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American Morning
Shocking New Developments in the Murders of a Florida Couple; White House Pushing President's Plan for Health Care Reform; Gun Control is Center Stage on Capitol Hill
Aired July 22, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's coming up on 7:00 here in New York. Good morning once again. It's Wednesday, July 22nd. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, I'm John Roberts.
Here's what's on the agenda. The big stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
Was it murder for hire? A new shocking developments in the brutal murders of a Florida couple. A source now telling us there was a second safe in the Billings' home with more than $100,000 inside it. Our Susan Candiotti has the very latest for us this morning.
CHETRY: And it's an all-out blitz from the White House pushing the president's plan for health care reform. President Obama is taking his sales pitch to primetime tonight. Does he have a new angle of attack for its critics, and can he convince the American people?
We're live at the White House just ahead.
ROBERTS: Plus, you have seen the video filmed by terrorists after he was taken hostage and an entire town is hoping and praying for his freedom. But who is Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl. Our Ed Lavandera is talking to people who knew him best this morning.
There are dramatic new developments this morning on the case of the chilling home invasion and murder of a Florida couple. They were people known for adopting special needs children.
A report of a second safe now found in the home and police believe the killers knew it was there and according to court documents, two of the eight suspects in custodies -- the eighth suspect in custody are pointing fingers at one another.
Susan Candiotti is in Florida. She's got the very latest for us on the investigation.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, good morning. CNN has learned there was a second safe in the Billings' house and that this is what the suspects were really going after.
It was called the mother load. According to a source familiar with the investigation, this safe contained at least $100,000 but for whatever reason, the suspects were unable to get to it and did not get the money.
On Tuesday night, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan was asked about this development on "AC 360."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The source familiar with the investigation telling us there was a second safe in the house containing cash, $100,000. Can you confirm that for us, sir, and tell us about it?
SHERIFF DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: I cannot. I can only confirm the items that we have recovered or that -- excuse me that we know were removed from the Billings' home and that was a small mid-sized safe and a black briefcase.
COOPER: Are you -- you're saying there was not a second safe or you just can't confirm that, sir?
MORGAN: I'm saying, sir, that I'm not at liberty to address that issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: An attorney for the Billings' family also said she had no comment. Now the reason this second safe is significant is because up until now we only knew about one safe, one safe that the suspects did get away with, but the sheriff's office has said it contained only some jewelry, some family papers, and medication for the Billings' children.
There are other new developments in the case. According to court documents, one of the suspects charged with murder allegedly told investigators that suspect Leonard Gonzalez Jr. is the man who shot and killed Byrd and Melanie Billings.
Now the sheriff has said that he is trying to talk to at least three other persons of interest and that he could be making more arrests. John and Kiran?
ROBERTS: Susan Candiotti this morning. This case just seems to get more complicated and bizarre with each new development. We're going to stay on top of it all for you. Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, with costs mounting and around 46 million Americans uninsured President Obama is taking the health care debate to the air waves. A primetime news conference, he's holding it tonight as part of a full-court press from the White House on this key issue.
Republican critics say he's just pushing a plan for government- run health care. The president is accusing them of playing politics.
So what more can the president add to this debate?
Let's bring in our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. She joins us live this morning.
And Suzanne, one of the interesting things is the independent support eroding a little bit, dropping 13 points on the president's handling of health care since April. What does he need to say tonight to convince people that it's still on the right track?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, you're absolutely right here. I mean this is the fourth primetime press conference in the six months of his presidency. He's got to convince those independents that he is doing the right thing, going in the right direction.
We're going to see President Obama today meeting with Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki to talk about how things are going there, but clearly tonight is going to be very important, focusing on his number one domestic priority, that's health care reform.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Barack Obama is raising the stakes, using a primetime news conference to throw all his weight behind health care reform.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Make no mistake, we are closer than ever before to the reform that the American people need and we're going to get the job done.
MALVEAUX: Facing skeptical lawmakers, including members of his own party, the president's strategy consists of private arm twisting and public scolding.
OBAMA: Time and again we've heard excuses to delay and defeat reform.
MALVEAUX: Using his popularity and political capital early in the game.
OBAMA: I don't want you to feel all like you might be alone on this.
MALVEAUX: With townhalls, TV interviews and primetime aimed at building momentum and creating a sense of urgency to get health care legislation on his desk by mid-August.
OBAMA: We have traveled long and hard to reach this point. I know that we have further to go.
MALVEAUX: Some say a risky strategy.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think from his point of view, there are many in the public who would like to hear from him but they'd also like to see him just sitting down negotiating out the plan.
You know what they look for is a leadership that says, here's where we're going to go, not a leadership that says, I'm encouraging Congress to make more progress.
MALVEAUX: The effort comes amid recent polls showing approval for Mr. Obama's health care plan dropping below 50 percent and Americans now split over his handling of the economy. Republicans are seizing the moment.
MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: We want to fundamentally reorient one-sixth of our economy in two weeks. And that makes no logical sense to me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Now, Kiran, the timing, the high-profile nature of this news conference really meant to push lawmakers to give this president some good news, some announcement to make this evening. But as things stand now there's still very much negotiations taking place, health care reform very much influx as the press secretary Robert Gibbs said they're going to come after the August recess and they're still going to have work to do. Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Well, we'll see -- we look forward to hearing more about what he says tonight. Suzanne, we'll hear from you tomorrow as well.
And CNN is going to be the only place to watch the president's primetime news conference with the best political team on television, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Join us for "Moment of Truth," the countdown to "Black in America 2."
And the president speaks at 8:00 p.m. And that's followed by the premiere of a two-night event "Black in America 2" starting tonight on CNN 9:00 p.m.
And when it comes to health care reform the president has been on message as Suzanne told us for days. On Friday he spoke from the diplomatic room at the White House, on Saturday he pushed Congress on the issue, and his weekly radio and video address.
Sunday the White House went dark, then on Monday the president held another roundtable discussion from the Rose Garden. And of course, tonight the primetime news conference. And we are already hearing a lot of reaction from you, from our viewers, to our AMFix hotline.
CAROL, VIEWER FROM FLORIDA: Since when is it a crime to be rich? I'm not rich, but a lot of these well-to-do people have worked very, very hard to get where they are today and they really shouldn't be paying for health care for a bunch of people.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Why not more time and do it right as they said when it comes to the health care bill?
EDWARD, VIEWER FROM FLORIDA: This thing about this health care, this is socialism.
WARREN, VIEWER FROM FLORIDA: Why don't we tax the people that jeopardize our health? But then again, nobody makes anybody eat all this stuff.
CHETRY: Well, we want to know what you think about the health care debate. You can leave a comment on our show blog, CNN.com/amfix or call our show hotline. Again, that number is 877-MY-AMFIX.
ROBERTS: More on a developing story this morning. A hometown praying for a captured soldier with an adventurous spirit this morning. You have seen Private Bowe Bergdahl paraded on television by the Taliban saying he is frightened that he won't be able to see his family again. Today, we're getting a better idea of who he really is from the people who know him best.
Our Ed Lavandera joins us now from Bowe's hometown of Hailey, Idaho.
And Ed, you found that this soldier is anything but timid.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, John. And what you hear over and over from people who know Bowe Bergdahl is that the man that they see in that video is not the young man that they know here in Hailey, Idaho. In fact, all over town you see signs like this, "Bring Bowe Home." And he's described as a young man who is just beginning to find his way in the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This is Bowe Bergdahl on a high seas adventure. That's him in the green jacket. Before joining the military, Bergdahl found a job fishing for salmon off the Alaska coast. It was on this adventure that Dillon Fullmer first met his hometown buddy.
DYLAN FULLMER, BOWE BERGDAHL'S FRIEND: He was a good kid. He's strong as an ox.
LAVANDERA: Fullmer spent almost three months on this boat with Bergdahl sleeping in a crammed cabin. At night Fullmer says Bergdahl dreamed of riding his bike around the world, hopping on boats carrying only the bare necessities.
(On camera): He's telling you about wanting to bicycle around the world. What do you think of that?
FULLLMER: This kid is crazy, you know? There's no land all the way around the world. And he explained the whole boat process. But I just -- biking around the world, that's one heck of a feat right there.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Those who know Bergdahl talk of his adventure spirit. He worked for Sue Martin at this coffee shop where "Get Bowe Back" signs hang in the window.
SUE MARTIN, BOWE BERGDAHL'S FRIEND: You know, he captures you. Bowe is not somebody in the corner. You engage and he engages very well. LAVANDERA: He's a renaissance man in the making. He learned ballet at this dance studio, took up the sports of fencing. An avid outdoorsman, he rode motorcycles, learned to sail on an expedition that took him from the Atlantic to the Pacific, all by the age of 23.
(On camera): So seems like he was fascinated by the world out there.
FULLLMER: Yes. Wanted to go see it. Wanted to go see it.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Bergdahl waited tables and worked construction jobs to pay for these adventures which sometimes involved long rustic bike rides through the Idaho wilderness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bowe never owned a car. He doesn't like them.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Bergdahl's parents live a quiet life along this dirt road on the outskirts of Hailey, Idaho. They live in this home nestled here in the mountain valley and it's here, we understand, that Private Bergdahl was home-schooled growing up.
(Voice-over): But what Sue Martin says she loves most about Bergdahl is the man who displayed quiet chivalry.
MARTIN: And I have to go out to my car after a long day in a big snowfall and Bowe would have been out there and swept the snow off my car. And I'd walk out there, and, you know, it's like, Bowe's been here. And he'd never say anything.
LAVANDERA: That's the Bowe Bergdahl the people in his hometown can't wait to welcome home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And, John, residents here in Hailey, Idaho are planning a candlelight vigil for later tonight and the sheriff here in Hailey has urged people to show up on their bicycles just like Bowe probably would have done. John?
ROBERTS: A lot of public support there for the family. Ed Lavandera for us this morning. Ed, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: Well, new this morning it was a landslide. Voters in Oakland, California OK-ing a city tax on medical marijuana. It would be the first in the nation. The 1.8 percent tax on medical marijuana facilities means that those businesses will have to pay about $18 in taxes for every $1,000 in marijuana they sell.
There was no formal opposition to the effort, but some said that the tax sends the wrong message.
ROBERTS: A new study shows the number of Mexicans immigrating to the United States has dropped sharply since 2005 by about 40 percent but the number going back to Mexico remains steady. The study from the Pugh Hispanic Center also says it's too early to say if this is a new trend or a reaction to a bad economy.
CHETRY: And before you see President Obama's primetime pitch for health care reform we're going to check in with Republican congressman and also Dr. Ron Paul. We're going to hear what he has to say about it.
Does it boil down to two different philosophies on who should get health care coverage? Do some people believe not everyone should get covered or is there a better way? 12 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. President Obama is getting ready to push his health care reform plan in primetime tonight. He's hoping to win over the American people as well as members of Congress who are skeptical about the plan.
Congressman Ron Paul has been a very vocal critic and he's with us this morning from Washington.
Congressman Paul, always great to have you with us.
REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: Thank you, Kiran.
CHETRY: We should point out you're a physician as well, and I'm sure that you have a lot of thoughts on this issue as we debate health care.
Now you oppose President Obama's reform plan. You favor giving Americans control of their health care. But does it all just boil down to two different philosophies about who should get health care coverage? Do you believe that not everyone can expect free or low cost health care?
PAUL: Yes. I think -- I think there's a lot to that, but I come from the viewpoint that the most important thing we do is preserve the doctor/patient relationship which we do not. For the past 30 years or so we've had a lot of government involved. We have veterans care, we have Medicare, we have Medicaid, and we also have a lot of people getting private insurance.
People having private insurance are not that -- all that unhappy. So what are we doing now, or at least Obama is proposing, that we turn the people that have service on insurance and make them join the governmental programs that everybody is unhappy about.
So it doesn't make any sense. It's a total failure to run anything by a bureaucracy. It always costs more and the services are always less favorable. So for us to pursue government solutions to a problem the government created is sort of reminds me of the TARP bailouts.
And you know what we do financially. So medical bailouts by more government when government created our managed care system of 35 years will only make things much worse. CHETRY: One of the things that we've talked about is whether or not independents are backing this. There seems to be some eroding support because of concerns about whether or not we can afford it, whether or not the timing is right.
Even though there is that apprehension right now about whether or not we can afford it most do agree that we need to do something about health care. Is there a Republican alternative then out there that makes more sense in your opinion?
PAUL: Oh, yes. I think so. I think we should pursue the idea that the patient get control through the medical savings accounts and deductions so that you can deduct everything. The biggest problem is that the misunderstanding about insurance. They talk about we need to give everybody insurance.
You can't give people insurance. You don't expect from your car insurance to be able to buy gasoline and do all your repair bills and that's not insurance. And this is not insurance either. Insurance would be major medical to take care of the big problems. So that is the -- one of the basic problems.
And as far as costs goes, they're estimating $1 trillion or $1.5 trillion in the midst of this crisis, no wonder people are starting to wake up a little bit. Because the money just isn't there.
And the one thing for sure is if you look at every other previous program by government, it's a proposed, say, the prescription drug program would cost $49 billion, well, it might turn out to be $150 billion. It's always much more so if they're saying $1.5 trillion for this, be sure it's going to cost two or three times that much.
CHETRY: You know, what do we do, though, about this problem with, you know, uninsured children, many people uninsured? The millions -- your state, by the way, according to the United Health Foundation survey, ranks 46 out of 50 in terms of overall health.
And one of the biggest challenges for your state right now is that there's a high percentage of children in poverty and in big uninsured population. So there you are opposing this, your state seems to be in dire straits when it comes to this situation. What's the solution for Texas?
PAUL: Well, one thing you have to do is say, why do people come up short and why is the cost so high? And it's inflation and it's a government management of the health care system is at fault. But even though I have my ideal system I would like to see with the government out completely because that would be a much better system, that's not going to happen. I'm realistic.
But one thing we shouldn't do is pay for it with money created out of thin air. So what I would do in a transition, I've talked about this a whole lot, is cut spending somewhere and take care of the very people you're talking about. Because you don't want to cut under these conditions medical care from poor people who have been dependent or the elderly. But I would cut from overseas spending. I would cut from these trillions and trillions of dollars that we have spent over the years and bring our troops home so that we can finance it.
A first very, very minor step was done yesterday by cutting the F-22. And I applaud Obama for that. But we don't need one system removed, we need to change our foreign policy, then we could afford the health care that is necessary to tie us over until we have come to our senses and believe that freedom can deliver medical care much better than a bureaucracy in government.
But you have to deal with the problem of inflation as well because that's why people find that medical care costs too much.
CHETRY: All right. Before we go, I have to ask you about this. We are -- our producers came across this today. Do you know there's a Web site called ronpaulsingles.com? They call it the fastest growing relationship site on the Web where like-minded libertarians get together. It's a singles site but with you as their inspiration.
What is this about?
PAUL: I don't know a whole lot. I haven't looked at it. I've been told about it, and my immediate response to that was, well, I guess that sort of fits a famous slogan once before that I sort of liked, is this make war -- make love not war. So maybe that's what they're thinking about doing.
But, you know, it can't hurt anything and people find it amusing, so I guess people shouldn't complain about it.
CHETRY: All right. Well, so, here we go. So for -- you guys have to tackle health care, in the meantime you're helping people find love all across the country. Ron Paul...
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: Good. That's what we need more of.
CHETRY: Maybe...
PAUL: Less war.
CHETRY: Maybe -- always great to have you on the show, Congressman. Thanks so much.
PAUL: Thank you.
ROBERTS: And in the town of Paris, Texas, racial tensions have reached a boiling point and are threatening to tear the town apart.
About 100 black protesters clashed with white supremacist groups. The tension stems from the murder last year of a 24-year-old African- American man named Brandon McClellan. Police found his body on the side of a rural road and concluded that he was run over, dragged and killed. Two white men were initially charged with murder but the charges were dismissed last month due to a lack of evidence.
Don't forget to join us tonight for the premier of a two-night primetime event, months in the making. Soledad O'Brien reports "BLACK IN AMERICA 2." It begins tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right after the president speaks, and part two airs tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern.
It's not coming up on 21 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's now 22 minutes after the hour. Christine Romans here this morning "Minding Your Business," tracking stimulus dollars.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh there's so many stimulus dollars.
ROBERTS: You love doing this.
ROMANS: I love it. I love it. Look, I found some more contracts I want to tell you about. $9,000 for Liberty mesh chairs. This is your stimulus money going to mesh office chairs -- let's say that 10 times fast -- from a company called Human Scale Corporation.
The Labor Department has this contract. It purchased these chairs to set up office space for about 20 employees -- up to 20 employees in an assistant labor secretary's office on the Web site of the Liberty mesh chair, unlike any other mesh chair you've ever experienced or seen, the most beautiful office chair ever created.
That's your stimulus cash at work.
Another one, a bathroom remodel and door replacement in Wisconsin, $198,000 for this one. The company that's doing it, McNeil West, says that it actually been able to not lay off people. They've prevented laying off people by doing this. It's not just a toilet project, folks. We dug into it, it's about four bathrooms for a forest service office space. So about $200,000 there.
And finally, $18 million, this one is for the redesign of Recovery.gov. That's the Web site where you can find all of this stuff. You can find everything you ever didn't want to know and did want to know. Your own investigation of how we're spending the stimulus cash is all right there on Recovery.gov.
And you can see one of those contracts is $18 million to upgrade the Web site so you can see it all.
CHETRY: She does love this. We were eating lunch yesterday in the cafeteria.
ROMANS: True.
CHETRY: This is all funny. And she said so what did you think about the Jenny Turkey? ROMANS: Yes.
CHETRY: I mean she just -- she loves this.
ROBERTS: She does.
ROMANS: There's so much money. Never has so much money gone out the door so quickly and I really feel passionate about making sure that we're keeping track of it.
ROBERTS: We appreciate your passion and enthusiasm as well.
ROMANS: But -- and we...
ROBERTS: But it's time for the "Romans' Numeral." What do you got this morning?
ROMANS: It is, and I'm also passionate about it. $250. And this is a number that's going to make some of you out there richer. This is your stimulus contract. This is your one-time stimulus payments for veterans, railroad retirees, Social Security and SSI recipients.
So not everybody gets it but about 54 million of these checks will go out. If you haven't seen this you need to call your Social Security Office or the Railroad Benefits Office or wherever you think that check is coming from, because June 4th, June 8th and July 10th were the deadlines for those.
So if you haven't seen it yet, there might be a little glitch, no big deal, just call and you can get your check, 250 bucks.
ROBERTS: Thanks so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" this morning.
CHETRY: 25 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: 26 minutes past the hour. We're tracking several developing stories this morning. The federal government could be powerless against cyber attacks. That's according to a brand new study out this morning.
It reviewed 18 federal agencies and found that national security could be in jeopardy unless the feds hire more people with the knowledge to handle threats from hackers, from cyber terrorists as well as foreign nations.
ROBERTS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is telling Asian nations the United States is back. She says the U.S. wants to get more involved in the region and also said Washington is worried about a military alliance between North Korea and Myanmar Secretary Clinton is meeting today with leaders from Southeast Asian nations in Phuket, Thailand. She's back in Washington tomorrow.
CHETRY: Charges against a prominent Harvard University African- American scholar have been dropped but Henry Louis Gates is still angry over his arrest at his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was taken into custody last week when an officer responded to a report of a burglary.
Gates was locked out of his house and forced his way in. Gates claimed that he was arrested because he was black. He says he wants a face-to-face meeting with the arresting officer and an apology.
ROBERTS: Well, it's one of those issues considered a third rail in American politics. Gun control. And it's taking center stage on Capitol Hill. After some really heated debate senators scheduled to vote today on a measure that would let people carry concealed weapons across state lines.
It's known as the Thune Amendment and was introduced by South Dakota Republican senator, John Thune.
We want to get opinion from both sides of the debate this morning. We're going to speak in a moment with New York mayor Mike Bloomberg who is against the proposal, but first let's bring in a co- sponsor of the amendment, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming.
Senator, it's good to see you this morning. We know that this is a popular measure in Wyoming, that you are a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. But as a practical matter, can you tell us why it's good public policy to allow people to carry concealed weapons across state lines?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: Well, right now people in 48 different state cans have a license to carry a concealed weapon but people travel, we have truck drivers on our roads, people traveling for vacation in their vehicles, and if you have a license you've gone through the process, you should be able to use that license in other states. It should apply like a driver's license.
You know the people that are getting concealed weapon permit those are basically the law-abiding citizens. The criminals are not in any way going down to the courthouse, getting fingerprinted for the purpose of getting a license to carry a concealed weapon.
These are the best citizens, not the worst and I think this is in keeping with our Second Amendment rights, our rights to own and to bear arms.
ROBERTS: But here's one of the issues is that the requirements for a concealed carry permit vary from state to state. There are 19 states that require a gun safety program, but under this measure you could, say, get a concealed carry permit in the state of Mississippi which requires no training at all, then travel to Dallas where permit applicants must go at least 10 hours of training. So what you're doing here is you're taking different requirements and kind of leveling the playing field at the federal level. Isn't this a matter of states' rights here?
BARRASSO: Well, you have different requirements for driver's licenses as well in terms of what age they get them and if they need drivers education and all those sorts of things. Certainly we want to make sure that there is safety involved with people who are carrying concealed weapons.
I think training is a very important part of that. But the law of the state where that person happens to be at the time are the laws that apply in terms of if you're allowed to carry a gun into a bar, into a restaurant. It's the home state law that applies. State rights continue to apply there.
ROBERTS: There are also concerns, though, that the -- you know, states that ban concealed carry by people who have committed certain crimes might be able -- might have to accept permits from states where they don't have those restrictions.
Senator Charles Schumer here from the state of New York said, quote, "Right now you walk down the streets of New York or Nassau County or West Chester County, you can have the solace of knowing that if someone has a gun on them they've gone through a rigorous background check," because New York does has very strict laws when it comes to conceal to carry.
He goes on to say, "After this law you could have no such comfort." What do you say to that?
BARRASSO: The Department of Justice has shown that criminals will avoid actually committing crimes if they think that the victim may be carrying a concealed weapon, is armed. So I think that carrying a concealed weapon is a sign of self-defense, self-protection and I think it actually lowers crime.
People are afraid that this is going to -- you know have blood in the streets and everyone is going to be armed and this is going to be the Wild, Wild West all over again. You're not going to see any of those things. I have a concealed weapon permit in Wyoming. I've had it for over a dozen years and have it with me now and I will tell you this is the way to go. The vote is going to be at high noon today. It needs 60 votes to pass in the Senate. And for people that have for gun control they're going to be against this. But for people who are for the second amendment constitutional rights of American citizens to own and bare arms, they should support this.
ROBERTS: Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, it's good to talk to you this morning.
Thanks very much.
We got one side of the story there. Now, let's go to Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, one of hundreds of mayors across the country who are totally against this. You took out an ad today in "USA Today" against this amendment.
What do you think of what Senator Barrasso just said?
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Well, number one I think the senate is wrong. The second amendment has restrictions. The Supreme Court ruled clearly that reasonable restrictions by states are perfectly constitutional. Number two, there's no evidence that if you have a gun, you're safer. Quite the contrary. If you have a gun at home, something like 20 times more likely to have somebody in your house killed, you or one of your family members. So that's just not true.
The other thing that the senator I think is wrong on, and hopefully I get a chance today to try to convince him is that Wyoming shouldn't be subject to New York state laws and we're going in that direction. If you trample on states rights in this, the next thing is one of the laws that we have, that we think is appropriate for our citizens is going to be forced on the people of Wyoming. And I don't think the people of Wyoming want that. What this law is all about is trampling on reasonable regulations. And if the senator's position was well thought out and accepted by all the senate, they would have a straight up and down vote on this. What they're doing is they're holding hostage our young men and women's safety, the young men and women who are overseas in Iraq and Iran -- Iran and Afghanistan, fighting for our country. And what the senator and his people have done is put this as a rider on the defense bill and said, you can't vote against our -
ROBERTS: The defense bill.
BLOOMBERG: The defense bill, therefore this comes along.
ROBERTS: Let me ask you this question, Mr. Mayor. New York City has got some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Obviously there is still a problem with guns in this city. But if you buy a gun in Vermont, you don't even need a permit to carry a concealed weapon. That person could under this new measure come here to New York City with a concealed weapon. Do you want them walking around -
BLOOMBERG: The practical aspect of what this done is it makes it easier for traffickers of weapons. Right now, if you bring a gun into New York State, we can arrest you. If you - you don't have a license here. If you have a license in another state however now you will be able to bring in a gun and resell it here. So it's much more dangerous -
ROBERTS: As we said in Vermont, you don't even need a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
BLOOMBERG: But the trouble is you're going to get a lot more guns in the streets and we have police officers in this state, in our city, who put the lives on the line to protect us. I'm going to have a meeting later on this morning, Laurie House, a woman - from Virginia Tech, her daughter was shot at Virginia Tech. We're going to have Jeremiah Healy there, the mayor of Jersey City. Today would have been the 38th birthday of the police officer yesterday passed away, shot by a gun. We just got to stop this chaos. What's right for the people of Wyoming isn't necessarily right for the people of New York and vice versa. But we have to protect our policemen, we have to protect our citizens. We can't have all these guns. And it's reasonable to have each state make their own laws.
ROBERTS: This year we seem to be seeing a political shift in terms of gun legislation. Earlier this year guns were allowed into national parks. Do you think you're going to be able to defeat this measure? As we said, you and some 450 other mayors across the country took out this ad in the "USA Today." Senator Schumer admits the vote is going to be tight. Do you think you can -
BLOOMBERG: It's the mayors that have to explain to the loved ones when the police officer is not going to come home and say your daddy or your spouse or your son or your daughter is not coming back. Mayors understand what guns do. Senators seem to be in an ivory tower and don't quite get it.
What's appropriate in urban areas is very different than what's appropriate in rural areas. And we have to make sure that we can each pick for ourselves. That's what the constitution is really about. When they argue constitutional protections, the constitutional protection of the people of New York to set their own rules, is just as important as the constitutional protection for the people of Wyoming to set theirs. But you just can't have this continuous battle again and again of trying to get more guns in the hands of people who probably shouldn't have them there.
There are states that allow habitual drunks to get licenses. There are states that have - allow people with lots of misdemeanors to get them. There are states that allow people - the federal government says can't fly, too dangerous to let them on airplanes, but states will give them carry permits. Those people are going to go to your state wherever you live and this is wrong.
ROBERTS: We'll be watching this vote very closely today. Mayor Mike Bloomberg, it's good to see you today. Thanks for dropping. Much appreciated.
We want to know what you think about all of this, should Congress allow people with a concealed carry permit to take their guns across state lines, take them to New York City. You can leave a comment on our blog at cnn.com/amfix or call our show hotline at 1-877-myamfix. It's 36 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: We'll look now at the top videos on cnn.com. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford says he is moving forward and urging his state to follow suit. He told reporters yesterday I made a mistake in my life I've apologized for my mistake. And I've said all I'm going to say on that one. One thing missing from the (inaudible) is Sanford's wedding ring. The governor deflected some questions on the state of his marriage.
Also CNN's Ivan Watson traveling with marines in southern Afghanistan. He explains the concept of sock water. The heat in the Afghan desert is so intense that storing water bottles in wet socks actually help keeps them cool. And any way to keep them cool, of course, is much need in that heat.
Ransacked by baboons? Well, employees of a (inaudible) state park in England said you could be in your pajamas if you pack them in your roof top luggage. The demo was meant to explain why the park is now pushing visitors to pack their bags inside the car. Check that out. It's like - you know what it looks like every year when, what is it, Harrods has the sale on the wedding gowns and everyone goes running.
ROBERTS: Filings basement.
CHETRY: Filing basement. That's what it is. They're rummaging around for their size and hoping for the best. Baboons.
ROBERTS: So how do you beat a terrorist at their own game? Well, by thinking like them. This bomb, this bomb that you're going to see here, was born in a Homeland Security laboratory.
CHETRY: Look at the damage it can do. Federal officials are trying to build explosives, even they can't detect, in hopes of closing gaps in Homeland Security. Our Jeanne Meserve takes us inside the operation.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, I'm in a warehouse surrounded by thousands and thousands of pieces of luggage. Because a bomb can be hidden in a suitcase, these are valuable tools in devising better aviation security.
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MESERVE (voice-over): Airplanes, blown to smatterings, all in the name of science and security. But wait. This story really begins at the Transportation Security Laboratory in Atlantic City. Where Patrick O'Connor builds bombs for the government.
PATRICK O'CONNOR, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY LAB: This is a real explosive that I have here in my hand.
MESERVE: O'Connor has built hundreds of improvised explosive devices disguised as electronics, footwear, even an innocuous looking stack of DVDs. The designs evolve based on intelligence about the bombs terrorists are building.
O'CONNOR: usually use a thief to catch a thief and that's what we do here.
MESERVE: some of the bombs are detonated in old planes to test whether a similar device could bring down a flight. Others are put in luggage and run through screening machines. If the bombs are not detected, scientists try to close the security gap to beat the terrorists.
SUSAN HALLOWELL, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY LAB: It's a game of cat and mouse. We understand what they're doing. They understand to some measure what we're doing and we counteract that with better improved technology.
MESERVE: Machines are not the total answer.
ROBIN KANE, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, TSA: At the end of the day, the technology detects very specific threats. It does not detect a terrorist.
MESERVE: But better machines would be a valuable tool. Scientists do a high-resolution cross-section scan of a peanut M&M to show us how they might some day be able to ferret out explosive material by examining its density and granularity. Others are trying to crack the problem of detecting liquid explosives by capturing and measuring the vapors emitted from a homemade concoction concealed in a bottle of cold medicine.
HALLOWELL: I can't tell you what's in the Nyquil bottle but it's something that's really bad that we need to keep off the airplanes.
MESERVE: Not all the work being done here will lead to better bomb detection, but some might and could prevent something like this.
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MESERVE: Researchers here practice something they call bagology. They will take a suitcase like this and run it through a screening machine fully loaded in order to determine what sorts of ordinary objects set off false alarms. That way they can eliminate them, making aviation security more efficient as well as more effective. John and Kiran, back to you.
ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning, fascinating story.
CHETRY: It really is and as you said it takes a thief to catch a thief. So they're constantly changing and evolving as they discover new tactics in the CD case. There you go.
ROBERTS: Pretty (inaudible) Yes.
CHETRY: 43 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
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ROBERTS: Hazy day in New York City today. It's supposed to be sunny though. 66 degrees right now. A little cool after the rain that came through yesterday. Today, beautiful day. Partly cloudy with a high of 81. 46 1/2 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano is monitoring the extreme weather across the country. Anybody in the crosshairs for anything today, Rob? ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: There's a little sliver of severe weather, John, from the Ohio Valley slicing across the Tennessee Valley back through parts of the deep south. But this is where they're trying to squeeze out the cold air.
Check out some of these low temperatures yesterday. And these kind of echo through the past weekend. 54 in Crossville, Tennessee. Nashville hit 58. It's definitely on the chilly side. Muscle Shoals Alabama, 58 degrees. 60 degrees in Tallahassee. So I think those numbers are going to be gone because we're going to start to get into a more humid air mass, something that's a little bit more typical for this time of year.
Chicago you're not seeing rain right now, but this may fill in later today. Got about a 50/50 shot of seeing thunderstorms develop in that part of Illinois and through parts of Michigan as well. Here's the line of thunderstorms that we're talking about, mostly very garden variety at this point. It's just not - if only just some rain. And then back through Louisiana, that's where more heavy thunderstorms are occurring. It will be 80 degrees in Memphis. 91 degrees in Dallas and 85 degrees in Atlanta, Georgia.
And one last peek at the eclipse that we didn't get to see here in the U.S. This is I think out of India, where a little bit of cloud cover but the total solar eclipse, one of the biggest and longest, it will be in this 21st century. So you have to wait a little while. I'm not sure when the next one is visible here in the U.S. but we'll give you a heads up when that happens, John and Kiran. So we're sure not to miss it. Back to you in New York.
ROBERTS: Places where it was clear it was quite a show, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, we've been talking about the health care debate all day today and tonight the president is going to be giving a prime time news conference on the issue. We're going to bring in our own doctor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, to talk to us about healthcare and what's at stake and what needs to change the most from a doctor's perspective. 48 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: President Obama's feeling intense heat from both sides of the aisle in his health care reform plan. But before he takes his pitch directly to America right here on CNN tonight at 8:00, we want to shed some light on the fight that he faces and what the stakes are.
So we're "Paging Dr. Gupta," our chief medical correspondent. Sanjay's here to clarify it all for us. Something that caught our eye, Sanjay, was this recent opinion research poll finding that only 20 percent of Americans think they'll be better off under Barack Obama's plan, and 44 percent think that they're going to be about the same or - 35 percent think they'll be worse off.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in some ways it sort of fits the message where, you know, he's been saying all along that for those of you that have insurance that you're happy with, nothing's going to change. What's sort of interesting, you know, and people are starting to draw these parallels between now and back in 1993. As I've told you in the past, I used to work at the Clinton White House. You know, people think of the Clinton plan initially as dead-on-arrival. It was actually pretty popular at least initially back during that time. But by April of that year, the sort of approval of this was around 51 percent. And by August, around 44 percent. Again, back in '93. That's very similar to what we're seeing now, something important to keep in mind.
What is different and a lot of people have sort of talked about this is the consensus among lots of different groups including the insurance industry now. You just didn't have that back in '93. The Harry and Louise ads, Kiran, you remember those. Those are something that a lot of people think ultimately sunk the Clinton plan. Yet the insurance industry is sort of backing this up now. Back during the Clinton administration the initial thought was that Congress was going to draft something, and then give it to the White House for approval.
Ultimately those roles sort of reversed. The White House ultimately drafted something that was large and eventually picked apart by Congress. President Obama has been very careful this time around to say, look, I'm going to draw broad messages but I'm going to let the legislators sort of draft this all together. And that's what we're sort of seeing play out right now.
CHETRY: The interesting thing about that is that the White House enjoys higher approval ratings and higher confidence at least according to our polls on who's best to tackle health care than Congress does right now. So in some of those questions and in some of those polling people say that perhaps they're not buying into what - they realize the health care system is broken but they don't know if necessarily is going to make things better for them.
GUPTA: Yes, right. Exactly. And that sort of goes back to the polling you showed at the beginning of this. Tonight, you know, it's going to be interesting. You're going to hear probably one of a few different things from President Obama. One thing you can say about him is he has been consistent with that one message. For the vast majority of people who have insurance, who are happy with it, nothing is going to change. So we're going to hear that message even more emphatically tonight? Or are we going to hear a little bit more nuance.
What's sort of interesting is we start to parse down those polls a little bit, is that a lot of people do believe in reform, even if they don't necessarily think it is going to affect or improve for them. So I think that that's something that you might see as well tonight, Kiran, this idea of sort of appealing to the broader message. Look, you know, this is something that's good for the country. It's good for our nation as a whole. It is something that's good for the ages. So we just need to get through this. That might be something you hear tonight as well.
CHETRY: All right. You'll be listening, of course, when he speaks tonight. I'll be interested to get your take tomorrow when you hear more of what he has to say. Sanjay, great to see you as always. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: So the United States has got its first African-American president. I'm sorry, I stole something from you there. I jumped the gun on that. My apologies. But the United States has got its first African-American president, Philadelphia, Mississippi has got its first African-American mayor. Is Alabama ready for its first African- American governor? Our Jason Carroll takes a look at that coming up next. 54 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: President Obama made history as the country's first black president. And as part of our special series "Black in America 2," Jason Carroll joins us now with the story of a man who wants to be Alabama's first black governor. He told you it's time.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He said it's time, the clock is ticking. And we'll have to see if he's right about that. But it's not just wishful thinking, you know, on his part. One state poll shows Arthur Davis running neck-and-neck. If he were to win the democratic nomination and was matched up against the leading republican challenger. Davis said that is proof voters are ready to do something they've never done before.
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REP. ARTHUR DAVIS, ALABAMA: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
CARROLL (voice-over): To supporters, he's the symbol of a new Alabama. A figure showing the state moving passed its segregationist history. He is Congressman Arthur Davis trying to make history too by becoming the state's first African-American governor.
(on camera): So you really think you can win?
DAVIS: No question. I think we can win. We wouldn't be running if we don't think we could win.
CARROLL: Our interview taking place at a church where four little girls were killed in a bombing during the civil rights movement. Davis says he knows and believes in the people here today.
DAVIS: I'm someone who was raised by my mother and grandmother, grew up in a relatively small town, Montgomery, Alabama.
CARROLL: Davis made his way through Harvard Law School, politics brought him home.
DAVIS: I decided to come back. I wanted to contribute something to the state.
CARROLL: He lost his first bid for Congress in 2000, but won a rematch two years later and has served four terms. But is Alabama ready for a democratic African-American governor?
PEGGY WALLACE, DAUGHTER OF FMR. GOV. GEORGE WALLACE: Alabama needs Arthur. They just don't know it.
CARROLL: Peggy Wallace has a unique perspective. Her father, former Alabama governor George Wallace noted for saying -
GEORGE WALLACE, FMR. ALABAMA GOVERNOR: I see segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.
CARROLL: Wallace later renounced his segregationist views. Changing times. His daughter then supported Senator Barack Obama during the 2008 election and supports Davis now.
WALLACE: We had many plans that did not and couldn't understand why we voted for Obama and I'm sure will not vote for Arthur. Some people are just not ready.
CARROLL: To which Davis says -
DAVIS: I think more of them know they're ready than some people think.
CARROLL: Political analysts like Natalie Davis say when talking politics and color, remember, Alabama is a red state. President Obama lost the state by a wide margin, capturing about 10 percent of the white vote.
NATALIE DAVIS, BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN COLLEGE: In Alabama, if you're a democrat running against a republican, white or black, you have to take 38 percent of the white vote.
CARROLL: She says it's a tall order. But Davis remains confident.
DAVIS: Breakthrough moments often aren't foreseeable. Even just a short time before they happen.
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CARROLL: Well, many political observers see Davis as a moderate but his critics say he is too liberal for Alabama. For example, he supports abortion rights. But again, Davis believes the state has changed and its people have changed. How much they've changed? Well, that's still a question mark.
ROBERTS: All right. I guess we'll find out very soon. Jason Carroll, great piece. Thanks so much for that. Don't forget to join us tonight for a special night of prime time event. It's 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Join us for "Moment of Truth," the countdown to "Black in America 2." Then at 8:00, CNN the only place to watch the president's prime time news conference with the best political team on television. That is followed by the premier of a two-night event, "Black in America 2." That's tonight only on CNN.
