Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

New Optimism for the Gulf; Consumer Reports Pans iPhone 4; Assessing Haiti's Troubles; Surprise Deal Between Cuba and Catholic Church Results in 52 Freed Prisoners; Former President Clinton Visits Haiti Six Months After Earthquake; Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner Suffers Major Heart Attack; BP to Begin Testing on New Cap to Contain Oil Leak; President Obama's Popularity on Economy Declines; Floods in China, Storms and Heat Waves Throughout US.; George Steinbrenner Has Heart Attack; New AIDS, HIV Strategy

Aired July 13, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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


ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Kyra is off this morning and here's what's happening.

Day 85 of the BP oil disaster and the end finally may be in sight. It all depends on the new containment cap and if it passes a crucial test.

A new poll shows that confidence in the president is slipping to new lows. And the anti-incumbent mood is surging.

And you've heard the complaints about the iPhone 4 and its dropped calls. Now "Consumer Reports" is weighing in. And the news is not good.

But first day 85 of the Gulf oil disaster and there is new hope this morning that today could mark the beginning of the end. "Could" being the key word.

You're looking live there. Here's the latest. BP has successfully placed a new containment cap on the gushing well. The company says that tight-fitting cap may be able to contain all of the escaping oil.

Now today the company will begin critical tests on the cap's effectiveness. That testing could take as long as 48 hours. BP says the ultimate solution now appears within reach. The company says the so-called kill operations to seal the well could take place at the end of this month.

For the very latest let's go now to CNN's Ed Lavandera. He's in New Orleans for us.

So, Ed, today is a critical day clearly. They'll be closing the valve on that new containment cap for first time. So what exactly does that mean?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just wrapped up a technical briefing from BP officials. And basically what we're waiting on now is for this -- what's called the integrity testing of the well to take place. Now we've been told that that would start Tuesday morning. We're now told that that will begin around midday today. There's some other testing -- preliminary testing that's going on. But essentially once they begin that process, that integrity testing, could take anywhere between 6 to 48 hours.

And it will include closing off the valves on that new containment cap so that they can take solid readings of the pressure inside of that containment cap and inside that well.

And even though it might sound a little counterintuitive, when I first heard it I was a little confused by it. But they want a higher pressure. Lower pressure means that oil is escaping from other parts of that well and that would not be a good situation at this point.

So the integrity of that well is the key aspect of all of this. That testing is expected now to begin around midday today according to the latest briefing we just received from BP officials.

And that will give them -- after that that will be -- that will allow them to figure out exactly how they proceed next. Whether or not the cap alone will be able to take care of everything or if they will -- if the pressure is not high enough, will they need to be able to bring oil to the surface through various different pipes and tubes and all of that, to bring the pipe -- the oil to the surface.

So we're waiting to hear on what the next move will be and these tests that will begin later on in the next few hours will tell them the information they need and how they can move ahead -- Alina.

CHO: Next 48 hours clearly critical. Ed Lavandera live for us in New Orleans.

Ed, thank you.

And BP could be facing yet another PR nightmare. On Capitol Hill some lawmakers want to know if BP lobbied for the release of the bomber of Pan Am Flight 103.

Here's the explanation. Abdelbaset Meghari was sentenced to life in prison for the 1988 bombing of Lockerbie, Scotland. 270 people died, most of them Americans. Now there are reports that BP lobbied the UK from Megrahi's release. That's to help land a massive oil contract with Libya's government.

Scottish force released Megrahi on so-called compassionate grounds after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

More developments out of Uganda this morning following a string of deadly bomb attacks on World Cup fans. There are now new worries about Al Shabaab. That's the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the Uganda attacks. And now they are earning congratulations from al Qaeda.

Sunday's attacks in Kampala ripped through crowds at a restaurant and a rugby field killing at least 74 people. The investigation is moving forward. Several arrests but no official charges yet. And police say they've discovered an unexploded bomb device nearby at a nightclub.

Meanwhile, al Qaeda's English language magazine "Inspire" is cheering the attacks, calling it, quote, "a great celebration."

Among the 74 people killed an American volunteer reportedly working with the charity Invisible Children, a nonprofit working with Ugandan students. Twenty-five-year-old Nate Henn is his name. He was fatally injured on the rugby field where hundreds had gathered for the World Cup final.

This is the memorial page on his group's Web site. His fellow volunteers remember him as selfless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADAM FINCK, INVISIBLE CHILDREN COLLEAGUE: He was a big guy and he commanded a lot of respect. He goes around in a very -- in the gentlest way possible.

And Nate really defied the norm. He could have gone out and tried to, you know, find a well-paying job. But he spent the last year and a half dedicating his time for free. He was curious about life. He was willing to give everything he had.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: And in an awful twist of fate, the victim's brother -- Nate Henn's brother was injured in plane crash while he was on his way home to Delaware to be with his grief stricken family.

Kyle Henn was apparently on board a small plane that crashed yesterday in North Carolina.

CNN affiliate WTVD reports that the pilot was killed but Henn is said to be in fair condition at a nearby hospital.

A shaky economy apparently hurting President Obama's popularity. That's according to two new polls. More than half of those polled say the White House isn't doing a good enough job.

Only 43 percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance on the economy. That's down from 50 percent in June. That number is nearly mirrored by a CBS poll which puts the president's approval rating on the economy at 45 percent.

Money woes are top of mind for many Americans. No surprise there. So this could be a sign of anti-incumbent moves. Just four months ahead of the critical midterm elections.

CNN, of course, crunching all the numbers for our own poll of polls. Look for that later this morning.

Senate Democrats may be just days away from winning a final vote on Wall Street reform. Two Republican senators, Scott Brown and Olympia Snowe, have reportedly jumped on board, giving Democrats that 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority.

A procedural vote is expected today. That of course will set the stage for a final vote as early as Thursday. If it passes, the bill then heads to the Oval Office for the president's signature.

The overhaul -- listen to this -- is 2,315 pages long. And it gives regulators a lot of leeway. Some of their decisions on oil and commodities futures could affect how much you pay for everyday stuff like milk and gas.

Their decisions on banks could determine how easy it is for you to get a loan and how much you pay in credit card and mortgage fees.

Well, critics of Apple's newest iPhone are getting some validation this morning. "Consumer Reports" now concurs there is a reception problem with the iPhone 4. Surprise, surprise.

It says it cannot recommend buying it due to problem was the new iPhone's antenna.

CNN's Josh Levs is here to break it all down for us.

So, Josh, this is a pretty big deal, isn't it?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a really big deal. You know Apple prides itself of thinking of everything and coming up with a hot new gadget that everyone is going to want.

And let's put this in context for you. When this came out, this Apple iPhone 4, it was -- according to Apple -- the single biggest launch in the entire company's history. Every product they've ever had, they say nothing matched the launch of the iPhone 4. So the last thing they wanted to hear was successive complaints about serious reception problems.

It started with some people out there saying it was happening to them. It picked up on blogs and on the Internet, and now "Consumer Reports," which is one of the most popular places in the world to decide whether or not something is worth buying, now they are saying they cannot recommend it.

Here is what an official from "Consumer Reports" is saying the problem is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL REYNOLDS, CONSUMER REPORTS: When we tested this device, what we found is that if you hold it a certain way, such that your finger is over a gap in the case in the bottom left-hand side of it, the reception -- antenna reception is reduced considerably, such that we think people could lose calls in the middle of a call as their reception goes down.

We like a lot of things about this phone but it does have this design flaw.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Let me talk -- I'm going to talk through this. I want to (INAUDIBLE) see exactly what we're talking about. I have an iPhone 4 in my hand. If you look way in -- I'll get up against the camera -- that little line right there, it's little tiny black line, is where the problem is.

If you're hold thing phone and you somehow put your finger over that line, our fingers conduct a lot of electricity, and what can happen is that can mess up the antenna. That's their antenna system right there.

We have a bigger picture of it here on the Web for you. You can it on Money.com. It's that line. That's the concern.

Now there are some obvious ways that some people aren't having problem with this. In fact the person I borrowed this from is not having a problem. She has a case on it. You can get a case. You can get a skin. This kind of thing.

But what "Consumer Reports" is saying is that there should be a free and permanent solution to a problem like this.

And there's also another thing you should know about. Take a look here because Apple has said that they believe the problem is a software glitch. Can you -- I don't know. And we're not getting great reception in the studio right now.

But they have said the problem is that it looks like you're losing -- when you're really not. They said that there was a software problem that made it look like you have a lot of bars when really you have fewer and that touching a certain way makes the drop number to -- it makes the bars drop to where it actually is.

But what's happened today is "Consumer Reports" has now come out and they had questioned whether it's really a software problem. They think it's a hardware flaw. A problem with the antenna. They want to see a permanent fix.

And we want to hear from you about this. We're talking with you about this today online. You got my pages here. We're talking about it at Facebook and Twitter. I'm at JoshlevsCNN. You can also give me the blog, CNN.com/Josh.

Let us know if you have one of these, if it's caused any problems for you, if it's worked for you, and what you are doing. And also let us know what you want to hear from Apple about all this.

Do you want to see it redesigned? Do you want to see just a little tiny patch you can stick on your phone there?

This is instructive to companies all over. And one more to put -- a way to put this in context. Alina, let's keep in mind, Apple has had a series of problems lately. As you remember, there was a prototype phone that got out a lot earlier as they or earlier than they wanted it to. And a way they didn't want it to get out. They have been dealing with that PR nightmare for a while.

And now they have than "Consumer Reports" telling everyone they don't think it should be bought. But a little silver lining for them. "Consumer Reports" says aside from this issue they think it's a great phone. They think -- a lot of the features that are there are fantastic and they would be recommending if Apple could only come along and fix that one thing.

CHO: I mean, the big question, Josh, really, is does anybody care? I mean this is the bestselling gadget in Apple's history? 1.7 million in just three days. And so we'll have to wait and see.

LEVS: Yes, they want even more sales. But absolutely, you're right. Selling big time.

CHO: All right, Josh, thank you.

LEVS: You got it.

CHO: Stick around. Coming up next, we are going to go live to Haiti with our own Anderson Cooper.

Anderson sat down exclusively with former President Bill Clinton, the U.S. envoy to Haiti. We're going to have that interview and Anderson live for us in just four minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back.

A surprise deal between Cuba and the Roman Catholic Church. The first wave of freed political prisoners is now out of Cuba and beginning their new lives in Spain.

Cuba released 52 prisoners in all. The release came just hours after former Cuban leader Fidel Castro addressed the nation on television.

The prisoners had been locked up since 2003. That's when the government cracked down on political opposition.

Spain will give them residency permission and working papers. Castro did not talk about the release yesterday in his TV appearance.

Former President Bill Clinton says he does not think the international community is giving up on Haiti six months after that devastating earthquake.

CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke exclusively with the former president last night. He joins us now live from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Hey, Anderson, good morning. So what did he tell you? ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Alina, there's -- a lot of people here, especially in the Haitian government, are very concerned that the international aid pledges that have been made to this country by countries around the world simply have not shown up. $5.3 billion has been pledged over the next 18 months for Haiti. Some of that simply in debt relief. More money has been pledged for years after that.

But of that $5.3 billion, only about two percent, or two to five percent of that money has actually been sent. That money is crucial in order to get development projects going, to get this rubble removed. The rubble is still everywhere. People can't move back into their neighborhoods to get new homes to be built. It all costs money. And until that donor money shows up, it seems like it's not going to happen.

President Clinton says he's going to dedicate the next seven weeks to really trying to get donors to set out a schedule of when they are actually going to start to send the money so that the Haitian government here and the Clinton commission that he's co-chairing with Haiti's prime minister, can actually start to distribute some of that money and get some of the long-term recovery and rebuilding projects going.

I also talked to the president about a problem that we found and we've heard from a lot of the NGOs, non-governmental organizations, the charities that are working down here. Basically, when they're bringing in emergency supplies and building supplies for the Haitian people, for the relief effort, they're getting hit at the airport or at the ports with taxes by customs officials. Taxes of 20 percent.

We brought in $5,000 worth of relief supplies from one organization that we were requested to, and a customs official has tried to charge us $1,000 for those relief supplies that's basically going for the benefit of the Haitian people. That's something the president said the Haitian government should not be doing. He's trying to get it changed. I talked to former President Clinton about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I agree with that, but keep in mind, I -- it is not for lack of effort. We have met with the groups in the United States, representing over 90 percent of the funds spent by NGOs here. They all promised to work with us through the commission to coordinate their activities, to put them on the internet, to describe how much money they put in Haiti and where it was being spent.

COOPER: Because unless they are coordinated and working with you --

CLINTON: Exactly.

COOPER: It makes no sense. A lot of NGOs are running into problems when they're bringing in emergency supplies, building supplies. They're getting hit at customs with taxes or huge storage fees. We brought in for one organization $5,000 worth of equipment for building --

CLINTON: And it wasn't pre-approved, so they made them pay fees.

COOPER: We got hit up for a thousand dollars in fees. Twenty percent of the cost. And a lot of NGOs say that happens, and the government gets that storage fee money.

CLINTON: Yes. I am -- as we get the donor money in here, I believe I will succeed at getting government to drop that fee. The government does not apply to NGOs that pre-registered and already working here. But when NGOs come in for the first time and they're not pre-registered, and they don't anything about them, they do.

COOPER: But even NGOs that are working here, the ones that --

CLINTON: I've tried to get them to change this whole customs system.

COOPER: They should fast track emergency supplies.

CLINTON: They should, and they shouldn't charge them any customs duty. Zero. It's not right.

COOPER: Is that basically about trying to generate money for the government?

CLINTON: It's what I call the choke-hold theory of revenues. What do people have to use to get into Haiti? They have to use the ports and airports.

COOPER: So that's where you hit up people for money.

CLINTON: And so, that's where the money flows through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So, former President Clinton saying he's trying to get that changed. There has been progress here. Hundreds of millions have been donated and spent on saving people as lives. Many, many lives have been saved. Many lives improved. People are getting water, people are getting food in these camps. More than 1.6 million people are still homeless, living in the makeshift camps.

The next step, of course, though, is trying to figure out how get them out of the camps. Removing the rubble, getting them back, either in their old neighborhoods, rebuilding homes there, or creating new communities outside of Port-au-Prince. The more people who leave Port-au-Prince, frankly, the better. If they can get their job opportunities and new homes and communities built outside this city. In case the next earthquake comes. Alina?

CHO: Anderson, I know you made a commitment to this story long ago. And you're doing your show from Port-au-Prince again tonight. What's on tap for tonight?

COOPER: We're going to be looking again more at how the money has been spent. Where has the money gone? What money is still promised and not been delivered? We're looking to see how countries have lived up or not lived up to the promises that they've made. And the money that has been donated, where exactly has that gone? So people at home can see where their money has been spent, how it's been spent, and what's happening here on the ground.

CHO: And how they can help, potentially. Anderson Cooper, live for us from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Anderson, thank you, as always.

We want to pass along some breaking news that's just coming in to our CNN newsroom. Legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has apparently suffered a major heart attack in Tampa That's according to WABC, the New York affiliate and CNN affiliate. He's apparently in extremely critical condition.

Steinbrenner had just turned 80 years old on July 4th. He's owned the Yankees since 1973, the longest in club history. During that time, the Yankees won 11 pennants and seven World Series titles.

Again, legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner reportedly suffering a major heart attack. We are following this developing story. And we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: We wanted to return to breaking news just coming in to CNN. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner apparently has suffered a major heart attack in Tampa. That is according to WABC, a CNN affiliate. WABC is reporting that Steinbrenner is in extremely critical condition. He is 80 years old.

Now, day 85 of the Gulf oil disaster. BP plans to begin testing a new cap on that ruptured well today. The cap could contain all of the oil, some of it, or none. Testing could last up to two days. Possibly longer.

And the shaky economy is hurting president Obama's popularity, according to two new polls. More than half of those polled say the White House isn't doing a good enough job. Only 43 percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance on the economy. That's down from 50 percent in June. That number is nearly mirrored by a CBS poll, which put the president's approval rating on the economy at 45 percent.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back. Turning now to China where it is seeing something of the worst flooding in years. Just look at those pictures. Dozens of people are dead or missing. The flooding has destroyed tens of thousands of homes, and has forced nearly a million people to evacuate the local area. Heavy rains are causing some major lakes and tributaries along the Yangtze River to rise to alarming levels. Thousands of soldiers are rescuing trapped residents and reinforcing levees.

Back in this country, we've got some stormy weather. Not as bad as what's happening in China, clearly, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEROLOGIST: No, not quite.

CHO: Good morning. What's going on?

MARCIANO: Good morning, Alina. We do have rain in some areas that saw a lot of rainfall yesterday. They are seeing it again today. Memphis, Tennessee, check this out. Four and a half inches of rain, 24 hours. And that's just yesterday. They've already seen a lot of rain today. Newport to Arkansas seeing over three inches. And Knoxville, Tennessee, seeing 2 1/2 inches yesterday.

The other spots that we're seeing a little bit of rainfall is across the northeast. We saw temperatures in the lower to mid 90s yesterday in Central Park. So it was a sizzling hot and humid day with bad air quality. Today some of that rain cleaning the air out just a little bit. The rain will be on the increase as we go through this afternoon.

Philadelphia, back through Dover, Delaware, that's where the more heavy rain has been so far this morning. But now you see all of it rolling up the turnpike there. As we go through the next couple of hours, I think the rain will be getting a little more heavy in the New York City metropolitan area and the tri-state area there.

Now, Louisville, back through Nashville, Memphis and through Little Rock, this line of thunderstorms has been dumping a lot of heavy rain. Nothing terribly severe as far as wind or hail damage. But lots of rain, and we have flash flood watches and warnings that posted for parts of Little Rock, Memphis, and back through Nashville.

And then once this little cluster of thunderstorms rolls off towards the east, later on today we get a bit of help from the sun and jet stream, and severe thunderstorms a possibility. Northern Alabama and through northern parts of Georgia, and also northern parts of South and North Carolina, with heavy thunderstorms including some rain and maybe some hail with that as well.

As far as temperatures this afternoon, 97 degrees in Dallas. We have heat advisories out again for parts of New Orleans, with heat indexes could be up and over 105 degrees again today. The wind and the seas in the Gulf of Mexico are relatively calm, so that's good news. And then 77 degrees out in Los Angeles, where in Anaheim tonight, the All-Star game is happening. Weather couldn't be better for that. Alina?

CHO: All right, Rob, thank you. We want to tell you about breaking news that we are following for you here in the CNN newsroom. According to CNN affiliate WABC, legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has suffered a massive heart attack. The report says that he is in extremely critical condition. He has had health problems over the years. Steinbrenner, of course, the legendary owner of the Yankees, has owned the team since 1973. During which time the Yankees won seven World Series titles. He just turned 80 years old on July 4th. We are following this breaking news, and we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: We are following some breaking news here in the CNN NEWSROOM. According to a report by CNN affiliate WABC, legendary Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner has suffered a massive heart attack. He is said to be in extremely critical condition. Steinbrenner just turned 80 years old on July 4th.

We want to go now to Stephen Smith, the sports commentator, formerly with ESPN, has appeared frequently here on CNN.

Stephen, talk a little bit about Steinbrenner and his health problems. I may be mistaken but hasn't he had many health problems over the years. especially of late?

STEPHEN A. SMITH, SPORTS COMMENTATOR (via telephone): He's had many health problems over the years, strokes things of that nature. He suffered a massive heart attack, obviously. The handwriting is on the wall. It's going on for quite some time that's why his sons, Hank and Hal took over the Yankees organization several years ago. But, we all know he's the boss. That's what we know George Steinbrenner as. For some people, you know, that's the right way to describe him.

For me, it's an affectionate and complimentary way to describe him because I've been a die-hard Yankee fan, a native New Yorker, born in the Bronx, and raised in Queens. I was not even allowed to watch the Yankees until I was 18 years old. And I grew up idolizing this man, and I consider him to be the greatest owner in sports history as far as I'm concerned. He's a great, great man and just wishes him and his family the best. Right now, the news does not seem that good.

CHO: Most certainly doesn't. Stephen, I want to tell you -- I want to ask you because I know have you a lot of sources in the sports world. Have you spoken to anyone inside the Yankees organization about this latest development with Steinbrenner?

SMITH: You know, believe it or not, no because the latest development is something that's -- actually what it is. It's the latest development. It just happened today. I spoke to Reggie Jackson, you know, the hall of famer that played for the Yankees, that stared several world's (ph) championships and then the smack three home runs in 1978, I believe, it was the year against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game six of the world series. I just spoke to Reggie Jackson on my radio show yesterday. And, you know, I didn't even ask about George Steinbrenner.

We all knew that he had health issues, but at the same time, he was living in Tampa. He had pretty much faded from the scene of the New York Yankees, but as of yet today, there was no indication at all that anything progressive had taken place that he was in worse condition than he had reportedly been. CHO: For the people out there who have not heard of George Steinbrenner or who are not as familiar as you are with his legendary status in the baseball world, just tell our viewers just what makes him the boss.

SMITH: First of all, he was a guy -- it's ironic that he was born on July 4th, Independence Day in this country because he was as independent as they came. He was an owner that believed in doing it his way. He was uncharacteristically outspoken considering what owners are supposed to be. He was a very loquacious individual. He was known for speaking his mind. He was largely blamed or responsible for driving up players' salaries because he was willing to come out of pocket and give you all of the money that you wanted, but the payback was that you had to produce.

And if you didn't produce, he was going to get rid of you, and he certainly was going to call you on the carpet for it. He was known for firing managers left and right. Rehiring them sometimes because he did that with Billy Martin (ph). This is a guy that came up with the nickname for Dave Winfield, called him Mr. May instead of Mr. October because Reggie Jackson was known for producing in October. And George Steinbrenner always hated the fact that he felt Dave Winfield, a man I respect and most people that know anything about baseball respects him. He now works as a commentator on ESPN, but George Steinbrenner called him Mr. May to say that he didn't produce in the poll season (ph).

But at the end of the day, this is a man that, you know, the Yankees won 11 pennants under his watch. Seven World Series championships. It was all under his stewardship. He was a flat-out winner. He demanded excellence, and he always let New Yorkers know that you know what, I will never expect -- I will never stand idly by and accept anything less. If we don't win, heads will roll. Somebody will pay the price. I don't care who it is. That was his mentality. That was his approach. That's what he was famous for. And in large part, that had a lot to do with the success that the Yankees ultimately enjoyed.

CHO: Stephen, I actually had an opportunity to attend a World Series game back in the heyday. But of late, you know, I live in New York. I love the Yankees, but they've had some problems of late, right? I mean, the team has not been doing as well as maybe some of the fans think it should be.

SMITH: Please. They're in first place. I mean, there's no need to panic. They got a guy like CC Sabathia as their ace. They got an A.J. Burnett. They got an Andy Pettitte. They got Phil Hughes. Derek Jeter is still the captain. A-Rod is still there. (INAUDIBLE) is having an MVP caliber season. Mark Teixeira is coming on strong. The list goes on and on whether it's Swisher or Granderson or anybody else. They are the New York Yankees. They are rein and defending World Series champions. Although, you can tell that you're talking to a fan here. I'm speaking from a position of strength because they're in first place in the American League and going into the all-star break, and nobody is panicking. Certainly, they could have had a better record. They didn't need to struggle as much as they had, but they are in first place. They are destined for the postseason. And once they get there, they usually get the job done.

CHO: All right, Stephen.

SMITH: And I expect that nothing will be different this way.

CHO: I stand corrected. I stand corrected. Thank you so much. Stephen Smith, sports commentator. Thank you for joining us. On a personal note, I used to work in local news in Tampa, Florida, and had the opportunity very briefly to meet George Steinbrenner. And he could not have been more delightful.

But the breaking news that's coming in to CNN right now is that legendary Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, has reportedly suffered massive heart attack. He is said to be, according to CNN affiliate WABC, in extremely critical condition at a Tampa hospital. We are watching this developing story, and we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: We're following some breaking news here in our CNN NEWSROOM. Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, has reportedly suffered a massive heart attack. That's according to WABC, the CNN affiliate in New York. He is reportedly in extremely critical condition. Steinbrenner, that legendary owner of the Yankees, has owned the team since 1973. During which time, the team won seven World Series titles. He turned 80 years old on July 4th. Wore following this developing news and other stories now.

It is now day 85 of the Gulf oil disaster. BP plans to begin testing a new containment cap on the ruptured well starting today. That cap could contain all of the oil, some of it, or none. The testing could last up to two days or possibly longer.

Later today, the Obama administration unveil the strategy it hopes will reduce the number of AIDS and HIV cases. Health officials estimate there are more than 1 million people living with HIV here in the United States. The strategy will focus on reducing the number of infected, increasing access to health care, and lowering HIV related health disparities.

And a 23-year-old Russian man that came to life during that recent Russian spy case is expected to be deported soon. A government official says the man is not suspected of passing any classified information to Russia, but he was under surveillance. That is unlike the ten Russians who pleaded guilty to spying. They were deported last week. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Six months after that deadly earthquake in Haiti, people there are continuing to die every day because they simply don't have the medical care that they need. Surprisingly, horribly even, the supply of doctors and hospitals is shrinking. So, in some cases, the situation is worse than it was six months ago. Some hospitals have closed including one of the country's largest trauma centers. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on the hard reality of life and death after the quake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over: The best estimate, the quake displaced 1.5 million people. Injured or crippled 300,000. The United States took care of this man, Mildred, received would be considered ordinary.

GUPTA (on-camera): When did you realize that you were injured?

GUPTA (voice-over): Here, Mildred is an extraordinary success story.

GUPTA (on-camera): The worst injuries that he had was actually to his leg. I don't know if he can you tell so far, but he's walking with a prosthetic here. This is what so many people here in Haiti have been wanting, waiting for because so many amputations were performed.

GUPTA (voice-over): Mildred is a success here because he not only received immediate acute care but because there are resources for his recovery and his follow up. Intermediate care so important. But here, it is way too rare. It is about the money. There's never enough. Aid organizations tell us they are saving so much of it for the long term. In the meantime, hospitals are dying and so are patients.

GUPTA (on-camera): This little girl has been left here to die. She had hydrocephalus, too much water on the brain. And the shunt to drain that fluid became infected and now there's nothing more they can do for her.

GUPTA (voice-over): She got the acute care, but it's the same stupid story. Six months later, she needed antibiotics that she couldn't get and she will die. The money, one U.S. based charity, Medishare has spent nearly all of $7 million that raised from private donors. But if they don't get a larger share of the public donations by September, that's it. This hospital shuts down.

GUPTA (on-camera): Within a month and half, you're saying the money runs out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

GUPTA: We were sitting here talking, the three of us just a few months ago, about this very issue. And said, you know, literally, people were giving money, more than a billion dollars. They were giving all over the world. How does a place like this shut that the only critical care hospital in the country, how does it shut down if so much money was given?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's the money?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We asked ourselves the same question. Where's the money?

GUPTA (voice-over): The medical needs will not miraculously go away any time soon. But remember this? They think too many doctors. Not long ago, compassion was overflowing here. For a short while, there were simply too many volunteers. They had come in from all over the world. But now --

GUPTA (on-camera): This is general hospital. One of the biggest trauma hospitals in Port-au-Prince. Just a few months ago, this place was very busy, and now, you can see there's hardly anything happening here. The tables are still left. Yes. There's hardly any resources, any equipment. There's no doctors and as a result, no surgery taking place.

GUPTA (voice-over): And it's not just the public hospitals but the private hospitals as well. There are many that say the health care in Haiti is as bad as it's ever been. Many hospitals simply shut down for business. So where is the money?

(on camera): A lot of hospitals are starting to run out of money. Some hospitals have had to shut down completely. General Hospital, which is the largest public hospital in the area, it has sort of become a bit of a ghost town.

What do you say to that? I mean, how do you address some of those concerns?

MATT MAREK, AMERICAN RED CROSS, HAITI: You know, as everyone knows, the generosity of the American public towards the Red Cross, the American Red Cross, has been enormous, ok? And we have raised a large amount of money.

We're also, you know, aware that, you know, other resources are out there, via the government and support the government has received, ok, to get into the hands of the General Hospital. And we're flexible, you know, on what support our funds, you know, can actually get.

GUPTA (voice-over): Back with Mildred, he wants to show me that he cannot only walk, but he can also run.

(on camera): Careful. Are you all right?

That's one of the difficulties you just saw here, simply navigating the road. He was obviously running, but it's just a very uneven surface.

(voice-over): The journey here is so difficult, but until September at least, Mildred will get his immediate care. Once left for dead, he's back on his feet, dancing even.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now live from Port- au-Prince.

Sanjay, you know, parts of your story were uplifting and parts so heartbreaking, you know, and it's so hard to watch.

So what does the country do to reverse this trend and get more medical help and fast?

GUPTA: Well, you know, I -- part of it is just the thinking of how money is spent as you saw there, Alina. So sometimes some of these organizations want to keep some of that money for the long term. For sort of the rehabilitation phase, if you will. And that might be not spending everything up front. Of course, the problem with that is that sometimes hospitals may shut down and patients may not survive as a result of that.

Part of it is simply using what's already here on the ground, Alina. A lot of supplies and resources and medical equipment and medicines have made it into this country and made it into the city but are not getting right into the hands of the people who need it the most.

So it's becoming more efficient about that. Organizations like the Red Cross, for example, has spent a lot of money about $148 million of the $460 million that they raised and plan on spending another $200 million by the end of the year.

So I mean, some of it could get better over the next six months, for example. But you can see there, as part of it thinking, part of its efficiency and part of it's still waiting a little bit longer.

CHO: It is so frustrating to see that, six months later. Sanjay, I know you're doing a good work there in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I know you will be with Anderson tonight on "AC360". So we thank you for joining us this morning.

Coming up, Congress says it has the votes it needs for Wall Street reform. If passed, it will be the biggest batch of changes to our financial system since the 1930s. But what is really changing? And will it make a difference to Main Street?

We're going to talk about that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back. We're following breaking news here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

According to our affiliate WABC in New York, rather, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has suffered a massive heart attack. You are looking live there courtesy of our affiliate Bay News 9 in Tampa at the hospital where Steinbrenner was reportedly taken to.

He is said to be in extremely critical condition. Steinbrenner turned 80 years old on July 4th. He is the legendary owner of the Yankees, owned the team since 1973.

Again, the breaking news that we are following this hour is that legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has reportedly suffered a massive heart attack and is in extremely critical condition.

We'll bring you more developments as they come into our NEWSROOM.

Moving on to business news now, it is a big day for business news. Earlier we touched on two topics, problems with that new iPhone, the iPhone 4, and Wall Street reform.

And we want to get some perspective now from my good friend, Andy Serwer, he's the managing editor of "Fortune" magazine. And he is joining us now live from New York.

Hey, Andy it's good to see you.

ANDY SERWER, MANAGING EDITOR, "FORTUNE": It's good to see you.

CHO: I want to start with the financial overhaul because it's looking liked that -- Congress does have -- the senate does have the votes it needs to give final passage of this bill later this week.

Obama says he got most of what he wanted, but Wall Street also got some concessions. So who wins in this?

SERWER: Well, you know, I think that probably Wall Street wins because I really don't think that the reform has quite enough teeth in it, really, to stop some of the practices that got us into this mess to begin with, unfortunately, Alina.

And there are things that Wall Street was able to do before this reform that they'll continue to be able to do. I mean they are going to continue to be able to go into the businesses of derivatives. They'll be able to invest their own money into these products. They'll still be able to borrow a tremendous amount of money.

You know, if things go wrong, they'll still get paid. So there are some things that critics wished they have seen that aren't in the bill.

CHO: Andy, what does this mean then for Wall Street -- I mean, for Main Street, rather? How does this trickle down to Main Street? How does it affect someone like me?

SERWER: Well, you know, that really remains to be seen. I mean, let's go back, Alina, to 2002 when we had another wave of financial crises and scandals with Enron and WorldCom. And those companies, if you remember, and they passed the Sarbanes Oxley legislation, and at the time it seemed like a great idea but at the end of the day it really didn't do much because obviously we had this -- you know, tremendous problem with the financial markets subsequent to that legislation.

So how will this legislation really help Main Street? It's not clear at all. Will it make it safer for us to invest in the markets? I don't really see that. I don't really get that. And we still got a tough slog here.

CHO: I want to ask you about the iPhone 4. SERWER: Yes.

CHO: Problems there with the antenna and the reception. "Consumer Reports" coming out now saying it will not recommend the new iPhone saying just that because of this design flaw and problem with the antenna that causes calls to drop apparently, that it cannot recommend this new iPhone 4.

But I mean, the question is, does anybody care? I mean, people are still buying it, right?

SERWER: Yes, I don't think people care that much, Alina. I mean, and you know there is so much hue and cry about this but taking a step back. I mean, look at what Apple has done. I mean, they produced just a huge amount of remarkably innovative products over an incredibly short period of time and we sort of take for granted their incredible success when they have glitches like this.

We're pointing all these fingers which I think we can do, but, still, the G-4 phone has so many more things that people want that -- that's why the demand is so strong. And Apple is going to fix this glitch and there are ways to get around it. I mean, you know it's not perfect but people love them.

CHO: Andy Serwer, managing editor of "Fortune" magazine. My friend, it's always great to see you, thank you for joining us.

SERWER: Thanks Alina.

CHO: All right, we want to recap our breaking news that's coming into CNN right now. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has reportedly suffered a massive heart attack in Tampa. That is according to CNN affiliate WABC.

You are looking there in the big box on the right of your screen at a live picture courtesy of our affiliate Bay News 9 in Tampa of the hospital where Steinbrenner was reportedly taken. WABC is saying that Steinbrenner is in extremely critical condition. He is 80 years old.

We are following this breaking news and we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)