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Stakes Are High for President Obama's Health Care Speech; Embarrassment Grows for State Department Over Contractors at U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan; USAID Aiding the Enemy?

Aired September 03, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, the stakes are pretty high for President Obama's health care speech next Wednesday.

Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry talked with a top adviser to the president about the message and the strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So, why this speech? Did it feel like the debate was slipping away from him?

DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR ADVISER TO OBAMA: No, I think that we've gone through months and months of debate and discussion. All the ideas are on the table now. It's a new season. It's a new phase of this debate and it seems appropriate as we enter the final weeks for the president to address the nation and talk about how we're going to provide stability and security to people who have health insurance and help those who can't afford insurance get the coverage they need.

HENRY: How specific will he get?

AXELROD: I don't think anybody will leave the speech without a strong sense of how the president feels we believe -- he believes we should proceed. I think that's going to be...

HENRY: But will he spell out five, six points where he -- this is what has to be in the final?

AXELROD: Again, I think it's going to be very, very clear by the time the speech is done that he sees a clear path to how we can provide stability and security to people who have insurance. And how he can help those who don't have insurance get the coverage they need.

HENRY: Can you clear up, where's the public option? Is it still on the table? Or is it off?

AXELROD: The president embraced the public option because he believes that we need to have competition and choice in the insurance system, in this pool that will be created for uninsured workers and small businesses who can't afford insurance now to buy it. And he believes that will be a boon for consumers, help them get the best deal, keep the insurance companies honest. He still believes that competition and choice is important.

HENRY: But does that mean the public option is still alive? AXELROD: I'm not going to deal with the details of the president's speech. Otherwise there would be no point in giving it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: All right. Another administration official says the president is considering laying out a more specific vision of health care reform.

If you'd like to find more of what you're seeing here on CNN, check out CNN.com/healthcare. There, you can even find out about the closest town hall meetings to you, the key players in this debate, the different plans, and, of course, the controversial sticking points to the plans.

A lack of new jobs is stunting any recovery from the recession. The Labor Department says first-time claims for jobless benefits did fall slightly last week, to 570,000. Still, that's almost double the number that signifies a healthy economy.

Continuing unemployment benefits rose to 6.25 million. That's likely to be reflected in the August unemployment rate, which is expected to show an uptick tomorrow.

Vice President Joe Biden gave an upbeat report on the economy today at Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. He says the stimulus is working despite the naysayers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, it all adds up to this, in my view, at least -- the Recovery Act has played a significant role in changing the trajectory of our economy and changing the conversation about the economy in this country. Instead of talking about the beginning of a depression, we're talking about the end of a recession eight months after taking office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, most economists will tell you the recession is ending, or already over, but the American people don't seem to buy it. Only one in 10 says the recession is over.

Fewer Americans feel things are going badly in the country. This CNN/Opinion Research Poll shows the number has improved with each survey to 69 percent. Go back to November, and that figure was 83 percent.

Public support for President Obama's economic plan has tumbled 13 percentage points since March. Just over half of Americans, 52 percent, now say they back the plan.

And Americans are divided on the impact the president has had on the recession. Thirty-nine percent say his policies have improved things, 34 percent say they made things worse, 27 percent say no effect at all. So, you've heard the poll numbers. What do you think?

We're conducting a "QuickVote" on my blog. Just go to CNN.com/Tony to vote.

Let's see where things stand right now. "Do you think the recession is over?" Eighty-seven percent say no; 13 percent, yes.

Firefighters are close to turning the corner today on the massive fire burning in northern Los Angeles County. Crews say they've got the eight-day-old wildfire almost 50 percent contained. Two hundred twenty square miles have burned. More than five dozen homes have been destroyed. Most people who evacuated have been allowed to go home.

Investigators say they've located the origin of the wildfire. They're treating the site as a crime scene, but they say it is too soon to tell if the fire was accidentally set or set on purpose.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: You are sending millions of dollars to Afghanistan to make life better for people that live there. Why is so much of it ending up in the hands of the Taliban?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The State Department now taking action following reports of drunken orgies, hazing, and other shocking behavior by private guards at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan.

Our Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty has done some digging and uncovered more disturbing actions by the hired guns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Embarrassment grows for the State Department over guards hired to protect the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan in the middle of a war.

IAN KELLY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: There were some things going on in Kabul which we were not aware of, but, frankly we should have been aware of them.

DOUGHERTY: A watchdog group reports and CNN confirms this past spring, guards from ArmorGroup owned by Wackenhut Services Inc. left the embarrass for downtown Kabul on a self-styled armed reconnaissance mission. It wasn't part of their job and they weren't trained for it.

Individuals with direct knowledge of the events pointed CNN to these pictures posted on the guards' Facebook pages. The report says those pictures show them hiding out in abandoned buildings and wearing Afghan dress against contract requirements to be in uniform.

What's more, they took the embassy's night-vision goggles and other equipment with them, sources confirm, leaving the embassy largely night-blind for several days. The company management gave them a letter of commendation, improperly using the State Department seal. It's all detailed in a report by the Project on Government Oversight, which also reveals drunken parties with lewd sexual conduct, including ritual hazing of recruits by supervisors.

Guards who objected were punished, the report says, describing "a pervasive breakdown in the chain of command and guard force discipline and morale," too few guards, overworked guards on duty, a majority of them speaking very little English. Commanders had to use pantomime to convey orders.

CNN has corroborated the charges in the report with several of the ArmorGroup guards.

For more than two years, the State Department sent letters to the contractor criticizing its poor performance. In this letter last September, the State Department warned the company its staffing shortages and long hours "gravely endanger performance of guard services in a high threat environment such as Afghanistan."

Yet just this past June, a senior State Department official told a Senate subcommittee security officers at the U.S. Embassy were satisfied.

WILLIAM MOSER, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: The regional security officer in Afghanistan has always reported that despite the contractual deficiencies, the performance on the ground by Armored Group North America has been and is sound.

DOUGHERTY: Senator Claire McCaskill, whose subcommittee on contractor oversight has investigated the contractor, says the warning signs were clear.

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: This is a contract that anybody with a cold, cruel eye, looking at the oversight of this contract, would say that there had been serious performance issues.

DOUGHERTY: Yet the State Department insists the embassy was well protected.

IAN KELLY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We don't believe that security has been compromised.

DOUGHERTY: The report's author says, "heads should roll, both in the private company and in the government."

DANIELLE BRIAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, POGO: The State Department has got to treat this as an urgent matter. I mean, we really are concerned about the quality of security at the embassy itself.

DOUGHERTY (on camera): Now, in light of that watchdog report, the State Department says it's sending a diplomatic security team to Kabul to investigate. It also confirms that the company has guard contracts at embassies and consulates in eight other countries. But so far, the company has not commented on the allegations about Afghanistan.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HARRIS: Are you ready for this? Another outrageous development in Afghanistan. Millions of dollars in U.S. aid going to subcontractors who then use some of the money to pay the Taliban for protection.

Joining me live now from Brookline, Massachusetts, Charles Sennott, executive editor of Global News Enterprises.

Charles, thanks for your time.

Let's jump in right on this story, because it's amazing.

The United States military, this country, lost 48 soldiers in Afghanistan in August. Now your publication's reporting is asking each of us to consider whether the United States, to a large extent, is financing its own enemy.

Make the connection here, please, between USAID dollars -- and I'm assuming that's what we're talking about here -- USAID development dollars, and the funding of Taliban fighters.

CHARLES SENNOTT, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, GLOBALPOST.COM: Well, we are GlobalPost.com. And our news organization has a correspondent on the ground, Jean McKenzie (ph), in Kabul, who has broken a story part of Global Post's special report on the Taliban that looks at exactly that, USAID dollars, on average $1 billion a year, and how that flows out to contractors to build roads, to build bridges, and other public works projects.

And in those areas where the Taliban is in control, which the U.S. concedes is more than 50 percent of the country, there are subcontractors who are paying out what amounts to a protection money, or a protection racket, really, where the Taliban takes a cut of that contract to assure the protection of those people working in the area that the Taliban controls. This is very much like organized crime...

HARRIS: Yes.

SENNOTT: ... in America, you know, which has operated on an even smaller margin than the Taliban takes. The Taliban is estimated to be taking 20 percent of these contracts in some cases.

HARRIS: All right, Charles. We're going to dive into that aspect, but you mentioned organized crime.

The most shocking bit of this story for our entire news team this morning, as we were talking about this segment, was the organization of what you described as this organized crime ring. It is shocking. The idea that you have -- and this comes from the reporting -- a Taliban office somewhere in Kabul -- and speak to this, please -- the suggestion is that this is an office that is making deals, making kickback deals.

SENNOTT: I don't mean to laugh. I share your outrage. But it is so outrageous, that the U.S. has not been able to get their hands on this and really understand how prevalent it is.

You know, at Global Post, our correspondent, Jean McKenzie (ph), lives there. She reports from there every day. She's a great reporter, and she has what we call ground truth. And that is, she knows what's going on. And this has been an open secret in Afghanistan...

HARRIS: An open secret?

SENNOTT: ... these contractors are doing it. An open secret.

And USAID has, to its credit, launched an investigation based on our story. And Congress has also said it will hold hearings on in matter, because it is outrageous that U.S. taxpayer dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars that are meant to go to build roads and bridges, are ending up as a cut to the Taliban. And that is something that is funding the Taliban.

The Taliban has faced diminishing revenue streams because of the -- really the downturn in the poppy crop, and also the successes of interdiction have made it -- forced the Taliban to look for other revenue. And this appears to be one area where they're going. So, it's good to see the U.S. government is finally going to dig in on this and actually take it seriously.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes, that's -- Charles, I get you tipping your hat to the USAID now for looking in to it. But, you know, that's after the fact.

Where's the breakdown here?

SENNOTT: It sure is.

HARRIS: Yes. I mean, is it all -- does it all rest at the feet of USAID, Congress? Where's the responsibility? Where did oversight just completely fall apart?

SENNOTT: Yes. This is a point that was brought up by Congressman Delahunt from Massachusetts, who is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which is going to hold the hearings.

What he said was, you know, we've had eight years of an administration, from his point of view, that did not have adequate oversight. They were putting a lot of money into the military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but not sufficient. You know, both people and money toward oversight of the billions of dollars, American taxpayer dollars, and international community dollars, that go into these projects.

And, you know, it's fair enough to say that it has been eight years of the previous administration, but now it is the Obama administration. And now they're going to have to pay a lot more attention to this than they have so far.

HARRIS: All right. Last question, Charles. And maybe this is a true or false with an explanation as well.

The diplomatic side of the State Department house, the diplomatic side, is taking priority over the development side of the State Department, where USAID is, which allows space for this kind of corruption on this kind of scale to take place.

What do you believe?

SENNOTT: Yes. Well, I think that's -- I think that's a fair point.

I think that what's happening is, both in the State Department and in USAID, their people do not know the ground. The U.S. officials there don't get out in the community. They don't get to hear things like the open secret that was going on with these organizations that are giving the money, that are ending up in contractors with the Taliban taking a cut.

Had they been free to go out and talk with Afghanis, to really understand the culture, I think they would have been aware of this much earlier. It took our reporter at Global Post to hear that on the ground and bring it to their attention.

HARRIS: Charles, give us the Web site again.

SENNOTT: GlobalPost.com. There's a site that is up now. And you can look at the Taliban series. It's the lead of the site right now.

HARRIS: It is a fascinating series of reports.

Charles Sennott, appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

If you or someone you know has lost a job, we've got some tips on getting the most out of the unemployment benefits.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

In northern Mexico, 17 patients at a drug rehab center were gunned down late yesterday. The mayor of Ciudad Juarez says authorities believe a drug gang attacked the men. Two patients were wounded. The city is across the border from El Paso, Texas.

We are awaiting a news conference out of California the top of the hour from the family of Jaycee Dugard. Dugard is the California woman abducted at age 11 and held for 18 years.

CNN, of course, will bring you that live. Can't wait for that. And 70 days after his death, Michael Jackson's being laid to rest this evening. He is being interred at the grand mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Glendale, California. The service is closed to the public.

We will get another check of our top stories in about 20 minutes.

Tomorrow, we get the latest monthly unemployment figures. If you've gotten a pink slip or you've been unemployed for a while, you're probably wondering, you certainly want to know how much longer those unemployment benefits will last.

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is here to tell us.

And boy, and one of the questions that comes to my mind, Gerri, is I'm wondering if that eligibility line differs from state to state.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes.

HARRIS: But, first of all, good to see you.

WILLIS: Good to see you, Tony. Yes, it's a great question.

You know, you wonder, how long are these unemployment benefits going to last? And the short answer is, at the very least, you're available for 46 weeks. That's 26 weeks of state unemployment benefits and 20 weeks of federal unemployment benefits. Now, whether you get more than that, it really depends on what the unemployment rate is in your state.

Now, check out these details.

If you have high unemployment, defined as over eight percent -- and about 32 states do -- you're eligible for up to 79 weeks of unemployment. If your state has unemployment above 6.5 percent, you get 72 weeks.

For states between 6 percent and 6.5 percent, you get up to 59 weeks. And finally, if your state is below 6 percent, about six states, with this bill you'll get 46 weeks.

Now, if you want to know how -- what the unemployment rate is in your state, check your local state unemployment insurance office.

And keep in mind here, Tony, there is legislation in Congress...

HARRIS: That's right.

WILLIS: ... that would extend benefits by another 10 to 20 weeks. But I know a lot of people are watching their calendars worrying, when do my benefits go out? And that's a little cheat sheet.

HARRIS: Yes. Speaking of which, what benefits, Gerri, are set to expire at the end of the year?

WILLIS: This is important, too, if you don't have a job.

The stimulus bill, in February, provided an extra 25 bucks -- remember this? -- in weekly unemployment checks. And this year you were able to exclude up to $2,400 in jobless benefits in your taxes.

Both of these provisions will expire at the end of the year unless Congress extends them. And health insurance provisions will be impacted, too.

The stimulus bill right now provides a subsidy that covers 65 percent of your COBRA premiums for up to nine months after you lose your job. But this break only applies if you lose your job by December 31, 2009.

You will not get the break on premiums if you lose your job next year -- Tony.

HARRIS: Great information here. I'm still a little confused by all of this.

WILLIS: It's a lot of detail.

HARRIS: Yes, it is. Is there anywhere I can go to get information?

WILLIS: Call your local unemployment insurance office. Find yours at servicelocator.org.

And if you're having trouble getting through on the line, try waiting until later in the week, because these places get busy Monday and Tuesday. Plus, a lot of these agencies are opening up phone lines for a few hours on the weekends to accommodate folks.

Keep up with the developments in Washington if you're unemployed. Go to unemployedworkers.org, and unemploymentlifeline.com.

And don't forget to tune in this weekend for "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

You're going to love this, Tony. We've got a very, very, very special guest.

HARRIS: That's a tease. I am there. I'm there normally.

WILLIS: I'm going to tell you who it is, because I think you'll be so excited, you will definitely tune in. Elmo from "Sesame Street" is joining us.

HARRIS: Elmo is going to be there?

WILLIS: Yes.

HARRIS: In the house with you?

WILLIS: Yes.

HARRIS: On "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" this weekend?

WILLIS: You got it.

HARRIS: I am so there. I would have been there anyway, but I'll get up early.

WILLIS: All right.

HARRIS: Get breakfast going.

WILLIS: OK. I'll see you then.

HARRIS: Pitch a tent, start a fire.

Gerri, appreciate it. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: And as a matter of fact, we're going to hear from Gerri a little later in the hour. She will have a story of a bed and breakfast where business is starting to bounce back.

We'll see you a little later in the hour, Gerri. Thank you.

WILLIS: Thank you.

HARRIS: Are you a parent worried that your child could get swine flu? Well, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is checking in with a fellow doctor on the front lines for tips on how you should handle this illness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Great work all the time, all day, every day, 24/7, at CNNMoney.com. Go there early and often for the latest financial news and analysis.

Want to get you to the New York Stock Exchange now for a look at the Big Board.

Just about, oh, three hours, straight up, into the trading day. And as you can see, the Dow has rebounded a bit. We started off in some negative territory, but we've turned things around, up 24 points. So, some gains for the Dow. NASDAQ is up eight points. We are following these numbers throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Massachusetts attorney general, just a short time ago, announced plans to run for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. Martha Coakley says she'll be a Democratic candidate in the special election to choose Kennedy's successor. She says she decided to run because government should work well and work for everyone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTHA COAKLEY, MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL: The performance of our government, at all levels, has been in some ways discouraging and disheartening. I believe it's now time to move beyond the idea that while it's good enough for government work, to a time when we demand a new standard of excellence.

And I know that I need to prove to voters across the commonwealth that I am the best candidate and that I would be the best new senator from Massachusetts. I believe I can do that and I look forward to that challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Sources tell CNN, actions by Kennedy's nephew may have influenced Coakley's decision to move so quickly. Those sources say Joseph Kennedy has been making calls to friends and political players to talk issues, but there is still skepticism about whether he will actually run.

Tracking the swine flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 36 children in the U.S. have died from the H1N1 virus. Almost all of them had underlying disabilities. CDC officials are holding a news conference right now outlining the spread of the virus.

All right, a swine flu vaccine is not expected to be available before the middle of next month. By then, many cases will likely surface. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has advice for you parents on when you should take your sick children to the emergency room.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The president's talking about this. The secretary of health is talking about this. Lots of concerns about swine flu.

So, we decided to come to an emergency room to find out what's really happening. The first thing we learned is that this ER is about 200 percent busier than it normally is. It probably doesn't need to be. And something else that may surprise you. Most kids that come here probably won't even get tested. Let's take a look.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, they say it was going to be like a two hour wait.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a sore throat, I have a headache, and I have a cough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The flu has hit the city. We know that. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Big time. Whether it's regular seasonal flu or the new H1N1 flu that everybody's talking about, we won't be certain today because we're no longer testing to try to decipher that out. It doesn't make a difference.

GUPTA: As a journalist it's been a little bit difficult to cover because, on one hand, we have heard about children dying for H1N1. In the spring we heard about that more so. And we know that this virus seems to affect younger people more so than older people. So what am I to do with that as a parent?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would recommend to families to really look at you child. Take away that H1N1 term and look at them as if they had the flu and think of several things. If your child is less than three months old and has a fever at any time, I would bring that child in to be seen. If your child is having difficulty breathing, if they are dehydrated, that is, they're very dried out, they're vomiting and they're not able to keep fluids down, they need to come in and be seen. If your child isn't perking up in between fevers, then you should speak with your family pediatrician or family doctor.

If we can help limit the number of children that come to the emergency department just to the ones that really need services that we're going to provide differently that might need to be in the hospital, for instance, if we can help limit that, then we definitely can help make this work better for all the kids.

GUPTA: Despite everything that the media is reporting, this virus just doesn't sound that bad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The -- I think right now, yes. Right now, we need to think of this as the flu. We need to keep our -- we need to keep our guard up.

GUPTA: What percentage of people who get swine flu are going to need the ER?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think only a very small percentage, a tiny percentage, of those numbers will have to come into the hospital.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You know, there are ways you can follow the spread of the swine flu online. In fact, scientists hope the Internet will play a big role in fighting the virus. Josh is here to explain.

What do you have for us, Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I learned a new word this week about this.

HARRIS: What's that?

LEVS: Infodemiology.

HARRIS: Yes, I can't even spell it.

LEVS: Yes. Well, it's pretty much what it sounds like.

HARRIS: Sure.

LEVS: I mean, what they're doing is they're hoping that the sharing of information that we have these days will revolutionize the ways that people protect themselves from swine flu in this particular case.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: And let me show you some of the key sites to know.

First of all, a lot of people don't know, we have our own special section devoted to this at cnn.com. And you can usually find it through a little link under top topics at the top, H1N1. So throughout the season as it becomes a growing concern, we will continue to update this with all sorts of sites -- protecting your family, worldwide concerns.

Also you can get advice directly from Sanjay at his blog. He's going to keep updating that, too.

Now, take a look at this. I want you to see some of the key Web sites people are using to track this virus. This is called Healthmap. It's really interesting what they do. Right now you're seeing it look at a lot of different diseases. But I clicked on just the virus, H1N1. And what you see here is everywhere that there's a yellow mark on the map, that's somewhere that there's been a reported case.

You can also choose to just go to the United States. You can even zoom to any state, any city. And when you get there, you can click on some of these and get some information about what's known in those particular cases. It will tell you what the report says. Healthmap.

By the way, all the links I have for you are in one place. You don't need to write any down. I want to show you two more, then I'll show you where to get all these.

Google Flu Trend. This is really interesting. Google does this thing in general. If you Google a topic, they keep track of that and they check out trends. If suddenly somebody becomes really famous, lots of people are Googling them, right?

HARRIS: Yes, yes. Yes.

LEVS: So they've created a special trends page specifically for the flu to see what parts of the world are suddenly doing a lot of Googling about the swine flu. The theory being, if suddenly people in Australia or New Zealand or some specific section of the United States or anywhere else are suddenly Googling this a lot, maybe there's a reason. Maybe there's a local concern. That's a way of alerting people.

Finally, don't want to go without mentioning flu.gov, which is run by the administration. This is a government website. And they are going to be updating this with the latest on the vaccine, whatever there may be, and also on your concerns and advice.

So everything right there, everything I just showed you, cnn.com/josh. It's all right there. I'm going to hook it to you too, cnn.com/tony. Also, I posted it there to Facebook and Twitter. And you can link on these. You can let us know what sites work for you. And if they don't, let us know. We'll (INAUDIBLE).

HARRIS: Exactly. That's good. Just get the information.

LEVS: Yes, it's great stuff.

HARRIS: Yes, there are a lot of concerns out here. Just get the information.

Josh, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

LEVS: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: A growing number of you really concerned about the H1N1 virus. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows 39 percent of you worry that a family member will get swine flu. In May, only 17 percent have voiced that concern. When asked if you plan to get vaccinated against the virus, 66 percent say yes, 32 percent, no.

A caution, some viewers may find the images in this next report difficult to watch. An 11-day-old boy in India is alive today, quite a feat considering he was born with his heart outside the chest. Here's CNN's Sara Sidner in New Delhi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He hasn't even been named yet, but doctors say he's a medical miracle. This tiny baby boy was born with his heart sticking straight out of his chest. What you are seeing is video of doctors putting a synthetic membrane over the exposed heart to protect it. This rare birth defect appears in roughly eight out of every 1 million live births.

DR. AKSHAY KUMAR BISOI, CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEON: Most of them, they are stillborn, or they die immediately after birth. (INAUDIBLE) life, without any procedure, is hardly 36 hours.

SIDNER: This baby has survived more than a week. What is even more amazing is that he made it despite the difficult trip to the hospital. His destitute parents live hundreds of miles away on the border of Nepal, in a small Indian village. The day after he was born, his father and grandfather wrapped the boy in a towel, brought him to a train and sat in the cheapest seats available. This is what those compartments often look like, stuffed, with no air conditioning.

"Reach New Delhi was tough. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it. But I made up my mind that I had to go," his young father says.

SIDNER (on camera): A very rough journey for a baby with this condition.

BISOI: Yes, yes. It's completely exposed. Heart outside. Hot and humid. Then traveling in a general compartment, crowded.

SIDNER (voice-over): Doctors at government-run All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi are trying to save him. They may have to remove part of his ribs to make room for his heart. Dr. Akshay Bisoi says the hospital has had two similar cases in the past and both babies died.

BISOI: It's supreme what is called nature (ph) that makes the man, but that also has given it a defect. And you are daring to correct it. You are daring to correct the defect of the mother nature. That itself is quite adventurous.

SIDNER: But the delicate surgical adventure was successful. The boy is alive and recovering after three-and-a-half hours of surgery.

Sara Sidner, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Singer Chris Brown -- wow, amazing pictures, huh? Sorry. Singer Chris Brown appeared on "LARRY KING" last night talking about his relationship with Rihanna and his arrest for attacking her. You will get a chance to make up your own mind about what he had to say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE) now. Investigators in southern California are trying to determine if a wildfire north of Los Angeles was intentionally set. The so-called station fire was set last week and has burned more than 140,000 acres. Firefighters say the fire is about 50 percent contained.

NASA says no need to move. It doesn't expect space debris identified near the International Station Space and shuttle discover Discovery to affect operations. It had considered moving the station and discovery out of the way, but now says that is not necessary.

In just a few minutes we hope to learn more about how Jaycee Dugard is doing. Dugard is the California woman abducted at age 11 and held for 18 years. A spokesman for the Dugard family is expected to make a statement at the top of the hour. We will, of course, bring you that statement live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Google search engine is playing a case in -- playing a role in the Dugard case. Phillip Garrido is charged in connection with the kidnapping and rape of Jaycee Dugard. His van appears to have been spotted during a Google map visit to the street in 2007. Our Patrick Oppman has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you type in Phillip Garrido's name, you get over a million hits, see aerial images of his neighborhood and views of the street that were created by a car with a large camera on top of it. Google says they mapped out this neighborhood in 2007.

OPPMAN (voice-over): When Internet bloggers looked at the street view of Garrido's home, they found something, well, strange. As the Google car drives past the house, Garrido vans pulls out and appears to follow it. Internet chat rooms are buzzing with speculation. Two people who know Phillip Garrido told CNN that this was his van.

OPPMAN (on camera): And the van follows the car for about two blocks here on Bowling (ph) Lane.

OPPMAN (voice-over): Until the car reaches Vieira (ph) Avenue.

OPPMAN (on camera): Was it Garrido in the van at this intersection or just a coincidence? In the pictures, the Google car drives off, and the van fades from view.

OPPMAN (voice-over): Did Garrido see the camera? Was he behind the wheel? A mystery that even Google does not have the answer to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wow.

All right, did you see Chris Brown's interview with our Larry King? Got many, many people fired up. Larry tried to get Brown to explain what happened the night he beat up his pop star girlfriend, Rihanna. But he claims he doesn't even remember attacking her. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE": When you hear about all the things that the police and the reports say you did, how do you react to that?

CHRIS BROWN, SINGER: I don't -- like, I'll just look at it and, go, wow. Like, I'm in shock because, first of all, that's not who I am as a person, and that's not who I promise I want to be. So I just -- when I look at, like, the police reports or I hear about the police reports, I don't know what to think. I just don't know what to think. It's just, like, wow.

KING: You remember doing it?

BROWN: No.

KING: You don't remember doing it?

BROWN: I don't -- I don't -- it's, like, it's crazy to me. I'm like, wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Brown and Rihanna are no longer together, but he tells our Larry King he still loves her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: When was the last time you had contact with her?

BROWN: It's been a couple months because I think that's when the actual stay-away order was in effect. From there we haven't had contact at all. KING: You love her?

BROWN: Definitely.

KING: In love with her?

BROWN: Definitely.

KING: Would you spend a lifetime with her?

BROWN: Would I spend a lifetime? Well, I'm young. I'm 20. So...

KING: Well, let's say, could you conceive of that, down the road?

BROWN: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Chris Brown's mother says her son is not violent. So, why the brutal attack on Rihanna? Our Larry King put that question to Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What do you think caused you to be violent? I mean, you have to think about it. Everybody -- we all think about ourselves, why did I lose my temper? Why did I get angry over this?

BROWN: I mean that's -- relationships I wouldn't say so OK I think in -- just in relationships in general, there's chances where you lose your temper or like arguments get heated or whatever the case may be. But that's -- that's -- I just think -- I'm not saying domestic violence is a part of relationship.

I feel like that just there -- we're young. We're both young. So nobody taught us how to love one another. Nobody taught us a book on how to control our emotions or our anger, so it's like, I just -- I'm not trying to fall on the fact that I'm young. I'm just saying it's just that it's a lot of stuff that I wish I could have -- I wish I could have changed that night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Don't you want to hear Rihanna's reaction to that interview?

We asked for your comments on the Chris Brown interview on our blog. Here's some of what you had to say.

This one from J.R. "I watched Chris Brown on Larry King. He did not seem to really get it. I got the feeling he doesn't understand the severity of what he did."

And this from Char, who writes, "I think that all this pressure that they are putting on him needs to stop." And from Mikki, "I'm afraid that Mr. Brown does not realize the consequences of his actions and seems to be in denial. He is making excuses for his behavior and there is no excuse for abuse, period."

All right, still to come, looking to spend some money on a luxury vacation? Apparently not many of us are either. A Connecticut couple built their business on that kind of spending. We will show you how they are trying to survive. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Come and stay a while. That's what a Connecticut couple is urging people to do. They're the owners of a bed and breakfast and they saw their business drop off during the recession. But things are starting to turn around. Our Gerri Willis has the story in today's "Money & Main Street" report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the heart of Litchfield County, Connecticut, are its bed and breakfasts, like the one Dean and Jean Marie Johnson bought in the town of Norfolk five years ago. At the time it seemed like a cash cow. But last year, along with the economy, bookings dropped off, even steeper than the national average of 7.3 percent.

JEAN MARIE JOHNSON, OWNER, MOUNTAIN VIEW INN: We were down about 20, 25 percent overall in terms of bookings. And that was really a reflection of the economy. People holding back on discretionary spending. This year, it started out fairly weak. The bad weather, the wet spring, the wet, you know, season didn't help.

WILLIS: But help was on the way. This is the first summer of the Infinity Music Hall and Bistro, a newly refurbished public music venue in town making Norfolk an overnight destination.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that it's becoming a destination for people. I know the inns are filling up. I know the restaurant is busy. The restaurant next door is busy. So I'm sure we're making an impact.

WILLIS: It's an impact the Johnsons are starting to feel, but not enough of one to sit back and relax. Dean and Jean Marie are taking all possible steps to bring overnight visitors in the door.

DEAN JOHNSON, OWNER, MOUNTAIN VIEW INN: We can call this our budget room, but actually a lot of people find that it's small, it's intimate and it's a lot less expensive than some of the other rooms.

WILLIS (on camera): What's the price differential?

D. JOHNSON: The price here is about -- maybe $100 less than some of the more expensive rooms down the hall.

WILLIS (voice-over): These days budget means bookable. The Johnsons see more guests in this room than any other. And they're willing to negotiate.

J. JOHNSON: Given the fact that people are stretched and more concerned about their discretionary funds, we're much, much more flexible. So if someone says we can only stay one night, we almost always accommodate them for that one-night stay.

WILLIS: And one-night stays are on the rise, in part thanks to Infinity. Two hundred scheduled shows, sold-out performances and big- name bands have meant needed bookings for Mountain View Inn.

D. JOHNSON: I think it's probably added maybe 20 percent more than we would have had previously.

WILLIS: And for the remainder of the summer season . . .

D. JOHNSON: We're pretty much sold out every weekend.

WILLIS: Gerri Willis, CNN, Norfolk, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Love some (ph) tower of power. Tune in tonight for more "Money & Main Street" with Ali Velshi and the CNN Express on the road across America. Plus, why you need to prepare for lower pay raises and rising inflation. "Money & Main Street," 8:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

One company that made its name on quality is finding a way to thrive in this challenging economic environment. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: This is the show that should be -- I'm sorry. Economists say -- Kyra's here -- we're on the road to recovery. What do economists know, really? We'll have one on the program tomorrow, challenge all of those assertions.

Got some new numbers here that suggest we're not there yet, by any stretch of the imagination. Take a look at this. Almost nine out of 10 of you say the economy is still stuck in a recession. Well, what do you think? We're conducting a little quick vote on the blog. Go to cnn.com/tony to vote, if you'd like to. So let's see where we stand right now. Do you think the recession is over? Yes, 82 percent say no, 18 percent say yes. We'll keep it up for a few more hours.

Got to tell you something, somebody forgot to tell Burberry. Burberry?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Burberry, it's a cologne. Oh, man, it smells so good. You should get some, by the way.

HARRIS: What, I don't smell -- do I have an issue with my fragrance?

PHILLIPS: Well, no. I do like the new getup here, though. But you could use a little Burberry.

HARRIS: So Burberry here. We're talking about this 150-year-old luxury label of Great Britain, thriving with new stores, younger focus, younger audience. Jim Boulden now in London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Luxury brand Burberry has spent the past three years try to refreshen its image. Wile the 153-year-old British brand has kept the distinct checked pattern and, of course, the trench coats, it's expanding in many ways. More accessories and products for men, more clothing for children, and more stores to go along with the higher profile, with the help of a new model, Emma Watson of "Harry Potter" fame.

In May, Burberrys lit up the New York skyline with its new American headquarters on Madison Avenue. Two new stores will open there in October. In fact, the company is opening more than a dozen new stores this year from Toronto, to Dubai, to Singapore, to Beijing, right in the teeth of a recession. In March, CEO Angela Ahrendts said a recession was a great time to expand.

ANGELA AHRENDTS, CEO, BURBERRY: I think the thing that people forget in a recession is sometimes it's when the best deals are made. So, I mean, it's amazing in certain countries, the real estate that's being offered to the brand (ph).

BOULDEN: By opening new stores, Burberry has been able to report an increase in sales and market share. While at the same time, sale of Burberry items inside big department stores has suffered this year.

Jim Boulden, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You're rocking and rolling, go time.

PHILLIPS: Get some of that cologne.

HARRIS: I'll going to do it today.

Pushing forward with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with this lady, Kyra Phillips.