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First Video of Soldier Captured by Taliban; Wall Street Gets Boost Today; Obama Pushes Congress More for Health Care Reform; Are Homes Bought in Detroit a Good Deal?; New York's Freedom Glory Project Supports Iranian Protesters; The End of Space Shuttle Flights Is Near; Recognizing Depression in Black Women
Aired July 20, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Checking stories happening right now. Iranian reformist clerics are calling for a referendum on the country's disputed presidential election. Students held the latest rally against the disputed vote yesterday at the university in the city of Chiraz.
Federal investigators want to know why the operator of a San Francisco commuter train turned off the automatic controls before the train collided with a parked train. Saturday afternoon crash injured 48 people, four of them seriously. Investigators say if the autopilot had been on, the train would have slowed before the collision.
The friend of a Tennessee woman found dead in a family killing says she and her husband had been having marital troubles. The husband, Jacob Shaffer is in custody now facing six counts of homicide. His wife and her sons, brother and father are among the dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PFC BOWE BERGDAHL, CAPTURED BY TALIBAN: Scared I won't be able to go home. It is very unnerving to be a prisoner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A U.S. soldier held by the Taliban speaks in a newly released video. Private first class Bowe Bergdahl seen for the first time since his June 30 capture in southeastern Afghanistan.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us now live with the latest on this. So Barbara, likely to get more details about this in coming days. Remind everybody what we know at this point.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Heidi. Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, 23 years old, of Idaho, was captured back on June 30th.
If you look at the map, you see, he was captured in a very remote, rugged area on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in a place called Paktika province, where he was stationed. At that time, by all official accounts, official accounts at least that he simply left his combat outpost with other Afghans perhaps trying to walk into a town or village. We don't really know, and was captured at that point.
Now we see this 28-minute video where his captors ask him a series of very political questions. He, of course, being held captive, answering under duress. Let's hear a little bit more about how Private Bergdahl says he feels right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PFC BOWE BERGDAHL, CAPTURED U.S. SOLDIER: I have a girlfriend who I was hoping to marry. I have my grandma and grandpas. I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America. And I miss them every day that I'm gone. I miss them, and I'm afraid that I might never see them again and that I'll never be able to tell them that I love them again. I'll never be able to hug them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: The U.S. military making a statement, Heidi, that they condemn in their words this public exploitation and humiliation of a prisoner. That from the U.S. military, Private Bergdahl's family asking for privacy, issuing a very brief statement saying that they hope and pray for their son's safe return. Heidi?
COLLINS: Do we know any more details about how he was captured and where he might be right now?
STARR: Well, you know, the hunt goes on as far as we publicly know. Along that Afghan-Pakistan border. Last week the U.S. military distributed a number of flyers to local people in the area asking for any information about Private First Class Bergdahl. Again, this discrepancy. He says he fell behind on a patrol. The U.S. military says he walked away from his combat outpost. I think we're not likely to know the full story in a public fashion until the situation is resolved, Heidi.
COLLINS: I think you are exactly right on that. I know you're working the story hard. We appreciate it. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr this morning. Thanks.
Wall Street getting a boost today on reports that a rescue package could keep CIT Group out of bankruptcy. Why should you care? Well, CIT specializes in loans to small and midsize businesses. Companies that, of course, keep millions of Americans working. Let's get the very latest now. Christine Romans is part of the CNN Money team.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Furniture retailer Bob Saquet has weathered many storms at his store in Middleborough, Massachusetts, but he's never seen one like this.
BOB SAQUET, OWNER, EGGER'S FURNITURE: I'm not about to call it quits and throw in the towel. We'll find suppliers. I just feel sorry for the manufacturers that I would lose. ROMANS: His is one of a million small businesses that depend on the CIT Group, the latest lender to face financial ruin. CIT was denied a bailout last week by the federal government because its failure wasn't deemed detrimental to the financial system as a whole. CIT did receive $2.3 billion as part of the initial Bush administration bailout last fall. But this time, the Treasury Department issued a statement citing, "a very high threshold for exceptional government assistance." Bottom line, CIT wasn't big enough to get help. The National Retail Federation says that was a mistake.
MALLORY DUNCAN, NATIONAL RETAIN FEDERATION: What we're saying is that CIT is too important to fail. It literally finances the lifeblood of the retail economy.
ROMANS: CIT specializes in a type of lending called factoring. Factoring keeps businesses afloat, so they can stay operational while they wait for the money to roll in.
DUNCAN: If CIT is not there, that 80 percent or 90 percent up front cash that the supplier needs in order to produce more goods to sell to another retailer isn't available. And consequently is likely the supplier will go out of business.
SAQUET: Maybe from the big picture, CIT is too small to deal with, but from the bottom end, this is where small businesses are.
ROMANS: Saquet says he doesn't know why the government bailed on CIT's bailout, but he fears that decision may mean lights out for small businesses across the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN's Christine Romans joining us now with a little bit closer look here. So what's going on right at the moment with CIT?
ROMANS: Well, we're waiting for official word that this company has been able to work out some emergency financing of its own. Emergency financing that doesn't involve the United States treasury in other bailout.
As you know, Heidi, this company got more than $2 billion from the first bank bailout last fall but it has not been allowed to participate in any more of these programs since then. So, this is a company that has now turned to its bondholders and had been looking for alternate financing and numerous reports are this morning that it has managed to secure a $3 billion deal, at least to buy it some -- at least to buy it some breathing space so it can keep the money flowing for small and midsize businesses while it tries to restructure its debt and figure out how to go forward from here.
So, the company not officially commenting on that but we know that they were working all over the weekend trying to secure some kind of emergency financing. Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, I bet they were. All right. Christine Romans for us. Thanks so much, Christine.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: And just a few minutes ago, we got a very broad picture on the economy and maybe where it's headed. According to the latest figures, the index of leading economic indicators went up more than expected last month. It's the third straight month, in fact, of gains. Now the index of leading economic indicators is often used to forecast future economic activity. Typically, the index turns up before times of economic expansion.
Speaking of, let's get a look at those numbers on the big board. You see the Dow Jones industrial average up about 75 points or so resting right now at 8,819. Those are numbers we haven't seen in awhile, folks. Keep your fingers crossed on that one.
Also this morning, your health, your money. Those two issues are colliding now in Washington. Are you willing to pay more to reinvent the nation's health care system? With growing criticism over President Obama's proposed overhaul there are new signs of compromise in Washington. Here's our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Facing a tough week ahead, President Obama is trying to recapture the spotlight in the health care debate.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will not sign on to any health plan that adds to our deficits over the next decade.
MALVEAUX: This after a devastating announcement on Friday by the Congressional Budget Office that the administration's health care bill would raise health care costs and add $239 billion to the deficit over 10 years. The White House dispatched their head of health care, Kathleen Sebelius.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: It's a work in progress. The good news is the House and Senate are actively working and share the president's goal that overall costs have to come down for everyone.
MALVEAUX: And the president's top money man, Peter Orszag, took up the argument.
PETER ORSZAG, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: It has to be deficit neutral. The president yesterday said he will not sign a bill that is not deficit neutral.
MALVEAUX: Republicans seized on the deficit announcement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those were pretty damning words, to be honest with you.
MALVEAUX: The Senate's minority leader said the bill will not have republican support.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: This is a bill that shouldn't pass at any point, either before the August recess or later in the year because it's not good for the country.
MALVEAUX: The Obama administration is pushing hard for the bill to be on the president's desk before the August recess. But many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say that's too ambitious.
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: Sure, we wish we had more time. But the president has given us a deadline. We're working under it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Suzanne Malveaux is joining us now from the White House with more on this. So Suzanne, why is the White House pushing for such quick passage of this health care legislation?
MALVEAUX: Well, Heidi, it's an excellent question because really the White House is concerned that they're going to lose momentum here. They feel like they've gotten a certain push forward. That they really want to capitalize off of that. But the longer that they wait, the less likely it is that they are really going to be able to get this thing through. So, that's why you see the president is going to be out today talking before the Children's National Health Center.
He's also as well going to be holding this primetime press conference, Heidi, on Wednesday. This is the fourth in his first six months in office. Obviously, trying to put forward his message, take advantage of the bully pulpit, take advantage of the media, put his message out there and make a real concerted push to members of Congress to get this thing passed before there's no appetite for this at all. Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, we also saw this morning RNC chairman Michael Steele talking about it too from the National Press Club. Some of the objections from the republican party there. All right. We're watching it all. We sure do appreciate it. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.
Reinventing the nation's health care system. The criticism adds up and the White House backs down. The Obama administration says it will trim costs and even ignore the August deadline it set for Congress to act. But leading republicans say their party will never support the reforms or the risks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL STEELE, RNC CHAIRMAN: The president is rushing this experiment through Congress so fast, so soon that we haven't had a moment to think if it would work or, worse, to think about the consequences to our nation, our economy and our families if it doesn't work. The Barack Obama experiment with America is a risk our country can't afford. It's too much, too fast, too soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Obama has repeatedly said he does not want a government-run health care system. His vision, creating the option of government coverage and making private insurance companies more competitive with their rates.
And just a quick reminder. We will have live coverage of President Obama's remarks on health care reform. He's due to make those comments at 1:05 Eastern, 10:05 Pacific.
Forty years ago today, two men amazed the world and walked on the moon. We'll hear from one of the astronauts who played a major role in Apollo 11's historic mission.
But first, Jacqui Jeras is in the CNN weather center now with some cooler temperatures this morning down here on earth, not on the moon, right?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Always cold out in space. However, summer trying to make a little comeback this week. So enjoy the cool temperatures while they last as things are going to be changing. And we also have much stormier conditions on the way. That's going to impact your travel. We'll have your forecast coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF JOHN F. KENNEDY: we choose to go to the moon.
VOICE OF NEIL ARMSTRONG, NASA ASTRONAUT: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Where were you 40 years ago today? Probably in front of the television watching Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the moon. That was then. Now the Apollo 11 astronauts reunited just a little while ago for a news briefing at NASA's headquarters in Washington. Just saw Buzz Aldrin there. He shared some of his thoughts on space exploration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUZZ ALDRIN, ASTRONAUT: And I think we're getting back to what NASA and what the country really likes to see, and that's exploration. To me, exploration is going to some place you haven't been before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Later today, President Obama will welcome the Apollo 11 crew at the White House. The astronauts are expected to call on the president to support a manned mission to Mars.
So, tell us where you were when you heard about the moon landing? We're launching "Hotline to Heidi" today. You can actually call in with your story. We love it. There's a number on the screen. 1-877- 742-5760. We are also talking about the moon landing on our blog. The question today, would you go to the moon if you could afford it? Go to cnn.com/heidi and just post your comments there.
From walking on the moon to a stroll in space, shuttle Endeavour astronauts gearing up for a second space walk. It's happening around 11:30 a.m. Eastern today. The astronauts wrapped up the first space walk over the weekend. They are attaching the final piece of the space lab to the International Space Station.
Jacqui Jeras joining us now from the Severe Weather Center. We're getting a little bit of good news for some parts of the country. It's cooling down, but probably not for long.
JERAS: Yes. Things are already starting to change a little bit. We're starting to see the humidity increase and the storms are starting to become a little bit more widespread and gradually those temperatures will start to return.
But it's still really pleasant across much of the East where the hot air is across the west and meeting up with that cooler air that is where we have that risk of severe weather. And we'll be tracking that threat of storms from really the U.S.-Canadian border all the way down into parts of Texas. Now there's not much in the way of severe storms at this hour, but we do have some stronger thunderstorms, and this impacting your travel.
You can see the showers and storms making their way into Dallas. So, it's going to be a little bit rough driving in this area over the next couple of hours. And if you are trying to travel, we do have a ground stop in effect at DFW until 9:30 local time. As they've got to wait to get around those thunderstorms or wait until they pass. We also have some delays in Atlanta, not weather related, due to some high volume. I'm thinking everyone wants to get here because the temperatures have been so fantastic.
COLLINS: Yes.
JERAS: Hasn't it been great?
COLLINS: So beautiful.
JERAS: I love it. Hey, you know, the people in Arizona, by the way, they were wishing they had -- they would love a cool down. This is a live picture from KTV. The temperature this morning in Phoenix, 93. And that's starting your day. That's as cool as it's going to be all day long, looking for a high around 113. Excessive heat warnings are in effect here once again. And we are looking for a slight cool down. You should be down there maybe 106, a little closer to where you should be this time of the year, by the end of the week.
So, at least it's moderating a little bit. Record lows over the weekend in a plethora of cities. In fact, we had so many we could only just tell you about a few. 63 in Atlanta. 60 in Charlotte, 58 in Augusta and 62 degrees in Columbus. And there you can see that cool air really just kind of straddled here across the east while the heat is here. We're going to start to see that lift up and we'll watch the heat start to bubble up into the southeast gradually over the next couple of days.
High pressure has been in place here bringing us that nice northerly breeze and now we're going to watch that slide eastward. As it does, those temperatures increase, but so does the humidity so it's going to be feeling like a hot and muggy summer in the deep south like it should by the end of the week. Heidi.
COLLINS: When you say bubbling up and talking about the heat, it sounds horrific.
JERAS: Yes, that's what it should be doing.
COLLINS: That's a reality check. Jacqui, appreciate it.
Some aging athletes face new limitations while others seem to keep defiantly beating the clock. How do they do it? We'll talk about it in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live, breaking news, unfolding developments. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A country devastated by AIDS has launched its own clinical trials of a vaccine now. South Africa is the first developing country to create its own AIDS vaccine. The country has the highest number of HIV cases in the world. Even if successful, the vaccine would be years away from public use and that has caused some activists to say the money would be better spent on prevention and education. The same vaccine, by the way, is also being tested in Boston.
Facing their own mortality, aging athletes don't have the agility they had in their youth as injuries over time start taking a toll, of course. But recently, some middle aged sports figures are showing surprising resiliency.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining me now. And if we're talking about Tom Watson here, I would argue a little over middle age. He's 59 years old. What an incredible showing in the British Open yesterday.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, just amazing. I mean, he came in second, but barely to someone 23 years younger than him. And he is not the only athlete who is doing incredible things in his middle years. And I guess we can all define middle years how we want to. It changes as you yourself get older.
But, for example, Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven times. And he's now ranked third in that competition, even though he's 37 years old. And there are many, many competitors much younger than him. Dara Torres, I know we all remember from last summer's Olympic games, 41, three silver medals. What an amazing woman. So, really people are doing incredible things into their late 30s, 40s, 50s.
COLLINS: Yes. So how are they able to do it? I mean, it's got to be a case-by-case basis, right?
COHEN: It is. It's sort of a combination of three things. First of all, they obviously have incredible genes.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: You've got to have the lung capacity and the muscles and all that stuff. And some of that is just sort of god given. Second of all, they have the kind of mental acumen that comes with getting older. I don't know if you would agree with me, Heidi, but in some ways you get smarter as you get older.
COLLINS: If you're talking about golf, you know, there's a lot of mental, obviously, going on there.
COHEN: Right, obviously, as you get older, I like to think you get smarter.
COLLINS: There's no question about it.
COHEN: Not a senile 90-year-old, but in your 30s and 40s, I like to think you are smarter than in your 20s. And also their crews are really trained to work on the older body, the stretching that needs to happen, the training that needs to happen. It's just kind of different than training a 21-year-old. And they have crews who know that and helpers who know that.
COLLINS: But not everybody can defy the odds.
COHEN: No.
COLLINS: At least that's my excuse.
COHEN: Exactly. That's why you aren't in the Olympics, right.
COLLINS: Otherwise, it would be.
COHEN: You would have a gold medal by now. That's absolutely true. Not everybody can defy the odds. We've seen that because some athletes have tried to come back from their glory days in their late 30s or 40s. And it hasn't always worked. So for these three it did work.
COLLINS: Yes, it sure did. Boy, it's fascinating to watch all of it. Thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
COLLINS: Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate it.
So, with home values way down in Detroit, some people see the real estate market there as an investment of a lifetime, but others say it could be a risky bet. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: The major averages rallied roughly seven percent last week, even on news that big lender CIT was close to bankruptcy. Why didn't that news lead to more caution on Wall Street, and what are stocks doing today? Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with all of the answers. Take it away, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Well, you know, first of all, CIT may have dodged the bullet for now. Published reports say the troubled lender has secured $3 billion in emergency financing. Not from Uncle Sam, but from private investors. Still, we know that even the mention of bankruptcy for a company with such a broad reach is troublesome to everyone and certainly to investors.
So, why didn't the markets take a hit last week? For one thing, CIT is still a fraction of the size of the financial titans that threw the market into a tailspin last year, including Lehman Brothers, which, of course, failed. Washington Mutual, which was bought at a fire sale and AIG, which was seized. It has about $65 billion in managed loans, and it has already sharply cut back its lending over the past year.
Also, most of its loan goes to small businesses, not to companies with listed stocks. Stocks rallied seven percent last week. Investors have been able to quarantine CIT's problems because they don't seem to have the same broader risk to the market that Lehman or Bear Stearns did. CIT shares, Heidi, right now are up 98 percent, but still trade at under $1.40 a share.
That goes to show you just how close it was to the brink last week. The broader markets, by the way, each up about 0.5 percent. So the positive move continues and certainly the factor that CIT may be saved, at least for the moment, is telling in terms of sentiment today.
COLLINS: Yes, I got you. The other optimistic factor, too, is what corporate America is telling us. Quarterly report cards, right?
LISOVICZ: That's right. This is the time of year. It's the time of discovery. What corporate America tells us, not only about what's happened in the past but what they see for the future in so many different things -- on prices that they charge to consumers, on demand, on what they see in terms of hiring. Things like that, very telling.
The earnings that we saw last week was just a handful, but they're very important because they were coming from some big banks. Citigroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, also some important tech companies, including Intel. So they've raised the bar in a sense, but because we've heard some -- from so few it may be flawed. We get many, many more this week. Lots of reports. Caterpillar, Morgan Stanley, Boeing, Apple, you name it. Nearly half of the Dow 30 will report this week. COLLINS: OK.
LISOVICZ: So, it could be a completely different story, but we'll monitor it all for you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Very good. Appreciate it. Thank you, Susan.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: The nation's financial crisis. Nowhere are people hurting more than in California. Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to meet with top lawmakers. They are looking for ways to slash the state's budget and close a staggering $26 billion deficit. California has been operating without a budget and without cash for nearly three weeks now. The state's been forced to pay its bills with IOUs.
Unemployment in Michigan now tops 15 percent, the highest jobless rate for any state in 25 years. And one in every 74 homes in the state is in foreclosure. Take a walk through northwest Detroit, and you'll find row after row of bank-owned homes. Some of them abandoned. Others vandalized. But for some, there may be an up side to it all. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): This house in northwest Detroit recently sold for $7,500. Just $4,000 would have bought you this one right across the street. You may have missed the investment opportunity of a lifetime.
MICHAEL ALEXANDER, PURCHASED SEVERAL HOMES IN DETROIT: We have actually a waiting list of people to rent and to buy.
HARLOW: This man thinks he didn't. Michael Alexander has purchased 250 homes in Detroit, betting the Motor City will rise again.
ALEXANDER: When we find a nice street like this, we try to buy all of the available inventory on the street.
HARLOW (on camera): Why on earth is this a good place to put your money to work?
ALEXANDER: Well, that's a good question, and I get asked it a lot. We're buying homes in that particular market range, and we're able to offer them at better prices so, since everyone is going to need a place to live, we're offering value.
HARLOW (voice-over): Alexander's company invests between $10,000 and $20,000 rehabilitating the homes, which they say they've been able to flip for a 20 percent to 30 percent profit. Even with buyers scarce, Alexander says he's been able to rent many of these homes at attractive prices.
But it's far from a safe bet. Home values in Detroit are down 45 percent from their peak in 2005, and the city continues to battle a high crime rate.
ALEXANDER: This house, since we've acquired it, has been broken into. And I didn't know that until just a minute ago when we walked into the kitchen.
HARLOW (on camera): Really?
ALEXANDER: But if you'll turn around, you'll see someone has kicked in this door.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And Poppy Harlow joining us from New York with this.
So, Poppy, that last image of the Kicked-in door. Are there parts of Detroit that real estate investors say are just too run down to invest in?
HARLOW: Absolutely. That man that we spent the day with bought 250 homes, but they are all in this neighborhood that looks pretty good.
That's in stark contrast to other places. Places like this where every home in the block is foreclosed or rundown parts of the city. There are areas where he said to us, "Listen, I will just not put my money there because what you have around are all these abandoned apartment buildings, abandoned factories. Abandoned entire neighborhoods, Heidi, where he said, "If I were to invest money, even if a home is only $1,000, there's no way I'm going to find a renter."
Look at that area. Who wants to live there? No way he'll find a renter or buyer. That's the problem with Detroit. There's some pockets of hope, but overall, there are a lot of places that look just like that, and that's a scary thought.
I do want to quickly bring you something. I almost forgot, but I remembered...
COLLINS: The Facebook...
HARLOW: Yes, Facebook. We had a lot of people write in about this. Take a look at what Ivan wrote in. He said to us, "The factor that will determine whether this is successful or not is jobs. If Detroit stops losing jobs and some new manufacturing starts up, this could work. But if Detroit keeps losing jobs, it won't matter how cheap the houses become."
I think he's exactly right, Heidi. Surging unemployment, over 15 percent. Even if a house 1,000 bucks, you still have to fix it up and pay the taxes. You can't do that, Heidi, if you don't have a job.
COLLINS: Got to have a job. Yes. I'd love to get an update, Poppy, about that film industry...
HARLOW: We will.
COLLINS: Talking about shooting more movies and all kinds of stuff they are doing in Detroit.
HARLOW: Spending a lot of time there. They need all the attention they can get, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. No question. All right, Poppy Harlow, thank you.
Reinventing the nation's held care system. The criticism adds up, and the White House backs down. The Obama administration is now vowing to trim costs in hopes of reaching a bipartisan agreement. It's even hinted that it will ignore the August deadline it set for Congress to act on this.
This afternoon, lawmakers continue their debate on the reform as Democrats search for ways to rally support. The Republican party's top man, chairman Michael Steele, says the GOP will never support the overhaul. In fact, just last hour, he blasted it as, quote, "risky experimentation."
Later today, we'll hear more from President Obama. He's due to issue a statement on health care reform at 1:05 Eastern. CNN will carry those remarks live.
Jacqui Jeras standing by in the severe weather center with more on the weather across the country. Good in the Southeast. Still boiling hot in the Southwest.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I know. But changes are on the horizon, Heidi. Really, you need to get outside and enjoy this weather. Hopefully you did it over the weekend. But if you got an extra vacation day to burn, maybe today, tomorrow might be that one if you live east of the Rockies. Because we will see a gradual increase in the temperatures throughout the week.
In the meantime, we had a couple of record lows this morning. But just a ton of them over the weekend. Louisville, Kentucky, 56 degrees. Fifty-six in Joplin. Fifty-seven degrees in Texarkana. High temperatures today are going to remain cooler than average. We're look at this level across the upper Midwest into the Great Lakes, throughout the Northeast and parts of the Southeast. We'll watch that balance out a little bit.
Unfortunately, I wish I could say the heat is going to wane a bit in the West. Maybe just a touch. You'll still stay pretty extreme. Excessive heat warnings remain in effect for the Phoenix area, where you could reach about 115. If you get up to 116, that will be the hottest day of the year so far, and the heat advisories stretch further up to the north. They are moving into the San Joaquin Valley now. We should drop down to about maybe the 105, 106 range by the end of the week.
High pressure in place. That's what's pulling in that cool air. But this high will start to pull offshore. When it does that, it's going to start to pull up some tropical moisture and make things a lot stickier here across the East by the end of the week. And we also want to show you the threat of severe thunderstorms today. Kind of the division between the cooler air in the East and the hotter stuff across parts of the West.
So, severe thunderstorms could be breaking out anywhere from about the U.S.-Canadian border down towards parts of Texas. We've already got stormy conditions this morning in Texas. The Dallas area, ground stop in effect at DFW right there. But those storms aren't at severe levels that will likely happen later today. Heidi?
COLLINS: All right. We know you're watching it. Thank you, Jacqui.
Michael Vick is a free man. An attorney for the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback said Vick was released from federal custody today, as scheduled. Vick will stay on probation for three years. He'd been on home confinement following an 18-month penitentiary sentence for dog fighting charges.
Vick hopes to meet soon with the NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell to talk about whether he can return to the league. If he is allowed to play in the NFL again, it will not be with the Falcons. They released him in June.
In concert with Iran's opposition movement, Iranian musicians in the U.S. raise voices and awareness.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Condemning what it calls the public exploitation and humiliation of an imprisoned U.S. soldier. The Taliban released a video over the weekend of Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl of Idaho. U.S. soldiers have been moving through Afghanistan Paktika province, handing out pamphlets to civilians in search for the soldier. Bergdahl was captured June 30.
They're half a world away from Iran's election dispute. But these Iranian artists feel the pain of the protesters and now are adding their voices to the opposition's cause. CNN's Reza Sayah reports.
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REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a lounge in Manhattan's Lower East Side, a group of young musicians take another step towards stardom. But their thoughts are a half a world away, they say, in the Islamic republic of Iran.
JOHNNY B., LEAD SINGER, ELECTRIC BLACK: Since the events started unfolding in Iran, it's all that I've been consumed with. I haven't really been thinking about anything else.
SAYAH: Johnny B. doesn't fit the common stereotypes. But he's Iranian. For the past month, the lead singer of Electric Black has seen the Iranian government's brutal crackdown on mostly peaceful protesters.
JOHNNY B.: It's heartbreaking.
SAYAH: Rahm says he's heartbroken, too.
RAAM, LEAD SINGER, HYPERNOVA: I wish I was back there in the streets right now with my brothers and sisters.
SAYAH: Three years ago, the lead singer for Hypernova was in Iran, where rock 'n' roll is considered un-Islamic. Play it in public and you can spend the night in jail. Today, it's Iranian protesters landing in jail.
RAAM: These kids who were out on the streets are risking their lives in the name of freedom and justice. And we over here on this side of the planet feel very powerless.
SAYAH: Then came the idea to simply raise awareness. So musicians Hypernova, Electric Black and the Escandalian S. Band and filmmaker Nari Monhameed (ph) created Freedom Glory Project.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a song to all the people, the brave ones who stood up against the oppressive.
SAYAH: Just days after the disputed vote in Iran, the group wrote and dedicated a song to Iran's opposition movement and started playing sold-out shows in New York.
(on camera): Some say a concert on the Lower East Side of Manhattan can have little impact on an opposition movement a half a world away that's facing a fierce government crackdown. But don't tell these guys that they can't make a difference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a part of us that wants to stand up and let our voices to be heard.
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SAYAH: Reza Sayah, CNN, New York.
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COLLINS: The only surviving gunman captured during the Mumbai terror attacks is talking. Officials say he confessed today in a Mumbai court.
Back in November, at least ten heavily armed men killed more than 160 people during a series of attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. All the other known suspects were killed during the attack. Indian officials say the man's confession came as quite a surprise. They say right now they are trying to verify if he is, indeed, telling the truth.
Americans being recruited for al Qaeda right here on American soil. The feds say they've been on the case since 9/11. CNN tonight at 6:00, we get to the root of this secret terror recruiting in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Make sure you stick around for that.
Meanwhile, this. The space shuttle drawing closer to a forced retirement. So where does the U.S. space program go from here? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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VOICE OF JOHN F. KENNEDY: We choose to go to the moon.
VOICE OF NEIL ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.
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COLLINS: We are asking you to call in with your memories from the moonwalk. Here's what Edward in (INAUDIBLE) had to say coming to us from Texas.
CALLER: I was 19 years old when they touched down on the moon. I was in the Coast Guard. I was a cook, and I was cooking breakfast for a crew of eight men.
COLLINS: Thanks so much for that, Edward. Appreciate it. Also, we are talking about the moonwalk on our blog over on the Heidi Mac here. Our question today, "Would you travel to the moon if you could, in fact, afford it?" We've gotten a couple of responses on this.
So, once again, just go to CNN.com/heidi. Post your responses. The first one says this. From Matthew, he says, "Of course I would travel to the moon to stay." I don't know what that means, but then this one coming in from Laura, who says, "Yes, I would go to the moon so I would be 100 pounds less and eat all the space food I want. Yum." All right, good idea.
By phone, by blog, by ESP, we want to hear from you. Call 877- 742-5760. And give your thoughts on hotline to Heidi or go to CNN.com/heidi.
It's a different countdown ticking away at NASA these days. In just about 14 months, the space agency is due to retire its space shuttle program. What happens to the U.S. plans for space now? CNN's John Zarrella has some answers.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE'S VOICE: Three, two, one, booster ignition, and lift off of Endeavour.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And now, there are seven. The number of space shuttle flights left. Nearly 30 years of flying astronauts in a reusable space plane, fixing crippled satellites and a telescope, building a space station. Soon just a chapter in history books.
DAVE LECKRONE, NASA SCIENTIST: And it just makes me want to cry to think that this is the end of it.
ZARRELLA: A huge mistake, says NASA scientist Dave Leckrone. LECKRONE: I think that's just a shame to abandon one of the most impressive, refined, sophisticated capabilities that this agency as a whole -- human side and robotic side -- has achieved.
ZARRELLA: Besides the technological abilities lost when the last shuttle flies in September 2010, it leaves a gaping hole behind. Because of NASA budget cuts, the next generation vehicle, the Aries rocket and Orion capsule, key components of the Constellation Program won't be ready to fly astronauts until after 2015.
Until then, NASA has to carpool with the Russians to get to space. Thousands of shuttle workers not needed for the new vehicle will lose their jobs. Workers who are needed may not be around if more budget cuts further delay the next generation of spacecraft.
CHARLIE PRECOURT, ATK LAUNCH SYSTEMS: The more that gap widens, the more these highly skilled engineers and technicians will find work elsewhere.
ZARRELLA: And further delays are possible. An Obama administration-ordered blue ribbon panel is reviewing NASA's direction after shuttle ends. I.e., the Constellation Program, which La Crohn says is fuzzy on direction.
LECKRONE: And I just don't see that if that organization within NASA that's producing Constellation, doesn't begin talking to their customer -- potential customer base, they'll end up with something that no one is interested in using.
ZARRELLA: Precourt insist constellation is clearly visionary.
PRECOURT: It behooves us to build an architecture that can serve a multitude of missions for the next 50-plus years. That's where this was first envisioned, was to think about space station, lunar, beyond, asteroids, beyond, maybe to Mars.
ZARRELLA: The bill is less expensive than shuttles, safer for astronauts. The Constellation Program is supposed to be everything shuttle is not.
(on camera): Funny how perceptions change. For decades, the shuttle program was maligned as too costly, too complicated a vehicle, too risky, too unreliable. Now what do you hear? Too bad it's over.
John Zarrella, CNN at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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COLLINS: Recognizing depression in black women. Special correspondent Soledad O'Brien tells us why it's overlooked and what one woman is doing to change that.
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COLLINS: Depression is not often openly talked about in the black community, and black women are often unaware that's what they suffer from. It's one of the stories special correspondent Soledad O'Brien is bringing us in "Black in America 2." She talks to a woman who's trying to change that.
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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Terry Williams is a successful publicist who has had a long list of top-tier clients. On the surface, she always looked like she had it together. But on the inside...
TERRY WILLIAMS, SUFFERED FROM DEPRESSION: It was so dark. It was the hardest thing in the world to just get up, to shower and to dress and to put the mask on. Because you had to put the mask on. You had to walk out that door and pretend that all was well.
O'BRIEN: Even a background in social work didn't help Terry see she was suffering from depression.
(off camera): You're a social worker. You know what that means.
WILLIAMS: Exactly.
O'BRIEN (on camera): How come you didn't know that's what you had?
WILLIAMS: You don't. You just don't.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Some mental health experts say there's a reason black women often don't recognize they're depressed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's definitely something that hasn't been talked about in our culture, and so people don't know what the signs and symptoms of depression are.
O'BRIEN: Because it's unrecognized, depression often goes untreated. And some health experts say ignoring their mental health may be causing black women's physical health to suffer, contributing to high rates of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.
MICHELE BALAMANI, PSYCHOLOGIST: And it has to do with -- I call it the body screaming. You know, somehow it has to get out. Something has to break down eventually. And so we are breaking down in numbers that are astounding.
WILLIAMS: I think I'm vulnerable...
O'BRIEN: It was after a mental breakdown that Terry Williams got help in the form of therapy and medication.
WILLIAMS: I was highly irritable. I snapped at people.
O'BRIEN: She decided to share her story in a book. And with audiences around the country. She's been moved by the response.
WILLIAMS: When I speak about it at these events, I can't tell you the number of people who come up to me afterwards and say that's my story, in tears.
O'BRIEN (on camera): How many of those people say, "That's my story, too," are black and female?
WILLIAMS: Overwhelmingly female. Black and female. Black women carry the nation, carry our communities. You know? We are nurturers. We're caretakers and feel like we have to be there and do for everybody.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Brenda Galleon is the oldest of five children, and was the one the family turned to after her siblings became ill and her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She cared for everyone but herself. She was worn out and gaining weight.
BRENDA GALLEON, SUFFERED FROM DEPRESSION: I don't recall ever crying. I did not have time to cry. So 65 pounds could have been mostly tears, you know, just stuff on the inside that wasn't -- or I didn't have the ability to get out.
O'BRIEN: It never occurred to Brenda to see a therapist. Like so many generations of black women, she turned to God instead.
GALLEON: We grew up in church. And when things were beyond what I thought I would handle, I'd pray about it.
O'BRIEN: Dr. Michelle Balamani understands the importance of the church to black women because she's also an ordained minister. She spends her career trying to build a bridge between church and therapy, letting women know they are not turning away from God by seeking help.
BALAMANI: I preach that God can heal in many ways. Same way that you go to a doctor to get your leg fixed if it's broken. You can go to a therapist. If you need to put your own gas mask on first, so that if you are going to be taking care of all these other people, take care of yourself first so you can do a better job at it.
O'BRIEN: Now with her own gas mask in place, Terry Williams hopes her words can help others begin to heal themselves.
WILLIAMS: When you hear somebody else and their tears start to flow and you feel the emotion, it gets other people talking. That's the goal.
O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN, New York.
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COLLINS: CNN Wednesday night at 7:00, the "Moment of Truth" with Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner live from Times Square. Then at 8:00, the premiere of "Black in America 2."
A U.S. soldier held captive by the Taliban speaks in a newly released video. I'm Heidi Collins. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Tony Harris.
