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No Clemency for Death Row Inmate; Obama Talks Libya at U.N.; Former Afghan Pres. Assassinated; "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is History; Gays Try to Rejoin the Military; New Book Shocks White House; Brazil's President Fights Cancer; Brazil's President Fights Cancer; Oil Rig Explodes in Oklahoma; Best and Worst Places for Women
Aired September 20, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for Tuesday, September 20th.
There were just two hours ago that Georgia's Board of Pardons and Parole denied clemency for Troy Davis. With no legal appeals left, it appears that the state will execute Davis tomorrow for killing a police officer back in 1989.
Well, celebrities, politicians, including former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict urged clemency. That is because seven prosecution witnesses recanted or contradicted their testimony. No DNA evidence links Davis to the murder. Amnesty International calls today's decision by the board unconscionable.
It is a momentous day for Libya's new political leader, National Transitional Council chairman, Mustafa Jalil. He is representing Libya at the 65th U.N. General Assembly. He's been meeting with President Obama over the last hour, as well as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
In just a few minutes, President Obama, he's going to sit down with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Now, this is their first meeting since the U.S. spelled out its plan to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Today, for the first time, gays and lesbians can openly serve in the United States military. The law known as "don't ask, don't tell" -- well, that's been around for 18 years, officially, it ended at midnight.
Since 1993, more than 14,000 servicemen and women were kicked out of the military after they were outed as gay. Some want back in but it's not automatic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY JOHNSON, DISCHARGED FROM U.S. NAVY IN 2007: I'll be honest. I've talked to people who wanted to go in and they started to make phone calls to recruiters and found out that their set of circumstances just wouldn't allow it. And there's let down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Pentagon says that 97 percent of the military has had training on the new rules which replace "don't ask, don't tell."
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
MALVEAUX: Well, this is constant gun fire and explosions. You can see the chaotic scene on the streets there. That is in Yemen.
This is for a third straight day, Yemeni forces are battling protesters as well as soldiers who defected from the regime. That is reviving the chances there of a civil war. And human rights activists say that Yemen is on a knife's edge. At least 59 people at least have been killed this week, two of them today.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
MALVEAUX: Libyan rebels celebrate after they roll in to Sabha. The town was one of the few still loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. But CNN's Ben Wedeman reports that Gadhafi's men didn't put much of a fight today. Rebels are still trying to crush Gadhafi fighters in several other cities a month after they took Tripoli, the capital.
A parked car exploded in Turkey's capital Ankara today, killing three people. That blast set off several cars on fire and blew out windows in nearby buildings. And authorities say that it is possible the gas tank accidentally exploded, but they think it is like that the blast was a terrorist bomb.
New York police are trying to jump-start the search for the Long Island serial killer. That is happening this hour. Reports say that Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer will go public with composite sketches based on five unidentified sets of remains. Bodies or body parts belonging to 10 people have been found along Ocean Boulevard since December. Authorities think a serial killer is behind at least four of those deaths.
A federal hearing is underway in Florida. That's this week, this into the death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau. Now back in 2010, with SeaWorld guests watching -- this is really very tragic -- a killer whale pulled Brancheau from the edge of the pool. She drowned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUE CONNELL, WITNESS: He grabbed her by the head and, you know, very hard thrust. She went down and I screamed and she screamed, and then I started yelling to the other trainer because he wasn't looking. I said, he just took her down, he took her down!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Federal investigators concluded that that SeaWorld was not doing enough to keep workers safe. SeaWorld is contesting that finding at a hearing.
Well, now, a closer a look at the case of a death row inmate that has attracted worldwide attention now. Troy Davis is set to die by lethal injection tomorrow night. He was convicted of killing Police Officer Mark MacPhail 22 years ago.
The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles today denied clemency for Davis. His supporters say there is too much doubt and too little evidence. But the family of Officer MacPhail says it is time for justice to be done.
Our CNN's David Mattingly has been following the case for us.
David, do we have any information, any insight into the board's decision, how they came up with this decision?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, we know that both sides spoke to the board yesterday and both sides came away feeling like that they had gotten their point across. They saw signs from the board members that they were listening intently and that they were very familiar with this case.
But when it all came down, they decided not to vote for clemency. We know there are five members on this board. They vote in secret. They deliberate behind closed doors. We don't know what the final vote is, but we know it does take a minimum of three votes to either approve or deny clemency. But again, we don't know how the final vote came out.
And today, they produced a one-page statement, a very simple statement. They didn't acknowledge any arguments that they heard yesterday, only to point out what the crime was. They laid it out simply in black and white.
"Officer MacPhail went to the Burger King parking lot to assist a beating victim where MacPhail encountered Davis. Davis shot Officer MacPhail and continued to shoot him as he lay on the ground, killing MacPhail. Davis surrendered on August 23rd, 1989."
A very, by the book, just by the facts about this case that they are siding with prosecutors, originally in this case, that Davis was guilty.
MALVEAUX: So, Davis supporters, they bring up these inconsistencies. They talk about the lack of evidence. Where does that go now? How do they explain that?
MATTINGLY: Well, again, they went to that board and the board asked a lot of questions. When his lawyers got up and argued on his behalf, they came away thinking we really got our point across. They talked about the seven of nine witnesses who have changed or recanted their statements. They talked about other witnesses coming forward, implicating someone else.
They believe that the board heard this. But in the end, the board did not agree and voted not to allow clemency.
And today, we have a reaction from Amnesty International, who's been heading up his support.
MALVEAUX: Right.
MATTINGLY: They called the decision unconscionable. They said, "Allowing a man to be sent to death under an enormous cloud of doubt about his guilt is an outrageous affront to justice."
And we haven't heard the last from his supporters. They are planning some organized protests tonight here in the city of Atlanta. And I'm sure that's going to be going on all the way up until the execution, as it's scheduled right now, for Wednesday.
MALVEAUX: And, David, what about the reaction from the family of the police officer, Mark MacPhail?
MATTINGLY: They emerged yesterday from the board feeling very comforted that they were able to say everything they wanted to say. They were emotional. They had steadfastly stood by prosecutors in this case, believing that Davis was guilty. They haven't wavered at all over the last 20 years, and they came away feeling the same way yesterday.
This morning, we heard from MacPhail's mother and here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNE MACPHAIL, MURDERED OFFICER'S MOTHER (via telephone): Well, the only thing I could think of -- well, justice is done. That's the way we look at it. And that's what we wanted.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: So you believe that Troy Davis is guilty of the murder of your son? Even --
MACPHAIL: I sure do. After all the facts of what I have seen during the trial, original trial, I am very convinced that he is guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: All comments we heard also yesterday, not just from MacPhail's mother but from his wife and his two children.
MALVEAUX: All right. Well, David, thank you very much. We hope to hear from Troy Davis' supporters later this hour. Thanks. I really appreciate it.
Well, President Obama revealed his plan to save $3 trillion over the next 10 years when he released his plan to reduce the debt. That happened yesterday. But having that money will come from higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Republican leaders called it class warfare.
So here's your chance to talk back. Carol Costello is here with today's question.
And, Carol, you know, we know that President Obama talked about the role of government -- how government should be more responsible and take a more active role and that he was, in fact, believing that fair share meant higher taxes on the wealthy as well. But, I don't know, is it class warfare?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is today's talk back question. It should generate interesting responses.
The question today: is a higher tax on millionaires class warfare? Of course that depends. Republicans think that President Obama is a modern-day Robin Hood wielding his bully pulpit to pit the rich against the poor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Comes out today, and starts demonizing the very people who are response able for innovation, the very people who are responsible for economic growth, who are responsible for job creation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Democrats say, oh, come on. If there is a war, the middle class has already lost. If you need proof -- well, the wage gap is growing ever wider, tax rates are the lowest they have been since the '70s, and the rich can't aren't exactly creating jobs, at least on American soil.
As for President Obama, he wants to tax millionaires more. That's not class warfare, he says, it's math.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I reject the idea that asking a hedge fund manager to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher is class warfare. I think it's just the right thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: What is class warfare anyway? It's a term made famous by that influential socialist Karl Marx. In short, Marx describes class warfare is when the lowly worker rises up against the wealthy class who exploited him, making those rich people pay.
So, the talk back question this morning, is a higher tax on millionaires class warfare? Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your responses later this hour.
MALVEAUX: All right. You want to start talking about the proletariat next. Thank you, Carol. We appreciate it.
Here's a rundown, some of the stories ahead:
First, world leaders are meeting right now in New York, including the leader of Libya's National Transition Council. He is meeting with President Obama for the first time.
Then, a new beginning for the United States military. Service members officially saying good-bye to "don't ask, don't tell."
Plus, reading any good books on politics lately? Well, there are two new releases. They are shaking up Alaska and Washington.
And, here's one -- he just wouldn't let it get away. A fisherman shows off this monster -- look at that -- monster catch, 800-pound gator. Whoo!
And Nancy Grace, like you have never seen her before, bustin' a move on her "Dancing with the Stars" debut.
Also, I want to go to President Obama speaking at the United Nations regarding Libya. Let's take a listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd like to thank President Jalil for his remarks and for all that he and Prime Minster Jibril have done to help Libya reach this moment. To all the heads of state and the countries represented here who have done so much over the past several months to ensure this day could come, I want to say thank you as well.
Today, the Libyan people are writing a new chapter in the life of their nation. After four decades of darkness, they can walk the streets free from a tyrant. They are making their voices heard in newspapers and on radio and television, in public squares and on personal blogs. They are launching political parties and civil groups to shape their own destiny and secure their universal rights.
And here at the United Nations, the new flag of a free Libya now flies among the community of nations.
Make no mistake: credit for the liberation of Libya belongs to the people of Libya. It was Libyan men and women and children who took to the streets in peaceful protest, who faced down the tanks and endured the snipers' bullets. It was Libyan fighters, often outgunned and out numbered who fought pitched battles, town by town, block by block. It was Libyan activists in the underground, in chat rooms, in mosques, who kept the revolution alive, even after some of the world had given up hope.
It was Libyan women and girls who hung flags and smuggled weapons to the front. It was Libyans from countries around the world, including my own, who rushed home to help, even though they, too, risked brutality and death. It was Libyan blood that was spilled, and Libya's sons and daughters who gave their lives.
And on that August day, after all of that sacrifice, after 42 long years, it was Libyans who pushed their dictator from power.
At the same time, Libya is a lesson in what the international community can achieve when we stand together as one. I said at the beginning of this process, we cannot and should not intervene every time there is an injustice in the world. Yet, it's also true that there are times where the world could have and should have summoned the will to prevent the killing of innocents on a horrific scale. And we are forever haunted by the atrocities that we did not prevent and the lives that we did not save.
But this time was different. This time we, through the United Nations, found the courage and the collective will to act. When the old regime unleashed a campaign of terror, threatening to roll back the democratic tide sweeping the region, we acted as United Nations and we acted swiftly, broadening sanctions, imposing an arms embargo.
The United States led the effort to pass a historic resolution at the Security Council authorizing all necessary measures to protect the Libyan people. And when the civilians of Benghazi were threatened with a massacre, we exercised that authority.
Our international coalition stopped the regime in its tracks and saved countless lives and gave the Libyan people the time and space to prevail.
Important too is how this effort succeeded. Thanks to the leadership and contributions of many countries. The United States was proud to play a decisive role especially in the early days, and then a supporting capacity.
But let's remember that it was the Arab League that appealed for action. It was the world's most effective alliance, NATO, that's has led a military coalition of nearly 20 nations. It's our European allies, especially the United Kingdom and France and Denmark and Norway that conducted the vast majority of air strikes protecting rebels on the ground.
It was Arab states who joined the coalition as equal partners. And it's been the United Nations and neighboring countries, including Tunisia and Egypt, that have cared for the Libyans in the urgent humanitarian effort that continues today.
This is how the international community should work in the 21st century -- more nations bearing the responsibility and the costs of meeting global challenges. In fact, this is the very purpose of this United Nations.
So, every nation represented here today can take pride in the innocent lives we saved and in helping Libyans reclaim their country. It was the right thing to do.
Now, even as we speak, remnants of the old regime continue to fight. Difficult days are still ahead. But one thing is clear -- the future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people -- for just as it was Libyans who tore down the old order, it will be Libyans who build their new nation.
We've come here today to say to the people of Libya: just as the world stood by you in your struggle to be free, we will now stand with you in your struggle to realize the peace and prosperity that freedom can bring. In this effort, you will have a friend and partner in the United States of America.
Today, I can announce that our ambassador is on his way back to Tripoli. And this week, the American flag, that was lowered before our embassy was attacked, will be raised again over a reopened American embassy. We will work closely with the new U.N. support mission in Libya and with the nations here today to assist the Libyan people in the hard work ahead.
First and most immediately, security. So long as the Libyan people are being threatened, the NATO-led mission to protect them will continue.
And those still holding out must understand, the old regime is over. It's time to lay down your arms and join the new Libya.
As this happens, the world must also support efforts to secure dangerous weapons, conventional and otherwise, and bring fighters under central civilian control. For without security, democracy and trade and investment cannot flourish.
Second, the humanitarian effort. The Transitional National Council has been working quickly to restore water and electricity and food supplies to Tripoli. But for many Libyans, each day is still a struggle to recover from their wounds, reunite with their families, and to return to their homes.
And even after the guns of war fall silent, the ravages of war will continue. So, our efforts to assist its victims must continue. In this, the United States -- the United Nations will play a key role. And along with our partners, the United States will do our part to help the hungry and the wounded.
Third, a democratic transition that is peaceful, inclusive and just. President Jalil just reaffirmed the Transitional National Council's commitment to these principles. And the United Nations will play a central role in coordinating international support for this effort.
We all know what is needed: a transition that is timely, new laws and a constitution that uphold the rule of law, political parties and a strong civil society. And for the first time in Libyan history, free and fair elections.
True democracy, however, must flow from its citizens. So, as Libyans rightly seek justice for past crimes, let it be done in a spirit of reconciliation and not reprisals and violence. As Libyans draw strength from their faith, a religion rooted in peace and tolerance, let there be a rejection of violent extremism which offers nothing but death and destruction.
As Libyans rebuild, let those efforts tap the experience of all of those with the skills to contribute, including the many Africans in Libya. And as Libyans forge a society that is truly just, let it enshrine the rights and role of women at all levels of society.
MALVEAUX: You've been listening to President Obama talking about the future of Libya.
This is a very different scene than what we saw before the United Nations just two years ago in New York. You may recall it was the former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi who was trying to set up his tent in New York that caused quite a controversy, ended up giving a 90-minute diatribe before the U.N. General Assembly. That was just two years ago.
And now, President Obama is talking about a new leadership of Libya, as well as a new future for the Libyan people.
We also have information out of Afghanistan. A critical person who was leading negotiations between the international community and the Taliban assassinated. We're going to have more on that story after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We are following some breaking news.
A critical figure in Afghanistan, part of the negotiating effort between the international community and the Taliban, has been assassinated -- we are learning.
We want to go directly to Nick Paton Walsh, who is in neighboring Pakistan, in Islamabad.
Nick, what do we know about this?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two blasts in the last two hours which caused personnel in the U.S. embassy and the ISAF headquarters to run for cover in their bunkers for about 30 minutes until the all-clear was sounded. But as they emerged, the news came that a man called Burhanuddin Rabbani, who is famous frankly not for being the interim president of Afghanistan in the past, or a senior politician, but for being the man who was head of the peace council, who is trying to find some kind of way of negotiating with the Taliban and other insurgents in Afghanistan on behalf of NATO.
It appears he's been killed by a suicide bomber and another senior negotiator, Mr. Stanikzai, has also been heavily injured. This the striking right at the heart of the most secure part of Kabul, just days after that attack, which attacked the U.S., the ISAF headquarters and the U.S. embassy, really shining a light on the kind of access the Taliban insurgency seemed to get inside the city and also showing really how fragile these negotiating efforts have become, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Nick, I was there when that attack happened in Afghanistan, where the U.S. embassy and NATO compound was under attack.
Where was this individual? Do we know where he was? Was he inside that compound? That embassy?
WALSH: This appears to be his home which is located near the embassy compound. Many buildings in that particular vicinity are considered to be fairly secured because of the intensity of NATO's presence this. Although, obviously, much of the security of that area is left to Afghan security forces.
Questions, of course, will be asked how this bomber managed to get inside, what we believe was Mr. Rabbani's home.
But let's just remember exactly what was the symbolic significance of that. The attack you witnessed, of course, goes to the psychology of people living in Kabul, but imagine if you are an insurgent contemplating speaking to NATO. Frankly, you will have a warning and wakeup call from this, because a suicide bomber was able to get straight to the man NATO had entrusted to talk to you, really showing how rocky much of the campaign is becoming there, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Nick, one more question here. You know, I had the opportunity to talk to the president, Hamid Karzai. You know, his brother was assassinated, as well as one of his closest confidants, if not at their homes, very close to their homes by people they trusted.
Do we believe that because this individual was attacked inside of his home that there really is no safe place for those who are trying to negotiate and move forward?
WALSH: Obviously, there are pockets of safety in Afghanistan. I think what this does, though, is begin to help the Taliban win the psychological war. It's all about perception really at the moment, as NATO admits, and the perception surely among many Afghans must be if the insurgents can strike at the very heart of the NATO secured capital, take out key people to the Afghan government and to the NATO campaign there, that possibly not on the back foot, as NATO keeps suggesting -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you very much. Please be safe.
Well, starting today, the policy that banned gays from serving openly in the military is history. The official repeal of don't ask, don't tell is a turning point for the Pentagon and victory for advocates of gay rights.
A group that pushed for the repeal says more than 14,000 people were kicked out of the military under "don't ask, don't tell." A lot of them are ready to enlist but it may not be that simple.
We want to bring in our Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of American troops who got kicked out of the military for being gay or lesbian are about to get hit, again, with a reality check.
JEREMY JOHNSON, APPLYING TO GET BACK INTO NAVY: If I was trying to go back in active duty right now versus reserves, the Navy wouldn't take me in the job I was doing before.
LAWRENCE: Jeremy Johnson was discharged in 2007.
(on camera): You basically wrote a letter to your commanding officer outing yourself.
JOHNSON: I did. And it wasn't something that I wanted to do. It was something that deep down I felt I was forced to do in order to kind of maintain my sanity.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Mike Almy had finished a tour in Iraq and had been recommended for promotion to lieutenant colonel. Then, he was outed by another officer and kicked out of the Air Force.
MICHAEL ALMY, APPLYING TO GET BACK INTO AIR FORCE: Obviously, I had a five-year gap at this point in my career. So, nothing is going to fully repair the damage that was done to my career, but I'm hoping that I could just at least get back in there, where I left off, resume my career.
LAWRENCE: Both are applying to get back in, but the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" is no guarantee.
JOHNSON: I'll be honest. I've talked to people who wanted to go back in and they started making the phone calls to recruiters and found out that their set of circumstances just wouldn't allow it. And there's let down. I mean, you could hear it in their voice.
LAWRENCE: Some are too old now. Their specialties are no longer need or their jobs are fully staffed. The military is getting smaller and more people are staying in.
And the Pentagon says, "Servicemembers who separated under "don't ask, don't tell" will be evaluated according to the same criteria applicable to all others seeking reentry." In other words, there's no waiver.
JOHNSON: I think it would be awesome if that could happen. But I know the hard truth is, is that it's not practical.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Chris Lawrence is joining us live.
Chris, the military's budget pretty tight now, likely a lot tighter with cuts -- budget cuts. How does that impact those who are trying to reenlist, if at all?
LAWRENCE: It's going to be tough, Suzanne. I mean, the military is getting smaller, not bigger. There are just less slots to go around.
I mean, the year that Jeremy got out of the military, the military was taking in around 15,000 prior service folks. Last year, it was less than 5,000. So, that's going to be a big crunch.
MALVEAUX: All right, Chris. We're going to have more on the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" in the next hour. Chris is tracing the steps from the beginning of the military's ban on gays to the end of that policy.
Here's your chance to choose the news. Text 22360 for the story you'd like to see. Text 1 for coastal smuggling. Homeland Security is dealing with a new threat on the California coast. We're on the air, on the ground with federal agents to see what new challenges they're facing.
Text 2 for the Casey Anthony impact. The reason some experts think that Casey's Anthony's not guilty verdict will have a direct impact on jurors in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. And text 3 for solar schools, schools getting a lesson sunlight, saving more than a billion dollars. We'll look at how that works.
So you can vote by texting 22360, text 1 for coastal smuggling, 2 for the Casey Anthony impact and 3 for solar school. The winning story is going to air in the next hour.
So read any good books lately? Well, a new release from Pulitzer Price winning author Ron Suskind is rocking the White House with some unflattering peeks inside of the oval office, but is the book based mostly on facts, fantasy? We're going to talk to John Avlon from "Newsweek" about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right, so if you are in to politics, it might be a good week to start a book club, two new releases rocking the capital now. John Avlon, he's a senior political columnist for "Newsweek" and "The Daily Beast" and also a CNN contributor. He's joining us from New York to talk about all this. John, good to see you.
JOHN AVLON, SENIOR POLITICAL COLUMNIST, NEWSWEEK: Good to see you. Welcome back.
MALVEAUX: Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Good to see you. Let's start with the big one. OK, so you have Ron Suskind's "Confidence Men." Wall Street Washington Education of a President, a lot of push back, right, from the administration about how he depicts what is going on inside of the oval office.
You and I would cover the White House when this was going on. One of the things that we heard some time ago was this idea that it was an all boy's club, an old boy's club. When this first came out and it was a while ago, I'm talking at least, you know, a year or so ago, I had asked two leading women in the White House, Melody Barnes with domestic policy and Valerie Jarrett, if there was a problem and both of them said, no, not really.
It was interesting Melody became the first woman to be invited to play golf with the president after that. But what do you make of the fact this has come up again?
AVLON: The charge it is an old boys' club. It is compared to what proposition? I mean, was it Clinton administration, the Reagan administration? I mean, all previous administrations have been an old boys club to some extent.
MALVEAUX: Yes, wouldn't you argue that actually all of them have been. Kind of, yes. They don't change that much.
AVLON: Right, it is compared to what proposition. If we are going to be fair about it, we have to put it in context. Let's not forget that this is the first president to appointed two women to the Supreme Court.
So I think that is relevant in this criticism as well. There is clearly, we are always in the process of forming a more perfect union. So I think that criticism has probably been levelled at the administrations' past and will be the future.
MALVEAUX: And Larry Somers, he, as we know one of the top economic advisers to the president. He is now gone. He gets a lot of play in the book too. He is quoted in one of the passages as telling the former head of the OMB, Peter Orszag were home alone. There's no adult in charge.
So both of these guys are gone to be fair but economics, it's number one issue, do we think this is going to undermine the president's ability to bring us out of the recession? Do we think he has the right team in place now?
AVLON: Well, it's going to have no effect on the economy in a larger sense. It may have effect on Ron Suskind's personal economy. But again, here are I think some points to keep in mind. First of all, these sorts of charges we have heard before, this doesn't help because it deepens certain negative narratives about the administration.
But let's not forget in the Reagan administration, his own budget director, David Stockman wrote a bombshell book saying essentially that Reaganomics was bogus. That didn't ultimately have any effect on the economic trajectory of the country.
When Clinton was president, there was a lot of talk about being home alone, no adults in the room, the baby boomers, late-night pizza parties and all that sort of stuff.
So we see these sorts of charges at this point of the administration. At the end of the day, the economy is in a much deeper trajectory than can be affected by one book.
MALVEAUX: Do we think that the public believes that there is a better team that's in place now to deal with all of this?
AVLON: I don't know that the public has any names. Clearly our colleague, James Carville thinks there should be a round of mass firings. I mean, Austan Goolsbee I think was an effective (INAUDIBLE) for the administration. He is gone now.
There are some cases to be made for putting a new face forward. Certainly I think this is an interest of having more CEOs in the cabinet. That's been a consistent criticism and I think a credible one that more CEOs in the cabinet level may help to stabilize the administration's relationship in the business community with the economy.
But those are personnel changes. I don't know that the criticism of the current team.
MALVEAUX: Right, not policy changes. And really quickly her, Joe McGinniss's book on Sarah Palin, "The Rogue," you know, he was living next door to the Palins when he wrote it. He quotes, Palin's friends some pretty nasty rumors, cocaine use, marital problems, paints a picture of the former governor as emotionally unstable.
Do we think this even matters really in terms of whether or not people form a good or bad opinion about Sarah Palin and whether or not she decides to run.
AVLON: Feelings about Sarah Palin are pretty hardened and her supporters will rush to her defense. Look, I think this book would be a lot more relevant if Sarah Palin was running for president, which was clearly a deal that McGinniss made when we decided to write this book.
At the end of the day, I think this is a salacious. It's a little sleazily. It's pretty ill sourced. Somebody's charges may cost some of the Palin's critics to like her even more possibly by humanizing her a bit. But it is not flattering portrait and I don't think it is deeply credible nor do I think it's going to change a lot of minds at this time.
MALVEAUX: All right, John, we're going to leave it there. Thanks, John.
AVLON: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: She's Brazil's first female president and she's fought many battles including cancer. We will talk to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about her struggle and how she is trying to help others.
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MALVEAUX: Brazil's first female president will become the first woman in the history of the U.N. to open debate at the general assembly. That is happening tomorrow. She is also being recognized by the American Cancer Society for being a cancer survivor and for her leadership role in reducing chronic illnesses in her country as well as abroad.
I want to bring in our CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta who is at the U.N. now. Sanjay, good to see you. I understand that Rousseff, she's come a long way to become Brazil's first female president. Tell us a little about her battle.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: She is sort of being referred to the subversive Joan of Ark in Brazil. She's overcome a lot of obstacles, no question. She was sort of this revolutionary figure in the late '60s and early '70s.
Joined this guerrilla movement, left wing guerrilla movement in Brazil and then subsequently was imprisoned. She was tortured. It was an awful existence for her for some time. But as you say, she went from there to becoming the chief of staff for the Brazilian president at that time and now the first female president in Brazil.
Quite an extraordinary track, you know, that's why she is the human factor. She also had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Suzanne, in the middle of this, 2009. She's been treated. She is now in remission. She gave this famous speech where she actually lifted up her wig.
The affects of the chemotherapy had taken her hair. She was demonstrating, you know, the effects of the cancer and the success of the treatment so remarkable story.
MALVEAUX: What an amazing woman, an amazing story. I understand that combating cancer, heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, they are major topics for this year's U.N. meeting because the chronic illnesses, they're responsible for millions of deaths worldwide each year. Tell us about -- as a cancer survivor herself, what has she been doing in her country to lower the incidence of cancer?
GUPTA: Well, Brazil has been a country that is a best practices model for some time with regard to HIV/AIDA for example, as you may know, Suzanne. They sort of want to adapt some of the same things that they did with the communicable diseases toward the non- communicable diseases in Brazil.
So for example, as you mentioned, Rousseff herself being a cancer survivor, she's also putting almost $3 billion aside for screening particular types of cancer, including breast and cervical cancer, something a lot of countries talk about, but she is doing.
But she's also got other things, created 20 new hospital centers to try and diagnose some of these cancers early and treat them early. Also with regard to chronic disease, she is helping open, what are called 4,000 healthy gyms to create a system of supervised physical activity.
But I think, you know, like you said, Suzanne, it is her own personal history to some extent, but also the realization that these non-communicable diseases have overtaken communicable diseases certainly as the number one cause of death anywhere in the world. Three out of five people who die, die of these type of diseases and they have obvious tremendous health impact, but also a tremendous economic impact.
Because these are diseases that are affecting people younger and younger and that is something that she has recognized. She's trying to do something about it.
SUZANNN MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: We commend her work. It's extremely important and also we salute her for making history at the United Nations. Sanjay, thank you so much. Flames are lighting up the sky in Oklahoma. We're going to tell you what set off this fire ball and chased people out of their houses.
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MALVEAUX: Checking stories, our affiliates are covering across the country an explosion on an oil rig sent flames shooting 100 feet into the air last night in Watonga, Oklahoma. You can see no one was injured because a warning went out about a mechanical error shortly before that explosion and workers fortunately were able to evacuate.
Postal workers in Des Moines lined the streets outside of the main post office to protest Iowa's planned closing of 178 post offices and four processing centers. They are upset about future layoffs and slowing down the mail service.
Check it out. Talk about a big catch. A Florida man caught this 800 pound, that's right, 12-foot-long alligator with a fishing rod. He says, he saw it hovering by a bridge and the giant gator took the bait.
He and his family have a permit to fish alligators, but this is twice the size of anything they have ever caught before. It is not the largest gator, however, found in Florida. That would be 1,000 pounds, unbelievable.
You have been sounding off in today's talk back question, we asked is a higher tax on millionaires considered class warfare? Well, David says, maybe because they can afford it much more than the class warfare they have been waging on us. Carol Costello, she's back with more of your responses.
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MALVEAUX: We are getting a lot of your responses to today's talk back question. We asked is a higher tax on millionaires considered class warfare? Carol Costello, she's here. Carol, what are folks saying? Do they agree? Do they not agree?
COSTELLO: Well, there's certainly passion around this question, Suzanne because we already have over 300 responses. I know, people are really -- they are passionate and they're kind of angry about this question.
Talk back, is a higher tax on millionaires class warfare? This is from Darrell, "It sure as hell is class warfare and it's about time the working class fights back."
This from Victoria, "Most wealthy people got there not by a trust fund, but by sacrifice and hard work. What gives anyone the right to punish people because they made their American dream come true."
This from Curtis, "Corporations and the wealthy have bullied the middle and lower classes for too long. Too many American children are living in poverty. It's time we do something about it."
This from Jacob, "job creators, seems to me like ever since the Bush tax cuts, they've done nothing but cut jobs." And this is from Sean, "My real question is why do the rich hate Obama so much. He hasn't touched the Bush tax cuts this whole term. Something he was supposed to do as soon as he took office. They pretty much got all they wanted."
Please, keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. I'll see you again in just about 20 minutes.
MALVEAUX: All right, Carol, thank you. We want to find out which country are the best and worst for women. Where do you think the United States falls on that list?
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MALVEAUX: A reminder to vote for today's choose the news, text 22360 for the story you would like to see, text 1 for coastal smuggling. We're on the ground with federal agents as they deal with a new threat on the California coast.
Text 2 for the Casey Anthony impact. This is interesting, why experts believe her not guilty verdict is going to impact the case against Michael Jackson's doctor.
And text 3 for solar schools, schools using sunlight to save more than a billion dollars. The winning story will air in the next hour.
Well, Afghanistan is one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. "Newsweek" magazine is just out with its list of the best and worst countries for women. The worst of the worst is the Central African nation of Chad, followed by Afghanistan and then Yemen.
Topping the list of best places to be a woman, Iceland, number one, Sweden comes in second and then Canada number three. The U.S. hits the list at number eight.
We want to bring in Jessie Ellison. She's senior writer for "Newsweek." She joins us from New York. Jessie, thank you very much for being here.
JESSIE ELLISON, SENIOR WRITER, NEWSWEEK: Thanks for having me.
MALVEAUX: First of all, tell us how did "Newsweek" determine this list? What was the criteria?
ELLISON: Well, we looked at five different matrix. We looked at health, education, political power, economics and justice. And we sort of picked what we thought were the most important factors within those categories and crunched the numbers and came up with these rankings.
MALVEAUX: So what is it about Iceland, Sweden and Canada that make them the top three in the world for women? ELLISON: Well, they just have strong stores across the board. Iceland has been targeting gender equity in a very conscious way for three decades now and the results are there.
And Sweden has 16 months parental leave for every child, which is incredible and Canada also has really strong laws protecting women and strong education and good health care.
MALVEAUX: I guess it's a little surprising, why is the United States at number eight? That seems kind of low.
ELLISON: It does, but you know, the United States falls -- I mean, when you look at Sweden with 16 months parental leave and we hardly have any, we really lag in that sense.
Health wise we also don't do quite as well. Politically, we only have in our legislature, only 16 percent is female. What we do well in is education. Girls are just soaring in schools through PhD programs at this point.
MALVEAUX: Jessie, let's look at the bottom three, Chad, Afghanistan and Yemen, what makes them that absolute worst places for women to live?
ELLISON: Well, both Chad and Yemen and to a less extent Afghanistan there's no laws protecting women. There's no law against marital rape or domestic violence. They don't have access to property or bank accounts.
Afghanistan part of the -- you know, I guess issue there is maternal mortality. They have the highest maternal mortality rate in the world and according to recent numbers, every woman in Afghanistan is likely to lose a child at some point in her life.
MALVEAUX: Wow, that is tragic. Jessie, you know, I was in Afghanistan just last week and it was a country that clearly is changing. There have been some improvements.
We saw in terms of at least education. There are now almost 2.5 million Afghan girls who are enrolled in schools compared to just 5,000 in 2001. That's like 480 fold increase.
I want to show you just a little clip of a young woman that I met who was actually training to become a pilot. I want you to take a listen.
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MALVEAUX (voice-over): A 19-year-old Afghan, Sofia Ferosi is training to become one of Afghanistan's few female pilots. This is her first time ever on a plane, it's a C-27. She tells me she's excited.
Sofia gets to sit with the pilots, a bumpy ride makes her queezy, but she quickly recovers. On landing she tells me she's not deterred. She feels great. Her American mentor is proud. MASTER SGT. ERIN MANLEY, U.S. AIR FORCE: It's great that you are going to take this and run with it and build a foundation for future females in Afghanistan.
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MALVEAUX: So Jessie, a very special woman there, a young woman, but obviously the exception because she's got the support of her parents. She's educated.
What kind of efforts do you think really need to make a difference in Afghanistan so it is not one of the worst places for women?
ELLISON: Well, I mean, across the board, one other promising thing about Afghanistan is they actually have a remarkably high percentage of women in parliament, at 28 percent, which is nine percent higher than the world average. So that as they have time to legislate and create new policies, there will -- if other countries are any indication, there will be a trickle-down effect that will help boost everyone, not just women, but the entire country.
MALVEAUX: All right. Jesse Ellison, we certainly hope so. Thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate your putting everything into perspective.
ELLISON: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Thanks again.
ELLISON: Thanks.
