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Obama Holds Health Care Town Hall Meeting in Virginia; 8th Member of Homegrown Terror Cell Sought; Blue Dog Democrats Concerned about Health Care Reform Cost; Fat Food Tax; New Jersey Corruption Crackdown; Extreme Drought in Texas; Police Search Home of Jackson's Doctor
Aired July 29, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Health care reform -- Congress hits a wall. President Obama hits the road. He takes his pitch to the American people.
And new developments in New Jersey's massive corruption scandal. One of the accused power brokers is found dead.
The high cost of obesity. Is a tax on fattening foods the best way to lighten the load?
Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Today is Wednesday, July 29th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
In fact, we have a lot going on this morning, and our crews are ready for it all.
Ed Henry is in Bristol, Virginia. That's where President Obama is today trying to generate more support for his health care reform plan.
And Dr. Sanjay Gupta's going to be separating the facts from the fears. The question this morning, is health care rationing a real possibility?
And finally, our Jim Acosta is going to be looking at the Democrats who have actually blocked the reform plans on Capitol Hill. These Blue Dogs are having their day. We will get to it all.
But first on Capitol Hill, as you know, negotiations are still playing out. At the White House the focus goes beyond the Beltway. And today the president takes part in two town hall meetings, including one at a Kroger Supermarket.
CNN's Ed Henry has the dust-up on aisle one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're rolling out the red carpet in rural Virginia. But the president could get a chilly reception in the frozen food aisle where we found clerk Phil Younce, a McCain voter who fears health care reform is being rushed just like the stimulus. PHIL YOUNCE, FROZEN FOOD CLERK, KROGER SUPERMARKET: Like the last package they pushed through, I think it was too hurried and a lot of mistakes, a lot of things that shouldn't be.
HENRY: But Cathy Montgomery, assistant produce manager, voted for the president and is pumped up he's getting tough with Congress.
CATHY MONTGOMERY, ASSISTANT PRODUCE MANAGER, KROGER SUPERMARKET: I (INAUDIBLE) that he stepped up and he's being aggressive. I really do. I mean -- I just -- I'm all for that.
HENRY: Thousands in this region showed up in a health expo offering free medical care this past weekend, exposing a problem all too familiar that doctors hear.
DR. BENNETT COWAN JR., INSURANCE MEDICAL DIRECTOR: Clearly we all recognize -- any physician in the hospital would recognize that it's a system in crisis.
HENRY: But like most employees back at the Kroger Supermarket, produce manager Steve Shipplett gets generous health benefits. Despite being an Obama voter, he's nervous those benefits may be taxed to cover the uninsured and he's demanding more specifics from the president.
STEVE SHIPPLETT, PRODUCE MANAGER, KROGER SUPERMARKET: He's going to have to spit out some numbers and let the public know exactly what it's going to cost them and what they're going to have to give up.
HENRY: Shipplett says if the president steps up and sells it, then he's willing to step up himself.
SHIPPLETT: We've got to do something, and if it means me paying those taxes to get this reform through, then I'd begrudgingly do it, yes.
HENRY: And back in the frozen food aisle, this Republican is ready to do his share, too.
YOUNCE: No matter what kind of plan you're going to come up with, somebody has to pay for it. So eventually it comes down to us, the people that's working, and paying taxes, we're going to have to pay for it one way or the other. I just hope we can come up with a plan that's worth paying for.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Ed Henry is joining us now from Bristol, Virginia with more on this.
So, Ed, this place in Virginia is very important in the president's heart. He didn't pick this place by accident. Did he?
HENRY: That's right, Heidi. You'll remember back in those bruising primaries with Hillary Clinton, when Barack Obama finally won and became the Democratic nominee, his kick-off for the general election campaign was right here in Bristol, Virginia. And so obviously that might be symbolic, if you will. Maybe at that time it was sort of a victory against the odds.
Now another battle against the odds. He's hoping to come back and get a victory here on health reform. But I think what's significant beyond the politics back in Washington is that those employees I talked to here at this Kroger down the frozen food aisle, the produce aisle, what they're saying is, look, contrary to maybe the conventional wisdom out there that people with insurance don't want to pay higher taxes to cover those without, they're saying they're willing to step up if two things happen -- if the rich pay their fair share and also if the president steps up his own sales job and really gets specifics and explains to the American people what they've got to give, what kind of skin they've got to give here to help out, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. That's certainly the question, Ed. I'm sure the answer from everybody is going to be very, very different on that.
All right. Ed Henry from the grocery store this morning, nice to see you, Ed.
All of those plans, the pitches, the facts, the figures -- it's enough to give you a headache. So to help clear things up a bit, we're calling on our insider, CNN chief medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is with us once again.
So you worked on this issue very closely with the Clinton administration, health care reform kind of the first time around, if you will. A lot of questions still this time around, obviously, we know that.
In fact, let's go ahead and start with one from our own iReporter. Jason Rogers has this question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON ROGERS, CNN IREPORTER: Four years ago my father was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. And for 18 months we fought that disease with everything that we had, because we felt like every day was precious. We felt like every day that we kept him alive we were one day closer to a cure for that disease.
I guess my question is, under a public option or a government-run health care system, would that type of care be possible? Is that something that 10 years from now we're going to have to sacrifice or come up with a tremendous amount of cash to pay for, because it would be rationed under our government-run health care system?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jason, first, thanks for sharing that personal story. Our best wishes are with you and your family.
You know, the idea of rationing really strikes at the core of all that we're talking about with regard to health care, Heidi. As you know, this idea of lowering costs, trying to increase access. The question is, will we have to ration health care as a result? Will some people not get the same health care as others?
It was really interesting. There was a "New York Times" editorial a couple of weeks ago where someone put it like this -- Peter Singer, who's a bioethicist at Princeton, wrote an article, one of the things he wrote in here caught a lot of people's attention.
"The death of a teenager is a greater tragedy than the death of an 85-year-old and this should be reflected in our priorities." Now think about that for a second, Heidi. What...
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: What he's really saying there, are we going to somehow assign value of life differently in certain situations? We took Jason's story specifically to the White House and asked them, here's a story, how would you respond to this specifically? And they gave us a statement. They called us, they gave us a specific statement on this.
What they said is, yes, they said, "Our heart goes out to Jason and his family as well. We know that families across America are dealing with issues like this every day. There are a number of different bills making their way through Congress right now but we do know this -- the reform bill that the president signs will not lead to rationing and will be fully paid for. It will bring down costs over the long term."
They went on to say the president won't sign a bill that doesn't guarantee coverage to all people of all ages despite any specific health conditions. Those pre-existing conditions that we talked about. But Jason's story really strikes a nerve with a lot of people.
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. And the answer from the White House sounds great. But the fact of the matter is there are analysts out there certainly who say despite what he says he intends to do, the numbers just don't add up.
GUPTA: Yes. And, you know, part of this is that you're dealing with moving targets. When I worked at the White House, it was a few years after health care reform so I got to see sort of the post mortem in many ways on this. But trying to find numbers, moving targets is a tough thing to do.
Quick point to reference. The Cato Institute, a nonpartisan public policy institute, looked at Medicare when it was conceived back in '65. Projected costs 25 years later in 1990 was $9 billion. The actual cost? $67 billion. So you could see how far off the costs for Medicare were based on what the initial projections were. Much, much higher.
But again, the president says, look, we're going to add prevention programs, we're going to have wellness programs, we're going to create a healthier population and that's going to be a cheaper population with regard to health care costs. Who knows?
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Who knows if that's going to work?
COLLINS: And then who knows if the population stays on track because really you've got more people that you're trying to cover, I mean, the whole thing is kind of different.
GUPTA: More people, more tests, more screening -- yes, you're right. So how do that all add up?
COLLINS: Absolutely. All right. You have a lot more work to do.
GUPTA: We should do this every day.
COLLINS: So we'll see you again. Mr. Insider.
All right. Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Still ahead this morning, Blue Dog defiance. Are these conservative Democrats ready to compromise on health care reform? A closer look just minutes away.
Meanwhile federal agents are looking for a possibly eighth member of an alleged homegrown terror group. Seven others are in custody right now charged with planning murders overseas.
CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has more on the case and the suspected ring leader.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Daniel Boyd fought in Afghanistan in the early 1990s but had settled in bucolic Willow Spring, North Carolina. He and his two sons were among seven people arrested Monday on terrorism charges. His wife Sabrina tells CNN they are innocent.
SABRINA BOYD, WIFE OF DANIEL BOYD: I know that my husband and my sons are free of guilt and I'm hopeful that the truth will come to light.
MESERVE: In court documents the government says the group stockpiled a cache of high-powered weapons. Boyd's wife says they were only responding to news reports that guns and ammunition were becoming scarce.
BOYD: I will say that we do have -- we do own guns in our home, as our constitutional right allows us. And I don't think there is a crime in that.
MESERVE: The government says the group trained for jihad in rural North Carolina. But Sabrina Boyd says her husband was just helping his Boy Scout sons with marksmanship. BOYD: One of the merit badges they use, you know, for -- to become an Eagle Scout. And -- so it wouldn't be beyond pale for him to take them out and do target practice. Not unusual.
MESERVE: The government alleges Boyd and one of his sons traveled to Israel to wage holy war. But Boyd's wife says they just wanted to pray in Jerusalem for another son who had died in a car crash.
Since their arrest, she has not been able to talk to her husband or older son, and the strain is showing.
BOYD: I just want to say that I am very proud to be Muslim and I am very proud to be married to Daniel Boyd. And I'm very proud of my children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Jeanne Meserve is joining us now live from Raleigh, North Carolina. So, Jeanne, it's clear from the incident that the government has been tracking these people for a while. Any idea why they were actually busted this week?
MESERVE: Well, a law enforcement source tells me that there were indications that some members of this group may have been about to change locations. The source will not say where authorities believe they may have been headed or what they might have been up to.
One possible indicator that he's talking about, some of the neighbors in this -- lived around the Boyd family say that last weekend they had a garage sale. Of course people have garage sales all the time but sometimes it is an indication that people are trying to get rid of possessions before they move.
COLLINS: Yes. All right, well, Jeanne Meserve, our Homeland Security correspondent. We sure do appreciate it. Thank you, Jeanne.
One step closer to the Supreme Court bench for Sonia Sotomayor. The full Senate confirmation vote is expected to happen next week. Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed her bid. This after holding four days of hearings to examine her.
Are we really seeing the end of the mortgage meltdown or is that just wishful thinking? We'll be hearing both sides of the debate.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And there is no relief from the oppressive heat and the stagnant air in the Pacific Northwest. We can expect another round of record setting temperatures and record rainfall in the central United States.
What's in the forecast? We'll let you know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Glimmers of home in the real estate market. New numbers showing sales activity picking up for both new and existing homes. So, some people are wondering, are we starting to come out of the mortgage meltdown?
Personal finance editor Gerri Willis joining me now from New York with more on this.
So, Gerri, some people are saying this is just a blip. Not a trend yet. Why do these analysts say we may not have reached rock bottom yet?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, yes, you're absolutely right. Home prices are up for the first time in three years. That's the news we got yesterday. But these critics say keep in mind that this is a monthly number, and one month does not make a trend.
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: Here's some other signs the experts say they are looking for that would indicate a real bottom to the market -- a decrease in housing inventory. Right now we have a backlog of homes of almost 10 months.
The median time to sell a home is at an all-time high of almost a year. And of course, there's also unemployment, that rate is at its highest in nearly 26 years and is headed to double-digit levels. That's important for the housing market as well.
And foreclosures, of course, need to start following from their record pace - Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, and then I -- do we still see a lot of these -- well, besides all the for-sale signs out there, there are certainly a lot of for-rent signs, too. Is that still because buyers are having a hard time getting loans? I mean the credit markets are still an issue.
WILLIS: That's a really good observation. The credit markets still are tight. For example, jumbo loans, those loans over $729,000, $750,000, they're very difficult to find in some markets.
And the two biggest issues for people who really want to buy right now is credit and the down payment. Lenders want to see you put some skin in the game, right?
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: So, you have to clean up your credit as much as possible. You have to be prepared to make a down payment of 15 percent to 20 percent of your purchase price. A lot of people just aren't prepared to do that.
And you also have to make sure if you're refinancing, which would also help the market continue, that you have sizable equity in your house so the credit markets here are still holding back, the housing market, still giving people a hard time when they want to buy.
So there are still obstacles in the way, and critics say, hey, you know, don't jump too fast to think this market has totally recovered because we've got a long way to go.
COLLINS: Yes. No question about it. I think everybody -- well, not everybody. Some people are still very afraid to do that after everything we have seen in the last couple of months. Years actually.
WILLIS: Right. Right.
COLLINS: All right, Gerri. Thanks very much. We'll check back later with you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Karen Maginnis joining us now from the Severe Weather Center because it is like burning up in the Northwest. Right?
(WEATHER REPORT)
MAGINNIS: They don't have a lot of air conditioning in the Northwest. They don't really need it.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes. Except for now.
MAGINNIS: Typically. Right.
COLLINS: All right. We want to look at the waterspout, too. Maybe somebody can send us an iReport.
MAGINNIS: I love -- that would be great.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Karen Maginnis, thank you.
MAGINNIS: You're welcome.
COLLINS: The battle over health care reform. Some Blue Dog Democrats are in the spotlight and on the hot seat. Will they compromise with their own party?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The health care debate and the rise of the Blue Dog Democrats. They've challenged their president on his top domestic issue but say they won't betray their values as fiscal conservatives. So is a compromise even possible?
CNN's Jim Acosta takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Running for meetings and meetings surrounded by news cameras, the Blue Dogs just might be the most popular breed of politician on Capitol Hill these days.
(On camera): Now do all the Blue Dogs have a picture of a blue dog in their office?
REP. MIKE ROSS (D), ARKANSAS: Well, they better. ACOSTA (voice-over): That's because Arkansas congressman Mike Ross and the rest of the 52 House Democrats who make up the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition may block their party's push for health care reform. That is, unless changes are made to rein in the plan's costs.
ROSS: As it stands now, it would not have the support to get it out of committee and it would not have the support to pass on the House floor.
ACOSTA (on camera): So it would die.
ROSS: Well, I would hope that health care reform wouldn't die.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: And that today we're not just offering...
ACOSTA (voice-over): The Blue Dogs were born in 1995 after Republicans took control of Congress. At the time, southern Democrats like Tennessee's John Tanner felt they were choked blue, driven out of power by liberals in their party.
REP. JOHN TANNER (D), TENNESSEE: We're in the middle, and when you're in the middle you're going to catch it from the left and right.
ACOSTA (on camera): And you're catching it pretty good right now?
TANNER: From the left and the right. So, we must be doing something right.
ACOSTA (voice-over): As for Congressman Ross, he's not only the Blue Dogs' point man on health care, he also represents Hope, Arkansas, hometown of President Clinton.
(On camera): You talk to President Clinton from time to time, is that right?
ROSS: We talked yesterday.
ACOSTA: Has he talked to you at all about health care?
ROSS: We've talked a lot about health care. He shares many of my concerns. He understands the challenges we have in rural America.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Once an owner of a drugstore, Ross says he will get something done for the more than 450,000 people in Arkansas with no health care.
ROSS: I live in a small town of 3,600 people. The lady that owns the Broadway Cafe, she cannot afford health insurance for herself or her employees and so...
ACOSTA (on camera): So, does that weigh in your mind that you could let those folks down?
ROSS: No, we're not going to let them down. In fact, I'll make a prediction here. We'll get health care reform done this year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Ha. All right. Well, Jim Acosta joining us now from Washington with more on this.
Jim, where do the negotiations stand?
ACOSTA: Well, they're in trouble right now, Heidi. Last night the president's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was over at the House meeting with House Democratic leaders, some these Blue Dogs.
COLLINS: Yes.
ACOSTA: Trying to hash out an agreement. And right now they're really at an impasse over this idea of a public option, this idea of giving Americans the option of joining a government-run health program.
The Blue Dogs are just not going for it right now. They're saying they're not dead against that idea, they just want to see that somehow rein in the costs of a public option and they haven't seen a proposal that does that as of yet.
So, this is potentially threatening what they had hoped to do by the end of this week, which was to get a full House vote on health care reform over in the House. It looks like that's not going to happen at this point. But there's also the possibility they may delay the August recess. It's supposed to happen on Friday.
COLLINS: Yes.
ACOSTA: They may push that back a couple of days.
COLLINS: Really?
ACOSTA: We'll have to see what happens. Absolutely. Could happen.
COLLINS: Think that'll happen?
ACOSTA: They are talking about that right now. And over in the Senate, they have another week to go before their August recess so they have a little bit more time. And the Blue Dogs are kind of watching what's happening over in the Senate because if...
COLLINS: I bet.
ACOSTA: The Senate Finance Committee comes out with a proposal that the Blue Dogs like, they may say, OK, let's talk about this over August and come back in the fall and vote on this. So...
COLLINS: They could dock that version.
ACOSTA: That's -- yes, that's right. And Congressman Ross was saying, that's why he was saying "by the end of the year," they think they'll get health care reform done now. Everybody is now talking about this happening in the fall now, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. OK. All right, Jim Acosta, sure do appreciate it. Enjoy your vacation.
ACOSTA: You bet. OK. Thanks.
COLLINS: The so-called sin taxes. We see them on alcohol and tobacco. Should junk food and fattening treats also be added to the list? It's part of the debate over health care.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: On Wall Street this week, a double dose of good housing news. But today a broader reading on the economy isn't so hot.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange now with a look at how that will affect trading.
Hey there, Susan. You got the yellow memo, I see.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. You and I are seeing yellow. Wall Street is going to see red, unfortunately. There was a quote in today's "Wall Street Journal" which I think kind of sums it up.
A trader saying that his brief manic episode is coming to a close. And what he's talking about is that two-week rally that we saw. There was such appreciation that things were looking better. But unfortunately, now we're giving some back. We're set for a lower open, and this comes amid a new report showing orders for big-ticket items plunged 2.5 percent last month.
That's the biggest drop in five months due largely to weak demand for commercial aircraft and cars. As we know, estimates can be wrong, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: In this case, the estimate was way off. We should also mention that monthly orders for durable goods can be volatile.
Some other headlines quickly to run through. It appears Microsoft has finally convinced Yahoo! that they have a better chance of mounting a meaningful challenge to Google's dominance on the Web together rather than separately. The long-awaited partnership is for 10 years and doesn't include an exchange of money. Instead, Microsoft and Yahoo! search platforms and advertising will be integrated. And we're seeing Yahoo! shares down, Microsoft is up a little bit, and Google is giving a little best.
Here's something we don't hear much of, laid-off workers being called back to work. "Wall Street Journal" says U.S. Steel called back 800 workers this month. It plans to restart an idled Minnesota facility. U.S. Steel says prices are firming. It sees shipments increasing this quarter even though it continues to operate at a loss.
And losses are what we're seeing in the first minute of trading, Heidi. The Dow, the Nasdaq, the S&P 500, each down about 50 percent - Heidi.
Yes, I did read that memo early this morning.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. We'll check with you a little bit later on.
Thanks, Susan.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Pizza, ice cream, french fries. Lot of people love to eat that stuff, at least sometimes. But the medical costs of treating obesity-related illnesses are skyrocketing, and we're all paying for that.
Now a new study suggests that a tax on fattening foods could help pay for health reform and help curb obesity.
CNN's Christine Romans is in New York to explain.
OK, so how many people are going to like the idea of this?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends on who you talk to and what side of the argument you are on. This is a study in the Urban Institute, which argues that, frankly, taxing fattening food could raise an awful lot of money to help pay for the cost to society of obesity. And I want to be clear here.
There's overweight, Heidi, and there is obese. And obesity is a medical condition that can be an aggravating factor for heart disease. It can be a cause of diabetes. It's a very serious, serious illness. We're not talking about, you know, putting on a few pounds here and trying to be -- you know, trying to beat up on fat people here. This is about obesity. It's a very serious issue.
So, this is obesity among adults, age 20 to 74. In 1960, 13.4 percent of adults were obese. Today it's 40 percent. We know that two-thirds of the population overall is overweight, and that is the first step toward moving toward obesity.
So, look, we're talking about the ways that they can maybe think about taxing some of the things that cause people to be obese. Now I want to be clear here that there are some in the health reform debate, there has been some talk about taxing soda pop. You know, taxing 3 cents for a can of pop, for example. That looks like that move is dead. But you're still seeing some health policy experts who are still doing the studies and talking about ways to try to treat some of these foods more like tobacco, for example. And they look at all the rates of tobacco use went down and how that was good overall for society and the cost to society.
COLLINS: But... ROMANS: They're using food in the same category.
COLLINS: Forgive me, I just don't get it. Because, you know, if I can get a hold of tobacco, I can probably roll my own cigarettes, right? But if I get a hold of a bunch of ingredients, I take them home, and I make fattening foods. I mean, how is anybody -- like what exactly, are we only talking about fast food? Where's the line?
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: We're talking about -- well, that is true, where is the line. You got some people who say, look, it's not fair. There are parts of the country where you can't get fresh vegetable if you tried. It's a lot of convenience food, in a lot of areas there isn't a supermarket. I mean, the CDC has been having a conference this week, even talking about ways to try to get better food to different parts of the country.
Let me tell you that Urban Institute Study said that its fat food tax proposal, a 10 percent tax on foods that aren't good for you, frankly, would get $530 billion in revenue over ten years. That would go a long way to helping treat some of these illnesses, but also more importantly, they say it would help deter, would disincentivize eating some of these foods.
Now the beverage industry, a spokesman for the beverage industry late yesterday told me, look, in the past ten years, frankly, when you've seen obesity rates rise and the cost of obesity go up, you've actually seen soda pop consumption go down. So, they're kind of saying there is not really a link here. And some people say that it would only hurt poor people.
COLLINS: Exactly. That's what I was wondering.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: People who can only get -- right -- who can get quick, convenient, fast food, and that would just hurt those people in the first place. It's the same argument that...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: There are a lot of good deals out there by some of these fast food companies. That's what their, you know -- I mean, it's hard to argue for some people anyway. If I'm going to spend, you know, $2, $3 on a meal versus, you know, going to the grocery store and getting my -- well, I don't know -- organic or good vegetables or whatever, I'm actually going to pay less.
Is it better if you least eat?
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: And -- you're right. And I guess the big thing is here, what has happened to the economics of food that it's cheaper to eat something that's more complicated, has been processed and isn't good for you. And it's more expensive to eat the simple, single ingredient. And that's what a lot of these people have been talking about and looking at.
The other thing is here, some of the costs of treating obesity has been prescription medical drugs -- is prescription drugs. That's part of the cost of treating obesity as well. So it's part of the discussion. When you're talking about controlling costs in the health care debate, this is why we're zeroing in. So many health policy experts are zeroing in on this, on this conversation, which is, all it is at this point, is a conversation. Because a source over at the Senate Finance Committee tells us, look, a soda pop -- and I say soda pop, because I'm from Midwest.
A pop or a soda...
COLLINS: I know what you mean.
ROMANS: A soda tax, a tax on a can of Coke, for example, isn't going to make it probably in this health care reform.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes. All right. Wow. Lots and lots and lots of questions.
"Romans Numeral," quickly.
ROMANS: Eighteen minutes. Just to make you think a little bit, Heidi. A can of pop, soda, whatever you want to call it, it takes about 18 minutes of jogging for the average woman -- and I used a woman because you and I are women -- the average time it takes to jog off a can of soda, 18 minutes. Think about that the next time you...
COLLINS: Have a diet? I don't know.
ROMANS: No. Diet is not as much. Diet is fewer calories. But about 140 calories takes 18 minutes to jog off.
COLLINS: All right. That's depressing.
Sure do appreciate it.
ROMANS: It's not depressing, it's inspiring, Heidi.
COLLINS: It's a huge discussion on -- yes. All right, we appreciate all the info. Sure want to take this discussion in fact further with our viewers at home.
So, you just heard it here, taxing fast food is just one way to pay for a health care reform. We are also hearing about this -- taxing nose jobs, liposuction, botox, teeth whitening. There's a lot of stuff out there kind of in the discussion mode as you just heard Christine explains.
We do want to know what you think. In fact, here's the question -- what would you tax to help fund health care system? Just go to cnn.com/heidi, and hit the "comment" button. Or you can always call on your thoughts to the brand-new "Hotline to Heidi," that number, 1- 877-742-5760.
A powerful political consultant caught up in a New Jersey bribery scandal is dead. Sixty-one-year-old Jack Shaw was found in his Jersey City home. That's Shaw in the blue shirt there. Police have ruled out homicide. Shaw was accused of taking a $10,000 bribe. In all, 44 people were arrested in corruption crackdown. One of them, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell has now resigned, but he still says he hasn't done anything wrong.
Elwell is the first elected official to in fact step down as a result of this scandal.
For more, let's talk about this and bring in "New York Observer" columnist Steve Kornacki. He's been following this story. He joins me now from New York.
So Steve, nice to see you again. Can you give us any more information on these latest developments? First the resignation of the Secaucus mayor now.
STEVE KORNACKI, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK OBSERVER": Yes. Well, it's not entirely surprising given the circumstances. I guess, you know, Dennis Elwell, the mayor of Secaucus. I guess the significance is does this sort of -- is this sort of the first domino that forces some of the other elected officials who've been caught up in this to do the same thing, because there is immense pressure on, for instance, Pete Cammarano. He's the mayor of Hoboken. You know, the mayor -- another mayor is caught up. The city council president in Jersey City. They've all refused. There have been, you know, big protests in Hoboken City Hall, even in front of, you know, Cammarano's house in Hoboken from irate residents.
There's actually no mechanism...
COLLINS: They all want him to go.
KORNACKI: And there is no mechanism in Hoboken to get rid of an elected mayor in his first year in office. There's a recall mechanism, but it only kicks in after one year in office. And the city council has no impeachment mechanism either. So he can dig his heels in. And if he's not convicted over the next year, there's technically nothing that anybody can do to get him out. And that seems to be what he's doing right now.
COLLINS: Fascinating. I did not know that.
So, yes, what you're saying is whatever happens in Secaucus here may sort of set the bar, if you will, for what the others...
KORNACKI: Yes, and it creates an expectation in Hoboken. I think the (INAUDIBLE) mayor should do the same thing.
COLLINS: Yes. But who knows who will.
Now, listen, we don't know the cause of political consultant Jack Shaw's death. But what did strike is that he died in his home after going to jail last Thursday.
Are most of these guys already out on bond?
KORNACKI: Yes -- no, I mean, most are now -- like we said, the mayor of Hoboken is actually back in his office now claiming that he can do, you know, he can do the people's business and refusing to talk about this. So everybody is pretty much out now as long as they could come up with the money, which I think they all did. Might ask how they got that money. But...
COLLINS: Yes.
KORNACKI: ... in terms of Jack Shaw in Jersey City -- listen, we'll wait to see what the police report says in the end. We'll wait to see what the autopsy says, but the suspicion is that there's a chance this is -- this is, you know, self-inflicted. That it's a suicide. Reports I've seen say he was -- that there were bottles of pills around him when his body was found. He was arrested last week. He was charged with not just accepting a bribe, he was also -- the significance of this actually is the suggestion in the criminal complaint is that he acted as, or was willing to act as, a middleman between the government informant or witness and the mayor of Jersey City.
Now the mayor of Jersey City was not among those arrested, was not among those charged with anything, but he was named in all of these complaints as Jersey City official number four. The fact now that Jack Shaw is tragically, you know, off the scene might change that, because one of the assumptions was some of these people who are arrested are more low, mid-level fixers. Will the government be able to turn them?
COLLINS: Yes.
KORNACKI: And will they in return give information that will take out, you know, bigger fish. The Jersey City mayor being definitely a bigger fish. And a lot of people have wondered if Jack Shaw's arrest would lead to something with the Jersey City mayor.
COLLINS: Understood.
KORNACKI: This will make that more difficult.
COLLINS: Yes, obviously.
It's just an incredible story. I mean, we're talking about 44 arrests. And this whole other side -- we're running out of time, unfortunately, Steve, but we do have some video of the headlines in Israel about this scandal. Because there's this whole other portion about rabbis in New York -- five, I believe -- accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes making front page news in Israel.
KORNACKI: You know, it's funny. Israel always seems to pop up in these Jersey scandals. You can remember three or four, maybe five years ago when Jim McGreevey, the former governor... COLLINS: Yes.
KORNACKI: ... was forced to resign. It was an affair with a male Israeli, who he met on a trip to Israel and he brought back and made him his homeland security director. And that precipitated Jim McGreevey's downfall. Now you've got the rabbis, you've got the kidney salesmen.
You know, people ask, why does New Jersey always make so much news on corruption? I say it's because it's so colorful. These aren't, you know, running the middle scandal.
COLLINS: You can't make it up.
KORNACKI: Yes. I mean, this is the stuff of a Hollywood script.
COLLINS: Very, very quickly. How does this affect Governor Corzine?
KORNACKI: Well, even -- listen, if you talk to any Democratic insider in the state, there's no tape recorder around, they're going to tell you Jon Corzine is cooked. He's up for re-election this year. He was already 10, 15 points behind before this. The Republican who is running against him is actually the U.S. attorney who began these investigations that resulted in the dragnet last week.
The expectation, you know, Democrats are now saying can we get Corzine out of this race and replace him with somebody else? That's wishful thinking. Corzine will never do that.
COLLINS: Interesting.
KORNACKI: But I can't imagine a circumstance he wins right now.
COLLINS: All right. Well, Steve, thanks for all the info. We sure do appreciate you. Stay on top...
KORNACKI: Sure.
COLLINS: ... of the story for us, and we will stay in touch with you.
KORNACKI: Sure.
COLLINS: Again, Steve Kornacki from "The New York Observer" there.
In desperate need of rain. Parts of Texas gripped by extreme drought now. An extended period of triple-digit temperatures drying up lakes and drinking those water supplies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In central and southern Texas, they are praying for rain every day. That's because those parts of the state are suffering through extreme drought conditions now. The worst many people have seen in 50 years.
Our Jacqui Jeras is joining us live from Austin, Texas, this morning.
Jacqui, how bad is it? I mean, it looks just dry, dry, dry, behind you there.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. It's incredible, Heidi. And, you know, the situation is just really intensifying, even as we speak. About half of the state of Texas is under some type of drought condition. And 77 counties now are under what we call exceptional drought, which is just the worst of all the categories. Reservoirs are literally evaporating from the record temperatures and no rain. And you can see right behind me here at Lake Travis in Austin, the level is just a fraction of what it normally should be.
The agricultural community is in a state of crisis. You know, farmers are getting a very small yield from their crops, if anything at all. And cattle men are having to sell their herds because they can't afford to feed them. The agricultural losses now are estimated to be near $4 million, which will likely reach the record for the State of Texas. And agricultural officials say that this impact is going to be felt across the entire country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD STAPLES, TEXAS AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: The real consequence is not just today, but it's long term. It means a reduction in farming families when that's one of the biggest threats to domestic food supply today, is having our farmers and ranchers sustainable in the agricultural business. And that's what really all American consumers should be worried about today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JERAS: And while the agricultural community is suffering, well, so is recreation. Here at Lake Travis, marinas are having to close their doors, and all but one boat ramp is closed.
COLLINS: Wow.
JERAS: So, you can see this right behind me. This is normally a floating dock and the water here should be about 30 feet over my head. This reservoir usually supplies water to about one million people in Austin, but they say it's not at a level yet where they're worried about the water supply, but restrictions are in place. It's at 54 percent of the normal pool. And if you take a look behind me, you can see that ledge of rocks up there, that's how high the lake should be.
It's also unearthing some really interesting things. Last week there were two cars that were discovered that had been stolen years ago so they found. I'm finding golf balls here in the lake bed. There are shells and beer bottles and all kinds of things. So, Heidi, no rain really in the forecast here. So the situation continues, unfortunately, to get worse.
COLLINS: Any help, though, on the way for people?
I mean, are they going to have to start worrying about the drinking supply?
JERAS: Well, they're not worried about the drinking supply just yet. There is help on the way, hopefully, for farmers. Of course, they're looking for, you know, their insurance claims and there was also a law passed in 2008 which should help give them some money. But, unfortunately, not all the rules are in place with that just yet. And they think it will probably be 2010 before they get that money. And, of course, the farmers say that they need that money now. They can't wait.
COLLINS: Yes. That is obviously too late.
All right, Jacqui Jeras, sure do appreciate the live report coming to us from a very dried-out Austin, Texas. And we're going to be following this story all week long.
Thanks again, Jacqui.
All right, so the big question, Jacqui mentioned it, Karen, but not a lot of rain in sight for the state of Texas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Yes. I hate to hear that.
All right. Well, we will stay on top of that story for sure.
Karen Maginnis, thank you.
Facebook not just for keeping up with friends and family any more. Police are starting to use it to track down suspects. As one teen in Wisconsin learn the hard way.
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COLLINS: It was almost the perfect getaway if only the suspect hadn't allegedly bragged about it on Facebook. Police say they caught a teenager doing 85 in Scott, Wisconsin. A week ago, an officer chased him, but reportedly lost him in another county. Later, someone reported the teenager had posted all the details on Facebook. That's how police found him. Charging him with reckless driving and fleeing an officer.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell weighing in on the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Gates. Last night on CNN's "LARRY KING," Powell faulted both Gates and the Cambridge police officer for letting the situation escalate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": You're saying gates was wrong? COLIN POWELL, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm saying that Skip, perhaps in this instance, might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer and that might have been the end of it. I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal.
But he's just home from China, just home from New York. All he wanted to do was get to bed.
His door was jammed. And so he was in a mood where he said something.
KING: What about those who say he brings the whole history into that body of a black movement?
POWELL: That may well be...
KING: And the black being (INAUDIBLE)...
POWELL: That may well be the case. But I still think that it might well have been resolved in a different manner if we didn't have this verbal altercation between the two of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The woman who made the 911 call to report a possible break in at Gate's house speaks publicly for the first time. Lucia Whalen is holding a news conference today at noon Eastern.
The arrest of Professor Gates has spurred a passionate discussion in the media over race relations in America, and we want to hear from you.
Have you been a victim of racial profiling? If you work in law enforcement, what are the challenges you face while policing diverse communities? Share your personal stories on video and you could be featured on CNN.
We do have a lot going on in the next hour of the "NEWSROOM," and our crews are in place to bring it all to you as you see there.
Let's check in first with Ed Henry in Virginia.
Hey, Ed.
HENRY: Well, Heidi, the conventional wisdom back in Washington is that people with generous health benefits don't want to pay more taxes to cover the uninsured. But people here at the Kroger in rural Virginia, may be turning that conventional wisdom on its head. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. You know, last summer the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it was excessive speculation by oil traders that did not cause oil prices to jump over $140 a barrel. Now, the commission is proposing new regulations, Heidi, to curb excessive speculation. Will it reverse its position on that, too? We're going to tackle that issue in the next hour.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. When swine flu hits this season, this flu season, it is expected to hit hard. So this fall, who needs to be the most worried about swine flu? I'll have that answer at the top of the hour.
COLLINS: OK, very good. Thanks, guys.
We will also take you inside an operating room to see a patient being put under with propofol. That's the powerful sedative Michael Jackson may have been given before he died.
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COLLINS: It may be next week before we learn the cause of Michael Jackson's death. That's when the coroner's office is expected to release autopsy results. Yesterday investigators searched the Las Vegas home and office of Jackson's doctor. CNN's Ted Rowlands has an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One agent showed up at Dr. Conrad Murray's Las Vegas home. He was there to greet them. After three hours inside, investigators left, according to Murray's attorney with cell phones and a computer hard drive. Another warrant was served at Murray's Las Vegas clinic where agents spent the entire day.
MICHAEL FLANAGAN, DEA: They are looking through records and documents and looking for any that pertain to the search warrant itself. And those documents will be seized as evidence.
ROWLANDS: The search warrant, according to Murray's attorneys, authorize investigators to look for medical records relating to Michael Jackson and all of his reported aliases, meaning investigators believe Jackson and/or Murray may have used fake names on some records.
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's very significant to me that the search warrant refers to aliases. Remember in the Anna Nicole case, the doctors were charged with felonies for prescribing medications to Anna Nicole under assumed names. It's absolutely a violation of California law.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Meanwhile, everybody waiting on that L.A. county coroner's report which will have a cause of death for Michael Jackson. The coroner's office tells CNN that will not be completed this week, and will not be made public until at the earliest some time next week.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
