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President Obama Aggressively Pushing for Health Care Reform; At Least 9 Killed in Suicide Bombings in Indonesia; Military Confirms 2 Crewmembers Killed in F-15 Fighter Jet Crash in Afghanistan; Walter Cronkite Dies at 92

Aired July 18, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And from the CNN Center, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM, this Saturday, July 18th. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. It is 11:00 a.m. here in the east, 8:00 a.m. out on the west coast.

And let's start with this, President Obama aggressively pushing for health care reform during his weekly address this morning. He is running out of time to get a bill on his desk before Congress' August recess. Some democrats are complaining that the president is pushing too hard.

Elaine Quijano is live at the White House with the president's latest message. Elaine, the Congressional Budget Oversight Committee said this week that the plan would, in fact, increase costs over the long term. Not what the administration wanted to hear. What's the next step for the president?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Betty, you're absolutely right. This is not what the Obama administration wanted to hear. Nevertheless, President Obama is going to keep trying to put the pressure on Congress. Trying to rally lawmakers. We saw that yesterday during the president's last-minute remarks here at the White House. You'll see that again this coming Wednesday night.

The president plans to hold a primetime news conference to try to push his health care agenda forward. The White House knows this is really going to be a tough fight, because of this Congressional Budget Office report that you mentioned, saying that the democrat's legislation so far would not keep costs down. Republicans really have seized on that as reason, they say, to be skeptical of the democrats and the president's plan.

Well, today in his weekly address the president pushed back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Folks who controlled the White House and Congress for the past eight years as we ran up record deficits will argue, believe it or not, that health reform will lead to record deficits. That's simply not true. Our proposals cut hundreds of billions of dollars in unnecessary spending and unwarranted giveaways to insurance companies in Medicare and Medicaid. They change incentives so providers will give patients the best care. Not just the most expensive care which will mean big savings over time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Nevertheless, there is also concern coming from a group of bipartisan groups of key senators on this health care agenda. They say, look, let's just slow down this process. They think that taking some additional time is really going to be in the best interests of getting a health care reform bill done.

But Betty as you know, that's not in keeping with President Obama's timetable. He really wants to try and push this through to try to get this done by August, but that's looking like an increasingly ambitious goal right now. Betty?

NGUYEN: Yes, it might be tough to get it on the fast track, especially when you hear what the republicans have to say about this. They are sounding off, what have you heard?

QUIJANO: Yes, that's right. Republicans are basically saying, look, democrats and the president are trying to push this plan through too quickly. They say the more Americans hear about the details of this plan, of these plans, that the more Americans oppose it.

And today they jumped again on that Congressional Budget Office report as a reason why Americans should really give this some thought. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON KYL, (R) ARIZONA: Their plan would increase spending by more than $2 trillion, when fully implemented, and would, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, add additional costs on to an already unsustainable system. It would empower Washington, not doctors and patients, to make health care decisions and would impose a new tax on working families during a recession.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, President Obama dismisses all of that as just scare tactics. But Betty, clearly here the battle lines are drawn. The White House knows it's going to be a difficult fight ahead. Betty?

NGUYEN: No doubt. Elaine Quijano joining us live. Thank you Elaine.

Health care will likely be one of the main topics when President Obama holds a news conference as we mentioned Wednesday evening at 9:00 Eastern. Of course, CNN will bring it to you live.

HOLMES: Let's go ahead now and show you this video of the bombings in Indonesia that we just saw yesterday. This video is really remarkable. You see it there on your left. That's kind of the aftermath. We'll roll this for you again. This is those luxury hotels in Indonesia that were hit.

You see there someone walking through the lobby. Not sure if he's connected to the bombings or not. He walks through with that suitcase rolling there. You see him in the middle. He kind of fades into that darkness in the back and then just a few seconds later you see that explosion happen.

Now police in Jakarta have found now the remains of at least one more person in the rubble of those two hotels. Again, one is the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton there in Jakarta. Our Dan Rivers reports it's unknown if this other body, the remains that were found, is the suicide bomber or if it's a hotel guest. So at least six guests that have confirmed are dead and two attackers.

But one more body was found, they're still trying to figure that out. Security right now tight today, police believe a known terror group leader may be behind the attacks. The name of that person is (INAUDIBLE), he was linked to deadly bombings in Bali in 2002 and 2005. Investigators say there are important similarities between those attacks of a few years back and yesterday's blast at the Marriott and the Ritz.

NGUYEN: Secretary of state Hillary Clinton says the deadly hotel bombings in Jakarta serve as painful reminders of the importance of the fight against terrorism worldwide.

Secretary Clinton making those comments earlier this morning as she embarked on her first official visit to India, eulogizing the 166 killed in last fall's bombings in Mumbai, she says America shares the solidarity with the city and nation as it battles extremist elements. Adding the United States will work with partners to prevent future attacks.

The U.S. military now confirming that in fact the two crew members aboard that U.S. fighter jet that crashed in Afghanistan did in fact die. The F-15 fighter jet that went down in Ghazni Province. It happened just before dawn there this morning.

You see it labeled there on the screen. Ghazni Province, southeast of the capital. According to a material spokesman, the crash was not caused by any enemy fire. The pilot of the second jet flying with that F-15 is the one that confirmed that to some of his commanders.

Going to turn now to the passing of an icon, a broadcast icon. We're getting reaction from all over the world. Legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite died last night at his home in New York.

NGUYEN: Yes, he was 92-years-old and had been in declining health. For millions of Americans he was the reassuring face and voice that we welcomed into our living rooms.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WALTER CRONKITE: Good evening from the CBS news control center in New York, this is Walter Cronkite reporting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the day when we were all kids and those of us who were starting under Walter, Walter embodied kind of the best of everything and the best you would aspire to. There were three networks at that point, and Walter was the most important man.

You lived and died by what he said, how he wanted pieces to be told. You were answerable to Walter when Walter picked up the phone, you were scared to death, but on the other hand, it was a core value in what we did, and, you know, it was a time when one voice mattered.

CRONKITE: From Dallas, Texas, the flash apparently official. President Kennedy died at 1:00 P.M. central standard time, 2:00 Eastern standard time, some 38 minutes ago.

VOICE OF JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (via telephone): I remember that moment where he took off his glasses and he looked at the clock and he said that, President Kennedy has died. You know, that was one of the earliest moments that I can remember that I really wanted to pursue a career in news, and I watched Walter all through the days of the Apollo space program and I remember him saying on July 20, 1969 that man has landed on the moon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eagle has landed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Thanks a lot.

CRONKITE: Whew. Oh, boy. Whew, boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll be busy for a minute.

CRONKITE: I'm speechless.

ROBERTS: To think that he was the most trusted man in America really was I think an understatement, because at that time, anytime anything ever happened, anytime anything bad ever happened, the world turned to Walter Cronkite. Not only for the news but for reassurance. He was not just an icon but he was, you know -- almost like a member of your family. And to think that he is gone now is just such a sad occasion.

VOICE OF DON HEWITT, CREATOR, "60 MINUTES" (via telephone): He was the consummate television newsman. He had all the credentials to be a writer, an editor, a broadcaster. There was only one Walter Cronkite, and there may never be another one. Being friends with Walter Cronkite was about as high as you could rise in our business. To be his colleague and his friend was a double blessing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: In fact, we are getting some new video in right now. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton has some reaction to the passing of Walter Cronkite. Let's listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: When I got to know him personally, in the early '90s, I found him to be just a man filled with energy and life. He was so kind to Bill and me. Took us out sailing off of Martha's Vineyard. Offered advice, both solicited and unsolicited, that we tried to follow.

It's just a -- it's a great time to look back and think about someone who played such a major role in explaining what was going on, and did it in a calm, fact-based way. Without the, you know, embellishments that too often get in the way of really understanding what's going on, and he'll be greatly missed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Indeed he will be greatly missed. So many moments in history where we remember Walter Cronkite being there, whether it be the assassination of JFK, MLK, whether it be the civil rights movement. The man on the moon. I mean you could list them on and on.

HOLMES: He was it. We were sitting here for a while trying to figure out, who was his competition at the time? You know, he was just "the guy", everybody, the country turned to. We were trying to think, who was it on the other network or that network who was competition? But he was the guy for so long. The most trusted man in this country for a while and that's why they called him Uncle Walter. He was a member of the family in a lot of living rooms.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. Even after he left the anchor desk he continued to work. I mean this was a man who was a true journalist at heart. We're getting a lot of responses from you today, a lot of you remembering Walter Cronkite as well. You've been talking to us on our Facebook and Twitter pages and we just want to read a couple of them for you this morning.

Let's see. Daniel says, "I will always remember that man, what a class act. He will be remembered and missed as well." Billy says, "I will always remember him as the voice when JFK was shot." He loved New England and sailing was his passion. We just heard secretary of state Clinton talk about that, and Billy goes on to say that, he will be missed.

HOLMES: We appreciate you sending your comments and continue to send those in, about Walter Cronkite. Anything else you want to sound off on, stay connected with us every weekend at iReport, Facebook or Twitter and tell us your thoughts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Saturday, mid-July. You think it would be just steaming hot somewhere.

HOLMES: Got to be hot.

NGUYEN: Not here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Depression does affect somewhat 14 million Americans every single year, but black Americans rarely seek help for it.

HOLMES: And for many black men, it's often the stigma of mental illness that prevents them from being open about their struggles. Our Soledad O'Brien spoke to one man who's addressing that stigma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shawn Andrews is much of the strength behind the Philadelphia Eagle's offensive line. Last summer this 6'4", 330 pound right guard almost sidelined himself.

SHAWN ANDREWS, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES PLAYER: I talked to my agent and told him that I don't think I'm going to training camp.

O'BRIEN (on camera): You wanted to quit?

ANDREWS: Yes. I wanted to give it up. He said, there's a chance that you could lose a few million dollars. At this point I'm like, so what Rich?

O'BRIEN: You didn't care?

ANDREWS: I didn't care.

O'BRIEN: So you knew something was wrong.

ANDREWS: I knew something was wrong.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): That something, clinical depression. An illness Andrew says he's battled since grade school. But he'd never talked about it, to anyone.

(On camera): Were you thinking about killing yourself?

ANDREWS: I did have some suicidal thoughts. I was in my truck, I'll never forget. I got it to about 140 miles an hour and I was thinking, I don't want to be here, and it's funny, just as I was thinking about flipping my vehicle or whatever the case, a picture of my son came across my phone and the look at his face was, as he didn't know what was going on, but the look was like, why dad? It was tough.

O'BRIEN: That stopped you?

ANDREWS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: From killing yourself?

ANDREWS: Uh-huh.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): For many black men, depression is a dirty secret they keep hidden. They suffer mental illness as much as white men but seek help for it only half as often. (On camera): African-American men generally do not run to the therapist's office when they have a problem.

ANDREWS: Very true. I speak for a lot of African-American men and I think a lot of guys will agree that we do in a sense have this, not only this wall up, but we feel like we have on this mental armor, that we can't be touched.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Health experts say societal pressures faced by black men can cause depression even in those who have achieved success.

DR. DAVID SATCHER, FORMER SURGEON GENERAL: You have a job, but the question is, do you think that you have to prove everything that you deserve to be there? These are the kinds of things that I think over time take their toll in terms of psychological well-being.

ANDREWS: I love being here.

O'BRIEN: For Shawn Andrews, a childhood marked by poverty and school yard teasing led to feelings of worthlessness, that even a multimillion dollar contract couldn't heal.

ANDREWS: In my mind, I still didn't feel like I made it. I still feel like I needed to buy this $300,000 car to make me feel like, I'm successful. I wanted people to think more of me than what I was.

O'BRIEN: Author John Head wrote a book about his 20-year struggle with depression, and says the stigma of mental illness keeps many black men from seeking help.

JOHN HEAD, AUTHOR, "STANDING IN THE SHADOWS": There's this fear that if you've met, if you're struggling that way that you're not living up to what you should be as a black man. The idea of manhood for black men is that you don't struggle with emotions. You barely have emotions.

O'BRIEN: Former Surgeon General, David Thatcher, says the silence has a cost in violence and substance abuse.

SATCHER: Many of the people in our criminal justice system are suffering from mental disorders undiagnosed and untreated.

ANDREWS: I'm better.

O'BRIEN: Shawn Andrews has seen a therapist, is now on medication and is finally talking.

ANDREWS: I always knew something was wrong with me. I always was an angry person.

O'BRIEN: Shining a light on his own pain in the hopes of helping others out of their darkness. Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: And Soledad will be bringing us a new look at what it means to be black in America. Our "Black in America 2" series premieres next week, July 22nd and 23rd, 8:00 right here on CNN.

NGUYEN: Well in the land of jackpots, wild aces and card sharks, how a new financial gamble could help battle the recession.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, in this recession, you do what you've got to do. Some people are turning to Las Vegas, but not like that. They're betting on something called the City Center.

NGUYEN: It is a huge MGM Mirage project, that's expected to create some 40,000 jobs. So to find out exactly how, I traveled to Vegas to meet the man behind the plan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN (on camera): How many buildings is it comprised of?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you're on about 67 acres of land. There are over 20 different buildings here.

NGUYEN (voice-over): Welcome to City Center. The newest addition on the Vegas strip. MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murrin came up with the idea for this $8.5 billion project.

(On camera): A lot of the casinos here will put the gaming right up front.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

NGUYEN: You decided to put it towards the back?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: We did.

NGUYEN: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't think we need to put it in everyone's face. In the old days, the casino was front and center and everything was designed somatically and from an eagerest perspective, to force people into the casinos. That's insulting. People want to gamble, we'll have a wonderful casino there, but that is not the heart of City Center.

NGUYEN: Instead, Mart is making art, architecture in culture the focus. He's hired some of the world's top designers to develop his urban metropolis and will fill it with $40 million worth of contemporary art. But getting City Center funded in the midst of a recession has been a real challenge. It narrowly avoided bankruptcy earlier this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came very close to having to shut this project down. NGUYEN: Now back on track, work is underway on the center's casino. Four hotels, high-rise condos, entertainment venues and retail shops.

NGUYEN (on camera): How important is City Center to the future of Las Vegas?

JIM MURREN, MGM-MIRAGE CEO: There are probably 20,000, 30,000 people in the environments that are working on projects that relate to City Center. Then when we open City Center, we're going to have about 12,000 new jobs. There is nothing in the U.S. No auto company is creating any jobs. No bank, no developer, no high-tech company, nothing in the United States is creating more jobs than we are.

NGUYEN (voice-over): How is that possible? Given it's not the largest property on the Vegas strip? It's called building up. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor's Bureau says because there are several high-rise hotels and condos in a small space, it's creating more jobs in the average strip property. So while Murren says City Center is simply too big to fail, you can bet he is still feeling the pressure.

MURREN: Darn right I do! There's enormous pressure. This has to perform financially for our stakeholders. It has to perform economically for the community. It has to perform for the people that we're going to employ. It has to perform for the state, to increase the state's tax base and it has to I think, perform to prove that we are more than a gaming company.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: All right. So when City Center opens in December we're really going to begin to see if Murren's gamble was a good one. But in the meantime, the project is facing a bit of a stumbling block. It's high-rise condos. A lot of those owners purchased in 2006, 2007 when the market was very good.

Well, now some of them are asking for a price reduction, because values have dropped, and to give you an idea, those condos range from $600,000 to $9 million. It will really be interesting to see if that happens, since construction isn't even completed as of yet. But it is set to open in December.

For those of you watching, looking at the possibility of getting a job, they have 12,000 permanent job openings. Those are available right now and they're looking to fill them.

HOLMES: Full-time gigs.

NGUYEN: Full-time gig.

HOLMES: I wonder if those folks have any legal recourse. I think those questions come up sometimes if you can then ask for that price reduction, do they have to give it to you? Can you sue them for that? Not suggesting anybody sue, sorry about that. But just curious to see what happens. NGUYEN: And you know the thing too, a lot of the people that have bought into those condos are people that have really made MGM Mirage a part of their investment as well. They really don't want to tick off the tenants, if you will. But at the same time, you're looking at the market, what's fair? It will be interesting to see if they do reduce those prices, because at the same time, like I said, it's not even complete yet. So how can you say, give me some of my money back when it's not even done.

HOLMES: All right. December, we'll see what happens.

NGUYEN: I guess.

All right. In the meantime, though, we are remembering the ultimate newsman. The guy who narrated history as it was being named.

HOLMES: Yes, two men who worked closely with Walter Cronkite tell us what it was like to have a legend for a colleague.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: When Cronkite was on in his years, at his height, in his heyday, he addressed the nation. When he said good evening it was tantamount to addressing the nation, not just anchoring the news. We had three choices, three channels in this country, and you could almost feel the lights dim in New York when people tuned in to Cronkite's news cast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: "NBC Nightly News" anchor right there Brian Williams last night on "LARRY KING LIVE" commenting on the passing of Walter Cronkite. As you know, Cronkite died last night in his New York home with his family by his side. He was 92 years old. He anchored "CBS Evening News" from 1962 to 1981 and, of course, he brought us so many important pieces of history, including JFK's death, man walking on the moon.

The Iranian hostage situation and so many more that we just could continue to go on and on this morning. But two men who worked very closely with Cronkite join us on the phone this morning with their own personal stories.

HOLMES: Yes, we're talking to former CBS News vice president Ed Fouhy and former CBS News correspondent Morton Dean, both on Cape Cod. Gentlemen, we appreciate you being here with us this morning. Let me just get, I'll start with you, Ed. Just your initial reaction to the news. Of course, it's sad, but you know you had to look back and had to smile on what a long and interesting, life he was able to live.

VOICE OF ED FOUHY, FMR. VICE PRES., CBS NEWS (via telephone): He was a man who had a career that spanned some of the most important events in our history, and he reported them as accurately and as objectively and as passionately as possible, and that's why he became the most trusted man in America.

NGUYEN: No doubt. Morton, you worked at CBS News, you were a correspondent there. What kind of interaction did you have with Walter Cronkite?

VOICE OF MORTON DEAN, FMR. CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone); Well, Walter was just a giant presence, and I always felt that he was there if I wanted to walk in and chat with him, and Walter enjoyed talking about the news, the coverage of the news. Probably more than anything else that concerned him in his life. And you always knew that if you did a pretty good job out there, that you would hear from Walter and that Walter would be satisfied.

One of the great things about having worked with Walter and working with Walter was that he had been a reporter. He had been a correspondent. He had been out there. He'd covered wars and, all sorts of stories. So he understood what the reporters and producers and camera people were doing out in the field, and he appreciated it. You always knew that when you were out there covering a war or covering a difficult situation. You knew that Walter understood.

HOLMES: And, Ed, was he the right man at the right time? A guy like this, will we ever see anything like this again? Of course, the broadcast landscape has changed so much with cable and how their opinion shows and stuff like that now. Will we ever see anything like him again? Could his brand translate into this current environment, what we have now with the internet and all these cable news channels?

FOUHY: Well I don't think the authority would have translated because if you go back to the period of the '60s and '70s, he was attracting 20 million people every night for that broadcast, and today, no news program gets anything like that. I think the "CBS Evening News" gets 6 million or 7 million homes now.

But Cronkite was a man who was as Mort just said, a highly experienced journalist just at the time when television news was beginning and when it was advancing so quickly, and becoming the source for the way in which most Americans got their news.

He was a very experienced wire service reporter who had also worked for the "Houston Post" in Texas and had been a correspondent in World War II and then later a United Press International correspondent in Moscow. So he was a very self-confident journalist, just as the time when the technology made this new form of journalism available, and he had the grace and he had the intelligence and he had the insight to be an excellent anchorman.

NGUYEN: Well, Ed Fouhy and Morton Dean we really appreciate your time and just your fond memories of Walter Cronkite this morning. Thanks so much for spending a little time with us today.

DEAN: Pleasure being with you.

FOUHY: Thank you.

HOLMES: Stay with us for a story coming up. We were talking to our Reynolds Wolf, who went to Yellowstone. We were fascinated to know that something big could be brewing at Yellowstone.

NGUYEN: It is eminent.

HOLMES: And you might want to go ahead and visit sooner than later. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Reynolds Wolf goes out does some reporting. Shows us some interesting things. But this one kind of scared the mess out of us this morning.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. When you look at the face of it, it's kind of a scary story. We're talking about Yellowstone National Park, it is America's first big park. It is over, it's an amazing place. Over 2 million acres, over 3 million people visit every single year and it just happens to be one of the most geologically unstable places on the planet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF (voice-over): From its majestic peaks to roaring waterfalls, to wildlife, Yellowstone National Park draws millions of visitors.

(On camera): Now, this incredible park is actually situated inside of a giant caldera or crater that was formed from a volcanic eruption some 640,000 years ago. And scientists say that another eruption is inevitable, the question is, when is it going to happen?

(Voice-over): Park geologist Cheryl Jaworowski monitors the volcanic activity at Yellowstone. One of the most geologically unstable places on earth. Magna flows as close as five miles underneath the surface. Powering geysers, steam bins and even some earthquakes. Recently, Yellowstone experienced a series of quakes over a short period. That is known as a swarm.

CHERYL JAWOROWSKI, YELLOWSTONE NATIOANL PARK GEOLOGIST: Yellowstone normally has lots of swarms and that's part of being in a volcanic system. What was interesting about the swarm that happened between December 2008 and January 2009 is that it was one of the larger ones we've seen.

WOLF: So large, in fact that a flurry of online discussions began asking the question, is this swarm a sign of the next big volcanic eruption? Scientists believe there have been at least three tremendous volcanic eruptions at Yellowstone in the last 2.1 million years. Most recent occurred 640,000 years ago. It was massive. And geologist Dan Dzurisin says that an event that large would have a global impact.

DAN DZURISIN, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOLOGIST: The amount of ash ejected into the atmosphere and into the stratosphere together with volcanic gases would encircle the globe. They would certainly affect airline traffic. They would affect the weather. WOLF (on camera): Now, the epicenter for all this seismic activity has been right out here in Yellowstone Lake, right out there towards the middle. Where just this year they've had more than 1,000 quakes reported.

DZURISIN: They migrated over a period of about a week to the north. Towards us here. Towards the outlet at Yellowstone Lake and then eventually the swarms subsided.

WOLF (voice-over): But the questions continue. Is the volcano at Yellowstone on the verge of erupting?

JAWOROWSKI: We don't know if there ever will be another big catastrophic eruption like there was 640,000 years ago. We do think there will be eruptions, but it could be of something like a default, which people flock to Hawaii to see.

WOLF: So scientists will continue to monitor the volcanic activity with remote stations like this one. They don't expect an eruption any time soon and they say the signs would be unmistakable and much greater than the recent swarm.

DZURISIN: You'd see tremendous seismic activity. Hundreds, thousands of earthquakes. Probably hundreds per day. We would expect the ground surface to be swelling. Geysers might become much more active. They might grow entirely inactive. New geysers might open. New thermo pools. So it would be very obvious that something big was in the offing.

WOLF: And a very obvious warning of the next big potentially earth-changing event.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: So again, we're talking about how this park is situated in a giant crater. Some 60 miles across that was from an eruption that occurred 640,000 years ago. And if you'll notice, the scientists are saying that, yes, it's going to happen, but the question is, they really don't know when. They say it is inevitable, it's going to happen.

As I mentioned earlier this morning, when I say it's going to happen again doesn't exactly mean it's going to happen next week or probably not going to happen for another 100 maybe even 1,000 years but it is inevitable. These things do happen. What's funny, too, very quickly, is that we were talking to some of the people in the surrounding communities. People that don't just visit but live there year round like in West Yellowstone.

NGUYEN: Yes, are they worried about it?

WOLF: No, not at all. They deal with the tremors with the earthquakes every other day. I mean they had just over 1,000 since January and they'll have probably anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 through the year. But it's just part of life, part of living out there. When you see the beauty and splendor of it, they take it all in stride. NGUYEN: Part of that beauty old faithful. Actually, you have a story coming up on that.

WOLF: Have a story coming up about a ranger 77 years old, he's been there and is as dependable as the geyser itself. We're going to talk about that next hour.

NGUYEN: I can't wait. Thank you, Reynolds.

HOLMES: Reynolds, thanks buddy.

NGUYEN: He had many names, JFK Jr., John-John, America's sexiest man. From baby pictures to wedding pictures we remember the life of John Kennedy Jr. 10 years after his untimely death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well this week we marked an anniversary. Can you believe it's been 10 years since JFK Jr. was killed in a plane crash? He was just 38 years old. David Heymann is the best selling author of "American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy" and three other books about the Kennedy family and he joins us now from New York to reflect.

David, thanks so much for being with us. I guess the first thing as we look back and I mentioned, it's hard to believe that it's been 10 years. Yet people still talk about JFK Jr. Why was he such a compelling figure?

C. DAVID HEYMANN, AUTHOR: Well, I mean, among other things, I mean, he wasn't the super annulated celebrity everyone thinks of as being seen in VIP lounges or dashing from a four-star restaurant into a waiting limousine, who appears on the 6:00 P.M. news.

He was a very modest boy next door type, a kind of quintessential New Yorker who would biking through the streets of New York or taking the subways. He was really a person of the people, so kind of modern day Harry S. Truman, plain spoken and I think that's what made him so different, and plus the fact he was the most watched and photographed person of his generation.

NGUYEN: Yes, we're looking at video right now of just all the photographers surrounding him. Pretty much anywhere he went. You talk about him being a man of the people. Did he want to go into politics? Did he ever want to become president?

HEYMANN: You know, the opportunity first nearly occurred when Bill Clinton took office in 1990 and offered him a position in his cabinet, an unspecified position. His response in not taking it was, well, they'll only say that I got it because I'm a Kennedy. He was a late bloomer in almost every respect.

By the time he died he had already formed a fact-finding senatorial committee, he wanted to take over the senate seat that had previously been occupied by Senator Moynihan which subsequently became Hillary's seat. But he had already spoken to Judith Hope who was the New York State democratic chairperson and announced his interest in the seat and indeed "George" magazine, which he had founded, was really a stepping-stone, and he no doubt would have gone into politics.

NGUYEN: This is a man who wanted to make his name on his own. Yes, he was a Kennedy, but he was determined to be a success on his own right.

HEYMANN: Absolutely. In fact, he was almost at times embarrassed by the fact that he was JFK's son and the nephew of Bobby Kennedy. In fact, when he first went to Brown I interviewed a number of his fellow classmates who said he never introduced himself as John F. Kennedy Jr. He'd say, hi, I'm John. And, yes, he definitely wanted to make it on his own.

NGUYEN: What do you think his biggest legacy is?

HEYMANN: Unfortunately, his biggest legacy is that of -- almost like a twig broken in half. The promise that could have been had he lived is unfortunately what is the legacy that he left, plus the fact that he was, in a sense, at least for a time -- for the time being, the last great hope of the Kennedy's politically speaking. That's gone now.

NGUYEN: David Heymann, thanks so much for spending a little bit of your time with us today as we look back 10 years since JFK Jr.'s death.

HEYMANN: Thanks.

NGUYEN: We appreciate it.

HOLMES: We're going to continue in the CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour minutes away but we have a preview.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a preview of the noon, the 2:00, 3:00, the 4:00, all of that. One big lovely package with a nice bow on top. How are you guys doing? Good. We're continuing to hear from a number of people who either worked with or were influenced by Walter Cronkite.

And of course, we want to hear from you as well on Facebook as well as on my blog. And the ongoing Michael Jackson death investigation now taking a new twist with his ex-wife Debbie Rowe creating a new court battle. And this involves defamation.

And how did Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor do? Well, we turned to some law students who have some very analytical minds already. And they're very candid about their thoughts about how the hearing went and what they look forward to come Tuesday when the Senate Judiciary Committee votes.

And of course, we want to hear from you on Sotomayor as well as Walter Cronkite on my blog as well as Facebook. Throughout the day, we'll be sharing some of your views. HOLMES: You have a lot going on. Do you want to get started now, we can get out of here?

WHITFIELD: We're juggling.

HOLMES: Fredricka, thank you as always. We'll see you in a few minutes.

Stay with us here. Every basketball gym you've ever been to, ever seen, you see players, you see coaches, usually see the coaches yelling. Well I'm going to take you to a basketball camp where the coaches don't yell. And even if they did, the players couldn't hear them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, after 30 years now, a former NBA guard has been doing something that you actually won't find anywhere else in the country. He's teaching deaf kids how to play basketball, and he doesn't charge them a single dime.

HOLMES: Yes, the thing is, he's not deaf. His name is Mike Glenn, a special camp. You won't find this anywhere else. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): A symphony of balls bouncing and shoes squeaking on a hardwood floor. Every basketball gym sounds the same. Or at least sounds the same to you and me. To many of these athletes, it sounds more like this. These high school students are deaf. But on the court, they're determined to be like any other athlete. And this camp gives them a chance to learn the game from former NBA guard Mike Glenn.

MIKE GLENN, FORMER NBA GUARD: Too many lazy passes and the defense is stealing the ball.

HOLMES: And he can hear just fine.

GLENN: Let's go now.

HOLMES (on camera): You're not deaf, right?

GLENN: No.

HOLMES: Nobody in your family is deaf?

GLENN: No.

HOLMES: Close friends maybe, a few friends maybe, grow up with anybody deaf?

GLENN: Not that I didn't develop from this.

HOLMES: You have been running a deaf basketball camp for 30 years?

GLENN: Yes sir.

HOLMES: How does that make sense?

GLENN: It's very interesting, T.J. It really came from my dad.

HOLMES (voice-over): His dad, Charles Glenn, took a teaching job in 1952 at the Georgia School for the Deaf and volunteered to start a basketball program for the students.

GLENN: So when I was born, I was born into that family. And I just would go with dad and hang around and watch dad and fell in love with the game and with deaf culture. And it was taken of from there.

HOLMES: Glenn parlayed his love of basketball into a 10 year NBA career and his love of the deaf into a lifetime of commitment.

GLENN: Given gifts and opportunities in a particular environment I think you have to make the best of what you are given. This is what I was given. So I have to be true to it.

HOLMES: The camp gives deaf kids a chance to compete but also the confidence of learning the game around kids like them and from coaches who know how to relate.

Whoo!

GLENN: It's easy to communicate first thing. It's very easy to communicate. But it's very challenging. It's a lot of physical players here. Sometimes you can't hear a referee, but they're still playing. Don't know exactly when to stop. Can't hear the buzzer.

HOLMES: There are few camps out there like Glenn's. Yes, his is different. But part of its mission is the same as any other summer camp. Let kids be kids. And it all goes back to what Glenn learned when he was just a kid.

GLENN: My dad gave me this heritage. So I think I'm honoring him by carrying it on. So I keep doing that to -- because of my dad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: His dad was able to see this camp, worked at the camp for a couple of years even with him. But his dad gave him his heritage. Again, you heard him talk about he always thought he was a deaf kid who could hear and talk. It's strange to hear a man like that, who had a great life, great career, he's always been more comfortable, he says, around the deaf, around the deaf community, because that was just how he came up.

NGUYEN: Even speaking with you he kept signing.

HOLMES: He doesn't -- he says he has sometimes he's around his friends and wife, they say stop doing that because you don't realize. They just start talking and he just starts signing and he's just so used to doing it. Even one of our producers here who met him out somewhere said I was talking to this guy and, it's like hey, I can hear. I can hear you just fine because he does it automatically.

But great program. He runs it on not that much money but still he needs donations. A lot of former NBA players, a lot of people just make contributions and donate. A lot of those kids, they told me there that I can't find anything else like this around the country. A few camps pop up here and there but his has been going 30 years strong, 30 years straight.

NGUYEN: He thought he was only going to do it one year.

HOLMES: He just wanted to try it one year and it's turned into this. And I think he said three athletes over the years to go on to play division I basketball. So some good ballplayers have come through there. But he's proud of that record but he says that's not the point anymore, the point is just to give these kids an opportunity like anybody else.

NGUYEN: What a man and what a program! My goodness! There's a lot more to come right here on CNN. In fact, the NEWSROOM continues with Fredricka Whitfield.

Hi Fred.

WHITFIELD: Hello to you. What a living legacy he really is.

NGUYEN: Great story.

WHITFIELD: I love that. Nice and inspiring stuff. Thanks so much for bringing that to us T.J. Have a great day as well, all right, appreciate it.

All right. Much more straight ahead on some pretty hard-hitting news here, too. We have new information on the suicide bombings at two luxury hotels in Indonesia. This is surveillance video that you're about to see of one of the blasts. Police in Jakarta have found the remains of at least one more person in the rubble.

But it's unknown if it's a suicide bomber or a hotel guest. At least six guests are dead as are two attackers. And we also now know that 53 people were injured in the twin attacks. Six of them are Americans. None of the injuries is believed to be life threatening. Our Dan Rivers is in Jakarta and he has more on the investigation, including a man police believe may be behind the bombings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Doddemead is still reeling from the death of their close friend from Australia. They almost attended the same networking breakfast at the hotel, but this isn't the first time they've come close to being caught up in a terrorist attack.

ROB DODDEMEAD, FRIENDS OF VICTIM: We've been very close to it three times. We were meant to be with a dear friend of ours who was injured in Bali, the major bombings there. I canceled at the last minute. And then we were here in the last bombing and we could have been here yesterday morning.

RIVERS: Even more incredible, this security guard, who was severely burned in the bombing of the Marriott six years ago. And he was on duty again on Friday, luckily escaping.