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U.S. Marines Driving Deeper Into Southern Afghanistan; Jackson Memorial Planned for Tuesday; Iran Blaming Britain

Aired July 03, 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: And first this hour, U.S. Marines are driving deeper into southern Afghanistan today, running head on into sporadic but sometimes fierce Taliban resistance. An hours-long firefight reported in one town. At least one Marine known dead.

CNN's Atia Abawi is watching this news, and all of the news of the U.S. offensive from Afghanistan's capital in Kabul. And our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is in Washington.

Atia, let's begin with you. Give us the latest on the fighting.

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, we spoke to a spokesperson with the U.S. Marines in Helmand, and he told us that it's still light and sporadic gunfire between the forces and the militants. But he also told us that yesterday, on the first day of the operation, there was an area of Garmsir District -- Garmsir is close to the Pakistani border -- where they did engage in several hours with these militants, on-and-off-again battles. He did tell us t hat it has been abated, but they are still receiving that same light and sporadic gunfire with the Taliban.

This is also an area that we actually went to a few months ago. It is a Taliban-entrenched area. It has villages in Garmsir District that are actually ruled by the Taliban that government forces are too afraid to go to because they know that they would be attacked. And this is the mission of the Marines right now, to go and secure and hold these areas for the Afghan people so they can do their daily lives, they can farm, they can go to the marketplace, and then they can vote in August for their new president -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Atia Abawi for us.

Atia, appreciate it. Thank you. Got to let you go to get to our sister network, CNN International.

I want to bring in Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr to talk about this new American push against the Taliban.

And Barbara, the U.S. military recently changed commanders in Afghanistan. Is that why we're seeing this offensive now being carried out the way it's being carried out -- civilians first, clear, secure, and hold?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. This is now President Obama's new military strategy we are seeing unfold in southern Afghanistan.

Twenty-one thousand additional U.S. troops going to that war zone. A surge of troops for the first time having enough combat boots on the ground to take, seize, and hold territories. That's what this is all about in southern Afghanistan, that they will be able to be a presence there over the long haul, that they will not concentrate so much on killing the enemy, believe it or not, but going into these towns and villages and finding out what the people of Afghanistan need there -- economic assistance, rebuilding, health care, water, food, whatever they need.

The idea is to win the hearts and minds there. And if you can do that, the Taliban will have no place to live -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. And Barbara, any new information about that U.S. soldier kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan?

STARR: Sadly, no. The military, Tony, being very tightlipped about this situation.

Now, this soldier last seen on Tuesday, believed to be kidnapped, captured in militant hands, believed now to be in the hands of a really notorious Taliban-related network run by a man named Haqqani, who you see, who operates on both sides of the Afghan/Pakistan border. A good deal of concern to find this young soldier before he is taken across the border into Pakistan -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us.

Barbara, appreciate it. Thank you.

President Obama goes to Moscow Monday for his first Kremlin summit with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. A senior administration official tells CNN the leaders are expected to sign an agreement on Afghanistan. It will allow the U.S. to fly military equipment through Russian airspace to reach Afghanistan. The U.S. is losing leases on bases in two former Soviet republics.

A suspected U.S. drone attack in Pakistan kills at least 15 people. It happened in south Waziristan, a longtime Taliban hub in Pakistan just over the border from Afghanistan.

Pakistani and Taliban sources tell CNN U.S. missiles hit a command center run by this man, Musti Nor Wali Musu (ph). U.S. officials say he is a senior Taliban commander who has trained militants for suicide attacks. It is not clear if he is among the dead.

Vice President Joe Biden is in Iraq to discuss the future of the U.S. mission there. He arrived in the Iraqi capital Thursday. He is expected to press Iraqi leaders for progress on reconciliation and other issues.

The vice president will address U.S. troops tomorrow. He's already met with top U.S. officials on the security situation and the capabilities of Iraqi forces. North Korea once again digging in its heels over its nuclear activities. The British ambassador to Pyongyang says North Korea is unwilling to resume six-party negotiations. Those talks on the country's nuclear program have been stalled for more than a year.

North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles off its coast yesterday. The U.N. Security Council has voted to expand and tighten sanctions on the country.

It is crunch time in Los Angeles, where the city is planning for a massive influx of fans eager to attend Tuesday's memorial for Michael Jackson.

Our Kara Finnstrom is there.

And Kara, set the stage. I guess we're about an hour or so away from a press briefing where we will get more details on this ceremony, this memorial service.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Just about an hour from now, representatives and also city and local officials will be joining us.

If we pan over, Tony, you can see we've got some barricades over here that you can see. They've been set up by police. Just behind that there are a number of police vehicles parked. And they're actually setting up kind of a staging area.

Here's what we do know, Tony. Tuesday morning, at 10:00, there will be a massive public memorial held here at the Staples Center. Eleven thousand tickets will go out to fans, and they can register for those tickets.

We don't yet know exactly how they do that, so that's expected to be announced at the press conference. We also don't know, you know, all the details, as we were talking, Tony, earlier of who is going to pay for this.

There's going to be a lot of costs involved with pulling this off, a lot of extra police that are needed on the streets here. Port-O- Potties need to be brought in.

What I can tell you since I chatted with you last time, Tony, is that we did find out that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is out of town. He's in South Africa for the week. So, that would mean that the next person in charge would be the city council president. He also happens to be out of town.

So, this all falls in the lap of L.A. Councilwoman Jan Perry. Now, she is going to at this press conference to talk about how the city is going to deal with this.

To be fair to the city, you know, they just got this dumped in their laps within the last couple of days. It was only officially confirmed about 24 hours ago, so they're really scrambling to make sense of it all as well. HARRIS: Well, I want to ask about Debbie Rowe. And there are some shifting stories here as to whether or not she will pursue custody of Jackson's children.

What's the latest on this?

FINNSTROM: Yes. Well, yesterday, she actually spoke with a Los Angeles TV crew saying, " I do want my children." A short time later, her attorney kind of scrambled and held a press conference and said, well, you know, those remarks on their face value are accurate. The TV crew portrayed them accurately, but, you know, they don't tell the full story, we have not yet made a final decision on whether she is going to pursue getting custody of those kids or not.

So we're still waiting to hear on that. We can tell you that there is a custody hearing now that's been pushed up to July 12th which will tackle the issue of temporary guardianship. Right now it rests with Jackson's mother, Katherine. And at this hearing, the judge will decide whether that should continue.

HARRIS: OK. Kara Finnstrom.

Kara, be careful. That bus was really close. A little deeper into the sidewalk next time, please.

Kara Finnstrom in Los Angeles for us.

Kara, appreciate it. Thank you.

Are you a big fan of Michael Jackson? Well, your answer might depend on your age.

Our CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll suggests more than half of you are, but if you're younger than 50, you're more likely to be. Sixty percent of people in that age group profess to be fans, while just 40 percent of folks in the older group are doing the moon walk.

And breaking it down by race, nearly three-quarters of non-whites are fans, compared to just 42 percent of whites. Still, a pretty significant number.

You know where you're going to be on Tuesday, right here, for around- the-clock coverage of the memorial celebrating the life of this worldwide pop icon. His family, friends and fan say good-bye to Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson, the memorial, CNN, all day Tuesday, starting on "AMERICAN MORNING" at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

You know, the latest job numbers don't give much reason for optimism. Is it too soon to start wondering when this giant stimulus plan will actually kick in? We'll hear what some top economic analysts are saying next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Ten minutes after the hour. And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

You know, there are reports that Michael Jackson went to dangerous lengths in his struggle to sleep. Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been tracking down one of those people who may have played a role in helping Jackson battle insomnia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Republicans are seizing on dismal new job numbers to hammer at President Obama's stimulus package which was supposed to create jobs. And right now almost 15 million are unemployed.

Chrystia Freeland from "The Financial Times" and Ryan Mack of Optimum Capital Management joined CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" to sort it all out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: May was looking encouraging. What happened in June?

CHRYSTIA FREELAND, U.S. MANAGING EDITOR, "THE FINANCIAL TIMES": Well, it looked -- I mean, what happened was fewer jobs were created than we thought and more people lost their jobs than we had anticipated. It is really a sobering number, because a lot of data coming out, not just the U.S., but also Europe and China, earlier in this week led people to say, you know what? This recovery maybe really is happening. Not only have we hit bottom, but maybe we're starting to come up.

I think what will be interesting to see is whether we see from the administration, from the White House, people talking about the need for a second stimulus.

ROBERTS: Yes, we'll get to that in just a second.

But let's look at the statistics, Ryan. When we look at the number of jobs lost this year in total, 3.4 million, two million since the stimulus bill was signed in the middle of February.

You know, what does it say about the stimulus package? There are some people who say, hey, wait a minute, don't judge this yet. That the job stimulus is just starting to kick in now, we're going to see a difference in the fall.

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: You know, the economy is an ocean liner, it's not a speed bump, so it's going to take some time to gradually start to turn. We are seeing some signs that things are turning.

This is the first time we've seen year-over-year job increases since February 2008 in terms of being able to -- lesser job losses year over year. So, it's the first time we've seen job losses under 400,000, back-to-back months, since September and October.

So, we've still got 90 percent of the stimulus package that needs to be put back into the economy. So it's going to take some time. We're still going to see government and not-for-profit organizations, and automotive and transportation and industrial production, that are still going to be suffering somewhat. But taking some time, we're going to gradually see -- I'm thinking that we're going to peak out by at least the first quarter of 2010 in terms of the unemployment.

ROBERTS: That's still a long ways away.

MACK: Oh, definitely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You know, in a perfect world, a four percent or five percent jobless rate means full employment. Twenty-five percent unemployment is like the Great Depression. Today, in the richest nation in the world, where you fall in that spectrum may depend on your education and skin color.

Here's CNN's Christine Romans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A bitter recession has laid bare some ugly statistics, more ugly for some than others. Here they are.

Asians have the lowest unemployment rate, only 6.7 percent. Whites are next, 8.6 percent. Hispanic unemployment tops 12.7 percent. And for blacks, almost 15 percent, the highest since the 1980s.

Nicole Mason studies race and jobs at New York University.

C. NICOLE MASON, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, WAGNER GRADUATE SCHOOL: When we look at those numbers, it translates directly into money to pay their mortgage...

ROMANS (on camera): Right.

MASON: Food, you know, their ability to get health care, provide child care. All these things are really -- these are the things that are behind the numbers that we really...

ROMANS: There's been a recession for these groups long before this recession.

MASON: Yes.

ROMANS (voice-over): How long? Since the Labor Department started keeping those records in the 1970s. Black unemployment topped 20 percent in the 1983 recession, and the only time the gap between races narrowed was during the huge jobs boom of the 1990s. And now, joblessness is rising again for everyone. William Rogers was chief economist in the Clinton Labor Department. WILLIAM ROGERS, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIST, CLINTON LABOR DEPARTMENT: There's been a chronic 2-to-1 difference between black and white unemployment for several decades.

ROMANS: Economists have long been troubled by the question: Why?

ROGERS: Their rates are higher for a variety of reasons, from having lower levels of education, receiving less training, also facing difficult -- more challenges in terms of getting to the jobs. And then another issue is getting early job experience.

ROMANS: And how do we fix it?

MASON: When we look at reasons for this, we have to look at, you know, issues related to structural and institutional racism. We can look at the high levels of incarceration for black men. Black men not being allowed access to jobs with opportunities for career advancement, jobs that have -- you know, pay higher wages.

ROMANS: Over the past decade, millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost, eliminating one rung of the ladder to the middle class.

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And while our reporters cover the stories developing every day in the black community, Soledad O'Brien has been working on stories you will see only on July 22nd and 23rd, when CNN presents "Black in America 2," two nights, two prime-time documentaries, all- new stories, right here on CNN.

Tensions are certainly heating up between Iran and Great Britain in the aftermath of Iran's elections. Our correspondents are tracking what's going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A top Iranian cleric today accusing Britain of stirring up those post-presidential protests. He says some employees of the British Embassy will face prosecution.

Our Reza Sayah is at the Iran Desk, while Phil Black is in London.

Reza, let's start with you. A lot of angry words coming out of Tehran today.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, things are really getting ugly between Tehran and London.

Of course, for the past couple of weeks, the Iranian government has been on a very public and aggressive campaign to blame the post- election turmoil on the British government, saying they had designed a velvet revolution. That campaign really kicked into high gear today during Friday prayers in Tehran. Speaking at Friday prayers, hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. Now, to give you some context, this week, Iranian authorities arrested a number of local employees of the British Embassy, saying they played a significant role in the post-election violence. Today, Jannati said some of those employees would be put on trial.

Here's Jannati really going after the U.K. in his speech. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMAD JANNATI, HEAD OF GUARDIAN COUNCIL (through translator): Do you expect that by staging a street riot after the election Iran would become like Ukraine and Georgia, and then the government will be toppled and the government assigned by you would take over? Your idiocy and stupidity is really limitless?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Wow. Some fiery words there by Ayatollah Jannati.

Now, it's unclear how many local employees of the British Embassy are still in custody. Iranian officials say they have one in custody, but the British Foreign Office tells CNN that two are in custody.

Either way, when you have a leading hard-line cleric in Iran calling the British Embassy stupid, it tells you two things. It tells you how ugly things are getting, and it also tells you what lengths the Iranian government is going to, to shift the focus away from the internal issues in Iran and to foreign governments like the British government -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, Reza, think about this for a moment as we go to Phil Black, and I'll come back for your response to it.

I just want to know what's happening to the moderate voices in Iran. And I'll come back for your thoughts on that in a moment.

Phil Black now.

Phil, what's the reaction to all of this from the British government?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, Britain's not happy about this at all. They say they're very concerned about this development. They're seeking urgent clarification from the Iranian government about what its intentions are here.

Even before today's breakthrough, if you like, or today's developments, Britain was lobbying Europe to come up with a united response to pressure Iran into releasing the remaining British Embassy staff that were still being detained. Britain had wanted all European countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Iran as a joint protest, condemning Iran's actions here.

What the European Union today has decided to do is a little less severe than that, but it says that all Iranian ambassadors across all European countries will be summoned and told very forcefully that these remaining British Embassy staff must be released. The European Union says this is only a first step, not a final step, so it could still escalate in the action it takes should Iran not comply -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Phil, one more quick one for you.

What's behind all of this? Why does the Iranian government behave in this way, the way that it is now, toward the British government?

BLACK: Well, there's a lot of history in this. Britain has long had a reputation in Iran for supposedly being devious and for meddling in Iranian affairs.

We've got the British foreign secretary, David Miliband, speaking on this subject just today.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MILIBAND, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Well, I think that the history that means there are reasons why Britain is picked on, and it's deepened the Iranian rhetoric. However, I think that we've been clear for some time that a policy of engagement from America to Iran was much, much needed. And the demonization that's happened for 30 years has been exacerbated by the fact that America wasn't present, in my view, in Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACK: Another theory among analysts, Tony, is that by attacking Britain and not attacking the United States, Iran leaves the door open to perhaps still engage with the United States and take President Obama up on his offer of the two countries holding talks at some point in the future -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Phil Black. We'll say good-bye to Phil now.

Thank you, Phil.

And back to Reza Sayah at our Iran Desk.

And Reza, thinking back on the hot rhetoric from this cleric in Tehran, I asked you a question a moment ago. What's happening to the moderate voices, to the extent there are moderate voices in the country -- and we know there are some -- what's happening to those voices?

SAYAH: Well, we haven't seen those moderate voices out publicly, the reformists. And many say that's because of the aggressive crackdown post-election on the part of the government. But that hasn't meant that they've kept quiet.

On their Web sites, people like former reformist president Mohammad Khatami, the disgruntled candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, they've continued to be defiant, making some statements again criticizing the elections and the crackdown that followed. We haven't seen them publicly. But it's interesting. Now the focus seems to be shifting on the international community.

HARRIS: Yes.

SAYAH: What will they do? How will they react to the election and the turmoil that followed?

Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Terrific analysis.

Reza Sayah for us at our Iran Desk.

Issue #1 now, surviving and even thriving during a recession as a small businessperson making baby food. Yes, making baby food. An African immigrant tells her story about how she cashed in her 401(k) to launch her passion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, here's a surprising statistic. One out of every four unemployed worker is considering launching their own business, becoming their own boss. That's according to a recent survey by careerbuilders.com. One woman took the bull by the horn right before the recession hit. Here's this week's "Survival of the Fittest" story. An African immigrant with a passion for baby food.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS (voice-over): Breakfast time at the Achindu house.

AGATHA ACHINDU, CEO, "YUMMY SPOONFULS": What do you want? Strawberries and grapes?

HARRIS: It is also family time. Something not taken for granted here. Agatha & Georges had their son Jared (ph) four years ago after years of trying.

A. ACHINDU: It took me forever. It was real -- a hard process for me to get pregnant. And I didn't want to take anything for granted. I wanted to give my child the very best, including the freshest foods.

HARRIS: Agatha immigrated from Cameroon and was used to eating food from local farmers with no preservatives, no added sugar or fillers.

A. ACHINDU: I can be eating plantains and know precisely where the plantains came from.

HARRIS: But things were different in the United States.

A. ACHINDU: There was nothing in the market. And I started making these foods. I had friends, like my church neighbors, they're like, oh, what are you making for Jared this week? Can you just double the batch? HARRIS: She far more than doubled the batch. After years of working as a manager for a software company, she gave up a six-figure job in 2006 to launch "Yummy Spoonfuls," an organic baby food company. Three years later, her company which operates out of this rented commercial kitchen in Marietta, Georgia, was recently rated the number one baby food by readers of the parenting magazine "Cookie."

GEORGES ACHINDU, AGATHA'S HUSBAND: Financially, it was a whole lot of sacrifice. I'm the only one with steady income in the family right now.

A. ACHINDU: I took all our savings, cashed out our 401. Every dime that we had. And I asked him a couple of times, I'm like, are you sure? Because this might fail. He's like, it's not going to fail.

HARRIS: Agatha pays herself a small salary. She does all the shopping. Buying organic produce at a farmers' market three days a week. She has a staff of six, including three women who help her cook the veggies and package the final product.

A. ACHINDU: Last year we weren't breaking even. We were just, you know, still gaining momentum. But now we don't need to dig into personal savings to support the business. The business supports itself.

HARRIS: Agatha has advice for anyone thinking of starting their own business.

A. ACHINDU: You should be doing it for the passion, not the money. Because the first couple of years, there is no money. I think I would tell every small business owner, start small and think big. Because if you create a fine (ph) base, that by the time you're really going real big, you already have believers.

Connect with your audience. Go to them. Talk to them. They want to feel your passion. Wherever somebody wants us to come to a testing (ph), baby showers, name it, we've been there.

HARRIS: Today, this 42-year-old continues to hold tastings and classes to teach parents about healthy eating.

A. ACHINDU: We haven't been able to reduce the childhood obesity rate and diabetes for as long as I have been in this place. When I became a mother, it just wasn't about my child. It was about the child next door. Everybody else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Good stuff, Agatha, way to go.

Do this, if you wouldn't mind, go to my blog -- I've got a blog -- cnn.com/tony, to read more about Agatha's story. And here you'll find -- Amy, are you working the commands over there? You will find the link to our article on what the experts say about the pros and cons of starting your own business. Again, that's cnn.com/tony. Well, there are new, potentially disturbing revelations in the Michael Jackson investigation that you'll see only on CNN. We told you that a registered nurse claimed Jackson begged her for a powerful intravenous sedative before his death. Now there's more uncovered by our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay tracked down an anesthesiologist who, according to sources, actually was on tour with Jackson in the late 1990s.

Sanjay, what did you find out?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here's what we do know. Our sources close to Michael Jackson tell us that during the History Tour, that was back in '96, '97, Jackson was traveling with what looked like this mini clinic, including an IV pole, drips and what was described as a rack with lights and monitors.

Now sources who had the opportunity to see Jackson at various points on the tour say Jackson was traveling with at least two doctors, one of whom was anesthesiologist Dr. Neil Ratner. And one source says he asked Ratner about all that elaborate equipment and Ratner said he was there because Michael couldn't sleep. Ratner went on to say, according to one source, that I take him down at night and then I bring him back up.

Now sources said Michael Jackson often appeared groggy. And when the source asked Jackson specifically about all the equipment, he just said that he needed some sleep.

Now a couple things to point out. There's a lot of talk about safety. And sources say Ratner would keep equipment in his hotel room next to Jackson that was used for monitoring Jackson's vitals when he was asleep or under as the source put it.

There was also this "Vanity Fair" article where a former business associate of Jackson's said the singer had a "sleep disorder." And Ratner did confirm this to me on the phone. And we wanted to talk to him some more, so we tracked him down in Woodstock, New York, where he now lives with his wife. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: We've come here because your name was obviously associated with Michael Jackson and people said that there was a question of whether or not you gave anesthesia to him while he was on tour. And we just wanted to come to the source, you, and hear and find out if that had happened.

DR. NEIL RATNER: I'm very upset. I'm distraught. Michael was a good person. I can't talk about it right now. It's really something I don't want to talk about right now. I lost a friend. And I feel very badly about that.

GUPTA: There were two people, and I just want to allow you to respond to this, and you can or you don't have to, but I think it's important that you hear this. That we have a couple of different sources that said they would see IV equipment, what sounded like probably pumps, they described as sort of an audio rack sort of looking thing in a hotel room with Michael. And they made it sound like that was your stuff. Are they wrong? Was it . . .

RATNER: I really don't want to talk about this topic at all now. I really have nothing to say about it right now. You know, the man hasn't had a funeral and the man hasn't been buried. It's in appropriate. I don't want to talk about it right now. And I would appreciate it if we could end this now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So who is Dr. Neil Ratner. Well, he was a board certified doctor who, as we mentioned, served as one of Jackson's doctors on the History Tour that spanned '96-'97, which was, incidentally, over 80 performances. Ratner was actually stripped of his license to practice for three years in 2002 after being found guilty of insurance fraud.

The people that we talked to, these sources, never mentioned the medication Diprivan or Purprifal (ph) in any way. Of course, these sources are not medical professionals. And, keep in mind, again, this was 12, 13 years ago. Purprifal was not as widely used as it is today.

Back to you.

HARRIS: Sanjay, appreciate it. Thank you.

And tonight on CNN, Larry King looks at the memorial service that's coming together for Michael Jackson. That's 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

And you know where you're going to be on Tuesday, right here for around-the-clock coverage of the memorial celebrating the life of Michael Jackson as family, friends, and fans say good-bye. "Michael Jackson: The Memorial," CNN all day Tuesday, starting on "American Morning" at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

You know, we're celebrating the American spirit this Fourth of July holiday weekend. You won't believe how some of your neighbors are going about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, listen to this. AAA says gas prices have probably peaked for the summer. Oh, really? Even so, fewer Americans are hitting the road this Fourth of July. Where is that Felicia Taylor? There she is. She has our "Energy Fix" from New York.

Good to see you, Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.

Well, let's hope that they're right. But we could see a permanent shift in the way people do drive. Gas prices have fallen more than six cents over the past 12 days. AAA says the national average is $2.63 a gallon. This time last year, as you probably remember, it was about $4.10. And that was a new record at that time. Let's hope we don't see that again. Despite cheaper gas, though, many of us will be watching the fireworks closer to home this year. AAA predicts travel this weekend will drop nearly 2 percent from last year. Uncertainty about the economy is a big reason, of course, for the decline.

Just yesterday, we learned that 467,000 jobs were lost in June. And the average paycheck also shrank. So fewer people have been getting behind the wheel since the recession began. Over the past 17 months, Americans have cut the number of miles driven by 134 billion.

Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. But people still have to get where they're going. Are they using more public transit instead?

TAYLOR: Absolutely right. Bus and train use remains strong, despite this economic downturn. However, interestingly enough, in the first quarter, ridership did fall slightly, down about 1 percent from a year ago. Driving, however, fell even more, down almost 2 percent. Supporters want to strengthen mass transit and that includes building high-speed rail in this country.

President Obama's a big believer. He has earmarked about $13 billion for high-speed rail. Several states are competing for the government funds. California's plan is the largest so far, with a plan to build a bullet train service between San Diego and San Francisco. It's got a price tag, though, of about $40 billion. Opponents are saying that that's just simply too expensive and ridership will never be enough to cover the cost.

So if you want more about this debate, though, you can check out the story on cnnmoney.com.

Tony.

HARRIS: Terrific stuff, Felicia. Felicia is part of that cnnmoney team that does -- Nicole -- does such a great job.

Felicia, have a great weekend. Thank you.

TAYLOR: You too.

HARRIS: So we know your wallet's maybe hurting a bit. But while the gas prices is pretty high, people are certainly finding a way to celebrate. Nicole is back with a look at some of the best Fourth of July celebrations across the country.

What do you have for us, Nic?

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's get this party started in Wisconsin because they don't mess around. They have a third of July celebration.

HARRIS: OK.

LAPIN: Seriously. This is all the rage every single year, Tony. People camp out for this thing for days. They are serious about the camps they set up as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First time I came out here, I had one of those little tents. And I graduated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think there are any that compare. And I think the past few years, they've really amped it up a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAPIN: Independence Day, like people waiting for those fireworks.

HARRIS: Yes.

LAPIN: I don't want to tell them, Tony, I really don't want to be the one to tell them . . .

HARRIS: Tell them what?

LAPIN: That you kind of don't need the best seat in the house for a fireworks show.

HARRIS: Just look up. Yes, yes.

LAPIN: Just look up into the sky.

HARRIS: Right. Right.

LAPIN: I mean, but, you know, whatever.

The sight in Seattle is a little bit different. And, Tony, since it is Friday, this one is for you.

HARRIS: Who do you have for me?

LAPIN: Because in Seattle, it is the Nearly Naked Fireworks stand.

HARRIS: That's outrageous.

LAPIN: Here you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people buying or just looking?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of lookers. Mainly lookers. Lookers, I would say, though.

Looking for anything in particular?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What attracted you to this particular fireworks stand?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a nice selection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you enjoy working in a bikini?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It's really comfortable.

We've got some big ones over there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAPIN: Some big fireworks, right, yes.

HARRIS: Oh, my, nice selection, OK.

LAPIN: They are taking their cues from those bikini shops, those coffee shop places in Seattle. Not everybody is so happy about having this fireworks stand on the main drag in town. At least that's what they say when their wife is around.

HARRIS: OK.

LAPIN: So we're trying to understand what Independence Day -- I'm going to save you from yourself right now.

HARRIS: Yes, please. Thank you. Thank you.

LAPIN: What Independence Day means to you. Whether it's bikinis or fireworks or barbecue or whatever, it is Tony's blog question of the day.

And you had this brilliant idea to put up the Declaration of Independence.

HARRIS: Well, I just wondered, when was the last time anyone has actually took a moment to, you know, read the Declaration of Independence. The handiwork of Thomas Jefferson. And so we decided, why not just post it?

LAPIN: Now, I posted it!

HARRIS: Oh, you did the work?

LAPIN: You didn't know how to turn it on even. So I posted the whole Declaration of Independence and we had some comments in already.

HARRIS: OK.

LAPIN: Let's read a couple of those of people who chimed in saying what independence means to them.

Mike from New York, Tony, says "this day means that we as a people should remember that freedom isn't free. It sometimes requires the blood of heroes like those who fell fighting off the British and those who fight in the Middle East today."

HARRIS: Nice. Nice.

LAPIN: And Amber says, "because I am a political science major, I do read the Declaration of Independence and Constitution a few times a year, and every time I read it," Tony, she says she I "get goose bumps and am once again amazed at the words that founded our country."

So there you go. She appreciates the Declaration of Independence.

Cnn.com/tony is where you can join the conversation.

HARRIS: So is this how this generally works, that I come up with these ideas and others have to . . .

LAPIN: You come up with these great ideas and then . . .

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE) other people.

LAPIN: We do the heavy lifting. But we got you. We got you. It's all a team.

HARRIS: All right. Have a great weekend. Thanks, Nicole.

LAPIN: You too.

HARRIS: You know, there is a party going on in New Orleans ad we are headed there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: People without a job in Michigan are getting a little help from Kmart. It's what we're talking about today in our "What Matters" segment, in partnership with "Essence" magazine. Michigan has the nation's highest unemployment rate, as many of you know, and Kmart is giving laid-off residents a 20 percent discount on store-brand items like baby products and groceries. Customers need proof of unemployment and an I.D. or driver's license to receive a savings card. That's what they're being card, a savings card. The cards are good for six months.

While unemployment rates continue to rise across the country, the city of Chicago's having trouble keeping teachers on its payroll. A study from the University of Chicago finds more than half -- more than half of the teachers in Chicago public schools leave within their first five years. And schools in the highest poverty and crime areas, half the teachers leave after only three years.

The 15th annual "Essence" music festival gets into full swing this hour in New Orleans. They're expecting more than a quarter million people over the three-day weekend. While music is the main focus, there are also daily seminars with the likes of Bill Cosby, Van Jealous (ph) and Steve Harvey. CNN's Sean Callebs is at the Superdome, where many of the events are happening.

And set the scene for us, Sean, if you would, please, sir.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's going to be great. But I got to tell you, a lot of this is going to happen in the evening. Right now it's about 100 degrees, so I think that all these people are flocking to the city are enjoying the air-conditioning right now. But you're exactly right, it's going to be three days of music, of seminars, of communication, and you're going to see great stars here in this city. And, of course, the city certainly embraces all the tourism dollars that come with it. Beyonce is going to be here, John Legend, Anita Baker. Lionel Richie is going to be here. A little '80s throwback as well. En Vogue and Salt and Pepper are going to be here as well. It's going to be great. It's going to be great.

Of course, a lot of people are going to be focused on Michael Jackson. Certainly artists are going to be paying their tribute to him as a front man, as an entertainer, as the king of pop. And we spent a lot of the last few days, Tony, actually hanging out with some New Orleans musicians, talking to them, even though they're steeped in funk and jazz and blues, they say they were really inspired to a large degree by Michael Jackson. Here's just a little sample of some of the music that we caught up with.

(MUSIC)

CALLEBS: Yes, that's the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Those guys are amazing. They're not going to be performing here this weekend, but certainly a lot of people are going to be going out, hitting the club. And we talked to a lot of folks, Allen Toussaint (ph), Ivan Nevel (ph), and Trombone Shorty. He is really New Orleans to the bone. And this is a guy who's been playing publicly since he was four years old. And he says, without question, Michael Jackson was a huge, huge influence for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY "TROMBONE SHORTY" ANDREWS, MUSICIAN: When I listen to his music, he has influences from jazz, rock, funk, R&B and that's where I am in life right now. You know, I'm a student of music, first of all, and I just wanted to be able to take everything and put it all into one gumbo pot. And, you know, what Michael Jackson, the king of pop, he took all that and made it to what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Well, Trombone Shorty is going to be playing Sunday. And also, Tony, I was wrong, Preservation Hall is going to be playing here. I just got my hand slapped by the producer.

Also, Tony, real quickly, I want to point out, there are some very serious items that are going to be discussed here as well. AIDS awareness, HIV virus. A huge problem here in the city. About 70 percent of the people who have the virus are African-American, even though blacks only make up 32 percent of the state's population. So there will be AIDS testing here every day.

Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Sean Callebs for us in New Orleans. Sean, good to see you. Boy, this sounds like a great weekend to be in New Orleans. Thanks, Sean. Appreciate it. What's next for the South Carolina governor after his rambling apologies? Too many details about tan lines and some love notes to his mistress. How about a vacation?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: South Carolina's wife-cheating governor, Mark Sanford, is doing what a lot of Americans are doing this weekend. He is on a family vacation reportedly at his in-laws in Palm Beach, Florida. Let's hope any fireworks are, um, of the Fourth of July variety. Here's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Sanfords of South Carolina are on holiday weekend in Florida. Together. Prior to the family vaca, the governor put out word through his office that he's not resigning and "remains committed and determined to repair the damage he has done in his marriage and to building back the trust of the people of South Carolina." After more than a week of rambling apologies, unnecessary details, and purple-prose (ph) e-mails to his soul mate/mistress, trust is hard to come by.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think his mind is somewhere else, and it's not with the people of South Carolina. It's with the mistress in Argentina.

CROWLEY: Jenny Sanford, the wife the governor says he's trying to fall back in love with, issued her own statement. She quoted the Bible and Desmond Tutu on the subject of forgiveness and said, for the sake of her boys, she leaves the door open for reconciliation. "I am willing to forgive Mark for his actions," she said. "It is up to the people and elected officials of South Carolina to decide whether they will give Mark another chance as well." Or not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we didn't need one more thing to embarrass the state. My gosh, we're really good at embarrassing this state.

CROWLEY: Even in the face of Sanford's refusal to step down, critics have not backed down. One longtime Sanford ally said, there are two kinds of South Carolina politicos, those who have publically called for Sanford's resignation and those hoping to talk him into it privately. The governor can cross one thing off the to-do list, he got an A-OK after an investigation into who paid for those trips to see the mistress.

REGGIE LLOYD, DIR., SOUTH CAROLINA STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIV.: In regards to this relationship, we have found no improper use of public funds. That is the scope of our review.

CROWLEY: Terse, but helpful, to a man who has not done much to help himself and who needs any help he can get.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: It is go time. We are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.

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

Countdown to potential chaos. We are pushing forward on the public memorial for Michael Jackson. The fans who mobbed him all through his life, set to celebrate it Tuesday. Tens of thousands of them. This hour, a live announcement from L.A. laying out all the details.

The Taliban in their sights, U.S. Marines gain ground in Afghanistan. Now they've got to hold it. Our correspondent in Kabul joins us with an update on the big offensive.

And things weren't always fair in Philadelphia, Mississippi, but the city notorious for its racist past today turns a corner for good. History and handshakes as the first black mayor is sworn in.