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Iranian Protest; Stoning of Soraya M. Film; Children Lost on Plane

Aired June 18, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we have stressed to our viewers throughout the day, authorities in Iran are trying to clamp down on protester's use of the web. So Facebook and things like that are quite hard to get access to. However, as you said, we can access twitter and what we are finding are a number of tweets coming to us, really giving us some insight into what is playing out on the streets right now. We've chosen a couple that we want to share with our viewers.

Now, the first one, it gives us some sense of what's taking place. Peaceful protests going on in Iran and Iranians are wearing black. Now, the second one we want to bring to our viewers. It says doctors will join rally today, some in white coats so people can go to them for treatment, if hurt. That tweet really kind of hinting at the potential for violence in today's demonstration. Of course, on Monday we know some seven people lost their lives in clashes with security forces.

Now, even though we haven't got those live images of what's taking place in Iran right now. We want to show you this google earth image to give our viewers some perspective on where things are happening. Now the rallies themselves are starting in (inaudible) square in old downtown Tehran near the traditional business district, all the (inaudible) as they are referred to in Persian. The reason we point this out to you is because we're working with an analyst here on the Iran desk and he feels that this is quite significant. The fact they're starting in this location which is actually the same location that protests against the Shah some 30 years ago by the very people who are now in power. He feels it's quite significant and we wanted to just kind of point out the nuance to our viewers, Don.

Because here on the Iran desk, as we work to bring our viewers the very latest details, images, we also want to give them vital context. Don?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you very much for that. We appreciate that, Isha.

So, how are the media outlets around the world covering the events in Iran. I want to turn now to our senior editor for Mid East Affairs Octavia Nasr. She has been following it very closely and she joins us now. Just one caveat that I have to say because you know, we are saying that we are getting a lot of different social media but we're also getting a lot from sources that we have built over the years and reporting and people that we have established contact with on the ground. The only thing that we're having trouble with is because of the government is that we can only file one report a day. It doesn't mean we're not going to get the information out of there, it's just the pictures. And we can't bring it to you immediately, at least, the picture part of it. But we can certainly bring you the information.

Back now to the social networking sites which have played a huge role in this, as well. I have a question for you, and I don't want to spring it on you. I was at dinner last night with people from Europe and some people from the Muslim world and they're saying, they're feeling that the social networking sites have sort of hijacked the American media and the European media is not reporting it the same way that we are, do you agree with that?

OCTAVIA NASR, SENIOR EDITOR MID EAST AFFAIRS: Well, that's an interesting comment to make to say the social media hijack. What is on the social media is what hijack coverage. It's hijack coverage and as a matter of fact, it has attracted coverage. Who is posting these videos and those pictures on the social media? The Iranians inside Iran. They feel that they have a message and their message is not being delivered. It's not being carried by anyone and they're posting on youtube, on CNN's i-reports, at twitter, everywhere they're sending out messages.

LEMON: But the tough part is like looking at the video, I had people, just to be honest, I've had people who send me video and I'll send it to our international desk and they'll say, Don, that's old video. It's from a rally years ago. So there's trouble with vetting, when you're getting things, you have to be careful.

NASR: And that's what responsible media do and that's what CNN does. We vet everything and we look at everything, but back to the story, really, how it's playing out in the region for people who say other countries don't care or regions don't care, well the Middle East cares. They're neighbors to Iran and they're covering the story.

Let's take a look at how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NASR (voice-over): Iranian demonstrations, beatings and a tireless call for new elections have filled the internet in the past week. Raw images, graphic and emotional showing the resilience of an Iranian opposition that continues to ask for a new vote. Iranians have become the news and the journalists at the same time. They turn their personal cameras and mobile phones into news gathering machines and uploaded video after video from Tehran to Tabriz. From street corners to university dorms wherever news is happening, they capture it and upload it to the internet and the world receives it on the other end and broadcasts it even farther.

Several middle eastern countries have regional political and security interests in Iran. This is reflected in large blocks and high frequency coverage most TV stations and newspapers have been dedicating to the subject on a daily basis. A headline, no doubt, in Israel and Arab countries alike offering news and analysis while highlighting the determination of Iranians and defying government controls and insisting their voices be heard. It's a similar story on TV. The Dubai-based Al Arabiya didn't allow a week long ban to reports from inside Iran to stop them from reporting on events down to every details. On Israel's Channel 10, a discussion about the new phenomenon of Iranian citizen journalism which went from "activism to a full-fledge uprising" according to some experts. It's hard to gauge how many Iranians in the midst of this protest understands the scope of their cyber power. That's one of the questions we'll try to answer when Iranian authorities allow international networks back into the streets to report first hand.

Until then, CNN will continue to cover the story from all angles, including the cyber ones.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NASR: And you see, Don, for people who understand the Middle East and know the Middle East, they're looking at these pictures coming out of Iran and they are saying watch it this is another revolution that is brewing and it is our responsibility and any responsible media to put these pictures out after vetting them, looking into them and letting the audience know what is going on, instead of pretending nothing is going on and then be surprised.

LEMON: And the pressure it put on a lot of people to even take a look into it, because even if you don't put it on the air, at least you start to investigate it, right.

NASR: That is right.

LEMON: So just as we were talking here. I want to show this. I don't know if we can see it on camera. Here is what keylives(ph) say, this is from twitter, "There are many of us that appreciate you guys updating us from social networks. Thank you." And then there is also one down here. You're welcome, Don. It says, Don, not hijacked, but maybe social media can generate noise where noise is needed and CNN's role is helping noise become news. So that's the information that we're getting, just as we're talking to people. Every time I check my updates, you get it.

NASR: Oh, yes.

LEMON: And we send it on. We do send it on.

NASR: And you know what? There are people who don't want us to cover anything but the Iran development, which is interesting, as well. I mean, we're telling them, no there are other news as well that we have to cover. See, we have people saying all kinds of things. They want to say this.

LEMON: I want to take in a caveat. This is one way we're covering the story. We have deep roots in Iran and lots of contacts and folks on the ground who can help us with the story, as well. But we appreciate your comments. When you send them to us, we send them along to our international desk, they check into it, if it's correct, we vet it and we put it on the air. Thank you very much, Octavia. We appreciate you covering the story for us. NASR: Any time, Don.

LEMON: You know, at the bottom of the hour, we'll look closely at Iran's stability in the wake of the election. (trida parsi) from the National Iranian-American National Council joins us.

Also, there is a special gathering in Washington today in preparation for World Refugee Day that I want to tell you about is on Saturday. Our own Anderson Cooper is the master of ceremonies at the event. It is going on right now. The United Nations goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie is scheduled to address the crowd. That will happen later this hour, she and her partner Brad Pitt, of course, you may recognize his name, just donated $1 million to the U.N. high commissioner on refugees to help people displaced in Pakistan.

And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also supposed to speak at the event, as you know, she dropped out doing this after she broke her elbow in a fall. So we'll keep you updated on that and we'll go live as soon as something comes of that as well.

Anderson will be back on the anchor desk tonight and he is bringing Angelina Jolie with him. They will talk about World Refugee Day and what she's doing to draw attention to the problems facing refugees.

All right. Some video you will never forget. A storm chaser in Nebraska, take a look at this, going after this. A monster tornado about five miles west of Aurora. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

A.J. FABLE, TORNADO WITNESS: Look at this! It is tearing this building apart! I am literally 400 yards away from it! It just ripped a roof off this building! This is truly incredible. It is June 17, 2009. Debris is everywhere! It is huge! Debris is in the air! You can see it swirling around! There's pieces of the building. I'm way too close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Yes. He said it, way too close. A little too close for comfort, Rob. I like the video because it - I guess it can educate us as to how, you know, a system like that works, but, boy, oh, boy, that's amazing stuff.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: All about education, information -

LEMON: And safety.

MARCIANO: And entertainment. It certainly -

LEMON: I know it's sort of - because he was talking like this but last hour -

MARCIANO: We don't encourage it, but we'll put it on the air and -

LEMON: Would you be that excited? MARCIANO: Oh, I would - trust me. (inaudible) factor would be an old time high for sure. I saw that.

Waterloo looking at some storms that are rolling through your area and this severe thunderstorm watch is in effect until 1:00 local, I believe, and this one until 2:00. This one is a little bit more hairy care type, just south of Indianapolis. Look at this thing just bowing out. This is really moving along numerous severe thunderstorm warnings issued with this as about to head into the Louisville area, you would get the outskirts of it, but it's all motoring down to the south and east. You can have winds in excess of 60 miles an hour and that certainly will do some damage.

Less in the way of wind but lots of rain across the northeast. We got a flood watch in effect for the tri-state area and a pretty good expansive rain on the radar here to encompass a good chunk of this, what has been a very cool and wet spring. It continues to be today.

D.C., you got a ground stop until 11:00 local. La Guardia still in delays. Anytime we get rain in that area, you know the drill. We painted the area in red and highlighted through the lower Great Lakes or western Great Lakes, Chicago in and around that area and about a 500-mile radius. That's where your highest probability of severe weather is today and also tomorrow fed from some part from the heat that is building from the south.

Temperatures well into the 90s into the Kansas and southern Missouri area. So heating up across the central south.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

MARCIANO: You got it.

LEMON: The battle lines over health care reform. The plans, the obstacles and, of course, the money. Here's some of the debate on the hill right here in the NEWSROOM.

Also kid taking an unexpected detour on the way to grandma's house. One airline is having trouble keeping track of unaccompanied minors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Don Lemon in here today for Heidi Collins. Just looking over some of the social networking sites. Let me look at Heidi's blog real quick, the NEWSROOM blog. Let's see go to CNN NEWSROOM, CNN.com/NEWSROOM and they you just click on Heidi, of course, her little gorgeous face will show up with her red hair and then we're asking about the media's coverage of Iran here and there are a couple of comments in there, won't read them right now, but just to show you your comments do come on and I will read some of these a little bit later on, if I have a chance.

They're talking about the amazing difference in technology than 30 years ago talking about during the revolution in Iran. Now, let's go to twitter and see what the folks are talking about. I'll go to my, some of the ones that my producer was looking at. Those are some of your comments coming in here.

This is twitter.com/donlemoncnn. We asked about the way the media has been reporting it, the social media playing a big role here. Nightshiftnurse says due to social media, all freedom-loving peoples are now Iranian. One person says, a lot has been made of the media reporting - Glad to hear your comments are getting on TV. You're welcome, Don. Keep up the good work. Your coverage of the news is always informative. I'm sure that marketing on the screen that something is unverified doesn't make it any less real in people's minds.

Thanks to CNN, social media is what drives the news. Twitter and Facebook are now dictating the stories. I wouldn't say the media is being hijacked. I think social media is creating a much-needed balance, more points of view and they are coming in by the second here. If I go into that, I can see, talking about Octavia and I's segment. So lots of stuff coming in here. And believe us look at it, we put it on if it's vetted and we find that it is correct. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Fixing the health care system. The debate heats up again today as committees in both House and Senate committees, well, they try to figure out what to do and how to pay for it. No surprise here. Lawmakers don't exactly agree and getting a bill to the president, well, it won't be easy. Here's CNN's Brianna Keilar with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about as historic as it gets for all of us.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For the first time, republicans and democrats on the senate health committee gather to go through their 615-page bill, section by section, line by line. It could be more than a week before a final committee vote, but it only took minutes for an argument to break out over the cost

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It is a joke if we run through this stack of papers here without having some provision and I suggest we not move forward until we have some provision as to how we're going to pay for it.

KEILAR: But Senator Chris Dodd pushing the bill in Chairman Ted Kennedy's absence said the committee cannot put a price tag on the bill until it tackles 388 proposed changes, almost all from republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't score a product that you haven't really developed. And that's what we're doing here.

KEILAR: The bill would create a so-called health care exchange where consumers compare and purchase insurance coverage. It would require every American to buy insurance, some with the help of subsidies and insurers would not be able to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Democrats are also proposing a contentious government-run insurance plan to compete with private coverage, but republicans say it will push private insurers out of business.

SEN. JUDD GREGG (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: This is just deja vu all over again as I said, this is Hillary Care Plus. I mean, this is the elite of the elite deciding how everybody else is going to get health care in this country.

SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D), MARYLAND: This bill has just been accused of being somewhere another combination between Ruth Goldsberg and Carl Marx. However, our current system is a combination of Adam Smith, Darth Vader and the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." So I like our plan better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: The other senate committee sold key to health care reform, the finance committee hit a significant snag over the cost of its bill. It's postponed committee votes until July 4th recess threatening a timeline that democrats have laid out for healthcare reform. Brianna Keilar, CNN, Capitol Hill.

LEMON: Mean for you? What is it going to mean for you? That's what most people want to know here. So I'm going to bring in our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. She's here to answer some of your questions and our first question is, my first question is, I'm happy with the insurance I received from my employer. What would health care reform mean to me?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think this is a very, very important question because, you know, we talk all the time about people who don't have health insurance. Well, most people actually do and most people get it from their employer and many of those people are very happy. Now, President Obama says health care reform might mean nothing to you. You're happy where you are and you get to stay with what you have. Other people argue and say President Obama's ideas go forth that people who are happy with their insurance might end up with a government-sponsored plan. The theory being is that if there is a government-sponsored health care plan out there, it's going to be cheap and then employers will opt for it over the private health insurance plan. I want to tell people, this is so confusing. You saw that stack in Brianna's story. This issue was so confusing that this week for "Empowered Patient," we did a primer all the basic questions about health care reform and that's at cnnhealth.com.

LEMON: So go there if you want to know.

COHEN: Right. Because people wrote their PhD. dissertations on this. Okay.

LEMON: Wow.

COHEN: So in order to understand the debate, and this is going to be a bid debate over the next couple of months. You got to know the basic and that's what we you have to know the basics.

LEMON: You said most people are happy with their health plan in this country. Many people are.

COHEN: Many are, yes.

LEMON: Except men never use it.

COHEN: That's why they're happy, right.

LEMON: i don't feel good, go to the doctor. No, I feel great. I'm not going.

COHEN: Amazing how that works.

LEMON: So, the next person says I have a pre-existing condition and can't get health insurance. Will health care reform help me?

COHEN: You know, it's interesting, both Obama and the republicans have said we have got to stop what's going on now, which is that if you have a pre-existing condition and you don't get insurance for your employer, you have to apply on your own and if you got a pre- existing condition, good luck.

There is an excellent chance you're going to be denied outright -

LEMON: Oh, wow.

COHEN: Or that you're going to be charged sometimes double or even more what you would have been charged if you were healthy. So, what Obama and the republicans have both said, we're going to change that insurance companies will insure people with pre-existing conditions. My question to that is, well gosh, how?

LEMON: Right.

COHEN: Insurance companies don't want to insure people with pre- existing conditions right now. What are you going to do, waive the magic wand to make that happen.

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: So it will be interesting to see in the months to come how they convince insurance companies to start doing that.

LEMON: It's such a complicated issue. I mean, when you look at the nuances, everything that has to do with it and you're fighting not only that but politics doctors, and the insurance companies.

COHEN: Why do you think this didn't work 16 years ago when Hillary Clinton tried it. There's a reason.

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: There's so many vested interest, it is so confusing. If this happens in the next couple of months, it will really be pretty amazing.

LEMON: Close to a miracle. So listen, where do we go again? Cnn.com.

COHEN: /health. Or cnnhealth.com.

LEMON: CNNhealth.

LEMON: Everything you need to know right there. You can be an empowered patient.

COHEN: That's right.

LEMON: Thank you very much. From an empowered correspondent, we appreciate it.

COHEN: Oh, thank you.

And an empowered (inaudible)

LEMON: Hard to concentrate - on the course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON: The fact that my normal support system, Amy and the kids aren't going to make the trip this week, I'm kind of hoping to have that or feel the support to kind of help me through the week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That is Phil Mickelson and he takes the course today without his biggest supporter by his side. He's playing with more on his mind than golf, definitely.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A new uniform for former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf. Lee was arrested by custom agents when he was returning to the U.S. from Canada. He is wanted in Texas on drugs and burglary charges. His attorney says the former first round draft pick has completed drug rehab in Canada and was on his way to Texas to turn himself in. Well he posted bond and he is expected to arrive in Texas today. We'll update you on that story.

There are two players everyone is watching at this week's U.S. Open Golf tournament. Tiger Woods, who is the first, of course, the other is Phil Mickelson. And as our Larry Smith reports, for Mickelson, golf isn't the most important thing on his mind right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there are any doubts how tough the black course is, at Beth Page Day Park is you need to look no further than the warning given at the first tee, but if the course isn't hard enough, several contenders will be battling burdens beyond the massive (inaudible). Tiger Woods is the defending champion and last won a major a year ago, surviving a 19 hole playoff and a badly damaged left knee that required reconstructive surgery a week later. If he thought winning the open on one leg was hard, try repeating as champion. Something no one has done in 20 years. He will be looking to recapture the magic of his 2002 open victory at Bethpage.

TIGER WOODS, 3-TIME U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: I think the overall atmosphere is what I remember here. It was extraordinary. We hadn't seen anything like it and probably never will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phil Mickelson has long been a New York favorite and (inaudible) favorite this week. Fresh off his 39th birthday on Tuesday, Mickelson will be playing just two weeks before his wife, Amy, begins treatment for breast cancer. The Californian has three major championships but has long claimed the title he wants most is the U.S. open crown and he doesn't need any extra motivation to win it this week.

MICKELSON: I'm putting everything I have into this week because I don't anticipate being able to play for a little while and the fact that my normal support system, Amy and the kids and so forth aren't going to make the trip this week. I'm kind of hoping to have that or feel the support to kind of help me through the week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, we'll get much more on Phil Mickelson's challenge coming up, I should say, next hour. Larry Smith will join us live from Bethpage, Long Island, in New York to tell us what's going on.

OK. A controversial film in Iran, on Iran, leading to anger for some. The Iranian actress in the film defends her work saying the story needs to be told.

Also, a 10-year-old flown to the wrong city, she was traveling alone like about 20,000 other kids will do this summer. We're looking into what airlines are doing to guide unaccompanied minors. You don't want to miss this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, more dissident over what has been happening in Iran. From Iranians in the United States, some of the demonstrations are on college campus in Austin in Texas. Student said the street protests in Tehran gave them more hope than worry and also pushed them to go and protest themselves. The students also turned out at Arizona State University in support of Iran's opposition group. And look what happened in Philadelphia. College students from Iran protested the post-election violence back in their home.

Wall-to-wall coverage of the events in Iran. One TV station in California is reaching out to Iranians in America and also overseas. We want to get you live now to Tarzana, California. And Kara Finnstrom there with a very interesting television station. They broadcast in English as well as Farsi, right?.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don, we are actually in the control room of Pars TV. About 30 years ago this became the first independent station throughout the world -- Persian sorry, broadcast throughout the world and in Iran. If we take a peek through this door, we'll give you a look at some of the programming underway right now. This is a (inaudible) that's underway and they've been bringing in calls from Tehran throughout the morning.

Now, normally they broadcast a variety of programs here, but they are in 24/7 coverage mode of the events as they unfold in Iran and if we take a look we'll see some of the images that have been coming in on this computer screen. These are images that have not been (inaudible) or verified by CNN, but Pars TV tells us that these were shot within the last couple hours in Iran. They show protests underway there right now and they were taken by some of their sources.

Price issues have been central to the protests that is in place there and right now there is a movie being released in American theaters that takes a look and portrays life in Iran stirring a bit of controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

The film, the Stoning of Soraya M. is based on a best-selling nonfiction book of the same name. In 1986, in a remote Iranian village, a horrific scene, a woman falsely accuse offend adultery is buried to her waist and in front of her family stoned to death.

SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO, ACTRESS: Stoning has been there since the beginning, since the stone ages. So -- and it's been, you know in judism, christianity.

FINNSTROM: The Iranian actress who plays Soraya's aunt says video of a real stoning smuggled from Iran during the '80s compelled her to be in the movie.

AGHDASHLOO: It took an hour and a half and nothing like what you see in the film. Of course, in the film it's a lot milder. I was at the edge of my chair thinking oh my God, I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't do anything. I was half paralyzed.

FINNSTROM: Movie director Cyrus Nowrasteh says he wants to stir moral outrage and draw attention to the practice of stoning.

CYRUS NOWRASTEH, DIRECTOR: I tried to be as authentic as I could without being so authentic that people are streaming out of the theater.

FINNSTROM: But, some Iranian Americans like Hadi Gaimi (ph) say the film misrepresents Iranian society.

HADI GAIMI, IRANIAN AMERICAN: The Iranian people are shown as a cruel, violent, blood thirsty gang who are very eager to participate in the stoning. Actually -- very few stonings that take place in Iran happen in secret and do not happen in public and it's also highly unlikely that the children, the father and other members of the family of the women participate in the stoning.

FINNSTROM: Iranian History Professor, Janet Affary believes Hollywood's betrayal of the story lacks context, but does tackle a real and brutal practice.

JANET AFARY, PROFESSOR: I wish this movie was made 30 years ago because this is when the practice of stoning actually began and it was horrific at the time. I have to say that the laws on stoning are still on the books. How extensively is it practiced? Very little, actually. And the reality of Iranian women is that they're feisty, they're outspoken, they're fighting against this and many other laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FINNSTROM: A set of strong opinions, lots of debate. We have been hearing it come in from around the world this morning, Don.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Kara Finnstrom, we appreciate that.

Meantime, beyond marches and rallies, can the opposition put any pressure on Iran's leadership to get a new vote? Let's get some insight now on what may be happening inside the upper levels of the Tehran government. I want to turn now to Trita Parsi, he is the head of the National Iranian-American Council. Hey, Trita, thank you very much for joining us. I'm just getting some new information about what's going on. But, I have to ask you this, if it continues the way it's continuing now, you still have protesters out and the protesters are really moving Mousavi. Mousavi is not really moving the protesters.

You have the protesters that are out now, you've got the president saying or the president-elect, however you want to say it, saying it's not going to change and also you have the Ayatollah saying it's not going to change, as well. The longer this goes on, does it mean nuthing is going to happen? What does it mean?

TRITA PARSI, FOUNDER NATIONAL IRANIAN AMER COUNCIL: Not necessarily, we're in a phase where it may have slowed down somewhat, but what is actually happening is that in the next 24 hours you will have a Frodau prayer which Ayatolla Khamani himself is going to be giving and it is going to be a very, very strong indicator of where he will be continuing to stand. Is he going to become a little bit more willing to compromise or will he stand firm and this conflict will further escalate?

What is important, however, from the perspective of the protesters is that they need to sustain very large peaceful protests in order to show that their will is not being reduced at this moment.

Okay. And you said that Khamani is going to be at this in just a little bit. We're also hearing also, Trita, and then I want to get the latest information here because we can't get pictures out of there. This is coming from our producers here, saying despite the media blackout protesters are organizing by word of mouth. The afternoon massive marches today was the fourth straight day since Monday. Tens of thousands along prominent Tehran roots, peaceful and silent, but they are also waiting to get word on turnout and other -- and violence and clashes being reported in other areas. There are no signs really of this backing down right now and even though we can't get pictures out of it doesn't mean it's not happening there.

PARSI: Exactly. It's not slowing down at all. On the contrary, it seems to be getting new life and a lot of the protesters seem to be sensing that they may actually be closer to some sort of a breakthrough, some sort of at least tactical victory. So, their morale seems to be rather high. From what I have been hearing from people inside, it's actually been largely very, very peaceful.

It's usually after the protest as they're going back home that they are then attacked by besiege and other plain-clothed vigilanities who are not attacking them while they're protesting because they're in such large numbers, but as they're dispursing and going back home, that's when they're getting attacked by --.

LEMON: And, Trita, here's the interesting thing because one would think that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can come out and say, okay, so we'll do a recount, but really it's not up to him. There is this sort of byzantine government that is set up in Tehran and he -- is he even number two? He may be even further down in that in deciding.

PARSI: He may be further down, but what we're seeing right now is that we have to reassess our idea of how the power structure in Iran is because it's acutally shifting rather fast and there's been a lot of surprising elements. But the Guardian Council is the body that right now has to certify the votes and have to do the recount, but there's a lot of criticism against it by the protesters because the head of the Guardian Council is a very strong Ahmadinejad ally.

LEMON: Yes. What people are saying there is that -- I've heard people saying they don't want a revolution, they want reform from the inside, not necessarily a revolution.

PARSI: They want their votes to be counted. That's very important because a lot of people throwing around the world revolution right now, but these guys are saying they want to have their votes counted.

LEMON: All right, Trita. Thank you very much. Trita Parsi, the Head of the National Iranian-American Council. Good information there.

Meantime, we want to take you to Washington, DC, now. There is a special gathering today in preparation for World Refugee Day. That is on Saturday. You see Angelina Jolie speaking there. She and her husband, Brad Pitt, have given $1 million to the UN High Commission on Refugees to help people displaced in Pakistan. Also want to tell you that our very own Anderson Cooper is the emcee at the event.

It is going on right now, but Anderson will be back tonight. He will have Angelina Jolie with him on AC360 and they're going to talk about the World Refugee Day and what she is doing to draw attention to the problems facing refugees. AC360 tonigh 10 PM Eastern. Only on CNN. There is Angelina Jolie there, and I don't know if -- I was trying to get the shot of Anderson there. He's -- we don't see him do we at that evnet?

OK. Let's move on now and talk about our Treasury Secretary. Timothy Geithner is on Capitol Hill right now for the first of two hearings on new plans for financial regulations. He is talking to the Senate Banking Committee about the need for the stronger regulations and new oversight over the financial community. Now moments ago, he said the Federal Reserve is best suited to watch over large institutions. The ongoing hearings also brought a tough rebuke by the committee chairman for the opponents of new rules.

SEN. CHRIS DODD, (D) BANKING COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: When I pick up the morning newspaper and I read the first headline here, that fault lines emerge as industry groups blasts plan to create consumer agency. What planet are you living on? The very people that created the damn mess are the ones now arguing that consumers ought not to be protected. They're the people who paid this price. And the idea that you're going to attack the very clients and customers who depend upon you every day is not the place to begin.

So, I am somewhat upset when I see those kind of remarks when trying to look for cooperation of building some kind of common ideas.

LEMON: That was Christopher Dodd. Well, Timothy Geithner is scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee this afternoon.

Every week for the past five months we've told you the number of people filing for unemployment benefits has risen, but, finally, the streak well appears to have been broken. CNN's Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with all the details. Hi, there Susan. I had to look to see if you are on the floor and you are. How are you?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am here, I'm on the floor. I'm watching the headlines, I'm watching the ticker and I'm looking at these numbers and it's a good piece of news for a change on continuing claims suggesting, yet again, that the worst of the recession is behind us. We've seen it with other industries, other sectors. Haven't seen it really on the jobs front on the continuing claims.

Those made for more than one week fell by 148,000 and, yes, that is a big drop and that is a seven-year high. Of course, the level of people still collecting unemployment benefits is also very high. 6.7 million. But the fact that we saw this drop in one week suggests that maybe some people are finding work. We know it's tough, but some people are. We did see initial claims jump or, I shouldn't say jump, that's too strong a word, but they increased by 3,000. That was roughly in line with estimates.

One thing we're also seeing increase is, yes, check it out on the big board. The Dow is up 59 points and Nasdaq is up 37, or -- yes, 37. Don, we got two reports at the top of the hour, so it's a whole trifecta here. Manufacturing, which has just been decimated by this recession, contracting by a much less amount than we expected and also leading economic indicators, the folks who put together that report also came out at the top of the hour and said that the recession is losing its steam. There you go. And so, we got a jump -- we had a jump. You can see it on that. You see where that green spike there, that's when those reports were coming out.

LEMON: OK. So, you know, we're hearing that Chrysler reopening some of its plants and that should help out with that jobless number?

LISOVICZ: Yes. And, that's big on the jobs' front, good news overall. Chrysler is restarting seven of its 11 assembly plants later this month.. It's also reopening several parts factories and it means most Chrysler workers will get back to work. But, these gains may be short lived because typically automakers shut down during the slowest part of the year, the summer. So Chrysler will -- GM is extending its shutdown, but hopefully that will be just a temporary shutdown. Don?

LEMON: Yes, the summer dulldrums, we know it well. OK. Susan, thank you very much.

We want to go to now to some breaking weather news, Rob Marciano on top of it. Rob, what do you have?

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Kids on a plane. One plane sends an unaccompanied 10- year-old to the wrong city.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Continental Airlines is apologizing for a mix up that landed an unacompanied 10-year-old girl nearly 500 miles from her intended destination. Miriam Kamens was traveling from Boston to Cleveland to visit her grandparents, but she wound up on another flight arriving in Newark, New Jersey. Her family called continental a disgrace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMAN BRESKY, FATHER: They unloaded the plane and I know that unaccompanied minors are always the last off because the stewardess takes them off. So, the plane emptied out and she didn't get off.

REPORTER: So, you're standing at the gate.

BRESKY: Oh, yes, been there for about an hour to make sure I didn't miss her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the same thing happened on another Continentment express flight over the weekend. It's expected that around 20,000 kids will travel by themselves this summer, so we want to get our next guest to help us with this because parents I'm sure -- family members are going to be concerned hearing about this. Don't want to overplay it, but we want people to be informed. Airline travel expert Tom Parsons of Bestfares.com. He joins us live from Arlington, Texas, this morning.

First of all, when you're looking at this, this isn't a common problem that kids get lost when they're traveling unaccompanied. Is it?

TOM PARSONS, EDITOR BESTFARES.COM: No, I mean actually I got on a plane the other day from Tampa to Dallas on American, and there must have been -- this is the season to start traveling. And I understand some days there can be as many as 20,000 -- not in a month, but in a day that could be flying solo from the ages of two through 17.

LEMON: Are you surprised that it doesn't happen more?

PARSONS: No, I think -- I think the kind of fees we must pay we should expect greatness, not -- what happened to these two girls. But I do think there are booboos and there are mistakes and something happened. I don't even know how these girls were able to get on two different planes. Every plane I've been on lately has been full. They had to be sitting on somebody's lap. Someone should have figured it out by then.

But, in most cases I think the airlines do a pretty good job. In the summer if you're making connections they use interns to take them from place to place. They use little name -- this is from Southwest, but this is their little name tag.

LEMON: Can you hold that up higher so we can see it? There you go.

PARSONS: This is something they wear around their neck so every employee that works for the airline -- if they see one of these kids walking around solo and they have one of these things on their body they say what are you doing? They'll accommodate them. They'll try to protect those kids because they're parents, too.

LEMON: OK. So, Mr. Parsons, I want to get through a number of points because I've been getting a lot of questions from parents. So, let's move through them real quickly. Airlines, any have a better record than others?

PARSONS: You know, this is one of the first times we've heard about a child going on the wrong airport. Getting back-to-back -- Murphy's Law must have set on Continental. I mean, we saw an incident a few years ago with US Airways, at the point there was a connection flight that the child was misplaced. US Airways no longer allows any child of any age to take a connecting flight and have the escort service.

LEMON: Because they don't want to feel like they have to babysit. What happens if there is a delay and it has to be overnight. They take certain precautions.

PARSON: Yes. Again, if your child -- just remember this, if your child is flying there's an escort fee and those fees can be up to $100 domestically each way. If there's maybe bad weather or a delay over -- something, they do have a person over 18 years. But, at the same time, if you're letting your child fly solo with no fees and they're over the age of maybe 14 up to 17, what happens if they have to layover and they don't have this service? Many hotels won't even give you a room if you're under the age of 18. So, remember that too.

LEMON: You want to get them there, but your schedule doesn't always allow you to go with them, nor your pocketbook. We appreciate it. Tom Parsons, Editor of Bestfares.com.

PARSONS: Thank you.

LEMON: Talk a bout a profit. A man buys a book for $7 and sells it for tens of thousands. How is that possible?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: An Indiana soldier is $80 million richer today, not because he won the Lottery, but because he sold an old book. That's like winning the Lottery, I guess. Indiana National Guard Captain Nathan Harlan payed $7 --just 7 bucks for a book at a flea market when he was a teenager. It turns out he had a rare, first edition copy of volume one of the Federalist. 19 years later, it sold at an auction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. NATHAN HARLAN, INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD: I was going to go to eBay and put it on eBay and then had a moment of clarity, and I decided to go to Google first. I Google searched Federalist auction and it came up with an auction that happened this month last year of both volumes that sold for $262,000. So, I instantly stopped the eBay auction. I knew it had value, I didn't know what the value was. All right, I knew it had historical value.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow, good for him. The book printed in 1778 included essays calling for the ratification of the US Constitution.

Millions of people have a picture of President Barack Obama in their homes, on their walls or somewhere but nothing quite like this one. Take a look. Some elementary students in Massachusetts spent two months making a mural of the President that was made with 2,420 dominos and it's called Obamanoes. Making the mural also helped the students with their math skills.

We're getting pictures in right now of another protest in Iran, and we have the story for you. I'm Don Lemon. CNN NEWSROOM with Fredricka Whitfield contines.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is Thursday, June 18th. Continuing coverage of the election crisis in Iran all day, and now here are the faces of the stories driving the headlines here on CNN. Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary telling, trying to sell Congress on the President's new stack of financial safeguards. And refugees living in dire conditions, the global financial cris means less for the world's most destitute.

And, the world's number two golfer fighting for his first US Open victory, his wife, Amy, in the fight of her life.