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GOP Presidential Debate; Casey Anthony Murder Trial; Billions of Dollars Missing in Iraq; An Introduction To Yammer; The Help Desk; Talk Back Question; Pentagon Papers Unveiled

Aired June 14, 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: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed.

The day after the first big Republican debate, and the front- runner comes out ahead. A "National Journal" political insiders poll gives Mitt Romney a slide edge after last night's match-up. Now, candidates took it easy on each other, but they took aim at President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Clearly, President Obama has failed in leadership.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has failed.

BACHMANN: His report card right now has a big failing grade on it.

ROMNEY: Any one of the people on this stage would be a better president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So what did those who watched the debate think about this Republican showdown? Several of our correspondents, they spoke with viewers to get their reaction, and some thought that the candidates sidestepped the questions. Others were encouraged by what they heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY NORRIS, TEA PARTY MEMBER: The idea of getting less government and less taxes, that's what I've heard and that's what I like so far.

JEFF JORGENSEN, DEBATE VIEWER: I don't think I would ever support Romney because he's not answering any questions and only saying what's wrong. What will he do when he's in office? No one knows.

BRETT CARNES, GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, RESIDENT: To me, it's just been political posturing, getting their big talking points out. You know, they've got to check those blocks. I haven't heard anything about me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: President Obama has just wrapped up a speech in San Juan, Puerto Rico. You saw it here live.

The president is spending about five hours in the U.S. territory. He is the first sitting U.S. president to make an official visit there in some 50 years.

President Obama promised to put people back to work there in Puerto Rico and all across America. Many view the trip as a bid for the votes of millions of Puerto Ricans on the U.S. mainland, especially those in the crucial swing state of Florida.

Well, the race is on to save the town of Hamburg, Iowa. Two levees holding back the swollen Missouri River broke late yesterday. Well, now volunteers and National Guard troops, they are trying to build a temporary levee three feet tall to keep that water from reaching the town. Some residents have already been evacuated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just devastating to have to move out of your house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm without a home, living with my kids. All my stuff's in a semi. No job. Where I work, they closed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: We are also watching wildfires out West. The one in eastern Arizona has become the largest in state history. Almost 470,000 acres now have burned, and as many as 10,000 people have been forced now from their homes. Right now, about one-fifth of the fire is contained.

More than a few cars in need of repair today after a nasty hailstorm in eastern Colorado yesterday. And right in the middle of all of it, a rainbow appeared.

Casey Anthony's murder trial resumes the next hour. Now, prosecutors may rest their case today or tomorrow.

The Florida woman has pleaded not guilty to killing her 2-year- old daughter in 2008. Well, an FBI examiner testified yesterday that adhesive in the shape of a heart was found on Duct tape over the child's mouth. And that shape matches stickers that were found during a search of Anthony's home.

"CNN In-Depth" taking a closer look at how viewers and voters are grading the Republican presidential debate.

Don Lemon, he has been talking to a lot of people to get their reaction.

Hey, Don.

He joins us from Manchester, New Hampshire.

You're still there. What are folks telling you the morning after?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're telling me -- well, it's still early on to try to figure out who they're going to vote for. They definitely had some opinions about the debate last night.

A lot of people tuned in. Some didn't because they were watching the Bruins here. The Bruins won. But the front of the paper here says, "Seven Contenders Keep it Civil."

So they thought, as you can see here, that it was in pretty good taste. No one really lashed out at another person there on the stage.

We went to WGIR this morning -- it's the only talk radio in town -- to hear what folks had to say, and they had some pretty strong opinions. Take a listen to one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who do you think won the debate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly, Newt Gingrich was the most presidential candidate, but I don't think there were any failures out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, if you were watching it -- I happened to watch it in the hotel -- I wanted to see what people were saying. We were down in the hotel restaurant, and there were two monitors there, Suzanne. One was on the debate, the other was on the hockey game. And people were kind of going back and forth and watching.

And the next people we talked to, they're going to show you what I mean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK BLASDELL, MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, RESIDENT: I did not listen to the debate last night. Unfortunately, it ran up against the Stanley Cup playoffs, which the Bruins, by the way, won. That's right over there, go Bruins. For me, it's just a little early in the process.

BRANDA CAMPBELL, MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, RESIDENT: Everyone presented themselves very well. I still haven't made up my mind as to who I'm going to vote for, but --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any winners or losers?

CAMPBELL: I think Mitt Romney did a pretty good job, as did Michele. But I still haven't made up my mind who I'm going to vote for yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So you see right at the top, Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann. They probably had the best showing last night. Also, one person said that he thought that Newt Gingrich looked pretty presidential.

So, again, Suzanne, early on, but most voters here are concerned of course about the issues, the economy, spending, and, as you know, jobs.

MALVEAUX: And I think, Don, at one point in the debate, I think Romney gave the score of the Bruins game.

LEMON: Yes.

MALVEAUX: He actually gave an update there for those who were watching the debate, so kind of had one ear on the game as well.

LEMON: Yes, he did. And the people who were watching the game cheered for that, and the people who were watching the debate cheered to that. So he won over both crowds where I was watching -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Well, there's plenty of time for folks to pay attention. And obviously, there will be distractions. It won't be the first time. But exciting debate.

Thank you very much, Don.

LEMON: Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories ahead.

First, the prosecution could actually rest today in the Casey Anthony murder trial.

Then, levees, losing the battle against the rising Missouri River.

And in the health care reform talk from last night's debate, we're going to analyze what the Republican candidates were saying.

Plus, testing the claims in the Truth-o-Meter.

And this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a new way of thinking. It's how people want to communicate. And so we're just giving them the tools to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: How Yammer is changing workplace communication. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Casey Anthony's capital murder trial resumes at the top of the hour, and prosecutors are down to their final witnesses. They may rest their case today or tomorrow, and they've called a line of investigators and forensics experts to prove their theory that the 25-year-old Florida woman killed her 2-year-old daughter by knocking her out with chloroform and putting Duct tape over her nose and mouth. The defense may begin as soon as tomorrow.

Well, I want to get some more on this riveting case. Criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes, she joins us again.

And Holly, thank you very much. You're always very good at putting this all together here.

So we heard from an FBI expert here. Explain to us what the significance was of this Duct tape that was found with a heart shape on that Duct tape.

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. There's a couple of things that are happening here, Suzanne.

The FBI analyst was analyzing the tape for fingerprints, for latent fingerprints, to find out if she could lift any off of them. While she was doing that, she noticed that there was adhesive residue left on the outside of that tape. It was in the shape of a heart.

The reason that that heart sticker is so relevant in this case is that at the Anthony home, just 15 houses away from where the little body was found, are the exact same heart-shaped stickers. And Caylee loved to play with stickers.

And we also heard testimony earlier that Casey, when she one time buried one of her pets out there, put a heart-shaped sticker on that little pet when she buried him. So we're seeing a lot of different tie-ins here.

Now, the defense did a very good job -- this is Jose Baez, lead defense counsel -- of questioning, well, where's the photograph of that? And unfortunately, this analyst did not stop when she recognized that as the shape of a heart, that adhesive residue -- it wasn't the sticker itself, it's the adhesive that's left over, kind of like if you have a Band-Aid on and you take it off. There's some of that adhesive left.

She didn't photograph it. So the defense did a very good job of bringing that up in crossing -- why wouldn't you? That's such important evidence. And obviously they want to argue it wasn't really there.

MALVEAUX: And what is the idea behind this? The idea is that the mother put a little sticker on to this Duct tape and then put the Duct tape over the child's mouth?

HUGHES: Exactly. What you're looking at is the dynamic.

If this was just a stranger killing, they're not going to take the time to do that. This is somebody who is conflicted about putting this child's body out there in that swamp to decompose. So this is someone who had a connection to the little girl, and the argument, obviously, is that her mother, after killing her to free herself up, as it were -- that's what the prosecution is saying -- she wanted to go on and have this beautiful life without the little girl, so she put the sticker on there sort of as just her last act of compassion. Because bear in mind, nobody is saying Casey didn't love the little girl. People kill people they love all the time, Suzanne, unfortunately.

MALVEAUX: That's a very powerful statement there. It takes my breath away a little bit.

But the prosecution is about to rest its case. What has been the most compelling evidence that you've seen so far? And then we'll bring it on to the defense.

HUGHES: I think the most compelling is that odor of decomposition and the scientific testing that backs it up, because if you take into account the fact that there are seven lay witnesses in this trial who have experienced smelling human decomposition, and they have said -- you know, and I'm including Dr. Arpad Vass. He's not a lay witness, he was the expert who testified about the scientific testing and the death compounds in that air.

But if the defense's case that she drowned in the pool and George took away the body were true, you would not have human decomposition in Casey's trunk a month after the fact. That is proof that she had that little girl's body after the little girl was deceased.

So it basically shoots a hole in their argument, because you've got her mother Cindy, who's a nurse, who knows what it smells like. Her dad George is a detective, knows what it smells like. Lead detective Yuri Melich testified to it, Arpad Vass.

MALVEAUX: Right.

HUGHES: And the tow truck driver, don't forget him. When he towed the car, he said, I know the smell of human decomposition because I've towed cars where there have been fatalities and where people have committed suicide in their cars, so I am very aware of that.

MALVEAUX: What do we expect from the defense?

HUGHES: The defense is going to challenge the science. It's all they can do. They have got to say that Arpad Vass, while he is very respected in his field --

MALVEAUX: Arpad Vass being?

HUGHES: He is the chemist -- he's not a chemist. Excuse me. He runs the "Body Farm" over in Tennessee. And he is the gentleman, the scientist who testified about sampling the compounds that came out of that trunk, the odor.

He did the sniff-testing, as it were, to prove that it was human decomposition in that trunk. So they're going to have to challenge him. They're going to have to admit, yes, he's great at what he does, but this science has never been allowed in a court of law before for good reason, because it's not proven, it's not tested.

And they're going to have to put their client on the stand. Casey Anthony has to take the stand, Suzanne, because the defense, Jose Baez, lead counsel for Casey, promised us in his opening that George is the one who took the body away. And what did he tell us in his opening? That Casey and George were the only two people there.

So George has denied it. If he wants to argue this was an accidental drowning, he's got to put Casey up. The same thing with the abuse claims. If George abused her, and he's denied it, they've got to put her on the stand or they have nothing to argue.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll be watching very closely. Thank you very much, Holly. Appreciate it, as always.

HUGHES: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Watch our special all day coverage of the Casey Anthony trial on our sister network, HLN.

Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question: Is either party inspiring the middle class?

Carol Costello, she joins us from D.C. with more.

And Carol, lot of people watching that debate, looking for clues. You know, does this have anything to do with me?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. We asked that question in light of the Republican primary debate last night, and you know it didn't take long for the Democratic Party to rebut via YouTube. After a debate-turned-largely-Obama-bash-fest, it was a no- brainer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEXT: The Republicans met to talk about the most pressing issues facing our country --

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do not believe in Sharia law in American courts.

TEXT: The phrase "middle class" wasn't spoken.

TIM PAWLENTY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I support a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

TEXT: The Republicans: What in the world are they talking about? (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, come on, the Republicans may not have uttered the phrase "middle class," but they did say "middle income" and "middle of America." Besides, primary debates are meant to appeal to the extremes, not the masses. But, hey, since Democrats brought it up, you know, the middle class, let's talk. Or let Republicans talk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAWLENTY: I support strongly --

CAIN: I believe in right to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Right to work states outlaw agreements between labor unions and employers that make union membership a condition of employment. According to political scientist Paul Sracic, that kind of talk does not resonate in blue-collar Ohio because it's just another attack on unions.

Tax cuts for the rich don't resonate much either. But if you think President Obama is in the pink because of this, think again.

Sracic says middle class Americans are asking themselves, is my life better now than it was four years ago? I don't have to tell you what the answer to that is. Sracic says blue-collar voters just might stay home in 2012, because what's the point?

So, the "Talk Back" question today: Is either party inspiring the middle class?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: OK. Thank you, Carol.

A potentially dangerous situation is building along the Iowa/Missouri border. The Missouri River is rising at record levels now, and it's already busting through some of the levees. We're going to take a look at what's in store for those areas downstream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: In extreme northwest Missouri, a lot of farmland and crops are under water after two levees broke. National Guard troops and volunteers are trying to keep the Missouri River from flooding the resort town of Big Lake, as well as Hamburg, Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD HUBBS, FLOOD VICTIM: It's about a mile and a quarter over there, is where that levee is at, where it's broke. After a while water soaked through that and probably started leaking through. But only time will tell. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY KUNKEL, HOLT COUNTY, MISSOURI, CLERK: It's a voluntary evacuation order, but we're encouraging people to go ahead and have all their belongings, their pets, their medicine, and their documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Our own Jacqui Jeras has been warning us that this might happen, and now we are talking record flooding here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: It is now time for you to "Choose the News." Here are your choices.

First, for all you history buffs, it took 40 years, but now more of the controversial "Pentagon Papers" on the Vietnam War are declassified. A look at the newly released material.

Well, second, the seemingly cursed musical "Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark" officially opens tonight on Broadway. The high-flying spectacle was delayed six times because of repeated injuries and technical glitches. We've got a preview.

And third, a teenager with terminal cancer creates a bucket list of her own. Hear how her final wishes may end up changing the world long after she's gone.

You can vote for your favorite story by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Pentagon Papers"; 2 for "Spider-Man's Return"' or 3 for "Teen's Bucket List." The winning story will air at the end of this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown some of the stories ahead.

Next, highlights from last night's Republican debate. We're going to focus on what they said about health care reform.

Then, we're going to test some of the claims from last night in the Truth-o-Meter.

And it is described as Facebook for the work environment. Yammer has revolutionized the way that employees now communicate. We have got your 101 from Silicon Valley.

And it may yet turn out to be one of history's biggest heists. After the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. followed up on its deployment of troops by planeload after planeload of cold, hard cash, bringing it there. The money was meant to help develop a new Iraq, but now billions simply disappeared.

Here's Brian Todd with the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the months after "Shock and Awe," the mantra was spend and rebuild. At least that's what U.S. officials hoped. They airlifted billions of dollars in bricks of $100 bills to Iraq to pay for reconstruction.

Now the U.S. inspector general for Iraq reconstruction has some unsettling news about more than $6 billion of that money.

STUART BOWEN, U.S. INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION: It has not been properly accounted for, and that is the purpose of our continuing audit.

TODD (on camera): If some of it was stolen, who do you believe stole it?

BOWEN: I don't want to speculate on who the potential criminals might be, but this money was delivered to Iraqi control, and we have in the past had a number of cases reported to us about interim ministers who did steal.

TODD: Who was responsible for safeguarding that money?

BOWEN: During 2003 and 2004, that money was under the aegis of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the entity that was created to govern Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

TODD (voice-over): Stuart Bowen says, after that, the Pentagon and the Iraqi government shared responsibility for safeguarding some of the money, and that it was the Pentagon who asked him to investigate.

Contacted by CNN, a Pentagon spokesman cited that probe, but also said the investigation found that "All of these funds remained under the control of the government of Iraq at all times."

This is not U.S. taxpayer money. The cash belonged to Iraq in the first place. The inspector general says the money was from the Development Fund for Iraq, which had taken Iraqi oil money diverted by international sanctions and stored it at a Federal Reserve facility in the U.S.

(on camera): But Americans may still be on the hook for some of this. Bowen says Iraqi officials have indicated to him they may go to court to reclaim the lost money.

What if they win?

(voice-over): Congressman Henry Waxman chaired several hearings on fraud in Iraq when he was head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

(on camera): Is Congress on the hook for some of this if the Iraqis successfully reclaim that money? REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, I hope not, but the truth of the matter is the U.N. said to the United States, you are now entrusted with this money. You have a fiduciary responsibility for the Iraqi people to use it for their benefit. And now we can't account for $6.7 billion.

TODD: An official at the Iraqi embassy didn't respond to comments that the Iraqis may have stolen some of the money, but he did say the U.S. inspector general's report has shown the United States failed to put into place accountable and transparent financial controls to safeguard Iraqi funds.

So, both sides now firmly pointing the finger at each other.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Health care was one of the hot topics during the Republican presidential debate. The candidates bashed President Obama's reform plan. They also squared off over what to do about Medicare, the health program for seniors. Well, some backed the plan by Congressman Paul Ryan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What Paul Ryan is suggesting, which I wholeheartedly support, to use a program that is identical to what seniors already have. It's called Medicare Part D. They have a program right now which seniors like --

REP. RON PAUL (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some revamping has to occur. What we need is competition. We need to get a chance for the people to opt out of the system. Just talk about opting out of Obamacare? Why can't we opt out of the whole system to take care of ourselves?

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you're dealing with something as big as Medicare and you can't have a conversation with the country, where the country thinks what you're doing is the right thing, you better slow down.

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The reason we are in the situation we are today with Medicare and Social Security is because the problem hadn't been solved. We can no longer rearrange it. We've got to restructure those programs. And the Paul Ryan approach, I totally support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, they might disagree over what to do about Medicare, but everybody agrees that something's got to be done. We want to bring in our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to talk a little bit about that.

Elizabeth, first of all, what kind of trouble is Medicare in at this point?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Suzanne, as you said, everyone agrees that Medicare's in trouble. It's in pretty big trouble. Take a look at these numbers. It's kind of losing money by the minute.

Right now, it's spending about $519 billion. OK, that's in 2010. In 2020, that spending goes up to $929 billion. That is a huge increase in just ten years.

MALVEAUX: We expect that there are certain solutions Republicans are proposing that folks will like. What do we get from the Republicans?

COHEN: Right. Let's take a look at the proposal from Congressman Paul Ryan, because that's gotten a lot of attention.

It really is quite simple. The way that it would work is that senior citizens would be given a voucher by Uncle Sam. The way that it works now is you turn 65 and you just get Medicare. Instead, this would be a voucher, and it would say here's money, Miss Medicare Marlene. Go spend it the way that you see best fit to get your health care. That's very different from the way Medicare is done right now.

MALVEAUX: Do we get -- do we have any sense at all whether or not Americans are going to accept a plan like the Ryan plan?

COHEN: You know, there are some polls that show that Americans are a little bit unsure about this plan. If senior citizens perceive that this plan is going to cost them more money than they're spending now or if they perceive that they're going to get care that is of lower quality than they're getting now, this is going to have real trouble. Senior citizens right now are used to turning 65 and getting really quite good care from Medicare without having to pay much money. If they perceive that this will change that, that's going to be a problem.

MALVEAUX: All right. Elizabeth Cohen. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Job numbers, taxes, national debt. The candidates made some big claims about some big issues in last night's debate. But were they true? We will take a closer look in our Truth-O-Meter, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Don't forget to vote for the story you would like to see in the Choose the News segment. You can vote for your favorite by texting 22360. Text 1 for Pentagon Papers. After 40 years of secrecy, the entire document on the Vietnam War is now open to the public. Text 2 for Spiderman Returns. Flying book comic character finally hits Broadway tonight after months of bad luck. And text 3 for Teen's Bucket List. A girl with terminal cancer sets out to change the future of other cancer patients. The winning story is going to air in 20 minutes.

Here are some big numbers flying around last night during the Republican debate and that is lighting up the Truth-O-Meter. Angie Holan is a reporter and researcher for PolitiFact.com, the "St. Petersburg Times" fact checking Web site.

Angie, let's take a look at what Congresswoman Michele Bachmann had to say last night about President Obama's health care reform. She says, "The Congressional Budget Office has said that Obamacare will kill 800,000 jobs." What do we know about that? True or false?

ANGIE HOLAN, POLITIFACT.COM: We rated this one barely true. Basically, we read the CBO report. It says that about half a percent of the labor force would be reduced. This comes out to about 800,000 jobs. But they said it would primarily be people who are working right now just so they can have insurance. Under the new plan, they won't have to work for insurance. They will leave their jobs, so we rated it barely true.

MALVEUAX: And what about Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota? He says that, "The premiums for Medicare and payroll withholdings are only paying for half the program, that it's not financially solvent." Is it true?

HOLAN: We rated this one mostly true. It's true but with a catch. And the catch is that Medicare historically has not been self- sustaining through the taxes and the premiums, that general revenues from the government have supported it quite often in its history. So, once you understand that, he's right on the other part, mostly true.

MALVEAUX: All right. Angie, thanks for keeping an eye on that and letting us know. True or false, keeping an eye on those politicians. Thanks, Angie.

Watching out for trends in technology. In just three years, Yammer has everybody talking, and that's been its mission since it started. That every employee within a company can be heard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Still time to vote for the Choose the News story you would like to see. Vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for Pentagon Papers released. U.S. government releases every volume after 40 years of secrecy. Text 2 for Spiderman Returns, a preview of the once accident-prone musical. And text 3 for Teen's Bucket List. We are going to tell you what the number one wish is for a teenager with terminal cancer. The winning story will air just minutes ahead.

When it comes to communicating online at work, Yammer wants to be king. More than 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies have now logged on. CNN's Silicon Valley correspondent Dan Simon helps us understand what is this all about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It's being called the Facebook for business. Silicon Valley executive David Saks, who helped revolutionize payments as a co-founder of PayPal, wants to also advance how we communicate at the office.

Three years ago, he launched Yammer to bring social networking to the workplace.

DAVID SAKS, CEO, YAMMER: In every company I ever worked at, there's always this problem that you don't know what your co-workers are doing. And so, Yammer is really born out of our own need for this product.

SIMON: So Saks built a site this allows employees to post things about work. 100,000 companies around the globe are now using it, from eBay to Seven-11 to Xerox. Yammers works within a company's internal network, so it says the information is secure and not for public consumption.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're very collaborative culture. And I think it just enhanced that.

SIMON: Caroline Japic runs corporate marketing for the telecommunications firm Polycom. She says Yammer is replacing e-mail as the preferred way to communicate with coworkers. Users may put up a work-related post or question, and just like Facebook, others will weigh in with their own thoughts.

CAROLINE JAPIC, POLYCOM: It's just a new way of thinking. It's how people want to communicate, so we're just giving them the tools to do so.

SIMON: But with sites like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and LinkedIn already taking up a lot of our time, are we at a point where social networking is becoming too much? Or is this just how we're going to interact now in both our personal and professional lives?

(on camera): Does a company like Yammer exist without Facebook?

SACKS: Well, I think Facebook had to come first in the sense that people had to get used to this new way of communicating, and we think social networking represents this fundamental upgrade in people's ability to communicate with each other. It's obviously transformed the way that we communicate in our personal lives. We think it will have a similar impact inside the workplace in how we communicate with our coworkers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Dan joins us live from San Francisco. Dan, just another way to communicate here. A lot of people wondering is it really necessary? Is there an appetite for this?

SIMON: Well, I think so, Suzanne. I'm guessing you probably get, what, a couple hundred e-mails a day? I get about the same. And sometimes it's hard to keep track of everything. So, wouldn't it be nice to kind of go to one place where all the stories and threads and everything is sort of in one place and you can sort of keep track of everything? Yes.

And typically, companies like Yammer, there are a lot of companies getting into this space. They start out as free and then offer premium features. That's how they make money.

And also, think of it this way. Say you're just sort of a regular employee and you have an idea or thought about something and sometimes it can be intimidating to e-mail your bosses with that idea. Well, you can just kind of post it on Yammer and other people can weigh in. Sort of a less intimidating way and a more empowering feature for the regular employee.

MALVEAUX: Dan, I get about 50 e-mails an hour, so it's a little tough to negotiate sometimes. I know we all face that problem. Are people liking this? Do they feel like this is an easier way to communicate, better than e-mail at the office?

SIMON: Well, I think it comes down to personal choice. If you're somebody who likes to use FaceBook and you weigh in with your thoughts and you like seeing all the comments below those thoughts, then I think this is something that will appeal to you. But if you've never used FaceBook, if you're sort of an amateur in this regard, then you may have some questions and you may just prefer e-mail. It's just sort of personal preference, so to speak.

MALVEAUX: And, Dan, what about the security? I noticed there was someone in the piece in your report who was talking about the fact that they could keep it internal within the company, the organization itself. Are they confident that it's secure, that it's just not going to get out there to everybody else?

SIMON: Well, I can say, you know, working at CNN, you know, you have to get through a couple layers of security to get to your e-mail and so forth. And, typically, that's how it will work with other companies. It works within your own internal network. So those communications are secure. And that's really the selling point behind this. They want to make sure that these conversations take place in the office and not, you know, sort of out there in the wild so other people can see it.

MALVEAUX: All right, Dan, thank you very much. I'm one of those people who is an amateur at all this, so this all helps me. Thanks. I really appreciate it, Dan.

SIMON: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Today's "Talk Back" question, is either party inspiring the middle class? JL says, "what middle class? What's the definition? Those who are more in debt than I am? It's gone." More of your responses up ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARTER EVANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Greg McBride. He's a senior financial analyst at bankrate.com, and Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is founder of the financial advice blog, askthemoneycoach.com.

OK, so here's the first question. Anne in Alaska. "I have some money sitting in a savings account. My bank wants to invest it in a commodities basket for five years. The gains over the last year have been about 6 percent. The principal is FDIC insured. Is this a wise move?"

Greg, why don't you take this one.

GREG MCBRIDE, SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST, BANKRATE.COM: Well, Anne, if you've got money in a savings account, that's because you may need it for an emergency or other unplanned expense. You don't want to tie that up in a commodity basket or anything else that's going to limit your financial flexibility.

The other thing to keep in mind with some commodity baskets or other linked CD products is that there's often an early withdrawal penalty that can leave you in the red. So even though the principal's FDIC insured, if you take out the money early, you can end up in the red.

Also, there are other ways to invest in commodities. If you're looking to add that to your portfolio, you don't necessarily have to jeopardize an emergency fund to do it.

EVANS: OK, question number two, Ryan in Michigan says, "I'm 18. I'm wondering if investing in a small duplex to rent out would be a good investment at my age?"

Lynnette.

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Well, first I've got to say, wow, an 18-year-old thinking about having an investment property. A lot of people, you know, twice his age aren't quite ready. Yes, I think that at any age, frankly, if you're an adult and if you're credit-worthy, if you saved up enough money and you have enough for a down payment, et cetera, you can qualify, you know, investment property can be a good idea.

The caution, though, I'd give to somebody who's that young, frankly, is, establish your credit rating and your track record. Make sure, in fact, that you really are prepared for the rights and responsibilities of home ownership and particularly of being a landlord. It's not as easy as it seems.

EVANS: I can attest to that, definitely. Thanks, Lynnette.

OK, have a question and you want it answered, send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@ cnn.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question, is either party inspiring the middle class? Our Carol Costello, she's in Washington with some of your responses.

Carol, a lot of people watching those debates and wondering, well, am I included in any of this? Should I be even paying attention at this point?

COSTELLO: You've got that right.

This answer from Tracy. "I am in the middle class. I am Democratic. I do vote for Republicans when they make more sense than Democrats. Obama told us the economy could not be repaired in four years. The truth is, he is trying and I have benefited. I hear Republicans wanting to take it back from me."

This from Morgan. "Every American making under $75,000 a year should decide on a date and go on strike for a single day country- wide, then they, Washington, would see almost everything come to a standstill. This country runs on the backs of the middle class and the working poor."

This from Fabiola. "A president who will continue to move America forward, not backward, where only a few benefit. It's been a long and hard struggle but we're getting there."

And this from Ken. "Most people view politics as a war for ideological supremacy. Politicians and super-wealthy see it as jockeying for power. What the middle class wants and needs is a government less interested in power and ideology and more interested in 'we, the people.'"

Please keep the conversation going, facebook.com/cnn. And thanks, as always, for your comments.

MALVEAUX: Well, Carol, we certainly hope that the politicians are watching and listening because as it gets closer to that Election Day, people want to hear more specifics, get more and more specific about how they're going to help us in our own lives.

COSTELLO: Well, the middle class was the star in 2008. It's certain to be a star in 2012. The thing is, will anyone believe them this time around?

MALVEAUX: You remember "Joe the plumber"?

COSTELLO: Of course I do.

MALVEAUX: Can only imagine who is going to --

COSTELLO: I wonder if he'll be back?

MALVEAUX: You know, appear this go-round. But there will be somebody who will fill that role at some point, I imagine.

COSTELLO: Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol, thanks. Good to see you.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Well, you told us what you wanted to see. Your "Choose The News" story is just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: You chose it. We're now going to air it. The "Choose The News" winner. For 40 years, a large portion of the Pentagon Papers were kept a classified secret. Well, now, CNN's Lisa Sylvester reports the papers are available for the public to see in their entirety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven thousand pages, 47 volumes. The Pentagon Papers were a top-secret report commissioned by the secretary of defense in 1967 on the history of the Vietnam War. Daniel Ellsberg, a Defense Department analyst, leaked thousands of pages to "The New York Times" and other news organizations. About two-thirds of the full report had been leaked previously, but now the public can read the whole report without redactions, including new sections on the peace negotiations. No big surprises are expected, but it's a treasure trove for history buffs.

KEN HUGHES, UNIV. OF VIRGINIA MILLER CENTER: It's quite vast and it's also quite illuminating about the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. You see this pattern of great secrecy, a certain amount of deception of the American people about the chances of success in Vietnam, and about what the American people's own government was doing in Vietnam.

SYLVESTER: Ellsberg, looking back, said he had grown disillusioned with the war under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

DANIEL ELLSBERG: They were prepared to prolong a war and to expand a war at each step rather than to lose it and Nixon was the same.

SYLVESTER: The Pentagon Papers left Nixon fearful and insecure, afraid of more leaks about his own policy decisions.

HUGHES: He actually committed the impeachable offense of setting up a secret police organization in the White House, the Special Investigations Unit, which was later known as "the plumbers," and he set it up to commit illegal acts.

SYLVESTER: Nixon went to court to stop the media outlets from publishing the papers. But the Supreme Court, in a landmark 6-3 decision, sided with the press. At the Newseum in Washington, D.C., where the documents leaked to the newspapers are on display, visitors wonder why it took 40 years to declassify the full report.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that they haven't disclosed everything until just today, I mean, that's really long enough. Long enough. It's about time. And the Pentagon Papers, for my generation, was a really big news story and I say it's just about time that things have been -- have come out completely.

SYLVESTER (on camera): The National Archives first said that it would release the full report except for 11 words. Well, that had everyone speculating, what were the 11 words and why did the government not want people to read them? But the government backed off from that and one reason is they realized people could compare previously leaked versions with the new government documents and figure out those 11 words. So in the end, they released the full document, including the 11 words. But now it's kind of lost in the 7,000 pages. So we still don't know which 11 words.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: If your choice didn't win or you just want to check out the runners-up, we'll have links to them on my page at facebook.com/suzannecnn.

CNN NEWSROOM is continuing right now with Randy Kaye, who's in for Ali Velshi.

Hey, Randi.