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Iran's Capital Quiet But on Edge; Senate Finance Committee Closer to Health Care Reform Compromise; The Turmoil in Iran; The Governor's Political Future; Farrah Fawcett Dies
Aired June 25, 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: An unusual calm in the Iranian capital of Tehran today. We will get the latest from our Ivan Watson, who is working the Iran Desk, right here.
But, first, breaking news. A breakthrough in negotiations over the cost of health care reform. Members of the Senate Finance Committee say they found ways to trim the cost to less than $1 trillion.
Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar, live from Capitol Hill, with details.
Brianna, why don't you get us started here. What are you learning?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, this really is a significant development. Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, which has really been seen as the best for getting bipartisan agreement, some bipartisan agreement on health care overhaul, they've been crunching numbers for the better part of a week, here, working with the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the CBO, trying to figure out a way to get this whole thing down to a price tag that is feasible. Last week, they were told the plan that Democrats on this committee put out was 1.6 trillion dollars, which is really just prohibitively expensive.
And so here's the announcement today from Senator Max Baucus, the chairman for this committee, saying that they have reached some options for things they can do to be at the price tag they want.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), FINANCE CHAIRMAN: The CBO now tells us we have options that would enable us to write a one trillion dollar bill, fully paid for. We have options -- we have ways to, according to the CBO today, fully pay for this bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP
KEILAR: And an aide to the senator tells us that these options that they're looking at, under them, 97 percent of Americans, they are confident, will be covered by a health care overhaul that they're planning.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.
KEILAR: But now you heard him say, Tony, we have options. HARRIS: Yes.
KEILAR: And we're really looking for specifics, because that's what we want. But we don't know exactly what those specifics are, how are they going to pay for it, and what exactly is it going to look like. We still want to know.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. We do know this committee is getting closer to an answer on both of these questions, correct?
KEILAR: Yes, no, we do. We know that one of the things they have been looking at, and seems to be gaining traction, is the idea of taxing employer-provided health benefits. Now, we heard from Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican member on this committee. He said yesterday that one of the ideas they're looking at is for a family of four, for their health benefits package, if it were to exceed 17,000 dollars, which is very far above the national average for health benefits -- this would be considered a Cadillac Plan -- that you might tax them on the amount that goes over a certain -- that goes over 17,000 dollars.
So, that's one of the things they're looking at. But the exact formula, that's just him talking about one of the things they're looking at. We don't know what the exact formula is going to end up like. And then looking at what the plan may be, we talked a lot, Tony, about this health co-op idea; this is seems to be what members, Republicans and Democrats on this committee, are coalescing around, the idea of a non-profit health co-op, instead of a government-run insurance plan.
HARRIS: I'm sorry. I'm taking notes as you're speaking here. And we'll get to this whole idea of taxing employer-provided health benefits. We'll talk about that later. What's the sticking point on how to structure the idea of a health co-op, Brianna?
KEILAR: Yes, we're really focused on this, because, when it comes down to it, you want to know exactly what their plan is. How to pay for it is important. But what is it going to look like? This idea of a health co-op, the different issues that you're seeing are some liberal Democrats want a very strong federal hand in this. They want this to have enough teeth that it can compete against private insurers, and, in their opinion, through that, bring the cost down.
But what you have is senators like Chuck Grassley who are very fearful of that. They are fearful for what that will mean, and that it will drive private insurers out of the market. So they want a light federal touch, and at this point it's really striking that balance between these two groups.
HARRIS: Boy, oh boy, breaking developments. Great reporting, Brianna; appreciate it. Thank you. We'll get back to you later in the hour.
Let's get right to the White House to the health care developments. On the Hill, White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us live. Suzanne, you know the question's coming; how is all this playing out at the White House?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, sure. Speaking with White House officials, they don't normally react to every little incremental step along the way here. Obviously, they're paying very close attention to what has happened.
This is good news. Make no mistake about it, this is very good news, because basically the one thing that the president has told members of Congress is don't come to me with a bill that you can't pay for.
HARRIS: Right.
MALVEAUX: And essentially if it is -- if it does not contribute to the federal deficit, if it is able to be paid for on its own -- deficit neutral is the term they like to use here -- well, then, that is a bill that the president is willing to sign. He has said it before.
So, obviously this is a very good development from the White House perspective. And then secondly, Brianna was mentioning one of those options, the possibility of putting a cap on the benefits, health care benefits, that are tax free.
HARRIS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: That is something that the president, as candidate Obama, did not agree with, did not support. Since becoming president, he's been holding a lot of these discussions, the back-and-forth with members on the Hill, there is a little bit of wiggle room here. There's a little bit of room for flexibility.
So, that is something that the White House is looking at and not completely dismissing. So, there's some movement here that is happening on both sides. And this is seen as a good development from the White House perspective, Tony.
HARRIS: And, Suzanne, I know that there was a White House event last night, where health care was the one and only topic. How did that play out?
MALVEAUX: Well, it was really kind extraordinary, the kind of access, a television network holding its own town hall, if you will, in the White House parlor, in the family room, as the anchors had noted, clearly underscoring that the president is just trying to get his message out any way possible, to put pressure on members of Congress, get this thing done by the fall.
This is considered a key window. If it doesn't happen now, Tony, they don't think it is going to happen. So, they've been pushing and pushing. And what we heard from the president last night is that yes, he acknowledges it will cost a lot, but he believes that there are ways to pay for this. I want you to take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I've said is let's change the system so that our overall cost curve starts going down, by investing in a range of things, prevention, health IT, et cetera.
We will have some up front costs. And the estimates, as Charlie has said, have been anywhere from a trillion to two trillion dollars. But what we've said is, what my administration has said, what I've said, is that whatever it is that we do, we pay for, so it doesn't add to our deficit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Tony, Brianna brought up a very good point. She laid out in great detail what some of the possibilities are for raising that revenue. We've already heard from the president talking about making serious cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and some expenditures for hospitals, Tony.
HARRIS: Boy, a lot of news, a lot of developments here. At the White House for us, Suzanne Malveaux, appreciate it. Thanks so much.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Let's keep the health care reform drumbeat going. Good to see you. All right, a rally for health care reform is taking place on Capitol Hill. It is sponsored by this organization, Health Care for America Now. The group describes itself as a grassroots campaign made up of 1,000 organizations, representing 30 million people. Health Care for America Now says it supports comprehensive, affordable health care, including a government plan to compete with private insurance.
You know, health care reform, it is an incredibly confusing, complex issue. We are doing our best with it. We asked the chairman of Emory University School of Public Health what he'd do to reform health care. Here's Kenneth Thorpe's 90-second RX.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH THORPE, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Here's my RX for the health care crisis. I'd focus on five points.
First, we've got to get the cost of health care under control. And one way to do that is by preventing disease in the first place. Thirty percent of the growth in health care spending in this country is due to the doubling of obesity in the United States since 1985.
Two, we need to do a better job of managing and working with chronically ill patients, people with Diabetes and high blood pressure. They account for 75 percent of health care spending. They have high rates of hospital admissions and re-admissions, many of which are preventable.
The third thing that I would do is focus on administrative costs. Our administrative costs are too high. Our system is too complicated. We need to simplify this system, so that we can reduce the cost of health care and allow physicians and patients to spend more time clinically, rather than filing claims forms and dealing with paper.
The fourth thing we need to do is provide more information. We know very little, ironically, about what clinical treatments work best and how much they cost. Physicians and patients and families need that information to make more appropriate health care choices.
And the fifth thing I would do is we have to deal with the 47 million people who don't have health insurance coverage in this country. So, we have to find a solution that is bipartisan to cover all Americans. I'm hopeful this time around in the health care reform debate that everybody's second choice is not the status quo, but we can really compromise and this time finally cover all Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, the new president of the American Medical Association answers our questions about health care reform. Dr. James Rohack, his concerns and suggestions, 12:45 p.m. Eastern time.
Back to today's other top story, a ceremony to remember victims of these two weeks of protests has been postponed, according to the website of one political party.
Also, Iran's president has some sharp criticism for President Obama. Our international correspondent, Ivan Watson, is at the Iran desk here in the CNN NEWSROOM. And, Ivan, what can you tell us about this warning the Iranian president has for President Obama?
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, he definitely accused President Obama of interfering in Iran's internal affairs. He said that -- this is in response to President Obama's recent criticism of the bloody crackdown that we've seen over the past week and a half in Iran.
Let me read you some of this quote that came out. Quote, "we don't expect much from British governments and other European governments, whose records and backgrounds are known for everybody and have no dignity. But I wonder why Mr. Obama, who has come with the slogan of change, has fallen into this trap and has taken the same route that Bush took and experienced its consequences."
So, going right after the U.S. president and western governments, who have also been accused of organizing plots to destabilize Iran over the last week and a half, Tony.
HARRIS: Hey, Ivan, what are you hearing about further crackdowns on dissents and journalists being detained?
WATSON: Yes, let me take you to a photo of --
HARRIS: Sure.
WATSON: -- a Greek -- British journalist freelancer, Jassen Apenjadis (ph). And he's been detained over the past couple of days. His Greek parents have called for his release, as has the Greek Foreign Ministry. He is just one of scores of journalists who have been arrested, mostly Iranians.
Let's listen to this media watchdog agency out of Paris, Reporters Without Borders, what they have to say, Tony.
HARRIS: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-FRANCOIS JULLIARD, REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: Actually, the situation now is that 59 Iranian journalists have been arrested; 59 journalists are currently detained in Iran. And the situation is -- is getting worse for foreign journalists as well, because most of the foreign journalists have already left Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: And, of course, as you've heard from our own Reza Sayah how difficult and oppressive the climate was like for journalists to operate on the ground --
HARRIS: Yes.
WATSON: -- over the past couple weeks, Tony.
HARRIS: And we'll talk a bit more about that with Reza in just a minute. Ivan, appreciate it. Thank you.
As mentioned, Reza Sayah was in Iran covering these demonstrations. He's been forced to get out of the country. I'll talk to him later in the hour about his experiences dealing with the Iranian authorities.
We are also following this story online at CNN.com. Extensive coverage can be found there of the election, escalating violence. There's a timeline of events also available to you. We have also uploaded some of the i-Reports from witnesses and victims at CNN.com.
This developing story -- a double amber alert out of North Carolina this hour; six-year-old Alexander Suddeath and his four-year-old sister Heidi went missing almost 24 hours ago in the Smoky Mountains. The children and their parents were beginning a family hike on the Appalachian Trail. The Mitchell County Sheriff says the parents lost sight of the children for just a minute. He is calling this a child abduction, although a spokesman concedes there is no specific evidence of a kidnapping.
Authorities plan to update reporters this hour. We are monitoring the situation for you, and we will, of course, keep you posted.
If you're looking for a job, what can you do if the market isn't turning around? We will have some tips with our Gerri Willis. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Tonight, an "AC 360" original report. She was jailed in Iran, accused of spying for the U.S. Now, freed journalist Roxana Saberi tells Anderson Cooper dramatic details of reporting and justice in Iran. "AC 360" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time. Today's economic news for you; first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week to the highest level in more than a month. The Labor Department said 627,000 Americans filed initial claims, up 15,000 from the previous week.
And a slightly improved reading on Gross Domestic Product; the Commerce Department says first-quarter GDP shrank 5.5 percent less than the previous estimate of 5.7 percent. The first quarter of 2009 marked the third quarter in a row that the economy contracted.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Capitol Hill today, addressing allegations that he pressed Bank of America's CEO to buy Merrill Lynch in an all-stock deal worth 50 billion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: On September 15th, 2008, the Bank of America announced an agreement to acquire Merrill Lynch. I did not play a role in arranging this transaction, and no Federal Reserve assistance was promised or provided in connection with that agreement. As with similar transactions, the transaction was agreed and approved by the Federal Reserve, under the Bank Holding Company Act in November 2008. It was subsequently approved by the shareholders of Bank of America and Merrill Lynch on December 5th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Bernanke's comments come exactly two weeks after B of A CEO Ken Lewis delivered his side of the story in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Well, you think the job market now is bad? Just wait until the economy recovers. Where are we going here? CNN personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, is here to tell us about the new threat to the job market. All right, Gerri, I'm all ears.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: All right, well, think about it, Tony. All right, if you're looking for a job right now, you know you're competing with unemployed workers in your industry. But according to a new study, once the recovery takes hold, well, you may have even more competition. More than half of workers employed right now, 54 percent, say they will start looking for a new job once the economy turns around. That's according to an HR consultancy, Adeco Group.
And almost three-quarters, three quarters, of Gen-Y workers are ready to jump ship. We spoke to Joanie Ruge, who says all the benefit cutting companies have been doing are taking a toll on their workers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOANIE RUGE, SENIOR VP, ADECCO: All of those cuts have had an impact on employee morale. The feel like, OK, my employer has made so many cuts on benefits and perks and salary, should I go somewhere else?
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: All right, so we've been seeing more and more companies halting 401(K) matches, putting on hiring freezes, salary freezes. And once we get closer to the end of the recession, that's not likely to be rolled back. According to Watson-Wyatt, one in five employers will keep salary reductions in place; 46 percent do not plan to reverse the increases in how much employees pay for health care premiums.
So some of these bad times, Tony, they're here to stay.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, I think you're absolutely right about that. So, what to you do if you're one of these people desperate to get out of your current job?
WILLIS: Well, get started now. The fact that so many people will be looking to jump ship when the economy recovers means that you want to get your search under way as soon as possible. Figure out what companies you will target. Find a way to get them to see your work or become familiar with your name.
And if you're working, it's easier. Get involved with trade and professional organizations. Use social media to boost your profile within your network.
HARRIS: OK. Real solid advice now for you, Gerri; let's say you are looking for another job and you're still employed.
WILLIS: Right.
HARRIS: What are some of the big no-nos? Help people here.
WILLIS: Well, OK. You don't want to be going off on your hour long lunch break all the time. And that suit you're wearing to go visit the dentist, people know something's up out there, right?
HARRIS: Right, right, right.
WILLIS: With the unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, you're better off if you do have a job. Save the interviews for after work. Don't put your resume on your work computer. Most employers, as we've talked about before here, Tony, monitor what websites you visit. They know. And nearly a third of employers have fired employees for misusing the Internet. That's according to the AMA.
Don't forget to look within your own company for opportunities before you jump ship. You know, think twice. Maybe it's not as bad as you think. And maybe you can ask for more responsibilities, a better title, better pay where you are right now.
HARRIS: That's a great point. Gerri, great advice. Great tips, as always. See you next time.
WILLIS: Thank you.
HARRIS: All right, Gerri. And as always, let's get you to CNNMoney.com. Check out our special report, America's Money Crisis. You can't do any better than CNNMoney.com and the work being done there. And Gerri Willis files there. Susan Lisovicz files there. Poppy Harlow files there. A terrific team, CNNMoney.com.
How one family is weathering the recession. Could their financial playbook actually work at your house?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And checking the headlines out of Iran; video here from demonstrations in Tehran. Security forces blocking anti-government demonstrators. The mood today in Tehran said to be defiant, but nervous by one source. CNN cannot confirm the day this video was shot.
A ceremony today to remember victims of the protests planned for today has been postponed with no makeup date. In less than ten minutes, we will hear from our Reza Sayah, who just left Tehran.
The financial crisis has left a pretty deep impact on a lot of Americans, and is forcing families across the nation to rethink their finances. CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff introduces us to one couple and tells us how they were hit and how they responded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not only were Kevin and Lucy Aikman heavily invested in the stock market last fall, but Kevin's employer, AIG, nearly collapsed. Kevin is in a stable end of the business, home insurance assessments; so the dual crisis rocking his investments and employer was especially jarring.
KEVIN AIKMAN, AIG EMPLOYEE: First thought is fear. What about all these years I've put in the hard work? All the money I've invested; is there going to be anything left at the end of the day?
CHERNOFF: For Lucy, the financial crisis has been terrifying.
LUCY AIKMAN, HIT HARD BY FINANCIAL CRISIS: Terrible anxiety. I -- I ended up having to go get pills because I couldn't sleep. So much anxiety.
CHERNOFF: Lucy lost her job as a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange two years ago, and hasn't worked since. Her grown daughter also lost her job, as did Lucy's sister, who worked at Bear Stearns when it collapsed.
L. AIKMAN: Everybody's fearful, and everybody's falling like soldiers around me.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Just a few days before the stock market began collapsing last September, the Aikmans hired a contractor to chop down trees and excavate a pond by their home. Today, more than seven months later, it's still a hole in the ground. The project is on hold.
(voice-over:) The hole in the ground was like a hole in their pocket. It had cost 10,000 dollars. So the Aikmans chopped their spending. They gave up their personal trainer, and now exercise on their own. They postponed plans to build a screened porch, don't go out to dinner as much, and planted a vegetable garden.
L. AIKMAN: One of our biggest expenses is food. I mean, it sounds strange, but we eat a lot of fresh produce. And as you know, to eat healthfully, it costs money.
CHERNOFF: They've become more conservative investors, with help of financial planners Doug Plin and Rich Zito, who reduced their exposure to stocks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We took it all the way down to about 15 percent stocks. If you're losing sleep, then you probably don't have the right portfolio. We need to find the right portfolio for you.
CHERNOFF: To sleep better, the Aikmans bought extra insurance, and Kevin is shelving his dreams of retiring in just ten years, when he'll be 55.
K. AIKMAN: The 401(k) just about fell in half. So when that happened, I reassessed and said, well, maybe I'm going to need to put a few more years in.
CHERNOFF: The Aikmans realize they can't control the economic environment that affects all of. But by cutting spending and boosting insurance, and becoming more conservative with investments, the Aikmans feel they are controlling what they can to weather the financial storm, while still being positioned to profit as it begins to pass.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: You can catch "Money & Main Street" tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Campbell Brown.
He witnessed the ruthless crackdown. Our CNN correspondent safely out of Iran, describes the savage streets of Tehran.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Iran's capital city said to be calm but on edge today, the day after more bloody demonstrations.
Just an ugly scene in Tehran yesterday. Security forces crushing the latest protests against presidential election results. A ceremony today remembering victims of the two weeks of demonstrations has been postponed according to the website of one of the defeated presidential candidates.
Let's put all of this Iranian turmoil into some kind of context here. Our Reza Sayah has joined me.
And, Reza, you were -- when did you leave the country?
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I left . . .
HARRIS: When were you forced out of the country?
SAYAH: Yesterday. Yesterday. They gave me an ultimatum. And I think it's important to clarify that.
HARRIS: So you could have stayed?
SAYAH: I could have stayed, but they said, if you stay, we can't guarantee your safety. And they wanted me to . . .
HARRIS: Well, that means leave.
SAYAH: Yes. I mean, and I think, you know, that was a decision we made. Considering the way they delivered that message, the tone by which they delivered that message, we thought it was best to leave and that's what we did.
HARRIS: Reza, talk to me about your working as a correspondent doing your job, in a country where the regime does not want you to do what you're doing. At some point, you have to sense that the hammer is coming. You clearly had gotten word that, well, restrictions have been placed on your reporting. Then the ultimatum comes. How does it come? Is it a knock at the door?
SAYAH: It was a phone call. It was a phone call by the ministry that handles press credentials. And we had a relatively good rapport with them. But they said 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, you have to meet somebody. We said, who is it? They said, we can't tell you who it is, just show up. So we didn't know who this was that . . .
HARRIS: You were given a destination and you were told to show up?
SAYAH: Yes. But I'm an optimist by nature and I thought maybe this is our opportunity to convince them to get us back on air. So I was very optimistic going in. But, still, a little anxious about who this person was.
We arrive at 4:00 p.m. I was with our producer, who's still there. And they told me, he just wants to meet with you alone.
So, walk into this office. And very large, burly man sitting there on a couch with briefcase.
HARRIS: What, in a suit? In camouflage?
SAYAH: No, no, no.
HARRIS: Jack (ph) boots? What, what, what's going on here?
SAYAH: No, just wearing street clothes.
HARRIS: Right.
SAYAH: And I -- as soon as I get in, I start talking to him, giving him my spiel, trying to convince him this is why CNN need to be there reporting on the ground. So after my spiel he said, are you finished. I said, yes, I'm finished.
HARRIS: So he listened?
SAYAH: He listened. But then he said, are you finished? I said, yes. He goes, we have evidence that you have violated the ban on reporting. The ban that went into effect on Saturday. And we had not been on air. And he couldn't substantiated how we violated the ban, but he kept saying we have evidence that you violated that ban. But, he said, we can let bygones be bygones. HARRIS: Really?
SAYAH: But here's what you need to do. That's when he slid in front of me . . .
HARRIS: The ultimatum.
SAYAH: A piece of paper and a pen. He goes, I need you to write down on this piece of paper that I will no longer do any reports in Iran unless they are positive reports. And if you don't sign this agreement, he said, you have 24 hours to leave. If you don't leave, we can no longer guarantee your safety and we can't guarantee that you can come back and report in Iran.
HARRIS: Wow.
SAYAH: And that's when we made a decision that was difficult for me, because there's no way I wanted to leave at such a crucial juncture.
HARRIS: Right.
SAYAH: But we made the decision to get out of there.
HARRIS: Reza, appreciate it. Thanks for putting us in that room.
SAYAH: Sure.
HARRIS: Pretty dramatic stuff.
All right, Reza Sayah back from Tehran.
Want to get you a quick update on our financial picture today. First of all, as always, we want to get you to cnnmoney.com. Our money team doing a terrific job. You can't do better than the work, the analysis being done by our money team at this site, cnnmoney.com.
And let's swing you to the big board now and see where we stand. Stocks today, wow, a pretty nice rally, huh? The Dow up 145 points. What, we're in to the third hour of the trading day. And, Joe, the Nasdaq is up? Up 29 points. We are following the numbers, of course, for you throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. South Carolina's Republican governor, Mark Sanford, is facing hard questions today. Did taxpayers cover the costs of trips to Argentina where he carried on an extramarital affair? And did his dalliance destroy his future in national politics? Here's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Turns out the tale of the South Carolina governor gone missing is a cliche.
GOV. MARK SANFORD, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: So, the bottom line is this -- I -- I've been unfaithful to my wife.
CROWLEY: A collective groan from Republicans as another of their promising new faces on the national scene goes down the tubes.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I wonder if Sanford thought that he was going to get away with this? They all do, I guess. He could have been our JFK.
CROWLEY: In a rambling, halting, teary news conference, Governor Mark Sanford copped to a string of bad behavior, including a 5,000-mile lie. His hike along the Appalachian Trail was a trek to Buenos Aires, reportedly to this apartment complex for a rendezvous with a longtime friend he says became a lover over the past year.
SANFORD: I have seen her three times since then, during that whole sparking thing.
CROWLEY: Mrs. Sanford knew about the sparking thing and said in a written statement she asked her husband to leave two weeks ago, but he'd earned a chance to resurrect the marriage.
SANFORD: So it had been back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. And the one thing that you really find is that you absolutely want resolution. And so, oddly enough, I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina.
CROWLEY: There's more. E-mails between Sanford and his lover, obtained by "The State" newspaper in South Carolina. The paper said the authenticity of the e-mails was confirmed by the governor's office. A spokesman for the governor would neither confirm nor deny authenticity to CNN.
"You are my love," she wrote him. "Something hard to believe even for myself as it's also a kind of impossible love." "You have a level of sophistication," he wrote her, "that's so fitting with your beauty. I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent, gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines."
In Republican circles everywhere, the wince factor is high. Damage control 101, sympathy and prayers, followed by as much distance as you can find. With warp speed, the Republican Governors Association accepted Sanford's resignation as head of the RGA. Ten days ago, Senate Republicans were just as quick, accepting John Ensign's resignation from his Senate leadership post.
SEN. JOHN ENSIGN, (R) NEVADA: Last year I had an affair.
CROWLEY: Also new to the national stage, Ensign, like Sanford, was sometimes talked about as a 2012 dark horse.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It seems like a lot of our new leaders seem to be self-immolating.
CROWLEY: Good grief, said a Republican strategist, they're dropping like flies.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Public lives, private indiscretions or so they think. Why do powerful men cheat and why do they think they can hide affairs in this age of the Internet and instant news? That was the topic on CNN's "Larry King Live" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE": Why, Robert, do -- is the draw -- it's so powerful, it draws someone like the governor into this kind of situation?
ROBERT WEISS, THE SEXUAL RECOVERY INSTITUTE: I think it makes perfect sense that it would be a governor or someone like that who would be doing this, because people in power positions aren't often taking good care of themselves or the basic things they need to attend to, like their family lives. And so they get distracted by pleasurable experiences -- drugs, alcohol, sex -- and they're often running because they're not taking care of themselves. So it makes sense that he would drift into something because he . . .
KING: More than say a mailman would?
DR. DREW PINSKY, RELATIONSHIP SPECIALIST: I may address (ph) that a little bit too because the kind of person that seeks celebrity, seeks this kind of static, public life tends to me more in the narcissistic spectrum. And narcissism by itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it carries liabilities. People tend to feel special, entitled. They become compartmentalized, like Rob Weiss says. And the fact is, they may do things and really not perceive that they're having a consequence on other people.
KING: Dr. Saltz, why do you think they do it?
DR. GAIL SALTZ, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, I think, Larry, actually, politicians are often risk takers in addition to being potentially narcissistic people. I think it works for them in their career. You know, they push the edge. They take risks. And that helps them in their profession.
But, you know, the downside of that is just that, they need the constant stimulation. They want it. They're willing to push the edge.
This particular politician, as a matter of fact, made a lot of enemies and took a lot of risks and did a lot of things that were edgy. And so I think in a way it's not surprising. And this is why I think we're often seeing politicians doing this kind of thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow, "Larry King Live" tonight, Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of the former presidential candidate, John Edwards. Her health and the president's health care overhaul. 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
The president of the American Medical Association and his diagnosis for health care reform, ready to embrace universal coverage, but, yes, there are buts. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, will help me break it down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Breaking news to CNN. CNN has just learned that actress Farrah Fawcett has passed away after a longtime battle with anal cancer. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here.
And, boy, Elizabeth, she tried everything.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She did.
HARRIS: Over many, many years to try to beat back this cancer.
COHEN: She was a true empowered patient. She did not just do what doctors told her. She did what she was told and then went and found other things on her own.
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: She really fought hard. She was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. In 2007 she was told that she had gone in to remission. But then later in 2007, she was told that the cancer was back and then that it had metastasized to her liver.
When anal cancer spreads like that, there is a less than 20 percent chance that someone will still be alive five years later.
HARRIS: Wow. All right. So the news just coming in to CNN that actress Farrah Fawcett has died. She passed away this morning, 9:28 Pacific Time. An enormous star of the first order. A.J. Hammer remembers the life, the career, of Farrah Fawcett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We proudly welcome to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Miss Farrah Fawcett.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa! Farrah baby. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Farrah, look up. A.J. HAMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Farrah Fawcett will be remembered as one of the sexiest women of the 1970s. Her poster hung in the bedrooms of teenage boys around the country.
FARRAH FAWCETT: Hi, fellas. What are you playing?
HAMMER: And her breakout role as one of "Charlie's Angels" made her a star.
Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1947 and made her way to Hollywood as a 21-year-old. The blond beauty was soon dating TV star Lee Majors and appearing in commercials and on various TV shows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Latrin (ph), this is Miss Perry (ph), my secretary.
HAMMER: She married and became Farrah Fawcett-Majors in 1973. And then she had her first big break.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once upon a time, there were three little girls who . . .
HAMMER: In 1976, "Charlie's Angels" made its debut, and she was the blond. The top-rated Aaron Spelling show about three female private detectives grabbed the nation's attention. Farrah's face started showing up on magazine covers and even lunch boxes. And a poster of her in a swimsuit sold millions of copies, becoming one of the iconic images of the '70s.
Then, just as suddenly as her rise to fame, she made a stunning choice, deciding to leave the angels after just one season to focus on a movie career. Her popularity immediately went on the wane.
FAWCETT: We need him, Victor.
HAMMER: The next few years saw several forgettable movies like "Logan's Run" in 1976. She got better box office with "Cannonball Run" in 1981. The following year she and Lee Majors divorced.
But she proved that she could be a serious actress. In 1984's "The Burning Bed." Fawcett took the role as a battered wife who kills her husband. A true story based on a landmark legal case. The role earned her an Emmy nomination. One of three in her career, though she never got to take home a statue.
She also became involved in the longest romantic relationship of her life. She dated Ryan O'Neal for 15 years before the relationship ended in 1997. And although they never married, they did have a son, Redmond O'Neal. Fawcett continued to turn heads well into middle age. She continued to get roles on TV and in the movies and shocked many by posing nude as she neared the age of 50. The magazine was one of "Playboy's best sellers.
But as Fawcett approached her 60s, the spotlight turned away from Farrah the sex symbol to Farrah the celebrity battling cancer in 2006.
FAWCETT: The disease has spread. Suddenly there were nine tumors in my liver.
HAMMER: The documentary, "Farrah's Story," which aired in May 2009, focused on Fawcett's battle to beat cancer and stay alive. Her courageous journey was cathartic in allowing Fawcett to finally tell her story in her own words to the world.
A.J. Hammer, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And, again, the news just in to CNN, we've been able to confirm that actress Farrah Fawcett has passed away. She died at 9:28 this morning Pacific Time.
Elizabeth Cohen is with us now.
And, Elizabeth, you were mentioning just moments ago, and it's worth mentioning again, that this woman, in her fight against this cancer, was truly, in your view, an empowered patient.
COHEN: She was. She took her health into her own hands. She really did.
HARRIS: Yes.
COHEN: And that documentary I think speaks volumes to that.
The first thing she did was talk about anal cancer, which is important. There are 5,000 new cases of anal cancer diagnosed in this country every year. But people don't feel really comfortable talking about sort of that part of the body, but she was and she came out and she talked about her illness.
HARRIS: That's right. And I got to tell you, there are so many lasting images, as I look at these pictures of Farrah Fawcett, that are indelible in my mind. Her work as an actress, obviously. The terrific work in the film "The Burning Bed," where she turned a spotlight on the whole issue of domestic violence and raised that to a national level debate in a way that it hadn't been before. Certainly in a new way. I think about the courage of that particular piece. And, my goodness, what about the iconic work on "Charlie's Angels"?
COHEN: Well, you know, when she was on "Charlie's Angels," which when I was a kid, you might think, oh she's just a twitty blond . . .
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
COHEN: You know, but she certainly didn't turn out that way.
HARRIS: No, no.
COHEN: I mean she really took her health care in to her own hands and made a difference in so many different issues.
HARRIS: All right. We are efforting any number of people who have been close to Farrah Fawcett in her life and certainly in these last few years when she has been fighting so mightily against this -- this cancer. We're going to continue to look at these tremendous images of her.
Tom O'Neal is on the phone with us. And, Tom, as you know, is the senior editor of "In Touch Weekly."
Tom, good to talk to you. Thanks for getting on the line with us so quickly.
TOM O'NEAL, SENIOR EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Sure.
HARRIS: First of all, your thoughts, and take your time here, your thoughts and your reflections on, first of all, the life of Farrah Fawcett. And then maybe you can talk about her iconic stature in American popular culture.
O'NEAL: This isn't just a loss of another movie star or TV star. Farrah was always our pal. She was from Texas. She had this charm and way about her that won you over when she was on the talk show circuit. You know, we went -- we followed her through this drama of her career and broken romantic relationships with Lee Majors and marriage, the ups and downs with Ryan O'neal. They never did get married, but they were together for 17 years and then, of course, got back together in recent years.
HARRIS: Yes.
O'NEAL: And she was always -- you always felt a kind of special kinship with her.
HARRIS: Tom, talk about -- we were just talking about -- Elizabeth Cohen and I were talking about the piece of work she did and the series, the television series, that maybe she will be most remembered for, and that's the work on the show "Charlie's Angels." You know, as Elizabeth was saying, and I would second it, it would have been easy for a lot of folks to just dismiss her as being sort of the ditzy blonde. But she was even more than that in that role on that show.
O'NEAL: Yes. You're talking about the cancer special or the . . .
HARRIS: No, no, I'm talking about her work on "Charlie's Angels."
O'NEAL: Well, think about how important "Charlie's Angels" was in the social context of the time. A TV show about the empowerment of women.
HARRIS: Yes.
O'NEAL: Now these were butt kickers. These were dynamic ladies, you know, coming out to take care of the bad guys. And then at the same time, she had this poster that was on every boy's bedroom wall in America.
HARRIS: Well, I didn't want to be -- Tom, I didn't want to be the first one to mention the poster, but I'm glad you did because, my goodness, a, what a poster. And I think you're absolutely right, that poster was everywhere. O'NEAL: And let's talk about what was extraordinary about that poster. Not just her beauty and this great tasseled mane of hair. The fact that she was not, shall we say, well endowed up on top and was flaunting that in this and was so sexy about it. And, again, think about what -- there's a consistent pattern in her career. "Charlie's Angels," she was defiant and she was courageous in what she did. That poster was courageous in its way.
Then she did -- when she left "Charlie's Angels," she did a movie called "The Burning Bed" on TV, which dealt with domestic violence and relationships. And then at the end of her life, she has the guts to do this painfully honest documentary about her battle with cancer that was one of the most powerful things I've ever seen. But I'm sure you were as shocked as I was when you watched it, you couldn't believe she was so generous sharing all of this intimate information about herself.
HARRIS: Well, Tom, yes, yes, Tom, let me be honest with you, I just I couldn't watch it. I saw some of the clips for it. And, boy, it was all the things you've described. And I just couldn't bring myself to watch it because it was so personal and so honest. It was just tough to watch. And so I didn't.
O'NEAL: Yes. Especially with somebody like Farrah, who -- who we think we got to know very well through the years. It's, in fact, watching a friend going through that.
HARRIS: Uh-huh. You mentioned "The Burning Bed." I thought that was just a tremendous piece of work. And my comment about it just moments ago is that it really elevated the whole discussion on domestic violence in this country. Do you agree?
O'NEAL: Absolutely. It was -- it was so important at the time. And it was considered one of her greatest performances.
HARRIS: Right.
O'NEAL: And she always considered it that. She was Emmy nominated for the role as well, by the way. But the fact that Farrah, somebody that beautiful isn't supposed to have a terrible marriage and not supposed to be knocked around by her husband in that kind of role. So, you know, why is she putting up with it? There are wonderful psychological layers to the -- to her being cast in that role and why it worked so well.
HARRIS: Boy, Tom, tremendous. It's terrific to talk to you. And thank you for your remembrances of -- I think you're right, so much more than a movie star, but certainly a movie star, television star of the first order.
Tom O'Neal, senior editor, "In Touch Weekly."
Tom, thank you.
We're back with more reflections on Farrah Fawcett, who passed away this morning, 9:28 Pacific Time. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, OK, this developing story. We told you earlier in the newscast about a double Amber Alert out of North Carolina. Six-year- old Alexander Suddeath and his four-year-old sister, Heidi, went missing almost 24 hours ago in the Smoky Mountains. The children and their parents were beginning a family hike on the Appalachian Trail.
Well, guess what? Terrific news to report. The children have been found by rescuers. The children have been found. And they are absolutely OK.
A little more information here. Both were located about a mile from where they were last seen by their parents. And searchers are right now leading them back to a command post that had been set up. Let's see. Searchers located the kids after they found a shoe and that eventually led them to where the children were.
Both kids OK, found by rescuers and being led back to a command post. And soon we will have a happy reunion with the parents.
And once again, we are getting reaction, reflections on the life, the career of Farrah Fawcett. The actress passed away this morning, 9:28 Pacific Time. Farrah Fawcett dying after a long battle, a very public battle were anal cancer.
Let's get to Los Angeles now. Our Kara Finnstrom is there.
Kara, what are you hearing about the life, the passing of Farrah Fawcett?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, what we have been able to confirm with her publicist this morning is that she has died after that long, lengthy, courageous battle with anal cancer. She died, as you mentioned, at 9:28 this morning at a hospital here in the Los Angeles area.
We do expect to get a statement from her representative a little later on this morning. But she was an iconic '70s star. Best known, of course, for her role in "Charlie's Angels." But she was only on that show for about a year before she broke her contract and went on to make a number of movies. She often said that her favorite project that she worked on was "The Burning Bed." She felt that that best showcased her work.
In recent days, she was known very well for a documentary that she had put out. She actually taped herself, showing very intimate, private details with her battle with anal cancer. And amongst people in the cancer community, that had really made her a very popular person. They had really associated with her, her battle and were really following her very closely.
HARRIS: Well, Kara, I know this is probably too early to have these kinds of details, but I'll ask the question anyway. 9:28 Pacific Time she passed away. Do we have any idea who was -- where this happened? Was it in her home, in the hospital? And who was by her side?
FINNSTROM: We don't have those details. We do know in recent days she had a vigil at her bedside with her son and with her longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal. But we don't have those specific details.
HARRIS: OK. Kara Finnstrom for us in Los Angeles.
Kara, appreciate it. Thank you.
We are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.
