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Constable Speaks out about Child Custody Case; Northeast Digging out from Blizzard; Senate Headed for Christmas Eve Vote on Health Care; Training for the Final Frontier: Astronaut Prepares for Mission; AMA Backs Health-Care Reform

Aired December 21, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We're pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with that lady right there, Melissa Long.

MELISSA LONG, HOST: Thank you, Tony. Have a terrific afternoon.

HARRIS: You, too.

LONG: Senate pushing forward on health-care reform but barely. Sixty-40 on a vote to spare, and more hurdles to clear before a possible Christmas Eve end game. Blustery inside the Senate chamber, and D.C. and a chunk of the northeast feeling dazed, still digging out after a big winter blizzard.

And pregnant? Sorry, that's prohibited. A U.S. general going to great lengths to keep each and every troop deployed in northern Iraq.

We are pushing forward, also, on a child custody case that is a kidnapping case. Sure, it's not exactly a rare occurrence, unfortunately, but this one is different. The law actually might have helped a father to kidnap his son, not that constables knew it at the time it at the very time it happened.

Last week we showed you how they returned a 10-year-old San Antonio, Texas, boy to his father per a judge's order. The son, on a school bus at the time, he wanted no part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN PAUL LACOMBE, AT CENTER OF CUSTODY DISPUTE: I want to stay with my mother!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going to let him do anything to you.

LACOMBE: No, please! No, no, no, no, no, no. Someone help me, please! Someone help me, please! Someone help me, please!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: The little boy screaming, "Someone help me, please." And it turns out the father allegedly used incomplete and invalid documents from Mexico, basically tricking a judge into giving him temporary custody, and got the constables to do the dirty work for him.

Now, that was two months ago. The child, Jean Paul Lacombe, hasn't been seen since then. Just a short time ago, the constable talked about what happened that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONSTABLE MARK VOJVODICH, BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS: It's a slippery slope if you were to go back and ask officers, "All right, you now have the authority to second-guess a district court judge or perhaps child psychologists who have interviewed."

Go beyond this case, cases where they have had children who have been in counseling. Are we going to go ahead and say, "You know what? We're going to disregard what you said. We're going to do how we feel"? That's really not a feasible alternative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Now, he also added that, in hindsight, Child Protective Services maybe should have been there, as well, at the school bus.

The missing boy's mom has been extremely critical of the constables who took her son off the bus, handing him to his father. Basically, she believes the red flags were there, and they missed all of them. Red flags like her son's cries, her son's protests. Here's what she said last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERENICE DIAZ, MOTHER: They could -- did something of course. It was the last time I saw my kid. I begged the police, please, please stop them.

"We can't do nothing, sorry." They could save my kid from, you know, being abducted. And they didn't. Because they were only following orders and not bringing up common sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Let's talk to Sunny Hostin about how this case might actually change the law. Sunny's a legal contributor for TruTV's "In Session."

Sunny, thanks so much. You heard what the constable had to say. He just said that within the last 30 minutes. What is your reaction?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: You know, my reaction is really the same, and my reaction has been all along I really still think that the police dropped the ball. Sure, they had a court order, but in effecting a court order, Melissa, there are several ways that that can be done.

The wrong way to do it, I believe, is going on a school bus and taking a child off of a school bus in a very traumatic way, in a very traumatic situation, and ignoring the child's plea for help. When the child explained to them that that was not his father, that he didn't want to go with him and, most importantly, that his father had beaten him, I think at that point, that constable had the authority to take a step back and use his law enforcement judgment. And he didn't do that, and he dropped the ball.

LONG: It's really some difficult video to watch, as that little boy is screaming. But at the same time, the constables are there. They're likely just trying to do their jobs. They have a court order from a judge.

HOSTIN: Yes, and that is true. Again, but in effecting court order, law enforcement has the ability to decide how to do that, to determine how to do that.

And they could have checked to make sure that that court order was valid. And again, they could have involved Child Protective Services. So just to say, "You know, I'm just doing my job. I'm following a court order," I don't think in this situation, given the circumstances, it's enough. And I think we will certainly see a change in the law because of this.

LONG: So you see real failings in the system. What could we see short-term, long-term when it comes to possibly changing the legislation that's there right now, protecting these kids?

HOSTIN: Sure, and again, I think in the short-term, we're going to have courts definitely make sure that documents that are presented to them are accurate. I think they're going to question the lawyers much more when you have documents from another jurisdiction, from another country.

And I think, in the long-term, we will see some sort of legislation enacted to protect children more in terms of child abductions. And especially, I think what we will see is the child's voice being given some sort of merit, some sort of stay here, the child's will. And the United Nations has already enacted that sort of provision. The United States hasn't signed onto it. But I think that's the sort of legislation that we will see.

LONG: And of course, Sunny, this little boy still missing. That video was captured back in October on his school bus. And that little boy still missing with his father.

Sunny Hostin again. She is a legal analyst with TruTV.

Thank you. Appreciate your time and expertise.

HOSTIN: Thank you.

LONG: "America's Most Wanted" also running with this case right now, and the boy's mom, Berenice, has set up a Web site, FindJeanPaul.com. There you will find a photograph of the 10-year- old, a photograph of the father, information about both of them, and any updates in this tense custody case. Another custody case could be taking a big step forward today. Could be. But considering everything that he has been through, David Goldman likely won't believe it until he and his son, Sean, are back home in New Jersey.

Brazil's chief justice is expected to rule on Goldman's custody fight with the boy's Brazilian family. Now, Goldman has been fighting this fight for five years. Last week he came close -- close -- to winning it, but the high court blocked a lower court's ruling that gave Goldman custody.

The boy's mom took him to her native Brazil five years ago, and she passed away last year.

If the weekend could be a sign of things to come, we may be in for a really challenging winter. May take days for the northeast to fully dig out of the record-setting snowfalls we saw in states like New Jersey, where as much as two feet of snow fell.

Then across the river, not through the woods, in Manhattan, not a lot better. Piles of snow in the streets of New York City. Live picture right there. Actually, that's on tape from Times Square.

And getting anywhere was difficult unless you were skiing or sledding or snowboarding. In Virginia, state police got thousands of calls for help from motorists that were stranded. At least seven storm-related deaths have been reported, as well.

Federal offices in Washington, they're closed today, in fact, due to the weather. The nation's capital is seeing record snowfall. And then, in Annapolis, Maryland, they are digging out just under 21 inches of snow. And that's where we find meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi there.

Well, coming from Annapolis, where the sun is out, the snow continues to melt, but we're got quite a few puddles and a few spots of ice here and there on the roadway.

I'm with CNN photojournalist Ken Tillis (ph). And Ken, let's walk our way up the street just a little bit, and watch out for some traffic, too.

The traffic has actually had, really, no major issues. We've had about 30 trucks, 30 vehicles here in the city that have been doing a great job moving a lot of the snowfall out of the main streets. We've had salt on the sidewalks. That certainly helped matters. And around the state, outside the city, around the same, we've had around 814 vehicles that have also been keeping the roadways relatively clear.

Still, though, you have a lot of people out there. You have a few slick spots in the roadway. So by all means, take it easy. Be careful out there.

In Annapolis, though, the snow dumped about 28 inches of snowfall, and this is a city that was founded back in 1649. And this is going to end up stacking up as one of the most historic snowfalls they've ever had.

And it was so bad, in fact, they actually had some issues with the newspaper. The newspaper that comes out on Sunday, the edition was actually not able to be sent out. So today, people are going to get a double issue of newspapers. So they're going to have a nice big stack to use.

The conditions are going to get pretty good for the rest of the week. We can expect temperatures to warm up again. But we have, at the same time, yet another storm system that's going to start coming right through the nation, affecting millions of people. And it's going to be very interesting to see how that pans out in the coming days.

That is the latest we've got from Annapolis. We'll send it back to you in the studio.

LONG: Reynolds, thanks so much. And we hope you will stay with us.

We have severe weather expert Chad Myers with the forecast, plus the very latest on all the wayward travelers that have been caught in this weekend blizzard that's coming up in just about 20 minutes.

Likely while you were fast asleep and having some good dreams, health reform passing a big hurdle. Nothing like a little cloture at 1 in the morning. We'll be talking about the next steps and also what it means for the health of the Obama presidency.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: It was 21 years ago today. A plane took off from London bound for New York City. And then, less than in an hour later, it lay in pieces in and in and around the town of Lockerbie, Scotland. We remember the 270 lives lost in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: President Obama with a few things to say about the Senate's late, late night. He praised their vote to end debate and push forward on health care reform and the health-care reform bill. He also took a swipe at opponents who say the bill will bloat the federal deficit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For all those who are continually carping about how this is somehow a big-spending government bill, this cuts our deficit by $132 billion the first ten years and by over a trillion in the second. That argument that opponents are making against this bill does not hold water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: The Senate has more votes on the bill this week. They're pushing for a final vote by Christmas Eve. And a lot of partisanship here. The 60/40 vote to end debate was along party lines. If you heard Republicans John McCain, Mitch McConnell last night, you could sense they were not pleased.

Some of the bill's requirements: Americans would have to get insurance or face fines. Families of four making $88,000 or less per year, who get a government subsidy, and families making under $29,000 per year could qualify for Medicaid.

Let's bring in our CNN senior political analyst, Gloria Borger, to help us get some more insight on this.

And tell us right now, as we look to the deadline of a new year, we look to Christmas Eve, possible vote. What does the president have on the line here?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, the president has so much on the line here. Imagine the story line we'd be talking about right now if he didn't get the vote that he needed last night. And if his major domestic initiative did not look like it was headed towards passage in the Senate.

But even once that happens, and we do expect that to happen, he still has to get the House and the Senate together, and most of all, he's got to convince a very skeptical public out there that this is good for them, that this is going to bring down the deficit, that this is going to make health care better, that this is not going to raise most of their taxes tremendously. And right now, our poll shows that 56 percent of the people in this country oppose it.

LONG: Uh-huh. OK. We know that Obama wanted to sign this bill by the end of the year, but David Axelrod saying over the weekend, his senior advisor, not likely to happen. So the longer it hangs out there, how difficult will it actually be to get it passed?

BORGER: Well, I think you don't want it hanging out there for a very long time. But the truth of the matter is that what the president is going to have to do and what people on the Hill want him to do is to get very involved in this conference committee between the House and the Senate. That this is going to require presidential leadership, and if they're not going to wind up with a public option, what are they going to wind up with? And what kind of taxes are OK with him to levy to pay for this measure?

I think that right now, he not only has to convince the American public that this is good for them, but he's got to convince members of the House and the Senate, particularly Democrats, that this bill isn't going to hurt them when they go home to campaign for re-election. It's going to be really, really tough.

LONG: Talking about convincing Democrats. Let's talk about the Republicans, though. Because we have unanimous opposition from the Republicans, so we have the Senate GOP pretty emboldened.

BORGER: Yes, absolutely. Because, you know, they're looking at the same poll numbers we're looking at. The longer this bill remains out there, they've been able to convince lots of the American electorate that it isn't going to be any good for them and that it is going to below the deficit, no matter what we just heard the president say. And so they believe that, in the short term at least, and that means to the 2010 midterm elections, this is going to work for them.

However, when you look at the polls and you ask the American public, gee, do the Republicans have a better idea, the answer is usually no. So sometime between 2010 and the presidential election, they're going to having to figure out what they're for, what they want to propose, and if they want to fix this bill, how they want to fix it, because the public is not convinced they can lead on this issue.

LONG: Really long days and nights for our lawmakers.

BORGER: You bet.

LONG: And also for the CNN political team. Did you get much sleep last night?

BORGER: I did, but poor Dana Bash, oh, no.

LONG: Up until the wee hours of the morning.

BORGER: Absolutely.

LONG: All right, Gloria. Thanks so much for your perspective. Appreciate it.

Well, she is an astronaut. She's a mom, a pioneer, and we're counting down to her mission.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: OK. Let's get you to some of the other big stories happening on this Monday.

Twelve fewer detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison today. Over the weekend, American authorities returned a dozen men to their home countries, and that includes Afghanistan. There are now over 200 detainees remaining at that soon-to-be-shut-down Gitmo.

From Connecticut now, the lawyer for Raymond Clark has won a continuance for his client. The 24-year-old lab tech is accused of killing Yale graduate student Annie Le. This was back in September. The judge is now setting a January 26 court date.

And if you want your holiday cheer to arrive before Mr. Santa Claus, time is really running out. The postal service says today is the last day you can mail first-class letters and cards and expect them to get there by the 25th.

Time now for a CNN exclusive, our year-long series, "Counting Down Cady." CNN's John Zarrella has been following a NASA astronaut, Catherine "Cady" Coleman as she is preparing for her trip to the International Space Station this very time next year. John now joins us from Miami with more on her story -- John. JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Melissa.

Well, you know, next year at this time, she'll be flying with two other crew members on a Soyuz rocket, because the space shuttle program, as most of our viewers know, is going to be ending. So she'll be going up on a Soyuz rocket.

And we've really been given some unprecedented access inside her personal life, inside her training, the training with her crewmates, because most of the time what we all see is just astronauts waving when they come out. Well, "American Morning" once a month on the "American Morning" program, we're going to be giving people installments of our series, showing those installments.

And, of course, there's always outtakes to those pieces that we do. And here's a look at some of the behind-the-scenes stuff from a recent trip to Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): We spent about three days out at the Johnson Space Center, following astronaut Cady Coleman, who's getting ready for her mission to the International Space Station, coming up. Next December 10 is right now the target launch date, with her two fellow crew members. Part of this year-long series we're doing.

CATHERINE COLEMAN, ASTRONAUT: ... the producer and John Zarrella, the reporter, and the big guy with the camera is Jerry. Don't cross that guy, because then he can take pictures of you. You know?

ZARRELLA (on camera): I'm being your sound tech today.

COLEMAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) A little bit smaller than (UNINTELLIGIBLE). That actually works for me.

ZARRELLA: Because you're small. Or just because...

COLEMAN: Smaller than optimal.

ZARRELLA: I meant that in the kindest sense.

What you're looking at is a mock-up of the International Space Station. This is the neutral buoyancy lab at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and this tank is 200 feet long. It's more than 100 feet wide. And it contains more than six million gallons of water. Yes, it's fresh water.

And for six hours, Cady Coleman is going to be down there, practicing some of the things that she might have to do if she were on a space walk on the International Space Station.

And, you know, of course, when you're doing these things and you're spending so much time with the astronauts as a reporter, you've got to get involved. And sometimes that means, well, you've actually got to encourage them. COLEMAN: It wasn't very fast.

ZARRELLA: Come on, let's go, let's go, let's pick it up. Come on.

COLEMAN: We're trying. We're trying. If you say it in Russian, we'll do it.

ZARRELLA: I don't know any Russian, even though my two daughters are Russian.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are other news men buried under...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: That story for a moment. And you can follow the exclusive on "American Morning." But right now straight to Washington, D.C. Harry Reid at the microphone in a moment. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. The conversation today about health care progressing through the Senate.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: He sees patients. Patients who come to him are there to find out if there's things he can do to help them. He feels that every day.

Dr. Wilson, to be president of this great organization, must have a distinguished service record, and he does. We appreciate his support. Not only as a doctor of medicine but his contributions to the military, where he was a flight surgeon. For to us get the support of the American Medical Association is really important and really makes us who have worked on this so long have a little bit of humility. In fact, a lot of humility.

The last several days, we've also received support from other organizations: heart association, American Diabetes Association, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, American Cancer Society, AARP. Notice I pronounced it right today. Each of these organizations know the cost of inaction is too high, that our bill will bring needed relief to millions and millions of Americans who wake up every day without health insurance or waking up every day afraid they're going to lose their health insurance.

Like those in the medical field, our responsibility as legislators is to care for all people, not just those that are fortunate. That's what this historic reform fixes. It starts to break down the wall between a class of Americans who can afford to stay healthy and another who cannot.

Americans are dying from diseases we know how to treat; living in pain because it's too expensive to ease. You hear us talk about this a lot and have a lot lately heard us talk about this, but every day, doctors like Dr. Wilson see it. They don't talk about it. He sees it. They know the bill will soon be sent to the president and will save lives, save money, extend Medicare for ten years, and basically save Medicare -- Doctor.

DR. CECIL WILSON, PRESIDENT-ELECT, AMA: Thank you.

Well, thank you, Senator Reid, and thank you all for joining us today. I'm Cecil Wilson, as you've heard. I'm the president-elect of the American Medical Association and an internist in Winter Park, Florida.

I flew in to Washington's snowstorm, some have said, of the century because the message I have to communicate with you today is of critical importance to the nation's physicians and to the patients we dedicate our lives to caring for.

After a close and careful review, the AMA is pleased to announce its support for passage of the amended health-system reform bill.

The Senate bill includes a number of key benefits for meaningful reform. It will include improvements in choice and access to affordable health-insurance coverage and eliminate denials based on pre-existing conditions. It will improve -- it will get rid of lifetime limits on health-care coverage, as well as higher premiums based on medical conditions or agenda. These are important benefits for those who have insurance now and for those who want it but have been unable to get it.

America has the best health care in the world, if you can get it. But for far too many people, access to care is out of reach, because they lack insurance, and this is just not acceptable to physicians who have had high quality care in an often-fragmented system that doesn't work for them or their patients.

This bill will increase coverage for preventive and wellness care that can lead to better disease management and prevention. It will further the development of research that can help patients and physicians compare treatments and make better informed medical decisions. It authorizes grants to test alternative medical liability reforms that show promise in benefiting patients and reducing the impact of defensive medicine.

Over the past few weeks, the AMA communicated closely with members of the Senate about items we support and items of concern in the Senate bill. We are pleased that the manager's amendment addresses several issues.

For example, the bill increases payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons in underserved areas while no longer cutting payments to other physicians. It eliminates the tax on physician services for cosmetic surgery and drops the proposed physician enrollment fee for Medicare.

Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by the Senate will bring us close to the finish line on health-system reform. There is still work to do, and the AMA will continue to stay actively engaged throughout the conference process to further improve the final bill for patients and physicians.

We will work to resolve issues of concern to physicians, such as the creation of a Medicare payment board, quality improvement and Medicare data release initiatives.

In addition, physicians and advocates for Baby Boomers, seniors and military families have also been engaged in efforts to fix the broken Medicare physician payment formula that threatens access to care.

We commend senators Reid and Baucus for keeping the focus on a permanent solution to this problem early next year, and we will continue to work closely with them to get that solution.

The AMA is committed to health system reform that improves the system for patients and the physicians who take care of them. And we are pleased to be able to support passage of the amended Senate health system reform bill. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Baucus.

SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT), FINANCE CMTE. CHAIRMAN : Thank you, Mr. Reid and Dr. Wilson.

This is an historic moment, not only because of the legislation that's about to be passed in the Senate, but also because of the statement we just heard. There are many organizations who are endorsing this legislation essentially because they know it's the right thing to do for America. Hospitals know that. Hospice, home health, pharmaceutical industry, they all know this is good for our country.

But it's also historic because -- here's another endorsement. This by the American medical association. That's very important to me that the American Medical Association is not opposing legislation but rather supports it. And supporting it in a way where it wants to keep working with the Senate on issues that concern them.

We mentioned the payment visits (ph) for doctors; Dr. Wilson also mentioned the Medicare commission. And it's that attitude of saying yes, this is good, it's good for the country. But also yes, we want to keep working with you. It's that attitude of working together trying to find a common solution, which means so much to me and which was not found regrettably in the Senate in the last several weeks.

But here are groups that were not part of the Senate outside who want to do the right thing. This is especially important to hear an endorsement from doctors. After all, it is doctors who spend more time with patients than any other group. They know what's needed. They know the problems of insurance companies denying payment. They know it's wrong that a person can't get insurance coverage because of a pre-existing condition, and they also know that it's wrong for an insurance company to rescind a policy, again based on some minor, frivolous health condition.

Dr. Wilson also mentioned the importance of eliminating annual limits and lifetime limits on benefits. Doctors know. Doctors see patients. They work with patients. And Dr. Wilson's statement also included all the reasons why many of us have given in the past -- gosh, almost a year now -- explaining why health care reform is so vitally important.

It's historic because of the legislation but also because the American Medical Association is historically taken a very positive statement which I think -- which I find comforting because it's positive and second, comforting and honest saying yes, it's an attitude of wanting to work with us, which I find very encouraging. I thank you, Doctor, very, very much. Where is Dr. Wilson? I thank you, Dr. Wilson very much, for that. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Dodd.

SEN. CHRIS DODD, (D), CONNECTICUT: Thank you, Leader. Let me just underscore the points made by Leader Reid and Max Baucus and Dr. Wilson. I suspect if you could only have one organization or group of people to support this bill, the choice we'd probably make is the one you're hearing today. While it's important to have other organizations be supportive, there's nothing more fundamental when you get right down to this than the relationship between a patient and their doctor. That's at the most fundamental level.

Whether or not have you access to that doctor, whether or not you have the resources to be able to compensate that doctor for his or her services. And so, of all the organizations and groups that have supported this had bill, I rate this one as the most important because it speaks to that relationship between patients and doctors.

There are a number of provisions in this bill. You've heard some of the provisions in this bill articulated by Leader Reid and Max Baucus and Dr. Wilson.

One provision that Senator Tom Harkin and I worked on that Senator Kennedy cared deeply about was making it possible for young men and women who would desire to become physicians in our country to be able to do so by reducing the tremendous cost. And so the scholarships, grants, loans in this bill make it possible for us to increase the workforce.

Some estimates are more than 16,000 primary care physicians are needed with the expansion of 31 million people that now will have health care. And so as we expand the numbers of people who have that kind of coverage, the demands on the providers, particularly physicians, will grow. So, the ability of young men and women who have the strong ambition to be a health care provider needs to be more accessible and less costly.

In one of the major provisions coming out of the Health Committee was in fact, designed to do just that. On behalf of my colleagues on the Health Committee, particularly Senator Harkin, Senator Mikulski, Senator Murray and Senator BingAMAn, particularly those who worked on the workforce issues, this is a very important moment. We're very grateful to the AMA, particularly you, Dr. Wilson, for your support of this effort. This is going to make a huge difference in this country.

UNIDENTFIED MALE: Senator Harkin.

SEN. THOMAS HARKIN (D), IOWA: Well, Dr. Wilson, thank you very much for being here and for your great endorsement of this bill.

Some of you may know, I was a naval aviator back in the Sixties, and we always had naval flight surgeons that took good care of us. And I found out that Dr. Wilson is a former Navy flight surgeon. In fact, we served in the same area of operations in the 1960s. We didn't know each other, but we served in the same area.

As soon as I found that out, I knew we were in good hands.

Well, no one knows...

LONG: House Democratic Senate leaders today talking about the progress being made when it comes to health care reform in the Senate. The Senate leader, Harry Reid, starting off this news conference just a bit ago, saying our bill will bring relief to millions of Americans, those without health insurance or those fearing they could lose their health insurance. To directly quote Mr. Reid, Senator Reid, "This historic reform fixes health care problems, breaks down the wall between the class of Americans that can afford to stay healthy and those who cannot."

Harry Reid also talk about the support this amended Senate version is getting from the American Heart Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, AARP, American Cancer Society and American Medical Association.

We heard from president-elect of the AMA, the American Medical Association, saying that the AMA is throwing its support behind this amended version of health care reform.

The news conference is happening today in Washington, D.C. After a very long weekend of debate and discussion about health care reform in the Senate. A 1:00 a.m. vote today, early today. All 60 members of the Democratic caucus showing their support for this Senate bill. Republicans unanimously opposed to this piece of legislation.

As you know, this is in the Senate. Then, of course, we have the House version, as well. And if this passage does happen in the Senate, both the House and Senate versions, of course, will need to coalesce.

In the Senate, the Democrats need every last Democratic vote to avoid a GOP filibuster since I have mentioned they of course, have that unanimous opposition to it.

President Obama did want this signed before the end of the year. However, it looks like that will not be happening, but it looks like we could have a vote as early as Christmas Eve. That's a big developing story when it comes to health care reform in Washington, D.C. today.

Also, a breaking story out of Los Angeles. A California appeals court rejecting Roman Polanski's bid to have that sex case dismissed. Attorneys for the fugitive director argued earlier this month that misconduct in the case was grounds for dismissal of a charge of having unlawful sex with a minor. That was back in 1977. Polanski is on house arrest at his Swiss chalet. He was arrested on a fugitive warrant back in September of this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: To bring you that news conference out of Washington on health care reform, we had to prematurely break out of a story. We want to bring you that story in its entirety. Bring back in John Zarrella out of Miami.

I know you're busy on a CNN exclusive series, "Counting Down Katie." It's about one lady's quest to be on the international space station this time next year.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in fact, she's going to go for six months with two fellow crew members. Not the first time she's been in space. She's flown twice on space shuttle missions. But yes, this is the behind-the-scenes look.

Our pieces are running every month "AMERICAN MORNING," four a year as we count down to her liftoff. This piece we're bringing to viewers today is this little behind-the-scenes look. It was so good the first time, we thought we would do it all over from the top again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (voice-over): We spent about three days out at the Johnson Space Center following astronaut Cady Coleman, who's getting ready for her mission to the international space station coming up next December 10th right now is the target launch day with her two fellow crew members. Part of this year-long series we're doing.

CADY COLEMAN, ASTRONAUT: (INAUDIBLE) There's John Zarrella the reporter and the big guy with the camera. Don't cross that guy because he can take pictures of you for CNN.

(LAUGHTER)

ZARRELLA (on camera): I'm being your sound tech today.

COLEMAN: He's helped me. I'm a little smaller, find a fit that actually works for me.

ZARRELLA: Because you're small. Or just because.

COLEMAN: Smaller than optimal. For the suit.

ZARRELLA: I meant that in the kindest terms.

ZARRELLA: What you're looking at is a mock-up of the international space station. This is the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, and this tank is 200 feet long. It's more than 100 feet wide. And it contains more than 6 million gallons of water.

Yes, it's fresh water and for six hours, Cady Coleman is going to be down there practicing some of the things that she might have to do if she were on a space walk on the international space station. And you know, of course, when you're doing these things and you're spending so much time with the astronauts, as a reporter, you've got to get involved and sometimes that means, well, you've actually got to encourage them.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) While we were driving!

COLEMAN: It wasn't very fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six miles an hour. Come on, let's go, let's go. Let's pick it up. Come on.

COLEMAN: We're trying. We're trying. If you say it in Russian, we'll do it.

ZARRELLA: I don't know any Russian, even though my two daughters are Russian.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are other newsmen buried under the floor.

ZARRELLA: Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure they're all over the Johnson space center.

(voice-over): One of the coolest parts of the trip was the Virtual Reality Lab. Here, the astronauts and Cady Coleman was doing it while we were there, train for what they would do on a space walk if for instance, the tether line that holds them to the space station were to break. How would their jet packs -- would they get back to the space station safely?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See if you got the right stuff.

ZARRELLA: I don't. I got -- trust me, I know I don't.

(voice-over): Well, after she did all of her training runs, I actually got to do one with her.

(on camrea): All right. I'm here. You need me to sit down? This won't hurt, will it?

COLEMAN: Okay...

ZARRELLA: I'll be gentle.

COLEMAN: This is where I get you back for all those piercing interview questions.

ZARRELLA: I can see that already. And it's like I have a space suit on, Jerry.

COLEMAN: I see Spongebob. We've got Spongebob in sight.

(LAUGHTER)

(voice-over): So, in this case, I'm riding on her back, and Cady has to save the both of us. COLEMAN: We lived. John, the viewers must have voted to have you live. I got the secret ballot up here.

ZARRELLA: The secret ballot! They voted for me to live?

COLEMAN: The secret ballot.

ZARRELLA: ... for another day. Hey, listen, I'll bet there's some astronauts who didn't do as good as I did the first time. Or were just as bad as I was. Let's put it that way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: So, at least in the -- in the virtual reality world there, Cady actually left me outside the space station, Melissa. So, she may have said that I lived in that, but I was stuck outside and she managed to get herself back in. But you know, all of that training that you saw the fun stuff and all of that training that she was doing took place in two days.

LONG: Wow.

ZARRELLA: Underwater, virtual reality. All of the things she was doing were actually compressed into two days of training. She's got to do this kind of stuff for a year with crewmates. Here -- over in Houston, she goes to Russia several times. To Japan, to Europe, all the training that's involved for the six months she'll be staying on the international space station.

LONG: Thank you, John. Terrific series. I notice she didn't say anything when you tried to talk about your skills when you compare them to other astronauts. Thank you, John.

John's exclusive series and more each day on the Most News in the Morning, CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" and the show runs 6:00 a.m. Eastern with John Roberts and Kiren Chetry.

Let's check other big stories happening this Monday. A new abortion law in Oklahoma is on hold, at least for now. A judge has extended a temporary restraining order against the legislation, which critics say is an invasion of privacy. The law requires any woman requiring seeking an abortion to answer a series of questions, and her responses could be posted online.

Five men are arrested for in Poland for allegedly stealing the infamous sign from Auschwitz last week. The sign was cut into three pieces to remove it from the Nazi prison camp's gate. Police say the suspects hoped to sell each piece.

And a Los Angeles coroner will try to figure out what cut short the life of actress Brittany Murphy, the 32-year-old star of such films as "Clueless" and "8-Mile" died yesterday at her home. There were no signs of trauma or foul play.

Official start of winter starting just about an hour ago now, 12:47 to be exact. Making today the shortest day of sun. Chad Myers has more on the day after the blizzard of 2009. A lot of people trying to make the most of it. I could see in a lot of the iReports, a lot of people just trying to have fun in the snow.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Did you see this one? Were you looking at this one?

LONG: No, that's precious. A dachshund!

MYERS: That little guy. That's Javier Garcia's! Javier Garcia says he was out running around with the flopping ears. That's so cute. There he is! Just looks regal. "I own this snow."

LONG: Very elegant doggie.

MYERS: "This is my snow and you can play in it with me if you'd like."

(WEATHER REPORT)

LONG: Love that piece of technology. I love tracking all the planes in the air.

MYERS: For a while today, I was on with Tony. And Washington, D.C.'s national airport said delays were only 15 minutes. That sounds great.

LONG: Sounds tremendous.

MYERS: Except there were only 28 planes in the sky.

LONG: Oh.

MYERS: So, if you're only trying to get 28 on the ground, you don't have to be delayed. It is still very slow out there.

LONG: As always, pack patience along with your toiletries. Thanks, Chad.

We know hope floats but faith? Faith walks. Right there. Walks through shopping malls. This little dog has had pretty big challenges in her life. Her life's mission though, even bigger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: If you get pregnant or get somebody pregnant while deployed, you could be headed home and facing jail time or court marshall. Can and should the military prohibit pregnancy? We have more coming up at the top of the hour.

And they are commonplace on cigarettes, but will cancer warnings pop up on our cell phones as well? One lawmaker is calling for them. We have a lot to talk about next hour.

A British priest under fire for telling his parishioners it is OK to steal in certain situations. Father Tim Jones' sermon Sunday talked about the desperation and lack of options for people who have just fallen on really hard times. And he said stealing essentials from big chain stores is better than mugging people or resorting to prostitution to get money. Father Jones said he offered this advice with a heavy heart and reiterated stealing is neither good nor harmless.

Now, how many therapy dogs have been through physical therapy themselves? Have you met faith? Born with two legs, rejected by her mommy, and rescued by a teen now serving in the military. Faith is serving too, in her own way, visiting veterans hospitals around the country, cheering up wounded troops. We're told soldiers get emotional seeing how Faith has overcome her disability. By the way, she's been made an honorary Army sergeant.

They battle the Taliban, they battle the Mujahadeen (ph) and insurgents on all fours. They are specially trained dogs, pawing their way through one of the most mine-infested countries in the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Their task is to sniff out danger in one of the most mine- infested countries in the world. Talking about Afghanistan. Bomb detection dogs are helping to make the country a safer place, and they do it by heeding Dutch commands. With the story, here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Landmines. The curse that haunts Afghanistan. The U.N. says hundreds of thousands are still strewn across this country. Afghanistan's mine sniffer dogs are among the best in the world. Kabul's Mine Detection Center, or MDC, has about 300 animals.

Rex is a German Shepherd and currently in training.

HABIBIULLAH MOHAMMADI, TRAINER (via Pleitgen as translator): We train our dogs to find various kinds of mines, Rex's trainers says, including Pakistani, Iranian and Russian ones. The canines detect four different kinds of explosives and 60 different kinds of mines, the MDC says.

But first, they go through rigorous training. The commands are in Dutch, so the dogs won't get distracted by people speaking Dari or Pashtu (ph), the common languages in Afghanistan.

Good mine dogs work for up to eight years. Decades of war have left Afghanistan one of the most mine-infested countries in the world, hampering economic development and killing or maiming up to 60 people every month, the U.N. estimates. The most rudimentary mines are often the hardest to locate.

ZAINUDDIN QUREISHI, SENIOR TRAINING OFFICER: Mine detective cannot detect this, no matter. It's good (ph). (INAUDIBLE) But only the dog can find it.

PLEITGEN: The Mine Detection Center breeds its own canines. Training starts when they are just puppies.

(on camera): These dogs look pretty cute right now, but they are also a valuable commodity in Afghanistan. This dog could potentially save hundreds of lives.

(voice-over): Several animals have lost their lives on the job, but the agency says the main obstacle for mine clearance in Afghanistan is ongoing violence.

ABDUL JABAR BASID, HEAD OF TRAINING: Most of the provinces in the south, there is lots of minefields which are still needed to be cleared, but we cannot send or deploy our teams due to security -- bad security situation.

PLEITGEN: These animals are considered heroes by many Afghans. Sadly, it seems the one thing they may never run out of is work.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)