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House Vote on Government Funding Likely; Iran and U.S. Breaks 34 Years of Silence; New Jersey Judge Okays Same-Sex Marriage; U.N. Blame Humans for Climate Change; Space Vacation; Concerns Rise Over Again Infrastructure; Mom Helps Get Suspect in Son's Murder

Aired September 28, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Alison Kosik in for Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories we're following in the CNN Newsroom.

House Republicans' standoff over Obamacare is growing intense. They have come up with a new spending bill that's sure to infuriate a majority in the Senate. Speaker John Boehner is expected to speak any moment now and we're going to take you live to Capitol Hill.

A new disturbing report bolsters argument on climate change and details dire consequences. Rising temperatures, melting icecaps, and extreme weather. Find out what that means for vulnerable coastal areas at the U.S.

And in Indiana, a foot brawl breaks out. We're going to tell you who's fighting and how this bruising battle ended.

OK, House Speaker John Boehner expected to speak at any moment after his meeting with House Republicans, and we're also hearing the House is going to vote today on a spending plan that was passed by the Senate.

We are following this story all over Washington. Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, Jim Acosta, he's at the White House, and Gloria Borger is in Washington. But let's go ahead and start on Capitol Hill. That's where House Republicans have been meeting this afternoon.

Dana Bash is there live.

Dana, we are expecting to hear from Speaker John Boehner soon. What's he expected to start talking about?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He's expected to tell us formally what we've been reporting since last hour from Republican sources that they talked about inside this meeting and really it looks like they finalized inside this meeting amongst House Republicans, that they plan to vote on a bill keeping the government running until December 15th, so for an extra month than the Senate passed.

But much more importantly, they do plan to deal with Obamacare in a way that is a nonstarter for Senate Democrats and for, of course, the White House, to delay Obamacare for a year, to repeal a medical device tax that helps to pay for it.

Excuse me. You hear there's a little bit -- a little bit of chaos here. Here is the speaker.

BASH: Mr. Speaker, are you going to talk to us?

OK, I guess he is not having a press conference, Alison. We were told that he was going to come out and talk to us.

(CROSSTALK)

KOSIK: Gosh, (INAUDIBLE) over there.

(LAUGHTER)

BASH: No. Well, it's a rowdy bunch. But he was supposed to come out and talk to us, clearly that was a change in plan.

The House is going to begin to vote on a procedural measure that will get the ball rolling into what I was just talking about. So perhaps he's going to go up to the House floor to start to deal with that.

But in any event, much more importantly, getting back to what I was discussing, what the plan is is for them to deal with Obamacare in a way that is a nonstarter for Senate Democrats. That would mean that the chances of a shutdown are much, much higher, because what they are going to vote on at some point today is dead on arrival in the Senate, I mean, I think that is just a fair thing to say.

Because -- House Republicans understand some of the perils of that, the other thing that they are going to vote on today is a bill that continues to pay men and women in the military if there is a shutdown. That, of course, of all the things that could potentially hurt people, if there's a government shutdown, that was the most painful politically and in every other way, if in fact the military -- excuse me.

KOSIK: OK, you know what, Dana, I'm going to let you get ahead and get your armor on.

BASH: Yes. OK.

KOSIK: So go get your armor on because I see you're going to get ran over.

BASH: You get the point. You get the point. I've delivered the news and maybe I should go run after these leaders to see if there's anything else.

KOSIK: We'll come back to you at some point. And we're going to move on now to the White House so that's where President Obama has promised not to approve something that will take away the funding for Obamacare.

We've got Jim Acosta there live.

Jim, you know, the president, he hasn't called Speaker Boehner in a week. That's according to the speaker's spokesman.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No.

KOSIK: So, you know, at what point -- you know, what's the strategy at the White House at this point?

ACOSTA: Well, unlike, Dana, I am not about to be run over at any moment, Alison. That is because there isn't really anybody here except for a few lonely staff members and members of the news media. I know nobody is going to cry a river over that. But President Obama, by the way, he's not even at the White House right now. He is playing golf over in Virginia and will be there for a good part of the afternoon.

As you just mentioned, the president has not spoken with House Speaker John Boehner in about a week. We got that guidance last night. And no word yet from White House officials whether or not any other future calls or meetings are being scheduled or planned at this point. And essentially, you know, you asked about the strategy over here at the White House, Alison.

The strategy is they're watching to see what the Congress does and you heard the president sort of admonish Republicans up on Capitol Hill yesterday. And admonish Republicans in his weekly address earlier this morning, and he is basically saying this.

That he is not going to sign into law, never mind the fact that it can't get out of the Senate. He is not going to sign into law any continuing resolution that delays or defunds Obamacare and he is not going to approve an increase in the debt ceiling that does anything with Obamacare. He thinks that should be settled through the normal legislative process and so he's warning Americans essentially a couple of times yesterday and today that not only are we facing a government shutdown but an economic shutdown.

Here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Past government shutdowns had disrupted the economy. This shutdown would, too. At a moment when our economy has steadily gained traction and deficits have been falling faster than at any time in 60 years, a shutdown would be a purely self-inflicted wound.

And that's why many Republican senators and Republican governors have urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to knock it off, pass a budget and move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now to start getting ready for a government shutdown, the White House, the Obama administration, they put out guidance to the various agencies of the federal government as to who is being furloughed and who is not being furloughed, and this is very specific what's being sent out in various memos across the capitol. Alison, it basically says if you are furloughed, you're going to be sitting at home or you can go about your business, do whatever you want, but you can't check your BlackBerrys, you can't communicate via e-mail with your bosses at the federal government. They are shutdown government employees, and it just sort of underlines the seriousness of all of this.

Keep in mind, the executive office of the president, according to the accounting that was put out by the White House yesterday in terms of who is furloughed, who's not furloughed, roughly three-quarters of the president's staff -- of the executive branch staff will be facing a furlough. So this is a shutdown that they'll be feeling here at the White House as well.

KOSIK: All right. Jim Acosta at the White House, thanks.

ACOSTA: You bet.

KOSIK: The diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran isn't sitting well with some hard liners back in Iran. An Iranian news agency says a protester threw a shoe in the direction of President Hassan Rouhani when he arrived home in Tehran today. That's considered an extremely offensive act in the Mideast.

The report says there were several protesters there, but also there were supporters who welcomed Rouhani's new dialogue with the U.S. It's a dialogue that included a phone conversation with President Obama, which is the first direct contact between the countries' leaders in more than 30 years.

CNN's Jim Sciutto has more.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It was just a 15-minute phone call, but one that was 34 years in the making.

OBAMA: The very fact that this was the first communication between an American and Iranian president since 1979 underscores the deep mistrust between our countries, but it also indicates the prospect of moving beyond that difficult history.

SCIUTTO: The prospect of reaching an agreement on Iran's nuclear program seemed out of reach just weeks ago.

OBAMA: While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward, and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution.

SCIUTTO: A sentiment echoed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who tweeted word of his call with Obama before the president confirmed it.

Rouhani ended a weeklong charm offensive in New York with a promise to submit a plan on Iran's nuclear program by next month.

PRES. HASSAN ROUHANI, IRAN (Through Translator): I assure you that on the Iranian side the will is there fully 100 percent that in a very short period of time there will be a settlement on the nuclear issue. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: As for that historic call between the presidents, a senior administration official said it was cordial in tone, and both leaders expressed a determination to resolve the nuclear issue, quote, "peacefully and expeditiously."

Though they spoke through an interpreter, at the end Rouhani did say, have a nice day, in English, and Obama said, good-bye or "khoda hafez" in Farsi -- Alison.

KOSIK: All right, Jim Sciutto. Thanks.

We're just minutes away from learning more about how 19 firefighters were killed in the Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona in June. Investigators are releasing a report. They're scheduled to hold a briefing this hour.

The report is expected to provide details of what happened and give more recommendations to keep it from ever happening again. The death toll was one of the highest from a U.S. wildfire in at least a half century.

Funeral services are under way for former Florida A&M football player Jonathan Ferrell. Ferrell was unarmed and seeking help after a car wreck earlier this month when a North Carolina police officer fatally shot him. That officer stands charged with voluntary manslaughter.

The terror group that's taking responsibility for a brutal massacre at a mall in Kenya could be planning more attacks. That's according to two U.S. officials who say the U.S. intelligence community is monitoring a stream of classified information, and it suggests al- Shabaab may be planning other attacks in East Africa, likely in Kenya. At least 67 people were killed in the standoff at the Westgate mall in Nairobi.

A government shutdown just days away. What can be done to stop it and just how would a shutdown affect you? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Tick tock. Just over two days to go before a possible government shutdown. House Republicans have come up with a plan that ensures troops will be paid, even if the government shuts down. But what else is going to happen?

Here is CNN's Tom Foreman with a breakdown of the shutdown.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Take a look right there, October 17th. That is the red letter day, according to the Treasury. That is the date upon which the government will have $30 billion to pay its debts and that's a lot of money, but not compared to the money we owe, about $60 billion on that day.

So what are they going to do? Same thing you'd do if you have this kind of problem in your house. You're going to look at everything they can spend on and pick some priorities. For example, they might put money into Social Security because that's an important program, a lot of people count on. Maybe some money into the interest on the debt to keep it from any getting worse.

How about some money into Medicare and then maybe something into veterans and the military and perhaps some money into supplemental security income, and then there's the problem. The money is all gone and yet hundreds of thousands of federal workers are now being unpaid. All sorts of agencies are not being serviced, the FBI, the FAA and many others.

So what can they do? Well, first of all, they can realize that revenue keeps coming in, and because a little bit comes in every few days, they could try to fund everybody to sort of a subsistence level, not really making them healthy, but keeping them from closing down. But that's not really the solution, is it?

No, everybody here seems to agree, the real solution is getting the debt ceiling solved so there's enough money to pay for everything fully, but that's a whole different fight. And until it's solved, that red letter date just keeps looming.

KOSIK: OK. Thanks, Tom Foreman.

And the president is fighting a battle at home with Republicans over keeping the government open while trying to bridge the gap with Iran. In a rare Friday appearance at the White House Briefing Room, he juggled both issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I spoke on the phone with President Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran's nuclear program. The House Republicans are so concerned with appeasing the Tea Party that they've threatened a government shutdown or worse unless I gut or repeal the Affordable Care Act.

I said this yesterday. Let me repeat it. That's not going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: CNN's chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, live with me from Washington now.

Gloria, what is the political game plan here?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: From the White House point of view?

KOSIK: Yes.

BORGER: I think the game plan from the White House point of view right now is the same as it is from the hill Republican point of view, which is essentially to convince the public that the other guy is the one to blame. And right now the White House seems to have the American public with it, which is why you see Republicans now getting ready to vote on something that they can send back to the Democratic controlled Senate, which they know full well is going to be rejected there.

But there -- you know, this is a game of ping pong here and at some point after the government shuts down, and I now believe that's what we're heading towards, at some point after the government shuts down and when the American people say, you know, a fox on all your houses, they're going to have to figure out a way out of this.

KOSIK: You know, not everybody at this point is thinking the president is being presidential, they don't see it the way the president does. Listen to what a conservative radio host told our Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LEVIN, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: He should pretend, I guess, that John Boehner is the president of Iran, maybe get a phone call, maybe they could tweet each other, and maybe have a discussion about the constitutional responsibilities of both, but Obama, when it comes to domestic policies, it's his way or the highway. When it comes to foreign policy, he is quite the appeaser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Well, Gloria Borger, what do you think?

BORGER: Look, here is the point. If the president were to call John Boehner right now, right this minute, what would John Boehner be able to say to him? He would have to say to him, I've got this caucus that is completely divided on what to do. You have the kind of hell-no caucus which is saying, you know, we want to shut down Obamacare at all costs, even if it means shutting down the government.

You have another wing of his caucus like Congressman Peter King of New York who is saying, I am not going to shut down the government. So what would John Boehner be able to say to the president? He'd say, you know what, I've got a divided caucus. I don't know how to lead it, I'm having a very difficult time. We've got to take this vote. My members are forcing me to take this vote, we are shoving it back to the Democratic Senate, they're going to reject it, and then let's talk. OK?

Because at a certain point, Boehner has nothing to say to the president.

KOSIK: Is it --

BORGER: What's the president going to say. By the way, we passed Obamacare a few years ago, and now I think it's OK, I am going to sort of say it's not the law of the land and we ought to repeal it or kill it?

KOSIK: It is like a kabuki dance, isn't it? BORGER: Yes. It is, but with real impact here. And this is the issue because this -- they can fool around all they want and it will be bad, and they're now trying to say OK, we're going to pay the military anyway, so let's take that off the table so nobody will complain to us about that, but when you get to the debt ceiling, and Alison, you know about this from standing on Wall Street every single day.

When they get to the debt ceiling, this is going to be a huge economic problem.

KOSIK: Yes.

BORGER: Not only in the United States but globally, wouldn't you think?

KOSIK: I completely agree with you, Gloria Borger, thanks so much for your time.

BORGER: Sure.

KOSIK: CNN's "CROSSFIRE" is going to have the latest on the possible government shutdown. Ralph Nader and Carly Fiorina, they are the guests. Tune in tonight at 7:30 Eastern for that special coverage.

The U.N. is demanding Syria, get rid of all chemical weapons. So how will that massive job actually be carried out? We're going to tell you after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: So we have been watching all the events on Capitol Hill on this Saturday, watching both sides. The House and the Senate try to hash out a bill to come up with to keep the government from shutting down at midnight on Monday. Now we did expect House Speaker John Boehner to step up to the microphone, he didn't, but what his office did was release a statement saying the House will vote today on two amendments to the Senate spending plan, that the first amendment delays the president's health care law by one year, the second permanently repeals Obamacare's medical device tax that is sending jobs overseas.

Both of these Boehner's -- in this Boehner's statement, it says that both of these amendments will change the date of the Senate continuing resolution to December 15th, which means the government would continue to be open until December 15th. And the statement goes on to say to that we will also vote on a measure that ensures our troops get paid no matter what. So the drama continues to unfold on Capitol Hill. We will keep you updated.

In just three days, inspectors will begin a daunting job, visiting dozens of chemical weapons sites in Syria as part of an effort to destroy the country's arsenal. The U.N. Secretary Council demanded that action in a resolution approved unanimously last night. The resolution warns there will be consequences if Damascus doesn't comply, but it does not authorize automatic use of force. Elise Labott joins us live from the United Nations.

Elise, inspectors begin their job Tuesday. What will they be doing first?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Well, first they have to make these site surveys out. And then they have about 50 sites to check out throughout the country. They have about a month to do that. And then some of them are in rebel held areas. So it's going to be very unclear, the opposition is not party to this agreement. There are extremists in some of those areas and so security is going to a real issue.

But then after this group takes a month to kind of do a site survey, they only have a year to get this done. And some of these cases in other countries, it's taken several years. It's a very small organization, not clear whether they have the resources or they'll have to seek more help from the international community.

KOSIK: OK, Elise, so all of this is going on with the fighting between Syrian forces and rebels?

LABOTT: That's right.

KOSIK: You know, raging on. Have the rebels gained any ground?

LABOTT: Well, they lost some ground earlier this year. They seemed to have gained a little bit of ground. Fighting is really still continuing. Today there was some horrible shelling and mortar fire in the suburbs of Damascus, there have been firing upon churches, so the violence is going on unabated.

And one of the concerns is now that Bashar al-Assad's regime is in charge of implementing this agreement, this only gives him job security. So the international community is hoping that a peace conference between the regime and the opposition could take place in the next several months.

The opposition itself is very divided. The extremists are growing in influence. So whether there's going to be peace in our time any time soon, not really clear.

KOSIK: OK. Elise Labott reporting live from the United Nations. Thanks.

And to find out how you can help Syrian refugees, visit our "Impact Our World" page. That's at CNN.com/impact.

A New Jersey judge says same-sex couples should be able to marry in the state, but does Governor Chris Christie agree with him? We'll find out after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, I'm Alison Kosik. Here are five things crossing the CNN news desk right now. Number one, House Speaker John Boehner is dodging the microphones on a huge day on Capitol Hill. He released a joint statement with other Republican leaders detailing the changes House Republicans want to make to the Senate spending plan.

It says the first amendment delays the president's health care law by one year and the second permanently repeals Obamacare's medical device tax that is sending jobs overseas. Both of these amendments will change the date of the Senate continuing resolution to December 17th -- December 15th, meaning the government would stay open until December 15th.

We will also vote on a measure that ensures our troops get paid no matter what. The house is scheduled to vote today.

Number two. Former Army Sergeant Joseph Hunter is expected I court today. He's accused of leading a team of contract killers to protect people he believed were Columbian drug dealers. What the hundreds didn't know, the dealers were U.S. informants. Prosecutors say Hunter and his four-man team could all get life in prison if convicted on conspiracy charges.

Number three. It's a foot brawl, a bench clearing in your face fight breaking out between two Indiana high school football teams. The brawl broke out during the third quarter of a game last night. Students, coaches, even fans, they got involved, oh, yes. Thankfully, no reports of serious injuries and no word yet on any arrests.

Number four. You've heard of pigs in a blanket, right? How about pigs on a highway? Police and animal control officers in Greenwood, South Carolina, they spent part of Friday wrangling the hogs after a tractor-trailer accident. More than 175 pigs got loose. Some officers even rode on horses to help corral the piggies.

Number five. How about some free coffee? Yes. Sunday is national coffee day and some of your favorite places are taking part. You can get a free cup at Dunkin' Donuts if you download your smartphone app. And also Krispy Kreme. Starbucks is also offering deal.

Couples across New Jersey are celebrating a judge's ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. The state already allows civil unions, but the judge ruled that they aren't enough.

Margaret Conley is following the story from New York.

So, Margaret, what does this ruling actually mean in practice?

MARGARET CONLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is an equality issue, Alison. Same-sex couples will no longer be limited to civil unions. They'll be able to tie the knot starting October 21st. There was a rally last night to celebrate the decision by a county superior court judge. This makes New Jersey the 14th state to allow same-sex marriage.

So why is this significant? Well, before, civil unions did not allow -- legally allow same-sex couples federal benefits like certain tax breaks and health care. The same benefits that heterosexual couples do get. Now this ruling changes all that and it draws on the 14th Amendment equal protection clause.

We spoke about it with CNN legal analyst, Paul Callan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: She used the Supreme Court decisions which were handed down earlier in the summer, very technical decisions, which opened the door just a crack to gay marriage and she's used the rationale of those decisions to say the New Jersey constitution requires gay marriage because equal protection of the law requires that all New Jersey citizens be treated the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONLEY: Callan said it was a surprising and forceful decision.

KOSIK: All right, Margaret, so what happens next?

CONLEY: Yes, Alison, this ruling is binding unless there's an appeal, and it does seem that Governor Christie, he is going to want to do that. He could try to push this up higher through the courts, and that would force a stay or a delay on this ruling.

KOSIK: Well, how likely is it that the New Jersey Supreme Court is going to look to reverse this decision?

CONLEY: Well, back in 2006 New Jersey Supreme Court, they ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples. That's when civil unions were put into place. And this judge using that and the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision back in June, she used that to push same-sex marriage through. So this is a significant ruling and that New Jersey is a bellwether state. This law could set a precedent for the rest of America.

KOSIK: All right. Well, how about this. Explain Christie's decision on this. You know, he voted a same-sex marriage bill, right? But now he says it should be up to the voters to put it on the ballot in November.

CONLEY: Right. This ruling, Alison, comes a year after Governor Christie vetoed that bill. His press secretary, he put out a statement after that ruling, and it said, quote, "Christie has always maintained that he would abide by the will of the voters on the issue marriage equality. And since the legislature refused to allow the people to decide expeditiously, we will let the Supreme Court make this constitutional determination."

Governor Christie, he wants this issue to be on the ballot this election day. Alison?

KOSIK: All right, all right. Margaret Conley, thanks so much.

The world's weather, did you notice, it's changing. And a new report says you and I are to blame for it. Chad Myers is following that for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Snow, in September? Oh, yes. If you're in Montana, you're seeing it. An early winter storm brought several inches to Georgetown Lake this week. Power lines were damaged, leaving a lot of people without electricity. It's not snowing in the area today, but the snow could be back later next week.

A blockbuster report on global warming released by the U.N. this week, and what it says is that the world is getting hotter and sea levels are rising, and guess who's to blame for it, we are, humans, our activities.

Scientists say they're 95 percent sure we have contributed to a jump in temperatures happening across the globe during the last six decades. Now in a separate report recently, the World Bank says climate change is creating a flood threat for some of the biggest cities around the world and it could end up costing in the trillions of dollars.

Cities in China and Japan, they are especially vulnerable, but look at this, New York, Boston, Tampa, New Orleans, they're all on the list as well. And the cost to the U.S. economy could be in the tens of billions of dollars in damage as flood waters inundate the cities.

Also on that list, Miami. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is in Islamorada where -- it's just south of Miami, by the way, in the Florida Keys.

Now, Chad, what kind of danger is there to a city like Miami, my hometown? This really like is a shot to the heart.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, I was there on Wednesday, and saw water on the streets. And I thought it was a water main break. But it's not. In fact, high tide now in the fall gets into the streets of western Miami Beach along Biscayne Bay and along and Alton Road.

This is the issue now. Because the water is rising. Because -- and here's the reason why the water is rising. Think about a thermometer. If you warm the thermometer, what happens to the liquid inside? It goes up. What happens if you warm the ocean, it goes up. The same reason the thermometer will go up, not even including the ice melt that they were talking about, too. So the rising water now and higher tide putting a lot of big cities in big danger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MYERS (voice-over): The ocean is rising quicker than in decades past and predictions made by some research scientists make the situation sound pretty dire.

HAROLD WANLESS, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI: By the mid part of the century, 2050, 2060, most of the barrier islands in the world are going to have to be evacuated.

MYERS: And that includes Miami. It's hard to imagine iconic Miami beach deserted, but it is obvious that rising water is already a common problem here. On a sunny day, high tide is enough to flood some streets.

JAMES MURLEY, SOUTH FLORIDA REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL: We live on limestone. Limestone is like porous sponge. So we really can't use levees to hold back the water.

MYERS: While the city continues to find ways to deal with the excess water, many experts say there's no way to stop it.

(On camera): Now we saw barricades and sandbags all along Alton because the water just sits there during high tide.

Let's put one more foot of water on top of this for just a one foot sea level rise from here for Miami Beach. What does that look like? So you're telling me every street here that's blue. It's going to have water in it if we get a one-foot rise in sea level.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, and the tide, if we get king tides, it will be a little higher than this. But this is essentially showing you places that are going to be affected first.

MURLEY: The important thing is to keep observing what's happening, look at all of the ranges and projections, and then come back to the policy makers and say here is the actions you have to take.

MYERS: The Southeast Florida Climate Compact has been created to monitor and help mitigate the harsh consequences of climate change.

MURLEY: They're not sticking their heads in the sand. They know that this is a real problem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MYERS: Obviously everyone hoping technology, better pumps, better levees, something will keep the water out of these very big cities. But it's -- it's unbelievable, when were shown there by Florida International University, how many people live within just a couple of feet from the ocean sea level surface and they don't even know it because they live inland.

Well, when the water comes in, if the water comes up, the water table comes up, too. Even those areas away from the beach are going to flood with any type of sea level rise that's forecast by the climate change commission that we saw this week -- Alison.

KOSIK: Yes. It's amazing to think about when you see how beautiful it is out there now. Chat Myers, thanks.

Do you have a quarter million dollars? How about a passion for adventure? You say yes? Why not buy yourself a ticket into space. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: An apparent meteor lit up the Midwest sky. I want to show you something from bamchase.net. That's a weather Web site. Thousands of people from Iowa to Ohio reported seeing a fireball shoot across the sky. The green and red ball of light was only visible for a few seconds.

And flying into space may seem like the kind of thing that's only possible at NASA in dreams, but Virgin's new branch, Virgin Galactiuc, is trying to change that. The goal is space tourism and tickets are on sale for a cool quarter million.

Poppy Harlow has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who would spent up to a quarter million dollars just for minutes in space? These people.

CAROLINE FREELAND, VIRGIN GALACTIC TICKET HOLDER: The space up here is just absolute mind blowing.

(On camera): How much to charter one of these puppies?

PING CHIANG, BOUGHT SPACE TICKETS FOR FAMILY: It's not about the destination, it's about the journey.

HARLOW: These people, more than 600 have signed on.

(On camera): How to much to charter one of these puppies?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $1.2 mill.

HARLOW: Wow. And I hear you're going to leave two seats empty? So it's just the family?

CHIANG: No, it's not empty. There's two angels coming with us.

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: Passengers won't just check in and hop on board. The whole experience will mean three days of training and health checks, then a few hours in the air, and three minutes weightless in space.

(Voice-over): The mother ship will carries Spaceship 2 up, then release it to glide back. Unlike NASA's rockets, it won't orbit the earth. It's Sir Richard Branson who's determined to take them there.

(On camera): Is this the new space race?

RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN GALACTIC: I think it's the start of a new space race. It's not been easy. It's taken us five years more than we thought it would take, but -- you know, but finally they pulled it off.

HARLOW (voice-over): That is, if the FAA gives Galactic the green light. Virgin says commercial launch is just months ago.

MICHAEL MOYER, SENIOR EDITOR, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: You're broaching out into a new -- a new field in the sky. And we're going to have some mishaps that happen now. Hopefully they won't be catastrophic.

HARLOW (on camera): Do you ever fear that maybe you're putting too much at risk with this?

BRANSON: People risked a lot to get space off the ground in the first place. But unless you risk something, the world, you know, stays still.

HARLOW (voice-over): Branson is such a believer, he plans to take the first flight with his own children. David MacKay will be at the controls.

DAVID MACKAY, CHIEF PILOT, VIRGIN GALACTIC: We don't want to push too hard too quickly. It'd be nice to be the first to do it, but the most important is to do it right. Whoever is first has to do it right.

HARLOW (on camera): What is the ultimate dream for this?

BRANSON: You know, we'll start with giving people a taste of space, then we'll -- some people into orbital flights, we'll start building hotels in space. And --

HARLOW: Really? In our lifetime?

BRANSON: In your lifetime definitely. Hopefully in my lifetime.

HARLOW (voice-over): But will this ever be for the masses?

(On camera): Is this a playground for the wealthiest? The 1 percent only.

BRANSON: Initially it's very much the wealthiest are going to use it, but through these wealthy people, you know, being willing to be pioneers, I think millions of people will one day have the chance to go to space.

HARLOW (voice-over): Like Mikey Oliveri, who has a dream perhaps bigger than most.

MIKEY OLIVERI, WANTS TO GO TO SPACE: I want to be the first to stay in space. You know, I don't have 200 grand, but I have a dream.

HARLOW: Hoping he may get his moment among the stars.

(On camera): If you have the guys to boldly go is one thing. If you have the cash is another. Industry watchers warn don't expect this to become affordable for the masses any time soon, but again, this is a concept that knows no bounds.

Poppy Harlow, CNN, in the Mojave Desert.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: Drivers got quite the surprise on their commute home in Wisconsin. Part of a bridge started sagging. See that dip, that's not usually there. And history shows it could become a huge problem. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Safety concerns in Wisconsin are prompting officials to shut down a busy Green Bay bridge. The reason they're so worried? The bridge is beginning to sag.

Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Suddenly this 400-foot-long section of one of the Wisconsin's most well-traveled bridges started so sag and the 911 calls came in almost immediately.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That bridge is sagging in the center. I came over it with a tractor trailer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I mean, she's jumping up the wheels came off.

ROWLANDS: The Leo Frigo Bridge carries 40,000 cars a day. It will now be closed indefinitely. The Green Bay Bridge was built in 1980, and last inspected in August 2012. Officials declared it at the time to be sound.

An Associated Press report published earlier this month found that more than 65,000 U.S. bridges were classified by the Federal National Bridge Inventory by structurally deficient. More than 20,000 other bridges were deemed to be fracture critical, which means about 60 in Wisconsin alone fall into the danger category, according to the study.

But this sagging bridge was apparently not one of them. It's certainly not the first time we've seen these frightening images. In May, this bridge in Mt. Vernon, Washington, collapsed dropping 120 feet into frigid waters below, taking with it two cars and three passengers. Luckily there were no fatalities.

In 2007, a portion of the I-35 bridge collapsed in Minneapolis during rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100. That accident sparked a national reexamination of the country's roads and bridges.

In 1983, three people died when a section of I-95 in Connecticut broke away, falling 70 feet, taking two cars and an 18-wheeler down with it, and the Silver Bridge, connecting West Virginia and Ohio, collapsed in 1967 when the traffic on the bridge exceeded the maximum weight limit, 46 people died.

Luckily in this case, the only casualty is time.

(On camera): It really is fortunate that nobody was injured or even killed. One of those 911 callers was a truck driver that drove over the bridge with a full load. Now, at this point experts don't know how this happened. They are bringing in a team from around the country to figure that out and come up with a game plan on how to fix it.

People living here have been told to be patient and be ready for some traffic problems. They say this bridge could be out of commission for up to a year.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Green Bay, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: A mother's persistence helped find her son ace killer years after he died. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Welcome back. Christine Romans is standing by with a preview of today's edition of "YOUR MONEY." And it's all about Obamacare, isn't it, Christine?

CHRISTIE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Hi, Alison. The fact is Obamacare is here, whether the government shuts down or not. Forget the politics just the facts.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me next, all on "YOUR MONEY." Alison?

KOSIK: OK. Thanks, Christine. A mother breaks her son's sold case. Police and witnesses originally told the Florida her mom that her 34- year-old son died in a freak accident, but that story didn't add up. After years of investigating on her own, she finally got her justice.

John Zarrella has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jason Brian Gailey is charged with second-degree murder because Judy Weaver just wouldn't let it go. Her son, Ronald Johnson, died in 2005. Witnesses told Orange County sheriff's deputies that Johnson fell off his bike and hit his head, a tragic accident.

It was a rainy night. And according to witnesses, he tried riding on one wheel and lost his balance, but the story didn't add up for Weaver.

JUDY WEAVER, MOTHER: They pretty much kind of brushed it off as well as, well, it was an accident, everybody said the same things. And that's it, it's done. Well, it wasn't done.

ZARRELLA: So Judy Weaver began telling folks in the neighborhood that her son was very much alive and talking, spilling the beans that it was no accident, when in fact he was not talking at all. He was briefly in a coma before passing away nine days later.

But Weavers' yarn was so convincing, she says, within days a key person came forward, Jason Gailey.

WEAVER: He wants to tell me he accidentally hit Ronnie with his fist. ZARRELLA: She takes the information to the sheriff's office.

(On camera): The sheriff's department says that a detective was then assigned to the case, but couldn't get the witnesses to tell the truth. Gailey is not picked up. And for seven years it remains a cold case. Then just by chance last year, Judy Weaver is chatting at the restaurant where she works with a lieutenant.

WEAVER: I was telling him, how bad of a job the sheriff's department had done and that I wished I could have met this police officer that was there.

ZARRELLA: It turns out the lieutenant was a sergeant back in '05 and was on the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told her I was going to do whatever I could to right this. If we did anything wrong, we were going to fix it.

ZARRELLA: The Texas re-interviewed witnesses. Four of whom changed their story, saying they were scared to tell the truth before.

Based on the new information, Jason Gailey, is picked up and charged with murder and a mother's intuition made it happen.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: I'm Alison Kosik. I'm going to be back in an hour. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.