[Nguyen:] Checking our top stories right now, it may be time to double check your credit card statements. A company that processes Visa and MasterCard transactions says it's been the victim of a computer hacker. More than 40 million credit card accounts could be affect. The FBI is investigating. Oil prices have hit an all time high. Prices set at $58.47 a barrel yesterday. Traders say the market is being driven by increasing demand and fears that a rough hurricane season can set back U.S. refineries. And the U.S. Open is wide open. Three players share the top of the leader board. But there are 24 golfers within five shots of the three leaders, and this is just at the halfway point. The trial of a man suspected in the 1964 triple murder of civil rights workers resumes in just over an hour from now. We'll take you live to Mississippi to the courthouse there at the top of the hour for an update on that. But first, a lot of radio air play, a lot of fan fixation. What song wouldn't want this kind of attention? Well, instead of being just a hit, the song is taking hits for lyrics some call outlandish, others call outstanding. It's from a single unwed mother who was once struggling but is now successful enough to sing about living through it.
[Begin Video Clip From "baby Mama" By Fantasia, Courtesy Aol Music) Baby Mama:] B-A-B-Y M-A-M-A. This goes out to all my baby mamas. This goes out to all my baby mamas.
[Nguyen:] A catchy tune, a touchy topic. ""Baby Mama, "" a song by former "American Idol" winner Fantasia. It salutes young, unwed many thanks. Fantasia was single and 17 when she became a parent. For some, the song is a touching tribute; for others, a bitter ballad denounced as encouraging teen pregnancy. It's been chided in chat rooms, like America's debate, blasted by blogs and criticized by several columnists for lyrics like these. [Begin Video Clip From "baby Mama" By Fantasia, Courtesy Aol Music]
[Baby Mama:] Don't know what took so long, cause nowadays it's like a badge of honor to be a baby mama.
[Debbie Schlussel, Conservative Radio Talk Show:] Saying that somebody is a badge of honor by their very status as a single mother and that they deserve a national holiday is certainly glorifying it. And I'm saying Fantasia Barrino is sending the wrong message when she sings this song. If she didn't want to glorify it, she shouldn't have come out with this song.
[Nguyen:] One recent report says 34 percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they turn 20. Fantasia says she's not trying to glorify teen pregnancy, just gain greater acceptance for teen mothers. While Fantasia's manager says she wasn't available to talk to CNN, this is what she recently told
[Mtv. Fantasia Barrino:] I'm a young mother. I caught a lot of flak for being a young mama. She's a young mom. She can't finish school. She can't do this. She can't do that. And when I did it, I said I want a song for all those young parents. I want a song to encourage them and let them know, regardless of what you've done, your past, you can better yourself, whatever it is you want to do. Whether this song is a badge of honor or a mark of shame depends on who you ask. Sophia Barnett, who herself was a teen mother, says the song made her happy.
[Sophia Barnett, Mother:] I was proud because I don't think she was glorifying having a baby, you know, out of wedlock. I think what she was doing was trying to motivate women to keep going and give them praise for what they're doing. [Begin Video Clip From "baby Mama" By Fantasia, Courtesy Aol Music]
[Baby Mama:] I see ya workin'ya job. I see ya goin'to school.
[Nguyen:] So, is "Baby Mama" motivational or is it detrimental to the campaign to curb teen pregnancy? We want to delve deeper into this issue. And joining me now are two women with two different opinions. Brenda Rhode Miller is the executive director of the D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. And Kalisha Wright Smith is a young mother. They join me from Washington, D.C. And we appreciate you both being with us today. Kalisha, let's start with you. How did you become a young mother? What were the circumstances behind that?
[Kalisha Wright Smith, Young Mother:] Hi. Good morning. Thank you for having me. I became a young mother when I was 19 years old. I had my daughter, who is now three, while I was a sophomore at Howard University.
[Nguyen:] OK. So when you hear this song, what does it say to you?
[Wright Smith:] I can understand why some people disagree with this song, but I agree with the sentiments of the song. Although the terminology can be something that other people would see as negative, I agree that we should praise motherhood that has positive parenting in any shape or form that it comes.
[Nguyen:] All right, Brenda, I want to bring you in now. Are you worried that songs like this are glorifying teen polygamy?
[Brenda Rhode Miller, Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy:] Well, I think the song is really about us as a nation more than about individuals. And I think that the take home message should be that strong families are the foundation of this country.
[Nguyen:] At a point, though, would you say that a song like this at least brings the issue out in the open so parents can talk with their children about teen pregnancy, so that children can talk with their friends about it, as well?
[Rhode Miller:] Well, anything that stimulates conversation between parents and their children about a whole range of issues is really an important thing. But in particular, this song points to the badge of shame that in Washington, D.C., where I work, more than half of all births are to single women, including over 1, 000 every year to teens. That's something to be concerned about.
[Nguyen:] So are you saluting a song like this, then?
[Rhode Miller:] No, I'm not saluting a song like this. I'm saying that the Washington, D.C., the capital of the greatest nation in the history of the world, can and must do better by its children and by its families.
[Nguyen:] And a song like this at least brings it out into the public form?
[Rhode Miller:] Yes, it's a hook that you can hang a conversation on to talk about what we need to do to prevent teen pregnancy, to support families and to encourage kids to put off adult responsibilities until they can handle them.
[Nguyen:] Kalisha, does this song not only bring it out into the open, but also kind of erase some of the stigma that comes with being a young, single mother?
[Wright Smith:] Yes, I believe it does. I think it's about time that we bring some of these issues to light, you know, so that women can feel OK with the decisions that they make, so that we don't have any more young mothers feeling so isolated and desperate that they're in bathroom stalls having babies.
[Nguyen:] And we understand that you are not a single mother. You are married.
[Wright Smith:] Yes, I am, six months now.
[Nguyen:] And we have this beautiful wedding picture. What kind of advice do you have to young women out there who may finds themselves in a circumstance perhaps similar to yours?
[Wright Smith:] The only thing that I can say is believe in yourself, find people that are supportive of you and of your dreams. Because you're a young mother does not mean that you have to put the things that you believe and that you want for yourself on hold. Continue. Find a great support group and keep going. You can do it.
[Nguyen:] And, Brenda, quickly, what's the single most important factor when it comes to preventing teen pregnancy?
[Rhode Miller:] Having a close, caring relationship with your parents or other trustworthy adults. That seems to be the real protective factor that all kids need.
[Nguyen:] All right, Brenda Miller, Kalisha Wright Smith, we thank you both for your time today.
[Wright Smith:] Thank you.
[Rhode Miller:] Thank you.
[Nguyen:] We do have a warning that goes out to credit card holders this morning after word that hackers may have gotten to millions of accounts. What steps are you taking to keep your financial information safe? And we'll have the first set of answers to this morning's e-mail question, as well. That question right here on your screen. Send them in. We'll be right back.