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Obama Will Continue Aggressive Health Care Campaign; Obama Invites Professor, Police Officer to White House; Man Arrested on Organ Dealing Charge; Palin Ends Term as Alaska Governor; Michael Jackson Wanted Las Vegas Estate
Aired July 25, 2009 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, you are in THE NEWSROOM on this Saturday, July 25th. Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin, sitting in for Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Eleven o'clock here in the east where we sit; 8:00 a.m. out west. Wherever you are, we appreciate you being here with us.
We will start with the battle over health care reform -- at the center of the president and GOP's weekly addresses. The GOP is saying the president's plan will cost American job. Meanwhile, Democrats are divided over the plan which is by now stuck in all kinds of committees.
Kate Bolduan is at the White House with the latest, trying to keep up with all of this stuff. The president is saying -- took him a while to get back on message. You know, he's talking about other things the past couple of days, but wants to get back to health care reform. Where is he?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, T.J. Well, the president, similar as the White House, is trying to stay focus this week, is using his weekly address to continue pitching, making the pitch for health care reform for Americans across the country.
Listen here to a little bit of President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP,)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This debate is not a political game for these Americans and they cannot afford to keep waiting for reform. We owe it to them to finally get it done -- and to get it done this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Now, today's address by President Obama comes just after a setback for the president -- the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, announcing Thursday that the Senate will not meet the president's deadline of getting a vote on health care before the August recess.
Now, Congress is really struggling here with what to do and how -- where to find common ground when it comes to health care reform. This is not just a debate between Democrats and Republicans. This is also a debate between Democrats themselves -- specifically talking about liberals in the party and more conservative, more fiscally conservative Democrats.
The big issue here -- just to quickly sum up, T.J. -- that there are disagreements on how to bring down the skyrocketing cost of health care. There are disagreements over the government-run public option that is being proposed right now. And also, when talking about all of this, a big disagreement about how to pay for it all at the end of the day. So, those are the things that everyone is struggling with right now, T.J.
HOLMES: You're talking about the folks that are struggling and disagreeing right now. We know the president's poll numbers coming back down to Earth we've been seeing. Also, the Democrats, as you say, squabbling.
Do the Republicans see an opportunity? How are they going to tackle this issue?
BOLDUAN: Well, there's no question that Republicans are seeing an opportunity here and the Republicans are also using the weekly Republican response, the weekly address, to take on health care as well. The president, in his weekly address, talked specifically, trying to make the pitch to small businesses, saying small businesses will only be able to benefit from health care reform.
While in the Republican address, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State, she argues that the Democratic plan misses the mark and will do much more to hurt small businesses and the public than to help.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R), WASHINGTON: The Democrats' health care plan crafted largely behind closed doors isn't the right thing. It's a prescription for disaster -- one that will put Washington bureaucrats in charge of your family's personal medical decisions. Medical decisions that are some of the most personal decisions you'll ever make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Now, as you, of course, know, T.J., this is -- we're not at beginning anymore, we are in the middle of this debate and it will continue. And the president this week continuing an aggressive campaign of trying to get, win over more support behind his plan for health care reform and he's traveling to North Carolina and Virginia to talk directly to the American public about health care this week.
HOLMES: Kate Bolduan in the White House for us -- thank you so much, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Of course.
BALDWIN: The Taliban launched multiple suicide attacks on government buildings in Afghanistan today. Here's what the attackers hit: a bank, an army hospital and a police center, all in the Helmand Province, in the city of Khost there. Afghan officials say the fighters were wearing suicide vests and they were armed with rocket- propelled grenades.
The latest number we have, 14, number of people who are wounded and seven militants were killed.
Human rights supporters in dozens of cities all around the world are hitting the streets today in support of Iranians fighting for democracy. Take a look here. One of the protests is happening in Seoul, South Korea. Some pictures there. Supporters of Iran's pro- democracy movement hit the streets just as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to be sworn into office in less than two weeks.
In London, protesters there are wearing green in honor of what's being called a "green movement." They are calling for the release of hundreds of Iranians arrested during last month's demonstration against the country's elections.
HOLMES: A border patrol officer was killed chasing suspected Mexican smugglers near the border. This happened in Campo, California. It's just across the border, about a mile from the Mexican border. The 30-year-old officer was shot multiple times.
Officials believe the suspected smugglers were moving either drugs, possibly people even into the U.S. They said the smugglers probably crossed back into Mexico after being confronted by the border patrol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DARYL REED, BORDER PATROL SPOKESMAN: They were tracking a group. The group broke up. And -- so the agents broke up to follow them. They lost contact with them and, unfortunately, by the time they found him, he had suffered from some -- from multiple gunshot wounds and I believe he's found dead on the scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The FBI offering a $100,000 reward for information in this case.
And word now that President Bush considered using U.S. troops in a terror raid on American soil. In 2002, six men were arrested in Buffalo, New York, for allegedly plotting with al Qaeda. They become known as the Lackawanna Six. And "The New York Times" reports that Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the administration pushed for troops being used in that arrest, but President Bush wasn't so heavy on the idea, instead, letting the FBI take the lead.
President Obama is taking the lead and trying to tamp down the controversy surrounding the July 16th arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The president admitting he may have added to the firestorm by saying the Cambridge police, quote, "acted stupidly." Yesterday, the president clarified his position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically. And I could have calibrated those words differently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Here now, Professor Gates reaction to President Obama's about-face. In an e-mail he sent to our Don Lemon, Professor Gates says, quote, "I was very pleased that the president called me immediately today, and I was pleased that he proposed that I meet with Sergeant Crowley at the White House, since I had offered to meet with him since last Monday." He says, "I am eager for this to be used as a teaching moment to improve racial relations in America. This is certainly not about me," end quote.
Our Elaine Quijano is live for us in Cambridge with the latest on reaction from the town there.
Elaine, hello.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., President Obama's comments were really well-received here in Cambridge. As you might expect, this is front page news here in the Boston area. Today, no exception, the headline in "The Boston Globe" reading "Obama Moves to Quell Gates Furor."
Now, as you could imagine, all eyes really were glued to the television set yesterday. Police officers watching President Obama's comments very intently. Well, one of those was Sergeant Leon Lashley. He was actually one of those who responded along with Sergeant Crowley to the call of the break-in at Professor Gates' house.
Well, yesterday, he told our Don Lemon that he supports Sergeant Crowley's actions 100 percent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. LEON LASHLEY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS POLICE: From what I've seen -- I was there -- he did nothing wrong. This situation right here was not a racial motivated situation.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, you know people, obviously, they're going to pay close attention to you because you're an African- American man. I'm just being honest. And you're supporting this white officer that has been put out there by some that he was, you know, racially profiling Dr. Gates. They're going to pay attention to you.
LASHLEY: I hope they would. They called him a -- I've heard one of the comments as rogue cop. There's nothing rogue about him. He was doing his job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: We should tell you that Sergeant Lashley says, after the president spoke, there were cheers, there were high fives. He says it was like the air had been let out of the bubble. And we should tell you that, of course, officers here in Massachusetts area are really just want to move on.
After that phone call that President Obama made to Sergeant Crowley, a coalition of police unions released a written statement saying that Sergeant Crowley is profoundly grateful that the president took the time to try to resolve the situation. The statement goes on to say, "It is clear to us from this conversation that the president respects police officers." T.J.?
HOLMES: Elaine Quijano for us in Cambridge -- thank you so much.
Also this morning, we talked to Professor Gates' daughter, Elizabeth Gates. We talked to her last hour. Here's her take on the controversy and the efforts to move on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH GATES, PROFESSOR GATES'S DAUGHTER (via telephone): My father had extended himself to Sergeant Crowley originally, right as this kind of hit the media. My father extended himself privately and through his lawyer, Charles Ogletree, to resolve it early on. So, he was very thankful that the president's reinforcement actually got Sergeant Crowley at least considering attempting a resolution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Also, I talked with Gates's attorney, Charles Ogletree, a fellow professor at Harvard. We'll hear some more of that interview. We'll replay part of it at least for you this morning, a little later this hour.
BALDWIN: In a state known for corruption and bribes, it is a new low for New Jersey -- the alleged brokering of human organs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, the coroner's office investigating the death of Michael Jackson might end up under investigation itself. The investigators out there are looking into whether or not the coroner's office illegally leaked some information about Michael Jackson death investigation. The sheriff spokesman won't say what prompted this investigation but the "L.A. Times" is reporting that the county supervisor's office requested it after employees not involved with the investigation were found accessing Jackson's death certificate.
BALDWIN: Some grim details are now emerging in that massive FBI corruption raid that happened in New Jersey this past week. There were sitting mayors, a couple other elected officials, including five rabbis nabbed in this dragnet.
HOLMES: Yes. It sounds like a bad joke or bad movie even.
BALDWIN: Bad movie. Very real.
HOLMES: A bad movie. But maybe the most disturbing part of this case is the alleged brokering of human organs.
Mary Snow reports for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the dozens arrested in a wide-ranging corruption probe, prosecutors called this man "the kidney salesman." Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum faces charges of acting as human organ broker. A criminal complaint alleges Rosenbaum offered to obtain a kidney for an undercover FBI agent and informant, explaining, "I am what you call a matchmaker."
RALPH MARRA, U.S. ATTORNEY: His business was to entice vulnerable people to give up a kidney for $10,000, which he in turn would turn around and sell for $160,000.
SNOW: About his business, the complaint quotes Rosenbaum as saying, "I'm doing this a long time. Let me explain to you one thing, it's illegal to buy or sell organs. So, you cannot buy it. What do you is, you're giving a compensation for the time."
We reached out to an attorney representing Rosenbaum, who declined comment, explaining he wanted to review the charges in the case before speaking.
While officials would only say the probe is continuing, an anthropologist at the University of California at Berkeley and director of the group Organ Watch says she met with the FBI in 2002 to pass on information about Rosenbaum. She said the meeting involved a much wider global investigation into trafficking of human organs.
She also says she witnessed poorer people in Eastern Europe recruited to sell organs.
NANCY SCHEPER-HUGHES, ORGAN WATCH: They got so little money -- $2,000, $2,500. They felt abused. They felt that they were living cadavers, that nobody cared about them. They chopped them up and then, you know, after a day or two in the hospital, were sent home.
SNOW: We asked the FBI about Nancy Scheper-Hughes going to them in 2002. She also says the FBI contacted her again in recent days. The FBI declined comment, saying it cannot discuss sources or citizens who come forward to lend assistance.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, President Obama says the pain of discrimination is still felt in America. We'll show you two young black businessmen who won't let that stand in their way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Hi.
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Hey, Reynolds. Yes. I know we were talking earlier. Actually, on a very serious note, that tornado in Florida, and those pictures we got in from, what, someone's cell phone?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's amazing stuff. We got cell phone pictures. We also have some video from the ground.
We're going to start with that video on the ground. You know, the central Florida is actually known as the lightning capital of the United States. But yesterday, it was a tornado that caused some damage. You see some of it right here in the foreground, some of it off in the distance; widespread power outages.
People are getting up today, doing what they can to clean up their neighborhoods. One hundred and sixty-three homes have been damaged. Seven completely destroyed. You know, with all the damage, thankfully, only one injury caused by flying glass.
Now, you want to see something that's fine, take a look at this. You see this tornado that actually moved from the land, moving out towards the east, over open water where it became a waterspout. It didn't last all that long. These shots were actually sent in. This was actually sent in by Rebecca Owen. She was down there on vacation, usually, that's supposed to be a relaxing time and she had kind of a big stressor watching this storm roll off deep into the ocean.
Now, the latest we're seeing there in parts of Florida, I'll tell you, it's going to be scattered showers. They're not out of the woods just yet. And is there a chance they'll be deal wig the same activity and potential tornadoes? Probably not. A better chance of that will occur in parts of the Ohio Valley and in the eastern Great Lakes.
As we make our way into the northern plains, we have a chance of seeing not necessarily some tornadoes, but possibly some severe storms that could bring large hail, maybe even some damaging winds. Scattered showers are going to be possible into the central Rockies.
Back out to the west coast, still relatively dry. Dry and very warm for you in Texas, where high temperatures in Dallas will warm up to 101 degrees; 96 degrees for you in Houston; 92 in Memphis. Back over to Washington, D.C., 92.
New York, you've had one of the coolest summers so far on record. But today, you're going up to about 96 degrees. Boston outside Fenway Park is going up into 94. Miami and Tampa, mainly into the 80s and 90s. Maybe you get those stray showers and maybe thunderstorms are going to cool them quite rapidly for you.
Ninety-six in Houston; 98 degrees in Las Vegas, and 63 in San Francisco; Seattle checking in with 86, in the "Emerald City."
That is a look at your forecast. Things look pretty good for most of the country. Watch out though for storms in the Ohio Valley and parts of Big Sky Country in the northern Rockies.
OK? You're up to speed, guys.
BALDWIN: Send me to San Francisco, I like that.
WOLF: Yes, absolutely beautiful there.
BALDWIN: Reynolds, thanks.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.
BALDWIN: You know, it takes a lot of grit to make a small business thrive, especially when the economy isn't so great.
HOLMES: Yes. And for some people, they say you can be on top at that. If you're a racial minority, they're just too many barriers there. That is the president said this in his NAACP speech.
Our Soledad O'Brien profiled two young businessmen succeeding despite the odds. This was in our "Black in America 2."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Mr. -- a membership-based barber shop where a plan can get high-end cuff links, a massage, and a haircut, while having a glass of wine.
SEAN HAYWOOD, BARBERSHOP OWNER: We view ourselves as a brick and mortar component to a LinkedIn.
O'BRIEN: Kumi Walker and Sean Haywood created the concept while students at Stanford Business School.
KUMI WALKER, BARBERSHOP OWNER: Barber shops always represented kind of this refuge from the outside world and a place where you can kind of just be yourself.
O'BRIEN: But owning a business in the heart of San Francisco has its obstacles.
WALKER: Our first major challenge was getting a landlord to be willing to rent space to two young black businesspeople.
HAYWOOD: We currently are running a very non-traditional business that even in boom times doesn't easily get, you know, financing from banks.
O'BRIEN: Poor access to loans for black businesses contributes to a huge wealth gap, according to Angela Glover Blackwell.
ANGELA GLOVER BLACKWELL, FOUNDER AND CEO, POLICYLINK: Black people have always sought small businesses as a way to be able to build their wealth. Historically, they sought their own businesses because they couldn't get jobs in the corporation.
O'BRIEN: For Kumi, building wealth means taking big risks.
WALKER: After business school, we didn't choose a high-paying investment banking job. We chose to bootstrap a start-up.
O'BRIEN: Every day they'd pull on those bootstraps. To stay afloat, Sean and Kumi must reinforce their vision to investors.
HAYWOOD: These are tough times and people are very, very concerned.
WALKDER: It's probably more important to them that they stay groomed.
HAYWOOD: We are just scratching the surface to what Mr. can really be.
WALKER: We are fighting to thrive, not survive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great.
WALKER: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take care.
HAYWOOD: Kumi and I made the decision for ourselves, individually, for the corporation that we not to participate with the recession.
O'BRIEN (on camera): If you may not be participating the recession, the recession sometimes is knocking on the door.
HAYWOOD: Right.
O'BRIEN: And wants to participate with you.
HAYWOOD: Right. It's literally how we try to innovate around it.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): And that innovation requires a new marketing strategy.
WALKER: The biggest change again is to the about us section.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been trying to adopt a different philosophy.
WALKER: Mr. changes you. It changes your perspective. Now, life is a game to be played, not a grind to be endured.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's cool. I like that a lot.
WALKER: To do more with less. That's what it means to be a black entrepreneur and to be a black businessperson in America.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Why does it matter if Mr. makes it?
WALKER: I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors, I just want to be as, you know, successful as possible so I can turn around and be mentors and sponsors to other people who come after me.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Soledad O'Brien, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And as a reminder, if you missed a minute of "Black in America 2," you can see it again in its entirety. We're running it tonight and tomorrow night, 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
BALDWIN: Sarah Palin saying her goodbyes to Alaska, moving out of the governor's mansion this weekend. We are looking what is next on her agenda.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, here we are now half past the hour.
This is what's happening right now: CNN affiliate television WHDH television in Boston reporting a plane that left Logan Airport this morning, heading for Puerto Rico, had safely returned after smoke was reported onboard. We're told it was in the lavatory and also possibly in the cargo department. More on this story as we get it.
Also, more demonstrations happening today, really admonishing Iran's government. This is happening around the globe with these marches today. This one you're see is in London. One of several organized today. Demonstrators are demanding an end to human rights abuses following Iran's crackdown on critics of the controversial reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
BALDWIN: We are also now getting some live pictures. Take a look at a plane there on the ground. This is over Oklahoma -- Oklahoma City. This is all thanks to our affiliate KOCO. That is happening, as you can see, right by an expressway. This is happening in northwest Oklahoma City.
Again, according to KOCO, a couple people have been injured when the plane crashed sometime this morning. According to these unconfirmed reports from emergency officials on scene, this is a single-engine plane that crashed in front of a bank. Can you imagine? A Bank of Oklahoma. That's in northwest expressway and Candlewood Drive. A number of people were taken to the hospital, but no fatalities have been reported yet.
You can see some people may be checking out what is still left inside the airplane. Firefighter on scene are still scratching their heads over how this could have happened. We'll keep an eye on this thing though from KOCO. We'll bring you the latest as soon as we get that.
Moving on, a local incident that has become really this national debate. We're talking about the arrest nine days ago of a prominent Harvard professor. President Obama has commented on it twice now -- twice.
CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian on how the president has tried to smooth things over.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It wasn't quite an apology, but President Obama tried to put out a wildfire that was burning out of control, placing a five-minute phone call to Sergeant James Crowley.
OBAMA: I obviously helped to contribute ratcheting it up. I want to make clear that in my choice of words, I think I unfortunately gave an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge Police Department or Sergeant Crowley specifically. And I could have calibrated those words differently.
LOTHIAN: Words the president uttered at his Wednesday primetime press conference.
OBAMA: The Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home.
LOTHIAN: In his first sit-down television interview, Crowley said he never wanted to take such drastic action.
SGT. JAMES CROWLEY, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS POLICE: I was continuously telling him to calm down during this whole exchange because I really didn't want this either. Nonetheless, that's how far Professor Gates pushed it, and provoked and just wouldn't stop.
LOTHIAN: The president now concedes that his good friend Henry Louis Gates, Jr. also played a role in how all this turned out.
OBAMA: There was an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home to the station. I also continue to believe, based on what I heard, that Professor Gates probably overreacted as well.
LOTHIAN: This came just hours after a group of police officers in Massachusetts made it clear what they wanted to hear from President Obama.
STEVE KILLIAN, CAMBRIDGE POLICE PATROL OFFICERS ASSOCIATION.: I think when the time is right they should make an apology to us. I think that the president should make an apology to all law enforcement personnel throughout the entire country who took offense to this.
LOTHIAN: The president admitted that this controversy was taking attention away from his top domestic priority: health care reform. Beyond smoothing this over with the arresting officer, Mr. Obama said he hopes this becomes a teachable moment.
OBAMA: Where all of us, instead of pumping up the volume, spend a little more time listening to each other and try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and minority communities.
LOTHIAN (on camera): The White House says that President Obama called Professor Gates, had a positive discussion and invited him here to meet with Sergeant Crowley in the near future. The president and Crowley had earlier talk about all three of them getting together here at the White House for a beer.
Dan Lothian, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
T.J. HOLMES: Well, Professor Gates and his attorney say they are up for that beer. We'll see what happens.
Well, as the president yesterday, as we saw, was trying to calm everybody down. It sounded like Gates's side wanted to calm everybody down as well. And that's what it sounded like when I talked to Charles Ogletree, the attorney for Professor Gates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Did Professor Gates do anything wrong? Not in a legal sense and break some law, but did he do anything wrong as a private citizen, as an upstanding citizen, as responsible citizen and not give due reverence to the police officer?
CHARLES OGLETREE, GATES'S ATTORNEY: No. Of course, he's angry. He's given two forms of identification of his house. He said, "I am who I am," and he said, you know -- all he asked, he said, "I want to file a complaint against you, because you're not listening to me, and I want to file a complaint against you and I want your badge and your number."
HOLMES: Did he ever though -- you said he's upset, so, you're acknowledging that he maybe he did come across as upset or animated or belligerent even. Could that have been interpreted by the officer as that?
OGLETREE: I'm not sure how the officer interpreted, but if you ask any homeowner, "How do you feel in your own house when you produce your identification and the officer knows that it's you, how do you feel?" I can't imagine many people wouldn't be disappointed.
HOLMES: Is it possible that -- and some would argue as well, but I want to ask your opinion -- is Professor Gates guilty of some sort of profiling as well where as he sees an officer, a white officer, and he sees it as "this officer is out to get me because I'm a black man rather than this is just an officer doing his job"?
OGLETREE: Well, I mean -- and you've never heard me use the word, this officer engaged in racial profiling. I said he exercised bad judgment and I think he did.
HOLMES: So, do you believe this has nothing to do with race?
OGLETREE: I don't know. We'll find out. I think there's a lot that hasn't been determined yet and a lot to be determine. The only time that this was not calm is when Professor Gates said, "I'm going to file a complaint."
Maybe he should have thought that and not said, but once he said, "I'm going to file a complaint, I'd like to your name and badge number," the dynamics changed, because that's what he said. And that's repeated over and over again. He says, "Why are you doing this? Is it because I'm a black man and you're a white police officer?"
HOLMES: Now, was he saying it as calmly as you're saying it to me?
OGLETREE: Well, I -- well, the recordings will show. You can imagine that he's feeling this sense of indignity that people feel every day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And one important note: Professor Ogletree says they have no intentions of filing any kind of lawsuit against the Cambridge Police Department.
BALDWIN: New information here on this plane that has crashed in northwestern Oklahoma City. It's a single-engine plane just off the northwest expressway. The FAA has just released a couple of bullet points.
According to this -- just a preliminary investigation here, this is a Beechcraft Bonanza. The plane took off from Wiley Post, that is in Oklahoma City, heading to Enid, Oklahoma, and it had some kind of engineering problems -- still not pinpointing exactly what happened onboard the plane to make it go down, tried to circle back, crashed about a mile from a field, this grassy patch there, just off the expressway, near the Bank of Oklahoma, hit a tree at the end of the parking lot.
FAA is saying that passengers onboard did suffer multiple injuries. No fatalities are reported. We know those passengers got out of that plane and are now en route to, if not at the hospital by now. A number of emergency crews, firefighters, EMS on the scene working were saying front seat passengers in fact had to be cut out of the airplane. As soon as we get more information, we'll get it to you.
HOLMES: Well, tomorrow, she will be called the ex-governor of Alaska. Sarah Palin, as you know, is stepping down. It becomes official tomorrow. The moving van pulls up to the governor's mansion in Juneau. You see it there. But we're going to show her annual picnic in Wasilla, her hometown, to say goodbye to friends and supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: From the bottom of my heart and especially this being my last time to speak to the Valley community as your governor, I do want to tell you, sincerely, that I love you. I appreciate you and your support. The support you've shown my family. God bless you and God bless America.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That sweatshirt apparently caused a bit of a stir up in Alaska. We talked to a local reporter a little earlier, and he says a lot of people took note that she was wearing a New England Patriots sweatshirt.
Paul, did you make anything of the sweatshirt?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Maybe she's going for that vote in New England, T.J.
HOLMES: She's thinking ahead, huh? Always -- yes, always have to think ahead.
Our Paul Steinhauser, friend of our show here CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING, and our deputy police director, joins now.
So, besides maybe stumping in the northeast for some votes, what is she going to do next?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, that is the big question everybody wants to know. You know what? Yesterday, she didn't take reporters questions at that picnic in Wasilla. So, she didn't give any answers there, but she has said, since she's shocked everybody a couple of weeks ago by saying she was going to resign, she has said she wants to continue to fight for the causes that are important to her, T.J..
She's also said she wants to campaign for candidates who she agrees with on the issues and whose ideas she likes. And that is sparking speculation that maybe -- maybe she wants to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Remember, she was John McCain's running mate the last time around.
Hey, at that picnic yesterday, there were some chants of "Sarah Palin in 2012" -- T.J.
HOLMES: She wants to do that. It's a little ways out, but at this point, what do we know about what Americans think about this soon-to-be former governor?
STEINHAUSER: You know, she's a polarizing figure. I think that's safe to say. A lot of people either really like her or really do not really like her. But there were two new polls that came out this week, both showing that a majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of her.
One of them -- take a look. ABC News and "The Washington Post" came out yesterday, you can see right there, 53 percent of all Americans say they have an unfavorable view, according to this poll, only four in 10 favorable.
But, look at the breakdown by party -- really interesting here. And you can see that among Republicans, seven in 10 say they have a favorable opinion of her. That drops for independents and, of course, only two in 10 Democrat say they have a favorable view of Sarah Palin, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Well, at the next picnic, if she shows up with an Iowa Hawkeye's sweatshirt, we know something's up.
All right. Paul Steinhauser, it's always good to see you, buddy. Thanks.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks, buddy.
BALDWIN: We'd be tipped often.
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: But some people, they are not waiting for the politicians to hammer out health care reform. I will show you an amazing young man, and my new friend, who is taking charge of the insurance companies who say no.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: This affects every single one of us, overhauling the health care. There maybe no issue to Washington that really, more greatly affects not only your wallet but your wellness.
HOLMES: Yes. So, with stakes that high, we got always time to maybe check some of the facts out there on both sides. Josh Levs has the fact-check.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys. The health care debate is heating up and obviously, right now, we've got flames flying back and forth, left and right, metaphorically and literally, and we need to reality check them. So, in order to that, we are bringing Bill Adair from PolitiFact.com.
There you are, Bill. How are you doing?
BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: Good. Thanks for having me, Josh.
LEVS: All right. Thanks for doing this.
I want to start off today with something interesting. One of the latest ones you all have on PolitiFact.com, you're giving President Obama a full flop on health care. What's that about?
ADAIR: Well, it has to do with something that he said back during the campaign. Back in the early part of the campaign for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards mandated that people get health insurance coverage as part of their health coverage plan. That was what led to it to be universal. Obama did not. In fact, he made a point of saying that he would not mandate it because he was afraid that people couldn't afford it.
Fast forward to today: Obama is now supporting a mandate.
LEVS: Actually, this is one of most memorable Clinton versus Obama moments of the entire presidential nomination campaign last year.
ADAIR: Yes. It was...
LEVS: When she was waving those fliers saying, "Barack Obama, shame on you," and he had these ads out about her. That's what he was getting at -- this idea of a mandate for everyone to have health insurance.
ADAIR: Exactly. And yes, he criticized her for having that mandate and that led to the big "Shame on you" response. So, you know, in our view, that makes this really a full flop. So that's how we rated this on our flip-o-meter. Obama has acknowledged that much. And so, a full flop for this one.
LEVS: Got to love politics.
All right. Let's look at the other side now. You have one on Republicans, this is interesting. And this began as -- as I understand it -- an editorial, but was picked up by a lawmaker and you're giving this one your "pants on fire" rating. What's this about?
ADAIR: Yes, the claim is that on page 16, very precise, of the health care bill, is a provision that would outlaw private individual health insurance. And that was in "Investor's Business Daily," an editorial, and then, has been picked up by Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and many bloggers to say, "Look, this health care bill that's pending is -- could be disastrous, and it would outlaw your coverage," they say.
Well, it's not true. If you go to page 16, as we did, it has no such thing. It's so ridiculous. We gave it our lowest rating "pants on fire."
LEVS: Bill Adair, thanks so much.
ADAIR: Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: All right, guys. Back to you.
(EDN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We're going it talk about one teenager now. For this one, health care reform became personal when he suffered a horrible accident.
BALDWIN: His name is Jordan Thomas. He lost both of his legs and since then, and really as the result of it, he got a new mission in life. Here is his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN (voice-over): Jordan Thomas plays a serious golf game. It's par for the course for this talented athlete who spent his childhood excelling at sports. Even on family vacations, Jordan would show off his fishing skills.
But four years ago, in the Florida Keys, the family's annual boating trip went terribly wrong. Just hours after this photos were taken, Jordan jumped in the ocean to test the waters.
JORDAN THOMAS, DOUBLE AMPUTEE: The wave pushed me behind the boat. And I remember just hearing, being underneath the boat and hearing the motor go. And just, I knew immediately what happened. I looked down, my back bands are gone and all I saw was just red, just everywhere.
BALDWIN: The boat's propellers slashing Jordan's leg. His parents, both doctors, had to act fast. They were five miles from shore.
DR. VIC THOMAS, JORDAN'S FATHER: He had a lot of bleeding, of course. And we had to work quickly to control that. And...
BALDWIN (on camera): So, perhaps, if you didn't have that experience as doctors, knowing how to stop the bleeding or lessen the bleeding, perhaps you would have lost him?
V. THOMAS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.
V. THOMAS: I think so.
J. THOMAS: In an instant I was a bilateral amputee.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Jordan spent the next two weeks in the Miami hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries. But while recovering, he visited a wing for children who had lost limbs were being treated, but their families couldn't afford expensive prosthetics.
J. THOMAS: I found out that, you know, while the insurance companies put a $5,000 cap on your legs and, like I said, mine were $22,000. So, $17,000. What do you do?
BALDWIN: At only age 16, with his family's help, he started the Jordan Thomas Foundation, helping disadvantaged kids get the prosthetics they need.
J. THOMAS: I decided that I wanted to make something positive out of this negative, horrible, horrible event.
BALDWIN: The foundation has since raised $350,000, which pays for prosthetics for three children -- one of them, 6-year-old Noah Parton. Doctors had to amputate Noah's right leg when he was just three weeks old because of a condition stemming from a heartbeat. His parents' primary insurance funded his first prosthetic leg, but it had no knee.
NANCY PARTON, NOAH'S MOTHER: Just a standard leg, it doesn't do anything. Just straight.
BALDWIN (on camera): So, it doesn't bend.
NANCY PARTON: Don't do nothing.
BALDWIN (voice-over): That became difficult as Noah learned to walk. And since Noah was growing boy, he needed more frequent upgrades that insurance just didn't cover.
NANCY PARTON: If the time limit isn't enough between when he made one foot to another one, they don't want to pay for it.
BALDWIN: So, Jordan's foundation did.
(on camera): You like the knee?
NOAH PARTON, FOUNDATION RECIPIENT: Yes.
BALDWIN: How's it work? Just like that.
NOAH PARTON: Yes, and you can -- do this. Watch.
BALDWIN: Wow.
(voice-over): This issue has garnered national attention. In May, New Jersey Congressman Robert Andrews introduced the prosthetics and orthotics parity bill.
REP. ROBERT ANDREWS (D), NEW JERSEY: What I think they ought to cover is the same percentage of the cost that they would for a knee operation or a heart operation. You know, if you've got a deductible of $500 and they pay the rest, that's what they should do for a prosthetic device.
BALDWIN: As for Jordan, the only time you'll ever hear him mention the word "handicap" is on the golf course.
These days, through his foundation, he is driving home the message that anything is possible.
J. THOMAS: Helping these kids and seeing that, it just motivates you to just -- you just want to get more money from people and you want to help more people and just have that insatiable desire to keep helping people. So, it's a good thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Yes, it's a good thing. It's a great thing. I want to tell you about two awards I know. I know. Amazing. Jordan won the International Youth and Philanthropy Award. He got that this spring.
And just next month, he'll be getting the National Courage Award. He was up against Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali.
HOLMES: Wow.
BALDWIN: And he won.
HOLMES: That kid, I mean, what a story. He could have given up. He could have been upset.
BALDWIN: Right.
HOLMES: He could have done all of that stuff and a lot of people would have understood. That is amazing -- just to see his demeanor there when you talked to him in that interview. What a good kid.
BALDWIN: Yes. Junior in college. If you'd like more information, a lot of people have already seen the story and they're calling them to help. If you'd like more information about the foundation, just go to CNN.com/Impact.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Hello.
HOLMES: Hi.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello!
(LAUGHTER)
BALDWIN: Hello. How are we doing?
WHITFIELD: I know, mad rush to get all my little stuff on.
BALDWIN: You got it. You're good.
WHITFIELD: OK.
BALDWIN: What's coming up?
WHITFIELD: Did you have a good morning?
HOLMES: Yes, we did. We start at 6:00 a.m. It's a long story with this one.
BALDWIN: Huge grumblings over with something...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Well, it's going to be a good day as well because we also have lots of news in which to, you know, kind of keep the momentum going from your energy this morning.
BALDWIN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: So, we've all been talking about Professor Henry Louis Gates, right? And where does this case, or is there a case, where does it go from here?
Our legal eagles will be delving into this to see if maybe that invitation from the White House will help quiet everything down. Well, it just be a matter of throwing back a beer and everyone singing kumbaya and then move on? Or is this really the beginning of a dialogue that the nation is going to be engaged in?
And then...
LEMON: All these years, we're going to solve the race issues with a beer.
BALDWIN: A beer.
WHITFIELD: I don't think it's going to happen. But, you know, starting point or ending point, which is it?
BALDWIN: Right.
WHITFIELD: All right. And then let's talk about health care, because we know we've been hearing members of Congress all week long and the president talk about it. Well, what about Massachusetts and its universal health care, is it a model? We're going to be joined by someone who's going to say, "OK, there's a couple problems with it, but maybe this is incentive for the public health care system. Let's see if it happens.
HOLMES: That's heck (ph) of problems.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HOLMES: That's hundreds of millions of dollars of problems.
WHITFIELD: I know, in the form of big money, but we'll see.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we will see you shortly.
WHITFIELD: Noon and on.
HOLMES: Noon and beyond.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BALDWIN: How lovely dress, Fredricka.
HOLMES: We'll see you shortly.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
Well, still to come here, more than a mansion, and the one Michael Jackson had his eye on. We will take a look inside the home he never got a chance to buy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. It's the home Michael Jackson never got to buy. A permanent residence in Las Vegas where his Realtor says Jackson wanted to build a new life.
BALDWIN: CNN's Drew Griffin from our Special Investigations Unit got an exclusive look inside the home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the home Michael Jackson wanted, but at the time even he couldn't afford. According to his Las Vegas realtor, Zar Zanganeh, this 10-acre, walled estate was to be Michael Jackson's Vegas wonderland.
ZAR ZANGANEH, MICHAEL JACKSON'S REALTOR: This is the only house I showed Michael out of probably 10 or a dozen where he came outside, and he came outside with no umbrella, no mask on, just came out here with the kids to see the grounds of the property.
Through these gates here, we have an apartment. It's about 1,000 square feet, and the kids wanted to make it into the play room, and Michael loved that idea.
GRIFFIN: Instead, Zanganeh placed Jackson and his family into this lease home. It was not up to par, says Zanganeh, but Jackson was building a life in Las Vegas and also trying to build back his wealth, entertaining casino owners who were offering Jackson deal after deal to make him stay.
ZANGANEH: I know that Michael really liked the idea of being able to perform in one location night after night. He loved the fact that the kids could actually have a place to call home and not move around with him since they are always going everywhere with him. That was an idea that very much appealed to him.
There's a couple of secret tunnels through here.
GRIFFIN: The estate is filled with quirky appeals, secret tunnels leading to a gun range Jackson wanted to turn into a music studio, a barber chair in the master bath, a full gym, theater room, and a 20-car garage where he and his family could load into and out of cars out of view.
(on camera): What was he most interested in when he'd come into a house like this?
ZANGANEH: Michael's biggest concern, in my opinion, was always the safety of his children.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): At the time, just back from his self- exile in Bahrain and Ireland, Jackson simply couldn't afford the $22 million to $25 million price tag. Zanganeh says he believes the concert tour would have been Michael Jackson's pathway back to this house, a permanent show in Las Vegas, and a new retreat he would have called Wonderland.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Oh, the place is amazing.
BALDWIN: A secret cave and a rock fountain, how cool if you are a kid?
HOLMES: Yes. And it makes a lot of sense to hear -- I mean, Michael Jackson -- that's where so many stars do go and they can make a lot of money in Vegas.
BALDWIN: Yes, and he needed to make some money.
HOLMES: And apparently, he needed to. He never got a chance.
Well, that's it for Brooke and I.
Brooke, thank you for being here.
BALDWIN: Thanks for having me again.
HOLMES: You're back here with us tomorrow as well.
BALDWIN: Tomorrow morning, bright and early.
But CNN NEWSROOM continues with...
WHITFIELD: And you sound so enthusiastic about that, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Woo-hoo! I love being here. Thank you, T.J.
WHITFIELD: And we love that you are here.
All right, you guys, have a great day.
BALDWIN: Thanks.
HOLMES: All right, thank you.
WHITFIELD: Sneak in a little nap, maybe...
BALDWIN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... so you can wake up bright and early again.
All right, thanks so much, you all.
