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American Morning

Health Care Bill Becomes Law; What's Next for Health Care; Toyota Smoking Gun: Company Warned of Electronics Issue in '02; Google vs. China; Fighting Reform; Spillover Violence on the U.S.-Mexico Border; Hollywood Cash Crisis; ACORN Folds

Aired March 23, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, it's 6:00 here on the East Coast. Glad you're with us on this Tuesday, March 23rd. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about coming up in the next 15 minutes.

This morning, President Obama signs his historic health care prize into law but Republicans say the fight is not over. The battle now shifts to the Senate. We're live in Washington for you this morning with new details.

CHETRY: Bucking the bill. Attorneys general from nearly a dozen states are taking health care reform to court. They claim it's unconstitutional, saying the president cannot order Americans to buy health insurance.

ROBERTS: And the explosive Toyota document that has been kept from the public until now. A bulletin written by the carmaker back in 2002 warning all of its dealerships about a sudden acceleration problem being caused by faulty electronics, not sticky gas pedals or floor mats. An exclusive report from CNN's special investigations unit just ahead.

CHETRY: First, though, after more than a year of ferocious battling back and forth it all comes down to this morning. In just a few hours, President Obama will sign the landmark health care bill into law. CNN is covering the reforming of our health care system like no one else can.

ROBERTS: Our Brianna Keilar and Jill Dougherty are with us live this morning with Washington. Let's begin with Jill.

We understand that a big outdoor ceremony was planned for the signing ceremony with massive turnout expected, but unfortunately, nature didn't cooperate. It's being rained out. Still, the ceremony must go on though, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It does. It's not raining yet but the weather is a little dubious. So instead of having it outside, which would have been beautiful, they're going to have it in the East Room. And you can bet, John and Kiran, that that room is going to be packed. After all, this really is landmark legislation. It was a campaign promise by the president. And even though this is not the final chapter, he will be signing this bill but then the reconciliation bill has to go to the Senate.

But inside that room, we expect that basically everybody, legislators, doctors, nurses, other health care workers who came along and supported it during this big campaign will be in that room. Everyone certainly wants to be. So that's at 11:15 Eastern Time. And then about an hour later, the president is going to go over to the Interior Department and that's where he's going to make more general statements about health care reform.

Now, today in the East Room, we don't expect any bells, whistles, balloons or big excitement like that. Because after all as we said, there's another step to this and in fact last night, senators were over here talking with the president about their strategy, what they're going to do in the Senate -- John, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. And let's bring in Brianna for that part of it. Democrats do have a lot of work to do in the days. It had the so-called package of fixes to the reform bill that goes before the Senate. So break it down for us. What happens next, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, and I just want to show you how much of the process is left because this big bill right here, this is what President Obama will sign into law today. And then this right here is the changes bill, the reconciliation bill that the Senate still has to take up.

So, the plan is after this one here is signed into law, the Senate takes this bill up, the final tweaks. They're going to debate the bill and then presumably, you know, they would vote on this bill here. If they get 51 votes, which Democrats say they have, they can send it on to President Obama. And I have to tell you Republicans do have some options here for slowing down the process though their first attempt to really derail it which was to say that this bill shouldn't even come to the floor, the Senate parliamentarian ruled against them. But there's going to be more of this and we're going to be seeing Republicans able to really stop the clock and drag this process out, John and Kiran.

ROBERTS: All right. It's a whole lot of paper to go through, too, Brianna. Brianna Keilar this morning along with Jill Dougherty, thanks so much.

Meantime, the fight is not over. Dozens of states are now gearing up for a health care battle. Thirty-six states, in fact, considering new laws to block a variety of health care reform measures. State leaders point to the tenth amendment which says, "Powers not delegated to the federal government by the constitution are reserved to the states."

And coming up at 6:25 Eastern, Jim Acosta talks with Virginia's attorney general who plans to challenge the health care bill in court and he is not the only one.

CHETRY: And now, we now know who made this controversial outburst on the House floor. Here's a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: Baby killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All right. Well, that was Congressman Randy Neugebauer but the Texas Republican says that he shouted, it's a baby killer and was referring to an agreement reached over abortion measures in the bill, not his Democratic colleague, Congressman Bart Stupak. Congressman Stupak who is a staunch pro-lifer switched his vote from no to yes after striking a deal with the White House guaranteeing that federal money won't be used to pay for abortions. As for Congressional Neugebauer, he's issued an apology and both men are now talking about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: I just called Congressman Stupak today and I said I just want you to know my remarks were not directed to you personally, that they were about the policy that was unfolding.

REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: Well, he apologized and said it was not directed at me personally. And I told him that it must be other members. So, therefore, you owe the House of Representatives, the members, the rest of the members an apology. I mean, you have to keep proper decorum and demeanor on the floor. We're supposed to be professionals. And I know emotions run high but you have to keep yourself under control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: So Congressman Neugebauer also made headlines last summer when he backed the so-called birther bill requiring presidential candidates to show proof that they were born on U.S. soil.

ROBERTS: And at 11:15 Eastern this morning, President Obama will be signing the health care reform bill and making a few remarks in the White House East Room. Again, it was moved inside from the grand outdoor ceremony because of threatening weather. CNN will, of course, have live coverage or if you're away from your television set, you can also catch it at CNN.com/live.

CHETRY: And we want to know what you think about changes to health care in America. Join the chat on our live blog at CNN.com/amFIX. We'll be reading some of your comments throughout the show, so we'd love to hear from you. ROBERTS: Other stories that we're following for you this morning. Six months after a video show its workers advising undercover activists posing as a pimp and a prostitute, their community organizing group ACORN says it's closing its doors. The group's report says the decision is due to falling revenues. The video scandal caused Congress to strip ACORN's federal funding while both New York and California offices separated themselves and changed their names.

CHETRY: Later today, President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. The visit comes during a tense time in U.S.-Israel relations. The administration has warned Israel that its plan for new settlement in mostly Arab east Jerusalem threatens the peace process. Netanyahu says Israel has the right to build in Jerusalem because the city isn't a settlement, it's their capital.

ROBERTS: And bombshell accusations against the doctor at the center of the Michael Jackson's death investigation. Documents obtained by the The Associated Press alleged Dr. Conrad Murray stopped performing CPR on the dying singer so that he could collect vials of drugs in the room. A witness told police that he saw Jackson lying in his bed lifeless with an IV attached to his leg, and Murray didn't tell him to call 911 until after the vials had been stashed away. Murray's attorneys claim that prosecutors leaked that police report to get a peek at their defense strategy. The D.A. denies that. Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter -- voluntary manslaughter, rather. Jackson died from an overdose of the powerful drug Propofol and two other sedatives.

CHETRY: Yes, meantime, the lawyer for Conrad Murray is saying that it's inconsistent with what was found at the scene in terms of evidence and also noting that it came two months after the initial investigation.

ROBERTS: And it contradicts earlier statements I think as well.

CHETRY: So we'll have to see how that plays out.

ROBERTS: Continue to battle it out.

CHETRY: Oh, yes. Well, meanwhile, at seven minutes past the hour, we're getting a look at the weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center.

Hey, there, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. Good morning, John. We have a little bit of rain across the New York area, through the northeast. Some of it will be heavy at times today, and then will be replaced with some wind tomorrow.

A couple of things on the map. An Eastern storm and also decent rocky mountain storm that's going to bring some snow to the Denver area. Today, we saw temperatures rising into the 60s over the weekend. Love it. New York to Boston, that's where you're going to see the most chunk of rain, the back side of the storm, the little "L" there north and west of D.C., still has to come through. You're not completely out of the tri-state area. The heaviest amounts of rain will be Connecticut through eastern parts of Massachusetts and there are still a threat for seeing some flooding until this rain moves out. One to three inches total, especially north and east of New York City.

Seventy-five in Dallas, 59 degrees in Chicago, and 56 in New York. Warming up to 63 here in Atlanta after the snow flakes that were flying around this time yesterday morning.

John and Kiran, we'll talk much more weather in about 30 minutes this morning.

ROBERTS: It's spring, the weather is changing. Come on, Rob.

MARCIANO: Yes.

CHETRY: Yes, the other craving part though is one to three inches in some parts of New Jersey, that's enough. You know, that's enough to cause more flooding because they say that their rivers are full and the ground water is saturated and there's nowhere to go.

MARCIANO: Yes. After what happened last week, it's certainly not going to take much. So they put the flood watch up pretty quickly. And it doesn't look like you get a ton of rain in Jersey today, so hopefully we'll be able to get out of this one with less damage than the last go.

ROBERTS: All right. Rob, thanks so much. We'll check back with you in just a little bit.

Still to come on the Most News in the Morning, new revelations about Toyota's accelerator problems and it could mean trouble for the carmaker. A CNN special investigation coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. An exclusive report now from our special investigations unit. It is the document that Toyota did not want you to see. And CNN has it.

CHETRY: So do attorneys who were trying to sue Toyota. They claim it's a smoking gun, that it proves the auto giant and federal government conspired to keep critical safety information from the car buying public. Here's CNN's Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the document, a clear warning sign from August 2002, nearly eight years ago, that Toyota had a sudden acceleration problem and that according to Toyota's own service bulletin, the problem was electronic. CLARENCE DITLOW, CENTER FOR AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY: If you look at this document, it says electronics. It says the fix is reprogramming the computer. It doesn't say anything about formats.

GRIFFIN: The document is called a technical service bulletin and was given to CNN by a group of attorneys now seeking a nationwide class action lawsuit against Toyota. We brought the document to Clarence Ditlow who heads the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety.

Ditlow says the document, not previously made public, is an indication Toyota knew much earlier about an electronic connection to sudden acceleration and he says the service bulletin was parentally hidden from the public, not only by Toyota but by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration known as NHTSA. The service bulletin, those sent to every Toyota dealer and sent to NHTSA was never made public.

DITLOW: The government is really, you know, hiding this information from the consumer. They're in a conspiracy with the auto industry to keep these out of the public sight.

GRIFFIN: NHTSA declined comment on Ditlow's assertions.

(on camera): The lawyers now suing Toyota claim that this Toyota service bulletin is proof that the company knowingly lied to the public blaming its sudden acceleration problems on floor mats or stuck gas pedals.

(voice-over): Tim Howard is a law professor at Northeastern University who also heads the legal group that is saying Toyota hid the real problem for one reason, recalling all affected vehicles could cost billions.

TIM HOWARD, ATTORNEYS TOYOTA ACTION CONSORTIUM: They could fix these problems easily, but it would cost them about $500 a car nationwide. If you have six to seven million cars, you add the numbers, that's close to $4 billion to $5 billion. It's hard to actually tell the truth when those numbers are at the bottom of that truth.

GRIFFIN: Toyota's response to CNN was to discredit the claims being made by the attorneys suing the car company. Toyota strongly disputes these completely baseless allegations being driven by plaintiff's attorneys like Mr. Howard. Toyota said, in a statement to CNN, "Toyota intends to fight against these unfounded claims vigorously."

Howard and his legal team will appear in a San Diego courtroom later this week to try to convince a federal judge to combine the 88 individual lawsuits filed against Toyota into one giant class action litigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Kiran and John, late yesterday evening, we got a second statement from Toyota. This one acknowledging that it did have two separate service bulletins in 2002 and 2003 model Camrys. They said it involves drivers feeling a slight delay and then a momentary surge in acceleration.

The company says it fixed the problem through warranty and that the government didn't find any safety trend (ph) pointing -- a trend pointing towards a safety issue. Toyota did not respond at all when we asked about what was causing that sudden surge, which by its own service bulletin seemed to indicate it was electronic -- Kiran and John.

CHETRY: Drew Griffin for us. Thanks so much.

So we want to know what you think. Do you drive a Toyota and do you worry about whether or not your car is safe?

Join the live chat on our blog, cnn.com/amfix. We'll be sharing some of your comments later in the show.

ROBERTS: Yes. It would be interesting to see if -- if that was a -- a runaway acceleration problem or if it was a fuel mixture type of thing, or, you know, an acceleration curve. I'm sure that we'll here more about that as the investigation continues.

Police say that there was nothing wrong, by the way, with the Toyota Prius that crashed into a wall two weeks ago in Harrison, New York. The driver claims the car accelerated out of control, but according to cops the vehicle's data recorder shows no evidence that the driver ever attempted to apply the brake.

The announcement corroborates a NTSA statement from early on in the investigation.

CHETRY: Yes. And they say that the woman -- she was a housekeeper. She was working at her employer's house and she was -- she claims she was easing the car out of the driveway and it took off.

But the police say that when people believe they're hitting the brake, they really believe they're hitting the brake even though they're hitting the accelerator.

ROBERTS: Yes (ph). You know, those -- those pedals aren't that far apart, and while it might seem obvious that you step on the brake, every once in a while you make a mistake.

CHETRY: All right.

Well, coming up on the Most News in the Morning, Google announcing plans to leave China, sort of, and it's causing huge ripples in the international community. Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business" on why it matters to us.

Seventeen minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty minutes past the hour right now. It means it's time for "Minding Your Business".

Stephanie Elam is in today for Christine Romans, and we're talking about Google and China, Google making the next move now.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Making some changes, and some -- it's some big changes, and kind of just putting the cards on the table at this point.

Google is saying basically they know that in China they want you to self-censor, but they're not going to do that now. So they've changed the hosting over to Hong Kong -- obviously it's still in Chinese, but by putting services their search services there out of Hong Kong, they no longer have to self-censor and therefore they're saying this is in line with the Chinese government and what needs to happen there.

Obviously this has been a big battle between China and Google of what's going on. A lot of people have been waiting around to see what was going to happen. Until Monday they were censoring to make sure that things were in line with the Chinese laws, but now they're saying it's up to the Chinese government to block any content that they find problematic for their -- for the people of the country. Whether or not people agree with that or not, that's what's going on.

So let's take a look at a couple of statements here. We have a -- a decision here from -- from -- a statement from Google saying, "The decision to redirect Chinese users to uncensored web search is entirely legal and will meaningfully increase access to information for people in China and we very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services."

Now, the interesting thing here is that China doesn't necessarily want Google to leave all together. They'd like to keep up the -- the look that they're open to foreign business coming in to China and that if Google leaves it would look not so much like that that is the case, obviously.

This could also turn out to really affect a lot of people on the academic level. A lot of these people rely on Google to do their research, to get their studies done. So it could impact them if it -- if it turns out that Google just pulls out all together.

No one's really expecting that now. We thought that might happen in December when this whole Gmail issue came up. There's a whole debate about censoring over e-mail there. But it's really interesting to look at.

Also, Google has a lot of applications. You've got, you know, the Google Docs, you've got -- besides the Gmail. And all of those things, a lot of people use those to communicate, to edit documents together, and if that is all pulled out then that would be a problem too.

They're also the number one like search advertising site too in the world, so if that were to leave, it would affect some of the companies in China as well.

So a lot of people are saying this would not be a win-win for Google to leave, because obviously there's a lot of people in China --

ROBERTS: And based on that, I -- I was asking this morning that maybe -- is this the first crack in that impervious wall of censorship in China, that if they can't deny Google's existence in China, and Google's laying down the rules to say we're not going to censor ourselves, does this open the door to maybe starting to chip away at some of the censorship rules in China?

ELAM: I think a lot of people are looking at it this way, like Google has basically played their cards in the sense that, look, we're listening to you, but this is in Chinese. Our Google.cn isn't Chinese. It's just out of Hong Kong.

By making it out of the mainland, they could make these sort of argument, so it will be interesting to see how they respond to this. But it would not benefit either side to pull out all together.

So that's what -- they're going to have to work it out.

CHETRY: And there are many people in China who says -- who says it's not going to benefit them either way if they just completely shut down the service there (INAUDIBLE).

But also, even if it is going through Hong Kong, it has to come back through the Chinese firewalls which will still in some way censor -- I mean --

ELAM: Oh, no. It's still censored. Like apparently people in our Beijing bureau were taking a look at it and they will show you -- something will come up if you use one of -- let's say Tiananmen Square, something that typically gets censored. They'll go through -- click on it and you could see it, but if you click on it then the access doesn't come up.

CHETRY: Right.

ELAM: So you're seeing the search but you're not seeing the actual result of it. Yes.

CHETRY: Interesting stuff.

ROBERTS: Stephanie Elam, "Minding Your Business" this morning. Thanks, Steph.

ELAM: Sure.

ROBERTS: Coming up next in the Most News in the Morning, health care reform, not the law of the land, at least not just yet. It will be later on this morning, but already some states getting ready to make sure that it never happens.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Your top stories just four minutes away now. We're back with the Most News in the Morning.

The bill is passed and about to be signed, but, truth be told, the health care fight is far from over. Three dozen states are preparing to challenge various provisions of the reform bill, some plan to file lawsuits, claiming the bill violates the Constitution.

Jim Acosta has that part of the story for us and he's live in Washington this morning. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

You're right. If you thought the fight over health care reform was over, guess again. The battle could be coming to a state near you. Plans are in the works for states across the country to mount legal challenges to health care reform before the ink is even dry at today's signing ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): President Obama, meet Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's Republican Attorney General who's vowing to take health care reform to court.

KEN CUCCINELLI (R), VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: We believe clearly that the federal government does not have the constitutional authority to order every American to buy health insurance.

ACOSTA: That individual mandates most Americans to buy insurance will not only be tested in Virginia. Attorneys General in roughly a dozen states, all Republicans, are also filing lawsuits.

BILL MCCOLLUM (R), FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: There's no -- no politics involved in this whatsoever. This is something I would do whether I were Attorney General or not. This bill is wrong.

ACOSTA: And that's not all. Thirty-six states, in fact, are considering new laws to block an array of health care reform measures.

Many of those states point to the 10th Amendment to the Constitution which says powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states.

But there's a problem, a clause in the Constitution that declares laws passed by Congress as the supreme law of the land. That supremacy clause has stood the test of time.

PROF. CAL JILLSON, SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY: We've got a very conservative Supreme Court, but they're not about to overturn 200 years of Constitutional history and interpretation and declare that the supremacy clause is no longer in effect.

ACOSTA (on camera): Do you believe in the supremacy clause? CUCCINELLI: I believe in God, I read the supremacy clause, and it is effective law in America.

ACOSTA (voice-over): The White House argues bucking the law at the state level would be a waste of time.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: My advice from counsel is that we'll win these -- we'll win these lawsuits.

ACOSTA: President Obama once opposed mandates during the campaign.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What really they're saying is they mandate -- they will -- they will punish you in some way if you don't buy health care.

ACOSTA: Now, the mandate is what opponents of reform want to use to tear the whole thing down.

ACOSTA (on camera): You do hope that -- that what you're doing will bring down the entire statute?

CUCCINELLI: The goal is to -- is to bring down the individual mandate. That's the goal. Stepping into a legal analysis role, I'd rather expect that that means the whole statute will fall.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: It's not just the Attorneys General. Republicans in Congress have also vowed to repeal health care reform, but that wouldn't be easy either. A lot of scrap health care would require a signature from the president, John.

ROBERTS: So -- so far in -- in all the cases that we've been able to review, the supremacy clause is the one that stands?

ACOSTA: That's right. That --

You know, there is also talk about the commerce clause, you know, the fact that the Congress can regulate commerce.

ROBERTS: Yes.

ACOSTA: And what these Attorneys General are saying is that, well, you know, folks who are just, you know, sitting on their sofas at home are not engaged in commerce, so how can -- how can they be regulated by the government?

It is -- it is unique that the government is going to require people to buy health insurance, but one other wrinkle in all of this is that that provision of health care reform doesn't take effect until 2014, so nobody really has been harmed by it, potentially.

So it's going to be interesting to see how all this plays out.

ROBERTS: At the very least a lot of people thumbing through their Constitutional law books this morning.

Jim Acosta, thanks so much.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. You bet.

ROBERTS: All right.

Coming up on the half hour, and that means it's time for this morning's top stories.

In the East Room of the White House President Obama will sign the health care bill into law today. But another battle still looms. The Senate must not approve changes to the bill that already passed in the House. Later on this week, the president will travel to Iowa City to sell the benefits of health care reform.

CHETRY: CNN Special Investigations Unit has obtained a service bulletin that was written by Toyota back in 2002 advising the federal government and all Toyota dealerships about a sudden acceleration problem in the cars. It says the problem was caused by faulty electronics, not sticky floor mats or gas pedals. Some auto safety experts are now alleging that the automaker and federal safety regulators conspired to keep that bulletin from the public until now.

ROBERTS: Former Presidents Bush and Clinton say extending U.S. trade preferences could create 100,000 jobs in Haiti, a vital shot in the arm for the earthquake-torn country. Clinton and Bush visited Port-au-Prince yesterday, continuing work for their organization that helps raise money for Haiti's long-term recovery.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be leading a group of high ranking cabinet officials in a visit to Mexico today. The group will meet with their Mexican counterparts for talks on the bloody drug violence that's raging across the border.

CHETRY: Yes. It was a summit planned months ago but it comes just 10 days after an American consulate worker and her husband were gunned in Juarez.

For more now, we're joined by Sigi Gonzalez, Jr. He is the sheriff of Zapata County. That's in southern Texas, right along the border.

Thanks so much for being with us this morning, Sheriff.

SHERIFF SIGIFREDO GONZALEZ, JR., ZAPATA COUNTY, TEXAS: Good morning. Thank you.

CHETRY: So, the headlines are alarming. You're talking about murders, extortions, gang violence, human smuggling. You're right there on the border. What has life been like in your county?

GONZALEZ: Well, it's Zapata County. It's not too bad. We have some threats at times, perhaps some spillover, especially now that there's so much gang activity across the river from us.

But throughout the border, we're talking from San Diego, California, to Brownsville, Texas, we're seeing things that are -- you know, kidnappings, extortions. So, we're seeing things that, you know, carjackings we're seeing, and of course, kidnappings in Arizona, being kidnapping capital of the nation right now.

And these are things that are ongoing. We're expecting a major firefight as matter of fact today right across the river from us in Mexico. So, these are things are happening and happening -- getting worse, I guess, in the last two weeks or so.

ROBERTS: You know, Sheriff, there's an argument over just how much, if any, spillover violence there is from the Mexican drug wars on other side of the border. And after the shootings of three people connected to that U.S. consulate that we've been reporting, and Governor Rick Perry activated a contingency plan to beef up law enforcement across the border or along the border rather. His Democratic opponent for the governor's race this year, Bill White, accuses Perry of overreacting.

Here's what he said. Bill White said, "Exaggerating border violence can undermine economic development efforts of border communities, and that hurts Texas."

Is the violence along the border, Sheriff, being exaggerated?

GONZALEZ: No, it's not being exaggerated. The people that think about commerce, and you said the key word, commerce. They're the ones that are saying that perhaps that everything is real calm and cool on the border.

Well, for a long time now, we have seen people that are coming in from Mexico killing people in the U.S. out of the border and going back to Mexico. We have seen people being kidnapped in the U.S. out of the border like in El Paso, individuals kidnapped up there, taken to Juarez, killed in Juarez and never to be seen again.

So, these are the things that were -- the key word to them is commerce.

ROBERTS: Right.

GONZALEZ: The governor is not exaggerating what's happening. The governor is wanting to prepare himself for whatever happens if it does happen. And I commend the governor for that. I'm a Democrat, but the reality is the reality. The governor is doing a great job in supporting us in our efforts along the border.

ROBERTS: But "USA Today" newspaper recently published some FBI crime data for the first six months of 2009, which seemed to suggest that there's not that much spillover violence. For example, first six months of 2009, 1,000 people were murdered in Ciudad, Juarez, across the border in El Paso, Texas, there were four people murdered. That was two less than the previous year, in 2008. And in Tucson, Arizona, nine people were murdered, 21 less than in 2008.

So, how do you square those crime rate statistics with the perception that you and the other sheriffs have that violence is spilling across the border?

GONZALEZ: Well, how do you measure success? We measure success this way. When you prevented something from happening, then I think we're successful.

The reason I say this because since 2006, that the state of Texas, Governor Perry and Texas legislature provided funding for border sheriffs in Texas, crime along our area has decreased, and in some areas, by over 70 percent. And now, if you look at funding from Operation Stonegarden by the federal government for the whole border area, crime has decreased.

CHETRY: So --

GONZALEZ: And that's exactly what we've been telling people. You want to try to prevent that from happening, you got to put a stop to it by investing in your border.

CHETRY: You're calling for more resources, right? You're saying that right now, the bulk of it is being paid for locally and resources are local. Do you need more help from the state and federal government, and in what capacity?

GONZALEZ: Well, I think I can -- and I speak for the sheriffs along the border, the four counties along the border, the 31 sheriffs along the border, is this -- the federal government neglected to secure the border. The federal government doesn't care about what's happening on the border. Our funding in Texas comes from the Texas legislature.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Why do you think the federal government doesn't care about the violence on the border?

GONZALEZ: The federal government has not provided a single penny to help us along the border for exception of the funding of Operation Stonegarden. Other than that, the government really doesn't even know what's really happening on the border.

ROBERTS: Well, what about this Merida Initiative, you know, the federal governments has dumped $1.6 million into fighting the drug raid, not just in Mexico but in other countries as well.

Has that had any effect that you've seen? And if you had a seat at the table today, Sheriff, along with the secretaries of homeland security, defense and state, what would you tell them?

GONZALEZ: I would tell them very simply is this, you want to invest money $1.3 billion and give it to Mexico for the drug problems in Mexico or trying to stop drugs from coming into the country, I did this during the testimony before Congress. And you take your hands and cup them together and get a balloon and blow into that balloon, until somewhere along your hands the balloon is going to bulge and it's going to explode.

Money needs to be provided to the southern border of this country also, not just for the foreign governments. You're investing a lot of money in foreign government trying to prevent the problem over there. But what happens when it spills over into our country? We need to be prepared for that also. You need to also invest for local law enforcement along the southwestern border of our country to stop this from happening.

CHETRY: Sigi Gonzalez, Jr., the sheriff of Zapata County, Texas. And you're also the chairman, we should note, of the Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition. Thanks so much for your input this morning. We appreciate it.

ROBERTS: Good to talk to you. Thanks.

GONZALEZ: Thank you for having me. Thank you.

ROBERTS: Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning: Hollywood is finding that there is less work to go around. The move to shoot outside of Tinseltown, and what's being done to stop productions from leaving.

Stay with us. It's 37 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: All right. Well, we want to show a little bit of what you guys have been saying about the health care debate. We've been talking a lot about the next step today, which is, of course, the president signing this bill in a big ceremony that's taking place today. So, we want to hear what you guys think about it.

And we've gotten some interesting feedback. One of our -- one of our viewers, Chris L. writes, "I was a Massachusetts resident and used their state required health care and that's all worth it. Even if this plan isn't exactly perfect, it's a step in the right direction."

ROBERTS: Some people have an opposite opinion though.

Darrel K. writes, "Everyone knows health care needs to have some reform. But I'm totally disgusted with our Congress and Senate and the way that they have totally disregarded the American people's voice. The majority of our elected officials need to be removed from office. The people need to put into office honest, law bidding -- that's spelling mistake -- people -- it should be law-abiding people -- who will speak for its constituents."

So, keep those cards and letters coming this morning. We'd love to read them.

CHETRY: Yes. CNN.com/amFIX. And there's a live blog icon you can click on.

In the meantime, California no longer has a firm grip on movie production. And so, the stat now facing a budget crisis and 12 percent unemployment is trying to do everything to lure business back. CNN entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson shows us what the entertainment industry is doing to keep jobs in Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, Los Angeles has always prided itself on being the movie-making capital of the world. But now, more and more production sets like this one are silent. Something Cindy Parker knows all too well.

CINDY PARKER, SERVICE WORKER: Coffee is ready.

ANDERSON (voice-over): For 23 years, Cindy Parker has poured countless cups of coffee for TV and film crews. But lately, these craft service workers' tools of the trade have been collecting dust.

(on camera): What do you have in here?

PARKER: Well, let's see. I have storage boxes. I have utility carts. I have refrigerators.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Parker sums up craft services this way.

PARKER: We're kind of mom and dad and make sure that, you know, if someone comes back, are you hungry? I can take care of you.

ANDERSON (on camera): What have you seen in recent years in terms of the industry and in terms of the work that is available to you.

PARKER: This is just a longer dry spell than I and my husband really ever anticipated.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Job opportunities have dried up. That's producers opt to shoot in cheaper locations outside California, a trend called "runaway production." Los Angeles, the movie-making capital of the world has lost half its production work in the last decade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've stopped calling it runaway, as that what's happening. And talk about it being ran away. It's gone.

ANDERSON: Paul Abley (ph) runs Film L.A., a nonprofit business that helps facilitate production in Los Angeles. He says TV and movie crews have been lured out of California by tax breaks nearing 30 percent to 40 percent from places like New Mexico, Louisiana, and Canada.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What California did was it waited assuming it owned this industry and now, it's in the position of having basically lost the majority of the work and having to figure out how to bring it back.

ANDERSON: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger battled to get a minor tax incentive program passed and it resulted in an almost immediate increase in film production, according to Film L.A.

"Men of a Certain Age" produced by CNN corporate partner TNT qualified for that tax incentive. The show employs nearly 200 people. Its executive producer credits the incentive for enabling them to shoot in Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there wasn't that tax incentive basically, we'd have to deal with a lower budget, meaning, we have to hire less people and the show would suck and it would be canceled. So, tax and then all these jobs are gone.

ANDERSON: But there is opposition. Critics call it a giveaway to the industry at a time when California is facing a $20 billion deficit. Supporters argue that if the incentives generate work for Parker and people like her, it will mean more Californians back on the tax rolls.

Parker is just waiting for the call.

PARKER: I'm set to roll now.

ANDERSON (on camera): The men and women behind the scenes of our favorite TV shows and movies are hoping they'll continue to see incentives from California officials so that empty sets like this one are in action once again -- John and Kiran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Brooke Anderson for us this morning -- Brooke, thanks so much.

Interesting point that that fellow made, that if they had to pay higher taxes, the budget would be lower, the show would suck, it would be canceled and all those people would be out of work. So, better -- maybe some tax revenue than none at all.

Forty-four and a half minutes after the hour.

Storms in the Northeast, Rob has got this morning's travel forecast right after the break. And when we say storms in the Northeast, we're not kidding.

CHETRY: Yes.

And, how about this? In 10 minutes, Jeanne Moos with some of the most bizarre moments from this weekend's health care debate. Jeanne puts them together like no one else can.

It's 45 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty- seven minutes past the hour right now. A live look at the Capitol this morning, 49 degrees, partly cloudy, a little bit later, 58 degrees, but we're getting rain in the northeast today. ROBERTS: Why they moved that bill signing ceremony. It supposed to be a great big event. They have moved that back inside. If they can delay it until Wednesday, they would have some great weather. Let's get a quick check on this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the weather center for us this morning in Atlanta. Good morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: Good morning, guys. A couple of storms to talk about, the one in the Rockies and the one during across the northeast. This is has got some punch to it as far as rainfall goes. Here's what we saw as of 1:00 a.m. yesterday, 1.95 in Danbury, Sussex, New Jersey 1.92, Oxford, Connecticut seen an inch and a half, and New York City seeing over an inch and a third and with more rain on the way, although, the bulk of the heavier rain has shifted to the east. The low itself is back here. So, the wraparound will probably clip D.C. later on today with a little shower activity, but most of the heaviest, sustainable, and ongoing rain will be across Eastern New England.

We still have some flash flood watches and warnings posted there. Next storm on the docket, it's going to bring six to 16 inches of snowfall across Denver, Colorado and the front rains there after seeing temperatures bounced into the 60s after of the last snowstorm on Friday. If you are traveling today, low clouds and rain across Boston and New York metros. Also, Atlanta will see some problems and Cleveland will see some issues as well.

International weather for you, in China, sand storms bad news across the central part of the country there, moving to the populated areas of Hong Kong and Taiwan off the coast there. This was the worst day of pollution ever on Monday because of pollution and the stand storms there over gracing deforestation inland causing some of these problems also. Thankfully at least here, stateside, we don't have those kind of issues. 56 for a high in New York today. Most of the rain has moved off to the north and east. John, Kiran, back up to you.

ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much.

This morning's top stories just minutes away including President Obama expected to sign health care into law in just a few hours, but the fight is far from over. The GOP could drag things out in the senate even longer, and the legal challenge is that are beginning to pile up.

CHETRY: Also at 15 minutes past the hour, the demise of ACORN, one of the largest community organizing groups in the country, taken down by the scandal and money problems, and of course, the pimp and prostitute seen on video.

ROBERTS: And at 25 minutes after the hour, you've heard of I.Q., what about E.Q, emotional intelligence where used to calling it street smart, but can you teach that to kids in a classroom? Alina Cho with an AM Original for us this morning. Those stories and more coming your way beginning at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fifty-four minutes past the hour right now. It means it's time for the Moos News in the Morning with Jeanne, and at times like this, Congress is almost spoofing itself. In fact, 7-minute live probably could have done a better job.

ROBERTS: The health care debate brought us plenty of drama and unintentional comedy. Our Jeanne Moos has the highs and low lights for us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is there a doctor in the House of Representatives.

UNKNOWN MALE: We now know with absolute certainty that the only thing that --

UNKNOWN FEMALE: No, you don't.

(CROSSTALK)

MOOS: The health care debate was enough to raise the blood pressure. Republican congressmen were out on the balcony holding hand made signs. Representative Jean Schmidt was cheer leading chants. Iowa Republican Steve King gave a thumbs down and even swatted Speaker Nancy Pelosi's image. Outside and inside, it was a debate to remember.

UNKNOWN MALE: Answer the call of history.

UNKNOWN MALE: This bill is a fiscal Frankenstein.

UNKNOWN MALE: I'm proud.

UNKNOWN MALE: Shame on this body.

UNKNOWN MALE: Give health care a chance.

MOOS: What ruled the house were house rules.

UNKNOWN MALE: Do the house rules apply or not?

MOOS: The GAFL (ph) wielded at one point by Representative Jesse Jackson Junior.

UNKNOWN MALE: Gentleman, time has expired.

(CROSSTALK)

MOOS: It's a wonder we all haven't expired in the time it's taken to pass health care. In order but not without confusion.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: And I yield back -- what? MOOS: Order on the floor but not necessarily in the hallways. This was where Democrat Barney Frank was called a gay slur and John Lewis was called the N word. Reverend Jesse Jackson Senior riled the anti-health care protesters by waving at them. The DRUJ declared it a date which will live in infirmary. Democrats were getty. Republicans fierce.

UNKNOWN MALE: We need to defeat these (EXPLETIVE WORD). We need to wipe them out.

MOOS: As the President praised the outcome, watch the guy in the background come out then realize he's on camera.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After nearly 100 years of talk --

MOOS: Only once did we see money change hands.

UNKNOWN MALE: Senator, thanks for all the hard work you do for Wall Street and big insurance --

MOOS: Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell was showered with real bills by fake billionaires for weather care and that made a guy shooting video mad.

UNKNOWN MALE: Don't make my (EXPLETIVE WORD) health insurance go up 10 years from now.

MOOS: Next thing you know, both sides were scrambling to pick up the money while Nancy Pelosi was picking up a big gavel. My gavel is bigger than hers.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNKNOWN MALE: Let them eat Advil.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And a little secret that gavel belongs to AMERICAN MORNING, that's our gavel.

ROBERTS: Is that our gavel?

CHETRY: Yes. Usually sits at Michelle's desk.

ROBERTS: Ah, she's stealing the gavel already, huh.

CHETRY: If you borrow my closet once as well.

ROBERTS: Pelosi and the Pelosi will happy there (ph).

CHETRY: All right. It's 57 minutes past the hour. Your top stories coming your way right after the break. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)