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Iranian Authorities Block Protestor's Flow Of Info Via The Internet; But Images Of Violence And Destruction Trickle Out Even As Foreign Correspondents Movements Are Restricted

Aired June 17, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Protesters are still crowding the streets of Iran and still despite the government ban on web sites and foreign media, information and images are still coming out of the country. We have more of them for you. I'm Heidi Collins. We're covering all angles of the developing story. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Tony Harris.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It is Wednesday, June 17th. Here are the top stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Congress begins work on health care reform legislation today. We will look at the bill and compare U.S. spending to other countries. Does more money mean better health care?

The CNN Money team is here. They will preview the package of financial regulations. He is announcing his proposals live, right here, in the NEWSROOM.

And the graduation gap, as many as half of all minority students won't get a high school diploma. How one group is fighting to change that statistic.

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

No sign of backing down in Iran. Supporters of defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi holding a fifth straight day of protest, that's despite a government ban on the rallies. Officials also trying to prevent images like these from getting out. They appeared to show riot police attacking protesters. The elite, a Revolutionary Guard Corps now vowing to pursue legal action against websites that are inciting people to riot. A CNN iReporter commented on the crackdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you hear about filterings, cut off cell phones, shortened messages, they're all true. We're not able to send messages since the presidential election and cell phones are cut, or have limited access most of the time.

We were using social network web sites like FaceBook, in particular, to send videos, links and photos to keep our friends informed of the news before the elections, but exactly from the day after that, most social web sites were filtered, FaceBook, Twitter and any other web sites that would spread the news, especially YouTube. The Internet is very widespread in Iran, but what they do is make Internet slow so that people can't upload photos and videos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Iran now accusing international journalists in the country of being the mouth piece of hooligans. CNN's Reza Sayah is in Tehran and he joins us live.

And, Reza, once again, let's state it clearly here. You are banned. You and other international journalists are banned from reporting from the streets of Tehran, correct?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Tony. That was a decision that came down yesterday by the Iranian government emphatically telling us, and other members of the foreign media, that do not go down to these rallies. You cannot cover them. You cannot broadcast images from these demonstrations. If you do, we cannot guarantee your safety.

To me, that was a clear reference to the Iranian riot police, members of the besiege, who we have often seen at these demonstrations carrying clubs and steel rods. A rally is going on at the moment.

HARRIS: Gotcha.

SAYAH: We can't attend it. So, we're doing our best to get some eyes and ears out there to report back to us. It's challenging, but we're making the best of it.

HARRIS: To be sure, Reza. So let's focus on what's going on behind closed doors. Give us a bit of a reset, if you would, on where we are in the political process, the political process, to resolve this standoff?

SAYAH: That's what the Iranian government wants, Tony. For the focus to be shifted away from these rallies and demonstrations to the political process and the legal process. Indeed, the government says there is a legal process going on, the Guardian Council, the highest legislative body here in Iran has launched a partial recount of the votes. According to Iranian law they have about seven to 10 days to reveal results of that recount. And if my math is correct some time between Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week we should have a result.

But the Mousavi camps who said all along we don't want a recount. We want a revote. That's why you've seen these rallies continue. And there's no indication by the Guardian Council if they're going to reconsider a revote, Tony.

HARRIS: It makes sense that the Iranian government would want the focus on the political process. I'm not doing the bidding of the government by suggesting we focus on that, but I am curious as to how this might end politically. Because we were certainly prefer that option over the other that comes to mind.

Reza, if you would, talk to us about what happened on a soccer pitch in Seoul, South Korea. SAYAH: Well, this political drama has so many twists and turns. And very interesting, this afternoon, the drama played out on the soccer field in Seoul, South Korea. And, first off, we should tell you that soccer is huge here in Iran. It's everyone's passion. And today Iran in a World Cup qualifying match took on South Korea. And when the team came out, much to everyone's surprise, many of the team members were wearing a wrist bands, green wrist bands.

Of course, green is the symbolic color of the Mousavi campaign. No word from team officials if this was indeed a show of solidarity for the Mousavi camp. But it certainly looked that way because this team never wears green wrist bands when they come out to play. And it is also interesting to note when they came out in the second half, the green wrist bands were gone. Very interesting. No word is government officials here handed down instructions, but the green wrist bands had disappeared. And, by the way, ended up in a 1-1 tie.

HARRIS: All right. And then the score, the outcome of the matches. Reza Sayah for us in Tehran. Reza, appreciate it, thank you.

Iranians are extremely plugged into the web. Online social networking services playing a key role in the post-election protests. CNN's Isha Sesay is monitoring the Internet and joins us live from our Iran desk.

So, Isha, even though we are banned from having our correspondents on the streets like Reza Sayah, we are still able to learn something of what is going on, on the streets of Tehran.

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. This is despite the efforts of the Iranian authorities that are really trying to clamp down on use of the web. We're getting reports from inside of Iran that the network is extremely slow. Sometimes they're up, sometimes they're down. But what we can tell you, definitively, is that protesters are determined to get their message out. To get us the sights and sounds of what is taking place in Iran.

Here on the Iran Desk, up here, where I'm working from today. We are working flat out to comb through the various social networking sites. We're keeping an eye on Iranian media, TV, and radio, really to keep a handle on and on top of what is taking place there in the country.

We want to share with our viewers two compelling pieces of video that are coming in to us. We need to stress, Tony, and we will continue to do so, that CNN not independently verify this stuff. But we feel it's important that people see this, see and hear what is coming into us.

HARRIS: Terrific.

SESAY: This first piece of video, coming in to us by one of our iReporters. And it shows the scene in the aftermath of a raid at Tehran University. Now, there are widespread reports, Tony, that security forces raided Tehran University. There are accounts of students being beaten up, students being arrested. And as you look at these pictures, it looks a war zone; everything in bits. I don't know, you can assume that maybe there was a fire

HARRIS: Yes.

SESAY: Because things certainly seem charred, there on the ground, really giving you a sense of what took place. Something dramatic took place there. And according to numerous media reports, there was a raid on that dormitory.

Let's show you a second piece of video now.

HARRIS: OK.

SESAY: This was shot at some point over the last couple days. It is from Tehran. Look at that scene, Tony, and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD ON SUBWAY PLATFORM CHANTING)

SESAY: You hear the chanting?

HARRIS: Yes.

SESAY: That's from inside a metro station.

HARRIS: Do we know what they're saying?

SESAY: No, we haven't been able to make out exactly what they're saying. We just see that platform full of people chanting in unison, and protesting, what is playing out in Iran at this point. These are the sights and sounds that Iranian authorities don't want the rest of the world to see, Tony.

HARRIS: So the reality is they could be chanting Mousavi, they could be chanting Ahmadinejad, we just don't know. We can't make it out?

SESAY: Absolutely. Let's be clear. There have been rallies out in support of Ahmadinejad. So he has his supporters. You know, we know that he has a number of people, a large number of people who voted for him. So, you know, that's the scene.

HARRIS: Sure, that's part of the story, as well. So, when we say, "unverified material". Let's try be clear here. Someone claims, makes a claim about the video that we're showing you and we're not able to independently confirm the claims that are being made, the representations of the video, correct?

SESAY: Well, absolutely, because we are confined. We're limited in our ability to do so. The very fact of the matter is, as you were just speaking to our very own Reza Sayah, that international media is confined to their offices, to their bureaus. So they can't get out on the street.

HARRIS: Exactly.

So, we're unable to go out and shoot this stuff and be present as these scenes play out, as they reportedly play out. And, also because of those restrictions and getting in touch with people there on the ground with people in Iran, even as we get the stuff via the web, we can't ask those probing questions, as we would like to.

HARRIS: Right.

SESAY: At least as many of them as we'd like to, because basically we're very, very limited.

HARRIS: So, we just want the viewers to be aware of that and keep that in mind as we get these images in and we put them on the air through the Iran Desk and with your help.

SESAY: Absolutely. Absolutely, here at the Iran Desk it is all about transparency and giving context to what we're seeing.

HARRIS: Transparency, let's do that. All right. Isha, appreciate it. Thank you. See you in a bit.

Getting down to the details on health care reform. A Senate panel today started work on one of the main plans, the one by Senator Ted Kennedy. But the estimated $1 trillion, plus, price tag could force Democrats to scale back the plan. Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar live from Capitol Hill.

And, Brianna, we were talking earlier, a call between members of your team and members of our team here, of the real work on health care begins in earnest today, doesn't it?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it really does, Tony.

This is a significant moment. And I know we do have some live pictures of the committee doing the work right now. When you take a look at it, I know it looks like a bunch of Democrats and Republicans; they're sitting around with large stacks of paper. That would be the bill before them that they're trying to hash out.

This is a significant step because they're really starting to move from the theoretical towards the tangible. They're going to go section by section through that bill there that you see in front of Senator Judd Gregg and they're going to look at what they like, look at what they don't like, and try to find some agreement on this. I have to tell you, Tony, we expected this to be a bumpy road and even just in the beginning moments of this process, even before they really are getting into any of the meat and potatoes of this, already an argument broke out over one of the most controversial things about health care reform, and that is how to pay for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN McCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: At what point in this mark up are we going to have cost estimates? This is the most incredible mark up I have ever been in, in my years in the United States Senate and Congress. We have this bill with no estimates to how much it is supposed to cost.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: Now, there are a whopping about 300 amendments that this committee, the Senate Health Committee, has to go through. So there are about 300 proposed changes, Tony, and it just goes to show you, because a lot of those are Republican-proposed changes just how unhappy they are with this bill. And just that it's going to be a lot of back and forth as they move through this.

HARRIS: OK, Brianna, appreciate it so much. Thank you.

You know House Republicans pushing their own plans for a health care reform just moments ago. A group of Republican leaders outlined a proposal they say will cost less than the Democrats plan. It calls for tax credits for lower income Americans and pools of insurance to provide lower-cost plans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAVE CAMP, (R) MICHIGAN: The president said this should have a uniquely American solution. We have an American plan. One that we believe, as has been said, will really focus on affordability, accessibility, and availability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: No price tag yet on the Republican plan and no details on how it would be paid for. OK, so we're hearing some of the cost estimates, some for health care reform. But we want to take a look at what the U.S. is spending right now on health care. And how it compares to other countries and are we getting our money's worth? Maybe that's another really important question to ask and answer here. Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now.

Good to see you, Elizabeth. Walk us through this.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, some of these numbers are really eye opening, when you look at how much money we spend here in the United States on medical care.

First, let's take a look at France and the United Kingdom. In France, they spend $3,449 per person, per year on health care. That's this guy in France. That's what it's costing him to get health care every year. In the United Kingdom they're spending $22,760 per year in health care. So, you can see there's already a difference there.

Now, let's move on to Canada and the United States. In Canada, we are - they are spending for every Canadian they spend 3$,678 per person, year on health care. In the United States, are you ready for this, Tony?

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: Are you ready? All right. We're talking like $2,000, $3,000 for the other countries; $6,714 per person on health care.

HARRIS: Really?

COHEN: Really.

HARRIS: Can you come over here?

COHEN: Yes.

HARRIS: And we'll talk about this a little more?

COHEN: Because you've got to wonder.

HARRIS: As you do the walk here, I'm wondering, so we're clearly spending more.

Here let me help you with this.

COHEN: Oh, thank you, sir.

HARRIS: So, we're clearly spending more. Are we getting our money's worth? Are we healthier?

COHEN: Now, some people would say that Europeans and Canadian come to the United States for health care, right? They often come here when they can't get what they need in their own country. And certainly some of the most fabulous technology in the world is in the United States, but there are also some statistics that would say there's no way we are getting our money worth.

Let's take a look at this. Infant mortality, you would expect the United States with all of our incredible resources, we would have the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. Not so. Infant mortality, we are 44th. Meaning there are 43 other countries with lower infant mortality rates than ours.

And when you look at life expectancy, in general, overall, we're 50th; 49 countries have better life expectancies than we do.

HARRIS: So walk me through this. Why are we spending so much more for healthcare than other countries?

COHEN: When I talk to experts about this, this is what they say. They say in the United States we have a lot of administrative costs because there are so many different insurance plans and, as everyone agrees, it's a bit of a mess. But also that Americans tend to go to specialists more and that that also ends up costing a lot of money. And, also, some people would say in European countries and Canada there's more of an emphasis on prevention.

Let me just give you an example. A friend of mine, who's British, after she had her baby a nurse came, a public health nurse came to her house, every day to check up on the baby and see how it was going.

HARRIS: Are you kidding me?

COHEN: Yes, that doesn't go on here. But that's great prevention.

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: If anything has gone wrong -

HARRIS: If anything was going on here the nurse is knocking on your door for the check. You owe me.

(LAUGHTER)

COHEN: Or just not there at all. If the baby is sick, you have to make that trip.

HARRIS: That's right. We just got some details on House Republicans' views, thoughts, ideas on health care. Would you help us sort through that?

COHEN: Absolutely.

HARRIS: So that we can - because what we're trying to do, we're trying to hold all the stakeholders accountable for this debate; not just what you don't like, but what you want in health care reform. So, we've got some information on House GOP plan, maybe you can help us sort through that.

COHEN: Yes.

HARRIS: Deal?

COHEN: Right now or later?

HARRIS: No, no, no.

COHEN: OK, I was going to launch into my -OK, we'll do it later.

HARRIS: You've got a take already?

COHEN: No, no, no, we can do it later.

HARRIS: All right. Absolutely.

And Elizabeth Cohen joins us again tomorrow as we continue our week- long focus on health care reform.

HARRIS: You were ready to go now?

COHEN: I was.

She will examine the problem of pre-existing conditions and whether reform will mean better coverage. Health care reform 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., Eastern, all week long. Right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, it is one of the largest budgets in the world and it belongs to an American state. Cutbacks in California and the people who will lose out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Today's launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor was scrubbed because of another hydrogen leak. Endeavor was originally supposed to launch last Saturday but engineers had found a gas leak, then. Now, they found another potentially dangerous leak in the same area today. Next opportunity for launch, July 11.

Strong thunderstorms and possible tornadoes in parts of North Carolina yesterday. Reports of baseball-size hail in Cleveland County. At least 10 mobile homes were damaged. One lane of Interstate 85 was blocked by uprooted trees. Power knocked out to thousands of people across the state.

Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

(WEATHER FORECAST

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, I can't get settled here.

In about 90 minutes the president announces new financial regulatory powers he wants from Congress. They include a new agency, yes, a brand new agency, to protect you from abuse of credit card and mortgage companies. But don't wait on Washington. Our Gerri Willis is here to tell you what you can do now to avoid the tricks and the traps.

Gerri, good to see you. Why don't we start, let's start with credit cards.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: That's a good place to start because everybody's got one of those, or maybe five of those.

Look, if you have a good credit score, say something above 730, you should be getting an interest rate that is below 10 percent on that credit card. If your interest rate is higher, call and try to get it lowered with a credit card operator. You shouldn't have to put up with annual fees either. There is enough competition in the credit card industry if you notice your credit card company is assessing you new fees, now is the time to start looking at hundreds of other cards that don't have an annual fees, Tony.

HARRIS: What about mortgage pitfalls, Gerri?

WILLIS: There are a lot of them.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: You know, Tony, did you know that brokers and bankers, they don't have any obligation to tell you if the loan they're selling you is affordable.

HARRIS: No, I did not know that.

WILLIS: It's really up to you. You have to do the math. And typically no more than 33 percent, a third of your income, should go towards those housing payments, the mortgage. When it comes to fees, mortgages there are usually so many it's easy to pay more than you have to.

Remember, lenders can only charge fees for the services they actually provide. So, if you see charges you don't understand, find out what they're for and if they are necessary. You have to be on the lookout for things like payment processing fees, and those mysterious document prep fees, and administrative fees. These are junk fees. Ask about them. If you're not satisfied with the answers you get, tell your lender you want a reduction, or better yet get them eliminated altogether.

Tony, one interesting thing here. We talked a lot during the mortgage meltdown, about prepayment penalties.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

WILLIS: These are big fees that you pay if a mortgage is prepaid within a certain amount of time, which means you get a new loan if you re-fi. Virtually, now, these are obsolete since FHA backed loans and conventional loans, and government loans and government programs, like Help For Homeowners, don't have these penalties. So, if somebody wants to charge you this, say thanks, no. I don't want to pay the prepayment penalty.

HARRIS: Yes, you have time for one more quick one, Gerri?

WILLIS: Yeah, sure.

HARRIS: How do you know if the financial product you're getting is really something solid, or just a stinker, a clunker or dud here?

WILLIS: Look, there are signs and signals that you're getting a product from a sound company. If you're pressured to sign something you're in trouble. Make sure you're not pressured to sign something you don't understand. Take your time. Get all your questions answered. A good mortgage broker, a good credit card company is going to answer your questions patiently.

Communication between you and the company should be frequent. It's helpful if you actually can talk to a human being, rather than a recorded voice. You should be notified about any changes, especially true with credit cards here. Disclosure is key.

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

HARRIS: You are awesome. Great advice, as always. Gerri, thank you.

WILLIS: Thank you.

HARRIS: How about this story? Have you heard this one? British Airways is asking its employees to work for free. The company offered workers one to four weeks of unpaid leave with the option of working during that time, if they want. Last month, British Airways posted an annual loss of $656 million. OK, we understand that desperate times call for desperate measures. How about this? Would you work for free? If you would, for how long? Logon to CNN.com/newsroom and send us your thoughts.

President Obama will soon unveil his plan to help you and your credit. Live coverage right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In California, funding for Alzheimer's care and research could be cut by another $10 million. It's part of a proposed plan by the governor to ward off the impending cash crisis. Here's CNN's Jessica Yellin from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Howard Wolfburg has Alzheimer's. He recently took his dog out for a walk and got lost for 25 hours.

(On camera): And he was just wandering in the streets of the city?

TOBY WOLFBERG, HUSBAND HAS ALZHEIMER'S: Yeah.

YELLIN: In the city?

WOLFBERG: He ended up on a lawn in Westwood.

YELLIN (voice over): Now, the only time his wife, Toby, can leave his side is when she drops him off here at Santa Monica's Wise and Healthy Aging Center.

WOLFBERG: I can't tell you how incredibly helpful for both of us. He's a wander. So, I am constantly with him.

YELLIN: This facility provides daytime supervision for 60 elderly clients. About half suffer from Alzheimer's. But now it faces devastating budget cuts. With California out of money, Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed changes would slash 10 percent of this center's funding. The state already cut more than 15 percent last year. Many of these seniors would be turned away.

GRACE CHENG BRAUN, PRES., WISE & HEALTHY AGING CTR.: There would be no one to look after them. We will be finding people who will literally die at home and it may be days or weeks before anyone would even know.

YELLIN: And this is just one story. Across the state, the governor proposes eliminating nearly $500,000 in programs affecting seniors, including significant funding for Alzheimer's care and research.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIF.: I know the kind of people it affects.

YELLIN: And he does. California's First Lady Maria Shriver is a champion of Alzheimer's programs. She even made and HBO documentary to raise awareness. MARIA SCHRIVER, FIRST LADY, CALIFORNIA: I'm a child of Alzheimer's.

YELLIN: In a statement to CNN, Shriver's spokesman said, "The governor nor the first lady like any of these cuts. But the governor has to make difficult decisions," and Shriver will continue to be a leading voice on the issue.

That may be little solace to these families and their patients.

(on camera): The state legislature has not approved the governor's cuts. In fact, the Democrats have some very different ideas. So, there will be heavy negotiating ahead and there is no resolution in sight.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, in a little more than an hour, we're expecting President Obama to announce sweeping changes to the way Wall Street is regulated. The goal to prevent another financial meltdown. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with the details of the plan. Good to see you, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Tony. The president is walking a fine line here because certainly he and everybody else wants to prevent the kind of financial meltdown that we've experienced.

On the other hand, you don't want to stifle innovation, which happens in a free marketplace. It's an 85-page proposal that will rewrite the rules on Wall Street. It must pass Congress.

Two main points of the plan, Tony, creates the Consumer Protection Agency. The goal is to protect us from deceptive mortgages. You know the problems they've caused, and also credit card abuse. This particular agency will have the power to inspect banking, as well as nonbanking companies.

It also gives the Federal Reserve more power. The power to oversee any financial firm from top to bottom, and that includes firms affiliates in other countries. As you know, many of these big financial companies are multinational companies. Citibank's branch (ph) Citigroup operates in 100 something countries. Also has the power to oversee systemically significant companies and will be part of a council that will monitor risk. Tony.

HARRIS: Well, you know, a part of me that wants to push back on this idea of innovation with you, Susan. You know how we go round and round on this. Innovation like the derivatives market and credit default swaps -- I don't know what the heck that is, but there is legitimate concern here about the Fed's growing power, isn't there?

LISOVICZ: That's right. But the Federal Reserve, Tony, will also lose powers because of this new consumer protection agency. Also, the Fed would have to get Treasury approval before it took dramatic action to stabilize the economy.

We're not seeing dramatic action here on Wall Street, Tony. We did get a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association that mortgage applications last week plunged 16 percent. Its lowest level since last fall because mortgage rates are rising, and that's been a concern on Wall Street and certainly a concern for anybody interested in seeing a recovery in the housing market. So the Dow's up, but just barely after two days of triple-digit losses. NASDAQ is up nearly half a percent, Tony.

HARRIS: Maybe we'll get a chance to talk after the president delivers his remarks and maybe you can sort through it for us and tell us what's good and what's worrisome to you. Good to see you, see you next hour.

LISOVICZ: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: You can see President Obama unveil the new financial regulatory powers he wants from Congress. It is coming up live in the CNN NEWSROOM next hour, that's 12:50 Eastern and 9:50 Pacific time.

Visas for the foreign press are expiring, and the Iranian government isn't renewing them, so where are we getting information? We'll take you to the international desk to show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Wading into Iranian politics just a bit. President Obama says there's not much difference between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi. CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour says that's not entirely true. She explains to our John Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The president is saying he doesn't want to be seen as meddling in Iranian affairs.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, I'm not going to get into the head of the White House or the president, I'm just telling you the facts from the ground, that there is actually a group between Mr. Mousavi and Ahmadinejad, most specifically in domestic policy. And that's why there's a divided nation on the ground right now.

Those huge supporting crowds for President Ahmadinejad and that gathering momentum for reform. And having experienced Iran, for instance, over years of reform and seeing the complete difference in tone and the difference in reaching out into the world in terms of foreign policy and, again, tone, compared to the four years of Ahmadinejad -- it's almost night and day.

The president, on the other hand, is correct about foreign policy. There is foreign policy conducted by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader. And he deals with relations with the United States, with the military policy, U.S. policy and other foreign policy. So, that is an important distinction.

But Mr. Mousavi said he wants to pursue detente with the rest of the world, including the United States. Whereas President Ahmadinejad also said that he does want to move forward, but his -- his public stance is much, much more confrontational and belligerent, particularly over the all-important nuclear policy. Now, it's true that Mr. Mousavi said, "Our nuclear program is not negotiable" But then there's a difference in how he said he would allow the international community to verify and lay their fears at rest regarding their fears of militarization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, much of the information and images we're getting from Iran coming to us through online social networking services. CNN's Isha Sesay is monitoring the internet and joins us now from our Iran desk. You actually have a guest with an interesting perspective on what we're following.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Absolutely, Tony, a great guest for our viewers. Sree Sreenivasan (INAUDIBLE). He teaches digital journalism at Columbia University. He's an expert on these social networking sites and joins me now just to talk a little bit more about what he's seeing and his perspective on things. First of all, what do you make of what's happening right now, this cyber- revolution, as it's being called?

SREE SREENIVASAN, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It's just amazing to see how much interest and how much hunger there is for information and people are sharing that from Iran and outside. The hard part is keeping track of it because thousands of tweets every hour, and the hard part is knowing what to trust and what not to trust.

SESAY: Has anything in particular struck you about what is playing out on these various Web sites, the particular aspect you want to point out from our viewers?

SREENIVASAN: One thing that has changed from the last time we looked at something like this, like the Mumbai attacks, you're now seeing much more video and many more, many more photographs coming out and also people sharing information. And it's very different from when you're talking about a terrorist incident because here now you also have to worry about the sensors and the government and different governments getting involved, too.

SESAY: How difficult is it for those people who are in Iran who are desperate to get these sights and sounds out? How difficult and how easy is it for them to get around the hurdles in place?

SREENIVASAN: Again, what's happening, the whole world is trying to help, and many forums where people are given specific instructions on how you can help go around the centers and go around the people who are trying to clamp down on this.

SESAY: Fascinating insight, thank you so much. Just giving us a broader picture of what's taking place in Iran. Tony, very, very fascinating.

HARRIS: I'm fascinated by the idea of what to trust and what not to trust and the whole idea. It seems it puts a lot of pressure on all of our journalists, you and all of our teams over there at the international desk just to try to fair it out. What can we report and what can we put on the air? You were going to make a point, Isha?

SESAY: No, I was just going to speak to your point that everyone at the Iran desk, here on the wide international desk is working, really combing through these social networking sites, Iranian media and television, as well as radio. Just really to get a sense to match up things as much we can and, really, as we say, keep on top of this story that is rapidly developing.

HARRIS: Your guest makes a good point. What can we trust or what can't we trust and we're still working on it. Isha, appreciate it, thank you so much.

A lot of iReports have been coming to us out of Tehran. Opposition rallies happening despite a government ban. This video was shot yesterday at Shareef University, which we're told, is the most prestigious university in Iran. Our iReporter tells us he plans to protest until he gets his vote back.

If you were counting, yesterday was the fourth day of post-election protest. The iReporter who captured these shots estimates some 2 million people were in the streets. He said they continue to show up despite the threat of beatings from armed police and guards.

You know, every 26 seconds a student drops out of school. Getting kids to class and keeping them there, it is our "Black in America" focus and that is next.

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HARRIS: On the front lines of a dropout crisis. America's Promise Alliance, the charity founded by retired General Colin Powell says only about 50 percent of minority students will graduate from high school on time. A big problem that educators are desperate to solve. Here's CNN's Soledad O'Brien.

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WILLY THORTEN, Look on page 15 in your book.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Willy Thorten is a teacher.

THORTEN: Compassion is just like respect.

O'BRIEN: Who sounds like a preacher.

THORTEN: Could you please check on the students...

O'BRIEN: And sometimes acts like a cop. Every morning, Thorten, who was hired to lower the dropout rate in Alabama's Greenville High School, checks absences for those 70 at-risk kids in their program. If they're not there, he'll go get them.

Nineteen-year-old Desmond Duncan.

THORTEN: I need for you to show up.

O'BRIEN: A meeting, and Desmond promises to return Monday morning.

DESMOND DUNCAN, STUDENT: My mom want me to graduate, and I can't get a job if I don't graduate.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP OF STUDENTS: We want to graduate! We want to graduate!

O'BRIEN: The day before Thorten was pursuing Desmond, he was attend a meeting of educators, business leaders and grassroots groups brainstorming ideas to crush the high school dropout problem. The featured speaker, Alma Powell., chair woman of America's Promise Alliance.

ALMA POWELL, CHAIRWOMAN, AMERICA'S PROMISE ALLIANCE: Every 26 seconds, a child drops out of school.

O'BRIEN: The alliance, founded by Powell's husband, former secretary of state Colin Powell, hopes to raise awareness and find solutions with more than 100 of these summits across the country.

COLIN POWER, FOUNDER, AMERICA'S PROMISE ALLIANCE: It is a catastrophe where you have a situation where 50 percent of our minority kids are not finishing high school and where a third of all American youngsters -- white, black or otherwise are not finishing high school.

O'BRIEN (on camera): What's keeping you up at night?

A. POWELL: We cannot afford to let one go.

O'BRIEN : Cannot give up.

A. POWELL: Cannot give up.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Giving up is something Willy Thorten never does. On Monday morning when Desmond doesn't make the bus, Thorten goes to get him.

THORTEN: Morning, Desmond.

O'BRIEN: Two months later, Desmond's at graduation. It's not a diploma, it's a certificate. A real diploma requires more classes and more tests. So what good is a certificate?

THORTEN: The benefit is for a student to say that "I can and that I've raised my self-esteem enough" because most of them in their heart have already quit. If there's hope, then there's much to be gained.

O'BRIEN: But Desmond said he's done with school. Mr. Thorten has lured him back before, Maybe, just maybe, he can do it again. Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Montgomery, Alabama.

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HARRIS: And while our reporters cover the stories developing everyday in the black community, Soledad has been working on stories you'll see only on July 22 and 23 when CNN presents "Black in America 2." That's two nights, two primetime documentaries. All new stories right here on CNN.

In about an hour, we should be hearing President Obama's plans to reform the financial system. Our chief business correspondent Ali Velshi. Ali time coming up. He's on CNN Radio and CNN.com live. We join him next right here in the NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: Okay. We are waiting for President Obama's appearance next hour in the White House East Room. He will outline a broad new package of financial regulations he wants the Congress to approve. In a nutshell, the government would have greater power to police banks and wider authority to oversee financial firms considered too big to fail. The president's announcement is set for 12:50 p.m. Eastern time. You can get live coverage, of course, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's cut through the Washington hot air and Wall Street speak. Talk about choking on second-hand smoke. What do these new regulations really mean? Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi is on CNN radio. There he is. Ali, man oh, man, it's good to see you. You're looking good. Young, fit, trim.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you. I'm going to be with you next week in Atlanta all next week.

HARRIS: We'll leave the light on for you. We'll make plans now.

VELSHI: Thank you.

HARRIS: I look forward to it.

VELSHI: It's going to be fun. Can't wait for that. Good, good, good. What is the president going after here, Ali? Do the regulations being proposed by president next hour fix the problem, even as we know Congress is right now working on its own financial reform package?

VELSHI: Tony, it fixes the problem if you think the problem was the regulatory system. I think the regulatory system was a very large part of the problem. Some of the problems we're in right now is simply greed. Some of it is simply that asset prices were too high. Home prices and stock prices had gone too high, and they were going to adjust anyway.

But a lot of the problem, as you and I discussed before, was a financial regulatory system that was -- think of it like a highway system that was built for cars that go 25 miles in an hour in a world where cars can go 100 miles an hour. It just didn't keep pace with how fast things were going in the financial system.

So, yes, some of it will be fixed. There are more than a dozen financial regulatory agencies in the United States. Some of those will be eliminated. More power will go to the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation the FDIC, and it will be streamlined a little bit, so more of these agencies will talk to each other and be able to sense trends before they got too dangerous.

HARRIS: I got a heads-up that we'll see some tape soon with the president and the regulators you were talking about, people who are very much stakeholders in all this. Here is the tape right now. Ali, stay with if you can, as we listen in.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Got everybody? All right. Well, I'm looking forward to a constructive conversation with these outstanding regulators and supervisors who have helped us design how we're going to approach a critical problem in our economy. I'll have more to say about it this afternoon. But I want to publicly thank them for their service to the country. Thanks, guys.

HARRIS: All right. So there you go. Boy, Ali, I'm trying to figure out the best way to explain what's coming here. We've talked about derivatives, talked about credit default swaps and what the proposals for the president will do to help fix some of the abuses in these areas. First of all, what the heck are derivatives? How do they contribute to the mess in the financial sector? What does the president propose to do about?

VELSHI: This is my coffee. I went and paid for my coffee. This is my coffee, I get to drink it. If I rent to you the right to drink some of this coffee for 15 minutes, that is a derivative of my asset. The coffee is my asset. You get to do something with it for 15 minutes or you get to use the cup after I've cleaned it. The derivative is something based off a base investment. Most of us working stiffs just get to take advantage of the basic investment. The derivatives are everything around that. The right to buy it later, the right to sell it at a particular price, the right to convert it into something else.

Those are derivatives. That's where the financial market gets very creative. That's not necessarily all bad. But if you don't regulate it, people can start to make money in ways that the government never would have really thought about because the government is not supposed to be at the front end of that. Sometimes it can be very risky. Some of the derivatives that were designed to be hedges, to enhance your safety and return, end up being very dangerous like the credit default swaps that AIG was involved with. That's what the government wants to keep an eye on.

HARRIS: Let's do this. When you're here next week, let's spend more time on this. I've got you so close to the top of the hour, and you have more business to do on the radio show. Ali, as always, great to talk to you. See you next week, Doc.

VELSHI: See you next week.

HARRIS: OK, man.

An update on top stories and more ahead in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Facing foreclosure even though they never missed a mortgage payment. Could what happened to one couple in Los Vegas actually happen to you?

Held hostage in a rental home, how the real estate crash is making it easier for smugglers and kidnappers. Our Ed Lavendera will have that story.

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