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Obama Struggles to Gain Support For Health Care Reform; Sotomayor Grilled on Gun Rights; Indonesia Hotel Blasts; Franken's Coming Out Party; Murdered Florida Couple's Funeral Today; New Look at Apollo 11; How to Break Up With Your Bank
Aired July 17, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It is Friday, July 17th, welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM.
We have an awful lot going on this morning. I want to get straight to it this morning.
Two luxury hotels were bombed. At least eight people are dead in Jakarta. We're going to be live from the scene coming up in just a couple of minutes.
Also this morning, tens of thousands of people gathered together in Tehran for a powerful cleric address. And he's got a strong message for the country's leaders, as well.
And health care reform. Stalled in the Senate, why? Well, our Dana Bash is looking at what is stopping lawmakers from making a deal.
A terrorist strike in the heart of a tourism district. Several Americans among the casualties.
We want to get the very latest straight from Jakarta now. CNN's Dan Rivers is on the scene of this morning's bomb attack. He is joining us now.
Dan, good morning, what do you know at this point?
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at the moment, Heidi, we are being told that there were a total of eight bodies recovered from both hotels. The Marriott, which is just there, and the Ritz-Carlton just a few meters away on the other side of the road.
This is how it's breaking down at the moment. We're told in the Ritz-Carlton, there were two bodies, a victim and a suspected suicide bomber, and then in the Marriott, further six bodies, four of those aren't identified. One, they think, was a suicide bomber, and then a further body of a New Zealand gentleman who died after he was taken to the hospital.
On top of that, a large number of casualties, as well, more than 50 from a whole host of different nations, including the United States. We're trying to get details on the breakdown of that. But both hotels were clearly popular with westerners. And the -- the guess at the moment, really, is that they were targeted because they're popular with westerners possibly by this regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah.
COLLINS: Yes, Dan. Are there any concerns that there could be more explosions? I mean, I'm aware of a bomb that they did find that had not gone off yet.
RIVERS: That's right. And this is intriguing. They found a third bomb on the 18th floor of the Marriott, in room 1808. They think that the terrorists were using that room as some sort of command and control center, and they've been there for a number of days.
They were booked in until this morning, supposed to check out this morning, but obviously they didn't. Devastation came instead just before 8:00 at both hotels just 10 minutes apart the blast. So now obviously what they're doing is this area is still sealed off.
The police are in there working through the debris trying to ascertain as much as they can. Interestingly, they think the explosives were similar to a cache of explosives that were found a few weeks ago in west Java which they think had links to Indonesia's most wanted man, a guy called Noordin Top, who is basically a renegade member of Jamaah Islamiyah who has been involved in a number of bombings over the years here.
COLLINS: Yes, very intriguing. But Dan, formally no one has taken responsibility for this action yet, right?
RIVERS: That's right. No one has claimed responsibility, but all indications do at the moment point to Jamaah Islamiyah. But the police are being very cautious and saying there are other possibilities. It could be linked to political violence. They just had a presidential election.
It could be some sort of business link. These are popular with big international companies.
COLLINS: Sure.
RIVERS: CEOs that companies had regular power breakfasts every Friday morning there. SO we don't know for sure, but Islamic terrorism looks like the most likely at the moment.
COLLINS: All right. Our Dan Rivers reporting there live out in Jakarta this morning.
Dan, we appreciate that, and we'll stay in contact with you getting more developments as they come out.
So, we are also getting some first-hand images now from people inside the blast zone. This is an iReport photo taken from across the street. It shows windows blown out at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Witnesses say it looks like the blast erupted inside the hotel restaurant. We do have crews on the grounds in Jakarta, as you know, scrambling to collect the latest information. At the bottom of the hour, we'll have all the very latest and even more video and pictures from our iReporters. We always appreciate them.
A plea for forgiveness this morning in Iran. Powerful cleric and former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani delivered the sermon at Friday prayers. In it, he called on Iran's leaders to the release the people jailed in the post-election demonstrations, saying Iran should not give the rest of the world a reason to criticize.
There was great anticipation for Rafsanjani's speech, too, since it was his first major public statement after the election. Tens of thousands of people gathered in and around Tehran University to hear him speak.
And our Reza Sayah is over at the Iran desk this morning with the very latest on this.
So, Reza, tell us what happened with those crowds. And this was a pretty big deal, I mean, we haven't seen Rafsanjani for quite some time.
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi. Huge crowds turned up to Friday prayers to hear Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani. We're getting our first pictures into the Iran desk.
Eyewitnesses on the ground telling CNN that they're estimating tens of thousands of people showed up there. There you see a picture for Iran's state-run news agency, IRNA. Many of these people showed up to see Rafsanjani, to see what he had to say. Many of them were supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi.
We also had the first video posted online, if we can take a look at that. According to eyewitnesses on the ground, many of these people were wearing a green wristbands and arm bands, but many of them were dressed very conservatively. They had been warned by opposition organizers not to incite any violence.
At times, some members of the crowd did get rowdy. And eyewitnesses say they were dispersed by security forces before and after the sermon. There were a few clashes, but not many clashes, according to eyewitnesses. Security forces, for the most part, using tear gas to disperse the crowds.
When they heard the Ayatollah Hashemi speak -- first of all, we should know this was not broadcast on television.
COLLINS: OK.
SAYAH: It was broadcast on radio, so nobody inside Iran or outside saw it on television. They heard him on the radio. He delivered some criticism to the Iranian leadership. It wasn't harsh, searing criticism, but it was criticism nonetheless. And he lent his support to the opposition, telling -- not shutting the door on the opposition, which is something that the opposition wanted to hear, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. That's what I was wondering. Did he do a good job of explaining what the opposition wanted to hear?
SAYAH: Well, there are some members of the opposition who say he didn't say enough. But for the most part what they're satisfied with is that he didn't shut the door on the opposition. He did criticize the leadership saying that the election aftermath, especially the crackdown, was not a good idea.
Let's show you some quotes of what he said. A lot of support for the people. He said, "The lost trust of the people must be restored. This will not happen overnight, we must slowly create an atmosphere where everyone can say what they have in mind."
Let's show you another quote. This is where he got one of the biggest responses from thousands of people gathered outside of the university when he called for the people detained to be free. "There is no need to have these numbers of people imprisoned, let them come back to their families, let the enemy not laugh at us and criticize us."
He also had a number of solutions that he proposed to solve this crisis. He said, "People must all obey the law." He said we should be able to freely discuss this situation. He also said the media should be free, as well.
At this hour, according to eyewitnesses, most of the crowds have been dispersed. They're thinning out. Not a lot of clashes, just a few. So according to eyewitnesses, the opposition movement for the most part satisfied with what he had to say.
COLLINS: OK. And when he's talking about the enemy, though -- I'm just curious, Reza, "let the enemy not laugh at us." Who is he talking about?
SAYAH: He's talking about the enemies, the Western powers.
COLLINS: A-ha.
SAYAH: Whenever an Iranian leader, whether it's a member of the reformist movement, the opposition party, or the regime, they talk about the enemies, they're talking about foreign powers, Washington, London, specifically.
COLLINS: Yep, OK. That's what I thought. Reza Sayah, sure do appreciate it. Live from our Iran desk this morning.
Back to your health now. Any chance of a bipartisan deal on health care reform this week is now gone. A top Democrat is blaming the president for stalling the process.
CNN's Dana Bash has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a Democrat who asked the question. Will any of their health care plans actually reduce skyrocketing medical costs? The answer, no.
DOUGLAS ELEMENDORF, DIRECTOR, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE: In the legislation that has been reported, we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that will be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.
BASH: With that, the head of the Congressional Budget Office whose words carry enormous weight in Congress dealt Democrats a devastating blow. Since President Obama repeatedly says curbing health care costs is a central goal of reform.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've set some clear parameters in terms of what I want to achieve. We have to bend the cost curve on health care.
BASH: But CBO director Doug Elemendorf warned Democrats' plans would actually raise costs because many, including the president, are resisting what Elemendorf calls a critical element to keeping medical spending down -- taxing employer-provided health care benefits.
It had been one of the ways a bipartisan group of senators planned to pay for health care reform. Now that it's off the table, they're having trouble making the numbers add up. And in a stunningly candid moment, the frustrated Democratic Finance Chairman blamed the president.
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), MONTANA: Basically, the president does not -- is not helping us with the tax exclusion off the table. It's still difficult to come up with the revenue measures and other savings measures.
BASH: Because of the president's prodding to move faster, there had been hope for a bipartisan deal this week, but that's no longer in the cards.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And CNN's Dana Bash is joining us now for a little bit more on this. So I have to wonder, Dana, what is all of this having to do -- what is the impact going to be on possibly getting this health care deal by August, which is what the president has wanted all along?
BASH: Well, publicly, Heidi, both at the White House and here, at least when you talk to Democratic leaders here, they say, well, you know, it doesn't have much of an impact. They're really trying to downplay both the impact of the CBO director's warning and the open frustration we heard from Max Baucus there at the president.
COLLINS: Yes. BASH: But privately, I can tell you Democratic aides understand that this is a big problem. Because when you have somebody with the enormous power in his words as a CBO director does, saying publicly on -- and under oath that he believes that the Democrats' plans won't do enough to curb costs, that plays right into a divide that already exists, Heidi, within the Democratic Party.
You already have conservative Democrats in the House especially almost in revolt saying that they don't agree with the plans that are going through done by their own party for the very reason the CBO director mentioned.
COLLINS: Right.
BASH: So basically adds fuel to that fire among Democrats.
COLLINS: All right, well, we will be watching and I think we're going to be watching for quite some time.
BASH: Yes.
COLLINS: Dana Bash for us this morning. Health care reform. Thank you, Dana.
Part of the House Democrats plan, tax surcharges on Americans making more than $350,000 a year. On our blog this morning, we're asking if you think it's fair to tax the rich to pay for health care reform. Just go to CNN.com/heidi and post your comments there.
One year ago today, drivers here in the U.S. hit a milestone. What was it? And where do we stand today?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we've got two big weather stories we're following today. One of them will be the chance of severe weather along much of the eastern sea board, including parts of the northeast. And the second big story, a big-time cool-down in store for a big part of the country as we move into the weekend.
More of your stories coming up right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly want to get to these pictures that we are getting in. Coming out of Miami Beach, Florida this morning. Look at that. An awful lot of smoke due to this fire that is going on. This is a very wealthy area. Million-dollar mansion we're being told is on fire. Not quite sure how this all happened or why.
We also are not sure if anyone was inside the home when this whole thing began. But as you can see, rescue crews on the scene there. Even fighting with the fire boats there from the water. Both from the water and the other side of the home they're fighting with water from the streets, as well.
So if you're familiar with the area, this is North Bay Road. We understand that some of the roads in the area have also been shut down because this fire is so intense. Really an awful lot of smoke coming out of there. So hopefully that means they're getting closer to extinguishing this fire.
We will keep you posted and give you some more information just as soon as we get it here. Again, Miami Beach, Florida, this morning.
All that's left now is the votes. After three days of direct questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor looks to be in a pretty good spot.
We get more now from CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gun rights dominated the discussion as Sonia Sotomayor spent her last day on the hot seat.
SEN. TOM COBURN (R), OKLAHOMA: My constituents in Oklahoma understand, as do most Americans, that the right to own guns hangs in the balance, may very well hang in the balance with your ascendancy.
KEILAR: As Republican senator Tom Coburn pressed her on the Second Amendment for the second day in a row, asking whether Americans have a fundamental right to bear arms, she demurred.
JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE: Senator, would you want a judge or nominee who came in here and said, I agree with you, this is unconstitutional, before I had a case before me, before I had both sides discussing the issue with me? I don't know that that's a justice that I can be.
KEILAR: Fellow Republican Lindsey Graham signaled he may vote to confirm Sotomayor and is hopeful she will keep an open mind on gun rights.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think fundamentally, Judge, you're able, after all of these years of being a judge, to embrace a right that you may not want for yourself. To allow others to do things that are not comfortable to you, but for the group they're necessary.
KEILAR: But even he, once again, addressed her off-the-bench comment including her "wise Latina" remark.
GRAHAM: You have since said some things that just bug the hell out of me.
SOTOMAYOR: I regret that I have offended some people. I believe that my life demonstrates that that was not my intent to leave the impression that some have taken from my words.
GRAHAM: You know what, Judge, I agree with you.
KEILAR: Though not many Republicans seemed won over. SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: You appear to be a different person, almost, in your speeches and in some of the comments that you've made.
KEILAR: Still, with Sotomayor's confirmation almost certain, Democrats were already looking ahead.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: The experience and wisdom will benefit all Americans. You walk under that piece of Vermont marble, over the door of the Supreme Court, speaking of equal justice under law. I know that will guide you.
Judge Sotomayor, thank you. God speed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Brianna Keilar joining us now live from Capitol Hill. So the time line here, Brianna, for a vote on Sotomayor's confirmation? Is that the next step that we're talking about?
KEILAR: A voting committee and then a vote before the full Senate. And this could be a done deal here in the next few weeks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes.
KEILAR: You may recall before this hearing, some Republicans felt this confirmation process was just going too fast. Well, we heard yesterday, they said they're not going to try to delay or block it. So what we're expecting now is that voting committee to come Tuesday and then a full vote of the Senate before Congress breaks for its month-long August recess and that would put Sonia Sotomayor on the Supreme Court in time for its new fall session.
COLLINS: OK. All right. Very good, well, we appreciate it. Brianna Keilar live from Capitol Hill this morning. Thanks.
African-Americans have the highest rate of obesity of any ethnic group. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at this new research and what needs to be done to get those dangerous rates down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The American Medical Association now endorsing the House Democrats' health care overhaul bill. This comes as many see the need for universal health coverage in a new report on obesity rates.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is looking at both of these issues for us this morning.
Good morning to you, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COLLINS: Let's begin with this AMA endorsement. It seems like a pretty big deal, isn't it?
GUPTA: Yes, I think it is a pretty big deal and I think a lot of people weren't sure exactly how the AMA was eventually going to come down on this. But then a lot of back and forth over something specific, which is this public option.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Something that you and I have talked about, Heidi. By endorsing this House committee bill, they have endorsed this public exchange, as well.
A couple of things, I think, are worth pointing out. We need to keep an eye on, Heidi.
COLLINS: OK.
GUPTA: Two issues that really the AMA was focusing on besides the fact of trying to get more people health care insurance. One was tort reform overall, looking at lawsuits towards doctors. That is not addressed at all in either the letter that was sent by the AMA to the House committee members or in the bill itself.
And the other was this thing that's a little bit more convoluted, something known as the sustainable growth raw formula when it comes to Medicare payments. Now what's important about this, Heidi, and this is a lot of language by this early in the morning.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: What's important about this is that for a long time, Medicare has been sort of regulating payments to doctors based on this formula. And the AMA, for a long time, has said that formula is flawed and has led to lower reimbursements to doctors.
So part of this bill, they say, specifically the language here, is that there's going to be a repeal of the sustainable growth rate formula. So how much money that's going to mean over the next 10 years, probably a lot, maybe $200 to $300 billion, more money coming out of Medicare to pay doctors.
So that's a couple of things that I sort of noticed. They also talked about the fact that there will be a mandate for health care insurance. President Obama and at that time Senator Clinton back and forth in this issue quite a bit during the campaign. But the president has said now that he agrees that there should be a mandate with health care insurance. And that's what this bill reflects, as well.
COLLINS: Yes. It's very interesting. Just as some of the Democrats are kind of bailing on this, we see the AMA jumping on board. So, obviously a lot more to the story. We're going to be watching it...
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: They say it's not a political issue.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: They took great pains to say that, but you're absolutely right. It's going to be interesting from that standpoint.
COLLINS: Yes. Definitely. And then the other side of this is one of the U.S.'s biggest health problems, when we look at this, in trying to cover medical care, it's obesity. Talk about these new numbers, this new research.
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting, when I first started reporting on overweight and obesity, we pretty much just talked about overweight and now obesity is becoming such a larger percentage than we ever possibly imagined.
This study broke it down by state and broke it down by race specifically. Heidi, the numbers speak for themselves. Take a look there. More than one in three African Americans are now considered obese, not just overweight. Compare that to 29 percent of Hispanics, 24 percent of whites, and 40 percent of black women.
There are parts of the country that are worse than others, such as the south and Midwest, but pretty uniformly across the country these numbers have increased. And the issue is that it's linked to just about every chronic disease out there.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Which is why it ties in perfectly with health care reform. What we're talking about.
COLLINS: Yes. No question. All right, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, with all angles of the story today. Thank you, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: A front row seat for the Sotomayor hearing, one junior senator in the spotlight, but he's pretty used to it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, it's been four straight days of gains on Wall Street. Can you believe it? Unfortunately, though, we're not expecting the positive momentum to continue this morning.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with a preview of the day's market action.
I feel kind of like the old bait and switch thing going on here, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi, we've had a terrific week. This is our first opening bell together of the week.
COLLINS: Yes. LISOVICZ: But what a week it has been. The Dow Industrials have rallied more than 560 points so far this week, an increase of nearly 7 percent. The NASDAQ is up seven straight days. So yes, maybe a little weakness at the bell. No surprise.
This week's rally fueled by expectations of positive news from some banks, and today we have a double dose. Bank of America clocking in with the second quarter profit of more than $3 billion, beating Wall Street consensus.
Still, the CEO, Ken Lewis, warning of more weakness ahead for the global economy. Don't forget, B of A has huge credit card business, so it's vulnerable to rising unemployment.
Meanwhile, rival Citigroup reporting profits of more than $4 billion, also topping forecasts. The results here, though, coming largely from Citi's sale of its Smith Barney Wealth division.
Both banks have received nearly $100 billion in TARP.
And the tech sector, search engine giant Google sold profits of $1.5 billion. The company says more clicks, it's seeing, but people are spending less. They're searching around for bargains. But it also admits that they're seeing signs of stabilization. That's encouraging.
Also topping estimates this morning, IBM, Mattel and General Electric. And we're seeing a little bit buying at the open for the Dow. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, is flat.
Let me just mention quickly, Heidi, because it's a good segue in your next story. Oil today is trading at $62 a barrel. One year ago, $130 a barrel.
COLLINS: Unbelievable, isn't it?
LISOVICZ: Unbelievable.
COLLINS: Unbelievable.
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: Unbelievable year.
COLLINS: Yes. Thanks for looking at our rundown, too, and knowing what stories are next.
Hey, by the way, are we nearing 9,000? I mean, is it OK to say?
LISOVICZ: I think you can. Yes, we're 87 -- 8720 -- I'm sorry, I didn't hear you at the beginning, Heidi. Just a lot of noise here.
COLLINS: It's OK.
LISOVICZ: But, yes, 87. Yes, you can say 9,000, 14,000, we'll wait. COLLINS: Yes, yes, yes. I remember all of that.
All right. Susan Lisovicz, thanks so much. Have a good weekend.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome. You, too.
COLLINS: One year ago today, as Susan was mentioning, you may not remember exactly where you were, but it probably cost you a whole lot to get there. On July 17th, 2008, U.S. gas prices hit their all- time record. The national average peaked at just over $4.11 a gallon. Today, the national average stands at $2.48 a gallon. That's nearly 40 percent less than the record high. And the price continues to fall. It's now been 26 straight days that pump prices have gone down.
I want to get you the very latest now on this deadly hotel bombings in Jakarta, Indonesia. Here's what we know at this point. At least six people were killed, more than 50 others hurt when explosions rocked the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Indonesia's president calls the bombing a terrorist attack.
An unexploded bomb was also found on the 18th floor of the Marriott. Indonesian authorities have detained several people for questioning, but no one has claimed responsibility as of yet for these blasts. Now the U.S. State Department says several Americans were among the injured. The Jakarta Marriott was the site of a terrorist attack you may remember in August of 2003. That attack killed 12 people.
CNN iReporters were at the scene just moments after the hotels exploded. Jill Cleret captured these images of the aftermath and emergency response. And here's how iReporter and witness Greg Wollstencraft described what he saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG WOLLSTENCRAFT, IREPORTER: I just got back to my hotel room and my apartment room, and there was a huge explosion. And I looked out the window and the first explosion was at the Marriott. There was a big plume of black and brown smoke. I actually -- because I work for one of the local television networks on TV, I ran downstairs with my iPhone just to see what it was all about. And as I got down to the ground floor, there was another huge explosion at the Ritz-Carlton.
When I got out to the Ritz-Carlton, there were smoke billowing out of the building all over the place and all the windows were blown out on the street side quite extensively with smoke and there was already some people starting to move outside. And I were to go up the driveway towards the lobby, and there was a -- all the windows were blown out on the lobby side, as well.
I was able to go into the Airlangga Restaurant and have a look around. And having stayed in that hotel many times, there was just total devastation. And you couldn't even recognize it from what it was before. And I did see one mutilated body on the floor, which could have actually been one of the suicide bombers. And I did see some other people getting escorted out with minor injuries. PAULINE CHIOU, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Greg, as you're speaking, we're showing the photos that you sent to our iReport from inside what I believe is the restaurant, the Airlangga restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Describe a little bit more about what we're seeing. Right now we're looking at the restaurant with wires hanging from the ceilings. Now we're looking at crowds outside. Give us more of a detailed picture of what you saw as you walked through this restaurant inside the hotel.
WOLLSTENCRAFT: Well, actually, as I walk up there, as I said the windows were all blown out in the cafe area beside the Airlangga Restaurant. And as I walked into we now like -- there was just glass all over the floor, the ceilings were blown out. They were just all the furniture's blown around everywhere. Just pieces hanging down from the ceiling. It was basically unrecognized. It was just a massive destruction of the actual building of the area.
And as I said, I've been in there many times, and you couldn't even recognize it. And off to one side, I then walked to the further end. And then there was this body laying on the ground, extremely mutilated. It was a very disturbing scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Again, those words from our iReporter, Greg Wollstencraft as he spoke with CNN international anchor Pauline Chiou there. And the death toll, once again, six people dead. At least six people dead. And two of the bombers we know, as well. So total at this point eight people dead. We will keep our eye on that story, of course, as it develops throughout the day.
Meanwhile, secretary of state Hillary Clinton is condemning the Jakarta attacks. She says the U.S. is ready to give Indonesia any assistance it needs. Clinton is headed to India this hour for a week long visit to Southeast Asia. It is her first international trip since he broke her elbow last month.
Yesterday, Clinton scoffed at media reports that she had been sidelined by the White House in shaping U.S. foreign policy. As she put it, I broke my elbow, not my larynx.
Senate Democrats are pushing for a quick committee vote on Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. They want the vote on Tuesday. Sotomayor wrapped up a third day of questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats want the committee vote to happen next week.
The hearing was a chance for the senators and the American people to get to know Judge Sotomayor. It also gave everyone a chance to get a better look at the junior senator from Minnesota.
CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin has more now on Al Franken's eventful first full week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Senate's newest star seems comfortable in front of the cameras, but less at ease with congressional procedure. Here, Senator Al Franken looks to his committee chairman to approve a request.
SEN. AL FRANKEN (D), MINNESOTA: I would ask that it be entered into the record. Sir, can I enter it into the record? OK. Thank you.
YELLIN: Franken's national debut seems to be amusing his old peers on the comedy circuit...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": I just kept expecting him to go, "Live from New York."
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: ...and his new peers in the Senate, here earning chuckles after switching seats with Committee Chairman Leahy. Franken also hit some serious notes, reading from a pocket Constitution.
FRANKEN: Section one, the right of citizens of the United States to vote.
YELLIN: Asking Judge Sotomayor about the Voting Rights Act, whether Internet access should be protected, and for the definition of an activist judge. He even went where the administration did not want Democrats to go, pressing the judge on abortion rights.
He argued that abortion rights don't have to be written into the Constitution to be protected.
FRANKEN: Are the words birth control in the constitution?
JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: No, sir.
FRANKEN: Are the words privacy in the Constitution -- or the word?
SOTOMAYOR: The word "privacy" is not.
YELLIN: But the water cooler moment of the hearing came when Senator Franken asked the judge, who had revealed that she's a lifelong fan of the TV show "Perry Mason," to name one case Perry Mason lost. She couldn't.
FRANKEN: And -- and you don't remember that case?
SOTOMAYOR: I know that I should remember the name of it, but I haven't looked at the episodes. I --
(CROSSTALK) FRANKEN: Didn't the White House prepare you for...
(LAUGHTER)
FRANKEN: ...for that?
YELLIN (on camera): Next, Franken has said he'd like to lay low and learn the ropes of the Senate. But if the intense media interest in him during this hearing as any indication, that will be a difficult task.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Pope Benedict XVI is out of the hospital and on the mend this morning. The Vatican says he broke his wrist last night. He apparently fell in his room while on vacation in The Alps. The 82- year-old pontiff went to the hospital this morning, but only after celebrating his daily private mass. He'll wear the cast for about a month.
A blown out tire on a family road trip leads to dramatic rescue. How the family managed to escape this terrifying scene.
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COLLINS: The FBI is investigating a death on board a cruise ship off the Mexican Coast. Fifty-five-year-old Shirley McGill was found dead in her cabin on the carnival elation. Her husband faces murder charges. The FBI believes a domestic dispute Tuesday night may have led to her death.
And dramatic police video near Atlanta after a family road trip does not go as planned. A tire blew on their minivan and caught fire. Two of the four family members were trapped inside. Police were able to pull them to safety. Believe it or not, no one was seriously hurt.
That Florida couple known for adopting special needs children being laid to rest today. The couple was murdered in what police say was a home invasion robbery. Eight people have been arrested in connection with the case.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joining us now from Pensacola, Florida, with the very latest.
So, Ed, are there any special plans now for this funeral?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes. That will be held later on this morning. We expect a large gathering of people as they come to pay their final respects to Byrd and Melanie Buildings here in Pensacola. So that will continue to go on this morning.
There was a viewing yesterday which had a lot of family and friends turning out as well, and people who had known the couple well, including many of the people that had worked with them and helped them care for the children, as well.
But in the meantime, the investigation here in Pensacola continues even though authorities here don't have anything scheduled as far as today is concerned so far. They know -- we know that they are continuing to process those key pieces of evidence that were gathered yesterday, including the safe, which was found on one of the properties owned by Pamela Wiggins. That was the eight person arrested in this investigation.
And authorities here also say that there are still two or three other people of interest that they're looking into, and possibly another arrest that could be made at some point next week.
So clearly things aren't quite over, although investigators here, Heidi, are saying that the bulk of their investigation, the toughest part of their investigation is over at this point.
COLLINS: Yes, I understand. So it sounds like they are releasing a little bit more information on the path of that investigation. But I have to ask you, you know, it seems like we haven't heard, Ed, very much from people in the area about how they feel and how they're reacting to this whole unbelievably sad story.
LAVANDERA: Everywhere you go here in Pensacola, Heidi, you know, people have been stunned and talking about this story for the last week. You know, this has been the talk around town everywhere you go.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, Ed Lavandera following this story for us and the latest on the investigation, as well.
Thanks so much, Ed, live from Pensacola, Florida, today.
LAVANDERA: You got it.
Do you have a bad relationship with your bank? If you're trying to get out of the relationship, we can help. We'll tell you how you can make a clean break.
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COLLINS: Well, that is a great wake-up for just about anybody. Here comes the sun. The shuttle astronauts woke up to The Beatles a short time ago. Today, they're scheduled to dock with the international space station.
But first, they'll fly by to give the station's cameras a chance to get a better look at Endeavor's underbelly. If you remember, they're looking for any possible damage from the foam debris that fell off during the launch.
NASA, in fact, is marking a major anniversary this week. It was 40 years ago yesterday Apollo 11 lifted off for the moon. And it'll be 40 years ago Monday that Neil Armstrong took a giant leap for mankind. To mark the occasion, NASA has something new to show you. CNN's Tom Foreman gets a look.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
FOREMAN: (voice-over): It's the iconic image of our efforts to explore space. And now, as we approach the 40th anniversary of man's first visit to the moon, NASA has restored and enhanced the original grainy black and white images, including that one that riveted the planet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that looks beautiful from here.
FOREMAN: Astronaut Neal Armstrong setting foot on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. The new high-definition video is an improvement over the original. But NASA officials believe that somewhere out there is video that could take our breath away -- images like this, but sharper and clearer than anything seen before.
The problem is, no one knows where it is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff of Endeavour.
FOREMAN: Regular shuttle missions and the crisp color images they transmit have space fans a little spoiled. We forget just how complicated it was to transmit pictures from space to Earth in 1969.
Here's how it worked. A small camera built into Apollo 11 scanned the lunar landing in a unique format unsuitable for regular TV. Those images were transmitted to tracking stations in Southeast Australia and California's Mohave Desert, where they were converted to a standard format and send on to Houston -- losing picture quality every step of the way.
But veterans of the Apollo mission recently reminded NASA that technicians at both ground stations recorded the transmissions onto special tapes which, if converted now with modern technology, would produce the highest quality images of man on the moon ever seen.
A search has been launched, but three years into it, after scouring multiple NASA facilities, there's no sign of those tapes. And now many fear the spectacular images on them -- images far superior to anything we've ever seen -- may be lost forever.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
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COLLINS: Amazing pictures anyway you look at them.
Speaking of amazing, Reynolds Wolf joining us now.
Can you not speak?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They said the originals, the originals were missing. They can't find them.
COLLINS: Yes. Something there...
WOLF: How do you lose that? Losing your car keys, or maybe your cell phone is understandable. But losing that...
COLLINS: I have a feeling they will -- they will surface.
WOLF: Let's hope so.
COLLINS: Yes.
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COLLINS: Yes. Very good. But those storms, D.C. area, I'm headed there in a little while for this great, great sunset parade honoring the Marine Corps there.
We're going to have some rain.
WOLF: Bring the umbrellas with you. You'll definitely need them. Pretty, kind of rough into the afternoon so certainly be advised.
COLLINS: All right. Sunset parade, we're hoping it will be gone by then.
WOLF: Keep your fingers crossed.
COLLINS: All right. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
COLLINS: We'll check back later. Appreciate it.
Meanwhile, CNN crews are chasing the latest news around the world. We want to check in with some of our correspondents now beginning with Reza Sayah over at our Iran desk, following the very latest protests in the country.
Hey, Reza.
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. High drama in the streets of Tehran. Tens of thousands of opposition reporters taking to the streets once again. Some of them clashing with security forces. New pictures just in to the Iran desk. We'll show them to you at the top of the hour.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash on Capitol Hill where Democrats plan for health care reform were dealt a devastating blow by somebody who has a lot of sway in the tumultuous debate. I'll have more on that at the top of the hour.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. CIA and military assassins, is it really just in the movies? More in the next hour.
COLLINS: OK. Thanks, guys. Also ahead, an update on a CNN investigation. If focused on government-funded student exchange programs. The State Department saw the report and is now taking action. Drew Griffin will tell us why.
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COLLINS: Rising ATM surcharges, higher minimum balances and increasing fees. Doing business with your bank is getting costlier. But you don't have to put up with it.
Personal finance editor Gerri Willis has been to Tae Kwan Do. She's here now with how you can break up with your bank if you are unhappy.
Good morning to you, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, Heidi. Yes. You know, more and more people are switching banks because of fees. Forty-four percent of people on the past three months site fees as the reason they'll skip out on their bank. And that's according to a recent study by One is overdraft fees. They're called fees but actually small loans that your bank and that's according to a recent study by Javelin Strategy.
One of the most onerous pieces overdraft fees. They are called fees, but actually they're just small loans that your bank issues without your knowledge or your permission. And if you make a purchase without having enough money to cover it, and it cost a lot, Heidi. It's 35 bucks each time in most cases. It can really run up quickly if you're out there using an ATM card.
COLLINS: OK. Well, if you do want to break up with your bank, what's the best way they can go about doing that?
WILLIS: You know, it's a hassle to switch, but you can, especially since a lot of banking is customize. You may pay your bills online. Get account alerts. You may have social security checks or your paycheck, direct deposit it.
The easiest way to do this is to get a switch kit. The bank you are going to may have a switch kit at the bank itself or actually online. It will help you switch your account without you having to set up your online bill, pay or your direct deposit again.
Keep some money in that old account. You want to make sure that your new accounts are open and operable. All your outstanding checks have cleared and you can get money from your new network. And have closed accounts verified in writing. Hold on to those closing statements.
And because you pull up stakes at your old bank, it is really worth it to ask the branch manager or call customer service to see what they will do to keep your business. Whether it's dismissing fees or maybe giving you favorable rates on your checking accounts. Banking is competitive and you can always compare terms of banks at bankrate.com and checkingfinder.com. COLLINS: OK. Great advice. Sure do appreciate it.
Gerri, thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: We want to quickly get you back to the story that we've been watching all morning long now. Pictures still coming in to us. Live pictures, in fact.
Boy, still, just a massive cloud of smoke there. You're looking at Miami Beach, and this is a very wealthy area. Multi-million dollar mansion was on fire here as you can see. A lot of celebrities live in this area. We do not have any word yet on whose home this may be. But we have been watching them, battle this thing from both the road and also out in the water. They are using the fire boats to try to get a handle on it. Still some active flames there that you can see. We do not know the cause, as you would imagine, just yet, and we also don't know if anyone was home when it all began.
So we'll continue to watch that. Few roads are even closed in the area because the fire and the flames are so intense. So, again, we'll keep our eye on it for you and bring you any new information just as soon as we get it in here.
In France now, authorities are investigating a fatal accident involving Madonna's European tour. Earlier this morning, we learned a second worker has died in Westside France. Several other workers were injured when a crane collapsed during stage construction. The singer was in Italy at the time. At least one show has now been canceled.
Hundreds of firefighters are battling a wildfire in central California, not far from Sacramento. So far, the fire has burned more than 500 acres. Several families had to leave their homes. The fire is about 40 percent contained this morning.
We are watching a couple of developing stories right now as well. In Jakarta, Indonesia, at least six people are dead in two bombings at two luxury hotels. Dozens more are injured.
And in Iran, a leading cleric and former president is calling for the release of all people imprisoned in the crackdown on post-election protests.
Those stories in just a moment. But, first, working to save health care reform. Lawmakers and doctors are making a new push.
Here's what we know. The House Ways and Means Committee has approved a tax increase on the wealthy to help pay for the Democrats' plan. The taxes would raise an estimated $544 billion over ten years. And a bit of a surprise move, though.
