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American Morning
Iran to Recount Some Votes; Seven Killed in Iran Clashes; U.S. Military on Guard on Rising Tensions in Iran; Letterman Apologizes to Governor Palin; Museum Road Show; Threat from North Korea; Senate Offers New Plan to Secure Driver's License
Aired June 16, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome. Glad you're with us on this Tuesday, June 16th. A lot going on today. A lot of new developments out of Iran this morning, four days after the disputed election.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
We are following several developing stories this morning. Stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
Breaking news as Kiran said out of Iran this morning. A deadly fight for democracy there. State TV reporting at least seven people were killed protesting a landslide re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And as the violence escalates, word now that the Guardian Council has agreed to recount some votes in Friday's disputed presidential election. And it has a lot of people wondering if this might just be the beginning of a big change in Iran.
And the Pentagon keeping a very close eye on the situation in Iran. This morning, the concerns that the growing tensions could become a security crisis in the Middle East.
And this morning, an apology in the war of words between Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and David Letterman. The late-night comedian setting the record straight. And hear what he has to say about the joke that incited outrage across the nation.
CHETRY: And we begin with the breaking news out of Iran. This morning, the whole world is watching as outrage over the disputed presidential election turns deadly. State media is reporting at least seven people killed after protesters clashed with Iranian military.
And this morning despite the Guardian Council's decision to recount some ballots from the disputed election, opposition supporters are getting ready for a new day of protests. In fact, in just minutes, they are expected to again flood the streets of Tehran denouncing sitting president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who, as we speak, is in Russia for a previously scheduled security summit. In a moment, we're going to be speaking with our CNN producer who is live on the ground in Tehran.
First, though, these are some brand new pictures of the deadly struggle to overturn an election and perhaps force out a hard-line regime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): This amateur video shot north of Tehran's Azadi Square captures the chaos as a day of mostly peaceful protests turned violent. Iran state radio confirming seven shooting deaths after protesters apparently tried to storm a compound linked to the government's Revolutionary Guard. Our Christiane Amanpour in Tehran covering the demonstrations when the violence broke out.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They had taken this decision to try to allow these political rallies to take place in a peaceful atmosphere. And what they told us they were doing was cracking down on the violence.
CHETRY: Earlier in the day, opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi led hundreds of thousands of Iranians in a massive rally, stretching more than five miles, according to Iranian television. Mousavi urging peaceful protests vowing to "pay any costs" to fight the results of an election he believes was stolen from him. But then, the bullets began flying. And as security forces limited the access of news crews, citizens pulled out their cell phones to document the chaos.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on television. The democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent, all those are universal values and need to be respected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: President Obama was careful to avoid allegations of vote rigging in the Iranian election. He says he wants to keep the United States from becoming a political football inside of Iran.
ROBERTS: And it's Iran's biggest uprising in decades. State television reporting at least seven people killed as tens of thousands defy a ban holding huge street rallies over Friday's election results.
CNN producer Samson Desta is live on the ground in Tehran this morning. Samson is with us on the telephone.
Samson, the big development this morning, word that the Guardian Council which oversees elections there in Iran is saying that it may recount some of the ballots in Friday's disputed election. What can you tell us about the process going forward?
SAMSON DESTA, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, this is a very, very quick decision made by the Guardian Council. They have announced that they're going to recount some of the votes, not all the votes but some of the disputed votes.
This comes after the three main opposition candidates, Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karroubi and Mr. Rezai met with the council today to protest the outcome of the election. Now the leading candidate, the leading opposition candidate, Mr. Mousavi and his camp, have been very quick to come out and reject this notion of a recount. What they want is a new election because they're saying a recount will not unveil any flaws. And what they're saying is 53 million have been printed and only 39 million of those have been used. So what happened to the 14 million ballots that are missing? And those need to be accounted for and therefore they're calling for a new election, not a recount -- John.
ROBERTS: So, Samson, do you have some idea of the thinking of the Guardian Council? Do they really want to try to get to the bottom of alleged voting irregularities or are they just trying to quell the protests on the streets by saying, OK, we'll take into consideration your questions about what happened on Friday, your concerns about what happened on Friday, keep people off of the streets, let's go forward about this in an orderly fashion?
DESTA: Well, as I said, it's very interesting that they had taken this decision very quickly because it was only yesterday that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei spoke with Mr. Mousavi and told him that if he had any grievances, if he had any concerns that he should take those to the Guardian Council to try to come to a solution. And we thought prior to this process will take a few days.
But only 24 hours later, the council met with the three leading candidates and made a decision right away that they are going to take a look into any fraud investigation and they have said that they are going to now look into recounting some of the votes.
But again, the opposition is saying at this point no, that's not going to happen. We're not going to accept a recount. We're looking for a new election so we are looking to see exactly how the Guardian Council is going to take this matter forward.
ROBERTS: And, Samson, yesterday we saw the tragedy of seven people shot and killed during the protest there. What's happening on the ground today? Are people gathering again?
DESTA: Well, we do expect both sides of the camp, from Mousavi and from Ahmadinejad to put us, to show some force on the ground and the streets today. In about two hours, we do expect a rally to be held by Mr. Ahmadinejad's supporters and about an hour later, we do expect supporters of Mr. Mousavi to also take to the streets.
And as you said last night, there were some clashes in which seven people were killed. There were reports of beatings, shootings late into the night and early mornings today and that there are some concern that it could be some clashes and some confrontations today. And we will see how that develops throughout the day.
ROBERTS: Samson Desta, our CNN producer on the ground there in Tehran for us this morning. Samson, thanks so much for that report. Much appreciate it.
CHETRY: And the political unrest surrounding Iran's presidential election is being closely monitored at the Pentagon where this morning there are concerns that could impact U.S. military personnel in the Middle East.
CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon. What are you learning this morning, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, good morning to you. Now, of course, Iran sits along those vital Persian Gulf oil shipping lanes. But now, the concerns and the challenges go far beyond that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): Hundreds of thousands of Iranians in the streets. The U.S. worries this tense political situation could become a broader security crisis.
Trita Parsi who runs an organization opposed to the current regime says if the Iranian leadership feels seriously threatened, it could possibly try to divert the people's attention.
TRITA PARSI, NATIONAL IRANIAN AMERICA COUNCIL: If the internal battles are getting a little bit too intense, that the Revolutionary Guard may actually prefer to have an external enemy and some sort of a confrontation.
STARR: U.S. military commanders in the Persian Gulf have been told to be on guard. Don't let an encounter with Iranian forces escalate.
It's happened before. Last year, U.S. warships came close to firing on Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats that were acting aggressively. In 2007, British naval personnel were captured and held for days before being released in a public showing by President Ahmadinejad.
Other concerns -- Iran's meddling in Iraq and Afghanistan and its development of long-range ballistic missiles that could threaten Europe. But the core issue remains -- Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. is working with other countries to pressure Iran to give up its nuclear weapons efforts regardless of who is president of the Islamic Republic.
IAN KELLY, ACTING ASST. SECY OF STATE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Let's get to the very heart of this administration's priorities in terms of nonproliferation concerns, about the possibility of an arms race in that part of the world.
RICHARD HAASS, AUTHOR, "WAR OF NECESSITY, WAR OF CHOICE": The best thing we can do is keep our eye on the ball of what Iran does, support for terrorism, their nuclear program, whoever is the Iranian government. What we care about is what they do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And the nuclear program, Kiran, obviously, remains one of the top concerns. The U.S. view is that Iran is likely to continue some of its nuclear efforts no matter who's in charge. And security wise, that is going to make this a continuing sensitive situation, to say the least, for both the U.S. and Israel -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. We'll continue to watch it throughout the morning. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon. Thanks.
And as Iranians gear up for a new day on the streets to challenge their presidential election results, many here in the states are weighing in as well. We've gotten a lot of calls about it to our show hotline, 1-877-MY-AMFIX. Here's some of what you're saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICKI, VIRGINIA (via telephone): I understand that the government cannot come out in support of the green revolution in Iran. But the American people can. I am so proud of those youngsters and they need to keep standing up for their rights.
ANONYMOUS (via telephone): I think Obama should keep his nose out of their business. Our government here shouldn't say anything about Iran because they have their own policies and their own government.
CANDICE (via telephone): I support the Iranian people 100 percent. The only way governments are going to change is if the people take to the streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And we want to hear from you about all our big stories. Give us a call on our show hotline. It's 1-877-MY-AMFIX.
ROBERTS: And some other stories new this morning that we're following for you. North Korea's nuclear ambitions will be issue number one at a White House meeting between President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. The two leaders also expected to discuss efforts to free two American journalists who were just sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for allegedly spying on North Korea.
We're going to go live to our Suzanne Malveaux. She's at the White House this morning. That will be a little bit later on this hour.
More violent weather in the Rockies. Two tornadoes touching down in Colorado. This amateur video capturing a massive funnel cloud in Elizabeth, Colorado. Some reported damage from the twisters but no serious injuries.
And she took the world by storm. Now Susan Boyle is ready to cash in on her fame. The "Britain's Got Talent" runner-up reportedly wants to charge corporate clients more than $160,000 for a 12-minute speech. That's about $13,000 a minute, $229 a second. By comparison, former President Clinton makes about $150,000 per speech.
It's 11 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ROBERTS: It's 14 minutes after the hour. Returning now to our breaking news.
This morning, Iran is a nation on edge as thousands of voters are expected to rise up again to denounce Friday's election as a sham. And several new developments could build on that tension.
Iranian state television reports that seven people were killed at the site of Monday's protest. And opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is rejecting the Guardian Council's decision today to recount some of the votes.
Joining me now from Tehran is Jason Rezaian. He is a journalist from TehranBureau.com. He's also a contributor to the "San Francisco Chronicle."
Jason, thanks for being with us. Are we expecting more protests again today as there are demonstrations both pro-Ahmadinejad and pro- Mousavi? And could those, as we saw happen yesterday, again spark violence?
JASON REZAIAN, JOURNALIST, TEHRANBUREAU.COM (via telephone): How are you doing there? I think that we probably won't see much violence today because the statewide decree on television and it's being repeated right now, asking for the real supporters of -- of the Islamic Republic which is people to come in protest of yesterday's violence.
So, you know, it's looking as though the Mousavi supporters might be drowned out by pro-regime forces. But as it appears to me, they're asking them to be peaceful and not to get violent like yesterday.
ROBERTS: Right.
REZAIAN: So they're trying to denounce it.
ROBERTS: Right. Do you know, Jason, exactly what happened yesterday? That, you know, the protests were going on. Suddenly they got a little out of hand and then there were gunshots and bloodshed.
REZAIAN: Well, what I've heard I wasn't there but I have very close friends that either were eyewitnesses or either called me. The pro-Mousavi supporters were being aimed by the besieged, which is the government-funded militia. And they proceeded to attack the besieged headquarters that were in that neighborhood and the besieged responded by opening fire which they didn't have permission to do. So, hence, the full public backlash from all sides of the political spectrum today.
ROBERTS: Right. And that tragedy, particularly among supporters of Mousavi, people who are saying Ahmadinejad stole the election, what effect is that likely to have?
REZAIAN: It's really hard to say. I mean, you know, everybody that I've interviewed in the last couple of days, I really need to, you know, restate that communication has become so difficult. And we don't have text messaging. We don't have social networking access to the social networking Web sites. So all reaction, all response is based on people's private intentions and rumors and their grassroots efforts to kind of rally support. So, the big surprise, for example, yesterday that so many people turned out.
ROBERTS: Right. And, you know, we also know, Jason, that a lot of western journalists, a lot of foreign journalists are being told to get out of the country. You are a foreign journalist working there. You also happen to be an Iranian citizen. What's your status there at present?
REZAIAN: My status is that I'm here and allowed to work for the time being. And when I'm told that I shouldn't be working anymore, I will stop working.
ROBERTS: All right. Jason Rezaian from the "San Francisco Chronicle" and TehranBureau.com speaking to us this morning from Tehran. Jason, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it.
REZAIAN: My pleasure, have a good day.
ROBERTS: All right. You too.
CHETRY: You had a chance to hear David Letterman's long rambling apology yesterday to the governor of Alaska.
ROBERTS: I've heard some of it. Yes.
CHETRY: And this is after several days of back and forth between the two, an off-colored joke about her daughter. We're going to show you more of Letterman's apology and figure out where this is all going.
It's 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: This morning David Letterman's mea culpa, he offered up a long explanation and apology last night to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for the joke he made last week about her daughter and A-Rod and the Yankees' game? So is this the final turn in the heated back and forth and what maybe will come of this.
CNN's Alina Cho is here with more on that. You were waiting for a joke and he wasn't making a joke. It was about a nearly four-minute apology and explanation.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I couldn't believe it, actually. But let's hope it's over after this, guys. Good morning, everybody.
Now you may have heard the joke. Last week, David Letterman joked on his show that Sarah Palin's daughter who attended a Yankee game with the governor was "knocked up by Alex Rodriguez." The problem is, it wasn't Palin's daughter, Bristol, who recently gave birth to a child who was at the game but Palin's 14-year-old daughter, Willow. Now on his show last night, Letterman said he was confused but nonetheless, that his joke crossed the line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": I had no idea that anybody was at the ballgame except the governor and I was told at the time that she was there with Rudy Giuliani. And -- that's right.
(APPLAUSE)
And I really should have made the joke about Rudy. So, I -- I would like to apologize, especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow. And also to the governor and her family and everybody else who is outraged by the joke. I'm sorry about it and I'll try to do better in the future. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: They had to know this was coming. Late last night, Governor Palin issued a response to Letterman's apology saying, "Of course it's accepted on behalf of young women, like my daughters, who hope men who 'joke' about public displays of sexual exploitation of girls will soon evolve. Letterman certainly has the right to joke about whatever he wants to, and thankfully we have the right to express our reaction."
Now, she doesn't sound like she's willing to forgive and forget just yet. You may not have heard Palin on Friday when she went on "The Today Show." The governor defended her spokesperson for stating it would be wise to keep her daughter, 14-year-old Willow, away from Letterman. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: Willow, no doubt, would want to stay away from David Letterman after he made such a comment. And you can interpret that however you want to interpret it.
MATT LAUER, HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": Well, is that not perhaps in bad taste also, governor, if you're, you know, suggesting that a 62- year-old couldn't be trusted?
PALIN: No, it's not in bad taste. It's not in bad taste.
Hey, maybe you couldn't be trusted because Willow has had enough of this type of comment and maybe Willow would want to react to him in a way that maybe would catch him off guard. That's one way to interpret such a comment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Supporters of Governor Palin have seized on this controversy with some calling for a boycott of Letterman's advertisers, even planning a fire David Letterman rally later today outside the studios.
Now unlikely that Letterman will be fired. In fact, he's said to be close to signing a two-year contract extension. There's no denying, though, that this Palin controversy comes just at the right time as Conan takes over "The Tonight Show" and viewers start sampling late-night programs again. His ratings have been --
CHETRY: Prediction.
CHO: Yes.
CHETRY: Prediction. This is all setting the stage for her to show up on his show, right?
CHO: Well, I mean, a lot of people have said that. I have a feeling, yes, maybe it will happen, you know.
CHETRY: You know, the other interesting is people who are defending Letterman say he never brought up any name in general that --
CHO: Letterman is a really -- he's a really, really smart guy. I mean I think he was sincere. He made a mistake. He didn't know that it was -- it wasn't Bristol. But nonetheless, you know, came out, three minutes plus and apologized.
CHETRY: Right. And Palin again said that she thinks it's a double standard that if some children are off limits and some are not.
CHO: Yes, she did. She made it clear.
CHETRY: So we'll see if she shows up on the show. In the end, I guess it's all about ratings.
CHO: Stay tuned.
CHETRY: Yes. Thanks, Alina.
ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes now after the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." We have breaking news out of Iran right now.
The country's 12-member Guardian Council, this includes clerics and experts in Islamic law has reportedly agreed to recount some of the disputed ballots from Friday's election.
Now this significant development is coming as hundreds of thousands of Iranians are expected to fill the streets of Tehran for another day showing their support for reformist leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi and demanding that the government look into allegations that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole the election. But could the vote in Iran have been rigged? Brian Todd looks in to that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the street, claims of a stolen election. Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi calls for and gets an investigation into election irregularities. Privately and publicly, U.S. officials have a hard time believing this was the landslide for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Iranian government claims.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's some real doubt about that. I don't think we're in a position to say. It was surprising that the assertion was he won by, what, 60-some percent of the vote.
TODD: Another administration official who didn't want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation says early indications are that there may have been some fraud. U.S. officials are not in a position to say Ahmadinejad didn't win, the source says, but a few things are difficult to square.
The fact that Mousavi didn't win in his hometown of Tabriz. The indication that Ahmadinejad got several million votes more than he did four years ago despite all his controversies since then, and the fact that there were no independent international monitors on the ground.
An Iranian official tells us the Guardian Council made up of six people appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and six appointed by the judiciary will report the findings of its investigation in a week to ten days. One analyst is skeptical.
KARIM SADJADPOUR, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: I have little confidence that the Guardian Council can be an objective actor in adjudicating this dispute for no other reason that the head of the Guardian Council publicly endorsed President Ahmadinejad before these elections.
TODD: The Iranian official we spoke with says the idea that the council will be influenced by the president is unfounded and unfair. The head of an international polling group that did an independent survey of Iranians three weeks before the election says its poll showed Ahmadinejad ahead by a two-to-one margin.
KEN BALLEN, TERROR FREE TOMORROW: That does not mean he would have won the election. What it does tell us is that he enjoyed substantial support in Iran and that his re-election is possibly based on the will of the people.
TODD: Ken Ballen says that could well be the case even if Mousavi had a surge between that poll and the election.
(on camera): Ballen also says his poll indicated that even in Mousavi's home region, it was Ahmadinejad who had a clear advantage three weeks before the election so there was no guarantee that Mousavi would have won in his home region.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Thirty minutes after the hour now. And the breaking news out of Iran is our big story this morning. We are learning seven people were reported to have been killed at yesterday's demonstrations in Tehran, the largest in that country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And right now, protesters for and against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are gearing up for another day of protests on the streets.
Inch by inch, gas prices continue to creep higher. AAA reporting the national average for unleaded regular now at $2.67 a gallon. That is up 5/10 of a penny from Monday and it is the 49th straight daily increase.
And the Internet may be killing family time. A report by the Annenberg Center at USC says American families are spending less time together as the time people spend online goes up. 28 percent of those interviewed say they are spending less face time with members of their own households. That's nearly triple the number who said that in 2006. And it comes as social networking Web sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are booming.
Maybe what they need to do is Skype each other from various locations in the home.
Now to President Obama's plan to regulate Wall Street. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, director of the National Economic Council, will outline the new financial rules ahead of the president's speech tomorrow.
Here this morning to help break it all down for us is Chrystia Freeland, she's the U.S. managing editor of the "Financial Times," and Bill Cohan, a contributing editor at "Fortune" and also author of the fabulous book "House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street."
And no, I don't get a cut of these profits. It is a fabulous book.
CHRYSTIA FREELAND, U.S. MANAGING EDITOR, "FINANCIAL TIMES": It is a best seller already.
ROBERTS: It is.
WILLIAM COHAN, AUTHOR, "HOUSE OF CARDS": Oh, thank you, guys.
ROBERTS: It's a great book for anybody who wants to read the inner workings of Wall Street and how we got to where we are today.
Let's talk now about the new regulations and the outlines that we know them so far. Just kind of broad brush strokes.
More regulatory power for the Fed, higher cash reserve requirements for financial institutions and even greater responsibility for them if their interconnected and globally as well, new restrictions on risky investments, more protection for consumers.
Chrystia, it all sounds good on paper, but as always, the devil is in the details.
FREELAND: Yes, that's absolutely right. And I think that people will be looking for some detail in the president's speech and not from what we hear from Geithner and Summers. I think, in particular, some things that we'll be looking for at the FT are how exactly the regulators are going to work together. One of the things that made it so hard to spot is that there's this sort of quilt of different regulators. And we've also seen, they love fighting with each other. So how is that going to be resolved?
ROBERTS: Everybody's got their own turf.
FREELAND: The other thing people are going to be looking for is how exactly credit derivatives are going to be regulated. There's a very fierce battle over this because billions of dollars are at stake. And it's not yet entirely clear on which side of the debate the president is going to come down.
ROBERTS: Bill, the question you had is whether these go far enough?
COHAN: Well, that's my big concern. I mean, you know, Chrystia makes a very good point, where she talks about the various different regulators their talking about continuing to have. At one point, there was talk of a single regulator like they have in the UK.
Now, what Wall Street does is they arbitrage against regulators. They play one regulator off another until they get what they want. Unfortunately, we're left with that quilt of different regulators. That's a mistake.
And the question I still want to know is how do we regulate, how do we make sure that the financial incentives are right for Wall Street bankers and traders to do the right thing and not to encourage the kind of bad behavior we've had over the last 30, 40 years.
ROBERTS: Let's get to the point in just a second. But Tim Geithner, the secretary, was here at the Time Warner Center yesterday at the forum and he was talking about risk versus regulation. Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: The only path to a more stable system will be more capital in the system and greater constraints on risk taking, more evenly applied. That is a necessary solution. We can do that, though, without depriving the economy, the benefits of financial innovation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So he talks about this idea of constraints without stifling innovation. How do you strike that balance where you let the market be free, but not too free? It's kind of like a horse that really wants to run, but you have to pull it back a little bit.
FREELAND: It is a tough sell. And I do think that inevitably credit will be more expensive. And that is something that I think Americans, American small businesses, American consumers have to face.
So, yes, I think that they're working really hard to strike a balance between risk and regulation, but inevitably there is going to be a little bit less risk and more expensive money.
ROBERTS: And let's get back to the point that you were making, because Wall Street evolves more quickly than Congress does. How pliable will these regulations be about regulating future financial instruments? Because, you know, it's like any good accountant out there is always looking at the IRS regulations and say, how can I save my client money here, how can I not evade taxes but avoid taxes?
You know, Wall Street is the same way. How can we make money and you know, maybe take off some of these regulations? What new financial instruments can we -- can we possibly invent?
COHAN: Well, John, we have a compensation czar in our midst, all of a sudden. How that compensation czar is going to work with the new regime -- the regulatory regime in Washington is very important. Because until you figure out a way to reward people on Wall Street to do what you want them to do as opposed to, you know, taking crazy risks, you're going to continue to have this problem.
We have a unique moment right now to try to fix this once and for all, to create a sort of a renewed partnership among Wall Street bankers and traders like the days of yore. Have their net worth on the line for the decisions that they make. I think we'd go very far to correcting the bad behavior.
ROBERTS: And just a couple of words. If you were a betting person, would you bet that they could get it done?
FREELAND: They'll get something done. Will it work or not? Only time will tell.
ROBERTS: Chrystia, Bill, it's always great to see you. Thanks for dropping by this morning.
COHAN: Thank you, John. All right.
FREELAND: It's a pleasure.
ROBERTS: Thirty-six minutes now after the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
A quick check now of the AM rundown and the stories coming up in the next 15 minutes here in the Most News in the Morning. Caught on tape. A verbal confrontation between an Oklahoma state trooper and a paramedic. But this traffic stop was anything but routine. Got the rest of the story for you just ahead.
The nuclear standoff with North Korea will be front and center at the White House this morning when South Korea's president visits President Obama. We're going to go live to the White House in just a few minutes to give you more on that.
And identifying danger. We'll look at a new plan to keep drivers' licenses secure and the debate over the plan's merits.
Kiran?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, do you have any old stuff just sitting around in your basement or attic and you wonder maybe some of these family items, these old things we've had around are worth something? Well, now you can find out. Christine Romans shows you stuff that could be pretty eye opening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Think antiques road show meets Indiana Jones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the (INAUDIBLE). This is actually the state park of New York.
ROMANS (on camera): Been in there for a while, I would think.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes. Historians...
ROMANS: Let's see -- about 400 million years old.
(voice over): Scientists at the American Museum of Natural History identifying the public's dusted off treasures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A (INAUDIBLE) and they're very, very old. This seems to be anywhere from 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 years old.
ROMANS: This shell collection out from 15 years in the basement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You might be able to just put the whole collection on eBay and somebody might -- a private collector, might want it.
ROMANS: Dianne Fox found out for certain this is not from the 1800s. Most likely it's a prop or decorative piece.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's supposed to represent a (INAUDIBLE) helmet mask.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some of these in the -- in the northwestern hall. However, this is not -- this is a reproduction of some kind.
ROMANS: But 8-year-old Rebecca...
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Oh, my God!
ROMANS:...just found out the fossil she found in a stream is 450 million years old, from the Ordovician Period, if you remember your 9th Grade Earth Science.
(on camera): Did you think it would be 450 million years old special?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: No.
ROMANS: Mom didn't think it was a fossil but you knew it was a fossil, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Certainly worth the trip today. Thank you so much.
ROMANS (voice over): No appraisals here. This is not about money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It reminds people they can really entertain the whole family by going outside and, you know, walking in the woods and you never know what you're going to find.
ROMANS: Unanimous agreement about just what's the most valuable thing in the museum -- the scientist of the future.
(on camera): What would you think if you saw that on the wall in your house?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Scared away.
ROMANS: I'm glad he's on that side of the glass, huh?
(voice over): Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Pretty neat. Who knows what you'll find in the street?
ROBERTS: Were you a rock geek when you were a kid?
CHETRY: Yes, I loved that stuff. I loved looking at minerals and gems and we used to look for little arrow heads, you know.
ROBERTS: He used to live right near a river gorge. And he used to take my little hammer and my chisel out and find all those rocks.
CHETRY: It's fascinating when you're a kid. Still is for many of us actually. Forty-two minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty- five minutes past the hour right now. There's a live look at Atlanta. It's 95 -- now, it's 73 right now, but it's going to be 91 and mostly sunny there today. And Rob Marciano is in Atlanta.
So you guys are getting, you know, some nice, warm summery-like weather. Meanwhile, there's some tornado threats in other parts of the country, including Missouri.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: It is jacket weather. Jacket, fleece, sweater. It is cold up here. All right, Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: Got it.
ROBERTS: Well, this time of morning we usually show you our AM pics. Some of the great shots that are out there, but today those have been trumped by a piece of videotape getting a ton of views online. It's police dash cam tape capturing a shouting match between an Oklahoma state trooper and a paramedic that he pulled over for failing to yield and then giving him a one-fingered salute. The catch here? At the time of the traffic stop, the paramedic was taking a sick woman to the hospital. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED TROOPER: I'm going to give you a ticket for failure to yield. And when I go by you say, what's going on. You don't need to be giving me hand gestures now. I ain't going to put up with that (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Do you understand me?
UNIDENTIFIED PARAMEDIC: And I won't put up with you talking to my driver like that.
UNIDENTIFIED TROOPER: I ain't listening to you, buddy. You get your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) back in that ambulance and I'll take you in. I'm talking to the driver.
UNIDENTIFIED PARAMEDIC: Take me in if you would. No, we got a patient in this unit right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That's not all. A few minutes later, the two got into a scuffle when the officer tried to arrest the paramedic. He was eventually released, took his patient to the hospital, who turned out to be just fine. The trooper's attorney says his client had a right to stop the ambulance since it wasn't running with its emergency lights and sirens.
But you got to wonder, you know, if you got the police fighting with the ambulance driver, the paramedics, it's like is anybody safe?
CHETRY: Yes, exactly. Who's running the, you know, (INAUDIBLE). I mean, what a mess. But anyway, glad that all's well that ends well. The thing it wasn't somebody who was in extreme emergency. What do you do? Put the lights on.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Get the lights on at the very least but there's a lot of peeing on bushes going on there in Oklahoma.
CHETRY: Clearly, clearly. And that takes time, too. All time that you need to get to the hospital.
Forty-eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fifty-one minutes past the hour. A live look now at Washington, D.C. It's 70 going up to 77. It will be mostly sunny today in the nation's capital.
And President Obama is going to be meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in just a few hours at the White House. The two nations are taking their alliance to the next level as they confront the threat from North Korea. It comes as the president keeps a close watch on developments with Iran as well.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is the only reporter live and out at the White House this early.
And there's a lot on the agenda today for President Obama, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. There are a lot of challenges, obviously, the president is looking at. These two leaders are going to sit down, and the main point here is obviously to show a united front against North Korea, South Korea's dangerous, threatening neighbor, for both of them to come out and say that they will not accept a nuclear state in North Korea. They will both condemn the latest tests from North Korea.
They'll also talk about the U.N. Security Council's sanctions against North Korea and we will hear the president talk about enforcing those sanctions.
So what are we talking about? We're talking about taking a look at interdicting and intercepting some of those North Korean trips that may be actually carrying nuclear technology, that type of thing. He's going to talk about that as well as pledge the United States' defense of South Korea if North Korea attacks it militarily.
So, those are some of the things that they're going to be talking about, putting some real teeth behind those U.N. Security Council sanctions.
And then it is equally important to realize that one of the things that's going on is that he is also going to be meeting -- the South Korean leader meeting with the Treasury secretary, with the U.S. trade envoy. There's some important U.S. trade deals with South Korea involving eliminating terrorists and also auto industries trying to bolster, create jobs here at home.
Those are the kinds of things they're going to be discussing as well -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning at the White House. Big challenges ahead for sure. We'll see how that meeting turns out today. Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Sure following a couple of big stories today. Of course, seven people were killed in Iran yesterday, in Tehran during demonstrations. More demonstrations are planned for today. We'll be taking a look at potential fallout from all of that.
As well, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, her confirmation hearings are coming up in less than a month's time. We're going to be talking with Anita Hill (ph) this morning about Sotomayor's qualifications. They were in law school, not the same class, but certainly the same school, a year apart. We'll get her take on that and what this all could mean going forward.
Fifty-three minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Terrorist who breezed by security and boarded airplanes on September the 11th opened our eyes to serious problems regarding identification in this country. So real I.D. was born. It was supposed to tighten requirements for driver licenses, but states it cost way too much. So now you have a cheaper and looser alternative.
Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now for that.
Good morning, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. But some say this new legislation introduced Monday is common sense, but others say it is Russian roulette
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): On September 11th, 2001, at least six hijackers used fraudulently obtained driver's licenses to board airplanes. But Real I.D., which tightened requirements for issuing licenses, brought howls of protest from some states, who estimated it could cost $4 billion to implement.
Monday, new legislation, called Pass I.D., was introduced. It would be less expensive and give states more flexibility. But critics say it gives the nation less security.
REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: Basically, we're going back to a system that was abused, which resulted in the biggest domestic tragedy in the history of our country.
MESERVE: The new legislation would remove two problematic parts of Real I.D. -- a requirement that states authenticate documents like birth certificates used to get a license and the creation of a national database to ensure that applicants don't hold multiple licenses in multiple states.
Although the federal government pushed back deadlines and provided some funding for Real I.D., 11 states passed legislation prohibiting its implementation and a 12th is expected to follow suit, undermining its effectiveness.
DAVID QUAM, NATIONAL GOVERNOR'S ASSOCIATION: Under Real I.D., if you've got 12 states who just refuse to participate, you have Swiss cheese security.
MESERVE: When she was governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano signed legislation opting out of Real I.D. Now secretary of Homeland Security, she is embracing the substitute, Pass I.D.
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It will actually achieve the security goals of Real I.D. It's really a refinement, if you were -- will, of Real I.D., but in a way that the states will actually put into effect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Civil liberties groups hate Real I.D. but they don't like the substitute, saying either one would make driver's license a de facto national I.D -- John.
ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve, reporting for us this morning from Washington. Jeanne, thanks so much for that.
