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Fire Crews Starting to Tame Wildfire in California; Reasons to Not Skimp on Fire Insurance; New Court Documents Released on Phillip Garrido

Aired September 02, 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: It is Wednesday, September 2nd, and here are the faces of the stories driving the headlines today in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Bert Vorhees, California wildfire victim. The disaster from three perspectives for you this morning.

Real life, lost dollars and the insurance shortfall.

Phillip Garrido, registered sex offender. Newly released court documents detail his perverted obsession with sex and drugs.

Nancy Scheper-Hughes, organ tracker, exposing the shadowy world of people who buy and sell body parts. CNN investigates.

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

First now, let's take you to southern California.

Exhausted crews are finally beginning to tame that firestorm that is burning 30 or so miles north of downtown Los Angeles. They're taking advantage of lower temperatures and higher humidity to get the fire 22 percent contained, but this crisis is far from over. Homes are still at risk. And for those who are already victims, it means starting from scratch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERT VORHEES, WILDFIRE EVACUEE: Like, at my house, there's a water tank standing. There's a brick patio and a few -- the bricks that are along one wall, and nothing else is standing. The fridge is completely melted and cracked open, and there's nothing. I mean, it's really -- there's really just ash.

We went to my ex-wife's place. That had burned a little more coolly, I think, and she was able to retrieve some china and whatnot. But there's nothing left of most of these homes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. So, the wildfire has spread over 22 square miles, and the Angeles National Forest, an area three times -- think about this -- three times the size of the District of the Columbia.

CNN's Reynolds Wolf is tracking the fire in northern Los Angeles County.

Reynolds, look, is this shaping up to be a day, weather conditions factored in here, where progressing can made, or is this a day for holding onto your gains?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the spirit that these guys have, they think that every day is a day where progress can be made.

Let me show you the progress that's been made just since last night.

The fire right now, Tony, 22 percent contained. You look at this map right behind me, you'll notice the areas where you happen to have areas that are shaded in dark, these dark lines. Those are your completed lines, but we also see are areas shaded in red. Those are the places where you still have uncontrolled fires, where the fires are still burning.

Now, what we've seen in terms of development just over the last couple of hours, certainly since midnight last night Pacific Time, is we have seen many of the flames now begin to push toward the San Gabriel Mountains. In fact, there's an area called Devil's Canyon right here, where you'll notice the fire has been sweeping a bit more to the east.

Originally, it started from the south, moved to the north. But this is the big area of concern.

In fact, right here, in this San Gabriel wilderness, the issue that you have is you have so much virgin forest. You've got so much of that dry foliage up there. So, if the fire were to move in that direction -- and it appears it's moving in that spot -- it's got so much to burn. There's so much there for this fire to consume, and that is really the big danger.

Sure, the weather cooperated last night with the higher humidity. That was great. But you have to remember, in the forecast today, we still have the chance of those high-level thunderstorms, those dry thunderstorms. And you have those lightning strikes that hit that foliage, you know what can happen.

That means these guys can be working nonstop. You know, they've been working, these men and women, 25,000 of them, been working around the clock. Supposed to be working 12-hour shifts, but somehow it never seems that's the case.

You know, they happen to be out in the fire line, and they see flames close by, they're not going to drop their tools and go home. They stay put. They're going to do what they possibly can.

And Tony, it's going to be a frustrating day in some ways, but every day they're just trying to chip away a little bit more, a little bit more, to get a better handle, more control on the fire.

One thing to mention, too, is that we keep hearing words about 62 homes or structures that have been destroyed. The problem is, man, you've got to remember, we're talking about temperatures that are around 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. So, many of these buildings, they can't tell if they were homes or just outbuildings or what they were, because many of them just vaporize so quickly with this intense heat.

So, it's really going to be something that we'll be able to know in the future. We'll get a better idea of what homes were destroyed and where. They get a good idea, but they don't know for certain. They will hopefully in the coming weeks, and hopefully get a much better handle on this fire in days to come.

HARRIS: Boy, that idea of weeks, a better handle in days, but a better idea of containment in weeks, that is a scary notion. It gives you a really clear idea of what the firefighters are dealing with.

And Reynolds, correct me if I'm wrong here. We're going to get an update from the governor maybe in the next hour or so?

WOLF: That is correct. The governor, I believe, has already made his way to the grounds.

I've got to tell you, there are a lot of people here. Not just the governor, but people -- also other people from Sacramento, other firefighters that are here from that area, all helping out in the blaze. But yes, we do expect to hear from the governor fairly soon.

HARRIS: Terrific. Reynolds, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

You know, wildfires like this take a toll on the entire country. In this case, we're talking specifically about the Station Fire, but of course there are six other fires burning in California.

Let's take a look at the real cost for all of us. Josh Levs is here with some totals.

What do you have for us, Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I've been stunned by some of the numbers that I'm looking at today, because we know when we see fires like this, right, it affects the entire country?

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: But you've got to see this.

First of all, lots of great images at CNN.com. But we found this report right here, "The True Cost of Wildfires in the Western U.S." And it's actually from the government, and it breaks down how it impacts the whole country.

Let's go to some of the video, and I'm going to bring in some facts of this as well.

The first one I want you to see here comes from this report here from the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition. They're saying the real cost ultimately to the country is up to 30 times the suppression cost.

So, if you hear it's costing $50 million to put down the fire, you might need to multiply that by 30 times when you factor in the environmental impact, the long-term health impact, the lost land, the lost jobs. So many things could happen from this.

Then, in this next screen, I have one for you from a private group, Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center, where they study this. They say sometimes it's up to 50 times the suppression costs.

And not only that, but even suppression costs themselves are growing. So, we're talking about massive amounts of money.

Look at what the "Los Angeles Times" has put out there. This is a story we found there.

The Forest Service -- this is the U.S. Forest Service, right, one of our federal agencies? They were spending about 10 years ago about $300 million a year to fight these fires. That, by last year, had gone up to $1.4 billion over 10 years.

I mean -- and, you know why? Look at this quote from the "L.A. Times" story. This is amazing. Fires are growing bigger, fiercer and costlier.

Tony, the impact this is taking on our country is growing every year. It affects us all financially, environment, health, the works, all of it.

HARRIS: Boy, that's an interesting look. All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: You got it.

HARRIS: You know, unlike a flood or earthquake insurance, fire coverage is a standard part of homeowners insurance. Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis here with me in Atlanta to talk us through this.

Look, Gerri, let's be clear here. When we're talking about homeowners insurance, we are principally talking about -- what was the phrase you used this morning? The big kahuna, and that is protecting your home and the contents from fire.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, look, Tony, we know that homeowners insurance is not necessarily protecting you in the case of flood or earthquakes. Fire is the big kahuna. This is what you're going to get protected for. This is what you're paying the big bucks for.

So, let's talk a little bit about what you need to know about that. Right?

Guess what? Two in three homeowners are under-covered. Under- covered. That means you don't have enough insurance to cover the rebuilding of your house. And that's because most folks don't even know what it would cost.

So, Tony, I want to suggest a really great Web site for people to go to figure out, what would it cost me to insure that house? AccuCoverage.com is a great Web site. It's going to cost you almost $8, but you will get a number of costs for replacing that House, and it's not an easy number to get.

I know there are lots of rules of thumb out there, but the reality is, you know, what it cost to rebuild depends on what part of the country you're in and what kind of materials you're using. But let me tell you, if you're even 30 percent behind and you can't cover that cost, you're looking at tens of thousands of dollars to getting that home rebuilt. That means you're going to have to scale back, get a totally different kind of house.

HARRIS: And for people on the ground now who are going through this right now, who maybe have lost their homes at this very moment, talk us through what the claim process is like.

WILLIS: Right. Well, claims is critical.

This could be just the beginning of the disaster for you if you lost your house. So, let's talk about how you're going to apply for insurance coverage.

A, number one, get on the phone right away to your insurance agent. I mean now, if you've been a victim of this, because there are thousands of people who are going to be waiting in line for coverage and protection.

Remember, 10,000 people have left their homes. So, lots of people are going to be calling your agent. Get in line first or you're going to be waiting a long time.

Take pictures of the damage.

HARRIS: That's so smart, yes.

WILLIS: And here I mean, Tony, still pictures, video pictures, whatever it takes to really document the damage. Spend some time walking around the property once you're able to get back to it.

And finally, until you get somebody on the scene, you want to keep those repairs to a minimum, because you really want them to see what the problems are. Right?

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: So, that's definitely -- you know, you don't want this to be a bigger disaster than it already is. You want to get the coverage you need.

HARRIS: Great to have you here in Atlanta. And boy, we're going to work you while you're here. You're going to join us a little bit later this hour with your "Top Tips."

Gerri, appreciate it. Good to have you here with us.

WILLIS: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: You know, we've been getting a wave of upbeat economic news recently. Just yesterday, we learned manufacturing activity grew for the first time in a year and a half. Pending home sales also jumped. But the big question mark is the labor market. Experts say it's typically the last area to turn around.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

HARRIS: Just in to CNN, we've just learned that ABC's Diane Sawyer will anchor ABC's evening newscast beginning January 2010. Charlie Gibson will leave the chair. Diane Sawyer will assume the chair for ABC's nightly newscast. That to begin in January of 2010. We don't know at this point what the future holds for Charlie Gibson, but he is an awesome broadcaster.

But once again, the breaking news, Diane Sawyer, a terrific broadcaster in her own right, will be assuming the anchor chair at ABC's flagship evening newscast, "World News Tonight," starting January 2010.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, inside the mind of accused kidnapper Phillip Garrido. New court documents unveil the disturbing sexual obsessions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Mounting questions about the sex offender's wife and what role she played in kidnapping, raping and holding Jaycee Dugard captive for 18 years. Nancy Garrido is charged with her husband, Phillip, in connection with the horrific crime. Her court-appointed attorney tells CNN intense media coverage could prejudice his client's ability to get a fair trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GILBERT MAINES, COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY FOR NANCY GARRIDO: I've been trying to establish a line of communication with my client so that I can get behind what is going on. I'm sure you understand that this is a horrendous thing for her.

I mean, I realize it's horrendous for Jaycee and her parents, and the children. But my concern right now is that my client get a fair trial. And to do that, I have to open a line of communication in which she will confide in me and talk to me so I can formulate any defense that is available, so I can discover it and formulate it. That's part of my job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Court documents just out take us inside the twisted mind of kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido, revealing decades of sexual obsessions.

Our Ed Lavandera reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Newly released court documents offer a glimpse into Phillip Garrido's mind, details from his 1977 trial where he was convicted of kidnapping and raping Katie Callaway Hall. The night he attacked her, Garrido said, "I had this fantasy that was driving me to do this, inside of me; something that was making me want to do it without no way to stop..."

Garrido's first wife, Christine Murphy, speaking out for the first time, describes him as a monster.

CHRISTINE MURPHY, PHILLIP GARRIDO'S FIRST WIFE: I just wanted my life to be the way it used to be -- before Phillip Garrido.

LAVANDERA: Garrido also testified in that 1977 trial that intense drug use stimulated his sexual addictions. He says he cruised neighborhoods as a Peeping Tom, driving around town exposing himself in public places, including schools. He also testified that he often fantasized about raping women, but he says after turning to God, he started to feel ashamed of his actions.

Murphy says sex issues caused her marriage with Garrido to fall apart.

MURPHY: I never got pregnant, and always thought he couldn't have children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened to your marriage?

MURPHY: Well, it fell apart because of his neediness for sex.

LAVANDERA: Investigators now say they have found no connection between Garrido and a string of murders back in the 1990s that happened near his workplace. But authorities are still looking into whether Garrido is responsible for the disappearance of two young girls near Antioch, California.

Several of Garrido's neighbors are raising disturbing questions about what happened in Garrido's backyard. Mike Rogers lives behind Garrido. He says grown men often partied in the back yard prison where Jaycee Dugard and her two daughters lived in tents. Knowing what he knows now, it's troubling to think of what was happening.

(on camera): What exactly did you see these guys doing?

MIKE ROGERS, PHILLIP GARRIDO'S NEIGHBOR: They were like drinking, sharing their beers and high-fiving and getting crazy, you know. Screaming and hollering. It was, you know, I thought maybe they were partying back there, doing who knows, you know. I mean, he just, you know, I hollered at them, they didn't even look at me.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Antioch investigators tell CNN they've heard those stories but still don't have any evidence that other men might have abused Jaycee Dugard and her two daughters in that back yard.

(on camera): Despite being a registered sex offender and receiving regular visits from parole officers, Phillip Garrido managed to elude close scrutiny. And now the California Department of Corrections says it will launch an internal review.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Antioch, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: It started with a handful of credit cards. Now it seems every card is offering rewards.

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis returns to the NEWSROOM with today's "Top Tips."

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's get to our top stories now.

A powerful earthquake in Indonesia has killed at least 25 people, and dozens of others are feared dead. The 7.0 magnitude quake struck the island of Java early today. A tsunami alert went out but was very revoked soon after. Local reports say it triggered a landslide, toppling homes and knocking out electricity.

A bomb exploded in a parked van outside the Athens Stock Exchange today, blowing out windows and destroying cars. One woman was injured by flying glass. Police suspect a far left militant group is behind the attack, but no one has claimed responsibility.

Calling it very successful, NASA says the Space Shuttle Discovery crew today completed the first of three spacewalks scheduled for their 13-day mission to the International Space Station. They step out again tomorrow.

Boy, more and more of you are swiping your debit card, so issuers are taking notice and rolling out new rewards programs. But are debit rewards programs all they're cracked up to be?

Let's find out now. Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here, back here with us again in Atlanta to help us sort through all of these.

But look, these cards have really literally soared in popularity over the years.

WILLIS: Can I tell you? It's amazing.

Listen, so many people are now using these debit cards. Half of consumer transactions now on debit cards. And by 2015, 60 percent of transactions, consumers transactions -- you go to the grocery store, or wherever -- it's going to be on your debit card. Now, that's good news, right? Because consumers are using essentially cash to pay their bills. However, devil in the details here. That's what I always say.

They're now offering rewards programs. More and more of them are doing that. I'm going to tell you a little bit about those, because it's kind of sneaky, Tony.

HARRIS: OK.

WILLIS: All right. So, let's make some comparisons here.

If you want to get 100 bucks in rewards, and you have a cash back plan with your debit card, on credit, for example, you would have to spend $10,000 to get $100 in rewards. On a debit card, double that, $20,000.

And if it's a travel rewards card, you see the same relationship basically applies. With the credit card, you would have to spend more than $16,000. With a debit card, you'd have to spend more than $33,000.

So, you can see, you know what? Guess what? The rewards, they're just not as good with debit cards as they are with credit cards.

HARRIS: So, if -- we're using these cards, so if we want to take some advantage of this, should we start shopping now for debit cards with really good rewards programs?

WILLIS: Well, you know what I think? I think there are more important things than the kinds of rewards you're getting on your debit card. OK?

You want to know what the fees are and what the policies are. A lot of companies out there, banks out there, what they'll do if you have a debit card or a credit card, they'll actually pay your highest cost debit first. So, if you're actually close to overdrawing your account, you might do that.

So, you want to know what the policies are. You want to understand. And forget the rewards. That's what I say.

HARRIS: Love the advice, as always.

Should there be occasions when we just opt out of using the debit card and use a credit card?

WILLIS: Yes. OK, I have to tell you, credit cards are typically safer than the debit card, OK? Because credit cards, they have this thing called zero liability.

So, let's say somebody steals your card and pays for something. You're not liable for that.

And recently, the debit card operators extended it to their cards as well. But guess what, Tony? There's no federal law that says they have to do that. They do that on their own.

So, I think to be safe, if you're buying a big-ticket item, you might want to put that on the credit card. You know how I feel about credit card debt. You want to pay it off as soon as possible.

HARRIS: You and me both.

WILLIS: But, you know, there are times when you want to use them.

HARRIS: Got you.

And give us the address again if folks have question for you, Gerri.

WILLIS: Gerri@CNN.com. E-mail me. We answer those questions right here every Friday with Tony.

HARRIS: Good to see you in Atlanta.

WILLIS: It's great to see you face to face.

HARRIS: And we can't tell everyone the details, but you were working on something really fantastic here in Atlanta, and when we get closer to an air date, please come on and tell everyone what you're working on, because it is amazing, what you're here working on.

Good to see you, Gerri. Thank you.

WILLIS: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: Would you believe one out of every 10 kidney transplants is illicit? CNN investigates the black market of organ donation and how it is lowering some of the world's poorest people into the O.R.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A kid who does not speak much English, who is terrified and shaking, and thought, maybe I made a mistake to do this, but $25,000, you have to admit, is a good amount of cash.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, some say this next story smacks of big brother. A high school principal says his school has the right to monitor troubled students on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Frendy Clareveaux (ph) from CNN affiliate WJBF has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRENDY CLAREVEAUX (ph), REPORTER, WJBF (voice-over): Dr. Edward Martin, Jr. is the principal at Victory Christian School in north Augusta. He says all students are required to follow their biblical curriculum.

DR. EDWARD MARTIN, JR., PRINCIPAL, VICTORY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: We don't expect perfection, we expect compliance.

CLAREVEAUX: It's compliance to a new school policy that's turning some heads. If an administrator suspects a student of unruly behavior, that student could be required to give school leaders their password and username to their Facebook or MySpace account.

MARTIN: Several years ago, we had a student with a, I guess, MySpace, and he was bragging about the alcohol that he drank on the weekends. He was telling everybody he went to our school.

CLAREVEAUX: Dr. Martin says this policy is in place to protect the sanctity of the school, and it's not an invasion of privacy.

MARTIN: We're looking, again, for families that agree with this philosophy. And if they don't, that's fine. There's plenty of schools they can choose to go to.

CLAREVEAUX: Attorney Robert Mullins disagrees.

ROBERT MULLINS, ATTORNEY: It's basically an invasion of privacy. And if they were doing the conduct at school on a school computer, that would be one thing. But if they're doing it at home on a home computer, that's a totally different thing.

DEBORAH RYUFUKU, PARENT: If the student insists on using Facebook or MySpace at school, which I think should not ever occur, then I think the school does have the right to monitor it.

TIFFANY DUKES, PARENT: On the other hand, I agree with the school. I mean, if it's a Christian-based school, then, you know, they don't want anything in their school that isn't appropriate.

CLAREVEAUX: And Martin claims to have backing. He says the school is following the advice of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, got to tell you, we have been looking for a provocative question for you to consider and respond to on our blog. With that last story, I think we have found it. With the influx of cyberbullying cases, school violence and all the underage drinking, does a school have the right to access to your child's Facebook or MySpace account? Is this an invasion of privacy, of a child's privacy or a prudent safety measure?

We want to know what you think. I've got some views. I'm not allowed to share them. Maybe I'll blog them. Just go to CNN.com/tony.

All right, let's get a check of weather conditions now. A lot for Jacqui Jeras to consider here. Jacqui Jeras is in our hurricane headquarters. Good to see you, Jacqui. JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good to see you, too, Tony. I see you refraining from comments on that one.

HARRIS: Yes, I better. I get notes when I do.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: I know. I was thinking the same thing. Oh, you want to know what I really think? Check my Facebook page. You'll find out. Right?

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: There you go.

JERAS: Anyway, we're talking about the tropics again and the latest on Hurricane Jimena, which made landfall a couple of hours ago, but still a very powerful storm. Maximum sustained winds up there now 100 miles per hour, but still looking at some greater gusts.

We are going to see some really heavy rainfall, and let me show you some video that is coming in. This is out of Mexico from TV Azteca. And there you can see the reporter getting blown around in the heavy downpours. This was in Ciudad Constitucion, which is inland from the storms, just maybe 50 miles outside from where it made landfall. So, you can get an idea of some of the rough conditions that weren't even in that area.

And then we also have some video I think as well to show you out of Cabo San Lucas of some strong winds in that area. And we are getting some reports of some spotty outages of power, and also a couple of the streets were getting blocked by some mud. And that's all we've heard thus far in terms of damage.

As we look into the future, the storm will continue to weaken, but we will worry about the threat of flooding and mudslides because of the heavy rain.

All right, Erika, a tropical storme just barely. Only 40-mile- per-hour winds, now weakening because of shear. However, we do expect to see the potential maybe for some strengthening down the line. Lots of uncertainty here, Tony, as the models are all over the place with this one. So, watch it certainly, especially if you live in the Southeast.

HARRIS: All right. Jacqui, appreciate it. Thank you.

CNN iReporters vacationing along the Baja Peninsula turned to storm trackers in advance of Hurricane Jimena. Jack Duffy sent us this video from a resort in Cabo San Lucas as the storm was approaching. He says the winds were just starting to pick up, and you can see the waves pounding just a bit of the beach here. And iReporter -- another one here files this report about conditions in Cabo San Lucas ahead of the hurricane.

Have a listen. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY BERNATCHEZ, CNN IREPORTER: I am here in Cabo San Lucas on Monday, August 31st, 1:20 Pacific time, which would be 2:20 here in Los Cabos. I'm sitting here poolside at the Pueblo Bonito resort. You can see that the staff here is starting to break down the cabanas and relocate them to a safer place where they can't get blown away. On my left here, you can see the surf looks relatively still right now, which is a little bit misleading.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, if you have stories or pictures, you know those stories and pictures really help us tell the story, particularly in a case like Jimena. Just send along your iReports. Send them to ireport.com.

Chief business correspondent Ali Velshi is on the CNN Express, traveling across America, talking to you. He is drilling down on the economy, issue number one for you, and that's next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: This just in to CNN, a bit of breaking news for you. We're getting reports, trying to confirm those reports independently right now at the CNN that the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, has been admitted to a hospital intensive care unit in Libya. He has terminal prostate cancer, as you know.

Al-Megrahi's release by the Scottish government on humanitarian grounds and his -- this reception that you see here, certainly outsized reception in Libya, has touched off a real firestorm protest, with the British government having to deny it struck a deal with Libya to release al-Megrahi in exchange for an oil agreement. But the breaking news at this point is that the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, we believe has been admitted to a hospital's intensive care unit.

He, as you know, is suffering with terminal prostate cancer. We will continue to try to confirm this independently here at CNN and get you updates as we get additional information.

In Washington, the white supremacist charged with killing a security guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum spoke out in federal court last hour. Eighty-nine-year-old James Von Brunn told the court, "Your Constitution guarantees me a speedy and fair trial."

Your Constitution. OK. He was denied bond. Guards shot him in the face during the incident, and he has been hospitalized ever since.

Let's see here -- health care and the economy, some of the issues we are hearing about from you as the CNN Express makes its way north. The latest stop, the South Side of Chicago. It is an area struggling with crime and unemployment, and residents are looking for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Things just to help the South Side, period. That's why you've got all these people out here just doing what they're doing. You know, a lot of crime. Because the economy's so bad, man. I mean, people is, like, getting hungry, you know? I mean hungry, you know?

Speaking for me, you know, I'm not afraid to tell you that I experienced the lifestyle before. But like, you can always come out that lifestyle. But it's hard to come out when you can't find no job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: CNN's Ali Velshi on the road with CNN Express and on the air with his radio show. Ali, good to talk to you. He's joining us from Chicago.

And Ali, you heard that gentleman right there. I'm interested in more of what you're hearing in Chicago. Are you on the road now? And when you see people, Ali, what do they want to ask you? What do they want to talk to you about?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, Tony, and the reason I've got a phone here is we've got the radio show going on as well. But that was a gentleman that I talked to just a few minutes ago on the street. And he was telling me that he lived a life -- he didn't describe what was wrong. But he said that he had a very bad life here on the South Side, and he turned himself around.

But everybody here is connecting some of the poverty on the South Side and some of the unemployment to, you know, prosperity and the economy and jobs. They're saying if there were more jobs on the South Side of Chicago, there probably wouldn't be as much crime.

Now, here's the thing. Areas like this, urban centers in America, particularly those that are overwhelmingly African American, have been suffering from higher unemployment for a longer time than this recession's been around. They're just suffering a little bit more now as a result of it in proportion to the greater population. So, they're really looking to answers.

People have been fairly optimistic here, very supportive of the administration, very supportive and proud of Barack Obama. And also, Tony, very supportive of the idea of health care reform because they see all these people around them who do not have health care who go for their primary health care to emergency units. And they feel that that taxes the system unusually and that the health care provision would just be better if people were able to have health care coverage and go to their doctors.

HARRIS: If you lose support in your home city and in your home state, you've got real problems.

What turns the jobs picture around, Ali? Consumers spending again? Businesses investing again? And which comes first?

VELSHI: It's a little bit of a chicken and the egg. HARRIS: Yes, yes.

VELSHI: Consumers have to feel like they're not going to lose their jobs. And again, I had this very specific conversation this morning. One woman came to me, and she said she's fully employed. She works for the municipality. But she is worried about losing her job, and hence she doesn't spend as much.

Now, when she doesn't spend, the retailer or whomever doesn't have to hire more people, and it's not hiring more people who can then spend. So, somebody's got to believe that things are coming back.

And we're starting to see that. Why? Because, A, the stock market has been going up. So, people are feeling a little bit more prosperous. B, low interest rates are meaning people are buying houses, so home prices are starting to stabilize nationally, but not necessarily in your neighborhood.

But until we start to believe that and see that it's going to happen, more people won't re-engage. And so, it's a chicken-and-the- egg situation. We're not -- somebody has to blink first and say, I believe in this economy. I'm going to hire people, not lay people off. I'm going to spend some money in a smart way, not going to get myself into too much debt.

It's a tough situation, and our road trip is proving that people are still confused about that.

HARRIS: That is so well put. All right, here's the number for Ali's radio show. You've still got time to call in -- 877-266-4189. Travel well. Be safe, my friend. And we'll talk again soon.

VELSHI: Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: First-time home buyers can get an $8,000 tax credit from the government. I believe it's up to $8,000. Find out how some people are actually spending it. Log on to CNNmoney.com. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Four years after the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, more flooded areas of New Orleans are showing hopeful signs of recovery. CNN's Anderson Cooper takes us on a tour of one neighborhood guided by a well-known New Orleans resident.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES CARVILLE, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Over here is a nursing association. There's a really trendy bar here.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Freret Street, James Carville sees signs of growth all around him.

CARVILLE: The interesting thing about Freret Street is, this area got a pretty good bit of water. Everything here after the storm was wiped out. Seven blocks that way, some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the southern United States. Seven blocks that way, some of the poorest, more dangerous neighborhoods.

A little bit of a sense I have is how Freret Street goes, how goes New Orleans, because it's a place that, it can make a comeback, and it is.

COOPER: The Freret Street Gym was the first business to reopen in this neighborhood after the storm. Father Kevin Wildes, an avid boxer, is president of Loyola University.

(on camera): How's New Orleans doing?

FATHER KEVIN WILDES, PRESIDENT, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY: I think it's doing very well, especially in terms of the private sector and the nonprofit sector. This gym is one small example. He had -- Mike had, I think, three feet of water in here.

He got in after the storm. He cleaned it up, got it opened again, you know. And you see the shops and restaurants all over the place.

COOPER (voice-over): While areas that got the most water, like the Lower Ninth Ward, have been slow to rebuild, in much of New Orleans, signs of the storm are hard to find. More restaurants are open here now than before Katrina. Carville took us to eat at Pascal's Manali.

(on camera): I've never been in a city where people eat more, or if they're not eating, they're talking about what she just ate or what they're about to eat.

CARVILLE: Yes. What we do is, it's like, we'll talk about where we're going for supper while we're eating lunch.

(LAUGHTER)

CARVILLE: I already know. I kind of have it all mapped out. And it's not a decision that you just don't make off the cuff. It goes with a lot of thought.

COOPER (voice-over): After lunch, we drive to what was once a rundown housing project. It's now being rebuilt into a mixed-income neighborhood.

CARVILLE; This is a real -- has real potential of being a real success story. There could be a white guy here and an African American there and a Hispanic there and somebody, you know, an Asian there. And that's the kind of stuff -- that's the kind of city people that live here, we want to live in that kind of city.

COOPER (voice-over): So, in past years as I came here after the storm, you know, there was -- you didn't get a sense of kind of energy and actually seeing results. But this time, you're actually kind of seeing what the money has been spent on. I mean, you're starting to see things being built. You're seeing schools being fixed. CARVILLE: Well, we're doing better. And you're starting to finally see it. And it just -- it took me the understanding that it just can't happen overnight. It takes a while for this stuff to build up.

COOPER (voice-over): There's no doubt daunting problems remain -- crime, infrastructure, lack of affordable housing, access to health care. But Carville is optimistic. The progress is real. Money is being spent. The city pulses with life.

CARVILLE: When you live in New Orleans, you have to understand this. You don't just live in a city. You live in a culture. We have our own food, our own music, our own funerals, our own social structure, our own architecture, our own literature.

COOPER (on camera): It's a completely unique place.

CARVILLE: It's completely unique. And it's not just a city, it's a culture. And people -- we don't -- I mean, we admire what Atlanta's done, we admire what Denver's done. But we don't want to be Atlanta and Denver. We want to be New Orleanians.

COOPER (voice-over): Anderson Cooper, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Selling a piece of yourself. The organ donation black market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A CNN worldwide investigation now. Kidneys for sale. Donors desperate for cash, eager recipients from China to Israel to the United States. Here's correspondent Drew Griffin with CNN's special investigations unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the FBI arrested Brooklyn businessman Itzhak Rosenbaum, they had no idea what they say they uncovered would be so big.

(on camera): Law enforcement sources who are still investigating tell CNN Rosenbaum was running an operation called United Life Line. It was using hospitals in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. What he was doing was selling kidneys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidney for $10,000.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Investigators say the donors and patients in this network had one thing in common: They were all Jewish. Donors usually came from Eastern Europe, mostly poor, selling their kidneys for $5,000 to $6,000 to U.S. and Israeli patients willing to pay up to $160,000 for the kidney itself and the transplant. Rosenbaum's attorney claims he hasn't had enough time to assess the FBI's case and offered no comment. But the lawyer did say law enforcement's account of Rosenbaum's network was inaccurate.

To those who study the illegal trade of organs, allegations of widespread trafficking and kidneys on the East Coast should surprise no one. In the recent past, according to researcher Dr. Nancy Shepher-Hughes, that has included organized crime.

NANCY SHEPER-HUGHES, FOUNDER, ORGANS WATCH: Mainly that business has been run by a kind of Russian organs Mafia. And often they have been using Bulgarian guest workers or they have been using, you know, new Russian immigrants to kind of fuel it.

NICK ROSEN, KIDNEY DONOR: So I saw an ad in the paper. And the ad said kidney donor wanted.

GRIFFIN: Nick Rosen says selling a kidney in the United States was as easy as answering that ad. Nick Rosen is an Israeli citizen. He bears the scars of an operation where he says neither doctors nor the hospital asked too many questions.

(on camera): Do you think they knew? Do you think the surgeon who did the surgery knew?

ROSEN: I think they -- they may have had a feeling or a hint. But I can't say I know for sure.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): A few weeks after answering the ad, with a promised payoff of $20,000, Rosen said he was flown from Tel Aviv to New York, hustled into New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, where he and the patient he'd never met before told hospital staff they were cousins.

(on camera): They didn't ask for family records or anything like that?

ROSEN: No. No.

GRIFFIN: So basically, you were just two guys who came in, declared yourselves cousins?

ROSEN: Yes.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Doctor Barbara Murphy is in charge of the hospital's kidney unit. She says screening is rigorous but...

DR. BARBARA MURPHY, MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL: We're not detectives. We're not the FBI. And we don't have methods that they have at our disposal. And people can on occasions deceive us.

GRIFFIN: Nancy Sheper-Hughes is a University of California anthropologist who has been tracking illegal organ sales for 15 years. She says for the hospitals, it pays to look the other way.

SHEPER-HUGHES: I ask not only what about the surgeon, what about the transplant coordinators, the nurse coordinators, the hospital chaplain, the bioethicist who is supposed to screen people and say, "Well, how long you have known each other?"

GRIFFIN: On the day we talked to her, she said she was learning of a young Korean man recovering in Los Angeles's Cedars-Sinai Hospital, having just sold his kidney for $25,000 in cash.

(on camera): And this took place...

SHEPER-HUGHES: Last night.

GRIFFIN: Last night.

SHEPER-HUGHES: In Los Angeles.

GRIFFIN: In Los Angeles.

SHEPER-HUGHES: That's right.

GRIFFIN: With $20,000.

SHEPER-HUGHES: Yes, a kid who does not speak much English, who is terrified and shaking, and thought, maybe I've made a mistake to do this. But $25,000, you have to admit, is a good amount of cash.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): A source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to CNN the surgery did indeed take place. The hospital wouldn't comment on specifics due to privacy concerns, but said if at any time during the evaluation process, the transplant team suspects a donor is being inappropriately paid for a kidney, the transplant is canceled.

But to Sheper-Hughes, that's not happening enough.

The World Health Organization estimates one out of every 10 kidney transplants in the world is illicit.

SHEPER-HUGHES: Well, I think there is no stopping it. I have to say I'm pretty depressed about it now.

GRIFFIN: Depressed because it's a business that's only getting bigger as more of the world's desperately poor are willing to sell off a piece of themselves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Desperately poor. Special investigations unit correspondent Drew Griffin joing us now. And Drew, look, how prevalent is this kind of activity here in the United States? Many would assume that this kind of thing is happening a lot overseas. But to what extent is it going on here in the United States?

GRIFFIN: You know, the technology, the Internet, all these things are facilitating this. And it's happening, quite frankly, more than you might think here in the United States. Fifteen hundred to 2,000 kidney transplants a year in the U.S. is what the estimate is. Think about that. That's four or five today, kidney transplants, taking place because the patient has bought the kidney.

HARRIS: Wow. Amazing reporting. As always, Drew, appreciate it.

And there will be more on this pretty disturbing topic tonight in CNN prime time. "Special (sic) Harvest," the illegal trade in body parts. Watch "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at 10:00 Eastern time tonight.