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Debate Continues Over Obama Administration's Health Care Ideas; Obama's Cabinet Discusses Stimulating the Stimulus; Sixteen Bodies Found From Air France Flight; Two American Journalists Sentenced to 12 Years in Labor Prison in North Korea; Government Expected to Announce Which Banks Can Repay TARP; Five American Security Contractors May Be Charged in Stabbing Death of Another U.S. Contractor; President and First Lady Enjoy Parisian Date Night

Aired June 08, 2009 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Monday, June 8th, and here are the top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A medical makeover. The push for health care reform gaining momentum. We will tell you how the debate is shaping up, who's on which side, and what it means for you, most importantly.

Twelve years of hard labor, the harsh sentence for two American journalists held in North Korea. What the U.S. is doing to try to free them.

And dangerous weather caught on tape. Take a look at this. A CNN iReporter captures one of several funnel clouds and tornadoes that skipped across Colorado.

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

So here we go. A critical moment in the high-stakes debate over your medical care. The push is on for a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system, and opponents of some of the reform plans are starting to push back as Congress moves closer to action on health care legislation.

We are taking a closer look at the plans on the table and who is for and against the proposals. President Obama wants a bill by August, and over the weekend he told lawmakers it is time to deliver.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Simply put, the status quo is broken. We cannot continue this way. If we do nothing, everyone's health care will be put in jeopardy.

Within a decade, we'll spend $1 out of every $5 we earn on health care, and we'll keep getting less for our money. And that's why fixing what is wrong with our health care system is no longer a luxury we hope to achieve, it's a necessity we cannot postpone any longer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Our correspondents are here to help us break down the plans and the politics of health care reform.

Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash live from Capitol Hill. And Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen right here with me on the set in Atlanta.

And let's, ladies, boil this down to its bare knuckles basics.

Elizabeth, let me start with you.

Isn't this a public/private health care debate at this point with private health care insurers trying to keep the government out of its domain?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And this is so confusing that I'm going to take a step back.

HARRIS: Please.

COHEN: OK. Let's take a step back.

What the president is talking about is a possible public option. What that would mean is that anyone, any American, could choose to get a government-sponsored health care option. So you don't have to be old, you don't have to be poor. Anyone could choose it.

Now, this could be great news for the tens of millions of people who don't have any health insurance. They can't afford anything. They would love to have a public option that they could afford.

But the big question is, what does it mean for people like you and me who have insurance that we like, that we enjoy through our employer? So do you want to talk about sort of what it means for that group?

HARRIS: Let's do it. Let's do it, yes.

COHEN: OK, let's do it.

OK. What it could possibly mean for that group -- this is the fear. The fear is that if there were a government-sponsored insurance program out there, every employer would jump at it. They'd say, "Let's go for the government-sponsored plan. It's cheaper. Let's go for it."

Well, what if it's lower quality? That means the people who are currently employed and have insurance that they like, their employer might make that choice for them to go with a less expensive government-sponsored option. There are concerns that the government- sponsored option would be lower quality, but no one really knows that for sure.

HARRIS: We don't know that yet.

COHEN: We do not know that. The details have not been spelled out at all.

HARRIS: OK.

Dana, let me turn to you, because -- Elizabeth, I've got a couple of other questions for you in just a moment.

Dana, let's set the stage here, the sides here, if you will, who is fighting for a public insurance option and who's standing with the administration.

Let's do this -- let's have you have a listen to former Speaker Gingrich expressing his view of a government health care insurance system and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Health board to ration health care, so the government will decide whether or not you live, and very severe restrictions on health care, and a government plan so the government can only take over and run the whole system. If you think the government can't run General Motors, why would you think they can run health care?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. There's former Speaker Gingrich with his view.

Dana, who in Congress is working -- let's start with this -- working against the idea of a public system? And let's be clear here. Let's name names.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of who is against it, it is a majority of Republicans in Congress, both in the House and the Senate. And the reason that they give is -- you see a couple of names up there, the leader of the Republican Party in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, and a very critical player, Chuck Grassley. He is the lead Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, one of the key committees putting this together. Those are just two, but you could put a much, much longer list up on the screen there.

And the reason they give, to Elizabeth's point, is that not only would it potentially lower quality in terms of health care -- the argument they gave is that it would put the government between your doctor and yourself -- but also, they very much fear that just having a government option -- and again, the critical thing is that it's just an option that Democrats are talking about -- this would drive the private insurers out of business because it would be very hard for them to compete. Because on the other side of this, you have the president, himself, who last week came out in a very public way writing a letter to Congress and many Democratic leaders, including Ted Kennedy on Friday, who, on Friday, late Friday, actually put down the first bill and actually laid out in about 170 pages what he would do.

Now, he's to the left of many Democrats here, but he still is a very important voice. And he, again, advocated this idea of a government-run option. And again, the whole concept, from their point of view, is that everybody should have access to health care, and having a government-run option, Tony, from their perspective, is the only way to make sure that premiums are low enough for that to happen.

HARRIS: So, I get that a lot of Republicans are against this idea of a public option, but aren't Republicans right now not working with the Democrats on health care legislation?

BASH: They are. And you know, this has been going on for months. And that is something important for people to know what's been going on behind the scenes here on a literally daily basis, is you have had Republicans and Democrats working together on some of these key committees, particularly that Senate Finance Committee I was talking about. And that is why you do have Republicans who are now growing increasingly angry. And I think that's actually a fair word to use, angry.

In fact, we just interviewed Senator Orrin Hatch. He is somebody who has worked with Democrats for years on health care. Even the liberal Ted Kennedy, he's worked with him, and he is somebody who has said that this whole idea of a government option is a deal-breaker.

Listen to what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: In order to run health care, it can't be a partisan issue. It's not a Democrat issue, it's not a Republican issue. It has to be bipartisan.

I don't know of any Republican who wants a public plan. And frankly, it's a nonstarter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So there you go, a nonstarter from the Republicans' point of view.

And then, this is really going to be part of where this debate goes, not just in terms of where this is in terms of policy, but also one of the things that the president has said that he wanted is a bipartisan plan. And one of the things that the key Democrats working on this, especially that Democrat Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, says he wants is a bipartisan plan. Well, if you don't get people like Orrin Hatch, that's not going to happen.

HARRIS: OK. And Dana, stay with me. We promised everyone a breakout segment on this, so we've got a couple of other questions for you.

Elizabeth, doctors and hospitals in this, who is for, who is against? Where do doctors and hospitals stand?

COHEN: Well, they haven't come out with a definitive stand yet because there are no details. However, there are definitely concerns on the part of doctors and hospitals that a public option is going to cost them money. If all of a sudden the government is insuring more people, that probably means that doctors and hospitals are going to make less money. Where they might have made X for a certain procedure, now they are going to make X minus something for a certain procedure. They might see their income suffer.

And you were talking to Dana about the political part of this.

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: You know, the president wants everyone to join hands and be together on this, but you're talking about gazillions of dollars. When you are talking about that much money, not everyone is going to stand together because someone stands to lose money.

HARRIS: But let's take a big step back. What happened to the Kumbaya that we saw in the room a few weeks ago when we saw doctors and hospitals and insurance providers, private insurance providers, health care insurance providers, in the room with the president and everybody was hand in hand, arm in arm...

COHEN: Happy, happy.

HARRIS: ... and we talked about it for 20 minutes. And some new day.

Are we seeing the battle lines drawn clearly here when we get to the discussion of whether or not there should be a public option?

COHEN: It is very easy to join hands and be happy when there are no details and when you're at the beginning of a process. It is much harder to join hands and be happy and agree upon things when you start saying, "Dr. Smith, you're going to make less money because of this." "General Hospital, you're going to make less money when this process actually goes under way."

So, now when you get to the details, and people start realizing that it's costing them something, they are not going to be so happy.

HARRIS: And let's continue with the idea of costs here. Our Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash is still with us.

And Dana, who pays? How does this plan, whatever this public option becomes, is, as it's proposed, how is it paid for?

BASH: That is such a big question mark, and that is the biggest question mark.

You know, you talk to Democrats and they say that they are obviously having all of these detailed discussions about the substance of the policy, but they say that that issue, the how you pay for this, is definitely the tail wagging the dog. And it is unclear.

What has been talked about in recent weeks is the possibility of taxing health care benefits to pay for it that way. That is something that President Obama, as candidate Obama, went after John McCain for big time. He even ran an ad against him saying that it's not the way to do business. So there has been a little bit of a dance going on in terms of public posturing between the White House and Democrats here about whether or not that would be something that anybody could go for. That would certainly cause another partisan eruption as well.

But that is something that nobody has been able to answer, even Ted Kennedy. Now, it's not necessarily the role of his committee, but he put out this 170-page bill, and it really pretty much left blank the question of how you pay for that. That is something that we may start to see the beginnings of an answer to next week, when another key committee, the Senate Finance Committee, we expect them to unveil at least a draft of their bill next week.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, I tell you what, if you're going to hold a discussion on television on health care reform, you better get the senior correspondents involved -- Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.

Ladies, appreciate it. Thank you both.

BASH: Thank you.

HARRIS: Stimulating the stimulus. President Obama meeting with his cabinet this hour to discuss plans for accelerating the economic recovery effort.

Vice President Biden is presenting the president with a roadmap to recovery. It is an outline of 10 major new projects that will be paid for by stimulus money. This is the Web site, Recovery.gov. There it is. More details ahead in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

The crash of Air France Flight 447. Over the weekend, rescuers pulled at least 16 bodies from the water. They also found luggage and a piece from the aircraft's wing, but the plane itself has not been found. Neither have the flight data recorders.

CNN's Karl Penhaul is joining us from Brazil now.

And Karl, if you would, have you learned anything new? I understand you have brand-new pictures of the search from the French Navy. Is that correct?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are brand- new pictures, both from the French Navy and the Brazilian Navy. The French Navy pictures, there is one French vessel, equipped with a helicopter as well, helping to search right now.

Those French pictures show simply the frigate in the ocean and kind of a Zodiac, a much smaller boat, that then is riding out from the main vessel, picking up pieces of debris and also bodies. The French, until now, have retrieved seven bodies, we're told. They then passed them off to a Brazilian ship to be brought back to dry land.

But also, new Brazilian pictures which seem much more significant. They show the Brazilian Navy collecting much larger pieces of the aircraft. There's a piece of aircraft there with the Air France colors. Difficult to distinguish whether it's a piece of wing or a piece of the tail section, but it certainly seems to be a very large piece there.

And then in the last few moments, in a press conference, the Brazilian authorities have clarified that, in fact, the number of bodies so far recovered is 16. Yesterday, in the evening, they said there were 17, but that higher number was due to a confusion over exactly how many bodies the French had recovered. So, the current figure, 16. In the coming hours, those bodies should be brought to dry land, where the whole process of beginning to identify who is who can begin -- Tony.

HARRIS: Karl, how big of a search area are we talking about here?

PENHAUL: This is absolutely a huge search area, Tony. In kilometers, it's 200,000 square kilometers. That's about the size of the U.S. state of Nebraska.

Also, we're told, in that area the depths of the sea goes down to some 8,000 meters, 20,000 feet. That is a huge task, even for the most sophisticated mini submarines to get down that far if, in fact, that is where the black boxes are -- Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Karl Penhaul for us in Recife, Brazil.

Karl, appreciate it. Thank you.

Among the people on that Air France flight last Sunday, Americans Michael Harris and his wife Ann. Yesterday, in Lafayette, Louisiana, friends and family gathered to say good-bye. The couple lived in Louisiana before moving to Houston and then Brazil. They were on their way to Paris for a training seminar and vacation.

Two American journalists sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. Is North Korea trying to send a message?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Harsh prison sentences for two American journalists convicted by North Korea's highest court. Laura Ling and Euna Lee ordered to 12 years of hard labor.

CNN's Sohn Jie-Ae has details from Seoul.

SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, North Korea, through its official news agency, said that it sentenced two U.S. journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, to 12 years in a North Korea prison for what it called grave crimes against the country and for illegally entering the country. While it is not clear what grave crimes were, initially North Korea said that the two journalists had committed what it called hostile acts and espionage.

Now, analysts here say that usually the sentence that follows such an accusation is between five to 10 years, and that the very fact that North Korea gave the two journalists 12 years, a very severe sentence, is meant to be North Korea giving a sign to the outside world that this is a serious case that has to be taken -- that cannot be taken light lie.

Now, the two journalists were in the border between North Korea and China in March covering a story about North Korean refugees when they were arrested. Now, it is -- not a lot is known about North Korean prisons, but it is said that the conditions there are dismal, and North Korean defectors have talked about human rights violations -- Tony.

HARRIS: You know, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has helped free other Americans detained in North Korea. He tells CNN the negotiation process can begin now that the courts have ruled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: When I was over there twice before, you couldn't do anything until the courts had handed out their verdicts and their sentences. So now is a critical period.

Another piece of good news is their rhetoric of the North Koreans on the two women has been muted. It hasn't been on the standoff of nuclear issues of testing, but that is good news that they've allowed the Swedish ambassador in three times to see them, they've allowed the two women to call their families. There is not a charge of espionage. So I see some positive, hopeful signs to getting them out.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: So what do you think is going on here? Are they being made an example of, or is North Korea trying to use them as a bargaining chip?

RICHARDSON: North Korea is always very, very alert to how the international community views them. And they like to be unpredictable.

They are using them as bargaining chips. It's a high-stakes poker game that they are playing. But they're also realistic in wanting to resolve any kind of standoff on the humanitarian issue. I believe that has been consistent in their behavior in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The families of the two detained journalists have expressed grave concern. We heard from TV journalist Lisa Ling, whose sister is one of the women being held. Ling speaking yesterday after delivering a commencement address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, JOURNALIST: Quite honestly, the story that my sister went to do wasn't one that we were that concerned about because they had no intention when they left the United States to cross into North Korea. My sister is an amazing journalist, and she's very passionate about what she does.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And courageous.

LING: Yes, she's -- I mean, she is a good person who wanted to tell a story. And this unfortunate event has happened, and we just hope that she's OK and that she will be returned home to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The White House and the State Department have issued separate statements saying they are engaged through all possible channels to secure the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee.

Back on Capitol Hill today, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, she is again making courtesy calls on key senators who will vote on her nomination. The judge being escorted to meetings by her home state Senator and Judiciary Committee member, Democrat Charles Schumer.

The Senate's top Republican says it is way too early to know whether his party will try to block a vote on Sotomayor's confirmation.

New pictures into CNN that we want to share with you of the debris of Air France Flight 447. We heard just moments ago from our Karl Penhaul as he described the debris field and how wide a search area the French Navy is trying to navigate right now. But take a look at these new pictures again of some of the debris that has been recovered from Flight 447 over the weekend.

Over the weekend, rescuers pulled at least 16 bodies from the water. They also found, as you can see here, and these pictures reflect, pieces of luggage and pieces of the aircraft's wing. But the main fuselage of the plane has not been found yet. Neither have the flight data recorders.

Drowning in debt? You are not alone. There is a way to get creditors to stop calling you.

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has tips on how to protect yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, how high will they go? We are talking, of course, about gas prices. The cost of filling up is taking a bigger bite out of your finances, to be sure. A month ago -- look at the numbers here. A month ago, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.19, according to AAA. Today, the price is $2.62 a gallon. That's an increase of 43 cents in just a month.

Prices have gone up for 41 days in a row. Some analysts have said they don't expect gas prices to hit $3 a gallon, but they're moving in that direction fast.

I talked recently with a AAA spokesman about why prices are rising. He pointed to investors buying oil and gas commodities based on speculation over the economic recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY GREEN, SPOKESMAN, AAA: Investors right now are really trying to gauge when we will come out of this recession. And we're seeing mixed signs.

Depending upon the indicator, if you're looking at the various home reports, where there are -- how many homes -- existing homes are being sold, how many foreclosures, you're looking at consumer confidence. So, we've seen mixed signals, some positive, some negative, as to whether or not we will be coming out of this recession pretty soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Christine Romans of our Money team also says money is flowing into commodities because of concerns about the strength of the dollar and fears about future inflation.

You know, almost 79,000 people filed complaints against bill collectors last year. And as more and more people fall into debt, those collectors are lurking where you'd least expect them.

CNN's Gerri Willis in New York.

Gerri, good to see you. Good Monday to you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Help us to protect ourselves. Where do we start, Gerri?

WILLIS: Yes. Well, Tony, according to the Federal Trade Commission, more complaints are launched (ph) against the debt collection industry than any other. And they're reportedly using technology like social networking sites, cell phone texting to get you to pay up.

In one case we heard about a debt collection company located outside the U.S. that used a picture of an attractive woman to friend a debt collector online. Now, once these faux friends are part of your network, the company can monitor your updates and keep tabs on you just in case you mention a big-ticket purchase online.

Now, an attorney we talked to said this was a form of misrepresentation. But make sure you keep on top of your friend list. Of course, we called Facebook for comment, but the company has not returned our phone calls.

HARRIS: Are you kidding me? They're tapping in -- OK, all right.

So what do we need to know here, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, you should know that there are strict laws about how debt collectors can do business. They have to identify themselves clearly.

They can't harass you, they can't talk about your debt to anybody but you or your attorney. You shouldn't be getting phone calls before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. They can't threaten to sue you if they don't have any intention of suing you. And they can't misrespect how much money you owe -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. So how can consumers, you, me, how do we protect ourselves?

WILLIS: Well, look, if you've lost your job -- a lot of people out there have -- you may consider keeping your money with your old employer instead of rolling it into an IRA. And 401(k) plans are off limits to creditors.

IRAs have more limited safeguards. For example, your money is protected in an IRA up to $1 million, only in the case of personal bankruptcy. But some states may put a cap on how much is shielded from these creditors. So a little trick for you out there if you're worried you're going to lose your job or you have.

HARRIS: Hey, Gerri, is there a time limit on old debt?

WILLIS: Yes, there is. There is a limit to how long collectors can legally collect your debt.

Generally, this limit -- it's called a statute of limitations -- is three to six years. But check in with your state's attorney general to see what laws apply in your state.

And where do you go? NAAG.org.

HARRIS: What's a big mistake that consumers make when it comes to debt collectors? I'll leave that last one alone.

WILLIS: Thank you.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: Sometimes people file bankruptcy in order to get creditors to stop calling them. But this is extreme. It's an expensive step, it's probably unnecessary if you're just being harassed.

What you do, instead, is write a letter to the debt collector, send it certified mail. And pay for a return receipt so you know they got it.

Remember, just because they are not contacting you anymore doesn't mean you don't owe the debt. You're just not being harassed all the time.

And, of course, if you have any questions, send them to me at gerri@cnn.com. We love to hear from you. We answer those questions right here every Friday.

HARRIS: Big collectors tapping into your social networking sites. Social networking...

WILLIS: Be aware of those attractive women online,Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, as I like to say, social networking. The end of the world as we've known it.

Thank you, Gerri.

WILLIS: Tony.

HARRIS: The government, and we the people, have ponied up hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out the nation's banks, and now we could be getting some of that money back. Susan Lisovicz - happy to hear that -- is at the New York Stock Exchange with details. Good morning, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As taxpayers, we are happy to hear it, and the banks are happy to be in a position to do it because they want to get out from underneath the government's thumb. We are expecting the government to say which banks can repay TARP. The announcement could come as soon as today.

Twenty of 600 banks have actually already repaid Uncle Sam, most of them small, regional banks. Now we're talking about the big boys. Expected to gain approval this week, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, American Express, State Street, others. The chief executive of JP Morgan Chase said getting TARP was like being branded with a scarlet letter.

So, yes, Jamie Dimond's eager and so are so many others. Some of the terms include that the banks must be able to raise cash from outside investors. Not too long ago, that was difficult to do, and banks must be able to issue debt without the government's implicit backing. Tony.

HARRIS: OK, so...

LISOVICZ: Take the training wheels off, you know.

HARRIS: Yes. So this idea that some of these banks are looking to get out from under the government's thumb as quickly as possible - is that a sign of the economic recovery, that it's on track?

LISOVICZ: I think it's a clear sign that financial stability is occurring and this is really where, you know, things got scary last fall.

HARRIS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: The economy was already in a recession when credit ceased up. That's when you start to see the unemployment or job loss really rising. And you saw real problems.

But for the automakers, for instance, those people are in a position to make a big-ticket purchase, couldn't get access to credit. We're still seeing some of those problems. We're seeing specifically from banks is that they are recovering faster than the economy. Why is that? Because the government targeted the financial sector first.

And so we're seeing that fallout from the recession, the unemployment rate is still rising and consumer spending is still falling. And what we're seeing also falling, three major averages. Right now, the Dow Industrial up 100 points, or 1.1 percent. The NASDAQ is down 1.5 percent. There is a bad thing about the banks repaying the government quickly, and that means that we won't own shares anymore, and therefore lose out on any rallies we've been seeing in the financial sector and the interest payments on multiyear debt. You know, cash in hand...

HARRIS: I'll take the trade off.

LISOVICZ: Yes.

I think that you are in the majority there.

HARRIS: Susan, rest up. We have a big breakout segment for you at the top of the hour, right?

LISOVICZ: See you then.

HARRIS: Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.

Check out our special report, "America's Money Crisis" at CNNmoney.com and while there, get the latest news and analysis in the financial world. It's the best site running -- CNNmoney.com.

Looking for more bang for the buck in the stimulus package. Why the White House's recovery plan is still a work in progress.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Celebrations in the streets of Beirut after Lebabnon's weekend elections. Final results show pro-Western factions defeated Hezbollah alliance to retain a majority in Lebanon's parliament. The election we're seeing is an early test at U.S. efforts to forge Middle East peace. A group of American security contractors detained in Iraq, they could go on trial for the stabbing death of another U.S. contractor if an Iraqi judge gives the green light. CNN's Phil Black joins us live from Baghdad. A couple of questions for you here. Has the Iraqi judicial process begun?

PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the first key step today, we're told by Iraqi forces that these five men were taken from the jail where they are being held in Baghdad's green zone to the criminal court. It does not mean they've yet been charged. There they appeared before an investigating judge. This investigating judge has the job of examining the evidence and deciding if he should refer the case to trial. If he does so, it is only then that charges would be laid (ph). He can take as long as he needs to do this, and especially with a crime as serious as this one. Which means in the meantime, these five men are being held indefinitely without charge. Tony.

HARRIS: If these American men are tried and convicted of murder in an Iraqi court, what kind of punishment could they be facing? BLACK: Well, murder is punishable by debt in this country. Hanging, in fact. The Iraqi legal system is notoriously tough. It also doesn't have the best of reputations internationally. Human rights groups have criticized it for not meeting international standards of due process and also for being a little too willing to hand out the death penalty. Tony.

HARRIS: Does this -- will this likely change the way U.S. contractors do business in Iraq?

BLACK: It'll be interesting to see. Certainly it has only been from the start of this year that contractors have fallen under Iraqi jurisdiction. That was part of a security agreement between the United States and Iraq.

Iraq pushed very heavily for the right to be able to prosecute private American contractors here. It was feared that that could an exodus of contract workers. That hasn't really happened. I guess we'll see how this situation pans out, how this case pans out, and how contractors react as a result. Tony.

HARRIS: Phil Black in Baghdad for us. Phil, thank you.

Three more children have died from their injuries in northern Mexico, bringing the number of those killed in a horrific fire at a daycare center in Hermosillo to at least 41. Here's what we know. The cause of Friday's fire is not known, but it did not start inside the building. The building had two doors, one padlocked shut, the windows too high for the children to reach. Thirty-six children are hospitalized, all of them are under the age of 5.

Shriner's hospital in Sacramento treating some of those injured kids. This two-year-old boy arrived with burns on over 20 percent of his body. A girl and boy, both were admitted on Saturday. It's still being decided if any more victims will be flown to Sacramento for treatment.

Mothers crying out for their children. Lots of funerals going on. Coming up in the noon hour, a look at how strangers are helping with all of this pain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Paris? We should have some music going here, shouldn't we? Some...

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM LIVE ANCHOR: Oh, oh, oh.

HARRIS: Wow. OK.

LAPIN: I can do the voice track, if you want.

HARRIS: That was good. So it's the city of love?

LAPIN: Amor. HARRIS: The city of lights.

LAPIN: Yes.

HARRIS: And this weekend it was the site of presidential date night.

LAPIN: How can you resist?

HARRIS: We asked to you follow this because we've been getting so much response.

LAPIN: Right.

HARRIS: The whole idea of the presidential date night on the blog. We'll throw up the blog here in a second if you'd like to respond. But, Nicole, it was quite a night and a lot of responses from people.

LAPIN: How can you resist going to a bistro and taking a little stroll. Saying, come on, now. The Obamas were there to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day, but even when meeting with the French president, the president was thinking about date night with the first lady.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would love nothing more than to have a leisurely week in Paris, stroll down the Seine, take my wife out to a nice meal, have a picnic in Luxembourg Gardens. Those days are over for the moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAPIN: Well, not really, Mr. President. Even though the huge motorcade and all those people the Secret Service were there, the president, Tony, and the first lady did dine at a bistro, La Fontaigne (ph), and it means "the fountain of march," FYI. I live there. It features rustic French cuisine. We're talking la foie gras, we're talking the ducks, all their specialties. We don't know exactly what they ate, but after dinner, they took a ride along the Left Bank of the Seine River and then went back to the U.S. ambassador's residence.

Deja vu, right?

HARRIS: Yes.

LAPIN: This is not the first date night -- c'mon -- of the administration. The Obamas fired up that jet, went to a Broadway show in New York last weekend. A little bit of controversy over the cost of that one and then remember before that, Tony, they dined.

HARRIS: I can't -

LAPIN: I can't see with all that flutter with this scene (ph). They dined at Citronel (ph).

HARRIS; I can't get over Michelle's arms. Boy, that's like a gun show there. That's what that is.

LAPIN: You remember Valentine's Day?

HARRIS: Yes, I do.

LAPIN: That was date night in Chicago. That was at their favorite restaurant there, Table 52.

HARRIS: Nice.

LAPIS: So back to Paris, though. I have a little anecdote to tell you. The most recent trip, the Obamas weren't the only ones...

HARRIS: Caught up in the moment in Paris?

LAPIN: That wasn't the only love we saw there. Early Saturday morning, the first lady's spokesperson got an urgent call from an aide, saying that the girls were ready at the embassy and they needed to get there right away.

HARRIS: Sasha and Malia.

LAPIN: Not really. Waiting for Katie McCormick (INAUDIBLE) was not the girls but her boyfriend.

HARRIS: How about this?

LAPIN: An assistant press secretary, Tommy Vieter (ph), flew all night to surprise her and popped the question there. So when the president heard about this, he called it, Tony, a pretty smooth move.

HARRIS: That is smooth.

Did she say yes?

LAPIN: Come on. Come on.

HARRIS: I know, the lights, Paris.

LAPIN: She says it was perfect.

HARRIS: Stay with me on this one, Nicole. I suppose it's a sign that things are going fairly well in Iraq if you're rolling in comedians, right? Stephen Colbert bringing cheer to some troops in Baghdad. Colbert showed some solidarity with the troops. Did you see the shots of him getting the regulation military haircut?

LAPIN: Yes. He needed one.

HARRIS: OK. (INAUDIBLE) After getting buzzed, hundreds cheered as he ran through the audience. A lot of high-fiving with the soldiers, I understand, and apparently Colbert's there taping at least a couple episodes of his show there in Iraq. Good scenes there, huh?

LAPIN: Absolutely.

HARRIS: All right.

LAPIN: He didn't hold back.

HARRIS: Yes, good stuff, Nicole.

Still to come, a string of tornadoes touching down in Denver. Here is one shot captured by one of our iReporters. Boy, lots more photos coming up for you in just a moment.

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HARRIS: Several tornadoes skipped across Colorado yesterday. This one in Aurora, caught by CNN iReporter. That's pretty good video there. Authorities say a shopping mall in the area sustained significant roof damage. Most of the property remains closed today.

Let's get you to meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the severe weather center. Bonnie, we know a lot of the storms moved from west to east. I'm guessing the system that brought the tornadoes to Colorado is moving east now.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. And it's going to put more of a threat on states in the Midwest today, but I want to show you the iReports we have of the same tornado.

This is from Adam Spartan, and it's really amazing to kind of get a closer look at this when you look -- can you see -- it looks white. And the tornado color can appear in many different shades because really what it's doing is pulling the dirt upward. So we're getting that effect of suction so we're seeing the light reflecting on the tornado and the color illuminated by whatever light there is of the day and the angle at which you're looking at it. You can see a different color, like for example, there was a tornado in Hawaii in February that was pink because it picked up red clay. I'm glad Adam took these pictures and he stayed safe with this iReport, but they do demonstrate the danger of what you see with a tornado.

Let's look at what else we're tracking, which is severe weather across a good portion of the Midwest. Hasn't broken out yet. This is the site where we had the bad weather yesterday. We're watching now for some effects. Still low clouds in Denver. There's a ground stop as we go through the day in Denver airport. We also have delays in San Francisco. Watch out for more delays towards Chicago and St. Louis. This is the region that's facing that same storm system that brought the tornadoes to the areas in Colorado.

Colorado on average sees 22 tornadoes a year. It's not a high ranking state in terms of tornado numbers, but it is up there. And we're in the tornado season incidentally for that part of the country. Every part has a different time of year when we peak in tornadoes, so we're looking at stormy conditions across St. Louis into Indiana and as well into Chicago. That's something we're keeping a watch on.

One final note, Tony, just want to let you know, hurricane season, we're keeping a watch on the tropics. An area of disturbed weather in the southwest Caribbean. And we're just monitoring it, because right now, the probability is low that will develop into something, but it will bring heavy rain through Jamaica, Cuba, and parts of Central America.

HARRIS: The waters are warming up.

SCHNEIDER: Oh, they're very warm.

HARRIS: OK, Bonnie, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

HARRIS: Revving up the stimulus plan to create more jobs. President Obama prepares for more spending. We've got live reports next hour from the White House and Wall Street.

Plus, Fort Hood helping troops move from the war front to the home front successfully. It is a mission they must accomplish.

And the struggling rancher strikes its rich. His family's trailer home was repossessed, but now he's in the money big time. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Take a look at these pictures just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. That is a -- it looks like a parking lot, but it's not. Maybe we'll get a wider view of this. But here's the story. Officials in Cobb County, Georgia - that's north and west of Atlanta -- are reporting that that small plane actually landed safely on Cobb Parkway. I will tell you, that is a very busy road just north and west of Atlanta. My home is just off south Cobb. So, I'm a little concerned about what's going on here. But we understand the plane landed safely, and that's the important piece in all of this. The plane was apparently having some type of trouble on its way to McCollum (ph) Airport when it made this emergency landing.

Cobb Parkway, there you go. Everyone is okay. I'm not sure quite how to describe that plane. It's awfully tiny, I don't thing it's one of those Ultra-lights but maybe it is. The good news is the plane after experiencing some kind of problems landed safely and everyone on the road, in the plane is okay.

The Obama administration responding to questions from critics about the pace of the Economic Recovery Act. The president today is unveiling plans to speed up stimulus spending. CNN's Jim Acosta has details.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This morning, the president and vice president will be talking about ways to accelerate the flow of stimulus funds into government projects. The president is expected to announce the stimulus will will create or save some 600,000 jobs this summer. In other words, the president seems to be saying, it's time to stimulate the stimulus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): It's a caution sign on the road to recovery. The White House warns the stimulus, like the program's highways projects, is a work in progress.

When the president signed the recovery and reinvestment act, he vowed the $780 billion program would save or create 3.5 million jobs. So far, the program has saved or created just 150,000 jobs in its first 100 days. That's fewer than the 345,000 job losses in May alone. Which is why Vice President Biden says the White House is looking at new ways to get a better bang for its buck.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not be satisfied until we're adding jobs on a monthly basis.

ACOSTA: House Republicans who never supported the stimulus are all but saying, told you so.

REP. JOE BOEHNER (R), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: While the president is trying to convince us the plan is working and more jobs are being created, it's clear we're continuing to lose an awful lot of jobs.

ACOSTA: After all of that talk about shovel ready projects, the Recovery Act's own Web site shows the Transportation Department actually ranks fourth in stimulus spending so far. Education comes in first.

CHRIS WHALEY, COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS: If you were to poll of all of America, they would probably think there's $800 billion worth of asphalt in the Recovery Act.

ACOSTA: As stimulus supporters point out, much of the money is going to save the jobs of teachers.

WHALEY: States are facing the worst short fall they've ever faced. When states hit the wall on tax collections, they make stark choices. They lay off teachers and furlough prisoners. These are things that have an immediate impact in the lives of communities. And states are still facing very tough choices, but without the Recovery Act, they would be in dire situations.

ACOSTA (off camera): There would be more layoffs of teachers and that sort of thing.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The administration predicts job creation will come next.

DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR POLITICAL ADVISOR, WHITE HOUSE: The president said it would take some time to filter through the system, and that employment was the last thing that was going to respond.

ACOSTA: But by then, critics argue the economy will be staging a comeback.

PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Economists were forecasting all along that the economy would come out by the end of the year. So you can't have it both ways. If he relied on economists, then why did he not rely on their projections?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And there is plenty of pressure on the White House to show results. The nation's jobless rate stands at 9.4 percent, inching closer to what most political experts agree is dangerous territory -- double-digit unemployment -- Tony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: All right, Jim. Appreciate it. Thank you.