tv CNN Newsroom CNN June 24, 2012 11:30am-12:00pm PDT
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up their own vision of what they want to do and where they want to go with it. >> dale dougherty wants everyone to be an innovator. he sparked an entire movement of innovators and he won't stop until he saees his maker movements in classrooms across the country and that's what earned dale a spot on "the next list." thanks for joining us. i'm dr. sanjay gupta. see you back next sunday. hello, everyone. you're in the "cnn newsroom." i'm fredricka whitfield. the uncertainty over egypt's first democratic election is finally over and a new political era has begun. just a few hours ago, the country announced its new
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president of the muslim brotherhood party. his rival, the former prime minister for ousted president hose nyeny mubarak came up about 1 million votes short. as the results were announced, this was the reaction of the crowd in tahrir square. they were exuberant. cnn's senior international correspondent ben wedeman is standing over tahrir square on a balcony there. crowds are still pretty sizable even with nightfall? >> reporter: in fact, with nightfall the crowds are only getting bigger. in fact, when the announcement was made, i'd say there is maybe one-third of the square was full. now it's absolutely jam-packed and more and more people are coming and i spent this celebration is going to go on well into the night. now it's cool and breezy, so most people -- if you look at
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the roads down below, people are pouring in. in fact, fredricka, i have not seen so many people in this square since february 11th, 2011, when of course hosni mubar mubarak, that's the day when hosni mubarak resigned and the roar that came up from this crowd when they heard that mohammed morsi had been elected. the only time i'd heard louder roars was when hosni mubarak resigned. this is a landmark day for egypt, the first time in more than 7,000 years when the people were actually able to elect democratically their leader. >> ben, clearly lots of excitement expressed by the supporters of the new president. how are you able to indicate whether this indeed reflects the mood of the entire country, if people are happy with this outcome. >> that's a very good question because as you look at numbers, it's not quite so clear-cut.
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only 50% of the electorate turned out and mohammed rsi only won 52% of that. so we're talking about somewhere between 25% and 26% of those egyptians eligible to vote actually voted for him. and many egyptians were unhappy with the choice that they were given in the second round. on one hand, mohammed morsi of the muslim brotherhood, an organization many feel is too ideological, too religious. the other choice was a holdover from the regime of hosni mubarak. i know one egyptian who told me that he would vote in this election, but he would do it wearing surgical gloves and holding his nose because he didn't like the choices that were being presented. >> ben, what about women? there had been many women who had expressed their concerns that many of their rights that they have and enjoy right now
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would be taken away if mohamed morsi, muslim brotherhood party were to be elected and here we are. so are women expressing that same sentiment prior to the vote? >> certainly there's a large sector of the population where women and others who were concerned about the attitude of the muslim brotherhood. mohamed morsi was stressing all egyptians, men or women, have the same rights and the other day he did say that when choosing his government -- in fact, when choosing his vice president, he would be considering people outside of the muslim brotherhood. he said he might choose a woman. he might choose a coptic christian. he might choose one of the youth, the young revolutionaries from tahrir square. so they are at pains at the moment to stress that these
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impressions -- they want to stress that women have full and equal rights. coptic christians have full and equal rights. but we'll have to see if beyond this moment of celebration that those promises will still stick when he actually starts conducting his duties as president. >> all right. ben wedeman, thanks so much from cairo. we are awaiting to hear the first remarks from the president-elect, mohamed morsi. when those comments come, we understand there will be some english translation. when they come we'll bring them to you as soon as we can. again another look at a very crowded tahrir square on a windy evening as you saw ben's hair blowing there which was a very hot day. perhaps these are indeed winds of change. all right, the white house is reacting to egypt's election. it just released this statement, saying, in farther, "we look forward to working together with president-elect morsi and the government he forms on the basis
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of mutual respect to advance the many shared interests between egypt and the united states." back here, in the u.s., tropical storm debby is strengthening off the gulf of mexico. the storm's path is uncertain but people living along the texas coast to the florida panhandle are all getting ready. louisiana is so concerned about the flooding, the governor has already declared a state of emergency. southeast of new orleans, plaquemines parish president said they can't take any chances. >> if this thing hangs out there, we've never seen a storm with such different forecasts. one track hag has ing has it go florida, one has it going to texas and here we sit right in the middle. we're really concerned about it sitting out there and graaining strength so we're reepg for tpr the worst.
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>> alexandra steele, the vast is map with all potential bull's-eyes. >> absolutely. this is the earliest we've ever had a fourth named tropical storm in the atlantic so it is already historic. now does that portend this to be a very active hurricane season? yes and no. it certainly doesn't portend a very active season on the whole but certainly a very robust start. here's the big picture. here's tropical storm debby. just a couple of points i want to show you. a broad circulation meaning it is big. meaning everyone could be impacted from the texas gulf coast all the way to south florida. also it is moving very slowly, meaning it won't be a quick hitter, meaning 10 to 15 inches of rain not out of the question so it will slowly plod north-northeast or whatever direction it is going and it is becoming very stationary now. it is soaking western florida right now but the key, the future of this is uncertain. this is what we call the spaghetti models. meaning each of these lines, different colors, is a computer model forecast to where this will go.
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you can see the divergent nature of the path of this thing. that's what's making the track so difficult. national hurricane center though does have its track and it does have it moving west-northwest. even becoming a category 1 hurricane. potentially making landfall on wednesday. so it's a slow mover, no question about it. and you can see, here's where it is now. maximum sustained winds now at 60, gusts to 70. but flooding, isolated tornadoes really could be a big part of this as well as the winds. a lot more coming up in a little bit. >> alexandra, thanks so much. most americans say they don't really like the president's health care law, but ask for specifics, and you may be surprised by the answers you get. [ mechanical humming ]
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at some point this week, u.s. supreme court will announce its rulings on whether the president's health care reforms are constitutional. while we wait, some interesting poll numbers to consider. 56% in this new reuters poll say they oppose the president's health care reforms. cnn's kate baldwin reports on now what the justices are considering. >> reporter: long days and late nights at the supreme court as the justices rush to finish what justice ginsberg recently called the flood season. >> many of the most controversial cases remain pending so it is likely that the sharp disagreement rate will go up next week. >> reporter: the biggest case this session and the biggest in at least a decade -- the president's health care law. the election year blockbuster
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argued for more than six hours in march, has far-reaching implications from main street to the campaign trail. >> i'm actually continuing to be confident that the supreme court will uphold the law. >> if i'm elected president, i will repeal obama care and i'll stop it in its tracks on day one. >> reporter: the nine justices face four separate issues in this one case -- the centerpiece. will the individual mandate requiring nearly all americans to have health insurance stand or will it fall? and does the rest or any of the law survive if the mandate is struck down? does the law's expanded medicaid program unfairly step on state's rights? or will the court call for a legal time-out until the main provisions go into effect, though this option is unlikely. >> there's going to be a bottom line of whether the mandate is constitutional or not. i would be shocked if we didn't know that after the decision. then it gets a little bit more complicated. >> reporter: key to the decision may be these two men -- chief justice john roberts and the traditional swing vote, justice
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anthony kennedy. both seemed skeptical of the government's case. >> you create commerce in order to regulate it? >> reporter: yet they asked tough questions of both sides giving hope to the law's supporters it may survive at least in part. >> i don't think you're addressing their main point, which is that they're not creating commerce in health care, it's already there and we're all going to need some kind of health care -- most of us will -- at some point. >> reporter: after the decision is handed down, the big question quickly becomes what now? house republican leaders have made clear if the law is not completely thrown out, they'll vote to repeal whatever's left. and for weeks, both the white house and congressional republicans have been quietly strategizing their message so they are ready as soon as the decision comes. kate bolduan, cnn, washington. she was one of the most prominent atheist bloggers on the internet. and now she has shocked some of her readers by converting to catholicism. we'll hear why in her own words.
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the internet. it was a surprise to many of her readers when she announced she was converting to catholicism. i spoke with her about her conversion and personal journey. >> one thing that kind of happened is i thought it was a lot more plausible but not necessarily true, in the same way i'm a big harry potter nerd and i can see how the whole world works and think about the dynamics of that world without thinking it's true. that's kind of how i came to see christianity, a really well thought out interesting system that a lot of smart people had worked on but i didn't think it was actually a true system. >> so before you came to that conclusion, would you have considered yourself an atheist? >> yes. and i considered my atheist while i thought it was coherent but false also. >> and then what was the turning point for you? what happened when you went from being an atheist to, okay, this is more than just an interesting, intelligent discussion, but now i'm willing to embrace that religion, might
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be for me? >> it was kind of the same thing with any scientific theory almost that it had more explanatory power to explain something i was really sure of. i'm really sure that morality is objective, human independent, something we uncover like archaeologists, not something we build like architects and i was having trouble explaining that in my own philosophy. christianity offered an explanation which i came to find compelling, especially because it had done other things that were good moral teachings that surprised me that i came around to. >> what's this transformation been like for you, to go frommingfrom i being a self-described atheist to now being a practicing catholic? >> it is nice to find a community here in d.c. some of my friends think i'm wrong but less wrong. they thought my old position was
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intellectually indefensible, so it is in some ways an improvement. it is exciting to be able to participate in the mass in thinking that it's actually the eucharist. >> so some of these friends, have they also been non-believers? >> yeah. i had kind of a mix of christians and atheists both telling me that the things i thought made more sense in a christian framework than they did in an atheist won. i got double-teamed on that. >> you've blogged about it, written extensively about it. what possessed you to do that? >> originally when i started writing the blog about it, i was dating a nice catholic boy and we'd have arguments. and it was kind of unfair to ask him to be the sole representative of ka not sichl writing helped me clarify what i was thinking myself. >> was it that relationship that kind of enlightened you?
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>> yeah. like all good fights should. >> and what were his thoughts about you converting to catholicism? are you still together? >> no, we're not but obviously he's very pleased. >> how is christianity, embracing it, becoming a catholic, changed your life and then, speaking publicly about this personal journey. >> i think one thing that's kind of changed in my life for this is that it's easier for me to reach out to other people because what i want is their good, their moral development, their becoming what they ought to be in a way that before when i thought of morality mainly as a set of rules for me where it's my job to do good things but it doesn't matter what the people i'm doing them for are like or how they live, all that matters is my own action, was a lot more closed off. >> leah, thanks so much and thanks so much for sharing your story, your personal journey and
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personal evolution. all the best. >> thanks a lot. >> read more on cnn's belief blog. you can also add your own comments there, if you'd like. . america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering.
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leader momehammed morrissey is w the president-elect. this was the first democratic election in egypt's history. back in this country, our travel insider takes us to las vegas this week. that's where 's kyra phillips shared some good times with a pair of her childhood favorites, donny and marie osmond. >> this is the weirdest interview i've ever had. >> tell me what's weird? >> you're the cameraman -- >> i'm not sure if we talk to your eye or the lens. where would you like? >> wherever you like. >> what question do you want to ask us, kyra? >> you have four second. >> i have four seconds? okay. i'm going to ask you a really serious question. why should people come see new vegas? >> because it's the best show in vegas. we were just voted -- i'm not making this up. we were voted the best show in vegas and best performers -- >> and best vocalist.
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>> not me. her. >> actually donny and marie are both amazing, not only does the vegas show bring back all our favorites, but marie actually sings opera dedicating the song to her son who passed. i tell you what, it sends chills up your spine. donny and marie are charming, entertaining and funny as ever. what exactly does it take to have number one records for 50 years and look so good? >> lots of plastic surgery. okay. you're not going to get a serious answer from us. try. >> i can tell you? we feel so blessed. i mean to be able to still be performing this fall will be our 50th year of performing. >> 50 years in show business. which is amazing since i'm 29.
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but we feel so blessed and so fortunate. we go on stage every night. we see multiple generations. i mean kids from 3 to 80 and all the young ones are coming to see me. >> yeah, whatever. >> you want a serious answer? >> give me a serious answer. >> we work our butts off. we work hard. >> yes, they do. they are tons of fun. go see them. the donny and marie show, the flamingo hotel, las vegas. a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll. a little bit heartwarming nostalgia. for my entire interview with donny and marie, go to cnn.com. that's this week's "travel insider." >> i'll be back in one hour. we'll have a pretty amazing interview with a riveting photographer who is legally blind and just won a cnn i-report award for his work. i asked kurt weston earlier what he hopes to achieve through his work. >> i do want my work to speak to
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my own personal life experiences and i developed a certain technique in some of my work which i call my blind vision work which illustrates the emotional and psychological weight of sight loss. >> he's legally blind and hiv positive. he has a tremendous story to tell. stick around and see that later on today beginning at 4:00 eastern time. i'm fredricka whitfield. stay with cnn, "your money" starts right after this. see life in the best light. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. maybe even a little better. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. visit seemoresights.com for your chance to win the ultimate sightseeing dream vacation and more great prizes. brought to you by transitions lenses,
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