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Plotting Attacks Abroad; Milk, Bread and Health Reform; Intense Talks on Health Care; Crackdown on Oil Speculators; Jackson Doctor's Home, Office Raided
Aired July 29, 2009 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Wednesday, July 29th. And here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A North Carolina woman tells CNN her husband is not a terrorist. Daniel Boyd and six other Raleigh men are accused of plotting attacks abroad.
President Obama due to land in North Carolina this hour. He will hold another town hall on health care reform.
Remember last summer's fuelishness (ph)? Yes, the government tries to head off another streak of runaway gas prices by cracking down on speculators.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
First this hour, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano outlining the Obama administration's strategy to prevent the next 9/11. It is not a wholesale revision of Bush policies. Rather, tweaks.
For instance, Napolitano announced a program to improve communication between federal, state and local authorities. It would close information gaps by bringing bureaucrats together under one roof. Napolitano calls them fusion centers. She wants 70 of them nationwide.
The secretary spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: And the threats we face are, by their very nature, asymmetrical. Terrorism, more often, has become privatized violence. It does not rely on links to an army or to a sovereign state. We often hear that this is what our globalized era looks like, but what is most salient about today's environment is that it is also networked. And in a network world, information, true and false, moves everywhere all the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, President Obama has overturned some Bush policies, announcing plans to close the Gitmo prison, for example. Former vice president Dick Cheney has criticized the Obama approach as a pre-9/11 mindset that he says views terror as a law enforcement issue rather than a military threat.
Federal agents are looking for an eighth terror suspect today in Pakistan. Seven other men are in custody in North Carolina, charged with plotting jihad in Pakistan.
Here is CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve in Raleigh.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Tony, prosecutors allege that Daniel Boyd, a U.S. citizen, the son of a Marine, conspired to wage jihad overseas. They say he recruited, among others, his two sons. Now the mother of those boys, Daniel Boyd's wife Sabrina, is offering explanations for the accusations being made by the government.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (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: We 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's 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 scouts sons with marksmanship.
BOYD: One of the merit badges they use, you know, to become an eagle scout. And so, it wouldn't be beyond pale for him to take them out and do target practices. It's 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: And I just want to say that I'm very proud to be Muslim and I'm very proud to be married to Daniel Boyd. And I'm very proud of my children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Sabrina Boyd alleges that the FBI played what she is calling a dirty trick. She says on Monday, an acquaintance showed up on her doorstep in a bloody shirt with a state policeman, and they told her there had been another bad accident, this one involving her husband and sons. She says she rushed to the hospital with her daughter and daughter-in-law, where she was put in handcuffs, interrogated, and treated rudely.
She says it was all a ruse so authorities could search their House unimpeded. The FBI would not comment on this or anything else pertaining to the investigation.
Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: All right. Jeanne, appreciate it. Thank you.
Steve Emerson is an investigative journalist who focuses on terror and Islamic extremism. He says these North Carolina arrests represent a new phase in what he calls the radicalization of Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE EMERSON, AUTHOR, "JIHAD IN AMERICA": I think the reason why they wrapped up the case at this point was that they were thwarted in carrying out jihad overseas, and with the arsenal that they had collected, a massive arsenal, they believe the U.S. was an infidel country that could be targeted. They all swore allegiance to martyrdom, Campbell, and that meant that they were prepared to die in the course of carrying out suicide bombings. Therefore, the possibility existed that they would train their ire on the United States and carry out attacks here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Emerson went on to say 40 Americans have been arrested in just the last six months, accused in terror plots at home or abroad.
The special on aisle three today? A presidential pitch on health care reform.
President Obama taking his message directly to the people. Again. He holds a town hall meeting within the hour in Raleigh, North Carolina. Later, he visits a grocery store in Bristol, Virginia.
Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry tells us what he is likely to hear from workers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SR. 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 reform is being rushed just like the stimulus.
PHIL YOUNCE, FROZEN FOOD CLERK, KROGER SUPERMARKET: Like the last package that he 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 out he's getting tough with Congress.
CATHY MONTGOMERY, ASST. PRODUCE MANAGER, KROGER SUPERMARKET: I like the fact he's stepped up and he's being aggressive. I really do. I mean, I'm just -- I'm all for that.
HENRY: Thousands in this region showed up at a health expo offering free medical care this past weekend, exposing a problem all too familiar to doctors here.
DR. BENNETT COWAN, JR., HOSPICE 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 might be taxed to cover the uninsured and is 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 out and sells it, then he's willing to step up himself.
SHIPPLETT: You got to do something and if it means me paying those taxes to get this reform through, then I 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)
HARRIS: OK. Ed Henry live from Bristol, Virginia.
Ed, good to see you.
You know, isn't there a saneness to these events? The president didn't craft a bill and send it to Congress. He really offered guidelines for health care reform. Isn't he sort of stuck with just talking about the broad strokes of reform?
HENRY: You heard it from one of the employees. They want him to sell it more in terms of getting more specific.
Interesting this morning, "TIME" magazine has just put on their Web site an interview with the president by their ace reporter, Karen Tumulty, in which he says that, basically, in private, he's actually been giving these senators, lawmakers more guidance, more specifics, than he's letting on publicly. I've heard that separately.
On Sunday, I reported on "STATE OF THE UNION" with John King that in a meeting Friday with Max Baucus and Harry Reid, the president did lay out some specifics. White House aides won't say exactly what he said, but one area to look at is he's sort of taxing the Cadillac plans you hear about, the sort of gold-plated health plans, maybe taxing those. That's something that the people at the White House seem very high on.
And one way to do it, Senator John Kerry wants to, instead of taxing the beneficiaries, tax the insurance companies. Of course, the rub there could be the insurance companies end up not passing on taxes, but higher premiums to people who work at this grocery store, you and I, whoever it may be.
I can tell you, though, these employees are saying, look, we're willing to step up, even if it means higher premiums, higher taxes. But the president's got to do a number of things. He's got to make sure the rich are paying their fair share, and he also has to, as you pointed out, get a bit more specific and show that everybody has got some skin in this game.
HARRIS: All right. And Ed, very quickly, what's the president's connection to Bristol?
HENRY: Well, if you'll remember at the end of that long primary season, the battle with Hillary Clinton, when the president finally won, then-Senator Obama came right here to Bristol. Not to the supermarket, but here, which is the birthplace of country music. That's at least how they advertise it.
He came here to launch his general election campaign. He won the Commonwealth of Virginia, the first time for a Democrat in 44 years. He's obviously hoping now maybe a rebirth for this health reform effort as well -- Tony.
HARRIS: Very good.
Ed Henry in Bristol, Virginia, as Air Force One lands in Raleigh, North Carolina. The president's town hall meeting there in Raleigh at Broughton High School, scheduled for 11:55 a.m. Eastern Time. And of course we will bring you that town hall live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Meanwhile, back in Washington, lawmakers are locked in intense negotiations over health care reform. A bipartisan Senate group is searching for a compromise. In the House, Democratic leaders are trying to strike a deal with conservatives in their own party.
As Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash reports, the so- called Blue Dogs aren't budging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One after another, conservative House Democrats emerged from a strategy session determined not to let up on their rebellion against their own party's health care plan.
REP. BARON HILL (D), INDIANA: We're not there yet. And our biggest concern is making sure that we control costs, and we're not ready to support a bill yet.
BASH: That was the refrain of many in the 52-member conservative Blue Dog Coalition, a Democratic group big enough to dash their party leader hopes for a health care vote this week.
REP. STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN (D), SOUTH DAKOTA: The members of the Blue Dog Coalition are more united than I've ever seen. And I think it's because health care reform goes to the heart of our core principle fiscal responsibility.
BASH: Meanwhile, Democratic senators who already gave up hope of passing a health care bill before summer recess are still struggling to find compromise, but they were upbeat after marathon closed-door negotiations.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I think we're really making progress, and I feel relatively confident that we're going to be able to come together.
BASH: In fact, Democratic senators say they are coalescing around John Kerry's idea for how to help pay for reform and control medical costs -- imposing a tax on insurance companies, the high-cost so-called Cadillac plans. Senators haven't settled on the details, but one possibility is taxing plans worth $25,000 or more which could generate $90 billion in revenue.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: It is a way as many of us have sought to do to make sure that this country stops subsidizing Cadillac coverage. I think it is wonderful that in a free country, you can buy as many designer smiles as you want, but you shouldn't be able to buy those designer smiles with tax-subsidized dollars.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. And Dana Bash joining us again.
Dana, you're once again outside the Senate negotiations. Look, I've got to tell you, I was listening to Senator Chuck Grassley this morning driving into work, and he is a part of that group of six senators, a bipartisan group, working in that room behind you to try to come up with a compromise, and it sounds, as though, listening to him this morning, that progress is being made. Could a deal be imminent?
BASH: I heard that interview as well. He actually said on National Public Radio that he believes that they are on the edge of the deal.
HARRIS: Yes.
BASH: But I can tell you that we have obtained an e-mail from Senator Max Baucus' top aide that was sent to Senate aides across the committee, insisting the answer to that question is no. This went out this morning, and I'll read you part of the e-mail.
He said, "While progress has been made in recent days, neither an accord nor an announcement is imminent. In fact, significant policy issues remain to be discussed among the members, and any one of these issues could preclude bipartisan agreement."
That is Russ Sullivan, who, again, is the staff director, Democratic staff director for the Senate Finance Committee.
Now, question: Why did he send that e-mail this morning? Well, in part, it is the expectations game, Tony.
We know that there is sort of a sense that they could get a deal by the end of the week. If they don't, it is yet another failure. But there's another reason. In fact, there are lots of reasons.
But another main reason is because the senators who are not in this room, if they see, read and hear that they're close to an agreement and they don't know all the details, they're not going to be very happy about it. We have already hear some ruffled and seen some ruffled feathers about that so far.
But, having said that, you're right, it really struck me that the lead Republican this morning suggested that they are close. And that is not that different than what other senators going in and out of this room today are telling us. But, you know, a deal isn't going to happen until the deal actually happens, and we hope that we'll be the first to tell you about it.
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.
And Dana, let's do this -- when we get together the next hour, the president has this town hall, but we're assuming we'll have some time next hour to talk to you. We'll talk about the work that's going on, on the House side as well.
BASH: Great.
HARRIS: Dana Bash, our senior congressional correspondent.
Thanks, Dana.
BASH: Thanks. HARRIS: As we mentioned, President Obama has a full agenda today focusing on health care reform. His town hall meeting is scheduled to start within the hour, 11:55 a.m. Eastern Time, from Raleigh, North Carolina. Air Force One landing just moments ago.
Live coverage right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time, his meeting with grocery store workers in Bristol, Virginia.
We will have Republican reaction following the president's town hall meeting in Raleigh. Congressman Eric Cantor, the minority whip, will join Kyra Philips for a live interview during the 1:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
Remember last summer when filling your gas tank drained your wallet? Well, we'll see what the feds are doing today to keep it from happening again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, last summer oil prices skyrocketed out of control and we were paying for it big time at the pump. Now federal regulators want to step in and make sure that doesn't happen again.
Uh-oh.
Christine Romans and Ali Velshi joining us from New York. And Ali is hosting his radio show. I think we'll be able to talk to Ali in just a moment. It looks like he's taking a call right now.
Christine, good to see you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.
HARRIS: So, let's see here. That reining in would require doing something about the big money gamblers and the energy pitch; right? The excessive speculation?
ROMANS: Excess speculation. I like to say it's like pornography. You know it when you see it.
HARRIS: You know it when you see it. Right. Right.
ROMANS: There's speculation which is the other side of the market. It makes the market work, it makes it liquid, and it makes it easier for people who are using commodities in their business to hedge their position. And then there's excessive speculation of purely financial players who go in, who maybe are able to see some kind of a spread in the market, or able to really put a lot of money into it and move prices around. Look, at this point there are some restrictions on that, but the CFTC, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, is trying to find a way to maybe rein in the positions, the huge excessive positions of some of these firms.
Now, Tony, you might recall that last summer, the CFTC, you know, they studied what happened with those oil prices. And if you look at this chart I've made for you, you can see that oil prices were unbelievable. They doubled, then they were cut, oh, my gosh, down to $34. Then they doubled again.
It's been crazy, but demand has been essentially sideways, to actually down a little bit when the recession began. So, why all of this crazy...
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Please explain that.
ROMANS: Well, some people will say that it just has to be some form of speculation. Others will say, and the CFTC found last summer, no, it was primarily supply and demand.
We're going to be waiting. The CFTC has not reversed its decision from last summer, but there's been a lot of talk, including an article in "The Wall Street Journal" this week, that said that the CFTC will reverse that and say that speculation played a bigger role. CFTC says it's just irresponsible to say what it's going to find in the future, but this is being examined again, re-examined, I think. And hearings to find out how maybe to rein in excessive speculation. But, you know, that's pretty subjective, too.
HARRIS: No, you're right. You're absolutely right. But here's the thing -- and I don't know, is Ali able to join us?
There he is.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm here.
HARRIS: Ali, so what are your thoughts on this? Because I'm trying to remember what we were paying. Were we at $4? No, in some places we were beyond...
VELSHI: July of last year we got above $4.
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: In July.
HARRIS: Look, this was -- this was represented a huge hit to the economy.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: So, the idea of a direct tax.
VELSHI: Yes, it's a direct tax.
HARRIS: Right, exactly.
ROMANS: But wait. Why aren't people talking about how...
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: There are two issues here. What happened to cause oil to go to $147 and gasoline to go up? They're related, obviously. When oil goes up, gas goes up, generally speaking.
The other issue here is, who's watching it? The CFTC, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, is one of more than a dozen agencies that oversee various things in the financial world, this alphabet soup of regulatory agencies. And there's a lot of criticism from people who were previously on the CFTC about the way this agency works.
So, you know, this business about whether they put out a report last year, and now they're going to put out a report again that contradicts that, I think maybe some of the problem is that there is going to be speculation in a market. That's how you have a liquid market. It's the same reason somebody buys a condo, thinking it's going to go up, or invests in Apple shares, thinking that they're going to go up.
Speculation in and of itself is not necessarily bad. And it's important, as Christine said, for some businesses. The issue was, was there collusion? Was there manipulation of the oil market?
And we need to know if our agencies are on top of that. I don't think we're getting an answer to that.
HARRIS: All right. First of all, Ali, let's give everyone the telephone number so they can join you on the radio here. What's the number here?
VELSHI: Yes. Christine's going to be coming in here shortly -- 877-266-4189.
HARRIS: All right. Here's my next question. I haven't heard your reaction yet on the news over the last couple of days on the housing front.
We've got new home sales up 11 percent, existing home sales up, what, 3.6 percent? Home prices are up, and that's my piggybank. I love that.
VELSHI: Yes, that's right.
HARRIS: And the low interest rates.
What are your thoughts on what's happening in the market?
VELSHI: Look, home affordability has come down dramatically. I always use California as the example, because the home prices were the highest there.
So, if you had a house that was $600,000, and you had to put 20 percent down, you had to put a lot of money down, and your carrying cost was about $3,000 a month. Now that same home is in the $250,000 range. Your down payment is a lot lower, your interest rate is lower, so that carrying cost is about $1,500.
So, for a whole lot of people, what this recession has meant is an opportunity to get into a home. And that's what you're seeing playing out across the country.
People are making a bet that maybe home prices will go down further, but it's affordable now and they're going to be in it for five, 10, or 15 years. So, it makes sense to buy it.
The trick here is interest rates. They're starting to go up. If they stay in that 5 percent range, you're going to see a lot more of this, and that's going to drive this recovery back. It's going to cause people to build homes. It's going to cause people to be able to sell their homes and get their mortgages paid off.
So, it's a good sign, but it's very tentative right now.
HARRIS: All right.
Christine, any last thoughts on this?
ROMANS: Well, the big winners I think in the housing market right now are the investors, the cash investors. They're buying distressed places. And some of the uptick you're in sales, I'm almost sure it is investors who are going in, not necessarily you and me taking advantage of a first-time homebuyer credit and a lower price.
But you hope that that's the beginning and it spreads, and other people -- you know, not that investors aren't real people, but that people who are living in the house and have their job are going to be able to benefit, too.
HARRIS: OK. So let's set this up for everyone.
Christine, you're about to call into the radio show with Ali?
ROMANS: I'm about ready to walk over there and...
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: She's going to come right here and join me.
HARRIS: OK. Perfect.
And Ali, again, what's the phone number?
VELSHI: 877-266-4189.
Hope you call us and tell us what you think.
HARRIS: Terrific. Appreciate it, Ali, Christine. Maybe I'll get a chance to see you next hour after the president's town hall meeting. All right. Let us direct you now to CNNMoney.com and the fine work of our money team, Christine Romans, Ali Velshi, at the top of the flow chart.
For the latest financial news and analysis, it is CNNMoney.com.
And we just mentioned those signs of a housing recovery. Gerri Willis is here to help you cash in on the uptick.
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HARRIS: How about this? Finally, some really good economic news as several indicators this week point to a housing recovery, home sales, construction, and prices all jumped in June.
Your Personal finance Editor Gerri Willis is here.
And Gerri, boy, is it time -- first of all, hi, Gerri. Good it see you.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, good morning. Good to see you, Tony.
HARRIS: I'm just wondering, is it time now for homebuyers to jump in, as well?
WILLIS: Well, I have to tell you, if you want to jump in, there's several hurdles to get over, and one of them is beating the deadline. One of the biggest carrots for first-time homebuyers right now is the government's $8,000 tax credit. We've talked a lot about it.
If you're in the market for a new home and you qualify, you'll have to purchase your home though before December 1st of this year. And if you're buying an FHA-backed home, you can use this money at closing or to help with the down payment costs after you've covered the first 3.5 percent of the down payment.
For more info, go to the FederalHousingTaxCredit.com Web site. But there's a deadline out there if you do want to buy in this market.
HARRIS: Well, Gerri, how do you know it's time to buy in your particular market?
WILLIS: Well, everybody asks me about prices. If you're trying to time that market bottom, hey, good luck. It's really tough to do.
HARRIS: Right.
WILLIS: Having said that, though, if you want to estimate the market's ability to recover, consider these factors. First off, the local jobs climate. Where there is unemployment, you're sure to find foreclosures and lower home prices. Scan local newspapers for large layoffs in companies that are based in the area. You might also want to consider whether your area is in the market cycle. Have prices stabilized? Are they and still going down? How much inventory is on the market?
A good Realtor can help you really dig down on these issues. And if the inventory is growing at a slower rate or shrinking, then you know the market is stabilizing. Next, walk through the area. You'd be surprised how many people do not look at the condition of the neighborhood. How many homes are abandoned? Are people taking care of their yard? Talk to the neighbors. This is a valuable source of info.
HARRIS: And Gerri, any advice on coming up with the money for this --I mean, look, it's a huge purchase.
WILLIS: Well, it is. And it's very tough. You have to know what you can afford. Look, just because some homes are selling for half of what they used to, that doesn't mean it's a bargain for your wallet.
Down payments of 20 percent or more may be required in some markets. Use your leverage as a buyer here. There are and a lot of desperate sellers out there. You can ask for something called seller financing, and you may be able to get a partial down payment or closing costs covered by the seller.
You may also consider taking advantage of programs run by nonprofits to help people buy their own homes. Go to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development -- it's Hud.gov -- to find out about programs you might qualify for.
And of course, if you have any questions, send them to me at gerri@CNN.com. We'd love to hear from you.
HARRIS: Oh, great advice. Great tips as always. Gerri, good to see you. Thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: The stimulus has already saved taxpayers $43 billion. At least that's what President Obama says. Is it true? The Truth-O- Meter has the answer. That's next.
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HARRIS: The health care reform debate dominating the day for lawmakers on Capitol Hill and for President Obama. The president holds a town hall meeting scheduled to start shortly at 11:55 Eastern in Raleigh, North Carolina. Live coverage for you of course right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And at 4:10 p.m. Eastern time, he meets with grocery store workers in Bristol, Virginia. On Capitol Hill, the bipartisan Senate finance group continues working, and Democratic House leaders are trying to strike a deal with conservatives, the so-called Blue Dog Democrats. Six hours of talks ended last night with no deal.
Has the stimulus saved the country $43 billion in taxes? Are taxpayers paying millions for road signs praising the stimulus? Here's our Josh Levs with the Truth-O-Meter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, so, trillions, billions or millions, it seems like there must be all this recovery money flying around because lawmakers keep talking about it that way, even if it feels like it hasn't hit you yet. But along with this money are also a lot of claims which we need to break down. So, we're bringing in Bill Adair from Politifact.com. Hey, Bill.
BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: Thanks for having me, Josh.
LEVS: All right, thank you. Let's start off with this. You're looking at a claim from President Obama now that talks about $43 billion. What's that about?
ADAIR: Well, this is a claim he's made many times as he talks about the economic stimulus.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's delivered $43 billion in tax relief to American working families and businesses.
ADAIR: Well, we looked into that and found that there's some fuzzy math in that. The $43 billion includes some money that was used for the fix for the alternative minimum tax and, of course, the AMT, as it's called, is a tax that was set up in the '60s to try to limit, put some restrictions on the wealthy, but it has gradually spread to affect the middle class. So, every year, Congress puts a fix in so that it doesn't spread to the middle class.
Well, Obama's counting that in the $43 billion. And we decided in talking to some experts that that's not correct to do that, that that's really exaggerating the impact of the stimulus. We ended up giving this a half true on our Truth-O-Meter. He's right about the other parts that make up the $43 billion, but the $8 billion from the AMT fix, we felt he wasn't. So, half true for this one.
LEVS: And speaking of half true, you've got another half true. This is on the other side now. And you're looking at one claim from a Republican. This is Senator Bennett, who talks about some road signs out there. Tell us about this.
ADAIR: Bennett is correct that the Obama administration has encouraged states to put up these signs, but the Obama administration has not required them. And the other part of Bennett's claim that they have spent millions to do this may or may not be true. We haven't been able to get a good accounting of how much money has been spent on signs. It may be in the millions, it may not. We're not sure. So, we gave this one a half true.
LEVS: Well, look, those are just two of the latest. You guys always have a steady supply, which is one reason we love looking at politifact.com every day and checking out your writings. Bill Adair, thank you so much.
ADAIR: Thanks, Josh. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right, Josh, appreciate it. Quickly, we're going to get you to Capitol Hill now, and Senator Kent Conrad is talking about health care reform and the progress hopefully that's being made as the group of six continues to work hard, diligently, to try to reach a compromise.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D-ND), FINANCE COMMITTEE: ... 40 million new entrants. They believe very quickly this kind of operation would have 12 million members, be the third largest insurer in the country. I've got to go because I can't miss a vote.
HARRIS: So, clearly, there were some comments earlier. We'll try to turn some of those around and engage. Oh, great. We may have those comments from earlier in just a moment here.
As you know, the group of six, Republicans and Democrats, are trying right now in the Senate Finance Committee panel to work out a compromise to try to get some health care legislation passed to get it marked up at some point. That's a couple steps ahead from where we are right now. Here are the comments from moments ago from Senator Ken Conrad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONRAD: We have not reached conclusion on how much money. Part of that is, of course, a matter of CBO scoring. Right now, the focus has been on how to structure this organization, what powers they should have, how it should be made up, is a supermajority required, all those kinds of issues. That's what we've been...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, Kent Conrad, Senator Conrad talking about the process of, first, there has to be an agreement in the panel. Then the panel -- that piece of legislation then has to go, after it's crafted by the committee members, to the full committee. Then that has to be scored, and the process continues on and on and on. We will continue to follow these developments from the Senate Finance Committee panel with our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
You know after more than, what, a year of speculation and much back and forth, two tech giants are finally teaming up. OK, so, the deal is done. Microsoft and Yahoo! have struck a deal to become search partners. Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with details. So, finally, Susan, a deal is done.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The deal is done, but what a twisted path it took to get to this point. Google, as we know, is the 800-pound gorilla in search and also those very lucrative search- related ads. Yahoo! and Microsoft want a piece of the action.
They spent a lot of dough between them and a lot of time, and obviously they've decided two better than one to take them on. So, what's the deal? It's a 10-year deal. Microsoft's Bing, which it spent a lot of money on, will power Yahoo's...
HARRIS: Susan?
LISOVICZ: Yes?
HARRIS: Susan, I apologize. You know, we're following all the action in this panel that is meeting, the panel of the Senate Finance Committee to try to reach a compromise on health care reform. Well, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, is talking to reporters right now. Let's have a listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MAX BAUCUS (D-MT), CHAIRMAN, FINANCE COMMITTEE: ... is encouraging. The current draft of the bill scores below $9 billion over 10 years, covers 95 percent of all Americans by 2015 and is fully offset. In fact, according to the preliminary CBO report, the bill would actually reduce the federal deficit in the tenth year by several billion dollars.
In addition, employer-sponsored coverage increases throughout the life of the program. That is, there is no net product. This development will help us, clearly, as we continue our discussion.
(CROSSTALK)
BAUCUS: I've got to go. I'm going to be late. My vote's (INAUDIBLE). I've got to go. I've got to go.
HARRIS: OK. Max Baucus in the middle of that scrum there, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. And obviously, his committee is key to any health care reform legislation. I'm going to check this with our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. But at the moment we jumped in, it seemed to me that the chairman was saying that the current shape of the compromise comes in at about $900 billion over 10 years, and that it is paid for, meaning that it is deficit neutral.
All right, we will check on those details, if my hearing didn't fail me here, with our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash in just a couple of minutes. But right now, a quick break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, the president plays peacemaker tomorrow. He plans to bring Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates face-to-face with his arresting office, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley. We're told they will chat at a picnic table outside the Oval Office. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell tells our Larry King both Gates and Crowley could have handled things better.
(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, may 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.
I think in this case the situation was made more difficult. On the part of the Cambridge Police Department, once they felt they had to bring Dr. Gates out of the house and to handcuff him, I would have thought at that point some adult supervision would have stepped in and said, OK, look, it is his house. Come on. Let's not take this any further. Take the handcuffs off. Good night, Dr. Gates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Powell went on to say there is no African American in this country who has not been exposed to this kind of situation. He says even he has been racially profiled many times.
We expect to hear soon from the woman who made the 911 call to report a possible break-in at Professor Gates's home. Lucia Whalen is set to speak publicly for the first time. She is holding a news conference about 15 minutes from now.
CNN iReporters are weighing in on this hot button issue. So, let's check in with producer Tyson Wheatley at CNN.com's iReport desk. And Tyson, good to see you. What are our iReporters saying on this issue?
TYSON WHEATLEY, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Well, Tony, actually, you know, this issue, the arrest of Gates, in particular has been spurring a lot of discussion on ireport.com, particularly around racial profiling. And let's go ahead and just take a look at a sampling of what people are saying on iReport.com.
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SEAN COCHRAN, CNN IREPORTER: Well, everybody's so sensitive about your race, you can't even do anything. I mean, if you're a white guy or a white person, you really can't do anything or say anything against anybody of any other color because you're going to be accused of being racist. And on the flipside of that, you know, I think a lot of my own people, a lot of my own brothers and sisters, every time something is done against them, they think it's racist. Sometimes I'm sure it is, but it's not every time.
HAO LI, CNN IREPORTER: I think we need to stop jumping to conclusions and have a real honest debate about race by setting aside these assumed notions that only certain people can be racist and only certain people can be victims.
DESIRE GROVER, CNN IREPORTER: My only hope is that we don't make a good cop's mistake unforgivable because while we browbeat him or her, we may end up losing a good cop in the process. We can't afford to do that. At least not in my 'hood. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHEATLEY: All right now, Tony, we really want to hear from our viewers on this issue. And so, here's what we want to invite our viewers to do. You want to go to ireport.com and you can find this here assignment on racial profiling.
And we particularly want to hear from people who have experienced racial profiling. We'd also like to hear from law -- folks in law enforcement and ask you, you know, what are the challenges of policing in a diverse community? Really great discussion you can see here. We've gotten just many, many great responses. Can't get that to work, but...
HARRIS: That's OK.
WHEATLEY: ... but we hope to see you there.
HARRIS: All right, Tyson, appreciate it. Thank you.
WHEATLEY: We're going to get an update on the work being done by the Senate Finance Committee panel on health care reform from our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash in just a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, let's do this as promised. Let's get an update on where we are in the effort to craft health care reform. A compromise in the Senate. Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is where the action is. And, Dana, look, we heard from senators Conrad and Baucus in the last ten minutes. What's the latest?
BASH: The latest is that the finance chairman, Max Baucus, who resides in this office where we've been standing, he just came out, and he suggested that -- said that they have some good news. And that good news, I'm not sure if we have the sound bite, somebody can tell me if we do. If we don't, I'll just tell you what he said.
OK, we do have the sound bite. Let me roll it for you, and then I'll explain it on the other end.
HARRIS: Great.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAUCUS: OK, we have some good news. Last night, we received a preliminary report from the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO has reviewed a draft of the health care reform bill we are currently negotiating. Keep in mind the current draft does not include resolution of several key issues.
Nevertheless, the report is encouraging. The current draft of the bill scores below $900 billion over 10 years, covers 95 percent of all Americans by 2015 and is fully offset. In fact, according to the preliminary CBO report, the bill would actually reduce the federal deficit in the tenth year by several billion dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: So, why is this significant? Let's start with the beginning. First of all, the overall price tag. What they had been working on in this room was about a trillion dollars. They shaved, it looks like, about $100 billion off that price tag, even more maybe if he says that what they're talking about is in the ballpark of below $900 billion.
And he also said that what they're talking about does achieve one of the main goals, which is broad coverage for all Americans. He said what they're talking about is about 95 percent coverage.
But the caveat is important. The caveat is, they're not done yet. And what it sounds like they have done is given a bunch of different ideas to that all-important Congressional Budget Office to see what, you know, what the cost is of some of the things they're talking about. And that's why they just got back a bit of good news.
So, it's a little bit schizophrenic, because you and I talked in the last hour about the fact that they have been trying to downplay progress, trying to downplay the fact that they could get a deal this week. So, you know, they're doing that, while at the same time trying to, you know, portray an image and a sense of momentum, and that's what we just saw from Senator Baucus just now.
HARRIS: And Dana, it's interesting. One of the important pieces here is the idea that the current shape of the compromise has been scored by the CBO, because there are a lot of plans out there, not all of them have been scored. But at least what is being worked on right now has been scored, and it comes in around the $900 billion mark over 10 years, correct?
BASH: Correct. You know, but what this is -- and I want to apologize to our viewers, because it might sound like it's really in the weeds, but it is important, in that what's been going on in this room is, they've been taking different pieces of this huge puzzle, and they've been looking at it.
Let me just give you one example of something that we know that they've been talking about this morning. And that is this idea that the president has talked about, giving an independent commissions, instead of Congress, an independent commission the power to dictate Medicare rates. So, they have been talking all morning about how that would happen, what kind of power that commission would happen -- would have and, you know, how much money they could save...
HARRIS: That's right.
BASH: ... if they do that. So, and that's something that we were told by Senator Conrad has not -- they don't even know how much money that would generate. So, there are lots of pieces of this puzzle, but they at least took one potential puzzle, if you will, gave it to the Congressional Budget Office, got it back and that has come back at less than $900 billion. HARRIS: All right, so, the work continues. All right. Our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, good work as always, Dana. Appreciate it. Thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
HARRIS: And we've got our eyes on two live events happening in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. The first expected to get under way in just a few minutes. President Obama talking to North Carolinians about health care reform. The other big event is out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The 911 caller in the Harvard professor arrest case is about to speak publicly for the first time since the incident. Hear what she has to say about the phone call and how things have escalated.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Investigators in the Michael Jackson case are busy today poring over files and potential evidence taken from the Las Vegas home and office of Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician. CNN's Ted Rowlands has details on the items removed and where this investigation is headed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When agents 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're 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 warrants, 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 it will not be completed this week and will not be made public until, at the earliest, sometime next week.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
