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Miners Send Message They're Alive; Egg Recall; Saudi Arabia Judge's Sentence: Paralysis; Saving Money on Textbooks; New Orleans Tourism Roaring Back; What's Hot; Teens & Texting
Aired August 23, 2010 - 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: And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
Amazing survival story to tell you. Miners trapped for two weeks underground, still alive. And the rescue could take months.
More than half a billion eggs recalled, more than a thousand people sick. What you need to know to keep your family safe from salmonella.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Diarrhea, that was kind of the first thing and then headaches and then throwing up. And then it was body aches. Couldn't even move. I mean, it was, like, in your joints. It hurt so bad. I mean, it was worse than any flu I've had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You are online right now. We are, too. Ines Ferre is following "What's Hot." Ines?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, talk about a lifesaver. A toddler 3 years old walks two blocks to save her father's life, getting medical help for him.
Also, Lady Gaga, she's now the queen of Twitter. She has more followers than Britney Spears.
HARRIS: Including me.
Let's get started with our lead story.
Imagine this for a second, being trapped under ground for two- and-a-half weeks, worried about how you're going to survive, worried about your family. And then, finally, you're able to get a message out that you are alive. It's an amazing story out of Chile.
Ines, 33 miners, all apparently OK.
FERRE: Yes, Tony, and they have been trapped since August 5th. And that's when the copper and coal mine -- or copper and gold mine caved in near the town of Copiapo in northern Chile. Now, yesterday, a probe was lowered into the mine, and the miners tied a note to it, saying that they're alive. The president there of Chile, Sebastian Pinera, holding the note in his hand. It reads, "We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us."
Now, for family and rescue workers, it was just complete jubilation. And one of the miners sent a note to his wife saying he is well and to have patience. And here's what the wife had to say later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LILA GOMEZ, WIFE OF TRAPPED MINER: (through translator): I always told the media every time I was asked, "I know my husband is fine, I know he's alive, and I know he's keeping up all the others in the mine," because that's the kind of person my husband is. He holds on. I said, "He's probably looking around, trying to see how they can get out."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: Now, Tony, rescuers say that it could take four months to get to them. They're about 2,300 feet under ground.
HARRIS: Four months?
What do we know about the condition of the miners, and how about food and water?
FERRE: Yes. Well, they're in a small shelter that has some food and some water. And rescuers are trying to send more food and medicine and flashlights down to them.
And they were able to send a little camera down yesterday, you're seeing the images there, where they were able to see some of the miners. This is one of them. And rescuers hope to send some microphones down there, as well, to get a better idea of how they're doing -- Tony.
HARRIS: Oh, boy. We've got to do better than four months, though.
FERRE: Oh, yes.
HARRIS: OK. But what an amazing story. Ines, appreciate it. Thank you. See you a little later with "What's Hot."
A 10-hour hostage siege ends in bloodshed, and it all played out on live television. Seven of 15 passengers were killed on a tourist bus in Manila. Police shot and killed the gunman. The hostage-taker described as a fire police officer who was demanding his job back. Most of the passengers on the bus were tourists from China.
Family members are now traveling to Manila from Hong Kong to comfort the former hostages.
The largest egg recall in recent history could get bigger. The head of the FDA says there could be more smaller recalls to come.
Eggs linked to the salmonella outbreak were shipped to 17 states across the country. The recall involves 550 million eggs.
A second Iowa producer -- that's Hillandale Farms -- is now involved. And the FDA says about 1,000 people have gotten sick.
CNN's Casey Wian joins us now from Galt, Iowa, at the first farm linked to the outbreak.
And Casey, if you would, you're there at the Wright County egg farm. My understanding is that there is some activity going on there. Maybe you can describe it and tell us what's going on.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, you wouldn't know that there was a recall of more than a half a billion eggs by the activity that's going on behind me. We have seen all morning these trucks pulling up to this Wright County Egg facility behind me.
This is where they actually manufacturer the chicken feed. They bring in all kinds of ingredients high in protein, including oyster shells, including meat byproducts, lime. They just rattled off a list of ingredients that are used to make this chicken feed, and that is one of the areas of inquiry that the FDA is looking at as a possible source, original source, of the contamination that has sickened so many people across the country.
About 1,000 people have become ill so far this summer. And they include the Danielson family in Minnesota. Let's hear from them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD DANIELSON, TAINTED EGG VICTIM: Everybody had diarrhea. That was kind of the first thing, and then headaches, and then throwing up. And then it was body aches.
You couldn't even move. I mean, it was like in your joints. It hurt so bad. I mean, it was worst than any flu I've had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now, Wright County Egg says it is fully cooperating into the FDA and other government investigations into the source of this salmonella. And the company also says that the safety of its products is of paramount importance. They are, however, not granting any interviews to reporters -- Tony.
HARRIS: Hey, one more quick one here, Casey. What's the reaction to people who are in that kind of immediate area there to the farm? What are they telling you?
WIAN: Well, it's really interesting. Some of the people just sort of shrug their shoulders.
One lady who runs a convenience store here that sells eggs said, "I'm not worried about it because I get my eggs from a smaller producer." And she says because that producer is smaller, she has more confidence that they're less likely to produce contaminated eggs.
Other locals are sort of upset with the rapid growth of these big egg producers in this region. They say 15, 20 years ago, this was an area that was dominated by small farmers. The big egg conglomerates came in, and they say that they have had some disturbing impacts on the environment, that they've depressed wages, brought in a lot of immigrant workers.
So they have also brought in a lot of tax revenue to this area. So it's been a mixed blessing for this region of Iowa.
HARRIS: Yes, to be sure.
All right. Casey Wian for us in Galt, Iowa.
Casey, good to see you. Thank you.
The FDA says you should pay close attention to this recall and be on the lookout for tainted eggs.
On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," Commissioner Margaret Hamburg was asked how the eggs became contaminated with salmonella.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGARET HAMBURG, FDA COMMISSIONER: We're still trying to determine that. It could have been environmental exposures, infection of the laying hens themselves, or feed, or some combination.
The important thing is that we do know that these eggs are the source of contaminated product. The recall should be taken seriously. I would advise consumers to go to the Web site foodsafety.gov, where they can get all the information on the recall and how to identify whether products that may be in their refrigerators are part of the recall and should be thrown out or returned to their supermarkets for reimbursement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And still to come, an imam hoping for harmony through a controversial Islamic center with a mosque near Ground Zero, but the project doing just the opposite.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: It is that age-old story -- boy meets girl. "Random Moment" ensues.
Oakland A's ball boy Kevin Fennel (ph) is playing for romance. He had four foul balls to a fan last Thursday night. A fifth ball arrived from the bullpen with a handwritten message, "How about a phone number for our ball man, Kevin?"
Twenty-one-year-old Fennel (ph) says he and his new friend -- come here, big fellow -- are going to have drinks this week. After that, who knows?
The play of the day, the "Random Moment of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The imam behind an Islamic center with a mosque near New York's Ground Zero speaking out now on the project.
Abdul Rauf says he hopes it will help develop harmony and understanding among religions. Rauf made his comments during an interview in Bahrain. He is a State Department-sponsored trip to discuss Muslim life in America and religious tolerance, but some Republican lawmakers are urging the State Department to rethink sponsoring him on visits abroad.
The firestorm over the Islamic center erupted on the streets of New York over the weekend. About 450 people opposed to the project were protesting in lower Manhattan. A smaller group, around 250, were voicing their support for the center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE MEEHAN, FIRE DEPT. CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE: If they built it uptown, I'd have no problem with it, believe it or not. I would have no problem. Just not down here.
You know, I would have a small problem, but definitely not down here. You know, it's just too close to Ground Zero.
LT. COL. CHRIS DZIUBEK, ISLAMIC CENTER SUPPORTER: It's certainly their right and the ability to do it wherever they would like. And that's what I like about the country, is the ability for people who disagree with one another to hash it out without guns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Any American combat forces left in Iraq are to be out of the country by the end of the month. All U.S. forces leave by the end of 2011. But Iraq war commander General Ray Odierno says things could change if Iraq asks for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. RAY ODIERNO, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL CORPS, IRAQ: If the government of Iraq requests some technical assistance in fielding systems that allow them to continue to protect themselves from external threats, we could be here. I mean, we have agreements like that in Saudi Arabia. We have agreements like that in Egypt. That continues to help them to develop their infrastructure and security architecture. And if that's what we're talking about potentially, we could be there beyond 2011.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: General Odierno says it is too soon to call Iraq a victory. That determination, he says, probably can't be made for years to come.
Another tropical storm is kicking up in the Atlantic. Where is it heading? We will check in with our storm tracker, Chad Myers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, it's a terrific time to buy a house in America's most affordable cities. Want to know where? We are going to ask Ali coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, in Saudi Arabia, a judge has sentenced a man to paralysis. He is to have his spinal cord severed. It is punishment for paralyzing another man.
Let's bring in CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom. He is in Abu Dhabi.
Really, Mohammed? What can you tell us about this case?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it's another in a long line of Saudi controversial court cases that have people inside and outside Saudi Arabia shocked and outraged. Rights activists, Amnesty International has already put out a statement condemning this and asking the Saudi government not to carry this out. Saudi media has been reporting over the weekend that a judge in the northwestern province of Tabuk has sent letters to several hospitals inside Saudi Arabia asking if they could sever the spine of a man who was accused of committing a crime in which he paralyzed another man.
Now, in Saudi Arabia, it's a very puritanical version of Islam that's practiced there. And there, it's the concept of an eye for an eye that still applies.
Yet, rights activists there are telling me they're disgusted by this, they don't know if a judge has ever quite gone this far. But you have to remember that in Saudi Arabia, judges are given wide discretion to practice the law, to interpret Islam, and to dole out the kind of punishments they think is appropriate.
The way that this is being reported is really showing that there's a shift that's going on in Saudi Arabia. There's a societal struggle.
The fact that there have been so many controversial verdicts the past few years, whether it's the case of a 19-year-old girl who was raped and then sentenced to more punishment than some of her attackers -- she was eventually pardoned -- or whether it was the case of a man who was sentenced to being a sorcerer and was supposed to beheaded -- and that case is still pending -- it's being reported on, it's being talked about. People are expressing outrage.
And it's showing there is a real struggle going on between the people who want to modernize in Saudi Arabia and the progressives, and the hard-liners. And the modern -- the people who want to modernize, the progressives over there, are really trying to make sure that these kind of Draconian verdicts, what they consider to be Draconian verdicts, stop -- Tony.
HARRIS: Let's leave it there. I don't know what else to say about this one.
All right. Mohammed, appreciate it. Thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, we get some new numbers on home sales this week. Some experts predict the biggest monthly declines of the year. Let's attempt to -- well, let's not -- and then there are other experts who were predicting that we might see a little bit of a bump in new home sales.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You might, yes. But existing homes are the big bunch. Ninety percent of homes are existing homes, used homes, if you will. New homes are smaller.
HARRIS: OK.
VELSHI: But the issue here is that we're not seeing prices increase very much.
HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: But the -- I guess the silver lining on that cloud, housing is more affordable than it used to be.
HARRIS: And particularly in some cities.
VELSHI: In some cities.
Now, affordability is determined by how much of your take-home pay you pay for housing. So, you shouldn't be paying more than 28 to 30 percent of your take-home for housing.
Take a look at the five most affordable housing markets. It doesn't mean the cheapest, it means the places where your median income in that city is a percentage of what the house sells for.
HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: Notice something similar about those cities. They're all in the Rust Belt.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: So, Syracuse tops the list. That's Erie Canal, industrial town. Been sort of --
HARRIS: And the reality is folks are moving out.
VELSHI: Folks are moving out.
HARRIS: Yes. Come on.
VELSHI: That is the commonality in all of these places. So, Buffalo, same thing. Buffalo has really nice houses.
Here is sort of a description of affordability. It means that it's less than 28 percent of your take-home pay is used for housing. Buffalo, beautiful old houses.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: But sort of been in decline since World War II. Detroit, we all know the story there.
Indianapolis, interesting. It is the most affordable big city in the United States.
So that's -- the issue here is that if you have to go to these places with something to do. You can't just show up there because they're all --
HARRIS: You move for opportunities, right?
VELSHI: And these are all high unemployment places, largely. Youngstown, Ohio, another one. Youngstown, Ohio, was the home for steel.
HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: There are no steel mills there anymore. And auto plants. No auto plants.
HARRIS: Exactly.
So, the other points here is that you've got to have opportunity, as you just mentioned. But you also have to kind of a financial portfolio --
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: -- if you're going to get one of these homes.
VELSHI: They're not giving mortgages away anymore like they used to, so you have to have -- you still have to have clean credit. You have to have a down payment. And in some cases, they want 20 to 30 percent down payment.
So, yes, you can still get loans with five percent down. But generally speaking, people are going to want to know that you've got that kind of credit.
But if you think there's opportunity for you in some of these places -- and I point to Detroit, where we have seen populations leaving, we have seen a decline in prices -- the fact is, the auto industry might be making a bit of a comeback. So we're thinking about it.
HARRIS: Right.
Let me ask you about foreclosures. I happened to tune into your show. I like your show. It's a great show. And we should tease your show. It's on Saturday and Sunday.
VELSHI: Thank you. Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: OK. And here's the thing -- you had this debate about what to do about foreclosures, because we know that there is a bit of foreclosure crisis -- a bit? That's an understatement -- in the country right now.
We want to play a bit of the debate and then I want you to be the final arbiter on this.
VELSHI: Yes. These are two guys, Stephen Leeb, and Peter Schiff, on two sides of what we should do about the mortgages.
HARRIS: Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN LEEB, LEEB CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Obama's plan is not a bad plan. I think that we have to protect the prices of homes right now. I think anything that we do --
PETER SCHIFF, FINANCIAL COMMENTATOR: No. You want home prices to go down. They're too high.
LEEB: I think that anything that we do that is deflationary risks a depression. Anything that we do that doesn't recognize the fact that this country is really on the verge of just self-destruction is very, very dangerous.
SCHIFF: Steve, you can't try to reflate the housing bubble. The problem is housing prices are too high. People can't afford them. Prices are too high.
LEEB: Peter, as you said, not allowing people to look for work, like people that are unemployed in this country don't want jobs? I mean, that's crazy
SCHIFF: They don't want jobs? No.
LEEB: That's the craziest thing I've ever heard.
SCHIFF: No, Steve, it's not crazy. Steve, if you're going to get $2,000 a month from the government for your mortgage employment, another $2,000 on unemployment -- hold up. Be quiet for a second.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: I love that you let it play out, all right, because you've got to hear where these guys stand on this. And we could set up the plan that they were talking about, but as you know, the administration has a number of plans out there.
VELSHI: It comes down to this: one guy says the government should be supporting continued low interest and continued plans to allow people to stay in their houses. The other guy says, no, we shouldn't have anything to do with this, let the chips fall where they may and you'll see home prices come down, because they're artificially inflated.
So, both guys think that if the government steps out, home prices will come down. One guy thinks that's really bad, because you'll have a whole lot of people out of their homes. The other guy thinks homes will become a lot more affordable.
HARRIS: Where do you sit as the final arbiter? Because you're our chief business correspondent.
VELSHI: Well, I think it's bad for the national psyche to have people continue to be thrown out of their homes.
HARRIS: I agree, yes.
VELSHI: But I really get why some people are frustrated that, I pay my mortgage on time. Why am I subsidizing the fact that other people aren't?
This is key to the national debate. But we might be -- people talk about this double-dip recession. More people getting -- losing their homes is very bad for that national feeling.
HARRIS: Right. I don't want us to talk ourselves into a double dip.
VELSHI: No, I don't think so. There's a lot going on that's right in this country.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: But we all have to personally hang on to our credit situations and do what you can to hang on to your job, and fix your skills so that if you lose your job, which is still likely, you've got somewhere to go.
HARRIS: Yes.
Boy, Ali Velshi, chief business correspondent here at CNN, host of CNN NEWSROOM in just a couple of minutes.
Got to get you back so you can get ready for your show. And what do you have 15 other shows you're doing?
VELSHI: Oh, just got a couple more.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: All right, Ali. See you at the top of the hour.
VELSHI: Always good to see you.
HARRIS: Still to come, books for rent prices soar on campus. The CNN Money team has the new trend to save students a wad of cash.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. A conversation about race in America is not just an issue of black and white. We have been asking people across a broad spectrum just where they would start, where they would start the dialogue on race.
Joining us today, Louis Mendoza. He is associate professor and chair of the Department of Chicano Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Louis, good to see you.
Let's outline the key points you think should be a part of our conversation on race.
First, you say Latinos are an enigma. What do you mean by that?
LOUIS MENDOZA, CHAIR, DEPT. OF CHICANO STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Yes. Well, what I have to say about that is that I think that for a great many Americans, they have no real sense of who Latinos are.
I mean, we're a complicated group, and in many ways we confound people's understanding of race in this country because we don't fit one of these preconceived categories of race, be it black, white, Asian-Pacific Islander, or Alaskan natives, or American-Indians. So, in many respects, because we come with different phenotypes, different cultural heritage, different linguistic backgrounds, in many respects people just aren't quite sure where to fit us in.
They also aren't familiar with the history of Latinos in the United States. And because of that, we are in many ways marginal to their understanding of U.S. history and to the U.S. imaginary, I would say. And what I mean by that is that many of them think of us as newcomers to this country, when in fact we have a presence here in the United States, and in the land and the territory, since before the founding of the country.
HARRIS: So, if you start with the idea that, you know, Hispanics, Latinos, Chicanos are an enigma, it makes it difficult to figure out where to place these groups in the discussion. And that's part of your point, isn't it?
MENDOZA: Absolutely.
HARRIS: Where do you fit in, in the discussion?
MENDOZA: It is difficult. Well, I think it's important, because one of the reasons it's important to consider that is because even though there is this whole phenomenon of racism in this society, these categorizations of race, people don't quite know where to fit us, but they treat us as different.
HARRIS: Yes.
MENDOZA: And because we're definitely not perceived as white, we're often treated, because of racism, as -- the assumption is that we're culturally or linguistically or intellectually inferior and this persists of racial difference in this country makes us marginal. Often times we're not. Our history, our culture, our -- we don't often see ourselves in the curriculum in schools, and so often times this ignorance is perpetuated by the educational system.
HARRIS: And often times Latinos aren't even invited into the conversation. Would that be correct?
MENDOZA: Yes. I mean, I think we're more and more we are getting invited in and I think partly because you're seeing this huge rise in the demographic of Latinos as we became the nation's largest ethnic minority in the early 2000s.
HARRIS: Yes.
MENDOZA: I think it's -- in fact, there are some people who welcome that change as part of multicultural America. Many, many people perceive us as a threat and they perceive us as a threat because of cultural difference, they think that we're going to change the cultural fabric of the United States. There are others who perceive us as a political threat. But I think that there's also many different kinds of phenomena that go on that need to be put together, including the fact that Latinos have the second highest rate of inner marriage with whites, other than Asian Pacific islanders.
HARRIS: That's interesting.
MENDOZA: So, obviously, there are some people who do see us and welcome us and get along with us and build genuine, authentic relationships with us, but there are many, many people who just see us as perpetual outsiders.
HARRIS: OK. Your second point is, you say race is a false categorization of humans. Maybe -- take a moment and explain that.
MENDOZA: Yes. Well, what I would say is that by now, you know, biological notions of race have by and large been discounted -- or scientific notions of race. That is that people are inherently different. And in the United States, what's happened is that this persists of racism and these beliefs that somehow difference is viewed as one group is not just different than another, and difference is not just difference, but one group is seen as superior to another.
Because of that, and this is a worldwide phenomena, but this persists of race has, I think, allowed for differential treatment of people. It has justified that differential treatment because for some people it's seen as a natural order of things when, in fact, it's a constructed social idea that has led for people to be -- receive access to educational opportunities, access to job opportunities, access to political power, to decision-making arenas in different ways. And so it becomes a huge -- a problem in that sense.
And the fact is that I would say that, you know, in many ways race is sort of a master fiction. It's this sort of belief that has come -- become so ingrained in our culture that many people -- we have a difficult time getting away from it. And so once we believe in this essential difference among people, we have to struggle with that -- against that idea. And the fact of the matter is, even though it's just a system of ideas, it has concrete, material impacts on our lives so that if somebody believes they're better than you or somebody believes that you don't belong here, they can act on that and then you get treated in very different ways.
HARRIS: Wow. I'm going to have to take a moment and rerun this and listen to that one again a few times to get that. There was a lot in that one.
Louis, and finally you say our perceived difference doesn't make us different at all. What do you mean by that?
MENDOZA: Well, what I have to say is that, fundamentally, Latinos are like everybody else in this country. You know, we want good opportunities. We want a good quality education. We want to be treated with dignity and respect. I don't think that fundamentally there's a huge cultural or differences that are measurable -- make us want anything different than anyone else in this world.
I think that the reality is, is that there's -- cultural difference is real and that we are often times put in a position because of the fact that we confront so much racism where we need to assert pride in who we are. And I think that's - there should be -- everybody should be proud of what their cultural linguistic heritage is. But oftentimes we're put in a position where we have to assert that extra strong because of racism. So even though this is perceived difference and a perpetuation of difference, our fundamental goals for our community, for the quality of our lives are the same as everybody else.
HARRIS: That is terrific. Lewis, appreciate your time today. Thank you.
MENDOZA: Thank you very much.
HARRIS: Got to tell you, we're going to be spending a nice chunk of time discussing race on this program. And you can watch the segments and see blogs from other viewers on our blog page. That's at cnn.com/tony. If you would, leave us a comment -- what issues do you think should be a part of our overall discussion about race in America?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: CNN, of course, your source for financial news. CNNmoney.com is the Web site of record, right? "Rivals HP and Dell in bidding war." And that's being downplayed a little bit we heard last hour from Patricia Wu. But here's the piece I want to direct your attention to -- "five new normals of the economy," all right, as we try to recover here. What's changed forever? We're going to build this segment out in the program tomorrow. We think that's pretty provocative stuff. We're going to get the writer from cnnmoney.com who wrote this piece. Get him on the program tomorrow and talk about this in a little more detail.
Let's get the numbers. The New York Stock Exchange three hours into the trading day, yes, and we're in positive territory, barely, right? Up 8 points. And the NASDAQ is up -- no, it's down. Down seven. So we've got a mixed day going so far on Wall Street and the big board.
If you are packing up for college, bring lots of extra cash. Not for beer, for books. Stephanie Elam is at the cnnmoney.com newsroom.
Stephanie, look, what I'm hearing is some of the -- look at you smiling -- some of the price tags on these books are just outrageous right now.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I guess you would know a little bit more about that, Tony, than I would right now.
HARRIS: I'm getting close. I'm getting close.
ELAM: You're getting close to knowing about that.
HARRIS: The babies are getting close, yes.
ELAM: These are important things.
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
ELAM: Well, you know what, college is already expensive enough and then you get there and you've got to figure out how you're going to pay for all those books. Well, last year, students at four-year colleges spent, on average, more than $1,000 on books. That's up more than 30 percent from five years ago. So what we wanted to do today, which is take a look at some ways that you can save money on all of those textbooks.
First off, consider renting them. Some college bookstores offer this option. You can even do it online. Check out these Web sites that we have up on the screen for you right now. Renting can save you as much as 45 percent off the full price of some textbooks. Here's the deal, though. If you're like one of those highlighter happy kind of folks, it's probably not a good option for you because you've got to give the books back.
Another option is used books. There are several Web sites out there that can help you comparison shop and old standbys like half.com or even amazon.com. And we're hearing more about e-textbooks. And these are basically the digital versions that you can buy for your computer, or if you're like way hip and cool, an iPad, and then you can save about like half the cost of a textbook. But there are some limits because you can only get so many pages that you can print. So if you really like a hard copy, Tony, I'm one of those people, this probably would not be the option for you.
HARRIS: Yes. Hey, can you get free books? The ultimate discount?
ELAM: Yes. Free is pretty darn nifty.
HARRIS: Yes.
ELAM: And, actually, there are ways to get free, other than maybe get the book from someone who's in the class before you.
HARRIS: Hello.
ELAM: But some student advocates tell us that more professors are starting to assign what are called open-source textbooks. And you can usually download a copy for free or get a printed version for $20 or $40. That is really huge. Think about it. A textbook can cost up to like $200. That's a big savings. Right now, open-source is mainly concentrated in math, business, economics, those kind of topics. But this is the kind of thing that spreads by word of mouth. So if you're in a school, you're heading back to college, go ahead and mention open source to your professor and see if you can get the ball rolling there.
Whatever you do, it's really important, though, keep in mind that thanks to a new law, colleges now have to tell students which books are required. They've got to do it during course registration so you have more time to shop around, find the best deal before classes start so you're not like sitting there first day bookless.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes, you wouldn't want that to be the case.
ELAM: You would not want that to happen.
HARRIS: No, that's not a good look. All right, Stephanie, good to see you. Thank you.
ELAM: You too.
HARRIS: The man who was with Michael Jackson when he died is in court. That and other top stories in just, let's see, 75 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's see, checking our top stories right now.
Tragic news out of Manila. The Hong Kong chief executive in the Philippines says seven tourists were killed in a hostage standoff that ended about four hours ago. Police say the gunman, a former police officer, held 15 people for 10 hours before the SWAT team moved in. They killed the gunman after police say he sprayed machine gun fire at his hostages.
Back in the United States, we could see even more egg recalls. The Food and Drug Administration estimates about 1,000 people have gotten sick from contaminated eggs. The outbreak traced back to two of the nation's biggest egg producers in Iowa.
Dr. Conrad Murray is back in court right now for a hearing. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. Will he eventually take the stand? That was part of the legal discussion I had last hour with Sunny Hostin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Will Conrad Murray, Dr. Murray, take the stand, in your view? I don't see it happening, but you're the expert here.
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" on TRUTV: I think he has to.
HARRIS: You do?
HOSTIN: You know, I -- thank you, yes.
HARRIS: Wow.
HOSTIN: I think he has to, actually. You know, there have been all these conflicting reports about what he did, what he didn't do. He did make several statements. He's already admitted to giving Michael Jackson Propofol. So I think he's going to take the stand. I'm going to predict that, Tony, here on Sunny's law.
HARRIS: Yes.
HOSTIN: And I think he's going to take the stand and really vigorously defend himself and defend his actions on that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Dr. Murray was hired as Michael Jackson's personal physician as he prepared for his latest tour.
Thousands of people fled New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Many of them came back. Now it is paying off and helping to build up America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: He says his office is independent of the government and BP. Oil claims administrator Ken Feinberg is holding three town hall meetings today on the Mississippi coast. Feinberg's office began accepting claims today from people and businesses impacted by the Gulf disaster. He promises transparency and efficiency. Feinberg says individual claims that meet requirements will be paid within 48 hours.
Got to tell you, millions of dollars in New Orleans' tourism money simply washed away by Hurricane Katrina. Five years later, our Tom Foreman says the industry is roaring back, helping to build up America one visitor at a time.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.
You know, people here in New Orleans, particularly in the tourist areas like the French Quarter, knew they had two battles to fight after the storm. One, to rebuild all that they had lost, and, two, to rebuild confidence in tourists that they should and could come back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): It may be hard to believe, but New Orleans has 300 more restaurants than it did before Katrina. Eleven hundred in all. And at the longstanding landmark, Commander's Palace, chef Mcveil (ph) is not complaining.
FOREMAN (on camera): It's more competition for folks like you. But you don't mind?
CHEF MCVEIL, COMMANDER'S PALACE: I embrace it. You know, all these guys that open up these little tiny neighborhood, funky spots, and I'll tell you, it's a really, really exciting time to live here in the city.
FOREMAN: Because it brings the whole place back alive.
CHEF MCVEIL: That's right. And the food's fantastic.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Ever since the storm, this city has been aggressively rebuilding its tourism business, which the year before brought a record 10 million visitors and almost $5 billion to town.
FOREMAN (on camera): For the Superdome, that has meant a $250 million makeover. $93 million for improvement at the Convention Center. And $400 million have been put into building up and repairing hotels all over town. And the return on that investment has been enormous.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Eighty-five thousand people worked in the tourist trade before the hurricane, and 70,000 of those jobs have been recovered, despite the recession.
FOREMAN (on camera): What do you want tourists to know about New Orleans who haven't been here since the storm?
WILLIE PICKETT, NEW ORLEANS TOURISM EMPLOYEE: Nothing. Just keep coming. We love them and we want them to keep coming back. And everything that they like and love about New Orleans, it's just like it was before Katrina.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Beyond the tourist attractions, stubborn troubles remain in many neighborhoods. But Kelly Schultz of the Convention and Tourism Bureau says for this key industry --
KELLY SCHULTZ, NEW ORLEANS CONVENTION & VISITOR'S BUREAU: Everything in New Orleans that was broken during Katrina is being fixed now. But not only is it back to where it was before, but even better.
FOREMAN (on camera): That's not just a tourism sales pitch.
SCHULTZ: No, that's not a tourism sales pitch. That's speaking on, you know -- about the entire city.
FOREMAN (voice-over): There are still challenges, like convincing tourists that Gulf seafood is safe following the oil spill. But in this town that has already built up from so much, there is a sense that five years after Katrina, the future is much brighter than the past ever was.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: In fact, they are now making predictions that they could surpass those record levels of tourism just before the storm in the next few years.
Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Tom, good to see you. Thank you.
Vices that are actually good for you. We've got the list.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Look, I really need for this to be the case here, that there are some vices that are actually pretty good for you. Ines Ferre with "What's Hot" online.
Oh, hi.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
This is from cnn.com. And actually these are some vices that are healthy, pleasure --
HARRIS: Healthy vices.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, why are they vices then?
FERRE: Well, they're --
HARRIS: Anyway.
FERRE: They're basically healthiest pleasures. So it can be a glass of wine. It can be playing hooky.
HARRIS: Right, right, right.
FERRE: Getting frisky.
HARRIS: Excuse me?
FERRE: Yes, I know, it's a gentle way, a polite way of saying it.
HARRIS: OK.
FERRE: Your -- moving on. The daily chocolate fix.
HARRIS: Yes, moving on, right.
FERRE: Also, girls' night out, as well.
HARRIS: Love that. Love that.
FERRE: Yes, that's another one. And getting a massage. I mean who doesn't like that, right?
HARRIS: Yes, yes, girls' night out. They work out pretty well.
FERRE: Girls' night out. It doesn't say guys' night out, no.
HARRIS: Yes, but it works out pretty well for guys, mostly. But, all right, that's that list.
FERRE: Oh, yes. OK. You get to drink beer and watch -- OK.
This next one -- wait, this next one is from -- this is actually very cool.
HARRIS: I like this. Yes.
FERRE: It's from water.com and habitat.com. And this is an electric car that a group of high schoolers in Missouri put together.
HARRIS: This is really cool. Look at this.
FERRE: It's a very, very cool thing. It's -- they call it the most energy-efficient electric car. It manages the equivalent of some 300 miles per gallon.
HARRIS: Oh, look at that.
FERRE: They applied it -- the school actually submitted this for the Guinness World Book of World Records.
HARRIS: I like this. And young people working on this design.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: That's great.
FERRE: And Bridgestone America was also helping out with this.
HARRIS: Helping out. Well, that's terrific.
FERRE: And it's very cool. It looks like Wonder Woman should be in this.
HARRIS: Yes, -- FERRE: You know, it's like the new (INAUDIBLE) see-through (ph)--
HARRIS: Well, we need this sector to work, yes, yes.
FERRE: Yes, it's unbelievable.
And then this next one is -- she's only 13 years old. Chelsea Baker. And she is a pitcher for little league in Florida.
HARRIS: Right.
FERRE: And she was actually recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame for pitching not one, but two perfect games against boys. She can throw a knuckle ball like you would not believe.
HARRIS: She's got to be bringing some heat, too. Just a knuckle balls? That's good stuff.
FERRE: It is amazing.
HARRIS: And she's how old?
FERRE: Thirteen years old. That's very cool.
HARRIS: Look at all that pride oozing off you --
FERRE: Well, yes, because it's --
HARRIS: Look at that. Did you hear that, 13-years-old.
FERRE: She's a female (INAUDIBLE) and --
HARRIS: OK. All right.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: Easy, Ines, you didn't throw the two no hitter, she did.
FERRE: No, I didn't. I didn't. But I'm very proud of her.
HARRIS: That's what's hot online. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN -- relax!
FERRE: All right.
HARRIS: Yes, all right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: America's teenagers letting their fingers do way too much talking. Here's our Deb Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On your mark, get set, go.
FEYERICK (voice-over): How fast can your average 15-year-old text a single line? Let's just say faster than someone not in high school.
FEYERICK (on camera): Mine's not even English.
FEYERICK (voice-over): For tenth grader Sara Matzkin, on the right, Sarah Marshall in the middle, and April Polubiec, texting may be as important as talking.
FEYERICK (on camera): How many texts do you send and receive every day?
SARA MATZKIN, TEXTING TEEN: Probably around 200.
SARAH MARSHALL, TEXTING TEEN: Definitely a lot. Couple hundred.
APRIL POLUBIEC, TEXTING TEEN: It varies.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Varies, studies show, to the tune of well over 3,000 texts a month for the average teenager. The question now, are teens texting too much?
MARSHALL: It's right by my bed when I go to sleep and it's right by my bed when I wake up. So it's like the first thing I go to.
FEYERICK: Eighty percent of all kids own a cell phone. And the rate of texting has skyrocketed 600 percent in three years.
FEYERICK (on camera): Why is it so important for you to know when somebody's trying to reach you?
POLUBIEC: You feel like you're missing something. If someone like texts me and I miss it, I feel like, oh, I missed out on the moment.
FEYERICK: Do you sometimes feel your mood's changing depending on how often you're receiving the texts or the speed (ph)?
POLUBIEC: Yes.
FEYERICK: Like what? Give me some examples.
MATZKIN: Well, I mean, like, if someone responds right away, like, you're like, yeah, like they responded. But if they respond like two to three hours later, you're like, what's going on?
FEYERICK (voice-over): Sound addictive? Well, could be. Doctors say texting and the instant gratification of getting a text back flood's the brain's pleasure center with the mood enhancing dopamine.
DR. MICHAEL SEYFFERT, CHILD NEUROLOGIST: Neuro imaging studies have shown that those kids who are texting have that area of the brain light up the same as an addict using heroin. And they will actually describe, when I don't have it, I feel bad. I feel anxious or I feel sad.
FEYERICK (on camera): So it's like the new nicotine?
SEYFFERT: That's a good description, yes. And for many it may well be.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Brain doctor Michael Seyffert treats teens with sleeping disorders at this New Jersey sleeping clinic and has discovered that one out of five of them are interrupting their sleep to text, triggering problems.
SEYFFERT: With a lack of sleep, they are having a problem performing. They're going from honor roll students to, you know, barely passing.
FEYERICK: That's the worst case. These teens, on the other hand, get good grades and take part in after school activities, though texting does sometimes get them in trouble.
FEYERICK: When was the last time you had your phones taken away?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today.
FEYERICK: You all -- today? OK. So basically within the last 24 hours, you each had your phone taken away from you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Their school, like many, struggling to contain a growing distraction for students.
TRACEY BAILEY, ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN EDUCATORS: Most administrators will tell you that if it's not their single greatest problem in terms of discipline and school management, it's at least in the top three.
FEYERICK: Despite the potential downsides, these parents say texting has become a necessary evil.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't answer the phone. It's the only way to get --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't answer the phone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They will answer a text.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't do e-mail at all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They won't e-mail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forget about e-mail. It's gone. It's over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only way to get a hold of them is to text. So I had to actually get text messaging in order to communicate with my kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Sometimes they'll only communicate that way.
FEYERICK: And while the behavior can be addictive, teens like Sarah Marshall say they're confident they can quit cold turkey.
MARSHALL: Maybe I'd have some like withdrawals symptoms. Like I'd get anxious and like wonder like what's going on. But once I realized that nothing bad is happening, it's fine without my phone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: I just got a text from Ali. Saying goodbye, your time is up. Laugh out loud. Downloaded virus to your computer.
Have a great show, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, my friend. I'll text you when I'm done.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: Tony Harris, have a great afternoon.
