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Middle East Reaction to Obama Positive; Sotomayor's Conservative Critics Softening; Doctor Offers Stem Cell Treatment Outside U.S.; Obama Fits in Pyramid Tour; Wealth Disparity, Youth Joblessness among Egypt's Challenges; Unemployment Claims Dropping; Young Chinese Unaware of Tiananmen Square Massacre

Aired June 04, 2009 - 09:59   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama searching for common ground and new cooperation in the heart of the Muslim world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world. One based on mutual interest and mutual respect. And one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap and share common principles. Principles of justice and progress. Tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The message a little soothing, a little scolding, and a lot at stake on both sides of the great divide. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Cairo now with a closer look at this. So, Ben, how would you say Egyptians are reacting so far?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Generally, Heidi, I'd say they've been reacting very positively. Certainly we saw from that speech at Cairo University that it was interrupted several times by very loud applause, certainly at the end. Among other Egyptians I've spoken with, mixed reaction, one of them, one Egyptian I've known for many years called me up and said, yes, we can. This was from somebody who in the past had been very critical of U.S. foreign policy, especially in the Middle East. Others saying it was a minimalist speech that he touched on all of the important points, but really didn't get to the meat of it. So mixed reaction, but generally positive, Heidi?

COLLINS: Probably important at this point to talk a little bit about the audience, as well, Ben. Inside the theater there, if you will, we were talking about students that were there, some dignitaries that were there, and also some of the staff, the scholars, if you will, correct?

WEDEMAN: Yes, there were, there were all of those people. But in addition to that, there were human rights activists. There were members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a powerful opposition group with an Islamist philosophy. So, it was really a mixed audience. And while what I was told by people who were there that what really got the audience most enthusiastic, in fact, were Barack Obama's repeated references to the Koran, in a sense they're looking for validation from the American president for their religious beliefs, which is a rather interesting phenomenon -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. So, we have this gathering of people, invited guests. Now what happens? How does all of this resonate? I keep using that word. But obviously I think it's fair to say it's going to take some time to resonate.

WEDEMAN: Well, it was a broad speech addressing a very broad audience. Let's not forget, there are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. And their interests are very broad. The question is, how do you translate the fine words of a very well-written eloquently delivered speech into palpable results? I mean, for instance, on the Palestinian-Israeli question, Palestinians reacting very well is rarely somewhat less enthusiastic, but now it comes to bringing all of the ideas that President Obama brought up into the speech into reality. And really when it comes to things like that especially in the Middle East, the devil is waiting in the details.

COLLINS: All right. Understood. Ben Wedeman, thanks so much. Coming to us from Cairo today. Appreciate that.

The president's speech aimed at Muslim audiences but intently watched by Israelis. Let's get that reaction now to President Obama's address. CNN's Paula Hancocks is joining us from Jerusalem. Very interested to know how it resonated there, at least so far, Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Heidi. Well, basically the overwhelming feeling we got from the people we spoke to was good start, but what's next? They wanted more detail. As Ben was saying, this was a very wide speech. But some of the quotes he had for Israelis in a cafe where we're watching it in, was he was even-handed, he was balanced.

And some said that he also emotionally hit a note by mentioning that tomorrow he's going to the Buchenwald concentration camp. And the fact that he called Holocaust deniers baseless, ignorant and hateful right at the beginning of the speech when he was referring to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This did resonate with Israelis. But of course, not all Israelis liked it. Inevitably, Israeli settler groups hated it.

We heard from Israeli media quoting the Yesha Council saying Hussein Obama has believed Arab lies. So, of course, you're not going to please everybody here. The fact that Mr. Obama said that settlements must end has not been welcomed at all by the settlers, not surprisingly. But for the most part, those we spoke to in the west Jerusalem cafe and also Palestinians in Ramallah said that they were hopeful, they believed him, they trusted him. They thought that he was serious about trying to make peace, but they need more details.

COLLINS: Understood. Paula Hancocks for us live from Jerusalem this morning with the Israeli perspective. Thanks so much.

The president speaks. Is the Muslim world listening? For some insight into that we turn to a veteran journalist who now writes and lectures on America's relationship with the Muslim world. Lawrence Pintak is joining us live this morning from Cairo. Thanks for being with us. Let's talk first about the audience for this speech. Because I think it's important to point out who they were, how they got there, and what their reaction was. It was a favorable crowd.

LAWRENCE PINTAK, SPENT LAST FOUR YEARS AT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO: It was certainly a favorable crowd. Everyone was hand- picked. But as Ben pointed out that there was a cross section of politics in that crowd. But again, the crowd, the audience was not just in that room. The audience was around the world. And that speech spoke to people around the Muslim world.

COLLINS: It's been about three hours now. So, obviously we're very early into this by way of it having impact of any kind. What kind of reaction are you getting so far in the Arab media?

PINTAK: Well, obviously, what media we're seeing is the live stuff, the commentary, the instant analysis as what we're doing now for the Arab equivalent. And it is mixed. As Ben pointed out, many, many people are welcoming it. There have been comments from the Muslim Brotherhood, from Hamas and other groups like that, which saw it as a positive step. There are inevitably going to be those who are on the hard edge of extremism who are going to oppose it. But in general, it's seen as a step in the right direction. Another most importantly, another step in the right direction.

COLLINS: I'd be curious to know about your students in particular. You know, I keep looking at this speech because, of course, we have copies of it here. And I find this word mistrust at least four times that he used. By way of U.S. mistrusting the Muslim world or vice versa. What about your students? How do they feel?

PINTAK: Well, interestingly, as you know, I teach at the American University in Cairo.

COLLINS: Right.

PINTAK: Our students are the elite. They're English-speaking, but yet there was a poll on campus just recently, the campus newspaper found that the majority of them thought badly of the U.S. and mistrusted the U.S. and that's the elite pro-American group as it were.

COLLINS: What did they base that on? I'm not sure what the question looked like or how many people, you know, were polled. What is at the root of that?

PINTAK: At the root of that is the American support for Israel. Absolutely, which of course, the president took on in the speech. And his taking that on and saying settlements must stop growing certainly makes points. But across the Arab world and across the Muslim world, the U.S. is seen as joined at the hip to Israel and seen as blindly supporting Israel. And that resonates across the region.

COLLINS: It was also interesting, as I'm sure you saw, when President Obama brought up the issue of democracy. He seemed to get sort of the loudest cheer and clapping, and support, if you will, on that topic. Why do you think that is?

PINTAK: Well, I would argue it was loudest. I think the loudest was

COLLINS: He even responded to the crowd.

PINTAK: Yes, he did. He did.

COLLINS: During that point of the speech.

PINTAK: Absolutely. But when he talked about the fact that when you kill one innocent, you kill everyone. That was the one that really resonated with that crowd. Democracy, I think, we're already hearing from media here. He kind of danced around that. He talked about regimes must rule involving people in the process not through coercion, but a lot of people here were waiting for him to overtly take on the Mubarak regime, and he emphatically did not do that because this administration sees the Egyptian regime as critical to solving the Palestinian crisis.

COLLINS: All right. We sure do appreciate your interesting perspective. Lawrence Pintak of the American University of Cairo. Thanks so much for your time.

PINTAK: My pleasure.

COLLINS: And we do to continue hearing from you at home. What do you think about President Obama's speech to the Muslim world? You can post a comment on our blog at cnn.com/newsroom, then just click on Heidi.

If you did not see our live coverage of President Obama's speech early this morning, you will get another chance next hour. We're going to be sharing some extended clips of the president's address and have reaction and analysis to it. Again, that's during our 11:00 hour right here on CNN.

In other news now, we are learning more about what may have happened to Air France Flight 447. Brazilian authorities say a 12- mile long oil slick near where the jet crashed in the Atlantic indicates the plane could have possibly broken up when it hit the water, not in the air. But investigators say it is too early to say for sure. Debris is scattered over 300 square miles. Two hundred twenty-eight people were on that plane when it went down in route to Paris. Among them, Mike Harris and his wife, Anne, who recently relocated to Rio de Janeiro.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY NICHOLS, CEO, DEVON ENERGY: It was just a shock to realize that he just celebrated his 60th birthday and he was on his way to Paris for a vacation with his wife and to do some geologic training in other parts of Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Harris had worked for Devon Energy for five years.

Another tragedy, this one south of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Two boys playing catch on a ball field were hit by lightning yesterday. One died. The other is in critical condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK ALBRIGHT, SAW LIGHTNING STRIKE BOYS: It was just an enormous lightning strike. I could see grass fly in the air. As far as I know neither one of them looked responsive. They were doing CPR on my coach's son in my truck for the longest time before the ambulances got here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Parents say umpires had ordered all players off the field when the storm hit.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich backing off from his charge that Sonia Sotomayor is a racist. What he and Rush Limbaugh are now saying about the Supreme Court nominee.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly, this information just in into the CNN NEWSROOM now. Our entertainment department is telling us here at CNN that David Carradine's personal manager said that the actor was found dead today. You see pictures of him there in a hotel in Bangkok. This person, personal manager says that the death is being investigated and could not provide any other details.

You probably recognize him from the television shows "Kung Fu." Most recently he had played the title role in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" volume one and volume two. But again, we will continue to follow this story. According to his personal manager, actor David Carradine has apparently been found dead in a hotel in Bangkok.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor returning to Capitol Hill this hour. For more meetings with senators who will decide her fate. While confirmation seems certain in the Democratic-controlled Senate, Republicans are upset over what they see as Democrats rushing the hearing and the vote. Two prominent Republicans outside Congress are now backing away from some of their criticism of Sotomayor. CNN's Dana Bash has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day two of her Senate courtesy calls, Sonia Sotomayor again keeping mum even as two of her loudest conservative critics changed their tune.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, HOST, "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW": I can see a possibility of supporting this nomination, if I could be convinced that she does have a sensibility toward life in a legal sense.

BASH: Rush Limbaugh now says there may be a silver lining in Sotomayor's nomination because she sided with abortion opponents in the past. Still, he insists he is not retracting his charge Sotomayor is a racist. But former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is. Saying on his Web site that his reaction was "too strong and too direct. The sentiment struck me as racist, and I said so." The sentiment he's referring to, Sotomayor's suggestion a wise Latina woman could use her experience to reach a better conclusion than a white male. Gingrich now says the word racist should not have applied to Judge Sotomayor as a person even if her words themselves are unacceptable.

Gingrich acknowledged he'd been criticized. But CNN was told that privately he was getting pummeled by fellow Republicans for going too far. GOP senators told us they were surprised by his reversal and relieved.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I'm very glad he backed off. I think that's unusual that commentators do that. And I think it was very good that he did. I think that will help us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Gingrich this morning retracted his comment calling you a racist.

BASH: Sotomayor ignored at least three attempts by reporters to ask about Gingrich. One time a Senate aide intervened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gingrich has retracted his statement...

BASH (on camera): Meanwhile Sotomayor supporters are now circulating this 1994 speech where she made similar remarks to those causing controversy now. She didn't include racial and ethnic references, but she does suggest a woman would be better equipped to make a decision than a man. Well, democrats say this was sent to the Senate when she was approved as a circuit court judge and republicans didn't complain. Well, now, senior republican aide responded that all it does is contradict a White House claim now that Sotomayor simply used a poor choice of words. Dana Bash, CNN Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: By now, most people have heard Sonia Sotomayor's quote from a 2001 speech at the University of California-Berkeley Law School. She said this: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

CNN's special correspondent Soledad O'Brien is here now. Soledad, some people would say the context is not complete with that comment. And because of that, as usual, when you don't have context, something might be lost?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. And once again, I would encourage anybody who has interest in the story to quick to go to cnn.com/politics. You can read her entire speech. She's very clear about what she means. She talks, Heidi, about how her identity was formed and she literally asked the question who am I in the speech. The speech is called a Latina Judge's voice and she talks about what formed her identity.

First and foremost, she's a New York Rican, which means her parents came from Puerto Rico, but she was born in New York, from the South Bronx. And guess what, Puerto Ricans are Americans. She is not an immigrant to this country. What formed her identity, she says, are the shared traditions. And here's a little bit of what she says about the food.

She says "for me a very special part of being Latina is the mucho platos de arroz, gandoles y pernir -- rice, beans and pork -- that I have eaten at countless family holidays and special events." This is during her speech, in the speech back in 2001. She goes on to talk about the pig's feet and the other special dishes particular not just to Puerto Ricans but many Latino families.

We went to Central Park to take kind of an unofficial survey, and what you find is people connect very closely to food and their cultural and ethnic identity. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We like rice and beans, sweet plantains, rice and peas, pork, guados (ph), pasteles.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Tell me about the food of your childhood. What's your ethnicity?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Puerto Rican.

O'BRIEN: Really, OK. List for me the Puerto Rican food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quickly, I've got to go.

O'BRIEN: I can't walk any faster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rice, beans, pork chops, chicken.

O'BRIEN: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's about it.

O'BRIEN: All good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tostones. You got to have tostones.

O'BRIEN: You've got to have the tostones. So, where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was born in New York, but my family's from Colombia.

O'BRIEN: And what's the food you grew up eating?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of white rice and, like, pinto beans.

O'BRIEN: Tell me about the food of Austria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The food of Austria, wienerschnitzel, schweinebraten, and (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: If you are Austrian-American, you need to e-mail me and tell me what (INAUDIBLE) is because I have no idea.

At the end of the day, Heidi, what's critical I think to take away, this is American culture. There are dozens of places in New York City where an American can whip up wienerschnitzel for you. She's not an outsider. She's an insider, and she represents frankly, the fastest growing demographic in this country right now, Latinos.

COLLINS: Right. But I think what the question was for some people who were concerned and are concerned as we move forward to the confirmation process is not about the food and what her background is. It's about how she is going to judge on that potential bench.

O'BRIEN: Well, I think the question is really identity. And what she's saying is the food connects to her personal identity. But more than that, her identity on the bench, she's saying as a judge look at my record and decide. But as who you are in your personal identity doesn't necessarily mean how you're going to judge. For example, you look at the population under the age of five, that's half the population under the age of five is Latino.

The census data point to the fact that somewhere around 2032, minorities as a whole in this country are going to be the majority. So Judge Sotomayor, frankly, is the face of what America's going to look like. She's Latina and she's American. Her culture is American culture. To present her as an outsider, she's not. She is the face of what America's looking like and is going to look like. And when you connect it to the food, guess what, the mainstream culture has embraced through food often, through music, pizza, has embraced tacos, McDonald's at one point, you know, (INAUDIBLE) the story for me, at least, America is immigration and not necessarily assimilation.

But the fact that immigrants keep the good things or people who are trying to figure out where their culture fits into America, keep all the good things about their culture but also embrace America wholeheartedly. So she's not really an immigrant story, she's an American story. And I think it's a story that's resonating very clearly with African-Americans, Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, anybody. How she judges. Look at her record. Who she is as a human being. There's a wide variety in how Latinos think politically, et cetera. But what they connect to ethnically is often the food, the music, what forms their experiences.

COLLINS: So, "Latino in America," coming up. Tell us about that quickly.

O'BRIEN: Yes, we have our documentary "Latino in America" that's going to air October 23rd and 24th right here on CNN. And we have a book that goes along with the documentary that right now is available actually on Amazon.com, which is kind of scary because we're copy editing it right now as we speak. But really it is a look, Heidi, at Latino experiences in this country. And what does it mean to be "Latino in America" today?

COLLINS: All right. Very good. CNN special correspondent Soledad O'Brien. Soledad, thank you.

Treating incurable patients with stem cells. A U.S. doctor traveled abroad to do it. We'll take a look. A closer look at this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Stem cell treatment is a controversial procedure not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But one American doctor is offering the treatment outside of the United States. Drew Griffin of our special investigations unit reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): We met in a hotel room in Tampa. Later this very day, 80-year-old Dr. Burton Feinerman would fly to Peru to meet three Americans he says will be treated with stem cells. The patients, he says, all terminally ill.

(on camera): Are you curing these diseases...

DR. BURTON FEINERMAN, STEMCELLREGENMED.COM: I never use the word "cure" with people because number one, our work has only been over the past three years.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): He doesn't use words like cure on his Web site, he uses the words treatment and hope. And offers pictures and stories of those he says he has helped. The work is done at this clinic in Lima, Peru, because the treatment is not approved in the United States. The idea is tantalizingly simple. Take healthy embryonic or even umbilical cord stem cells, inject them into a diseased body where they would repair the damage.

Scientific studies have yet to prove that works. Only some progress in laboratory animals. The FDA has only just approved a single clinical trial. But that hasn't stopped Dr. Feinerman from charging patients with cancer to muscular dystrophy between $8,000 to $25,000 to just see if simple injections could work.

(on camera): Isn't it exactly what you're doing is just experimenting on these people?

FEINERMAN: Yes. And people are fully aware...

GRIFFIN: Charging them large amounts of money to do those experiments?

FEINERMAN: The amount of money is large. And but it basically is pretty close to my cost.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): In an e-mail after this interview, Dr. Feinerman said we are not selling snake oil, but our scientific approach to diseases that are not available in the U.S.A.. He admits his background in stem cell research is limited.

FEINERMAN: I myself trained at the Mayo Clinic and have been in medical practice for over 50 years. So, we also have...

GRIFFIN (on camera): But never trained in stem cell research.

FEINERMAN: No...

GRIFFIN: You've gone to some international conferences. Self- taught.

FEINERMAN: That's true.

GRIFFIN: And now you're basically taking people from the United States to other countries because the procedures can't legally be done here.

FEINERMAN: That is right. But again, the person -- I am the organizer, so to speak. I'm the person who does an enormous amount of reading and visiting and discovering and putting protocols together that appear to work in other countries.

GRIFFIN: But aren't you in the end just peddling hope? Peddling hope with no real proven cures?

FEINERMAN: I take offense to the word peddling. We do -- and I want to - I feel that we're not just offering hope and holding their hand, we're offering a realistic - what we feel is a scientific medical treatment.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Thousands of Americans are seeking that very treatment, desperate people, many of them with incurable diseases who will take a chance paying tens of thousands of dollars for promises of treatment overseas. Drew Griffin, CNN, Tampa, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: In his message to Muslims today, President Obama talked about compromise and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians. We'll get reaction from Jerusalem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly, when we get new video into the CNN NEWSROOM, we like to share it with you just as quickly as we can. So, you probably recognize the person in the middle of the crowd there, President Barack Obama. He is taking a tour right now of the great pyramids and also the sphinx.

And Octavia Nasr is sitting next to me. She says she can help with this. I've not been there. Why don't you tell us a little bit more about what we're looking at.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS: We're looking at the president basically enjoying some tourism in Egypt. Of course, you go to Cairo, you have to -- it's an absolute must to go to the Giza and visit the pyramids and visit the sphynx.

It looks like it's a hot day. You can see there the head of archaeology in Egypt walking with him in the hat. His name escapes me right now, but he's obviously giving him more than just a tourism tour. He's giving him some archaeological, perhaps, information. I would love to hear what the president -- here he is with him.

The president seems comfortable, enjoying the day, which anyone would if you are in Giza today enjoying the pyramids. It's a mesmerizing location, really. Look at that. He's standing at the foot of the sphinx there, area, it looks like.

COLLINS: Yes.

NASR: And it's just amazing. So, in a way, I'm glad that the president got the chance to visit the sphynx and the pyramids.

COLLINS: Well, they were showing some wide shots a little bit earlier that were really beautiful. You could get a better look at the actual architecture, if you will.

NASR: It would be nice to hear the president's comments. Because I can't imagine -- I don't know if this is his first. I would assume it's his first visit in Egypt, and his comments about how grandiose that is and he feels about it would be interesting.

COLLINS: Absolutely. What else is interesting, and the reason why you're sitting next to me is because of, obviously, the speech that we heard at 6:00 Eastern Time earlier today. A little after 6:00, I should say.

What are Muslims and Arabs saying about all of that? Now, during the speech, some of them were actually Twittering with CNN's Octavia Nasr. She's our senior editor for Arab affairs. So, we're dying to know what the immediate reaction seems to be.

NASR: You know, the immediate reaction was positive. People were commenting about the president starting his speech by saying thank you in Arabic to his audience. He said shukran. And then he said as-salamu alaikum, which is peace be with you, the Muslim way.

People were tweeting like crazy about it, really enjoying the fact that the president felt comfortable talking to them and speaking to them using the terminology. They liked what they heard. They thought that it was -- the tone was nice. It was friendly. It showed that the president knew what he was talking about, that he cared for his audience.

You have the skeptics, very important to say. Not everyone was hailing, of course, and really admiring the president. But even the skeptics, even the critics were basically saying things like, we'll wait and see. We'll see if the actions are going to mirror the rhetoric and stuff like that. But definitely a very positive reaction and very interesting. Because a lot of young people were online from across the Middle East, across the world really. We had some Muslim people from...

COLLINS: That's what I was going to say. Who exactly were you hearing from?

NASR: What I did, actually, I sent out a request for people. Are you Arab, are you Muslim? Do you want to join this venture, basically? So, we had a group of people join from everywhere. We had people from Iran, from Jordan, from Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, the U.S. And the response was anonymous (ph). They were awed by the response.

As a matter of fact, we also watched some Arab media. And one thing that really caught my attention, (INAUDIBLE) is a big name in Middle East media, and what he said, he was inside the hall, and he said the atmosphere inside was mesmerizing. He said it was the president's charisma, but also the substance of the speech that made people really pay attention and listen. And one anchor, as she was watching the show live, counted 30, she said, 30 stops, 30 breaks to applaud the president on issues ranging from women to democracy to just quotation from the Quran.

COLLINS: Yes, yes, yes. Favorable audience, definitely there at the university. All right. Well, we appreciate it very much. Our senior Arab affairs correspondent, expert. Octavia Nasr, thanks for being with us.

NASR: Thank you.

COLLINS: Like the rest of the world, though, the Egyptian economy is facing many challenges. Growth is slowing, and there are big gaps between the rich and the poor. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has that breakdown for us now this morning. Hi there, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Heidi. Yes, yesterday, this morning, I talked to a lot of economic experts on Egypt. And they just kept emphasizing how big the wealth disparity is in this country.

According to the World Bank, nearly 44 percent of Egyptians live on less than $2 a day. It is actually, I didn't know this, the second largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid behind Israel, but still, unemployment there is just a huge challenge. What we're seeing now is about 900,000 youths graduating and entering the job market every year, Heidi.

There's just not enough jobs, and the concern is that this joblessness among the youth, especially, breeds that discontent and instability. And that's a big, big challenge facing Egypt right now.

COLLINS: Yes. How much of a hit has the country taken from the global economic downturn? HARLOW: A huge hit. There's an expert that told me it's bad, and it's just getting worse. The economy is slowing. Some say it's a growth of around 4 percent. That might not sound bad compared to our lack of growth in this country, but it's down from more than 7 percent growth in 2008.

A number of factors hurting the economy. One is the remittances from Egyptian workers abroad sending money back home. That's down. Foreign direct investment has been cut in half during this global crisis. The Suez Canal tolls are down 26 percent because of piracy and because of slower global trade. And tourism in that country has fallen 22 percent, Heidi, because of political instability and, of course, the economic crisis. Not as many people traveling.

When you look at exports, take a look at that map there. Of course, they export cotton and textiles, also potatoes, petroleum products and natural gas. But all of those exports have fallen. The only silver lining here for this economy is that -- it's interesting, it was somewhat shielded from the economic crisis we had because their central bank was very conservative, and they didn't make that access to credit as easy as we did in this country. That's the only silver lining for Egypt in terms of the economy right now -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, so, then what's the long-term outlook for Egypt's economy? Because protectionism is becoming an issue, yes?

HARLOW: That's a big issue. You're right on there, Heidi. An analyst I talked to said, listen, it depends how the government, how Mubarack responds to all of this. Are they going to create jobs in the private sector to get those young people to work? Or are they not?

Are we going to see a government returning to protectionism? If so, that expert said it could be a big problem. I spoke also with a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. And he said, and this is quoting here, "Egypt is a ticking time bomb because of the number of unemployed youth." It's very interesting to look at their economy, Heidi. A lot of challenges ahead for them.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Poppy Harlow. Thanks so much. Appreciate the breakdown.

HARLOW: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Recent reports on the job market have been bleak, to say the least. For the past four months, the number of people counting on unemployment checks have hit record high after record high. But finally, that streak has been broken. Allan Chernoff is at the New York Stock Exchange now with more details.

Hi there, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, hey. We've got a sign of hope for the job market.

COLLINS: Love that. CHERNOFF: Nice to hear about this. The number of Americans getting unemployment checks fell, although the number is 6.7 million. That's still pretty big. However, it's the first drop since January. Now, the number of people filing new claims also dropped last week to 621,000. That means the pace of layoffs is slowing.

Now let's look for employers to start really hiring. Now, let's also have a look right now at the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average in positive territory. It's been back and forth through the morning. Right now, we're up by about 10 points or so, and the Nasdaq composite up by one-third of 1 percent, a little better than six points to the plus side -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Why aren't we seeing a better reaction on Wall Street to that, though?

CHERNOFF: Well, Heidi, the data indicate that we are still most definitely in a recession. Let's keep in mind, the Dow Industrial Average has climbed about 2,000 points since March, so the market has been absolutely soaring.

What's going on is that investors are anticipating a recovery in the economy. The question is, how quickly is that actually going to happen? A good example, the retailing stocks. They have been actually leading the market, but today we've got some sales numbers that are pretty sluggish, and so the stocks are giving back gains. Macy's is down 5 percent. Abercrombie & Fitch down 11 percent today -- Heidi.

COLLINS: But not all retailers are struggling, of course. I mean, we've talked about Wal-Mart's recent success before, and now we're hearing the company is actually hiring, hiring a lot.

CHERNOFF: Wal-Mart does pretty well when the economy is soft. Obviously, they're low prices, and they say today that they're going to be hiring 22,000 workers. That's pretty good. Cashiers, sales associates, managers, everything. They're expanding stores, opening new ones.

However, let's put this in perspective. The company earlier this year cut 800 jobs at its headquarters, and last year the company added 33,000 jobs. So, maybe Wal-Mart can even pick it up from 22,000 -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, maybe. All right. Allan Chernoff, thanks so much. We'll check in later on.

In Georgia, the search is on for diamond thieves and a half million dollars in loot. Police in the Atlanta suburb of Kennesaw say the thieves used a blowtorch to cut through the roof of a jewelry store. Once inside, they used the torch to cut into a heavy-duty safe. Police say these were definitely pros. They disabled all of the alarm systems and spent several hours plundering the business. It is the second robbery of its kind in this particular county in recent weeks.

Then and now. A bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. We are marking the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If you didn't see our live coverage of President Obama's speech early this morning, you'll get another chance next hour. We are going to be sharing some extended clips of the president's address and bring them to you beginning once again at 11:00 Eastern Time.

Images that shocked the world in Beijing, China: tanks rolling into Tiananmen Square. A military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people killed. Thousands more arrested. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. One of our own CNN producers who covered the student-led democracy movement takes a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC MIRAN, CNN SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: It was a pretty tense day. We had -- most people had been up for two or three days straight. The night before this happened, we had seen the troops try to get to the square and, of course, they didn't get there because they were stopped by the demonstrators.

And then as it kept building, and on the first day when Mikhail Gorbachev -- because we did go to cover his visit, when Mikhail Gorbachev couldn't make it to his meeting with Deng Xiaoping, that was just incredible. It must have been incredibly embarrassing for the Chinese government.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And he couldn't make it because why?

MIRAN: Because the meeting was right next to Tiananmen Square, and there were probably 500,000 people there.

PHILLIPS: Yes, wow.

MIRAN: And you know, it was just unprecedented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Today, Tiananmen Square is peaceful. Security, though, of course tight. And police are muzzling any kind of dissent. They're even barring foreign journalists from the square.

As the world observes the Tiananmen crackdown Anniversary, pro- democracy advocates express regret, and young people in China today don't seem to know much or even care about the movement. CNN's Emily Chang explains.

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the Tiananmen crackdown, the world may know more about what happened that day than many Chinese themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They dare not mention it in public. It's dangerous to talk about it in public. CHANG: For years, China has suppressed information about the incident online, at school and at home.

(on camera): Did your parents ever talk to you about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My father said, "No, I don't want to explain this because you're too young."

CHANG (voice-over): Meet a few of China's young elite. Victoria is a 25-year-old marketing rep and member of the Communist Party. Eden is a 23-year-old journalism student and Richard a 28-year-old blogger who likes to Twitter. Two decades ago, protesters their age catalyzed a massive movement. Today, their generation has been criticized for not caring enough.

RICHARD CHEN, 28-YEAR-OLD BLOGGER: The students nowadays will never go to the streets because they just want to earn money, get a good job. They haven't got such kind of passion like the students in 1989.

CHANG: But in 1989, China's economy was struggling, unemployment and uninflation rising. Students were angry about government corruption. Since then, China's astounding economic prosperity has made it a global superpower with a seat at the top economic table. And some say youth today have no reason to complain.

EDEN ZHAO, 23-YEAR-OLD JOURNALISM STUDENT: Governments do make mistakes like other governments do. But you should see the improvements here.

CHANG: Even though they're not protesting on the streets, they say they're still invested in their country.

(on camera): Do you think students these days care about politics?

ZHAO: I think so.

CHEN: They do care.

CHANG: Do they care about freedom?

CHEN: Yes. Yes.

CHANG (voice-over): They disagree on some issues, but agree political freedom in China has lagged behind. The Chinese government continues to block and filter the Internet. Dissidents are routinely detained. Many Chinese say they're scared to express controversial views. CNN asked dozens of people to speak on camera for this story. Only three said yes.

ZHAO: I think China needs more time, Chinese people need more time to learn how to rule themselves, how to control and how to deliver their opinions.

VICTORIA YANG, 25-YEAR-OLD MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE: It depends on the leaders. I think if they are smart enough, we will be better and better. And we have to be.

CHANG: If anything, they all share high hopes for China's future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Today, young people in China disillusioned with the system turn to the Internet to advocate change.

Severe storms across parts of the country. Reynolds Wolf is joining us now to keep a close eye on everything for us. Hey, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Heidi, you're absolutely right. We're going to be talking about the possibility of severe weather in some parts of the country. We're not usually seeing it. Also, heavy rain and even video of baseball-sized hail. It's coming up right here just moments from now.

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COLLINS: Drenching rains, heavy flooding. This was Greensboro, North Carolina, last night. Vehicles abandoned with water up to the windows. Roads and parks closed. Power out everywhere. At least 5 inches of rain.

It was much the same in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some drivers there found the slick roads, as you can see, a bit too much to handle. Reynolds Wolf standing by now to tell us a little bit more about all this. You've got to be careful when the rain's coming down like that, huh?

WOLF: Yes, no question. Only takes about 18 inches of water on a roadway to lift even some of the heaviest vehicles. Once they get picked up and then pushed downstream, you know, those cars and trucks can become death traps, so certainly bad stuff.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: For $1, thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane victims can buy their FEMA trailer. The government is hoping to avoid mass evictions after thousands of missed deadlines to leave the temporary federal housing. The $50 million plan by the Obama administration offers trailer residents housing vouchers and the chance to buy their unit. About 3,300 remain in federally supplied trailers and mobile homes in Louisiana and Mississippi.

If you didn't see our live coverage of President Obama's speech early this morning, you'll get another chance. Next hour, we're going to be showing extended clips of the president's address and have reaction and analysis. That's next in our 11:00 hour right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A vigil in California for two U.S. journalists detained in North Korea. Their families are making a public plea for their release. Laura Ling and Euna Lee are on trial in the closed communist state today. They are accused of illegally going into the country. The two were reporting on the plight of North Korean defectors living along the China-North Korea border. If convicted, they could serve years in labor camps.

Turning now to a battle playing out on the international stage. A New Jersey father separated from his son for five years has been blocked again from getting him back. Brazil's supreme court decided to hear the case just before David Goldman was going to take his son back to the United States. Sean Goldman has been living with his stepfather since his mother's death. David Goldman spoke on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" about visiting his son yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GOLDMAN, SEAN'S FATHER: Well, he's my son. And for me to get the opportunity to look him in the eye, tell him I love him and to hug him, and sit there in a table and build a model together, it's precious. It's precious. I went this morning to see him, and when we got there, they said he wasn't there, but we could see him this afternoon. I never know when I go to my visits when they're ordered by the superior court if he's going to be there or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: An attorney for the Brazilian family says the boy repeatedly told psychologists that he wants to stay in Brazil.

We're dedicating the next hour to replaying much of the president's remarks along with analysis and reaction. I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Tony Harris.