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Health Care Hurdles; New Strategy for Afghanistan; New Alert System Trial in Indonesia; Hope for the Dow; French "Vogue" Pushing the Envelope or Just Pushing Race Button?
Aired October 14, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to check some of the other stories we're watching right now.
Britain is committing more troops to Afghanistan. Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- who you see there -- announced this morning he'll send another 500 troops to join the international force there. Britain already has 9,000 troops in Afghanistan. That's the second largest commitment behind the United States.
Ford is adding another 4.5 million cars to its massive recall over fire danger. It involves trucks and vans that may have a faulty cruise control switch that can cause the vehicles to overheat. In all, Ford is recalling 16 million vehicles because of that switch. You can get the complete list at cnn.com.
And it's the first public look at Jaycee Dugard since she was freed. "People" magazine releasing the photo just a short time ago. The magazine also has a statement from Dugard saying she is happy to be with her family and have their unconditional love and support. Dugard was 11 years old when she was kidnapped in 1991.
A high level strategy session is going on right now at the White House. President Obama is huddling in the situation room with his national security team again working on the new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is joining us with the latest on this.
As everybody seems to know, we've kind of been counting these and watching them closely. This is meeting number five, Suzanne. So what do we expect to come out of this meeting in particular?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, what we expect out of meeting number five is really to take a look at the resources that are involved here. This is troops, this is training, this is NATO allies. Everything, what are they going to put in it, the United States and other allies, in terms of this effort in Afghanistan. We have already seen the heavy hitters here at the White House, Heidi.
General David Petraeus, the top commander of Iraq, Secretary Gates, and we know that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on a plane now heading home from Russia. She, too, on this through a secure videoconference link. All of them getting together for this fifth meeting and previous meetings they've talked about the security situation in Afghanistan. What's the security situation in Pakistan? What is the Afghan government look like? How are those people doing? Are they susceptible to perhaps being prey to the Taliban or other terrorists?
These are the kinds of questions and kinds of discussions that have been going on behind closed doors. What today is about is those resources. The president also emphasizing that the goal has not changed here. That has been consistent to go after Al Qaeda to prevent Al Qaeda from carrying terrorist attacks against the United States but how do you do that and how do you allocate those resources for the different components to reach that goal?
Here's how the president is putting it, Heidi. I understand we don't have sound but essentially what he said yesterday was that there's a military component. There is the component of actually supporting education, supporting civil institutions for the Afghan people so that they have jobs so they're not susceptible to the Taliban and those kinds of things. That is what they're looking at and how do you divvy that up. It's all part of the discussions that are taking place.
COLLINS: Security, funding, training of the police force, deployment. Nation building. Rebuilding the country. These are all of the same conversations it seems that they're having over and over again.
MALVEAUX: Well, as I have mentioned before, what they're trying to do is at least organize this in a way. So one of these sessions, we know is specifically dealing with the security situation in Pakistan. As we know, Al Qaeda very strong in Pakistan. The vice president, Joe Biden, saying he believes that the real threat is Al Qaeda is actually regrouping and becoming much stronger in Pakistan.
COLLINS: Yes.
MALVEUAX: Another meeting on Afghanistan. Let's take look at the government here. Let's take a look at the security system. Today's meeting essentially taking all of those components together and taking a look at the resources. We know that there have been troop suggestions by General McChrystal, some recommendations about troop numbers. They're going to take a look at how do they allocate those resources and just what troop numbers are they talking about?
COLLINS: No kidding. Suzanne Malveaux in front of the White House for us today. Thanks so much.
And speaking of strategy and commitment, a new report says one scenario for Afghanistan could involve as many as 80,000 additional troops. Want to bring in our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr with a little bit more on this. So Barbara, what are you hearing? What kind of numbers are we talking about really?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, you know, by all practical purposes. General McChrystal has submitted a range of options. That's what they do in these cases. The Associated Press interestingly was reporting yesterday anywhere from 10,000 to 80,000. Does anybody really think 80,000 additional troops are going to Afghanistan from the United States? Not really. That's not very sustainable.
You don't have the troops available. You can't really support that in a country like Afghanistan where the infrastructure and the facilities and bases are very limited. By all accounts it is the centrist position of about 40,000 troops that General McChrystal is really looking at really hard and is really advocating to the president. But very importantly, people should remember, General McChrystal has also many times publicly said you could still send tens of thousands of troops to Afghanistan and not succeed.
COLLINS: Right.
STARR: You can't buy down the risk enough if you don't solve the problem Suzanne was just talking about. Corruption in government. Lack of civil structure in the country. And an Afghan security force that is really capable of looking after themselves. Heidi.
COLLINS: Exactly. A lot of training involved. Interesting, too, pretty amazing really what the Pentagon announced yesterday. I know you're familiar with it by way of military recruitment goals. Something like for the first time in 35 years every one of the branches met their recruitment goals.
STARR: For the first time since 1973, all volunteer force, all of the military services have met all of their recruiting goals across the board, active duty, reserves, guard, all of it. You know, why is that? Well, certainly, I think we all understand one of the reasons is the economic downturn. Certainly has led more people to look to military service as a job especially with the health care benefits that it provides to them and their families.
There are also a lot of recruiting bonuses out there. Hard cash if you sign up. So one of the really interesting questions is if President Obama's economic program works, and the economy improves, will the military then become victim to it and once again have a hard time recruiting? Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. We certainly appreciate all the recruits that have signed up knowing full well that the chances of them actually going to war are very, very high. So we will continue to watch that story as well. Thanks so much. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
Let's take a quick look now at Capitol Hill where a couple of House committees are discussing the defense strategy as well. You are looking live now at the House Budget Committee. They are looking at the cost of current defense plans.
Meanwhile, the House Armed Services committee hearing testimony on the situation specifically in Afghanistan. We'll watch those for you.
It went through weeks of talks and a mountain of amendments but a health care reform billed as having the best shot at bipartisan support has cleared its committee. Now it comes an even tougher task of reconciling it with other reform plans. Our congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar has her work cut out for her today. Joining us live from Capitol Hill. All right. Brianna, so we know these closed door meetings are going to be taking place today. Let's start with the Senate Finance Committee's vote. Not completely along party lines if you count one person.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One person, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe. That lone Republican. That said she made it clear that she felt she needed to vote yes on the Senate Finance Committee bill to help move this process to a new phase but she stressed again to me this morning, Heidi, when I spoke with her that this doesn't mean that she's going to vote yes on a bill before the full Senate.
She is particularly concerned that when the Senate hashes out its differences with the House, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has the votes for a public option, Senator Snowe is concerned that that negotiation will push this bill to the left and so she's really -- there's still some time to be seen if she's going to support this bill ultimately.
COLLINS: Yes, interesting, too, I was listening to Paul Begala last night who brought us back to health care and the hurdles that it went through last time around Clinton administration. He said, you know, they had three Republican votes so this one Republican vote this time around fascinating to look at. Who are going to be the key players today now as they try to merge these two bills in the Senate?
KEILAR: Yes, this afternoon the first step in this new phase Senate majority leader Harry Reid will be refereeing this process. Also going to be at the table with him, Senator Max Baucus, the head of the Senate Finance Committee which passed its bill yesterday as well as Senator Chris Dodd who shepherded the Senate Health Committee bill through in July.
So, those are the two Senate bills that need to be, really for lack of a better term squished together and also Rahm Emanuel, the president's chief of staff, will be at this table and those are really the players just a few of them, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, what's the next step after this then?
KEILAR: So, after they figure out how to take these two bills and turn them into one bill, then it would have to go to the Senate floor for debate. We're expecting that will happen in late October and then a vote sometime in November. That is not the end of the road at all after that assuming it is time the House passed its own bill.
The Senate and the House have to work out their differences and come up with a final bill. Both House and Senate will have to pass that bill and only then can they send something to President Obama's desk hopefully say Democrats by the end of the year.
COLLINS: When does anyone start seeing change with their health care, Brianna?
KEILAR: Well, it's going to take a few years. Because some of these policies don't go into effect for a few years certainly.
COLLINS: Yes. All right.
KEILAR: It's not instantaneously.
COLLINS: Yes. Just a quick reminder for everybody out there, obviously.
Brianna Keilar, the long process watching it all for us from Capitol Hill. Thanks so much.
Roads flooded, trees and power lines down. A powerful storm slams California and some people fear the worst is yet to come. People in the areas that were scorched by wildfires now are on alert for mudslides. Before the rains, strong winds kicked up dust storm near Bakersfield. Three people were killed. Five others hospitalized when 11 cars and big rigs smashed into each other.
Rob Marciano has been watching the situation in California and has the very latest for us now. Hey there, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Heidi. Some of these winds that you're talking about were pretty impressive, not only inland but along the coast as well. Check out some of these numbers. The Los Gatos number in San Francisco, those are at higher elevations but not really downtown proper.
But nonetheless these are measures. Eighty-seven-mile-an-hour wind gust there at Twin Peaks, San Francisco, 75 miles an hour. Oakland, California, 58. Monterrey, 51. Monterrey not only we have a wind damage or at least some power outage but also mudslide. OK. The center of the storm is up through here now. There's a fair amount of punch that's coming across east between San Francisco and Los Angeles. And with that comes some moisture as well.
And the bulk of the moisture right now is kind of heading into Santa Barbara and getting stretching more toward the San Gabriel mountains where there's been a couple wildfires not only this past year but in 2008 and that is definitely of concern. We had one mudslide near Monterey Bay in Watsonville and hopefully we can just keep it to that today. If we can get through today, I think we'll be all right.
Because the storm itself is beginning to spread out a bit. A lot of the moisture and energy going up into parts of the pacific northwest. So we get through today and I think we'll be OK but getting through the next six to 12 hours is certainly going to be an issue. Here's a shot of L.A.. I'm not sure what intersection say this is. It may very well be sunset. Either way, it's not sunny at all. Obviously, the wet roadways there and for the first - to be the first rain across Southern California that makes driving a little bit slick. So be aware of that.
Southern parts of Georgia seeing some rain. The good news with this particular rain event is that it's not quite as bad, I don't think, as we thought yesterday might be. So that's good news. Low pressure kind of moving across the southeast but I think tomorrow there will be another little wave that develops and that may give the southeast another batch of rainfall.
So, we're watching those two particular storms, Heidi, pretty early for this time of year to get a storm this strong across the west coast but it happens. Not only is this an small typhoon but we're in an El Nino year and these two storms in the southeast and the west coast are winter like El Nino signature. So we may see more of this in the coming months.
COLLINS: A-ha, winterlike El Nino signatures. Is that what you said?
MARCIANO: It's a sign.
COLLINS: It's a sign. I like that. All right. Very good, Rob. We'll check back.
MARCIANO: See you later.
COLLINS: They gave out millions in bonuses after taking billions in taxpayer money. Well, now insurance giant AIG planning to do it again but this time the Treasury might not play along.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Let's go ahead and take a minute to check out the Big Board there to the positive by 8,177. You see it resting just below that 10,000 mark that we're all excited about breaking through at 9954. We'll continue to watch those numbers and get a check of the markets in just a moment.
Meanwhile, another sign people are holding onto their money. The Commerce Department reports retail sales dropped 1.5 percent last month. That is the largest amount this year. But it's less than economists expected. The decline due in part to a drop in auto sales after the Cash for Clunkers program came to an end.
Remember how angry some people were when AIG paid out millions in bonuses after taking billions in bailout money? Well, the insurance giant has plans to do it again. Will the Treasury Department stand in the way this time? Christine Romans joining us live from New York with more on this. Hey, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there.
COLLINS: An inspector general for TARP, in his report today very critical of the Treasury over this particular issue.
ROMANS: Critical of the Treasury's handling of this big brouhaha back in March when we found out the Financial Products Division of AIG was due for some $475 million in bonuses after this very division took this venerable insurance giant to the brink and the global economy to the brink. Well, let's look at the piece of the pie.
There's still money to go out. There's still $198 million still owed. Retention bonuses to people that work at the Financial Products Division. Forty million won't be paid. These people either left the company or didn't meet the terms and won't get their retention bonuses. Two hundred thirty-seven million have been paid out. Now some of that has been given back.
You might remember there was a plea by the former CEO of the company who said anybody who makes more than $100,000 on these bonuses, the big people who got bonuses should give some of those money back. 19 million has come back. But there's another big tranche that is expected to go out in 2010.
And this inspector general reports this bailout watchdog says the Treasury Department's special pay master Ken Feinberg is going to rule that all that money can't go out. That $198 million can't be paid.
So, it's interesting. The TARP watchdog, the bailout watchdog, critical of the Treasury Department for not communicating better and seeing that this problem was coming with the AIG bonuses but also saying that the Treasury Department is going to try to make sure that money doesn't go out.
COLLINS: So, has anything changed on Wall Street? I mean, JPMorgan, have you seen the report? $3.6 billion in profits? What's going on with them?
ROMANS: It's a good question, Heidi. Because last year, look, I mean, we're talking about last year's bonus for AIG still trying to figure out make sense of this Financial Products Division and its bonuses and then we get an earnings report from JPMorgan today that shows $3.6 billion in earnings. I mean, its profits six fold increased over last year. Very, very difficult terrible time for the financial sector.
$3.6 billion making money on trading, making money on underwriting and not making money on credit cards I will point out. Anything touching the consumer is still very weak for the bank. It's making its money on traditional sort of Wall Street operations. But you're right, what has changed? This is almost business as usual in many respects when you look at some of the profits of these financial giants.
COLLINS: Well, is it bad that they're making that much money?
ROMANS: Well, you want the system to be healthy, right? That's why we put so much of taxpayer money at risk because pretty much everybody of all political stripes, from Henry Paulson and George Bush to the new administration, right, they were all looking down the pike a year ago and decided that we needed to put a lot of money at risk to make sure that we were keeping the financial system healthy. And now we are seeing signs that the financial system is healthy. There are profits developing in some of these quarters.
COLLINS: Got it. You have a "Romans' Numeral," too?
ROMANS: I did. The "Romans' Numeral" is 143,400. This number, Heidi, is a fascinating "Wall Street Journal" analysis of the average protected pay at the top financial firms this year. It's up $2,000 from the record in 2007. So you could see Wall Street compensation benefits this year surpass a record that was hit before the financial crisis.
COLLINS: All right. We're watching all the numbers, trying to make them make sense. Thank you so much. Christine Romans.
A big baby and a fight over health insurance. Parents fight back after they're denied coverage. We'll tell you why.
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COLLINS: A first look at a kidnapping victim 18 years after she was taken. "People" magazine released this cover photo of Jaycee Dugard this morning. She also gave the magazine a statement saying she's happy to be back with her family. Dugard is now 29 years old. She was 11 when she was kidnapped in California in 1991. Kidnapping suspects Phillip and Nancy Garrido have pleaded not guilty in the case.
Seeking clemency for John Allen Mohammad. He is the convicted mastermind behind the sniper attacks in and around Washington seven years ago. His attorney notes on his web site that he will ask Virginia's governor next week to spare his client's life. Mohammed is set to be executed November 10th for killing Dean Harold Myers, one of the 13 shooting victims.
(INAUDIBLE) today, a former regional manager for a political advocacy organization known as A.C.O.R.N., Amy (INAUDIBLE) and the group are accused of knowing about an illegal bonus system that paid volunteers to register new voters for the 2008 presidential election. If convicted, she would receive mandatory probation. A.C.O.R.N. could be fined thousands of dollars.
In this morning's "Daily Dose," an increasing number of healthy people are coming down with swine flu. The CDC says new research shows more than 45 percent of adults hospitalized with the H1N1 flu did not have a pre-existing condition. Still, the majority of those hospitalized with the virus did have chronic medical conditions like asthma or diabetes.
Fighting back. Paid off for these Colorado parents. Their baby was considered too fat to get health insurance. Just days after being denied coverage, the insurance company changed its policy. Tim Ciesco (ph) of our affiliate KKCO reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM CIESCO, KKCO REPORTER: Bernie Lang is a morning anchor for KKCO 11 News in Grand Junction, Colorado. But this afternoon, he and his wife, Kelly, are on the other side of the news, talking about how the health care crisis has affected them.
BERNIE LANG, KKCO-11 NEWS ANCHOR: I'm not sure what they expected us to do really. CIESCO: At four months, their son, Alex, already weighs 17 pounds, putting him in the 99th percentile for infants in his age, according to federal guidelines. When they called Rocky Mountain Health Plans last week, the company told them they only covered people up to the 95th percentile and Alex was too big to receive insurance. Now, just days later a different tune.
LANGE: He said Rocky Mountain Health plans could change the policy not just for us but the policy in general.
CIESCO: Rocky Mountain Health Plan CEO Steve Erkenbrack says the matter was first brought to his attention a after multiple media sources ran the story, interviewing the company's policies he determined the 95th percentile cut off is appropriate for adults who may be overweight but not someone like baby Alex.
STEVE ERKENBRACK, ROCKY MOUNTAIN HEALTH PLANS: You're talking about a two, three, four month old baby who is breastfeeding. It just doesn't make any sense to apply those general population criteria to this.
CIESCO: Now he says Rocky Mountain will no longer use a baby's weight to determine if they get coverage.
ERKENBRACK: The right thing to do is find a way to cover the baby. That's what we did today.
CIESCO: The Lange's say they are relieved their son has insurance but are now more worried than ever about the state of our nation's health care system.
LANGE: Kind of bittersweet because we know there are millions of other people are without coverage.
CIESCO: And now both they and Erkenbrack are taking to the national airwaves hoping their story shows just how important some kind of reform is.
KELLI LANGE, MOTHER OF ALEX: A four-month-old not having insurance is just a very small particle in this big, huge world.
CIESCO: And what can happen when two sides come together to make the system work.
KELLI LANGE: If we can do this this fast, then why can't, you know, it be done in Washington?
ERKENBRACK: Finding a way to fix it without getting emotional about it frankly maybe Washington could take a page out of the book of Grand Junction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Again that was our Tim Ciesco, of our affiliate station, KKCO in Grand Junction, Colorado. All right. We are just a few points away from that up mark we've been looking at. The 10,000 mark. Can the Dow do it? Will it be today? We are watching the big board right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: Dow at 10,000? Something we haven't seen since last October. But we could get there today. We're watching closely. Kind of like watching a boiling pot. Stocks popped at the open, thanks to upbeat economic and corporate news we've been telling you about. Susan Lisovicz is also watching the action from the New York Stock Exchange. Good morning to you, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. The Dow is such a tease, isn't it Heidi?
COLLINS: I know!
LISOVICZ: ... It got within 23 points of 10,000. Still seeing a nice rally, but we're off the highs of the session. There's a bit of resistance. You don't have to be much of a betting woman to say that it's going to get there if we get more optimistic corporate earnings reports like we have today.
What exactly is happening today? We have the first major tech company and the first big bank to report the results for the last three months. Intel, a big chip maker. And just about everything we use uses chips. It's profit. It's sales. It's outlook better than Wall Street expected.
JPMorgan, big bank. It made more than $3.5 billion in the last three months. $3.6 billion. Let's be specific. That's six times greater than a year ago at this time. Why is that? Well, the investment banking business is much stronger, although the CEO, Jamie Diamond, is warning that credit losses may be problematic in the near term.
So, JPMorgan shares and Intel shares each up about 3 percent, and that's giving the markets some lift. I should mention quickly, retail sales from the government. They fell but not as much as expected. September was interesting because we didn't have Cash for Clunkers. If you took auto sales out, the overall number actually rose.
You got me, right? You follow me. So, that's optimistic. That's a good thing. And that's why you're seeing the Dow and NASDAQ and S&P, everything higher. We're just not at 10,000 yet.
COLLINS: Obviously we knew the Cash for Clunkers program wasn't going be around forever. So, interesting to look at those numbers. So, listen, even if the Dow hits 10,000 or goes past it -- I mean, its' exciting, we want to see that number and all that -- but really, what does it mean? We have a lot of ground to cover in the markets still.
LISOVICZ: Yes. We do. Because Heidi, we want to retire eventually, right? COLLINS: Yes! Hello?
LISOVICZ: Exactly. So, we just don't want to weep every quarter when we look at our statements. Yes. Last October, last time Dow was at 10,000. The October before that, '07, the Dow got to 14,164. That's the closing high. So, yes, we have a lot of ground to make up.
You know, we still have lots of problems out there. JPMorgan, one of the strongest banks by the way, added $2 billion to its loan loss reserves in the last quarter because it's worried about rising defaults in mortgages and credit cards. We still have some problems. They're just not as big as they were earlier this year, and that is one of the reasons why the market has been rallying since March.
COLLINS: Yes. Sustainability, though. That's the key word, obviously. We'll talk more about that in coming days. All right. Susan...
LISOVICZ: You better believe it.
COLLINS: Susan Lisovicz, thank you from the New York Stock Exchange.
The Treasury did nothing when AIG gave out bonuses earlier this year, but now it's telling the insurance giant to scale back future payouts. That's according to Neil Barofsky testifying today on Capitol Hill. Live pictures there for you. Barofsky oversees the Troubled Assets Relief Program. AIG used billions from T.A.R.P. to avoid collapse, as you remember, but it went ahead and paid out millions in bonuses.
He's accused of masterminding a scheme to bilk investors out of billions, and today a Texas money man is appearing in court. It's a status hearing for Alan Stanford, who was arrested in June. His company allegedly sold fake deposit certificates to their clients. The result: an estimated $7 billion in losses for investors.
One big health care hurdle jumped but a lot more to come on this long-distance reform. Of course, here's what we know. The Senate Finance Committee passed an $829 billion plan to extend coverage to an additional 29 million Americans. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the proposal would still leave 25 million people uninsured by 2019. About a third of those uninsured would be illegal immigrants.
Right now, 46 million people do not have health insurance now. In yesterday's 14-9 vote, Republican senator Olympia Snowe was the only committee member to cross party lines. Senior Democrats now begin talks to find a consensus between the Finance Committee bill and a more liberal measure by the Health Care Committee.
House members are continuing their work as well. They will try to merge three other reform bills.
Back to the reform bill that made its way out of the Senate Finance Committee. Democrats didn't need Olympia Snowe's "aye" vote for passage, but it was a symbolic vote for them. Jim Acosta now with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The day started with a 50/50 chance of Olympia Snowe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to sign this?
SENATOR OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: What? (INAUDIBLE) I'm always evaluating it.
ACOSTA: Calls were once again flooding her office with questions pouring in asking how the Maine Republican would come down on the Senate Finance Committee's version of health care reform. Even her committee colleagues were waiting in suspense.
SENATOR TOM CARPER (D), DELAWARE: It's a question on a lot of people's minds. Senator Snowe is a great, thoughtful and deliberate legislator.
ACOSTA: The wait finally ended.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Snowe?
Ms. Snowe, aye.
ACOSTA: Snowe who had voted to pass President Obama's stimulus bill again gave the White House a crucial victory.
SNOWE: When history calls, history calls. And I happen to think that the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of Congress to take every opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to solve the monumental issues of our time.
ACOSTA: In doing so, she defined a party that's fought the White House agenda at nearly every turn.
SENATOR ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: It's going to be an arm and leg of everybody and it isn't going to be better health care in the process.
ACOSTA: The risks for Snowe were not lost on the president.
OBAMA: And I want to particularly thank Senator Olympia Snowe for both the political courage and the seriousness of purpose that she's demonstrated throughout this process.
ACOSTA (on camera): What made you decide to cast the vote the way you did?
(voice-over): Contrary to her GOP colleagues, Snowe told us she voted to lower health care costs.
(off camera): This will lower costs for consumers? That's your view?
SNOWE: It is. Absolutely. Ultimately, we want to make sure that that is the case, and making sure it's affordable at the outset.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Her staff notes the senator has a history of fierce independence that extends outside the world of Washington. Orphaned as child, Snowe's first husband died in a car accident, experiences that made her self-reliant. To reaffirm that independent streak, she told us her support for the final health care legislation is anything but a sure thing.
(on camera): And it's still not clear how you're going to vote in the end? You made that clear today?
SNOWE: That's correct. Yes, because a lot of changes could along the way. I think that everybody shares that, you know, trepidation and concern about how it materializes and unfolds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Even though Democrats didn't need her vote to pass the bill through the Finance committee, Snowe's support was historic. Becoming the first Republican to back Democratic health care reform efforts, Snowe has signed on to a bill that's now advanced further than Clinton Care did back in the '90s.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
COLLINS: Want to let you know Senator Max Baucus, the health care reform architect, he will be live in the CNN NEWSROOM, coming up next hour. We'll be talking to him about what's next in the health care reform debate. Make sure you stick around for that.
Meanwhile, President Obama talking strategy for Afghanistan today. He's meeting right now with his national security team for the fifth time. They are discussing the future of operations in Pakistan as well as actions in Afghanistan. Word from the White House, the president will not consider a request for more troops until they hash out the new strategy.
The Associated Press reports that request could be for as many as 80,000 troops. That's one of the scenarios reportedly included in the assessment from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.
Britain apparently ready to send more troops to Afghanistan. Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced he would commit another 500 troops to the international security force there, but he says the security task must ultimately fall on the Afghans themselves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: But in the longer term, what we want to see is the Afghan forces themselves able to take responsibility with the police in Afghanistan for areas of the country so that our troops as a result of that are able to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Britain already has 9,000 troops in Afghanistan. That's the second-largest commitment behind the United States.
Leave the Cold War and the past to focus on dangers of the future. That's the message from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Moscow. Clinton is wrapping up her five-nation tour in Russia today. On a Russian radio show, Clinton said powerful nations like the United States and Russia must find ways to cooperate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States is not threatened or worried by relationships between other countries. We just want to be sure that there's a sense of equity and parity in this partnership world that we're developing, because we have so many difficult challenges. And it's imperative for countries like Russia and the United States and China to lead against the forces of destruction so that we can stand united against those who would undermine the opportunities that we're seeking to promote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The United States would like Russia to support possible sanctions against Iran, but this trip did not lead to a breakthrough on that issue.
Time now to check some of our top stories this morning. Florida police are hoping to talk to the victim of a brutal attack for the first time today. Police say the 15-year-old was badly burned when schoolmates through rubbing alcohol on him and lit him on fire. They say it looks like it was retaliation for the boy's family pressing charges against another boy for stealing a bicycle. Five teenagers are now charged in connection with that attack.
A runaway teen says her father threatened to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity will be returned to Ohio. The 17-year-old, Rifka Bary (ph), left her family in Columbus, Ohio, in July and moved in with a minister and his family in Orlando, Florida. She was later placed in foster care. A Florida law enforcement investigation found no credible threats to Bary.
The Pentagon says they've met all of their military recruiting goals for the first time. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines met the goals for both active recruits and reservists. It's the first time since the inception of the all-volunteer force in 1973. Ninety- six percent of the recruits have a high school diploma. That's the highest rate in 13 years.
(INAUDIBLE) the recession. A new study that looks at who may be struggling the most, pointing at the plight of working moms.
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COLLINS: Let's go ahead and get a check of the weather situation across the country right now. Just the man to do it. Meteorologist Rob Marciano standing by in the Severe Weather Center.
Boy, you know, even my little 8-year-old man is at home, saying, "Mommy, when is the rain going to stop?".
MARCIANO: Boy, that's -- you know, that young man doesn't complain much, either.
COLLINS: No. He's a good guy.
MARCIANO: That tells you something right there. All right, Riley, we'll try to knock it down for you. It's not quite as wet today as we thought it would be. So, there's some inspiration for you.
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COLLINS: Yes. That was a big fire, obviously. We reported on it for many, many days here. We'll see the fallout now. Thanks so much, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right. You got it, Heidi.
COLLINS: After two weeks, the search for earthquake survivors is over in southeast Asia. The Associated Press says Indonesian officials called off the effort. Searchers were digging through the landslides to find more victims. Now, 300 missing people are officially declared dead. That raises the death toll to more than 1,100 people.
This was only the latest natural disaster to hit Indonesia, in fact. And when the next time comes, officials want to be prepared. They are staging a tsunami drill, and our Dan Rivers was there.
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DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is the tsunami drill in operation. You can see there are loads of people who are pretending to be injured coming into this tsunami refuge. And this is the first time this is being done on an international basis.
They have done drills like this before, but this is the first time that it's been done internationally. It seems to have worked well. We've heard the alarm going off and people running down the streets after a supposed earthquake, and the alarm sounding signaling there could be a risk of tsunami.
SIMON FIELD, UNDP: I'm very confident that people will be a lot more organized. It's not just the tsunami drill, but the infrastructure that the government has put in there is (INAUDIBLE). There are places for people to run to when there's an earthquake and when the sirens go off. The government now has infrastructure in place to inform people, coordinate the resources. The government (INAUDIBLE) everything when there is another potential tsunami in the future.
RIVERS: This system involves 28 countries in total, and the idea is that there are a series of buoys out at sea which are linked up to satellites, and when they detect that a tsunami wave has passed them, the information is relayed to the (INAUDIBLE) and then relayed up the coast here.
The alarm is sounded and supposedly everyone is supposed to gather at designated points like this. A tsunami center, strongly built buildings with a high refuge on the top that people can take shelter. So, four-and-a-half, almost five years on since the 2004 tsunami that caused such devastation here. They're doing a drill for real, and so far it seems like it's working well.
Dan Rivers, CNN, in Bandache (ph).
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COLLINS: Caught in the recession. A new study that looks at who may be struggling the most, pointing at the plight of working mothers.
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COLLINS: Some people have heard this recession be called a "man session" because men have suffered more layoffs. But a new study says women, espeically working moms, are feeling the pain more acutely. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York looking at all of this.
So, Poppy, tell us what this means. More acutely. Why are working moms being hardest hit?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: They are pulling double duty, Heidi. You and so many people know it well. Work at work. Work at home. A new study out. It's from Citigroup, and it just came out today. And the findings are really fascinating. Let's go through them.
When you look at the numbers here, it says that 53 percent of working moms are pulling longer hours, compared with 24 percent of women without children and 33 percent of men, so a big difference there. What it also says, the pain of this recession has been transformational. It has really changed people.
What the study has found, Heidi, is that 75 percent of women with children say the way they spend and save their money has changed forever. That could have a major, major effect on the economy since -- get this, Heidi -- women, we, control 80 percent of total consumer purchases. Take a look.
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LISA CAPUTO, E.V.P CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETING: Women are an economic force that have to be reckoned with, and they'll account for half of the private wealth in this country by next year. So, if they're feeling that they're spending and savings habits are going to be permanently changed with this economic downturn. That could have profound long-term implications.
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HARLOW: It certainly could. I can't believe it. Eighty percent of all purchases by women. Now, this study also found, Heidi, it's not just working families that are cutting back. They found that two- thirds of women with assets greater than $250,000 a year are also changing their spending habits, Heidi. Really interesting stuff.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes, it is really interesting stuff. What about the end of the recession? Are women feeling optimistic, or maybe more optimistic than men, that things are improving?
HARLOW: No. Not at all. We're pessimistic or maybe realistic; we'll see how to turns out. What this study show is that three in five women think the economy has further to fall. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
And the woman you just heard from, Lisa Caputo from Citigroup, she says one of the upsides to all of this is that women have been reassessing. Many working moms seen going back to school, improving their economic opportunities, and she says women should focus on saving as they earn, planning for time-outs in life to have kids, etc., then go back to work, and she recommended this. Don't cash in your savings when you switch jobs.
Some interesting findings, seeing women are getting hit harder, at least when it comes to how much they're working in this recession.
COLLINS: Hard being a girl, darn it. All right. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
HARLOW: Sure.
COLLINS: White model, black face. Is French Vogue's photo spread racist or high fashion?
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COLLINS: French "Vogue" magazine famous for pushing the fashion envelope, as you know. A photo spread, though, in this month's issue has triggered outrage over a white model posing in blackface. Is it high fashion or just highly offensive? Jason Carroll following the controversy.
BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The imagery an embarrassing chapter in American entertainment. Blackface.
Popularized decades ago in minstrel shows and movies like 1927's "The Jazz Singer" but not a relic of the past. Pictures from French "Vogue's" latest edition showing a white Dutch model in blackface and body paint, wearing ethnic inspired clothes. Editors may say it's high fashion. It was something far more offensive to most of those we showed it to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anybody in this day and age slathers black paint on a white face and expects everybody to just be okay with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They think they're pushing the envelope. But really they're just being offensive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clearly for fashion. You know, it's not made for any political purpose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think there are a lot of beautiful black women who could have probably played that role.
CARROLL: French "Vogue" did not return our calls for comment. Critics say without context, readers are left to assume the worst.
CHARLTON MCILWAIN, NYU PROFESSOR, RACE & MEDIA: What you see simply is another white performer being dressed up in blackface for the amusement, for the profit of whites.
CARROLL: The issue coming a week after a popular Australian talent show ran into trouble for this. American judge Harry Connick Jr. criticized the group's depiction of the Jackson 5. The show's host later apologized.
HARRY CONNICK JR., MUSICIAN: You know we've spent so much time trying to not make black people look like buffoons that when we see something like that we take it really to heart.
CARROLL: Outside the United States, it's not just Australia where blackface is still entertainment. In Japan, a popular soul group called Gosperat (ph) sells out shows. In Mexico an offensive looking comic book character ended up one of the country's national stamps in 2005. Despite criticism from the White House, the stamp was never pulled.
MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS, BET CONTRIBUTOR: While we've come a long way, baby, we had a long way to come from. We still have a long way to go in terms of our global image.
CARROLL: Pop culture experts say other countries may not have experienced civil rights movements and national conversations about race the way America has and therefore may not have the same sensitivities. So, it might be a while before blackface finally fades from the limelight.
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CARROLL: Well, that particular issue of French "Vogue" was supposed to celebrate supermodels. It featured names like Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer. No black supermodels made their cut.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.
