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Obama Prepares His Jobs Plan Speech For Today; Trial Of Michael Jackson's Doctor; Texas Wildfire Spreading; Remnants Of Lee Pound Northeast; Japan Recovery; White Cross Left On Man's Lawn

Aired September 08, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, kind sir. Hello to you, and hello to everybody out there. Too few jobs, too much debt, too little action from Washington, depending on your politics and the way you see things. Maybe you think it's just the wrong action out of Washington. In any case, it is the big story today. Today is the big day for President Obama, that long awaited jobs speech on Congress. It was planned for last night, of course you know the Republicans were debating last night, had to be moved to tonight, the president's speech.

So now, here we are just about six hours away from that speech. He's expected to propose more than $300 billion in new investments and tax breaks to be offset by cuts and tax increases elsewhere. Also, $100 billion or more could go for infrastructure, you know, roads, bridges, airports, schools.

The president may also call for an infrastructure bank providing for low-cost loans to get projects off the ground. He's also expected to push for an extension in the payroll tax break that almost every American worker now gets, and he may propose new tax breaks for employers who hire veterans and the long-term unemployed. The White House says none of this ought to come as objectionable to Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: All of these ideas are bipartisan in nature. The kinds of things that Republicans and Democrats have broadly supported in the past, and therefore, given the fact that they are paid for, given the fact that the economy needs help and Americans need help, Congress should act right away and get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now of course, debt has been a part of the conversation and you remember that super committee? Well we saw the first meeting, the very first one of this bipartisan Congressional super committee. Now, their job is to come up with about up to $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction by Thanksgiving. Now, you know this is broken down by six Democrats, six Republicans, so if they just vote along party lines here, nothing's going to get done, so somebody is going to have to vote with the other side, or who knows, maybe they'll vote unanimously on whatever they come up with. Yes, right.

So, with all that as the drop, and the president's speech coming up, like I said in about six hours, let's bring in CNN's Christine Romans for us in New York and the White House correspondent Brianna Keilar. Ladies, good to see you both.

Brianna, let me start with you. Are they coming up with something, the president announcing something he thinks can get passed or is he announcing something tonight that he really thinks is going to get the economy going?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, certainly this is something the White House wants, T.J., and says would have an immediate impact. But the fact is there are obstacles in Congress, and the White House and House Republicans don't see eye to eye on what we're expecting from this proposal. Just a couple of things, infrastructure spending, you'll hear Republicans already talking about how some of the things in this bill are stimulus, which has become a bit of a dirty word, of course, and House Republicans are opposed to that.

There is also, as we understand it from Democratic sources familiar with the president's speech, that one of the ways he will propose paying for this is in part with delayed tax increases. Now, you know that Republicans are not going to be onboard with that. But what you also have here at the White House pointing to other things, tax cuts to payroll, tax cut, an extension of that and allowing as well to go to employers. And the point they're trying to make here is that they essentially feel anything they put forward House Republicans will say no to.

They're literally sending up a bill next week, this is what White House press secretary Jay Carney said, they're putting this in the legislative form, and the message there, T.J., is, hey, we've even written it for you, here it is. But reality is this, T.J, even talking to Democrats on the Hill, there's no expectation that Congress will pass one singular comprehensive jobs plan like the president will unveil tonight.

HOLMES: Oh, hey, that's interesting how you put it. Christine, you here her say that, hey, we're making it easy for you, we even wrote the dog gone thing, all you've got to do it pass it. But Christine, is that enough money, $300 billion?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question, because you know we've already spent twice that much on a stimulus that critics to the president's plan would say it didn't work. The White House came out a couple years ago and said, you passed the stimulus and spend all this hundreds of billions of dollars, we'll be able to keep the unemployment rate below eight percent. That obviously didn't happen, it's one of the reasons why, I think, the White House is not coming out with a targeted number for how many jobs they expect to create or what they think it'll do in the economy.

They're going to leave that to other respected economists to the side so they can't hang that on them again. One of the things that's interesting about this is it's also the buying of the goodwill from different sectors that are getting hit here. You've state and local governments that have been hit really hard in terms of state budget cuts and having to lay off first responders, teachers, people who work in schools. So, if the president can come out with some targeted relief because of holes in state budgets, that could be difficult for Republicans to turn down, couldn't it?

You take a look at just school personnel, for example, 85,000 jobs lost in schools just this summer. Since 2008, when the crisis began, you've lost 290,000 jobs in American schools. That means pretty much every family out there has noticed in their school district maybe something's different. Now you're paying to be on the football team, or now you've got five more kids in the kindergarten class, or you don't have as many kindergarten classes or something.

So, it's something that you can resonate, the question I think for the president, T.J. and Brianna, is can the White House team put something together that the Republicans can't afford not to pass, otherwise it looks like they're just saying no for the sake of saying no.

HOLMES: OK. You know, Brianna, one last thing to you. What is this going to look like? This is one of the grandest thing the president can do, get both Houses together, it's going to look very presidential, it's going to lo0ok important quite frankly. There's an expectations gain, all right, Mr. President, you've us all around the TV, you've got all the senators in Congress people sitting there, you better say something important. So, are they going to be able to meet those expectations this evening and is there pressure, do they feel it, to do so?

KEILAR: There's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of anticipation, and T.J., that's because what does an address to a joint session of Congress look like -- look like? It looks like the state of the union. This is a big deal, it's a huge spectacle, and this could be -- or it's really expected to be a pivotal moment for the president. You heard Christine talking about the buying of the goodwill of different sort of sectors.

A lot of this has to do with the buying of the goodwill of the American people and trying to convince them, the president will try to do, that he understands, he cares, he's trying to do something, and he's trying to point out the House Republicans are the ones getting in the way. Of course, this is the battle that will be going back and forth. But bottom line, this is a big deal, it's a huge spectacle.

HOLMES: All right. Brianna Keiler, Christine Romans, ladies, always good to see you both. I'll chat with you again, soon.

And to our viewers, if you don't know by now, the president talking tonight, 7:00 Eastern time. You can get the coverage from the best political team on television, starts at 6:00 Eastern, 3:00 Pacific, with the president speaking at 7:00, and he will be done in time for you to catch kick-off the NFL season. Now seven minutes past the hour. Now, give you some other news taking place today. Jury selection getting underway in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. He of course the cardiologist charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. That's with 450 potential jurors set to report for the selection process, they're going today and Monday. Jackson, you remember, died on June 25th of 2009 of an overdose of the anesthetic drug, Propofol. Prosecutors claim Murray used a makeshift I.V. drip to administer the drug in a way that violated standard care and ultimately led to Jackson's death.

And the huge wildfire near Austin, Texas. This thing keeps on spreading. Two people are dead, nearly 1,400 homes destroyed. The fire is only 30 percent contained at this point, so far has blackened 34,000 acres, forced 5,000 people to evacuated. This fire is one of a number that have been burning across Texas which is in desperate need of some water. They are dealing some terrible drought conditions -- historic drought conditions in that state.

Meanwhile, other folks dealing with flooding, they've got too much water, catastrophic flooding. This is the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. And you have people evacuating by -- about 100,000 of them had to evacuate. We're going to be taking you live to Pennsylvania for the very latest. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 11 minutes past the hour. Let's say hello to Chad Myers right now. And Chad, we've got two situations going on. One place has too much water and another place doesn't have nearly enough.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: If you could just take some of the water that's now in the northeast and push it into Texas, it would be amazing. The rain that came down just in the past 48 hours, from Bingington, just west of Wilkes-Barre, all the way down to Harrisburg, Lancaster, and New York, has been over 10 inches. And that rain, now, is running off to historic proportions. The floods that they are seeing now in the Susquehanna Valley, from Bingington, down to Wilkes- Barre, and all the way down to Nanakuken (ph), even all the way down Danfield (ph), will be as bad as they had in 1972 with Hurricane Agnes which was a devastating flood.

Hundreds of thousands of people now are being evacuated in the Wyoming valley. And you say, where is that? I've never heard of that. Well, let me take you to the Susquehanna River, and if you live in Philadelphia, you know it's kind of the other way, it's just to the north, so we're just about 100 miles west of New York City. The Susquehanna River runs right up here, a big valley, mountains on both sides. Pocono Speedway, for you NASCAR fans, over on that side of the map, but not going to be affected by this flood. Plymouth all the way up to Nanakuken, Edwardsville, all of this land will be flooded, inundated with water, at about -- in some spots, homes will be 12 feet under water from rain that only happened 48 hours ago.

Now, Wilkes-Barre protected, Flixton you got a little bit -- the Edwardsville -- Squaresville and Edwardsville not really all that bad except when you get down towards Dundee, that's where it's going to be. Kingston Corners under water for sure. Now, back up here, where is the water coming from? Into -- from Bingington, from the Shunaangel (ph), and also from the Susquehanna, as they come through right there, at Confluence Park. Bingington, the water now going over the levee system, going over the water breaching and into the city. I don't think that's going to happen for very long, don't think the city of Bingington's going to fill up with water, but there are 20,000 people being evacuated there.

Think about this. This about a city or town and you a try to put 100,000 people someplace not in their homes, like in high schools and gymnasiums, and just centers. How do you put 100,000 people? How do you prepare to put 100,000 people anywhere? And if you're going, and if you're listening, you must take your own things. You must prepare it, make sure that you have stuff to sleep on, because there's no possible way the Red Cross or the cities or the states can anywhere -- be anywhere near able to take care of 100,000 people. There's the water, it's going up, you see it there, that water from where it is, another 12 feet higher. So, those buildings, those little -- those houses you saw under water, or at least partly under water, will be significantly deeper in about eight hours.

HOLMES: You say that like a sure thing. It's hard to even imagine from looking at that picture that that's possible.

MYERS: I lived it. I lived that flood of Agnes, and I was a boy scout and we collected food and cans and water and clothes and took it down to Corning, it's as far as we could go. We couldn't even get down toward Towanda or Sayre, or all the way down even into the Wyman Valley or Lesner County. It was a tremendous flood from Agnes, and this is equal if not as bad to it, in some spots worst than that.

HOLMES: All right. Chad, we appreciate you. Thanks so much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

HOLMES: Also, coming up here in just a moment, we're six months after that devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. A lot of things to be concerned about, and one of them the fear of more suicides. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 17 minutes past the hour now. Time for a new segment. It's called "Under Covered." That is where on this show they'll be bringing you stories that aren't getting enough attention. Maybe like this one out of Japan today.

You remember seeing, of course, a number of these images. Entire communities wiped away by a tsunami. News outlets covered it around the clock for days on end when it first happened, but that was back in March. Now, here we are, six months later, not a lot of talk maybe about the people who survived and are trying to rebuild. More than 100,000 still don't have a permanent place to live. There was a huge concern that more and more people will commit suicide. Especially because in Japan, there's such a social stigma about seeking mental health assistance.

Here now, CNN's Kyung Lah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Disaster as far as the eye could see. That's what the tsunami left in a town of Otsuchi, Japan, gutting more than half of the city. Six months later, rescuers have cleared much of the rubble, but the pain for Kyoko Ogawa remained.

"I was tormented," she says. "I was in shock because all that was precious to me was gone."

The hotel Ogowa owned, seen burning in this picture shortly after the tsunami triggered a gas explosion, was destroyed. All her possessions, gone. Family and friends, perished.

"I had no one to talk to," she says. She adds, "it was a living hell."

Until she met Dr. Mori Kawa (ph), who she calls sensa (ph). A volunteer psychiatrist who simply listened.

LAH (on camera): Was talking to the sensa the difference between life and death?

KYOKO OGAWA, TSUNAMI VICTIM (through translator): "Yes. If I hadn't met the doctor, I would have ended my life."

LAH (voice-over): Suicide. That's the fear in post earthquake Japan. Reports are surfacing from the disaster zone. A dairy farmer, struggling financially in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, hung himself in his barn, saying there was nothing to live for.

LAH (on camera): Japan has one of the highest rates of suicide in the entire world. There's one approximately every 15 minutes in this country. Social workers say there's an urgent need to deal with post traumatic stress disorder in the tsunami zone, but an extraordinary lack of resources and a strong social stigma against seeking mental health care.

LAH (voice-over): That's why these social workers never utter the word therapy as they meet tsunami survivors living in temporary housing. They talk over makeup and massages as psychologist Mariko Ukiyo slyly asks about their grief.

"A lot of the people here believe it's too painful to talk about the loss (ph)," says Yasuyo Kikuchi, who, like so many, lost her home. But it helps, she adds, knowing she's not alone. Mariko says survival of the body was the focus in the wake of the tsunami. Now, six months after the disaster, it's about fighting PTSD and suicide. She believes suicide cases will begin to spike.

"They're realizing only now the sense of loss and deep grief," she says. "You can easily lose all hope for the future." Kyoko Ogawa doesn't think about ending her life anymore, but now focuses on rebuilding her hotel and a new future. Dr. Mori Kawa says for every success story, like Ogawa's, there's an unfortunate reality.

LAH (on camera): As a doctor, does it bother you that there are going to be so many people you will not be able to reach?

LAH (voice-over): "Yes," he says. "There's not a single psychiatric clinic in this region. I can't stand the thought that there will be so many people who die because they didn't have anyone to talk to. A ravaged region trying to rebuild, but the devastation runs deeper than the eye can see.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Otsuchi, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, coming here next, a homeowner who woke up to a cross in his front yard. You're seeing it there. It was painted with racial slurs. We'll tell you what the crime it's done to his family and his words now for the criminals. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. This is an image nobody would want to wake up and see in your front yard. Can you make out what that is? Well, my next guest, Wayne Parson, woke up this Labor Day. He found this cross that was left in his yard.

Now, you can't necessarily make out what it says from the picture here, but let me tell you what's on it. It's pipe that was used to make this cross and it has racial slurs on it. It also has words like "burn in hell." It was the second hate crime he's faced at his home of more than 20 years just outside of Newark, Delaware. So far, police have arrested now two 15 and 16-year-old young men for this hate crime. And joining me now or today's "Crime & Consequence" from Wilmington, Delaware, the homeowner Wayne Parson.

Sir, thank you for being here. What was your reaction to hear that a 15 and 16-year-old kid had gotten picked up for this?

WAYNE PARSON, VICTIM OF HATE CRIME: First of all, good afternoon to you, T.J.

You know, my reaction wasn't so much of a surprise as to the ages of the individuals. My surprise was that -- just the sight of a cross stuck in my lawn. I think that the individuals had to learn this type of behavior, because they certainly weren't born with it.

HOLMES: What do you think, though, sir? Fifteen and 16-year-old kids, some kind of a prank? Maybe a dare? Who knows what kids do? Thought it might have been funny. Wanted to do something silly. Or do you think this is something that's in their hearts?

PARSON: Well, you know, far be it for me to know what's on their heart, but I think young folks ought to know what depicts a serious crime at the age of 16 and 15. And with the information provided out there these days via the Internet, they ought to know that this type of crime is considered a hate crime and a serious -- one of the most egregious things you can do.

HOLMES: Sir, how does this affect you moving forward now? Yes, they are 15 and 16-year-old kids, but what does this do to you now? That's your home. Every night you go to sleep. Do you think this is an isolated accident or are now you concerned what else might happen -- does this give you a sense of paranoia, I guess maybe that's what I'm asking?

PARSON: Well, yes, absolutely. You know, there was one incident four years ago where a racial epithet or a slur was written on a back of one of our vehicle in the driveway while we were on vacation. And that was reported to the police. An investigation ensued, but there were no arrests. Four years later, I find a cross on my lawn. It just seems like they're upping the ante each time.

So I would say that there is a bit of paranoia. Some concern that I was probably a smaller target at one point. Now I've become a bigger target just due to the media exposure.

HOLMES: So why are you speaking now, sir? If you are concerned about media exposure, why do you think it's important for you to speak out about what happened to you?

PARSON: Well, I think it's important for me to let those individuals, who would even consider doing this, that they're being watched, they're being put on notice that folks like myself who have been attacked in such a terroristic way aren't going to take this lying down. In fact, we're getting galvanized. It's unacceptable. We can sit back and let it continue to happen, but at some point, some of us have to get reactionary and deal with it in a way that we attempt to eradicate this type of behavior.

HOLMES: All right. Wayne Parson. Again, the two young men, 15 and 16, have been picked up and been charged I believe now. And part of it what they've been charged with, hate crimes.

Sir, I hate you went through the experience. Appreciate you sharing it with us and getting your message out that you wanted to get. Sir, thank you for your time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

PARSON: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right, we're getting close to the bottom of the hour now.

The U.S. Justice Department say police in Puerto Rico are violating their citizens' rights. We'll explain next. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're at the bottom of the hour now. Give you a look at some of the stories making headlines. The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee triggering near record flooding in the Northeast. Three people are dead in central Pennsylvania. Officials say up to 125,000 people evacuated the area around the river there that is about to go well above flood stage. Evacuations were also ordered in parts of upstate New York where numerous cities and towns have declared an emergency.

Also, jury selection getting under way in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. He's the cardiologist charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson -- 450 potential jurors set to report for the selection process between today and Monday. Jackson died June 25 of 2009 of an overdose of the anesthetic drug propofol. Prosecutors claim that Murray used a makeshift I.V. drip to administer the drug in a way that violated standard care and ultimately led to Jackson's death.

Also, a scathing a report today from the U.S. Justice Department about police in Puerto Rico. The report says the police department in the U.S. territory has a long history of violating citizens' constitutional rights through excessive force and unwarranted searches. Crime there increased there 17 percent between 2007 and 2009. The report says police have confronted the problem with heavy- handedness.

The Justice Department also found that Puerto Rican law enforcement fails to police sex crimes and domestic abuse cases.

Well, also in a case that has received worldwide attention, Georgia corrections officials have set a September 21 execution date for Troy Davis. Davis was convicted of the 1989 killing of a Savannah police officer. This is the fourth execution date set for Davis. Attorneys for Davis have appealed his case on grounds that new evidence existed that would prove his innocence. This case has been a focal point of the international anti-death penalty movement, with the NAACP, former President Jimmy Carter and the pope calling for Davis' life to be spared.

Also, a federal sweep is targeting dozens of nurses and doctors for alleged medical fraud -- 91 people have been charged from Miami to L.A. Attorney General Eric Holder talked about the sweep in Washington yesterday. The suspects are accused of ripping taxpayers with nearly $300 million in phony Medicare billings. Indictments include fraudulent schemes involving medical devices and home health care and mental health services and psychotherapy.

A legal victory today for the Obama administration's health care reform law. A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit by the state of Virginia over the constitutionality of the law. The Richmond-based is the second federal appeals court to uphold the constitutionality of the Patient, Protection and Affordable Care Act. The law includes a provision that requires most Americans to buy health insurance by 2014. And the matter will also certainly still need to make its way to the Supreme Court.

Your jobs, taxes, Social Security? It depends on who wins. Well, what exactly did GOP favorites Rick Perry and the other candidates prove during last night's debate? Can they, could they beat President Obama? We cut through their talking points. We're talking jobs in 90 seconds. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 35 minutes past the hour now.

Every day about this time, the show is going to be tackling political issue that you have talking, but often get tangled up in partisan rhetoric. Everybody is fair game as we hold Washington accountable, cut through the spin.

And today we will put two topics on the table. First, President Obama's big job speech tonight and also what we saw last night, the Republican presidential debate. Now, this was the first time Republican front-runner now Rick Perry faced off with the rest of the GOP field. All eight presidential hopefuls were on the stage. All took jabs at the big issues and at the president and at each other at times.

The jobs will be the big focus for the president tonight as he prepares to address Congress and nation on his plan. It's called the American Jobs Act. Critics are already on the attack over the initiative that could cost $300 billion and by some estimates may even top $400 billion.

So, to help break all of this down for us, Nancy Pfotenhauer. She's a former senior policy adviser to John McCain.

Have not seen you in a while, Nancy. Good to have you back.

NANCY PFOTENHAUER, FORMER ADVISER TO MCCAIN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Hey, T.J. Thanks for having me.

HOLMES: All right.

And Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, it seems like I see you all the time. So, good to have you both here, ladies.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to be here, T.J. Thanks.

HOLMES: Let's start with this debate. And all eyes were on Governor Perry last night.

And some of the things -- well, everybody was waiting on him to slip up, I guess. Would he be up for the challenge? Seemed like he was. But certainly some things got people's attention.

Let's listen to this first thing that got people's attention and I will ask you about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is a monstrous lie. It is a Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today, you're paying into a program that's going to be there. Anybody that's for the status quo with Social Security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids, and it's not right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right.

Nancy, he did not back down. They thought he might last night, but he stuck with it. He said we need some provocative language possibly. Would you agree with that? Can you really step up and call Social Security that a lot of people in this country depend on a lie and a Ponzi scheme and still be the front-runner, be the guy and be taken seriously?

PFOTENHAUER: Well, we will know in November, I guess, or even earlier if he gets the nomination.

But the important thing last night is that he -- you're right, he did not back down. He showed a lot of poise, and even though he took most of the punches, I think he proved that if you are a Texan and you get punched once, they punch you back twice.

But from a purely substantive standpoint, if you look at the financing on Social Security, it's insolvent. And I think that is what he was getting at. I would have cautioned him against using the type of language that he used, because it's easy to be then made a caricature of. But it is insolvent. Right now the only way we can pay people who retire 10, 20 years in the future is if there is a massive tax increase or a massive benefit reduction. I think that is what he is getting at.

HOLMES: Maria, I am guessing you will probably be a little critical of Governor Perry here, but still does he deserve credit for using provocative language and for looking everybody in the eye and said, this is how I feel, this is what is up, now let's talk?

CARDONA: Well, I think what you are seeing him do is play to the base. Let's talk about expectations.

He certainly is the beneficially as was another Texan before him of low expectations. There had been so much commentary about how he had not been in a debate for so long, this was never something that he was good at, so I think just the fact that he did not fumble and that he did not fall down benefits him.

From a substantive standpoint, I think he really fumbled in terms of the Social Security piece and calling it a Ponzi scheme. I think he lost a ton of Republican seniors last night. Now in terms of the truth being told, some folks might have said, well, he is telling us the truth and we appreciate that, but I think that what he should have done is followed it up with -- by saying here is how I would fix it, and that's what he did not do.

And I think that was a huge mistake on his part and it handed Romney and the Democrats a huge issue to use against him.

HOLMES: But, ladies, let's turn to the president tonight. This is the issue we will wrap on. And you spoke about the solutions he did not offer last night about Social Security. The president, Maria, giving his solutions tonight at least to fix this economy. Can he meet expectations this evening? He's got all of us hanging on the edge of our seats this evening. He has got Congress. He called them up and said, hey, you need to come listen to me. Can he meet the expectations with a $300 billion plan?

CARDONA: It will be very tough to meet the high expectations. But I think if anybody can do it President Obama certainly can.

And I think what will be interesting about tonight, T.J., is how the Republicans respond, because one thing that the president is going to make clear tonight is that the American people are looking to their leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, to work together in a bipartisan manner, to find a balanced solution. And that is what Republicans have not been able to do at all.

The Democrats and this president have never walked away from a negotiation, T.J., and we have seen this from Republicans time and again. I hope that what Eric Cantor says is I think a light of hope in saying that there are some things that we can come together on and let's focus on those things.

HOLMES: Well, Nancy, you wrap it up for me. Big game expectations tonight.

PFOTENHAUER: Based on what I have seen right now, there's no way he clears them, because it's basically the same old, same old, and that's the definition of insanity, doing the same thing, expecting different results.

However, there is one area he can go that I think he could get through. And that is a reduction in the corporate tax rate. He has called for it before. So have Republicans. It's clearly something that should be done. We're competing right now. It's like running in a race with a 100-pound weight on our back against our competitors in other countries, and so I would say that's something he could do that would get a few people giving him a thumbs up.

HOLMES: All right, Nancy, Maria, good to see you both. I know I will see you again soon and we will all see the president tonight. Ladies, thanks so much.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: And to our viewers, if you don't know by now, it's 7:00 Eastern is when the president is speaking. You can of course see our coverage from the best political covering on television. It starts at 6:00 Eastern time, 3:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.

And here are now. Now after a decade of fighting, is al Qaeda though still the world's public enemy number one? Our Nic Robertson with the answer next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Now, in the wake of September 11, Washington launched a war on terrorism. Al Qaeda became a household name. Since then the terrorist network has taken some serious blows, including the death of its leader.

Nic Robertson takes a look at how the threat from al Qaeda has changed in the decade since 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Kabul has changed dramatically in the last decade. It has grown fast. And international aid is poured in to support Afghanistan's fragile democracy.

10 years ago when the Taliban were still in power al Qaeda had a presence here in Kabul. Now the remnants of al Qaeda are hundreds of miles away to the south and east of here in training camps across the border in Pakistan.

It was in Pakistan that Osama bin Laden was killed, but where this man Younis al Mauritania, a senior al Qaeda operative, was captured last week. Mauritania was the handler of this man Shahab Dashdi, a German jihadist. He had come from this nondescript mosque in Hamburg to an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan. He wanted to fight U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

But Mauritania told him to go home and launch attacks in Germany.

Dashdi never made it, he was killed in a drone strike.

And that's become a familiar pattern. Al Qaeda recruits from Europe, even America, reaching Pakistan's badlands. And U.S. drone attacks trying to eliminate them and their mentors.

One such recruit, Bryant Neal Vinas from Long Island, New York, a Christian convert to Islam, radicalized by firebrand friends and what he read online.

BEN VENZKE, INTEL CENTER: So over the last 10 years that's led to an increase in the types of material that we're seeing and almost if you will an arms race of competing sophistication for making their material more accessible.

ROBERTSON: And that's the new al Qaeda. Its different branches pumping out their jihadist message online. Perhaps the most influential al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its charismatic mouthpiece Anwar al Awlaki.

VENZKE: We know that they continue to plot against the United States and against other western countries as well. So the situation in Yemen remains a serious one for us.

ROBERTSON: Then there's Al-Shabab in Somalia drawing recruits from as far away as Minneapolis and Canada. The growing strength of al Qaeda in North Africa, a stone's throw from Europe. It may yet benefit from the unrest in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt making the job of counterterrorism even more complex: the lone wolf.

JANET NAPOLITANO, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: You have all of the related A.Q. groups, all of the terrorists, all of the Islamist groups, and so we have to watch out for them, and we have to watch out for lone actors.

ROBERTSON: Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was one of them. He had training in Pakistan. But when he came home, acted alone in building his aborted car bomb. But he was an amateur and building bombs according to al Qaeda recipes is an inexact science.

SIDNEY ALFORD, BOMB EXPERT: The mixture which I'm making is one which I don't have great confidence. Some of them will probably injure the person making them.

ROBERTSON: But the danger is that eventually someone will have enough training and ability to build a deadly device. Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan living in Denver, came close.

ALFORD: If enough people get hooked on this filthy publication, this particular publication and practice what it preaches, then some of them will succeed in causing the havoc and harm that they set up to do.

ROBERTSON: It's not just another attack that worries this former top DHS official, but the sheer volume of soft targets: malls, hotels, power plants, rail networks.

ROBERT LISCOUSKI, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL: If I was till on the job I would be very worried about al Qaeda exploiting those vulnerabilities, because, you know, we have a lot more work we have to do.

ROBERTSON: 10 years on the battle against al Qaeda is very different but far from over.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And all this week, CNN marking a decade since the 9/11 attacks. And on Sunday, you can join us for a special, "9/11: 10 Years Later." Live coverage begins in New York. I will be live there with my show, "CNN SUNDAY MORNING," starting at 6:00 a.m. And then more special coverage comes your way 8:00 Eastern time again from New York at Ground Zero.

Also, you remember that E. coli outbreak in Europe that left 31 people dead, maybe the H1N1 flu that killed thousands? Well, next, we will look at a new machine that could save your life in a global pandemic.

Stay here. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CONTAGION")

JUDE LAW, ACTOR: On day one, there were two people, and then four, and then 16. In three months, it's a billion. That's where we're headed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, that was a scene from the new movie "Contagion" by Warner Bros., owned by Time Warner, parent company of CNN.

The film depicts one of the world's worst fears, a global pandemic, but what would happen if such an outbreak really did happen, one that threatens millions or billions of lives? Is the government prepared for something like that? How will we even find a vaccine?

Well, joining me now for today's "Big I" from New York, Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, whose company invented the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine, that printer he's sitting next to. We will explain that here in just a second. And also Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, the Centers for Disease Control's director of National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Heck of a title you have got there.

Docs, both, thank you both for being here.

Now, Dr. Schuchat, let me start with you.

Does Hollywood just scare the devil out of us sometimes with these movies, or are they kind of close to what could happen? I know you were kind of part of putting this movie together.

REAR ADMIRAL DR. ANNE SCHUCHAT, SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Well, this is a movie, not a documentary, but infectious diseases have a way of being stranger than fiction sometimes.

HOLMES: Yes.

SCHUCHAT: And CDC and our partners are working 24/7 to try to prevent the kind of thing that you see in that movie from happening.

HOLMES: But something like that certainly we haven't seen it maybe in our lifetimes, but still today with all the technology and the research you all do at the CDC, something like that is still possible and one of your biggest fears?

SCHUCHAT: You know, in the past 30 years there's been a new infectious disease or a resurgent infectious disease pretty much every year.

The idea of a virus coming from animals to people happens. We saw that with SARS. We have seen that with the avian flu problem. And so it's actually realistic in terms of the biology of what viruses are capable of doing and the way that humans interact in a globalized world.

HOLMES: All right.

And, Dr. Rothberg, what you have there with you is something that can help with genetic sequencing. Now, explain that just quickly for me, what that is and why it's so important in trying to help folks like the CDC battle whatever might come up.

DR. JONATHAN ROTHBERG, ION TORRENT: Absolutely.

What we're able to do is take a picture of the infectious agent and read off its genetic code, so we have a chip that takes a picture, and once you have read off this agent, you know what you're dealing with. You can see what medicines could be effective, and you can make vaccines.

So we read the code of life of that agent, and this is exactly what we did in a real-life outbreak this summer in Germany, when there was an E. coli outbreak. We read off its genome and then scientists at the CDC and around the world knew exactly what they were dealing with and how to deal with it.

HOLMES: And the machine you have there with you, the technology exists to do this, but what you have there allows you to do it much quicker?

ROTHBERG: Yes. This is actually the first time that we have a machine that can help with an outbreak in real time. So there's been two outbreaks recently, the E. coli outbreak many people know about in Germany and another outbreak in the Netherlands.

And in both cases, scientists within days were able to decode that genome, which has put that sample on this chip, put it in the machine and the data was out in digital form on the Internet. And scientists around the world were able to work on that and understand it and do something about it.

HOLMES: All right.

And, Dr. Schuchat, to wrap up with you here, a movie like "Contagion," when things like that come out, do you all get concerned that, oh, my goodness, this is really going to stoke fears, or are you happy that, hey, this will raise awareness and maybe people will start asking more questions and protect themselves a little better and be more aware? Which is it?

SCHUCHAT: It's so important for people to be prepared and know how to protect themselves and their families.

The past couple of weeks, we have seen a lot of big emergencies, hurricanes, fires, and people really do need to be ready. So as a physician and a public health expert, I hope people know how to prevent coughs and how to prevent respiratory infections from spreading, covering their cough and sneeze, washing their hands, staying away from other people when they are sick, and making sure they are up to date on vaccines, but, of course, it's not appropriate to panic.

We know that we can be prepared, and there's information at CDC's Web site that can help people know how to keep themselves and their family safe.

HOLMES: All right, Dr. Rothberg, Dr. Schuchat, again, that machine you see there, I heard it described as a -- it looks kind of like a picture, and it does. But again it takes pictures and it can help stop disease a lot faster these days. All right, guys, thank you so much for being here. Enjoy the rest of your day.

SCHUCHAT: OK.

HOLMES: Well, as we get close to the top of the hour, Paul Steinhauser is coming up next. He will have more of a breakdown for you from last night's GOP debate. Your political update next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Let's say hello to our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He's at the political desk in Washington.

Paul, hello to you, kind sir. Everybody is talking about that debate last night.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You got it, T.J.

Eight people on the stage, but it seemed that two dominated all the action and were in the spotlight more than the rest. I'm talking about Texas Governor Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Listen, they went after each other over jobs and over Social Security and over illegal immigration and a host of other issues.

And that battle between the two, well, it hasn't stopped, even though the debate is over, because today Romney's campaign putting out an e-mail release explaining why Rick Perry is wrong on Social Security.

Now, we may hear more from Rick Perry in a few minutes. He's going to be in front of cameras at an event in Orange County, California, and, T.J., round two probably only just a few days away, because, remember, there's another presidential debate, Tampa, Florida, Monday. It's a CNN/Tea Party Republican presidential debate 8:00 Eastern, of course. So I think we should be tuning in for that one. There could be more fireworks, don't you think?

HOLMES: Yes. Well, we assume there will be, and who knows who we will be talking about after that debate.

STEINHAUSER: That's right.

HOLMES: But after each of these debates, somebody is getting headlines. I guess it's Perry this time. One debate, it was Michele Bachmann, but nobody was talking about her this morning necessarily or it seemed like nobody was really talking to her last night.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, she didn't get a lot of questions, she didn't get a lot of airtime last night, so maybe this is why this morning, maybe, she announced that, guess what, after the president's address tonight in front of Congress on jobs creation, she's going to hold a news conference.

And we know the congresswoman from Minnesota is not a big fan of President Barack Obama and how he's handled jobs and the economy. So maybe she will be getting some more of the spotlight tonight. And, of course, she will be at Tampa as well with the rest of the candidates on Monday night -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Paul Steinhauser, always good to see you.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

HOLMES: Thank you so much.