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Senate's Turn on Health Care; Ida Heads Toward Gulf Coast; Fort Hood Rampage
Aired November 09, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: The yays are 220. The nays are 215. The bill is passed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats cheered the House passage of the health care reform bill, while the president looks to the Senate to close the deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people. And I'm absolutely confident that they will.
I'm equally convinced that, on the day that we gather here at the White House, and I sign comprehensive health insurance reform legislation into law, they'll be able to join their House colleagues and say that this was their finest moment in public service, the moment we delivered changed we promised to the American people and did something leave this country stronger than we found it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Hopes for health care reform shift to the Senate after the House approved what would be the biggest expansion of coverage since Medicare was created more than 40 years ago.
CNN's Brianna Keilar takes a closer look now at the health care bill and those who oppose it.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, it's on to the Senate now where Democratic leaders are struggling to find support for a government-run insurance plan that significantly more watered down than the one that passed the House this weekend. This is the reality that will quickly dampen Democrats' spirits after Saturday's historic, and very narrow vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): After a weekend of arm twisting, it was praise from the president.
OBAMA: Moments like this are why they sent us here to finally meet the challenges that Washington has put off for decades, to make their lives better and this nation stronger.
KEILAR: When the final vote was tallied, Democrats cheered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
KEILAR: Across the aisle, silence, and after the vote, the leader of the Republican National Committee came out swinging against the bill's government-run insurance plan.
MICHAEL STEELE, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: This is a government takeover of our health care system. Is it unnecessary.
KEILAR: The bill would extend insurance coverage to 36 million uninsured Americans. It would create a government-run insurance program and require every American to buy insurance or pay a fine. Businesses with payrolls over $500,000 would be required to offer employees insurance or pay a fine.
It would expand Medicaid and give federal subsidies to low-income and middle class Americans to help them buy insurance. The bill would also stop insurance companies from denying coverage because of a pre- existing condition or dropping people when they get sick.
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: The message was clear, it's time to begin to fix what has been a broken health care system for millions of Americans.
KEILAR: Nonpartisan congressional number crunchers estimate the House version would cost nearly $1.1 trillion over 10 years, cuts to Medicare and tax increases on wealthy Americans would pay for the provision. 39 Democrats voted against the bill and only one Republican voted for it.
REP. MIKE PENSE (R), INDIANA: Nancy Pelosi last night said that they were answering the call of history. Well, I've got to tell you, if Democrats keep ignoring the American people, their party's going to be history in about a year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Those midterm elections are looming just around the corner and especially with that in mind, the government-run insurance plan is a tough sell for moderate Democrats in the Senate. Senate majority leader Harry Reid has settled on a bill that includes a public option but it would allow states to opt out, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Brianna Keilar for us with the very latest on the health care reform bill.
Meanwhile, the president talked about passing the health care baton now to the Senate. But what happens after the hand-off? The Senate must, of course, pass its own version. And if that happens a committee would be formed to work on a compromised version of the Senate and the House bills.
Then, the compromise would require final approval from both the Senate and the House. Finally, if all of that gets the green light, it will head to the president's desk for his signature.
The health care vote was a deep disappointment to hundreds of tea party protesters gathered in Washington this weekend and across the country and other spots as well. Meanwhile, that express continues its crisscross tour with stops today in Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta. The rallies highlight opposition to massive government spending programs, bailouts, and higher taxes.
Just minutes ago we learned Hurricane Ida has weakened to a tropical storm, but the Gulf Coast remains on alert, of course, for landfall as early as tomorrow morning. It has left an ugly path across Central America. The storms' heavy rains and flooding left thousands of people homeless in Nicaragua, in nearby El Salvador, at least 124 people have died.
Warnings stretched more than 200 miles from Mississippi to Florida, so what exactly is in store for the Gulf Coast? CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is joining us now with an update from hurricane headquarters. So they still need to beware and stay alert?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. I mean, let's be honest here, a tropical storm could be very dangerous also. We're talking about winds right now though that have dropped considerably from 80 to about 70 miles per hour sustained 74 miles per hour. That is the magic number. When it gets to that point or higher, it is then classified as a hurricane.
So, this storm -- it really has fallen apart. And the real kryptonite to this thing has been well, two-fold, it's been cooler water temperatures at the same time since strong upper level winds that have just ripped this thing apart.
Right now, winds are sustained at 70 miles per hour, gusting to 85. It's about 283 miles from Pensacola at this point and just to give you the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center, we're going to expand this map for you. And as we do so, you're going to get an idea of just where this thing is headed. And we're going to put it into motion.
Look, right here in parts of South Alabama, you've got (INAUDIBLE) right here. You got, let's see Perdito Key in this area and over in this area, of course, you got New Orleans. So the storm is expected to come just to the west of Mobile Bay, if it holds true on the path, but then that low is going to track right along parts of the I-10 corridor.
Now what that's going to mean to people in parts of Alabama, into Mississippi and even into portions of say, Georgia and Florida, some heavy rainfall where you're going to see a lot of this area shaded in dark green. And even if bright greens including Baldwin County, Alabama right there, you're going to see some heavy rainfall. Now the question is, how much rain can we anticipate? Well, the latest computer models tell a story that we could see some really heavy stuff. You see some of the bands moving just south of the I-10 corridor about to come on shore. And as we take a look at those computer models, as we go into the next 48 hours it could get specially heavy in parts of south Alabama, south of Montgomery and at this area called the wire grass region of Alabama. You don't have a lot of great drainage.
So it's a real potential for flooding in this area. And then when you get back up into say portions of the Appalachians, southern end of the Appalachians and Atlanta, you have issues there where you could have some rainfall, say, five, but I'm saying the highest elevations, maybe even closer to seven inches of rainfall.
This is an area that's been inundated with floodwaters just over the last month or so, we had historic flooding. A shot now, a live image that we have from Atlanta, shows the time being fairly nice conditions. You see the hazy conditions outside now. But again, a lot of people are certainly weary of what the storm may bring and we're going to keep a very sharp eye on it for you.
That is the latest we've got for you, Heidi. Big weather story. We're going to bring you more coming up very soon. Back to you.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Well go get that phone that's ringing in the background, too.
WOLF: You got it.
COLLINS: Thanks.
If Ida strikes, the U.S. as a hurricane, it will be a rare event. Since the mid 1880s, only three hurricanes have hit the U.S. coast line in this month of November. One hit North Carolina in 1861, another hit South Florida in 1935. We should note these two came before hurricanes even had names and then, Hurricane Kate hit the Florida panhandle in 1985. All three were category I hurricanes when they made landfall.
Now to some new developments in the shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas. Congress may open hearings into Thursday's attack that killed 13 people and wounded another 29. Senator Joe Lieberman wants to know if the Army may have ignored ominous signs of Islamic extremism by the accused gunman, major Nidal Malik Hasan. We get the very latest now with CNN's David Mattingly at Fort Hood for us this morning.
So, David, Senator Lieberman is not the only person suggesting that signs may have been missed but this is a very big charge. What's going to happen next?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Those are some very big questions looming in this case, Heidi. What we know is that Major Hasan had a crisis of conscience, he had talked about this with people he worshipped with at a local mosque. He talked to his family about this. He said he was deeply conflicted about being a Muslim, being in the Army, fighting against other Muslims.
We don't know is what we -- what we don't know is what sort of contact he had officially with the Army regarding this crisis of consciousness. What we want to know and what we've been asking the Army about, what contact did he have? We know his family said that he had talked to a lawyer and actively wanted to get out of the Army. Did he actually approach the Army and talk to them about this? All of these questions have yet to be answered, as the investigation continues into exactly why this happened.
COLLINS: We do understand, too, David, that some new information came out just a couple of hours ago.
MATTINGLY: Yes, we heard from a young private who was wounded in the attack on Thursday and he tells us that he heard the shooter stand up and say, an Islamic phrase just as the shooting started. And here's what he had to say, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was sitting in what they call station 13, it's where we get basically our final outs of our RSP system. And I was sitting in about the second row back when the assailant stood up, screamed -- yelled 'Allah Akbar' in Arabic, and he opened fire.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Really? So he did shout 'Allah Akbar,' we had heard reports of that but nothing confirmed. But you were there, that's what you heard?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: Now this is significant because this is the first time we've heard from someone directly who was at the scene that this was said as the shooting began. And it's important because right now the Army leadership is being very vocal, they're very concerned about how the anger that's bubbling from this incident might somehow translate into some sort of backlash against its Muslim soldiers. They don't want to see that happen. Heidi.
COLLINS: Now, understood. And the condition of the suspect is well, I understand he's conscious now and talking, David. What does that mean for possible charges that will be filed? Because we have been hearing from the Army, don't really know, you know, when that's going to happen.
MATTINGLY: He is in critical condition but he is stable. He is conscious. He is talking to medical personnel, that's what we've been told. No confirmation yet if investigators have attempted to talk to him to question him about this incident. So that part of the investigation still not being discussed by the military.
COLLINS: Understood. All right. David Mattingly staying on top of the situation for us at Ft. Hood, Texas. Thanks, David. The man accused of opening fire on six people at an engineering firm in Orlando, Florida, is now charged with first-degree murder. An attorney for Jason Rodriguez describes his client as a mentally ill man who fell victim to countless problems. One office worker died in Friday's attack. Five others are expected to survive.
Picking up the tab for health care as companies gear up to scale back next year, employees are getting ready to pay more.
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(MUSIC PLAYING)
COLLINS: For millions of people, it's going to cost more to have health insurance next year, that's because your employer is scaling back on health care coverage. You probably know that, leaving you responsible for more of the tab. CNN's Lisa Sylvester has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For many U.S. workers, it's open enrollment time, when workers choose their company- sponsored health care plans for next year. What they are finding, many corporations have scaled back workers will have to pay higher out of pocket costs.
According to a September survey by Watson Wyatt, a company that advises corporations on benefit plans, four out of 10 employers are raising workers' deductibles and co-payments next year.
STEVE RAETZMAN, WATSON WYATT: Health care costs are still rising faster than pay, rising faster than profits. They're rising faster than almost any other input, and so those costs have to be shared. And one way to do that is to increase out of pocket costs for people who use health care services.
SYLVESTER: Congress is debating a health care bill, but will it push down those rising costs that workers have to shell out? Democrats think so.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: This is why this legislation is important. Affordability for our middle class, lowers cost for every patient, reigns in premiums, co-pays, deductibles, limits out of Colorado pocket costs.
SYLVESTER: But many Americans are not persuaded that President Obama's health care plan will put the brakes on rising premiums. According to a September CNN opinion research poll, 47 percent of Americans believe the president's health care plan will increase medical costs, only 16 percent say it will decrease costs.
The CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank, says if insurance companies have to provide coverage to those with pre-existing conditions or those who are currently denied insurance, that will inevitably push up costs. MICHAEL CANNON, CATO INSTITUTE: Is they're attracting more sick people into the new exchanges, they're giving healthy people every incentive not to purchase health insurance at all. And when you only have sicker people in the pool, the healthy people are leaving, that means that premiums are going to go up for everyone who remains.
SYLVESTER: Especially if healthier individuals opt to simply pay fines rather than pay higher amounts for health insurance. Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Berlin celebrates a night that changed the world. The fall of the wall. We'll take you there live in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In Philadelphia, the city's transit system is back up and running this morning. The city's subways, buses and trolleys have been idle for six days after 5,000 workers walked off the job. You may remember the union had threatened to strike while the World Series was in town but then waited until baseball season ended.
Military officials say two U.S. Army pilots died in a hard landing yesterday in northern Iraq. The names of the dead are being withheld until next of kin have been notified. The incident is being investigated.
A community struggles how to now to come to terms with gruesome deaths of 11 women. So far seven of the bodies found at Cleveland home of convicted sex offender Anthony Sowell have been identified. Hundreds gathered for a candlelight procession to Sowell's house, among them the mother of one of the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): As we stand here in front of this home where they found your daughter, what is that like for you?
INEZ FORTSON, TELACIA FORTSON'S MOTHER: It's hard because I want to burn it down. I really would like to. It's very hard. That's why I won't look at it.
CANDIOTTI: Why don't you look at it?
FORTSON: Because I know my baby was in there and she got killed in there. You know, it's -- and it's hard.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Sowell has been charged with five counts of murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Ronald Reagan, back on June 12, 1987, speaking to the people of West Berlin, you remember the words, some of most memorable of his entire presidency. This, of course, was a moment in history that changed the world, the fall of the Berlin Wall, setting in motion the collapse of communism across Europe.
Today is the 20th anniversary of that fall. It's being observed with big celebrations. I want to go live now to CNN's Frederick Pleitgen in Berlin with a little bit more. Frederick, good morning to you once again.
FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. A lot of the celebrations are actually already under way here in the city of Berlin. The day started out with German Chancellor Angela Merkel taking part in a church service. She also by the way met with Secretary of State Clinton earlier this morning to talk about some issues.
Now the other thing that happened earlier this morning is that Merkel went to visit one of the former border crossings between east and west, one known as the (INAUDIBLE) which was the first one to open on that night of November 9th, 1989, and it was also the one that Merkel herself went across when she went into the west for the first time. Let's listen in to what she had to say after that event today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): For joyous freedom came, and many people suffered. And if there is one thing that I find regrettable in the last 20 years, it is that it took us so long to recognize this form of injustice and to make up for it.
It is very easy to give back socialized country but all of the lives and fear in all of those lives lost and to recognize that families were thrown in jail, this is extremely difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So as you can see, Heidi, from Angela Merkel's words even 20 years after the fall of the Berlin wall, there is still a lot of healing that has to be done here in Germany between easterners and westerners but certainly you really can't overstate how important this day is for them. It's not only for Germans but really to people all across Europe, Heidi --
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Frederick Pleitgen for us today. Frederick, thank you.
The wall is gone now, but of course pieces of it are all over the world. Our Jim Clancy traces some of those fragments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That sound hammers chipping away at the Berlin Wall, it lasted days and weeks from November 9th. A wall that had seemed all about impenetrable for decades and only days before, suddenly helpless, vulnerable.
(on camera): 20 years ago the Berlin Wall surrounded a city that sealed off half a continent and imprisoned million. Today most of it is gone, or is it? In a very real sense, even more than at any time in the past, the Berlin Wall is everywhere.
(voice-over): You can find it at presidential libraries in the United States or at the United Nations, entire concrete sections emblazoned with graffiti. It is stored behind a barn in New Jersey. It's on university campuses and urban parks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a piece.
CLANCY: Blake Fitzpatrick and Vid Ingelevics have been tracing the wall in North America.
VID INGELEVICS, ARTIST: If you go to the Reagan Museum, you go to the Nixon Museum, you go to the Bush Museum, the Berlin Wall is a fixed history and it's always the same history that's told at these places.
REAGAN: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
INGELEVICS: But the small pieces, that's where things change.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought it would be like chipping a piece off of history.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes you think of the people on the other side who are basically locked in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was something, I don't know, quite delightful about having a piece of the Berlin Wall inside a cigarette box.
BLAKE FITZPATRICK, ARTIST: What we really start to become most interested in was the way in which the people's memories of the wall of that time intertwines with their personal lives and in a sense, history and memory get mixed together in the stories they tell about what the Berlin Wall means to them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unification is something that people should, you know, like cherish. And I have proof, living proof.
FITZPATRICK: It's kind of a very strange and almost magical little totem-like object that triggers memory and it brings people to some kind of, you know, understanding of history in their own terms.
CLANCY: Those small totems of memory, imagination and history have spread across the world, wherever you find them, the fragments represent not the confinement imposed by the wall when it was in place, but freedom and the strength of the human spirit to overcome all obstacles.
Jim Clancy, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: You are home and may be the single biggest investment you have. So is it worth more or less these days? We'll break down the latest numbers coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Tropical storm Ida is churning through the Gulf of Mexico, and oil prices are hanging in the balance. It's part of the real cause and real effect of what has been a volatile market the last several months. And that reaches you at the gas pump. According to AAA now, the nationwide average stands at just over $2.66 a gallon. That's a half a cent less than yesterday and nearly three cents less than a week ago. But nearly 19 cents more than a month ago.
For a bit more perspective, consider this: we are paying more than 40 cents more a gallon than one year ago.
Call it Gold Rush of 2009. The yellow metal is worth more than ever before. But before you trade in your bling for cash, it pays to do your homework. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow shows us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 10 karat.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): It's not a jewelry store...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's 14 karat, see?
HARLOW: ... or a pawn shop. This is a party. A gold party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Who's got gold?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came, to be honest with you, because I need cash.
HARLOW: Each piece is examined and the gold content is measured.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much is it worth, Bonnie?
HARLOW: So, what's Grace's payday? Well, it all depends on the purity and the weight of the gold, and most importantly, gold's current market value.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grace, $315.18.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For collecting dust in the drawer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
HARLOW: But how do you know if you're getting a good price? Michael Gusky, founder of Goldfellow, the company running this party, has been in the gold business for more than 30 years. He says here, you'll get 62 percent of the gold's value and warns you should never accept less than 50 percent.
MICHAEL GUSKY, FOUNDER, GOLDFELLOW: Some of the largest companies in this business are paid as little as 18 percent, 20 percent, relative to the price of gold.
HARLOW: We were quoted $411 for this necklace at the gold party.
But we hit the streets of New York in search of a better offer.
(on camera): So, now we're here in what's known as the Diamond District in Manhattan. We're going to go into some of the stores, the establishments. As you see across the street here they all say, we buy gold, we buy, we buy, as you see over there. We're going to go in and try and see what they'll give us for the goal necklace.
I just wanted to sell the necklace -- this necklace but I don't know how much it's worth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About $500.
HARLOW: About 500 bucks?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably like $620.
HARLOW: You'd go to $620?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HARLOW: Can I ask how much for this necklace?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $630.
HARLOW: $630.
(voice-over): But the lowest offer was still to come. We headed to Canal Street in downtown Manhattan.
(on camera): How much is it worth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You tell me.
HARLOW: I've never sold a necklace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like $200.
HARLOW: $200.
200 bucks, that was my offer. Two hundred dollars, and I said "Is this a fair price, fair market value?" He said, "Yes, very fair price."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Poppy Harlow joining us now from New York with more on this. Prices ranging from all over the place: 20 bucks, 630 for the same necklace. Big difference.
HARLOW: A huge difference. Here's the necklace, Heidi. We hung on to it. It's my producer's mother's necklace. We hung on to it because we just didn't know what the fair price was. Honestly, that last store that offered me 200 bucks? Then I told the owner, "Well, actually we work for CNNmoney," and then he said "Oh, let me calculate; actually I'll give you $550." What this teaches you is...
COLLINS: No way.
HARLOW: I know. It's crazy. You have to haggle. You have to know what you have. If it's 14 karat gold, that's only 58 percent gold. It's not pure gold, so your price is different and you have to know the price that gold is trading at.
Today, gold is right now about 1100. Merrill Lynch today predicting gold is going to hit $1,500 an ounce within the next 18 months. Know what it's worth. Be smart about this, folks. In the matter of an afternoon, Heidi, we were offered a difference of 550, which is astounding.
You can see the full story -- it's the special feature right there, on CNNmoney. But need to get out on the streets see actually what we could get for our jewelry, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes. Interesting. Were you tempted to keep the money and tell the producer...
HARLOW: I'm sure! She would have to answer to her mom, you know? But you know, it's neat to see what's actually out there. Folks have to be very careful.
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. Poppy, thank you.
Negative equity, underwater mortgages. Whatever you call it, it is devastating for an awful lot of homeowners. It means people owe more on their mortgage than their home is actually worth. But a new report shows things in the housing market are improving a bit.
Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with more details of this as we look at the markets up by about 112 points, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Pretty nice. Gold, by the way, hitting a record high, above $1,100 an ounce.
COLLINS: Wow. That's huge.
LISOVICZ: Unfortunately, we're not seeing that transferred to home prices, not yet. Anyway, 21 percent of mortgages were underwater -- that is, of course, that their mortgages cost more than the house is worth. That in the third quarter. It's a high number, it's a terrible number. But it's better than what happened in the second quarter. Less bad, something that we never thought we'd say until this year.
Another thing that is actually improving is that we see home values increasing or staying the same, and a quarter of the communities surveyed by zillow.com -- smaller places doing better than big cities, such as Fayetteville, North Carolina. Heidi, home prices increased 11 percent year-over-year. Cumberland, Maryland up 9 percent. Best performing cities -- you'll like this, Heidi -- Milwaukee, up nearly 3 percent. I know you're a Heartland girl. And Boston up 2 percent.
And, yes, we are seeing the market react to some positive news from overseas. So, we have triple-digit gains. Gold at an all-time high, as I mentioned. A nice start to the trading week.
COLLINS: Yes. Definitely nice start. Things moving in the right direction, but the 21 percent of mortgages underwater, still a huge number, right?
LISOVICZ: That's right. And you know, with rising jobless -- let's face it, another thing that we should throw out, statistic from the third quarter, foreclosures. Nearly 1 million in three months alone. One of the reasons why there were fewer homes underwater, mortgages underwater, is that some homes simply fell over, went into foreclosure.
So, that's a problem. But let me just leave it on a bright note. Prices are stabilizing, year-over-year. We saw the declines, price declines shrink every quarter this year. Still, 27 percent of homes sold for less than what the seller originally paid. It's still a tough housing market but not as bad, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. We're watching all of it closely. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
It is the latest divide in the United States. Parents who are getting their kids vaccinated for H1N1 and parents who are not. We're going to hear from both sides coming up in a moment.
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COLLINS: We have a developing story out of Iran now. A prosecutor in Tehran says espionage charges will be filed against three Americans who strayed into the country. Shane Bauer, Sara Shourd and Josh Fattal say they were hiking in Iraq and unknowingly crossed into Iran. They were arrested July 31st. A short time ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated the administration's calls for their freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever. And we would renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and release them so they can return home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Many analysts, both in Washington and abroad, believe Iran is using the case as leverage as it negotiates the future of its nuclear program.
New information this morning on the shooting rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas and the Army major who is accused of killing 13 people. Last hour, we got word that Nidal Malik Hasan is conscious and talking. It's not clear, though if he's cooperating with investigators at this point.
Meanwhile, 16 victims are still in the hospital this morning with gunshot wounds. Seven of them are in intensive care. Congress may be opening hearings into Thursday's attack now. Senator Joe Lieberman is asking if the Army may have ignored ominous signs of Islamic extremism by the accused gunman.
President Obama hailing the House vote on health care reform as "historic." Now he's calling on the Senate to complete the reform job. Senate must pass its own version, of course. If that happens, a committee would work out a compromised version of the Senate and House bills. And then the compromise would require final approval from both the Senate and the House. Finally, if all of that gets the green light, it heads to the president's desk for his signature.
To this story now. Around kitchen tables and soccer field sidelines, even at office water coolers, it seems like parents across the United States are debating whether or not to get their children vaccinated for H1N1.
Well in today's "Snapshot Across America," we want to talk more about that and bring some of the debate to you. Joining us from Atlanta this morning, Kristin Chase. She is the mother of three. And up in Philadelphia, we're happy to have Colleen Kennedy, she the mother of one. And in the middle of the country, coming to us via Skype, we have Rachel Campos-Duffy, who the mother of five and is about to the mother of six because she's pregnant as we speak.
So, ladies, thanks to all of you for being with us. Kristin, I want to start with you. You have three kids. I believe their ages are five, two-and-a-half, and 11 months. You've already had your kids vaccinated, right?
KRISTIN CHASE, GOT CHILDREN VACCINATED FOR H1N1: I did.
COLLINS: Part of that has to do with your husband who is in Afghanistan right now. Tell us a little bit more about your decision.
CHASE: Well, you know, I had to sniff it out like a bloodhound, but I did find those vaccines, and I had all three of my kids vaccinated early last week. With my husband being away, it was not only a matter of the fact that he's only getting the news, so he's seeing a lot of the reports, and he's concerned about the kids. But also you know, I'm by myself with three kids and can I deal with what has been, you know, some really sick children, you know, seven, ten days kids having to go to the E.R. and things like that all by myself.
COLLINS: Yes, understood. Have your kids have any side affects? You mentioned a really good point, it's been difficult to find the vaccine.
CHASE: It has been. Actually, they've been fine. They're still hungry. They're still whiny, so I'm pretty sure they're okay.
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: Perfectly normal, right?
CHASE: Yes.
COLLINS: OK. Colleen, I wanted to ask you. You have one daughter, she's five-and-a-half, and I believe that she is with you.
There she is. Giana. Hi, Giana.
COLLEEN KENNEDY, NOT PLANNING TO GET KIDS VACCINATED FOR H1N1: Busy drawing away.
COLLINS: Yes. You do not plan to get her vaccinated, why?
KENNEDY: I don't plan to get her vaccinated. She has an absolute excellent immune system. Could be partly because she was raised with other children first year of her life. Since it's not mandatory, I feel a choice -- without a compromised health immune system, I just don't feel it's necessary. Why fix what's not broken?
And I have to say, I feel like I'm constantly navigating through the white noise of every time you turn on the television or read the paper, swine flu, swine flu, vaccine, vaccine. My feeling is, if it was like when I was younger and you had to get a booster shot, sure, I would do it. But if given the choice, I say -- I'm not worried, I say -- I'm not concerned.
COLLINS: Is there anything that would change that opinion? If there was a swine flu outbreak at your daughter's school -- or unfortunately I think we just accidentally lost Colleen. These are all of the questions that we've been asking everybody because it seems like there is a lot of opinion out there.
Rachel, you are still with us. I know you have five kids, we mentioned you are pregnant right now. You're not planning on getting any of them vaccinated for H1N1, right?
RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, MOTHER OF FIVE: Well, that's not -- that's not entirely correct. My original decision was not to vaccinate myself, my husband or the children.
However, back in September, before the scare really started to happen here in town and a lot of the kids got sick at school -- my son is asthmatic and his asthma since September has been out of control. So, we've really wrestled with it because I'm personally not -- I'm skeptical about it, I've been reading a lot on the Internet. I'm...
COLLINS: Why so skeptical? Is it the swine flu vaccine? Because we haven't talked about this, versus the seasonal flu? What are your feelings on that?
CAMPOS-DUFFY: I'm the kind of person that would never take a seasonal flu -- I believe in the old fashioned way, eat well, you know, take those supplements and vitamins, get rest and plenty of liquids, if you get the flu.
So, I'm just not that kind of person that would do that. So it was a real serious wrestling problem for us in our minds because we really didn't want to give it to him.
In the end, last week, we made a decision to do it at that time. We had a friend who was in the hospital and really struggling with her health because of it. And his lungs are weak. So, we made the decision to vaccinate him.
I'd like to add, though it wasn't until after he was vaccinated that I learned that I could have chosen a preservative-free H1N1 vaccine, and I'm actually a little peeved that I wasn't told that at the hospital. I actually found out later online and learned from the "Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel" that about one-third of the vaccines that are coming into Wisconsin are preservative-free and I'm -- I am wondering where are those going and who's being told about them? I sure wish I had known.
COLLINS: Kristin, you're nodding your head. What have you heard about that?
CHASE: I, too was concerned about thimerisol (ph), which is the mercury that's used as a preservative. And when I found the shot, unfortunately, the only one that was available to me was the multidose, which is the only one with thimerisol. And not knowing when I was going to be able to find the vaccine again, I went ahead with it. I was hesitant about it. And like Rachel, I am also someone who doesn't generally get the seasonal flu shot, but I felt it was really important.
I spoke with some doctors about amount of thimerisol that's in there, and it's very trace and I feel confident about my decision. I do have to say that what was -- the kicker for me was that this flu seems to be hitting healthy kids, and you know my kids are healthy. I certainly try to feed them as many vegetables as I can sneak in. But that was something that keyed me into this.
COLLINS: Yes. And I know you have to cover the vegetables with like, peanut butter or Popsicles, too, don't you?
All right, ladies. We appreciate the discussion, to the both of you, we appreciate the discussion. Kristin Chase and Rachel Campos- Duffy. We lost Colleen Kennedy in all of that. But a good discussion. I know there's a lot of talk about this going on inside people's homes. We appreciate it.
CHASE: Thanks.
CAMPOS-DUFFY: Thank you.
COLLINS: In just a moment, we'll get you updated on what is being called Tropical Storm Ida. Actually, we're going to do that right now. Hi, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Heidi. Winds right now currently at 70 miles per hour, sustained. But heavy rainfall possibility for much of the Gulf Coast into Alabama, even into Georgia. So, flooding is a very real possibility. We'll talk about that coming up in a few moments. Let's kick it back to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A couple of hours ago, it was a hurricane. Right now, it's a tropical storm.
Want to get back over to Reynolds Wolf, who is standing by in just a moment here. Let you know that cooler waters in the Gulf drained some of the power from the storm, and that's a relief, obviously, for the Gulf Coast, of course, in its path. Reynolds Wolf will tell us more about that. Yes, obviously, we're glad to hear that because, as it potentially makes landfall later on, we would like to not be as strong.
WOLF: Absolutely. You nailed it there with what you said about the cooler water. But there was another component that play a big part. That was the strong, upper-level winds, the shear that caused the storm to really lose a bit of its structure. It's gone from a hurricane, as Heidi mentioned, folks, to a tropical storm with winds sustained 70 miles per hour, gusting to 85 miles an hour.
You look at it, it is just one discombobulated mess that's going to provide a bit of rainfall and flooding situation is certainly potential. Center of the storm which your guess is as good as mine. Got a bit of circulation right here in this particular area. But again, it's just in horrible shape. Center of circulation, 238 miles from Pensacola at this time. The biggest threat from the storm is the widespread potential for flooding.
Take a look at the numbers here. Mobile could see over five inches of rainfall. Birmingham, 2.5; Atlanta, 5.1; Charlotte -- even up in Charlotte, North Carolina, 2.1. And if you're curious why we're seeing flooding stretch into parts of the Tennessee Valley, back up into the Appalachians, well, that is sort of the path we will look at for the storm.
Potential from the National Hurricane Center shows what we anticipate that path is going right up near Bayou Labatry, Alabama. Here's Mobile Bay, and in this area, you have the Florida Florida/Alabama state line. What we expect is the storm to continue its march to the north and veer off along the I-10 corridor. It's still going to draw the moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico. As it piles up in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Carolinas, especially the highest elevations, we're going have a process that we weather geeks refer to as orographic lift, where you have that moisture that goes up the mountainsides and the colder air aloft causes it to enhance that rainfall. So, it could get particularly heavy especially in Atlanta where, Heidi, you remember, we had heavy flooding.
Along the coast short term, coastal flooding can be expected, even though this is a tropical storm. Anywhere from, say, three to six feet above normal. As we wrap it up, power outages likely. Also flooding rains, we mentioned that. Of course it's headed for the mid- Atlantic stated. D.C., you've enjoyed sunshine over the last couple of days. You can expect that to be gone as the storm gets closer.
Let's send it back to you.
COLLINS: Yes. Reynolds, thanks so much.
Earlier though, when she was a hurricane, Ida was blamed for at least 124 deaths in El Salvador. Take a look at what Ida did as it raked across the Central American country. Boy, three days of steady rains sent a torrent of water, mud, boulders flowing into the villages there. This town, in fact, pretty much buried under all of the debris. And these people had to be rescued from rising water after a river burst its banks. Rescue workers are digging for dozens of people who are, in fact, still missing.
Life without parole. Is it cruel and unusual punishment for juvenile offenders? We'll take a look at both sides of the debate in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: (AUDIO GAP) ... whether life without parole is too severe a punishment. For a deeper look into the debate, CNN's Kate Bolduan went to Pennsylvania a state with one of the highest numbers of juveniles sentenced to life in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is a story of two murders, both committed by juveniles. One is spending life behind bars, the other got a second chance. Now the Supreme Court is considering just what type of punishment young criminals deserve.
(voice-over): This park, just one block from Dawn and Daryl's Romig's (ph) house in Allentown, Pennsylvania, serves as a constant reminder of a horrific February day six years ago.
(on camera): Does it ever easier to see this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not really. I even go past where she was actually found. I go past that every day. So it's never any easier.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): The Romig's (ph) 12-year-old daughter Dani left home to play with friends, but never returned. She was brutally beaten, raped and killed by a 17-year-old neighbor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a written plan on paper that they found in his school bag. Twenty-three things to do to a girl in the woods, and he did it all.
BOLDUAN: Brian Barr was convicted as an adult and is serving life in prison with no chance of getting out. Dawn Romig says that's exactly where he belongs, despite recent action in Pennsylvania and across the country to end what some view as sentences too harsh for young people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't get her back if he can get his freedom back. He needs -- they need to serve their sentences. Fully carried out.
BOLDUAN: That is the controversial question now before the high court. Is life without parole cruel and unusual punishment for juvenile criminals? Human Rights Watch estimates more than 2,500 juvenile offenders are currently serving life without parole in the U.S. Forty-four states allow for these sentences, including more than a dozen states for criminals as young as 13.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The male role models out here are the male role models on the corners, and that what's we looked up to.
BOLDUAN: Edwin Desemore (ph) has lived both sides of this debate. Convicted of murder at 16, he was paroled after eight years behind bars. Desemore has since returned to the same rough Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up, forming a nonprofit group to help keep kids out of trouble.
EDWIN DESEMORE, FOUNDER OF YOUTH NONPROFIT: The message I'm trying to say is that you're capable of so much, but we can skip the prison part. A lot of our kids just believe the system's a part of their lives. They believe they have to go through that or that's a part of life because they see it so much.
BOLDUAN: Desemore argues the courts should consider age and environment when dealing with juvenile criminals. By and large, he says, they deserve a second chance.
DESEMORE: I'm dealing with kids out here today where they're living in rough conditions. They're in a home where they're being abused physically, mentally, and it's an issue. It's rough..
BOLDUAN: But still, you think if they commit the crime they can turn around and live a good life like you?
DESEMORE: Most definitely. Most definitely. I turned it around.
BOLDUAN: The specific case before the high court deals with two non-murder crimes. The issues are wide-ranging and give the justices an opportunity to rule narrowly or cause sweeping change throughout the juvenile justice system.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: That will do it for us today.
I'm Heidi Collins.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Tony Harris.
