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The Public Option is In; 30 Children Killed on Bus in Baghdad; Pilots Lost Track of Time; Tea Party Express on a New Tour; Obama to Meet with the Joint Chiefs; Controversy Over a Veil; Assassination Attempt in Pakistan; World's Largest Rocket Delayed Again; Home Tax Credit May be Extended
Aired October 27, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, John and Kiran. That's right. If the weather holds, we will have that rocket launch live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM coming up in about a half an hour or so.
Thanks for joining us, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Lots to get to this morning.
In fact, in the cockpit and on laptops. The Northwest pilots who overshot an airport may actually now be grounded for good. We'll get you the very latest on that story.
And also, 30 children trapped in a bus as bombs went off. Our Mohammed Jamjoom is in Baghdad this morning with the chilling tape of that attack. We'll get straight to it.
Also, our Brianna Keilar is on Capitol Hill this morning where health care reform takes a new turn.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. It is Tuesday, October 27th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
On Capitol Hill today, it's all about two words -- public option. Senate majority leader Harry Reid announced he will add a government plan to health care reform, but that states will have the choice to opt out of it.
The move rallies liberal Democrats but may further alienate moderate members of both parties. Here's what President Obama had to say last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now is the time to pass health care. We're not going to wait another year or a year after that or a year after that. Now's the time to do it!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Let's get the very latest now from Capitol Hill and CNN congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar.
Brianna, good morning to you. It seemed doubtful, even recently, that the Senate bill would actually have a public option.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes -- no, that's right, Heidi. So if you feel like you have whiplash, there is a reason.
COLLINS: Yes.
KEILAR: Because as soon as a couple weeks ago, there was this sense that the prospects for a public option in the Senate were pretty dim. And then yesterday, Senator Harry Reid -- and we knew this was coming over the last couple of days -- came out and said he is going to go to the floor, the Senate's going to vote on a bill with a public option and that thing that makes it a little less liberal is that states would have this option to opt out.
So if they don't want to do the public option, they can say we're not going to do that. But still, this is very risky for a number of reasons. First off, there are a number of moderate Democrats who have misgivings about the public option who have not said that they are going to sign on for this.
And they still have concerns. And not only that. Democrats really have only had one shot at getting a Republican vote on a health care reform bill in the Senate. That's Maine senator Olympia Snowe who made it clear yesterday that she was not happy about this announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: It's regrettable, because I certainly have worked in good faith all of these months on a bipartisan basis, and as you know, have been standing alone at this point as a Republican in order to do so, because I believe in good public policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So, again, this is very risky for Senator Harry Reid. Today, next step really is trying to see where Democrats stand. That's why I have this, Heidi. We're going to be running around...
COLLINS: What's that?
KEILAR: This is a tape recorder. We're going to be running around in areas where we can't take cameras and we're going to be talking to some of these moderate Democrats, trying to figure out whether they are going to sign on to this. Because my colleague, Dana Bash, yesterday asked Harry Reid, do you have the 60 votes?
COLLINS: Exactly.
KEILAR: I think she asked him about three different ways, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes.
KEILAR: And he sidesteps over time. So clearly he's not sure if he has those 60 votes.
COLLINS: Yes. Clearly not. In fact, it's completely not for sure it will pass, at least where things stand as we speak. What happens if it fails?
KEILAR: If it were to fail, at least for Senator Harry Reid's sake, and he's facing a tough re-election battle, he would be able to say, really to his base, to his liberal base, you know, I tried with a more liberal option. So then he's got a number of other options. He could put something that's less liberal on the floor. Perhaps that health co-op plan -- that health co-op plan that we talked about, which a lot of liberals consider not to be a public option.
COLLINS: Right.
KEILAR: Or maybe he could put something on the floor then that is that public option that only gets triggered if enough people are not covered, if the costs of health care don't come down.
And then really the last option, which some Republicans call the nuclear option, Heidi, would be to kind of sidestep Senate rules and instead of going for those 60 votes, to instead go for a simple majority of 51. But he would catch a lot of flak for doing that.
COLLINS: Yes. Boy, it's getting interesting, even as long as it's been going on.
KEILAR: It is.
COLLINS: There seems to be more and more turns almost every day with this thing. All right, Brianna Keilar, our congressional correspondent, thanks, Brianna.
In fact, we are also talking about the public option on our blog this morning. Our question, what do you think about giving the states the right to participate or not, this opting out idea? Just go to CNN.com/heidi and post your comments. I'll, of course, share some of them with you a little bit later on with you in the show.
For all the latest information on the public option debate, turn to CNN's newly redesigned Web site and click on "politics." the number one online source of news just got better. Check it out, looks pretty good. CNN.com.
Deliberating over the new strategy in Afghanistan. CNN learned a short time ago the president is expected to meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff Friday to get their individual views.
Meanwhile, President Obama talked about the gravity of his decision during a stop at the naval air station in Jacksonville. His commander on the ground is asking for more troops, anywhere between 10,000 to 40,000. His visit to Jacksonville came shortly after 14 American troops died in separate helicopter crashes in southern and western Afghanistan.
We now know three drug enforcement agents were among the 14 who died. The president said it's our duty to keep their memory alive. He also made a promise to troops who may be heading there next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm's way. I won't risk your lives unless it is absolutely necessary. And if it is necessary, we will back you up to the hilt. Because you deserve the strategy, the clear mission, and the defined goals as well as the equipment and support that you need to get the job done.
We are not going to have a situation in which you are not fully supported back here at home. That is a promise that I will always make to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is pushing for a slow approach. In a speech yesterday, Senator John Kerry said the leaders in Afghanistan have to prove they can step up before U.S. troops can be successful in any mission.
We are learning new details about twin car bombings in Baghdad that killed 160 people. We now know 30 of those victims were children on a bus. And there's also a claim of responsibility for the attack.
CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is joining us now live from Baghdad.
Mohammed, good morning to you. We got some new, very telling video of this attack just this morning.
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, it's the Islamic State of Iraq, that's the umbrella group of al Qaeda in Iraq, that claimed responsibility for the deadly bombings. Now in this very, very dramatic and new video released this morning, you actually see the vehicle that has the bombs in it going through a security checkpoint in the heart of Baghdad's government district.
Goes through the checkpoint, it travels down the road. It's a time of high traffic. Then it goes across -- around a roundabout and there's a blast, a huge blast. Very dramatic pictures taken from a security camera. Right after that, you see the aftermath. There's another angle, another camera.
You see people walking around dazed, they're looking through. It's awful video. Now I can tell you we were at the scene shortly after the blast. We were at the scene yesterday as well. The mood shifted from chaos and panic to a mood of just despair and rage. People were so upset with the government for not protecting them. Heidi?
COLLINS: Boy, unbelievable video. That's for sure, Mohammed. We are also hearing now the political blame game has begun.
JAMJOOM: It is, Heidi. This is a season of politics here in Iraq. There are national elections that are supposed to happen in mid-January. There's a question as to whether they will. And there was a press conference this morning with Baghdad's governor, where he was clearly laying blame at the feet of the interior minister here.
And that's because of politics here, different parties running against each other. Nobody wants to have this laid at their feet. Everybody wants to say, there was a failure, but yesterday we were at the scene of the blast and they were saying that the security situation in Iraq was OK, except for in this area, which really seems like the Iraqi government is in a state of denial. Heidi?
COLLINS: Mohammed Jamjoom, following those stories for us, directly from Baghdad. Thanks so much, Mohammed. We'll check in later on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm pregnant, he's, you know, under 24 and neither one of our doctors has a shot available. So we thought we'd try.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has asthma, and so he's high risk, and we wanted to make sure he had a vaccine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: These are people the Center for Disease Control wants to get the H1N1 vaccine. The problem, though, there's not enough to go around just yet. So thousands of people have to stand in long lines for what little vaccine is available.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says if you don't get it the first time, try again. More vaccines should be available in the coming weeks. Forty-six states are reporting widespread outbreaks of swine flu.
Distracted by their laptops, two pilots who strayed off-course say they were not asleep at the controls.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Rains are moving to the east, travel delays there. And a big storm out west lowering snow levels and gusting up the winds once again. Weather is coming when the CNN NEWSROOM comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: They lost track of time. That's what federal investigators are saying about the pilots of a Northwest Airlines plane that overshot the Minneapolis airport by over 100 miles last week.
CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has more on what investigators found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Northwest pilots tell NTSB investigators they did not fall asleep or doze. They just had a 19-hour layover. But they say they used their personal laptop computers during the flight, a violation of company policy.
The pilots tell the NTSB they looked at the computers during what they called a concentrated period of discussion of scheduling issues arising from the merger of Northwest and Delta. The pilots also told investigators that during this discussion, they did not monitor the airplane.
They were aware of conversations on the radio, but did not listen to transmissions from air traffic control or notice messages from company dispatchers. They say they lost track of time and only when a flight attendant asked about their arrival time did they realize they had flown past their destination.
PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: These pilots were simply not paying attention for a period of time. And is that a serious offense? It is. But it's not one that I think put the lives of those people in jeopardy.
MESERVE: Delta, the parent company of Northwest, says the pilots will remain on suspension until the investigation is over. But said in a statement, using laptops is strictly against the airline's flight deck policies and violations of that policy will result in termination.
MARK WEISS, RETIRED AMERICAN AIRLINES CAPTAIN: You're always supposed to maintain situational awareness and somebody's always supposed to be watching the airplane and flying the airplane. That's your first order of duty. That's your first priority. So there really is no excuse, no reason to allow it to go to this point. It should not have happened.
MESERVE (on camera): The investigation continues. Monday the NTSB talked to the three flight attendants on the plane to get their version of events and parent company Delta has sent $500 travel vouchers to the passengers on board the errant flight.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: They're sometimes called chameleon companies, businesses that commit violations and change names to keep operating and the National Transportation Safety Board is calling them out today. It's holding a meeting on a case from Sherman, Texas last year.
Seventeen people died when a bus smashed through a guardrail, fell eight feet off a bridge and crashed. The company had been ordered to stop service for being unsafe according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. But it registered under a new name two months before the crash.
In California, firefighters have mostly contained the flames in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The wildfire has charred nearly 500 acres and had threatened some 85 homes. That evacuation order has now been lifted. For fire crews, the turning point came when Sunday's 40-mile- an-hour gusts died down yesterday.
Rob Marciano standing by in the Severe Weather Center to talk a little bit more about this, and big storm, lots of snow coming in the west, right?
MARCIANO: You know typically we get a good front coming through that will help firefighters and they seem to have at least this one under control, but the next couple of days are going to be dicey.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: The other issue, Heidi, we've been talking about this launch of this really cool rocket that's going to take us to the next generation...
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: ... in space flight. We're trying to get it up for a test flight, get it up to about 150,000 feet. The problem with that sort of elevation, and you know, rockets get pretty high as it is, we've got some pretty strong winds here and also some high clouds. So no rain or thunderstorms around Cape Canaveral, but enough high clouds and when that rocket tries to go through those high clouds, those ice crystals create friction, creates some electricity, creates some problems.
So that's the main reason -- main weather concern right now.
COLLINS: Got it.
MARCIANO: And they're going to try to get that cleared. Doesn't look all that great right now. But, obviously, hopefully if that launch goes up, we'll be able to show it to you. If it happens today, it will between now and noon.
COLLINS: Yes. Oh OK. Because I think it was 9:24 was when they're first saying...
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Well, that's where we're going. That's our next shot at it.
COLLINS: OK.
MARCIANO: And then they can postpone it thereafter until about noon.
COLLINS: Very good. All right, we'll stay on top of that. Let us know, Rob.
MARCIANO: You got it.
COLLINS: Protesters push back on the president. The Tea Party Express takes on the government as it takes off on a new tour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly, want to give you a little bit of an update on this cool rocket that we are looking at Kennedy Space Center there in Florida. Apparently this is NASA saying the world's largest rocket that's supposed to go off this morning.
It has already been delayed. It was supposed to go at 8:00 and then 9:24, which is just a couple of minutes away. Having a little bit of a wind issue. So they are waiting to continue checking those winds and make sure it's going to be safe to set this thing off, known as the Ares I-X.
It's supposed to go up and to conduct some research to help eventually return astronauts to the moon. So we are continuing to watch that. We'll let you know if and when it goes, but the window is open, a go or no-go until noon. So between now and noon, we will have our answer. Again, we'll watch it for you. Kennedy Space Center this morning.
Now for a check of some of the top stories that we are following today. California investigators are checking social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube for evidence in an alleged gang rape. Two suspects are in custody right now.
Police say as many as 15 people crowded around while the crime was being committed. None of them helped the victim or called police. The 15-year-old victim is in the hospital in stable condition.
A state representative in South Carolina says he'll introduce legislation today that could start impeachment proceedings against Governor Mark Sanford. Lawmakers are meeting in a special session today. It's their first meeting since Sanford disappeared to visit his mistress in Argentina. Today's special session was actually called to deal with expiring unemployment benefits.
President Obama touting clean energy today. He's scheduled to tour a massive solar power complex in Arcadia, Florida. The president also expected to talk about upgrading the nation's power grids with clean, renewable energy sources.
Conservatives are taking their anti-taxation, less government message on the road again. CNN's Gary Tuchman reports on the latest run of the Tea Party Express.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Ferguson family, three generations, are in a California park because they say they want to take back America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our voices aren't being heard. We are the people.
TUCHMAN: This is the latest incarnation of the Tea Party Express. A nationwide tour of protest led by conservative activists who are riding buses to demonstrations from California to Florida.
LLOYD MARCUS, TEA PARTY PARTICIPANT: I am not an African- American. I am Lloyd Marcus, thank you very much. American!
TUCHMAN: The protests are designed for people not exactly on the Barack Obama bandwagon.
(On camera): Over the next two and a half weeks, the Tea Party Express organizers have scheduled 36 rallies in 17 states. They call it their countdown to judgment day. Sounds rather biblical, intimidating, but that's just fine with most of the participants here.
MARCUS: This socialist nightmare.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): A collective warning here. A judgment is being issued for next year's midterm elections.
MARCUS (singing): And we got to vote them out in 2010.
TUCHMAN: But it's the man who might run again in 2012 that gets the most attention. And among some, very negative attention. Claims that he's a socialist, a Marxist, comparisons to Mao Tse Tung. References to his ancestral homeland of Kenya, that he has a gangster government, his face resembling the Joker in "Batman" are illustrated in a skull and cross bones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's the worst pirate ever in history.
TUCHMAN: And then there's this woman who makes no bones about how she feels.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The more he fails is better for us.
TUCHMAN: There were some counter protesters of the tea party rally in Los Angeles. Police were in place, but there were no problems.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold our sign.
TUCHMAN: At this rally in Bakersfield, California, the Fergusons brought all five of their children. Their main concern? That their medical coverage will change with health care reform.
JENNIFER FERGUSON, TEA PARTY PARTICIPANT: And I want to make sure that I can have a doctor that will care for me the proper way and that I won't be unhurt and neglected.
TUCHMAN: They're unhappy with their president. But what about the negativity their children are seeing and hearing here?
(on camera): Does that bother you having your kids see stuff like that?
FERGUSON: We make sure that we prepare our children before we enter into things like this. And they know that even though we don't agree with some of the things that he does, they are to respect him, he is our president.
TUCHMAN: A president the tea party protesters plan to criticize coast to coast.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Bakersfield, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: All right. Very quickly, we are watching this rocket that we're expecting to go up or hoping will go up, depending on the weather of course. You're looking live at pictures out of Kennedy Space Center there in Florida. The world's largest rocket, in fact.
This is the Ares I-X. We had a couple of target launches that have already passed those times today because they are concerned about wind in this situation. We have a new target launch now for 9:44. So as we continue to follow this, we'll let you know if it's a go or no- go.
We're back in a moment right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Wall Street's having a hard time finding its footing. The Dow took another tumble yesterday, posting its second straight 100-point drop.
Susan Lisovicz is in New York now with a look at what's on tap for today as we hear that opening bell.
Good morning, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. And that was the first back-to-back, triple-digit drop since June. We're set for a flat open today but we have an upbeat housing report. The just released S&P/Case-Shiller report says home prices rose more than 1 percent in August. It marks the fourth straight increase. Compared to last year, though, prices in the 20 biggest cities are still down nearly 11.5 percent. The month-to-month increase, however, is paring the overall decline.
The improving housing report may factor into another report that we get at the top of the hour. It's expected to say consumer confidence rose this month. How consumers feel often translates into how they spend.
Toys "R" Us is trying to give us another incentive to spend this holiday season. It's opening up FAO Schwarz boutiques in nearly 600 of its stores starting Sunday. FAO says it's also sending out a holiday catalog that features high-end toys like a $1,500 teddy bear and $500 riding pony.
We'll not let Reilly know about either of those, will we, Heidi?
COLLINS: No. I don't know if he's into it.
LISOVICZ: We hope not.
All this comes as gas prices continue their upward march. AAA says the national average is now $2.68 a gallon. Gas has jumped 19 cents in the past two weeks. No surprise. Oil right now is trading just under $79 a barrel. And what is higher as well, Dow Industrials, right now, up 32 points or about a third of a percent, $9,900. NASDAQ is up about a quarter of a president.
Heidi, we'll be breaking down those housing numbers over the next hour.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes. OK, very good. Those are some interesting numbers indeed.
All right, we'll continue to watch these as well. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
Yesterday was the deadliest day in more than four years for Americans in Afghanistan. President Obama says he won't rush his decision on troop levels there, but now, there is word he's calling in the joint chiefs to talk it over.
Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon for more on this. So, he's going to meet with each one of the Joint Chiefs, yes?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi.
He is now expected -- the president -- to meet with the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff Friday, most likely at the White House. The meeting has not been officially announced, but that is our understanding from talking to several sources here in the Pentagon.
The Joint Chiefs, of course, are the heads of each of the military services, the army, the navy, the air force and the marine corps. Their responsibility is to provide the troops for war. And they have been very concerned that sending a large number of additional forces would mean they'd have to break their promise to the troops that they could have a lot of time at home in between combat tours. That's been one of their concerns. And that's most likely going to be one of the things that they discuss with President Obama on Friday when they meet with him.
The military has been running a war game, you know, about how it would all look, what would happen in Afghanistan if you did send a large number of forces. One of the things they're concerned about is what would the reaction of the Afghan people be? At what point do you send so many U.S. forces, the Afghans begin to resent it and begin to see the U.S. as an occupying force?
All of this -- highly classified. People offering very few details, but it does look like the president is now beginning to enter the end game, if you will, of his decision-making -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes, apparently, they looked at two different scenarios: the larger scale of troop buildup, if you will, 40,000, and then a smaller one in between 10,000 and 15,000, and how that would look with those numbers of troops. But regarding a decision on how many troops, if any, will be sent. We can actually look to the calendar for at least some clues, right?
STARR: Yes. The clues may well be in the calendar, Heidi. The November 7th runoff election for the presidency in Afghanistan -- very unlikely that President Obama would announce anything in the United States before that November 7th runoff. But also, you look a little -- a few days down the road, November 11th, the president takes off for a trip to Asia.
So people are beginning to look at this 7th to 11th time frame as the most likely period for a public announcement -- Heidi?
COLLINS: OK. We'll be waiting, watching. Barbara Starr, thanks so much, our Pentagon correspondent this morning.
In Arlington, Texas, a woman wants fellow Muslims to stop going to the farmers market. She says she was not allowed to shop there because she wears a full veil. The manager says that's not the full story.
Here now, reporter Jim Douglas with affiliate WFAA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you today, ma'am?
JIM DOUGLAS, WFAA-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Coopers Street Farmers Market sets in a highly diversified community in central Arlington, a tossed salad of cultures, colors, and accents. But when this young woman went in to the market, she found trouble.
LATIFA AIMAQ, MUSLIM WOMAN: He was very intimidating. He began to yell, "Get out! Get out! We don't allow people with a face veil here!"
DOUGLAS: Latifa Aimaq covers all but her eyes and hands when in public, but signs in the market say, "Faces must be visible."
CHRIS PEREZ, MANAGER, COOPER STREET FARMERS MARKET: I try to explain to her. You know, it's for our safety and the safety of the customers.
DOUGLAS: Store manager Chris Perez says women in full veil rarely come in. And usually, when they do, they discreetly show their faces to his mother. But he says there were no women working the day Latifa Aimaq came in.
PEREZ: We don't discriminate period, based on race, religion, color or any other thing.
AIMAQ: I told him, "Look, we are Muslims. This is the way we dress." He did not care.
DOUGLAS: Each accuses the other of overreacting, but Aimaq says Perez made it clear why he wanted her out.
AIMAQ: He said, "I don't want the Muslims shopping here."
PEREZ: The Muslims are probably 40 percent to 50 percent of our business. They're in here all the time.
DOUGLAS (on camera): So, you're not turning them away?
PEREZ: I'm not turning them away.
DOUGLAS (voice-over): A frequent customer overheard our conversation and joined in.
TERENCE ALI, FARMERS MARKET CUSTOMER: If you're shopping in the store, they have to be able to see your face so they want to be able to see your face to protect the other customers in there. And I don't think it's wrong for a business owner to say that.
DOUGLAS: Terence Ali says he's shopped here every week for years.
(on camera): Do they know that you're Muslim?
ALI: Yes, they do.
DOUGLAS: And never been a problem?
(voice-over): There could be this time. Latifa Aimaq is urging Muslims and others to boycott the store. She says she will reveal her face when the law requires such as at an airport or when getting a driver's license photo.
AIMAQ: I began covering fully three years ago. It's not mandatory to cover your face, you know, and -- but it's highly recommended.
DOUGLAS: She's an English teacher at an Islamic school. She says she covers for modesty.
Chris Perez says he wants to honor her beliefs and customs if she'll honor his store rules. After all, he says, he needs her more than she needs him.
PEREZ: With today's economy, why would I turn down anybody's money?
$35.13, ma'am.
DOUGLAS: In Arlington, Jim Douglas, Channel 8 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: In Pakistan's capital today, militants tried to assassinate a senior military officer. It's the second attempt of this kind in a week and a sign that conflict with the Taliban is only growing.
Our Ivan Watson is standing by now live in Islamabad for more.
Ivan, good morning to you.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
This assassination attempt failed today, but it's still going to likely add anxiety to an already tense population here in the Pakistani capital.
You basically had gunman on a motorcycle attacking a senior Pakistani army officer as he was driving out of his house, heading towards the bank with his mother. Nobody was injured, the gunman escaped. But it came five days after a previous very similar attack on another senior army officer, a brigadier, and those gunmen on motorcycles succeed in killing him and his driver.
And they're basically showing the militants that the Pakistani army, the most powerful institution in this country, is no longer safe, that commanders aren't even safe just outside their own homes, Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, meanwhile -- I mean, it sounds like Pakistan has taken some steps to diffuse recent tensions with Iran in all of this.
WATSON: Yes, as if Pakistan didn't have enough problems, it has tensions with its neighbor, Iran. And yesterday, a Pakistani Frontier Corps captured eight Iranian forces crossing into Pakistani territory, released them today. The Iranians say that the Pakistani troops were coming into -- the Iranians were coming into Pakistan to chase fuel smugglers, Heidi.
These two countries have had tension. There was a suicide bomber that killed 42 people, including senior military commanders on the Iranian side of the border just a little over a week ago. And Iran has accused Pakistan of partially being behind that attack. So, these two countries have to smooth over these differences along a very tense and difficult border where there's a lot of drug smuggling -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Absolutely. All right. Ivan Watson watching all of it for us from Islamabad -- thanks so much, Ivan.
It's a program that gives you a tax break for buying your first home and you're running out of time to take advantage of it, unless lawmakers take action soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A look at our top stories now.
State-run TV says Iran will agree to the general framework of a nuclear plan, but wants some changes. The U.N. proposal discussed last week calls for low-enriched uranium produced in Iran to be sent abroad for further enrichment and then returned for use in medical research and treatment. The global community sees the plan as a way to limit Iran's ability to make a nuclear weapon.
Students from Washington University in St. Louis are considering mounting a protest over a Chicago bar's decision to turn away six African-American students. The students said the manager would not let them in the bar because they wore baggy pants. Well, one of the students switched pants with a shorter white student who got into the bar without a problem. Representatives of the bar said security concerns, not racism, were behind the decision to exclude the students.
And we're just hearing, there is a ship, a cargo ship, apparently, in the launch area and that is delaying, once again, this morning's launch of the Ares rocket from the Kennedy Space Center -- looking at some live pictures there. The Ares is the world's biggest rocket. It will be conducting research on this mission and could eventually return astronauts to the moon.
Weather issues, wind, specifically, going to really be the problem here as we continue to watch.
We have a window, Rob, until noon, right? And this one, now, I guess they're saying a 90-minute delay. So, something like 11:15 Eastern?
MARCIANO: At this point, yes. That's, you know, it's kind of a minute-by-minute thing here. And now, when the weather looked like it was going to be OK, you know, the rocket itself launches here and then the winds take it and trajectory typically takes it over the ocean.
So, any boat, you know, that's out there -- you know, that rocket goes awry, and you're going to get clobbered. So, they've got to wait for that sucker to clear the danger zone.
As far as what we're looking at for any sort of rainfall or thunderstorms around this area within the 30, 40-mile radius, really not a problem. So, that's not an issue either.
What has been the issue, weather-wise, have the upper-level winds, which are pretty strong, associated with some of this rainfall, and on top of that, some high-level clouds. Here they are on the satellite picture. Just some high, thin clouds and they're made up of ice crystals, just enough so when the rocket goes through there, builds up static electricity, might set off a charge or two, certainly could easily mess with some of the electronics on board. So, that's an issue here.
As far as what this weather system is doing, it's slowly creeping off to the east, and with it, a fair amount of rainfall with it. And also, now, this issued just minutes ago by the Storm Prediction Center, a tornado watch in effect for much of the Florida Panhandle until further notice.
So, this is some of the rainfall that came out of this yesterday: College Station, 2 1/2 inches; Lake Charles got five inches, two of which came in about a 30-minute period. So, a pretty active weather situation, very close to Cape Canaveral.
COLLINS: Exactly.
MARCIANO: Not right on it, but, you know, this is rocket science.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: So, you want to be exact for sure.
And if you're traveling out of the New York City area or Philadelphia, we do have some travel delays there. So, be aware of that.
COLLINS: And who...
MARCIANO: And that big storm on the west coast, we'll talk more about that next.
COLLINS: OK. Very good. And who better to handle the rocket science than our own Eagle Scout, Rob Marciano.
MARCIANO: Oh, yes, always be prepared, as we say...
COLLINS: Who knew?
MARCIANO: ... in a scouting business.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we'll continue to watch that. Who knows what's going to happen here. All right. The Ares 1-X there.
Rob, thank you. We'll check back later.
MARCIANO: OK.
COLLINS: Oh, now I'm hearing very quickly in my ear, because it keeps on changing, about four minutes, T-minus four minutes. I'm continuing to watch the monitor here as we get a bunch of different pictures coming in from NASA.
Again, if the rocket takes off, we will take you to those pictures. But again, really watching the weather here and those winds that Rob has been talking about.
The most recent delay came when a cargo ship got in the launch area and so they were thinking about delaying, but maybe they've gotten sort of a moment there where they might be able to get this thing off.
So again we're watching the clock and they did have t-minus four minutes. We watched that clock tick down just a bit. So bear with us as we continue to get more and more information with every minute.
Meanwhile, we'll move on, just in case it doesn't.
You may want to move quick on that tax credit for first-time home buyers that we've been telling you about. It is supposed to end on November 30th, but you may get an extension now if some people in the senate get their way.
Stephanie Elam has that story joining us now from New York. So Stephanie, if we have time here, unless this rocket goes off, walk us through the main proposals that they're actually considering now about extending and possibly expanding this tax credit.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right Heidi, well, the senate is hoping to get a vote done on this one, potentially even this week. And the whole idea here is to extend and we're also phasing out that $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.
So the first proposal worth looking at comes from Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, both of them Democrats, but they're considering extending the $8,000 tax credit by looping it in with the extension of unemployment benefits.
This would be for first-time home buyers who are closing on their home before April 1st and they would get the first -- they would get the full $8,000 there of that tax credit. Then the value would decrease by $2,000 in every quarter thereafter until it expired at the end of the year. So extending, but also having them wrap up by the end of next year, Heidi.
COLLINS: And another proposal is looking to, like I was saying, expand the program beyond just first-time home buyers, right?
ELAM: Yes, that's true. And this one is a more of a bipartisan plan here. This one comes from Chris Dodd, he's a Democrat out of Connecticut in the senate and also Johnny Isaacson, who is a Republican from Georgia. And what they want to do here with their plan is extend that $8,000 tax credit through next June, but it would also extend the credit to all couples who are making $300,000 or less.
Not just the first-time home buyers like you've been seeing with the other plan. Some people were saying that this one is more generous, so they've got to work the deals out...
COLLINS: Yes.
ELAM: ... between these two plans here.
COLLINS: Yes, the program already under fire because of potentially fraudulent claims, right? People taking advantage?
ELAM: Oh, that's so true. That this is one of the issues, that if you pull out of a plan and people are going to find their way around it. You know water finding its path of least resistance. And this is what the IRS is saying. COLLINS: Yes.
ELAM: They're saying they have identified about 70,000 claims where there has been fraudulent activity, potential fraud involved; even some of them from kids who are under 18 who have been applying for these credits. So obviously, they can't buy homes, they're probably not even thinking about buying homes.
So this would total close to $480 million in fraudulent cases there. But we can tell you that more than one million people have borrowed, basically, claimed money under this plan of this first home buyer tax credit. Nearly $8.5 million worth, we're talking about there. And that's of the $13.6 billion that was allocated for these tax credits for the year. That's as of October 9th.
So a lot of people have been taking advantage of it, but some people saying, you know what, we've got to get the fraud in control before we try to extend it to other people so that more fraudulent behavior can go on here. But a lot of people saying the housing market needs more help, go ahead and extend these housing credits and hopefully...
COLLINS: Yes.
ELAM: We'll be able to get the mortgage, their lending, everything moving again and the housing market stronger and stronger.
COLLINS: That would be terrific, wouldn't it?
ELAM: It would be. Kind of like rockets taking off.
COLLINS: Yes, exactly, I keep watching this thing and listening to you and trying to figure out what's happening here. But obviously, we're talking about weather and the world's largest rocket, there are a lot of changes.
Thank you, Stephanie Elam. We'll stay on top of that story, whether or not that first-time home buyer's tax credit is actually is going to be extended or not.
Meanwhile, is this going to go or not go? Go or no go is what we're waiting from NASA. Just a few minutes ago I have said that time frame was looking like four minutes away. They have since stopped the clock yet again. Not quite sure if we are dealing with a wind issue again or if the cargo ship we'd been telling you about has gotten back into the launch area.
There's a danger area that sort of surrounds where these aircraft, if you could call them aircraft, rockets, so forth, go off from the Kennedy Space Center. So they've got to make sure that everything is safe clearly and we are waiting to hear exactly what the delay is this time. Again, that window is open for launch until noon Eastern.
So they have a little bit of time to clear things up. We'll keep our eye on it and let you know what's going on. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. As we continue to watch these live pictures of the Ares rocket that we have been watching all morning long. It was originally supposed to take off at 8:00; some wind, weather delays pushed that off until 9:24, then 9:44 and now we're hearing -- not quite sure what we're hearing.
We have John Zarrella standing by at Cape Canaveral live this morning to tell us a little bit more about what's happening. It's been really interesting -- I've been listening to dispatch in my ear to hear what they're saying back and forth. And apparently this very last delay, John, you may already know this was because there was some sort of cloud directly over the launch pad. They held off once again.
We're still talking weather, yes?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No question about it. That's exactly what the issue is now, Heidi, is they have this situation that they call tribal electrification.
I have Jim Halsell here with me; he's vice president at ATK, a space exploration -- former shuttle commander. And really that's a situation where your very first time you fly this vehicle you're very concerned that you could cause some static electricity as you go up through that cloud. You don't want to do that, right?
JIM HALSELL, RETIRED SHUTTLE COMMANDER: Right. As a test vehicle, we have not understandably spent the money and the time to certify this thing as you would a production vehicle to go through all the adverse weather conditions. So we're paying the penalty a little bit today by waiting for just the right weather conditions to launch safely.
ZARRELLA: Because the concern is that if God forbid, you had to send a destruct signal to the vehicle that going through those clouds causing that status electricity might interrupt your ability to do that. That's the bottom line, right?
HALSELL: That's one of the concerns. Any time you might have stray electricity in the vehicle, you're worried about the control, the guidance, the navigation system.
ZARRELLA: So Heidi again, it is the weather here. The ship cleared out of the area. They got that resolved. They had that little sock that they were tugging on, on the very top of the vehicle you might have seen earlier.
COLLINS: I did. Yes.
ZARRELLA: It got hung up. And that was a cover over some sensors. And they managed to pull the sock free.
There have been some issues here. They are waiting on weather and it's clear over the top of us right now but it's cloudy to the west. I know you guys want to get this vehicle out of here if you can today.
HALSELL: We want to do it safely and we want to get data that we have spent the money to build this rocket to procure. So we will wait for the right time and place to launch.
ZARRELLA: And Heidi, we're going to be right here waiting as well. They have until noon so two hours and about roughly five minutes in this launch window. And if they can't go today, try again tomorrow.
COLLINS: Yes. Definitely.
John, remind us real quick as you're sitting there with Jim about why this test launch is taking place? I know it's one of four that's going to go on until 2012, I believe it is. But we're talking about moon research here.
ZARRELLA: Right.
Jim, I'm being asked -- talk a little bit about why this test today, you're moving ahead with the Ares 1 vehicle even though we're waiting on the Obama administration to officially sign off on whether this is the path it wants to go. But you're moving ahead with this test flight and others downstream, correct?
HALSELL: Right. What the President Obama administration very clearly told us to do was as we are going through the reviews to make sure that what you're doing meets the needs of the country as we move forward, continue to move forward with the program that you're on now so that you do not lose schedule, so that you do not go over budget. So we've been making our milestones continuing on even as this review continues.
ZARRELLA: Jim thanks. And again Heidi, we're here. We're standing by with you folks there as well, waiting for this hugely important day to take place here at the Kennedy Space Center -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right guys. Thanks so much.
We'll continue to watch those live pictures waiting on the Ares rocket there to take off until noon Eastern time. That's the window.
Thanks again.
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