Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Marines Targeting Heroin Production; Debating Impact of Health Care Reform; Pa. Budget Impasse Affects Worker Pay; Man Accused of Murders in Two Cities; NASA Retires the Shuttle Next Year; The Moon Walk Conspiracy; Pres. Obama Health Care Speech

Aired July 20, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks so much.

In the hands of the Taliban. Almost three weeks after his capture, a U.S. soldier says he's scared he'll never go home. But his home town isn't losing hope. We're pushing the story forward in Haley, Idaho.

Motive for murder. Byrd and Melanie Billings weren't just killed. Their Florida home filled with special needs kids was robbed. Now the local sheriff says robbery may not be the whole story.

It's one of biggest stories in all of human history. Mankind's arrival on the moon, it happened 40 years ago today, and we're pushing forward with this question -- what's next?

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. This minute, we're watching Children's National Medical Center in Washington. That's the site of a presidential round table on President Obama's number one priority, at least for now, that's reforming health care. He is expected to speak momentarily, not just to doctors and nurses around him, but also to lawmakers from both parties struggling with the cost of expanding coverage.

The president warns that it will cost far more to do nothing. So we'll bring you his comments live as soon as he steps up to the mike.

A young, scared American soldier fears he'll never again see his family or girlfriend that he hopes to marry. 23-year-old Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl was captured nearly three weeks ago in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban threatened to kill him if foreign troops continue targeting civilians.

U.S. and NATO forces deny attacking civilians. And in a video posted online by the Taliban, Saturday, Bergdahl talks about his loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PFC BOWE ROBERT BERGDAHL, CAPTURED U.S. SOLDIER: I have my girlfriend, who I was hoping to marry. I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America.

And I miss them every day that I'm gone. I miss them and I'm afraid that I might never see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again. I'll never be able to hug them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Private Bergdahl's home is just outside of Haley, Idaho. Folks there had been handing out yellow ribbons as a show of support for him and his family. Bergdahl is well known in that town. He danced at the ballet school and was often seen riding his bike. Small circle friends have known for a couple of weeks that Bergdahl had been captured, but they kept it quiet at the request of the family so it wouldn't compromise his safety. A spokesperson for the family explained why moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF J. WALT FEMLING, BLAINE COUNTY, IDAHO: We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and concern towards Bowe and our family. As you know, the situation is extremely difficult for everyone involved. We like to remind all of you that our sole focus is seeing our beloved son, Bowe, safely home. Please continue to keep Bowe in your thoughts and prayers. And we would ask for your continued respect of our need for privacy in this difficult situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Chris Lawrence has been talking to the U.S. military about Private Bergdahl's capture. He joins us now live from the Pentagon.

Chris, what's the military saying about this tape right now?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, flat-out, Kyra, they are calling it a violation of international laws of war. They are saying that the Taliban is using this video for propaganda purposes. You kind of made reference to it there. The military has known the identity of this young private for weeks now, but they have been keeping it, you know, private because this is what they didn't want to happen.

One, a concern for the soldier's safety, and two, because they didn't want to use it for propaganda purposes. And now, of course, the Taliban has released this video.

In another part of the video, there is a part where Private Bergdahl makes a plea somewhat to other families of soldiers and marines back home, saying you have the power to pressure the government to bring us home. There's a lot on this tape that the military authorities will be looking at to see whether in fact it's actually Private Bergdahl's own words, or whether he was coerced or instructed or, you know, to say certain things.

PHILLIPS: So, Chris, would the U.S. mount some sort of rescue mission if possible?

LAWRENCE: Well, first, they would have to locate him. You know, when you talk about this kind of operations, it's all kept very close to the vest because the ultimate goal is to protect the life of the soldier.

There was a reference by both Private Bergdahl and by his captors to Kandahar, that he had been taken to Kandahar. We have heard from military officials in the last week or so, that they believe that he had been moved around several times. But right now, they can't verify the fact about Kandahar. That is indeed where he was located.

And even when they do locate him, there's also a second question of whether mounting any sort of rescue mission might put his life in even greater danger. That's always a very, very difficult decision to make.

PHILLIPS: Chris Lawrence from the Pentagon.

Chris, thanks.

And we're about to find out a whole lot more about that murder case in Florida, where a couple with a house full of special needs kids was robbed and killed. The sheriff in Escambia County says that he plans to question three more persons of interest, make at least one more arrest and tell us about another motive for the killers. The plot thickens. Byrd and Melissa Billings were shot to death July 9th, while nine children were at home.

Imagine being the woman left behind. Most of her family gone like that. A killing spree over the weekend near the Tennessee-Alabama line. 30-year-old Jason Shaffer in custody. His estranged wife, Tracy, her father, brother, teenage son, plus their teen neighbor, plus a man who worked for the family business, 30 miles away at Huntsville, Alabama all dead. Six killings total. A family friend say that the couple had had problems and were living separately.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARLEE TURNER, FAMILY FRIEND: I knew that she was having problems with him, as she was already having her own personal problems as we all do to deal with, you know. She kind of had a hard time in life, but she was a very kind-hearted person and definitely loved her children, loved her family and was a typical concerned mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Today, we learned that the spree began with the fatal beating in Alabama. Right now, it's unclear how the other five people died.

Michael Vick is a free man today -- period, end of sentence. The ex- Atlanta Falcon's quarterback has been release from federal custody. He got out of federal prison in May and was on home confinement for the last two months of his dog fighting sentence. Vick wants to return to the NFL. He is trying to arrange a meeting with the commissioner. Roger Goodell suspended him indefinitely back in 2007.

Now I mentioned the president's appearance at a D.C. children's hospital. While we wait for his public comments, let's bring in CNN senior medial correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. She could tell us where things stand right now in Congress and why it matters to all of us.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, first I want to talk a little bit about kids, though, because President Obama is at a children's hospital, and there are some really sobering statistics about uninsured children in this country.

One out of five uninsured American is a child. If you look the statistic another, 12 percent of children in this country don't have medical insurance. So what's interesting is that most parents do work. So these mostly are employed people who don't have insurance for their child. So this is obviously a huge point is to try to change that, and try to get these children insurance.

PHILLIPS: And, of course, there's a number of stumbling blocks that lawmakers are going up against. And how much is he going to address the controversy?

COHEN: Yes. It will be interesting to see how much he gets into that. Because in the beginning of health care reform, everyone was on the same page. Everyone wants those children and adults, of course to have insurance, but the question is, how do you do it?

Do you, for example, tax the very rich? Are you going to do that to pay for it? Are you going to tax people who have benefits, who have insurance from their employers? Do you tax benefits? How do you go about doing it. The how-to-pay-for-it part has really got people at each other's throats at this point.

PHILLIPS: All right. Stay with us.

If Susie steps to the mike, I'm going to have you chat with us afterwards as well.

COHEN: Sounds good.

PHILLIPS: Thanks Elizabeth.

Well, they still don't believe their eyes or their government. Forty years on from the first moon landing and the conspiracy theories haven't wained a bit. An expert answers to those arguments next.

And some zero gravity hook ups. We've got the shuttle astronauts scrabbling around the outside of the International Space station this hour. We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And our world just hasn't been the same since. The moon, well, it's still pretty much the same. 40 years ago astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took one small step for man leaving the first human footprints on the moon.

Look where the path has lead. Astronauts from the space shuttle "Endeavour" commemorating the anniversary, showing off their fancy foot work with a spacewalk just outside the Intentional Space Station happening right now.

"Endeavour's" crew is hooking up spare parts outside of the hulking, floating observatory. And for shuttle, astronauts hit the second spacewalk in three days. Inside the space station, another tricky issue, a broken toilet. It's not like you can call Mr. Plumber some 220 miles above the earth. But the station has another one for the six astronauts on the outpost and "Endeavour's" seven crew members are doing their business in the shuttle's flue.

We got that cleared up. Now, if you're in a certain age, the Apollo program is just something that you read about in the history book. Soon the shuttle program will follow in its footsteps. NASA's moth balling late next year on the program. So what's next? John Zarrella looks at NASA's future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one. Booster ignition and liftoff of Endeavor.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): And now there are seven, the number of space shuttle flights left.

Nearly 30 years of flying astronauts in a reusable space plane, soon just a chapter in history books.

DAVID LECKRONE, HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENTIST: And it just makes me want to cry to think that this is the end of it.

ZARRELLA: When the last shuttle flies in September 2010, it leaves a gaping hole behind.

Because of NASA budget cuts, the next generation vehicle, the Ares rocket and Orion capsule, key components of the Constellation program, won't be ready to fly astronauts until 2015. Until then, NASA has to carpool with the Russians to get to space.

Thousands of shuttle workers not needed for the new vehicle will lose their jobs. Workers who are needed may not be around if more budget cuts spur the delay of the next generation of spacecraft.

And further delays are possible. An Obama administration ordered blue ribbon panel is reviewing NASA's direction after shuttle ends, i.e., the Constellation program, which Leckrone says is fuzzy on direction.

LECKRONE: And I just don't see that if that organization, within NASA, this producing Constellation, doesn't begin talking to their customer, potential customer base, they're doing to end up with something that no one is interested in using.

ZARRELLA: Precourt says Constellation is clearly visionary.

CHARLIE PRECOURT, ATK LAUNCH SYSTEMS: It behooves us to build an architecture that can serve a multitude of missions for those next 50- plus years. And that's where this was first envisioned was to think about space station, lunar asteroids, beyond maybe to Mars. ZARRELLA: Built as less expensive than shuttles, safer for astronauts, the Constellation program is supposed to be everything shuttle is not.

(on camera): Funny how perceptions change. For decades, the shuttle program was maligned as too costly, too complicated a vehicle, too risky, too unreliable.

Now what do you hear? Too bad it's over.

John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And the first guys to walk on the moon think mankind's next giant leap should be a mission to Mars. Apollo astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins are big supporters of a trip to the red planet. They are actually in Washington today, and they're urging President Obama to boldly go where no man has gone before. Armstrong and his crew mates are scheduled to meet with the president next hour.

President Obama and his guests have something in common. They've all been subject to some classic conspiracy theories. Ahead of today's Apollo 11 anniversary, all the folks who think the lunar landing was a hoax have come out of the wood work.

Some of their favorite reasons why it couldn't have happened, no star is visible in NASA's pictures and video, and no reason the American flag should have been rippling since there's no breeze on the man.

Professor Robert Thompson tackled that one on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT THOMPSON, PROFESSOR, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Well, it was waving. And the reason it was waving was not because there was wind. Because as we say, there's no wind on the moon, there's no atmosphere. However, to make that flag stand out and go straight, you got to have to this little have ribbing to make it go. Because it's not going to fly straight when there's no atmosphere. And every time they touched that little pole, it sent vibrations through the ribbing. And then, therefore, the fabric so it actually looks like it's vibrating.

I actually think the flag is the biggest argument against the moon landing being a hoax. Because if you go back and watch the coverage of them trying to get that flag to stand up, it looks like keystone cops that can't get it in the ground. It's a joke if you were going to fake it, you wouldn't make your astronauts look so silly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So in other words, Professor Thompson saying stop the lunar lunacy, folks

Striking the Taliban where it hurts. What U.S. Marines found in southern Afghanistan and why they blew it up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Just a quick reminder. We are still waiting for President Obama's remarks from Children's National Medical Center in Washington, talking about his reform on health care. We will take that live as soon as he steps up to the mic.

Whether you're out west or in the east, some tricky weather could trigger a pretty nasty day ahead for you -- right, Chad?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Cool stuff. They just keep expanding that, don't they?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: I know.

MYERS: They had, you know, they Google ocean. Now they have Google moon.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Chad.

Well, they risk their lives to go where no man had gone before. But four decades later, does anybody remember their names? You'll be surprised by what we found out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to the president now at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, where he's talking about reforming health care.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ...Michael Knappe, Regina Hartridge, and Kathleen Quigley.

I just had the opportunity to talk to doctors, nurses, physician's assistants, and administrators at this extraordinary institution. We spoke about some of the strains on our health care system and some of the strains our health care system places on parents with sick children.

We spoke about the amount of time and money wasted on insurance-driven bureaucracy. We spoke about the growing number of Americans who are uninsured and underinsured. We spoke about what's wrong with a system where women can't always afford maternity care and parents can't afford checkups for their kids, and end up seeking treatment in emergency rooms like the ones here at Children's. We spoke about the fact that it's very hard even for families who have health insurance to access primary care physicians and pediatricians. In a city like Washington, D.C., you've got all the doctors in one half of the city, very few doctors in the other half of the city. And part of that has to do with just the manner in which reimbursement is taking place and the disincentives for doctors, nurses, and physicians assistants in caring for those who are most in need. We spoke about where we're headed if we once again delay and defer health insurance reform.

These health care professionals are doing heroic work each and every day to save the lives of America's children. But they're being forced to fight through a system that works better for drug companies and insurance companies than for the American people that all these wonderful health professionals entered their profession to serve.

Over the past decade, premiums have doubled in America; out-of-pocket costs have shot up by a third; deductibles have continued to climb. And yet, even as America's families have been battered by spiraling health care costs, health insurance companies and their executives have reaped windfall profits from a broken system.

Now, we've talked this problem to death, year after year. But unless we act -- and act now -- none of this will change. Just a quick statistic I heard about this hospital. Just a few years ago, there were approximately 50,000 people coming into the emergency room. Now they've got 85,000. There's been almost a doubling of emergency room care in a relatively short span of time, which is putting enormous strains on the system as a whole. That's the status quo, and it's only going to get worse.

If we do nothing, then families will spend more and more of their income for less and less care. The number of people who lose their insurance because they've lost or changed jobs will continue to grow. More children will be denied coverage on account of asthma or a heart condition. Jobs will be lost, take-home pay will be lower, businesses will shutter, and we will continue to waste hundreds of billions of dollars on insurance company boondoggles and inefficiencies that add to our financial burdens without making us any healthier.

So the need for reform is urgent and it is indisputable. No one denies that we're on an unsustainable path. We all know there are more efficient ways of doing it. We just -- I spoke to the chief information officer here at the hospital and he talked about some wonderful ways in which we could potentially gather up electronic medical records and information for every child not just that comes to this hospital but in the entire region, and how much money could be saved and how the health of these kids could be improved. But it requires an investment.

Now, there are some in this town who are content to perpetuate the status quo, are in fact fighting reform on behalf of powerful special interests. There are others who recognize the problem, but believe -- or perhaps, hope -- that we can put off the hard work of insurance reform for another day, another year, another decade.

Just the other day, one Republican senator said -- and I'm quoting him now -- "If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him."

Think about this. This isn't about me. This isn't about politics. This is about a health care system that is breaking America's families, breaking America's businesses and breaking America's economy. And we can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care. Not this time, not now.

There are too many lives and livelihoods at stake. There are too many families who will be crushed if insurance premiums continue to rise three times as fast as wages. There are too many business that will be forced to shed workers, scale back benefits or drop coverage unless we get spiraling health care costs under control.

The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings and inefficiencies (ph) to our health care system and greater stability and security to America's families and businesses. For the average American, it will mean lower costs and more options and coverage you can count on. It will save you and your family money if we have a more efficient health care system.

You won't have to worry about being priced out of the market. You won't have to worry about one illness leading your family into financial ruin. You won't have to worry that you won't be able to afford treatment for a child who gets sick. We can and we must make all these reforms, and we can do it in a way that does not add to our deficits over the next decade.

I've said this before. Let me repeat: The bill I sign must reflect my commitment and the commitment of Congress to slow the growth of health care costs over the long run. That's how we can ensure that health care reform strengthens our national -- our nation's fiscal health at the same time.

Now, we always knew that passing health care reform wouldn't be easy. We always knew that doing what is right would be hard. Now, there's just a tendency towards inertia in this town. I understand that as well as anybody.

But we're a country that chooses the harder right over the easier wrong. That's what we have to do this time. We have to do that once more. So, let's fight our way through the politics of the moment. Let's pass reform by the end of this year. Let's commit ourselves to delivering our country a better future. And that future will be seen in a place like Children's Hospital when young people are getting the care that they deserve and they need when they need it, and we don't have an overcrowded emergency room that's putting enormous burdens on this excellent institution. I think we can accomplish that, but we're going to have to do some work over the next few weeks and the next few months. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: President of the United States there at Children's National Medical Center in Washington. It was the site of a presidential roundtable that he had with fellow doctors and nurses, talking about his ideas to reforming health care. And, you know, critics of the Democrats' reform plans, most of them -- not all of them, Republicans say that they would violate first rule of medicine, and that's do no harm. Costs would go up, the critics warn, choice would go down, mandates on employers would cost jobs. Well, this morning, GOP Chairman Michael Steele hammered home those points and a few more on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL STEELE, PRESIDENT, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: The president is rushing this experiment through Congress so fast, so soon that we haven't had a moment to think if it would work, or worse, to think about the consequences to our nation, our economy and our families if it doesn't work. The Barack Obama experiment with America is a risk our country can't afford. It's too much, too fast, too soon.

In America, we don't allow one man to roll the dice with our entire nation. We do not allow one political leader to risk our health care system and our entire economy. We do not allow one political group to gamble with the fate of generations. We've never allowed one political party to experiment with the future of our country. That is, until now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, whether you have health insurance and love it and hate it or hate it and love it, well, the White House calls it a stakeholder, and later this hour, that's what Elizabeth Cohen is going to be talking more about. She'll return to tell us what reform will actually mean to you.

Well, a giant fireball in southern Afghanistan. U.S. Marines hitting the Taliban where it hurts, blowing up stockpiles of chemicals used to process heroin and make deadly IEDs. The mission, a nighttime raid in a market town in Helmand province. And that's a major poppy-growing region and where the Marines are going after the Taliban.

CNN's Ivan Watson is with the Marines, explains what happens just before the explosion. Here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And right now, the Marines back here are rigging these chemicals with explosives, C-4 plastic explosives. You can see them getting ready for what will be a controlled explosion in a couple of hours.

Now, the reason for this, the reason that these C-4 plastic explosives are being placed here is because these chemicals are believed to be used to process heroin. More than 90 percent of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan, and a bulk of that from this very province in southern Afghanistan, which has not really been under the control of the Afghan central government in years.

Part of the reason why this operation over the course of this month is such a big deal is because the Marines have moved into areas where the Taliban have been able to operate freely, where drug cartels have been able to operate freely. In the fields around this town where we're located right now, you can see miles of poppy fields growing there where the heroin is then later produced using some of these chemicals.

In addition to this, the Marines have found chemicals used for improvised explosive devices, these deadly weapons that have helped make this the bloodiest month yet for NATO forces in Afghanistan. In a couple of hours, we expect before the sun comes up that these shop market stalls here in this busy bazaar, normally a busy bazaar, will go up in smoke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN F. KENNEDY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We choose to go to the moon.

NEIL ARMSTRONG, APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUT: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: On this 40th anniversary of the moon landings, we thought it would be fun to see who remembers the daring men who defied the odds and made the journey. So, Richard Roth posed the question to some curious New Yorkers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This should not be the world's most famous moonwalk. This is.

ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was one of America's finest moments, not only for America but for the world.

ROTH: Who are these men?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow, that's a good question.

ROTH: On the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon, people have gotten, well, spacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are these men? You know, I haven't the slightest idea who they are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brain surgeons or doctors?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know, maybe some actors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The auto executives that went to D.C. for the hearings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheney.

ROTH (on camera): Cheney did not fly there.

CHER, ACTRESS, IN "MOONSTRUCK": Snap out of it!

ROTH (voice-over): We've all been a little moonstruck since the landing. These people in Arizona believe moon rays help them live longer. In California, thousands get behind the annual "Moon over Amtrak July" day and drop their pants as passenger trains roll by.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Fly me to the moon.

ROTH: People always want or threaten to go to the moon.

JACKIE GLEASON, AS RALPH KRAMDEN IN "THE HONEYMOONERS": Do you want to go to the moon? Do you want to go to the moon?

ROTH (on camera): Has he ever threatened to send to you the moon?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, all the time.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, ASTROPHYSICIST: I see the moon as still a place to go back and investigate. We've been to a half a dozen places on the moon. That would be like going to a half a dozen places on Earth and saying, we're done, on to some other planet.

(MUSIC PLAYING -- "SESAME STREET")

ROTH: Armstrong said one small step for man, one giant step for mankind. What would you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say I'm from the ghetto. I made it up here, thank God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are your first words from the moon? Looking good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would probably say, wow, is this what's up here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One small step for womankind, not just mankind.

ROTH (voice-over): And ladies, you can lose weight here.

TYSON: The easiest way to lose weight is go to the moon, because you'll weigh one-sixth of what you did here on Earth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the moon. It has little dots all over it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It provides us light.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, that's the sun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but the moon does at night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, the sun is going from behind it shooting the light.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

ROTH: There's a new movie called "Moon," which keeps an astronaut up there for three years alone.

(on camera): Do you want to go to the moon?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I have a space suit with air, yes. I don't want to die on the moon.

BAN KI-MOON, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: This is historic.

ROTH (voice-over): Displaying a flag that's been to the moon is a worldly man named Moon.

KI-MOON: Yes, I have some special affinity for this moon because my name also carries the moon.

ROTH: We did finally find someone who recognized the astronauts in the photo.

(on camera): Who are these men?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are very lucky people that came along at just the right time and were a part of Apollo 11.

ROTH (voice-over): Richard Roth, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Apollo 11 touched down on the moon at 4:17 p.m. four decades ago today. This afternoon at that precise moment, CNN's Wolf Blitzer will celebrate the anniversary with astronaut Buzz Aldrin. You can watch it right here on "THE SITUATION ROOM" only on CNN.

Reform in the U.S. health care system is a process with too many questions and not enough answers. The question at the top of everyone's list, what's in it for me?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Back now to our top story, the president's push to make health insurance a right and responsibility of all. You may have seen him live just a few moments ago, making his case at a children's hospital in Washington. You also heard the pushback from the head of the GOP. Now let's hear from our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and her friends Susie, Bob and Mary. Hey, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. Kyra, I invented Susie, Bob and Mary so that we can talk about what health care reform means to you. The politicians can sort of jabber on all they want, but the bottom line is, we all want to know, what does it mean to me?

So, let's look at these three people. They're in three very different places in life and very different situations. Here's how health care reform might affect them. Let's start here with Mary. She is age 23. She's looking for a job. She's a recent graduate. What does health care reform mean to her?

Let's take a look. Under the Senate, the Senate would allow her to stay under her parents' insurance until age 26. But for the House, she could only stay under her parents' insurance until age 22. So, she might be better off with the Senate bill until age 26. Now, let's take a look at our next person. His name is John. He's self-employed, but he can't get health insurance. And if you look carefully, Kyra, you can tell why. His back is hurting him. No insurance company will touch him, and that really, really does happen.

So, will he be better off under health care reform? I think the unequivocal answer here is yes. The reason why is that he is -- he's sort of in a really bad place right now. It can't get a whole lot worse. At least under the plans now being considered, insurance companies could not discriminate against him because of his pre- existing condition.

Now let's take a look at Mary. Now, Mary is a really -- or Susie, rather, Susie is a really interesting situation. She is happy. And so you might think, oh, what's the big deal? But because she's happy, you have to wonder, will she still be happy when health reform comes around? She's employed. She has insurance. And Kyra, this gets so complicated about what health care reform means to people who are employed and have good insurance. I'm going to come on over, and we're going to chat about this.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about, you know, the difference between public insurance rather than private insurance. I know a lot of people don't trust the government, and they say, you know, anything that's government-related makes them a little nervous. So...

COHEN: Here's the concern with her. The concern for people who are employed and have good insurance is that under health care reform that somehow they would get switched to public insurance instead of having the private insurance they have now.

Now, under one study that's been done, it says that 50 percent of all people who are currently employed and have insurance, that 50 percent of them would end up going to a public plan. Now, that analysis has been much criticized by the Obama administration. They say it's not true. But there really is this concern, people who have private insurance now, if they switch to public, will they still be happy.

PHILLIPS: It will be interesting to follow.

COHEN: It will be.

PHILLIPS: Still controversial. Thanks, Elizabeth.

Well, can't really call it a bridge to nowhere. It goes somewhere. Here's the question, though: Does a bridge that carries a whopping 250 cars per day deserve to be at the front of the line when it comes to stimulus money?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: You're looking at the three states that have not yet passed a budget for 2010: North Carolina, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. And get this. Starting in two weeks, state workers in the Keystone State get nothing on payday. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with more. Hey, Susan. SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. Well, there are 69,000 state workers in Pennsylvania. Think about it. They work so many different businesses that we deal with on a daily basis, whether it's DMV and the court, prison systems, social services and the legislators themselves. So, these state workers got 70 percent of their paycheck Friday. That was for June, June employment.

And it's going to get lighter than that. The next two weeks, they're going to get nothing until this budget impasse is resolved. So far, it's 17 days and counting, and even after a budget is signed, employees won't still see their cash for several days, and they won't get any interest on the money owed. What are they arguing about, Kyra? It's over how to close a $2 billion budget gap.

PHILLIPS: Well, you've got nearly 70,000 workers who aren't getting paid, and then you're creating an even bigger crisis.

LISOVICZ: No question about it. So, what do you do in the meantime? Well, there are a few dozen financial institutions that are offering no-interest or low-interest loans. They're primarily credit unions. Food banks are stepping up to provide emergency supplies. There may be some temporary eligibility for food stamps and welfare.

Pennsylvania, as you mentioned, Kyra, is one of only three yet to pass their budgets for fiscal 2010. Connecticut and North Carolina, they're operating under temporary spending measures. So, that's the difference here. Pennsylvania is not, and those state workers are feeling it right now.

PHILLIPS: Susan Lisovicz, thanks.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

Well, you might need a long red light to figure this one out. Lots of drivers in Eugene, Oregon totally stumped by this new sign from the graphic artist formerly known as prince, apparently. Our affiliate KBAL called city and state traffic folks for a clue but kept getting detoured. Seems nobody knew what the heck that sign meant. City manager finally arrived at the answer. Turn left, then you've got to turn right at the jug handle. What's a jug handle?

Well, it's not exactly the busiest bridge out there, but it's getting a big shot of stimulus cash. Why? Well, get ready, folks. We're about to use our favorite new term again, shovel ready.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Shovel ready and raring to go. A bridge in Wisconsin is getting some overdue repairs thanks to Uncle Sam's stimulus money. Yes, this bridge does go somewhere, it's just that there aren't a whole lot of people going there, and there's the rub. Jessica Gomez explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA GOMEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Rusty's Backwater Saloon in central Wisconsin, it's dinnertime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to Rusty's. Sweet potato fries.

GOMEZ: To get to Rusty's, many drivers have to cross this bridge, a bridge the county says is falling apart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, the deck has deteriorated to the point where the concrete is just starting to disintegrate. If you were to take an air hammer on this deck, it would go through it like butter.

GOMEZ: Plans to replace the bridge have been in the works for a few years, but Portage County just couldn't afford it, until now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the stimulus program came about and they said, you know, if you've got shovel ready projects, we're willing to give you some money to do it, we jumped at the opportunity.

GOMEZ: Some money turned out to be about $850,000 in approved stimulus funds. Even though bids have now come in around $640,000, critics are questioning the project.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you have a bridge that very few people travel versus one that hundreds of thousands of people travel every month, and we ought to restore the integrity of those before we restore the integrity of the less important ones.

GOMEZ (on camera): Transportation officials estimate about 250 cars cross this bridge every day. And while they acknowledge there are hundreds of other busier bridges in need of repair across Wisconsin, they say this bridge was given priority simply because it was shovel ready.

(voice-over): People here point out that the bridge doesn't only lead to Rusty's, it's part of an integral road for emergency crews, a local paper mill and country club.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a bridge to nowhere. It very definitely (INAUDIBLE) somewhere.

GOMEZ: The debate on this project seems to be water under the bridge. Construction is set to begin next month.

In Portage County, Wisconsin, for CNN, Jessica Gomez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We're pushing forward with the many aspects of the growing war in Afghanistan. A small town in idaho won't breathe easy until Bowe Bergdahl is home. The U.S. Army PFC was captured by the Taliban three weeks ago and seen over the weekend in an online video.

Four U.S. troops killed today in a roadside bombing. For the month of July, the U.S. death toll is at 30, the highest since the Afghan war began. And these fireballs represent poppy seeds and chemicals that will never turn into heroin and money for the Taliban. U.S. Marines uncovered the stuff in a raid and blew it up while CNN's cameras rolled.

Now back to PFC Bergdahl, a soldier who fears he'll never again see his family or hometown or the girlfriend that he hopes to marry. The Taliban threatens to kill him if foreign troops continue targeting civilians, a tactic both U.S. and NATO forces deny. In the video that surfaced on the Internet Saturday, Bergdahl talks about his loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PFC BOWE BERGDAHL, U.S. ARMY: I have my girlfriend, who I was hoping to marry. I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day that I'm gone. I miss them, and I'm afraid that I might never see them again, and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again. I'll never be able to hug them.

Private Bergdahl's home is just outside Hailey, Idaho. Folks there have been handing out yellow ribbons as a show of support for him and his family. Bergdahl is well known in that town. He danced at the ballet school and was often seen riding his bike. A small circle of friends has known for a couple of weeks that Bergdahl had been captured, but they kept it quiet at the request of the family so not to compromise his safety. A spokesperson for the family explained why moments ago, through the police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF J. WALT FEMLING, BLAINE COUNTY, IDAHO: We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support and concern toward Bowe and our family. As you know, the situation is extremely difficult for everyone involved. We'd like to remind all of you that our sole focus is seeing our beloved son, Bowe, safely home. Please continue to keep Bowe in your thoughts and prayers, and we'd ask for your continued respect of our need for privacy in this difficult situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)