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Girl, 10, Fights Breast Cancer; Is Housing Market Stabilizing?; U.S. Eyeing Iran's External Actions; Father's Battle for Son in Brazil Continues; WWII Female Pilots Recognized
Aired June 16, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look now at some of the top stories we're following this morning. We're looking at some of this tape here of an L.A. freeway that's been partially shut down this hour while police search for a burglar, they think, is holed up in a storm drain. Now, we're getting some live pictures in of this pretty bizarre scenario.
They say they were chasing two men suspected of a burglary when one of the guys jumped into a storm drain. Police are still looking for the man. The other suspect is under arrest. We'll keep you posted on that one.
And this news now from Iran coming in to us. Live pictures -- this is from Press TV, otherwise known as state-run television in Iran. You are looking at a rally right there for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He has been declared by the government, by the supreme leader there in Iran, as the winner of the election that took place on Friday.
We should also let you know, according to our Reza Sayah, breaking the news right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, that the government is now forbidding foreign media outlets from covering the rallies today -- most specifically, any rallies that may take place for opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, that we have been following as well.
Iranian television reports, seven people were killed yesterday in post-election violence. Iran's Guardian Council has agreed to recount some of the votes in the disputed presidential election.
A lot going on there and we will keep you posted on it.
Also this, North Korea state-run news agency says, two American journalists sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a Korean prison admitted they entered the country illegally. The report says Laura Ling and Euna Lee admitted that what they did were criminal acts.
President Obama getting ready to welcome South Korea's president to the White House and no doubt North Korea will be a key topic. Let's go ahead and bring in senior White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux now to talk a little bit more about this. So, Suzanne what can we expect from this particular meeting? Obviously, discussion about North Korea.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, one of the things that they really want to do is present a united front, have these two leaders sitting side by side essentially singing from the same song sheet saying that North Korea is a nuclear threat that neither country will actually tolerate this and that they're going to work with the other countries in the region to make sure that it is not a threat that continues.
One of the things that we expect to hear is that the president will talk about the U.N. security council sanctions that were approved just last week and that they will have some teeth and they will be enforced. That this is not going to be permissible for North Korea to pursue its nuclear ambitions and that there will be ways of imposing those sanctions and the punishment there that they have to work together with all those in the region.
The other thing, Heidi, that's interesting is that these two leaders are going to be talking about free trade, as well. There's a free trade agreement that is on the table and it has never been ratified and problems in Congress involving U.S. auto industry and both of these leaders trying to break that impasse and they think there is a real good opportunity here to show that both of the economies could improve if they work together on this free trade agreement. So very important items on the agenda. Obviously, North Korea, the nuclear threat, as well as the economy, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, our White House corresponding standing out in front of the White House where there is a heck of a lot of hampering going on.
MALVEAUX: Always, always construction.
COLLINS: All right. We will keep our eye on that and as we said President Obama and the South Korean president will probably talk about the North Korean threat this morning. We do expect them to make a few comments around 11:35 Eastern time. So if that happens you can catch them right here on CNN.
Questions now about the effectiveness and affordability of health care plans being proposed in Washington. The latest from Senator Ted Kennedy would come with a huge price tag. Brianna Keilar is joining us now live from Capitol Hill, with more on this. So Brianna, how much money are we talking about here? Do we really even know yet?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, according to this estimate by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and taking a look at just this one proposal as there are many coming out of congress, Heidi, the price tag would be $1 trillion over the next 10 years. That's not really a surprise. What is a surprise is that according to this estimate, only 16 million more Americans would have themselves insured than if there was no health care overhaul, according to this estimate. 16 million. That's really just a fraction of the estimated 54 million uninsured by the end of 2019 if there were no healthcare overhaul.
So, as you can imagine, republicans are slamming this. They say it costs too much and it covers too few, but talking to democratic aides on this committee, they say, hold up. These are not complete numbers. We put out a bill, we put out a bill that was not complete and we left out, for instance, the public option which is a huge part of the ideas being floated around here on Capitol Hill, Heidi. And they say you really can't take these numbers to the bank. They say they're confident that when they put out their whole plan, actually 97 percent of Americans would be covered, but a lot of fodder here, Heidi, for the political back and forth over health care.
COLLINS: Yes. I bet. In fact, sort of begs the question, how do we pay for this? I mean, there are some controversial ideas that are being talked about on Capitol Hill.
KEILAR: There are. The one thing that everyone seems to agree on, Heidi, is just saving money in the health care system isn't going to be enough to cover this price tag. So one of the controversial ideas being batted around here on Capitol Hill is actually taxing employer- provided health benefits like you receive, like I receive and like 180 million other Americans receive. The average costs of those health benefits $13,000 a year. Employers pick up the vast majority of that tab. And as employees we don't pay taxes on them. We don't pay income taxes on them.
So one of the ideas being batted around here, Heidi, is to tax those but it goes against what President Obama wants. Why? Because it was John McCain's idea on the campaign trail. He lambasted McCain for it. So he is proposing instead, to reduce how much you get back on itemizing tax deductions which is something that would affect the wealthy, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, we will continue to watch this one. It can be a long read, I believe. Everybody would agree on that. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now, many of you have been sounding off on our blog about health care reform. We've been really amazed at the number of comments coming. Let's go ahead and check it out on the Heidi Mac, if you will. Go ahead and just keep them coming as we have been saying. Go to cnn.com/newsroom and then just click on my name. Heidi, right there. Let's go ahead and take a look at one of these.
Jay Gray says this, if we take the insurance out of health care, we will eliminate a lot of useless spending. In fact, insurance is nothing more than another Ponzi scheme. Taking money that they can't return in a downturn. OK. And also this one, coming in saying health care should not be treated as commodity, therefore, health care should not be profit driven, as it is currently. Our profits should not be made on the illness of people.
And last one for now, real quickly, Dennis says this. Regarding health care costs/policy. Why does the government allow physicians and insurance companies to charge for office visit even when no service is performed or to charge for referrals to other physicians. When I take my vehicle to a repair shop to remedy a problem, the mechanic examines my vehicle without charge before giving me an estimate for the needed repairs. And if the mechanic refers me to a different repair shop, he does not charge me for that referral. Hmm, fascinating. Again, we want to hear from you and we'll keep on reporting what you are saying, right here on CNN.com/newsroom and then just click on the name, Heidi. More on health care coming up.
Meanwhile, another piece of General Motors is gone. The troubled automaker is selling off Saab, known for its family cars. The buyer, a group led by a he small Swedish carmaker. The price includes $600 million in funding from the European investment bank. General Motors filed for bankruptcy, as you know, earlier this month. It is getting rid of weaker brands to try and re-emerge in just a few months.
Want to go ahead and take a look at the big board now. Yesterday, I think you remember, how big we were to the negative. I think we closed about 190 points down. So right now in the positive by double digits. We'll continue to watch those numbers for you, as always, in the NEWSROOM.
New Mexico recovering after a severe storm. Strong winds just ripped through this community leaving a big mess, as you can see. Roofs torn up, power lines knocked down, debris littering the streets and a whole lot of cleanup going there today. Meteorologist Rob Marciano standing by in the severe weather center with more severe weather, now.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, 19 reports of tornadoes yesterday.
COLLINS: 19?
MARCIANO: Yes. Much like what you saw there in New Mexico. There was a lot of wind reports too, with winds gusting 60, 70, 80 miles per hour. And obviously some of the damage you saw there probably shows you just that. Pretty impressive line of thunderstorms moving through southern Missouri and through northern Arkansas at the moment. There you go. This has some wind with it, as well. But there are no severe thunderstorm warnings or tornado warnings out at the moment. This yellow watch box is a watch that has been allowed to expire. But the main damage with this in the past couple of hours and will be for the past couple hours is the amount of rain that's falling out of it.
The brighter the color, the heavier the rain and it's falling over an already saturated ground because this is the same area that got a similar amount of rain during the day yesterday and 24-hour total in excess of three inches in many of these spots so Kansas City, Springfield, all the way to St. Louis proper, several counties about half of them in the southern half of the Shelby(ph) me state under a flash flood warning at this hour.
This, again, continues to propagate over towards the mid-south and the mid-Mississippi Valley, Paducah, Jonesboro, Memphis you're going to be in the line of these storms probably in the next two to three hours and you will get a good dousing of rain, no doubt, probably a lot of thunder and lightning for sure.
Also Raleigh seeing flash flood warnings, some showers that are less intense but sitting a little bit longer from Raleigh, east to the outer banks for the past few hours. So little rainfall for that area and that continues to improve on what was a drought, not any more. Newark hour delays. San Francisco seeing some delays and little low cloud cover there. It will be 63 degrees in San Francisco. It is a cool time of the year. 70 degrees in L.A., 78, meanwhile, in Portland and 60s for New York City. So the cool air will remain across the northeast although we see a little bit of warm up. Not nearly the warm up that the folks across Texas will see with heat indices up over 100 degrees easily, even though today's high temperature. Dallas will be about 98 degrees with humidity and it will feel a little hotter than that and still continue to cool out west, Vegas will be hard pressed to get to 100 degrees. As you very well know, Heidi, that would be cool for this time of year.
COLLINS: Yes, actually probably it would be. All right, Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: All right. See you later.
COLLINS: Major changes for the nation's regional airlines. That's what the Federal Aviation Administration is promising. The agency held a summit on air safety yesterday in the wake of a deadly regional airline accident near Buffalo back in February. 50 people died in that crash.
Our Allan Chernoff has details now about the meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tragedy at regional airlines is all too common. The past six fatal airline accidents in the U.S. have been a regional or charter airlines.
RANDY BABBITT, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: And some of the things that I have heard or seen recently about the regional airline industry just aren't acceptable in this day in age.
CHERNOFF: Indeed, this former captain at a regional airline who asked to remain anonymous told CNN, some FAA inspectors regularly ignored safety problems.
FMR. CAPTAIN OF REGIONAL AIRLINES: It was probably some kind of secret relationships to be quite honest. I mean the FAA knew exactly what was going on and never did anything about it. So clearly there is some kind of unspoken band otherwise you would think they would do more of their job.
CHERNOFF: The transportation secretary says such problems belong to past administrations.
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: That will not happen under the administration and Randy Babbitt.
RANDY BABBITT, FAA ADMINISTRATIOR: No, I concur.
CHERNOFF: Some FAA inspectors like Christopher Monteleon who repeatedly complained of alleged safety problems at Colgan Air claim they faced reprisal. Last year, more than 30 FAA whistleblowers had complaints pending against the agency.
(on camera): They say there was a cultural problem within the FAA that opposes reporting of safety issues.
LAHOOD: They will not be shoved under a rug. They will not be put aside. The complaints that you're talking about were under previous administrations. We will pay attention to any kind of complaint or accusation or any kind of concern that expressed by an employee of the FAA. We're both committed to that. It's a new day at the FAA and it's a new day at D.O.T., our number one priority will be safety.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Industry executives met Monday at an FAA safety summit, but some regional carriers were not present, including Gulf stream International which had trained and employed the pilot in February crashed the Colgan Air plane near Buffalo.
(on camera): They say that they were not invited to today's summit.
BABBITT: There were a lot of characters that weren't invited to the summit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Allan Chernoff is joining us now live from New York. So Allan, the FAA indicating it wants to sort of rewrite pilot duty limits, crew rest is what they were talking about here to better prevent pilot fatigue. I mean what is it? It's eight hours. How are they going to write it so it is that maybe more enforceable?
CHERNOFF: Right now it is eight hours within a 24-hour period that a pilot is allowed to fly. But science shows that it is far more grueling for a pilot to be doing multiple takeoffs and landings just as regional pilots do every day.
COLLINS: Right.
CHERNOFF: They often will do five flights a day as opposed to a pilot who is flying one long route. They want to adjust for that.
COLLINS: Yes, which is interesting because that's one of the distinctions between the regionals and the majors. I mean, the regionals guys are flying to many different locations in a bigger jet, and maybe not as many flights in one day. Also, these major pilots could be looked to sort of mentor the regional pilots. How would that work?
CHERNOFF: What they're talking about is matching seasoned major airline pilots with regional pilots who are generally much younger, much less experienced and, remember, regionals are usually a stepping stone to the major airlines -
COLLINS: Yes.
CHERNOFF: And one area in particular that they are referring to, sterile cockpit rules. During that crash, the voice cockpit recorder indicated that the pilot and the co-pilot were talking about their backgrounds, talking about extraneous matters when they were approaching the landing and that is forbidden, according to those rules.
COLLINS: Absolutely. All right, so, we will continue to follow that and the fallout obviously at the FAA. Allan Chernoff, thanks so much, live from New York this morning.
CHERNOFF: Thank you.
In Iran. The government is changing the rules of media coverage. Live pictures for you there coming in from state-run television. Still happening after the Disputed election, plus, one reason why we should hesitate, apparently, before calling the Iran vote rigged.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Iranian state-run television showing thousands of supporters at a rally right now for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. We cannot take these pictures ourselves or those from any future opposition rallies or ones that might be going on right now because the Iranian government is now banning foreign media from covering those events or any others outside their offices.
Here is more now on what we know on Iran. Iran's Guardian Council has agreed to recount some votes in the disputed presidential election, but the opposition has actually rejected that idea asking instead for a whole new election. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi asked supporters to cancel a rally for today. To avoid a potential class with the backs of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But people gathered for a rally anyway. Iranian TV does report seven people were killed last night after they allegedly attacked a military post in Tehran.
Far from the turmoil at home, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gets a warm welcome today in Russia as the newly re-elected president of Iran. The Iranian president is in Russia for a regional summit and Russia's foreign minister told reporters the issue of elections of Iran is an internal affair of the Iranian people.
Opposition supporters and many people around the world are leveling charges of election fraud against Iran's government. But our guest is saying not so fast. Ken Ballen is the president of Terror Free Tomorrow, the center for public opinion. He conducted polls three weeks before the election that show Iranians favored President Ahmadinejad by more than a 2-1 margin. Ken Ballen is joining us now from Washington. Thanks for being with us, Ken.
KEN BALLEN, PRESIDENT, TERROR FREE AMERICA: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: First of all, as we stated, this poll that your group, your organization took about three weeks ago was written about in an op-ed that you wrote actually in the "Washington Post." I wand to show a little bit of that to our views now. You say this, before other countries, including the United States, jumped to the conclusion that the Iranian presidential elections were fraudulent, they should consider all independent information. The fact may simply be that the election of President Ahmadinejad is what the Iranian people wanted.
You know, given this latest news, Ken, just moments ago our correspondent in Tehran was telling us that the government has shut down any sort of foreign media. How will we really know that this is what the people want? Because right now all people can get out of there is state-run television and their views.
BALLEN: Well, that's exactly the point, we don't know. Our poll was three weeks, as you say, before the election. It's the only independent poll we have and at that time, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was leading by a 2-1 margin. That does not mean that he would have won the election and we never said that he would. Many people think there was a late surge for Mousavi and our poll does not reflect that.
What it does say though is that there might be, in fact, a very large and possibly enough votes for him to win. We simply do not know. We do not know whether the election was rigged and we certainly know it wasn't completely free and fair but we don't know what the will of the Iranian people is.
COLLINS: But you did say the fact may be simply that the re-election of President Ahmadinejad is what the Iranian people wanted. Is there evidence to support that? I mean maybe we should talk a little bit more about the latest poll was taken.
BALLEN: Sure, sure.
COLLINS: Scientific sampling.
BALLEN: It was a scientific sampling. It's transparent. It's up on our website, terrofreetomorrow.org. We did the poll with the New America Foundation. We've disclosed everything, all the questions and the methodology and that's what makes it transparent, but I would say this, I don't want to miss the larger significance of our poll because what we also found is that even among most people who support Ahmadinejad, they favor more can democracy for Iran, and they favor free elections, almost as high a priority for them as improving the economy, if you can imagine that.
COLLINS: Yes.
BALLEN: So therefore -
COLLINS: Does anyone know whether this was a free election?
BALLEN: Well, you know, it's not a free election until the Guardian Council decides who the candidates are going to be, to begin with.
COLLINS: Yes, so do you think when they recount some of these votes in some of the areas of the country that the results will be the same.
BALLEN: You know, I simply don't know and I don't know how fair the recount is going to be. I want to make this point because I think most viewers and most commentators are missing it, which is simply this our poll found that even among most Ahmadinejad supporters, democracy and free elections are a very important priority. The most important ones they have among them.
Therefore, the government's actions now since the election has been held are risking alienating some of their own supporters. So, we're changing this from an electoral contest that's disputed into a contest over the soul of Iran and in that Ahmadinejad's own supporters, we found, many of them would be on the side of Mousavi in terms of wanting more democracy and free and fair elections. So, the government's actions are, you know, in other words, Ahmadinejad may actually be spewing this election from himself.
COLLINS: Yes, quickly there, when you say that we're missing the point in some of this, I just wonder people in Iran have a good grasp of what democracy is.
BALLEN: Well, actually, I think they do because in our poll they said they said they wanted to freely elect a supreme leader. 77 percent of them said that. And the Supreme Leader who is the ultimate authority in Iran, not the president.
COLLINS: Understood. Yes, we heard that several times.
BALLEN: Well, that's right but he's not subject to election. And the people want to elect him. The people want a free press. They don't want foreign journalists excluded from Iran. They want better relations with the United States. So I think they understand very well what the parameters in democracy are and they're asking for it.
Here's the really critical point. Ahmadinejad supporters, most of them want that, too. And by the government's actions and not being fully transparent and the other events that have taken place now in Iran, the government is risking alienating their own base.
COLLINS: Yes. that I understand completely. Hey quickly, before we let you go, I just find it interesting as I was looking at the way that the poll is conducted and some of the findings here regarding the young vote. You're saying that 18 to 24 year olds are actually part of the strongest voting block for Ahmadinejad. What about women? I don't see anything in here about the women vote. That was a very big issue, something that we have been talking here quite a bit. Especially with Mousavi and his wife.
BALLEN: Well, that's right. But let me say two things about that. The only groups that we found Mousavi leading Ahmadinejad were competitive with were among university students, university graduates and the highest income Iranians. Now again, our poll was taken three weeks before.
COLLINS: Yes.
BALLEN: And things might have changed and Mousavi's wife, the issue of her came up later. So, we didn't measure that and there's no other poll that measured that, unfortunately. If we were a fully free democracy we could have done some exit polling, and we would have had a definitive answer for you right now on who really won this election.
COLLINS: Right. You probably couldn't get in there. BALLEN: No.
COLLINS: Right now. That's for sure.
BALLEN: No. That's the problem.
COLLINS: All right. Ken Ballen we sure do appreciate you. Very interesting.
BALLEN: Thank you so much, Heidi.
COLLINS: Ken Ballen, president of Terror Free Tomorrow.
BALLEN: Thank you so much, Heidi.
COLLINS: You bet.
This is something that probably have never heard of. Listen to this. A 10-year-old girl suffering from breast cancer. Up next, she shares her story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. Quickly want to show you live pictures coming in to us from right outside the White House. They're in that vehicle, we just watched during the break. The South Korean president gets to that car, as you know, as we reported earlier today. His meeting with President Obama.
Sorry, I understand now that he just arrived at the White House and they're parking the car properly, apparently. But anyway, President Lee Myung-Bak scheduled for a closed door session at the White House with President Barack Obama and then he's going to go on to a working lunch. So we're talking about a lot of different issues here and, obviously, North Korea will be at the very top of that agenda. We will bring some of those comments to you, because we do believe that the president of both of these nations will be making comments live around 11:35 a.m. Eastern time. If it happens, we'll bring it to you.
A meeting of economic minds. The conference hosted by Time Warner, parent company of CNN. The question everyone wanted answered from those who know. When will the economy recover? Good question. Our Christine Romans was not only there, she was one of the moderators.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner said the economy will rebound, but it will take time as American families spend less and save more.
TIMOTHY GEITNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: As people get themselves back to the point where they are living in their means and they have less vulnerable in the future. And that's a healthy process for the economy but it means probably, you're going to see a slower recovery than we normally see.
ROMANS: Consensus is a recovery is in sight, but it will be fragile.
NOURIEL ROUBINI, ROUBINI GLOBAL ECONOMICS: It's going to feel like a recession. (INAUDIBLE) job losses are going to continue, so people will lose jobs. Incomes are not going to go very fast, even though they are going to worry about losing their jobs.
ROMANS: Nouriel Roubini is the economist who predicted this crisis and earns the nickname Dr. Doom. A commercial real estate bust is coming, he says, and the banks stress tests were not stressful enough. More bank losses lie ahead. He now predicts 11 percent unemployment by the end of the year and even lower housing prices.
Yale University economist Robert Schiller predicted the housing crash.
ROBERT SCHILLER, ECONOMIST, YALE UNIVERSITY: We're not over. Even if we do see an end of the recession, we still have years of fixing to do.
ROMANS: After Japan's real estate bubble burst in 1991, he notes home prices fell each year for 15 years. The new challenge, rising gas prices, despite less demand. Billionaire oil investor, Boone Pickens.
T. BOONE PICKENS, OIL INVESTOR: Well, don't think price is going up, you know, you're kidding yourself. That's the conundrum.
ROMANS: The conundrum is oil prices rise on the hopes the economy rebounds. But higher gas prices will hurt consumers and the recovery. Still, the sense of panic that grips the country is easing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People got tired of being sick and tired and scared and so it's natural. You know the government did, the great government momentum trade and told everyone they should be confident and they became confident.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: So again, the Treasury secretary outlined plans for tighter regulations to provide stability to the financial system and prevent a collapse again down the road but Geithner says make no mistake about it, there's much more work to be done. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
COLLINS: CNN Thursday night, 8:00. Join Anderson Cooper and Ali Velshi for "Money & Main Street," chat live with our experts advise on how to beat the downturn. You can RSVP right now at facebook.com/CNN.
Well, you're never too young to be a role model. A 10-year-old California girl proves that every day. She is battling a rare form of breast cancer. She's facing it with determination and optimism beyond her years. Here now, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In many ways, Hannah Powell-Auslam is your typical kid. She loves softball and spending time with her little brother, but lately, she's had to deal with some pretty grown-up problems.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It should be the furthest thing from your mind. Ten-year-olds don't get breast cancer.
COHEN: Hannah was recently diagnosed with invasive ductile carcinoma, a type of breast cancer. It accounts for about 70 percent of all breast cancers, but mainly occurs in adults ages 55 and older. Hannah is only 10 and has no family history of breast cancer.
HANNA POWELL-AUSLAM, 10-YEAR-OLD BREAST CANCER PATIENT: I was just, how could this happen? I'm 10. So, I was really shocked.
COHEN: Believe it or not, Hannah's not alone. About 50 cases of this type of cancer have been reported in children. Deciding on a treatment can be a challenge.
DR. DEBRA FRIEDMAN, PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGIST: Radiation is typically not used in very young children, particularly for this diagnosis, because the amount of radiation that would be required would significantly damage the breast bud and the breast tissue, and that would not lead to normal development as she goes through puberty.
COHEN: Hannah had a mastectomy in May. Her left breast was completely removed, and she's undergone chemotherapy. She found the lump herself and alerted her parents, and she says other kids can learn from her story.
POWELL-AUSLAM: I'm going to set an example for all the kids in the world that if there's something wrong with your body, you tell your parents. God picked me because I'm the one, and he knows that I'm strong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Wow, I guess so. Elizabeth Cohen joining me now to talk a little bit more about this. So, we don't usually think of a 10-year-old having developed breasts. I mean, we just heard from the physician there talking a little bit more about that. How often does this happen?
COHEN: Girls are hitting puberty earlier and earlier these days, like often around ages 8 or 9. And so, if you develop breasts at 8 or 9, you can get breast cancer. And the reason why puberty is happening earlier these days is a little bit unclear, but some people think it has to do with obesity. The heavier a girl is, the more likely they are they're going to hit puberty earlier.
COLLINS: Wow. And then we also were mentioning in the commercial break, I mean, we've heard of men who have had breast cancer before, too, right?
COHEN: Right. Sure. That does happen.
COLLINS: Yes. So, what about family history or genetics? I mean, you should always be looking at that for cancers, right? COHEN: Oh, that's what's so interesting, because you would think this incredibly unusual phenomenon must be happening to girls who have lots of breast cancer in their family, and it's not true. These girls don't have lots of breast cancer in their family, and they don't have any sort of known environmental exposure. They don't, you know, sort of live near places with lots of radiation or something like that. So, it really is a mystery why these girls are getting breast cancer.
COLLINS: Wow. It's definitely unusual, it sounds like. All right, Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate the story. Thank you.
Encouraging news from the housing market now. Does it signal a turnaround? Well, some say, not even close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Green shoots and glimmers of hope. That silver lining that we all want to hear about when we're talking about the stock exchange. We do have some good numbers to tell you about today, good housing numbers, in fact. Makes you kind of wonder if the recession may, just may, Susan Lisovicz, have hit bottom. Is that the case?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we have seen a big jump in May housing starts. And you know, when you think about, Heidi, where you really started to see the economy unravel, it was in the housing market. So, you know, this is very encouraging.
Housing starts in May jumped 17 percent. That's the biggest jump in three months. Building permits, meanwhile, increased by 4 percent. Both of those numbers were better than expected.
You look inside the numbers. You see that apartment building in particular saw a lot of new groundbreaking, up more than 60 percent. But that's a volatile number, so we'll focus more on the single-family building, which is stabilizing. We saw that increased in March by 1 percent, 3 percent in April, more than 7 percent in may.
Not surprisingly, Heidi, here's New York Stock Exchange. You're seeing home-building stocks up at least 4 percent. Unfortunately, that's not really translating into the major averages. The Dow is on the plus side, but just barely so, up 9 points after the triple-digit decline we saw yesterday. The Nasdaq's doing better. It's up 9 points -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Got it. So, these little glimmers of hope here, put it in perspective for us. How do these numbers compare to the height of the market when it was really fantastic?
LISOVICZ: Well, that is some contrast, Heidi.
COLLINS: I know how they compare.
LISOVICZ: Yes, I mean, let's face it, I mean, we're nowhere close to that, and that's a good thing in some degrees because it was a bubble. It was just unsustainable, and we're all paying the price, quite literally. OK, so, what we saw in May, last month, 532,000 units. OK, that's the housing starts we saw. In May of a year ago, it was double that, 1 million, and the year before that, 2 million. OK, so we're talking about '07 now.
What are some of the headwinds that we're facing? Well, mortgage rates are ticking up. They're still historically low, but 5.6 percent for a 30-year fixed. It was below 5 percent last month. Obviously, jobs, job markets still weak. Credit is still tight. The first-time homebuyer tax credit expires at the end of November. So, there are some problems out there, but the fact is, yes, we see some glimmers of light in the housing market.
COLLINS: All right. Well, maybe we put them all together, we'll have even better perspective at some point. All right, Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome, Heidi.
COLLINS: Let's dig deeper now into today's housing numbers for just a moment. Is it too soon to pop open that bubbly? CNNmoney.com's Holly Harley -- Poppy Harlow...
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Holly Harley -- I like that. It's an alter ego, Heidi.
COLLINS: That's right. You've got the breakdown for us here. So, we were just talking to Susan Lisovicz. She said, yes, it's probably a little too early to start drinking the champagne.
HARLOW: Right. I mean, Susan did a great job of showing you where we are. OK, we're seeing these green shoots, these glimmers of hope, but come on, we're nowhere near where we were a year ago, two years ago.
What we did see, though, is the numbers are higher, from the new homes being built to the permits to build these homes going forward. So, the question here, are we turning a big corner for the housing market. Caution sign here, folks. Some top economists say there is a lot further to fall for the housing market.
I spoke with a very well-known Yale economist, Robert Shiller. He's one half of that Case-Shiller Home Price Index report we always tell you about. He watches these numbers day by day, and he said that recovery in the housing market right now may be a pipe dream. Listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT SHILLER, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, YALE UNIVERSITY: Well, there's still a lot of people who are in the mode of thinking that home prices are just in a temporary blip and they're going to go back up. I'm sure that there are people -- I've met them -- who think that this is the time to buy single-family homes. I'm just doubting that they're right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right, so he does not think now is even the time to jump in the market, Heidi. I also spoke with a very well-known economist, Dr. Nouriel Roubini. We know him as Dr. Doom. That's his nickname. He called this housing crisis back in 2006 before pretty much anyone else, Heidi. He said that it would drag us into a deep recession. That's exactly what happened. And he, too, Heidi, says we're nowhere near out of the woods yet.
COLLINS: Yes, in April, home sales rose, though. So, if sales are ticking up, why not the prices?
HARLOW: Because it's the foreclosures, and buyers are taking advantage of them. When you look at the April numbers, 45 percent of all those homes that were sold, those existing homes, they were either foreclosures or short sales. So, that's another way for people, troubled homeowners, to sort of unload their property. And the bank takes a hit in a short sale. Distressed home sales, they sell for less, right? So, that helps you get rid of that inventory. Detroit is a prime example, Heidi, of exactly where that is happening. We're heading to Detroit next week to look at the housing market...
COLLINS: Oh, OK.
HARLOW: ... and we'll bring you more on that then.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Poppy Harlow, thanks so much.
HARLOW: You got it.
COLLINS: Appreciate it. All right.
Calvin Klein at it again, sparking controversy with a new billboard in New York's SoHo district. Many people say now it is way too racy. Take a look at this. Shows four young models wearing the designer's jeans and very little else. Some people who've seen the billboard say it is way too provocative and should be removed.
A Calvin Klein spokesman tells the "Daily News" the intention was "to create a very sexy campaign that speaks to our targeted demographic." Now, we put in some calls to the agency inviting them on our show, but we have not heard back as of just yet. We want to know what you think about this photo. So, go ahead and let us know at CNNnewsroom.com, and then just click on my picture and tell us what you think on the blog.
Meanwhile, protests still going on in Iran, but the government says foreign media outlets have to stop covering the rallies.
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COLLINS: Want to give you more now on the situation in Iran. The Iranian government has banned all foreign media outlets from covering any more post-election rallies. Meanwhile, Iran's election authority has agreed to recount some of the votes in the disputed presidential election. Seven people have died so far from the election violence, and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is calling for a new election instead of a partial recount. Here in the United States, some people also believe there should be another election. They held a rally in Minnesota yesterday to protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The events in Iran are making a tense region even more volatile. As Barbara Starr reports now, U.S. soldiers in the area are staying on their toes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of thousands of Iranians in the streets. The U.S. worries this tense political situation could become a broader security crisis. Trita Parsi, who runs an organization opposed to the current regime, says if the Iranian relationship feels seriously threatened, it could possibly try to divert the people's attention.
TRITA PARSI, NATIONAL IRANIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL: If the internal battles are getting a little bit too intense, that the Revolutionary Guard may actually prefer to have an external enemy and some sort of a confrontation.
STARR: U.S. military commanders in the Persian Gulf have been told to be on guard. Don't let an encounter with Iranian forces escalate. It's happened before. Last year, U.S. warships came close to firing on Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats that were acting aggressively. In 2007, British naval personnel were captured and held for days before being released in a public showing by President Ahmadinejad.
Other concerns: Iran's meddling in Iraq and Afghanistan and its development of long-range ballistic missiles that could threaten Europe. But the core issue remains Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. is working with other countries to pressure Iran to give up its nuclear weapons efforts, regardless of who is president of the Islamic republic.
IAN KELLY, ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS: These get to the very heart of this administration's priorities in terms of nonproliferation concerns about the possibility of an arms race in that part of the world.
RICHARD HAASS, AUTHOR, "WAR OF NECESSITY, WAR OF CHOICE": The best thing we can do is keep our eye on the ball of what Iran does. Support for terrorism, their nuclear program, whoever is the Iranian government. What we care about is what they do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Barbara Starr is joining us now live from the Pentagon with a little bit more on this. So, Barbara, any sign of a change on the nuclear program by Iran?
STARR: Well, you know, I think most U.S. government officials agree that regardless who is president of the Islamic republic, Iran appears determined to pursue a nuclear program of some sort. That is a big concern. And what the Pentagon is also concerned about is Israel, of course, because Israel believes Iran clearly is aiming towards a nuclear weapon. Israel is not likely to put up with that, and that could make for an even more volatile situation in the region -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, our Pentagon correspondent watching the story for us. Appreciate it, Barbara Starr. Thank you.
STARR: Sure.
COLLINS: He's been living without his son now for five years now. The legal tug of war the father has gone through the hopes of someday getting his son back from Brazil.
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COLLINS: A father's desperate fight to get his son back. It's a story we've been following very closely. It's been exactly five years since David Goldman's wife took their 4-year-old son to Brazil and never returned. And every day since, he has been fighting to be reunited with Sean. Goldman spoke out on "AMERICAN MORNING" earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GOLDMAN, FATHER OF SEAN GOLDMAN: They have to look at the boy. They have to look at the child. Not their own selfish or whatever reasons, but he is a child. He's a human, and he's my son. I am not worried about when we are home. I know I will take care of him as I always had before he was abducted.
Remember, he lived four -- over four years with me, and he was fine. And he would call when I was able to speak with hi, crying to come home to his father, crying he wants to come home, he wants to see his friends, he wants to see his grandma and grandpa.
They try to erase all that themselves in front of the media, like he never had a life here, which he did and he still does waiting. And it's not about the five years that we missed. But he's still, he's only 9. He's got his whole life ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: CNN's Inez Ferey (ph) has a look now at David Goldman's ongoing legal battle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
INEZ FEREY (ph), CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tuesday marks the five-year anniversary of events that have brought nothing but turmoil and pain to David Goldman.
GOLDMAN: I still wake up every morning under a roof where my son should be tucked in his bed down the hall, and he's not there. FEREY: In 2004, Goldman's then-wife, Bruna Bianchi, went on vacation to Brazil with their 4-year-old son, Sean, apparently with no intention of returning to New Jersey. Bianchi divorced Goldman and later remarried a prominent Brazilian lawyer. She died from complications while giving birth to another child last year.
Sean remained in the care of his stepfather. Over the last several months, Goldman's case has taken on a higher political profile. In March, State Secretary Hillary Clinton intervened, and then President Obama discussed the issue with his counterpart, Brazilian President Lula DaSilva.
This month, a federal judge in Brazil ruled the 9-year-old boy should be returned to the father. Days later, the country's highest court unanimously determined it had no superseding authority over the Hague convention, a treaty promoting international cooperation on child abduction. This international family law expert says Brazil is often known for not adhering to the pact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not one of the best compliers with the treaty. Until this child is on the plane, he's still over there, and there may still be different ways in which the courts over there can block the return.
FEREY: With the high court ruling, the case now goes back down to an appeals court in Rio. That doesn't mean the boy will be returned to the father without further legal rulings.
Inez Ferey (ph), CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Some World War II heroes finally getting their due. Why Congress is recognizing the women who kept their hopes high when the world was in crisis.
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COLLINS: They played a big role in World War II, but not a lot of people know about these brave women until now. Our Jessica Yellin tells us how Congress is finally giving these American heroes the recognition they deserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): From the time she was 8, Jane Tedeschi wanted to be a pilot.
JANE TEDESCHI, FORMER PILOT: That was Lindbergh flying across the Atlantic, and a lot of other people were flying air races.
YELLIN: As a young woman in her 20s, Tedeschi sought out flight lessons and got her pilot's license, a rarity for a woman in those days. With World War II gripping the nation, male pilots were desperately needed overseas for battle. Female aviator Jacqueline Cochran came up with a radical idea: Let female pilots take over domestic missions. The military approved, and WASP, Women Air Service Pilots program, was born.
TEDESCHI: I thought, well, this is something I can do and love to do and will contribute to the war effort.
YELLIN: Another of the 1,102 members was Deanie Parrish. One of her jobs was to help train gunners for combat.
DINI PERISH (ph), FORMER PILOT: It was not that I was going to do any more than anybody else because there were other females who were driving ambulances or fire trucks, working on airplanes, and I was doing the one thing that I felt I could do best.
YELLIN: The WASPs were civilians, but they were the first women to fly in U.S. military planes, in all, logging over 60 million miles in all types of aircraft from heavy bombers to attack planes.
TEDESCHI: Night flying occasionally was an interesting thing because we didn't have an awful lot of training in that. And you've got to be sure that you never lose your horizon.
YELLIN: Although the work was confined to the home front, Air Force Major Nicole Malachowski, the first female Thunderbird pilot, says these women developed key tactics and training for the war.
MAJOR NICOLE MALACHOWSKI, U.S. AIR FORCE: These women did that by training the men to fly these planes so they could go fly in combat. They did that by being instructor pilots. They were test pilots. They also did aerial gunnery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shows how happy we were to be flying.
YELLIN: Now, with fewer than 300 of the pilots still alive, Congress is moving to recognize their legacy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a historical fact and should be recognized.
YELLIN (on camera): Their missions could be dangerous. In all, 38 WASPs died, some in training, some in test flight. And supporters say that shows the commitment these women had.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And we thank them for their service.
Meanwhile, more rallies in the streets of Iran to tell you about. And now the government says foreign media cannot cover the protests. I'm Heidi Collins. We'll keep following this story right here in the CNN NEWSROOM now with Tony Harris.
