tv CNN Newsroom CNN March 27, 2012 1:00pm-3:00pm EDT
1:00 pm
of the sweeping health care reform law and the future of your medical care. i'm wolf blitzer in work, suzanne malveaux is on assignment. >> i'm ashleigh banfield in new york. we're bringing you the latest developments in what is sure to be a landmark case. we're also bringing it down a notch and explaining what it all means to you on a personal level. >> very important case. the supreme court justices heard two hours of arguments today. we hope to get audio from inside the court this hour. we'll share it with you as soon as it comes in. the focus was on the main issue of the case, what's called the individual mandate. it requires almost all americans to have health insurance. it's scheduled to take effect in 2014. it imposes a financial penalty for not having health insurance. let's get right to today's hearing. what went on inside the court. our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and our congressional
1:01 pm
correspondent kate baldwin were both inside the courtroom. jeff, you said based on what you heard in the courtroom, you think the court is likely right now to overturn this individual mandate. you just tweeted, i was looking at your twitter, you tweeted this was a train wreck for the obama administration. what happened? >> well, you saw right out of the bofrm three conservative justices just go after the solicitor general donald ver rilly. anthony scalia not a surprise. samuel, and anthony kennedy also who is usually the swing vote, expressing nothing but skepticism about the constitutionality. clarence thomas didn't say anything. john roberts to my surprise was the most sympathetic of the conservatives to the obama administration's position, but he wasn't very conservative --
1:02 pm
he wasn't very sympathetic. so it really did look to me like there were five votes to strike down the affordable care act, the mandate provision. the four liberals on the court, stephen breyer, ruth bader ginsburg and elena kagan tried to defend the law. 3 asked sympathetic questions of verrilli, challenging questions of clement and mike carvin. they did not look like they had a fifth vote in that courtroom. and you know, it takes five votes to win and look likes the conservatives have them. >> kate, you were inside the courtroom, the solicitor general donald verrilli, was he sort of stumbling, did he not have the right answers? did he seem unprepared and overly nervous in responding to the conservative justices' tough questioning? >> it's hard to get into his mind but i can say if you compare it to yesterday, he did -- he did appear to stumble
1:03 pm
more, almost seemed apologetic for some of the answers he was giving. there was a stark difference from his delivery yesterday as to compared to today. and jeff was talking about the conservative justices really going after and asking him tough questions. barely letting him finish his sentence before they piped in. looking over my notes as we wait for the audio. justice kennedy asking clearly, are there any limits to the commerce clause, really trying to get to the heart. they want to know is there any boundary to what the government is trying to do with this law. also voicing his concerns saying that the government telling people that they must act that's different from how -- from their previous cases and he said he was concerned that that changes the relationship of the individual and government in a very profound fundamental way. voicing concerns there. and justice roberts, this
1:04 pm
quotation, i thought was key talking about how his concerns albeit maybe the most sympathetic but not so, his concerns about where the boundaries are here and what the government is trying to do with this health care law saying once you're in the interstate market and you say you can regulate it and talking to the government here, all bets are off. those are some of the quotetations that stuck out to me as we wait for this audio to come. but i think jeff would agree, all eyes turn to the issue tomorrow of severeability. if the individual mandate falls f they find it unconstitutional, can any of the law stand and that's going to be a key question. >> let's dive in there. jeff, let me dive in there with you. it's 2700 pages, this act, and 450 different provisions. and it made me think right away, if this mandate, one issue, if this mandate falls, then how can an insurance company afford, if it doesn't have everybody in the pool, how can an insurance company afford to cover all of those people with pre-existing
1:05 pm
conditions? >> that's why it's a very key issue. this issue ever severeability. there have been various ways that the law has been constructed that suggest the possibility that some aspects of the law could remain. for example, one popular aspect of the law is that children can stay on their parents' health insurance policies until age 26. that strikes me as something that could probably remain even if the individual mandate is struck down. some people think, i mean, there's conspiracy theories here, that the obama administration might be better off with the individual mandate struck down because it's proven not to be that popular where as the other provisions are popular -- more popular. i don't buy that. i think this is -- it would be a disaster for the obama administration if this is struck down. but, the question of how you
1:06 pm
carve out the individual mandate is a very difficult one. in fact, it's so difficult that the supreme court asked a third lawyer to argue tomorrow because the obama administration argues that the individual mandate plus something else should be struck down if you strike something down, the opposing lawyers say only the -- the individual mandate would be struck down, and the court appointed a third lawyer to argue that the whole thing should be struck down. >> so many more questions and so little time. >> the other way around. it's the -- it's the opponents who are arguing that the whole thing should be struck down and they appointed a lawyer to argue that just the individual mandate should be struck down. thank you. >> i want to ask you all about the possibility of the return of the public option and health care exchanges but that's another segment. you can think that through. i want to let our viewers know that we have -- just to tax you
1:07 pm
more than you have been. a rundown of other stories as well today. first keep your hands off my health care certainly one battle cry going on at a rally in d.c. today. and michele bachmann is leading the charge on that. then also we're hearing more about the shooting of trayvon martin. from a leaked police report. and also there is no question about it, this health care reform trial is going to have very serious political implications. the impact, we'll look at what the potential rulings could mean for the candidates on the stump. ♪
1:08 pm
1:09 pm
to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye-care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. [ male announcer ] ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now, that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. [ male announcer ] brake problems? stop in to meineke today for a free brake inspection and you'll say... my money. my choice. my meineke. the impact, we'll look at what severability. it's an historic day for health care reform in the united
1:10 pm
states as the supreme court decides if the so-called individual mandate requiring almost everyone to have health insurance is in fact constitutional. demonstrators want their voices to be heard. our dana bash is at a rally. it's what some call hands off my health care, the rally. how fired up is this crowd here? >> reporter: they are very fired up, wolf. i want jeremy to give you a sense of what the crowd is like here. it goes on and on and on. we're just next to the capitol and what is called russell park. right now the first speaker is just starting. if you can see, this goes back for a very far while. and the people that were here, they have come from all over the country. they were bussed in from north carolina, three buses from michigan, from philadelphia, and really all over the country and every person i talked to said that they felt it was critical
1:11 pm
to come to have their voices heard. i talked to one woman who said she has been to every single one of what effectively are tea party rallies since they started to get fired up back in 2009-2010 about this health care issue. >> dana, michele bachmann, other members of congress, are addressing the crowd out there. looks sort of reminiscent of the intense rallies we remember in 2009-2010. those rallies clearly had a major political impact in the elections in november 2010. give us perspective. >> reporter: you are absolutely right. this very much feels like it's back to the future, like it is back then. as i said, many of the people i talked to have been coming back to rallies. and they did make a huge impact. look, i mean you have to remember politically that the whole idea of the health care bill really did help to inspire the tea party is movement. there were other issues in the
1:12 pm
obama administration that did fire them up but health care helped crystallize the concept of the government having too much power, the government telling people what to do, don't tread on me, that kind of sentiment, mantra of the tea party movement. and the speakers we're going to see tells you some of them had some success back in 2010 and actually probably are in congress because of the tea party and probably because of the president's health care bill. for example, congressman allen west of florida. he is going to be here. pat toomey of pennsylvania and others. as you said, michele bachmann was an early supporter of the tea party movement, an early opponent of the health care legislation. she is going to be speaking. but you are absolutely right, this does remind you that this health care bill, as much as democrats found it a big accomplishment for the president, it really did fire up the opposition that at the end of the day helped lead to the republicans taking over the
1:13 pm
house. >> major political impact as well in the months leading up to november, the election this year. stand by, dana. we're going to get back to you. ashleigh back into this conversation. ashleigh, you asked jeffrey toobin if this supreme court decision could potentially lead to a single payer government sponsored health care system in the u.s. like the canadians have, for example, and you heard him say don't hold your breath. let me echo that. don't hold your breath if you think that could potentially be on the horizon any time soon. >> you know that is what a lot of people are talking about, that ironically, democrats might get what they wanted which was that extraordinary provision they fought so hard for, that exchange, the insurance exchange. and the public option. so this all gets thrown back to the drawing board f. know that will be back on the table. it sure does make for more political talk for people like you and me, that's for sure. we're going to get back to the supreme court's debate over health care. first we want to get you up to
1:14 pm
speed on other stories developing as well. this rally held in washington for slain florida teenager trayvon martin, students from a public school in d.c. as well as the faculty marched to the white house in a call for justice. later today, trayvon martin's parents are going to take their case to capitol hill. they will attend a house hearing on racial profiling and hate crimes. the tine aejer's death has sparked a national outcry with protests stretching from coast to coast. listen in. people are outraged that his killer george zimmerman has not been charged in this case. and no indication otherwise. a leaked police report is starting to paint the unarmed teenager as the potential aggressor here. george zimmerman claims he stood his ground because he was attacked and beaten by the 17-year-old boy. a memorial service is being held
1:15 pm
today for an iraqi woman whose brutal beating death may have been a hate crime in the u.s. the woman's body will be flown home for burial. her daughter describes the pain of finding her mother's body on the dining room floor of their southern california home. >> she's innocent. she hasn't hurt anybody, you know. she is a mother of five. why did you do it. i mean, i found her on the floor drowned in her own blood with a letter flex to her head saying go back to your country terrorist. >> scenes from syria as the activists say at least 53 more people have been killed across the country today. it comes as we get word of a peace plan, international envoy kofi annan saying they accepted his proposal to stop the violence.
1:16 pm
the plan calls for forces to commit to a cease-fire super vitzed by the united nations. it does not include a western and arab demand for president bashar al assad to resign from his post which is something that russia and china both oppose. >> first of all are the mikes on? >> that's president obama having a little bit of fun because of this moment on monday where the mikes were open and he was overheard telling the russian president that he could be a little more flexible over missile defense after the november election. also is defending his comments, too, telling reporters that they were, quote, consistent with his public opinion. >> hundreds of people evacuating homes after a wild fire burned through 3,000 acres in colorado. this in the mountains near denver. authorities have called in 450 firefighters to help out. one person has already died as a result of these fires, at least
1:17 pm
15 homes have burned. and it started as a controlled burn by the forest service. >> so, how did we get here? all the way to the supreme court when it comes to your health. we're going to talk to a state attorney general who was one of the first to raise what he says was a red flag on the national health care debate. everything but why energy? we've got over 100 years worth. is it safe to get it? but what, so we should go broke with imports? look, i'm just saying. well, energy creates jobs. [announcer:] at conocophillips, we're helping power america's economy with cleaner, affordable natural gas. more jobs, less emissions. a good answer for everyone. we gotta be careful. it's cleaner. it's affordable. look, if it's safe, i'm there.
1:19 pm
1:20 pm
even if you don't want it. allen wilson is the south carolina attorney general and he's one of the a.g.'s to file suit against the law. rehelped lead the 26 states involved in this case and joins us live from washington. mr. attorney general, thanks for being with us. i'm sure you've been following along as we've had the breaking news, our jeffrey toobin calling the government's argument today in front of the nine a train wreck. i want to get your reaction to that. >> well, i believe it was a train wreck before it got out of the station, ashleigh. the biggest thing that i took out of this court today is justice kennedy's questioning that if the court upholds this law, this will fundamentally change the way that the government relates to individuals. that is very telling to me that at least justice kennedy had that concern. so i'm very optimistic that we will prevail in this lawsuit in the end. >> sir, at the same time, while justice kennedy is usually the swing vote so sure, that would be an intriguing thing to listen
1:21 pm
to, justice roberts was hard on paul clement arguing on behalf of you and your colleagues that don't want this law. so, is it sort of a flip to think that it's possible, the chief justice may in fact side with the four more liberal justices? >> i'm not going to tell that you justice roberts is going to flip or justice kennedy is going to support the state's proposition because i don't know what they are going to do. but what i am saying is that i'm at least excited to hear that justice kennedy recognized that the fundamental way this will change the country. i like the fact that justice roberts when the government tried to say that the health care market is unique and that's why it needs special attention from the federal government in being regulated and commanding people to enter into commerce, he said if we do it for the health care market we can't differentiate from other markets so this is something that would abslippery slope. justice scalia followed up by saying that the federal congress t federal government, is a government of enumerated powers,
1:22 pm
any power not delegated to them are left to the states. so i believe that those messages are resonating with the court and i'm hopeful that the court will conclude with us. >> and to that argument i want to quote what senator patrick leahy has said, he's the democrat that the judicialry charp. i think it's a clear cut case. i think you have to stretch to say this is unconstitutional. social security or medicare. if you say this is unconstitutional then you have to say social security or medicare is unconstitutional and i'm not so sure the skourt prepared to do that. that sounds like logical argument. >> i would say this, can the court force someone into a contract. a contract is between two mutually agreeable parties. if i'm coerced or compelled into a contract that is -- there is nothing mutual about that and that contract is null and void. we're talking about the congress's power to regulate commerce. the difference between the
1:23 pm
commerce clause and other clauses and the constitution are that nowhere did the drafters give congress the power to create commerce. they gave them to create money and regulate it. the navy and the army and regulate it but they gave the power to regulate commerce, not create commerce. that's what this effectively does. >> although if it is a tax they certainly are in a contract with me because i see it go out of my paycheck every week. so it's great to see you, alan wilson. thanks for weighing in. i think we'll be talking again at least between now and june. >> ashleigh, thank you. let's get to some of the audio now t audioing released on the same day as the arguments were made before the nine justices of the u.s. supreme court. first up, ruth bader ginsburg, one of the liberal justices, listen to her questioning of the various lawyers. >> major, major point of your argument was that the people who
1:24 pm
don't participate in this market are making it much more expensive for the people who do. that is, they will get a goodly number of them will get services that they can't afford at the point when they need them and the result is that everybody else's premiums get raised so you -- not your free choice to do something for yourself. what you do is going to affect others, affect them in a major way. >> ruth bader ginsburg, one of the liberal justices making the case to uphold the law to let it stand. we're going to hear from some of the conservative justices as well. also, what's the political fallout going to be for the president ever the united states and for the republican candidates if the court shoots down the health care law. our political panel is standing by for that. what's this? [ male announcer ] quaker oatmeal squares
1:25 pm
1:26 pm
a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease
1:27 pm
or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.
1:28 pm
there are no cameras when it cups to supreme court proceedings, so you can't get a televised look at what the arguments are like. but you can hear them. usually it takes a little time for the justices to release those audio recordings of the proceedings. but today, they are coming out pretty quickly actually, in a few hours of taking place. before the break we brought you a very short piece of an argument questioning by justice ruth bader ginsburg who is considered to be extremely left wing on this divide and it's a divided court, make no mistake. considered to be left. on the right side of the court considered to be extremely right is justice antonin scalia. we have something of him asking questions about the argument you keep hearing about, if i have to buy insurance why can't the government then turn around and make me buy broccoli. >> everybody needs health care sooner or later but not
1:29 pm
everybody needs a heart transplant, not everybody needs a liver transplant. >> that's correct. but you never know. >> could you define the market that everybody has to buy food sooner or later. you define the market as food. therefore everybody is in the market, therefore you can make people buy broccoli. >> no. that's quite different. it's quite different. the food market, while it shares that trait that everybody's in it, it is not a market in which your participation is often unpredictable and often involuntary, it is not a market in which you often don't know before you go in what you need and it is not a market in which if you go in and seek to obtain product or service, you will get it even if you -- >> is that a principle basis for distinguishing this from other situations? i mean you know, you could also say well, the person subject to this has blue eyes, that would indeed distinguish it from other situations. is it a principle basis?
1:30 pm
it's a basis that explains why the government is doing this, but is it a basis -- >> i want to bring in our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin live on the steps of the supreme court who was able to sit through those as they were transpiring. you had one of the 117 seats allotted for the media. >> i did. it was great. >> you lucky dog. bring it down for us. i get it, i get it when the questioning is tough. i get it that a lawyer brings lis best game and can barely get part of his argument out because the justices keep interrupting. how feisty were these justices both for and against this particular obama policy? >> well, the roberts court as a general rule is known as a hot bench. they ask a lot of questions. it is often the case even in a routine matter, that a lawyer will not get three sentences out before the justices start asking questions. and that was definitely the case
1:31 pm
today. you had eight justices, very engaged in the argument. as has been true for the past six years clarence thomas didn't ask a question. the other eight were all over these lawyers and what made today striking because of the stakes of the case was how apparent the sympathies of the justices were. you had four liberals obviously defending the law, at every turn. ginsburg, breyer, sotomayor, kagan. but what was even more striking was the conservatives, right out of the box. it was 15 minutes before a liberal justice got asked a questi question. justice scalia, justice alito and even justice kennedy who was often described as the swing vote but today was very sympathetic to those challenging the law. he did not say one thing in the course of two hours of argument that gave me the sense he was thinking of upholding the law.
1:32 pm
among the conditionsservatives, only justice who seemed sympathetic to the obama administration side was chief justice john roberts and i didn't think he was that sympathetic but did say some things that he understood that congress saw this was a national problem that needed a national solution, and you could see a scenario where he might vote with the four liberals. if i had to bet i would certainly bet after hearing this argument that this court is going to strike down the individual mandate. >> i'm trying to do the chess pieces in my head. look, if this is political in chambers and you wrote the book on the nine, if this is political could those liberal justices go back to day one and say well, we were really thinking maybe day one did give us jurisdiction to hear this, maybe we won't be so inclined to vote yes to day one. what does that do to day two and day three? >> you know, i think just depends how cynical you are.
1:33 pm
i don't think that's how the court operates. the court was so unified yesterday on the issue of the procedure that now is the time to decide the case. most importantly i mean the most important fact about the liberals on the united states supreme court is there are four of them, not five. it takes five of them to decide, takes five justices to win a case. if the four liberals got up on friday morning the day they have the conference to discuss the case and say by the way, we now agree the case should be put off it's still only four votes. so i mean, i appreciate your fiendish imagination, ashleigh, but i don't think that's going to play out that way. >> i never heard it called fiendish. i heard it call clever or calculating. thank you for that. we've got a lot more questions to ask you. i am going to get back to you on that health care exchange and the public option. first a quick break.
1:34 pm
1:37 pm
the most controversial part of the health care reform law is front and center at the united states supreme court. most americans would be required to have health coverage by 2014, or they would face a financial penalty. let's take a closer look at the politics. joining us now are jessica yellin and jim acosta. what's at stake for the president of the united states in this supreme court decision that will come probably sometime in june? >> well, the fate of his signature domestic policy achievement and big krog achievement for the republican nominee if it should be struck down in part or in whole, wolf. it could challenge the president's credibility as a leader and his ability to make good judgments which is what they would no doubt challenge him on. but wolf, i want to, if it were
1:38 pm
struck down, i want to tell you what administration sources are saying to me in response to some of the reporting that's come out of the court. including from our jeff toobin saying that this has gone badly today for the administration. sources are saying to me that they still believe that this will be upheld because they make the case that when they presented this same case about the individual mandate to lower court very conservative lower court judges, silverman and sutton that they received similar difficult questions, and both those lower court judges, icons of the judicial right upheld the individual mandate. they also believe that roberts, chief justice roberts was tough on both sides and they make the argument that when last year the voting rights case was brought before the supreme court, court watchers argued that they were going to lose that case as well, and they won. so, they are argue that it is folly to prejudge the outcome at
1:39 pm
this point. >> are they saying anything about donald ver rely, the solicitor general who was representing the obama administration arguing that the law should be up held that according to our own jeff toobin he was stumbling, it was as if he was nervous, wasn't well prepared, wasn't making the case to uphold the law. are they reacting to that part of the story? >> no one i spoke to commented on him one way or the other, wolf. >> jessica, stands by. there are enormous ramifications for the republicans as well. jim acosta is working this part of the story. what's the reaction so far from republicans? >> well, you heard rick santorum yesterday trying to tie mitt romney to this case that is before the high court. it remains to be seen whether that issue is going to work for rick santorum. keep in mind mitt romney has been picking up the support of pretty conservative republicans over the last couple of days, mike lee, the senator from utah,
1:40 pm
a tea party backed senator who has opposed the president's health care law. and also noted conservatives with the american conservative union. coming out in support of mitt romney. and you know, the other thing that mitt romney has going for him he has the support of a lot of other republicans up on capitol hill who are also as mitt romney is opposed to this health care law, a few of them were speaking up on capitol hill earlier today led by marco rubio, a potential vice presidential running mate for mitt michigan here's what some had to say earlier. >> obama care has been a disaster for america and americans financially. there is no doubt our country has a health insurance crisis. this is the wrong way to confront it. >> the reason this case is so important as you know and the senator points 0 but is because this legislation does grow the size and the role of government in ways that are really unprecedented in our history.
1:41 pm
and as we all know, as government grows, individual freedom shrinks. >> what i believe is the single worst piece of legislation that's been passed in the time i've been in congress, it's still a bad idea. and if senate republicans become the majority next year, the first item on the agenda of a new senate republican majority would be to repeal obama care and the replacement of it with something that makes more sense. >> one thing we haven't heard a lot of from mitt romney over the last couple of days is a stout defense of the health care law he passed in massachusetts while he has said he is still satisfied with that law, you know, he has not talked about it a lot on the campaign trail and wolf, this is despite the fact that law is pretty popular up in massachusetts, more than a majority of people in massachusetts support that law. it has near universal coverage in the state but something we do
1:42 pm
not hear mitt romney talking a lot on the campaign trail and for good reason, he knows this is a political loser with a lot of conservatives. i would wager a guess here, wolf, if this is struck down by the high court this is going to be greeted as very good news over at the romney campaign. this will essentially take one of the key issues of this race off the table for them heading into the fall campaign. they know that the white house, the president's re-election team has sort of a trump card hanging over them going into the fall campaign. the president and his team can say look, you know, if you don't like our health care law, why did you pass it in massachusetts first. that is basically been the argument from the obama re-election campaign on this subject for months now. >> you heard david plouffe, one of his strategies call mitt romney the god father of the president's health care reform law. so they think they neutralized him if romney does become the republican nominee. we'll continue our discussion of
1:43 pm
what's going on, lots of breaking news happening out of the united states supreme court. you heard the politicians argue about it. the supreme court is certainly weighing in. what does the health care law mean for you? our dr. sanjay gupta will answer your questions. ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars
1:44 pm
into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ hanging over us. hindering economic growth. it's time for some common sense -- people in congress who'll come together and put partisan politics aside. not with radical schemes that gamble with america's future. but with a plan that requires washington to balance the budget the right way -- protecting the priorities of america's families. tell congress to pass a common sense balanced budget -- now. sign the petition at center-forward.org.
1:45 pm
1:46 pm
one of the conservative justices, ruth bader ginsburg, anthony kennedy has been the so-called swing vote. 5-4 decision is usually the man the justice who makes that final decision. listen closely to what he was saying earlier today over at the supreme court because i'm sure obama administration officials were pretty depressed to hear this. >> but the reason this is concerning is because it requires the individual to do an affirmative act, in the law of torts our tradition our law has been that you don't have the duty to rescue someone if that person's in danger. the blind man's walking in front of a car you do not have a duty to stop him absence some relation between you. and there's some severe moral criticisms of that rule but that's generally the rule. and here the government is saying that the federal government has a duty to tell
1:47 pm
the individual citizen that it must act, and that is different from what we have in previous cases. that changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual. in a fundamental way. >> that's the key argument against the affordable health care act, the law of the land right now that what the government has done in passing health care reform is totally different than anything it's done before. you heard justice anthony kennedy make that point just there certainly a very significant moment in the two-hour arguments that were presented earlier in the day. ashleigh, none of us knows what is going to happen probably mid to late june but you heard jeffrey toobin say and he tweeted a while ago as you pointed out, this is a train wreck, his word, a train wreck for the obama administration. >> and fascinating to hear anthony kennedy, the person you might not expect to be that tough, say what he did and give
1:48 pm
that kind of inclination and indication. 30% of americans want the supreme court to actually overturn president obama's entire health care law, but it seems a larger number doesn't really understand what it's all about. so, if you're out there and you're wondering how this law can impact you, we have the definitive resource for you, his name is sanjay gupta, best-selling author, happy to say. new york times best-selling author, look at you. also former white house fellow, you got more degrees so there are your creds. you're live in atlanta. >> i read the bill twice. >> 2700 pages. >> i know. a lot of people have not read it and i think that's part of the reason a lot of people don't understand it. there's a lot of nuance which is worth discussing. >> i know you are being deluged with questions sent via twitter and facebook. i know a lot of people watching are hoping that they get their question asked.
1:49 pm
here is one. i keep hearing the new law expands medicaid. why would that be a bad thing? >> you know, that depends on your perspective whether it's good or bad. medicaid as things stand now most know is a joint program between the federal and state governments and provides about 50 million people with health insurance as things stand. the income level would go up so more people would fall into it. the tough part, the federal government has agreed to pick up the initial tab on that but after that the states are expected to pick up the additional tabs. and 28 states as a result of that have sued and that's part of this lawsuit as well. so more people being insured but no one's quite sure how to pay for it or who is going to pay for it. >> that's a big issue tomorrow for day three that they are going to hash this out. this comes via twitter. it says my daughter was diagnosed with a brain disorder, how will repealing the health care law affect disorder.
1:50 pm
how will repealing the law affect pre-existing status. >> as it stands now, children can't be discriminated against based on pre-existing conditions. it will include adults in 2014 if this goes through. the real issue here is if the whole law is scrapped then there won't be a pre-existing clause anymore, so this person's daughter will be affected. one thing that will probably get discussed over the next couple of days is whether this act can be severed. so you take the individual mandate out, which is being discussed right now and say that's unconstitutional, but leave the rest of the law in place. again, you raise the same question, who's going to pay for it, where is the money going to come from. but it's possible if it's severed, she could still be protected under pre-existing conditions. >> if that happen, that's going to be such a mess. you've read it. you know there's 450 provisions. how can they extrapolate which ones can survive without that mandate. glad i'm not doing it. go ahead. >> part of the bargain was you get more money come income
1:51 pm
because more people are buying into the system and that helps offset the costs of people with prekising conditions. is that's the pragmatic part of this as well. >> right, bigger pool, more money able to cover the costs. all right, dr. gupta, thank you so much. congratulations on your best sell erstad. no surprise. your paints would be so proud. whether this law survives or does not survive. it's not just going to affect health care in america. it could also have a big effect on who your next president is going to be. yes, i said it. political fallout from the supreme court. are you surprised? wait for it. we're back after this. [ male announcer ] if your kid can recognize your sneeze from a crowd... you're probably muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. zyrtec®. love the air. 14 clubs. that's what they tell us a legal golf bag can hold.
1:52 pm
and while that leaves a little room for balls and tees, it doesn't leave room for much else. there's no room left for deadlines or conference calls. not a single pocket to hold the stress of the day, or the to-do list of tomorrow. only 14 clubs pick up the right one and drive it right down the middle of pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org.
1:54 pm
it's one of the most politically chajed issues in the presidential race right now. the presidential rivals are all promising to repeal the law if they're elected. let's bring back our chief political analyst gloria borger. gloria, as we take a look at this right now, the stakes for the president, especially after hearing these arguments today doesn't look for -- they don't look very good as far as upholding the law. the political stakes are enormous. >> sure. the stakes are enormous for both republicans, democrats and the president. look, we don't know what the supreme court is going to do. we know if all or part of this health care law is repealed, that at the very least, it would
1:55 pm
be a huge disappointment for this white house, even a huge embarrassment. this was, as jessica yellin pointed out earlier, the signature political issue for president obama, that he spent two years working on. now, wolf, having said that, let me also say that the political fallout is not at all clear cut. for example, if the court were to repeat all of health care reform, there's 43% of the american public that says, just overturn some provisions because they like some of the provisions. for example, that insurance companies have to insure you for a pre-existing conditions. they like that. and so there are parts of this health care law that have people have decided they like and part they decided they don't like. if the court just strikes down the individual mandate, then the question becomes how do you pay for the rest of health care
1:56 pm
reform? and president obama can make a case and take it to the american public against the supreme court, saying that's why he's got to get re-elected and try to galvanize his base. on the other side, if mitt romney were to become the nominee, he would say this is why we need to rewrite health care, because president obama and the democrats passed something that the supreme court decided was unconstitutional. so in the end, wolf, it's very difficult to say how this, the fallout is going to appear on both sides. whoever loses is going to figure out a way to try and turn it to their advantage. >> yeah, and if romney is the republican nominee, rick santorum certainly has a point in saying he's not going to be as effective in fighting the president on health care reform since romney himself supported mandates in massachusetts when he was the governor of massachusetts. >> exactly. >> stand by, gloria. >> it's not the top issue,
1:57 pm
either. when this law was decided a couple of years ago, health care reform was number one. now people care about the economy, about the deficit, about jobs. so it may not be as prominent an issue as it once was. >> gloria is going to be back later in "the situation room." i'm going to have a lot more coverage ashleigh on what happened today. history today in washington. >> we're cutting it short now to make room for cnn "news room" with brooke baldwin. ♪ their training depends on technology. [ beeping, ticks ] and when their devices are powered by a battery, there are athletes everywhere who trust duracell so whether they're headed for london or the journey has just begun... they rely on copper to go for the gold. duracell. trusted everywhere.
1:59 pm
have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us.
2:00 pm
hi there. happy tuesday to you. i'm brooke baldwin. a lot going on here. we have a lot to catch you up on. we begin with "rapid fire" as always. mike, roll it. the u.s. supreme court hearing arguments today in a case that touches every single one of us. i'm talking about the affordable care act. the issue here is whether the federal government can require you to have health insurance and penalize you for not buying the products. so cnn's senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin said today's arguments did not go very well for the obama administration. take a listen. >> this was a train wreck for the obama administration. this law looks like it's going to be struck down. i'm telling you, all of the predictions including mine that the justices would not have a problem with this law were wrong. >> a train wreck. why does he say that? we're going to ask him. we're going to took to toobin
2:01 pm
outside the supreme court live in a couple of minutes. also, we're watching these fires raging through colorado just west of the denver. and cnn now learned a second person has died from the flames. in fact, it is so bad, see the smoke, look at this, it's so bad that 450 firefighters are now helping with this rescue effort. the fire has not been contained. and in less than one hour, the parents of florida teen trayvon martin will be in washington to attend a round table on racial profiling. also some members of congress, the been spe they have been speaking out about the case on the house floor. but the story, as you know, is ever changing. george zimmerman's friend and former cnn anchor, his name is joe oliver, he paints a very different picture of the deadly encounter a month ago. >> it came down to a life or death struggle between the two. i can't go into details in how the gun came into play, but it was not a part of this story until it was too late.
2:02 pm
>> how does he know this? we do have to point out that oliver, who was not a witness to the shooting that night, he said this is the story george zimmerman told him himself. pope benedict xvi is in havana, cuba. he's going to be celebrating mass there tomorrow. in fact, he was greeted by the cuban president, raoul castro and members of cuba's clergy. the pope says he plans to emphasize faith during his three-day visit. cuba was officially atheist until the early 190s. and al jazeera says it will not broadcast video of a gunman in france carrying out his killing spree. the network received a copy of this video in the mail complete with music and religious readings, edited to the images of mohammed merah's crimes.
2:03 pm
-- mehra's crimes. and a battle over chickens. and this is the foreclosed home of andrew words, known as the chicken man. this was yesterday morning. they got there to evict him. word says he fell behind on payments while serving time in jail for violating local property codes during his fight over keeping chickens in the city. moments after, the house exploded. investigators believe this man poured gasoline throughout the home before lighting it on fire. and in new york, the alleged accomplice of the quote, unquote, soccer momma d madam i back in court. she's alleged to have run this escort service that according to prosecutors offered prostitutes up to $2,000 per visit. baker is currently out on $100,000 bond and is due back in court next month. and new york democratic
2:04 pm
congressman charlie rangel is paying up now for using a rent stabilize apartment as a campaign office. he agreed to pay $23,000 to the federal election commission and paying below market rent for the space was the equivalent of an excessive campaign contribution that the 21-term democrat failed to disclose in campaign financial forms. and no one is safe from ade identity safe. brandon price conned citibank employees over the phone into changing his address and sent him allen's debit card, over the phone. a pittsburgh man is now charged with wire and bank fraud. and brothels are now legal under a major ruling toud today from ontario, canada's highest court. the court ruled that canadian prostitution laws discriminate against prostitutes and their ability to work in a safe environment. the ruling allows sex workers to work indoors but not on the
2:05 pm
streets. and the supreme court's decision on health care will affect every single american, yet most people still have no idea 40u it affects their insurance, their doctors, their employer. >> the man accused of a mass i slaughter visits syria where many were killed in cold blood. a hateful note is found next to a mother of five who died of a vicious beating. >> we're not the terrorists, you are. >> but police won't yet call it a hate crime because of other evidence. >> plus, live during this show, trayvon martin's parents are expected on capitol hill to talk racial profiling. and this comes as we now hear george zimmerman's side. and a
2:06 pm
guy walks past a construction site, seconds later, he's buried alive in mud. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. i'm michael bazinet, president of creative digital imaging of bangor, maine. we have customers all over the united states. we rely on the postal service for everything that we do. the eastern maine processing facility is vital to our operation and our success. if we lose this processing facility we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times.
2:07 pm
2:08 pm
squirrel jail. justice! countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today. [ male announcer ] brake problems? stop in to meineke today for a free brake inspection and you'll say... my money. my choice. my meineke. >> off nine of the supreme court justices take on the affordable health care act. the question is whether the goth can make you buy health insurance. and our senior analyst jeffrey toobin said it looks like the law is going to be struck down.
2:09 pm
jeff toobin, this is the quote heard around the world today. you called this a train wreck potentially for the obama administration. why say so, sir? >> because you need five votes to win and it looks like the obama administration did not have five votes in that courtroom. there were four democratic justices who were clearly fighting very hard to get that law upheld. but anthony kennedy, the swing vote within five minutes of the argument started asking hostile questions of the solicitor general. he didn't have the answers that kennedy wanted. justice alito, justice scalia and even chief justice roberts who was, i thought, perhaps the most amenable to the obama administration's position didn't seem to be.
2:10 pm
>> it's fascinating to hear some of the voices. you were there living inside and watching all of thf is go down. take a listen to the voice of the justice kennedy. >> the reason this is concerning is because it requires an individual to do an affirmative act. in the law of torts, our tradition, our law has been that you don't have the duty to rescue someone if that person is in danger. the blind man is walking in front of a car and you do not have some duty to stop him, a absent some relation between you. there's some moral criticism of that rule, but that's the rule. here the government is say, the federal government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act, and that is different from what we have in previous cases. that changes the relationship of the federal government to the individual. in a very fundamental way. >> so help, as you're listening,
2:11 pm
i'm sure, because i hear shouting around you, if you can hear that jeff toobin -- >> i heard it. >> what was he trying to get at? and i was reading this article about how justice kennedy was potentially a wild card, but now it may be of all people chief justice roberts. >> justice kennedy was concerned about this distinction that you can regulate activity. if there is -- you know, they can set a speed limit for cars that are going, but you can't tell people to do something on their own. that distinction between activity and inactivity was very central to what justice kennedy was saying. justice ginsberg and justice kagan. they were saying if you don't pay, you're active in the health
2:12 pm
insurance. if you get hit be a car you're going to be taken to the hospital and the tax paris are going to have to pay for your health care. it's an activity even if it's a nonact. chief justice roberts, who is known to be a key part of the conservative wing, he did seem a little bit more receptive to kennedy than the argument that look, this is a national problem, that the absence of health insurance for 40 million people is a problem that the federal government has reason to address. that was a point he made in some question, but he, too, seemed skeptical of the obama administration position at other times, arguing that this was just an excessive government grab of power under the constitution. >> jeff toobin, i'm hanging on your every word, but i've got to ask you to put on your reporter hat. i hear all this shouting, can you just set the scene for me what we're not seeing?
2:13 pm
are these still scores of protesters? >> you know, i think you're hearing more than is here. we live in a country of about 300 million people. i would say there reese 25 people protesting. i wouldn't draw too many conclusions one way or the other. they happen to have bull horns. >> mega phones. okay. i had to ask and point it out. and to the point why we're really scrutinizing a lot of these justices' questions today. the reason is, as you have said before, most of the time the questions the justices are asking are indicators, correct, depending on which way the justice ultimately decides in a case? >> that's true. even that's a change. in the 1980s, you would see justices play devil's advocate, they would sort of ask questions that they were genuinely puzzledn't a the answers to. very different in the roberts
2:14 pm
court. in the ro b earths court, what you see is what you get almost all the time. . they ask questions like kennedy asked today, you know 99 times out of 100, that's how they're going to vote. when the case, you know, comes down to being decided. >> and doi have one more question, just about this term severability. but i'm going to wait till next hour. i know we're talking then. a lot of people are wondering, if this part of the law, the individual mandate is struck down, what does that do to the rest of the law? we'll have jeff toobin next hour, hopefully minus the bull horns. >> i do want to move on to the family of trayvon martin. they are in washington today, attending this forum, this round table on racial profiling. and coming up next, we're going to hear from a close friend of the shooter here in this case, george zimmerman. the man accused of shooting and killing the 17-year-old one month ago. [ speaking in japanese ] yeah, do you have anything for a headache...
2:15 pm
like excedrin, ohhh, bayer aspirin... ohh, no no no. i'm not having a heart attack, it's my head. no, bayer advanced aspirin, this is made for pain. [ male announcer ] bayer advanced aspirin has microparticles, enters the bloodstream fast, and safely rushes extra strength relief to the sight of your tough pain. feel better? yeah...thanks for the tip! [ male announcer ] for fast powerful pain relief, use bayer advanced aspirin.
2:17 pm
trayvon martin's family is going to get a house hearing on racial profiling and hate crimes. we still don't know the full circumstances or motivation behind the shooting. we are hearing two very different stories from neighbors, one says trayvon martin was the aggressor. another witness says it was the shooter, george zirmman who, in fact, attacked martin. >> the guy on the bottom who i believe had a red sweater on was yelling to me help, help. i told him to stop and i was calling 911. when i got upstairs and looked down, the person that was on top beating up the other guy was the one laying in the grass and i believe he was dad at that poea
2:18 pm
point. >> zimmerman -- she was out first, zimmerman was standing over the body, basically straddling the body with his hands on trayvon's back. i didn't hear any struggle prior to the gunshot. >> i want to bring in martin savage. he is live for us in sanford. and martin first, looking ahead to this round table happening on capitol hill 45 minutes from now, what can you tell me about it? >> well, this is going to be where the family of trayvon martin is going to be, his mother and father. the lawyer is the only one anticipated to speak. at the same time, there has been a demonstration outside the department of justice in washington, d.c. this was a group of people that were asking, again, that justice be served in the case of trayvon martin. also talking about other more broader issues, wanting more investigations of hate crimes down the road. that's what's taking place in washington today regarding the
2:19 pm
case. >> obviously we have cameras. we're going to be watching that signal as soon as we potentially say trayvon martin's parent, we'll bring that to you live. meantime, we continue with crew cans dig into what we know about george zimmerman and trayvon martin. what more do we know from that original sanford police department report? >> they say the information was accurate. they say george zimmerman was involved in an altercation with trayvon martin. the report seems to portray trayvon martin as the aggressor. he went and punched george zimmerman in the face, knocking him into the ground and beating his head into the ground. that's apparently when george zimmerman kroid out for help and the gun goes off. the part we don't know, the friend of george zimmerman, was
2:20 pm
there a struggle for control of the weapon? and if so, was the gun purposefully fired or accidentally fired. we don't know that. of course, it's critical to the investigation. >> as we're -- and i know many people are searching for answers here. we're hearing that trayvon mother has trademarked a couple of phrases that mention her son. what are the phrases and what's her motivation? >> well, you know, i tam trayvon martin is one of the phrases. i believe there are a couple of other phrases. and here's the thing. yesterday during the group that showed up that were demonstrating. there were lots of t-shirts being sold. a lot op people are marketing this and some people have been profiting this. people are using his image. the family is concerned about it. they want to make sure they regain control of their son, so to speak. they made this request. they hope to get trademark
2:21 pm
status for his name. they want to have some say how his image and name is being used, not just for the purpose of selling money making t-shirts. >> martin savidge, thank you. he hasn't b spoken publicly about what happened since the night he shot trayvon martin. this picture of a smiling george zimmerman is from the "orlando sentinel" much more recent than the other images. his friend, he was a former cnn anchor, joe oliver got pretty emotional when talking about zimmerman. his life will never be the same. he's will having in seclusion. i don't know where he's at. i do know how to get in tuch with him now, but i have no idea where he's at. he's being treated for post traumatic stress syndrome, depression, insomnia. he's extremely remorseful. and now he's living in hiding because he's become the scapegoat for what ails this country as far as racial
2:22 pm
relations go. i'm not here just for george. i'm here for my kids. i'm here for every other young black man. i understand why everybody is upset. if i didn't know george, i would be upset, too. and i would be out there. if i didn't know what i know. i would be just as outraged. but once this is all over, we still have to address the problem that brought us to the point in the first place and that's the fear that we have of each other, the fear that we have of young black men. we hear oall of the stories of the criminal aspects that have put young black men in the spotlight, but we don't hear about the successful black men out there, the ones who have done it on their own. the ones who pulled themselves up out of poverty. we don't hear enough about that. i've got an 18-year-old son. my heart goes out to the martins.
2:23 pm
and just like george, i'm trying to do the right thing. >> you see the quote, act like a thug, die like one. a new orleans police officer is suspended without pay. he was referring to trayvon martin. >> to say that i'm statement is an understatement. i'm furious. giroir has embarrassed this department with incensive, farmful and offensive comments. cnn affiliate wwll. >> more children hurt by violent attacks in syria. we have video of the children for you after this quick break. our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages...
2:24 pm
adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. twenty-five thousand mornings, give or take, is all we humans get. we spend them on treadmills. we spend them in traffic. and if we get lucky, really lucky,
2:25 pm
it dawns on us to go spend them in a world where a simple sunrise can still be magic. twenty-five thousand mornings. make sure some of them are pure michigan. your trip begins at michigan.org. and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us.
2:26 pm
this is my grandson. and if it wasn't for a screening i got, i might have missed being here to meet him. the health care law lets those of us on medicare now get most preventive care for free like annual wellness visits, immunizations, and some cancer screenings. and that's when they caught something serious on mine. but we could treat it before it was too late. i'll be around to meet number two! get the screenings you need. learn more at healthcare.gov. you don't want to miss any of this! syria agrees to a cease-fire
2:27 pm
as the u.n. ups its estimate to more than 9,000 syrians dead. 9,000 since the uprising began. opposition groups, though, claim that figure is closer to 10,000. nevertheless, syria has accepted peace. envoy kofi annan's u.n. peace plan. we just learned that annan just wants to help the people of syria and will host a conference. >> they are the ones who are caught in the middle. i think it's important we work with the government and the opposition to stop the fighting. >> well, the fighting continues. in fact, i want to share some images with you. this is from yo ub that show just how bad. and bad doesn't cover it, just how horrendous the situation is. we have to warn you before we roll this video, timages, you will find it disturbing. they show wounded little boys believed to be from homs, syria, taken yesterday.
2:28 pm
you can hear the cries of these children, young children in the background. we don't normally show children in this kind of condition, but we want to show this to you today to show how horrific syria's indiscriminate shooting is. this is contrast to syria's portrayal that life is normal there. and this is the president assad in the same city here. this is a neighborhood known for bloodshed. just to juxtapose those two images for you. i want to bring in cnn's senior correspondent who's in beirut, lebanon. we have this headline here that syria has agreed to these peace talks. the cease-fire. but we're talking about a man, this leader who has been slaughtering his own people. why should the world, ben, believe him? >> brooke, his track record isn't very good. in fact, in november, the syrian
2:29 pm
government agreed to an arab league action plan to stop the fighting and to start a dialogue between the opposition and the government. the syrians agreed but then took weeks over the details. the government was already violently cracking down on these demonstrations. and of course, the opposition is saying look, it didn't work last time and this new plan, which is very much like the old plan isn't going to work either. despite his appearance in homs, it appears that actions speak louder than words. >> you're exactly right. you mentioned that there's not much difference between the new plan versus the old. i know the current plan is the sick-point plan. let's just talk about that if the, you know, actions happened, how will it specifically help the syrians?
2:30 pm
a. >> it would involve some sort of se sags of violence on fwooet both sides. the opposition in theory would stop fighting back. in addition, there would be a two-hour daily humanitarian cease-fire to allow humanitarian organizations to bring in supplies and medical treatment. the president may go to one neighborhood where things are sort of fine, but there are other parts of town where the come bardment continues where the violence continues. so theory, it holds out the prom of cessation or lessening of the violence, but recent history does not bode well when considering bashar al assad's track record. >> and as we've been talking and
2:31 pm
reporting on these deaths inside syria, as we mentioned, you're in neighboring lebanon. but there's heavy fighting between syrian troops and rebels there on the border. what have you seen? what can you tell us about that? >> there was sort sort of clash on the border of northeastern lebanon, the main smuggling corridor that supplies homs and the area around it. one of the worries is that there was an activist who was very heavily involved in maintaining the supply line. he was captured by the syrian authorities a fi days ago. worries are they've extracted information from him and now the syrian government is ripping out that supply route by the roots. >> ben, thank you. and if this doesn't make your heart skip a beat, nothing will. look at this. do you see what's there? a dramatic rescue of a man stuck
2:32 pm
and covered and sinking in mud. the whole thing caught on video. we'll show that to you next. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪
2:35 pm
>> a man almost buried alive after falling in the mud. we're going to pause the video. we thought you could kind of see his outline, you can see some of the folks at atlanta fire department. this is the beginning part of the rescue. but it's even hard to make out, there is men in the mud. so this guy was walking near a kruk site in atlanta when he, i don't know, we'll ask the battalion chief. then he started to sink. they had to move the mud from his face so he could breathe. they then come him out. he is expected to recover. but i want to bring in david rhodes. the battalion chief of the atlanta fire department. chief, from everything i've read, it sounds like your guys saved his life.
2:36 pm
how in the world did he get stuck? >> a we're not sure. it looked like from the scene he walked in, possibly got stuck, after being in there for hours, got weak and collapsed. he ended up in the position that he was in and provided more surface area and kept him on top. the mud beneath him is four feet deep on saturday. >> so he was stuck for fours. and the first thing i thought when i saw this, it's almost like -- could you equate it to quick sand? >> it's very similar. very similar. and the problem is, there's no surface area to distribute the weight. so as you see, the firefighters, the only equipment we had on initially was just our ground ladder, and one of our firefighters had already become stuck in the mud himself and was
2:37 pm
able to get out with assistance from another firefighter. one of the medics was able to get to him and cleared his airways. she was able to hold his head up. it looked like he was going to go back under. we were set up to do a technical rescue time was running out so we grabbed some plywood on site and put it over the mud and made a little bridge and hull puled him out by hand. >> and based upon the fact that he was there for hours. i'm going to guess with th fast-moving red flay that his footprints were probably covered.
2:38 pm
>> there is some speculation and some reports that he fell, but none of the rails from the construction site were broken. and it would have been about a 30-foot fall and he didn't have any trauma injuries at all. i think h ejust walked in there and got overcome with hypothermia and justtation exhaustion. >> that's right, it was a cool morning in atlanta in the 50s. so he did suffer hypothermia. final question, you don't even know who he is correct? you don't even know if he's okay? >> that's right, our medics who went into the hospital with him reported around luncht time on saturday that he was doing good in the hospital but we don't who he is, if he's a citizen, a homeless man or what. we just don't know. >> wow. david rhodes with the atlanta fire department. excellent job to you and your crew. thank you so much for calling in. >> now to a bizarre incident involving the captain of a plane, forces the flight to land early. details coming into us from the scene. and a passenger who was on the flight.
2:39 pm
just into us. be right back. named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month.
2:40 pm
home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to both repair your home and replace your possessions are covered. and we don't just cut a check for the depreciated value -- we can actually replace your stuff with an exact or near match. plus, if your home is unfit to live in after an incident,
2:41 pm
we pay for you to stay somewhere else while it's being repaired. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance. because you never know what lies around the corner. to get a free quote, call... visit a local office, or go to libertymutual.com today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? this just in. a flight from new york to las vegas has now had to divert in amarillo, texas, because of some sort of incident on the plane. a badge on the line. the passenger is heidi carg. let's start just from bet gining here. tell me where you were on the plane and what happened, what did you see?
2:42 pm
>> it was a very interesting morning for me. i was actually sitting in the eighth row of the plane. we saw some commotion all of a sudden, probably about three hours into the flight. we saw all of the stewardesses running towards the front of the plane. there was some commotion around the cockpit. we saw at that point a male who looked looic a flight attendant, he had a jetblue uniform on, pound on the cockpit door saying i need the code, give me the code. i need to get in there. at that time they tried to relax him and the pilot came on saying you need to restrain him, you need to restrain him. we had a punch of male passengers run up to the front, help the flight attendant to get to the ground. he was shouting different things saying he's going to bomb us. it was very confusing. >> hang on, let me just -- >> we found out later when we exited the plane that he was the captain.
2:43 pm
i believe he was the captain of the flight. >> let me interrupt you. because i want to just go back. so tell me again what you heard. >> we just heard commotion that he needed the code. he wanted to get back in the cockpit. they shut the door and he couldn't get different things. we heard the word bomb. we didn't know exactly what was going on. he was shouting different things and in the confusion, they got him to the ground. and there were some male passengers restraining him on the ground. >> owe, my goodness, i'm sure this was so frightening for many ofs you. it was supposed to get you from jfk over into vegas. now you're jusitting in amarill. as i'm looking at this flight, that i say right around 10:00 a.m. central, the pilot in command elected to divert to
2:44 pm
amarillo, texas, far medical situation involving the captain. another captain traveling offduty entered the flight deck prior to landing pat amarillo and took over the duties of how do they describe, as an ill crew member once on the ground. heidi, hang on. i understand we also have some video onboard. >> yes. a lot of people taking videos. >> i'm sure now in this day and age. many people were doing that. let me bring liz zi o'leary. tell me what you now know mapped and let's take a look. >> well, listening to heidi's description is very helpful. we have video we believe to be of this jetblue flight 191 that did make this emergency diversion to amarillo. we know from the air traffic control tapes they did request an emergency landing there. i want to play out a couple of things. you can see the commotion going on there and the question of who
2:45 pm
stepped in. there was a pilot or a captain onboard who was doing what airlines refer to as deadheading. meaning he was offduty but flying onboard the plane. according to the airliner he stepped in and was in the dock pick when they made the emergency landing and took control once they were on the ground. i will say the airport authority head in amarillo told me there were reports of this altercation involving the captain, but they have been sort of unconfirmed by the airline. they did say that he was taken to a medical facility. they also say they were working with local law enforcement and the fbi which raises questions. generally, the fbi is not involved if there's a pilot who's just sick. so there are a number of questions still outstanding. >> okay, stand by. we're going to reroll this video and we're going to eavesdrop and listen. i'm told there is some add toe on this questioned. let's take a listen.
2:46 pm
>> so again, this is raw video from this flight. it appears to be this flight that we're talking about. it's raw video, so it's tough to hear what's going on. heidi, i know you were there eight rows back, perhaps right around here being your perch onboard this plane. you are now again on the ground in amarillo i'm presuming that they're working to get you a new plane for you all to head on to las vegas. but in the meantime, just to recap what you were describing to me. suddenly you see multiple people, flight attendants rushing the cockpit door asking, you know, for the code, could you hear the captain at all?
2:47 pm
>> that's what we believe, it was a male gentleman that i heard say i need the code, i need the code. it was him that was saying that. i didn't know at the time that he was the captain. i just saw a jet blue uniform. he was just bang on the door. and the other that took over the plane announced that he needed to be restrained. >> so someone in jetblue capacity gets on the loud speaker and says what? >> he said please restrain him. that's exactly what he said, please restrain him. and we had a couple of male passengers help the flight attendants restrain him. during the flight. >> so had the cockpit door opened, had this captain stepped out? >> i'm really not sure what happened. it was really sudden. he couldn't get into the cockpit. i know he wanted to be in there. but they wouldn't let him get in. >> okay, so how much time, heidi, passed between, you know,
2:48 pm
this commotion that we're lo looking at here on these raw pictures and when you all landed in amarillo? >> it was probably about a total of 25 minutes, i would say. 30 minutes that they had him on the ground. i can't say for sure. it all happened pretty quickly. >> did they apologize? >> yes, they did. they said they had everything under control. set everyone back down and they had two individualsled hoing him down while we landed. >> okay, heidi, thank you so much for call in. we appreciate that, we appreciate to the person who shared this video with us. we're also getting calls from other passengers onboard this plane. we're going to bring them in as they come in. be right back. get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day
2:49 pm
helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. like a ramen noodle- every-night budget. she thought allstate car insurance was out of her reach. until she heard about the value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate.
2:51 pm
>> we continue to follow this jetblue plane incident. pictures we've gotten from outside and inside. so this flight from new york to vegas had to be diverted to amarillo, texas, because of a medical situation onboard the plane. you can't see the plane, this was the scene outside the plaep op the left. what we think is video from inside the plane when that incident happened. we're also hearing from passengers on the flaen. we're going to hear from them when they come in. also send me a tweet. but i do want to return here what many are calling the
2:52 pm
biggest supreme court of our time. if the government can require you to have health insurance, whether you want to buy it or not, according to a new cnn opinion research corporation poll, half of americans believe whatever this justices decide, it will be based mostly on their personal political views and not an objective interpretation of the law. the numbers 50 rj and 46 there. also that plays into why some critics are calling elena kagan to recuse herself from the case. >> if elena kagan were still in her previous job, she would be defending the constitutionality of president obama's lelt health care law instead of deciding that as the newest justice. >> so help me god. >> congratulations. she was the solicitor general, the top lawyer before the federal court that has wrangled conservatives. >> the public has the right to know the extent of justice
2:53 pm
kagan's vovt with the legislation, as well as any previously stated legal opinions. if justice kagan was part of the administration's team that put the health care mandate into play, she should not officiate when it comes before the supreme court. administration officials insist she was deliberately kept out of the loop over legal strategies surrounding the law because she was being considered for the supreme court position. >> i do not remember her being present for think any of them. >> kagan herself during her senate admitted attending one meeting where the topic was discussed internally, but nothing involving a, quote, substantive discussion. but internal memos later released by the white house showed the 52-year-old kagan taking at least a personal
2:54 pm
interest in the pending legislation. quote, i have they have the votes, larry. simply amazing she gushes in one e-mail. act vitss on the right say justice kagan should now pull ute of the health care cases to preserve the integrity of the system. >> you can't be coach and referee at the same time. >> many in the left insist justice thomas drop out for fully failing to disclose his wife's income as a conservative political advocate. brooke baldwin, cnn atlanta. >> now obviously neither kagan nor thomas decided to bow out of the oral arguments happening this week. kagan has withdrawn herself from considering 20 other cases before the court, but i want to remind you here at the top of the hour, dr. sanjay gupta is going to be answering some of your questions. i know you're engaged. you have questions about how this could affect you with regard to the health care law. so rocky, flip around and you
2:55 pm
can see i was tweeting out, what kind of questions would you have for sanjay. will the health care act help keep health costs from going up like the president promised? keep those tweets. comes to me or sanjay. we have that for you in a couple of minutes. also this story about this 4-year-old disappears without a trace from a campground in arkansas. and after days of searching land, searchers are now looking in the water. we're going to talk to one of the searchers after this quick break. hole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. is the pain reliever orthopedic doctors recommend most for arthritis pain, think again. and take aleve. it's the one doctors recommend most for arthritis pain. two pills can last all day. ♪ two pills can last all day. i bathed it in miracles. director: [ sighs ] cut! sorry to interrupt. when's the show?
2:56 pm
well, if we don't find an audience, all we'll ever do is rehearse. maybe you should try every door direct mail. just select the zip codes where you want your message to be seen, print it yourself, or we'll help you find a local partner and you find the customers that matter most. brilliant. clifton, show us overjoyed. no, too much. jennessa. ah! a round of applause. [ applause ] [ male announcer ] go online to reach every home, every address, every time with every door direct mail. in case you're just tuning in, we're following this soerry, this jetblue incident that just recently happened. this flight was going from new york to las vegas. had to divert. these folks are now sit on the ground in amarillo, texas, waiting for another plane because of this medical situation, this is how jetblue is qualifying it to us. they had to divert this plane far fed ale situation involving the captain of this plane.
2:57 pm
there just so happened to be another captain traveling offduty onboard who had to hop on the flight deck and help take over control. meanti meantime, there's a desperate search for a 4-year-old boy. he was with his aunt at a campground in arkansas and they were there helping out, clearing storm debris when he asked to go back to the cabin where other kids were playing. corporal, any idea what happened to him? >> apparently the child was gwynn permission to go back to the cabin. he was told to walk the road. after the aunt got to the cabin and was with the other children,
2:58 pm
it was noticed that he was missing at that time. so at that point, the search started and then the local authorities were notified and we have been searching land and water since that time. we were on a bridge clear deg bree at the time the child became missing. >> let me ask you to go back to this point. the child was given this okay to return to the cabin. was this 4-year-old alone and given permission to do so? >> there were six children with the aunt at the time. the other kids took off ahead. >> you mentioned the terrain you were searching and the river was very high this weekend. >> at the time, yes, the river was up from recent rains we had had and was dropping out.
2:59 pm
since saturday, the water has dropped approximately 14 inches. >> so you are presumably now searching this river? >> i apologize, i have a helicopter above me doing an aerial search. >> forgive me, let me speak up. as people are searching from the sky right now for this little 4-year-old, are they also searching now this river? >> yes, ma'am. we cleared the area immediately around the bridge about 100 yards. we have kalines here that detected things down lower. so we are in the process of trying to clear those areas out that the canines hit on. >> corporate brian gaskins, we wish you best of luck in the search. thank you so much from arkansas.
126 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNN Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on