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More Facebook Privacy Issues; Regis Philbin Announces Retirement Plans; President Obama Meeting With Chinese President; Searching For Serial Rapist in Detroit; Camden's Mass Police Layoffs; The Health of Steve Jobs and Apple's Stock; Political Pressure on China's President Hu to Leave Legacy Could Affect Negotiations; Americans Fairly Divided Over Parts of Health Care Bill; U.S. Navy Sailor Missing; Duvalier Taken into Custody in Haiti

Aired January 18, 2011 - 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: Carol, thank you so much. Have a great afternoon.

Hey, listen, back in the day, we had these phone books. You still might get them. Lots and lots of phone books. These phone books published your name, your address and your phone number. This was the only information you had out there for the public to see.

Well, today, we have the Internet, and this little program you might know as Facebook. Now, the news is littered, these days, with privacy concerns over the social media giant. It's been one issue after another with those guys, over the years, to do with privacy. The most recent involves your telephone number being handed over to developers of third-party applications you may choose to use on Facebook.

So, last Friday -- last Friday evening I should say, Facebook gave app developers access to your phone number and address if you decided to use an app on Facebook. Well, late yesterday, they said they were suspending the feature and updating it, based on feedback they had received, to make people more aware of when they were granting access to personal data.

Today, with Facebook, and other social networking sites, you have much more of your personal information out there for the world to see. Not just your address and phone number. Pictures, all sorts of things, that are out there.

If you choose to post it, others can find out where you work, what movies you like, what news stories you're reading, to whom you are related, everything is online, that is if, and only if, you put it out there.

Now, in Facebook's case, lots of people do. Nearly six hundred million people, worldwide, put some information on Facebook. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted this on his blog. Last May, during another incident about privacy concerns, he says, quote, "When we started Facebook, we built it around a few simple ideas. People wanted to share and stay connected with their friends and the people around them. When you have control over what you share, you want to share more. When you share more, the world becomes a more -- becomes more open and connected." End quote.

All right. I want to talk about this a little bit more. I want to bring in a few of our good friends. Mario Armstrong is a digital life expert. He joins us via Skype.

MARIO ARMSTRONG, DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT (via Skype): Hey, Ali.

VELSHI: Rachel Sklar is the editor at large at Media Eye and she's in New York. Dorothea Bozicolona-Volpe is a social media strategist joining me right here in Atlanta.

Welcome to all of you. Rachel, let me start with you. These privacy breaches or invasions or whatever some people, I think, being alarmists, tend to call them, what are we talking about here? We're talking about the phone number, that I just showed you, has been in the phone book forever. What -- how big a deal is this?

RACHEL SKLAR, EDITOR AT LARGE, MEDIA EYE: It really depends who you're asking, you know. First of all, people who -- I love it that you had real phone books on your desk. Wow. But there's a big difference between the old phone book where, you know, chances are you have to know what you were looking for and who you were looking for. In this day and age, everything -- all of the social, you know, tags and ways that you can connect show you -- let you zero in, immediately, on the information that you want.

So, if it's between friends and you've posted your number, that's great. But what does this -- you know, unknown third party want this information for? And if it's just readily available through Facebook's API, should we be concerned?

We've seen enough situations where, you know, phishing scams and spammers invade Facebook pages. And I've seen very sophisticated users fall into that trap. I'm one of them, actually. But I've seen people even more sophisticated than me, you know, founders of huge Internet companies with spammy links on their site, because they clicked something that looked legit.

(CROSSOVER)

VELSHI: All right. So, it still takes me -- it still takes me down the road of this being our responsibility to understand what we're putting out there, because in the old days, it was just the phone book with your address and your phone number and you could choose when you signed up whether to be listed or not listed. Now, we register or we put information on Facebook accounts as if we bear no responsibility about making that choice.

(CROSSOVER)

VELSHI: Mario, Rachel says, what could these people want them for? But Rachel, we know what they want it for. They want to sell it to third-party applications so people can market to you. Right? And, Mario, isn't that the deal? We get all these free services for something. ARMSTRONG: I see no reason, and I'm going to get hit in the head by developers for this, and that's fine. Come at me. Bring it on. I see no reason why, in this day and age, an application needs to ask us for our phone number or our own address. That wasn't something that we're used to doing. It's not our consistent online behavior. It's not something that was necessary before when we wanted to download apps or play things like Farmville or do all these things on Facebook. Why do we need to do that, now? And why are we giving the power to Facebook or, really, to these third party developers for that?

I think it opens up a really bad opportunity for things to go really wrong here. And we're talking about millions of users who are not -- I'm not getting upset at anyone. We're just not the most tech savvy folks out there. We can be duped easily.

VELSHI: And, again, I will continue to say, then we have to be. I mean, that's -- you decide you want to open that Facebook account. But let me just say -- you know, here's the thing. Dorothea, I think this is interesting because if any app developer ever used my phone number and called me, that would be the last time I would have anything to do with them. So, I don't understand why, in 2011, they're all that interested in our phone numbers, given they've got Facebook and our e-mail address to get to us. But where do you see this going? And, again, where does the responsibility for this lie? Because all, I think, we're going to do is continue to complain about social media sites stealing our privacy. Shouldn't we just watch our privacy ourselves?

DOROTHEA BOZICOLONA-VOLPE: What I would say is, back up a moment, because, Ali, if you think about it, as consumers, as people who are social media savvy, which this group that you've accommodated, obviously, is. We all have signed up at times -- or times, you know, for an e-mail marketing program to download a coupon and what have you. So, as far as online behaviors go, we, actually, have been doing this. We've been doing this for some time. But we've been doing it because we're allowing that brand to interact with us. We're doing it because we want to communicate, specifically, with that community.

Now that we fast forward to Facebook being open and having this open API and access to our information, it is our personal responsibility to show what we want, what we don't want. And I, myself, have been victim, as a sophisticated user, of having my identity stolen from Facebook, back in April of 2009. And, then, I chose what to take and make private and what information I wanted to make public.

But when you get into the social networking site arena, whether you're at S&S (ph) as a small community of mommy bloggers or Facebook. You decide what information you want to share. People still want to connect over this type of technology. And our online behaviors have shown that we do want to share information.

VELSHI: We clearly want to do it.

BOZICOLONA-VOLPE: And think of everybody who shares their pictures of their newborn or video. You know, we don't know who's capturing that detailed information, now, halfway across the world in another country and repurposing that in an advertisement.

VELSHI: OK. So, Rachel, back to what we said in the beginning, I guess it's shared responsibility for the privacy but the reality is, we know this, you knew this -- know this from the business you're in and we know this from the business we're in. People do want to connect. They do want to use it to communicate with us and others in the world. They want to post their pictures. What should we be doing to protect ourselves?

SKLAR: Well, I mean, you know, you said it before, if you really don't want any information ever to get out there, then, I guess, you should just keep it all to yourself. But that is impractical in this day and age.

So, I actually think, you know, yes, it's true. We should all be responsible for our own information and actions online. But let's flip it here, you know, Facebook has presented itself as a trusted place to hold your information that, you know, you share with people you want, you can -- you know, there's a privacy policy page that -- you know, that says beware, you know, of third parties and check out third parties.

But, realistically speaking, it does go to Facebook and their credibility to be worthy of their trust. And, I think, what you've seen is the Facebook philosophy is towards sharing, being open, being connected. Those are words that Mark Zuckerberg uses over and over again.

So, you know, their default is always to think, awesome, we're going to share something, as opposed to like, whoa, should we be nervous here? And it's amazing to me that they didn't see this coming. But the fact that they didn't see this coming should maybe make you think, OK, maybe pull back a little bit.

VELSHI: Be careful with your own information. That's good learning for all of us. Guys, good to see you all. Thanks, so much, for being with us. Mario Armstrong, Digital Lifestyle Export; Rachel Sklar, Editor at Large at Media Eye, an excellent site that you should be checking out; and Dorothea Bozicolona-Volpe, joining me, right here, in studio. You'll come back, again because you're nearby.

All right. Long before there was a Facebook or the Internet or PCs or DVRs, or VCRs, before all of that, there was Regis Philbin. He is a broadcasting legend. One of the very few still on the air every day since our own Larry King stepped aside last month. Today, though, after 23 years on his current show, and 50 years in the business, Reg made an announcement his fans didn't want to hear. And it's today's "Sound Effect."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGIS PHILBIN, LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY: And this will be my last year on this show. There is -- there is a time that, you know, everything must come to an end for certain people on camera, especially certain old people. So, anyway, folks, I just want you to know that. Plenty of -- plenty of room to go. This is going to happen at the end of the summer. It's the fall, whenever it is. We don't know that yet. But just so that you know, OK?

If I can only speak for America, and all of us here, when I say, it has been a pleasure and a privilege and a dream come true, and I wish I could do something to make you change your mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Hey, Regis holds the Guinness world record for the most hours on TV. Well over 16,000. Speaking of Larry King, by the way, I was saying that he just left. He'll be Joy Behar's guest, tonight, on our sister network HLN to talk about his old friend Regis' retirement.

Some of the developing stories we are following for you, right now. Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in Washington, today, for a state visit. In about three hours, he is scheduled to touched down at Andrews Air Force Base. Vice President Biden will be on hand to greet him, then it's off to a private dinner with President Obama. The two leaders will have a lot on their plate during this week's meeting, trade, North Korea's human rights, military issues, just to name some biggies.

And in Washington, as well, the House is set to reconvene in less than an hour. And the first order of business, debating a measure that would undo last year's sweeping health care reforms. The vote is planned tomorrow. The measure is likely to pass the new Republican led House. And that's about it. The legislation is expected to be DOA in the Senate because Democrats retain their majority there.

In Detroit, police are trying to reassure the public and get some help in the hunt of a suspected serial rapist. Seven women have been raped in the past two weeks. One more attempted attack. All in the same part of the city and all with the same MO. Since the investigation began, nine men have been arrested on unrelated charges and are considered persons of interest in this spree. But the department is still beating the streets releasing new sketches of their suspect and following up on the forensics.

Well, like Detroit, Camden, New Jersey, has serious crime problems. So, why has nearly half the police force just been laid off? I'll tell you on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Camden, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, just a little south of it, statistics say it's the nation's second most dangerous city. So, you'd think Camden would put a premium on its police force. But the 370-member department is being cut nearly in half because of Camden's busted budget. About a third of the city's firefighters are getting pink slips. Negotiations between the mayor and union continued into last night with folks hoping for some concessions and fewer layoffs. But police officers were not holding their breath. And many have already started handing in guns and badges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WILLIAMSON, PRESIDENT, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: All of the residents in the city of Camden, and in the surrounding municipalities, everyone needs to be concerned if, in fact, they go through with their plan by the end of the close of business today. They started as early as yesterday as -- collecting equipment from officers.

Last night I had a late night meeting with the mayor. It ran about, maybe, three hours. We discussed a lot -- a lot of the issues, but at the end of the meeting, it didn't culminate to the point where every officer would not be saved. We're still looking at, you know, even if we could save a number of jobs, we're still looking at, you know, even if we could save a number of jobs, we're still looking at laying off close to 100 people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: The crime fighting group "Guardian Angel" says it will start patrolling the streets of Camden to help out. It's volunteers have already been walking the beat in Newark in Northern New Jersey since big police layoffs there last year.

Well, it's what many of want to know -- Steve Jobs is taking a break, so what's going on with Apple stock? I'm going to show you live in two minutes and 15 seconds and it is worth the wait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: It's been less than four hours since the opening bell on Wall Street, on the New York Stock Exchange. Computer giant Apple has had a rough day, to say the least. After being closed for the MLK holiday, the markets are digesting news that co-founder Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence. That is his second one in two years.

Christine Romans, host of "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" joins me now for the latest on Apple. Christine, it may be callous that some people are fearing the worst for Steve Jobs, but the reality is, I think most people are just trying to digest what is happening to Steve Jobs versus what happens to Apple. Because there are very few companies on the planet that are so connected to the guy who leads them.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: In the note -- the memo he sent to his team yesterday -- was a short note, but at the end he said, you know, "I love Apple". And you think how often do you see the CEO of a company close a note by saying "I love Apple"? He is a co-founder. He is a driving force behind so much of its innovation and he has really changed the way we consume our music, the way we handle our computers. I mean, this is a very important visionary in a very important company.

Now, that being said, Ali, we've gone back. When he has been ill before -- and he has been -- when he has taken a leave of absence before, the staff has come out OK. From 2004 to the present, you can see the stock has been up sharply. You look at when he had surgery in 2004 to remove a cancerous tumor. The stock price was $14.89. Then, in January 2009, they announced he was going to have a medical leave. He was out for six months. The stock went from $86 to $142. I mean, it rose 65% during that leave.

And now you have it here on the far right. You can see where it was as of the close yesterday. But, it's, you know, around $348 a share. But Wall Street analysts who were all the way up to $450 a share with their price targets. So, Ali, when there has been --

VELSHI: Wow, yes, look at that.

ROMANS: That's kind of like the range up there on that. A cone of possibility, if you will.

VELSHI: Christine, you must have had the same questions I've been getting all day. I mean, people who never ask me about anything in business news are asking me do I buy, sell, or do nothing with Apple? And that chart just shows you that nobody has a projection that it goes -- the stock goes down as a result of Steve Jobs not being there.

ROMANS: No, absolutely. And, in fact, you've got some of the odds makers in Ireland are taking bets on who would be the next CEO if he doesn't come back as CEO. You're having some kind of sort of speculation about that. Now, here. After the bell today, we're going to get earnings. The report card for how this company has done.

You know, look, everyone knows it's going to show unbelievable sales of the iPad, the iPhone, I mean, there are things that Steve Jobs has already put into place that are going to return dividends, so to speak, for the company -- pardon the pun -- for gosh knows how many quarters and years to come.

The question for shareholders and people who are real, sort of, cult followers of this company is: is the bench at Apple deep enough with the engineering and technology staff and the leadership and the vision that if Steve Jobs had to retire or if he were very, very ill, could the company continue as it has over the past few years. That's the question that keeps people nervous.

VELSHI: That is the question. And so far, the odds are saying it is. This is the same issue Microsoft faces when Bill Gates was going out, and he ended up having this two-year transition over to Steve Ballmer. So, interesting discussion, but that is one amazing company. There's no question about that.

ROMANS: That's right.

VELSHI: Alright Christine, great to see you, as always. Be sure to see Christine on "Your Bottom Line" every Saturday morning 9:30 Eastern and then you can watch "Your Money" Saturdays at 1 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00. Christine and I have got your money stuff covered seven days a week. China's president is just hours away from landing in Washington. Hu Jintao is coming to town for a few days for talks with President Obama on important issues facing the two countries. And, I guess, the world, for that matter.

Currency issues and the economy should be high on the list. Trade, human rights, and North Korea could also come up.

In Haiti, big developments there. Former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was taken into custody a short time ago. Heavily armed police were escorting him out of the hotel he was staying at. He's expected to appear at a hearing where the court will decide what to do with him. Duvalier fled Haiti during massive protests a quarter century ago, but just came back this week. Unclear as to why exactly. Haitian leaders have said he would be arrested if he ever retuned.

The supreme court has decided not to hear a case aimed at the District of Columbia same-sex marriage law. Washington allows same- sex marriages, but opponents wanted to put it to a vote in a ballot measure. The lower court ruled that a vote would violate the city's human rights act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.

And some good news in the auto industry. Ford just announced a plan to spend $400 million to upgrade its plant in Kansas City, Missouri. The move comes after the state-approved new incentives to keep the plant in place after it stops making the Ford Escape later this year. According to a statement from The United Auto Workers, the new investment will keep thousands of jobs in place. Ford says the 60-year-old Kansas City plant will be upgraded to produce next generation vehicles.

Well, it is premier week for Piers Morgan tonight and tonight Piers takes on Howard Stern. It is a candid and unpredictable hour with the man who put the shock in "shock jock". We've got a preview. You ever wondered about Howard's Hair? Here's what he told Piers:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST OF PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT: Is it real, that hair?

HOWARD STERN, RADIO HOST: The hair is real and I don't color it. Don't get too frisky.

MORGAN: I mean, if I was to give it a good yank, it wouldn't all just --

STERN: No, no, it wouldn't all fall out. No. I have my own hair.

MORGAN: And you dye it, obviously.

STERN: I do not color it. MORGAN: What?

STERN: As you can see, I have some gray in it, but no. I'm very blessed. My grandfather --

MORGAN: Look me in the eye and repeat that.

STERN: I swear on a stack of bibles that I don't color my hair.

MORGAN: Really?

STERN: Yes.

MORGAN: So, you're 57 and you have a naturally pretty dark, curly -- a big bouffant, as they call it.

STERN: Yes, I'm very lucky.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Don't miss a moment of Piers Morgan tonight. Premier week continues. Howard Stern tonight at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Well, it begins in two hours and 30 minutes. Is it a grip and grin? Or will there be some nitty-gritty business accomplished? Ed Henry joins us after a quick break to talk about the visit of Hu Jintao. There he is. We'll see you in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: China's Premier, Hu Jintao, is coming to the White House today. Ed Henry is live at the White House. We're probably about three hours from his arrival or something like that, Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

VELSHI: What's he going to -- he's going to fly in -- he's coming to Andrews Air Force Base. Is he driving in from there or does he get one the helicopter.

HENRY: Yes, it should be -- I would expect a motorcade and he's going to be greeted by Vice President Biden over there at Andrews Air Force Base. And, you know, everyone is anticipating what's really going to happen. I mean, the U.S. up front pretty much said on the record, you know, there's not going to be any major deliverables -- no major breakthroughs that they're anticipating as an announcement.

One little thing that is sort of picking up a little steam behind the scenes is the possibility that tomorrow, when the two presidents get together for a joint news conference, there may be some sort of an announcement on intellectual property. Cracking down on that in China.

As you know, the entertainment industry in the U.S. and many others upset about the situation in China. The way the U.S. likes to say it is that, you know, in private, is that the laws in China can actually be pretty tough. It's the fact that they don't really enforce those laws. And there may be some sort of an announcement on that. We're starting to pick up where maybe China's going to promise to do a little bit more on that.

But beyond that, we're not expecting some major development.

VELSHI: Answer me this: I remember when you were in Korea. You've been on these trips and you know that so much of the work on these trips gets done by the folks that are around Hu. They will be people wanting to do business and do deals. Are we expecting something out of that? Where there will be bilateral deals made between the U.S. and China? We know that Hu is going to go to a factory in Illinois somewhere to show how Chinese investment in America actually helps American workers. Is there going to be that kind of stuff going on?

HENRY: There's going to be small things in that direction and, in fact, U.S. officials are touting that visit to Chicago after President Hu leaves Washington in the next couple of days. On Thursday, he will be in Chicago at that auto parts plant. Trying to highlight -- look, there's Chinese money that's going into some businesses here in the U.S. and that that means U.S. jobs. But obviously, it's still a very difficult case for China to make, or, by extension, the Obama Administration to make -- that Chinese investment is having a big impact in the positive direction for U.S. jobs when the unemployment rate is so high right now.

VELSHI: Alright. What is going on tonight? There's a big steak dinner?

HENRY: Yes, no --

VELSHI: It's a private dinner, it's not a state dinner.

HENRY: Tomorrow night is the state dinner -- right. And what's interesting tonight is the setting for this private dinner. It's going to be in the residence in what they call the Old Family Dining Room. The reason why that's significant is that's a very small setting. It's not one of these formal places like the state dining room. It's really more conducive to getting down to business and talking.

And, you know what U.S. officials like to say is that President Obama is going to get tough on some of these issues like trade imbalances, like the currency reform that he's been pushing for China to actually follow through on. And they say he'll be tough in private, but in public we're going to see a much different situation.

We see this all the time, where they say in private "oh, we're really tough, we're really tough", but in public they're going to be a lot more diplomatic because, you know, that's kind of where they need to be in order to try to keep this relationship together. The last thing they want to do is be too tough and have this whole relationship go off the rails.

Don't forget, there's a political pressure on President Hu, which is the fact he's expected to leave the stage in 2012, and he's thinking about his legacy. And, you know, it not really going to help his legacy back in China to cut some deals with the American president and look like he's giving in. Instead, digging his heels actually might be better for his legacy.

And so, the U.S. has to keep that in mind, as well, in these negotiations. They can push but only so far.

VELSHI: Ed, it's going to be interesting to watch how this all turns out. The other thing is when the president has been in other places, the Chinese officials have not been al that accommodating of U.S. reporters. Robert Gibbs has gotten himself into that fray a little bit.

Are there going to be a lot of Chinese reporters and are they going to get good access to anything that these two men do together?

HENRY: Oh, yes. They'll get the kind of access we don't get in China, you can bet. And there's going to be a joint news conference between the two leaders tomorrow. We expect questions on both sides. And that in it of itself is interesting because it's extremely rare for President Hu to take any questions.

You'll remember the famous incident when then-President Bush was in China and he was trying to walk out that big, giant door, couldn't get out. That was because the Chinese would not do a joint news conference so he took question on own, President Bush did, and then was trying to do leave and kind of went out the wrong door.

But it's extremely rare to get the Chinese president at that kind of setting. I think the U.S. is going to try to tout that as a tiny step towards openness. It's still communist but moving slowly.

VELSHI: All right, Ed. It's an exciting visit. We'll count on you to keep us posted on this throughout this visit.

Ed Henry at the Stakeout at the White House. He is our senior White House correspondent.

Hey, take a look at this picture. That is the nation's capital. Inside that building right now, the fate of your health care benefits is being discussed. To repeal or not to repeal. What does it mean for you?

Well, remember those avatars we used to use to describe what was going on in health care? They're back. Invincible Isabelle after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: The House of Representatives is set to start debating today on repealing health care reform. The repeal bill is expected to pass in the House, but to fail in the Senate.

Now, a new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that Americans are fairly divided over different parts of the bill. Fifty percent of those questioned say Congress should repeal all of the health care law's provisions. Forty-two percent oppose that idea.

Now, closer look shows that while only six percent favored every provision in the health care bill, thirty-nine percent favored most of the provisions. Thirty-four percent opposed most of the provisions. And sixteen percent opposed every provision.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been looking into that. Elizabeth, give us some sense. We keep hearing that people like some of the stuff and don't.

What is popular and what isn't in the health care bill?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali, let's start with one thing that seems to irk a lot of people, which is a mandate that all Americans have to buy health insurance. That's sort of unprecedented for the government to tell American citizens, hey, you've got to something.

So people like Invincible Isabelle say, I don't want health insurance. I don't want to use that money toward premiums. I want to go take a trip to Hawaii or something. She doesn't want to be told that she's going to get a financial penalty if she doesn't buy health insurance.

Another person who is probably not so happy about this health care reform law is Small Business Saul. He owns a business of about 50, 60 people and he says that if he has to buy them health care insurance, that he's going to be in big trouble and his business is going to go under. In 2014, health care reform would require that he get health insurance for his employees.

VELSHI: All right. So those are folks who are not going to like it. But we -- the polling indicates that there are a lot of people like some of the provisions.

What's popular?

COHEN: Right. There are -- one of the provisions that I think is pretty popular is that people with pre-existing conditions should be able to get health care insurance.

The way it worked, pre-health care reform is that people like Bad Back Bob had a really hard time getting affordable heart insurance. They were either told, sorry, you can't have it at all, or we're going to charge you a lot of money. Health care reform would change that, would allow them to get health care at a reasonable cost.

Also people like Medicare Marlene. She's a victim of that doughnut hole, that Medicare gap we've heard so much about. She likes the fact that she's going to get a check for a couple of hundred bucks to help close that gap and help her buy prescription drugs. Health care reform does that for her. She may not be so happy if it's rolled back.

VELSHI: All right. What about young people?

COHEN: All right. So let's talk about Young Yvette. Young Yvette just graduated from college and she's psyched because she gets to stay on mom and dad's health insurance. Without health care reform, they boot her. They say, sorry, Yvette. You don't have any insurance, go find your own job, which is tough to do in this economy, to find a job that offers health care insurance. So she and her parents would probably not be very excited if health care reform were repealed.

VELSHI: All right, Elizabeth. Thanks very much for bringing back those avatars. We love them. They make it clear to us.

COHEN: We do.

VELSHI: And we will keep you posted on what happens with health care.

COHEN: Thanks, Ali.

VELSHI: Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent.

Hey, let's go to Barbara Starr right now. She is -- I don't know if she's at the Pentagon, she's in Washington, about news that is coming out from the other side of the world about a sailor, a U.S. sailor's whose gone missing.

What do we know, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali, at this hour U.S. and British troops in the Gulf of Imam just outside the Persian Gulf are searching for a potential man overboard situation.

A U.S. Navy sailor on the destroyer Halsey operating in the area has gone missing. This announcement just coming out. They have been both searching the ship, but also conducting man overboard searches with both U.S. helicopters, British helicopters operating in the region, F-18s flying overhead.

The initial indications we're getting from the U.S. Military is the sailor who is missing is a female sailor. They will look for her as long and as much as they can on the water to see if she's gone missing somewhere on board the ship. She missed evening duty call. She was scheduled to report for duty, did not show up. At that point they declared a man overboard situation and decided to search the ship to see if they could get any sign of where this sailor is.

The Navy says they will keep everyone updated on the situation.

VELSHI: All right, Barbara, keep us updated as you get more information. Thanks for that.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Well he made a surprise return to Haiti after nearly 25 years in exile in France. Just a short while ago the country's former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier was taken into custody by armed police. A hearing is to be held to determine whether to place Duvalier, known, by the way, as "Baby Doc" under arrest. Both inside and outside Haiti, Duvalier has been widely accused of crimes against humanity and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the country.

CNN's John Zarrella was at Duvalier's hotel when he was led away and he joins us know from Port-au-Prince.

John, what's going on?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali, you know, one of his long-time supporters described it an epic moment in Caribbean history.

It was just after noon here at the Caribe Hotel where Jean-Claude Duvalier emerged from the third floor hotel room where he has been staying. He came over to the railing at the edge and he waved to the crowd of people, mostly journalists here and camera crews, and flanked by police and S.W.A.T. Team members from the Haitian authorities. He descended that staircase. Came down to the first floor and, again, waved to the crowd. He was wearing a suit. He seemed to smile on occasions. When he got down he was placed in a police vehicle and then the caravan of vehicles made their way down the hillside here and off to a place called the parquet, which is the Haitian court.

Along the route one of our people who followed that caravan said that there were a number of supporters who came out and were cheering for Duvalier along that route as they made their way to the parquet. Once they got there, more supporters showed up there, as well. But it was all very peaceful. No disturbances of any sort.

Now, a close source, very close to the family, has told us that there is a possibility that he might not even be charged with any crimes at this point. And that there is even a possibility the family believes that he might end up back here at the hotel later today. Now, that would be another incredible twist to all of this.

As you mentioned, Ali, there's a lot of questions about what he might be charged with, crimes against humanity, embezzling money. They Preval government had said back in 2007, that if he ever returned, that they would charge him with embezzlement. But no formal charges had ever been brought against Duvalier in this country, not to this point.

One other quick point, there were also some civilians, some people here who told us yesterday that they were, in fact, ready to go to the prosecutor and to present charges or ask for charges to be brought against him for some of those crimes. So, we have to see again how all this plays out. The latest development that we got from someone very close to the family was that there is a possibility he might not even be charged with anything today. We'll have to see.

VELSHI: John, answer this for me. We -- he knew, the Preval government had said if he comes back, he's going to be arrested. He must have known that. Do we have any clear motivation as to why he returned to Haiti? As we reported, it was relatively unexpected.

ZARRELLA: Correct. And the only indications we had from people that we talked to who talked to him was that he had come back to show solidarity with the people.

Now, there was supposed to be what we thought was going to be a press conference today by Duvalier. We were then told it was never going to be a press conference. He was just going to issue a statement, a very benign, nonpolitical statement, is what we were told, that was going to say "I'm here because I feel as if I have to be here for the people and I wanted to sew solidarity with the people." That was what he was apparently going to say. There was no other motivations for his return here but to do that. Ali?

VELSHI: John, thanks very much. We will stay on top of this with you. You've got a lot of experience covering this very strange development.

All right. To another troubled country now. Iraq. A suicide bomber blew himself up at a police recruitment center in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

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VELSHI: Officials say at least 65 people were killed, 160 wounded. Most of the victims were young men who gathered to join the police force. Prime minister Nuri al-Maliki called this and other recent attacks heinous crimes. So far, no one has claimed responsibility, but the Sunni Muslim-dominated militant group al Qaeda in Iraq has taken credit for similar attacks. Tikrit is, for the most part, a Sunni city.

Now to the political upheaval in Tunisia and why it matters in the United States. Take a look at the map. Tunisia's right at the top of Africa. Up to 1,000 protesters took to the streets of the capital, Tunis, today denouncing the so-called unity government formed after Tunisia's long-time president fled the country last week.

At the same time, in neighboring countries, growing concern of a ripple effect. Several face conditions similar to Tunisia's: Egypt, Jordan, Yemen. All of them have strong, if not dictatorial rulers. All are U.S. allies in the fight against terrorism. And all of them have an undercurrent of popular resentment for their rulers.

So, this leaves Washington with a difficult dilemma. How much support to give to unpopular regimes that are needed in the fight against al Qaeda? And how much to lend to ordinary people desiring, if not demanding, greater freedom and democracy, something the U.S. says it supports?

Let me bring you up to speed. It's 47 minutes after the hour. Some of the top stories we're following. China's president Hu Jintao is scheduled to arrive in the United States in a little over two hours. Vice president Biden will greet Hu at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland, and then President Obama will host him at a White House dinner. The Chinese president will spend three days in Washington discussing issues including trade, currency, and North Korea.

Meanwhile, President Obama is trying to mend fences with the business community. He signed an executive order today launching a government-wide review of regulations. He says the goal is to eliminate outdated rules that stifle job creation. He says he wants to strike a balance between health and safety and environmental concerns and economic growth.

And a sigh of relief in Philadelphia. Police have arrested a 21- year-old homeless man in connection with sexual assaults and murders of at least three women. Authorities say DNA evidence links Antonio Rodriguez to the so-called Kensington Strangler slayings last November and December in central Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood. No charges have been filed, however.

I always like these types of challenges. In today's "Big I," General Electric is looking for, well, a Big I. Between today and March 1st, GE is taking submissions at ecomagination.com for innovative ideas in home energy. They're calling this phase two of their Ecomagination challenge. Winners will be offered varying amounts of cash from a $200 million pot, including five $100,000 cash awards to the most innovative ideas. Other winners will be offered investments and development opportunities with the company.

Today, GE received more than 1,000 ideas in the home energy management space. Hard to deny that this competition could have an impact. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, commercial buildings and homes account for 41 percent of all energy use.

Now, in the first phase of this challenge, Idaho-based start-up Solar Roadways got $50,000 for this concept that you're looking at. A roadway that recharges electric cars as they drive. Another company, Winiflex, created a technology for cost-effective wind turbines. So, keep an eye out on coverage in March when we'll follow up with the GE Ecomagination finalists.

If you want to check the challenge out or maybe even enter it, I'll link to it on my blog, CNN.com/ali.

In another big idea, how about cloning woolly mammoths? A scientist at Kyoto University in Japan plans clone the extinct animal in the next couple of years. Dr. Akira Iritani (ph) announced he'll use the same technique to clone the wooly mammoth that was used to clone a mouse from tissue that was frozen for 16 years.

Now, this is more complex than it sounds. I posted an article with the details on my Facebook page. We'll let you know how it goes.

The president is getting some good news ahead of this week's meetings China's leader. We're going to tell you what the president has to crow about next in our CNN political update.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: It is time now far a CNN political update and an upgrade for the president's approval rating. CNN's chief national correspondent John King joins me now from the political desk in Washington. What kicked up the president's approval rating, John?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's a great question, Ali. But since the election and certainly maybe we should say since the Tucson shooting, we see an increase in the president's approval rating.

We did a poll, CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, asking all adult Americans, how's the president handling his job right now? 53 percent of Americans approve, 45 percent disapprove. Fifty-three percent is a good number, especially if you were at 48 percent just last month. That's a five-point uptick for the president. He'll love that. As you know, he's sitting across the table from president Hu Jintao, president wants to be seen as strong and popular. He'll also likes it with the new Republican Congress.

Now, why is the president's rating going up? One big factor, Ali, is that his standing among independent voters, those in the middle of America, is improving. They didn't like the president during the election campaign. They voted for Republicans, independents did, in large part to reject some of the president's initiatives. Now, 56 percent of the independents in our new poll, say the president's handling his job well as president. Only 41 percent disapprove. So, independents see something since the election they like. That's important as you defend the middle in American politics.

Now, a former president also in the news today. A lot of details on the political ticker if you want to go check it out. Bill Clinton, the former Democratic president, in Chicago campaigning for his former top aide, who also happens to be the current president's former chief of staff. Rahm Emanuel running for mayor, of course. Bill Clinton out there to raise money to put in a plug for Rahm Emanuel, saying when he worked for him in his White House, he was part of some big legislative achievements, that President Clinton is making the case, helped the economy and American cities.

And Ali, I covered Bill Clinton back in those days when he first met Rahm Emanuel in the early 1990s. The former president saying he likes Rahm because Rahm makes him look laid-back. I was there in those days, and Bill Clinton has a point.

VELSHI: Let me ask you something. You were mentioning the president has to like these approval ratings because he's about to sit down with Hu Jintao. As you know, of all the leaders in this the world, many of whom to sit down with the president of the United States, the Chinese are probably less impressed with us than most leaders who have visited the U.S.

KING: It's an excellent point. Look, both leaders have something to prove at this meeting. President Hu will be leaving office in 2012, this -- President Obama will be running for reelection in 2012. Both would like it to be a successful summit. But you could argue the Chinese have more leverage at the moment. Not only are they America's banker, in some ways, but their economy is growing faster than ours.

A lot of big issues here whether it's - and this matters to everyday Americans, not just President Obama, whether it's the price of gas, whether it's the job picture, so many things in our economy. The price of credit even, the Chinese have a lot to do with it.

You're right, the Chinese come in it perhaps with a bit more leverage, but we're told from the White House and we've seen signals from the cabinet secretaries in the past weeks, look for President Obama to be aggressive and assertive on economic issues, security issues, and human rights issues.

VELSHI: They're even better than a banker. The banker usually loans you money and you go spend it elsewhere. With China, the banker loans you money, and you go spend it right in their store. It will be interesting to watch how it develops. I know you're covering it very closely on your show at 7:00 Eastern every weekday.

John, good to see you as always. Thanks very much.

Your next update from The Best Political Team on Television in just one hour away.

Well, we know that Elvis is The King. But the King of England? Well, that may be the only excuse one bank teller can use for taking some fuddy money. I'll tell you more about that in Odds and Ends, just moments away.

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VELSHI: Time for today's Odds & Ends. We'll start in Germany where the central bank has been showing off some of the counterfeit money that made it into the country last year. British 20 pound notes feature Her Majesty, the Queen, not the King. This Elvis note, issued by the Bank of Presley as you see here, actually made it into circulation when a bank clerk doing a transaction didn't spot it in a customer's pile of bills. I think we can probably label this one return to sender.

And a month and a half after the stuff was sold off, Lee Harvey Oswald's brother is suing the auction house that unloaded his late brother's coffin and other JFK assassination memorabilia. Included in his suit, the funeral home that put the stuff up on the block. Robert Oswald says the items belonged to his family and no one had the right to sell any of it. The coffin, by the way, went for almost $90,000.