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Bombings at Two Jakarta Hotels; Sotomayor Can Expect Some GOP Support; Marine Ends One Year Rotation as First Female Marine One Pilot; Some Apollo 11 Images Erased; Motive In Florida Couple's Murder Is Still Unclear As Police Remained Tightlipped On The Case; Health Care Reform Hits Congressional Snag

Aired July 17, 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: T.J., thanks.

Terror returns to Jakarta. Suicide bombers hit glitzy hotels in the Indonesia capital. At least eight Americans are hurt. We're pushing forward on the fallout.

Byrd and Melanie Billings are laid to rest. Not so the broad investigation into their murders and a houseful of special-needs kids. We're live in Pensacola with the latest.

And a helicopter pilot cracks another glass ceiling. This one in the cockpit of Marine One. Meet Major Jennifer Grieves (ph) this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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

The killing of a Florida couple with a house full of special- needs children. There's just something about this case. And we're told it's a simple case of robbery, but that more motives might crop up. We've learned that the safe stolen from the home had some jewelry, but mostly just prescription meds and family documents.

Also, the sheriff said federal drug agents are not looking at the family, yet he also said the DEA is doing its own thing. Now, there are reports that the suspects have ties to drug activity and a gang, but the law still isn't talking. So, what's going on? Until the bombshells dropped, we're left with soap opera cliffhanger on a daily basis. CNN's Ed Lavandera on the case for us in Pensacola.

Ed, help us out. What can you confirm?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I guess we should start off with these reports of connections to organized crime and that sort of thing. We have been hearing on background from various people, for most of the week, about these connections involving these suspects. However, as we have tried to gather information on that, we have kept hitting roadblocks. And, in fact, we're hearing from various colleagues of mine, hearing from various federal sources on this, that at this point, there just doesn't seem to be enough there.

We don't get the sense from the sources on the federal level that we're talking to that there's much credence to -- to any kind of organized crime on behalf of these -- of these suspects. So, it's been, you know, a very delicate thing, but it has been adding to the swirl of speculation that has been going on with this story throughout most of the week. But that's kind of where we stand there.

But also a great twist, an amazing twist, this morning just as family members and friends were arriving for the funeral this morning, the family's attorney coming out and revealing the contents of the safe, Kyra, which actually probably comes to the great dismay of investigators and prosecutors here in Pensacola, who have tried to keep the information tightlipped.

We've gone to them to ask if indeed what this attorney is saying is accurate. We've not heard back from the state's attorney office on that, so far. But the background is interesting. There's been a great deal of frustration and sensitivity on behalf of the Billings family, especially the attorney, who has criticized us extensively for reporting the DEA's involvement in this case.

Even though the DEA confirmed they had been involved. The sheriff now obviously confirming that they are involved, but the family has been very sensitive to the fact that the people would be drawing the connection that if the DEA was involved that somehow would put the Billings family in a bad light. But authorities here say the DEA involvement has more to do with the background of these suspects, than anything else -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll continue to follow all the various leads. Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.

And half a world away, a luxury hotel that was shattered in a car bomb attack in 2003 is shattered again. Suicide bombers hit the J.W. Marriott and adjoining Ritz Carlton today in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. At least six other people are dead, dozens hurt, Americans among them.

The blasts came minutes apart in hotels connected by an underground tunnel. The bombers are said to have checked in as guests on Wednesday. CNN's Dan Rivers is there and filed this report for us just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The police investigation into this double blast in the center of Jakarta is well under way. And police are focusing their inquiries on several different elements. They'll be looking closely at this CCTV footage, which shows a man wheeling a suitcase through the lobby of the Marriott Hotel and then just seconds later, a blast rips through that lobby. Now, they don't know whether this man is one of the suicide bombers, but they are certainly looking closely and seeing if there are any clues that they can glean from that.

As well as the CCTV footage, they'll also be analyzing a third bomb that was found on the 18th floor of the Marriott Hotel, which didn't detonate. We're being told that they think the explosives in that bomb are similar to a cache of explosives that were found a couple of weeks ago in West Java. Now, the house of that cache of explosives were found in have links to Nordin Top (ph), he's basically the most-wanted in man in Indonesia. The police think he is part of a splinter cell that has links to Jemaah Islamiyah (ph).

So, at the moment, the clues are beginning to point towards J.I., this Islamist group that operates across the region, that has hit the Marriott before, in 2003, killing 12 people. They've also carried out devastating bomb attacks in Bali in 2002, and, again, in 2005. So far, it's early days, though, this scene is still well and truly sealed off as the police do their work, and we'll find out more over the weekend. Dan Rivers, CNN, Jakarta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: President Obama is condemning what he calls outrageous attacks, and police in New York are taking action. We're told that dozens of so-called critical response vehicles scrambled to New York hotels within minutes of those blasts in Indonesia. The NYPD insists that's just a precaution. There's no indication that attacks are being planned in New York.

As for the president, he says, and I quote, "the American people stand by the Indonesia people in this very difficult time. And the U.S. government stands ready to help the Indonesian government respond to and recover from these outrageous attacks as a friend and partner."

Well, a highly anticipated speech, a massive crowd, major new developments in Iran, bring me straight to the CNN International Desk. A powerful cleric sent a powerful message to the Iranian regime today and tens of thousands of people listened.

Let's go ahead and head over to Reza Sayah. He's still over there at the Iran Desk working this story for us. And it's been a while since we have talked.

That doesn't mean the story has slowed down at all.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly has not. A very busy, busy day here at the Iran Desk. Lots of pictures and video coming in. Perhaps one of the pictures of the day is this one, coming from our iReporters, this is Mehdi Karoubi, the opposition leader. A lot of reports coming into the Iran Desk that he was attacked by members of the Basij, the government volunteer militia. And this picture appears to show him disoriented with his turban off. A let of eyewitnesses telling CNN there were clashes between security forces and opposition supporters. And there you see a man with a bloody head.

Also, in attendance today, opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. He was not attacked. Again, according to this picture, he was there.

Show you some video that came in to the Iran Desk earlier today. Let's go to Aza (ph) here. This gives you an idea of how many people showed up. Tens of thousands, according to witnesses, and this is a slogan that we hadn't heard before, (speaking Persian). This slogan incorporates the names of Neda Soltan (ph) and Sohrab Arabi (ph), these were the two individuals killed during the protests.

At times the were so loud, Kyra, that Rafsanjani, who was speaking inside Friday prayers, had to quiet them down. When he was able to speak, he delivered some criticism to the government. Let's take a listen to some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKBAR HASHEMI RAFSANJANI, SENIOR IRANIAN CLERIC (through translator): Our important objective today is to retrieve people's great confidence which brought a huge number of them to the scene. Now it's been a bit damaged. This should be our sacred objective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: So, it was comments like that that really drew a loud response from the tens of thousands of people gathered outside Tehran University. But he did call for unity. He said, we should move according to the law. But he certainly did -- leave the door open for this opposition movement to keep moving forward.

PHILLIPS: You know, after the elections, obviously, we were covering this story day in and day out, all through the night. You weren't getting any sleep. You were in Tehran. You were hassled by the government. You had to come back. And then we saw a lull for a little while. We're obviously talking about it today. Is it because things did calm down for a while, or has that never stopped at all? Is access to information still difficult? Give us a sense.

SAYAH: All that's true. Access to information is difficult. I think the aggressive government crackdown was effective in keeping the protesters away. What they are doing, opposition supporters, are taking advantage of any event, any date that commemorates anything to come out. This was an official government-sanctioned event. This was Friday prayers. What did the opposition supporters do? They took advantage of it. There was a lot of buzz. There were a lot of calls for people to come out and they did en masse today, something we haven't seen in a long time.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Reza Sayah, thank you so much.

SAYAH: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: All right. Straight ahead, we're going to talk about stimulus money. You've certainly heard about it, but how exactly, or how many of you have actually seen it, touched it, used? We'll talk to some people who will, some real people. No Washington or Wall Street types allowed, though.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Real stimulus for real people. We're not talking Washington or Wall Street bigwigs. We're talking about people who actually are seeing that storied stimulus cash. Our Christine Romans met some of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Walking down this hallway, four people whose jobs have been saved. When these classrooms fill up again this fall, these educators will be among 2,000 Miami teachers whose salaries will be paid with stimulus money.

Anjelica Yanez trains middle school counselors.

ANJELICA YANEZ, MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELOR: If we have to depend on the savings of 2,000 jobs with stimulus money, then so be it, we'll take it. It's better than nothing.

ROMANS: Florida is using $125 million of federal stimulus money to keep 697 guidance counselors, 343 librarians, and more than 900 special ed instructors in the classroom -- and in the library, where Showanda Richardson has worked forward 20 years, teaching children to read, to use a computer, to research.

SHOWANDA RICHARDSON, MEDIA SPECIALIST: By saving us, saving our jobs, helping the economy, we're helping the children and it really should be about the children at this point, when we're talking about education.

ROMANS: Not a surprising viewpoint from a group with a collective 88 years of classroom experience.

HARRY NERENBERG, GUIDANCE COUNSELOR: I look at it as my job is being saved, but that the people are being helped, that they're being serviced. I think that's the key to this. I think that, you know, we are an important, integral part of the school system.

DWIGHT BAILEY, MEDIA SPECIALIST: The kids are a long-term investment, and there's no way of attaching a dollar value to that.

ROMANS: The Government Accountability Office reports that instead of spending on new programs and new jobs, some states are using stimulus money to plug gaping holes in their budgets.

(On camera): This is plugging a hole with $125 million, but is it plugging a hole when 2,000 people's lives depend on it?

SUPERINTENDENT ALBERTO CARVALHO, MIAMI-DADE SCHOOL DISTRICT: Look, there is no workforce without education. I think we know that now. Underfunding education, creating a position in our country where teachers lose their jobs, where counselors lose their jobs, cannot be defined simply as a plugging a hole. A teacher does not constitute a hole in kid's life, nor does a counselor.

ROMANS (voice over): But there is no doubt a hole in funding, and the stimulus is only a temporary fix.

CARVALHO: My concern has shifted to the possibility of a fiscal abyss two years from now when these funds sunset.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you can hear more from Christine Romans and our chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, on "Your $$$", tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

Check out this shot of Marine One, the chopper that carries the president. We're going to tell you how the pilot of this chopper made history.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A big cool down in parts of the Midwest and a threat of big storms in D.C. and Richmond. Chad Meyers tracking it all for us.

Chad, what's the latest?

CHAD MEYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kind of all part of all of the same thing, really. We have a big cold front that's going to be running into some warm air across the Northeast. This severe stormy weather all the way from Richmond, Virginia, to Raleigh back up even into maybe New York City. It's all part of the cold front that will push down. Temperatures will be very cool across parts of the Midwest. I haven't been able to say that for, like, three months. It's cool in the northeast, cool in the Southeast and for the most part hot right smack dab in the middle.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

PHILLIPS: High above the earth, and a tricky maneuver is moments away. Space shuttle Endeavour is about to dock with the International Space Station. Before the hookup the shuttle is flipping around so NASA can scan its belly for launch damage. Several pieces of foam from the external fuel tank hit the shuttle ahead of the docking. The shuttle's cameras caught some of the great images from the Earth below, but big thunderstorms lighting up over the in northern Europe, you can see there. Endeavour and its seven astronauts are scheduled to spend at least two weeks at the space station.

They can put a man on the moon, they just can't track down the tapes. These grainy pictures of the landing are all we've seen for 40 years. The really out-of-this-world video may be gone forever. We'll tell you about the lost Apollo 11 tapes in about half an hour.

So, what kind of guy practices commando raids in his backyard, with his wife and kids and not for fun? Try the alleged mastermind of the Florida couple killings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The killing of a Florida couple with a house full of special-needs kids, 30 days of planning, eight suspects, and one man accused of orchestrating the whole thing. Who is this guy? CNN's David Mattingly takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr., the alleged organizer of the home invasion that left Bud and Melanie Billings ruthlessly murdered, used to practice commando-style raids in his backyard.

DAMON O'DONNELL, FORMER NEIGHBOR: They had run from the back porch, they'd run down here, and they'd roll, and they'd go up against the tree and aim their guns.

MATTINGLY: Damon O'Donnell tells me he used to watch Gonzalez, in 2004, run his wife and kids through drills with toy guns and fatigues.

(on camera): Were they back here laughing, having fun? Did they act like they were playing, or was it serious?

O'DONNELL: It was serious. And the reason why I say it was serious, is because they did it, and they all went back in the house and did it again, and again, and again, and again.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): O'Donnell says Gonzalez also once grabbed a real gun to complain about the placement of a pile of hurricane debris.

O'DONNELL: He told me don't ever do it again.

MATTINGLY (on camera): And he was holding a gun when did this?

O'DONNELL: And he was holding the gun when he said this. Actually he had it right, you know, he was doing one of these numbers.

MATTINGLY: It's not the first time he tried to intimidate. Picked up intoxicated in 1996, Gonzalez threatened the officer who arrested him. The deputy wrote, "he stated that he knew my mother, my family, and where I lived. He said that when he got out they were through."

Later that same night, Gonzalez put a jail guard in an arm lock. He spent almost a year behind bars.

(on camera): Gonzalez says he's innocent of the double murder charges against him, but authorities say they have just about wrapped this case up. They've recovered the safe that was taken from the Billings' home. They've also recovered guns. One of them, they believe, is the murder weapon. But, they won't say who pulled the trigger.

(voice-over): The latest arrest, the eighth in this case, is free on bond. Pamela Long Wiggins owns a van allegedly used in the getaway. The safe was allegedly hidden behind a house she owns. And as the many Billings children prepare to bury their mom and dad, authorities are promising future details will make this case seem even more shocking. David Mattingly, CNN, Pensacola.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: It was like the army out there, that's how people in a New Jersey neighborhood are describing a shootout between police and two suspected criminals. It happened in Jersey City, during a police stake-out, when the bullets started flying. Eight officers were wounded, two of them still in critical condition. The two suspects, a man and woman, were killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF THOMAS COMEY, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY POLICE: This individual came fully ready to go to war with us. This is not a normal shotgun. This is just not a street weapon. This is one that's meant to hunt nothing other than man. And he took it out on these police officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the suspects were accused of violent crimes in New Jersey and South Carolina.

We're also waiting to hear from federal prosecutors in Nashville, on a new development in the Steve McNair case. Law enforcement sources tell the Associated Press they've arrested a convicted felon for allegedly providing the gun that was later used to kill the former NFL.

McNair's mistress shot him to death at a Nashville condo on July 4th, then killed herself. Police had said that the woman bought a nine millimeter pistol from an unidentified person two days before the shooting. Now, the AP cites a criminal complaint identifying that person as Adrian Gillium (ph), who was convicted of murder and attempted armed robbery in 1993. We're keeping an eye on this story for you.

Well, every day, we bring you stories that grab our attention, but this story made a huge impact on all of us because it grabbed our hearts. It's about a Louisiana family facing a heart-wrenching situation. Their 15-year-old son lost his battle with cancer, but it got even harder to take when the tight finances forced them to literally dig their own son's grave. Reporter Caroline Moses with CNN affiliate WAFE has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELVIN STEWART, FATHER OF CANCER VICTIM: Whatever we have to do, we going to do it.

CAROLINE MOSES, WAFE-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Melvin Critney's parents, Melvin and Roslind, have stared sickness in the face. Last week cancer took the life of their 15-year-old son.

STEWART: Here's our son out on a mission to do his thing, he did his job. He did his job very well. He left everybody.

MOSES: Even Melvin's nurses said he had a special kind of energy. He was always grateful and grown-up. ROSLIND CRITNEY, MOTHER OF MELVIN CRITNEY: Most of all, he wanted to see his mom and dad not having to work so hard to have a house and to live like other people.

MOSES: Melvin's parents say they make just enough money to get by, when their son had to undergo several rounds of chemotherapy, they relied on St. Jude for funding. But when Melvin died, his parents were on their own.

STEWART: Everything was about a money thing. Everything was moving fast

MOSES: A local funeral director told the family it would cost $5,000 to bury their son. Funeral director Hal Davis, IV, told them they could save $300 if they dug their own grave.

MOSES (on camera): So, this is common to have a father dig his own child's grave?

HAL DAVIS, IV, FUNERAL DIRECTOR: Yes.

MOSES: Melvin's father, cousin and two uncles started digging.

STEWART: I'm the one digging this hole, knowing that my son's going to go in this ground. I'm digging my son's own hole, I mean, no that ain't no pretty picture.

MOSES: Even after digging into the depths of despair, this family still owed the funeral director more money.

DAVIS: We always get paid before the funeral. We don't do monthly pay plans.

MOSES: The Louisiana State Troopers Association heard about this family's fight and felt compelled to help.

SGT. MARY BETH STUPKA, LOUISIANA STATE TROOPERS ASSOC.: This is the first time that we've stepped in this particular instance to help out with funeral arrangement.

MOSES: They pooled their resources to pay the remaining costs.

STEWART: I sure would like to thank you guys, personally. Anyway, I'm so happy that you guys came to us.

MOSES: Help arrived from the people the family never knew, but they're certain their son had a hand in it.

STEWART: I'm proud because that's my son. Because he was reaching us in heaven.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the hearings are over. Next up, the voting on Sonia Sotomayor. Then almost certainly the swearing in of America's newest Supreme Court justice. How certain is it? After four days of venting and grilling by Republicans on the Senate Judiciary panel, defending and praising by Democrats, the Senate's most senior Republican says he'll vote to confirm. We're speaking of Richard Lugar of Indiana.

So what have we learned this week? Among other things, federal judges aren't in it for the paychecks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE: Mom was very, very excited, and she then said, "How much more money are you going to earn?"

(LAUGHTER)

And I stopped and I said, "I'm going to take a big pay cut." She finally looked up and said, "Why do you want this job?"

And Omar, who was sitting next to her, said, "Celina, you know your daughter" -- this is in Spanish - "you know your daughter and her stuff with public service."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Candy Crowley, we definitely learned she's got a good sense of humor, that's for sure.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And we also learned -- actually, she was talking about her circuit court job, I think. She is actually getting a pay raise when she comes in this job. But obviously, these really, really well-qualified legal experts could make a lot more in the private sector. That was answering a question from Senator Franken.

We didn't see a whole lot of her humor, but as the days went on, we saw a little bit more than we saw in the first day, as you know, where the senators got to read their statements. And here's what we also know, she can sit for ten hours with absolutely no exchange -- no change in her expression. But we did -- she seemed to sort of loosen up in the next couple of days. And there were senators who were giving her, throwing her some softballs or some funny things, so she lightened up, and we did see a sense of humor.

PHILLIPS: And that's a good thing. All right, you've monitored a number of these confirmation hearings for a number of years. What stood out to you? Was this different, I mean, besides the fact that we're talking about first Latina woman possibly to take this seat? What else stood out to you?

CROWLEY: It stood out to me for its -- actually, its tone. The Republicans were really in a tight place here. They are well aware that they -- how they are seen in the general public. Numbers -- the numbers for Republicans are way, way down. They went into this hearing after people outside the Senate had said some things, Newt Gingrich, people were talking about that she was a racist for her "wise Latina" remark. And while they asked many times, these Republican senators, for her to explain that, it wasn't that sort of -- at one point Lindsey Graham would say, you understand if I had said I could make decisions, better decisions as an old -- a wise old man, that they'd have had my head. And so, the question came up, but it was very mellow, because the Republicans are so aware that they can't look like mean, old, intolerant guys.

And they made a huge effort to make this sort of a high-minded look at judicial activism and whether indeed she practiced that, which she says she did not, rather than one of those food fights. And, believe me, we've seen food fights in some of those confirmations.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we have. We've seen some major drama. As you and I were talking, Mitch McConnell, his office, came forward with this press release, saying that he's going to oppose Sotomayor and her nomination. It looks like he's going to be making remarks from the Senate floor on Monday. I don't know if you want to make any comments about that.

We remember when they got together, their discussion and what we heard from him. I think he was one of the first to meet with Sotomayor when she was doing her door-to-door meetings. So, in addition to that, maybe you can touch on that, Candy, and also, you know, when could be the vote, the swearing in, you know, kind of give us a rundown of how we push forward from here.

CROWLEY: First of all, we're going to see a lot of press releases come out about who's going to vote for her and who's going to vote against her. We can look for a pretty solid 60 votes from the 58 Democrats and 2 independents.

You will see some Republicans. You talked about Senator Lugar. My sense is Senator Graham, Lindsey Graham, will vote for her, perhaps Orrin Hatch. So, you will see Republicans vote for her. I think you will see her numbers get into the 70s. The majority of the Republicans may not go that way. We'll have to see.

Certainly, it's not a surprise that Senator McConnell, who is the head Republican on the Senate side, is not going to vote for her. There are a number of senators who just see her as too liberal. I imagine you will see the two main Republican female senators vote for her. So, the Republicans will be kind of the surprise element.

The schedule is not either a surprise. We expect to see the committee vote her out of committee maybe next week, and they have said that before they leave for August recess, they want to put this nomination on the floor and get her confirmed.

PHILLIPS: All right, Candy Crowley, thanks.

CROWLEY: Sure.

It stirred up a hornet's nest, doctors making patients pay if they miss an appointment. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, has been getting an earful, and she'll share some of the e- mails that she's gotten from both sides.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Marine One landing on the White House lawn. Take a close look inside the windows of this chopper, and you'll see something that has never happened in the 15 years Marines have been flying the president. Have you figured it out? This Marine One flight had all-female crew.

The special crew was set up actually in honor of Major Jennifer Grieves. She shattered the glass rotors, becoming the first female pilot of Marine One, and yesterday she made her last flight in that role. Her one-year rotation is coming to an end. And Major Grieves joins me live from our Washington newsroom. It's been a long day, hasn't it?

MAJOR JENNIFER GRIEVES, MARINE ONE PILOT: Yes, ma'am, it has.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it has. So, I'm curious, you flew George W. Bush and Barack Obama. So, does that mean you're a bipartisan Marine?

GRIEVES: You're trying to get me in trouble, ma'am. No.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I would never do that. Just having some fun.

GRIEVES: Yes, ma'am. No, it was great. It means I'm a Marine. We support anybody regardless of your party, so we're here to kind of support our country and do our job, and it's been a real pleasure.

PHILLIPS: And I know you've got to keep your conversations and obviously your relationships with the presidents on the down low and very low key. I know you've been extremely respectful in that regard. But I also get the sense that these two presidents that have daughters saw you maybe in a different light and gave you a sense of respect on a number of levels, because they're raising girls, and they want them to be just like you.

GRIEVES: Yes, ma'am. And I felt that was pretty evident yesterday, when President Obama said goodbye. And every time I've talked to him -- and the same with former President Bush -- they always came in, and they were always very respectful to me, as I'm sure they are with most Marines. But I kind of felt that a little bit of "hopefully, my daughters, you're opening the way for my daughters in the future." So, that meant a lot to me. And both President Bush and President Obama have been wonderful to all of us.

Well, that's pretty amazing. So, I'm curious, most memorable trip, is there one? I mean, you've flown these presidents, of course, all over the world. Is there one that stands out? Something that you will definitely never forget?

GRIEVES: I think -- I've been doing this about 14 months now, and I think my most memorable trip just happened about two weeks ago, when I was in Rome for the G-8. And we flew in, and we picked up the first family after they saw the pope. And that I knew it meant the world to the president's daughters, Sasha and Malia, and it was an exceptional experience to be just a small part of that. So, I think I'll remember that for quite a while.

PHILLIPS: Is it the way that -- I mean, what was it that you observed? Obviously, you're a trained observer. What was it? Was it how they reacted? Was it the conversation? Was it sort of that spiritual moment that kind of lit the family up?

GRIEVES: yes, I think it was an exceptional moment for the family. I think especially for the daughters to be able to meet the pope and to go to Rome, and you could just feel it. They were somber. They were respectful. And I think it was a really good thing for the girls.

PHILLIPS: Jenny, did you have to go through any type of additional training, tougher training, training that other Marine helo pilots don't get, because you were flying the president of the United States?

GRIEVES: No. I think every pilot at HMX, we have to go through some rigorous training. We have to get qualified in three different helicopters, so there are a few additional flights they make me do to be qualified to fly the president. But, you know, there's hundreds of Marines, sailors and civilians that work for HMX, so, although I'm getting the attention now, I think it is -- it should go back on the squadron, and I think they're the reason why I've had any sort of success, of course.

PHILLIPS: Well, and I know you give so much credit to all the men and women with whom you work, and I don't want to single it out, but I kind of have to, because you made history. You know, was there ever a moment when you were in your training or with the various squadrons or getting to be a part of this special unit to fly the president where you thought, wow, I'm not only flying the president, but I am a female, I'm the first, and this is pretty amazing?

GREIVES: Yes, you know, I was just hoping that I'd live up to the expectations and that I would serve the Marine Corps well and serve our country well. And luckily it worked out, and I had tons of support behind me. And it's an really exceptional experience and I'm very, very grateful for it.

PHILLIPS: Now, I've got to ask you this, and I have a feeling I know what you're going to say. But there has to be a moment when you're, you know, and I know you've been in war zones, and you've flown all kind of VIPs, but when you're in there firing up the helo, and you know you're flying the president, in any way, shape, or form do you think, oh, boy, I'm just a little nervous?

GRIEVES: Yes, absolutely, of course. I remember the first time I flew President Obama, I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest, and I think it was the same for President Bush. So, sure, we're nervous, but we're so well trained, and we keep our eye on what we're supposed to do. I mean, we're Marines, so we try to let that go, and we just do our job, and it tends to serve us well. PHILLIPS: And I have to point out, my producer corrected me, I think I said 15 years the Marines have been flying the president, I meant to say 50. I think I just was so excited to be talking to you that I lost my train of thought.

So, Major Jennifer Grieves, congratulations.

GRIEVES: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: It was so great to finally meet you.

GRIEVES: Thank you, ma'am, I appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: All right.

GRIEVES: Have a good day.

PHILLIPS: Well, a massive health care reform bill, the Democratic measure is slowly making its way through a series of House committees right now. But on the Senate side, bipartisan finance committee negotiators ended talks for the week without a deal despite the president's request that it clear committee this week. This comes after warnings from the head of the Congressional Budget Office about rising medical costs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS ELMENDORF, DIRECTOR, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE: In the legislation that has been reported, we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The White House calls the warning premature. The bill seeks to provide health coverage to nearly all Americans and to create a government-backed insurance plan to compete with private companies.

And here's a topic that's gotten a lot of you fired up -- doctors making you pay for missed appointments. We received hundreds of e- mails from both patients and doctors, and CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is actually here with a follow-up. And she's managed to get doctors pretty angry while pursuing this.

And I have to tell you something, this happened to me. And I was shocked when I got the bill. I thought it was a mistake, and I called up, and I said, you never gave any warning of this. You know, this is totally unfair. Sometimes work calls you away.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you did the right thing is that, if you miss an appointment and a doctor charges you, you have to say, hey, you never put that in writing. You never told me you were going to do that. And hopefully, that will help.

Well, when I gave that kind of advice, holy smokes, did doctors turn on me. I have been villainized in doctors' listservs. They clearly don't like me. Let's listen to what I had to say when I gave patients ideas of what they could do if they got charged for a missed appointment.

First of all, they said, "How irresponsible of you" -- that would be me -- "in reporting this story. That would be me. I am appalled. When a patient does not show, it costs me money." Another doctor wrote, "You make it sound like doctors are doing something inappropriate. I completely disagree. When you make a reservation at a hotel or restaurant, they require a credit card deposit."

And a third doctor wrote in, "It costs" -- or dentist actually. "It costs hundreds of dollars to run a dental office an hour. Every working hour needs to be maximized to cover costs." So, basically, doctors were trying to make the point that when a patient doesn't show up, it costs them money.

PHILLIPS: OK. Other side of the coin, patients were pretty upset, as well. We got a lot of comments from them. Let's go ahead and read one here. This is from Deb: "Can a patient who schedules a 2:00 appointment and isn't seen until 3:00 or later charge the doctor?" It's an interesting point. "People take time from their work and may not get paid."

COHEN: Right. That's the flip side of this. I'm sure we've all sat in doctors' offices for hours, and for some people, that means they're losing money, because they only get paid when they work.

So, I asked around and said, well, doctors can bill patients when the patient doesn't show. Can the patient bill the doctor? No. That's the short answer. No. There's nothing you can do.

PHILLIPS: There's nothing a patient can do.

COHEN: There's nothing you can do. Now, you cannot bill the doctor for the time that you missed working, sorry.

PHILLIPS: So, when you have to wait for the doctor for four hours, and in some cases I have, because I've been so desperate to see the doctor, you're just out of luck.

COHEN: Well, you're not completely out of luck. There are tactics you can use. You can't legally require them to pay them for that time that you missed at work. But there are some strategies you can employ to try to keep it from happening.

First of all, when you're waiting for the doctor, don't -- certainly don't let four hours go by. Speak up after 15 minutes and then every 15 minutes to remind them that you're there. Because they might have just forgotten about you. Although I know no one could ever forget you, Kyra.

Also, stage a revolt. I talked to a patient who got the other patients in the waiting room to do a letter-writing campaign to the doctors saying, hey, we keep waiting for you. She said it worked. Also, be a smarter scheduler. If you try to get the first appointment in the morning or the first appointment after lunch, you're probably going to have a better time and won't have to wait as long.

PHILLIPS: All right, good advice. Thanks, Elizabeth. And you are a wonderful person. People should never villainize you. Come on, viewers.

COHEN: Well, thank you, I appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: All right, I'll talk to you later.

Well, the "buy a new truck, get a handgun free" promotion was a hit. So, how do you top that if you're an auto dealer? Easy, more firepower. Buy a new truck, get an assault rifle.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A new truck smell and a new assault weapon smell, all for one low price. Next month, an auto dealer outside Kansas City plans to give away an AK-47 with a truck purchase. The sales event made for a spirited discussion, shall we say, on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." Auto dealer and anchorwoman sticking to their guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MUELLER, OWNER, MAX MOTORS COMPANY: Look, there's a bunch of evil in the world, and people need to protect themselves.

We're real firm believers. We're country folks down here. We live down here, and we're real firm believers in the Second Amendment, and we don't want to become victims. I live out in the country, 15 miles from the dealership here on 1,200 acres. The response time to my home's about 15 minutes.

And if I'm counting on the police -- and we have a great police force in Bates County, great sheriff, great police in Butler, where we live. Response time's still 15 minutes, no matter how great the people are and how great their intentions are. And I would rather defend myself. The only 911 call I need is chambering a round, and I think that's the case with most people down here.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know what, I grew up in rural America, too. And we had guns in our home, but they weren't AK-47s. I mean, but...

MUELLER: How long ago was that?

COSTELLO: When I was a teenager, 20 years ago, 30 years ago.

MUELLER: Well, things have changed dramatically. I don't know if you know anything about Missouri. Where I live, in this county, there is a tremendous crime problem with people doing meth, and these people are -- they've lost their souls. They don't care about you, they don't care about me. They care about one thing, getting more dope.

COSTELLO: Well, I understand evil in the world, but I'm just questioning the -- like, a semi-assault weapon to protect yourself. That's all I'm saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You've got to love Yosemite Sam-like logo behind Mr. Muller there. He did say that anyone who buys a truck and gets a gun voucher will have to clear all the appropriate background checks. That's a good thing. Last year, he actually gave away a handgun with every purchase. Oh, and the dealership's motto, God, guns, guts and American pickup trucks. Just can't make that up, folks.

One small step for man, one giant loss for mankind. Sharper, clearer images of the Apollo 11 landing missing and may be gone forever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's the best video you've never seen from the Apollo 11 moon landing. So, where on Earth is it? NASA has no idea. The story from CNN's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEIL ARMSTRONG, ASTRONAUT: That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (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: Boy, that looks beautiful.

FOREMAN: Astronaut Neil 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.

ANNOUNCER: And liftoff of Endeavour.

FOREMAN: Regular shuttle images 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 sent 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 on to 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 have ever seen, may be lost forever.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, NASA's just revealed the results of an investigation into those missing tapes. It seemed that they were degoused (ph), and yes, that means erased right here on Earth. I know it's not the same, but you can get a new view of the lunar landing on Twitter. Check out twitter.com/apolloplus40. They are sweeting tweeting the mission as it happened, right through Monday's big anniversary.

And we're waiting to hear from federal prosecutors any minute now on a reported arrest in the Steve McNair case. We're expecting a news conference. Live pictures from that venue. We're going to take you back there as soon as it starts.

And as you recall, the former NFL star was shot to death on July 4th by his mistress, who then killed herself. Now law-enforcement sources tell the Associated Press they've arrested the man who provided the gun to her. He's identified as Adrian Gilliam, a convicted murder. We'll keep an eye on this for you.