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Senate Moves Closer To Sending Health Care Bill To Floor For Debate; New Breast Cancer Screening Guideline Recommendations By Government Panel Stir Controversy; Congress Investigating Ft. Hood Shootings; Senator Blanche Lincoln Gives Speech On Senate Floor Regarding Her Vote On Health Care Reform Debate

Aired November 21, 2009 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing forward with the debate on health care reform. The Senate is a few hours away from a critical Senate vote, and the Democrats are closer to a filibuster proof majority.

So what is the final answer, anyway? When should women get mammograms? CNN's medical team investigates.

And who should be held accountable in the Ft. Hood massacre? Why folks didn't catch on to a troubled army psychiatrist.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Our top story today, one down, one Democrat to go. As you heard first on CNN earlier today, Senator Mary Landrieu falls in line with party unity announcing she will vote yes on a crucial test vote on a health care bill.

Let's get right to our senior Congressional correspondent Dana Bash who broke the story from Capitol Hill earlier today. Dana, how did Mary Landrieu explain her decision?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She explained it the way we thought she would, by being very clear that she thinks it is important to just, the whole concept of health care reform is important. She does hear from her constituents over and over how high their premiums and their health care that they even have has become unaffordable.

So she wants to be part of the solution, but she made extremely, abundantly clear, the bill that her leaders currently have she doesn't like and she wants to be able to change it. Listen to what she says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARY LANDRIEU, (D) LOUISIANA: My vote today to move forward on this important debate should in no way be construed by the supporters of this current framework as an indication of how I might vote as this debate comes to an end. It is a vote to move forward to continue the good and essential and important and imperative work that is underway.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: Now, as we move forward to the vote at 8:00 eastern, what we have is one hold out on the Democratic side. The Democratic leadership, they need all the senators who align themselves with the Democrats to vote yes in order for this health care debate to continue for their vote to pass later tonight.

So the one holdout is Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. And Fred, I just got an e-mail from her office saying she's going to make her vote known in 20 to 25 minutes on the Senate floor as well. So we should hear from her about what she's going to say.

She's been the most mum, if you will, about which way she's going to lean. Having said that, the fact the Democratic leadership and sources we're talking to feel so much more confident about the prospects of the vote probably indicates the way she is going to announce.

But again, we should see her live on the Senate floor by the time this hour is up.

WHITFIELD: Dana, you broke the news to us earlier that Mary Landrieu was to throw her support to the bill just minutes before she actually took to the floor and explained her position. Now we'll watch for Blanch Lincoln about 20 minutes from now, as you say.

Dana Bash, thanks so much from Capitol Hill.

BASH: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So this has to be good news for the White House, right? Let's check in with CNN's Kate Bolduan right now -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Hey there, Fredricka.

Well, we haven't gotten any word specifically on the news from Capitol Hill, but you can be sure that there are people at the White House smiling. According to one White House aide telling me that here at the White House they are monitoring this debate very closely.

And you can be sure President Obama is being very much kept up to date on the debate and the vote count going on Capitol Hill.

Perhaps to increase the pressure a little bit to get the ball rolling in the Senate, the White House released a statement of administration policy last night. It basically lays out very clearly the president's position on this bill, and I'll read it to you just in part.

It says "The administration strongly supports Senate passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which represents a critical milestone in the effort to reform our health care system."

In an interview with CNN last week, President Obama said he was very confident that Congress will succeed at the end of the day in passing some form of health care reform. And at the end of the day today, Fredricka, we will have an indication -- while this isn't the end game, we'll have an indication very clearly if President Obama is one step closer to or further away from achieving his number one domestic priority.

WHITFIELD: All right, very good. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much, from the White House.

It will be interesting to learn over the course of the next couple days how hard the White House will be campaigning to try to take the debate for this bill even further after tonight's vote.

Live pictures right now of Capitol Hill.

The Senate vote to move the health care vote to the floor is expected around 8:00. And we'll take you live to Senate chambers when, of course, it happens.

All right, the U.S. army psychiatrist accused of the Ft. Hood shooting massacre has his first hearing in the hospital room. In today's pretrial consignment hearing, the attorney for the 39-year-old Major Nidal Hasan says he'll ask a military judge to let his client remain hospitalized. Doctors say Hasan is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police.

Hasan is accused of killing 13 people. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Congress is looking for accountability after the Ft. Hood shooting spree. One senator says there were warning signs and red flags galore on accused gunman Nidal Hasan. Here now is CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More indications that potential safety nets may have either broken down or were never in place to prevent Nidal Hasan from allegedly murdering 13 people at Ft. Hood.

At the first Congressional hearings into the shootings, discussions on what may have been the failure of law enforcement, military, and counter-terror officials to communicate with each other, even thought it was discovered last year that Hasan had corresponded with a radical Muslim cleric.

Former Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend, a CNN contributor, indicated restrictions on the agency's cooperation are just too unwieldy.

FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER, BUSH ADMINISTRATION: The rules become so cumbersome that they are discouraging. And so people just don't do it.

TODD: General John Keane was commanding general at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina during the trial of two white soldiers for the murder of a black couple. Keane said after that incident, the military took steps to flag racial extremism but never came up with anything like that on radical, religious behavior. Keane was asked another key question on why Hasan kept getting promoted even when his superiors reportedly had information on his extremist views and incompetence.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ) HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Do you think that political correctness may have played some role in the fact that these dots were not connected?

GEN. JOHN KEANE, (RET.) FORMER ARMY VICE CHIEF OF STAFF: Yes, absolutely. And also I think a factor here is Hasan's position as an officer and also his position as a psychiatrist contributed to that.

TODD: Most of the security and terrorism experts agree that Nidal Hasan is likely someone who became self-radicalized, a lone wolf influenced by militant extremists but not directed by anyone to kill.

But, connecting those dots before this tragedy, one expert said, may have been impossible.

BRIAN JENKINS, TERRORISM ANALYST, RAND CORPORATION: We are just not very good at predicting human violence. We don't have an x-ray for a man's soul.

TODD (on camera): But Brian Jenkins looking back it appears Hasan had what he called obvious personality problems that he channeled into a deadly fanaticism.

Brain Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And making sure an incident like Ft. Hood never happens again at any U.S. military base, that's what U.S. senators hope to achieve with a series of hearings into the Ft. Hood tragedy.

Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut has the Homeland Security Committee. He wants to know if someone could have "connected the dots" in this case, and can in the future, he asks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE LIEBERMAN, (I-CT) HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIRMAN: Congress is interested in this from a preventive point of view.

Was something missing in the behavior of the people that work for the federal government and the rules that guide that behavior, whether in the Justice Department or in the military that will help us prevent a soldier from reeking the havoc and pain and death that Dr. Hasan allegedly did at Ft. Hood?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Pentagon has also ordered a review of its policies aimed at preventing a similar attack. Perhaps you have questions about the new mammogram recommendations. We'll tell you what you need to know before you talk to your doctor or perhaps your insurance company.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Mostly women are a bit confused and conflicted over the new recommendations about when to get a mammogram. After 50 is now the recommendation after so many of us were conditioned to believe it was after 40.

This is what the American Cancer Society says about the recommendation coming from the government panel. They believe it sends the wrong message to women. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OTIS BRAWLEY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: The task force did find that screening women in their 40s does save lives. It reduces the relative risk of death by 15 percent.

They went on to do some calculations, calculation which, by the way, we disagree with, and estimate that you have to screen 1,900 women in their 40s to save one life and 1,340 women in their 50s to save one life.

It leads me to say, what's the number between 1,340 and 1,900 in which screening is no longer beneficial and useful and should not be recommended?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's coming from the American Cancer Society.

Cindy Pearson is the executive director of the National Women's Health Network. You apparently support these new recommended guidelines, right?

And let me just say before you answer that question, I may have to interpret you because at the bottom of the screen, people are looking at pictures of the U.S. Senate, and we are waiting to hear from the last standing Democrat who has not revealed her position on whether she supports this bill to move forward for debate. So if it happens, I'm going to have to interrupt our conversation.

So Cindy, back to the question then, why do you say you like the newest recommendations?

CINDY PEARSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL WOMEN'S HEALTH NETWORK: These issues are connected. The vote we are all watching at the bottom of the screen is connected to saving women's lives from breast cancer as much as these screening recommendations are connected.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. PEARSON: And the important thing is to get basic, good, effective screening to everyone, and to get it often enough so that the things that is could cause deaths in the future are caught and treated, but not to do it so early or so often that women are actually burdened by more harm because of starting screening so early and doing it so often that they are almost guaranteed to experience a procedure, a test, even a treatment that they don't need at all.

So it's a balancing of harm and benefit that the guidelines are trying to get to. And that, as a consumer advocacy group, we support.

WHITFIELD: And understandably it's so confusing to so many women because we've all been conditioned to believe that early detection is the key.

And if a mammogram is one of the tools in which to make that discovery very early and so many women have experienced that discovery has been made in their 40s, if not for the guideline of getting your mammogram by the age of 40, many women feel they wouldn't have gotten the second chance on being able to call themselves a survivor.

PEARSON: Right.

WHITFIELD: So how do you now convey this message and convince women that that's actually the anomaly?

PEARSON: It's a very difficult message to convey, because, as you say, it contradicts what we have all lived with for the past 20 years.

As a consumer advocacy group, what we want is for women to know that there is debate and different points of view. There is not just one message and not one set of rules that you'll follow if you care about yourself.

WHITFIELD: So what I am hearing from you is the exposure to the radiation in that ten-year span from 40 to 50 is much greater, to a much greater detriment than it is in that period to take a stab at whether or not there is any detection that can be made.

PEARSON: It's true the likelihood of finding something goes down, as Dr. Brawley said in that clip you showed. But the important thing to note is that in their 40s, some women will be found to have a breast cancer and treated for the breast cancer that never would have killed them, that might have gone away on its own.

No one who's been treated for breast cancer could possibly believe she was the one who didn't need the treatment. And I wouldn't try to tell a woman that, either.

But if you look at the big studies, that's what they show, that we're finding and treating things that don't threaten women's lives. And on the statistical level, it would be better to not necessarily even look.

We are not telling women, stop. We are telling women get all the information you can, learn about why this is not so simple anymore, and then don't feel guilty about whatever you do.

WHITFIELD: And I guess the concern for a lot of women is even if they don't stop, as you say, still go ahead and do what's comfortable to you.

But if this government recommendation has come out, then perhaps some insurance companies will say we are no longer going to cover your mammogram in your 40s because the recommendation is you can wait until 50.

PEARSON: Women's lives are worth saving, and we'll make sure that whatever the kind of insurance we have going forward depending on this vote in the Senate and how things play out over the years, we'll always be fighting for women getting what they need.

But we also at the same time want to fight for really nuanced and fully fleshed out information that doesn't give women a simplistic, you know, assignment that you have to buckle up, put your kids bicycle helmet on, and get your mammogram. It's not that simple anymore.

WHITFIELD: Cindy Pearson, executive director of the National Women's health Network, thanks so much for your time, appreciate it.

PEARSON: Sure, you're welcome.

And of course at the bottom of the screen there you see the activity taking play on the U.S. Senate. We continue to monitor the developments there.

Let's look at the other top stories that we're watching.

You see there a live shot of the U.S. Senate. We are waiting for a vote -- or we're actually waiting for comments coming from one of the Democratic holdouts, Senator Blanche Lincoln. When that happens, we'll bring that to you.

Meantime, we are talking about other stories. Two Pakistani nationals are under arrest in Italy in connection with last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The suspects, a father and a son, are accused of wiring money to a U.S. company to activate Internet phone accounts.

Police say those phone lines actually allowed the terrorists to keep in touch during the attacks which killed 160 people.

And friends and family are honoring a 26-year-old killed in an office shooting in Orlando, Florida. Otis Bedford's funeral is being held in West Palm Beach today. Bedford was the only person killed in that rampage, five others were wounded.

A former employee of the engineer firm where Bedford worked now faces charges of murder.

And a plea deal for Heather Ellis. She was arrested after cutting in line in a Missouri Wal-Mart and igniting a racial fire storm in the process. Charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest, Ellis was facing up to 15 years in prison. Under the plea agreement reached during jury deliberations, Ellis will now spend four days in jail and a year on probation.

A word of advice for pregnant women this holiday season -- approach the table with caution. Elizabeth Cohen explains.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: To Capitol Hill right now. You are looking at Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln. She's expressing whether or not she believes the debate should start over health care reform.

SEN. BLANCHE LINCOLN, (D) ARKANSAS: ... has produced what I still describe as the most responsible approach to health insurance reform.

We deliberated for more than 22 months, incorporating recommendations from experts all across our great nation, and proved that our bill, through our bill, that America can achieve unprecedented health insurance reforms that expand coverage, reduce cost, and provide stability for those with existing coverage.

We accomplish these goals without posing long term risk for taxpayers.

It was not a perfect bill. We never see perfect bills around here, quite frankly. But I can honestly say that I will fight hard so that our final product will be more closely resembling the common sense deficit-reducing plan we produced in the Senate Finance Committee.

At times like this, I think it is very important for each of us to remember the very reasons that we began this debate altogether.

Small businesses, Madame President, working families are reaching the breaking point financially because of the relentless rise in health care costs. Nationally our economic recovery will only be slowed by the inflationary cost of health care.

Taxpayers and the insured are already bearing the cost of medical treatment for the uninsured at the most expensive point of delivery, in the emergency rooms.

Health care in American today is a model that waits until people get sick rather than focusing on the wellness, prevention, and good management of illness that keeps people out of the hospital and from having the most costly care needs.

Our current system wastes money and is so inefficient that the United States spends more than twice per person while insuring a smaller portion of our population than the average spending in 29 other industrialized nations.

There simply aren't enough health insurance options available to most Americans today when in at least 17 states, including my home state of Arkansas, only one insurance company controls more than half the insurance market. And in at least 22 states, still only two carriers control half of the market or more.

Patients and doctors, Madame President, are routinely making treatment decisions with little or no objective information about which treatments are most effective.

American capitalism is based on choice and competition, because when these elements are present, consumers can most always find the best value for their money.

That's not true in health care. So, by creating health insurance exchanges through which small businesses and individuals can choose from a menu of private plans, we can enhance cost transparency, create head-to-head competition, and allow market forces to reduce prices.

These are facts. These are facts, Madame President, and whether we are Republicans or Democrats or Independents, I believe that we can agree on most all of them. I know that the great majority of our constituents believe these facts and want to see us accomplish these reasonable goals.

For months now groups from outside my state have assigned various motives to my deliberations on health care and tried to define the meaning of my vote. According to the last tally, there's been more than $3.3 million worth of media ads that have purchased in my home state of Arkansas by groups from outside of our state, certainly none by me, and most with my name in the ad.

Still, Madame President, I have continued to approach this issue like I always do. These outside groups seem to think this is all about my reelection. I simply don't think they know me very well.

I am focused on my opportunity to influence the final version of health care reform legislation in a way that most helps my state. That's why the people of Arkansas sent me here. They sent me here because they know I'm going to work hard to do the best job possible and to do the right thing, to stand my ground and my principles.

I have avoided the extremist claims from the left and from the right, and tried to pull the common sense solutions from among all the policy options so that we get health care reform that benefits people in Arkansas and all Americans.

That's our job in this body, Madame President, to represent our states in this unbelievably historic body, the United States Senate.

The truth is this issue is very complex. There is no easy fix, and it's imperative that we build on what's already working for health care in America and not turn away from the problems that we face.

We keep building upon what we truly can say one day that all American citizens will have access to quality and affordable health care in order to improve upon and build upon what we already have. I do not support the creation of a so called robust government administered plan. I believe that we should work to make sure that we do not expose American taxpayers and the Treasure to long term risk that could occur over future government bailouts of a public plan.

Rather than create an entirely new government run health plan to compete with private insurers, I support health insurance reform that focuses on changing the rules of our existing employer-based private health insurance system.

I believe we should change the current rules that permit insurance companies to bully their customers and cherry pick healthy patients so we can force them to compete with each other.

Madam President, my first loyalties are with the people of Arkansas, not insurance companies, the health care industry, or my political party.

In fact, I authored an amendment during consideration of legislation in the Senate Finance Committee which limits taxpayer subsidies for health insurance companies that pay their top executives millions in salaries.

Responsible health insurance reform should insure that insurance executives aren't receiving a personal windfall and that companies they work for are not receiving excess tax breaks while at the same time profiting from a government requirement on consumers to buy insurance.

The reason we are having this vote, Madame President, is because our Republican colleagues object to beginning debate and consideration of amendments on health care legislation.

All though I don't agree with everything in this bill, I have concluded that I believe it is more important that we begin this debate to improve our nation's health care system for all Americans rather than just simply drop the issue and walk away. That is not what people sent us here to do.

Attempts by the national Republican Party and other conservative groups to portray it as a vote for or against this particular health care reform bill is untrue and it's deliberately misleading.

The vote tonight will mark the beginning of consideration of this bill by the full U.S. Senate, not the end. The Republicans have sought to revive their political party by opposing any real solution to our nation's health care crisis.

In fact, Madame President, this vote for or against this procedure that allows open debate is nothing more and nothing less. Put simply, those who vote yes on this vote believe our nation's health care systems need reforming, and they are ready, ready to have an honest and open debate on the floor of the United States Senate about how to best achieve that reform.

I'm not afraid of that debate, nor am I afraid of coming before this body to say what I believe is the most important thing we can do to reform health care in this country.

Our country needs us too desperately now to be making good decisions and moving forward. I will not allow my decision on this vote to be dictated by pressure from political components nor the liberal interest groups from outside of Arkansas that threaten me with their money and their political opposition.

The multitudes of e-mails and ads we have received, unbelievable types of threats about what they are going to do and how they are going to behave.

The fact is, Madame President, I am serious about changing our health care system, as most Arkansans and most Americans are. I am not with those who seek to avoid the debate, nor with those who use political attacks to achieve their narrow goals.

I will vote in support of cloture on the motion to proceed to this bill.

So Madame president, let me be perfectly clear -- I am opposed to a new government administered health care plan as a part of comprehensive health insurance reform, and I will not vote in favor of the proposal that has been introduced by leader Reid as it is written.

I, along with others, expect to have legitimate opportunities to influence the health care reform legislation that is voted on by the Senate later this year or early next year.

I am also aware that there will be additional procedural votes to move this process forward that will require 60 votes prior to conclusion of the floor debate. I've already alerted the leader and I'm promising my colleagues that I'm prepared to vote against moving to the next stage of consideration as long as the government run public option is included.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, you are listening there to senator from Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln. And in this rare Saturday session there at the U.S. Senate on Capitol Hill, many of these members are on Capitol Hill to either promise they will be voting to move forward to a debate on a proposed health care reform plan pitched by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier in the week.

As you heard from Blanche Lincoln, she was the last hold out among the Democrats who had not committed to whether to be in support of this measure. She says indeed now she will be voting in favor of starting the debate. This is really just a starting point.

And of course now it appears the Senate has 60 votes, all of them Democrats and two independents. These are the proposed votes that will unfold tonight at 8:00 eastern time. We'll be covering that live as it happens.

(WEATHER BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Of course, speaking of Thanksgiving, it means many of us will eat enough to feed a small village on Thanksgiving. So this can pose health challenges, especially for women who are pregnant. Here's Elizabeth Cohen with "Health for Her."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: First time mother-to-be Audrey Arnold is on track with her weight gain during her pregnancy.

AUDREY ARNAUD, EXPECTANT MOTHER: I look to cook myself to make sure that we use (inaudible).

COHEN: But she does have a weakness.

ARNAUD: I eat chocolate after my meals, for example, or some candies occasionally.

COHEN: Registered dietician Rachel Agnew says pregnant women should keep in mind that contrary to popular belief, eating for two does not mean doubling the calories.

RACHEL AGNEW, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: When you're pregnant, you only need an additional about 300 calories from the second trimester on.

COHEN: However, it's OK to forego counting those calories on special occasions.

AGNEW: Thanksgiving is one day. Enjoy it. Enjoy the food that's offered on Thanksgiving Day. But after Thanksgiving Day, get right back on track with healthy eating, balanced meals, and a variety of fruits and vegetables.

COHEN: Whether you're pregnant or just counting calories to stay trim, Agnew offers these tips to her patients. Eat before you go to holiday parties, survey buffets before trying anything in particular, eat from only one plate.

If you are more prone to snacking when you're pregnant, don't plant yourself near the buffet table. Instead spend more time visiting with family and friends.

For today's "Health for Her," I'm Elizabeth Cohen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Be very careful this Thanksgiving holiday.

Money is scarce, jobs are still hard to find, and a lot of people suffering through the recession are shifting the focus of their blame. A look at what that means for the White House and President Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This is pretty remarkable. It's been playing out throughout the week, tuition going up by 32 percent at all University of California campuses.

And that decision by the board of regents has sparked lots of protest. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Pretty significant, right? Forty-one people, some of them students, were arrested yesterday at U.C. Berkeley. At one point protestors occupied campus buildings. Regents say the tuition hike is necessary because of the steep budget cuts made by the state government.

Unemployment still on the rise in many areas of the country -- 29 states and the District of Columbia reported increases last month. But 13 states saw their jobless rates actually drop. With the recession lingering, many frustrated people are shifting their opinions about who should shoulder the blame.

Our Suzanne Malveaux explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Despite some economic indicators suggesting the economy has turned a corner, a new CNN opinion research poll shows a whopping 82 percent of the public believe economic conditions are poor.

And the question of who to blame is taking front and center. Just take a look at the grilling Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner got from some Republican lawmakers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At some point you have to take responsibility for your decision.

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: I take responsibility for anything I have been part of. But what I can't take responsibility for is for the legacy of crisis you created.

MALVEAUX: Two years into the recession, the blame seems to be shifting. Americans are now less likely to point to the Republicans for the economic mess and instead are angry at the Democrats.

The same CNN opinion research poll shows 38 percent blame the GOP for the country's current economic problems. That's down 15 points from May, when 53 percent blame them.

CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser says that's bad for the Democrats and President Obama.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: These numbers are troubling for the president. It's going to be harder and harder for this White House to blame the previous administration for the economic lows. This economy is turning into Barack Obama's economy. This recession is turning into Barack Obama's recession. MALVEAUX: Americans are still very much divided over whether the president's economic policies are actually working -- 36 percent say they have improved economic conditions, 28 percent say they have made things worse, 35 percent say what the White House has done has had no effect.

One of the reasons Americans are dissatisfied is their concern of the ballooning federal budget deficit. Two-thirds believe the government should be working harder to balance it.

STEINHAUSER: Even though we're in a time of war, Americans think that they federal budget deficit needs to be brought down. The war's not an excuse.

MALVEAUX (on camera): Who gets the credit or the blame for the state of the economy particularly when it comes to jobs could cost the Democratic Party as a whole. There are three times the number of Democratic lawmakers in the House who are facing tough or close mid- term elections next year compared to the Republicans.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And what about your personal economic crisis and its collision with what's about to be the holiday spending season? That's just right around the corner, especially after Thanksgiving. Black Friday is when all of us start the spending, getting ready for the holiday season.

So we have invited financial expert Ken and Daria Dolan. You love them, we love them. They will be with us beginning at 3:00 and 4:00 eastern time to help us navigate the spending or perhaps saving this holiday season.

They will also let us know about some tax breaks and things we need to be taking advantage of as 2009 and 2010 is soon to begin. So please join us.

We are already getting some comments from you on my blog and Facebook. Michael Armstrong is saying that Christmas shopping is going to lead to a second dip in the economy. Ken and Daria Dolan agree with him.

A robot that takes care of the housework and gets you out of bed, actually -- it's in the "Edge of Discovery."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This is pretty interesting. It's strong enough to help elderly patients out of bed, nimble enough to pick up a straw, and smart enough to cook an egg. Kyung Lah takes a look at the robot that can do all this in this week's "Edge of Discovery."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LAH: The helping hands here are metal and silicone, designed to assist a person to a wheelchair. Her name is "21, Robot for the Elderly." She may look like ET, but the inventor says she's more than a cute friend.

"Cook an egg" -- it was the dexterity to delicately pick up food and serve it.

LAH (on camera): The goal of 21 isn't necessarily to replace a human caregiver, but simply assist someone. In this case that's to help me toast this piece of bread.

LAH, (voice-over): The ageing baby boomers in the U.S. and Japan are who will need this robot. By 2050 40 percent of Japan's population will be over the age of 65, and fewer young people to care for them because Japan has one of the lowest birthrates in the world.

So what man can't, machine can. "I believe this robot will be a big help in the near future" he says.

Right now the robot needs a team of researchers and a screen full of computer pumps to work. But the inventor believes a commercial version will be ready to go by 2020, giving the elderly a hand up for independent living.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is fascinating.

A plea deal for the woman accused of cutting in line at a Missouri Wal-Mart and igniting a racial fire storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at the top stories now.

At least 42 miners are dead and a search underway for 66 others believed trapped after a powerful blast at a coal mine in northeastern China. Initial reports suggest it was a gas explosion.

The U.S. army major accused of gunning down a dozen fellow soldiers and one civilian at Ft. Hood two weeks ago has his first court hearing today. It will be at his hospital bedside. The 39- year-old army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan faces 13 counts of murder.

His attorney wants his client to remain hospitalized for now. Doctors says Hasan is paralyzed from the waist down.

U.S. Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and moments ago Arkansas's Senator Blanche Lincoln gave their Senate party leadership the 60 votes necessary to build, or rather avoid a filibuster and advance debate on a proposed health care reform bill.

A federal court ruling about Katrina flooding in New Orleans could mean big money to people whose homes and businesses were actually ruined. The judge said the Army Corps of Engineers did a poor job maintaining the shipping channel between the city and the Gulf of Mexico and actually helped create the catastrophe.

Five plaintiffs won more than $720,000 total, and that might just be the beginning. More than 100,000 homes and business owners in the lower ninth ward and St. Bernard Parish might also seek claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Not only are we going to see the flood gates, no question about it, but we are now going to see increased political involvement to start solving some real problems that continue to exist in New Orleans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I spoke with Avery Friedman earlier today. That's another view of his sentiment. The spokesperson says the government is of course reviewing the decision.

The woman accused of cutting line at a Missouri Wal-Mart and igniting a racial firestorm in the process has taken an 11th hour plea deal. Last night the judge presiding over the Heather Ellis trial announced an agreement had been reached between the defense and prosecutors.

It comes nearly three years after the defendant said race played a factor in a checkout line dustup between here, other customers, and police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER ELLIS, DEFENDANT: I thought and I actually still think that it's important that my story got out there, that people understood the truth and heard it. And if I would have signed a plea bargain before, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to let the world know now and let the jurors know what actually happened.

MORLEY SWINGLE, PROSECUTOR: To me it's a good result in the case. I think nobody wanted to see her go to prison. Nobody wanted to see her spend a long time in jail.

On the other hand, a message does need to be sent to people that if you are being arrested, you cannot resist or something will happen. There will be consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ellis spent four days in jail and a year in probation. She was facing up to 15 years in prison on multiple charges of assaulting police and resisting arrest.

Celebrating lives that are full of compassion for others. A look at why CNN heroes are getting some wonderful recognition in their hometown. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So all through the year we have been sharing the stories of CNN heroes, ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Many of their hometowns are so proud of them that they're holding rallies in their heroes honor. Just take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I want to say to you is simply this, when he gets up here today, I want you to take a good, long look at him. He is a hero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Iraq, you cannot buy a children's wheelchair. They are just not available. There will be millions and millions of people watching the CNN Heroes awards show. I'll be given 30 to 45 seconds to ask and make a plea.

All it takes is 150,000 people going on to my website and clicking "donate" and sponsoring a wheelchair to actually solve the need in Iraq for children's wheelchairs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's killing more children than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. And what was shocking was that I didn't know anybody that knew that. You can live years and years with different diseases. You can live month without. You can't live three days without water.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're all here to cheer on one of our own, someone who has dedicated his life to serving others, our hometown hero (inaudible).

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every night I bring food to the hungry in Queens, New York.

(APPLAUSE)