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Wait Almost Over for Trapped Miners; Fort Hood Suspect in Court; Marijuana and the Economy; New Medical Breakthrough in Stem Cell Research; Job Losses Worse Than First Thought; Inside North Korea

Aired October 12, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everybody. Live from Studio 7 at CNN World Headquarters, the big stories for Tuesday, October 12th

A crucial military hearing opening today for suspected Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. It will determine whether the Army major faces court martial and the death penalty.

We have followed this young man's story from the beginning. Michael Brewer, set on fire one year ago today. Now, as he celebrates his 16th birthday, he talks to CNN.

And countdown to Election Day. With marijuana on the ballot, we will show you how cash-strapped states can turn legal pot into a bonanza.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Boy, oh, boy. The waiting is almost over for 33 Chilean miners trapped half a mile underground. Their rescue shaft is ready. Hospitals and helicopters are on standby.

Let's get right to our Karl Penhaul. He is at the mine in Chile.

And Karl, before we bring anyone up from that mine, we have got to send a few people down. Listen to me, like I'm part of the process here. Walk us through that process, if you would.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, but I think you're no different from anybody else, Tony. I think a lot of our viewers, in fact, from across the world have been absorbed by this story from day one. And I often get Facebook messages or e-mails to give to ask individual families asking what's going on with their families.

But to bring you up to speed with what has to go on before the first miner is brought to the surface, that Phoenix capsule has to be lowered down four times with two rescue experts aboard and two paramedics. And it will be them who carry out a check of the miners' health, and it will be them who determine the batting order. What we hear from our rescue experts now is that the rescue operation could be brought forward even a few hours, possibly as soon as eight hours from now. That would be about an hour after dark here in the Chilean desert.

But as the preparations there gather pace, of course the pressure growing on the families. And I want you to take a look at what they've been through.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gloria.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hallelujah.

PENHAUL (voice-over): A prayer for the 33 miners. A prayer for the success of the imminent rescue attempt.

Nelly Bugueno has faith her son is coming home at last. "Victor will be anxious to finally get out of that mine and be reunited with his family. As he comes out, he will be reborn," she says.

Down in Camp Hope, preparations are rushed to completion. Fifteen hundred journalists from 39 countries scurry for last-minute details. The final countdown has begun.

LAURENCE GOLBORNE, CHILEAN MINES MINISTER: The whole process that they have lived has been pretty traumatic, so I think they're going to be a little bit excited. But we have to wait and see. But we are prepared for any contingency.

PENHAUL: Engineers have welded steel pipes into place at the mouth of the rescue shaft to prevent rock falls. And before dawn Monday, rescuers dropped the Phoenix capsule down for its first test run.

(APPLAUSE)

The miners' families have a new hero, the T-130 drill that cut through half a mile of rock to reach the 33 men.

"We're happy. I'm about to see my son again. I'm happy because that drill has worked a miracle," he says.

Now the drill is pulling out, but the work is not yet over.

JEFF HART, DRILLING ENGINEER: Until the last guy comes up, the job's not done.

PENHAUL: On this barren hillside, a miner's mother insists the men down below were not alone. "There were 34 miners down there. The 33 were down there with the spirit of God," she says.

Whether through the powers of machines or the Almighty, the miners' life-or-death struggle is nearly won.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, even though that rescue operation could finally begin in less than eight hours from now, it still could take 15, 16 hours at the very least to get all 33 miners back to the surface. And the government is saying it could take anything up to 48 hours to get all the miners out of the hole. And there's still, of course, fierce debate, who's going to be the first and who's going to be the last -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. Karl, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Here it is right here. We replicated it.

This is it. This is essentially the rescue shaft right here.

I'm going to put Rafael Romo into this thing in a few minutes here, and he'll talk us through what the experience is going to be like for those miners who will climb into a shaft much like this and be lifted, spun, pulled to safety. It could happen very, very soon.

All right. We'll do that a little later in this hour.

(NEWSBREAK)

HARRIS: And happening now in Teas, a court hearing for the suspected Fort Hood shooter. The military proceeding will determine whether Major Nidal Hasan is court-martialed for the shooting deaths of 13 people.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence is at Fort Hood this morning.

And Chris, in today's session, today's hearing -- first of all, is it under way? And give us a bit more of what's expected out of today's hearing.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it was supposed to be about an hour, hour and a half into the hearing already, but it's been delayed. So, no, it still hasn't gotten started yet, although we do know that Major Nidal Hasan is in the courtroom right now.

As to what we're going to hear, this is going to be the prosecutor's chance to lay out what happened in terms of they're going to make the argument that Hasan went out and bought these weapons, that he went to a local gun range to practice his aim, and that he carefully planned this attack. They are not likely to get into the why, his motivations, alleged links to radical Islamic groups overseas. They will probably leave that if and when they get to the actual court-martial.

A lot of the victims' families will be in attendance. A lot of the victims, the survivors of this attack, are going to be there as well. And really, this is going to be their first time in the same room with Major Nidal Hasan since that shooting, and they're going to go step by step to talk about what they saw, what they heard, what they felt when they were involved in that shooting -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK.

Chris Lawrence for us following developments, Fort Hood, Texas.

Chris, appreciate it. Thank you.

Marijuana on the ballot. In just 21 days, the so-called evil weed could become a major cash crop. We will look at the economic impact of what could be a potential new industry.

And Rob Marciano is tracking a new storm for us.

Good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Tony.

The new advisory from the National Hurricane Center on Hurricane Paula, which quickly developed yesterday and is bearing down on the Yucatan Peninsula. Is it heading towards the U.S.?

We'll have the latest forecast track a little bit later in the program.

CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We've got a news conference going on live right now in Chile. And what we're going to do -- well, obviously, we're going to get some kind of an update on the progress that's being made just ahead of the actual operation to begin to extract those miners from that mine.

So what we will do is monitor this for you. And if there's any new development here, any news, we will of course turn that around for you.

Voters head to the polls three weeks from today. In the countdown to the elections, there are political debates tonight in Connecticut, Ohio and California. "The Best Political Team" is covering them for you here on CNN.

And tomorrow night, our Wolf Blitzer hosts the debate for the U.S. Senate seat in Delaware, Republican Christine O'Donnell versus Democrat Chris Coons. That's at 7:30 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Speaking of the elections, marijuana is on four state ballots this November. And California voters will decide on Prop 19, which would allow small amounts of marijuana on a person to be legal and taxable.

In South Dakota and Arizona, the issue is legalizing marijuana to treat various medical conditions. And in Oregon, where medical marijuana has been legal for some time now, the question before voters, should the sale of medical marijuana be available through dispensaries?

Over the next couple of days here, CNN NEWSROOM will take a close look at the marijuana argument as it stands today and ask what "yes" votes could mean for Americans for the future.

Cashing in on selling pot. If Americans vote yes in 21 days, selling marijuana could become a budding industry.

Josh Levs now taking a look at how legalizing weed may affect the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A big part of the battle surrounding the idea of legalizing marijuana is the financial impact. And people on both sides have put a lot of figures out there about what would happen.

This is a big unknown, actual legalization, not just decriminalization, not just medical marijuana. Let me show you some of the key figures that are being floated in this debate. We're going to start off with this from the Cato Institute. This group, they put out a report and it says that it would save about $8.7 billion when you put together reduced expenses on enforcement, legal sales and tax revenue. That's $8.7 billion for the government each year they're saying.

Here's another one -- take a look at this. This is from Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance. He wrote a commentary for cnn.com saying legalization would reduce the mass incarceration of drug offenders and therefore save a lot of money.

Joe Klein over at time.com wrote something really popular there. A lot of people picked up on this -- he says nearly half, 47.5 percent of drug arrests in this country are marijuana-related.

One more I want to tell you about since it's California we're talking about. California has a board of equalization. They put out a report -- I want to show you this figure here. They say themselves that this estimate is based on a number of guesses, they admit that, but they say pot and marijuana is such a popular crop that the state could raise $1.4 billion through levies and taxes.

All right now, let's take a look at the other side.

Some people look at these figures and say no, they paint way too rosy a picture that ignores reality. The consequences of legalizing marijuana could be economically devastating.

Two things I want to show you about that. One is a quote from Kevin Sabet, formerly with the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He wrote this commentary in "Los Angeles Times". He says "Accidents would increase, health care costs would rise and productivity would suffer."

The current director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said in a speech earlier this year, this is a -- "The social costs would outweigh any possible tax that could be levied. Illegal drugs already cost $180 billion a year in health care, lost productivity, crime and other expenditures. That number would only increase," he says.

So those are some of the key points on both sides as we look at this debate over how legalizing pot might affect the economy.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

And coming up next hour, saying no to the war on drugs. A former judge turning his back on what he calls an unwinnable war.

We are looking at a growing number of law enforcement officers saying the war just isn't worth it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: One year ago, teenager Michael Brewer was deliberately set on fire by his own friends. He nearly died. But this week, the south Florida boy and his family celebrated a milestone, and CNN's John Zarrella was there.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it has been a year since an argument with friends over a video game left 15-year-old Michael Brewer with burns over 65 percent of his body. He's come a long way, but he's still bitter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): A 16-year-old boy's birthday party at a retirement home would seem a bit unusual.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP (singing): Happy birthday to you

ZARRELLA: But not so unusual for Michael Brewer. We'll get back to the party.

First, look closely at Michael's arm. You can see the scar tissue. He had been burned over 65 percent of his body.

MICHAEL BREWER, BURN VICTIM: All I remember is having nightmares.

ZARRELLA: A year ago, the day after his 15th birthday, Brewer was doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire by three boys who had all been his friends. Close friends. The incident supposedly sparked after Brewer refused to pay one of the boys 40 bucks for a video game.

At his party, Michael Brewer was more accessible, open, than at any time in the past year. His emotions are still raw, his answers candid. BREWER: I think they're just jerks and they got what they deserved.

ZARRELLA (on camera): You would like to deal with the problem yourself?

BREWER: Yes, I would. But it's over and done with, and they're getting what they deserved. So let them handle them.

ZARRELLA: Are you prepared to testify against them if you have to?

BREWER: Yes, I am.

ZARRELLA: You're still pretty bitter about it though. Angry, bitter, obviously.

BREWER: Yes, I am a little bit, but I'm taking therapy to get rid of the anger and stuff.

MICHAEL BREWER SR., FATHER: I tell him -- I say, "Mike, anything ever bothers you, I'm always here. Talk to me, or you can talk to your mother."

ZARRELLA (voice-over): The boys in their mid teens were charged as adults. Matthew Bent, Jesus Mendez and Denver Jarvis all remain in jail facing second-degree attempted murder. They've all pleaded not guilty.

Jarvis' attorney had no comment. The other two haven't returned CNN's calls.

For those boys, the future uncertain. For Michael, there is one.

His birthday cake was designed like a football field with his favorite team, the "New York Giants," written on it. There was a helmet filled with money donated by the senior citizens, and an autographed picture of Giants quarterback Eli Manning. The retirees here befriended Michael, making him a part of their family after first hearing his story.

KAY MANNE, INDEPENDENCE HALL RESIDENT: He wanted to come here for his birthday.

ZARRELLA (on camera): That's got to make you feel good.

MANNE: Absolutely. And he's very special to us. So we're just thrilled.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP (singing): Happy birthday to you.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): Michael says he's planning on going to college. He hopes one day to be an FBI agent.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ZARRELLA: Right after the attack, there was genuine concern that Michael Brewer might not live. He was on a ventilator. He went through multiple skin grafts and surgeries. Today, the physical therapy is over, he goes to a new school, has new friends.

Things are good -- Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, boy, John. What a good story.

I've got to tell you, I spoke with Michael's mother a year ago, just weeks after her son was so badly injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Your emotions as you watch your son, your beloved, in a hospital bed recovering from these horrific injuries?

VALERIE BREWER, MICHAEL BREWER'S MOTHER: It's been a roller- coaster ride, the fear of the unknown, watching him swell with the edema, then watching the swelling come down. The first time he spoke to us was joyous, but watching him struggle every single day -- I'm proud of him.

I'm very, very proud of him, because I don't think I could do what he's doing. It's incredibly painful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Again, Michael is doing much better a year later.

Michael Brewer, happy 16th birthday.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. The countdown is on to bring up the 33 trapped Chilean miners. They know it's going to be a bumpy ride and a bit of a tight squeeze in that rescue capsule.

So check this out. We've created our own replica here.

Rafael Romo is here to talk us through what the experience is likely to be like for the miners, who we understand from just a moment ago, getting an update from the news conference that's going on right now in Chile, that the process of hoisting them to surface is actually going to begin tonight.

So, what's the experience going to be like?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Well, first of all, they are going to be put on a liquid diet to reduce the possibility of nausea. That starts probably in a few hours or even in a few minutes, because they want to make sure that there is no possibility of that. Second, they're going to lower down -- before any miner can come out, they're going to use the capsule to lower a paramedic and also a rescue expert.

HARRIS: Has that happened already or is that still to be done?

ROMO: It hasn't happened yet.

HARRIS: OK.

ROMO: It's expected to begin at 11:00 Eastern tonight.

HARRIS: OK.

ROMO: Then once they are inside the capsule, you can have a pretty good idea of how big this thing is. It's only 21 inches, 21.5 inches in diameter, 6'4' in height. And it weighs about 924 pounds.

HARRIS: Well, that's enough room. You seem reasonably comfortable.

ROMO: But you also have to remember that they will be wearing communications equipment that will allow them to communicate with the rescuers on the surface.

HARRIS: Good. Good.

ROMO: Also, they have to wear a belt that is going to constantly monitor their vital signs. That information is going to go to a computer just to make sure that they are doing OK as they go up.

HARRIS: That's terrific. Yes. Yes.

ROMO: Exactly. And so, but you have to remember --

HARRIS: But wait a minute. How do you feel in there?

ROMO: It's a little too tight, to be honest with you. I'm 5'9" and a half -- don't tell anybody -- but officially I'm 5'10".

HARRIS: All right.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMO: It's shoulder to shoulder. I'm touching both sides of the capsule. So it's a bit tight.

HARRIS: So you are 5'9" and a half?

ROMO: Exactly.

HARRIS: How much do you weigh?

ROMO: One-eighty.

HARRIS: OK. Drop a couple of lbs. But you're good. But you feel OK in there, right?

ROMO: Yes. It should be OK.

Again, some of the miners have been there for -- that have lost 20 pounds because --

HARRIS: But that was by design.

ROMO: Exactly.

HARRIS: They absolutely want to see these miners lose weight.

ROMO: Exactly. Their diet has been constantly monitored to make sure that they had the right dimensions to get in this thing.

HARRIS: How long of a trip is this?

ROMO: It should anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. From the mine, all the way to the surface, it's about 2,047 feet, 624 meters.

HARRIS: All right. That's a little tight.

ROMO: Yes, exactly.

HARRIS: Close this thing for a second here. That's a little tight, but I'm a strapping man. I'm 6'1", 181 or so.

And will it be made out of these materials? This is plastic.

ROMO: No, no, no. Oh, no, no. It's all steel.

HARRIS: It's all steel?

ROMO: It's very heavy, it's very sturdy. It's designed to resist any sort of movement or shaking that there may be.

HARRIS: They're miners, and so claustrophobia, you would think, wouldn't be an issue.

ROMO: It should not be an issue.

HARRIS: But --

ROMO: Except that they've been underground for so long.

HARRIS: And this thing -- OK. All right.

And the operation begins, when do you think, tonight?

ROMO: We were just monitoring the press conference, expected to begin at 11:00 Eastern. The mining minister says that it may take as long as 48 hours, a full two days, to get all 33 miners out of there.

HARRIS: And what's the expectation? I know there is some concern about sunlight when they reach the surface. Is the expectation here that they are immediately put into vehicles and taken to a hospital?

ROMO: Exactly. There's a field hospital right next to the mine where they will go, several tests. It's going to take about two hours to make sure their vitals are OK. And then from there, they're going to be flown in a helicopter to the nearest main hospital in the area, which is about a 15-minute helicopter ride from where they are.

HARRIS: OK. We're going to get to a break. But as we do, Rafael is going to get back in here.

We are back in a moment. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM and in the capsule.

ROMO: Very tight quarters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: New developments in the testing of stem cells. Our medical unit is all over this. Back in a moment here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Stunning, stunning developments here. For the first time ever, researchers have injected a person with stem cells from human embryos. A patient in Atlanta is the first to receive them.

Joining me now to talk about what this means going forward, right, for all Americans who are paralyzed is CNN medical producer Miriam Falco.

Let me tell you something. We started to get e-mails on this. This is clearly a big story. Now, I don't pretend to be a doctor here, but I'm reading through the e-mails from your unit. Explain to us why this is such a significant a breakthrough.

MIRIAM FALCO, CNN MEDICAL PRODUCER: Well, it's significant because for years, for over a decade , we've been hearing about embryonic stem cells, the controversy and the funding controversy. Studies were done in animals. And we've been saying it's going to be decades until this is going to be in humans.

Well, less than a decade after we got -- the federal funding started, we now have a clinical trial in humans. The first person has been given something that's been derived, has been developed from human embryonic stem cells. That's a huge step because up until now we were saying we could paralyze mice and make them walk again. We could do all kinds of things with embryonic stem cells, stem cells that are taken from an embryo that have the potential to turn into anything in the body. Now we've actually taken it from the animal model to the human model. And that's a huge step.

HARRIS: OK. So this is a person, this first patient, recently suffered a spinal cord injury, right? FALCO: Right.

HARRIS: And is now a paraplegic?

FALCO: Correct. This person, in order to be in the clinical trial, had to have suffered an injury to the spinal cord.

HARRIS: Recently?

FALCO: Within 7 to 14 days, no more than 14 days. So, a new injury. And then they had to be paralyzed from the chest on down.

HARRIS: Yes.

FALCO: So they would have had to suffer an injury what's called between the T-3 and T-10. So the chest vertebrae right around here.

HARRIS: Good, good, good.

FALCO: And they could still move their arms, they could still breathe on their own. But they could not move their legs.

HARRIS: No bowel functions? Couldn't control bowel functions and those kinds of things, right?

FALCO: Or bladder, exactly. And more importantly, no hope of getting better through therapy. That's called a complete thoracic spinal cord injury.

HARRIS: So these are embryonic stem cells that have been reprogrammed?

FALCO: Correct. When a baby -- when an embryo is formed, within the first four to five days, these stem cells form. And those are the cells that turn into all of the cells in the body that make the bones, that make the blood, that make all of the different parts of the body. They are blank slates.

HARRIS: Yes.

FALCO: They take them out of the stem cell -- by taking them out of -- out of the embryo. By taking them out it destroys the embryo. That's where the controversy is.

HARRIS: That's the controversy.

FALCO: But then they don't want to just stick those stem cells somewhere in the body because it could turn into anything.

HARRIS: Sure. Any ear or nose or whatever?

FALCO: And I'm not a doctor, I'm not a scientist, but we wouldn't have to have an ear growing in your spine.

HARRIS: Yes. FALCO: So they specifically coax these cells to turn into myelinating glial cells. Basically what means is they are the cells that cover up the pars of the nerve that send signals to the body that say, move your leg, for instance. But these cells still have the ability to grow a little bit. So once they're put in the body, they're going to divide six to ten times and build a protective sheath around the injured parts of the spinal cord.

HARRIS: I have an electrical cord. I have an outer layer of the cord that protects all of the important stuff -- that's the inside, right? That carries the electrical current, right? And that outer sheath has been damaged and now what I need to do is to recreate that?

FALCO: Exactly. And that's what these cells are meant to do. And in animal studies, it has worked. Now, the question is does it work in humans?

HARRIS: OK.

FALCO: But at this point in the trial --

HARRIS: Phase one?

FALCO: Phase one. First patient. All they're officially looking for is safety. They haven't (ph) injured -- the patient isn't suffering because these cells -- these foreign cells have been put in them. But they're looking for --

HARRIS: Some efficacy, right?

FALCO: Exactly.

HARRIS: Wow, OK. Big deal. Sounds like it.

FALCO: It's a big deal. It's a big step forward.

HARRIS: Miriam, you did well here. That was good. Thank you so much.

We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer of our new primetime show "PARKER SPITZER" are talking about the shocking new documentary reveling the greed that sparked the epic 2008 recession

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": What I loved about this movie is that it helped me understand the complex series of events. But what struck me was -- and you just can't blame only Republicans, you can't blame just Democrats either. You can't pin it on President Bush or President Clinton. And it really didn't matter who controlled Congress. It's really just a story of runaway greed of a relatively small number of people who nearly destroyed our financial system.

ELIOT SPITZER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER" The only thing is it's all of the above. It was President Bush. It was also President Clinton, and the folks around him. The Fed, the SEC, Congress sitting there. Everybody bought into this notion that Wall Street could just make everybody rich. But you know what they did? They made themselves rich and we are poor. This was one big Ponzi scheme because we had to bail them out and they kept all of the money and they gave nothing back to us. And that is what is outrageous and I think has people really angry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: That was all about the documentary "Inside Job." Now tonight, the Oscar-winning director of the documentary, "Waiting for Superman," about the country's education problems will be on "PARKER SPITZER." That's 8:00 p.m. Eastern, here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Twenty-one days until voters, you, decide control of Congress. Time for your CNN Political update. Senior political editor Mark Preston, one member of "The Best Political Group on Television," joining us from Washington D.C.

And, Mark, good to see you, doctor. What's crossing right now?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Tony, good to see you.

Look, we talk a lot about Republicans having a shot of taking back the House of Representatives, but what about the Senate? One of the races that they would have to win is up in Wisconsin. It's being held by Russ Feingold, who was first elected in 1992. His opponent up there is a businessman, a very successful businessman by the name of Ron Johnson.

Right now, the polling shows that Johnson has a slight lead over Feingold. Last night, the two clashed in a debate up in Wisconsin. Johnson really hit home on the health care bill and said, again, that he is an independent-minded person, something we have heard a lot from candidates over the past couple of months, certainly over the past couple year. Feingold, in his defense, said that Johnson has offered no solutions at all to the problem. So, a very tough race up there for Russ Feingold if he is to win reelection.

Down in Florida, one of the House races that Democrats are trying to hold on to is held by a gentleman by the name of Alan Grayson. And our viewers might remember that Alan Grayson had this very famous quote on the House of Representatives. He said, if you get sick, die quickly. What he was talking about was Republicans. He said that was there health care plan.

Grayson, right now, a top target of Republicans. His candidate down there is trying to take him out, the Republican, gentleman by the name of Dan Webster. This is actually one of our top CNN 100 races. You can see more of that on CNNPolitics.com.

And Condoleezza Rice has a memoir out right now, Tony. She talks a lot about growing up in the segregated south in Alabama, and how her parents really didn't allow her to get caught up in all of that, regarding the discrimination she faced. She never learned how to swim and the reason why, she wasn't allowed to swim in public swimming pools with whites.

So she talks a lot about her parents in this memoir, including this, which I really thought was interesting. Talking about her mother, she said even if I could not have a hamburger at the Woolworth's counter, my mom taught me that I could be the president of the United States. Interestingly enough, a lot of Republicans would like to see Condoleezza Rice, perhaps, run for president in 2012.

HARRIS: Wow, that is solid stuff. Mark, good to see you. Look, we're putting together a really hot segment at the top of the noon show, isn't that correct, with you and Dana Bash?

PRESTON: Yes, absolutely looking forward to it. It's central to democracy, should be a good discussion.

HARRIS: Yes. OK, all right, can't wait to see that at the top of the hour. Mark, appreciate it, thank you.

Your next political update in an hour. And for the latest in political news, you know where to go, that's CNNPolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let us get you now to your source for financial news, that's CNNMoney.com -- "20 Highest Paying Jobs," anesthesiologist, that's a good living taking home a median income of $290,000 a year. That's good stuff; "100 Best Jobs in America," "Most Meaningful Jobs" -- got to clip these nails -- CNNMoney.com.

Jack, let's take a look at stocks. New York Stock Exchange, we've been selling most of the morning. I think we were off of session lows right now. We are down 33 points. The Nasdaq is -- well, we have a mixed day -- trading in positive territory. The Nasdaq is right now up two.

This past recession was the longest and deepest since World War II, but think I you known that and you've known that for awhile now, right? We are getting new word that it was even deeper than we thought.

Alison Kosik is on the floor of the New York Stock exchange. You're telling me, Alison, that it was worse than we thought?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it was. It turns out the Department of Labor actually underestimated the number of job losses that we had during the recession.

Right now, the government estimates that we lost 2.2 million jobs between April of last year and March of this year. But if you look in the fine print of Friday's jobs report, you find out there were another 366,000 jobs that were lost, this is their revision.

You know, but there is a silver lining to this even though that is a big number. Last year's revision was even bigger, it showed there were an additional 902,000 jobs that were lost -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Alison, we flat ran out of time, but I want more on this and we'll have a further conversation next hour.

KOSIK: Sounds great.

HARRIS: Alison Kosik on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange..

Speaking of next hour, here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, more banks are suspending foreclosures because of questions surrounding the process. I will talk with an expert about what this means for homeowners who are currently underwater.

And a man who prosecuted marijuana crimes for years has a change of heart in the marijuana legalization debate.

We're back in a moment.

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HARRIS: North Korea like you have probably never seen it before. Alina Cho is one of the few foreign journalists allowed into the secretive communist country. She shows us the average North Korean at play amid politics and propaganda.

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ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Your eyes are not deceiving you, this is communist North Korea. Its newest attraction, this Western-style amusement park, and it's packed. There's a ride called Power Surge. And take a look inside the food court, you will find Western fare.

The Ohn (ph) family comes here often to unwind. He says, words cannot explain the excitement. After working so hard, General Kim Jong-il has given us this park to relax. We really love it.

If North Korea is Stalin's last playground, this is its version of Disneyland.

Not far, at this outdoor food market, they are serving up more traditional fare, like soybean pancakes and people are paying. Like their enemy neighbors in South Korea, North Korean currency is also called the won, but this money features a hammer and sickle. One hundred North Korea Won equals $1 US. That will get you two sweet potatoes, one ticket to the amusement park or a hot dog at the food court.

In the two years since I last visited North Korea, I have noticed some changes. For one, more average North Koreans speak English.

(on camera): Do you like coming here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I very much.

CHO (voice-over): For the first time, there's traffic lights installed this spring.

Most notably, in a country closed off to the rest of the world, North Koreans are now talking on cell phones. This girl says, everyone in her family has one. But international calls are forbidden, word is punishable by death. In that way and others, time stands still.

We can only see what our government minders want us to see, and undeniably, it's North Korea's best face. Many North Koreans live in poverty, there are very few cars. In this city, there's no such thing as a traffic jam.

(on camera): This is Pyongyang's Puhung subway station, one of two main hubs and one of the main forms of transportation for average North Koreans. Many don't own bikes let alone cars, so this is how they get from point A to point B. And today, the trains appear to be running on time.

(voice-over): And many travel on foot. On the streets, there are no ads, just propaganda. And listen -- they not only see the message, they hear it -- North Korean propaganda songs blaring across Pyongyang.

(on camera): So look at what we happened upon here. We're in the middle of weeklong celebrations here in North Korea commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Worker's Party of North Korea. This is how people are celebrating, they're literally dancing in the streets.

(voice-over): It's possible they're also celebrating the choice of their next leader, Kim Jong-un, son of the ailing dictator Kim Jong-il.

For all the small changes we've seen, the larger question remains -- will a change at the top affect the average citizen? For now, North Korea remains sealed.

Alina Cho, CNN, Pyongyang, North Korea.

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