wheelchair costs a mere $1,200. >> ripping off of the taxpayer, it doesn't make any sense. >> reporter: debbie brown, her 4-year-old wheelchair now needs replacing. she has applied through her doctor for a new one. drew griffin, cnn, california. i'm heidi collins, "cnn newsroom" continues now with tony harris. >> good morning, everyone. it is thursday, july 23rd. driving the headline today, in the cnn newsroom, president obama is taking his arguments for health reform to middle america. while back in the nation's capital, those on either side of the issue are holding back-to-back news conferences. former lehman brother executive lawrence mcdonald. he was on the inside at the financial giant and now he's talking to us about the company's colossal failure of common sense. jordan thomas, a young man with a desire to help other amputees.

how his foundation is lifting some young patients up and giving them hope. good morning, everyone, i'm tony hairs and you're in the "cnn newsroom." it is the hot issue dominating debate in washington and across most of the nation and health care reform is the big story again today. we are all over it, yes, once against. we expect to hear from republican and democratic lawmakers over the next two hours. we will have reports from correspondents on capitol hill and at the white house, brianna keilar explains the plans already on the table and what they mean for you and suzanne malveaux and president obama's pitch last night. suzanne, let's begin with you. according to the ratings a heck of a place to start. the audience was smaller for this news conference than for recent news conferences, but i would think it was still the

wider audience the president was looking for to make his case. >> certainly, tony. a primetime audience. he really wanted to expand it beyond the 24-hour cable coverage that sometimes we hear the president complaining about, but it was interesting that those numbers dipped a little bit. a fear and concern of overexposure that perhaps people will start tuning him out but that has not yet happened. white house says it is important that he has the appeal and message to reach the american people, putting a lot of political capital behind this, tony. that's what we saw last night and it's what we're seeing today. the reason why the stakes are so high right now is because this is the first initial test of this president, whether or not he can move forward on his agenda and it will really indicate whether he will get much else done in pushing towards some of his policies. take a listen. >> absolutely it's my job. i'm the president. and i think this has to get done. >> mr. obama threw down the gauntlet. >> i'm not going to sign a bill

that, for example, adds to our deficit. i won't sign a bill that doesn't reduce health care inflation. >> reporter: but he did say he supported limiting tax deductions for wealthy americans and imposing a surtax for those making more than $1 million a year, efforts to raise money to cover america's uninsured. >> the plan that has been, that i put forward and that what we're seeing in congress would cover the estimates are, at least 97% to 98% of america's. >> reporter: he also praised republicans for their idea to create an independent panel of medical experts to advise congress on how to cut medical costs and he called on americans and their doctors not to indulge in unnecessary and wasteful medical treatment. >> why would we want to pay for things that don't work that aren't making us healthier? >> reporter: at the same time, mr. obama tried to reassure americans that despite the billions in bailout dollars he

was being responsible with taxpayer's money. >> the debt and the deficit are deep concerns of mine. i am very worried about federal spending. >> okay, suzanne, the president is traveling to cleveland today to talk more about health care. what message can we expect to hear from the white house and we're also curious as to why cleveland is the choice. >> sure, tony, one thing he will talk about is that it is worth it to do something right now. that it is better to do something than nothing and that is what he is pushing forward in congress and also tell the american people that this is ultimately going to help your lives. if you're worried about you lost your homes, you lost your jobs and all your premiums are going up. if you don't deal with the high rising cost of medicare and medicaid expenses, health care expenses, then none of these as pex of your life are going to necessarily improve. they are all linked together and that's the message we can hear from the president and, secondly, the reason that he's going to this cleveland clinic it is a model for what he wants

to see across the country and that is a place that doesn't necessarily compensate the doctors for the number of treatments per se or medications or tests or things like that, which a lot of people believe are unnecessary, but how people are cared for. whether or not they actually get better. whether they get well and he's going to take a look at how they streamlined their medical records, that their electronic, these are ways that he believes we'll save money throughout the rest of the country. so, just highlighting that is a practical way of displaying and arguing, making his case for health care reform. >> suzanne malveaux for us, good to see you, suzanne. we want to focus in now on the health reform plans lawmakers are already working on. like most people, you're wondering what the plans mean for you and the future of your medical care. brianna keilar takes a look. >> reporter: here's when democrats say their insurance overhaul would do for you. insurance companies could not

deny you coverage for a pre-existing condition and you would be required to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. can't afford insurance? the government would chip in and in most cases so would your employer. how much would you pay? house democrats say they will cap your health care costs. >> there will be an annual limit on out -of-pocket expenses and o lifetime limits on care. there will be no more co-pays or deductibles for preventive care that can catch devastating illnesses in time. >> reporter: if you don't get insurance through your employer, some in congress want to change how you buy it on the individual market by creating a central clearing house. it's also called a gateway or an exchange where you could buy insurance after comparing different plans. many democrats in the house and senate want a government-run insurance plan included among those options, insisting private insurers won't lower their prices without the competition, but republicans say it will

drive private insurers out of business. >> you have a very good risk of losing your health care and ending up, if you're poor, your only option is a failed government program that none of us will join and we could possibly avoid. >> reporter: but democrats and president obama say if you like the private coverage you have now, you can keep it. >> if anyone says otherwise, they are either trying to mislead you or don't have their facts straight. >> all right, brianna keilar is joining us live from capitol hill and, brianna, look, we're on standby because we understand we'll hear from lawmakers possibly at any moment and we understand there may be at least one senator who is talking about where we are in this process right now, is that correct? >> we are waiting for that, tony. just to give you, well, this is senator dick durbin right now. >> why don't we listen in. >> let's listen to that. >> the finance committee goes into a markup and then given to the majority leader to blend with the help bill and then bring to the floor couple days.

and either we're going to go into overtime, which is always a possibility, or have to face the prospect of doing it after august. >> really, you think it's possible that you'll stick around? >> i will leave that to senator baucus and senator reed. our goal is to get this done and get it done right. i hope the finance committee efforts will -- >> one more question, senator. did the president do enough last night to give you all -- everyone here is toying with lots of ideas, particularly on the issue of how to pay for this reform and there seems to be some concern that he's not being aggressive or specific enough in saying what he wants. >> it's hard for the president to write the bill. that's our responsibility, the house and the senate to write the bill. the president can help us when we run inobstacles and problems. he stated, i think, clearly, that he does not favor the idea of taxing the individual benefits with his help and his

guidance when it gets to tough parts, it is our job to write these bills. okay? >> thanks for stopping, senator. >> okay, brianna, you still with us? senator dick durbin there. talking about where we stand right now and, brianna, it sounds like we're at this place now where the senator is hoping that we can get some blending going on here between the two competing bills right now and maybe that is the wrong way to phrase it. we have what's going on in the finance committee and we also have what's going on, what's going on in the health committee and what we heard senator durbin say there is that he's hoping that we can move forward to blending those two bills. >> well, the health commit ay is re on their bill. that's why we're keeping an eye on the senate finance committee, tony. that's why you saw dana bash there asking questions of senator durbin. he is the number two democrat in

the senate and he hinted yesterday for the first time that this may not go through the may not be a vote before the recess. what you have in all those reporters, i tell you, they're outside a room where some democrats are briefing other democrats. what is this about? you know, tony, we're keeping an eye on this group of six democrats and republicans on the senate finance committee where we think maybe the best chance for a bipartisan compromise on health care reform and keeping an eye on their talks, they have been having these almost every day and in that room that dana was standing outside of, democrats in that smaller group of six were briefing other democrats on the committee to say where negotiations are going and we have heard from the chief of that committee, max baucus. he's told president obama that they're making progress on their proposal, tony, but at the same time it is slow going and they have missed self-imposed deadlines by weeks here.

>> let's turn to the house for just a moment. it seems that progress has slowed on the house side. i'm wondering if the president's speech last night and his news conference did, did the speech, did the comments kick the negotiations into a new gear? >> well, certainly what you can see about the reaction to the speech, i think, house speaker nancy pelosi is probably happy about what she heard sounded like president obama endorsing a compromise that she, that she is forging ahead on, which is when you have to pay for this tony, how do you do it, through taxes? the proposal is to tax couples who make more than $1 million. she really attacked wealthy people and he seemed to endorse that last night. but you've also seen and heard, as we've been talking, tony, in the last couple days about democratic leaders who wanted president obama to really talk more specifics and get things moving and it may have left things wanting for them. >> okay, on capitol hill for us,

brianna keilar. boy, the action is happening on your beat today. brianna, we appreciate it, thank you. lots to cover with health care these next two hours. let's see if we can set the menu for you here. republican leaders hold an 11:45 conference and prior to the hearing on reform and at noon pre-existing conditions and we'll talk to a patient dealing with that and plus, plus a representative on the insurance industry right here in "newsroom." at 12:15 eastern senate democrats go before the microphones to talk about health care costs and at 2:10 eastern we're taking you live to ohio for president obama's town hall meeting on health care. now, when it comes to health care reform, what are you willing to give up? we started, oh, asking this question a couple days ago on our blog and i got to tell you, frankly, we're going to ride this one because you've been smart and on point. and the conversation just keeps

growing, so, we are getting hundreds of comments from you and we want more. just go to our blog, cnn.com/tony. leave us a comment and we'll share some of them on the program coming up this hour or next hour right here in the "cnn newsroom." a young man with a mission. he lost his legs in a boating accident and now jordan thomas is fighting a health care battle from a golf course. this is a story you won't want this is a story you won't want to miss.

you are looking at pictures of the spacewalk performed yesterday at this time. there was a bit of a problem one of the astronauts there, christopher cassidy, his suit didn't spring a leak but the carbon dioxide level started to rise so he was at risk of getting co2 poisoning but they had to cut the spacewalk short and they managed to replace two of the four batteries that they were trying to get done there. they'll have to go back out there today and give her another go. if you're traveling by plane today, there are a few airport delays we want it highlight. newark 55-minute delays and 40-minute delays in philadelphia and teterboro seeing a few and

atlanta seeing a few delays, as well. live shot from the atl and no real weather problems and shot of centennial olympic park and temperatures fairly comfortable for this time of year. show you a couple of rainfall tallies. columbia, south carolina, yesterday got almost 4 inches of rain in a little under two hours. that's a frog strangler, for sure. dayton, ohio, seeing 1.5. here's where that rain is right now. the whole developing low off the coast of long island and new york. that will develop more rain and spread it, i think, across eastern new england over the next 12 to 24 hours and see an inch or two and already rain-saturated soil. mostly east of the new york metropolitan area. 94 in dallas, not bad for this time of year. 77 degrees in new york and continues to be unseasonably cool there and out west, though, they're starting to see the heat build. 98 degrees in las vegas and 91 degrees expected for salt lake

city. quick check on weather, cnn newsroom with tony harris is coming right back. 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. massachusetts senator john kerry right now talking to

reporters after being briefed on where things stand on health care reform. >> because it bends there cost curve and it's fairer. >> but your employees might have to pay more than salary. >> you have competition in the marketplace and that marketplace competition will tend to encourage a company to have a plan that's efficient and below that cost and as a result you're going to be efficiency into the system and create competition so people have more choice. if you were to go after the individual, you don't get any of those benefits of the system. >> okay, that's, boy, sorry about the picture there. but, as you know, senator kerry has proposed taxing health insurance companies. not sure where the debate is on that particular proposal. again, this is all happening now and we're trying to get as many views on health care reform. it's happening right now live on capitol hill and whenever we get

an opportunity to bring the comments of the republican senator, a democratic senator, whoever is talking about health care reform, any of the lawmakers, we will get that on as quickly as we can. a young man's personal battle now illustrates the issue on capitol hill that is playing out even as we speak. jordan thomas lost his legs in an accident and learned about the hundreds of thousands who aren't getting the level of prosthetics they need in the united states. chris baldwin has this impact your world story. >> reporter: jordan thomas plays a serious golf game. it's par for the course for this talented athlete who spent his childhood excelling at sports. even on family vacations jordan would show off his fishing skills. but four years ago in the florida keys the family's annual boating trip went terribly wrong. just hours after these photos were taken jordan jumped in the ocean to test the waters. >> the wake pushed me behind the

boat and i remember just hearing just being underneath the boat and hearing the motor go and i knew immediately what had happened and i looked down and all i saw was just red, just everywhere. >> reporter: the boat's propeller's slashing jordan's legs. his parents, both doctors, had to act fast. they were five miles from shore. >> he had a lot of bleeding, of course. we had to work quickly to control that and -- >> reporter: perhaps if you didn't have that experience as doctors knowing how to stop the bleeding or lessen the bleeding perhaps you would have lost him. >>ia. i think so. >> sure. >> in an instant i was an amputee. >> reporter: jordan spent the next two weeks in a miami hospital undergoing multiple surgeries. while recovering he visited a wing where children who also lost limbs were being treated and their families couldn't

afford expensive prosthetics. >> i found out a lot of insurance companies put a $5,000 cap on your legs and like i said, mine are $22,000. 17 grand, what do you do? >> reporter: at 16 he started the jordan thomas foundation helping disadvantaged kids get the prosthetics they need. >> i decided that i wanted to make something positive out of this negative, horrible event. >> reporter: the foundation has since raised $350,000 which pays for prosthetics for three children. one of them, 6-year-old noah. doctors had to amputate noah right leg when he was 3 weeks old because of a condition stemming from a heart defect. funded his first prosthetic leg, but it had no knee. >> just a standard leg, it doesn't bend. >> reporter: that became difficult as noah began to walk and he needed more frequent upgrades that insurance just didn't cover.

>> if the time limit isn't enough from when he needs one foot to another one, they don't want to pay for it. >> reporter: jordan's foundation did. >> you like the knee? >> yes. >> reporter: how does it work? just like that. >> watch. >> reporter: wow. this issue has garnered national attention. robert andrews introduced the prosthetics and orthotices parody bill. >> they ought to cover the same percentage of a cost they would for a knee operation or heart operation. you know, if you have a deductible of $500 and they pay the rest, that's what they should do for prosthetic devices. >> reporter: as for jordan, the only time you'll hear him mention the word handicap is on the golf course. he is driving home the message that anything is possible. >> helping these kids and seeing that it just motivates you, you want to get more money from people and help more people and have that insatiable desire to

help people. it's a good thing. >> we love that story and we love that young man. i don't know where we find these stories, brooke. i'm glad you were able to share this story with us. the reality is, he is getting some recognition and high praise for what he's doing, isn't he? >> two awards i want to tell you about. this past spring he won the youth and philanthropy award. he is about to receive it in minneapolis next month. national courage award, tony. he had some stiff competition beating out mohammed ali and michael j. fox to get this thing. he's 20 years old, keep in mind. >> insane. >> 20. >> brooke, appreciate it. good to see you. it's been a while. >> i know, hello. >> hello. thanks for that story. we appreciate it. if you'd like to learn more about jordan thomas and his foundation's efforts to help underprivileged children receive the prosthetics they so desperately need, visit our impact your world page at cnn.com/impact.

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firefighters in the san francisco area battling a warehouse fire this morning. pretty dramatic pictures to show you. the fire is in an industrial park at columbus salami warehouse in south san francisco. maybe we'll get a better view of the fire. everyone got out okay before the

flames spread. television stations were putting out the word to parents not to bring their kids to the day care center about a half mile from the fire. a former insider at a global financial firm reveals all about its colossal collapse and he's taking us inside what he calls one of the most mysterious places on wall street. so what do you think?

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and save 50% on pads and shoes. meineke. talk about a turn around. at this time last year ford announced its biggest quarterly loss in company history and now the automaker says it's making money. what? susan lisovicz is at the new york stock exchange with details. tell the tale here, susan. >> not only making money, but a lot of money, tony. ford made $2.3 million in the second quarter compares to a nearly $9 billion loss the year earlier. why is that? a lot of companies are doing that. it's reducing its costs whether it's reducing the head count, whether it is reducing its legacy costs with its pensions,

pension costs, but even taking out the -- those debt reductions profits still beat estimates and, of course, ford is the only one of the big three to not file for bankruptcy and the only one not to take any money from t.a.r.p. and it says its north american unit will be profitable in a year and a half. ford shares right now are up 9.5% and check out the big board. >> whoa, what is going on? >> well, we got a positive report on existing home sales at 10:00 and the dow shot up and it's over 9,000 for the first time since early january. the nasdaq, meanwhile, on track for its 12th consecutive rally. i mean, we're going back to 1996 at this point. when the economy was in a whole lot better shape, i might add. >> good point. >> we talk a lot, susan, about automakers and when we do, we talk about how much they're burning through. is ford still burning through

more money than it's making? >> it made money in the second quarter. made a lot of it, but burned through $1 billion and that is better than the nearly $4 billion that it burned through in the previous quarter and it also, ford, has more than $20 billion in cash on hand and, of course, that cash helped it avoid taking a government handout. the only one that bears repeating of the big three to do so. tony, back to you. >> susan, stay with me here. let's look at what led to the financial meswe're in and we're talking about for so long right now. joining us live from new york, boy, i am happy to have lawrence mcdonald on the program with us. he is former vice president of failed investment bank lehman brothers. he reveals what happened in his new book titled "the clausm failure." colossal failure, the inside story of the collapse of lehman brothers and, if you would, boy, let's get started here. why, why was lehman allowed to

fail and, if you would, tell us at what cost of the economy and i'm thinking about how much money and how many jobs? >> well, tony, first of all, thanks for having me. >> we're happy to have you. >> we really wrote this book to expose the few that hurt so many. so many people hurt by this financial kriss and so many people at lee hman brothers. 2.5 million jobs lost and people have had their credit lines slashed on their credit cards and the reason we wrote this book is to bring the reader deep, deep inside wall street. i had a front row seat in the largest history of our bankruptcy and this book really brings the reader right into that front row seat. >> and, you know a colossal failure of common sense, you know, you look at the title like that and you think, this is a title to sell books. but, you believe you got the goods to back this claim up, don't you?

>> i tell you, i sat down with 150 to 160 people at the highest levels to the lowest levels all throughout the firm and i wib witnessed so much passion. the one point i want to make, so many wonderful people in the firm that really tried to stop the madness and tried to hedge the firm from the exposures that the management was moving forth on. all the problems emulate from one of the most mysterious places on earth. the 4 3 1st floor at lehman brothers. >> susan, jump in here. >> hey, lawrence. there is a great deal discussed about these government bailouts, but when lehman failed there was a line in the sand in terms of what happened to the economy. it was already technically in recession, but that's when credit seized up and layoffs shot up. would you say it would have ultimately been cheaper to throw some t.a.r.p. at lehman, would have been less costly to us all?

>> it really was, you know, schizophrenic risk management at the time because when you let lehman fail, that makes the aig bailout and the merrill lynch bailout and all the bailouts after them, gm included, so much more expensivexpensive. not many people realize this. but there was a meeting back in the spring of 2008 between former treasury secretary hank paulson and dick fold and a lot of people in the press thought it was a warm and fuzzy meeting but my research shows me that these two men really weren't getting along in the meeting. dick fold at one time lectured the treasury secretary and said something along the lines, you know, i've been in my seat a lot longer than you were at yours at goldman sachs. real tensions here and this is real tragedy and never should have happened. >> let me pick up on that point. lawrence, did then treasury

secretary paulson, let me ask it this way, a former goldman top exec allow allow lehman to fail because of personal dislike because of competition? >> they were trying to make a stand and make a point and i think they massively misjudged the systemic risk and that is one thing i want to they had all these credits and so much risk in the system and on the other side of the coin, on the government side, you had really the fdic, the sec, you know, the fsa over in europe and the comtroller of the currency and all these organizations were completely uncoordinated and

it's just a complete tragedy and i want to reach out to president obama, if he's listening. going forward, you know, we have to have coordination of risk management at our government. there has to be one or two people that coordinate all these government agencies to watch over wall street. >> susan, take the last one here. >> lawrence, i think one thing that is coming out, as well, now that we have a little bit of time passing, there's another book, actually might be a great companion piece to yours by the former economics wall street journal economics reporter saying that there was a plan to save lehman by a bunch of investment banks here on wall street that it failed in the 11th hour and that bernanke then thought it was up to the fed to save lehman. paulson wouldn't sign on. you know, one of the things that has to be said is that there was just this incredible rivalry. goldmi goldman and lehman were at each other's throats and do you think

there was some of that personal animosity that ultimately ended up with leeman failing when so many others were saved with lehman on the brink? >> it makes no sense to have lehman fail and then bail out everybody else. secretary paulson has made many statements in the public that he tried to do everything he could and i just don't buy it. two weeks before lehman failed they asked to become a bank holding company. they were told no by the government and then, you know, a month or two later goldman sachs and morgan stanley were allowed to become bank holding companies which really saved both of those companies and bizarre that you had goldman sach and lehman at zero, that doesn't add up. >> terrific. lawrence, thanks for the book. i can't wait to read through it. susan, as always, thank you again. you ask my questions so much better than i did and got the

answer i couldn't get. terrific. lawrence, thank you so much. thank you, both. >> bye-bye. mayors and rabbis arrested in a federal corruption in money laundering investigation. the case is unfolding in innew jersey. deborah feyerick is en route for a news conference. she joins us now by phone. what more have you learned about this case? >> reading a few of the criminal complaints and hundreds of pages for about 30 defendants and one point interesting that the mayor of hoboken in the months before he was in an election he mret with a real estate developer and one of his associates accepted thousands of dollars in cash from this real estate developer working for the government and there were conversations that were exchanged, all of it tape recorded with the developer saying, you know, you have to remember me.

you have to expedite my zoning and then the hoboken mayor saying, "when i'm sworn in on july 1st, we break down the world into three categories. the people who are with us, that's you guys. the people who climbed onboard in the runoff, they can get in line. and then people against us the whole way. they get ground into powder." all of this recorded by the fbi and other officials here as they were investigating this public corruption. one thing that's interesting is this whole investigation began when the government was looking into a group of rabbis in moth county, totally separate investigation involving money laundering but because of the overlapse, they were able to get to a number of politicians, republicans, democrats, local leaders, state leaders and new jersey assemblymen. so all those politicians being processed and going to be in court later this afternoon.

tony? >> court appearances set is to start at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. correct me if i'm wrong. a news conference you're on your way what may begin at the top of the hour? >> looks like the press conference was moved to 12:30. we're here now and just arrived a few minutes ago reading through the criminal complaints and make interesting reading and. >> deb, we'll see you next hour, deb feyerick in new jersey. you know, when it comes to health care reform, nearly a dozen different proposals are floating around the nation's capital. how to cut through the hearsay and see the details of each plan.

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 for pre-existing conditions. it's time to act. our arwa damon just completed an exclusive interview with angelina jolie. in this portion of the interview, jolie talks to arwa about the need to help refugees in the middle east.

>> this region of the world, the stability of this region is important to all of us. there are still 3 million people displaced innocent families. we have still many young men and women from our country who are fighting every day. there are many men and women from all countries who have lost their lives and this is a time to try to make some positive change and, so, we have -- this is in working in cambodia and other areas of the world that i work in it so often you find that these countries years on have all these little problems because it was this moment that wasn't given enough attention. it wasn't this moment that we didn't have enough support and they didn't have the right education and, so, this is the moment. >> okay. you can hear more of this interview with angelina jolie in the 1:00 eastern hour in the "cnn newsroom" with kyra phillips. %%%%%%%%%%%%

look, so many different health care plans are being floated in congress, which one would be best for you? josh levs has a way that can help you compare. i have to tell you something, we're getting so many comments about this to you, josh, at your twitter account. >> are you looking at my twitter again? >> you have 15 different accounts and to our blog, help us cut through all of the noise in the various plans and you found a way to help folks do that. >> it is really tongue twisting because so many different plans throughout and most people can't even name five of them or

pronounce some of the committees that are putting them together. a private research group that follows health care issues. every time you see a white box, another type of plan that is being floated in congress. you can pick any two, like i picked, for example, the senate health xhilty which we hear a lot about and one from senator tom coburn who was on our show yesterday and then i said you can compare them any which way you want. let's compare them overall and their approach to fix the issue, boom, it pulls this up and breaks down the differences on any aspect that i choose. go straight to cnnmoney.com and we do it for you right here. side-by-side comparison and click on health and we can get some of the basic there's for you, too, tony. >> that is awesome, sir, thank you. see you next hour. the first part of cnn's documentary "black in america 2" with soledad o'brien aired last night. i-reporters from coast to coast are weighing in. >> i was truly inspired watching

cnn's "black in america" this evening. great to see so many black people at different levels who just want to do something great and just want to serve. more of our young people need to see that. i'm out here every day trying to save the minds of these young people and i believe what they see is what they will be. by putting out images of images of mrs. rice that is motivationally and inspirational. >> thank you for a change represented with a view of blacks in america, not just from a fatalistic view, but from a positive view. we had some lower income blacks, we had middle income blacks and high-income blacks all in one report. you did leave us with a taste in our mouth that there was a group of people that always needed help. you showed all the views. >> okay.

the second part of "black in america 2" airs tonight at 8:00 eastern only on cnn. and our black in america coverage continues with the high school where failure is not an option. >> we have a school that is designed to send children to college. if we don't send children to college, we're not doing our job. >> how the school took a would-be dropout and turned her into a college-bound scholar.

a major arrest in a corruption and money laundering probe in new jersey. rabbis and eightiors amok those arrested this morning. if you change health insurers or you have no health insurance, will a pre-existing condition be a problem with you? we'll talk with someone going through that right now. with an insurance insider. stay with us right here on the "cnn newsroom." improving the odds of young african-americans through education. that is the goal of a prep school in "black in america 2," our soledad o'brien introduces us to a student on her way to becoming a high school dropout. now she's working her way to college. >> after you've finished, it's all set for you. >> reporter: it's tuesday

morning and 18-year-old gloria menafee is starting her day. >> my blazer is in my locker. >> reporter: a little before 7:00, a little prayer. >> blessings that you provided us. >> good day. >> reporter: and a hug from mom. >> i want to sucsucceed. i want to make it. it's all about me and my goals and successes and what i want to make my life out to be. love you, mom. >> reporter: gloria is a high school senior. a solid "b" student. she's a cheerleader, a tutor and plays on the lacrosse team here at capitol preparatory magnate school in hartford, connecticut. >> good morning. good morning. good morning. where's your coat, man? tough guy. good morning. >> reporter: and every morning at 7:30 sharp, principal steve perry is at capitol prep's front doors. >> what's up, chief? >> reporter: they greet gloria and the rest of the students as they arrive for class. steve perry founded the school

four years ago. >> how we doing, sir? >> reporter: he has the highest expectations of all his students. it's the capital prep way. >> earrings out, please. we have a school that is designed to send children to college. if we don't send children to college, we're not doing our job. >> reporter: how many of your kids go to college? >> 100%. >> reporter: every child who graduates? >> every child that graduates goes on to a four-year college. >> reporter: at one point college was the last thing on gloria's mind. by age 15 she was considering dropping out. then she enrolled in capital prep. >> before capital prep, my main focus was just getting out of the house. getting my ged and getting an apartment and just going, just going. >> reporter: she wanted out, a home where her parents' addictions meant chaos. >> i have the best of both worlds. meaning i had a mom who was a

drug user and a dad who was an alcoholic. >> i often say to children, you have to learn to play hurt. you want to sit, you want to cry? then when you're done crying, guess what's going to happen? nothing. nothing's going to change. but you and i can work on something that's going to change it. >> reporter: steve perry and gloria have been working toward this moment, since gloria first entered capital prep's doors. her first college interview. >> talk about what you do well. focus on the best that you have to offer. >> okay. >> the hard worker, which you are. you're a considerate person which you are and you'll take very seriously your study of social work. >> okay. >> reporter: now it's all up to gloria. >> gloria? >> yes. >> i'm jordan. nice to meet you. >> hi, nice to meet you. >> boy, you can see more of the challenges facing african-americans and using the people using groundbreaking solutions to improve the black experience.

"today's by years the second focus of our event tonight in "black in america 2." may i help you? hello, down here! you hiring? good! yes, but... then i can set my master plan in motion. your master what? i got big dreams and everybody knows, if you work here, the sky's the limit. well, yes. my neighbor did... and now she owns three mcdonald's. plus, mcdonald's gives out scholarships. and who wouldn't want that on their resume? shouldn't you two be taking a nap? mcdonald's -- deeply rooted in the community. hey, craig... one day, this will all be ours. ♪

president obama being blunt he says, the came brage, massachusetts, police officer acted stupidly in arresting a harvard professor. prominent african-american professor, henry louis gates was arrested last week at his home. gates was handcuffed and taken into custody following a confrontation with police who responded to reports of a burglary at his home. gates tells cnn he wants an apology. >> i would be prepared as a human being to forgive him. that would not deter me from using this as an educational opportunity for america. because if this can happen to me, in harvard square, this can happen to anybody in the united states. and i'm determined that it never happen to anybody again. >> what it made me realize was how vulnerable all black men

are. how vulnerable all people of color are and all poor people to capricious forces like a rogue policeman, and this man clearly was a rogue policeman. >> wow, we will have president obama's comments on this in the next hour. plus, we will hear comments made this morning by the arresting officer. very interesting comments, i might add. mayors and rabbis arrested in a federal corruption and money laundering investigation. the case unfolding right now in new jersey. a ns conference expected later this hour at the u.s. attorney's office in newark. among those authorities linked to corruption investigation, hoboken mayor peter cammarano. secaucus mayor dennis elwell. reporter steve cornaki of "the new york observer" spoke to cnn earlier about the players. >> they're not all, but they're mostly from it looks like hudson

county, you know, which is that sort of gritty, urban county right across from new york city, you know, hoboken, jersey city, that area. notorious for political corruption. there's an old joke from the governor of new jersey, he would say he wanted to be buried when he died in hudson county because then he could stay active in politics. >> wow. >> pretty amazing, huh? 30 people have been arrested. they'll begin federal court appearances later this afternoon. president obama takes his push for health care reform on the road today after his prime-time pitch last night. the president is headed to ohio. he is trying to ease public concerns and fend off political criticism of his health care overall. white house correspondent, suzanne malveaux, joining us live now. suzanne, good to see you again. >> reporter: hi, tony. >> what was the main emphasis in the president's press conference? >> reporter: the main emphasis was talking directly to the american people. this is going to impact your

lives, this is why it's important. taking it outside of washington. there's a red pill, a blue pill, the red pill is more expensive than the blue pill, and you still take that, showing inefficiencies in the system. making the case that the uninsured need to be insured. you've got the guys they think they are invinciblnvincible, thn the system. they end up getting hit by a us bus and they can't pay for it. it's real life, real examples and he's reaching out to the american people saying this is the reason why i'm doing and you've got to push members of congress to support this. there's another thing, tony, he was also trying to give a sense of urgency to this so people would act and push members of congress to act. i want you to take a listen to what he said. >> sure. >> if we do not reform health care, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. if we don't act, 14,000 americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. these the consequences of inaction.

these are the stakes of the debate that we're having right now. >> quickly, we will get back to suzanne in just a moment. right now max baucus who chairs the finance committee, the senate finance committee, is talking about health care reform. >> -- what the real concerns are and so forth, which makes it much more likely -- first of all, easier for me to know what we have to know, you know, to the proposal. but i made it clear to the group, too, that any proposal that the group of six comes up with, will be just that, it will be a proposal. i'll go back to them, senate democrats, as i'm sure senator grassley goes to the republicans and get their views, the senate democrat views, what do they think about it. and then probably go back to the six, okay, there may or may not be some refinements that have to be made. so, this is just part of the process. i can't negotiate out of the proposal with all members together in the same room.

there's too many people. you get a core group and go back to all senate democrats, which we've just done. it is very, very helpful. i mean, all across the spectrum. get people in the rural states, senators from urban states and don't forget me, don't forget this and that. it's very, very helpful. >> it sounds like you're pretty far away, though, from the point where, given what you just said, the point where you can actually take something and mark it up. >> i've always said -- i've always said nothing's changed. we're ready, we're ready. and i'm doing my very best to move that along as quickly as i possibly can. and i'm very optimistic we'll get there. and we'll get there fairly soon. i cannot give you -- >> you can't define "soon"? >> not in the way you'd like. >> we have to go, folks. thank you very much, guys. thank you. >> the most important is this

lunch with my son. >> okay. dana bash, our senior congressional correspondent, working it. let's bring in our white house court, suzanne malveaux, and obviously, suzanne, boy, things are happening. you know, we were wondering if the president's comments last night at the news conference might sort of jump-start the negotiations, max baucus there is the chair of the senate finance committee. and the work continues there. he is describing a lot of work. he had a lot of steps in the process still to come. in the meantime, the president is in cleveland today, and he is going to continue the drumbeat, isn't he? >> reporter: yeah, tony, not to disparage the process taking place on the hill. the president, really, he wants to show a different picture. he's going to be at the cleveland clinic. he's going to be with people. he's going to be talking about, in this town-hall meeting, real problems that people have with their health care system, talking about their illnesses. he's also going to be highlighting this clinic, saying, here's what i want to do here, i want to use this model, this model where you have

physicians talking to each other in the same room, diagnosing together a patient's issues and problems so they don't overlap when it comes to overprescribing medical procedures or medications, that kind of thing. he wants to show that picture and highlight that particular clinic, saying this is what i'm talking about, the health care reform, this impacted everyday americans. this is not about the politics, republicans, democrats, democratic splits and all the amendments and the process that goes. but this is about real people and their lives and what this means to them. >> very good, suzanne malveaux at the white house for us, suzanne, appreciate i, thank you. so, clearly, health care reform dominating the debate and discussion on capitol hill. we'll talk to our brianna keilar in just a moment about the comments from senator max baucus just moments ago. but we heard earlier from house speaker, nancy pelosi, and she said she's very optimistic that health care reform will happen. >> i'm very confident, more confident than ever. when we work out some of the

differences that we have, it will be very apparent to everyone else that the momentum is there, when the bill is ready, we'll go to the floor and we will win. okay, let's get the latest on negotiations and negotiations. our congressional correspondent, brianna keilar, on capitol hill. you tell me where you want to start. we had comments from senator max baucus talking essentially about the work being done by the bipartisan group of six. out of those negotiations will come some kind of proposal and then there's a whole set of steps that will follow. but i'm curious as to where health care stands in light of the comments from the speaker of the house. >> reporter: well, house speaker, nancy pelosi, said today that there are a few issues that still need to be resolved. she's confident they can be resolved within the next 48 hours. that's pretty interesting, tony. what issues are we talking about? we've been going back and forth about this. the issues they are dealing with are coming from the fiscally

conservative democrats, who are concerned that the proposal in the house doesn't squeeze enough savings out of the health care system before it moves to say, hey, taxpayers, we need some money from you to pay for it and also pawls they want to really revamp the system so incentives are changed and doctors are rewarded for the quality of care they're providing and not how much care. not how many expensive procedures they are providing. watt we heard from speaker pelosi say, they are on schedule to go forward. what does that mean? does that mean they are on schedule to have a vote for the august recess when congress goes away from washington for a month? well, she wouldn't say, tony. she just said -- she wouldn't really be pinned down from that. we heard off-camera from the number three democrat in the house, james clyburn, he is the whip, the vote counter, he said that democrats should be prepared to postpone their recess or maybe even cancel it if, you know, they are having issues getting -- getting towards a vote before going away. >> okay, brianna, if the

progress is slowed in the house, it's even moving more slowly in the senate. again, we just heard from the chair of the finance committee, max baucus, suggesting there's a whole -- there are a lot of steps that have to happen here before we can get something that we can begin to either mark up. it looks like a vote before september is unlikely, doesn't it? >> reporter: it is looking that way, especially in the senate, tony. and when you listen to max baucus talking there -- >> yeah. >> reporter: -- you heard dana bash questioning him, i had to chuckle to myself, max baucus said we are going to get there fairly soon, and when she pressed him on what fairly soon meant, he said he wasn't going to define it in the way she wanted him to. we heard from senator dick durbin, and he is the vote counter in the senate, and so you listen carefully to what he has said, and it all revolves around the senate finance committee, which max baucus is the chairman of, they're coming up with a bipartisan agreement which looks like the best chance

to get some really to get enough votes in the senate to move this through congress. >> right. >> reporter: listen to dick durbin, a short time ago, to talk about all the steps that you need to go through, one, the senate finance committee coming up with its plan, which it hasn't done yet, and moving to the senate floor. >> if the bill is approved and goes to a markup and is given to the majority leader to blend with their bill and bring to the floor in a couple days. and either we're going to go into overtime, which is always a possibility, or have to face the prospect of doing it after august. >> reporter: so, durbin there hinting that it very likely may not happen before the august recess, tony. >> wow, a lot of developments. brianna keilar following it all for us on capitol hill with the help of dana bash and a host of others. brianna, appreciate it. thank you. what would be willing to give up to pay for health care reform? it's a question posted on our newsroom blog, this is terrific.

thank you very much. you flooded the blog with responses, 800, 900, i don't know where we are. the question also came up during debate on the house floor -- >> i'm just wondering which one of you members is going to give up your navy doctors downstairs to take care of you? which one of you are going to give up your federal health care plan which insures all the members of your family? which one of you are going to give up medicare for all of your constituents? which one of you are going to give up the veterans' care and the veterans clinic ins drure ict? whi in your district? which one of you is going to take away the military tricare program? yeah, government's involved in health care. sure is, that's what our country is surviving and living on. let's make this work and stop attacking each other. >> wow, here's how some of you responded to our blog question. cynthia says, i don't know what more i can give up before i will become homeless. steve writes, if i were to give

up cigarettes, i could save $1,500 per year. if the nation could give up cigarettes, we could reform health care. and this response from charles, i am willing to give up the palace-like hospitals with their expensive artwork and fancy designs. just go to our blog, boy, and weigh in. one of the key issues in the health care debate, how to care for people with pre-existing conditions. we are going to hear from a patient and a representative from the insurance industry. that's next.

finding health insurance can be tough enough. if you're already sick it can seem almost impossible. senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen, is here. along with a guest to talk about the problem of pre-existing conditions. and, elizabeth, introduce us. >> all right, great. this is peggy duncan. welcome to our show, peggy. >> thank you. >> and peggy lives here in atlanta. and you had breast cancer in the '90s. >> yes, in '92. >> in '92. and you had insurance, but then you left your company and you went searching for insurance on

your own. >> yes. >> what happened when you went on that search? >> well, initially, i had the c.o.b.r.a., and, of course, that ran out. when i started looking, i had no idea that because i had had breast cancer that i would have a problem. and at some point you apply and you check all the nos down the whole list, no, i don't have blood pressure. no, i'm not overweight. no, no, no. but the one thing that i had to say yes to was the cancer, and i was -- i was always denied. >> even though you -- you were treated for cancer and -- >> yes. >> -- no longer had breast cancer. >> yes. and at that point, the last time i applied for regular insurance, it had been 15 years since i had had breast cancer. >> so, 15 years after having breast cancer insurance companies told you, no, we won't even -- just said no right out. >> right. >> and i tried several different companies. >> yes. >> how many did you try? >> probably at least three, and at some point you keep getting the same answer, so you just give up. and finally i found one

insurance company that would insure me, but the preventive -- which is what i want, because i take care of myself. i eat right. i exercise. i want preventive, and they -- it was laughable what they would cover. i mean, i may as well just pay out of pocket, because the hospital that i go to gives me a self-pay discount, so definitely always ask for a self-pay discount. don't be too embarrassed. >> wait a minute, are you insured now? >> i have insurance, but it's hospital insurance. it only covers me if i go to the hospital, and i have a $5,000 deductible. >> and you had expressed to me that you were concerned would this insurance come through for you, because you've never had to use it. and, tony, i will tell you, i've spoken to experts on this, if you have a pre-existing condition and no one will insure you and you find one company that will, in their experience, that company doesn't pan out. it usually ends up being a bit of a fly-by-night situation. >> okay.

how are you doing now? just give us, you know, overall, how are you doing? >> oh, i'm fine. because i'm self-employed, so i don't have any stress with dealing with employees. and i'm healthy. i exercise. i eat right. and so i'm fine. i just want some insurance. >> yeah. >> but if you want to go to the doctor -- >> uh-huh. >> -- if you want to get a mammogram. if you want to get any of that, that comes out of your pocket. >> i pay for it myself. but fortunately i go to emory, and they have a self-pay discount. >> they give you a discount. >> yes. >> peggy, we appreciate it. thank you. just stay close to me. some good information for you here. we want to talk with a representative from the health insurance industry about pre-existing conditions. joining us now is karen ignanny, she is president and ceo of america's health insurance plans, the organization represents providers of health care, insurance care, and thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> thanks, tony. >> let's get started here. as you know, the house and senate working on bills here

that in both cases call for a government-run health insurance option. it is not something that your organization is in favor of. you've got a statement to that effect on your website. tell us why you see this as a roadblock. >> well, i'm glad you started there. >> yeah. >> i think the most important thing to focus on right now, given what the president said last night and where the congress is, is trying to put the pieces together, both parties together, to craft something that can be passed and sustained. the issue of government-run program has been the one issue that has consumed most of the discussion over the last three to four months. and, in fact, i think it's crowding out and obscuring the consensus that exists around the reforms that would solve the problem that has been appropriately and correctly identified by your guest just a second ago. and i want -- i'm pleased to tell you that on behalf of our community, six months ago, our members committed to a comprehensive overall overhaul

about how it works. the proposals are embedded in every piece of legislation. so, i think this offers real hope for people. so, that's the first thing. there is some major consensus around the issue of getting everybody in to the system. insurance market reform, making sure that we provide subsidies to working families, improve the safety net. and that discussion and that consensus has been totally obscured by the question and the issue of whether we should have a government-run program or not. and i think that's unfortunate. because members of congress can agree on that platform. >> karen, we wanted peggy, the guest who we just had on, to be on air with you so that she could ask you a question, but your people told cnn that you didn't want to be on air with someone who had a pre-existing condition. >> i'm happy to talk to peggy. >> terrific. let's bring peggy back in. why don't you ask me the

question you asked me earlier. karen works for the insurance industry. go ahead. >> i wanted to ask -- because of what i do for a living from a personal productivity standpoint, would you be willing to look at your organization from the ground up and eliminate all inefficiencies from the ground up, individually and then use all of that savings to provide real health care for people like me and other people. >> elizabeth, i'm very glad that peggy's asking that question. let me give you both a direct answer. in addition to the insurance market reforms that we have laid down on the table and have been incorporated into every piece of legislation, our members have also committed to massive overhaul of the administrative procedures. that would essentially, to make it very simple and to get to peggy's question, would essentially allow doctors and hospitals to spend more time with patients. so, not dealing with ten different forms, ten different procedures, ten different codes. not only does that add inefficiency to the system, it

doesn't allow the focus to be where it should. we recognize that. we've come together on that, and we have offered one of the most robust and extensive proposals that's ever been made for administrative simplification. so, peggy is right. she's two for two. she's right that we need to get to the insurance market reforms and get everybody into the system, and there's bipartisan consensus around that, i believe. and she's also right, that we have to have administrative simplification. we can do that. and i'm sorry my earpiece has just fallen out. >> okay. >> i'm putting it right back. >> there we go, terrific. karen, you said this week, a government-run plan is a roadblock to reform. >> yes. >> that's a quote from you. and so what i'm wondering here is, if a government-run plan actually comes to pass, your companies will make less money. that's what a lot of people say. that you stand to lose a lot of money. is that one of the reasons why you're not so crazy about a

government-run plan? >> well, actually, there are several issues here. we've just issued a study based on real california data, not estimated data, but real data that show most of the hospitals in california will be going bankrupt under the proposals that have been made for government-run programs. physicians in this country, across the country, have made the same argument and the same point. those are first two points. the second point is that there will, in very short order, be no other system left. it will be an entirely government-run system, because the way the system works today, the program that the -- the so-called government-run program would be modeled against is a medicare program. it now pays roughly 85 cents on the dollar, and what happens for hospitals and physicians, the excess costs are shifted on to private payers. so, every employer, every union, every state and local government providing coverage is paying an extra $1,500 per family per month. we -- we have those costs. we can't get rid of those costs.

so, when a government program gets created around medicare rate, that means that our costs are going to be that much higher, because we have the cost shifting from the previous government programs. and that's a very important issue to understand in terms of our positioning on the matter. so, it's not a question of being concerned about having competition. it's concerned about sustaining any kind of private government commercial or health plan organization. >> but, karen, will are companies lose money if there's a public plan? will they lose money? >> you can't -- you can't operate against a plan that's paying basically 85 cents on the dollar or 90 if it's 5% over, when all the excess costs are being shifted, unless government is going to do something differently with respect to those excess costs. >> all right. let's leave it there for now. and, karen, agree to come back on the program. >> thank you. >> as we head down the road in

this debate. it was great having you. thanks for taking the time to join us. >> thank you very much. >> peggy, good look to you. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> elizabeth, thank you as always. how many americans are really uninsured? gecko vo: geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. but, it's not like we're kicking back, now, havin' a cuppa tea. gecko vo: takes lots of sweat to become that big. gecko vo: 'course, geckos don't literally sweat... it's just not our thing... gecko vo: ...but i do work hard, mind you. gecko vo: first rule of "hard work equals success." gecko vo: that's why geico is consistently

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now. and last night's prime-time news conference, the president spelled out what's at stake. >> if we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit. if we do not reform health care, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. if we don't act, 14,000 americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. these are the consequences of inaction. these are the stakes of the debate that we're having right now. >> how many americans are uninsured? there's a figure we keep hearing, you know, we hear anywhere from 45 million, 46 million, but it might not be accurate. josh has been looking in to that. >> right. >> you hear 45 million, you hear 46 million. it's just hard to -- look, i mean, it's a similar range. >> it's a similar range. but even the range might not be right on. as a matter of fact, let's take a listen to what president obama

said last night. >> okay. >> this is not just about the 47 million americans who don't have any health insurance at all. >> he went with 47 million. which is a little bit more than what's there. >> right. >> but everyone is in the sange range when they talk about it, 45 million, 46 million, 47 million. let's go to the census. let's go to the graphic. the census has a study and they are saying 45.7 million were uninsured for entire of 2007. that's what almost everyone is basing the numbers on. uninsured for the whole year. here's what people don't know, the census also says this, look at this one, the number is actually likely too high. they say health insurance coverage is likely to be underreported. i spoke to them today. the 45.7 million is most likely too high because of the way that they collect this information, it's probably not that big. so, that feeds one side of this argument that says, hey, the number's actually a lot smaller than 45.7 million. but then you have the flip side.

take a look at this one. this is a group called families usa. they are an advocacy group. they are saying it's higher, nearly 90 million. the census figures look at who didn't have health insurance at all for a whole year. this group is an advocacy group, families usa, pushing for more people to have health insurance, they tried to figure out who didn't have health insurance at any given moment at any time over a two-year period. and they say that's what their study found. when you look at all of that, really it's a lot higher, because at any given moment -- >> can you imagine if the president used that figure? >> that's a massive portion of america. >> it's still a significant portion of people who are uninsured. >> absolutely. it's huge. >> but there is -- there is some portion of that number of people who, you know, you hear that they could be -- >> right. >> -- insured right now who are uninsured right now. what do would know about that. >> that's what people are looking at, the financial status, that maybe someave insu. >> yes.

>> i looked at factcheck.org and i confirmed it with the census directly. they say 20% of the uninsured have family incomes of $75,000 or more. you look at $75,000 or more for a family -- >> you should be able to afford. >> -- but we can't say it in every case, maybe they don't have access or have pre-existing conditions and can't get it. it's not a blanket statement, 25% of those people, $75,000 of family income. some people don't have insurance by choice. we know that. >> yosh, thanks. appreciate it. entry-level jobs, pretty hard to find, and living independently keeps getting more and more expensive. so, guess where most recent college graduates are going? yeah, yeah. they're moving back in with mom and dad. one could be turning up on your doorstep before you know it. is it acceptable to say padlock the doors? cnn political finance editor gerri willis is here.

and, gerri, look, give us some tips here to help make this transition a touch easier here. >> they call them boomerang kids, right? yeah, they do. >> because they come back. a recent poll by collegegrad.com showed that 80%, eight oh, most of them, college grads will move back in with their parents, higher than last year. whether kids are home for an extended summer or until they find a job, who knows when that will happen, right? it's important to set up guidelines before they settle in. you might want to think about drawing up a written agreement between you and your child. i know it sounds crazy, but, believe me, it might be a good idea. draw up an outline of a time frame of financial responsibilities. and some parents charge rent while others don't even consider the idea. whichever of these two options you choose, make sure to clarify exactly what the child is responsible for when it comes to other expenses like groceries. >> yeah. >> keep credit card and cell phone bills separate. johnny can pay for that himself!

as there are financial responsibilities your child needs to learn to take on, right, tony? >> hey, look, rent, a timeline, feed yourself. >> yep, yep, yep, yep. the world has changed. you got to pay your way. >> you got to pay your way. i like that a lot. a lot of these recent grads could find themselves without health insurance during this time. could parents continue to cover their children? >> yeah, fur health plan is employer based, it probably offers lower premiums obviously than individual health insurance. and in 25 states give grads the options to be ever coulded under their parents' policy. it varies. it could be 24, it could be 25, 26. >> sorry, great tips, but we've got to get to new jersey on the news conference we're telling you about the major money laundering probe. let's listen in. >> arrested today, just give you

a couple of my highlights, daniel van pelt, a state assemblyman from ocean county. harvey smith has -- has to be summoned because he is out of state. he is also an assemblyman from hudson county. his warrant is unsealed at this time. some of this noteworthy statements as set forth in the complaint include the following. at one point when the c.w. referred to a $5,000 payoff and said he was generous to smith. smith's response was, according to your standards you're generous. at another point he told the c.w. to stop talking about money. he said, i feel like i should pat you down. the next person i'll mention is petter cammarano iii, mayor of hoboken, i think he's been in office about three weeks. as set forth in the complaint, some of mr. cammarano's noteworthy statements include, on may 19th at the malibu diner, talking about the runoff election in hoboken, he said "i

could be indicted and still get 85% to 95% of the vote." later in that conversation he told the cw, the cooperating witness, i'm sorry, the cw, he broke the world down into three. "people with us, you guys. people who climbed on board in the runoff, they have to get in line. and people who were against us the whole way. they get ground into powder." on june 23rd, when the cw offered $10,000, mr. cammarano says "great. and we're going to be friends for a long time." the next person i want to mention is dennis elwell, the mayor of secaucus. the next one is anthony suarez, mayor of ridgefield borough. leona beldini, deputy mayor of jersey city. lou manzo, former assemblyman and candidate for jersey city mayor. according to the complaints, lou

manzo's brother, ron, also charged today, coached the cw, so that when the cw said, "i'm investing in lou manzo in exchange for development approv approvals," manzo told him not to use the word "approvals" but rather use the word, the code word, "opportunities." there are a host of other officials and middlemen also arrested today. it was the network of middlemen, who introduce d the fbi's cw to the public officials as a developer and businessman. i don't -- i don't donate, i invest, the cw would say in meetings in parking lots, at restaurant, luncheonettes and boiler rooms and bathrooms. and the politicians willingly

put themselves up for sale, hundreds of thousands of bribes were paid in those places. the complaint shows that for these defendants corruption was a way of life. they existed in an ethics-free zone and they exploited giant loopholes in the state's campaign contribution rules. our cw routinely had his proposed projects moved to the top of some officials' pile because he paid off. with so many profiting off a corrupt system, is it any wonder that few want to change the system? once again, the victims are the average citizens and the honest business people in this state. they don't have a chance in this culture of corruption. on the money laundering side, these complaints paint a disgraceful picture of religious leaders heading money laundering crews acting as crime bosses. they used purported charities, entities supposedly set up to do good works as vehicles for laundering millions of dollars in illicit funds. the rings were international in

scope, connected to diehl, new jersey, brooklyn, new york, israel, and switzerland, and they trafficked in cleaning and of dirty money all across the world. we have three charts illustrating the flow of cash and checks. i was hoping to use the screen, but the screen's blocked. so, we're handing those out. don't worry about that. in about two years, these defendants laundered over $3 million just with our wc alone. i must also mention connected to the money laundering, we have one defendant, mr. rosenbaum, who we refer to as our kidney salesman. as set forth in the complaint, his business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidney for $10,000. which he in turn would turn around and sell for $160,000. at this point i'd like to turn the podium over to special agent in charge, wayson dunn. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. mayor.

>> go ahead. >> i would like to start, by first of all, acknowledging -- >> mayors and rabbis arrested in a federal corruption and money laundering investigation. a news conference continuing right now in new jersey. we believe it's up at cnn.com/live. i'm sure it is. among the leaders linked to corruption, hoboken mayor peter cammarano, dennis elwell, several rabbis connected with the money laundering of the probably. in tall, about 30 people have been arrested. they'll begin federal court appearances this afternoon, and, of course, we'll continue to follow this story. there you go. video from not that long ago of those who have been arrested. being off-loaded on that bus. and, of course, we will continue to follow developments here. but still to come in the "newsroom," earlier we brought you comments by harvard professor, henry louis gates about his arrest.

president obama weighed in last night. and the officer who arrested professor gates is talking about it today. you will hear their comments right here in the cnn thoim. quality and reliability... are more than words here. it's personal. i have diabetes. rodney's kid too. so we're so proud to manufacture... the accu-chek® aviva meters and test strips... here in the u.s.a.

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president obama says cambridge, massachusetts, police, in his words, acted stupidly in arresting an african-american harvard professor at his home. professor henry louis gates was arrested after confrontation with police who answered a burglary call at his home. the charge of an structing justice was later dropped, but the professor is still pretty upset. >> skip gates is a friend, so i may be a little biased here. i don't know all the facts. what's been reported, though, is that the guy forgot his keys. jimmied his way to get into the house. there was a report called in to the police station that there

might be a burglary taking place. so far, so good, right? i mean, if i was trying to jigger in -- well, i guess this is my house now so it probably wouldn't happen. but let's say my old house in chicago. here i'd get shot. but so far, so good. they're reporting, the police are doing what they should. there's a call. they go investigate what happens. my understanding is at that point professor gates is already in his house. the police officer comes in. i'm sure there's some exchange of words. but my understanding is, is that professor gates then shows his i.d. to show that this is his house. and at that point he gets arrested for disorderly conduct. charges which are later dropped. now, i don't know, not having

been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. but i think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. number two, that the cambridge police acted stupidly. in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. and, number three, what i think we know, separate and apart from this incident, is that there is a long history in this country of african-americans and latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionate disproportionately. that's just a fact. >> cambridge police sergeant james crowley is standing his ground. he says he won't apologize. and let's just say he is a bit upset with the president's remarks last night. have a listen. >> he's the president of the united states, and i support the president, to a point, i guess.

i think it's disappointing that he waded into what should be a local issue, and something that is really that plays out here. as he, himself, said at the beginning of that press conference. he didn't know all the facts. he certainly doesn't based on those comments. i just think it was very disappointing. the reason i asked the professor to come outside was not, as some would suggest, because yi didn' arrest him in his house. i didn't know who he was. i was by myself. that was for my safety. because first and foremost, i have to go home at night. i have three beautiful children and a wife who depend on me. so, i had no other motive than to ensure my safety. >> the mayor of cambridge said she is looking into the incident. on cnn tonight at 8:00 our "black in america 2" event continues with today's pioneers. the most challenging issues facing after cans focuses on

people using groundbreaking experiences to change the outcome. that's at 8:00 p.m. eastern. a beer company comes to the aid of a woman trying to start her own coffee business.

you know, there's a saying that goes, do something you love, then you'll never work a day in your life! in today's "money & main street" segment, cnn's stephanie elam found a woman whose passion for coffee has given her a new kind of daily grind. >> reporter: she is hooked on coffee. >> i had my first shot of espresso when i was 14, and it was pretty amazing for me. >> reporter: with the dream of opening a coffeehouse, she went to seattle to learn at the aprons of the best. >> i just this barista pour that, and i thought i'm not leaving this town until i learn how to do that. >> reporter: she returned to boston and last fall launched

voltage coffee, a mobile espresso catering company. her corporate headquarters -- >> this is where all the magic happens. >> reporter: she knew her business acumen could use a jolt, so with the help of a few aids. >> i wrote my business plan with all of these business plan writing for dummies, all these thing. >> reporter: she then took her plan to the small business administration and was directed to axion usa, a company specializing in microloans. it had just begun a partnership with samuel adams to help small businesses get funding and free advice. >> i love the dedication to the quality of her product, and i'm a big believer that, you know, a great product and the passion that an entrepreneur brings to that can carry a long way if you have a helping hand. >> reporter: she started voltage with her $2,000 and the $4,000 loan she got through the sam adams brewing the american dream program. >> so the espresso machine, the grinders, my tables, the member

costs, licensing, and my costs for a few months with the commercial kitchen facilities that i use. >> reporter: now she's focused on the storefront. but she has to incorporate, find a space, and get a loan. >> i need to convince someone to give me 180 grand. that's a good chunk of change. >> reporter: despite the economy, valena remains undaunted. >> i'll keep working at it. i'm not letting. i'm not letting up, boston. i don't care. >> reporter: stephanie elam, jamaica plain, massachusetts. >> very cool. all right. a wild ride on wall street today. we'll get you an update. you're in the "cnn newsroom." i've helped somebody. you know, it makes me feel pretty good. we're offering a solution for a customer that maybe has to choose between paying their credit card

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a spanking looking rally right now. hot! on wall street, big board. look at this. the dow up 189 points. i believe those are the highs for the session. and, scott, you gave me the nasdaq number just a moment ago.