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Dems Stall Huge Tax Deal; House Dems Defy White House on Tax Cut Bill; Man Eats Worms to Treat Ulcerative Colitis
Aired December 09, 2010 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: All right. I'm here with you for the next couple hours. Take a look at these live aerial photos of London, England, right now. Moments after the parliament has voted to approve a massive tuition hike. We have seen violence today. We have seen riots. We have seen pushing and shoving between police officers and students in the streets of London.
Now, members of parliament still in the House. They have voted and it is very, very close. Three hundred and twenty-three votes in favor and 302 votes against down party lines. The parliament has voted to institute those hikes, and that means students are going to be paying a lot more. We will be telling you about that.
But, more importantly, we've got our reporters on the ground there. We've got our pictures in the sky. We are watching what is going on. Some very, very tense moments as this crowd will not disperse after the end of that vote. We'll tell you about that very, very shortly.
And here's the story of a site names Wiki. Basically, you've been hearing about WikiLeaks for weeks right now. It's a story that we've been putting out - that has been putting out some very juicy leaks.
Let me tell you a little bit more about it. WikiLeaks is an organization that is, basically, staffed by anarchists. It is a group that doesn't believe there should be secrets. So, they have come out with all sorts of information. Basically, document dumps. The recent one has confidential diplomatic cables that were made public, but where some people see the stuff of spy novels, we sort of see it differently.
So, I want to introduce you to the various players in the WikiLeaks saga. Now, in the role of hero, or trader, depending on your politics, is Julian Assange, he's the founder of WikiLeaks. Hilary Clinton assumes the role of diplomat mess cleaner-upper overseas, because the latest dump of documents has been about the US Diplomatic Corp of which the secretary of state is the head in the US.
Attorney general Eric Hover ready to give a press conference momentarily is the investigator. He's promising action if he can match the charges with the suspects. Something very tricky in the digital cyber world.
GOP congressman Peter King of New York, he leads the outrage course in Washington demanding that WikiLeaks be named a terrorist organization. People have asked for Julian Assange to be hanged. While Anonymous, and that's the name of a group, carries out cyber attacks on people or groups that have criticized or cut ties with Julian Assange.
Well, there's US Army private Bradley Manning, the suspective source of a ton of secret in-tell from the Iraq and Afghan wars, and now the US State Department. He's been in jail for months. Assange is in jail, too, by the way, on an unrelated matter in Britain - sex charges.
Finally, let's bring Sarah Palin into this. She says that she, too, has been the target of hacktivists for demanding that Washington hunt down people like Assange like the Taliban.
Let me show you how this message is spreading. The Web of intrigue has WikiLeaks in the center of it, of course, the boxes - let me tell you who else is involved. You've got WikiLeaks in the center and then you've got a bunch of Web sites that have been targeted by WikiLeaks. You've got MasterCard. You've got Visa. You've got PayPal. These aren't the payment systems of these organizations. Those are the Web sites .
So, Mastercard.com, Visa.com, you don't do any business with them, generally speaking. That's not the - that's not the payment system of things. That's just - that's just their Web sites. But it might be a shot across the bow from WikiLeaks to say, this is what we're capable of.
On the other side, you've got Facebook and Twitter. Well, they have blocked some communications from a group called Operation Payback, not WikiLeaks itself, but a support group, as it were. And the Internet is a hard thing to contain.
All along, this thing we've been seeing mirror sites which is pretty much any computer that can mirror Wiki content and, for that matter, can mirror a Web site that's trying to shut down one of these other Web sites. It's called - it's called denial of service attacks. You, basically, try to get to a site so many times using your own servers that it blocks that server. It, basically, crashes their server. That's what happening with MasterCard and Visa.
And then there's insurance. Julian Assange has got some insurance. He's threatened to release a colossal file of unknown, but presumably, explosive content if he is in prison or killed. We don't know what that is.
I'm going to stop talking now and bring in John Sutter for "Two at the Top". John is a technology writer for CNN.com. He can explain my new favorite term, low orbit ion cannon.
This is - you know, there were a lot of people who probably didn't care about this a week ago.
JOHN SUTTER, TECHNOLOGY WRITER, CNN.COM: Yes. VELSHI: Who are now understanding, now, wait a second, this isn't just about diplomatic cables and about who said whom about what. But it's got something to do with PayPal and Visa and MasterCard. How close can these guys get to me?
SUTTER: Yes. So, it's really spreading all over the Internet, like you said, and it's becoming much more notable. But, you know, the terms are sort of out of control. You mentioned the one which refers to a program that someone downloads to take place in this, you know, denial of service attack, just like you said, you know, floods the Internet.
VELSHI: And that's an old fashioned thing. Denial of service attack, that sort of thing has been going on for a long time.
SUTTER: It's been going on for at least a decade. And, you know, there have been, like, examples where people in protest have tampered with government Web sites. It's not necessarily new. It's very highly publicized right now because of WikiLeaks - the whole situation is so tense. So, as far as, like, how close it can get to you and me, like you mentioned, the actual infrastructure of these credit card companies has not been affected.
VELSHI: And they're much more secure than - MasterCard.com's Web site is a Web site like many companies' Web sites. It's got a certain level of security. But Mastercard.com - MasterCard payment systems and Visa's and PayPal's, that's a whole different level of security.
SUTTER: Right, well, and that's sort of a different thing that's going on. So, if you're flooding a Web site with traffic, you're, basically, shutting down the front end of it. So, you're not destroying the Web site, nothing necessary was damaged, but you're not able to access it. So, if you're that company, it's a problem because, you know, they do do business over their Web site. And, you know, they presumably lost business because they have been down for the last day or so.
VELSHI: Right. But it's just not the business that we think when we think of MasterCard and Visa. Can these guys get closer? They're talking about going after Amazon. They're talking about going after all sorts of people who have dealt like them or have somehow - with the case of PayPal and Visa and MasterCard, it's because they stopped accepting payments on behalf WikiLeaks.
SUTTER: Right. So, these hacktivists, which like you mentioned, go buy the term, anonymous, it's like a group of people that, you know, remains anonymous. They have threatened future attacks on all kinds of other sites and, so, people are sort of waiting to see where that will go.
I talked to a bunch of cyber security experts today and yesterday and they see this as mostly, like, pranksterism. They say that there's not anything terribly exceptional about what they've been able to do so far, so, you know, if things keep going the way that they've been going, you know, the average person who uses the Internet or uses their credit card is not, necessarily, going to be affected. You know, they're worries that this could translate into, sort of, real world attacks. That's almost unprecedented in the world of, you know, honest -
VELSHI: This middle ground where it's not real world where there's no real world violent attacks but they could actually hack into something - they might get more sophisticated and be able to get into cost information or something.
SUTTER: Some damage. Yes, you're exactly right.
VELSHI: All right, good. Good talking to you. Thanks very much. We'll continue to discuss this a lot, by the way, we'll also talk to you about it at 2:20 Eastern with my good friend, Richard Quest. It's a subject of our Q and A today.
Hey, it's sound affect time. Give a thousand Americans the choice of a gig in the NFL or a job with the railroad. Nine hundred ninety-nine of them would take football. Not Keith Fitzhugh. He played ball in high school and college and earned a spots in two training camps with the New York Jets. And wound up getting cut. But this week the Jets called him back. He said, no thanks. Keith's a trend conductor, now, with the Norfolk's Southern Railroad - didn't want to leave them in the lurch. His family needs him, too. He likes the comfort of a steady paycheck.
Here's what he told my colleague, Kyra Phillips, this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FITZHUGH: It was very exciting to even know that the Jets even wanted to make me a part of their team again, and it was just tough decision. I was at home - matter of fact, I was home and I got the call - and my agent called me, like, Keith, they want you to come back. And I'm, like, huh, what's really going on? And I talked to the Jets and I just told them I needed a little time. And I told them I was under new employment, and I didn't have enough time, really, to get in touch with my job to see if I could take a leave of absence. But, now, that, all this is going on, I could have. You know, but I had to do what was best for me at the time. And I just wanted to be professional with my job. And when I couldn't get a contact with them, of course, I wasn't just going to leave. I had to make a decision. I had to do what was best for my family time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Did you hear that? Keith could've played pro-ball and kept his job with the railroad. I hope his boss's appreciate his loyalty and I hope some other teams are listening to that.
But on to some political breaking news right now. House democrats primed for a beltway battle just voted to reject the president's tax cut compromise with the GOP. They caucused behind closed doors on the deal which would extend the Bush tax cuts to all Americans, rich and poor, and in result, they're saying they won't bring the package to the house floor as it result as it is. At one point, a chant even broke out, just say no. All of this coming a day after vice president Biden warned that house democrats against demanding changes so they wouldn't rock the boat with their republican partners. We'll have more on that through the course of this show.
He died almost 40 years ago leaving a stack of gold records and a police - a police record. Today, Jim Morrison's official file should be wiped clean or, at least, a little cleaner. The Door's singer looks to get - to be granted a post - a posthumous pardon by Florida's clemency board. He was arrested in 1969 - accused of dropping his pants onstage in Miami and exposing himself.
A jury convicted him of indecent exposure and profanity. He appealed that verdict until the day he died, July 3, 1971.
Outgoing Florida governor and Door's fan, Charlie Crist, managed to squeeze this on his docket for the last few weeks in office.
And a gruesome crime has sickened the city of Los Angeles, and the couple wanted for it is on the loose. Herbert White was found dismembered, limbs in a backpack, torso hidden under a hotel bed. He was well known as a good Samaritan. Sober for 15 years and dedicated to helping other alcoholics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was just positive. And I just talked to him two days before this happened. And I still can't believe he was gone. My brother would have helped anybody. He helped anybody whether you're black, white, whatever, he helped everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just please help us. Find the person who did this to my beautiful son. That's all I have to say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Police think he befriended Edward and Melissa Garcia on a visit to L.A.'s Skid Row. And they later ambushed and killed him. The Pennsylvania couple is out there somewhere and should be considered armed and dangerous.
And we're about to get new insights on the highs and lows of the Nixon presidency. The Richard Nixon the library is releasing tons of documents and video plus 265 hours of white house tapes. Some of the subjects they cover, the cease-fire in Vietnam, US policy in the Middle East, and, yes, Watergate. Don't worry if you can't get up to the library in California, a lot of the stuff will be available online.
OK, two countries, two governments, two very different plans for reducing their huge deficits. Here's how it's going in London. Those are live pictures above parliament. That crowd of students still out there in the streets. They are protesting a vote that just took place within the last hour authorizing an increase in tuition fees. We'll discuss how it's playing out there and here, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Two very different reactions this hour to attempts to rein in soaring budget deficits. The most dramatic and violent happening in the streets of London and near parliament. Just moments ago, in London, the British Parliament voted to triple college tuition fees by nearly $10,00. From about $4,700 a year to 14,000. The vote, 323 in favor, and 302 no.
Before the vote, thousands of British students took to the streets of London protesting the expected move. This just the latest student demonstration against the plan. For the most part, the demonstration was peaceful. You could see a little pushing and shoving here. Hundreds of police officers have been deployed. Some students did clash with them, throwing sticks and paint at officers and setting of fireworks. A fire was actually set. A few students and police officers were injured but none seriously.
Several students were arrested. Right now students are said to be moving on parliament. The hike in college tuition doesn't go into effect until 2012. Here's British conservative prime minister David Cameron, defending the plan just before the vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Well known about what students will pay. They are much lower -- they are much lower than what students, for instance, pay in the United States. But I have to say, I have to say to the other (ph) gentleman, in the end, we have to make a choice here. If we want to see -- if we want to see university education expand, if we want to see universities well-funded, we have to work out where that money is going to come from.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: OK. That's what's happening in the British capital.
Let's shift it to the U.S. Capitol. Capitol Hill and the fight here over the soaring U.S. budget deficit. We've told you about the latest opposition to the tax cut plan that President Obama carved out this week with Republican lawmakers. And you'll know that opposition is coming from his own party. This morning he was again defending the deal which has to be approved by Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is an important debate I think most of you are aware of on Capitol Hill that will determine in part whether our economy moves forward or backward. The bipartisan framework that we've forged on taxes will not only protect working Americans from seeing a major tax increase on January 1st, it will provide businesses incentives to invest, grow and hire. And every economist that I've talked to, or that I've read over the last couple of days, acknowledges that this agreement would boost economic growth in the coming years and has the potential to create millions of jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VELSHI: Now, to the president's supporters, that's a strong argument. Under the current political climate, though, you go for the best deal you can get. Many Democrats are not buying that. Also this morning, they delivered the latest bit of news that Mr. Obama needs to hear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: This message today is very simple, that the -- in the form that it was negotiated, it is not acceptable to the House Democratic caucus. It's as simple as that. We will continue to try and work with the White House and our Republican colleagues to try and make sure that we do something that is responsible for the American people, right for the economy, right for jobs, and fair and balanced package as we go forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now despite that message, the White House says it remains confident that the major components of the tax compromise will pass. But the Republicans -- the Democrats have said they are not going to vote for it the way it stands.
OK, what happens to you and the economy if Democrats manage to sink the president's tax compromise. We're going to take a hard look at that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: We told you a few minutes ago, House Democrats have voted not to bring the president's tax deal to the floor of the House for a vote. This comes after Vice President Biden warned his party against forcing changes to the plan. But outgoing White House Senior Economic Adviser Larry Summers had this to say yesterday. Quote, "if they don't pass this bill in the next couple of weeks, it will materially increase the risk that the economy would stall out and we would have a double dip." Christine Romans, my co-host of "Your Money," joins me now from New York.
Christine, sounds a little extreme.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-HOST, "YOUR MONEY": A double dip doesn't mean chocolate and vanilla. A double dip means we're all in a lot of trouble. And, frankly, you know, Moody's economy.com, you know Mark Zandi over there, he was not forecasting a double -- most people were not forecasting a double dip without this particular deal. It's clearly, Larry Summers, the president's top economist, trying to show how dire this situation is and how much growth can be added by some of the simulative measures in the tax agreement.
Goldman Sachs, for example, says the deal will be significantly more positive for the U.S. economy and boost economic growth, Ali, by up to 1 percentage point next year. Here's what Moody's says. It changes the near term economic outlook. It cuts unemployment to 8.7 percent next year, as opposed to 8.7 percent in 2012, which is when Moody's originally thought you'd get it down there. But if you look at some of these forecasts further out, Ali, growth starts to -- growth forecasts start to come down again. Why? Well, because of the big debt burden we have and the deficit burden we have. So this is near-term stimulus. And the things that are simulative in here are, as you know, unemployment benefits, very simulative, this payroll tax holiday, if you're out there sitting there watching me right now, you make $40,000 a year, it would be $800 more in your paycheck next year. That's very simulative.
But what this whole double dip conversation I think -- and I think you're going to agree, Ali -- this double dip conversation brings it back to the economics, the simulative part of it and takes the eye off of -- well, what people are howling about is that the president gave up so much on tax cuts when he, on the campaign trail, said he was going to raise taxes for people are wealthy.
VELSHI: The important point as this discussion goes on, Christine, is that we don't really always need to fear that the economy's going to go into recession and up and down. There could be just a big danger to it not growing. We don't have to have a double dip for this to be a bad scenario.
ROMANS: Well, and I think -- bumping along the bottom hurts. It's painful. Two and a half percent employment is painful -- 4 percent -- or growth, rather, is painful. Two and a half percent employment --
VELSHI: It would be great.
ROMANS: Unemployment is good. But, you know, 4 percent economic growth for next year would feel a lot better than what we're feeling right now, and that is, quite literally bumping along the bottom. So double dip, you know, what is that? I mean people who are out of work will tell you it still feels like a double -- it still feels like a recession to them.
VELSHI: Sure.
ROMANS: So double dip or no, it still feels the same to them. But, gosh, we want to get the economy growing again, don't we? We really want to get that economy growing again.
VELSHI: Can't we go back to yesterday where we were having that fun conversation about wallets?
ROMANS: I know, the wallet that expands and contracts depending on how much money you have. I love that. Love it.
VELSHI: All right, Christine, good to see you. We will talk to you every day, as I always do. I do talk to Christine every day, either here or on weekends on "Your Money" Saturday's at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sunday's at 3:00. Christine has also got a great new book out called "Smart Is The New Rich." You can check it out on bookshelves now.
Here's what's happening right now. We are following breaking news. That's a live picture of London, outside of parliament. Those are students assembled who are protesting that this new law, lawmakers have approved a controversial plan to triple the cap on tuition fees for college students, despite massive student demonstrations all day. The plan allows universities to raise tuition from roughly $4,700, where they've been, to about $14,000 a year. Angry students are concerned that they will be priced out of an education, as the country's lawmakers try to cut the deficit.
And a day after passing in the House, the Dream Act has died in the Senate. Democrats say they don't have the votes to get it through. The legislation aims to pave the pathway to citizens for thousands of young illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military.
The father of the man who plotted the bomb in the New York City subway system pleaded not guilty just hours ago in federal court. Mohammed Zazi faces several charges, including obstruction of justice and visa fraud. His trial could begin in July if a plea deal isn't reached. His son, Najibullah Zazi, pleaded guilty to terrorism charges earlier this year.
With President Obama facing a sudden backlash from his own party over a tax deal, Ed Henry says it has been a very busy day at the White House, to say the least. We'll get the inside story from him on the stakeout coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Ed Henry, as he always is, is at the stakeout at the White House for us. He's our senior White House correspondent. He joins me every day at this time to give me a little bit of -- more of an insight into what's going on in politics. And this is one of those days, Ed, where we really need your special skill because to the outside, this is hard to understand. The Republicans wanted something. They wanted an extension of the Bush era tax cuts for everyone. The Democrats wanted it just for middle class earners. The Republicans went into negotiation with the White House. It seemed like the Republicans got a lot more than they were even asking for. Democrats are mad and now saying, they're not going to let this go.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right. And specifically, the best way to explain it is that Democrats who are mad are in the House. And what's significant about that is, normally the problems on all of these things, with health care or the stimulus or whatever, turns out to be the Senate, because you need 60 votes, a super majority to get anything through. And normally you can push almost anything through the House when you're in charge. The president has largely done that. President Bush did that with the Republican House many times.
This time the equation has been flipped. And maybe the White House miscalculated. They thought, look, we've got to make sure the Senate's on board, so we had the president dealing directly with the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, at the beginning of this. And it appears like it's going to sail through the Senate this time. You know, there will be some objections, but largely a lot of Republicans and Democrats say, fine.
In the House you had House Democrats today, it's nonbinding, but very symbolic, very important, they went behind closed doors and passed this non-binding resolution saying to current Speaker Pelosi, soon to be minority leader, don't even bring this to the floor. And so now you have the president's own party defying him saying, we're not going to bring it up because maybe this president didn't pay enough attention to his folks there in the House.
I'm now hearing from a senior Democratic adviser to this White House that one strategy floating around is they may have Harry Reid pass this, push it through the Senate, and then in the words of this adviser to the president, jam it through the House and sort of force the House Democrats to swallow one they just don't want to do right now. Now, that may just antagonize them more. They may finally stand their ground and say, this is a bridge too far. On the other hand, this White House may calculate the Christmas holidays is coming up, new year's, all these lawmakers want to go home, do these lawmakers, especially these House Democrats, want to get the blame for essentially raising taxes on the middle class, on the poor and the rich, Ali. It's a huge pickle for the president.
VELSHI: Let's just introduce another complicated thing here. The strange bedfellows now. You've got the left of the Democratic Party saying, why did you trade away all these things, joining up with people like Rand Paul and libertarians almost from the Republican party saying, this goes too far because it adds to the deficit.
HENRY: Yes, to the (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: Now the president had two deficit commissions really. But he had them report. They've come up with ideas. And I wonder whether the deficit commission's reports are going to end up like the 9/11 Commission. You know, this blue ribbon panel with all sorts of suggestions that everybody kind of ignores.
HENRY: Well, here's an interesting signal that I just picked up about what happened this morning. There was a meeting here at the White House, it hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but it was in the Roosevelt Room, just steps from the Oval Office. And the debt commission members came in, they met with Treasury Secretary Geithner and the budget director, Jack Lew. They were expected -- they weren't promised, but they were expecting President Obama would drop by.
The Roosevelt Room is just a few feet away from the Oval Office, as I said. The president never came. I spoke to some of the Democrats, these are not Republicans, Democrats who were on that commission afterwards and they privately told me they were stunned that the president didn't even drop by. Didn't even -- this is his own commission, debt commission, that he appointed and said, hey, great report.
We're going to follow through. And what I'm told privately by some of these Democrats on the commission, they're worried, frankly, that with the president now spending $800 million, $900 million in deficit spending now, if this tax deal goes through, that maybe this White House is not really going to follow through on these promises to cut the debt.
Look, there's a short-term economic problem. You've got the government to prime the pump and do something. But, long-term we've got a huge debt problem. People are worried about whether there will be a Greek-style debt crisis. There's these two competing problems the White House is struggling with.
VELSHI: Yes. And this is going to be a big problem for a while. One of the things that's obvious is that tax cuts are more politically palatable to people than discussions about debt. Discussions about debt and cuts, as we just saw in London, it can be very hard to take.
Ed, thanks very much.
HENRY: Everyone keeps saying they're going to do something about it, and yet they just keep giving out more candy.
VELSHI: Yes. Absolutely right. All right, Ed. We'll stay on this topic with you. Ed Henry, our senior White House correspondent at the White House for the Stakeout, as he always is, giving us a little bit of added information as to what's going on in this debate that affects you a great deal.
OK. Coming up next -- and I need to warn you -- put away your food if you're having lunch. What we're going to show you is what one man went through to get through a debilitating disease that gave him 10 to 15 horrible bowel movements every day. Stay with us, if you dare.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. Happening right now. You're looking at a home in San Diego. Officials any minute now, we believe, will start burning this house. They're going to demolish this house, which is described as a bomb factory. That's the house we're looking at right now. Those are live pictures. Demolition teams are preparing to burn it down.
Let me tell you a little bit about this house. It's a single- story wood framed house whose tenant and unemployed computer software engineer was jailed on bank robbery and explosive charges. Basically crews have been sawing holes in the house, in the roof, to let this blaze burn more efficiently, more quickly. Firefighters are spraying fire retardant gel on homes that are closest to the burn. We're expecting that to happen fairly soon.
It's located in a middle-class neighborhood in Escondido, about 25 miles north of San Diego. Fifty different agencies are part of this operation. We don't know how they're going to do this, but it's going to be set off by remote control. We'll bring you the pictures as soon as it happens, as soon as we've got it. There's a lot of stuff having to do with this that we are getting our pictures for and we'll get back to you as soon as we've got it.
In London, the government has just voted to raise the cap that universities charge for tuition. Thousands of angry students are outside of Parliament protesting.
On Capitol Hill, House Democrats voted not to bring up the tax package that President Obama negotiated with Republicans.
(VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: We just didn't put that on TV, did we? It's a good thing it's a taped show. We'll just edit that out. That was a scene from the New Line Cinema movie "Dumb and Dumber." You might think it's funny but, what would you do if that was your life? Ten to fifteen bloody bowel movements a day without a known cure.
One man's treatment in the U.S. wasn't helping his disease called ulcerative colitis. He took an extraordinary journey to Thailand for a treatment that you won't believe. He ate parasitic worms -- worms. I'm not talking about acidophilus or other live bacteria, I'm talking about worms.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with the details on this incredible story which you know a lot about.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm actually, as far as I know, the only journalist who's actually talked to this patient. And it's amazing, this guy was in such a bad situation. He had ulcerative colitis, going to the bathroom 20 times a day, had to quit his job, lost a ton of weight. And the doctor said, all right, you've got two choices. Either we give you a drug that might cause you cancer, or we just remove your colon. And he said, wait a minute, I don't like those choices very much. And he read on the internet about some people who were using eggs, worm eggs. You swallow the eggs and then you get worms in your intestines like people do in developing countries.
VELSHI: I never heard that anybody willingly did that.
COHEN: Yes, because usually you're trying to get worms out of people.
VELSHI: Right.
COHEN: But in this case, there's some evidence that those worms protect you from ulcerative colitis. Because you know what? In India and other places where they have worms, people don't have ulcerative colitis. And so there's some thinking that the worms protect you from it.
So he said he couldn't get a doctor in this country to do it. He found doctors with worms but they said, no, I'm not giving you worms. You might sue me if something goes wrong. So he couldn't get anyone here. So he went to Thailand. And in Thailand, they said to him, here's some -- they went into the stool of an 11-year-old girl, got the worms.
VELSHI: OK, so before we show any pictures, I'm just warning everybody. COHEN: OK. This is from a colonoscopy of this gentleman. And these are the worms. You can see them extremely carefully, they are all over his gut. And those worms are what he believes changed everything for him. Because once he got enough of them in his gut -- and he had to swallow thousands of them -- he said that his symptoms went away. He went from having 20 bloody bowel movements a day, to having none. He was totally fine. And then when it flared up again, he would take more worms and be fine again.
VELSHI: Are these the kind of worms that in other circumstances you'd be working to get rid of if you thought you had them?
COHEN: Yes, because they can also cause problems. And that's the thing is that this guy took a big risk. And he knew he was taking a risk. He said, to me it's worth it because my life is such a disaster at this point. And he's been taking them for about six, seven years now.
VELSHI: Six or seven years.
COHEN: And he just got written up in a medical journal. That's why we're doing this story now.
VELSHI: And has he felt the effects of the bad stuff that might happen that these worms could normally --
COHEN: No, he's said he's had no side effects. He says he's been fine. And I've got to tell you, when I called a prominent gastroenterologists like this, Ali, they nearly blew a gasket. I mean, they used words I can't use on air to say how stupid they thought this guy was.
So there is the don't try this at home message. And I want to make that clear.
VELSHI: Well, that's what I was going to ask you because you're all about empowering the patient. This was a very empowered patient.
COHEN: Yes. This is a very empowered patient. Not many people fly to Thailand, get worm eggs out of stool and swallow them. I mean, he treated them before he did. But, anyhow. That's a very unusual thing to do. So he decided that the risk was worth taking. He was aware of the risks he was taking.
You do not want to try this at home. A lot of people think this guy is not very smart. Other doctors think he's brilliant for being willing to try something different. But all the details are on CNNhealth.com, including things like that one.
VELSHI: Wow, what an interesting story. All right. Elizabeth, you've always got something fascinating that makes me think and that was definitely one of them.
Thank you.
COHEN: And today I've made you want to take worms, right? VELSHI: At least you made me think about it. I don't normally discuss that sort of thing. Good to see you.
Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent. Great story.
They've been fighting American troops for more than nine years. Incredible pictures of the Taliban that you have probably never seen. This is fascinating. Stick around, next in Globe Trekking.
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VELSHI: It is time now for Globe Trekking. To the war in Afghanistan, 1,400 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan, many more injured fighting the Taliban. Little is known about this shadowy enemy that disappears into the mountainside strongholds and hideouts. No western reporter has been behind the lines to film the Taliban for days on end, until now.
In the CNN documentary "Taliban," Norwegian filmmaker Paul Refsdal reveals to Anderson Cooper, the shadowy Afghan fighting force at war and at rest, preparing weapons, coordinating ambushes, praying, playing, even at home with their families.
Here's a preview.
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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Taliban fighters prepare for battle. A convoy approaches. This is the Taliban as you've never seen them before. In battle, in their homes, in their hideouts. Rare, exclusive images behind enemy lines.
Norwegian filmmaker Paul Refsdal first came to Afghanistan in the 1980s to report on the Mujahidin. Now he returns on a dangerous assignment, one that will take him to one of the country's deadliest regions. It's an assignment that could get him kidnapped and killed.
(on camera): Why did you want to do this?
PAUL REFSDAL, NORWEGIAN JOURNALIST: Because we've been fighting the Taliban for nine years. I thought it was time that someone met them, and actually tried to show who these people are.
COOPER: Why risk your life to tell the story of these people who are fighting the U.S. government, fighting the Norwegians, as well?
REFSDAL: It's very important that people know who we're fighting. Because at the present, people don't have a clue really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: That is just a small slice of the documentary. To see more of Refsdal's amazing time with the Taliban and to hear him tell Anderson Cooper about his experience of being kidnapped, watch "Taliban" on CNN, Saturday and Sunday nights at 8:00 and 11:00 Eastern. Well, if it's broken, it can fix itself. Details on a super high-tech material that can heal its own wounds. It's on the Big I after the break.
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VELSHI: Not for about 40 years, that was 1984. That was "The Terminator." In today's Big I, science is taking a lesson from the big screen. Researchers are working on a material that can do what the cyborg assassin, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, was able to do in that movie. A material that can sense danger, diagnose problems and heal itself through self-regeneration.
Joining me now, Henry Sodano, he's an associate professor at Arizona State University who is bringing a little science fiction into reality.
Henry, good to see you. Thanks very much.
Was that really the inspiration, or was something else the for a self-healing material?
HENRY SODANO, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: Yes. So basically, we wanted to try to create a material that acted like our body does to damage and specifically our bone. What we wanted to do is create something that could sense damage, like bone does. Respond to try to stop its propagation, as gone does, and then also, subsequently heal itself and return it back to its original configuration and obtain all of its properties that it had before.
VELSHI: Let's talk about this material that you've developed. I want to show our viewers some video of this thing. And first, I want the viewers to understand, there's already a rip in this material. It's not a rip, that's the way it's supposed to be. And then you can see it just keeps repeating itself.
But basically the way you see it now, in the blue, is the way it is in its normal state. Now watch what happens. You'll see the rip come, and then you'll see -- there you go. You see that rip. See how it rips on the right side of the screen and then heals itself.
Explain to me how this works.
SODANO: OK, so what we're doing is we're using a fiber optic network. And this fiber optic network is distributed throughout the material. And as this crack propagates through the polymer in this case, it's a shaped memory polymer. As it propagates through the polymer, it fractures the fiber optic and that signals the damage is in the structure.
That fractured location actually provides us a mechanism to deliver photo thermal energy, which is the light leaking out of the fiber optic directly into the material. And this causes a local heating. And so this shape memory polymer has the ability to remember its original shape. And so as this crack moves through, it's deforming the material.
And once we apply this photo thermal energy and heat the material locally, it causes it to revert back to its original shape. And so this healing mechanism is inherent to that material. And as we elevate its temperature, it actually brings it back and returns it to its original configuration. So, what you see in that image is the damaged structure, so this crack. And us heating it and it actually recovering. When it's that entire purple color, that's showing that it's recovered 100 percent of its original shape and so there's no more deformation left.
VELSHI: What is that? What would that be? Is this a material that you wear as clothing? Is it something we put on our cars? Is it something that goes on windows? What is it?
SODANO: So this is a -- a polymer material, and, you know, polymers are used to make a variety of different applications in the different materials. Particularly, I was approaching it as composite materials, fiber-reinforced composites, such as fiberglass or carbonfiber (ph) where you have a fiber embedded in this polymer. And what we were looking at is trying to find a way to cause a material to heal that we might not have access to. So when you think about satellites --
VELSHI: When you say carbonfiber, are you talking about a bicycle, a car, or you talking about clothing?
SODANO: Not clothing, mostly structural applications. So it could be a bicycle, it could be civil infrastructure, it could be an aircraft. It could be a lot of different materials. It's simply a structural material that can regenerate itself and correct this -- and keep -- avoid catastrophic failures is basically what we're after.
VELSHI: It's remarkable. I love it.
Henry, thanks very for joining us and telling us a little bit about this. We'll stay on top of it with you.
SODANO: Thank you very much.
VELSHI: All right, for more on the self healing material, check out my blog, CNN.com/Ali.
OK. Let me bring you up to speed with some of the latest developments that we're following here.
Thousands of angry students are protesting a plan just approved by the British Parliament that could triple their tuition. They're concerned that they'll be priced out of an education. Lawmakers are looking for ways to it reduce that country's massive deficit.
House Democrats have voted to not bring up the president's tax deal. That package was a negotiation between President Obama and Republicans. After the vote, the White House said it remains confident that the major components of the tax compromise will pass, according to a White House spokesman. Stay with us throughout the day for more updates on that.
Actor Wesley Snipes has just reported to a Pennsylvania prison. The actor known for films including "Blade" and "The Fan" was sentenced to three years behind bars for not filing taxes. Snipes, 48, blames his tax advisers for not filing the returns.
And Senate Democrats aren't giving up. They still hope they can pass the DREAM Act before time runs out. That has stalled in the Senate. Their next move is straight ahead.
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VELSHI: It is time now for a CNN Political Update. Senate Democrats didn't have enough votes today to pass the DREAM Act that we were telling you about yesterday, they are still hopeful though. Our chief national correspondent, John King, is live in Washington with more on their next move.
Hey, John.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, Ali, my friend, sometimes the process in Washington can be pretty confusing.
What happened with the DREAM Act is you're dead right. Democrats did not have enough votes to pass it, so they tabled that measure, but what they're saying is they're not necessarily done yet. They're going to try to bring up the House-passed version.
The House passed the DREAM Act last night, let's illegal immigrants who came into the United States before they were 16 years old, as long as they go to college, join the military, they can get a path to citizenship. The Democrats say they'll try one more time next week. So that one not done yet.
Here's another one that's up in the air, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Harry Reid thinking about bringing, he's the Democratic leader in the Senate, thinking about bringing it up for a vote today, the Defense Authorization Act that has the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal in it, even though he doesn't have the votes yet to repeal. Although, he's trying to broker a deal with some Republicans, he's getting a little frustrated with the timing.
Although, Harry Reid getting a warning from the gay rights community, the human rights campaign, saying that if this vote fails, they will hold all parties responsible. So that a message to the Democratic leader there.
And the Alaska Senate race, the election was five week us go tomorrow, Ali. We should know Joe Miller or Lisa Murkowski. Lisa Murkowski is ahead in the count by 10,000. Joe Miller challenging some of those write-in votes. We expect a decision from the judge tomorrow.
VELSHI: John, I want to ask you about this revolt, let me call it that, that's going on in the House against the president's deal with the Republicans on this tax cut extension. How serious could that get?
KING: Ali, this is a fascinating and it could be a very consequential story looking ahead to the next two years. You have the House liberals essentially revolting against their Democratic president saying, no way, Mr. President, we don't like your deal. They're trying to negotiate some changes to this. But the Republicans are saying, no, maybe we'll tweak a little bit, but there will be no major changes on the scale those House Democrats want.
Here's the hard, cold reality. As those Democrats -- and they have legitimate philosophical reasons to not like this deal and they're mad at the president, many think he sold them out. But here's the hard cold reality, if they don't get a deal this year, well the Republicans will control the House next year and the Republicans will have more seats in the Senate, so the Republicans conceivably would have even more leverage next year is this debate carries over.
So this is a fascinating internal Democratic family feud that has consequences for every taxpayer in America.
VELSHI: OK, John. Thanks very much. We'll stay on this. So many topics to cover that are going on in Washington, we'll stay on top of it with you.
Your next Political Update is just one hour away.
All right, we are throwing punches in today's "Odds & Ends" from the boxing ring and the courtroom. The headliners, Stallone and Zuckerberg. I'll explain after the break.
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