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CNN Sunday Morning
Convicted Killers Escape Arizona Prison; Chelsea's Big Day
Aired August 01, 2010 - 08:00 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. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING on this first day of August.
Where is the summer going?
Good morning, folks. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I am Kate Bolduan. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us.
HOLMES: Three convicted killers are on the run as we speak. You see them there. They escaped from a prison in Arizona. We'll tell you the details of this Hollywood script-like escape that they had. That's coming up.
BOLDUAN: Plus, a very different story. Chelsea Clinton's wedding, and wedding pictures. You see them right there.
These photos released last night from the former president giving away his daughter, to the newly weds just seconds after saying "I do." We're live in Rhinebeck, New York, with the latest, the morning after Chelsea's big day.
First, let's get a check of the top stories, though.
It's been a year since three Americans were detained by Iranian security forces. Now, their mothers are trying again, calling on Tehran to set the two men and one woman free. Their call was echoed by people rallying in New York yesterday. Iran has accused the three of spying.
And in California, firefighters finally have the upper hand battling wildfires there. The biggest one known as the "crown fire" is more than 80 percent contained. Favorable weather has helped more -- has helped more than anything else, really. So far, the three fires have burned 30,000 acres.
And new developments in the saga of that Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning. The president of Brazil has offered her political asylum. And the Iranian government says it will have something to say about the case Thursday in a meeting with the woman's son.
HOLMES: Now, we mentioned this just a moment ago, but three convicted killers are now escaped killers. They broke out of a prison in Arizona. They are considered armed and dangerous. And police believe they had help getting out.
BOLDUAN: An accomplice.
The investigation centers on a truck stop in Kingman, Arizona.
Jennifer Parks of CNN affiliate KNXV picks up the story from there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANA BRANDBORG, TRAVELER: Somebody told me don't go outside, there is a big truck at the fuel line, and there's cop cars all around because there are escaped prisoners, and don't go out there.
JENNIFER PARKS, KNXV REPORTER (voice-over): Jana Brandborg later learned convicted murderers, Tracy Province and John McCluskey, escaped from an Arizona state prison near Kingman, and then are accused of hijacking 18-wheeler with two truckers and forcing them to drive at gun point to this Middle America truck stop in Flagstaff.
ROGER EARL, TRUCK DRIVER: They got a gun. They came up behind him. They get out to go to the restroom or get out to go -- you know, a lot of times, they'll knock on your door.
ANDREW CULVER, TRUCK DRIVER: I'm glad that they didn't get hurt. What are you going to do if guys got a gun pointed at you? Then, I guess you're driving where he wants to go, right?
PARKS: The Mojave County sheriff's office says this woman, 44- year-old Casslyn Welch, out of Mesa, assisted the men. Her car was seen near the prison. It's described as a 1996 blue Chrysler Concord.
A third man, Daniel Renwick, who is serving two consecutive terms for murder also escaped. But authorities think he's on his own. How the three men got out of the medium prison dormitory and cut two holes in the fence is unclear.
Authorities won't discuss any leads they're following up on, but warning the public that the three men are armed and anyone who sees them should call the police.
BRANDBORG: Because I know the police are going to get them. It's just a matter of time. And I'm sure they'll be caught. But, in the meantime, I think everybody needs to be warned.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: And the number of victims is rising in Pakistan where record monsoon rains have produced flooding that some call "unprecedented."
HOLMES: We were telling about this story yesterday and showing you really these horrible images. There's major damage to crops, also buildings, in the northwest part of that country.
Our Reza Sayah is there for us. He joins us now by phone. Reza, let's start by giving us the updated death toll.
We're not hearing our Reza Sayah on the line. You guys tell me back there on the booth of we do have him. But we do not have him, I am told, we've lost him. But he has been traveling onto the northwest part of that region. He was on the line for us yesterday as he was making his way up and describing the scene around him.
But we can tell you yesterday -- yesterday morning actually when we were on the air here, right before we went on the air. The death toll went from 400 to 800, and now, we're being told it's over 1,000.
So, we do have our Reza Sayah back on the line with us now.
Reza, hello to you once again. I was just giving that updated death toll at 1,000. But by all means, update us on certainly that number. Do we expect it to go up? And, of course, what are you seeing around you?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think based on what I've seen over the past couple days here in northwest Pakistan --
HOLMES: All right. Clearly, in the region, having some issues with the phone.
BOLDUAN: Right.
HOLMES: But, again, you're seeing these pictures and you saw some of those waters just sweeping a lot of these homes and businesses away. Many of the homes that people live in, particularly in this area, are made out of mud. They're not stable homes certainly, but literally, have been washed away.
So, again, we went from 400 to 800 to now, over 1,000, that have been killed. There is some anger in the area now because officials believe -- or rather I should say -- and look, this is one of these images we have from yesterday -- just amazing, people literally holding on for dear life.
But some people upset with the government because of a slow disaster response. Now this now comes -- all of this -- the rescue and recovery is starting to happen now. But we have monsoon rains in the forecast for tomorrow as well. It is the season. They are used to certainly having heavy rains, but we are seeing some record rains this particular season, and more is on the way -- which is certainly going to complicate the rescue and relief efforts, and certainly, just compound the huge problems they already have.
But, again, the death toll now up over 1,000 in Pakistan.
BOLDUAN: A new document released by a congressional subcommittee indicates that Coast Guard officials allowed BP to use excessive amounts of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico. You probably know that by now, chemical dispersants, at least, that name, we talked about it a lot. BP used the chemicals to break up oil after the April 20th Deepwater Horizon rig explosion sent millions of gallons of crude gushing into the Gulf, despite a federal directive restricting their use. The Coast Guard routinely granted exemptions, according to this committee. The House Energy and Environment Subcommittee report says the Coast Guard approved more than 74 exemptions in 48 days.
HOLMES: Well, day 104 now of this Gulf oil disaster. BP is preparing for what could be the final solution here now for that well. They're going to try and kill it. You heard them use that phrase plenty of time, but a couple of different kills they're going to try, and one of them is starting either tomorrow or possibly Tuesday.
BOLDUAN: And CNN's Reynolds Wolf, he is live in New Orleans with an update this morning.
Good morning, Reynolds. What is the latest on the schedule, as well as and there is likely a visit -- an important visit -- from someone into the Gulf?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.
Well, you know, all successful missions have a schedule. This -- you know, I can tell you, there's definitely going to be a schedule today, and it starts off with BP's Doug Suttles actually making his way to Venice, Louisiana, farther south to get to some of the damage that the oil has made on part of the marshland. Some of the marshlands just inundated with that heavy crude still, even though the oil is almost impossible to find out in the open waters of the Gulf. It's been very difficult to find. There are places along the shoreline where it has really, really made its mark. That's the first part of the schedule.
The second part is cleaning out the relief well that still has some sediment in it. That's part two, when they clean out that relief well with the sediment, the other step they're going to have is putting in what they refer to is the casing, which is basically a hollow metal pipe in one of the relief wells. After that, and then they go on through a procedure that should start sometime, probably on Tuesday, which is the "static kill" procedure, where they inject a combination of both mud and cement into the containment cap, and that will actually top off the top of the well itself, the broken wellhead. That's called the static kill.
And then finally, into the middle of the month of August, or perhaps towards the end of the month, you have what T.J. referred to as the end game, so to speak, final solution. That's called the bottom kill. And they think that's once and for all is going to be the thing that's going to kill this off altogether.
But then, of course, you got the long-term issues, and, of course, with, obviously, lots of money that has been lost among -- especially among the people like the tourism industry, the fishermen.
Waters have opened in many parts of the Gulf of Mexico, especially in places east of the Mississippi, which is great for the fishing industry, but still, guys, you have a huge chunk of the year that they missed, tremendous part. And the same with the tourism industry, dollars that will not come back. So, that certainly is a frustrating thing.
But, still, we are seeing at least a hint of light at the end of the tunnel, and that is certainly a welcome thing.
BOLDUAN: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds. We'll talk to you in a bit.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: All right. Well, it's nine minutes past the hour now.
We talked about it yesterday. We didn't have a lot of details. We were reporting what we thought we knew. Now, we know -- Chelsea Clinton is waking up a married woman this morning.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And we have some beautiful wedding pictures to show you and the story behind what some call the biggest wedding of the year. Coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: So, now, the wedding pictures you've all been waiting to see, if you have been waiting for 12 hours now, to see?
HOLMES: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. Chelsea Clinton tied the knot -- good music -- with long time beau, Marc Mezvinsky yesterday. You can see former President Clinton and the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posing with the happy bride and groom, very happy day.
HOLMES: Well, congratulations to them. And, you know, it was still a private affair, we hear, even though you have your pictures on CNN and many other places. It's still, they -- they found a way in this tiny town of Rhinebeck to actually kept the ceremony, keep everything feeling like just about any other wedding you would ever go to, which should be a private and intimate, very personal, and family- oriented affair.
So, congratulations to them.
BOLDUAN: That's also a big deal and we're all following it and that's where our national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us live with more details on the Clinton nuptials.
Good morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.
Well, you know, those official -- hi -- the official photos speak volumes. The couple certainly looked happy and very relaxed, as did the Clintons. And, certainly, this was a very spectacular setting, wasn't it? It was a hilltop overlooking the Hudson River on this 50 acre private estate, and the ceremony took place at sunset outdoors. So, you can imagine how the lighting must have looked at that time of day.
And if you look closely at some of these photographs, you can pick out other little subtle details, such as the beautiful white bouquet that Chelsea Clinton was carrying, the fact that you can see in the hands of some of the guest in the crowd, they are holding fans that undoubtedly were handed out to people because it was a very warm day yesterday.
And other little fine touches about her gown, by designer Vera Wang, beautiful cascading ruffles down the front. You saw around her waste, either a sash or belt of some kind. In any case, you can tell there were a lot of sparkles.
And Mrs. Clinton, as we saw, wore a burgundy gown by her designer, longtime friend and designer, Oscar de la Renta.
So, certainly fabulous.
An interfaith ceremony -- remember the groom in this case? Marc Mezvinsky is Jewish. So, there was a rabbi there -- also a minister, because Chelsea is a Methodist.
And so we saw some traditional Jewish aspects of this ceremony. For example, the groom had a tallit draped over his shoulder. They were standing under what appeared to be a chuppah made of vines. It was really -- appeared to be quite lovely.
And the Clintons released a statement after the ceremony. We didn't see them but we do have this. It reads in part, quote, "We watched with great pride and overwhelming emotion as Chelsea and Marc wed in a beautiful ceremony, surrounded by family and their close friends. We could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate the beginning of their life together."
We do know that this morning, according to one of the guests, that the Clintons will be having a private brunch for some of the guests who attended the wedding ceremony. But in the end, T.J., as you pointed out, this appeared to be an event for -- as the family said as well -- close family and friends.
Perhaps one surprise is: there has been a lot of talk about seeing a lot of celebrities. We saw a few, but we don't know a complete guest list. We saw a few.
But for the most part, it was about setting this wedding, setting it up the way that the couple wanted it. And it seems they got their dream wedding.
Back to you.
BOLDUAN: A beautiful day. Actually, it looks like it's going to be another beautiful day up there. So, thank you so much, Susan.
CANDIOTTI: Sure. BOLDUAN: You are our eyes and ears on the ground. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.
So, there seems to be a new effort to bring people together of different religions.
HOLMES: And it's actually getting some creative minds to come together to put their faith on film. This story is in our "Faces of Faith" segment this morning. It's a quarter past the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And in this morning's "Faces of Faith," former British prime minister, Tony Blair, challenged young people from around the world to create short films about what religion means to them. It's called the Tony Blair Faith Foundation -- and CNN spoke with Blair and the winners about their films.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ESTEBAN PEDRAZA, TONY BLAIR FAITH FOUNDATION: This woman is my mother. And she was 24 years old --
RICHARD ALLEN GREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What links this single mother in Nashville, Tennessee, with this mosque in India?
The answer? Those are subjects of short films about faith made by young people for a competition started by former British prime minister, Tony Blair.
He started a faith foundation when he left office three years ago.
TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I still think it's fascinating, interesting and important to know about people of different faiths. And some of the films actually show how many of the faiths have some of the basic concepts, about love your neighbor, about justice.
GREENE: Esteban Pedraza is one of the contest winners here. As an NYU film student, he hears about a lot of contest, but this one jumped out at him.
PEDRAZA: Faith is huge for me. You know, it kind of fuels everything that I do. It fuels my decisions in life, and, you know, it helps me with hope every day. And also, you know, it kind of gives me a purpose.
So, that's why I decided to make a movie about faith.
"Years later when I was 4, a voice in her heart told her to move to Nashville, Tennessee."
GREENE: His mother was the subject. She moved from Columbia to Miami to Nashville, the young Esteban in tow, on the bases of her faith.
PEDRAZA: She felt like she needed to move there, she felt like God was saying to her to move there, but she still didn't know why she was there.
GREENE: But it wasn't always easy for her.
PEDRAZA: Every night, she just prayed to God for hours and hours to, you know, asking him to show her why we were there and to, you know, give her a path and a purpose on life, and, you know, he came through on that.
GREENE: She's now a successful businesswoman.
Pedraza's subject, his single mother, couldn't have been closer to him.
But Tariq Chowdhury, a runner up in the contest didn't find all of his subject as approachable as Pedraza did, when he set out to document six major faiths in London.
TARIQ CHOWDHURY, CONTEST RUNNER-UP: When turned up at, you know, one of the largest Hindu temples in London, you know, they see me (INAUDIBLE), a person who is Muslim, you know, and they're Hindu. You know, there's tension there already.
GREENE: But he ended up being deeply affected by his efforts.
CHOWDHURY: By and large, I'd say, it was the journey make the film was far more incredible than what the film would suggest and it's sad that I'm the only person actually went through that.
GREENE: Shiv Tandan explores a Muslim mosque in India, but it ends with a twist.
The movie might appear to be about tolerance, but he insists it isn't.
SHIV TANDAN, "FAITH SHORTS" CONTEST WINNER: I think the most important idea that I really wanted to convey as the essence of faith is love, and it's not tolerance, and it's not -- you know, tolerance is something negative, and, you know, you bear with something; whereas love is something that means acceptance.
So, I think the message was that no matter what faith you are, you should know the other faiths as well.
Oh, I'm Hindu.
And then, what I feel (INAUDIBLE) we'll just fall in love.
GREENE: Richard Allen Greene, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HIOLMES: We want to take a moment out now to say good morning and congratulations to Soledad O'Brien.
BOLDUAN: Anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien has been selected as Journalists of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. She was honored last night -- we're seeing pictures there -- in San Diego, at the group's 35th annual convention. O'Brien was recognized for her work in CNN's acclaimed in America franchise, "Black in America 2" was the highest-rated cable news documentary in 2009.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR/SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: The work does not stop here for all of us. The challenges have to inspire us to do more, to work harder, to plow through, to not give up, to stand our ground as black journalists and tell stories that matter to our community -- the good stories, the challenging stories, the honest stories, so that we in turn can empower other people and move the needle and make a difference in our community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Congratulations to Soledad.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
HOLMES: That was out in San Diego this week. So, I assume she was still partying when we first told our viewers about it. It's 6:00.
BOLDUAN: It's 6:00 a.m.
HOLMES: Yes. Soledad can get down. But congratulations, Soledad. We are looking forward to you getting back to New York, getting back to work certainly. See you soon.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
HOLMES: Well, you can't live without the "crackberries," as they're called.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
HOLMES: The smartphones are running into a bit of a roadblock.
BOLDUAN: A bit of a roadblock. We'll show you where they're pulling the plug on BlackBerry messaging, e-mail, and even Internet browsing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Twenty-five minutes past the hour now.
BlackBerry users, many people can't leave home without them. Certainly, they can't go even -- some -- 15 minutes without looking at these things. "Crackberries" they're called. Well, they're going to need to find something out there, a better fix -- BOLDUAN: To rehab.
HOLMES: -- in the United Arab Emirates, because they soon be blocking the BlackBerrys there, beginning in October.
United Arab Emirates says it's going to suspend email, Web browsing and instant messaging services from BlackBerry. Why? They want the company to come up with new processes that are in line with the nation's telecommunications rule. At least one UAE telecompany has been notified, no comment just yet from BlackBerry officials.
But the thing is, UAE says, in fact, they have some security concerns because, you know, BlackBerrys, the company locked them pretty tight as far as securities go, and we need that. But UAE says that it's so tight and secured we can't monitor all of that information. So, maybe it's a national security risk.
BOLDUAN: So -- so sorry, BlackBerry.
HOLMES: Yes.
BOLDUAN: At least for a little while.
HOLMES: For a little while, it starts in October.
Also, pets, you have 'em?
BOLDUAN: I do not have any pets.
HOLMES: You don't have any pets.
BOLDUAN: I grew up with them but do not have any.
HOLMES: Well, yes, people know -- people consider pets, not just a pet, not just an animal running around. People say they're parts of the family.
BOLDUAN: Oh, they absolutely do. And it seems a judge in Maryland -- seems to agree with that. For the first time in that state's history, a family court judge has ruled that a dog is not property. So, what is it? A plant? No I'm kidding. Is a child?
Well, Gayle Myers obviously thinks so. She fought her ex-husband for custody of the Lucky, which you're seeing right there.
The couple spent thousands of dollars on legal fees, and in the end, the judge awarded split custody. And in fact, Gayle and her ex will have to share the dog. Each will have visitation rights.
HOLMES: Oh, are you serious?
BOLDUAN: Who knows? This maybe -- I don't know -- could set a precedent as more couples chose not to have children. Their pets really do start to fill those rules. Can't we just all get along?
(CROSSTALK) BOLDUAN: Can we just work it out without spending thousands of dollars?
HOLMES: And it goes to show how seriously people take the dogs. I don't know -- I would be curious to read the decision, how he made the decision, how he went about, OK, this person does this much for the dog, this much time.
BOLDUAN: Right. I think -- and this is also one of the situations where we have to be careful, because talking about one's pet is one of those topics that you don't want to take on at a dinner party.
HOLMES: People are very sensitive about their pets.
All right. Looking forward to read that decision.
Well, a show of outrage. You've been seeing this for the past several days. The House of Representatives on the floor had a lot of people talking. Give you a little preview of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: It's Republicans wrapping their arm around Republicans rather than doing the right thing on behalf of heroes! It's a shame! A shame!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: It was one lawmaker's rant over a bill to provide health care to emergency workers injured on September 11th. We'll take a look at what happens next.
Twenty-seven minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, bottom of the hour here now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And welcome back to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes.
BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Good morning everybody. Let's get a check top stories going on right now.
Three convicted killers escape from a medium security prison in Kingman, Arizona. Police say they had help from a female accomplice.
And new documents released by a Congressional subcommittee indicate the Coast Guard allowed BP to use excessive amounts of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico.
And former first daughter, Chelsea Clinton, is now a married woman. She tied the knot with long-time boyfriend Mark Mezvinsky in a -- beautiful wedding in upstate New York last night.
HOLMES: All right, who can't agree on this? Extending and improving health care benefits for first responders to 9/11? We're talking about the guys who ran towards the towers on 9/11. Health benefits for them. Shouldn't everybody agree on that, be in favor of it? Not quite. Not Democrats and Republicans.
A proposed bill sparked heated debate in Congress last week. The backdrop to the fight is this: Democrats made a procedural move that meant the bill would need to have a two-thirds majority to pass rather than a simple majority.
They did that so that Republicans could not add any unrelated amendments to the bill and force Democrats possibly to take some tough votes and a tough stance in an election year.
This is how New York Congressman, Peter King, sized it up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: What we are doing tonight is a cruel hoax and a charade. Everyone knows that this bill not get the two-thirds majority required on the suspension calendar. Everyone also knows that this bill would pass with a clear majority if the Democratic leadership would allow it to come to the floor under the regular procedures of the House.
The reason HR 847 is not being brought up in the regular order is that the majority party is petrified of having its members face a potential vote on illegal immigration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: So Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York, how do you feel about it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman from New York is recognized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker you have one minute to distinguish from New York -- Mr. Weiner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman is recognized --
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: Great courage to all members who have already spoken and then stand up and wrap your arms around procedure. We see it in the United States senate every single day where members say we want amendments, we want debate, we want to amend it but we're still a no.
And then we stand up and say, oh, if only we had a different process, we would vote yes. You vote yes if you believe yes. You vote in favor of something if you believe it's the right thing. If you believe it's the wrong thing, you vote no.
We are following a procedure -- I will not yield to the gentleman and the gentleman will observe regular order. The gentleman will observe regular order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman is not in order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's correct.
WEINER: The gentleman speaks if he gets up and he yells like he's going to intimidate people into believing he's right. He is wrong, the gentleman is wrong. The gentleman is providing cover for his colleagues rather than doing the right thing.
It's Republicans wrapping their arms around Republicans rather than doing the right thing on behalf of the heroes. It is a shame, a shame. If you believe this is a bad idea to provide health care then vote no, but don't give me the cowardly view that oh, if it was a different procedure.
The gentleman will observe regular order and sit down -- I will not. The gentleman will sit. The gentleman is correct in sitting -- I will not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is quite obviously is not in order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman will now suspend, the gentlemen will suspend.
WEINER: I will not stand here --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman is recognized.
WEINER: -- and listen to my colleagues say, oh if only I had a different procedure that allows us to stall, stall, stall and then vote no. Instead of standing up and defending your colleagues in voting no on this humane bill, you should urge them to vote yes -- something the gentleman has not done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: In a moment, we'll look at the politics of this issue, because there is a lot of politics with this issue, but first we're going to take a look at what is actually in the bill itself that started this fiery debate.
Josh is here to walk us through that.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know in a way, this is what's got Americans so upset about this, right? Seeing all the debating going on in Congress is a frustration and meanwhile, there's a bill that's languishing that so many people do agree on. And we need to know what's at the core of this actual bill itself.
Let's take a look here -- it's called in short, the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Let me talk you about some basics of what it does. This would establish what's called the World Trade Center Health Program. And there's a lot of language.
Here's the legislation here. (AUDIO GAP) going health needs of people who were affected directly by 9/11. And it's for first responders, it's also for survivors. And if you were in New York and New Jersey that area at the time of 9/11, this actually might apply to you. The specific language in there is about geography, about how far you may have been 9/11 in 2001 and if it could have affected you, the various ways that affected the environment at that time.
Now -- it will provide funding. And the figure we have here is $7.4 billion over ten years for the total package. And it talks about long-term funding for monitoring, treatment and research. And there's a lot in there about the ongoing health needs of these people.
And as part of it, it would re-open something called the Victim Compensation Fund. And this is interesting because this is something that actually closed back in 2004. And at the time that they closed -- I have the numbers here -- they said there have been more than 7,000 claims processed by this fund.
Now, what we are hearing -- there has been some debating about this -- but if it were to re-open this fund it could crack open money a lot more money that would then help support all of these efforts to give medical help and scientific evaluation to people affected by it.
One more thing to note, it was just interesting the way this whole thing shaped out. And it says that New York City will contribute 10 percent matching up to $500 million, so it is a lot of federal funding in there, but it also specifically about New York City as well providing some money.
And we have some video of people who were responding in the days after. When you look at this legislation what's important to understand here is that there has been since 2004 in the ongoing years since then, more and more and more scientific evaluations of what the ongoing medical problems are of the people who are first on the scene and the people who were there at the time.
New York City commissioned a study. They found there are these ongoing problems and these people need help. And there is broad agreement that people do need help and that there needs to be somehow some kind of funding for it.
I am encouraging everyone to read this legislation for yourself, if you think it might affect you in anyway. And the Web address is incredibly long, so what I did was I posted a link directly to it at my Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN.
If you want to see this, go ahead and take a look at it right now. It might affect you. So Kate, T.J., when we look at the bill itself, you can see there's a lot in here that has broad agreement in America.
BOLDUAN: Well, all right, Josh Levs.
LEVS: All right.
BOLDUAN: A lot more to talk about -- LEVS: Yes.
BOLDUAN: -- on this issue. Thank so much, Josh Levs.
LEVS: You bet.
HOLMES: All right, Josh thank you.
I want to bring in a Politico.com senior political writer, Maggie Haberman. She joins me now live from New York to give us some perspective here. Maggie, we appreciate you being here.
Let's do away with and forget about rules and procedure that they have to deal with up in Congress, and let's just take it on its face. The Republicans and Democrats have a bill before them that would extend health benefits, as we just heard there, to those who ran towards the World Trade Center on 9/11.
If they can't agree to pass a bill like that, what in the world can they agree on?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER, POLITICO.COM: It's a really good question. And the irony is that they actually do agree on this. There are 115 cosponsors to this bill in the House, and 15 of them are Republicans, yet only 12 Republicans voted for this the other day.
This was -- it's impossible to divorce it totally from the parliamentary maneuvers here. The Republicans were never going to vote for this bill as it is now. They were going to introduce an amendment that would strip out coverage for illegal immigrants. That was never a big bone of contention for this, suddenly now it is.
The Democrats did their own version of brinkmanship and decided to go for the two-thirds majority requirements also knowing that they didn't have enough vote to pass it that way.
Neither side looks fantastic and then you have this tirades between Anthony Weiner and Pete King which is sort of feeding in to how American view Congress at 11 percent popularity right now. You know one could argue that Anthony Weiner's rant called tremendous attention to this bill --
HOLMES: Yes.
HABERMAN: -- it's absolutely true. On the other hand it also reminded people what they don't like about politics in Washington right now.
HOLMES: Ok, what should people walk or take out of this? Because I know there's so much procedure, and you summed it up simply it is kind of a simple back and forth about why they did what they did with the amendments and of forcing a two-thirds votes.
But are Americans going to get that? Or are they going to get -- there is a Congressman from New York yelling at another Congressman to sit down? Are they going to see that as passion --
HABERMAN: It is not.
HOLMES: -- or just pitiful that they are acting like this?
HABERMAN: It's -- it's predominantly the later. Some Democrats are clinging to -- look, this is great, this help, this is what we need but the majority of Americans are looking at this -- I mean, look, the video became YouTube's number one all day on Friday.
It's not because it was seen as particularly governmental or effective, it's because it was a quick political hit. And the Congressman, while screaming at his colleagues for being political is doing just that for a variety of reasons.
Both sides are using tremendous deflection maneuvers. It doesn't reflect well on Congress is the general consensus. It also doesn't look like any -- and the idea that these guys are fighting in this manner about something as important as coverage for people who, as you said, ran towards the burning toxic towers and worked there for months afterwards and were affected by it, for many is disheartening.
HOLMES: And one more thing here, Maggie, will this -- you said both sides -- clearly both sides don't look too good here, but will this be able to make some kind of a difference and play into the midterms? And will this be any kind of a game changer in that, yes, nobody really likes Congress, and we're used to the back and forth, but can this resonate a little differently with the American people because everybody can understand wanting to help 9/11 first responders?
HABERMAN: I think that this is a very serious issue that could end up being used effectively politically in advertising and mail. It is important to remember that two of the -- the main Democratic sponsors, Congress members Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney have said they are going to push this again after the August recess. So we'll see how it plays out.
But absolutely in the grand mix of things people are going to be looking at as they are making their decisions, this does not make anybody look very good. Either side can use it pretty effectively but the one that people saw the most of was a Democratic Congressman, you know, gone wild on TV.
HOLMES: All right, Maggie, I'm just -- this one really got to a lot of people this week. Like, are you kidding me? It was not even the going off --
HABERMAN: Sure.
HOLMES: -- you can have passion, but it was just that they couldn't agree on something that it seems like everybody should agree on.
And again, Politico.com senior political writer, Maggie Haberman. We appreciate you coming in this morning. And you enjoy the rest of your Sunday, all right?
HABERMAN: Thanks a lot.
HOLMES: Thanks.
BOLDUAN: No one likes to talk about taxes or your tax bill, but you should start talking about it soon. Just ahead, find out why you may be paying more in taxes. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's a quarter to the top of the hour. That means you don't have to look at Kate and I too much longer.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
HOLMES: Our role as warm-up act is almost done here. We are just warming this thing up for Candy Crowley and "STATE OF THE UNION" coming up at the top of the hour.
BOLDUAN: Hi there Candy. Candy, you have so much going on as always. This show this Sunday -- as you do every Sunday -- you have Senators Carl Levin and Lindsey Graham on. I don't know if you have time in your show to talk about everything with them.
You have Afghanistan, deadliest month -- July was the deadliest month for American forces as well as immigration.
Very interested to hear Lindsey Graham talk about immigration and possibly his -- do we call it an idea or taking on the position of changing the 14th amendment?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Well, yes. I mean there are a lot of ideas out there. But in general, and this Lindsey Graham we had taped this earlier in his office. I can tell you that he is so focused at this point on just getting people to get together on anything as in Republicans and Democrats that would move the immigration bill forward, a federal bill which would negate the need for all this arguing over a state bill in Arizona.
He has said that he has looked at the 14th amendment, and perhaps constitutional change, without having the so-called anchor babies. But the fact is that is a very -- I mean to do something like that takes a long, long time. He knows that the nation needs an answer much more quickly than that.
But the problem is, you know, we are in the midst of an election year, illegal immigration is such a hot topic. I mean it brings people out in the streets. It gets politicians yelling at each other. It's almost an impossible atmosphere this year to do anything about it.
BOLDUAN: Yes, that seems apparent.
HOLMES: You talk about the impossible atmosphere up there as well. How are Democrats going to move forward with an impossible atmosphere as well, the possibility of having two of its most prominent and long-serving members facing trial -- some kind of an ethics trial, both of them before the midterms? That's not a good look.
CROWLEY: No, it isn't. Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California and Congressman Charlie Rangel from New York; both of them in trouble with the ethics committee. As far as we know Congresswoman Waters has said that she will go ahead with the trial rather than accepting a punishment from the ethics committee. Certainly at this point Charlie Rangel looks as though that's where he is headed as well.
What the Democrats want is for these two things to go away. They would like them to reach some sort of deal with the ethics committee accepting some sort of reprimand or censure and then moving ahead because you remember when Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House and the Democrats took over, it was all about cleaning the swamp because there were so many ethics violations from Republicans.
This is a very, very hard year for Democrats. The economy, the war, and now comes these two very high-profile ethics problems or ethics charges. It's something they would really like to have go away before September opens.
BOLDUAN: The other huge issue, the other huge story this week, Wikileaks. I mean while the administration and the President himself says that there -- they did not see anything new coming out or anything that was not out there from these documents. Needless to say, this was explosive. You have two of the top men on the issue from the Senate you're going to be talking to today.
CROWLEY: And one of the things that both of them have said and have talked about is, yes, this was not -- let's face it, the overall view is this is really tough in Afghanistan. I don't think there is a person in America that has been paying attention that doesn't know that. The fact of the matter is, what they are worried is leaks that have put in danger people in Pakistan and people in Afghanistan who have been helpful to the U.S.
They're dealing with an enemy that thinks nothing of going into homes and beheading people that they think are friendly with the U.S. That's what worries them the most about this, as well as showing U.S. tactics and things like that. So it was not the specifics of what we know about the two countries. It was the specific people that were put in danger.
HOLMES: All right. Candy Crowley coming up in just about 11 minutes from now; Candy, good to see you as always.
BOLDUAN: Thanks Candy.
CROWLEY: Good to see you all.
HOLMES: You have a good show.
CROWLEY: Ok. HOLMES: And again, keep it right here. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, 6:00 Pacific right here on CNN.
Well, a bigger tax bill. Is that what you want right now?
BOLDUAN: No, please don't.
HOLMES: Ok. I didn't even have to ask. That was a silly question.
BOLDUAN: Yes. Well, we're going to tell you why federal taxes are about to go up for a lot of people.
Forty-nine minutes after the hour.
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HOLMES: Well, the campaign promise by President Obama could soon be tested. He promised, and this will sound familiar to you, that people who made less than $250,000 a year would not see a tax increase. But federal tax cuts from the Bush era are about to expire. And our Allan Chernoff says middle class families could be hit by one of the largest tax increases in American history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Chudyks of Ramsey, New Jersey like to enjoy their money.
CHRIS CHUDYK, CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT: We are definitely spenders. We like to have a good time, you know, we like to enjoy life.
CHERNOFF: But even though Chris and his wife, Dawn, have stable jobs, they are preparing to tighten their belts. Chris, an accountant, figures he'll soon need an extra $350 a month to pay more federal taxes.
CHUDYK: So where could that come from? Maybe not going out to eat as much, maybe bringing lunch to work, you know; also reducing maybe the amount that we could save.
CHERNOFF: Brace yourself. There is a very good chance your family also may soon have to confront the same tough choices to find extra money to pay Uncle Sam.
Tax rates are scheduled to rise once the year ends. That's because tax cuts that President George W. Bush championed in 2001 and 2003 were put in place only through the end of the decade.
SCOTT HODGE, PRESIDENT, TAX FOUNDATION: If Congress does nothing, it could lead to one of the largest tax increases in American history.
CHERNOFF: President Obama pledged to let taxes rise only on families earning more than $250,000 per year. But as things stands now tens of millions of Americans who earn less are about to get whacked by new higher tax rates.
ROBERT TRAPHAGEN, PARTNER, TRAPHAGEN FINANCIAL: If new tax legislation is not implemented, it would be a dramatic affect to the middle class.
CHERNOFF: Middle class tax rates are scheduled to go up by 3 percent. For the Chudyks who earn just over $175,000, the change will put them into the 31 percent marginal tax bracket, up from 28 percent today.
Also due to change, the tax credit that middle and lower income families get for each child would be cut in half, to a maximum of no more than $500 per child. And taxes would rise on dividends and capital gains, especially hurtful to retired Americans.
In planning to let taxes rise, President Obama hopes to chop the budget deficit, but if families like the Chudyks cut back spending by $350 a month, that may hurt the economy.
It could derail the recovery. And if that happens, some experts argue, it could mean lower overall tax revenues for the Treasury.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: A rude awakening today for the crew of the International Space Station.
HOLMES: Yes. We'll tell you about an emergency in one place you certainly don't want to have an emergency. The space station had some alarms going off.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Top of the hour but first, let's get a quick check of our headlines. (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: Thank you for turning back with us.
They have a manhunt going on out in Arizona. They're concerned about these three. They call them armed and dangerous -- there they are. All three escaped from Kingman, Arizona -- a prison there to the northwest part of the state. Considered armed and dangerous, all three are convicted killers. They cut through a fence at this medium security prison. The picture you're seeing there is of the female accomplice they believe is on the road and helped out in the escape.
Also in Pakistan, update is numbers now -- numbers going up. A thousand people -- over a thousand killed in the flooding that's taking place there after monsoon rains. Also more rains predicted tomorrow. Old buildings that you're seeing in some of these pictures are just washing away. Take a look at this one again. A lot of these homes made out of mud, not very stable, literally being swept away. 30,000 people stranded we are told on roof tops or on higher ground right now.
Also, we told you about this. The International Space Station -- the astronauts, they got a rude awakening this morning. Alarm bells going off, it was not their alarm clock. These were warning bells. There was a cooling system malfunction. Some more technicalities in there but astronauts were never in any immediate danger. And to let you know how non-dangerous it was, they actually went back to sleep, most of them, after the alarms went off.
Candy Crowley with "STATE OF THE UNION" right now.
