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tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  July 20, 2009 11:00am-1:00pm EDT

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heal themselves. >> when you hear somebody else and their tears start to flow and you feel the emotion, it gets other people talking. that's the goal. >> reporter: soledad o'brien, cnn, new york. cnn wednesday night at 7:00, "the moment of truth" with steve harvey and tom joyner live from times square. then at 8:00, the premiere of "black in america 2." a u.s. soldier held captive by the taliban speaks in a newly released video. i'm heidi collins. the next hour of the "cnn newsroom" continues right now with tony harris. >> it is monday, july 28th. here are the top stories. a u.s. soldier in enemy hands. newly released taliban video shows the captured american speaking about his family and his fears. plus, saving african-american men. our black in america segment. a doctor's creative efforts to get his message out by any means necessary. and a giant leap for mankind. 40 years ago.
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the anniversary of man's first moon landing. we will take you live for a walk in space and stroll down memory lane. good morning. i'm tony harris. and you are in the "cnn newsroom." a young american soldier, scared, alone and in the hands of the taliban this morning. the pentagon identifies him as army private first class bowe bergdahl from just outside ketchum, idaho. he was captured june 30th in southeastern afghanistan. this video of bergdahl turned up on the internet over the weekend. the u.s. military is distributing pamphlets in afghanistan asking civilians if they have spotted bergdahl. let's turn to our pentagon correspondent now barbara starr. they are making demands. what about those and the efforts to locate private bergdahl? >> reporter: people will recall back on july 1st, essentially
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july 2nd, the military issued a very brief statement saying that private first class bergdahl, though they did not identify him, that a soldier had been missing in the remote border region between afghanistan and pakistan in paktia province. this was private first class bowe bergdahl of idaho. now this 28-minute appearing. bergdahl answering a number of questions put to him by his captors. clearly being held in captivity under some duress. let's listen to what he had to say about how he feels. >> well, i'm scared. i'm scared a won't be able to go home. it is very unnerving to be a prisoner. >> reporter: i have to tell you also that the u.s. military issued a statement saying, quote, we strongly condemn this public exploitation and humiliation of a prisoner.
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so the u.s. military now calling private first class bergdahl a prisoner. his family in idaho asking for privacy, asking for the media not to approach them. the general feeling in the u.s. military, tony is if they can keep this fairly low key, they will have a much better chance of finding him and getting him back. >> barbara starr for us. thank you. back home in idaho, the bergdahl family is asking for privacy. one family friend, though, spoke with a cnn affiliate. >> it's a terribly sad thing that our men and women have to expend themselves in defense of those that see destroying others as a way of life, when all we desire is to have peace with other nations. as long as he's alive, of course. i certainly hope. and so that's what we're holding out for is that he will be released. >> bergdahl had been in
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afghanistan five months when he was captured. u.s. marines in afghanistan have found and destroyed a cache of chemicals used to make heroin and explosive devices. ivan watson is embedded with the marines and has an exclusive look at what is going on. my understanding is that you were on patrol with the marines. explain to us in greater detail what they found. >> tony, i'm with the second light armored reconnaissance battalion. a force of some 4,000 marines that earlier this month launched into taliban-controlled parts of this helmand province considered by some the opium capital of the world. this is one of the largest u.s. military operations since this war began nearly eight years ago. and let's take a look at what we got during an operation last night very close to where i'm standing right now. right now the marines back here
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are rigging these chemicals with explosives. c-4, plastic explosives. you can see them getting ready for what will be a controlled explosion in a couple of hours. >> now the reason for this. the reason that these c-4 plastic explosives were being placed here is because these chemicals are believed to be used to process heroin. more than 90% of the world's heroin comes from afghanistan, and a bulk of that comes from this very province in southern afghanistan, which has not really been under the control of the afghan central governmen in years. part of the reason why this operation over the course of this month is such a big deal is because the marines have moved into areas where the taliban have been able to operate freely where drug cartels have been able to operate freely in the fields around this town where we're located right now. you can see miles of poppy fields growing there where the heroin is later produced using some of these chem xams in
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addition to this, the marines have found chemicals used for improvised explosive devices. these deadly weapons that have helped make this the bloodiest month yet for nato forces in afghanistan. tony, sure enough, before dawn this morning, we did see that controlled explosion. a massive ball of flame and a chemical fire that then burned for the better part of an hour from this very simple mud brick marketplace. not too far from the border with pakistan. >> that's pretty dramatic video there. ivan, you were with the marines in the same province last summer. has anything changed since then? >> well, it's interesting, tony. i was with a smaller force of marines probably 25 miles north of here. they had moved in last summer in similar conditions to try to cut off the flow of taliban weapons and fighters from pakistan north and to try to do something to
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block the flow of narcotics south. the export, some of which we believe the money is used to help fund the insurgency, and the marines promised to rebuild here. they said there were going to be efforts to bring the afghan central government. right now what we're seeing is that a year later, the marines are fighting battles in some of those same villages that i was in last year. it shows how deeply rooted and entrenched the insurgency is here. it also shows the promises to rebuild after military offensive are very difficult to fulfill. we'll see what happens after this offensive, tony. definitely there are far more american and british soldiers this time around. >> well, clearing is one thing. holding is a far different proposition. ivan watson for us in helmand province. thank you. and a surprise confession from the lone surviving suspect in the terrorist attacks on mumbai last year. an indian court, the man seen in this picture, muhammad kasab
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changes his plea to guilty. he was one of ten gunmen who terrorized india's financial capital for several days last november. more than 160 people, as you'll remember, were killed. police say the other suspects died in the attacks. president obama's push for health care reform tops his agenda today. he meets next hour with health care providers and he makes remarks in about two hours. but the president's push for reform is running into road blocks. details from white house correspondent suzanne malveaux. >> reporter: facing a tough week ahead, president obama is trying to recapture the spotlight in the health care debate. >> i will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade. >> reporter: this after a devastating announcement on friday by the congressional budget office that the administration's health care bill would raise health care costs and add $239 billion to the deficit over ten years. the white house dispatched their head of health care, kathleen
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sebelius. >> it's a work in progress. the good news is the house and senate are actively working and share the president's goals at overall costs have to come down for everyone. >> reporter: and the president's top money man, peter orszag, took up the argument. >> bill has to be deficit neutral. the president said he will not sign a bill that isn't deficit neutral. >> reporter: republicans seized on the deficit announcement. >> those were pretty damning words, to be honest with you. >> reporter: the minority leader said the bill will not have republican support. >> this is a bill that shouldn't pass at any point, either before the august recess or later in the year because it's not good for the country. >> reporter: the obama administration is pushing hard for the bill to be on the president's desk before the august recess. but many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say that's too ambitious. >> sure we wish we had more time. but the president is giving us a deadline. we're working under it. >> reporter: suzanne malveaux joining us live. why is the white house -- i've
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got a rationale in my own head but why is the white house pushing for quick passage of this legislation? >> reporter: they certainly hope they're not going to lose momentum here. there's this big push, this sense of urgency because they feel like the president has the political capital. he's got the hest. they need to put him out here to talk directly to the american people. if they don't, this go-round, they feel it's going to be much, much harder later on down the road especially when you have congressional midterm elections. the whole thing. this is something people don't necessarily have an appetite for. they want to make sure that, look, we're talking about it, debating about it. we've got some idea on this table. let's try to push this through as quickly as possible. >> if it were easy it would have been done by now. is the president showing any signs of flexibility on that august deadline, suzanne? >> reporter: that's an interesting question because we heard from one of his top financial guys, peter orszag, who essentially said it's a goal. he didn't call it a deadline but a goal to get to that august
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recess. obviously, this is a delicate balancing act. they are trying to push as hard as they can to get this done quickly. but at the same time, they don't want to push too hard because they realized last week we saw democrats who hit back and hit back hard. some moderates said you're not going to rush us on this one. we're going to take our time because this is a difficult thing to swallow here. and so, you know, they are trying to be a little bit flexible with this. but at the same time push as hard as they can. >> what an interesting push/pull on this. suzanne malveaux at the white house. thank you. we'll bring you president obama's remarks live. he's scheduled to speak around 1:05 eastern time. a troubling trend. black men dying earlier than men of other races. what to do about it? soledad o'brien finds answers in a chicago health clinic. and the barbershop. 90s slacker hip-hop. ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause pu're taking a ride ♪
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♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt your pride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪ ♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage. we choose to go to the moon. >> that's one small step for
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man. one giant leap for mankind. >> and welcome back to the cnn "newsroom." i'm jacqui jeras. and this hour we're bringing you some new exclusive information and pictures from google earth. well, now we have google moon. this is a new 3d interactive tool you can use to go ahead and explore the moon. it's a series of images and data that have been put together by the usgs, along with google. it's not 100% accurate, but it's the most up to date understanding of exactly where things are. and there you can see the apollo 11 lander in a 3d interactive display. and you can see the numbers and all the little links here that you can click on them. these are place marks. they tell the story of the apollo missions. 11 through 17. you can click on them. will give you some -- text, some information. you can also hear a little audio
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from some of the astronauts and there you can see some of the actual pictures taken by the astronauts to show you some of the texture of the moon and there you can see the flag. the scientists don't believe the flag is probably still there. they think the thrusters when they left the moon probably knocked it out. there you can see. you can go to google.com/moon to find more information. and there are lots of links on here where you can go ahead and click on more information. new great exciting technology to help celebrate the anniversary of the moon. google.com/moon. we'll have more coming up.
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it is a disturbing trend. black men dying earlier than men
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of other races. it is one of the stories special correspondent soledad o'brien brings us in "black in america 2" on wednesday. she visits a pioneering men's health clinic on chicago's south side. >> i am dr. thomas. what's going on? all right. good. good. deep breath in and out for me. >> reporter: dr. pete thomas is a pioneer. >> i refilled these inhalers for you. >> reporter: on a mission to save the lives of black men. men whose life expectancy is eight years less than the national average. and he has found an innovative strategy to do it. >> we're going to try to work with your diet. what's going on with your leg? stop smoking. >> reporter: it's called project brotherhood. its goal -- to treat the whole man. >> we know how to get men to the health center. and it's not by advertising free
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colonoscopies. >> hiv is preventable. >> and you've got to exercise. >> reporter: project brotherhood begins here in this and many other chicago barbershops. so why barbershops? why are they so critical to you? >> this is a staple in our communities. so men feel comfortable coming into the shops and, more importantly, they feel comfortable talking about whatever health issue that they may have. >> this is a great thing to be able to share with people. >> reporter: whether it's a fear of being exploited, going back to the tuskegee experiment, the economics of it all, including a lack of health insurance, or the fact that most doctors don't look like them, black men are notoriously reluctant to go to the doctor. ♪ listen to your heartbeat
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>> reporter: every thursday, men come to chicago's south side for free haircuts, conversation, classes, meditations, yes, and free doctor's visit. >> health to us is mental, physical, social, economic and spiritual. if one aspect is off in a man's life, he's not completely healthy. >> hello. >> reporter: everything project brotherhood offers is free of charge. a much-needed lifeline during these tough economic times. >> keep up the good work and then here's your return visit. >> join us wednesday night at 7:00 eastern with steve harvey, tom joyner and d.l. hughley live from times square. they are counting down to the premiere of "black in america 2 part one" followed by president obama's news conference at 9:00 eastern. that's wednesday night here on cnn. congress continues to work down health care reform, but
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gerri willis has ways to cut your health care costs right now. man: it seems, only a minute ago, we were kids with little responsibility, zero accountability. our parents telling us what to do... how to behave. now, all of a sudden, we're there, in that role, at that time in our lives where everyone and everything is depending on us. it's a scary feeling, but it's also a good one. especially when i'm confident someone's there for me.
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well, congress works on trillion dollar plans to overhaul health care, there are things you can do to reduce your costs right now. personal finance editor gerri willis live from new york with today's top tips. gerri, good to see you. >> good to see you. >> i guess you start at the top. >> get screened for some of these problems you could have
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down the road. early detection can save you a ton of money. it's not your life in the long run. for a free personalized online health evaluation, go to the great american health check at cancer.org. and aarp and walgreens is also recently launched a wellness tour that would deliver free health screenings to communities across the country. you can be screened for blood pressure problems, cholesterol, glucose clefls. you can also go to federally funded clin is to get immunizations, checkups and dental care. you pay what you can afford based on your income. go to find a health center.hrsa.gov. >> pay what you can afford based on your income. can you negotiate price? >> you bet you. if you have recently lost a job or you face a deductible that's going to deaf state yovastate y let your doctor know and they can negotiate price with you. the key is negotiating is knowledge. call your insurer and ask a customer service rep how much
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the company will cover for the type of service you need and then pass that info along to your doctor. if your doctor isn't willing to come down in price you should find a physician that will. each hospital have their own rules about negotiating bills. you shouldn't always assume you have to pay full price. if you have cash in hand, laying out that money before you get your procedure could get you a discount as well. >> talk to us about records here and the importance of paying close attention to your records. >> there are lots of mistakes on hospital bills. in particular, pay close attention to those bills. experts say there are errors in 8 out of 10. 8 out of 10 medical bills. that's a high proportion, okay? make sure you keep records of every test and every medicine you take. check that against your medical file. you'll find that at the hospital's billing office. if you see a mistake, send a certified letter requesting corrections and get a copy of all the documentation sent to your insurer. >> one last one. is there a way to get cheaper
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medicine? >> yes. yes, yes. prescription meds can be a huge drain on your budget, right? you compare the prices of medicines online so that you can see what the cheap options are out there that might help you. consumer reports has a website that lists the best value drugs. consumerreports.com/health. if you have a prescription drug plan through your job, you may be able to score a cheaper price by getting your meds delivered by mail. don't forget pharmacies and retailers like walgreens, kmart. often they have cheaper meds than traditional pharmacies. and, of course, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. they may know ways of getting these drugs for you cheaper. they may know which meds will go generic. so they may be able to help you out ahead of time. >> that is awesome. okay. gerri, as always, what's the e-mail address if people have questions. >> gerr@cnn.com. let us know what your questions are about your wallet, your pocketbook, even your med costs. >> great tips as always.
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thanks, gerri. gerri is a part of our money team. christine romans, ali velshi, susan lisovicz and a lot of people you don't see on television do a terrific job. go to cnn money.com for the latest. today's special report, recession or recovery: main street tales. it's at cnnmoney.com. a lender supplying the life blood of american small businesses teeters on the verge of bankruptcy. now new hope that cit group can be saved.
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authorities in florida expect to reveal another motive in the brutal killing of a couple that adopted more than a dozen special needs children. investigators also plan to make at least one more arrest bringing the number charged in the case to nine. byrd and melace billings were shot to death july 9th during a home invasion robbery. former nfl superstar michael vick moving closer to a possible return to the league. the federal bureau of prisons lists today as the last day of his sentence on a dogfighting conviction. he can remove the electronic monitor he's had to wear on home
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confinement in hampton, virginia. roger goodell will review vick's status after his sentence is completed. the firm where small and midsize business goes to borrow money is getting a $3 billion loan of its own. cit group being rescued by the bond holders. well now. christine romans, part of the cnn money team. mentioned christine's name just a moment ago. she's following this story for us and is live in new york. hi, christine. >> good morning. hi. >> this is interesting. at least recently we're used to bond holders sort of holding out for what they can get from a troubled company. and this is a different approach and one that it seems to me must come as something of relief to the white house. >> well, let me tell you first of all, we don't have confirmation this deal has been done but it's widely reported. and the company is not saying anything about it yet this morning. we know they were working on it all weekend. we're still waiting to find out officially what that deal looks like. it's said to be $3 billion and some pretty steep interest rates. 10% or higher.
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but it would keep the money flowing for small business while this company tries to restructure and get its debt burden under control and how to borrow more money. the white house, this has got to be the best of all possible solutions for the obama administration because they had to draw a line in the sand on bailouts somewhere. and they happen to draw that line on a company that is the lifeblood of lending and sort of this thing called factoring, this lending between retailers and manufacturers for many, many small businesses. it is the biggest small business lender in the country. it's got a million small lenders. also midsize firms as well. operates in 30 industries. it's the top lender to women and minorities. the retail and apparel sector, a lot of people have been telling us they are very nervous if this company is not performing in the marketplace and able to keep the money flowing for people. so this was something that clearly tests, i think, tony, a
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new phase in the united states of bailouts, as some people would say. this is saying that maybe the system is healthy enough that this company and its bond holders and its customers and the financial sector as a whole can handle it if it has to go it alone. >> this is interesting. cit, and maybe explain this a little further. cit is sort of a last line for a lot of these small businesses. i'm a small business and i've gone to bank of america, i've gone to -- any of these other banks and i said here's my plan. i need the money. i've got a great plan. i really am energized as a small business owner and the banks, all of them have said no and cit is sort of the last resort. >> that's part of the problem that some of these loans are not -- the loan quality is not as high here as in other places that were lending. it's the biggest lender because people with an idea, this is the kind of company where people with an idea and a firm on wall street with the money, this is the kind of company able to put them together so that the guy with a good idea in peoria can tap into the wall street money,
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the lending, the big markets they may not understand and get the money so they can get their idea on the street. that was great when the economy was strong and everyone was hiring and retail sector was booming. but then when things started to turn south, now the loan quality is deteriorating as well. and they were beneficiaries of the bailout last fall. they got a little over $2 billion, but they've been shut out of the financial rescues since then. here's where we are now, waiting to find out whether they officially got this alternate financing. >> is it also true a lot of the money for cit tra to make these loans came from big wall street firms? >> it came from the capital markets, yeah. they've been shut out of the capital markets. things have been really crazy. they've also been, frankly, making fewer loans already over the past six months than they had the year before. in a way, they've already -- it's not as if the spigot would be shut off. they've already pulled back.
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but it's that factoring, that loaning money for 30 days between, you know, a supplier and a retailer and keeping the money going, even as the product sits on the shelf. that's what's really important here for a lot of companies. >> christine, appreciate it. boy, that explains it very well. not all companies have been as lucky as cit. many big names have filed for bankruptcy protection and that's caused big problems for a lot of little guys. susan lisovicz is at the new york stock exchange with more on what happens, really, to franchises when their parent companies go belly up. susan, good to see you. good morning. >> hi, tony. it's more common than you think. well-known franchise companies like mrs. field's, dial a mattress and bally's total fitness have all filed for bankruptcy within the last year. our excellent website, cnnmoney.com, took a closer look at what happens to these companies, independent operators, when the parent company runs out of cash. and many of them face a huge wave of legal troubles and
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marketing challenges. in an ideal scenario, the franchisee can continue operate with minor adjustments to cut overhead. but, tony, you and i and everybody else knows the situation isn't often ideal. sometimes the parent company eliminates store locations altogether. think of auto dealer ships and advertising is another matter. franchisees depend on corporate marketing. they had a hard time convincing the public they were still open for business. >> and that's got to be one of the toughest hurdles. this association in consumers' mind-set between bankruptcy and real failure. >> that's right. there's two different things. one can lead to another, but not always. denny's, boston market, days in, 7-eleven have all filed for chapter 11 in the past. currently alive and expanding. many times the bankruptcy filing can result in a stronger brand position. the company has to go through restructuring, reorganization,
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but certainly there are just as many companies that don't ever make it out of the process. and these adverse economic conditions don't help. >> but there were a lot of people looking for opportunities out of work. i would think a recession would prompt maybe more people to start their own business or maybe buy into a franchise? >> that's an excellent point. so many people have been laid off. if you are lucky enough to get a severance package you may be thinking of a chapter 2. the opportunity to start your own business or to get into franchising. but the problem is something that you and christine were just talking about. this extremely tight credit market. cit is pulling back. it's not the only one. it prevents a lot of entrepreneurs from starting their ventures. for more on this issue, go right to cnnmoney.com. you can also certainly track lots of stocks, the action today but also rely on me to tell you what's happening right now. we're seeing the dow industrials up six days in a row right now. the nasdaq is up nine days in a
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row. we're midway through the session. check it out. three major averages each up 0.5%. >> yea. all right. susan, good to see you. in this economy, people are doing just about anything. whatever is really necessary to survive. one new jersey woman is hoping a bake sale can help stall foreclosure of her home. what some are creative things you can do to save extra money? or just save dollars. stack up the war chest here. go to cnn.com/tony. leave a comment and we'll share some of them in the next hour of "newsroom." he turned his tragic childhood into a memoir read by millions. a pulitzer prize-winning author passes away. of my purse and che. my doctor said the bayer aspirin saved my life. please talk to your doctor about aspirin and your heart. i'm going to be grandma for a long time.
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but now they have new areas where i can find the brands i use every day-- and save even more. so that's what they mean by unbeatable. save money. live better. walmart.
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we choose to go to the moon. >> that's one small step for man. one giant leap for mankind. >> wow. on the 40th anniversary of the landing on the moon, two of the astronauts aboard the international space station -- hey. are these live pictures from nasa tv? i got to tell you something. our team in the control room
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that's so excited when these pictures became available. and now we've got one of the astronauts work with a gizmo. i don't know what's going on. it's a widget. yeah, pretty cool stuff. actually, they are attach something spare parts to the station. are they going to weld the parts on the thing? meantime, the astronauts inside are busy fixing a broken toilet. okay. when apollo 11 land on the moon, the mission encountereda unusual problem that called for a simple solution and the help of a child. really? from cnn.com's ireport desk, producer tyson wheeley tells us about an unsung hero in the lunar landing. tyson, what do you have? a child, huh? >> that's right. >> will save them. >> that's right. this, of course, the first -- we are celebrating today the first moon landing with a very special story. very special ireport. it's a story about a 10-year-old kid who played a small but very critical role as apollo 11
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returned to earth. and this is actually a photo of then 10-year-old greg force. and his father charles was the director of nasa's tracking station in guam at the time. and that station had a very powerful antenna which allowed nas to communicate with apolloo astronauts. just hours before splash down, a bering in the antenna failed. they needed to get more grease around it. the problem is no one had an arm small enough to fit through the anten antenna's 2 1/2-inch opening. so charles sent home for his son greg who reached into this tiny hole and packed grease around this bearing and it work. the station was able to complete its communications role in the mission. and apollo 11, as you know, splashed down safely the next day. news outlets around the globe picked up this story and when -- and later neil armstrong came to the guam station. he got a chance to thank greg in person and even signed a
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newspaper clipping. and -- >> pretty cool stuff. >> it's definitely cool. we've been hearing these incredible stories on ireport.com for the past week, really. and many kids that grew up in this era, greg dreamed of becoming an astronaut. even pursued his dreams in college where he majored in physics. color blindness ended up keeping him from space but greg did go on to get his pilot's license and he still follows space exploration closely. today, greg is in washington, d.c. he's taking part in 40th anniversary celebrations. he's very proud knowing he played a small part in one of this country's greatest achievements. of course, you can read this story on cnn.com today. it's the top story right now. and, of course, you can go to ireport.com where you can share your memories about the apollo 11 moon landing. >> how about that. a look back in history and a where are they now all rolled into one. tyson, appreciate it. so 40 years ago today neil armstrong and buzz aldrin walked on the moon.
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but you know there are a surprising number of people who don't believe it actually happened. cnn's nicole lapin will break it down for us. cop,ining two essential insurances, term life and disability in one surprisingly affordable package. strengthen your safety net and find out how affordable it can be at metlife.com. - hello! - ha! why don't you try a home cooked meal... with yummy hamburger helper? oh! tada! fantastically tasty, huh? ummm, it's good. what would you guys like? hamburger helper. what?! one pound... one pan... one tasty meal! if we don't act, medical bills will wipe out their savings. if we don't act, she'll be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition. and he won't get the chemotherapy he needs. if we don't act, health care costs will rise 70%. and he'll have to cut benefits for his employees. but we can act. the president and congress have a plan to lower your costs and stop denials
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for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act. and unlock the freshness of the outdoors... for your indoor cat... fueling an exhilarating adventure. each entrée is bursting with high-quality protein plus wholesome grain and garden greens. specially formulated to promote hairball control ...and healthy weight. friskies indoor wet cat food. feed the senses. now turn treat time into party time with friskies party mix cat treats. get the party started! his tragging i childhood became the bases for an award-winning book "angela's ashes." frank mccourt has died. the book told of his childhood spent in gut-wrenching poverty in ireland. it sold more than 4 million copies. mccourt taught creative writing
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to high school students in new york. he died yesterday at the age of 78. a private funeral service for legendary news anchor walter cronkite are set for thursday in manhattan. an aide to cronkite said the service will be at st. bartholemew's church. a memorial also will be held at the lincoln center for the performing arts. but that date has not been announced. cronkite's remains will be cremated and buried next to his wife in kansas city, missouri. walter cronkite died friday. he was 92. so what do you think?
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i think i'll go with the basic package. good choice. only meineke lets you choose the brake service that's right for you. and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. hi. welcome back. it is easy to get bogged down in all the back and forth over health care reform. we want to take a closer look at how reform affects you. that's really what it comes down to. >> that's right. >> we're talking about plans in the house, plans in the senate. all of this is about what's in the plans. maybe not as much attention as to what's in the plans. we're really stuck on how to pay for it. we should really look at real world scenarios to help us understand how health care reform could impact each and every one of us. >> how can you as a citizen know if you want health care reform and which plan until you know
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how it will affect you. the problem is who is you? because there are a lot of yous out there. there's people who have great insurance. people who have lousy insurance. people who have no insurance. it runs the gamut. in next hour, i'm going to introduce to tony and the rest of you to three people who are going to help us explain this. the first person is named mary. she's a recent college grad. looking for a job, doesn't have insurance. i'll show you how the various proposals affect her and john is self-employed and has a bad back and can't get health insurance. how does health care reform affect him. then there's susie, she's employed and has great insurance and she's happy. what does health care reform mean to her. will she be better or worse off? will all of these folks be better or worse off? that's in the next hour. >> about 12:45, i want to direct people to be here for that discussion. at the top of the hour we're going to talk about health care as well with you and our white
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house correspondent and please help us drill down on the topic that we can't seem to get enough of, how we're going to pay for this thing. there are a number of plans being talked about in the house and senate. the house is scoring a piece of legislation later today and it seems at this point that everything is still, everything is still on the table as to how we pay for this. >> nothing has been ruled out. >> hopefully how we pay for a big chunk of this is to save money. here are other options, do you tax really wealthy americans or tax wealthy americans, do you tax the health benefits that employees get, looking atmy list here, do you penalize employers and do it that way. nothing is off the table at this point. >> there is one review of the plan being talked about in the house and maybe some of the thoughts that come out of that review by a think tank.
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let's drill down on it. how to pay for it. >> and how does it affect you? >> awesome. >> we will bring you president obama's remarks on health care reform live in the newsroom. the president is scheduled to speak around 1:05 p.m. eastern time. and coming up in the next hour, the noon hour, we've already been to the noon, should we go back or is it time to boldly go somewhere else, we will take a look at the future of america's space program on this the anniversary of the first moon walk. in the case of one woman we found, reinvention, we'll have her story of sweet success and the unemployment rate in michigan is the highest in the nation, many homes force into foreclosure and abandoned. poppy harlow brings us the story of one man banking on a big comeback for the motor city in
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at the top of the newscast we told you about the american soldier in the hands of the talib taliban, the video released over the weekend. the military identifying the soldier as bowe bergdahl from ketchum, idaho. there's his picture. we understand a family spokesman will be making a statement on behalf of bergdahl's family in the next ten minutes or so from blain county, idaho. once again, jay walk film ling
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will be issuing a statement that's set to happen in the next ten minutes or so. let's look at the pictures here. lots of events scheduleded to to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and in space. in coincidental space walk, live pictures, nasa tv, moon walk is going on right now. working to attach some spare parts. this is the second of five sp e spacewalks planned for the week. neil armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. today he was joined by buzz aldrin to commemorate that giant leap for mankind. >> we're getting back to what nasa and the country likes to see and that's exploration. to me exploration is going to someplace you haven't been
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before. >> buzz aldrin was the second to walk on the moon. later today the "apollo 11" astronauts plans to launch the idea of a mars mission. there are a lot of ney sayers out there. a lot of folks on my block didn't believe when it happened. a poll found 66% of people don't believe man ever set foot on the moon. the number seems to be increasing with the internet and conspiracy theories. what are the arguments here? >> here's the interesting thing, tony, a lot of the internet has contributed to the ney sayers since that last poll. 1.5 billion google search results when you come in "apollo" moon landing. even with the new enhanced video that we're now getting from nasa, there are people who still believe that nasa fabricated
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this to try and rival the soviets and fulfill president kennedy's goal of getting humans back and forth between the moon and earth by the end of the 60s. first, the astronauts would have been poisoned by the belts that ring around the earth, then they say some suspicious things are in these photographs, like no blast craters visible from the landle modules. and also the shadows that intersect running parallel suggesting an unnatural light source and a flag that was waving but there was no wind on the moon. >> do we know what nasa is saying about this, about these theory snz. >>. they are. they are debunking all of these theories. >> nicole, appreciate it. right now let's get you as promised out to blain county idaho where we understand a
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statement is being made on behalf of the family of private first class bowe bergdahl. >> thank you for respecting that privacy. as tim said, we're not going to answer any questions specific to the bergdahl family. if you had something else you would like to ask, i'll see what i can do to answer those. >> sheriff, i have a question about the community, it's my understanding that a lot of people here -- but kept quiet about it. can you talk about that? >> yeah, when you talk about this community, it is very close-knit community and very supportive of the and i think you find from the bergdahl family thanking support from the community. they are not going to do anything to jeopardize bowe. you're right, there was some inklings that i may have been captured over there. and yet, you know, they kept
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quiet on that. that's the respect we have here in this community for each other. >> kept quiet because they were concerned -- >> i'm not sure speaking for the whole community, i'm just, you know, of the specific people, what i'm speaking of is this community is re rre -- very respectful of each other. >> in general terms, can you tell us how the bergdahl family is doing? >> well, they are only doing as well as can be expected in this situation. you have to think of yourself in this situation and how tough that would be. they are just total focus is on bowe. >> i do. >> this is affecting you personally as well then? >> yes. >> do you want to share your thoughts with us? >> not specifically on the family. once again, that's their request of me and i'm going to honor
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that. [ inaudible ] >> i was contacted by the military beforehand. i did not know specifics prior to that but i was contacted that this was going to be coming out and to let me know exactly the details. that was last week. >> can you talk about what kind of guy bowe was, what he was like? >> i'm not going -- i'm going to stay away from that to respect the family's wishes. [ inaudible ]
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>> i anticipate as this gets out in the media and certainly yesterday a lot of people were calling over the weekend because therapeut they were starting to hear this, asking us, what can we do for the bergdahl family, is there a place we can send flowers, that outpouring is starting to happen. i anticipate as this moves forward that we'll see a great outpouring from this community. and i can tell you that's helpful to the bergdahl family. you know, as they see that support coming forward, that just helps to reinforce, they are trying to stay positive in the situation. >> any plans for a public vigil? >> you know, i don't know at this point. mayor is here, i don't know if
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he has any plans for that right now. zain's coffee shop has been sort of the focal point. there's a lot of flowers and things and support landing in that area, but anything beyond in that, i'm not sure. >> i don't have, at this time if that's been set up or if it's going to be. as we get more information about those kind of things, we'll certainly try to get that out to everybody. anything else? [ inaudible ] you know, i thing what's
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happening right now, the fact that you know there is flowers and there's, you know, people starting to outpour that direction around this community, so when they do get out and they can see that, that certainly helps them, you know with this whole situation. i think that will continue here in this community. i think there will probably be some organization or organized effort here within the community and people will start really outpouring in that direction. that does help the bergdahl family. i can tell you that. any other questions? >> none scheduled by us. >> the bergdahl family is by all appearances very private, i'm
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wondering if they've given you any guidance on what the appropriate form of appreciation would take -- would prefer that going to some central location. do you have any insight on that? >> the insight i've heard is a central location is what they would like to see. they can still get there and be able to see that. so that central location right now, whether that changes, we'll get that out into the community. but i would imagine knowing this community, there will probably be more than one location as this outpouring and support starts to grow. [ inaudible ] >> no, you know, this is nothing that you and would happen. i know it certainly is you know happened in many communities across the country, but we certainly didn't want it to happen in our community. we're a small community, know
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each other and that's really hard when you know so many of the people. >> how did you meet bowe? >> once again, i don't really specifically want to get into anything about bowe and bowe's back ground because the family has asked me not to do that. >> sheriff. >> you know, i didn't ask that specifically, so i don't really know. my conversation with them, i didn't ask. [ inaudible ] >> which information? [ inaudible ] >> we might -- what we may do is if, you know, i'll meet with
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them and try to get that specific information and maybe we can relay that on our website and that we can maybe keep that rolling on the website with any specific issues that, you know, leg little things that may come up. i have to ask them first, they are private in this manner and they certainly want to, you know the rest of the world to know what's going on here. but at the same time, being very, very careful. you can understand that, you know. like i said, i want to thank you all for respecting their wishes in this manner. if we can, we'll try to put up something in our website with maybe some specific questions coming back and forth giving you little bits of information if the governor has contacted them, if some of those leaders have contacted them or any specific statements, we may be able to get knows out there. that would be an area that you
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could go to. [ inaudible ] >> they didn't specifically ask me to do any of that. once again, this is a family wish to -- for their privacy so we're going to respect that. [ inaudible ] no, the military has not put any restrictions on what i can say. the military is working with the family. they are reaching out to the family and trying to keep them, you know, up to date on what's happening and so they are doing their part that direction, but their part is not specifically dealing with the media and those type of questions and they don't want -- can't do that in this specific arena. that's why they reached out and asked me if i would speak for
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them. [ inaudible ] >> well, i mean, probably all of the above. when you know, when the family members just don't want to do or risk doing anything to inflame the situation of their captives and you can see how easily that can happen. they want prepared statements and their privacy. that is their wish. that's the direction they want to go on this. and we're going to respect that. anything else? okay. thank you and we'll try and, like i said, on our website, we'll try and -- if it's
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possible to keep you updated. thank you. >> a missing american soldier showing up on the internet in a video made by the taliban. the military has identified him as army private first class bowe bergdahl. there's his picture. you just heard from the sheriff of blain county, idaho. j. walk femling coming forward to express the wishes of the family that everyone respect the family's privacy at this moment. we didn't learn much about the private. i think that was again in keeping with the wishes of the family. i think we also heard that there is kind of a coffee shop, a local coffee shop in town that has become sort of the hub of activity for any news about the search for the private. let's bring in our pentagon correspondent barbara starr. what is being done to find private bergdahl?
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>> i have to tell you, tony, the u.s. military still after some 20 days of captivity by private bergdahl doing everything they can, they say to try and find him, but we saw the sheriff step forward. very carefully, speaking on behalf of the family didn't want to say anything to inflame the situation or give too many details. another community in america rallying around the fate of one of their loved ones. the town had kept this secret, we now know for some days. they had been aware it was bowe bergdahl that was taken captive. everyone rallied together around his family and kept their mouths quiet about all of this. now that the 28-minute video has been posted by the taliban, the world has seen it, it's very clear who it is, private bergdahl spending 28 minutes on this tape answering questions
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from his captores about politics and the war. let's listen to how bowe bergdahl is feeling right now. >> my girlfriend, who is hoping to marry. i have my grandma and grandpa, a very, very good family that i love back home in america. and i miss them every day that i'm gone. i miss them and i'm afraid that i might never see them again and that i'll never be able to tell them that i love them again. i'll never be able to hug them. >> you know, i think it's understandable the u.s. military not saying very much about how they are looking for him. but they have said over the last several days, they are using all assets, what does that mean? air, drones flying overhead, passing out flyers on the ground, collecting intelligence,
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seeing if they can eavesdrop on any conversations that they might be able to hear just asking everybody and anybody in the region for help. >> one more quick one. we understand secretary gates has scheduled a press conference for this afternoon. what do we expect to hear? >> right, we are awaiting that at 2:00 eastern time tony. secretary gates and mike mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. a pentagon official says secretary gates is set to announce an increase in the size of the army, 20,000 more troops. he will increase the size of the army, get the volunteers to join up. why are they doing this? it's another effort to try to ease the strain and stress on the force. get more guys into the army, you can let those who are there spend more time at home. >> barbara starr, thank you. a health care reform, will it work and what does it mean to you? boy, we break it down. we're back in a moment.
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president obama trying to gain momentum in the push for health care reform. holds a round table discussion this hour and scheduled to make remarks next hour. we'll, of course, bring those remarks to you live in the newsroom. a house committee gets back to work on reform legislation. a lot happening on health care reform and our correspondents
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will help us break it down. senior medical expert elizabeth cohen, what's being worked on in the bill and gerri willis in on discussion with how to pay for health overhaul. suzanne, why is the white house now pushing so hard on health care reform? >> tony, really there's momentum here and they are afraid of using it. we heard from peter or zag saying, nobody has necessarily won if you take this and look at it as a marathon. we're on mile 19. you can't declare the winner at mile 19. but peter is a runner, i'm a runner, mile 19 you start to lose that momentum and lose that steam. they are pushing really hard right now because if this doesn't happen, they believe in the weeks to come it's just not going to happen. they are not going -- people are not going to have the appetite
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for this. there are a lot of arguments people are making against this. the congressional budget office saying this is not going to lower health care cost. this will increase the federal deficit. that is not what lawmakers wanted to hear. so they are saying to be patient but be quick here. they don't want to lose that steam. >> is the president clear -- because there's also this idea of maybe we have got a balloon and the pressure is building and maybe you need to release the pressure and let the air of the balloon so folks can catch their breath and come back and work on it fresh and anew. is the president at all allowing for wiggle room on this august deadline? >> well, you know, they called it a deadline initially and we heard from orzag who is now calling it a goal. there is a little wiggle room here, tony. when you listen to the language here. we'll push you guys as hard as we can but not to the point we saw last week moderate democrats
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coming out joining with the republicans asking for that time essentially saying, we can't get this done in this timetable. there's a delicate balancing act this white house is engaged in right now. >> one more time with you right here, is the white house hearing from senate leaders for example on what the real sticking point is, all about how to pay for this? >> reporter: that's the bottom line how to pay for this. they don't want to increase the federal deficit. one of reasons why you're saying president obama have a press conference on wednesday in prime time, he's trying to subtly push members to get something done, put something on the table by wednesday so he can have some sort of announcement to say we are making progress. if that doesn't happen, again, that will be used as a big push. one of the things we're talking about is whether or not you're going to attack the tax free health care benefits that people get right now. that is something the senate finance committee and some members say it's a good idea and
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obama administration saying we don't want to do that. people will lose their coverage that way. >> i appreciate it if you would stay there for just a minute. we're going to talk about who pays for it and what gets taxed with gerri willis in a moment. and elizabeth cohen is here has been guiding me through this over the past two months, three months. >> feels like longer. >> we're in the trenches on this thing. the house is marking up legislation today. trying to make it all work. i know there are concerns about legislation that's being worked on today. talk to us about what they are working on right now. >> there are three big concerns about this big. one is that it's expensive and it will add to the federal deficit which suzanne talked about and president obama says repeatedly that he doesn't want it to add to the federal deficit. the second concern, even with the great intentions, this bill will not cover all of the uninsured people. there's a third concern that's
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been growing over time. and which is that, will this bill make many people who now have coverage from their employer switch to the government sponsored to the public option. there's a report out that says that actually 50% of people who now have insurance through their employer, if this house bill passes would end up switching to the public option. not necessarily a bad or good thing but that people would go from private to public. half of all employed people. the white house, i showed this to them, they said a couple of things. they said this was sponsored by the heritage foundation, a conservative think tank and it makes false assumptions and the congressional budget office looks at the house bill and their estimates are much lower. again people will go from private employer sponsored to public sponsored.
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let's bring gerri willis in. and gerri, looks like a number of things are on the table, taxing the wealthy then what level of wealth are you talking and what level of benefits are you actually taxing here. some say it doesn't make sense to tax health care to pay for health care. talk us through this. >> well, there are a range of options out there. obviously the white house is saying, we want this to be budget neutral. this weekend, the secretary of health and human services ka kathleen sebelius says it's a legitimate idea. if you were wealthy, let me give you an idea. if you earn 350,000 to 500,000, you would pay a sur tax of 1 to 2%. you should know speaker has is he wants to raise that trigger to 500,000.
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that's one of the proposals out there. you talked about another one, taxing the benefits you already get from your employer. you can sort of consider that part of your benefit package, income that comes in front door. but you don't pay a tax on it. the idea there and this is something again the white house has not been too happy with though, taxing those benefits and then finally there is a third way of paying for this that's been talked about pretty extensively is expanding the medicare tax. so it would apply the 1.45% medicare tax paid by individuals to capital gains and dividends. so again, we're talking about probably people who are pretty well to do because those are the people that pay the taxes to begin with. this is a tough thing to pay for, to get to the goal of actually being able to pay for it is very tough indeed. i should say the cbo report
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saying that many of the ideas on the table here just aren't going to cover the whole cost and closing that gap is difficult indeed as you've been talking about for many weeks now with elizabeth. >> gerri and elizabeth, that's a work in progress isn't it what we ended up with is, wow, it's too expensive and doesn't cover enough people. now you have a house version and wow, it's too expensive and doesn't cover enough people. the senate has come back with something, we haven't seen the guts of it yet that cost less than a trillion dollars. really, there is all of the noiz of where we are but isn't this still very much in your mind, elizabeth, a work in progress? >> to use suzanne's metaphor, mile 19. we saw change draz mattically. this will all change. >> it seems to me we have a
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lower third who says the president is losing support for his health care initiatives and handling of health care. is that the other part of the reason to push this through now because you know the support may not be there from the public later? >> reporter: well, sure, white house aides says the of president still has the appeal. i mean, that could certainly wain in the months to come if this is something that people get tired -- one ever things they believe, he's the best pitch man has the best lines and stage for it. there are some concern if he's overexposed perhaps people will start tuning out and not paying attention. they still believe he's very effective in putting in front of the audiences and those nurses and kids on prime time. these kinds of things out there in town hall meetings to get the point across, that he is still a strong advocate for somebody too do that.
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that might change. >> he's got to be all in on this. this is huge. we've been trying this for how long now? you took us back to truman, right? >> right. all right. thanks to our panel here. suzanne, thank you. >> let's take a closer look at what health care reform means to you. elizabeth will be back and have real world examples of how it affects health reform coverage. right here in the cnn newsroom. there are a lot of events scheduled today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing and in space. this coincidental spacewalk, live picture streaming in. there's a spaceman. we're back in a moment. taking its rightful place
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in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz.
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all right, let's wrap up these -- two different stories. a walk in space. it makes sense. on the 40th anniversary of the moon landing this morning astronauts and this afternoon attached some spare parts to the
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international space station. the "apollo 11" astronauts have rarely appeared together and they did so last night at the smithsonian air and space museum. former astronaut john glenn, was also there. >> at the time america stood at sort of a critical cross roads. and i think "apollo 11" did a lot to bring this country back together again. people suddenly had a feeling that we were all one again. and that we could go ahead and move ahead like we hadn't felt for a long time. >> we're moved by a young american president who challenged himself and all of us to think boldly and not retreat from our vision of what we could do in space. the path that john f. kennedy inspired us to choose was not easy. in fact, it was very hard.
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but it served the betterment of america and ultimately the ending of the cold war. >> wow. wasn't that well said. well, today, wolf blitzer brings a special hour of "the situation room" at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. what does health care reform mean for you? elizabeth will be back with real world examples. process is to ed. bank of america is highly committed. we do have a vast array of programs that will enable buyers to purchase a home and feel comfortable. for credit qualified buyers, the government will give you a tax credit up to 10% of the purchase price or $8000, and as long as they live in that home for 3 years or longer, they don't have to pay it back. due to the market guideline changes, fha has had a resurgence in the market place. va is also one of the things that's coming into vogue again.
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there's more veterans out there that qualify for these programs, and they'll come back and they'll utilize these. everything starts with the first time home buyer and moves up from there. sometimes these are the first people in their family to own a home and it's hugely rewarding. we are doing everything that we can to take the opportunities that are available and help the people. be there for them, and allay some of their fears and concerns. we're in that process every step of the way. that creates a customer for life and that's what we're looking for. that's what we do here at bank of america. cnn's allen chernoff has the story of a little cafe that
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could. >> reporter: it all started with a left wing radical activist that wanted to create what he calls the anti-starbucks, a communal coffee book store and performance space. short for voice of the people in latin. >> my vision was to create a place that people could come together and voice their opinions and share and cross poll po po pollenate. >> reporter: it was becoming the people's cafe. just as the recession was taking hold, he opened a second location in mat hat an. >> i saw the economy come grinding down to a halt in front of me. >> reporter: enter debbie ryan, quickly discovered well meaning employees were running box top
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into the ground. >> somebody would order a salad, they would run across the street to the organic market and buy a salad for $9 and sell it. debbie had the manhattan cafe close. they were behind on tax and rent. >> the soundest business division would have been throw in the towel, file bankruptcy and call it quits. >> reporter: instead of a bailout, they found the buyout in a buy-in. they sold stock to customers for $50 a share and did ten days raise $64,000. nearly 200 people invested to keep the cafe open. families like the mitchells that put in $1,000. >> it was unique for the neighborhood. >> we have to think about where we put our money.
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that was a no-brainer for us. >> a good investment for my neighborhood, for me, for my kids and coffee addiction. >> reporter: shareholders are a long way from seeing a profit, they are still paying off debt. but they couldn't be happier because it has allowed them to keep the voice of the people alive. allen chernoff, cnn, brooklyn, new york. >> you can catch more of the money and main street series at 6:30 on american morning. how will health care reform affect you? elizabeth cohen joins tous explain. i think i'll go with the preferred package.
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and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. a show within a show. i was asking if we could put up cnn money.com in one box because we have these tricks and things we can do and susan in another box and the big board new york stock -- i was told i was crazy. move on. cnn -- so i follow instruction. cnn money.com for expert analysis or our financial crisis right now. the money team doing a terrific job. okay, from one piece to the next. there you see the new york stock change past three hours trading day. the dow is up, a nice little rally going, 71 points. at last check. nasdaq is up 14 points and we are following the numbers throughout the day with this
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lady, susan, i'm trying to have a little fun here. trying to keep myself energized. >> you've got news on earning reports and i know we're in full swing on earning season. what's the latest. >> reporter: we are in crunch week. today is kind of a low day. last week we heard from a handful of companies that they were closely watched companies. j.p. morgan, intel, and these companies feed estimates and some say have raised the bar for what we'll see this week. this week alone we'll hear from nearly half of the companies. very important, what have we got today? very different companies, hasbro reporting a profit of 5%. why is that? well, hasbro happened to have tie-ins to two summer release
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movies, transformers, you know about that. "gi joe." this is the rise of the cobra to be release the next month. dennis quaid -- >> i've got a 14-year-old boy. all into this, okay? >> reporter: we're not the demo there. but hasbro is doing real nice. shares up 3.5%. totally different story for halliburton. it's quarterly profits tumbled. oil prices right now trading at $65 a barrel, less than half of what they were a year ago today. if customers don't want to spend money on exploring and production, but despite that, halliburton shares are up 2% right now. part of the overall rally you were talking about. >> this expression, you may have
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used it a moment ago, beating the wall street estimates with these earnings reports. does it really make -- i can understand huge gains and huge losses having a real impact. but a tick here or a tick there, is it really important? >> it's a valid question you ask and a question that's debated all the time here. the fact is when publicly traded companies that you and i and millions of others may own, they are expected to provide some sort of guidance for what happens in the next quarter and for the full year. the street doesn't like negative bomb shells. if things are turning out to be different, they will advise accordingly, do something called a preannouncement. if a company reports its earnings declined 50 % and therapeutic expecting a decline of 55%, it is a bit of gainsmanship. they are lousy no matter how you cut it.
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the street does like pleasant surprises and that's what we're seeing for the sixth day in a row for the dow which is up 72 points and nasdaq is up 15 points. nine days in a row. we did get a report earlier today, you may have seen it leading economic indicators up for the third straight month. one of the economists said if this continues, expect a slow recovery this autumn. tony, you can take me out to lunch and it won't be the varsity -- a real table cloth sit down kind of restaurant. >> with flatware. >> that sounds good. >> how will health care reform affect you? depends on who you are. elizabeth cohen joins us next to explain. limb: dude that was sick! i've been hangin' up there for, what, like, forty years? and then - wham - here i am smacking the pretty off that windshield of yours.
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oh, what you're looking for an apology? well, toss another coin in the wishing well, pal. it's not happenin'. limb: hey, what's up, donnie? how you been? anncr: accidents are bad. anncr:but geico's good ding! with onsite windshield replacement.
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president obama trying to regain momentum in the push for health care reform. holds a round table discussion with health care providers this hour and scheduled to make remarks i'm assuming next hour and we'll have them for you live in the cnn newsroom.
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a house committee gets back to work on reform legislation. the health care overhaul and how it affects your medical care as promised. we have real world examples of the reform effort. elizabeth cohen is back. i've been anxious to see this unfold all among long. good to see you. >> we've been talking about what does health care reform mean to actual real people. all of the politicians can talk all they want. we meet up three people that are in typical situations and decided to try to answer that question. let's take a look at our three fictitious people. here we have mary, 23 years old, recent college graduate and looking for a job. many college grads are in this situation. let's look at what health care reform would mean to her. under the senate plan, she would be allowed to stay on her parents insurance until the age
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of 22. however, under the house plan she would be allowed to stay under her parent's insurance until the age of 26. there is a difference for young people. let's look at john. john is a really unfortunate situation, he is self-employed. he has to go get insurance on his own. he's got a bad back. his back is so bad no insurance company will touch him and this really does happen. he can't get insurance. will he be better off under health care reform? i think the answer there is yes, he will be whether it's the senate plan, house plan, he couldn't be any worse off than he is right now. both of those plans have plans for helping people with preexisting conditions. now, those are both relatively clear cut, right? now i'll throw you a curveball. let's look at susie, as you can see from her face, very happy,
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employed. great insurance. she likes life the way it is now. now, what's going to happen to her under health care reform? the answer to that tony is so complicated i'm going to sit down next to you. i can't do it all the way from over here. >> really, because she is happy, she loves her care but now she's becoming a little concerned that all of this talk about health care reform is going to impact not only what she has now but the cost of it, right in the. >> exactly and president obama has said over and over the marys of this world will continue to be happy, no changes for people who have insurance and like insurance. there's some who aren't so sure. there's a new analysis out by a think tank that says 50% of people that get insurance through their employer will end up getting insured through the government if a house bill
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passes. congressional budget office says that's too high of a number. the white house says there are lots of bad assumptions but this is a big concern for some people. >> it's important to note, that's where we are right now. this is an analysis of where we are now the not where we may be tomorrow or a few weeks from now. >> a lot of this is wait to find out where we are again, the analogy you're in the 19th mile of a marathon. >> what if mary's benefits get taxed, she'll get more taken out of her paycheck. she's already paying for the uninsured but doesn't realize it. >> the hidden tax. >> we're all paying for it. >> thank you, elizabeth. it's good stuff, good information. let's take a break. president to make remarks on health care reform about five minutes after the hour at 1:05
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p.m. eastern time with kira phillips here in the newsroom. i. choose aleve and you could start taking fewer pills. just 2 aleve have the strength... to relieve arthritis pain all day.
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let's look at these live pictures now. astronauts working to attach some pair parts to the space station a little later today. wolf blitzer bringing you a special hour. at 4:00 p.m. eastern.
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we are just minutes away from president obama's comments
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on health care reform. a free health care event in knoxville, tennessee, is highlighted for those who don't have insurance. jim acosta was there. >> reporter: it started between sunrise, people in wheelchairs and with babies waiting in line to their number to be called. >> who has got number one? >> i do. >> come on down. >> reporter: with that, the doors were opened. >> i'm 41. where are you at. >> reporter: within minutes the charity organization transformed this high school in tennessee into what looked like a hospital for the uninsured. >> we had to cut back on operations in places like haiti and guatemala and india because of the tremendous demand here in the united states. >> reporter: the group's founder took us on a tour of his operation that provides medical and dental even even eye care at
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no cost. >> all of these people you see and all of the support staff are doing it for free. >> reporter: the licensed doctors and nurses and dentists fly across the country on their own dime. some can barely make it through the front door. >> my blood pressure was so high, i might have had a stroke. >> reporter: need your teeth pulled? no problem. need your glasses? stan has got them. but brock says it's washington that can use the glasses. >> reporter: would you like to see the president and members of congress come to one of your events and see these folks firsthand? >> i thing that would be a marvelous idea, nothing would please me more than for us to be put out of business here in the united states so we can concentrate on these places where the need is so, so desperate. >> reporter: one thing brock and the volunteers can't stand, turning

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