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Tornado on Ground in Alabama; Chinese Parents Devastated by Earthquake Losses; California Supreme Court Rules on Gay Marriage; Bush Appeasement Comment Draws Fire; DHS Prepares for Political Transition

Aired May 15, 2008 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, every politician makes promises. John McCain, he makes predictions. The GOP nominee-to be looks ahead to 2013 for a look back at his first term as president. We'll explain all that to you.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Forty-nine states ban same-sex -- same-sex marriage at the moment. Moments from now, though, it could be 48. California's highest court set to rule on a social issue that some call a civil right, others an outrage.

Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: All of it happening right here during our hours. It will be breaking.

And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Straight off the top, we start with breaking weather news. We hear there is a tornado on the ground. Chad Myers with the latest for us.

Chad, what do you have?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Don, Andalusia, Alabama. This is Covington County, Alabama. And the storm has a tornado on the ground reported by law enforcement officials. There's Andalusia, right there. Right near the elementary school there in Andalusia, just west of the elementary schools.

So a tornado on the ground, moving to the northeast at 30 miles per hour. No indications of damage yet, right now. But the town of Andalusia, you are under the gun. And then moving on up toward the north and to the northeast in the next 15 or 20 minutes.

So take cover if you are in southern Alabama into Covington County. This is an ugly-looking storm right now -- Don.

LEMON: All right. We'll check back with you throughout the day. Thank you, Chad.

KEILAR: John McCain is looking four years down the road at what he plans to have achieved if he's elected president. On the international front, the presumptive Republican nominee says at the end of his first turn the Taliban threat in Afghanistan will have reduced -- have been reduced, rather, but not eliminated. He says American and NATO forces will still be there to finish the job.

And he predicts Osama bin Laden will have been captured or killed and that Russia and China will have helped the U.S. pressure Iran and North Korea to give up their nuclear ambitions.

As for Iraq...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and -women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq war has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Over the next couple of hours here in the NEWSROOM, we're going to show you more of McCain's vision, including his health care and economic plans. We'll also hear from our very own Tom Foreman, who will break down some of these promises and what chance they have of becoming reality.

LEMON: Yes. Are they even possible if he does take office?

Now, we're just moments away, I want to tell you, from a major court ruling that could have a huge impact on the national debate over gay marriage. The California supreme court is about to decide whether same-sex marriage should be legal in the nation's most populous state.

San Francisco and several gay-rights groups hope to overturn a voter-passed state law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Right now Massachusetts is the only state where gay marriage is legal.

And we'll pass along today's California ruling as soon as we get it, just as soon as it happens, and we'll talk with CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin about what it means.

KEILAR: Rescue efforts in China are giving way to grim reality. The odds that anyone could survive more than three days in the rubble of this week's catastrophic earthquake are fading fast.

The government has raised its projected death toll to more than 50,000 people. More than 4 million homes are said to be damaged or destroyed. One-hundred-thirty-thousand troops have been sent to help with rescue and recovery efforts, and about 10 million people are said to be directly affected by the quake.

Now China's one-child policy is compounding many parents' heartbreak. CNN's Kyung Lah explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It defies the natural order: a parent losing a child. Yet many of the parents of the 900 children buried in the rubble of Juyuan Middle School are now confronting that horror and, under China's one-child policy, may have lost their only child.

This woman's 5-year-old son, her only child, is missing in the ruins of a kindergarten in Beichuan County. "Children were screaming, but I couldn't hear my son's voice," she says. It is an intolerable grief shared by so many here.

Back in 1979, the government mandated a one-child-per-family policy as its population neared 1 billion. Some wealthier families ignore the order and pay a fine. And in rural areas like the earthquake-devastated Sichuan province, families can petition for an additional child.

But the government rarely relents. Last year violence broke out in southwest China after authorities went house to house, collecting $1,000 fines from families with more than one child.

China's population minister praised the one-child rule, saying it has prevented 400 million children from being born. But thousands of Chinese parents are now coping with one tragic consequence of that rigid law, while others pray for the miraculous rescue of their one child.

This rescuer tells a trapped second grader to hang on when they pulled the small child out of the rubble alive. Applause as rescuers free an eight-month pregnant woman trapped for two days. But for every child saved, so many are lost. Many are missing in a middle school in Qingchuan. Back at Juyuan Middle School, the sorrow seems endless.

JAMIL ANDERLINI, "FINANCIAL TIMES": There were screaming parents. And as the bodies would come out, the parents were trying to identify whether it was their child or not. And once they -- the parents realized it was their child, you know, obviously, they -- they collapsed in grief. It was a very, very shocking thing to watch.

LAH: A shock that will reverberate much longer than the physical damage of this powerful quake.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Just a few minutes ago we told you about that same-sex marriage legislation in front of the California supreme court. A decision has been made, and it's just coming down. Pardon me for reading it right off the wire here.

But "in the decision of Lockyer v. the City and County of San Francisco -- this is 2004 -- the court has concluded that public officials of the city and county of San Francisco acted unlawfully by issuing marriage licensees to same-sex couples in the absence of a judicial determination that California statutes limiting marriage to a union between a man and a woman are unconstitutional.

"Our decision in Lockyer emphasized, however, that the substantive question of the constitutional" -- and it goes in. That's the end of the copy that I have here. And then there's a much longer version that I'd have to click on.

But to understand this, we're going to get our legal analyst, Sunny Hostin. She joins us now by telephone.

So Sunny, did you hear what I said about this ruling?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I could not. I heard some of it, but I did not hear all of it. But my understanding is -- is my understanding correct that the court now rules that the city and county of San Francisco acted unlawfully?

LEMON: Unlawfully by issuing marriage licensees to same-sex couples in the absence of a judicial determination that the California statutes limiting marriage to between a man and a women are unconstitutional.

HOSTIN: Yes. Well, I think people are going to -- there's going to be a contingency of people and a contingent that are very unhappy with the decision. I can't think that it was unexpected, but we knew the top court of California was going to decide today whether to legalize same-sex marriage. It appears that they have determined that they would not legalize same-sex marriage.

LEMON: so what happens now to all of those people who got -- who got married, Sonny?

HOSTIN: Prior to this ruling their marriages were nullified. And those couples made up a large portion of the people that brought this case challenging this ruling. And those people are really now in the same position that they were in then before this case. Their marriages have been completely nullified.

LEMON: Yes. And this is, as you said, a huge population or a huge segment of the population is going to be disappointed. And obviously, some people will be cheering this, as well.

California, the most populous state. Obviously, this is going to have repercussions across the country. Has this set any new precedence? Because we know that you can get married in Massachusetts, and it's legal there. But what does this mean for the rest of the country?

HOSTIN: You know, it's -- had certainly legalizing same-sex marriage, I think it would have been significant for the country. But this is not going to do much in terms of moving the ball forward for same-sex marriages anywhere. We know that San Francisco's mayor, Gavin Newsom, has cited California's guaranteed equal protection under the law in favor of allowing same-sex marriages. And he began allowing same-sex marriages in 2004. And several hundred gay couples were married at -- or rather same-sex couples were married at city hall. But that procedure has now been completely invalidated. And they really are just in the same situation that they were in before.

LEMON: So Sunny, here's the background that I'm getting. California, like several other states, allowed for civil unions between same-sex couples. The people who brought these lawsuits feel that marriage, this marriage law was necessary. And it was necessary in the main because they wanted to have legal rights for their partner and the same sort of tax process and legal process that heterosexual couples go through.

HOSTIN: Yes, yes. And that really has always been the argument for same-sex marriages. The argument has been that civil unions really don't do enough.

But really, what has happened today in California does, in effect, have an impact around the nation, because it will set the tone.

LEMON: OK.

HOSTIN: California is typically very -- known as a progressive state, but Governor Schwarzenegger, whenever this thing comes up, he typically vetoes any hint at same-sex marriage. And so certainly, now that the legality of the state's ban on same-sex marriages has been effectively upheld...

LEMON: Yes.

HOSTIN: ... there really is no recourse, at least in California. And I think it, in some sense, will set the tone around the nation.

LEMON: OK. Sunny Hostin, thank you very much. And of course, you are correct. It has twice been approved by the legislation to legalize gay marriage by the legislature in California, and twice Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed that legislation.

Sunny Hostin, our legal analyst. Thank you very much for that.

KEILAR: President Bush is still helping Israelis celebrate the Jewish state's 60th anniversary. But election-year politics now casting a shadow on the trip.

Straight now to Jerusalem and CNN's Ed Henry.

And Ed, something the president said, well, to say that it is ruffling the feathers of some Democrats stateside, that would be quite an understatement. Tell us about what he said.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's -- that's right, Brianna. Reverberating all the way back to the United States. The president earlier today in a speech suggesting that there are some who want to appease terrorists right now. He said just as some U.S. Officials appease the Nazis in the run-up to World War II. Some strong words. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, though, is insisting Mr. Bush was not referring directly to Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic front-runner.

But other officials are privately saying that Mr. Bush was talking about various Democrats, including Obama, who has talked about how the U.S. president should have direct talks with the Iranian president, and also, a Democrat like former president Jimmy Carter, who has said there should be direct talks with the terror group Hamas. Here's how the president put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they had been wrong all along.

We've heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared, "Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided."

We have an obligation to call this what it is: the false comfort of appeasement which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

(END VIDEO CIP)

HENRY: Now that drew a swift response from Barack Obama himself, who put out a statement calling it a false political attack. He insisted he does not want to negotiate with terrorists, but just wants to have direct diplomatic talks to try to pressure nations like Iran and Syria.

And as you noted, there has been a lot of reaction all the way back on Capitol Hill from Democrats like Carl Levin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: The Bush policies have strengthened the hands of the terrorists through cocky rhetoric, through unilateralism, through action which did not have the universal or -- excuse me, did not have international support. We're less secure now than we were before the Bush policies were put into place.

For him to use purple prose such as somebody is appeasing, it seems to me, is totally inappropriate. It has no place to be said anywhere, and it surely should not be said in a place which understands what true appeasement is and was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Certainly significant that this speech was delivered before the Israeli Knesset, in which Mr. Bush stressed his close ties with Israel, close ties for his administration. It could raise more concerns for Barack Obama with Jewish-American voters.

You'll remember, those concerns first stoked by Republican John McCain recently, suggesting that Obama is the favored candidate of Hamas, the terror group. You'll recall that Obama fired back in "THE SITUATION ROOM" that that was a smear -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Thanks, Ed.

Ed Henry, with the president in Jerusalem.

LEMON: Israel claims this date as one of independence, freedom and triumph. Cross any border in any direction, however, and the mood is very different.

(AUDIO GAP) Jewish state as their uprooting, their displacement: as they call it, their catastrophe. In Jerusalem and the West Bank today, Palestinians flew black flags and released black balloons, symbols of grief and hope to someday return to land that they believe is theirs.

KEILAR: We heard from California's high court had to say about the issue of same-sex marriage. And coming up, we'll hear what San Francisco's mayor, Gavin Newsom, has to say.

LEMON: Yes. There's some information we need to give you on that.

And if you're a woman, you might be your own worst enemy when it comes to getting proper medical care. We'll tell you what you should know before you visit the doctor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. We want to give you some information. Just a couple of minutes ago we reported about gay marriage. It is a very, very complicated ruling here.

And according to the initial information that we got, that it was, that San Francisco acted unlawfully by issuing marriage licensees to same-sex couples. But we are hearing now from people in California -- and hang on. I am checking the information here. We're also hearing from several gay organizations and from our legal team that the bottom line is that the supreme court has overturned the ban on same-sex marriage.

We need to get Sunny Hostin back on the line, and we need to get some -- our legal expert to explain this to us. Because we're getting some conflicting information here.

But according to the wires, according to all the information, the e-mails that I'm getting from organizations that are involved in this, they are saying that this is an historic -- an historic marriage victory in California. Victory in California as it concerns same-sex marriage.

And I will read this again. This is from the wires, and this was reported moments after we reported. The California supreme court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry. Of course, we know the first state is Massachusetts.

So, according to everything that I'm reading here, it is saying that that ban has been overturned, and now it will be legal for same- sex couples to marry in the state of California. And all of those people who were married, who were issued marriage licensees, their marriage will go on and will be confirmed and will not be null and void.

So again, very interesting and complicated decision here, but we really need to get our legal person on the phone to explain this. I know that you guys are wrapping and promising more. But we need to clarify this for our viewers. Because this is a huge decision. Obviously, it's going to have political repercussions and repercussions around the country, as well.

Soon as we get more information and someone to confirm this information, we'll get it up for you -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Come what may in the presidential race, come January we will have a new president. And he or she will have to quickly hire hundreds of people to run dozens of federal departments. That is a fact of presidential transition.

But now we have a Department of Homeland Security and it, too, will be without a leader at a potentially vulnerable moment.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve has an exclusive look at how DHS is preparing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is mayhem as law enforcement hunts down and takes out a lone gunman.

It's also fake: a training exercise. A crash course for more than 100 homeland security career employees who will step into top jobs when political appointees leave during the presidential transition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How confusing is it in that environment? Very, right?

MESERVE: They see one scenario after another. A tutorial on picking out a suicide bomber.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does he look the part? There is no look to the part, right?

MESERVE: They get hands-on instruction on how law enforcement clears a room. They even get to stop a hijacker.

NANCY WARD, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Well, I don't often shoot at people. So -- so that's probably the most vivid for me.

MESERVE: Nancy Ward will take over the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, during the transition. Ward says she now has a better understanding of the 21 other agencies in DHS.

WARD: This is the first time that I've ever been able to see what they do on a day-to-day basis and understand how they do and why they do things the way that they do.

MESERVE: It's also a chance to meet key players like Wayne Parent, who runs the department's operation center and would give critical guidance in a catastrophe.

WAYNE PARENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We see all the chess pieces, and we provide context for them. We tell him if the piece is in the right place or the wrong place.

MESERVE: Critics say DHS has relied too much on political appointees and contractors and should have prepared a cadre of career employees to take over long ago.

P.J. CROWLEY, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: I don't think you can create in three days what you failed to do in five years.

MESERVE (on camera): Officials say they are not aware of any specific intelligence indicating a threat in the coming months, but they are aware that terrorists hit in Britain and in Spain during times of transition, and they feel the time to strengthen the department and its leadership is now.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Glencoe, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Our thanks to Jeanne Meserve for that.

Just getting the information. We want to tell you about our breaking news here. It concerns the same-sex legislation and what happened with the supreme court in California.

Just getting the ruling here from the California supreme court coming into CNN. It is very complicated and a lot of pages. And we're going to go through it. We're going to talk to our legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, to get the exact information on this.

But it appears from now, according to the Associated Press and according to our CNN wires, that California has overturned a ban on gay marriage.

Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, joins us as well as our legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, in just a bit after a break.

It's only speculation right now, but there is a theory going around about the surge in oil prices. We'll try to clear it up for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We've all heard speculation that the gas price surge is being fuelled by speculation. This point is up for debate. And as he does very well, Ali Velshi joining us now live to cut through some of the fog here.

True, false?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Brianna, as we know, any market -- stock market, housing market, the art market, the wine market -- there's speculation that sort of makes it interesting; otherwise it wouldn't be a market. A bet that something is going to go higher.

The issue here is that, in oil, speculation may have taken a bigger role in the last year or so than it has in the past. And that is because some of the smart money, as we might call them, have shifted out of other investments that don't give them as much of a return into oil that is giving them the return.

Now here's the thing: the difference between a speculator and otherwise an investor is a speculator doesn't produce or use oil. They are simply buying it to make money and, you know, get rid of it before they have to actually take delivery of the oil. They risk their own money in trading the oil futures, and they profit from the price change. And by the way, that's not always up. You can bet that oil is going down and make money on that, as well.

But these are professional investors. This is not the average investor.

Now the issue here is at $125, roughly where we are in the price of oil, how much is speculation? Well, from what we've studied and spoken to people on, there's -- there's sort of a consensus range. From 30 to 60 percent of a barrel of oil is speculation, meaning it's not just supply and demand.

So if you take that out of the cost of oil, the value of a barrel of oil, based just on how much we use versus how much we produce, is somewhere between $50 and, let's say, $90. Fifty to $88. I know that's a big range.

The bottom line is oil is trading for $120 and change, almost $125. So people will pay what they pay for it. It doesn't really help you to necessarily know that speculation accounts for a lot of a price of a barrel of oil. But the bottom line is when we talk -- when we hear from candidates or whoever saying it's all the speculators, that's what we're talking about, is the amount of a barrel of oil that is not about supply and demand, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. And I see in the little corner next to you gas price national average $3.78. I saw...

VELSHI: There we go.

KEILAR: Right there. I saw in Alexandria, Virginia, yesterday that it was $3.99 a gallon.

VELSHI: Yes. We've seen in Alaska it's topped $4. In San Francisco, in Chicago, in some parts of Michigan, so -- and in Connecticut. And here in Manhattan. So we-re -- you know, it's a national average of $3.78, but a lot of people are paying $4 or more. That's quite something. That will change some people's behavior, don't you think, Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes. I think it will. I guess we'll see, though. Ali Velshi for us in New York, thanks.

VELSHI: See you.

LEMON: All right. Well, presidential candidate John McCain is laying out today his long-term goals. And Wall Street is certainly listening to it. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, where she has been talking to traders.

Susan, what are they saying about McCain's look into the future after his first term, so to speak?

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

KEILAR: It is just about 1:32 Eastern in the p.m., of course. And here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM:

The California Supreme Court has just overturned that state's ban on same-sex marriages. The 4-3 ruling could make California the second state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to wed.

And China warns that the earthquake death toll could hit 50,000. They are still searching through the rubble.

And a major speech by Republican presidential candidate, John McCain on what he'll do if he's elected. He predicts the Iraq war will be over by the end of his first term, but the fighting in Afghanistan will still be going on.

LEMON: What women need to know when they walk into a doctor's office. Your health may be riding on it.

KEILAR: What would things be like after four years of a John McCain presidency? Would you believe no more Osama bin Laden to worry about? No more direct combat for American troops in Iraq? Those are just two of his bold predictions if elected. We'll have some others ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Leading our political ticker, a boost for Barack Obama. In our latest national Democratic poll of polls, Obama leads Hillary Clinton by seven percentage points, 49 percent to 42 percent. Earlier this month his lead was just four points. And this poll of polls includes three different surveys. LEMON: Well, Obama also has picked up a major labor endorsement. The Steelworkers Union says it's throwing its weight behind the Democratic front-runner that. That could be helpful in Obama's bid to win over blue collar workers. The Pittsburgh based Steelworkers Union has 600,000 members. It had backed John Edwards.

KEILAR: The Clinton campaign says after Tuesday's big win in West Virginia, the New York senator now leads in the total popular votes. But that really depends which votes are counted. The only scenario in which Clinton appears to have the lead is one that only counts primary states including Florida and Michigan, and doesn't count any votes in the caucuses. In that count, Clinton holds the lead of about 225,000 votes.

LEMON: All right, so John McCain is looking ahead to the end of his first term if he wins a November election. The presumptive Republican nominee predicts the war in Iraq will be over and most American troops will be home. And the U.S. economy will be robust again.

Our Tom Foreman joins us now from Washington to look a little closer at McCain's vision.

Tom, is he getting a little ahead of himself here?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He might be, just a little bit. This is the kind of speech that's sort of dangerous for a politician to make at this point because the truth is, he laid out not only broad-brush strokes but a lot of details as well. And certainly if he were to become president, this speech would be revisited many times saying whatever happened to this, whatever happened to that? He started off with the main point and I want you to listen to a little bit of sound here.

The biggest headline to come out of this is his prediction about the war in Iraq which differs quite markedly from the Democrats who say basically it can never be won, we can just find a way to get out. He has a different vision.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the service men and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq war has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: That's a pretty bold statement. He made some other ones, as well. Let's go to a little graphic here. First off, let's mention that because it's the big bullet point. Iraq war will be won. Most of the U.S. troops will return home. Osama bin Laden will be killed or captured. That's one of his predictions for his first term. Several years of robust economic growth, and the U.S. will be well on its way to independence from foreign oil.

He had a lot of other points but that war point will keep coming back as the one people start off with because a big difference between him and the Democrats on this issue, and interestingly enough, you may recall in one of the earlier Democrat debates, none of the leading Democrats when asked, will this war be over by the end of your first term, would commit to that. They wouldn't even commit to it by the end of the second term and now here's the Republican outflanking them on the left almost really, by saying this. So, it's an interesting read on things and there's going to be a lot of reaction to this, Don.

LEMON: Yes. I remember exactly what you are talking about.

Tom Foreman, always a pleasure. Thanks for breaking it down for us.

FOREMAN: Good seeing you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Empowering patients -- a little knowledge can really make a powerful difference when you visit your doctor and women can sometimes be their own worst enemies when it comes to getting proper medical care.

Here now with some very critical advice, CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what's so interesting about this, you and I have talked about this, that women do go to the doctor. Women are diligent about that kind of thing. And they often get their husbands to go to the doctor. But women's health experts tell us once women get to the doctor, they seem to make the same mistakes over and over again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): Studies show women are conscientious about going to the doctor. But they don't always fully benefit from those visits. Here, from experienced doctors, are three typical reasons why. No. 3: Sticking with a bad doctor.

DR. NIECA GOLDBERG, CARDIOLOGIST, NYU WOMEN'S HEART PROGRAM: Sometimes women hang on in a doctor's office even though they are dissatisfied with the care.

COHEN: Dr. Nieca Goldberg, cardiologist and author of "Women are not Small Men," says staying with a doctor you don't like is high up on her list of mistakes that women make with doctors.

No. 2: Not recognizing that sometimes doctors are biased against women. Studies show physicians sometimes attribute a woman's real medical problem to complaining or emotional issues.

GOLDBERG: You don't want to go to a doctor who says: Now, now honey, it's not all that bad.

COHEN: And the No. 1 mistake women make about their health care: They take care of everyone else before they take care of themselves.

Case in point.

GOLDBERG: If a woman actually thinks she's having a heart attack and at home, she often takes a taxi or bus or anything but an ambulance to get to the hospital. Big mistake. Call 911 and take an ambulance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on-camera): To read about more mistakes that women make with their health care and how to fix them, go to my column on CNN.com/health, it's up there right now.

KEILAR: Now we have spoken about, in particular, one woman that you talked with, a very assertive woman dealing with the health issue of her daughter, and yet she ran into this problem herself. Why are women making these mistakes more than men?

COHEN: It's so interesting. This woman who I talked to for my column has a Ph.D, she's a high-ranking administrator at a big university. She says no to people all the time in her professional life and argues with them. But she said when she gets with a doctor who she doesn't like or has a disagreement with, she has trouble voicing it. She said her tongue is like stuck to the bottom of her mouth.

And Brianna, the doctors I talked to said that they felt like women had a harder time challenging authority and -- women wanted to be people pleasers more, wanted to make the doctor happy. Were afraid of upsetting or offending the doctor -- that was their take on this.

KEILAR: So I don't know, maybe one way you can make yourself feel better is to challenge the doctor, maybe do it in a polite way but also be strong in your assertion.

COHEN: Yes. And in my column I have actual sentences that you can say that might make it easier to do that.

KEILAR: Oh, that's great. OK, well we will definitely check that out.

Elizabeth Cohen, our medical correspondent here at CNN. Thank you.

LEMON: All right, take a look at this. It's the beautiful people. They are treading the red carpets at Cannes, well it must be film festival time again. A full wrap of the opening ceremonies, that is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, it's one of the biggest events on the movie world's calendar and it's in full swing right now.

CNN's Brooke Anderson, reports from France and the Cannes Film Festival.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The cinematic spotlight is now on the Cannes Film Festival. The event held here, on the breathtaking French Riviera, officially kicked off Wednesday night with all eyes on "Blindness." Now that's the film honored with the opening night slot of the festival. It's an apocalyptic drama about a city essentially struck by blindness. The film stars Julianne Moore, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal cruise the red carpet that was just steps away from the Mediterranean. Cate Blanchett, Eva Longoria-Parker and Faye Dunaway also attended the premiere.

Now Cannes is an unparalleled festival in terms of prestige, glamour and also opportunities for film makers. The next 11 days we'll see a plethora of movies, high-profile stars and also a lot of heavy partying.

Take a look.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Gwyneth's bags are packed.

GWYNETH PALTROW, ACTRESS: I'm excited, yes.

ANDERSON: Robert DeNiro's heading over, too.

ROBERT DENIRO, ACTOR: I think Cannes is great. You know it's a real glamorous film festival.

ANDERSON: Madonna's making the trip. So are Scarlett, Brad and Angelina. They're all descending on the south of France for one of the premiere cinematic events in the world, the Cannes Film Festival.

Woody Allen's joining the party with "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," his new comedy, starring Scarlett Johansson.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON, ACTRESS, "VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA": I'll go to your room, but you have to seduce me.

ANDERSON: Clint Eastwood returns with "Changeling," a period drama featuring Angelina Jolie. It's one of two films she has at Cannes. The other is the animated "Kung-Fu Panda."

VOICE OF ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS, "KUNG-FU PANDA": Are you ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born ready.

ANDERSON: This year's Cannes Film Festival features more than 50 films from around the world. But there's no question which movie is getting the most attention.

HARRISON FORD, ACTOR, "INDIANA JONES": Damn, I thought that was closer.

ANDERSON: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," debuts at Cannes just days before it opens worldwide. For director Stephen Spielberg, it's a return to the scene of one of his greatest triumphs. "E.T." earned a rapturous reception when it premiered here in 1982, helping seal his reputation as a major film maker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had made some hits, but he wasn't "Steven Speilberg," and Cannes helped to turn him into Steven Speilberg.

ANDERSON: Cannes has launched the careers of other directors including Stephen Soderbergh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Soderbergh has been, you know, discovered there. He's one of the directors like Quentin Tarantino, you know, who really made his mark there with his first film, "Sex, Lies and Videotape." And in Quentin's case it was "Pulp Fiction."

ANDERSON: But for all of Cannes high-minded focus on film, it's also a place where frivolity reins.

CALISTA FLOCKHART, ACTRESS: It's kind of crazy. Party, party, party.

ANDERSON: And where stars seem willing to compromise their dignity to promote a project.

JERRY SEINFELD, ACTOR, "BEE MOVIE": They told me Scorsese did the same thing last year.

ANDERSON: One critic sums up the festival atmosphere this way: It's Disneyland for adults.

(on-camera): This carnival-like event will continue through May 25th.

Reporting from the 61st annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, Brooke Anderson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Hard times fall on a famously tony town on the coast of California. We'll tell you what the city of Santa Barbara is doing to help women who suddenly find themselves homeless.

LEMON: And what would things be like after four years of a John McCain presidency? Well would you believe no more Osama bin Laden? I'll say that again, he says no more Osama bin Laden. And you don't have to worry about that. And no more direct combat for American troops in Iraq. Those are just two of his bold predictions if elected.

We'll have some others for you.

KEILAR: Well, keep your eye on this guy here. He is super fly, I guess you could say. This is either the coolest thing that you will see today, maybe the craziest thing that you'll see today. This is Rocketman. We've got his story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: For today's installment of crazy European dudes in the news, we take to you Switzerland.

Watch very carefully.

This here, this is the crazy European dude jumping out of a perfectly good airplane -- but watch. He's strapped to some folding wings. He fires up some jets and goes all "Buzz Lightyear" on us. So, he's actually not crazy, he's "Fusionman." I don't know, that's kind of crazy I think, Don. But that's what he calls for himself, demonstrating for the press his team's one-man flying invention.

He zooms along for about five minutes, more than 180 miles per hour -- that's how fast he goes. And then he lands by parachute. This video made several rush hour commuters here in Atlanta very jealous.

And the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

LEMON: Same-sex marriage -- it's not just for Massachusetts anymore. California's highest court calls matrimony a basic civil right for everybody. We'll have the fallout.

KEILAR: John McCain doesn't want to tell you what he'll do if elected president. He wants to tell you what he plans to brag about in 2013. We'll be parsing his predictions, big predictions I should say.

Hi there I'm Brianna Keilar, at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right, and just moments ago the California Supreme Court overturned that state's ban on gay marriages. I'll say it again. California supreme court overturned that state's ban on gay marriages. San Francisco was one of the plaintiffs trying to overturn the ban.

And joining us now by telephone San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. A victory for you, sir.

VOICE OF GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR: Not just for me, but for literally millions of people across this country and for that matter, around the world.