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Obama and Romney Plan on Jobs Overseas; Florida's Fight to Purge Voter Rolls; Kidnapped Americans Set Free; Navy Fires on Boat in Persian Gulf; First Drug Approved to Reduce HIV Risk; Possible Heathrow Security Breaches; Drought May Cause Higher Food Prices; Secrecy Over Jackson Jr Illness Causing Speculation; Price of Corn, Wheat, Soy Rise; Boss Pays Employees $7,500 Bonus to Take Vacation

Aired July 16, 2012 - 13:00   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. This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to preview President Obama's speech. He's expected to speak in Ohio in about an hour.

Plus, some people in Florida call it a loss but the governor calls it a win. That's the latest in the voter registration rules.

I want to get right down to it here. Jobs, taxes, hot topics in the presidential race, and that is what President Obama is going to talk about in the next hour. The president is holding a town hall meeting in Cincinnati. He's going to tell the crowd that Mitt Romney's corporate tax policies would create jobs in other countries. This is the president's eighth trip to Ohio this year. Recent polling there shows him leading Romney, 47 percent to 38 percent. Ohio, of course, a crucial state in the November election.

I want to bring in Dan Lothian. He has more on what we can expect from the president as well as Jim Acosta, he's got latest reaction from the Romney camp. So Dan, first to you. We know the president, he is going to talk about corporate taxes, specifically focusing on Romney support for eliminating taxes on the foreign income of American companies. What's the message here?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the message from the Obama campaign will be two-fold. First of all, to say, while Mitt Romney may be talking about helping the middle class, that he's looking out for wealthy companies and that this is one example. So, the president will be highlighting a report by an economist that says that some 800,000 jobs could be created overseas, more than 70,000 of those jobs in China alone. The president, the campaign trying to paint this picture that Mitt Romney's policies, while he might talk about his experience as a businessman, all of the years that he spent at Bain Capital, his years spent as the governor of Massachusetts, he may talk about all of that, but at end of the day, his economic policies will be bad for Americans and in particular, in the state of Ohio, that expansion of jobs overseas in places like China would be at the expense of the people of Ohio -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: We also expect the president to keep the focus on his -- on the -- on Romney's taxes and personal finances. Is he still going to make that push? Does that seem something that is sticking? LOTHIAN: He isn't backing down. You know, the president was asked whether or not he would apologize, because Mitt Romney wanted him to apologize for these attacks. And in some local interviews, the president said that he was not backing down. He believes that this is fair game, that Mitt Romney, again, has been promoting himself as someone who can create jobs and so everything he says should be questioned. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My understanding is that Mr. Romney attested to the SEC multiple times that he was the chairman, CEO and president of Bain Capital. And I think most Americans figure if you're the chairman, CEO and president of a company, that you are responsible for what that company does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: And why is this time line important? Well, because Mitt Romney says that he was not part of Bain Capital in 19 -- after 1999, and that -- after that point is what the Obama campaign has been saying that the company, Bain Capital, was involved in outsourcing jobs. So, Romney has been able to sort of distance himself from those claims by saying he was not part of the company. But, of course, the Obama campaign saying just take a look at the SEC filings and you'll find that his name was there as part of the company as president, CEO and chairman -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Dan. I want to bring in Jim from the Romney campaign to sort all of this out. Jim, they actually --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Covering the Romney campaign.

MALVEAUX: Covering, of course, sorry about that. We know you're covering it, not with the campaign. But they're trying to get out ahead of the president's speech. What have they actually put out? What have they told you?

ACOSTA: Well, one thing that they have done today, Suzanne, is they dispatched Rob Portman, the Republican senator from Ohio who has been mentioned a lot on Mitt Romney's vice presidential selection list. Of course, the Romney campaign hasn't said anything officially about Rob Portman but everybody assumes he is one of the top contenders. And he was out in Ohio earlier this afternoon, actually within the last hour, sort of giving a rebuttal to the president's remarks. Basically, saying, look, the president has been attacking Mitt Romney personally in the last several days. He said that this is all because the president wants to distract the voters from the real issue that is going on in this country and that is the economy.

So, they are already going out to -- with one of their big guns, and that is Rob Portman. The other way they're responding to the -- to the Obama campaign, Suzanne. They put out a new Web video this morning. And you're going to want to take a look at this because it's sort of responding to the ad that the president released over the weekend that sort of mocked Mitt Romney's singing "America the Beautiful." Well, the Romney campaign came up with their own incarnation of -- sort of -- what is this, "American Idol" now? Both of these candidates are out -- singing out on the campaign trail. Here is how the Romney campaign responded with their Web video this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am so in love with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, Suzanne, I will tell you that that Web video is a reference to the whole controversy over Solyndra and the accusations that have been made by Republicans that the president awarded -- or that the president's administration awarded energy dollars to Solyndra, which is a bankrupt solar panel firm in exchange for campaign contributions with -- from people who are close to that company. But putting all of that aside, Suzanne, when you have both campaigns --

MALVEAUX: Yes.

ACOSTA: -- making fun of one another, and their singing voices, that is when we've officially gotten into the sandbox and they're both just kicking sand at each other, at this point.

MALVEAUX: Yes, it's really weird to actually hear his voice in that, and it makes it kind of sound ominous, really. Jim, thank you. Covering the campaign as always.

ACOSTA: That's right, covering it.

MALVEAUX: Covering. Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: I knew that's what you meant. I was playing with you.

MALVEAUX: All right. Keep the good coverage going.

Florida officials say they just want to make sure that only eligible citizens get a chance to vote. Well, after weeks of legal back and forth, the state's now going to be allowed to use a federal database to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls. Now, critics say this process targets poor and minority voters, but Florida's governor says it's going to help improve the election process. John Zarrella is reporting from Miami.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For months, the state of Florida has been wrangling with the federal government over access to a federal database. Now, this federal database has lists of people who are in the country legally but not eligible to vote. Well, over the weekend, Florida and the Department of Homeland Security finally arrived at an agreement which will allow Florida access to that database so that it can go through and look for people in the state who probably shouldn't be on the voter rolls. Now, Governor Rick Scott said this morning on CNN that this was, in fact, an important step.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: I don't know anybody, any supervisor of election or anybody in our state that thinks non-U.S. Citizens ought to be voting our races. So, it's good for all of our citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: State elections' officials will now have to be trained on exactly how to use that database, how to go through that database. Once that happens, they'll begin the process of sending names of questionable people to supervisors of elections in the various counties. Now, Democrats are saying already that, look, it seems very suspicious that governors in Republican states all of a sudden have gotten together and are trying to go through and purge voter records.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH CEASAR, CHAIRMAN, BROWARD COMPANY: What I fine disingenuous is the fact that all of these Republican governors from all over the country who live thousands of miles apart seem to have come up with a situation where they've come up with the same idea of a voter purge at the same time and with the very same methodology. I'm skeptical. There's very few coincidences in life. And there are none in politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Critics say they hope using the federal database will make this a more fair process. But at the same time, they say this is not an apple pie issue and that they are concerned it will still single out minority groups -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Thank you.

In Egypt, we just got word that two Americans who had been kidnapped are now free. Their Egyptian tour guide has also been released. They were kidnapped when the tour bus was stopped in the Sinai Peninsula. That happened Friday. Now, we are told all three are in good condition. U.S. Embassy personnel are on their way to actually see them. Reverend Michel Louis, he is a pastor at the Boston church. He told our reporter, just moments ago, he is OK. And he's in good spirits. He has not, however, had his diabetes medicine since Friday. He's a little bit tired. We have more details and a live update from Cairo moments away.

And this developing story from the Persian Gulf. U.S. Officials tell us that a Navy ship fired on a small boat that got too close. One person on board was apparently killed. It happened about 10 miles from the port in Dubai. Navy says sailors gave a verbal warning, fired at least one warning shot before firing on that boat to disable it.

And here is what we're working on for this hour. (voice-over): Major security lapses at London's Heathrow Airport. Several people on a terror watch list have slipped into the country, with the Olympics just days away. Are inexperienced guards putting athletes in danger?

Withering under the heat, so are many of the country's crops. That means you could see food prices jump more than 40 percent.

And the road to recovery. A South Carolina mom fighting for her life. Diagnosed with a flesh-eating disease just days after giving birth to twins. Now, she's speaking out for the first time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It is considered a milestone in the battle against the virus that causes Aids. Just moments ago, we learned the FDA approved the first medication to reduce HIV risk. I want to bring in our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen who joins us Greenville, South Carolina to talk about what does this mean?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is interesting because, as you said, this is a drug to prevent HIV infections, Suzanne. It's a called Truvada, which is being taken by patients who already have HIV. But this would be -- the scenario for this would be, let's say a gay man might want to take it, because he's at high risk for getting HIV, so he takes it when he's healthy so that he won't become infected. Now, there's a but here and it's a big one. Some critics of the drug say, why would a healthy person want to take a drug that could get them sick? Because Truvada can have side effects, it can thin bones, it can give people kidney problems. And these critics say, why not use condoms, why take a drug that can get you sick when you're healthy to begin with -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Can you give us a sense of the cost of the drug? Is this something that would be widely accessible or even affordable to most people?

COHEN: It's pretty expensive and it'll be interesting to see if insurance companies pay for it. It's about $1200 a month. So, it will be interesting, if a healthy person says, hey, I'm a gay man, I want to take this drug, will you pay $1200 to take this preventive drug? It will be interesting to see what insurance companies do, if they'll pay for it or not.

MALVEAUX: Is this -- do we know if this is the kind of drug that everyone can tolerate, whether or not you're a woman at risk or a man at risk or even, you know, somebody else who's identified as in a high-risk group?

COHEN: You know, I think it's not so much a matter of gender, Suzanne. There are some people, for example, someone with kidney issues, there would be concerns there about those people taking this drug. But again, this is not a drug to be taken lightly. It's not just like, say, taking a vitamin. It's a drug that can, in some cases, not in most cases, but in some cases can cause big problems. So someone wants to think a lot before they would go on this drug. MALVEAUX: And how big a deal is this, Elizabeth? I mean it takes a while for the FDA to approve certain drugs. Has this been something that has been in the pipeline, in the works for a while?

COHEN: Oh, it has been in the works for a long time. And the reason why this is a big deal, again, is that this is preventive. This is not something you take when you already have HIV. I mean you're -- people are already doing that now. But this new approval is for people who are perfectly healthy but who are worried that they might get HIV. So a drug to prevent HIV is a very different scenario.

MALVEAUX: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. Very important development.

COHEN: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: In London, there's some very serious concerns that are being raised over Olympic security. While hundreds of athletes, they are starting to arrive today, "The Observer" newspaper is now reporting that the last couple weeks several people on a terror watch list were waved through at the airport instead of being flagged. Olympic organizers, they are scrambling also to fill thousands of security jobs after the main contractor said they would not be able to provide the 10,000 staff that they promised. Joining us now from London, Dan Rivers.

Dan, sounds like a hot mess. What -- first of all, give us the update on these folks who are on this terror watch list. Do we believe they are out there and in the country just kind of walking around -- or what do we know about that group?

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no, I think that the home office here, which is the equivalent of the Department of Homeland Security, is very firmly saying, absolutely not. There is no evidence that they've got -- that people on a terror watch list have slipped through the net because of failures at the borders. They do admit that they have increased the number of people checking passports and some of those people are not regular border force employees. Some of them are retired police officers. Some of them are people from other sectors of government who aren't normally there checking passports. But they are absolutely adamant that all the checks that should be carried out are being carried out. That there have been no slip-ups, no suspected terror suspects slip through the net, they say, as a result of these extra staff members who aren't used to checking passports and who aren't normally on the front lines of the frontier.

MALVEAUX: And, Dan, it seems hard to believe that there are no problems. I know they say there are no problems that are going on. But when you look at this private security company, they're trained of, you know, 5,000 or so. There's still 9,000 something to go. How is that going, that they are actually taking these folks and getting them trained within days to do that kind of checking that's necessary?

RIVERS: Well, this is an area where there is genuine cause for concern, I think. This private security firm, G4S, has admitted it cannot provide the 10,000 guards at Olympic sites that it is contracted to do. Basically, back in December 2010, they agreed to provide 2,000 guards. Than that number was increased by the Olympic organizers to 10,000.

Now, at that point, this private security firm said, yes, no problem, we can provide it.

MALVEAUX: Right.

RIVERS: Then, according to the home secretary, last Wednesday, she said that she was made aware that in fact they can't provide that number because of problems with their scheduling and with their computer systems. This is what the home secretary, Theresa May, had to say by way of explanation in the House of Commons behind me a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: And, in fact, we have accredited over 20,000 G4S personnel. The issue is in getting staff to the venue security task.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Worried are people in London --

RIVERS: So she's saying the problem comes down to scheduling, to --

MALVEAUX: Right.

RIVERS: To -- in how they're going to get the staff to the right place at the right time --

MALVEAUX: Right.

RIVERS: Given that there's been this snarl up with their computer systems.

MALVEAUX: In light of all of that --

RIVERS: That's why the army now has stepped in.

MALVEAUX: Sure. In light of that, Dan, how concerned are people of their safety who are there and who are arriving for these games?

RIVERS: Well, I mean, I think, you know, there is genuine cause for concern. There's going to be a lot of very unhappy soldiers who are being forced to step into the breach, 3,500 of them. Some of them are going to be canceling their summer holidays as a result of this fiasco. Clearly there are going to be concerns about whether there's going to be enough people guarding the sites. The private company concern still can't say for sure how many staff they can supply and if they're going to turn up at the right time.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dan Rivers. Thank you, Dan. Appreciate it.

Two Americans are now free after being kidnapped in Egypt. We're going to take you live to Cairo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: In Egypt, the two Americans who have been kidnapped are now free. Their Egyptian tour guide also has been released. They were kidnapped went their tour bus was stopped in the Sinai peninsula on Friday. We're told that they're all in good condition and U.S. embassy personnel, they're on their way to see them. Journalist Mohamed Fahmy, he just talked to one of them who was held hostage, that is Pastor Michel Louis. And the journalist, Mohamed, he's joining us from Cairo.

You say that you spoke with the pastor. He seemed a little bit overwhelmed, but he also said, thank God that he's actually free.

MOHAMED FADEL FAHMY, JOURNALIST (via telephone): That's correct. I spoke to Mr. Michel Louis. He said, all I can say is, thank God and thanks to our governors for securing our release. We are heading directly to Israel to join the members of our church. As soon as we get our passports sent to us from Cairo. I tell my family back home I'm in good health and in good spirits, but I've not taken my medicine since Friday, so I'm a little tired.

I also spoke to Lisa (ph), who was accompanying him, and she said, I'm so happy. We were treated well. Also the interpreter told us he's OK. He's going back to Cairo. They seem to be in good spirits. The kidnapper escaped and the police have not given in to his requests and did not release the detained uncle.

MALVEAUX: So how was he released? Do you know how this happened? Did he explain at all?

FAHMY: Actually, it happened really quick. I was following this story and suddenly I got a call from the police station that the hostages have arrived to the station. We are still trying to find out more details of what happened exactly. But we know that the authorities did not give in, which is a good thing because the Bedouin would have taken it as a call for them to conduct more kidnaps.

Right now the U.S. embassy is bringing the passports from Cairo to the freed Americans and they will continue to their trip to Israel to join the members of their church. They were here in Sinai on a missionary trip, and they are very glad and they will continue their mission.

MALVEAUX: Is there somebody, Mohamed, who's going to get the medicine to him that he need, the diabetes medication?

FAHMY: Indeed. They will be getting him some medicine, especially that he had not received any medicine and he had suffered a minor diabetic attack, according to the authorities. He told me that on the phone himself. But he seems in good spirit. We also have some video that will be coming to CNN of him at the police station. And we are working closely to stay in touch with him and follow up on this story.

MALVEAUX: And tell us a little bit about this suspected kidnapper here. How was he able to just escape? FAHMY: He's a well-known criminal from one of the biggest tribes in Sinai. So he's very connected and knows the back areas and the mountains of Sinai. I'm not surprised at all that he went as a fugitive, again. He's been wanted for a 100-year sentence and he's been a fugitive for a long time. And basically the authorities will probably release a statement soon regarding this matter.

MALVEAUX: All right, Mohamed Fahmy, thank you very much. Good reporting, as always. We appreciate it.

An historic settlement. Visa and MasterCard forced to pay $7 billion to retailers. But that could mean more fees for you.

Don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Three more men have come forward to accuse former Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky of sex abuse. The men say they were abused as well in the '70s or '80s, according to our CNN contributor Sara Ganim. Now, Sandusky, he was convicted already of 45 counts of sex abuse last month. The attorney general has not said yet if there are going to be more charges filed.

Good news for Citi Group, sort of. Early trading day shares were up for the world's third-largest bank, even after they reported 12 percent drop in net income. Better number than some experts predicted. Shares of Visa, MasterCard up today. Investors are reacting to Friday's news that financial firms settled an antitrust lawsuit. Retailers claim that large banks conspired to fix credit card fees. The settlement valued at $7 billion.

Congressmen Jesse Jackson Jr has gotten support now from House leaders since the announcement he's being treated for what they were calling a mood disorder. The secrecy over the illness is fueling speculation and raising questions. The son of the civil rights leaders has not been on Capitol Hill since late May.

"Chicago Sun-Times" editorial columnist, Mary Mitchell, says Jackson owes his constituents an explanation.

Mary Mitchell joins us live.

Good to see you.

In your op-ed, you write that, quote, "Here, everyone is tiptoeing around the fact that his disappearance is beyond strange. It's an extreme dereliction of his duties." How is this secrecy hurting him? Do you think it's hurting his potential, his future here?

MARY MITCHELL, EDITORIAL COLUMNIST, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, I think that, as long as people are not clear about what is really happening with him, the situation then becomes one of speculation. Who knows? If you don't know exactly what's going on, you're saying all kinds of things. I think it's the speculation that is hurting him. His constituents can deal with if it's a mental disorder or a mood disorder or even if he just has some kind of emotional breakdown. I think his constituents can deal with that. But as long as this goes on without any clear facts, it's a matter of disregarding transparency. And if there's an expectation that people -- the public has a right to know what's going on with their elected official, that's what can hurt him.

MALVEAUX: You've been covering the Jackson family, Chicago politics for more than 20 years. You would know. The Jacksons -- and you put it in your article -- bask in light, they don't hide from it. So being --

(CROSSTALK)

MITCHELL: Here's an opportunity --

MALVEAUX: Sure.

(CROSSTALK)

MITCHELL: Here's an opportunity --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Go ahead.

MITCHELL: -- for the Jackson, Congressman Jackson and the Jackson family to show leadership on a major issue that impacts the African- American community but also just the community at large, and that is, if it is a mood disorder or mental illness, there's a stigma attached to that. Here's an opportunity for the Congressman and his family to stand up to that and say, wait a minute, you know, this is something that we need to deal with. And this is something that the public has dealt with. He could be a leader on this issue instead of hiding from it.

MALVEAUX: Do you think that the reason why he's hiding from it or the family's hiding from it potentially indicates this is worse than what the family's indicating or implying?

MITCHELL: Well, again, we're back to speculation. It could be an indication that the family's actually plotting or planning to do something Chicago-style politics, and that is the Congressman could resign during the general election and then some other family member be put on the ballot. That's happened in the past. So we don't know. And I think that's the problem.

MALVEAUX: Is there speculation that that's actually potentially part of what's behind this?

MITCHELL: There's speculation. There is speculation that he could resign. And there's speculation that his wife, Sandy Jackson, could be placed on the ballot. That could happen here, given the way our system works. The ward bosses could get together and decide, you know what, we're going to put somebody else's name on there. And if they put Sandy Jackson's name on it, she could end up going to the Congress without having to face an election bid this time around. That could happen. It's happened in the past.

MALVEAUX: To be clear, there's no evidence that that's happening now. It's just simply something people are talking about, right?

(CROSSTALK)

MITCHELL: That's speculation. That's what people are talking. And we do have examples in Chicago of that happening. We have U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski. When he decided he was going to resign at the last minute, then his son was able to be put on the ballot. We've seen that before. That is what becomes the problem.

If it's simply he's tired, he is exhausted, he's beaten down, and then he had to take a rest, that's one thing. But if there's some plan afoot to do something else politically, at the end of his rest, I think that would cause a problem.

MALVEAUX: Mary, just a timetable question quickly here. That is weeks or months away? Is there some sort of deadline that anybody's working on to sort this all out?

MITCHELL: Well, one deadline would have been passed already, that is to put in an independent person, someone from an Independent Party on to the ballot. But if he resigns very close to the general elections, then the Democratic party would have to put somebody on that ballot, and so that deadline has not yet passed.

MALVEAUX: Mary Mitchell, thank you for your context and perspective. We appreciate it.

MITCHELL: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: A brutal drought in our nation's heartland. More than a third of the country's crops are wilting under the heat. That could mean huge price jumps in favorite foods.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: This year's drought, one of the worst in U.S. history. 2012 is being compared to the Dust Bowl of the '30s. More than 1,000 counties in 26 states have declared themselves drought natural disaster areas.

I want to bring in Chad Myers to talk about this.

Chad, tell us why this is happening and how widespread.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The reason it's happening is because there's a big ridge of high pressure over the central part of the United States, causing the heat, the fires in Colorado, as well, the heat there. And that has not allowed rain. The lack of rain is right in the breadbasket, right where America makes all of its crops, right through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, even Arkansas, and into Kentucky as well. I'll show you a map here in a little bit. You haven't focused on this because most of the news organizations are focused in the north. Northeast, not much drought there. Looks pretty good. Had a lot of rain. Crops are doing great. If you move to where people really grow stuff across parts of southern Minnesota, back to Nebraska, Kansas, here with the breadbasket of the U.S., right through there, that's where there really hasn't been any rainfall in the past couple of weeks. And that's a bad thing. We're not going to get the corn crop. We're not going to get production. We're not going to get the number of acres and the number of bushels of corn out of the acres as we need across the country. It's not going to get any better either. This brown area says not much more rain. And that's for the next 30 to 60 days. It's one of the top-10 droughts in the past 100 years.

Let me give you an example, Suzanne. I used to own a corn farm. I used to sell my corn for $2 a bushel. That was back in 1985. The bushels today are $7.50. I know there's inflation but not 3.5 times.

MALVEAUX: You used to own a corn farm?

MYERS: I did.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: You never cease to amaze me. You surprise me every day. You fly planes, own a cornfield, the whole thing.

MYERS: I've had many lives.

MALVEAUX: You have. We'll have to talk about corn sometime.

MYERS: Fair enough.

MALVEAUX: And I want to talk about corn here. Because what Chad is talking about, the worst damage to the corn crops, means higher prices in different things.

I want to bring in Alison Kosik from the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, did you hear that?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Chad.

MALVEAUX: Chad had a corn farm.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: I'm amazed.

MALVEAUX: Who knew?

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: I'm amazed. So you know, he probably can relate to this. Talking about corn prices here. You know over the past month, Suzanne, prices for corn have gone up more than 40 percent because of those extreme drought conditions that he was talking. Even wheat and soybean prices are also going up as the drought drags on and on.

When you think of corn as a commodity, it's just like stocks. It's like oil or gold. What it does, it trades on the open market in the form of a futures contract. So one analyst says it could take up to six to 12 months before we see a spike in prices at the grocery store. What food companies try to do, though, they try to hedge those costs and not really pass it on to consumers in one full swoop. You look at consumer spending, especially now, it's weak. And many people may not respond well to price hikes.

I talked with one CEO, Ken Powell, CEO of General Mills, about the price spikes and how to control the potential impact on consumers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN POWELL, CEO, GENERAL MILLS: We know the market is gyrating a bit on corn right now. It's that time of year where every week there's a different piece of news. We haven't seen anything that would make us really materially change our expectation for our broad market basket inflation next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: So his point is, he doesn't expect big, dramatic change in prices despite the fact we are seeing a rise, a slow rise, in prices for corn.

MALVEAUX: Alison, there are so many things related to corn that I don't think people realize --

KOSIK: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

MALVEAUX: -- that could affect their prices as well. Name a few.

KOSIK: It's not just corn on the cob. Corn is used in almost anything you can imagine. It's used in frozen pizza, marshmallows, wall paper paste, chewing gum. Some ingredients in your foods, like maltodextrin, citric acid, high fructose corn syrup, all comes from corn.

Also, you have to remember, that feed that goes to animals, there's corn in that. So you know, add dairy products, eggs, beef, chicken, pork, the list, depending on the corn. If the feed is going up in price that you're feeding your cow, pig, chickens, that could create a domino effect and potentially raise prices for meats as well -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: The domino effect.

Alison, thanks. Appreciate it.

KOSIK: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Are you looking for the best boss? My next guest would be in the running. If his employees take a vacation, he gives them a bonus, a $7500 bonus. That's up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SINGING)

MALVEAUX: Cool! I love it! Are you feeling overworked? You are not alone. According to a study by Expedia, the average American worker earns 14 days of vacation a year but only takes 12 of them. And take a look at this. The U.S. is the only industrialized country in the world that does not require employers to provide paid vacation days.

So check this out. Imagine this. If your boss tells you not only do you need to take a vacation, but you're going to get an extra $7,500 if you do, like, paid to take your vacation. Now there's a catch. You can't work while you're out of the office, while on vacation. So this sounds pretty outstanding and crazy.

My next guest is offering paid vacations to his employees. Burt Lorang, he's joining us from Denver.

Burt, you're like the dream boss. Where did you come from?

(LAUGHTER)

BURT LORANG, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, FULLSTART.COM: I'm just from Colorado.

MALVEAUX: Tell us how this came about. Why are you doing this?

LORANG: Well, what we found, especially in our industry, software high-tech, that is people don't unplug. We're on e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, on our phones, 24/7, and we work really, really hard, and it's just not healthy. You know, people just don't disconnect when they take a vacation. We said, let's change that.

MALVEAUX: So you are offering your employees, what? They get money. And what are the conditions here?

LORANG: Well, they get normal paid vacation, but they also get $7,500 bonus when they take a vacation and choose their -- what we call off- the-grid vacation each year.

MALVEAUX: What does that mean? No cell phone, no Blackberry, nothing?

LORANG: That's right. Disconnect from the grid. Go off the grid completely. Don't work. Don't check your e-mail. Don't call in. Nothing.

MALVEAUX: Wow. So I assume everybody's taking these vacations in your company, right? Did anybody say, no, that's OK?

LORANG: Yes. No, everybody's really excited about it, planning some really neat vacations like Costa Rican surf trips, dream European vacations. It's pretty fun to watch.

MALVEAUX: I understand one of the conditions is you can't do a staycation. You have to go somewhere, have a good time, right? Travel somewhere?

LORANG: No. No, actually, they can take a staycation. You can sit on your couch and just chill out if you want for a week. We don't care.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: OK. That's not bad either.

We have a picture of you on vacation and you are texting while riding a camel. So I assume that that moment might have inspired you to change things up a bit?

LORANG: Yes, that's me with my fiancee, Sarah, in front of the pyramids in Egypt.

(LAUGHTER)

That picture got taken and my guys at work took that picture and framed it and put it on my wall as a remainder. Over time, I said, we've got to change this.

MALVEAUX: How can you afford this?

LORANG: Well, if you look at it in terms of the competitive salary landscape for tech, it's not that much compared to the salaries we pay. It's just another benefit.

MALVEAUX: And we have a question. Our whole team was discussing you earlier today. Any openings at your company there?

(LAUGHTER)

LORANG: Yes --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: You're hiring?

LORANG: If you visit fullcontact.com, plenty of jobs available.

MALVEAUX: You are hiring.

LORANG: Absolutely.

MALVEAUX: I hope people are getting work done, too. There's still hard workers, bottom line.

LORANG: Yes, that's the point. We're a start-up tech company. We work hard. Nights, weekends, sometimes. We've got to decompress.

MALVEAUX: We love that. We're going to make a suggestion. We're all going to e-mail our boss right now, all at once. Just bomb her with this segment and send this to her.

(LAUGHTER) Thank you, Burt. Good to see you.

LORANG: Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

A South Carolina mom is now recovering from a flesh-eating disease. We'll be speaking with her as she speaks about it for the first time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANA KUYKENDALL, BATTLING FLESH-EATING BACTERIA: I'm glad to be alive and I mean I have my moments of pain and discomfort, and I'm more tired than I used to be and weaker, and I'm getting used to that, but I'm also getting stronger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The latest on her recovery, up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back.

Now to a story that can only be described as incredible. Lana Kuykendall gave birth to twins this May. Days later, she was diagnosed with a flesh-eating virus. Doctors performed 20 procedures and now she's going to be heading home this week.

She just spoke to Elizabeth Cohen, who joins us from Greenville, South Carolina.

Wow. That's pretty amazing. what does she say? How is she doing?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it was so inspiring to hear her. She looks great. She was joking with her friends. She really seemed to be enjoying herself at the press conference. But, Suzanne, after more than 20 surgeries and nearly losing her life, there have been some tough moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KUYKENDALL: Sometimes I cry over, you know, the fact that I'm sick. Sometimes I cry over missing the babies. Sometimes I've cried over knowing that life will never be what I'd always thought it will be, but it will still be a good life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: One of doctors said she will be going home tomorrow.

MALVEAUX: She seems incredibly strong and just an amazing woman. Can you remind us what happened after she delivered her twins?

COHEN: Four days later, she's resting on the couch and looks down at her left thigh and sees a bruise in the form of a strip, as she put it. She showed it to her husband, Darren. Both of them are EMTs. Here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARREN KUYKENDALL, LANA'S HUSBAND: I was like, ooh. That was my first expression. She said we need to go to the hospital. They literally took an ink pen and traced the outer edges of her discoloration and you could just about watch it move with your own eyes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Darren told me that the bruising would grow about a quarter of an inch in two minutes. That's how quick the bacteria does its work.

MALVEAUX: Wow. That's amazing. When you look at her future and she talks to you and her husband talks to you, what do they hope for?

COHEN: What they are hoping for is a full recovery. Recovery will take -- it's a matter of months, many months. She is going home but she'll have home health care aids and do out-patient rehab. At the moment, she can't walk on her own. Even with a walker, she can only walk a few hundred feet.

MALVEAUX: We wish her the best, her husband, her twins. Her twins are beautiful. We wish her good health.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

This was the show of the century, cut short. Why did police pull the plug on Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen? We'll tell you why.

(SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL PLACE)

MALVEAUX: This is a match made in rock-and-roll heaven. Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen singing together for the first time. Things were going great until this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(BOOING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: -- a lot of noise and no music. That's because the organizers in London cut off power to the stage while the two were still singing. They say they pulled the plug because the show ran past its allotted time. What a shame.

Another music superstar, Madonna, may be hit with a lawsuit because of what you're seeing right now. At her concert in Paris, Madonna flashed a video of a far right wing party leader, Marine LePen, with a swastika superimposed over her face. It's a really quick montage but enough to outrage the National Front Party. The party's vice president says the image created a false impression of a connection between the National Front and Fascism. Madonna's rep declined to comment other than to say the singer has included this image in her show since May.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Martin Savidge.

Hey, Martin.