Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

U.K. Hacking Scandal Widens; Negotiations Resume on Debt Ceiling; Hamid Karzai's Half-Brother Assassinated; The Help Desk; Government To Require Menu Info; Walgreens Puts Disabled To Work

Aired July 12, 2011 - 11:59   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed.

The deadline to raise the nation's debt ceiling, just 21 days away. And this today from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. He says, as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution is unattainable.

Well, despite the pessimism, the president and congressional leaders are meeting again this afternoon to work towards a solution.

New cloak-and-dagger details about Osama bin Laden and that raid that captured him. In the run-up, the CIA reportedly sent medical workers to bin Laden's neighborhood to vaccinate people. Agents hoped to get DNA proof bin Laden or his relatives were in the house. CNN's Reza Sayah reports the Pakistani doctor who led the operation is now in custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have spoken to about six residents in Abbottabad who tell us in late April, two nurses, two female health workers, were going house to house administering these vaccinations.

So there are some fascinating details and it really drives home, guys, the efforts it took by the CIA to find and locate bin Laden back in May.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai was assassinated today. A bodyguard gunned down Ahmed Wali Karzai in Kandahar. The Taliban say the bodyguard was on their payroll.

Karzai was linked to drug trafficking. He was even said to be a CIA informant. Karzai always denied both of those claims.

Well, divers are pulling bodies from a cruise ship at the bottom of Russia's Volga River. The number of dead climbed to 116 today. Russian prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into the tragedy. They say that the boat was not licensed to carry passengers when it sank on Sunday.

Today is a national day of mourning in Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The vessel sank within three minutes. There were no announcements. It flipped to the right side, swerved and went down.

There were no explosions, nothing. We were literally thrown out. That's how we survived.

Our whole family was on that ship. We lost everybody, my wife and grandchildren.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It's going to feel like 105 to 115 degrees in almost half the states across the country today. It's unbelievable.

A midsummer heat wave is spreading out the Plains into the Northeast. Advisories for dangerous heat reach from Oklahoma, across the south to New England. Humidity levels are extraordinarily high today as well. Now, that makes it difficult for the body to cool itself down.

A funeral for former first lady Betty Ford is this afternoon. First lady Michelle Obama and three of her predecessors will attend the Episcopal service in Palm Desert, California, where the Fords lived after the White House. Mrs. Ford will be buried Thursday next to her husband, President Gerald Ford, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

It's the first time a visiting shuttle crew has sat out a spacewalk. Astronauts from the International Space Station are the ones outside today to unhook a broken cooling pump. Atlantis has just four crew members for its final mission. All have their hands full with some other aspects of the spacewalk.

"CNN In-Depth." It is being called Rupert Murdoch's Watergate. Former prime minister Gordon Brown says that newspaper reporters at "The Sunday Times" spied on his bank accounts, and that "The Sun," another British paper owned by Murdoch, published sensitive details about Brown's child.

This comes just days after a phone-hacking scandal forced Murdoch to shut down the "News of the World." It's a sprawling disgrace for News Corp with implications for media outlets all over the world. And now Murdoch and his top editors are being called to testify now in the case.

David Carr is a columnist at "The New York Times" who writes about business, as well as media. And he's been following the story closely and he joins us.

First of all, thanks for being here.

We know that former British prime minister Gordon Brown is accusing Murdoch's British papers as having "links with criminals." Now, in your column, you accuse them of having links with politicians.

What is the significance of this link? What does this mean?

DAVID CARR, COLUMNIST, "NEW YORK TIMES": I'm sure it's hard, Suzanne, for a lot of Americans to understand how the leader of a country could be hacked by newspapers. And two things are going on.

One is, the British newspaper culture, Fleet Street, is so much more competitive and so much more generally reckless in terms of how they get information. And Britain is such a smaller place. It's more like -- it seems more like Chicago politics than what you would see in terms of the Beltway.

The problem I think that News Corp has is the rays that are shooting toward law enforcement. They hacked Buckingham Palace, they hacked 10 Downing Street. They had police connections. And now it turns out they investigated the people who were investigating them, which looks a little more like an ongoing criminal enterprise than it does like a news organization.

MALVEAUX: So how powerful were these publications? Could they essentially make or break political careers?

CARR: There's a lot of argument over that, whether Rupert Murdoch and News International, the papers he controlled there, could actually elect a prime minister or not. What Mr. Murdoch has been very, very skilled at, both in the U.S. and in Britain, is timing his endorsements so whether the outcome was forgone or not, it seems like he was very much part of it.

And there was also in Britain a system of punishment. When people tried to take on News Corp, they ended up being -- months and months being treated as a pinata in the tabloid press. So it made people less eager to step up and say something.

MALVEAUX: And David, were there any controls or limits to what these papers could do?

CARR: Boy, it's really hard to tell from a distance. You know, you have Rebekah Brooks saying it's inconceivable that she knew of any of this hacking.

How can you hack 4,000 people, end up with hundreds of stories, many of them full of really, you know, delicious personal stuff that you would only learn from phone calls, and not, as an editor, ask where it had come from. Go ahead.

MALVEAUX: David, I was just wondering, you know, the question that we have on our minds, is this really a Watergate moment for British journalism? I mean, this smear campaign against Gordon Brown, do you think it was politically motivated, that the paper actually had something -- some skin in the game here to trash a politician? That one in particular, the prime minister?

CARR: Well, if you remember Watergate, the dynamics were different. It was government trying to rub out its enemies. In this instance, you have media powers looking either for circulation or for operational leverage, going after politicians and telling them how it's going to be. It's a little scary, I guess, for the average American to think about things that way, but again, you have to remember, Britain is a much smaller place, it plays by very different rules.

MALVEAUX: All right. David Carr, thank you so much.

CARR: Oh, a pleasure.

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

First, you just heard how the phone-hacking scandal could take down a major media mogul. Well, we have the attorney of the family of the girl who forced the world to pay attention to this.

Then, we are live at the White House as both sides resume talks about the debt ceiling.

And shame, scandal, now tears over Atlanta's public schools.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I failed to protect thousands of children, children who come from homes like mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Then, guessing games are over. Inside some fast-food franchises. How counting calories just got a whole lot easier.

And some of the world's best young minds take center stage at the Google Science Fair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California, for what the company says is the largest science fair in the world. They got 7,500 entries from teenagers all over the planet, and now it's down to the final 15.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Democrats and Republicans hold another round of talks today on raising the country's debt limit and reducing the deficit. And the Obama administration is pushing for a deal sooner rather than later.

Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian, he's joining us with an update.

And Dan, I guess we heard from the treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, today, kind of stepping up the sense of urgency. Why do you suppose he did that? And what did he say?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what he's trying to do is essentially push this theme that the president has been pushing, that he still wants to go for the biggest, most comprehensive deal possible, because this administration believes that that's the best thing for the economy not only over the long term, but also the short term as well. We also heard Secretary Geithner talk about the need for not only Republicans, but Democrats to take some of the heat, realizing that whatever they decide may not be popular with their base.

But as the clock ticks down, what's clear is that they're running out of time here. Two sides still far apart, and Secretary Geithner saying that a deal has to be reached either by the end of this week, or the latest by next week, giving time for this legislation to be put together and to be passed.

Nonetheless, he sounded optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: Congress, of course, is going to pass an increase in the debt limit in time for us to avoid default. You know, we're a country that pays its bills, and I very much appreciate the statements by the leadership, not just Democrats, but Republican leadership, that they recognize default is not an option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Taxes remains the main issue. House Speaker John Boehner saying that even taxes on the wealthy is not something that should be done in this economic climate. He says that that's not the way to cut spending. He says the way to do that, to control spending, he says, is to essentially fix the economy and create more jobs.

And on the Senate floor this morning, we heard from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had some tough words for President Obama, saying, "In my view, the president has presented us with three choices: smoke and mirrors, tax hikes, or default. Republicans choose none of the above. I had hoped to do good, but I refuse to do harm."

So that sort of sets the theme for that next meeting, which is set for 3:45 this afternoon -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Wow. Some tough words there.

LOTHIAN: That's right.

MALVEAUX: All right, Dan. Thanks for keeping us posted. Appreciate it.

LOTHIAN: OK.

MALVEAUX: Here are your choices for today's "Choose the News." First, captured soldiers once fighting for Moammar Gadhafi talk to CNN. Hear their firsthand accounts of the battlefield and information Gadhafi doesn't want the rest of the world to know.

Second, the uplifting story of a man who took his personal experience and transferred it to the workplace. Now his business focuses on hiring mentally challenged workers. Other businesses are looking to cash in on his unique plan.

And third, survival through soccer. A new league for the homeless is aimed at helping players develop confidence, a sense of teamwork, and even make friends, with the hope of getting them back on their feet.

You can vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Soldiers Reveal Secrets"; 2 for "Unique Business Plan"; or 3 for "Survival Through Soccer."

The winning story is going to air later this hour.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Ahmed Karzai, was shot and killed today, gunned down by a bodyguard in Kandahar. The Taliban say the shooter was on their payroll.

Nic Robertson joins us live from London.

And Nic, if you can give us a sense of Karzai's brother, whether or not we know much about him. Some people said he was a drug trafficker. Others said that he worked as an informant for the CIA.

Who was this guy? And how important was he to the United States and to Afghanistan?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was hugely important to his brother, Hamid Karzai, the president, because really, he was his eyes and ears, his political fixer in the south of the country. So really, for President Karzai, he was a very important stabilizing and controlling figure in the south of Afghanistan, in the Kandahar region.

Certainly, there had been a lot of rumors about him, rumors that he was involved in the drug trade, rumors that he has built military forces that have helped on CIA-led operations inside Afghanistan, and he has certainly never been able to disquiet those rumors. And they have been around now for a number of years. But this is a man who it's very hard to find people in Kandahar who will say a bad word against him.

When I was there asking government officials about him just before Christmas last year, no one would say a bad word about him, which to me, at the time, felt very much like an indication that he was the real strongman in Kandahar. And really, that's the person that he was. Whether or not he was amassing illegal wealth, whether or not he was fixing sort of cronyism-type political deals, he was a real power broker there -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: What does that mean for Hamid Karzai, the president?

ROBERTSON: Well, it puts him on a much weaker footing.

I think one of the things that we're going to see happening over the next couple years in Afghanistan, as all parties there realize that U.S. forces, NATO forces are going to draw down, we are going to see Afghans reverting to the sort of conflict that they were having before we got involved there, fighting for control of resources, of different interests within the country, and this could just be part of that bigger picture. We have seen the police chief in Kandahar killed this year, for example, and Hamid Karzai's brother would certainly fit that picture as being somebody that many people want to get rid of in Afghanistan.

MALVEAUX: And Nic, isn't that kind of worrisome, though, when you think about it? Because you've got American troops that are going to be pulling out of Afghanistan. I mean, what does this say about the Afghan people's ability to even protect themselves?

ROBERTSON: The situation with him removed is certainly, in the short term, at last, and probably in the medium term, is a destabilized one in Kandahar. He certainly -- with him gone, that will leave the way open for other people to try and sort of flex their muscles, be it political, be it military. And they will try to do that in an environment where there are U.S. troops, where there are NATO troops, and those forces could bear the brunt of that instability.

He was a guy that coalition forces would rely on to sort of be involved in fixing deals. With him gone, those deals aren't going to get fixed, so you're going to have those failed deals spilling out into blood feuds, into fights on the streets, or whatever. It's going to be less stable -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Not good news. All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

Well, a mixed day so far for stocks. Alison Kosik, she's at the New York Stock Exchange with a market update.

Hey, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne.

Yes, you said it. It is mixed here. But you know what? Mixed is good compared to what we've seen the past few days, after yesterday's 150-point drop on the Dow.

Right now, we've got the Dow higher by 18, the Nasdaq off by six. So it looks like that sell-off yesterday turned into a bit of a buying opportunity.

But you know what? Those concerns are still there. Take your pick.

We've got the lousy jobs numbers, other weak U.S. data. We've got the worries over Greece and Italy defaulting on their debt. And then, of course, the worries that the U.S. will default if its debt limit isn't raised soon.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner coming out today, saying that he wants a deal by next week. So that also helping to give the market a bit of a boost.

Earnings season also kicked off with aluminum maker Alcoa yesterday. Not giving much excitement to the market, though. Wall Street, Suzanne, is looking at a report from the Federal Reserve that may give more clues to how the economic recovery is going -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Alison.

We're going to take a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are working on.

Celebrities, royalty, a former prime minister. No one was safe from hacking until journalists with Rupert Murdoch's media empire allegedly went after a dead girl's cell phone. Her family's attorney is up next.

Then, a former school board chairman reduced now to tears when he remembers how he failed Atlanta's children.

And later, some of the world's most distinguished dignitaries lining up to say farewell to a former American first lady.

Well, Britain's former prime minister Tony Blair says that the scope of the phone-hacking scandal doesn't shock him, but Blair says the British people are shocked by the lack of basic journalistic standards.

Blair sat down with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, FMR. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What is important is to realize this is not about one group of newspapers or one part of the media or one type of procedure -- in this case, hacking. It's about a whole range of things that need to be looked at so that we understand what's acceptable and what isn't acceptable, because in a way, what I was trying to say to you earlier was that I think as a result of this, over the years, you tolerated what in a sense is intolerable. But you did it because, look, when you're the prime minister, you're running a country. To just go out there every day and start complaining about the media, the public would say, well, that's fine, but get on with your job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, CNN's "In Depth," it's a scandal that is affecting everyone from the former prime minister to the queen. But the public outcry was perhaps the loudest when the world learned that a young murder victim's phone had allegedly been hacked by journalists at the British tabloid "News of the World."

Now, that tabloid, it's now closed, going out of print this Sunday, after the scandal caught fire. Its parent company, News Corp, is reeling, but the family of Milly Dowler are still looking for justice.

I'm joined now by the Dowler family lawyer, Mark Lewis.

Mark, thanks for joining us again here.

First of all, the family. Do they feel satisfied in any way with the shutting down of that paper? Is that enough for them?

MARK LEWIS, LAWYER FOR DOWLER FAMILY: Well, they never wanted to shut down the paper. The crimes were committed by individuals. They weren't committed by the newspaper. They got rid of the title, but that wasn't the end of it.

MALVEAUX: Do they feel that any good has come of this paper closing?

LEWIS: Well, the only good that's come out of it -- and we hope it's going to be launched -- is that people are now looking at the situation. This was a company that employed criminals. It had convicted criminals who acted for it.

This is an issue of corporate governance. There's all sorts of issues that we have to look at, we have to look at properly.

MALVEAUX: And what legal action is the family seeking here? I mean, how far up the ladder would you like to see this thing go?

LEWIS: Well, the legal action is going to take its course and see. But there are several claims the family itself will be pursuing.

There are also going to be criminal charges. And I'm sure that investigations will lead to charges. But they won't get the answers. So what the family are looking for and what the victims of phone hacking and other matters are looking for is to find out the truth, to find out what was going on with the newspaper, with the company, and with other newspapers.

MALVEAUX: Why do you think they won't get the truth? Why do you think they won't actually find those answers?

LEWIS: Well, they won't necessarily get the truth from civil actions, and they won't necessarily get the truth from criminal actions. Civil actions can be closed down by settlements for money. The criminal actions can be closed down by people pleading guilty or by sample charges in respect of a few. Judicial -- MALVEAUX: I think we have lost our guest there. We did lose him. But obviously, the attorney for the Dowler family.

The Dowler family, being the family whose young teenager was kidnapped and then found dead. And "News of the World" allegedly hacking that teen's phone.

Well, a reminder to vote for today's Choose the News winner. You can vote by texting 22360. Text 1 to see captured Libyan soldiers reveal information from the battlefield and secrets that Moammar Gadhafi does not want the world to know. Text 2 for a new business model that focuses on hiring and training mentally challenged workers and the enormous success that that's having. And text 3 to see a unique soccer league that focuses on helping the homeless get back on their feet. Winning story's going to air later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A long list of dignitaries take part in the funeral of former first lady Betty Ford this afternoon in Palm Desert, California. Our CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is live in Palm Desert with a preview. Obviously, a lot of people having a great deal of respect for the former first lady. Who do we expect to see?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, what we understand right now is that in a few hours, first lady Michelle Obama will be here as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, her husband, former president Bill Clinton, also former president George W. Bush and former first lady, Nancy Reagan.

All of this, Suzanne, should begin in less than two hours. There will be a private visitation for the Ford family and then at 2:00 local, 5:00 Eastern, begins a national tribute. It will be a private funeral.

And you know, one of the things I found very interesting, Suzanne, is that Betty Ford was very instrumental in selecting some of the details of her own funeral. This was years in the making. Lots of plans for this. We're told that she selected the eulogists, including her very close friend, Rosalind Carter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY WILLARD, FORD FAMILY SPOKESMAN: The relationship that Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Carter had was one of the deepest and I think richest in Mrs. Ford's life, and it was -- it embodied a similar friendship between President Carter and President Ford and the two couples. And it was a wonderful, wonderful friendship, one that was very dear to Mrs. Ford.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Both of the first ladies were very active in promoting causes such as mental health and also bringing attention to substance abuse. And we were told that at one point when they testified before Congress in 1996 that one of the senators said they were an absolute force to be reckoned with. So, two ladies who were very close, one will eulogize the other today at 2:00 local. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Very powerful figures. Is the public, Thelma, going to have a chance to pay their respects as well?

GUTIERREZ: Yes, absolutely. There will be a plan -- the funeral will be private, but at 5:00 local through midnight, her body will lay in repose and so the public will be shuttled into this area, Suzanne, so that they can pay their respects. and there's a similar plan that has been laid out for Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Thursday, private funeral for the family and then again, a public viewing for the people there in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thelma, thank you very much. Thelma Gutierrez.

The Atlanta public school system has been rocked by a cheating scandal, and it begins the process of cleaning up the mess. The interim head of the system replaced four area superintendents and one principal. A report found that more than 170 teachers and principals were involved in this scandal. Some could even face criminal charges.

Last night, a board member and former chairman resigned his post to accept an out-of-state position. He made an emotional apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHAATIM SHERRER EL, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: I failed to protect thousands of children. Children who come from homes like mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEUAX: The scandal in the Atlanta school system now reaches all the way to Texas. Our Ed Lavandera is explaining why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a few months before the Atlanta public schools scandal erupted nationally, Dr. Kathy Augustine left her job in Atlanta as a deputy superintendent and was hired as the head of the DeSoto public schools, a Dallas suburb.

But on her very first day on the job, protesters turned out and the DeSoto school board decided to put her on paid administrative leave. This after Augustine's name appeared prominently in that scathing Georgia state report. After a late-night school board meeting, Augustine addressed the testing scandal in front of her new bosses.

SANDRA WHEELER, FORMER DEPUTY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT IN ATLANTA: In my 12 years of service in Atlanta, at no time did I have any knowledge of widespread cheating on state standardized tests. From the very first time we met, I have endeavored to be honest, open and forthcoming about the ongoing investigation.

LAVANDERA: Dr. Kathy Augustine was described by other employees as the godmother of the Atlanta public school system. That description is part of the Georgia report chronicling a decade of cheating on standardized tests by Atlanta public school educators. The report accuses Augustine of erroneously reporting students' scores and concluded that she either knew or should have known cheating was occurring in the Atlanta school system.

Many DeSoto parents are dismayed Augustine was brought to town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the superintendent being the face of the community and constantly there, what face are they seeing? The face of someone who is unethical? The face of someone who falsified information?

LAVANDERA: Augustine says she was candid with the DeSoto school district about the Atlanta investigation before she was hired. She denies wrongdoing in the cheating scandal and says she is shocked and disappointed.

The former Atlanta school superintendent, Beverly Hall, who was named national superintendent of the year back in 2009, can't escape the growing scandal, either. Hall was tracked down by reporters while on vacation in Hawaii with her husband. When asked about the scandal, she refused to answer any questions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Ed Lavandera joins us live from Dallas. Ed, how long do we think that Kathy Augustine is going to be on paid leave? Does it look like she'll be able to do her job there in Texas?

LAVANDERA: I think that's still very much up in the air, described as an indefinite time of leave. It is paid, as we mentioned. But I think obviously this gives the school board members there a little bit more time here in the Dallas suburb area of DeSoto to go over more of that report, give it more time to see what other kind of revelations emerge as far as Dr. Kathy Augustine's involvement in the scandal there in Atlanta.

There is also some push from some there people at the board meeting yesterday, look, this woman hasn't been convicted, hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing. She should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. So there is some sentiment of that as well. But it's interesting to see just the fallout of this massive scandal in the Atlanta area.

MALVEAUX: OK. Quite a bit of fallout. Thank you, Ed.

Next hour, the acting superintendent for Atlanta public schools is going to be Randi Kaye's live guest. You don't want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The Google science fair is now the place for creative young teens with a science project and a dream to showcase their talent. Thousands participated from around the world, and our CNN Silicon Valley correspondent Dan Simon is joining us live from San Francisco to tell us all about it. Hey, Dan. DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne. I'm telling you, some of these kids could be scientists today. That's no exaggeration. Google put out word to kids all over the planet and said come up with your best science experiment and put your project online. And some of these submissions were pretty incredible. The topics really ranged from health to education to green energy.

We were there yesterday and talked to some of these kids. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: We're at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California for what the company says is the largest science fair in the world. They got 7,500 entries from teenagers all over the planet. And now it's down to the final 15.

What is your project, what were you trying to look for?

LAUREN HODGE, SCIENCE FAIR FINALIST: I was basically studying the effects of marinades on chicken. When you grill chicken, there are actually proteins that form carcinogens when you grill them. And I was just studying the effects on marinades, and some marinades actually interfere with the process and stop the carcinogens from forming.

ANAND SRINISASAN, SCIENCE FAIR FINALIST: I came across this unique engineering problem, constructing a replacement for the irreplaceable human limb.

SIMON: What do you want your technology to lead to ultimately?

SRINISASAN: This was designed with amputees in mind.

DANIEL ARNOLD, SCIENCE FAIR FINALIST: Basically I'm testing different types of track switches to see which ones prevent derailments if the train runs through them the wrong way.

SIMON: Where did this interest come from in studying train derailments?

ARNOLD: As you can see from the wall back here, I have been interested in trains for a long time. I volunteer on trains in San Diego.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: All right, Dan, so who won?

SIMON: Well, the winner was a teenager from Fort Worth, Texas. Her name is Shree Bose. And she developed some theories about ovarian cancer and drugs to treat the cancer. And according to the judges, she helped, you know, better the understanding of cancers in general. And, look, she's just a high school student from Ft. Worth, Texas. And she went in front of this incredible panel of science luminaries and Nobel Laureates and they said she is the winner. And she will get a $50,000 scholarship to the college of her choice. And something tells me, Suzanne, she won't have any problems getting in to the school of her choice.

Back to you.

MALVEAUX: Yes, something tells me perhaps she will even find a cure for cancer. My gosh, that's unbelievable. Well, thanks. Well, congratulations to her. Thanks, Dan.

Well, the calorie content of your favorite foods could be soon required reading at restaurant chains. We're going to tell you what the government is trying to do with this plan.

But first, here's some free money advice from the CNN "Help Desk."

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, we have Jack Otter, the executive editor at cbsmoneywatch.com, and Ryan Mack, the president of Optimum Capital Management.

Thanks for being here, guys.

Interesting questions today. Carol in New York writes this. "I have a credit card that is charging me an annual fee of $59. My credit is good and I make my payments on time. Should I close this card and pay it off? I have another credit card that does not charge an annual fee."

So, what do you think, Ryan, does she need these two?

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, first of all, before you get a credit card, I always advocate individuals not get a card with an annual fee attached to it. I've never heard somebody getting rich off of frequent flyer miles. So we have to get those things out of the way.

But since she does have that card, the question that she has to ask is, looking at her emergency fund, does she have nine to 12 months living expenses and are three of the six of those living expenses covered by her line of credit, and in the elimination of that credit card cut in to her total line of credit that she would need for a case of emergency? If it does, I probably wouldn't cut it off and try to maximize the different perks that come with the card. But if it doesn't, and she has enough, then cancel that credit card. But just understand, 30 percent of your FICO score is your balance to your (INAUDIBLE) ratio. When you cancel the score, the FICO score is going to decrease a little bit. Give yourself about six months to try to recoup and reestablish that FICO score after you (INAUDIBLE).

HARLOW: That's why you don't want 10 credit cards and then cancel them left and right.

MACK: Exactly.

HARLOW: A question for you, Jack, from Linda in Georgia. Linda writes, "I want to retire in June 2012. I will turn 66 in November 2012. I've been delaying filing for Social security until November. Can I still receive full benefits?

JACK OTTER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CBSMONEYWATCH.COM: I hope she means November of 2012. She can't -- or she could start this November. She would get some benefits. But her FRA, as they call it, the full retirement age, doesn't occur until she turns 66 in November 2012. So I would encourage her to wait until then to tap social Security. Even better, if possible, for every year she waits until age 70, her monthly benefit goes up. If she's got a history of longevity in her family, if she could be living into her 80s or 90s, she'd be really happy if she waits until age 70 to take those benefits. If not, at least wait until 66.

HARLOW: So delay gratification. It will make it a lot easier the older you get, obviously.

OTTER: Exactly.

HARLOW: Thank you guys so much.

And if you have a question that you want answered, just send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Would you eat french fries at a restaurant if you could actually see the calorie count? Well, a provision of the new health reform law will make it mandatory for information about your favorite high calorie indulgence to be placed right there on the menu. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us.

Kind of takes a little of the fun out of eating your favorite food.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, you go to a restaurant and you sit down, you're settling in for a nice meal and then it's like, wham, there's how many calories.

MALVEAUX: This is the information. Tell us -- give us some examples here.

COHEN: OK.

MALVEAUX: You've got some good ones set up.

COHEN: Exactly. So you go to KFC and you get popcorn chicken with some potato wedges and that's 850 calories. Now, remember, you're supposed to have about 2,200 a day. So that is a big chunk of your daily allowance.

But that's nothing compared to a bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys with a large fries. That's 2,384 calories. This is a lot of fries. I guess some people could eat that much.

MALVEAUX: Yes, a lot of fries there. COHEN: Now, here's another one. A blooming onion, OK, 1,551. Now I was telling you before, Ali Velshi and Kiran Chetry said they could eat that on their own.

MALVEAUX: I just -- I could not -- I could not do that.

COHEN: Each of them. No, I couldn't either.

MALVEAUX: Sorry, I could not handle that blooming onion.

COHEN: You and I will go out and share one of these later, right, OK, and --

MALVEAUX: Yes, and with a couple friends.

COHEN: Right, with a couple of friends.

And this is one that's sort of surprising. This is a Waldorf chicken salad from California Pizza Kitchen with the dressing on it, blue cheese dressing, 1,347 calories.

MALVEAUX: So you've got some of these places that are slapping on the calorie count. How is that working -- working out for folks?

COHEN: Right, some places have already started doing this in various parts of the country. And it's interesting. Some studies show that it really does matter. That people see this and that they make other choices when they see the calories or they only eat half of it. Other studies show that people really don't care. I mean I think it really depends on who you are and how much you watch your diet.

MALVEAUX: And do we know when this would become law or if it affects particular restaurants or is it everybody?

COHEN: It affects big chains. So you have to have at least 20 restaurants in the United States. So no mom and pop places. It affects chains. And it would go into -- it would be -- go -- yes, the law would go into effect end of this year, beginning of next year.

MALVEAUX: Are there other things that have been shown to work besides labeling the calories?

COHEN: You know what's interesting? There is some evidence that when you put these numbers in context, people get it better. So if you say that, you know, this is, you know, more than 2,000 calories, that this is more calories than you're supposed to get in the whole day. So 2,384 is more than most people should get in a day, and you're getting it at one sitting, at one meal, that it makes people go, wait a minute. Hold on a second. So putting it in context often helps.

MALVEAUX: Yes, slow your roll a little. And, you know, one thing I noticed here, Elizabeth, these are huge portions.

COHEN: They are.

MALVEAUX: I mean this is a lot of food for one sitting. COHEN: It is a lot of -- well, obviously, you wouldn't eat all of this. That would be pretty amazing. But I think what happens is that people start to think this is normal. They think that this is a normal amount of food to have for lunch because everyone else is eating it and that's what restaurants are serving.

MALVEAUX: Right, that's what you're served.

COHEN: So, you know, you think it's big, but I think more and more, especially young people, think that's just what a serving is supposed to look like.

MALVEAUX: All right. This is great information. It's a wake-up call there when you think about it because that's your whole day.

COHEN: It is. I think the numbers matter. I know I've changed what I've ordered. When I sat down and the numbers are there, I personally have changed what I've ordered because I see the numbers.

MALVEAUX: Yes, I try to avoid some of this stuff at all costs.

COHEN: Yes.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: OK. Thanks.

MALVEAUX: You want to go to lunch?

COHEN: Sure. After this, let's go.

MALVEAUX: Yes. OK.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Time for your "Choose The News" winner. In Connecticut, one company wants more diversity in its workforce, but the focus is not just on ethnicity or race. Alison Kosik explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: With every box that's opened, every button that's pressed, and every crate that's sorted, employees at this Walgreens distribution center in Windsor, Connecticut, are breaking down barriers. Just ask Julie Williard.

JULIE WILLIARD, WALGREENS TEAM MEMBER: It's my dream to work here. It is OK to be yourself and it's OK to be deaf. And it's OK to have disabilities while you work.

KOSIK: More than 40 percent of the people working here report having a disability. BRYAN HANDY, WALGREENS TEAM MEMBER: When you have autism like I have, it's tough to overcome it when you work. And when you get better at it, then you'll pick up the pace and go from there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I may have a seizure that will cause me to fall backward.

KOSIK (on camera): This is something that you think has held you back in the past?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it has.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The thing that makes this building different is that people are accepted. Everyone is working right next to each other. Eighty percent of this department is people with disabilities and you really can't tell one from the other.

KOSIK (voice-over): And that's the point.

KOSIK (on camera): Did this idea also come out of something personal in your life?

RANDY LEWIS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, (ph): Certainly. I mean I have a son with autism who is now 23.

KOSIK (voice-over): For Walgreens' Randy Lewis, what began as an experiment has been a revelation for the company which now plans to introduce Lewis' program in its retail stores.

LEWIS: We sell people with disabilities short. We think their abilities are like this. What we found is they're much broader.

KOSIK: Equality is at the core of Walgreen's inclusive hiring policy. Equal pay, equal work and equal expectations, sometimes with a little help to make sure everyone can meet those expectations.

JENNY CASTLE, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER: If you look up here at this workstation, we have a picture of a cow. So this whole department is called "the zoo." This is station 11. But if I don't know numbers, 11 doesn't mean anything to me. So we name it the cow station as well.

KOSIK: The special accommodations cost the company less than $25 per worker and Lewis says workers with disabilities have fewer workplace accidents, lower absenteeism and lower turnover than people without disabilities.

LEWIS: It's the people without disabilities who realize that we are a community. That we're part of something bigger. Yes, we're capitalists and we have to serve our shareholders, but we have to serve each other and other community.

KOSIK: Alison Kosik, CNN, Windsor, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye.

Hey, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Suzanne. Thank you.