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American Morning
Senate Votes for Cloture on Health Care Reform Debate; Actress Brittany Murphy Dies at 32; Snowstorm Shuts Down Upper East Coast Airports; Easy Gift Returns?; Elton John Gives Back for A Cause
Aired December 21, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. Good Monday morning to you with this December 21st. I'm T.J. Holmes filling in today for John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you, T.J.
HOLMES: Good to see you.
CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry, and we have some big stories to tell you about in the next 15 minutes.
First, breaking news overnight, health care passing its biggest, most critical test so far, and it comes at a time when many of us were sleeping. Means the senate is poised to pass a health care reform bill by Christmas. We'll explain the vote and all of the fireworks that you missed, and what it means for you, live from Capitol Hill.
HOLMES: Also, thousands of holiday travelers are hoping to get to their destinations today. They're tired of watching CNN from the airport this morning. Sixteen inches of snow shut down Reagan International Airport in Washington on Saturday. Also, the storm forced 1,200 flights canceled at three major airports in metro New York. We're live this morning at one of them, LaGuardia where the travel torture shows no signs of letting up just yet.
CHETRY: And Hollywood stunned by the death of one of its own, actress Brittany Murphy, just 32 years old, found unconscious Sunday morning. Rescuers at the scene say she was in full cardiac arrest when they arrived.
Police say there will be an investigation. And we will have the latest on that, celebrity reactions as well. Our Kareen Wynter is reporting from Hollywood.
First, though, breaking news this morning, the Senate taking an historic step in the middle of the night, voting to close debate on a health care bill just four days before Christmas. Not a single Republican voted in favor, but they may not be able to stop it.
Our Brianna Keiler is live in Washington. It's interesting, Brianna, while all of this is a very important vote, it isn't actually the one that passes health care reform out of the Senate. However they needed it if it was going to go any further. BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Kiran. The final vote on the Senate health care reform bill is actually Thursday, Christmas Eve. But this one is arguably the more important vote because it required 60 votes, 60 senators to sign on.
Now, Thursday's vote is only going to need 50 votes to pass, so the vote very early this morning was the test of whether health care reform would survive this gauntlet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN, (D) NEW HAMPSHIRE: On this vote, the yeas are 60, the nays are 40. Three fifth of the senators duly chosen and sworn, having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
KEILAR: And with that, health care reform cleared a major hurdle in an early morning vote in the Senate. But for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid the key breakthrough came Saturday when Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska announced he would back the bill, giving Democrats 60 votes, the absolute minimum they need to pass a bill.
SEN. BEN NELSON, (D) NEBRASKA: Change is never easy, but change is what's necessary in America today. And that's why I intend to vote for cloture and vote for health care reform.
KEILAR: Nelson signed on only after striking a deal with Democratic leaders to limit insurance coverage of abortions, and he offered a warning if that provision is weakened as the Senate bill is merged with the House passed bill.
NELSON: I reserve the right to vote against the next cloture vote is there are material changes to this disagreement in the conference report.
KEILAR: Nelson also scored a sweetener for his state. The federal government will pick up the tab for expanding Medicaid in Nebraska, the only state to receive the win fall. While liberal Democrats criticize the bill, which does not include a government-run insurance plan, president Obama praised the compromise.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: With today's developments it now appears the American people will have the vote they deserve on genuine reform that offers security to those who have health insurance and affordable options for those who do not.
KEILAR: Republicans, unanimous in their opposition to the Democrats' health care reform bill, lambasted it on the Senate floor.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: We're not going to put the whole nation at risk and take a broken system and make it worse just to get a vote. No way in hell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: So what is in this bill? Well, there is a lot, but the basics -- a requirement that you get health insurance or face a fine. Also federal subsidies so that middle class and low-income Americans making less than about $88,000 a year can purchase insurance.
Also an expansion of Medicaid for Americans making under about $29,000. Those numbers based on a family of four.
And, Kiran, there's also significant insurance industry reforms, for instance, no longer would insurance companies be able to deny coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition.
CHETRY: All right. And thanks so much, Brianna.
Also, at 7:30 eastern, what happens if this bill does go all the way, and what if you get sick, let's say, three years from now? How would your health care change?
We have "Time" correspondent Karen Tumulty who has been following the health care debate from the beginning and our own Sanjay Gupta joining us to answer those questions.
HOLMES: And this might sound silly, but winter actually officially begins today, given what we saw over the weekend. The official start is today, the 21st, but for thousands of Americans across the northeast, yes, you saw it over the weekend.
(WEATHER BREAK)
CHETRY: And still ahead, we're following the latest on the investigation into the death of Brittany Murphy, the young actress dead at the age of 32, found in cardiac arrest in her home. Kareen Wynter looking into all of it for us from Los Angeles this morning.
It's eight minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Hello again, everybody. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
It's ten minutes past the hour. That means it's time for another "A.M." original. But first, new stories we have for you this morning.
It doesn't seem fair -- you throw a snowball and someone pulls a gun, but Washington D.C. police investigating whether that happened, and one of their officers pulled out a gun during a neighborhood snowball fight on Saturday.
Witnesses say about 200 people started peppering each other with snowballs and then an off-duty plainclothes officer drew his weapon and stopped the fun because his car got hit with some of those snowballs.
CHETRY: An escalator fire sending hundreds of shoppers scrambling from Macy's department store in New York City Sunday. Everyone was allowed back inside about an hour later. Macy's said it plans to stay open around the clock right through Christmas Eve because of lost revenues from the weekend's snowstorm as well as the fire. HOLMES: And "Avatar" may be on the right track, on a good start trying to pay back the $400 million it costs to make the movie. A big weekend at the box office -- James Cameron's newest science fiction epic raked in $232 million worldwide, made $73 million here in the U.S. despite the big storm in the northeast. That is a record opening for a 3-D film, and again, that movie cost over $400 million to make.
CHETRY: Another big story we're following this morning, the sudden death of actress Brittany Murphy. She was just 32 years old. Best known for her roles in "Clueless" and Eminem's "8 Mile," Murphy's mother reportedly found her unconscious yesterday morning. Several sources say the actress she suffered cardiac arrest in her bathroom.
Kareen Wynter has the latest from Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hollywood is mourning the death of one of its own -- 32-year-old actress Brittany Murphy died Sunday morning as paramedics were called to her Los Angeles home.
Officials haven't released any details as to the circumstances of her death, but we do know that when paramedics arrived at the scene that they tried to resuscitate her. She was taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center where she later died.
Murphy began her acting career in her early teens. She appeared in small TV roles as well as commercials, but her career really took off when she starred in the hit film "Clueless." She also later appeared in films like "Girl, Interrupted" with Angelina Jolie, as well as "8 Mile" with Eminem.
Ashton Kutcher, who Murphy once dated, tweeted about her passing, saying, quote, "Today the world has lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out to Brittany's family, her husband, and her amazing mother Sharon. See you on the other side, kid."
Murphy's father also released a statement describing his daughter as "such a talent," saying "She was just an absolute doll since she was born. Everybody loved her. She was just a regular gal."
The Los Angeles police department is now investigating Murphy's death.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Kareen, thanks.
HOLMES: All right, coming up here next, a lot of people have their minds on those Christmas gifts. You pick out the perfect thing, you give it to somebody, and maybe they might have to return it, unfortunately. But it might be a little tougher to get those returns in this time around, tougher policies. Christine Romans is coming up next.
It's 13 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: If I was a rich girl, we wouldn't have to worry about this next story. It's 17 minutes past the hour. That means it's time for "Minding Your Business."
A couple new this morning, though. First, the economy is the top news story of 2009. That according to an "Associated Press" poll of editors as well as news directors. The inauguration of President Obama came in a close second, and the health care battle in Congress, the third biggest story of 2009.
HOLMES: Let's you know how big of a deal the economy was if electing the first black president was number two.
CHETRY: Number two.
HOLMES: Isn't that something?
CHETRY: And he inherited quite a big mess with the economy as well.
HOLMES: Yes. That is something else. It's very telling.
Another story here. Our folks in Europe having a tough time and hoping for some good news this morning after the only passenger rail link was shut down indefinitely. That's Eurostar we're talking about, suspending service for three days between Britain and France. Two thousand passengers were stranded Friday evening inside the Chunnel tunnel, after six trains broke down thanks to snow from northern France blowing into that tunnel. Some 60,000 ticket holders had been affected.
CHETRY: And a Maine legislator wants the state to require cell phones to carry warnings that they can cause brain cancer. There is no consensus among scientists that they do, and industry leaders dispute the claim. Cell phones carry these warnings in some countries but right now in the U.S. there's no requirements on them. A similar measure was introduced in San Francisco last week.
HOLMES: To Christine Romans now, you can tell a lot of people are going to be fired up. We were peppering you with questions. "Minding Your Business" this morning, but we couldn't get enough questions in about this.
CHETRY: Yes, about how do you return stuff?
HOLMES: Return policies now.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK, look, don't get scrooged by the holiday returns -- scrooged here, by the holiday return policies because they're getting tougher. The retailers want to keep your money.
Mommy, why can't I watch Christine Romans anymore?
CHETRY: Well, honey, it's a long story.
ROMANS: Scrooge.
CHETRY: I know, I'm teasing you.
ROMANS: There's a "g" in there. OK, look, first I want to talk about restocking fees because you're going to be hearing more about this. In fact, the first time I ever heard about this was last week when this happened to me, actually, a 15 percent restocking fee for something that I ordered that just wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be. I got to pay 15 percent, right?
Amazon.com, 15 percent on computers and fine jewelry. Best Buy, 15 percent on laptops, cameras. How many of you are buying a camera or GPS for people?
CHETRY: They're going to be on Web sites.
ROMANS: If you buy online or at the Best Buy, Sears, 15 percent on electronics, if you don't have the original box. And at bidz.com, 15 percent on everything and only 15 days to return.
Here's what I have to tell you. If you are buying something expensive or you're buying something on a Web site, you have got to ask what the return policy is. You have got to make sure you keep all the original packaging. Don't open the actual box that it comes in if you don't want when you get it. I'm not kidding. They're going to be tough.
Seventeen percent of retailers are getting tougher this year. Look, they want our money.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: They know that we're being very, very careful. And so that means they don't have all of our, you know, all of our bubble consumerism of the past couple of decades.
OK, a couple of things. Don't assume anything. Know your restrictions. Check your credit card policy because your credit card policy may actually protect you from some of these. Be ready to argue, and keep your receipts. Now, especially if it's something expensive like that tennis bracelet you're getting for your loved one.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: Make sure --
CHETRY: Can I have -- can I offer one more piece of advice?
ROMANS: What? CHETRY: Make sure if you're spending a lot of money that the person that you're buying this for wants that particular item. I mean, I know my husband always jokes around with me and says you take the fun out of Christmas, but you need to be very specific with Web sites and serial numbers and photo evidence.
HOLMES: Wow.
CHETRY: Because, no offense, but sometimes guys -- you know.
ROMANS: I know. Well, look, the retailers will say they lose I think $2.7 billion every Christmas season to fraud. I mean, people -- people can think of a million ways to get more money back than they're supposed to, who try to rip off the store. I get that. But look, their margins are so tight now that they are really desperate to keep your money. So don't get --
CHETRY: Right. I hear you.
HOLMES: But do you also need to watch out if you're returning, not electronics, but something to a store, you just want a different size, or are you OK there? Maybe you can't get your money back.
ROMANS: You've got to ask. You've got to ask.
HOLMES: But still --
ROMANS: I mean, what if you get something from some fancy boutique, right? You get it for your sister, and then she goes back and she has to buy something else from that fancy little boutique and she doesn't like anything. You know, then maybe you shouldn't get her something from that fancy little boutique.
HOLMES: All right.
CHETRY: This sounds personal.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: Christine Romans --
ROMANS: Maybe you should make her a gingerbread house this year.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly, or knit her half a sweater with an IOU on the card. Christine brings out a number every day we call her "Romans' Numeral." It's a number that's driving a story about your money.
ROMANS: OK, $743. And I know you guys are going to know this.
CHETRY: This is the average, how much on average you spend?
ROMANS: Yes. Yes, this is what I have to say. If I'm going to spend $743 on average for my family for Christmas, then it shouldn't be so hard for people to return stuff.
HOLMES: That's right.
ROMANS: If you're trying to find another way for us not to go out and spend money, you know, for a holiday that's really not supposed to be based about money and consumerism, hey, you know, being hard on the return policy is just a little more way to get us consumers all fired up.
HOLMES: Is that up, down, about average for what people spend over the years?
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: I think it's down a little bit. I think it's down a little bit.
HOLMES: Down just a tad, but still a lot.
ROMANS: Yes. All right, Christine Romans.
ROMANS: I'm not spending that much. Are you spending that much?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: Really?
CHETRY: Is this per person or in general for the average family?
HOLMES: Oh, wow. Maybe you're a rich girl.
CHETRY: I'm just saying like, it's far better to give than it is to receive.
HOLMES: Oh, goodness gracious.
CHETRY: Far better.
HOLMES: All right. Christine Romans.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I mean, just give. It's better to give.
ROMANS: Keep your receipts.
CHETRY: Just for my work colleagues I'm over that. You guys are trying to (INAUDIBLE)
ROMANS: That was a lovely fine champagne you gave me last year, by the way.
CHETRY: See?
ROMANS: Thank you.
CHETRY: You haven't drank it yes. It's still sitting at your desk, whatever. All right. Well, we are going to switch gears here.
HOLMES: Thank you, Christine.
CHETRY: We're talking about what is going to change if this health care reform bill makes it through. We have Karen Tumulty with "Time" magazine who's been following the health care debate from the very beginning, and our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta weighing in as well.
HOLMES: Also this morning, Elton John. He's giving back in a big way, and our Alina Cho got to sit down with him, yes, on the court. We'll explain. The tennis court there.
Stay with us. Twenty-two past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Oh, we're right at 25 minutes past the hour. That means time for an "A.M. Original, something you'll only see here on AMERICAN MORNING. And all this week we're highlighting celebrities who are truly giving back this holiday season in a big way.
CHETRY: That's right.
HOLMES: A great big way.
CHETRY: And first up is Sir Elton John. He's a man who's raised $150 million for AIDS research. Our Alina Cho caught up with him on the court for her big special. "Big stars, big giving."
Hey, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, guys, good morning. This has been a really great assignment, I have to tell you, you know.
When we came up with the idea of doing a series on celebrity philanthropy, my first thought was Elton John. Sir Elton John has been an advocate for AIDS awareness for as long as we can remember, really. So after all these years of working tirelessly for the cause, we wanted to know what keeps him going. He says, just like writing music, philanthropy is part of his life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): His music is iconic, but Sir Elton John has another talent that may surprise you. Tennis.
(on camera): Who knew you had a mean forehand?
SIR ELTON JOHN, FOUNDER CHAIRMAN, ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION: I've got a good slam.
CHO (voice-over): And he's using it for a good cause. Teaming up with his longtime friend, Billie Jean King, at this celebrity tennis tournament to raise money and awareness for AIDS. A constant fight on the court and off. (on camera): I know you say that AIDS is cyclical.
JOHN: Yes.
CHO: What do you mean by that?
JOHN: Well, it seems like every ten years another generation grows up that you have to reeducate.
CHO: Is that frustrating for you?
JOHN: It is. You have to go back and stop. All I'm ever going to say no, no, no, no, no, you can't do this. You must have safe sex. You must use a condom.
CHO (voice-over): The 62-year-old openly gay music legend was not an active AIDS advocate until he met 14-year-old Ryan White in 1986. The Indiana teen was expelled from his school because he had AIDS. John became so close to the White family he gave them financial assistance and was at Ryan's bedside when he died.
(on camera): What was it about that little boy?
JOHN: Well, because, you know, I never heard Ryan complain about having AIDS. I never heard him whine or be miserable. He carried everything with such dignity, and it just taught me about humility, how my life was completely out of whack. About six months after Ryan died, I began to change my life.
CHO: Was there a certain point at which a light bulb then went off in your head?
JOHN: You know, I wanted to give something back. I mean, I lived a charmed life, you know, taking drugs, drinking -- you know, having unsafe sex at a time when I should have been so much more well behaved. I should have had more morals. After Ryan died, I thought, I can give something back. I've come out of this HIV negative. I've got to do something positive.
CHO (voice-over): That something positive was the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 17 years, EJAF has started programs in 55 countries and has raised more than $150 million.
(on camera): You are Elton John. You could easily take a publicity photo, write a check and call it a day. But you are out there as you say in your own words, getting your hands dirty.
JOHN: Yes.
CHO: Why?
JOHN: Well, people are so grateful for the smallest thing. It doesn't take a lot of money to run a project in Africa if you have $15,000, $20,000. This is, you know, this is something that's never going to go away in my lifetime. And so, I've got to try and each year step up and do a little bit more. CHO (voice-over): Even when it means supporting other causes, like Andy Roddick's foundation to help needy children.
ANDY RODDICK, TENNIS PLAYER: He doesn't want to just come and play. He wants to know exactly where the money we're raising is going, how it's going. You know, he always calls two or three days later and says what's the total tally, how much did we raise? Yes. He's just really involved in the whole process.
CHO: Why? John says, why not?
(on camera): You're in the trenches. You're traveling all around the world. Not to mention you've got a day job already. You know at a certain point, do you ever think maybe I can pass the torch?
JOHN: No way. I mean, I have the greatest lifestyle. I have the most incredible life. I do what I love to do. I play music. I write music. This is part of my life now.
Once you've seen people suffer like this, you just don't ever think of stopping. I'll be doing this until the day that I -- you know, they put me into the ground. Because I love doing it, and I love -- you know, I just want to try and make a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Just a remarkable man. You know, one of the big missions of the Elton John AIDS Foundation is to focus on programs that help what he calls the underserved prisoners, even prostitutes. Sir Elton John says without the right education, right medical care, even good old-fashioned advice, these are the people who often go out and make the infection rate even higher. He calls these people, guys, the forgotten ones, people who in some cases really need the help the most, who are often ignored.
But you heard Andy Roddick talk about how Elton John, after an event, after one of his events, will often call and say, you know, how much did you guys make at this event? You know, what was the attendance like and everything? And that --
CHETRY: He's so hands on.
CHO: He is so hands on. And the people at his foundation say the reason why he does this, if you think about it, he's a busy guy. He wants to make sure that if he's going to use his time to go to a charity event, that he's not wasting his time.
CHETRY: Right.
CHO: And really, it's a good thing to do.
HOLMES: All right. We saw there Elton John showing some skills, people might not believe that he has skills on the court.
CHO: Really unbelievable. He's a good tennis player. HOLMES: He does. And you could check it out for yourself. You can see more of Alina's interview exclusive to the left on our blog, cnn.com/amFIX.
And, Alina's not done just yet.
CHETRY: No way. Tomorrow is Ben Stiller.
CHO: Ben Stiller. Hilarious. We love -- I mean, he's really cute, guys but he's doing some good things, too.
HOLMES: Oh, wow.
CHO: You know, Ben Stiller is using comedy and social media to make a difference. He's trying to raise money and raise awareness, really, to build a school in Haiti. We all know Lance Armstrong's foundation, Livestrong, with those famous yellow bracelets. You know, they sold million of those. Well, Ben Stiller came up with his own original idea of Stillerstrong, and his version of the bracelet? A headband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: He says that you should be ashamed of yourself.
BEN STILLER, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: Well, that's him just being funny.
CHO: Really?
STILLER: He doesn't really have a great sense of humor. I mean, he's a cyclist. You know, cyclists spend a lot of time alone with their thoughts. Yes. Which color would you like, the yellow?
CHO: I like the yellow.
STILLER: All right. You go for the yellow. I'll go for the red because...
CHO: It's Christmastime.
STILLER: Exactly. See, see what I mean by it looks cool?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: There is Zoolander himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: ... goes one on one with Elton John, Ben Stiller, Madonna, Martha Stewart and Richard Branson...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Well, that's interesting.
HOLMES: Speaking of...
CHO: Speaking of -- we're going to be look at Hollywood's biggest stars, as you just saw there, using their celebrity to make a difference. Today, obviously, Elton John. You can go on the Web for more. Ben Stiller tomorrow, Madonna on Wednesday, Martha Stewart on Thursday, Richard Branson -- Sir Richard Branson on Friday.
CHETRY: How about that lineup?
HOLMES: That was a good assignment.
CHETRY: There you go. Alina, thanks so much.
HOLMES: Thanks so much. We'll see you soon.
CHETRY: Thirty-one minutes past the hour right.
Let's check our top stories.
Tensions building this morning between North and South Korea -- the North declaring its disputed border with the South a firing zone, warning all South Korean vessels to stay away. Just last month, ships from the two sides engaged in fire in the disputed waters. One North Korean soldier was killed, three others wounded according to the South Korean government.
HOLMES: And take a look at spectacular liftoff earlier this morning in Kazakhstan, a Russian rocket taking three astronauts -- one American, one Russian, one Japanese -- to the International Space Station. The rocket will travel for two days before docking at the space station 220 miles above the Earth.
CHETRY: And Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is bouncing back in the polls. His approval rating now at 55 percent, jumping seven points since he was hit in the face with a statuette and had two teeth knocked out last week at a rally in Milan. Berlusconi has been fighting accusations of sex scandal and corruption for the past six months.
Well, there is some breaking news this morning on the health care debate. A Senate health care reform bill was now back on track and set to be ready by Christmas Eve. And It's really an historic legislation if it make it's through to remake the nation's medical system to cover some 30 million uninsured Americans.
And what could it mean if you get sick, and what about the costs involved?
Joining us now from Washington, "Time" national correspondent Karen Tumulty.
Good to see you, Karen.
KAREN TUMULTY, "TIME" NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CHETRY: And also, our own Sanjay Gupta in Atlanta.
And, Karen, you know, first of all -- and Sanjay, great to see you as well.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CHETRY: Did you think we'd get to this point? I know you've been covering this for a long time. So, the Democrats won a major victory in the push for health care reform. They got the 60 votes needed to close debate on the floor, and now, it's moving forward. So, what's next?
TUMULTY: Well, what's -- first of all, this vote -- you're right, it was a procedural vote, to cutoff a filibuster. But make no mistake, this was the critical vote. What's next is probably passage of around 7:00 on Christmas Eve, and then this thing goes into a House and Senate conference committee.
Now, don't forget that the House on November 7th passed this bill by an absolutely razor thin margin as well. There are some big differences between these two bills and those are going to have to be ironed out over the next few weeks, probably a few weeks in conference committee.
CHETRY: Yes, that's one of the things that we're going to be getting to as well. There are a lot of differences, how will they be reconciled.
But, Sanjay, I want to bring you in here and ask about this. We know that both bills in the House and Senate are extremely complicated. But when you look at what elements are likely to stay in any final bill, what will this mean for the average person and their health care?
GUPTA: That's a great question. And a little bit hard to know exactly what it's going to mean overall because this is going to be a truly unique system, very different than really any other country on the planet. The hope is that people, as a result of having increased access, are going to be able to visit the doctor more often, get prevention. Hopefully, be healthier overall. And that's part of this whole idea of bending the cost curve down, trying to keep people healthier, trying to keep them from getting sick in the first place.
But there's also this idea that doctors will be sort of incentivized differently -- doctors, hospitals, health care professionals -- to try -- to try and take care of the patient for whatever problem there is, as opposed to, you know, readmitting the patient, hospitalization after hospitalization. It's called bundling of services, for example, and that might make -- you know, again, this idea that the incentives change to keep patients healthy. But, you know, again, a lot of this is still sort of unknown overall. And also this idea of cost -- what it's really going to cost in the long run is just a little bit hard to say.
CHETRY: Yes, absolutely. I want to get to that in a second.
Karen, there are still some major differences as we talked about. First, in who will ultimately pay for the bill, as Sanjay mentioned, in terms of cost. You got the House package which has like a 5.5 percent tax on people making more than $500,000, or $1 million for a household. And then you also have cuts in Medicare spending.
Now, when you look at the Senate side, they don't include that surcharge. However, they want to put this 40 percent tax on so-called Cadillac plans. And these are something adamantly opposed in the House because many union members have these very, very, very good benefits, that they -- that they gave up pay in exchange for.
So, how is that going to get reconciled?
TUMULTY: Well, I think that, at this point, it is a philosophical difference. It's also a -- you know, a different constituencies as you said.
It's interesting, though, that in the Senate bill -- at the last minute -- Harry Reid added a payroll tax on wealthy people as well. So, it does look like however this comes out, high earners are going to be paying somewhat more.
CHETRY: Right. Now, it would 0.9 percent, I believe -- a 0.9 percent payroll tax, if you make as an individual over $200,000 or as a family over $250,000. This is where a lot of Republicans have said, wait a minute, you said this wasn't going to affect middle-class people. Arguably, some of these people are trying to put kids through school would consider themselves middle-class in that category.
TUMULTY: And also, people who have these so-called Cadillac health care plans are, you know, not just Goldman Sachs partners, they are in fact a lot of firefighters and teachers and public sector workers who've negotiated for these generous health benefits in lieu of wage increases.
CHETRY: Right. Absolutely.
TUMULTY: So that's...
CHETRY: Yes, that's another big thing.
And, Sanjay, one of the other things that caught my eye in the Senate bill actually is it calls for cuts in Medicare, roughly about $500 billion. And I know there's a lot of seniors out there that say, wait a minute, what does that mean for me? Does that mean I'm going to get less services? Am I going to have a change in the doctor/patient relationship because I rely on Medicare for my health?
GUPTA: You know, again, a very good question, and a little bit difficult to predict how that's going to play out.
Let me point out a couple of things. You know, the people who are supporters of using the Medicare cuts to help pay for this say this is more about creating more efficiencies within Medicare. So, you know, the patients aren't going to feel the $500 billion almost a year worth of cuts.
What the people who are critics of this will say is two things. One is, this could affect seniors, could affect the care they get. And, two, by the way, are these Medicare cuts really going to happen? In the past when Medicare cuts have been suggested, a lot of times when it comes right down to it, Medicare still gets funded the way it had been funded in years past.
So, one if the cuts happen, could they affect seniors? Two, will they really happen? And if they don't, how do -- how do you pay for this, coming back to that.
CHETRY: All right. And quickly, Karen, just quickly, if you can -- the fines. How are they going to reconcile this, two different sets of fines in the House and Senate bill for not opting into insurance?
TUMULTY: You know, I really don't think there is that great of a difference on that. What the bottom line is, that people who do not buy insurance are going to find themselves paying some. And also, employers who don't provide insurance to their workers are going to also find themselves paying more to the government. But they -- it's a different way of structuring things. But either way, people are going to pay if they don't have or provide insurance.
CHETRY: Karen Tumulty with "Time" magazine and our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, good discussion on this. Still a lot to be hammered out, but we'll see how it goes. Thanks so much for joining me.
TUMULTY: Thanks a lot.
GUPTA: Thanks, Kiran.
HOLMES: All right. Countdown to liftoff. We're used to just seconds on that countdown clock, but we have a countdown clock that has about a year-plus on it. We are following an astronaut mom as she gets ready for liftoff.
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HOLMES: And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 41 minutes past the hour, and it's time now for a CNN exclusive. Our year-long series, "Counting Down Cady."
CNN's John Zarrella has been following NASA astronaut and mother, Catherine "Cady" Coleman as she prepares for a December 2010 trip to the International Space Station.
John joins us now from the CNN bureau in Miami.
Good morning to you. And like I said to you earlier, this is cool to look at. We just usually see these astronauts on -- you know, on the day of the launch. They walk over and they take off, but this is something to see how much they have to go through to get ready.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that exactly was the inspiration behind doing this year-long series "Following Cady" was. And most folks out there, you know, don't know them any more than just the wave. And so, we have an opportunity, over the course of a year, to dip into her life, her personal life and her training. We introduced everyone to her family last month.
And just recently we had some -- spent some time with her while she was training in Houston. And I've got to tell you, T.J., I got tired just watching her.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): One-thirty on a Tuesday afternoon, Cady Coleman is running.
(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
ZARRELLA: While exercising her body, exercising her mind.
(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
ZARRELLA: A Russian language lesson on the run...
(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
ZARRELLA: ... so to speak.
There's so much to do, a training marathon. This time next year, Astronaut Coleman will be living aboard the International Space Station.
CATHERINE COLEMAN, ASTRONAUT: Now that we're inside a year, it makes me feel like it really might happen after all.
ZARRELLA: At the Johnson Space Center, we caught up with Cady, keeping up with her is another story, meeting with the flight directors' team.
COLEMAN: I'd like to be at the work station.
ZARRELLA: A session simulating with computer animation capturing a supply ship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See a good range, capture.
ZARRELLA: Then, stuffed into a space suit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
ZARRELLA: The 6 million gallon pool at the Neutral Bouncy Lab is as close as can you get on Earth to zero gravity. Here, astronauts rehearse space walks. On the bottom, segments of the station, an adult version of a kids' play space at a fast food restaurant.
COLEMAN: There's a set of scenarios that we make sure we do so that we can fix whatever we think is the most likely things to go wrong on the space station.
ZARRELLA: Her son's stuffed monkey goes everywhere with her.
COLEMAN: Hi, Jimmy.
ZARRELLA: Well, not underwater. As she's lowered, Cady jokingly holds her breath. The dive? Six hours.
COLEMAN: I'm doing the second of four bolts, and then I still have caps to go.
ZARRELLA (on camera): This is a mockup of the International Space Station. You know, the astronauts, they prepare for every eventuality, say, Cady Coleman had to leave the station to fix something outside, well, if the tether line that holds her to the station were to break, it's unlikely, but if it were to happen, they even prepare for that possibility, and they use virtual reality.
(voice-over): From what's called the "God's Eye View," Coleman is seen tumbling away from the station. Her job? Get back without using all the fuel in her jet pack.
COLEMAN: And handrail. So, I think we've got structure here.
ZARRELLA: Next, I'm in the V.R. glasses, too. Katie's job? Rescue both of us.
COLEMAN: So we're still spinning around, John.
ZARRELLA (on camera): I'm watching it.
COLEMAN: OK. It's kind of -- I mean, I think in real life it'd be fairly terrifying.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): You think? Of course she gets us back alive, but --
ZARRELLA (on camera): Pulled (ph) yourself through, you left me out here to die. Thanks.
COLEMAN: I did not.
ZARRELLA: Thanks so much.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): So much to learn, all this knowledge she needs, some she hopes never to use.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, you know, because the space shuttle program is ending in a year, Cady and her crew mates are going to be flying to the International Space Station on a Soyuz rocket, so that's why lots of the training takes place in Russia.
And tomorrow, because we had so much material, we're going to introduce you to her two crew mates. And here's something for you and Kiran to think about, and the audience. How much do you think each crew member is allowed to take with them -- memorabilia, that kind of stuff from home -- to the space station? It's not a steamer trunk, let me tell you that.
HOLMES: I would assume they get to take very little, but we'll get that answer tomorrow. Great stuff. Looks like you got -- she's got a great personality, a great character you hooked up there with, so looking forward to the rest of it.
Thanks so much, John.
ZARRELLA: You got it.
HOLMES: Of course you can follow Cady as she prepares for -- for space. You can go to her blog, cnn.com/amfix. Skip (ph).
CHETRY: TJ, thanks.
Well, meanwhile, millions are heading to work after the big blizzard hit the East Coast. Many have had to shovel their cars out once, then the snowplows come by, then they've got to shovel themselves out again.
We're to take a look at some of the totals. Our Rob Marciano is keeping track of all of that for us in just a minute.
It's 46 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: There we go. A -- a beautiful shot of Columbus Circle this morning. Mr. Christopher Columbus is a little bit snowy this morning, isn't he? I don't even see -- wait, usually there's a waterfall there, right? Usually there's a fountain?
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: That thing's -- that thing's iced over too. But, hey, the taxi cabs are still making it round the streets.
Right now it's sunny, 29 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, actually. But that means it's going to quite chilly, only a getting up to a high of 33 degrees today, so time to do your shopping.
HOLMES: Yes, it was only -- I don't think it would even get up to 33 in a couple of days this weekend. At least that what the weather said. But it was very cold. I was still out there, taking it in.
CHETRY: That's true. I was shoveling, Rob, because, you know, the -- the better half was working, and I was out there shoveling because all you weather people told me it was going to freeze and if I didn't get rid of it yesterday I'd be in big trouble.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So your husband said it was going to freeze so you had to get out there and -- and get rid of the snow quickly.
CHETRY: Yes. I had to get out there and blaze a path for our dog.
MARCIANO: My goodness! It should be about 35 or so degrees today, so it will start to melt. I don't know -- I don't know what kind of trouble you got at -- at home, but...
CHETRY: You're dead meat!
MARCIANO: I like CK's style.
All right, it's going to be windy. It will be cold today. In spots it will stay below freezing, but I think the bigger story is going to be how much wind is blowing around all this snow and in some cases two feet. These are record amounts from Bethesda, Maryland to Dulles and -- and Reagan National. Any -- they got over a foot, so that was enough to break their -- the old record. Philadelphia, almost two feet, 23.2, and the hits just keep on coming. New York City got relatively small amounts, just under a foot, but up and just out in -- on Eastern Long Island, 26 inches and -- and even more in some spots across parts of New England.
All right, the blowing snow will continue. We will see some lake-effect snow showers, but they probably wouldn't get to the I-95 corridor. You know, folks don't need any more snow, but temperatures right now are freezing all the way down to Atlanta and Memphis, 30 and 32 degrees there.
Things do warm up over the next couple of days and the next storm to come down the pike, Wednesday and Thursday will be a blizzard-like storm for places out west in Kansas back from Minneapolis, but it looks to be a rather warm storm for the I-95 corridor. So a lot of snow that you see lying around will begin to melt as we get closer to Christmas, but I think it may be just enough to hold on to a -- a white Christmas for most folks.
Get out there and shovel it, Kiran. I mean, for safety first, before we stop (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Yes, safety first, because you told me it's going to melt. Oh, boy.
MARCIANO: In due time. In due time.
CHETRY: Hey (ph) we're going to have to have a talk a little bit later today.
MARCIANO: I love stirring up the pot. Isn't it fun, TJ? Just stir it up.
HOLMES: You don't even have to, Rob. It just stirs itself, almost, most days.
All right, Rob. Thanks, buddy. We'll see you (ph) again here shortly. Well, for a lot of parents, you know, the birds and the bees -- that conversation could be tough enough with the kids, but can you imagine having to explain cancer to a child? Well, there's a new kid- friendly was to explain it. Parents getting a little help here.
It's 52 minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: And hello. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
When a California woman was diagnosed with cancer nine years ago, her granddaughter, as you can imagine, had a lot of questions. But when kids hear the word cancer, oftentimes they either get scared and of course they become curious.
CHETRY: Right. So this grandmother and granddaughter duo decided they would team up and write a book. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta." Sanjay joins us to talk about this.
You know, and sadly, this is something that a lot of families face. A lot of people know someone very close to them, including relatives that are hit with cancer, and it's not that easy to explain to kids what's going on.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. And people aren't even sure, should they bring up the topic of cancer? Should they not? How exactly do you deal with it?
What's so interesting is, you know, as much as we've been talking about health care and its reform, when we solicit questions, viewers (ph) and talked to them, they -- they want to know about how to deal with things right now, and that's one of the things we really wanted to address here, looking at this book and looking at those conversations. Take a look.
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GUPTA (voice-over): When Tess Hamermesh first found out her nana had cancer, her questions were simple.
TESS HAMERMESH, AUTHOR, GRANDAUGHTER: I was only four years old, so she explained it to me as a boo-boo on her tummy.
GUPTA: Then, a grandfather died of cancer, and there were more questions.
HAMERMESH: Then stopped first (ph) and breakfast at our favorite place...
GUPTA: Tess and her grandmother, Beverlye Hyman Fead, put their conversations into a book called "Nana, What's Cancer?" It's published by the American Cancer Society.
DR. OTIS BRAWLEY, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: I really believe that the way to talk to kids about cancer is to be open and honest with them.
GUPTA: Some of the questions that children ask are surprising, others universal.
BEVERLYE HYMAN FEAD, AUTHOR, GRANDMOTHER: The first thing that surprised me was that she was worried about can I catch cancer.
GUPTA: Or if she could make it worse, and why some people got the good cancer and others the bad.
Fead hopes her book will not only educate families about the disease but encourage adults and children to share their worries and joys as they live with cancer. She says spending time with Tess is good medicine.
FEAD: There's nothing like a smile for the immune system of the sick one, that's for sure.
GUPTA: According to Dr. Brawley, nearly half of all people with cancer now survive, leaving more time for conversations and answering those children's questions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Perceptions of cancer are so much different now than they were even 10, 15, 20 years ago. Thinking of cancer as a chronic disease, but also one of the things I was really struck by as we were investigating this is this idea that education really does start early, ways to prevent cancer, both in terms of getting screenings but also just, you know, lifestyle. You know, kids really know more about this than ever before, so hopefully that will influence the next generation in terms of some of these cancer rates.
CHETRY: Yes, absolutely. It's a -- it's a delicate balance. I mean, you want to inform them, you want them to know. But, at the same time, you don't want them to be in fear, so, you know, this book is very interesting.
GUPTA: That's right. And you can't assume too much. Again, you know, one of the basic questions, can I catch cancer from somebody else...
CHETRY: Right.
GUPTA: ... thinking of it (ph) more as an infection disease. You can't assume that -- that they know the answer to those questions.
CHETRY: Sanjay Gupta, great to see you as always. Thanks.
And we'll be back in 90 seconds with our top stories.
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