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Iranian Protestors Under Attack, Reports of Brutal Beatings; Pres. Obama wrote letter to Ayatollah Khamenei before Election; The Changing War in Afghanistan; Steve Jobs gets Liver Transplant; President Obama Selling the Health Care Reform Plan; Tips on Starting your own Successful Business

Aired June 24, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That is worth three cheers. I think that is where the success is going to come. Soon as some people start hiring Tony, others will pick up and they'll say, hey, this is getting better. When people get jobs, they start to spend money, hopefully responsibly, but that's what turns this economy around.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK Ali, we'll let you wrap up your radio show. You're also in for Rick Sanchez all week.

VELSHI: I am.

HARRIS: Let's get together for a bite and let's solve all the world's problems, all right?

VELSHI: Let's do it.

HARRIS: I appreciate it.

Welcoming viewers all around the world who are joining us through CNN International. We have breaking news to report, word of a violent crackdown right now in the streets of Tehran. Reports of hundreds of security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons at unarmed demonstrators. Let's get straight to our Ivan Watson. He is working his sources from CNN's Iran desk. And, Ivan, what's the latest?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, we're trying to nail down what exactly has gone on in Tehran. And we're joined now on the line with one of our trusted sources. I'm not going to give her name. This is a 28-year-old woman. She describes herself as a supporter of the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent president, who's officially won these June 12th elections. Now, let me first ask you, have you been to Tehran's Baharistan Square today? Have any of your friends been there? What are you hearing? What have you seen from that area today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I was not there today. But I heard from my friends, there were some flashes in Baharistan Square today and police were there. There were people who were beaten and there were protesters there and (INAUDIBLE).

WATSON: Now, can you tell me, what do you think about these demonstrators and these protesters? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am with the protesters as long as it takes their place that's appropriate for Iran, you know. Not now I see that people stop working, for example, the square is very crowded place of Tehran and a main place for trade. And then people are there and government (INAUDIBLE).

WATSON: And you voted for President Ahmadinejad in the elections, right? Why did you do that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I thought what the president of Iran, but more honest in what -- more secure of rights in Iran, in the Islamic Republic of Iran. But other candidates, I thought that they don't have any official programs, specifically Mousavi. I didn't hear that he has any programs for progress. But from what I (INAUDIBLE) wanted to fight the correction. Because of the (INAUDIBLE), that's why I vote for him.

WATSON: OK, because he's fighting corruption. And all of this debate about the elections, whether or not they were fair, whether or not there was cheating involved, do you think these elections were fair?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that we had this election before, since 1979, you know? And these people ran for president, all of them came from the same system. They were elected before in this system, and so if there is cheating, you could say cheating has happened before to. So, I don't think it's a matter, cheating is not a matter now.

WATSON: And today, outside your home, are you seeing large numbers of police? Are you seeing evidence of any clashes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In our streets things are calm, we have police here since Saturday that the result came out, we have police here, but there were no clashes today. It is calm, people are coming like normal of the days in Tehran.

WATSON: I want to thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. And we will be in touch with you in the future, of course, as one of our trusted sources on the ground in Tehran. So there we go, Tony, a resident of Tehran, a 28-year-old woman, a supporter of the official winner of these elections, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And she, through her friends, is hearing that there indeed has been some kind of unrest, some kind of clashes in Bahiristan(ph) Square -- Tony?

HARRIS: Terrific. Because I was unclear on what she was actually hearing. And, all right, that's helpful information. Ivan, appreciate it, thank you.

Let's bring in our Josh Levs right now, and Josh has been following the activity on the social networking sites as best he can. Josh, what are you finding, what are you seeing?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, people are going wild over this latest news and reports that we are getting. I'll remind everyone again why we are following this so closely, especially with the media crackdown in Iran, more and more people turning to the social media networks and it is a sign of how information is spreading worldwide incredibly quickly. One thing we're doing is following Twitter minute by minute. I'm going to show you some tweets now. Let's bring them in. The first one, all Tony within the last two minutes at the point. You see this first one here, "To all Iranians for freedom, we are praying for your safety and success. Be strong, fight long." The next one that came in within seconds of that, "Reports of terrible violence in Tehran including beatings, shootings, arrests." It's talked about how the Twitter feed is going crazy. Let's do a couple more here, "Never, never shall Iran rest until these savages have been driven out and Iran is free."

And then we have one more that's specifically talking about what we were just hearing in Bahiristan(ph) there, "Today in Baharestan not only tear gas was used," they are saying, "They also severely attacked people with batons and cables." Here's how it's working Tony. People are putting out these tweets. It's going out to millions of people. Once in a while there are some that are coming from inside Iran and those get re-tweeted, people sharing and sharing and sharing, and it is a sign that despite all the efforts inside Iran, you really can't prevent some pieces of information from getting out there.

So a lot more we want to know, we would love to be able to confirm every single thing. But the truth is, word is spreading very quickly through social media. Quickly, let's zoom in on the computer behind me, if we can. I just want you to see something here Tony. Because all of these came in within five seconds of each other and I was just pulling them up. And we are not showing any Twitters' names. What people are saying is emotional. "I've cried so much I have no tears left. I'm ready to die for my soil." It talks about women being beaten. This calls the Basij(ph) the traitors to their people. We are seeing a very quick flurry of information, of people talking about it, of people weighing in and saying how much they care.

Let's show everyone the graphic because I want to show our viewers how you can weigh in. Lot's of people calling in saying you should look at this, look at that. We're camped out, I have my Twitter page right there, Facebook is the same thing, in both cases it's /joshlevscnn. Also the NEWSROOM blog, just click on Tony. You're going to see where you can weigh in on what's going on in Iran. Tony, we're going to keep a close eye here for bits of information that come in for as you know, the latest videos and photos and also for the way that people all over the world are responding to these little bits of news that they're getting about activities inside Iran.

HARRIS: Just dramatic events today, Josh. Keep us plugged in.

LEVS: You got it.

HARRIS: All right.

With the violence escalating in Iran, President Obama is getting tougher in his criticism of the crackdown. Our Tom Foreman reports.

(BEGIN VIDETOAPE) TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just as the street battles have changed by the hour, right from the beginning the president's tone was also changed. To a decidedly harder line against the Iranian government.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats of beatings and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect those rights and heed the will of its own people. They must govern through consent and not coercion.

FOREMAN: The president has taken heat from conservatives for saying too little to encourage the Iranian opposition. And he was hit squarely on that front.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What took you so long to utter those words?

OBAMA: I don't think that's accurate. Right after the election, I said that we had profound concerns about the nature of the election, but that it was not up to us to determine what the outcome was.

FOREMAN: In Iran, some are accusing the United States and its allies of doing too much. Spurring on the protests. The president says, that's absurd.

OBAMA: This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won't work anymore in Iran.

FOREMAN: But, that is as far as he will go. Despite appeals for help, such as more economic sanctions from Iranians on the internet and on the streets. He insists they alone must sort out this matter.

(on camera): Independent reporting is still banned there. So, how Iranians will sort it out remains murky. Eyewitnesses say the government crackdown continues, and preparations are under way for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second inauguration.

The White House posted the president's comments online in Farsi, a clear outreach to dissidents, but asked what consequences might follow if those dissidents continue to be repressed, President Obama would not fight..

OBAMA: Because I think, Chuck, that we don't know yet how this thing is going to play out. I know everybody here's on a 24-hour news cycle. I'm not.

FOREMAN: So for the protesters, it appears hope for outside help and time to overturn the disputed election may both be running out. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

HARRIS: Fast-moving developments in the Iran story. Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, is on the line with us right now from London. And Christiane, I understand you have some news of a letter from President Obama to Iran's supreme leader? CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. Some time, at least a couple of months, several weeks before the election, CNN, or I have learned through my sources, that President Obama did send a direct message to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, in keeping with the public messages that he has sent regarding wanting to try to start new ties and take a new diplomatic engagement with Iran. President Obama did send a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, requesting dialogue and seeking to start a dialogue. My Iranian sources tell me that this is something that they had been preparing to start after these elections -- Tony?

HARRIS: All right. And Christiane, is it too much of a stretch at this point to suggest that this letter to the supreme leader and the response that you're learning from your sources in Iran might have had something to do with what has been described as a less-than- vigorous response to the outbreak of violence in this post-election period?

AMANPOUR: No. I'm not saying that. I'm not characterizing the administration's response after the election. What I'm reporting is that in keeping with President Obama's stated policy of wanting to try dialogue with the Islamic Republic of Iran, he sent a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a message to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a good time before the elections, seeking to start and seeking the methodology of dialogue.

HARRIS: OK. Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, for us. Christiane, appreciate it. Thank you for that latest information.

We are also following the story online at cnn.com. Extensive coverage of the election and escalating violence.

There is also a timeline of events that we've also uploaded some of the i-Reports and witnesses and victims.

It was long called the forgotten war. Now, Afghanistan appears to be the evolving war. The U.S. is changing its military game plan, adopting a civilians-first strategy in Afghanistan. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Already, it's the deadliest month in Afghanistan for U.S. troops since last September. For Afghan civilians, it's getting more dangerous as well, with insurgent attacks in early June at the highest level since 2001.

These U.S. Marines in southern Afghanistan are on the front line against the resurgent Taliban. British troops have also launched a massive air assault. But combat is about to change here. After less than two weeks on the job, CNN has learned that the new commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, is issuing new combat rules aimed at cutting down on the number of Afghan civilians killed by air strikes. McChrystal has made it clear, keeping civilians safe is a top priority. GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, ISAF COMMANDER: The Afghan people are at the center of our mission. In reality, they are our mission. We must protect them from violence, whatever its nature.

STARR: General McChrystal's classified orders say if civilians might be in the area, the first option for U.S. troops is to withdraw, instead of firing back at the Taliban, unless troops are in immediate danger. Telling troops to consider withdrawing from a firefight comes after a highly controversial air strike in Farrah Province where at least two dozen civilians were likely killed. Retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmett says the new policy may be essential to winning in the long term.

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMETT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): We may perhaps lose that particular target, but we don't lose something much greater if we attack it, which is the support of that town, support of that city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: All right, let's talk live now with our pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, and CNN's Atia Abawi in Afghanistan. Barbara, let's start with you. If this is classified information, how come we know so much about it?

STARR: Well, you know, there's classified and there's classified. What's really going on here, Tony, is the U.S. military wants to get out the basic message that they are going to take more care with civilian casualties, because it has become so controversial in Afghanistan. And I think Atia will tell you, the people there are very distressed about it. There's a second part to this new strategy. U.S. troops won't be chasing the Taliban all over the place anymore either. They're going to try and get them out of the towns and cities as a first priority. They think that will also go a long way to keeping the people safe -- Tony?

HARRIS: Barbara, appreciate that. Let's do that, let's turn to Atia Abawi now. Atia, the offensive is under way. I'm curious as to whether these new rules of engagement designed to better protect Afghan civilians will buy the coalition more breathing room from the Afghan public?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, to put it simply, no. But to put it fairly, the Afghan people know that the Taliban are behind their civilian casualties as well. They know that the Taliban use them as shields with these coalition forces. So, the Afghan people, we need to remember, on their evening newscasts, on their radios, from word-of-mouth, all they hear is about civilian casualties and the Taliban are playing this PR game very, very well. Better than the coalition forces when it comes to the Afghan people. The Taliban keep pointing the finger at these coalition forces and saying, these are the people who are killing the Afghans.

But, it's coming from both sides. The Afghan people need to see it first. Right now all they've seen is dead Afghans. It's been 30 years of war that they've had here, and they're sick and tired of it. They're tired of seeing their people die, and they are hoping that there will be some kind of peace that will come about, particularly in 2009 -- Tony?

HARRIS: We will do much more on this new offensive in Afghanistan in the days to come. I promise you. Atia Abawi for us in Afghanistan and Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

The Obama administration is reversing Bush-era policy on Syria. A senior administration official tells CNN that the president will send an ambassador to Damascus, the official says engaging Syria now could weaken its strategic alliance with Iran. President Bush pulled the U.S. ambassador from Damascus in 2005 to protest the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister. Syria denied it had anything to do with it.

What are you saying about the fight over health care reform? What are you saying about it? And how are your opinions shaping the legislation?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We are monitoring reports of a violent crackdown right now in Iran. The witnesses say some 500 security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons stormed out of a mosque in Tehran square and began beating back demonstrators. We have new video of apparent beatings by Iran's Basiji Forces, that's the militia group. But we do not know when these pictures were actually taken. Our Lou Dobbs will have special coverage "Face-off Iran" tonight, at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is recovering from a lifesaving liver transplant, that's according to his doctors who say Jobs was in the end stage of liver disease when he came in for the transplant. They have now given him a, quote, "excellent prognosis." It has been about six months since Jobs said he was taking medical leave from work after dropping a bunch of weight and Jobs is due back at work later this month.

President Obama is in full-court press today, and we mean it, pulling out the stops to sell you and your lawmakers on the need for health care reform. He is getting input from five governors who held regional forums on the issue, and tonight he will hold a town hall on the topic. The push comes as Congress haggles over how to pay an estimated trillion dollar price tag. But for those who think the price is too high, the president had this to say at yesterday's news conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We take the advice of some folks who are out there and say, oh, this is not the time to do health care. We can't afford it. It's too complicated, let's take our time, et cetera. So, let's assume that nothing happened. I can guarantee you that there's the possibility for a whole lot of Americans out there that they're not going to end up having the same health care they have.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: All right, Elizabeth Cohen has been following -- I knew you were coming. Looking at you scribbling. Our NEWSROOM blog where you've been giving us a real earful about the national health care. Elizabeth, let's get started here. What are our viewers saying?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Boy, are they opinionated, and, boy, are they numerous. We just posted this.

HARRIS: And smart.

COHEN: And smart. And lots of people writing in many, many comments. Really divergent points of view. I think that these comments really boil down the debate over health care. And Tony and I for months now have been talking about what doctors' think and health insurance companies think. Now it's time to hear what you think. Let's take these kind of representative comments that show the diverging points of view. Scott says, "Health care reform if it includes the public option, meaning the option to get health insurance from the government sponsored, would absolutely help me." Alvina says, "No way, Scott. Please do not change our health care. We will be waiting until kingdom come to see a doctor."

Here's another pair of sort of contradictory statements here. Paul says, "No doubt reform will help. All of those fighting this change are fighting for one reason only, profits." So, Paul says, "If you're against reform it's because you're scared you're not going to make as much money." I assume Paul is talking about doctors and insurance companies. But then Michael says, "Health care reform will certainly hurt us all. The government has been moving from the back seat to the driver's seat." And Michael had even more to say in his thing, which we couldn't fit in here. He feels like, "Just from the new deal on in, it's just been bad news. The government should get out of the driver's seat."

HARRIS: Those are the comments.

COHEN: Yes.

HARRIS: What about questions?

COHEN: We've got some questions, too. So, let's try to address some of those. We got a question from Scottie who said, "Why would quality of care worsen under health care reform?" He's heard people say that. "Why would quality of care worsen? It involves the same physicians, so why would quality go down?" Now, there are some people who are saying that quality of care would go down under health care reform. They're also people who are saying the quality of care would go up. And so I'll give you sort of both sides of the argument. Some people feel that when you reform health care, doctors, it's going to be costly. Doctors will have to see more patients in a given day. Doctors won't make as much money and, therefore, won't deliver care as well. Other people say when you reform health care, you drive the price down. And so maybe doctors will -- doctors can sort of take a deep breath.

HARRIS: Right. COHEN: They won't have to quite work at the same pace. So, people have said both things.

HARRIS: All right. We've got so much breaking news. I know you had just a bunch of questions.

COHEN: We'll get to it another day.

HARRIS: Let's do that you're so awesome. Thank you.

A CEO tells us how he turned an orange apron and a commitment to customer service into a huge success.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More on the Iran election fallout and the escalating violence. CNN's Reza Sayah has just returned from Tehran, where he was prohibited from reporting on the situation. We will hear from him for the first time tonight on "AC 360," that's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Let's do this. Let me direct you to cnnmoney.com. We love the website. We love the work they do. It is the best place on the web to find the latest financial news and analysis. Our "Money" team doing a terrific job. Again, that's cnnmoney.com.

Let's see, just about three hours into the trading day. Let's get you to the New York Stock Exchange right now. As you can see, the Dow in positive territory, up 57 points. The NASDAQ up 35. Just about three hours in to the trading day. Following these numbers throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz right here in the NEWSROOM.

You know, a couple of new economic reports out today helping us measure the damage of the recession. New home sales dropped unexpectedly in May by six tenths of a percent. Sales down nearly 33 percent from May of last year. U.S. factories turned out more computers, appliances and airplanes than expected in May. The Commerce Department says durable goods orders jumped almost two percent.

How successful businesses are built, from the ground up. Today we are getting advice from Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus in this "Minds over Money" segment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The space saver microwave.

BERNIE MARCUS, CO-FOUNDER, HOME DEPOT: I basically thought up this idea of selling products to consumers direct from the manufacturer, directly to them. Cutting out all the middle men, and thereby saving them the money in between. And 30 years later, Home Depot has over 2,000 stores. Got over 300,000 people working for it. Listening to the customer. Understanding that without the customer's loyalty, you're dead in the water. And making sure that that customer's taken care of properly, OK? The second thing is, treat your associates well. Understand that you cannot make it without them. They are the most important thing next to the customer that you have. And so it's important to you to put the time and energy into them, train them, give them an opportunity to succeed.

In today's society, we're adverse to risk. People don't want to take a risk. You have to be able to take a risk, number one. Number two, you have to have the ability to stick to it. This may be the best time for entrepreneurs, because I think there are going to be so many weaknesses in the economy. Once you have enough, it's not enough. You owe something to society. And you have to give back. And I will tell you, I do it because I get a great amount of satisfaction and joy by knowing that I'm helping other people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK, Facebook has become an important tool for the protesters and political players in Iran. We are going to live to FaceBook headquarters right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We continue to monitor reports of a violent crackdown right now in Iran. Witnesses say some 500 security forces wielding clubs and firing weapons stormed out of a mosque in Tehran's square and began mercilessly beating back unarmed demonstrators. Senior Obama administration officials now tell CNN, the administration is seriously considering not extending invitations to Iranian diplomats for July 4th celebrations overseas. The officials say intense discussions on the issue were taking place, but the final decision had not been made.

With the crackdown on international journalists, social networking sites like FaceBook are playing a major role in getting information out on Iran. CNN's Dan Simon is at FaceBook headquarters in Palo Alto, California, with more.

And, Dan, what are you seeing there?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hey, Tony.

Let me sort of set the stage for you first.

HARRIS: Great.

SIMON: We are in the heart of Silicon Valley, California. This is FaceBook's brand new corporate headquarters. Sort of looks like a television newsroom. But before we talk about Iran, I want to sort of give you some of the stats on FaceBook.

The company was started five years ago by Mark Zuckerberg, who was a student at Harvard. Now up to 900 employees, 200 million users around the world and that's why you see these international flags behind me.

And that kind of brings us to Iran. And joining us now to talk about that is Randi Zuckerberg, who is the political affairs spokesperson. Who also happens to be the founder's sister. And when your brother, Mark, the CEO of the company, started FaceBook, did he ever envision that it would lead to something like this?

RANDI ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK POLITICAL AFFAIRS SPOKESPERSON: I think it's just incredible to see where we are today. But I know that FaceBook really did start from the beginning as a place for people to organize and to share. And it's just incredible to see where we are in the world today and how FaceBook is being used in a global capacity.

SIMON: And, Randi, when you look at how it's playing an impact in Iran, I think when people go to FaceBook, when Iranians go to FaceBook, they're mainly going to this site. This is the Mousavi site that's on FaceBook. And why is this particular FaceBook page so relevant and so important?

ZUCKERBERG: This is one of the main places where people are going to organize and discuss around the events that are going on in Iran. There are actually many other sites on FaceBook and people are really using FaceBook to share videos, to share updates of what's going on in the country and to disseminate news. But this page is really phenomenal in the growth we've seen. Before the election, there were about 2,500 supporters on this page. And now we're seeing almost 100,000 people are rallying on this page to discuss information regularly.

SIMON: And this information, anybody can upload information on this site if you're a member of this page. But we think mainly Mousavi supporters are going out on this thing, correct?

ZUCKERBERG: That's right. And we're seeing -- something that's really interesting is you're seeing a lot of updates in Farsi on the page, which shows that this really is Iranians either inside or outside the country that are going on the page and communicating. And we're seeing a lot of calls to action to translate for people around the world and for people to really take action in a meaningful way.

SIMON: And what evidence are you seeing from Iran that -- in terms of people being able to access this site? Are people being restricted as we've heard, or is it now a little bit more open?

ZUCKERBERG: So based on our data, we've actually seen that our traffic from Iran has declined by more than 50 percent. This is, obviously, very disappointing to us. As we saw around the U.S. election, people immediately turned to FaceBook afterwards as a place to share information and organize around their candidates. And the fact that people are having difficulties in the country accessing this site is really disappointing.

SIMON: But, obviously, they're able to get around it by using proxy sites or intermediary sites.

ZUCKERBERG: That's right.

SIMON: And people go to FaceBook and tell people actually how to access those sites. ZUCKERBERG: That's right. And one of the most interesting updates we've seen on this page was an update that actually prompted people to suggest alternate ways of accessing the Internet. And there were hundreds of comments on that page of really meaningful ways to help out.

SIMON: All right. So, Tony, we're going to be here all day. And coming up in the next hour, we're going to be talking to some Iranian- American employees who work at FaceBook and talk about how, you know, it's really made an impact in their lives. And also they'll be able to translate some of what we're seeing on here, because a lot of it, of course, is written in Farsi. So that's coming up in the next hour -- Tony.

HARRIS: Terrific. All right, Dan, appreciate it. Thank you.

Just in, some video that we want to show you right now. It is coming to us from Baharestan, Iran, the site of a demonstration earlier today. A demonstration that turned very violent, according to one account. According to a woman who spoke with our Ivan Watson. Better than an hour ago now.

And take a look at the video. I'm seeing it for the first time with you. Again, this is from Baharestan Square in Tehran. And you're seeing it with me. So we're -- we're going to see whatever we see for the first time together right here.

As you know, we have heard reports of extreme violence on the streets of Baharestan Square. Activists, according to the reports, going ahead with a planned protest today. And I think you can certainly make out a gathering of people there. But beyond that, it is just difficult to know what we're seeing here.

So let's do this. We'll take a break. Got to reset on the situation in Tehran as best we know it. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: New video in to CNN as we continue watching the events unfolding in Iran. Baharestan Square, Tehran. Boy, we are hearing stories of extreme brutality against protesters at this location. Haven't seen any of it on the video that we're just receiving here in the CNN NEWSROOM, but we will continue to bring you the very latest, we promise you that. And our complete coverage continues tonight with a Lou Dobbs special, "Face-Off: Iran." That's at 7:00 Eastern.

Let's listen for just a moment. Do we have more of this tape? Let's just listen.

All right. So clearly, clearly we have folks who are demonstrating, folks who are protesting here at Baharestan Square in Tehran. Our understanding is, is that at some point they were met by the militia, perhaps by members of the revolutionary guard, and that there was violence. And in some cases, extreme violence. We will continue to follow developments on this story, of course. We promise. Turning now to the economy. The latest figures are in. CNN is tracking the trillions, really, intended to save the economy. How much money has the government promised for all of these rescue efforts and how much has actually been spent? Let's get you over to Josh Levs. He's here with that -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, with all the news going on, we want to make sure to get it in.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: These are the newest figures. And thanks to the folks at CNN "Money," who actually made sure to crunched the figures for us.

Now, let's me show you something. You know that if you go back to late 2007, trillions, as you said, of dollars have been promised by this government for all sorts of different projects at saving the economy, rescuing the economy. Here's the total. Let's go this first graphic. I want you to see the big picture here.

This government has promised $10.5 trillion, going back to the end of 2007. And of that, spent about a quarter there. $2.7 trillion spent in various rescue programs. So that's the big picture.

Now, I've got a couple breakdowns for you. The TARP, that Troubled Assets Relief Program, which we talk about often, you can see the figures right there. $700 billion has specifically been promised for dealing with that. And of that, you got about half of it spent, $367 billion.

And finally, I have one here on the stimulus programs. There have been some different stimulus programs discussed. In total, $1.1 trillion has been promised for all that. And, Tony, the figures spent there, you can see, about a quarter, $234 billion. So big picture here. Lots of money not spent. But, still, more than $10 trillion has been promised by this government to help rescue this economy.

HARRIS: Let's talk about a huge piece of this. And we're talking about the stimulus project.

LEVS: Right.

HARRIS: $787 billion that Congress passed.

LEVS: Yes.

HARRIS: How much of that, Josh, has been spent?

LEVS: Yes, when people hear stimulus, that's often what they think, that $787 billion that the Congress did pass. And I'll tell you, we've got something. Let's zoom in on the computer screen behind me. I want everyone to see this. Because you can see the bailout tracker right here at cnnmoney.com.

And this right here is the part that I want you to see right now. $787 billion, right? Of that, $288 billion in tax relief. And basically here, $500 billion in spending as part of that. And the total amount spent is right here, $48.9 billion.

So short version here, you have $500 billion in spending in the stimulus. And only about a tenth of it has actually been spent so far. So it means you still have all these hundreds of billions of dollars that have been promised will be spent as part of that stimulus. New figures, big picture on where this government stands in all these rescue efforts -- Tony.

HARRIS: Awesome, awesome, awesome. I love it. Keep us posted with plenty of updates, Josh. Thank you.

LEVS: You got it. Thanks.

HARRIS: What's going on with state political leaders? Let's see, South Carolina's governor runs off to Argentina and New York has two different groups claiming they control the state senate? Huh?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: More on Iran's election fallout and the escalating violence. CNN's Reza Sayah has just returned from Tehran where he was prohibited from reporting the situation. We will hear from him for the first time tonight on "AC360." That's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford returns to face questions about his five-day disappearance. Turns out he was in Argentina. Not on the Appalachian Trail as his staff indicated. That's according to the state newspaper. Reporter Gina Smith had talked with CNN's "American Morning."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINA SMITH, REPORTER, "THE STATE" (via telephone): He told his staff that he was likely going to hike the Appalachian Trail, but then he said, last minute he decided to do something more exotic and went to Buenos Aires where he says he's been two times before. Most recently about a year and a half ago. He says it was a tough legislative session. As you know, he made a lot of national headlines for his refusal of the $700 million in stimulus money. He says it feels great to just go someplace where he's not easily recognizable, where he can people watch, where he can walk around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The people watching is great in Argentina. I know, I've been there. I've done it.

Stanford wouldn't tell the paper exactly what he did in Argentina, besides drive along the coast. The governor holds a news conference at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and we hope -- sorry -- to bring that to you live.

Thirty-one Democrats, 31 Republicans. That adds up to chaos in Albany. A party switch has left the New York senate evenly divided. Nobody can agree on whose in charge and nobody seems interested in compromise. That has made for an embarrassing reality show. Here's Josh Robin with Capital 9 News.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH ROBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a state senate that New York has never seen before. Tasked with unifying the senate, instead descended into a new low in the state's 232-year history, featuring two camps, two podiums, two presiding officers and at times two people talking at once.

Governor Paterson was the one who called the warring sides to the extraordinary session. Intent on making up for the lost two weeks since the June 8th upheaval. Afterwards, even he conceded he didn't know the legality of any of it, but he vowed lawmakers would be hauled in again and again as punishment.

GOV. DAVID PATERSON, (D) NEW YORK: They will say here every day until they resolve it. And there is no issue more important than the peoples' business.

ROBIN: The trouble began at 12:45 in the afternoon when Democrats filed through a back door into the dimming chamber, taking seats they vacated in the wake of the coup. They hope to be in charge when Paterson's special session formally began at 3:00. But by half past 2:00, 30 Republican senators and their one Democratic ally emerged intent on holding their own session, only to be rebuffed by a guard. So they set up a few paces away.

Democrats sat stunned, even during the Pledge of Allegiance, as the other side adopted seven dozen bills. Attributing the Democrats' silence as approval.

GEORGE WINNER, (R) NEW YORK STATE SENATE: And with that, all members present, we proceed with our calendar, that has also been duly noticed and properly before the house and we passed a number of bills that are important to city of New York and local government.

ROBIN: Thirty-one Democrats disagreed, saying the other session didn't count.

ERIC SCHNEIDERMAN, (D) NEW YORK STATE SENATE: It wasn't a properly called session. The person who they claim has the power to call a session, Senator Pedro Espada, was not validly elected. You know, they can say whatever they want.

ROBIN (on camera): In addition to all this, Governor Paterson and senate Democrats are still locked in a dispute over whether the governor can call a session in the first place. And if that weren't complicated enough, the first item Paterson wants senators to consider Wednesday, same-sex marriage.

In Albany, this is Josh Robin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wow. All right. Democrats passed 14 bills, Republicans 85, but nobody can say which, if any, of the votes were valid. Investigators plan to test the brakes on the D.C. Metro train that slammed into another one on Monday. The wreckage from the deadly crash should be cleared from the tracks today. Nine people died and more than 70 were injured when a moving train rear-ended a stopped one. The National Transportation Safety Board is trying to figure out why a computerized system didn't prevent the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB MEMBER: The design of the system is set up to keep trains separated. To have positive separation between trains. To control speeds. To give them speed information. And so what we're trying to figure out is what happened in this accident. That's exactly why we're here. We are just in the process now of being able to get access to the track to do some testing of the track, of the surface and of the signals. They're just completing moving the wreckage away. And so we're going to be working on that today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, the NTSB says there is evidence the driver may have tried to apply the emergency brakes.

Let's get to Chad Myers in the severe weather center.

Chad, I got to tell you, I am happy to hand this thing over to you. The breaking news has been constant and disturbing a bit this morning. It's all yours, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Have you tried to apply for college financial aid lately? Well, the government is trying to make things easier. Really? Promise.

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HARRIS: Less paperwork for a government program? You kidding me? Well, the Education Department is announcing a simplified application for student loans today. And you could do it all online at fafsa.ed.gov. I think I handled that correctly. The online application is shrinking from 30 screens to just 10. And parents will be to automatically download their IRS tax data into the form.

We are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Tony, thank you so much. We are pushing forward.

Eyewitness accounts out of Iran. New pictures of new attacks on Iranian protesters by government thugs in Tehran. We're bringing their stories to the world.

We're also pushing forward on the mystery of Monday's train wreck. Investigators testing the tracks, the signals, the sensors, and computers on the Metro system in Washington.

And, does breathing increase your cancer risk? Depends on what and where you breathe. We'll show you where the air is worse and best right here in America.

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