Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

More Coverage of Protests in Tehran and Elsewhere; Iran's Supreme Leader Praises Election as "Definitive Victory"; Nuts and Bolts of Health Care Reform & Pre-existing Conditions; Medical Marijuana Legal and a Crime; Apple's New iPhone Goes on Sale

Aired June 19, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, we have the opportunity to take you live to Tehran. We join Hala Gorani of our sister network, CNN International, with our Wolf Blitzer.

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL: All right. Welcome to viewers in the United States and around the globe on this key story dominating headlines. I'm Hala Gorani.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a rare Friday sermon, leading the prayers there, addressing his nation and the world. Iran's supreme leader says, although some enemies depict the recent election as a doubtful victory, there is no question, he says, incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a definitive victory.

Iran is limiting CNN to one live report from the country per day. Our Reza Sayah joins us with that now from Tehran.

Tell us more about these Friday prayers today, Reza.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hala, if there was any doubt of who Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would side with in these election results, those doubts were erased.

Essentially, the supreme leader came out today and said these elections were free, these elections were fair and the winner was President Ahmadinejad. He said, he was re-elected and he said, if there's any more protests, he's not going to be happy about it. And he made it clear if indeed he does see more protests, he's not going to hesitate to come out and make himself even more clear.

Quite a scene today, Tehran University, the site of Friday prayers. This was a rare appearance by the supreme leader -- usually doesn't lead Friday prayers unless he has something to say. Tens of thousands of people showed up to Friday prayers to see what kind of resolution, what kind of answers he had for this political turmoil that's been unfolding for the past week.

And he basically said, "Trust the vote, trust the election results and trust the legal system," and he did say that this legal system includes the recount -- the partial recount, under way by the Guardian Council. But he said that recount is not going to make a difference because of the wide margin of 11 million votes, Hala.

GORANI: And what about the opposition itself? There was a stern warning issued today from the supreme leader of Iran, saying, stop these rallies. What will the Moussavi camp do?

SAYAH: Well, we spoke to an activist in the Moussavi camp and he made it clear to CNN that he didn't like what the supreme leader had to say. He said it was a threatening tone. He compared it to a military-style rallying of the troops and he basically said the supreme leader left no room to find common ground.

But this is such a stage -- chess match in such a huge scale. This was the supreme leader's move today. He clearly backed the president. Now it's Mr. Moussavi's move. What will he do?

Tomorrow, there's a scheduled rally. A lot of people were eager to see after this very stern warning if that rally would continue. We spoke to members of the Moussavi camp, and they said, yes, they will go on with the rally scheduled tomorrow. And we also spoke with the interior ministry, and they said they will not grant a permit.

So, another big day. It seems like every day is a huge day here with huge developments. Another one coming up tomorrow, Hala.

GORANI: But this would be very different. If after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says stop demonstrating, the demonstrations continue. That is open defiance, isn't it?

SAYAH: No question about it. And that's what makes tomorrow very crucial.

Before today, we didn't quite know where the supreme leader and who the supreme leader would side with. He'd initially come out, a day after the vote, and he congratulated President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But then, you had day after day of these tens -- sometimes hundreds of thousands of people coming out in support of Mir Hossein Moussavi. There was unprecedented pressure on this regime, unprecedented pressure on the supreme leader.

So, the question was: what would he do? Who would he side with? If he would have sided with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he would have basically turned his back on the tens of thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi who protested this election. If he would have sided with them, he would have undermined the regime and President Ahmadinejad, perhaps even himself.

But today, he made it clear that he's siding with the president. He doesn't want to see this political drama play out publicly and he wants it to end. But no indication from the Moussavi camp that they want it to end.

GORANI: We're entering unchartered waters in Iran. I got to ask, we have the viewers in the United States with us now, all over the world. The supreme leader also sent a message to the West today.

SAYAH: That's who he blames. In fact, what he made an effort to do was unite the Iranian nation. He said, "This isn't about one candidate going after another. This was a typical election. There was a robust debate." "And everyone," he said, "is a member of the Islamic republic." And the turmoil, the crisis, he said, he blamed it on the U.S. government, the British government. He said they have designs to create unrest.

So, again, this was an attempt on his part to unite the Iranian people. But, still, there's plenty of indications that many of these Iranians remain divided, even after these Friday prayers when we came out and we spoke to some of these supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they weren't happy with the demonstrators, Mir Hossein Moussavi supporters, who'd come out in strength.

So, still some indication that this country is divided with even with Ayatollah Khamenei trying to unite the nation.

GORANI: All right. We'll be going to the U.K., by the way, for reaction to that. For now, though, let's join my colleague Wolf Blitzer in Washington who wants to ask Reza a few questions -- Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, "THE SITUATION ROOM" HOST: Thank you very much, Hala.

Reza, what's the image of the president of the United States, Barack Obama? You've had a chance over these days to speak with a lot of Iranians. What are they saying about this U.S. president?

SAYAH: It depends which Iranian you speak with. Over the past few days, we've attended some protests and supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi, and on several occasions, I've had people come up to me and said, "We need the U.S. president, Barack Obama, to listen to us, to listen to our cries for help. We need better relations with the U.S."

He's a very popular person among the reformists, among supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi. But then you have the Iranians who showed up en masse today to listen to the Friday prayers and listen to Ayatollah Khamenei's speech, and this was a speech during which, once again, you heard "Death to America, death to America."

And after that speech, we spoke to many of the people who were in attendance, and they blamed much of the crisis, much of the turmoil that we're seeing unfolding here in Tehran on America, on Washington, and on President Barack Obama, Wolf.

BLITZER: The opposition -- I asked the question, Reza, the opposition, the supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi, would they like to see the president of the United States get more outspoken, if you will, on their behalf, or stay more on the sidelines?

SAYAH: Well, I think they do, but I think they're very realistic. And they don't expect him to do much more than he has done.

But I think when it comes to the supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi, they're curious to see what he does. He's the key at this point. It's his move.

You had the supreme leader come out and side with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and now it's Mr. Moussavi's turn. This is a big day tomorrow. Another rally scheduled. We've had one rally after another over on the past week, without permission from the government. That's unheard of in Iran. We have another one tomorrow.

We spoke to members of the camp, and they said they're trying to get a permit, which is something that they hadn't tried to do in the past few days. They've moved ahead with these rallies without permission. But tomorrow, they said, they're going to try to get a permission.

But we spoke to the interior ministry, and they said flat-out -- flat out, "That we are not granting Mr. \Moussavi a permission for tomorrow's rally."

BLITZER: and I want to be transparent with our viewers, Reza, in the United States and around the world, you're still restricted in to what you can do as a journalist covering this story, is that right?

SAYAH: Yes, no question about it. A couple of days ago, we were limited to one report a day. Earlier in the week, they told us we were limited to our office space, our workspace, and we were banned from covering and broadcasting images of these rallies and these demonstrations.

But it's very interesting. They told us, we are allowed to attend Friday prayers, today. We are allowed to hear what Ayatollah Khamenei had to say, and we did. We did attend it. They welcomed us. Our cameras were there to see his speech.

And we're just taking it a day at a time. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, what instructions are going to come down tomorrow from the government.

BLITZER: Give us a little sense -- you're one of the western reporters still allowed inside Tehran right now. Take us inside that country and give us a little feeling of how tense, how exciting this moment might be right now -- because as you say, the stage is set for a potential confrontation tomorrow.

SAYAH: Yes, and I think the emotions, the feelings, have evolved. It's been up and down. I think, earlier in the week, you did see some excitement before that. You saw a lot of tension with those brutal crackdowns on the part of riot police and members of the Basij.

And now, what I'm sensing is some tension reemerging. We spoke to some supporters of Mr. Moussavi. Every day we asked them, "Do you plan to attend another rally, do you plan to attend another demonstration?" And they said, yes, tomorrow they are planning to attend the demonstrations.

But they were clearly tense. They heard the supreme leader's message today. He made it crystal clear that he doesn't want to see any more of these protests.

Keep in mind, this regime, over the past 30 years, has been very uncommunicative. They played it very close to the vest. They don't like their conflicts within to be played out in the public. That's what we've seen over the past week.

So, he's made it clear that he doesn't want to see any more of these public protests and the supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi realized that this is an important day, that they're may be on the verge, this regime may be on the verge of getting ready for a crackdown -- much tougher than we saw earlier this week, Wolf.

BLITZER: Reza Sayah, we want you to be very careful, our entire CNN team, over there. We'll stay in touch. I know you're limited to filing only one report a day. We appreciate your good work.

Hala Gorani, we're going to be all over this story on CNN and CNN international. Let me throw it back to you.

GORANI: All right, thank you, Wolf.

Yes, just to recap for our viewers all over the world, we're going to continue to cover this story from all angles, including with our team in Tehran, led by Reza Sayah, on this -- the day that the supreme leader of Iran has made it clear whose side he supports, the one of re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

What will happen in the coming days? Will the opposition, will dissenters, be allowed to rally in the streets of Tehran? And how will the world react as well to some of the statements coming out of there? All of this, as the dispute continues between many western countries and Iran regarding that country's nuclear program.

All right. We're going to have a lot more on both networks, for our viewers in the United States, CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Tony Harris.

HARRIS: And our thanks to our correspondent in Tehran, Reza Sayah, CNN International anchor, Hala Gorani, and the host of "THE SITUATION ROOM," our Wolf Blitzer.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the true power behind Iran's theocracy. Few Americans know much about him other than he's the ayatollah. Khamenei is 69 years old and became a political dissident ahead of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He has ruled Iran since 1989. That's when Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the revolution, died.

Khamenei served as Iran's president during the turbulent 1980s when Iran was at war with Iraq. Khamenei has maintained his predecessor's hard line, often calling the U.S. "the great Satan."

Let's move to CNN's international desk, our hub for news gathering on Iran. Our Ivan Watson is watching the latest information and video come in to the NEWSROOM.

And, Ivan, if you would, show us the sites, and the social networking site that you're following. And what are you seeing?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one thing I'd like to take a look at today, Tony, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at those prayer services, he really went after the West. He went after Britain. He went after the U.S. government, and after what he called western Zionist news organizations, and I assume he included CNN in that condemnation. He accused them of trying to divide Iran.

And this is coming after Iranian state TV began broadcasting reports like this -- take a look at what Press TV has been reporting over the past 24 hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, PRESS TV)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Iranian intelligence ministry says police have arrested members of several terrorist networks. Intelligence officials caught the alleged bombers with tens of kilos of explosives in their possession. They (ph) say they wanted to carry out attacks on the day of Iran's presidential election. They admit to having links with several foreign powers including Israel and the U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And this report and the reports that were played on other Iranian state TV news networks also showed what they described as alleged confessions by some of the plotters. And let's take a look at them. Their faces are masked. Let's take a listen to what they had to say, Tony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, PRESS TV)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): After the attacks, we were supposed to travel to a neighboring country and then go to the United States from there. We entered Iran illegally, and after a while, I was arrested by intelligence officials.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: And this is just giving you a sense of the mounting tension that's taking place in Tehran right now with the state facing off against what it says is a foreign threat to stability -- Tony?

HARRIS: All right. Ivan Watson for us -- Ivan, appreciate it. Thank you.

U.S. congressional leaders want to show support to the people of Iran. House members, minutes, ago passed a resolution. It was nearly unanimous. It supports, quoting here, "all Iranians who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law."

John McCain today introduced a similar resolution in the Senate, and he criticized President Obama for not taking a stand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It's unfortunate in a way that this resolution is required since the administration does not want to, quote, "meddle" and has refused -- the president has refused to speak out in support of these brave Iranian citizens -- most of them young -- who are risking their very lives to protest what was clearly an unfair and corrupt election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And I'm just getting word that Republican Ron Paul was the only Republican and the only member of the House to vote against that resolution.

On CNN tonight, at 8:00, Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, he joins Campbell Brown to talk about Iran and how involved President Obama should be.

The U.N. is voicing concern over Iran's handling of protesters. We've seen video that appears to show riot police attacking and arresting demonstrators. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights says the arrests raise troubling questions. She is urging Iranian authorities to ensure due process and fair trials for those detained.

And for all the latest on the fallout from the Iranian election, you can go to our special coverage at CNN.com/Specials. And click on "Iran" under today's hot topics.

Unanimous vote in the Senate. The subject? An apology.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Minorities becoming the majority. It is what we're talking about today in our "What Matters" segment in partnership with "Essence" magazine. Recent U.S. Census data finds young minorities now outnumber young whites in nearly one out of six U.S. counties. The number of white children has dropped more than 5 percent since 2000. And 48 percent of the babies born in America last year were minorities. It is a trend that could make it harder to define just who is a minority in the future.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the NAACP and the group is looking ahead to the next 100 years for African-Americans. In the July issue of "Essence" magazine, NAACP President Ben Jealous talks about the growing number of black men in America's prisons. Jealous says the experiment of getting tough on crime over the past 20 years just hasn't worked. He says rehabilitation for drug crimes instead of prison would help more black men return to their families and society.

CNN's Don Lemon sat down with Jealous to talk about the issue that has become very personal to him, especially this Father's Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN JEALOUS, NAACP PRESIDENT: One of my greatest fears is that if my child -- you know, if my daughter, if my daughter Morgan decides she wants to marry a black man, trends that we've known through our lifetimes continue, it may be very hard. And right now, as we speak, black boys are outnumbered going into college by black girls two to one. And that's something that's developed over the last 30 years.

Again, you know, one out of three young black men is headed towards prison at this moment. Those sorts of stats suggest that young, beautiful, black women like my daughter, 20 years from now, in my case 50 years from now ...

(LAUGHTER)

DON LEMON, CNN: Yes, right. You wish!

JEALOUS: ... will, you know, may have a very hard time finding a mate if they want to marry a black man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And for more of Don Lemon's interview with NAACP president, Ben Jealous, catch the "What Matters" segment tomorrow night at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

You know, today is June 19th, marking the celebration of the end of slavery. One lawmaker calls slavery an enduring national shame and the Senate has taken a step toward repentance for what many see as America's original sin. The story now from CNN's Kate Bolduan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All in favor say aye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aye.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those opposed no.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A silence that spoke volumes. The Senate formally and for the first time, apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and segregation -- institutions sanctioned by Congress.

SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: It's long past due. A national apology by the representative body of the people is a necessary, collective response to a past collective injustice.

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: We acknowledge that. We say it was wrong, and we ask for forgiveness for that.

BOLDUAN: The resolution states: "The Senate apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws." In a Capitol built by slaves, the moment especially poignant for the only African-American currently in the Senate, Roland Burris, the great, great grandson of a slave.

SEN. ROLAND BURRIS (D), ILLINOIS: This resolution cannot erase the terrible legacy, but it can help to heal the wounds of centuries gone by.

BOLDUAN: The vote fell on the eve of Juneteenth or June 19th, the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery. Just a short distance from the Capitol, we asked African-Americans what the Senate vote meant to them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a long time coming, don't you think? But we've come a long way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't really do anything or adjust the problems that we're facing in this country still.

BOLDUAN: Some African-American activists say the Senate vote is a first step, but not enough.

HILARY SHELTON, NAACP: Reparations have to be decided. That's something further down the line. There's nothing in this bill that refers to reparations one way or another.

BOLDUAN (on camera): Congress has passed similar measures before, apologizing to Japanese-Americans for internment during World War II and last year apologizing to native Americans for past instances of violence and neglect. Lawmakers are planning a formal celebration to commemorate the slavery apology resolution early next month.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The Midwest has been getting pounded with damaging storms. We will check in with Chad in the severe weather center in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Powerful thunderstorms bringing heavy rain and unleashing several tornadoes across the U.S. Midwest. A lot of pictures to show you here -- this is central Iowa. Strong winds tore the roof off of this bar. Boy, a thunderstorm struck overnight, Wednesday into Thursday, causing widespread damage and power outages.

And southeastern Minnesota, heavy destruction left up to five twisters that struck Wednesday night. A few minor injuries reported and Missouri weather watchers there, not sure yet if straight line winds or a tornado caused this damage in the small town of Norborne.

Look at all this damage, Chad. And let me see, we're talking about Wednesday night into Thursday. OK, this is Friday.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

HARRIS: So, what's the situation today, Chad?

MYERS: Yes. I got 60 hours already in this week and it's only Friday. So ...

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: Oh, boy. Yes!

MYERS: It will be a 72-hour week by the time I get done.

HARRIS: There you go. MYERS: Showers into Chicago right now. We are seeing that heavy rain in the event in Chicago. We are also seeing the airports being very slow. Not only Chicago but also Boston as well. Rain showers up in to Maine.

The showers that I'm really worried about will be the ones around Chicago today. I think some of those could become tornadic, especially south of the city into Illinois and Indiana. There are your airport delays there. And you see basically the entire area almost from the east coast back into the upper part of the Midwest. That's where the severe weather will be again this afternoon -- in the same places that it's been over and over and over.

Yesterday was kind of a break. We didn't have too many tornadoes, but I think, today. we could fire them back up in this muggy heat of the day.

HARRIS: Look at all of that heat.

MYERS: Yes.

HARRIS: And you're right, the sun just sort of heats up all of that and here we go.

MYERS: Absolutely.

HARRIS: All right, Chad, appreciate it. Thanks, sir.

Who are the leading players in the opposition in Iran? Some of them have been through all of this before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: This picture now from CNN i-Reporter Navid in Iran. It shows a statue of an ancient Iranian poet draped in a green scarf. It's meant to signal his support for opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. Iranians are going to great risks to send us images from the front lines of the election protests.

Iran's supreme leader speaks and the crowd chants, "Death to Israel, death to America, death to Britain." This gathering at Tehran University was Ayatollah Ali Khomenei's first speech since last Friday's disputed election. The ayatollah passionately defended the vote praising President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's win as a definitive victory. He also warned opposition leaders not to hold future demonstrations. But opposition groups say they will go ahead with a rally tomorrow in defiance of the ayatollah's warning.

Iran has seen its share of protests since the Islamic revolution, but none could break the clerics' hold on power. Here's CNN's Ivan Watson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protests in the streets of Tehran, not today, but almost exactly 10 years ago. In July of 1999, Iranian students held mass demonstrations against the government. Iranian author and activist Behzad Yaghmaian was one of the protesters.

BEHZAD YAGHMAIAN, AUTHOR, "SOCIAL CHANGE IN IRAN": You have hundreds of thousands of students pouring into the streets basically chanting the same things that you hear today. Then they were chanting "death to the dictator" and the dictator they were talking about was Ayatollah Khomeini. Today again in the streets of Tehran you are hearing death to the dictator.

WATSON: In 1999, it took the government barely a week to crush the demonstrations.

ABBAS MILANI, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Ten years ago it was localized to the students, with various small signs of support from outside the campuses. The regime could easily isolate them.

WATSON: Analysts like Stanford University's Abbas Milani say today's uprising is very different, because it's not just the students against the government.

MILANI: There are tensions within the regimes, serious fissures within the regime.

WATSON: Today the opposition includes men who were once some of the most powerful figures in the Islamic Republic. People like Mir Hossein Mousavi. In the 1980s he was a hard-line prime minister in Iran's revolutionary government. Today he's the face of the opposition. He's supported by Hashimi Rafsanjani, a conservative cleric and former president who has long been a pillar of the Iranian regime.

YAGHMAIAN: The conservative's bloc is totally broken. There is a war, a very serious war within the conservative bloc.

WATSON: On the other side of this power struggle, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini. He controls the security forces and has the support of Iran's powerful revolutionary guard. They've definitely got the upper hand. But as the last week has shown, brute force alone may not win this contest. Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: On CNN this weekend, Christiane Amanpour shares her firsthand look at Iran's explosive election and the bloody aftermath. "Amanpour Reports Anatomy of an Election", Saturday and Sunday night at 7:00 Eastern on CNN.

Prosecutors weigh in with the latest on their investigation into Senator Roland Burris and his relationship with former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Very quickly want to take you to Prince George's County Maryland, right now. And rescue teams, as you can see here, are responding to an event at the river park. And they are looking for several kayakers who have been reported missing. We understand that 13 individuals have been pulled from the water and appear to be uninjured. Our affiliate there in Washington, D.C. WJLA providing us with those pictures. Rescue boats, dive teams, a helicopter, all of these resources have been called in to look for the missing kayakers. It is unclear at this time how many remain unaccounted for and officials aren't really sure if the missing kayakers are part of a 4h camp which is located nearby. So, we will continue to follow these pictures and the developments connected to the story. We just don't know at this time how many kayakers remain unaccounted for. But 13 individuals, we understand, have been pulled from this water and appear to be uninjured.

Illinois, Senator Roland Burris, will not face perjury charges. Prosecutors say the evidence just isn't there. Some say Burris perjured himself in testimony before state lawmakers, who impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich. Indeed, his story has changed. Several times. In a conversation recorded by federal agents, Burris promised to help, quoting here, "To help re-elect the governor, but prosecutors say such statements are just too vague to suggest Burris bought his senate seat and lied about it.

Our "Help Desk" is answering your financial questions, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, can you make a collection action go away on your credit report simply by paying it off? Hmm, CNN personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, asks "The Help Desk."

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to "The Help Desk." Gary Chatzky is the president of objectiveadvice.com and Lynette Khalfani-Cox is a personal finance author. All right, guys, let's get to work. Carla asks, "When bills have gone into collection, what is the best way to restore your credit? Does paying them off help your credit?" Lynette?

LYNETTE KHALFANI-COX: Believe it or not, the short answer is simply paying them off will not help your credit score. A lot of people don't know, what you need to do is work out an agreement with the creditor. Get something called a PFD letter, a pay for deletion.

WILLIS: Pay for deletion, OK.

KHALFANI-COX: Exactly, you have to say, listen, if I pay you "x" amount of dollars, will you agree to delete all negative references to my report to Trans Union, Equifax and Experian. If you don't do that, frankly it will stay on there. It will say paid was 90 delays delinquent and that's not going to improve your FICO credit score.

GARY CHATZKY: Not everyone is going to give you that, but very few people even know that it could exist. WILLIS: I think that's great advice. OK, let's go to the next question. Matt asks, "With experts predicting a future increase in inflation, what investments or areas should I put my money in so that it maintains its value respective to growing inflation." Gary, a lot of people are worried about inflation out there and for pretty good reasons.

CHATZKY: With absolutely great reason we could expect growing inflation. The classic areas would be things like commodities, gold and general commodities, perhaps treasury and inflation protection.

WILLIS: You don't mean this kind of gold, right?

CHATZKY: Normally not. Not on your arm. But as an investment it would work nicely. But the key thing is you have to do it in moderation. You can't put everything into it. And make sure if you have bonds, that they're short term, because short-term bonds are not dramatically impacted by rising inflation. So, those are the key.

WILLIS: And possibly treasury inflation protected securities might be a good way to go, and that's easy peasy to buy, because you just buy a mutual fond.

CHATZKY: Vanguard has a great fund, low cost. A great way to step into it.

WILLIS: Gary, Lynette, thanks for your help today, great answers. All right, "The Help Desk" is all about getting you answers. Send me an e-mail to gerri@cnn.com or logon to cnn.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions. And "The Help Desk" is everywhere. Make sure to check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.

HARRIS: Well, in the battle over health care reform there seems to be an agreement on the need to provide insurance for people with pre-existing conditions. So, will the reforms lead to better coverage? Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here to help us wrap up our special weeklong focus on health care reform. It's a pretty provocative question, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is and you know what Tony, I'm going to answer it with another question.

HARRIS: OK.

COHEN: What is one big, huge reason why we have 46 million uninsured Americans in this country? I'll answer it. Because people with pre-existing conditions who aren't lucky enough to get insurance through their employer, they have a terrible time getting insurance on their own. Many times if you have heart disease or diabetes or MS, they'll just tell you no, they'll say no I'm not going to insure you and then you are really stuck. Other people they're told, all right, I'll insure you, but I'm going to charge you. So, I think you should take a look at these numbers. A healthy 60-year-old man in Miami, Florida, would pay about $5,400 to get health insurance. That's a yearly cost. HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: However, a man with allergies and Tony we're talking like mild to moderate, just like seasonal allergies, they're going to charge him $6,720 a year. OK so that's a 25 percent increase. Now it gets even worse. You have your healthy man and then look a man with high blood pressure who is taking a bunch of drugs to control his high blood pressure, they will charge him $8,100 instead of $5,400 a year for insurance. A lot of people can't afford that. That's a lot of money to pay for health insurance. Again, this one is really pretty mind blowing. See, there's that healthy man. A man with a bad back, they're going to ask him to pay $12,000 a year if he's got a really bad back for health insurance. Again, a 60-year-old man in Miami. And I know we need to talk about this. These numbers are pretty staggering.

HARRIS: Here's my question for you. I know everyone believes this is pretty bad. But my question is, as I recall, correct me if I'm wrong here, didn't the president address this issue Monday in his speech before the American Medical Association?

COHEN: That's right. Talked to the American Medical Association. He mentioned his own personal experience with this.

HARRIS: That's right.

COHEN: Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: This is personal for me also. I've told this story before. I'll never forget watching my own mother as she fought cancer in her final days spending time worrying about whether her insurer would claim her illness was a pre-existing condition so it could get out of providing coverage. Changing the current approach to pre-existing conditions is the least we can do for my mother and for every other mother, father, son and daughter who has suffered under this practice who have been paying premiums and don't get care. We need to put health care within the reach for millions of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, the president has also said that he thinks that insurance companies should have to take all comers, should have to insure people with pre-existing conditions. Well, the insurance companies might not like that. He hasn't said how he's going to make them do it.

HARRIS: One more quick one here. Are republicans saying anything about insuring people with pre-existing conditions?

COHEN: They've certainly jumped on this bandwagon. They certainly said hey people with pre-existing conditions should have a better time than they have now, things should get better. But they haven't said precisely how, in the same way the president hasn't said precisely how. HARRIS: If I haven't thanked you enough already, let me thank you again. You've been terrific this week in helping us with some of these key issues as this debate on health care reform continues along here. We're going to count on you in the months ahead. Thank you Elizabeth, we appreciate it.

COHEN: Thank you.

HARRIS: And perhaps you remember during the presidential campaign, we met a writer and musician, Derrick Asham, he became a YouTube phenomenon after posting a video about Barack Obama that received more than a million hits. Derrick wanted to find out more about a husband and wife serving time in California for using and distributing medical marijuana. So, CNN gave him a camera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DERRICK ASHAM (on camera): Even though medical marijuana is legal in California, the federal government sees all marijuana use as a crime.

(Voice-over): Dr. Molly Frye is a double mastectomy survivor. Her chemotherapy treatments made her nauseas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four different pills and three different IVs and he could not stop the vomiting.

ASHAM: So her doctor prescribed pot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The doctor said, I think that you really should use marijuana. I attribute my weight persistence and my ability to maintain my health due exclusively to the use of the marijuana.

ASHAM (on camera): While in remission, Dr. Frye, herself a medical doctor, and her husband Dale Schaeffer, an attorney, began recommending marijuana to other patients. They began growing marijuana. In some cases, giving it away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which I believed in my heart was 100 percent legal and 100 percent my job to care for people who could not care for themselves.

ASHAM: Legal under California law, but not legal under federal law. In March 2008 Dr. Frye and her husband were sentenced to five years in a federal prison for growing and distributing marijuana. The minimum sentence under federal law. Tony Serra is their attorney.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no defense. The federal authorities have put marijuana in schedule one. That means, to them, it's the same as methamphetamine. Has no medical efficacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were told that marijuana has no medical value. I'm here to tell you it has lots of medical value. I know from my own personal experience, with me, with her, with the 5,000 to 10,000 patients that we saw. ASHAM: But Tony Serra says the federal government makes a different case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want another drug on the street? Do you want your children available another drug? Don't you see what will happen? It will lead to methamphetamine and pretty soon they'll be robbing banks and that's one argument.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, a lot of people use marijuana, but a lot more will if it's legal.

ASHAM: Tony Ribeiro is a former San Francisco police chief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you legalize it, you're really opening Pandora's box.

ASHAM (on camera): Ribeiro told me that the medical marijuana situation creates confusion for law enforcement on many levels. Who is allowed to distribute it and is it really going to real patients?

What is the status of legalization or lack thereof of marijuana in the state of California?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think most law enforcement people will tell you that right now the medical marijuana initiative in California is out of control.

ASHAM: President Obama has said he was against using the federal government to raid medical marijuana shops. That federal resources shouldn't be used to circumvent state laws.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Obama administration has said clearly that they will not be raiding medical marijuana facilities anytime soon.

ASHAM: In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, wants more debate on the issue.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) CALIFORNIA: And I think that we ought to study very carefully on what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he's not speaking out of truth and idealism. He's speaking out of economic desperation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're legalizing a vice simply so Sacramento, where I think most of us are in agreement, spending is out of control, can do more spending.

ASHAM: So while city, state, and federal officials try to make sense of it all, Dale Schaeffer and Dr. Molly Frye are free on bail awaiting their appeal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do not belong in jail. Certainly not in federal prison. I'm 52 years old. I have another 20 years of service to my community, and I don't want to lose that time. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy, that was writer and musician, Derrick Asham reporting for us.

An iPhone with cut and paste and $80,000 for song downloads? What's going on here? Two big tech stories we're following today. Nicole Lapin, cnn.com, is back with us. Nicole? Will you sort this out for me, please?

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I thought I saw you there. You weren't there at 12:30? Wait, hold on. This is somebody else's big head?

HARRIS: Yes, that's someone else's big head!

LAPIN: Because these crowds were there for the new iPhone this morning.

HARRIS: No, you're not going to find me there.

LAPIN: Never.

HARRIS: You'll never find me there.

LAPIN: You don't even know how to turn it on. At 12:30 in the morning, look, a lot of i-Reports are coming in of these crowds. They're not as big as they were last year. Let's be real. Because there are a few reasons why. This is the new 3GS, it's out today. It has some new bells and whistles like a compass, for example.

HARRIS: OK.

LAPIN: They also have, you know, a video player. But a lot of that stuff you can get from downloading an update. So, here are some more i-Reports we're getting in of the crowds. Another reason is you're able to order online this year unlike in the past when you had to go to the store to activate it. Another reason why these crowds are a little smaller is because some users who already have the iPhone, the older version, have to wait to upgrade. So, we are still watching the crowds. We're also watching this other story.

HARRIS: Yes.

LAPIN: You are fascinated by this story. It's a woman who was fined $2 million, almost $2 million, for downloading these 24 songs. Can you see that?

HARRIS: No, I can't really.

LAPIN: No, you can't. I knew that. Get your glasses.

HARRIS: If everyone else can see it, I won't.

LAPIN: We have a graphic for you, calm down. Jamie Thomas- Rassert's case is the first of its kind to be tried in the states. Hello, there you go my friend. She just wanted a little Def Leppard. The 32-year-old mom from Minnesota. Each song is costing her $80,000, so she can't pay the "Bills, Bills, Bills", that was one of the songs she downloaded, a little Destiny's Child. We hope she keeps believing and she keeps playing that Journey song again. Because Tony these came from Kazaa, before it was a subscription site. By the way, the Recording Industry Association of America does have a list of the places you can go legally to get music from different sites, AOL Music and others. And the conversation continues on the blogs.

HARRIS: There you go.

LAPIN: You know how to get there by now. "Does the fine fit the crime?", cnn.com/newsroom.

HARRIS: Nicole appreciate you, have a great weekend.

Remembering a man caught in the cross fire of hate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Once again, let's give you a quick update on the story we told you about just moments ago. This is the Patuxent River Park, Prince George's County, Maryland. Pictures from our affiliate in Washington, D.C., WJLA. Initially we told you there were a number of kayakers that were experiencing some problems and in need of a bit of a rescue in the waters there, running a little swifter than usual because of recent rains. We understand that a total of 32 kayakers were involved in this episode. Initially telling you that 13 individuals had been pulled from the water and appeared to be injured. We now understand, the latest reporting on this, is that 32 kayakers reported in trouble. All 32 appear to have been rescued and are safe and sound. At least right now. That's the reporting that we have right now.

OK. It's time for us to push forward now, the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips!

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

The supreme leader has spoken. But will Iranians who feel cheated listen? We're pushing forward on the ayatollah's orders, knock off the protests or else.

One year for child rape, an incredible sentence for an unspeakable crime. This hour, Oklahoma justice on trial.

And my other daily outrage, the market for murderabilia, from the crime scene to the evidence room to your living room. If the price is right. I want to hear from you. Let the tweeting begin.

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