Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gibbs Responds to Town-Hall Protests; Citizens Weigh in on Health-Care Reform; Comparing U.S. Health Care to China's Health Care; Ad Campaign Drawing Attention in Washington

Aired August 12, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And that sets up the top of the hour. You've got the president on one side of the health-care debate. On the other side? Some pretty furious Americans. In the middle, lawmakers getting an earful from both sides.

At least seven town halls nationwide today. We're watching them all. Will they look like democracy or the "Jerry Springer Show"? We're pushing forward the debate and pinning down the facts.

Lots of urban legends out there. What should you believe?

Plus, a TV show host accused of doing anything to jack up his ratings, and I mean anything.

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

Can't you tell? This is make-or-break month for health-care reform in America. Look at all these town-hall meetings going on just today. And some of them happening right now.

Florida, Pennsylvania, Senator Specter again, Montana, and Nebraska. Also Hagerstown, Maryland, and that's where Senator Ben Cardin hosts a meeting this hour. We're keeping a close eye on this one. Cardin actually got booed and jeered Monday at his town hall in Towson. Also, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Congressman Steve Rothman hosting that one. And there's a bunch of town halls in Iowa.

Republican Senator Charles Grassley is hosting four of them today. The second one is wrapping up this hour. The president praised Grassley yesterday as a Republican who's honestly coming up with a health-care reform that both parties can live with. Grassley is one of the Group of Six senators from both parties heavily involved in the negotiations.

This event earlier in Winterset was pretty civil, but the crowd of 300-plus wasn't giving the senators any softballs either. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like I said, I'm a dumb, southern Iowa redneck, and I see nowhere in the Constitution where health care is a right. SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R), IOWA: We would have a bill through the United States Senate. Probably not one I would have voted for, but -- so if anybody is criticizing me for negotiating, you've got six weeks to look at a bill that you wouldn't otherwise have. And I don't think that you would have -- I'd have 150 people at my town meeting or maybe 300 people here at my town meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, is working his way toward Iowa. All this week he's been out on the bus, talking health-care reform with people. Nothing canned, just fresh feedback, concerns and opinions. He's in southern Illinois right now, heading to Missouri.

Ali, talk to me.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, we are -- you know, we're just showing up. We're going to different towns on the way from Atlanta. We went through Tennessee, though Kentucky. Now we're in southern Illinois, heading into Missouri in probably another hour or so. We're just outside of St. Louis right now, and then we're going to head into Iowa.

But we're just showing up and talking to people, and we're getting a pretty good cross-section, not necessarily representative, but people coming up to us and having a discussion about health care.

Last night we pulled into Paducah, Kentucky, and it was just remarkable, the number of people who showed up. So, what we did is we asked the restaurant across the road to give us some chairs. We sat down under -- 20 feet from the bus, got our cameras fired up, and we had our own town-hall meeting. Here's just a taste of what we heard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: We're here in Paducah, Kentucky. We are hearing different things from people wherever we're going, but I haven't found too many people around here who are opposed to reforming health care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm for the idea, but I don't think that Congress and the president has done a good job of disseminating the information. I'm just hearing a lot of flak and not a lot of meat and potatoes.

VELSHI: What about you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think right now we have a lack of choice. I mean, health care is expensive. I mean, the average costs of the coverage I found more often than not are more expensive than the actual care. I would think any choice, any viable choice, would be better than what we've got now.

VELSHI: What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My understanding, there is about 48 million people that's not covered. Those people need to be covered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, my husband and I are two of that 47 million plus that aren't -- don't have health care. And I'm not talking insurance. And of course, we don't have insurance, but I want health care.

My husband has diabetes, and he just had a bout with cancer. What insurance company is going to cover us? There aren't any. If I get sick today, where do you think I'm going? I'm going to the emergency room. Who's that costing? That's costing us, the taxpayers.

So, if it's going to cost my bottom line, if they have to tax me more in order to get health care, tax me. Tax me, tax me, tax me. I am willing to pay.

VELSHI: Let's talk about the 46, 47, 50 whatever million you want to use, number of people who are not insured in this country. What's your thought on that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would really love to drive a Hummer. They're cool cars. I can't afford one, so I don't drive one. I drive what I can afford.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, I can't believe you're saying that people don't deserve health care if they can't afford it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did I say that, Heather?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what I hear you saying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then you're not listening, Heather. I said...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I hear...

VELSHI: You did say you'd like to buy Hummer, and you can't buy a Hummer because you can't afford it. So, you're saying if you can't afford health -- if you can't afford the Hummer, you don't drive it. If you can't afford health care, you shouldn't get it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No, no, no. I'm saying you have the basic stuff. You get a catastrophic illness. You're in a car crash, an accident, something like that happens. Of course, you get coverage for that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: And, Kyra, I said that's just a flavor of what we got. We sat around and talked to these people for more than 20 minutes. You can see (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We are having that conversation. We're stopping in towns. People are coming up to the bus, and they're telling us on both sides of the issue what their concerns are.

But it is civil. It is not yelling. And we're getting some real questions asked and answered about health care -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: So, what stood out you to, Ali? I mean, you've been stopping through a number of these towns, some small, some bigger. What do you think the main issue? Is it confusion or the fact that they're finally happy that something's happening on a nationwide scale that's going to provide for them?

VELSHI: You know, we started the tour on Monday, and I'll tell you, it's almost changed a little bit. What we're feeling is that people are getting a little angry by the tenor of the conversation, the fact that it's become entirely political, when most people don't know what's in the plan. So, it is confusion. A lot of valid questions about it.

And I am struck by the civility of the discussion. Because if we only saw it through the eyes of these town-hall meetings, you would think that everybody in America is screaming at each other about that.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

VELSHI: We're not getting that. You saw in that story, that town hall that we did in Paducah, there was disagreement. It got a little heated. But it wasn't disrespectful. There was no yelling. People want to discuss with other people from their perspective what needs to be fixed.

So I'm finding it's civil. I'm finding it's intelligent, and we're getting great questions from people and great testimonials about people's own struggles with health care.

I am finding that more people that I'm talking to seem to think health care needs to be reformed than the other way around, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, they're also being civil with you. I'd like to see them in front of their congressman or their congresswoman and get into a debate on -- that way.

Ali, appreciate it. We're going to keep tracking your road trip.

Well, angry crowds and pushing and shoving and shouting at health-care town halls. Ali just mentioned that. What are people so mad about?

Well, we're taking a look at what's fact and what's fiction about the health-care plans being considered on Capitol Hill. And here to talk about it senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, and Josh Levs, the CNN's Truth Squad.

Elizabeth, let's go ahead and start with you. One of the big questions is, of course, will my employer go for the public option and stop paying for the insurance that I currently have? Before you answer that, here's what the president had to say, and then I want to get your reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think private insurers should be able to compete. They do it all the time.

I mean, if you think about -- if you think about it, you know, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. I mean, it's the post office that's always having problems.

So, right now, you've got private insurers who are out there competing effectively, even though a lot of people get their care through Medicare or Medicaid or V.A. So, there's nothing inevitable about this somehow destroying the private marketplace, as long as -- and this is a legitimate point that you're raising -- that it's not set up where the government is basically being subsidized by the taxpayers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So, Elizabeth, is that true?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I feel the need to sort of explain a little bit what that -- what this debate's about, because I don't think it is entirely clear.

For some people this is the nightmare scenario: the government comes out with a health-care program, kind of like for Medicare but for younger people, and employers will say, "Oh, my goodness. This plan is, let's say, 10 to 20 percent cheaper than the private insurance I have now. I'm going to jump on this bandwagon and get rid of my private insurance."

Well, a lot of people will tell you that this nightmare may or may not come to pass. Let's look at the "may come to pass." Sure, it's possible that employers will want something that's cheaper. But look at the situation now. Employers now can go with the cheapest plans on the market, and they don't always do that. There's a fair amount of competition, and they go with the one with the price and the services that they like.

So, there's no reason to just assume that employers would want to go with the government plan or that the government plan would necessarily be such a terrible thing. But it is certainly something to think about.

PHILLIPS: So, will all employers be allowed to use the government-sponsored plan?

COHEN: Kyra, that's an excellent point. According to the plans that are out there, all employers will not be able to use the government-sponsored plan. In the beginning for some of these plans, you'd have to be a small employer in order to use the government plan, and only later might bigger employers be allowed to use this. So, that's something else to remember.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth, thanks.

Well, at the town-hall meetings, we also hear all sorts of claims from people in the crowd, including some assertions that seem to be popping up more and more frequently. Our Josh Levs with the CNN Truth Squad is following one that some voters have been bringing up quite often -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, this is interesting. It happened a few times yesterday. One thing we're hearing from some voters at these events is they're saying that they're concerned that the government might ultimately have access to your bank account. Let's take a look at an example from yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On page 58 and 59 of this bill, which gives the government access to private individual bank accounts at their free will. I do not think the government has the right to do that. I would think -- I'd have to brush up on my Constitution, but I would think that's unconstitutional. I know definitely it's un-American, so...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: All right, well, at the Truth Squad we've been taking a look at that. Let me -- let me show you where this all comes from.

We're going to start off with the key point I got on the graphic for you right here. Basically, this is from a 1,000-page version of the bill that's before the House right now. This House bill calls on the government to set rules for electronic transactions.

But the purpose of it -- we'll show you on the next screen here -- is not kind of what you're hearing. The purpose is to set up standardized payment systems between insurers and doctors. It's not to look into an individual's account. The idea is streamline the process and, hopefully, save costs overall by setting up these systems, the payment systems, between insurers and the offices of doctors.

So, we have our ruling for you right here from the CNN Truth Squad, which is back. It's that the provision affects companies in medical billing, not individuals. Therefore, we went with false.

And I'll tell you something, Kyra, the Truth Squad has got a lot ahead of us right now. In fact, you can read more details at all times on the CNN political ticker. This is the one I was just bringing to you right now. And at CNNpolitics.com we'll have all of our health-care Truth Squad fact checks in the coming days and weeks, as long as this battle rages on.

PHILLIPS: All right, sounds good, Josh. It's going to be a long battle. That's for sure.

LEVS: Yes, it already is.

PHILLIPS: President Obama goes back on the road to pitch health- care reform later this week. He's going to hold a town-hall meeting in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday. He's going to do the same on Saturday in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Hoots, hollers and a long-standing ovation greet the Supreme Court's newest member. At a White House reception this morning with the president by her side, Justice Sonia Sotomayor made her first public comments since Saturday's swearing-in. She credited her family, friends and the Founding Fathers for making it all possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT: It is this nation's faith in a more perfect union that allows a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx to stand here now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Justice Sotomayor asked all Americans to wish her divine guidance and wisdom as she starts her new job.

They may look like two ordinary men in suits, walking into a jewelry store, but buying wasn't on their minds. Their heist, one of the biggest ever in Britain.

Plus, we're going to be dipping in live to the health-care town hall that Senator Ben Cardin is holding in Maryland right now. You can see him at the mike. We're tracking it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The White House not too happy because of these ads. Are they crossing the line and intruding on the privacy of the first daughters?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: California prison turned battle zone. That's what happened at the prison in Chino over the weekend after inmates went on a rampage. These are actually new pictures of the aftermath.

Two hundred and fifty inmates were injured, 55 hospitalized with serious stab wounds and head trauma. Seven housing units were destroyed, including one gutted by fire.

For the most part, the fighting was between blacks and Hispanics. More than 1,100 inmates have now been transferred to other facilities.

Spiffy suits and ties, BMWs and Mercedes, and a taste for very expensive jewelry. That's the M.O. for two robbers who walked into an exclusive London jewelry store and made off with 65 million bucks in loot.

Authorities announced the heist today and say they arrested one chap for robbery on Monday. He's already back on the street, pending further investigation.

As for the getaway, well, the robbers just walked out of the shop, hopped into a blue BMW, stopped a short distance away, and switched to a silver Mercedes and lady -- later, rather, to a black Ford or a VW. Cops still looking for them now. Take you live to a town-hall meeting now on health-care reform. We're keeping an eye on several of these, by the way, across the country. This one is at Hagerstown Community College in Maryland. And your host, Senator Ben Cardin.

SEN. BEN CARDIN (D), MARYLAND: The main reason, I've said it up front, the first reason why we're taking up health-care reform is to get the costs of health care reduced in this country. Our children and grandchildren cannot afford to have a growing part of our economy spent in health care. There's other needs out there. We need to be able to give them a higher standard of living, but if they spend more and more on health care, it affects our economy growth.

So, the first goal is to keep health-care costs -- to reduce the rate of growth. And I'm going to repeat what I said at earlier town meetings. I'm not going to support a bill that doesn't bring down the growth rate of health care, and I'm not going to support a bill that's not totally paid for. So, in both respects we're going to make sure there's no addition to the deficit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Senator. Ingrid from Smithburg has this statement to make. We have a question and a statement. "Why does the government want to rush into the bill when many don't want it? Please take the time to get it right."

OK. To end the statement, "Please take the time to get it right. This is too big a bill to do haphazardly."

CARDIN: Well, first of all, I agree that we've got to get it right, and we've got to take as much time as we need to make sure we get it right.

But I want -- I just want to underscore this point. The problems are going to continue to grow. It's not going to get easier to come up with solutions. There's a lot of interest groups that have an impact on health-care reform. Our goal is to make sure that we maintain the highest quality care, that it's affordable and available to all the people in this country, and we do it in a fair manner.

Now, I agree, I'm willing to take as much time as we need to make sure we get that right, but we need to move forward. The status quo is unacceptable.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's bring in our national correspondent, Jessica Yellin.

You were there for the Arlen Specter fireworks yesterday in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Jessica. Just about 100 miles from this event in western Maryland. You think the attitudes are going to pretty much be the same?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're handling the questioning a little bit differently, so that could reduce the amount of confrontation.

But, yes, in the sense, Kyra, that both of them are districts that went for John McCain. They're Republican districts, where there tends to be a little bit more anxiety, lack of faith in this administration and how they'll execute this reform program.

And already you've heard the big concerns are why are you rushing this? That's something I heard on the street yesterday a lot. There's a sense it's being too rushed. And they, frankly, don't believe us when we do our fact checks. When we report that there's not one bill, there are multiple bills, nothing's done yet, they just think we're not telling the truth. And so that's among those protesters.

And so I think that's what these Congress people are having a difficult time confronting. It's hard to dispel myths when your audience doesn't even believe you to begin with.

PHILLIPS: I know everybody seems to be pointing the finger and trying to blame the media, blame the politicians, blame the rowdy crowds, but bottom line is, we are definitely seeing things pick up here. We're seeing a momentum. We're seeing more town-hall meetings where more people are showing up and getting more fired up.

So, what do you make of that? Why do you think that's happening now? And do you think that -- can we pinpoint a reason why?

YELLIN: Well, you know, it's just sort of in process. But my sense is, remember, it wasn't that long ago when we were seeing similar passions on the campaign trail. There was a huge movement built on both sides that got people very engaged in the political process. And it seems it's much of that same energy. It's finding voice again in the health-care reform debate.

Some of the people I talked to say they haven't been involved in protests and political movements before. But a lot of the people that are turning out have said that they did get engaged in this last presidential election, and in a -- in a sense, even though it's fiery and sometimes very heated, it is democracy in action. So, you know, good for people to speak up and have their voices heard.

PHILLIPS: It's great TV for us, too. We love to follow it. Thanks, Jessica.

Well, you've heard of made-for-TV movies. How about made-for-TV murders? When a crime show's crew beats police to the scene, something just ain't right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All eyes on a couple of tropical depressions that could create some pretty nasty weather in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Chad Myers tracking it for us.

Hey, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi. Still looking at Felicia out there, making some rainfall for Hawaii, especially on the eastern side. But now a brand-new tropical depression, Tropical Depression No. 2. This is -- we had one earlier. This is the No. 2. Number 1 never got to a storm, so it didn't get a name. This one will probably be Ana, if it holds together.

The last couple of frames we're losing a little bit of color. Also, look how symmetric it was for a while, and now we're losing just a little bit of what I call definition to this thing.

I'm going to take you to a weather Web site called StormPulse.com. There's Tropical Depression No. 2. If I touch on Miami, it's 4,097 miles away. But I think maybe the big thing you might want to watch is this No. 3 out here. Here's 2. Here's 3. It's just coming off the African coast. It seems, at least for now, much larger and probably a little bit more viable of a storm. So, we're going to continue to watch that.

What's going to go on with 2? Because we'll just kind of keep them in order as we go. It does appear that 2 will become a storm, will get a name, turn into a 60-mile-per-hour storm. Still watching the cone. It could be very close to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, looks like about either Sunday night or Monday, or the forecast is at least for it to turn away from the U.S. coast.

But you know what? We've been lucky so far this season, because we're not even on a storm's name yet, but I think we'll have some more before the end of this month, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Chad. Thanks.

MYERS: Thanks.

Well, they range from a tennis player who broke gender barriers to a U.S. Senator to a Nobel Peace Prize winner who helps the poor. And in just about an hour and a half, President Obama is giving them the nation's highest civilian honor. Sixteen men and women will be getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Among the honorees: Senator Edward Kennedy, actor Sidney Poitier, tennis legend Billie Jean King, and retired Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O'Connor. And in the 3 p.m. hour of CNN NEWSROOM, Rick Sanchez will bring you live coverage of that awards ceremony.

Cash for Clunkers, it just keeps clunking along. Have you seen some of these new car lots lately? Well, they're short on wheels and long on empty spaces.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Continuing to monitor the town halls across the country discussing health care. Leaders within the U.S., taking questions and trying to have Q&A actually, with it looks like pretty calm crowds right now.

Two of these going on. One in Inglewood Cliffs, New Jersey, with Congressman Steve Rothman. And then also, as you saw just a few minutes ago, we're following one with Senator Ben Cardin there in Hagerstown, Maryland.

So, we're tracking those for you. If they start get exciting, which you can kind of hear some excitement there, we'll take it live.

Well, as Americans wrestle with their own concerns about new health care legislation, we thought it would be good to have something to compare it to. All month long we're taking a look at how other nations take care of their citizens.

So, our John Vause examines a new experiment with health care insurance in rural China.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN SERNIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zhou Yujun is bedridden, broke, and dying.

ZHOU YUJUN, SUFFERING KIDNEY FAILURE (through translator): To get treatment, we need money. I don't have money for hospital, he says.

VAUSE: A year ago he was healthy. Then his kidneys began failing. Within a month hospital bills wiped out the family's life savings, almost 7,000 U.S. dollars, so he borrowed from his parents.

When their money ran out, Zhou says the hospital sent him home. His wife Jin works double shifts a at Beijing juice factory. Her wages barely cover the cost of Zhou's medication.

JIN QINGLIAN, ZHOU'S WIFE: (through translator): This is for his kidneys. This is a diuretic, this is a hormone and on and on she goes.

VAUSE: Total, 150 U.S. dollars each month.

QINGLIAN: We just eat noodles or buns, she says. Eating well and eating to fill our stomach is the same thing.

VAUSE: Zhou's story is common in a country where hundreds of millions can't afford even basic health care. But not here in the small village of (INAUDIBLE) in northwest China.

Under a trial program, Dr. Jing charges patients just one Yuan, that's 15 U.S. cents. Villagers like Xinshui, whose son has a fever pay an annual insurance premium about three U.S. dollars and the government covers the rest. The treatment of 30 mild illnesses like colds and coughs, prescriptions are limited to 74 types of medications.

NA JING, XINSHUI VILLAGE DOCTOR: (through translator): Here if you have a small problem, we'll treat it first and hopefully it will improve and not become serious, the doctor says.

VAUSE: Most families in China earn 1,000 U.S. dollars a year. So for Li, 15 cents is affordable health care. But she still worries. LI FANG, XINSHUI VILLAGE RESIDENT: We can't afford to treat major illnesses, she says. We're afraid if it's serious, we'll have to spend a lot of money.

VAUSE (on camera): But health care reform is also important to this economy. The Chinese have an incredibly high personal saving rate. Apparently that's a hedge against high medical bills should they fall sick. The government is hoping a better public health care system will mean they save less and spend more and that will be good for economic growth.

(voice-over): To do that, the Communist Party has promised universal health coverage by 2020. Welcome news for most Chinese. But too late, though, to help Zhou Yujun and so many others just like him.

John Vause, CNN, Xinshui, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So, how's that Cash for Clunkers thing going? Well, what does this car lot tell? Lots of empty space. Take a look at this. It's the Zimmerman Ford in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It could be any number of dealerships across the country, actually. The government voucher program has those new Fords flying off the lot. Normally this place has about 150 new cars sitting out there. But in this summer of the clunkers, that number's is actually down to about 30.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK SIMMERMAN, DEALERSHIP OWNER: I have never seen such a sudden increase in impulse of business in my career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Is the recession over? Well, that's just what the "Wall Street Journal" asked 52 economists, 47 responded. Of those, 27 say the recession, which began in December of 2007, has ended. 11 of the economists say that they see things starting to turn around this month or in September. And there's one thing that the economists are nearly unanimous on -- President Obama should reappoint Ben Bernanke as Fed Chair when his current term expires in January.

Only one group, the National Bureau of Economic Research, can officially declare the beginning and end of recessions. And despite the "Journal" survey, many of you probably don't feel like the recession is over.

So, how does CNN's Richard Quest feel about the state of the recession? Why don't we find out.

Richard Quest joins me live in London.

Good day, sir.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And a good day to you! If only it were that simple. You see, these pesky economists, these tricky devils who turn round and say the recession is over. The problem is they are technically right, or at least they will be very soon.

One very, very senior economist told me yesterday that probably the U.S. was now out of recession. But the bad news is that it will feel grim, awful, and slow for a long time to come. And that, Kyra, is the reality.

And on my program and elsewhere and you've been seeing people, people like you're going to be introduced to now, people like Jason Young, who have been out of work for many months, who've had to drag themselves to new cities, new places to find jobs. Forget the recession being over.

In Job Quest you start to learn it's really about people finding work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I needed to do was, like, all the average monthly bills, so I can kind of assess now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll have to work through that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you get everything you packed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, everything's packed. I just got to load up the car.

It's definitely going to be tough to be away. But at the same time I know that I'm working to get us together as quickly as possible and provide for us financially, which is important to me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll walk you out. Love you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you so much.

Under the circumstances, the kids would have been home with us. But Jennifer's mom offered to keep them for us last night and that's why they're at her parents' house. So, I'm going to drive down there and see them before I leave because normally they would be there, and, oh, man, if they would have been there, I would have been so emotional.

How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, hi.

Hi, can I have a hug?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mommy really needs your help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need you to be a big boy for mommy.

Will you be nice? Will you not argue?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you do what she asks you to do the first time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes? OK. Here, one more hug. One more smooch. I'm going to go. I love you. I love you so much.

Oh, that was tough. That was very emotional and very heart- wrenching. They just were very -- they're wonderful and full of energy and clingy to me, and so that was difficult to have to pull away because we've been together for so much lately since I've been unemployed. We've been together constantly, which has been fabulous. A time that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Jason Young, just one of the people who've had to go to such extreme measures to find work.

And, Kyra, here in the UK today, unemployment rose to a 14-year high. And the most disturbing thing about that, it is the young and the graduates, those coming out of university, those 18 to 24, that are bearing the brunt. This is a global recession, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, and we've been monitoring that on a global level.

I mean, you're monitoring these individuals that we see suffering every single day. But I understand you're going to be hitting the road and actually digging a little into these big financial institutions that we used to be very happy with when we looked at our 401(k)s or our investments. And, well, that's not been such a great thing lit lately.

QUEST: Globalization led to a global recession. It's just about a year ago since Lehman Brothers and since the entire banking crisis, all ground to a halt in September.

So, this was a good time. It's called NYLONGKONG. New York, London, Hong Kong. We're actually going to do HONTLONG (ph) because of the time differences. I'm Hong Kong for a week. I'll be talking to you every day from Hong Kong next week. Then it's New York. I'll be talking to you from there. And then it's London.

And we're going to be getting to the differences, then and now. Financial industry, how it's changed. People's lives, what's different. And crucially, news that you need to know for the road to recovery.

PHILLIPS: Well, we can't wait to see you.

Richard Quest, thanks so much.

PHILLIPS: So, are you the glass is half full type? And we're going to look at how you can actually help yourself live a little longer. Plus, we're going to be dipping in live to the health care town hall that Senator Ben Cardin is holding in Maryland, this hour. We're monitoring it for you to see how heated it gets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you want to live a long and healthy life? Well, then lighten up and stop being so negative. A new study from the University of Pittsburgh says that optimistic people are less likely to die from a heart attack. In fact, being optimistic reduces your risk of heart disease or dying from any cause. That study followed more than 97,000 women for 15 years. It's believed to be the largest to ever look at the effects of personality and temperament on your heart.

Well, we know aspirin can help fight heart attacks and strokes, but turns out it can also help battle cancer. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that colon cancer patients taking aspirin increased their survival rates. Researchers say that patients who had surgery and chemo and took aspirin as well, cut their risk of dying by nearly 30 percent.

A TV host lands on TV news, accused of made-for-TV murders. It's a "Law & Order" episode right here in the making.

But first, in many cars sharing the road with you these days, well, you're going to find some form of GPS device on that dashboard. So, do you know who updates all those maps? Our Gary Tuchman does and he explains in today's Edge of Discovery segment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can thank the strange-looking vehicle the next time you don't get lost. This Tele Atlas Mobile Mapping van uses cameras, GPS and even lasers to digitally record the road and everything near it.

KAMRON BARRON, TELE ATLAS: So, the driver's really responsible for making sure that images coming from the camera are of high enough quality to be used on our production floor.

TUCHMAN: It's one of a handful of companies combining information gathered by vans, satellite imagery and maps from local governments. Tele Atlas sells its maps to partners and customers like Google, MapQuest and portable navigation company Tom Tom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our ultimate goal, yes, that would be to map the entire world.

TUCHMAN: And now you can help out, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A user can take this device and say, I want to make a correction. It might be a small village, town, where someone sees a new roundabout, a new one-way street going on. They can quickly provide that information to us. We collect that data and the map is updated.

TUCHAMN: What's next for digital maps is even cooler. Keep an eye out for 3-D in a few years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a virtual reality experience for that customer as they go around, the buildings match, the roads match, the entire navigation experience matches what they would find in the real world.

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, we got breaking news on the jobs front. It actually popped up the PR news wire that we were looking at today. Apparently it's a pretty big announcement.

The release that caught our eye reads in part, "David Hicks (ph) announces his availability as a candidate for a company ready to embrace the creative economy."

All right. Now, I have to admit the truth. This news flash was a very creative way for one savvy, unemployed man to actually find a job.

So we had to bring in David Hicks for a 30-second pitch.

That's the first time we saw that move. That was pretty good.

DAVID HICKS, JOB SEEKER: Yes. I was a little proud of that.

PHILLIPS: How did you come up with that idea?

HICKS: Throughout my career, I've used PR for announcing events, announcing products. And looking for a job, I'd seen a number of companies that would announce the hire of someone for a position. So I decided you could turn it around and announce that you were looking for --

PHILLIPS: Well, it's good, David, because we get lots of faxes over there and yours stood out. We tossed a lot of them, we don't even see them. But yours definitely stood out. And, of course, we're a little biased because we have this 30-section pitch.

Tell me what kind of work you were doing and how did you find out that you were going to lose your job?

HICKS: Well, I actually --as an entrepreneur I actually started my own company. It's more a question of the market not being right for what I was doing.

PHILLIPS: And what exactly was the type of work?

HICKS: It's a software company, a web-based software company that analyzes real time data and different aspects of companies, their logistics, their manufacturing information and tries to make that useful to them as quickly as possible so that they can improve what they're doing, cut their costs.

PHILLIPS: Well your other full-time job was caring for your son, Ben, with autism, right? So you were going through a tough time?

HICKS: Yes, that's correct. I spent about a year -- well, I knew I was going to start a company but we had found out that my son was diagnosed with autism. So I spent quite a bit of time with my wife learning how to work with him, how to make him whole and so that came first.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you what. This pitch will be for the whole family then, as we look at Ben. By the way, he is adorable.

And what's your daughter's name?

HICKS: Grace.

PHILLIPS: OK. Grace and Ben. They are cutie pies.

All right. So you've got 30 seconds. You're just going to look right in the camera there, Camera one and give us your resume pitch. OK. You ready?

HICKS: I'm ready.

PHILLIPS: All right. Take it away, David.

HICKS: I'm David Hicks. I was an electrical engine nearby trade but cut my teeth with a start-up company that manufactures computerized cameras for the manufacturing industry. As their business development director I created a distribution network that grew the company from incubator stage to a $150 million acquisition. I then started a cloud-based software company that analyzes real time data. So, if you're a technology company and you're looking for someone that can induce your sales force --

PHILLIPS: You're the man.

(LAUGHTER)

HICKS: That's how it ended.

PHILLIPS: All right, there you go. He's the man.

All right. His e-mail once again, dhicks -- for David Hicks -- 256 at gmail.com

All right. Keep us posted and let us know what happens. We want a follow-up, OK?

HICKS: Very good.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, David.

HICKS: All right. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, when TV folks say that they'd kill for good ratings, nine out of 10 times they're joking. Well that number 10 I'll make our What the File every time.

The host of a popular Brazilian crime show is under investigation now, suspected of having people murdered so the show could get exclusives. His crew regularly beat police to murder scenes to shoot graphic footage of the bodies. This host, by the way, is a disgraced ex-cop and current state lawmaker. Imagine that. He denies the accusations by the way. And guys, I just want to say, I'd never kill anyone for ratings. I might rough them up a little bit but that's about it.

All right. Check out this ad. Does it introduce -- or does intrude, rather, on the privacy of the first daughters. Take a hint. The White House is not too happy with it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: An ad campaign in Washington has drawn a lot of protest from the White House. That's because it mentions President Barack Obama's children.

Brian Todd has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A health food campaign with a VIP critic. Dr. Neil Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says it wasn't long after his group put up these ads in Washington's Union Station advocating a vegetarian lunch option in public schools, that they got a call from White House attorneys.

NEAL BARNARD, PHYSICIANS CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE: They contacted us the day after the ads went up and they said, you can't talk about the president's children. We pointed out that the comparison really is about the schools.

TODD: The ad shows a Florida school is girl named Jasmine, saying, "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?"

Barnard's group says on several days earlier this year when Sasha and Malia Obama's private school offered a vegetarian choice for lunch, the D.C. public schools offered no such choice. The group wants Congress to institute a mandatory alternative.

(on camera): There's one Republican pollster quoted as saying, "If the White House hates you, it's not going to help your agenda.

Are you worried about that kind of backlash?

BARNARD: Not in the least. The president, I believe, would support the healthy meals for Jasmine and every child like jasmine.

TODD (voice-over): Dr. Barnard says his group's web site has seen a lot more traffic since the ads went up. But that White House attorneys hinted they might take legal action.

Barnard says a first amendment attorney has told him he's on solid legal ground. We called one White House lawyer Barnard mentioned. She didn't return our calls. First Lady Michelle Obama's office referred us to a comment by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who said they're trying to protect the girls' privacy and "we hope others have been respectful as many in the media have been about not using the girls as a publicity stunt."

One journalist who covers presidential politics says that position will likely garner support.

SUSAN PAGE, USA TODAY: It's hard to grow up in the public eye. There are times when the president's children are unavoidably in the limelight. But other than that, even for an advocacy group, I think there's a sense in town that you probably should leave them alone.

TODD: In January, a toy-maker introduced two dolls named Sweet Sasha and Marvelous Malia. But they changed the names of the dolls after the White House complained about the girls being used for marketing purposes.

(on camera): The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is determined to keep these ads running through the end of this month. They are targeting Congressional staffers that pass through these escalators in this hallway every day on their way to work. The thing they're pushing for -- new legislation to require more fruits and vegetables in school lunches -- public school lunches -- comes up in the fall.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)