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Shift in Health Care Debate; Will Town Hall Tone Change?; Stimulus: Six-Month Checkup; Season's First Atlantic Hurricanes Heading West; Taiwan Still Recovering after Typhoon; S. Koreans Proud of Yang's PGA Win; Falling Milk Prices Hurt Small Dairy Farms

Aired August 17, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Monday morning, the 17th of August, and here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All's quiet, then boom! The tropics explode like popcorn on a skillet. Suddenly, three named storms squirrel.

Milk prices collapse. Great for you at the supermarket, but these are some sour days on the dairy farm.

Gays in Iraq, humiliated, tortured and killed. A disturbing new report from a human rights watch group.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

OK. Here come the storms. Take a look.

One storm making landfall overnight, two more on the horizon. Ana, Bill and Claudette, three named storms popping up within a 24- hour period, and we haven't seen this kind of thing, this kind of event since 1984.

Claudette could bring much-needed rain to Alabama and Mississippi. It made landfall near Florida's Fort Walton Beach with 50 mile-an-hour winds. The tropical storm downgraded to a depression this morning.

Parts of Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and Mississippi could be getting as much as four inches today and tomorrow. Some of these areas suffering through droughts, so all this rain is not necessarily a bad thing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: California firefighters are working overtime battling almost a dozen wildfires on both ends of the state. They are making progress on the fire around the Santa Cruz community of Bonny Doon. It is now 50 percent contained.

Officials are allowing hundreds of people to return home, but the danger is still very real. Another fire north of Sacramento was ignited by a bird hitting a power line. And in southern California's Santa Barbara County, officials say a campfire started by Mexican marijuana growers sparked a massive 84,000-acre fire there. It is now about 64 percent contained.

Got to tell you about a significant shift in the debate over health care reform during this make-or-break month. The Obama administration is not saying that the so-called public option is dead, but comments suggest it may be in critical condition. The administration retreating from its position that a public option is essential to reform.

Here's what the president said at a town hall meeting over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform. This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it. And, by the way, it's both the right and the left that have become so fixated on this that they forget everything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Let's talk about the significance of the president's comments and the apparent retreat from the public insurance option.

Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins us live now from Phoenix, where the president will be speaking later.

And Ed, you know, this is not the first time we've heard the suggestion from the president that he is open to options on the public plan. What's different this time around?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right. For months, or at least weeks and a couple of months, we've heard the president sort of indicating, well, maybe co-ops could be a good idea, maybe there's some other alternative. But he had never really spoken out loud until Saturday night at that town hall. And I was there, and your ears sort of perk up when, for the first time, the president says out loud if there's not a public option.

It's really the first time he suggested maybe it will not be in the bill. That explicitly.

And then John King really pushed it forward yesterday on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," because he took that quote to press health secretary Kathleen Sebelius, you know, is this in or out? And she said something to the effect of, it's not the essential element of the plan. Well, to liberals, it is the essential element.

You now hear liberals like Howard Dean, the former Democratic Party chairman, saying, look, you can't have serious, substantive health reform without the public government-run option because he believes you can't really cover too many of the 46 million who are uninsured without having that to, in their words, keep the insurance companies honest.

So, I think the big question now is, this has mostly been a Democrat versus Republican fight, charges of socialized medicine, government-run control, yes, no, back and forth. Now it may be a Democrat versus Democrat fight. And the big question is, does this splinter the Democratic Party, or does the president of the United States, if he goes in this direction -- he's not there yet, but he's indicating he may go there -- does he convince liberals in his own party, look, it's better to get half a loaf, three-quarters of a loaf, than no loaf at all? Do you want to sink health care reform all together and get no bill at all just because of the public option?

It's going to be an interesting fight.

HARRIS: And I'm wondering what your thoughts on what -- give us a bit of an analysis on what you think may have prompted this. Is it the tough work that's clearly been going on in the House and the Senate, and also some of the reactions from the town hall meetings?

HENRY: I think it's mostly, when you put your finger on it, with the Senate. Those negotiations in the Senate Finance Committee.

You heard Senator Kent Conrad, a very prominent Democrat on that committee, part of that so-called Gang of 6, say yesterday, look, ,the public option does not have the 60 votes in the Senate. We've known that for a long time. Kent Conrad, again, finally just said it out loud. People have known that for weeks, if not months.

So, the key is, the White House is signaling this to try to bring in some of the conservative Democrats like a Ben Nelson of Nebraska, or someone like Kent Conrad, who just can't support the public option. And so, if they want to make it not only bipartisan, but they want to make it so that Democrats are on board, they're going to probably have to go in this direction. Again, it's not settled yet, but they're sending those smoke signals to try to bring people like Kent Conrad and Ben Nelson in, because right now it's stalled -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. And let me try one more on you, Ed. There's no question I can ask you but you can't answer. But the other option that's being floated here from Senator Conrad is this idea of health co-ops. I'm wondering if we may come back to the original notion of a public option once we take a really good look at co-ops.

HENRY: It's a good question, because no one has really taken that close a look, because co-ops, until now, have not been the real serious one on the table. It's been floated, and Kent Conrad has been the one pushing it, saying, look, this has worked with rural electrification, it's worked with credit unions and the like, and that maybe this could work with health care. But it's never really been tried with something of this scope, because doing it with credit unions is one thing. One-sixth of the health care system is a whole other matter.

So, you're right, people may take a closer look at this and say, wait, that's not workable. This may leave us where we are right now, which is stalled. HARRIS: Exactly.

HENRY: But I think the White House is trying to try different things to move this forward -- Tony.

HARRIS: I think you're absolutely right on that.

Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry for us.

Terrific, Ed. Thank you.

You know, a lot of the anger we've seen at town hall meetings has been over this public health insurance option. More meetings are taking place this morning.

Live pictures now from Cross City, Florida, where Democratic Congressman Allen Boyd is holding a town hall meeting.

Let's bring in our national political correspondent Jessica Yellin.

And Jessica, as word sort of gets out that the Obama administration seems willing to bend a bit on the public option, I'm wondering if that might change the tone of some of these town hall meetings.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the word is just now getting out, Tony. And so, Allen Boyd made it very clear at the beginning of his town hall meeting that he cannot and will not support the House version of the bill that includes a public option.

In fact, you see him holding up the bill right now, live. He's been holding it up with it marked in several places, and quoting it from it, explaining parts that he can and cannot support, and the public option is one of those that he doesn't want to support.

Let's listen to what he had to say earlier in the town hall and we'll get back to explaining more in a minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALLEN BOYD (D), FLORIDA: I want to make sure that we get this straight right now. This is HR 3200. This is the bill that came out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that most of you have gotten your e-mails about. OK?

I cannot support this bill in the version it's in now. We can do better. We can make it better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Now, of course, that's one of five bills, but that is the one that most folks who come to the town hall have been briefed on. So, he's letting them know, no, it's not -- I want to let you some of the things he's been asked about. His constituents -- now, this is a Blue Dog Democrat, so he's a Democrat with conservative constituents putting pressure on him. They are convinced illegal aliens will be covered in the new health plan. They're worried about abortions being paid for. A lot of frustration that they are going to end up paying higher taxes to cover people who aren't going to be sacrificing enough themselves.

He's been able to keep cool. The audience has been much calmer than we've seen for a while. But there have been some flash point moments, and obviously he's under a lot of pressure by his own Democrats -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. OK.

And Jessica, as we sort of monitor this town hall meetings and the others throughout the day, maybe we can get a sense as to whether or not, for example, the representative will talk about the possibility of a co-op and maybe some of his views on that as an alternative.

Jessica Yellin for us.

Jessica, good to see you. Thank you.

And, of course, we are doing all we can here in the CNN NEWSROOM to cut through a lot of the rhetoric and the rumors to address your real concerns about the future of your health care and where this debate is leading our country.

Do you fear a big government takeover? Does the prospect of doing nothing scare you even more?

Most people seem to agree something has to be done. The question is what?

Tell us what you think. Send us your comments and your questions at my blog at CNN.com/Tony.

And to get you some answers, we'll pull together the really smart, informed people in our shop from Elizabeth Cohen, to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, to the CNN Money team, our Capitol Hill and White House correspondents and beyond. Our expectation is that most of your questions will take a little time to research, so we won't be able to get back to you right away. When we can, we will.

Once we're able to answer your specific questions, we will do that on the air, right here on the CNN NEWSROOM. An example here, CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining me in the next hour to examine health insurance co-ops. They are emerging as a possible alternative to the public option.

Elizabeth will explain what they are and how they work. That's in the noon hour.

And for more on the health care debate and how reforms could affect you and your family, check out our special "Health Care in America" Web site at CNN.com. You'll find the latest from the town hall meetings, fact checks, iReports, and other health care news. Just go to CNN.com/healthcare.

The stimulus plan, six months later. Are you feeling it? A surprising number of Americans say no.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, let's take a look at the markets right now, almost, what two hours into the trading day? And look at this -- the futures indicate it will be a difficult day, difficult and then some.

As you can see, the Dow is down 191 points. The Nasdaq -- guys, give me the latest number on Nasdaq. Forty-two -- down 42. So, a really down day. Investors are worried after the data came out on Friday indicating shoppers still a little nervous about the economy.

You know, we're going to check in with Susan Lisovicz in just a couple of minutes and get a little more analysis.

You know what? We're going to talk to Christine Romans in a second here, too, and we'll ask her what the heck is going on with the markets this morning.

You know, six months into the $787 billion stimulus plan, a new survey finds most Americans think it hasn't even dented the recession.

Christine Romans has the poll numbers.

Has it dented? Look, Christine, I don't get these polls sometimes. I just don't. And I don't trust them.

We have leading economists on this program cited in newspaper articles last week saying that the recession has bottomed out. I get that a lot of people don't feel that necessarily in their personal life, but for most Americans to believe the recession hasn't been dented, help me here. I don't get that at all.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You said the magic word. You said the word "trust," and it sounds to me like the American people don't have a lot of trust in what they are hearing coming out of Washington and what they have been told about first the Troubled Asset Relief Program, remember, that didn't actually go and buy troubled assets. And then the stimulus they said that was going to help save jobs, save and create jobs, and 2.2 million jobs have been lost. And now they're talking about health care, and you're seeing all of this stuff and noise around the health care debate.

I just think that these numbers reflect a lack of trust overall from people who are still sitting there at home and they're looking at foreclosures and job losses and saying, how does this feel good to me?

Let's look at the numbers in the "USA Today"/Gallup poll. Let's look at the numbers, and people can decide for themselves where they fall in this. A majority of respondents said that the stimulus had no effect on the economy or worse. Currently, 57 percent. Longer term, 60 percent said that the stimulus would have no effect or worse on the economy.

How about their personal situation? Right now, short term, my personal finances, 18 percent said that the stimulus had made things better for them. Sixty-eight percent said it had no effect. Thirteen percent said worse, and one percent had no opinion.

Now, Tony, $200 billion of that $787 billion stimulus has been allocated. Remember, some of it's tax relief, some of it, $499 -- it's a lot of numbers. It really is.

But I think people are at home and they're hearing that the economy is going to be on the mend, that a majority of the economists think things have turned around. And they are like, what turnaround? And that's where the skepticism is coming through.

HARRIS: Yes. No, I get that.

What percentage of this stimulus money has actually gone out the door?

ROMANS: Well, $200 billion has been allocated...

HARRIS: Is that about 12 percent or something?

ROMANS: Yes, but less than $200 billion has been actually been spent. And some of it is time-released. It's meant to go out a little bit later.

Some of it's tax relief, so you're not going to see it in an infrastructure plan. You know, you saw that in your paycheck. You might not, frankly, have noticed it, some of that tax relief that went through the paychecks, too.

So, it is going out the door, but I think, Tony, what it highlights is there's an image problem for the stimulus. Six months on, it's passed, it's happening. There's no debate about that. There's still an image problem here.

You can go to recovery.gov and you can follow it for yourself. But every now and then there's a little project in there that sort of raises the ire of people who say that just sounds silly. And then that just feeds into the whole idea that this might be wasteful in some way. But remember, it's very big, and there's a lot of different projects in there, a lot of very different kinds of projects in that stimulus plan.

HARRIS: And isn't it true -- one final point here -- isn't it true that a lot of the stimulus money is being used to fill state budget shortfalls, states that, in many cases, just can't run a deficit?

ROMANS: Sure. I mean, I went down to Florida and talked to a bunch of teachers who kept their jobs simply because of it. And so, people in the community might not think that it's helping them, but it's kept 2,000 teachers in Miami-Dade.

Now, one thing people are worried about, the waste, Tony. And the guy who kind of oversees this whole thing, Earl Devaney is his name. He said -- he has publicly said that, you know, you've got to figure seven percent is the rule of thumb for government projects for waste. Seven percent waste. That's $55 billion.

The American people have no patience for waste right now when they see how much money we're spending that we don't have. There just isn't a lot of tolerance, I think, in the American public for waste and shenanigans, frankly. So, that's what people are...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: OK. Well, Christine I'll tell you, it's an amazing poll, and it made me wonder where folks are getting their information. But then it made me distrust the polling even more.

But you know what? You make a lot of great points there.

Appreciate it, as always. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: And this just into CNN -- a new Supreme Court ruling could prevent a condemned inmate from being executed. The high court is ordering a federal judge in Georgia to determine whether there is evidence that proves Troy Davis did not kill a police officer in 1991. Supporters have argued for a new trial after several witnesses took back their testimony. Davis' supporters include former President Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict.

Washington's top envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan talking about the latest Taliban tactics in an exclusive with our reporter in Islamabad. That in a live report four minutes from right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Afghans go to the polls in just three days for their second presidential election ever. It's seen as a test of efforts by the United States and Europe to bring stability to the war-torn nation. We're seeing increased violence in the run-up to the big vote. Seventeen million people eligible to cast ballots.

The top U.S. envoy in that region is Richard Holbrooke. Our Cal Perry spoke exclusively to Holbrooke about the Afghan election, plus the latest with the Taliban.

Cal is joining us now.

And Cal, let's start with this. Kabul has an amnesty program for the Taliban in place. I'm wondering, is the U.S. now backing that program?

CAL PERRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are, and that's what Richard Holbrooke said. I really wanted to get him on engagement, because, of course, the Obama administration not just engaging people in this part of the world, but also in the Middle East. So, I asked him, is there room to start talking to the Taliban? Because we've heard commanders in Afghanistan say they're willing to talk to low-level commanders. And what he said was, if they're willing to lay down their arms, if they're willing to turn their backs on al Qaeda, we are willing to bring them into the fold -- Tony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: We've seen two recent attacks. Do you think the Taliban have been rooted out of there, or do you worry that they've just sort of blended in with the population?

RICHARD HOLBROOKE, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN: I don't think there's any question that the operations have been a success. And combined with the removal of Baitullah Mehsud, the worst of the worst of the Pakistani/Taliban from the scene. I think we've seen a great improvement in the security situation. At the same time, we don't know yet whether this is the destruction of the Taliban in Swat or just their dispersal. It will take a while to find that out.

PERRY: It seems like the next step is sort of south Waziristan. And the Pakistan government has not committed to putting boots on the ground.

Is that something that concerns you? What is the strategy going forward there?

HOLBROOKE: The Pakistan army has to decide for itself when and whether to go into Waziristan. There isn't any question that the people down t here pose a direct threat to both the American troops in Afghanistan and to Pakistan itself. But they have to figure out what kind of resources they have. We're going to encourage them, but it's their decision.

PERRY: Do you believe that the Taliban has been decapitated, that Baitullah Mehsud is dead? And do you think that they are sort of disintegrating from within? We keep hearing these intelligence reports.

HOLBROOKE: I think Baitullah Mehsud is still dead, yes. But they are not admitting it or announcing it because they are having a power struggle over who is going to succeed him.

And the reason it's clear he's dead is that if he weren't dead, he would be giving TV and radio interviews to prove he's not dead. As you well know, he gave press conferences. So, he's gone. And there's a succession crisis going on, and the chaos benefits us, but it doesn't mean that this thing is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Now, Holbrooke there obviously talking about the Pakistani Taliban, obviously quite different than the Taliban you find in Afghanistan.

What I thought was fascinating was, when I talked to him about strategy, Afghanistan versus Pakistan, now, the U.S. obviously has boots on the ground, which gives Holbrooke more to work with. That's why he can engage the Taliban in Afghanistan. He has that power, he has that sway.

Here in Pakistan, he really has to defer to the Pakistani military. So, he's walking a fine line. While he says the operations in that Swat Valley here in Pakistan have been a success, he's not only relying on the Pakistani military, but he really has to defer to their strategy. And they've only given the Taliban here in Pakistan two options -- either death or surrender.

So, a very different situation between Afghanistan and Pakistan when it comes to the Taliban -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, it sounds like it.

OK. Cal Perry for us in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Cal, appreciate it. Thank you.

At least 19 people are dead, 70 wounded after a suicide truck bomber attacked a police station in Russia's Ingushetia Republic. It is feared more people may be trapped under the rubble. Police in the city of Nazran say they tried to stop the bomber by firing at him as he ran into the police station gates with a truck. Ingushetia's president is blaming the blast on Islamist rebels trying to undermine stability in that region.

Rehearsals for an upcoming air show near Moscow turned deadly. Two Russian fighter jets working some acrobatic maneuvers collided yesterday then crashed into nearby homes. There you can see the aftermath, setting those homes on fire. One of the three pilots was killed, at least one bystander was seriously injured.

On Wall Street and around the world, stocks are selling off. Investors are slamming on the brakes because of concerns about, well, you, the American consumer.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details.

Susan, walk us through these realities for these investors today.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a few things, Tony.

You know, to start off, I mean, we've had a terrific rally since March, that things were stabilizing. We were ripe for a pullback. But another thing that happened last week is that we've been talking for weeks about corporate earnings. They were coming in better than expected.

But at the end of it, we heard from most sectors. Retailers started reporting, and they are as closely tied to consumer spending as anyone. We saw Wal-Mart's 800-pound gorilla report that its quarterly sales drop. Wal-Mart's done very well in this recession.

We also got a drop in consumer sentiments. That came last week. Today, we had Lowe's, the big home-improvement retailer, reporting that its quarterly sales dropped. So, there are these concerns about us, the consumer, and why is that? Well, we also today have fresh evidence as to why.

We're having trouble paying our bills. Capital One Financial said loans 30 days or longer that are late rose in July from June, and it's getting closer to 5 percent of all of its outstanding loans. This follows four months of improvement. And loans that Capital One thinks won't be repaid at all rose in July. So, Capital One shares are getting hit right now, down 1.5 percent. And the major averages are really getting whacked. They're down about 2 percent. So, you know, we were due, and we're seeing it worldwide today -- Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. So jobs, concerns about jobs, everybody pulling back a bit and probably no increases in personal income to talk about. You know, but we've gotten signs here, particularly last week, of the economy sort of stabilizing. And you highlighted a few more of those signs. But is the recovery just going to be kind of a halting thing in fits and starts?

LISOVICZ: Well, there's been a lot of debate as to what kind of shape the recovery will be. But I think that -- I do think that most economists agree this won't be a rapid recovery. We've seen signs of stabilization in housing and manufacturing. But consumer spending is the engine of growth, generally. If we can't pay our bills, we're not likely to spend more. And also of concern, something that happened this weekend. Five banks failed...

HARRIS: Right.

LISOVICZ: ... including Colonial, which was then bought by BB&T. Brings the total number for this year, bank failures, that is, 77. That's just through August. All of last year, 25 banks failed. But just to put in perspective real quick during the S&L crisis, over 1,000 banks ultimately failed. That was over many years, but over 1,000. So, we're not there yet. I believe we won't will be.

HARRIS: Yes, that's a good perspective. Yes, that's good perspective. And maybe we've had too many banks to begin with. Ooh, I didn't say that.

All right, Susan, see you next hour. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

HARRIS: You know, it was a quiet hurricane season for the Atlantic. Well, look out. Now three storms have popped, all named, all within 24 hours. How big will they get? Where are they headed?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Tornado damage on Florida's southwest coast. Take a look, one car landing on the owner's home in Cape Coral. Man! About two dozen homes were damaged there, several trees also knocked over, as you would expect. You don't expect cars necessarily on homes. But trees, you know, you've got to -- lightning started fires in three houses, but those homes had only minor or maybe moderate damage. No injuries reported from any of this severe weather.

Let's get to our professor, Reynolds Wolf. I started calling you that in the meeting this morning because you had all this information. It was great. I felt like I was in class.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, strangely, I like it.

HARRIS: It was good. You had it. You had mimeographed notes from the mimeograph machine.

WOLF: Dude, we're prepared here. That's what we do here at CNN. We keep you posted on the topics.

HARRIS: It was great.

What are you starting with here? You want to tell us the story of Bill as it's developing?

WOLF: Actually, we're juggling three storms. We're going to focus mostly on Bill, but just to give you guys at home, just give you an idea of what's happening, we're following Claudette, which is basically your big rainmaker. The second one we're following is Ana.

But this one that we have here, Bill, is the big one. This is the storm that has the best possibility of becoming a major hurricane. Here's the reason why. It's got very little in its path in terms of land. It's not going to be hopscotching over any islands. It's moving through an area of very warm water. Water temperatures, sea surface temperatures around 80 degrees and minimal shear, so it has every reason to get stronger.

Winds currently 90 sustained, gusting to 115 miles an hour. And the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center brings the storm more to the west than more of a northwesterly trajectory. And it moves into that warmer water.

Notice you're going to see a number, going to two. When you see it going to three, that means it's going to be going from a category two to a category three. Three and higher is a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. Notice also, Tony, some of these numbers that we right here for you. Going up to 120, then 125, then 125 again, then downgrading again to about 120. Still is a category three storm, but a fluctuation like that at least in that wind intensity is very common for these storms, very tough for them to maintain the power.

Now, another thing. Most important is where is thing headed. You'll notice the Eastern Seaboard right here. You've got Bermuda right here. Current forecast brings it right between those two spots, between Bermuda and the U.S. I have to tell you, though, these storms are very fickle. they do wobble quite a bit. There's a chance a storm could deviate from its path, possibly moving a bit more, say, to the east, maybe even going back towards the west. U.S. is certainly not out of the woods just yet.

We're going to keep a sharp eye on it, and we've got the other storms we're going to follow throughout the day. Chad Myers is coming up next hour. He'll give you the very latest.

HARRIS: Terrific job. You know, I love these sort of generational moments. So many around here so young. Mimeograph machine, did you -- did Tony just make that up?

WOLF: It works for me.

HARRIS: Thank you.

WOLF: Yes, I'm (INAUDIBLE). I know what you're talking about.

HARRIS: As I catch up with the Facebook and the Twitter and everything else, I just want to remind folks of the good old days.

WOLF: I hear you, and I feel you.

HARRIS: Really appreciate it. Thank you.

WOLF: (INAUDIBLE)

HARRIS: Those storms Reynolds was just talking about churning on the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille, one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland. Camille was a category five storm with top sustained winds estimated at almost 200 miles an hour when it slammed into Mississippi's Gulf Coast. It killed 256 people.

Taiwan still struggling to recover from a typhoon that struck more than two weeks ago now. Torrential rain, dense fog, rugged terrain and raging rivers -- look at these pictures -- certainly slowing rescue operations in some areas. Other parts are beginning cleanup efforts. Our John Vause reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Digging out and cleaning up. More than a week after Typhoon Morakot, the residents of the small town of Lingbien (ph), like so many others across the disaster zone, are now counting the cost of Taiwan's worst flooding in more than 50 years.

A nearby dyke was breached during the storm, and locals say within 30 minutes, the town was under water. No time to even get out.

"The water was up to my neck. We couldn't go anywhere," this woman said.

Everywhere there is mud, moved by buckets, Bobcats and dump trucks. The main street has become a muddy stream. A train station underpass is filled with water.

(on camera): Take a look at the piles of mud and debris coming from inside these buildings. There's chairs and a bookcase. There's a hat stand just over there. At its worst, the locals say the mud was about 5 feet deep. It inundated these shops and restaurants and office building. And inside there seems -- there's very little left to save.

(voice-over): And here, there is anger at the government, not for the initial response, but for a lack of help now in rebuilding.

"It's been nine days, and it's still like this," he says. "All Taiwanese think we must rely on ourselves, not the government."

Cheng Wong Jing (ph) has spent days cleaning out her small restaurant, but once the mud is gone, she says, she doesn't know how she'll get by.

"Look, it's all destroyed. We've lost a lot," she says. "What can we do?"

Still, the people here say they're lucky. Despite all the damage and the massive cleanup, everyone in this town survived.

John Vause, CNN, Lingbien (ph), Taiwan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Have you heard this story? A big-city mayor comes to the aid of one of the citizens and ends up in the hospital.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Boy, police have arrested a 20-year-old man accused of attacking Milwaukee's mayor with a metal pipe. Mayor Tom Barrett is being treated at a hospital for a broken hand, cuts to his head and face. He was attacked Saturday after he apparently ran to the rescue of a grandmother screaming for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BARRETT, MILWAUKEE MAYOR'S BROTHER: Tom stepped up and did the right thing. He called 911 and tried to calm the situation, protect a grandmother and her grandchild. Tom's efforts protected the woman and the child. His efforts also protected members of our family as well. We're extremely proud of Tom's selflessness and his courage.

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HARRIS: Neither the woman nor the granddaughter were injured. Police said the suspect was drunk and had threatened to kill himself and others over child custody issues.

Peace, love, and rock and roll. Our iReporters, looking back on Woodstock 40 years after the Summer of Love -- and pharmaceuticals. Producer Tyson Wheatley from CNN.com's iReport desk, take us back in time to a couple of these defining moments, if you would -- Tyson.

TYSON WHEATLEY, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Hey, Tony, how are you doing, man? HARRIS: I'm good. I'm easy. I'm smooth. I'm nice and smooth.

WHEATLEY: Good. Well, you're going to be in the mood for this next segment. You know, Woodstock was like six years before I was even born. But it's always -- for me, it's always held a certain fascination, and for many.

And what's been really interesting this whole -- this last week has been hearing these amazing stories from iReporters who were there 40 years ago. And what you're looking at right now are some rarely seen photos from a gentleman named Mark Goff. He's from Milwaukee. And Mark was just 22, fresh from Vietnam when he managed to get a backstage pass as a freelance photographer and got some really terrific performance shots and photographs. You're looking at one here. That's Roger Daltrey...

HARRIS: Roger Daltrey, yes.

WHEATLEY: ... of course from the Who. And here's another one, of Sly Stone.

HARRIS: Sly Stone! Oh, I love it.

WHEATLEY: Great performance photograph. The one thing that stands out to Jeff -- to Mark after all these year, no fights, no riots, no cell phones.

Now, we've been hearing so much about how the conditions were -- rain, mud, lack of food. Well, check out these photos from John Laferlita (ph). John was 23 at the time. He was working at a camera store in Manhattan when he convinced his boss, who thought he was crazy, by the way, to let him leave work early and to catch a bus to Woodstock.

Like many, John slept on the ground. But what he remembers 40 years later is the kindness from others. A fellow concertgoer sharing a poncho and summer home owners offering hoses for bathing and for drinking. And John is now -- teaches online photography in Boulder, Colorado. Great photographs...

HARRIS: Nice.

WHEATLEY: ... 40 years ago.

These last images I want to share come from Lenny Eisenberg. And he took three rolls of film with him to Woodstock, and he saved his final roll for Jimi Hendrix's legendary Sunday morning performance. Lenny says for him, Woodstock was all about the music, not a political statement and certainly not a war protest. He says despite the many copycat festivals that came later, that feeling of togetherness has never really been duplicated, and says that many years later he realized -- it was only years later that he realized, really, the significance of being there.

You know, Tony, so many of our iReporters who were at Woodstock, they've shared so many great stories that we've put a lot of them together here on CNN.com.

HARRIS: Oh, wonderful.

WHEATLEY: And we invite our viewers to go to CNN.com/ireport. Check out these stories, check out these photos and of course, share your own if you have one. So, we'd love to hear from you.

HARRIS: That's terrific stuff, terrific stuff. Tyson, appreciate it. Thank you.

WHEATLEY: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, milk prices down while production costs soar. Dairy farmers say they are practically paying to go to work.

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HARRIS: I've got to tell you, I had a lovely viewing party set up yesterday to celebrate Tiger Woods's big win at the PGA championship. Hold on -- set coming apart here?

And then, you know, they started to play the final round, and what happened? I'll tell you, a lot of chips and dip went to waste. The Tiger is tamed. South Korean golfer Y.E. Yang made the big shots down the stretch and the PGA championship while Tiger Woods decided to use his son's putter. CNN International's Manisha Tank has details.

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MANISHA TANK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dream come true not just for this 37-year-old, but also for his country. The final putt that's inspired a nation and given golf the kind of publicity money can't buy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When I first heard someone had won, I thought it without be K.J. Choi and probably at a small match. But I feel really proud after knowing it was Yang and that he was the first Asian to get such an achievement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think being able to come out on top like that against Tiger Woods, world number one, is the strength that Korea has. No other country other than Korea can do that.

TANK: South Koreans love their golf so much that the country has two TV channels dedicated to the sport. Avid followers of the game woke up at 4:00 a.m. to watch the final round on their TV sets. Still, many didn't expect the win.

JAY CHUNG, EDITOR, J GOLF (through translator): I think most Korean golf fans probably still can't believe it. Yang's name is getting the most hits on the Internet right now. People want to know who this person is, and even those who aren't into golf are all talking about the sport. TANK: It comes at a time when the game and the local economy could do with a shot in the arm. Perhaps the euphoria surrounding Yang's win will take the sting out of the recent economic slump.

CHUNG (through translator): In times like these, when the economy is still on recovery, Yang has done something huge, which people are actually saying is the greatest achievement in Korea's 100- year golf history.

TANK: Asia is golf's fastest-growing market. Now, Yang's win brings the region firmly into the sports mainstream. Perhaps it was just a bad day for Tiger, but there was little doubt it was all heart from Yang, ranked 110th in the world. He may have taken the game up at 19, a late starter for the sport, but he's proven humble dreams can take you anywhere.

Manisha Tank, CNN, Hong Kong.

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HARRIS: CNN is your hurricane headquarters, and we are continuing to following the three named storms that have popped up in the last 24 hours. Also coming up next hour, what if the price you pay for health insurance is based on your income? A model for national reform?

And new reports say homosexuals in Iraq are being targeted by security forces.

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HARRIS: Well, plummeting milk prices are threatening the existence of some dairy farms. Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every morning bright and early, you'll find Alan Bourbeau and his two sons milking the cows at their farm in St. Albans, Vermont.

ALAN BOURBEAU, DAIRY FARMER: We've been doing it for 34 years. To be able to have a weekend off, it'd be awful nice. But I cannot afford to pay an extra man right now just to work two or three extra mornings a week just so I can have that luxury.

FEYERICK (on camera): And you're the chief executive officer.

BOURBEAU: Yes. Yes. Chief of everything, debts and all.

(LAUGHTER)

FEYERICK (voice-over): And the debts right now are soaring.

BOURBEAU: We're definitively running negative, yes, $4,000 or $5,000, something like that, $6,000 negative.

FEYERICK (on camera): Every month?

BOURBEAU: Every month.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Why? Last year, demand for U.S. dairy experts were high and milk sold a record at $19 per 100 pounds, about two of these jars. That price has plunged to $11, less than what it actually costs dairy farmers to produce it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is certainly not overblown. This is the worst crisis that the dairy farmers probably have ever seen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now farmers are in a position where they're paying to go to work every day.

FEYERICK: Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture took the unusual step of raising support prices by about 15 percent for dairy products through October.

JOE GLAUBER, CHIEF ECONOMIST, USDA: Hopefully this is -- these actions will suffice and get a lot of dairy producers over, you know, this rough patch they're going through.

FEYERICK: Maybe, maybe not.

FEYERICK (on camera): While the cost of milk is going down, the cost of virtually everything else to run a farm is going up.

BOURBEAU: Actually, my fertilizer cost was roughly $20,000. This year my fertilizer's $25,000. I have done nothing different, except now I've got $5,000 extra.

FEYERICK: Like many farmers, Bourbeau has been borrowing from the bank and cutting corners.

BOURBEAU: We're trying to cut the grain, cut every cost that we possibly can, but trying not to lose too much milk production.

FEYERICK: Sons Justin and Eric know every cow and every inch of land. What they don't know is whether there's a future here.

FEYERICK (on camera): Obviously, this is in your blood. Are there some days where you think about giving it up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, more often now than before.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Still, the Bourbeaus have faith things will turn around and that they'll keep the farm for generations to come.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, St. Albans, Vermont.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And some kids in Albuquerque, New Mexico may not have new clothes or even ones that fit properly when school starts Thursday. A local program that collects donations for needy children says its supply is running low, in part because of increased demand.

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KIM KERSCHEN, BERNALILLO COUNTY COUNCIL PTA CLOTHING BANK: We could see, you know, 200 kids, and if we're not continuing to get donations in, we'll be empty or we'll have very scattered sizes.

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HARRIS: Well, last year, the clothing bank helped nearly 3,500 students, and more are expected to need help this year.