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Tourists Caught in Mexico Drug Wars; Couple Working on Ranch in Mexico Find Lives in Danger; Forced to Close, Chrysler Dealer Starts Over; Lawmakers Continue to Debate Obama's Public Health Option; The Five Permanent U.N. Security Council Members Agreed to Expand and Tighten Sanctions Against North Korea; French Submarine With High-Tech Sonar Joins the Search for Air France's Flight Data Recorders; Overburdened at Work; Jon Voight Blasts Obama; Ahmadinejad Supporters Face Off Against Opposition Supporters for Upcoming Iranian Presidential Election; GOP Leader Says Dems Importing Terrorists; Palau to Take Gitmo Prisoners; Pakistani Cop vs. Bomber

Aired June 10, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A deadly new front in a drug war raging just to the south of the United States. This time tourists in the popular resort of Acapulco are caught in the middle.

Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bursts of gunfire echo through the darkness of Mexico's streets. It's the sound of a drug war, but this time it's different.

RUSTY FLEMING, AUTHOR, "DRUG WARS": You are seeing a new level of the war on drugs in Mexico. And now, of course, you've got an administration that is taking the war directly to these guys. You're going to start seeing them in places that we never thought they existed.

LAVANDERA: But it seems no place is immune. This gun battle took place in the tourist mecca of Acapulco, a place largely untouched by drug violence until now.

The battle started over the weekend when Mexican troops raided a suspected safe house of the Beltran-Levy drug cartel. When the smoke cleared, more than 3,000 shots had been fired, 50 grenades exploded, and 17 people killed, including two soldiers and two innocent bystanders.

Terrified tourists fled from the area.

Inside the gated house where the gunmen were holed up, soldiers found four handcuffed shirtless men who claimed to be kidnapped state police officers.

And then yesterday, another rampage of gunfire and explosions. Two police stations were riddled with bullets and pounded with grenades in a coordinated, near simultaneous attack. Three policemen were killed and one wounded. Reports say state officials were investigating whether it was a retaliatory attack while Mexican soldiers in trucks and in helicopters kept watch over a nervous resort town.

Some 2,300 people have been killed just this year in Mexico's drug violence, the latest of nearly 11,000 victims since the nation's president unleashed military forces against drug traffickers in December of 2006.

The U.S. State Department has a travel alert warning Americans of the increased levels of violence. The Mexican government says its resort towns are safe, but Fleming disagrees and says open warfare in places like Acapulco is only just beginning.

FLEMING: All of those drugs have to come in, in shipping lanes. And those are shipping ports. So of course, they've got a presence there. And of course, you're going to see as, you know, these guys, their operations become uncovered by the military and the military gets to pursue them, you're going to see more of this kind of violence.

LAVANDERA: A new front in the war on drugs, another town gripped with fear.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The War on Drugs right here in the United States, that is the focus tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Has the War on Drugs failed? In the great debate, a look at whether legalization is really the only answer. That's Campbell Brown, tonight, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

You know, it almost sounds like a plot of a thriller. A couple from the United States working across the border in a ranch in Mexico find their lives are in danger. The facts in the couple's story are difficult to verify, but U.S. officials say they are American citizens.

Lisa Cortez of affiliate KRGV in Texas has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is little Mischka (ph). He's a boy.

LISA CORTEZ, KRGV-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And the reason for his parents' difficult journey. The couple does not want to be identified. They fear for their lives. They say they were working on a ranch in Tampico, Mexico, and found out their boss and his wife had a bad side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we were there, we found out about his drug running and...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That they had been telling everyone at that ranch that we were selling them our baby.

CORTEZ: They grabbed a few belongings and fled when they heard the rumors. They got help from a Mexican church, bus tickets to Reynosa. But once they ran into a Mexican immigration checkpoint, their trip stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they told us to give them all of our money because we were there without our identification.

CORTEZ: They left their IDs back at the ranch. They didn't have money. They say they couldn't get past Mexican officials to get to the bridge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had very few options and we decided that we would try to find a place to go across swimming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And waited until that night. Then we made a little raft and come across the river, and the next morning we turned ourselves in to Border Patrol. There's a strong current in it, and even with something to float on, it still tries to take you where it wants you to go, not where you want to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's dirty, it smells. Everything gets wet no matter what you do.

CORTEZ: They say authorities verified their citizenship.

Now, on her due date, they're at a valley shelter. With no IDs, it's hard to find work. They're worried about their future.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope that the baby's born in a safe environment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy.

So the deal is done. Chrysler today officially signed an alliance with Fiat. The Italian automaker will take a 20 percent stake in the company. That could eventually grow to 35 percent. It is part of Chrysler's plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way yesterday for the deal to actually move forward. A bankruptcy judge has also approved Chrysler's plan to drop 789 dealer franchises.

So, what's next for those dealers who have been ordered to close?

Tan Thron (ph) from CNN affiliate KUSA in Colorado has the story of one owner who has decided to start over selling used cars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID FITZGERALD, OWNER, NORTHGLENN DODGE: I'm sad. I really am. I grew up in Dodges. My father started selling Chrysler products in 1959. TAN THRON (ph), KUSA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Through the good and bad times, David Fitzgerald stayed loyal to the names Dodge and Chrysler.

FITZGERALD: I want my company, meaning Chrysler Corporation, the new Chrysler, to continue and to do well, even if I'm not part of it.

THRON: Chrysler didn't reward that loyalty. Instead, it's pulling its name from the dealership, just like it did to more than 700 other dealers throughout the country.

FITZGERALD: It doesn't matter whether I can make sense of it. I just have to make it work. OK?

THRON: Chrysler's decision, the recession, and one of the worst car markets in history forced Fitzgerald to lay off nearly 40 percent of his employees. The mechanics, receptionists and sales reps still standing will break new ground with Fitzgerald when they reopen as NGDCars.com and sell used cars.

FITZGERALD: We're down to, like, 56 employees right now. And everybody understands that that will shrink if we don't just pay for ourselves.

THRON: Fitzgerald's son is temporarily leaving college to help his dad.

RYAN FITZGERALD, DAVID FITZGERALD'S SON: The fact that he's been doing this for 22 years, and that's all been taken away from him, that was the most heartbreaking part of it. And that's why I agreed to be here.

THRON: For years, his father stood by Chrysler. He says this is the time he's got to stand by his family.

R. FITZGERALD: The most important part is this is my dad's business, this is all he's known, and this is all he's worked for his entire life. So, when I came back, I felt like I was more of a support figure than anything, because, you know, I've had it so good for so long because of how hard my dad worked.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The White House Automobile Task Force on the hot seat on Capitol Hill today. Lawmakers want to know how GM and Chrysler are spending billions of dollars in bailout funds. They also want to know when taxpayers will start seeing a return on their investment. One Senate Banking Committee member even proposes using bailout money to reimburse GM and Chrysler dealerships forced to close.

CNN will follow the afternoon hearing and we will bring you updates.

And if bailing out the auto industry is not hard enough on your wallet, get ready to pay more to fill up that vehicle you drive. Oil prices are on the rise. In fact, light sweet crude is trading today at $71.33 a barrel. That is the first time since last November that oil prices topped $70 a barrel. Analysts say the higher costs are based on speculation that the economy will improve.

The debate over your health care playing out again on Capitol Hill. A House panel is holding a hearing on what's known as single- payer health care. That's where one entity, potentially the federal government, pays out health care costs. A doctor in favor of the system challenged the notion that it takes away health care choices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WALTER TSOU, PHYSICIANS FOR A NATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAM: Choice is a total misnomer. Americans want to be able to choose their doctor and hospital, not their health plans.

A humane health care system should reinforce the safety net in the face of our nation's worst recession since the Great Depression. But our profit-driven system kicks millions of Americans in the gut and leaves them both jobless and uninsured. We have saddled our nation with an inefficient and exorbitantly expensive health care system that drives jobs overseas, where health benefit costs are low, and discourages entrepreneurs from striking out on their own for fear of losing their insurance coverage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Leaders met with the president today to discuss health care reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), MONTANA: The point is that we have to act now together. It's probably one of the more important measures we'll undertake to revamp, transform our health care system so that health care costs do not go up as rapidly as they have.

So many American families experiencing unconscionable high health care costs. Businesses so high, government so high. And we have to reform this system, we have to reform the health insurance system so that people are not denied coverage based on preexisting conditions or health status. And it's just -- all Americans should have health insurance to make this system work. And also, it's just morally the right thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You know, the debate over health care reform raises plenty of really -- Elizabeth, really good questions.

Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to answer some of your e-mails.

We didn't have as much time as I would like, but we're going to do this over and over again, all right?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I hope so.

HARRIS: We've got you great questions here. You ready for the first one from Geoff?

COHEN: I am. Give it to me.

HARRIS: OK. Geoff writes, "I spend one-third of my paycheck for health care. I make too much for state health. While my pay isn't increasing, my health care cost is. What are they going to do for people like me?"

Elizabeth?

COHEN: All right, Geoff has hit the essence of the problem, which is that there are middle-income Americans whose employers don't give them health benefits, and they end up paying a huge amount of money on their own or they can't even afford it. So let's go over what different groups of people want to do to help.

President Obama has made it very clear -- he wrote this in a letter to two senators last week -- he wants a public option. He wants the government to make a health care program that will be available to everybody at a relatively lost cost.

Now, the Republicans have said that, yes, this is a big problem, we need to do something to help the Geoffs of this country. And so I asked an aide to Representative Boehner, the minority leader, I said, "So what's your idea?" And he said, "Get back to me in a couple of weeks. We have some people out there studying it. We'll have some specifics soon."

HARRIS: "Get back to me in a couple of weeks"?

COHEN: Yes. He said, "We'll have specifics within a matter of weeks." Those were his words.

HARRIS: Well, we will follow up.

COHEN: And we will get back to him. That's for sure.

HARRIS: I don't believe that.

This is a good one. Boy, this is good. This is from Mary Kay. Not -- the Mary Kay?

COHEN: I don't think so.

HARRIS: OK.

HARRIS: Here's the question: "What's going to stop companies from dropping the coverage they offer to employees if they think they can save money and then their employees will be covered under the public system?"

Elizabeth?

COHEN: Mary Kay represents a group of Americans who are happy with their health insurance coverage.

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: We're always talking about the 46 million who are unhappy.

HARRIS: Right.

COHEN: Well, there are a lot of Americans who are thrilled with the coverage that they have. Their concern, if President Obama puts out this government-sponsored health care option, that their employers will say, "Oh, my goodness, there's this cheap alternative, let's do that and let's get rid of the private insurance we have now." And then people like Mary Kay will be like, "Whoa, wait a minute, I liked what I had before. Why are you giving me this new government thing?".

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: I don't like it as much.

Yes, that is definitely a concern. But the big question is -- and you and I have talked a lot about this -- will the government option really be all that bad?

HARRIS: Will it be all that bad? Will it be, in fact, that much cheaper so that it makes sense?

COHEN: Right.

HARRIS: The transition costs and everything else, and we just don't know because we need more...

COHEN: We just don't know.

HARRIS: We need more details.

COHEN: Yes. From both sides.

HARRIS: From both sides.

COHEN: Yes.

HARRIS: Let's do more of this.

COHEN: OK. Sounds good. I'll make a note of it.

HARRIS: The blog has questions all over the place.

COHEN: Oh, we got tons of questions. They were great ones, too.

HARRIS: They were really good.

Thank you. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

HARRIS: Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with us.

As North Korea makes new moves in its push to become a nuclear power, how does the U.S. plan to handle the situation? The U.S. defense secretary now speaking out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council today agreed to expand and tighten sanctions against North Korea. That's according to two senior Western diplomats at the U.N. The decision in response to the communist nation's recent nuclear and missile tests.

Our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr looks at the threats and the U.S. response.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Korea now threatening to use nuclear weapons in a merciless offensive if provoked, raising new worries about Pyongyang's rhetoric.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is reassuring Congress after visiting Fort Greeley, Alaska, where the U.S. has missiles aimed at trying to shoot down any incoming North Korean missiles.

ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I have confidence that if North Korea launched a long-range missile in the direction of the United States, that we would have a high probability of being able to defend ourselves against it.

STARR: U.S. spy satellites have seen preparations for potential missile launches at several North Korean facilities. The Obama administration trying to send the message -- it's not going to play again into North Korea's escalating tone.

DENNIS BLAIR, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The character of -- of the North Korean behavior that we're seeing is a fairly familiar pattern of doing something outrageous and then expecting to be paid for stopping doing it.

STARR: Gates is now looking at military options if North Korea doesn't stop its nuclear program.

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: He has tasked his policy team with trying to figure out creative and prudent ways to bolster defenses.

STARR (on camera): U.S. officials believe North Korea may be in the middle of a succession struggle. And the uncertainty about what will happen inside the regime only adding to the world's anxieties.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: President Obama's special envoy to North Korea is also responding to threats from the communist nation. Stephen Bosworth says despite Pyongyang's rhetoric, the U.S. has no intention to invade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN BOSWORTH, SPECIAL ENVOY, NORTH KOREA: The North Korean claim to be responding to a threat or a hostile policy by the United States is simply groundless. Quite to the contrary, we have no intention to invade North Korea or to change its regime through force. And we have made this clear to the DPRK repeatedly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Washington officials have said the U.S. goal is for North Korea to return to nuclear negotiations with the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia, known as the six-party talks.

A French nuclear submarine equipped with high-tech sonar now joining the search for flight data recorders from Air France Flight 447. The first bodies to be recovered from the ocean are arriving at a Brazilian Air Force base today. Officials will begin the difficult identification process using DNA.

A total of 41 bodies have been recovered so far. The jetliner went down 10 days ago with 228 people on board.

Just not a lot to go on in the investigation to learn what caused the Air France flight to go down. Our Tom Foreman takes a look at what we know based on what's been recovered so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what the jet looked like when it hit that storm. And these are the major pieces that have been found so far that we know of. And they're all clues in the mystery of this crash.

Let's start with this tail fin back here. Aviation analysts are looking at it closely because they say if this had been attached to the plane when it hit the water, it would have crumpled. Instead, it is largely intact, like this other tail fin from another crash in New York about eight years ago. That was an A-300, not an A-330.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined this tail fin broke off in flight during emergency maneuvers, causing the crash when the plane was responding to turbulence.

Peter Goelz is a former NTSB official.

PETER GOELZ, AVIATION ANALYST: The pilot hit rough air. The rudder snapped full to the left.

He then compensated, snapped back. He overcompensated. It snapped back. It snapped back again and then snapped off. FOREMAN: That's one possibility in this crash, too.

Other clues have also been found. Let's take a look at them. Cabin seats and personal effects that belonged to many of the passengers there. If the seats and these items are from the back of the plane, for example, and they show less crushing damage than those up front, that might suggest they also fell out of the plane as it dropped, meaning maybe that whole section broke up in flight.

Then there's wiring, bits of mechanical parts of the plane. All sorts of things in here that have to be looked at closely, looking for signs of, say, fire.

GOELZ: Was there an explosion? Was there anything that gives investigators a hint of what was going on?

FOREMAN: The real key here is still the flight data recorder, believed to be two miles or more down on the bottom of the ocean, amid all these underwater mountains and troughs here. It's supposed to be emitting a locator signal out in all directions like this.

But even though they have a submarine in the water and ships up on top listening for it, they haven't been able to pick it out yet through all of this clutter, and the clock is ticking. This beacon works for 30 days, and already about a third of that time is gone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: All right. CNN's Tom Foreman for you.

What's the weather going to be like in your area this summer? In some places, not so hot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: In North Carolina, searchers have found the body of a worker missing after a food processing plant exploded there 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.

Are you feeling overburdened at work? It turns out you're not alone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. As always, we want to remind you to get the latest financial news and analysis at CNNMoney.com. And while you're there, check out our banner headline here. As you can see, it is all about the Chrysler/Fiat deal. It is a done deal, as we swing to the New York Stock Exchange for a look at the Big Board three hours into the trading day. As you can see, the Dow is down 19 points. But that's off of session lows. And the Nasdaq is down as well. Joe, what was that, 12 points? The Nasdaq down 12. Yes, down 12.

We're following the numbers throughout the day for you with Susan Lisovicz right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Limiting executive pay at companies that take government bailout money. The Obama administration, this hour, expected to name a special master for compensation. Washington attorney Kenneth Feinberg has been tapped for the job. Feinberg oversaw the compensation fund for September 11th victims.

Are you feeling a little overburdened at work? If so, you are not alone. Our Josh Levs has the results of a survey that shows, well, you fit right in -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not shocking, Tony, right?

HARRIS: Yes, no, it really isn't.

LEVS: But here's the thing, it's the first time I've seen numbers about it. And it's interesting. I mean basically, with all these layoffs going on, the people who still have their jobs are taking on extra work. But let's take a look at these numbers. It's from Career Builder. You can read about it on CNN Money.

Look at that, 47 percent of people surveyed said they've taken more responsibility because of layoffs. Thirty-seven percent there, you're seeing, say that they're handling double the workload. They're handling the work of two people in their view. Thirty percent are feeling burned out. In a way, that 30 percent seems kind of low. But, hey, you never know.

Anyway, it's numbers putting some perspective there on what you might be going through. And, Tony, as we know, we hear these anecdotes a lot, but that helped give us a bigger picture.

HARRIS: Hey, you know what, let's change gears here just a little bit, Josh.

LEVS: OK.

HARRIS: I know you have -- you've done some reality checking for us.

LEVS: On jobs.

HARRIS: Yes, on jobs. The White House was wrong in its prediction about jobs.

LEVS: Yes. I mean, it admits it was. It just was. Let me show you a graphic right here. In January, top economic officials from this administration said this. They said that if the stimulus plan passed, unemployment was going to top off at 8 percent this year in September. Well, the stimulus plan did pass, but look where we are now. Next graphic here, 9.4 percent.

So what happened here is when officials were asked about this, and they say they made that prediction before they saw the latest numbers for last year. In fact, the top economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden gave an explanation about it this week. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED BERNSTEIN, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: When we made our initial estimates, that was before we had fourth quarter results on GDP, which we later found out was contracting at an annual rate of 6 percent. Far worse than we expected at that time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Short version there, what happened at the end of last year was even worse than they thought, so they were off on their predictions they're saying. And he argued, Tony, to be fair, that there are still a lot more jobs, he says, than there would be if it wasn't for the stimulus plan.

HARRIS: All right. Looks good.

LEVS: All right.

HARRIS: Yes. I mean there is a backtrack there, absolutely.

LEVS: Or something. Yes.

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

LEVS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: And back on Capitol Hill again today, Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor. She is meeting with more of the senators who will vote on her nomination. These new pictures show the judge with Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio. Senate confirmation hearings on Sotomayor's nomination are set begin on July 13th. Democrats hope the vote will take place before the congressional recess, but Republicans say it may not happen until September.

Sotomayor's nomination taken up on CNN's Lou Dobbs last night by a couple of smart Latina political strategists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOU DOBBS, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Senator Leahy, today, saying that confirmation will be the 13th. Leslie, you say that 48 days shows that the Democrats are desperate in this nomination. Why so?

LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think one thing that's very clear is that the Democrats realize the more time that passes, there's a tremendous amount of scrutiny around this nominee. There's many more questions raised rather than answers provided. So I think the Democrats are pushing a fast track so that they can try to seal this approval before anything could possibly go wrong.

DOBBS: Maria, you say that the judge has been the victim of so- called identity politics and you feel that that timing's appropriate. How is she the victim of identity politics and the timing appropriate?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, you know, Leslie makes the argument that the White House is the one that has made this about identity politics, when nothing could be further from the truth. When President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor, never once did he, nor did she, ever mention the fact that she would be, in fact, the first Latina nominated to the Supreme Court.

He talked about three key requirements that he was looking for in a nominee. The first was intellectual rigger, mastery of the law. The second was respect for the law and, above all, applying the rule of law to each and every case. And the third is a depth and breadth of experience. And there's no question that she is the most prepared jurist in 100 years and she will have had more supreme -- more experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in 70 years.

Her credentials are impeccable. The people who have made this about identity politics are Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, the new old face of the Republican Party, when they called her a racist.

SANCHEZ: I think, Lou, to be very fair and to be fair to this, there's no doubt that identity politics has been played on both sides. Let's be clear. Historically, this is something that has been done as long as the court has existed. But the reality is, this president, who was supposed to transcend race, to be the one who really brought this country together, has made this about race and ethnicity from the beginning. Talking about her being the first Hispanic Supreme Court nominee. Making the White House talk about her compelling life story and experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Sotomayor's brother describes her as tough as nails. He says assertions that she'd carry a liberal agenda to the high court are derogatory and insulting.

You know, we are hearing from a lot of you about actor Jon Voight's comments lashing out at President Obama at GOP fundraiser recently. We played his remarks yesterday and asked for your comments. Here's some of what Voight said. Then we'll get to your responses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON VOIGHT, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: Obama really think he is a soft- spoken Julius Caesar. He thinks he's going to conquer the world with his soft-spoken sweet talk and really thinks he's going to bring all the enemies of the world into a little playground where they'll swing each other back and forth.

Everything Obama has recommended has turned out to be disastrous.

It's no wonder that the Russian newspaper "Pravda," the former house organ for the Soviet communist regime, recently said the American descent into Marxism is happening with breathtaking speed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. We got this response from Larry. "Does anyone care what Jon Voight says? The Republicans got us into this mess. Imagine where we'd be if they were still in office? Obama's performance has been no less than genius, considering the mess he was left with."

From Jeff Earls. "Wow, takes a Hollywood actor to get it right. All I can say is, right on and amen!"

Francis writes, "I didn't know Jon Voight did comedy! He's really funny, don't you think?"

And from Jo Ann Fry, "Hooray! Someone in the crowd finally is saying out loud that the emperor is not wearing any clothes. Thanks, Jon Voight."

All right. We are going to take you to Iran, where rallies are breaking out as elections approach. What's in store for this nation watched so closely by others around the world?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A car bomb explodes in the middle of a packed outdoor market. It happened today in a small town in southern Iraq, about 15 miles from Nasiriyah. At least 35 people were killed, dozens more injured. So far, no one has claimed responsibility.

Voters in Iran head to the polls Friday, but they're already taking to the streets. Opponents are hoping to oust hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports on the rallies on both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is democracy, Tehran style, as the people take to the public square. On opposite street corners, supporters of the fundamentalist president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, face off against those of his main rival, reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi. And the traffic runs through them.

Boys and girls throw caution to the wind. In this country, this is daring. I asked these young people holding a sidewalk debate what makes this election different.

"This is like a revolution," says Pega (ph). "People are excited about rescuing our country from the calamity it's in."

Even this Ahmadinejad supporter says the people are out in protest.

"Most of the people voting for Mousavi are doing it just to get rid of Ahmadinejad," she says.

But the president still has staunch support, especially among the poor in the provinces, to whom he's doled out money, benefits and favors. "Honestly, we've never seen anyone as courageous as Ahmadinejad," says this supporter.

"He's a true son of the revolution," adds another.

On the president's side of the street, many bust in to counter the growing Mousavi crowds. There are scuffles. Organizers step in before it gets out of control.

A young man shouts, "death to liars," before making a break for it.

And on Mousavi's side of the street, there are more women. The crowd is younger. They talk of basic things.

"We want freedom, a living wage, a better economy," says one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hope to change!

AMANPOUR: "We want relations with America. We want to be friends with all countries," says this one.

Another day of street politics, another day of gridlock, before the country casts its vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us on the phone from Tehran.

And, Christiane, you know, this seems like a more animated contest, and dare I say a nastier one. Can you tell anything about the outcome from the rallies themselves?

AMANPOUR: Well, Tony, this is actually incredible. We've been out all day now and we are in total traffic gridlock. We've been walking uptown and downtown and we have witnessed huge rallies this afternoon. Most people for the opposition candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi. A river of green -- that's his campaign color -- as people, tens of thousands marched from one end of the city to the next to get to so-called freedom square, wearing the green head scarfs, bandanas, flags and posters. People who are old enough to have known the revolution 30 years ago that ushered in the Islamic republic and to have marched then say that they have never seen anything like it since.

Many of the young people we're talking to say they just want freedom, democracy, a change. They want better opportunities. And they want better relations with the world, including the United States.

Amongst the people, this is not nasty. Even though right now we're in the dark. It's -- the sun has gone down. We're in one of the squares. And they're still out here rallying. Facing off one camp against the other. The president against Mousavi. And it is, by and large, good natured. The nastiness is coming from the candidates themselves, who are hurling insults and accusations during their live television debates. And so tonight, President Ahmadinejad, who is no longer a sure bet for Friday's election, is being give 45 extra minutes by state television to rebut some of the accusations that some of the other candidates have leveled against him. He has the weight of the state media behind him, but the people in the streets are behind his opponent.

Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. All right, CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour on the phone with us from Tehran. Can't wait to see more of the pictures from Tehran.

You know, a lot of questions are being raised about the security risks bringing prisoners from Guantanamo to the U.S. for trial. We will take a look at one case where it's already happened.

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HARRIS: A leading Republican is accusing Democrats of working to, "import terrorists into America." House Republican Leader John Boehner is outraged by the trial of a Guantanamo Bay detainee in a U.S. civilian court. Deborah Feyerick has details.

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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He will be the first Guantanamo detainee to face trial in a U.S. criminal, not military, court. For many, the trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani will be an important test case for the Obama administration. Counterterror expert Suzanne Spaulding says one of the things they're hoping to remind both Congress and the public is . . .

SUZANNE SPAULDING, BINGHAM CONSULTING GROUP: We have a long history of prosecuting terrorists in our criminal courts, that they are equipped to handle it, and that we've got lots of convicted terrorists in U.S. prisons right now as we speak.

FEYERICK: Ghailani is being held in a maximum security wing at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where four fellow embassy bombers were housed during their trial in early 2001. Some in Congress argue bringing detainees to the U.S. could threaten national security and make it more likely terrorists would strike.

REP. PETER KING, (R) NEW YORK: My point is, why have this unnecessary risk imposed on us?

FEYERICK: Ghailani was captured during a shootout in Pakistan in 2004 and brought to Guantanamo two years later where he's been held ever since. However, unlike the majority of detainees, Ghailani was indicted prior to 9/11 in connection with the al Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, indicted long before Guantanamo ever existed.

SPAULDING: This case is less likely to raise some of the tricky issues that may be raised for those who -- for whom the information was gathered either as a result of their detention and interrogation or through other methods after they were taken into detention.

FEYERICK: While legal experts believe this is one of the strongest cases against a detainee, national security expert Michael O'Hanlon, with The Brookings Institution, says, others to follow are not so cut and dry.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: There will be the ongoing question of what do you with people that you can't keep at Guantanamo because we're closing it, you can't release because they're too dangerous, and you can't try because the evidence is too murky.

FEYERICK (on camera): The category of detainees who cannot be tried likely to trigger ongoing legal problems for the U.S. in the coming years.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: At least one nation is saying yes to a U.S. request to take in some of the Guantanamo Bay detainees. The Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed to resettle up to 17 Chinese Muslims now held at Gitmo. The president of Palau says the Obama administration made the resettlement request last week. President Obama, as you know, has faced fierce congressional opposition to releasing the detainees on U.S. soil. Joining us now on the phone is Palau's ambassador to the U.S., Hersey Kyota.

Mr. Ambassador, thanks for joining us.

HERSEY KYOTA, PALAU'S AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Thank you.

HARRIS: Well, my first question is this. Why is your island nation, Palau, taking these 17 Chinese Muslim detainees. As you know, many don't call these people detainees, they call them terrorists.

KYOTA: Yes. I -- I understand that these 17 Chinese detainees have been cleared of any wrongdoing -- at least that's the report that I received from the State Department before they left to Palau for this meeting -- this discussion.

So -- and, you know, Palau is a very close ally with the United States. We have a special relationship with the United States. And they're asking us to host these 17 Chinese. And as you see in the news, the president have agreed to -- for these detainees to come to Palau.

HARRIS: Well, you used an interesting word there. You said that your island nation has agreed to host these 17 Chinese Muslims. What does that mean to host? Aren't you responsible for complete and total resettlement?

KYOTA: Well, I -- I don't know. I just -- from the newspaper, which I read, I'm quoting our president. He agreed to take in these detainees. I might have used the word host loosely, but the newspaper said he had agreed to receive them.

HARRIS: Have you talked to your president?

KYOTA: No, I just read the newspaper. I haven't spoke to him.

HARRIS: OK. Mr. Ambassador, we -- Mr. Ambassador, thank you. We appreciate your time.

A former student at Georgia Tech University found guilty today of plotting to aid terrorists. Twenty-four-year-old Syed Haris Ahmed was convicted on a conspiracy charge. Prosecutors say he videotaped Washington, D.C., landmarks for terrorist groups. A claim his attorney denies. Ahmed could face up to 15 years in prison.

One police officer's act of bravery saves the lives of many others.

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HARRIS: He put himself between a suicide bomber and a group of people, then the bomb exploded. CNN's Reza Sayah has the story of a very brave Pakistani cop who lived to tell the tale.

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REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When a suicide attacker strapped with explosives sprinted toward this police station in Islamabad, the only man who stood in his way was Emptiaz Ahmed (ph).

"I didn't run away" says the 25-year-old police officer. Instead, witnesses say he dared to come face-to-face with the suicide bomber to save the lives of others.

"It was my duty to prevent him from getting to his target," says Emptiaz. At a hospital where he nursed his wounded hand, his family called him a hero.

"He is very brave," said his mother. "He is a very good son."

His boss says he's the reason why dozens more weren't killed.

MUSSARAT ALI KHAN, DEP. SUPT., ISLAMABAD POLICE: He performed his duty excellently.

SAYAH: Police say on the night of the attack, Emptiaz was guarding this gated compound when the suicide attacker climbed over a wall and raced towards a building full of police.

KHAN: He warned him, stop, stop, stop.

SAYAH (on camera): When he didn't stop . . .

KHAN: He didn't stop. He just fired.

SAYAH (voice-over): Three shots stopped the attacker in his tracks. Then a powerful blast that shredded concrete and steel.

SAYAH (on camera): You want to see how destructive a suicide blast is, all you have to do is look at this. The inside of a suicide jacket is usually filled with ball bearings. In this case, the ball bearings went through this steel wall, came across here and lodged into this one. Here's one right there. Now imagine what these can do to human flesh.

SAYAH (voice-over): A helmet and bullet-proof vest shielded Emptiaz's head and body, but two of his fellow officers were killed. Police say if it weren't for Emptiaz's heroic act, the death toll would have been higher.

KHAN: He saved many lives. He put himself in the danger.

SAYAH: Ever since the Pakistani military offensive in Swat, militants have followed through with threats against police, killing dozens. No one's more venerable than officers like Emptiaz, hired to be the first line of defense for about $11 a day. Even so, Emptiaz says he'll be back at work as soon as he's out of the hospital.

"If I have to give my life to protect my county," says Emptiaz, "I don't have a problem with that."

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.