. These pictures coming in from KOTV. And this is in the Locust Grove area, where the river and the lake -- the reservoir is at very, very high levels. Also the real saturated ground has been breaking some water mains, unfortunately, and the town of Locust Grove is without water. And there you can see the dam and just high -- how high those levels are. That's a continuing story we're going to be monitoring.

And then this is from Alabama. This was a part of a major weather system that blew on through. This is in the Trussville area. We had downed power lines. We had carports that were collapsed from just some incredible straight-line winds. This is really the epitome of what was really kind of our weather wow, I would say, from the weekend.

Let me show you what this thing was. It's a derecho, and it traveled 800 miles. This developed in the overnight hours on Sunday and throughout the day. Take a look at this. This is what we would call a bow echo, when those winds are moving at a faster rate out ahead. That causes that curving motion here. This thing continued to travel through Mississippi, through Alabama, causing those damaging winds, and made its way all the way into the Carolinas.

Today we still have some severe weather across parts of the Deep South. A tornado watch in effect from New Orleans over towards Goshen, Alabama. A new severe thunderstorm watch issued across southern Georgia and north Florida, including you into the Jacksonville area. And there we've got a brand-new watch, too, that includes you in Raleigh and a threat of tornados from Richmond to Virginia Beach. So, we're just going to be ongoing with the nasty weather -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui. We'll keep following it with you. Thank you.

So, the president says he wants to crack down on companies who use loopholes to dodge taxes. How exactly does he plan to enforce that? We're going to ask one of the top economic advisers at the White House, Jared Bernstein, joining us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we've been reporting on the president's plan to drum up more than $200 billion over the next few years by sewing up the tax loopholes long enjoyed by U.S. companies that do business abroad. It's an issue that he talked about a lot as a presidential candidate. And as president, he's got his work cut out for him. Jared Bernstein, the top economic adviser to Vice President Biden and a familiar face in the NEWSROOM. Jared, this is a far-reaching plan. That's exactly what it's been called. So, tell me how far and how deep can the IRS actually reach?

JARED BERNSTEIN, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Well, they're going to be able to reach further and deeper into some of the U.S. subsidiaries overseas in the following way and for the following reason. Over the past few years, you've had an unfairness creep into the code. And it shows up in two ways.

One, we have really quite strong incentives for overseas corporations to create jobs there instead of here. And I can take through some of the arithmetic or some of the ways the tax code does that. But it's a very clear incentive to create jobs overseas in these corporations, not here on our shores. That obviously has to change, especially in the context of a recession, where we need these folks to create jobs here.

Secondly, we have some very problematic evasions. I think the president said bending or breaking the rules. You're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars, taxpayer dollars in tax evasion that goes on through these corporations. That's the kind of loopholes we're talking about closing.

PHILLIPS: All right, so, a couple points of taking notes here because I want to not lose track.

BERNSTEIN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: First of all, you mentioned the companies, the U.S. companies with the subsidiaries in tax-haven countries.

BERNSTEIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: I actually saw the GAO report from January of 2009 naming 83 of the 100 largest publicly traded companies that have them over there. Coke (ph), Caterpillar, Amex, Chevron, DuPont, Ford, I could keep going.

BERNSTEIN: Those are the 83 with offshore tax havens, right.

PHILLIPS: OK. So, does it necessar -- do you believe that it's possible that a majority of these companies, if not all, have some sort of illegal activity that has been -- that hasn't been discovered?

BERNSTEIN: Some of them are likely engaged in some of the kinds of illegal evasions that we've talked about. I'm certainly -- no one -- I don't know that anyone could say for sure. But remember, it's not just that.

I think another way to look at this -- let me give two other facts that are kind of like the one you mentioned and that get you thinking about this in the right way. If you look at the effective tax rate these multinationals have paid, most recent data shows that on profits of 700 billion, they paid 16 billion. That's a 2 percent tax rate, OK?

So we know that American middle-class families are paying much larger tax rates than that. So, something is obviously wrong. Secondly, there's an address down in the Cayman Islands that houses 19,000 corporations. Now, either that's the biggest building in the world or the biggest tax scam in the world, and it's probably the latter. We know, for example...

PHILLIPS: So, if it's the biggest tax scam in the world, I mean, I as a taxpayer, Jared, I'm going to be pretty upset if I find out that 83 of these 100 companies, including the Coke, the Caterpillar, the Amex, the Chevron, the DuPont, the Ford, all these others, are somehow tied into some type of illegal activity. I mean, that, as a taxpayer that's going to be my biggest concern. And it sounds like you're kind of passing over that looking at some other things.

BERNSTEIN: No. I mean, let me be very clear about this. I'm certainly not able to come out here and say any particular corporation engaged in any illegal activity. And if the IRS knew about that, of course they would be pressing that case. The problem is that you've got so many opportunities for tax sheltering, some of which is legal under these complicated, obfuscating rules, and some of which isn't. And so, what these rules do is they increase transparency.

I'll give you a great example. One of the things we're doing -- suggesting today is to change the burden of proof on foreign banks wherein many of these folks are going to shelter their income. Now, if these corporations are sheltering their income in a foreign bank, some of these banks are not telling the IRS, even though they're supposed to, are not telling the IRS the information we need to know to legitimately tax them. The burden of the proof under this plan flips. If they're not telling us, then it's evasion. And so, that's a simple way to increase the transparency.

PHILLIPS: So, let me ask you this. When you discover this -- because as you pursue it, I'm sure that you'll find that a number of companies are not acting all legally -- is that money going to come back here into the United States and help me as a taxpayer or help my neighbor who's out of a job and has been paying his or her taxes every year? And how soon can that happen?

BERNSTEIN: It's a great question. And the answer is yes. And I'll tell you, for every dollar the IRS spends in increased enforcement in cases like this, they bring back four. So, this is a big bang for the buck proposition. It's one of the reasons why you see the lobbyists lining up like you announced earlier against this.

And interestingly, and I think some of these folks who are fighting these changes have to recognize something else that we're stressing today. Some of these dollars come back, help create jobs here. Some of them incentivize these corporations to invest in research and development. We're recommending making the R&D, research and development tax credit permanent with some of these revenues. That helps create innovation and jobs here, not abroad. So, we believe that this is going to shut down some of the upside-down incentives that cost us revenue, create jobs over there and bring those jobs back home.

PHILLIPS: Jared Bernstein, thanks for your time today.

BERNSTEIN: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Well, you need a password to enter them, a password to read them, but are your online comments really private? It's at the heart of a new lawsuit that could affect you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, and then there's this. Get ready to tweet me about this one. Are personal online chats really private? Venting about the boss on Myspace cost two workers their jobs, and now they're suing. Our Alina Cho has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, you know, we all know that if you're sending an e-mail from work, there's a pretty good chance the bosses are watching you, or at least they could if they wanted to. But what if you're at home on your home computer on MySpace. You're not responsible for what you say there, right? Wrong. It cost two restaurant workers in New Jersey their jobs.

CHO: Did you ever in your wildest dreams think that making a comment like this on MySpace would get you fired from your job?

DOREEN MARINO, FIRED FOR COMMENTS ON MYSPACE: Absolutely not. Never in a million years would I have thought that this was going to get me fired.

CHO (voice-over): It did. Doreen Marino says she was blindsided when in 2006, her boss at this Houston's restaurant in Hackensack, New Jersey fired her, not for bad performance or calling in sick, but for allegedly making derogatory comments about one of her managers in a private discussion group on MySpace.

Members only, password required, created specifically so she and other co-workers could gossip.

(on camera): You wanted to vent.

MARINO: Better to vent there, in my opinion, take it somewhere where no one's going to hear you.

CHO: Marino was wrong. She says managers at the restaurant got hold of the password, didn't like what they saw and as a result, according to Marino, fired her and another worker.

(on camera): Did you feel like that was a violation of your privacy?

MARINO: Absolutely. They weren't invited. They were not members of the group. In my opinion, I felt they had no business being there. CHO (voice-over): She's so mad, she and the co-worker are suing the owners of Houston's for invasion of privacy. The parent group of Houston's would not comment about the lawsuit, but in a statement to CNN said, quote, "This is not a case about cybersnooping, the First Amendment or privacy. It's about two staff members who were let go for unprofessional conduct, including," says the company, "disparaging comments about our guests and sharing a product knowledge test before it was administered. This misconduct was voluntarily brought to light by a member of the online group."

(on camera): Is it really reasonable to expect that if you're writing things on MySpace, somebody's not going to see it?

MARINO: Where do we draw the line? We have to the right to say what we want in a private environment.

CHO (voice-over): Or do they?

NICHOLAS THOMPSON, SENIOR EDITOR, "WIRED" MAGAZINE: Technology is changing faster than the law and faster than our social norms. So, the law and the courts don't really know how to handle this, and it's not like they'll catch up.

CHO: Marino says she's hoping to set a precedent.

MARINO: There has to be something, some sacred space in our lives where we can feel comfortable speaking our minds.

CHO (on camera): That is at the heart of the debate. As you heard from our Internet expert, there are no laws on the books to deal with this. The problem, no surprise, is that the Internet is changing faster than the laws can be written. The expert says today, there's a lawsuit on MySpace, tomorrow, a similar case on Twitter, Kyra. The norms clearly have changed -- Kyra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Alina Cho, thank you so much. And the discussion does not end here. What could this lawsuit mean for your private chats online? We're going to hear from a cyberspace lawyer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION: The field is neither adequate nor equal. Our work continues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Jesse Jackson's newest push to save the Big Three, save Detroit and save the soul of industrial America. He's with us next hour.

Plus, Jack Kemp, quarterback turned congressman and vice presidential candidate. Our own Candy Crowley knew him well. We're going to talk with her about his life and his legacy.

And in just a few minutes, we're going to take you live to a hog farm in the Midwest to see how they're reacting to the latest news on swine flu.

Well, we told you about the two restaurant employees who got fired for dissing their boss online in a private MySpace chat group. And they're now suing. Parry Aftab is an expert on Internet privacy issues and as cyberspace lawyer in New York.

So, Parry, what do you make of this case, first of all?

PARRY AFTAB, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CYBERANGELS, LAWYER: Well, it's not the first time something like this has happened. It's just the first time we're seeing it in the courts. So, a lot of people are assuming that they have private spaces online and using it to bash other people, including employers.

PHILLIPS: So, does this lawsuit hold up? What are your concerns? Do you think that something could happen here, or is this a no way, they have no case here?

AFTAB: Well, the interesting part is, on the privacy issues, I don't think there's a case at all. If you're posting something, even what you consider a private group on MySpace, you need to recognize that it's only as private as the users that you have invited to use it are.

There should be no expectation of privacy. You should recognize that whatever you're posting online stays online forever, and pretty much anybody you don't want to see it will. The only legal issue here is whether or not the employee who allowed her employers to see what she was able to see because she was invited to be part of the group was coerced in some way. So, if it wasn't consensual on her part, then you might have a case.

PHILLIPS: Can you, if it wasn't -- OK. Let me ask you this. Can you narrow it down to OK, were these employees nonunion workers or union workers? Could that add something to the mix?

AFTAB: Well, the issue on union workers is, when you have a union, whether you're monitoring employees within the workspace, that is part of a collective bargaining agreement, so that if you're going to monitor in the workspace, and you're going to see what they're doing in the workspace, that has to be part of your collective bargaining.

Otherwise, in this case, whether they're union members or not, from what I understand, the MySpace account was set up outside of work hours and technically not part of their employment. So, I don't even think it would make a huge difference on union issues.

PHILLIPS: So, listen to this individual who's the commissioner, the Ontario information privacy commissioner said this at a conference recently that posting personal information on a social networking Web site without considering your privacy options is like crossing the street without looking both ways. Neither is advisable.

AFTAB: And Ann Cavoukian is a good friend.

PHILLIPS: You know Ann.

AFTAB: I know Ann well, and I think that's incredible, you know. I always had the four Ps: don't post anything your parents, principal, police and predators don't want. And she added a fifth P, prospective employers. And I think we need to recognize that when it comes to issues of badmouthing a boss, if you want it to be kept private, do it in your house without anybody around and hopefully without a recorder going.

When you're posting it online, you're making it easy for people to get it. They could have gotten it with a subpoena, perhaps. They certainly can get it from anybody who wants to leak it, anyone who printed it out. If you want to do something privately, you don't do it on MySpace.

PHILLIPS: Bottom line. Parry Aftab, great to talk to you. Thanks.

AFTAB: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, a lot of you have been Twittering us about this, as you can imagine. Here are some of your responses.

One of you wrote in, "See, I don't think that's right. Granted, the people take the risk, but if they were doing their job, it is just wrong. We all vent."

And Brian Slattery (ph) wrote, "People should think before they type, but I can't see firing unless they say something like they steal from work. DanyaZ (ph) Tweeted, "It is a privacy violation like listening to private conversations in your own home."

Another wrote, "This is an outrage." Jaily (ph) wrote, "Not sure they have the right to fire based just on that, but how dumb to post stuff like that in a public forum like MySpace." And finally, Guy Murray (ph) wrote this: "As at-will employees, as most are, boss has right to fire for any or for no reason, as they have the right to quit."

Keep your tweets coming. You can link from our blog, CNN.com/newsroom, or twitter.com/kyracnn.

Dangerous, wild weather taking aim from the Southeast to the mid- Atlantic today. A powerful line of thunderstorms blamed for at least one death in Mississippi now. A woman was killed by a falling tree just outside her home. In Oklahoma, flooding from heavy rain is blamed for two deaths over the weekend, including one woman who drowned when her car was swept away on a flooded roadway.

Those storms knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses in Alabama, and witnesses say funnel clouds dotted the skyline there. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras keeping an eye on all of the destructive weather out there. Jacqui, what do you think?

(WEATHER REPORT)