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Officials Meeting to Discuss Health care Reform; U.S. Soldier Kills 5 in Baghdad Camp; Astronauts to Repair Hubble Space Telescope; American Journalist Freed in Tehran; Orphans Stuck in Pakistan-Taliban Battle; N.Y. Shelter Residents Must Now Pay Rent; Space Shuttle Atlantis Lifts Off

Aired May 11, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing forward and counting down: a high stakes overhaul of the Hubble Space Telescope. A shuttle crew boldly going where no crew will go again. We're on it live this hour.

And pushing forward on the right to remain solvent. Not exactly, but a bill of rights for credit card holders may soon be the law of the land. We want to hear your tips for paying off your plastic. E- mail us now.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Health care for all or almost all for less. Just minutes ago President Obama outlined a pledge from the private sector to rein in health care expenses over the next decade. They're aiming to cut the annual growth in spending by 1.2 percentage points for a targeted savings of $2 trillion overall. The money would go toward helping insure the 50 million or so Americans who don't have coverage.

Here's a bit of what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The groups who are here today represent different constituencies with different sets of interests. They've not always seen eye to eye with each other or with our government on what needs to be to reform health care in this country. In fact, some of these groups were among the strongest critic of past plans for comprehensive reform. But what's brought us all together today is a recognition that we can't continue down the same dangerous road we've been traveling for so many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. We're pushing forward on the politics of health care with CNN's Candy Crowley, who is in Washington, and our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins me right here in Atlanta with the impact of reform on you and me.

First things first: Where do these cost savings come from and what do we mean by reform? Elizabeth Cohen, is this an historic moment? ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, if President Obama manages to actually make these cuts in health care spending, it will be indeed be an historic moment, because people have been trying to do this for decades.

Health care costs have been spiraling out of control for a long time. If he manages to do it, I think even some Republicans I've been talking to will take their hat off to him. They're even impressed that he got all of those people in one room, people who represent hospitals and doctors, insurance companies and so on.

PHILLIPS: Well, it appears that the political will is there to make the changes. But is it really there?

COHEN: You know, you do wonder when you look up there. OK, they're in the room. But are they willing to make these tough changes. For example, are pharmaceutical companies willing to stop pushing their most expensive drugs? That's what you see advertised on TV, and that's what they ask doctors to prescribe. Are they going to be willing to start pushing their less expensive drugs? It's an interesting question. I guess we'll just have to see in the future if it works or not.

PHILLIPS: All right. So reality check. How tough will it be to make the cuts?

COHEN: You know, I think it is going to be tough to make these cuts. And that's what people I talked to on the phone today told me, that it's going to be difficult even for patients. I think a lot of patients these days, they go in, they have something wrong. They want an MRI, that sort of state-of-the-art technology. Some doctors will do the MRI, because the patient wants it, when really an x-ray, which is less expensive, would work just as well. So it's going to take a lot of sort of self-control on a lot -- a lot of different people's parts.

PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth, thanks so much.

And nobody at the White House really needs to be reminded what happened the last time a president attempted major surgery on the U.S. health care system. But everybody says that this time is different.

Right, Candy Crowley? We're talking about former President Clinton. So what makes this effort any different?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple of things.

First of all, certainly at this point, President Obama enjoys far greater majorities in the House and the Senate than President Bill Clinton did.

But more than that, there is a sense in this country -- and what's interesting to me is what President Obama has focused in on, and that is the cost of health care. You don't hear him saying, "We're going to give you -- we're going to give you health care." He talked about lowering the cost. Because where it was looking at in our polling with our pollster, and he said, what's really interesting here is, if you ask people how they feel about the cost of their own health insurance, about half and half say they're fine with it. If you ask them if they're satisfied with the cost of health care in the country, 77 percent of Americans say no, they're not. So the cost has emerged as this key factor to people.

Let's face it, more people are insured than aren't. So the insured people and, indeed, most people appear to be focused on the cost of health care, the fear that, "Sure, I've got health care insurance but, you know, I probably couldn't afford if there was a big major -- something happens major in our family." So there is that kind of public push, as well.

And I think you noticed during the campaign with both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, as they campaigned, one of the first things out of their mouths was, "If you like your own health care insurance plan, you can keep it." And that was the big fear during the Clinton years, was that this was going to be this big, massive government plan; you're going to have to take what the government gave you.

So now the focus has been on "I'm going to make the cost of this lower, and you can keep what you've got."

PHILLIPS: And, you know, not everybody is for changing the health care system. I mean, let's take a look at this ad from the CPA real quickly, and I'll get you to respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't it amazing? Folks in Congress were shocked the plan they passed allowed those huge bonuses for AIG. Now some in Congress want to raise taxes and spend $634 billion for the president's health care overhaul, without even seeing all the details of his plan. They just never seem to learn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, political will to get this done now. What do you think?

CROWLEY: Well, you know, again, the president has large majorities on Capitol Hill, but this by no means is going to be easy. And I think Elizabeth touched on it. This is not just Congress saying, "OK, here is going to be the health care plan." You cut that much money out of the health care system, somebody is not going to be getting as much money as they used to. Patients may not be used -- may be used to getting something they're not going to get to have. So any time you take something away from an industry or an individual, that's going to spark some protest.

Nonetheless, you do have people up there who seem anxious to go ahead and push something through. And in particular, you have a White House that seems dedicated to it.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, thanks so much.

We want to take to you a developing story from the Pentagon. CNN has now learned the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, is being replaced. Apparently, officials are telling the defense secretary that Robert Gates has tapped Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal to take McKiernan's place, and he'll make that announcement at a news conference about 2 p.m. Eastern Time. That's about an hour from now. We will bring that to you live as soon as we get it.

And another developing story, this one out of Baghdad. An American soldier opening fire at a U.S. base today. Five U.S. troops were killed. Senior defense official tells CNN the shooter is in custody. Three others were wounded at Camp Liberty.

CNN's Cal Perry was there a few days ago. Joins us now from Baghdad.

Cal, apparently, this happened in the stress clinic there at Liberty. Any word that this might be a suicide-type thing related to combat stress?

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, we simply don't know at this point. We understand the soldier is in custody. At least five other soldiers were killed. As you said, he basically turned his weapon on his fellow soldiers, killing at least five.

Now, what we're hearing from sources out of Washington, not only were three others were wounded but again, that soldier who did the shooting is in custody. This did happen at a stress center where U.S. soldiers go when they're under stress to talk about things like PTSD and other issues such as that, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And here's what's interesting, too. You and I both being on these bases, you know, these stress clinics don't have you check your weapons before you go in. So what more can you tell us about the security at the base, if, indeed, that could change, now that this has happened?

PERRY: Well, as you know, I mean, when you come off an embed with these guys, as they pull up to these bases, they go through from what they call a red -- red zone into a green zone. And what they're supposed to do is unload their weapons. And you'll even see them sort of click them into a barrel to make sure that there's still not a round in the chamber. So when they're on base, they're supposed to be walking around with their weapons unloaded. The clip is out of the weapons. It's really only the military police on these bases who are supposed to be walking around -- walking around armed.

That said, these U.S. soldiers still have their weapons with them. They still have their ammunition on them. And that's sort of one of the big concerns here, is how this may have come about. Certainly, at this stress center it raises the question of whether this guy was being treated there, what the circumstances are. We simply at this point don't know. We're going to have to wait for the military to come out with more details on that. PHILLIPS: And Cal, remind me: didn't something similar to this happen in another U.S. base there in Iraq?

PERRY: Yes, it was last September, when a U.S. soldier got a poor review. And he opened up fire in the tent, killing two other U.S. soldiers.

Now, PTSD is something that the U.S. military obviously is very concerned about, and it's something that is a growing concern as these guys continue to go on longer and longer tours.

I want to read you a quote from a sergeant first class, who actually worked at the stress center where this shooting happened. He said this in 2007. "What we've been finding is that, now that the guys are coming back for their third, fourth and sometimes even fifth time, and the tours are being extended from 12 to 15 months, we're getting a lot more case of chronic PTSD."

Now, a lot of times this PTSD, Kyra, is not just stuff that guys see on the streets in Baghdad, but imagine somebody on the third and fourth tour and the stress that it puts on their families at home.

And this is something the Pentagon is very concerned about. They have very bad retention rates from their officers because they don't want to reup. They know they're going to get redeployed, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Cal Perry, live from Baghdad. Cal, thanks so much.

We may hear more on this story next hour. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chair Admiral Mike Mullen are scheduled to brief reporters at the Pentagon, starting at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens. A four-month nightmare is over for American journalist Roxana Saberi. She was released from an Iranian jail today after an appeals court suspended her eight-year prison sentence. Saberi was convicted on charges of spying for the U.S. She denies the charges, and the U.S. has called them baseless.

Saberi is an American Iranian who's lived in Iran for six years. She reported for several international news organizations. And later in this program, we're going to actually speak with an Iranian journalist in Tehran, who was on hand when Saberi was released.

Big weather challenges for several parts of the country today. New details on where the storms are headed.

And another live look at the Shuttle Atlantis. We're going to go live to Kennedy Space Center shortly for that launch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: His sergeant was down, wounded by a gunshot. The bad guy was still pulling the trigger. But without a second thought, Officer Matthew Medeiros rushed out, got between the suspect and his Sarge, and fired back.

The guy fled. And Officer Medeiros gave first aid until the medics arrived. Sergeant Richard McNevin survived.

And for this act of heroism and selflessness, the Boynton Beach, Florida, Police Department just awarded its first medal of valor to Officer Matthew Medeiros.

Now, such bravery shown by this country's law enforcement every single day. And that's why we're taking time this week, National Police Week, to honor them. We want to hear your positive experiences with police.

More info in our blog: CNN.com/Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simply incredible!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, they risk their lives bringing you video of deadly storms. Next hour, firsthand accounts and amazing pictures from the storm chasers.

We've seen a lot of flooding video -- where is it, in West Virginia right now -- Chad Myers?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: West Virginia, Kentucky.

PHILLIPS: And also -- OK, and Kentucky. What's happening? What can you tell us right now?

MYERS: Well, that's the second balcony. So that's why people were sitting up there. Water literally came out of the mountains. It rained very hard. And you know, if you get to coal fields of Kentucky and West Virginia, it gets pretty hilly. Literally, mud just flowing out of these areas. Lost part of the roadway in some of these areas.

This is all over the weekend. And they're still surviving now, trying to get some high water rescues, because water just doesn't go down. It has to go somewhere else. Right? Once you get that much rain, it doesn't just soak in. So that's what these people are looking for right now. They are going to have a rough...

PHILLIPS: And they're still out of power.

MYERS: Absolutely.

PHILIPS: I mean, thousands of people out of power in these parts of the area. Even -- even some deaths to blame?

MYERS: Power poles. You can't just put them back up, you know, right away. This is going to take a long time to recover from this. And it was almost a hidden story. You know, literally, we talked about it a little bit. But, you know, you get West Virginia and Kentucky, you kind of lose some from that. Because we don't have -- literally, we don't have the affiliate coverage that we can get, let's say, out of Dallas. We have something happen in Dallas, we're going to get pictures in ten seconds, because there you go.

PHILLIPS: The rest of the national forecast.

MYERS: And Dallas could be the place tomorrow, Kyra. Also in Oklahoma City and on up into Wichita. This is tomorrow's forecast for severe weather. And yes, there's some severe weather today. But not the giant tornadoes, not the real potential for what we have tomorrow, I believe. Rain showers, Texarkana back toward Dallas. Also some heavy rain showers across parts of the east.

The only airport delay I have, though, is Charlotte, and that's because of some equipment problems. Other than that, the rain showers through Dallas, Texas, Texarkana and even one cell right now moving into Shreveport. But at this point in time, no warnings out there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Chad, thanks so much.

MYERS: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Fire crews this Southern California are getting a break today with cooler temperatures and fog. A 13-square-mile fire in Santa Barbara county forced thousands of people out of their homes. Seventy-seven houses are destroyed, another 22 damaged. And fire is now about 70 percent contained. Investigators believe it was sparked by someone using a power tool to clear brush.

Well, the Hubble Space Telescope isn't what it used to be, but if all goes well in a service call from Space Shuttle Atlantis, it will soon be better than ever. Atlantis is due to launch at the top of the hour, and it can't happen soon enough for the orbiting observatory or its legions of fans on earth.

CNN's Zain Verjee is one of them.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this is so exciting. All us little people down here can finally see some more spectacular action up there. This is why the Hubble telescope matters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Pictures that take us to the edge of the universe, to far-away galaxies. A look back at time and into black holes. All snapped by the world's most famous telescope, the Hubble. But it needs to be fixed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis.

VERJEE: Seven astronauts will blast off to do surgery in space, fixing instruments, replacing broken cameras, batteries, to keep Hubble going. It's the final and most dangerous mission, five space walks in five days. Astronauts could get hit by space junk. And any rescue would be tough. This glimmering jewel is nearly as big as a school bus. It's circled Earth more than 100,000 times and logged almost 3 billion miles. The astronauts say it's worth risking their lives and that Hubble needs a hug to keep cosmic pictures like these beaming back to Earth.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: IMAX 3-D cameras are going to film the space walks, Kyra, so we can watch what happens up there in the spring of 2010 -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Zain Verjee, thanks so much.

Well, the shuttle is due to lift off 2:01 p.m. Eastern Time. That's the top of the next hour. CNN's John Zarrella will join us live from Kennedy Space Center to talk us through that launch and the real work to follow.

Interest rates, spiked fees, little things the credit card companies do to let you know they care. But the rules are about to change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So General Motors, how's that restructuring plan going? The CEO said today that GM would like to stay out of bankruptcy, but Fritz Henderson admitted that it's going to be hard to avoid. He added that, if the company files Chapter 11 in the U.S., that doesn't mean it will in other countries where it has operations.

GM has until June 1, by the way, to restructure or go bankrupt.

And if you've got a credit card -- and we're probably thinking that you do -- the Senate is going to be voting on your rights this week. Interest rate hikes buried in the fine print, fees and plastic also for college students are all being addressed in the bill.

Personal finance editor Gerri Willis here now.

Gerri, let's go ahead and talk about the college kids getting credit cards. Some of them are looking at pretty big balances before...

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: No kidding.

PHILLIPS: ... they ever even enter the work force, right?

WILLIS: You know, you wouldn't believe the problems with credit- card debt for college students. And right now, both the house bill and the Senate bill have provisions in them that would address college students and credit cards.

Why is this such a big deal? More students than ever -- about nine in 10 -- rely on credit cards to coverage basic school expenses such as tuition and textbooks. Card balances are the highest ever in the history of a survey done by Sallie Mae which was started way back in 1998.

And Kyra, I don't have to tell you, you know, you shouldn't be paying tuition with credit cards if you can't help it.

Here's how the different bills, though, would address college students' debt.

All right. The Senate bill prevents those under 21 from getting credit cards unless they can prove they have adequate income to pay or that a parent or guardian will back them up.

The house bill proposes to ban marketing and issuing of credit to those under 18 years old.

College students are targeted by credit-card companies, because they're active consumers and issuers. They want to establish their loyalty early so that those kids always stay with that card. So you see, big changes could be coming for college students if either of these bills pass.

PHILLIPS: OK. I know you have advice for college students when it comes to credit-card debt, besides trying to just avoid a credit card.

WILLIS: Well, you know, that's right. Look, you know, these people can drive a car. You know, they can go to war. They might as well have credit cards. But you have to do it the right way.

Don't be lured by gimmicks: that free T-shirt or pen set. Hey, it's not really free. You want to steer clear of marketers -- credit- card marketers, that is -- when they're on campus. In fact, you should know some states have restrictions on how credit-card companies can solicit students on public college campuses.

You want to start establishing your credit when you're young, but do it the right way by comparing the terms of the credit cards. Look for credit cards that cater to college students specifically. Some terms you want to look for: 0 percent or low APR. That's the interest rate. No annual fees, cash-back bonuses.

CardRatings.com is a great place to go. So is CreditCards.com to compare offers. But there are options for you out there. Just kind of be careful with them. You know, the average debt is over $3,000 for undergraduates.

PHILLIPS: That's crazy. And you already have enough debt, you know, with everything else you take on, with tuition and the books and food and survival.

All right, Gerri, appreciate it. Thanks so much.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: Also, if you need help figuring out how long it's going to take you to actually dig out of your credit-card debt, here's a Web site that we find that might be worth checking out. It's actually called Credit Card -- or HelpWithMyCredit.org.

And if you click under resources and links right here on the front page, you actually have a system where you can put in all your numbers. And this is how we decided to do it about. It says what's your outstanding credit card balance? Believe it or not, the average debt -- Gerri was talking about $3,000 for college students. But for the average American, $10,600 is your average debt on a credit card. So average rate, 15 percent. That's also very negotiable nowadays, by the way. You can call and negotiate your APR.

But we put in -- OK, we have about $200 a month we're able to afford to try and pay down that $10,600. So we put in those numbers. Then you hit calculate. And look at this. And look at this. It says here it will take 88 -- well, I'd love to be able to show the results, but it's not calculating for us. But I'll tell you right now, it said 88 months, folks. And that's a little more than seven years to pay that off.

And then if you feel you really need some counseling after that because you're thinking, "Oh, my gosh, I'm going to be paying out the wazoo," you have a whole center here that gives you credit-card counseling numbers you can call, people to help you figure out how to be able to get out of that debt.

All right. We'll track that for you.

Also, if you owe a pile of credit card debt, we'd love to hear from you and how you did it. I bet some people with big balances right now want to know, too. Just go to our blog, tell us your secret. CNN.com/NEWSROOM.

Freedom for an American journalist jailed in Iran. We're going to speak with an Iranian reporter in Tehran about Roxana Saberi's terrifying ordeal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A deadly shooting spree in Iraq today. Not unusual, except this happened at the U.S. Camp liberty in Baghdad. Five U.S. troops were killed. The alleged shooter, an American soldier, in custody. Officials tell CNN the shooting happened at a stress clinic. We may learn more at the top of the hour. Defense Secretary Gates and joint chairman -- or Joint Chiefs Chair, rather, Admiral Mike Mullen scheduled to brief reporters at the Pentagon. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens.

Now, as we mentioned, American journalist Roxana Saberi was released from an Iranian jail today. An appeals court suspended her eight-year prison sentence on charges of spying for the U.S., charges she denies. Her father, who's in Tehran, expressed his thanks for the outpouring of support for his daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REZA SABERI, JOURNALIST'S FATHER (via telephone): She was very desperate to get out. That's why she went on a hunger strike for some time. And of course, other reporters all over the world, they supported her. And she was quite relieved to know that the whole world was supporting her. And I'm sure this news of freedom will come to her with great pleasure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, joining us on the phone now from Tehran is Iranian journalist Shirzad Bozorgmehr.

Shirzad, hopefully you can hear me OK. I know that you were there.

Can you describe in any way the conditions Roxana Saberi experienced while in jail? SHIRZAD BOZORGMEHR, IRANIAN JOURNALIST (via telephone): Well, you cannot until you go inside yourself, which I haven't been so far. But according to her father, after the -- especially after her hunger strike, she lost some more weight, and she was frail and weak. She also had some other medical problems, which apparently went away.

But she apparently was very distressed at being imprisoned, and that's why she went on a hunger strike. And as her father said, she is delighted to be out. We haven't seen her because they kind of transported her out of jail from a back gate while all the reporters were standing in front of the front gate waiting for her to come out. So, hopefully we'll interview (ph) her tomorrow some time.

PHILLIPS: And so, I mean, Shirzad, you know, you are from Iran. You have covered these types of stories. You know about this system very well. What kind of insights can you give us to why we continue to see situations like this?

Looking at people like Shirin Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, she was, too, was jailed for certain issues of freedom of speech. What can we learn from this? Do you think that in any way, shape or form this can push forward in type of changes there within Iran in situations like this with regard to journalists?

BOZORGMEHR: Yes. There will be change, but the more the outside world presses Iran for change, the slower the pace of change will be, because Iran does not want to be seen as changing under pressure. The change they want to come, to do at least be perceived that they are the ones who are making the change, not under pressure from outside and foreign powers.

There are signs of change domestically. The spokesman of the judiciary recently said that Iran is considering certain measures proposed to parliament that would reduce the number of executions. He used the word "unnecessary" executions, which I do not understand what he means by that. But at least it's a step in the right direction.

So, the change is forthcoming. But it has to be -- according to Iranian officials has to be with the pace of Iran and based on Iran's ideas, not anyone else's.

PHILLIPS: Shirzad Bozorgmehr, Iranian journalist there based in Tehran. Shirzad, thank you so much.

No let-up in heavy fighting between Pakistani forces and Taliban militants in the northern Swat Valley and neighboring areas. Pakistani war planes today bombed suspected Taliban positions near the capital of Islamabad.

The Pakistani government says that 700 insurgents have been killed in this latest offense. But reporters have been banned from the combat zone. And the figures can't be independently confirmed. The United Nations says that more than 360,000 people have fled that area. That's on top of some 500 displaced by previous military action.

Among those fleeing the fighting, 23 very frightened and hungry orphans. Their four-story home in the Swat Valley was at the center of the Taliban assault. Pakistani troops were anchored on the roof.

Our Ivan Watson asked those orphans about their ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These boys are orphans, and they're lucky to be alive. Just three days ago, they escaped from Pakistan's Swat Valley, traumatized after their orphanage ended up on the front line of the government's war with the Taliban.

(on camera): This is a moment of peace and calm for 23 boys who spent days and nights terrified in the middle of a gun battle between Taliban militants and Pakistan army soldiers. They've been describing to me what that was like and how the children were crying at night from the sound of the explosions and the bullets whizzing past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Taliban and army were fighting.

WATSON: Were fighting, yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATSON (voice-over): Over a simple lunch of flatbread and beans, the boys tell me how Pakistani soldiers set up sandbags on the roof of their orphanage, a four-story building that offered a lookout over the neighborhood.

The boys hid in a back room for days as the Taliban laid siege to the orphanage. These kids have seen more than their share of violence in the Swat Valley over the past two years. When I asked what the worst part of the fighting was, they say it was the suicide bombers.

(on camera): Scary, huh?

ABDUL AZIZ, AGE 12: Yes. This is very dangerous.

WATSON: Very dangerous? AZIZ: Yes.

WATSON (voice-over): These boys finally escaped with several teachers by first clinging to the roof of a bus and then hitching a ride in the back of a vegetable truck. Orphanage director Mohammed Ali is overwhelmed. He worries these children may end up homeless.

MOHAMMED ALI, DIRECTOR, KHPAI KOR FOUNDATION: We remember our building, our facilities.

WATSON (on camera): Sorry.

(voice-over): As the conflict threatens to tear this country apart, the call to prayer brings these orphans back together and raises hope that the boys from Swat may one day be able to go home.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Peshawar, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Pope Benedict in Israel reaching out to Jews around the world. In Jerusalem today, the pope said the horror of the Nazi death camps continues to reverberate 60 years after the Second World War. He paid his respects to the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis at Israel's national Holocaust memorial. During his emotional visit, the pope shook hands with six survivors of the Holocaust.

The U.S. now leads the world in diagnosed swine flu or H1N1 cases. CDC's latest count, 2,618. A third U.S. death also linked to this flu, a man in Washington state, who was already ill with heart problems. Meantime, mainland China is reporting its first case of H1N1, a 30-year-old man who had just flown home from college in the U.S. Chinese officials have tracked down most of the other passengers on his flight.

It looks like your normal college graduation but for one thing, caps, gowns, diplomas, check, handshakes, please. The University of Illinois - Chicago has skipped the shake to try to halt the spread of swine plu. As of this morning, Illinois had confirmed 488 cases.

They're homeless because they can't pay the rent in first place. So, why are some being told to pay rent or get kicked to a the curb at a shelter?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's just a small note, but it's a story that could fill a library. Seven Auschwitz prisoners wrote their names and hometowns on it, put it in a bottle and hid it in a wall 65 years ago. They figured they would never get out alive. They just wanted to document that they even existed, hoping maybe one day somebody would care.

Well, that day came last month, when construction crews found the bottle during a renovation project. Turns out at least three of those people are still alive. Think a homeless shelter is a free place to stay? Not in New York. Well, the city's telling some shelter residents to pay up or get out. Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Homeless and living in a shelter, Princess Seaborn is now being forced to do something she never expected.

PRINCESS SEABORN, LIVING IN HOMELESS SHELTER: The city wants me to pay rent, pay rent being in a shelter.

CARROLL: Princess and her daughter, Kenya (ph), have been living in this New York City shelter for six months. She was told last week she would need to pay $345 a month to continue living there. Money she says she just does not have.

SEABORN: I tried to explain on my best behalf that I don't have it. And you know, all I'm getting is pens and papers in my face, talking about sign here, sign here. And I refuse to sign.

CARROLL: This new policy is based on a 1997 state law, which requires shelter residents with jobs to use a portion of their earnings to pay rent. The amount varies according to family size and what shelter is being used.

So, why is the city doing this now? During a 2007 state audit, the city was required to pay back $2.4 million in housing aid that should have been supplemented by homeless families with income. City officials say they're just following the state mandate.

CNN was denied an interview request, but was provided with this statement: "New York State law and regulation mandate this policy. We were the last jurisdiction in the state to have this policy implemented. Regardless, our objective remains to move families back into their own homes and into the community as quickly as possible."

Homeless advocates argue the new policy will actually prolong a person's stay at a shelter.

ARNOLD COHEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PARTNERSHIP FOR THE HOMELESS: I think they fundamentally misunderstand in this policy is that money often goes to such things as child care, which has a direct impact on the ability of folks to leave the shelter system. So, when they have child care, they're able to look for a job. They're able to look for housing. But we're taking that -- essentially taking that money away from them.

CARROLL: In the meantime, more of New York's working homeless can expect to start paying rent to stay in shelters, a move Princess says isn't fair, and she's appealing to the state to have her rent voided.

SEABORN: Why should we have to suffer because of the fallback (ph)? Because that's what it is, it's a cutback. CARROLL (on camera): New York's mayor defended the policy, telling a local paper, quote, we're told we have to do it, so we're doing it. Critics of the policy say the city should be taking a lead to get this policy reversed before some homeless families end up back on the street.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, usually you've got to act up at prom to get suspended, right?. But just taking his girl to the big dance gets a kid in big trouble?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Was it an accident or arson? That's the big question surrounding a fire that gutted the former hideout of cult leader Charles Manson. The infamous desert cabin in Death Valley is where police found Manson and his followers during that manhunt for the killers of actress Sharon Tate and seven other people in 1969. Manson, as you may know, is serving a life sentence.

Here's a name you haven't heard in a while: James Kilgore. He's the last member of the SLA, the Symbionese Liberation Army, to be captured after a string of bank robberies, killings and kidnappings in the '70s. He was picked up in 2002 after almost three decades on the run.

Kilgore is now a free man. He was released from a California prison yesterday. The 61-year-old served six years for his role in the killing of a California woman during a bank robbery in 1975. And don't forget, too, that infamous video of Patty Hearst with SLA and guns in that bank.

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PHILLIPS: Well, no cutting loose for Kevin Bacon or Tyler Frost. The 17-year-old senior just got suspended for taking his girlfriend to the prom. Tyler attends a Christian school that forbids dancing, rock music, holding hands, et cetera, et cetera, on school grounds and off. Well, he sought permission to attend the public high school's prom this weekend, but no dice. Well, he went anyway. He loves his gal.

Now, he won't be graduating with his class, though. But he can still take his finals over the summer and get his diploma. We asked you guys for your thoughts on this one. We got lots of tweets.

Twicegirl28 (ph) says, "Why do I hear 'Footloose' in the background? Because you do, and we heard it also."

UT (ph) wrote, "Does the principal in this school bear a resemblance to John Lithgow? Excuse me, I have to find my Kenny Loggins greatest hits to (INAUDIBLE)."

And several of you commented on our NEWSROOM blog page. Chris (ph) said, "It's a shame that there are so many narrow- minded and self-righteous people out there. But it's especially a shame when they are the ones teaching our children."

And Scott (ph) wrote, "I don't think it's right that the student can't graduate with his class. That's a bit extreme. But rules are rules."

And these college grads in New Orleans didn't let a major disaster come between them and their degrees. They barely started their freshman year when Hurricane Katrina shut down and damaged several campuses in that city. The students were scattered to different cities for a while, but this weekend, the "Katrina class" finished what they started, where they started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTIN GONZALES, XAVIER UNIVERSITY GRADUATE: It's definitely hard to live in a hotel room for quite a long time. So, it's definitely not the most ideal living situation, for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to hear more of their stories in the next hour. Dillard, Xavier and Loyola of New Orleans all holding graduation ceremonies over the weekend. The Katrina classes at Tulane and the University of New Orleans get their degrees this weekend.

Well, when you see a funnel cloud, you head for the basement, right? When they see one, they head right for it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut your door. Shut your door. Shut your door. Go, back up! We're OK. We're OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Ah, the low-key world of storm chasers. We're riding with them next hour.

Plus, change in the air in the Middle East. One country wants to streamline executions. Not quite so many unnecessary executions, in their words. And a judge says it's OK to slap the Mrs. if she spends too much money. Pack your bags and board the outrage train next hour.

All eyes on the launch pad. Space Shuttle Atlantis gears up to give the Hubble telescope a fresh perspective on the universe.

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PHILLIPS: Well, we're moments away from a long-overdue liftoff of space shuttle Atlantis. Its mission, one last overhaul of the Hubble space telescope. Let's get straight to Kennedy Space Center, where our John Zarrella is counting down with a very special guest. Hey, John. JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra, that's right. The countdown is proceeding. We are now, what, under the six and a half minute mark here to liftoff of shuttle Atlantis. An 11-day mission to service and upgrade the Hubble space telescope 350 miles up. There will be five space walks over the course of five days.

Joining me, Rick Linnehan, astronaut. And Rick actually flew on the last Hubble repair mission. And yours was tough, we know. But these guys may have an even tougher job, right?

RICK LINNEHAN, ASTRONAUT: Yes. These guys have their work cut out for them. There's stuff on board that was put up there and never meant to be repaired that's broken, and it wasn't meant to be repaired by six astronauts in inflatable spacesuits in space. So, they've trained hard. They've come up with some amazing different tools to get this done, and over the five space walks, it's going to be interesting to see how it all progresses.

ZARRELLA: Let me ask you real quick now, what's going on right now with the crew? What were you doing up there last five minutes?

LINNEHAN; OK, well, you know, there's a million things running through your mind, but basically, you've trained for a long time. These guys have been delayed and trained even longer. So you really, you're ready to get the show on the road. You really want to get up there. You want to do a good job.

And the main thing is, you want to make sure everything goes as best as it can. You don't want to screw up. And you're thinking about a lot of things, you're thinking about your families, but you're just thinking about all that's going to unfold in the next 12 days. And you plan it out in your mind, and you want to make sure everything goes as close as it can to the way you trained it.

ZARRELLA: You know, and Kyra, this mission had been planned early on, and the Columbia accident took place, and the Hubble mission was canceled. NASA wasn't going to do it. Then they brought it back by popular demand, and actually, on this mission, you've got two shuttles on the pad. Endeavour is over on Pad B because if the Atlantis crew for whatever reason got in trouble, couldn't get back in Atlantis, you've got Endeavour poised and ready to go within seven days.

LINNEHAN: That's correct, John. STS 400, it's the rescue mission for this mission, the Hubble repair mission. And the reason that is, of course, as we talked about this before, is that they are not going to the space station. There's no safe haven, so to speak, up there.

So, if things were to -- say there was damage in the TPS system which made it impossible...

ZARRELLA: That's the tile, the thermal protection system.

LINNEHAN: Exactly, the thermal protection system, that they couldn't come back home or they have a problem in terms of repair, they have to launch STS 400, and they go up there and have a rescue mission and bring them back that way.

ZARRELLA: So, Kyra, you know, it's interesting, you probably saw this. We did a piece earlier, too, on Scott Altman, who's the commander of this flight, and Altman actually has a movie credit to his name. He's in the movie "Top Gun."

PHILLIPS: No one's heard of that movie "Top Gun," John. No, no one's heard of that.

ZARRELLA: Yes. No one's heard about that movie, "Top Gun." Yes, he actually flew the F-14s as one of the pilot doubles in that movie -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And I know we're going to talk more about that coming up. John, I want to welcome our international viewers. They are tuning in as well to prepare for this launch.

But hey, while you are there talking to Rick, let's -- can we get into a little more bit of specifics about this mission, what exactly is going to be fixed and the importance of it, what it means for us here down on Earth.

ZARRELLA: Yes, Rick, the importance of this mission, what it means for us down here on Earth, as Kyra said, and also the fact that the specifics of what you've got to do. There's gyroscopes that have to be replaced, and there's batteries that have to be replaced, and then the upgrades of the cameras and 100 and some tiny screws on one of these?

LINNEHAN: Yes. We talked about it. I mean, some things just weren't planned to break, so they weren't planned to be fixed. And so, you can imagine how hard it is to work with tiny screws down here on the ground where you have gravity. In space, you take one of those screws out, it's gone, and you need that screw to put back the pieces when you're done.

So, they're going to change out some circuit boards on a data unit that wasn't supposed to fail, but it did. They're going to upgrade some cameras and Ball Aerospace and Goddard have come up with some amazing gadgetry to make this all work, including capturing screws, new types of tools that have never been used before on Hubble. It's a very ambitious mission.

ZARRELLA: But as you're saying, it's not easy wearing those bulky space suits out there. And it's six and a half to seven hours at a time. Does that time go by quickly?

LINNEHAN: You'd be amazed, you know, when you really get into an intricate work or you get really into something, how fast the time goes by. But at the same time, you know, you're looking at consumables and space suits, you know, potential problems that could stop you short in your timeline. And everything is choreographed. So, if one thing doesn't go the way it's supposed to, then it's uh-oh time, and then you have to switch to what's called a breakout and go to another type of task. ZARRELLA: You know, Grunsfeld said, and he was -- you flew with Grunsfeld, and you did three spacewalks with him, and he's doing this mission, he said he gets into a zen mode when he's up there. And he's finished with the work, and he comes out, and it's like, wow, we're out here in space.

LINNEHAN: That's -- John, that's actually a good way of describing it. Yes, you kind of get so absorbed in your work that you don't think about the time -- you think about what you have to do, but you're not thinking about a clock. They're telling you what the time is while it's happening, but you're so well trained that you just are totally absorbed into it.

ZARRELLA: You know, and Kyra, we were talking that they're coming down in the last seven, eight shuttle missions after this one. The rest of them are all dedicated to finishing up the International Space Station, then going to be moving on to what's the umbrella program. It's called Constellation with the Ares rocket. And right now, of course, last week, the administration asked for a review of that program.

You know, at the same time, I think you know NASA still doesn't have an administrator.

PHILLIPS: Right.

ZARRELLA: Waiting for a permanent administrator to be put into place.

PHILLIPS: And a lot of questions to when President Obama's going to do that, if he's going to do that.

John, I want to continue our conversation. We're not going to take our eyes off the Kennedy Space Center.

But on the other side of your screen, I just want to quickly point out that that's Defense Secretary Robert Gates opening a briefing on a change of command in Afghanistan. Actually, he has not -- he hasn't stepped up to the mike yet.

Has this begun yet, guys, or not?

OK, no, it has not started yet. We have been given about a two- minute warning.

He may also talk about that pretty shocking attack on a U.S. base in Baghdad today by a U.S. soldier. We're going to listen in as soon as that begins, but we also don't want to leave the shuttle until it gets into space. So we are going to monitor both for you right now.

OK. So while we're waiting for Secretary Gates, John, let me get back to you on that issue -- we're getting ready to go?

All right.

ZARRELLA: We're going right now. Here we go. PHILLIPS: OK. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, three, two, one. And liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis, the final visit to enhance (ph) the mission of Hubble into the deeper grandeur of our universe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bypass across the board, Scooter (ph). No action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston now controlling Atlantis, on its way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atlantis on its way. All three engines now throttling down as the vehicle passes through the area of maximum dynamic pressure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atlantis, Houston. No action on the...

PHILLIPS: So far, so good. Once again, we will not take our eyes off that shuttle.