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Cambridge Police Department Holds News Conference; Following the Federal Stimulus Money; Pushing out the Taliban; Health Care Push and Pullback; N.J. Homebuilder Holds On; Thousands Attend Free Clinic
Aired July 27, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The Obama administration opens a full- court press on the Middle East in Israel today. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, but he is also urging dialogue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I think we are in full agreement on the negative consequences of Iran obtaining this kind of a capability.
I think we are also agreed that it is important to take every opportunity to try and persuade the Iranians to reconsider what is actually in their own security interest. And we are in the process of doing that both in terms of the president's offer to engage with the Iranians, but also through sanctions to impose costs on them for pursuing that course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Israel told the U.S. defense secretary upon his arrival today that it won't rule out a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites.
Our Cal Perry is in Beirut, Lebanon.
Cal, Mideast envoy George Mitchell is on this trip as well, but he started in Syria. Why did he start there? Why not Israel?
CAL PERRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it was an interesting message to send to the Israelis. Certainly, the Israelis have been the staunchest allies of the United States in the region for over 60 years, but now the United States is finding itself in a position where Syria has a lot to offer. There's a lot of shared interest right now between the United States...
HARRIS: Cal, I apologize so much. We're going to try to get back to you in just a couple of minutes, but we have to get to Cambridge, Massachusetts now. The promised news conference is under way.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
ROBERT HEALY, CITY MANAGER, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS: ... learned from that incident. Since then, we have asked Robert Wasserman and Chuck Wexler to convene a committee to facilitate an analysis and develop recommendations that the department can use as guidance in the future.
The mission of this committee is larger than a mere investigation into the events of July 16. While it is important for the committee to understand those events, this committee will not be conducting an internal investigation, nor will it make any official judgments on the actions of the officers in the department. Rather, the committee will identify lessons to be taken from the circumstances surrounding the incident and how those lessons can be applied to the polices, practices and training programs of the Cambridge Police Department.
It will examine the organization of the Cambridge Police Department, its currently policies and its relationships with all parts of the Cambridge community. The scope of the committee's work will include identifying learning points about the interaction between residents and the police by examining departmental policies and training; approaches to conflict resolution and strategies to defuse difficult situations; gauging the spectrum of views and concerns held by the public, as well as officers, through focus group meetings with the diverse segment of the larger Cambridge community and officers representing a wide range of ranks and assignments; identifying areas where the department can enhance its operations to handle similar incidents in the future in the best possible way; assessing how issues of race and perceptions can impact on daily encounters between the police and community members; produce findings and presenting best practices to the Cambridge Police Department and the entire law enforcement community of this nation.
Bob Wasserman is chairman of the Strategic Policy Partnership, and has worked extensively with the federal government and many local law enforcement agencies on the issue of police strategy, diversity and management. I have known Bob for some years, as he has assisted many government executives to address complex issues facing policing in an urban community. He is a nationally recognized leader in organizational issues and has national respect.
I have asked Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the PERF, the Police Executive Research Forum, to chair this committee. Chuck is no stranger to Cambridge. I have known Chuck for some 20 years, and Chuck has worked with me and the city of Cambridge over that time. He is a native of Boston who earned his bachelor's degree at Boston University and a doctorate at MIT. I expect that he will be with us later in the week for further analysis.
PERF has a reputation for providing honest assessments of police departments, for calling it like they see it. For those of you who may not be familiar with this organization, PERF is a think tank in Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to advancing professionalism in policing across the United States. I encourage you to go to the PERF Web site to check out their work.
I have confidence that with their leadership the leadership assembled here today, that this committee will help us emerge as a stronger committee. Individuals have already been identified to serve in this committee and I look forward to announcing them later this week.
I would like at this point to ask Mayor Denise Simmons to say a few words, and I will return to the podium for questions and answers after the mayor speaks.
MAYOR DENISE SIMMONS, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS: Thank you, Mr. City Manager.
And good afternoon.
What you hear this afternoon is an important occasion, and it's one that we shall remember as a turning point for the city and for its city's residents. While this has been a trying time for Cambridge, we are confident that we can ultimately come out stronger and a more unified community.
I stand representing our city as the mayor, my colleagues. I see our vice mayor, Sam Seidel, is with me this afternoon to show a sign of support and unity.
Our hope is that we're have these examinations discussions that shall continue throughout the continuing weeks and months. And we'll ultimately prove that the way that we interact as neighbors and colleagues and fellow citizens is one that we have to do very consciously.
I strongly support our commissioner, Bob Haas, and I fully endorse this committee and the plans to convene on this matter. I look forward to the facilitated social discourse conversations, and I shall continue to focus my energy on helping the community learn from this experience.
It is my hope and expectation that these events will serve as a catalyst for some important discussions, and that we shall come all the way with (AUDIO GAP) understanding. That we'll come away with a better understanding of how we can interact as a community and how we can avoid situations like this from recurring. I also have sincere hope that the people of Cambridge will ultimately walk away from this experience healthier and more empathetic as a city.
I thank you for your time.
HARRIS: OK. And there you have Cambridge's mayor, Mayor Denise Simmons, and the man at the podium who started the news conference, Cambridge City Manager Robert Healy, announcing that a committee is being set up to investigate the July 16 arrest of Professor Gates.
But interestingly enough, the committee will not offer a statement on the conduct of the arresting officer. The committee will explore conflict resolution, will conduct focus group meetings with police and the Cambridge community. So, in essence, in short, this is an episode that will be used, according to the Cambridge city manager, as a learning and teaching moment.
As you know, the president is scheduled to meet sometime this week with Sergeant Crowley, with Professor Gates. The three men will meet at the White House and then have a beer, although Professor gates doesn't drink beer. But the men will talk through the July 16th arrest and move this forward. Close that chapter and move it forward.
We will keep you posted on any developments in this story.
A big surprise in the latest housing report. My goodness. The Commerce Department showing an 11 percent jump in sales of newly constructed single family homes. The June increase was much greater than economists expected. However, we should point out, sales are still 28 percent below the levels of one year ago.
Following the money. The government has spent about 10 percent of the massive $787 billion stimulus package. That's your tax dollars we're talking about here.
And our Christine Romans is tracking where it's gone. She joins us now from New York.
Christine, good to see you again.
What have you been learning? What have you found out here?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've been learning, first of all, we've got about $67 billion paid out so far. So, $67 billion of your tax money has been paid out.
HARRIS: OK.
ROMANS: And we're following all the projects. And you can follow them, too, at recovery.gov. But let me tell you one of them.
This is a project that's on the top of the list of the critics of the stimulus, some people who don't like this one. This is for an abandoned train station.
We're going to pay $9.3 million to fix up an unused train station in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. About 80,000 people a year use the platform. There's an Amtrak train that stops on the platform, but they're going to use this stimulus money to spruce up the train station, maybe put a coffee shop in there. We're told that there is increased ridership on this line, so it could be helpful. But critics of the stimulus, Tony, say this one is not a good use of money.
Another one on here, this one's out in Colorado. It's a bird- watching road, a bird road. A few million dollars for this one, $2.5 million here.
Apparently, this is a place out in Colorado where, if you want to watch raptors, this is where people go. But there's been some erosion on the roads, they're going to fix up the roads. We don't know exactly how much jobs will be saved or created because of this one, but this one is for bird-watching roads. And there are several different ecological-type projects like this around the country happening in different places to try to help tourism on the one, but also because some of this is just maintenance and upkeep that needs to happen. And then, finally, this one is bricks and mortar. This one is people and brains. This is about $3 million, fellowships for young scientists, funding for people to continue their post-doctorate, to continue their advanced fellowship for global health leadership.
So, some of these -- one is a project for an American scientist in South Africa. Another one is studying syphilis in China. Others are obesity, heart issues here in the United States. So that will be 23 different fellowships. So, not a building, not a road, not something for -- but that just gives you an idea, I think, Tony, of the various different kinds of projects that are out there getting under way.
HARRIS: What is it, $67 billion so far? Is that the number?
ROMANS: Sixty-seven billion dollars has been paid out. A hundred and eighty-some billion dollars has been allocated. So, it's been said, yes, here, this is where it's going to go. You can go. They've actually paid out about $67 billion.
So, you know, even as we're talking about health care and other things, Tony, there's still this big, huge chunk of money that's just now moving out the door. And we're watching it.
Also, on that Web site, recovery.gov, you can report if you think waste, fraud, any pilfering, if you're involved in one of these projects, you can report it to us or to the government.
HARRIS: We'll follow up?
ROMANS: And we'll follow up, because, you know, there are estimates that $55 billion will be wasted or will just disappear because of fraud in all of this. So, everyone wants to keep an eye on the money.
HARRIS: Yes. Appreciate it, and glad you're doing it for us.
Christine, appreciate it. Thank you.
And here is a look at a few other issue #1 stories in today's economic headlines.
Verizon is cutting another 8,000 jobs, bringing the year's total to 16,000. Reductions will come in landline operations. They could be offset, at least partly, by hiring in the company's wireless division.
An unusual event for a Federal Reserve chairman, to say the least -- a town hall meeting. Ben Bernanke says he had to hold his nose on the government bailouts, but he wasn't about to be the Fed chairman who presided over a second Great Depression.
And gas is getting a little bit cheaper. In fact, about seven cents a gallon cheaper over the last two weeks. The Lundberg Survey says we're paying on average $2.48 a gallon for regular unleaded. As always, we remind you to get to CNNMoney.com, where our money team -- Christine Romans is a stalwart on that team, doing terrific work. For the latest financial news and analysis, as always, CNNMoney.com.
All right. We want to take a look at the Big Board very quickly.
Boy, Dow future indicated a positive start, but as you can see, the Dow has turned into negative territory. The Dow is down 35 points. And NASDAQ -- OK, great -- NASDAQ is down 11.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, pushing out the Taliban. A new operation in Afghanistan and new details on the Afghan government.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And Tony, we are watching the spacewalk, the last spacewalk of this mission. They are saying a hodgepodge of mundane jobs.
I'm not sure what a mundane job is out in the middle of space, but we'll try to figure that out coming after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: London says there is an opening, so take it. The British government wants Kabul to open dialogue with moderate Taliban leaders.
CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is in London.
Nic, wow. What exactly is Great Britain demanding in return for this outreach?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it believes that this sort of outreach is the way to defeat the Taliban. That the Taliban is not just a military problem, it's a tribal political problem, and that if you can break it down and break away some of those more moderate Taliban elements, then you can deal with the Taliban and marginalize them, and corner the militant ones who want to continue to fight, and defeat them that way. That's their objective.
They just concluded the operation they call "Panther's Claw." Ten British soldiers killed in that, 20 British soldiers killed this month.
It's been a very bloody time for British troops and U.S. troops, but it's been playing quite negatively in public opinion here. So, the British government also trying to tamp down the sort of negative backlash there, if you will, that they are seeing at the moment in Britain. But also, we're hearing from the foreign minister here, David Miliband, that Britain should still expect more casualties to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID MILIBAND, BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: We know recent sacrifices will not be the last, and we also explain the seriousness of the security situation in Afghanistan. Our enemies should never doubt our determination to accomplish this mission because we know the very high cost of failure, just as our friends should know that they can truly count on us because we know that our own security depends on that. For that, we need politics to succeed in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: So, he means the politics to succeed. That's the elections coming up in Afghanistan next month, the presidential elections, which means the 80,000 people who live in the area of Panther's Claw, he says, and British MOD, Ministry of Defense officials, say will now be able to go and vote in those elections. But it also hints that it's the politics of Afghanistan that have to work, he's saying, and that's part of what the British message is here, is the politics of the elections taking place, but the political leaders also talking to their opponents here -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. And this is interesting to me, Nic, this idea of moderate Taliban. I guess that's sort of small "t" as opposed to big "T," Taliban.
Has British intelligence received indications that there is a small "t" Taliban, a moderate Taliban that is willing to talk peace?
ROBERTSON: You know, I think there are a lot of answers to that, Tony. I mean, one of them is, if you look across the border at Pakistan, a look at how the Pakistani government is dealing with the same problem, this militant Islamic Taliban problem. They are trying to divide parts of those key tribes away from the Taliban.
So, what there's been in Afghanistan has been this underground effort over a few years. But look back to September last year, when some Taliban leaders met with some government officials. They weren't the real representatives or the real hard-liners, but there was a way there that was seen to try and split some people away. So, this has been going on behind the scenes, and Britain, perhaps, in all of Europe, leads the way.
One of their sort of extremis leaders, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, his representatives have been in Britain, been talking to officials here. So, Britain has been making efforts in that direction. Nothing concrete so far that we know about though -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson for us.
Good to talk to you, Nic. Appreciate it. Thank you.
U.S. troops in Iraq are leaving the battlefield, so what's their new role there? And how about the future of contractors in Iran? We will talk to the woman who wrote the book on it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: The U.S. military mission in Iraq changed dramatically at the first of the month. That's when American troops left the big cities and turned over security to the Iraqis.
Almost a month later, how is the transition going?
CNN's Arwa Damon is just back from covering a unit in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood.
That's a tough neighborhood, as we all know, Arwa.
Did you find that the U.S. role has really changed significantly?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Tony, I have to say that it has, and there were a number of examples that we came across.
First and foremost, though, let's point out that the U.S. military withdrew its combat units. We still have American troops inside cities, but they are no longer being called combat troops. They are being called these souped-up advisory units. But a couple of examples to give you.
The U.S. has compiled a fair amount of intelligence on a target they wanted to go after. They called in their Iraqi army brigade commander, the unit that they're partnered up with, handed over the intelligence to them, the entire folder, and said, look, here's all that we got. Will you go after this guy?
The Iraqi army commander said yes. They asked if he wanted American troops with him. He said, no, thank you, but I will take your air support, your eyes in the sky.
Another example, the base we were on had been mortared a few nights ago, so the U.S. military wanted to go out and conduct what they call a disruptive patrol. But they had to coordinate that with the Iraqi police unit that actually controlled the area they wanted to go out. And so, it was a joint patrol, but it was actually under the control of the Iraqis.
And while they were out there, they could no longer knock on people's doors, invite themselves into people's homes, question or interrogate them. What we did was we patrolled the streets. They were able to talk to people that were out on the streets. They showed the Iraqi police the location where they believed the mortar fire had come from, told them to keep their eye on it. So, it's a different dynamic for these U.S. soldiers.
That being said, though, they still do maintain the right to protect themselves. So, we also went out on what they call a perimeter patrol that the U.S. soldiers could conduct on their own, but they did pre-notify the Iraqis of their actions.
They also do have a right to conduct their own route clearance to run their own logistical convoys. But again, the Iraqis have to be notified of everything. And remember, the average U.S. soldier is used to going out there, going after the target, being very offensive. And now they are moving into this sort of passive, more advisory role. So, it's a complete change of mindset, because in the past, if the Iraqis didn't want to go by the American advice, the Americans could basically have the last word. Now the Iraqis can choose to ignore that.
So, it's a great challenge for these young soldiers. It has caused some friction on the ground, but they are working through it. And the guys that we're talking to are saying, well, basically, this had to happen at some point, and we have to begin handing over to them and we have to begin trusting them.
HARRIS: All right.
CNN's Arwa Damon.
Good report, Arwa. Appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, with U.S. troops shifting away from the battlefield in Iraq, and officials reducing American troop numbers, right now there are more contractors in Iraq than military forces. So what happens to them?
Boy.
CNN Executive Producer Suzanne Simons joins me now. Her book, "Master of War" focuses on the private security giant formerly called Blackwater, which was huge in Iraq.
Is Blackwater out of Iraq? Let me start there.
Suzanne, first of all, good to see you.
SUZANNE SIMONS, CNN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Good to see you, too, Tony. Thanks.
HARRIS: Is Blackwater out of...
SIMONS: Thanks for talking about it.
HARRIS: Formerly known as Blackwater.
SIMON: Formerly known. The company is now called...
HARRIS: There it is.
SIMON: ... Xe. You'll remember there was that shooting in 2007, which prompted the whole thing.
HARRIS: All right. So talk to us about that, because that was a horrific incident.
SIMON: Yes, it was.
HARRIS: And it really, in large measure, changed the way we look, A, at Blackwater, and the work at contractors in Iraq.
SIMON: Yes, it did. And ultimately, I think it led to kind of the downfall of the company, which I talk about in the book. And you kind of see this snowball effect.
But that day was a day like any other. There were contractors out in the streets.
They had moved into this traffic circle in Esor (ph) Square, which is just outside Baghdad. And they were trying to clear it for another convoy that was coming through.
And there are different stories about what set off the fire, but nonetheless, something did. And the contractors fired off just with incredible fire power. Seventeen Iraqis dead at the end of the day. The Iraqi government saying it's murder, get them out of here. The U.S. State Department saying that's not going to work for us right now, we kind of need them.
HARRIS: Yes.
Boy, let's take a big step back and let's talk about the role the contractors play in Iraq. But if we can, let's broaden this out, because they are working in Afghanistan as well, correct?
SIMON: Yes, they are.
HARRIS: So, let's talk about their role, the role of contractors, and the kinds of jobs they are doing in these two countries.
SIMON: Right. Well, the U.S. has really changed the way it goes to war with Iraq and Afghanistan.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
SIMON: So, a lot of jobs that troops were doing, whether it's driving convoys from point A to point B, cooking breakfast for the troops, or now providing armed security for diplomats and visiting people, are now done by contractors, where they used to be done by members of the military. It's a huge shift.
HARRIS: Well, what's interesting there, is there an overarching sort of philosophy from the State Department on the use, the role of contractors? Because, you know, the criticism that is it's akin to farming out war.
SIMON: Yes. Well, it's not just Department of State, it's also the Pentagon, it's also the CIA, it's also various other intelligence agencies. They're all doing it now. And so you've seen this sort of seismic shift.
But they do have guidelines. This September 16th incident that we talked about, that shooting, has really put a lot of pressure on the government to, A, be more responsible, if you ask me, to work more on defining what is inherently governmental, what job should not ever be given to a contractor and what jobs should always be done by a member of the United States government or military?
HARRIS: Did the Pentagon admit to you that it could not do what it was doing in Iraq and Afghanistan without...
SIMON: The State Department did.
HARRIS: The State Department did.
SIMON: The State Department did. You know, after that shooting, the Iraqi government was really insistent on getting this company out. And the State Department went back and said, hey, we don't have another company or we don't enough troops in the military who can take over the function they are providing for us right now. We need time.
HARRIS: Yes.
The Blackwater story is fascinating. How did Blackwater become the biggest player in this military contracting world?
SIMON: It's a perfect storm. You have it headed by Erik Prince, who is someone who had enormous wealth on his own from an inheritance. He had a military background, a former Navy SEAL. He had the desire and the vision to go out and make a business out of providing the government what he felt like it needed and what it did need.
HARRIS: Yes. And Erik Prince has a personality. We had lunch just talking about this guy.
You know, you are so good. I wanted to dig into the more salacious aspects of this guy's life, and you really stayed away and you stayed focused on his company. But this is a -- come on, he is a complex individual.
SIMON: Yes. Well, you know, the private life stuff, it's not really my thing. He's got all the stories, too, like all of us.
HARRIS: No, you're good. I was trying to dig deeper and you were, like, stay away from it, Tony.
SIMON: That's right. But he's an incredible drive that I think really dictated the personality of the company for quite a while. And he wants to get things done. He doesn't want to take no for an answer. But that's not always a good thing.
HARRIS: Right.
SIMON: Sometimes it seems like a good thing, but it's sometimes bad (ph).
HARRIS: As I hold up the book, "Master of War," Susan Simons. A terrific book. Your first book?
SIMONS: Thank you.
HARRIS: Your first book?
SIMONS: My first book, yes.
HARRIS: And doing well. You're selling copies. Great.
SIMONS: Yes. I think so.
HARRIS: We want to help you with that because we love you around here. And also, when is -- what's the big actor who's looking at, at least possibly doing some . . .
SIMONS: Oh, there are a few. I can't -- you know -- you know . . .
HARRIS: I can.
SIMONS: We'll see. We'll see if there will be a movie. I don't know.
HARRIS: Because this guy is a really compelling character and, trust me, material . . .
SIMONS: He kind of looks like Nic Robertson, don't you think, our own Nic Robertson?
HARRIS: He does a little bit.
Suzanne, appreciate it. Thanks for the time. And the best for the book.
SIMONS: Thank you, Tony. Appreciate it.
HARRIS: Man, it's a great story.
All right. And you've done some blogging for us?
SIMONS: I did, yes.
HARRIS: All right. So more of Suzanne's thoughts on my blog, our show team's blog. Just log on to cnn.com/tony and check out her post.
All right. Lawmakers get back to work on health care reform, trying to overcome opposition from Republicans and some Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells our John King she is confident Democrats will come together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is the speaker's job sometimes, are you know it a lot better than I do, referee disputes within the family. Are you worried your family is coming apart on this and that you might not have the votes on the floor?
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: Certainly not. Absolutely, positively not.
KING: You got to the votes.
PELOSI: When I take this bill to the floor, if will win. But we will move forward. This will happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, some members of both parties saying it will take GOP support to get a health reform bill pass. The Senate minority leader wants to put medical malpractice reform on the table and go back to the drawing board.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) MINORITY LEADER: I think starting over would be a good idea. I mean, we've basically been negotiating off a set of Democrat preferred options, shall I say. We'd like to start off with a genuine bipartisan approach. And let me give you the kinds of things we ought to be able to do. We know that we're losing billions in dollars every year in junk lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. We don't see any kind of legal abuse reform in any of these proposals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, let's get an update on where things stand right now with the negotiations and legislation. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joining us live from Capitol Hill.
Dana, great to see you.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You too.
HARRIS: Let's start with the House. Where are we in these negotiations?
BASH: We're, you know, we're in a place where the clock is starting to tick faster and louder, I think, because at the end of this week, the House is scheduled to go on their, you know, month-plus long August break.
And you just heard Nancy Pelosi say it, she still is hoping and insisting that they are going to try to get this actually passed by the full House by the time they go away. It is looking extremely hard, not impossible, but extremely hard to do that and that is because the fighting still exists and continues among Democrats, Tony. It is still -- you still have those conservative so-called blue dog Democrats who are fighting for a lot of changes in their party's plan.
And that has not changed. You had some negotiations among staff over the weekend. We expect talks to continue today. But so far, the ball hasn't moved very much. In fact, maybe it's moved back a little bit. And that is because, over the weekend, Tony, they got some pretty bad news from the Congressional Budget Office.
Do you remember last week, one of the only things that they could tout in terms of progress is the fact that the president and those conservative Democrats and House leaders agreed to an independent commission to set Medicare rates. Why does that matter? It sounds like it's in the weeds (ph). It is a little bit, but it matters in terms of the overall objective of cutting cost. They thought, well, wow, this is a great way to cut costs. Over the weekend, the Congressional Budget Office said that would only make about $2 billion. $2 billion compared to the -- your trillion dollar price tag. That's a drop in the bucket.
HARRIS: And, Dana, where are we with -- on the Senate side of things? Have we yet to get anything from the Senate Finance Committee?
BASH: Nope. Nothing yet. And they are going to start to get back at it later today. Things move a little slowly on Monday mornings here on Capitol Hill, Tony, so probably about 5:00 we're told those bipartisan negotiators, you see pictures right there, six of them are going to start to get together again. You know, there is still a hope at the White House and amongst Senate Democratic leaders that they can have at least some bipartisan agreement or some concept out of the committee by the time the Senate leaves for a recess. But again, over the weekend we heard some of the key players in that room pretty pessimistic that even that is possible. So, you know, we'll see what happens when that meeting starts again later this afternoon.
HARRIS: Yes. We'll keep watching. Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash for us. Dana, good to see you. Thank you.
BASH: You too.
HARRIS: What goes up, must come down. A builder who rode the housing boom is now dealing with the housing bust. How he's getting by and does he regret his work?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, some of the hardest hit business owners in this recession are home builders. For many of them, it has been more like a depression. Allan Chernoff has the story of one home builder in Manchester Township, New Jersey, who's strategy for survival depends on Uncle Sam.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Accountant Tom Critelli gave up a secure number crunching career for the nail banging of home building. His timing was perfect 18 years ago. Critelli rode the housing boom to build a thriving business. Employing a dozen full-time employees, putting up as many as 50 homes a year.
CRITELLI: People need places to live. That is the American dream.
CHERNOFF: But after nearly two decades of building the American dream, the housing bust has been a business nightmare for him.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Today, Tom Critelli is down to only two full-time employees, and he's building only three homes this year, two of which are unsold.
CRITELLI: Right now you're just, you know, living for a better time.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Homebuilders are suffering in every state. The business is down by two-thirds nationwide since peaking in 2005. New Jersey is doing a little better than that, but you'd never know it talking to Critelli.
CRITELLI: It's been a crash. And most people will tell you that it's more of a depression.
CHERNOFF: To survive, Critelli is turning to Uncle Sam, not for a bailout, but for a piece of the stimulus pie. He's bidding for contracts to repair military recruiting centers, as well as other government business. And to improve his odds, Critelli is partnering with larger companies experienced in doing construction for the military.
CRITELLI: Well, people need to work and my company needs to work.
CHERNOFF: A lot is riding on Critelli's bid for new business. He has a son in college and a daughter about to enroll. The Critellis already have had to raid their 401(k) and tap other savings.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Do you regret having left accounting?
CRITELLI: No. There's no regrets. I mean...
CHERNOFF: Even now?
CRITELLI: Yes, sure.
CHERNOFF: Even now?
CRITELLI: Yes. You know, we could always -- I've always said to my wife, we can always go back to do that.
CHERNOFF: Tom Critelli is optimistic he'll win a contract from Uncle Sam. That would help him hang on through the recession and eventually rebuild his business.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, Manchester Township, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And for more of our "Money & Main Street" series, tune in to CNN at 8:00 Eastern Time Thursday night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Chad Myers, doctor, have you seen the most recent pictures from the space shuttle Endeavour and the work going on. Their fifth and final space walk. Have you seen some of these pictures?
MYERS: Right. Yes, doing, as we call them, mundane jobs.
HARRIS: Yes. So here's the thing. You know the astronauts, Christopher Cassidy and Thomas Marshburn are taking part in the space walk right now.
MYERS: Yes.
HARRIS: And I guess the watch word is to go slowly here because there have been some issues recently with carbon dioxide, so as to go slow, take your time, don't push too fast early and get through the space walk successfully. It looks like it's going on right now.
MYERS: You know, and I think anybody who has ever done a dive will understand what that means, especially if you're doing anything on your dive, like going on a deep dive or working on a dive. You can really begin to use up your oxygen, your tank, you can use it very quickly if you're huffing and puffing. And they said, just don't do that. Let the recycler work and everything is just -- going to be just fine.
They are so far ahead, though, literally on this and they said, yes, just really take your time because we've got nowhere to go and a lot of time. And so that's the good news. Because, you know, we've talked about these walks over the weekend. They didn't go as well and they are really going very well.
HARRIS: And they're going to undock -- at least scheduled to undock tomorrow from the space station.
MYERS: And they're going to be back here on Friday.
HARRIS: On Friday.
MYERS: Yes. It's going to take a while to get down here.
HARRIS: Good to see you.
A couple of things to talk about today, Tony. Some rain showers and thunderstorms. One area that's really getting affected is Dallas- Ft. Worth with cloud cover. We have a live short from WFAA now from Dallas just showing you the low clouds and it's -- all it takes when you're trying to get all the planes on the ground at the right time. You have visibility that's down to like that, when you can't really see the next building in the background. Well, you're going to slow down the airports and that's what they're doing now. Boston, Cincinnati and Houston, you're only 15 to 30 minutes. But Dallas, still at this point, you are over one hour.
Now we talked about this earlier in the hour. We also had Rob Marciano talk about this earlier. There was a water spout over the Gordy Camble (ph) Causeway. 275, there was a little bit of a spout as well. If you want to go on to WTVT, you want to go on to FTS, all those websites for the local Tampa affiliate, all have pictures sent in by viewers at this point in time. You can see those pretty small little -- hey, you know, a small water spout won't hurt you unless you're close to it or unless it comes on land because it certainly will do damage if it comes on land.
Tony, I don't know if you've seen this. There are 5,000 ratings on YouTube. It's the Slovinia (ph) Choir. Have you heard them do the rain?
HARRIS: Oh, do you have that?
MYERS: I have that.
HARRIS: Oh, I'd love to see it. I saw a bit of it this morning. It is terrific. Are you going to tee it up for us?
MYERS: I am just going to be quiet.
HARRIS: Awesome. Great. Let's watch it.
MYERS: And all they did there was jump on those stands and cause that really that awesome sound can be the thunderstorm as well, Tony. (INAUDIBLE) on there.
HARRIS: And they started...
MYERS: And then they sing Toto's, the "Rain Down in Africa" after this. So you've got to go on YouTube and see this.
HARRIS: Oh, that is terrific. I didn't see that whole performance. I saw just a bit of it this morning. It was wonderful. They started with snaps. Just a light rain, right?
MYERS: Right. And then some of them just doing this.
HARRIS: Yes, that's right.
MYERS: Yes, it's fantastic.
HARRIS: Oh, it's good stuff. All right, Chad, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.
MYERS: You bet.
HARRIS: So what are cnn.com viewers clicking on the most? Nicole Lapin is here, and she's following that for us.
Nicole.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sex, lies and a little bend and snap. Tony, did I get your attention?
HARRIS: You did.
LAPIN: Those are some of the most popular stories on cnn.com. We'll have that coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, doctors say heat and too much work caused French President Sarkozy to collapse while jogging yesterday. He left a Paris hospital this morning after a battery of tests with his lovely bride on his -- right there with him. All of the tests came back normal. Doctors ordered the 54-year-old president to take it easy for the next couple of days.
And it is not the finish the seven-time winner is accustomed too, but it's pretty darn impressive you'd have to say. Just months after coming out of retirement, 37-year-old cyclist Lance Armstrong finished third in the Tour de France. His (INAUDIBLE) teammate, 26-year-old Alberto Contador, came in first. There he is. Armstrong talked exclusively with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta shortly after taking the podium.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming in first, is that -- I mean is that something you thought about? I mean did you care? You're right, it's not about the bike, but do you care if you come in first or not?
LANCE ARMSTRONG, SEVEN-TIME TOUR DE FRANCE CHAMPION: I wanted to come in first. But sometimes in sports there's somebody that's better. And I was that guy for seven years. And I never understood what it felt like to get second or third. I'm 38 now and you race guy that's are 24 or 25 or 26 and they're fast or strong. They have acceleration. They have all of the things that you had at that age. And you get third. That's what's the great thing about the tour is, that the best man always wins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Thirty-seven. Thirty-seven years old.
LAPIN: He's looking good.
HARRIS: A month out there riding a doggone bike. Now, that's -- well, to me it feels like a (INAUDIBLE).
OK. Time to find out what you're clicking on at cnn.com. Nicole is back with the rundown.
What you finding, Nic?
LAPIN: Numbers don't lie, Tony.
HARRIS: Right.
LAPIN: When you have spandex in a headline, you're going to get a lot of clicks, what can I say?
HARRIS: Oh, my.
LAPIN: Comic-Con is wrapping up today in San Diego. And 125,000 people showed up over the largest four days for the world's largest comic book, movie and pop culture convention. This, Tony, is like Ground Zero for all things cool. People went crazy when they saw stars from "Twilight" show up. Hey, hey, Johnny Depp was there as well.
HARRIS: Oh, I like him. OK. All right. LAPIN: Also on the most popular list, "Sex in Saudi." Foreplay, sexual conquests and pickup lines all taboo in the conservative Saudi Arabia. In fact, a 32-year-old Saudi man was arrested after talking about those scandalous things on a Lebanese channel. Now, Mazen Abdul Jawad is saying, I'm sorry. In Saudi Arabia, unrelated men and women are not allowed to mingle, Tony, so don't go there. It is not for you.
HARRIS: All right.
LAPIN: She taught me not to settle for American pie. She taught the ladies how to bend and snap, and gold diggers everywhere, the value of soup in best in show. Jennifer Coolidge is one of the funniest actresses out there.
HARRIS: That's Stiffler's mom.
LAPIN: Stiffler's mom has got it going on. I interviewed her along with my colleague, Reggie Aqui. It's been most popular all weekend. She talked about how she lies on her resume, making up theaters and shows. Kids, don't try this at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER COOLIDGE, ACTRESS: The bend and snap doesn't really work because it doesn't make sense because you don't really -- what would really work, the bend and snap, if I could redesign the bend and snap, I would have bent over and really have grabbed my breasts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAPIN: I will say, Tony, that that interview was quite revealing.
HARRIS: Is there . . .
LAPIN: Why are you looking at me like that?
HARRIS: Did she just say what I thought she said? She would really have -- OK. All right. So that's at cnn.com, right?
LAPIN: Ten most popular.
HARRIS: Most popular.
All right, Nicole, appreciate that. Thank you. Wow.
Hundreds of people lining up in the middle of the night. You know it's got to be something free. Yes, free health care, free glasses included.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So if you don't have health insurance, take a number and get in line, quite literally if you live around Wise, Virginia. The site of a massive free clinic over the weekend. Dana Wachter from CNN affiliate WJHL tells us more people are asking for help than ever before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number 65. Number 66. (INAUDIBLE).
DANA WACHTER, WJHL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before dawn Friday morning, hundreds of people wait for their number to be called.
DARLENE BECK, PATIENT: I got here about 9:00 last night and I'm 790.
WACHTER: For many, camping out was necessary. By sunrise, tickets were gone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At midnight and we was number 1,027, 1,028, 1,029.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last year at midnight we was 300.
WACHTER: Optician Chris Hall worked with RAM (ph) for 12 years.
CHRIS HALL, OPTICIAN: I'm seeing a growth. Seeing each clinic becoming larger.
WACHTER: And without these clinics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wouldn't get what I need.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be without.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't be getting glasses.
WACHTER (on camera): It's not your typical doctor's office here, with tents and trailers spread out around a fair grounds. But this weekend, about 1,600 patients each day will be served. At least 1,100 pairs of glasses will be given out. Twenty-eight pairs of dentures will be fit. And over 3,000 teeth will be taken out right here behind me.
WACHTER (voice-over): Volunteers give their time and supplies.
SCOTT MILLER, DENTIST: A set of dentures in my pastonic (ph) practice is about $2,500. That's a pretty good sum of free work when you consider the lab's donating their part of it too.
WACHTER: Because people need it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It blows my mind how many people are here who really don't have medical care.
WACHTER: And so volunteers share what they can.
HALL: Because that feeling when you're driving home from wherever it is knowing that you just turned out a thousand pair of glasses and that's a thousand people that are seeing sharper than they were earlier. WACHTER: Even if they have to wait all weekend.
In Wise, Virginia, Dana Wachter, 11 Connects News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And we are pushing forward with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM right now with Kyra Phillip.
