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CNN Saturday Morning News
How Many Americans Are Really Uninsured?; Inmates Start Fires at a Kentucky Prison During a Riot; Tracking Hurricane Bill; Counting Complete in 30 of 34 Afghan Provinces
Aired August 22, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the CNN Center. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for August the 22nd. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.
OK, so coming up this morning, a new argument in the fight for health care. How many Americans are really uninsured? Is it 40 million or just 8 million? The truth squad weighs in.
HOLMES: Yes, it's a big difference ...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ...in number, 40 ...
NGUYEN: Between 40 and 8, yes.
HOLMES: That's a big difference. All right, our Reynolds Wolf as well going to be along. We'll be talking to him a lot this morning about that guy, Bill. Is it big bad Bill or what's Bill going to do exactly? Could be weakening but still wreaking havoc. He will be along in just a moment.
NGUYEN: And President Obama, he's popular, you know, and his $8,000 tax credit pretty popular too with those new homeowners. Here is the big rub, though. It's about to expire, or will it? We're asking that question.
HOLMES: We want to take a look here first at some of the big stories happening overnight. Some stories that maybe you missed overnight. Up first here, we have some pictures to show you of a huge fire. Let me give you the details of it as we roll these pictures for you.
Inmates started this fire, according to officials at this particular prison. This is a medium-security facility in Kentucky where a riot broke out. We're told that the guards do have control of that facility now, but inmates reportedly set these fires to several buildings and shattered windows.
A short time ago we heard from Lieutenant David Jude of the Kentucky State Police here with an update on the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. DAVID JUDE, CMDR., KENTUCKY STATE POLICE: Being motivated by the fact that we are saying that the facility is secured. That would tell me that they do have things under control and some of that stuff has calmed down. So is it possible there is stuff going on? It is possible, but I do feel confident telling you that if it's secured that we feel reasonable to say that everything has calmed down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: According to officials there, this all started after the prison was really in lockdown since Tuesday after a fight had broken out. They tried to lift that lockdown and that's when all of this melee broke out. But again, as we heard there, it sounds like they are starting to get control over that prison again. We're following that story, have a live report from outside that prison coming your way in just a few minutes.
NGUYEN: All right in the meantime though, a foreign bank will take over the latest U.S. bank to fail. This is the first time that that has happened. BBVA Compass which is based out of Spain has agreed to purchase Texas based Guaranty Bank after federal officials shut it down yesterday. The failure of Guaranty Bank is one of the largest so far this year.
HOLMES: Today begins the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Muslims around the world are fasting from sunrise to sunset, this supports the 30-day observance, the holiest time of the year for Muslims. Begins today goes through September 20th.
NGUYEN: All right let's get back to big, bad Bill, hurricane Bill. Isn't forecast to hit the mainland U.S., that's the good news, but still having a huge effect on boaters and beachgoers. Take a listen to this.
HOLMES: This is Hamilton, Bermuda. Bill has sustained winds of 105 miles an hour. That number could probably be updated by the time I talk to Reynolds Wolf over there. Reynolds, I'll go ahead and bring you in. Is that number still about accurate, 105-mile-per-hour winds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: One hundred five is what we have. But I can tell you that is an update we get like say once every three hours. I can tell you that there will be a fluctuation in terms of these maximum sustained winds, very typical. These storms very rarely maintain the same power the entire time. It's not like you know putting a foot on the accelerator of your car or putting your car on cruise control. It's going to kind of ebb and flow a little bit. That's certainly going to be the situation with this storm.
The question is guys, where is it headed? Right now the path is very favorable for people who happen to be in Bermuda, although Bermuda is getting certainly the heavy wave action at this time. And for much of the eastern seaboard, although they're going to get some heavy waves there and also rip currents are going to be a huge issue for many people. But the storm is pulling its way to the north, winds as T.J. mentioned 105 gusting to 125. We're still talking about a major force to be reckoned with. The forecast path from the National Hurricane Center does look like it's working in our favor. What I mean is that it does appear that it's going to shoot the gap between parts of Bermuda and of course along the eastern seaboard. We're talking a storm though that's hundreds of miles wide so if you happen to be tuning in, say, this morning from Bermuda, you'll certainly going to be getting that wave action.
The storm is going to pass farther to the north as a category two, expected to pull its way past the (INAUDIBLE) maritime as we get into 2:00 A.M. on Sunday and then as we get to 2:00 A.M. on Monday. That's going to be the last time it will interact with land, hopefully dying out a bit, becoming a tropical storm and then moving much farther to the north.
So it looks like we're not going to be breathe easy at least for the U.S. until we get into Sunday, then Monday of course it's going to pull farther to the north and certainly out of harm's way. But we really did luck out, guys. This storm easily could have made its way into parts of the eastern seaboard. It's not in the clear yet. It could still make its way on land, we'll watch that very carefully. It's just unlikely that it will occur.
The reason for this because we've got a frontal boundary that's just pulling its way from west to east, this is almost going to act like a blocking mechanism if you will. So as that pulls out a little bit more into the Atlantic, that frontal boundary is going to keep that storm system at bay moving right to the northeast.
At least that's what the forecast calls for. We'll watch for it very carefully. It's a major hurricane, at least not anymore, being downgraded to a 2. But there is a chance you can see those fluctuations possibly getting up to a category 3, a major hurricane once again.
So right now something we're just going to have to watch for you very carefully. Let's send it back to you.
NGUYEN: All right Reynolds, thank you so much for that.
OK, let's get to Afghanistan and the voting there. Votes from 30 of the 34 provinces have been counted from Thursday's national elections. Now just days before the election, U.S. marines and NATO forces battled the Taliban to free up Afghans to vote. President Obama says Afghans should be very proud.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was an important step forward in the Afghan people's efforts to take control of their future, even as violent extremists are trying to stand in their way. This election was run by the Afghan people. In fact, it was the first democratic election run by Afghans in over three decades. More than 30 presidential candidates and more than 3,000 provincial council candidates ran for office, including a record number of women. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Our Atia Abawi is in Kabul. Atia, before we get to when we expect those election results to be made public, I want to ask you about the story that we've been reading about, it's quite shocking. The Taliban making good on its threats of violence and there's reports it has cut off the index fingers, which are used to vote, of two women in Afghanistan. Is that correct?
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what I can tell you is that two people in Kandahar Province, their index fingers were chopped off. We're not clear yet if it was a man or a woman. But we do know that those fingers were cut off because they had ink on the finger. Every time Afghans go out to vote, they have to dip their finger in ink so they can't come back and revote, to make sure it's a fair election, that it's not fraudulent.
But, again, the Taliban, yes, making good on their threats. They have been making good on their threats for the past two weeks now. It was a very bloody week leading up to Election Day. That's why we saw the lowest voter turnout in all three elections since the Taliban regime has fallen. In 2004 we saw a big turnout for the presidential elections, for 2005 also a very large turnout. Now in 2009, not as big of a turnout but still millions of Afghans risking their lives to make a choice -- Betty?
NGUYEN: Absolutely, in 30 of the 34 provinces, the votes in those provinces have been counted. Any idea when we're going to get some election results?
ABAWI: Well, what we're hearing from the independent election commission here in Afghanistan, we're going to get results starting to trickle in on August 25th, preliminary results on September 3rd and then final results on September 17th. The problem here right now is accusations of fraud.
International observers went from polling station to polling station and although they're calling the election successful, they have told us they saw incidents of fraud, including a young boy, 13, leaving a polling station, just voted for the president of Afghanistan with a fake voter registration card. That's one example.
In a polling station that we were at in Kabul, we were there from morning till it closed, when they started counting ballots. We saw at most 200 people come in. When we asked officials how many ballots they were counting, they told us 1,000 -- Betty?
NGUYEN: Yes, the numbers don't seem to add up there. Very quickly, of all the candidates it seems like two are standing out. Is there a chance of a runoff election?
ABAWI: There is a chance of a runoff election. We're just waiting to see if the results come in. But again, when I talk about the fraud, the danger here is the Afghan people, when you talk to the average Afghan, we even talked to a government official here, they said yes, they're afraid of Election Day violence but they're more so afraid of the final results when they come in because there are a lot of people who will be very angry if the accusations of fraud are exposed -- Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, Atia Abawi joining us live from Afghanistan. Thank you so much Atia.
And starting September 7th, Anderson Cooper takes you inside Afghanistan live from the battle zone, an "AC 360" special report starting September 7th, only on CNN.
HOLMES: We want to turn back to that developing story we told you at the top of the hour here. It developed overnight. A prison riot that happened in Kentucky. You're seeing some of these pictures of fires that officials say were started by the inmates after things got a bit out of control there, obviously.
Let's turn to our Jessica Moore, she's with our affiliate WLEX. She's outside the prison. I guess first and foremost here Jessica, do officials believe they are now back in complete control of this prison?
JESSICA MOORE, WLEX REPORTER: T.J., we have just spoken with Kentucky State Police within the last 30 minutes and they say that they are, in fact, in complete control. In fact in the last five minutes we've learned that transportation officials plan to start bussing all of these prisoners out of the facility on to other prisons around the state because, as you can imagine, this riot and subsequent fire destroyed much of the facility.
Let's go ahead and take a look at the video. I can tell you about 12 hours ago the scene here at North Point was utter chaos. A massive riot broke out involving 1200 inmates. The prison in fact was on lockdown since Tuesday after a fight broke out between inmates.
When the warden told the prisoners that they would continue being supervised instead of roaming around freely as they're accustomed to doing, this was the result officials say. 1200 inmates and 34 staff members found themselves trapped inside the facility for seven hours.
Prisoners are accused of setting buildings on fire, breaking out windows and running amok through the prison courtyard. State and local police, fire departments and the organized response units all showed up to assist. Officers used tear gas to try to break up packs of rioters. Several inmates we're told were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.
Again, I spoke with KSP for the latest update at 5:00 this morning Eastern Time. He says that they are in complete control. They are going to have to take all of the prisoners from this facility and move them to other facilities throughout the state, that they would not disclose those locations as you can imagine for security reasons. But the fire destroyed the medical building, the cafeteria, the kitchen, and a rec room T.J. So a lot of damage here and a lot of questions still unanswered. HOLMES: All right, it sounds like it's going to be quite a while before they'll be able to use this facility again. Jessica Moore for us, WLEX, our affiliate, thank you so much this morning.
NGUYEN: All right, so here's a question for you. How does a helicopter land on the edge of a canyon?
HOLMES: Carefully.
NGUYEN: Yes. And just like this. Can you imagine that? I mean, there is very little room for error right there. The goal, to save those two people right there, stranded hikers. We'll give you more of this video.
HOLMES: It looks like the propeller is going to hit the side of the mountain.
All right, we'll get you the details on that. Also, we're going to talk about hair this morning. You remember the jerry curl?
NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely.
HOLMES: I'm from Memphis. We don't have to forget the jerry curl, the jerry curl is still in full effect. Chris Rock at one point had a jerry curl. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: There's lots of movies of me with a jerry curl that exists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots.
ROCK: There's a few.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that was by choice, by the way.
ROCK: That was a choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jerry curl was a choice.
ROCK: Choice, Pookie has a jerry curl in New Jack City.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Pookie was a mess back in the day.
NGUYEN: So did you have a jerry curl?
HOLMES: I did not. Of course I didn't have a jerry curl. They were all around me again growing up in the Memphis area, but no.
NGUYEN: You never tried it out?
HOLMES: No, never tried it out.
NGUYEN: Might be a good look for you.
HOLMES: I'll give a shot. But, my conversation with the formerly jerry curled one, Chris Rock, about black hair, which is a touchy subject for a lot of folks. That conversation this morning coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: I never complain during any of the costume changes for those. Not a single time. I think (INAUDIBLE) cowboy hat (INAUDIBLE). It was a little tight on the head, so I took it off.
NGUYEN: That's a great open for you.
WOLF: Yes, the chaps felt great. They really did. Good times. Guys, it's time to talk about things that are happening here, not only in the U.S., but also around the world. We're going to start off with something that's happening in Austin, Texas. It's held actually in the location for the world's largest bat colonies, we're talking about Bat Fest. Always a good time there.
HOLMES: Wait, wait, wait. What do you do at bat fest?
NGUYEN: You watch the bats.
WOLF: You watch the bats underneath the Congress Street Bridge. They leave every evening during the summer months, they make their way up and down the shore lines of Lady (INAUDIBLE) Lake.
HOLMES: But they don't fry the bats.
NGUYEN: No.
HOLMES: It's not that kind of thing?
NGUYEN: No, no, no, no. They're not deep-fried bat.
WOLF: I mean bat doughnuts or bat barbecue, no, it doesn't happen.
NGUYEN: Just another joke.
WOLF: Yes, exactly.
NGUYEN: We spent some time in Austin we understand it.
WOLF: That's very true. Another thing we have going on is New York pet fashion week. That's very important.
NGUYEN: I wish we had video of that.
WOLF: Maybe we should. That's like one of those things that would be oddly disturbing. In Bridgehampton up the way we've got the Hampton Classic Horse Show. We have a lot of things going on between the horses and the pet fashion show and the bats, a lot of pet things going on. Then Bowling Green, Ohio, our buddy Rob Marciano had a chance to go up and experience the national tractor pulling championships.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You think your ride has some power? How about rims? Look at those bad boys. This tractor pull means business. We've got all sorts of tractors here. This is souped up. It was out of the factory 150 horsepower, now it's got 3,000 horsepower and that's just one engine. Look at some of these others that is the unlimited division.
They've got 60 competitors here. That's Kathy, she's one of the handful of females competing with the big boys and she's on the unlimited number. Just like my boy Wade is on here, he's got five engines, each one of these engines has the equivalent power of three NASCAR engines. They can crank 10, 12,000 horsepower of five gallons each engine, only to run about 300 feet. Not very good mileage to the gallon.
What are they doing? They're pulling this thing. This is one of the sleds. They've got ones that are bigger than this. And what happens, they hook on to the front of this sled, they get somebody in here who knows how to drive it, which wouldn't necessarily be me, but we'll give it a go. Once they hook into this thing, the tractors they get going. And they gun it.
And they'll spin their wheels at like 100 miles an hour, they won't be going 100 miles an hour because they're dragging some weight. When the weight gets down here will slowly be pushed forward during the run, and as it gets pushed forward, it drives the sled down into the ground. So you have mud and dirt flying everywhere. You've got smoke coming out of the engine and you've got a lot of noise coming out of the engine as well and you've got some people who are enjoying the tractor pull.
What happens after that? The person who goes the longest wins. Pretty simple, huh? There's 11 divisions. As I mentioned, a lot of competitors. And in this coliseum, which will be lined with 60,000 viewers cheering on their heroes in agriculture, as they run down this track, which is still being graded, 300 feet of dirt being packed down for this weekend's 43rd running of the national tractor pull championship.
I'm Rob Marciano in Bowling Green, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: Sixty thousand people to watch tractors go racing. Some of those worth up to four NASCAR engines, insanity. That is not your grand dad's tractor.
NGUYEN: No, that is some serious. Looked like something on mad max with all those engines on it. You felt Rob Marciano's testosterone out there, he was all geeked up about it.
HOLMES: It's like he's in the coliseum in Rome.
WOLF: There's no question about it. Very quickly, we have two more events, we've got the world rowing championships in Poland, we also have the Miss Universe Pageant, Paradise Island, Bahamas, certainly some great news. Hey, by the way, if you happen to be in the Bahamas or anywhere along the eastern seaboard, be careful today because there are going to be a lot of rip currents we're going to be dealing with due from hurricane Bill.
Though it's not going to be a direct obviously contact with the U.S., we're still going to be affected with those rip currents. And coming up, we're going to give you an idea of how to stay safe during these times of rough stuff. There is a live shot that we have for you, Rightsville Beach.
NGUYEN: Yes, look at those waves.
WOLF: We're going to talk about that coming up in just a few moments.
NGUYEN: Someone is looking for some kind of metal out there, looking for lost jewelry or something.
HOLMES: And those surfers, you're right, it can be dangerous out there. Man, those surfers live for this stuff.
WOLF: Yes, they really do. There are some swells coming in today, some waves that could be up to 20 feet or so.
NGUYEN: That could really pull you under if you don't know what you're doing.
WOLF: There's no question about it. Some of these currents can actually take you off your feet, pull you out in the deep and you're in big trouble. But we're going to give you an idea of how to stay safe coming up.
NGUYEN: Absolutely, thank you Reynolds.
HOLMES: Continuing here, we'll be talking about uninsured Americans this morning. You've been hearing a lot about that, a lot of numbers. Exactly how many are uninsured. Josh Levs looking into the real number for us.
Good morning Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you guys. Is it 46 million or 8 million? The truth squad has a verdict. I'm going to show you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So it is one of the big questions surrounding the battle over health care, and that is, how many Americans are uninsured? HOLMES: We hear a lot of numbers, some of them bigger than others. Josh Levs checking out the actual numbers for us. Good morning to you Josh.
LEVS: Good morning to you guys. It is a huge spread that we hear. The numbers are all over the place. Just take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Nearly 46 million Americans don't have health insurance coverage today.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY, (R) IOWA: When you take out illegal aliens and take out people that have the ability to buy insurance but choose not to buy it, don't you get down to about 8 billion? Or 8 million? And the answer is yes to that one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So how many Americans are uninsured, 46 million or 8 million? That's a massive difference. I want everyone to understand where these numbers are coming from and what the truth is. Let's go straight to this because I spoke with the census directly. The number you usually hear is this, this 45.7 million. The census looked at it and they said, yes, that's how many people they found are uninsured inside the country. But listen to how I said that.
How many people in the country are uninsured, not necessarily American citizens. But they also say here that health insurance coverage is likely to be underreported. I called them, I said, what does that mean? They told me 46 million is probably too high. Even according to the census. The same place everyone keeps talking about, there probably they say are not 46 million that are without health insurance. They say that number might be too big.
Now, how do we get all the way down to 8 million? Here you go. I'll show you. There's this conservative group called the Pacific Research Institute that is opposing President Obama's plan. They're pointing to this 2003 study. They say when you lift out a whole bunch of things, like who's not a citizen, who could afford insurance if they wanted it, who qualifies for Medicare and Medicaid, a whole bunch of stuff, you can get all the way down to 8 million people who are chronically uninsured.
Now, not everybody agrees with them. There are a whole bunch of groups out there that do their own analysis. You can see one behind me on the screen here. There's a place called the Kaiser Family Foundation, they look at this a lot. They say, look, they think most people who are in that 46 million are low-income and in need of insurance.
So not everyone agrees. That is why you have these different figures. You have the census saying 46 million, you have this group saying look, we've looked, it's way down to 8 million. Our verdict on this, you might not love it, but here it is. Our verdict on this is in dispute. Here's why. We cannot state factually how many Americans are without insurance.
This is actually really important, Betty and T.J. because as a rule, we like to hard figures. All we can tell you is every time you hear any number of millions out there, we've got to take it with a grain of salt because there's no way to know for sure ultimately how many.
NGUYEN: Are these numbers before the recession officially began?
LEVS: They are absolutely, that's another really good point. Because a lot of people have lost jobs, right, then lost their insurance. So now the number could be even higher than what it was. So again you have this massive spread for where it could be. You can't put a lot of faith in any of these numbers you hear anyone using right now.
NGUYEN: Gotcha. So basically, don't trust what you just told us.
LEVS: Yes, exactly, except me.
NGUYEN: OK, thank you, Josh.
And if you want to know more about the health care debate and how the reforms could affect you and your family, check out the special Health Care in America website on cnn.com. Get the latest from the town hall debates, fact checks, i-Reports, also other health care news, just go to cnn.com/healthcare.
We also invite you to stay tuned to CNN SATURDAY MORNING, because at 9:00, we have a half hour dedicated to the health care debate. Health care in America's "Truth Squad," this morning 9:00 Eastern.
All right, so it is the last weekend to hit the beach before many kids have to go back to school. But hurricane Bill kind of ruining some of that fun in the sun.
HOLMES: Yes, the rip currents, the thing people have to worry about right now, those can be pretty doggone dangerous, deadly even. What should you do if you get caught in one?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF (on camera): The key is don't panic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never panic. Do not swim against the rip. You're not going to win.
WOLF: Sounds easier said than done. We're going to have to try it out for ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, so exactly how did Reynolds do out there in Miami Beach?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. A question we are asking this half hour, are the protests at town hall meetings affecting what people think about the president's health care reform proposals? Basically, are they making a difference at all? We're going to delve into that. But in the meantime, welcome back, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could start your day right here with us. That question Betty just mentioned, we're going to have results of a new poll that could answer that question for us.
NGUYEN: Yes, but first, here is a look at the day's top stories. The cash for clunkers program officially ends Monday night, but a key group of car dealers are asking the government to give them another week to file the paperwork. The National Automobile Dealers Association says problems with the government's computer application system means many clunker deals cannot be submitted on time. They say the extra week gives them more flexibility and allows them to keep the program running through Monday night.
Well a new budget forecast to be released next week could mean more debt piled on our kids and grandkids. The Obama administration is expected to project that the U.S. deficit will reach $9 trillions over the next 10 years. That is a significant jump from the $7 trillion predicted at the beginning of the year.
Now, Obama officials blame the economy. They say the government isn't taking in nearly enough tax revenue while it continues to keep spending to stimulate the economy out of this recession.
And got to look at this. There is some new video this morning of a dramatic helicopter rescue in Utah. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(HELICOPTER SOUND)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, that takes some skill to be able to land on such a small space right next to that mountain right there. You can see just the top of that helicopter come so very close to almost hitting it.
This incident happened Tuesday when a hiker fell off a ledge into a narrow canyon. In order to rescue him, crews had to skillfully land the chopper on the ledge, repel down, strap to the hiker, put that hiker on a stretcher and then pull him out. We're told the hiker is OK. The fall did knock out most of his teeth.
HOLMES: I think you may have made the most obvious point -- that maybe you don't think about still. Who was out there taking that picture?
WOLF: Who was shooting that? Who was with the camera? I mean, shouldn't he have been down on the ground saying, OK, you're about this close, this close. Stop. No closer. You know, that kind of thing. But, no, he's up there with his camcorder.
HOLMES: That's an amazing shot how close that pilot was able to get. Like you said, could have been several dead person, not just one person in trouble.
WOLF: Yeah.
HOLMES: But, no. We're here to talk about Hurricane Bill. We thought it was going to be bigger, badder than he turned out to be, but could still gain strength. Let's turn to North Carolina, what could cause some havoc for some people who want to enjoy the last couple of weekends of summer here.
Not expected, as Reynolds has been telling us, to hit the U.S. mainland, but flooding, beach erosion, going to be problems. Showing these pictures of North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Rip current warnings are in effect until at least Sunday for much of the East Coast. Tropical storm warning as been issued for parts of Massachusetts coastline, as well.
Could it cause some problems up there at Martha's Vineyard? The president taking vacation next week, going to be in Martha's Vineyard all next week. Does he need to watch out?
WOLF: Not great timing for that.
HOLMES: Yes?
WOLF: Really. You'd love them to have absolutely perfect weather. The good news about it is the president, first family, will come in as the storm is going to be leaving the scene. So as the storm moves away, they'll certainly have better conditions.
Rip currents will be a big issue for a lot of people up and down the seaboard from parts of Florida as far north as Maine. We'll give you an idea of how to stay safe from those, coming up in a few minutes.
HOLMES: Florida to Maine, that's the entire East Coast of the U.S.
WOLF: It's a big storm. We're talking the biggest storm on the planet. We'll give you the latest on that right now. Let's show you what we have out there.
We're going to roll video I think, that's going to show -maybe not. We are actually going to show you Atlanta where we have cloudy skies. People wonder if this has to do with Hurricane Bill. Absolutely not. This is actually the tail end of a storm that actually moving through -- a frontal boundary. That frontal boundary is one with of the great things that will keep Hurricane Bill away from the U.S. mainland.
Let's go right to the weather computer. We'll give you an idea first of Bill, the latest particulars we have of the storm, winds of 105 miles per hour, a Category 2 storm, gusts stronger going up to 125 miles per hour. Looks good on the east and west side of the storm. Looks like it's getting a little bit of intrusion of dry air coming in to the western side of the storm.
We're seeing it falling apart, the eye not really well defined. It looks like maybe it going through a reforming eye wall process as we speak right now. So it is certainly something we need to watch. There's a chance the storm could gain strength, once again. Maybe a Cat 3, maybe a major hurricane.
But the forecast does have it as a Category 2 as we get into late Saturday, then into Sunday, and as far north as Monday, we notice the storm veering off to the north, then, northeast very quickly. Then moving up past the Canadian Maritimes as we get into Monday.
There is still a slight chance the storm could make landfall. Very, very slight, very remote. Very rarely do you see it deviate from that forecast path. It's a possibility. You never know.
One thing people will be dealing with up and down the coast will be the possibility of heavier surf and of course rip currents. To stay safe, here are a few ideas of what you should do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: You know, here in Florida's East Coast, conditions couldn't be better. We've got partly cloudy skies, people out here enjoying themselves. You'd never know that roughly 1,000 miles away we have a major hurricane brewing. Although we don't have the wind and of course the heavy rainfall here, there's still the threat from that storm. We're talking about rip currents.
The question is, what is a rip current? To get an answer, we'll go to this guy. This is Geo Surano.
And, Geo, what is it? What's a rip current?
LT. GEO SURANO, FT. LAUDERDALE OCEAN RESCUE: A rip current is a tunnel of water. It usually happens when we have easterly winds, 10 miles, plus sustained.
We have a lot of water accumulate against the shore line and the channel of water pulls all that water back out to sea.
WOLF (voice-over): When an increased volume of water is pushed toward the shore line by a tropical system or nor'easter it retreats rapidly back into the surf creating channels an unsuspecting swimmer caught in this conveyor belt of swift water is at the mercy of the current. The key for survival is to remain calm.
(On camera): The key is don't panic.
SURANO: Do not panic. Never panic and do not swim against the rip. You're not going to win.
WOLF: Sounds easier said than done. We'll try it out for ourselves.
(Voice-over): Five minutes later and 50 yards offshore there is a definite ebb and flow of the ocean's rhythm, but not a strong outflow current. A lifeguard Larry Cox is with me. He says that if carried away from the beach, the best course of action is swim parallel to the shore line, out, not against, the rip current. When free from the current's grip, slowly swim to shore. Larry also says the best way to avoid problems is to use common sense.
LARRY COX, FT. LAUDERDALE OCEAN RESCUE LIFEGUARD: Look at the flags that the lifeguards have up, so they're aware of the water conditions. Always swim near a life guard tower. If you're not a strong ocean swimmer, on a rough water day, steer clear of the water.
WOLF: So, basically, when in doubt, don't go out.
COX: Exactly.
WOLF: All right. There you go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: You know, the weird thing about it, is when you often think of rip currents you often think of the coast, but they can actually occur not just on the Eastern Seaboard, but the Gulf of Mexico, and even the Great Lakes at times.
NGUYEN: Really?
WOLF: So, all you really need is just a big wind event that could really generate those. Almost like imagine a cup of coffee. You blow on the coffee and the water goes to one with side of the cup. Same rule applies. We have, say, a wind event. Say a tropical system, maybe even a storm going across the Great Lakes. They can form virtually in any large body of water. It's something you have to watch out for.
NGUYEN: You have to be so careful when you are out there.
WOLF: Absolutely. But the number one impulse is to swim directly against it. You want to fight it. It's kind of like ...
NGUYEN: It will wear you out.
WOLF: Exactly. It is kind of like going up an escalator. The escalator is going up and you're running down against it. You're not making any progress. The thing is to just move parallel to the shore. It breaks it rather quickly and you just can go right in. So, easy does it. Just have to kind of fight that instinct, which is very hard to do.
NGUYEN: Well, that's good information. Thank you.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds. NGUYEN: So are the protests at town hall meetings changing any opinions about the president's health care reform proposals? That's something that we're asking.
HOLMES: What Americans think. We've got the latest polls coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The first family is spending the weekend in Camp David, going to spend the week, next week, at Martha's Vineyard. The president, maybe he could use a little rest. It's been difficult lately pushing that health care reform agenda.
NGUYEN: Yes, it has been difficult. We've seen the town hall meetings. Well, CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser looks at the impact of the health care reform battle.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Betty, T.J., we have seen a lot of coverage in the media the past three weeks of these protests at these health care town halls that lawmakers back from Congress, they are holding in their home states and districts. There has been a lot of shouting and a lot of it is in opposition to the health care proposals backed by the president and congressional Democrats.
So the big question, of course, is, are these protests having an impact on most Americans? An NBC News poll out this week says 6 in 10 say the protests have not changed their views on health care reform. One in 5 say the protests makes them less favorable to the president's health care proposals. And one in 6 says it makes them more favorable.
Another new poll, this one by ABC News and "The Washington Post", indicates that the country is split over whether the protests are appropriate.
Look at this, 51 percent say that the protests are appropriate, 45 percent say they are inappropriate.
Well, one thing is for sure. We have two weeks left of this congressional recess. We'll see more town halls on health care. We'll probably see more vocal protests. We'll probably see more polls as well. We'll monitor all of this as we gauge the public's opinion on health care reform - Betty, T.J.
NGUYEN: All right. Paul, you know, emotions are running high at town hall meetings nationwide. We have all seen the video. Today we are live with health care reform, uninterrupted town hall meetings, with all the sides in it, in their own words. So, we're basically going to show you the best of. Get the questions and the answers on "Town Hall Raw" today 2:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
HOLMES: I'm going to roll some video for you now. We're going to do this and the video speaks for itself. Take a look at that picture there. You know what? It tells the story, really, the details behind this at a football game, of all things, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good hair. If you don't have it, chances are you want it. If you do have it, chances are you paid for it. Relaxers, weaves, wigs. Where is T.J. going with this? I'll bet you're wondering. Well, this is a huge business and black people support this $9 billion industry with what some would call a hair fetish.
It is very serious business, folks, until of course, you get Chris Rock involved. Then what you get is a documentary. It's a comedy, but it looks a bit like a documentary. And this was my assignment when I met up with Chris not long ago, and one of the stars of his new movie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: What's your definition of good hair?
NIA LONG, ACTRESS: Something that looks relaxed and nice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If your hair is relaxed, white people are relaxed. If your hair is nappy, they're not happy.
HOLMES: Tell me first, you all just tell me, how would you all define good hair? Not the movie, actual hair. What is good hair?
LONG: All hair is good.
ROCK: There you go.
LONG: All hair is good.
ROCK: You've got good hair. She's got good hair.
LONG: As long as it' behaving ...
ROCK: As long as it's not attacking you. It's not flesh eating hair.
HOLMES: But some people need work to get it to behave. Would you agree with that?
LONG: Anything good takes work.
ROCK: Yeah. Takes a little work.
LONG: Products.
ROCK: A little TLC.
HOLMES: How much work -- for both of you, how much work entails this take? How much work entails that take?
LONG: Whoa!
HOLMES: I didn't meant to shake it like that.
ROCK: This takes a lot less work and TLC than this.
LONG: This actually took this morning, 20 minutes?
HOLMES: That's not bad.
ROCK: Yeah, 20 minutes, but 20 minutes with engineers and architects.
(Voice over): Just yesterday my daughters came into the house and said, daddy, how come I don't have good hair? I wonder how she came up with that idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Within the black community, if you have good hair, you're prettier or better than -- the lighter, the brighter the better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want to go like this, like Farah Fawcett.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so many pressures to straighten their hair.
ROCK: Look at my ring. Still there?
LONG: Black hair is a big issue. What's more beautiful? Straight hair or curly, kinky hair? It's been a huge issue within the community and I think if you look at sort of the journey of black women and their hair, we've tried to assimilate to the images of white women, where the hair has been straighter or blonde or lighter.
And this is a great film simply because it creates awareness. It's really a conversational piece, this film, and your hair. But ultimately if you're OK with who you are on the inside and you're OK with sort of your own spiritual sense of self, then it really doesn't matter what your hair is doing. That's why it could look crazy and it's still good hair.
ROCK: Has anybody ever tried to steal your hair?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
ROCK: If you see some black women, just run the other way.
My daughters, I just wanted to -- I wanted this document to exist. You know what I mean? There hasn't been a movie about black women's hair. And it's such a rich, rich, rich topic that can be used educationally and comedically. When I say comedically, I'm not making fun of black women in this movie at all. I'm not judging anybody for doing anything to their hair. I'm -- there's lots of movies with me with the Jheri Curl. That exists. Lots. There's a few.
LONG: And that was by choice, by the way. Jheri Curl was a choice.
ROCK: Pookie has a Jheri Curl in "New Jack City".
Tell us you how dangerous a relaxer is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sodium hydroxide will burn through your skin.
ROCK: So, that can's got a good perm.
HOLMES: What do you tell your daughters? That was kind of part of the reason behind the movie. You had an incident, one of them saw another girl's hair and thought it was --
ROCK: My daughter was raving too much about her friend's hair. It was like when my wife raves about somebody else's house. Hey, you've got a nice house.
Your hair is addicted to relaxers?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am on the creamy crack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Creamy crack.
ROCK: So, what's in your hair now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a weave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a weave. Two pieces here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, like extensions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (SNAPS FINGERS) Like that.
ROCK: You know, at the end of the day, it's fashion in a sense, you know.
LONG: It's an accessory.
ROCK: It's an accessory. And you know if you're changing it because it's an accessory, it's great. If you're changing it because you want to be somebody else, then there's a problem there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The black hair business is a $9 billion business.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of these can run you $5,000.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I have a layaway plan.
ROCK: So you can layaway the wig.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.
ROCK: Have you ever put your hand through a black woman's hair?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hell, no! Not a black woman!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just don't touch it. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do not touch my weave.
ROCK: Does your wife let you touch her hair?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The question is, do I let her touch mine?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: That's a good response.
HOLMES: He has famous hair.
NGUYEN: Yes, he does. It's nice hair, too.
HOLMES: It's good hair. He has a great story about why he started first wearing that hairstyle. It goes back to when he was good friends with James Brown.
NGUYEN: Brown.
HOLMES: They went to the White House. I mean, he tells the whole story. But "Good Hair" comes out in October. Chris Rock will tell you, it's a comedy. He wants everybody to know it's a comedy. It is as funny as anything. But it is really eye opening and enlightening and educational, because I grew up and have been around black women all my life. I learned so much about hair.
NGUYEN: Oh, I imagine.
HOLMES: Creamy crack? Are familiar with that?
NGUYEN: No, but I am familiar with the weaves because it's not just a black woman thing. The white women all over, wear weaves. In fact, this is a weave right now. I'm kidding. It's not.
HOLMES: Take it off, seriously. She's not kidding.
NGUYEN: It is not. I promise it's not coming out.
HOLMES: Betty, it's OK.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: But I do have clip-ones that I'll wear, every now and then, to do the hair extensions. It's fun. It's a good time. We like our hair. We ladies like our hair.
HOLMES: That has scared me before, when she takes it off.
NGUYEN: Especially when you wear it, right?
HOLMES: Oh, my gosh! See how hair gets people going. I'm sure you'll be chiming in on Twitter and Facebook here, at any second. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, today begins Ramadan, the holy month in the Islam world. Millions of Muslims, this is their most important religious period, a month-long period coming up.
NGUYEN: It's a key part of Ramadan, and that key part is fasting during daylight hours. Arwa Damon has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Betty, T.J.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, it is a time when Muslims throughout the entire world fast, from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food, drink, smoking and other physical needs. It is meant to be a time of purification of the soul, a time for Muslims to feel closer to God, a time of sacrifice.
It is also meant to be a time of giving. For example, if a person is ill or traveling or unable to fast, they're encouraged to give money and food to the poor.
Now, during this time period, there are also a number of very special traditions, meals that are prepared to break one's fast. You will also see families getting together before sunrise to have a final meal before they have to fast for the rest of the day.
It is also very much one of the Five Pillars of Islam. And while this is very much intended to be a time of peace where one not only abstains from food and drink but also from all sorts of negative emotions.
Muslims are meant to try to control things like anger, envy, bad thoughts about other people. Unfortunately, over the last few years in places like here in Iraq, it has also become a period of increased violence because the fundamentalist extremist ideals believe that carrying out attacks, suicide attacks, at a time like this give them even more credibility in the eyes of God when, in fact, it is quite the opposite.
Back to you guys in the studio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: President Obama is offering his greeting to Muslims around the world on this holiday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: On behalf of the American people, including Muslim communities in all 50 states, I want to extend best wishes to Muslims in America, and around the world. Ramadan kareem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: As you heard there, Ramadan kareem, that is how Muslims greet each other during the holy month.
Going to turn back to some weather now and Hurricane Bill, of course, skirting past Bermuda. Our Reynolds Wolf will be up in the next few minutes to tell us how the East Coast is going to feel this thing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello again from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, for Saturday, August 22nd, I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning, I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.
So the president may be on vacation, but his message is definitely not. This morning's weekly address hits hard on what he calls myths about his health care reform proposals.
HOLMES: Also, there's been a lot of high praise for the president, at least, on his $8,000 home buyer tax credit program. That's about to go away. Or is it? Another option being considered for homebuyers.
NGUYEN: And this is such a topic today. We want you to weigh in. We're taking a look at the most annoying people on Facebook. You know who you are, people with too much information, like I'm about to take a shower. I'm bored. Who cares?
HOLMES: Dang, Betty!
NGUYEN: Or the person who is always inviting you to join a cause. I'm sure you get lots of those, too, right?
Before we get to all of that, we want to get you a look at our top stories of the day.
HOLMES: We'll get back to you on that, Betty.
This morning a riot at a medium-security facility in Kentucky appears to be under control according to officials. Inmates reportedly set fire to several buildings and shattered windows. This happened yesterday evening. But check out the scene. Officials say this was started by inmates. Prison guards had to use tear gas on hundreds of inmates to finally regain control early this morning.
Lieutenant David Jude of the Kentucky State Police with the update for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDE: Being motivated by the fact that we are saying that the facility is secured, that would tell me that they do have things under control and some of that stuff has calmed down. So, is it possible there is stuff going on? It is possible. But I do feel confident telling you that if it is secured, that we feel reasonable to say that everything has calmed down. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: This is a story that broke overnight, happening overnight, developed overnight. We'll continue to follow that and bring you the latest details. We got a live report from outside the prison coming up.
Also, a foreign bank will take over the latest U.S. bank to fail. This is the first time we've seen that happen. BBVA Compass based out of Spain has agreed to purchase Texas-based Guaranty Bank after federal officials shut it down yesterday. The failure of Guaranty Bank is one of the largest we have seen so far this year.
Take a look at this picture. This is a crowd that was gathered to watch a high school football practice in Ohio. And this is what they saw. Somebody got a picture. A small plane crashed just behind the school gym in plain view of everybody who was outside at that football practice.
Ohio police confirmed two people on board that plane died. The pictures captured the plane nose-diving before it hit the ground. Some witnesses said it took off from a nearby airport.
NGUYEN: Well, Hurricane Bill not forecast to hit the U.S. mainland, but still having a big effect on boaters and beachgoers.
You know, this is one of the last weekends to get out in the sun before those kiddos go back to school.
WOLF: You're right.
NGUYEN: Not a great weekend to do it if you're on the eastern seaboard.
WOLF: Exactly. I mean, you know, this weekend and next weekend, then what is it, I guess, after that, everybody goes back to school pretty much?
NGUYEN: Yes. That time of year.
WOLF: Sorry, kids.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: I'm sure there are a few parents there smiling.
NGUYEN: We're talking about dangerous rip currents.
WOLF: You're absolutely right. You know, the amazing thing about it is you often associate hurricanes and tropical systems like that with awful skies and rain taking side ways.
NGUYEN: Right.
WOLF: But you could be 1,000 miles away from that storm, Betty, and you could still be dealing with rip currents, in places as far south as Florida, as far north as the Maine coast. So, it can be a dangerous thing. And certainly, if you're in doubt and you're not a strong swimmer, don't get in the water this weekend. It's not a good idea at all.
NGUYEN: This is Hamilton, Bermuda, actually.
WOLF: You're absolutely correct. And this is the place that's famous for those pink coral beaches, you know? And you're not going to see much of that today or tomorrow for that matter. They're getting some waves coming in -- at times, Betty, some of these waves exceeding 30 feet. So, I mean, it's going to be a rough time.
NGUYEN: Great for surfers.
WOLF: It is great for surfers, if you know how to surf.
NGUYEN: If you know what you're doing.
WOLF: Precisely, can't say that enough. Even for experienced swimmers, it can be very scary prospect. It's certainly some of the days that you have to be careful about.
We're going to give everyone an idea of where the storm is, how strong it is, where it's headed, what we can anticipate in days to come, Betty. But look at, some of those breakers coming through, just tremendous things that are lashing that coastline.
It does appear that Bermuda is actually going to be in the rearview mirror for this storm. But right ahead, we got a lot of open water and with that, water temperatures that will be getting a bit warmer and very little sheer for the storm.
Let's go from the video right back to the scene in weather wall. And as we do so, we're going to give you a good shot of the storm. From high above, take a look, we got infrared satellite imagery for you. Winds are currently at 105 miles per hour, gusting to 125. The storm has just gone through an eye wall replacement cycle.
And I'll tell you something else, the eye which was -- looks like almost there's two eyes, the very last frame at this point -- one of them actually about 48 miles across. It gives you an idea of just how expansive these things are. From our vantage point, it looks pretty small. But trust me, if you're there, it is a big deal.
What we're going to seeing with the storms, the potential for it to actually gain some strength. Because right ahead of the path, although we're forecasting -- the National Hurricane Center is forecasting a category two storm, it could easily bump up with winds stronger, becoming a major hurricane again.
The reason for that is because it's about to move into an area with very warm water, which water temperatures are about 80 and above, you're going to have the chance this storm to regain power. But also, minimal shear, very weak winds aloft, which could possibly rip the storm apart. Now, as we get into Saturday, Sunday, it appears the storm is going to remain offshore, great news certainly for people in the U.S. And as we make our way up to the Canadian Maritimes, still expected to veer off to the northeast but it will be moving into cooler water and then it's going to interact with some shear aloft.
The cooler water and that shear will cause the storm to weaken. And then as we get into 2:00 a.m. Monday, moving farther to the north past over Vescocea (ph) and then back out over the open water.
So, another big thing we have in our favor is actually rough weather in the northeast. Seems odd, doesn't it? Because you would never think that with storms that wouldn't be really a good thing. But in this case, it is.
We have a line of storms -- some of these have been fairly intense this morning, rolling through parts of New England and it's going to be right along this frontal boundary that's veering its way off to the east. That's actually going to be kind of a buffer zone, actually push that storm -- we're talking about Bill -- keeping it out to sea and away from harm's way.
But although the storm not expected to make contact with the U.S., all along the eastern seaboard, you're going to be dealing with potential rip currents. That is something you need to watch out for. We'll be talking about that throughout the morning.
Let's send it back to both of you guys.
NGUYEN: All right. A lot to watch out for. Thank you.
WOLF: No doubt.
HOLMES: And on that weather topic, we want to get that iReport in here, Reynolds. This is out of Bermuda. This comes to us from a 15-year-old taking these pictures for us, Warwick Long Bay in Bermuda. Again, Cheresa, we appreciate you sending this iReport to us, says her family was boarding up actually.
Somebody there giving us just an idea what's happening there, one of our iReporters. We do appreciate that. Of course, Reynolds will continue to follow the weather situation up and down the east coast with Hurricane Bill.
We want to get back now to the story we told you about that's been developing overnight, that prison riot in Kentucky. Now, the guards have regained control. They're trying to figure out what started this whole thing in the first place and also what to do with these prisoners.
Jessica Moore is with our CNN affiliate WLEX. She's outside the prison.
And they've got to figure out something to do with these prisoners because that is a lot of damage that was done to that place.
MOORE: Well, T.J., you said it exactly right.
This fire destroyed so much of this property here that now they have the task at hand of moving 1,200 inmates by busload to other facilities around the state.
Let's look at some new video we just have in here. These are the buses full of inmates leaving the property here at the Northpoint Training Center. They're taking about 40 or 50 at a time off of the property.
Let's take you back, when this whole ordeal began. Officials say the riot started about 6:30 yesterday evening. The prison had been on lockdown since Tuesday when a fight broke out between inmates here.
Yesterday evening, the warden reportedly told prisoners that they'd have to continue being supervised instead of roaming the ground freely as they're accustomed to doing. And officials say that's when the inmates started setting fires all over the property, breaking windows and running amok all over the site.
By 7:00, 1,229 inmates and 34 staff members found themselves trapped inside the facility for more than seven hours. Officers used tear gas to try to convince the inmates to surrender and break up packs of rioters. We're also told that several of those inmates were with taken to local hospitals with minor injuries.
The good news here is that all of the inmates are accounted for. There was speculation at one point that some of them may have escaped during the entire ordeal. There was so much chaos. But every single inmate -- we're told -- has been accounted for.
Also, we're told that not one staff member or guard suffered any injuries during this entire ordeal. As you said, T.J., the big task at hand here now is what to do with the inmates. The fire destroyed the medical building, the cafeteria, the kitchen and the rack room.
And so, officials here have decided that this property is no longer fit for these inmates and they are taking them 40 and 50 at a time busloads of them -- as you just saw -- to other facilities around the state.
HOLMES: All right. Jessica Moore for us on the scene. Well, they are still try figure out exactly what happened, exactly what to do with these prisoners. We appreciate you this morning. Thank you so much.
NGUYEN: OK. So, he's on vacation, yes. But the president is still pushing his health care reform message.
HOLMES: Yes. You have to. You can't take a break from that, of course. We'll get into that this morning.
Also, a pretty popular home buyer tax credit program is on the way out unless Congress steps in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, in three months, the president's $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers will expire. Or will it? We're hearing -- we're hearing -- some chatter out there that maybe an extension is in the works. That's not the only money out there either.
Our housing expert Clyde Anderson is here with some information that could add up to about $10,000 for you. So, you might want to listen to Clyde this morning.
All right. Let's talk about the $8,000 -- popular, people took advantage of it.
CLYDE ANDERSON, HOUSING EXPERT: Right.
HOLMES: You have to close by at this point December 1st.
ANDERSON: December 1st.
HOLMES: All right. If nothing is done. Is something going to get done?
ANDERSON: Well, they're talking about it, speculation. I mean, it definitely has been a huge boost to the economy. So, I think it would be great if they continue it. But no word has been, you know, determined yet if they're actually going to do it.
HOLMES: This thing is real popular. Do any of these things hurt? I guess, so many people out here buying up, they're expecting cheap homes. And sometimes people are waiting by. If this thing expires, people will say, well, wait, I can't get that tax credit so -- people should get to the point they expect so much...
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: ... right now to be helped out. And they expect low prices as well.
ANDERSON: Exactly. And it's been -- it's been a huge boost to the economy. I mean, the housing market is such a big piece of the economy. This has been a huge boost. And so, people are coming to expect it, but, I think, usually in December, you see a slowdown -- or November, a slowdown with people buying. I don't think you want to see that same slowdown this November as people are going to get in there and try to get that credit before it expires -- if it does.
HOLMES: All right. Even if it does, they have other options. Not as much.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: But there's $2,000 people can still get. This one is not going to expire.
ANDERSON: Exactly. This is a mortgage credit certificate. And with that, you get up to 2 $2,000 in tax breaks. And so, it's huge. You know, buying a home already, you do get a nice tax break. Now, this will give you an even bigger tax break, $2,000 a year that you can really write off on your taxes.
HOLMES: Now, how do you get this? Who -- is everybody up for this thing? It's always speculation.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Well, you know, there's got to be some fine print in there. You got to be a first-time home buyer and you have -- and that really means anyone who hasn't owned a home in the last three years is considered to be a first-time home buyer.
HOLMES: Really?
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: I did not realize it.
ANDERSON: Yes. If you have not owned a home in the last three years, you are now again a first-time home buyer.
HOLMES: All right.
ANDERSON: That's it. And then the other piece is that it cannot exceed income limit. Each state or local housing authority are going to set those income limits.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: So, it can range anywhere from $50,000 to $75,000 and even more sometimes to determine if you can qualify for this credit.
HOLMES: OK. So, you need to check that out obviously. I guess can there be -- there are no downsides to this credit.
ANDERSON: You know, there's downsides to everything.
HOLMES: There's a downside to getting two grand to write off?
ANDERSON: It depends on how you look at it.
HOLMES: All right.
ANDERSON: One of the things that, you know, you got to look at, if you're looking at the cons, you got to definitely look at the fact that it's for new loans only. So you can't refi -- or, you know, you got to get a new loan. So, that means that if you refinance anytime when you have this loan also, that it cancels it all out.
HOLMES: Really?
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: So, you can't get the credit every year if you go ahead and refinance the loan. HOLMES: So, just some things you got to keep in mine.
ANDERSON: Definitely.
HOLMES: All right. And the obvious upsides, I guess?
ANDERSON: Yes, the obvious upside is $2,000 is great. You know, you definitely have your pros. So, $2,000 is great.
You know, everybody wants to get the tax credit. Everybody wants to benefit. Everybody wants to be able to have that additional money, that boost that you were talking about. It's key right now.
HOLMES: All right. When will we hear? I mean, you said, right now, we're just hearing some chatter and some talk about extending the $8,000 tax credit.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: How much movement -- are we seeing any kind of swell of activity going in that direction, any momentum at all for it?
ANDERSON: Well, I think you're going to see more of a push as we get closer to that date.
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: Like I said, right now, there's been speculation. Few people are talking about it. So, that's the buzz. But, you know, I think when we look back and see the benefits that it's had on this year, that's going to help, you know, make the decision for next year, if it's going to continue.
HOLMES: All right. In the meantime, folks, if they don't extend it, get on it while you can. The deadline to close now, that's just be on the contract, December 1st is the deadline. So, get on it.
Clyde, my man, good to see you.
ANDERSON: Always, my pleasure.
HOLMES: All right. Betty?
NGUYEN: Well, August is possibly a make or break month for health care reform. And with less than 10 days before the month ends, it still doesn't look like Republicans are on board. Now, they picked apart the president's reform proposal in their weekly address today.
So, here is what Representative Tom Price from Georgia said this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TOM PRICE (R), GEORGIA: As opposition to the Democrats' government-run plan is mounting, the president has said he'd like to stamp out some of the disinformation floating around out there. The problem is, the president himself plays fast and loose with the facts.
So, as someone who's taken care of patients, I'd like to take a moment to clear up a couple of the president's worst offenses. On the stump, the president regularly tells Americans that if you like your plan you can keep your plan. But if you read the bill, that just isn't so.
For starters, within five years, every health care plan will have to meet a new federal definition for coverage, one that your current plan might not match even if you like it. What's more, experts agree that under the House bill, millions of Americans will be forced off of their personal private coverage and shuffled on to the government plan.
Now, the president has also said that he thinks government should compete with your current health care plan. But we with all know that when the government is setting the rules and it's backed by tax dollars, it will destroy, not compete, with the private sector. The reality is, whether or not you get to keep your plan or your doctor is very much in question under the president's proposal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, before coming to Congress, Representative Price was a physician for more than 20 years.
Having the government compete with insurance companies is a big part of the president's plan. But you just heard what the Republicans think about that. This morning, the president tried to set the record straight in his weekly address to the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We'll prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person's medical history. They will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. They will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime.
We'll place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of- pocket expenses, because no one in America should go broke because they get sick. And we will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies. There's no reason we shouldn't be catching diseases like breast cancer and colon cancer on the front end. That makes sense, it saves lives, and it will also save money over the long run.
Taken together, the reforms we're seeking will help bring down skyrocketing costs which will mean real savings for families, businesses, and government. We know what a failure to act would bring, more of the same -- more of the same exploding costs, more of the same diminished coverage.
If we fail to act, the crisis will grow. More families will go without coverage. More businesses will be forced to drop or water down their plans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The president and the first lady are spending the day at Camp David and they will be at Martha's Vineyard tomorrow.
OK. So stay tuned to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. At 9:00, we have a half hour dedicated to the health care debate, health care in America. The truth squad is going to be answering some questions this morning at 9:00 Eastern. You don't want to miss it.
HOLMES: We're friends, right?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Do you find me annoying?
NGUYEN: So far. Many times.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: But I'm sure you can say the same for me.
HOLMES: We're talking about Facebook friends now...
NGUYEN: That, too.
HOLMES: ... who are annoying. And there's a list of these types of people who are annoying.
NGUYEN: Yes. And we are going to give you that list because it can be long.
Josh Levs is here with a truncated version of it.
LEVS: Yes, I know because they're saying there are 12 types of them. But I think there's actually a lot.
NGUYEN: I think there's many more.
LEVS: Yes, I know, I think we're going to add some more to them. You know, here's one example. Take a look at right here. They're calling them different terms. One of them is the chronic inviter. We're going to break this down for you. What not to do on the world's most popular social networking site.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: Love Dave Matthews.
HOLMES: I live Dave Matthews.
NGUYEN: We had a little extended version right there with "So Much to Say." Perfect song, you know why? Because when you join Facebook, you know, you do it to keep in touch with friends. But some people feel the need to bombard you with every detail of their daily lives. Why?
HOLMES: Some have too much to say, but too much to say.
NGUYEN: Yes, over and over again.
HOLMES: But we're hoping to change all that. We're trying to name the most annoying types...
NGUYEN: Oh, we're going to change that?
HOLMES: Yes, we are.
NGUYEN: We'll attempt to.
HOLMES: By exposing these people.
NGUYEN: OK.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: If you're one, maybe you can change some of your ways. I don't find you annoying, though.
NGUYEN: Take note friends.
HOLMES: Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: It's like a public service, isn't it?
NGUYEN: It is, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: This is a public service announcement right here.
LEVS: Well, maybe there's a way that people can take this story from CNN.com about annoying Facebookers and just kind of like still fully get it to their friends who are driving them crazy. Let's take a look. I want you to see -- you can take a quiz and find out if you are one of these people, which is a good idea.
You can't miss the story at CNN.com. It asks you things like this: do you frequently talk about what you ate for breakfast, lunch, et cetera? Just click on this stuff, you'll find out if you are one of these people. We list the whole bunch of annoying categories. But let's take a look, because we have some fun pictures to represent these things for you.
First of all, the detailer. Just like that, it's people who feel the need to tell you everything they ever ate. Let's go to the next one, because seriously, you know who you are probably. This is the chronic inviter. If you every day are sending messages to people that "you've got the to support my latest cause or sign my petition" or those weird games that I never understand.
Betty, T.J., do you guys get these, too?
NGUYEN: Yes. All the time. This is the mafia wars thing. I mean, you got to this, a gun or this helmet or what -- I don't even know what that is.
LEVS: And I get this one that's like someone just like shot you with a water gun or something.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: What are they talking about?
NGUYEN: I don't know. I just hit "ignore." Is that bad?
LEVS: I do, too. No. I do it, too.
NGUYEN: I'm totally exposing it all, aren't I?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: I'll have no friends after this is over with.
LEVS: The town crier. OK, this is a good example. There was this rumor going on that Jeff Goldblum had fallen off a cliff. It was so not true, but that was after like a million people out there had Facebooked it to their friends before finding out if it was true or not. They heard a rumor. Don't be the town crier.
We got a couple more. Let's get to some of these here. The TMI- er. You know what's that all about. Stop with the too much information. Going to the bathroom is a really good example.
And we have one more. Let's just get it. The can't speller. OK, this doesn't drive me that crazy. But, you know, if you take a look at that, that's like listed from an actual tweet that one of our writers at CNN.com got -- people who, you know, don't even look really at what they're writing and you have to read it a few times before you quite understand what they're talking about -- the can't speller.
So, you know folks, if this is driving you crazy -- oh, there's one more. I forgot about this. Yes, do you guys get this, the obscurist? You have no idea what they're talking about...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Or the Debbie downers. You know, the people that get on and just have nothing but negative things to say.
LEVS: Yes, there's that, too. These people, yes, were just making everybody depressed. OK.
NGUYEN: No one -- everyone is going to be afraid to write on our pages from now on. No, really, we want to hear from you.
LEVS: It's like please write me. Please?
NGUYEN: Please?
LEVS: In fact, I got that open.
OK. Here you go. Go ahead and Facebook me right now and tell me how annoyed you are. There it is, JoshLevsCNN.
NGUYEN: OK. I'm sending you a message right now.
LEVS: Betty is going to write me what she had for breakfast.
NGUYEN: No.
LEVS: In reality, what we do want to hear from you is what's not on there -- I put a link to the story -- but what's not on there that also drives you crazy on Facebook. If we get a whole bunch of good ones, we're going to write a story and quote you on CNN.com. We'll share it right here.
NGUYEN: Yes, you might not want to share your friend's name, though, when you put that example up there.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: So hard.
NGUYEN: Yes. All right. Thank you, Josh. That's good stuff though.
HOLMES: That's brutal segment. That's a brutal segment.
NGUYEN: Oh, come on. It's all in good fun.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Well, OK. So, for those who dare, please go to T.J. and my Facebook pages. We also have Twitter sites as well. Message us. Let us know what you think about this. And really, you know, we give you a hard time, but we love hearing from you.
HOLMES: Stop. You're trying to make it up now.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: To answer your questions, a lot of people send this, do you ever really read these? Yes. I read them. We read every single one of them. So, we do appreciate it.
HOLMES: That's the one that gets me. I get yelled at for not responding to everybody.
NGUYEN: Responding. Right.
HOLMES: I get yelled at for that. I'm sorry. We actually do. We don't have anybody managing these things for us. NGUYEN: We do it ourselves.
HOLMES: We do it. We promise we read every single one of them.
NGUYEN: We can't respond to all of them.
HOLMES: We can't respond to all of 'em.
NGUYEN: But we do appreciate your comments, even if they are annoying. No, I'm kidding.
OK. We're going to move on to health care, shall we? The complicated health care debate made simple. That's the goal for us this morning. And coming up at 9:00 Eastern, we're going to do just that, because we have a half hour that's going to look at the issues, the protests, even your questions and try to get you some answers as well.
HOLMES: Also, the uproar. Have you seen this story and have you seen that athlete? Some people don't know if that's a man or a woman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Betty and I will be back at the top of the hour with more live news updates on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
NGUYEN: "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta though starts right now.
