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AIG Pays out Millions in Bonuses; Minority Kids Turned Away from Pool; Obama to Visit Ghana; Motown Lures Tinseltown; Smugglers Holding Immigrants Hostage; Video Shows Iran Protests; Michael Jackson to be Buried at Neverland?; Prescription Drug Abuse a Widespread Problem; Pakistan's Military Talking to Taliban; Professor Finds Way to ID Your Social Security Number
Aired July 10, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, have yourself a fantastic weekend.
Stay out of the pool, kids. Black kids turned away from a swim club. A simple case of overcrowding or a deeper case of outright racism? We'll find out.
And no food, no water, lots of desperation. A group of immigrants reportedly held captive in this trailer, now gone. Is time running out?
But, first, AIG paying out millions in bonus money. Wait, wait, wait, sit down, stay calm. Don't blow your top. There's no new reason for outrage here.
I'm Ali Velshi. I'm filling in today for Kyra Phillips.
OK. Those bonuses paid for by taxpayer-bailed-out insurance giant AIG, might be a little too much hype over this. Let's put it all into perspective with my good friend and co-host, Christine Romans, joining me from New York.
We saw this happening, the reports of the new payments. Everybody was getting all mad again. Why are we not getting mad again about this?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because this is the same thing we were mad about in March. We were mad about hundreds of millions of dollars of bonuses going to the people in the financial products division of AIG, the very unit that had brought the company down, brought it to its knees, and brought it to the door of American taxpayers, who've had to pump $180 billion into this company.
There are more payments scheduled for that unit under the 2008 employee contracts. And now they've been kicked over to the Treasury Department, and the pay czar there, and they're trying to work it out together: how, whether, if, when, under what circumstances is that going to be likely.
VELSHI: But -- but...
ROMANS: and it might not be until sometime next year. They're starting to review this. VELSHI: If you get mad today, you're going to have a few more opportunities to get mad. Because it's the same bonuses that we were outraged about. It's just the installments in which they are getting paid.
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: What on earth could be going between AIG and the treasury at this point, because it's been determined that these bonuses, as distasteful as they were, as wrong as they seemed to so many people, were legal.
ROMANS: Well, so far the Treasury Department has made no move on this, other than the fact that they are -- have been asked to review it by AIG.
There's another smaller bonus pool, though, that people are watching. And this is the imminent thing here. It's a $2.4 million bonus pool to about 43 executives of the -- corporate executives of the overall company.
And these are performances bonuses, retention bonuses, again, from 2008 that the pay czar from the Treasury Department has been asked to review. It's a much smaller amount. It comes out to about $60,000 per -- per executive. And this is a question that I think a lot of people are asking.
If the American taxpayer has $180 billion invested in AIG, do you want AIG to have executives who are rewarded for performance, or you do not want them to get any kind of bonus or performance compensation at all?
VELSHI: Right. Having other people's executives that you have nothing to do with getting outrageous amounts of money is offensive, but maybe when they're actually -- somehow got to pay you your taxpayer money back, you might start to look at this differently, as if you are somehow hiring these people yourself.
ROMANS: That's right. But I think you're right, Ali, that we're going to continue to see this story unfold. Because there's still -- there's a lot of money that's been contractually agreed to, to these people who worked -- work at AIG. And you're going to continue to -- how are you going to pay that out?
VELSHI: Yes. You know...
ROMANS: There's still a lot of money that has not been paid out, and the public does not want it to be paid out.
VELSHI: Yes, that's -- this is the story we're going to have to continue to follow. One of the things the government's going to have to look into in the future is when they take over a company or bail a company out, should they have the authority, called resolution authority, to be able to cancel all the contracts and get rid of anyone they don't want.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: Listen, we don't get -- you and I work together. We have the show on Saturdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. We're not expecting any big bonuses, Christine, but one of the big bonuses about our jobs is that once in a while we get these fun assignments.
ROMANS: I know. And if you watch our program this weekend, "YOUR MONEY," you're going to get to see Ali on a bike, wearing glasses, with a really cool guy with the best 'stache I've seen in a long time.
VELSHI: Yes, the guy on the left is me. The guy on the right is Paul Tuttle Sr. of "American Chopper." I went up to his place in Newburgh, New York. We took a ride around, and she showed me about his business empire. Of course, they've got -- you know, they've got Orange County Choppers, and he's got a big 30,000-square-foot warehouse and makes bikes. And just a fun time. So that's my bonus. I'll take that. I hope nobody is objecting to that as my bonus.
ROMANS: You can -- you can take that bonus, Ali. You deserve it.
VELSHI: Good to see you, Christine.
ROMANS: You, too.
VELSHI: I'll see you tomorrow and on Sunday.
ROMANS: Bye-bye.
VELSHI: Christine Romans in New York.
IOU? No thanks. Two major banks say they don't have much faith in California's ability to pay its bills.
Wells Fargo and Bank of America are going to stop cashing IOUs that the state of California started issuing to people and businesses who were owed money by the state last week. More than 60 credit unions, however, say they'll keep accepting the IOUs.
California has issued 91,000 of those IOUs, and they value at more than $354 million. Who gets them? Well, taxpayers who were getting tax refunds, let's say; social service agencies; state contractors; people who do business with the state and local and municipal governments.
California is trying to deal with its $26 billion budget gap. Now, a state that has a budget gap doesn't have a lot of choices. They either increase revenue or decrease expending. The federal government, as you know, can print money. States can't do that. California, if not part of the United States, would be the world's eighth largest economy.
Now, if it can happen there, could it happen in your state? We're going to talk about that. And it's not your mom and dad's GM anymore. The automaker emerges from bankruptcy with a lot less debt, fewer brands, fewer dealers, fewer plants, fewer workers and a new majority owner, the U.S. government. What does it mean for you and me? Does it mean anything? We'll look under the hood of a leaner, meaner General Motors as we push forward.
The anger and the accusations are growing over a story that CNN first brought you yesterday. A private Philadelphia-area swim club turns away dozens of African-American and Hispanic youngsters. Is it a simple case of overcrowding? Or is it something more sinister lurking under the surface? Well, the state of Pennsylvania wants to know.
Susan Candiotti has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swimming once a week at the spacious Huntington Valley Club near Philadelphia. It sounded ideal for 65 kids described as black and Hispanic at Creative Steps day care summer camp.
ALETHEA WRIGHT, DAY CARE DIRECTOR: I was excited. The parents and children were excited.
CANDIOTTI: But when the youngsters showed up at the pool June 29, after the day camp signed and paid a $1,900 contract, this happened.
WRIGHT: The children came running down the hill saying, "Miss Wright, Miss Wright, those people up there are saying what are those black kids doing in the pool?"
CANDIOTTI: Twelve-year-old Marcus Allen is her son, says he was sitting outside the pool, and heard white adults say this.
MARCUS ALLEN, VISITOR: It was like, "Oh, wow, these black kids here." Then they was saying, "Oh, I'm afraid they might do something to my children. I don't know if they might steal -- try to steal some of my stuff or might try to, like, harm my children."
And I'm like -- I was, like, amazed that they were saying things like this, because we're like -- just like you. We're just like your kids.
(on camera) Not enough room?
(voice-over) Mrs. Wright says the swim club's director told her he was embarrassed, held an emergency board meeting, and called her back the next day to say they could not come back.
WRIGHT: And he said, "The membership says let the chips fall where they may."
CANDIOTTI (on camera): You know, Marcus, I see tears coming down your face. Why does this make you cry?
ALLEN: Because this is kind of, like, sad that, like, people are still thinking like -- thinking like this. When I felt like these days was over.
WRIGHT: This is 2009. Children should not be subjected to that.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The swim club's director is quoted by local media as saying the day camp kids changed the, quote, "atmosphere and complexion" of the club. A club member reacted.
JIM FLYNN, CLUB MEMBER: I'll be asking for the president of the club's resignation today, because I think the comment that he made, although taken out of context, was probably one of the stupidest comments I ever heard.
CANDIOTTI: He claims the club was simply overcrowded, not racist. He said two other unidentified day camps, both non-minority, also got the boot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: OK, let's catch up on what's going on. Susan Candiotti's right there. Susan, you've got an update going on right now?
CANDIOTTI: Yes. As a matter of fact, a little while ago Dr. Duesler and his wife stepped outside for the first time since this controversy really heated up and spoke with us at length on camera. Now he's speaking with some local reporters. I'm going to see whether I can interrupt for a moment so we can hear part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JOHN DUESLER, PRESIDENT, HUNTINGTON VALLEY SWIM CLUB: ... that it transformed our private club into a summer camp, and this is not what we were able to accommodate.
CANDIOTTI: I apologize for interrupting, but we're on live right now on CNN. Would you be kind enough to summarize for us, Mr. Duesler, what it is, if you could turn ever so slightly here, I'd appreciate it. You said earlier that you regret.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The -- the atmosphere of the pool, you know, when you -- we have a small membership. We have a small club, even though we have a lot of land. You can sit and watch your kids from all over. And when, you know, there may be 10, 15 kids in the pool, when all of a sudden there's 60, 80 kids in the shallow end of the pool, that changes what we call, you know, the atmosphere, maybe complexity would have been a better word.
You know, we're not politicians or reporters, so when you stick all these cameras and microphones in our face, we get nervous. I'm very nervous. And afraid to say the wrong word, because it's going to get blown out of proportion. We're going to be on, you know, CNN and the nightly news. Come on. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doctor, what did you mean by change the complexion and atmosphere?
CANDIOTTI: You know, Ali, we have spoken with him at length leading up to this, and he has said that he deeply regrets any hurt that he caused anyone. He says he apologizes to the little boy that you saw crying in that issue. He said this is a youngster that actually came out with his school at a private function just a few weeks before all of this happened.
The position of the club is that they had contracted with two other day-care centers in addition to this one, and that it became clear, after each of them came once, that according to the other members of the pool, they simply did not feel comfortable, that it made the pool too overcrowded in their view. And that that's why -- that is why, they said, they made their decision to disinvite everyone and to cancel their contracts.
They say in the end they had the -- they had all the best intentions in mind. And now they feel as though they are being crucified because of what they tried to do.
They regret any comments that may have been made that were racially tinged. That's what they regret and say they're sorry about. They said they can't control what everyone says. But in the end they realize that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is now investigating this, and they said they'll be happy to explain their position to them, as well.
VELSHI: Do we know anything about those two other day cares who were -- who also had their contracts canceled? Because there's still the implication that this one, the boy who you spoke to, came from this one, that was largely or exclusively black and Hispanic. Were the other two mixed ethnicities, as well, or not?
CANDIOTTI: We are in the process of speaking with them. However, Mr. Duesler has said that, in fact, they are racially mixed, at least one of the two is. He would not give us details or the name of the second one. So, we can't tell you that.
VELSHI: What's your sense? I certainly don't want to put you on the spot in terms of passing an opinion. But you've been on this story since yesterday. What's your sense? Is this a big misunderstanding, or was there something that was spurred because -- because a bunch of black and Hispanic kids showed up at a mostly white pool?
CANDIOTTI: Well, you know, Ali, that is to be decided here. It is the position of these people, the Dueslers and the swim club, that it was a big misunderstanding, that some people -- some people may have said things that they should not have said.
However, now, it has reached a crucial point. They have made an apology. Whether things can be worked out is quite another matter. Whether there are too many hurt feelings at this juncture to make it go away, again, has yet to be seen. VELSHI: All right, remarkable story, one way or another, in 2009. Susan, thanks very much. If anybody's going to get to the bottom of it, you will, with your conversations. Thanks very much.
Our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, staying in Philadelphia until we figure out exactly what happened, why those kids were kicked out of the pool.
Let's see what's happening with that horror movie out of Chicagoland. Cemetery workers allegedly digging up and dumping the dead: selling used graves and pocketing the cash.
Three grave diggers and an office manager from Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, south of Chicago, are charged. Just yesterday one body was put in the wrong grave. Another was about to be put in the right grave, but the plot was occupied.
The Cook County sheriff says more than 2,000 worried families have come forward since yesterday. Listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF TOM DART, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS: It's obvious now; it's apparent. People have gone to grave sites where the headstones are gone. People have gone to a grave site where a different person is there now. People have gone to grave sites where it's clear that something has been removed and moved. Those stories continue. Those are just since yesterday. We've had about 30 of those.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Burr Oak is the resting place of Emmett Till, a civil rights worker. He was a teen -- he was a civil rights hero. He was a teenager who was lynched, and that helped spark the civil rights movement. He was reburied in a new casket a few years ago. His grave is apparently OK. We spoke to his cousin yesterday.
But his original casket was dumped in a shed, and authorities found a family of possums living inside of it.
Well, we think they were kept in this trailer that you're going to look at. Now there's no sign of them. A group of immigrant hostages held at gunpoint. A desperate search growing more desperate by the minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. It's not the kind of assembly line that Michigan is used to. Instead of building cars, these guys are building movie sets. The Hollywood of the Midwest says "hooray" to movie studio millions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: OK, G-8 summit done, meeting with the pope, check. Next stop, Africa. President Obama says the big meeting in Italy with the top eighth industrialized nations was, in his words, highly productive. And the group agreed to make big moves to deal with the environment, the global economy, and international security.
Now today the president met up with Benedict XVI in Rome. The Vatican says the two discussed immigration, Middle East peace, and aid to developing nations. They also reportedly discussed abortion rights.
The pope met the first family, and he gave them a special blessing.
As I was saying a second ago, the next stop on the tour is Ghana, the nation of Ghana in West Africa. CNN's Nkepile Mabuse is in the city of Accra, where the president will arrive a little bit later.
And Nkepile, I've got to ask you, why Ghana?
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's what many on this continent are asking, Ali: why has President Obama chosen to come to Ghana?
Now, President Obama has said himself that he wants to uplift successful models of good governments. Of course, the Kenyans feel snubbed because President Obama's father is from there. Nigerians also have said, because they are the most populist country on the continent and South Africa says, "Well, because we're the economic powerhouse of Africa, we should get the first visit."
But President Obama is trying to make a point here. Let's just take a listen to what he said at the G-8 summit about his choice of Ghana.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Part of the reason that we're traveling to Ghana is because you've got there a functioning democracy, a president who's serious about reducing corruption, and you've seen significant economic growth.
So, I don't want to overly generalize it, but I do want to make the broader point that a government that is stable, that is not engaging in tribal conflicts, that can give people confidence and security, that their work will be rewarded, that is investing in its people and their skills and talents, those countries can succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MABUSE: Well, Ali, President Obama has also made the link between good governance and prosperity. And here in Ghana, between 1990 and about 2005, the country has managed to nearly half poverty. It's seen by the World Bank as one of the few countries on the continent that actually uses aid effectively, and the aid that comes to Ghana actually trickles down to the man on the street. Of course, economic development and the peaceful transfer of power that we've seen over the years on this continent make it a beacon of hope and a really good example of good governance and democracy on the continent, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. You'll be following it when the president arrives there and during his trip. Nkepile Mabuse, thank you very much for being with us.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor will take center stage on Capitol Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee opens confirmation hearings on Monday for President Obama's Supreme Court nominee.
In a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, 47 percent say the Senate should confirm Sotomayor. Forty percent say they shouldn't.
The poll also asked this question: if Sotomayor is qualified, are senators justified in voting against her based on her stand on issues? Look at this: 47 percent of respondents say, yes, they are; 49 percent say they're not. Quite a split.
If confirmed as expected, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the nation's highest court.
All right. We told you a couple minutes ago about something new, a different kind of assembly line, not even really an assembly line, in Michigan. It's not what you'd expect, but in a state that has been so hard-hit by the collapse of the auto industry, well, there's something new that's going on there.
Poppy Harlow is having a look at new opportunities that are coming to Michigan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't be surprised to see George Clooney or Robert De Niro next time you're in Michigan. Those Hollywood A-listers have joined others like Clint Eastwood to make major motion pictures in the embattled state as it works to reinvent itself.
GEN. JENNIFER GRANHOLM (D), MICHIGAN: We are focused entirely on diversified our economy, for example, in the creative economy, whether it's filmmaking...
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: Here's the deal. You stay away, because if I have to come back here again, it's going to be ugly.
HARLOW: Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino" takes place just a few miles from Detroit.
So, what's the incentive to film here? A 42-percent tax break for studios that hire local workers rather than bring in their own crews. Sounds great, but here's the problem. Even though Michigan has a skilled labor force, most don't have any experience working on film sets. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
HARLOW: Enter Mort Meisner and the Center for Film Studies. Started in March, the school gives Michigan workers the chance to hone their skills to meet the needs of movie execs.
MORT MEISNER, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR FILM STUDIES: I don't think Hollywood woke up this morning and decided, "Hey, let's go to Michigan!" They're coming to Michigan because the tax incentives are here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are normally just painted black.
HARLOW: A full course isn't cheap. It costs five grand. But 75 percent of the workers in the program are getting a free ride, thanks to funding from Michigan's No Worker Left Behind program.
At this class, construction workers that are used to building homes are learning how to build sets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was...
SAL PALAZZOLO, SET CARPENTER: It seems like the movies are coming here. There's a demand for carpenters, so I want to be -- we're actually right at the front of it right now. So, I want to be right there.
MEISNER: The real mission, pure and simple: is leave a legacy of jobs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: All right, that's what's going on in Michigan.
Listen, let's talk about Michael Jackson for a second. He found peace there for a while. Well, now it seems that Neverland might still be an option for Michael Jackson's burial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: It's looking like there may be another delay for the Space Shuttle Endeavour's next mission. NASA's hoping to launch the shuttle tomorrow evening, but right now NASA says there's only a 40- percent chance of acceptable weather.
Conditions are expected to improve Sunday and Monday. The mission's already been put off twice because of hydrogen gas leaks. The seven Endeavour astronauts are to install the last part of Japan's massive space station lab.
Well, we're talking about weather.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All kinds of things have to happen right for that thing to go off. You have to have clear skies over Florida in case there's the emergency landing procedure.
VELSHI: Right.
MYERS: And if you look, this is the morning. That's rain. This is the afternoon. That's rain. They don't like to take off in the rain anyway, because they don't want those -- those ceramic tiles all wet. So at least a 60 percent chance of seeing some rain showers there, Ali. I just don't think it looks all that good.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Ali, I can't believe this on a Friday. We don't have one airport delay so far.
VELSHI: Wow.
MYERS: Everybody getting where they need to be.
VELSHI: Not bad.
MYERS: But it's not the Fourth of July, and it's not Christmas, and it's not Thanksgiving. So...
VELSHI: I hope those folks in Texas are coping with this business about not putting the air conditioner below 80, because I think your point is right. The temptation would be to keep it nice and cool, because in case the power goes off, your house is cool. But if the power goes off, you've got an air conditioner.
MYERS: That's exactly right.
Chad, thanks a million.
VELSHI: You're welcome.
VELSHI: An American activist who took on Mexico's drug dealers and kidnappers pays a heavy price. It's believed to be a direct result of his speaking out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. Turning to a developing story in Texas. Police are on a desperate hunt for a group of immigrants reportedly being held hostage for ransom and being deprived of food and water. Two arrests have been made so far. Our Ed Lavandera is working this one from our Dallas bureau.
Eddie, what have you got?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ali, pretty fascinating. Actually, police found out about this because one of the immigrants in this group managed to escape, snuck out through the bottom of the trailer, was able to reach authorities. He had told authorities that there were some 25 immigrants that were being held against their will by three captors who were in the process of smuggling them into this country.
All of this taking place near Austin, Texas, in a small town southeast of Austin called Dale. Far from -- 250 miles away from the border, and that's what makes this case so unique. This is not the kind of place where you're used to seeing these types of stories unfold.
But authorities say they believe that once they got there, they were only able to find six of the immigrants. They believe that one of the captors and the remaining immigrants may -- got away before the authorities had gotten there. But they say that this is not something they're used to seeing there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY PICKERING, BASTROP COUNTY SHERIFF: We've never had a situation like this before in Bastrop County. We're very actively looking for them. And, I mean, based on the information we have, I mean, we're obviously concerned about these folks' well-being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: So, two men are -- were arrested in this case. The immigrants that have been interviewed say that they were held for several days without food and water, that some of the women in the group were sexually assaulted as well.
This is very similar to what we have seen transpire over the last year or so in Phoenix, Arizona, which, as has been reported several times, has become known as the kidnapping capital of the United States because of these very similar type situations. But this is unique in the sense that happening so far away from the border, in a place where you're not really accustomed to seeing this kind of thing. And people who follow these types of kidnappings and these kinds of hostage situations say this is exactly kind of the M.O. behind all of this, that it's usually transpired in places where you're not used to seeing anything like this -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right, Ed, you'll stay on the story. It's remarkable. Thank you so much.
Let's go from Dallas over to our Iran desk. We've got new material coming in from Tehran. As you know, yesterday was the 10th anniversary of a student uprising, and we saw more activity out of Tehran as we led into last night. And it appears that we do now have new video of some of those protests. Reza, what have you got?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lots of new pictures and video coming in over the morning. We're going to show you some of the best ones. This first one we're going to show you gives you a glimpse of what appears to be a change of strategy on the part of the Basij. The Basij of course the voluntary militia that wears street clothes. They've come a lot of criticism for wearing street clothes. Eyewitnesss on the ground telling us now they're wearing brand-new uniforms.
And you can see these are people that have street clothes on. They appear to be Basij. But now they're wearing camouflage vests. And what you're about to see is a strategy that they used. They're outnumbered by the protesters, so they do surprise attacks like this. Look at that.
All of a sudden, they charge what appears to be a gathering on the sidewalk. Let's see if we can run that one more time, Talia (ph). And this is what we saw when we were on the ground over there. All of a sudden, surprise attacks to intimidate people. What happens after that, they usually disperse to other areas.
And if we some to Azadeh (ph) over here, we see another intersection where people have gathered, burning dumpsters. At times, eyewitnesss told us that people were caught by security forces. We're going to show you what could be for some some graphic video. So, we forewarn people, this may be disturbing to some.
This is what happens when a protester is caught by a security force. There we go. This is someone I spoke to this morning. He said he went to the help of some women who were being beaten up by security forces, and this was the aftermath. He said about a half a dozen people caught him, and they started beating him with batons, and they wouldn't let him go. And again, that's what happened when he went to the rescue of some women. And he told us a lot of women were out there in these protests.
VELSHI: And that's something we've seen right from the beginning of the protests a month ago after the election. We saw a very large presence of women.
SAYAH: And man, have they been fearless. From the beginning, they were on the forefront.
VELSHI: I don't know if it's here, but I was looking at "The Wall Street Journal," the cover of "The Wall Street Journal" this morning.
SAYAH: It's around here...
VELSHI: There was a picture of a woman whose face is half covered. You can see her eyes.
SAYAH: With a victory sign.
VELSHI: With victory signs.
SAYAH: Even when I was there, whenever you had the type of surges that we just showed you on the video, it was the women who stayed put.
VELSHI: Yes.
SAYAH: They didn't ran away.
VELSHI: Remarkable.
SAYAH: It was the men who ran away. And who knows when we're going to see another protest. But there you see some pictures of the women. But if we see protests again, you can be sure that they're going to be out there. People are pointing to when -- here we have the picture on "The Wall Street...
VELSHI: And here -- yes. This is the -- let me just show -- I wanted to show you. But I mean, this is "The Wall Street Journal." This is a newspaper that's devoted to business, usually. Right on the front cover there, this woman with the victory sign, covered up, but you can just see the passion in her eyes.
SAYAH: These are the types of people who knew that they were going to be confronted with...
VELSHI: Yes.
SAYAH: ... members of the Basij and security forces, and they went out anyway. So, some courageous people risking a lot to go out there to try to convince the government that we're not going anywhere. They're saying the next time people are going to come out to the streets could be when President Ahmadinejad is going to be sworn in.
VELSHI: Right.
SAYAH: Late July, possibly August. Look for more women to be out there at the protests.
VELSHI: All right. You and your team continue to stay on. This is the Iran desk at CNN. You may not be seeing news reports on it, but they are constantly monitoring this information, clearing it, vetting it, finding out, corroborating it and then we'll bring it to you. Thanks, Reza, appreciate that.
All right, Michael Jackson's death. We've heard a lot about the dangers of prescription drugs. We're going to tell you more about prescription drugs and their dangers and the age group affected most by them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Well, some of Michael Jackson's doctors are reportedly not being super cooperative with the LAPD. A source tells CNN some subpoenas have already gone out. Meantime, a new window into Jackson's possible medical issues. The singer was allegedly taking piles of pills at one point, Xanax specifically. In an interview with police back in 2004, two Jackson security guards said he popped more than ten Xanax a night, down from 30 to 40 of them. The guards told cops Jackson would ask them to get prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drugs in their names.
It's been more than two weeks since Michael Jackson collapsed and died, and the singer still hasn't been laid to rest. The questions of where he'll be buried hasn't been put to rest either. But as our Ted Rowlands reports, Neverland does remain in the running.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): According to the state, an attorney for the Jackson family has inquired about burying Michael Jackson at Neverland Ranch, something Jermaine Jackson told CNN's Larry King last week he'd like to see happen.
JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: I would love to see him here.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Do you have a place for him here?
JERMAINE JACKSON: Yes, there's a special place right over near the train station, right over there.
ROWLANDS: To bury someone on private land in California, there are two steps. First, you need what's called a certificate of authority from the State Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. That's no big deal, just fill out this two-page application and shell out $400. The other thing you need is approval from the county, which in this case is Santa Barbara. At this point, nobody from the Jackson family has contacted the county. If someone does, they say it's possible they'll give the OK.
WILLIAM BOYER, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY: We have had no formal application either from the Jackson family or from the property owner, and at that point in time, we would review the application and make a determination.
ROWLANDS: What's unclear is if everyone in the family wants Neverland to be Jackson's final resting place. Joe Jackson seemed to shoot it down when asked about it in the days after Jackson's death.
JOE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FATHER: That's not true. That's not true.
ROWLANDS (on camera): The bottom line here is that people burying individuals on private land just simply doesn't happen very often. The last time it happened in California was when Ronald Reagan was buried at Simi Valley. That's a different county than Santa Barbara County.
Those folks in Santa Barbara say they've never seen it happen. So, if they do get an application, they say they'll review it. They're not against it, but at this point, they don't really have a template on how to move forward, so it could take some time.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: The City of Gary, Indiana, that hopes that Neverland is a no. Gary's mayor has been lobbying the Jacksons to bury Michael Jackson there in their hometown. Tonight, Gary is holding a memorial service for the pop star. One of the tributes planned is a performance of "Thriller." Jackson's dad, Joe, will be at that memorial in Gary.
The Michael Jackson case is putting the spotlight on prescription drug abuse. It's a serious problem that affects people in all walks of life. Joining us now, CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
Elizabeth, how bad is this? How serious is this problem?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is serious. I think sometimes we hear about Michael Jackson's drug problems, and our eyes bug out, and we say, oh, my goodness. Well, really, this is so much more common than we think. In fact, last year the Centers for Disease Control reported that more people were dying of overdoses of prescription drugs than of drugs like heroin or cocaine.
VELSHI: Wow.
COHEN: Yes, that really is a wow. And if you think that's a wow, take a look at these numbers. It's wow in a bad way. There are 20,000 deaths per year from overdoses of prescription drugs, and most of those -- or, I'm sorry, the most common is in the age group ages 35 to 44.
In fact, overdose deaths from drugs like Vicodin, OxyContin and Demerol went up 142 percent from 1999 to 2004. During that same period of time, overdose deaths from heroin went down 9 percent.
VELSHI: So, is it mostly the painkillers or the anxiety drugs or the sleeping pills?
COHEN: It's opioids, so it's things like Demerol, OxyContin, Vicodin.
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: It's the pain pills.
VELSHI: All right. I mean, at some point, one has to wonder, when you heard of Michael Jackson taking 30 or 40 Xanax, I mean, they're prescribed for a certain reason at a certain level. What is it that causes people to just take more and more and more of these drugs?
COHEN: Well, you need more and more because your body becomes sort of used to it.
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: And so you need more to get sort of the fix that you're looking for. What was interesting in the report that we heard before is that he got them -- well, allegedly -- by asking security guards to get them in his name, and these are some of the techniques that people use. I mean, sometimes people have other people get them. Sometimes people have -- they go doctor shopping.
When you look at kids -- this is interesting. When you look at teenagers, 34 percent of teenagers get prescription drugs and abuse them by going into their own home, their medicine cabinet, stealing stuff from their parents. Thirty-one percent of them get them from friends or classmates. Only 9 percent get them from drug dealers, which is really pretty interesting.
VELSHI: You know, I know in New York if you get a prescription for something that's considered a restricted drug, it's got to be on paper. You can't fax it in. You can't phone it in. You can't get repeats on it. Are there programs in place to restrict people's access to these types of drugs that they can overdose on?
COHEN: There are programs, but some people say there need to be more programs. For example, unfortunately, it's too easy. You go to Dr. Smith and get a bunch of Vicodin, and then Dr. Smith cuts you off. It's all too easy to go to Dr. Jones and get more Vicodin, and all of that needs to be centralized.
But it's interesting, Ali just mentioned having prescriptions on paper and not faxed in. You can go on the Internet, and some of these sites will just say, hey, fax us something, and anybody can make up anything.
VELSHI: Sure. Sure. Wow. Something right when Michael Jackson died, there was a pathologist on who said, you know, it's sad that these things have to happen, but sometimes when it's somebody prominent, that's when we start to bring attention to a very, very common problem.
COHEN: That's so true. That is so common in so many families.
VELSHI: Elizabeth, good to see you. Thank you so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
VELSHI: All right. It takes a lot of nerve to run with the bulls, and this year something we haven't seen happen in more than a decade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Winning the war in Afghanistan could mean taking the war out of Afghanistan. What am I talking about? Our Michael Ware just got back from the Afghan-Pakistani border, getting rare access and plenty of insight. He joins us now from Baghdad, where he's based. Michael, you say the U.S. cannot win the war in Afghanistan alone. What are you talking about?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, militarily the war cannot be won with bombs and bullets alone. Obviously, it's going to require much more than that. You're not just going to kill the Taliban away. And that's eminently recognized by all U.S. commanders and is inherent within the new American counterinsurgency document -- doctrine.
Much more important than that, Ali, you're not going to win the war in Afghanistan in Afghanistan. You have to win it in Pakistan, because it's in Pakistan that the Afghan Taliban have sanctuary. It's in those mountain valleys from where I've just returned that the Afghan Taliban can live and train and from where they launch their military strikes against the nearby U.S. forces just over the mountain border. Now, to get to them where they're living, U.S. forces cannot operate on Pakistani soil. And for now, the Pakistani military establishment sees a benefit in tolerating their presence. So, you need the you need the Pakistani military to get on board. President Bush waited for this almost for his entire administration, but there's a new development, a potential breakthrough.
The Pakistan army's official spokesman went on camera with me and acknowledged for the first time ever publicly that, yes, the Pakistan military is talking to Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban, and the other top commanders. More importantly, he said, we can deliver them to the negotiating table, and in return, they want concessions on India's involvement in Afghanistan.
Because Ali, what so many people back home don't realize is that what's for America the war in Iraq is about -- in Iran -- in -- sorry. In Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan is for America about the Taliban and al Qaeda. But for many in the region, it's really about Pakistan and india competing for influence -- Ali.
VELSHI: And Michael, when you talk to the Pakistanis, it's very interesting how they take a very different view. They have a view that they will manage the Taliban. They will manage that border, that porous area that you've discussed. But when India comes up as part of the discussion, they tense up a great deal. As far as they are concerned, that is the enemy, and that is the problem.
WARE: Absolutely. I mean, that's what America needs to understand. And I think the American national discussion or debate about the Afghan war needs to shift and focus on this. The Afghan war is much more about India than anyone realizes. The Taliban are the ones fighting the war. It's Pakistan, who are simply doing nothing, who is facilitating that.
Pakistan does that because it sees in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, an Afghan government that is very closely tied to India. And the Pakistanis feel that India is in Afghanistan playing games with Pakistan. So, America needs to start addressing this if you want to have any hope of bringing your troops home soon -- Ali.
VELSHI: Very important point, Michael, that you will continue to make. But it's one that is important for our audience to hear. Thanks so much. Michael Ware in Baghdad.
All right. Here are three vowels that you are going to have trouble buying in California, IOU. Call it the "Wheel of Misfortune" out there. Next hour, we've got more proof of just how messed up the Golden State's finances are and how their problem could be coming near a state near you, maybe a state you even live in.
Plus, the head of the NAACP talking about the last 100 years, the next 100 years and why its mission is far from over.
He ain't Kreskin, but he can figure out your Social Security number. And if this nice Italian professor can do it, you've got to think a crook who wants to steal your identity can, too. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right, here's a question for you. Are you using your Social Security number as a password or for anything at all? Stop it right now. You're not going to believe how easy it is for Joe, the password cracker, to figure out your Social. Next thing you know, he' got your whole identity.
Here is CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 36-year-old professor from Italy opens a new battlefront against identity theft by exposing the predictability of how we currently get assigned our Social Security numbers. Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie Mellon University says all he needs to get started in finding your Social Security number is your date of birth and the state where you were born, information that millions of Americans freely give out by registering to vote or putting it on their Facebook or MySpace pages.
(on camera): We're going to try to at least get in the ballpark of my Social Security number. I was born in Virginia and, OK, guys, bleep out the date here. October (DELETED), 19 (DELETED). So, OK, how would you kind of at least come upon the first couple of digits, first maybe three, four, five digits?
ALESSANDRO ACQUISTI, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY: So, we would know from public information that your SNN should be likely between -- the first three digits, 223 and 231. (INAUDIBLE)
TODD: That's right. That's right.
(voice-over): Those are the area numbers, assigned based on the state where you were born. The last six numbers are given in chronological order. To find them, Acquisti and his team of researchers used statistical techniques, and they mined publicly available data from the Social Security Administration's death master file. That shows the patterns in which people who are deceased got their numbers.
Acquisti says it's much easier to narrow down numbers for people born after 1988, when most Americans started getting assigned Social Security numbers at birth.
ACQUISTI: If you consider the entire nine digits, we can predict with fewer than 1,000 attempts 8.5 percent of all SSN issued after 1988.
TODD: And it's even easier to track people born in less- populated states. His point in all this?
ACQUISTI: The bottom line is that Social Security numbers are very bad passwords. They were not designed to be used the way we are using them now. TODD: So, Acquisti and the Social Security Administration have been cautioning people to stop using them as passwords at the bank and other places. Officials from the Social Security Administration didn't respond to our request for an on-camera interview. But in a statement, a spokesman said, "The suggestion that Mr. Acquisti has cracked a code for predicting an SSN is a dramatic exaggeration."
(on camera): But the spokesman says for reasons unrelated to Professor Acquisti's report, they'll start randomly assigning Social Security numbers next year.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: That's food for thought.
