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Senate Dems Approves Health Care Debate; Hasan to be Held in Custody; "Precious" Brutal Story, Powerful Film; Questions About Chicago School Board President; Four Days in Jail for Walmart Scuffle; Interview With Judd Gregg

Aired November 21, 2009 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, Democrats going home for Thanksgiving happy. But Republicans say the health care reform bill is a turkey.

New twists in the death of a Chicago powerhouse. We're live with that. Also from Chicago, Oprah calling it quits just as a movie she's backing and one of its actors are getting Oscar buzz. You're going to meet her.

A woman cuts a deal for cutting in line at Wal-Mart. Was it worth it?

Something Michael Jackson owned goes on the auction block and rakes in a small fortune.

And "Twilight" fans, over the moon and setting Box Office records.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us tonight. Just a short time ago, health care reform cleared another major hurdle in the Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D) CONNECTICUT: On this vote, the yeas are 60, and nays are 39. Three-fifths of those Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative. The motion is agreed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The vote to begin debate on the bill was critical to keeping it alive. Majority Leader Harry Reid desperately needed at least 60 votes to head off a Republican filibuster. So now what?

We have the Best Political Team on Television to break it all down for you. But, first, I want you to listen to this. Just before tonight's voice vote, the leaders of both parties drew the battlelines that will shape the debate in the days and weeks ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: So I say to my Republican senators, don't try to silence a great debate over a great crisis. Don't let history show that when given the chance to debate and defend your position to work with us for the good of our country and constituents, you ran and hid. You cannot wish away a great emergency by closing your eyes and pretending it doesn't exist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: A vote in favor of this bill tells every American family sitting in a waiting room tonight, wondering when they'll get to see a doctor, or how much it's going to cost, it's not our concern. And worst of all, a vote in favor of this bill is a vote in favor of the spending binge that's leading to a massive and unsustainable long-term debt that will shackle our children to a future they can't afford. That's what tonight's vote is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The White House released a statement saying President Barack Obama was gratified by the Senate vote. It said the vote, quote, "Brings us one step closer to ending insurance company abuses, reigning in spiraling health care costs, providing stability and security to those with health insurance, and extending quality health coverage to those who lack it.

OK, let's get down to the hard facts here. The bill covers 2,074 pages. It proposes to expand health care coverage to an additional 13 million Americans at a cost of $848 billion. And that's over 10 years.

So I want to bring in our political team to drill down on this because the issue is far from a done deal. They'll all tell you that. A lot can and will happen in the coming weeks.

CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is at our Washington Bureau, along with CNN political editor Mark Preston.

Dana, let's start with you. Some of these 60 votes might not stick by the time this is over. So not a great comfort for Harry Reid, I'm sure.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. Look, it's hard to believe that with the drama of today, the very long day, that this is really just the beginning. And the fact of the matter is, because it was so hard for Harry Reid to hold the line and make sure that every single senator who aligns him or herself with the Democrats voted this way just on this procedural vote is a tell tale sign of how tough it is going to be for him and for the president because this is going to be maybe three, even four weeks of very fierce debate on the Senate floor when they come back from their recess for Thanksgiving.

LEMON: Hey, Dana, we talked about 2,074 pages. 31 million Americans had proposes to cover. But let's dig down, dig deeper into what's exactly in this bill. Take us through it. BASH: sure. I'll give you some examples. First of all, the whole concept of preexisting conditions. Just like in the House passed bill that I passed a couple of weeks ago, there will be no more discrimination against anybody with a preexisting condition. An insurance company can no longer say we're not going to cover you.

Also, most Americans under this bill would be required to get some form of health insurance. Not everybody. Some people will get some help. But people who don't need the help and don't get this insurance, they'll probably have to pay a fine. And then there is the controversial issue of a public option, a government-run health care option, Don. That is in this bill.

There is a provision that allows states to opt out. But when we talked about the long road ahead for the Senate debate, still, that is really one of the things to drill down on. You heard those two Democrats. The last two hold out, Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas say very flatly they oppose their leaders bill specifically on this issue of a government-run insurance option. They say if it's still in there, they're going to vote no at the end. So that's going to have to change dramatically for this to continue.

LEMON: Dana, $848 billion paid for how?

BASH: In large part by raising some taxes. Taxes mostly on the wealthiest Americans, but I'll give you some examples. 40 percent tax on so-called Cadillac, or high-cost insurance plans. Now I say the wealthiest Americans, but there's just as another example of the stumbling block. The House did not put this in, because many Democrats say that would affect working Americans, mainly union members who have some nice benefits.

Also there would be a slight increase in Medicare payroll taxes for families making over $250,000. And something that doesn't generate that much revenue, but is certainly interesting because they're trying to pay for every last dime of this -- the cost of this bill. A five percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery. And that does include botox.

LEMON: We're calling it earlier the Botax bill, right?

BASH: That quickly got the nickname Botax bill up here, and it stuck.

LEMON: Let's bring our other players in. Dana, stand by. I want to bring in Mark Preston, and then senior White House correspondent Ed Henry. So, Mark, you know, the health care bill, health care reform legislation has not gotten this far. This has to be viewed as somewhat of a success for the Obama administration and you heard his response there just a couple of minutes ago.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes. And I think Ed, who's been talking to the White House all night can probably give us a little more insight on it. But there's no question this is a major win, as you said at the top in what's going to be a long battle as they try to get health care reform passed, Don.

But I will tell you, we talked about it in policy terms, but in political terms, this is a very big issue for Democrats as well as Republicans, heading into the 2010 elections. So very big issue for Blanche Lincoln who is the senator from Arkansas who provided the 60th vote to move forward on this issue. It's also a very big issue for Chris Dodd who called out the 60th vote when it was announced in the Senate. And a very big issue for Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, who's also facing a very difficult election in 2010.

LEMON: Ed Henry, earlier when I spoke with you, you said that some of the aides at the White House was saying that the baton has passed. We have heard from the president. What else are you hearing now?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they're gratified by this. As you heard, that was the word Robert Gibbs used from the president. Because let's think back to Bill Clinton when he had a similar health care effort. All that time spent, all that political capital spent, yet he never got these kinds of votes on the House and Senate floor. Barack Obama has been able to go much further now, getting a House version through, now getting at least the first hurdle in the Senate. That is a big deal.

But to pick up on Dana's point, she was mentioning the conservative democrats -- Blanch Lincoln, Mary Landrieu, saying, look, unless you water this public option down, we're not going to necessarily vote yes. Well, Bernie Sanders, a liberal democrat, very liberal from Vermont put out a statement after this vote saying, "My vote is not a guaranteed yes on final passage." So basically if you water it down to bring in conservatives and you don't have a strong public option, I'm not necessarily onboard. That's the rub for Harry Reid. That's the rub for this president. And one final point I'll make is that statement you read from Robert Gibbs. He did not mention one important thing, a year-end deadline.

The president has said again and again, this has to be on his desk by the end of the year. That was not mentioned in the White House statement tonight. Is that on purpose? Is it an accident? We'll find out in the days ahead. But they may need to give on that deadline now. And the more this goes into next year, January, February, the harder and harder it gets, and the more and more time it takes up for this president.

LEMON: I think I probably know when we might get an answer, and that's tomorrow morning on "STATE OF THE UNION," because I'm sure John King will ask that question, 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Have a great night. Thanks for helping me out this evening. OK, guys.

HENRY: Thank you.

BASH: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Really appreciate it. There's been a new development in the Fort Hood massacre cases. The suspect couldn't go to the military court, so the military court came to him.

Plus, the Chicago schools cheat. Not everyone's buying the story that he died by his own hand.

And the hot debate over breast cancer screenings, now getting political.

Also, we want your feedback. Make sure you go to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or iReport.com. We want to hear from you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Lots of other news to report to you tonight. Besides health care reform, the accused Fort Hood killer will stay in the military hospital in San Antonio for now. And he'll stay in custody until his court-martial. A magistrate made that ruling today in Army Major Nidal Hasan's hospital room. He is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. It was not clear yet where Hasan might be moved once doctors release him. He's paralyzed from the waist down.

Phoenix police have arrested the parents of an 8-year-old rape victim. The Liberian couple faces child abuse and neglect charges dating back to 2005. They're accused of beating the girl with their fists and with wires and also with sticks. She's been in custody since she was gang raped by four boys in July. Poor little girl. Detectives say her parents blamed her for the rape and for shaming their family.

Was it OK for a police officer to taser a 10-year-old girl before she wouldn't -- because she wouldn't take a shower? The FBI's now trying to answer that question. It happened last week in Ozark, Arkansas. The girl's mother called the cops and said her daughter refused to take a shower, and was getting violent. The officer was suspended for a week with pay for not having a video camera attached to his taser.

And student protesters end their third day inside a building at U.C. Santa Cruz upset over a 32 percent tuition hike. This is just one of several protests at schools across the University of California System. Officials say the system's hurting, and it needs the money. Students say the hikes will hurt working and middle-class students. And the Santa Cruz students have made up a last -- a list of 20 demands, but the school has no plans to negotiate.

A line cutter at Wal-Mart doing some more cutting with the legal system. She cops a plea. We'll tell you about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And this is causing quite a stir. The new "Twilight" movie is a bona fide blockbuster. "New Moon" is the latest instalment to "Twilight" saga. It eclipsed a one-day domestic box office record. It earned nearly, get this, $73 million in its first day on the screens across America. Even Friday night's screening took in more than $26 million bucks. The previous record holder was the Batman film "The Dark Knight."

Oprah signs off from her talk show in September of 2011. And her fans, well, they're already mourning the impending gap in their afternoon schedules. Some places morning schedules. But for the windy city, the end of Oprah is a real blow. She attracts legions of people to Chicago. But the media mogul has plenty of projects to keep her busy. Her new cable network O.W.N., and of course her role as a movie producer. She's co-produced "Precious." It's a movie already getting plenty of Oscar buzz. And our Jason Carroll caught up with the breakout star from that movie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GABBY SIDIBE, ACTRESS: My name is Clarisse Precious Jones. I want to be on the cover of a magazine. I wish I had a light-skinned boyfriend.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It has been called provocative and disturbing and has received an "R" rating.

MONIQUE, ACTRESS: Don't nobody want you, don't nobody need you.

CARROLL: Precious has already won awards. Oscar buzz surrounding Monique, who plays the abusive mother; Mariah Carey, the social worker; and newcomer Gabby Sidibe.

SIDIBE: It's certainly a huge surprise.

CARROLL: Certainly is considering what Sidibe was doing just a few years ago.

SIDIBE: I was seriously just a receptionist, seriously I was just a college student. I went to one audition and it turned into this. And so...

CARROLL: Over coffee, we talk with Sidibe about the movie's graphic subject matter and the audition that almost wasn't.

SIDIBE: A friend of mine called me and told me about the audition. I didn't really want to go, because I had class the same day at the very same time.

MARIAH CAREY, ACTRESS: Can we talk about the abuse?

CARROLL: Based on the novel, "Push," director Lee Daniels tells the story of Precious, an illiterate 16-year-old living in Harlem who was sexually and physically abused.

SIDIBE: I have known this girl in so many different people in my life. Like I have known her in friends and family and in people I didn't want to know.

CARROLL: Sidibe hopes the film will help real life Preciouses.

SIDIBE: People carry these secrets because they think that they're alone. And I think the film shows that you're not alone.

CARROLL (on camera): But some black scholars who say, you know, I'm not quite sure this is the image of the African-American family that should be being put out there. What do you think?

SIDIBE: I think that it's -- it certainly is an image. Does it speak for all of the black community? No.

CARROLL (voice-over): Despite those critics, just walking down the street...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I get a picture with you?

SIDIBE: OK, sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excellent woman.

SIDIBE: Thank you.

CARROLL: ...and you'll see Sidibe has many fans.

(on camera): How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: Eight grade, 13.

CARROLL: Eight grade, 13; do you think you're old enough to see a movie like that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom really wants me to see it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We talked about it, but I don't know the content of the movie itself.

CARROLL: Well, Gabby, what do you think?

SIDIBE: Maybe 12 is old enough to see it, but with a strong conversation afterwards.

CARROLL (voice-over): Sidibe hopes the conversation afterwards will be about hope.

SIDIBE: She doesn't let life income her down and keep her down. She keeps moving and that's where you can see the hope.

CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Good luck to her. Thank you, Jason.

One of Chicago's top civic leaders found dead. It has been ruled a suicide. But those who know Michael Scott are having a hard time accepting it. I went to Chicago and found his life was dogged by controversy right to the end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Funeral services were held today for Chicago school board president Michael Scott. A public ceremony will be held tomorrow. The medical examiner has ruled Scott's death a suicide, but many people in Chicago, they just don't buy it. Police say they have many unanswered questions about this case. Scott was caught up in a federal probe about admissions to the city's coveted charter schools, but when I went to Chicago this week, I discovered there was much, much more. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): The beating death of high school honor student Derrion Albert was another problem. Last week, attorney Chris Cooper (ph) filed a lawsuit naming Scott and Chicago public schools for failing to protect students like Albert. On the very morning Scott's body was found, Scott was due to see Cooper (ph) in court.

(on camera): And then there are these lots, about two dozen or so, right in the shadow of a possible 2016 Olympic venue. If Chicago had won that Olympic bid, this neighborhood and Scott would have done well.

(voice-over): Because Scott had bought land here and was trying to secure more. He was also on the committee bidding for the games. That had raised questions of a conflict of interest, a conflict Scott denied. And no one knows whether any of these issues were worrying him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we had in common was that he wanted to enhance the community.

LEMON: A community still questioning the death of one of their own.

HAROLD DAVIS, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: We believe that somebody hit him in the head. We believe that somebody put his finger on the trigger and pulled it for him.

LEMON (on camera): Murder?

DAVIS: Yes, sir. That's what we believe.

LEMON (voice-over): An emotional hunch, but no evidence, as many struggle to make sense of this mystery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: It will be a week on Monday since Michael Scott's body was found in the Chicago river. Columnist Mary Mitchell with the "Chicago Sun-Times" joins us from Chicago. Mary, when I was there, I read a couple of -- three or four times last week, or at least two or three times last week you wrote about Michael Scott. There was no secret that he was having some issues lately with the probe into the schools, and some other issues with land. But many people don't believe these two things were enough to have him do this. MARY MITCHELL, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, first of all, you know, what we know, the people who followed his career, certainly I've written about him over the years, and I probably had one of the last interviews with him, because I followed him as he rode with a bus of Fenger students where -- you know, Fenger is the high school where Derrion Albert attended before he was murdered.

And, you know, there's two faces to Michael. For one thing, he did have all those problems. But people would describe him as being upbeat. He was the kind of person who you got in a room with him and you brought in a problem, he found a way to help you solve it. You never saw him down. Everything about Michael spoke to being positive. But that's his public face. We don't know what was going on privately. And I have to say, Chicago has seen a lot of public servants and politicians brought down by the Feds. So we don't know what was going on.

LEMON: Yeah. The interesting thing is, too, and people will say, and are saying across the country, with Chicago politics, you never know, Mary. And that's why this whole sort of conspiracy theory is going on because everywhere I went, I have to be honest with you, even on the ride from the airport -- the ride back to the airport, when I walked in Chicago, going to dinner, people were like, in the elevator, "You know Michael Scott didn't kill himself. You know it had something to do with the government and the machine and what have you and Chicago politics." Why is that?

MITCHELL: That's just paranoia. You're still running into people who will tell you that somehow or another there was some conspiracy involving the death of mayor -- former Mayor Harold Washington. They still believe that somebody killed him, even though it's clear that that's not what happened.

I think that it takes time to process suicide. It will take time for people to really come to grips with the fact that something so tragic has happened to someone who was so popular. Michael Scott was a long-time public servant. He was very popular. Even his enemies, even the people who were at the board meetings cried because of his death. So I think it's just going to take time for this to soak in.

LEMON: And Mary, I do have to say this, too, it did not help that the police department would not corroborate what the medical examiner said. And there was sort of this, you know what-ing match going on between the medical examiner, the police department, then the mayor came out as well saying, reprimanding the M.E. publicly. And then the mayor walks away from a press conference because he's upset with the questions there. So that may be sort of exacerbating the situation as well because the agencies can't get their acts together. Or agreement, I should say.

MITCHELL: Well, on one hand, I understand that. He was a public figure. And I think the mayor wanted to give the family time to grieve and time to come to grips with the suicide. And I think everybody's emotions are pretty raw at that point. But I think the police are going out and coming back later and saying, look, it was his gun. The gun was found under the body. We found his money clip. We found his credit cards, we found his money. Day by day, they've been dispelling the idea that someone killed Michael Scott, and really coming to grips with the fact that this was probably suicide, just as the medical examiner said.

LEMON: Yeah. The medical examiner said the body was moved, and it shouldn't have been moved. It was against their rules. But they said they were doing it, the police, because they wanted to preserve the hand in case there was gun residue, whatever, and they did find that as well. So Mary, until the police department finally says they agree with the medical examiner, I guess we'll still call it a mystery. But sadly, if it did happen --

MITCHELL: And that's going to happen very quickly. I'm pretty sure it's going to happen very soon.

LEMON: Yes and of course our thoughts go out with the Scott family. Thank you, Mary, appreciate you joining me.

MITCHELL: Thank you.

LEMON: You know, a couple of natural disasters happening right now overseas, deadly fires down under and torrential rain and flooding in the UK. And we have our own weather issues closer to home, Jacqui Jeras, there she is.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Don, the Pacific Northwest is getting slammed as we speak, and the worst of conditions expected while you sleep tonight. Find out what you can expect for tomorrow's forecast as well coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Dry weather, plus the coming heat wave equal potential trouble in Australia. The nation has issued its first catastrophic brush fire warning in some areas. Some people are being told to leave their homes. This warning means that even the sturdiest homes might not be safe. The idea here is to avoid a repeat of February, that's when a brush fire killed more than 170 people, many of them staying to defend their homes from flames. Let's turn now to Jacqui Jeras. Jacqui, Ida hanging around, won't go away.

JERAS: Well we're talking about those fires, right, Don, they're in Australia.

LEMON: Yeah, we are. But I know that you're talking about Ida, right?

JERAS: Ida's been gone for weeks, man.

LEMON: I was just told that -- someone just told me Ida was causing trouble in Europe. That's what I heard. Not true?

JERAS: Oh, well the remnants of the system from Ida could have gotten caught up to the thing in the UK. I'm like, where are you going, is that an old script in the teleprompter?

LEMON: It doesn't help that I can see you. For some reason the monitor isn't working. So we still are on television, aren't we?

JERAS: We are still on television, at least as far as I'm aware. Hey and pictures, which are really impressive, and this is the big storm that we've been talking about here in the UK. This is the northern parts of Great Britain. And what happened is that we had incredible amounts of rainfall, more than a foot in less than 24 hours, which has caused two rivers to come out of their banks here. It has washed out bridges. It has washed out roads. And more than 1,300 homes have been flooded.

One police officer was also killed when he was trying to help other people, and divert them around some of this flooding. There was more rain here today in the UK. We've got more in the forecast, unfortunately, but not nearly as heavy as it has been in the past.

Now, back here at home, we've got a very powerful storm system in the Pacific Northwest. Here you can see that storm slamming into the coast as we speak and we've got another one back here that you can see, which is still just waiting in the wings.

The worst of the conditions coming in here overnight tonight, where we're going to be seeing the heavy rain, heavy snow. We could see as much as 10 to 20 inches by dawn tomorrow, believe it or not, in the higher elevations. And the winds will be gusting beyond 60 miles- per-hour at the coast. We also have some wet weather here along the Gulf Coast. And that will continue to be your story throughout the day tomorrow. Watch for that to spread throughout the entire southeast. Much of the rest of the nation looks pretty good for those early holiday travelers.

LEMON: Jacqui, they fixed my monitor. I can see you now.

JERAS: Hello.

LEMON: Now hopefully I'll know what the remnants of Ida are. Thank you, Jacqui, good to see you.

JERAS: Sure.

LEMON: A space walk kept the expectant father among the Atlantis crew occupied today, extremely occupied. Randolph Bresnik and a fellow crew member blazed through the repair mission outside the International Space Station. But still no word about a baby Bresnik. His wife was due to give birth yesterday. So today he kept busy by installing new antennas and setting up new attachments. He hopes to be on the phone for the big moment. We hope he is. I hope he makes it home. That would be great.

A political battle over breasts, why mammograms are the hot topic on Capitol Hill as senators debate health care reform.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time to talk "What Matters," women's health. This week, women are getting bombarded with a ton of conflicting medical advice, get a mammogram, don't get a mammogram, get a pap test, never mind. And evolving recommendations are colliding with the health care debate on Capitol Hill as well. The sticking point, whether government panels would be able to limit access to screenings, if the Senate version of the overhaul is passed. I spoke with senators from both sides earlier tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: My wife Bobbie is a breast cancer survivor and we made the diagnosis as a result of a screening mammogram in her 40s. She was in her 40s when that happened. She's had three operations, two bouts of chemotherapy. She's been through the whole thing. If it wasn't for that screening mammogram, she would not be with us today six years later as a breast cancer survivor.

So for a government panel, this preventive task force, to say we should not do these screening mammograms for women in their 40s, even though we know it saves one woman for every 1,900 women who are being screened, I think is wrong.

This is a government panel that's making decisions, and this is, to me, the first sign of what's going to happen with rationed care in America.

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D), MICHIGAN: I certainly wouldn't be supporting this bill if it was doing what he said about mammograms. What we have right now is insurance companies decide whether or not a woman has mammogram coverage, whether or not she has maternity care coverage, or any other coverage. And the average woman is paying 49 percent more than her male counterpart for the same coverage or less in the individual insurance market.

There are advisory panels, absolutely. And we want doctors and patients to have the very best information. And there are advisory panels that will share information. But that is different than saying that women aren't going to be able to get mammogram coverage, or that it will be mandatory, or that somehow it will change what the coverage is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: This particular side of the debate started Wednesday when the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that women can hold off on their annual mammograms until age 50. But since then, Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has said federal policy has not changed.

The Wal-Mart scuffle that turned into a whole lot more, and left this school teacher facing a possible 15-year jail sentence. Ahead, the deal that will keep her out of prison and what she has to say about it.

Plus, the $420,000 glove. And that wasn't the only item worn by the King of Pop, selling for top dollars today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: A lot of you on the social networking sites have been writing me about this story, the Wal-Mart cutting in line story. Four days in jail rather than a possible 15 years in prison. That's part of the sentence for the woman involved in the Wal-Mart scuffle that led to allegations of racism. And CNN's David Mattingly caught up with her outside a Missouri courthouse after the matter was settled.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: An 11th-hour plea deal helped Heather Ellis avoid serious jail time and a permanent felony record. But the attention generated by allegations of racial bias surrounding the case means Kennett, Missouri, may have a more long-term problem.

MORLEY SWINGLE, PROSECUTOR: Kennett is a town where it's just like anywhere else in the United States. This is not a racist environment, as I said in closing argument.

MATTINGLY (on camera): There are clearly people around in this crowd, supporters of her, that do not believe that.

SWINGLE: Well, I think a lot of the people are not residents of this area. They came here from other parts of the country hoping to find racism that wasn't here.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Nearly three years after Heather Ellis was accused of cutting in line at the local Wal-Mart, caught on tape shoving away another customer's items, questions remain over why the moment escalated into such a high-profile arrest.

Ellis pleads guilty to resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. Charges of assaulting two police officers were dropped.

HEATHER ELLIS, DEFENDANT: I was responsible for my actions, and I was able to say what I did wrong, and I think that it's important that everybody else step up to the plate and admit their wrong, too.

MATTINGLY: Ellis testified she was taunted by one police officer, who told her, "Go back to the ghetto." It was the only racially charged moment of the three-day trial.

But witnesses from the scene, customers, police, employees described Ellis as the one who was offensive.

(on camera): So all the people who testified that you were cursing, that you were abusive, that you were threatening, they were not telling the truth?

ELLIS: They were not telling the truth. When cross-examined they were coming up with things that were not in their reports. There were even -- that they wrote freshly when the event happened three years ago. They had all been schooled on what to say.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): But in closing arguments, the prosecutor told the jury it was Ellis who was telling a lie, a lie that dug her deeply into a hole when the case attracted so much attention. The plea deal punishment includes probation, four days in county jail, and anger management classes.

David Mattingly, CNN, Kennett, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Wow, cutting in line.

One hurdle cleared. The Senate is ready to start debating health care reform. So what's the Republicans' battle plan? Senator Judd Gregg lays it out for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Sixty votes needed to start Senate debate on health care reform, and 60 votes, that's exactly what Democrats got. No breathing room there. I spoke with Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire of what is next for Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JUDD GREGG (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: No, no. This was a party line vote, and it reflects the fact that we have very strong differences between us as to how you address health care. And our view is that this bill is just a massive expansion of government. It's going to be extraordinarily intrusive in people's lives. It's going to put the federal government between you and your doctor. And it's going to negatively affect Medicare's long-term solvency and it's obviously going to raise taxes on small businesses significantly. And these are things we simply don't support. Obviously the Democratic Party and the membership in the Senate feel that they are good ideas. We think they aren't.

LEMON: So this is obviously now -- it is Thanksgiving time, so you go home for a week and you come back. What is the Republican strategy now from this point on?

GREGG: We're going to have a whole series of bills. We'll start the amendment process when we come back. It's a big bill, and it deserves a lot of time on the floor. Hopefully the leader will not cut off the amendments or foreshorten our ability to offer amendments.

We're going to offer a whole series amendments, the way we think you can do better health care reform. And there are ways to do a lot better health care reform. I've got four or five amendments that I intend to offer in the area of limiting abusive lawsuits, giving employers more opportunity to reward workers and people who work with them who live a healthier lifestyle and do things to prevent -- in the area of preventive medicine, encouraging doctors to deliver quality versus quantity, and focusing on disease...

LEMON: So it sounds like you are, and I don't know if you speak for the entire Republican Party, you're not disheartened by this?

GREGG: Well, I am disheartened because the memo controls the meeting, we all know that. And something like 97 percent of all bills that pass through this process which we just went through, a motion to proceed, end up being passed. And this is a terrible bill. This country cannot afford this bill. Our kids can't afford the debt it's going to add to their backs. And I don't think -- I think it's going to be very unhealthy for our health care system because it is going to significantly limit your choices and it's going to limit innovation.

LEMON: Senator, it's good to talk to you. Have a great Thanksgiving, OK?

GREGG: Thank you, Don, appreciate it.

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LEMON: Senator Judd Gregg.

So the famous glove changes hands once again. I'm talking about Michael Jackson's glove, the one that gave him the nickname the gloved one. You won't believe how much it grabbed at auction. I think I told you just a little bit ago.

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LEMON: Michael Jackson's famous glove sold at auction in New York today for 10 times than expected to sell for, $420,000 is what someone paid for his rhinestone studded white glove. The same glove that the King of Pop wore when he performed the moonwalk during Motown's 25th anniversary special. The fedora he donned sold for $22,000. Fans lined up outside the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square to get a glimpse of the items that were auctioned. The glove had only been expected to sell for about $40,000. Wow, went for a ton of cash.

I'm Don Lemon in Atlanta. See you back here tomorrow night, 6, 7 and 10 p.m. Eastern. Have a good night, everyone.