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Anger Over Mandatory Arabic; 'Globe Trekking'; Possible 2012 GOP Contenders; The Help Desk; Talk Back; CNN Challenge; Five Sets Of Brothers In Marines
Aired February 08, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Well, top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Let's get you up to speed.
(CHANTING)
Anti-government protests began a third week in Egypt today. Cairo's Tahrir Square is packed with tens of thousands of democracy supporters, the largest gathering in days. A few hundred protesters left the square and marched to Egypt's parliament building.
The Egyptian government announced today through state TV that there would be no reprisals against democracy activists, but a respected Middle East expert tells CNN that protesters in Tahrir Square should not let their guard down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROF. FOUAD AJAMI, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: I've been talking to several Egyptian intellectuals. This is now the most dangerous phase for those who dared stand up to the regime.
They surprised themselves. They surprised the regime. And the regime is not yet spent.
And we don't really know. There is a heavy dosage of repression if need be that could be applied to this conflict.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A freed Google executive says he is not a hero, just the guy on the keyboard. Egyptian police released Wael Ghonim after holding him for more than a week. He was one of the people behind the Facebook page that fueled the protest.
And winter is on another rampage today. A big snowstorm is pushing out of the Rockies and into the Plains. Oklahoma City and Tulsa could see a foot of fresh snow. Dallas will get hit for the second time this month.
And a bill denying U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants is on hold in the Arizona Senate today. Sponsors admit that they don't have the votes. Protesters chanted against State Senator Russell Pierce. He is one of the bill's cosponsors. More famously, he wrote Arizona's harsh new immigration law.
Four Republican members of Congress answer questions at a Tea Party Express town hall in Washington tonight. Now, they are Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann; Iowa Representative Steve King; and freshman Senators Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah.
And Utah senior Senator Orrin Hatch will be on hand, too. The Tea Party Express says he invited himself. Hatch is expected to face a Tea Party challenge when he runs for re-election next year.
You're now up to speed in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, some Texas parents are outraged over plans to make learning Arabic mandatory for their children. The Mansfield district was set to require an Arabic language and culture course at two schools. For the others it would be optional.
Sharrie Williams of affiliate KTVT has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARRIE WILLIAMS, REPORTER, KTVT (voice-over): All over the room there were questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we just now finding out about it?
WILLIAMS: Dozens of concerned parents showed up at Cross Timbers Intermediate School to speak with Mansfield ISD Superintendent Dr. Bob Morrison. The district was awarded a federal grant last summer to teach the Arabic language.
BARON KANE, PARENT: The school does not teach Christianity, so I don't want them teaching the Islam.
WILLIAMS: The district stressed the curriculum would not be about religion, but about the language and culture, similar to the Spanish curriculum already in place. But upset parents say they should have been informed months ago about the grant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's them applying for the grant and getting it approved, and now saying they're going to be able to go back and change it, only after they were caught trying to implement this plan without any of the parents knowing about it.
WILLIAMS: The grant, known as the Foreign Language Assistance Program, has identified Arabic as a language of the future. Some parents say teaching it in the Mansfield ISD is a good idea.
TRISHA SAVAGE, PARENT: I think it's a great opportunity. I think it, you know, not only opens doors and we -- think globally, act locally. WILLIAMS: Kheirieh Hannun was born in Palestine but raised in the U.S. She says the option to learn Arabic will give her son a chance to know more about his culture and hopefully broaden the minds of not only students, but also parents.
KHEIRIEH HANNUN, PARENT: It was surprising, but I think it's OK. And I think it would be fine, because that way you'll cut down on the stereotype.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Mansfield officials say that the program is on hold indefinitely. They are starting this program over, they say, from square one. This time involving parents every step of the way.
Well, here is your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day.
On Capitol Hill today, there are two House committees that are looking over bills to restrict abortion funding. One denies federal money for abortion, period. The other prevents abortion coverage under the new health care reform law. A presidential executive order already bars funding under the law except in cases of rape or incest.
Our Carol is monitoring it.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne.
That's right, there is a fierce battle brewing on Capitol Hill, not over job creation, but over abortion. And you thought the midterm elections were about jobs, jobs, jobs. Well, there are two hearings in the House surrounding two bills on abortion.
Republican Chris Smith is behind one of them, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. Opponents say it's a waste of time because President Obama, in a move to end debate on the health care law, signed an executive order banning federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of a pregnant woman is at risk.
Congressman Smith now says, hey, an executive order is not law. The president could actually change his mind.
Democrats, as you might expect, are fighting mad. They say both proposed bills are so restrictive, they would limit a woman's access to reproductive care even when her life is in danger.
Other Democrats say the ensuing battle over these bills will produce a legislative meltdown and paralyze the government at a time the government needs to create jobs. But Republican Congressman Joseph Pitts seeks public support for his Protect Life Act, saying, "Sixty percent of Americans want this done. We can walk and chew gum at the same time." So the "Talk Back" today: Is this the right time to argue abortion in Congress? Send your responses to Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and we'll air some of them later on in this hour -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And we know a lot of people will be responding to that question. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
MALVEAUX: A look at what's ahead on our rundown.
That's an 83-year-old behind the wheel, and his truck speeds the wrong way down a California interstate. We'll show you how this ends.
And the Google executive whose Facebook page may have galvanized the protests in Egypt. He is now a free man, and he is talking. You'll hear the emotional interview.
Plus, it is not too late to pose with the prince. Yes, we're going to tell you how anyone could be Kate Middleton for just a minute. It's our "Random Moment of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: A reminder for you to "Choose the News." Text us which of the stories you'd like to see. We're going to air it at the end of the hour.
A band of brothers. A Marine regiment has five sets of brothers getting ready to serve in Afghanistan.
The second one, love on the run. See how a matchmaker hooks up women defecting from an oppressive North Korean regime.
And in a country as a poor as Afghanistan, some mothers are feeding their children the only thing that is available, and that is opium.
So vote by texting your choice to 22360. Vote 1 for band of brothers; 2 for Korean matchmaker; or 3 for opium-addicted babies. The winning story is going to air in the next hour.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Time now to go to "Globe Trekking."
Live is slowly beginning to turn to normal for people in Egypt and for Wael Ghonim. He is the 30-year-old senior Google executive. He's a father of two who vanished when the protests in Egypt began.
He was freed from an Egyptian prison just yesterday after 12 days in custody. And Google posted this tweet last night, saying, "Huge relief. Wael Ghonim has been released. Our love to him and his family." Well, here to tell us more about this intriguing young man, Michael Holmes.
Obviously, you know, a lot of people following --
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
MALVEAUX: At first it was, like, rumor and mystery. What happened to that guy?
HOLMES: Exactly.
MALVEAUX: Was he in prison, was he not in prison? And then we're finally beginning to understand those days.
HOLMES: Yes. His family initially went looking around the mobs to see if he was dead before they realized that he was actually being held by the security authorities.
Now, we often talk in broad generalities about the role of social media these days when it comes to uprisings like what we've been seeing in Egypt. But Wael Ghonim gives us a clear and fascinating example of how an uprising can be organized, at least in part on the Web. In this case, Facebook.
MALVEAUX: And how did it all start?
HOLMES: Yes, it started as a very small anonymous page. You see it there on the screen.
It was rallying against police brutality in Egypt. It's titled "We are all Khaled Said."
Now, this was in memory of a blogger who was allegedly beaten to death by police in Alexandria this summer. Now, Ghonim published posts under the pen name of "El Shaheed," which means "The Martyr" in Arabic. But from there, the page just exploded.
It became an online call for revolt against human rights abuses, which, as we know, are not uncommon in Egypt. And this is where it gets interesting.
The page alerted its followers to a protest on January 25. Now, that same day, as many as 20,000 protesters spilled into the streets of Cairo. At the time, we were saying it was an unprecedented display of government rage, and of course we've seen what has happened since.
MALVEAUX: And is he taking credit for what we are seeing as a revolt, perhaps even a revolution?
HOLMES: No. He is a very modest man, and he actually couldn't believe -- after coming out of 12 days of being held, he couldn't believe what had happened. And he was very upset about people who had died while he was being held in custody.
MALVEAUX: Sure. HOLMES: He did an interview with Dream TV about those who were killed. Just have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GHONIM (through translator): I want to say to every mother and every father that lost his child, I'm sorry, but this is not our fault. I swear to God this is not our fault. It's the fault of everyone who was holding on to power greedily and would not let it go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: What was interesting there, too, before we go on, a bit of context to that clip.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
HOLMES: Before that, he was being interviewed, very calm, very collected, talking about the protest and his role in it. And then they started showing him pictures of the people who had been killed. And that's when he became so emotional about it all.
MALVEAUX: He started crying.
HOLMES: He hadn't seen these photos before, yes.
MALVEAUX: Wow. Unbelievable. And, you know, here is one person's role in all of this. There were thousands of people who came out.
HOLMES: Yes.
MALVEAUX: What do you think in the big picture here? This young man's action, did it spark or could it have happened without him?
HOLMES: Well, it was certainly the spark. Put it that way. Could it have happened? It's hard to say definitively, but even if it was the spark, the ignition, if you like, for what was essentially an Internet flash mob that descended on Cairo in the first day of that revolt, it's still a big deal.
Now, what's interesting is the role he is going to play now. We've talked a lot about the fractured nature of the opposition, how they have not yet coalesced into any sort of organized group with a spokesman. You could call this guy a sort of Paul Revere, if you like, communicator of the uprising.
By kidnapping him, holding him the way they did, the government may have inadvertently made him an even bigger hero, and perhaps a figurehead for the youth on the streets. Not these other opposition parties that are so fractured.
You see this is new video, actually. He joined the protesters in the square just hours ago.
And as I said, he's been hailed as a potential opposition leader. A very young man. There's even a campaign on Facebook, again, backed by nearly 150,000 people, already calling him such.
Now, as I said, the opposition has always been very fractured. Even in the square now different groups are at different ends of the square doing different things. The Muslim Brotherhood is at one end and your secular groups are at the other.
But he is a very powerful person now. And it's going to be interesting to see how he wields that power, and whether he can be a rallying point for those disparate groups to bring them together.
Organization, key to any sort of move. But there is another twist to this.
He also created the page for another potential opposition leader, that man on the screen there, Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the IAEA, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. We're not talking about some low- profile blogger here.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
HOLMES: Yes. And to give a little more insight into how dedicated he is to the cause, one of his last tweets before leaving for Egypt was, "Very worried. It seems that the government is planning a war crime tomorrow against the people. We are all ready to die." Then he disappeared.
He's certainly a figure to keep an eye on in the coming days, what role he'll play, and whether he will be that rallying point.
MALVEAUX: And he seems rather modest.
HOLMES: Very modest, very low-key guy. And he's an executive for Google in Egypt.
MALVEAUX: But obviously willing to risk it all.
HOLMES: Yes. Obviously, he's already has paid a lot, as are the other protesters. There is a lot of fear in that square now among the people there that there could be a crackdown in the days ahead. But the secret police are in the square filming all these protesters.
MALVEAUX: Wow. All right.
Michael Holmes.
Thank you so much, Michael.
HOLMES: Good to see you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: A big move coming for Facebook. We are tracking that story from Silicon Valley.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK) MALVEAUX: The Iowa Caucuses, they're just a year away. A new poll shows that Republicans are divided over a nominee for the 2012 presidential race, but they're pretty united in their goal of defeating President Obama.
I want to bring in our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger.
Gloria, great to see you.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, Suzanne. We miss you here.
MALVEAUX: You know, I miss you guys, too, of course. Atlanta is great, too.
BORGER: Yes.
MALVEAUX: Republicans, they're willing to compromise on key issues to get a winner. Is that right?
BORGER: Yes, they are. It's all about electability.
If you look at our poll, we asked Republicans only if they prefer a nominee who agrees with you on the issues or can beat back Barack Obama. And as you can see, about 7 in 10 say, look, we need to beat Barack Obama.
As you know, Suzanne, he is not very popular among Republicans. He only has a 19 percent approval rating within the Republican Party. So they're saying right now, at least, OK, it's all about electability.
I think the big question mark here, though, is just who can they nominate? Because you have a very strong Tea Party contingent, quite conservative, quite important right now in the Republican Party. And we just don't know whether they're going to agree with that because they're the ones who are going to come out and vote in the primary.
So, generally, Republicans say electability, but we don't know what Tea Partiers will do.
MALVEAUX: That is a very interesting question, Gloria. When you take a look at the people who are at the top of the list there, Huckabee, Palin, Romney, Gingrich, who do you think is going to come out on top? Do we have any idea?
BORGER: Well, you know, it's very hard to know. If you look at our poll, we've got Romney right now at the top with 25 percent. Palin right below him with 24 percent. You can see Huckabee, Gingrich, and then the rest are much lower because this is all about name identification right now.
So Republicans don't really know who their candidates are. And let me recall President Lieberman, President Giuliani, even President Clinton. If you'll recall, they were all doing really well in their polls early on because people knew who they were. And then, of course, never quite made it to the Oval Office.
So there may be somebody that we haven't even put on our list yet. And the big elephant in the room, of course, as you know, is Sarah Palin. Lots of Republicans I talked to were sort of sitting back trying to figure out -- it's the big parlor game here in Washington --
MALVEAUX: Sure.
BORGER: -- is she going to run or isn't she going to run?
MALVEAUX: I guess a lot of people.
BORGER: We don't know the answer to that.
MALVEAUX: Yes. A lot of people are waiting to see what she does.
Gloria, thank you so much.
BORGER: Me, too.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: Obviously. Hey, if you break that story, we'll be right back to you. Thanks, Gloria.
When it comes to the race for the president in 2012, a lot of Republicans, they look like they're running. But no one really is officially in this race.
So joining us from New York to talk about the GOP race, our CNN political contributor and Republican strategist, Ed Rollins.
Ed, good to see you as well.
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Now, you and I recall in 2008, you had at least a dozen Republican candidates who had declared. You know, there was Alan Keyes, Rudy Giuliani, Ron Paul, John McCain, Fred Thompson, I mean, just to name a few.
Why hasn't anyone declared yet?
ROLLINS: There is no great advantage to jumping in the water first. You try and time the time that you get your media scrutiny and get that momentum.
The difference is it was John McCain's to lose last time. Traditionally, the Republican Party is kind of a frontrunner, sort of the establishment candidate. I think that's all out the door this time.
I think this particular candidate who comes out of this is going to be the best person who can survive these processes. New Hampshire, South Carolina, Iowa still play a very, very big role. Historically, whoever wins two out of those first three goes on to be the nominee. And I would say at this point in time, they're wide open. The three or four people that are leading in our polls, Huckabee, Palin, Romney, obviously two out of those three have run before.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
ROLLINS: And I think to a certain extent, no one knows whether they're going to get back in again or not. Romney is probably the most visible and probably the most sure candidate at this point in time.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
ROLLINS: Huckabee has not made up his mind. And as Gloria said, everybody is waiting for Palin. Palin is someone who can put it together if she chooses to.
MALVEAUX: Well, that's right.
ROLLINS: At least put a campaign together.
MALVEAUX: Ed, and to Gloria's point, do you think that they are waiting to see what Sarah Palin does?
ROLLINS: Well, I think -- no, I don't. I think there is a big difference between deciding you're going to run, which I think obviously Romney has, Palin has, and making that announcement.
And I think the key thing here is Huckabee has not decided. I was his chairman last time and talk to him from time to time. I think Gingrich has decided he is going to run. And I think to a certain extent, Paul ran last time, was kind of an also-ran, but has a very strong base.
So I would say on that list, the two unknowns are the two top candidates, Huckabee and Palin. If they get in, they draw from a very similar base, and both will be very credible candidates if they choose to make the --
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: And Ed, we went from President Bush to President Obama, and it looks like, if you take a look at the top GOP contenders, Huckabee, Palin, Romney, Gingrich, that the pendulum might be swinging the other way, more towards the right.
Does it look like we're seeing kind of that ebb and flow?
ROLLINS: Well, you definitely have to be conservative in order to be viable in those states that I mentioned earlier.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
ROLLINS: And in spite of the ideological, where only a third of the Republicans say they want it on issues, I think they find these candidates all pretty acceptable. So they want someone they think can win.
Well, the way you find who can win is who can win the nomination. It's a game of two-headed poker at the end of the day.
The difference is, like I said, it's not going to be establishment candidate. Most of these candidates, with the exception of Gingrich, are outside Washington. They are governors, experienced candidates, tested, and someone will emerge and someone will be a very viable, credible candidate.
MALVEAUX: All right. We'll all be watching closely. Thank you so much, Ed.
President Obama likes to say it's going to take time to get the economy out of the ditch. Well, if things are so bad, why are Ferraris flying off dealer lots?
We're going to check in with CNN Money team for the answer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Ferrari sales are revving up, a sign that luxuries are back, at least for some people. Our CNN Money's Poppy Harlow takes this theory for a spin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (on camera): So, the global economy may still be reeling, but Ferrari is doing pretty well. They say their North American sales were up 20 percent last year, and they're not doing bad in China, either. It looks like excess is back.
MARCO MATTIACCI, CEO, FERRARI NORTH AMERICA: After two years of suffering, I think people want something unique to have fun with.
HARLOW: Here we go!
Who are your newest buyers?
MATTIACCI: More and more they're getting younger. Younger people with incredible affinity with high technology. For us, it is very important always to supply what the market demands. Volume is vanity (ph), profit is (INAUDIBLE).
This car is $196,000. People put $40,000 option, so they choose the leather. They choose the stitching.
HARLOW: So, the average price about a quarter of a million dollars?
MATTIACCI: Yes, yes.
HARLOW: How important is China for you?
MATTIACCI: It is going to be probably the second biggest market worldwide. HARLOW: China will be.
MATTIACCI: After the U.S. I think five years down the road, definitely. Women are really a key player. In the U.S., we sell almost one percent to women. In China, 30 percent.
BRYAN STEPANIAN, FERRARI OWNERS CLUB NORTHEAST: I love Ferraris. I've loved them since I was a kid. We did see prices come down a lot in I would say '08 and '09.
HARLOW: Sure, the recession.
STEPANIAN: And a lot of people used that as a buying opportunity, including myself.
I also believe there was a point in the economic cycle where people felt a little ashamed to be spending money on these types of products when there was a lot of pain out there and unemployment. And there still are issues out there, but I think people are back in the market now.
HARLOW: There. Did I pass?
MATTIACCI: You are great.
HARLOW: No accidents!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Poppy Harlow is joining me now. Wow, Poppy. No accidents! That was a good thing.
HARLOW: I know.
MALVEAUX: Did you feel a little nervous driving a car that cost that much?
HARLOW: Beyond nervous to drive a Ferrari in Manhattan with all those taxies, Suzanne. The first thing I asked before I even got behind the wheel was, are you sure that I'm fully insured? Because there is no way I can even afford a tire on this car. I of course was.
I have to tell you, it's interesting to see the two sides. We're often reporting on how people are struggling but Ferrari is, you know, 2010 was one of their best years ever. They're selling so many cars in China. And interesting that they noted 30 percent of the buyers in China are women.
MALVEAUX: Really?
HARLOW: And in this country, it's not really the bankers, yes, that you'd expect. It is the Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs that are their biggest buyers here in the United States. They're just starting operations in India, big market in Columbia, Chile, Brazil. So, for some people, Suzanne, I guess excess is back. MALVEAUX: Well, I guess so. A lot of people obviously trying to save their pennies. I'm going to have to save a lot of pennies for something like that.
HARLOW: Right.
MALVEAUX: I'm just not ready.
HARLOW: Me, too.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Poppy.
Well, a judge has ruled on cameras in the courtroom for the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. And "Showbiz Tonight" host Brooke Anderson is joining us live from Hollywood with the details about that story.
Hey, Brooke. I guess a lot of people are going to be interested, huh?
BROOKE ANDERSON, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Interested and fascinated, I'm sure, Suzanne, yes. This could be right up there with the O.J. Simpson and Anna Nicole trials. An L.A. County judge broke the news when he set the start date for the trial. It's March 24th.
Dr. Conrad Murray, of course, was Jackson's personal doctor when Jackson died from a drug overdose June 25th, 2009. He has pleaded not guilty, telling the judge he's an innocent man. Opening statements likely to be delivered the first week of April after jury selection is complete. The trial is expected to last about six weeks. And Suzanne, as we've seen in the past, cameras in the courtroom do have the potential to really slow down the process. But the judge says he wants the cameras to be used in the least intrusive way possible.
MALEVAUX: We'll see how that goes. We'll see how successful he can be with that.
ANDERSON: Good luck with that.
MALVEAUX: Yes. My favorite story is about the little Darth Vader who meets the big Darth Vader. Give us the details about that.
ANDERSON: My favorite story, too. Yes. Six-year-old Max Page, the pint-sized Darth Vader from Volkswagen's Super Bowl commercial got to meet the real thing in New York! We're talking about James Earl Jones,who provided the voice for Darth Vader in all the "Star Wars" movies. Max was on "AMERICAN MORNING" today and told us, told CNN what surprised him about the legendary actor. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": And Max, did you like getting a chance to meet James Earl Jones?
MAX PAGE, : Yes.
CHETRY: What'd you think of him?
PAGE: Well, he was really cool. I never knew he would be so cool.
CHETRY: He had a deep voice didn't he?
PAGE: Yes.
CHETRY: And he was tall.
PAGE: I thought he would just have to make the deep voice. I didn't know he already had one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Yes, didn't have to fake it! And after meeting the little Vader, James Earl Jones told reporters, Suzanne, quote, "It's all about pretend. That's the fun part about being an actor, about being a child."
Suzanne, I actually think that little max may be the biggest star to come out of the Super Bowl.
MALVEAUX: Absolutely. I agree. So adorable. I love that story. Thank you, Brooke.
"Showbiz Tonight" goes one-on-one with the great Aretha franklin. The "Showbiz" newsmaker exclusive with the queen of soul, live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern and again at 11:00 on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Facebook might soon have to edit its own profile. The company could announce a move any minute now. Our Dan Simon, who's joining me live from Menlo Park, California, for our Tech Tuesday. Dan, the change of address, what do we think of this? A good thing, bad thing?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good thing. Facebook expected to announce it's acquiring 22 acres of property here in Menlo Park just south of San Francisco, the heart of Silicon Valley. And really what that means for the long term is that Facebook is going to be adding more people.
And people who are in the industry, people who follow technology, say this is really a true barometer of what you're seeing here in Silicon Valley. This was the most obvious example is with Google announcing last week it is hiring 6,000 more workers just in 2011 alone.
And so, where you're seeing the primary growth here in silicon valley, really three factors, Suzanne. You talk about social networking, of course, led by Facebook and Twitter. You're talking about mobile, all these mobile devices you see, and all the apps that go on them. Huge opportunities for growth there. And what they call cloud computing. All that data, all that information you stream. If you ever, you know, stream a movie by Netflix, that's coming from the cloud.
I had a chance to talk with Michael Copeland. He's a senior writer with "Fortune" magazine who has covered Silicon Valley for many years, and he said this is one of the more exciting times he has ever seen in Silicon Valley. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL COPELAND, SENIOR WRITER, "FORTUNE": I think it is on fire if you're in the right part of the industry. So, clearly social networking like Facebook, Google, the Internet cloud, mobile, those things are all going like gangbusters. I mean, if you're a mobile app developer in Silicon Valley, you can pretty much write your own ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Dan, real quick here, the big impact on the country?
SIMON: Well, that really remains to be seen. Obviously a huge impact in California. When you take a look at Facebook, building on 22 acres obviously is going to create a huge stimulus effect with construction jobs and manufacturing jobs. But in terms of the overall growth for the country, really remains to be seen. We should point out that in 2010, if you look at the statistics, 8,000 or so new jobs created here in Silicon Valley, we're hearing there is going to be even more growth next year.
Look, Google just hiring 6,000 more people, so they're really going to exceed that figure. What the broader implications are for California and the rest of the country really remains to be seen, but obviously a huge optimistic tone here in California and Silicon Valley. Going to be hearing a little bit more about Facebook in a few minutes.
MALVEAUX: All right. Dan Simon, thank you so much, Dan.
Well, it is back. That is right. The CNN Challenge, that is. We're going to test how much you're in the know.
So, here's a question one of our producers chose. Did Hugh Heffner leave the date off of the first issue of Playboy? Why? It was forgotten during the cover design? He didn't know if the magazine would succeed. Adding the date cost extra at the printers? He wanted the first issue to be timeless? The answer straight ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk." Joining me this hour, Jack Otter, the executive editor of MoneyWatch.com. Carmen Wong-Ulrich is also here. She's the author of "The Real Cost of Living." So, good to see you, Jack and Carmen. First question coming to us from Philip. He writes in, "My son who is 27 has just found a job after being unemployed for almost two years. His college loans are metastasizing" - interesting word use here - "due to interest buildup with over $100,000 owed. Even if he declares bankruptcy, he has little hope of paying it all off and building a secure future. Current minimum payments leave him nothing to live on or save. Do you have any suggestions to help him dig his way out?" Carmen?
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, AUTHOR, "THE REAL COST OF LIVING": Metastasizing.
ELAM: I know.
ULRICH: That's the thing. Here's the thing. It can feel like this crazy campus growth, but here's the thing, you cannot avoid your student loans even in bankruptcy. So that's not -- bankruptcy's not going to solve the situation. It's not going to make them go away.
The good news is, we don't know if he has federal loans. If you have federal loans, what he needs to apply for is an income based repayment program. And this is a fairly new program where you don't pay more than 10 percent of your discretionary income. That means after you pay your rent and your utilities and all your living expenses, no more than 10 percent is going to go toward these loan payments. But he has to apply and they have to be a federal loan. Do it that way. The other way is you really just have to work with your lenders and make it happen. Do not avoid them and do not stop paying them.
ELAM: Yes, the more you communicate, the better off for you.
ULRICH: The better.
ELAM: All right. The next question comes from Ann in Indiana. She writes in, "I converted $50,000 from a regular IRA to a Roth IRA in 2010, with the plan there being to split the taxes in my 2011 and 2012 tax filings. Should I be prepaying some of those 2011 taxes during 2011 or is it OK to pay the first half when the 2011 taxes are due next spring?"
Do you follow that, Jake?
JACK OTTER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MONEYWATCH.COM: I do.
ELAM: OK.
OTTER: And, first, great that Ann has done this. She is going to thank herself when she retires and has all that tax free income. The bad news is, it's just like any other income tax. And, yes, she's going to be responsible for it over the course of the year. She can use quarterly payments or she can -- for me, the easiest thing is just to increase the withdrawal -- the withholding in your paycheck and that way you don't see it, you don't have to send something in every quarter.
ELAM: Every little check, a little bit is going out.
OTTER: Yes.
ELAM: It's a lot less painful and you're still taking care of what you need to.
OTTER: Exactly.
ELAM: Carmen and Jack, thanks so much for helping us out today.
Do you have a question that you'd like to get answered? Please, send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We asked, why did Hugh Heffner leave the date off the first issue of "Playboy?" The answer, he didn't know if the magazine would succeed. Stick around because we're going to test your news IQ along with Joe Johns.
Well, here's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. Two House committees are looking over bills to restrict abortion funding. One denies federal money for abortion, period. The other prevents abortion coverage under the new health care reform law. A presidential executive order already bars funding under the law, except in cases of rape or incest. And we want to know what you think about lawmakers discussing this issue right now. Carol Costello has some of your responses.
And, Carol, we've just learned, and it will be curious to see if this comes up in the lunch or in the meeting, some of the concerns of the Republicans who we've learned out of the White House briefing just moments ago the president is going to host the new Republican leadership at the White House for a kind of working lunch meeting happening at 12:30. So it will be interesting to see if there's any kind of common ground or if they end up not really discussing at all what they're concerned about.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And they're going to talk about abortion? Do you think they're going to talk about abortion in that luncheon meeting?
MALVEAUX: I, you know, I -- they're probably all going to be talking about the economy, but the fact that you've got those committee hearings, perhaps, they'll say, look, you know, here's something else that we're thinking about that's on our plate.
COSTELLO: Yes, it's always possible. And that's what we're talking about this afternoon. I mean you thought the midterm elections were all about jobs, jobs, jobs. So our question of the day is, is this the right time to argue abortion in Congress, or to talk about it in the White House for that matter?
This from Zachariah. He says, "I think it's pretty hypocritical of Republicans to claim to be anti-government control except when it comes to things their silly little book tells them are wrong." Whoo. This is from Michael. "It is the right time. This issue has gone ignored for far too long."
From Eva, she says, "no. Why is Congress debating this in the first place? It's just a stunt to procrastinate dealing with real issues."
And this from Maddie. "If not now, when? We can't keep pushing it back just because another issue occurs."
Please allow the conversation to continue. I'm looking at your responses and, of course, I'll be weighing in myself. Facebook.com/carolcnn, facebook.com/carolcnn.
Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, Carol, thank you so much.
All right, it's been a while since we've played this, but we're going to bring it back. It is the "CNN Challenge." Joe Johns, he's agreed to be the first player. So get ready to test your trivia knowledge right along with him.
Joe, you ready?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No -- if I don't know the answer, I'm going to tell you I can't hear the question.
MALVEAUX: Oh, no, no, you can't cheat. You can't cheat.
JOHNS: Sorry, my IFP (ph) doesn't work.
MALVEAUX: All right, we're starting here. Here we go. First question. When did Barack Obama announce he was seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination? Think, think, think. All right, what do we have?
JOHNS: Gosh.
MALVEAUX: January 27th?
JOHNS: It feels like 2007.
MALVEAUX: 2007?
JOHNS: 2007.
MALVEAUX: February 10, 2007 or March 3, 2007? A, b, or c, Joe?
JOHNS: Oh, I say a. It feels like a.
MALVEAUX: A? OK. Here we go.
Oh, Joe, b.
JOHNS: Oh. Sorry. MALVEAUX: All right. Next one. Let's see how you do. Let's see how you do.
JOHNS: All right, all right, all right, all right. I'm going to get the next one.
MALVEAUX: How many people filed paperwork to run in the 2008 presidential election? All right, here are your options.
JOHNS: Boy, that's really hard.
MALVEAUX: You've got, a, 75, b, 112, c, 179.
JOHNS: Um --
MALVEAUX: Joe, you're running out of time.
JOHNS: I definitely will go with 112.
MALVEAUX: OK. B. All right. Let's see what we've got. C, 179.
JOHNS: Good grief!
MALVEAUX: Come on, Joe.
JOHNS: Why don't you ask some easy questions?
MALVEAUX: All right, we'll try another one. Let's try another one. Let's try another one. All right.
JOHNS: This is ridiculous, Suzanne, I'm --
MALVEAUX: Come on. What was the closest presidential election as a percentage of the popular vote?
JOHNS: Um, OK, as a percentage of the popular vote.
MALVEAUX: Yes. A, James Garfield versus Winfield Hancock. You've got, b, John F. Kennedy versus Richard Nixon, or George W. Bush versus Al Gore, c.
JOHNS: Um, yes.
MALVEAUX: Quick.
JOHNS: I've got to say that the two obvious questions are Kennedy and G.W. Bush. So it's got to be a.
MALVEAUX: A. OK. Let's (INAUDIBLE) a. Hey, all right, Joe. You got one for us.
JOHNS: Yes, that's right. Yes, thanks. Yes, exactly. Well my IFP does work. I'll tell you that.
MALVEAUX: Oh, Joe, you did OK. You did all right. You were our first victim here. You did OK. So, I hope you weren't following -- JOHNS: Yes, that was horrific. I'm not coming back.
MALVEAUX: Oh, come on. Come back. Come back. We hope you enjoyed it as well, the viewers at home.
JOHNS: Get Candy Crowley out here. Humiliate her.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Joe.
So, we're going to take a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Now for your choose the news winning story. A band of brothers prepares to do battle in Afghanistan. The five sets of reservists ended up in the same Marine battalion. Watch this CNN exclusive brought to you by our Ed Lavandera.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deep bond runs through this line of Marines, but this is a brotherhood beyond the uniform.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was almost surprised when I heard it myself. I didn't realize we had five sets of brothers right away.
LAVANDERA: The U.S. Marine Corps' first battalion 23rd regiment is a family, an infantry unit made up mostly of Texas reservists and includes five different sets of brothers, all about to deploy to the war in Afghanistan. Will and Raul Hernandez, Matthew and Jonathan Faseler, Josh and Daniel Beans, Bobby and Cody Henrichsen, Francisco and Hector Vega.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Have you leaned on each other quite a bit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. It gives us a sense of home.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Their brotherhood eases the pressure of heading into the battlefield.
LANCE CPL. WILL HERNANDEZ, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I don't think there's anybody better to keep me safe than him.
PFC. RAUL HERNANDEZ, U.S. MARINE CORPS: This will be, you know, one of the biggest struggles we go through together as brothers.
GUNNERY SGT. HECTOR VEGA CIGARROA, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Do we worry? Absolutely. You never know what's going to happen out there. We have to talk care of each other because that's all we have.
LAVANDERA: Only Josh and Daniel Beans have experienced war together before. Three years ago they rode on the same street patrols in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not many brothers are in a situation where they are both able to deploy together or even be in the military together at the same time, much less be in the same unit.
LAVANDERA: The families of the Marines face an emotional time during their seven-month deployment, double the fear, twice the stress.
LAVANDERA: How about your folks?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're having a hard time back home knowing that we're here. You know, it --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But they support us in everything we do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, true. One hundred percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean we kind of left them with no choice anyway.
LAVANDERA: The Beans brothers wanted to fight in Afghanistan, so they volunteered to join this unit. The Hernandez brothers come from a family with deep military service. The Vega brothers have also served separate tours of duty in the Iraq War. The Faseler brothers are first generation Marines. And this will be the Hendricksen brothers' first tour of war duty. In the dangerous days ahead, good old fashioned sibling rivalry will help lift their spirits.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He knows that if he doesn't do something right, I'll jump on him. But then again, I'll give him flashbacks of the younger days when I used to be a lot more rougher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but, you know, I always call my mom and tell her he's picking on me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He used to beat me up allot. I didn't do too much beating on him.
LAVANDERA (on camera): So the best question I can ask then, who's the better Marine?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think based on that, he takes the prize for this one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he is.
LAVANDERA: Oh, really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the better Marine.
LAVANDERA: Here, they're all brothers in arms, and that's where the rivalry ends for this band of brothers.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Camp Pendleton, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN HOST: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Martin Savidge in for Ali Velshi.
Hey, Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN HOST: Hello, Suzanne. Thanks very much.
