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Battle Lines Forming Over Future of Health Care; Chrysler Closes the Deal; Cash for Clunkers Bill; Search Continues for Flight Data Recorders; Police Still Investigating Blast at Peshawar Hotel; Robotics Students Succeed; Unabomber Fighting Efforts to Sell Belongings

Aired June 10, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.

It is Wednesday, June 10th, and here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Plans to overhaul health care taking shape right now on Capitol Hill. What's at stake and what does it all mean for your health insurance? A checkup from chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Trouble in paradise. A gunfight in Acapulco. Mexico's battle against drugs spilling over into a tourist haven.

And cash for clunkers. The bill to give you money for your gas guzzler passes the House. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis on what it could mean for your wallet.

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

The battle lines are forming over the future of health care in America. Democrats have put their plans on the table. There is more discussion on Capitol Hill today, of course. And the debate is also playing out in your living room, on your TV.

We are checking the facts in the ad wars and we're listening to your concerns about health care reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN LINDSAY, IREPORTER: We have to consider not only the components we want in it to cover everybody adequately and at a reasonable cost, we have to consider how it's going to be administrated. Is it going to cared for or overseen by an administration that's currently in place, and how will that be restructured to accommodate it? Or will it be the purview of a new administrative office? You know, cost has to -- the cost of administrating has to be figured into this, including the cost of setup or restructuring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILLY DENNIS, IREPORTER: I would absolutely be willing to pay higher taxes for a comprehensive universal health care plan. The American people will have to choose. Do they want to pay for it up front or do they want to pay for it on the back end? I, for one, prefer that we pay for it up front.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You know, we are all asking the same questions. What will the health care plan look like? What will it mean for you? What will change?

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here to help us tackle some of these -- good to see you, Doctor.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you. We need a whole hour.

HARRIS: We need an hour on this. We'll do it in pieces. How's that?

GUPTA: OK. Perfect.

HARRIS: All right. So, you know, people hear this idea of universal coverage and everyone needs to be covered, and they think, well, are we headed to the system that's in place now in Canada?

Doctor, are we?

GUPTA: Well, you know, I think that no one is saying that right now. What the president has said is that this is going to be a private/public sort of system. So, for example, you, Tony Harris, have employer-based health care. You keep it. They say that nothing will change here.

HARRIS: Nothing will change.

GUPTA: But for people who don't have health care insurance, they're trying to get them covered. Two mechanisms in that. One is to decrease costs so health care insurance becomes more affordable. And two, is to simply increase access overall, and that's sort of what's being talked about here.

What is interesting is exactly, how do you do that? That's sort of what's at play here. And that's what -- and people say, look, if you expand Medicare, if you start to do that, is that going to create a government-run system that grows and grows and grows and we become a government-run system? That's what some of the people say could happen evolving into a system like that.

HARRIS: Is that part of the argument, at the center of the argument that you hear from a lot of the critics of this idea of this private/public plan? Because not everyone is convinced this will work.

GUPTA: Yes. And some people say, look, so we expand into this government-run health care system. Some people say great, that's exactly what they want.

Critics of it say, look, is that what we really want to do? Let's look at some numbers, let's start to compare things, for example.

You brought up Canada, so comparing Canada versus the United States. Specialist wait times you can see there. This is based on a survey from 2007.

Eighty-six percent of Canadians complain of long wait times versus 40 percent of Americans. America is not perfect, by the way. Those numbers are still high.

But what I thought was interesting as well, if you take that a step further and look at things like next day care, so you're kind of sick but you don't need to see a doctor until the next day, how does the United States do versus several other countries there? They don't actually do that well.

In New Zealand, 81 percent of the citizens can see a doctor the next day. Germany, 63 percent. The United States, 47 percent. Canada's a little bit worse, but the United States, it's great if you have specialty problems and you're insured, but if you need a primary care, it's not that great.

HARRIS: Well, you mentioned at the top here that, you know, Tony Harris has health care, it's a pretty nifty plan offered by my employer here.

So, why should I care about reform?

GUPTA: That's a great question. And I think that's one of the big challenges.

Every time this issue has come up, it's getting people to care who are insured and don't really seem to have a dog in this race. You do care, and I'll tell you a couple of reasons why.

First of all, if you look at the cost of taking care of people who are uninsured, first of all, they get sicker. And from a moral standpoint, to let them get sicker before you can prevent that sort of stuff is a problem. But there's also a cost associated with that, about $116 billion in health care costs towards people who are uninsured last year.

So, who do you think is paying for that? Where do you think that money is coming from? It doesn't -- you don't have to dig too far to sort of figure out...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: OK.

GUPTA: But the premiums are going up as a result, so everyone's health care costs are going to go up. For example, just last year, about 1,000 bucks increase in premiums overall by us to pay for people who are uninsured. So, medically, morally, financially, everyone needs to care about this because all of that comes into play here.

HARRIS: Boy, that's terrific. All right.

GUPTA: Let's keep talking on this.

HARRIS: Look, we'll get to an hour or beyond, if we need it. All right?

GUPTA: We haven't talked about this since Truman, so let's see what happens.

HARRIS: We can at least do an hour, right?

GUPTA: All right then.

HARRIS: All right. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: Let's get the view from other countries that already have universal health care. Our international iReporters weigh in on the pros and cons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY DEOL, IREPORTER: You notice the health care system does not work. Just because a health care system available for everyone does not mean it will be at your disposal when you need it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALLY SHARPE, IREPORTER: I had serious health problems when I was unemployed in France. I was able to choose all of my doctors, all of my treatments, and my health care was covered at nearly 100 percent. If this had happened to me in the United States, I would have had to declare bankruptcy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: As the debate over health care reform heats up -- and it really is -- there are more and more attacks, including some of them in a TV ad you might have seen.

Josh Levs is checking that out for us.

Good to see you, Josh. Good morning.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too.

Yes, and Tony, something you and I were talking before the show today, often I can do reality checks where you've got a claim and a fact, nice and clean. Here, we can tell you what it is.

When it comes to health care, though, what happens here, folks, is that we're talking so much prediction. Right?

Someone says if the administration does this, this is what it will be like five years down the line, 10 years down the line. So, the best we can do is bring in someone who is, in a sense, doing a reality check of her own, an agency that is nonpartisan that is following all of this. And we have her with us today, Linda Blumberg of the Urban Institute.

Hey there, Linda.

LINDA BLUMBERG, URBAN INSTITUTE: Hi.

LEVS: Thanks for joining us.

This is what we're going to do. We're going to take a look at a clip right now from an ad that some people might have seen on TV and then we'll talk about it.

Let's take a look.

BLUMBERG: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deep inside the stimulus bill Congress buried an instant sounding board, the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. It's not so innocent. It's the first step in government control over your health care choices.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: That's from Conservatives for Patients Rights.

Now, will one day this lead to a government taking control? We can't know.

But Linda, you all have looked at this board, you know what it's about, and you have a take on what it might achieve. So tell us about this and your view on what this board is all about.

BLUMBERG: Sure. Now, no one is suggesting that we prohibit individuals from getting particular types of treatments, which is what the ad suggests. What the idea is, is that -- for a Comparative Effectiveness Board -- is that we know that there is a tremendous amount of variation and treatment patterns across positions and across geographic areas in the U.S. And it makes just common sense to say let's put together a system that is going to aggregate information and provide information to all physicians, all providers on best practices. Let's encourage that.

LEVS: OK. So, from your view, it would do effectiveness research like it's supposed to. And I know the law says it cannot mandate what doctors could do. So, from your view, it would not lead to government taking over health care.

BLUMBERG: No, it would not.

LEVS: OK. All right.

Let's broaden this out a little bit, because what that ad touches on and what some attacks out there have also said is that what this administration is pushing toward is government-run health care. You've looked at the gamut, you've looked at everything. Are you seeing any signs that this administration is pushing towards government-run health care?

BLUMBERG: No. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

They're explicitly saying we want to maintain what we have got in the private system that's working. We don't want individuals to have to give up what makes them satisfied out of this system today. But there's a lot of gaps and we need to fill those in.

LEVS: OK, Linda. I want to balance this out a little bit.

Let's zoom in on the board behind me. I'm going to show you a screen from PolitiFact which points to a quote from Roy Blunt saying, "Democrats have failed to answer the most basic question of how they want to pay for the more than $1 trillion of health care spending." And also over at Reform.gov, you've got this administration saying that it's working toward something deficit neutral.

But you actually agree, right? And so does PolitiFact. They say that's basically true, that so far, this administration has not demonstrated how it will pay for this giant plan.

BLUMBERG: I think that it's clear that the intent is to finance fully whatever they legislate, but right now the Obama administration has only proposed about half of the savings from other sources that they would need to finance it.

LEVS: OK. All right.

And Linda, really quickly, any time we say "nonpartisan agency" on TV, we immediately get some angry mail from people saying they're not nonpartisan, they're not nonpartisan. We hear from both sides.

I want to establish with you, your group has people at the top who are former members of Democratic and Republican administrations, and you don't take policy positions in partisan races, right?

BLUMBERG: That's absolutely correct.

LEVS: OK. Well, thank you so much for your time.

Look, this is just the beginning.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: And I'll tell you and tell Tony, look... BLUMBERG: Thank you.

HARRIS: Linda, thank you.

LEVS: ... we're going to keep looking this up for days and weeks to come. And obviously -- probably years, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: This is a lot to peek (ph) through here.

HARRIS: Sure. Hey, ,let's do it.

LEVS: You've got it.

HARRIS: It is such -- Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: Thanks a lot.

HARRIS: You know, it is such a huge topic, it affects every single one of us.

You know what? Why don't you weigh in? We want to hear from you about your health care concerns and the White House push for reform.

Join the conversation right now, CNN.com/newsroom. You can click on my blog page. I've got a blog page, I'm told. Scribble in your comments and our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen will be here next hour to answer some of your questions.

Chrysler has a new owner and hundreds of dealers, and their employees are out of a job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's get going here.

Chrysler gets the green light on its plan to shift out of bankruptcy. The U.S. Supreme Court clears the way for the deal with Fiat to move forward. And we've just learned an hour ago that the deal with Fiat has, in fact, cleared. It's gone through.

A bankruptcy judge has also approved Chrysler's plan to dump its franchise agreements with 789 dealerships. Those franchise owners say they're getting a pretty raw deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SAMARAS, OWNER, VIKING DODGE: When they're talking about taking my franchise that I paid good money for, and just literally giving it to the gentleman down the street, there's something that smacks of Marxism in that scenario. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY JO ROSEN, VIKING DODGE: I'm praying every day, every minute of every day, for somebody to realize what's going on. It's so wrong. And to do something to the stop this cycle from happening.

I mean, where's hope? Where's the leading (ph) in what we voted for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK FITZGERALD, FITZGERALD AUTO MALL: What good is it to put 50,000 people to work in Michigan and put 100,000 people out of work across the country? And it could be 150,000. It could be more.

Think about that. That's not a good trade. That's a bad deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

HARRIS: You know, with the Chrysler deal moving forward and all those dealerships closing, here's a question for you. Is it a good time to buy a Jeep or maybe a Sebring?

Let's bring in our Christine Romans of our Money Team. She is live from New York City, where she is filling in for Ali Velshi on his radio program.

Christine, boy, how many hats are you wearing up there these days? It's great to see you. Great to talk to you.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to tell you something, Tony. I mean, Ali's hair looks better in the head phones for some reason.

HARRIS: No, no, no, no, no.

ROMANS: It doesn't mess up his hair like it messes -- it wouldn't mess up your hair either.

HARRIS: Exactly. Let me tell you something, we'd both take the tradeoff.

All right, look, is this a good day? I sent you a note because I was just curious in all the conversation about what's going on with Chrysler. It struck me, is this a good day to buy a Chrysler? And I'm speaking purely here of an opportunity to get a good deal.

ROMANS: Tony, do you want a car? Do you want me to help you get a car?

HARRIS: Yes, if you would, at a good price.

ROMANS: Look, there were dealers up until midnight last night -- remember, the deadline was up until midnight last night -- who were selling Jeeps for $8,000 below invoice, $10,000 below invoice.

HARRIS: Wow.

ROMANS: Look, if you had 30 cars on the lot, you had to get rid of them. And so they were offering some deep discounts to get rid of those. I mean, in many cases, they took loans to buy that inventory and they're just trying to get out, having lost as little money as possible.

Another thing that folks are telling me is that now that those closed dealerships -- and we know who they are, and now we've passed this deadline -- there might be dealers who are in business who are worried that that was the pent-up demand, demand for people buying a car. It happened at those other dealerships that are closing, so they might be offering you some deals, as well.

HARRIS: Oh, I see.

ROMANS: And I know somebody who just bought a Pontiac G6. I mean, Pontiac, that's a brand that's going away. But there are good enough deals out there that people have been stepping back and trying to do it.

One thing though, Tony, is that some folks are having trouble getting credit. You've got a buyer and a seller. You've got a car they want, you've got a good deal, but if you've got anything on that credit report, it might be a little hard to get the financing.

HARRIS: You know what, Christine? Before I ask you this next question, what's the phone number? I want to get your phones popping. I want to keep them popping for you there.

ROMANS: OK. I appreciate that -- 877-266-4189. I'm not as pretty as Ali Velshi, but I'm just as smart. And I promise we could have some good conversation.

HARRIS: Heck yes.

You know, is it still unclear how many people will lose their jobs? I ask the question because we heard one dealership owner talking about, look, you're trading factory jobs for dealership jobs, and we could lose as many as 100,000 dealership-related jobs.

Do we know with any kind of certainty how many people are actually going to lose their jobs in this shakeout?

ROMANS: No, because we don't know how well the shakeout's going to last. I mean, we can hope that Fiat and Chrysler can start selling cars and do good business. We can hope that GM can, too, but we just don't know what demand is going to look like.

You know, GM just said -- and I'm sure you've seen this -- but GM just said that there's some other of its plants that they're going to keep off line for a little bit longer, maybe a few more weeks, because they're just -- they say to get in line with demand. That means they're not going to make cars until people want to buy cars, and that means people are going to be idled, and that's still more stress for the industry.

And, you know, and the dealer's story, I mean, gosh, there's the -- you know, there's the ice-cream parlor that serves -- I mean, it's so big and so -- I don't know about you, but our T-ball and girls volleyball in my hometown was sponsored by one of the car dealers.

HARRIS: Sponsored by -- yes. Yes, jazz concerts all over the cities and -- yes.

ROMANS: This is the beginning of the story. The end of the bankruptcy, Tony, I really think, and the beginning of Chrysler/Fiat and the new GM, it's the beginning of the story, because we still have to figure out how these companies can get healthy again.

HARRIS: Nice. All right, Christine. Much better. Are you kidding me? You've got that Ali Velshi beat hands down.

What's the -- I'll say that until I see him. What's that number again so folks can call you?

ROMANS: It's 877-266-4189. And you keep complimenting me like that, he's going to be back here in 10 minutes. I swear.

HARRIS: All right, Christine. Enjoy the radio show. Good to talk to you. Thanks.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, Congress is considering a plan to give you cash for your gas-guzzling clunker. Will your car or truck be on that list?

Personal finance editor Gerri Willis has her "Top Tips," and that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The big U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would give you money to trade in your gas-guzzler for a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here.

And Gerri, good to see you. If you would, break down the cash for clunkers bill for us.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: It is cash for clunkers. Such a catchy name. But you don't get the dough, by the way. It goes directly to the dealership. You never get your hot little hands on that money.

HARRIS: I need that, yes.

WILLIS: Let's get right to those details.

It is $4,500 for a new cash purchase, so it's not nothing. It's a lot of dough. But you have to be trading in an old car that gets 18 miles per gallon or less, city and highway combined here, and getting -- buying a new car. You can't get a used car, you've got to buy a new car that gets at least 22 miles per gallon -- again, city/highway combined.

Now, this vehicle has to be registered and insured and under your name for at least one year. You can't go get a junkyard dog and say, hey, can I have that $4,500? It doesn't work that way. Also, the car has to cost less than $45,000 or less.

HARRIS: Got you. OK. Well, I know there have to be some critics of this bill.

What are some of the biggest criticisms here, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, OK. First of all, you're thinking you'll automatically qualify, guess again. Not too many cars out there that you might want to buy will actually qualify for this. Let's take a look at some of the example of cars that would be eligible.

The Cadillac DeVille, the Dodge Grand Caravan, the Dodge Ramcharger, the Chevy Tahoe, these are the cars that you would be trading in. Those are the ones that would be eligible. So it's not every car out there.

What's more, I think there are big questions about how many people will actually be able to use this program. Let's face it, if you're driving an old gas-guzzler -- and the estimate is that these cars are probably eight to 10 years old -- you don't have a car payment anymore. And you probably like it that way, right?

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: The average car in this country costs $28,000. You use that $4,500 from the federal government, you're still financing $24,000. And that's a big payment each and every month for folks out there.

The big questions about how many people are going to be able to use it and, hey, is this a green program anyway? I don't know about you, Tony, but I get a lot better mileage than 22 miles per gallon. You know.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. I don't. I really have a clunker that I need to get rid of. I would love to get something...

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIS: This is for you then.

HARRIS: Yes, it really is for me.

WILLIS: This is for you. HARRIS: If I can -- I don't want to finance another car, though.

As a practical matter, Gerri, how will this program work?

WILLIS: All right. Well, first off, you need to know, Tony, whether that old clunker in your garage is actually in that ballpark, 18 miles per gallon or not. Go to fueleconomy.gov. That's a Web site that will tell you whether it is or not. And then you've got to pick out the new car and make sure that it also qualifies. You can go right back to that same Web site.

And as I said before, you're not getting the $4,500. It's going directly to the dealership. You've got to make sure that you qualify every which way. Lots of details here.

And the $4,500 is the only thing you really get. You're not getting any additional money. I heard somebody say the other day, Tony, that you could probably get more on eBay for some of these cars at this time.

HARRIS: Well, there you go.

WILLIS: So, big questions out there...

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.

WILLIS: ... about whether this is absolutely the best deal. But it is definitely worth checking out because nobody wants to turn away 4,500 bucks.

HARRIS: Got that right.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: All right, Gerri, appreciate it. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: So, are you looking for a mortgage right now? There are one, two, three Web sites you absolutely must see. Here's what you do. What's the lead story there at CNNMoney? Oh, Chrysler and Fiat make it official. Yes, yes. Just go to cnmoney.com.

And back on Capitol Hill today, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, she is meeting with more of the senators who will vote on her nomination. Democrats hope the vote will take place before the congressional recess, but Republicans say it may not happen until September.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: They want the shortest confirmation timeline in recent memory for someone with the longest record in recent memory. This violates basic standards of fairness, and it prevents senators from carrying out one of their most solemn duties: a thorough review of the president's nominee to a lifetime position on the highest court in the land. The decision to short-circuit that process is regrettable and completely unnecessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, Senate confirmation hearings on Sotomayor's nomination are set to begin on July 13th.

Using a nuclear submarine to investigate the crash of Air France 447. How it's helping, next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A Spanish jetliner had to make an emergency landing this morning in the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa. The Iberworld flight had just taken off from Las Palmas en route to Oslo, Norway. An airport official says the pilot detected engine trouble and returned to the airport. One hundred eighty-nine passengers and crew were aboard the plane. No one was injured.

An American Airlines plane also made an emergency landing. This one diverted to the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Two hundred six people were aboard the plane. They were heading from New York to Zurich when a fire was reported. The airline says the smoke was traced to a fan motor in the bathroom. Everyone onboard the plane's just fine. They resumed their flight to Switzerland on a replacement plane.

A nuclear submarine now joining the hunt for flight data records from Air France Flight 447. The jetliner went down 10 days ago off Brazil with 228 people onboard. More bodies being recovered from the ocean.

We are bringing you a number of different angles on this story. Live, our Paula Newton is in London on the investigation, and our Karl Penhaul is on a Brazilian island where the dead and debris are being taken. And, Paula, first, a couple of questions to you, and then we will turn to Karl. Paula, give thus very latest that you're aware of that you're learning on the investigation.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, they're all saying the investigation team -- I talked to them in the morning -- look, everything that we say at this point is speculative because as you point out, Tony, those black boxes still haven't been recovered.

But let's deal with a couple newslines. First, a French magazine reporting that there could possibly have been a terrorist link on the flight, saying that two of the suspects were known to France intelligence officials. One French security source tells CNN that they have no reason to believe that at this point there's any terrorism connection, but at the same time they're saying, we can't rule anything out. I just want to point out as well that, in speaking to Brazilian aviation authorities, they assured us, look, every bag on Flight 447 would have been screened in Rio.

And also want to bring up the issue of weather, Tony. We've talked so much about the violent storms that that flight would have gone through. Now, more pilots and aviation experts that we talked to saying, look, there is a possibility that that plane would have been just at the wrong place at the wrong time. And they're talking about these sudden updrafts that they would have been caught in, and perhaps that was a trigger for something else going disastrously wrong.

What they're saying right now, Tony, is that, look, we're not going to come to the end of this thing and they're going to tell us there's one cause of this crash. It is going to be a complex set of factors -- Tony.

HARRIS: Sure, and Paula, I just want to be clear about the reporting here. Again, two people on that flight with, how are we describing this? With terror connections? What's the proper...

NEWTON: L'Express magazine in France saying that a security source told them that they had known Islamic terrorism links. That doesn't mean that they were involved in bringing down the airliner at all. And as I said, one French security source telling us that they don't believe that this in any way, shape or form leads to any kind of a terrorism link, not at this point.

HARRIS: All right. Paula, walk us through the nuclear sub that is helping to hopefully find the flight data recorders. How will this actually work?

NEWTON: It's the key thing here is nuclear subs. And obviously the Pentagon sending a lot of that equipment down, as well. It's the sonar equipment. Now, Tony, we've talked about these voice and data recorders. You're talking...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

NEWTON: ... three to four miles possibly. Talk about the sophisticated equipment. What is key, though, is that if they find anything they want to investigate, robotics, the robotic submarines that are going to go down there and can investigate further and hopefully, possibly retrieve anything. I'm going to go back, Tony, to what I told you a week ago. French investigators tell me every day they are not optimistic on finding those voice and data recorders.

HARRIS: OK. All right. And let's turn to Karl Penhaul now. And Karl, if you would, describe how the recovery effort is going, if you would.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT: Well, if you just look over my shoulder here, Tony, you can see a (INAUDIBLE) transporter aircraft. There are also two helicopters out here on the airstrip at Fernando de Noronha island. This really is the staging post for the search and recovery effort. And even a few hours just pouring down with rain and there was very low visibility, these aircraft were still going out there. They're equipped with electronic surveillance equipment, flying over the ocean looking for new debris fields and signs of new bodies.

Now, so far, 16 bodies have been brought to the Fernando de Noronha island. They're undergoing right now preliminary examination, and then later on in the day we expect them to be taken to the Brazilian mainland, when they will get more thorough forensic checks. Now, experts hope that not only will they be able to establish the identities, but also looking over the bodies for clues as to why this aircraft came down and whether it broke apart in the air or when it hit the water -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right, CNN's Karl Penhaul and CNN's Paula Newton with the latest information on the investigation of Air France Flight 447.

You know, 16 years after being injured, one victim is still seeking an end to his Unabomber saga.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In North Carolina, searchers have found the body of a worker missing after a food processing plant exploded yesterday. That raises the number killed to three. Thirty-eight others were injured, some critically. Three hundred people were inside the ConAgra factory at the time. The exact cause of the blast is still not known.

Our iReporters in the area have been sending us pictures. These are from Ralph Carson, who lives just down the street from the plant. He says the blast shook the walls of his house. At first he thought it was the quarry up the road. Carson says emergency crews have closed some roads and have set up command posts.

At least 17 people dead, 64 wounded. This morning, police in northwest Pakistan are investigating a suicide blast at a five-star luxury hotel. CNN's Reza Sayah is in Islamabad and, Reza, if you would, boy, I want you to take us back and describe that scene from yesterday and, if you would, bring us the very latest on the investigation.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. One of the biggest parts of this investigation is going to be the surveillance video of the attack released earlier today. The attack showing two cars attacking the Pearl Continental in Peshawar. And based on what we see in this video, this was a breakdown of the security system at this hotel.

This hotel is set back from the main road. That's seemingly a security advantage. And it's also protected by two steel gates and a security checkpost. But this video shows what appeared to be two cars getting through this barrier with relative ease. First you see the initial car coming in. Security guard checks under the hood, normal procedure. It gets through.

Then things start to move really quickly. There appears to be gunfire. The security guards scatter. The car gets through the second gate. Right behind it is a pickup truck packed with what police describe to be a half a ton of explosives. The two cars race down the driveway, go to an adjacent parking lot right next to the hotel. That's when the half a ton of explosives detonates, according to police, a blast so powerful that it brings down part of the hotel, kills 17 people. Among the dead, two aid workers. We spoke to the spokesperson of the hotel, and he defends the security system, saying, look, if anyone's determined to commit suicide, and if anyone's determined to get into a car packed with explosives, there's very little you can do. But again, based on the surveillance video, there appears to be a security breakdown. This hotel is going to have to answer a lot of questions in the coming days and weeks -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right, CNN's Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Nothing slowed down one NASA engineer, and now, he is making sure barriers don't block the next generation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The mother of all robotics competitions is held every year by an organization called FIRST, which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. This year, it came to Atlanta. Our Soledad O'Brien reports as part of CNN's "Black in America" series.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Each year, hundreds of high school teams are challenged to build robots that accomplish certain tasks. This year's competition honors the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole point of the game is you have to get these moon rocks into your opponent's trailer in order to get points.

O'BRIEN: It's a first for this team from Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a rookie team down here on the blue side. Machine right here. We've got team 3091.

O'BRIEN: These robo rookies are here because of a program run by 100 Black Men of Atlanta. It's an organization providing opportunities to kids from underprivileged communities. The robotics program goes beyond teaching these inner-city teenagers how to build robots.

MILTON JONES, CHAIRMAN, 100 BLACK MEN OF ATLANTA: They're learning about teamwork. They're learning about ways to innovate and how to overcome obstacles. And all of these are just important life skills beyond the science and engineering base.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got one thing to say to you all: I'm just proud of you.

O'BRIEN: Former NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson is a team mentor.

LONNIE JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, JOHNSON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CO.: I never thought about barriers as a reason for stopping. O'BRIEN: Johnson provided the kids lab space at his own company.

JOHNSON: It brings back a lot of fun memories of building a robot myself and overcoming obstacles.

RAY SINGER, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, 100 BLACK MEN OF ATLANTA: They don't have these type of opportunities in their neighborhood. And just being an opportunity to work in a tube (ph) shop, to work with someone, a mentor, Dr. Johnson, to show them it can be done if you put the work in.

We've seen our kids' math, science and reading scores go up ultimately, which is going to get them in better universities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm thinking about Georgia Tech right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm starting to look into maybe understanding programming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be able to create machinery that's going to benefit everyone. Not the rich class, the low class, not the middle class, but everyone as a whole.

O'BRIEN: And they're learning dedication pays off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rookie all-star award goes to team 3091.

O'BRIEN: A life lesson they'll never forget.

Soledad O'Brien, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Good stuff.

OK, while our reporters cover the stories developing every day in the black community, Soledad O'Brien has been working on stories you will see only on July 22nd and 23rd, when CNN presents "BLACK IN AMERICA 2," two nights, two prime-time documentaries, all new stories right here on CNN.

Lots to cover in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. A drug war still raging in Mexico. Our Ed Lavandera takes us to the popular resort of Acapulco, where a deadly battle between soldier and gunmen sent residents cowering and tourists seeking cover.

And we'll hear from some beleaguered Chrysler dealerships forced to shut their doors as the auto giant struggles to emerge from bankruptcy.

Also, the Obama administration's big push for health care reform. You have questions, plenty of them. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: He is one of the most infamous criminals of the 20th century. Now, the so-called Unabomber is waging a fight from behind prison bars. Ted Kaczynski wants to block his victims from auctioning off his personal effects.

CNN's Abbie Boudreau has more in this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I regard him as the essence of evil. He's evil and amoral. He has no compassion.

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ted Kaczynski killed three people. He wounded 23 others in a crime spree that lasted 17 years. Dr. Charles Epstein, a retired University of California professor and a world-renowned geneticist, was one of those injured.

DR. CHARLES EPSTEIN, VICTIM: I started opening the mail. Pulled the tab, and there was sort of a spark, a flash. Then the explosion. I was thrown to the floor. I managed to get up. I crawled outside. Police came. Ambulance came.

BOUDREAU: The blast destroyed both his eardrums. He fractured his right arm and lost parts of three of his fingers. And this was the man responsible. He was once only known by this sketch. Police called him the Unabomber. Then, in 1996, Ted Kaczynski was captured in this Montana cabin, deep in the woods.

But it's what investigators found inside the cabin that the victims are now fighting for. Personal items Kaczynski once owned that they want sold at auction.

(on camera): This was that old sweatshirt and old pair of sunglasses, just like you saw in that sketch. And you might think that a lot of this stuff isn't worth anything. But because it was Ted Kaczynski's old typewriter and his old degree from Harvard University, his victims hope all of this is worth a lot of money.

(voice-over): Shovels, a screwdriver, tweezers, a knife, his dusty boots, other typewriters and his doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Michigan. Hundreds of items locked away for years in FBI evidence bags that CNN had exclusive access to. All of this likely heading to an auction for anyone to bid on.

But Kaczynski doesn't want his possessions auctioned off, especially his diaries and personal writings. These thousands of pages detail his crimes and what he was thinking at the time. In his handwritten legal arguments, where he calls himself K, he claims the District Court's orders violate K's First Amendment rights.

(on camera): It seems like this whole thing is just about control.

LAWRENCE BROWN, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY: I think it is.

BOUDREAU (voice-over): Acting U.S. attorney Lawrence Brown says Kaczynski's appeals likely won't make a difference.

BROWN: If some funds are raised by this auction to help out some of the victims, well, then, that does serve to promote some level of justice. But you just cannot right the tremendous wrong that Kaczynski committed.

BOUDREAU: Steve Hirsch is the attorney for four of the victims, including Epstein, who are owed that restitution.

STEVE HIRSCH, VICTIMS' ATTORNEY: The victims were placed in this terrible position of either accepting the idea of an auction or letting Kaczynski have all his things back, which would have been just another wound for them.

BOUDREAU: It's been nearly 16 years to the day since Epstein was injured.

EPSTEIN: And who'd think we would be sitting this many years later still having dealings with the man who tried to kill us.

BOUDREAU: Abbie Boudreau, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Kaczynski is serving a life sentence without the possibility of patrol at a supermax prison in Colorado. He has until Monday to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawyers we spoke with say there is no way the court will hear the issue, and the auction is expected to take place later this year.

You can follow along with the latest developments on this story by just going to CNN.com/siu. And let us know what you think should happen to Kaczynski's personal items. You can weigh in on our blog page. We've got a couple of options there for you. Just go to CNN.com/newsroom.