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News Blackout of Protests in Iran; Congress Seeks Answers on V.A. Safety Lapses; Airlines Hit Hard by Recession; Iran Bans Foreign Media From Reporting on Protests

Aired June 16, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM -- and it is a packed show -- with Kyra Phillips.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks so much.

We are pushing forward. Right now as pressures mount in Iran, supporters and opponents of the re-elected president back on the streets, but foreign reporters are not. But the story is still getting out. We'll show you how.

Congress wants to know how veterans contracted HIV or other serious illnesses from routine tests at V.A. hospitals. We've been on this story for months.

When it comes to an outrageous slur against President Obama, the "eyes" have it. Now a state Senate aide in Tennessee has some explaining to do, and I've got questions for her boss. Senator Diane Black joins me live.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

That's right: it's a foreign news blackout. Another major turnout and a rejected partial recount, all part of the post-election fallout in Iran.

This is what Iran wants the world to see: thousands of supporters of re-elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in Vali Asr Square in Tehran. Official government media are the only ones now allowed to cover events on the streets. Reporters, CNN included, are confirmed [SIC] to their bureaus or hotel rooms.

Earlier today, Iran's Guardian Council agreed to recount the ballots from polling sites singled out by Ahmadinejad's challengers. But his primary challenger, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, says that's not enough. He and his many supporters want a whole new election.

Within the past hour, President Obama says that it won't help for Washington to be seen as meddling. But there's plenty of concern to go around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have deep concerns about the election. And I think that the world has deep concerns about the election. You've seen in Iran some initial reaction from the supreme leader that indicates he understands the Iranian people have deep concerns about the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're staying on top of these fast-moving developments as only CNN can. Our international desk constantly bringing in fresh information and pictures, coordinating crews around the world. It's a nerve center of the news that you rely on from all our platforms and programs.

Well, we mentioned foreign correspondents being hamstrung by Iranian officials, but that hasn't stopped our Reza Sayah from checking in from his post in Tehran.

Reza, can you tell me, have you been confined to your hotel room? And how exactly did you get kicked out of your location, if, indeed, you did?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I didn't get kicked out. Basically, what we got was an emphatic message by the Iranian government today that we are no longer allowed to cover and broadcast any pictures from these rallies, demonstrations, similar to the ones that we've been seeing for the past four days, after election day here in Iran on Friday.

And this is certainly not good news for CNN and all the other members of the foreign media, and it's going to make our job very challenging.

Of course, it has been the foreign media that has largely shown pictures of what has really been a violent and oftentimes brutal crackdown of the supporters of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the disgruntled candidate that is calling the elections a sham.

Yesterday we saw pictures of dead bodies at a protest. And the government has made it no secret that they don't like this type of coverage. They describe it as one-sided and propaganda, and today they essentially said no more. So, Kyra, we're going to have to get creative unfolding this political drama.

PHILLIPS: So Reza, how do you get creative, trying to cover this story? And if, indeed, you did go out into the middle of the protests and try to do your job like we're paid to do, do you fear for your life? Do you think that you could be arrested, made a part of the violence?

SAYAH: Well, Kyra, we were at the cultural ministry today, and I'll tell you exactly what they told us. They said, "You're not allowed to go to the rallies, and if you do, your safety is not going to be guaranteed." And that was, to me, a fear reference to the riot police that we've seen over the past two days, the baton-wielding, motorcycle-riding riot police and members of Iran's Basij, the uniformed plains-clothed volunteer militia that really have been cracking down on Mir-Hossein Mousavi supporters. So what we've begun doing is focusing on state-run media that has given live coverage of some of the events. But as you might know, they only focus on things that are favorable to the establishment, to the regime and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Reza Sayah, sure appreciate it. We'll keep checking in with you, of course, as you try to do your job there the best that you can.

Because of these new restrictions, what we're doing now at CNN is we're relaxing our usual vetting process a bit when it comes to information that we get via e-mail, tweets or iReports.

CNN's David Mattingly is keeping tabs on all of that for us. He joins me now with the latest. What have you been able to come across, David?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, some of that creativity that Reza was talking about in covering this big event, because western journalists are not allowed to go out and cover these events, we are looking at the social networking sites to see what's posted on there.

The Iranian government not able to shut down the flow of material that's coming from these Web sites, and that's what we're going to show you. We have a desk set up here that's monitoring all sorts of sources. We're looking at Facebook. We're looking at Twitter. We're looking at all the social networking sites to bring in that material.

And something that's important to tell you, because of the source where we're bringing these -- these pictures and this video in from these sites, we cannot verify readily some of this material that we're going to show you. But we feel it's important to show you what's being put on the Internet, and we've got a stack of pictures to show you right now.

A lot of these you can see on CNN.com. You can just go and click on the video. You can see what's coming on -- in at any time. But right now we've got this picture coming in right here. This coming from Tehran University. This is, according to the Web site, this says this is posted from a violent confrontation that occurred at that university, where students say that they clashed with vigilante groups. And all end up violently. You see, this is all sorts of glass that's shattered and in the streets.

Another picture here, you can see what appears to be uniformed men wearing helmets and carrying batons, lunging at these two men on the motorcycle. This posted on the site, saying it's coming from Tehran University.

Another picture here. This is inside Tehran University, inside one of the dorms. Look at what happened here. If this picture is -- the description is true, this looks like an interior wall from a dorm room. You can see right through the wall, indications of some kind of violence that may have gone on inside that building. And now we have one more picture to show you. This one shows a man who has been injured. He's quite bloody. So, we're telling you that now, because this is a fairly graphic picture. This picture coming up now. This one right here. This one, see, labeled "attack to University of Tehran." That's what it says on the Twitter pictures. This man appears to have a head injury. You can see he's got blood coming out of the top of his head there, coming down his face, and blood on his hand.

That's just a sample of some of the pictures we're seeing from these social networking sites. You can see a lot more on CNN.com and especially go to our iReports. This is a part of so many people to be a part of history and post their iReports on the CNN Web site -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we need to get as much from inside Tehran as we can, as the government puts though restrictions on us. David Mattingly, appreciate it so much.

You know, good Samaritans in the midst of chaos and violence in Tehran. The Italian TV broadcaster who shot this video Sunday -- you remember this -- says that policemen on motorcycles charged into a crowd of protestors supporting opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Now, some protestors allegedly attacked one of the officers. Others in the crowd fought them off and, in doing so, probably saved that policeman's life.

As you can see, those helping the officer are wearing green scarves. That's the color, by the way, of Mousavi and his supporters.

Another pressing issue with global impact. North Korea's nuclear program, it topped the agenda today in talks today between President Obama and South Korean president at the White House. The backdrop, North Korea's recent threat of war if any country attempts to stop its ships, as spelled out in new U.N. sanctions; the North recent nuclear missile tests; and reports more of both may soon be carried out.

Now, at a Rose Garden news conference, President Obama was empathetic [SIC] about why North Korea must not become a nuclear power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We will pursue denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula vigorously. So we have not come to a conclusion that North Korea will or should be a nuclear power.

Given their past behavior, given the belligerent manner in which they are constantly threatening their neighbors, I don't think there's any question that that would be a destabilizing situation that would be a profound threat to not only the United States security, but world security.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: As for North Korea's ships on the high seas, the U.S. Navy will confront but not board them, unless allowed to do so, if they're suspected of carrying weapons or nuclear material.

Now senior Obama administration officials tell "The New York Times" it's a strategy of vigorous enforcement. "The Times" said that the plan calls for intercepting North Korean ships and tracking them to their next port if they refuse inspection. It stops short of force inspection. North Korea says it would regard that as an act of war.

A fundamental defect in organizational structure. That's an official way of saying some V.A. clinics have really dropped the ball. Apparently, they didn't learn from the sloppy mistakes of others. Now fears an HIV scare could be wider than anyone thought for our vets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you can lockdown reporters. You can pull the plug on live shots. But as long as people can tweet, their stories will reach the world. We'll gauge the impact of social networking sites on Iran's attempt to manage this election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Election day plus four in Tehran. A government- organized rally hits the streets to counter yesterday's rally by opponents of the re-elected president. And reportedly, to demand so- called rioters be punished.

Foreign reporters are being kept off the streets, forcing all of us, including the U.S. State Department, to rely even more on citizen reporters via online networking sites.

Speaking of which, on Twitter, ChangeforIran writes, "Most of the tunnel/proxy apps are blocked. It's getting near impossible to reach Twitter.

"Masood just called. He's OK. His laptop is destroyed. And unfortunately, government intelligence found and arrested Reza at Shariati Hospital."

PersianKiwi writes, "Government now worried -- anything could happen 2day. E\body be very careful -- stay in big groups."

OK, today's the day. Maybe we'll get some answers to a question that we're still asking and now angry lawmakers are asking. Why can't veterans' clinics get it right?

The V.A. did spot checks at more than 40 clinics nationwide last month. Fewer than half were following proper procedures for colonoscopies and other non -- invasive tests. Now, these failures come months after the V.A. said about 10,000 vets might have been exposed to HIV and other infectious diseases because the equipment at three clinics was not properly sterilized. So now, there's fears that the problem goes beyond those three clinics.

So how about an explanation? Lawmakers are demanding one today at a hearing by the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JOHN DAIGH, V.A. ASSISTANT INSPECTOR GENERAL: I think V.A. needs to take the approach to which that would ensure a tighter quality-control methodology and a standard way to reprocess these scopes across the entire V.A., so that there are checks in place, people understand exactly who is responsible for reprocessing endoscopes at the V.A. facility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the V.A. says that only six veterans who took the follow-up blood checks tested positive for HIV. Nearly 50 tested positive for hepatitis "b" or "c," but it's unclear if their infections came from the V.A. clinic.

So let's talk with senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about exactly what went wrong. I mean, if you read the report, I mean, there were lots of alerts and directives, and it seemed people just ignored what they were supposed to do.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. To some extent you really can take that away from the report.

But let's talk specifically about what went wrong with these colonoscopy -- colonoscopy procedures. In the first time around, there were two different V.A. clinics that were having problems. In the first one, the one in Tennessee, they found they weren't disinfecting the colonoscopy equipment correctly.

In the second one, I'm actually going to show you exactly what went wrong. There's some tubing that's used in the colonoscopy. You see that circle there with the green little gadget on the end there? They were supposed to use a different little gasket there. Not that one! They put that one on there by mistake.

And what happens when you do that is you can get backflow. So, you put that into a person's body. You can get bodily fluids coming back, and then you use that tubing on someone else. It certainly paints a not-very-pretty picture.

Now, Kyra, there is one thing I want to say here. The V.A. went out and did these 40 tests and then reported their not-so-great news from that. So many experts I talked to, said, "You know what? It's not just V.A.'s that do this. You could probably go to any 40 clinics that aren't V.A.'s and you would find problems."

And some people are really applauding the V.A. for doing the checks and making it public. These kinds of things happen, I'm told, way more often than they should happen. It's just that it's kind of kept quiet.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to talk more about that with a lawmaker who's involved with this investigation. You know, was the V.A. transparent, or did the V.A. know, "Whoops, we've got a problem. We better say something, because we can't get by with this"?

COHEN: Right, right.

PHILLIPS: That's a question I will definitely pose to the lawmaker involved with the investigation.

So let's talk about the equipment. When you go in for a colonoscopy, how can you make sure that the tubing is clean or that they're using proper, you know, sterile equipment?

COHEN: Right.

PHILLIPS: Because it's pretty gross when you explain...

COHEN: It's pretty scary.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly what happened.

COHEN: Right, back flow from someone else's bodily fluids? I mean, yes, that's really awful.

Now, Kyra, you know that I am all about being an empowered patient, doing everything you can to be aggressive and advocate for yourself. I have to say in this particular situation, there is not necessarily a whole lot that you as a patient can do.

I asked safety advocates this question over and over again: when you go to get a colonoscopy or a similar test, is there anything you can do to make sure they disinfected the equipment properly? And they said, really, there's not much that you can do.

If these vets had asked the doctors and nurses, "Hey, was this disinfected properly," of course, they would have said yes. They wouldn't have said, "Oh, gosh, you're right. No, we didn't do it. What a mistake." They would always get an answer, "No, everything is fine."

So I'm sad to say here there's not a whole lot you can do. You are really at their mercy. You're at their mercy that they disinfected it right and are using the equipment properly. If they're not...

PHILLIPS: Is this time consuming to do? Is it expensive to change out the tubing? I mean, it seems pretty simple.

COHEN: Right. What safety experts have told me is that sometimes the technicians and nurses and doctors kind of get into a routine. And so if they sort of did a 50 percent job of disinfecting, and they've been doing it for years, they just keep doing it that way. It's just they get into a routine. They don't do it right, and nobody calls them on it.

And in these situations, this goes on for years. I mean, it's not as if it was done wrong once. It's done wrong for years, often, and so they just sort of get into this habit. PHILLIPS: This is going to scare a lot of people, too. They're not going to want to get a colonoscopy. But it's very important. At certain ages or stages in your life, you've got to have one.

COHEN: Right. Exactly. So we want to make it very clear here that what happens -- that your chances of getting an infection from a colonoscopy are very, very small compared to your chances of getting colon cancer. So even the safety advocates I talked to said, "Look, you've got to get the colonoscopy. When you hit a certain age, you've got to get the colonoscopy. Your chances of getting a terrible disease from the colonoscopy are so small, and your chances of getting cancer are much bigger."

PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth, thanks so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Now, as I mentioned, we're going to talk with Congressman Phil Roe of Tennessee. He's the ranking Republican on the House subcommittee that oversees veterans' affairs. He's part of today's hearing. He's also a doctor and a vet. And he'll be on with us next hour, hopefully, with some answers.

And if you're a vet and a patient at a V.A. clinic, here's what I want to know: what's your experience been like? We're not ought to trash the V.A., but if you've had a good experience, I want to hear that, too. Holler at me on Twitter at KyraCNN, or jump on the blog: CNN.com/newsroom. We'll put some responses on the air.

Hammered by the recession, they're rushing to shrink their bottom lines. Could the airline industry be the next GM?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, pretty scary images out of central Colorado. Check out this funnel cloud spotted near the town of Elizabeth yesterday. That's about 30 miles north of Colorado Springs.

At least two twisters have actually touched down in the state. CNN's local affiliates are reporting a barn and a small airplane hangar were flattened during the storms, but so far no reports of injuries.

Storm showers, rain. No matter how you say it, I guess it's pretty yucky, wet weather out there, Chad Myers.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, Chad. We'll keep tracking. Thank you.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right. Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, rising fuel prices and a shrinking number of passengers mean the airline industry is seeing red. Some worry if they're on the same rocky road as the troubled automakers, could a bailout be in their future. Carol Costello looks at some pretty astonishing losses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Kyra, buckle your seat belt. I'm about to tell you how much the airline industry lost this year: $9 billion. That's double what industry insiders expected. And it's left many consumers wondering if they'll see more airlines slip into bankruptcy.

(voice-over) Forget the friendly skies: it's cold up there, and a lot emptier. Evaporating consumer demand is costing the airline industry dearly. United lost $579 million so far this year. Delta, $774 million. American lost $375 million.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are now free to move about the country.

COSTELLO: Even Southwest, an industry star, lost $91 million, forcing it to give up bragging rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this your first flight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On southwest airlines, we don't charge fees for stuff that should be free. Southwest: fees don't fly with us.

COSTELLO: Yes, even Southwest is now charging extra fees for pets and baggage.

STEVE LOTT, INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION: After September 11, airline revenues dropped about 7 percent. This year we're facing a revenue drop of more than 15 percent.

COSTELLO: Still, even if that does mean an auto industry-type bankruptcy, no one is panicking just yet. It's not like the industry haven't suffered bankruptcies before. After 9/11 more than one big carrier filed for protection and survived, but that doesn't mean they recovered.

LOTT: The airline industry collectively hasn't made money in a long time.

COSTELLO: That's why airlines are parking planes, which means fewer flights, less fuel costs, and fewer employees to pay. And, of course, it means higher fees and more crowded flights for you.

Consultants like Mike Boyd are miffed the Obama administration isn't focused more on what's happening now in the airline industry. "This administration," he writes, "is not pro-air travel. Airliners run on jet fuel. Jet fuel comes from oil, and that's now officially considered to be evil."

That's why Boyd and others say the administration is pushing trains over planes. Amtrak got $1.3 billion in the stimulus package. And there's another $8 billion for a high-speed rail system.

LOTT: When the government is pushing so hard for rail, when there's really not as of a demand for rail than air, we have a problem with that.

COSTELLO: While airlines aren't asking for a bailout, they would like more of the stimulus pie to fix up air-traffic control towers and airports themselves.

(on camera) The Department of Transportation told me aviation is an important sector of the economy, period, and that airports across the country will receive $1.1 billion in stimulus money. But critics say they need a shot in the public relations arm to get people flying again -- Kyra.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Carol Costello, thank you so much.

Well, you can lock down reporters. You can pull the plug on live shots, but as long as people can tweet, their stories will reach the world. We're going to gauge the impact of social networking sites on Iran's attempt to manage its election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Two sides of the post-election turmoil in Iran. On one side of your screen, overhead shots of the rallies that Tehran wants you to see. It was organized by the government to show support for re-elected President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now, on the other side, the latest demonstration by outraged supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, who officially came in a distant second in Friday's vote.

Now, in hopes of drowning out those pro-Mousavi voices, Tehran is barring all foreign media now from street reporting of any kind. Now, officials are also cracking down on e-mails and web sites. But that's a much bigger job, and as we hear now from CNN's Octavia Nasr, they don't call it the worldwide web for nothing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR OF MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS (voice-over): Iranians beaten and bloodied. Raw emotions filling the internet and TV screens, capturing the world's attention in real time for the first time at this scale since the Islamic revolution setting social networking sites on fire.

From YouTube to CNN's iReport, images from Iran are constantly uploaded, representing both sides keeping the story going and feeding a worldwide curiosity about the future of Iran.

Here, supporters of reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi rejecting the candidate's defeat in the presidential elections. Crying foul saying their vote was robbed and they want it back. President Ahmadinejad's supporters celebrated their candidate's victory in mass rallies as well. Those images were carried on the regular Iranian channels across Iran and around the world.

Following the vote, results were quickly announced in favor of the incumbent, Mr. Ahmadinejad. Signs of dissent were apparent, but also signs of crackdowns. Mr. Mousavi's whereabouts unknown for a while and no straight answers about guaranties of his safety or vote transparency.

Media outlet's such as the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya network were shut down for reporting on the violence that followed the vote. Some journalists got their share of the violence and their movement was controlled and limited. That didn't stop Iranians from spreading the word about what's happening in their country.

With the help of social media such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, their voices got louder and support came to them from all corners of the globe. Within hours, the voices of Iranians, both pro-Ahmadinejad and pro-Mousavi found a forum for support on the internet. A mirror of their divided voices echoed from the streets of Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Octavia joins me now, here in the news room to tell us more about Iran's attempts to control the communications and the ways the Iranians are resisting.

I guess, first of all we keep saying, they're shutting it down. Who's they? Is it Ahmadinejad's government? Is it the mullahs? Who's doing this and how are they doing it?

NASR: The Ministry of Intelligence. You know, that's their job. Their job is to monitor sites, monitor people's conversations, tap phones and so forth. And basically keep the order, as they understand it.

So, basically, it's not just that. There are several ministries and also the judicial system. They work together basically to control the flow of information in and out of Iran. So, when we say our web site is shut down, the decision is made at some point, and then how does it get shut down? You either go there and can't access it, or, if you are in Iran and trying to, for example, send out a message yesterday -- yesterday, for example, one of my contacts in Tehran said every time he sent out a tweet, it would back -- it will -- it will come back to him. It won't go. We won't see it. Whereas before he would tweet it there in Tehran, we'd see it here within seconds.

So, these are the ways that they can control and they can shut down systems. For example, one way -- I've been talking to contacts in Iran is through G-talk, so basically we can't see them. That's because of the U.S. sanctions on Iran, nothing to do with the Iranians themselves. But basically we could talk to them on G-talk.

Today G-talk is down. Yahoo! Messenger is down so we can't send them messages. But guess what? They figured out a way around it and they're so happy about it. It's been really interesting to be on the internet for this story. It is indeed a revolution that's happening in front of us, in cyberspace.

PHILLIPS: Yes, this is like any type of leader's, you know, biggest nightmare who wants to censor what's been happening in their country. So, can you read some of the tweets that are coming through now? Can you scroll through some of those to see --

NASR: Sure, we can. But first, let me show you this. We will have one hour of downtime at 2:00 p.m. Pacific on June 16. You see here. The U.S. State Department got involved, asked Twitter not to upgrade their systems to -- to delay that, so that people don't lose communication with Iran.

Because right now this seems to be the only way that is open that Iranians are now able to tap into and interact. But you see here, another thing I want you to see. Look at these people here -- Maria in New York City, Ali all day. These people changed their pictures to green in solidarity with the opposition --

PHILLIPS: For Mousavi.

NASR: Yes, for Mousavi.

The other thing that they did, they're asking -- and you will see a lot of my contacts here, so hopefully we won't stay too long on them.

But, one things that they did -- look at this site. This is from inside Iran. It's called StopAhmadineNews (ph). And this is one, for example, message. Police have arrest some Basijis (ph) who wanted to attack people in front of Al-Arabiya headquarters.

All kinds of updates from these people. Let's go there and see what else this person has posted. OK, protests in Madrid, outside of Iranian embassy. Then picture from protests today in Tehran. I'm not going to click on it just in case the picture has something graphic in it.

PHILLIPS: So we can protect the identities, right?

NASR: Yes. And also, I don't want to expose our audience to something graphic in case this picture has something graphic. Usually that's what we've been seeing.

Also you're seeing, for example, doctors and nurses protesting in a major hospital in Tehran. Anytime you see a link here, like you're seeing here, that means there is either video -- and here you see YouTube, that means we're going to see video of that.

Very interesting indeed what's happening. It is -- this is the means, this is how we're hearing from the opposition. While Iranians, for example, the Iranian government has their own media to propagate their message, the opposition is finding the internet as their voice right now.

PHILLIPS: It's helping bring a voice to us, as well. I mean, as we have been shut down and forced to stay in our hotel rooms, et cetera, there in Tehran. I mean, we need these folks, many risking their lives, to send us these pictures and iReports and tweets.

NASR: And, you know, Kyra, the whole world is supporting them. Every day people are sending out what they're called proxy. There are IP addresses, fake IP addresses --

PHILLIPS: So they can get things out.

NASR: Iranians, yes, can use basically, so that the censors can't know that this address is in Iran and then they shut them down. So, every day you have new proxies posted, you have people basically helping others to spread the word. Amazing stuff going on online.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll keep tracking it with you.

Thanks so much, Octavia.

NASR: Yes, thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, in every war, heroes step forward. But somehow the courage of one group from World War II got lost over the decades. That until now, though. What Congress is doing to honor them today. We're lifting them up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the House of Representatives just voted unanimously to honor the courage of some World War II pilots. Women who took to the skies when most of the male pilots were overseas. They're getting the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's top civilian honors.

Our Jessica Yellin sat down with some surviving members of these flying pioneers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the time she was eight, 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 our pilot's license, a rarity for women 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 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.

DEANIE PARRISH, 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 got to be sure 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 said these women developed key tactics and training for the war.

MJR. NICOLE MALACHOWSKI, U.S. AIR FORCE: These women did that by training the men to fly the planes so they could be in combat. They did that by being instructor pilots, they were test pilots, they also did aerial gunnery.

TEDESCHI: It shows how happy we were to be flying.

YELLIN: Now with fewer than 300 pilots still alive, Congress is moving to recognize their legacy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is an historical fact and should be recognized.

YELLIN (on camera): Their mission could be dangerous. In all, 38 WASPs died. Some in training, some in test flights. And supporters say that shows the commitment these women had.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Showing courage under fire. What two Holocaust Museum guards who sprang into action when a co-worker was gunned down are now saying about the shooting.

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PHILLIPS: A hate crime happens every hour in the United States. Disturbing news from a new report showing an uptick in white supremacist activity. This follows last week's deadly shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The two guards who shot the alleged white supremacist talked with Bruce LeShan, of CNN's WUSA affiliate.

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JASON MCCUISTON, HOLOCAUST MUSEUM GUARD: Trying to put it in perspective, trying to suck it in. But only time will tell.

BRUCE LESHAN, WUSA REPORTER (voice-over): Jason McCuiston had only been working at the Holocaust Museum for a month and a half. Harry Weeks had been there two months. But besides each other, they had made one more good friend.

MCCUISTON: His heart was as big he was -- 6'6", 280.

LESHAN: Stephen Johns opened the museum door wide for James von Brunn, his alleged killer. And police say von Brunn returned the kindness by pointing a rifle at the young father's chest and pulling the trigger.

HARRY WEEKS, HOLOCAUST MUSEUM GUARD: He gave his life. You know, it was uncommon valor and he died in the line of duty. He was a good man. He didn't deserve to go this way.

LESHAN: Their bosses have asked McCuiston and Weeks not to talk about what happened next, but we know they responded quickly. Firing eight shots at von Brunn, and critically wounding him. But doctors expect the notorious anti-Semite and white supremacist to survive.

WEEKS: He's 88 years old. And it's just unbelievable that there's so much hate.

LESHAN: McCuiston and Weeks weren't even supposed to be there. They had agreed to work overtime to handle a late-night crowd. But when the crisis came to them, they responded.

MCCUISTON: To tell you the truth, I can't even recall, so I would have to say it's the training.

LESHAN: They are still shaken by the loss of their friend, the sight of a son now without a father. And they're not sure they're ready to go back to work.

MCCUISTON: I hope it is never happens again, but if it were, you don't want to be there at 50 percent. You don't want to put anybody else at jeopardy. You want to be 100 percent.

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Well, McCuiston had never fired his weapon in the line of duty before this shooting and Weeks had not fired his gun on the job in more than a quarter of a century.

There's a lot to talk about, about health care. Next hour we're talking about health careless. Putting 10,000 veterans at risk for HIV or Hepatitis was bad enough, but now that figure might snowball all because some basic stuff wasn't done.

Plus, we asked a state lawmaker why one of her staffers still has a job after sending out an e-mail with this picture of the president.

Well, two pilfering pastors have learned their earthly punishment. The father and son team sentenced for two years in the clink for stealing millions of dollars from their own church in Orange County, California. Richard and Philip Cunningham pleaded guilty to grand theft and fraud. Prosecutors say they took more than $3 million from church and school accounts, buying time shares, golf memberships and cars.

Well, are credit card companies really willing to let part of your balance slide? We're going to t tell you about a guy who made an offer his creditor couldn't refuse.

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PHILLIPS: Mass protests again in Tehran. Thousands of demonstrators for and against the government rallying in the streets right now. CNN and other foreign media have been banned from covering the street protests. Three reformist politicians are under arrest for the alleged involvement in the protest. There are also reports that violence against anti-government protestors.

The supreme leader has ordered a limited account -- a recount, rather of Friday's disputed presidential election. Reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi has rejected it saying the vote was rigged by supporters of reelected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Well, we're getting some strong images from iReporters. This clip now, from yesterday's pro-Mousavi rally in Tehran.

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Well, that same iReporter sent us this photo from that rally. He says he was on a balcony of a tower on Azadiyh (ph) Street. The massive crowd as far as the eye can see.

And on this side of the world, superstar iReporter Jimmy Deol in Toronto, sent us his thoughts on the Iranian power struggle.

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JIMMY DEOL, IREPORTER: Don't (INAUDIBLE). Mahmoud (INAUDIBLE) is the president of Iran. The heartliners (ph) still be in charge of the overall agenda and the world affairs and Iran's position on nuclear weapons (INAUDIBLE).

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PHILLIPS: Well, if you have news or commentary to share with us, send it to ireports.com.

Credit card companies have always had the upper hand. But, with unemployment up and bank balances down, some cardholders are calling the shots. One of them's Edward McClellan (ph).

A 42-year-old self-employed writer and renter. His balance -- $5,486. Well, he fell behind on his payments, they closed the account and the collection calls began. Well, one day Edward suggested paying half and calling things even. The account rep agreed on the spot. He raised the money and sent it off last week.

So, let's bring in personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

Gerri, is this really happening or did he just get lucky?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: It sounds too good to be true, right? You just say, I don't want to pay my credit card bill and the company says, OK, that's fine with us. We don't care. Well, guess what? It does happen, more and more often. But, typically, you have to meet certain kinds of criteria to make that happen. For example, typically, you have to be 90 days past due -- that's three months. That means you haven't been paying on that credit card bill for some time.

Basically, the company makes a decision that they'd rather have something on that bill rather than nothing at all. Maybe twenty five cents on the dollar. Maybe fifty. Next, you have to negotiate realistically. Make sure that you're offering enough to actually get them to take your deal. And remember, you should do this yourself. You actually should pick up the phone, ask for the collections department and negotiate it yourself. Otherwise, you might get involved with debt settlement companies that are no good for you.

Finally, you want to -- if you're really savvy -- you will ask how this is going to be reported to your credit report. So, you want to know whether they're going to describe it as paid in full or whether they actually gave you a settlement, which is what they did. You want to make sure that they say, paid in full because a settlement on your credit report dings your credit score, it make you look bad to other creditors. But, that is precisely what you are saying.

Now, one thing you want to understand here is that this isn't penalty free completely. If you get some of your debt forgiven, you will have to pay taxes on that amount because it's almost like you're getting income, right? The credit company is simply forgiving some of your debt.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Gerri Willis, thanks so much.

WILLIS: My pleasure.